Intrigue

The Differences

Intrigue works differently than it seems in 5e. Rather than a bespoke subsystem, intrigue is a framework to build an adventure around.

When you found a domain (i.e. your party enter an intrigue adventure), each party member gains one follower, who are part of the domain. In addition, players can choose for their existing or new followers to join or be a part of the domain. Consider allowing players to share retainers among the group rather than tying them to an individual.

With a domain, the party can have multiple retainers, but can only take one with them at a time. The rest take control of the day to day of controlling the domain for the party. You can also combine different types of followers with retainers for the purpose of the story, with an Elementalist retainer also acting as a Sage during the story, despite being mechanically distinct entities.

An intrigue campaign is formatted as follows:

  • The party establish conflict with an enemy. To arms! It’s your domain versus theirs.
  • 5 ‘intrigue rounds’ occur.
  • Each intrigue round is one Respite’s worth of adventuring.
  • If you’re using milestones, consider the following levelling, encompassing a campaign arc:
  • (presumably fully rested) -> intrigue round -> Respite -> intrigue round -> Respite w/ level -> intrigue round -> Respite -> intrigue round -> Respite w/ level -> intrigue round -> Respite -> boss -> Respite w/ level
  • During an intrigue round, the party traverse a local area to make allies, negotiate with neutral parties and sabotage their enemies.
  • The final conflict! At the start of this climactic boss battle, a whole bunch of effects occur based on the events the party have succeeded in doing during the adventuring. Be sure to list exactly what the players accomplished and what the reward is in a dramatic fashion at the start to impress them with everything they’ve done!

To properly run an intrigue campaign, you should run a boss fight that is heavily stacked against the players by default (a level above etc). Expect that the players will be going into the final battle with their numbers juiced to heaven by all the buffs they’ve accumulated.

In addition, if you intend to run your final boss fight directly after their final respite, consider adding “...and you start the final combat with an additional victory.” to all the rewards they accumulate.

Here are several ways to instantiate things a Domain could do in 5e, but in Draw Steel:

  • Grant the party unique benefits based on the ‘class’ of the domain
  • Consider giving the party access to a unique title based on the type of domain they establish.
  • Many titles already lend themselves to be given out to various types of domains!
  • Negotiate on your behalf
  • Add a new type of Follower called a Diplomat that allows you, during a Respite, to choose a domain or group. When you begin a negotiation with them, you can treat their starting attitude as one higher.
  • I may even go as far as adding a new Respite action for this with a project goal that a Diplomat allows you to roll towards.
  • Discover your enemies’ statistics.
  • Allow players to take the Discover Lore downtime, choosing an officer or enemy leader of the opposing domain. On completion, they learn their statblock (without villain actions), or they learn their villain actions. Temper the difficulty based on the power level of the chosen officer.
  • Platoons are obscure knowledge.
  • An enemy domain with officers that are platoons may have 4+ Rivals with classes that mirror the party’s, such as the Black Iron Pact.
  • Elites are lost knowledge.
  • An enemy domain with officers that are elites may have 3 enemies, such as the black rose knights in Regents of Bedegar.
  • Solos, Leaders, and villain actions are forbidden knowledge.
  • An enemy domain with a solo may be a draconic empire ruled by a single inferno tyrant, or an overmind running a criminal empire.
  • Allow players to recruit nonstandard types of Sage retainers - including specialists in Stealth, Sneak, Criminal Underworld and other spying abilities, representing them discovering information through espionage!
  • Do things like build bridges, boats etc.
  • This is already covered under the Crafting respite activity, with artisan retainers.
  • Sabotage the enemy or buff yourself up.
  • You do this via adventuring and via the standard respite activities!

