Post by Kai Wren on Apr 23, 2019 7:59:27 GMT
Hi everyone!
One of the things I've been musing is bringing in mechanical support of some sort for the various factions that make up life in Waterdeep. The plots, schemes and agendas of those who vie for power in the City are a major theme to most Waterdeep campaigns, and I feel like this could be fun.
At present, the system we have is essentially that if you want to join a faction, you find a GM to run adventures for you where that happens and you obtain the usual rewards for adventures, with a flavour based on that faction.
If I was to bring in mechanical support for faction membership and rewards, this would potentially grant the following benefits as I see it:
1) It'd provide a clear guideline for progression into organisations of NPCs.
2) It'd encourage participation and engagement with the setting.
3) It'd let us see what factions (and therefore elements of the setting) interest most players.
4) We could set up a system whereby the advancement of particular factions within the City provides effects for the City as a whole - creating a more 'living' environment.
5) We could bring in rules for players creating their own factions (such as the Little Birds) and adventuring companies which could give people more to aim for than just advancement for their own character.
However, I am concerned that this could also bring in some disadvantages.
1) People might feel pressured to engage with the factions if people gain mechanical advantages for doing so; not everyone wants that kind of intrigue and that could be a turn-off to some players.
2) Factions by their nature often have conflicting goals. This could inadvertently encourage PvP which is an element of the game I have worked hard to avoid as I've found PvP generally leads to a more competitive and aggressive environment.
3) A mechanical system might make it feel like GMs have less freedom to guide the interaction of PCs with various factions organically.
Obviously this is all talking very much in the abstract at the moment as the exact implementation of the system is something I'd need to consider a lot more before it was brought in - right now, consider this an interest check. Would people want to see this, or would you feel like it adds an unneeded layer of complexity to the game? Or something else!
One of the things I've been musing is bringing in mechanical support of some sort for the various factions that make up life in Waterdeep. The plots, schemes and agendas of those who vie for power in the City are a major theme to most Waterdeep campaigns, and I feel like this could be fun.
At present, the system we have is essentially that if you want to join a faction, you find a GM to run adventures for you where that happens and you obtain the usual rewards for adventures, with a flavour based on that faction.
If I was to bring in mechanical support for faction membership and rewards, this would potentially grant the following benefits as I see it:
1) It'd provide a clear guideline for progression into organisations of NPCs.
2) It'd encourage participation and engagement with the setting.
3) It'd let us see what factions (and therefore elements of the setting) interest most players.
4) We could set up a system whereby the advancement of particular factions within the City provides effects for the City as a whole - creating a more 'living' environment.
5) We could bring in rules for players creating their own factions (such as the Little Birds) and adventuring companies which could give people more to aim for than just advancement for their own character.
However, I am concerned that this could also bring in some disadvantages.
1) People might feel pressured to engage with the factions if people gain mechanical advantages for doing so; not everyone wants that kind of intrigue and that could be a turn-off to some players.
2) Factions by their nature often have conflicting goals. This could inadvertently encourage PvP which is an element of the game I have worked hard to avoid as I've found PvP generally leads to a more competitive and aggressive environment.
3) A mechanical system might make it feel like GMs have less freedom to guide the interaction of PCs with various factions organically.
Obviously this is all talking very much in the abstract at the moment as the exact implementation of the system is something I'd need to consider a lot more before it was brought in - right now, consider this an interest check. Would people want to see this, or would you feel like it adds an unneeded layer of complexity to the game? Or something else!
