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So there is very little I actually want to change in Blood 4 Blood, my post here is just to add options so that GM's who have groups that decide they want to use some Kingdom Resources to solve some problems can.
Blood For Blood is easily one of the strongest books in Kingmaker, with active opponents. I will post up rules about "Wandering Armies", as the Tiger Lords and Boggards patrol their territories en-masse, the PCs might want to put together a force to deal with that.
Boggard Warden Guerrillas
Boggard Warden Guerrillas CR 6
Small Army of Boggard Ranger 6
Combat
Hp: 37 DV: 18 OM: +8
Tactics: Taunt Special Resources: Giant Frog Mounts
Special Abilities: Swimming (+1 DV in marsh/swamp terrain)
Logistics:
Speed: 2 (No penalty in marsh/swamp terrain); Consumption: 7
Leader: M'bogo Priest (Cha +3)
Spellcaster: M'bogo Priest (4, 3, 2, 1)
Hero: None
Prerequisite: Boggard
Tiger Lord Barbarians:
Tiger Lord Barbarians CR 5
Large Army of Human Barbarian 4
Combat
Hp: 52 DV: 15 OM: +5
Tactics: Relentless Brutality (+5 OM/-2 DV) Special Abilities: Berserker Rage (1/combat Heal CR x 2 Hp, gain +2 OM/-2 DV for rest of Combat).
Logistics:
Speed: 3; Consumption: 5
Leader: Ameon Trask (+2)
Spellcaster: None
Hero: Tiger Lord Bravo (CR 9)
Prerequisite: Ovinrbane
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So there is very little I actually want to change in Blood 4 Blood, my post here is just to add options so that GM's who have groups that decide they want to use some Kingdom Resources to solve some problems can.
Blood For Blood is easily one of the strongest books in Kingmaker, with active opponents. I will post up rules about "Wandering Armies", as the Tiger Lords and Boggards patrol their territories en-masse, the PCs might want to put together a force to deal with that.
Boggard Warden Guerrillas
** spoiler omitted **Tiger Lord Barbarians:
** spoiler omitted **
Isn't there a list somewhere with new armies? I like these thank you for sharing.
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Okay so I have noticed a problem with Book 4. Drelev's demesne is waaay too small for the amount of time that he's had to build. So I'm adding a couple of new settlements/additions.
All directions are relative to Fort Drelev, remember the compass is skewed to the Top Left corner of the Page :
1 Hex North: (Smilodon Den) Farmlands
1 Hex East (1/2 plain, 1/2 swamp): Farmlands
1 Hex South: (Edge of Lake Hooktongue) - Mudderton
NE Village; Base Value: 0 gp
3 Houses, 1 Dump, 1 Mill, 1 Town Commons, 1 Monument, Noble Villa (1/2 Completed)
Starting Attitude:Unfriendly.
Description: Mudderton is aptly named, mostly made of dirt and mud, the residents of Mudderton are not friendly with strangers. Most of Mudderton's residents are related by blood and don't trust those "not of the kin". The center of town has a statue of Baron Hanniss Drelev. Most of the refuse and garbage that floats away from Fort Drelev ends up in Mudderton where the residents pick through it for anything valuable. The town is lead by the Mayor, a man known as "Uncle" Pluckins to the entire town.
Short Quest: Mudderton's Mayor is quite corrupt, and currently has the entire town working on building a Noble Villa for him to live in. Many in the town aren't happy about it, but none have the courage to stand up to Uncle Pluckins since he drowned the last person to argue with him.
Use the stats for a Mayor from the GMG to represent Uncle Pluckins. Uncle Pluckins keeps a retinue of 8 Drelev Guards (see Blood For Blood) with him at all times and a Marsh Giant named "Nephew" who he calls on in an emergency. Nephew remains hidden in the nearby marshes most days, and comes out at night to prowl the streets.
Liberation Points:
Convince the town to rise up against Uncle Pluckins (Opposed Diplomacy, Bluff or Intimidate vs Uncle Pluckins 3 times): 1 LP
Defeat "Nephew": 1 LP
Destroy Buildings: -1 LP
1 Hex West: (Plains) Farm
2 Hexes West (Plains) Windsong Ranch
Windsong Ranch
N Thorp; Base Value: 500 gp
2 Houses, 1 Stable, 1 Smith, 1 Wall
Description
Windsong Ranch is a very small community of ranchers called the Kensens. (See Chasing the Wind quest). Windsong Ranch is technically part of Drelev's demesne, but Drelev pays little attention to the place, as such it's a relatively safe place for PCs to rest and restock.
1 Hex Northwest (Plains) Farm
1 Hex Northwest, 1 Hex Southwest (Plains): Farm
While 6 hexes of developed land isn't great, it's more than Lord Varn managed, and the additional settlements gives the players more opportunity to RP and learn about Varn.
I added a settlement that was sacked by the barbarians on the river to the north near Brevoy and I added Fort Hannis to the West of Fort Drelev.
So I support your additions!
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Okay so I have noticed a problem with Book 4. Drelev's demesne is waaay too small for the amount of time that he's had to build. So I'm adding a couple of new settlements/additions.
All directions are relative to Fort Drelev, remember the compass is skewed to the Top Left corner of the Page :
1 Hex North: (Smilodon Den) Farmlands
1 Hex East (1/2 plain, 1/2 swamp): Farmlands
1 Hex South: (Edge of Lake Hooktongue) - Mudderton
** spoiler omitted **...
Thanks again Dude!
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Isn't there a list somewhere with new armies? I like these thank you for sharing.So there is very little I actually want to change in Blood 4 Blood, my post here is just to add options so that GM's who have groups that decide they want to use some Kingdom Resources to solve some problems can.
Blood For Blood is easily one of the strongest books in Kingmaker, with active opponents. I will post up rules about "Wandering Armies", as the Tiger Lords and Boggards patrol their territories en-masse, the PCs might want to put together a force to deal with that.
Boggard Warden Guerrillas
** spoiler omitted **Tiger Lord Barbarians:
** spoiler omitted **
Only just noticed this question. You can find my stats for troll armies in my RRR: Hargulka's Monster Kingdom thread.
They served fairly well. I do use a houserule though:
HOUSE RULE
Armies gain bonus HP based on the size of the army.
Fine: +0
Diminutive: +1
Tiny: +2
Small: +5
Medium: +10
Large: +20
Huge: +50
Gargantuan: +100
Colossal: +200
Creatures of Large size or Larger are treated as having an army of one size category larger. Creatures of Tiny Size or smaller are treated as being one size category smaller when determining bonus HP. If using mounted armies, only use the mount's size if the mounts are of higher CR than the riders.
