TWO's Mythic Kingmaker: Fey Winds Blowing (Inactive)

Game Master The Wyrm Ouroboros

There are, of course, various others who take oath - Kawaler Nikita Alexeyevich, Captain of the Guard, and Kawaler Theseus Pendrake, Captain of Horse, both created Viscount; Oskar Vorwilde, Seneschal, created Baron; Lady Leilatha Edasseril of the Silver Star, Julius Nighthammer of the Nighthammers, and a handful of other notables, all created Count Electors. Azaneth Nymaah of the Cenobitic Order of the Silver River, swears a somewhat more complicated oath - not to the King and People, but to the Nation and People, binding the council of masters of this chapterhouse of her Order; for her pains, she is told that the chapterhouse is in perpetuity to provide a confessor-sage for the monarch of Krádira. This causes a few eyebrows to lift amongst those representatives of various gods - Zámoždom Duchovný in particular looks both intrigued and amused - but nobody makes any sort of comment or outcry. Azaneth herself doesn't seem surprised, so it's clearly something that's been at least discussed beforehand.

After the last of these (Julius Nighthammer, for what it's worth), there is nobody in the chairs on the dueling table who hasn't sworn, and of those groups in the 'accepted' list, only the mercenary Black Company and the International Businessmen carters remain.

"Captain Jonathon Croaker; Lady Dorotea Senjak," calls Janus in her duty as herald after the now-traditional three strikes of the mithril-made war-spear. The two seperate themselves from the small cluster of Company black uniforms on the back benches, and come up a side aisle together, moving with the sort of ease that suggests they've fought back-to-back many times before. When they arrive, both come to a off-breed sort of attention, perhaps as much parade-ground discipline as the Company uses, before easing into a sort of parade-rest, their hands clasped behind their backs.

The king regards them both for a moment, then nods. "While it is not usual to do this sort of thing publically, I want it to be known; the Crown of Krádira has hired the Black Company for forty months, starting upon the first day of Calistril, in the four thousand seven hundred and tenth year of Absalom Reckoning, said contract to expire at the end of the thirty-first day of Desnus, in the four thousand seven hundred and thirteenth year of Absalom Reckoning." He pauses for a moment as if trying to remember a speech, then continues. "This contract may be extended by negotiation, the earliest date of such negotiation to be the first day of Abadius, in the four thousand seven hundred and thirteenth year of Absalom Reckoning; the earliest date of the terms of such negotiations to become active being the first day of Sarenith, in the four thousand seven hundred and thirteenth year of Absalom Reckoning. Is this to your understanding and agreement?"

"Your Majesty, it is," drawls Captain Croaker.

"Excellent. I look forward to working with you." Chalm nods to them, and Croaker and Senjak return to that odd 'attention' pose before heading back to their Company cohorts. He regards the crowd thoughtfully for a long moment, then finally speaks. "Finally, I require public oath from the one who handled security tonight." The king glances around again before nodding at Alysandra, who'd also been scanning the crowd. She in turn gives a slight shake of her head, then bangs the mithril war-spear three times on the stone square.

"Coalhouse Porter!!"

For a moment there's only the movement of people glancing around, then by the wall near the doors one of the bow-carrying guards (a human female) reaches up to pull off her helmet. Her form vanishes to reveal the well-dressed green-skinned half-orc, who removes his quiver of arrows and hands bow and quiver off to one of the spearmen he'd been standing next to; while he doesn't look surprised, the one on the other side does. The half-orc approaches, then gives a swordsman's bow to the king. "Sire."

He then steps forward and goes to one knee, taking up the cushion upon which everyone else who'd sworn fealty had knelt. "Your Highness," he says, returning the cushion to young Prince Tobias, who takes it despite looking confused. That done, however, Coalhouse goes to both knees on the bare stone of the floor, and clasps Chalm's hand with the oath breaker's brand between them. The king murmurs something to him, to which Coalhouse nods. With Alysandra prompting, he declares, "I, Coalhouse Porter, son of Baron Marek Lachowicz and Bula the Whore," - this, of course, causes any number of nobles in the audience to gasp with offense - "being of sound mind and without reservation, swear fealty of mind, body, and soul to the Nation and People of Krádira. I swear to bear loyal and true service to the Nation and People of Krádira, and to honor, preserve, protect, and uphold the laws, justice, and mercy of and for the People of Krádira against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegience to the Nation and People of Krádira. I swear to faithfully execute the charges given to me, to protect and guide the people of whom I am a representative, guarding them in times of peril, nurturing them in times of peace, leading them in times of war, and counseling them always with justice tempered by mercy, as the gods give me the wisdom to so do. This I swear to do until my final death, the world's end, or the people release me."

King Chalm nods. "For the People of Krádira, and with the gods and these as witness, I accept your oath, Coalhouse Porter. As overlord of the People of Krádira, and with the gods' help, I swear and shall answer fealty with fealty, protection with protection, justice with justice, and oathbreaking with vengeance, until my final death, the world's end, or your rightful release. By my authority as king, I name you People's Elector, which position you shall hold for five years, or until the People see fit to appoint another in your stead."

Coalhouse murmurs something which makes the king give a brief snort of amusement, but the now-revealed-head-of-security finally rises, then steps around to mirror his half-sister's position on the right of the royal family, standing easily with his hands hooked into the back of his belt.

"Thus, the oaths," says the king. "I am led to understand that our gracious host, the Lord Mayor of the Free City of Restov," and here Chalm half-turns to nod courteously at the mayor behind him, "has directed to be prepared quite the sumptuous banquet. I encourage everyone to partake, but request a moment of time alone with those newly sworn to me, and their personal lieutenants." As the crowd begins to stir, he adds in a voice trained to project clarity across a battlefield, "Black Company Captain and first officer as well."

========================================================================

After the host and the rest of his guests file back into the Great Hall, and wonderful smells filter through to taunt those who haven't gone ahead, Chalm gestures for those remaining to rise and approach. Though he remains seated on the stool (and that on the dais), this puts his eyes only a little above most everyone else's, in a position to see each of you, leaders and cohorts alike; smallfolk, of course, are generally encouraged to be in front, not lost in the forest. "Well. Glad that's out of the way." he starts, looking a little grim - or perhaps a little relieved, a twitch of the corner of his mouth his version of a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have our work cut out for us. For all my words, I know Krádira won't be built in a day, a month, a year, even a decade. We have a lifetime's worth of work ahead of us - yes," he adds, nodding to the long-lived elves, dwarves, and others, "even your lives. Don't think you can give us forty or fifty years and be done with us; you swore not only to me, but to the people. Your oath is up -- until your final death, the world's end, I or those who come after me release you, or Krádira is no more. Because the people of Krádira will always need you.

"What this means is that while he is bankrolling us, that bankroll is contingent on us getting moving in two days, and the primary settling core - that's all of us here, us and the groups you represent - being out of the country in no fewer than seven days. It's Calistril second; we have to be well into the Greenbelt south of the South Rostland Road by Calistril ninth. Were it mid- or late summer, that wouldn't be a problem; now, fifty-plus miles to make in the middle of winter, maybe a bit of a problem." He pauses, letting those who can appreciate his black irony with their laughter.

"So. I'd like us to set off in three waves - tomorrow, early as possible, those rangers and druids," he nods to Acaciano, Lyda, and Kaellin, "and others who can travel swiftly and alone, to begin scouting ahead - road conditions, dangers, that sort of thing. Starday, those primarily mounted head out; we'll ride off the road if we make it mucky, but we'll mostly be out there to break apart drifts covering the road, so we move only as fast as the wagons can, which means any dangers the scouts uncover, we take care of. Sunday, the wagons and the walkers move out; that's going to be the bulk of us, including the farmers and families who have to go with us now. Those are the people to whom you've all sworn your loyalty; those are the ones who'll do the real grunt-work of turning Krádira from words spoken before nobles into something to be proud of."

Chalm looks across the entire group for a long moment. "Without them, we're nothing. We protect them with our lives. Questions or suggestions?"

With the grand show made of the oathtaking finally over with, Theodric is visibly happy--in his general bearing, at any rate, if not his hidden expression--to turn his thoughts to the concerns raised by his new liege. And almost immediately, several points come to mind, which he brings to Chalm's attention by raising a hand and stepping forward just a bit. "I have a few questions, sire. In light of your blunt character assessment of your cousin and his strong desire to see the last of you, by one way or another, are we going to have to keep watch for more than just bandits and monsters as we travel? Because there are bandits, and then there are bandits, if you understand my meaning. Also, your mention of a hard time limit to be out and gone implies a penalty for not meeting that condition. Is that an accurate assumption then, and what would the penalty be if it is?"

