Talk Before Bloodshed

Talk Before Bloodshed

1.4.0

Added RimWar compatibility. Edge-entry warbands can now stop and make demands like normal raids. Drop raids and off-map battles are still ignored. RimWar support can be disabled in Mod Settings.

1.3.0

Fixed compatibility with modded raid strategies and removed the startup errors. Protection deals now have an actual benefit, alternative payments cost extra and tiny post-negotiation sieges are fixed. Some raids will stop before attacking and make a demand first. They can ask for silver, supplies, resources, goods of a certain value, or prisoners. You can pay them, make another offer, negotiate, intimidate them, surrender, trade prisoners, or refuse. If talks fail, the raid starts normally. Some factions may also come specifically to rescue one of their prisoners.

How it works

Demands depend on the faction. Tribes usually want basic supplies, while more advanced factions may ask for components, manufactured goods or silver. Modded factions are handled the same way based on their own faction data. Factions remember previous negotiations. Keeping deals makes future talks easier. Repeatedly refusing, breaking agreements or attacking during negotiations makes them less willing to deal with you. Social skill affects negotiation, intimidation and alternative offers. You can also settle demands with other goods. Doing this costs some extra value compared to paying exactly what they asked for, although a good negotiator can reduce the difference. The markup can be changed in Mod Settings. Some factions can offer protection agreements. You pay them regularly and that faction stops sending normal raids against you. Protection can also help against other factions. While the agreement is active, some incoming raids may arrive smaller because the faction you are paying has an interest in keeping your colony around. Both the chance and the strength reduction are configurable. Miss a payment or attack the faction you are paying and the agreement ends, usually with a much larger retaliation raid.

Raid types

The mod only affects normal humanlike raids that enter from the map edge. Drop pod raids, quest raids and scripted raids are left alone. Raids built or controlled by another mod are also skipped. This is detected from the raid strategy itself rather than a list of supported mods, so custom raid systems should be left alone automatically. If negotiations end and there are too few raiders left for a proper siege, they switch to a normal attack instead of trying to run a one-person mortar camp. Demand size, negotiation time, event frequency, rescue chance, protection effects and payment markup can all be changed in Mod Settings. The whole system can also be disabled there without removing the mod.

Compatibility

Works with Raid Tactics. Combat Extended works. CAI 5000 works, although there may still be some fog of war edge cases. Rimesis can be used alongside it. Some special raid behaviour is skipped while negotiations are active. Vanilla Factions Expanded Deserters and other mods that build their own raid strategies are left alone rather than being pulled into negotiations. RimWar compatible thanks to @BG1K. Safe to add mid save.

Issues / Bugs

If a raid does not stop, payment fails, a rescue breaks or raiders refuse to leave, post your log and mod list. If you like my stuff: