DF + Social Elements

[Jabani]

I'm looking at running a Ptolus campaign using GURPS, and as it's a combined super DnD-style dungeon crawl and social interaction plotfest, I was trying to figure out a way to add a bit of the latter to the DF templates. Sounds like less work than starting from scratch. I imagine it to be somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment as far as the level of importance of social interaction.

Anyone done this? Ideas?

[ULFGARD]

Originally Posted by Jabani

I'm looking at running a Ptolus campaign using GURPS, and as it's a combined super DnD-style dungeon crawl and social interaction plotfest, I was trying to figure out a way to add a bit of the latter to the DF templates. Sounds like less work than starting from scratch. I imagine it to be somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment as far as the level of importance of social interaction.

Anyone done this? Ideas?

Just use the existing templates, then add 25 points to the characters for strictly social advantages and disadvantages that are NOT DF style.

[Kromm]

Background: A long-running fantasy campaign inspired me to create DF. That campaign heavily informed the artificer, barbarian, cleric, and holy warrior templates. Much of what's in Dungeons amounts to my house rules for that game. And every artifact in 40 Artifacts – and almost half the monsters in the upcoming Monsters 1 – came from there as well.

Anyway, that campaign had a heavy social element . . . very heavy, with a strong focus on marriage, children, making money, building temples, leading armies, etc. To make a long story short, I'd agree with ULFGARD: You can get there from DF simply by adding social traits. There are lots of ways to do this, ranging from optional 0- through 50-point "packages" of traits that go with specific social developments to full-on, piecemeal social advantages and disadvantages. In the campaign in question, nobody much started with social traits, but everybody gained them in play. They were a lot like what DF terms "power-ups."

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Just use the existing templates, then add 25 points to the characters for strictly social advantages and disadvantages that are NOT DF style.

Remember, don't allow them to go overboard with them, as it would rob the Bard of it's niche. Other than that, it should work perfectly.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Jabani

I'm looking at running a Ptolus campaign using GURPS, and as it's a combined super DnD-style dungeon crawl and social interaction plotfest, I was trying to figure out a way to add a bit of the latter to the DF templates.

Some of the templates do have some social skills as Background skills -- Fast-Talk is especially common. Encourage taking them. For those templates that lack these, just say that the most common social skills, like Fast-Talk, Sex Appeal or Carousing, count as Everyman skills for purposes of what you can buy with your points from Quirks.

Or just use Kromm's list of Everyman skills, adapted to DF. I mean, 25 points in social traits? How many basic adventurers in a Conspiracy X game have that much? How many of us would have that, were we to stat ourselves out?

[Michael Thayne]

I've never played Baulder's Gate, but I know that in Planescape: Torment social skills aren't strictly necessary, and the Nameless One certainly wasn't rich or a nobleman or anything like that. It's just that you often have options other than fighting. If that's what you're going for, it should suffice for every character to have just a few points in social skills. Just give every character 10 extra points and warn players that even the party's Barbarian will sometimes have to roll against the skills on Kromm's "list of skills every adventurer should know."

P.S. I assume the campaign Kromm refers to is this one. I'm a bit curious to know how the transition from "nobody much started with social traits" (which meant they were a fairly typical DnD party?) to "making money, building temples, leading armies" went, story wise.

[vitruvian]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Background: A long-running fantasy campaign inspired me to create DF. That campaign heavily informed the artificer, barbarian, cleric, and holy warrior templates. Much of what's in Dungeons amounts to my house rules for that game. And every artifact in 40 Artifacts – and almost half the monsters in the upcoming Monsters 1 – came from there as well.

Anyway, that campaign had a heavy social element . . . very heavy, with a strong focus on marriage, children, making money, building temples, leading armies, etc. To make a long story short, I'd agree with ULFGARD: You can get there from DF simply by adding social traits. There are lots of ways to do this, ranging from optional 0- through 50-point "packages" of traits that go with specific social developments to full-on, piecemeal social advantages and disadvantages. In the campaign in question, nobody much started with social traits, but everybody gained them in play. They were a lot like what DF terms "power-ups."

Keeping them as 'power-ups' to be acquired at later 'levels' of development seems very much in tune with the original dungeon delving fantasy RPG, indeed... could easily be divided up by DF template, and include things like levels of Status and Wealth and Religious Rank and whatever kind of Rank applies to masters of Wizards' and Thieves' Guilds, and so on.

[Pomphis]

So will we get a Power-Ups 2 ? Where our PCs get followers, henchmen, castles,temples, etc. ?

[SCAR]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

P.S. I assume the campaign Kromm refers to is this one. I'm a bit curious to know how the transition from "nobody much started with social traits" (which meant they were a fairly typical DnD party?) to "making money, building temples, leading armies" went, story wise.

If you want to read the almost complete archive of Kromms 'Dawn of Magic' campaign, see this Post in the Campaign and Adventure Sticky Post for links to the archived versions of the original web pages (not maintained by Kromm) for his campaign.

[Jabani]

Thanks for the responses - good stuff.

I've definitely been thinking along the lines of starting with little in the way of Social abilities - new to the city and all that - and acquiring them in play. Or not, if the players do not so wish.

I think the only thing I might do to the templates is add a few extra points and a few extra skills, as per people's suggestions, as well as add a few Social Disadvantages (though there are surprisingly already quite a few - Barbarian with below average Appearance or whatever).

I guess the ultimate take-away lesson is that it's more a matter of perspective than anything else: play style, GM/player interest, session focus, and so forth.