Raising the Stakes

From: MCGINNESS, Stephen <mcginnesss_at_...>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:13:41 -0000

I would like to ask how Narrators put a Hero Band under long term pressure. It was easy in RuneQuest to put a party in a situation where there access to Rune Magic and healing was limited and thus a series of small scale encounters gradually raised the stakes during an adventure.

One way is to run those encounters as an extended contest throughout the adventure - each one having consequences and building towards success or failure at the end. I've done this and while it has merit it didn't have the same feel of tension and building desperation as the RuneQuest adventures I'd run previously.

Another way I'm considering is having the small encounters either build or deplete the band of followers. Thus if the players were doing badly their support would gradually be worn away until it was only they facing the finale alone. Obviously there would be (limited) opportunities to replenish or heal followers lost earlier in the adventure but this would hopefully give that same feeling of pressure.

Any other ideas??

Stephen McGinness