Large Scale Events

In "Foundations of Flame", the city in which the campaign is set needs to be evacuated. This sounds like a job for the heroes! But, how to model such things in an RPG?

The key to modelling large events (evacuating the city, the siege of Helm's Deep, the attack on the Death Star, and so on) is to recognise that RPGs are closer to film than to reality. (Okay, I'll take that back. Some RPGs, notably D&D, are closer to film than to reality.) This means that we have a small number of characters whom we care about (PCs), a small number of notable NPCs, and a large number of faceless NPCs whom we don't care about, except in the abstract. If you were filming the battle of Helm's Deep, you wouldn't spend a lot of time on the actions of warrior #112 as he fires arrow after arrow at the orcs, then engages in hand-to-hand combat, and then dies a pointless and unremarkable death. No, you would have a bunch of fighting montages showing these events, interspersed with scenes of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli kicking ass, and trying to turn the tide, or at least hold the line.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you want the important characters to be at the centre of the action, not calling the shots from behind the scenes. In the above example, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are the PCs, but Haldir and Theoden are not. They are important NPCs, but they are not the centre of the action. Similarly, in a massed battle, the PCs are Ajax, Hector and Achillies, not Agamemnon.

So, how to model a large-scale event?

Firstly, the preparation. The key here is to consider what forces are involved, and how they are opposed. So, we have 300 humans and elves (yes, I'm including the elves because Haldir is going to become important later on) versus 10,000 orcs. The humans have the walls of Helm's Deep, the orcs have siege towers, explosive devices, and so on. Or, you have the eastern USA, a fault line and two nuclear devices versus Superman.

Next, consider the timeline, assuming the PCs do nothing. So, if Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli don't intervene, the orcs break down the walls in 6 hours. 2 hours after that, Gandalf arrives with the Rohirrim, but can't do anything to help. Likewise, if Superman doesn't act, a huge portion of the eastern USA falls into the ocean, the world suffers calamitous damage, and Lex Luthor becomes obscenely wealthy.

Now, consider what the PCs are going to do to help. Now, firstly, and obviously, they're going to oppose the orcs the same as anyone else. They will array their forces as best they can, use ever advantage they have available, and so on. In fact, since the players aren't, by and large, experts in fantasy warfare, it can be taken as read that they will do a better job of arraying the forces than the players would.

But you only show Superman rescuing a cat from a tree once. By that I mean, if the PCs can be assumed to do something, but it isn't very exciting, you just narrate a bit of boxed text about their actions, and move on. There's no need to linger on this.

Instead, you try to think up several scenes where the PCs can make a difference. Consider also the role of unimportant NPCs in this. They probably can't help, but their presence does change the situation somewhere. So, is there an enemy champion for the PCs to fight? In that case, show the champion cutting a swathe through the allies of the PCs. If there's a building on fire, allow the PCs to motivate NPCs for form a bucket line. Just make sure the PCs have to act as well - otherwise we're back to cat stuck in tree territory.

Having generated a bunch of scenes, it's necessary to work out how they affect the adventure as a whole. In this regard, "Foundations of Flame" had a useful system, where each sector of the city required a certain number of "Evacuation Points" to clear, and each scene was worth a number of points. So, assign each encounter a number of points, establish a set of victory conditions, and have at it.

Returning to Helm's Deep, if we say that orcs need 100 Siege Points to break down the wall. We'll assume that they gain 18 points per hour, so after 6 hours they have 108 points. We'll assume also that after 8 hours the Rohirrim will arrive with the dawn, and all will be well. Then, we decide what the PCs can do to help. Well, Aragorn's comments to the boy about hope (and similar words to the rest of the troops) counts for something. The scene where they shore up the gate by holding off the enemy is worth something. The last rally, when the Horn of Helm Hammerhand sounds once again is worth something. And so on. The idea is that the battle will be lost anyway, but by the actions of the PCs, they hold out just long enough.

When running the adventure, you put all this together as follows: You run a number of montages of general events. The armies trade fire. The PCs load carts, gather gaurds and send them out, or rescue cats from trees. In between montages, you have a mixture of key encounters, and scenes showing the fate of key NPCs. So, you see Hector and Achillies (actually, Patrocles) fighting. You see Superman stopping the rocket. Aragorn tosses Gimli across to the bridge. And, as time passes, you keep track of the event counters.

You should also take the time to show the fate of key NPCs. So, Theoden and his guys draw their swords and go to the front. You don't roll dice, just show this. You similarly narrate the fall of Haldir to the orcs. You comment about how Red 6 gets blown out of the sky. In this regard, it helps if you have a cast of NPCs, both liked and hated, whom the players know. And, sometimes, the fate of an NPC can be affected by a PC's actions. Boba Fett might be killed due to the actions of Han. Or, sometimes there's nothing that can be done. Aragorn isn't in a position to save Haldir. The DM gets to choose this.

There are two rules regarding NPC fates: if the PCs can change the fate of an NPC, you have to let the result stand, whether it's what you want or not. Conversely, if a character has a name, you have to show him die, even in a cut-scene.

As regards the question of XP awards, there are three options:

Under option 1, the large scale event could be considered something that the PCs just have to deal with, and therefore they only get XP for what they do (so, if they fight the enemy champion, they get XP for him, but they don't get an award for saving cats from trees, or whatever). This has the advantage of keeping the PCs' treasure total on a par with their level, which can be beneficial.

Under option 2, the PCs get a fixed award for success in the adventure as a whole. Perhaps the townsfolk grant the heroes a huge reward for saving them, and the DM gives out enough XP to increase them by a level or so. This has the advantage of being really simple.

Option 3 is perhaps the best. Each encounter has an XP award, which is modified by how well the PCs do. So, if they rescue the man from the burning building, they get an award, if they put out the fire, but the man dies, they get a lesser award. This is probably best, but is likely to leave the PCs low on treasure. However, this is probably best compensated by greater awards in previous and future adventures. Or, perhaps the towsfolk just give them an award...

And that's about that. Suggestions? Comments?