This is an idea I have seen elsewhere but one which I was kinda taken by as a really good DM aid.
We spend alot of time defining players are creatures, there numbers and capabilities. We do this so that when it comes time to resolve a situation we have a basis for quantifying and qualifying capability. This gives the DM something to latch on to to aid in resolving scenarios.
But what if this concept was extended to factions. Generally, if there is a faction at play, be they the cult you are tracking down, the city guard, the mechants guild, or a collective of nobles, these are always handled as fluff. Its good that we do as it gives everyone concerned an understanding of what they are about. As a DM however, it can be tricky to resolve interactions with factions as they dont have that definition that characters/creatures do.
But what if they did. What if we had a structure for "faction generation". Where factions had attributes and capabilities just like creatures do at the moment.
The following is just whiteboarding. Truth is I dont have a final idea in my own mind, nor even how to represent these things as numbers
Fluff : Still the number 1 concern.
* History
* Motivations
* Enemies and allies
Level : A sort of aggregate idea of the level of its members
Scope : How Big is the organisation
Security : How tightly they guard their information
Forces : Whats the size of the factions armies
Influence : Degree of influence the organisation holds in accepted political climates
Corruption : Degree of faithfulness of its own membership internally
<Many more Im guessing, but it gets the point across>
So, to put this in context of how it would get used. Lets say the party has a quest line to undermine a Theives guild. If the party tries to 'get info on the street' (i.e. use Streetwise) to gather information, we can use the factions 'Security' attribute to give us an idea of where to set the DC. If the party attacks a warehouse (which isnt "hard written" into the adventure) the DM can use the factions 'forces' attribute and 'level' attribute to give an idea of how many men and of what level they would be facing.
Then, this can extend to "Feats" like
* Key Member feats to allow inserting significant NPC's
* A "Stronghold" feat that allows them to have a stronghold in a given locality
* A "Protective or Secrecy" feat allowing them to react to enquiry attempts with intimidation and violence.
* A "Has the king by the balls" feat which allows them, if needed, to exercise undue influence on the King under certain circumstance.
In general, its part of a 'sandboxing' approach to give the DM tools to allow players to go off an tangents that were not part of the original adventure. That you have a framework for on the fly adventure design and give them a formal foundation to allow factions to not just be "Static" things that sit back and wait for the party to smash through their doors, but instead are both pro-active and responsive.
Pure spitballing here, but if we are discussing 5e this is something I have always felt would be a valuable DM tool.
We spend alot of time defining players are creatures, there numbers and capabilities. We do this so that when it comes time to resolve a situation we have a basis for quantifying and qualifying capability. This gives the DM something to latch on to to aid in resolving scenarios.
But what if this concept was extended to factions. Generally, if there is a faction at play, be they the cult you are tracking down, the city guard, the mechants guild, or a collective of nobles, these are always handled as fluff. Its good that we do as it gives everyone concerned an understanding of what they are about. As a DM however, it can be tricky to resolve interactions with factions as they dont have that definition that characters/creatures do.
But what if they did. What if we had a structure for "faction generation". Where factions had attributes and capabilities just like creatures do at the moment.
The following is just whiteboarding. Truth is I dont have a final idea in my own mind, nor even how to represent these things as numbers
Fluff : Still the number 1 concern.
* History
* Motivations
* Enemies and allies
Level : A sort of aggregate idea of the level of its members
Scope : How Big is the organisation
Security : How tightly they guard their information
Forces : Whats the size of the factions armies
Influence : Degree of influence the organisation holds in accepted political climates
Corruption : Degree of faithfulness of its own membership internally
<Many more Im guessing, but it gets the point across>
So, to put this in context of how it would get used. Lets say the party has a quest line to undermine a Theives guild. If the party tries to 'get info on the street' (i.e. use Streetwise) to gather information, we can use the factions 'Security' attribute to give us an idea of where to set the DC. If the party attacks a warehouse (which isnt "hard written" into the adventure) the DM can use the factions 'forces' attribute and 'level' attribute to give an idea of how many men and of what level they would be facing.
Then, this can extend to "Feats" like
* Key Member feats to allow inserting significant NPC's
* A "Stronghold" feat that allows them to have a stronghold in a given locality
* A "Protective or Secrecy" feat allowing them to react to enquiry attempts with intimidation and violence.
* A "Has the king by the balls" feat which allows them, if needed, to exercise undue influence on the King under certain circumstance.
In general, its part of a 'sandboxing' approach to give the DM tools to allow players to go off an tangents that were not part of the original adventure. That you have a framework for on the fly adventure design and give them a formal foundation to allow factions to not just be "Static" things that sit back and wait for the party to smash through their doors, but instead are both pro-active and responsive.
Pure spitballing here, but if we are discussing 5e this is something I have always felt would be a valuable DM tool.
