Hope you are feeling better!
Glad to have you back Alex! :)
You had asked me earlier to remind you to calculate the XP for the battle in the Kamelands. Is now an appropriate time? :)
I'll give you a figure tomorrow.
De-dotting... the hiatus problem I talk about in the website feedback is back with a vengeance...
We were taken last night, though the Gnolls took us blindfolded and marched us through the night. I believe coins and plunder changed hands, but we were mostly kept senseless... the 3rd of Gozran eh... Almost a month since we were taken.
Either Balthus is confused, or I am. Which one was it, a night or a month? ;P
If I were to hazard a guess, the first use of the word "taken" in that quotation could be replaced with "sold". So it would mean they were abducted a month ago by their supposed employers, carted around in the hidden compartment of the wagon, sold to the gnolls last night, and then force marched to the giant's camp to be sacrificed upon the alter.
That is my take anyhow. :)
That makes more sense than my initial reading of it did!
Balthus' vocabulary needs some work but Kip has the right of it. To be fair it was late :P.
XP earnt- 1,200. Reduced for several factors so yes its a little low. Thinking of just doing away with XP counting anyway.
XP recorded. New total = 36957
Jace, I assume you've already looked at this new Prc from Paths of Prestige- if not I suggest you revise your build to incorporate it. Very nice for Casimir and no faffing with an Agile weapon.
Seems a very strong 1 level dip for him.
Jace, I assume you've already looked at this new Prc from Paths of Prestige- if not I suggest you revise your build to incorporate it. Very nice for Casimir and no faffing with an Agile weapon.
Seems a very strong 1 level dip for him.
Yup, looked and bought the pdf. I've considered it, but didn't want to get too far ahead, especially since stuff like UC/UM is off limits.
I'll give it some thougth - in any event, it won't be an issue for at least another couple of levels, since I need Dazzling Display to qualify.
Well FWIW Paths of Prestige is permitted, i've been looking forward to it for some time especially as it has a Hellknight Signifer :).
Is Ultimate Equipment permitted? Specifically "Page of Spell Knowledge"? :)
No*.
*- May be in the future, pending me looking through it.
That is 402 pages of scanning/reading my friend. :)
How about ruling on specific new items? The book is full of sorcerer friendly items... and about time if you ask me. ;)
The two that have caught my eye so far are the Page of Spell Knowledge and the Mnemonic Vestment. :)
No rush though... I know you are busy in RL currently... and Kip isn't going anywhere soon. :D
lol
please don't punish Kip :)
I wonder if a meeting between Aldori duellists has ever ended with a handshake?
Not that we have ever met...Malthir trained under a master when he was younger until his family ran out of money but never went to the actual school.
His brother was killed in a duel so these things have a tendency to be dangerous events.
One thing to keep in mind while you are off galavanting in the middle of Brevoy...you will bee to be back for the end of the month otherwise bad things will happen to the kindgom and Malthir may need to replace you... :]
Casimir's a little out of his league here against the Swordlord Council's Champion, I would say. Especially with no magic.
Stefan Maseri is surprisingly MAD though. Lots of abilities you need at 13 or higher to benefit from the kind of feats you expect a duellist to have.
I just realized that it has been over 6 months (real time) since Kip has had to roll a d20! For any reason! :O
On an unrelated note... and since I can't figure it out... how did Cas get wounded from Maseri's disarm? Just wondering...
On an unrelated note... and since I can't figure it out... how did Cas get wounded from Maseri's disarm? Just wondering...
I'm guessing Disarming Strike.
Well, I hope! :) I still have to get through my first combat/map encounter; I'll breathe a little easier once I've done that, assuming I don't make a hash of it.
I'm guessing Disarming Strike.On an unrelated note... and since I can't figure it out... how did Cas get wounded from Maseri's disarm? Just wondering...
Bingo.
I am sorry for that Kip. Things got crazy on my end for far longer than expected but i'm still here and picking up the pace now :)
Jacob.trier@gmail.com
Camping this weekend so I won't be able to post again until Sunday evening EST. Cheers!
I'm now finally moving up to Southampton for university. Things will be hectic for me but will settle down on the 1st of October, at which time expect much more posting from me.
Really keen to get my own games going at a good rate again so I hope you'll all help me get the pace up and keep it at a healthy momentum. I'll PM you all on the 1st of October to remind you as the threads may not show updates by that point.
An update... posting this on my group's discussion threads due to lack of time, but I trust helpful people will share the info around as needed.
