Henrik Karlsson's page

Bumping this, hows things going Jr. Annalist?

Indeed! It was awesome! Much fun was had all around!

Hello there you fantastic forum folk you!

I would like to share with you what happened with poor old Hannis Drelev in my campaign.

For starters, I had expanded the Drelev Demense quite a bit by the time of book 4 and was more than ready to get going with a protracted war.

That would not happen at all.

Long story short, a few battles here, a dead boggard tribe there and bam, a kidnapped Hannis.

After losing Tatzlford and reclaiming it, they teleport into Fort Drelev, speak to the insurrection and find a hidden passage into the Castle.

In the middle of the night, invisible, they sneak into the castle. Get to the top floor where Hannis, his mistress Quintessa, his wife Pavetta and the wizard Imeckus Stroon is sleeping.

They smash down the doors to Hannis, Quintessa and Pavetta.

They quickly and easily subdue Pavetta, and kill her poor dog.
Quintessa wakes up before they break down her door, dimension doors into Hannis room and together they dimension door away.

Imeckus then very nearly proceeds to kill the entire party, but due to the action balance being in the partys favour and thus manage to score a few good hits, they force him to flee.

They do kidnap Pavetta, and later realizes why Hannis hardly ever spends time with her.

A few days later, they decide to do it again.

They scry on Hannis, find him sleeping in another room. Party Wizard summons succubi, teleports in, charms person and teleports back out with a nude Hannis into the middle of the castle courtyard surrounded by the best Knights the city of Shrikewall has to offer.

And that is the story of how my players passed everything in book 4 by without as much as a glance. (Just like they did book 3, though that BBEG nearly killed them, 3hp to spare.)

Thanks RobRendell!

RobRendell, would you mind sharing those rules?

Alright, here goes Chemlak:

Ucam for armies: (I would Use UBattle and UWar, but we were deep into the campaign when I got those books. So didn't want to hassle with the conversion.)

Giving you these stats I realize they are not so impervious to the coming campaign against Pitax as I thought, the problem still
remains that during peace time I am hard pressed to keep it interesting enough to be worth spending time on. :(

Yea, I see where you are going at Shadowkras, using the events are good
and all. But in the rules, most events can be overcome by a simple
stability vs control dc. (Or similar)

And only by putting them aside would that work, which I am not all
against. :)

Concerning my players kingdom, they have a size of around 120, and most of their stats are around 140-150. Which makes rolling pretty trivial.
Only once in a blue moon do they fail, as it were.

I did actually have a big plague event between book 3 and 4 when much of their capitol city was afflicted by a cthulhu-esque head bursting tentacle monster plague.

They managed to clear most of that up in about two weeks by extremely fast acting on their part and also managed to keep the unrest just
below anarchy levels.
It was real fun, but the whole event took me quite a bit of planning
to get off the ground.

And thanks for the ideas about the armies, those are a few things I hadn't considered yet. The Mass combat rules are not my forté. :P

Hello all!

Thank you for your comments and ideas!

To CB: I actually have all the Ultimate addition books, and they are
great. Without ultimate rulership in particular my kingmaker campaign
would never get off the ground.

They are all great books and I love them.

To Philip Knowelsky: Thank you very much for your ideas about
economical consequences and internal kingdom problems, combine that
with things like fey and other outside consequences and I can keep the
kingdom interesting for a while longer.

While it will be hard to salvage the current state of the campaign I
feel at least better equipped to handle my coming Steampunk/West
Marches style kingmaker campaign.

Thank you all for your input.

And besides, the problem I'm thinking most of is not in war, I know that they would not be able to keep up their war forever, but at least long enough to beat Pitax into submission, or hold them off while the PC:s head over to beat Irovetti with a stick.

No, the real problem is that kingdom building really stops being challenging after a while. When you reach the level that the only problem you will ever have is if you ever roll a 1 on taxation it is a problem.

Because I would love to have my players rule a large and sprawling kingdom, but it is just not possible to keep that interesting in the rules.

