The limitation with recruitment started to tick me off, and since people seem to all be away and not around to help test things right now I decided to sidetrack to religion. Now initially my idea for religion had been to re-use a set of buildings so that a number of "lesser" religions could be represented as well, but there were and still are to many complications with that, including but not limited to the effects of religious conversion. So I came up with a new idea for how to make religion interesting without deviating from some of the normal concepts, but at the same time representing more than just a set of religious structures, but rather how a settlement might approach religion and religious tolerance.
So here's what I've come to for a general blueprint for our 8 main religions.
Religious Structures
Each religion has its own building set, which uses the temple_ function of the EDB to allow it to convert to a certain religion. That means one tree each for Islam, Daoxue, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana, Tengriism, and Nestorian(new addition). We have one more slot left, and we have three religions to choose from in filling it: Hinduism, Traditional Daoism, and Shinto. I'm leaning towards the former as the latter two have doctrines similar to existing religions.
The blueprint for religious buildings is as follows:
Lvl 1: Policy - Allowing Practice of "X" Religion
The first step for a settlement in providing religious facility for its populace is to allow the private practice of a religion. To a moderner this right seems basic and inalienable, but in the 12th Century religious persecution was much more than asking you to remove your headgear. Intolerance was not as rife in East Asia as it was in Europe at this time, but religious entities still conflicted at all levels of society.
Providing a populace the right to practice their religion in private is the first step. By allowing them to maintain their beliefs, even if only in the privacy of the home, a settlement insures that it doesn't completely alienate its populace.
Large religious populations provided only this right and no further facilities are prone to rebellion, but it depends on just how many there are. The risk rises from low steeply to a certainty after a certain point, as up until that point the people are spread out and thus unaware just how much power they hold. Certain other factors may facilitate this, such as the outbreak of a 'scarved movement'.
This policy doesn't lend itself to the further conversion of any members of the population.
Lvl 2: Policy - Allowing Organized Practice of "X" Religion
The organized practice of religion is institutionally different than private practice. Public allowances mean that, at least to some extent, practitioners are able to find others who hold their beliefs to congregate with. This congregation is not permitted a sense of officialdom, so while a religious leader may emerge they have no vested authority and lead on the basis of their charisma and interpretations.
Large religious populations provided only this right and no facilities are prone to rebellion, but to a lesser extent than those with a Temple because they are less inclined to form a cohesive unit.
This policy doesn't lend itself to the further conversion of members of the population.
Lvl 3: Temple of "X" Religion
A temple provides a place where practitioners of a religion can congregate with some sense of official sanction. The temple generally has a staff, clergy, or other religious organ that runs and operates it for the practitioners. Methods for revenue generation to sustain the facilities vary from location to location, but temples are granted the same level of entrepreneurial autonomy as local businesses.
As a temple is only a plot of land in the larger settlement, there are problems with commuting from a residence to its location if one does not live nearby. Temples as such tend to inadvertently create religious ghettos when all practitioners need to coalesce in one location. As such, when a temple is all that is provided to a large amount of people in a settlement, they are perhaps the most prone to causing unrest and potential rebellion due to being organized.
A temple very slightly impacts the religious conversion in a settlement, just enough to counteract some of the other religious forces acting on it and hopefully preserve the minority religious demographic.
Lvl 4: Basic Temple Infrastructure of "X" Religion
A basic temple infrastructure provides more of an institution for the practice of a religion. This could be anything from a network of small temples throughout a settlement to a few regional temples overseen by a slightly larger central temple. The practice is less confined and will often result in the branching out of religious practitioners for convenience of workplace, unceremoniously uprooting the religious ghetto due to a more accessible religious infrastructure.
Large religious populations are less likely to rebel when provided with an infrastructure, barring external influences. If they do rebel though it is harder to put down than the small uprisings of ghettos.
A basic temple infrastructure exerts stronger forces of conversion upon the populace through the spread of religious ideas and a greater public appeal.
LVl 5: Basic Temple Infrastructure + Monasteries of "X" Religion
The allowance of monasteries in a settlement and its surrounding area, in addition to a basic infrastructure, is a means of validating the practice of monasticism. Through this practice a religion gains greater influence in a region, as its practitioners tend to become more involved in humanitarian affairs and their devotion inspires others to convert.
The allowance of monasteries decreases the risk of organized religious rebellion, but also gives rise to fanatics who can lead dangerous derivations of a main religion and come into open conflict with the religious institutions.
The addition of monasteries increases the conversion forces in a region through the self-validating asceticism of a new class of devout monastics.
