[Fantasy Craft] GMs Unite!

[Crafty_Pat]

As you may have heard, we're getting very close to wrapping this beast. We're deep in the final chapter now, which is an expanded fantasy parallel to the Control chapter from the Spycraft 2.0 Rulebook. As with did with House Rules, we'd like to get you folks involved! Here's what we're looking for...

Campaign Qualities: Don't worry about specific mechanics or trying to match Mastercraft. Concepts are plenty.

GM Tips and Tricks: Ways to improve the game, build better campaigns or adventures, etc.

Narrative Control: Let's assume for a moment that the book contains a section in which GMs can spend action dice to toss Complications into the mix, and that players can do the same for Perks. Let's also assume this section ate Spycraft's Events whole and kept only the very best parts. (shhhh! It's a secret! ) What specific Perks and Complications would you like to see?

Subplots: Which, old or new, are you looking for?

As always, space is limited and we can't guarantee we'll use everything but some ideas are bound to go in. So... have at!

And thanks!

[Mister Andersen]

Campaign Qualities

Curse of Magic: Any player or special character whose levels in a magic using class exceed their starting action dice have their action die reduced one size (min 1d3).
If It Bleeds: Any character that suffers the bleeding condition many not lose it until the end of the current scene under any circumstance. Suffering the condition multiple times results in the effects stacking.
Meat Grinder: Player and special characters make attacks against squares rather than individuals (useful for countering swarms), targeting a number of adjacent squares equal to half Dex modifier (min 1).
True Blood: Players may always opt for a Species feat when choosing bonus feats.

[Dengarm]

-Dark Woods - Nasty wilds kind of thing.  Anything outside of city limits is harsh.  Maybe a Wandering Monsters as a kind of dungeon analogue?  
-Wild Magic - Always fun, I'd like varying levels from occasional whoops to 'do i really need this spell?'
-Something to represent a very reactive/responsive police
-Lost Magic Wonders at one end, making magic items rare, Monty Hall at the other to have the watch duel wield short swords.  
- I'd like campaign qualities that resonate or conflict with certain alignments or allegiances.  Also for elemental affinities.
-A quality that grants action dice for certain types of actions?  Self-sacrifice, heroics, bond villainy activities, religious devotion, etc.  If triumphs are still around maybe lower the triumph threshold for those things?
-Looters - Increases everyone's strength for carrying capacity.  Increases interior space of all pouches/backpacks as long as no item is too big for it.

For Perks and Complications
-Friend of a Friend - Figure out that the NPC shared a dorm at wizard school with your cousin for a semester or something to that effect.
-I'm a huge fan of retroactive narrative control of all sorts.  The wand you reach for was picked out of your pouch a minute ago.  Decoy objects (I loved that transporter ability).  Grabbing just what you need out of your pockets.  Anything in that vein.  
-Divine Intervention

[Bill Whitmore]

-Something to represent a very reactive/responsive police

This could probably be handled as a complication.  Also, I really like the Wild Magic idea.

Subplots
All of the ones in the core Spycraft SP book still seem easily usable.  These are some other subplots I thought could be interesting.

Ancestral items - Whatever this item was, you inherited it from someone else.  It MAY be an item of power, or it may be mundane (GMs discretion) however, there are those out there who also covet the item, and they will try to retrieve it.  This could be something like the Weapons of Legacy in D&D.  As you learn more about it, it may gain in power, but as it exhibits more power, more and more people become interested in taking it.  This could also a more generic subplot, like a Coveted Artifact.

Brother against Brother - An old friend is now in the employ of one of your enemies.  Neither of you wants to have to face the other, but you are now working at cross-purposes and the confrontation may be unavoidable.  If it comes down to it, would you sacrifice the mission, or sacrifice your friend?

Extended Family - There are a few people left in the world whose parents and siblings have NOT been killed by orcs and you are one of these people.  Most of the time your family doesn't cause any trouble, but someone out there, someone who has a reason to hate you, has decided to take it out on them instead.

Obligation - You owe someone a big favor.  Maybe it is to the diplomat or lord who arranged your last ransom or to the innkeeper who hid you away in his wine cellar from your enemies.  One day, they may need you to return the favor.

Old Wound - In a recent battle, you suffered a near-fatal wound and it has yet to fully heal.  Even magic hasn't helped.  The tissue is all healed, but something didn't quite set right.  You'll need to find an extremely skilled physician or powerful healer to try to mend it.  Depending on the nature of the injury, this could provide various penalties.

