Worked Example: fantastic bureaucracy
I ran a Stonetop session today where I decided an old Hillfolk woman wanted Blodwyn (a PC) to drop the Twisted Spear on the ground. The woman needed this before her Hillfolk group, the Blue Badger Band, would help hunt a monster that had penned them into their camp.
Blodwyn did not like this. She sees herself as the rightful wielder of this potent artifact and had, moments before, declared that she would help this desperate band of Hillfolk slay a monster. A task for which the Spear is the perfect tool.
I also read habeeb's excellent post who approved this dragon?! today. The advice in that excellent post is think of a small rule in your setting, and then ask why. habeeb argues that by doing this, you create a sense of place. Bureaucracy does not only mean forms in triplicate. Bureaucracy tells us who gets access and who does not.
So, I wanted to have a think in public: why did the Hillfolk woman ask her to do that? It was an improvised decision. And it is a rule. So, this is a great place to ask why.
Many artifacts in Stonetop lead their wielders down a path of corruption. The Azure Hand, for example, allows for traditional evocation of the elements, but as you unlock its mysteries, it turns your body into a conduit for storms. So why would a Hillfolk woman, in a position of vulnerability, who the Twisted Spear could help, demand this?
I reckon that there was a hero in years past in this band who wielded power but it went disastrously wrong. There are many candidates in Stonetop, but one great one sticks out: the Blood-Quenched Sword (front side pictured).
On the back of this Sword, one consequence for its use reads, "You can no longer sleep or rest without the Blood-quenched Sword at hand." Others mention paranoia, blood rage, and coveting.
This legendary hero of ages past defeated many enemies of the Blue Badger Band. But, at the end of his life, he could not put down the Sword. He attacked all who came near him. The band killed him at a terrible cost, and they wear blue fabric dyed from the flowers above his grave to this day.
All of this, from a rule!