Greetings.
Today we will be focusing on a couple of new actions made available by Holy Fury: Sway and Antagonize.
This feature will allow players to have a more personal relation with other characters within diplomatic reach, giving them the chance to choose one person to Sway and one to Antagonize.
Once a target has been selected through the new buttons - which will be accessible both through the character’s window as well as by right-clicking on the character’s portrait - the player will regularly receive events giving him the opportunity to either increase or reduce the target’s Opinion of him.
Success chances when trying to Sway another character are influenced both by the player’s Diplomacy as well as by the target’s “compatibility” with your character. Trying to Sway a character with traits opposite to your own (such as Deceitful vs Honest) might prove to be a harder task than befriending somebody with whom you share some interests. On the other hand, some of the events triggered through the Sway action will give you the chance to influence the targeted character’s traits as well, thus increasing your degree of compatibility.
Additionally, you will find that different rulers have different ideas on how to best Sway their target, based on their own personality and lifestyle traits. After all, an Impaler’s idea of a good time is not the same as an Hedonist’s, and a Cruel character trying to be charming might end up presenting some questionable gifts to his target...
Some offenses are more serious than others, and if you have committed a terrible act against the target character in the past (such as, for example, torturing him), you will have a harder time Swaying him, as you’ll first need to obtain forgiveness for your past misdeeds. This can be accomplished through special events fired while Swaying a character that truly hates you. If successful, rather than gaining a positive opinion modifier, you will see the target character lose the negative opinion modifier caused by your past crime.
Antagonize works in the opposite way: its chances of success are based on Intrigue rather than Diplomacy, and the action will push your targeted character into hating you more and more, all the way to becoming your Rival.
This is not all, of course: Antagonizing a character will give you the opportunity to hurt him indirectly, destabilizing either his realm or his mind. Additionally, if your ruler is Cruel, Deceitful, or has any other wicked trait, Antagonizing will be a good way to refine his skills and maintain a good mental state.
Both Sway and Antagonize come with a large set of flavor events, providing new and varied ways to either befriend or hinder your ruler’s most and least favorite acquaintances.
It's always a bit sad when various mechanics do not interact. Eg. compatibility in swaying could interact great with sharing a Focus.
