Gamemastering Apple Lane; Aka How to Role play a village

[skulldixon]

Being new to Runequest, I decided to start my group off in Apple Lane and I am nearing then end of the first three main adventures that take place in the Gamemaster's Adventure book.

One of the unique aspect of Runequest: Glorantha is that the players are not free booting adventurers, exploring the world and collecting money and enemies as they go. Instead they are members of an active community and this is where I run into some trouble at times. I have very little experience as a player or Gamemaster in this type of roleplaying game.

 

So my question here comes in two parts.

1) If you ran or played a campaign in Apple Lane, what kind of things - events - encounters happened in your game? Maybe something you've done will inspire me and help me connect some dots.

2) Do you have any tips and tricks that you use to make interactions and conversations between NPCs and PCs in the village feel more lively and organic. Like, a technique I have used in the past to motivate player to have conversations in character (RP) is to have a NPC they meet ask them a question related to something the NPC already knows about them or that is about some ongoing problem the group is dealing with. And I do plan to do this with the villagers of Apple Lane to an extent, but I've never had to roleplay a village before and I'm looking for more ways to expand on the skills I already have. So any suggestions would be a great help.

[David Scott]

11 hours ago, skulldixon said:

So my question here comes in two parts.

1) If you ran or played a campaign in Apple Lane, what kind of things - events - encounters happened in your game? Maybe something you've done will inspire me and help me connect some dots.

I'd really recommend you play a game of Fiasco and some Drama System. Look at some TV shows based around village life. My secret is that I use use Little House on the Prairie as my basic model but don't tell anyone...

11 hours ago, skulldixon said:

2) Do you have any tips and tricks that you use to make interactions and conversations between NPCs and PCs in the village feel more lively and organic. Like, a technique I have used in the past to motivate player to have conversations in character (RP) is to have a NPC they meet ask them a question related to something the NPC already knows about them or that is about some ongoing problem the group is dealing with. And I do plan to do this with the villagers of Apple Lane to an extent, but I've never had to roleplay a village before and I'm looking for more ways to expand on the skills I already have. So any suggestions would be a great help.

For my players, I slowly introduced the villagers. For the initial adventure, I focussed on Aileena, and used her as the classic "we are helpless villagers save us". The next group they got to know were the tenants. Ma Rotroot is a classic "so what are you going to about that then". I had one of her sons be kidnapped by the baddies and the other has a terrible crush on one of the characters. Hendroste was the next, he looked after the mounts and his wife became the centre of attention during the Ernalda holy week. None of the players realised that she would give birth on the final day and one was literally left holding the baby.

Overall I treat it like a TV series, focus on one person at a time and their associated world. Player start to rely on them. One wanted some armour made and they only then realised there was no smith. Then the villagers talk about the previous smith and that storyline develops. I've played a lot of Drama System and HeroQuest, so having each person on a card, and having them in an episode order comes easy. I make notes on their interactions with the player (a text file) and write down their opinion of the adventurer.

1. Defending Apple Lane - Aileena - main contact, Ma Rotroot antagonist 

2. Trip to clear wine - Kareena - guide, Asborn don't let the family down

3. Cattle Raid - Heortal - guide and background, Cara general trouble (Cara becomes the thane's serving girl...)

4 etc.

Another big part is that some of the adventurers are local Hiordings and related to the chief, the former thane and Asborn. Two are now nobles and expected to step up and deal with stuff. All the village stuff happens in seasonal downtime. I leave the time flexible - it's five weeks so plenty of space.

I make sure I have pictures of everyone to put up on screen (in a previous game physical pics), here's the Uleria temple staff: 

I have the pictures grouped by location. So when they are there I put them up. If they don't remember the names, they start to give them their own: The priestess, the foreign girl and the nose-ring girl. They call Pramble the old guy, and the Praxian in the group calls Jeena, Baby-Mother.

So the occupants of each location have a picture and each tenant farm. Likewise with the chief and ernalda priestess at Swan.

[skulldixon]

I never heard of Drama System, I'll have to take a look at it. 

I haven't watched many shows that are about village life, but I can see what you are talking about. I'll probably pull some reference from Lark Rise to Candleford. But I think some of what you are saying is helpful. Its possible I might spread myself to thin with them interacting with too many villagers at first. Thanks for the advice!

