@Signy: Were you thinking of romancing an existing NPC, like Kesten? Or did you want a new made-up character for that?
Hm, I was thinking about the list as less like a set of New Year's resolutions, and more like a Christmas wish list. That is to say, Signy isn't on the prowl for a beau, but is open to possibilities.
Oh that Kesten, what to think... Signy wouldn't deny he's pretty hot, but she doesn't always like him. Also Signy has a bit of embarrassing baggage with him. He's kind of like that pint of ice cream someone brought to a potluck at your house, which never got used and is still sitting in the freezer.
Not a flavor you'd buy for yourself so you probably get ice cream you prefer instead and let it linger on in there. But it's still ice cream, so a time will come when it's the only option in the freezer and you're wanting some ice cream. It may not be the healthiest food choice, or exactly what's going to best hit the spot, but eventually you'll eat it. That's Kesten, Signy's best option in an extremely narrow range of choices. But hey, who doesn't have poor choices in their rearview mirror? Signy's certainly not going to lose sleep over it should it come to pass then crash and burn.
Or, put another way, I don't want to force you to have to go to the extra work of making a new NPC if you're not feeling like taking on the extra work. For that matter the same is true of the Feasting Hall of Cayden Cailean. There's no information on the place aside from what's given in the wiki link I included. You'd have to make up everything concerning from whole cloth, which would be extra work for you.
There is a temple of Cayden detailed in Inner Sea Temples, so it wouldn't need to be *completely* from scratch.
Oh, right. Who wants to take Meneas' alchemist's fires? He's got three, but he's definitely not using them now.
The rest of us can take them off your hands between the three of us, or Lina can lean into the mad scientist angle and carry the lot if no one else wants any.
Also: "So, Miss Enchantress, watcha do when you meet something resistant to mind-affecting magic?"
...
"Set it on fire?"
I'm sure this is a plan without a flaw nor any possibility of error! In this lovely forested realm.
I'm fine with Lina taking them.
Brental will hold any that Lina doesn't want.
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Hey guys, I just want to apologize for the delay in posting. Work has been crazy lately and it's been all I could do to make sure combat was moving along in my other games but this next post I have to make here is quite big!
But no more excuses!
Today I take a stand!
Today.... or at least within the next 24 hour period, we will be moving into the next book officially! I will be working on this at work (shhhh don't tell the boss) and power through the whole thing for liberty, for JUSTICE...
I may be a little sleep deprived >.>'
Point being I'm sorry about the delay I'll be posting tonight <3
Now worries Rackal, even with an occasional delay your game moves along faster than most any of my other ones. You work hard!
No rush. I can't complain when I've been delayed myself.
Gosh, I hope things settle down at work for you, Rackal, and don't stress yourself out on our accounts.
Certainly, please don't do anything that could get you into trouble. *Adjusts chaotic hat.* Unless it's, like, fun trouble. Which getting yelled at by the boss isn't. :)
Yes, please take your time and take care of yourself!
Posted!
I'll post kingdom rules here when i get back home or any of you could post them if you want.
You syart out with 50 BP provided by Restov. Please use that to plan out some buildings for your new town... I will be posting about what buildings you can make, how long they take to build, etc etc when I get beack home~
You also need to tell me everyone's role going forwards.
Available NPCs for postions in Government.
Jhod
Kesten
Akiros
Riftun
Mekmek
Chief Sootscale
Tyg
Peri
We didn't ever really settle on the positions, did we? My instinctive reaction is to make Brental High Priest, if only because it'd be neat to have the Green Faith as an official thing, but I'm not seriously attached to that.
Also, Rackal, do you want to use that kingdom sheet I've been dropping in, or do you have some other means of tracking the stuff?
I’ll just put it out there that Lina would love to be queen, and if that’s seriously an option now… ;)
She even put a rank in Knowledge (nobility)! But we can sort that out once we check in with everyone to see how their characters are feeling. Maybe Magister for Lina, if Ruler doesn’t pan out.
And, having said that, we could tweak the “form of government” we’re using for modifiers. I figure oligarchy might be best, in mechanical terms, given how influential our PCs are likely to be (especially if one of us is calling themselves a monarch), but with the idea, in-character, that we do hold a parliament with representatives from the Sootscales and the fey and the cities/regions.
Brental, I think you said you were feeling more like Councilor or Grand Diplomat before High Priest?
And are you still for Marshal, Meneas?
I think Signy was a bit unsure about the whole business – maybe Spymaster, I think she said, or Rackal invented the Curator, which sounds basically like the “Minister of Culture?”
