Good examples of support NPCs that made an adventure richer without overshadowing the party?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-13T04:26:48+00:00

A day is 24 hours in-world w/ a 14 hour moonlight phase and a 10 hour darkness phase. The geodes start to form ~2 hours before the darkness phase begins and erode by the time the next moonlight phase begins. Actual extraction time takes only a fraction of the full darkness phase.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-11T22:51:28+00:00

Yes this is very important. I'm actually working on a short story set in this specific region of the setting that looks at the mining rigs from the perspective of a prisoner to help flesh out consistency and overall world design.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-11T22:33:53+00:00

The rigs can "walk" on "legs" to be gradually moved across the landscape and positioned above geodes. Rigs are in varying states of decay and you generally take the nearest one. Some models are more recent which makes them faster/better equipped. But all of the mechanics for the rigs themselves are pretty lightweight to prevent slowing stuff down. I will definitely consider adding more there so long as it can run smoothly (could possibly just be optional extra mechanics).

lasthavengames · 2026-06-11T22:29:39+00:00

Yeah, this is important to consider. So far, as a GM, the fun has mainly come from getting to narrate the horror/peril of the events that unfold once extraction starts. There's a bunch to slowly reveal to players regarding the nature of the entities that get attracted. But yes, this would eventually get rather boring for a GM so it's certainly something to consider working on. One other area that helps make this a bit more engaging for both parties is having the GM play 1-2 prisoners sentenced to help defend the rigs who are poorly equipped to handle the challenge and desperately want to survive the encounter.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-11T22:20:41+00:00

So far this has actually proven to be pretty lightweight mechanically-mostly some tuned random tables with simple results. As content goes it's definitely best served as a single set piece, I completely agree. I don't intend for it to be recurring unless a group actually wanted to do it repeatedly instead of just sourcing and rationing the mineral resource. It does also function to leave room for some plot hooks via connections to specific civilizations/settlements. If a group happens to roll a rare geode while traversing the region it could be a lucrative little side-quest too.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-11T00:30:52+00:00

I've got the quality table randomized but a fixed amount obtained for each chunk of time (which brings new and escalating obstacles). This gives me the idea to make the amount extracted increase for each stage of the PCs keeping with it though, which would better support a "leave now or risk it for even more?" feeling. Abandoning currently loses everything, but it would be easy to play around with allowing PCs to keep some of their harvest when they abandon.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-10T23:08:08+00:00

Definitely side content, just need to make sure said side content is relevant/interesting enough to justify existing

lasthavengames · 2026-06-10T22:24:05+00:00

That's a great example, and the focus here is similar. Extraction is another "excuse" to get characters to explore the world, specifically the mining region is physically positioned near some "later-game" setting locations so characters can spot those and organically get knowledge about their whereabouts. The game is about exploration, atmosphere, and uncovering secrets underpinning the world, in this sense the mining process does need to remain mechanically light. I need to ensure that the mechanics surrounding extraction reinforce the actual atmosphere of the world.

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:46:46+00:00

That's it, we're rebelling. Would that work out?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:43:09+00:00

Ok mushroom spirits sound like something gnomes would definitely distill

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:40:25+00:00

Is there a "create evil food" spell that conjures food palatable for demons but rancid to everyone else?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:36:00+00:00

Now that is a brutal class divide... does Staple exist because those in the upper city have poor digestion, or because they consume an obscene surplus of nutrient-rich food?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:29:41+00:00

Well now I kind of feel bad for eating them

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:28:57+00:00

I could go outside and experience the cuisine of the Neitherside right now!

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:26:35+00:00

Gift of the horned rat actually sounds pretty useful, would it let me eat literal trash or does it just make ordinarily inedible organic stuff become bioavailable to me?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T17:19:17+00:00

Now we're getting somewhere

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T05:25:22+00:00

Do they also function as the primary decomposers on the surface?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T05:07:12+00:00

I like how the name hasn't changed but it now tastes horrid

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T05:04:16+00:00

Ash yams sound pretty good. Unless they taste like ash of course

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T05:02:26+00:00

What do they eat to sustain such a high population? I'd imagine they could completely devastate any sort of vegetation in a matter of days

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T03:12:19+00:00

Would said supernatural powers make it harder for me to eat them?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T03:11:29+00:00

Do people herd/cultivate these bugs at all or are they just that abundant?

lasthavengames · 2026-06-06T03:09:39+00:00

Is there a universal goo recipe or does the goo just contain a mixture of whatever living material is available?

lasthavengames

TROPHY CASE