Introduction The upcoming game update will greatly change many of the core mechanics. We decided to describe some of the changes in this short article so that our current players wont feel completely lost when we launch the update. Brotherhood Ideology Now the Brotherhood and all its supporters follow the ideology that the player chooses at the start of the game. This ideology determines how the Brothers want to see the world, their goals and methods to achieve them. The more this ideology is shared around the world, the easier it is for the Brotherhood to find supporters and gain resources for the operational activities. Brotherhood Resources The resource system is getting really simple. Now it consists of only two types: the global resource of the Brotherhood and the local influence in a particular country. The local influence is required for neophytes and adepts to run errands within the country, change its laws, oppress certain population groups, and so on. They can also gain this influence for the Brotherhood, but only in the country in which they are located. You cant transfer a local resource from one country to another, you will have to gain influence in new lands from scratch. The global resource is required for Masters to run errands of the Brotherhood per se. For example, it is spent on attracting new supporters. You can get this resource by using Lodges in case the ideas of the Brotherhood are widespread enough in the country. Brotherhood Greatness Whether its a member of the Brotherhood or just a civil servant, everyone has a personal influence parameter. For civil servants, personal influence strongly depends on the power and level of the country as well as the position held by the servant. For the Masters of the Brotherhood, it depends on their experience and the general greatness of the Brotherhood. If the level of the Master's personal influence is far below the level of the influence of a minister of trade, itll be difficult even to get an appointment with this minister, let alone convince him of the ideas of the Brotherhood. The more influential countries find themselves in the webs of intrigue woven by the Brotherhood, the greater the personal influence bonus each of its members will receive. Spreading Ideas Spreading the ideology of the Brotherhood will now become a much more interesting and complex task. The ideological pressure errand is no longer available, yet all supporters of the Brotherhood passively spread the ideology at their location. Political forces and estates create the heaviest political pressure while different segments of the population have their own preferences. Aristocrats, for example, are much more willing to accept the ideas of Feudalism or Absolutism than Socialism or Liberalism. Rite of Passage From now on, you cant get a new Master by simply dragging a neophyte to an empty slot. Several conditions need to be met before the Worshipful Master can conduct an initiation ceremony. He is the only Master who has the right to do it. If for some reason the Brotherhood loses the Worshipful Master, then any of the remaining Masters can perform the rite of initiation and take his place. The loss of all six masters means the end of the Brotherhood. Changing Traits Almost all of the traits have been redesigned and rebalanced to have higher importance and coherence with the gameplay. There are a lot of new traits that make a character build more meaningful when leveling up a brother. Masters Specialty Masters will have their specialty. From now on, only the Worshipful Master will be able to create new Lodges. Tyler will make assassination attempts and interrogate prisoners. Orator will be able to increase the loyalty of supporters and undermine that of everyone else. Also, Masters will have a number of unique features, depending on their title. Ideology and its influence Ideology is the idea that people have about how society and the world around them function. If you change the ideological pattern in peoples heads, they themselves will change the world according to the new pattern. The dominant ideology in the region determines which estates are desirable and which are unacceptable; what powers and rights certain segments of society have. The ideology shared by a political force determines what forms of government will be available if this force takes power. The form of government, in turn, determines the legal restrictions that can be established on the territory of the country. The populations demand for the particular ruling political force also depends on the adopted ideology. In addition to the basic needs of livelihood, people want specific needs to be met as well. Nationalists want people of the same nationality to live next to them, Liberalists want strict compliance with the laws by all segments of society, Egalitarians want universal equality in rights. The support for the ruling political force by the population depends on whether these needs are met or not. As a result, the entire image of society in a certain territory is determined by the ideology in the minds of representatives of this very society. Brotherhood Support Ideas are the Brotherhood's main weapon for transforming the world. After choosing a particular ideology as an example of a perfect world to live in, the Brotherhood shares it with every neophyte. The members of the Brotherhood consider it their duty to spread bright ideas wherever possible. Each Brother creates ideological pressure in his country, which slowly puts the necessary ideas in the minds of ordinary people. The chosen ideology sets a certain range of criteria. They determine how close the society is to the condition that the Brotherhood wants. The closer the society is to the desired condition, the easier it is for the Brotherhood to find support among the population and gain resources to achieve their goals. To get a reliable Brotherhood outpost in any country, its necessary to recruit at least 30% of government employees into the Brotherhood and complete at least a part of the ideological criteria. Youll also need to establish a lodge with the help of which the Brotherhood will collect resources for its further expansion. The Spread of Ideology Ideology spreads due to ideological pressure created in a number of ways. The stronger the pressure, the more people will share this ideology. The sources of the ideological pressure can be: Members of the Brotherhood: neophytes, adepts, and masters. Please note that the strength of the pressure created by an adept depends on the importance of the post he holds in the government, and the strength of a master depends on his level. Political forces that regularly canvass the population. Surely, the public force has more opportunities for agitation than the secret one. Some estates themselves spread the ideology that they share. A clear example is the Intellectuals. By trading with a neighboring region, the population can pick up new trends or make sure that the neighbors share the same views. People, however, are not ready to accept any ideology so easily. For example, the Aristocrats are much more impressed by the ideas of Feudalism than Socialism, otherwise, they lose their privileged status. So different estates prefer some ideologies and reject others, which affects the way the ideological pressure can be effective.