Version 2.2 of the Terra Vitae Mod is uploaded! Get it here (Mac)!
Version 2.1 for Windows (needs update) here!The Terra Vitae mod is a mod for LCS that allows the LCS to exist simultaneously alongside a similar group for which the mod is named, each fighting for related but not identical causes and against similar villains in a world that has a superhero theme as well as a revolutionary theme. Terra Vitae itself is a biodiversity conservation movement, adding a nature-protecting theme to the mod as well. The final major theme of this mod focuses on the already existing reality-altering powers of the C+ and L+ extremes of the laws (for instance, animals can talk at L+ animal rights even in the existing version).
When finished, this mod should have quite a lot of new content, including new sites, new laws, new factions, new skills, and new weapons, as well as a new, alternative way to win the game (and several new ways to lose), all interconnected and linked with each-other.
All comments, and suggestions, and other input is welcome. The list of features that I intend to include here is expansive, but if an idea is given to me and it fits and I can do it, then I'd be happy to include it.
I'm going to be using the following color code for various elements in the game, based on how difficult or how easy they will be to code:
Black and boldface - features already implemented!Blue - features which should be fairly easy and are high priorityPurple - features which will be harder to implementRed - features for which I will need help or other advice of some kindFeaturesNew SkillsMagic - allows access to magic as a weapon, and determines proficiency with it.
Powers - enables super-powers as a weapon, and determines proficiency with it.
Battlesuit - determines proficiency with super-powered battlesuits.
New LawsBiodiversity Protection - how much the law protects biodiversity and perserves outside of cities.
Religious Freedom - the extent to which citizens are free to choose non-traditional religious beliefs.
Superhuman Affairs - the extent to which mutants and people with superhuman affinities are protected or exploited by society.
Amerindian Affairs - the extent to which the indigenous peoples of the New World are treated by the law.
Sexual Freedom - The extent to which you can legally have sex with people.
New ViewsBiodiversity, Religion, Superhumans, Amerindians - each of the new laws has a corresponding new view.
Terra Vitae - the view that the public has toward Terra Vitae (works similar to the public's perception of the LCS and CCS, but for TV).
Sexual Freedom - modifies the corresponding law. Affected by site actions at the strip club, and at the non-upscale apartments.
Patriotism - modifies the flag burning law (it was Free Speech). Affected by site actions at the military base, and at non-upscale apartments.
Political Reform - modifies the election law. Affected by site actions at the Mafia Don's mansion.
Food - (slightly) modifies Animal Rights. Affected by site actions at the Food Coop and Juice Bar.
Athletics - represents the ability of people to engage in athletic activity and opposed by conservatives who think it's overly sexual. Modifies Women's Rights. Is affected by actions at the Juice Bar, Public Park, and by the new Athletics Activity.
Other changes to laws and viewsView on Genetics affects Superhuman Affairs laws. Previously, it didn't modify anything.
Views on Justices currently don't affect anything.
New Weapons and ArmorsMagic - a powerful new weapon that can be used if you are unarmed and have the Magic skill (replacing Martial Arts/Hand to Hand if you have said skill).
Powers - a powerful new weapon that can be used if you are unarmed and have the Powers skill (replacing Martial Arts/Hand to Hand if you have said skill).
Armored Battlesuit - a piece of armor that functions as a powerful weapon itself if you are otherwise unarmed.
Costume - a superhero or supercriminal costume. Looks snazzy, and makes you more persuasive,
if you are Super!
New Creature TypesAmerindian Citizen - a regular citizen of an Amerindian tribe. Skills vary a lot depending on Amerindian Affair laws. Always liberal. Their names change with Amerindian laws.
Amerindian Policeman - a police officer of the Amerindian tribe. Much like any other cop, but moderate instead of conservative. Their names change with Amerindian laws.
Amerindian Shaman - a priest of an Amerindian tribe. Powers vary a lot depending on Amerindian Affair and Religious Freedom laws. Always liberal. Their names change with Amerindian laws.
Best Man - the best man at a wedding. Appears in church and in church sieges. Wears an expensive suit and may have seduction skill. Conservative.
Bride - the bride at a wedding. Appears in church and in church sieges. Wears an expensive suit and usually has seduction skill. Conservative.
Graduate Student - like a college student, but older and more specialized.
