My First Town - is it too bland?

[TomTitTot]

Town: King's Arch

Pride: Sister Anne, the wife of the Sheriff Brother Jebiah, has been conducting an illicit affair with the Steward, Brother Douglas. However her attraction to him has soured, and whenever she has suggested they not meet anymore, Br. Douglas hints that he may have to confess their relationship to her husband. She pridefully believes that she has the right to end their relationship without suffering any consequences.

Injustice: Br. Douglas has been using the secrecy of their relationship to functionally blackmail Sister Anne into further meetings - in retaliation, Sister Anne has told her husband that Br. Douglas attempted took sexual advantage of her with the threat of force.

Sin: Br. Jebiah has imprisoned and beaten Br. Douglas and is going to execute him tomorrow morning.

Demonic Attacks: Since Br. Douglas was imprisoned two weeks ago, violence has been rife in King's Arch - many of the inhabitants are sporting bruises and black eyes.

False Doctrine: Sister Anne believes that her husband's "strength" is proof that the King of Life considers him the true Steward. She also believes that the King has given Br. Jebiah the right to determine who should live and who should die, thanks to some demonic whispers.

Corrupt Worship: Sister Anne has been praying for her husband's ascension to Steward, and that the King of Life kill Br. Douglas.

The People Want:

Br. Douglas - to live and clear his name of the accusations of assault.
Br. Jebiah - to see justice done by killing the man that abused his wife.
Sis. Anne - to see her husband get what he deserves, to escape her just judgement.

The Demons want to put Br. Jebiah in a position of power, so he might abuse it at the behest of his wife.

If the Dogs didn't come: Br. Douglas will swing, Jebiah will be made Steward, and the townspeople will eventually come to follow Sister Anne as a prophet of Jebiah, Sword of the King - they will follow him and cheer at each new life he takes as God's Judge, Jury, and Executioner.

So, is this decent? I feel somewhat out of my depth with Town Creation, but put a lot of thought into this one. I also have other NPCs in mind, but they are mostly secondary and useful for informing the PCs as to what is really going on.

Any ideas, thoughts, and suggestions would be welcome!

Oh, and Vincent, thanks SO much for this amazing game!

[lumpley]

My pleasure!

For first towns, I always recommend very strongly that you take it all the way to hate and murder. Let's see if I can search up that one thread...

Here it is! Low-key towns for new players?

-Vincent

[TomTitTot]

Attempt number two...

Town: King's Arch

Pride: Sister Anne, the wife of the Sheriff Brother Jebiah, has been conducting an illicit affair with the Steward, Brother Douglas. However her attraction to him has soured, and whenever she has suggested they not meet anymore, Br. Douglas hints that he may have to confess their relationship to her husband. She pridefully believes that she has the right to end their relationship without suffering any consequences.

Injustice: Br. Douglas has been using the secrecy of their relationship to functionally blackmail Sister Anne into further meetings - in retaliation, Sister Anne has told her husband that Br. Douglas attempted took sexual advantage of her with the threat of force.

Sin: Br. Jebiah has imprisoned and beaten Br. Douglas and is going to hang him in the town square as the PCs ride into the city.

Demonic Attacks: Since Br. Douglas was imprisoned two weeks ago, violence has been rife in King's Arch - many of the inhabitants are sporting bruises and black eyes.

False Doctrine: Sister Anne believes that her husband's "strength" is proof that he is the Sword Arm of the King of Life, sent to root out and kill the corrupt and faithless.

Corrupt Worship: Sister Anne has been praying to her husband, as Sword, to smite those that oppose her and him.

False Priesthood: Br. Jebiah has taken part in a ceremony involving Sister Anne and a handful of convinced townsfolk that exhalts him as a servant of justice and the King, including anointing with blood and the drawing and mixing of blood on a knife intended to protect him from those that oppose him.

