Creating Drama With the Scandals System

Hello Simmers, Lead Producer Azure here to talk to you about all things scandalous! 

Our Sims have always gotten up to all kinds of mischief, and we wanted to find a way to make sure their misadventures felt meaningful. To do this, we created the Scandals system – tracking and creating drama, as well as giving you all new ways to play with your stories.

The Beginning of a Scandal

Say your Sims are feeling a little scandalous and decide to WooHoo in Public, now when they do, they will gain a new Secret! This gets added to their Notebook, and in there you can see what the Secret is about, any Sims who are Complicit and how long until it fades into obscurity. 

All sorts of Sim drama can now be tracked as Secrets (and if your Sims are anything like mine, they get up to plenty of mischief) so the Notebook is a great place to keep track of what your Sim is hiding at any time.

If any other Sims are nearby when it all goes down, they will also learn that Secret and it’s added to their Notebook under Other Sims’ Secrets. Which can lead to some complications down the line for your frisky Sims who enjoy a little PDA!

Spoiler Alert! If you are feeling curious, there are a few Secrets listed at the end of this article!

Discovering Other’s Secrets

Being the center of attention isn’t for everyone, and maybe your Sim prefers to be in the know about everyone else’s business. 

To learn a Secret, you’ll first have to get your Sim out to meet other Sims and find the perfect victim! Once you have a target, your Sim can:

• Ask mutual friends for Secrets about them
• Get on the Computer and under the Scandals Pie Menu, you can see if the Info Broker will sell you their Secrets
• At Level 2 Programming Skill, Hack for Secrets about them
• Use the Enchanted Mirror to uncover Secrets about a specific Sim through more mystical means

Controlling the Narrative

There are a couple of ways Secrets can come into play.

They can come directly from a Sim’s actions, like WooHooing in Public, Having a Secret Child, or even from a Sim’s Bladder Failure.  If a Secret like this already exists, and your Sim investigates that Sim, they’ll find out their Secret! 

For when you want a little added intrigue in the game, there are also Secrets the game generates. You’ll get a prompt that comes in the form of gossip about another Sim. You decide whether these suspicions are true or not.  Choosing to believe the prompt turns it into a Secret and very real consequences for that Sim.

Possible outcomes include:

• New relationships forming… including affairs
• A Sim accused of Kissing Frogs could find new Frogs in their inventory
• And sometimes… a Sim may even die

No fear! You’ll always get warnings before anything permanent happens. Take a moment to read through and decide if you are ready for the fallout. If you choose not to believe it, select “No” on the prompt; nothing changes. 

The Power is Yours

Once you’ve collected a Secret, either on your Sim or about another Sim, there are a few different things you can do with them.

Burying It

Sometimes things happen and that doesn’t mean your Sim should have to keep looking over their shoulder! If you want the peace of mind that nobody will ever find out your Sim’s dirty little Secret, the Info Broker on the Computer is always happy to make sure the gossip mill stays focused elsewhere… for a price.

Selling It

Knowledge is power – and power is Simoleons! Sims can cash in on their sleuthing by selling Secrets to the Info Broker. Anyone’s Secrets will be accepted, and the juicer they are the higher the payout. But be careful when selling your Sim’s own Secrets, because you never know who will buy them!

Extortion

Speaking of power, knowing another Sim’s Secrets is the perfect way to gain power over them. Nobles who are blocked from advancing by a Noble Rival can Extort them to Abdicate their Noble Position, freeing up their path to the crown. These are Mean interactions and can be found under the Malicious category.

All Extortion options are listed below:

• For Simoleons
• To Abdicate Noble Title
• Dynasty Heirship or Headship
• Relationship Blessings
• Provide Noble or Commoner Favor
• Break an Alliance or call a truce with Rivals
• Brand Dynasty Members as Outcasts

There is also a brand new Aspiration called Social Puppeteer which rewards all this Machiavellian behavior with the Ironclad Reputation trait. Sims with this trait can never be extorted themselves and it increases their chances of getting what they want when they do it to others.

Being Extorted

With all this drama going on, sometimes another Sim will decide to try and take advantage and extort your Sims for their own profit. When that happens, you’ve got a few choices:

• You can refuse to pay up, and they will immediately tell everyone the sordid details, triggering a Scandal with your Sim at the center. (More on this below)
• The safest option is to pay up, which can take a big chunk out of your household funds but ensures that Sim will keep their lips sealed.
• Or, you can ask for more time. This gives your Sims the opportunity to scrounge up the extra Simoleons, sweet talk their way into a romance or friendship, or even to ensure their extortionist meets with a timely accident…

If you’d rather not deal with extortion at all, there’s an option to turn it off in Settings.

Scandal Effects

Once a Secret is revealed, it’s out there and everyone can react to it, making it a Scandal. 

Sims in a Scandal will be visible with a cloud of rumors swirling around them. 

Depending on the Scandal, Sims in a Scandal might experience:

• Decreased job performance
• A “nervous bladder” making them run to the bathroom more often
• Decreased success with social interactions
• Dynasty Prestige loss

However, it’s not all doom and gloom! Some Sims will even approve of certain Scandals, leading to increased success when socializing with them. Players who have The Sims 4: Get Famous Expansion Pack can also use the The More Views Video Station to create videos either apologizing for, or denying, the Scandal. 

All Scandals will eventually pass, and Sims can speed it up by releasing either an Apology or Denial on the Computer, or Nobles can address it during a Press Conference. 

The Info Broker

As you can probably tell, the Info Broker is a pretty interesting character who frequents the Ye Old Voyager bar in Ondarion. While your Sims will have free access to them via the Computer, they may want to meet this mysterious gossip-monger in the flesh.

By doing some digging around Ondarion, asking (or hacking) for Secrets and with a little luck, your Sim may uncover their real identity – and be able to unlock their services directly from the source.

That’s everything you need to start spreading rumors, burying Secrets, and absolutely ruining reputations. We can’t wait to see the chaos you create with the Scandals system. 

Now go forth, Simmers… and try not to get caught.

SPOILER ALERT!

Here is a list of a few of the Secrets to enjoy! Some are self-explanatory from their titles, while others include a brief description.  

• WooHoo in Public
• Nasty Little Letters – Sim forges a breakup letter between two Sims.
• Sticky Fingered Filcher – Sim steals up to a certain value of goods.
• Grim Lover – Sim has a romantic relationship with the Grim Reaper.
• Clowning Around – Sim has a romantic relationship with Tragic Clown
• Suspicious Circumstances – Sim marries a partner, who has an untimely death within 3 days of being married.
• Having a Secret Child
• Forged Family Tree
• Forbidden Friends – Sim becomes good friends with someone from a rival dynasty.
• Star-Crossed Lovers – Sim becomes significant others with someone in a rivalry dynasty.
• Ballroom Blunder – Noble Sim agrees to become dance partners with a Commoner Sim.
• Plasma Thief! – Drank blood from another Sim against their will. Available with The Sims 4 Vampires Game Pack.
• Unfair Fairy – Consumed Emotional Energy from another Sim against their will. Available with The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature Expansion Pack.