Prizes in The Darkest Hour -spoilers-

[ThatBlastedSamophlange]

First off, I put -spoilers- in the title, so you were warned.

I just bought The Darkest Hour adventure, and gave it a read.  I have to say that I found it very well written, and is a good idea of how to write my own adventures.  But, there was one thing that I either missed, or I would recommend for published adventures - put in concrete examples of prizes. 

Possible prizes I've come up with upon reading the adventure:

- Lizabet as a contact, possibly even becoming a romantic subplot for a character
- Hertiger, if he is saved, makes a great contact
- Brother Sevrin is another possible source for a contact, or more appropriately, a favour.
- The magic sword 'Spirit'.  Though, I would consider only awarding this only if the party takes the Soul Star to dispose of it.
- Given a small home in Andra, as a reward for saving the town, I mean, it's not like they wouldn't have any free real estate after the events of that night.

Many of the above, depend greatly on what the party does.  I'm just curious if this was intentional, or if prizes were 'left out' on purpose and what people who have run this have done.


Cheers,


That Blasted Samophlange

[Gentry]

You forgot the worst prize--the Soul Star itself. 

I think that the list you've already created is one of the reasons why adventures actually should *not* provide lists of prizes.  My thinking on this is twofold:

First, different groups are going to approach the adventure differently, and so open different potential Prizes to themselves--some of which may not be obvious in the adventure. The idea of taking Lizabet, Sevrin, or Hertiger as a contact, for instance, is cool, but many groups I've seen wouldn't role-play with either figure long enough to even think of it. 

That leads to the second problem, which is that a list can sometimes give the GM two wrong impressions. On one hand, a given GM can fall into the trap of manipulating the adventure in a way that allows the PCs to get the prizes no matter what (throwing Lizabet at the party nonsensically, allowing Heriger to miraculously live when he would otherwise not, or constantly reminding the PCs that Sevrin's sitting over in the corner). On the other hand, a list of prizes can make it look like those are the only prizes available, and if something's not on the list (but the PCs think of it anyway--darn creative PCs), the GM is automatically opposed to including it (I've met GMs like this, too).

Prizes really should grow naturally from the play experience, rather than "drop" when an enemy gets killed. In practice, this means that PCs should get a lot of leeway in filling their prize slots, allowing them to make some in-character decisions that tailor the adventure's outcome very specifically to their style.

Now after all that, I actually agree with you that an example prize or two is a good idea.  The section describing them, however, should make it clear that these aren't the only one's available, and specific play groups should be creative with the concept.

[Crafty_Pat]

What Gentry said, and...

Now after all that, I actually agree with you that an example prize or two is a good idea. 

Sure, though I wouldn't make them a firm part of the template for all the reasons cited. I think they'd probably best be handled as part of the Action text where and when relevant, and even then, only as pretty common examples expected of most groups running through the adventure.

[ThatBlastedSamophlange]

Gentry, you do make a good point.  Part of the reason I was asking about the prizes was that, the group I plan on running Fantasy Craft for has never played Spycraft, and mostly plays 3.5/Pathfinder.  The reason I mention that is that the mindset for playing those is slightly different. 
And I doubt that any of the players will think to ask for a prize similar to those I mentioned above.  They haven't played the game.  In fact, I'm running the game in the hopes of trying to get some people won over to playing Fantasy Craft rather than Pathfinder, which I don't find very stimulating.  I prefer a game with more cinematic combat, and which allows a character to do fun or interesting things in combat rather than more routine things.  Currently I find the games we play (apart from Savage Worlds) to be very limited in the area of Cinematic gameplay, and rather punishing to those who try to be creative and think outside the box.

Hmm.. sorry about the slightly off topic rant, now back to prizes

Since, like me and my group, many playing Fantasy Craft will be a new and different experience, perhaps in the next few published adventures some example prizes would be very useful.  To at least help those that are new to the game.

Now, of course the list I created depends greatly on how the party interacts with each individual, or what they do that would garner such a prize.

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't fully read Fantasy Craft,  and myself, am a bit unfamiliar with how prizes work.   I have seen mentioned that a character must pay for them with reputation, but that that is also optional?  I want to reward the players for being creative, and roleplaying with the NPC's thus, many of the ideas I had were centered around some of the NPC characters. 

[Gentry]

For ease of use, think of Prizes as just that--rewards for doing something extra cool. Your players might actually go out of their way to help Sevrin, or flirt with Lizabet, or manage to actually save Hertiger in spite of his wounds (and the players in the PbP thread here on the forums actually managed to do just that). If any of that happens, then offer the appropriate NPC as either a contact or favor for the PC (or PCs) responsible. If the PCs decide to keep the sword (rather than return it) describe that as a prize. And so forth.

There's no Rep cost for an adventure reward, but your PCs will need to remember they can probably only keep one prize (I assume they're level 1, and so have no renown just yet), so if they have to choose between a favor from Lizabet or Sevrin, then they've got to choose. Of course, it's easy enough to say that Lizabet's favor is..immediately redeemable.  

[Gentry]

In fact, here's some sample ideas for you:

Prize - Spirit (powers as printed in TDH)
If no PC can keep it: "You return it to the Sheriff's wife, who accepts it on behalf of the town"

Prize - Contact: Lizabet the barmaid
If no PC can keep it: "You and Lizabet have an evening of post-traumatic-event passion, and part in the morning recognizing there was never any future in it"

Prize - Favor: Brother Sevrin (a cast spell, perhaps)
If no PC can keep it: "Sevrin agrees to keep you in his prayers, and bids you farewell"

Prize - Contact: Hertiger the Crossbowman
If no PC can keep it: "Hertiger is retiring from adventuring life--he and Lizabet may even settle down and help rebuild Andra together"

And so forth. Keep in mind, too, that the offer of a Prize like this should only be made to a PC that actually did something to merit it. Don't just throw the prizes in a pot and let the party divvy them up. If only one guy helps Sevrin, only that guy gets the opportunity to take him as a contact/favor/whatever.

[Desertpuma]

And so forth. Keep in mind, too, that the offer of a Prize like this should only be made to a PC that actually did something to merit it. Don't just throw the prizes in a pot and let the party divvy them up. If only one guy helps Sevrin, only that guy gets the opportunity to take him as a contact/favor/whatever.

Very important fact to remember. Only the ones who merit the opportunity to get the Prizes should get the chance to obtain the Prizes.