This tutorial assumes you know basic navigation and keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Creation Kit.

If not,
please go back and check out the ​Creation Kit 101 ​primer.

All of my guides will highlight things that are specific to your experience level: ​Green for beginners​, and ​Red
for seasoned modders​. So if you’re new, you aren’t meant to understand the red messages, and if you’re a
vet - you can probably skip the green.

Preamble

Now that you’ve got your soldiers, civilians, and other NPCs configured, you’re going to want to setup how your
faction operates. In this tutorial, we’ll cover things like Rank Names, Recruitment Resources, Ally/Enemy
Factions, and a handful of random settings you can use to change the way your faction plays.

This section is especially important to future-proof your content as much as possible for the upcoming features
of Conqueror. The more of this you do now, the less you’ll need to worry about frantically updating when the
major Conqueror features are released.

Rank Names

Since we just came off of the Soldiers tutorial, let’s go ahead and wrap up the last thing directly related to
them.

One of the most immediate features you’re going to see coming from Conqueror patches (likely 4.0.4 or 4.0.5),
is the ability for soldiers to gain ranks by surviving battles (that’s a very basic overview - it will be more intricate
than just gaining a rank for each battle survived - but we’ll get into those details after the system has been
released). The goal of this system is to give the player a sense of progression with their army, as well as add
some strategic depth to the assault system.

While this feature is not in place at the time of this writing, you can not only prepare for it, but also use this
feature to ensure your current soldiers have names.

Start by thinking up some rank names for your faction. Our current plan is to have 5 total ranks (It may become
a variable system where you can add more ranks, but for now plan on 5. This limit is to maintain some balance
since each rank will come with buffs, and allowing infinite ranks would mean infinite buffs.).

For our Brotherhood Faction, we can look to the official lore, so we’ll be using: Initiate, Aspirant, Knight,
Paladin, Star Paladin. (The Brotherhood has a pretty exhaustive list of ranks, we’re just choosing a few distinct
ones to work with our 5 rank system).

If you have trouble thinking of ranks, check out the actor records for your faction that start with Enc and end
with a number, they will tend to have custom names that can clue you into an immersive naming scheme.

1. In the Object Window, expand Miscellaneous, then click Message. Right-click in the right side of the
window and choose New.
2. Enter a unique ID, I’d recommend something like YourPrefix_RankName_FactionName_1.
3. Enter the rank name as the Title field. To match the pattern of the rest of Fallout 4, I’d recommend
preceding the rank name with the faction name. For example, instead of just Initiate, we’re going to use
Brotherhood Initiate.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each of your rank names, incrementing the ID by 1 each time (ie.
YourPrefix_RankName_FactionName_2, YourPrefix_RankName_FactionName_3, etc)
5. Next, we need to ensure that Conqueror can display your rank names in message boxes. To do this,
expand WorldObjects and click Static, then right-click on the right-hand side and click New.
a. Enter a unique ID, I’d recommend something like
YourPrefix_RankNameHolder_FactionName_1.
b. Then in the name field enter the exact same name you entered for your faction’s rank name in
step 3.
c. Press OK to create that form.
d. Repeat for each rank.
6. Now we need to setup some ​Keyword records ​to prevent bodies from becoming stuck permanently. In
the Object Window, click Keyword below Miscellaneous, right-click the right side of the window and
choose New.
7. Enter a unique ID, I’d recommend something like YourPrefix_RankKeyword_FactionName_1, then click
OK to create the form.
8. Right-click your form in the object window, choose Duplicate and Rename, in the Count box, enter 4,
and in the Digits box enter 1, press OK. This will create your other 4 keywords.
9. Next, we’re going to configure your Addon quest to have another purpose. In the Object Window,
expand Character and click on Quest and filter for your quest, then double-click it to open it.
10. Go to the Aliases tab, right-click in the large white area in the center and choose New Reference Alias.
11. Enter a name at the top, I’d recommend something like FactionName_Rank01.
12. Find your first rank message in the Display Name dropdown (​After you click on a drop-down, you can
start typing your prefix name to jump to those records in the list.​).
a. Note that after selecting something in this dropdown, the Uses Stored Text checkbox should
become both checked in and greyed out.
13. Check in the following boxes: Optional (at the top), Clear Name When Removed (on the top right), and
Can Apply Data To Non-Aliased Refs (way down by the OK button).
14. Right-click in the Alias Keywords section and choose Add, then filter for the keyword you created for
this rank, select it, and press OK.
15. While still in the Alias screen, click the Add button in the Scripts section. Filter for RemoveOnDeath and
add it.

