Simons Mith
2022-09-01, 12:17 PM
I'm big on reusing the same game mechanics in multiple places if it makes sense,
and the same mechanics that work well to give animals some personality can also be
used to manage NPCs and NPC factions in a campaign.
Here's how:
Animals get skills like Steal Sock, Unearthly Shriek, or Creepy Eyes in the Dark.
Factions and NPCs get skills like Rule Wisely, Enrich Self, Ravage Countryside*,
Sow Discord, Foment Rebellion, Steal Everything that Isn't Nailed Down, Conquer
Territory and so on.
Edit: If you don't have anything more useful in mind, give your pirate factions
Do Pirate Stuff skills, your Thieves Guilds Do Thiefly Stuff and so on. if they
have differing skill levels then you can watch their relative fortunes ebb and flow
over the campaign.
These are abstract skills that a player character would never learn**, and they
represent the entire portfolio of powers, characters and abilities that the
faction controls. A dragon may have the Ravage Countryside skill, for example,
while the evil king Pinut might try to use his Conquer Territory skill on the
neighboring kingdom of Kurain***. The evil vizier might use his Sow Discord and
Enrich Self skills in combination, and at the same time the distant Wizilevard,
who has long hated the peaceful and wealthy plains kingdoms, uses his Foment
Rebellion skill at every opportunity. I suggest assigning each faction 2-3
skills that broadly represent their activities.
How often to roll:
Roll once or twice for one or two of the factions in the downtime between each
adventure, and possibly once or twice during an adventure. You don't have to roll
for every faction every time. But you ought to roll the sultan's Rule Wisely skill
every year or two, and as long as he keeps succeeding the country stays on an
even keel. The idea is that you have multiple factions, each working towards their
own objectives, and you can keep an eye on how well they're doing just by making
a few rolls. If they get a run of good rolls, they become more powerful. If they
get a crit or a fumble, then that's a scenario trigger - either a chance to shut
them down, or the last chance to stop them before they summon Cthulhu, end the
world, or otherwise become unstoppable. Maybe the sultan's Rule Wisely skill cancels
out the vizier's Sow Discord, and the sultanate only starts to go to pot when Noble
Ruler gets a run of bad rolls.
The thing is that while you can use a faction's skill rolls as scenario triggers,
you don't have to. You can just use them for background flavour, or as
foreshadowing. Put a few stories of the vizier's wrongdoings into the game
background when the PCs are still low level, and you'll have a notable villain set
up and waiting for later on in the campaign, and he'll already have an established
back story.
Summary:
This is a simple way to add a dynamic background to a campaign without having to plot
things out in detail. It doesn't have to be limited to major campaign-level events;
it's just as usable for minor events. If the characters get to mid-level and have a
home base, you can make a Stewardship roll for the PCs' noble patron to see how well
he's managing the castle lands. The stable hand can roll on his Become Squire skill,
and on his Court Cordelia skill, to see how his romance with the fencing tutor's
daughter progresses. Treat the NPCs as an ensemble cast, and make 1-2 rolls between
them, and this will give you news to report back to the PCs when they come back from
their own adventures. This helps give the impression that life continues while the
PCs are away.
* Not to be confused with Ravish Countryside which is a very specialised skill,
unlikely to show up in most games. If it shows up in yours, ew.
** With the possible exception of Steal Everything that Isn't Nailed Down, which
is commonly abstracted by the entire contents of a typical PC character sheet.
*** I'm sure that joke will age like fine wine.
and the same mechanics that work well to give animals some personality can also be
used to manage NPCs and NPC factions in a campaign.
Here's how:
Animals get skills like Steal Sock, Unearthly Shriek, or Creepy Eyes in the Dark.
Factions and NPCs get skills like Rule Wisely, Enrich Self, Ravage Countryside*,
Sow Discord, Foment Rebellion, Steal Everything that Isn't Nailed Down, Conquer
Territory and so on.
Edit: If you don't have anything more useful in mind, give your pirate factions
Do Pirate Stuff skills, your Thieves Guilds Do Thiefly Stuff and so on. if they
have differing skill levels then you can watch their relative fortunes ebb and flow
over the campaign.
These are abstract skills that a player character would never learn**, and they
represent the entire portfolio of powers, characters and abilities that the
faction controls. A dragon may have the Ravage Countryside skill, for example,
while the evil king Pinut might try to use his Conquer Territory skill on the
neighboring kingdom of Kurain***. The evil vizier might use his Sow Discord and
Enrich Self skills in combination, and at the same time the distant Wizilevard,
who has long hated the peaceful and wealthy plains kingdoms, uses his Foment
Rebellion skill at every opportunity. I suggest assigning each faction 2-3
skills that broadly represent their activities.
How often to roll:
Roll once or twice for one or two of the factions in the downtime between each
adventure, and possibly once or twice during an adventure. You don't have to roll
for every faction every time. But you ought to roll the sultan's Rule Wisely skill
every year or two, and as long as he keeps succeeding the country stays on an
even keel. The idea is that you have multiple factions, each working towards their
own objectives, and you can keep an eye on how well they're doing just by making
a few rolls. If they get a run of good rolls, they become more powerful. If they
get a crit or a fumble, then that's a scenario trigger - either a chance to shut
them down, or the last chance to stop them before they summon Cthulhu, end the
world, or otherwise become unstoppable. Maybe the sultan's Rule Wisely skill cancels
out the vizier's Sow Discord, and the sultanate only starts to go to pot when Noble
Ruler gets a run of bad rolls.
The thing is that while you can use a faction's skill rolls as scenario triggers,
you don't have to. You can just use them for background flavour, or as
foreshadowing. Put a few stories of the vizier's wrongdoings into the game
background when the PCs are still low level, and you'll have a notable villain set
up and waiting for later on in the campaign, and he'll already have an established
back story.
Summary:
This is a simple way to add a dynamic background to a campaign without having to plot
things out in detail. It doesn't have to be limited to major campaign-level events;
it's just as usable for minor events. If the characters get to mid-level and have a
home base, you can make a Stewardship roll for the PCs' noble patron to see how well
he's managing the castle lands. The stable hand can roll on his Become Squire skill,
and on his Court Cordelia skill, to see how his romance with the fencing tutor's
daughter progresses. Treat the NPCs as an ensemble cast, and make 1-2 rolls between
them, and this will give you news to report back to the PCs when they come back from
their own adventures. This helps give the impression that life continues while the
PCs are away.
* Not to be confused with Ravish Countryside which is a very specialised skill,
unlikely to show up in most games. If it shows up in yours, ew.
** With the possible exception of Steal Everything that Isn't Nailed Down, which
is commonly abstracted by the entire contents of a typical PC character sheet.
*** I'm sure that joke will age like fine wine.