I am still hoping to get everything posting again on 1st of October. However, I will not have Internet in my home until the 11th of October. We shall have to see how successful my attempts to keep up are in this period.
A 7:30-7:00 massive day at university followed by further unpacking conspired to steal my day I am afraid, but updates will only be delayed until tomorrow- I have a free day :).
Yay!!
:)
I'm actually going to take some liberty with the narrative and your actions in my next update. I hope it doesn't ruffle any feathers but I think the end result will be worth it.
It will probably help, it may be some time before we get back to AP business at this rate...
Ruffle away! :)
Ok :)
The Situation-
Ok guys. So originally, the plot hooks had been loosely designed to segue you together in Restov, in time for you to assault the castle of Blackhearth together etc.
While I do think it could have been a really epic scenario...
Because we have lost so much time and momentum due to busyness (the greatest fault lying with me personally) I decided to simply narrate the remainder of the month instead and assume success on your part; and get right into the kingdom turn and then Interlude between chapters 2 and 3.
Other than the loss of momentum etc., the reasons for this were as follows-
1. Re-join the party. What should have been a small split has dragged on for months, again mostly due to insane busyness on my part.
2. Wealth by Level. You guys are currently quite ahead of the curve still, I believe. While rescuing Stanislaw has its own reward, it won't be in the form of treasure.
3. Finally finish Chapter 2. You may make sojourns outside of your kingdom to do hex claims and there is no guarantee that you won't run into trouble while doing so. However, purely in metagame terms, your no longer reacting to any even events I have planned. No troll attacks on your cities while your gone, I promise :).
I'm aware the consumption of the Hellknight army seems a lot for little effect but it is actually acting as an enormous deterrent and is actively affecting the way other River Kingdoms perceive you. Thus far, I can assure you the small, elite army is worth its (extremely heavy, full-plate laden) weight in gold pieces.
What I need from you, fine players-
1. Please discuss how much full kingdom downtime you'd like to have. I would suggest 2-3 years as the most suitable amount between now and the next chapter, to give you plenty of time to grow into your explored territory.
2. Please do a wealth audit on any items you have personally claimed. This means I want you to add up the full value of any equipment your character has and post it here. I believe the group is significantly over WBL on average, but I won't be taking items from you so don't worry. This will help me out so if you think you will be too busy to do it yourself anytime soon please beg for assistance in the OOC. I wouldn't ask if I had the time spare to do it myself.
On that subject, Malthir hows the party fund looking?
3. As soon as 1. is settled... Get involved in the interlude thread! While Malthir is usually happy to put forward a plan to keep up momentum, please don't hesitate to weigh in or let him develop Swordhaven too much at the expense of other cities ;).
Any Other Business-
I will soon be introducing a new element to your leadership roles within the kingdom; skilled underlings for each of you to assign as you see fit. More on this soon.
Congratulations! We've made it to Chapter 3!
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Concept-
Essentially, although I like the abstraction Kingmaker uses, I feel the group doesn't get enough of their own input in how things go. I feel that the leader titles and descriptions, as well as how much input the system is encouraging you to have, is a little lacking.
Essentially, each of you now has your own 3/4/5 noteworthy underlings. It will be your responsibility to let me know what each of them is going to be ordered to do and it will be relatively free-form. I expect you to use your imagination to assign them in ways you think will be useful and I will handle it off-screen, assigning a DC and perhaps a BP cost depending on the task; with any relevant rolls handled by me off-screen. This is much more "zoomed in" than general Kingdom turns. For example, some tasks I could think of that some of you might want your underlings to do (for example)-
Casimir: Set up a Spy Network in a foreign country or city.
Casimir: Pay particular attention to travellers entering the country.
Casimir: Investigate a particular individual.
Malthir: Have Master Teldas look into means of improving the castle.
Ricter: Bring in a particular individual for questioning.
Ricter: Supervise militia recruitment and training.
Ricter: Lead the Hellknight army somewhere in his absence.
Fenna: Investigate a certain type of sector of the market for corruption.
Fenna: Consult/Research on potential trade routes Kardas could exploit.
Kalev: Scout out a particular hex.
Kalev: Inspect/tighten up border controls.
Kalev: Explore/map a scouted hex.
Kip: Perform long study of a particular magical effect or phenomenon.
Kip: General research.
Kip: Seek out exceptional Fey to make contact with.
Some roles have clear ranks of skill (for example, its very obvious Stanislaw's chance of success in any given task is far higher than his colleagues) which I have attempted to keep consistent. You can assign a complex task to a lower ranked underling but he might not be particularly successful.
