A while back I posted a very rough, pre-alpha version of my Town Adventures System. Then I playtested it, and tried to learn something from the playtest.
So now I’m posting the system again, with a few small adjustments. (Note: it’s still basically the same system, with just a few tweaks. But I thought I’d post it here for reference anyway).
Town Adventures System (Alpha Version)
First, two points to bear in mind:
- Relative to “dungeon” adventures, “town” adventures are less centrally focused on killing things and taking their stuff.
I’ve assumed that Towns are relatively civilized places, and that the adventures that take place there tend to be more social and less combat-heavy than the typical fantasy “dungeon’ adventure. I’ve also assumed that the rewards also tend to be social, plot-related, or to do with character development, rather than piles of lost treasure, magic items, etc.
- This part of the system is for active town adventures
In the future, I’m hoping to have sub-systems for two different kinds of things that might happen in town adventures: active things, where the PCs pursue their own goals, and passive things, when the adventure just arrives at the PCs’ doorstep, and gets them involved. The stuff I’m posting here is just the active part of the system – the part where you nominate a goal, and then try to pursue it. In the long run I think it would be most fun to have both active and passive elements running at the same time, so that the PCs can pursue their goals while having all sorts of unexpected and interesting stuff thrown at them, in a narratively coherent (rather than totally random) way. We’ll see if I ever manage to reach that goal!
So, without further ado…
Overview of the Town Adventure System
In this draft system, town adventures basically proceed as follows. First you nominate something that your character is trying to gain or accomplish in town (the system calls this the “Reward” for the Town adventure). Then you play out a scene, which will pose various challenges (usually skill rolls, but other things might be involved, too). If you succeed, you’ll be presented with a few different leads to follow, toward other kinds of scenes. And so on, scene after scene. If things go well, then you’ll eventually reach the Climax Scene. If you succeed in the Climax Scene, then you’ll win your desired Reward. Simple!
Now, this is just the basic mechanic. For the moment, I’m just hoping to test it. Once I have a basic mechanic I’m happy with, then I hope to make things more sophisticated (for example, by introducing more passive events, when adventure just comes up and smacks you in the face, despite your best intentions; and by making Climax Scenes more special and unique, and by adding the possibility of further plot twists… and so on.)
Beginning a Town Adventure
You need at least one character, obviously. You’ll also need to have at least some rough ideas about what kind of town you’re in. (You can use the Town creation system for that, if you like, though you probably don’t need to: you can always just make it up as you go along).
Then think about what your characters’ goals are, and nominate a desired Reward. The Reward is the benefit that you will (okay, might) receive if you complete the adventure successfully. At present your options here are:
- Try to make some money (gain money equal to Peril x 5% of your character’s starting wealth).
- Try to improve your social standing, whether by making a name for yourself, helping a friend, earn the favor of a patron, or otherwise (gain Peril/2 social points, rounded up).
- Try to learn something (gain Peril/2 points in any relevant skill or ability, rounded down, but min 1. Plus any points you earn during the adventure itself, of course.).
- Try to pursue the plot (if you successfully complete the adventure, you have a chance of earning an additional Plot Element. At the end of the adventure roll 3d6 and subtract Peril. If the result is 6 or less, you earn a Plot Element. Note that this is in addition to any plot elements you might earn by the usual means).
- Try to get access to a special reward. A “special reward” has no explicit monetary or point value, but brings other benefits. Examples include an introduction to a local noble, or the opportunity to buy or sell a particularly rare item, or a chance to access unusual magical healing, or whatever. If everyone agrees, then one of these can be treated as the Reward. Note that such rewards ought to be roughly equivalent to the other rewards in value – and quests for really special rewards demand higher peril ratings!
Once you’ve nominated your Reward, then nominate Peril rating. (if you don’t know what this is, see here…).