[samsimilian]

Campaign Qualities:

Under the Shadow
Evil has overrun most of the free people. An alliance of the last survivors fights against all odds, cornered and beaten they nevertheless won’t give up.
Low resources
Missions in enemy terrain
High stress dmg when confronted with creatures of the dark

---->   I use this in my LOTR campaign


Specific magic for specific races
Men can only be wizards
Elfs = Channelers
and so on….

[glimmerrat]

Ubiquitous Magic
Everyone knows a cantrip or two...

All characters know a number of Level 0 spells from any School equal to thier Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

Blood and Guts
Medieval combat is messy and invariably lethal and disfiguring.

Anyone who suffers damage to their wound points must immediately roll on te table of ouch, adding the damage taken to thier roll.

[Golden Dragon]

Subplots:
The King in Exile. Aragorn has long been my favorite Lord of the Rings character.

[Morganti]

Subplots
Trial of Tears - You are sent on a quest to unlock your full potential... hmm that might work as a full on adventure in and of it self.


Complications
Suspicious Locals.
From the nosy old midwife, all the way up to the town sheriff making it difficult to get information or conduct the business you are attempting.

Critter Raid!
Attack of the local nuisance, be it Goblins, Orcs, Jhinka, Men with sticks, or just plain old homicidal sheep.  The players have to rather quickly assist the locals (who were suspicious earlier!) in fending off the raid.

[Sletchman]

Narritive Control: Wild Magic Zone: GC spends action dice and magic goes hay-wire [severity based on number of action dice spent].

Similiar to Dengarm's suggestion, but I'd like to see it availble both as a campaign wide effect and a localised effect.

[TheTSKoala]

Sub-plots:
-  Robin Hood - Possibly my favorite 'hero of yore'.  You've done something to make the common folks love you.. and the people in charge want you dead.
-  (Golden Dragon's I second.)
-  Perhaps something along the idea of Knighthood / Samurai? Sworn to a fuedal lord, church, etc etc.

Qualities:
-  Something to play off the idea of my all time favorite Disney movie "The Three Musketeers".  ...hey.. I saw that snicker.  It was a good movie!
- I rather like Samsimilian's idea for a quality that restricts class by race.  
- A quality that binds the players to a code of honor.  

Complications:
-  Something to dabble / screw up social interactions & skills.  Being all cordial at a Duke's Ball.. when your other team mate accidently sneezes right in the face of the Countess.. or something..

[Crafty_Alex]

Good ideas guys! So good, in fact, I wanted to keep them all in the same place I merged the threads, thinking there would be a pointer similar to a split topic - alas, it's not to be. Please keep all the posts in this thread. Thanks!

[brazen_saint]

Campaign Quality -- Elemental: All of the lands in this campaign are strongly aligned with one or more cosmic element (fire, water, that sort of thing).  Whenever an encounter occurs there is a (number) chance that the creature has an elemental template.

The elemental template does not add to the XP value of the creature.  Prepared adventurers know that ice creatures live to the South, and plan accordingly when they embark on their adventures ... or suffer accordingly.

This might be appropriate for a multiplanar campaign.  This can be really problematic for the characters if they make a habit of stepping through portals, not knowing what's on the other side ... they might go from a temple ruin in the South, where they're well-prepared, to a ruin in the North, full of fire-beasts.

Campaign Quality -- All the World's a Dungeon: The characters find themselves in a region without a stable economy or infrastructure, a huge wilderness area or a deep, deep set of underground tunnels where, for now, they must fend for themselves. 

Wilderness-type characters are essential in such a campaign, while nobles, courtiers, and the like will find themselves less useful.

Campaign Quality -- Translational Fantasy: A classic.  The characters are ordinary folks from the modern world, suddenly whisked away to a medieval or Renaissance world.

Campaign Quality -- The Chosen One: The prophecies spoke of your birth, and now you've come of age.  Only you can defeat the Dark One, end the Dark Times, stop the Dark Armies, and usher in a new Golden Age.  No pressure, though.