Somewhat nervous now, as he gets sudden and unwelcome mental image of indistinct eyes focused on him, the swordsman has to pause a moment and take a few calming breaths before continuing. "Finally, are there any plans in place for how the caravan is to conduct itself under varied circumstances? Camp discipline, what to do about stragglers, what to do during an attack, and such things? I imagine that most of us here are at least familiar in passing with such things, but the folk we're to be escorting likely won't be, and I'd hate to try wrangling them during a crisis when they all decide that their own course is the best one to follow." Unseen behind him, Darvan nods his heartfelt agreement with his leader's words; both have a small measure of personal experience with that very issue, and neither wants to really repeat it any time soon.

Aramil moved forward simply to stand in the group, but Porablum drug him over to the end of the group furthest from Nymaah. The elf shook his head - understanding the Bleaching wasn't catching was different from asking Porablum to stand near the other gnome - but he said nothing as the King explained the situation to them. Pleased what he'd heard about the new King was accurate, he agrees with King Chalm's assessment of his cousin, and the plan for leaving.

Thinking about the obstacles they would face on the road based on their deadline to be out of the country, Aramil nods in agreement with Theodric's questions before posing one of his own. "As to the riders needing to break up the snow drifts, would it be beneficial to have some fire elementalists from the Frozen Flame accompany the riders to melt them? That might allow the wagons to travel more quickly."

Nimue, already standing up front, tenses up slightly.
Mordred, standing behind her, puts his hand on her shoulder, as if to suggest to her to refrain from speaking up.
Gently touching his hand with her own, she steps forward, easily gliding out from under his grasp:"Sire, if there are people who mean you ill, people in power and from your family, no less, could the princess and prince be in danger? Securing your heiress as a ward would doubtlessly be in your cousins interest, if he were to try and maintain a significant influence on the direction our combined efforts in your name will take. After you made them prince and princess official, and in the chaos of a hasty departure in the middle of winter they could be vulnerable and valuable. If there is a need for extra security, I would like to volunteer for that task - I swore to follow the princess as well, when the time comes - it would be a dishonor if I failed to keep her safe until that day, may the date be far off when she needs to follow in your footsteps."

"Well said Theodric. I've spent some time a merchant, and some time guarding merchants, and the one thing I am certain of is that once word of this little expedition into the middle of nowhere in winter gets out, every half starved bandit from here to the border of Galt is going to come looking for us. If we were on boats, we'd outrun rumor, but wagons in winter? Not a chance. Our best hope, therefore, is going to be a policy of zero runaways. We can't stop the word of today getting out, but we can stop the people we come into contact with on our journey from bearing tales of our location, and until we have a fortified position from which to begin the business of taming the wilderness, we're vulnerable. That means we need to find and control the existing traders. Someone buys the goods the bandits steals, and they bring them out to sell to the rest of us. That someone will happily sell the bandits or the bandits news of our travels. Those men will need to be convinced to join our merry band, or at least kept from running off to bear tales."

She grimaces before resuming talking.

"I assume everyone involved has their wagons of supplies, and we've just sworn to protect our share of farmers and milliners and the like. Those are honest men, women, and they have their children to look after. A brave people, our Krádirans, but to a longbow they look like so many victims, and those men I just mentioned would happily slit their throats if they thought to escape. No, we need to keep the entrepreneurial murderers of the wilderness far far away from them. Neither our supplies nor our charges will be any use at all if they end up dead or scattered in a bandit ambush, much less bandit escapes. Taking slaves is an abomination, prisoners endangers the people of Krádira so we need to put those men to work, and we're not going to be able to trust them. Any ideas?"[b]

"So that's the first problem, but even if that goes swimmingly we'd be foolish to count on it. Plan for the worst and you can only be pleasantly surprised. It's always served me well in matters of magic and trade, I imagine it will serve us well in matters of politics and logistics. I think the worst that can happen is something Political, but we'll have to talk about that later. What's the second worst then? My guess is that the second worst that can happen is our Krádirans end up scattered by a bandit attack on the wagon train. We'll need to have a plan in that case. First if we do end up scattered, we'll want a place for the train to regroup. Second, we'll want a place for the members of this room to regroup. Any ideas?"

Knowledge Geography: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Profession Merchant: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17

"I have one for the farmers at least. The best I know of the roads is that there's spring wagon trains from Restov to New Stetsvan. If we were in the west I could draw you a map of the river with timings by vessel all the way down to Mivon, but the east is just wagons, oxen, and more wagons. I hired a local driver team, names Kit and Company, and I suggest that we do our best to strip the city of drivers if we have the funds for it. Not only do we assure ourselves we have the only men and women with knowledge of the road, we also keep them from talking to their friends in the wilderness, of either sort. Once we're on the road, I'll be sure to ask Kit if he knows more, but he said 'I'm not lofty like the rest of you, and the animals need me'. I believe him."

Her impersonation of the old driver comes with a grin before she continues.

"Plans and Politics seem as bad as Plans and the River and now I sound like my aunt. Longwinded. My apologies, Sire. Anyways, the south road is a wagon road, which means there's going to be some kind of wagon posts along it. I couldn't tell you their names if you paid me, but the names don't matter for this. Just that there are some buildings out there. The posts might even be abandoned for the winter for all I know. They might be little more than shacks. Still, it's a building with a roof and enough of a wall to keep the tack and tools dry, and that's more than those farmers will have if they get separated from us. Any chance we could re-purpose one of them as an entry point to our kingdom of the wild without upsetting your cousin too much? Or creatively paint it? Finding our missing sheep in the wilderness will be a great deal easier if they have somewhere they know to go."

She sighs, then looks around the room, and her bearing shifts a moment as she peers up into the corners. The sigh is louder this time and she nods once to herself.

"Finally I hate to be a bearer of ill tidings, but everything we're saying now can be overheard if someone with talent or the coin to hire it felt so inclined. It's just too big a room and too many people passed through it to be certain it's us alone. I'm a modestly talented diviner, and my apprentices wouldn't have any trouble listening in. I'm sure that's true of plenty of other mages both present and absent. That means whatever we decide for our own security, we should wait till we're on the road to discuss in detail. Nethys knows I hate having to try and keep secrets, but we're going to need them in the days ahead."

She nods at the elf's comment.

"As for melting snow? That's trivial enough that my apprentices could handle it near the wagons, and we could easily task someone to go with the outrider group for large drifts. It's the beasts on two legs and four I'm concerned about, not the water. And there's another thing I never would have said a year ago."

She grins once more and waves Samantha over, noting the comment about apprentice assignments to her second.

:Aramil:

"Earth or wind would be preferable to fire. Mud makes for slow if not impossible travel," Lyda says stepping a little further forward and looking at Aramil. Deneb was actually standing in front of her out of necessity. He was looking a little pale from Chalm's announcement. That was a lot of political muck to sift through.

:Chalm:
She turns back to the king. "Who and what is the preferred lines of communication for road conditions, dangers, and general updates?"

:Selene:
Deneb shakes the bad thoughts from his head and steps up on the table so he can be seen and heard. "Bandits? Sounds like someone is doubting the scouts. If there are bandits anywhere on this road we will be sure to dissuade them. In my experience, their resolve does not last long against lightning and thunder or arrows from the trees." He looks over at Acaciano for the last part.

:All:
"Thoedric's bandits will be the real threat. For that I think we need to be in communication with one of you fine mercenary groups, preferably your outriders. Any volunteers?"

:All:
Lyda nods at Deneb's idea and tacks on. "Support from one of the mage groups will be helpful. Long lasting spells for defense from attacks and the weather. A ready response group." She also looks around for someone to step to agree for either job.

:Chalm:
"You know this time frame sucks," Deneb says to the king very aware that that is the purpose of it. Planning was going to have to be minimal. Several groups of very ambition people were going to have to work together to make this happen safely. Choas was going to be a close friend for a while.

Turning, as best as he can judge, toward Deneb's voice, Theodric is quick to offer a counter to his argument regarding the prospect of actual banditry against the caravan. "Anyone willing to turn to such a life, with all of its attendant risks and scant rewards, is either desperate or insane. Don't underestimate what either of those states will drive folk to do. Just one well-stocked farmer's or merchant's wagon, to say nothing of our own with their generous road supplies, will likely keep a small group in modest comfort for the rest of the season if they can take it." He grimaces behind his mask as he remembers a few--thankfully rare--encounters of particular note. "And that's not even taking into account those groups that may be driven into action by someone or something that they fear more than us. I'm not saying we should plan for every last little possibility, but ignoring something as unlikely is a damn fine way to get ambushed by it later on."