Once you’ve nominated both a Reward and a Peril rating, you’ve committed yourself to the adventure.
| Sidenote: Rewards for Groups
If you have more than one PC, then you have a few options. 1) Nominate the same Reward for each PC. This makes things easy – they each get their own copy of the Reward, if the adventure is successful. 2) Nominate different Rewards for each PC. This also makes things easy, but take care to make the outcome narratively plausible – i.e., come up with good explanation for why the same adventure could plausibly lead to Frank Fighter gaining a point in Broadsword, Clara Cleric making 500 silver pieces, and Mary Monk improving her Reputation. If it’s not plausible, then do something else! 3) If your desired Rewards really are narratively incompatible, and you’re up for a real challenge, then I think it will be ok to run multiple “town adventures” simultaneously – Frank Fighter can try to find a master good enough to teach him some new tricks with a blade, while Clara Cleric tries to drum up some donations for the Temple, at the same time as Mary Monk searches for a way to atone publicly for that time she smashed the Sacred Beam of Bregginton with her Chinbreaker Chop. I haven’t tried to do this; it might involve keeping track of too many things, and thus not be that much fun. But I have hope. |
Now roil on the table below to see if the adventure is really at the nominated Peril.
| How Perilous is this Town Adventure Really?
Roll 3d6. (Need a die roller?)
|
Now you’re ready to start playing out scenes!
How to Play Out Scenes
Overview of Scenes
Whenever you’re called upon to play out a scene, you’re going to follow these steps:
- Determine what kind of scene you’re heading into by rolling on the “Where Do We Go From Here?” table.
- Begin to play out the scene! During the scene, you will have to complete at least one challenge of a kind determined by the nature and Peril rating of the Scene. If you succeed by 1 or more, then you can use your Margin of Success to purchase Scene Gains. If you fail, you must suffer Scene Losses equal in value to your Margin of Failure.
- After you complete the first challenge in the scene (regardless of whether you succeed or fail), roll to see “What’s the Next Challenge in this scene?” The scene may end up consisting of many such challenges.
Once you’ve completed a scene, return to Step 1 and play out another scene. Continue to do so until you reach the Climax scene, and complete the adventure.
Let’s now follow those steps again, one at a time, in a little more detail.
Step 1: Determine What Type of Scene You’re In
This system sorts scenes into various types, based on what kinds of challenges they pose. When you begin a new scene, the first thing to do is to determine what kind of scene it is. To do so, roll on the “Where Do We Go From Here?” table.
| Where Do We Go From Here? Table
Roll 3d6. (Need a die roller?) Subtract 1 for every scene you’ve successfully completed during this adventure.
(For results that involve rolling multiple times on the Scene and Challenge Types Table, if you roll the same scene type twice, then don’t re-roll – you’ve just got a smaller range of options.) |
Step 2: Determine the Next Challenge
Each scene is made up of a number of challenges. These are generally skill rolls, but they may be other success rolls (such as attribute checks), or simply opportunities to use a particular advantage. All success rolls are made at a penalty equal to the current Peril.
How do you know what the challenge is? Well, it depends on the scene type. Each scene type has a number of different challenges associated with it.
If you’re just beginning a new scene, roll for a Challenge type on the Scene and Challenge Types Table, below.
Explaining the Scene and Challenge Types Table
The table below helps you to determine new scene and challenge types. It looks a little tricky, but it’s actually easy to read once you understand what’s going on.
The numbers in the columns are d6 rolls. Which column do you roll in? Well, to find out, you consult the numbers along the tope row.
Along the top row, we have the numbers 2-3, 4-7, and 8+. This represents the number of PCs, plus Peril.
Why? Well, when you have a small group trying to complete a simple adventure, the system will pose very general challenges, and thus give you a lot of freedom in choosing which specific skill or ability to use. But when you have a larger group, and/or when you’re completing a more challenging adventure, then the system will pose very specific challenges.
