D&D 5E Relationships

[GMforPowergamers]

Okay, so in Strixhaven they have relationships that are handled as a very loose 'teenage romance' kind of way. IT's a cool idea, but if I want to expand on it for my 3rd attempt at Curse of Strahd does anyone have any ideas or rescources in mind?

I don't need it to be romantic, but maybe something that will allow for friends and allies to have a rating that gives a bonus.

Spoiler: right now

Player characters will have the option to gain Relationship Points over the course of the adventure. These point reflect the relationship status a character has with another NPC.

All relationships start at 0, and either increase or decrease by 1 depending on the nature of the characters interactions. A friendly response will earn a positive relationship point, while a rivalrous response will earn a negative relationship point.

-A player can indicate that they would like to attempt to gain a positive Relationship point with an NPC, but this is at the discretion of the DM

-Conversely a player can take a negative relationship point with an NPC at any point at their own discretion, once per-character, per-day.

*Relationship Points and Status:

+/- 0 Neutral

+1 Friendly: While they are still getting to know you, the NPC is positively inclined towards you

-1 Antagonistic: Something about you just ticks this NPC off

+2 Friend: This NPC considers you a personal friend, and will go out of their way to assist you as best they can

-2 Rival: This NPC holds a great disdain for you, and will make your life harder any chance they get

+3 Beloved: You have a deep and meaningful connection with this NPC. While not inherently romantic, you are deeply bonded, so much so that you benefit from this NPC's spirit, even when they aren't physically near you (You gain this NPC's Beloved Boon)

- 3 Enemy: This NPC hates you with every fiber of their being. They are extremely motivated to go out of their way to thwart your endeavors, and may even go so far as to physically harm you. Their hatred of you is so elemental it begins to effect your everyday life, even when this NPC isn't physically present (You suffer from this NPC's Enemy Bane)

 

[Oofta]

Is there some kind of contest (opposed roll) to adjust relationship status? What are the limits, how many NPCs can you affect and how often? Oh, and I assume you meant -3 Enemy?

 

[Willie the Duck]

Games like Hillfolk have relatively rigorous inter-relationship modelling subsystems, which may be more than you want to bite off. Monte Cook's Invisible Suns, all games from Jenna Moran, and several PbtA games (I am thinking of Masks, Stonetop, and MASHED, but I'm sure it is true of many many more) have simpler relationship models but still some strong interact-with-nonhostile-individuals rules. Worlds Without Number is an OSR-adjacent D&D-alike with lots of group-relation systems that could probably be ported down to groups of two.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Is there some kind of contest (opposed roll) to adjust relationship status? What are the limits, how many NPCs can you affect and how often? Oh, and I assume you meant -3 Enemy?

yes it's -3 enemy, and it is all RP as far as I can see... I can come up with rolls but I think mostly helpful should just up it.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

You might want to check out Masks and Monsterhearts, two PbtA games which feature relationship stuff as a driving factor. Masks is a game about Teen Titans-type budding superheroes still figuring themselves out, while Monsterhearts is more like Teen Wolf, Twilight, and other "teen supernatural romance" stories.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Is there some kind of contest (opposed roll) to adjust relationship status? What are the limits, how many NPCs can you affect and how often? Oh, and I assume you meant -3 Enemy?

So in Strixhaven, the relationship rules are quite simple, during play while doing certain activities or jobs, or during dm decided relationship events, you as a player can choose to increase your relationship with a npc by 1 or decrease it by 1.

When you have 2 points in they become a friend, and give a simple boon, when you get -2 they become a rival and give a bane. If you get 3 points in, you get them to be a beloved, where you basically get free extra inspiration per beloved each long rest, you can have beloveds up to your Prof bonus, and the beloved inspiration stacks, so 2 beloveds equals 2 inspiration for free per Long rest