Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-32705314-20170914071520

Note: I have read the FAQ and the WntS and the Forum Rules and Code of Conduct. If this has been suggested (though I doubt it) don't be afraid to speak up and tell me. Just tell me before you close, please.

Note 2: This is only part 1 of the suggestion. If this is endorsed, or gets a decent following from the community, then I'll work on the Faction-specific parts of the suggestion.

Suggestion Time
So we have a very good alignment system right now, with the addition of SoI and so on and so forth. BUT alignment could do with some fine-tuning; instead of complicating the Alignment system, why not add a trust system instead?

The trust system would work semi-independently to the alignment system. You could have really high alignment, but “common” NPCs such as civilians or standard Mordor Orcs could treat you as stuck-up or snobbish; however, the trust system would also have different effects to different faction NPCs; for example, commanders would be more likely to sell you their troops at a lower price.

The basic idea of the trust system is this: There would be 5 generic states of trust (NEW NPC ALERT)

Highly Trustworthy- Soldier and Trader NPCs are more likely to treat you respectfully, while Civilians will treat you different depending on other stats, mentioned below. Nobles will treat you with higher respect.

Trustworthy- All NPCs defer to you with the same level of respect as they currently do with players who have positive alignment.

Unknown- The NPCs are wary of you and treat you as a stranger; soldiers and storekeepers particularly.

Untrustworthy- The NPCs may be rude to you or refuse to trade with you or give quests. You could be considered untrustworthy regardless of alignment.

Infamous- All civilian and trader NPCs will flee from you. Soldiers may attack you or jeer at you when spoken to. Storekeepers will refuse to trade with you, however if you are infamous with at least one faction, Black Market Traders will be more willing to trade with you.

These stages have little to do with alignment; however you cannot be unknown, trustworthy or highly trustworthy without positive alignment with said Faction. If factions consider you to be infamous, you will be attacked by soldier NPCs if your alignment is below 0.

New NPCs
The Noble: An upper-class citizen; only certain progressed factions would have these (Gondor, Rhúdel etc.). They would live in the larger houses, such as Gondor Townhouses or Easterling Mansions. They will also occasionally be accompanied by levymen guards.

The Black Market Traders: A form of Travelling Traders. They would also spawn in camps in certain out-of-the-way places. They would sell weapons, tools and resources for a price. They only sell items of a random faction which you are considered untrustworthy by. Their price is lowered if you are infamous.

Faction Specifics
Every faction considers other factions differently. For example, Orcs from Mordor may not get along with Orcs from Isengard. As a result, if you had a higher alignment/trust rating with Isengard, your trust level with Isengard would be lowered accordingly. However, you cannot be considered as infamous simply by being allied with a faction. Also, having a higher trust level with Isengard would decrease your alignment with Rohan.

The stats and figures of the decreasing are the Mod teams’ decision.

How to Earn and Lose Trust
You can gain trust with factions by:

Saving a civilian NPC, making large trades with Traders of that faction, completing quests, and of course, killing enemy NPCs.

You can lose trust by:

Stealing from Faction farms or chests (That's right all you hunter-gatherers! No more stealing people's prized possessions anymore!), declining or abandoning missions, and of course, assault and murder of said faction’s NPCs.

Where to learn your trust
The trust system will have its own subsection within the Faction Menu. Beneath the alignment data of the factions in the menu would be your trust standing. If you click on that it will take you to another page of the book-style faction menu showing your standing, number of “trust points” (merely a way to measure your trust levels) to the trust level above and below.

Final Words
This suggestion is by no means a complete one. I will also post suggestions on how the trust rating would work with certain factions, and link them here once posted. If you think I've missed something, have an idea to post or found a fault in my suggestions, feel free to post below!

P.S. Oh, and in case you didn't already know, I am MePlayzGamez; I had my name changed to match my IGN, PumpkinLOTR. 