Not to belabor this hunting thing, but rechecking the Survival rules, Urzan and his companion can hunt for 4 hours and collect 8 days of food for medium-size creatures. Even if it spoils, Urzan can prepare and cast at-will Purify Food. Some of that 4 hours includes collecting clean water, but Urzan can cast Create Water at will.
Alright, that's fair. I'm still insisting everyone else buy food since they didn't know this, but you won't have to subtract it. It can be for emergencies.
Alamander now has a sling, bullets and 15 days trail rations (which I bought for double cost - I assume he got fleeced by somebody, like you said earlier there's no shops here).
im from new zealand.
on the food front, it seems like supporting at least ourselves is not going to be an issue. Orsano has no survival skills but is quite happy to wander around after foragers inspiring competence.
will you shut UP already? your singing is scaring off all the game!
seems to me we will need farm land sooner rather than later though - what sort of supplies can we bring in to make this easier?
ANOTHER TOPIC: GROUP DYNAMICS
Has any PC distinguished themselves as the leader yet? Maybe someone who knew where the temple was? Maybe someone who has the most vivid dreams?
As for Urzan, your initial impression of him would have been bad, because he is gruff and ill-mannered with respect to polite company. However, after being led around jungle traps and dangers, after calming down attacking animals, after his dinosaur protected you, after he provides you food or healing, your impression eventually improves to he's-nice-to-have-around.
For those able to sense motive, you would detect that he views the PCs as his new family and responsibility to keep safe. While he does not lead the group WHERE to go, he definitely leads HOW to go there. In the building phase, he has no clue what's being done but follows direction and hunts to provide food and water.
cheers
EDIT: I have a business trip next for almost a week. My posting frequency will suffer and be irregular.
Yeah what's keeping Azrin? You were like the first character finished. I know you're around.
on the food front, it seems like supporting at least ourselves is not going to be an issue. Orsano has no survival skills but is quite happy to wander around after foragers inspiring competence.
"Sing a song of stealth.
The deer will fear our stealth OUR STEALTH!"seems to me we will need farm land sooner rather than later though - what sort of supplies can we bring in to make this easier?
That's a problem for peasants. If you really felt the need you could bring masterwork tools for farming and I'd think of some kind of bonus. But mostly that's something beneath your pay grade. For you guys building a farm consists of signing a piece of paper granting some other guy the right to get a bunch of other people together and set up a farm in the area you designate.
Maybe someone who knew where the temple was?
Alamander is a statue who turned into a human and claims to be an ancient azlanti high-priest of Acavna. He probably has pull. He also knows the temple better than you guys because he was alive when it was built.
Don't anyone feel like you have to wait to begin discussing things. I guess the first order of business should be to choose a leader. Maybe someone could nominate someone, or (depending on your character) suggest a vote?
Alamander doesn't have augury prepared, but you can swap out whatever spells you feel you could have prepared for this meeting (rather than adventuring). If you were willing to drop a 2 leveler on the situation you could ask Acavna her dumb opinion.
Even if you think your character would have no interest in the leadership, try to think of an issue they might want to bring up. There was talk in discussion about the need for farmland. You might want to organize some defenses (the jungle is dangerous). You could organize a troop of hunters (maybe we could designate jungle Hunting Grounds instead of farms but have it be the same in-game effect).
FYI: the pilgrims have been around for less than a month, and the majority have shown up in the last week. So you might know a few of them but for the most part the place has filled up with more strangers than you can keep track of without organization.
Someone needs to say something to get the ball rolling. If anyone has any questions about it I'm happy to answer them.
So we need to determine PC roles first, and then decide how are we gonna develop ? We also need to start exploring hexes if i'm not mistaken
I was waiting on everyone to get in a post before speaking so that we could all be a part of the conversation.
The first thing to get started with the pilgrims would be farmland and then create defenses. If these can be done at the same time all the better. After that we should be free to focus on building more without worrying about all of the pilgrims dying.
though Orsano lacks practical skills he is able to speak knowledgeably on a number of subjects, and has proven remarkably good at keeping the wildly disparate bunch of personalities within the group pulling in the same direction with a mixture of diplomacy, flattery, and bribery.
though he has not said as much, he certainly considers himself to be leadership material.
Alamander doesn't have augury prepared, but you can swap out whatever spells you feel you could have prepared for this meeting (rather than adventuring). If you were willing to drop a 2 leveler on the situation you could ask Acavna her dumb opinion.