__________________________________________________________
Understanding the Rule:
This is basically just to prevent any army getting one-shot.
Using this house rule. The CR 1 army of trolls would have 9 HP while the CR 1 army of warrior 3 (Barony Militia) would have HP of 15. (There is still a slight chance the PCs could one-shot the trolls, but I prefer to favour the PCs in what is ultimately a mini-game).
___________________________________________________________
Note this house-rule has not been tested against the armies in Book 5 (some of which are colossal), but since both sides get the bonus all it really means is more rounds of combat (and more excuses to jump into personal combat to capture and control Victory points).
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Okay so this is an encounter I ran the other night. Strictly speaking it belongs between Varnhold Vanishing and Blood For Blood, but I'll place it here since it can occur any time during B4B.
The Brevic Betrothal
In my version of Varnhold Maeghar Varn had a daughter (Holly), she was 16 at the start of Book II, and due to Kingdom building time was 19 by the time the characters saved Varnhold.
As I hinted in my changes to Varnhold Vanishing, Varnhold was at war with the Centaurs and the town's coffers were bleeding badly because of it. Varn had hoped to secure a political alliance by marrying Holly off to one of the Player's Council members, but the eligible bachelor died in combat. Desperate to bring an influx of BP into the kingdom he betrothed his daughter to Nicolai Surtova, a bastard cousin to Noleski Surtova. This can be adapted in a number of ways:
Perhaps Varn had a son instead and the betrothal is to Nicole Surtova instead.
Perhaps Varn survives his encounter with Vordekai and swears fealty to the PC's kingdom, but as Baron must still honor his previous vow.
Beginning the Encounter:
A lookout in the Tower of Varnhold stockade calls out:
"Riders approach bearing banners of... the Surtova! 'Tis a royal banner, a relation to the king."
On hearing this Holly Varn immediately grows uncomfortable. It is a DC 15 Sense Motive Check to notice this. If anyone asks Holly about it she invites the PCs somewhere private and explains that her father promised her to Nicolai out of necessity. She has no desire to be married to the man, or allow her Barony to fall into the hands of the Surtovas now that Varnhold is under the PC's protection, but to deny the Surtova family could have serious repercussions. Technically Varn did will the Barony to her, and agreed to the marriage. Holly will not let go of her role as Baronness (although she happily swears fealty to the PCs), as she feels it is her duty to take care of her father's Barony and its people. She asks the PCs to help her find a solution to the problem.
The PCs will have a few hours to prepare a stately arrival for their guest. To do so they can instruct the staff in the following tasks and skills:
- Diplomacy DC 20: Instruct the staff on appropriate greetings and addresses to one related to the King by blood or marriage.
- Knowledge (nobility & royalty) DC 15: Instruct the squires and stewards on appropriate address and small talk.
- Profession (Cook) DC 15: Begin work on a delicious feast to be served for dinner.
- Perform DC 20: Put together fabulous entertainments for the feast.
- Profession (Soldier) DC 20: Put together an honor escort to greet the Earl on the outskirts of Varnhold.
Players may spend BP in order to gain a +2 bonus on any of these checks, to a maximum of 3 BP. Nicolai's attitude begins at Unfriendly, for every 2 successful checks his attitude improves one step. Use the Noble stats for Nicolai (see: GMG for more details). Nicolai is escorted by 24 Guard Officers, and a wizard named Sorren Wightmane stats from d20pfsrd.com.
It is a DC 15 Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty) check to know who Nicolai is. It is a DC 20 Knowledge (Arcana) check to know who Sorren is.
As Nicolai exits his carriage he loudly proclaims:
"I have come to claim my prize."
Now at this point it's entirely up to the PCs as to how they handle this situation. So I'm going to give you the tools to adlib this yourself.
Nicolai's Motivations:
Nicolai is first cousin to the King (although a bastard, with no right to inherit the crown himself), still an august personage in New Stetven court, and thus too politically dangerous to simply kill (unless the players feel they can handle all out war with Brevoy).
Nicolai is willing to do anything King Noleski commands, not just out of duty but out of love. Unfortunately, this goes a little beyond simple familial love, toward romantic affection. Noleski strings Nicolai along because it makes him a loyal tool.
Nicolai tries to use the River Freedoms to support the legitimacy of his marriage, particularly Oathbreakers Die. Holly is bound to her father's oath, and if she does not follow through her life is forfeit.
Avenues of Investigation:
Talking to Nicolai can be problematic as he refuses to reveal his motivations unless first made Helpful (use the modifier for Revealing secret knowledge), he can however be charmed, suggested or enchanted to reveal such information (although doing so around Sorren his arcane adviser is a risky proposition). Separating Sorren from Nicolai requires a character distract the wizard either with a successful Bluff vs Sense Motive or an opposed Knowledge (Arcana) check to get him talking about magic.
Nicolai's guard captain Padraig is quick to head to the local brewery, and after a few drinks can become particularly chatty. A successful Bluff or Diplomacy check (vs his Sense Motive) gets the PCs the following information: "Nicolai's sudden interest in wedding a woman is surprising. Many an evening me and the lads have had to turn out a dandy, the prince has a type, and I tell you that the type doesn't usually have..." *he indicates an area in front of his chest). Each drink the PC buys Padraig gives the soldier a -1 penalty on his Sense Motive check.
Nicolai's personal belongings have a letter, quite old in a tattered and brown envelope.
"Dearest Cousin,
You are my raven, my swallow,
my knight and my knave.
I dare not speak of our bond,
for it runs deeper than oceans,
deeper than blood.
As long as I ride the dragon,
I must soar high above you,
but always I shall watch.
Regards,
N."
A Linguistics check reveals the following information:
DC 10 - This was written in a male hand.
DC 15 - "You are my raven... my knave" is copied from a famous Taldane love poem written by a prince to one of his knights.
DC 20 - "Ride the dragon" is an allusion to the Dragonscale Throne.
DC 40 - This letter was written by King Noleski Surtova.
Gaining the letter is no easy trick:
First: characters might want to sneak past the guards (Stealth vs Perception), seduce Nicolai (Bluff/Diplomacy vs Sense Motive, characters of the opposite gender automatically fail).
Second: They must search Nicolai's belongings for blackmail material, this search takes 2d10 minutes and requires a DC 25 Perception check. Each failed check has a cumulative 20% chance of attracting the attention of (roll a d6) (1-3) 4 guards, (4) Sorren, (5-6) Nicolai. PCs have 1 round to hide or escape the room.