NPCs:
All else being equal, since it’s a bit of an idée fixe with me now, since our fey buddies are up for it so long as it’s fun, I’m thinking Spymaster and – hear me out – General? Hopefully not something that will demand much of the attention of whoever it is yet, and gosh would our troops be ready to think on their feet and be prepared for anything. :)
One of the kobolds for Warden, maybe? It strikes me as kind of a marcher lord deal.
Kesten for Royal Enforcer, Akiros for Diplomat (if Brental prefers Councilor)? Our ex-paladin does seem to have some of the graces, while we probably don't want him in charge of the state's internal use of force.
Riftun for Treasurer?
I hope Signy managed to get Steven's address at least. She may want to get in touch again if she's ever traveling his way, or maybe try to lure him her way for a visit. Especially since it turns out she's going to become an important person of some kind.
If she didn't, well there's a placard in her old ale-church in Oppara that reads "Don't cry because it ended. Smile because it happened".
Signy would do best in a role that meets the following criterea:
Does it require getting up early? Nope!
Does it require mostly sitting at a desk? Nope!
Does it require long hours? Nope!
Does it typically require being at certain places at certain times? Nope!
Technically Signy could fill the High Priest role, but unless everyone is up for ale at breakfast it's probably not the place for her.
Spymaster could work, and it sounds cool. She'd accept that role.
Counselor could also work, and if I remember correctly that's more or less a people's representative role. She would do that and be a check in the ruler(s) getting too high-handed about ruling. She'd make a good gadfly that way.
Signy could even do Diplomat if it didn't involve too much letter writing and note taking. She does like to wander, so that's a plus if visiting other places was part of the bargain. She might need help with etiquette though.
Brental as High Priest sounds good if he can reconcile the Green Faith to presiding over human (humanoid) settlements. Otherwise there's Jhod.
Oleg for Treasurer? Riftun might get ulcers doing it?
I think we should best be represented by an oligarchy, with the idea that the ruler actually just listens to the other PCs (as advisors) and the people. In time, as we formalize the institutions, we'll make it more parliamentary as monarchies go. At first, however, we can't really do that because these lands aren't terribly close to Andoran - it's closer to Galt, where the revolutionary ideas are horrifying and murder-y.
Meneas would like to be Marshal or Enforcer (or General, but probably the former two) in that order of preference. I'd like him to be Marshal, Ruler, Enforcer, or General. Though honestly, mechanically he'd probably be best as a General or Enforcer, unless Rackal changes some things from the defaults. His Dex modifier's only +2 rather than +3 for his Str. But that's not really huge.
Other than that, Kesten would probably make a good Enforcer if Meneas isn't one. I wouldn't necessarily want Akiros as a diplomat, but that may just be his barbarian class making me leery. He has a temper, remember, and a diplomat really does need patience.
Lina is our only arcane caster to my knowledge - our fey friends aren't exactly trained in the way to oversee other magickers. Jhod is the obvious choice as a High Priest if Brental doesn't want it, but I'm not sure any of our characters particularly like Erastil.
We don't necessarily need to fill all the positions immediately - the only thing is that they'd hurt our mechanics a bit, but we're also very small at the moment.
I am in full support of developing more of an oligarchy/parliament as we develop, but having Lina as a queen/baroness sounds like a great start.
To reiterate earlier conversations, Brental would feel most comfortable in the Councilor role, which also fits with what he got up to during the year time-skip. He could also be a decent diplomat, but that role is likely best served by someone else. I also do really like the idea of Brental becoming the region's Archdruid.
Meneas seems like an excellent Marshal, so I say go for it.
Signy, do you have a role that you would prefer overall? If we're tapping Brental for High Priest, then Signy makes a natural Councilor.
The only role that we don't *need* filled is the Royal Enforcer.
If I were to make an initial rough pass, I would recommend the following:
And right: we don't have to fill everything now. But if NPCs or PCs are dissatisfied with the role, then we can switch things around.
Counselor could also work, and if I remember correctly that's more or less a people's representative role. She would do that and be a check in the ruler(s) getting too high-handed about ruling. She'd make a good gadfly that way.
When you put it that way, I really like the idea of Councilor for Signy! She can bring the Socratic gadding, and Lina can, um, not bring the hemlock? :) I think the Councilor is also in charge of Holiday edicts, whatever that means, and that sounds very Cayden.
I do like Brental’s slate, all told! How about Jhod for Treasurer? Probably not ideal for macroeconomics, but then again the community focus of Erastil might be good. He’ll grumble, but maybe he’d fall in line if (gods help us) we raised the possibility of finding some bloody Abadarian? (Lina’s not actually trying to give poor Jhod a heart attack, but I imagine she might purely by accident. See? This is why she needs Signy and all y’all to keep her in line.)
Are the kobolds surreptitious enough to be a spymaster? I think one of them's a barbarian, but I'm not sure about the other.
