Fantasy Politics - NPC Boons

NPCs can award more treasure than gold....
(Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Largely described in the Paizo Game Mastery Guide book, NPC boons are a non-treasure way of granting the characters some kind of benefit for helping an NPC with a little problem.  In a political quagmire of intrigue and eventfulness, these become all the more valuable.  While there are a variety of useful boons, the following are likely the most vital in a political situation, particularly when influential figures and wealthy recluses are avoiding or ignorant of the PCs cause.

1. Letter of Recommendation
2. Favourable Introduction
3. Invitation to an Event
4. Influences Another on Your Behalf
5. Teaches Local Etiquette
6. Describes Local Connections
7. Provides Blackmail Material
8. Assists in the Creation of a Scandal
9. Causes a Scene as a Distraction
10. Grants Minor, Landless Title
11. Discounts an Item for the Cause
12. Provides Appropriate Attire
13. Provides Entertainment at an Event
14. Functions as an Escort for VIP
15. Provides Public Approval
16. Conceals a Secret of Yours
17. Provides Free Room and Board
18. Provides Free Transportation

There's doubtless dozens more to choose from, so feel free to mention them in the comments box below.

Real World Inspiration for Your Fantasy Games

These real world locations and these would make fantastic inspirational settings for both fantasy and world trotting adventures.  These are some really marvelous places I would never have dreamt up on my own and it's not so hard to look up more information on these ones.  The deepest pool, in particular, would make a great part of a dungeon.

Fantasy: All Players on the same page?

Has it ever happened to you that the gaming group you were with all had alternative views on what they hoped the game would be? I find that players, in general, often have this clash though with other genres there's a greater push to get folks on the same page or there's such a tight focus about what a game should be (i.e. Vampire: the Requiem) that the books kinda sell it all.

Most people assume that they'll have it easy in the fantasy genre. I guess because most start with classic dungeon crawls which are quite tightly focused around a particular type of gameplay. Roleplay happens around each broken door and no one has to take themselves, or each other, very seriously. If you just want to play your race + class combination, then go for it.

But with any other type of fantasy things get a bit murky and it's one thing to create your characters around a compromise and a basic premise and another thing to slowly edit your character through dozens of little compromises and disappointments. Sometimes the latter is still no big deal. What comes from all the little surprises and clashing expectations is better than the sum of its parts. Sometimes it leads to a clash of ideas with each person struggling to align the game to his or her expectations, perhaps without even realising that the other players even wanted something different.

Take Flashpoint, for example. It wasn't a clash and clamour, but the players sure did expect / want something different from the game. Now my assumptions of their assumptions may well be wrong (and probably are) but I could sense the points of distinction at least.

Proteus' player initially assumed a game of dubious larger-than-life characters with a slight tilt from neutral towards affably evil which involves a rollicking, if occasionally amoral, time full of treasure, feats of derring-do and occasional out-and-out heroism. Think Pirates of the Carribean!

Archer's player initially assumed a game of naval exploits, intrigue, and historical interest mixed into a fantastical world. Think Horatio Hornblower!

Lunjun's player probably didn't have any initial assumptions but he did want to focus on the slow piecing together of his characters' goals through feats, spell selection and the ability to create loads of magical items. Lhye's player initially h

oped for a game of superstition and slow revelation, of political intrigue mixed with derring-do, where a group of dodgy characters were harnessed to a greater good - which is probably why he latched onto the Andoran plot so tightly.

Now this didn't work out badly but it really could have if my players didn't kind of negotiate over the course of gameplay. It would have worked out even better if we'd all sat down and decided on a single focus.

Unfortunately, trying to get players to rock up to a character building session without having their characters already in mind and/or without each player generating their character in a corner during the session and/or without players ignoring the whole thing in favour of out-of-character chit-chat so that they can sit down later on and develop their characters in peace has been pretty much impossible in my experience.

Sorry dudes, but it's true and you know it!

I suppose this is why other Storytellers simply lay down the law and describe exactly what the game will be about and what sort of characters will be allowed, though such demands are rarely popular.

