In case anyone's interested, I tweaked hackflow's mod to my liking, which is in fact a completely different take on the whole thing. Basically, while I understand perfectly the idea behind starting perks being somewhat randomized, I also find that it can lead to frustration. This is especially the case if you know the basic chances for each background and then, when you hire a bro and find he doesn't have that perk for which he had a very high chance, you feel like you've been cheated. Also, when you hire a bro with a specific role in mind for him but then find out he has that super low-chance perk that doesn't fit with that role, it is frustrating to think that this is a wasted free perk, which sometimes lead you to change what you had in mind for that bro, which in turn can be another cause of frustration.
Anyway, here is the link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/2v789mdt95g9mx6/mod_background_perks_2.3.zip-661-2-3-1695745447.zip/file
The basic philosophy of this version is to give one defining perk per background, and only to those backgrounds for which a naturally-associated perk can be found (which means that some backgrounds don't get any perk).
A couple of remarks:
- only one perk per background. The only four exceptions are Flagellant, which gets both Flesh on the bones and Cleaver mastery (for whip); Wildman which gets both Pathfinder and Lone Wolf; Minstrel, which gets both Taunt and Rally the Troops; and finally Juggler which gets both Throwing Mastery and Quick Hands.
- in general, I avoided giving perks that only increase an attribute to backgrounds which already get improved starting attributes reflecting their background (e.g. monk already have high resolve which reflects their faith, so no need for Fortified Mind; Farmhand and Miller already get high starting fatigue, so no need to give them Brawny, etc). However, I've made exceptions for a couple of very expensive backgrounds like Oathtakers (which get Fortified Mind in addition to already having high morale).
- I avoided giving perks to backgrounds which already get special abilities that reflect their background (e.g. apprentices already have an innate +10% XP ability to reflect their capacity to learn quickly, so no need to give them Student perk for free in addition). I've made a few exceptions though: Historians get Rally the Troop in addition to their special +15% XP ability, Brawlers get Steel Brow in addition to their special +100% unarmed damage ability, Wildmen get Lone Wolf and Pathfinder in addition to their special -15% XP ability, and Jugglers get Throwing Mastery and Quick Hands in addition to their special +5% chance to hit head ability (which makes it quite a powerful if not overpowered background but as it is a rare background, I've still decided to go with it. Jugglers are the perfect background for thrower-type builds, which is as it should be really).
- on top of these two rules, I've generally tried to always assign a starting perk to very weak backgrounds (such as cripple and beggar), very expensive backgrounds (such as adventuring noble and hedge knight) and uncommon backgrounds (such as flagellant, shepherd, juggler or thief). Widely available and relatively cheap backgrounds like daytaler, farmhand or fisherman, which make up the bulk of early game recruits, haven't been given any perk, mostly for balance reasons (I also could not find any naturally-fitting perk for some of them).
For those interested, below is the list of which background gets which perk (I've also noted down the special abilities that some backgrounds get in vanilla). The re-arranging by types of background (nobles, warriors, manual laborers, etc) is my own and does not reflect accurately the existing in-game affiliations:
Spoiler:
Show
NOBLES - Adventurous Noble Rally the troops (100%) - Disowned Noble Rally the troops (100%) - Hedge Knight Lone Wolf (100%) - Oathtaker Fortified mind (100%) - Crusader Fortified mind (100%) - Squire Student (100%) - Bastard Underdog (100%)
WARRIORS - Swordmaster Sword mastery (100%) - Gladiator Footwork (100%) - Sellsword - Retired Soldier Rotation (100%) - Raider - Beast Slayer Bullseye (100%) - Witchhunters +20 morale at checks against fear, panic, mind control - Barbarian Adrenaline (100%) - Wildman -15% XP. Added Pathfinder (100%) and Lone Wolf (100%) - Militia - Deserter - Houndmaster unleashes confident hounds
LABORERS - Apprentice +10% XP - Bowyer Bow mastery (100%) - Butcher Cleaver mastery (100%) - Caravan Hand Bags and belt (100%) - Daytaler - Farmhand - Fisherman - Gravedigger - Lumberjack Axe mastery (100%) - Hunter Bullseye (100%) - Mason +5% XP - Miller - Miner Hammer mastery (100%) - Messenger Pathfinder (100%) - Shepherd Throwing mastery (100%)
NON-MANUAL LABORERS - Historian +15% XP. Added Rally the troops 100%. - Minstrel Taunt (100%) and Rally the Troops (100%) - Juggler +5% chance to hit head. Added Throwing mastery (100%) and Quick Hands (100%) - Peddler Bags and belt (100%) - Servant Bags and belt (100%) - Tailor Quick hands (100%)
CLERGY - Monk - Flagellant Flesh on the bones (100%) and Cleaver mastery (100%) - Cultist Fearsome (100%)
ROGUES - Brawler +100% unarmed damage. Added Steel brow (100%) - Gambler Nine Lives (100%) - Graverobber - Killer on the Run +10% chance to hit head - Poacher - Thief Quick hands (100%)
Also, for those interested, here is a list of the perks that have been assigned - I've been most generous with Pathfinder (which has been given to five backgrounds) and Rally the Troops (given to four backgrounds):
Not sure I understand. Do you want this to only work on non-starting members?)
