Tuesday, September 18, 2018

SKM Development: The Turn part 3!

Morale..



ACKS had a doughty morale system with something like 9 tiers to it. Each of these tiers affected production.

That’s great for them. I guess it’s important to know if a group is Stalwart or Loyal, or Apathetic. In SKM we want some simplicity, especially when we have to build our spreadsheet at the end of the day. And I don’t want to have to create subsheets for tracking a thousand subcategories on different areas.

Therefore, this one’s going to be a simple system.

First, we only have four categories instead of nine. Loyal, Stable, Unstable, Rebellious.

Loyal Hexes are hexes that will stand by their leader through thick and thin (at least for a while). The capital always starts off Loyal. Loyalty’s mechanical effect is that you can call on the hex to grant you a major boon. Essentially, they’ll work overtime and give you quadruple their output for a turn.  Cashing in this boon however, knocks them down to Stable.   You can only get hexes TO Loyal by event, or by having 24 months with only positively resolved events for the hex, during which you cannot raise troops from the hex, and the hex must remain fed.

Stable hexes are, well, what you want your hexes to be. They don’t cause trouble. They produce their material. They pay taxes.

Unstable hexes are a problem. Every month, the hex gets a roll on the DM’s ‘unstable hex’ table. This means increased chances for bandit activity, insurrection, accidents, crime, and so on. Stuff that makes the hex a pain in the butt. You become unstable if you go unfed, if your troops are raised for too long, if the ruler is being a jerk to you, or based on event. Being unfed for six months or having disadvantageous event resolution, incurs a cumulative chance for the hex sinking into rebellion.

Rebellious hexes are no longer under the ruler’s control and are in open rebellion against him. You get no resources from them until you bring them back to heel.  A hex that’s conquered and brought back from rebellious, remains unstable for 24 months.

 You don’t need to survey the morale. You just know. It’s a simplification. Deal with it.

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