OK, time to get words on paper out to people!

This idea is a Behind-the-Screen GM tool. It takes a Region filled with major Locales (filled with multiple NPCs: persons, places, and things) and generates a Regional Campaign Hegemon. The Hegemon's Agenda will create Adventures; the PCs explorations, discoveries, and alliances will create complexity for further Adventures. The MtG Cards drawn will shape the major resources the Hegemon can bring to bear, while doubling as Bookkeeping as the Campaign progresses.


As a GM there is no need to tip this metagame bookkeeping level to players. Just run the game, listen to players' plans, and run the NPC Allies as "doing the best they can!" This is mostly a 'faceless' Hegemon pushing away threats to their power, which PC Adventurers can be. When either loses all their "Reputation Life" in a Region, they are unwelcome there and on borrowed time while lingering. At any time either side may 'scoop' and concede the contest to the other, ending any Agendas & Card threats... PCs do this naturally in-game by expressing disinterest and just leaving the Region. Again, no need to reveal the metagame.

Hegemon vs. PCs have a Reputation "Life Total" represented by NPC assets, unknown to each other. Hegemons start aware of their NPC assets, yet PCs start unaware, for they get to choose differently in spite of their potential NPC Allies favorable reactions to them. (Just try to positively introduce another NPC for the PCs later in play.) Begin with a decided "Life Total" for each, then seed "Life" into an available NPC each, having a minimum of one "Life" in each Locale.

Each day the Hegemon and PCs can message known NPCs to take an action (if they can) in a Locale, though the message's speed may delay this across Locales. Only one action can occur per Locale, regardless of extra NPCs present. However, a split PC party across Locales can carry out a coordinated long term agenda in each Locale. Hegemon can give long-standing orders as PCs, too.

When PCs Adventure in a Locale, building their fame, the Hegemon becomes aware of them. The Locale's Land enters the Hegemon's in-play resources, and the Locale's Cards become available opportunities. Hegemon's mobile NPCs need to smuggle Locale Cards off into the Hegemon's Hand as an action for availability to cast.

A Locale's Number Value equals the Hegemon's Card Opportunities there, as well as the Card Slot Max for the Hegemon's In-Play Cards that can be present there.

A Card-Involved Attack can take place at each Locale once a day by the Hegemon. A Hegemon's "Life" can make more attacks, but tends to be weak and exposes them.

[other procedural content generation rules to be added later, as needed.]


next step! The example Mini-Region, with Locales!

[/U]
(You can use any RPG Setting Region here, and sub-divide it into Locales below)

Frigid Swampy Hinterlands, part a massive Swamp Region. World is in an Ice Age. Nearest different terrain is Mountains and Plains, several locales away.

[/U]
(This is the Hegemon Tool's Heart. It's the randomly generated opportunities which shapes its agenda -- and doubles as a bookkeeping tool as the campaign's duel progresses!)

Locale 1 - Snow-Covered Swamp. Scathe Zombies
Locale 2 - Snow-Covered Swamp. Kjeldoran Dead. Gaze of Pain.
Locale 3 - Snow-Covered Swamp. Kjeldoran Dead. Soul Burn. Raise Dead.

[/U]

Locale 1 - Snowy Swamp. Borderlands Beacon Crossing. "Life's Edge"
Description: 3-story Beacon at crossroads creates an island depot of false safety.
Starting Card: Scathe Zombies
Card Slot for Permanents:
1.
NPCs:
persons - Beacon Guard, Inn Owner, Smithy, Stableboy, Merchant, Bard.
places - Beacon Tower, Carriage Inn, Wainwright, Livery, Supply Depot, Road Shrine.
things - Secondhand Farmers Market (event, 2x week).

Locale 2 - Snowy Swamp. Road Regions. "Old Fen Trail." & "Capitol Way"
Description: Ancient, canopied, worn path & Well-measured carriage/sleigh dirt road.
Starting Cards: Kjeldoran Dead, Gaze of Pain.
Card Slots for Permanents:
1.
2.
NPCs:
persons - Bandits, Caravan Nomads, Sickly Homesteaders, Hermit ex-Assassin.
places - Drift of the Dead, Dying Homestead, 'Groanwood' Tree, MottledStone Cairn.
things - Smuggler's Run (event, 2x nightly), Abandoned Racing Sleigh.

