Do you have examples of real world university politics I can use as inspiration? /u/mrquixote DnD: Roll for Initiative!

I am betting that this sub has a significant number of people on it who are either academics or work at a university. I am looking for real world “you can’t make this stuff up” examples to base a storyline element on.

My players are being tasked by an interplanar research organization in Sigil to go off and investigate something. My players, quite naturally, are going to want the organization to give them resources in order to achieve their goal with the argument “hey, this is what you guys want us to do, you should help.”

Of course, if I just give them massive institutional resources, then the adventure ceases to be challenging and fun. But if I arbitrarily deny resources without in game justification and some potential player agency, again, fun suffers.

So, my ask: can you provide examples and real life stories about how and why some hallowed halls failed to allocate resources in a rational and reasonable way to achieve important goals? Perhaps it was interdepartmental politics, or a powerful donor, or a petty buearocrat, or some torrid office romance. I am betting that the real world examples will beggar my imagination.

So, if you have a story about some time an academic institution shot itself in the foot by messing up the process of providing resources, I would love to hear them. My goal is to reskin and/or recombine those stories to embroil the players for a bit.

As a potential upshot for you: my players may be able to do some gordian knot style cutting and get some of the resources they want while those frustrations you may have IRL experienced may (in game) face the wrath of my favorite murder hobos. Get a little catharsis by proxy here is what I am saying.

I am betting that this sub has a significant number of people on it who are either academics or work at a university. I am looking for real world “you can’t make this stuff up” examples to base a storyline element on.

My players are being tasked by an interplanar research organization in Sigil to go off and investigate something. My players, quite naturally, are going to want the organization to give them resources in order to achieve their goal with the argument “hey, this is what you guys want us to do, you should help.”

Of course, if I just give them massive institutional resources, then the adventure ceases to be challenging and fun. But if I arbitrarily deny resources without in game justification and some potential player agency, again, fun suffers.

So, my ask: can you provide examples and real life stories about how and why some hallowed halls failed to allocate resources in a rational and reasonable way to achieve important goals? Perhaps it was interdepartmental politics, or a powerful donor, or a petty buearocrat, or some torrid office romance. I am betting that the real world examples will beggar my imagination.

So, if you have a story about some time an academic institution shot itself in the foot by messing up the process of providing resources, I would love to hear them. My goal is to reskin and/or recombine those stories to embroil the players for a bit.

As a potential upshot for you: my players may be able to do some gordian knot style cutting and get some of the resources they want while those frustrations you may have IRL experienced may (in game) face the wrath of my favorite murder hobos. Get a little catharsis by proxy here is what I am saying.