Share Creative Ideas for Carousing Results

[MNblockhead]

Hi all, I'm running a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e campaign, but this question isn't really specific to the system.

For those who are interested with the system-specific mechanical background read the text in the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

In WFRP4e there are rules for "Between Adventures", i.e., downtime. I'm not going to go over the entire subsystem, but part of it is to engage in "endeavors." There are a number of general and career-based endeavors provided in the core book and additional endeavors introduced in subsequent expansion books. One of my players is playing an Ogre Butcher. As an endeavor, he wants to spend week on a binge of drinking contests throughout town (Ubersreik for anyone who cares). There is not existing endeavor that captures what he is trying to do. So I am created a "carousing" endeavor.

The endeavor is resolved by the player making a Difficult (-10) Consume Alcohol test. Based on their success level, they roll a d10 and I consult the result on the appropriate table for their level of success.

I thought of having a more complicated system where the player would make multiple Consume Alcohol test and add up the success levels. Or that they would select a difficulty level and the higher difficulty level they select, it would give them some bonus. But I opted to keep it simple, in line with the other endeavors published in official books.

For everyone else, I just want some ideas of things that could happen, organized by:

• Astounding Success
• Impressive Success
• Success
• Marginal Success
• Marginal Failure
• Failure
• Impressive Failure
• Astounding Failure

I'm trying to come up with 10 options for each. For some I already have 9, for other categories, I only have three or four. For any who are interested and find it fun to come up with fun things that could happen, good or bad, in a week's worth of carousing, please give some examples to help me fill out my tables (or replace options I already have with your better ideas).

You could have one result that is better or worse based on the success level. Or just bespoke results that are fun and make sense for the success level. I currently have a mix of both.

 

[MNblockhead]

I'm finding it much easier to come up with results for failures than successes.

 

[MGibster]

Impressive Success: You meet up with some henchmen of your main enemy who are out to have a good time just like you guys. You guys end up drinking together, talking shop, and you learn that Rick the Door Guard just had a child and tends to sleep at his post when he shouldn't. You know, the back entrance to the Lair of Woe where all that treasure is kept.

 

[overgeeked]

I really like the carousing systems in Pirate Borg and DCC Lankhmar. Both basically use carousing as story seeds rather than benefits or penalties you start the next adventure with.

Pirate Borg has a 4d20 chart you reference that also determines you won or lost in silver.

Last night you (blank) with (blank). You wake up (blank) and now you’re (blank).

So last night you got lucky with an enemy. You wake up tied to a spit and now you’re dying.

DCC Lankhmar carousing uses a risk-reward system to see how much luck you recover. This is a bit closer to the normal “here’s a boon” style, but it also gives you story seeds.

Both are worth checking out.

There’s also the r/OSR subreddit along with the r/d100 subreddit. A quick search of either should give you ideas.

 

[MNblockhead]

Impressive Success: You meet up with some henchmen of your main enemy who are out to have a good time just like you guys. You guys end up drinking together, talking shop, and you learn that Rick the Door Guard just had a child and tends to sleep at his post when he shouldn't. You know, the back entrance to the Lair of Woe where all that treasure is kept.

I like it! I already have the following impressive success:

Juicy gossip! An inebriated NPC shares useful information. It can be an NPC and information relevant to a current adventure or goal or a hook for a new adventure.

But I like your example being specific to an antagonist. I'm definitely going to riff on this idea.

 

[MNblockhead]

Impressive Success: You meet up with some henchmen of your main enemy who are out to have a good time just like you guys. You guys end up drinking together, talking shop, and you learn that Rick the Door Guard just had a child and tends to sleep at his post when he shouldn't. You know, the back entrance to the Lair of Woe where all that treasure is kept.

