I vote for a stable in Oleg's and building a Noble Vila sounds like a plan.
Okay, we are nearing the end of this chapter. It took us longer than expected to get through it, but I am excited about what comes next!
*gives a standing ovation as the curtain draws on Beyond the Veil*
Wow, I'm glad its over, and sad there isn't more of it. There's something special about getting so much dedicated GM time. It almost feels like Jemini is leaving the real world and going to some imaginary world where the others are waiting for her.
If you haven't read the Beyond the Veil stuff, it's pretty impressive. Once Jemini returns to life, make sure that you go back and read it. (Presumably she will tell everyone IC everythng that she remembers.)
Hopefully it will speed things up having everybody together again, as I was basically running two campaigns simultaneously.
Verik? Taisper? Where are you guys?
I'm here, sorry. I...kind of don't want to post anything to follow that. I love that moment of little Nick kid giving Taisper the copper and don't want to ruin it with my jibber-jabber. Here goes, I guess...
Sorry I'll get back into gear here -- sort of a combination of kid's surgery, X-Mas, family Wii and catching a cold took me out of my stride, but getting back on it tonight!
Jemini is back, and she brought a friend.
Hope your kid is okay, V. My new baby is quite the handful, as he gets super fussy and gassy at night. You learn as you go, I suppose.
I think it's about time to give up on Tandlara's return, unless Eoin suddenly gets more free time, but I'd like to return us to a six-person party. Think we can find someone who wants to adopt one of our current NPCs? (It would be great if someone wanted to pick Nikolai up, but any of them would do.)
Oh sorry ya my daughter's surgery was planned - tonsils out, but it was scheduled the Friday before Christmas hehe. She's all healed up now.
Yeah that's the good thing about babies - thankfully they don't start mobile, and you have time until they hit the terrible twos and threes to figure things out :)
I figured Verik will have finished all of the crafted items by now and plans to present those to his fellows privately during the Stagfall anniversary. So does Taisper want a Cloak of Resistance made by Verik, and perhaps with Berrin's suggestion that the SL's amulet should not go to NPC Corwin, perhaps that goes to Taisper as well? That would make him a pretty hardy heretic there!
Also going to put in Verik's purchases of an enchanted breastplate and shield since enough time has passed, as well as a masterwork heavy mace with his personal funds on the character sheet.
A Cloak of Resistance would be awesome! What's the amulet, again? Isn't like an Amulet of Armor or some such? 'Cos if so wouldn't that be of no use to me since it wouldn't stack with my physical armor?
It's an Amulet of Natural Armor (+2, I think). It stacks with regular armor.
Really! I didn't think it would. I'll take it, of course, if no one else wants it, but maybe now that Jemini is back we could give it to her? I seem to recall her AC being not super great. I'm already pretty bufftastic in the armor department, and I don't wanna be an Item hog.
Relatedly, it might take me a bit to figure out how TS is gonna respond to all this. Holy crap.
Yeah, I imagined it might. It's a lot to digest.
Really! I didn't think it would. I'll take it, of course, if no one else wants it, but maybe now that Jemini is back we could give it to her? I seem to recall her AC being not super great. I'm already pretty bufftastic in the armor department, and I don't wanna be an Item hog.
Ooh you know from a RP standpoint that would be really interesting for her to wear the powerful amulet of the (former) Stag Lord who slew her - I like that idea!
So Verik will make either the Cloak of Resistance +1 or Amulet of Natural Armor +1 for Taisper (his choice), Cloaks of Resistance +1 for Zander and himself, an Amulet of Natural Armor +1 for Tandlara...and he already made the Amulet of Natural Armor +1 (w/ Tandlara) for Berrin, as well as the Circlet of Alluring Charisma +2 of course. That will cover everything if Taisper chooses a crafted amulet, or if he chooses a crafted cloak then Verik can eek out an additional cloak for Jemini. Verik's cloaks are going to have a rich Newhaven color theme and style, whereas per Berrin's description the amulets are much more "witchy" reflecting Tandlara's influence in the making.
I think TS would definitely go with the Cloak. That takes his Will save up to a nice round +10 and helps out his pathetic Reflex save, which needs all the assistance it can get. :-/
You guys ready for some rules regarding armies? Freshly designed in five-minute spurts over the last few days, here you go! Feel free to contribute to making it better, especially if you have ideas for more tactics. It models humanoid-on-humanoid battles fairly well, I think, but I'd have to make rules ad-hoc for less traditional foes.