Kobolds are naturally sneaky, I believe. Being a little meta, I noticed that Rackal was rolling sneak attack for Chief Sootscale.
Jhod might surprise us!
For those of us who are young crones who remember old computer games, sort of sneaky kobolds are classic! *Shudders at the memory of kobold commandos in Baldur’s Gate.*
I still feel like having the fey as magister(s) isn't necessarily the wisest choice in the long run, but for now it's probably fine.
Oh it's definitely not wise, but it gets them involved. I probably would have preferred Morof in that position. Lina would also be great, but we're tapping her for Queen. Until we find another arcane powerhouse, it's...a choice.
1. Signy was at Steven's house for some time so she knows how to get there and how to send mail to it if she so desires~
2. Chief Sootscale is a rogue! So he's stealthy and prefers to use traps to solve complex situations as is kobold tradition.
3. Kingdom rules and spreadsheet posted! (Thanks Meneas!) You have fifty BP and twelve months of time to work with before the current time in game. You can purchase more BP at the cost of 4000 gp per BP~
Economy -4 is the penalty for lacking a magister... I'd rather put them as liaisons to the fey, but I'm not sure. Is Morof still "canonically" (for lack of a better term) with us? If so, we could still use him, but if not, yeah, we'll have to wait for another arcane caster. Or a ruler, but I don't see our characters accepting a new person as a ruler as soon as they come on the scene.
EDIT: Rackal ninja'd me! I'll talk buildings once I can.
As a player I don't care what role Signy takes so really she can go wherever needed. She might complain a lot about the work though in some cases.
Oh yeah soooo Morof left to go find the rest of his party >.>'
Old Man Bokken is available for the role of Magister however~
Bokken would be a hilarious Magister.
Ditto: I need to look over the rules and then we can talk buildings!
Building Ideas:
- Barracks (6 BP, 1 lot) - It's always good to get started with some protection
- Granary (12 BP, 1 lot) - It's good to plan for the future, but we don't have any farms yet, so might be premature
- Herbalist (10 BP, 1 lot) - If we want to bring in Bokken, or just have some primitive medical supplies, might be good
- House (3 BP, 1 lot) - A lot of buildings need to be adjacent to a House plot (which has more houses than one), so might be worth investing in. On the other hand, we can always build them during the Kingdom phases, because they don't count against the total of buildings per turn.
- Jail (14 BP, 1 lot) - If we want some extra law & order
- Mill (6 BP, 1 lot) - We do have a water border, assumedly, as we are on a river.
- Town Hall (22 BP, 2 lots) - Costs a lot, but discounts a number of handy buildings.
- Watchtower (12 BP, 1 lot) - Useful because we're still not exactly safe.
Sounds good, Meneas! Maybe the Herbalist could also represent Zuki’s?
Some other ideas, mostly not for right away, showing just how impractical Lina really is:
City Wall (2 BP) x2 – maybe sooner rather than later (at least, once we get some basic buildings up), based on what’s going on in Gameplay: since we’re where two rivers meet, I guess we might be able to have a water border on the other sides?
Inn (10 BP, 1 lot) – is that what the Martyred Manticore is? Just fleshing things out a bit.
Library (6 BP, 1 lot) – mage stuff, and ‘nuff said! :)
Park (4 BP, 1 lot) – ditto, as an herbalist, Lina can’t not push for one.
Pier (16 BP, 1 lot) – probably not right away, but a decent boost to the settlement gp limit.
Shrine (8 BP, 1 lot) – Lina’s not religious, but she would probably like one to the elven pantheon eventually, and we probably should build a stone circle or something for Brental.
While we’re building in town, we could also work on a couple of farms, I guess? And maybe a
Fishery (4 BP) – since we’re on a river, and it would pay our Consumption for the hex? It’s a loose end sort of thing that appeals to me.
***
Are we in a Hills or a Plains hex, DM? And would the remains of the Stag Lord’s fort count as a Ruin that we could rebuild into something (maybe a watchtower?), or salvage?
You are on a hills hex~
And yes, the Stag Fort is a ruin ^^
Some odds and ends:
Thinking about it for a bit, I think I’ve come up with some ideas for a possible drawback/trait to join that party, but that will probably wait until the next close call that really hits Lina hard, either personally or that really shakes Helikia, like a plague or something. (My money’s on the former, I think, since she’s kind of squishy, so I imagine she’s going to be knocked into tortured negative hp dreams at some point.)
