diff -r 3164c82ac16e -r bdef1afd1170 draft/wind06feb02.txt --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/draft/wind06feb02.txt Wed Aug 30 21:32:44 2006 -0400 @@ -0,0 +1,247 @@ +RPGnet + + + + Reviews Forums +News & Press Columns & +Info RPG Wiki + RPG Shop + + + + Wind in the Flowers: Re-inventing a Game + + + Treachery + +*R. Sean Borgstrom* +February 6, 2002 + +We wanted to make the new *Nobilis* easy to run. As part of this effort, +I wrote a sample campaign for inclusion in the new edition. This +campaign, */Treachery/*, shows by example how to build individual +stories, a grand storyline, and key non-player characters for a +*Nobilis* game. It's also suitable for immediate use in play. + +The standard format for prewritten roleplaying campaigns didn't work, +for two reasons. First, most players don't like to buy a campaign +they'll be playing in. It might spoil their fun. However, I expect +players to buy the main book, and I want them to get full value from the +campaign. I want them to read */Treachery/* and benefit thereby. I want +them to use the non-player characters as sample characters, helping them +design their PCs. I want them to use the stories as benchmarks for their +understanding of the world. I want them to build their characters to fit +the grand storyline in interesting or amusing ways. That's one reason +that the standard format didn't fit. + +The other reason standard ideas didn't work is that a sample campaign +should sit squarely in the middle of the space of possible campaigns. I +wanted */Treachery/* to be completely playable /but/ also a solid source +of ideas and material for locally designed campaigns. It had to reflect +a normal *Nobilis* game, because I can't tell from here which way a +local campaign deviates from the norm. The problem is, a typical +*Nobilis* game focuses heavily on PC interaction with their peers. It's +not easy or even appropriate to script that interaction in advance. + +I knew the basic solution to the first problem from the beginning. Most +of the material needed to be story /components/ -- building blocks for +stories, rather than prewritten "adventures". I needed some actual story +writeups, too. /These/ had to be information-rich challenges. That is, +in each story, the player characters know the core of their problem up +front -- just like players who peeked would. + +Whether they had to resolve a moral dilemma, or unravel a mystery under +difficult circumstances, or crack a seemingly unsolvable problem, the +PCs would understand what they had to do. Actually /doing/ it would +require a complex, carefully-executed plan. The unfolding of the player +characters' plan, and any complications that arose, would form the core +of the story. + +After I worked these ideas out, building a player-readable campaign was +more of a craft than an art. It wasn't uniformly successful -- I can see +someone asking their group not to read the *Stories* section until after +the first adventure, for example. At the same time, I'm pretty sure that +if a player sneakily or accidentally reads those sections, it would only +trim a small bit off of their fun. + +The other problem was designing a campaign based on social interaction. +Here's the key problem, in my mind, with writing up a social campaign +ahead of time. Most non-player characters have a limited number of +opportunities to interact with the player characters. /If/ an NPC +"clicks" with the player characters during one of those opportunities, +developing a meaningful friendship, rivalry, love, hate, enmity, or even +a strong relationship based on the exchange of favors, then that NPC +becomes a "regular" -- a meaningful part of the game. If that doesn't +happen, then the character fades into the background. A character can +/easily/ miss all of their opportunities to click, even if they're a +good match with the game. + +In one story, the player characters don't have time to deal with them. +In another, the person running the game simplifies them right out of the +storyline. Most of the work in designing a social campaign goes to +creating good, useful, flexible non-player characters. If even one such +character shuffles permanently off to the sidelines due to bad luck, +it's a substantial part of the campaign writeup that that player group +receives no value from. + +To solve this problem, I needed non-player characters with an unlimited +number of opportunities to interact with the PCs. Such NPCs are hard to +create -- but fortunately the *Nobilis* setting gave me the perfect +solution. The PCs and other major characters in *Nobilis* each embody, +represent, and protect one aspect of the nature of the world. + +In stories where a given aspect of reality becomes important, there's a +minor genre expectation that the relevant character will appear. For +example, if endless night falls over the world, or a vital ritual must +take place