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Hi, I haven't yet received my Pathfinder Battles subscription yet. It appears that other subscribers have theirs and it's really important to me that I receive it before Dec 27. I actually live overseas and return to USA once a year for Christmas, and I really want to pick it up and bring it overseas w me. Can you look into the order? If there is a way I can change my shipping option or pay extra to have it shipped using a faster method, let me know. Thanks
Yes to riding horse with saddle.
Yes to multiples of common dumgeon dressing (candelabra, barrels, crates, tables, statues, small fires, bedrolls, etc) Even though I've been collecting since forever, still don't have enough of these commonly needed items. No to unicorns, dragons, manicures, chimeras, and other 'prestige' critters that are rarely encountered but have been produced in plastic many times.
I just recently started GM'ing Pathfinder Society, and this series has been reccomended to me. But I understand that there are some recurring NPCs from prior module(s). Can anyone slip me a spoiler and let me know what priro modules I should GM before this in order to give my players the full experience of the recurring NPCs? Thanks
I'm a longtime Pathfinder GM. For a change of pace, my players and I want to do some Pathfinder society events (and open them to the public). I was fairly active in Living Greyhawk years ago, so I'm reasonably familiar with how organized play works. However, neither me nor my players have ever played pathfinder society. Since we live in Hong Kong its very unlikely there will ever be a local game unless we organize it, and even online games are scheduled at time that make it impossible to attend. So, I'm looking for advice about how to start from zero. Any general advice is appreciated, but in particular I'm looking for specific advice about:
Thanks. Any help is much appreciated. Brian McDaniel
My group just finished part 2 (Skinsaw Murders), and I have a complete set of stat-blocks cards suitable for printing on index cards, including several alternate characters and builds. But I don't have a place to host. Can someone reccomend a good hosting site, and/or offer to host it themselves? (I have similar for Burnt Offerings, but they still need to be cleaned up before they can be published generally. I'm still working through Hook Mountain Massacre)
I statted up Nualia as an anti-paladin (stats provided below). Although she has slightly more hp, smite good and an extra attack from being a full BAB, she is actually less scary than the fighter/cleric version because she loses access to the cleric buff spells and the domain special abilities. Nualia, Anti-Paladin CR 5
stats:
Female Aasimar Antipaladin 6 | CE Medium Outsider (native) Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +1 Defense AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+7 armor, +1 Dex, +2 deflection) hp 66 (6d10+26) Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +12 Immune disease; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5 Offense Speed 20 ft. Melee +1 Adamantine Bastard sword +10/+5 (1d10+4/19-20/x2) or Claw +4 (1d6+2/x2) Ranged Masterwork Composite longbow (Str +3) +7/+2 (1d8+3/x3) Special Attacks smite good (2/day) Spell-Like Abilities Daylight (1/day), Detect Good (At will) Antipaladin Spells Prepared (CL 3): 1 (2/day) Command (DC 15), Protection from Good Tactics Before Combat If Nualia suspects combat is imminent, she casts protection from good on herself and drinks a divine favor potion. During Combat Nualia activates her Sihedron medallion as a free action at the start of combat to gain false life. She prefers to fight with her bastard sword, her face an impassive mask save for her eyes, which blaze with anger. She uses smite good as quickly as possible, preferring to target good-aligned divine casters. If possible, she moves into the hall to the south so that it’s harder to surround her, and so she has an escape route handy, using channeled negative energy to clear a path if needed. Morale Nualia is loath to abandon her hard work, but if reduced to fewer than 15 hit points, she does just that, reasoning that escape and eventual revenge is better than death at the hands of the PCs. She uses obscuring mist and/or sanctuary to aid her escape, then does her best to flee Thistletop, ordering any surviving minions she encounters to guard her retreat. If she escapes, she ... Statistics Str 15, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18 Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Channel Smite, Lamashtu's Mark (1/day), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard sword) Skills Bluff +8, Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (religion) +6, Linguistics +1, Perception +1, Sense Motive +8; Languages Celestial, Common, Goblin SQ antipaladin channel negative energy 3d6 (3/day) (aura of cowardice, aura of evil, channel negative energy, cruelties (fatigued [dc 17], shaken [dc 17]), fiendish boons (fiendish servant iii [2/day]), touch of corruption (3d6) (7/day), unholy resilience Other Gear +1 Breastplate, +1 Bastard sword, Arrows (20), Masterwork Composite longbow (Str +3), Sihedron medallion, Gold holy symbol, 100 GP of Valuables Special Abilities Antipaladin Channel Negative Energy 3d6 (3/day) (DC 17) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect. Aura of Cowardice (Su) Enemies within 10 ft. are not Immune to fear and take -4 to saves vs. fear effects. Aura of Evil (Ex) The antipaladin has an Aura of Evil with power equal to her class level. Channel Negative Energy (Su) You can channel negative energy to heal the undead and injure the living. Channel Smite Channel energy can be delivered through a Smite attack. Cruelty (Fatigued) (DC 17) (Su) When you use your Touch of Corruption ability, you may also make your target fatigued. Cruelty (Shaken) (6 rds) (DC 17) (Su) When you use your Touch of Corruption ability, you may also make your target shaken for 1r/Antipaladin level. Lamashtu's Mark (1/day) 1/day: inflict 1d4 CHA penalty on an opponent you strike. Smite Good (2/day) (Su) +4 to hit, +6 to damage, +4 deflection bonus to AC when used. Touch of Corruption (3d6) (7/day) (Su) You can inflict 3d6 damage, 7/day For Comparison
stats: Female aasimar cleric of Lamashtu 4/fighter 2 (Domains Demon, Ferocity) | CE Medium outsider (native) Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5 Defense AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 deflection, +1 Dex, -2 Fury of the Abyss) hp 59 (6 HD; 4d8+2d10+26) Fort +10, Ref +3, Will +8; +1 vs. fear Defensive Abilities bravery +1; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5 Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 bastard sword +10 (1d10+12/19-20), claw +3 (1d6+7) [power attack, fury of the abyss, ferocious strike] +1 bastard sword +12 (1d10+8/19-20), claw +5 (1d6+5) [fury of the abyss, ferocious strike] +1 bastard sword +10 (1d10+4/19-20), claw +3 (1d6+1) Ranged mwk composite longbow +7 (1d8+ 3jx3) Special Attacks channel negative energy 6/day (DC 15, 2d6), ferocious strike (+2 damage) 6/day, Fury of the Abyss (+2) 6/day, Lamashtu's Mark (DC 16) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +9) 1/day daylight Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +7) • Bull's Strength (2) +4 Str [already calculated] • Cat's Grace (2) +4 Dex [already calculated] • Cure Moderate Wounds (2) Cure 2d8+4 hp • Shatter (DC 15 Will) 35 ft, 5' radius spread. Sunders single non-magical object • Divine Favor (1) +1 luck bonus on attack and damage rolls per 3 caster levels. • Doom (1) (DC 14) 140 ft, for 4 rounds, target is shaken [–2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.] • Obscuring Mist 20 ft radius cloud grants concealment for 4 minutes • Sanctuary (1) (DC 14 Will negates) Opponents must make Will save to attack. Attack by recipient ends spell • Shield of Faith (1) +2 deflection to AC for 4 minutes. • 0 (at will): bleed (DC 13), detect magic, mending, stabilize Tactics Before Combat If Nualia suspects combat is imminent, she casts bull's strength, eat's grace, and shield of faith on herself. During Combat Nualia activates her Sihedron medallion as a free action at the start of combat to gain false life and casts divine favor. She prefers to fight with her bastard sword, her face an impassive mask save tor her eyes, which blaze with anger. She uses fury of the Abyss on each of the first 6 rounds of combat (these bonuses are included in the slats above), and activates her ferocious strike on the first six successful hits. She saves shatter to use on any weapon that seems to be particularly dangerous in an enemy's hands. It possible, she moves