Third: Hiding the evidence of the search requires a successful Sleight of Hand or Stealth check vs. Nicolai and the guard's Perception checks next time they get into the room.
If Nicolai discovers his room has been intruded upon his attitude immediately drops to Unfriendly. PCs will need to make Diplomacy/Bluff checks in order to cover their tracks.
The Feast
During the Feast Nicolai will attempt to organize things for the wedding. He hopes to get it out of the way quickly, so pushes the PCs to begin preparations to host the wedding within the week. Attempting to delay the wedding runs the risk of lowering Nicolai's attitude by one step per failed Diplomacy Check (DC increases by +10 above Base Attitude).
Possible Conclusions:
Nicolai is made Hostile: If Nicolai ever becomes Hostile he immediately demands that a priest be made ready and he marry Holly immediately so he can order the PCs off his land.
Nicolai is Blackmailed: If the PCs have evidence of Nicolai's love affair with Noleski, or a male PC has successfully seduced Nicolai (thus making him ineligible to marry Holly under the Church of Erastil) he becomes Hostile orders his men to leave and returns to New Stetven to plan some later revenge.
A PC becomes engaged to Holly: If a PC becomes engaged to Holly then You Have What You Hold supercedes Oathbreaking. Nicolai's attitude only shifts one step downwards (he admires the cleverness of the maneuver). If he leaves Indifferent or better there is no repercussions to the PCs later.
Nicolai is killed: If the PCs manage to kill Nicolai and his retinue it will take some doing to protect them from the wrath of Brevoy. The PCs will need to either raise armies or cleverly trick New Stetven into thinking Nicolai was killed by bandits or monsters on the road to Varnhold.
Nicolai is made Helpful and convinced not to marry Holly: If the players can appeal to Nicolai's sense of romance and strange sense of honour he can be convinced to amicably end the betrothal and return to New Stetven. Though he won't leave empty handed and demands 1d10 BP in trade goods as compensation for not gaining a bride.
Of course there's dozens of ways this encounter can end and it's really an opportunity to show the difficulties facing the Sword Lords and to highlight the PCs will need to rely on themselves. It also makes for great foreshadowing if you plan to extend the AP beyond book 6.
Anyway hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed running it.
Stolen!
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Okay, so last weekend my PCs managed to clear the outside of the Observatory at Talon Peak of Ice Elementals. My PCs are 9th level. Although this is more fallout from Varnhold Vanishing, it belongs here because it happens after Vordekai.
Here's how it played out:
Winter Has Come...
A particularly harsh winter ravages the Kingdom, and capital is forced to open its storehouses to the people so they may stay alive.
During this frozen winter Farms only provide half their bonus. PCs may make a Knowledge (Nature) check against DC 20 to realize that this cold-snap is unnatural.
It's up to the party to figure out what's causing it.
The Cause: The Frost Bloom at Talon Peak is causing the unnatural winter, and Ice Elementals have taken to cavorting all over the mountain enjoying their wintry wonderland. Divinations, or a successful Stability Check (treat the Control DC as 10 higher due to the difficulty of gathering information in this harsh winter), lets the PCs know that whatever is causing this is located at Talon Peak.
What my PCs did:
The Cold Roc CR 11+
Outside the base of the tower an Elder Ice Elemental named Kissssk, and his retinue of elemental servants hold court.
Atop the tower is the frozen Roc.
PCs can try to bust the Roc out. If they use Fire the Elder Elemental detects the use of fire in his demesne (thanks to being connected to the First World Bloom) and immediately starts climbing the walls of the tower, and orders his retainers to head up the stairs.
The Elder Ice-Elemental has a Climb Speed of 30 ft and will be at the top of the tower in 2 rounds after detecting fire or hearing sonics. The waves of Medium Elementals will arrive in 4 rounds. On round 4 2d10 medium elemental swarm up over the tower stairs, and are reinforced by another 1d10 elementals every round thereafter until the Elder Ice Elemental is killed.
Once atop the tower the Elder Ice Elemental has no compunction against grappling and tossing his foes off the tower, in an effort to force them to fight through his minions.
PCs can try to continue freeing the Roc by using AoE fire magic (automatically melting whatever area the fire covers), or by using sonics shatter is not enough to shatter the entire Ice Covering over the Roc but will break up to 10 squares of ice. If the Roc's head or talons is free it may make attacks within its reach.
The Roc rewards the PCs each with a Roc Feather. As long as it is carried it provides a +2 bonus to Perception checks in Mountainous Terrain, and furthermore may provide a Feather Fall effect once per day.
Inside The Tower:
This week my PCs go inside the tower to find out what lies in...
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Okay so I ran the Darkness Betwixt Stars.
So some Ancient History:
Pre-Starfall, when Kyonin was at the heights of its power The River Kingdoms was once a massive hunting preserve for the elves. When the Elves saw the end of all they knew they searched the skies for new worlds. They chose Sovyrian, and Elfgates were set up in places over Golarion. One of which is in the lake of Candlemere, of course it took time to tune the Elfgates to their locations, and powerful spellcasters took up the role of researchers.
One such Elf was Felcedra Duimmerriara. Brilliant in her own way with an intuitive understanding of the gates she said they called to her. She attuned the gates to many hospitable new locations:
Fellnight, The Shadow Plane, The First World, The Moon, Sovyrian (on Castrovel). Unfortunately using the Elfgate at Candlemere drew the attention of the Lurker in the Threshold, the Key and the Gate: Yog-Sothoth. Impressing its impossible will unto Felcedra it sent 4 minor servants to her, 4 terrible Elder Things. The Elder Things captured a group of Elven Arcanists and took them to Talon Peak. There they were forced to build a towering observatory from which they could seek something out, something hidden in the darkness betwixt stars. Felcedra had been driven quite insane, and followed the Elder Things on instinct.
The elves worked tirelessly first to build the tower and its impressive telescope, but also to perfect the mystical scrying spells to see into such deep space. One such wizard, a lover of Felcedra named Asrodar Starborne succeeded on scrying the center of the universe, and spied Azathoth. A wave of cold hopelessness blasted forth from Asrodar killing his compatriots in an instant, and ironically jolting Felcedra into a brief moment of lucidity. Realizing the danger the Elder Things posed to the world, Felcedra sealed the door to the Observatory trapping herself inside with the horrid creatures from space.