Groom - the groom at a wedding. Appears in church and in church sieges. Wears an expensive suit and usually has seduction skill. Conservative.
Mafia Don - a boss of the Mafia. Usually but not always conservative.
Mafia Goon - an enforcer for the Mafia. Usually but not always conservative
Mafia Hitman - a particularly dangerous enforcer for the Mafia. Usually but not always conservative.
Mafia Lady - a fairly competent Mafiosa with seduction and usually combat skills as well. Usually but not always conservative.
Maid of Honor - the maid of honor at a wedding. Appears in church and in church sieges. Wears an expensive suit and may have seduction skill. Conservative.
Power Armor Soldier - A soldier who wears Powered Armor. Happens if either laws on Superhumans or Nuclear Power get to C+. Conservative (but can be Liberal or Moderate once the NEC is exposed)
Professional Assassin - High-skill, contracted assassins working for the Mafia, the CIA, and other factions. Lots of Juice, excellent skills, varied alignments.
Terra Vitae Agent - a professional agent of Terra Vitae, comparable to the CIA's agents but usually liberal or moderate.
Terra Vitae Founder - the founder of Terra Vitae. This person works similarly to the LCS and CCS founders.
Terra Vitae Student - a college student member of Terra Vitae, slightly better-skilled and more likely combat-capable than regular college students.
Super Criminal - a costumed criminal usually with super powers. Alignment varies greatly depending on laws.
Super Hero - a costumed crime fighter with or without super powers but usually with excellent stats. Alignment varies greatly depending on laws.
Super Minion - a low-ranking minion of an evil organization, often with super powers. Always conservative.
Super Villain - the evil leader of a secret, conspiratorial organization. Always conservative. Will need to be defeated in order to achieve alternate victory condition.
New LocationsAmerindian Reservation - located on the outskirts of town, populated by Amerindians and their shamans. Issues affected are Indian Affairs.
City Church - located downtown. Site actions here affect opinions on Religious Freedom.
City Plaza - located downtown. Good place to find Super Heroes. Site issues are Superhuman Affairs.
Mafia Don's Mansion - located in the industrial district. Home of the Mafia. Issues affected are Campaign Reform and Police Corruption.
Supervillain Lair - initially hidden, located on the outskirts of town, possibly more than one of them in different places a la CCS safehouses. Site actions are Superhuman Affairs. You need to clear these to attain the alternate victory condition.
Terra Vitae house - located on the outskirts of town, house of the TV founder. Can be used as a safehouse of the LCS. Frequent target of the CCS, CIA, and corporations. Site issues are Biodiversity and Religious Freedom.
Terra Vitae office - located in the University district (city TBA), place to encounter Terra Vitae members. Can be used as a safehouse of the LCS. Frequent target of the CCS, CIA, and corporations. Site issues are Biodiversity and possibly Privacy.
Wilderness - not located in any city. Can be used as a safehouse of the LCS. Frequent target of the CCS, supervillains, and corporations depending on laws. Site issue is biodiversity.
New FactionsThe following factions are capable of laying sieges:
Assassins - Professional assassins. Cannot be offended, but can be hired by the CIA or the Mafia or Supervillains.
Conservative Church - similar to the hicks, but led by priests. They are provoked by site actions against the church and disruption of traditional weddings.
Mafia - Mafia sieges will include a mix of Goons, Hitmen, and Ladies. Mafia sieges are provoked by site actions on the Mafia Mansion. Once the CCS is formed (the establishment is taking extrajudicial action), the Mafia can be auto-provoked as well if Police Regulation or Campaign Finance is C+ (they hire Mafia thugs).
Murderers - angry, armed citizens mad at the LCS for reasons unrelated to the LCS' political beliefs. They will come after you for seducing their wives, or murdering their brothers.
Street Gangs - street gangs are provoked by attacking or causing trouble at the Crack House, or through drug law protests. Occupying the Crack House can occasionally set them off, too, and they can also be used by the Mafia for muscle (even if the Mafia themselves are being directed by the CIA). They can already chase you
from the Crack House, of course.
Super Criminals - can be provoked if you support Terra Vitae too much. Certain conditions on the superhuman laws can also set them off.
Super Heroes - violent site actions on the Plaza or the Courthouse tend to provoke these, as does harboring supercriminals.
