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I'm in the process of making my own kingdom rules (inspired by the Fate RPG), which I'll post when I'm done. However, there's one idea in there that I think can easily stand alone that might be of interest to people.
The idea is to do away with a single unified event table for kingdom events. Instead, I'm going to have a number of index cards, each reflecting a different issue affecting the players' kingdom (aspects, for those familiar with Fate). On the cards, I'm going to have a list of events associated with the issue. Each kingdom turn, I'll draw a card, and then use what's on the card to determine the event.
The events on some issues are arranged in an escalating sequence - each time the card is drawn, the next event occurs and is then crossed off. On others, they're in a random mini event table of their own which I'll roll on. Some events have a mixture - a number of events that occur in sequence, and once they're done a random event table is used each time the card is drawn.
The Cult of Gyronna Added to the deck when the kingdom’s largest settlement reaches 1000 population, at which point Goody Niska arrives separately from (but in conjunction with) 2 commoner cultists. Goody Niska casts Undetectable Alignment on herself daily.
- First event: (Opportunity) the kingdom’s first birth! Apparently auspicious event - don’t mention the midwife by name.
- Second event: (Special) an opportunity for the PCs to unwittingly stop a new recruit. If the widow of some male citizen that died in a previous event (e.g. victim of Kundal) was not thought of, she was left without support, turned to prostitution out of desperation and is now bitter and resentful. She joins the cult at this event (and she’ll be there when the players eventually track down the cult to berate them and twist the knife during the combat) - advance to the third event immediately. If the players thought to enquire after the dead man’s family and provided her with some way to support herself, then that won’t happen, and something good unrelated to the Cult happens at this event (Opportunity).
- Third event: A feud springs up between two former trade partners over some missing money (Create Issue). Two more commoners are recruited to the cult. Rumours of a cult of Gyronna start to circulate among the paranoid at this point.
- Fourth event: To divert suspicion Goody Niska swapped a baby delivered by some other midwife for a changeling, and it transforms and attacks this month (Problem). Talk of Gyronna becomes common, the midwife in question is potentially run out of town or murdered. Magical trinkets of protection (constant +1 to Will saves = 250 gp down to cast Resistance 1/week = 25 gp) start to proliferate, creating many sources of faint Abjuration magic in the town.
- At this point there are 5 or 6 (depending on event 2) first level commoner cultists and the cult starts really undermining the town (roll random events below).
1. An act of envy or spite by townsfolk (Problem)
2. A new feud starts (Create Issue)
3. Rumours and accusations. All ongoing feuds generate 1d4 unrest.
4. A monstrous changeling “monsters out” and attacks (Problem).
5. Cult gains 1d3 new commoner recruits, and also random event 2.
6. Goody Niska trains a cultist as a cleric. The acolyte always wears a ring of Mind Shielding (acquired by the cult the first time this event is rolled) and becomes a 1st level cleric of Gyronna, or advances 1 level (up to a max of 3rd, at which point they can cast Undetectable Alignment each day and the ring moves on to the next trainee). Also roll again, ignoring further 6s.
As the issues change over time, so does the set of possible events - hopefully, this changing variety means the players won't end up saying "ho hum, this event again". Also, if the issue is connected with something the players can do something about (such as the example above), they can remove a source of bad or annoying events by dealing with things.
IMC the players' realm will start off with a number of issues:
- Barely Established, with events specific to an immature kingdom (influxes or shortages of new colonists, food production or storage problems, skills shortages). Removed when the kingdom has established necessary buildings and infrastructure.
- Encroaching Wilderness, with events like monster attacks and Fey Chaos, which is removed once the kingdom grows to the point where at least half of its hexes do not adjoin wilderness.
- The Four Seasons, with a different event table for each season, depending on which month the card is drawn. Events such as good or poor harvests, hard or mild winters etc.
- Nervous Neighbours, with events relating to the deteriorating situation in Brevoy.
Other issues from the modules or other ideas I've had will be added to the deck later (e.g. Barely Established will be replaced by Barony, then Dukedom and eventually Kingdom).
Also, some events will create new issues, with their own events.
I haven't finalised all the details and the mechanical effects etc (and when I do it'll be in my custom realm-building rules), so the above is not ready to pick up and use without work, but I think the idea has the potential to be quite cool.
This seems very, very nice. Your example with the cult is awesome and really represent what those events should be in my mind.
I plan on using the UC kingdom rules, but as many DMs here, I feel the 'pure randomness' of the kingdom events can cause problems and miss a lot of potential.
I look forward to your ideas, as I'll try to fit some in the standard rules.
Thanks!
