Family Matters

An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship - Spanish Proverb

While one of the best features of Feudums will be its unique take on vassalage, another feature may also prove to be a game changer - Noble Houses and personas - a concept we teased in our feature article Paths to Victory  Let's take a closer look.

When a new player signs up to play Feudums, one of their first steps in the process is to decide on their house name and design their unique coat of arms.  The house name - think of the famous fictional Starks or real-life Tudors - will remain with the player through all their games.  Think carefully about the name you want for yourself - each player can only have one house and its name cannot be changed. The same goes for the coat of arms you design to represent your name.  No two coat of arms will be the same within the game.  You may be awarded a new heraldic device (like ordinaries, tinctures or charges) to add to your coat of arms through in-game achievements but you will not be allowed to freely re-design it later.

After the house creation process is completed, players join a world and enter a game.  For each game, the house spins off a persona to use in that specific game.  For example, using the fictional Starks - in one game, you might play Robb, while in another - Sansa.  The cool part?  How those personas perform within their games may contribute or take away from the overall image of the noble house.   Those earned modifiers stay with your house after the game in which it was earned has ended. 

For example, lets imagine that your Sansa Stark has won a game and ends up the Queen.  From that moment on, a positive royal modifier, would be accessible for future games by other personas.  In game terms, it means you have an ancestor that was a King or Queen and others recognize it!  In the other game, your Robb Stark went a little sideways and failed to win any battles he led.  In that case, your house might get a negative modifier for being an unskilled general which could affect future battles in other games.  In game terms, your house has a reputation for being unskilled in battle and it has become a self-sustaining trait until you can break out of it.

The cumulative effect of these modifiers - across all games played - showcases your house's history.  That history makes your House unique among all Feudums players.  Just like your coat of arms, it'll be one-of-a-kind! Hopefully, you end up with a history that boosts your overall image (like the Lannisters) vs. a history that may be a little more repugnant (like the Freys).

House achievements are the strategic level of sculpting the reputation of your bloodline while personal achievements are the tactical level. Your personas are also going to have personal achievements and traits that will affect how they will interact within their specific games. Players will have choices on which traits - and maybe even a few drawbacks - they start with, each will contribute to the designated playstyle a little. Later, during the game session the player will be able to refine or replace these personal perks through personal achievements that stick with the specific person rather then their noble house, or, if needed, by declaring a change of heart for the persona - for better or worse - to apply a new set of perks and make their steps less predictable for their opponents. Both the house and its people will change and adapt on their own scale, offering an increasing variety of options. The house achievements will provide a stable base pool for all personas in the house, while personal achievements bring ever-changing dynamics for the player to customize their playing experience. Both Tyrion and Jaime were Lannisters, after all.

So while your House endures throughout all your playing sessions, every game promises to be as different as the individual personas that are in each game. Feudums wants you to experience a unique gaming session everytime you play!

PLAY TESTERS ARE WELCOME!

Download the client, create your unique House, and help us play test our latest build!

  Join our Discord community and let us know what you think!

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