Relations Basics #

Beyond conflict, there are often mechanics and traits that tie a game together thematically: relating characters to setting, characters to each other, characters to society, and so on. For lack of a better term, I’m calling these relations.

• Relationships: The pull of a character on another character or a faction, for better or worse.
• Reputation: The perception of the setting at large on players, and what players can do with that.
• Party/Faction: Uniting player characters into an explicit, mechanical concept independent of each individual player character.
• Economy: Gaining and spending of currencies, abstract or otherwise.

When putting these into your game, you’re going to want to keep a few general questions in mind.

What kind of relations matter in the fiction? #

What are the dramatic goals of the game? Is this a game where relationships between player characters matter? How about between them and non-player characters? Should factions matter more than people? Is an economy (or the perception of such) an important factor in the game? All of these questions will inform what you might add or leave out.

What purpose do they have in the game? #

Beyond just the fiction, this is a game. Mechanics like these can have drastic implications on the game state. Over time, their presence and influence can shape the course of a campaign and guide it in a particular direction. In which direction are they guiding it?

Do they maintain forward momentum? #

One goal of this sort of mechanic is to drive scenes, sessions, and campaigns forward. When done poorly, they can grind a game to a halt for minimal benefit. It falls upon the designer to decide whether or not the inherent added complication of another system is actually adding something or if it’s just slowing things down.