ARMY & BATTLE RULES
CR: An army has a CR based on its size, experience, and type. If an army's CR drops below 1, it is disbanded.
Consumption: An army has a Consumption cost equal to twice its total CR. This Consumption is halved whenever an army is garrisoned in a fort or a city. A single fort or city can garrison one army, regardless of size.
Hit Points: An army has hit points equal to its CR multiplied by a size modifier (Colossal, x30; Gargantuan, x25; Huge, x20; Large, x15; Medium, x10; Small, x5; Tiny, x3; Diminutive, x2). An army that loses half its total hit points goes down a size category after the battle's conclusion, with its CR and total hit points adjusting accordingly. If the army remains below half its total hit points after this adjustment, it goes down another size category. An army regains hit points equal to twice its CR each month that it is garrisoned.
Defense/Offense: An army has a Mass Combat Defense (MCD) equal to its CR+10. An army has a Mass Combat Bonus (MCB) equal to its CR. These values can be modified by tactics and special qualities.
Movement: An army may move a number of hexes each month equal to its movement value, and thus can move only one-fourth as much each week. Roads cost half as much movement, while difficult terrain (forests, hills, swamps, mountains) cost double. An army can move through a friendly army, but cannot end its turn in a hex with another army in it.
Stability/Loyalty: An army adds its CR to the kingdom's Stability and Loyalty checks. (This runs the risk that armies being disbanded or destroyed will quickly undermine the kingdom.)
Experience: An army gains experience in one of two ways: training and combat. An army may spend 1 month training, which costs BP equal to the cost of raising the army and gives 1 experience point. An army that participates in a winning battle against an opposing army or armies of at least half the CR of all combined allied armies gains 2 experience points. An army that participates in a stalemate battle against an opposing army or armies of at least half the CR of all combined allied armies gains 1 experience points.
Levels: An army gains levels as it increases in experience. An army with 0 experience is a recruit army. An army with 1 to 3 experience is a trained army. An army with 4 to 7 experience is a regular army. An army with 8 to 12 experience is a veteran army. An army with 13 or more experience is an elite army. For each level above recruit, an army can learn an extra tactic and its CR increases by 1.
Raising an Army: When raising an army, the nation must pay BP equal to its CR. Each city may raise one army each turn during the Military Phase in each city. The city must have a a number of buildings of the appropriate type equal to 1 plus the number of size categories greater than Medium of the army being raised. The army is fully raised at the beginning of the next Military Phase, and does not affect the nation's statistics until that point. All armies begin with 0 experience (recruit).
Merging Armies: Two adjacent armies may be merged into a single army if they are of the same type. If the smaller army is within one size category, their hit points are combined and the army's size increases by one category, which adjusts the total hit points. If the smaller army is not within one size category, the hit points of the armies are combined but the army size does not increase. The army's experience is equal to the larger army's experience minus 2 if the smaller army has less experience points, or the larger army's experience minus 1 if the smaller army has an equal or greater number of experience points.
Splitting Armies: One army may be split into two armies of the same type, with the new army being placed adjacent to the original. Both armies are one size category smaller than the original army, and the hit points are divided evenly between the two armies. The experience of both armies is reduced by 1.
Light Infantry: The bulk of any army, these soldiers often wield swords, axes, or spears while wearing light armor. Light infantry requires tanneries. A light infantry army's movement value is 4. Statistics: Medium, CR 1; Large, CR 2; Huge, CR 3; Gargantuan, CR 4; Colossal, CR 5
Heavy Infantry: The strongest part of the army's foot soldiers, these dismounted knights wear heavy armor and shields. Heavy infantry requires smiths. A heavy infantry army's movement value is 4. Statistics: Small, CR 1; Medium, CR 2; Large, CR 4; Huge, CR 6; Gargantuan, CR 8; Colossal, CR 10
Light Cavalry: Fast-moving scouts and skirmishers, these mounted soldiers require tanneries and stables. A light cavalry army's movement value is 8. Statistics: Small, CR 1; Medium, CR 2; Large, CR 4; Huge, CR 6; Gargantuan, CR 8; Colossal, CR 10
Heavy Cavalry: Heavily armored knights are the strongest part of any army, requiring smiths and stables. A heavy cavalry army's movement value is 8. Statistics: Diminutive, CR 1; Tiny, CR 2; Small, CR 3; Medium, CR 4; Large, CR 8; Huge, CR 12; Gargantuan, CR 16; Colossal, CR 20
Archers: Capable of firing from afar but vulnerable on their own, archers require fletchers. An archer army's movement value is 4. Statistics: Large, CR 1; Huge, CR 2; Gargantuan, CR 3; Colossal, CR 4
Mounted Archers: Combining the speed of cavalry with the range of archers, mounted archers require fletchers and stables. A mounted archer army's movement value is 8. Statistics: Small, CR 1; Medium, CR 2; Large, CR 4; Huge, CR 6; Gargantuan, CR 8; Colossal, CR 10
Spellcasters: Largely hedge magicians, minor clerics, bards, and apprentices, even relatively minor magical talents can greatly affect the battlefield. Spellcasters require caster towers. When attacked, spellcasters are treated as if their CR is halved to determine MCD. A spellcaster army's movement value is 4. Statistics: Diminutive, CR 2; Tiny, CR 4; Small, CR 6; Medium, CR 8; Large, CR 10; Huge, CR 12; Gargantuan, CR 14; Colossal, CR 16
Fighting Battles: During times of war, turns are determined by week rather than by month, with four weeks in each month. Once per week, an army can attack any adjacent army or city, which counts as an army with a CR equal to its Defense, and a number of hit points equal to its Defense multiplied by its number of blocks.