So any of you guys got the Answer on how to get all the players on the same page when entering the game for the first time?

Fantasy Lands 'R Us

I've read the Tough Guide to Fantasyland and I've got to say that it would make a neat premise for a fantasy game. I don't know about running an entire campaign where the entire point is to point out and play with a bundle of fantasy tropes but several adventures or a short campaign could be a lot of fun. I mean, I might invoke a lot of those tropes in a Changeling game or Cyberpunk VR vs Real World game or even Fantasy World vs Fantasy Land where the contrast between the real world and the fantasy world can keep these tropes fresh and exciting, but I probably wouldn't do it as a straight up fantasy.

Mostly because without that contrast the line between satire and simply joining the satirised is quite a thin one.

Still just thinking about it can really provide a new perspective on your own fantasy campaigns and give you an idea of where you stand on the Unique ----> Shared Trope scale as well as the Realism ----> Stereotype scale. What would you need to change in your fantasy campaign to make it Trope Central? Not just Tropes Included but Tropes Placed Center Stage. How would that change the gameplay?

For Flashpoint it's kind of simple. I'd re-make all the pirates to be quite jovial. I'd probably make them sing. It'd be all "Ayes" and a delight for rum and a mishandling of women who aren't captains of their own vessels. The pirates would all be either happy or "mutinous". Most treasure would be in chests. It would also be all gemstones and gold. No stealing bolts of silk or barrels of cider. Oh no, merchants would inexplicably be carrying lots and lots of gold.

Whenever I think of the Chelish I think of Nazi tropes, but that would be no good here as I want fantasy tropes. So I'd need to make them all cape-wearing evil nobles with incompetent guardsmen and foreign accents who are intent on global domination and spreading the cause of evil. Moustache-twirling villains the very lot of them. The peasants would be all subjugated, largely silent and would be all gentle spirits rather than willing participants because that's how peasants roll. Unless they're soldiers. Then they're faceless mooks dedicated to stupidity and evil and willing to run off cliffs if their commander told them to. They would stick to rank and file attacks even against casters. There'd be no need to avoid killing large swathes of them and no moral ambiguity.

The evil nobles might cause the death of hundreds of thousands of people but that would all be off-stage. Largely they wouldn't be doing anything worse than most fantasy aristocrats in the game but they like to talk about supporting evil as a concept and they love devils so they therefore *must* be evil.

Barkeepers and merchants would all be inexplicably high level retired wizards to ensure that the players didn't get any ideas.

Everything the PCs did would be justified. Their treacheries are all okay but anyone who turns against them, for whatever reason, will be vilified to almost comical levels.

Hmm, I'm not getting into the stereotypes as much as I should. I'm sure there's ways to be more ridiculously trope-y. What do you folks think? How would you Tropeify your own game? Or mine?

My Nitpicking of Typical Fantasy Games - Magic, Accessibility & Pets

One of the things that really bugs me about fantasy games, and I mean really bugs me, is that it's so hard to bring in the bits I really love. Superstition. Occultism. That sense of the strange. Sure, Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons both have some room for superstition with material components to spells and certain materials bypassing damage reduction, but that's generally about as far as it goes rules-wise. The spells don't really feel magical. They feel mathematical. Because they are.

It's a problem that a lot of roleplaying systems have for me, really. And it's a problem that's increased by my position as Storyteller since I have to know the maths behind each character and creature. While I could slow down the action by requiring my players to gather their material components in-game in a realistic low-magic fantasy setting, I will still know that I'm expanding the focus on one element of gameplay that isn't really meant to have that much attention put upon it. Sure there is the occasional session that might revolve around players having to think fast because their spell component pouches are gone and they have to make do with what material components can be found in the ship. But how often can you do that in one campaign?

I have the same problem with the World of Darkness. Well, more of a problem with it in the World of Darkness. While the system is meant to be a toolkit and you are theoretically encouraged to have any old McGuffin be vital for a monster take-down, the system is still very lock-and-key. The fact that the monsters are designed to be player characters and that certain realms and antagonists can only be affected by certain creatures with certain powers or certain objects really bugs me. There's a little bit of canonical material surrounding what happens when a human enters the hedge, deals with spirits or runs into the Hisil but not very much and it generally ends one way -- with a splat.