into the hall to the south so that it's harder to surround her, and so she has an escape route handy, using channeled negative energy to clear a path if needed. Morale Nualia is loath to abandon her hard work, but if reduced to fewer than 15 hit points, she does just that, reasoning that escape and eventual revenge is better than death at the hands of the PCs. She uses obscuring mist andjor sanctuary to aid her escape, then does her best to flee Thistletop, ordering any surviving minions she encounters to guard her retreat. If she escapes, she makes her way to Magnimar to reunite with the Skinsaw Cult-see page 67 tor more details. Base Statistics Without her prep spells, Nualia's statistics change as follows: AC 16, touch 9, flat-tooted 16; hp 49; Ref +1, Melee +1 bastard sword +8 (1d10+2/19-20), claw +1 (1d6); Ranged mwk composite longbow +5 (1d8+1/x3); Str 12, Dex 8; CMB +6, CMD 15. Statistics Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, lnt 10, Wis 16, Cha 17 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword), Lamashtu's Mark, Power Attack, Selective Channeling, Weapon Focus (bastard sword) Skills Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (religion) +8, Linguistics +4, Perception +5 Languages Celestial, Common, Goblin Gear +1 breastplate, +1 bastard sword, masterwork composite longbow with 20 arrows, Sihedron medallion, gold holy symbol (100 gp), 7 pp, 5 gp Special Abilities Subdomains Nualia's subdomains grant her unusual abilities. Fury of the Abyss allows her to gain a +2 bonus on melee attacks, melee damage rolls, and combat maneuver checks for 1 round as a swift action, during which round she takes a -2 penalty to her AC. Ferocious strike allows her to gain a +2 bonus on damage rolls with a melee attack up to six times per day.
Inspired by Stranger Tides (the book by Tim Powers), I've decided to make juju magic a theme of my shcakles campaign. Below is a bit of campaign background that I thought others might be interested in. Not all Golarion souls travel to the Outer Sphere upon death. The souls of ancestor worshippers often linger in the material plane. One of the strangest and most-developed ancestor worship systems is the Juju magic of Garund. The spirits of Juju initiates stay near the place they died, usually in the ethereal plane. (Incidentally, this is why juju initiates fear dying away from their homeland, particularly at sea.) A few spirits become ghosts, but most lack the ability to manifest. These spirits are called "ombers" or "drogues." A typical omber cannot manifest in the material plane, but may be able to influence the material plane in a small way. For example, many juju sorcerors "cast" spells by invoking a particular omber attached to the sorcerer. Ombers are not static. An omber that is not fed with sacrifice and veneration, will slowly fade away. Contrariwise, some ombers grow in power and status. The most powerful are known as "wendos" or "loas." These spirits are able to manifest many different effects over long distances. However, wendo are usually willful, requiring very particular rituals to get their attention and help. For example, Baron Samedi likes the colors black and red, and is attracted by smoldering fires. By their very nature, wendo have warped, inhuman personalities. Wendos tend to be regional, with their power fading over distance. Like humans, wendos often organize themselves into groups, based on their region or theme. Some of the most well-known wendos in the Shackles are listed at the end of this text. The most well-known wendos tend to be powerful, but it can be difficult to capture their attention. Most juju wendifa have a more personal connection with a handful of ombers or lesser wendos. In practice, Juju tends to be syncretic, incorporating bits and pieces of more established and universal religions into their rites; many juju wendifa even identify wendos with particular gods. However, most organized churches view juju as strictly heretical, and work hard to keep the taint of juju outside the faith. The wendifa say that this is because the distant gods are jealous of souls, and have lost touch with humanity. One of the distinguishing features of juju magic is the use of fetishes. Juju fetishes are charms with finite lifespans, created for the purpose of aiding or harming the possessor, and bound to a particular omber. Many fetishes take the form of ensorcelled pouches about half the size of a human hand, made of skin or leather and containing bones, vegetable matter, stones, spices, broken pottery, hair, blood, grave dirt, and other such ingredients. The exterior may be dyed, or strange scratches may be worked into the surface. On occasion, some other item may be sewn onto the surface, such as the severed foot of a chicken tied with colored ribbon, or a frog’s leg bone etched with strange patterns. Well-Known Wendos in the Shackles Baron Samedi (Lord Saturday). One of the most powerful wendo in the Shackles, Baron Samedi is pictured as a black man in formal clothing (including a tophat) with a skull's head. His concern is death, undeath, and protection from death, as well as lust, lewdness and obscenity. He has no weapon, but is attracted by the colors black and red, by smoldering fires, tobacco, blood and by rum steeped with hot peppers. Brigette. Brigette is depicted as a woman, often dressed in black, and carrying gold or dice. Her concern money, luck and black magic. She is said to be the wife of Baron Samedi and is very subtle. She has no weapon, but her colors are black, gold and purple. She is attracted by scattering gold dust, dice (either loaded or not), bones and bonemarrow and the sacrifice of black goats or chickens. Donma Goko. Donma Goko is relatively unusual among the wendo because her location is not a secret. She manifests at Ongongte Overlook on Mgange Cove. Donma is a companion to Mfuello. Her concern is with weather, the sky and travelling over water. Her weapon is a blackened knife. Her colors are black with white or silver decoration, and she is attracted to the ripping of wet, black felt and tarnished silver. Ezulie. Ezulie is a relatively new wendo, who gained much of her power by tricking and devouring an older female wendo. Her concern is fertility, love and lust, but also deceit, trickery and treachery, and somewhat paradoxically, virginity and purity. She is depicted either as a fat, dark woman with exaggerated sexual characteristics or as a demure, mulatto girl. Her weapon is a tooth. She is attracted by the colors green, red and yellow, by fruits, and acts of sexual congress. Maitre Carrefor (Master Crossroads). Maitre Carrefour is the master of crossings, gates and obstacles, and by extension the barrier between the material and spirit worlds, as well as the barrier between life and death. Many wendifa invoke him before contacting any other wendo. He is depicted as an old man in a sitting position. His concern is with spirits, magic, planar travel and death. His weapon is a baton, his color is white and he is attracted by intricate, four-sided patterns, opium and incense. Sometimes, he is also associated with elephants. Mfuello the Journeyer. Mfuello is a powerful but distant wendo originating from the interior of Garund. His primary concern is overland travel, and thus is not often invoked in the Shackles, except in concert with Domma Goku. His weapon is the shortspear, and he is attracted by red and brown dust in alternating lines. Ogoun. Also known as the warrior. Ogoun is thought of as straightforward and effective. Ogoun is concerned with combat, fire and smithing. His weapon is a machete, cutlass or any other iron weapon and his colors are red, black and gray. He is attracted by lava, volcanoes, rum steeped in gunpowder or charcoal, and blood. Profonomme (Deep Man) This wendo is always depicted as a drowned man with white skin and empty eyes. He is concerned with ocean depths, storms (especially the Eye of Abendigo), drowning, secrets and lost hopes. Juju sailors will always start a journey by throwing gold or copper overboard at the beginning of a journey. His colors are blue and blue-green, and he is attracted by treasure thrown overboard, especially gold and verdigris copper, empty bottles, and squids or octopus. Serpe Roy (Snake King). Also known as the wise brother, this is a very powerful but distant wendo originating from the interior of Garund. He is said to be extremely ancient, perhaps even pre-dating the presence of humans in Garund. Serpe Roy is concerned with knowledge, illusion and mind-control. His colors are green or a rainbow of colors. His weapon is the quarterstaff, and he is attracted by snakes, especially by cobras and snakes eating roosters, and poisons.