Initiative: All actions are resolved simultaneously. At the beginning of each round of battle, the leader of each side makes a Profession: Soldier check; the leader with the lower check declares his side's actions first, allowing the leader with the higher check to respond accordingly.
Infantry Armies: An infantry army can attack in any battle in which one of the participants is adjacent to it. It can attack any adjacent unit.
Mounted Armies: A cavalry army can attack in any battle in which one of the participants is adjacent to it. It can attack any army within two hexes, so long as the targeted army is not on difficult terrain.
Archery Armies: An archery army can attack in any battle in which one of the participants is adjacent to it. The archery unit may attack any participating army, so long as the targeted army is not in a forest hex.
Spellcasting Armies: A spellcasting army can provide support in any battle in which one of the participants is adjacent to it. At the beginning of each round of the battle, the spellcasting unit may increase or decrease the MCD or MCB of any army in the battle by an amount equal to one-half of the CR of the spellcasting unit.
Resolving Attacks: All attacks are resolved simultaneously. An attacking army rolls a MCB check against the defending army's MCD. If successful, the attacking army deals damage equal to the difference. If the attacking army beats the defending army's MCD by 10 or more, this damage is doubled. Each consecutive successful attack grants a +1 bonus on subsequent MCB checks, maximum +5. This bonus ends if the attacking army fails a MCB check.
Retreating: Any army can retreat at the end of a round of battle. If it retreats, it cannot attack during the next round, but can be attacked. At the end of the next round of battle, it leaves the battlefield and cannot return.
Terrain: Terrain can greatly affect the battlefield. An army cannot move onto a mountain hex and moves at half speed for all other types of difficult terrain. An army cannot cross a river unless it has a bridge or spends double movement. An army is not considered adjacent to another army if they are separated by a river. Cavalry armies cannot attack other armies if they are on difficult terrain, and archer armies cannot attack other armies if they are in a forest hex.
Korvosa meets Magnimar in battle. Korvosa has fielded three armies: a Large regular army of light infantry (CR 4, 40 hp), a Large trained army of archers (CR 2, 20 hp), and a Medium trained army of light cavalry (CR 3, 30 hp). Magnimar has fielded two armies: a Gargantuan recruit army of light infantry (CR 4, 100 hp) and a Small trained army of spellcasters (CR 7, 35 hp). Korvosa's commander has a Profession: Soldier bonus of +12, and Magnimar's commander has a Profession: Soldier bonus of +10. All of the armies are adjacent except for Magnimar's spellcaster army, which is adjacent to Magnimar's light infantry and two hexes away from Korvosa's light cavalry, and Korvosa's archers, which are adjacent to Korvosa's light infantry and light cavalry.
Round 1: Magnimar wins Initiative, Korvosa declares its actions first. Korvosa assigns its light infantry to attack Magnimar's light infantry, its light cavalry to attack Magnimar's spelllcasters, and archers to attack Magnimar's light infantry. Magnimar responds by assigning its spellcasters to increase its light infantry's MCD by 3 and assigning its light infantry to attack Korvosa's light infantry. The following are resolved simultaneously.
