Book of Laws

The Book of Laws is one of the Game Mechanics in Frostpunk.

Description
The Book of Laws provides the basis of rules and direction for the new city. The choice of Laws chosen and disregarded will have significant effects on the population; this is reflected in the Discontent or Hope penalties/boosts that accompany every newly introduced law. At the end of a scenario, a summary (often harsh) of the player's decisions in shaping the new city will derive primarily from the laws chosen.

The Book of Laws itself is composed of two law trees: Adaptation, and Purpose. Adaptation Laws are always available from the start of a scenario. Purpose Laws, on the other hand, are introduced later in the scenario and composed of either Faith or Order laws. The two aforementioned trees are mutually exclusive, so choosing one will prevent laws from the other tree being introduced. All laws affect either Discontent or Hope to various degrees, often times both. Many laws offer new building options or building abilities (e.g. adding sawdust to meals). Laws that provide a new building option often form as a promise to build it, as such the population will be displeased if expected buildings are not constructed soon. The law trees of Faith and Order offer many similar benefits with Guards and Faith Keepers operating effectively identically. Progressing the law tree of either Faith or Order will culminate in the New Faith/New Order law becoming available. These laws have significant effects as they will remove Hope as a going concern by making the population either completely devoted or obedient. This is achieved by neutralizing or silencing most elements of resistance to the Captain and so may result in some casualties. The Captain may still be overthrown should Discontent run too high. At this point, discontent may be managed with ease as problematic citizens/scapegoats may be publicly executed to deter an uprising. If you sign any of the last three laws of either path in Purpose, the ending will say "We have crossed the line" and "But was it worth it?"

Visually the Book of Laws is presented in a similar fashion to the 'tech tree' with each 'branch' displaying clearly the sequence of laws in each area.

Most laws have events associated with their passing or the usage of their abilities.