Dev Diary: Vice and Virtue

Diary – Vice and Virtue

Harmony makes small things grow; the lack of harmony makes great things decay. – Sallust

Hi! Lucas here. Today I’d like to introduce a few special resources that characters have in Historia Realis. These are: Vice, Tranquility and Animus. They are all part of the action system and add depth and interest to it by creating opportunities for stories to emerge.

Most actions are neither Vice nor Leisure, just normal. Vice and Leisure are special types of actions, and I will now explain what they do.

Vice (Vitium)

Vice was a big deal for Romans and I believe it’s part of what makes Roman history so compelling for us today. Many of us know the emperors Caligula, Nero and Commodus for their extravagance and vice. So, for Historia Realis to be an accurate representation of Rome, you need to be able to witness (and do) some wicked stuff.

There were lesser and greater vices. Playing games (especially dice games) was a common vice, but not a terrible one. So there are degrees of importance, like any action: Trivial, Important, Crucial and Vital. Here are a few example Vice actions you could take:

• Play Dice (Trivial): +3 Vice.

• Bet Too Much (Important): +6 Vice.

• Bet Your House (Crucial): +9 Vice.

• Kill A Slave for Pleasure (Vital): +15 Vice.

These are just a few examples, and the values will probably be changed for balance. In addition, they all have their own consequences and place in the greater context of the game’s content. But their importance determines how much more vicious you become.

But why would you ever indulge in vice and become vicious? Because it can be helpful:

• Vice enables new actions that you wouldn’t be able to take otherwise.

• Indulging vices can increase your Animus (more on this below).

• Sometimes it can cost you Animus to resist indulging your vices, and you don’t want to spend your precious Animus that way.

• Vice compensates for a lack of Tranquility, which could otherwise cause you to perform worse in actions. I will go into this next.

Playing dice games – a small vice.

Leisure and Tranquility (Tranquilitas)

The Romans had a word for leisure: otium. It was defined in opposition to negotium, business. There are also many leisure actions in the game, for example:

• Watch a Play (Trivial): +3 Tranquility.

• Enjoy Nature (Trivial): +3 Tranquility.

• Organize a Banquet (Important): +6 Tranquility.

• There are no Crucial or Vital leisure actions (at least so far). This makes sense thematically, but it also means that Tranquility is harder to get than Vice. Which makes Vice all the more tempting, as it can compensate for low Tranquility.

Tranquility can be negative. It ranges from -100 to +10. Yes, there is an intended asymmetry there. Aristocratic Romans were generally not interested in maximizing their leisure and tranquility, and certainly they weren’t supposed to do it. Having some positive Tranquility gives you a slight bonus in all actions, but that’s all. You’ll probably not manage to keep it positive for long.

So what are the consequences for having negative Tranquility?

• Low Tranquility makes you more likely to Fumble in actions, which halves your Effort.

• Low Tranquility makes you less likely to get Critical Efforts in actions, which double your effort.

• Some actions are only available if you have high enough Tranquility.

But as I said before, Vice can compensate for Tranquility. Maybe you’re not super relaxed and content,