While I can’t speak for Geldar, I’ll compare the politics between Parliament and SOTS.
Parliament of Knives
Parliament, everybody has ulterior motives and something wrong with them.
- Corliss is undoing the policies of the past prince and is obviously hiding something but she’s your sire and the person currently in charge. She can make things very bad for you, do you really want to go against her?
- The Anarchs are wrecking havoc across the city but they warn you about Corliss, they know something you don’t and they’re trying their best to get you on their side (even if their best is holding you at gunpoint).
- The prince is absolutely vile and psychotic, he runs experiments on mortals for Christ sake. However, out of everybody I mentioned, he is the one can run Ottawa to prosperity. He is the most capable person here, there is no denying that. Would you let someone regain power if they were the best person for the job? Even someone as monstrous as Arundel?
Everybody has their own pros and cons, it’s like real politics. It is the readers job to piece together who is best for Ottawa. Nobody is perfect, but you need to choose somebody. The rest aren’t going to like who you choose, so you have to tread carefully and think. Parliament does the politics well in who do I choose? Because if you don’t choose right, you’re gonna find yourself staked to the roof of an apartment building and turning to ash next sunrise.
Sins of the Sires
Sins of the sires doesn’t really have politics! At least meaningful ones. The reader doesn’t choose somebody to lead like they do in Parliament or even Night Road. They’re forced into doing things other people tell them like their “sire” or a random lady who knows our sire. Parliament MC was able to go behind their sires back, make alliances, change their position in Ottawa. Sins MC is pretty much screwed cause they have little opportunities to do what they want, go talk to the prince and get on his good side? No. Ally with anybody else? No. It’s, “go dispose of this dead body and then go kill this guy.”. Sure, MC doesn’t have to kill the guy but still, that doesn’t really get them anywhere.
- The prince is a jackdoodle who nobody likes. He’s a misogynist, nobody knows what he does for Athens cause you only see him twice in the book. He has no power or character to him whatsoever.
- The sheriff who blackmails you? You don’t see him again in the game. So that was for nothing.
- Gar? He doesn’t do anything! He’s not going to change anything! I saved him and guess what, he went to god-knows-where and left Athens.
- Markos? He doesn’t do anything either, sure he tries to get you to kill Gar but for what? I didn’t and off he goes out of Athens too.
- Anybody else, I can’t remember them. The lady who Markos sides with? I haven’t even met her until three-quarters into the book. Who are you?
Basically, nobody in Sins of the Sires is worth anything. They don’t show you why they’re the best fit for Athens. You can’t even choose who to side with cause MC can’t go ring up the Prince or anyone else and try to gain power, instead they’re told to get rid of a dead body from Markos (And like I said, choosing not to kill Gar doesn’t do much.), some characters just pop into existence and say “I’m here now.” like the sheriff and then disappear for the rest of the game, there is a extreme lack of politics, there is nobody to side with, at all. It’s very hard to explain with my rambling so the simplest I can put it is "You can’t side with anyone, there are no factions or anything and even then, they all have no reasons to show that “Hey, I should be the one you should be helping”.
So essentially, Parliament has factions you actually need to think about siding with, Sins of the Sires has none whatsoever. That is as simple of an explanation as I can make it.