Theodric then nods in the direction of Selene as he addresses a point she's raised. "The matter of prisoners is definitely relevant, and I have a possible solution for it." Turning his concealed face toward the king once more, he offers his idea. "That stone you had swear our oaths on, could that be used to hold any prisoners to acceptable oaths as well? Say, an offer of royal pardon in return for their service to the crown and agreeing to forsake the commission or knowing support of such activities in the future?" With a shrug and slight adjustment of his mask to allow a waft of cooler air to pass underneath it, he concludes his suggestion. "Such folk, or those who survive more than a season or two, often have some useful skills to offer. Turning them away from crime to a life of usefulness might encourage others to come in of their own accord, it could give you a nice reputation for mercy, and an equal reputation for unflinching justice when you hang those who refuse the clemency or violate it."

:Theodric:

Mordred turns towards Theodric as the other Human suggests using the oathband:"Or those prisoners will swear any oath you ask of them, then run back to their bandit friends under cover of the night, and wear their brand as a mark of honor. As you said yourself, those willing to risk their lifes would be desperate or insane. In either case, I would not trust them to stay true to their oaths."

:All/Selena:

Turning to the others, he continues: "But I doubt we will have much to worry about from waylayers and regular bandits. They will learn of our journey...if not from people we meet, then from other travellers, or because it plays into the interests of people opposed to what we are trying to do here. Holding people we meet on the road hostage to try and keep our travels secret will not work, and only cause the riverfolk to hate us. We have swordlords, mages, rangers, warriors aplenty. Even a well-organized bandit group would struggle to discomfort us. I believe it's intrigue, backstabbing and well-funded and organized opposition we will need to be worried about. There's plenty of people who would not want this operation to succeed. A small paramilitary group funded from beyond the borders would be a lot more troublesome than the whole lot of bandits trying to make a living in these lands together - moving fast and sudden would be in our best interest, then."

:Theodric:
Deneb nods in agreement. "I have met both but there is a third group that is just as large. Cowards. People to whom banditry came easy because they are big and strong that prey on the weak. Show a strong front and most, will turn tail. The desperate can be bargained with if a show of force is not enough. Food, warm clothes, general survival knowledge. Might even agree to join with us."

Lyda chimes in as the voice for her group. "We're fairly equipped to handle that but we may need some extra resources."

:Chalm:
"I don't think we want this to feel like an invasion do we?" He turns to Chalm for verification.

At Lyda's comment she looks thoughtful, then begins ticking off names as she goes.

"That's true. Light and Wind is more my specialty than Almaya's, Selene. I'll see if Nicholas can ride with the wagons themselves to clear them. I'll volunteer for an outrider, that leaves Selene and the other high arcanists free to provide a heavy response if needed? Most of our magic users have a fair control over the wind, although snow is heavy. Our one water expert likes to joke that it's easier to make things with iron than snow. As I'm sure our druid friends will attest, magic is probably best saved for blockages. For long distances and small drifts, shovels will be best."

Selene waves her apprentice off as Samantha continues to think about which magi might be useful for weather related tasks.

"I think the logistics will sort itself out, assuming our companions can collaborate. They all seem competent, and steady. I do agree that we need some chain of command - I'm perfectly willing to take orders or give them, but arguing in the snow, a storm, or battle is a great way to get killed. We have some able field commanders in our company, do we not?"

She nods, then continues.

"They're the reasonable choice during this journey to interface with the scouts and the train, and dispatch the trouble clearing companies as required. As for staying in touch, sending a voice over the miles is possible but unreliable. Better is the simple pen and ink, and perhaps some waterproof bags. We can agree how to mark buried reports easily enough."

::King Chalm's initial request::

"It would be our honor, my King," Acaciano replies, "to scout at the vanguard."

Tai chips in, "Indeed it would, King Chalm. The snows and their drifts will have Krádira's best interests at heart."

=============================

::Transportation/Messages::

Acaciano offers his opinions, including one very bad pun:
"Let's not count any options out just yet. If we've magic that works and it can be spared, so be it. If it's better to melt a path, we melt a path. For what it's worth, I can move through the snows faster than most can walk a summertime road. Though I expect the easiest solution of all might be Deneb, the fledgling postmaster of Krádira."

Darivan and Sylvia, after a brief but incomprehensible meeting after the oath-taking was finished, join the fairly large group with Chalm. Sylvia stays incredibly quiet, but Darivan feels quite at home in the crowd.

"For clearing the path, perhaps if we had some clerics conjuring water? It would ice over fairly quickly once it was created, but it would help lower the snowbanks, I would think. And it is far easier to adapt wagon wheels to drive on ice, rather than snow. However, fire mages would be much more efficient and practical, assuming they can sustain such magic for so long. I'm not aware of any minor magics that conjure a decent flame, but that could simply indicate I have more to learn.

"I'm not terribly worried about bandits, however. Provided we adequately guard the caravans at night, have the riders stay close to the wagons, and leave a few skilled combatants riding on them, I doubt bandits would bother us much. They don't want to be out in the snow more than we do, after all. In my experience, the bandit is a notoriously lazy creature, second perhaps only to the mage."

He takes a deep breath, then continues,

"Sylvia and I would be best suited to be among the riders, in my experience. Her bird can help keep an eye out for marauders from the skies, but neither of us have any particular skill in the wilds, beyond basic survival tactics.

"That being said, I must ask, what is our current destination? What is our plan to survive the winter? We'll need someplace where all of our followers can stay and begin building accommodations, while we drive off the bandits and monsters that already live there."

Sylvia, speaks up shortly after Darivan finishes,
"With all due respect, my lord, how much will it cost, to run an entire caravan through the snows of Cocytus-bound Calistril? It must be a small fortune. Might it not be cheaper to simply pay for a skilled spellcaster to spend a day or two mass-teleporting many of us to our destination?

"What might take us months would instead take hours, and we need not fear banditry, foul weather, or sabotage. I suppose a high priest might also be capable of the epic spell-power required, and the church of Abadar might prove sympathetic to our cause."

She gives a brief smirk, and Darivan's face plummets,
"Unless of course, you want us to slog through the snow for weeks on end? Great way to build loyalty for your new subjects."

(To the side, Darivan breathes a sigh of relief. Sylvia ignores him.)

William being mostly quite while the more knowledgeable folk ask questions on the trip they are to take, pipes up at the mention of using magic to make the journey.

"I've plans to make rough maps of the areas we trek through while finding a spot to settle, not to mention we want to make sure we aren't going to a place caught right in the middle of hostiles. Teleportation magic may be good for traveling, but when you're trying to find a good spot to stay in a place where little is known? Its better to go by foot."

Stroking his beard for a moment, William continues "And on the bandit issue... I will slay any criminal whom threatens this expedition." William says, pointing at the ground in a stern manner."I hope you would all do the same. Brigands deserve no quarter amongst those of honor and I will not make amends with those who once made a living out of waylaying the innocent, if none are willing to end a bandits crime the only way you can with no civilization." William ceases stroking his beard as the grizzly topic of executions are insinuated "Then... I will do what must to be done... I'll ride along the caravan and guard everyone. I loath the idea of being miles away from my children in such a dangerous place."

"Coalhouse Porter" speaks Tomas to his own self. "I must remember that name, he seems to be quite a resourceful person."

Then the King has some words with them, and explains why the enterprise has been planned in the middle of bloody winter. "It seems this country is full of bloody backstabbers and opportunists" he thinks with disdain. "Though technically, I'm an opportunist myself. Only thing is I found the opportunity somewhere else."

After that, everybody seems to discuss what are they going to do and what are their skills, while Tomas has the terrible feeling that he is good... at nothing.

"Your Majesty, I am here to do whatever task you entrust me with."

:: Fake bandits and the time frame ::
"I am not concerned about my cousin sending bandits to attack us; yes, if we fail he wins, but if we succeed, he also wins - and the latter is a more significant political boon to him, so he wants us off and working. The main penalty for us is loss of certain starting funds; the letters of credit are valid only after certain dates, and under minimal conditions - to encourage hard work on our part, instead of being lazy. The first letter requires our mob to be at least three miles south of the South Rostland Road by Calistril tenth." He gives Deneb a grim look of agreement.

:: Lines of communication ::
"Communication, particularly between the scout force and the mounted, mmm, 'problem solvers', shall we say, has been my primary concern; my hope has been that between you people, you would come up with a way to solve it. In my admittedly limited experience with them, druids and rangers typically can convince animals to act as couriers of messages, so I'm hoping that that ... will be a non-problem."