In their rage the creatures hung Felcedra from the ceiling of their chamber with a chain. They placed wards and alarms intricantly linked to their Steel Sarcophagi upon the doors of the Observatory and put themselves into Hibernation. Something would open the doors of the Observatory one day, and then they would be free to continue searching the darkness betwixt stars for whatever it is they sought.
The Game:
During the Game Ihsahn the Dampyre Wizard used Scrying in the ancient Scrying pool saying: "Can I scry on the last thing scried upon in the pool?"
I said: "Erm, gimme a Spellcraft Check"
With a 35, I deem that good enough that he sees what Aspodar saw: The gibbering idiot god Azathoth. He takes 3d6 Wisdom Damage (15, he had 9 Wis) and is driven quite mad.
A Lesser Restoration later and I roll randomly on the Insanity chart from the GMG. Sure enough I roll multiple personalities. So I tell him: You awaken as a Lawful Neutral pre-Starfall Wizard obsessed with interplanar and extraplanar travel. You are arrogant, and think that non-Azlanti humans aren't much better than chimps. You have no idea what a Dwarf or Gnome is at all.
Additionally the Witch and the Barbarian were each under a compulsion to open the Elfgate under Candlemere (from the Ghost of Felcedra who is quite mad) within 11 days or some great doom will befall them. The Bard believes that the sarcophagi must be pushed out into the void of space. Kif the Druid was mostly just spending his time trying to bring the PCs back from madness.
The fight with the Byakhees went well, and I added an additional area (an alien garden, with a Moonflower in the center). Gearwise the PCs earned Boots and Cloak of Elvenkind, the alien plants were harvested for 5 doses of Extend Potion (mix it into a potion during creation and it treats it as Extended for no extra cost), the Boneshattering Blasters, a Giant Glass Sphere which when used to scry with gives the subject of scrying a -3 penalty, and about 5,000 gp in mixed ancient elven coinage.
It was fun, and the players had a blast.
DM_aka_Dudemeister.
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Love, love, love reading these. Keep up the AWESOME work!
Okay so this is an encounter I ran the other night. Strictly speaking it belongs between Varnhold Vanishing and Blood For Blood, but I'll place it here since it can occur any time during B4B.
The Brevic Betrothal
In my version of Varnhold Maeghar Varn had a daughter (Holly), she was 16 at the start of Book II, and due to Kingdom building time was 19 by the time the characters saved Varnhold.
As I hinted in my changes to Varnhold Vanishing, Varnhold was at war with the Centaurs and the town's coffers were bleeding badly because of it. Varn had hoped to secure a political alliance by marrying Holly off to one of the Player's Council members, but the eligible bachelor died in combat. Desperate to bring an influx of BP into the kingdom he betrothed his daughter to Nicolai Surtova, a bastard cousin to Noleski Surtova. This can be adapted in a number of ways:
Perhaps Varn had a son instead and the betrothal is to Nicole Surtova instead.
Perhaps Varn survives his encounter with Vordekai and swears fealty to the PC's kingdom, but as Baron must still honor his previous vow.
Beginning the Encounter:
A lookout in the Tower of Varnhold stockade calls out:
"Riders approach bearing banners of... the Surtova! 'Tis a royal banner, a relation to the king."On hearing this Holly Varn immediately grows uncomfortable. It is a DC 15 Sense Motive Check to notice this. If anyone asks Holly about it she invites the PCs somewhere private and explains that her father promised her to Nicolai out of necessity. She has no desire to be married to the man, or allow her Barony to fall into the hands of the Surtovas now that Varnhold is under the PC's protection, but to deny the Surtova family could have serious repercussions. Technically Varn did will the Barony to her, and agreed to the marriage. Holly will not let go of her role as Baronness (although she happily swears fealty to the PCs), as she feels it is her duty to take care of her father's Barony and its...
I have a question on this, When you say Holly will not let go of her role as Baronness but swears fealty. Did you run this as a separate kingdom with a political alliance to the PC's kingdom, or did you incorporate it normally per Kingdom building rules and this is purely a role play mechanic.
If it is a separate kingdom, what benefits (tributes, taxes, etc) did you give the PCs?
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Not enough thanks for your modifications Dude. They've taken our campaign from good to amazing.
My campaign has a daughter of Maegar, and this addition rocks. Can't wait to see how it plays out!
Have you modified the opening encounter at Tatzleford (or whatever town works) for a more dynamic mass combat? I suppose it's "easing" everyone into it with a simple setup, but would like to wow them.
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@DM Kumo Geikkou: No I just integrated Varnhold into the Kingdom. PCs just need to include Holly on the decision making process. Originally I was going to run the kingdoms separately but it took too much work and time.
@M P 433: Yeah I'll put something up in the next few days about the attack on Tatlzford. We took a break on Kingmaker to play through a book of Legacy of Fire.
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Just started running the Surtovan marriage proposal. Fits perfectly, had to stop our session mid-dinner.
Thus far, my sharp party has gathered that letting Issians (per the Surtovan family) gain foothold in Varnhold would likely spark the civil war between great houses. Nicolai has as much told them he'd need to send troops to secure his wife's holdings, protect against the centaurs, and subjugate the dangerous surroundings. Given that the Swordlords and the Rostland side would be "flanked," they'd have no choice but to try and oust the Issians. The party's kingdom to the west and Varnhold would become the site of a bloody civil war. As much as the marriage may seem foppish and Nicolai a "nobody," it's a major political event for us. To complicate matters, the party's recently "raised" Duke (killed in action earlier) is a Surtovan bastard. He has abdicated his position, coincidentally easing tensions as to our kingdom's loyalties in the eyes of the Swordlords.
The Daughter is willing to go along with any plan, other than breaking her Oath, that keeps the kingdom out of foreign hands. She's young but her father educated her well.
My party's proposal (they aren't going with tact, after making sure Nicolai was reminded he's a bastard) was to tell Nicolai that Maegar Varn (deceased) married one of the players (the marriage was arranged but Varn vanished before it was official). Nicolai countered by saying the wife would be bound by Varn's contract and be obligated to enforce it, so they went with Plan B (in Dude's possible endings) to say the two arranged for the daughter to marry another player and it trumps the contract. As we paused, they are using a magical Sending to have Oleg work on forging a contract. As much as it's deceitful, our lawful players realize a civil war on their lands is the alternative should they fail.
My players have been emailing and calling me after this one, so excellent ideas Dude.
