Suggestion: Kill Contracts

DarkestLink

Concept:
As a pre-requisite to using a siege scroll, I think it would be interesting to have players first earn and execute kill contracts on certain node NPCs.

If a player kills a certain number of a node's citizens, they can earn a kill contract for that node. The kill contract would then allow the player to open a bounty on certain key node NPCs (e.g., vendors, artisan trainers, etc.). Once the bounty was opened on an NPC, that NPC would become killable by the player for a set period of time.

If the player successfully kills the contracted NPC, then that NPC would permanently die, leaving the node without that NPCs services. For example, if a blacksmith was killed, that might reduce the bonuses of the smithy or prevent players from learning new smithing recipes because the smithing trainer is dead. To replace the dead NPC, the node could either choose to wait a set period of time for one of the blacksmith's apprentices to become the new blacksmith, or the node could start a caravan quest to bring a replacement blacksmith to the node.

Benefit:
To my understanding, the currently explained system for starting node sieges allows the player to select the node they would like to siege after the siege scroll has been earned. However, this means that nodes probably aren't able to do anything to prevent a siege. Therefore, I think incorporating kill contracts would be much better because it would give node citizens a chance to make siege declarations more difficult, but not impossible.

First, the node citizens can avoid dying enough for kill contracts to be earned. If a kill contract is earned, nodes can hire guards or otherwise protect their NPCs. Then if the NPC is still killed anyways, they can work to replace them via caravan quests. Only if too many NPCs are dead, could a siege scroll be earned/used.

Thoughts?
What do you guys think? Would you like to see a system like this be implemented? If not, how do you envision that players might earn and use siege scrolls?

Aszkalon

I think i understood about 30% to 50% of what you fully mean.


But Yes. Weakening Nodes by killing off important NPC's like for Example Blacksmiths could be a thing. Comes down to how appealing this Concept is for the Developers, though.

Taerrik

This is cool, but I think unpractical from a gameplay point of view.

But its a good idea to 'weaken' a node before assaulting's it. A 'siege' after all, takes a long time, depleting the resources of the city, reducing its ability to defend itself, until they either surrender or are too weak to resist.

With such a long time in between each siege in game, when someone declares intent to siege a node, they should have to destroy or harass the nodes outer resources for a period of time or destroying so much supplies en route to that city before they are allowed to assault it.

In fact, I would go so far to say, more disruption done before the siege, means less defensive tools for the defenders during the siege, although something needs to be done to prevent those 3am sweatlords from doing things then because they know they wont have any one to stop them.

Jamation

I think this is a cool idea in theory, but there would have to be some sort of trigger or safeguard in place.

What I mean by this is that if a person takes a kill contract what's to stop them from entering the enemy node, standing behind the npc, preparing all of their powerful buffs and such, and then one shotting the NPC? Sure the player might die in retaliation, but the perma-dead npc (until reset) would be a bigger loss than some EXP.

No one would realize the person had the contract until the initiated the attack.

Maybe if the player has a contract they are auto-flagged as a combatant upon entering the town radius of the node? Or they have to be flagged a certain amount of space away from the NPC. Or the node is given an announcement of which player took a kill contract or the NPC targeted.


Also would have to flesh out what constitutes enough citizens to earn a contract. What's to stop a hundred people from storming a city, flagging up, killing the player crafters, AFKers, and townspeople to hit the contract threshold so that a bunch of people can all get contracts.


The one thing I don't like is the idea that you have to kill NPCs in order to declare a siege. We're told it's going to be a process enough as is to declare a siege. If anything I'd rather it be the reverse and once a siege is declared, the person that has been targeted could start sending out kill contracts for the node that is launching the siege.



I feel like this could be a fun system though. Maybe with some tweaking or just a system separate from sieges altogether. NPC kill contracts sounds intriguing in and of itself.

Raven016

To kill NPCs we have the
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Monster_coins

They can disable certain buildings, services and NPCs within a node.[23][10]

But will not occur during or before sieges.

For other kind of sabotage there is the
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Thieves'_guild

DarkestLink

Jamation wrote: »

I think this is a cool idea in theory, but there would have to be some sort of trigger or safeguard in place.

What I mean by this is that if a person takes a kill contract what's to stop them from entering the enemy node, standing behind the npc, preparing all of their powerful buffs and such, and then one shotting the NPC? Sure the player might die in retaliation, but the perma-dead npc (until reset) would be a bigger loss than some EXP.

No one would realize the person had the contract until the initiated the attack.

Maybe if the player has a contract they are auto-flagged as a combatant upon entering the town radius of the node? Or they have to be flagged a certain amount of space away from the NPC. Or the node is given an announcement of which player took a kill contract or the NPC targeted.


Also would have to flesh out what constitutes enough citizens to earn a contract. What's to stop a hundred people from storming a city, flagging up, killing the player crafters, AFKers, and townspeople to hit the contract threshold so that a bunch of people can all get contracts.


The one thing I don't like is the idea that you have to kill NPCs in order to declare a siege. We're told it's going to be a process enough as is to declare a siege. If anything I'd rather it be the reverse and once a siege is declared, the person that has been targeted could start sending out kill contracts for the node that is launching the siege.



I feel like this could be a fun system though. Maybe with some tweaking or just a system separate from sieges altogether. NPC kill contracts sounds intriguing in and of itself.

Part of my inspiration for this idea is my love for the Dark Brotherhood questline in Skyrim so I think Kill Contracts could certainly be a separate system from siege declarations. In regards to your concern about activating the contract and then immediately killing the NPC, I think this could be prevented by requiring you to be in a certain location to activate the contract. I'm not too familiar with the religion of AoC, but if there are any dark or evil deities, then perhaps activating the contract could require you to perform a ritual in one of their temples?

Aszkalon

Hmm.

Voeltz

I agree that there should be prerequisites for starting sieges, but I don't agree with this method. I think there are much better ways to designing these objectives. They could be key infrastructure within a nodes zone of influence like a bridge or a wall, sieging a vassal node, or all the above? Perhaps if the npc was a boss/elite in a fortified PvP objective like a fort outside the main city that you would have to destroy/conquer.

However, I think it's a cool idea for these kill contracts to be quests for an organization found in the world, like the dark brotherhood from the elder scrolls games.

Aszkalon

Voeltz wrote: »

I think it's a cool idea for these kill contracts to be quests for an organization found in the world, like the dark brotherhood from the elder scrolls games.

The Dark Brotherhood Questline and Faction in Skyrim was absolutely gorgeous. I could play as one of "the evil Guys" : and the Imperials even got a Group of their own with unique Armors i could put onto my Trophy-Mannequins.

Being " The Listener " was AWESOME. There was Mystery surrounding them, that never really got all explained. The Dark Brotherhood Group was cool. Very, very cool.