7.5.0 Decreasing Difficulty
Adventurers who have a dream bigger than their available Renown have several options for bringing it about more rapidly. The party can use some or all of these techniques for making their ambition more feasible, and the GM might well insist on at least some of them before the PCs can succeed.
They can spend money. Sometimes a problem can be solved by throwing enough money at it, either by paying off troublesome opponents, constructing useful facilities or installations, or hiring enough help to push the cause through. Money is often useful, but it eventually begets diminishing returns; once everything useful has been bought, additional coinage brings little result.
The adjacent table shows how much a point of Renown dedicated to the project costs. The first few points come relatively cheaply, but after that the price increases rapidly. Eventually, there comes a point where only the wealth of empires can shove a massive project through with sheer monetary force. Small projects and modest ambitions are generally easy to accomplish with cash, but society-wide alterations and massive undertakings can defeat the richest vault.
They can build institutions. If the PCs want a fortified monastery loyal to them, they can either throw enough Renown at their goal until allied NPCs and local potentates think it’s a good idea to buy them off by building it for them, or they can actually go out and purchase it with their own money. They can hire the masons, recruit the monks, and find a trustworthy abbot to act as regent for the heroes. Such steps may not be enough to completely attain the purpose, as they’ll still have to deal with quelling any local opposition to the new monastery and any innate implausibility of establishing a monastery wherever they want to put it, but it’ll get them a long way toward success.
The GM decides a reasonable cost for the institution they want to build and the assorted recruits they’ll need to operate it, using the guidelines in this section. Prices will vary drastically based on the situation; building a splendid stone castle in a desert with no good source of stone will cost far more than listed, while hiring skilled artisans in a major metropolis won’t be nearly as difficult as finding them in an empty tundra.
Once the cost is paid, the GM assigns a suitable amount of Renown toward attaining the goal. For example, if the overall goal is securing the trade route between two distant cities, building a fortified caravansary with patrolling road guards might give enough Renown to solve half the problem. The rest of it might require dealing with the opposition that’s making the hazard in the first place, such as the depredations of a bandit chief or the perils of the savage monsters that haunt the road.
They can nullify opposition. Either through gold, persuasion, or sharp steel, the PCs can end the opposition of those powers who stand against their ambition. Opponents who can be bought off might be managed with nothing more than a lengthy discussion and an exchange of valuables, but other opponents might need full-fledged adventures to deal with. Some might demand favors in exchange for withdrawing their opposition, or quests accomplished on their behalf, or enemies snuffed out by the swords of the heroes. Others could be so unalterably opposed to the idea that they must either be killed or endured.
They can adventure in pursuit of their goal. This adventure might be something as simple as finding the den of a troublesome pack of monsters, or it could be something as involved as delving into an ancient dungeon to recover the lost regalia that will give them the moral authority to make demands of a troublesome prelate. Such adventures will give the PCs their usual award of Renown, but they can also give a bonus award toward their specific goal if their efforts are particularly relevant.
This bonus is determined by the GM. The easiest way for the GM to pick the proper amount for the award is to privately estimate how many such adventures their goal is worth and then award Renown accordingly. Thus, if the GM thinks that three adventures like this one is as much focus and effort as the group should have to spend toward accomplishing their aim, then each adventure will decrease the goal’s difficulty by one-third.
Adventuring is by far the most efficient way to accomplish a group’s goals, assuming they can come up with adventures that are relevant. This is intentional; a goal that gives the GM an easy supply of adventuring grist is a genuine contribution to the game. The more adventures that a GM gets out of PC ambitions, the easier it will be to prepare for the game and ensure the players are involved in the campaign.
| Renown Bought | Cost in Silver Pieces per Point |
|---|---|
| First 1-4 points | 500 per point |
| Next 4 points | 2,000 per point |
| Next 8 points | 4,000 per point |
| Next 16 points | 8,000 per point |
| Next 32 points | 16,000 per point |
| Next 64 points | 32,000 per point |
| Further points | Prohibitively expensive |
For example, purchasing 14 points of Renown would cost 2,000 for the first four, 8,000 for the next four, and 24,000 for the next six, for 34,000 sp total.