While I know that the World of Darkness is meant to be horror first and urban fantasy second - something all the more firmly displayed with New World of Darkness 2.0 - it's still annoying that splat or *use specified power here* is the only answer. Since the system is so modular it's easier to disregard canonical words then house rule mechanics, it's a bit easier to work around but maybe I don't want to find a work around.

Maybe I want to find something that really captures the spirit behind all those superstitions and strange occult practices that proliferate in the world.

The other thing that bugs me in typical fantasy games is something quite small and easily fixed by any Storyteller worth their salt and that's the rather uninteresting array of quirky mounts, animal companions and familiars. Sure there are different species to choose from, but not much variety within species. It'd be nice to have a few alternative feats to really reinforce their different personalities and abilities. Especially with horses. I really think horses are under-utilised in fantasy games. Unless I'm going with a western theme my players generally don't bother with them and instead go about on foot. For shame! Horses are both speedy and interesting. I'd definitely prefer a game that reinforced that.

While I'm sure there are other systems that do deal with these problems satisfactorily, the fact is that both my players and I really do like these systems and their versatility. As far as the players are concerned, the systems are just fine. Sure some of the elements of a World of Darkness game are kept under lock and key but, hey, not only does each monster type have it's own realms to explore but I create enough workarounds to ensure that I (and therefore they) get to play in other creatures' sandpits. And with the Pathfinder monsters the magic is in the presentation. Oh, and they like their quick cast spells and easy access magic, thank you very much. They don't need overcomplications to get in the way of their monster mashing which is fair.

I guess my main annoyances (and why these are nitpicks) is that while these are truly fantastic systems, I just have a few issues with them that get in the way of my sense of adventure.

Fianyarr: Seven Ruins Aplenty

There is just something marvellous about ruins that really captures the imagination. The idea of people living their lives so many years ago, leaving behind intriguing remnants of their lives that one can explore and cast one's mind back, really grabs the attention and sustains our interest. Unfortunately most ruins in fantasy games are merely an excuse for a dungeon. While this is fine in its own way, it also removes a lot of the mystique of ruins. In Fianyarr, I want to capture that mystique. Here are seven different themed ruins, each with its own possible encounters and styles. And yes, a few of them work in the monster bash.

The Stone Cabin

Although there have been no stonemasons in this area in living memory, there is a cabin in the woods made from slabs of chisseled stone brought down from the nearby mountains and erected on this spot. Strange twigs braided with human hair and formed into shapes can often be found in the nooks and crannies of the wall though no one ever sees them placed. Years ago a local boy found a human jawbone in the chimney, weathered and aged. In truth the cabin had been crafted by foreignors just over a century ago who kept to themselves and went undisturbed for ten years before a comet seen in the sky convinced them the world was ending. They lifted up one of the stones from the floor which covered their safe retreat and crept inside with their food supplies. Unfortunately the stonemason in the family had been too skillful and the stones fit together too nicely. By the time they realised the air was too thin and they were struggling to breathe, they thought that all of the air in the world was stolen and burned up by the comet. Down in the stone room below are etchings in the wall that describe this situation and five bodies lie huddled in the corner. If in need of a little combat, those bodies could well reanimate. Otherwise the tortured souls might haunt the dreams of those who disturb them unless they are given a proper burial. As for the human jawbone? The kid had actually found it in the woods and lied about where it had come from. The jaw is a few centuries old and might well come from a grave exhumed by animals.

