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Hey all - my group's finally defeated the Stag Lord after a couple months' play time (and a large, computer-crash related hiatus) and is about to receive their charter from Restov to settle the Stolen Lands. As such, I ran them through the kingdom building rules and was immediately beset with requests and questions on how PCs could tailor their characters to improve their kingdom - so I figured some feats might be a cool idea!
So I sat down and worked out some feats I thought were interesting - at least one for each leadership role, sometimes two depending on function. What do you guys think? (I'm especially interested in hearing from more experienced groups who already have kingdoms up-and-running and could foresee the effects of some feats more readily than I, who have only tinkered around with the rules on paper.) (And also, I've been reading the Song of Ice and Fire, so many of the feats are... inspired by certain characters. Feel free to shout them out if you spot 'em.)
SOLOMON’S WISDOM (KINGMAKER)
Your rule is less a product of your cult of personality, but rather marked by your just and wise counsel.
Prerequisites: Must be a Ruler of a kingdom, Wis 13+
Benefits: You use your Wisdom bonus instead of your Charisma bonus to determine your leadership modifier.
VOICE BEHIND THE THRONE (KINGMAKER)
You have the ruler’s ear in most things, and as councilor can ensure that the will of the people is heard above all others.
Prerequisites: Must be the Councilor of a kingdom, 5 or more ranks in Diplomacy or Knowledge (local)
Benefits: Your bonus to your kingdom’s Loyalty increases by +2. Additionally, choose either Stability or Economy. So long as you remain Councilor for your kingdom, you can add your Wisdom or your Charisma modifier (the same choice you made for Loyalty) to that score.
ARTISTRY OF WAR (KINGMAKER)
Your ability to lead men into battles is not a product of your fame or strength, but rather your masterful knowledge of the art of war.
Prerequisites: Must be the General of a kingdom, Int 13+
Benefits: You add your Intelligence bonus to your kingdom’s Stability modifier.
WARRIOR KING (KINGMAKER)
Your people need no other General – and your Army needs no other King.
Prerequisites: Must be a Ruler of a kingdom.
Benefits: So long as you are Ruler, your kingdom suffers no penalty for lacking a General. You may also add your Strength modifier to your kingdom’s Stability. You are considered a General for purposes of feats and class abilities. Your kingdom loses the benefits of this feat if you assign a General.
Normal: An individual can serve only a single role. Not having a general decreases your kingdom’s Stability by 4 points.
FOREIGN MINISTER (KINGMAKER)
You are a notorious ambassador, famed for your diplomatic ability to negotiate difficult matters.
Prerequisites: Must be the Grand Diplomat of a kingdom, 5 or more ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy.
Benefits: For every 5 ranks you have in Diplomacy, your kingdom’s Stability score increases by +1. For every 5 ranks you have in Bluff, your kingdom’s Economy score increases by +1.
THEOCRATIC RULE (KINGMAKER)
Your kingdom needs no mortal ruler, for the gods themselves have blessed the faithful with leading your people.
Prerequisites: High Priest of a kingdom without a Ruler, Wis 13+, Cha 13+
Benefits: You can act as both Ruler and High Priest of a kingdom, granting the benefits of both offices accordingly. Your kingdom suffers no penalties for lacking a Ruler, so long as you are High Priest. You gain alignment bonuses to your kingdom according to your patron deity as well as your kingdom’s alignment.
Normal: A kingdom without a ruler cannot claim new hexes, build improvements, or purchase city districts, as well as gaining Unrest every turn.
DIVINE RIGHT (KINGMAKER)
Your ruler has this office by divine right – mostly on your say so.
Prerequisites: High Priest of a kingdom, Ruler and High Priest must have the same patron deity.
Benefits: If the Ruler of your kingdom is within the allowed alignments for your patron deity, your kingdom gains alignment benefits as your patron deity’s as well as (stacking with) your kingdom’s alignment. You may choose to deny the kingdom this benefit at the beginning of every turn, at your say-so.
Special: If you and the kingdom’s Ruler do not have the same patron deity, you do not lose this feat, but your kingdom cannot gain the benefits of the feat.
ARCANE HEADMASTER (KINGMAKER)
You (or a close associate) are the headmaster of the kingdom’s very own School of Magic, increasing your kingdom’s magical resources.
Prerequisites: Magister of a kingdom, access to an Academy or Caster’s Tower building
Benefits: One Academy or Caster’s Tower of your choice grants an additional magic item slot for 1 major magic item. Additionally, you can build a number of academies equal to your Intelligence modifier at half cost. These academies need not be built immediately, and if your Intelligence modifier increases, the number of academies you can build at half cost also increases.
FRIENDS IN THE WILDS (KINGMAKER)
Your ties to the natural world allow you to better perform your job as Marshal.