:: Security of the children ::
"While I am somewhat more concerned about my childrens' security, that has been handled." He nods at Coalhouse, who looks away in mock innocence. "Additional assistance," adds the king while nodding at Nimue, "would undoubtedly come in handy, but I'd prefer that most of you were on the active front instead of the defensive."

:: Real bandits, prisoners, and an invasion ::
"I agree with the thought that there will be few real bandits on our course; few merchants are able to move during the winter, so only the most desperate bandits are out seeking them. I doubt we'll have the chance to take prisoners, but if we do, then prisoners they will be; we have a few dozen sets of manacles. Once we get to where we're going, they'll have the chance to work off their offence and become an upstanding member of our society. It isn't as though we're marching ten thousand soldiers into Mivon or Sevenarches, a month or six to the south; we're moving two thousand people into the sparsely-settled Stolen Lands." Muttering, he adds under his breath, "Which is an invasion by any stretch of the imagination ..."

:: Camp Discipline and Rallying Points ::
"I will be taking command of the lead cavalry force; Sarra will be the final authority of the civilian caravan and camp, with Sir Pendrake as commander of her cavalry screen and Captain Croaker of the Black Company, which will serve as infantry protection and camp security. Oskar will be assisting her in this - showing her how it's done, mostly, but she'll have the final decision when it comes to options, including any actual discipline issues. Considering we're moving - what, over a thousand people - in the middle of winter, with people to find the problems, then people to make them problems no longer, it'll take some serious, bold, competent, and desperate people to manage to attack the caravan itself. Still, that's why there's a cavalry screen and infantry. The civilians," he adds grimly, "will undoubtedly be civilians if the fight comes to them. If they panic, run away, and get lost, the likelihood of them surviving long enough to rejoin us a day or three later is for all practical terms nonexistent. We will be the most significant thing anywhere near the road, a moving city; we are our own rallying point."

:: Melting Snow, Spell-Cast Transport ::
"I'd rather not melt the snow; trampling it down will work fine, so let's keep the magic to a minimum. That includes spending thousands of gold on something that we really don't need," and here he gives Sylvia a long warning look, "when we'll sooner need that gold for something we really, really will need."

William is taken aback by chalms willingness to take the bandits on their journey should they capture any. "Well, I suppose that's even greater reason to hope against bandits then." He clearly dislikes the idea of bandits being towed along with his friends and family but will not question Chalms decision.

Hope those manicals are strong.

Receiving answers to his questions, among others, Theodric nods in understanding and takes a few moments to think things over, occasionally leaning to the side to consult softly with Darvan. His new peers are a sharp bunch, and between them cover most everything of concern that Theodric and Darvan can think of (and a number of points that hadn't occured to them as well).

Aramil nods at King Chalm's decision on melting snow. His main concern had been snow drifts they couldn't trample over, but hopefully they wouldn't encounter any.

He also agrees with King Chalm's stance on if they take bandits captive. After all, they likely knew at least a bit about the local area, and could provide them with direction to possible water sources or point out hidden dangers. Executing them out of hand was needlessly short-sighted.

"A good plan for the bandits. I've found that while some are irredeemable criminals, there are those who have simply been forced into the life and never had the opportunity to try something different, or turned to banditry with no other choices. As long as they do not return to banditry after serving a sentence for their crimes, executing them is merely a waste of life. I actually have a reformed bandit accompanying us into the Stolen Lands to help protect my wagon. He's a good man, and skilled with his blade."

:Acaciano:
"Acorn-y joke if I ever heard one," Deneb counters. "Leave the comedy re-leaf to me okay. You..."

"Deneb." Lyda cuts off any more.

"Right. Why don't we sit together at dinner with the any other scouting groups. We can work out the details then or meet later tonight at one of the fine establishment nearby."

"What's the caravan's defense going to look like? From the sounds of it, we will be highly spread out and vulnerable to attack." Darivan inquires.

:: King Chalm ::
Kaellin is privately impressed by Chalm's blunt assessment of his own cousin's motives. He finds such honesty refreshing in someone in a noble position. His respect of his new king increases, and is a bit of a relief if this is the type of person he'll be serving.

The half-elf nods to Chalm. "It'll be an honor and pleasure to take part in the scouting, Your Highness. My companion, Greyfang, is reliable for both her senses, and her ability to travel far and fast. She should be able to help wih maintaining the lines of communication."

:: EVeryone ::
"I'm not opposed to sending bandits to their deaths, but like Aramil says, not every bandit is a cold-blooded villain. If given the chance, it would be good to add their strength to our own. It would take time and a lot of work, for sure, but I'm willing to take that up if need be. Plus, it should give us a good reputation. We might have an easier time if people think it's better to join us than try to attack us."

"For clearing the road, it might be best to try mundane means as much as possible. Save our magical resources for a last resort, and in reserve in case of emergencies."

After Darivan speaks, Sylvia is quiet for a while, seeming to be thinking deeply on a topic, not so much listening to the others, "Something we could do for prisoners, assuming we have a strong enough priest, is give them a conditional curse of some sort. Something that would trigger if they broke any regulations or rules, and leave them disabled if they tried to run away."

:Chalm:
Nimue bows to Chalm once more when she receives her answer:"I will serve as you wish in whatever way I can be most useful, sire."
Nodding to Coalhouse and bowing to the Princess, she continues:"If your chief of security desires my help, I'll be ready."

:Darivan/Everyone:
Mordred turned to the others discussing strategy - a topic he felt quite comfortable with: "As I understood, we have scouts, rangers, druids up ahead, making sure our planned path is feasable. A mounted group ahead moving to fix obstacles, and the bulk of the troops will be with the caravan itself. If the infantry remains with the wagons, those should be save. But our cavalry screen will be lacking, if we need mounted problem solvers up ahead. The scouts will be the ones most vulnerable. They will be in small groups, far ahead...if anybody would run into trouble, with bandits or otherwise, it's probably them - maybe we could outright split our cavalry, keeping one part right with the caravan for additional security and as our eyes, and the other part following almost inmediately behind the scouts...working together with them on solving any problems on the road, be they hazards posed by nature, or by other people."

:Chalm:
Turning to the king, he added a question to his suggestion:"Sire, will it be left to us to decide which of the groups to add our strenght to? Or is there a plan in place?"

"I presume that you would also need at least one diplomatic advisor close at hand when scouting" Amavin mentions carefully, thinking ahead. "The greenbelt isn't entirely abandoned, and a 'moving city' is going to be intimidating to anyone existing in the area. Having someone with a silver tongue - I'm sure Coalhouse has a good candidate - would help smooth over any tensions that an initial scouting party might come across."

::Amavin/Mordred::
"Sir. Madam," Deneb says, calling for their attention.He looks back and forth between them until he has their attention. "Where's the trust? You don't think we can handle a few bandits entrenched for the winter?" he says looking at Mordred. "Or assuage their fears and convince them this is a good thing?" switching to Amavin.

"Scouts will be in pairs. Threats will be avoided or observed. They'll wait for support before taking any action. They will not engage unless absolutely necessary," Lyda chimes in with further specifics on her plans. At least for her group that is.

"I think it would be a mistake to assume the only threats the Stolen Lands offer are a bunch of desperate bandits - and to ignore the rightful concerns of a colleague" Amavin counters in a mild tone, giving Deneb a disinterested look.

"That said, to answer your question, no, I don't trust you to handle such a diplomatic situation, anymore than you would trust someone like me to be a superior scout to you, or to be better with a blade than a well trained warrior. We all have our strengths, and I recommend we play to them."

Darivan nods, "I agree with.... the lady Zephyra, that was it. While not every scouting pair needs a diplomat, it would be best to have one on hand,"

Sylvia chimes in, "Ideally, if anyone can teleport, they could serve to bring the diplomat wherever they are needed."

Darivan gives his friend a quick glare, "And ensure that all scouts know common courtesies, to avoid causing needless offense."

:Deneb:
"Oh, I think you can handle a few bandits. I'm just saying they could present trouble if they get the jump on a group they outnumber. My concern is not with those alone, though. There's all manner of creatures in these lands. Not all of them sleep through the winter, and prey is scarce. I dare say there's things out there capable of outrunning and tracking you that you do not want to stir up with a single companion...yet confront them we may have to, lest a hungry beast tries to prey on the caravan...our guards could handle that, but it would not be good for the morale of the settlers."

