NPP Behavior
NPPs make autonomous decisions every turn: how to vote on bills, whether to vote in leadership elections, and how to respond to whip directives. Understanding this decision-making system lets you predict NPP behavior and use it strategically.
Bill voting#
NPPs vote on all active federal bills. State/regional bills are not currently processed by the NPP system.
The vote decision#
Each turn, NPPs that haven't yet voted on an open bill evaluate it using a deterministic cross-pressure model. Several signed forces are summed:
- Ideology: alignment between the NPP's positions and the bill's positions
- Whip: party whip and caucus whip directives, each contributing a signed force (positive for FOR, negative for AGAINST), gated by the NPP's compliance multiplier
- Party-line default: when the NPP shares the bill sponsor's party and no explicit whip is set, a smaller default pull toward FOR kicks in, scaled by the same compliance multiplier. This only applies to co-partisans of the sponsor; opposition and unaffiliated NPPs get nothing from it
- District: constituency pressure based on the NPP's home state demographics
- Donors: donor-class pressure based on the NPP's donor alignment
The total is the sum of all active signed forces. The verdict uses a strict threshold, not an inclusive one:
| Verdict | Condition |
|---|---|
| For | Total > +5 |
| Against | Total < −5 |
| Abstain | Total is exactly +5, exactly −5, or anywhere in between |
This is a deterministic model, not a probabilistic one. There is no random roll or compliance chance.
Whip force details#
A party whip contributes a base force of 30 (soft) or 60 (hard). A caucus whip contributes a base force of 40 (soft) or 80 (hard), plus a further ±20 bonus when the bill aligns with one of the caucus's core positions. Party and caucus whip forces stack if both are active. Every whip force is multiplied by the NPP's compliance multiplier before being added to the total, so even a hard whip is not binding. The compliance multiplier is derived from loyalty and stubbornness, but the final vote is always determined by the summed-force threshold.
Multi-seat weighting#
NPPs holding multiple seats contribute their full seat count to the vote tally. An NPP with 7 House seats casts 7 effective votes. This matters enormously: a well-seated NPP bloc in a closely divided legislature can swing any bill.
Catch-up voting#
NPP bill voting runs every turn throughout the bill's open window. NPPs who gain seats after a bill opens still vote before it closes, as long as voting hasn't ended. Once an NPP has voted, they cannot change their vote.
Personality traits#
Three personality traits shape how predictable an NPP's behavior is:
| Trait | Range | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| loyalty | 0 to 100 | Higher loyalty = stronger compliance multiplier, more party-line bill votes |
| ambition | 0 to 100 | Higher ambition = more aggressive election entry |
| stubbornness | 0 to 100 | Higher stubbornness = weaker compliance multiplier, harder to whip |
The compliance multiplier scales loyalty against stubbornness. It is not a probability; it is a scalar that reduces or amplifies the whip force before it enters the deterministic sum.
Strategic implications#
- Bill passing: If you need an NPP-heavy chamber to pass a bill, align the bill with the ideological center of the majority NPPs, or whip your state's NPPs to vote For
- Blocking opponents: If a rival is running for Speaker, identify the most stubbornness-resistant NPPs in your party and whip them away from the rival's party block
Related#
- NPPs Overview: What NPPs are and the influence action system.
- NPP Elections: How NPPs enter and compete in elections.
- Party Actions: Whip directives, party-level NPP influence.
- Party Ideology: The ideology alignment formula.