Hello Tavern-goers. A few friends of mine and I have been running a little low-fantasy campaign where the players were all criminal undesirables and the action took place entirely within a giant city. Last session we wrapped up all the fronts I had and we decided that we wanted to keep playing in the setting but re-boot the campaign to allow the characters to sort of take the initiative. They get to plan heists and potentially organize they’re own underworld cartel. To this end we’ve been thinking about re-purposing the steading rules to represent the different districts of the city and track a “rep” stat for each one. Then have one or more custom moves that use a +rep mechanic. So my question to the hivemind would be; what changes, if any, would you make to the steading rules to represent this, and what kinds of custom moves would you want to see to for underworld characters?
Hello Tavern-goers.
Hello Tavern-goers.
Maybe use the +rep in ordering members/hirelings of the ‘Guild’ and such, In place of Loyalty.
Hmmm, I wonder if Blades in the Dark’s rep system could be of any use? I haven’t gone over its most recent revision, but since your campaign is pretty much Blades in the Dark word-for-word, I just wonder if there’s some fertile information waiting to be mined, there.
Alfred Rudzki
Interesting, I hadn’t heard about this at all. I don’t suppose there is an ETA for publishing this for non-kickstarter backers?
There is the quick start draft:
https://plus.google.com/+JohnHarper/posts/K2hDV8wRuM3
Maybe you find something useful for your campaign.
very interesting Horst Wurst
Do you need something else beside that Nathan?
Well, I’m always interested in the awesome stuff that gamers come up with when asked leading questions. Feel free to chime in if you feel like it.
Here’s what we’ve been thinking about:
As stated above, we make about a half-dozen or so steading’s to represent the different districts that have tags indicate whether it’s a commercial/residential/industrial/other area, plus maybe one for it’s population density, lawfulness, police presence, needs and surpluses, etc. We track a REP stat for each district, either the players individually or as a group, and When you trade on your reputation to get something you want, roll +REP. On a 10+ you get what you want, or as close as possible given the circumstances, on a 7-9 you get that’s not quite as good, or you have to expend a lot of social capital and take -1 REP for the district. I’d say REP is a stat with no mechanical upper limit, but the most you could roll on it is a +3. We were also thinking there might be another move that is just a straight up list of things you could spend REP to acquire/accomplish, as if it were hold.
I was gonna say, just play Blades in the Dark. There’s a VERY active community here on G+
The other custom move we were thinking about doing was something like a more focused mixture of Spout Lore and Discern Realities. Something like, When you spend some time with your ear to the ground, declare what person/place/event/group you are investigating and roll +REP. On a 10+ you learn a critical secret about the subject that will definitely help you somehow when dealing with it in the future. On a 7-9 you learn something that isn’t common knowledge, but isn’t necessarily damaging to the subject. When you learn a secret, it isn’t necessarily defined right then, you could keep it like HOLD to define it at a fictionally appropriate moment.
I really dig the idea. It sounds like you’re effectively considering the city itself to be a collection of steadings, rather than one single steading.
I’d try to write up each of the districts as separate steadings, using tags as appropriate to list their relationships to one another.
I don’t imagine that the PCs would be getting reputation with the districts, per se, but rather with the different factions that may be more-or-less influential within each district. Steading basically a geographic spot, and its tags describe the resources and politics within it. Your steading might have tags for personages or organizations that are dominant within a district.
You could then develop the interesting factions as dangers, laying out stakes and grim portents that adjust as the players interact with them favorably or antagonistically. Some of the Pending Dooms might be taking control of a district, or even branching out into other districts.
In this sense, grim portents don’t have to be grim, and pending dooms don’t have to be doom -> those are flavorful terms used to basically convey the danger’s current plan. The grim portents could be jobs offered to players, for instance, as they try to take political control of other districts, and the grim portent is that political control. In an open-ended campaign like you describe, the pending doom doesn’t have to be “final” – once they get their wishes, they will soon get hungry for something more!
I would definitely dig up Dark Heart of the Dreamer, and look at how it suggests treating entire portions of the city as “dungeons” — ie, everywhere is dangerous.
Maybe instead of Rep, you use Bonds with the districts? And moves roll +Bond.
(This idea might have 0 legs. Just throwing it out there.)
Andrew Fish
Well, we were picturing REP with a district as the sort of word on the street. It’s what the locals think that aren’t necessarily affiliated with a particular faction. Or if they are, it might work in conjunction with the players status with their faction to inform the npc’s actual opinion of them. The Red Hood gang might be sworn enemies of the players, but this particular Red Hood grew up in the district you just saved from burning down, so he warns you to get out of his turf instead of knifing you on sight.
You could play Blades in the Dark instead 🙂
If you watched my 0.5 mechanics video on YouTube. Following the Dungeon World:Titan Lords Campaign; I have implemented a Fame system; which is essentially the same as your rep; Utilizing Fame (Rep), you have access to a number of things; Including increased bounty for bounty hunters who attempt to claim your head. The fame system allows access to certain underground markets and certain high end above ground features, only the most prized of people can join. As for rolls; bending dungeon world is simple; ass any feature you desire and on the end simple put +Rep.
(Ex: When you enter a new establishment roll+Rep. On a 10+ you are noticed by some of the establishments higher ups and gain access to missions; advantages; whatever really.
On a 7+, choose one
You are greeted with gifts; but also attract attention of bounty hunters.
You are given a special high reward mission; but if you fail, it will tarnish your rep slightly.
You are well known and receive discounted stay; but only in lesser parts of the establishments.
On a fail; your bounty simply increases and the hunters are more aggressive towards receiving their prize.
Note this is nothing more then a cheap on the spot evaluation; Dungeon World is Limitless; expand it and mold it as you please.
What about the following custom move?
When you reach out to your underground contacts for information about a score, roll + rep
On a 10+ choose 3
On a 7- 9 choose 2
• A rival gang doesn´t get wind of the score
• You know exactly how valuable the score is
• You get useful information about the location
• You know exactly what kind of opposition you will face
Jeremy Strandberg I’d do it with Bonds too. Seems to fit the existing mechanics well.
Great question and feedback, I’m really inspired to do a city game, maybe something like in the “Lies of locke lamora”.
Nathan Parrish did you use some new play books for you first campaign or did you just use the regular ones?
Rasmus wernersen
I used Class Warfare to knock together a few custom playbooks. The 13th Acolyte is a master of disguise and a devotee of the nameless trickster god. The disgraced magister is a shameless con artist that only learned a few cheap tricks before being exposed and expelled. The future conqueror is…a young Conan. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9JRLx-RSi95Tnk0YWV4OTh2Vmc