Since my game is set during the founding of Pavis I had a slightly odd set of communities and I think generally a shorter timespan might be more usual. I tried to get players to adopt some sort of dramatic way of presenting the unfolding vices - I suggested a newsreader approach ("news today of increased anti-newtling riots along the Scritha. Lynch mobs are believed to have apprehended three of the insidious amphibians"), a historical narrative perspective ("as the slimy fingers of the Newtling shadow government enveloped the puppet rulers of the new city the people took to worshipping false idols..."), tabloid stye headlines ("Pure Horse Pissheads!") or anything fun.
There was some initial hesitation from the players because they thought: "If we (as vices) succeed there will be all sorts of bad things happening" and some could not see how this could be good. The Hero Point reward for their Hero was my way to persuade them that trouble meant fun and that their Heroic Hero could return and defeat the problem their own player had thought up.
VICE IN THE VALLEY
The Kralori say that there are Four Vices and that the devils outside their
Empire of Splendour do not even know that they are corrupted by them. The
People of the Valley are certainly corrupted to some extent by the Four
Vices, categorised by the Eastern Sages as Sensation, Materialism, Ignorance
and Illusion.
These Vices are in a contest with the Peoples of the Valley. The details of how they destroy the morals of the populations are up to the players who represent the vices. The Dara Happans bemoan the weakening of paternal authority, the Esrolians despair of tyrannical husbands, instability and the decay of traditional religion. In Talastar the burden of impractical rhetoric has taken its toll,. There is confusion of social values: too much marriage, too many divorces, too few children, too many brats. People waste their time on races, archery contests and Zistorite dreaming. Others lack the motivation and training that competitive sport encourages, and show a paucity of imagination.
All of these activities can be seen by the truly wise (and the players) to be mere manifestations of the four vices from the garden of temptations.
The Vices get to act as conscious entities (that is, you the players; semi-conscious entities) that can make deals with other entities to achieve their goals. They can Augment (bonuses, edges), they can Lend AP as if it were a normal contest, and they can also divide the communities of the valley into smaller subsets, more susceptible to their particular manifestation.
Each round represents something like one season, so there are six seasons per year, or 12 rounds before our real Heroes come back to set things aright. More important than the strict application of this time limit (which may be extended by interesting and clever vices) are the interesting new manifestations of vice that the players can come up with.
VICE OBJECTIVE: As a reward for causing spectacular evil or debased decadence the player will receive Hero Points to spend on his Hero, generally in a way that will enable to Hero to overcome the specific challenge of that he is then going to be able to overcome. These vices have occurred while the Heroes have been away, on their return they are some of the few uncorrupted.
ACTIONS:
Give self-bonus, Give other bonus, Give self edge, Give other edge, Give
Other handicap, Lend AP, Opposed Resolution. (ie contest)
Split Population (new action)
This is to reduce the ability rating of a population by splitting it into
smaller subgroups.
Unite Population (new action)
This is to join together a population into one unit.
SENSATION 15
Adultery, hatred, revenge and other passions are just some of the bad things
that are the result of the desire for sensation. The sages of the East teach
how to overcome desire, but in the valley temptations to sensation exist in
many forms.
MATERIALISM 15
The love of money is the root of many evils. Banditry, extortion and theft
are just the most obvious examples.
IGNORANCE 15
Ignorance and fear, fear and ignorance drive people to do many evil deeds.
They might worship evil gods, practice foul rites of appeasement, sacrifice
black cockerels to keep the Black Sorcerer at bay.
ILLUSION 15
The whole world is just an illusion, say some sages, for without illusion
there would be none of us to think we ever were. Illusion is also a tool used
by some to obtain their corrupt goals. Fraud, self-deception,
scare-mongering, lies, perjury and false accounting are some of the better
known manifestations of Illusion.
SARDOZ'S BANDIT GANG & OTHERS:
The loyal followers of Sardoz have set themselves up as a bit of an organised
criminal gang overseeing, and making profit from, the various illegal and
immoral acts that occur in the valley. This band of brothers may also take an
action. This can be augmenting one of the Vices, or acting against a
population on your own.
Violence 11
Cunning 7
Persuasive 6
Terrifying 16
OBJECTIVE: get a big wealth rating. This is done by getting a lot of AP. These come from AP lends from the Four Vices, or by attacking the Populations directly and hoping for a transfer.
This wealth could be added to Sardoz's own if he chooses to take over the operation. He is well advised to share some, if not all, of the loot with his loyal followers. In game terms, if you want all the loot you can have it but expect to lose your followers. If you share it out, for each point that you reduce your wealth by being a "good boss" you can gain a directed Hero Point that needs to be spent on some relevant ability - this could be on more followers, more loyal followers, some powerful stolen artefacts, corrupt officials, some positive rating as you do some good deeds with your new found wealth,
This might make Sardoz one of the richest men in the valley, a wealth that has its own price.
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