Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Monster Descriptions

There are a lot of things I want to improve on as a Facilitator. Most I will improve by doing them over and over again. I've only been running games for about 5 years, so I have a lot of improving to do. One of the things on my to-improve list is describing things. I have aphantasia, which complicates my ability to describe how things appear. This gets compounded because I know the names of all the things my players encounter, and so the temptation to refer to things solely by their name is strong. 

Fortunately, practice makes permanent. My bestiary stands at around 150 creatures, and I aim to write a short description of one monster a day until I run out of monsters. Since my players read this, I'll leave the names off, and it might be fun if readers left a suggestion or a guess.


Black ink drools from the top of the frog's head into the marsh. The toddler-sized frog hides in the reeds at the marsh's edge, waiting for its toxin to wend through the water.

Joining a Faction

Institutional support can be invaluable for new (and impoverished) adventurers. For example, in Alexis' Juvenis campaign, it is because we are acting as representatives of Stavanger that our current cave exploration has gone as smoothly as it has.

Players new to games that require a lot of logistical considerations (food tracking, encumbrance, etc.) often are overwhelmed with the responsibility of handling all of this on top of the more "normal" player responsibilities. In-game institutions can provide scaffolding for these players, providing support that diminishes as players become better at playing the game.

In Prodigy, I call these types of institutions "factions" since there are always several in an area, each vying for power. As part of character creation, players can choose a faction appropriate to their trade (class), joining that faction and gaining additional proficiency in a faction-specific skill.

Faction Trades Offered Skill Goal
Abigail's Steadfast Provisioner; Soldier Thaumaturge (Azintheen) Protect the vulnerable
Adept's College Researcher Any Mental Study everything
Areinian Constabulary Provisioner; Soldier Orator Keep the peace and their money
Avondown Associates Soldier; Thief Leader Destroy the Tarluskani regime
Brass Orchids Artist; Bard; Thief Combatant (Dextrous) Assassinate the Tarluskani leadership
Catacombs Machimoi Ognemuo, Soldier Athlete Defend the Catacombs
Facetakers Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief Wildcrafter Become a wild animal
Hunting Brigade Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier Pathfinder Hunt the best prey
Jungle Explorers' Guild Bard; Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier; Orator Bring back the best story
Knights of St. Valorie Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier Thaumaturge (Azintheen) Restore the Church of the Azintheen
Minstrels' Guild Artist; Bard Artist (any) Advance the state of Art
Night Consortium Provisioner; Soldier; Thief Grokist Find money
Nithya Jongleurs Bard; Thief Pickpocket Stun the crowd. Leave town
Nithya Sanraksaka Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief Combatant (Dextrous)
Protect the Nithya and 
Saharjin
Order of St. Lussier Provisioner; Researcher Chemist Heal the sick and wounded
Pirate Sovereigns of Korg Hinterlander; Soldier; Thief Sailor Sail the seas and get plunder
Revelers of Kwerris the Fool Bard; Soldier; Thief Thaumaturge (Fiaja) Get mystically drunk, then break things
Sojourners Hinterlander Scholar Travel the world
Tarluskani Military Hinterlander; Provisioner; Soldier Leader Conquer the world
University of Reyjadin Researcher Thaumaturge (Fiaja) Advance military science
Yanera Custodes Thief Grokist Manipulate as ordered
Yanera Guerreros Hinterlander; Soldier Athlete Protect the Ten Tribes

Faction membership is only limited by geography (most factions exist only in specific areas of the world), culture (some factions only admit members from their associated culture) and trade.


To spell out the obvious, factions provide a number of built-in services for characters: they offer employment, training, lodging and food, and (perhaps most importantly) a default goal. As I've run games, I've noticed that my players are often hesitant to define their own goals, to set their own agenda. I've found that offering some vague direction, like the goals listed above, helps players develop their agency. Having multiple characters from the same faction provides an initial consensus that helps players get moving.

The above is not new or revolutionary information. Moving forward on this, I want to further develop how players can join factions after character creation as well as better outline how a faction's presence in an area manifests - how many personnel, distributed how, pursuing what goals.