1. Korvosa's light Infantry attacks Magnimar's light infantry and rolls a 7, for a total MCB attack of 11, which is lower than Magnimar's light infantry MCD of 17. The attack fails and does no damage
2. Magnimar's light infantry attacks Korvosa's light infantry and rolls a 12, for a total MCB attack of 16, which is 2 higher than Korvosa's light infantry MCD of 14. The attack succeeds and does 2 damage to Korvosa's light infantry.
3. Korvosa's archers attack Magnimar's light infantry and rolls a 20, for a total MCB attack of 22, which is 5 higher than Magnimar's light infantry MCD of 17. The attack succeeds and does 5 damage to Magnimar's light infantry.
4. Korvosa's light cavalry attacks Magnimar's spellcasters and rolls a 14, for a total MCB attack of 17, which is 3 higher than Magnimar's spellcasting effective MCD of 14. The attack succeeds and does 3 damage to Magnimar's spellcasters.
At the end of the first round of the battle, Korvosa's light infantry has 38/40 hp, Korvosa's light cavalry has 30/30 hp, Korvosa's archers have 20/20 hp, Magnimar's light infantry has 95/100 hp, and Magnimar's spellcasters have 32/35 hp. Magnimar's light infantry will gain +1 to MCB next round, as will Korvosa's archers and light cavalry.
Each army learns 1 tactic when it is raised, plus 1 tactic for each additional level of experience to a maximum of 5 tactics. Tactics are declared when the attacks are declared, unless otherwise noted in the tactic's description. An army can use 1 tactic per round, and can only use an individual tactic once each round unless otherwise noted. All armies can take the same tactic more than once, which allows them to use the tactic in the battle that number of times.
Cantabrian Circle (Mounted Archers): Use when this army is attacked. This army gains +2 to MCD and can make an immediate attack against the attacking army.
Cause Rout (Heavy Infantry, Heavy Cavalry): Use this tactic when this army successfully attack the same enemy army with 5 or more consecutive attacks. This army makes an additional attack against that army. If successful, that army must retreat in the next round of battle.
Crescent Formation (Infantry): If this army and target army both attack each other this round of battle, this army can attack twice.
Counterattack (Infantry, Cavalry): Use this tactic after an enemy infantry or cavalry army unsuccessfully attacks this army. Make an attack on that army.
Counterspell (Spellcaster): Use this tactic after attacks are declared. Target spellcaster army's action is canceled. If that army used a tactic, it is still used.
Defensive Bulwark (Infantry): This army gains -4 to MCB and +4 to MCD for all attacks this round of battle.
Entangle (Spellcaster): Use this tactic instead of supporting an army this round of battle. Target army cannot attack this round of battle, but gains +2 to MCD.
False Retreat (Infantry, Cavalry): Use this tactic after an enemy infantry or cavalry army attacks this army while it is retreating. The army is no longer considered to be retreating and attacks the enemy army that attacked it with +4 to this MCB check.
Feint (Infantry, Cavalry): Use this tactic after attacks are declared but before they are resolved. This army's attack automatically fails, but the target army's MCD is reduced by 5 this round of battle.
Flaming Arrows (Archers): The army gains -2 to MCB this round of battle, but does an additional 5 damage on a successful attack.
Flank (Infantry, Cavalry): Use this tactic when an enemy army is successfully attacked by two or more cavalry or infantry units, including this army. This army does an additional 2d6 damage on this attack, which cannot be multiplied.
Harrying Arrows (Mounted Archers): The army that this army attacks receives a -2 to MCB this round of battle.
Healing Magic (Spellcaster): Use this tactic instead of supporting an army this round of battle. Target army regains a number of hit points equal to its CR.
Massed Charge (Heavy Cavalry): This army deals 2d6 additional damage on a successful attack, but cannot attack next round of battle.
Provoke (Infantry, Cavalry, Archers): Use this tactic after a successful attack against an enemy army. It must either attack this army next round of battle or retreat. For purposes of this attack, the targeted enemy army treats this army as adjacent.
Reckless Attacks (Infantry, Cavalry): The army gains +4 to MCB and -4 to MCD for all attacks this round of battle.
Reserve Archers (Archers): The army may make two attacks this round of battle, but gains -2 to MCB and MCD this round of battle.
Ride Down (Light Cavalry): The army gains +4 to MCB while attacking retreating armies this round of battle and automatically deals double damage on a successful attack.
Skirmish (Light Cavalry): The army may attack any army this round of battle, regardless of location.
Spear Wall (Light Infantry): The army gains +4 to MCD against all cavalry attacks this round of battle. If a cavalry attack fails against this army, it can make an attack on that cavalry army with +4 to MCB.