Another thing I like to do with successes, and I'm rewriting some of the result to support this, is to give a general "you gain intel", "you gain an ally" but let the player explain what it is. You don't always have a great tip or information to share at that specific point in the campaign and it can feel like a waste of a really good success. Further, I like to make it into a type of meta currency. Maybe the player doesn't have any intel that s/he would really like to know. So they can just mark down a point of "helpful intel" on the character sheet. Then later in the game, if the party is trying to solve a riddle, find a clue, break into a secure location, etc., the player can spend the point earned and say, "hey, a while back I was drinking with a guy who claimed to have worked for Doctor evil. He was completely wasted and let slip how the guards had hidden exit/entrance they would use so one of them could sneak to town to buy alcohol and cigarettes." Or if the party comes across a steep climb but didn't think to pack a grappling hook, the player can spend the point to say that he heard about this and so, actually, he had made sure to pack a grappling hook.

 

[MNblockhead]

I really like the carousing systems in Pirate Borg and DCC Lankhmar. Both basically use carousing as story seeds rather than benefits or penalties you start the next adventure with.

Pirate Borg has a 4d20 chart you reference that also determines you won or lost in silver.

Last night you (blank) with (blank). You wake up (blank) and now you’re (blank).

So last night you got lucky with an enemy. You wake up tied to a spit and now you’re dying.

DCC Lankhmar carousing uses a risk-reward system to see how much luck you recover. This is a bit closer to the normal “here’s a boon” style, but it also gives you story seeds.

Both are worth checking out.

There’s also the r/OSR subreddit along with the r/d100 subreddit. A quick search of either should give you ideas.

Love those kinds of random tables. I stole a number of my ideas from an old AD&D carousing table. But I'm being careful to avoid results that require me to have the spotlight entirely on one character for a chunk of time or going back and forth between the character who finds himself on a spit and dying and the rest of the party. Also, if the party is planning to work on a specific goal or explore a specific area in a session, I'm a bit cautious about allowing one player's roll on a carousing table taking a chunk of time out of session to do a random side quest / encounter that they might just find to be distraction to what they were really hoping to be doing. So any result would have to be something that can be resolved pretty quickly or the group will be discourage to use the carousing endeavor. For example, a lot of tables I've seen online have results like "Shanghaied! You wake up on ship in the middle of the ocean. You've been pressed into service on a privateer ship." Now, either that player had to bring in a new character, or the party has to spend most of a session trying to find the character with me switching back and forth between the one PC and the rest of the party.

 

[Celebrim]

Star war related, but perhaps can be used as fuel. No idea what you consider a major or minor failure.

Possible Winning Events

Gambling Winnings: 1d6 x 1d6 x 1d6 credits.

Gambling Winnings (Exotic): In addition to the usual winnings, you acquire a broken down droid, exotic pet, archaic weapon, piece of local jewelry or other item.

Insider Knowledge: You hung out with some particularly well informed locals who found you a good drinking buddy. Listening to their stories and advice you gained a good bit of knowledge about how things work around here. (+1d6 to Streetwise, Bureaucracy, Cultures, or Bargain while on world)

Successful One Night Stand: You spent the night drinking and flirting with a very attractive sexual partner, and you both had a very good time. Your partner remains on friendly terms with you and wouldn’t object to seeing you again in the future.

Rescued a Local: You extricated a local merchant from a bit of trouble and they are grateful for your aid and now feel they owe you a favor.

Got Help with Equipment: The next time you modify one of your own pieces of equipment, get 2d6 bonus dice on your repair role.

Quite the Adventure!: You get drunk and go out on the town end up running for your life, performing some sort of heroic stunt, or surviving some sort of disaster unscathed. You wake up 10d6 credits poorer, with a headache, a feeling of contentment, and a character point.

Accepted by the Locals: A local tribe, gang, guild, cartel, or government decides that you are actually a cool guy to hang out with. They buy you drinks, you buy them drinks, before you know it you are singing songs loudly and off key together, and trying to pick up sexual partners and perform stupid stunts like you were lifelong friends. A good time was had by all, and you part in the wee hours of the morning with hugs and good will. Future social interactions with this group have 2D6 bonus dice.