Campaign Quality -- Champions of Opposing Philosophies: In this world, each hero stands for an ideal, whether that's the writings of an ancient philosopher, an abstract ideal like Law or Peace, or the edicts of a religious sect.  Characters earn Action Dice by supporting their philosophy through action, and lose Action Dice by taking actions opposed to their philosophy.  Good for drama and abstract discussion, as long as the philosophies are fairly well fleshed-out but not rigid and inflexible.

Edit: clarified the last one a bit.

[Crafty_Pat]

Great ideas everyone!

-Dark Woods - Nasty wilds kind of thing.  Anything outside of city limits is harsh.  Maybe a Wandering Monsters as a kind of dungeon analogue?  

I've been mulling a Points of Light quality. This might dovetail nicely into that.

-Wild Magic - Always fun, I'd like varying levels from occasional whoops to 'do i really need this spell?'

This instantly sparked a mechanic. Thanks!

- I'd like campaign qualities that resonate or conflict with certain alignments or allegiances.  Also for elemental affinities.

Care to offer a couple examples of what you're looking for here?

-A quality that grants action dice for certain types of actions?  Self-sacrifice, heroics, bond villainy activities, religious devotion, etc.  If triumphs are still around maybe lower the triumph threshold for those things?

This is a matter of table preference, honestly, and it's all possible without qualities. I may expound a bit more about this in the new Awarding Action Dice section.

-Friend of a Friend - Figure out that the NPC shared a dorm at wizard school with your cousin for a semester or something to that effect.

Solid.

- Grabbing just what you need out of your pockets. 

Great place for the old Common Item mechanic!

-Divine Intervention

Already on the list. It was, in fact, one of the first things added.

-Something to represent a very reactive/responsive police

This could probably be handled as a complication.

Nice.

Ancestral items - Whatever this item was, you inherited it from someone else.  It MAY be an item of power, or it may be mundane (GMs discretion) however, there are those out there who also covet the item, and they will try to retrieve it.  This could be something like the Weapons of Legacy in D&D.  As you learn more about it, it may gain in power, but as it exhibits more power, more and more people become interested in taking it.  This could also a more generic subplot, like a Coveted Artifact.

Coveted Item is good.

Brother against Brother - An old friend is now in the employ of one of your enemies.  Neither of you wants to have to face the other, but you are now working at cross-purposes and the confrontation may be unavoidable.  If it comes down to it, would you sacrifice the mission, or sacrifice your friend?

Rival covers this nicely. The rest is how you apply it.

Extended Family - There are a few people left in the world whose parents and siblings have NOT been killed by orcs and you are one of these people.  Most of the time your family doesn't cause any trouble, but someone out there, someone who has a reason to hate you, has decided to take it out on them instead.

I'd make this Trouble at Home so it covered problems with family, guilds, whatever.

Obligation - You owe someone a big favor.  Maybe it is to the diplomat or lord who arranged your last ransom or to the innkeeper who hid you away in his wine cellar from your enemies.  One day, they may need you to return the favor.

On the list.

Old Wound - In a recent battle, you suffered a near-fatal wound and it has yet to fully heal.  Even magic hasn't helped.  The tissue is all healed, but something didn't quite set right.  You'll need to find an extremely skilled physician or powerful healer to try to mend it.  Depending on the nature of the injury, this could provide various penalties.

Hm...

Under the Shadow
Evil has overrun most of the free people. An alliance of the last survivors fights against all odds, cornered and beaten they nevertheless won’t give up.

Yeah, Points of Light is pretty much a lock at this point.

Specific magic for specific races
Men can only be wizards
Elfs = Channelers
and so on….

Definitely a world building choice rather than campaign quality.

Ubiquitous Magic
Everyone knows a cantrip or two...

All characters know a number of Level 0 spells from any School equal to thier Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

Blood and Guts
Medieval combat is messy and invariably lethal and disfiguring.

Anyone who suffers damage to their wound points must immediately roll on te table of ouch, adding the damage taken to thier roll.

These have potential.

Subplots:
The King in Exile. Aragorn has long been my favorite Lord of the Rings character.

True Identity

Subplots
Trial of Tears - You are sent on a quest to unlock your full potential... hmm that might work as a full on adventure in and of it self.

Isn't that every adventure? Seriously though, this one's problematic as Subplots can't add increase a PC's relative power.

Complications
Suspicious Locals.
From the nosy old midwife, all the way up to the town sheriff making it difficult to get information or conduct the business you are attempting.