I guess there is some sort of miscommunication here. Or maybe it's sad because none of your starting members got anything?
Mind that most backgrounds do not have guaranteed unlocked perks, only certain chance for some of them. And it's normal to get a starting bro or hire one with no perks unlocked.
I used several for different occasions: - Elite Few - Master Bros gives extra talent, higher 2-3 star chance for all telents and other buffs to rare "master" bros - Ultra Bros - allows to set talent min, max and extra chance - Bro Editor - allows to edit bros, including talents
The latter 2 can simplify game a lot, I used them in a run when I ran all my battles automatically with a modified Autopilot mod, which makes you wish all the help you can get :)
Thanks for updating this mod, looks like a ton of fun.
I've made suggestions below on perk chances for most of the backgrounds (focused on the weaker ones in particular). Though I've tried to keep the same philosophy, I've been a bit more generous with chances in general than you were. But honestly, I would even put a lot more chances at 100 to make sure the characters get the perks since I feel it does add a lot more importance to backgrounds and so serve its purpose, which is enhancing role playing by giving more 'personality' to your bros. On the balance side, a lot of testing would be needed of course but a. perfect balance is never going to be achieved, and b. while starting with perks make characters more powerful, they can also be in fact hindrances (i.e. wasted perks) if you wanted to develop the character in a different way (especially with regards to synergy with traits, or alternatively with your playstyle - I'm thinking about lone wolf in particular), so I would say this acts as a mitigating factor for general balance. Some players will find this unfun, which is fine.
There are also two typos in the code (see beggar and peddler).
- apprentice: It would make a lot of sense to give it a high chance to get hammer spec. (50 or maybe even up to 100) since the icon for the apprentice background has a hammer on it and it is clear from the kid blacksmith event that the apprentice is in fact supposed to be a blacksmith apprentice. For the same reason, I would get rid of relentless 5 and replace it with fast adaptation 10 and brawny 10 (a blacksmith learns how to beat the iron better with each stroke and is generally quite muscular given the weight of his instruments and the physical nature of his work). To compensate for this, you could lower gifted 25 to gifted 10.
- barbarian: maybe add a small fearsome 5 chance?
- beggar: there is an unneeded comma after underdog 100, . Could maybe add a very low lone wolf 5 chance since beggars tend to be lonely.
- butcher: I think cranking up the cleaver mastery to 100 would make sense, The icon for the butcher background has a cleaver on it and what butcher isn't an expert with a cleaver? To compensate for it, the executioner 20 and crippling strike 20 chances could both be lowered to 10 and would denote especially talented butchers.
- caravan hand: I would lower bags and belts 100 to 50 but add the following chances: pathfinder 25 (a caravan hand is used to traveling), recover 10 (has mastered the art of recovering his forces during short breaks on the road), brawny 10 (has gotten muscular from all the traveling).
- cripple: would crank up nine lives 50 to 100 (after all, he did survive heavy surgery if he is a cripple, which is quite a miracle with medieval surgery). Would also add maybe a taunt 5 chance (could taunt his opponents to come and fight a cripple if they have enough courage. His taunting habit might also explain why he got crippled in the first place).
- deserter: maybe add a lone wolf 5 chance? After all, deserters must be used to be on their own.
- eunuch: would add a resilient / hold_out 33 chance (he survived a minor operation) and would lower dodge 10 to dodge 5.
- farmhand: I think adding a mastery polearm 33 would make sense (there is a pitchfork on the farmhand background icon). A mastery flail 33 could also make sense in addition since the early game flails are in fact described as agricultural tools.
- flagellant: since flagellants also use whips, it would make sense to give them mastery cleaver 50 in addition to mastery flail 50 (ideally, they would have a 100% chance to either get one or the other but is there any way to do that?). I would also give them resilient / hold_out 33 instead of nine_lives 3 (after all, they haven't survived a near death experience but they do show some resilience to pain).
- gambler: maybe add a fortified mind 20 chance for especially cold-blooded gamblers? On the other hand, I would lower nive lives 25 to 5 since gamblers do have near death experiences but only in the figurative sense of the term (most of the time anyway). Anticipation 20 I understand but in spite of its name, the anticipation perk is mostly about avoiding objects thrown your way and not about anticipating which card your opponent is going to play. On the other hand, adding a taunt 20 chance would be nice since gamblers will often taunt their opponents into raising their bets or going for another game.
- gravedigger: maybe add a low lone wolf 5 chance (gravediggers tend to be avoided by the rest of society) and a low recover 5 chance (recovering after the exhausting task of digging a grave)
- historian: not sure what the underdog 10 (historians tend to come from a privileged backgrounds) and pathfinder 15 (historians are armchair generals more than anything) chances are for, I would remove them. Maybe add instead a rally the troop 10 for especially charismatic historians who may recall great battles of the past to the company on the battlefield to raise their morale?
- hunter: might need to increase a bit the mastery bow 7 to 50 (or maybe even 100) since bows are the preferred weapons of hunters. On the other hand, I'm not sure many people hunted with crossbows, so maybe remove it altogether?