Sure, I had a generic spell load out, lets change a couple of slots. Actually I'd normally leave a couple of slots unmemorized, because you never know what you might need.
I think Azrin had company today, so we might see him today, or maybe tonight?
Either way, I am glad to see we are moving right along!
I will add 30 days worth of feed for all my animals, and call it a day in terms of equipment. I am still debating on a pavilion tent, but I don't know how useful that would be once we start building. Eh... I will leave it off, seems overtly luxurious for no real reason.
-----------------------
In terms of impressions over the past few months, Kierk would have left a favorable impression on most. He is young, but has been consorting with adults all his life, so he has no awkwardness jumping in both in terms of conversation and in terms of work as if he were 10 years older. His youth might rub some who are older a bit wrong, but his competence is pretty evident.
In action, his youth is rarely a concern, and in conversation, he is free to share his ideas, but usually, he will concede with his elders whenever someone opposes his ideas. Not because he doesn't believe in his ideas, but because it is obvious this young pirate has learned the concept of respecting his elders, even if he disagrees with them.
He curses creatively, and enjoys a good laugh, but never lets it get in the way of doing his job and accomplishing his task. He is prepared for just about anything, and as he proved on the trek over, he is handy both with a bow and his sword in combat. He has a decent head on his shoulders when it comes to battles and tactics, and it seems that he is used to commanding men, as there are times in the middle of combat where those he deferred to, he found himself calling out targets for. His has been an asset hunting when he isn't working to clear the land and to prepare things for the vision that Acavna gave to them all.
The last thing to note, is the overwhelming sense of peace that fills the young man. He does his job, he is happy and shares in a good laugh, but more than that, since arriving at the Stairway to the Moon, he always seems content. He never misses a nightly vigil to Acavna, he is devout in his faith, but isn't the greatest of students when it comes to the lessons in the ancient worship that Alamander has been teaching them.
Andrezi has left an impression of a caring, good-hearted soul, although troubled in his thoughts at times, sometimes being distant of mind. But usually he's quite social, always willing to talk and lend advice, and he embraced his companions as helpful and valuable allies in the hard road ahead. At times he can go into states of happiness or sadness, depending on the situation, but he is also quick to change his demeanor in almost an instant.
|
Azrin is practically nocturnal, often caught napping during the day and just as often seen wandering at night. He seems somewhat aloof and difficult to connect with, almost as if others speaking to him is an interruption of something he was doing. Nevertheless he is strong and a hard worker, bearing his burdens without complaint. He tends to reject assertions of authority however, whether over himself or others, as he sees Acavna the only rightful authority. However, he will not be opposed to laws issued with consultation of the goddess herself, nor her appointed authorities (or who he sees as such).
Wilhelm would have left an impression of a man with a grand dream. He would help out anyone who asked for assiatance, and in their downtime he would speak of his vision of an empire streaching from one end of the world to the other. He woould have asked from the very begining if all of you would help him with making this dream a reality. When the refugees arrived he would have been seen trying to arrange all of the pilgrims into groups so that they could easily be identified and helped. When the influx got too large he would ask all of his companions for help so that no people would have to suffer. His biggest impression would be that he completely trusts his fellow dreamers in their areas of expertise and that they would do their best to help out those in need.
Alamander is being completely sincere when he claims he doesn't want to rule.
We also need to start exploring hexes if i'm not mistaken
I should give an overview how this works:
You can only add a Hex to your kingdom if you're explored it and cleared it of hazards.
First you designate the hex to explore. Then I check my version of the map to see if there's anything secret there. If there is, you deal with that (it could be good; there's a silver mine in the original Kingmaker). Then you explore it for a number of days calculated by the speed of the slowest character and the type of terrain. Every day there's a 15% chance of random encounters (I have a crazy table for this and it's not all combat). After you spend the requisite number of days exploring the hex it's "explored" and you can annex it during your next kingdom turn.
Since you'll usually be spending 2 days exploring (give or take), there's a non-zero chance of getting to explore any given hex for a time investment and nothing else. But sometimes there's monsters or weirder stuff.
Also keep in mind I'd prefer if you split up to explore to keep the combats from bogging down (and to allow you to take advantage of your numbers; exploration takes time).
Am I right in thinking it would be wise to keep some people at the temple, because the kingdom will loose certain benefits from those off exploring? That adds quite an interesting dynamic if so. We need to balance the risk of exploring vs the potential rewards.
from by brief reading it seems like as long as the person in question is present for part of a month (a week?) the kingdom gains the benefit of their presence... is that correct?
