Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

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Kobold Avenger's picture
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Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

I'm trying to think of both edition-neutral mechanics (or really just 3e and up) and story possibilities for having PCs run a small part of Sigil. This could be any part whether it's a community in Undersigil, a ghetto in the Hive or a wealthy neighbourhood in the Lady's Ward. It's something I thought of since I'm playing through the Kingmaker adventure path, but it's not something I want as complex as that adventure paths rules on nation-building.

This could be like having a Stronghold, and there should be roughly equal in different ways benefits of having a part of the Hive or the Lady's Ward. I want something where there's a focus on what types of buildings and people in an area, and what sort of benefits, liabilities, story hooks and game mechanics stuff it might bring to a party. Based on the ward of Sigil, the concept of how the party "runs" a neighbourhood could also vary. Portals are also something that probably should factor into this.

Jem
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Re: Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

If you don't want complex rules, then stick to a few basic concerns, which related adventures would address:

1.) Why do you want it? If it's just power or money, you're going to have trouble convincing the locals -- or anyone else -- to help you get it. Do you want to eliminate a rival? Do you want to bring the locals the Truth? Do you want to just clean up a bit of Sigil and help some people live better lives? In any of these cases there will probably be people whose interests align with yours. This will also inform the shape of the organization you'll be trying to set up (for instance, how hands-on do you want to be?).

2.) You will have competitors as you try to set up. How will you deal with them? There may be previous powers in the region or rivals for the current position. Sigil's legitimate government will expect its due out of your territory, in taxes and in keeping the locals law-abiding. Flout those concerns and you'll have the law as an enemy, which means something anywhere except the Hive. You had also better be on the right side of the dabus and the Lady, which should limit your ambitions, admittedly at the high end. You'll also have locals who object to you personally, Anarchists who don't like anyone taking control, and monsters or other hazards that will be a threat to newcomers.

3.) Once you've got control, then it's a matter of keeping it -- from incoming usurpers, to challengers from inside your organization, to random Sigilian threats and changes in conditions. One way or the other you'll have to be acquiring resources, and that's going to mean some kind of donations if the neighbors are willing, or regular fees if the enterprise is more mercantile and you're providing a service businessmen and the wealthy are willing to pay for, or extortion and crime if you're just a gang leader. (Although even these guys may "earn" tribute and bribes if they are sufficiently powerful.)

4.) And what are you spending these resources on, other than maintaining your rule? If your rule has some kind of a purpose, like advancing the neighborhood's interests or cementing a faction's control, you will be needing to work on that. Failure will start deligitimizing you, whatever post you have. If you're supposed to be in the business of advancing the locals' political interests, you will need to be able to bring back good news from the Hall of Speakers regularly enough to prove your worth.

cromlich's picture
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Re: Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

How about district spells that recharge based on accumulated belief - like Birthright or the Sigil spell on a smaller scale.

Kobold Avenger's picture
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Re: Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

cromlich wrote:
How about district spells that recharge based on accumulated belief - like Birthright or the Sigil spell on a smaller scale.
Not something I'm immediately looking for, spells/rituals wouldn't be something that deals with most of the running of a district.

Jem wrote:
If you don't want complex rules, then stick to a few basic concerns, which related adventures would address:

1.) Why do you want it? If it's just power or money, you're going to have trouble convincing the locals -- or anyone else -- to help you get it. Do you want to eliminate a rival? Do you want to bring the locals the Truth? Do you want to just clean up a bit of Sigil and help some people live better lives? In any of these cases there will probably be people whose interests align with yours. This will also inform the shape of the organization you'll be trying to set up (for instance, how hands-on do you want to be?).


I feel there's a few ways to run a district from being a well-connected business-man or community leader, to being a leader(s) of a gang or a "baron/baroness" over an area. So I geuss it would be a matter of if the control of the party is more direct or indirect.

Quote:
2.) You will have competitors as you try to set up. How will you deal with them? There may be previous powers in the region or rivals for the current position. Sigil's legitimate government will expect its due out of your territory, in taxes and in keeping the locals law-abiding. Flout those concerns and you'll have the law as an enemy, which means something anywhere except the Hive. You had also better be on the right side of the dabus and the Lady, which should limit your ambitions, admittedly at the high end. You'll also have locals who object to you personally, Anarchists who don't like anyone taking control, and monsters or other hazards that will be a threat to newcomers.
Other than influence style, I feel there could be threats both internal and external. Some external threats could be other groups running other districts. To some degree espionage could matter quite a lot, along with alliances and reputation.