- killer on the run: not sure about the reason why they would get duelist 90, and even less so with such a high chance. Also, giving them a headhunter 15 chance in addition to their innate +10% chance to hit head might be too much. Basically, duelist and headhunter are two high-level powerful perks and I feel it is too overpowered to give them from the beginning to a cheap background like killer on the run. I would remove both of them and replace them with backstabber 50 (which fits better the profile of a killer) and lone wolf 10 (shunned by society). Of course, backstabber and lone wolf perks don't work well together but no one said it has to make sense from a powergaming point of view! And anyway, there is a low chance that any character will get both.
- lumberjack: honestly, mastery axe 50 should be cranked up to mastery axe 100 (same reasons than mastery cleaver 100 for butchers). Mastery axe is a powerful perk but the lumberjack background is actually quite expensive.
- manhunter: I feel like fearsome 40 could be reduced to 20 and that mastery cleaver cleaver 10 should be cranked up to mastery cleaver 100 (who better than a manhunter can handle the whip?). Also, adding a relentless 25 chance would make sense since the manhunter relentlessly hunts his preys.
- messenger: I would crank up pathfinder 50 to pathfinder 100 (the messenger is a very well-travelled individual indeed, and it's a level 1 perk anyway) and remove the footwork 5 perk. Maybe add a small anticipation 10 chance too (used to escape ambushes on the road and adept at avoiding heavy objects being thrown his way by those who receive his messages and are not happy about the news - don't shoot the messenger!).
- miner: mastery hammer 50 should be cranked up to mastery hammer 100 (same reasons than mastery cleaver 100 for butchers and mastery axe 100 for lumberjacks). Maybe also add a small fortified mind 5 chance (it takes a lot of courage to work underground in a dangerous and dark environment).
- minstrel: I would remove the fortified mind 30 chances (I picture minstrels as apt to panick if faced with immediate danger on the battlefield). On the other hand, their taunt 80 might as well be cranked up to 100 and their rally the troops 25 could also be cranked up to 50. I would also add a anticipation 20 chance since minstrels have to be skilled at avoiding objects being thrown at them by angry spectators.
- monk: I would lower fortified mind 100 to 50 (which would help differentiate between an especially pious monk and a more down-to-earth monk - you can always pick fortified mind later for the latter anyway). Maybe crank up student 10 to student 50 to make up for it (to differentiate between a learned monk and an uncouth lowborn monk). Adding a rally the troops 10 would make sense too (a monk can say a prayer aloud on the battlefield to raise the morale of his bros).
- peddler: would definitely crank up bags and belts 10 to bags and belts 100 to make it the defining perk for this background (the peddler is used to going around with all his wares. It's a level 1 perk anyway). Adding taunt 20 (to represent the ability of the peddler to get your attention at the market) and relentless 10 and overwhelm 10 (to represent its relentless pursuit of his objective, that is selling you his crap ware by overwhelming you with a string of reasons about why you should do so) would make sense. Not sure what the mastery throwing 10 is meant to represent, I would get rid of it, peddler don't have a fighting background (and it is written as "throwing" instead of "mastery.throwing" in the code).
- ratcatcher: would crank up hold_out / resilient 10 to 100 (a ratcatcher gets resistant to diseases after having been bitten by rodents so many times) to make it the defining perk of this background. Would also lower all other chances by 10 (effectively removing nimble). To make up for it, I would add lone wolf 20 (its gets lonely down in the sewers).
- refugee: would lower pathfinder 100 to 50 and remove recover 20 (not sure what it's meant to represent). On the other hand, would add underdog 50 (is in a tight spot currently), bags and belt 100 (carries all his stuff around with him) and anticipation 20 (had to avoid a lot of projectiles being thrown at him to save his skin).
- servant: would crank up both quick hands 5 and bags and belts 10 to 50 (a servant is used to carry around a lot of stuff and to handle trays). Not sure what steel brow 50 and gifted 15 are meant to represent, I would get rid of them (maybe leave a low steel brow 10 chance for that frequently abused servant).
- shepherds: would give them mastery throwing 100 (shepherds are supposed to be experts at using slings to protect their herds from wild beasts. Mastery throwing gives additional damage and lower fatigue to slings. And even if they didn't use slings, they would certainnly be experts at throwing stones to wild beasts!). Would also give them lone wolf 50 (it gets lonely up there in the mountains).
- squire: would crank up student 15 to 50 (they're there to learn) and quick hands 1 to 50 as well as adding bags and belts 50 (they were supposed to carry their knight's stuff all around and provide it to them at need). I would also give them shield expert 10 (they were carrying their knight's shield and may have gotten good at handling it).
- tailor: would remove underdog 20 (not sure what it is meant to represent)
- vagabond: would crank up pathfinder 50 to 100 (well-travelled) and remove recover, footwork and relentless (not sure what they're meant to represent). Would instead add underdog 50, lone wolf 30 and dodge 10 (they're used to be in tight spots and to travel alone and dodge the authorities).
- wildman: would maybe add an additional fearsome 5 (they do manage to scare away unholds after all)
Hello, Amgot, glad you liked it. And thanks for a detailed feedback with lots of good suggestions. I feel that I need to explain my approach to giving out starting perks so that things will make more sense to you or anyone else wondering. This mod is understandably from "fun > balance" variety, however, I wouldn't want to tilt the latter too much either, so giving many perks to a single background is the one thing I would like to avoid. I also like hiring having its randomness, it adds to fun and replayability in my opinion. You also should take into account scaling, which grows probabilities from day 1 to day 100, say 10% turns into 21% by day 100 and to 15% by day 50.
