Author Topic: Running a High Resources game  (Read 5736 times)

Offline whitelaughter

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Running a High Resources game
« on: June 11, 2018, 03:58:07 AM »
While 'murder hobo' is the default PC, a workable character in Dresdenverse who relies on wealth and contacts to solve their problems. A starting PC can blow through the roof of the Buying Things chart on p322; it stops with a Legendary Resources roll (+8), granting a large corporation or a small personal island; but with Resources 4, High Concept of Rich Investor, Trouble of an Obligation to build up the family wealth, plus 5 money related Aspects, the PC is looking at +18 before rolling the dice!

The PC is easily able to create a Major Milestone every session, simply buying problem locations out from under the bad guys and gentrifying them. (Of course, the bulk of the session will then be surviving the wrath of the critters you've chased out).  While the rules suggest downgrading the rewards for doing so in a single session, that is punishing skilled play, a massive no-no: far better for the GM to say that the PC's reward is a free Resources Stunt of their choice. That is realistic, fair, balanced, and has the ethical dilemma of whether to buy Filthy Lucre – a temptation that will grow stronger each time, as the pool of available Stunts shrinks.

Anyway, the PC has far more successes than they need. Some of those successes may be needed for overcoming seller resistance of course; but if a location has been ruined by monsters, they'll probably be eager to sell. The simplest thing to do with those extra successes is to buy quality, giving the corporation extra stress boxes: the example above could have a quality of +10, giving it an additional +5 stress boxes (p320+p130). That's fairly inefficient though; the corporation is getting one stress box for every two successes – they are less well defended than an ordinary quality organisation of legendary size.

A better option is to have subsidiary organisations that provide the organisation with 'Armor'. An established contract could be bought for one success, providing Armor:1 in the desired realm; or the subsidiary could be bought outright, and provide temporary Aspects when attacking/defending in Corporate warfare.
My suggested subsidiaries are:

Physical: Security, Maintenance, Insurance, Cleaning

Mental: Legal, Accounting,  Political, Personnel

Social Armor: Public Relations, Real Estate, Murals(the giant wall ads that companies have painted that get around restrictions on billboards), Plant hire.

This has the advantage from a GM perspective that you can assign these to a company to make it harder to gain control of – but since they come with the company, increase the reward for succeeding.

Police contacts, I would simply halve the benefit of using Filthy Lucre.

Some supernatural defences can be put in quite easily by having access to an employment agency! How many mortals would have access to Bless This House – one in a hundred? Unlikely, unless a particularly devout community. One in a thousand?  Possible. One in ten thousand? Definitely. Your city will have hundreds of thousands of people in employment, providing a pool of defenders, who are easily identified by having a supernatural entering and leaving a building while job applicants are arriving.
Similarly, 'allowing' workers to hold their weddings etc for free at the business allows the possibility of rending the place to toxic to Raith Vampires. Those turgid inspirational posters are probably an unsuccessful attempt to protect the place from Skavis Vampires.

A couple of examples:
The PC is going to buy a housing estate being preyed on by ghouls. They tag the Aspect of 'invested by Ghouls' to allow an easy sale, and focus on physical security; the tenants are moved out into temporary accommodation elsewhere (easily justified by claiming the building isn't safe – which it isn't) and a week later when the ghouls have had to go hunting elsewhere, the building is repaired, repainted, and fortified, with alarms and security. Supernaturally, a 'leaking' pipes are slowly dripping holy water into the entrances from undercity.  That's a success for handling the move, plus 5 for redoing the building, plus needing a church contact to provide the holy water tag. The PC can do this easily, allowing them to keep a few Fate points for when the Ghouls attempt to follow their prey to the temporary accommodation, and/or attack the repair crews.

The PC wants to acquire a very fashionable White Court Nightclub. Although 'only' requiring a Fantastic (+) result, the Quality is sufficient to give it 3 additional stress boxes, and is Armored to the max; further, they don't want to sell. The PCs start their campaign by getting some noise violations thrown at the place: but Social Armor will protect here. They investigate buying the entire building and simply ejecting/replacing the night club (a common real world tactic, lets the buyer acquire the good will of the site for free) but the White Court either has the building or is relying on the Armor: Real Estate; either way blocked. The PCs investigate the possibilities of violence (because they are the PCs) but are then surprised to learn that the White Court is now offering the place for sale. An Investigation roll is made, and the PCs learn that the White Court is buying another location nearby and planning to move: the existing night club will be 'sold' but the bulk of the clientele will be moving with them, so they are selling a turkey. The PCs chose not to buy, and instead begin working on the new site: but a newbie Black Court Vampire buys the old site off the White Court! The old night club will fail, but the PCs have to decide whether they want to tolerate the deaths that will take place before that happens – do they focus on eliminating the Black Court Vampire, or continue the war against the White Court (who are more vulnerable due to the move).
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2018, 10:05:28 AM »
So, what exactly is this thread meant for?