Prerequisites: Marshal of a kingdom, Druid or Ranger with an Animal Companion, ability to cast charm animal or charm monster.
Benefits: You grant your kingdom a +2 bonus to its Economy and Stability scores.
SECRET POLICE (KINGMAKER)
As Royal Assassin, you head an entire organization dedicated to eradicating crime and radical elements. This organization is so feared, its name alone inspires dread in the hearts and minds of the citizenry.
Prerequisites: Royal Assassin of a kingdom, Leadership feat.
Benefits: You add your Charisma bonus (if positive) to your leadership bonus to Loyalty. Additionally, your kingdom’s Unrest is reduced by 2 during each Upkeep phase.
Normal: Your kingdom’s Unrest is reduced by 1 during each Upkeep phase.
EYES AND EARS (KINGMAKER)
You’ve cultivated a network of eyes and ears which you use to your kingdom’s advantage.
Prerequisites: Spymaster of a kingdom, Leadership feat
Benefits: You gain a +3 bonus to whichever kingdom statistic you decide to modify on any given turn. Additionally, whenever your kingdom rolls an Assassination special event, you – or a handful of guards, at your choice – are able to be present.
RUMOR MONGER (KINGMAKER)
Spending your days in taverns and markets, you pick up a lot of stray rumors, which you’re trained to sort and sift through to find morsels of useful truth.
Prerequisites: Spymaster of a kingdom, Diplomacy 5 or more ranks
Benefits: You can choose two of your kingdom’s statistics to modify with your leadership modifier. You can still choose to change which values to modify during your kingdom’s Improvement phase (you may change only one per phase.)
MASTER OF COIN (KINGMAKER)
You have a gift for procuring, producing, and maintaining gold in your kingdom’s coffers.
Prerequisites: Treasurer of a kingdom, Profession (Accountant) 5 or more ranks.
Benefits: Your kingdom’s Consumption is treated as if it were lower equal to your Intelligence or Wisdom modifier (your choice). This still cannot lower your Consumption below 0.
Special: Should you no longer serve as the kingdom’s Treasurer, the consumption of the kingdom rises to its normal levels.
ORGANIZED WATCH (KINGMAKER)
You’ve organized your cities’ watchmen and guardsmen into professional organizations, with regular training and personnel supervision – and a fancy name, too.
Prerequisites: Warden of a kingdom, Leadership feat, access to a Garrison.
Benefits: You add +2 to your kingdom’s Economy. Additionally, all Garrisons and Watchtowers – either presently built or in the future – reduce unrest by an additional point
I really like these, and am considering waving them under my players noses. I think the only one that doesn't work well as is is "Warrior King," which not only negates the need for a General, but seems to actively discourage having one. If there was a lesser benefit (like with "Theocratic Rule") or an additive one, if you still have both roles covered, I think it would be fine - a Warrior King may not need to have a General, but they should still be able to derive some benefit from them. I notice there's nothing in there about Armies and the warfare aspect of the Kingmaker rules - perhaps something involving that aspect to fill out the feat?
Not yet playing KM but looks like a great idea: I take them ! Thanks !
I think the only one that doesn't work well as is is "Warrior King," which not only negates the need for a General, but seems to actively discourage having one. If there was a lesser benefit (like with "Theocratic Rule") or an additive one, if you still have both roles covered, I think it would be fine - a Warrior King may not need to have a General, but they should still be able to derive some benefit from them.
Hmm... that's a good point. My thinking was that the Warrior King feat would require the Ruler to have both a good Strength and a good Charisma, that being cost enough. Although I could see where this necessarily isn't the case. I might drop the "Add Str to Stability" thing.
I notice there's nothing in there about Armies and the warfare aspect of the Kingmaker rules - perhaps something involving that aspect to fill out the feat?
I'll certainly make some up for the armies. I had a few ideas (one for Magister, one for General, one for High Priest) where you can grant your armies special bonuses (like if you're a Magister with access to an Alchemist's Shop, you can grant your armies a bonus to their offense score - essentially, you can pump out oils of magic weapon - to use before battle.)
But, one step at a time.
I've come up with a couple new ones to add to the list:
FAITH MILITANT (KINGMAKER)
As high priest of a warrior faith, you guard your people’s spiritual growth as well as protecting their physical wellbeing from assault.
Prerequisites: High Priest of a kingdom, patron deity must have the War domain or the war, battle, soldier, or warrior portfolios
Benefits: Your kingdom suffers no penalties for lacking a General so long as you remain High Priest. You may also choose to apply your Strength modifier, in place of your Wisdom or Charisma modifier, to your kingdom’s Stability score.
Normal: A kingdom without a general suffers a penalty to stability. A High Priest can only add his Wisdom or his Charisma modifier to his kingdom’s Stability.
