Alright, so on to story skeletons. A story skeleton will have description types which correspond with primary clause parameters. So if a clause has a military description parameter, it will link up with the military description parameter on the story skeleton. So when you are making story skeletons, you will be stringing together primary parameters. So the first part of the story skeleton might look something like this:
1. Historical description.
2. Geographic description with 3 geographic stamps and 2 resource stamps, 1 supporting modifier with 1 geographic stamp
3. Historical Rival description (aggressor will be faction with higher native aggression level) 1 link and 1 diplomatic stamp, 1 supporting modifier with 1 linked geographic stamp and 1 supporting rival description
4. Rival match description (based on relative military strength)
5. Military Description, 1 supporting modifier with rival link (based on prior frequency of wars)
6. Diplomatic Description, 1 supporting modifier, 1 supporting modifier: friendly ally stamp
7. Resolution clause, military reference, ally reference, and rival reference
Before the Rending of the World, the [Teuton Kingdom] was well renowned throughout the lands of [Endor]. Nestled between the [Ferlong Mountains] and [Kannary Hills], the [Teuton Basin] provided a bounty of [wheat] and [lumber], and the [Neridan River] meandered through the [Basin] to offer a natural corridor for trade and transportation. Blessed with such resources, it is understandable that the [Teuton Kingdom] would catch the envious eyes of neighbors and rivals, one such foe being the [Khaninate of Persolonis]. The [Khaninate of Persolonis], natives of the [Bloody Foothills], would fight many wars with the [Teuton Kingom] to wrest away control of the [Teuton Basin]. As a consequence of persistant war, the [denizens of Teuton] were well prepared and well armed. Its masterful weaponsmiths and well trained soldiers, when combined, made the [people of Teuton] a formidable foe indeed. Their skill was honed by many wars with the [Khaninate of Persolonis]. Despite their capable war machine, [the Kingdom] relied very heavily on their savy diplomats to avert needless war which they employed both to end vendettas as well as cultivate friendships in royal courts. [They] would call upon, and fiercely aid, friends such as [The Kindgom of Gracia]. With a proud military tradition and fertile lands, [the peoples of Teuton] would carry with them old grudges and old allies, even after the Rain of Fire had settled.
Now obviously the clauses seen above in the skeleton will interact with other clauses differently depending on tertiary parameters, but we haven't specified tertiary parameters for anything but the military and diplomacy clauses so I've assumed them. In most cases where you see comas, there are underlying tertiary parameters which add subordinate auxiliary clauses.
This was a very basic skeleton, which neglected other elements that the Teuton Kingdom may have possessed, such as their scholarship or industrial skills. When a particular kingdom excels in an area, additional supporting secondary clauses are added to give more depth. If a kingdom has only moderate ability in an area, it might only have one clause that mentions it, and possibly a tertiary clause which explains why, as is seen in brackets: [With such heavy emphasis on warfare], scholarly pursuits were of only a small priority throughout the kindgom.
Multiple types of skeletons can be created, depending on what you want the story to emphasize. You could place organic clauses, which add supporting clauses based on a what a kingdom thrives on, or you could make a skeleton which forces certain elements (for instance, even if a kingdom has poor military fluency, you could mandate supporting clauses in the skeleton to mention why they do not thrive in this element.)
You will notice that throughout the story skeleton, reference to geographic features, rivals, and allies were made. In this instance, they were given "stamps" or "links." A stamp is an element that the story writer sets parameters for ahead of time, like a geographic feature such as a forest, mountain, basin etc. which will appear on the map within a certain range of a player's starting location. A link connects details from the story clauses of a different opponent and stamps that opponent with a former relationship modifier. For instance, if an opponent was stamped a rival, you would start the game with a negative modifier to your relationship with that nation. If they are stamped an ally, you get a positive diplomatic modifier, and these former relationships might be reflected in dialogue with that nation. When you first meet your rival, they might confront you with something to the effect of: "The slaughter you inflicted on our people will never be scored away, not even by the Rain of Fire that racked our world!" or if they are historic allies: "We will never forget our friends, the [Kingdom name]. We trust that the enduring loyalty of your people has weathered even the rending of the world."
Ideally, when a player has customized their civilization attributes, they can also choose to enable or disable things like historic rivals and allies, at which point a skeleton will be selected which does not sport those features or removes them. If a player likes, they can continue to generate random stories until they get one that sounds like it has interesting historical elements to play off of (for instance, they may want to play a game with a proximate rival for a war-wrought opening game or a distant arch rival for an endgame showdown.)
Now, for the next post, we will explore a second segment of novel story trees: the quest narrative. This is the optional, second portion of the story tree that creates a narrative about specific hero characters and dungeons that will consequently appear throughout the game and that have specific relavence to different opponents.
