Alignment

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   Here is my suggestion for an alignment system in Illyriad:

First, there would be two alignment axis: Order & Chaos, and Nature & Artifice (or whatever name is better)

It could look like this:

                       Nature
                           ^
                            |
                            |
                            |
Chaos      <-------+------->      Order
                            |
                            |
                            |

                       Artifice

Many units, buildings and spells would have a certain alignment requirement, i.e. Elven Trueshot could have (Nature 65, Order 15).

You would always have access to everything, even if your alignment is the exact opposite of the requirement. Instead the aligment would only affect upkeep and construction/spell casting costs.

The difference in costs could be the difference in alignment. For instance if your alignment is (Nature 20, Chaos 10), the Elven Trueshot would cost (65 - 20) + (15 - (-10)) = 70% more, while if your alignment was (Nature 70, Order 15) the cost of the same unit would be modified by (65 - 70) + (15 - 15) = -5%, which means it would cost 5% less.

----------

Another effect alignment could have is in attack/defense modifiers. For instance if you are aligned towards Nature (at least Nature at 1) and attack someone with same or higher Nature alignment your attack score would receive a severe penalty (based on the difference). Attacking someone with lower Nature alignment would only give a slight penalty (also dependent on the difference). Attacking someone with Artifice alignment would give a bonus to attack based on the difference.

This would be further complicated by taking both alignments into account in the following fashion: If player A has (Nature and Chaos) while player B has (Nature and Order) the player A's penalty for attacking player B with the same (Nature) alignment would be halved (since they oppose each other in the other alignment), while the bonus from the difference between Order and Chaos would be counted fully.

If player A has (Nature and Order) and player B has (Artifice and Chaos) the difference from both alignment axis would be added together. The same would be true for penalties if both alignments are the same for the 2 players.

----------

The primary way of altering ones alignment would be through quests, the secondary could be interaction with other players (sending resources, attacking, etc.).

As for quests it could allow for more than 2 outcomes. Instead of just success and failure, it could instead be possible to choose how to complete a quest. For instance when offered to pay gold to an orc slaver to have him release some of your kin, you would have the option to pay gold, or try sending some troops instead. 

If you chose to pay gold, you could then decide to let the slaver leave, or try sending scouts and troops to take him out after the exchange. If on the other hand you chose to send troops from the beginning, you could have them attempt a sneak attack or attack in full force. Each of those choices would alter your alignment by different amounts (there could then be a different chance of failure for each option).

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
intor Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Greenhorn Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Status: Offline Points: 82	Topic: Alignment Posted: 04 Sep 2011 at 01:11
	Here is my suggestion for an alignment system in Illyriad: First, there would be two alignment axis: Order & Chaos, and Nature & Artifice (or whatever name is better) It could look like this: Nature ^ \| \| \| Chaos <-------+-------> Order \| \| \| Artifice Many units, buildings and spells would have a certain alignment requirement, i.e. Elven Trueshot could have (Nature 65, Order 15). You would always have access to everything, even if your alignment is the exact opposite of the requirement. Instead the aligment would only affect upkeep and construction/spell casting costs. The difference in costs could be the difference in alignment. For instance if your alignment is (Nature 20, Chaos 10), the Elven Trueshot would cost (65 - 20) + (15 - (-10)) = 70% more, while if your alignment was (Nature 70, Order 15) the cost of the same unit would be modified by (65 - 70) + (15 - 15) = -5%, which means it would cost 5% less. ---------- Another effect alignment could have is in attack/defense modifiers. For instance if you are aligned towards Nature (at least Nature at 1) and attack someone with same or higher Nature alignment your attack score would receive a severe penalty (based on the difference). Attacking someone with lower Nature alignment would only give a slight penalty (also dependent on the difference). Attacking someone with Artifice alignment would give a bonus to attack based on the difference. This would be further complicated by taking both alignments into account in the following fashion: If player A has (Nature and Chaos) while player B has (Nature and Order) the player A's penalty for attacking player B with the same (Nature) alignment would be halved (since they oppose each other in the other alignment), while the bonus from the difference between Order and Chaos would be counted fully. If player A has (Nature and Order) and player B has (Artifice and Chaos) the difference from both alignment axis would be added together. The same would be true for penalties if both alignments are the same for the 2 players. ---------- The primary way of altering ones alignment would be through quests, the secondary could be interaction with other players (sending resources, attacking, etc.). As for quests it could allow for more than 2 outcomes. Instead of just success and failure, it could instead be possible to choose how to complete a quest. For instance when offered to pay gold to an orc slaver to have him release some of your kin, you would have the option to pay gold, or try sending some troops instead. If you chose to pay gold, you could then decide to let the slaver leave, or try sending scouts and troops to take him out after the exchange. If on the other hand you chose to send troops from the beginning, you could have them attempt a sneak attack or attack in full force. Each of those choices would alter your alignment by different amounts (there could then be a different chance of failure for each option).