Super Villain's Minions - an endgame scenario where you are close to winning the game through the alternate victory route. The Super Villain will pay you no mind if you aren't trying to defeat him.
Terra Vitae - attacks on Terra Vitae or kidnapping their members can provoke their ire.
New ActivitiesSecret Mission - Agents (Terra Vitae or otherwise), Superheroes, Supercriminals, and Amerindian shamans can all undertake missions. These are dangerous activities that can influence certain laws and get necessary information, especially the location of the suppervillain lair.
Athletics - Perform athletic activity in public (workouts, etc.). Can be dangerous, especially for women, when laws (esp. sexual freedom and drug law) are conservative. Affects view on athletics, trains Martial Arts and Dodge, and, when dangerous, generates juice. The more dangerous it is, the bigger the effect that it has.
New CrimesSuperhuman Treason - if Superhuman Laws are C+, then being a non-conservative Superhero or Supercriminal will slap you with this if you ever go to trial. This is a crime equivalent to Treason and will be prosecuted correspondingly.
The Injun Problem - if Indian Affairs are C+ and the Death Penalty is C+, then being anyone of the Amerindian character types executed if caught by the police (the policy toward Amerindians is explicit genocide at this level).
Witchcraft - at Religious Freedom of C+, anybody with the Magic skill who isn't conservative is hit with this if ever caught by the police. This is a crime equivalent to Flag Murder.
Adultery - if Sexual Freedom is C or C+, having multiple lovers is a crime (it's only serious at C+)
Homosexuality - if LGBT Rights is C or C+, having lovers of the same sex as you is a crime (again only serious at C+).
Misc.Recruitment - regular recruitment cap now depends on Persuasion as well as Juice. Your base recruitment cap is determined as usual whether you are the LCS founder and based on your juice, but Persuasion then multiplies that. If your Persuasion skill is zero, then this value is halved; if not, the the total recruits you can have is R = (B x (P +
) / 16, where B is the base number and P your Persuasion skill. Maximum loveslaves is also limited by juice as well; if you have less than 20 juice, you cannot have more than one lover; less than 40, cannot have more than two. If you have 80 or more juice, then the number of lovers you can have is limited only by your Seduction skill. Your founder is unaffected by this limitation on loveslaves, and neither is Terra Vitae's founder. Seduction is also modified by the higher of either Health or Charisma, instead of just Charisma.
Combat Anatomy - Edited the combat function in the following ways: (1) shots that completely miss are more likely, but those that do hit are more likely to hit the body or head; (2) anyone eligible to replace the Founder gets the same plot armor that the Founder does; (3) Founder plot armor makes them harder to hit, not harder to injure; (4) hits to important body parts cause more damage (they previously didn't, oddly enough - but there was a flag to prevent arm/leg hits from being fatal).
Execution - Added three new execution categories, Cinematic Stalinist and Military. How to get them is a little complicated, but Stalinist will be used when free speech laws are arch-conservative and labor laws are elite liberal, whereas Military will be used when military spending is arch-conservative.
Terra Vitae mechanicsTerra Vitae is a secret organization not unlike the LCS, and like the LCS they can (and will be) attacked by a number of enemies. These will affect different conditions in the game and may cause you to lose, or win in an alternate way.
There are four critical stats that are associated with TV, which are global variables and affect the game.
Terra Vitae Health - the TV health represents the health of TV as an organization. At low health, TV members will almost all be TV students, and as the health increases they may be TV agents instead. TV health has a cap with increases the more liberal the Biodiversity and Religious Freedom laws are. If TV health is below this cap, it will regenerate with time at rates determined by public opinion on these issues. If TV health reaches 0, TV is destroyed and does not regenerate; if this kills the TV founder (the TV founder is not in LCS), then the New Earth Conspiracy cannot be defeated and the player can only attain a temporary victory.
Terra Vitae Juice - TV gets juice as they perform successful action, both in defending themselves from attack, defending the Wilderness from attack, and performing other actions. This juice in turn influences how much juice TV students and agents have, and their combat capabilities.
