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<blockquote data-quote="DestroyYouAlot" data-source="post: 4029265" data-attributes="member: 36618">At least for me, that's as much as result of the systems I play as it is anything else.&nbsp; Older editions of D&amp;D (and simulacrum games that base themselves on same) have these assumptions built into them, to a certain degree - as you get towards the lofty levels, your personal power gain tapers off, and your influence ramps up.&nbsp; At name level, you stop gaining hit dice and powarz, but you start gaining followers, strongholds, etc.&nbsp; That's in AD&amp;D, in Classic (Mentzer BECMI and/or Rules Cyclopedia), things are even more scaled that way, where the armies you command and - eventually - the worshipers you attract are as important (if not more) than your +27 letter opener of hamster slaying.The one thing to remember is that, once you have your sandbox set up, you can play in it as long as you like.&nbsp; Eventually, you'll find somewhere to use any damn thing you can think up.Big influence, here.&nbsp; VI rocked my world.I'm sure there is, but quite honestly I don't know how.&nbsp; I really just have to kinda wing it, sometimes - look at a page full of ideas, think about something significant that the PCs did, and see if anything pops out at ya.&nbsp; Sometimes it'll be obvious, sometimes it'll be somewhat contrived on your part.&nbsp; (So, the PCs burned down this inn, huh?&nbsp;&nbsp; Well, what if this representative of that power group just happened to be staying there, what then?)&nbsp; I don't know any science to it, but the flowchart definitely is your friend. Also, the blob diagram.&nbsp; (That's what I call it, anyway.)&nbsp; I started using this the first time I tried to plot out a conspiracy (IN GAME, Mr. Homeland Security Agent), but it's a great tool for diagramming power structures and &quot;plot&quot; elements.&nbsp; This thing gets one circle with its name in the middle, this other thing gets another circle, and they both get a line connecting them with the name of whatever the connection is.&nbsp; It's not rocket science, but looking at things that way can shake ideas loose from your brain, ones you didn't know were even up there.&nbsp; (You should really clean up there more often; have you considered engaging the services of a chimney sweep?)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DestroyYouAlot, post: 4029265, member: 36618"] At least for me, that's as much as result of the systems I play as it is anything else. Older editions of D&D (and simulacrum games that base themselves on same) have these assumptions built into them, to a certain degree - as you get towards the lofty levels, your personal power gain tapers off, and your influence ramps up. At name level, you stop gaining hit dice and powarz, but you start gaining followers, strongholds, etc. That's in AD&D, in Classic (Mentzer BECMI and/or Rules Cyclopedia), things are even more scaled that way, where the armies you command and - eventually - the worshipers you attract are as important (if not more) than your [i]+27 letter opener of hamster slaying[/i]. The one thing to remember is that, once you have your sandbox set up, you can play in it as long as you like. Eventually, you'll find somewhere to use any damn thing you can think up. Big influence, here. VI rocked my world. I'm sure there is, but quite honestly I don't know how. I really just have to kinda wing it, sometimes - look at a page full of ideas, think about something significant that the PCs did, and see if anything pops out at ya. Sometimes it'll be obvious, sometimes it'll be somewhat contrived on your part. (So, the PCs burned down [i]this[/i] inn, huh? Well, what if [i]this[/i] representative of [i]that[/i] power group just happened to be staying there, what then?) I don't know any science to it, but the flowchart definitely is your friend. Also, the blob diagram. (That's what I call it, anyway.) I started using this the first time I tried to plot out a conspiracy (IN GAME, Mr. Homeland Security Agent), but it's a great tool for diagramming power structures and "plot" elements. This thing gets one circle with its name in the middle, this other thing gets another circle, and they both get a line connecting them with the name of whatever the connection is. It's not rocket science, but looking at things that way can shake ideas loose from your brain, ones you didn't know were even up there. (You should really clean up there more often; have you considered engaging the services of a chimney sweep?) [/QUOTE]

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