The Breach

There is a ring of thick walls of fitted stone twelve feet high and three across that mark out an old hamlet whose thatch buildings have long ago decayed into nothing. Within the ring is hard-packed soil studded with strange pockmarked stones that whistle in the wind. While several people have tried to benefit from the stone walls, any efforts they make to seal the large sundered breaches in the wall come to nothing as the mortar or packed mud is slowly removed and the gaps are bared once more. Anything built on the patch fares no better and even campers find themselves awakening covered in itchy bites. The one-time rich citizens who moved to construct their hamlet here didn't realise that they had built it on a nesting ground for a type of termite that steals away any mud and mortar used to patch the walls (or construct houses) and uses it for their own little homes. If a battle is needed then perhaps all of those termite hives connect underground to a larger cavern where a massive queen lays millions of tiny eggs once a year.

Ye Olde Tavern

This tavern is built atop a portal to the underworld and on each New Moon it really shows with a variety of ghostly figures arising for some good old-fashioned drinking. It is vital to the success of the town that there's barkeeps aplenty to keep them boozed up lest the ghosts rush down the hill to torment them. However the tavern is always closed outside of that New Moon. Impossible to dust, weirdly creaky, and perpetually falling apart, it can never be made liveable with rushes that smell old and mouldy even when freshly lain, new wooden boards becoming splintery within hours of being nailed into place, and perpetual drafts that can never be truly located, this place just isn't a good place to run. Besides which, the ale spoils if it's used for normal occasions. On the New Moon, however, so long as there's plenty of booze to go around the ghosts really don't mind drinking with the living who might not know who they're spending time with. The tavern itself is quite old and appears to have been patched over throughout the years, even though the locals gave up on trying to repair it just shy of a century ago. The tavern even has rooms at the inn, though it isn't recommended that anyone stay there.

The Carved Castle

This moderately sized castle sits on a manmade island of filled in soil at the edge of a lake and its stone walls are decorated both inside and out with large carvings in the white sandstone that are in some strange and ancient language that no one can speak. The castle itself has surprisingly advanced clockwork technology that is still somehow maintained, ensuring that the portcullis can be lifted with a level pull and that sections of stone wall can be turned open when the right fangs on a nearby statue are pulled or pushed. Although these ruins are worth a mint to any nobleman who could claim them, any who try soon find their numbers disappearing and going missing as walls seal themselves, doorways seemingly disappear, and the entire place seems to lay itself out differently. Or so the occasional fragments of notes and diary entries seem to indicate. Strangely enough archaeologists and other research teams have no such problems while there. It's only a problem for those who try to move in. An elaborate hoax? Or something about the castle itself?

The Bridge Hut

Contrary to anyone's predictions, this wooden hut that clings to the underside of a rickety suspension bridge that crosses a wide ravine hasn't fallen apart. Those who walk across the bridge will find a short rope ladder that will lead them into a small hut that clings to the underside of it, just wide enough for a two people to lay down and sleep side by side. The hut had been built on the bridge a century and a half ago and abandoned ever since. Few people have dared to sleep in it, mostly due to the rather rickety nature of the bridge, but those who have reported no problems. At this point it's just a strange peculiarity and nothing more.

The Well Prison

This prison had been drilled down into the desert over a thousand years ago when a narrow well was taken over by a Djinn ruler and expanded underneath after the underground waterways dried up. The old rivers were turned into passageways and lined with narrow, lightless cells with small slits for doorways that required a person to turn sideways to fit within the gap to enter and which were largely bricked up behind the prisoner, leaving a small hole for food and water to be passed through. While this well prison only has four spokes radiating from the central well with twenty cells on each spoke, those who go down there often find themselves afflicted with vertigo and confusion, finding themselves easily turned around and confused. Many of the cells have obscure markings, some the more obvious graffitti and day counting, but most are seemingly arcane, as though the prisoners were in the process of subconsciously setting off a terrible ritual before food supplies were cut off and they each died in their cells.

The Carven Loss

This graveyard is filled with monoliths carved with the names of those whose ashes were interred within the soil beneath the stone. Each stone, when struck with a tuning fork, produces a unique and distinctive sound that is said to carry the souls off to their eternal resting place. What is odd about these stones is that they appear to be entirely nonmagical and yet no stonesmith has been able to recreate the effects. The initial monolith-builders constructed these stones over five thousand years ago and thus the techniques are lost to the annals of time as, unfortunately, the craftsman also had no known written language.

