Greetings warriors of Calradia!
Medieval
kingdoms were fraught with internal power struggles, and in
many instances, the most powerful people in a realm didn’t sit
directly on the throne. Instead, they wielded their influence
to shape the kingdom in their image or changed the course of
history completely by throwing their weight behind sweeping
changes that eroded the power of those above them.
Bannerlord’s kingdom decision system is a solution that allows
us to represent these kinds of internal politics, leading to a
more dynamic sandbox that evolves and changes throughout a
playthrough as clans rise and fall. In previous blogs, we
briefly touched on the subject of decision making, however,
the rabbit hole goes a lot deeper, and so, in this week’s
blog, we will be expanding on this topic by discussing how
decisions are brought forward, and the outcomes and
consequences of voting.
Kingdom decisions come in
various types. Kingdoms may have to make decisions on which
policies to enact as well as things like who will get a newly
captured fief. In these cases, while the ruler makes the
ultimate decision, all clans in the kingdom get to have their
say by supporting one or the other choice by putting their
influence behind one of the options.
When clan AI evaluates whether to put their
weight behind a proposal, it will consider a number of
factors:
- Interest in the outcome of a proposal: A clan will, of course, consider if the proposal is to its benefit.
- Available influence: Generally, a clan will be less likely to use influence to affect a decision if doing so will deplete its influence.
- The chance/cost to succeed: Clans will be unlikely to waste influence to support a lost cause.
- Time since the last vote.
- Relationship with sponsors: A clan may be more likely to support a proposal if it is on good terms with the sponsor. Conversely, they may reject if they hate the sponsor and want to spite them.
General Decision Proposal
Before a
clan leader can make a proposal, there is a check to see how
much time has passed since the previous vote. This is done to
help ensure that the system doesn’t become too overwhelming or
disruptive for the player, nor create too much instability
within a faction. If a sufficient amount of time has passed
since the last vote, a decision type is selected randomly,
albeit with weighted probabilities.
These types
are:
- Kingdom Laws / Policies
- War / Peace decisions
- Annexation
- Clan expulsion
The system then checks if a clan has enough influence to
propose and vote on the decision type, with varying costs per
type. Once a decision has been selected, it is evaluated by
the clan in question. This evaluation stage is partially
unique, as the clan leaders determine their interest
independently for each decision type, and with varying
factors. If there is no interest in a decision, the evaluation
ends without any further steps. However, if there is an
interest in a decision, this represents value to the clan
leader. This value is reviewed together with the chance that
the proposal will succeed and the available influence.
Sponsors
If a proposal is
made, the respective clan leader becomes the sponsor of the
kingdom decision. Depending on the decision type, an
opposition sponsor is then decided. In the case of annexation
or expulsion, naturally, the opposition will be the clan
leader that the action is targeted against. However, with
kingdom policies and diplomatic actions, similar checks to
those used to select the sponsor take place to determine the
opposition.
Every decision has at least one
sponsor and opposition sponsor. Some decisions, such as the
distribution of fiefs, may have more. Supporters (other clan
leaders) then vote in favour of their chosen sponsor. Once a
vote is cast, a supporter gains relationship with the sponsor
they vote in favour of, while losing relationship with the
other(s). 
The Ruler’s Vote
Of
course, Bannerlord’s decision system represents politics in a
feudal kingdom rather than democracy, and therefore the ruler
has the ultimate word. However, in order to overrule a
decision, the ruler needs to spend influence that is
equivalent to the difference between the majority and minority
vote. Also, this does risk drawing the ire of their vassals.
Consequently, the more support a decision enjoys, the more
expensive it becomes to change it. Similarly, if there is a
tie, the ruler can freely decide on whether they want to pass
or reject the decision. 
In the end, we feel that Bannerlord’s kingdom
decision system goes a long way in helping to represent the
dynamics and power struggles that were at the forefront of
feudal kingdoms among the ranks of the nobility. It creates an
additional strategic layer to the game that wise players can
bend and subvert to achieve their own goals. Finally, it
presents players with fresh challenges to assess and overcome
throughout their playthrough as they rise through the ranks
and attempt to cement their position among the ruling elite.
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