• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

CK2 Dev Diary #99 - Do you like me yet?


Greetings.

Today we will be focusing on a couple of new actions made available by Holy Fury: Sway and Antagonize.

20180730083611_1.jpg


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...


20180730084001_1.jpg


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.


20180730084719_1.jpg


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.
 
Neat. Can Antagonized targets be provoked into foolish decisions, such as declaring unwinnable wars? Can military alliances or non-aggression pacts be formed via close friendships that result from Sway?

Further, is it possible to Sway a character you *don’t* like with the intention of deceiving, manipulating, or otherwise harming him or her? This is a game of duplicitous murder and intrigue, after all...
 
Last edited:
Hmm, what will then be of your Chancellors job to raise opinions? Will that still work as usual? Cause to me it seems to do a bit of the same really.
And I can't really figure out why I would want to antagonize someone and make them my rival? Who would you do against? Your Liege, your vassal, or a potential enemy ruler?
 
Sway my favourite vassal into being my best friend while antagonizing my most powerful vassal into hating my guts and rising in revolt so i can revoke his titles.

Neat !
 
Hmm, what will then be of your Chancellors job to raise opinions? Will that still work as usual? Cause to me it seems to do a bit of the same really.

The Chancellor's action gives only a temporary boost, and it isn't related to your skills. So if you only want to get one thing from someone, or if your character traits make him incompatible for swaying, then you sent your trust Chancellor on a Summer vacation to Scottish Highlands.

And I can't really figure out why I would want to antagonize someone and make them my rival? Who would you do against? Your Liege, your vassal, or a potential enemy ruler?

The answer is in Silfae's post: antagonizing also allows you to hurt him. And Rivalry itself also opens new possibilities, like befriending his rivals, making him more likely to rebel if he is a powerful vassal, or challenging him to a duel.
 
Last edited:
This would be a really nice addition, as long as it is balanced well.

By the way, now that you seem to have explained all major features and all the map changes are known, how about a release date? Because we can't wait.
 
This would be a really nice addition, as long as it is balanced well.

By the way, now that you seem to have explained all major features and all the map changes are known, how about a release date? Because we can't wait.

Coronations are Sainthoods have yet to be explained, and those are more major features than this one.
 
What kind of defense will players have against Antagonize? Will we be able to react, or will we be passive recipients, like with Slander?
 
Do you sway people in foreign realms the same as people in your court? Is it sort of time-weighted like Seducing?

Because sometimes CK2 feels a little bit too much like medieval Facebook. Why would a random count from Bohemia be able to sway the King of England (within diplomatic range)?
 
Neat. Can Antagonized targets be provoked into foolish decisions, such as declaring unwinnable wars?
Antagonizing while having high intrigue can unlock some special decisions that might result in Antagonized characters (and their realm, if they have one) getting unstable, which might result indirectly in foolish decisions.

Further, is it possible to Sway a character you *don’t* like with the intention of manipulating him or her? This is a game of duplicitous murder and intrigue, after all...
Intent is not explicit when Swaying, it is perfectly fine to Sway a character that your ruler doesn't like in the hopes of getting something out of him once he has a high enough opinion of you.

What kind of defense will players have against Antagonize? Will we be able to react, or will we be passive recipients, like with Slander?
Yes, the targets of both Sway and Antagonize have usually multiple options to react to the attempts of the ruler using the action against them. For Antagonize specifically high intrigue is usually what unlocks special counter-Antagonize options, as well as some other traits (such as Paranoid), depending on the event you are receiving.
 
In another thought, would it be possible to allow people with higher diplomacy to Sway more people at once? Through modding, perhaps? And likewise with Intrigue and antagonise?

Through modding it should be possible, but the feature itself in vanilla limits the action to just one target for Swaying and one target for Antagonizing.