Recently, my players started to try to figure out a way to get a job done in my DFRPG game. However, to do it, they need something they've found adventuring in the past but don't have any of right now.
Naturally, they asked, can we make or buy this?
I said no.
Really, it realistically should be possible - a black market, secret basement trading zones or cults trafficking in strange materials, wizards with extra monster bits to sell or willing to cast anything magical if the price is right, etc.
But game-wise?
If the answer is either, "You can buy it!" or "You'll have to find it in the dungeon" then the answer in my megadungeon game should generally be the latter.
Why is that? Why not let people, you know, buy the eye of death lenses they need for an experiment, or shop at the Evil Artifacts Supply Store for an upside-down cross and a defiled holy book? Why not let them just go buy giant snake venom instead of milking it, or get saw-toothed orc swords off the shelf instead of out of the cold, dead hands of orcs?
Because "Sorry, it's in the dungeon, go get it!" is the name of the game.
If the answer is "mark down some money" or "make a roll in town, don't mess up because failure gets you (insert -5 to -30 point disadvantage here)!" then the adventure is over. It's not a rare substance, really, it's a cash-cost off the shelf item with a chance for negative consequences.
If the answer is, "You'll need to put on your delver's hats and figure out where to search in the dungeon for that!" then we're talking the most fun part of the game. The solution is inherent in the most fun part of the game - fighting and looting and exploring.
This is the same thing as "This sounds like a job for . . . Player Characters!"
If my answer is either "Yes!" or "Yes, but the more fun way!" I'm choosing the latter.
It's that kind of game.
But the only way to get money in your campaign is adventuring, right? I'd lean towards making the McGuffin high priced, perhaps obtainable through normal adventuring (i.e. "it's on the fifth level, past the sleeslaks"). Saying there's only one way to get that resource seems railroady to me. Also, each of those other scenarios (black markets, cults, wizards) sounds like an adventure in its own right!
ReplyDeleteIt is a dungeon-centric game. If the answer is money and doing things in town, it dilutes the game with mom-dungeon activities. If you have to adventure in the dungeon to gain what you need the whole group is involved in the main fun of the game. Plus, spending money has never been an issue. Lack of money often is. That is in the dungeon, too.
DeleteI realize "mom-dungeon" is a typo, but that totally needs to be one of the "special" areas.
DeleteAutocorrect is the worst thing for me.
DeleteMy mind is going two places at once with mom-dungeon, and I'm not sure which is worse.
Delete"Mom-dungeon" sounds like a DILL... [Dungeon I Love to Loot]
DeleteI am totally on board with that on two conditions:
ReplyDelete1. Player desires, to some extent, can materialize these items in the dungeon. If the only way a steelwraith morningstar will happen is a custom order, saying “no custom orders” sucks.
2. There is a functionally useful way for players to direct searches for such items.
Basically, a bunch of research rolls leading to “The lord of the mushroom forest is said to have one, it can be reached through the well past the moss caverns” is cool, whereas “Well, I guess you’d better hope you find one!” is basically the equivalent of “it functionally doesn’t exist, unless it suddenly does”, which means you can’t really plan for much of anything.
Exactly. A few research rolls followed by "Finally you go to Black Jans, he sells you a map to an old hermit Wizard out past the Swamps who often has weird stuff like this, but there is no easy way there" is way better than "Hope you find one and then don't accidentally ruin it while killing the beast it's in!".
DeleteThat's more or less what "Yes, but the more fun way!" means. Although just because you want some specific thing doesn't necessarily mean it exists. Most of the most prized items found weren't requested or pursued, but rather just found.
DeleteSo everyone needs to start stocking up on Backpacks enchanted with Preserve so they can start "keeping one of every item in case it turns out to be a Plot Needed Monster Bit" then?
ReplyDeleteNot my cuppa sir.
No danger of that. There is no plot.
Delete/ba-dum-tssshhhhhh
DeleteIt's 100% accurate, though.
DeleteIt's more fun to have to go get it. I wish we had a lead on an evil temple. A lot of Felltower has been cleaned out- we left the Draugr alone, but I really hope to clean them up next time Vryce and Hamilcar are both around- and there's a lot of new territory to explore, which is great. But the evil temples have all been wiped out. If we knew there was a snake cult somewhere past the gnolls, for example, it would be easier.
ReplyDeleteWe know the six-fingered cultists are down there, but are they devil worshipers?
Hopefully we will find out Sunday!
Yeah, it's true that you don't always have the information you need when you want it. But you know where to get more of it . . .
DeleteAlso now there needs to be a mom-dungeon full of she-giants who want to make us stay in our room for punishment.
ReplyDelete"You made big mess! blood everywhere! you need a time out!"