[Trotsky]

I have only recently returned to RPGs, I have not run the Apple Lane scenarios yet but have run the Six Seasons in Sartar campaign – which is effectively running a small clan for the players to interact with. We are just about to have some action in Clearwine as well. I am still learning much and will probably always will be…

I think it is a choice of creating a few memorable NPCs or many non-memorable ones. I find it is difficult to keep a large group of NPCs distinctive and so I concentrate on the main NPCs and have a couple of ‘personalities’ sketched out that I can add to any character that I have not prepared. I can managed at most about eight distinctive NPCs in any one session but much prefer around five. I agree with David that character portraits really help – some player are more visual than others. And while I do not use, ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ I do link NPCs to memorable characters from print or screen, which helps fix them in my mind.

I try to get an emotional response from the players to a NPC, or at least a memorable interaction. They tend to remember, ‘Oh that guy who….’ Or ‘She is the one that….’

Finally, in a community role-play situations I think it is important that the players take a very active role. Make them do the work – there were several additional episodes we added to Six Seasons, including a HeroQuest, that came directly from the players’ motivations and actions with the community.

On a practical level, having some domestic background events I find is a good way to start NPC conversations: Asking if they had seen one of their children who has run off after being told off. A couple having a domestic argument about some minor household task and being embarrassed they have been overheard. Having animals acting up is always useful – trouble getting the cows in or the pig has escaped…

[coffeemancer]

I run it kinda like the town in "Darkest Dungeon".
It's like a hub where the players can upgrade buildings to improve the services. invest in repairing the blacksmith and find someone to operate it and they can get better equipment and have an easier time selling their looted arms and armour.

[Scorus]

I second @David Scott on introducing the characters gradually. I did not do that and the players were overwhelmed with named and personalities (since I had also just introduced them to their clan, Hiording). Several players paired up with NPCs (Aileena, Brightflower, Squinch, Thrilla), but it hasn't really lasted.

[Stephen L]

On 11/14/2020 at 7:00 PM, David Scott said:

I slowly introduced the villagers

No one’s mentioned Gooseberry Sprig.  Obviously, as the duck, he is the main character of interest in the village.  He’s certainly been vital in my campaign.

First, he’s been picking the pockets of the obviously richest member of the party.  Who have then blamed the duck PC (Pengy).  Which instantly had Gooseberry unite with Pengy, which has been instrumental in a number of plot lines.  First sharing his heirloom, Pinfeather’s map of Duckdom.  Then suppling Pengy with marsh weed, which is a powerful calming drug that Forang Forash craves (the party have needed quite a lot of draconic lore from him).  The suspicious would wonder what’s causing Forang Forash’s headaches, and why Gooseberry knows cures.  Fortunately, suspicious isn’t a trait in my roleplaying group.

[skulldixon]

Thats fun. Current, Gooseberry is the character my party is interacting with at the moment. They hard a rumor from him that Lunars were spotted robbing a Grave Mound and the party is using him as a guide to find that location. So I am seeding these characters in slowly for sure. They only had some minor interactions so far with Brightflowwer and Aleenia and the Horsemaster - whose name I can't think of at the moment. 

As a side note: I see Gooseberrry Sprig as being played by Steve Buscemi

[David Scott]

My players find Gooseberry the least interesting. Some played in the Sartar campaign in Sartar KoH and it has naturally made them awkward around ducks.

[Stephen L]

8 hours ago, David Scott said:

My players find Gooseberry the least interesting

Just how the duck likes it.  Nice and quiet, nobody taking any notice, and next morning, your purse is gone.  Damn fine meal last night though.  Must remember sometime to give my compliments to the chef.

[skulldixon]

Just wanted to update everyone who might find this post helpful or is following this thread. Here is some of the stuff that I have added to the Apple Lane setting.

• The Rotroot family is one of the Tenant farmers who manage one of the hides of land owned by the Thane of Apple Lane. I see them as Conniving hillbilly types. But I have them taking a portion of their share of the Harvest and turning them into Picked, fermented Apple Slice. Which are stored in sealed Earthenware jars and placed in a root cellar. 
• I gave Aileena the Manage Household skill since she needs to be able to manage the temple and the orchards that the temple owns. Its the same thing with Kareena.
• I feel the number of people in Apple Lane given in the book is off. it says that there are 20 adults in the hamlet. And I think maybe that is correct as far as 20 Adults who live within the Hamlet. But I think that much like the hide of land that the Tenants manage for the Thane, there are other tenants who manage the orchards for The two temples, the Horsemaster, and the Vacant Weaponmaster. Which would place the population between 30-52 Adults. 

[Scorus]

I think the number I came up with was ca. 60 people, including children. Most in the 25 tenant farmer households scattered outside the village.

