I like your idea of granting bonuses for situations (ie investigation) and so forth, and might utilize it. However, I think by having “concrete” resources, it would give players more interest in obtaining and protecting those areas. It could also be used as part of a story line. For example, a one ton bronze statue in someone’s home turns out to be a fetter. But it’s in a part of town nobody controls, at least not yet. The players would then need to RP through making alliances with each other to gain control over that area, or possibly just fight it out.

As for complexity of the system, I’ll have to try it out and see how it works. To me, it seems simple enough and utilizes the Psyche of the Geist in the way it works within the cannon material as described on page 22.

Any conflict over territory must be handled IC, with no special mechanics; unless the system is abused, a character must choose to abandon a claim in order to lose territory.

Players haven’t really shown much interest in the territory system. As a last attempt at generating some inter-PC conflict, I’m considering modifying the system to give 1 plasm per game for every graveyard in territory you control, to be split among the people controlling it. This would be in addition to my established random plasm pull at the start of each game.

Your system looks interesting, but seems very complicated to administer. I don’t feel like I have the time and energy to run a particularly complex system. Also, Charlotte is laid out in a very organic fashion, so it’s not an option to use set areas like “square blocks.”

Each area (I’m thinking) of the city will have something in it a character might want. One of the three Avernus gates for example, or perhaps a static momento. By controlling those territories, you control those things. As for game play, each character will be able to control X amount of square blocks where X is equal to psyche+presence or psyche+manipulation (whichever is lower). For every PC you form an alliance with, you can combine these traits. For every 5 NPCs, you get a +1.

At that point, the mechanics would be simple enough. Players may either negotiate with each other, or, if they must fight it out, they mediate it based on whoever has the higher score. But if the new territory exceeds their capacity for control, they will be unable to control it until they can meet the requirements. At that point, if someone else comes in to take control, they would receive a negative modifier based on the excess (so for example, if they are 4 points shy of having full control, they would be at -4). In these instances, if the defenders loose, they select what area is lost (since their strategy of defense would include where the weak points are.)

Another way to occupy player boredom that I will at least try a few times before either making it permanent or scrapping it is, when players create their characters, they will have a choice of geists I have created. These geists have basic backgrounds and personality descriptors. Each game, players will have the option of picking one of these geists at random and play that NPC during their more quiet times.