Note- Each task will take at least 1 kingdom turn to complete, to make the bookkeeping a little easier for me.
A final note before I briefly detail these various individuals- you are able to bring in further members to your personal "retinue"; up to a total maximum of 4 (rising to 5 when the Barony becomes a Duchy and 6 when it becomes a Kingdom). I would suggest only attempting to recruit fairly talented individuals and only those relevant to your own role; even the lowest ranked staff members are pretty exceptional compared to a standard Commoner. Thus, you can only recruit named NPC's.
Malthir (Ruler)-
Castle’s Steward- Master Teldas (Taldan Male raised from the original Kardasholme staff)
Squire- Noleski Trollblood (needs no introduction ;) )
Herald/Heraldic Expert- Antal (Halfling who is extremely knowledgeable regarding local nobility)
As the Ruler, all the PC’s and NPC’s are already somewhat beholden to him. Malthir’s three staff members are capable of much less than most other lieutenants and are far less specialised.
Ricter (General)-
Exceptional Lieutenant- Kesten Garess (former General, Noble and Soldier, a very efficient “aide de camp” for strategy and logistics)
Superior Lieutenant- Hellknight Pellius (formidable warrior who specialises in “bringing wanted men in”. Particularly skilled at disarming foes and an expert on exotic weaponry)
Decent Lieutenant- Balthus (recently rescued slave who appears to be at least as loyal and strong as most of Ricter’s Hellknight, if perhaps not particularly intelligent)
Signifer Grachius is primarily involved with the Hellknights rather than the kingdom itself and acts as de facto leader in Ricter’s absence. As General, the militia report to Ricter and by default, so do any army leaders that are not Statkari.
Fenna (Councillor)-
Merchant Liason and Trade Route Expert- Joseph Bodeski (elder brother of Statkari & Guardian Casimir, Joseph has a keen mind for economics and representing the merchant class.)
Agricultural Expert- Lily Teskerton (paramour of Ilya who has recently begun to dominate the agricultural market in Kardas. Clever to a fault and benevolent/popular to the nation’s many farmers)
Foresting Expert- Corax Altertine (has rapidly acquired much of the logging industry within Kardas based off his profits of the sales of a rare grove of trees the Guardians pointed him to. Anyone who makes their trade within the Narlmarch forest usually consults with either him or Kressle. Despite his disastrous conflict with the now slain Nixie, Corax generally tries to consider the Fey folk of Kardas and the Narlmarches in accordance with Kardas’ culture)
As Councillor, Fenna must do her best to impartially represent the interests of the majority of Kardas’ common people; most of which fall within three sectors- Farming, Mercantile and Forestral. It is likely that if Swordhaven’s port is developed further, she will add a River expert to her retinue. She also liaisons with a huge number of internal representatives, companies, unions, councils and committees.
Kalev (Marshall)-
Exceptional Ranger- Kressle (wife of Casimir, particularly skilful in the forest; very effective against human foes)
Superior Ranger- Kundal (former Lycanthrope indebted to the Guardians. Better suited to tasks requiring brute force and still suffering from post-reincarnation (Restoration required to become fully effective))
Decent Ranger- Red Eyes (Unique, intelligent magical beast that seems to be manifesting more and more talents as time passes. Despite his power and effectiveness, his effective rank is essentially reduced due to his limited time spent away from his pack)
As Marshall, Kalev is responsible for internal security of the kingdom, much like the Warden is responsible for the security of the castle and capital. The Captain of the Guards in each city report directly to him, as do the border patrols and general long patrols.
Casimir (Spymaster)-
Exceptional Spy- Uncle Stanislaw (with Hat of Disguise, magical weapon and many other talents/tricks). Extremely capable.
Superior Spy- Lucius (Brevic Spy who has now sworn oaths to Kardas as part of the Swordlord Council’s gratitude- with Hat of Disguise)
Decent Spy- Mikmek (Fanatically loyal kobold who has been affiliated with the Guardians for many years. No particular talents except stealth and keen eyes, along with the occasional sneak attack)
As Spymaster, Casimir’s three lieutenant’s reports all filter their way to him eventually; unusual sightings, rumours of note, growing unrest, foreign intelligence and political climates as well as potential problems within the economy. He has various agents placed internally within Kardas but currently has no spy networks built in any other nations.
