I doubt it. I think it will just lead to more confusion about what Cargas wants done.
Besides, I liked Budos as Capt'n.
For the record, Cargas isn't bloodthirsty, nor does he need to kill/hurt, but he's fine with being a pirate and acting piratey if that's his job. And now that is his actual job, he's going to try to be good at it.
I leave it up to you, Budos, but I hope you stay on as Capt'n.
I need to pass the role of captain. Also, if any of you have a great PbPer that wants in this game I could surrender my spot to them, with Mott's approval of course. Gentlemen, my apologies, I was eager to participate in a second campaign with this awesome group and GM.
Sorry, Budos. I hope this isn't because of my last post. I was more trying to be exhorting than admonishing.
If you want out, I'm sure we can find a replacement player but I don't want you to leave unless you really, really want to.
No worries Mott, your post was fine and helped clarify this campaign.
I feel like this AP is some weird version of a Milgram Experiment designed to test how far we'll role play chaotic evil behaviors if they are published in a book as 'adventure'. I'm super not digging multiple parts of the story and I need to step aside as the captain so the campaign can continue properly. Maybe Bud can stick around as chief treasure mapper or some other non-decision making role.
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I think we can be a cross between Captain Shakespeare's ship from Stardust and the Dread Pirate Roberts, but it's going to take a LOT of roleplaying.
I think we can be a cross between Captain Shakespeare's ship from Stardust and the Dread Pirate Roberts, but it's going to take a LOT of roleplaying.
Cargas puts the Capt'n cap on Gezza and salutes (middle finger to forehead).
"Aye, Capt'n, let's do it."
I walked into that, didn't I?
I will need help with the bluffin' as Gezza's not strong at it...
So before I go much further, do you want to continue, Budos?
Obviously, it's completely up to you. We're more than happy to have you join, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I hope (and expect) we're not going into Hell's Vengeance type territory here though obviously we're a bit more PG-13 than my other games so far here (there's been nudity and sex!), but Brood's already drawn the line at slavery and whatnot.
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Yea, I'll stay in the game, let's find that balance between Captain Shakespeare's ship from Stardust and the Dread Pirate Roberts.
Huzzah!
I'm also looking forward to when we can do piratey things to pirates instead of fisher-folk.
So, as noted, I'll be gone for the rest of the week, down to the piratey Caribbean.
Thinking about it, though, I'm thinking this little part of the adventure is maybe less than fun? It seems like they set you toward the Rock, but then want you to get some more just general piratin' in first. I've got a number of events I can run -- and plan to run some of them definitely -- but I'm thinking I might do a little fast forwarding when we get back. That last ship encounter would've taken probably 10-30 minutes at most in real life, but much longer in PBP and I don't think the reward's really there for the time we'd spend on it; the same's probably true of this village as you're not really in any danger at any point, at least at the moment.
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I'm thinking the challenge of this early pirating game is a group of press-ganged louts coming around to the business of pirating themselves. Stealing fish off a fishing boat and pillaging a peaceful village doesn't seem to be very noble thievery.
I was thinking the new crew would continue waving the flag of retribution (engaging slavers and competing pirate ships) and rogue-robin-hoodin' (raiding fat cat pleasure barges, cat-n-mousin' with evil nation armadas, treasure hunting). Don't know what's in store, of course, but finding the less-evil side of pirating may prove challenging. This group is more than able to deal with the challenge, I'd say.
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I'm thinking the challenge of this early pirating game is a group of press-ganged louts coming around to the business of pirating themselves. Stealing fish off a fishing boat and pillaging a peaceful village doesn't seem to be very noble thievery.
I was thinking the new crew would continue waving the flag of retribution (engaging slavers and competing pirate ships) and rogue-robin-hoodin' (raiding fat cat pleasure barges, cat-n-mousin' with evil nation armadas, treasure hunting). Don't know what's in store, of course, but finding the less-evil side of pirating may prove challenging. This group is more than able to deal with the challenge, I'd say.
