Factions

Brief
Within the kingdom there are multiple factions that hold different positions of power. Each faction has different opinions of the other factions, causing disagreements and alliances with each group.

More Information
Nearly every character within the branching tree will be loyal to a specific faction:

·        Army

·        Nobles

·        Church

·        Public

·        Foreign Influencers Factions will have a different coloured outline border to help the player to identify each character and what faction they are in. Each of these factions will have different morals and values that each character will follow by, with minor differences depending on specific characters within the faction. Faction values and morals will often conflict with each-other adding an extra challenge for the King to try and please everyone in the tree. Each faction will have four hierarchies of power. The highest character in the tree will have the most powerful role within the faction, and characters below will have weaker roles depending on their order in the tree. These hierarchies correspond to how much influence a character has over their own faction and other factions. If one faction has characters at equal positions within the tree, the original highest character will maintain their role as the most powerful and the character that has moved up will maintain the second most powerful role. If too many people within the same faction are high up in the political tree, it can cause a divide within the faction itself and could pose a threat to the King’s control. Factions will be most loyal to each other, however, depending on the characters within the factions there can be inter-faction betrayals to help them move up the political ladder. Factions will often have conflicts with each other or even have alliances for periods of game time. These larger events will affect lower scale events and how other characters interact with each other in the tree.

Army: The King’s army is constantly hungry for war and power. They have no belief in diplomacy and peace, instead following the ideology that if you hit things hard enough, they will eventually obey. However, Knights within the army will also follow the strict code of chivalry making them more honourable than most within the Kingdom. The army will often disagree with the church as both factions have very different morals and values. However, crusades can unite the factions making a very powerful force.

Nobles:

Nobles are selfish and enjoy a decadent and privileged life while the rest of the Kingdom starves. They are often loyal to the king as he is seen as one of “them”. Nobles can also be very treacherous and may attempt coups with other factions to overthrow the King. This faction can be very dangerous if left to its own devices and must be controlled. Most Nobles will often be anxious to gain favour with the King meaning that the player must be careful and look at their true motives behind their actions. The Nobles will often clash with the Public as their lifestyles contrast so much. These conflicts will often arise when the King must decide through events how he is going to allocate resources.

Church:

The church has a lot of power over the kingdom. They force the people to follow their religion and will smite anyone who disobeys their laws. The church, however, has much less power when negotiating with the king, as it is believed that the King was chosen by Eiya, making it hard to go against their own beliefs if they disagree with the King. The Church will also have conflict or create alliances with foreign influencers depending on what religion their Kingdom follows.

Public:

The general populace suffers from severe poverty in Castle Briar. Most being poor farmers struggling to get from day to day. The King must create a balance between treating them well enough, so they don’t all die or rebel, and keeping them healthy enough to be happy and keep them producing resources. Giving them too much power is also dangerous as they can also overthrow the king. The public usually has very simple agendas and are quite a black and white faction, however, can be very dangerous if the balance tips.

Foreign Influencers:

Much like Nobles, the influencers are often born into rich families with lavish lifestyles. They often have much more ambitious political missions than just Castle Briar and may try to use it as a stepping stone to gain even more power. The King should always know that these characters are never completely loyal to the King and will be constantly looking for ways to take power. However, they also have lots of power from their own Kingdoms which can make them very useful if the King befriends them. Foreign Influencers may conflict with Castle Briars nobles as they are of equal social class creating a competitive environment amongst the political ladder.

Written By
Thomas Crowe, 1701698