Locale 3 - Snowy Swamp. Wilds. "Hoary Hag's Bog"
Description: Winter-gnarled trees knot tightly between pools like a widow's lacy shawl.
Starting Cards: Kjeldoran Dead, Soul Burn, Raise Dead.
Card Slots for Permanents:
1.
2.
3.
NPCs:
persons - Druid Circle, Orc Band, Bog Wraith, Will o' Wisp.
places - Dead Grove, Ruined Manor, 'Lost' Tomb, Druid/Orc Camps (mobile).
things - Hag's Icy Heart, Wraith's Diadem.

Coming up, the Partisan NPCs! The "Reputation Life" at stake in the Duel!

[/U]


Name: Szlarakov Brothers - Dviv, Tyo, Rynich, Bratka.
Describe: locals that reflect the land's wet and twisted harshness, yet approachable.
Job: Wainwright Smithies
(routine). Maintain "Life's Edge" metal tools (daily). Fix spare vehicle fleet (as needed). Rush repairs on dignitary's metal demands (emergency).
Relations:
Secrets: Hegemon's.
Quests:

Name: 'Dama' Byitya, 'patroness of firewood gatherers'
Describe: painted ice sculpture nestled within a wardrobe of austere gowns.
Job: Supply Depot Merchant
(routine). Buy fuel for beacon (mornings, daily). Trade excess beacon supplies to offset costs (mid-day, daily). Pawn shop (by appt.). Fence (by appt., 1x week).
Relations:
Secrets: Hegemon's
Quests:

Name: Piitr Kaartaliiki
Describe: Hearty & hale obvious stranger. Quiet, observant. Angers like winter's chill.
Job: Beacon Guard
(routine). Fuel beacon at quarter light (nightly). Fuel at half light for major dignitary travel (forewarning, or mimic next beacon). Fuel at full during attack (emergency).
Relations:
Secrets: PCs'
Quests:

Name: 'Saint Xebec Entertains the Children' shrine
Describe: Tiny roof over a beatific, lance-weilding, warlord riding a stylized crocodile.
Job: Roadside Shrine for travelers' peace of mind.
(routine)
Relations:
Secrets: PCs'
Quests:



Name: The "Groanwood" Tree
Describe: Massive tree, boughs groan in wind. A dressed-stone-lined hollow at its roots...?
Job: Landmark
(routine)
Relations:
Secrets: Hegemon's
Quests:

Name: The Zborshchya's Dying Homestead
Describe: all life here seems emaciated, drab, & wan. the buildings, the same.
Job: ... to wither and fail.
(routine)
Relations:
Secrets: Hegemon's
Quests:

Name: Old Fen Trail Bandits
Describe: Soggy motley of rags & finery. A few speak too eloquently...?
Job: rob rich travelers
(routine) Patrol Old Fen Trail (4x week), Patrol Capitol Way (2x week), Frolic at "Life's Edge" (2x month), Ambush rich dignitary (by gossip & appt.).
Relations:
Secrets: PCs'
Quests:



Name: Will o' the Wisp
Describe: Eerie, floating, small luminescent orb. Often nearby life goes silent.
Job: Haunt, spy, opportunistic attacks.
(routine) Explore the bog at night (full Bog circuit, monthly). Guide others through locales (master's will?), sometimes to leave as lost... (by appt., or boredom).
Relations:
Secrets: Hegemon's
Quests:

Name: "Frost-bitten Femurs" Orc Band
Describe: Spartanly under-dressed! Patient (disdainful?) with most non-orcs.
Job: survive, thrive, & retake homeland (not here, distant mountain).
(routine) Defend territory from other Orc incursions (full Bog circuit, monthly). Share "skunked-meat" visions with druids (1x week). Trade coinage and 'frilly-clothes' trophies at Depot for 'sensible things' (1x month).
Relations:
Secrets: PCs'
Quests:

Name: Dead Grove
Describe: Almost a slice of comfort, dry land with dead trees as windbreak & 'alarm'.
Job: defendable, almost cozy, dry land.
(routine)
Relations:
Secrets: PCs'
Quests:



:eek: ... there's at least over a dozen more NPCs that are Unaligned and yet to be described. I decided to hold off finishing the Region's NPCs or this will take even longer. The Unaligned can be another posts.

Next on stage, the Random Encounter Table!