I will summarize my take on all of this into points:
1. Shy away from 100% perks unless it's sort of presumed by background, e.g. Swordmaster. Also allow this more for perks with little immediate or overall benefit, like Student or Quick Hands. 2. Do not give too many of perks to a single background, even with a small probabilities. The reasons are scaling and some random generator quirks, which sometimes makes many perks fire at once. The exeption here is weapon masteries as they cannot be used together anyway. 3. Give more for particularly weak backgrounds like Cripple and Historian as long as this feels fitting. 4. When I want to give a perk for role playing/flavour reason, which might break the balance, I would do so with a small probability - 3-7%. This plus scaling is enough for occasionally getting it. 5. I don't want this to become repetative, so I removed a chance to have Resilient, Relentless and Adrenaline for everyone, even small one. I also try to use less some frequent ones and more some rarer ones. Thanks for Hammer idea for Apprentice btw, I overlooked it, and Hammer feels like one of rarer masteries I give now. 6. On top of the previous point spamming Resilient will make various curses, poisons and other effects less relevant for little investment from a player. I didn't want to shut down the entire mechanic like this. 7. Some associations with backgrounds might just differ, i.e. I always considered Historian someone travelling and Nine Lives to be about luck, not about suffering - after all permanent injuries don't make bros better. 8. Finally some stuff was left from the original mod, I will probably make another pass around everything, but when in doubt I tend to leave things as is or only adjust probabilities as a tribute to the original mod author.
In the end I should say a couple of things you used in your justifications. First these perks are indeed free, i.e. a player does not need to spend perk points on them, if a character is given 3 of these at start then he will end up with 13 perks on level 11 (or 14 if Student is in play). And since the vast majority of perks are at worst useless they cannot be seen as hindrances. Second, perks, to my mind, not organized from weaker to stronger by line, and some first line perks like Collosus or Crippling Strikes or Path Finder can be significant immediate bonus.
Having said all that I need to repeat that I see many good suggestions in your post and I will take my time to go through and apply those of them that make sense to me and also fit the above framework.
Thanks again for your extensive feedback and I hope this answers some of your questions.
I didn't realize the perks provided were 'free' perks, I thought they were deducted from the total amount of perks you're allowed to have when you reach level 11. So this changes things a bit indeed. Regarding scaling, I'm a bit hesitant on whether it is a good idea or not since I feel it might unbalance things too much when combined with the randomness of perk attribution.
Anyhow, agree with your point.1. Regarding weapon masteries in particular, here are my two cents:
- Mace mastery: can't think of any background which should have a 100% chance to have it.
- Flail mastery: same thing. However, flagellants having a 50% chance to have it is a good idea (it's a rare background anyway).
- Hammer mastery: apprentice should maybe only have a 50% chance to get it since it's a cheap and already good background. On the other hand, I've alway felt miner was a weak background often coming with bad traits (but maybe that's just my imagination, haven't checked the wiki), so giving them a 100% chance to get free hammer perk would be a much needed boost and would make sense given their line of work and the pike icon of their background.
- Axe mastery: I still think lumberjacks should have a 100% chance to have it since it makes total sense they should and they're quite expensive to hire (not a cheap background).
- Cleaver mastery: for cleavers, it would completely make sense butchers have a 100% chance to have it. However, from a balance perspective, they're already a good, cheap and quite widely available background, so 100% might be a bit too much. Leaving things as they are (50% chance plus 20% chance to get crippling strike and executioner) might be best. For whips, I think manhunters should have a 100% chance to have cleaver mastery. I can't make up my mind about flagellants since there is also that flail mastery chance.
- Sword mastery: Swordmaster should have a 100 chance to get it (as is already the case). I can't think of any other background that should get it by default.
- Dagger mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. Assassins and thieves should have high chances to get it but not up to 100%, as is already the case.
- Polearm mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. Farmhands and militia at least should have limited chances to get it.
- Spear mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. As is already the case, militia for sure should have some chance to get it but not 100%. I would also give a small chance to beast hunters to have it (they often come equipped with spears and spears are one of the weapons of choice for hunting).
- Crossbow and firearm mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. As is already the case, witchunters should have quite high chances to get it though but not up to 100%.
- Bow mastery: I'm on the fence on giving hunters a 100% chance to get it. It would make sense but might be a bit too powerful, hunter is already a good background and not so expensive. On the other hand, shouldn't the relatively rare and weak bowyer background have a 100% chance to get it? It would make sense given their work and the bowyer background icon showing a bow and would provide a small boost to that background.
- Throwing mastery: giving a 100% chance to get it to shepherds would make sense (for slings) and would be a a nice boost to an otherwise relatively neglected and weak background. I would also give a 100% chance to get it to jugglers, which are a rare background too. Finally, as is already the case, beast slayers should have a high chance to have it as well (they're used to throwing nets and spears at their preys).