Quote:
3.) Once you've got control, then it's a matter of keeping it -- from incoming usurpers, to challengers from inside your organization, to random Sigilian threats and changes in conditions. One way or the other you'll have to be acquiring resources, and that's going to mean some kind of donations if the neighbors are willing, or regular fees if the enterprise is more mercantile and you're providing a service businessmen and the wealthy are willing to pay for, or extortion and crime if you're just a gang leader. (Although even these guys may "earn" tribute and bribes if they are sufficiently powerful.)
I was thinking the same thing on many of these points.

And it occurs to me that Sigil is one of the only places where your district could be reshaped by Dabus or weirdness like building spirits who decided to make buildings walk around to new places. I'd make most of these as random events, that a DM could throw at the PCs.

Quote:
4.) And what are you spending these resources on, other than maintaining your rule? If your rule has some kind of a purpose, like advancing the neighborhood's interests or cementing a faction's control, you will be needing to work on that. Failure will start deligitimizing you, whatever post you have. If you're supposed to be in the business of advancing the locals' political interests, you will need to be able to bring back good news from the Hall of Speakers regularly enough to prove your worth.
I view the spending and management of resources as being something like the kingdom building rules from Kingmaker which I based this idea on, except nowhere near as complex as that. In it those rules you could spend resources to expand, build infrastructure and buildings, and edicts. But there were so many factors you needed a massive spreadsheet to keep track of certain things for a DC roll that had so many things influencing it, which is something I'd like to keep down and have really streamlined.

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Re: Running a neighbourhood/region of Sigil

I found your idea intriguing and, not being familiar with the Kingmaker rules, I went to work on a Sigil conversion for the Fields of Blood rules-set of realm-style play. I've used that in the past, and I rather liked it. Before I get ahead of myself, have a look at this.

The gist of my mod is currently as follows:

In short it works like this. You put a hex grid over the map of Sigil. Scale is up to you, of course. Each hex represents a neighborhood.

The players run a trade consortium, or criminal cartel, and can 'conquer' new neighborhoods. In the meantime all kinds of zany stuff happens, which is great adventure fuel.

Each neighborhood in their possession generates wealth, based on the Ward it's in, and it's population.

Every 4 months the consortium starts a new turn. You roll on an event chart (that might alter your income a little), cash the money from your neighborhoods and decide on a new course of action for that turn.

Kobold Avenger wrote:
I want something where there's a focus on what types of buildings and people in an area,
The system requires that neighborhoods are somewhat detailed. You need to know the ward and estimate the population. This gives you an idea about the types of buildings (condos in the Hive, a huge caster in the Lady's Ward but with only a single occupant).

A neighborhood can be further detailed with quirky features that either give a straight wealth bonus each turn, or provide fun new NPCs to talk to, or things like spellcasting services or whatever.
Later on, during play, players can spend their wealth on improving neighborhoods by buying new, or improving existing features.

Kobold Avenger wrote:
and what sort of benefits, liabilities, story hooks and game mechanics stuff it might bring to a party.

The four-month cycle makes progress very slow, so the 'kingdom' stays well in the background. Meanwhile your event chart(s) provide your players with story hooks worth investigating, and the fact that they get to pick a new direction every season puts some control in the player's hands. Maybe they want to claim a neighborhood currently under the control of Shemeshka? That opens up all kinds of new adventures for them to play in.

Kobold Avenger wrote:
Portals are also something that probably should factor into this.
Portals could be incorporated into this in several ways. For example, maybe your roll on the event chart gives you something like "40 - a new temporary portal opens up in one of your neighborhoods. You business flourishes for a while, and you get X extra wealth!" Or, a portal might be permanent, and your players get access to a whole new set of neighborhoods to explore and conquer on the other side.

I don't know how Kingmaker works, but I hope this sounds a little more streamlined. All in all, I think that the set the kingdom-governing-rules that doesn't require bookkeeping hasn't been invented yet, and probably never will.

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