Revealing Fantasy Cities

Fantasy cities are an interesting conundrum. On the one hand you want to make them vibrant, exotic and interesting. On the other hand you want to tap into the occasional sense of familiarity because, after all, these are the urban spots of fantasy so it's nice to feel connected to them. You're best off creating a city that has a strong theme that ties it all together to distinguish it from other cities, but you also want to ensure that there's enough variation within the city to justify calling it one. You also don't want it to be yet another Medieval or Low-Tech-Version-of-Victorian London but you may not have much information on cities that aren't in that mould.

So what do you do? Where do you go from here?

You could go and google "Fantasy Worldbuilding Cities" or some other similar collection of keywords to look up advice given by writers for writers on the subject. When it comes to worldbuilding and research, a lot of the same issues apply to both Game Masters and writers, after all.

Some decent links include the Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions Document, the Greatest Cities in Science Fiction Fantasy for a look at some famous ones and why they're so cool, and rpggm has a list of links on the topic.

But for today we will look at it in terms of two main factors of city building: Internal Consistency and Something Cool.

The Something Cool part is that little iconic flair or thematic line that sums it up and gives it an essential flavor. It might be something physical such as a city in the clouds or on a dragon's back, something thematic like "the city that never sleeps", or something based around a social custom like foot binding or dueling.

The Internal Consistency part is when you take that piece of iconic flair and run with it. Why is this city (especially a fantasy city) called the City that Never Sleeps? Is it because there are nocturnal races that take the night shift? Is it because the city is on a constant state of alarm due to the presence of dragons in the local area? Is it that the city is known for its decadence? Is it a mixture of the three?

Brainstorming is your friend here. Take that Something Cool and run with it. Come up with as many options you can think of and then weed out all the ones that seem tired, old, or just plain don't work for your campaign or wider setting.

Then take those details and have a real think about them. If the city is known for its decadence, then what does that mean for the paupers? For the nobility? What sort of decadence is permitted and how does that tie in to the wider customs and social interplay? Is the place starting to fall apart because the city wastes its money on nonessential parties? Is morale high? Low? Is it easier to get in through the city gates or harder? Does the decadence spill out into out-and-out corruption?

And what does that mean? How does that affect class boundaries and the presence of magical artefacts? Also what sort of quests might a decadent and sleepless city hand out?

What's that? You didn't think of the city's style affecting the quests?

Shame on you!

Matching the quests to the style in some way is one of the best ways to get your players to know the city. They spend much more time questing than listening to backstory, after all (hopefully).

A decadent city might use fetch quests, hunt quests, dungeon quests and delivery quests just like your regular fantasy campaign but the flavor should generally be decidedly different. Fetch quests might be given by alchemists to collect rare herbs for a potent drug, given by the merchant in search of clues to an enemy's dirty secrets or by a noble in search of expensive bottles of alcohol. Hunt quests could involve finding attractive dancers for the ball, hunting an impressive creature with the nobility through the parklands, or trapping a nymph to be the spectacle for a gala. Dungeon quests could become quite literal with fantastic creatures getting loose beneath some noble's playhouse ... succubi and nymphs and dryads, oh my! Delivery quests could involve tokens of affection, letters between the beloved or a love potion that needs to be imbibed by the right person at the right time.

Let's face it, if you were part of a party who had to go through all of that you might get a sense of what this city is all about - socially, politically and thematically. It's a great and easy way to do it and it sure beats having to use more exposition.

Of course, the micro-settings you pick for your scenes are vital as well. A meeting in an opium den, battle in the rafters of an opera house, or gathering in the private wing of a mansion dedicated to a noble's heir can all add to the vibe and allow you to really immerse the player characters in the uniqueness of this city. Now this doesn't mean you can't have classic taverns, cozy cottages, or other non-decadent-urban-spaces but they should feel a bit different, a bit special, by providing contrast to the main points of the story.

After all, the more normal and broad a city's vibe, the more generic it becomes.

The more unique and consistent a city's vibe, the more exotic and interesting it becomes.