Kip (Magister)-
Expert in Transmutation- Lord Sirian (ambassador from Varnhold who is happy to assist Kip in his duties as his own take up very little of his time)
Apprentice- Doritian Queck (Gnome who took up arcane magic as a means of staving off the Bleaching; particularly fond of Necromancy)
Apprentice- Zordion Kaleb (Young Human teenager, something of a universalist Hedge Wizard)
As Magister of a kingdom with little formal education or arcane training program as yet, Kip’s role is something of an easy one. Popular with the Fey and knowing that he fiercely represents their interests, Kip frequently ensures their interests and lifestyle is not detrimentally affected by Kardas’ growth and laws. In addition, he has thus far taken on two apprentices although his life would be made far easier if he could find a way to add a Wizard to his retinue...
I need to check where we are on treasure as well as my plans for Kardas. Once I can get that posted up we can discuss.
High level plan:
A few more turns for SwordHaven and then focus on city #2 Vierkirche.
SwordHaven will be the military capital while Vierkirche will be the learning capital.
About a year or so from now start city #4.
Let me get the post up for this month and we can really get into the next few months of planning.
Aw... too bad. I was looking forward to playing out the castle infiltration/rescue mission. That seemed right in Kip's wheelhouse. So to speak. :)
As for kingdom planning, I shall await the others, much more learned than myself, to chime in as this is my first interlude. :)
As requested:
Kip's total WBL = 27285.54 gp in gear + 5444.93 gp in cash = 32730.47 gp
- Weapons = 302.4 gp
- Armor = 2100 gp
- Mundane Gear = 232.14 gp
- Mount w/tack = 61 gp
- Magic (Wondrous) = 18300 gp
- Magic (Wands) = 1515 gp
- Magic (scrolls) = 3225 gp
- Magic (Potions) = 1550 gp
The expanded leadership looks very interesting. I recognize just about all of the names save for a few. Two of those I don't recognize happen to be my apprentices however. :)
Note to self: Two apprentices and only one capable caster? Priority #1... I must seek out another capable caster, preferably a wizard, and preferably a fey, to bring up my team "average". ;D
And Malthir, just curious, but as Magister (the one who "guides a kingdom’s higher learning and magic") I assumed that my future (tree?) city(?) would be the center of learning in Kardas. Vierkirche is the proposed religious center of Kardas already no? And Northgreen is a major trading city? The dwarven fortress a future military town/fort?
I am assuming the plan is to have each player run their own city at some point? (Malthir = the capital, Fenna = Vierkirche, Ricter = The fortress, Cas = Candlemere Island, Kalev = ???, Ilya(?) = Northgreen, Kip = the old sycamore(?))
Just trying to get my head around things. :)
Off to reread the kingdom building rules. :)
PS Nice to have you back Ilya :)
Ilya's just a cameo role right now that Tanner is kindly willing to play.
Yes, sorry to foist two apprentices on you Kip. I struggled to think of named characters who would suit being some of your lieutenants. Possibly, you could recruit Perlivash, the faerie dragon? :P.
Malthir is NOT having any bloody faeries running around the castle!!! This is a man's kingdom!!! :]
Malthir is going to be above normal wealth mainly because he took the sword we found in the Cairn and wedding gifts.
18315
630
5500
4175
320
1000
4000
4000
1000
3344
-----
36784gp
gifts
I think they were about 12000gp
Total would be around 48700gp.
There is 3223gp in the party treasury. If you are worried about party treasure split then we can just assume that the treasure from the giant and kin is moot, it wasn't that much and would just be easier to not count.
You already have Fey citizens now... not many, but they are there ;).
I'm realising that i've let people get way beyond WBL, in addition to which there is quite a lot of disparity between the party. Once we have everyone's total we can talk about helping those behind on wealth catch up somewhat.
The giant's treasure is fine, i'm not going to make treasure "disappear", i'll just start to correct it for future.
Luckily I had already made this up before the big break, this was what I had proposed for the next turn for the Kingdom:
.
Strategy: Expand SwordHaven & Expand the Kingdom!
.
.