Lyda steps between Amavin and Deneb. She crosses her arms as she assumes her full height, plus heels, and stares the sorceress down. "We have made no such mistakes. We don't assume, we observe. And from what I have observed recently, the only thing you are superior in is being arrogant and aggravating."

"Woah. Okay ladies. Let's take a step back and breath." Deneb moves around the side and a little further down the dueling table to at least be seen by both women. I raises his hands in a placating gesture, looking a little fearful between the two. "We're going to be working together from now on so let's not start off, stepping on each others toes." He puts on a winning smile and looks back and forth between them. "Lady Zephyra. With all due respect, you don't know me and it was rather judgmental to say you wouldn't trust me with 'handling' the situation. I do have experience with this and there is a very big difference between handling and being superior. I also do not know you so could very well be better. But you haven't done good job of proving your point." He then looks around as if trying to find someone. "I wonder if the food is ready. I am certainly starving and that always makes me grumpy." He was hoping a distraction and bit of humor might smooth things over.

Lyda just continues to stare, waiting for an answer and certainly not helping.

Acaciano fiddles with the Magethorn Manacle on his arm at the continued talk of spellcasting, and nods along with the group. It seemed his concerns were all being discussed, and the right ideas mentioned.
He'd leave it to the king to decide important matters of course, and for smaller things, if he felt like the conversation was moving too far away from the right choice, he'd speak up. For now though, he was content to watch.

:Mordred:
Lyda fields this response as it also involved her. "Every hunter that steps into the wilderness knows it might be their last. Its an inherent risk we all accept. But large groups are likely to be spotted by such beasts and men. And it is not as if help will not be available. I think we can manage a large screen and still keep people less than a half mile apart. If some of your people would like to leave tomorrow we can certainly reduce that distance."

"I believe Amavin suggested that Coalhouse might have a candidate in mind to handle the negotiations, not that she herself was volunteering for the job, Countess Lyda. And, while you may have no experience dealing with her abilities, I do have that advantage, and though I'm sure you are quite skilled, Deneb, I can guarantee she is better. As to not trusting you to handle the situation, you'll forgive me, but the reputation of the Voice of the Mountains is that of being a group of wilderness explorers, not one with a history of negotiation or diplomacy. Based on that reputation alone, can you blame her for thinking you have little experience in convincing others to your way of thinking? It is only the natural conclusion to be reached." Aramil steps into the situation, clearly seeking to smooth the bumps over in this initial interaction between the two groups. Fixing Lyda with a direct but not unkind look, the elf says, "Furthermore, it is best not to assume anything about someone else based on a less than five-minute long conversation, regardless of what you think you observed. I suggest you take some time to get to know your fellow Count-electors before making any snap judgements of them - as a friend of mine once said, such a position comes with certain expectations, both in action and in behavior."

Aolis had often talked about the responsibilities inherent in being a member of the nobility, even an adopted one such as he had been. Though Aramil hadn't quite understood some of it, he was grateful for the lessons now. This certainly wasn't a course he had seen his life being set upon when he first took up the sword and spell, but it was where he found himself, and he would see it through.

Porablum, meanwhile, felt her curiosity getting the better of her. She began studying the gnome who had brought up further security (Nimue of Deepwood), and looking for a way to find out a bit more about her once the discussion group broke up. She hadn't met her yet, and wondered where she was from. What sort of fun adventures had she had, and how she came to be here. Porablum was very eager to learn more about another gnome.

:Lyda:
"With all due respect, stepping into the wilderness alone out of a false sense of pride is reckless and not helpful in the least. We are scouts for a moving city. Not woodsman playing hide and seek with playful fey. When you are not on a road, out in the woods, marshes and hills, half a mile is a huge distance. We will not see one another, we may not hear one another, if the weather turns bad, we may not even find one another. Magics of all kinds can help, but even so, making your way across wilderness terrain for even half a mile may take too long to give assistance to anybody in dire need of help."

:Lyda, Aramil:
When Aramil spoke up, Mordred felt that the Elf was right:"My concern for your, or others safety may be ill-placed and unnecessary, but I assure you my intentions and motives are both honorable and pure. I did not mean to criticize, only to point out that we indeed have a variety of skills and abilities, and we should make use of them all. For more and better synergy, I suggested larger groups, not because I found any of those present lacking in any way."

William shuffles his feet unconfortably next to Winnie, who is visiably enjoying the Caty scene. William does, however nod at Deneb's proposal of dinner. "It's probably the right way to go about it. Haven't eaten much since a little after mid day, would be nice to have a goodly meal before discussing things as important as this."

:Mordred:
"It's neither pride nor recklessness. It's practical," Lyda says starting to become cross. But she didn't need another enemy here so she takes a deep breath and tries a different route. Seriously, why couldn't they trust here to do her part? Was it her heritage? Was it a mistake to reveal herself yet? "I could explain it all now but we'd miss dinner. If you want to meet later I can tell you the whole thing if that would make you more comfortable. I have done this before through even more dangerous territory."

Nimue left Mordred to speak for himself. He did speak in her name, and he knew it, there was no call for her to interject on his behalf, in whatever discussion he had decided to get involved in.
With the Count-Electors and their second-in-commands all assembled, she used the chance to try and memorize names and faces. With some joy, she realized that among the leutnants, there were other smallfolk...halflings and gnomes.

:Porablum:
One of the gnomes seemed to look over at her, too, probably studying the crowd. Feeling the natural connection that comes naturally with seeing another of the same race, Nimue's gaze lingers on Porablum for a moment, before she smiles and gives a little wave with her hand in her direction as if to say hi.
The official part is over. Some informality will be fine...

:Aramil:
"Fair enough on most points. I was really referring to myself in terms of diplomacy. The rest of our group, not so much. It'd be a fair judgement. But she was not talking about us. She was referring to me. So yes, I can and will blame her for that," he says looking at Amavin as he says this. "If she is so amazing at diplomacy she is making a very poor showing."

"And yet, you bicker just as well as she does, and I admittedly do as well. But Aramil and Amavin got the right of it. We are all good at what we do, or we would not be here. And nobody should feel hurt about the fact that others are better than them in something they take pride in. I am used to the wilderness, take pride in my connection with nature...yet I would never assume to be more skillful than Lord Acaciano. All the same, Amavin is certainly aware that I would cut her down in a duel with weapons, if it came to that. If you feel insulted by what was said, I would suggest to look within. No insult can emotionally hurt you if there is no truth to it. If she is wrong, simple prove your skill when the chance comes, and the joke is on her.", Mordred also attempts to stop the disgraceful display he became a part of in front of the king. It would not do for this to reflect badly on Nimue.

Bartek remains more or less at attention during the conversation, though he does let out a sigh of dismay at the bickering that has begun

I can see that our ability to work together will be thoroughly tested by the creation of this kingdom, instead of banding together at the time of our entities creation we let pride and wanting to be correct split us apart

Bartek awaits the king's reply to Mordred about where each member of the group would be stationed, hoping to be placed with Kliment in the cavalry screen to act as the cavalry's crowd control. Getting to know everyone better could wait until the real work started so their true character would show as far as he was concerned.

:Mordred:
Deneb raised a finder and opened his mouth but shut down the words quickly. He then closed his mouth and began rubbing his temple. Even his patience had limits. He was still bickering now that others were getting involved but he had in no way meant to insinuate that he was better than anyone, just that he was good enough to handle it. When Mordred is finished, he puts on a strained smile and says "I'll do just that." He then walks over to Lyda and begins pushing on her legs to move her away from the group. "On behalf of me and my associate I apologize for an offense given. Maybe we an reconcile later. Have a lovely evening." Lyda resists at first but is allowed to be moved though she still stares daggers, partially ruining his attempted apology. They resort to angry whispers as they leave.

Mordred watches as the two move away, and looks over at Chalm...the meeting had not yet been concluded, but then, it was simply a gathering, not a council...which is why all of them were here in the first place.
Still, it would set an interesting precedent wether such was acceptable without being dismissed, or not...

Aramil watches as Deneb and Lyda move away, Lyda still staring daggers before shaking his head. They seemed to take what we said as an insult towards their skills in general, as opposed to their ability to negotiate. Aramil will turn back to the King with a sigh, before sending a shrug in Amavin's direction as though to say, Well, I tried.

PROCLAMATION
BE IT SO KNOWN that the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, acting within its own authority and upon the advice of the Swordlords of Restov, and for the greater good of the People of the Nation of Brevoy, has granted unto Chalm Surtova, cousin of His Majesty Noleski of Brevoy, the throne and charter of the lands south of Brevoy, that wilderness region commonly known as "The Stolen Lands".