Sudden Shift (Any): Use this tactic after attacks are declared but before attacks are resolved. Make a Profession: Soldier check opposed by the enemy leader's Profession: Soldier check. If you win, you may add, remove, or change a tactic used by this army this round of battle. If you remove or change a tactic, it does not count as being used.
Turtle Formation (Heavy Infantry): Use this tactic when successfully attacked. This army takes no damage from the attack, but cannot attack or retreat in the next round of battle. This tactic cannot be used while retreating.
Shield Wall (Heavy Infantry): Use this tactic instead of attacking or supporting this round of battle. Any army that attacks target adjacent army this round of battle attacks this army instead.
Summon Allies (Spellcaster): Use this tactic instead of supporting an army this round of battle. You gain an army equal to an army of archers that is the same size category, light infantry of one size category lower, heavy infantry or light cavalry of two size categories lower, or heavy cavalry of three size categories lower. This army has experience equal to one-half the amount of experience of the spellcaster army. This army is located in the same square as the spellcaster army and lasts for a number of rounds of battle equal to one-half the CR of the spellcaster army. The summoned army cannot take any actions this round of battle.
Wall of Fire (Spellcaster): Use this tactic instead of supporting an army this round of battle. Target army cannot attack, support, or be attacked this round of battle.
Wedge Charge (Heavy Cavalry): This army's attack resolves as normal. If it is successful, all other successful attacks against the attacked army do an additional 5 damage this round of battle. This additional damage cannot be multiplied.
Withdraw (Any): This army retreats and immediately leaves the battle. Any attacks targeting this army automatically fail.
Rout: Whenever any of one side's armies must retreat because of the Cause Rout or Provoke tactics, if all of that side's armies are reduced to one-half hit points or less, or if any of that side's armies is destroyed, the leader of that side must make a Loyalty check. If unsuccessful, all of that side's armies must retreat the next turn. This is considered a victory for all armies that are still participating in the battle, and a draw for all armies belonging to the winning side that retreated. Whenever a nation loses a battle, its Unrest increases by 1.
Draw: Whenever all of one side's armies willingly retreat, the commander of that side makes a Profession: Soldier check against the enemy commander's. If he wins, the battle is considered a draw. If he loses, the battle is considered a rout (see above).
Thank you Mr Number-Generator, a natural 20 couldn't have come at a more handy point in time :D
I just read, and like, the outline for mass combat. What I'm missing, however, is some unique "class specific" options. After all, Jemini wouldn't want to raise an army of infantry men, but have command of a charge of mounted Iomedaen paladins; Zander might want to raise a defensive platoon of rangers; we might make allies with a barbarian tribe and raise a squad of berserkers. Perhaps a unit of Brevoy swordlords. Along that line I'd expect some colorful bonuses to flavor the units.
Basic rule I propose: Any class-based army that is raised costs as if it was one size category larger. In the case of a colossal specialized army the BP cost is doubled. So a medium army of mounted paladins (heavy cavalry) would cost 8BP (the normal cost of a large army of heavy cavalry). This encourages relatively small specialized armies, as the cost quickly gets prohibitive. Creating a specialized army additionally requires more stringent prerequisites.
Bonuses would depend on the class, examples:
Paladin - cannot be routed, can use Healing Magic tactic, but only on self, its MCB and MCD are raised by 4 versus armies of evil outsiders, dragons and undead. Requires: Cathedral
Barbarian - can rage (free action), while raging raise its MCB by 2 at the cost of -4 MCD, while raging damage to the army is halved. Requires: barbarian allies
Rangers - gain +2 to MCB against a particular type of foe, determined at army creation; gains +2 movement while within the boundaries of the kingdom. Requires: one dedicated kingdom hex per size category of the army, these hexes can hold a fort, but no other hex improvement (farm, mine, etc)
Rogues - can move through hexes occupied by opposing armies but cannot end their movement in such a square; have the Flank tactic and deal double damage when using the Flank tactic. Requires: Black Market
Monk - non-mounted monks have a movement of 8; monk armies may ignore spellcaster tactics (for example Wall of Fire) and cannot be targeted by hostile spellcasters; gain +2 bonus to MCB when not moving in a turn. Requires: a monastery per size category of the army
Just some initial samples of what I have in mind, what do you think?
Sounds pretty great. Ranger would need a little work, as hexes can already only hold a fort. For some of the more exotic classes, I might suggest putting a size limit. It's unlikely that you'd see 2000 monks or paladins running around for any amount of gold, though barbarians would be pretty easy. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I like monks in an army at all. There just won't be that many of them, not in this part of the world.