Are you looking for other people's anecdotes on how high-Resources characters have worked in their games? Do you want feedback on the approach you posted?

Offline whitelaughter

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2018, 02:15:19 AM »
So, what exactly is this thread meant for?

Are you looking for other people's anecdotes on how high-Resources characters have worked in their games? Do you want feedback on the approach you posted?

Both of those would be appreciated.

For?
I guess I'm thoroughly sick of games where the PCs are futureless losers lurching from crisis to crisis. Roleplaying is meant to be an *escape*, and I spent 17 years with a survival a day to day drear. Why imagine what I had to experience? Now that life is better, I'm actively interested in exploring options, the idea of roleplaying investments before making them real world is interesting.
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Offline Taran

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2018, 04:25:43 AM »
I’ve had at least one high resource character(5 resources and filthy lucre) and it was fun and not overpowered.  Had a fancy house and lots of toys which were great fodder for the dm to complicate things.

I’ve played/read a game with a wealthy white court vampire and he did some amazing stuff that was not game breaking. It did involve manipulating politicians.  He tried to pay my character off to do something bad and now my character (and others) are hunting him. So he’s had to lay low which is probably a balancing act when you have piles of money.  You can pay people to help hide you but spending lots of money attracts attention. 

There’s a really good scene in that story where he’s using resources to cover up an attack by some denarians who attacked in broad daylight.    I think it’s a great example of how to use resources. 

Offline whitelaughter

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2018, 01:23:39 PM »
Interesting, thanks.
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2018, 08:21:55 AM »
There’s a really good scene in that story where he’s using resources to cover up an attack by some denarians who attacked in broad daylight.    I think it’s a great example of how to use resources.

This bit, right?

Both of those would be appreciated.

Regarding the concept in the OP, I have mixed feelings. The supernatural gentrification team sounds like a really entertaining PC group, and the ideas for corporate warfare mechanics are intriguing. But I really don't like the idea of milestone farming (which seems dubious rules-wise anyway), and I don't think the temptation to buy Filthy Lucre is particularly meaningful; you can always invent more Resources stunts.

I played a high-Resources character in a PbP game a while back, and once I got into his head I found that buying off every problem seemed entirely natural. Why threaten or cajole when you can bribe? Why fight when you can hire guns, or just give the opposition what they want? It worked well for that game, but I could easily see it becoming a problem if it went too smoothly.

Equipment can be interesting, too. Guns might not do anything to disrupt the murderhobo lifestyle, but helicopters (for example) do. The bit Taran mentioned about the super-rich WCV paying off his character involved a misappropriated bomb of fairly ridiculous power, and that thing definitely bent the plot around itself.

Offline Taran

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2018, 03:28:38 PM »
@sanctaphrax:

Yes, that one is good, but I was thinking of this one

Offline whitelaughter

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2018, 03:09:16 AM »
I played a high-Resources character in a PbP game a while back, and once I got into his head I found that buying off every problem seemed entirely natural. Why threaten or cajole when you can bribe? Why fight when you can hire guns, or just give the opposition what they want? It worked well for that game, but I could easily see it becoming a problem if it went too smoothly.
Two responses:
firstly, why is it not a problem that violence can be used to solve every problem?
Secondly, how many of the plots in the Dresden books could have been solved by throwing money at them? About the only times money is a solution, Dresden simply takes the solution (frex hiring Kincaid) and then worries about how to pay for it later.
Money stops the tired, overused plots. That can only be good.

[edit] Loved both of the link btw. Good stuff!
« Last Edit: June 26, 2018, 04:36:14 AM by whitelaughter »
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2018, 02:14:36 AM »
Trying to recreate what I wrote right before the forum changeover...

1. It would be, if it could. Not sure what gives you the idea that it can, or that I think that would be fine.

Although I do think Resources resolving every problem would be worse than violence resolving every problem. At least fights involve the whole team, and are often strategically interesting in and of themselves. Resources tends more towards one-roll resolutions, or at least one-character resolutions.