15 comments
https://www.nexusmods.com/battlebrothers/mods/461?tab=description
that also scales with time?
I have that mod edited/updated for personal use but I cant figure out how to properly add the scaling part.
Anyway, here is the link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/2v789mdt95g9mx6/mod_background_perks_2.3.zip-661-2-3-1695745447.zip/file
The basic philosophy of this version is to give one defining perk per background, and only to those backgrounds for which a naturally-associated perk can be found (which means that some backgrounds don't get any perk).
A couple of remarks:
- only one perk per background. The only four exceptions are Flagellant, which gets both Flesh on the bones and Cleaver mastery (for whip); Wildman which gets both Pathfinder and Lone Wolf; Minstrel, which gets both Taunt and Rally the Troops; and finally Juggler which gets both Throwing Mastery and Quick Hands.
- in general, I avoided giving perks that only increase an attribute to backgrounds which already get improved starting attributes reflecting their background (e.g. monk already have high resolve which reflects their faith, so no need for Fortified Mind; Farmhand and Miller already get high starting fatigue, so no need to give them Brawny, etc). However, I've made exceptions for a couple of very expensive backgrounds like Oathtakers (which get Fortified Mind in addition to already having high morale).
- I avoided giving perks to backgrounds which already get special abilities that reflect their background (e.g. apprentices already have an innate +10% XP ability to reflect their capacity to learn quickly, so no need to give them Student perk for free in addition).
I've made a few exceptions though: Historians get Rally the Troop in addition to their special +15% XP ability, Brawlers get Steel Brow in addition to their special +100% unarmed damage ability, Wildmen get Lone Wolf and Pathfinder in addition to their special -15% XP ability, and Jugglers get Throwing Mastery and Quick Hands in addition to their special +5% chance to hit head ability (which makes it quite a powerful if not overpowered background but as it is a rare background, I've still decided to go with it. Jugglers are the perfect background for thrower-type builds, which is as it should be really).
- on top of these two rules, I've generally tried to always assign a starting perk to very weak backgrounds (such as cripple and beggar), very expensive backgrounds (such as adventuring noble and hedge knight) and uncommon backgrounds (such as flagellant, shepherd, juggler or thief). Widely available and relatively cheap backgrounds like daytaler, farmhand or fisherman, which make up the bulk of early game recruits, haven't been given any perk, mostly for balance reasons (I also could not find any naturally-fitting perk for some of them).
For those interested, below is the list of which background gets which perk (I've also noted down the special abilities that some backgrounds get in vanilla). The re-arranging by types of background (nobles, warriors, manual laborers, etc) is my own and does not reflect accurately the existing in-game affiliations:
NOBLES
- Adventurous Noble Rally the troops (100%)
- Disowned Noble Rally the troops (100%)
- Hedge Knight Lone Wolf (100%)
- Oathtaker Fortified mind (100%)
- Crusader Fortified mind (100%)
- Squire Student (100%)
- Bastard Underdog (100%)
WARRIORS
- Swordmaster Sword mastery (100%)
- Gladiator Footwork (100%)
- Sellsword
- Retired Soldier Rotation (100%)
- Raider
- Beast Slayer Bullseye (100%)
- Witchhunters +20 morale at checks against fear, panic, mind control
- Barbarian Adrenaline (100%)
- Wildman -15% XP. Added Pathfinder (100%) and Lone Wolf (100%)
- Militia
- Deserter
- Houndmaster unleashes confident hounds
LABORERS
- Apprentice +10% XP
- Bowyer Bow mastery (100%)
- Butcher Cleaver mastery (100%)
- Caravan Hand Bags and belt (100%)
- Daytaler
- Farmhand
- Fisherman
- Gravedigger
- Lumberjack Axe mastery (100%)
- Hunter Bullseye (100%)
- Mason +5% XP
- Miller
- Miner Hammer mastery (100%)
- Messenger Pathfinder (100%)
- Shepherd Throwing mastery (100%)
NON-MANUAL LABORERS
- Historian +15% XP. Added Rally the troops 100%.
- Minstrel Taunt (100%) and Rally the Troops (100%)
- Juggler +5% chance to hit head. Added Throwing mastery (100%) and Quick Hands (100%)
- Peddler Bags and belt (100%)
- Servant Bags and belt (100%)
- Tailor Quick hands (100%)
CLERGY
- Monk
- Flagellant Flesh on the bones (100%) and Cleaver mastery (100%)
- Cultist Fearsome (100%)
ROGUES
- Brawler +100% unarmed damage. Added Steel brow (100%)
- Gambler Nine Lives (100%)
- Graverobber
- Killer on the Run +10% chance to hit head
- Poacher
- Thief Quick hands (100%)
PAUPERS
- Ratcatcher Resilient (100%)
- Refugee Pathfinder (100%)
- Vagabond Pathfinder (100%)
- Beggar Underdog (100%)
- Cripple Nine Lives (100%)
MISC
- Eunuch Taunt (100%)
- Anatomist Crippling Strikes (100%)
- Pimp
- Belly Dancer Dodge (100%)
SOUTHERNERS
- Southern Assassin Executioner (100%)
- Nomad Pathfinder (100%)
- Manhunter Cleaver mastery (100%)
- Indebted Flesh on the Bones (100%)
Also, for those interested, here is a list of the perks that have been assigned - I've been most generous with Pathfinder (which has been given to five backgrounds) and Rally the Troops (given to four backgrounds):
Pathfinder: 5
Rally the troops: 4
Underdog: 3
Bags and belt: 3
Quick hands: 3
Cleaver mastery: 3
Lone Wolf: 2
Flesh on the bones: 2
Fortified Mind: 2
Bullseye: 2
Nine Lives: 2
Taunt: 2
Throwing mastery: 2
Student: 1
Steel brow: 1
Resilient: 1
Footwork: 1
Rotation: 1
Adrenaline: 1
Dodge: 1
Crippling strikes: 1
Executioner: 1
Fearsome: 1
Sword Mastery: 1
Bow mastery: 1
Axe mastery: 1
Hammer mastery: 1
I guess there is some sort of miscommunication here. Or maybe it's sad because none of your starting members got anything?
