
Watch the recording of a Dev Stream with Michelle on our YouTube channel!

Be Warned, Ye Unspoiled
First of all, a warning for those who like to go into the new narrative content without being spoiled. This dev diary consists of two parts. First I’ll talk about the global design and intent of the new content, this section is relatively spoiler-free and will mainly feature pretty pictures provided by our talented artists. The second part goes in-depth into the new Intrigue Happenings, their design and intent, and will show some actual content to illustrate the intended flow. I will warn you and hide the actual content so you can browse at your own convenience. With that said, onward!
Part One: What’s Happening?
In the Eldritch Realms DLC we introduced Cosmic Happenings - global Events and effects that shake up the game for all players involved. Intrigue Happenings use the same system… on a more personal level. Intrigue Happenings are event (and quest) chains, designed to target an (AI) Ruler on any single-player non-Story Realm. They aim to shake up the mid-game diplomatic status quo and encourage you to investigate and decide on the fate of the affected Ruler - who may be affected by internal turmoil, or may have been replaced by another entity entirely. The affected Ruler, meanwhile, will start to influence the realm in their own ways.

Conditions and Constraints
All these Intrigue Happenings have different flavors and quests, so we applied conditions and constraints to ensure they only happen in fitting situations. For example all Intrigue Happenings require for you to have met the affected Ruler, and all of them require that the Player is not at war, nor in an Alliance with the affected Ruler. Next to that, the different Intrigue Happenings have unique requirements to ensure they only happen to fitting AI Rulers. Examples are Alignment, Ruler Type, or Affinity. This means that in some games, specific Happenings may not be able to trigger Intrigue Happenings will also have a cooldown, which means on average only one should show per realm, and over multiple realms Happenings that have not shown before, will be prioritized.
Make It Happen
If you want to ensure you encounter these piles of content in your game, you can increase the likelihood of Intrigue Happenings triggering by starting a game with the new Unfolding Mysteries Realm Trait, and by playing the new Realm: Paradise Divided!


SPOILERS BELOW!
The following will feature more in-depth descriptions and images of the actual Intrigue Happenings. Be warned!Part Two: The Flow of Intrigue
[spoiler]Below I will share a few images of the “Fiendish Takeover” Intrigue Happening to walk you through its flow in a bit more detail! Like any Happening, the Intrigue starts with an event that shows you what changed.




Intrigue Happening Types
[spoiler]Ways of War will introduce 6 Intrigue Happenings, divided into a few groups:- Possession[list]
- In this type, an AI ruler is taken over by an entity (as the example seen above). [list]
- With four variations
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- In this type, an AI ruler is taken over by a hero from their own faction, with ill intent.
- >
- In this type, the player can aid a Hero who aims to take over an Empire during a rebellion instead.