If you cannot find this, you will need to extract it from your WorkshopFramework - Main.ba2 file. To do
this, double-click that file, when windows tells you it cannot open it and asks you to select a program to
open it with, navigate to your Fallout 4/Tools/Archive2 folder and use the Archive2.exe program.

Once you have it open, you can filter in that program for RemoveOnDeath, click the file, and then click
Archive > Extract Selected To, and then navigate to your Fallout 4/Data folder and click the Select
Folder button.

After doing this, attempt to add the script again to your Alias, if you cannot, press cancel on the Add
Script screen, and OK on the Alias screen and Quest screen. Then close the Creation Kit, relaunch it,
and attempt to do this step again.
 16. Once the script is added, you should be presented with the properties screen. Double-click
IdentifierKeyword and select the keyword you created that matches this rank.
17. Press OK.
18. Right-click the alias you just created, and choose Duplicate.
19. Double-click the duplicate and select the next rank from the Display Name dropdown, replace the
keyword in the Alias Keywords section (you can right-click the existing one and choose delete to
remove it), and change the IdentifierKeyword to the appropriate on the script properties (double-click
the RemoveOnDeath script, then double-click the IdentifierKeyword property).
20. Repeat steps 17 and 18 for the rest of your ranks.
21. Press OK on your quest.
22. In the Object Window, expand Items, click MiscItem and filter for your FactionControlData. Double-click
it to open the dialogue, then double-click the script on it to get to the Properties screen.
23. Under the RankSupport section, double-click RankNames.
24. Click Add in the upper right, then at the bottom of this dialogue, you should see two drop-downs. Find
your Addon script in the Pick Quest dropdown and then your rank in the Pick Alias dropdown.
25. Repeat step 24 for the rest of your ranks.
26. Under the RankSupport section, double-click RankNameHolders.
27. Click Add in the upper right, then at the bottom of this dialogue, you should see two drop-downs.
Choose Static from the first dropdown, and then filter for the RankNameHolder forms you created in
step 5.
28. Repeat step 27 for the rest of your ranks.
29. Press Ok to close the properties screen, and OK again to close your Faction Control Data.

You’re now setup so that any new soldiers will start with the first rank, and as they gain experience in fights,
they will proceed through your ranks!

You can quickly test that everything is working with the following console command:

cqf kgconq_soldiermanager TestLevelUpSoldier X​ (replace X with the Object Reference ID of the

soldier, you can find this 8 digit hex number by clicking on the NPC while the console is open)

Note there are two additional fields under the RankSupport section: RankPerkOverrides and RankLoadouts,
these allow you to override the perks and equipment your soldiers will gain at each rank. The first is only
recommended for advanced users, as setting up custom balanced perks can be a challenge, and there are
default perks Conqueror will apply for you if you leave this property blank.

The RankLoadouts is fairly straightforward to configure, you’re essentially deciding which equipment they get
at each rank, but balancing this can be a challenge, so be careful not to go too crazy with equipment,
particularly at the early ranks. Note that the RankLoadouts are not given automatically, most of the equipment
requires an Armory Martial plot in the settlement those NPCs live in, and the PowerArmor is not currently
implemented as of patch 4.0.5.

Recruitment Resources

One of the biggest things that distinguishes settlers from soldiers, is the fact that soldiers will die. They are
intentionally not protected during battles and you’re expected to go through a fair number of them. For this
reason, you can recruit multiple per day. To keep the player engaged, recruitment is done at a cost, with more
resources resulting in more recruits each day (up to a max of 5 without modifiers from various things during
gameplay).

As the Faction Pack creator, you get to decide which resources your faction values highest.

Recruitment resources are handled as follows:

Caps are worth 1 point each, Minor Resources are worth 5 “points”, and Major Resources are worth 20
“points”, while new recruits cost 100 “points”. So in other words, donating 100 caps, 20 minor items, or 5 major
items, or some combination will get the player one new recruit.

You are not limited to a single item type for each, you can use individual items (ex. Blamco Mac and Cheese),
classes of items (ex. any ammo), or a mix (ex. Stimpaks or any Nuka Cola variety).

For our Brotherhood faction, let’s do electronic junk as the Major, and Weapons as the Minor (remember that
all things in the list are counted the same, so even the worst Pipe Pistol will count the same as a heavily
modded Fatman, whereas specific types of junk will be harder to find, hence the decision of which should be
minor vs major).

1. Let’s start by creating the formlists to hold your resource types. In the Object Window, expand
Miscellaneous and click on Formlists.
2. Right-click on the right-hand side and choose New.
3. Enter a unique ID for the formlist, I’d recommend something like
YourPrefix_RecruitmentResource_FactionName_Minor.
4. Press OK.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for your major resource.
6. Now open both of those forms and drag their dialogues off to the side so you can add the items you
want to them.
7. To add an individual item, find it underneath the Items category and drag it into the appropriate list.