The TV Founder - there is a Terra Vitae founder character, who is the leader of TV just as the other founders are leaders of their factions. If TV loses a battle and has low health, the founder may be killed. The TV founder can also be recruited by the LCS. If this happens, then any juice won by the TV founder as an LCS member also goes to TV, but the TV founder can be killed with the LCS as well. If the TV founder is killed and TV has enough juice, some juice will be lost but a new founder will replace her. If Terra Vitae loses its founder and cannot replace her, TV is destroyed and the NEC wins.
Wilderness Ecosystem Health - the Wilderness will periodically be attacked by corps, the CCS, and supervillains. Each attack that is not defended against successfully will reduce the ecosystem health. Terra Vitae will defend the wilderness if their own health is high enough, or the LCS can set up shop in the wilderness and defend it themselves. Wilderness health regenerates over time. If the ecosystem health reaches zero, the player loses the game.
Enemy attacksTerra Vitae will get attacked by several factions depending on laws and scenarios. This will result in a combat roll in which TV health and TV juice will be compared against an attack strength number determined by the nature of the attacker. There are three possible outcomes of any battle, which are victory, Pyrrhic victory, and defeat. In a victory, TV will get a juice reward, and will not lose health. In a Pyrrhic victory, TV will get a smaller juice reward, but will lose some health. In a defeat, TV will get no juice, will lose health, the founder will be killed (if she hasn't joined the LCS), and the wilderness ecosystem will be damaged (if the battle took place at the wilderness).
Enemies can attack three different locations of TV, the Office, the House, and the Wilderness. Attacks against the Office are more likely to damage TV health but are less likely to kill the TV founder if they do damage TV, while attacks against the House are the converse. TV has a chance of contesting the wilderness against attackers that depends on its health; a healthier TV is more likely to defend the wilderness. If the TV does not defend the wilderness, then TV itself risks no health loss or founder death, but the wilderness ecosystem
will be damaged, barring intervention from the LCS. If Terra Vitae does successfully defend the wilderness from attackers (either victory or Pyrrhic victory), they will get a large juice reward, in addition to the juice they would normally get for a defense.
The different factions that can attack Terra Vitae (basically everything except hicks) and the conditions under which they do so are as follows:
Police - the Police may attack Terra Vitae if Biodiversity, Religious Freedom, Indian Affairs, or Free Speech laws are at C+, but the priority for doing so will be low and the attacks will be infrequent. The attacks will be much more frequent if TV has recently defended the wilderness from corporations. Repeated police attacks against Terra Vitae will escalate in the same way that attacks against the LCS will, with TV being much more likely to resist attacks from SWAT teams than from fighter jets. Police sieges against Terra Vitae can attack the Office or the House, but will rarely escalate if their target is the House.
Corporations - the Wilderness will be attacked by corporations unless the laws for both Corporate Law and Biodiversity are L or L+. The more conservative these laws, the more frequent and better equipped (i.e. harder for Terra Vitae to resist) these attacks will be. If Terra Vitae succeeds in defending the Wilderness, they can then be attacked at the Office or the House by corporations as well.
CIA - Terra Vitae will be attacked periodically by the CIA. The only way to prevent this entirely is to shut down the CIA headquarters. However, these attacks will be much more frequent the more conservative the Privacy laws are. Attacks by the CIA will hit the Office at liberal Privacy laws and be more often aimed at the house if Privacy laws are conservative.
Mafia - if the CIA is capable of provoking the Mafia to attack the LCS, then they can provoke the Mafia to attack Terra Vitae as well. Mafia attacks can be aimed at either the Office or the House. This can be stopped by shutting down the Mafia Mansion or by cleaning up Campaign Finance laws.
Crack Heads - if the Mafia are considering attacking Terra Vitae, then they can send the crack heads after them as well. Crack Heads can't get to the House (it's out of town) so will only attack the Office (and will usually lose to TV as well). Preventing the Mafia from attacking TV will stop the crack heads as well.
The
Conservative Crime Squad - will attack Terra Vitae if the CCS has been formed. This can be stopped by stopping the CCS.
The
Church - can attack Terra Vitae if public opinion on Religious Freedom (irrespective of the law itself) is C+.
Supervillain Minions - will attack Terra Vitae if TV provokes them. This can only happen as part of the appropriate endgame path.
Firemen - Firemen will attack Terra Vitae if Free Speech laws are C+, as with the Liberal Guardian's publishing office.
The
Liberal Crime Squad can attack Terra Vitae at the behest of the player.
