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Sickened by the enduring conflict, the Twilight Council hosts assemblies to end the war, bringing together all the Woodland from the lowliest mouse-in-a-sack to the mightiest hawk with a royal claim. The assemblies emphasize political connections over pure numbers of warriors, pushing the factions away from bloody battle and toward heated debate. As the Council progresses in their mission, they can declare edicts to change how the assemblies work, manipulating their enemies’ incentives and actions.
Throughout history, diasporas have played a critical role in societies and their politics. Because of their precarious position, they have been used and abused by monarchs, empires, and hegemonic cultures, whether through labor exploitation, use as a political wedge, or scapegoating. So it’s about time that they got their due in Root, in the form of the Lilypad Diaspora. In case you’re not familiar with them yet, here’s how I pitch them:
I started to ponder the expansion: what part of Root was I interested in exploring? Here’s what: Root is a living, breathing ecosystem because of the Woodland. The factions are not self-contained—they rely on the creatures of the Woodland to accomplish their goals. The Marquise works (and Overworks) the Woodfolk, the Eyrie enact their Decree through Woodfolk advisors and notables, and so on. You, as the faction leadership, are nothing without the Woodfolk. So, I first wanted to focus on this multiple, fractious nature of the factions.
Back in October or so while I was struggling with Void Lich, Cole proposed to me that we trade projects. I would take a swing at the new Root project, like I had with Underworld, and he would try a new approach for Void Lich. I was a bit surprised as I knew he had come out of Underworld with a few ideas for major factions that he hadn’t had time to explore yet. But, I was happy to take a break from Void Lich and return to Root.
As with previous Kickstarter campaigns, we'll be posting a bunch of little articles about the design and development of the new content. This is always one of my favorite parts of the process, because it forces us to take an account of what we're up to. What exactly was going through our heads when we made that decision? Why on earth did we think that we should put that thing in a box and call it an expansion?