RPG Stats & Debates

The RPG Stats system is an optional gameplay layer that gives characters measurable attributes affecting debate performance, election efficacy, and long-term ideological drift. The system is gated behind a single feature flag — when disabled, the entire layer is inert and the game plays as a pure political simulation.

Feature Flag

The master gate is isRpgStatsEnabled() in src/lib/stats/featureFlag.ts. It reads gameState.rpgStatsEnabled from the database and returns a boolean.

Because the flag is a single boolean on the gameState document, admins can flip the system on or off at any time. When off, no character has a stat block, so every downstream hook short-circuits cleanly without runtime errors.

What RPG Stats Affect

When enabled, the RPG stat layer touches three distinct gameplay loops:

1. Debate Performance

The Debate Prep action and election debates are only available when RPG stats are enabled. Stats determine how well a character performs in a debate:

• Higher relevant stats improve debate performance scores
• The debate engine reads the character's stat block to compute performance
• Election debates between candidates resolve using stat-driven scoring

When the flag is off, the Debate Prep action is hidden from the actions page and election debates are never scheduled.

2. Election Efficacy

Stats modify a character's election efficacy — how effectively they translate campaign resources (ads, canvassing, fundraising) into vote share. A character with high relevant stats gets more votes per dollar spent than a character with low stats, all else equal.

When the flag is off, efficacy hooks stay neutral — all characters use the baseline efficacy formula with no stat modifiers.

3. Drift Over Time

Stats drive long-term ideological drift. Characters with certain stat profiles shift their political positioning over time based on their stat allocations. This creates dynamic NPP behavior — characters aren't static ideologues, they evolve.

When the flag is off, all drift hooks are neutral — characters retain their original ideological positions indefinitely.

Integration with PREE

The RPG stats system integrates with the Player Random Events (PREE) driver. When both flags are enabled:

1. The PREE driver calls isRpgStatsEnabled() at the start of each turn
2. If true, the driver processes election debates — rolling debate challenges and resolving overdue debate sessions before offering normal random events
3. Characters locked into an election debate this pass are excluded from the standard random-event offer loop (the "supersede" rule) — a debate takes precedence over a standard event
4. If RPG stats are off, the debate-processing step is skipped entirely and all eligible characters receive normal event offers

This means the two systems are coupled: enabling RPG stats activates debates, and debates consume the "event slot" that would otherwise go to a standard PREE event.

Grandfathered Characters

When the flag is flipped from off → on mid-game, existing characters don't have stat blocks yet. The system handles this through a grandfathering prompt:

• When rpgStatsEnabled transitions to true, grandfathered characters are prompted to allocate their stats
• Until they do, they operate with baseline (neutral) stats
• The prompt is only shown when the flag is on — when off, no prompt appears

When the flag is off, grandfathered characters are never prompted and creation doesn't allocate stats — the system is fully inert.

Strategic Implications

The flag is a game-admin decision, not a per-player choice. Once on, it applies to all characters in the game.

Related Systems

• Player Random Events — PREE driver integrates with RPG stats for debate scheduling
• Crisis Interaction — Separate feature flag, independent of RPG stats
• Election Mechanics — Debates are an election-phase activity gated on RPG stats
• Core Systems — Turn structure, action economy