Re: Heortlng marriage and divorce - techniques?

From: Ian Cooper <ian_hammond_cooper_at_s1cB2f9x49W_f3JC54el_VTEJYdhb7ftFIMrd42JFBB4pmrrfxXqOGYhz>
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:55:29 -0000


> I'd just like to ask Ian which particular "techniques" most
fostered this sort of play?

> A clear understanding of the relationships, in an R-map?
Yes. An R-map is very much the way to go for community based conflict. Really Red Cow is just a large R-map waiting to be used. For those that do not know R-map is a term coined by Ron Edwards to describe the interrelationships of your npcs. Go look at Well of Souls as an example: http://www.geocities.com/doctorpeace/well.html

> Or was the key to have set things up way before with characters and
>NPC's havng conflicting goals?

Well this is in part the use of an R-map. In other words, its no use having an R-map if you don't use it. Two things are important: locating the players in the R-map and putting the R-map in crisis.

So I took an idea from an Actual Play of Well of Souls and forced everyone to have three significant relationships, at least one of which had to be to R-map. [Now I would tend to force you to have one to the R-map, one to a flag character that tells us something significant about you 'Harmast hates his brother Jonrik', and one which relates to another players significant relationships]. Now you know who the players care about, you know what positions in the community they are for or against.

So put the things that the heroes relationships care about into crisis. If the hero is a member of the Wolfskinners have someone try to negotiate a peace treaty between the clan and the Telmori.

So in this case Orsta's beau Kalf kept turning up at opportune moments for her to have an affair, and her husband Argrath kept messing up...            

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