Mind that most backgrounds do not have guaranteed unlocked perks, only certain chance for some of them. And it's normal to get a starting bro or hire one with no perks unlocked.
Also what mod you use which makes bros talented in 4-6 attrs?
- Elite Few - Master Bros gives extra talent, higher 2-3 star chance for all telents and other buffs to rare "master" bros
- Ultra Bros - allows to set talent min, max and extra chance
- Bro Editor - allows to edit bros, including talents
The latter 2 can simplify game a lot, I used them in a run when I ran all my battles automatically with a modified Autopilot mod, which makes you wish all the help you can get :)
I've made suggestions below on perk chances for most of the backgrounds (focused on the weaker ones in particular). Though I've tried to keep the same philosophy, I've been a bit more generous with chances in general than you were. But honestly, I would even put a lot more chances at 100 to make sure the characters get the perks since I feel it does add a lot more importance to backgrounds and so serve its purpose, which is enhancing role playing by giving more 'personality' to your bros. On the balance side, a lot of testing would be needed of course but a. perfect balance is never going to be achieved, and b. while starting with perks make characters more powerful, they can also be in fact hindrances (i.e. wasted perks) if you wanted to develop the character in a different way (especially with regards to synergy with traits, or alternatively with your playstyle - I'm thinking about lone wolf in particular), so I would say this acts as a mitigating factor for general balance. Some players will find this unfun, which is fine.
There are also two typos in the code (see beggar and peddler).
- apprentice: It would make a lot of sense to give it a high chance to get hammer spec. (50 or maybe even up to 100) since the icon for the apprentice background has a hammer on it and it is clear from the kid blacksmith event that the apprentice is in fact supposed to be a blacksmith apprentice.
For the same reason, I would get rid of relentless 5 and replace it with fast adaptation 10 and brawny 10 (a blacksmith learns how to beat the iron better with each stroke and is generally quite muscular given the weight of his instruments and the physical nature of his work).
To compensate for this, you could lower gifted 25 to gifted 10.
- barbarian: maybe add a small fearsome 5 chance?
- beggar: there is an unneeded comma after underdog 100, . Could maybe add a very low lone wolf 5 chance since beggars tend to be lonely.
- butcher: I think cranking up the cleaver mastery to 100 would make sense, The icon for the butcher background has a cleaver on it and what butcher isn't an expert with a cleaver? To compensate for it, the executioner 20 and crippling strike 20 chances could both be lowered to 10 and would denote especially talented butchers.
- caravan hand: I would lower bags and belts 100 to 50 but add the following chances: pathfinder 25 (a caravan hand is used to traveling), recover 10 (has mastered the art of recovering his forces during short breaks on the road), brawny 10 (has gotten muscular from all the traveling).
- cripple: would crank up nine lives 50 to 100 (after all, he did survive heavy surgery if he is a cripple, which is quite a miracle with medieval surgery). Would also add maybe a taunt 5 chance (could taunt his opponents to come and fight a cripple if they have enough courage. His taunting habit might also explain why he got crippled in the first place).
- deserter: maybe add a lone wolf 5 chance? After all, deserters must be used to be on their own.
- eunuch: would add a resilient / hold_out 33 chance (he survived a minor operation) and would lower dodge 10 to dodge 5.
- farmhand: I think adding a mastery polearm 33 would make sense (there is a pitchfork on the farmhand background icon). A mastery flail 33 could also make sense in addition since the early game flails are in fact described as agricultural tools.
- flagellant: since flagellants also use whips, it would make sense to give them mastery cleaver 50 in addition to mastery flail 50 (ideally, they would have a 100% chance to either get one or the other but is there any way to do that?). I would also give them resilient / hold_out 33 instead of nine_lives 3 (after all, they haven't survived a near death experience but they do show some resilience to pain).
- gambler: maybe add a fortified mind 20 chance for especially cold-blooded gamblers? On the other hand, I would lower nive lives 25 to 5 since gamblers do have near death experiences but only in the figurative sense of the term (most of the time anyway). Anticipation 20 I understand but in spite of its name, the anticipation perk is mostly about avoiding objects thrown your way and not about anticipating which card your opponent is going to play. On the other hand, adding a taunt 20 chance would be nice since gamblers will often taunt their opponents into raising their bets or going for another game.
