Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 evilvegan Oct 02, 2009 13:40:23	Hey all. I like the concept of birthright, but I want to apply a slimmed down version of it to overlay on my 4e game so that I can discuss things with my players between sessions.  Here's an example of a loose idea I have about it. Player A, Paladin. Decides that in the month long time between Event A and B that he will spend his spare time and cash erecting a new church (or repairing/rededicating an existing one) and whipping up followers (Diplomacy and Religion checks).  After he spends this time he gains righteous favor.  Righteous Favor - Encounter Boon Reliable Free action Trigger: You miss on an attack. Effect: You may reroll a missed attack roll on any divine attack. Special: You may use this boon once per encounter until it is expended, after which it is lost permanently. So, he pleases the gods and gains a favor.  Once used he loses it.  During our next downtime he could donate and pray (spending less time/money than before, still makes checks) and regain this favor.  Alternately he could spend his downtime doing something else to gain a different benefit. So I would set up a series of various boons, from something like the above, to things like diplomacy bonuses (for spending time on such endeavors as espionage or entertainment).  I just need a list of various things that I can grant a bonus to without too much impact to game balance.  Also a list of penalties for when they fail utterly. I think the RPGA has cards they release (haphazardly) that have effects like this.  I just want a way to get these effects that make sense and apply to things in-game... Not just the video-game-esque contrivances that riddle RPGA modules.
#2 AbdulAlhazred Oct 05, 2009 9:40:44	Doesn't sound like a bad concept. You could tie them to small individual skill challenges if you wanted. The player would decide to do something like founding a temple. It might involve some sort of social skill challenge to get the town to allow it to be built, the local priesthood of Pelor to get behind it, and to get enough labor and materials lined up to start the project and hire the proper supervisors, etc. If the character succeeds, they get the boon, plus some small XP award perhaps. Later events can be tied back to it as well, so maybe in a couple months they can undertake another SC to keep the project going properly (find out who embezzled half their funds, intimidate the thieves guild that wants bribes, root out the Bane followers that keep sabotaging the project, etc). 4e hasn't, at least yet, introduced any of the kind of stuff that "name level" PCs got in the old days like followers, etc, but as the DMG2 stuff demonstrates its certainly expected that DMs will start involving PCs in the setting in significant ways as the game progresses (if they want to). Boons and quests and such can easily tie into that.