Example: let’s say you’re trying to determine the scene type. You have just one PC, and Peril is 2. That total is 3, so you’ll be using the first column (marked 2-3). You roll 1d, and get a 1. Reading across, you see that you’re in a “Social” scene. This means that you can attempt any of the “Social” challenges in the far right column, from “Carousing” down to “Streetwise”. You have a lot of options!
Second example: Once again you’re trying to determine the scene type, but this time you have three PCs, and Peril is 3. The total is 6, so you’ll begin in the first column as usual, but this time you’ll keep rolling until you reach the more specific scene types in the third column (marked 4-7). Let’s play that out. You begin by rolling 1d in the first column; once again you get a 1, which puts you in the “Social” bracket. You then roll 1d in the third column; you get a 5, which means you’re in a “Fitting In” scene. If the party was very large, or the Peril very high, then you’d need to roll a third d6, to specific a partiuclar challenge – the system is telling you that this situation calls for Disguise (or whatever) – nothing else will do! Of course, if no-one in the group has that skill, then you can always fall back on defaults, or try any workaround that seems plausible. (For example, maybe no-one has Disguise, but the wizard can cast Alter Visage, which is just as good.)
Note: This table is not yet complete – the numbering is a bit whacky, for instance. I’m leaving it that way for now, since I’m sure that more things will need to be added and/or overhauled, so any fancy numbering I come up with now is bound to be thrown out later anyway. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to clean it up properly when it’s in a more final form.
Scene and Challenge Types Table (Need a die roller?)
|
Extra Table for Specialist Scenes (Need a die roller?)
The following table is really just a grab-bag of challenges that don’t fit in elsewhere, but calling them “Specialist” scenes makes them sound a bit more exciting. This table is a little different – it has a very wide range of challenge types, and so I’ve broken down the categories in a different way to avoid getting too specific too quickly.
|
Step 3) Attempt the Challenge.
Now it’s time to attempt to complete the challenge. Usually this means making a success roll of some kind, at a penalty equal to Peril. But there are times when it will seem both fun and narratively appropriate to use something that doesn’t require a success roll (e.g. many advantages). That’s fine! If it seems fun, fair, and appropriate, then do it! The system is meant to support your storytelling, not get in the way.
The Benefits of Success: Scene Gains
If you succeed by 1 or more, then each point by which you succeed can be used to purchase one of the following Scene Gains. (Critical success counts as a Margin of Success of 10). You may purchase a Scene Gain immediately after succeeding at any success roll. You can also save the points to spend later in the scene, if you prefer. Points cannot be saved between scenes.
Scene Gains
|
The Price of Failure: Scene Losses
When you fail a roll, you must suffer the consequences! Immediately after failing any success roll, choose appropriate Scene Losses from the following list. You must choose Losses worth a total number of “Failure Points” equal to your Margin of Failure. Critical failure counts as 10 Failure Points.
