D&D 5E I Am SO Over The "Rootless Vagabond" Archetype

[KarinsDad]

I think players don't like being under someone else's thumb. Some might see a large organization as a much bigger, much less personal GMPC. Especially if they're the only way to get cool equipment or gain levels.

This happens with superhero genres where a superhero team is supported by the government or some other organization and the players almost seem to resent it at times. They use it for the benefits, but they don't necessarily enjoy the responsibility that goes along with it.

For this reason, I only use organizations in the game that the players can join if the players are looking for that type of thing. And even then, I tend to run the organizations light handed. I tend to prefer organizations that are allies with the PCs, as opposed to organizations that the PCs are part of. That way, the PCs can occasionally call on their allies for assistance, or the organization can call on the PCs without there necessarily being that strong obligation.

 

[BigVanVader]

This happens with superhero genres where a superhero team is supported by the government or some other organization and the players almost seem to resent it at times. They use it for the benefits, but they don't necessarily enjoy the responsibility that goes along with it.

For this reason, I only use organizations in the game that the players can join if the players are looking for that type of thing. And even then, I tend to run the organizations light handed. I tend to prefer organizations that are allies with the PCs, as opposed to organizations that the PCs are part of. That way, the PCs can occasionally call on their allies for assistance, or the organization can call on the PCs without there necessarily being that strong obligation.

I in fact played a superhero game where our characters were working for the government. And I thought it was such a cool idea until I played two of the games, where it was just used for railroading purposes and nothing else.

I gotta be honest though, a better DM would have made me really like it, so maybe I'm just biased ha ha.

 

[Hussar]

There's also the simple logistics of it as well. Bob joins the thieves guild and Dave joins the Wizards guild. Unless the two guilds are working together, it's likely that simple timing issues might come up. Unless you start doing solo sessions, it gets kinda hunky if all the guilds goals line up every time.

And, in a typical Dnd game, you might not stay in the same place for long enough for membership to even matter. There's a reason in AdnD that they talk about starting a guild but never joining one.

 

[KarinsDad]

I in fact played a superhero game where our characters were working for the government. And I thought it was such a cool idea until I played two of the games, where it was just used for railroading purposes and nothing else.

I gotta be honest though, a better DM would have made me really like it, so maybe I'm just biased ha ha.

Maybe. Maybe not.

I've seen a lot of "railroading" by the government in super hero games. It's not that the DM is necessarily trying to railroad things, it's just a fairly common conception of how the government works. The government is paying for the team, so someone in the government orders someone else to order someone else to order the PCs to do something. It seems to be a fairly common element of the genre.

 

[Salamandyr]

Gotta admit, I still love the "rootless vagabond" archetype. I'm a little bored with the "badass loner" though, because it's really not all that fun to play.

But another way to say "rootless vagabond" is "itinerant hero" or "knight errant", the guy who goes where he's needed and saves princesses (and princes I guess) where needed and romances them appropriate. That's kind of what I play D&D for, to be the B.D. Hero.

 

[Dausuul]

I think a large part of why players don't want their PCs working for large organizations is simply that we get so much of that in our real lives. Most of us work for corporations with bosses giving orders, or go to school with professors and administrators telling us what to do. Those who are small business owners may not have bosses, but there's still the government and many big private companies to deal with--suppliers, insurance companies, and so forth, all of them demanding that you waste hours jumping through their bureaucratic hoops. D&D is a chance to leave all that behind and enter a world where nobody can tell you what to do, where any problem can be solved with a cunning mind and a sharp sword.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Another part that I think gets given too light of touch to be believable is that working for many organizations is a full time job. Sure, if you're in a thieves' guild you can probably operate on your own schedule most of the time, and a wizards guild is likely more like a club you can participate in as desired. But a nation's military? Hardly. If you are on active duty that is your job, and there is no time left for freelance adventuring. Even if you're some sort of operative, you're probably on a mission most of the time, and you probably aren't allowed to bring along friends.

Perhaps some of the military/ex-military posters could give us a better idea, but my gut tells me it isn't going to be compatible with an adventuring life.

 

[Umbran]

This happens with superhero genres where a superhero team is supported by the government or some other organization and the players almost seem to resent it at times. They use it for the benefits, but they don't necessarily enjoy the responsibility that goes along with it.

There is an interesting implementation of this in the FATE-based "Atomic Robo" game.

I the game, characters are generally working for some Organization - the game's default is Tesladyne Industries, run by the eponymous Atomic Robo. The PCs can call upon certain resources and aspects of their Organization...

And, when they get really screwed up in a conflict, they can shunt the damage to the organization.

So, for example, the heroes are in a chase, and the BBEG's helicopter fires missiles at them. The 'copter scores a really awesome hit, which should blow the PCs to kingdom come. The players can choose to shunt that damage to the organization as a Consequence. So, the BBEG misses, and the missiles instead hit some innocent bystanders, and the Organization takes a huge PR hit for having a fight in a public place where innocents could be hurt!

In effect, the organization is an *extension* of the PCs, rather than a separate entity. When the organization will take the hit for you, you really are on the same team...

 

[KarinsDad]

There is an interesting implementation of this in the FATE-based "Atomic Robo" game.

I the game, characters are generally working for some Organization - the game's default is Tesladyne Industries, run by the eponymous Atomic Robo. The PCs can call upon certain resources and aspects of their Organization...

And, when they get really screwed up in a conflict, they can shunt the damage to the organization.

So, for example, the heroes are in a chase, and the BBEG's helicopter fires missiles at them. The 'copter scores a really awesome hit, which should blow the PCs to kingdom come. The players can choose to shunt that damage to the organization as a Consequence. So, the BBEG misses, and the missiles instead hit some innocent bystanders, and the Organization takes a huge PR hit for having a fight in a public place where innocents could be hurt!

In effect, the organization is an *extension* of the PCs, rather than a separate entity. When the organization will take the hit for you, you really are on the same team...

Not a big fan of "oops" rules. Kind of glad 5E only has a few of those (like a few rerolls).

 

[BigVanVader]

Not a big fan of "oops" rules. Kind of glad 5E only has a few of those (like a few rerolls).

Don't think of it as 'oops', think of it as adding your armor class after the fact. Or, having a separate, optional set of hitpoints.