Modifier

Modifiers are status effects for POIs. They can be caused by Challenges, Quests, the characters or monsters present, etc.

Modifiers can wind down or intensify, which in turn can be helped along by Agents, Heroes, or armies. They have multiple levels, which are marked with different types of picture borders: grey, slightly different grey, and gold.

Modifier types
The four types of modifiers are Event, Status, Person, Creature - each has generic interactions based on the type and most have specific interactions or challenges that derive from them. All modifiers have "Strength" which is a method of interacting with the modifier but also acts as its timer to disappear.

Events
Event Modifiers are generally caused by events or challenges and provide a static effect while active. They generally have a starting strength that deteriorates over time and leads to their vanishing. Casting a new instance of an existing Event Modifier will simply refresh the strength, it does not duplicate the effect. An example might be "Blessed Crops".

Status
Status Modifiers tend to "roll up" effects from various other events/challenges. They generally start at the strength they are first given, which is usually a low value, and gain in strength from other events/actions otherwise they will slowly dissapear. As they get stronger and go through certain tiers they will trigger actions or gain increasingly powerful passive modifiers. When a Status modifier hits its max strength it generally triggers a very strong event and resets to the start of the highest tier. The example above is "Unrest", the most common status modifier - as unrest increases the penalties increase as well and if it hits maximum the people will rise up.

Person
A Person modifier generally comes in the form of a Hero performing training, a sage researching, or a random event. Person modifiers increase over time in strength until they finish, bestowing either a powerful Event Modifier,a discovery, or a permanent bonus to the POI. Person modifiers are very suspectible to either Assassinations through infiltration or just outright murder through terrorizing.

Creatures
Creatures behave similar to Status modifiers except that they always trend upwards in strength, but they are also the most common target of heroic actions. Not all creatures are hostile, some of them are benign and will work with the Alliance if courted. Some creatures trigger a strong event if they reach their maximum strength though most simply create an adjacent modifier of their own type representing their expanding influence. Creatures will fight eachother in the same POI for dominance unless an Overlord is present and has dominated them.

Examples

 * Unrest is one of the more common modifiers. It lowers order, making Agents' job easier. It winds down over time, but if high-level unrest would intensify again, it triggers the Riot Event instead. It's a Status modifier.
 * Children of the Night allows the recruitment of vampires at its POI and can spread. Like most modifiers caused by monsters, it intensifies over time. Like all modifiers caused by monsters, it has a special effect on the highest level: it raises the danger of the POI and the risk the passers-by have of contracting vampirism. It is a Creatures modifier.
 * Garrison Commander is granted by the presence of a certain character. It can be countered by luring them out, through assassination, or through corrupting that character and turning the bonus into a penalty. It's a Person Modifier.
 * Crime Spree