How would you improve the Governors System in Civ VI?

[Zegangani]

Some few days ago, while testing a mod out, I stumbled over an Effect that is necessary for significantly improving Governors (it's name doesn't resemble it's effect at all, no wonder no one paid attention to it before - lack of these types of effects are the reason why there aren't many Secret Society type of governor Mods for example). So that opens the Door for a (to a degree) rework of Governors System in Civ VI. With a Mod of Course.

I think a lot of you wanted Governors to get improved or completely reworked, like having them unlocked with Techs/Civics or Eras. So I will leave this Thread here for you so you can suggest anything you want to get changed about Governors (like you, @acluewithout, you're the most one who was anticipating a Governors rework. here is your chance to have some influence on the Mod ). I will leave here some Notes about what's possible and what I've already designed with Governors, so you have a better Idea on what's possible and how far you can go.

- The Mod will be part of the 2nd 4XP Mod Pack, so I will immediately work on it after I'm finished with the first Pack, so there is a limited Time Frame (some Weeks) in which you can have some Influence on this. And this Governor Mod will require GS, so you can suggest abilities from the GS Features.

- I've already designed most of things in my Governor rework, but this recent Discovery opens a Door for much better designs. Here is what my current Design of Governors looks and what's possible (for inspiration not as a limit) to do with them:

• There are normal Governors that specialize in a Yield/Field/Aspect of the Game (like the ones from the game, but more, like there is a Governor who specializes in Desert territory, another in coastal, another in Colonization...etc - thouogh Pingala is devided into 2 Governors (Science and Culture)). I'v got most of these all designed, but I'm open to your Ideas and suggestions.

• Governors will have strong Promotions but these are only unlocked after each Game Era (2 in each Era - though there are cases where there is only one Promotion in an Era - And there are promotions only from ancient till modern era, no more promotions afterwards), and the ones of the same Era/Tier are mutually exclusive, so you can only choose one. However, not all Governors are tied to this Rule, like Ibrahim still functions like normal.

• The Promotions in an Era are designed to benefit a City the most in that Era (Like "Renewable Subsidizer" promotion only available in modern Era), while also possibly having long term effects (like double trade route effect from a promotion from Era X when reaching Era Y)

• Some Civs will get Unique Governors that replace one of the other Governors (like Richelieu of France replacing Amani or Moksha). These Unique Governors won't get a unique promotion set, but they either improve or change some of the promotions of the replaced Governor. (So it's possible to make many unique Governors without having to introduce many unique promotions). And this is where I need the most help in from you People, I need Ideas for Civ Unique Governors and their Abilities.

• There might be some few Unique Governors who don't replace another Governor, but they only have 1 Promotion in each Era (till Modern Era), and are a bit weaker than the others (it's a bonus after all).

• Many Governors are locked till you meet a criteria, like you have to build 3 Encampments in order for you to unlock Victor, or 3 Campuses and 2 Libraries to unlock the Science Governor or getting a Pantheon for Moksha.

• Some Governors will get unlocked via a Quest, an Event or a Wonder. (I'm not sure about this, if people have good Ideas I may implement some of them).

• Governors may be mutually exclusive, are unlocked with certain Techs/Civics, or anything. Promotions may be also locked that way.

• Some Governors may also affect other Cities (of the same owner) within a certain range that don't have a Governor. Requires Maintenance cost in Gold per each City affected by the Governor.

• Many Governors have a Unique Ability (apart from the promotions) that make them deserved to be called "Governors" EX: Liang can repair pillaged Improvements or Buildings automatically after each Turn (One at a Time, prioritizing District Buildings), with Reyna you can request Loans that you have to pay after each Turn...etc

• To balance the wide vs Tall play Issue that all of this may cause, There are many Penalties that come with assigning Governors and there will be a limit on how many Governors you can assign at a Time (gets increased with Civics/Policies and Governments). Assigning and promoting a Governor that specializes in a Yield (not counting the ones that specialize in a terrain, like Desert for Ex, or colonization ...) will give the City the chance to specialize in that Yield (with the strong governor promotions) while all others will get a penalty in that yield, increasing with each time you promote that Governor. (Ex: establishing a Science Governor in a City will make that City specialize in Science while all other Cities get -10% in Science, and -5% each time you promote him (maybe heavy penalties in cities further away from this city and less in ones near it) - tho sometimes the penalty isn't decreased science in other cities, but for example less faith and Culture in the City with the Science Governor). (All of this needs proper testing to ensure balance ofc)

• I need help with naming not unique Governors. like how do I call a Governor that specializes in Tundra/Snow terrain?!

I think that's enough to get an Idea on how the Governors in my Mod will function, so you know how you can go with your Ideas.

An Idea of how One Governor might look like?:

A Normal/Dark Age National Governor who cannot be assigned and only gets unlocked the first Time you enter a Dark Age, but from then on he stays, but he's never available in Golden/Heroic Ages. He has 3 Promotions in each Era (up to Future) that you can only pick one from and that only applies in that Era, so next Era you get to choose from another 3. Each of the Promotion helps you with a certain Goal:
- get more Era Scores
- help you with your Loyalty Issues
- or help you manage your Empire (with bonuses like reduced production cost when building X or Y)
So you choose what benefits you the most in a given era.

Though, this isn't actually a specialist Governor, but a national Governor. I just liked him as an example, but what the 2nd 4XP mod will focus on is City specialization, so Governors like a Late Game Environmentalist Governor in a City would be more what I'm looking for for that Pack. But you can be as creative as you can, even if it isn't what I'm looking for, it might still be relevant for the other Packs (like national Administrators that help you manage your Empire rather than individual Cities). I'm curious to see what you'll come up with!