I have Squinch manage the lands held by Hendroste, Aileena, and Kareena. One of the players has become Weaponmaster and Squinch is managing those also. He keeps 10% of the profits from them (though some of that goes back into the village). The PC Thane was a Noble so started with Manage Household.

It has been right at a year since they were introduced to Apple Lane and they have just come into some money that they can use to put some of their plans in place. To me, the biggest limit to developing Apple Lane is the lack of water! Who builds a village in this area without even so much as a stream? Especially with baths in the Ulerian Temple! The Thane is an Engizi with a good relationship with the dryad of Swan River (which is actually a river in my game), so there may one day be a heroquest along those lines. Though I may just put a spring there.

As far as enemies and rivals, the Orlevings from the Sakkar adventure very much dislike them. They have just pissed off the Orlanth High Priest in Jonstown. The tusk riders they defeated to defend Apple Lane were just part of the ones in Pig Hollow, including a Rune Lord. Important elements of the Lysang suspect them of things.  And, as they are all Hiording, their rivals in Taraling and Orlmarth. Allies include the Hiording, they have impressed and helped the Varmandi, they have just turned over a valuable artifact to Leika, one of them is King of the Rainbow Mounds newtlings, and they have had positive meetings with the Anmangarn, Antorling, and Tarndisi.

My players' goals right now are:

• One is courting Brightflower, bringing her back gifts from his travels. None of them are married yet.
• One is assisting Kareena in caring for the Orlanth shrine and spending a LOT of time in the Ulerian baths.
• Queen Leika wants to bring Lysang and Namolding back into the tribe and they are trying to organize joint patrols of Birne's Squeeze with them, the Hiording, and Antorlings to engage them.
• The PC weaponmaster recruited (short version) his brother and a friend of his to be part of those patrols.
• The Thane was resurrected and as payment is building a shrine/small hospital to Chalana Arroy in the Temple to All Deities as soon as he can recruit a healer.
• They are recruiting for a redsmith and planning on rebuilding the hut. In the long run they would like to find a blacksmith and are considering a quest to find Piku's son.
• They are planning to build a longhouse for all the non-farmers that they are trying to recruit.
• The Lhankor Mhy PC is trying to build a library, currently stored in the Thane's house.
• The Asst Shaman PC has made contact with a Suberiad in the hills to the ENE and they are contemplating the risks of allying her.
• They are looking to clear 3 hides of land for crops, then build huts and recruit farmers (I assume all the current tenant farmers are working in the orchards, mostly). This will lead to Colymar Wilds conflicts.

[skulldixon]

16 hours ago, Scorus said:

To me, the biggest limit to developing Apple Lane is the lack of water! Who builds a village in this area without even so much as a stream? Especially with baths in the Ulerian Temple!

I didn't see anything that would suggest that there wasn't a stream or natural reservoir of ground water in the area -especially with there being 200-300 acres of Orchards. That many ares of trees would suggest that there is an ample supply of water in the area - otherwise you would have issue growing some many apple trees. Iirc, Apple Trees require a lot of water. Though The temple of Uleria could be built on a natural hot spring - that would  be a good idea and one I think I'll be including into my game for sure.

Edited December 7, 2020 by skulldixon

[coffeemancer]

isnt there a well?

[skulldixon]

2 minutes ago, coffeemancer said:

isnt there a well?

Actually, you are correct. There is a well on the map.

[Scorus]

3 hours ago, skulldixon said:

I didn't see anything that would suggest that there wasn't a stream or natural reservoir of ground water in the area -especially with there being 200-300 acres of Orchards. That many ares of trees would suggest that there is an ample supply of water in the area - otherwise you would have issue growing some many apple trees. Iirc, Apple Trees require a lot of water. Though the temple of Uleria could be built on a natural hot spring - that would  be a good idea and one I think I'll be including into my game for sure.

Yes, there is a well. But that is not going to be enough for a village dependent on agriculture with a busy inn and a famous temple with baths. The rainfall in Dragon Pass would be sufficient for orchards and many crops, but not for the drinking needs of people and livestock. They need to be near a water source and none is on the map. Jeff has said that the Swan River is only a wet weather stream, so it is safe to assume there are not year-round water sources feeding into it. Keep in mind that while the village of Apple Lane map is small, it is supplied by 25 tenant farmers spread over ca. 50 sq km.