Critter Raid!
Attack of the local nuisance, be it Goblins, Orcs, Jhinka, Men with sticks, or just plain old homicidal sheep.  The players have to rather quickly assist the locals (who were suspicious earlier!) in fending off the raid.

We can work with these.

Sub-plots:
-  Robin Hood - Possibly my favorite 'hero of yore'.  You've done something to make the common folks love you.. and the people in charge want you dead.

Hero of the People. Totally doable.

-  Perhaps something along the idea of Knighthood / Samurai? Sworn to a fuedal lord, church, etc etc.

We have Squire and Apprentice now but I could see those expanding into a general Servant Subplot.

-  Something to play off the idea of my all time favorite Disney movie "The Three Musketeers".  ...hey.. I saw that snicker.  It was a good movie!

Please expand on this idea. What do you envision this quality might do? Conceptually (don't worry about mechanics).

- A quality that binds the players to a code of honor. 

So long as it binds everyone else as well, then it's a quality. Otherwise it's a Subplot.

Complications:
-  Something to dabble / screw up social interactions & skills.  Being all cordial at a Duke's Ball.. when your other team mate accidently sneezes right in the face of the Countess.. or something..

Sounds like it bleeds back into the previous suggestion.

Campaign Quality -- Translational Fantasy: A classic.  The characters are ordinary folks from the modern world, suddenly whisked away to a medieval or Renaissance world.

Default play, so no quality is required.

Campaign Quality -- The Chosen One: The prophecies spoke of your birth, and now you've come of age.  Only you can defeat the Dark One, end the Dark Times, stop the Dark Armies, and usher in a new Golden Age.  No pressure, though.

Chosen's been on my list since the first draft.

Campaign Quality -- Champions of Opposing Philosophies: In this world, each hero stands for an ideal, whether that's the writings of an ancient philosopher, an abstract ideal like Law or Peace, or the edicts of a religious sect.  Characters earn Action Dice by supporting their philosophy through action, and lose Action Dice by taking actions opposed to their philosophy.  Good for drama and abstract discussion, as long as the philosophies are fairly well fleshed-out but not rigid and inflexible.

Plays into Alignment but we might be able to dabble with the idea.

Thanks! Looking forward to more ideas!

[TheTSKoala]

-  Something to play off the idea of my all time favorite Disney movie "The Three Musketeers".  ...hey.. I saw that snicker.  It was a good movie!

Please expand on this idea. What do you envision this quality might do? Conceptually (don't worry about mechanics).

Something along the lines of Three Amigos / Three Musketeer-esque the party isn't down until they're all down.  Even when they're fighting seperately, they always manage to find some way to help (or save) one another in need.

- A quality that binds the players to a code of honor. 

So long as it binds everyone else as well, then it's a quality. Otherwise it's a Subplot.

Right, a Quality that applies to the whole party instead of just one person.  Like... if it's a party of Samurai, Musketeers or Catholic Crusaders.  All flying one banner with one set of Ethos.

[Deral]

Subplot: Curse - You've angered someone, shown too much pride before great powers, stepped in the wrong place or just looked at fae that disagreed with your choice to do so. The curse would likely fit best by being something different from magical curses that might exist, maybe just restriction/exception with a subplot level of requirement to remove (hopefully all nice and poetic for the player who received it).

Also works as a Complication: Curse - Oh... Shouldn'tve touched that, who knows what kind of rancid magic it was carrying, that's going to take some work to wash off.
(Though that would likely be better being watered down from what a subplot might give)

I've got a couple subplot ideas that I can't seem to flesh out in any workable way:
-Something where you're the bane of someone's existence, if you throw a mug of ale over your shoulder in disgust, this is the man unfortunate enough to sit behind you, if you swing a door open, its this guy's face you hit. Problem is I'm missing a good form of resolution (other than him becoming a nemesis.)
-Fae or Haunting - You see fairies, are haunted by the ghost of an ancestor/best friend/so on, or see other magical signs, and they seem to be telling you something, problem is, no one else can see or hear them. (Then this would become a sort of Quest + Avoid the Nuthouse, though it might just work as a template for a number of subplots).

Perk - Interloper A new fighter joins the fray! Someone you know (or maybe someone you don't) comes upon your battle, debate or conflict of some sort and offers a touch of help (or maybe more), maybe only to disappear/leave as suddenly as he came or hang around to "borrow" the spotlight.