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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8240909" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Notes, Setting Solitaire, and Living WorldSo in Blades in the Dark, the GM isn't messing with Fortune Rolls for the Setting or Setting/Faction Clocks (checked at Downtime Phase) unless the Player Characters have interacted with it.  I mentioned this briefly upthread, but I'm going to discuss more.  Here are the Downtime Setting/Faction Clocks after our last session:Ulf Ironborn - "Studying Your Game" - 8 TicksTier 1 = 1 Fortune Dice.Roll 4 = 26/8Ulf's crew attends some more of your home games. They've almost got a book on you guys.The Crows - "Moving in on the Silver Stags Territory/your Hunting Grounds" - 8 Ticks.Tier 1 (strong) vs Tier 3 = W[2d6]Rolls 4 & 5 = 23/8Despite the recent chaos and loss of personnel, they've now successfully taken up residence and are regulating, running schemes and rackets in your Hunting Grounds (shutting it down for you - see Entanglement). Now its onto the Silver Stags."Save Barrowcleft vs Barrowcleft Apocalypse" - 10 Tick Competing ClocksTier 6 + 2d6 for 2 * Major Advantages for Save, so 2d6 Save vs W[2d6] Apocalypse.Save = Rolls 5 & 6 = 2 so 4/10Apocalypse = Rolls 1 & 4 = 1 so 3/10The tide turns back the other way. Your successful apprehension of some of the ghosts and deployment of the gear have led to a breakthrough for the Sparkwrights tweaking the gear to be more potent. Its also led to more enlistment of competent field personnel against the threat. Finally, the discovery of the two epicenters of death have led to the Spirit Wardens being able to work directly on those areas."Ramon's Suit" - His 6 Tick vs your 4 Tick (whenever you take it up)Tier 2 but we'll throttle it back to 0 so W[2d6] due to Scale4/6PENDING Stiv Downtime Activity"Hutch's Vendetta" - His 8 Tick vs your 4 Tick (whenever you take it up)Tier 2 but we'll throttle it back to 0 so W[2d6] due to ScaleRolls 6 & 4 = 23/8Hutch drunkenly stalks a Bluecoat private who was recruited by the Captain. He slugs him in an alley in the middle of the private's beat before running off. The dude needs help.The Dimmer Sisters - Parley Arcane Secrets to Tier 3 - 6 TickTier 2 so 2d6Rolls 6 & 1 = 3The interaction with the Demon Thyraxis was lucrative. They've discovered a Spirit Well and are poised to pilfer it. Their ascendance is all but assured.[HR][/HR]So there are probably about 2 dozen other Factions in Duskvol that are doing things in the background offscreen.  However, the PCs haven't interacted with those Factions/Setting elements.  We have the following relevant Factions that have been interacted with:(directly and on screen)The Silver StagsShellsUlf IronbornDockersThe CrowsThe Dimmer SistersThe LampblacksThe Red SashesThe Gray Cloaks(indirectly or off screen)SparkwrightsMinistry of PreservationSpirit WardensThey haven't interacted with most of the wards of the city.  The only 3 wards they've consequentially interacted with (The Docks were interacted with by their Cohorts but there was no mayhem) primarily play has been:Silkshore (where their Lair and Hunting Grounds are)Barrowcleft Crow's Foot (at the neutral Tangletown - flotilla on the river between wards so not even really Crow's Foot)So every Fortune Roll, every Faction Clock that has been undertaken has either been (a) what those Factions are now doing (that they've been perturbed/interacted with) or (b) to resolve some setting-relevant situation that the PCs are indirectly involved with (eg, if a big fire manifests as a result of a Score in the wood-framed, stacked row houses of the artist/entertainment ward of Silkshore...does the Brigade get there in time to resolve it...what happens due to the fire?). Both (a) and (b) will change the situation of the setting and have some kind of mechanical teeth (Factions Tiering up, triggering an Entanglement decision-point for the Crew, triggering worse Position in particular conflict types against a Faction, gaining a permanent Asset, the Crew losing or gaining Faction with a Gang or gaining a friend/enemy that will open up later player moves or Complications/Entanglements for the GM).All of this stuff is directly relevant to play.So the questions I'm proposing are this:1) Why would I need to create and roll Faction Clocks for Factions that haven't been interacted with, thereby changing the nature of the Factions' opening situations which are completely offscreen?  2) Why would I need to make up Situations for other wards and roll Fortune Rolls to evolve Setting when the PCs have had no interaction with these things?  Whatever is happening there is offscreen.My position on this is that if the answer to (1) and (2) is because of "Living World", then what you're really undertaking is "Setting Solitaire."  That is because the only only person who is actually interacting with this stuff is the GM.  Its all GM-side and any given constituent part of the population of these Factions/events has a significantly better chance of never seeing "onscreen" than it does ever seeing play.  The only "Living" and "World" aspect of this stuff is for the GM exclusively...therefore it transcends the notions of "Living World" presented here and becomes "Setting Solitaire."Once any of these Factions gets on screen and/or the Setting gets perturbed in a meaningful way by the PCs (as mentioned above)...yes, absolutely, deploy Fortune Rolls to give shape ("life"...as in "living") to these things and set up Faction/Setting Clocks to represent the goals and trajectories of peoples and events (so the PCs can intercede if they so choose).  But "Living World" entirely offscreen and more likely to not see play than to see play becomes "Setting Solitaire."  Its there for the GM only (some form of exclusive self-immersion or cognitively scratch your "Sim Setting" itch).  There is no reason for the GM to not retain the initial conditions (Tier and orientation/status) of any Faction/Setting situation for when their number is dialed up and they go from offscreen to onscreen (if they/it ever will).</blockquote>

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