+1. These are good, thoughtful, uh...thoughts.
I believe our crew would prefer to be more robinhoodish than raping the hedges of many small villages.
I agree whole heartedly! If our adventures together over time give Brood cause to eventually temper himself and shift from Evil to Neutral, I would not be sad.
I agree, those are good thoughts, Nim. Definitely been giving thought to how I want to progress, but I will try to better tailor the encounters to things you're more interested in.
I'm running out of time to post today, but plan to move us along tomorrow, simply wrapping up this village raid (since there's no actual threat). I think I'll run some of the encounters still remaining that will be more fun, and quickly have you have a few shore leaves, but then get us back to more plot-moving parts of the adventure.
I might be a bit slow to post for a while, folks. I'm sneaking this up from my bed in the Emergency Room at present. It's nothing life threatening, but I could be out of comission for a short spell.
:(
Get better soon. Let us know if you need anything.
+1 on Mott's sentiments. Scurvy sucks.
Thanks for the support and well-wishes, guys.
And while I was back to work today, I'm off the boards again this weekend for my annual CabinCon trip! I was supposed to head up tomorrow around noon, but my adventures in the ER earlier this week forced me to cancel that time off, so now I'm heading up Friday morning. I'll be back Sunday though.
Heading up to Chicago- will likely ghost until Monday evening. Everyone enjoy their Independence Day Weekend :)
Sorry I've been a little less participatory than usual of late, folks! I switched to a new position last week and the new job has just been bonkers.
va·ca·tion
vāˈkāSH(ə)n,vəˈkāSH(ə)n/
noun
1.(NORTH AMERICAN) an extended period of recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling.
"He took a vacation in the south of France."
synonyms: break, time off, recess, leave, leave of absence, furlough, sabbatical, spring break
2. the action of leaving something one previously occupied.
"His marriage was the reason for the vacation of his fellowship."
verb(NORTH AMERICAN)
1. take a vacation.
"I was vacationing in Europe with my family"
synonyms: travel, tour, stay, visit, stop over; formal sojourn
Had to look it up, for its strangeness on my tongue. The day has arrived, and I shall depart for a two-week road trip. Spotty phone posting may ensue, though it may be difficult to discern the difference.
Given the smaller size of Blood Cove and this bit from the campaign tab:
At smaller ports there’s little chance of getting more than half value for plunder, unless a PC can employ a skill to make a better deal. At larger ports, the chances of finding a buyer willing to pay a reasonable price for cargo increases, and PCs can still employ skill checks to make even more lucrative bargains. PCs seeking to win a higher price for their plunder can make one of the following skill checks: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or any applicable Profession skill, like Profession (merchant). A poor result on a skill check can reduce the value of plunder. If the PCs are not satisfied with the price they are offered for their plunder, they need not take it, but a day’s worth of effort is still expended. They can try for a better result the next day.
do we want to bother with offloading our plunder now and turning it into coin? Would we rather burn some of it to boost some infamy checks or something?
With the DNC and a few people off work, this is likely to be a long week for me. I still plan to try to update every day (probably starting tomorrow), but if I miss a day, that's why.
Also, I'm getting the impression that this current stuff isn't of a ton of interest for you guys, so I'm probably going to skip some stuff and have you head toward Tidewater Rock.
Which means you can all level up! Now you have something to do while I'm being busy. :)
Which means you can all level up! Now you have something to do while I'm being busy. :)
Piddlespot. Completely missed the leveling up line. I'll get leveled up tonight. Thanks for iterating that. It brings up a thing...
What are we doing wrong? Or is this the AP intent?
So, not sure if this is by design or whether we are missing things, but Cargas' possessions are literally: his leather armor, his heavy shield, his waraxe, iron dagger, the spear he got for the underwater part, and his brass knuckles (but you don't want to know where those have been). Total value: about 80gp.