Steel_Wind wrote:
I kinda think, the opposite direction would work better. An all/mostly dwarf AP where the object of the party is to recover a holy macguffin that was left in the dwarven homeland during the Quest for Sky. The party starts out in relatively shallow dungeons battling orcs and such. The party delves deeper and deeper through drow, druegar (the "left behind"), etc with the climax of the module happening in semi-mythical dwarven realms taken over by aboleths. The deeper you go, the stranger and more exotic it is. I get chills just thinking about it.
In my campaign (just starting), I've decided that, in order to avoid passing through the doldrums, the primary mercantile route to Tian Xia lies just west of the Eye of Abendego. Thus, the Shackles lies just off very lucrative trade routes between Cheliax (manufactured goods, arms and armor, other trade goods), Sargava (gold, tobacco, coffee, spices, slaves) and Tian Xia (porcelein, silk, tea, other exotic trade goods). This is both sensible and justifies a higher presence of Tian Xia natives in the Shackles.
While I'm here, I'll add one more note. In practice, I've been fairly liberal about making ad hoc changes, either as a result of special hexes, or as a result of kingdom events. For example:
* When the kingdom is connected by roads from capital at Stag Lord's fort to Olegton (and thence to Restov), +4 economy bonus. I plan to do something similar (but bigger) when they control the East Sellen River and the trade routes into Brevoy. * +2 loyalty bonus for 6 months for eliminating the trolls. +2 loyalty bonus for 1 year for killing the Big Bad at the end of the second module; fading to +1 for as long as they display the skin in the guildhall of the order of knights founded in its name.
vip00 wrote: One thing I'm confused about - the granary is supposed to help during sieges? Maybe I'm not finding the rules, but where are the siege rules during which the granary will help? I originally was going to write siege rules, but eventually decided that the topic was too complex and if a siege ever came up, I would use GM's discretion to adjudicate it. However, I left in granaries as a way for the kingdom to stockpile food against the possibility of sieges.
Hassy wrote:
Size is based just on hexes, so a town's presence or absence would not affect the kingdom's size. Quote:
Towns don't affect the kingdom's Control DC. The rationale for this is that towns are relatively easy to control/administer by local militia (being centralized and all that), while it can get difficult to administer a sprawling, loosely-connected kingdom. Indeed, within my rules, the whole point of towns is that they allow Kingdoms to increase their Economy/Loyalty/Stability modifiers without raising the Control DC. As it works out, the larger the kingdom, the larger/more towns are necessary to effectively administer it. Quote:
Of course. Even more, I'd love it if you can post your playtesting results here in this thread.
Updated Kingdom-Building Rules Here:
In addition, not very user-friendly but here is my kingdom-tracking spreadsheet, which you might find useful:
Objectives
* In addition, I wanted to down-play the role of cities. The flavor of my campaign is more rural, and I wanted the kingdom building rules to make cities less economically important (while maintaining their administrative and military roles). Also, I wanted to reduce the "fiddly"-ness of the city buildings. Conversely, I wanted to give the PCs strong reasons to explore and claim additional hexes, and to make hexes claimed more differentiated from one another. * Within the army-building rules, there were some very obvious ways to abuse the army-building rules. Moreover, the rules seemed to encourage creating a single army which could be very customized as to tactics, equipment, etc. I wanted to reduce per-unit customization (treating it all as input into CR), but increase the number of units in any particular army. This was done to increase the tactical feel of mass combat. * As a GM, I wanted some explicit tools to restrain "out of control" kingdoms, without feeling like it was pure GM fiat. (See "Law of Diminishing Returns" and "Stagnation" below.) Please let me know if you are using these rules, and any input you might have.
illuminaughty wrote:
More or less, I wanted it to be at the GM's discretion. Its mostly there as a way to prevent positive feedback loops from getting out of hand, if necessary. In practice, I haven't had to to use it so far.
OK. Sent to all whop have requested. If you haven't received, let me know. FYI, the current version of the rules has changed in some relatively minor ways from the rules first presented above. The biggest change is that my group prefers to do a fair amount of kingdom management online (instead of face to face) and the sequencing of the rules didn't facilitate online kingdom management. As a result, I've moved around the phases to make it more convenient for online play (essentially, all decisions are made, and then all rolls are made, instead of mixing up decisions and rolls).
