Resource Management

While Duskara focuses on emergent narrative, resource scarcity is central to the setting. This system keeps resources present without turning the game into a spreadsheet.

Core Resources

Three resources matter on Duskara:

Water: Precious, carefully recycled, never wasted Power: Generated by wind and geothermal, distributed through networks Provisions: Food, medicine, equipment—anything consumed or expended

Resource Tags

Rather than tracking exact quantities, settlements and groups have Resource Status Tags that reflect current conditions:

Water Status:

• "Water Abundant" (+1 Chance Die to hygiene, agriculture, morale)
• "Water Adequate" (no modifier)
• "Water Rationing" (+1 Risk Die to physically demanding actions)
• "Water Crisis" (+2 Risk Dice to all activity, settlement survival threatened)

Power Status:

• "Full Power Grid" (+1 Chance Die to technology use, communication, comfort)
• "Adequate Power" (no modifier)
• "Rolling Blackouts" (+1 Risk Die to power-dependent systems)
• "Power Failure" (+2 Risk Dice to technology, critical systems down)

Provision Status:

• "Well-Supplied" (+1 Chance Die to morale, health, expedition preparation)
• "Adequate Supplies" (no modifier)
• "Supplies Running Low" (+1 Risk Die to extended activity, health)
• "Critical Shortage" (+2 Risk Dice to survival actions, morale collapses)

How Resource Tags Change

Resource status shifts through:

Negative Triggers:

• Storm damage to infrastructure
• Population increase or refugee arrival
• Trade route disruption
• Equipment failure
• Prolonged expedition or siege
• Failed rationing or conservation efforts

Positive Triggers:

• Successful resource acquisition (water prospecting, supply caravan arrival)
• Infrastructure repair or expansion
• Breakthrough conservation technology
• Trade agreement with other settlements
• Abundant geothermal or wind conditions
• Community cooperation initiatives

Personal Resources

Individual characters don't track resources separately unless they're isolated from settlements for extended periods.

When undertaking major expeditions (deep day-side salvage, long Deep Roads traverses), the GM may assign a Supplies Tag to the expedition:

• "Well-Provisioned" (+1 Chance Die to survival actions)
• "Adequate Supplies" (no modifier)
• "Low Supplies" (+1 Risk Die, group must find resources soon)
• "Out of Supplies" (+2 Risk Dice, survival crisis)

This Tag degrades based on time, mishaps, and consumption. It improves through finding caches, successful hunting/foraging, or reaching safe havens.

Using Resources in Play

GM Responsibilities:

• Announce current settlement Resource Tags at session start
• Shift Tags when fictional triggers occur
• Apply modifiers to relevant rolls
• Create adventure hooks around resource crises

Player Opportunities:

• Plan expeditions to improve resource status
• Propose engineering or social solutions
• Accept complications that worsen resource Tags for dramatic effect
• Celebrate when resource status improves

Example:

The settlement of Aetherion is under "Water Rationing" due to damaged aquifer pumps. The players undertake a mission to repair the pumps in the Deep Roads.

• All physically demanding actions in the settlement have +1 Risk Die
• Characters working in vertical farms struggle to maintain crops
• Social tensions increase as rationing enforcement becomes stricter
• Upon successful repair, Aetherion returns to "Water Adequate"
• Community morale improves, and the characters are celebrated

Resource Conflict

Competing settlements may clash over resources:

• Disputed geothermal sites
• Shared aquifer access
• Trade route control
• Salvage claim conflicts

These conflicts create excellent adventure frameworks without requiring detailed economic simulation.