Does anyone have any ideas?

My players are not that interested in quality as yours.
Meaning most of their armies are around 500-1000 in size, and no real upgrades.

While the costs do mount when they have all their armies running, they have about 300-400bp just laying around and even more in their granaries and they gain around 70bp per turn.

Hello you fantastic forum people you!

I hope you are having a fantastic day!

I would like to begin with apologizing if my question has been covered before, I have done my best to use my forum searching powers and google-fu but alas it has failed me.

I am curious if anyone of you have been able to keep the kingdom building rules of Ultimate Campaign interesting when the kingdom reach a larger size?

And also, have anyone of you done anything to stop the massive expansion of mining and tree-felling?

While it takes a few turns for them to start making a profit, when you have filled the entire forest with sawmills and most of the mountains with mines, then you start making the big BP:s.

Is there a way to prevent this within the rules?

The reason why I ask is:

My players are right now in the process of fighting a war with Pitax (Book 5), and the ONLY thing they have to worry about is rolling a 1 for economy, because they have something like 40 more economy then they need.

And also, they have something like 30-40 guaranteed income from sawmills and mines.

So we just left the kingdom building altogether and just assumed that they could keep their armies and kingdom going for as long as the war dragged on.

And while I do not feel I can salvage this campaign, maybe I can prevent this from happening in the future.

Hope you keep having a fantastic day!

Hello fellow forum people!

I hope you are all having a fantastic day!

I have a few questions to you:

Have anyone of you ever converted the kingmaker campaign to a steampunk setting?

And by steampunk I mean guns, railroads, tanks etc etc.

If yes;
How did you convert the kingdom rules?

The reason why I am asking is because I am in the process of designing a kingmaker/west marches* campaign set in the Age of Discovery of a world not entirely dissimilar from our own and I would like ideas and inspiration.

Also, would this forum be appropriate for posting about said campaign or should I find another board here on paizo?

Have a continued great day!

*West Marches: https://www.reddit.com/r/itmejp/comments/2idf33/west_marches_resources/

Hello Jr. Annalist,

I love your work on P6 and I really would love to see this finished.

I am right now planning a campaign to storytell during the summer on this system. And I really hope you finish the unabridged version before we get started. (Dreaming, I know!)

Best of luck!

Hello everyone,

For a long time I have been considering World of Warcraft, the lore that exists and the lore that is being created.

As a player with loving memories of the dark feelings inspired by the first two games I wanted to bring that back.

While I enjoy the story and most of the lore brought by Warcraft 3 I feel that it set itself apart from the previous games with its cartoonish graphics.

And also the fact that most, if not all, of the maps from warcraft 1 and 2 became obsolete when Warcraft 3 was released made me a bit disappointed.

But, nevertheless, I liked it. Then came Frozen throne. It was okay I suppose, I did not enjoy it quite like I did the original Rise of Chaos, but it was alright.

Then comes World of Warcraft.
Now, don't get me wrong, WoW is a good game, but the destruction of lore that I see is horrible. Original WoW is okay, then comes burning crusade... *shivers* and the Lich King... Cataclysm... and now latest... Mists of Pandaria. *shudders*

So, I commandeered of a thought to create my own lore following the events of Warcraft 3 the Frozen Throne.

And since my most favorite "faction" in WoW is the Scarlet Crusade, obviously, that's where we will start.

Now, the maps are a problem, since WoW made the maps smaller, dumber and removed a lot of flavor. So I took the opportunity of using Pathfinder's Kingmaker hex map to redo most if not all of the maps. I followed the general outline of the maps from World of Warcraft, even though they are not even close to Warcraft 1 or 2, or even WC3 for that matter.

I found it simplest that way, because the WoW maps are the most developed.

I now have tweaked and explored and re-engineered both Tirisfal Glades and the Western Plaguelands and I feel confident enough to start planning the adventure itself.

And I would like to hear ideas and plans from my fellow pathfinder GMs and players.

