Playing A Strategy RPG

This is a short introduction to the idea of persistent world strategy gaming. Since I'm going to try to run a Living Fantasy campaign using the Domains at War system (with the ACKS RPG as a foundation), this will be helpful to anyone trying to figure out how to actually run a fantasy realm.

An RPG is usually played in a social setting, which helps to moderate the complexity of the game rules. Experienced players (including the referee/GM) can provide reference books or advice. This was probably a big part of why games using this format enjoyed a viral popularity during the 1970s. They effectively functioned as a pyramid scheme where experienced players could recruit new players, who then became evangelists for the next generation.

A long-term strategy game is trickier to run. It revolves around bookkeeping, which isn't really a social activity. It also requires each player to independently understand how the rules work. Here's a short run-down (based on my own experience with Imperial Starfire) for what you need to do to play this kind of open-ended game.

You need the following:

1. A record of the Disposition of Realm Assets. This is a long list of all the inventory items and personnel in your realm, and their current locations, condition, and activities. A good historical example of this was the Inventory of Henry VIII, although Henry was only listing his treasures and physical possessions (ships, lands, weapons), not his personnel. This list will periodically be updated.
2. An Activity Log with different changes to the Disposition of Realm Assets recorded chronologically. This includes the various assignments you give to the ruler, heroes, soldiers, merchant traders, agents, and researchers in your realm. It certainly includes the outcome of battles that result in the loss of your military units, or the gain of various spoils of battle. It also includes any new personnel you recruit, or new equipment you find or purchase. You'll want to record every event that could alter the state of your assets. Some events are ongoing activities (like creating a magical item) that have both a beginning date and an end date. At the same time that you record the start date, you should list the expected end date as well.
3. A Monthly Budgeting spreadsheet or worksheet. Certain assets (cities and populations) create income every month. Other assets (castles and employees) create regular monthly expenses. Using an automated spreadsheet allows you to easily update only the items that change every month, so you can recalculate your net gain or loss (and then add or subtract that much wealth from your treasury). At the end of every month, you'll run the spreadsheet and update your Realm Assets appropriately.

I'll try to create examples of each of these documents. Obviously actually using them requires knowing the game in greater detail, to know what actions are possible, how long activities take to complete, or how much certain goods or employees will cost. Some of the appendices in the Quickstart Guide (previous post) give examples of different costs, although this still doesn't explain the limitations on various activities. For example, if you want to buy something or recruit soldiers, you'll first need to send someone (a trusted hero!) to a major market in a port city, in order to see what kinds of goods are available.