I just noticed something in Arneson’s OD&D manuscript that might be very useful for the domain game in ACKS. Discussing a sample campaign world map (which is not present in the copy I have), Arneson wrote “…each major city has its own history. Cylorn, for instance, is comprised of high ego population, and often goes to war against Lalkel.”
Ego is of course familiar as a characteristic for magic swords but Arneson used it more broadly. His description of Ego “Ego (or Loyalty) … For example, how well a player can give or take orders and the reaction to a real or supposed insult…”
Subtitute populace for “player” in the above to get where I’m going with this.
For the city of Cylorn, Arneson seemed to be referencing an Ego score - perhaps a better word would be pride - to indicate the degree of “nationalistic” and patriotic mindset of the people. A high ego (pride) score indicates a society quick to go to war, act agressively, and consider itself superior to others. Likewise the score also indicates how loyal/obedient the population will be to the established authority, as modified, no doubt by morale.
This strikes me as a really useful characteristic, seperate from morale, but just as handy.
That’s fascinating! I love the implications of this parallel - heroes who grasp domains whose Ego is too great for them and wind up unwilling slaves to the city’s ideals…
I think this is best developed as a potential supplement that deals more with internal politics. The assumptions of ACKS so far are mostly outward facing: carving realms out of the wilderness, rather than jostling for position within civilized society. I definitely want to do more with the latter - inventing the internal politics behind the couriers that were sent from the Auran Empire due to domain events was one of the most fun parts of the Gen Con demo segments I judged - but I think it’ll be best to start playing in this style first and then write up rules for it later.
Could the Ego score be modified over time by the Moral score?
i.e. a city with a high Ego is conquered by a more powerful force. At first their low moral and high ego would lead to rebellion, but over time, if the rebellion was repeatedly crushed, would their ego drop (as spirits were broken) and moral would gradual rise, until finally you have a pacified land that is obedient and not inclined to question the state of affairs.
Likewise a region with low ego would not really care which king’s face is on the coin, as long as it is good. A new ruler would not be working from a deficit as he tries to get their moral high and get the economy going again. But over time if their moral is consistently high, it would gradually raise their ego, as a cultural or national identity takes hold…
Jedo - yeah, that makes sense to me.
Great ideas - Ego would definitely be a useful characteristic, it could convey a great deal about a place without needing tons of explanation.