Paranid Civil War — arc overview

The Paranid Civil War is X4’s largest narrative arc — 20,236 lines of MD code, 30+ individual missions across two branching paths and three chapters each. The player intermediates between the Holy Order of Pontifex (zealot faction) and the Godrealm of the Paranid (orthodox faction).

This page is the arc overview. For per-mission detail see:

Prologue — finding the arc — how player first encounters the story
Universal path — Uni_1, Uni_2, Uni_3 missions (mediator route)
Escalation path — Esc_1, Esc_2, Esc_3 missions (escalator route)

Script reference

File: md/story_paranid.xml
Lines: 20,236
MDScript name: Story_Paranid
Text page: 30220 (Paranid Story)
Universe restriction: Main galaxy only (xu_ep2_universe_macro)

The two paths

Prologue (relation ≥ friendly with Paranid OR Holy Order)
    ↓ Dal Busta calls player
    ↓ Player accepts arc
    ↓
[PATH CHOICE]
    ↓
    ├──→ Universal path (Uni)
    │       Chapter 1: Sink — pacify the conflict
    │       Chapter 2: Duke — court the Duke (Trinity)
    │       Chapter 3: Mediation — final mediation
    │
    └──→ Escalation path (Esc)
            Chapter 1: Sink — also Sink BUT escalating
            Chapter 2: Haven Foundation — build a Haven station
            Chapter 3: Final Assault — military endgame

Path semantics (from code structure):

Path	Theme	Outcome
Universal (Uni)	Diplomatic mediator	Player unifies the schism, reconciliation
Escalation (Esc)	Military escalator	Player picks a side, military resolution

The two paths share Chapter 1 conceptually (both deal with “the Sink” event) but diverge in execution. Chapter 2-3 are fully distinct.

Persistent characters

These characters are anchored across the arc — your mod must not despawn or destroy them:

Character	Role	First appearance
Dal Busta	Antagonist / story driver	Prerequisites — calls player when relation threshold met
Boso Ta	HQ ally, conversation partner	Chapter 1 returns to HQ
The Cardinal	Holy Order leader	Cardinal’s Redress sector
Duke	Trinity faction leader	Uni Chapter 2
Xat	Combatant / honor guard	Universal Chapter 1
Gride	Antagonist	Escalation chapters
Legate	Paranid official	Universal Chapter 1 (target of Uni_1_Assassinate_Legate)

Stored in md.Plot.Actors.$X for cross-arc reuse — see Story arcs catalog.

Sector locations

The arc anchors specific sectors. Your mod must not change ownership / accessibility of:

Sector macro	Vanilla name	Story role
`cluster_35_sector001`	Lasting Vengeance	Derelict discovery (early scene)
`cluster_36_sector001`	Cardinal’s Redress	Cardinal encounter
`cluster_11_sector001`	(Paranid Monument sector)	Paranid Monument — central landmark with 8km no-trespass radius
`cluster_25_sector002`	(Cipher sector)	Cipher investigation
`cluster_22_sector001`	Trinity Sanctum	Trinity homeworld — Uni Chapter 2 hub
`cluster_04_sector001`	Nopileos’ Fortune II	Chapter 2 plot hub
`cluster_04_sector002`	(Nopileos adjacent)	Esc plot sector

The Paranid Monument (in cluster_11_sector001) is a specific landmark object — macro landmarks_par_monument_01_macro. The story enforces an 8km no-trespass radius via Generic_Guard_Response cues.

Prerequisites — when the arc starts

The arc triggers when the player reaches friendly relation (UI value 10) with either:

faction.paranid (Godrealm Paranid), OR
faction.holyorder (Holy Order of Pontifex)

<set_value name="$EntryRelation"
    exact="faction.paranid.relation.friend.min"
    comment="0.01 (UI value 10) = friendly"/>

When that threshold is met, Prerequisites_Trigger_Availability fires → Dal Busta calls the player on the comm.