HIS MAJESTY Chalm Surtova thereby does call for a body of reputable and experienced explorers and adventurers of acceptable social standing, that they may be granted the honor of swearing fealty unto him, that they may become his vassals and liegemen, uphold his rights and honours, execute his laws and justice, and protect his people and country. They shall be required to uphold the River Freedoms in his name, yet establish upon the land that Freedom that shall replace the Sixth, that the people shall have not what they can hold, but what they have earned and created by their own labors. They shall thus be required to strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior should it be encountered, to clear the land of perils and monsters, to develop their assigned fiefdoms, and to protect the subjects of the new kingdom.

IN RETURN for their oath of temporal fealty unto His Majesty Chalm Surtova, his line, and his nation, should they be of honourable estate, they shall receive patents of nobility from His hand as appropriate to their labours and station, and shall partake of the kingdom's largesse in proportion to the labour and effort with which they shall invest it.

SHOULD you perchance be of a company of venturers of reputation and honor, and should you be interested in settling a new land and bringing order and progress to such a wilderness, you are commanded to present yourselves and your credentials to His Majesty's chamberlain, Fidel Réviser, and His Majesty's Captain of the Guard, Sir Costaud Soutenir, to be found within the City Hall of the Free City of Restov, on or before Oathday 26th day of Abadius, 4710 AR, that they may be reviewed and submitted to His Majesty Chalm Surtova for acceptance and oathtaking during the gala the Crown of Brevoy does command to be given for His Majesty Chalm Surtova by the Lord Mayor of the Free City of Restov, Ioseph Sellemius, to be attended by the Nobility and Swordlords of the Free City of Restov, upon Oathday 2nd day of Calistril, 4710 AR.

SO DECREED on this Toilday 2th day of Abadius, 4710 AR, under the watchful eye of the Overlord of Restov, by King Noleski Surtova, by the authority granted him as Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.

(Signed)
Noleski Surtova, Brevoy Rex

(His Seal)

I look forward to reading your submissions.

Dotting: Interesting take. I will start building a submission.

Hmm, we'll see if I can come up with two linked characters. That was a stumbling block for me last time a game vaguely like this came up.

This sounds like a tremendous headache on your part, but this is just way too cool to pass up.

I shall be placing a Dot of Tentative Interest here. Even if I do not manage to come up with something, this seems like a game that would be interesting to at least follow.

Similar dot of tentative interest.

@GM TWO: I have a tricky question for you... as far as I understood, the main characters will often taken missions always from the secondary and vice versa, but what would happen if the main character looks like to be the cohort?

My idea is of a stalker vigilante who has the social identity of an unassuming page/squire of a famous knight. The knight would be the actual follower. Would this be possible at all?

P.S.: Hi Wyrm! I was Baltor in your Homecoming game.

Dotting here. Thanks for the heads up.

Dotting to read a bit more later

I'm very intrigued by this, it looks fantastic and different enough from regular Kingmaker that I'm okay with applying here. Holy crow, though. This seems fantastic.

Holy shit yes. I mean dot.

Edit: Some clarification required.

Except for psionics, all Paizo if it can be explained into the region. (Like I said, background counts.) No 3rd party unless added below.

Classes: Core and Base (no 3rd party). Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner must be Unchained. No witches. Standard multi-classing, no variants.

Does this mean all paizo is allowed for character options but we are only allowed Core, Base and Unchained classes?

A lot to go by but I mean making this is making your own party

dotting here per pm...

dot

Dot~

Dot

Alright, this game sounds invested enough to be interested (and I've been looking for a new kingdom-builder).

P.S. Would you like to have a few players/characters offer to take point on kingdom stuff? I'm currently running a game with kingdom-building elements, and would be happy to help crunch mechanics on that.

* * *

EDIT: Okay, also: echoing the above question on classes—does this mean no hybrid, psychic, or vigilante classes? (Also, are PrCs limited to the original set of books?)

Oh! And I noticed the above comment on psionic classes. Did you mean occult classes? (Since psionics are 3pp, but psychic classes aren't)

Alright. I've finally decided to submit a human barbarian. And the time to really hone it.

Oh, now this looks cool. I'll have a Half-elf Magi up by tonight.

GM TWO wrote:

Except for psionics, all Paizo if it can be explained into the region. (Like I said, background counts.) No 3rd party unless added below.

GM TWO wrote:

Classes: Core and Base (no 3rd party). Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner must be Unchained. No witches. Standard multi-classing, no variants.

Does this mean all paizo is allowed for character options but we are only allowed Core, Base and Unchained classes?

Okay, also: echoing the above question on classes—does this mean no hybrid, psychic, or vigilante classes? (Also, are PrCs limited to the original set of books?)

All right, that's what I get for doing a 'copypasta' from someone else's old campaign, and not having my wits about me and my head in the game when it comes to PF classes and PrCs and stuff. So let me handle these one at a time, and please forgive me if my terminology is screwed up; it's pretty clear that I've screwed up the differences between 'Core' and 'Base' classes, and forgot things like the hybrid classes.

Psionics: For some reason I thought the psionics stuff was Paizo. (Dreamscarred Press, now that I actually look at the cover. Duh.) So thankfully that's by-definition out. :D

Psychics: Thank you for mentioning this, because I totally forgot about it. My apologies, but psychics adds another level of complexity to things, and I'd rather not go there.

P&P Explanation: Understand that I like the ideas for both of these; one of the best characters I played in early AD&D was a heavy-duty psionic class. But at least at the moment, both psionics and psychics (or both simultaneously, if they're essentially the same thing by different names) are rulesets that have been radically revised from what I learned lo these many years ago, and I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with the revised versions. Maybe at some point I'll try to play in or run a game that's entirely psychic/psionic so I can get used to the rulesets, but for now, that's a morass I'm not ready to wade into. (That and a player a few years back created a true monstrosity for a game I was in; left a bad taste in my hindbrain that will take dedicated effort to scrub out.)

Hybrids and Unchained: Obviously all the Unchained classes are not only allowed, they're mandatory. The hybrid classes (Arcanist, Bloodrager, Brawler, Hunter, Investigator, Shaman, Skald, Slayer, Swashbuckler, and Warpriest) are all entirely allowed.

Vigilante, other Paizo classes and PrCs: This has been inquired about by several people, but the following is the best Q so I'm going to quote it and answer it directly.

I have a tricky question for you... as far as I understood, the main characters will often taken missions always from the secondary and vice versa, but what would happen if the main character looks like to be the cohort?

My idea is of a stalker vigilante who has the social identity of an unassuming page/squire of a famous knight. The knight would be the actual follower. Would this be possible at all?

Hi, Sir Longears!! Good to see you again.

The vigilante and all other classes and PrCs found throughout the Paizo line, so long as they are not psychic classes (which would violate the 'no psychic stuff' above) are allowed. This is what I get for not having a Paizo-to-Wyrm dictionary handy, huh?

However, in specific regards to the vigilante and the question asked above, my answer is this: 'This would be a problem.'

As I understand it, the vigilante class uses secret identities and the like to move unnoticed among the populous; fine as far as it goes. Works better when the game stays in one specific city, but since the game will not always be monsterslaughtering in the wilds, it could still work. I don't know the class very well, but I HOPE the 'secret ID' would still be able to survive a combat at their class level.

The specific question asked - 'can my leader be a vigilante' - is a trickier question to ask. If you want the TL;DR answer up front, it would be 'No, only a cohort can be a vigilante.' The explanation behind that is that the leaders are the people being summoned, and who will be called to affix their names to a legally (and, shortly thereafter, magically) binding document. You can't do that if the people in charge don't know that you're the leader. Should the above happen, the cohort would become the actual noble, be looked to for decisions which would in reality be above his pay grade, and all the rest. It would be Bruce Wayne in the Wayne Industries boardroom, trying to make decisions he is in no way prepared for because Alfred is the real Batman with the super-genius intellect.

As a consequence, the actual leader needs to be the public leader. This does not mean that you can't play a vigilante; I absolutely love the idea that a cavalier's batman (in its original meaning) or squire/page is secretly a flamboyant, semi-psychotic Scarlet Pimpernel or Zorro, running around behind a mask doing bad things to worse people, unknown perhaps even to his 'lord and master' the noble knight. But doing the reverse would have dire, and possibly unplayable, consequences for your characters in the very near future.

