How do we think dynastic cycles will be handled

[AlexPhantom]

The dev diary stated this:
"The fate of the imperial dynasties follows a cyclical pattern, reflecting historical eras of stability and eras of chaos. Players will struggle to maintain the Mandate of Heaven and prove that they are the right choice to navigate the empire through treacherous waters."

What are your ideas on how this mechanic will work?

Personally I think it will be inspired by the Chinese mechanics in Jade Dragon, in my vision there are different stages in which the empire can get into: prosperity, rebellion, civil war, etc.
My only doubt would be if these stages would be reactive, that is to say that they start depending on your actions and those of all the characters of the empire, or they would be proactive, that your empire is well and can start an era of unrest out of nowhere. Or maybe a mix of both, some reactive and some proactive stages.

 

[DeanTheDull]

A struggle system, but with the primary identifiers being more along the lines of the Dynasty (or House) on top of the empire vs everyone else, rather than religion or cultures.

The struggle in turn can focus on a dominant cycle (rise - peak - fall - chaos), but with the Struggle's 'choice' being either 'progress' or 'remain in current cycle.' So you can't reverse the cycle- you can't go from fall to peak- but you *can* indefinitely extend the current phase.

So really, the player / mandate goal is to get the mandate, benefit from the rise and peak phases, stay at peak or at least fall as long as possible, and then eventually confront the chaos before the next mandate holder rises.

In each phase, different bonuses for the various categories of actors. Generally the best buffs for the holder of the mandate are in the Risse and Peak. Fall is preferable to chaos, but has increasing vulnerabilities.

 

[FondMemberofSociety]

I am oftentimes confused about this notion that the cycle of good rule and chaos could be divided into "stages" or "phases" when the rise and fall of dynasties was, in context of time, quite a random affair.

 

[Carcossa Castile]

Although affected by a multifold of factors, the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties roughly correlate with climate change. When it turns cold, agricultural production will decline, weakening the empire's economic basis and leading to widespread peasant revolts, while nomads tend to migrate southwards and invade the empire's border.

This can probably interact with the steppe climate system, which will be added in the steppe update.

 

[GhostDanny]

I am oftentimes confused about this notion that the cycle of good rule and chaos could be divided into "stages" or "phases" when the rise and fall of dynasties was, in context of time, quite a random affair.
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So if it's a random affair, I could see it just stays randomly determined in game by what ever the AI is doing.
Keeps the game a bit more interesting. ^^

Although hopefully not like how the AI does the Byzantine successions...

 

[FondMemberofSociety]

So if it's a random affair, I could see it just stays randomly determined in game by what ever the AI is doing.
Keeps the game a bit more interesting. ^^

Although hopefully not like how the AI does the Byzantine successions...

Since Pdox doesn't do random climate wobbles for CK3, functionally despite @Carcossa Castile 's post, dynastic cycles should be causeless random in-game.