I guess Cargas has his share of the MMurder, too, and shares of the wand of CLW. Are we doing this wrong? Are we exceptionally bad pirates or do we have more loot to sell?
Not that I worry about being poor, but eventually we're going to face an opponent who has DR magic and not even sure how we'll fight back. Let alone that it's fun to have magical stuff once in a while. We're going to be lvl 5 and Cargas dreams of having lvl 1 wealth.
We have 3 points of plunder, about 3000 gp, and that's between all of us. I know we have some poisons to sell(?), but what are we missing?
Hold off on the leveling up. Let's do this one last encounter/event and then you can level up.
I haven't been paying enough attention to the loot, though you should have gotten some from the mutiny and I think (I can check) the squiddies). That said, I think part of the loot issue is that you're expected to go out and be pirates and there didn't seem to be a lot of interest in that (granted, I think that's in part because of it being PBP, because what should take no more than an hour at a table instead takes a week or so). We started with a crap boat so we could all learn about naval combat, but other boats would eventually have had more loot (and villages, for that matter). If we're going to handwave that in favor of more plot-driven activities (i.e. Tidewater Rock) -- which I kind of feel like we should, because of time and interest levels -- I can simply give you some more point of plunder to get your wealth levels up. I realize that's not as much fun, but may be the easiest way to handle things.
If there's a treasure map that falls into our possession at this port and the X happens to be between here and Tidewater Rock I would not mind the little detour. It'd be a bit less hand-wavey than plunder appearing in our hold ex nihilo and could be a brief spat of prototypical pirate fun! =)
We started this AP in my local group and had ditched the modules by this point and started with home brewed adventures and the 'shore to sea' adventure in place of the AP. I have a ton of complaints about this AP, the point Cargas makes is just one of them. We jumped back into the AP for book 4, because Neil Spicer makes good adventures, but the rest of the AP we chucked. I could go on a lengthy rant, but I'll jump to the end and just say, Please, Mott, please take liberties with this AP to create fun piratey encounters!
OK, let's take a break here and figure out what we're doing and get on the same page, since I think we're not really. I realize Governayle is AFK at the moment, so I may hold off until he can weigh in too.
Unlike Reign, where I think we have a very smooth flow going on, I'm not sure we've managed that this time. I think there are a few possible reasons for that:
* Reign seems to be the most linear of the APs I've seen, which I think is a very good thing for PBP. S&S -- at least in part -- is more sandboxy, and I think that doesn't translate as well. Part of the reason I skipped the repeated ships battle is because even by the time we'd have gotten to the second one, it'd have felt very stilted -- "you see another ship. Oh, look, there's a ship..." -- in a way that might not have held true at the table (though maybe it would there too).
* I'm not sure our characters work quite as well together here as they do in Reign; I think they may be a little too similar and/or anti-social as evidenced in part by Gezza being shoved into the captain's role and some lack of social skills. I chose not to handwave this first visit to port because I thought we could do some role-play stuff there, but it felt to me like there wasn't a ton of interest in that (which is fine, I'm happy to try to work with what you guys are enjoying).
I'm certainly willing to make some tweaks and whatnot to gameplay (the haunt in the last ship wasn't part of the module), but I don't know that I want to really redo a large section of the AP. I could add in From Shore to Sea, or something from Savage Tide that could work (that Painlord won't get to), and even some homebrew, but part of the reason I'm running APs is because much of the work is done for me, honestly. (As I'm playing more again, I like the idea of doing some homebrew stuff, but I'm also doing a lot of PBP and other gaming projects, so I'm just not sure how much time I have -- maybe when a couple of my other games end.)
---
So what are our options:
* Soldier on. We can retcon it so you're heading for a treasure map that fell into your hands before you head to Tidewater Rock, and I can see about getting you a fun sidetrek adventure and some loot. Alternatively, if we kind of discard the infamy/disrepute stuff, we could retcon it so you'd hit several more ships, and gotten more plunder that you could sell in port and let you re-equip that way.
