The Drive

 In a well-constructed world the stories write themselves.  Party has been traveling up and down the Great Northern Road pursuing leads but a recent vow of vengeance took them off the road and into the woods to the east - toward the mountains.  There's another small village a week away.  No trail connects them bacause south flowing rivers provided better passage.  Snowtall.  It's existence had been plotted and it's economy created but I needed to flesh it out.  Nothing fancy.  Nickel mining with an occasional peridot.  Sable habitat nearby suitable for trapping.  And goats.  As the party approached the village the biome changed.  More pine forest.  And they climbed about 1,000 feet.  Colder.  Just enough different from where they've been to make it interesting.  And goats.  Chevon to the French.  And all the differences it makes.  Goat milk.  Cheese.  

Goat meat replaces pork on the menu.  Cabbage and onions.  Carrots when you can find them.  Beer and vodka.  Kefir for ceremonies.  And then there's the neighboring town of Lireverc.  It's a 9-10 day journey.  But it sits in the lowlands.  And they raise pigs.  So over the years a trade has developed.  In the fall the goat herders and the swineherds cull their animals and begin driving toward each other.  Many a peasant and workman make the trip as well.  For the boys it is a rite of passage, for they carry the heavy packs of salt and provisions.  The drovers meet at a halfway point and the slaughter commences.  Huge bonfires are lit with hogs and goats roasting for three days.  The animals are skinned: the goats more carefully as their hide is more valuable.  Amateur tanners set about their task.  Then the butchers.  Entire carcasses are prepared as are specific cuts.  The salters prepare the meats for shipping.  And after three days of slaughter, hard work, story-telling and passing the news each side packs up and heads home to prepare for the winter.

Our party missed this years slaughter by about three weeks.  But they'll hear about it.  Probably eventually pass the site of this years event.  Might lead to an adventure.  But regardless it makes the world real.  And it wasn't some fanciful die-roll on a pre-generated "festival" table.  It was what the world gave them. 

In which we ask "why?"

“Why?” should be the D&D version of “yes, and ….” It can move the action further and it can gt you to the place where you can say “yes, and.”

A few examples from recent play sessions.

Our half-orc barbarian asks, as they're preparing to leave town for an overland journey, “can I buy a bird?” The easy answer was “yes.” The town is big enough to support a stock yard. Heavily agrarian. At worst inquiries could be made and some opportunistic townie would go TRAP something for him. Why he didn't catch his own, or ask the party ranger to do so was beyond me, but so what? Table discussion then devolved into a discussion of Ogar owning a vulture. Or perhaps a falcon, but no sleeve. At THIS point I began imagining all manner of unintended consequences. So I asked why? He has several control/speak with animal spells and has been unable to use them. This would allow him to do that. So – a birdbrained scout. Not a familiar. Not a beast companion. Just extended scouting ability. So I said yes, but …. no birds of prey. A pidgeon. A dove. Maybe even a crow. I offered a chicken but was soundly rejected. And a duck or goose would be eaten too soon! But I already have PRICES for those three. He's flush with cash so that's not a problem. We agreed in principle to a non-stat-block bird (thus eliminating the temptation to use offensively) of yet-to be-determined provenance. Some quick research yielded the Red-billed Quelea. And everybody's happy.

The party has taken on a “Magnificent Seven” type task to protect a small village. Quite admirable. In prepping the defense the rogue asked to “walk the perimeter. Why? He explained his idea for locating the highest traffic means of ingress in order to narrow down what needed to be defensed AND to set up opportunities for enfilading fire. I could then provide him with the exact info he was looking for instead of waxing poetic about “the beautiful countryside lightly frosted with rime.” He didn't USE the enfilade opportunities, but that's beside the point. The question “why?” saved time and enabled the player to do what he wanted to do succinctly. Several other similar plans were attempted by other party members along the same track. Can I X? Is there any Y laying around? Why? Once I know why I can better answer the question and the players can actualize their plans. Everybody's happy.

Side note: Two new flavor mechanics got expanded this session. It's winter. Temps dropping. Party made sure to purchase winter clothes when the opportunity presented. Weather report is simply three words: one for precipitation, one for wind and one for temp based on the 10 degree range the wind chill presents (pleasant, cool, brisk, chilly, etc.) As conditions worsened the party realized their winter clothes wouldn't protect against ALL cold. A couple frosty nights threw the party into disadvantage. Staying close to the fire and within a windbreak were helpful but they know their movement is now limited by conditions.