So, that is not viable with what I and my players want to do with it. In my game Swan River is an actual river, though not at all wide and only deep enough for flatbottom and very shallow boats. Being in a valley it is fed from all directions including from the Colymar Wilds and Starfire Ridges from the South, allowing for there to be Hiording villages in that area. As much as I would like to, I'm not putting a natural stream through there since there is none on the map but I am putting them to the East and West of Apple Lane, one winding to cover the north of it also, with the orchards and tenant farmers located in those areas. I will likely take a page out of the JC's "Throat of Winter" to create a stream on the Apple Lane map at some point in the future. Meanwhile, a spring (hot or not) that the Ulerian Temple was built to take advantage of solves part of the problem.

[skulldixon]

The Orchards are not on the map either neither are any of the underground water sources that might be feeding the well. Personally, in any game system/setting - I general use common sense instead of expecting every answer to be on the map or in the book. I think you're worrying about nothing. It would be one thing if any of sources said that it was a Dry region with very little water, but as far as I know none of them state this. Apple Lane, iirc, was quite wealthy before the Lunar occupation because of these apple orchards. So, to suggest that they don't have nearby water sources, seems to kind of spit in the face of all the available information on the area. 

I very rarely wish they would add every water way, stream, creek, etc to these maps. Having Drawn maps for games, there is nothing less fun than adding redundant info into a detailed map.

A course, the other answer to all of this involves spirits of water and air being used for agriculture. 

 

It should also be pointed out that with abundant ground water you don't need a lot of above ground water ways. If the region gets a lot of rain - which I believe it does, then the aquafer would sustain the area very well during the dry season.

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by skulldixon

[skulldixon]

Now if you want to continue with that idea as a story aspect of your own game - that's fine. I don't mind that. I think that it can create something very actionable for the PCs to do. I just wouldn't suggest that it was something actually true for the hamlet in general.

I like the idea that Apple Lane has lost a lot of the wealth it once had prier to the Lunar occupancy. Maybe the Lunars corrupted the water in the region or corrupted the source of the water in the region and now its no longer sustaining the orchards. This gives the PC something they can tackle and change for the betterment of all. It lets them explore how and why the Lunars corrupted the water source and to what end.

Edited December 7, 2020 by skulldixon

[Joerg]

Running a hamlet and inn out of a single well seems quite feasible to me. Compare the cholera-infected well in London which spread the disease to hundreds in that famous first use of geo-profiling in epidemiology.

The seasonal nature of the rivers in limestone areas is largely owned to them losing water to the underground. A good well will tap into some of those underground aquifers.

Sartar is not a typical dry karst environment. There is no evidence for irrigation farming here. (If there was, there would be reservoirs upstream.)

The Sartarites know how dam up a river, as shown in the battle of the Hill of Orlanth Victorious in 1613. The just don't need to in their everyday life.

 

I have seen an interpretation of the myth of Orlanth breaking the first river's back (creating the Oslir River as a separate entity) as an irrigation myth, and I guess that might be true for the Pelorian Orlanthi populating that river valley. (I think that it is a different reading of Orlanth slaying Sh'harkar'zeel and thereby creating the Dragonspine range, although the Aroka myth and the location of Lake Aroka come into this, too.) Vingkotling Age Orlanthi may well have known about irrigation, and Saird as well as Esrolia may actively practice that to the 1600s. I don't think that either Heortland or Sartar have a need to irrigate, though.

[Rodney Dangerduck]

1 hour ago, Joerg said:

Sartar is not a typical dry karst environment. There is no evidence for irrigation farming here. (If there was, there would be reservoirs upstream.)

Recent posts by @Jeff imply that Sartar's climate is "like Walnut Creek California".  Which gets quite dry in Summer.  June through September get a total of about half an inch of rain.  Apples and most crops would need some primitive irrigation.  Or magic.

[Joerg]

2 hours ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

Recent posts by @Jeff imply that Sartar's climate is "like Walnut Creek California".  Which gets quite dry in Summer.  June through September get a total of about half an inch of rain.  Apples and most crops would need some primitive irrigation.  Or magic.

That depends on the soil and the ground water levels where those orchards are planted.

I own a couple of apple trees in my garden, and the last few extremely dry summers did indeed create havoc with my harvest, as did the extremely wet "summer" of 2017. In normal years, the water retention of the soil in my garden and some sub-surface water transport about 1-2 feet below the soil and again a water-leading layer about 8 feet lower are fine to provide enough water with a sufficiently rainy April and May and some obligatory half inch to Kiel Week.

There is no evidence for any irrigation works or a reservoir anywhere uphill from the orchards. These appear to be situated on a slope, which suggests to me that there would be some sub-surface runoff for much of the year. The Ernalda cult should be wise to where you can grow certain crops, they can communicate with the soil and have an excellent idea about humidity levels.

