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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 20, 2015 20:28:27 GMT -5
I got this idea from the First Fantasy Campaign and am trying to adapt it for my campaign. For those that don't know, chance cards were drawn once a year and helped define events out of the player's control. My idea is to start with a chart of events for World, Regional and Local levels and roll on those charts at certain times. World events would be annual, regional would be bi-annual and local would be quarterly. These events would simulate a more dynamic world and give the players new opportunities.
The events would be wars, alliances, economic boons or failings, plagues, inventions and similar events. Sub tables would control who is involved in these events, dates of beginnings and how long the players will hear of it. Events will play out as needed and will be affected on whether or not the players become involved. The issue is how will this will work as I do not want this to become pages of tables and subtables that will only be used at specific times.
Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 20, 2015 20:41:49 GMT -5
Mr Darke, this is a great idea, and it seems to me to be about the right rate, although I would probably go with yearly, seasonally, monthly (game time). Have you read Tony Bath's "Setting Up a Wargames Campaign." He has some really great approaches to this kind of stuff. Very practical, very interesting, very '70's, very British!
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Post by hedgehobbit on Feb 21, 2015 8:31:40 GMT -5
I was working on something like this for my FFG Star Wars game that fizzled (we were just trying out the rules). But, rather than a chart, I'd use actual cards, such as the printable business cards you can get at Staples. This way you can easily add or remove events from the deck.
For example, the DM draws a card that reveals rumor of vampires terrorizing farmers in a village to the west. When this card is drawn, you insert another card into the deck. If the players ignore those rumors, the second card will be attacks on the village. When that card is drawn, you'd insert a new card that has the vampires taking over the village and building a zombie army. etc.
Likewise, you can have cards inserted when the PCs do a certain thing. So, if the party finds a particular magic item in the nearby dungeon, add a card that triggers an "antique collector" who offers to buy the item. If they refuse, a card is inserted which will be an attempt to steal the item, if they sell, a card will be inserted which reveals a bad guy using said item for evil purposes.
IOW, you're using the deck as a way of keeping track of background story elements in a semi-random way. The advantage of an actual deck is that there is no limit to how big or small the deck can be so you don't need to worry about it fitting a specific die roll. Also, if you come up with an idea later, you can print off a few new cards and add them at any time. You don't have to have everything worked out before play begins.
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Post by havard on Feb 21, 2015 10:06:39 GMT -5
Hey, its a Blackmoor/Dave Arneson related topic outside the Blackmoor forum!  I like the idea of Fate Cards. It depends on the campaign, but in most cases I dont really see much of a point in drawing cards for regions that they players will not reach. Perhaps neigbouring regions if there is a chance of the problem spilling into the region the PCs are exploring. Just a thought  -Havard |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 23, 2015 20:35:16 GMT -5
Hey, its a Blackmoor/Dave Arneson related topic outside the Blackmoor forum! I like the idea of Fate Cards. It depends on the campaign, but in most cases I dont really see much of a point in drawing cards for regions that they players will not reach. Perhaps neigbouring regions if there is a chance of the problem spilling into the region the PCs are exploring. Just a thought -Havard To be honest I have been looking at what Arneson has done, found it interesting and am borrowing ideas for my game. Just so you know, the region cards would be only for the region they are in, the same with local cards. |
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Post by Necromancer on Feb 24, 2015 12:42:53 GMT -5
Hmm, sounds like a pretty interesting idea. It's quite possible I might try it out in one form or another. It certainly provides the opportunity of a more dynamic world for players and refs alike to interact with. Cool!
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