To Intervene is to deliberately enter a Conflict that is not your own. It is the conscious choice to weave your Thread into the tangled narratives of others, transforming you from a passive witness into an active participant.

Within ATET, Intervention is a high-stakes social and narrative action. It is the verb of commitment, where an Incarnation stakes their reputation, safety, and beliefs on the outcome of another’s struggle. It is the mechanism by which bystanders become heroes, opportunists, or martyrs.

The Philosophy of Intervention

Intervention is born from the recognition that no Thread is truly isolated. The conflicts of others ripple outward, shaping the social and ideological landscape of the Tapestry. To Intervene is to acknowledge this interconnectedness and to attempt to direct its flow.

It is rarely a neutral act. Choosing to support one side in a dispute is, by definition, choosing to oppose the other. The act of Intervention is a declaration of allegiance—to a person, a Faction, a Faith, or an ideal. This declaration carries weight, creating new allies, new enemies, and powerful, lasting Eidos. It is a choice that permanently alters an Incarnation’s place within the world’s narrative.

The Trigger - The Motivation to Act

An agent does not intervene randomly. The choice to become involved in another’s Conflict is a calculated decision driven by the agent’s core internal state. An agent’s ActionAppraisalSystem will only favor Intervention if the potential outcome strongly aligns with one of these primary motivators:

• Ideological Alignment (Driven by Faith): The conflict resonates with the agent’s core Beliefs. They intervene not for the individuals involved, but for the principle at stake.

  • Example: A devout follower of a pacifist Faith intervenes in a street brawl, not because they know the participants, but because their Belief Violence_IS_ANATHEMA compels them to stop it.

• Factional Duty (Driven by Social Structure): The agent’s role or allegiance within a Faction or community obligates them to act. The intervention is a performance of their duty.

  • Example: A Hegemony Enforcer intervenes in a dispute between merchants because their Role as a peacekeeper grants them a standing Goal to “Maintain Order.”

• Empathetic Response (Driven by Need): The agent perceives acute suffering or need in another and is moved to help. This is the root of altruism and heroism.

  • Example: An agent with a high Charisma or specific Beliefs about compassion perceives an NPC’s critical SafetyNeed during an attack. This triggers a Goal in the agent to “Protect the Vulnerable.” The Subjective Interface might visualize the victim’s distress, making the need to act feel more urgent.

• Opportunistic Calculation (Driven by Goal): The agent sees the conflict as a chance to advance their own agenda. The struggle of others is merely a resource or a stepping stone.

  • Example: An agent knows two rival prospectors are arguing over a claim. The agent has a Goal to acquire that claim. They might intervene on behalf of the weaker prospector, hoping to indebt them or to ensure the conflict eliminates the stronger rival, leaving the claim open.

The Mechanics of Intervention

Intervention is a formal declaration that makes an agent a participant in a pre-existing, active Conflict state between two or more other agents.

1. Identifying the Conflict: An active Conflict is a detectable state in the simulation. For the player, this might be visualized through the Subjective Interface: two NPCs locked in a heated debate might have a shimmering “tension” aura between them. Hostile agents might be linked by a faint, aggressive red line.

2. The Act of Intervening: An agent (player or NPC) can target the Conflict state itself. This action requires choosing a side or a role.

• Declare for a Side: The agent formally joins one party of the conflict. This adds them to that party’s “Combat Group” or “Social Faction” for the duration of the conflict.
• Attempt to Mediate: A more complex action, often requiring high social Skills (Persuasion, Insight). This positions the agent as a neutral third party attempting to de-escalate the situation.

3. The Consequences of Joining: Once an agent has intervened, they are no longer an outsider.

• Shared Stakes: The agent’s own Needs (especially Safety) are now at risk.
• Reputation Shift: The agent’s reputation is immediately and dynamically updated. Siding with a beloved community leader against a known criminal is a positive act. Siding with the criminal is a negative one. All witnesses will form or update their Belief about the intervener.
• Unlocking New Actions: By becoming a participant, the agent can now use the full suite of other verbs to resolve the conflict: Converse to persuade or intimidate, Trade to bribe, or Violence to fight.

The Player’s Experience

For the player, the choice to Intervene is a significant narrative turning point.

• The Prompt: The player identifies a conflict not through a quest marker, but by observing the world. Clicking on the “tension” between two arguing NPCs might bring up the contextual menu: [Intervene].
• The Choice: The interface will then present a clear choice based on the context.
  • [Side with the Starving Colonist]
  • [Defend the Rationing Officer]
  • [Attempt to calm the situation] (This option might be grayed out or have a low success chance if the player’s Persuasion skill is low).
• The Repercussions: The consequences are immediate and felt through the game’s systems. Choosing to defend the colonist will cause the officer and any guards loyal to him to become immediately hostile. The colonist and their friends will become friendly. A new Thread has been violently woven, and the player is now at its center. Successfully calming the situation might earn a unique Eidos fragment of Peacemaker, while failing might lead to the death of an NPC, granting an Eidos of Guilt or Tragedy.

Intervention is the mechanic that allows the player to say, “This story matters to me.” It is the bridge from personal narrative to communal, and often, world-shaping, consequence.