Sorcery: Sister Anne is the False Priest, even though her husband is the focus of the worship. She has called the demons into him that they might help him destroy those she tells him to destroy. She has become aware of what she is doing, and no longer cares that she trafficks with unholy creatures.

Hate & Murder: From the moment Br. Douglas is killed, the town begins to take on a horrible, sinister air. Neighbor accuses and assaults neighbor, families fight with words and then fists, and Jebiah begins to search out and kill those he believes deserve death. One hanging the first day to a lukewarm response, two the second day to smiles, and three on the third day to rousing cheers. By then, the madness is almost unstoppable.

The People Want:

Br. Jebiah - to see justice done by killing.
Sis. Anne - to see her husband get what he deserves, to escape her just judgement.
Br. Simon - Their son, wishes the Dogs to talk sense into his parents and turn them away from their current path.
Sis. Patricia - Brother Douglas' wife, wishes to see Jebiah and Anne hung, and to have her husband declared innocent of any wrongdoing.

The Demons want to put Br. Jebiah in a position of power as Steward, so they might be loosed by Sister Anne to assist in the havoc.

If the Dogs didn't come: Jebiah will be made Steward and the townspeople will eventually come to follow Sister Anne as a prophet of Jebiah, Sword of the King - they will follow him and cheer at each new life he takes as God's Judge, Jury, and Executioner.


Does this seem better?

[Falc]

I'll post a reply here, although it's in part brought on by what you said in your other thread, more specifically your desire for moral ambiguity.

You are right when you say the town has next to no nuances. Allow me to suggest a few things that might help.

1) Just like 14thWarrior in this thread, you've got more than one sequence going on, so I'll repeat that your best bet is to write every single one of them out, completely. Brother Douglas has gone all the way to Sin at the very least, conducting an affair with a married woman. Sister Anne has indeed become a Sorcerer. Brother Jebiah... I'd say it's worth thinking about if he's not worth a write-up of his own. Seeing his position, he might also qualify as a Sorcerer*.

2) Once you've written that out, it'll be even clearer that Brother Douglas' sin is really what started all of this. Unfortunately for your game, he's already dead and beyond judgment. If he's still around, the Sinner that started it all but also right now the last true defender of the Faith... Morally tricky enough for you?

3) Also morally hard: there's more than enough townsfolk around that want nothing better than to serve their new leaders. Defend them with their lives even, if necessary. So, do the Dogs open fire on the mob that's coming after them, even though they are misguided?

Anyway, I hope these thoughts will get your own creative juices flowing.

As for my little * there: Although the book tends to refer to only one Sorcerer most of the time, I see no real reason why a given heresy could not spark a few Sorcerers. Write out Brother Jebiah's progression from Pride (wanting to be more than a mere Sheriff) all the way to Hate and Murder (he's the one doing the killing, right? Sister Anne probably stopped at Sorcery)

[lumpley]

All I'd do - Falc's suggestion is okay if it works for you, but I never write up parallel progressions - all I'd do is add NPCs to the "what do the NPCs want?" section.

What does Br. Douglas' mother want the dogs to do?
What does Br. Jeb's deputy want the dogs to do?
What does Br. Jeb's best friend (and he's an astute one) want the dogs to do?
What does Sis Anne's little brother want the dogs to do?
What does Sis Anne's father want the dogs to do?

The conflicts between the core people touch the people who must exist around them. People take sides, wisely and not so wisely.

And then, text like "neighbor accuses and assualts neighbor" is a flag: represent the neighbors too.

Br. Hiram wants the dogs to shoot Br. Ezekiel in the head for what he did.
Sis. Martha Anne wants the dogs to give her back her friendship with Sis. Julia.
Br. Steadwell and his wife Sis. Patience want the dogs to horsewhip Br. Hiram's son (who's 9) like he horsewhipped theirs (who's 16).

My last piece of advice is, feel sympathy for all these people. Their lives are hard and they're only human. No one should have to live through what they're living through.

