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<blockquote data-quote="Volund" data-source="post: 8168178" data-attributes="member: 6872597">I've used a rival adventuring party as a successful device to raise the stakes and drive the action for the party. Yes, it's a cliché but it's one that works. Sometimes it's as simple as while the PC's went on the &quot;Recover an Item&quot; mission instead of &quot;Clear out the Bad Guy Camp&quot;, the NPC party succeeded at clearing out the bad guys. This lets the players know that the world is not in sleep mode awaiting their arrival at a given locale in order to activate.Even better, a rival NPC party can draw the party more quickly through <a href="https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/8015/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-part-6-alternative-node-design" target="_blank">adventure nodes</a>, and energizes players when they discover they are chasing a rival who is ahead of them. For example, the players have found the plot point at A, which leads to B, C and D. Meanwhile the rival party has been to C and advances straight to D. If the party also goes to D they all arrive at the same time, but if they go to B or C their rivals will be ahead of them, which they eventually find out when they get to C or D. Depending on how far behind they are, the PC's may experience 0, 1, or 2 consequences for their choices. This can create Raiders of the Lost Ark style tension with each party trying to stay a step ahead of the other. It's also a good surprise for players accustomed to turning over every stone &quot;just to make sure&quot; even when they know what to do next, or cycling through every side-quest for metagame reasons - &quot;just for the xp&quot; or &quot;to level up before moving on&quot; etc.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Volund, post: 8168178, member: 6872597"] I've used a rival adventuring party as a successful device to raise the stakes and drive the action for the party. Yes, it's a cliché but it's one that works. Sometimes it's as simple as while the PC's went on the "Recover an Item" mission instead of "Clear out the Bad Guy Camp", the NPC party succeeded at clearing out the bad guys. This lets the players know that the world is not in sleep mode awaiting their arrival at a given locale in order to activate. Even better, a rival NPC party can draw the party more quickly through [URL='https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/8015/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-part-6-alternative-node-design']adventure nodes[/URL], and energizes players when they discover they are chasing a rival who is ahead of them. For example, the players have found the plot point at A, which leads to B, C and D. Meanwhile the rival party has been to C and advances straight to D. If the party also goes to D they all arrive at the same time, but if they go to B or C their rivals will be ahead of them, which they eventually find out when they get to C or D. Depending on how far behind they are, the PC's may experience 0, 1, or 2 consequences for their choices. This can create Raiders of the Lost Ark style tension with each party trying to stay a step ahead of the other. It's also a good surprise for players accustomed to turning over every stone "just to make sure" even when they know what to do next, or cycling through every side-quest for metagame reasons - "just for the xp" or "to level up before moving on" etc. [/QUOTE]

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