--------------------------------------------

As a notation, one of the legacy players (a sizeable number of whom have gone 'YAY!', which in turn makes ME go 'YAY!!') has enquired about Spheres of Power. I have heard of SoP several times, and have taken a look at it, but I have two current problems with it:

• Spheres of Power is AFAIK not in Hero Lab, which I am leaning heavily on for my balancing and double-checking. (And if you use Hero Lab, please include a link to your character file(s) so I don't have to go through the labor of doing it all again.) If anyone knows of a SoP add-on for Hero Lab, let me know.
• I am very, very not familiar with the system, which raises my concerns in regards to 'adding on a sub-system' found in the psionic/psychic stuff above. However, because and only because it is a legacy player asking, I will be creating the first of a series of threads, 'Walk Me Through It', that will assist me (and hopefully others) in learning this particular sub-system, how it works with the rest of the game, how well it balances, and the like. (I plan on making WMTI posts for the kingdom-building rules, the army rules, and the Path of War stuff - though that won't put PoW on the approved list any time soon.)

As a reminder to bloody well everyone: read every single word and spoilered thing in that first post. There are critical things to be found there, the most critical being that entire 'About myself' bit, which I hope will pretty much set expectations for GM/Player interactions during the game. As well, you are not done with your character until you've built both of them. I'm seeing a fair number of 'I'm gonna make a Gender Race Class!!' when in reality it should be 'I'm thinking about a Gender Race Class, with a Gender Race Class cohort, and a group of people who Concept.'

A good example would be my GMPPC (GM pseudo-PC) being carried over from the previous game - Coalhouse Porter, a male half-orc rogue/monk who is a very straightforward baggage handler, and his half-sister cohort Alysandra Janus, a female half-elf bard who puts y'all to shame in the diplomacy and contract negotiations department. Their concepts evolve together; you won't be able to properly build one character without giving serious thought to the other. So give it serious thought!!

Questions!!

Thanks for the answer Wyrm! Since it is going to be a problem, instead I'm probably going with a paladin as the main PC and a vigilante disguised as his squire but that actually is a spy/assassin.

I was inspired by Robin Hobb books.

The Paladin will be a noble, a honored warrior and a good man in general.

The Squire/Vigilante/Spy/Assassin will be his nephew. I'm aiming for a royal assassin, working directly for the crown, sent on his first field mission... being a squire is a pretty good disguise since it would allow him free movement both in courts as well among the common folk.

The plan is for the Paladin to not know about his nephew's assassin role (which he would disapprove since he needs to be LG) but he would also be somewhat aware of his nephew's spying job, even if he believes the boy is doing so for his father and not for the crown.

The fun stuff is that the vigilante can have two tendencies... one for the social persona (LG) and the other for the vigilante (LN) so there would be little chances for the paladin to smell something weird.

Spheres of Power is AFAIK not in Hero Lab, which I am leaning heavily on for my balancing and double-checking. (And if you use Hero Lab, please include a link to your character file(s) so I don't have to go through the labor of doing it all again.) If anyone knows of a SoP add-on for Hero Lab, let me know.

FYI, A simple google search for Spheres of Power Hero Lab will bring up this link.

As for learning Spheres of Power, I will say it is probably the easiest pathfinder system that I have ever come across. I am sure that when you finally create the 'Walk Me Through It' threads you will find it short.

My character's cohort is a monk with an archetype... I have to convert him to an unchained monk, but can I keep his archetype?

Alrighty! Revising my plan away from using psychics suggests I'll be building two sorcerer brothers (if it's okay, I'm planning to have one go veiled illusionist, and one to go arcane trickster).

Now to decide on secondary classes (I've got occupations/roles, but it's worth thinking about things like what classes best fit those roles).

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Is there a preferred format for submissions, or just "generally make it look clean?"

Dot for interest.

I'm thinking a blind two-weapon fighter, with the appropriate feat chains, and his perky alchemist cohort--who is also his dealer, since the incident that left our stalwart hero without his eyesight also left him hooked on a sordid little concoction to manage the pain.

Thanks for the answer Wyrm! Since it is going to be a problem, instead I'm probably going with a paladin as the main PC and a vigilante disguised as his squire but that actually is a spy/assassin.

I was inspired by Robin Hobb books.

Know them well, so I understand where you're coming from.

The Paladin will be a noble, a honored warrior and a good man in general.

The Squire/Vigilante/Spy/Assassin will be his nephew. I'm aiming for a royal assassin, working directly for the crown, sent on his first field mission... being a squire is a pretty good disguise since it would allow him free movement both in courts as well among the common folk.

An ... interesting theory, with one core equally interesting issue that raises its head, to wit 'how will I be an assassin without being of Evil alignment?' (Recall/read the alignment notes above.) There are ways around it, but this is definitely something you need to explain, because for the long-view game that the PCs will be the agents of accomplishing, the manner and methodology is as important as the success.

The plan is for the Paladin to not know about his nephew's assassin role (which he would disapprove since he needs to be LG) but he would also be somewhat aware of his nephew's spying job, even if he believes the boy is doing so for his father and not for the crown.

The fun stuff is that the vigilante can have two tendencies... one for the social persona (LG) and the other for the vigilante (LN) so there would be little chances for the paladin to smell something weird.

Two things.

First, a LG individual - or rather, a non-paladin LG individual - can very, very easily approve of the efficiency of the use of an assassin. Quietly murder one individual, prevent a war that kills thousands, that sort of thing. (Rulers especially need to possess this capacity.) Paladins need to be made of sterner, or perhaps more focussed, stuff; while they might be party to infiltration, the fellow who needs killing would definitely be required to have a blade in his hand, have a chance to survive.

Second, 'spy and royal assassin, on his first mission for the crown', is not likely to be a situation in which such a character would be finding themselves at any time in the next RL six months to a year. I do not deny that the spy skillset (whether acquired via archetype or PrC) will be useful in the future; there are plenty of cities and governments that need to be 'cased'. Assassin, should you manage to come up with a LN or TN methodology that you can stick to, is similar - potentially very useful, even if it's only in the defense. But unless you go out of Brevoy and make your cohort an assassin-spy for someone else, the only Royal within reach at game-start who is currently outfitted (per se) with spies and assassins is Noleski Surtova.

Consider also the potential personal-conflict issues lurking. After the paladin gives an oath of fealty, should he discover that his cohort is NOT working for him and the king to whom he's sworn that oath, he would be honorbound to capture and bind him over for the king's justice if he could do so, or slay him if he could not. (And a paladin ... what's a paladin get you that you can't acquire some other way? ;) )

So the core issue that needs to be addressed (by me, really) is this:

If you do not make sure your characters - both leaders and cohorts - are free to give their full and complete loyalty, you are running a very real and immediate risk of needing to write up a new one. Because of that, this is something that would break an application.

My character's cohort is a monk with an archetype... I have to convert him to an unchained monk, but can I keep his archetype?

Yes. Purple Duck Games' archetype is the approved Unchained update for Zen Archer.

Is there a preferred format for submissions, or just "generally make it look clean?"

By preference the standard from Hero Lab, and if you have Hero Lab, you should provide the file to me. (Keep your GM happy!! Let him do less work!!)

FYI, A simple google search for Spheres of Power Hero Lab will bring up this link.

Twenty bucks for one add-on; ouch. But thanks for the link.

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The first 'WMTI' post, for Spheres of Power, is now up. Also available (and recommended) for use is the Recruitment Tracking Sheet, with an example already filled in. (Columns with green headers should not be written into.) You should link your character's name to their information, for easy access for me. Ability gauges (Enable / Control / etc.) are from 0 to 1, going by quarter-points. Anyone who thinks their character deserves above a 1 in something ... is probably tooting their own horn too loudly, and will receive a particularly detailed examination by me when that time rolls around.

What's the timeline on this whole thing? I'm just now realizing that this will be a bit of work, and I might need to pace myself a bit.

Hi GM! Submitting Timm Tones here for your appreciation. I have the Hero Lab file, by the way, and I can send it to you. :)

Regarding Spheres of Power (a system that is entirely unknown to me by the way), the following couple of links may help. "May" being the operative word here as at first glance they do seem somewhat complicated and maybe a little reminiscent of Words of Power (please note the "at first glance" caveat).

Click me!

Hey, me too!

What's the timeline on this whole thing? I'm just now realizing that this will be a bit of work, and I might need to pace myself a bit.

I believe I posted the timeline on the recruitment in the 'About the recruitment' section of the very first post. Let me check.

Yup, I did.

If you meant something besides the recruitment, please specify. Otherwise, try reading the original post.

Hi GM! Submitting Timm Tones here for your appreciation. I have the Hero Lab file, by the way, and I can send it to you. :)

I do not want you to send a file to me; I do not want to give my email out if I don't have to. I also would prefer not receiving a PM just to tell me you're applying, when a submission - and questions about submissions - belong in the thread. Give me a link to your character file, where-ever you might host it (Google Drive is a handy place).