2. That's not so. Many great plots are driven primarily by somebody not having enough money. Even Dresden was originally for hire.

Offline whitelaughter

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2018, 02:28:49 PM »
Sorry about the delay in replying, managed to miss the link to the new site!
1. It would be, if it could. Not sure what gives you the idea that it can, or that I think that would be fine.
You personally? Nothing.
The rules though?
Of the 25 skills, one quarter are primarily combat orientated(Alertness, Atheletics, Fists, Guns, Might, Weapons), and that's before we start taking into those used for combat mojo, frex Conviction, Discipline, Lore.
Actions are divided into combat and non-Combat; the bulk of powers are combat related.

And of course, this is the norm for most roleplaying games.

Although I do think Resources resolving every problem would be worse than violence resolving every problem. At least fights involve the whole team, and are often strategically interesting in and of themselves. Resources tends more towards one-roll resolutions, or at least one-character resolutions.
That's because no roleplaying system has fleshed out money believably. Serious money work means accountants, lawyers, bankers, brokers, each of whom is dealing with their opposite numbers. I tried to make a start at exploring the options in my OP.

2. That's not so. Many great plots are driven primarily by somebody not having enough money. Even Dresden was originally for hire.
That's a hook, and nothing more. A lazy hook. And Dresden is poor because he refuses to do things solely for money (if he did, he'd have taken Bob's advice and focused on breast enlargements).
Also 'enough money' is a myth. If you want more, you will keep wanting more. Billionaires don't stop making money - and why should they? As in-universe example, Marcone continues to expand his operations. The only difference is that the reward needs to be substantially higher to be worth his time.
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2018, 08:48:32 PM »
Sorry about the delay in replying, managed to miss the link to the new site!You personally? Nothing.
The rules though?
Of the 25 skills, one quarter are primarily combat orientated(Alertness, Atheletics, Fists, Guns, Might, Weapons), and that's before we start taking into those used for combat mojo, frex Conviction, Discipline, Lore.
Actions are divided into combat and non-Combat; the bulk of powers are combat related.

And of course, this is the norm for most roleplaying games.

That doesn't mean combat is meant to solve everything.

It does mean that it's expected to happen fairly often and be important, though.

Most roleplaying games are like this because people are generally more interested in, and more excited by, violence than accounting.

That's because no roleplaying system has fleshed out money believably. Serious money work means accountants, lawyers, bankers, brokers, each of whom is dealing with their opposite numbers. I tried to make a start at exploring the options in my OP.

Sure, in a completely different system money solving everything wouldn't be a problem. In the system we've got, though...

That's a hook, and nothing more. A lazy hook. And Dresden is poor because he refuses to do things solely for money (if he did, he'd have taken Bob's advice and focused on breast enlargements).
Also 'enough money' is a myth. If you want more, you will keep wanting more. Billionaires don't stop making money - and why should they? As in-universe example, Marcone continues to expand his operations. The only difference is that the reward needs to be substantially higher to be worth his time.

Sometimes it's a hook, sometimes it's more. But even when it's just a hook, it's still a problem if someone de-hooks your story with a Resources roll. So as a GM, you've got to handle Resources with some care.

As for "enough money", it really depends on the person.

Offline whitelaughter

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Re: Running a High Resources game
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2018, 06:59:02 AM »
Sure, in a completely different system money solving everything wouldn't be a problem. In the system we've got, though...
The system we've got allows for financial warfare, is limited to a single resource roll per game, and can be enhanced by other effects (frex it would not be difficult to make a Resources enhancing potion).

Why refuse to use something that has the groundwork laid out, just because it isn't complete (yet)?

Especially given computer games are far superior at combat.

Finally, consider inverse what a financial plot would look like -

Molly realises that she can buy the town of Centralia in Philadelphia for a few cents per acre, use Winter powers to extinguish the burning coal mine beneath it, making a fortune and striking a blow against global warming. To do so she would:
talk to her dad as a business man to get a feel for what she should do,
get Justine in for handling the actual finances,
Thomas for sweet talking people into selling,
Murphy (and lawyers recommended by Murphy) for legal matters.

Plot being plot, she would end up needing to talk to Marcone.

Assuming success, and bearing in mind what she learned in Brief Cases, she could use her new coal mines as a springboard to invest in the military/industrial complex; here she would want to talk to Monoc Industries about what would be involved in using 'ferromancy' to win the war with the Outsiders.

This would be far more interesting than some gutter brawl.
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