* Decide maybe this isn't the game for us and play something else. I enjoy playing with you guys and would be happy to start over with another game we can agree on if this isn't scratching our itch. Obviously I think this would be frustrating, since we're already 4th level, but we can either do some other AP starting fresh; do some other AP where we maybe start not at Level 1; do some other adventures more PFS-style (I think several of you had expressed some interest when I was going to run my published module a year or two ago but I never got around to it). Here's the list we devised last year; Strange Aeons is only a month away so we could add that to it though obviously we don't know what that will be like...
Strange Aeons... Excuse me, my keyboard shorted out from the drool.
Strange Aeons does look interesting. It probably incorporates some new game mechanics from the horror book released recently and the new game mechanics in S&S kinda suck, so hopefully it doesn't go down that same path.
Rise of the Runelords looks like it got the best votes the first time around, but if others have played it then maybe that's not a good choice.
I'm not a fan of The Sims: RPG where you spend time building ships, fleets, crew, fortresses, armies. I realize some people may really like that, but if those people aren't in this group then let's ditch S&S. I've long maintained that I don't care one bit who built the castle wall or the planning involved or the resources used, I just want to stand on the castle wall and defend it from the dragon that's attacking.
I'd be happy to jump this group of characters into another AP, or start fresh with another AP. Most of all I just want to continue with this group of players in a PbP friendly game.
I'm happy to go with the group decision here because, frankly, y'all are the best group I've tucked into on these boards and it's a rare thing where I can say I genuinely enjoy the posts and writing styles of every player in the game.
I would also just like to say that, while I feel more friction in our gameplay here than in Reign, I still really like the cast of characters we have here. At least for what I'm envisioning for Sicarius, this group is just perfect for his growth.
So, I'm up for switching to something new if that's what we feel will be most rewarding, but I'd also be perfectly content to stay the coarse and see if we can find our stride here. Either way, I'm with y'all through and through!
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Addendum: On campaigns with rules subsystems, I always really struggle with them. Like in our Kingmaker game, Mott, I feel like I constantly have to have the PRD open or a link to the new rules up on the other monitor every time they come up. I was in a Jade Regent game some time back and the caravan rules were brutal, so much so the game folded as soon as they were introduced.
Subsystems like that, I think, are a lot better at the table where everyone can talk it out in a handful of minutes, but in pbp I think they really suffer.
I agree about the subsystems. I really dislike that we're not doing the kingdom building stuff in Kingmaker (and I think that means we're not going to do the mass combat) because I think that's a big part of the appeal of the AP (and I love that type of "bookkeeping" stuff when I'm playing live games, even if we do it between sessions), but it clearly wasn't ever going to get done so I just decided to move on with it.
I feel like if the subsystem in Strange Aeons is some sort of sanity tracker, that's something we can do easily enough, but many of them are more complex than that.
Unlike Reign, where I think we have a very smooth flow going on, I'm not sure we've managed that this time. I think there are a few possible reasons for that:
* Reign seems to be the most linear of the APs I've seen, which I think is a very good thing for PBP. S&S -- at least in part -- is more sandboxy...
I'm certainly willing to make some tweaks and whatnot to gameplay (the haunt in the last ship wasn't part of the module), but I don't know that I want to really redo a large section of the AP. I could add in From Shore to Sea, or something from Savage Tide that could work (that Painlord won't get to), and even some homebrew, but part of the reason I'm running APs is because much of the work is done for me, honestly.
---
So what are our options:
* Soldier on. We can retcon it so you're heading for a treasure map that fell into your hands before you head to Tidewater Rock, and I can see about getting you a fun sidetrek adventure and some loot. Alternatively, if we kind of discard the infamy/disrepute stuff, we could retcon it so you'd hit several more ships, and gotten more plunder that you could sell in port and let you re-equip that way.* Decide maybe this isn't the game for us and play something else. I enjoy playing with you guys and would be happy to start over with another game we can agree on if this isn't scratching our itch.