[table=width: 500, class: grid]
[tr]
   [td]Dice Roll / Locale[/td]
   [td]L1 "Life's Edge"[/td]
   [td]L2 "Old Fen Trail" & "Capitol Way"[/td]
   [td]L3 "Hoary Hag's Bog"[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]2[/td]
   [td]Awakened Shrubs[/td]
   [td]Drift of the Dead *hazard[/td]
   [td]Swarm of Insects[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]3[/td]
   [td]Frogs[/td]
   [td]Blizzard *hazard[/td]
   [td]Twig Blights[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]4[/td]
   [td]Crabs[/td]
   [td]Panther, black[/td]
   [td]Giant Wolf Spider[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]5[/td]
   [td]Rude Visitor*[/td]
   [td]Thug[/td]
   [td]Giant Fire Beetles[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]6[/td]
   [td]Local NPC[/td]
   [td]Local NPC[/td]
   [td]Local NPC[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]7[/td]
   [td]Local / Visitor*[/td]
   [td]Local / Traveler*[/td]
   [td]Local / Lost Person*[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]8[/td]
   [td]Fox, semi-tame[/td]
   [td]Deer[/td]
   [td]Giant Centipede[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]9[/td]
   [td]New Gossip *clue[/td]
   [td]Bandits *clue[/td]
   [td]Orc Band *clue[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
   [td]10[/td]
   [td]Seer *clue[/td]
   [td]Awakened Shrub *clue[/td]
   [td]Bog Wraith *clue[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

^ The higher values tend to have a more favorable reaction to PCs; shift 1 or 2 steps more positive as sensible.
* Visitors, Travelers, & Lost Persons are for improvisation & rumors. Hazards are lethal passive obstacles. Clues hint PCs about the Hegemony Duel's progress.


phew, almost done!
Lastly comes the loosely-structured Adventure, basically explaining the Hegemon, their thoughts on their NPCs, and their Strategy in the face of being challenged by PCs.

[/U]

Hegemon - a Krovikan scion of a fallen noble house trying to reclaim her titles, starting with what seems easy: a frozen, hinterland county better remembered by being passed through with pity & derision. With her necromantic knowledge, she'll scare the locals into superstitious submission as her guards come to the rescue. If she can find a weak-willed spouse to puppet as a screen at higher courts, all the better...

Starts: Five "Life" for both Hegemon & PCs. 1x Swamp (mana-producing lands are tappable for 1 platinum piece a day). Entourage of 10+ people. Spies at the Capitol's Court (off-Region). 10 PP.

Already introduced to her NPC Agents, her Regional Reputation's "Life." Their loyalties, and the Hegemon's identity, start hidden from the PCs knowledge.

Hegemons's NPCs -

Locale 1. "The Szlarakov Brothers and 'Dama' Byitya remember the old days and their ancestor's terrible oaths of fealty to my lineage. They'll serve, 'gladly' is irrelevant..."

Locale 2. "The Groanwood Tree and the Zborshchya's Homestead still retain their eldritch energies... and their buried shameful secrets scrubbed from history."

Locale 3. "He still wanders Her Bog, you know. He'll do anything to reunite, anything to breathe life back into their love. The wisp is delightfully malicious and naive like that."

Hegemon's Strategic Agenda -

Ideally PCs become disinterested in this frozen, stagnant backwater and move away. This can happen mid-Duel, PCs 'scooping' and leaving this region to its Hegemon. She often stays quiet, building up her Hand, hoping the PCs get bored and move on.

Nosier PCs will explore the Locales, opening Locale Cards, which then her agents will smuggle into her Hand afterwards. Next she will start casting at L2 and L3 (replacing Random Encounters at their Card Rarity) before harassing L1. The L1 living servants or Scathe Zombies (if cast and in play) are great for sacrificing to the Kjeldoran Dead, and it starts the regional terror campaign. Will-o'-the-Wisp is a useful agent to guide the zombies or skeletons between Locales, especially to crush any competing PCs Reputation. A Swamp or two will be left untapped for Regeneration, as needed.

Use money to hire commoners as spies & messengers to find the PCs' Allies "Life," with usually Moderate to Hard success.

Raise Dead is great for returning Scathe Zombies, yet expensive for Kjeldoran Dead.

Soul Burn can destroy exposed PCs' "Life," then gain "Life." This could mean 'flipped assets'. Or it could mean a PCs' Ally's sorcerous destruction followed by an NPC-witness allying to Hegemon soon after out of fear. And Soul Burn can target a PC for direct dmg!

Gaze of Pain, restricted to its Locale, means PCs ignoring said Locale battle for their Allies exposes the PCs themselves to sorcerous destruction... More direct dmg!