HIGH INQUISITOR (KINGMAKER)
Your faith is adept at rooting out the radical elements of society and exposing their dirty deeds to the world, making your kingdom that much safer.
Prerequisites: High Priest of a kingdom, patron deity must have an appropriate portfolio (DM’s prerogative).
Benefits: So long as you remain High Priest, you reduce your kingdom’s Unrest by 1 during each Upkeep phase. This benefit does not stack with the Royal Assassin’s reduction of Unrest.
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Hey all - my group's finally defeated the Stag Lord after a couple months' play time (and a large, computer-crash related hiatus) and is about to receive their charter from Restov to settle the Stolen Lands. As such, I ran them through the kingdom building rules and was immediately beset with requests and questions on how PCs could tailor their characters to improve their kingdom - so I figured some feats might be a cool idea!
So I sat down and worked out some feats I thought were interesting - at least one for each leadership role, sometimes two depending on function. What do you guys think? (I'm especially interested in hearing from more experienced groups who already have kingdoms up-and-running and could foresee the effects of some feats more readily than I, who have only tinkered around with the rules on paper.) (And also, I've been reading the Song of Ice and Fire, so many of the feats are... inspired by certain characters. Feel free to shout them out if you spot 'em.)
SOLOMON’S WISDOM (KINGMAKER)
Your rule is less a product of your cult of personality, but rather marked by your just and wise counsel.
Prerequisites: Must be a Ruler of a kingdom, Wis 13+
Benefits: You use your Wisdom bonus instead of your Charisma bonus to determine your leadership modifier.VOICE BEHIND THE THRONE (KINGMAKER)
You have the ruler’s ear in most things, and as councilor can ensure that the will of the people is heard above all others.
Prerequisites: Must be the Councilor of a kingdom, 5 or more ranks in Diplomacy or Knowledge (local)
Benefits: Your bonus to your kingdom’s Loyalty increases by +2. Additionally, choose either Stability or Economy. So long as you remain Councilor for your kingdom, you can add your Wisdom or your Charisma modifier (the same choice you made for Loyalty) to that score.ARTISTRY OF WAR (KINGMAKER)
Your ability to lead men into battles is not a product of your fame or strength, but rather your masterful knowledge of the art of war.
Prerequisites: Must be the General of a...
Dude these are great! Consider them stolen. Just started this campaign yesterday. My peeps love it and I am enjoying Gming it.
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ARCANE HEADMASTER (KINGMAKER)
You (or a close associate) are the headmaster of the kingdom’s very own School of Magic, increasing your kingdom’s magical resources.
Prerequisites: Magister of a kingdom, access to an Academy or Caster’s Tower building
Benefits: One Academy or Caster’s Tower of your choice grants an additional magic item slot for 1 major magic item. Additionally, you can build a number of academies equal to your Intelligence modifier at half cost. These academies need not be built immediately, and if your Intelligence modifier increases, the number of academies you can build at half cost also increases.
This is WAY too unbalancing.
The economic management rules of Kingdom building are, at their core, all about the ability to gain and then sell Major Magic Items in your Kingdom. Make no mistake, that's the first of two medium term goals of the economic development of your Kingdom (the second being to build enough other economy buildings so you are actually able to successfully sell a medium -- and then,later, a major magic item about every other turn as a long term goal.
Because once you do that? The Kingdom has virtually unlimited BPs.
By allowing a Caster's Tower to produce a major magic item per turn with this feat from the first month of building (Caster's Tower should be a Kingdom's first building), you grant to a party with a fifth level Wizard (who will most definitely take this feat at 5th) the ability to build a Caster's Tower which will immediately being producing major magic items.
Admittedly, it's a DC50 to sell one - so it will be three or four years of game time (read: you need a LOT of +1 economy buildings even with Kick-ass PC and NPC rulers and ministers) before you can pull off a DC50.
But allowing the Players to stockpile that many major magic items for ultimate sale will destroy the Kingdom Building rules in the game. An extra medium item? Okay. Even an extra major item from a Magic Shop or Waterfront isn't necessarily THAT bad (because it takes quite a while to get up to the point where you can usefully build one of these). But not from a Caster's Tower. A Caster's Tower is the "correct" first building to build with your initial 50BP grub stake from Restov.
It seems cool, but you'll destroy the Kingdom Management game with this feat, as drafted.
ARCANE HEADMASTER (KINGMAKER)
You (or a close associate) are the headmaster of the kingdom’s very own School of Magic, increasing your kingdom’s magical resources.
Prerequisites: Magister of a kingdom, access to an Academy or Caster’s Tower building
Benefits: One Academy or Caster’s Tower of your choice grants an additional magic item slot for 1 major magic item. Additionally, you can build a number of academies equal to your Intelligence modifier at half cost. These academies need not be built immediately, and if your Intelligence modifier increases, the number of academies you can build at half cost also increases.This is WAY too unbalancing.