On a side, they really didn't play out setting up the dinner or "training" the staff. Rather, they made Nicolai wait (delayed) while they figured out why he was there and what it really meant. Dinner was terrible, as Nicolai has pointed out. It has also never crossed their minds to search his stuff or follow his guards, though my hints have opened the door to such avenues. Just depends on the player types I suppose.
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So in my game I wanted to play around with the order of events a little bit. In my game the PCs are trying to make their Academy the premier source of arcane magic in the River Kingdoms. Additionally they are trying to push a treaty that bans arcane magic for political use.
Drelev's Plan
- Lure the PC's army and leadership into the Hooktongue Slough.
- Send an army of Barbarians & Soldiers to attack and subjugate the PC's kingdom while the PCs are away.
- Occupy the PC Kingdom (referred to as Kyshahn in this thread).
Step 1: Bait
The trap begins with a letter from Baron Drelev. Here's the letter I used (my Duke is a Dwarf), feel free to chop and change:
"Greetings Duke Thundershield,
I hope this letter finds you well, I heard the news about poor Varn, tragic what those barbarians did to the old boy, but I'm sure you'll whip those horsefolk into shape in no time. Speaking of crushing barbarians, I hope you could help with a spot of bother. I'm having some issues with the Tiger Lord barbarians to the North, nothing I can't handle, but my supply line through the Hooktongue Slough into Mivon has been cut by boggards constant raids on the river barges. Can't seem to get supplies in fast enough. I was hoping you and your rugged council might pop down with your little army and crush the nuisances once and for all.
I've enclosed some points of interests on the map enclosed.
Regards,
Baron Hannis Drelev.
P.S. The wife says to thank the Duchess for her lovely dwarf scones recipe, she's been using the scones to hit the chefs with, and the cooking has improved vastly."
Now the PCs are looking to get this magic non-involvement treaty in place, and clearing the Hooktongue of danger would be a massive political favour. Of course a guerilla war in the Hooktongue Slough against the natives isn't going to be easy.
What PCs can do?
Some players might suspect that there's more to this letter than meets they eye.
Information Gathering:
PCs seeking to gain information on the situation in the Slough and surrounds can gain the following information, a Diplomacy check to do so takes 1 week per topic, the BP costs in parentheses if the Kingdom wishes to use its network of Spies:
Gather Information DCs (Boggards & Slough)
DC 10 (2 BP) - The Boggards are a serious issue, choking trade between Mivon and the Stolen Lands by attacking trading ships and boats.
DC 15 (3 BP) - A tribe of Grippli (or Bog-Striders as written) are warring with the Boggards.
DC 20 (4 BP) - The Boggards' aggressive behaviour is due to a strange new god commanding their High Priest M'Botuu.
Gather Information DCs (Barony of Fort Drelev)
DC 10 (2 BP) - Drelev has recently begun paying regular tributes to Pitax for protection against Brevic interference in their Barony.
DC 15 (3 BP) - Drelev's army has spent much of its time besieging the Tiger Lord Barbarians. (False. The army is waiting in the North for the PC's armies to head into the swamp so they may attack; beating the DC by 15 reveals Drelev's counter intelligence is spreading this but does not reveal the truth).
DC 20 (4 BP) - Drelev's Barony is falling apart at the seams, between regular tribute to Pitax, war with Boggards and Barbarians and bribing a tribe of hill giants to protect his fort Drelev's Barony might fall within the year.
DC 25 (5 BP) - A rebellion is fermenting in Drelev's Barony, and seeks funding or aid in overthrowing the ruler.
DC 30 (6 BP) - Drelev riddled his Fort with secret passages.
Gather Information DCs (Tiger Lord Barbarians)
DC 15 (3 BP) - The Tiger Lord Barbarians have a new Warlord who seeks a powerful weapon long thought lost.
DC 20 (4 BP) - The Tiger Lord Barbarians have often been agents of Gyronna in the past (despising the trappings of civilization)
With any luck the PCs will head into the Slough, army in tow. Suggest to the PCs that they act as Scouts and Trailblazers for the Army, since they are far more experienced (and powerful) it makes sense that they take care of any monster encounters that might get in the way of the army's progress as they hunt for the boggards.
Additional Encounter - River Blockade CR 12 - Army CR 6
A trio of River Boat Traders have been harried and attacked by Boggards since they entered the Slough from the South. They are currently unable to progress any further up the river due to a blockade of broken logs and mud created by the Slough's boggard tribe.
The Encounter:
When the PCs find the boats, the three captains are arguing while their crews attempt to remove the logs and free themselves of the blockade. The three Captains are named Captain Brecht Shilbradd (N Dwarf Fighter 5), Captain Silvia Nonet (CG Human Rogue 8) and Captain Andol Salrac (NE Elf Ranger 6/Daggermark Poisoner 3). The Captains are arguing basically about who got them into this mess. They cease arguing when the PCs approach long enough to explain what the problem is.
"We've managed to drive back a small group of Boggard guards, but we fear they are off to get reinforcements. If we could get some protection long enough to clear the river we might be able to get our boats through to Lake Hooktongue and Fort Drelev."
There is enough time for the PCs to lead the Army to this spot.
It will take about 72 hours to clear the river enough for the boats to get moving again, although if the PCs order their army to help this reduces the time to 24 hours.
Wave 1: Just in Time CR 6
Just as the army arrives, so does the Boggard Army. Treat this as a standard combat. The Boggard Army has Battlefield Advantage (+2 OM & DV).
Mission: Protect the Boat!
A group of four Boggard Wardens are attempting to light one of the boats on fire using alchemist's fires. The PCs must stave off this attack. If the PCs manage to drive off the Four Boggard Wardens then the boats make an excellent rallying point giving the PC's army +4 DV.
Wave 2: Midnight Assault
During the night the Boggards attack again with another CR 6 Army. They open by quenching the torches around the edge of the camps hoping that their Darkvision will give them the advantage in the coming fight. The Boggards still have Battlefield Advantage. Furthermore
Mission: Light Up the Night!
Captain Silvia Nonet tells the PCs that if they can relight the torches around the camp, the Boggards would lose the advantage of darkness. A M'Bogo Priest (Boggard Cleric 8) with a group of 4 Boggard Wardens attacks the PCs to prevent their success. Lighting 10 torches, or defeating the Boggards wins the PCs victory!
Wave 3: Dawn Raid
At Dawn the Boggards try one final desperate Gambit. They send a charmed Dracolisk (one of Ngara's pets) to attack the PCs and their army, and used ranged attacks to assault from the edges. This should be played primarily as a combat between the PCs and the Dracolisk. As it's very difficult to organise the troops against the boggards with the Dracolisk attacking. Every round of combat with the Dracolisk deals 2 damage to the PC's army.
