On Wednesday, I laid out the foundation of the concept of a RPG where players defined a city and leveled it up in various ways based entirely on their actions. Today, I'm getting a hint deeper into the concept.
There are three ways I have planned for players to advance their city. Interaction with outsiders, interaction with insiders, and off-screen scenes.
The first is through interaction with NPCs that aren't part of your civilization. Here's an example I posted in the comment section: Your party has temporarily been assisted by a Necromancer, but a Ranger takes offense. Kill the Necromancer to make the Ranger happy, and he might teach your civ how to tame horses. Ally with the Necromancer and the Ranger walks, and he might make sure you have a supply of free, tireless labor to work in the mines. This forced choice gives you the possibility of new technology either way, but ultimately makes a significant impact later on as you either have beasts of burden or horses.
How the players interact with a society has an impact, too. In each arc, players are representing individuals that play a pivotal role in defining the next age for society. Motivate a lazy shopkeeper, and he might branch out into nearby villages, expanding your commerce systems. Leave a jilted bride in your wake, and an inkeeper might just encourage local tradesmen to boycott or leave town. Burn a dock, and mercantile trade will suffer.
Finally, I'm toying with the idea of letting players advance their civilization between sessions. By giving them two to three choices in the manner of old CRPG dialogue options, they can choose how to react to events that happen between ages. Right now, I'm considering using a Facebook group, simply because all of my prospective players are active users of Facebook.
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