I’ll actually pencil in where she’ll put her leadership role bonus once we see what things look like with everyone else’s in place, including the NPCs’, but for now I’m guessing Stability. I’m not really seeing Lina with much of an aptitude for kingdom-level Economy, and while she might be just a teeny bit flattered by the idea, I don’t think she’s wicked enough to really go for the whole totally-not-a-Dark-Lord Galadriel thing and really lean into Loyalty (yet). ;)
As far as I understand the rules, it will be a month to prepare our first hex before building any terrain improvements and anything fancy in our capital? So 3 BP to claim the hex and prepare it?
Then we would try an Economy check for income, and check for random events?
Looking ahead to Month 2, how about whatever we can most usefully use the discount provided by the ruins of the Stag Lord’s fort – I’m guessing a Watchtower/lighthouse maybe? – for, and a House lot, and then either a couple of farms or a farm and a fishery for terrain improvements?
The council is in session, milords and ladies. :)
Sooo since we don't have an hier and Jhod, an NPC, is the treasurer who would like to roll the Economy check and rhe Event chance rolls?
Jhod gets a +3 by the way.
I don't mind if you roll (everything) for us, but if you don't want to, I don't mind. Meneas' office works for Economy, after all.
Our Magister's Cha or Int improves Economy, too. Our Spymaster can do any of the three, too.
Oh heck , you're right!
Well Tyg and Peri would have a +2 as Magister
And Chief Sootscale has a +3 Dex.
I've post Chief Sootscale's bonus into Loyalty, but anyone can swap it if they think it should go elsewhere. Without his bonus, Loyalty's currently the lowest, but with it, Stability is. So... go wild?
Warden goes to Stability, as does General, but I haven't added Akiros or Kesten's bonuses in yet.
Grand Diplomat does, once we factor Riftun in, but I thought Warden goes to Loyalty?
Gah! I'm so behind in everything! I'm fine with whatever kingdom decisions, I'll figure it out later.
I haven't had a good chance to really sit down with the kingdom building rules just yet. I'll also take a look asap.
Don't waste ears of the city on Meneas. While he's probably on a road in the town, it's still only a measly +3 to his Perception check. He's much better at gathering information by hand. Go with Signy or Brental if we're going to use that spell.
Ears of the City allows you to use Diplomacy or Perception.
Oh, that would make more sense then. Yeah, go ahead. xD
The Leveton's Trading Post where Vlad is is quite a long trip outside of Limen, getting there and back would take all day so perhaps we retcon the telling Vald bif for now >.>'
It seems to her Lina doesn't really like being around people for the sake of being around people. That sort of thing can show through whatever one is saying, even if the words say otherwise. As for mistakes, Lina approached the project from the wrong angle. People generally, at least people in places like this, don't care much about what you know. Telling them things you know as a way to make connections to them doesn't work as well as being warm. Talking about knowing things makes people feel like they are dumb, or that they have to compete. It's better to talk about them than yourself, and affirm them in what they say.
*Narrows witchy eyes at folks with a positive Wis modifier and who get how people work.* Should Lina be worried about getting some protection from mind-reading magic? That was just eerie. ;)
I’m biased, of course, but I feel for Lina: panicking a bit because she can tell that folks that she thinks should be able to trust her don’t, but with no very good ideas about how to establish even a temporary rapport to meet the immediate crisis. “I don’t understand! They’re shepherds, and I respect that. I made sure to bring all my sheep facts!”
I’m not sure what time of day we left things at in-game, but depending on how desperately Brental understands the birds’ warnings and our confidence in keeping an eye on comings and goings from Limen, it wouldn’t take much convincing to drag Lina from whatever lair she’s holed up in with her books.
On a completely unrelated note that I’m sure won’t come up anytime soon (OK, for present purposes I’m totally thinking about searching shadows, but the question easily generalizes), Rackal, could we hash out a rule of thumb for what sort of limit you think is reasonable for spells with a listed duration of plain old “concentration” without further specification? On the model of a bunch of the detect spells, I certainly wouldn’t hope for more than min./level, but I’m happy to go with whatever you think is best or just to check in about particular spells as they come up. Just, before I set my heart on any schemes that would be a non-starter.
Some of the detect spells are also able to be put under permanency, I think. Detect magic is, at least. So that's something that might be worth factoring in.
Lina gives me a strong vibe of a group I follow on social media called "Neurodivergent But Make it Fashion".
Also, that's a new spell for me! Very cool and something I might pick up for another one of my characters.
I did look for guidance on this, and there was nothing clear from search the PRD or the boards. There was a good discussion here though. Overall the consensus seems to be that unless otherwise specified, concentration can be maintained perpetually, but that the action requirement means that you can't do much else.
Well, when Lina whiffed that roll I needed something for Signy to think about it. After thinking on it some, I decided to go with the "Frasier and Lilith Crane Problem" from Cheers. It's not that she can't be liked, but her refinement and education make getting there a long and bumpy road given the people she's mixing with.