This is an example of joining a community. It’s continuing with my previous example campaign using a Post Apocalyptic World. Completing this portion took only 15 minutes! Editing my point form notes for the blog took substantially longer, mind you.
The Steps:
- the players are useless because they lack some necessary skills. An NPC will be provided who sees their potential and will help them be useful. The PCs will need to learn these skills if they are to reach the third step. Ignore that previous sentence if using a class-based game; skill advancement is not flexible enough in class-based games.
- The players are useful, so they go on missions. If they manage to adhere to the norms of the community while doing so, they can progress to the third step.
- The players join the community. This won’t happen in a single session, so I don’t need to prepare a symbolic joining (ie. marriage, adoption, or religious initiation) yet. However, the players will need to know what they can be trained in if they join the community, so they know the rewards of membership. That way they can make an informed decision about how to spend their time.
- Take Initiative within the Community. Once a player completes step 3, I’ll ask them if there’s anything special they want to do within the community. The question is open ended and vague, to allow the player to have as much room to take initiative as they want. This won’t happen for at least a few sessions.
The Community
The community is called the Birders. They live in a bird sanctuary. They have diesel generators that power their homes, and grow their own food. They go scavenging for generator parts, pipes, etc. Their cultural rituals feature birds quite prominently. The have some technolically advanced skills and scientifically advanced knowledge, but only if it relates to wild birds or their uses. For example, bird poop can be very useful for organic chemistry. Different species poop has highly varrying properties. They’ll make use of it when treating leather, making gunpowder, and distilling bio-diesel.
Step 1: The PCs are Useless
The Birders have a society where everybody makes use of of the following skills:
Chemistry: Everyone is expected to have some understanding of handling and mixing chemicals. Some people know enough to refine various organic chemicals, but most people know more about procedure and less about theory.
Gardening: Everyone is expected to participate in the community’s gardens.
Naturalist: Everyone can identify birds and plants. They think there is something deficient in a person who can’t.
Observation: A necessary skill for monitoring wildlife, and being prepared if raiders have moved into their sanctuary.
For a helpful NPC, I’ll make a young man named Tod who considers himself a mighty warrior. He has seen how successful the Scroungers are, and considers them a threat. He sees this as both an opportunity to befriend and learn from some Scroungers, to ensure the survival of his home. He’ll act kind of macho, but be easily intimidated by the PCs if any of them stand up to him.
Step 2: the PCs are Useful
If the players choose to invest some time here, the abilities they need to use when solving problems are:
- Combat: Stealthy fighting, and ambushes. They fight like birds of prey, swooping out of nowhere onto their sunsuspecting victims.
- Role-Playing: Speaking kind of melodically is considered a sign of respect. Because birds sing. This is less strange than it sounds; slight changes in pitch are used to provide emphasis or emotional quality to spoken english (at least where I’m from). Also, some languages are tonal languages.
- Skill Puzzles: Do not disrupt the fragile, recovering ecology of the world. Ideally, show some reverance or even help it along. Players could do this with how a player’s actions are described, but I’ll try and set up problems where wildlife and plants are obstacles that can either be destroyed easily or circumvented with difficulty.
This society will provide two missions this session, and I’ll come out with :
- Salvage some tools from the local city, since this town doesn’t make it’s own. The building will be falling apart and has plants growing inside, from the first floor up through the ceiling. Navigating this hazardous environment can be done while showing respect to nature, or by just cutting through everything in your way. As usual, I think using a doodle of the location will make this more open ended and amusing for everybody.
- Retrieve a ceremonial pistol, decorated with bird stuff, from a group of raiders in the region.
Returning after completing either mission will lead to an RP scene, wherein the PCs can use skills to negotiate a higher reward with the local Elder. This provides an opportunity for role-playing and give charismatic characters a chance to use their interpersonal skills.
The PCs will be paid with the three things the town can make themselves: ammunition, food, and fuel. All of these will be valuable trade goods.
Step 3: The PCs become Members
If a PC becomes a full members, they have access to training and jobs. Training will be available for players who want to improve any of the skills that are necessary for membership, and also stealth. They will also have the option to do regular village work during downtime between adventures. Use the standard GURPS rules for jobs to determine payment, but there’s plenty of time before players fully join and have adequate downtime to get paid. The details other than training are not necessary until later. Training is the most important reward.
Step 4 won’t happen this session.
A Concern Going Forward
I am concerned that jobs and training will need the story to be paced a particular way in order to be a meaningful reward. I am unsure how much downtime will be needed. Contrasting this reward with alternatives will be done when I look at 4x games, as I need to make a few decisions about the rewards for actions that don’t involve joining the society. Then, the various options available to a player will need to be balanced, but still present very different kinds of rewards.
Regardless, this portion of session design was very quick: only about 15 minutes. Coupled with the other part, I’ve been working on a session for 45 minutes in total, and have one option fleshed out enough to be useful. I suppose I need some kind of abilities drawn up for the Raiders too, but that’s quick and easy so long as you already know all the rules.
creativegamemaster 