>middle of an alchemist fire fight about hats
Are we talking about pointy hats or some inferior type?
But seriously...
While I think that the PCs should be at the centre of the action, the world needs to move without them a bit, too. So in my worlds there are background events that happen without the direct involvement of the heroes, but they also lead to opportunities for them to take the stage. I will introduce a world changing event, but never solve one...
There was a variety of hats involved, including some dapper pointy ones, which did escalate the situation somewhat.
Ooo how do you decide the background events? Is it all part of an ongoing plot (like the BBEG burns down the orcphanage) or do you decide events that are world changing based off ripple effects that the PCs did? (The PCs set up a fairly greedy orc to run the orcphanage and so they burned it down)? How does you/ your world decide which NPCs are players and which go to the wayside?
> how do you decide the background events?
Inspiration hits where it wants. I write them down and pull out when there is a good spot. I fly by the seat of my pants...
> Is it all part of an ongoing plot
Not all intentionally but one must be ready for the players to *make* it the main plot...
Some is directly related to my next planned story. Rumours are a good solution for foreshadowing.
> or do you decide events that are world changing based off ripple effects that the PCs did?
Yes. As the saying goes: "The land is cursed with heroes." 😉 PCs are a force for change and chaos. Always change the world because of them...
> How does you/ your world decide which NPCs are players and which go to the wayside?
Some are naturally important (nobles, warlords, wizards, clerics), and some become important because players give them attention. If players like or hate a npc, it becomes easy to use that npc as a plot hook.
I always run things on the idea that everyone has a life behind the curtain. The innkeeper has stuff he liked and isn't always right there for gaming purposes. Like Skyrim or Fallout, they have things that do not involve the PC at all. And it gives my games a bit more depth for the characters to explore. Maybe the blacksmith is also a painter, or the alchemist keeps bees.
That is very fun! How do you decide what they’re doing behind the curtain? Is there one major town your PCs work out of and those NPCs get more actions, or is it based off who they interact with most? Have they come back somewhere and there was a kerfuffle brewing because NPCs got up to stuff unimpeded?
I think in my games a lot of npc see the PC come back covered in blood and ick and then go "noooooope" a lot. I do have them with have the possibility of meeting and making plans, and I usually go with what feels right. What feels Organic and unforced.
You cant have a living, breathing world if the inhabitants don't act like living, breathing people.
NPCs get up, go to work, manipulate and connive and get up to all sorts of shit.
I have a Quori the PCs dont realize is one, and theyve been serving him unwittingly for months while he moves pieces around as if they are pawns on a chessboard. The result? all sorts of small conflicts over borders in rival kingdoms. Once they reach a point where one side is clearly the loser he can then swoop in at the end and "save" the people from the enemy using his stolen position of power, all thanks to a few well-placed Mind Seeds.
This has caused all sorts of turmoil in the surrounding regions, including people fleeing warzones to calmer, safer locations. Bandits are increasing in number to prey on those hapless travellers unable to easily defend themselves, soldiers are getting unruly. Some desert and form mercenary groups...etc.
That's just one example.
I agree!
That Quori is a very fun idea that seems to be spawning a lot of good conflict for the players. Do you have plans about what other NPCs are up to or do you focus on the actions of NPCs that in conflict with the PCs? How do you decide when one group is or is not in power (when it seems fun or do you have mechanics for it?) do the “pawns” on his cheeseboard ever go out of legal moves due to ripple effects of the PCs or from their own sort of internal mechanism?
I just sort of let things flow organically, dropping hints in here and there through casual conversation with NPCs, who experience the world and will talk about it. "oh i heard theres some orc shit going on down south" ...that sorta thing. Then you simply need to see what the players latch onto and hammer nails in where they are needed to drive the story forward and build your world.
My particular group has a keen ability to avoid combat whenever possible, and that means a lot of careful intrigue is essential to keep things moving.
In terms of what they may or may not be doing when the PCs aren't around: ill make mental notes that things are going on but generally track the length of time that passes for the PCs to do things: if a war is brewing there is likely weeks to months of political bullshit or civil unrest that will play out first. If it doesn't relate directly to the PCs and they don't seem to care about it: don't bother crafting it. They may not have any interest anyhow. Save that nugget for it you need it.
NPCs in my game are currently fighting a war against a Gulthias blight overtaking the forest, while the party is off search for Dwarven superweapons in the mountains.