Terra Vitae and the LCSThe LCS can (at the player's choice) do a number of things involving Terra Vitae, including:
-Perform site actions at TV locations (which can be violent or nonviolent)
-Set up shop in either the TV Office, the TV House, or the Wilderness and use them as bases
-Help defend the Wilderness or Terra Vitae from enemies
-Recruit TV members, including the TV founder
-Provoke and become besieged by TV
Site actions at Terra Vitae locations (red because the locations need maps) - The LCS can perform site actions on Terra Vitae as any other raidable location. Nonviolent site actions don't provoke any special actions by TV. Violent site actions are considered attacks and can reduce TV health and possibly kill the TV founder. The determination of whether TV wins a defensive victory against the LCS, wins a Pyrrhic victory, or loses, depends on the number of TV members killed versus the number of LCS members killed, and whether the LCS kills the TV founder or not in the raid. Terra Vitae gains juice for failed attacks by the LCS against them, and this tactic can even be used by the LCS as a method of juicing TV. Beware that it will provoke TV sieges, however!
Using Terra Vita bases as safehouses - If the LCS has been active in biodiversity-related issues or is publically liked, then they can use Terra Vitae locations as safehouses. The LCS can always use the Wilderness as a base (if an expensive one, since it's not in any city). Doing so will expose the LCS to sieges from any enemy that might attack Terra Vitae locations, and if the LCS attracts heat to itself while in a Terra Vitae location, it will expose TV to the LCS' enemies as well. However, TV locations offer good secrecy to LCS operations, and the Office can hold large parties. The Wilderness is even better, except that some activities (notably hacking) cannot be done from the Wilderness.
Defending Terra Vitae or the Wilderness from attack - if the LCS is operating out of a location controlled or co-operated by Terra Vitae and TV is attacked, then the LCS will be able to defend the location. The mechanics for this are those of a normal siege, except that the LCS will get reinforcements from Terra Vitae members if the LCS' squad size drops below six. This can potentially even include the TV founder. If the TV founder is killed in a siege, then the result is considered a defeat for TV; otherwise, if the LCS fails to resist the siege and all LCS members are killed, captured, or escape, then the outcome of victory, Pyrrhic victory, or defeat will be determined as if the LCS had not intervened. If the LCS defeats the siege, then it's a TV victory and TV is juiced accordingly.
Recruiting TV members into the LCS - the LCS can recruit TV members just as anybody else. The TV founder has special missions that only she can undertake that relate to the alternate victory path, and can cause the player to lose the game if she is killed and Terra Vitae doesn't have enough juice to replace her, but otherwise she is like any other person as the rules go (of course, her stats are phenomenal, but they're just stats). LCS sleeper agents in TV don't do much as sleepers go.
Terra Vitae Sieges - if the LCS provokes TV, they can be besieged by TV if TV is healthy enough. Victory in this case means capture or death of the LCS, Pyrrhic victory means capture or death at heavy loss, and defeat means that the LCS retains their safehouse. The TV founder will not participate in sieges against the LCS. If the TV founder is an LCS member, she will prevent any sieges from occurring.
Misc Terra Vitae mechanicsThe first Terra Vitae founder of the game will always be a woman. Her successors can be of either sex.