I thought of another issue to tie events to: the kingdom's choice of alignment. It should be easy to come up with some events that transpire because the kingdom's laws encourage a particular alignment. Lawful events would range from communities pulling together for the betterment of the realm (at the positive end) to intolerance and oppression and pogroms against minorities (at the negative end). Chaotic events would range from amazing art being created by individuals and adaptability allowing a problem to be worked around down to organised crime and selfishness. Neutral (vs. law-chaos) could take some of the good and the bad from each. Similarly for the good-evil axis.
One of the possible outcomes of events could be to create new issues on the kingdom, as you might have noticed in my example from RRR above (some events were labelled "Create Issue"). Those generated issues then go in the deck and have events of their own. Leaders can spend BP to take "leader actions" during the kingdom turn, one of which is to attempt a check to overcome a known generated issue - such issues have a DC and kingdom skill nominated to overcome it, removing it from play. That's just for generated issues though... "significant issues" added to the deck by the GM generally signify some deeper problem and can't simply be overcome, e.g. plot-related issues like the one from RRR I listed above or The Four Seasons which never goes away.
I went through the events from Ultimate Campaign and came up with the following assignments. The distinction about which event goes with Barely Established vs. Barony vs. Dukedom vs. Kingdom is kind of arbitrary, but since the point is to change the possible events over time, I feel it's not super important. Events that aren't currently "on the cards" can always be added using different issues, including generated issues.
- Bandit Activity
- Discovery
- Monster Attack
- Slavers
- Crop Failure
- Food Surplus
- Good Weather
- Large Disaster
- Localized Disaster
- Natural Blessing
- Plague
- Bandit Activity
- Boomtown
- Food Shortage
- Land Rush
- New Subjects
- Public Scandal
- Squatters
- Visiting Celebrity
- Building Demand
- Economic Boom
- Feud
- Improvement Demand
- New Subjects
- Noblesse Oblige
- Outstanding Success
- Public Scandal
- Remarkable Treasure
- Sensational Crime
- Smugglers
- Vandals
- Cult Activity
- Diplomatic Overture
- Economic Boom
- Festive Invitation
- Feud
- Noblesse Oblige
- Outstanding Success
- Pilgrimage
- Public Scandal
- Remarkable Treasure
- Sensational Crime
- Smugglers
- Unexpected Find
- Vandals
- Visiting Celebrity
- Wealthy Immigrant
- Archaeological Find
- Diplomatic Overture
- Drug Den
- Economic Boom
- Festive Invitation
- Feud
- Outstanding Success
- Pilgrimage
- Political Calm
- Public Scandal
- Sensational Crime
- Smugglers
- Unexpected Find
- Wealthy Immigrant
I didn't assign the following events to any of them, because I couldn't find a natural fit:
- Assassination Attempt (could be tied to a particular enemy's issue)
- Inquisition (could be tied to an appropriate kingdom alignment)
- Justice Prevails (likewise)
This is nice.
If I get the time, I'll try to develop the two other scripted events of RRR (the werewolf & Grigori) following your Gyronna example and share them here.
Love this. Thanks Rob! I will be looking forward to any future updates, as my group just started RRR.
Thanks!
@Chuckbab, I'd love to see your take on Grigory and the werewolf. I haven't thought of much with Grigory beyond step 1: he arrives, step 2 onwards: he rabble-rouses.
With the werewolf, I'm not actually running that event, because I have a player (my 14-year-old son) who has played RRR before. So, I have this instead (my players, keep out, obviously):
A Doppelganger moves in to town when it reaches a population of 500; this event remains while it remains and lives. Its primary identity is initially Mallyn Letwin, a teenage lad who has apprenticed to a carpenter to learn a trade (to help with future deceptions). “Mallyn’s” one-legged father Boris Letwin (also the Doppelganger) approached the carpenter (Obren Banich) and bought the apprenticeship, but due to his missing leg and failing health he keeps to his two-room hovel (i.e. only the boy is typically seen). The Doppelganger has a Wand of Minor Image in the back room of the hovel (in a lead-lined box) which it uses if on occasion both father and son need to be seen together.
- One of Obren’s other apprentices (Kole Yellen) has it in for Mallyn, and gets too close to the truth, so the Doppelganger decides that he must die. One evening of the full moon it shapeshifts into the form of Hefney (Fat Norry's bar-keeper) and breaks into the room of a recent arrival, Kundal the Kellid tribesman, and steals his axe while Kundal is eating his dinner in the common room of Fat Norry's Feed House (Fat Norry requires guests leave their weapons in their rooms). A few patrons including Kundal noticed “Hefney” going upstairs, but didn’t think anything of it (Hefney was actually down in the cellar sampling some wine and if later questioned will be a bit evasive about his movements until he realises something serious is happening). Later that evening the Doppelganger takes the form of Obren and calls Kole into an alley as he walks by, then takes Kundal’s shape and kills him with the axe, ensuring the fight finishes in the street so there are witnesses. It also kills a random shepherd (Nikolai) who tries to intervene during its escape, abandoning the axe. Kundal protests his innocence.