OK, that's all I currently have in my leaky head! Sorry I did not structure it in purple prose, "failed author" format , but I did want this to be immediately usable.

When I finish the rest of the NPCs I would like to put all of them in a multiple-card page format, where they can be printed and cut out into a quick reference deck. Then whenever people want they can randomly select different NPCs for both Hegemon and PCs before the Campaign's Start, Similarly they can shuffle and draw different MtG cards from any thematic Ice Age black deck, for new Card Resources to change the Hegemon's Strategic Agenda.

This way the Region & its content becomes re-playable with minimal preparation. Grab a relevant MtG deck, shuffle, draw. Select (or Roll Random) NPCs to seed Hegemon & PCs Reputation "Life." Add a new Hegemon, their Story, and boom! different campaign.  

Can you explain what the Hegemon is? I assume it's the antagonist in the region?

And what relation did the card have to the locale? For instance, one is Scathe Zombies, but I see no zombies involved there, it seems more like a small town. How did you get from A to B?

Sweet! When's the playtest?

Quote from: Opaopajr;1107947Hegemon vs. PCs have a Reputation "Life Total" represented by NPC assets, unknown to each other. Hegemons start aware of their NPC assets, yet PCs start unaware, for they get to choose differently in spite of their potential NPC Allies favorable reactions to them. (Just try to positively introduce another NPC for the PCs later in play.)

Maybe I just missed something in the previous thread, but I can't figure out what you mean by this. Is it that Hegemons know how many NPCs they have? Or that Hegemons know PCs' assets? What are the PCs unaware of?

Cheers

Thanks everyone for giving a look at my mess!

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1107974Can you explain what the Hegemon is? I assume it's the antagonist in the region?

And what relation did the card have to the locale? For instance, one is Scathe Zombies, but I see no zombies involved there, it seems more like a small town. How did you get from A to B?

Of course! A Hegemon is a Holder of Power of a Region. (This is an abstraction, and can be layered, akin to Birthright.) Examples are a Count of a County, Duke of a Duchy, King of a Kingdom, Merchant Guild of a Trade Network, Smaug of Lonely Mountain, the Lake, & Lake Town, Thieves' Guild of Half a Metropolis & Smuggling Nodes...

These are the Powerful People (singular or plural) who exert their version of Stability upon a Region (a collection of Locales). They hate for their Authority being challenged. Adventurers eventually make waves. Conflict is inevitable unless the Adventurers move on, or become a captured (loyal?) asset.

As for the Locale Cards, they are like Cards in a Deck -- in potential. They are opportunities the Locale provides. But they then have to be drawn into the Hegemon's Hand before being castable. The opportunity here is this creates abstracted relationships which can be re-interperated into Gaming Fodder!

So the Scathe Zombies can easily be explained as: Collection of Travelers' Corpses at the Depot, likely in cold storage (waiting for the next Spring thaw?).

Whether that is a Secret or a known fact is up to the GM! Whether they were natural deaths, deaths from drunks wandering into the cold or lethally fighting each other, or even a serial killer!, is again up to the GM. It is just an abstracted opportunity to be built upon later.

And similarly is the NPC Asset transfering it to the Hegemon's Hand! Is there a smuggling operation of these corpses? Is there an order to transfer the excess as a shipment to a bigger city's common gravesite? That's another slice of abstraced activity creating in-game activity.

You are the GM. You are tired and tapped into random card drawing to inspire content. This Locale offers Scathe Zombies. Can you imagine any correlations that can explain that in setting? Of course you can! It's like a writing prompt vs. a blank page.

Quote from: insubordinate polyhedral;1108015Sweet! When's the playtest?

Maybe I just missed something in the previous thread, but I can't figure out what you mean by this. Is it that Hegemons know how many NPCs they have? Or that Hegemons know PCs' assets? What are the PCs unaware of?

Cheers

Playtest is whenever anyone wants! That said, I am still working on the extra NPCs, and dreaming up a Rumor Table. So GMs can flesh out the rest, or use what NPC ideas I dream up later. As is, it is immediately playable, especially if you're good at improv.

As for that, sorry, I should have been clearer:
* Hegemon's Start Knowing Their Own "Life" NPCs.
* PCs Do Not Start Knowing Their Own "Life" NPCs (because player choice is paramount).
* PCs, once Allying with a "Life" NPC, Holds Discretion About Their Allegiance (blab to every NPC about your new friends and favorite places & things, at your own risk!).
* Both Hegemons and PCs are ignorant of the Other's "Life" NPCs.