After the Third Wave, Sepoko decides not to send any more warriors away from the village. The PCs will be able to clear the river and guide the boats to the Lake.
Next: The Boggard Village and Drelev's Traitors
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Boggard Lesser Guerrillas CR 3
Medium Army of Boggard Ranger 2
Combat
hp: 25 DV: 13 OM: +3
Tactics: Taunt Special
Special Abilities: Swimming (+1 DV in marsh/swamp terrain)
Logistics:
Speed: 2 (No penalty in marsh/swamp terrain); Consumption: 7
Leader: M'bogo Priest (Cha +3)
Spellcaster: M'bogo Priest (4, 3, 2, 1)
Hero: None
Prerequisite: Boggard
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Alas, our PCs did not build a big enough army to handle the boggards on their home turf and the army was destroyed after inflicting heavy losses. Difficult to guess how large an army was needed, even with hints; the -2 to kingdom stats after a destroyed army was sobering.
In the confusion, the party snuck behind enemy lines and invaded the boggard village, taking out the king and negotiating a cease fire. Running the rest of the book (Tatzlford battle included) as written so far, largely ignoring the "side quests." At 10th level, the group isn't interested in retrieval quests for NPCs.
Rapidly becoming a fan of your work here Dudemeister.
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@GM_Solspiral: Thank you, I appreciate praise. It sustains me!
@Jonas87: There is, but mostly it's from my own game.
So the players headed into the swamp without an army, to scout it out and rapidly found themselves in over their heads with a swamp lousy with boggards. They headed to the grippli village (which I used to replace the Water Striders as I have a grippli PC in the party). The group rallied the Grippli to join in them in a fight against the boggards. They also found the three river barges and combined forces with them to deal with the Boggard menace. Mass Combat ensued, and the PCs managed to rout the boggards, and fight a Froghemoth. Seppoko managed to escape, and after a rest and recovery I ran the Boggard village more or less as written.
In the village itself was the girl who warns the PCs of the impending attack on Drelev. At this point the party (which has 6 players and 12 characters) split up, half would infiltrate Fort Drelev and try to free the general, the other half would return to Tatzlford to defend the town. They had three days.
So far we've played through the infiltration team who used their time to gather info and start fermenting rebellion. Drelev obviously stalling the diplomats to buy time for the Tiger Lord/Drelev armies to reach Tatzlford. The PCs managed to free the general, instigate rebellion, disable the ballistae and sabotage a bunch of the Fort Drelev guard's weapons. The Spymaster assassinated Stroon's familiar but raised the alarm in the process. So the PCs and Drelev's general amassed rebellion against Drelev. The PCs and the General fighting the Hill Giants and a contingent of soldiers while the people fought glorious revolution in the background. (Two wild shaped fully-buffed Druids is a terrifying prospect for any army to face) The PCs entered the castle and fought Drelev, Ngara, Lady Quintessa and Stroon. N'gara and Lady Quintessa escaped thanks to Dimension Door/Teleport. Stroon was handily defeated, and Drelev surrendered saying: "Unfortunately it's too late to stop them old beans. That army was promised conquest, and conquesting they shall go."
Next session: The Siege of Tatzlford.
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So we have the Siege of Tatzlford tomorrow and I decided to make some changes to the mass combat rules (stealing unabashedly from the Fleet Combat rules in Skull & Shackles).
Because our Kingdom building has moved to the background to focus on the adventure aspect of the game, I put together these quick and dirty rules to create a "deck building" aspect to army building.
Building Your Army
Your kingdom can field up to one army for every 20 hexes of territory it controls. Each army has 12 points to use to buy squads.
Kingdom Squads
Kyshahn Regulars
NG Huge Army of Human War 3
Cost: 5 Squad Points
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O|O O O O|O O O O (12 hits, 3 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 15
Attack +5 Ranged
Damage 1d6+3
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Sootscale Sappers
LN Gargantuan Kobold War 1 Army
Cost: 5 Squad Points
Morale:
Hits: O O O O | O O O O | O O O O| (12 hits, 3 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense: 14
Attack +4
Damage: 1d6+3 (Plus Dirty Fighting +1d6 first round).
Cowardly: -1 Morale. Double morale penalty for Loss Count.
Morale: ___ (Base) + ___ (Victory Points) - ____ (Loss Count) = (__)
Candlemere Casters
NG Medium Army of Human Wiz 5
Cost: 4 Squad Points
Morale: /
Hits: O O O (3 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 17
Attack +7 Ranged (Fire, Electricity or Cold)
Damage 1d6+1
Spell: (Summon Army II)
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Summon Army II
NG Medium Army of Outsiders
Cost: Special
Morale: IMMUNE
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 13
Attack +3
Damage 1d6+1
Special: Smite Evil (+1d6 damage vs Evil creatures)
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Fey Allies
NG Medium Army of Mixed Fey
Cost: 4 Squad Points
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O | O O O O (8 hits, 2 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 14
Attack +4
Damage 1d6+2
Special: +2 Attack and Defense in Forest Terrain.
Spell: Sleep Arrows (Make Ranged Attack if hit, instead of damage opposing squad must make a Morale Check vs DC 14 or lose next turn).
Weakness: Flighty - Any round the Fey take damage make a Morale Check, on failure the Fey Allies must use the retreat action.
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Erastil's Healers
NG Medium Army of Human Clr 5
Cost: 4 Squad Points
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 13
Attack +3 Ranged (Favored Weapon of Erastil)
Damage 1d6+1
Spell: Cure (3/day) - Restore 1d4 +1 Hits.
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Nomen Centaurs
N Medium Army of Centaurs
Cost: 3 Squad Points
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 13
Attack +3 Ranged ()
Damage 1d6+1
Special: Fleet: Moving does not provoke an attack except from other armies with the Fleet ability, unless retreating.
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Local Militia
NG Medium Army of Human Clr 5
Cost: 1 Squad Points (Special: Free in any controlled town with a Barracks)
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 11
Attack +1 Ranged (Free for Fletcher)
Damage 1d6+1
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Grippli Dragonfly Hunters
NG Medium Army of Grippli Ranger 2
Cost: 2 Squad Points (Special: Free for defeating the Boggards)
Morale: /
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander:
Cha Mod:
Profession (Soldier):
Combat:
Defense 12 (14 in Trees & Water)
Attack +2 Ranged
Damage 1d6+1
Mobility: +2 Defense in Water or Trees.
