Tribe/Family/Dynasty

[Slaad]

Just a few simple ideas, I know some of these have been brought up in the past. I just thought I would add a simplistic take on the idea.

I think an integral and incremental part of survival is starting a family and eventually a tribe. Not to mention that in a post-apocalyptic world with sanity elements, restarting civilization and social aspects are not unusual in those settings.

Firstly, inviting/luring an NPC (lone survivor) to live in your established home would be a good way to share a bit of the burden and restore sanity via social interaction.

Second, having a child and starting a family would be a great method of "respawning" in ironman mode.

Last, starting a tribe in an effort to restore civilization to a post-apocalyptic world could be a main goal of the "story".

Dealing with the needs of fellow survivors and enlisting their aid with tasks would be a great way to extend the "end game".

It shouldn't be easy. You should need a certain amount of progress before lone survivors would agree to join you. People in tribes might expect to get paid. Those who are attacked or go hungry might decide to leave the tribe. Competing tribes could lure your people away, or even kidnap or kill them.

NPC enemy tribes would have to build up just like yours, so it's 100% fair.

I think any implementation of this should be simple in game mechanic terms. Not turn into some kind of colony management game. Tribes should be small, need food, shelter and safety and can do simple tasks, such as chop firewood, tend crops, guard you/location, maybe build small structures. They should not function like automatons, but have some form of personality. And, it would be cool if they had quests to fulfill needs and desires. Such as a quest to have a certain piece of furniture in their home, certain tool given to them, certain type of food to be grown, etc. If you do not fulfill these needs, they will eventually leave.

There could be another side to this. You could request or be asked to join an NPC tribe. To remain part of the tribe you would have to make contributions that the tribe needs, like being a farmer or artisan. If you do something they do not need, they will eventually ask you to leave the tribe. Being part of the tribe would mean you can use their resources (food, firewood, etc).

Tribes and lone survivors rarity should be configurable. I think you could either find lone survivors in the wilderness or possibly living in caves or small simple huts.

Edited October 1, 2020 by JR