TL;DR Gaming in warcraft universe, starting pre-WoW, Scarlet Crusade, maps done, need ideas for adventures.

And for those of you who does not know about the scarlet crusade, there is quite a lot of information to be found here: http://www.wowpedia.org/The_Scarlet_Crusade

Campaign restrictions:

Alignment: I will allow my players to play either Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil.

Why Lawful? Well, if you read about the scarlet crusade you will note that they are fanatics that always without doubt follow orders.

Why allow good? Because there are still pure elements in the Crusade, elements that will be explored during the course of the campaign, for better or worse.

Class Restrictions: Rogues will be able to be played, but I will impress upon my players that they are not thieves, they are more like scouts and infiltrators than anything else.

Classes I won't allow are Druid and Sorcerer from the Core book, and most other arcane classes except Wizard. Remember, we are working with a religiously zealous group of fanatics here.

There will probably be more classes not accepted on a case to case basis.

During the game, fighters, barbarians, monks, paladins and clerics will be the ones experiencing the least amount of distrust.

Campaign Ideas:

So, here is the deal: Balnazzar has corrupted the Crusade as most know, but there are still elements remaining in the Crusade that are pure to it's ideals, there among Telean Fordring and to some parts, High General Abbendis.

I have decided to add a few others to the list, Arcanist Doan, High Priest Benedictus Voss, Scarlet Commander Marjhan and a select few others.

During the course of the Campaign, (depending on if the party chooses to follow the path of evil or the path of good), corruption will be rooted out, heresy stamped and heretics killed.

If they choose to follow the path of good then there will be a chance that they can purify the Scarlet Crusade from its corrupting elements (Balnazzar, Issilien, Renault Mograine, The Crimsion Legion etc.) or perhaps join the Argent Dawn and put the diseased beast that is the Crusade down for good?

If they choose to follow the road laid down before them by the corrupted elements of the Crusade they will likely end up corrupted to the core and turned into undead by Balnazzar and forged into the Risen, or perhaps they have well intentions and do all that one would do as good but fail to cleanse the horrific methods of the Crusade and still remain the evil monster of a organization that they are at the moment?

Now, the campaign will start in Tirisfal Glades, the characters have just completed their trials of Purification (and start as level 2).

While I have not established the particulars, several small mini-adventures will be done during the first two levels. Patrols, hunting for scourge/forsaken and the odd saving of refugees to show the everyday activities of the Scarlet Crusade and to develop the characters and their relations to other NPCs and also their impression of the Crusade as a whole.

After that time, Arcanist Doan will summon them to complete a mission for him. He wants them to head south to Vandermar Village and there find files from one of his former colleagues.

Now, since Arcanist Doan has begun to suspect the taint in the Crusade (Albiet in the form of undead and not in the infernal corruption of Balnazzar) he wants to find the research done by one of his friends on how to expose the plague, a divination spell specifically made to find those effected by the plague.

Of course, this wont help him since there is no undead corruption in the Crusade to speak of, but it will set Arcanist Doan on the right track and he will start searching for other forms of corruption.

And he will find it.
Arcanist Doan will die not long after he discovers the first signs of infernal corruption, he is murdered for poking in things he should not.

Depending on the actions of the players, they will be the ones who help expose him as a "traitor" or they will be shocked to hear the news of his passing and label as a traitor.

He will leave clues either way, and he will have spoken to others who shares his concerns.'

Now, before i delve to deep into my ideas into the campaign, here is what i need help with:

Do you have ideas on any side-plots or missions that I can throw into the campaign?

Do you have larger Meta-plots of your own that I can run at the same time?

Or just tips and lore-ideas.

Also, I will if possible upload the maps I have made if I find a good and simple computer program to make them in.

TL:DR
Well, too bad... :P

Have a nice day all!
Henrik

Well, after our last game yesterday, i must say my players are getting the picture.

I have however read your posts, and i must say, most things i have considered and some i hadnt even thought about. Infact, all of my players including me have missed that you must run in a straight line when you run x4 your movespeed.

