I think I've found a plausible connection between Audsley and Franka, based on their early life as a part of their noble's household. I'm not sure on the relationships between the noble families in Brevoy, but it shouldn't be a stretch to assume that they are in contact. Perhaps a delegation of the Lebeda's would visit Castle Orlovsky annually. With her father being a farrier (and her mother a seamstress or handmaiden, or something), it's no stretch that their family would have been sent to accompany the delegation, including the young Francesca. She is three years Audsley's senior, so she might remember him from a couple of visits, as an intelligent and curious young boy with wild ideas.
Years later, when she finds herself in Restov to weasel her way into the expedition into the Stolen lands she might bump into Audsley, get reacquainted and try to get into the expedition together. How does that sound?
I think I've found a plausible connection between Audsley and Franka, based on their early life as a part of their noble's household. I'm not sure on the relationships between the noble families in Brevoy, but it shouldn't be a stretch to assume that they are in contact. Perhaps a delegation of the Lebeda's would visit Castle Orlovsky annually. With her father being a farrier (and her mother a seamstress or handmaiden, or something), it's no stretch that their family would have been sent to accompany the delegation, including the young Francesca. She is three years Audsley's senior, so she might remember him from a couple of visits, as an intelligent and curious young boy with wild ideas.
Years later, when she finds herself in Restov to weasel her way into the expedition into the Stolen lands she might bump into Audsley, get reacquainted and try to get into the expedition together. How does that sound?
I think that sounds great. Franka's sharp intelligence would have really appealed to a young Audsley, who often bemoaned a lack of 'enlightened minds' who were able to discourse ably on matters pertaining 'beyond the fields we know'. He would have used that kind of language around her in a probably ill-fated attempt to impress her.
Rotund, jocose, sensitive, and prone to startlingly scarlet blushes, Audsley would have been an odd bird to find in the bowels of the castle, and if Franka's visits were annual, he would have looked forward to them, eager to display his growing knowledge of matters both mundane and esoteric. At some point she would have ceased coming to the castle, an end to a pattern that Audsley would deeply regret, but in running into her at Restov he would have been absolutely delighted.
Still rotund, still animated and brilliant, he would have reminded her of that eager young boy in many ways, though he'd be more reserved in his language now, and not quite so visibly eager to impress her. Instead he would have asked after her family, her past, stammered out an offer to buy her a cup of wine (purely in light of their historical connection, he would have rushed to assure her), and there shared both his mission to the Stolen Lands and rejoiced in her own intentions to do the same.
Sounds good, Audsley. Note that at that age, she would have been known as Francesca, with long red hair in pretty curls and trying hard to behave as a good servant should, despite her curiousity into what lay beyond the horizon. I'll find some time this weekend to describe how Francesca would have been at that age.
She would have readily regarded the young Audsley as the young kid he was, indulging him in conversation on whatever topic he liked, although she wouldn't have taken him very seriously at that age. He would have been 15 or 16 when she last saw him, so not old enough to have grown in his field, I guess.
Wolfspirit, are you OK with the idea of (a minor branch of?) the Lebedas going on an annual visiting to Castle Orlovky?
Sounds good, Audsley. Note that at that age, she would have been known as Francesca, with long red hair in pretty curls and trying hard to behave as a good servant should, despite her curiousity into what lay beyond the horizon. I'll find some time this weekend to describe how Francesca would have been at that age.
She would have readily regarded the young Audsley as the young kid he was, indulging him in conversation on whatever topic he liked, although she wouldn't have taken him very seriously at that age. He would have been 15 or 16 when she last saw him, so not old enough to have grown in his field, I guess.
Wolfspirit, are you OK with the idea of (a minor branch of?) the Lebedas going on an annual visiting to Castle Orlovky?
Sure. At this point Brevoy politics are more of a backdrop than vitally relevant features. That might change over time as your kingdom develops, but it isn't something I even have mapped out that well.
I'm trying to wrap up a few things for setting up the campaign, but holidays (Christmas Party, Christmas cleaning, Star Wars) have delayed me. Hopefully I'll post a bit more this afternoon.
Here's the "background buddies" I have. Did anyone else have suggestions? I'm not sure if I missed any proposed ones. We could potentially have a couple more, if it makes sense for people.
I'll leave it to you guys to PM and figure out mutually acceptable background hooks
Turnate - Janna
Franka - Audsley
Emil - Sera
Sera - Franka
Additionally, I'm going to collect "passive" rolls from people, especially knowledges, similar to [url]https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dvKUx4dVC3PIl8o4l-GrHXIvUTG1aKWB9mP2ic4 3dFA/edit?usp=sharing]this[/url] that I'll use to roll passive perception to speed up the game.
More importantly, I'll use a set of knowledge rolls before the game starts to give a set of "background knowledges" tailored to each character.
Looks good!
Hey guys, just wanted to keep you updated; haven't had the opportunity to work on creating links, I've had a rough week but I expect to do so tomorrow.
