Civilian Interaction System

1. Summary

A system governing non-combatant NPCs who inhabit mission environments. Civilians possess vision cones and can detect player characters or corpses, but react with panic and flight rather than triggering alarms. They can be eliminated, knocked out, and manipulated like enemy bodies, and designated civilians serve as sources for the disguise system in applicable levels. Missions may track civilian casualties for badge conditions.

2. Tags

3. Design Intent / Job Story

When navigating a populated mission area, I want to understand how non-combatant NPCs will react to my presence and actions, so that I can plan routes and decide whether to avoid, incapacitate, or eliminate them without unintended mission consequences.

4. Role in Gameplay Loop

• Provides environmental population and social context to mission levels
• Creates additional vision-based obstacles that differ from enemy guard behavior (panic instead of alarm)
• Serves as a source for disguise acquisition in levels where the disguise mechanic is available
• Contributes to optional mission badge conditions related to non-lethality, rescue, or civilian interaction
• Adds complexity to stealth routing by introducing non-hostile but detectable entities that must be managed

5. Preconditions

• Mission level contains civilian NPC placements defined by level design
• Civilian AI is in standard idle or wander state (not already panicked or unconscious)
• Player character is within the civilian's vision cone or audible range, or a corpse is visible to the civilian

6. Parameters

7. Core Rules

• Civilians are non-combatant NPCs distinct from enemy guards; they do not carry weapons and cannot directly attack player characters
• Civilians possess vision cones and will detect player characters, bodies, and suspicious activity within their field of view
• Upon detecting a threat, a civilian enters a panic state and flees; civilians do not trigger mission alarms
• A panicked civilian may spot a corpse while fleeing, but this corpse discovery does not raise an alarm
• Civilians can be killed or knocked out using the same elimination mechanics applied to enemy guards
• Unconscious civilians will eventually wake up and may alert guards unless their body has been relocated to an inaccessible area
• Designated civilians in specific levels serve as sources for disguise outfits when a character with disguise capability interacts with them
• Civilian bodies can be carried, dragged, hidden in bushes/wells/doors, or thrown using the same body manipulation mechanics as enemy bodies
• Mission badge conditions may restrict civilian casualties, require civilian rescue, or reward helping battered civilians

8. BDD Scenarios

9. Edge Cases

• A civilian fleeing in panic may run toward guards, indirectly drawing attention to the player's location
• Multiple civilians panicking simultaneously can create unpredictable pathfinding and detection chains
• A civilian may be standing in a position that blocks a narrow pathway, requiring elimination or waiting for movement
• Designated civilians required for disguise acquisition may wander; if killed in an inaccessible area, their outfit may be unreachable
• Unconscious civilians thrown onto rooftops or into wells cannot wake up to alert guards, but may also become unreachable for disguise acquisition
• Civilians in snow levels may leave footprints that could theoretically confuse guard investigation behavior
• A civilian spotting a player through a window or from an elevated position may panic and flee in a direction that compromises the player's planned route
• Killing a civilian in view of another civilian causes the witness to panic immediately, potentially creating a chain reaction

10. QA Notes

11. Mechanic Dependencies

• Stealth Detection System (civilians use the stealth detection system to spot player characters and corpses within their vision cones)
• Character Ability System (character ability system includes disguise acquisition from designated civilians where level design permits)
• Stealth Elimination Mechanics (civilians can be eliminated using the same stealth takedown mechanics as enemy guards)
• Mission Badge System (mission badge system tracks civilian casualties and conditions like 'do not kill civilians' or 'rescue farmers')
• Alarm Response System (civilian panic behavior differs from the alarm response system — civilians flee rather than raising alarms)
• Body Manipulation Mechanics (civilian bodies can be carried, dragged, hidden, and thrown using the same body manipulation mechanics as enemy bodies)
• Enemy Type Hierarchy (enemy type hierarchy must clearly distinguish civilians from enemy types; straw hat guards are NOT civilians)

References

1. 1.

   Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Full Character Guides and Tricks (L280-330 of 116) Aiko acquires disguises by killing or knocking out designated civilians and stealing their clothes; confirms civilians are distinct entities that can be eliminated non-lethally

2. 2.

   Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 101 (L25-35 of 101) Straw Hats are explicitly classified as enemies comparable to Samurai in difficulty, not civilians; confirms straw hats are a guard type3: Stone and Run Hayato makes no noise when he runs, so that means he can easily slip past any enemy by throwing a rock and dashing for cover, no matter how close he is to that...

3. 3.

   Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 101 (L36-42 of 101) The game refers to civilians as 'innocents' and notes that outside of achievements, killing them has no mechanical penalty2: The Trap is the Extra Member Apart from Mugen's Sword Wind, Yuki is the only character that can kill more than one enemy at once semi-silently. Get around a corner, place your...

4. 4.

   Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 101 (L112-118 of 101) Unconscious civilians can be hidden on rooftops where they cannot wake up and alert guards, confirming body manipulation applies to civilians

5. 5.

   The Art of Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun and STRATEGY GUIDE (L2889-3008 of 4930) The official strategy guide explicitly distinguishes 'straw hat guards' from 'wandering civilians' in the same mission, confirming they are separate entity typesThe corridor leading there from (10) is guarded by a straw hat (10.2) and a samurai ) s (10.3) In area (11) you’ll fi nd a wandering civilian and some guards who make it diffi cult...

6. 6.

   The Art of Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun and STRATEGY GUIDE (L3108-3235 of 4930) Civilians panic and run when alarmed but do not set off alarms, even if they spot guard corpsesIf things go wrong, the ci- vilians will probably panic, run away, and end up spotting a guard's corpse. This shouldn't set off an alarm, though. Knock out guard (4.4), just to be...

7. 7.

   Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Blades of The Shogun - Achievement Guide (L120-180 of 447) Mission badges explicitly track civilian interaction: 'Don't kill any civilians' (Mission 2), 'Help the battered villagers' (Mission 6), 'Rescue the farmers' (Mission 7)Maniwa Namakemono (3/16): If you look at the red cart, it stops on the way to be checked by two guards. One of the guards is who you are looking for, in front of the house with...