- Boris “dies” (no great significance other than that the leaders hear about it and are reminded of the unresolved situation). Mallyn reassures everyone that he is able to support himself, having done so for some months now.
- The Doppelganger has learned enough about carpentry, so assumes a new identity - Olga Golovin. Leaders hear that Mallyn is missing.
It's mainly a one-off event (kind of like the original event in RRR), but has some additional stages if the PCs fail to solve it initially.
There are two other events in RRR:
Starts after the Tatzlwyrms are killed and the realm reaches size 5+, goes away once Tatzlford exists and is part of the PC’s realm, or Loy and Latricia stop trying (die, driven off etc).
Initial Event: Loy and Latricia Rezbin approach PCs seeking permission to found Tatzlford. With permission and nothing else, start Tatzlford as size 0. With BPs or named NPCs to help, start the town with a greater size.
Random events if the players forbid the founding of the town (Loy and Latricia do not actively foment unrest, but they’re popular and people sympathise):
1. Loy approaches again with an amended proposal, trying to get permission for his town. If he is refused, make a DC 15 Loyalty check to prevent d4 Unrest.
2. Someone more vindictive than Loy (Grigory?) campaigns for the town. TODO.
3. TODO more stuff. Found Tatzlford without permission? Give up and leave town? Just keep approaching with an amended proposal?
Random events once the town is founded
1. Tatzlford grows 1 size. Unrest in the PCs realm drops 1d4.
2. The folks of Tatzlford build a free road towards the Temple of the Elk, or use of the road increases traffic to the Temple the worship of Erastil.
3. The town's logging activities annoy the fey of the Narlmarches. TODO
4. Monster attack on Tatzlford. Roll 1d6: if ≤ Tatzlford’s current size, the attack is repulsed, if > size the town suffers losses and the realm’s citizens are upset (add 1d4 Unrest).
5. A courageous trader makes the trip from the River Kingdoms to Tatzlford, and the trade generates 1d4 BPs.
Basically just use the events from Dudemeister's awesome Hargulka's Monster Kingdom as a sequence of events. Events tied to specific locations can either be triggered by the PCs travelling there or by someone/something drawing the PCs there.
Also have a random event table to roll on if it doesn’t seem the time for the next one-off event:
1. Reports of trolls possibly create unrest (problem). This could coincide with growth of Hargulka’s realm if I wanted to actually stat it up.
2. Refugees from troll raids on outlying farms crowd into the nearest settlement (create issue)
3. Raids on farms kill or scatter citizens, damage infrastructure and/or reduce food supplies (create issue).
4. Assassination attempt on one of the realm’s leaders (problem). This would work best if the monster kingdom has recruited some non-troll allies like Rigg Gargadilly.
I started to brainstorm on the two scripted events. The Grigori event is tricky. I have a lot of cruel ideas to inflict on the players, but at only one event rolled per month, I think it rips a lot of the potential stress of that encounter. So I abandoned the project and plan to use a more free-form version of the encounter, with a faster pace.
For the werewolf, I think it was almost finished. I'll drop it here as soon as possible.
I really like your Tatzlford sequence. It fits well with the idea of having multiples "kingdoms" sharing the hexes of the same map for a while during RRR (the PC's, Hargulka's, Tatzlford if built as an independent colony at first), with all being friendly or hostile to the PCs.
Other 'factions' that would be interesting to build similar to the Tatzlford sequence:
-the Sootscale kobolds
-Howl-of-the-North-Wind and his wolfpack controlling a hunting territory
-the lizardfolk village (probably controlling a single hex)
-the Dancing Lady and her fey goons
-an Erastil sect claiming the Temple and the Statue
(These ideas come from another thread here, I'll link when I find the source).
In fact, I feel that with everything going on during RRR, drawing a single event each month may not be enough.
Maybe I'll go with 2 or 3 draws, but limited to one per issue (so 'Gyronna's Sect' can't be drwan twice in the month, for example).
The faction idea I was talking about, from Pennywit here
I definitely like the idea of other factions growing in the Greenbelt, although many of them would be subsumed into Hargulka's monster kingdom if I ran DudeMeister's version straight. If the players somehow manage to take down Hargulka early, though, the other groups might take the idea of carving out their own monster kingdom and run with it...
Re: a single event each month not being enough: in my realm rules I have it that the GM can spend Unrest to play additional events in a turn. That doesn't translate particularly well to the original rules though, because spending Unrest is actually something that benefits the players, removing the penalty on their kingdom checks and moving them further away from the 20 Unrest anarchy point.