8. If you want to add a class of items, do the following:

a. Expand Miscellaneous, then click Keyword. Filter for “ObjectType”.
b. These are the item classes available, drag the form you want on to your form list.
9. Press OK on both formlists when you are happy with them.
10. Open your FactionControlData record, and bring up the script properties.
11. Double-click MajorResources, under the RecruitmentResources section, and point it to your appropriate
formlist.
12. Repeat for the MinorResources.
13. Next, let’s create a plain english explanation for the player of which resources they should donate.
Expand Miscellaneous, click Message and filter for kgSIM_RecruitResourceDescription_Template,
duplicate this message by ​right-clicking it and choosing Duplicate​.
14. Edit the duplicate, changing the ID to something unique, I’d recommend
YourPrefix_RecruitResourceDescription_FactionName, and replacing the text “DESCRIBE YOUR
FACTION RECRUITMENT RESOURCES HERE.” with a short description of the types of resources the
player should donate.

For example, for the Brotherhood faction, I’m going to enter:

“Major resources: Electronic Junk

Minor resources: Weapons”
15. Press Ok, answer No to create a new form, and Yes to rename.
16. Now return to the script properties of your Faction Control Data (​shorthanding here, as we’ve done this
a LOT of times now…​)
17. Double-click ResourceExplanationMessage and select the message you just created from the
dropdown.
18. Press OK, to close the properties, and OK again to close your Faction Data.
You can now use the Ham Radio on the War Planner’s Desk to donate your configured resources to an
Outpost controlled by your faction. Within 24 hours, you should find more recruits in your Outposts, so long as
you have extra beds for them!

Friendly and Enemy Factions

Now that you have your faction working, you probably want to identify who its enemies and allies are!

The enemies are especially relevant, as they are used to determine which factions will defend against your
assaults, and which will make attacks against your base. In future patches, as more of the Conqueror system
is fleshed out, the Friendly Factions will also matter, as they’ll determine which controlled settlements and
factions react in a positive way to your faction - such as attacking your enemies, or allowing you to take control
of their settlements without a fight.

In order to ensure that Faction Packs can work together, without having to know about one another, we use the
existing faction records to setup our Friend and Enemy lists. ​Once the community starts creating custom
factions, if you are interested in making those custom factions as friends or enemies to yours, I’d be happy to
show you how to do so without making that mod a requirement. If it becomes a popular enough feature, I can
even build in a simplified method and write an additional tutorial.

So start by thinking up which factions in the game would be friends or enemies with your faction. You can find
a list of the game’s factions by expanding Character, and clicking Faction. Once you’ve got a rough idea of
who your factions friends and enemies will be, follow the steps below to configure them.

If you determine that the vast majority of factions should be an enemy to yours, for example, if you’re working
with a hated faction like Raiders or Super Mutants there’s a special option in your Faction Control Data called
bTreatAllNonFriendlyFactionsAsEnemies​ this option effectively means you only have to configure your
Friends, and then by default, all other factions will be considered enemies.

1. Let’s start by creating our Friendly Factions list. In the Object Window, expand Miscellaneous, then
click FormLists. Right-click on the right side of the screen and select New. (If you decided that your
faction should have ​NO friends​, simply put your own faction in this list and use the
bTreatAllNonFriendlyFactionsAsEnemies option later in these steps)
2. Enter a unique ID for this formlist. I’d recommend something like YourPrefix_FriendList_YourFaction.
Leave the Formlist open so you can add things to it.
3. Next, add all of the factions you’d like to be friendly to your faction to this list by searching them up in
the Object window under the Character > Faction category and dragging their records onto the Formlist
dialogue.
4. Press OK on your Formlist.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the Enemy Factions. (​If you’ve decided that most factions should be an
enemy to yours, you can skip this step​)
6. Open your Faction Control Data object again, and go to the script Properties.
7. Double-click FriendlyFactions under the FactionData section and select the Friend formlist you just
created.
8. If all other factions not in your FriendlyFactions list should be an enemy, double-click the
bTreatAllNonFriendlyFactionsAsEnemies and check it in.
 Otherwise, double-click EnemyFactions under the FactionData section and select the Enemy formlist
you created.
9. Press OK on the properties screen, and OK on your Faction Data screen.

Your faction is now ready to do battle with other faction packs!

