Mechanical Guidance
Texto
An elemental imbalance can be a purely narrative consideration in a campaign, but this section offers some firmer mechanical guidance on its effects and PCs can go about identifying and solving it.
Effects of the Imbalance
An area affected by an elemental imbalance should have the Imbalanced Terrain (One or More Elements) (see page 267 of the core rulebook or page 138 of this book for an alternate terrain option), as befits the particular elements that are disturbed in that area. However, these should not be the only signs of the elemental imbalance the players encounter mechanically, nor necessarily the most important ones. Because the elemental imbalance is a societal problem, some of its most prominent effects will be on the NPCs who live in the area, and on the functioning of society there.
2 strife per NPC | +1 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
3 strife per NPC | +2 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
4 strife per NPC | +3 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
5 strife per NPC | Goods are unlikely to be available at all
Uncertainty
At the start of each scene in an area with an elemental imbalance, all NPCs experience strife, depending on the level of uncertainty that the elemental imbalance has caused. This reflects the way in which the direct effects and societal response to the elemental imbalance are weighing on their minds. The more prolonged and serious the effects of the imbalance, the more NPCs in the area will be on edge. See Table 3–1: Uncertainty and Scarcity Modifiers for guidance on this topic.
Scarcity
Elemental imbalances almost invariably make goods harder to acquire, whether due to washed out roads, merchants departing the area, or drought depriving the people of basic resources. The more severe and prolonged the imbalance, the more difficult it will be to acquire items in the region. Additionally, as options for survival become limited, people may become more desperate and willing to take risks they otherwise would not. See Table 3–1: Uncertainty and Scarcity Modifiers for guidance on this topic.
Identifying an Imbalance
When confronting an elemental imbalance, the PCs should not necessarily know what it is at first. However, as they make successful checks to address problems that stem from the elemental imbalance, they should accrue momentum points toward determining that there is a root cause of the problems (see Momentum Points on page 253 of the core rulebook).
Each successful check to either deal with a problem caused by the imbalance or investigate a connection between events should generate one momentum point, plus one momentum point for every two bonus successes.
Generally, it should take five to ten momentum points to identify that there is some underlying cause to all of the problems the PCs have been exposed to (five for a relatively obvious problem, ten for one that is subtler or that forces within society are actively acting to conceal). Narrative discoveries can add momentum point to the investigation directly, at the GM’s discretion.
If the PCs do not know about the elemental imbalance, these momentum points can be tracked secretly.
Solving the Imbalance
Solving an elemental imbalance has two components. First, the PCs must undertake the narrative actions required to set right whatever has been misaligned. If humans have overstepped some spiritual boundary, reparations must be made. If two elemental spirits have come into conflict, offerings must be made to each of them. As much as possible, palliative efforts must be made.
Second, the PCs must undertake an intrigue (see page 254 of the core rulebook) with the spirits involved. These spirits can be represented with the spirit profiles from pages 322–324 of the core rulebook, or other profiles as determined by the GM. During the intrigue, the PCs may pursue the following social objective for each spirit that has been upset:
Calm a Spirit
Convincing a spirit to let go of its anger is a dangerous task—one generally left to shugenja. However, such individuals are not always available, and other mortals can attempt to bring harmony to the elements even if they cannot directly communicate with spirits themselves.
What Does It Take to Complete?
A character can convince a spirit to still its wrath by accumulating a number of momentum points on successful Social skill checks targeting the spirit. The difficulty value is ten. The base TN for the Persuade action (see page 257 of the core rulebook) for this social objective is 4. If a character uses the Theology skill in place of a Social skill, they treat the TN as 2 instead.
What is Achieved by Completing It?
At the end of any round in which a character accumulates momentum points equal to or exceeding the difficulty value of the objective, the spirit becomes calm. If all spirits involved in the imbalance are calmed, the imbalance ceases.
However, if one or more spirits become Compromised and decide to unmask during the scene, they may attempt to escalate the conflict to a Skirmish. Defeating the spirits in a skirmish temporarily suppresses the elemental imbalance, but the imbalance returns after some time (as determined by the GM).
