One of the main criticism levied against Imperator is the lack of alternative playstyles. All games, in the end, revolve around painting the map your colour through military conquest. Nowhere is this apparent than when playing one of the Greek cities. Your only real option when playing as a Greek city is to expand through conquest. I do not feel this captures the essence of the Greek states very well, and I would like to propose something different.
A European Union avant le lettre.
To me the essence of the Greek cities was never conquest, but rather (con)federation, though sometimes at the point of a sword. There are plenty of league's formed by the Greek states throughout their history, with various degrees of succes. This, forming ever greater and ever closer league's, should be the point of a Greek campaign in my opinion. Through influence you should be able to get other city states to join your league, and through influence you should be able to slowly integrate the league into a single state.
Core mechanics
1) A form of diplomatic currency (call it reputation, prestige, favour, or whatever) which can be expended on diplomatic actions to form your own league, strengthen your own league, or interfere with another's league.
2) League's which are a form of solid alliances with options to integrate/reform them into ever closer states.
Diplomatic Favour
Favour would be generated through your actions. It could be a currency which can be expanded by the player on a particular target, or it could be slowly accumulating points in neighbouring states which can be expanded as soon as a threshold is reach (kind of like spy points in EU4). The former will grant more player agency and interaction, the later allows for more organic growth.
What is it used for?
Generally speaking diplomatic favour would be spent to make another state like you more, or make them like somebody else less. The end goal making them like you so much that they will join your league, preventing them from joining another's league, or breaking them off from another league.
Generating Favour
By helping other city states through military action - by helping a city state under attack from a (non-Greek) state or barbarians (you would get favour for all battles/sieges you are involved in) or by liberating them from foreign influence (end vassalisation, remove them from a foreign league, or force release them)
Through trade - the more trade routes, the more favour
By certain (republican) offices - certain offices (like that of the magistrate) could generate favour
Through diplomatic actions - bribing a foreign official could/should result in some diplomatic favour gained
But most of all through culture and religion
To really differentiate this play style from what is already in game, the main source of favour should come from cultural and religious achievements. That will truly make it something different.
Festivals
The way I envision this is for example through the Olympic Games event. Winning the Olympics should result in favour. But aside from the Olympics, you could also add the Lenaia or other cultural festivals/competitons. Winning these festivals would also grant your favour. These competitions should be based on character attributes (finesse, charisma and traits). This will also make a Greek game far more character orientated.
Great Works
You could also sponsor writers to create new works, plays, histories etc. The way I envision this is that you can sponsor characters to write new works through character interactions, their succes being dependent on their attributes (finesse, charisma and traits). Characters with high skill levels will generate better works and more favour than those with low attributes.
Great People
Aside from asking your characters to create work, you might also be able to draw famous writers, philosophers, scientists or historians to your city. This could be achieved by inviting them in from other places, but also by creating the right conditions for them to come naturally (be generated in your city rather than another one). One way would be through buildings (theatres attract writers, libraries historians, academies philosophers and scientists), but one could also think about having laws which would make your city more attractive to settle in, or having access to exotic trade goods (having access to papyrus is more attractive to historians, that sort of thing).
Or you could go the CIV6 route and have city buildings generate great people points.
The end result being that you can get, for example, Archimedes or Menander to show up in your city. This would result in favour, and they might generate some of their famous works while in your city resulting in more favour.
Holy Shrines
Having holy shrines should generate some favour, with relics increasing the favour generated. But more importantly founding new shrines, or liberating shrines, should result in a quite a bit of favour (while destroying Hellenic ones should cost you favour, but might be worth it to deprive another of their favour).
Relics
Relics should give you some favour. With some relics generating more favour than others. But most off all recovering relics should generate a lot of favour. Recovery could be through sacking a temple, but you should also be able to buy them back through money (or trade goods, or something). Relics could also be voluntarily be returned if you maintain good relations with the owning country.
Religious Festivals
I would replace omens with festivals, each festival giving favour based on relevant character (ruler, hierophant, auger) attributes (zeal, traits) as well as how much you choose to invest in the festival (a la CK2/3). You can gain favour with all cities sharing that particular diety in their pantheon.
So rather than calling for a blessing of Artemis, you organise a Laphria. You then get some options to invest money into the festival which will, together with ruler/hierophant/auger zeal and traits, result in favour. A further modifying factor could be trade goods: having access to wine will make all festivals better (especially when you organise a festival to dionysos).
