Seven Principles of Dynamic Temples
- Thread starter SHARK
- Start date
SHARK
First Post
Hmm, not sure what I think of your choice of "patron deities", but otherwise looks pretty good!
I think my players would just roll their eyes at "Romantic Banana"!
Greetings!
*LAUGHS* Thanks, my friend! I'm glad you like them. Well, as for the unusual names of the patron deities...well, I kept the male deities within the theme of flavoured animals, and the female deities having a theme of emotional fruits.
I supplied them as a generic kind of template, assuming others would have their own particular deities in mind. *Laughs* I imagine your players would roll their eyes at a goddess named *Romantic Banana*!
Fun stuff!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
SHARK
First Post
Greetings!
Hello, my friend!
Well, I originally created the *Seven Principles of Dynamic Temples* as a kind of template from which I could use to quickly get a grasp on any given temple encountered. Essentially a series of questions from which I could be sure to remain conscious of as I sketched out some details of any temples in the area that the players are likely to be visiting or traveling through. Once I jotted down some thoughts regarding each question as posed to a particular temple, I am thus able to describe and work with a more dynamic temple with and interactively towards the players--so that any particular temple didn't merely seem like yet another generic healing station.
Now, to more pointedly answer your questions, the DM is thus armed with more tools, if you will, to not only generate new adventures for the players visiting a particular temple, but also have a clearer idea of the goals, motivations, priorities, and style of the temple, and the temple's staff of clerics. The DM can use this information to weave it in for example with other quests that the players may already be pursuing, as well as providing additional layers or side-quests that are more interesting and meaningful to the players.
The players may interact with a more interesting and diverse temple staff, and not only develop new friendships and contacts, but also gain a greater sense of the importance and involvement of that particular temple within the local community. Perhaps a player is a follower of a particular temple developed through the *Seven Principles of a Dynamic Temple*--by interacting with the encountered temple staff, the player in question gains a deeper consciousness of their own role and goals as a follower of that temple/pantheon/deity. From these kinds of things, for example, the player may develop goals and questions that proceed to require even deeper involvement with the temple staff, and thus give birth to inspiring new quests and missions--which, besides being interesting, entertaining, and otherwise meaningful--also provide a sort of *organic* enrichment to the campaign, which in some ways actually requires less effort from the DM, as such depth and richness proceeds to actually grow out of the dynamic principles of the temple interacting with the players.
Does all of that make any sense?
Just trying to get a sense from the limitations of our medium here if you are "seeing" what I'm attempting to explain.In other ways, it gives other related NPC's, for example, say priests or priestesses of the temple, as well as various members of the community involved with the dynamic temple, a whole different range of motivations and reasons to interact with the players. Such involvement, of course, as noted, can easily give rise to numerous new kinds of adventures--but such adventures and quests may have entirely different goals or reasons for being, or at least distinctively different from the normal, and often routine and perhaps even boring formula from which the players are accustomed to pursuing their adventures and quests.
I must admit that most of my players are typically very much *into* the details of my campaign world, so I have often been challenged through the years and different campaigns with needing to answer a whole host of different questions and topics of conversation, not only dealing with things like--
(1) What does the Temple of Romantic Banana feel about "X" If so, why do they feel this way? How does that relate to their relationships with these other neighboring temples in the same town or area?
(2) Furthermore, what does Priestess "X" of White Chocolate Rhino feel about this, and why? What does she know, how did she learn it, and what does she hope to gain by learning "X" or gaining "Y"? In addition, how might Priestess "X" react to us if we can help her with A, B, and C? Or this here that the temple of Happy Peach is doing--that's very cool. However, what of we can help them with not only "C"--but what about "D"? They may have not even thought of "D" yet. "Goal D" seems very much inline with what the temple of Romantic Banana would love--and if we can make "D" happen, then perhaps the temple of Romantic Banana and the temple of Happy Peach can make further progress on E, F, and G. Then, well, that gives rise to the possibilities of us being able to accomplish H, I and J for the temple here, and that can also help us with K, as well as our own leads with A1, B1, and C1.
Well, I hope that makes some sense.
I might be confused myself now.Tell me what you think, my friend, and I'll see if I can relate these "principles" to the players in a more concrete manner.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Hussar
Legend
I get what you're saying.
My problem is that most of the people I've ever played with have zero interest in this sort of thing. "How does the temple feel about X" is not going to come up unless there is some reason for them to wonder about it. In other words, it has to be tied to a plot before the players even get to the temple.
Because, really, other than spells, why would the players visit the temple? Unless they have a specific goal in mind (be it spells, information gathering about a known issue, whatnot) they would never visit this particular temple.
It just seems like an awful lot of work that I think most players would completely ignore.
My problem is that most of the people I've ever played with have zero interest in this sort of thing. "How does the temple feel about X" is not going to come up unless there is some reason for them to wonder about it. In other words, it has to be tied to a plot before the players even get to the temple.
Because, really, other than spells, why would the players visit the temple? Unless they have a specific goal in mind (be it spells, information gathering about a known issue, whatnot) they would never visit this particular temple.
It just seems like an awful lot of work that I think most players would completely ignore.
SHARK
First Post
Greetings!
Well, hopefully a DM can use the "Seven Principles of Dynamic Temples" to help with the following goals:
(1) Make whatever local temple that the players encounter more interesting--using such dynamic temples can help the temple itself be a more realistic and meaningful part of the society around it.
(2) Make the NPC's that live and work at the dynamic temple more interesting, and more specifically plugged into their communities, but also into the campaign overall as they have more colourful pantheon-specific identities and temple-inspired goals and awareness.
(3) From the above two aspects, any NPC's that the players meet while visiting a particular temple can more easily become more vibrant, interesting, and meaningful to the player characters. General socializing, forming romances, friendships, professional, academic, political, or spiritual relationships.
(4) From the above three points, more interesting and organic adventures and missions can be developed from interaction with any particular dynamic temple.
In using the "Seven Principles of Dynamic Temples" in my own campaigns, I have developed the above four results that have added more depth, intrigue, and richness to the campaign milieu.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