Effects of New LawsBiodiversityDetermines the maximum health of Terra Vitae (along with Religious Freedom)Determines the frequency of corporate attacks on the Wilderness (along with Corporate law)If L+, adds a small chance that Terra Vitae agents will instead spawn as superheroes (this stacks with other laws)Conservative superheroes can attack Terra Vitae if Biodiversity law is C+Conservative supercriminals can attack Terra Vitae if public opinion on Biodiversity is C+Religious FreedomIf Religious Freedom is C+, then conservative priests (and nuns) can spawn with Magic skill. If Religious Freedom is L+, then Terra Vitae agents, amateur magicians, and liberal priests (and nuns) can spawn with Magic skill.Amerindian shamans will not spawn regardless of Amerindian laws if Religious freedom is C or C+.Terra Vitae can be attacked by the Police if Religious Freedom is C+.Terra Vitae can be attacked by the Church if public opinoon regarding Religious Freedom is C+ (regardless of the law itself)If L+, adds a small chance that Terra Vitae agents will instead spawn as superheroes (this stacks with other laws)if C+, then anybody with the Magic skill who is not conservative is guity of Witchcraft.Superhuman affairsIf Superhuman laws are C+, then superheroes will spawn and be conservative. If Superhuman laws are L+, then superheroes will spawn and be liberal. Superheroes will (generally - see alternate victory condition) not spawn if superhuman laws are neither C+ nor L+. Superheroes will not besiege the LCS if they are not conservative.If Superhuman laws are either C+ or L+, moderate priests and nuns can have magical powers.If Superhuman laws are C or C+ but public opinion for them is L+, then liberal supercriminals will spawn in numerous places. If Superhuman laws are L or L+ and public opinion for them is C+, then conservative supercriminals will spawn in numerous places. Supercriminals will not besiege the LCS if they are not conservative.If Superhuman laws are C+, then anybody with any of the Super character types is guilty of Superhuman Treason if not conservative.If L+, adds a small chance that Terra Vitae agents will instead spawn as superheroes (this stacks with other laws)Amerindian affairsAmerindians will be referred to by different names depending on the laws: At L or L+ they will be Native Americans; at moderate, they will be Amerindians; at C, they will be Indians, and at C+, they will be Injuns.If both Amerindian Affairs and the Death Penalty are C+, Injuns will not spawn and any Injun LCS members caught by the police will be automatically put to death.Indian shamans do not spawn if Amerindian laws are C or C+.If L+, adds a small chance that Terra Vitae agents will instead spawn as superheroes (this stacks with other laws)Terra Vitae public opinion[c=black]Affects how much Terra Vitae can influence laws and how much resources they get.[/color]
If very popular, hippies can have magic skillAlternate Victory ConditionThe
Conduct Secret Mission activity that can be undertaken by Agents, Superheroes, Supercriminals, and Terra Vitae Agents can result in a number of different outcomes, including the acquisition of various kinds of documents, secrets, and loot that can be published in the Liberal Guardian or elsewhere. The most important, however, is uncovering the New Earth Conspiracy.
The NEC is a conservative movement dedicated to the idea that human beings should remake the Earth and that all other life is obsolete and that which cannot be used must be discarded. It is even possible that
they are somehow behind the new conservative era that the pundits are hailing! Exposing the NEC will change the world - if you don't, then Terra Vitae will remain in a secret war with them and it is possible to win by the normal Liberal means, but if you do publish them, then the world will quickly become one of superheores and supervillains, who will now spawn regardless of the laws (
if Superhuman laws are neither C+ nor L+, then superheroes will spawn who are either liberal or moderate and supercriminals will be conservative. If they are C+ or L+ then the normal laws will apply). In addition, both Terra Vitae and the LCS will be
targeted for sieges by the minions of powerful supervillains empowered by the NEC!
Each supervillain has an
elaborate underground lair that can be found and attacked either by seducing or brainwashing the supervillain's minions. Then, it can be attacked, either by the LCS, by Terra Vitae, superhero teams, or by the very conservative forces of the Police and CIA that the NEC may have created. Beware, though, the supervillains are formidible opponents, as strong or stronger than any CCS arch-conservative, and their
lairs are strewn with deadly traps and adversaries besides. It is all too likely that the CIA's best agents will fail, not because they are conservative and on the same side as the Evil villains, but because they just aren't up to the task!
Each lair has a unique clue that is necessary to defeat the NEC, and thus each lair must be cleared of its supervillain. Once all three clues are in hand, the Terra Vitae founder can be sent on a Secret Mission to defeat the NEC's terrifying plot that transcends liberal and conservative thought alike. If this mission is successful and nobody has arisen to take the NEC's place, then the
player wins the game.
It should be warned, though, that a good supervillain lair doesn't remain free of Evil for long, and if left alone, a new supervillain will appear to take the old one's place. If this new one is able to work their evil scheme for long enough, the NEC's plot may continue anyway, and you will have to defeat this supervillain as well.
Of course, you can still win in the usual way of making all laws Elite Liberal. But if you do, who's to say that the NEC won't come back another day when the hero who founded the Liberal Crime Squad isn't there to stop it?
New Game ModeCivil War mode - rather than liberalizing the country, your goal is to defeat the various enemy factions. This can be done in a number of ways, through laws, through movies, and through... LCS activities (usually the Liberal Guardian)!
