OK, on the theory that eating an elephant happens a bite at a time, I’ll start replying to @WulfyK’s suggestions for Ch 2… and then catch up on some more recent questions.
Can you present the notes on demographics and economy of rim square?
Afraid not. They aren’t limited to Rim Square – they’re notes on the Hegemony, which have implications for Rim Square, and they contain way too many spoilers for later gameplay around trying to rebuild the economy (with whatever degree of blood sacrifice you deem necessary). Also, I’ve not quite finished them.
But when the model is working, I’ll let you know, and answer any “headscratcher” questions that your character would know the answer to.
In rewriting the banditry missions, I’ll add as much as I have to and no more. So I’ll only add a Rations stat if the gameplay really requires it; frankly, there’s already a bit more going on in the stats screen than I think is ideal. And the “unlucky” handicap will take no less time to code in just because I’m making other changes to Ch 2. It would require lots of extra code not just in Ch 2 but in all the games to follow. So no, I’m afraid I’m sticking with a simple low stat as the handicap, rather than the amazing customizable weaknesses that add so much fun (and infernal coding complexity) to @JimD’s WiP.
And starting with the numbered questions:
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a. I agree, good call.
b. The expectations bandits have of their leader are different when that leader chooses to take point on a raid rather than delegate.
c. The Owlscap raid is a case where theurgy won’t win it for you – in contrast to many other raids, there’s no simple tactic available to a COM1 INT2 character which can have a decisive impact. But I suppose I should allow readers to burn blood/lives in finding that out for themselves.
d. I can see the appeal of that; they are quite different raids, though, and I’m not sure intel gathered in one would have much relevance to the other.
e. Your cred with merchants (which is what affects the relationship with Alaine) is hurt much more by raiding them where they live than by picking off a caravan or two in the passes. Especially if you’re merciful to the fellow you raid. -
a. I agree that robbing the helot barns shouldn’t remove the possibility to raid noble barns; I’ll change that.
b. For simplicity’s sake, I don’t want to write traitor-hunting into the raids.
c. Hmmm. The reason I’d not written a yeoman option is that there aren’t “yeoman barns” in the Rim – there are little individual yeomen freeholdings where near-subsistence farmers save up just enough grain in the attics of their houses to get their families of (avg) 5 through the winter. They’d be devastated by the loss of their grain in a way the helots aren’t; and trying to get enough to feed 200-300 bandits by stealing for 5 at a time means lots of raids, lots of exposure, lots of effort expended, in a way that the big barns don’t. I could give you the option, nonetheless.
Jumping to more recent discussions, both Wulfy and @Sneaks’ last posts are right: the Xaos-lands are incredibly dangerous (and Sneaks has correctly read what I meant to convey through Ciels and the MC’s reaction to Bleys’ wife fleeing there), but it’s thinkable to explore them. Your character wouldn’t expect to die the second you crossed the Ward; you’d expect to die the second the first Xaos-storm hit you, and from the talk of people who’ve seen a Ward, those happen frequently and affect large spaces. You’ve no idea whether it’s possible to predict or avoid them. You do know that the most vile and desperate people in the Hegemony flee across the Wards to escape Harrowing, so if any of them survive, you’d likely find yourself in unpleasant company.
@57Faults, thanks, and really glad you’ve enjoyed the game! The current version has a built-in save after Ch 1, so you don’t have to repeat all of that if you want to try other banditry options; I take it you’d like the option to save elsewhere, too?
At the moment, the only in-game purchase I’m envisioning is the chance to avoid taking a low stat, for 0.99. I’ll see with the CoGsters whether it’s possible to pay a higher price up front for a weakness-free game; I know some people dislike the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed by an IAP in game.
And I don’t think Breden would be particularly attracted to the idea of a three-way relationship. You certainly wouldn’t get it as a prize for picking high charisma; you’d need to actually find a way to ask. [Major spoilers for 17 year-old Kevin Smith movie behind the cut]