But yes, Kingmaker Wolfspirit has the jist of it.
This week has been pretty busy, as I'm sure it's been for most people :)
I did create a doc to host the various "passive" rolls people might make, if people can fill in their modifiers it will make life easier on me. I've also started to work on individual "background knowledges" and briefings for everyone; hopefully I'll have them ready as a Christmas present ;)
Let me know if you're going to substantially change your starting knowledges if you're planning on tweaking them.
Actually, if people want to roll their Knowledges and Diplomacy (to represent Gather Info before the start of the adventure) that might save me some time and make it so that you guys don't curse my poor rolling ;)
Either post it here, PM me, or otherwise.
I'll go ahead and fill in my stuff on the google doc too. Are the rolls you have listed the only ones you want or should I add my nature and geography to that too?
Add any knowledge checks that you have to the list. I got lazy and didn't add them all :P
The ones there were from the last somewhat skill-light group I ran... ;)
Also, that was a nice and thematically appropriate set of Knowledges so far... though Janna apparently insulted whomever they asked around with.
Sera, would you like us to have met before the campaign starts, or not? I figured maybe we could have met briefly on one of my forays into the Stolen Lands. Perhaps Franka bit off more than she could chew (in possible danger of encountering bandits or local wildlife), and you and Zev could have led her to a safe place to stay for the night. On the other hand, it might be nice to actually roleplay their initial meeting, and just see where that takes us. I'll leave the choice to you, since I'm already connected to Audsley as well.
Before I go too crazy making maps that someone can't read, can I get some feedback on this Map Color Test? The plan is that as the party explores a hex, they'll learn a bit about the surrounding hexes, including the neighboring hex types. I wanted to make sure that the colors I have are distinct enough for everyone or don't trigger colorblindness issues.
Let me know what you guys think; I've got a lot of hexes to copy / paste!
EDIT: Also, I added a potential other color option for mountains as "grey". I was considering using that for swamp, but I could use purple instead... Anyway, feel free to play around with color hexes to find the colors you want to use
Fine by me, though the text is so blown up it's kinda blurry. "Computer, enlarge and enhance!" ;)
Looks like Google Maps compresses the map image; I actually have a super beautiful map that I got from someone that has all four maps stitched together.
Looks good to me! Rolls coming soon.
Here goes nothing! Also, I've now sent a couple messages to firmly cement a couple of acquaintances Emil has made in Brevoy. Hopefully, this means I'll know not only Sera but also Janna.
Also, I agree with Jesse. It looks great from a distance, but it gets kinda "pixelated" when you move in.
Maps looks good. I'd prefer the grey for mountains, seems easier to remember. In that case a purple for swamps would do.
I think I'm going to use gray for mountains, and the brown that I used for the mountain for the Hills.
I also started to experiment with rivers and added a "lake" hex. For abstraction purposes, rivers will "snap" to the nearest Hex border. Dealing with half-explored hexes because people don't want to deal with swim checks sucks in a tabletop game; I'd prefer avoiding that on PbP.
For the lettering, I did some experiments. Trying to copy my original image file apparently crashes google draw; I'm guessing the image is too big. I'll try a bit of image manipulation to reduce the file size to a potentially acceptable size, but in the meantime, I experimented with callouts. I like the way Oleg's Trading Post turned out; I'll probably use that for settlements are key Point of Interest locations.
I was thinking that I would color code the settlement banners for when we get to nation-building. I'll let you guys decide what color you want for your eventual nation before I start using colors ;) Feel free to play around with it (you should have edit privledges) and find a color you want for your Nation.
I've played around with it for a bit, adding two possible color codings for our nation. The first is a nice royal purple, but it doesn't really pop. The other obvious color is red.
(I've also checked how pink would look, but it's a bit too 'garish' for my taste. I think Janna wouldn't gravitate towards pink, either. :P)
I made a custom "royal purple" that seems to work well for a color scheme with light gray.
I leave how you choose the nation's major / minor colors to you guys :P
Edit: I do like the way the curve connectors show rivers.
Very eager for this game! :D
Same here. Things have been somewhat crazy around here recently, but I'm hoping to have some more time to work on stuff. I've been working on setting up the map too :)
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If it's Hanukkah or Kwanzaa
Solstice, Harvest or December 25th
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you're with!
Hopefully I'll be around later with some more campaign info :)
I had a bit of time to work on campaign stuff yesterday after family togetherness; the next couple of days I'm going to be trying to wrap up stuff some more and send out people's background info.
For the moment, here's a current Map Test I did some experimentation with the "explored symbols" and "water warnings"; I like the way that they look now, though I haven't decided how to represent improvements like roads down the line. This should give a taste of what the party will know going in:
Square is blank (showing the base Kingmaker Map): The party has either been to that square or knows enough about it to know any major geographic features.