It gives me great joy to see so many more ways to torme-have fun together with my players.

And most of the time, escaping is not hard. Especially not when i throw them up with encounters i know they cannot win. I have IC reasons for them to get away, i have open get-away places and such, still... no dice most of the time.

Well, I usually tell my players that running away is allways an option, to live and fight another day is often better than to die on someones pointy stick.

And I do mostly describe their attacks and how their enemies react to their hits, especially when they do critical hits or when something special happens, regeneration, DR, SR or what not...

I suppose it could sometimes be a matter of pride as Lazarus Yeithgox sais, but when it happens so many times?

As W E Ray sais we might be playing diffrent games, but when we start up adventures or new campaigns it allways feel like they get my picture. That its a living world, its not Diablo and enemies wont get tougher and tougher as the players level up.

If the story speaks of a troll living in the swamp then the troll will damn well eat the level 1 pcs coming to check it out if the troll wants too.

And as i said, im naive enough to think that they get my vision when i explain it to them. I dislike railroading my games, therefore i make a openended sandbox game mostly... (wich is why kingmaker is such a sauseome campaign...) ... i let the players lead the way and i paint the landscape so to speak.

Thank you all for your tips, Im going to give them a real thinker... Especially the 'nude gaming night' one.

Very funny Snorter ;)

In any case, the problem is. They do talk... a LOT. Both before and after the games.

It just seems that, the more innapropriate it is to interupt for your daily dose of "Has anyone more than me seen this and that movie?" the higher the chanse of it actually happening.

While the Party is just out shopping, walking about or doingwhatever i dont mind them chatting about, but when in the middle of a heavy rp session or combat i usually like a little focus. Sometimes the players work with me, and sometimes they dont. Really frustrating at times.

And we usually see each other several days a week, so the "havent seen you in a long time"-Excuse only works for the guy who agress with me on these topics. :S

Nude Gaming Night.

While i approve of your thinking, considering one of the players is a very attractive woman, the prospect of the other players naked in my appartment makes this a no-go.

On a more serious note; check out the venue you play at.

Remove or play away from unnecessary distractions, wherever possible.
A TV going in eyeshot can drag the players out of character, especially if it prompts jokes and recaps of last week's episode.

A laptop at the table is becoming more common, but make sure the operator is only using it for game-related stuff, not tootling round the web.

This is not a very big problem usually, since I only have my own laptop and no TV. So, the players have their character sheets. Thats it.

Some of them have however a short attentionspan and end up discussing everything from exalted to how i met your mother... Ive started giving these people ingame punishments, the only kind that seems to work on these people too... XP deductions.

Rust monsters. Seriously, watch them go from "we're the PCs, we can take anything!" to "OH GOD IT JUST MELTED MY MAGIC SWORD, RUN AWAY!!!" in 1 round flat.

Thanks for the tip, but they have nothing magical yet. I tend never to roll on random equipment tables, so unless i deem them worty of a item of note, no dice.

But i shall keep it in my sleeve... :)

Edit: Answer to Remco Sommeling.

The mood in my current campaign is a bit lax, ill give them that.

But in several of my former games its been more tight, more dangerous and a lot more scary... Still does not work mostly. They can sometimes be very smart outside the fight, but when the going gets tough... the s@%% hits the fan.

Hello there!

I have been acting as a storyteller for quite some time now in my group of friends and I see myself as atleast a bit experienced in this field.

But I still have a couple of problems, the biggest of mine is...

How to make the players afraid? Or atleast understand that running away is an option?

Ive run a couple campaigns now, most of the 3.5 or Pathfinder.

But they tend to end in the same way... TPK.

And I wont stop doing what I do out of principle, one day the players must learn that there are bigger fish, no? :S

I could mention more examples, but its not really needed is it?

How do I make the players understand that retreat is allways an option?

It seems that my players believe that they cant die because they are the PCs. Even though its been proven about a hundred times that they can...

Does anyone else have this problem?

When will the pdf be available for sale? And if it allready is, can someone point me to it?