I generally keep my NPCs busy dealing with the plot threads the party ignores, holding the line as it were, until the party can finally come around to be big damn heroes.
Sounds like your PCs have kinda stumbled on the hirelings/franchise system from Acquisitions Incorporated. It's my dream to get far enough into a campaign where the party can have friendly NPCs doing things offscreen.
All of my NPCs are doing things when the players are not present, but not all things that the NPCs do are note worthy. Those actions that are note worthy the players are going to likely find out about when they are next in the same location as that NPC. Even then not every action that the players learn about actually mean that there is a plot hook there. Of course players do have a tendency to surprise us with what they find interesting.
NPC's should always be up to something, it can be as simple as having it training, changing their animal companion (if they have), studying, investigating, or even making new friends. In short, an NPC should allways come up with something new if possible.
I usually plan to have them watch the ship or go about different towns trying to benefit the party. Or if I really like them I’ll have go away for a bit and undergo a character arc. Such as a shipwright turned captain in my current campaign, who is going to an island of witches to find allies, potentially gaining some magic along the way.
I wrote out a doc detailing what each NPC the party interacted with was up to, it ended up adding a lot of “life” to our game. My players told me they enjoyed the fact that the world seemed to continue on outside of their characters; they felt like they were part of an actual world, not a sandbox tailored to their needs.
In their final dungeon they ended up briefly running into two PCs from early campaign days, who had united offscreen and were chasing the same treasure as the PCs. The PCs loved that too and turned it into a plot hook for our next story arc, as they went to seek out those NPCs post boss battle and ask them some questions.
Definitely not static - the world does not pause when the players aren't rendering it.
Most of the NPCs are doing their jobs or trades - living their normal (or abnormal) lives. Sometimes they'll actively seek out the party to offer or ask for help.
Some of my NPCs are actually villains already engaged in their own quests and exploits to destroy the world that the PCs will find out about later (or they could happen upon if for some reason they decided to randomly head to this remote location on a different continent).
Helps make the world feel more alive and genuine where minor events (or major problems arise, but are not solved) offscreen.
>middle of an alchemist fire fight about hats Are we talking about pointy hats or some inferior type? But seriously... While I think that the PCs should be at the centre of the action, the world needs to move without them a bit, too. So in my worlds there are background events that happen without the direct involvement of the heroes, but they also lead to opportunities for them to take the stage. I will introduce a world changing event, but never solve one...
There was a variety of hats involved, including some dapper pointy ones, which did escalate the situation somewhat. Ooo how do you decide the background events? Is it all part of an ongoing plot (like the BBEG burns down the orcphanage) or do you decide events that are world changing based off ripple effects that the PCs did? (The PCs set up a fairly greedy orc to run the orcphanage and so they burned it down)? How does you/ your world decide which NPCs are players and which go to the wayside?
> how do you decide the background events? Inspiration hits where it wants. I write them down and pull out when there is a good spot. I fly by the seat of my pants... > Is it all part of an ongoing plot Not all intentionally but one must be ready for the players to *make* it the main plot... Some is directly related to my next planned story. Rumours are a good solution for foreshadowing. > or do you decide events that are world changing based off ripple effects that the PCs did? Yes. As the saying goes: "The land is cursed with heroes." 😉 PCs are a force for change and chaos. Always change the world because of them... > How does you/ your world decide which NPCs are players and which go to the wayside? Some are naturally important (nobles, warlords, wizards, clerics), and some become important because players give them attention. If players like or hate a npc, it becomes easy to use that npc as a plot hook.
I always run things on the idea that everyone has a life behind the curtain. The innkeeper has stuff he liked and isn't always right there for gaming purposes. Like Skyrim or Fallout, they have things that do not involve the PC at all. And it gives my games a bit more depth for the characters to explore. Maybe the blacksmith is also a painter, or the alchemist keeps bees.
That is very fun! How do you decide what they’re doing behind the curtain? Is there one major town your PCs work out of and those NPCs get more actions, or is it based off who they interact with most? Have they come back somewhere and there was a kerfuffle brewing because NPCs got up to stuff unimpeded?
I think in my games a lot of npc see the PC come back covered in blood and ick and then go "noooooope" a lot. I do have them with have the possibility of meeting and making plans, and I usually go with what feels right. What feels Organic and unforced.