Ah Piddlespot, so much to digest and so many conflicting feelings.
I'm happy to expound on any of the following points, but because there is just too much behind it all to explain here.
- I feel that the #1 problem is the change of schedules that has slowed posting rates in both this game and Reign. I don't see this changing, but that's the core issue with this. Our slower rates affect character and story, inhibiting what we remember and respond to.
- I don't feel this is the best AP for us.
- Like Mal, I like our characters, but they are less fluky and weird for the AP and together.
- I would prefer to switch to something else rather than continue with this. We're really askew in this one and don't want to put too much pressure on Motte to change things.
- I have yet to see a Paizo-based AP subsystem that didn't drag more on the AP than enhance it. From the kingdom building of Kingmaker to the unbelievably broken mythic to the mass combat rules...they just don't work well. I think the harrow deck from CotCT is probably the best. Some just don't work well in PbP.
- My updated wishlist might be:
Yes:
Rise of the Prunelords
Jade Regent
Mummy's Mask
Iron Gods
Hell's RebelsAlready played or no interest:
Shackled City
Age of Worms
Savage Tide
CotCThrone
Second Darkness
Legacy of Fire
Council of Thieves
Kingmaker
Serpent's Skull
Carrion Crown
Skull & Shackles
Shattered Star
Wrath of the Righteous
Hell's VengeanceNeutral on Strange Aeons - probably because I'd have to learn the new 'psionic' character classes.
I agree with most of the points noted here. It seems like S&S was a good idea that got a little out of hand. I dig Gezza, but I'd be open to trying something new.
I've run Rise of the Runelords twice now from start to finish: once in 3.5 and once in PFRPG. Love it. I suppose with the revised Curse of the Crimson Throne coming out, that's an option too. The new version looks promising. (And I ran a converted version of that as a PbP on these boards. Fun, but lord above Scarwall is a dungeony slog.)
I'll leave the campaign open for now, so Governayle can weigh in, but sounds like folks would rather move on to another game. I may say let's take a little time before deciding. I've got a couple other games wrapping up, and I think I may try to go back down to running just three or four, hoping that will let me be better about updating all of them more consistently. I'd hope to start again this year, but perhaps not for a few months.
Looking at Cargas' list:
Rise of the Runelords: Don't currently own. I could certainly buy it, but I'm just not super interested in it, though I don't know why.
Jade Regent: Don't own. Would have to see if the caravan subsystem could be removed.
Mummy's Mask: I own and am playing through on Roll20; I'd rather not do this one as I'm enjoying not knowing what's going on. No subsystem that I recall. Could be a little more dungeon-y but also seems relatively linear (from what I've experienced so far), which is IMO key.
Iron Gods: I own and am playing through. Haven't looked at in a while but I don't remember any subsystems. Mal wasn't interested last time we discussed it.
Hell's Rebels: I own this. I think it could lead to some fun characters, but would have to look to see how much the subsystem could be removed (I think it wouldn't be *too* difficult). I like that it has some aquatic aspects.
Strange Aeons: Limited knowledge of it and whether it will include real subsystems (I'm OK if it's something that tracks sanity/horror levels as I think that's just one more thing to measure, a la the trust level at the start of Carrion Crown, as opposed to something that needs active maintenance, I'd imagine/hope). I can't imagine that you HAVE to play an Occult class, Hektir. There's always going to be room for fighters/clerics/etc. That said, I would hope we have at least a couple occult characters.
Ironfang Invasion: This does not sound like it will be a good choice for PBP, not to mention it won't be out for another six months.
Of these, I think I'd be most interested in Hell's Rebels (again, pending another look at it, as it's been six months) or Strange Aeons (pending actually reading it).
I'll leave the campaign open for now, so Governayle can weigh in, but sounds like folks would rather move on to another game. I may say let's take a little time before deciding. I've got a couple other games wrapping up, and I think I may try to go back down to running just three or four, hoping that will let me be better about updating all of them more consistently. I'd hope to start again this year, but perhaps not for a few months.