Almost through with Stolen Lands (except for Stag Lord's fort), with 2 kills. Name: Melodich
First level party camping overnight, roll up a grizzly bear random encounter. I have the Ranger make a survival check, and he rolls a "1." I suggest that the nice little cave (the bear's den) would make a nice place to spend the night. In the middle of the night, the bear rumbles home. I, being the nice GM that I am, have the bear roar out a few warnings and suggest that the party can't handle a bear, but this party decides they aren't going to be scared of an animal, and decides to fight. A few minutes later, both party melee types are unconscious and bleeding. The bard decides to distract the bear, so jumps in with his rapier and the bear runs after while the bard tries to climb a tree. After failing to climb, the bard gets mauled into negatives, and bleeds out, while the rest of the party grabs the unconscious melee types and scatters. In defense of the player, this was his first game of D&D in 30 years... Name: Torg
Our party cleric was a melee warpriest maximized for damage output, but with crap AC and relatively low hp. After seeing one tatzlwyrm sunning himself in the ford, the cleric casts Enlarge Person on himself and wades into the water. I'm ruling that the water at the ford is waist deep and very swift, so movement is at one-quarter speed. Because of the slow speed, it takes the cleric several turns to wade out where he knew the tatzlwyrm is (hidden in a bush). When the second tatzlwyrm attacks, the cleric is stranded in the middle of the water, giving the wyrms cover against ranged attacks and blocking any other melee types from closing the distance. After a few rounds of back-and-forth attacks, both the cleric and the wyrms are wounded, but nobody else has affected the fight. When one wyrm finally drives his hp negative, the cleric doesn't drop because he has the die-hard feat. Inevitably, the attack from the second wyrm drives his hp below his negative Con, and the cleric dies outright. Once the enlarged cleric is gone, the other melee types and ranged attacks can target the wyrms, and they both die one round later. (Since it is a 6-person party I applied the advanced template to the tatzlwyrms.)
Hi All, Like a lot of other people, I wasn't very happy with the kingdom building rules presented in Rivers Run Red, so I drew up some alternative rules, presented below. Complaints and Objectives
So my rules presented below. Nicely formatted Microsoft Word version available upon request. Introduction Spoiler:
A major part of the Kingmaker Adventure Path is the creation of a kingdom. These rules describe how kingdoms are created and evolve, including the resources, improvements and towns within a kingdom. Running a kingdom also involves raising, maintaining and leading armies against your kingdom's enemies. Rules for these activities will be provided later, however items presented in these rules are useful to help your kingdom's military. Kingdom Phases Spoiler:
Kingdom activities are abstracted to occur in four phases, which together represent a month of game time. The four phases are upkeep, improvement, income and events, and are described below. Upkeep Phase
Improvement Phase
Improvement Limits
Income Phase
Event Phase
Establishing a Kingdom Spoiler:
You begin with a certain amount of BP in your kingdom's treasury, granted by the swordlords of Restov and other patrons, depending upon your success at attracting patrons at the time of the kingdom's founding. Check with your GM for the exact amount. Your first task is to choose a system of government. It would be simplest to base your kingdom's government on the Brevic system, with which the PCs will be generally familiar. Brevoy is ruled by an absolute monarch who governs through laws and is assisted by a council of advisors. It is possible to choose an alternative form of government such as a constitutional monarchary, rule by committee, a theocracy, a government organized along feudal lines, a republican government with voting citizens or any number of other choices. If you choose a non-Brevic system of government, let your GM know your decision, and he will advise you of any rule changes. For simplicity's sake, the remainder of these rules assume your kingdom uses the Brevic system of government. During your kingdom's first month, you will skip the upkeep phase (since you have settled no hexes) and proceed directly to the improvements phase. You should select leaders for your new kingdom from among the PCs and cooperative NPCs (who may need to be convinced to accept an office). You will then settle the first hex of your kingdom. At the beginning, you should start modestly, building income-producing hex improvements like mines and logging camps, as well as plenty of farmlands to keep your consumption low. Be careful not to over-expand too quickly. You will probably want to decide early on a location for a capital; some good choices would be Oleg's (if you can convince him), or some other location that may give free town improvements and has access to waterways. Remember that to establish a town, you will need a logging camp. Kingdom Terms and Concepts Spoiler:
Alignment: A kingdom has an alignment that reflects its basic outlook manner of governing. A kingdom may have any of the same nine alignments as PCs (i.e. good/neutral/evil and lawful/neutral/chaotic). A kingdom's alignment does not need to be identical to the alignment of its ruler or other leaders, but some leaders may try to influence a kingdom towards their alignment. A kingdom's alignment affects its statistics. • Lawful kingdoms gain +2 to its economy modifier. • Chaotic kingdoms gain +2 to its loyalty modifier. • Good kingdoms gain +2 to its loyalty modifier. • Evil kingdoms gain +2 to its economy modifier. • Neutral kingdoms gain +2 to its stability modifier (a true neutral kingdom gains this bonus twice). Automatic Income: Many hex improvements generate automatic income, measure in BP, every month for a kingdom. A kingdom will receive its automatic income during the income phase. Build Points (BP): A kingdom's resources are measured in build points (abbreviated BP). BPs primarily represent durable physical capital such as timber, stone, metals, tools, livestock, seeds and money, but also intangibles such as goodwill, labor, favors, recruiting, social capital, etc. BPs are not resources that the kingdom's rulers own, instead they are the resources of the entire kingdom. BPs are not directly translatable into money, although PCs can deposit and withdraw gold pieces into the treasury to add or subtract BPs at the risk of increasing unrest. BPs are usually added to the treasury during the income phase and spent during the upkeep phase (as consumption) or the improvement phase (to build hex improvements or buildings). Consumption: A kingdom's consumption indicates how many BP it costs to keep the kingdom functioning. If a kingdom is unable to pay its consumption, its unrest increases by 2. Normally, a kingdom's consumption is equal to (a) its population divided by 250 (round up any result of .5 or more) plus (b) its stagnation value, minus (c) 2 per farmland, and adjusted by (d) laws. However, during winter months, farmlands only reduce consumption only by 1 per farmland (instead of 2). Control DC: A kingdom's control DC is 20 + its size; this value is the DC you'll be rolling against most often with your kingdom's stability, economy, and loyalty checks. Defense: Defense modifiers are used with army combat (which are beyond the scope of these rules, but will be presented in later rules). Economy, Loyalty and Stability Checks: An economy, loyalty or stability check is analogous to a saving throw. A kingdom will have economy, loyalty or stability modifiers, similar to how a character has fortitude, will and reflex saving throw modifiers. A natural 1 is always a failure for these checks, and a natural 20 is always a success.