...
But allowing the Players to stockpile that many major magic items for ultimate sale will destroy the Kingdom Building rules in the game. An extra medium item? Okay. Even an extra major item from a Magic Shop or Waterfront isn't...
Really? My group hasn't gone up that high yet, but I'm not sure it would be as bad as you think, given that you can only sell one item per district. Okay, I can see a kingdom with a bunch of caster's towers building a bunch of little cities so they can sell their stuff, but that would take a while and may ultimately hurt them (what if a plague comes to visit the kingdom?). PCs could stockpile all they want, but if they only have one or two districts, they can only sell one or two of their stock each month.
Though, give my group a few more in-game years and I may change my tune on this one. :)
ARCANE HEADMASTER (KINGMAKER)
You (or a close associate) are the headmaster of the kingdom’s very own School of Magic, increasing your kingdom’s magical resources.
Prerequisites: Magister of a kingdom, access to an Academy or Caster’s Tower building
Benefits: One Academy or Caster’s Tower of your choice grants an additional magic item slot for 1 major magic item. Additionally, you can build a number of academies equal to your Intelligence modifier at half cost. These academies need not be built immediately, and if your Intelligence modifier increases, the number of academies you can build at half cost also increases.This is WAY too unbalancing.
The economic management rules of Kingdom building are, at their core, all about the ability to gain and then sell Major Magic Items in your Kingdom. Make no mistake, that's the first of two medium term goals of the economic development of your Kingdom (the second being to build enough other economy buildings so you are actually able to successfully sell a medium -- and then,later, a major magic item about every other turn as a long term goal.
Because once you do that? The Kingdom has virtually unlimited BPs.
By allowing a Caster's Tower to produce a major magic item per turn with this feat from the first month of building (Caster's Tower should be a Kingdom's first building), you grant to a party with a fifth level Wizard (who will most definitely take this feat at 5th) the ability to build a Caster's Tower which will immediately being producing major magic items.
Admittedly, it's a DC50 to sell one - so it will be three or four years of game time (read: you need a LOT of +1 economy buildings even with Kick-ass PC and NPC rulers and ministers) before you can pull off a DC50.
But allowing the Players to stockpile that many major magic items for ultimate sale will destroy the Kingdom Building rules in the game. An extra medium item? Okay. Even an extra major item from a Magic Shop or Waterfront isn't...
Hmm, I had a much better reply to your post deconstructing your argument, but the server ate it. So I'll be concise:
1) The feat doesn't allow you to "pump out" major magic items per turn. It just grants you an additional (major) magic item slot. Which you can fill up once, then have to wait until the item is sold in order to get another one. (This could be my fault - if the feat is unclear, please let me know so I can reword it.)
2) The fact that it's DC 50 to sell off a major magic item means that, by the time this feat is of any use to you (even if you DID take it at 5th level), it's my understanding that your kingdom can already AFFORD a Black Market and/or Magic Item Shop.
I could be wrong about this, but that's been my understanding seeing how my test kingdom shaped out.
3) If you'd rather, you can bump the prereqs of the feat to just "Access to an Academy", which would mean the cost is static at 50 BP, or you can raise it to "Access to an Academy and Caster's Tower", which would pump the cost up past 80 BP - which I think is too high.
What do people think?
Steel_Wind: there is no "correct" 1st building to produce. That's the joy of sandbox-style game - no "correct" way to go about it. "Optimal" might be a better word, if getting into BP mining is your goal from the outset.
HazardSW: Not that I think generating one extra item per month is particularly game-breaking, but that is the focus of the buildings and the district they're in. ARCANE HEADMASTER might do better to allow the PC to sell one extra item per month instead. Besides, PCs (crafters or otherwise) already have the option of adding extra items to the economy to sell I believe, just not quite using the same rules for generating them.
HazardSW: Not that I think generating one extra item per month is particularly game-breaking, but that is the focus of the buildings and the district they're in. ARCANE HEADMASTER might do better to allow the PC to sell one extra item per month instead. Besides, PCs (crafters or otherwise) already have the option of adding extra items to the economy to sell I believe, just not quite using the same rules for generating them.
True - although the "deposit crafted items" bit is quite different than the "sell magic items from magic item slots" rules. My thought behind the feat isn't so much that the PC himself is crafting and selling items, but that he - as the headmaster of an arcane schooling program - is focusing (some) of his curriculum on the creation of new wondrous devices. I didn't want to make it just an additional flat boost to Economy, magic item market being what it is.
+1 to Steel wind
if you can sell 3 or 4 major magic items a turn for 60BP....nothing else matters
we are in session 20, and the kingdom building capacity has rocketed since the building of those places that provide major items has occurred
they are very easy to sell.
not sure who is buying all the +5 armour in our game, but some NPC obviously is!!