Texto do livro
Writ of the Wilds · Chapter 3: Finding Balance in Disorder › The Elemental Imbalance In Games › Mechanical Guidance · p. 122 p. 127 p. 128
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An elemental imbalance can be a purely narrative consideration in a campaign, but this section offers some firmer mechanical guidance on its effects and PCs can go about identifying and solving it.
Effects of the Imbalance
An area affected by an elemental imbalance should have the Imbalanced Terrain (One or More Elements) (see page 267 of the core rulebook or page 138 of this book for an alternate terrain option), as befits the particular elements that are disturbed in that area. However, these should not be the only signs of the elemental imbalance the players encounter mechanically, nor necessarily the most important ones. Because the elemental imbalance is a societal problem, some of its most prominent effects will be on the NPCs who live in the area, and on the functioning of society there.
2 strife per NPC | +1 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
3 strife per NPC | +2 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
4 strife per NPC | +3 to the TN of checks to acquire goods
5 strife per NPC | Goods are unlikely to be available at all
Uncertainty
At the start of each scene in an area with an elemental imbalance, all NPCs experience strife, depending on the level of uncertainty that the elemental imbalance has caused. This reflects the way in which the direct effects and societal response to the elemental imbalance are weighing on their minds. The more prolonged and serious the effects of the imbalance, the more NPCs in the area will be on edge. See Table 3–1: Uncertainty and Scarcity Modifiers for guidance on this topic.
Scarcity
Elemental imbalances almost invariably make goods harder to acquire, whether due to washed out roads, merchants departing the area, or drought depriving the people of basic resources. The more severe and prolonged the imbalance, the more difficult it will be to acquire items in the region. Additionally, as options for survival become limited, people may become more desperate and willing to take risks they otherwise would not. See Table 3–1: Uncertainty and Scarcity Modifiers for guidance on this topic.
Identifying an Imbalance
When confronting an elemental imbalance, the PCs should not necessarily know what it is at first. However, as they make successful checks to address problems that stem from the elemental imbalance, they should accrue momentum points toward determining that there is a root cause of the problems (see Momentum Points on page 253 of the core rulebook).
Each successful check to either deal with a problem caused by the imbalance or investigate a connection between events should generate one momentum point, plus one momentum point for every two bonus successes.
Generally, it should take five to ten momentum points to identify that there is some underlying cause to all of the problems the PCs have been exposed to (five for a relatively obvious problem, ten for one that is subtler or that forces within society are actively acting to conceal). Narrative discoveries can add momentum point to the investigation directly, at the GM’s discretion.
If the PCs do not know about the elemental imbalance, these momentum points can be tracked secretly.
Solving the Imbalance
Solving an elemental imbalance has two components. First, the PCs must undertake the narrative actions required to set right whatever has been misaligned. If humans have overstepped some spiritual boundary, reparations must be made. If two elemental spirits have come into conflict, offerings must be made to each of them. As much as possible, palliative efforts must be made.
Second, the PCs must undertake an intrigue (see page 254 of the core rulebook) with the spirits involved. These spirits can be represented with the spirit profiles from pages 322–324 of the core rulebook, or other profiles as determined by the GM. During the intrigue, the PCs may pursue the following social objective for each spirit that has been upset:
Calm a Spirit
Convincing a spirit to let go of its anger is a dangerous task—one generally left to shugenja. However, such individuals are not always available, and other mortals can attempt to bring harmony to the elements even if they cannot directly communicate with spirits themselves.
What Does It Take to Complete?
A character can convince a spirit to still its wrath by accumulating a number of momentum points on successful Social skill checks targeting the spirit. The difficulty value is ten. The base TN for the Persuade action (see page 257 of the core rulebook) for this social objective is 4. If a character uses the Theology skill in place of a Social skill, they treat the TN as 2 instead.
What is Achieved by Completing It?
At the end of any round in which a character accumulates momentum points equal to or exceeding the difficulty value of the objective, the spirit becomes calm. If all spirits involved in the imbalance are calmed, the imbalance ceases.
However, if one or more spirits become Compromised and decide to unmask during the scene, they may attempt to escalate the conflict to a Skirmish. Defeating the spirits in a skirmish temporarily suppresses the elemental imbalance, but the imbalance returns after some time (as determined by the GM).