A Year in the City - The Braunstein: Meet the Patrons.

My IRL 5E D&D group has been going for a few years, we transitioned over to VTT like many during the Global Downtime phase, and that is how I will be running the next campaign we play. 

Wish you were here?

Coming down from the 'globetrotting' adventures of Storm Kings Thunder, we'll be setting down roots and exploring a setting with more depth than breadth. I had always wanted to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist as a full adventure rather than following the "adventure path" (choo-choo) provided in the module.

The discussions the #BrOSR folks have gave me the impetus to do so.

I was enthused by the Braunstein aspect of their games, and the more I learned about it the more excited I was to implement it. 

So I tested the waters, and approached one of the players who I knew would be open to these kinds of shenanigans:

DM: "If I ran a campaign, you were playing in as a player, would you be interested in running one of the Villain's behind the scenes? Running/handling them during Downtime not during the Session.

Player 1: "That sounds like it could be very entertaining."

DM: "You'd be given a 'Boss level' NPC, Henchmen & Minions. A goal they are trying to achieve and an abstract level of Wealth/Influence with which to achieve it. The idea is that when you work your machinations on the macro level, where they come into conflict with the players creates plot hooks at the micro level." 

[I proceeded to detail an example of what I meant, illustrated by the events of our current SKT game]

DM: "After the session there would be Downtime for the players, and that's when you would also plan your next moves for over the course of that Downtime period. It would only be through messages like this over the course of the week. We might only have to jump on to roll dice if you come into conflict or we have to resolve an outcome."

Player 1: "Will the Big Bad know much about what the heroes are doing or essentially if his plans have suffered minor setbacks due to meddling kids?"

DM: "To start with: probably not. You'll both have roughly outlined goals, but as it's a published module (and not a hex crawl) you will be made aware of each other's existence, and it's up to you if you attempt to scout them or open with a fire team of highly trained assassins."

*****

You'll note a couple of things; I have not really loosened the reins too much, and the second thing is the Patrons had an "Abstract level of wealth/influence".

This was still early in my understanding of BrOSR style play: The Lurk Moar phase. 

I still wasn't fully broken free from that 5e mindset that had accreted around me.

As to the level of wealth a Patron should have, well the thing I had noticed when trying to mould Patron play to suit 5E was that unlike AD&D or ACKs where its fairly straight forward to determine how much wealth/magic items/men-at-arms a Patron should/could have, 5e seemed lacking.

I had just come from a session of Forbidden Lands, and thought the abstract system they use for consumables/wealth would be an easy fix to my problem.

But after playtesting with a friend, it was not. It made the downtime choices feel very hand wavy. 

{Example of playsing the Downtime activities from Xanathar's}

"I spend my week Researching."

"Okay roll your Wealth die, and if it's a 1* just tell me."

"Can I spend more money to increase the bonus"

"Sure, roll your wealth die 6 times, and if its a 1 tell me."

"I spend my week Carousing"

"Okay roll your wealth die, and if it's a 1 tell me...Oh wait with what class are you carousing with?"

"Um...Middle Class, I'm looking to get some contacts within the Guilds bureaucracy."

"Okay roll your wealth die, and if its a 1 tell me."

*Using the 'abstract system' the die downgrades on the roll of a 1. i.e. a d8 > d6.

As you can see this is a very 'meh' patch. It's more impactful when used by players out in the wilderness of the Forbidden Lands. Where you suddenly realise you've eaten all your rations, or are watching your quiver get depleted.

This led me back to the problem of how much 'wealth' do the Patron players start with and how do I distribute it fairly. 

In AD&D for Monster Patrons you could use the Monster Manual entries to determine "starting wealth" (Treasure type) and initial armed forces (Chieftain's, sub-chiefs and champions per x monsters).

I decided to try and implement this as best as possible using 5E's mechanics. 

So we turn to the 5E DMG - Chapter 7: Treasure {Random Treasure}, and use Treasure Hoard by CR. As most of the Patrons fall in within CR 11-16 range, and thus start with: 

4d6 x1000gp, and 5d6 x100pp

And potentially (d%) a selection of Gems, Art Objects, and the potential for additional Magic Items.

This sits better with me, though we'll see how it shakes out further down the line.

The reason it sits well is because one of the ways to 'restore' the abstract wealth die that had been degraded would have been to engage in Downtime activities such as Crime. 

Given that Wealth is now a finite resource it should encourage the Patrons to engage in ways to gain more.

Do they go for the Dragons Gold themselves?

Start a crime spree across the City?

Or finance the PC's expedition to delve into the Undermountain for a healthy cut?

I am a little apprehensive that this is now far too much wealth, but we'll see how the Patrons splurge.

*****

Another wealth drain comes from the oft overlooked, and underutilised part from the 5E: PHB - Chapter 5: Equipment (Expenses - Services: Hirelings).

Thanks to @Crossface02 for reminding me that these 'Skilled' hirelings can be Mercs.

And so, on top of a few Patrons being bound to pay the Taxes of the City, all Patrons must pay out the monthly wages of their Henchmen & Minions. Named Henchmen counting as "Skilled Hireling" 2gp/Day, and Unnamed Minions counting as "Untrained Hirelings" 2sp/Day. 

Once again, there's nothing new under the sun: 

[Real-time play & the "Braunstein" effect (waterdeeposr.blogspot.com)]

Normally this sort of thing might be hand waved, but I am also enforcing Loyalty, Morale and Social Interaction, also from the DMG. And using the System Shock rules, instead of tracking Named NPC Death Saves.

You better not abuse that goblin minion, or it might just lead your enemies directly into the heart of your lair.

Another thing to note is that this 'monthly pay' is not necessarily purely hard coin, it could be in the form of the gold's worth of food, trinkets, magic reagents etc. 

Especially as some of the Patron's minions may not value gold in the same way the Players do.

**********

That I think is enough laying the groundwork, let's get to who the Patrons are:

The Dashing Rogue - Jarlaxle Baenre

The Crime Boss Beholder - The Xanather

The Diabolical Nobles - The Cassalanters

The Hidden Hand - Manshoon

And a couple of Curve Balls; One of my players prefers to play Heroes, he has no issue if his character is corrupted during the course of play, but doesn't like starting as an "evil" character. 

The other I felt would be a good fit for playing the 'self-serving double agent', and so we also have:

The Upstart Blackstaff - Vajra Safahr

The Scheming Aristocrats - House Gralhund

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