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# System prepended metadata

title: Random Events
tags: [Design]

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# Random Events

Random Event
:    Also known as a "Mid-round Event", random events trigger at random points during the round and cause something to happen. These events are usually disruptive in nature, though not always.

Concern
:    In the context of Shiptest, any issue that players, either as individuals or as a group, are intended to encounter and address in some way.

###### tags: `Design`

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Random Events function primarily as a player concern, acting as occasional disruptions (and rarely boons) of varying degrees of severity that will affect players in some form.

Random events are split into three kinds: Ship events, Location Events, and System Events.

- Ship events are localized to a singular ship. These are usually minor in nature.
- Location events are localized to a single dynamic location.
- System events affect the overmap, and vary wildly in intensity.

## Terror and Nightmares

:::danger
PROBLEM
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Random events are intended primarily to be disruptions to give crews something to do, but in the case of crews that are already pre-occupied, for example with some kind of roleplaying scene or long-form project, won't this get super annoying?
:::

To address the above, the system will consider two additional metrics: **Terror** and **Nightmares**.

Terror
:    A stat that is hidden from players, which acts as a loose representation of how unpleasant a ship is for one reason or another. A higher Terror level increases the frequency and severity of ship events as well as enabling unique ones.

Nightmares
:    Similar to Terror, Nightmares are harder to gain and much harder to lose. Nightmares increase the rate at which terror is gained and enable unique ship events, the vast majority of which are bad for you.

The intended goal is to allow for players to stave off the more dangerous random events by investing time into basic ship maintenance to reduce Terror.

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Terror is accrued when unpleasant activities:bangbang: happen on the ship. Leaving corpses and filth and blood everywhere, letting people go hungry, etc.

If your Terror maxes out, a unique, severe, and potentially fatal event will immediately trigger. One of the outcomes of this event will reduce your Terror sharply, but increment your Nightmares.

Terror can be reduced in various ways:

- Specific rituals
- Returning to dock at an outpost after a long enough period of time away
- Random Event Triggering will reduce terror somewhat to reduce the chances of another event triggering soon after the first

Nightmares can only be reduced through extraordinary means. Your first level of Nightmares will have unique events associated with it that are not that severe, but further levels will cause more issues.