Functionality Options

There are a few options that allow you the change the way your faction operates. These change some general
rules about things the player can do, and how assaults will take place. Additional options will likely be added
continually as the Conqueror system expands, and after I receive feedback and suggestions on the existing
systems.

bAllowPlayerToKillAllies

The idea behind this setting, is that the player will not be judged for some reason by this faction if they kill its
members. This could make sense in a variety of situations, such as a faction based on brutality or strength,
such as Raiders or Supermutants. It could also make sense among an army of robots, or of lesser creatures
(you know you’ve always wanted to run a Molerat army!).

If you’re building a traditional faction, such as the Brotherhood in our examples, you would 100% keep this
option disabled, as the troops would have a big problem if you just started executing members left and right.

bTakeVassalsByForce

When running assaults on Vassal settlements, you will kill all of the opposing guards. This holds true no matter
what the faction you are using is.

If bTakeVassalsByForce is checked, you will also beat all of the civilians into submission. Meaning that anyone
not flagged as a guard will have to be attacked until they go into bleedout (that phase where the NPC sits on
the ground injured waiting to be healed or for combat to end).

bPlayable

Setting the bPlayable flag to unchecked allows you to create Faction Control Data for NPCs only, these are
especially useful if you want to setup custom faction groups to act as enemies for your faction. For example, in
Conqueror, we have very basic data setup for several factions to allow them to make attacks against Jammer’s
Gang.

iFactionType

Currently there are two faction types supported in Conqueror: ​Conqueror and Liberator​. To make your faction
a Conqueror, you’ll enter a number 1 in this field; to make them a Liberator, the number 2.
These roughly equate to Bad Guy and Good Guy, in the traditional view of the tactics they will employ, not
necessarily from an actual morality sense. For example, the Conqueror can make attacks to claim Outposts
that are controlled by other factions, even those they are neutral to and will kill all of the civilians; whereas the
Liberator will leave the civilians alive and support them.

At the time of this writing, the following holds true for the faction types:

Conqueror:

- Outpost attacks involve killing all civilians and guards.

- Normal settlements the player controls with residents in them already, cannot be converted directly into
Outposts, and must be assaulted from another settlement..

Liberator:

- Outpost attacks involve only killing guards, and all settlers/civilians will be bound captive until after you
complete the attack. Afterwards, those settlers/civilians will become independent residents of your
Outpost, requiring you to provide for their needs (they will still do work).
- Additional guards will be spawned to make up for the fact that you aren’t fighting
settlers/civilians.
- Normal settlements the player controls can be converted directly into Outposts from the War Planner’s
Desk without needing to assault them.

The mechanics around these types will likely change and evolve over time, and additional types that setup
additional archetypes may be added - so keep an eye out for updates to the toolkit!

I’m sure you’ve already thought of ways in which your Faction would break from these molds, and we’ll get
support for as many things as make sense within the limitations of the game engine! Feel free to make
suggestions for either additional types, or additional options to fit the character of your Faction on the
SimSettlements.com forums.

Testing

When testing your faction, it’s very easy to use the normal rules of Conqueror to run assaults and ensure your
soldiers are showing up and earning experience correctly. It’s also a good idea to test them in other ways, such
as making sure they correctly work with the role system that was introduced with the Phase 2 mechanics.

Be sure you can correctly assign them to the various roles without issue, such as sending them on patrols,
converting them to Guards or Workers, etc.

It’s also worth confirming that defensive raids are working well, this is a good opportunity to confirm you didn’t
create any problems with the Factions. To trigger a raid on one of your Outposts or Vassals, use the following
console command:
cqf kgconq_outpostmanager testraid X Y

- X is an ​optional field​ with the object reference ID of the workbench at the settlement you want to be
attacked (if you don’t include X, it will use the settlement you are in currently)
- Y is an​ optional field​ to force a specific attacker by using the full form ID of the faction control data
misc object (if you don’t include Y, it will use the normal rules to pick an enemy faction the way a player
would experience things).
- For example, if you want to force the Super Mutants from that faction pack to attack your
outpost, you would need to find the 2 digit load order of that faction pack in your current
installation of mods, you can find this on the plugins tab of Nexus or Vortex, and the last 6 digits
of form ID of that faction packs control object, and combine them together to get the full 8 digit
ID of that control data.

You’re Done!

Your troops are named and ready to rank up, they can be recruited en masse by the player, and they are ready
to do battle with all of the other Faction Packs that pop-up. Next up is the environment. In the remaining
tutorials, you’ll cover the look and feel of the settlements you’ll be taking over so that they match your faction
aesthetically.

Don’t worry if you’re not an artist, just read over the other tutorials and decide if they are within your
wheelhouse, perhaps the options I’ll describe aren’t necessary for your faction, or you can find a partner in the
community to help tackle those bits!