At some point in the proceedings Alamander will seek Acavna's opinion. Given the way Augury is worded we need a proposal for her to bless, or not ;)
Likewise it would be only sensible to ask her opinion when we decide where to explore and where to build.
|
|
I think I'm the fastest, so I'd like to pair up with others who are fleet of foot.
Anyone not heavily armored?
-Posted with Wayfinder
Am I right in thinking it would be wise to keep some people at the temple, because the kingdom will loose certain benefits from those off exploring?
You need to be around for one week per month to perform your role, and the days don't have to be consecutive.
im not heavily armored, but only move 30
I knew one of you bleeding hearts would want a democracy.
I feel I should point out if you let the NPCs have any say you're basically having me decide everything because the NPCs are just me. I realize democracy appeals to the C/G character, just make sure you're aware of the game ramifications if you actually go through with it.
Well, whatever goes I'm okay, would be against the spirit of my char to go with a monarchy, especially given his history.
Seems having fast movement is going to be a big thing. I wonder if I'm going to regret not choosing the travel domain. My plan was to get a mithril breastplate which should bump my movement back up to 30.
Well, whatever goes I'm okay, would be against the spirit of my char to go with a monarchy, especially given his history.
Yep, I get it. And if you guys decide your characters would have to go with a democracy I'm behind you. Just be aware that will take a lot of your fun away. From a game perspective you're just making it harder on yourselves for no benefit. I virtually guarantee you'd regret it the first time one of the PCs lost their council seat.
Seems like democracy is out of the question then :D
You'll all free to decide how you react to it, but it was a good speech.
Is anyone else going to stake a claim? If not perhaps its time for that Augury...
just for the record i personally think the kingdom is probably best served with Wilhelm as king, and Orsano as possibly diplomat or council. thats not what my character believes though :)
If we want a moral kingdom then a paladin would be a fine choice. For more real politk game a bard would be amazing, especially considering stuff like spell song lets you cover up spell casting with bardic performance including oratory.
I.e. the king needs to convince a hostile ambassador not to go to war, being able to cast glibness and no one realize what you just did would be so powerful.
Mind you that works equally well for a diplomat or even spymaster. Wander around the place in disguise rocking epic bluff scores would get you places that no amount of sneaking around in the shadows would.
my thinking also - i think i mentioned elsewhere that having a paladin king lets everyone believe in a righteous LG kingdom while the slightly shadier bard wheels and deals behind the scenes.
i do have spellsong currently selected ;)
I think Orsano would probably be best as a Councilor or Spymaster. Councilor is the guy who's supposed to keep the people on the side of the king; Spymaster is pretty self-explanatory.
Grand Diplomat can use a high INT or CHA- Dex would be a fine, if weird from an RP standpoint, choice. Mechanically Andrezi would probably make a good one. Dex is the obvious choice for Magister or possibly Treasurer if we've got no one better suited for it.
A paladin with a high CHA would make a good king.
But personality-wise Dex likes playing devil's advocate. If Orsano declines the kingship, of course, Dex will probably support Wilhelm.
Well that was more catch-up than I figured I would do after a three hour absence lol. Some good conversation so far, excited about this game!
There's a lot of roles to assign, lets try and build a shortlist?
Ruler (Cha): Orsano or Wilhelm
Councilor (Wis / Cha): Urzan seems to fit
Grand Diplomat (Int / Cha): Orsano or perhaps Dexter
High Priest(Wis / Cha): Probably Alamander although Wilhelm could do this too
Magister(Int / Cha): Dexter or Andrezi
General(Str / Cha): Most of the party could fulfill this role
Marshal(Dex / Wis): Quite a few could do this too
Royal Assassin(Str / Dex): Not a required role
Spymaster(Dex / Int): Curiously Orsano has the wrong stats for the mechanic
Treasurer(Int / Wis): Quite a few could do this
Warden(Str / Con): Most of the party could fulfill this role
So I know that according to mechanics, there are good choices, and not so good choices. But are we making this choice based on stats or personality?
Lets see if we can satisfy both? Mechanically Kierk would make a good Marshal, Assassin, Spy Master, General or Warden - but which if any of those best fits his personality?
I always figured Urzan would be a good Marshal.
Andrezi's probably your best grand diplomat from both a stat and a character perspective. He has some connections Sargava that would be useful too.
Dexter is really the only good candidate for Spymaster. A wizard spymaster would actually be cool, but this might be a good candidate for an NPC one. Unless Dex went Spymaster and Andrezi went Magister. I guess Orsano could also be Magister, although I think he'd consider running schools and teaching magic beneath him. Dexter has a PERFECT background for Magister, though, and good stats. He could found a weird jungle Miskantonic University.
