Running an Auction

[Mistah J]

My PCs last adventure was particularly combat-heavy. It was a pretty clear cut case of "those are the bad guys, let's smite!". So for a change of pace, I'm designing a more social-based encounter and I thought it would be neat to run an auction in which there were key items the PCs would have to obtain.

So, what kind of mechanics could such a scenario run under? I'm thinking that I could create a few NPCs and then determine which items they would bid for, their bid limit for each, and how much they have in total.

The PCs could then use social skills during the auction to alter those numbers in their favour.

That's just a rough idea, but I'm hoping it has some merit. I am also curious about your experiences with "social encounters" and what systems work best for you.. and what ones flopped out.

Thanks!

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

Well

There should be some item that the PCs don't really want but that two rival NPCs desire...and are willing to kill for!

Ken

 

[Jebb_X]

Are the PC's working for a sponsor? If so, they may need to spend some time raising funds on the sponsors behalf. Maybe they need to spend time speaking to the sponsors of the opposing NPC's in order to decrease the NPC spending capability, after all, an auction is usually about how much disposable currency one has available to purchase items.

It is always interesting to insert an encounter that doesn't require armour and swords, perhaps the occasional spell or love potion can perform wonders for social situations.

Ideally the bulk of the social interaction should occur before the actual auction, the use of diplomacy, bluff, sense motive, gather information are the obvious choices for these types of enoers, although an emphasis should be placed on encouraging the players to roleplay the encounters as opposed to just rolling the dice.

I like the idea of the PC's having to drum up resources while simultaneously removing sources of income for the opposing NPC's. Then during the actual auction, run a normal auction - the players have x amount of currency, the "bad-guys" have x amount.

Perhaps the players can use some social influence on the NPC's (blackmail? seduction? emotive?) during the auction in order to dissuade the NPC from bidding on specific items.

There's a lot that can be done I guess. These are just some idea's, perchance you'll find something to use within them.