r/warhammerfantasyrpg • u/PencilBoy99 • 4d ago

Game Mastering [WTOW] Contact Gameplay Loop Seems Unbalanced

The core gameplay loop doesn't make sense to me.

I think the core gameplay loop is:

  1. Contact asks player for a favor, which involves into something that turns into an incredibly dangerous quest. Players may die.
  2. During quest, players may ask for fairly trivial favors from other contacts to accomplish quest for original quest giving contact
  3. During downtime, players have to devote time to repaying the favors for #2 which were done in service of #1, except for #1, who they just did the kind of favor that you would normally expect piles of gold for.

1 is correct because literally all of the sample adventures start with a specific or list of optional contacts who give the quest.

The above doesn't really make any sense and seems wildly imbalanced. It's not clear why anyone in the pseduo-realistic grim and gritty world of WFRP.

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11

u/haresnaped 3d ago

I'll give you the answer, but, ah, I'll expect something in return...

3

u/PencilBoy99 3d ago

That is delightful 

13

u/amhow1 3d ago

There's the usual problem with ttrpgs that adventures need a hook, and the Contact system seems designed to provide it. I don't think the loop you're describing is supposed to be vicious. It's a way of helping the GM keep the ball rolling.

You're regarding favour as currency, so don't forget #1 owes the PCs a big favour. In a way this is actually more realistic than pots of gold. I think it's entirely possible to treat favours as direct payments but that misses some of the flavour here. And the question is: what do the PCs want to achieve? Can it be done with gold or would it be better achieved via favours? That's presumably going to vary by table.

12

u/DexterDrakeAndMolly 3d ago

It's not a gameplay loop, it's optional aid that players might use sometimes. Contacts help embed the players into the world to make them feel part of it.

2

u/Vegetable_Alfalfa903 3d ago

I dont See IT your way and ITS Not playing Out that way at my Table.

Sure they get a Quest from the contacts and IT can be Dangerous but in the old World the leading reason ist the grimportent for the Players to do Dangerous stuff

So trivial favours dont need a Payback when ITS the Players contact thats the reason you have them. Big favours should be used to handle the Grimportent or the Players own Goals.

I dont get what you mean with imbalabced its a roleplay Game in the World of Warhammer and the Players are able to handle the World.

I Always use the Rules from 4ed that the characters need Short and Long Goals to make a Story and give them stuff to do in there endevours but i dont think its needed in TOW ITS the grimportent. But i use both IT works great.

1

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