Running a more civilised game

[thedearhunter]

So im running a 4E game that started up not too long ago. The homebrew setting is a bit more civilised and developed than the core one presented, mostly in the form of nations having conquered almost all the wilderness.

As such, im focusing on the cities in the game, and want them to see all the cool cities ive made

So i keep them moving around the world, rather quickly. I wonder though, if this will mean difficulty in cultivating long lasting NPC's or things like that.

Any suggestions? Anyone run any game like this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Sunseeker]

Cities are big, presumably even if you had them stay in the same city, short of hanging with the movers and shakers, the likelyhood that they'll see anyone twice is low.

So yes, big cities+many big cities will mean that lasting ties to anyone short of the big names in the city will be hard.

That doesn't mean you can't make a very memorable NPC for them to encounter, just harder for them to remember.

 

[Thasmodious]

The major NPCs of the campaign don't have to be tied to individual cities anymore than the PCs are. Think of sweeping, world spanning epics in literature, film, TV. Writers tend to keep the overall cast small and despite the size and scope, the main characters find themselves bumping into the same friends, villains, foils, mysterious strangers and the like. Despite that the Federation includes dozens of species on hundreds of worlds spanning the galaxy, there are still many memorable NPCs that show up repeatedly in the various series. A rival is always a good NPC in a game like this, whether an individual or a party. They just have to show up a couple of times before they will be constantly in the PCs thoughts, especially if the rival pulls off an early "win".

Another idea, if you wanted to ground them with some more "mundane" NPCs, would be something like an extra-dimensional tavern. Portals/doors exist on multiple planes and many cities/locales around your campaign world that all lead to the same inn, staffed by the same very interesting NPCs. Not many know of this place, of course, but it is a place with rather unique opportunities and sources of information and work.

 

[KidSnide]

The details are going to depend tremendously on the particular choices of your game. However, if you want the PCs to develop meaningful relationships with NPCs, you need to give them the opportunity to repeatedly come into contact with those same NPCs. That's true regardless of the campaign.

Traditionally, when you're creating a big city campaign, you focus most of the campaign around the same city. That way the PCs repeatedly come into contact with the same people and places, which helps build knowledge of the world and relationships with the NPCs. Of course, you can have the PCs travel from city to city, but then you either need to create a travelling community (of which the PCs can be a part) or accept that they don't develop many meaningful attachments to the individual NPCs.

I guess I should also note that many GMs (new or old) can become overly attached to the idea that the players should become familiar with the awesome world the GMs have written. (I have certainly fallen into that trap on occasion.) Often, it's better to let the PCs stay in one place so the players can start to care about (and influence) the people, places and institutions of the game world. Depth can also be more important than breadth - local details that matter to the day-to-day life of the PCs can be more important than "grand" details in a location the PCs don't care about. It's nice to know the king of the kingdom 500 miles to the east, but the immersive quality of the game could be better improved by naming the best kebab cart in the city.

Also, it's great to have a whole wild (or civilized) world to explore, but the PCs don't need to visit every place in order to gain a sense of the world. Your world will be all the stronger if "strangers from a long way away" come from a place that you know something about. If the PCs eventually visit some of those places, well then, all the better. If not, you'll always have ideas of cool things that could take place there.

-KS

 

[luckless]

Reconsider just how large your cities are. A few thousand people makes for a good sized city in medieval eras. If your world is full of hundreds of multimillion person cities, then it may feel a little weird.

Also you can simply have the same NPCs be important each time you come back to a given city. The Head Guardsman of the South Gate, who is charged with questioning all who enters his gate, is going to become fairly well known to your players if they come and go from the same city a lot. (Especially if the PCs do something to stand out.)

The cute bar maid at their favourite bar is likely going to always be around for when they drop by that part of the city.

Really having large cities is no different from a large forest: Lots of trees you're never going to look at twice between the interesting people you actually care about.


Have the part befriend other travelers: A troop of actors, a merchant and his caravan, and a cartographer. Fill out a group of NPCs that just happen to be 'going your way' and suddenly you get a friendly face in each city.

 

[jonesy]

I do short history levels for my minor NPC's. Level 1 is when the PC's first encounter them, level 2 is the second encounter, and so forth. Like this:

Blacksmith (Bronson):
1. Is wary of the strangers in his shop. Doesn't like the PC's talking to his daughter (who is playing a flute outside the establishment). Haggles high.
2-5. Gets slowly friendlier in attitude. Normal prices.
6. Greets the PC's gruffly. Daughter comes in crying, rushes to the backroom. If asked if something is wrong PC's get told that it's none of their business.
7. Seems sad. Daughter nowhere to be seen. Doesn't want to engage in a conversation.
8. Takes one PC aside and quietly asks for help > [quest to help daughter]
9a. Quest completed. Treats PC's as friends. Haggles low.
9b. Quest failed. Treats PC's as worthless. Haggles high.


Then I tie some of them together, like:
Potionmaker (Marywell):
5. Shop closed.

Wizard (Farholm):
5. The potionmaker is here and flirting with the wizard. Both are acting distracted because of this.

 

[Haltherrion]

Any suggestions? Anyone run any game like this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Err... yes... frequent changes of focus will make it hard to develop persistent NPCs. Kind of goes with the frequent change concept. You can introduce some NPCs that "move with the players" like a Gandalf who follows the party and offers advice or some other migrants like gypsies, merchants, even folks associated with the local government who might have cause to act regionally. You can also introduce organizations that span the region so that while the particular office-head might change from city to city, the oranization itself provides some continuity. Also, you could introduce some 'telephonic' magic that allows an NPC to communicate over a distance.

But in the end, if the campaign is focused on travelling to different places, embrace it and enjoy the new places and NPCs. Not so different from Tolkien, both The Hobbit and LOTR where much of the novels are travelogue-ish where the characters travel to new places and meet new people.

 

[kitsune9]

So i keep them moving around the world, rather quickly. I wonder though, if this will mean difficulty in cultivating long lasting NPC's or things like that.

Any suggestions? Anyone run any game like this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

One of the things is that at the beginning in your campaign, you can give your players a Who's Who handout. These are names of important people in the world so when the players jump from City A to City B, they will know when they run into NPC's.

Since you want the players to really remember the NPC's, focus only on a handful, keep their names simple and easily pronounceable, and a good handout about them helps the players continue to be acquainted with the NPC.

Also, the time involved in traveling from City A to City B should be on fast forward so that in real time it's just stating, "You leave City A and two weeks later you arrive at the gates of City B." Otherwise, if you literally roleplay out the two week travel time or have adventures in between the cities, then the memory of the NPC of when the Players met them back in City A fades as they make their way to City B.