Kiero
2011-03-13, 08:08 AM
I'm going to be running a relatively short string of games, probably in the 6-12 session region, depending on how much people enjoy what's going on. So I don't feel like I really have the luxury of the usual "discover in play" approach to things like an overarching impetus to play. I'm not really a fan of the "total strangers united by nothing but the PC glow improbably find each other and work together" approach that is often the standard. I always prefer an approach whereby we assume the PCs already know (or at least know of) each other before the game begins, so we can skip introductions and get straight to it.
I'm planning on developing this through discussion with the group in the first session (which will be briefing, world-gen, premise-gen and chargen all rolled together), but of course it helps to arrive with some notions on what is possible. I've so far had four rough ideas as to why a group of people, probably from disparate backgrounds, are working together. These are not mutually exclusive, but a way of ordering my thoughts around particular, distinct-seeming motivations. Excluding "ordinary people just trying to get on with living their ordinary lives" is entirely intentional.
Agents of Power
Here the PCs (at least one, some or even all) are employed/oathsworn/otherwise bonded to a powerful patron. They work to further the goals of that powerful person, can draw on their resources and networks of contacts and must also come into conflict with the agents of other powers. How much latitude they have as well as clout will depend on the nature of formal power in the period and the status of the PCs. Of course one option might be that the PCs are a power in their own right, in charge of a noble house or the like.
Mercenaries
The PCs are a group of armed, experienced combat veterans on the lookout for employers who will pay their wages and find them trouble to get into. What's distinct from the first one is that they may not actually be trusted or given much autonomy, just sent to the nearest warzone or place that needs policing and told to get on with it. They also have more freedom to pick and choose their work, as well as lacking the same ties of fealty to their employer, making them free to switch sides or go independent. I'd also include the sorts of opportunists who might be trying to carve out their own fief in this category.
Merchants/Treasure Hunters
The primary motivation here is making money. The PCs could be working for or running a significant merchantile concern, or simply a mob of grave-robbing treasure-hunters. There's more than enough tradition of burying significant people with grave-goods to make this a profitable venture if you're not someone concerned with violating customs about the dead. As merchants they might be at the finance end of things manipulating markets and buying and selling, or at the business end doing the exploration, building trade networks, negotiating and protecting the movement of their goods.
Idealists
This one is about people united for a particular cause that's less tangible than the others. They might be courtiers and supporters of a dispossessed lord or lady, working to restore them to their rightful place. Perhaps they are true believers in the right of a people, nation or faith to be pre-eminent or in control and work to further that cause. I distinguish them from the agents who work for someone who already has power and mercenaries who are doing it for themselves.
Is this a useful categorisation? Are there any others I've missed?
I'm planning on developing this through discussion with the group in the first session (which will be briefing, world-gen, premise-gen and chargen all rolled together), but of course it helps to arrive with some notions on what is possible. I've so far had four rough ideas as to why a group of people, probably from disparate backgrounds, are working together. These are not mutually exclusive, but a way of ordering my thoughts around particular, distinct-seeming motivations. Excluding "ordinary people just trying to get on with living their ordinary lives" is entirely intentional.
Agents of Power
Here the PCs (at least one, some or even all) are employed/oathsworn/otherwise bonded to a powerful patron. They work to further the goals of that powerful person, can draw on their resources and networks of contacts and must also come into conflict with the agents of other powers. How much latitude they have as well as clout will depend on the nature of formal power in the period and the status of the PCs. Of course one option might be that the PCs are a power in their own right, in charge of a noble house or the like.
Mercenaries
The PCs are a group of armed, experienced combat veterans on the lookout for employers who will pay their wages and find them trouble to get into. What's distinct from the first one is that they may not actually be trusted or given much autonomy, just sent to the nearest warzone or place that needs policing and told to get on with it. They also have more freedom to pick and choose their work, as well as lacking the same ties of fealty to their employer, making them free to switch sides or go independent. I'd also include the sorts of opportunists who might be trying to carve out their own fief in this category.
Merchants/Treasure Hunters
The primary motivation here is making money. The PCs could be working for or running a significant merchantile concern, or simply a mob of grave-robbing treasure-hunters. There's more than enough tradition of burying significant people with grave-goods to make this a profitable venture if you're not someone concerned with violating customs about the dead. As merchants they might be at the finance end of things manipulating markets and buying and selling, or at the business end doing the exploration, building trade networks, negotiating and protecting the movement of their goods.
Idealists
This one is about people united for a particular cause that's less tangible than the others. They might be courtiers and supporters of a dispossessed lord or lady, working to restore them to their rightful place. Perhaps they are true believers in the right of a people, nation or faith to be pre-eminent or in control and work to further that cause. I distinguish them from the agents who work for someone who already has power and mercenaries who are doing it for themselves.
Is this a useful categorisation? Are there any others I've missed?