I feel like my previous post was a little all over the place, at least by my standards. It was a sort of 'stream of consciousness' brain dump of thoughts that have been on my mind for a while now regarding Bases in TRPGs.
Thing is, I didn't really address the most important aspects of Bases:
- What is a Base in a TRPG context?
- Why have Bases/What are they for?
- What do they do and what can you do in them?
- How do you improve your Base?
What is a Base?
We'll start with a definition, this one [which purtains to a location] from Merriam-Webster:
a center or area of operations
The company has its base in London.
such as
(1) a permanent military installation, a naval base - The troops were ordered back to base.
(2) the place from which a military force draws supplies
(3) a place where military operations begin
This is a fine explanation of the term but I'd like to define it a bit further in the context of Tabletop RPGs and my own personal meaning.
A defined area used as the center of operations for a group of RPG characters.
The PC detectives returned to their base to analyze the clues they'd found.
In addition to giving the PCs and/or NPCs in a TRPG a place from which to organize and execute their plans and actions, Bases may contain but are not limited to:
(1) Living Quarters, a Kitchen/Galley, Lavatories, and other basic living amenities.
(2) Security systems or other technologies and ways of protecting the Base.
(3) Rooms to assist in PC tasks such as Research, Inventing, and even Skill Training.
(4) Storage of Gear, Loot, Pets, Vehicles, etc.
Now that we have an idea of what we're talking about, let's address why we're talking about it.
Why have Bases/What are they for?
The best part of PCs having a Base [IMHO] is that they become instantly more involved, invested, and immersed in the campaign. Why? Once they have a Base, the players and their characters own a part of the world. The Base may belong to the PCs or they might be in-charge of it on behalf of a larger power but either way, a piece of the game setting basically belongs to them, it's theirs. This is huge in my experience.
There are also practical, in-game reasons to have a Base. Players, and therefore their characters, love to make plans and having a relatively safe, central place to do so is helpful. It keeps the PCs focused, organized, and gives you the ability to create and dish out handouts more easily. What do I mean? If you want to give the players a map of the region they're heading to you can have one of them [or an NPC] lay it out on a table or tack it up on a wall. What table? What wall? The one in their Base obviously.
When PCs get their butts handed to them by a particularly tough opponent, where do they do to lick their wounds (or ya'know receive much needed medical attention)? Their Base! This often elevates the players' moods after a big loss and increases their determination to beat the enemy the next time they're encountered.
GM: "You all limp back to your hideout and nearly collapse as you enter the main room."
Player 1: "Damn. We got our a$$e$ kicked! Who the hell was that guy?"
Player 2: "No idea and right now I don't care. I'm going up to my room and going to bed."
Player 3: "Not yet. Let Doc check you out first. That goes for all of you. (To the GM) I'll get Doc on the phone and tell'em what happened, then I ask him to come on over ASAP. While we're waiting for him to arrive I help everybody find a comfortable spot. Player #2 is hurt the most so I'll lay him out on the counch."
Player 2: "Thanks man."
Player 4: "Hey, don't put me in the big recliner. I'd hate to get blood all over my favorite chair."
What about storage? A place to keep your stuff? PCs in many games obtain items on the regular, from looted treasures to scientific samples, and then they...what? Sell them? Leave them there? Throw them away? I mean really, what is the point of obtaining stuff with no place to put it? Sure, you could find a Magic Wand and then immediately use it until it runs out of...charges ('cause Wands run on batteries I guess)...but what if you could do something totally insane like putting it away until you needed it.
I know, I know. I'll give you a minute. Deep breaths. You good? OK, we'll keep going.
What if you could keep ancient relics, alien technology, or heck, giant pennies and playing cards in a secure chamber in your headquarters? I'm be down with that 100%. It's not just items either. You can store your horse(s), Speeder Bikes, a Pogo Plane, or other livestock, pets, or vehicles in a Base. Assuming you have the space that is.
What can Bases do and what can you do in them?
Aside from having a place to meet, plan, recoup, and store things, what other uses does a Base have? That depends a lot on what your Base is and what its capabilities are. Here, some specific examples are necessary to best illustrate the options available to Player Characters and their GMs.
Think about Ghostbusters (I often do). I mentioned having a GB Headquarters in my post on creating a Franchise a while back but let's take another look at it. What does a Ghostbusters Franchise HQ have, do, and possibly need?