Is that clearer?

That helps!

What do you mean by "life" NPCs? Like you have 20 life points representing total resources, and can allocate them into various assets? What does that life do though?

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1108040That helps!

What do you mean by "life" NPCs? Like you have 20 life points representing total resources, and can allocate them into various assets? What does that life do though?

Glad I could help.

"Life" NPCs are shorthand for the abstracted Reputation Duel's Assets each side of the Duel has.

A Hegemon has invested into this Region, as represented by its Assets, its "Life." These can be a person, place, or thing (as seen sub-divided in the "Locale's NPCs" section). The Hegemon has already been introduced and received fealty, and likely imparted auto-pilot Agenda instructions (such as be discreet, do X when Y opportunity arises, etc.).

PCs similarly have such prepared Assets, such "Life," but it is in potential for Players are free to refuse. (If they do so, offer another NPC with which to bond in the future.)

For example, perhaps the Players hear of the Orc Band in Locale 3 -- and they feel like killing them, killing them all! :mad: Go ahead, don't stop them from bee-lining to Locale 3! The Orc Band will still likely React Friendly at first, hoping to gain an Ally for their own ends. (The Orc Band above has its own Agenda, so any friend who may help them retake their Mountain Home will be welcome.) After attacked though, the Orcs will either be dead or newly Unaligned -- it is the players' choices that matter, not the setup!

These "Life Points" are abstractions seeded into a Region to show the power stakes. This example is a "5 Life vs. 5 Life," with the PCs trying to discover & choose their "Lives" while adventuring. If they don't care and move on, well all the GM effort 'wasted' is on a shuffled MtG deck and a shuffled NPC deck!

Such "Life" Assets also double as Sacrifice-able for Card payment (such as MtG "Sac a creature, Sac a Land, Sac an Artifact, Pay a Life" etc.), but this is mostly a Behind-the-GM-Screen abstraction. PCs should not worry about this -- this is a bookkeeping metagame to make GMs' lives easier.

Interesting. It reminds me a bit of how Kevin Crawford approaches Domains (and their qualities) and Domain Management in "An Echo Resounding."

Quote from: Antiquation!;1108060Interesting. It reminds me a bit of how Kevin Crawford approaches Domains (and their qualities) and Domain Management in "An Echo Resounding."

Huh, I got SWN from Crawford, but I never saw "An Echo Resounding." Kevin has great ideas in SWN on how to sandbox and keep factions well organized, but I don't remember them being similar. If it's anyway reminiscent of his talent I take your comment as a deep compliment! Thank you!

Quote from: Opaopajr;1108118Huh, I got SWN from Crawford, but I never saw "An Echo Resounding." Kevin has great ideas in SWN on how to sandbox and keep factions well organized, but I don't remember them being similar. If it's anyway reminiscent of his talent I take your comment as a deep compliment! Thank you!

Yeah, I like it! "An Echo Resounding" takes a different approach from his usual sandbox tools, while you can use them independently they are designed to be used together with the 'regular' tools from SWN and etc. There are some nifty and easy-to-use mass combat rules in there as well.

Quote from: Opaopajr;1108057Glad I could help.

"Life" NPCs are shorthand for the abstracted Reputation Duel's Assets each side of the Duel has.

A Hegemon has invested into this Region, as represented by its Assets, its "Life." These can be a person, place, or thing (as seen sub-divided in the "Locale's NPCs" section). The Hegemon has already been introduced and received fealty, and likely imparted auto-pilot Agenda instructions (such as be discreet, do X when Y opportunity arises, etc.).

PCs similarly have such prepared Assets, such "Life," but it is in potential for Players are free to refuse. (If they do so, offer another NPC with which to bond in the future.)

For example, perhaps the Players hear of the Orc Band in Locale 3 -- and they feel like killing them, killing them all! :mad: Go ahead, don't stop them from bee-lining to Locale 3! The Orc Band will still likely React Friendly at first, hoping to gain an Ally for their own ends. (The Orc Band above has its own Agenda, so any friend who may help them retake their Mountain Home will be welcome.) After attacked though, the Orcs will either be dead or newly Unaligned -- it is the players' choices that matter, not the setup!

These "Life Points" are abstractions seeded into a Region to show the power stakes. This example is a "5 Life vs. 5 Life," with the PCs trying to discover & choose their "Lives" while adventuring. If they don't care and move on, well all the GM effort 'wasted' is on a shuffled MtG deck and a shuffled NPC deck!