Monuments
The Vitruvius patch seems to be accompanied by a monument building DLC. Since we don't have details, I can't say all that much about this. But I would say that completing and holding on to monuments should result in gaining diplomatic favour (while destroying Hellenic ones could cost you favour). With the quality of the money determining the amount of favour gained.
The could, depending on type, also generate great people points.
Spending Favour
Now I have given an overview on how to gain favour, lets see what it could be used for.
Forming League's
What a Greek playthrough should be about: forming league's.
Once you've accumulated enough favour, you can spend in on a (Greek) state to make them like you more. Then, when they like you enough, you can ask them to join your league (or form one with them).
Reforming League's
Once you have enough favour, and you are the leader of a league, you can spend your favour to institute a reform to strengthen (integrate) you league further.
Breaking up League's
Alternatively, rather than spending favour on making cities like you more, you can spend it to make certain cities like other cities less. Even to the point that they abandon the league they are currently in.
League's
So what is a league? A league is basicly a formal alliance. I haven't worked League's out in perfect detail, but overall I'd say the following
Reforms
League's should have reforms a la the HRE in EU4. Reforms could be stuff like:
- mutual trade rights (all member states can trade with eachother, should trade right be part of a future trade rework)
- Entrepots (members may only trade with the league leader)
- Army contributions (all members must contribute x-amount of troops to a combined army. The league leader chooses the general of this army [and thus who controls this army])
- Single army (the member states have to contribute all their troops to a combined army. The general is again choosen by the league leader).
- Shared treasury (all member states must pay into a shared treasury controlled by the league leader)
- Single treasury (all member states must transfer all income to the shared treasury)
- Ewiger Landfriede (no more wars between league member states)
- etc., etc..
There is probably a lot more people can come up with.
Reforming
Reforming would be a decision which can be taken. This could either be just spending favour as league leader, or a voting mechanic whereby members vote and you get to influence the way they vote by spending favour.
League Leader
The league leader can be determined a number of different ways
- rotating
- elective (spend favour to get elected)
- fixed (a reform to pass)
So what does this achieve?
Hopefully a rather different playing experience which does not revolve around outright conquest. You have various ways to generate resources you can spend to slowly expand through diplomatic means rather than conquest.
Expandability
This system, while very focussed on the Greeks, could be implemented for different regions/cultures/states as well. In fact, I think it can form the bases for redoing the entire diplomatic game. But above all, I feel it is very well suited for barbarian tribes. With some changes could be very suitable for forming tribal federations (for example by gaining favour by conquest or colonisation).
A European Union avant le lettre.
To me the essence of the Greek cities was never conquest, but rather (con)federation, though sometimes at the point of a sword. There are plenty of league's formed by the Greek states throughout their history, with various degrees of succes. This, forming ever greater and ever closer league's, should be the point of a Greek campaign in my opinion. Through influence you should be able to get other city states to join your league, and through influence you should be able to slowly integrate the league into a single state.
Core mechanics
1) A form of diplomatic currency (call it reputation, prestige, favour, or whatever) which can be expended on diplomatic actions to form your own league, strengthen your own league, or interfere with another's league.
2) League's which are a form of solid alliances with options to integrate/reform them into ever closer states.
Diplomatic Favour
Favour would be generated through your actions. It could be a currency which can be expanded by the player on a particular target, or it could be slowly accumulating points in neighbouring states which can be expanded as soon as a threshold is reach (kind of like spy points in EU4). The former will grant more player agency and interaction, the later allows for more organic growth.
What is it used for?
Generally speaking diplomatic favour would be spent to make another state like you more, or make them like somebody else less. The end goal making them like you so much that they will join your league, preventing them from joining another's league, or breaking them off from another league.
Generating Favour
By helping other city states through military action - by helping a city state under attack from a (non-Greek) state or barbarians (you would get favour for all battles/sieges you are involved in) or by liberating them from foreign influence (end vassalisation, remove them from a foreign league, or force release them)
Through trade - the more trade routes, the more favour
By certain (republican) offices - certain offices (like that of the magistrate) could generate favour
Through diplomatic actions - bribing a foreign official could/should result in some diplomatic favour gained
But most of all through culture and religion
To really differentiate this play style from what is already in game, the main source of favour should come from cultural and religious achievements. That will truly make it something different.
Festivals
The way I envision this is for example through the Olympic Games event. Winning the Olympics should result in favour. But aside from the Olympics, you could also add the Lenaia or other cultural festivals/competitons. Winning these festivals would also grant your favour. These competitions should be based on character attributes (finesse, charisma and traits). This will also make a Greek game far more character orientated.