Morale: __ (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (__)
Each Squad gets a Commander attached to it, this will usually be a PC, but it can also be an NPC. The Commander adds their Charisma Modifier, and a +1 bonus for every 5 ranks in Profession Soldier that character has to the Squad's Base Morale. This determines their Morale Score and Morale Modifier.
PC characters (and important NPCs) also grant a special ability to each army.
A squad that has lost a unit takes a -1 to attacks, defense and increases their Loss Count by 1 and takes 1d4 damage to their Morale Score.
A squad reduced to 0 hits is defeated, PCs must face a normal combat against the enemy army to determine their fate (or may choose to surrender and be captured).
A squad reduced to 0 Morale must take the retreat action on its turn.
How Combat Works:
During the Battle Phase each round General rolls Profession (Soldier). The Winner gains a +1 bonus on Attack Rolls. The winner chooses a squad to attack the opposing army, the opposing army then chooses defenders in the zone being attacked (as many as are in the zone). If the attacking army beats the Defense of the highest Defense army in the zone then they deal damage (as listed in their stat block), and the defender distributes the hits among the defending squads as they wish. A defending squad that is the defender in the siege may also distribute hits to the Zone or Walls within a Zone. A Zone reduced to 0 hits MUST be retreated from next turn.
A critical hit allows the attacker to distribute the hits as they wish.
An attacking squad with spells or special abilities may instead opt to use one of those abilities instead of attacking.
A squad with the Ranged option may choose to attack in their own zone or an adjacent zone.
A squad may choose to move zones as their action, if they do so the opponent may make an attack roll if it succeeds it does no damage and instead your army is unable to move.
Earning Victory Points:
Defeating a squad through violence/route: +1
PCs complete a mission: +2-5
Defeating an enemy commander: +3
Defeating an enemy general: +5
When an army gains 12 or more Victory Points the opposing army must make Morale Checks at the beginning of each Squads turn or take the retreat action.
Zones
Each Battlefield is separated into a number of Zones. If an army has time to prep they can activate the abilities of a zone. Before the battle begins the players may choose where to place their armies.
Tatzlford is three zones wide, at the beginning of the adventure players have enough time to enact 4 preparations:
Forest [Forest] Hits: 1
-2 to Ranged attack rolls into the forest.
Preparations:
Traps in the Woods: +1 Attack/+1
Aid of Local Wildlife: Attack +3
Tatzlford Bridge & Skunk River [Water] Hits: 1. Walls: 1
-2 Melee penalty to melee attacks.
Fortify the Bridge Archers: +2 Attack/+1 Defense
Dig Trenches: +3 Defense
Tatzlford Town [Town] Hits: 1. Walls: 3
All Defenders gain a +2 to attack when fighting in the town.
Snipers in the Rooftops +3 attack
Barricades +3 Defense
Sample Special Abilities:
Latricia Rezbin Boons
Master Hunter - No penalty to ranged attacks in the forest for attached army.
Home Defense - Army gains an additional hit +2 morale in town.
Loy Rezbin Boons
Resourceful - Army gains Ranged Ability or attacks gain Fire Descriptor.
Home Defense - Army gains an additional hit +2 morale in town.
Magister Boons:
Tactical Divination - +2 Defense per spell level of spell cast.
Tactical Necromancy - Heal 1 hit when opponent loses a squad.
Duke Boon:
Flying Mount: +2 Attack to any squad.
Rallying Defense: +2 Defense/+2 Morale in any Defense Action
Councilor Boon:
Fey Aspect - Fey lose the Flighty Penalty
Sorcerer of Shadow - Army gains +2 DV/spell level spent vs Ranged
General Boon:
Veteran Tactician: Once per battle +2 to any one stat to any one army/turn.
Fearless General: Reroll one morale check with a +10 bonus.
Marshal Boon:
Sword of Justice: +2 Attack, Soldiers gain +1 hit.
Big Game Slayer: +2 Attack vs. Large or Larger.
* * *
I understand this is pretty rough. On Thursday I'll put up the enemy forces and their boons as well as the missions that I used for player combat.
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Absolutely I'll be converting the existing Pitax armies to these rules as well as creating all new Steampunk armies (automata! airships! City-Wrecking colossobots! Necrotomata!)
It's going to get a little crazy all up ins.
I'll also throw up some army conversion guidelines, there's a lot of doing things based on feel and size. So GMs and players can work together to tailor their own armies.
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Okay, I'm on my lunch break so I thought I'd take the opportunity to post the armies that are attacking Tatzlford:
Drelev Archers
NG Large Army of Human War 3
Cost: 3 Squad Points
Morale: 5/5
Hits: O O O O|O O O O (8 hits, 2 units)
Commander: Severin Archering (Human Fighter (Archer) 10)
Cha Mod: +1
Profession (Soldier): 10
Commander Boon: Far Shot - May shoot up to two zones away.
Combat:
Defense 13
Attack +3 Ranged
Damage 1d6+2
Morale Bonus: 5 (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (6)
Tiger Lord Barbarians
CN Large Army of Human Barbarian 5
Cost: 5 Squad Points
Morale: 6/6
Hits: O O O O|O O O O (8 hits, 2 units)
Commander: Trask (B4B)
Cha Mod: +2
Profession (Soldier): +10
Commander Boon: Reckless Maneuver (Each round 1 army gains +4 attack/-2 defense)
Combat:
Defense 15
Attack +5
Damage 1d6+2
Special: Froth - Once Per Combat Recover 1 Hit. +1 Attack, +1 Damage, +1 Morale -1 Defense, 1 bonus Hit Point per Unit. Lasts until beginning of next turn.
Morale Bonus: 6 (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (6)
Troll Army
CE Small Army of Trolls
Cost: 4 Squad Points
Morale: 1/1
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander: Cousin Earl (Hill Giant Barbarian 1)
Cha Mod: -1
Intimidate: 5
Commander Boon: Smoosh 'Em: +1 Damage vs Armies Medium or smaller creatures.
Combat:
Defense 14
Attack +4 Ranged
Damage 1d6+2
Special:
Large size: (Deal damage is if unit size is one size larger. Treat Morale as if unit is one size larger.)
Regenerate: Recover 1 Wound in any round the Troll Army has not taken fire or acid damage.
Hubris: Immune to Morale Damage as long as regeneration is active.