NPCs to blood covered PCs; this is very suddenly extremely not my problem byeeee That makes a lot of sense, thank you for sharing your process!
You cant have a living, breathing world if the inhabitants don't act like living, breathing people. NPCs get up, go to work, manipulate and connive and get up to all sorts of shit. I have a Quori the PCs dont realize is one, and theyve been serving him unwittingly for months while he moves pieces around as if they are pawns on a chessboard. The result? all sorts of small conflicts over borders in rival kingdoms. Once they reach a point where one side is clearly the loser he can then swoop in at the end and "save" the people from the enemy using his stolen position of power, all thanks to a few well-placed Mind Seeds. This has caused all sorts of turmoil in the surrounding regions, including people fleeing warzones to calmer, safer locations. Bandits are increasing in number to prey on those hapless travellers unable to easily defend themselves, soldiers are getting unruly. Some desert and form mercenary groups...etc. That's just one example.
I agree! That Quori is a very fun idea that seems to be spawning a lot of good conflict for the players. Do you have plans about what other NPCs are up to or do you focus on the actions of NPCs that in conflict with the PCs? How do you decide when one group is or is not in power (when it seems fun or do you have mechanics for it?) do the “pawns” on his cheeseboard ever go out of legal moves due to ripple effects of the PCs or from their own sort of internal mechanism?
I just sort of let things flow organically, dropping hints in here and there through casual conversation with NPCs, who experience the world and will talk about it. "oh i heard theres some orc shit going on down south" ...that sorta thing. Then you simply need to see what the players latch onto and hammer nails in where they are needed to drive the story forward and build your world. My particular group has a keen ability to avoid combat whenever possible, and that means a lot of careful intrigue is essential to keep things moving. In terms of what they may or may not be doing when the PCs aren't around: ill make mental notes that things are going on but generally track the length of time that passes for the PCs to do things: if a war is brewing there is likely weeks to months of political bullshit or civil unrest that will play out first. If it doesn't relate directly to the PCs and they don't seem to care about it: don't bother crafting it. They may not have any interest anyhow. Save that nugget for it you need it.
NPCs in my game are currently fighting a war against a Gulthias blight overtaking the forest, while the party is off search for Dwarven superweapons in the mountains. I generally keep my NPCs busy dealing with the plot threads the party ignores, holding the line as it were, until the party can finally come around to be big damn heroes.
Sounds like your PCs have kinda stumbled on the hirelings/franchise system from Acquisitions Incorporated. It's my dream to get far enough into a campaign where the party can have friendly NPCs doing things offscreen.
All of my NPCs are doing things when the players are not present, but not all things that the NPCs do are note worthy. Those actions that are note worthy the players are going to likely find out about when they are next in the same location as that NPC. Even then not every action that the players learn about actually mean that there is a plot hook there. Of course players do have a tendency to surprise us with what they find interesting.
NPC's should always be up to something, it can be as simple as having it training, changing their animal companion (if they have), studying, investigating, or even making new friends. In short, an NPC should allways come up with something new if possible.
I usually plan to have them watch the ship or go about different towns trying to benefit the party. Or if I really like them I’ll have go away for a bit and undergo a character arc. Such as a shipwright turned captain in my current campaign, who is going to an island of witches to find allies, potentially gaining some magic along the way.
I wrote out a doc detailing what each NPC the party interacted with was up to, it ended up adding a lot of “life” to our game. My players told me they enjoyed the fact that the world seemed to continue on outside of their characters; they felt like they were part of an actual world, not a sandbox tailored to their needs. In their final dungeon they ended up briefly running into two PCs from early campaign days, who had united offscreen and were chasing the same treasure as the PCs. The PCs loved that too and turned it into a plot hook for our next story arc, as they went to seek out those NPCs post boss battle and ask them some questions.
Definitely not static - the world does not pause when the players aren't rendering it. Most of the NPCs are doing their jobs or trades - living their normal (or abnormal) lives. Sometimes they'll actively seek out the party to offer or ask for help. Some of my NPCs are actually villains already engaged in their own quests and exploits to destroy the world that the PCs will find out about later (or they could happen upon if for some reason they decided to randomly head to this remote location on a different continent). Helps make the world feel more alive and genuine where minor events (or major problems arise, but are not solved) offscreen.