 

[Celebrim]

Possible Losing Events (3d6-1)

Caught a Disease: You wake up with a fever and a rash. You have a 1D penalty on any action that requires concentration unless you make a DC 21 Stamina check at the beginning of the scene. Proper first aid can give you a 1D to 3D bonus on such checks. At the end of a week, make another Stamina check to get over the disease. Proper medical care can give you a 1D to 3D bonus on such checks.

Horrible Hangover: You wake up with a horrible hangover. You have a 1D penalty on any action that requires concentration unless you make a DC 21 Stamina check at the beginning of the scene.

Challenged by a Young Gunfighter: A dumb punk with a modified blaster, 5D in blaster, and no sense challenges you to a dual.

Set Up to Take a Fall: While drunk, disoriented, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, you find yourself at the scene of a crime. The real perpetrators flee and before you can react, a group of magistrates arrive and decide you were probably involved and want to hold you for questioning. A Difficult Persuade, Con, or Law Enforcement check will get you out of trouble, but not before they attempt to ascertain your identity.

Attempted Robbery: While separated from your group, you are beset by two thugs with primitive weapons. Enter combat.

Barroom Brawl: You are wounded in barroom brawl.

Gambling Losses: Nothing goes your way. You lose 1d6 x 1d6 x 1d6 credits.

Dangerous Liaisons: You spent the night drinking and flirting with a very attractive member of the opposite sex, only to learn too late that this was only a plot on the part of your partner to make their usual paramour jealous or angry.

Arrested for Minor Crime: You wake up in the local slammer on a charge of drunk and disorderly or similar minor crime. You can plead guilty to the fine and pay 6d6x10 credits.

Wake up in Hospital: You wake up in a Batha Tank with minor injuries and no memory of how you got there. You're emergency room bill comes to 6d6x10 credits.

Ill-Advised Purchase: You have acquired a new suit very unusual clothing, a broken down droid, an exotic pet, an archaic weapon, a new tattoo, a peice of local jewelry, a large novelty hologram sculpture, an expensive game, or some other largely useless item. It appears to have cost you 10d6 x 1d6 credits.

Made a Fool of Yourself: You got intoxicated on an unfamiliar spice and ended up making a fool of yourself. Deduct 6d6 credits. You have 1d6 penalty dice on Streetwise, Bureaucracy, Cultures, and Bargain while on world.

Made an Enemy: You got drunk or intoxicated and committed a major faux pas which earned you the ire of an arrogant, pompous, but somewhat influential official who will try to make life hard on you. You have a new enemy, and 2d6 penalty dice on Streetwise, Bureaucracy, Cultures, and Bargain while on world depending on the sort of position that the person holds. On the good side, publically making an enemy like that may win you the admiration of that person's preexisting enemies.

Lost some Equipment - You've lost your comlink, survival knife, breathing mask, datapad, a grenade, glow stick, canteen, manacles, or other random bit of minor equipment you normally carry. It may have been stolen or you may have just accidently left it somewhere.

Robbed: You've lost some minor equipment, your dignity, and 1x6 x 1d6 x 1x6 credits.

Roll Again Twice.

Roll Again Three Times.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think of carousing as kind of an urban mini-campaign akin to running a gauntlet. As such, I’ve mined gauntlet-fiction for ideas. Consider:

The Warriors
Judgement Night
The Most Dangerous Game
Surviving the Game
The Naked Prey

In a pure coincidence, I actually had an experience similar to Judgement Night in my freshman year at college. Four of us got in a car to go to a midnight movie, only to get there after the theater’s last seating (10:30PM! ) So we tried to find a good bar, only to find ourselves (me in particular) twice unwelcome for racial reasons. So we continued driving around San Antonio, looking for a good time. Instead, we encountered a running gang fight (with at least one person using a gun), some kind of illicit transaction between people in a van and others in a luxury sedan, and The Players’ Ball.