I worry a bit about the unification of badboy, relations, loyalty, etc., although my hope is that among its modifiers one finds some of the same (not only-character is aggressive, character has attacked friends, but such things as prestige, power, piety, etc.).
What seems more important to me, though, if we have this character-character system, where state-state considerations are at best secondary, is that traits have a direct and substantial influence on AI behavior.
Let's say my character, Count HoG the Luminous, has a relationship of -100 with Slargos, Chieftain of the Pagan Blood Eaters of the Bad Part of the Dark Forest in the Furthest Northeast Corner of Terra Incognita's Basement Apartment. By a shock of awry succession involving his mother being also his aunt, grandmother and uncle, he inherits a little parcel of land in civilization, near enough to mine to make war an option (assuming proximity, we can only pray, plays a decisive role in AI dynamics). Suppose that in my efforts to bring justice and peace to the land, I have invaded all my neighbors.
Good if Slargos' relationship with me has a significant role in determining whether he will invade. Hopefully, proximity, strength, goals, etc., do too, but if the objective is a character-driven game, I think all of these considerations should be filtered through a particular character's traits. Perhaps Slargos is still a bit distant, recovering from the drubbing done him by the Half-witted, Cross-Eyed Gnome-Pacifists and is focused on the Crusade or one of the very neighbors I've attacked, but if he has traits like Aggressive, Loyal (and I have attacked a friend), Chivalrous, etc., the AI ought to lean toward attacking anyway.
Likelier, if he has traits like Coward, Craven, Abandons His Friends At the First Sign of Trouble, etc., even fortuitous circumstances might not be enough to lure the AI into war.
If traits are only about penalties and bonuses, it's less a role-playing game than simply a deeper, more textured strategy game. If, on the other hand, they are the starting place for AI behavior in war, peace, event choices, priorities relationships, etc., and dynamic (there are a lot of them and they interact), well.
That would be quite a game.
What seems more important to me, though, if we have this character-character system, where state-state considerations are at best secondary, is that traits have a direct and substantial influence on AI behavior.
Let's say my character, Count HoG the Luminous, has a relationship of -100 with Slargos, Chieftain of the Pagan Blood Eaters of the Bad Part of the Dark Forest in the Furthest Northeast Corner of Terra Incognita's Basement Apartment. By a shock of awry succession involving his mother being also his aunt, grandmother and uncle, he inherits a little parcel of land in civilization, near enough to mine to make war an option (assuming proximity, we can only pray, plays a decisive role in AI dynamics). Suppose that in my efforts to bring justice and peace to the land, I have invaded all my neighbors.
Good if Slargos' relationship with me has a significant role in determining whether he will invade. Hopefully, proximity, strength, goals, etc., do too, but if the objective is a character-driven game, I think all of these considerations should be filtered through a particular character's traits. Perhaps Slargos is still a bit distant, recovering from the drubbing done him by the Half-witted, Cross-Eyed Gnome-Pacifists and is focused on the Crusade or one of the very neighbors I've attacked, but if he has traits like Aggressive, Loyal (and I have attacked a friend), Chivalrous, etc., the AI ought to lean toward attacking anyway.
Likelier, if he has traits like Coward, Craven, Abandons His Friends At the First Sign of Trouble, etc., even fortuitous circumstances might not be enough to lure the AI into war.
If traits are only about penalties and bonuses, it's less a role-playing game than simply a deeper, more textured strategy game. If, on the other hand, they are the starting place for AI behavior in war, peace, event choices, priorities relationships, etc., and dynamic (there are a lot of them and they interact), well.
That would be quite a game.