Extra Income: Kingdom income, measure in BP, generated during the income phase if the kingdom succeeds on an economy check against your control DC. If the check is successful, divide your result by 4 (dropping any fractions) and increase your treasury's BP by that amount. Hex Improvements: Hex improvements such as roads, farmlands, logging camps, mines, orchards and vineyards are located in a specific kingdom hex. Hex improvements have an immediate BP cost but provide ongoing benefits. Towns are a special type of hex improvement that allow you to build town improvements. Many hex improvements have special prerequisites or can only be placed in special hexes. Improvements: See hex improvements and town improvements. Income: See automatic income and extra income. Leadership Roles: PCs or NPCs can take leadership roles for your kingdom. A PC or NPC can fill no more than one leadership role. Not all leadership roles must to be filled. Leaders can affect a kingdom's statistics, kingdom events and roleplaying activities. Population: A kingdom's population is equal to 250 times its size plus the total population of each of its towns. The population of a town is 25 times the sum of its economy, loyalty, stability and defense modifiers. Population affects your kingdom's consumption. Size: The number of hexes your kingdom has settled. This number affects a kingdom's population and its control DC. Stagnation: A kingdom's stagnation value represents how much a kingdom's economy is diverted to non-productive uses such as protecting guild interests, bribery or tax avoidance. Stagnation is applied to increase a kingdom's consumption without any benefits. Stagnation scores are usually changed through kingdom events or roleplaying. Town: A special type of hex improvement that allows you to build town improvements. Town Improvements: Affect your kingdom's economy, loyalty, and stability modifiers or otherwise give special bonuses. Treasury: A kingdom's treasury represents BPs available for future use. Generally, BPs are added to the treasury during the income phase, and spent as consumption during the upkeep phase or to buy improvements during the improvements phase. Unrest: A kingdom's unrest value indicates how rebellious its people are. A kingdom's unrest score is applied as a penalty on all stability, economy, and loyalty checks. If a kingdom's unrest is above 10, it begins to lose control of hexes it has settled. If a kingdom's unrest score ever reaches 20, it falls into anarchy. While in anarchy, a kingdom can take no action and treats all stability, economy, and loyalty check results as 0. Restoring order once a kingdom falls into anarchy typically requires a number of quests and lengthy adventures by the kingdom's would-be leaders, and may be impossible. Unrest can never go below 0—adjustments that would normally reduce unrest lower than 0 are wasted. If an improvement affects unrest, it does so once at the time it is created. Vassal: A vassal, or fief, is a political subdivision that provides resources and support to your kingdom. Although a vassal may be part of your kingdom from a legal or political perspective, it is not considered part of your kingdom for purposes of the kingdom-building rules. Vassalage may be established on whatever terms are agreed upon between your kingdom and the vassal; typical terms would be for the vassal to give one-quarter of its BP to your kingdom and to provide an additional army during times of declared war.
Hex Improvements Spoiler:
Hex improvements such as farmlands, logging camps, mines and vineyards provide raw resources for your kingdom. Towns are a special type of hex improvement that allow you to build Buildings. Hex improvements are located in a specific kingdom hex. Except for roads, each hex can only have a single hex improvement. Hex improvements are purchased in the improvement phase. Many hex improvements have special prerequisites or can only be placed in special hexes. The number of hex improvements you can make during a single phase is limited by your kingdom's size; see the Improvements per Month table for these limits. Hex Improvements Summary
Farmland: You can develop farmlands to help sustain your kingdom's consumption.
Fort: A sturdy structure that serves as a guard post and lookout for danger. It can also serve as a garrison for an army in the field (reducing army maintenance costs).
Knight's Estate: You can establish estates to support knights or other military retainers pledged to your service.
Logging Camp: You can establish logging camps in forests to supply your kingdom with timber. A logging camp is situated in a single hex, but it supports logging in adjacent hexes.
Mine (Base): You can establish mines in hills or mountains to supply your kingdom with base metals such as iron, tin and copper.
Mine (Exotic): You can establish mines in mountains to supply your kingdom with exotic metals such as mithril or adamantine.
Mine (Precious): You can establish mines in hills or mountains to supply your kingdom with precious metals such as gold and silver. Precious metal mines often increase unrest as miners rush to establish claims.
Orchard: You can grow fruit for your kingdom in orchards.
Quarry: You can establish quarries in hills or mountains to supply your kingdom with stone.
Peat Cutting: You can cut peat in swamps to supply your kingdom with fuel.
Road: You can build roads to speed communications throughout the kingdom, improving its economy and stability.
Stronghold: A structure that protects strategic points. It can also serve as a garrison for an army in the field (reducing army maintenance costs).
Town: Towns can host a variety of improvements that make your kingdom more sophisticated and effective. Your kingdom can, but does not need to, designate a town as its capital.
Vineyard: Vineyards grow grapes and process them into wine.
Towns and Town Improvements Spoiler:
Towns are essentially the sum of their parts, and their parts are town improvements. town improvements are created during the improvement phase by spending BP. Basic town improvements increase your kingdom's economy, loyalty and stability modifiers. Other town improvements can affect a town's defense, market for magic items, help implement laws, etc. The number of town improvements you can create during a single phase is limited by your kingdom's size; see the Improvements per Month table for these limits. Unlike a hex, each town can have many improvements; however, except for the basic improvement, a town can only have one of each improvement. Town Improvements Summary
Basic Improvements Economy/Loyalty/Stability Improvement: Create buildings and institutions that further your kingdom's economy, loyalty or stability modifier.
Defense Improvements Guard Tower: The most basic of defensive fortifications. It may also serve as a gatehouse or prison.
Palisade Wall: A wooden wall surrounding the town.
Curtain Wall: A stone wall surrounding the town.
Castle: Incorporating a keep, walls and a gatehouse. A castle serves as a lord's residence, as well as the focal point of town defenses.
Royal Castle: An improved castle and palace that emphasizes the ruler's power and prestige as much as defenses.
Law Improvements Arena: A large public structure for competitions, demonstrations, team sports, or gladiator fights.
Cathedral: The focal point of a town's worship and religious activities.
Mint: This powerful institution converts precious metals to the kingdom's coins
Magic Item Improvements Black Market: A network that sells or buys stolen, dangerous or illegal goods or services. Black markets attract criminals to your town.
Magister's Tower: A workshop and study for the kingdom's leading arcane spellcaster.
Market: An open area maintained by the town for small, temporary or itinerant merchants, or other outdoor mercantile pursuits.
Master Forge: A magical smithy specialized in powerful weapons and armor.
Sacred Precinct: A holy (or unholy) site blessed by the gods.
Town Characteristics
Buy Limit: A town's buy limit is an approximation of the value of magic items that can be found for purchase within that town. A town's basic buy limit is given by the table above, but can be modified by town improvements. There is a 75% chance that any item with a value equal to or less than the buy limit can be found for sale in the town with little effort. If an item is not available, a new check to determine if the item has become available can be made in 1 month. A town will likely have several magic items for sale that are more valuable than its buy limit. Sell Limit: A town's sell limit is the most money that someone in the town can spend to purchase any single item from the PCs. Like the buy limit, a town's sell limit can be modified by town improvements. If the PCs wish to sell an item worth more than a town's sell limit, they'll either need to settle for a lower price, travel to a larger community, or search for a specific buyer with deeper pockets. Spellcasting Level: A town's spellcasting for hire is limited by the level of the available spellcasters in town; the number shown is the highest-level spell generally available for purchase from spellcasters in the town. A town's spellasting level can be modified by town improvements. Specific NPCs (and the PCs of course) may be able to cast spells of higher level.