Great Works
You could also sponsor writers to create new works, plays, histories etc. The way I envision this is that you can sponsor characters to write new works through character interactions, their succes being dependent on their attributes (finesse, charisma and traits). Characters with high skill levels will generate better works and more favour than those with low attributes.
Great People
Aside from asking your characters to create work, you might also be able to draw famous writers, philosophers, scientists or historians to your city. This could be achieved by inviting them in from other places, but also by creating the right conditions for them to come naturally (be generated in your city rather than another one). One way would be through buildings (theatres attract writers, libraries historians, academies philosophers and scientists), but one could also think about having laws which would make your city more attractive to settle in, or having access to exotic trade goods (having access to papyrus is more attractive to historians, that sort of thing).
Or you could go the CIV6 route and have city buildings generate great people points.
The end result being that you can get, for example, Archimedes or Menander to show up in your city. This would result in favour, and they might generate some of their famous works while in your city resulting in more favour.
Holy Shrines
Having holy shrines should generate some favour, with relics increasing the favour generated. But more importantly founding new shrines, or liberating shrines, should result in a quite a bit of favour (while destroying Hellenic ones should cost you favour, but might be worth it to deprive another of their favour).
Relics
Relics should give you some favour. With some relics generating more favour than others. But most off all recovering relics should generate a lot of favour. Recovery could be through sacking a temple, but you should also be able to buy them back through money (or trade goods, or something). Relics could also be voluntarily be returned if you maintain good relations with the owning country.
Religious Festivals
I would replace omens with festivals, each festival giving favour based on relevant character (ruler, hierophant, auger) attributes (zeal, traits) as well as how much you choose to invest in the festival (a la CK2/3). You can gain favour with all cities sharing that particular diety in their pantheon.
So rather than calling for a blessing of Artemis, you organise a Laphria. You then get some options to invest money into the festival which will, together with ruler/hierophant/auger zeal and traits, result in favour. A further modifying factor could be trade goods: having access to wine will make all festivals better (especially when you organise a festival to dionysos).
Monuments
The Vitruvius patch seems to be accompanied by a monument building DLC. Since we don't have details, I can't say all that much about this. But I would say that completing and holding on to monuments should result in gaining diplomatic favour (while destroying Hellenic ones could cost you favour). With the quality of the money determining the amount of favour gained.
The could, depending on type, also generate great people points.
Spending Favour
Now I have given an overview on how to gain favour, lets see what it could be used for.
Forming League's
What a Greek playthrough should be about: forming league's.
Once you've accumulated enough favour, you can spend in on a (Greek) state to make them like you more. Then, when they like you enough, you can ask them to join your league (or form one with them).
Reforming League's
Once you have enough favour, and you are the leader of a league, you can spend your favour to institute a reform to strengthen (integrate) you league further.
Breaking up League's
Alternatively, rather than spending favour on making cities like you more, you can spend it to make certain cities like other cities less. Even to the point that they abandon the league they are currently in.
League's
So what is a league? A league is basicly a formal alliance. I haven't worked League's out in perfect detail, but overall I'd say the following
Reforms
League's should have reforms a la the HRE in EU4. Reforms could be stuff like:
- mutual trade rights (all member states can trade with eachother, should trade right be part of a future trade rework)
- Entrepots (members may only trade with the league leader)
- Army contributions (all members must contribute x-amount of troops to a combined army. The league leader chooses the general of this army [and thus who controls this army])
- Single army (the member states have to contribute all their troops to a combined army. The general is again choosen by the league leader).
- Shared treasury (all member states must pay into a shared treasury controlled by the league leader)
- Single treasury (all member states must transfer all income to the shared treasury)
- Ewiger Landfriede (no more wars between league member states)
- etc., etc..
There is probably a lot more people can come up with.
Reforming
Reforming would be a decision which can be taken. This could either be just spending favour as league leader, or a voting mechanic whereby members vote and you get to influence the way they vote by spending favour.
League Leader
The league leader can be determined a number of different ways
- rotating
- elective (spend favour to get elected)
- fixed (a reform to pass)
So what does this achieve?
Hopefully a rather different playing experience which does not revolve around outright conquest. You have various ways to generate resources you can spend to slowly expand through diplomatic means rather than conquest.
Expandability
This system, while very focussed on the Greeks, could be implemented for different regions/cultures/states as well. In fact, I think it can form the bases for redoing the entire diplomatic game. But above all, I feel it is very well suited for barbarian tribes. With some changes could be very suitable for forming tribal federations (for example by gaining favour by conquest or colonisation).
- 11
- 1