Shadow Empire: Republica | Moodboard & Designer Notes #1 - Democracy

Vic (VR Designs) is hard at work completing Republica DLC for Shadow Empire, an expansion that focuses on politics. With this DLC, we’re introducing a completely new layer of depth to how regimes are governed, and how political systems can evolve over time.

To give players a sneak peek at what's coming, we're sharing a series of mood boards, each accompanied by designer notes, for all nine political systems featured in the Republica DLC. Today, we begin with our first entry: Democracy.

Parliament in session; The president speaks.

Please note that these images and ideas are conceptual representations of the Republica DLC. In-game footage will be shared later in development.

Moodboard: Democracy

The two leaders of the Democratic Front (DF) sat slumped on their stools, the weight of defeat pressing down on them. The rally hall, once filled with the roar of supporters and the clinking of beer steins, was now eerily quiet, save for the distant murmur of the giant Vidscreens replaying the night’s dismal election results. The big man, Darius, his bald head gleaming under the dim lights, glanced at the slender, statuesque woman beside him.

“Evanah,” he sighed, his voice thick with disbelief, “how did we only take 10% of the vote?”

Evanah, with her sharp features and piercing eyes, downed a shot of strong liquor in one swift motion, slamming the glass onto the counter. “Darius,” she muttered, her voice laced with bitterness, “we miscalculated everything. We assumed giving them what they wanted would bring us victory…”

She signaled the bartender for another drink, her mind racing. “Victory, yes,” she continued, her words gaining momentum, “but that’s the problem, Darius. It’s the victory of the army over the Raider Clans—the president’s army, the majority’s army! That’s how the people see it…”
“But we voted for tax relief, for social housing,” Darius interrupted, his tone desperate. “All the things the people said they wanted.”

Evanah turned to him, her gaze cold and analytical, as if dissecting a specimen. “Nobody gets it, Darius,” she snapped. “We offered them paper, words, and votes… Votes for laws that never got adopted. It’s all promises and empty rhetoric.”

“But…” Darius tried to interject.

“No!” Evanah’s voice rose as she slammed her hands on the table, her frustration boiling over. “We have to go about this differently. As long as the president delivers glory and real improvements, our words don’t stand a chance.”

Darius leaned back, a nervous tension in his posture. “Fair enough, Evanah. You’re the sharpest mind we’ve got. You know I’ll back you, but I’m not sure where you’re going with this…”

The bartender placed a fresh glass of limelight brandy before Evanah, who downed it quickly but set the glass down more carefully this time.

“Darius,” she said, her voice softening into something more conspiratorial, “we need chaos… and we need the people to stop thinking about their country and start thinking about themselves.”

Darius’s face paled, fear flickering in his eyes. “But… that sounds a bit… evil, doesn’t it?”

Evanah slid off her stool, stood straight and fixed him with a steely gaze. “Yes,” she replied, her voice deadly calm, “and that’s exactly what we’ll need to be.”

For a moment, they locked eyes in silence. Darius was the first to look away.

“But,” Evanah added with a sly smile, “no one will know. It’ll be our little secret.”

Darius nodded slowly, a resigned acceptance in his gesture.
“Excellent,” Evanah said, her tone brightening. “At our next meeting, we’ll need to secure funding for these operations.”
Darius slid off his stool, mumbling, “Yes, yes… we should close up here.”

Evanah wrapped an arm around his shoulder, giving him a reassuring shake. “Cheer up!” she said, her voice dripping with false warmth. “It’s all for the greater good. We’ll get there together.”

With that, they left the bar, two figures shrouded in the shadows of ambition and deceit, ready to do whatever it took to win the elections.

Designer Notes: the Democratic System in Republica DLC

In the story above Darius and Evanah talk about the voting in parliament, this ties directly into a core mechanic introduced in the Republica DLC: Laws.

With Republica DLC, Factions can now propose and vote on laws, which can be enacted or repealed through parliamentary votes. The voting record of a Faction will allow it to attract more popular support, especially Populist Factions will be likely to vote the way that brings them votes, instead of what corresponds with their Faction Profile.

Enacted Laws can give your Regime all kinds of serious bonuses and advantages, but there is a downside. It also ties up Credits, BP and/or PP needed to execute these Laws. Especially the Democracy political system is prone to getting too many Laws voted in, bloating your budget. Once a Democracy shifts further towards a Spoiled Democracy the number of enacted Laws can really get disastrous. Don’t get me wrong… Democracy remains a good system. But it now comes with more caveats and eventual challenges.

The road to a Spoiled Democracy is a gradual and sloping path. The key driver towards it is decreasing Virtus. The nasty Faction Leader “Evanah” in our mood story is actually aiming at that. She is probably planning covert actions to decrease Virtus.

New System: Virtus Score

Virtus Score is a key new variable coming with Republica DLC.

Virtus Score represents the intangible life force of a culture, the faith of your people in each other, their virtue and their readiness to sacrifice themselves for the common good. People at high Virtus are bonded together and share a common goal. However, over time there is a strong possibility that any common goals get “old” or the shine just wears off for any of a myriad of reasons… and enthusiasm will die down.

Once this happens whatever political system you are in will start to degrade and turn nasty. The Populace and the Leaders will lose their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the common good. This means foremost that it will become very hard to recruit new Soldiers and keep their morale up. A Nation with low Virtus will grow weak in many ways, but foremost: militarily. It is not that low Virtus nations cannot put up a fight, it is just that in a nation where there is no solidarity or common cause people will be loath to take risks and sacrifice themselves for others.

Note that lower Virtus will hamper the government's military efforts, but will help Populists' credibility, making them do better in elections, exactly what the leadership of the DF Faction, in the story above, needs.

Stay tuned for our next Moodboard and Designer Notes diary, where we’ll dive into the next political system in the Republica lineup.

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