Such "Life" Assets also double as Sacrifice-able for Card payment (such as MtG "Sac a creature, Sac a Land, Sac an Artifact, Pay a Life" etc.), but this is mostly a Behind-the-GM-Screen abstraction. PCs should not worry about this -- this is a bookkeeping metagame to make GMs' lives easier.

I can half follow you on this but I'm still unclear on some parts. Could you write out like, an example of play starting from the beginning?

Like, ok, let's say you have a region. You have a hegemon. Do you draw from a deck of cards? Then those are locales? How do you distribute life? Is there a certain number you're supposed to put, or can you just start with however many in whatever? Does the amount of life mean something if you have more in an area? Like, 5 life in an area -- does this mean you have to defeat the hegemon's influence there 5 times to take it over?

Basically there's a lot of jargon currently but the relationships they have to each other is unclear. The idea itself is sound.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1108318I can half follow you on this but I'm still unclear on some parts. Could you write out like, an example of play starting from the beginning?

Like, ok, let's say you have a region. You have a hegemon. Do you draw from a deck of cards? Then those are locales? How do you distribute life? Is there a certain number you're supposed to put, or can you just start with however many in whatever? Does the amount of life mean something if you have more in an area? Like, 5 life in an area -- does this mean you have to defeat the hegemon's influence there 5 times to take it over?

Basically there's a lot of jargon currently but the relationships they have to each other is unclear. The idea itself is sound.

Sure!

First you take a Region and determine how many Locales you want are within said Region. The more Locales, the greater number of NPCs, the more cards available to the Hegemon, and an increase for overall potential complexity. Locales are an amorphous, abstracted value, containing smaller nouns within, such as persons, places, and things. Locales can range from a city district, or section of a massive dungeon, to several tens or hundreds of square miles (or more).

Once you decide how many Locales in your Region, you are deciding your complexity as well. Then is when you shuffle and draw MtG cards from a coherently relevant deck (or curation of MtG cards). A tropical island Region makes no sense using an Ice Age B&W deck running Snow-Covered Plains & Swamps. Use common sense coherency.

Drawn cards fill values from smallest Locale value on up (fill Locale 1 before moving onto Locale 2, etc.). Land drawn represents each Locale's terrain. Non-Land Cards drawn (Creature, Sorcery, Enchant, Instant (Interrupt), & Artifact) fill Locales up to their numeric value: Loc. 1 receives first Non-Land Card, Loc. 2 receives next two Non-Land Cards, and so on. As you draw cards you place Land and Non-Land in their subsequent slots until every Locale is filled in both Land and Non-Land slots; if you fill one category before the other you just keep continuing the process -- and stop counting excess of a finished slot category.

e.g. Loc. 9 is your last Locale, and will have the 9th Land drawn as terrain, and the last Nine Non-Land Cards attached (cards #37~#45). You end up with a cluster of drawn Land and end up finishing Land slots before the Non-Land slots. You keep going, completing the process, ignoring any excess Lands from here on.

"Life" totals counts for an entire Region. Starting "Life" totals for the Duel are completely arbitrary... but more Locales mean a far larger Region, more NPCs, more cards, and way more strategy... since it can handle higher "Life" it would be nice to take advantage of the opportunity. The basic version is a minimum of one "Life" per Locale, but you may adjust more or less "Life" to your campaign's needs, naturally.

(I started the example with more "Life" than Locales, and upon examination felt for a fairer start of larger "Life" than Locales "Life" needed to be distributed with a minimum of one among each Locale. This avoids clumping where certain Locales are blocked out and become 100% hostile death traps.)

Hegemons also start with any value of Lands beforehand as you wish, representing Domain not associated with said Region, but still bringing resources to bear. Similarly they start with any $ and or entourage you wish.

(For simplicity and rapid playtesting I chose a smaller contest: only three Locales, only 5 Life each, and only 1 starting Swamp, 10 PP, and entourage of guards for Hegemon.)

"Life" can be seeded into selected NPCs directly, or by randomization. Few restrictions are already mentioned in that section in this very topic. i.e. One "Life" per Locale when there is more "Life" than Locales.

Defeating another's "Life" in this Duel means their control is broken and they need to abandon the Region and regroup. It is a conceptual way to manage the Region's relationship to the powerful actors in the area.

Does that help?