Faction Affinity

[MugenNoKensen]

I've spent hours on end trying to increase the '-29' affinity of the major clans (Holy Empire, Dead Cat, United Cities, Imperials, Free Traders and the Trader's Guild) to the positive end but it seems to increase negatively over time. Such as, in one instance I would start killing off the guards stationed outside, then would immediately heal them which would change the affinity for about 20 seconds and then again everyone would be hostile. I have tried this on Dust Bandits and somehow have got a +5 affinity with them

So what I am suggesting is there should be some kind of redemption or toll (E.g:time in jail or a fine penalty or some sort of offering) that resets or at least, increase the affinity for a specific clan. Because, as it stands now, clan affinity is increasingly hard to raise. There should be a neutral 'judge' like a sort of "Oswald of Carim" which can remove your penalties with other clans.

Sorry if this topic has already been posted

[arthoz]

Was doing some reading of biographies about people who are from different opposing faction but on personal level are friendly with each other and it got me thinking. Faction affinity isn't about how one person's feeling but it is the policy of the masses. When a country is at war with another, no amount of personal act of kindness would likely do much change. However a person would still be entitled to his or her own feelings.

So I believe it would be illogical to make a faction neutral or friendly towards you just by patching and healing defeated soldiers. Even rescuing captured enemy should not do much different. However the people that was the object of your kindness is by nature entitled to repay your kindness. This sort of organizational level and personal level faction relation was best implemented by Mount&Blade Warband.

You have different level of relationship with lords and ladies of the realm. Even the king himself having a high negative relation with you won't attack you outright on sight. However if your relationship with a faction is at war, any lords no matter how friendly they are with you will still attack you out of their duty to the organization. Some lord will attack without mercy while others out of friendship will either give you chance to retreat or peacefully surrender.

This sort of dynamic could be added if the factions in kenshi are organized into smaller groups led by a figurehead npc (who could even be recruited). In battle, the action of treating and healing a defeated enemy soldiers will make them neutral until a certain time we go beyond their range of detection (not sure the dynamic of population in kenshi, maybe after they are de-spawned and re-spawned to replace their stolen equips)

So in a huge non-stop battle or siege this will give the player more incentive to act kindly towards enemy units because once they healed they won't join any presently attacking unit. Trust me, I had a long bloody battle with patrols of Holy Orders coming in waves one after another (I was an idiot who just stood and wait for my unit to wake up instead of picking them up and flee). It's very-very-very annoying fighting a new group of enemy and suddenly the group you've just defeated got up and joined the fight. It was glorious but I was just lucky none of my people were killed.




I know, we could just ask for the function to kill fallen enemy...but still it could be made as a quest or add more variety to the game. For example, heal a number of enemy unit defeated in battle and you could unlock a hidden tech tree or hidden quest. Could even unexpectedly receive request of peace from enemy or friendship from faction who thinks you are acting benevolently.

Hoho...maybe with stealth and assassination implemented, committing assassination and stealth mission could be the only secret way to gain respect and friendship of the ninjas.




Npc unique to the faction might be allowed to react differently based on the history of their relationship with the player. Perhaps by completing or refusing/failing quest or other quest related events, etc, would change their relation lvl with the player faction. For example in combat a friendly group would easily become neutral or retreat from combat while vengeful enemies get a bloodlust trait (or maybe if no such thing is implemented, they get extra increase of endurence/warrior spirit).

A personal enemy will find any opportunity available to start a fight so that a player should be careful even when visiting an allied city. (eg demand money or require player to unequip unit's weapon/armour, walk in the city naked, etc)

Meanwhile relationship with faction should only change through factional event like maybe defeat a certain limit of their army, capture a number of outpost or city, complete a quest, diplomatic exchanges like Civ or Total War, or just simply talk to their leader.



But I do believe some faction could still change their affinity towards you by healing them because they are in a way a faction without any formally structured organization like bandits, cannibals and ninjas