Something has been growing at the back of my head for weeks now and I think it has started taking some blurry form - an alternative story. It would be a sort of prequel or "intro" that leads the player into the desolate PARPG universe. It is simpler (as in no changing the world)
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Basically the idea is that the PC would take part in 're-colonizing' a part of the PARPG world's land - the PC would be fleeing the frozen North with a group of people to find more habitable lands in the South. The game would play out as the enactment of that journey, reaching (sort of) the desired place and the social/other problems that would arise with a large group of people.
Find way South(group or solo), solve problems that arise on the way(different for group or solo), make choice of staying going further south(different for group or solo)
Throughout the game the player would have to persuade/force NPCs to aid in completing the tasks the game world presents. Antisocial extreme-solo-playing (interacting with NPCs just to spit in their faces and steal from them รต_o) should be possible, but some situations would become excessively difficult/deadly (piloting a craft-shooting at hostiles-changing baby's diapers-bandaging a wound at the same time
)
Short summary of the story: The protagonist (PC) starts out in a motley camp of desperate people (~15-20, locals, some people from even further south or east) trying to find the means to escape the ever worsening cold of the North (starting location near/on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia ?). The group is disorganized - the PC could try to organize it (depends on what role the character starts in - background choice ?)
Various ideas and stories and rumors fly around the encampment. PC has to make a choice what course of action to follow to get the hell out of the land-sterilizing cold (the cold gets worse in time, travelling becomes more difficult by the minute (khm, day) and reaching nearby wannabe-settlements/farms/whatever becomes more deadly, some tasks become impossible to solve). This and the following part of the game should take up some time.
PC would aid in finding the means (
first McGuffin) - let's say a ship (boat, yacht, doesn't have to be a huge tanker like in Fallout 2
).
Then aids in getting it operational (attach a light icebreaker, use explosives to break it free from the dockside ice...). (+May solo with a smaller craft, but has to smuggle off necessary equipment. Somebody might notice at any point if player's not careful enough). PC wouldn't have to do it on their own. He might persuade an NPC to do a task, but certain NPCs do certain tasks better than others (simple example: a mechanic with some experience might find welding something together easier than a poet would)
Rations and equipment have to be found for the journey (if something essential is not found then problems will arise later)
Then the ship/sailboat/yacht has to be manned - chores divided, assignments assigned. Set sail !
Prior to the launch the PC might want to settle some minor conflicts between NPCs and help some people in their affairs.
JOURNEY BEGINS (depending on the PCs choices some problems might arise en route to their destination)
...aand ends abruptly in bad weather somewhere near Gotland - the ship's run onto heavy ice - end of journey's pt.1
Second part of the game starts here, basically (solo would also have to continue on foot/sleigh/ski). Some of the hoarded equipment might/would come in handy from now on.
Next, land would have to be scouted for - the people and equipment moved off the transport onto sturdy shore and a makeshift camp set up until a place is found where the people could settle (further south by land) or the means to travel even
further south (trains?! rivers ?) (
second McGuffin)
I'd think of the place to settle as an already existing community that would have to be (firstly - found, +there could be several of 'em, each with their own drawbacks and problems(example:a broken well, if you manage to fix it there's no need ot find a new source of water)) persuaded/forced to take in the shipwreckees (nobody would want to share what's theirs). There could be other parties interested in setting up shop exactly at the same spot and you could band up with them and chase the first one's away or come to an agreement with the first ones and eventually fight off the others.
Basically the game would conclude when the PC
a) ensures the (for the time being) peaceful co-existence of his people and the locals or
b)the settling of his people in a favourable location(by driving someone away) or
c) finding means to travel further south where the climate is even more favourable.
During the whole game at any point there might be a dialogue option with some NPCs who see you in a favourable light, in the lines of "What do you think if I'd stay in this hut with you ?" and thus end the game. Or some characters might ask the PC to stay (for the night, wink wink).
If the PC decides that "fuck all these strange people" and finds a way South on his/her own (smaller transport +the reason to travel south anyhow would be the intolerable weather conditions up North where the game starts, for example, that makes the first half of the game more difficult) then that is fine - in the end that could just mean less "quests"(less people, less problems), but in this case there should be additional things the PC could do/encounter. Situations should play out differently when the PC is standing out only for themselves and not for a bunch of people. Solo would also make a choice in the end of joining a group for good or finding means to solo-travel further south (or join an existing group trying to get on the road)
I made a sort of diagram to outline one way of starting the game. I think the main story quests (or problems that need solving) should be almost random. A selection of previously scripted situations which all might not happen during a playthrough or happen one way one playthrough and another way another playthrough, no matter what choices the character makes - like the ESSENTIAL COMPONENT FOR SHIP problem in the diagram. No matter what the character is like - you never know what fate throws at you. Slight alternating branches of story/dialogue/special future tasks/quests might have to be written and scripted for each case for it to make any sense and have a point.
The PROVIDE EQ. FOR THE JOURNEY part could be random in the way that sometimes you cannot get one or two of the necessary 'ingredients', some of the food could be spoiled and no matter what you do you'd have too little of it. Or it could have something to do with the weather - do things in the wrong order up in the North and you'll be too late for some of the things - the dockside warehouse door is frozen shut no matter what you do !! When some of the listed equipment is/is not found/taken with you certain situations will become more difficult or easier, quasi-important NPCs might die or become sick/crippled/angry at you etc... unforeseen conflicts.
So the attatched diagram(bleh):