-Vincent

[lumpley]

Oh crap, and I totally skimmed over the line about the madness being unstoppable.

There are people in town - obviously - who oppose this madness. What do they want the Dogs to do?

-Vincent

[TomTitTot]

All I'd do - Falc's suggestion is okay if it works for you, but I never write up parallel progressions - all I'd do is add NPCs to the "what do the NPCs want?" section. *snip*


My last piece of advice is, feel sympathy for all these people. Their lives are hard and they're only human. No one should have to live through what they're living through.

I'm reworking this, as I think I've hit on a more consistent theme - rather than being a bit vague and involving revenge, I'm following an angle that shows Sister Anne as more of an obvious victim acting out - and somewhat unintentionally. It allows more grey areas, more room for interpretation, and more ease of NPC addition.

I found, for the first time in my GMing career, that one of those relationship chart things has worked wonders here.

I don't really think I can see myself writing up parallel hierarchies of pride-sin-etc, although I could understand why that might be useful.

Sympathy is good. It's quite easy to fall back into having a "bad guy" or such, and I find myself struggling against that impulse. Which is funny, because I thought I had mostly got away from that habit in my games. I guess a sympathetic bad guy is still a bad guy, and I need people not villains. I really like that about DitV.

Anyway, I'ma go type this up, and post tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks very much for the help and advice. I feel slightly discouraged, but hope I'm on the right track.

[TomTitTot]

Town: King's Arch

Pride & injustice: Sister Anne and Brother Douglas had always been close friends - he was there for her when her husband died of cholera, and he and Jebiah, his brother, helped her around the home when her family was too busy to pitch in with the kids. However, at some point, Sister Anne and Brother Douglas crossed a line, and their relationship became something more. Anne was torn up at the shame of her sin, and pain this would cause Douglas' wife and children if they ever knew. Eventually, the shame became too much, and she tried to end the affair.

That's when things started going so wrong.

At first it was subtle comments from Douglas, hinting that he would tell everyone, that they'd run her out of town, that she was to blame if his marriage was ruined, that her son would never look at her the same way again. Scared, she never stopped seeing him, but her shame began to turn into hate, hate that boiled away inside her. She withdrew completely from the community and nursed that hate.

And in her pride, and fear, she never told anyone or asked for help. Even when Douglas started beating her.

Sin: This is mostly in Br. Douglas' court, as anyone can see. He doesn't even see that what he does is so wrong, although if forced to face up to his actions he might begin to understand. He's a damaged, violent man, partially because he feels trapped by circumstance. He wants to be with Sister Anne, but his marriage stops this. He has yet to realize how much Anne hates him and wishes him dead.

Demonic Attacks: Sister Anne's hate for Douglas has allowed Demons into the community. They have been fomenting hate and violence, turning friends and neighbors against one another, bringing about fights and even causing phantom bruising on some community members. These bruises make Anne cringe - they remind her of the bruises that Douglas has given her, and are often even in the exact same places, on her body and the bodies of others.

False Doctrine: Eventually, in the depth of her despair, Anne turned to fervent prayer. Sobbing, she asked that the King and his Angels help her - and the King's angels began to whisper to her how she might set things right. These whispers were like ice down her back, but she drank up the promises they made, and believed everything the demons said.

Corrupt Worship: Sister Anne has been praying to the King's Angels, that they might smite those that have done wrong to her.

False Priesthood: The hate that has been running wild in the town since the demons entered has not been without casualties - husband has beaten wife (and wife, husband, but to a lesser extent) and left angry, damaged women. Two such women, Sister Prudence and Sister Hester, have joined Sister Anne in praying to the Angels for succor from what they face.

Sorcery: Sister Anne can call upon the Angels to smite those that take advantage of others. Usually they only make such a request after a long night of prayer to the Angels.