Rule of Diminishing Returns Spoiler:
At the GM's discretion, if your kingdom is becoming unbalanced because it has too many of a certain type of hex or town improvements, the next improvement of that type may provide half or no benefits. The GM will usually warn you if this will occur. Laws Spoiler:
Your kingdom's Laws have several effects. Promotion, Taxation and Festival Laws increase your kingdom's Stability, Economy, and Loyalty modifiers. Other laws can help your kingdom deal with Unrest, change alignment or move the capital. Promotion Laws: Promotion Laws can include recruitments, advertisements, and even propaganda campaigns.
Taxation Laws: Tax Laws are require payments from a kingdom's subjects to help pay for your kingdom's needs.
Festival Laws: Festival Laws, including parades and other public events, can increase the kingdom's happiness and loyalty.
Martial Law: While Martial Law is in effect, your kingdom's Unrest is reduced by 1 each month. However, while Martial Law is in effect, your kingdom cannot settle new hexes nor build new Hex or Town Improvements. Moreover, while Martial Law is in effect, and for an equal period thereafter, your kingdom's Loyalty modifier is reduced by 4. Alignment Law: You can change your kingdom's alignment. If you change your kingdom's alignment by one step and no more than once per year, increase Unrest by 1. If you change your kingdom's alignment by more than one step increase Unrest by 1d6. If you change your kingdom's alignment more than once per year, increase Unrest by an additional 1d6 each time alignment is changed (after the first). Capital Law: You can change your kingdom's capital. If changed to any larger town, Unrest will increase by 1. If you change your kingdom's capital to an equal size or smaller town, increase Unrest by 1d4.
Leadership Roles Spoiler:
A healthy kingdom has leaders filling a number of different roles. Each leader grants the kingdom different benefits; leaving a role unfilled can penalize the kingdom. Leaders can be grouped into three types: the ruler, essential leaders (the marshal, the master of the commons and the treasurer) and nonessential leaders. In order for a leadership role to grant its bonus, the character filling that role must spend at least 1 week per month engaged in various leadership duties (and must be in appropriate places within the kingdom). For this campaign, it's best to have the party pick the same week to dedicate to their administrative duties so that all of the PCs are all available for "adventuring duty" at the same time. A single character can only occupy one leadership role at a time. Each leadership role has a benefit and, if the rule or essential leaders are vacant, may impose penalties on the kingdom. Leadership roles also have one or more key abilities which are important for roleplaying reasons but do not directly affect kingdom management rules. For example, a besieging army may make a check opposed by the Master Builder's Knowledge (Engineering) check to find a weakness in town walls, or a Spymaster may make a Perception check to notice the signs of an impending drug epidemic. Leadership Roles Summary
Ruler
Essential Leaders Master of the Commons: Sometimes known as the Chancellor. The Master of the Commons serves as the chief counselor to the ruler and is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the will of the kingdom's subjects is represented. Often, this role is taken by heroes who capture the public imagination
Marshal: Sometimes known as the Lord Commander. The Marshal leads the realm's armies and militias. The Marshal may also serve as general of an army.
Treasurer: Sometimes known as the Master of Coin or Keeper of the Coin. The Treasurer manages the kingdom's finances, collects taxes and regulates economic activities.
Non-Essential Leaders
Constable: Sometimes known as Border Warden or the Master of the Hunt. The Constable patrols the kingdom's borders and outlying areas, watching for incursion and dispensing frontier justice.
Grand Diplomat: The Grand Diplomat is in charge of a kingdom's foreign relations, meeting with diplomats posted to the kingdom.
High Justicar: Sometimes known as the Master of Justice. The High Justicar serves as the chief judge of the realm and is charged with the ensuring the administration of the law.
High Priest: The High Priest guides the kingdom's religious needs and growth.
Master Builder: The Master Builder is in charge of developing the realm's infrastructure.
Magister: The Magister supports the magical needs of the kingdom.
Royal Executioner: Sometimes known as the Royal Headsman or the Royal Assassin. His imposing presence inspires fear among the kingdom's subjects, but his methods are unpopular.
Spymaster: Sometimes known as the Master of Whispers. The Spymaster observes the kingdom's underworld and criminal elements and spies on other kingdoms.
Steward: Sometimes known as the Master of the Royal Household or the King's Hand. The Steward serves as the ruler's assistant and secretary. With a weak or foolish ruler, the Steward may serve as the "power behind the throne."
Verderer: Sometimes known as the Master of Gardens or the Forest Warden. The Verderer is charged with overseeing agriculture and natural resources.
Licenses Spoiler:
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document. © 2000. Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #32: Rivers Run Red. © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Rob McCreary Quickling from the Tome of Horrors Revised. © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax. Rock Troll from the Tome of Horrors Revised. © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author: Scott Greene. Scarecrow from the Tome of Horrors Revised. © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Roger Musson. Scythe Tree from the Tome of Horrors Revised. © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author: Scott Greene. 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Kingdom Tracking Sheet Spoiler: Name: ____________________ Size: _____ [number of hexes settled] Population: _____ [250 x Size + Town Population] Control DC: _____ [20 + Size] Consumption: _____ [Population/250 – Farmlands x 2 (1 in winter) – Adjust for Verderer] Auto. Income: _____ [modifiers from Hex Improvements] Economy: _____ [modifiers from Hex and Town Improvements, Alignment, Leaders] Loyalty: _____ [modifiers from Hex and Town Improvements, Alignment, Leaders] Stability: _____ [modifiers from Hex and Town Improvements, Alignment, Leaders] Treasury: _____ Unrest: _____ [apply as penalty to all Economy, Loyalty, Stability checks] Stagnation: _____ [increase Consumption] Hex Improvements Farmlands: _____ [Reduces consumption by 2 (1 in winter)] Fort: _____ [Stability +1] Knight's Estate: _____ [Stability +1] Logging Camp: _____ [Automatic Income +1, Stability +1] Mine (Base): _____ [Automatic Income +2, Economy +1] Mine (Exotic): _____ [Automatic Income +4, Economy +1] Mine (Precious):_____ [Automatic Income +4, Economy +2] Orchard: _____ [Automatic Income +1, Loyalty +1] Peat Cutting: _____ [Automatic Income +1] Quarry: _____ [Automatic Income +1, Stability +1] Road: _____ [Economy +1/4, Stability +1/8] Stronghold: _____ [Stability +2] Town: _____ [Special] Vineyard: _____ [Automatic Income +1, Loyalty +1] Alignment and Laws in Effect Promotion: _____ [Increase Stability, increase Consumption] Taxation: _____ [Increase Economy, decrease Loyalty] Festival: _____ [Increase Loyalty, increase Consumption] Martial Law: _____ [Unrest -1 each month, Loyalty -4 for long period, other ill effects] Leadership Name Modifier
redcelt32 wrote:
In my alternate rules, the Verderer reduces the kingdom's consumption by half of his Wisdom modifier. Also, there is a 50% chance to nullify any "resource exhaustion" kingdom event that would remove a farmland, vineyard, orchard, mine, logging camp, etc.