 

[criZp]

Only way it could possibly work is by not allowing you to move the governor around city to city so the system doesn't add to the micro nightmare

 

[Zegangani]

Only way it could possibly work is by not allowing you to move the governor around city to city so the system doesn't add to the micro nightmare

Oh, I forgot to mention that the Governors will have increased Turns till they can establish in a City, so that it isn't appealing for People to constantly move their Governors between Cities to exploit their Abilities (I dislike it how people use this methode to exploit the Governor's promotions), or would a penalty like "Once a Governor is established in a City, you cannot move him for the next 20 Turns (Normal Speed)" be a better Solution? But there are some very few exceptions/Governors who aren't affected by that, like an Offensive Military Governor who needs to be quick to establish in a City or Amani (with Abilities that are only useful while the Governor is in a City).
There are also some other restrictions, like Science, Culture and Faith Governors cannot be assigned in Cities not on your Home Continent, the Colonial Governor works the opposite way and the Coastal Governor can only be assigned to coastal Cities (including Cities in foreign Continent).

Edit: the only Issue with this, is that most of those restriction apply to the Human Player only, not AI. because it's only possible via UI coding, but I think it's ok, since those restrictions would just cripple the AI even more, which wouldn't even know how to to use them properly, and this also would give me a reason to decreas or remove the crazy Bonuses the AI gets with higher Difficulties.

 

[Naokaukodem]

In Civ6 I don't know, but in Civ5 I would make it a requirement for puppet cities.

In Civ7 I would tie them with puppets/vassals. I don't know how to make them really useful though. I guess they could play instead of you, depending on the difficulty level : if you play on Deity, you would have Deity-governors, with all the production and others bonuses it implies, but you would have the issues of the AI too. I guess that for a boost, you would have to let the governors build things in the cities, and take care of the armies yourself, if it's on Civ6 basis. (huge focus on science districts and buildings, anormally weak in military most of the time). If the governors make things you don't like, you could revoke them but at the risk that they foment a rebellion, especially in conquered cities. You could see them a little bit like other AI leaders : there would be a diplo screen, you could ask them to do things, but they would not automatically obey you. You could menace them, ask tribute, make demands, send spies, declare propaganda wars, etc. depending of the support you have built for yourself in the opinion. In their turn, they could try to overthrow you, and if they succeed you could try to resist. Just ideas out of the blue.

 

[Zegangani]

In Civ6 I don't know, but in Civ5 I would make it a requirement for puppet cities.

In Civ7 I would tie them with puppets/vassals. I don't know how to make them really useful though. I guess they could play instead of you, depending on the difficulty level : if you play on Deity, you would have Deity-governors, with all the production and others bonuses it implies, but you would have the issues of the AI too. I guess that for a boost, you would have to let the governors build things in the cities, and take care of the armies yourself, if it's on Civ6 basis. (huge focus on science districts and buildings, anormally weak in military most of the time).

That's interesting, because just some while ago I stumbled over a function that I was looking for for Months now, which allows City Transition. That means it's possible to mod Puppet Cities into Civ 6, and I had indeed planned to include it in the 1st 4XP Pack, which largely focuses on Domination (All the other Packs focus on Management or Diplomacy).

So, making Governors be able to take care of a City is a good Idea, and that's what I was actually expecting how Governors would work, before I had the chance to play RnF/GS. I thought of leaving that Ability either only for some few Governors and/or when assigned to Colonies (Cities not on home continent), because Puppeting conquered Cities will be already possible and I don't want to give a chance to the Player to be lazy, because 4XP requires, encourages and rewards good management of your Empire, and things like Governors, Vassals and Pupper Cities should just help you in some ways but in others they may require more strategical thought from you because of possible penalties and perhaps even Costs in some way or another.

But you're right about AI, I don't think many Players would trust their Cities to AI, maybe just recently conquered/acquired ones. So taking the Ability of producing certain things (like Wonders) away from Puppet Cities might be a good thing. It's possible to set the focus, like on Science/Campus or Culture/TS, but I think I will leave the default on Science and Gold, and make the Governor Type affect what the City will focus on, like send Reyna if you want to get more Gold.

If the governors make things you don't like, you could revoke them but at the risk that they foment a rebellion, especially in conquered cities. You could see them a little bit like other AI leaders : there would be a diplo screen, you could ask them to do things, but they would not automatically obey you. You could menace them, ask tribute, make demands, send spies, declare propaganda wars, etc. depending of the support you have built for yourself in the opinion. In their turn, they could try to overthrow you, and if they succeed you could try to resist. Just ideas out of the blue.

I like that, and it would be historically accurate and realistic, like withithout Tarik Ibn Ziyad's self-act with not asking for the permission of the Caliph Al Walid I., there wouldn't have been Al Andalus, or at least how we know it Today. However, I'm not sure how that would play out in the Game, I mean it sounds like losing a Governor, that could be better used, just to have him take a City that might cause more trouble than it takes. And it would somehow contradic with Firaxis's design of Governors, who actually help you with your Cities' Loyalty Issues. But this Thread is for Ideas on how to change Governors, so we don't have to stick to Firaxis' Philosophy and Design.
Tho it's a nice Idea, I will think more about it. Thanks for your Input!

 

[Naokaukodem]

Maybe governors, instead of ruling a single city, would "manage" whole regions, say 10 tiles wide from the city they are in, or even the Palace they are in. (a Palace can be built by a builder)

They may have each their loyalty degree, either appointed or random, or even depending on your actions. In that case, it would depend on your actions in the region of your civ you do, or globally : if you are peaceful, they might get more loyalty, or if you build a wonder in the region they are in charge of, they would be much more less willing to treach you. (more attached to your culture)

Globally, what would be nice is if governors would be treated as whole new civs inside the civs. Foreign civs could try to treat with them, and you could treat with your own governors. Making deals in exchange of powers, or money... or promises.