RPG Blog Carnival: Vosserlin

RPG Blog Carnival, February 2017

Host and Topic:

Tabletop Terrors | Encounters

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I just found out about this RPG Blog Carnival thing put on by Johnn Four, and boy is it cool. Every month, a new blog hosts an RPG topic (past examples include Prophecies & Omens, Transitions, and Ordinary Life) that serves as a guide for any blogs that want to participate. This month, James and Tim Kearney over at Tabletop Terrors are hosting the topic of Encounters. Normally, each blog posts their own thoughts on the given topic. I recently wrote about building interesting terrain for combat encounters, so instead I thought I’d try out the advice given by the Kearney brothers.

They set out to give encounters a specific identity by grounding them in a mission statement:

“I want to create an encounter that feels like (X) using (Y), similar to something like (Z).”

Where X is the mood, Y is the thing you use to accomplish X, and Z is an example piece of media. I’ve been brainstorming a Blackwood one sheet that draws from American history, so here’s my mission statement:

I want to create an encounter that feels like (a debate) using (an angry mob), similar to something like (the Boston Tea Party).

Next, they ask you to read the phrase aloud (you’ll have to trust me), and write down any imagery or ideas that come to you. Once you’ve done that, narrow it down to three choices:

• Pitchforks by Torchlight
• Dumping Tea
• Shouting
• Opposing Stances
• Frankenstein
• High Taxes
• Hysteria

These are the three fragments you will make sure are represented by mechanics in the session. In the spirit of Boston, the “tea” will make a handy McGuffin for the climax of the encounter. Angry mobs are prone to losing control of themselves, so there should be some need to keep it wrangled. In Savage Worlds, the Social Conflict rules are perfect for the opposing stances of a heated debate.

A Bubbling Cauldron

I live in Chicago, and attended the Inauguration Day protest a few weeks ago. Politics aside, I want to describe what I saw. If there were a hundred people there, they were divided between a dozen different groups and factions. It was clear people each came out for their own reasons. There were church groups and antifas within arm’s reach. At one point, I smelled something burning and got nervous. I looked around and eventually noticed two women weaving through the crowd, cleansing the area with a bundle of sage.

“How might this protest look different,” I asked myself, “if it had been organized by any one of these groups?” It was a perfect sandbox for a party of political adventurers: find out the major players, pick a side, and help them gain control. I may not be able to isolate the sandbox to the encounter (as per the spirit of the Blog Carnival), but at least I know the adventure as a whole should have some sandbox elements. With that, sit down and hear the tale…

Leafstone and Silk

Our errant heroes arrive in the frontier town of Vosserlin to find it on the verge of collapse. The Vosserlin noble court has continued to live in luxury since the Elder King’s disappearance, while the common rabble lives in squalor. Spring has arrived after a harrowing winter, but with it come the taxes of the first harvest.

To a lean and hungry crowd, the court herald decreed that woodland herbs–traditionally gathered by hunters for much-needed coin–would not be purchased locally. Instead, the nobility would import from the city of Three Rivers for its considerable need for herbs, because the woods around Three Rivers were said to contain better ingredients.

After days of exploring the city and learning about the factions vying for control, our heroes learn that the Daughters of Silk, a group of errant courtesans, has decided to foment rebellion in the town. They want to whip the townsfolk up into an angry mob, then dump all the imports into Iron Lake, then drive out the nobles who have turned their backs on the town. The party has also learned that another band of errants, the Leafstone Coins, believe the only way to save the town is to infiltrate the noble court and change it from within.

But now, the party finds itself in the market square in the midst of a large crowd. Standing atop a stack of crates, the Daughters of Silk demand that the nobles abdicate their authority to the people. Nearby, the Leafstone Coins counsel patience and the slow work of diplomacy. There is no dousing these flames, but perhaps they could be guided in the least harmful direction. Over the course of three rounds, players must side with either the Leafstone Coins or the Daughters of Silk, and must make Persuasion checks to try and draw the mob over to their side. These checks are opposed by the Persuasion checks of either the Coins or the Daughters (depending on which side the players chose). Every success and raise over their opponents’ check counts as 1 point, and likewise for their opponents. At the end of three rounds, what happens next depends on the margin of victory:

• Tie: The mob, already teeming, sides with the Daughters of Silk and begins to riot throughout the city.
• 1-2: The mob is convinced to side with the party, but only just barely. They will do whatever the party recommends, but they suffer a -2 morale penalty to their actions.
• 3-4: The mob believes in what the party has said. The will carry out the party’s desires in the hopes that their own lives are improved afterward.
• 5+: Our errant heroes have managed to fully capture the energy of the mob. Not only does the mob follow the party’s desires to the letter, but they gain a +2 morale bonus to their actions.

One Piece of the Puzzle

I’m pretty satisfied with the depth created by the Tabletop Terrors Mission Statement. With a little more exposition sprinkled throughout the session, this will make a nice rising action to the climax of the adventure. It provides enough detail to give the players (and the GM!) plenty of options, without drowning the players in information or the GM in prep time.

Thanks to Tim and James for the idea!