- gravedigger: maybe add a low lone wolf 5 chance (gravediggers tend to be avoided by the rest of society) and a low recover 5 chance (recovering after the exhausting task of digging a grave)
- historian: not sure what the underdog 10 (historians tend to come from a privileged backgrounds) and pathfinder 15 (historians are armchair generals more than anything) chances are for, I would remove them. Maybe add instead a rally the troop 10 for especially charismatic historians who may recall great battles of the past to the company on the battlefield to raise their morale?
- hunter: might need to increase a bit the mastery bow 7 to 50 (or maybe even 100) since bows are the preferred weapons of hunters. On the other hand, I'm not sure many people hunted with crossbows, so maybe remove it altogether?
- killer on the run: not sure about the reason why they would get duelist 90, and even less so with such a high chance. Also, giving them a headhunter 15 chance in addition to their innate +10% chance to hit head might be too much. Basically, duelist and headhunter are two high-level powerful perks and I feel it is too overpowered to give them from the beginning to a cheap background like killer on the run.
I would remove both of them and replace them with backstabber 50 (which fits better the profile of a killer) and lone wolf 10 (shunned by society). Of course, backstabber and lone wolf perks don't work well together but no one said it has to make sense from a powergaming point of view! And anyway, there is a low chance that any character will get both.
- lumberjack: honestly, mastery axe 50 should be cranked up to mastery axe 100 (same reasons than mastery cleaver 100 for butchers). Mastery axe is a powerful perk but the lumberjack background is actually quite expensive.
- manhunter: I feel like fearsome 40 could be reduced to 20 and that mastery cleaver cleaver 10 should be cranked up to mastery cleaver 100 (who better than a manhunter can handle the whip?). Also, adding a relentless 25 chance would make sense since the manhunter relentlessly hunts his preys.
- messenger: I would crank up pathfinder 50 to pathfinder 100 (the messenger is a very well-travelled individual indeed, and it's a level 1 perk anyway) and remove the footwork 5 perk. Maybe add a small anticipation 10 chance too (used to escape ambushes on the road and adept at avoiding heavy objects being thrown his way by those who receive his messages and are not happy about the news - don't shoot the messenger!).
- miner: mastery hammer 50 should be cranked up to mastery hammer 100 (same reasons than mastery cleaver 100 for butchers and mastery axe 100 for lumberjacks). Maybe also add a small fortified mind 5 chance (it takes a lot of courage to work underground in a dangerous and dark environment).
- minstrel: I would remove the fortified mind 30 chances (I picture minstrels as apt to panick if faced with immediate danger on the battlefield). On the other hand, their taunt 80 might as well be cranked up to 100 and their rally the troops 25 could also be cranked up to 50. I would also add a anticipation 20 chance since minstrels have to be skilled at avoiding objects being thrown at them by angry spectators.
- monk: I would lower fortified mind 100 to 50 (which would help differentiate between an especially pious monk and a more down-to-earth monk - you can always pick fortified mind later for the latter anyway). Maybe crank up student 10 to student 50 to make up for it (to differentiate between a learned monk and an uncouth lowborn monk). Adding a rally the troops 10 would make sense too (a monk can say a prayer aloud on the battlefield to raise the morale of his bros).
- peddler: would definitely crank up bags and belts 10 to bags and belts 100 to make it the defining perk for this background (the peddler is used to going around with all his wares. It's a level 1 perk anyway). Adding taunt 20 (to represent the ability of the peddler to get your attention at the market) and relentless 10 and overwhelm 10 (to represent its relentless pursuit of his objective, that is selling you his crap ware by overwhelming you with a string of reasons about why you should do so) would make sense. Not sure what the mastery throwing 10 is meant to represent, I would get rid of it, peddler don't have a fighting background (and it is written as "throwing" instead of "mastery.throwing" in the code).
- ratcatcher: would crank up hold_out / resilient 10 to 100 (a ratcatcher gets resistant to diseases after having been bitten by rodents so many times) to make it the defining perk of this background. Would also lower all other chances by 10 (effectively removing nimble). To make up for it, I would add lone wolf 20 (its gets lonely down in the sewers).
- refugee: would lower pathfinder 100 to 50 and remove recover 20 (not sure what it's meant to represent). On the other hand, would add underdog 50 (is in a tight spot currently), bags and belt 100 (carries all his stuff around with him) and anticipation 20 (had to avoid a lot of projectiles being thrown at him to save his skin).
- servant: would crank up both quick hands 5 and bags and belts 10 to 50 (a servant is used to carry around a lot of stuff and to handle trays). Not sure what steel brow 50 and gifted 15 are meant to represent, I would get rid of them (maybe leave a low steel brow 10 chance for that frequently abused servant).
- shepherds: would give them mastery throwing 100 (shepherds are supposed to be experts at using slings to protect their herds from wild beasts. Mastery throwing gives additional damage and lower fatigue to slings. And even if they didn't use slings, they would certainnly be experts at throwing stones to wild beasts!). Would also give them lone wolf 50 (it gets lonely up there in the mountains).
- squire: would crank up student 15 to 50 (they're there to learn) and quick hands 1 to 50 as well as adding bags and belts 50 (they were supposed to carry their knight's stuff all around and provide it to them at need). I would also give them shield expert 10 (they were carrying their knight's shield and may have gotten good at handling it).
