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0090 — Faction reputation is emergent-only

Status

Accepted (Max 2026-06-21). Supersedes ADR-0077 (faction mission completion). Reaffirms ADR-0032.

Context

ADR-0032 establishes faction reputation as emergent-only — standing moves through six trigger surfaces (combat, trade, exploration, social/political, ongoing-state drips, resource flows) driven by natural play, with no missions to accept. ADR-0077 diverged from this by specifying a faction-mission completion-and-payout mechanic that awards reputation on mission claim. A single canonical rule is needed: reputation either moves via missions or it does not.

Decision

Faction reputation is emergent-only. It moves exclusively through the emergent trigger surface; it does not move via missions.

  1. The only canonical mechanism that changes faction standing is the emergent trigger surface in FEATURES/gameplay/factions-and-teams.md#reputation-triggers: the per-faction action tables, anti-symmetric matrix, rivalry cascade, ongoing-state drips, throttle, global daily pool, and combined-rep caps, all dispatched through apply_emergent_action.
  2. There are no missions or quests to accept, and no mission completion or claim awards reputation. Reputation is never granted as a mission payout.
  3. Any code-side FactionMission model or mission API endpoints are vestigial and are not canonical. They do not move faction reputation. If a mission-like payout surface ships, it may award credits only — never faction reputation — and a new ADR must specify it.

Consequences

  • The detect-then-claim mission-payout mechanic of ADR-0077 is not built; that ADR is superseded.
  • The emergent trigger surface remains the single source of faction-reputation movement, keeping the action set farm-resistant and consistent with decay, cascade, and combined-rep caps.
  • FEATURES/gameplay/missions.md remains intentionally absent; missions are not part of the canonical loop.