Hello students, Professor Crunch here. Today, I am happy to bring you an article written by fan of the show Red Rabbit. You can find Red on the Academy forums. I have had the pleasure of discussing all kinds of game theory with Red and believe me, you are in for a treat with this article. So without further ado, I’ll turn it over to Red.
Coding the Mundane
I think it is safe to assume, that the majority of people who play roleplaying games do so in order to do things that they otherwise aren’t able to do. From shooting fireballs at a dragon as a wise wizard to parkouring through a dungeon riddled with traps as a nimble rogue, there are many epic events that fuel the escapism of roleplaying games. When a lull in the action occurs, the mundane parts of a character’s life are generally glossed over. The justification is that, “it’s boring”, and for the most part that’s true. The question I propose is: why can’t we make it interesting by ‘coding’ it and put mechanics behind it? Considering the amount of farm simulation games out there, I don’t think it’s that strange of an idea. I believe that by incorporating everyday things into a campaign, it would not only make the game more immersive, but also add a sense of depth and personality to a character. Instead of Bob being a backstabbing rogue, Bob becomes a backstabbing rogue who also plays chess and enjoys fishing.
I can’t speak about any other edition, but in Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition there are a lot of things that exist without mechanics and are left up to the players and DMs. Artisan’s Tools and a few other items, such as fishing tackle come into mind. You could, for example, easily do a survival check and apply a bonus based on the fishing tackle. In general, the same thing could be done to any of the artisan’s tools. It is something that is glossed over, and regulated to a few quick rolls.
Whether, you are in an epic battle-driven campaign, one all about political tension, or one full of gritty noir, there will most definitely be lulls in the action. Everything can’t be at full volume all of the time. Some players thrive on combat, others enjoy mystery and political intrigue, and still others enjoy the downtime between adventures beside the campfire or at the inn. The first two are heavily supported by mechanics, the latter, however, is not. You could simply roleplay it, or you could code it.
I, personally, enjoy playing out things that are otherwise regarded as boring. I’ve gone as far as making some of them into one-player minigames. These minigames can be played while one player roleplays or while socializing in between combats. I’ll give an example.
To fish you could roll ability rolls, or do something along these lines: Fishing Minigame v1.0
Required: Fishing Tackle, Bait (1 Cp each)
Instructions:
1. Roll 1d10 and consult the table.
2. Repeat
Fishing Table
1-4: Bait was stolen
5-8: Small fish
Can be eaten, released, or sold for 1 Cp.
9: Large Fish
Can be eaten, released, or sold for 1 Sp each.
10: Reef Shark
Roll a Strength DC 15 ability check or lose your fishing tackle. If the roll fails, roll a Dexterity (acrobatics) DC 10
ability check to avoid being pulled into the water.
It’s very simple, and could be used to have a friendly competition. Similar things could be done to artisan’s tools and other mundane items to keep the dice rolling and the table engaged during otherwise dull moments. I am currently working on a minigame to simulate being a merchant, that can be played on a cellphone using a notepad and a virtual dice roller. Now, while this might seem mind-numbingly boring to most of the population, I can’t believe that I’m the only person who enjoys these things. Maybe you’re on break at work with nothing to do. Sure, you could play a game on your phone. Or you could roll some dice, play a minigame, and earn some resources and gold for your D&D character.
Those epic moments fighting monsters and dungeon crawls are the moments we remember and recount stories of while we are by the campfire. But it’s those little things that we do by the campfire while we tell those stories that add complexity to our characters and maybe make a big fish story.
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