- tailor: would remove underdog 20 (not sure what it is meant to represent)
- vagabond: would crank up pathfinder 50 to 100 (well-travelled) and remove recover, footwork and relentless (not sure what they're meant to represent). Would instead add underdog 50, lone wolf 30 and dodge 10 (they're used to be in tight spots and to travel alone and dodge the authorities).
- wildman: would maybe add an additional fearsome 5 (they do manage to scare away unholds after all)
I will summarize my take on all of this into points:
1. Shy away from 100% perks unless it's sort of presumed by background, e.g. Swordmaster. Also allow this more for perks with little immediate or overall benefit, like Student or Quick Hands.
2. Do not give too many of perks to a single background, even with a small probabilities. The reasons are scaling and some random generator quirks, which sometimes makes many perks fire at once. The exeption here is weapon masteries as they cannot be used together anyway.
3. Give more for particularly weak backgrounds like Cripple and Historian as long as this feels fitting.
4. When I want to give a perk for role playing/flavour reason, which might break the balance, I would do so with a small probability - 3-7%. This plus scaling is enough for occasionally getting it.
5. I don't want this to become repetative, so I removed a chance to have Resilient, Relentless and Adrenaline for everyone, even small one. I also try to use less some frequent ones and more some rarer ones. Thanks for Hammer idea for Apprentice btw, I overlooked it, and Hammer feels like one of rarer masteries I give now.
6. On top of the previous point spamming Resilient will make various curses, poisons and other effects less relevant for little investment from a player. I didn't want to shut down the entire mechanic like this.
7. Some associations with backgrounds might just differ, i.e. I always considered Historian someone travelling and Nine Lives to be about luck, not about suffering - after all permanent injuries don't make bros better.
8. Finally some stuff was left from the original mod, I will probably make another pass around everything, but when in doubt I tend to leave things as is or only adjust probabilities as a tribute to the original mod author.
In the end I should say a couple of things you used in your justifications. First these perks are indeed free, i.e. a player does not need to spend perk points on them, if a character is given 3 of these at start then he will end up with 13 perks on level 11 (or 14 if Student is in play). And since the vast majority of perks are at worst useless they cannot be seen as hindrances. Second, perks, to my mind, not organized from weaker to stronger by line, and some first line perks like Collosus or Crippling Strikes or Path Finder can be significant immediate bonus.
Having said all that I need to repeat that I see many good suggestions in your post and I will take my time to go through and apply those of them that make sense to me and also fit the above framework.
Thanks again for your extensive feedback and I hope this answers some of your questions.
Anyhow, agree with your point.1. Regarding weapon masteries in particular, here are my two cents:
- Mace mastery: can't think of any background which should have a 100% chance to have it.
- Flail mastery: same thing. However, flagellants having a 50% chance to have it is a good idea (it's a rare background anyway).
- Hammer mastery: apprentice should maybe only have a 50% chance to get it since it's a cheap and already good background. On the other hand, I've alway felt miner was a weak background often coming with bad traits (but maybe that's just my imagination, haven't checked the wiki), so giving them a 100% chance to get free hammer perk would be a much needed boost and would make sense given their line of work and the pike icon of their background.
- Axe mastery: I still think lumberjacks should have a 100% chance to have it since it makes total sense they should and they're quite expensive to hire (not a cheap background).
- Cleaver mastery: for cleavers, it would completely make sense butchers have a 100% chance to have it. However, from a balance perspective, they're already a good, cheap and quite widely available background, so 100% might be a bit too much. Leaving things as they are (50% chance plus 20% chance to get crippling strike and executioner) might be best.
For whips, I think manhunters should have a 100% chance to have cleaver mastery. I can't make up my mind about flagellants since there is also that flail mastery chance.
- Sword mastery: Swordmaster should have a 100 chance to get it (as is already the case). I can't think of any other background that should get it by default.
- Dagger mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. Assassins and thieves should have high chances to get it but not up to 100%, as is already the case.
- Polearm mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. Farmhands and militia at least should have limited chances to get it.
- Spear mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. As is already the case, militia for sure should have some chance to get it but not 100%. I would also give a small chance to beast hunters to have it (they often come equipped with spears and spears are one of the weapons of choice for hunting).
- Crossbow and firearm mastery: can't think of any background that should get it by default. As is already the case, witchunters should have quite high chances to get it though but not up to 100%.
- Bow mastery: I'm on the fence on giving hunters a 100% chance to get it. It would make sense but might be a bit too powerful, hunter is already a good background and not so expensive. On the other hand, shouldn't the relatively rare and weak bowyer background have a 100% chance to get it? It would make sense given their work and the bowyer background icon showing a bow and would provide a small boost to that background.
- Throwing mastery: giving a 100% chance to get it to shepherds would make sense (for slings) and would be a a nice boost to an otherwise relatively neglected and weak background. I would also give a 100% chance to get it to jugglers, which are a rare background too. Finally, as is already the case, beast slayers should have a high chance to have it as well (they're used to throwing nets and spears at their preys).
When starting a new game, for example, for a beggar +, or for a berserker, there is an endless generation of the map.