Here is a list for Directors of potential rewards during an adventure that a party could engage in:

  • Magic Item(s)
  • A levelled treasure for a party member.
  • A unique title (equivalent to the above) for a party member.
  • Consumables with unique effects for the entire party.
  • A powerful benefit that occurs a number of rounds into the final conflict, such as:
  • The party starts the final conflict with extra bonuses, such as:
  • The enemy starts combat surprised, and the party always goes first.
  • Additional Hero Tokens
  • This is a great one to give as an incremental benefit if the party does a small thing that will pay off later.
  • Additional temporary Stamina
  • Additional Heroic Resources
  • A bonus to saving throws
  • Extra recoveries
  • Immunity 5 to a damage type
  • A unique Boss Combat Action a party member can use on their turn once during the final combat as a free maneuver. A party member can only use one boss combat action on a turn.
  • The enem(y/ies) start the final conflict with downsides, such as:
  • Gaining 1 less Malice each round
  • Starting with a condition, such as weakened.
  • On the xth turn, a party member can roll for a powerful effect equivalent to a heroic resource ability of the director’s choice.
  • A powerful retainer (higher level than the party) joins and aids for the final battle after the first round.
  • A sabotage on the enemy, such as:
  • An entire enemy combatant doesn’t appear…
  • Because the party already fought and killed them in a boss battle.
  • Because the party negotiated with their domain who decided they didn’t want to help the main enemy any more.
  • An enemy officer starts the combat with reduced Stamina (likely half)
  • Minions in the combat begin the combat weakened or frightened.

Meanwhile, as the players are adventuring, the enemy also gets to make their moves! Heroes are always outclassed by their enemies (which is what makes the fight so dramatic), so they get an additional intrigue round right at the start, when the players first get ready to oppose them. Then, and subsequently during a Respite, the party’s enemies could make the following moves:

  • They secure an alliance…
  • Adding an additional combatant to the final conflict.
  • Granting them a unique benefit (likely a triggered action or free maneuver) they can take during the combat once.
  • They start with 1d3 extra Malice (rolled now)
  • The enemy pillages the party, reducing their Wealth for the intrigue’s duration.
  • The enemy slanders the party, reducing their Renown for the intrigue’s duration (and/or making them infamous)

Be sure to tell the party what benefit their enemy got during each Respite to impress on them that the enemy are also making moves, but also to allow them to accommodate their plans accordingly (i.e. taking time to mess with one of their enemy’s new allies.)

Example: The Regents of Bedegar

  • The Clock
  • Adventure:
  • Free Zola Honeycut before she’s executed.
  • Reward:
  • The party start the combat with Saxton and his officers surprised, and they take the first turn in the combat.
  • The Orchid Court
  • Adventure:
  • Defeat (or ally with!) the dragon Chlorandraxarous
  • Reward:
  • Pro-Elves:
  • Elven Thorn Shot (Boss Combat Action)
  • Pro-Chlorandraxarous:
  • Thorn Dragon’s Breath (Boss Combat Action)
  • Chlorandraxarous swoops from the skies, breathing noxious gas that grows thorns from its targets’ innards.
  • Type: Free Maneuver
  • Keywords: Magic
  • Distance: 3 cube within 20
  • Target: All enemies
  • Effect:
  • Tier 1 (=<11): 5 poison damage; M<1 bleeding (save ends)
  • Tier 2 (12-16): 9 poison damage; M<2 bleeding (save ends)
  • Tier 3 (17+): 12 poison damage; M<3 bleeding (save ends)
  • The Elgenwights
  • Adventure:
  • Solve the riddle of the Elgenwights.
  • Reward:
  • Each party members’ maximum and current recoveries increases by 2 for the duration of the intrigue.
  • The White Tusk Orcs
  • Adventure:
  • Negotiation, then…
  • Defeat a large creature that has been terrorising the tribe (Ape of Enormous Size, subverted with a Hydra combat).
  • Reward:
  • Temporary use of a powerful magic item (Banner of Bloodlust)
  • Grants the party within 20 of the person with the item an edge on strikes made when Charging or using Relentless. Orcs get a double edge from this instead.
  • Each member of the party within that area also gains the use of the orc’s Relentless trait if they don’t have it already.
  • The Star Chamber
  • Adventure:
  • Infiltrate the Star Chamber and assassinate a Rose Knight!
  • Reward:
  • Ser Anglim does not appear in the final combat against Lord Saxton.
  • Dalrath
  • Adventure:
  • A negotiation that takes place via letters, potentially across multiple respites.
  • Reward:
  • The Hounds of Dalrath
  • TBA
  • Caliga Lifebane
  • Adventures:
  • Negotiate with Caliga to get her to stop siding with Saxton.
  • Defeat Caliga in her tower.
  • Reward:
  • Caliga Lifebane does not appear in the final combat against Lord Saxton.