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Sunday, October 7, 2018

Why not Vryceburg?

Some of the fans of this blog, and my Felltower campaign, have brought up the idea of "Stericksburg" becoming "Vryceburg," instead.

What would it take for Vryce to really make "Stericksburg" into "Vryceburg?"

On one level, time travel. It's a bit late to rename it; changing city names is a big deal. Naming it after a swordsman, no matter how great, whose main claim to fame is killing stuff in a nearby dungeon isn't an easy call. It was founded by a great hero who turned rouge and went bad for inadequately explained reasons.

But what could he do to be the de facto "head" of Stericksburg?

Reputation. Vryce has a +2 now, as a dragonslayer and as one of the slayers of Sterick the Red, the actual founder of the city. He'd need a bit more of a Reputation as well, which means at least one or two more major, different deeds (and point spent.) He's famous, enough to be very significant in town-based rolls, but not enough to get the King to notice him and name the town after him.

Cost of Living. Vryce is spending $165/week on living expenses, basically paying for a cheap room somewhere and sufficient but not fancy food, and so on. He spends a lot on gear and some extras partying it up after big delves (extra money spent on carousing) to get more rumors, but otherwise, he's skating by close to the minimum. He'd need to routinely spend multiples of his standard of living - live large if you want people to sit up and notice. Spending money on enchantments makes the Wizard's Guild happy but doesn't really mean the whole town is deeply impressed. Putting on big parties, spreading money around on travelling by carriage, buying fine wines, smoking really expensive stinky cigars (Vryce's quirk), etc. helps more than that.

Another way around that, though, is to spend points on Claim to Hospitality. Rich folks who almost everyone respects get stuff for free. Vryce could save up points and cash and spend them getting a broader and broader Claim to Hospitality that covers 100% of his expenses in Stericksburg. Claim doesn't cost $40 or $80, point, either. You have to get a good explanation of how and why you have it. As yet it has an unspecified cost, because I need a good in-game explanation.

We don't use status, and I don't really encourage buying property except as a justification for Claim to Hospitality, and we don't play out in-town actions very often. So it's really those three - bigger rep, better claim, more spending . . . and it'll end up with Vryce being defacto Big Man in Stericksburg. But the name won't change, either.

At some point he can do wilderness adventures and found his own Vryceburg, though, which would be highly amusing. Making your own instead of just changing what the GM plunked down on the map is highly encouraged.

4 comments:

  1. "Why not Vryceburg?"

    Well obviously because he hasn't been buried in a megadungeon to become a future boss encounter. Also because Vrycewindale sounds better.

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    1. Right, that too. So you can see why he hasn't been too keen on it.

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    2. Give it time. Eventually Vryce will move into a dungeon and become a Boss. Probably once he finds the Tavern Level.

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    3. I think once they find the tavern level "Stericksburg" will fade away into legend and the campaign will be based out of it instead.

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