Also keep in mind that there's more to these roles than the bonuses they give; that's just the impact they have on Kingdom Building. You'll be dealing with situations related to your role so having other abilities that would help you get that job done will come into play. You'll also need the relevant skills and things, like diplomats need Diplomacy.
Kierk actually has a 16 Dexterity and a shady past; he could be Spymaster.
Fair enough, mechanic and background should fit both, but if we can't have both, our job is to choose which one fits better.
In terms of Kierk, he does have a shady past, but after the dream outside of Saragava, he has finally laid that past to rest. He still has a pirate upbringing, but he has a good set of morals and is learning what good looks like from Acavna's point of view. To be fair, I don't think he is the spymaster type. Maybe, but when I look at the descriptions, I see him fill more of the General/Warden roll. His father knew how to lead men, and he learned it as well. Hence, the freebooter bonus' to allies. He has also learned the benefit of protecting others who can't protect themselves, so the warden role would fit as well.
I think Andrezi would be a really cool Grand Diplomat. He has contacts in Sargava, high CHA, and I really like his egalitarian world view. There would be some great RP potential in having him interact with Chelaxian, Taldane, or Andoran diplomats.
I could see Dex being a really interesting Spymaster, but if we've got somebody with a compatible background and a good stat bonus we're probably better off putting him in one of the other INT roles. Treasurer or Magister would be best for him, I think.
This is everybody's highest 2 stats:
Al- STR +4/WIS +3
An- CHA +6/DEX+INT +2
Az- STR +4/WIS +3
Dex- INT +6/DEX +2
K- STR +3/DEX +3
Ors- DEX +3/CHA +3
Urz- WIS +4/DEX +3
Wil- STR +4/CHA +3
Temperament wise, preferences would probably go (these are all wild guesses, please don't take offense):
Al- High Priest
An- Magister
Az- Councilor
Dex- Magister
K- Warden
Orz- Ruler or Councilor
Urz- Warden
Wil- Ruler or Marshal
I'd probably go:
Ruler (Cha): Wilhelm (though mechanically Andrezi is far superior to any other PC)
Councilor (Wis / Cha): Orsano
Grand Diplomat (Int / Cha): Andrezi
High Priest(Wis / Cha): Alamander (again, mechanically someone else is the best choice- Urzan here)
Magister(Int / Cha): Dexter
General(Str / Cha): (possible NPC)
Marshal(Dex / Wis): Urzan
Royal Assassin(Str / Dex): -
Spymaster(Dex / Int): Kiersk
Treasurer(Int / Wis): (possible NPC)
Warden(Str / Con): Azrin
Of course, we probably don't want to put out treasury and army in an NPC's hands, so move Azrin to General. But I really can't see Urzan agreeing to be Treasurer, so probably a NPC.
I think I would agree with everything Dex you put, though I would probably move Kierk to General and leave an NPC as Spymaster. But to be fair, I don't know any nation, even a fledgling one, who puts an 18 year old as the general of their armies so... there is that.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
But to be fair, I don't know any nation, even a fledgling one, who puts an 18 year old as the general of their armies so... there is that.
To be fair, you don't have an army yet. At this point your general is just a dude who helps old ladies get cats out of trees. Trees full of kobolds.
remember its either of the stats, not both. Orsano has 16 dex and i think would make a fine spymaster in terms of his temperament and skillsets. i also think he would make a good diplomat, though andrezi has better bonuses his personality might cause some issues - he runs a bit hot and cold no?
also Orsano and Wilhelm have the trait which gives them +2 cha for leadership role functions, so they both have 18 cha at least in this regard.
what do we think are the most important roles to get the best bonuses from?
i had sort of picked Kierk as general too, especially as we dont have an army yet - if hes involved with recruiting from the ground up he'll have plenty of time to grow into it, and earn the respect of his soldiers so his age shouldnt be an issue.
and y'know, if people get antsy about it he can just chop a few heads off, that'll settle it down in no time.
Well Spymaster is like the best one after Ruler. You get to add your bonus to whatever you want, and on the fly. Spymaster is mechanically more powerful than even a first level ruler because he can swap what he gives his bonus to.
Other than that it depends if you think a robust economy, loyal citizens, or a stable society are more important.
I also feel compelled to point out that, if you had a monkey army, you could have a monkey general.
That is all.
Touche... touche.