Some armies consist of a single class. These armies can be raised at any city that has at least one of the prerequisite buildings, but the prerequisite buildings are shared amongst all cities. (For instance, if one city has a Cathedral, and another city also has a Cathedral, either city can raise a Large army of paladins if it meets all the other requirements of raising an army of that type.) All class armies require an additional month to raise and train, but begin with 1 experience. (This increases the cost to raise the army.) It costs double to raise the army.
Paladin: This army cannot be forced to rout. It automatically gains one use of the Healing Magic tactic, regardless of army type, but can only be used on itself. When attacking or attacked by armies of evil outsiders, dragons, and undead, treat its CR as doubled when determining MCB and MCD. An Medium army of paladins requires a Cathedral to raise; every size category above Medium requires an additional Cathedral. This army pays an additional Consumption cost equal to its CR, regardless of if it is garrisoned or not. (Heavy Infantry, Heavy Cavalry)
Barbarian: This army's gets +4 to MCB and -4 to MCD. All successful attacks against this army do half damage. A Huge army of barbarians requires an Arena to raise; every size category above Huge requires an additional Arena. This army pays an additional Consumption cost equal to its CR, regardless of if it is garrisoned or not, except in the month after it gains experience through winning a battle. A Barbarian army cannot use tactics. (Light infantry, heavy infantry, light cavalry, archers, mounted archers)
Ranger: This army treats difficult terrain as normal and is not affected by rivers. A Small army of rangers requires a Park to raise; every size category above Small requires an additional Park. This army pays an additional Consumption cost equal to its CR. A ranger army cannot be garrisoned. (Light infantry, light cavalry, archers)
Rogue: This army automatically gains one use of the Flank tactic, and can use the Flank tactic without expending it if it is attacking an archer or spellcaster army. A Small army of rogues requires a Black Market to raise; every size category above Small requires an additional Black Market. This army pays an additional Consumption cost equal to its CR, regardless of if it is garrisoned. (Light infantry)
Any other ideas?
Also, things like, "Oh, hey, the rightful king has returned to this small fledgling kingdom that has little military protection!" might be ill-advised.
I agree about the large number of paladins or monks being an odd thing. But perhaps an elite squad could apply a modifier to a unit for an additional cost.
Uh oh! Verik is causing trouble again! :)
A cloak it is for Taisper -- that will make four Cloaks crafted, though I intend on them looking a bit different for each person, though with a shared theme. Tandlara has an Amulet of Natural Armor +1 like Berrin's, which of course she helped to craft with Verik. I'll try to work in the presentations if it's convenient, or else put in a OOC description for each if it's not.
Your handling of prerequisites is good, I like it. I was thinking for things like paladins and monks the army size limit would be a fraction of kingdom population. At most 1 in a 1000 is paladin-able, and monks are even rarer in this area, which would make it 1 in 5000 making an army of of more than 40 (at a population of 200 000) unlikely, at most a Tiny army I imagine.
Do we want a platoon of bards? (Think Scottish bagpipe men!)
One more suggestion, I think there should be additional tactics (perhaps a new name) that are passives, that represent specialized training or equipment. These come with a once-off cost in BP based on the size of the army. An army can only make use of one particular subtype of equipment, so they cannot be equipped with both Two-Hander and Polearms. Examples:
Two-hander (equipment, weapon) +2 to MCB, -2 to MCD; 2xCR cost
Polearms (equipment, weapon) +2 to MCB vs cavalry units; 1xCR cost
Mithril Armor (equipment, armor) +2 to movement; 20xCR cost
Camouflage Gear (equipment, armor) +2 to MCD vs attacks of non-adjaced armies; 2xBP cost
Magic Gear (equipment, untyped) +1 to MCB and MCD; 10xCR cost
Siege Training (training) +1 to MCB and MCD in urban environments; 2xCR cost
Leadership Training (training, special armies only) +1 to MCB and MCD of adjacent allies; 5xCR cost
Sapper Training (training, special armies only) -1 to MCB and MCD of adjacent hostiles; 8xCR cost
Environmental Training (training) +1 to MCB and MCD in a particular environment; 2xCR cost (can stack with Siege Training)
Berserker Training (training, barbarian armies only) halves damage received again on rounds where army successfully attacks a hostile army; 10xCR cost
Y'know, I considered equipment/passive tactics, but then I decided that it was just fine without it and that it might disrupt the existing tactics. (For instance, could an army with two-handers use Shield Wall?)