Bobson wrote:
I've run the analysis twice using different cost predictions. First is a list sorted by percentage difference between actual cost and predicted cost using the solution found by linear programming (shown below). Note that this list has been adjusted to assume that every building that needs one has built a house. Cost =
Spoiler:
Name Cost Pred Cost % Err Black Market 56 90 -61% City Wall 8 12 -50% Dump 4 6 -50% Waterfront 90 120 -33% Shrine 8 10 -25% Caster's Tower 30 37 -23% Mill 6 7 -17% Smith 6 7 -17% Tannery 6 7 -17% Exotic Craftsman 13 15 -15% Magic Shop 74 83 -12% Theater 24 26 -8% Herbalist 13 14 -8% Piers 16 17 -6% Academy 52 50 4% Alchemist 21 21 0% Barracks 6 6 0% Brewery 6 6 0% Brothel 7 7 0% Luxury Store 31 31 0% Market 54 54 0% Monument 6 6 0% Temple 32 32 0% Town Hall 22 21 5% Tradesman 13 12 8% Noble Villa 24 21 13% Garrison 28 24 14% Jail 14 12 14% Library 6 5 17% Watchtower 12 10 17% Castle 54 42 22% Inn 13 10 23% Stable 13 10 23% Shop 11 8 27% Cathedral 58 40 31% Arena 40 27 33% Tavern 15 10 33% Guildhall 37 22 41% Granary 12 6 50% Graveyard 4 2 50% Park 4 2 50% Mansion 10 4 60% Next is the same list sort using the cost prediction you asked for, i.e. Cost = 3*(Economy+Loyalty+Stability). Note that this list does a particularly bad job predicting costs because it does not take into account the benefit of item sales, which is a big deal. Spoiler: Name Cost Pred Cost % Err City Wall 8 12 -50% Dump 4 6 -50% Monument 6 9 -50% Brothel 7 9 -29% Mill 6 6 0% Smith 6 6 0% Tannery 6 6 0% Barracks 6 6 0% Brewery 6 6 0% Library 6 6 0% Jail 14 12 14% Castle 54 42 22% Watchtower 12 9 25% Graveyard 4 3 25% Park 4 3 25% Theater 24 12 50% Granary 12 6 50% Exotic Craftsman 13 6 54% Herbalist 13 6 54% Tradesman 13 6 54% Inn 13 6 54% Stable 13 6 54% Garrison 28 12 57% Town Hall 22 9 59% Tavern 15 6 60% Shrine 8 3 63% Piers 16 6 63% Temple 32 12 63% Noble Villa 24 9 63% Arena 40 15 63% Guildhall 37 12 68% Mansion 10 3 70% Shop 11 3 73% Academy 52 12 77% Market 54 12 78% Cathedral 58 12 79% Caster's Tower 30 6 80% Black Market 56 9 84% Alchemist 21 3 86% Waterfront 90 12 87% Luxury Store 31 3 90% Magic Shop 74 3 96%
Bobson wrote:
I incorporated the errata I could find for graveyards (+1 Loyalty only). I couldn't find errata for Dumps or mansions. (I know it is very hard to read the raw data). Here is how the cost formula came out for different tiers (again, not precise and limited to integer values): [Original/All Tiers] 42 Buildings; Average Variation 20%
[Tier 1] 25 Buildings; Average Variation 19%
[Tier 2] 11 Buildings; Average Variation 10%
[Tier 3] 7 Buildings; Average Variation 12%
The numbers move around a little bit, but the largest difference I would pick out is the Loyalty cost which moves from 2 in Tier 1 to 6 in Tier 3. I attribute this largely to the cheap Monument building. I also re-ran the analysis, removing the mansion and dump, and got the following formula.
The major difference is the edict coefficient, which is obviously very sensitive to the difference between tier 1 and tier 3 buildings. Otherwise, the numbers all move towards 3 (which is to be expected when you remove outliers). All in all, I'm actually pleasantly surprised at about robust the analysis is. One could make a very abstract system where every 3 BP spent on a city gains +1 to either Economy, Loyalty, Stability or Defense, and it should not unbalance the system.
In order to make some pretty deep changes to the city building subsystem, I've developed some statistics and analysis of the city buildings that I think others might find useful, so I am presenting the statistics here. First, below is a list of the city buildings and the most important raw data (including errata posted on the boards). Sorry for the formatting, couldn't figure out how to have tables or fixed-width fonts.
