People really seem to have trouble with diagetic advancement in games like Cairn, which is really disappointing in many ways, because I prefer diagetic advancement to mechanical advancement almost universally. Like, it makes more sense, right? I was chatting with Sam on discord about something, honestly, completely different, and I came up with this approach to making it make compelling for a wider range of people.
Whenever you do something in the world that advances your prestige in the eyes of a faction or powerful figure, you get a badge. This thing goes in your prestige inventory, which is a separate, infinitely large inventory for stuff your friends and allies give you. You can invoke the badge when it’s appropriate to get a specific special bonus or to get cool stuff or something, whatever makes sense for that particular powerful figure.
Now, of course, it doesn’t have to be a badge and in fact shouldn’t be a badge, I’m stealing that term from videogames because it feels super appropriate here. It’s a challenge coin, or it’s a medal or trophy, or it’s a sash that you can wear, or it’s a tattoo or your knowledge of a secret handshake. Write what the badge actually is down when you get the badge.
So, in play it looks like this:
Phonos the Thief saves the High Moose of the Guild of Merry Murderers in Ashfield City, and they owe him now. She gets a Black Token, a cast iron coin used in exchange for a single assassination. This Black Token can be used at any time to gain the attention or assistance of guild members, or can be cashed in permanently to have anyone she wishes assassinated, by depositing it in an envelope in a secret drop location in Salmony Square.
Or perhaps like this:
Galliard impressed the Unicorn Council in the Forest of Blades, after working tirelessly for peace between the Sparkling Herd and the Grimsby Hoblins. The Queen of the Forest lays her horn upon Galliard’s forehead, leaving a mark that only the fae can see. Now, whenever she encounters a fae in league with the Unicorn Council or the Grimsby Hoblins, she gains advantage on reaction rolls, and whenever she encounters the Sparkling Herd or the Grimsby Hoblins, they will grant her any aid that does not inconvenience them greatly.
I think badges as a form of advancement work best in a game that already has a slot-based inventory system, simply because it feels like it should be part of the system already. And having your “prestige inventory” on your character sheet suddenly makes people go “wait, how do I get prestige loot?” and your response is: Help other powerful people and groups achieve their goals. And suddenly, part of your character sheet becomes a hook by which the players grasp the campaign with both hands.
Anyway, cool idea.
Additional ideas from responses to this post:
Skander suggests these could replace money altogether in some campaigns:
Yash suggests they could also represent negative reputations as well!
Idle Cartulary
Playful Void 
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