Event
(Related links: Modders can check out Event Types. Writers may also be interested in event design philosophy.)
Events are text and pictures presented in a comic book style. Events can present the player with a choice.
Events are displayed via a dialog.
Event types
The game chooses an appropriate event from all the possible events matching the event (encounter) type. The choice is determined by whether the party matches an encounter's targeting criteria, such as the presence of certain personality stats, hooks, or relationships between characters. Targeting criteria for individual events is listed on their wiki pages.
The choice is also affected by how recently your player file has seen the event in a previous campaign. Every time an event occurs in a campaign, it becomes one fourth as likely to occur in the next one. These multipliers stack, so seeing Oh Snap in two straight campaigns means it is 1/16th as likely to appear in the next campaign the player attempts. Conversely, going an entire campaign without seeing an event makes the event twice as likely to occur in the next campaign, up to a maximum of the default chance.
Wilderness scouting
Wilderness events occur once scouting is complete on a tile that does not contain a Station. Each event can only occur once per campaign. One example of a wilderness scouting encounter would be The Wolf Price.
Arrive at hostile site
An arrival event, preparing for battle at a lair for the first time (ie, an assault to clear a new territory). There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come. Each specific event generally tends to only happen once per game. One example of a hostile site arrival encounter would be Sneakthief.
Attack mundane site
Sometimes you might take over a site, and then leave it unguarded, and then monsters move in again. Or, you might attack a site, but lose the battle. In either case, when you return, you get an "Attack Mundane Site" event, sometimes called a "return assault" or "retake the station". These simple events provide temporary buffs or debuffs at the start of the battle, depending on the event outcome, but intentionally do not provide large or lasting effects so that you won't feel obliged to farm them.
An example is Retake the Station.
Arrive at final battle
This specific event occurs before the final battle. Story campaigns have their own; all generic campaigns share one such event.
Defend against incursion
A defense event, preparing for battle. This event outcome determines which temporary (de)buffs are applied at the start of the battle. An example is Strategies.
Infestation ambushed
An ambush event on an infested tile. These recurring events apply different temporary buffs at the start of the battle, depending on the event outcome. An example is Think Fast.
Opportunity
- See also: Hook
An opportunity, also called a hook quest, is an optional hero quest that comes up while performing tasks on the overland map. These events highlight a particular hero and their relationship with a second hero. They explore the hero's personality, history, and hooks. Sometimes there's a small fight. Completing the quest will always provide a reward for the highlighted hero; an extension to retirement age and a piece of unique equipment, an extra ability, or similar permanent bonus.
Hook quests can begin for heroes that have a relationship (lover, rival, or friend) and aren't already going on a quest. At least around 65-145 days must pass between consecutive hook quest opportunities, and only two hook quests can trigger per chapter. A given hero needs a relationship of 3+ for their first hook quest, 3+ for their second, and 4+ for their third.
An example of an opportunity quest is Longing to Belong.
Mission victory
A mission victory event is triggered by a successful outcome after a battle. These events include scenes where a hero falls or is maimed during an assault. An example is Birds of a Feather.
Plot Event
A few variants on plot events exist to inject plot-relevant events into the story. While some are plot-specific versions of above event types, a generic "plot encounter" type exists. Many are used to kick off a story or for other critical campaign events. Examples include The Rings of Story and Smoke.
Mid-Mission Story
A plot-relevant event that plays in the middle of certain missions. An example is Still Market
Omen
A specialized tiding used to bridge chapters during the interval. Note that Omens' title is only visible through the content editor. An example is Unpuzzling the Stone.