Also, if you're going to use something that requires specificity - like, say, six cracked ioun stones giving skill bonuses - then you need to actually detail that specificity.

In addition, I am not appreciative of this sort of tactic, in gaining a +1 boost to every CHA skill for only 1200 gp. While technically legal, it is just the sort of thing that makes me go 'okay, that character looks dodgy'. Seeing multiple stunningly massive skill bonuses on a 7th level character, 60' darkvision on a human, a +1 tonfa buried in the gear, and 'loves the shadows' attributes combined with 'loves the light' attributes, definitely makes me go 'WTF?!?'

Post a link to your character file, and I'll load it up and take a look at some point. But just on a technical glance-through, even before reaching the background, I believe this would be destined for the circular file. My suggestion would be for you to trash what appears to be a revision of an old character, complete with legacy oddities, and start from scratch.

Sounds like a very interesting game. Gonna see if I can come up with an Engaging character or two for it. I have ideas.

I can't find any archetypes listed for unchained monks and nothing for purple duck games under regular monks... does anyone have the info on this archetype for me? If I have to pay for a book, I'd rather rethink and rebuild the cohort with a completely different idea...

Ok, I'll be breaking this in a couple spoilers.

Azrael, got you covered. 3PP Purple Duck Games - Unchained Monk Archetypes.user.

Long nasty day at work; tired. Will look at stuff later.

thanks... can't seem to open it with anything I have on my computer... the format .user doesn't work for me... can you format it as a pdf maybe? or .txt or .doc? thanks.

Um ... okay, sorry, thought you had Hero Lab. (That was a Hero Lab file. Dur me!! :P :D ) Look for a message to your PMbox shortly.

Settled on Cavalier and Wizard for my characters and a lot of different backgrounds. Not sure how political I want to get yet.

ok thx

Well, this sounds absolutely fascinating and awesome!

Got all sorts of ideas runnin through my head, but a quick question on presentation:

I tend to use the Paizo official stat block(aka, what you would see in the Bestiary), is that acceptable? I lack Hero Labs, and do not plan on buying it, at least any time soon.

Edit:

Are you OK with us swapping standard racial traits for ones from ARG, Inner Sea Races, etc?

Also, out of sheer curiosity, why no witches? I don't plan on using that class, but it just seems odd to not allow that, vs say Gunslinger, Samurai or Ninja.

I am 90% sure the witch thing is a carry over from the previous game. I have no idea how The Wyrm Ouroboros feels about Witches - he might also be opposed to them, but I know the original GM had them banned from his recruitment due to power concerns and to avoid dealing with Evil Eye/Misfortune/Slumber/Ice Tomb shenanigans.

Cohort;

Feats: As PC, including bonus story feat. Will gain 'nesting' Leadership-style feat at 7th level (may select Cohorts now, if desired, and gain a free feat at 7th).

Could you please explain this a bit more? Does this mean my Lvl 7 PC gets a Cohort and 10 followers, and my Cohort gets an additional 7 followers? And therefore my PC has effectively 17 total?

Also, I think I will create a Monk for this, very fast, wind stance, panther style, high charisma. His cohort will also be a monk, but with a focus on dragon style, strong and brash.
The followers are the reminants of a Clan of Ki Artists who are still loyal to the PC, and so they are all low level Monks as well (or warriors if they cant all be monks) and so he tries to lead the clan as best he can while still training them.

So a clan of Martial Artist monks :)

Good morning, GM! A few questions:

1. For your own writing / personal preference, how where do you fall on the Machiavelli vs. Howard Dean scale in terms of volatility with intrigue?

2. Are there any topics or tropes which particularly bother you in character creation / in-game discussion we should be aware of? For example, does tough-guy-with-a-soft-heart feel too cliche? Does detailed description of torture bother you?

3. You've stated you're ill-inclined towards non-core races for this campaign, and I understand the reasoning behind that. Would you consider permitting the watersinger archetype for Bard to be used by a core race instead of an Undine?

4. What are your feelings about platypodes?

5. Would you consider a follower of Hanspur to be too unwieldy for the aristocrats of the River Kingdoms to entrust on such endeavors as would be embarked upon in this campaign?

6. Though prices for goods have set starting points in the books, would you be open to markets responding to excess supply / shortages in goods to adjust their prices accordingly?

Many thanks!

This sounds interesting. I'll see if I can find the time to get something together.

My initial idea is a couple that are both followers of Desna. One would either be a bard or an evangelist cleric while the other would probably be a flying blade swashbuckler(though perhaps with a one level dip in warpriest due to the heavy prerequisites required for all the starknife feats). Obviously the followers would be more followers of Desna. Both would use Desna's Shooting Star divine fighting technique. I worry though that the bard stuff will be redundant with your GMPC, thoughts on that? Edit: I guess your bard is a negotiator, so overlap won't be too much of a problem.

How do you feel about VMC? Did I miss where it was mentioned? Considering going VMC Cavalier (Order of the Star) if I do end up going for the cleric option.

Will you allow the Master Performer and grandmaster performer feats without the faction requirements? Would the evangelist cleric qualify, or only if I were to go bard? Not sure what these ranks usually mean in terms of levels. If you do require the faction requirement, perhaps I could have my Bard come from Taldor, it's not too far away.

What class I do end up going for my performer probably depends on the answer to the above questions.

Do we get skill unlocks for free when we reach 5/10/15 skill-ranks or do we have to pay a feat? It might be fun to spend a feat and a trait to get a bit intimidate on my swashbuckler, but I'm not sure I want to spend two feats and a trait.

Your restrictions on gear is rather inflexible. For my swashbuckler for example I probably want a blinkback belt (5000 GP), a Headband of Charisma (4000 GP) and a +1 starknife (2330 GP). Any chance you can losen those requirements? What I normally see is a restriction that one item can't be more than half your gold (though 8k certainly works), but that you are free to chose whatever you want for the rest. Alternatively, could you consider raising the threshold to 2,5k for "any magic item", so we can afford +1 weapons?

...Standard multi-classing, no variants.

I am crafting up a wizard from the elf houses who plans to oversee arcane knowledge and learning in the new kingdoms.

Gonna give it a read. Might have an Arcanist or Bard I wanna try out for it. But will give it all a read later.

That's a shame. They really are two very different mechanics. VMC is just like a feat chain/package and actually possible to pick up by casters without hurting themselves too much. Hope my other question is allowed.

This sounds like an interesting game. My only question is in regard to this part:

The area and culture are loosely based off post-Renaissance France and Spain

I was under the impression that Brevoy and the River Kingdoms were more equivalent to Slavic eastern Europe (i.e. Poland, Kievan Rus, Muscovy) in the early middle ages, a confluence of Iobarian, Ulfen, and Taldor culture (instead of Russian, Norse, and Byzantine Greek) with the additional obvious George R.R. Martin influences. "Russian Westeros," was I believe what James Jacobs called Brevoy.

Let me know if I missed something somewhere (and if the Russian accent I've done for Oleg and Svetlana the times I've ran Stolen Lands was misguided), or if this is just your homebrew version of Golarion.

3. You've stated you're ill-inclined towards non-core races for this campaign, and I understand the reasoning behind that. Would you consider permitting the watersinger archetype for Bard to be used by a core race instead of an Undine?

Check out the Racial Heritage feat. Humans, Half-Elves, and Half-Orcs can be any racial archetype.

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I was under the impression that Brevoy and the River Kingdoms were more equivalent to Slavic eastern Europe (i.e. Poland, Kievan Rus, Muscovy) in the early middle ages, a confluence of Iobarian, Ulfen, and Taldor culture (instead of Russian, Norse, and Byzantine Greek) with the additional obvious George R.R. Martin influences. "Russian Westeros," was I believe what James Jacobs called Brevoy.

Let me know if I missed something somewhere (and if the Russian accent I've done for Oleg and Svetlana the times I've ran Stolen Lands was misguided), or if this is just your homebrew version of Golarion.

Golarion names/language don't correlate with historical political structures/cultures. While outfits, names, and language in Brevoy are probably somewhat Slavic (Brevoy is really far north, and it's COLD), their noble houses system of government, general love of dueling, high-mobility court structures, legitimized piracy, and loose coalition of city states centered around prestigious coalitions all mirror Renaissance Italy more strongly than anything else.

Are we allowed to edit our submissions after submitting them, but before the deadline? Nothing stat-wise, but if we're supposed to try and weave our backstories together somehow....