But this makes my observations about making hay in the orchards possibly even more relevant - with a layer of (second rate, for stable floors) hay on the ground there will be less evaporation, and what humidity there is in the soil will benefit the apple trees more.

 

California is desertification in progress, due to over-exploitation of aquifers and climate change working in tandem. As is much of the agricultural midwest. Climate data from that area should be taken from the 1980ies rather than from recent years.

 

[David Scott]

On 12/7/2020 at 1:11 AM, Scorus said:

To me, the biggest limit to developing Apple Lane is the lack of water! Who builds a village in this area without even so much as a stream?

There is a stream. Looking at the new map,  one of the Swan River's two forks rises by Apple lane. Given the basic geography and looking at the catchment area it would make sense that there are springs at the foot of the hills. Look also at the map in the classic edition. The temple (actually just a shrine) has a "the steam room, where .. a guest may have a hot bath with water and steam."

Veering away from Roman ideals (too late for Bronze age Glorantha), and looking at bronze age societies (Babylon, Egypt, etc) instead:

Water sources could be springs, rain and well (or likely all three). Heating water for steam is likely hot rocks. Bathing is a bit more complicated as it could be cold water, normal for some societies or if hot, some kind of vessel, maybe a sacred copper urn.

If we use the Babylonian concept of bath, it's more like a shower: 

https://www.plumbingsupply.com/pmbabylon.html

If you want an underground room solution with a small spring or a rain capture system that also works:

https://www.history.com/news/ancient-ritual-bath-unearthed-in-jerusalem

Water temperature:

https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/its-getting-hot-in-here-the-evolution-of-the-hot-shower-from-ancient-egypt-to-today

[Scorus]

2 hours ago, David Scott said:

There is a stream. Looking at the new map,  one of the Swan River's two forks rises by Apple lane.

I guess I was making too much of Jeff's comment that the Swan River is actually just a wet-weather stream.

[David Scott]

20 hours ago, Scorus said:

I guess I was making too much of Jeff's comment that the Swan River is actually just a wet-weather stream.

Wet weather stream is about right. Go an visit a stream head and see what’s there, often nothing. But that doesn’t mean it’s not rising there. A good example here in the U.K. is the head of the river Thames. It’s just a field with some seasonal springs. Unless you dig down and make a lined pond, so water can rise up into it. Often you have to go down a metre or so to do this. The residents of Apple lane likely know where the source is, likewise the Varmandi know where the other branch is. 

[skulldixon]

Sacred time is coming up in a few weeks for my game. After reading another post in the forum about sacred time, I've written up a few notes about some of the practices that take place during sacred time that is unique to Apple Lane.

• During the Week of Luck, locals renew their bond with the Apple Lane Wyter. They perform rituals that reenact the founding of Apple Lane by the Prince Tarkalor and Gringle, which end with the ritualized killing of the youngest calf from the local herd. Its entrails are intergraded into the soil at the base of the Wyter's tree, enriching it.
• Omen Reading: During Fate Week; the oldest Apple Tree (That is not the Wyter's tree) is cut down. All the wood from this tree are burned throughout Fate Week. At the end of fate week, a local priest(ess) imbibes the sacred Apple Wine and reads the omens that they see within the ashes of the tree. The Priest(ess), as they perform the ritual dance, spread the ash through their hair and uses the ashes to paint the symbols upon their naked body. These symbols are ones that were revealed in other rituals, the runes of the gods, and the runes of luck and fate. When the Dance through the ashes is completed they look over the ashes that lay about them and foretell the communities future for the coming year. The Dance ends just as the sun sets, marking the end of the day and the end of sacred time and takes an hour to fully preform.  
  - During that year's harvest, the apples from this tree are keep separate from the others so that they can be used to make a sacred apple wine that will be enbibed during the Omen Rituals after its fermented for 7 years. Each apple is pared in the temple of Uleria by the temple's head Priestess'. Each is pared in a way to get the whole apple skin in one long strip. The priestess lets the long strip fall to the floor of the temple, noting how they land and what symbols they reveal. These are saved and burned with the tree at Sacred time. The noted symbols from this ritual are applied to the reading of the ashes to add clarity and depth to the reading.
  - The Apple Seeds from the Apples that were harvested from the chosen tree are ground into a powder during the ritual to renew the bond with the local Wyter during Luck week and placed in a medicine bag made from the skin of the sacrificed calf.  If the ashes of the tree reveal ill omens for the coming year, this powder can be used to curse an enemy who would bring harm to the community. If the omens are good then the powder can be used to bless a local champion.

 

Here is the link tot he other Forum post for reference.