Path choice mechanic

Once Chapter 1 starts (after player accepts Dal Busta’s call), the path divides based on player action choices during Chapter 1 dialogues. The code reflects this via separate Uni_1_* vs Esc_1_* cue trees that initialize from different conversation branches.

The player cannot freely switch paths mid-arc. Path commitment is fixed by Chapter 1 endings.

Chapter beats — at a glance

Universal path

Chapter	Theme	Key missions
Uni 1	The Sink — pacify	Dal Desk → Sink Explanation → Deliver Fleet → Assassinate Legate → Mediation Patrol → Diplomatic Change
Uni 2	Duke / Trinity	Duke Call → Palace Foundation (offer blueprint OR build)
Uni 3	Final mediation	Boso Call → Deliver Inventory → Deliver Resources → Diplomatic Change

Escalation path

Chapter	Theme	Key missions
Esc 1	The Sink — escalate	Dal Desk → Sink Explanation → Disperse Pirates (flagship capture) → Deliver Fleet → Diplomatic Change
Esc 2	Haven Foundation	Boso Call → Briefing → Haven Foundation (claim plot, build station, recruit manager) → Diplomatic Change
Esc 3	Final Assault	Briefing → Deliver Inventory → Deliver Resources → Final Assault (military endgame) → Wrap Up Headquarters

For mission-by-mission detail navigate to Universal path or Escalation path.

Custom-gamestart skip flags

If your mod adds a custom game start, you can skip parts of the arc via these flags:

Flag	Effect
`gamestart.storystate.story_paranid_uni_0`	Skip Uni prerequisites + Chapter 1
`gamestart.storystate.story_paranid_uni_1`	Skip Uni Chapter 2
`gamestart.storystate.story_paranid_uni_2`	Skip Uni Chapter 3
`gamestart.storystate.story_paranid_uni_3`	Mark arc as fully completed (Uni path)
`gamestart.storystate.story_paranid_esc_0..3`	Same for Escalation path

Use these to start players “mid-arc” or skip the arc entirely. See gs_scientist.xml for an example of a story-state-preloaded start.

Save migration patches

The script has multiple <patch sinceversion="N"> blocks for save-load recovery. Key ones:

sinceversion 9 (5.0 Beta 1) — Esc_1_Cooldown_Update_Objective fix
sinceversion 12 (5.0 Beta 6 Hotfix 1) — Multi-mission state recovery

Your mod’s changes to this arc must respect these patch points — see Wiki: Save compatibility.

Common mod-conflict patterns specific to this arc

Relation mods

Mods that auto-set faction.player.relationto.{faction.paranid} = max at game start trigger the arc immediately
Mods that make Paranid + Holy Order both ≤ enemy permanently block the arc forever
Recommended: leave initial faction relations at vanilla defaults

Sector-ownership mods

Mods claiming Cardinal’s Redress (cluster_36) for player at game start break Chapter 1
Mods spawning hostiles in Paranid Monument zone (cluster_11) collide with the Generic_Guard_Response cue chain
Mods replacing Nopileos’ Fortune II macro break Chapter 2

NPC-spawning mods

Mods filling all tag.actor_paranid_* slots starve Cardinal / Duke / Dal Busta / Boso Ta spawns
Mods adding bulk NPC arcs at HQ collide with Uni_1_Return_To_HQ Boso conversation cues

Custom mission mods

Generic missions at Paranid stations during prerequisites phase may delay Dal Busta call by competing for offer slots
Mission templates assigning Cardinal’s Redress or Trinity Sanctum as target may collide with story expectations

Mission encyclopedia index
Story arcs catalog — high-level story arcs landscape
Prologue — how the arc starts
Universal path — Uni missions detailed
Escalation path — Esc missions detailed
Mod-conflict checklist — broader checklist
Story missions (technical) — how to write your own

The Paranid Civil War is the highest-stakes vanilla arc — touching Trinity, Holy Order, Godrealm, Antigone, and player factions across 7 sectors. Mod compatibility audits should walk through both paths.