Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe
These are very rich examples. I like them a lot.
I can imagine dropping them into a game, virtually unchanged, as detailed descriptions either of the PCs' home base, or of other settlements they come across during the campaign. I'm not certain that the player would want to go into this much detail about the precise farming methods all the time, but knowing that it was there whenever we wanted it would be really, really wonderful. And I think that we'd end up wanting to explore it, since we knew it was there!
|
Even if the players only learn about this stuff, peripherally, it adds an amazing sense of depth to the setting if you know what's on the menu at the local bar where they meet the old man or woman who plans to make them an offer they can't refuse.
Also, since this is a survival setting, identification of bottlenecks and shortages in local supply-chains and infrastructure can drive many, many adventures.
Moreover, if you know what surpluses one settlement has available, as compared to others, then you know how the local economy has started to shape up -- and that means you know where the merchants and traders come from and what they carry, and (roughly) how much each commodity is worth, relative to the others.
That helps a
lot, when it comes time to add verisimilitude to a bartering session. :)