Lvl 6: Policy - Allowing Public Observation of Religious Traditions
Most religions contain some traditions which are more public in their display than can be contained within religious locations. This can be anything from the ṣalāt of Islam to the celebration of religious holidays. That all practices of this religion are permitted in any public place is a large step in tolerance.
Observance of religious traditions entails a public display of religious devotion, and with that comes some conflict. If a settlement is divided between two differing religions it can cause unrest, but naturally it also causes happiness.
The increased publicity of the religion also increased its exertion on conversion of the populace.
Lvl 7: Extensive Temple Infrastructure + Monasteries of "X" Religion
Extensive investment in the development of religious infrastructure yields unprecedented access to facilities and a centralized organization of religious officials. These large religious societies produce men of great piety and charisma who can help spread the faith to distant lands.
Conversion forces are significantly strong in settlements with an extensive religious infrastructure. They also enable the training of priests.
Lvl 8: Grand Temple
A Grand Temple serves as a beacon to practitioners in the region and a representation of the importance the religion holds in the settlement. It is both a testament to the faith of its followers and an intimidating basilisk to those of other faiths.
The construction of a grand temple prevents the further development of alternate religious infrastructure in a settlement beyond basic privileges.
As virtually a symbol of a regional official religion, it has an enormous effect on conversion in the region.
Lvl 9: Wondrous Temple
The Wondrous Temple is a marvel of architecture and a symbol of everlasting piety. It shines like a beacon to practitioners far and wide and greatly strengthens religious devotion.
Each faction may only build one wondrous temple. A wondrous temple may only be built after several grand temples to the same religion have been constructed.
The wondrous temple provides a huge factionwide boost to religious conversion. It also makes impossible the further development of religious infrastructure separate from its represented religion in all owned settlements.
Every settlement has the capability to build every building theoretically. However, there are numerous limitations which make that actuality impossible, to better represent how religions act on each other in both passive and aggressive ways. For starters, every religious building requires an increasing amount of practitioners in the settlement to order the construction of.
Level 1: 2%
Level 2: 5%
Level 3: 10%
Level 4: 18%
Level 5: 30%
Level 6: 45%
Level 7: 65%
Level 8: 100% + Huge City
Level 9: 100% + Huge City
These numbers are somewhat arbitrary, there's thought put into their values but they can be balanced and changed as necessary. The essential idea behind the requirement is that without sufficient demand for increased religious liberties there's no onus for the government of the city to provide for additional facilities. The starting numbers are initially low, because religious tolerance requires only a minority, and it gets increasingly higher as the display of the religion becomes more and more state-sponsored.
Additionally there are the limiting factors listed above that are imposed if a Grand or Wondrous Temple to a specific religion is built.
In addition to the denominational building trees, there is a further building tree which provides the player the ability to force religious conversion to a certain religion in a region. This includes a starter building with 8 branches, one for each religion. Each branch requires at least Level 4 of the religious denominational building to be commissioned, and causes significant revolt risk and unhappiness.
Effects of Religious Structures
A key component of the religious system is varying effects capabilities for denominational structures based on the population religious demographics. A population will be happier with an extensive religious network if they're 100% of that religion than if they're 50% of that religion. Similarly, the larger the infrastructure and the smaller the population demographic, the more the happiness tends to invert as the majority are dissatisfied with the significant presence of a minority religion. Furthermore, religious doctrines themselves are disposed to work in cohesion with some or no other religions, and work against others still. A predominantly Islamic region won't take kindly to religious constructs of differing beliefs, and under a policy of intolerance may even destroy all buildings of different religions.
These factors act to represent the fluent impact of religious distribution on differing populace demographics. It also counteracts the notion that you can compound happiness bonuses by getting the highest building in one religion, converting to another, and then getting the highest in that religion as well. That simply wouldn't be the case, as the infrastructure of the former religion would fall into disrepair as the settlement tries to support to much religion, and it would end up being a negative impact. The player will have to either invest in infrastructure that suits the current populace, or actively seek to mold the populace to the infrastructure being created, a potentially perilous endeavor.
A Cultural Policy can mitigate some of the effects of religious over-spill and increase the effects of tolerance and intolerance.
Religious Tolerance
Every faction will have a factionwide policy on their religious tolerance: Extreme Tolerance, Moderate Tolerance, Moderate Intolerance, or Extreme Intolerance. Each faction will start with a preset policy based on their historical faction disposition, and certain events will enable them to change that policy, such as the selection of a Cultural Policy or the inauguration of a pious leader. This policy affects religious conversion to the state religion as well as a variety of other considerations.
State Religion
Any faction can in theory sponsor any of the eight religions as its state religion. Some of these conversions will be harder than others and all of them will come with opposing forces. This script needs to be written still.
Religion in AUH
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Marcion
