LE Skyrim + mechanics from Crusder Kinds and AC to get non-intrusive RTS

[flupo42]

Main idea - city control combined with assigning followers missions outside the province that will have indirect impact on Skyrim game world, in regards to ownership of keeps/farms/stables/other assets and tax revenue from these, number/equipment of guard mercenaries stationed at such assets. To result in an RTS mechanic that would be driven entirely through dialogue options with servants and followers.

 

Stealing a basic mechanic from Crusader Kings 2 - events happen in game world that the player is told about, they are presented with choices on how to handle. Or they can talk to one of their followers/agents to "generate" an event. Now steal the mechanic of sending people on missions outside the gaming zone from Assassin's Creed. Instead of letting our housecarls warm our benches with their shapely rears, lets tell them to arm themselves and go do something useful for us outside of Skyrim. Let that "something useful" have an impact on number/quality of friendly guards that now appear at locations we visit...

 

I realize that the scope of this idea is daunting - but perhaps with enough interest from modders, something workable can be done in small increments.

 

1. Let the player in Skyrim "assume control" over one of the cities. Only one. By assume control I mean he gets to sit on that chair, and give orders to advisers. The control interface would ideally be entirely through dialogues.

 

2. Now lets assume that Emperor overlooking Skyrim politics would prevent overt hostile actions if one of the cities attempted to take control over the province by force. Also, being a ruler of a city, it would be unseemly for the player to negotiate in person for little things like ownership of a mill, or who gets to collect taxes at a crossing personally. But player can delegate.

 

3. Add a dynamic by which you can send your followers as agents to act on your behalf "outside" the province of Skyrim (like Assassin's Creed did with your hired assassins, except you could assign them more missions then just kill people). You could for example have a follower that is specializing in persuasion/trade assigned to establish a trade relationship of one of the businesses in your city with a commercial company in another province - skills of the follower impact chance of success. Another follower could be sent out to train in Bard's College and then sent outside the province to gather information in taverns by working as a travelling bard. Have thief followers steal documents or place false evidence on rival factions. Another might recruit/train mercenaries that can be assigned to patrol/protect farms/taverns/mills outside the city from bandits/enemy agents/monsters. Have threats attack such holdings, and resolved automatically based on threat kind and level vs. protections afforded to the place. Have spies sometimes provide warning of threats giving the player an opportunity to show up at right time and place to participate. Allow recruiting mercenary and bandit forces to hit your rivals in same way - don't allow one's character to participate directly in offensive actions due to his/her notoriety and the political impact it would have it he/she were spotted.

 

4. The idea is that by talking to your followers and servants in your city hold, you could assign them time based missions that would indirectly have impact on you influence as a lord in Skyrim. The sort of impact that personal intervention of your character with his sword and magic couldn't achieve by itself - political influence that is expressed in ownership of structures outside your own city and/or tithes and revenue shares from businesses/structures of other city lords. And presence of armed patrols and guards on your roads and sites of interests.

 

5. Allow player to send their followers to schools for training of particular skills/perks. Or take them on adventures with you, give them roles to fill and let them "train" their skills/perks by adventuring with you. For example - you tell a follower that you want them to be an archer, use light armour and if the enemy closes, use illusion spells to hide. They will arm themselves from your armoury according to specifics. Do not allow inventory control, and do not allow these settings to change outside of town (mid-adventure). Then, based on time spent with player, number/levels of enemies killed, chests opened, dungeons cleared, quests completed let them gradually grow in their skills as directed via dialogue options. Give house carls something to do finally - instead Lydia sitting on her ass in Whiterun, she could be helping out a potentially friendly alchemist association in Cyrodil that would result in timed shipments of healing potions for your guards to use...

 

6. Have other factions generate events based on your conduct - rivals hire bandits to hit your holdings, win/lose grants from emperor for land (if for example one lord failed to generate proper amount of taxes, or protect a holding, it might get transferred to another), send assassins after your own agents...

 

And overall we get an RTS that is entirely optional, fits within original Skyrim game mechanics and can get quite complicated by gradual increments as missons/impacts get added.