between dusk and dawn, it's in genre for the story to feature +the Power of Night. The Power of War often attends mortal battles. + +To create an endless series of opportunities to involve the campaign's +NPCs in the game, I built a set of NPCs tied to the most common +situations and challenges in roleplaying game stories. A typical story +then would feature a dozen opportunities to involve these characters. +The person running the game can pick and choose among them. + +Four common social elements of roleplaying scenarios suggested +themselves. "Conspiracy", including sects, factions, secrets, and +intrigue. "Debate", covering conversation, debate, and oratory. +"Festivals", representing celebrations of all sorts. Finally, "Trade" +and mercantile activity. The associated NPCs became one /Familia +Caelestis,/ a social/familial unit in the world of the game. + +Similarly, I made a Familia from the Nobilis governing three key +physical challenges: disasters, barriers/obstacles, and strife. A third +Familia included characters linked to mental challenges. The four Powers +in this Familia governed Bureaucracy; Mazes and confusing situations; +Records and research; and Trails -- that is, chains of logic and trails +of evidence. + +This collection of characters suggested a new approach to story design. +In addition to the story elements that these characters embodied, I +built each character to evoke a particular mood. Thus, Pandareos +Panagiotis, Power of Conspiracy, behaves in a manner designed to evoke +the conventions of romance. You can use Nephele Nikolaidhis, Power of +Festivals, to create an atmosphere of horror. When a conspiracy becomes +important to the story, Pandareos might appear. His presence adjusts the +feel of the story, which could lead to a new story element taking center +stage. + +Completing this design -- although much /writing/ still remained to be +done -- I gave the PCs and the three NPC Familiae a common purpose. +Specifically, they would investigate Imperators -- extremely potent +individuals, a large step above an individual PC in power and authority +-- accused of treason. This shared purpose made many interesting stories +possible. More importantly, it made the PCs and NPCs a coherent peer +group, setting the stage for PC/NPC relationships to develop naturally. + +R. Sean + + + What do you think? + +Go to forum! + Go to Top | New Topic + | View Threads + | Search + + + Topics Author Date Latest Reply + James and the Small Caps + (2) new Kibo +08-20-2002 16:29 02-10-2003 01:23 new + Art (1) new Lxndr +04-26-2002 07:36 04-26-2002 07:36 new + The Original Nobilis Club + (3) new Bret Gillan +04-17-2002 11:28 03-17-2003 17:48 new + Questions & Thoughts + (3) new Pyske +03-20-2002 18:31 05-01-2003 13:03 new + Noble Buddhism? + (9) new Tlaloc +03-20-2002 12:17 12-10-2004 01:20 new + Noble Suicide (9) new +Eric Christian Berg 03-20-2002 07:43 01-18-2005 16:27 new + Art Notes (4) new R. +Sean Borgstrom 03-14-2002 16:31 03-21-2002 03:44 new + Ack...you just lost my sale + (10) new SteveD +03-14-2002 04:06 03-15-2002 06:29 new + Onomastikon working URL + (4) new Jorge +Hernández 03-06-2002 12:51 08-20-2002 16:10 new + Why do angels change names ? + (10) new philippe +tromeur 03-06-2002 10:13 12-10-2004 01:34 new + R. Sean, some examples? + (3) new Arref +03-05-2002 08:17 03-13-2002 20:28 new + Sounds great, BUT... + (2) new Kane +02-27-2002 16:43 02-27-2002 17:30 new + Sort of backwards? + (8) new Eric Finley +02-20-2002 14:25 02-28-2002 09:35 new + Programmer nature slips out! + (2) new Sean +McCarthy 02-20-2002 13:18 02-21-2002 10:30 new + Object Lesson Damage + (1) new Darren +Miguez 02-13-2002 12:45 02-13-2002 12:45 new + How about this? + (2) new Kristian +Lund 02-13-2002 11:30 02-14-2002 01:17 new + Now, this was strange! + (7) new access.denied +02-13-2002 07:44 02-16-2002 21:44 new + Briefs on the other two? + (5) new Eric Finley +01-31-2002 18:39 02-13-2002 10:36 new + Forum now works (1) new +Sandy Antunes 01-31-2002 17:36 01-31-2002 17:36 new + limited series (2) new +Sandy Antunes 01-21-2002 17:41 01-31-2002 17:36 new + + Go to Top | New Topic + | View Threads + | Search + + + Newer Messages + | Older Messages + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + * Editing, Development, and Production + + March 27, 2002 + * Affiliations + March 20, 2002 + * How to be a Hollyhock God + March 13, 2002 + * Naming Conventions + March 6, 2002 + * Art Notes + February 27, 2002 + * Dynamic Nobilis + February 20, 2002 + * Systems Change + February 13, 2002 + * Treachery + February 6, 2002 + * The Emperor to Come + January 31, 2002 + * The Changing of the Guard + January 21, 2002 + + + Other columns at RPGnet + +[ Read FAQ | Subscribe to RSS + | Contact Us | +Advertise with Us ] + +Copyright © 1996-2006 RPGnet & individual authors, All Rights Reserved +RPGnet® is a registered trademark of Skotos Tech Inc., all rights reserved. +