Theory set up: how to use the depth crawl system to throw in some randomness to the players progressing about an event. It is not just a simple point crawl because there is the potential to roam between locations rapidly and for others to also move about. The refreshable nature of a depth crawl is good for this.
Elements
- timeline
- key locations (~5-7)
- NPCs to interact with
Starting with a timeline, I decided to go with 5 phases - arriving, apertif drinks, sit to table and start, main course, after dinner. This 'how to do parties' entry on Alexandrian has a discussion of phases but I wanted more randomisation within my phases. Further, instead of an iterating list with +1 per phase like a classic depth-crawl, as there would be fewer phases but potentially multiple 'encounters' within a phase, I decided to go with adding a d4 per phase to cover a 1-20 list.
Next for locations - entryway, library, ballroom, dining hall, backyard and labyrinth - these were to provide a back drop for the encounters but passage between them was not hazardous, simply the trigger point for an encounter. Mainly to make life easier for myself I figured out how each looked to provide backdrops for whichever phase the players were in and where they went.
Thus the meat of this was to populate an encounter table with people easily met early for the low numbers and things more likely to happen later in the evening for the high. For example, by the time everyone sat to table (phase 3) it was no longer possible to roll items 1 and 2 so those could be arrival specific.
I used anydice to get a sense of the chance / 100 of something appearing and the final table ended up being the following;
| Phase | Arrival | Nibbles | First seating | Second course | Coffee & cigars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Phase 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #2 Phase 1 | 25 | 6.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #3 Phase 1 | 25 | 12.5 | 1.56 | 0 | 0 |
| #4 Phase 1 | 25 | 18.75 | 4.69 | 0.39 | 0 |
| #5 Phase 2 | 0 | 25 | 9.38 | 1.56 | 0.1 |
| #6 Phase 2 | 0 | 18.75 | 15.63 | 3.91 | 0.49 |
| #7 Phase 2 | 0 | 12.5 | 18.75 | 7.81 | 1.46 |
| #8 Phase 2 | 0 | 6.25 | 18.75 | 12.11 | 3.42 |
| #9 Phase 3 | 0 | 0 | 15.63 | 15.63 | 6.35 |
| #10 Phase 3 | 0 | 0 | 9.38 | 17.19 | 9.86 |
| #11 Phase 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.69 | 15.63 | 13.18 |
| #12 Phase 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.56 | 12.11 | 15.14 |
| #13 Phase 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.81 | 15.14 |
| #14 Phase 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.91 | 13.18 |
| #15 Phase 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.56 | 9.86 |
| #16 Phase 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.39 | 6.35 |
| #17 Phase 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.42 |
| #18 Phase 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.46 |
| #19 Phase 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.49 |
| #20 Phase 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
As encounters were met the entry was struck out and the next roll diverted up the table to the next open entry unless there was nothing else open for that phase, then it went back down.
In the actual use case for this I drew inspiration from the magnificent 'monster menu' post from Coins & Scrolls which inspired the theme of the feast and helped populate the table. A noble house with a magical focus is holding their midwinter gathering for their favoured servants and associates. A great feast of hard-to-get game is to be had. As well as the hunters and trackers that serve the house and the members of the family, this is a hotly sought invitation by the gourmands of the city.
To fill out the table I put in an entry for every major and minor ongoing thing that could reasonably make an appearance then filled out the rest with secrets of the hosts. Where it is not a spoiler I have included the entry, otherwise I replaced with an archetype place-holder.
| Item | Element | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A priest of the god of festivities, a gourmand | 0.0500 |
| 2 | Apprentice magicians of the house | 0.0625 |
| 3 | Guildsmen of the artificers, content business partners paying respects | 0.0781 |
| 4 | Player connected NPCs, minor ongoing intrigue A | 0.0977 |
| 5 | Recurring NPCs, city gossip channel | 0.0721 |
| 6 | Main platters - whale crackling, crocodile, ray | 0.0776 |
| 7 | Special platters - giant scorpion, bulette, chimera | 0.0810 |
| 8 | NPCs from party activity, minor ongoing event chain B | 0.0811 |
| 9 | Major NPCs, plot line | 0.0752 |
| 10 | Notable landmark, city gossip channel | 0.0729 |
| 11 | Minors NPCs, player actions knock-on effects | 0.0670 |
| 12 | Strange flavour encounter, minor secrets reveal | 0.0576 |
| 13 | Strange flavour encounter, minor secrets reveal | 0.0459 |
| 14 | Strange flavour encounter, minor secrets reveal | 0.0342 |
| 15 | Major NPCs, plot line | 0.0228 |
| 16 | Minor NPCs, minor secrets | 0.0135 |
| 17 | Strange flavour encounter, major secrets reveal | 0.0068 |
| 18 | NPCs from party activity | 0.0029 |
| 19 | Major NPCs, plot line | 0.0010 |
| 20 | Major NPCs, plot line | 0.0002 |
The probability at the right gives the chance for any given entry to be rolled at some point througout the phases. As can be seen the odds of some of the later entries become very low and this should be kept in mind if you want something to actually show up. In the end we got through 17 / 20 entries over the course of the event; the divert down if an event is already used brought much more of the table into play.
I like this structure because it lets me think up things that *could* happen without giving myself a headache trying to script out the entire sequence of events. It also leaves flexibility for the players to go wandering around and do unexpected things - some of the events would then happen against different backgrounds or not at all if they were - for instance - poking about in the library while everyone else has sat to table.
The actual play of using this table is written up here.
For another take on how to run social encounters (once you have figured out who/what it is) there is a good write up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment