Opening the discussion thread.
Hi all, I am sick as a dog so my posting rate maybe slow for a few more days.
In the interim, please create an alias for your character, finish up character sheets, equipment, etc, and finish up any outstanding items (ie. background details).
I am working on a Google Drive folder to hold all the campaign docs. May also post the exploration map on imgur or something like that for quick direct access.
The first scene will be meeting somebody in Lastwall, so you'll have a chance to rp with each other for intros and physical descriptions.
Let me know if there are any questions or thoughts.
Feel better soon, I’m alright starting when you are well. Being sick is never fun.
Also, checking in
Nobility
* Azorius
- Human Cleric of Pharasma
- Needs new stats due to campaign rolls
* Volkar
- Human Sorcerer (Ectoplasm bloodline)
- Stats needed
* Lord Christian
- Human Daring Champion Cavalier
- Dex build melee
- Dex/Cha 18
Proletariat
* Thorek
- Dwarven Gloomblade Fighter
- Str18
- Haunted by ancestors (knowledge skills)
- Insanely good saves vs magic (starting lvl7)
* Tomas
- Human Gravewarden Slayer
- Ranged build, trapfinding
- Stats needed
* Brother Keryn
- Half-Elf monk of iomodae
- Stats needed
* Rau
- Human Royal Accuser Inquisitor of Pharamsa
- Ranged build
- Dex18
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A well rounded group. 4 on the front line, 2 Ranged damage, 1 arcane. Lots of divine magic, have trapfinding
Interestingly enough we have 3 noblemen. A true boon for kingmaker. It’ll add true legitimacy for making a kingdom.
Eventually Thorek will want a foreigner quarter in the kingdom, so his clan can settle here. Something different as he is the only non-human besides for the half-elf
Thank you for having me. I look forward to playing this.
Thanks for the invite I am looking forward to this.
As we are exploring and building the Kingdom I'll try making a hex map using my hex kit app. I'm using it in a Kingmaker game I am running and another I am playing in. Here's a link to the one I am running. The purple border is the PC Kingdom. Spoilers for the regular Kingmaker Adventure Path obviously.
That's just an image but I've got notes what terrain upgrades are in each hex. As they set up farms on plains hexes I am putting down new base tiles with square fields, as well as roads where they are building them.
Alright I've got my character sheet updated.
I slightly tweaked his gear, I picked up three Hallowed Challices. Azorius, Rau and Thomas can benefit from these as followers of Pharasma.
PSA
4d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 5, 4) = 15
4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 6, 6) = 16
4d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 4, 6) = 16
4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 3, 6) = 14
4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 5, 3) = 13
4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 6) = 12
So Azorius. You can easily start with Str16 Dex12 Con15+1=16 Int13 Wis18 Cha14
Or some combination thereof. So with a heavy armor Cleric, you’ll be able to swing much harder in the front lines.
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Also VMC Battle Oracle? Lvl3 can get heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency. Would let you do cool things like he a scythe wielding Cleric of Pharasma.
Plus curses can be fluffy. Haunted Curse fits Pharasma pretty well. And gives useful spells outside your class
Thanks for pointing that out Thorek. Where is the +1 for Con coming from?
I'll have to consider the VMC Battle Oracle option... it'd give some neat abilities but I'd be tied in and Clerics get very few feats as it is currently.
Ah sorry the +1 at lvl4.
For the VMC...yeah it’s a huge feat sink. But often a fun one.
Thanks for selecting me. I hope you feel better soon. I will work on my alias and finalize build in the meantime. Looking forward to it!
Alright, Brother Keryn's alias and build are all set!
Feel better soon GM!
I've already got some notes for updating this profile to the new stats. build, and level. I'll be able to get it done tomorrow so I should be all set shortly.
Thanks for the invite!
Checking in. Hope you feel better soon GM.
At the moment Tomas is the quiet guy in the corner. :)
And we're a complete sausage fest? That's rare.
Ended up getting Rau fixed up tonight. Alias is completely done with the exception of some gear (still got a little over 1k gold and trying to decide what to purchase with it)
At the moment Tomas is the quiet guy in the corner.
Rau is the quiet brooding guy in the corner. Maybe we can share an ale while not speaking with each other.
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Years later Tomas and Rau will say of each other. "Best friend I ever had. Even now we still get together and spend hours not speaking to each other."
Volkar's alias is finished. Did anyone else's character fight in the Crusade of Reclamation? I figure there's a chance we would know each other from that, if so.
Rau fought in the crusade, but kind of as a guerrilla fighter. As the group he was with (Royal Accusers) was attached to the Prince during the initial undead uprising, everyone he knew was either dead or separated from each other. During the crusade itself, Rau was a solo actor who wandered around and helped crusader groups as he could. He never officially joined up with any of the incoming groups from Lastwall. This settlement action starting now is the first time he's come forward and gotten involved formally.
By the way, I'm alternating between either getting a wayfinder and ioun stone (are we rolling for resonance?) for my last 1k gold, or a handy haversack and lots of random potions/alchemical stuff/etc, but not sure. Does anyone have a good recommendation for what else might be useful? I've already grabbed a masterwork weapon, +1 armor, and a cloak of resistance.
EDIT: On Equipment.
I think the decision is made for you, based on how much you have left. A handy haversack is 2000 gp, so you'd have to sacrifice something else to afford it.
EDIT: On background
In that case, would you be okay with saying that Rau and Volkar encountered each other a couple times during the Crusade, where Rau linked up with Volkar's unit for a couple of missions? I find that for something like a Kingmaker where we're supposed to be cooperating to build a kingdom, it helps to have some pre-existing ties between PCs.
I agree. I spent most of the crusade like a Ronin wandering the woods and jumping in on battles, helping out, sharing a meal over a campfire and disappearing back into the woods again. It is very feasible that I would have run into anyone once or several times. We might not KNOW each other but there would be a veteran of battle / acquaintance thing going on.
Yeah I forgot the haversack was that much. I'm still wondering how good the wayfinder/stone combo is though, or if I should stock up on sundries, or if there's some less than 1k item that is sooooo good that I somehow didn't notice.
I agree on having shared ties makes kingmaker go smoother. I’d say that after Thorek and his clan escaped to Lastwall he’d have fought with the reclamation. He’d stubbornly want vengeance for his lost home and to reclaim his clan’s prosperity. Would gladly have him be a late addition to Volka’s unit. Especially as he can speak Dwarven, which would endear him to Thorek.
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For Equipment I got a wayfinder and rolled. Got constant Endure Elements. Not really all that useful, but very characterful.
That works for me. Volkar and Thorek could have served together, and they at least recognize and know who Rau is, if not knowing him well.
Brother Keryn? Tomas? Either of you a veteran of the Crusade?
Also, we seem to be well set up for undead hunting. Most of us worship Pharasma or another deity who is anti-undead, and a lot of us have abilities that make us more effective at fighting them.
Tomas is a Crusade veteran. Mostly used as a scout.
He wouldn't have been very chatty but he would be more comfortable with other veterans. Maybe those who served tend to wear a simple silver badge to remember?
Ustalav was always a stronghold for Pharasma worshipers, not surprising so many of us are that. Tomas was orphaned by Undead and raised in a Pharasmian childrens home. "The Nuns and their rulers..." Shivers and rubs his knuckles.
Rau cringes. "Oh I remember them. That's why after seminary I became an Inquisitor instead of a Priest. Couldn't bear being near nuns any more..."
Well if all of our characters know each other from the reclamation, then being a party makes sense. It’d be why we agreed to come and do this. The campaign is going to make much more sense.
I agree. I want to play Rau as someone who is disenfranchised about the governmental role of the Prince leading the Royal Accusers. He feels that if they were tied together by their belief in Pharasma instead of their belief in the crown, they would not have fallen so easily. That's why he played a solo role during the reclamation, as he did not want to just commit to following another secular group. His hope is that he can rebuild an Inquisitor group that follows the church after resettlement.
Having him at least recognize people from the reclamation works well, since Tomas and Volkar are both Pharasmans, he would remember fighting next to them. As one of the nobility in the group is a cleric of Pharasma, he would be with this group in the hopes that if they settled land together he could be given leave to create that group. His tie to the party will be very strong even if there is little shared background other than recognizing other soldiers. Azorius's presence is his real motivation to join up, whether or not he knows him already.
I've purposely done almost no background for him (I usually write many paragraphs) since I want him to be an in-the-moment character. His whole life has been fighting undead and evildoers with the Accusers, then fighting undead during the crusade, and lives now from fight to fight with only his belief in Pharasma to sustain him. It's a pretty dreary life but I think it will allow him to be an interesting character to build as we go, having no real ties as opposed to being influenced by his background.
Well if we are planning on making it group that knows each other...
I can work with that. I will tweak the background to make it work. I am thinking of something along the lines of the mercenary group was hired to help with the reclamation and when it came time to reclaim the lands his unit was offered the chance. The men and women under his command were sent to gather the rest of the troops and their families. This will work well with Leadership feat at 6th level. That would be enough time for them to come back with the troops and equipment.
I have a question that I am a little hazy on with tax feats. What does tax feats do for exotic weapons?
Nothing, afaik. I think the best way to use an exotic weapon is the trait Heritage Weapon. Gives you 1 Weapon Proficiency. It really beats using a feat.
Keryn fought orcs in Belkzen, but not in the Crusades. That said, he's been an itinerant for a while, so he could have met up with you at any time.
Hi all, just wanted to post a quick update.
I'm feeling much better and should have the first post up tomorrow evening. Thank you all for your patience.
I'll also begin dropping things in the Google folder as needed (and put a link at the top of the page for easy access).
I'll also go through the posts so far and try to answer questions and clarify anything I can.
@GM: Good to hear you're doing better.
If you get a chance could you open up the Gameplay thread? I know we're not starting til tomorrow but it's easier to track new posts once the game shows up on our campaign tabs.
Seconded everything Rau said
I want to play Rau as someone who is disenfranchised about the governmental role of the Prince leading the Royal Accusers. He feels that if they were tied together by their belief in Pharasma instead of their belief in the crown, they would not have fallen so easily. That's why he played a solo role during the reclamation, as he did not want to just commit to following another secular group. His hope is that he can rebuild an Inquisitor group that follows the church after resettlement.
Hmmm....Volkar might be okay with that, but he's not going to be too big on an armed group operating independent of the government. One of the things he wants to do is consolidate the power of Ustalav under the monarchy, instead of giving the regional nobility as much independent power as they had. After all, his father did start a war that resulted in the creation of a burned and salted wasteland, and the monarchy apparently did nothing about it - indeed, more nobles may have wanted him to rule than the Prince himself despite that action.
He'd probably be okay with it if an arrangement similar to what the Hellknights have with Cheliax could be worked out. He's just going to want some written assurances.
Glad you're doing better GM. I'd also ask you to open up Gameplay so we can get timely updates.
EDIT
@Brother Keryn - That should be fine. I imagine that with Ustalav in shambles, Orcs from the Hold of Belkzen are going to be able to ravage part of the area, so you could have come on for your expertise in fighting the Orcs.
@Lord Christian - If you don't want to change your backstory, don't worry about it. We can say that your mercenary company was hired to provide muscle for the expedition.
Azorious has been around a lot and teamed up with a few groups. So him having temporarily having worked with anyone works. Usually fighting undead or rogue necromancers but he's certainly fought other things too.
Sorry about that, I have opened the Gameplay thread.
Volkar might be okay with that, but he's not going to be too big on an armed group operating independent of the government
We're gonna have some fun interparty discussions lol. As far as Rau sees it, other religions have their inquisitors associated with their churches or directly to the deities themselves. In terms of Pharasmans specifically, all other nations have Inquisitors that are church based as well.
Ustalav was the only place that there was an organized group of Inquisitors reporting to the government as opposed to the church (the Royal Accusers), and then Ustalav was the only place that fell to the undead. That, in Rau's eyes, is a sign from Pharasma herself stating that Inquisitors need to be tied to the deity not a secular body.
Any concept of tying Inquisitors of Pharasma to a state body again would be viewed by Rau as heresy, a direct action against the proven wishes of the Goddess. He's pretty adamant about that, because as a former member of the Royal Accusers he feels that he had previously made a bad choice and was part of the initial problem. Ensuring it does not happen again is how he feels he can redeem himself.
He'd probably be okay with it if an arrangement similar to what the Hellknights have with Cheliax could be worked out
If we worked something like that out, then it would be the same problem all over again. Straight from the writings on governmental policy in Cheliax, "Organized secular and religious forces such as the Hellknights and the Inquisitors further strive to quell any organized dissent."
Notice that the Hellknights are viewed as a secular force in Cheliax, and the Inquisitors are viewed as a religious force. It is ok to work WITH the government like Chelaxian Inquisitors, as long as it's not FOR the government like the Hellknights. Rau wants no government usurping the sovereignty of Pharasma!
So...how’s this?
The Inquisition is a Religious Force that answers to the High Priest.
The High Priest has a religious and secular position.
The king can order the high priest around, but can’t order the inquisitors around.
* King: “Inquisitor Bob, I want you to kill my political foes.”
* Inquisitors: “No.”
* King: “Ugh! Fine! High Priest, If I find proof that my political foes are vampires, have your inquisitors kill them.”
* High Priest: “Yup.”
If my High Priest tells me that those guys are vampires, the Inquisitors will kill them. I even have a hammer and wooden stake in my inventory already.
Basically, Rau wants nothing to do with politics. He's in this group to help bring the land back to order, put someone who follows Pharasma (at least in name) in power, and then do the Goddess's bidding freely. That's why he keyed in on one of the nobles in the group being a Cleric of Pharasma (Azorius). Any political shenanigans can be taken care of by the nobility and he'll just follow along. If there are any disagreements inside the group he'll just go with whatever Azorius says unless it blatantly disagrees with Pharasman tenets.
Speaking of which, what kingdom leadership roles do each of you want to build for?
Thorek has Str18 as his highest stat. He’d make a good General/Warden because of that. If he had to be could be treasurer with his Wis16.
I've never done Kingmaker before so I don't know what the leadership roles are. Please educate me
https://pkingmaker.obsidianportal.com/wikis/leadership-roles
Each of us get 1 role
Can try to find NPCs if we don’t have enough players for each role
Best to match good stats
With an 18 Dexterity looks like the best roles for Rau would be Marshal or Spymaster. Marshal fits his personality better, and both seem to have the same vacancy penalties so...Marshal it is?
Someone else probably knows better than me which are most important to fill, so if Marshal isn't one of the big ones, I have 18 Dex, 16 Str/16 Wis so can fill a lot of roles.
There are 7 of us and 11 roles, so which 4 do we NOT fill initially?
I think that the big 4 which are needed are Ruler/Diplomat/Treasurer/Councilor
That said, I’m a huge fan of NPCs filling non-adventuring roles. Because it seems odd to me that the kingdom’s diplomat, treasurer and councilor would be absent fighting zombies.
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The favorite method that I have seen is this:
Each player picks what they find the most fun.
Each player makes an NPC to fill in for the PC while they travel and adventure. The NPC has the same high stat for ease of use. The NPC must be tied to the PC. This lets players flesh out their characters by having spouses/family/subordinates/etc.
For roles that are not filled, the players have to recruit NPCs that they meet.
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Usually someone has to be in the top 4. Now, nobody has to be so long as we can recruit NPCs. And if we adventure there is no logic problems with the treasurer/councilor/diplomat being gone.
Well let's get it sorted then. Everybody pick their #1 and #2 choice, and if neither of those is in the top 4 do a 3rd choice that is, and we'll figure it out from there
Big 4:
Ruler (CHA) - primary leader
Councilor (WIS or CHA) - ensures citizens are properly represented
Treasurer (WIS or INT) - tax collection; manages treasury
Diplomat (INT or CHA) - international relations
Important:
General (STR or CHA) - commands armies
High Priest (WIS or CHA) - religious needs and growth
Magister (INT or CHA) - higher learning and magic
Marshal (DEX or WIS) - organize patrols; enacts justice in rural/wilderness areas
Spymaster (DEX or INT) - observes crime; spies on other nations
Warden (STR or CON) - organizes defense and city guardsmen
Doesn't have a penalty for being vacant, so less important
Royal Assassin (DEX or STR) - executioner and/or assassin
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Rau has 18 DEX, 16 STR/WIS.
Top choice RP wise is Marshal.
2nd choice RP wise is Spymaster.
Best fit for top 4 if needed is Treasurer (decent score and although none fit RP wise, the other ones are even worse fits)
It's something we can iron out in play - I just know that Volkar isn't going to want an independent armed power causing trouble. The big thing is they both want to do things differently than were done in Ustalav originally.
Actually, he'd probably accept a mission statement for the Inquisition, limiting the scope of their targets and investigations. So long as they aren't running around accusing people without evidence, Volkar wouldn't see a problem.
As for Kingdom Roles, Volkar has 20 Charisma and a 16 Dex
Top RP choice is Ruler
2nd RP choice is Councilor
He would also make a decent Spymaster, although it would be a bit more of a reach for him to fill that role. Honestly, he's a good fit for any Charisma-based role.
I’m a big believer in choosing roles based on RP first and foremost.
Thorek would like being Marshall (Str18). As a warrior, Mason and Engineer, and likely a clan leader, he’d be all about strengthening the city and it’s defenses
I’m a big believer in choosing roles based on RP first and foremost.
Thorek would like being Marshall (Str18). As a warrior, Mason and Engineer, and likely a clan leader, he’d be all about strengthening the city and it’s defenses
You sure you don't mean warden? That's the defense one. Marshal is the one that goes off into the wilderness to patrol the outlying areas. That's the one Rau was looking at, since it's not too far from what he enjoyed doing through the reclamation