+1.
I'm happy to continue with this or start something else. As I said, I think the biggest problem is lack of consistency and posting. I'm not sure posting rate can be improved (because change of work schedule), but with consistency, then no matter if we continue or switch, the game will improve.
Let's go kill some pirate/spacecthulhus/irongiants or whatevers.
Just read the Paizo blibs on Hell's Rebels, that does look interesting and Mott owns it already.
Well, well, well... this was interesting to return to :)
First reaction was 'personal pride dictates that we finish what we started'. I'm completely lucky to have stumbled into this group and others that have the willpower to run through an entire AP, and the group of characters here, although slapped together, have potential to evolve together, and work out the kinks.
Second think-through had me looking past the infamy/plunder mechanic, in order to streamline events into which our characters would eventually funnel... and focus. APs are slow-trawling boats that need at least a little current to continue drifting forward, without heavy anchors of disinterest.
Third think-through wants the group as a whole to buzz like bees, returning to the hive with their daily droplets. If S&S isn't the Hive, then I have no problems switching homes.
Sorry for the loopy analogies. If we all love our crew's characters, keep the love alive. If the honeymoon's over, then let's search for a new mistress.
Yeah, I don't like not finishing either -- especially since we got through Module 1 -- but I think we can probably have more fun collectively playing another game, unfortunately. (I guess that should be fortunately?) I feel less bad since it's not like we're just dropping the game; we're discussing it and arriving at a course of action together! :)
So, let's take a vote. Set sail again (in which case I'll likely try to skip a lot of the infamy/plunder stuff and go for more plot-focused activities, though that could mean some levels go very quickly) or see where else the wind might blow us?
Do you want to continue this adventure, or pick a different AP?
I love Gezza, but I vote to try something new since there seems to be a disconnect between our fun and the fun the AP is offering.
I'm happy to continue on with this AP, but I also feel like if anyone wants to bail because they aren't enjoying it then we should switch.
So, my vote is to stay, but I also think votes to switch should be weighed as 5 votes =P
Yeah, I don't like not finishing either -- especially since we got through Module 1 -- but I think we can probably have more fun collectively playing another game, unfortunately. (I guess that should be fortunately?) I feel less bad since it's not like we're just dropping the game; we're discussing it and arriving at a course of action together! :)
So, let's take a vote. Set sail again (in which case I'll likely try to skip a lot of the infamy/plunder stuff and go for more plot-focused activities, though that could mean some levels go very quickly) or see where else the wind might blow us?
Do you want to continue this adventure, or pick a different AP?
Sent my response via email as not to influence anyone else.
I vote to start a new AP, but it shouldn't count as 5 votes. I feel like I've caused this game to get off track by stepping down as captain and whining about the S&S AP and that nobody should have to leave it unfinished to placate me. Maybe continuing this AP without Budos is the best option for the group?
We haven't heard from Governayle, yet, but it's already three votes to one that we stop (and I can't really disagree we that sentiment). So I think I'm going to call it. I'm a little bummed, but I think the fact that none of us seem to be having a ton of fun with it is reason to not go on.
I think we had a few issues in the game, that hopefully we'll solve for the next one:
* I think my schedule was busy. I'm finding five games is too many for me now, with other stuff going on, and it slowed down the games. Even though I liked this one, I'd get a bit overwhelmed with all of them and just end up not posting. That's why we'll hold off on starting the next game for a bit, as I should have a couple games ending in the next few months. My not posting of course led other folks to not post as much and we get into that vicious cycle.
* I think we didn't have the best collection of characters together. While they're all individually fine, I think they didn't work well for this one. I think that's evident in part in that we didn't really have a captain. I'm going to be a little more aware of that in the next game (considering everyone works so well together in Reign, I guess I wasn't worried about that).