Morale Bonus: 1 (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (1)
Gyronna's Daughters
CE Medium Army of Witch 5
Cost: 4 Squad Points
Morale: 6/6
Hits: O O O (3 hits, 1 units)
Commander: Sesula Fetish (Night Hag)
Cha Mod: +3
Kn. (Arcana): 10
Commander Boon: Re-Empower Curse, if Gyronna's Daughters kill a unit they gain another use of their Curse Spell.
Combat:
Defense 18
Attack +8 Ranged
Damage 1d6+1
Special:Curse (1/battle): Squad must make a Morale Check vs DC 13 or take a -3 penalty to Attack/Defense for 5 turns.
Morale Bonus: 6 (Base) + __ (Victory Points) - ___ (Loss Count) = (6)
Zombie Army
NE Medium Army of Zombies
Cost: 1 Squad Points
Morale: IMMUNE
Hits: O O O O (4 hits, 1 units)
Commander: The Black Daughter
Cha Mod: N/A
Kn. (Religion): 10
Commander Boon: Channel Negative: 1/round heal one hit to undead.
Combat:
Defense 11
Attack +1
Damage 1d6+1
Morale Bonus:Immune to Morale.
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I really like the sound of that Dudemeister, i'll definitely have to give it a look as whilst I significantly altered the Mass Battle rules already it's still somewhat similar to the base system and having just run the Battle of Tatzlford it felt lacking and like something to get done rather than something exciting.
Anything that can add to the players fun and draw them into it more will be good so i'll check out the S&S fleet rules.
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In tonight's Kingmaker: Interrogation event. Our heroes finally learned the full story of Drelev, and judged him wanting, gained a new arcane ally and set free the shrieking wife of the Baron. Furthermore they regained Katrina via a series of tricky deals with a mysterious trickster known only as The Puck. Catalyn gained her mother's memories (though slightly garbled), the Alchemist formerly known as VanDyre lost his name (and so did the Hellknights chasing him), Rosalina gained the last Shifter baby to raise as her own (for 18 years at least), Caleb gained the location of a weapon of great power (and a new enemy in the process), Valkeri's life changed dramatically (cleansing him of some impurities), Astrodar gained a body, Zool lost a kingdom but gained a very important book (or he will in a "year") and Ihsahn gained the vile secrets of lichdom, a collapsing extraplanar realm and his old conscience. The Puck has gained many things from the Kingmaker: Kingdom of Kyshahn. Is there a deal to be made with the Duke? And what about the most disturbing information of all? Sarynn and Raeth are captives of the Tiger Lord Barbarians, worse the boy may be undergoing a change from Raeth, boy sorcerer to Armag Twice-Born Barbarian Master of the Tiger-Lord Barbarians!
COMPLICATED SESSION TO SAY THE LEAST!
This sounds awesome, but I don't know how much of this I can adapt to my own Kingmaker run.
It's kind of the problem when you have a group who sometimes gets a little heavy on the gameplay.
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Making deals IS gameplay. At its heart it's risk vs reward. Take VanDyre, a tiefling on the run from the Hellknights.
The Puck offered to erase his name and past deeds from the world, only one person would remember them. The Puck himself. He would be free to trade the name but not to any of The Hellknights or their allies. Can you summon a native outsider with Greater Planar Binding?
VanDyre weighed the reward (freedom from his endless chase with the Hellknights) with the risk (being summoned and bound). The choice is gameplay.
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I meant more of that "less talking with NPCs, more fighting" kind of gameplay, sadly.
They do (usually) try to RP, though. Out of all four, the Necromancer player has the best grasp of it.
That doesn't mean I am playing favourites. One of the players is new after all, yet he's been fun to have combat-wise.
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In tonight's Kingmaker: Interrogation event. Our heroes finally learned the full story of Drelev, and judged him wanting, gained a new arcane ally and set free the shrieking wife of the Baron. Furthermore they regained Katrina via a series of tricky deals with a mysterious trickster known only as The Puck. Catalyn gained her mother's memories (though slightly garbled), the Alchemist formerly known as VanDyre lost his name (and so did the Hellknights chasing him), Rosalina gained the last Shifter baby to raise as her own (for 18 years at least), Caleb gained the location of a weapon of great power (and a new enemy in the process), Valkeri's life changed dramatically (cleansing him of some impurities), Astrodar gained a body, Zool lost a kingdom but gained a very important book (or he will in a "year") and Ihsahn gained the vile secrets of lichdom, a collapsing extraplanar realm and his old conscience. The Puck has gained many things from the Kingmaker: Kingdom of Kyshahn. Is there a deal to be made with the Duke? And what about the most disturbing information of all? Sarynn and Raeth are captives of the Tiger Lord Barbarians, worse the boy may be undergoing a change from Raeth, boy sorcerer to Armag Twice-Born Barbarian Master of the Tiger-Lord Barbarians!
COMPLICATED SESSION TO SAY THE LEAST!
You're too kind.
Do go on.
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When my bard took a 20 on his Bardic Knowledge I gave him this description.
"The Puck is known to you through legend and faery tale, a unique and powerful fey with a bargain fetish who managed to bargain his own name from both Abadar and Pharasma. Of the Puck's tales his bargains are double edged at best, although it's rare that the bargain is truly unfair. Those who meet their doom hang themselves with their own rope so to speak.
The Puck never lies, but he's rarely honest. He will not bargain for money and jewels. Such crass things are hardly precious and see little barter in the witchmarkets The Puck frequents."
Physically I described his physical appearance thusly:
"At first glance The Puck is a gnome with verdant green skin and grass and twigs for hair. Upon closer inspection it is clear he has the solid black eyes of an elf, and the long pointed ears. His feet are bare and have grassy tops, the bottoms which he rests upon his stall are caked with mud. He wears a simple set of overalls covered with coloured patches, and a broad brimmed straw hat. The Puck is always seen with either smokig a long pipe or chewing on a piece of golden wheat."
Of course I voiced him a little like a deep south version of Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon A Time.
Of course I voiced him a little like a deep south version of Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon A Time.
Great!!
I see Ihsahn and all I think about is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihsahn
I bet once he's a lich he'll hide his phylactery in his Black Metal album collection.
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Nice! Me too! Whenever I have to improv names for NPCs I usually just grab metal musician names. Whiiiiiiich makes my adventures sound a lot like their taking place in Sweden.
I tend to randomly draw from Behind The Name. I already have in mind what kind of real-world cultures compare best to the various regions, races, and such like in my world, so I just tune the page to that with the appropriate gender and pick something I like.
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dotting
(and to push it forward onto the first page)
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dotting. also thanks as always for your shared work and ideas!