I would like to incorporate some siege rules, though. Conquering or pillaging hexes, as well.
Where is everybody else? This should be a posting flurry! Jemini is alive!
I think we're all just feeling pressure to get our reaction posts right. I know I am, anyway.
I'm going to post again here in a couple of hours, but didn't want to go back-to-back posts in case someone wanted to react on what is there from Jemini's marvelous speech.
I think we're all just feeling pressure to get our reaction posts right. I know I am, anyway.
+1
A) Anyone want to wager on how the Houses will respond to the arrival of Nikolai Rogarvia? I can pretty much guarantee that House Surtova will not acknowledge him as king, which will cause major friction between them and the Rostlanders. How will the others respond, though? (I've got a script for what will happen if you guys stay out of it, but it can definitely be changed depending on your actions.)
B) What's the plan for 05/4709 to 10/4709? (Presumably you'll bunker down for winter again.) I'm guessing that you'll want to go ahead with creating Oleg's (which needs a name) as a city. [BTW, if you want, Oleg and Svetlana can move there as mayor and make the building decisions, except for large expenditures or specific requests.] Beyond that, there's expanding to the gold mine and tapping it.
A) I expect House Lebeda will back Nikolai's claim to the throne - as they presumably support both Jemini, as well as hedging their bets at having a strong influence on the throne (Nikolai ruling as figurehead, behind the economic and political policies of House Lebeda).
B) Jemini's input on nation-building is looking to enhance the presence of other religions particularly lawful and good ones, as well as the founding of schools. Perhaps an edict or some such to make basic education mandatory.
On an extended note, I think it is a good idea to "invest" BPs in drawing specific factions to have a presence in Newhaven, such as the Pathfinders, . And (synonymously) found some new factions - the regional equivalent of the Lion Blades, Ninth Batalion, Kitharodian Academy, Eagle Knights, Pure Legion, etc. Jemini would probably try to invest into forming an order of paladins (that would eventually also constitute a small army).
I'm pretty sure it's too late for us to stay out of anything now, especially with Jemini going through all that trouble to bring the man back.
I like the plan of having Oleg and Svetlana moving home to mayor the new city, the process is taking us too long as it is IMO. Berrin will push for buildings that let us raise an army. Irrigated farms to feed them, forts, keeps and watchtower and the such.
Okay, we'll move to general concepts for kingdom creation, and I'll keep the statistics in the background. You will, of course, have veto power and can specifically request buildings or improvements or whatever.
Do you want to raise an army? You can raise an Medium army of light infantry out of Sanctuary.
I do, yes. But not if there are strong objections or if we can't maintain it easily.
You can raise a CR 1 army of light infantry for the whopping cost of 1 CR, plus 2 CR increase in Consumption. (This is halved while they are garrisoned.) I'll put the order in for the end of 5/4709.
When do you want to set out for adventures in the wild?
I mean I enjoy doing the round-by-round kingdom creation to be quite honest, but I can see why Berrin could see it as too slow to come to a consensus on decisions. How about everyone generally takes an aspect of the turn-based kingdom process and presides over that, with input by the rest of the players as needed?
For example, someone can focus on which hexes get claimed/developed at that part in the process, someone can focus on buildings for Sanctuary, someone can focus on edict changes and army development, etc. So not that there's a limitation on input or discussion, but it may help to speed up the process, similar to an initiative progression.
Verik's take on (B) is to claim old Oleg's, which will give a slight bump in Economy. We already have a claimed hex to build farms in order to eliminate consumption, and we work to keep consumption to 0 or below, with negatives allowing us to go stronger on the Promotion Edict when we can. The expected increase for Economy is to claim that gold mine in three monthly turns - and we can also build a camp in the forest hex we claimed when necessary. Building Economy through more expensive buildings may not be preferable over camps and fisheries. Now Stability is going to be more of an issue with our hex push - we can build a Town Commons for an easy 4BP on this next month, and maybe a Library or City Guard post down the road for more Stability improvements as needed.
Hmmm well (A) is really going to be interesting. With Nikolai Rogarvia alive but with none of his family power base intact, House Surtova almost certainly has to go against him to keep power. The very idea of Rogarvia being back utterly ruins the Surtovan claim for High King, so it's bad for them no matter what happens (I mean they're essentially using squatters rights in New Stetven and the surrounding countryside hehe). It sounds as if House Lodovka will throw in with Surtova as they've often done in the past. It's possible House Orlovsky would be THE house to upset matters by supporting Rogarvia, especially if they could rally an Issian connection with House Garess to join them. Houses Lebeda and Medvyed probably wouldn't want to initially side with either claim as Rostlanders, but have an easy reason now to openly renounce Surtova's claim if pressed. So possibly a three-sided conflict?
