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Renown may sound familiar in anyDungeons & Dragongame. Any adventurer can be renowned in the general sense, but, instead of it being a way to describe, in a broad sense, a player character’s reputation, an entire system is set up within the Dungeon Master’s Guide to implement renown as a way to move up within organizations.
With the renown system, you’re able to have rewards, benefits, and punishments if needed, instead of a vague sense of how eminent your character is. This guide will explain what renown is in D&D, how it affects characters, and how to bring it into your campaign.
What Is Renown In D&D?
Within D&D, there are several factions you can use and bring into your game, likeThe Harpers.Renown is an optional rule in the game that allows youas the Dungeon Master, and your playersto track their status within one of these factions.
When a player is in or joins a faction,they will have a baseline of renown. you’re able to decide if they startby already having some renown; a reputation that makes them able to join, or if they startwithout any and have to build their renownthemselves from the ground up.
Butyou don’t have to only use renown in relation to factions. Like any rule in D&D, you canapply it how it works bestin your campaign.
The optional rule for renown is found on pages 22 and 23 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
How Does Renown Work?
Renown willvary by the type of campaign, the duration of it, and so on. However, there are a few basic elements of it that tend to apply to most cases:
Tracking Renown
It is recommended in the Dungeon Master’s Guide thatanything that benefits the faction can grant the party members a point of renown. Meanwhile, if they handlea larger task given to them from someone within the faction, they can then gain two pointsof renown. It is leftup to the DM’s discretionwhat constitutes earning one or two points.
You also need to set an upper bound for your renown, and how many ranks there are for your players to climb. The DMG suggests 50, butthis may be too muchif you are running a short campaign,or too littleif your campaign is going to last for years to come. That is whyyou need to change how much renown is neededfor each rank.
In addition to this, renownis not meant to drop below zero. Players can stilllose renown, but if they stay within the faction, theywill never have less than that first point of renowngiven to them at the start of their admittance. However,you can have them removed from the faction, essentially reaching the same result of no longer having credibility with that organization.
Player Benefits
As your players begin to climb up the ranks, you’ll then have to decidewhat benefits are open to them. At rank one, they may havea discount at a local storefor supplies purchased for the sake of the faction, or they may bemade aware of safe housesand can use them if needed.
Once theyare more recognized membersof the faction, even more benefits open up to them, includingthem having followersof their own orthe ability to call for a small armyto obey their commands. However,you may customize and change any benefitsto better fit your campaign. They could be given a keep, an airship to travel more quickly for faction business with a full crew. The list would be endless.
Expectations
While not listed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, you can alsoassign your players expectations or certain dutiesthey must perform as they climb up the ranks.When they are first starting, their only duties may be to complete the occasional quest or task. Butas they climb to a higher status, they can be responsible for training new members, participating in meetings, and devoting time to recruiting.
Just as benefits can change greatly depending on the setting of your campaign,expectations can be widely varied. you’re able to also decideto have no expectationsbeyond a general, “For the good of the faction!” This is another option you can add to an optional rule.
How NPCs React To Player Renown
Like the benefits and expectations,NPC reactions to the players will varybased on rank. When they first join, the mood of most NPCs may be apathetic or indifferent. Just another nameless face passing through. However, once they ascend through the ranks,attitudes will adjust and change.
Those of higher standing may begin to see how reliable the party isand approach them directly with quests, benefits, and opportunities. While, on the other side of the spectrum,other faction members may grow jealous of the praise and attention the group is gettingand work against them in secret. It invites political intrigue to your campaign while being more localized to a faction as opposed to true political positions.
Ways To Implement Renown In Your Game
As mentioned before, there isno reason why you’re able to’t change how renown worksin your game. It is encouraged that you make adjustments to how it functions. But it goes beyond how many points and what happens at each rank. Instead, you can use renownwithout it being tied to a faction.
There are so many ways to implement renownwithout following the same structure. Do your characters gain renown politically as they take on more challenging tasks and quests? Does their renown make them the target of bandits who think that fame equals wealth? You can have renown be tied to a guild instead. Or merchants in their local town. Or the city they reside in.
Renown can simply be the measure ofhow well or how poorly people view themas they gain more exposure.
Having renown tied to a different kind of organizationcan still follow the same rulesas when there is a faction involved. Andif you have it be based on public opinioninstead, you can stilluse the same methods to track renown.
The benefits, instead of it being tied to a faction, could take the form ofpeople opening their homes to themfor free, letting them havea free meal while passing through, or, if they have low renown with the NPCs instead, they canchase them out of their townor even be petty andthrow spoiled fruitat them.
In D&D,the rules are there to be bentto make your campaign entirely yours. Even ifusing a module,you can alter and adjust rules, such as renown, to best suit you and your players. And if your players are looking for a challenge, like being a force for good in the public’s eye, or being notorious and feared criminals, this could be a good way tokeep them intrigued by roleplay.
And, just as importantly, these optional rulesare meant to make your job as a DM feel less like a joband more like the fun and immersive game that it is. So, if using a renown system willkeep a rowdy party on the straight and narrow, do it. Or, if itclues a party into the consequences of their actionsduring their epic adventure, then adding this rule to your campaign would be an excellent choice.