* Subsystems. Even the ship combat, which I think would be fun at the table, wasn't great for PBP. Also, WAY too sandboxy. Another poor choice for PBPs.
* I think it's clear this group wants to be heroes. This AP wasn't the right choice for that. I'm hopeful Hell's Rebels will be a better fit because of that, when it's pretty clear you guys are the good guys. Heck, there's even singing, so it really is like right out of Les Mis. (That said, I want to make sure the subsystems can be discarded before declaring that's what we're going to play. I wouldn't mind glancing at Strange Aeons when I get the chance too, though I'm leaning slightly more toward Hell's Rebels as a better fit right now.)
--
That said, if anyone's played Hell's Rebels (or whatever game we land on) and has some issues with it, say so ahead of time, please.
Sorry for the spotty return. Vacation, then vacation from vacation, then a day off before heading back to work... I'm plum tired, but my plums are hanging firmly.
I'm alright with casting Skull and Shackles off to sea. Bummed, but alright with it. Do we wait until Reign of Winter finishes to begin Hell's Rebels? Mott's indicated his schedule freeing up after a couple of months. How about the rest of us players?
I'm settling into my new position so I should have a little more leeway (like today, for instance) to post more frequently. Then again, some days are going to be crazy and I won't get a chance at all - it's just the nature of the beast, I suppose.
We're still 2 and a half books from finishing Reign, so I kinda hope we don't wait for that to wrap up before starting another excellent game together. =)
---
On the topic of Hell's Rebels, I am playing through it on the boards presently, but it is a slooooowwwww game. James is in it with me, as a matter of fact. I'm enjoying it thus far and the AP veritably BEGS for the players to rip speeches straight from V for Vendetta and Les Mis right out of the gate.
The sub-system Mott was referring to is one we've gotten hints of, but our GM hasn't rolled it out in full yet. It does appear to be daunting, at least to my eyes. Players take on roles in the rebellion (similar to kingdom roles in kingmaker) and there appear to be sheets and stats for teams of operatives that level up and get promoted throughout the AP. I know that kind of thing really appeals to some folks. And, if that seems like something any one of us would like to dive into, to track it all and be our shot caller for it, I say we do it. As we've discussed before though, I'm just not that person. =)
I think we could have kept up with the kingdom building stuffs just fine, Mott, if we hadn't lost Orin like we did. Sadly, no one in the current group seems to be really taken by it.
No, my thought is not to wait until Reign is over. I have two other games that I'm hoping will be finished this year. I may not wait for them, though, as a new campaign is fun/easier to get going.
I'll likely see whether Superstar is going to start up this month (which I assume we'll find out at Gen Con), in which case I'll wait until that's in the later rounds as that takes a lot of my time and attention.
--
Hell's Rebels definitely has a complicated subsystem, but I would probably just dump it. Honestly, even if Orin hadn't disappeared, I don't think the Kingmaking was working. He was not at all good, IMO, about keeping up with it.
I have to admit I'm a little less interested in HR if two of you are already playing it. I know they'll be different experiences, but still. I'm a little tempted to come up with something myself. I was just doing some research on Taldor, Echoes of Glory for something I'm working on and kind of had a hankering to set a campaign there, with you guys as agents of the empire. It's let us play a little with Qadira and maybe some high court intrigue. Maybe have some Ulfen Guards, Lion Blades, etc. Maybe also start at 4th level or so. We'll see if anything comes of that.
If it makes any difference, we'd likely outpace the game James & I are in within a few weeks once we start. It is seriously slow.
Also, I don't recall it being mentioned, but is Giantslayer at all on the table? I would be happy to share my pdfs with you, mott, if there's any interest there.
Then again, your little Taldan teaser sounds good too! But I know how much more work goes into a homebrew like that.
Painlord and I are playing through Giantslayer. I actually haven't read it at all, so I can be surprised. It's a shame, though, since I think that'd be a good one in terms of PBP play.