What would Restov do? Well the schemes of Restov do not sit well with Newhaven, but this could be their chance to reclaim the glory of the Aldori Lords and form a new coalition with Varnhold, Newhaven and down into the River Kingdoms to Mivon perhaps? A coalition against any Brevian King ruling them?
In short, this...ahh...looks like the makings of a multi-sided civil war :(
What is the new leadership? Akiros would be fine giving Berrin the role of General and act as a lieutenant.
I mean I enjoy doing the round-by-round kingdom creation to be quite honest, but I can see why Berrin could see it as too slow to come to a consensus on decisions. How about everyone generally takes an aspect of the turn-based kingdom process and presides over that, with input by the rest of the players as needed?
For the record, I have absolutely no interest in this part of things, and will gladly go along with whatever the rest of y'all decide. :-)
Similarly, I've got only a limited interest in the kingdom building (prefering high-level birds-eye-view) but I do think it is a good idea of having shared kingdom building. Perhaps in the longer-run everybody gets to build their own city that they can populate as they see fit; or alternatively each of us gets 10% of the BPs to allocate as we wish (the remaining BPs going over to the main kingdom builders).
So, just like the PCs would, you leave the nuts and bolts to Verik to hash out? Roleplaying!
So, just like the PCs would, you leave the nuts and bolts to Verik to hash out? Roleplaying!
I am in the same boat as the last two. I enjoy seeing the kingdom being built and the roleplaying that arises, but not too keen on the nuts and bolts other than making choices between two structures that are proposed.
There are now two lost sons in Sanctuary and one returned daughter. Should be fun for all concerned.
As for hitting the wilds, Zander will broach the subject of the Trolls as soon as Jemini's return runs its course. He is eager to investigate, and not willing to sacrifice more men to investigate.
05/4709
1. Starting Treasury: 28 BP
2. Stability: (Pass, +1 BP)
3. Consumption: -1 BP
4. Economy: (Pass, +6 BP)
You now have 35 BP.
5. Leadership: ---
6. Claim Hexes: C12 (-1 BP)
7. Buildings: Found Olegsgrav (-1 BP); Free Stable, Olegsgrav; House, Olegsgrav; Noble Villa, Sanctuary; City Guard, Sanctuary (-21 BP)
8. Hex Improvements: Farm, E12; Camp, D12; Road, C12 (-7 BP)
9. Edicts: ---
10. Event:
->
--> Good Weather (+4 to Loyalty until next Event Phase)
If you haven't read Beyond the Veil, now is the time. It's a good read, and presumably Jemini will recount her experiences.
If you haven't read Beyond the Veil, now is the time. It's a good read, and presumably Jemini will recount her experiences.
Yay! Finally! I will go back and do so. Reckon it might take a while...
Aye. Looks like I got homework tonight. :-)
Speaking of which, where's Tandlara?
If you haven't read Beyond the Veil, now is the time. It's a good read, and presumably Jemini will recount her experiences.
I've for the most part kept Jemini's posts shortish and to the point - the recent spill of lengthy posts should not be an indication of things to come! There's just so much more to capture right now.
DM Barcas made a really enjoyable trip for Jemini and Nikolai, it turned out a blast; I'm well happy with how things unfolded. Makes me wish we could have more personalized GM time like that all the time.
I think it's about time to give up on Tandlara's return, unless Eoin suddenly gets more free time, but I'd like to return us to a six-person party. Think we can find someone who wants to adopt one of our current NPCs? (It would be great if someone wanted to pick Nikolai up, but any of them would do.)
This sort of got lost over the holidays. Tandlara is lost in graduate school, I guess.
So, a couple of NPCs for a potential fillin, with a redeemed stag lord as the big bait. I figure we want to ask about our other PbPs before an open recruitment?
Open List:
A Witch
A Barbarian
A Magus
A Stag Lord
I spoke to Eoin a few days ago. He still wants us to hold his place and will return eventually.
In addition to Nikolai (unknown?), Corwin (barbarian), and Alexius (magus), there's also Kesten (cavalier), Jhod (cleric), Akiros (samurai), Gregary (ranger), and Esmerelda (rogue?). Wide range of potential choices.
In-game, Tandlara's there. She's just quiet.