Faction Relations - Law and Order — More Logical Faction Relationships for Kenshi

Faction Relations - Law and Order is a modification for Kenshi that reworks faction relationships to prevent unnecessary conflicts, improve NPC coexistence, and make interactions between different groups more consistent with the game's world.

In vanilla Kenshi, even a minor incident can escalate into a full-scale battle. A wandering squad might accidentally attack a neutral character, provoke the town guards, and trigger a chain reaction that eventually turns an entire settlement into a battlefield.

This mod addresses these situations by adjusting faction reputation and coexistence settings. Its purpose is not to eliminate hostility, but to ensure that factions fight for meaningful reasons rather than because of unpredictable AI behavior.

What Does Faction Relations - Law and Order Change?

The modification revises how numerous factions interact with one another, focusing particularly on neutral groups, merchants, mercenaries, outlaws, and wandering NPC squads.

The main improvements include:

• Fewer accidental faction wars. Minor crimes, friendly fire, and isolated encounters are less likely to escalate into widespread conflicts.
• More reasonable coexistence. Factions with compatible interests can share settlements without constantly attacking each other.
• Improved faction relationships. Reputation values better reflect the political, social, and historical connections between groups.
• More stable settlements. Town guards, traders, and wandering squads are less likely to become involved in unnecessary battles.
• Preserved faction rivalries. Major political and ideological conflicts remain part of the gameplay.

These adjustments are particularly useful for heavily modded playthroughs featuring additional NPC populations, wandering squads, or expanded settlements.

Major Faction Changes

Holy Nation Outlaws

The Holy Nation Outlaws now maintain significantly better relationships with groups that have reasonable grounds for cooperation or peaceful coexistence.

Their relations with numerous factions have been increased to +100, with coexistence enabled where appropriate.

Affected factions include the Anti-Slavers, Deadcat, Flotsam Ninjas, Machinists, Mongrel, Rebel Farmers, Tech Hunters, Trade Ninjas, Shinobi Thieves, Nomads, Mercenary Guild, Swampers, Traders Guild, and several others.

Since the Holy Nation Outlaws consist largely of individuals who have been rejected by or oppose the Holy Nation, their relationships with independent communities and neutral organizations have been reconsidered.

This should help prevent settlements such as The Hub from descending into chaos after a single confrontation.

Shinobi Thieves

The Shinobi Thieves receive one of the most substantial relationship adjustments.

Their reputation with factions living in or near their areas of operation has been increased to +100, alongside corresponding coexistence changes.

As an underground organization involved in theft, smuggling, and trading stolen goods, the Shinobi Thieves have practical reasons to maintain connections with different communities.

Their revised relationships allow them to operate more naturally within settlements without repeatedly becoming involved in unrelated faction conflicts.

Ancient Skeleton Factions

Several factions associated with the ancient Skeleton civilizations now have improved relationships.

The changes affect appropriate connections between:

• Ancient Ruins
• Old Machines
• Skeleton Legion
• Second Empire
• Second Empire Exile

Selected relationships between these groups have been increased to +100.

Although their objectives may differ, their shared historical origins provide a reasonable foundation for less indiscriminate hostility.

Berserkers and the Shek Kingdom

The relationship between the Berserkers and the Shek Kingdom has been adjusted from -100 to 0.

This removes their automatically imposed extreme hostility without turning them into allies.

The Berserkers retain their aggressive nature and other existing rivalries, but their relationship with the Shek Kingdom can now develop without starting from absolute hatred.

Slavers, Anti-Slavers, and Other Rivalries

Not every relationship has been improved.

Some factions now have stronger negative relations where their goals directly conflict. In particular, hostility involving slaver-related organizations and the Anti-Slavers has been increased.

The Flotsam Ninjas also have more hostile relations with cannibal factions.

Additional adjustments affect Drifters, Free Traders, Hounds, Grayflayers, Blackshifters, Bar Thugs, Stone Rats, Twinblades, Empire Peasants, Rebel Swordsmen, Slave Hunters, Slave Traders, and many other groups.

How Does This Affect Gameplay?

The most noticeable difference is a reduction in unpredictable violence between factions that have little reason to fight.

For example, a minor confrontation involving a wandering squad should be less likely to escalate into a conflict between several otherwise neutral organizations.

Merchants can operate in settlements with fewer unexpected interruptions, while town guards and visiting NPCs are less likely to become trapped in prolonged battles caused by unrelated incidents.

Kenshi remains a dangerous world. Bandits, political enemies, slavers, rebels, and other hostile groups still create plenty of opportunities for combat.

The difference is that faction conflicts should feel more deliberate and consistent with the game's setting.

Compatibility and Load Order

Faction Relations - Law and Order modifies the base faction relationship and coexistence records using the Forgotten Construction Set.

As a result, it may conflict with other modifications that change the same faction data.

For better compatibility, place this mod near the bottom of your load order. In Kenshi, modifications loaded later can override conflicting records from earlier ones.

Applying Changes to Existing Saves

If you install or update the modification during an existing playthrough, the new faction relationships may not immediately appear.

To apply the changes correctly, use the Import Game feature from Kenshi's main menu.

Importing is especially recommended when switching from another faction relationship overhaul.

Additional Information

The modification combines ideas inspired by several community projects:

• Faction Relationships Overhauled
• Improved Shinobi Thieves Faction Relations
• Improved Holy Nation Outlaws Faction Relations
• Wandering Squads Relations Fix

The author has combined and expanded these concepts with additional changes to faction reputation and coexistence.