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[5E] Urban Intrigue Campaign - Gating the Sandbox
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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 7622787" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>Yes, and good luck. 5e has no rules for what you're asking for (and rules tgat actively fight it) but you can always houserules around it. Or try to. My initial suggestion is to look for a ruleset that already does what you want, but I understand the appeal of sticking with the familiar.</p><p></p><p>I was talking about 5e as core, where binary results are the norm, even with the above about success at cost or failing forward. This is why I mentioned skill challenges, which is not tech inside 5e but can be added with little fuss. The trick to this is to be flexible about narrative positioning as the challenge continues, which also cuts against normal heavy DM control of narrative the 5e bakes in.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I think we often get wrapped up in our mechanical solution schemes and lose sight of what the point is. As a design principle, the tighter the mechanics the less room to play results -- things become more rigid and locked within the framework. Also, there's the problem that too much detail means that you as DM wil stay having to play Spreadsheets: The City. I recommend you step back and decide what you want to be the focus of play absent mechanics and then look to see what you can steal that does that with the minimum fuss. If you're still working on your facton mechanics, odds are they're already too complex. Blades has an excellent and simple (single sheet) method of tracking faction relations. And, it's a focus of play, so it not hard to track as the players want to uodate it.</p><p></p><p>As for information flow, this is easy. Tell them. The source of this confusion is the legacy of thinking that DMs should hidde information from players by default, which means that DMs will all how they can let players know things. This shows over the obvious -- just tell them. Long experience shows that players having information doesn't mean you can't surprise them, or that they won't screw it up by the numbers. Be open about faction relations, but maybe not the reasons. I mean, you often will hear rumors someone doesn't like you, so just assume the PCs, who aren't always on-screen, have sources that give them the lay of the land.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 7622787, member: 16814"] Yes, and good luck. 5e has no rules for what you're asking for (and rules tgat actively fight it) but you can always houserules around it. Or try to. My initial suggestion is to look for a ruleset that already does what you want, but I understand the appeal of sticking with the familiar. I was talking about 5e as core, where binary results are the norm, even with the above about success at cost or failing forward. This is why I mentioned skill challenges, which is not tech inside 5e but can be added with little fuss. The trick to this is to be flexible about narrative positioning as the challenge continues, which also cuts against normal heavy DM control of narrative the 5e bakes in. I think we often get wrapped up in our mechanical solution schemes and lose sight of what the point is. As a design principle, the tighter the mechanics the less room to play results -- things become more rigid and locked within the framework. Also, there's the problem that too much detail means that you as DM wil stay having to play Spreadsheets: The City. I recommend you step back and decide what you want to be the focus of play absent mechanics and then look to see what you can steal that does that with the minimum fuss. If you're still working on your facton mechanics, odds are they're already too complex. Blades has an excellent and simple (single sheet) method of tracking faction relations. And, it's a focus of play, so it not hard to track as the players want to uodate it. As for information flow, this is easy. Tell them. The source of this confusion is the legacy of thinking that DMs should hidde information from players by default, which means that DMs will all how they can let players know things. This shows over the obvious -- just tell them. Long experience shows that players having information doesn't mean you can't surprise them, or that they won't screw it up by the numbers. Be open about faction relations, but maybe not the reasons. I mean, you often will hear rumors someone doesn't like you, so just assume the PCs, who aren't always on-screen, have sources that give them the lay of the land. [/QUOTE]
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