Square is has a color mask: The party has been adjacent to that square or has learned about the base terrain:
Tan: Plains
Brown: Hills
Green: Forrest
Gray: Mountain
Purple: (not shown) Swamp
Blue Four-Arrow: Designates that there is a significant body of water in a square that the party hasn't been to. This may (likely will) require a party swim check to either explore the hex or cross into an adjacent hex.
Four Arrow Square: This hex has been explored / mapped. If the fill is transparent the hex hasn't been claimed, a color represents that the hex is claimed.
Clear as mud?
Looks good. The only thing I might reconsider is the blue four-arrow for the water bodies. What happens if we explore those hexes later? Will the symbol become transparent, then red when we claim it? If so, how will we remember that the hex has a body of water? Or will that be instantly visible from the Kingmaker map, or will it be irrelevant once explored?
The blue four arrow goes away when the hex is Discovered. The rivers should hopefully be visible enough; we can Re-visit that as we go. There are several fords that could prevent the need to cross the river, but it's a risk to Exploration or travel.
I might change the symbol for water, it is hard to differentiate on a smaller screen
Not bad, I am guessing that as we get to kingdom making later in the game we'll probably wind up putting our towns next to water anyway, but as long as we can see the actual lakes/rivers on the map, or at least know that an explored hex has water in it, that should be no problem.
Just a note that I'm here and keeping abreast of the discussion, but don't have much to add other than I think the maps look good.
Just dropping in to say that I should hopefully have the background knowledges set tomorrow. Sadly my "quiet time off" for the holidays was totally consumed, but I got some good writing time waiting today. (go go power resumption tests for free time...)
I PMed everyone background campaign info based on your knowledge / diplomacy checks. I'm also working on personal hooks for everyone but wanted to get things rolling. Let me know if anyone has specific questions about what you might know or not know.
Thanks, I got the PM.There's quite a lot of information. I'll try to avoid an 'info dump' in the first week of the campaign, but there should be plenty of opportunities to let some stuff trickle through to the rest of the party.
Sera, have you given thought to whether you want Franka and you to have met before the campaign starts?
I'll do a last double-check of stats and equipment this week. Really looking forward to get started!
I loved my PM. That kind of abstruse knowledge is right up Audsley's alley. Perfect!
Follow up on the Background Knowledge and Perk.
The Background Knowledge is intended to represent what various characters have learned prior to the campaign. While the format I gave it in was kind of a "Knowledge Dump" (especially for a few people), it's not something I'm expecting people to sit around and pool before going in.
It should also be noted that Brevic power struggle is more of a backdrop than a core facet of the campaign. You'll likely meet representatives of different factions but probably won't become directly involved in the potential civil war. It should also be noted that there are characters affiliated with Houses that are somewhat on different sides of that conflict; I expect the group can manage to find a way to focus on what's good for the group and their kingdom.
The "Background Perk"s are added bonus things. Most are the power level of a non-combat Trait and were intended to give nifty perks to people without changing the core concept of the character. I usually throw things like that out for my players to encourage interesting backgrounds, but for some reason that wasn't really a problem for this group...
Sera, Janna and I are still working on the specifics of our interactions; I will keep you abreast of how it pans out and will post the finished product. I'm enjoying working with you two!
Sorry about that, holidays kicked my butt. But yeah, I don't mind working on something with you Franka. The bandit hook doesn't really speak to me though so I've been trying to brainstorm a bit to come up with something a bit more flavorful unless having your character indebted to mine is something you're attached to. I'll PM you some ideas when they come to me but like Emil said, I owe him a PM first. =P
On the perk thing...what are the benefits for Zev having 3 intelligence? I pictured him being capable of understanding and reacting to speech (or at least whatever Sera says) when I made the idea. Does 3 intelligence cover that?
Holidays have gotten me too.. that's why I was adamant about not starting before New Years. Would everyone be ready to start this Monday, assuming I get everything wrapped up and ready by then?
For Zev, here is a Blog that describes some of the effects, including starting with a Language known (Common?) He still requires use of Handle Animal and the like.
Zev is probably the most impactful perk at the moment, but he's a plot point.
On the subject of Animal Companions / mounts, I've had some PMs about them and aging. I'll admit, when I was thinking about a campaign with aging, I wasn't expecting 2/3 of the group to have Companion creatures. I'm basically going to leave it up to people if they want to have their Companion age normally or not. If saying goodbye to Fluffy is part of your character narrative we can include that, but if people want to have a steadfast companion that follows them throughout the journey I already have an idea for that too.
I'm open to either; honestly, I was eyeing the ioun stone that appears in book 2 of Jade Regent in order not to have to reroll a new character mid-campaign. But that concern does not extend to the animal companion. And honestly, if we are going for a campaign with meaningful aging, perhaps animal companions dying is for the best?
I had fully expected to retire Heimdall at a certain point, due to aging effects. I don't know how far along the story we'll be by that time, but it would seem fitting as well, that he's "done his duty" by then to get me that far. Also, that leaves a natural point to maybe switch to a different kind of animal companion for Franka, maybe even something more supernatural if it fits the story at that point.
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