Upkeep Phase:
*Step 1—Determine Kingdom Stability:
Start with 0 Unrest (+1BP)
Stability roll needed at +39 to beat Control DC 39
*Step 2—Pay Consumption:
Treasury begins with 32BP
Upkeep of Hellknights (-4BP)
Treasury ends with 28BP
*Step 3—Fill Magic Item Slots:
SwordHaven Needs:
0 Minor
1 Medium
Northgreen Needs:
1 Minor
Vierkirche Needs:
0 Minor
1 Medium
*Step 4—Unrest:
0 Unrest to start, -1 for Sootscales
0 Unrest remaining
Improvement:
*Step 1—Select Leadership:
No changes
*Step 2—Claim Hexes:
Claim Hex A8, Road & Farm *-4BP*, Claim Hex A27, *-1BP*, Road Hex A22 *-1BP*
*Step 3—Establish and Improve Cities:
Build Mill *-6BP* +1 Econ, +0 Loy, +1 Stab, -0 Unrest
Build Graveyard *-4BP* +1 Econ, +1 Loy, +0 Stab -0 Unrest
Build House *3BP, -2 Unrest
*Step 4—Build Roads:
See above
*Step 5: Establish Farmlands:
See above
*Step 6: Edicts:
None
Income:
Starting Income: 9 BP
+1 BP for Kingdom Unrest starting at 0
*Step 1—Deposits: No deposits
*Step 2—Withdrawals:
Restore Kesten Garess -1BP
Restore Kundal -1BP
Restore Lord Sirian -1BP
Make Fang aware -1BP
*Step 3—Sell Valuable Items:
3 Economy rolls needed at +56 to sell items
*Step 4—Generate Income:
Economy roll needed at +56 to generate income
Events:
Event that occurred this month:
Ending Income: XX BP for the month
Can you upgrade your template to include kingdom size? Would be useful for me thanks. I'd actually forgotten Kesten was also suffering from post-raise... good catch.
Edit: Ignore the text previously below here.
Can you upgrade your template to include kingdom size? Would be useful for me thanks. I'd actually forgotten Kesten was also suffering from post-raise... good catch.
Edit: Ignore the text previously below here.
They were both fixed in turn 30. see spoiler.
.
Strategy: Re-build SwordHaven & Expand the Kingdom!
.
.
Upkeep Phase:
*Step 1—Determine Kingdom Stability:
Start with 2 Unrest (+0BP)
Stability roll needed at +37 to beat Control DC 37
*Step 2—Pay Consumption:
Treasury begins with 19BP
Upkeep of Hellknights (-2BP)
Letters of Credit from Varn (+6BP)
Goods from Dwarven Keep (+6BP)
Treasury ends with 29BP
*Step 3—Fill Magic Item Slots:
SwordHaven:
1 Minor
0 Medium
Northgreen:
1 Minor
Vierkirche:
0 Minor
1 Medium
*Step 4—Unrest:
2 Unrest to start, -1 for Sootscales
1 Unrest remaining
Improvement:
*Step 1—Select Leadership:
No changes
*Step 2—Claim Hexes:
Claim Hex A16, Road & Farm *-4BP*, Claim Hex A22, *-1BP*, Road Hex A10 *-1BP*
*Step 3—Establish and Improve Cities:
Re-Build Jail in SwordHaven *-7BP* +2 Loy, +2 Stab, -2 Unrest
Re-Build Herbalist in SwordHaven *-5BP* +1 Loy, +1 Stab -0 Unrest
*Step 4—Build Roads:
See above
*Step 5: Establish Farmlands:
See above
*Step 6: Edicts:
Change Taxation to Heavy!
Income:
Starting Income: 11 BP
+0 BP for Kingdom Unrest starting at 2
*Step 1—Deposits: No deposits
*Step 2—Withdrawals:
Raise Kesten Garess -3BP
Reincarnate Kundal -1BP
Raise Lord Sirian -3BP
*Step 3—Sell Valuable Items:
3 Economy rolls needed at +54 to sell items
*Step 4—Generate Income:
Economy roll needed at +54 to generate income
Events:
Event that occurred this month:
Ending Income: XX BP for the month
Yeah I went back and checked and edited before you posted Malthir :P.
Items Produced-
Northgreen (Minor); Potion of Stabilize - 25 gp
Swordhaven (Medium); +3 greataxe - 18320 gp
Vierkirche (Medium); Blessed Book - 12,500 gp
Swordhaven Castle District Updated
From Month 1 of the Interlude, everyone is free to begin to use their mew minions... Try and declare such things in a timely manner, thankyou!
On a final note... I think Kip might have had an item he wanted to be sold via the kingdom's markets.
+16BP
+0BP
Ending Income: 22 BP for the month
I will talk wiht Kip about his item and make arrangements with him for it...
Natural 1 is a failure (the Stability, Economy and Loyalty are akin to saving throws) so you don't get the 11BP unfortunately.
Edit: Sorry stephen my MSN is being s$%$.