Hate & Murder: It only started as a tit for tat situation - when Sister Prudence would be attacked, her husband would be inexplicably bruised the next day. When Sister Hester was mistreated, her husband was tormented with bad luck, unable to succeed in any action her took for the next day. Eventually, the temptation to use this power to it's full extent became too much, and after a particularly bad beating that led to Sister Hester being hospitalized, Brother Edwin was found in his bed, beaten to death by spectral attackers. Anne was sickened and giddy with what she had done. She will turn the Angels on Douglas any day now.

The People Want:

Br. Jebiah (Sheriff) - An old childhood friend of Sister Anne, Brother Jebiah is worried about her recent dark turn of mind. He's seen her muttering to herself when she's all alone, and there's no longer a smile hidden in her face. He would do anything to stop Anne suffering. He wants the dogs to help her.

Sis. Anne - She wants everyone to know what Douglas has done to her, and wants someone to show they care. Anne thought she was isolated after her husband died, but when the one friend she had turned on her, something broke inside of her.

Br. Douglas - Wants his marriage to be ended, so he might wed Sister Anne.

Sis. Patricia - Brother Douglas' wife, wants the dogs to heal her marriage.

Sis. Prudence - Wants the dogs to help her atone for her actions, as she now regrets having her husband killed, as awful as he was.

Sis. Hester - Wants the dogs to teach her husband the error of his ways, and maybe teach him a lesson. Would not now go along with Anne in killing her own husband, although will not stop praying to the Angels, as she fears losing what little power she has in her situation.

Br. Steadwell and his wife Sis. Patience - want the dogs to horsewhip Br. Hiram's son (who's 9) like he horsewhipped theirs (who's 16). (liked this one so much it had to be ganked!)

The Demons want Anne to kill Douglas and continue to find people that have earned her wrath.

If the Dogs didn't come: Anne feels so failed by her community following her husband's death, that she'll keep taking lives unless stopped by the Dogs. Every member of her community (Perhaps apart from Brother Jebiah) is a viable victim.

______________________________

Right, this seems to have a bit more punch and nuance to it. I like the abused-turned-abuser angle.

Does anyone like the look of this, or should I revert to earlier ideas?

[Falc]

The one thing that struck me about this is that it all boils down to monogamy, while I'm pretty sure the rulebook mentions the Faithful as being polygamists. Now, this is just a detail, of course, but if your players have read the rulebook, then you'd better tell them up front about your change in setting.

Or, of course, make a minor edit so that Br. Douglas' request to take Sis. Anne as his second wife was rejected by the Steward.

[lumpley]

The rules for polygamy are strict, and it looks to me like Br. Douglas doesn't qualify. No need to tell your players anything.

Go play! Let us know how it works out. I'm especially interested in how the Dogs treat Br. Jebiah's desire for them to help Anne, not, y'know, shoot her, hang her and then burn her corpse.

-Vincent

[Valamir]

This looks good.

I think you've got Sister Hester and Sister Prudence switched around in the "What do they want" section, however.

[TomTitTot]

Whew. Been a while.

Just wanted to say that I'll be running this town (finally!) tomorrow night.

First time running Dogs. Got the nerves.

[JC]

as another noob DITV-GM, I\'d like to hear how it went

[TomTitTot]

Yowza.

It's been a while, but I wanted to post here to say that my previous attempt to run Dogs was stillborn, but TOMORROW I'll be running this Town for two very enthusiastic players. I'm very excited about it.

As an aside, I'm wondering if any seasoned GMs could offer advice relating to First Time Sessions and games for Two Players?

Thanks so much!

-Pooka

[JC]

Yowza.

It's been a while, but I wanted to post here to say that my previous attempt to run Dogs was stillborn, but TOMORROW I'll be running this Town for two very enthusiastic players. I'm very excited about it.

As an aside, I'm wondering if any seasoned GMs could offer advice relating to First Time Sessions and games for Two Players?

Thanks so much!

-Pooka

advice, off the top of my head: cut straight to the chase, really throw the NPCs begging for help at the PCs

as for two players, that should work just fine