raw data:
Name Cost Economy Loyalty Stability Defense Unrest Minor Item Medium Item Major Item Adj House Space Base Value Half Cost Edicts Bonus Academy 52 2 2 3 2 2 Caster's Tower, Library Alchemist 18 1 1 1 1 1000 Arena 40 1 4 4 Garrison, Theater Festival Barracks 6 2 -1 1 Black Market 50 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2000 Brewery 6 1 1 1 Brothel 4 1 2 2 1 1 Caster's Tower 30 1 1 3 2 1 Castle 54 2 2 2 8 -4 4 Cathedral 58 4 -4 3 2 4 Promotion City Wall 8 4 -2 0 Dump 4 1 1 1 Exotic Craftsman 10 1 1 1 1 1 Garrison 28 2 2 -2 2 Town Wall, Granary, Jail Granary 12 1 1 1 Graveyard 4 1 1 Guildhall 34 2 2 1 2 Pier, Stable, Tradesman Herbalist 10 1 1 1 1 1 House 3 -1 1 Inn 10 1 1 1 1 500 Jail 14 2 2 -2 1 Library 6 1 1 1 Luxury Store 28 1 2 1 1 2000 Magic Shop 68 1 4 2 1 2 1 2000 Mansion 10 1 1 Market 48 2 2 2 2 2 2000 Black Market, Inn, Shop Mill 6 1 1 1 Monument 6 3 -1 1 Noble Villa 24 1 1 1 2 Exotic Craftsman, Luxury Store, Mansion Park 4 1 -1 1 Piers 16 1 1 1 1000 Shop 8 1 1 1 500 Shrine 8 1 -1 1 1 Smith 6 1 1 1 Stable 10 1 1 1 1 500 Tannery 6 1 1 1 Tavern 12 1 1 1 1 500 Temple 32 2 2 -2 2 2 Graveyard, Monument, Shrine Tenement 1 2 1 Theater 24 2 2 2 Brothel, Park, Tavern Town Hall 22 1 1 1 2 Barracks, Dump, Watchtower Tradesman 10 1 1 1 1 500 Watchtower 12 1 2 -1 1 Waterfront 90 4 3 2 1 4 4000 Guildhall, Market Tax Next, below is a table of "massaged" data. This is the same data as above, except:
massaged data:
Name Cost Economy Loyalty Stability Defense Unrest Minor Item Medium Item Major Item Adj House Space Base Value (000s) Half Cost Edicts Bonus Academy 52 2 2 3 2 2 2 Alchemist 21 1 -1 1 2 1 Arena 40 1 4 4 2 1 Barracks 6 2 -1 1 Black Market 56 2 1 -1 2 1 1 3 2 Brewery 6 1 1 1 Brothel 7 1 2 1 2 Caster's Tower 30 1 1 3 2 1 Castle 54 2 2 2 8 -4 4 Cathedral 58 4 -4 3 2 4 1 City Wall 8 4 -2 0 Dump 4 1 1 1 Exotic Craftsman 13 1 1 -1 1 2 Garrison 28 2 2 -2 2 3 Granary 12 1 1 1 Graveyard 4 1 1 Guildhall 37 2 2 -1 3 3 Herbalist 13 1 1 -1 1 2 Inn 13 1 1 -1 2 0.5 Jail 14 2 2 -2 1 Library 6 1 1 1 Luxury Store 31 1 -1 2 2 2 Magic Shop 74 1 2 4 2 1 3 2 Mansion 10 1 1 Market 54 2 2 -2 2 4 2 3 Mill 6 1 1 1 Monument 6 3 -1 1 Noble Villa 24 1 1 1 2 3 Park 4 1 -1 1 Piers 16 1 1 1 1 Shop 11 1 -1 2 0.5 Shrine 8 1 -1 1 1 Smith 6 1 1 1 Stable 13 1 1 -1 2 0.5 Tannery 6 1 1 1 Tavern 15 1 1 -1 2 0.5 Temple 32 2 2 -2 2 2 3 Theater 24 2 2 2 3 Town Hall 22 1 1 1 2 3 Tradesman 13 1 1 -1 2 0.5 Watchtower 12 1 2 -1 1 Waterfront 90 4 3 2 1 4 4 2 1 A few initial observations that don't take much analysis: * There is a wide variation in the building costs that cannot be explained by the numbers. Consider the Mansion (cost 10 BP, +1 Stability) vs the Dump (cost 4 BP, +1 Economy, +1 Stability). The Mansion costs over double, and provides roughly half the bonuses. Other buildings that seem underpriced include the Library, Mill, Monument, Park, Smith, Stable, Tannery. Buildings that seem overpriced include Pier, Tavern, Tradesman. These variations are relatively simple to identify because they don't involve large numbers and are mostly restricted to Economy, Loyalty and Stability modifiers. * As buildings get larger and more complex, they seem to be _less_ efficient than a group of smaller buildings. Compare, e.g., the Temple (cost 32 BP) vs 4 Shrines (cost 32 BP). The Temple has +2 Loyalty, +2 Stability, -2 Unrest, and produces 2 minor items (only 1 of which can be sold each turn) and takes 2 spaces. 4 Shrines have +4 Stability, -4 Unrest, and produces 4 minor (all 4 of which can be sold each turn if the shrines are in different districts) and takes 4 spaces. While the Temple is smaller and nets 2 Stability, it would be difficult to believe that it is a better value than 4 Shrines. And the Market is an even worse value! Next, I used some very simple linear programming techniques to reverse engineer the cost of various building bonuses. The formula I ended up with is as follows: Cost =
This formula has an average error of 20%, with a minimum error of 0% and a maximum error of 61%. The analysis is obviously not rigorous (I have only sought linear solutions expressed as integers to keep the analysis simple). Nevertheless, it is useful to think about as a starting point. One way to interpret this formula is to mean, e.g., that each point of Economy modifier should increase the cost of a building by 3 BP and that an increase in Base GP value of 1,000 should increase the BP cost by 10. If done naively, I think this is a mistake since it fails to account for the less efficient larger and more complex buildings noted above. Of particular interest is comparing the "return on investment" in various types of investment. Consider,
The implications are that investing in farmlands is the most efficient, but is limited to a kingdom's consumption. Investing in the magic item economy is not as good as farmlands, but much better than investing in Economy buildings, although some Economy is necessary to make the Economy checks necessary to sell magic items. Next time, I'll post about my proposed changes to the rules
Skeld wrote:
Oops. So much for email hygiene. One little slip is all it took, and a year later it comes crashing back ... BMM
Sirs, I have recently received spam email addressed to the email account I use only for Paizo purposes. I create a custom email address for each business/website I interact with in the form paizo@bmcdaniel.XXXX.com. I have only used this email address at the Paizo website so I am confident to a moral certainty that the problem originates from Paizo. I will block this email address and change the email address I use for Paizo, but before I do, can you please describe your policy about circulating customer email addresses outside Paizo, and let me know what steps you are taking to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Obviously, I think this is an extremely serious matter. Yours, Brian McDaniel
Sorry to say I'm disappointed. While a lot of good work has been done to improve 3.5 (Bo9S, warlocks, reserve feats, etc.), the remaining problems are too fundamental to patch (diverging good/bad attacks and saves, wonky skill system, accounting for spell selections and too many bonuses/penalties). While I'm sure it won't be perfect, it looks like 4e will be even better. I've loved Paizo's adventures starting with Shackled City through Rise of the Runelords; I sincerely think that Paizo makes the best adventures for D&D. But me and my group will be moving on. I hope Paizo will eventually join us in 4th edition. BMM
kenmckinney wrote:
I like it, but to get your PCs to really hate the Lotus Dragons, I'd crank up the humiliation another notch. Remember that one of your goals should be to really instill a visceral hatred of the Lotus Dragons. Maybe the Lotus Dragons dress the PCs in pink ribbons. Or give them weapons that appear (to the spectators) to be functional, but are actually constructed (balance, uncomfortable grips, hidden burrs, etc) so that the PCs looks like clowns.
If it was up to me, I wouldn't try to motivate them out-of-game, I'd try to motivate them in-game. I'd let the player contact the Lotus Dragons, then have the Lotus Dragons, with Vanthus taking the principal role, capture them and do something really humiliating. Perhaps, the Lotus Dragons strip them of all their gear and clothing and arrange for them to be sold as slaves to the arena for a bare-knuckle, no spells fight against a bunch of rats. |