We know it probably has an office or at least a front desk for whomever is answering the phone, doing the accounting, and dealing with the EPA. It has an Ecto-Containment Unit used to store captured paranormal entities. It has a garage to store your Ecto-vehicle. It might also (optionally) have/need sleeping quarters, a small kitchen and place to eat, a library, and a workshop for repairing and developing gear. All useful areas that add to the Franchise's ability to do their jobs. In my kitbash homebrew version of the Ghostbusters RPG this would play into and modify your Franchise Dice.
A Space Station or Superhero base might have Sensors to detect danger or Deflector Shields to repel enemy attacks. They might have enhanced Medical Facilities or a Computer Archive to aid on research. Bases are like really large multifunction magic items that can aid the PCs in their quest to do, um, whatever it is they do. Depending on the rule mechanics you're using the Base could provide a bonus to Skill use
I recommend the team's Base not start out with everything they want or need. The basics sure, appropriate to the genre/setting and narrative, but leave some room for the PCs to add and customize the Base to their liking and requirements, some of which they'll discover as they adventure.
How do you improve your Base?
Since this post is system agnostic, I am going to paint with broad strokes here.
Essentially, what the PCs' Base begins with is very much up to the GM and what would make sense for the game being played. It is possible, as noted in the previous post, to take over a site that already has a certain amount rooms and components that would be 'a given' for the such a place. For example, if a team of PC Superheroes take over the headquarters of a previous super group that's no longer around, the local may already have much of what the PCs need, requiring only that they restart the power plant and do repairs.Similarly, a Horror group may have inherited a Haunted Victorian Mansion, which will be covered in dust and cobwebs but still basically be what it had always been, a Mansion.
It is also not uncommon for a group to be given a Base by a larger political entity or organization. They could, for example, be awarded an abandoned towert by a King or other high political power. In these instances, the location isn't necessarily owned by the PCs but rather operated by them on behalf of someone else. Perhaps Starfleet has assigned the PCs as the Captain and Command Crew of Outpost 16-Gamma, a small deep space station on the border of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. It is theirs to run but they operate it for Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets.
If the PCs are starting from scratch with an empty plot of land, they'll need an in-game source of income or influence that allows them to build a Base on such a site. Maybe one of the team members is a billionaire industrialist or were left the place by their uncle who mysteriously disappeared.
Before I go off on even more of a tangent, let's assume you have your Base. Now after a big night of adventuring, crimefighting, or studying the planet below you realize you are either missing something or you figure out some things that would make your job a lot easier.
Games that have Base Building rules as part of their DNA usually require PCs to spend Experience Points and/or Money to improve a Base. Otherwise, they may feature separate 'Building Points' used specifically for creating and modifying Bases. Another option commonly encountered is in point-based games like Champions/The Hero System, where XP that can be used as Character Points to improve your PC can be converted into Building or Creation Points at an established exchange rate (say 1 Character Point can be traded in for 5 Build Points or the like).
A technique I use in Star Trek is to upgrade the PCs' headquarters [or starship] at the end of a series of roughly a dozen adventures (not sessions) I call a 'Season'. This works best IMO when the Player Characters work for a larger organization or power that does the upgrades for them, such as Starfleet Command in this case. It is a 'free' reward for the great job they've done but at the same time the PCs are definitely 'just doing their job'.
In the upcoming 'The Smurfs Roleplaying Game' each Smurf PC gets their very own Mushroom Cottage Smurf House [as I've mentioned a number of times before]. Experience Points in this game are, as of this writing at least, called Build Points. Players may spend these points to improve Player Characters, Equipment, and/or your Smurf House. Each single point gets you a single room/amenity, which has the dual function of doing whatever it is the feature does plus giving you a bonus to a Safety Roll. Safety Rolls are made whenever your character is incapacitated or unconscious, enabling your Smurf to suddenly awaken safe and sound in their bed in their Cottage (more on this in a future post most likely).
I feel like I could keep talking about this subject ad infinitum. Seriously, there are so many other ideas I could put forth and I am really curious what your experiences have been with Bases. I'd also be happy to discuss Bases or answering any questions anyone might have on using this concept in your campaigns.
Might have to do a post with some sample Bases in the near future. Something like 'The Top 5 Bases I Have Known' or some such. Hmm.
Later Days,
AD
Barking Alien
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