Scene Losses
| Cost | Scene Loss | Effect |
| 1-5 | You’re off balance! | Your next success roll is penalized by the number of failure points you spend. |
| 1, 3, 5 | You’re tired! | Lose Fatigue points. You cannot regain these FP until the end of the following scene (i.e. you’re down FP during this scene, and the next). The number of FP depends on how many failure points you spend: (1) Peril; (3) 2xPeril; (5) 3xPeril |
| 3, 5, 7 | You’re hurt! | Lose Hit Points (DR doesn’t protect). The number of HP lost depends on how many failure points you spend: (3) Peril; (5) 2xPeril; (7) 3xPeril |
| 2 | You must spend resources! | Damage or lose property worth $5 x Peril x Peril |
| 2 | You’ve made this scene more difficult! | Add 1 to the Peril rating for the remainder of the scene. |
| 4 | You’ve made this whole adventure more difficult! | Add 1 to the Peril rating for the remainder of the adventure. |
| 3 | You’ve compromised the Reward! | Reduce the Reward for the adventure by half its initial value. |
| 1, 3, 6 | You must fight! | The difficulty of the combat depends on how many failure points you’re spending: (1) trivial encounter; (3) standard encounter; (6) deadly encounter |
| 3, 6 | People think less of you! | Suffer a social disadvantage worth -Peril pts. (Example: a negative Reputation with a particular group, an Enemy; a loss of Status; Social Stigma (Criminal Record). This is worth three failure points if the disadvantage is temporary, and can be cancelled by winning a single Social Scene at the current Peril. (Run that extra scene whenever seems most fun and appropriate). This is worth the full six failure points if the disadvantage is permanent, and must be bought off with experience points. |
| 4, 6, 8 | You are captured or imprisoned! | If you want to keep playing, you’ll have to run an Escape adventure. The Peril of the Escape adventure depends on how many Failure Points you spend: (4) current Peril-1; (6) current Peril; (8) current Peril +1 |
| 5 | You’ve failed the adventure! | Fail the adventure, forfeiting the Reward. |
| Deferring Payment
Normally you suffer Scene Losses immediately after failing any success roll. However, if it seems more appropriate to the narrative, you can defer payment until later in the scene, at the cost of accumulating an additional Failure Point. If you Win the scene before paying, lucky you! In that case, you don’t have to pay. But if you ever accumulate 3 failures, you must pay right away. |
Continuing the Scene
Maybe you just won the scene, after your very first challenge – if so, great! Return to the “Where Do We Go From Here?” table to determine the next Scene type. But probably you have a ways to go. Determine the next challenge type using the table below, and then head back to Step 3 to continue the process.
| What’s the Next Challenge in this Scene?
Roll 3d6. (Need a die roller?) Subtract 1 for every challenge you’ve successfully completed during this scene. If you succeeded at your previous skill roll during this scene, subtract your Margin of Success. If you failed your previous skill roll during this scene, add your Margin of failure. (Don’t forget that all skill, attribute, and ability rolls called for on this table are made at a penalty equal to Peril.)
|
Climax Scenes
Once you reach the Climax Scene, you’ve nearly made it! In the current draft of the system, Climax Scenes work exactly the same way as other scenes, except that if you Win the scene, you receive the Reward and Conclude the adventure. I’m hoping to make Climaxes a bit more unique and special in a later draft of this system.
Concluding the Adventure
I include this heading as a bit of a placeholder – at present, there’s nothing special to do at the end of the adventure, except rolling for XP (see below). But once I get the basic mechanic ironed out, I’d like to add some sophistication here – perhaps something akin to the “Plot Twist” and “So, How About that Reward”? tables from the existing Adventures system (though neither can be used as-is, since the mechanics of Town adventures are different)
Earning Experience
At the end of the adventure, a GM would usually award some experience points to the characters on the basis of how well they did during the adventure. If you’re playing without a GM, how do you know how may XP you’ve earned?
When everyone agrees that an adventure has come to a close, for good or ill, roll 3d6 once on the table below. The result applies to the whole party. As you can see, the table is fairly harsh on those who are not willing to Raise the Stakes during the adventure!
(Note: this table is meant to be used in conjunction with the rules for Plots, which are an additional way to earn character points. If you’re not using those rules, you may want to increase these values.)
“How Many Experience Points Do We Get?” Table
Roll 3d6, and factor in the modifiers listed below. (Need a die roller?)
2 or less 3 character points each.
3-6 2 character points each.
7-11 1 character point each.
12+ No character points.
Modifiers:
Subtract 4 if everyone agrees the adventure was a raging success.
Subtract 2 if everyone agrees the adventure was a success.
Add 2 if everyone agrees the adventure was a failure.
Add 4 if everyone agrees it was a complete disaster.
If the adventure was a success, the group can also subtract 1 for every time they “Raised the Stakes” during the adventure. If the adventure was a failure, all those bonuses are worthless.
Subtract 1 for every full session of play that was devoted to the adventure.
The Collaborative Gamer 
2 thoughts on “Town Adventure System (Alpha Draft)”