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Ah, ****. Well, at least my players aren't sore about stuff most of the time.
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Thanks to all of your ideas. I really liked them all, and here is mine plan about BP and Diplomacy for the beginning of RRR.
Note: I'm going to use Ultimate Campaign rules including the diplomatic edicts.
The PCs begin with 10 BP from Restov and the Swordlords (5+5), they could gain others BP making deals with the Great Noble Houses, with some minor nobles, organization, and the churches' representatives:
Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius (Restov)
Gift: 5 BP, Embassy edict with Restov.
Others Aldori swordlords
Gift: 5 BP
Hidden: If they make a deal with Surtova or Orlovsky the Attitude with Restov move one step down (but the Embassy edict remains).
Nobles and other organizations (from 5 to 30 BP)
Maegar Varn (Varnhold)
Since he is building Varnhold he doesn't have any BP to offer, but they can establish diplomatic relations between the two colonies.
Offer: Embassy edict with Varnhold.
Stated: The promise of future commercial deals. Maybe a weeding promise?
Baron Drelev
He will avoid the PCs, since he thinks they are parvenu, no needing his attentions.
House Garess
Represented here by Evan Garess (Kesten's father, cousin of Lord Howlan) House Garess is not interested in colony development, since they still suffer the vanish of the Golushkin dwarfs. Evan is still not interested in any contact with his disowned son.
Offer: 5 BP, an Embassy edict with House Garess, and a promise of a future deal (Treaty) for their mineral resources.
Stated: No deal with all the other Houses (Lord Garess don't want the other houses gain a second hand access to their mineral resources).
House Lebeda
Lady Akilina Lebeda cousin of Lander and Elanna. A very beautiful girl, looking for an adventure.
Hidden:
Minor Offer: 5 BP, Embassy edict with House Lebeda, half the cost of a shop.
Stated: She wants the Lebeda to have freedom to conduct business in the kingdom. No deals with the Orlovsky or the Surtova (only recognising them as rulers of all Brevoy.)
Major Offer: 10 BP, Treaty edict (Unbalanced) with House Lebeda, half the cost of a market.
Stated: As minor offer plus the PCs Kingdom Grand Diplomat must be one of Lebeda representatives.(So Lebeda will control the PCs'foreign policy.)
House Medvyed Note: One of mine PCs, and probably the future Ruler(Queen) is a Medvyed Bastard.
Ivan Medvyed an ambitious young member of the House, very distant in the succession line, he is searching for an opportunity to shine. Since Lord Gurev gave him precise instructions he can't do great personal deals (except... se major offer).
Minor Offer: 5 BP, Embassy edict with House Medvyed.
Stated: Make a deal with the Erastil church (see below), and a formal declaration where the bastard PC and her future heirs formally renounce any claim in Medvyed's legacy. Both parts recognise their common origin.
[This document will remove the PC's Bastard trait drawback]
Major Offer: 10 BP, Embassy edict with House Medvyed.
Stated: As minor offer plus no deals with Surtova or Orlovsky. Also the bastard-ruler will marry a Medvyed young member not in the succession line...
Hidden:
House Orlovsky
Lady Serani Orlovsky as indigoreeds's post above.
Offer: 10 BP, Embassy edict with House Orlovsky, half the cost of a Guildhall.
Stated: She wants the Orlovsky's to have freedom to conduct business in the kingdom and first dibs on new contracts in the kingdom. No deal with the Surtova.
Hidden:
House Surtova
Nirion Surtova as indigoreeds's post above.
Offer: 10 BP, garrisoned Fort terrain improvement, Embassy edict with Surtova. Can offer up to 15 BP.
Stated: A formal declaration of friendship and aid between the PC kingdom and House Surtova, recognising Noleski Surtova as true King of Brevoy, and recognising the PCs as true nobles of a Brevoy Colony. [This document will remove the PC's Bastard trait drawback]
The permission for Nirion to carry out Surtovan business in the kingdom unmolested (diplomatic immunity).
House Lodovka
Petrov Lodovka an old pirate man, second cousin of Lord Kozak.
Offer: 5 BP, Embassy with Lodovka, half the cost of a Pier.
Stated: Make a deal with the Surtova, Make a deal with the Church of Gorum (see below), with Gleb Lodovka as General or Marshal.
Hidden:
Arnovsky (rostland rebels)
Count Addar Arnovski as indigoreeds's post above.
Offer: 5 BP, a loch system to bypass the falls and rapids along the Shrike.
Stated: Exclusive shipping rights for the Arnovski
Hidden: A deal with Arnovsky will move two step down the Attitude with Surtova and their Allies (actually Lodovka and Lebeda)
Fanged Legion as Olondir's post above.
Offer: 5 BP, spies network bonus, eventually a capable Spymaster NPC.
Stated: Safe base of operations. No deals with the usurpers Surtova.
Hidden: Starting from the next month, and once per year, make a Loyalty check (add the Spymaster bonus even if it's currently used in Economy or Stability), if the check fails the Surtova spies discovered the deal between the colony and the fanged legion: move two step down the Attitude with Surtova and their Allies (actually Lodovka and Lebeda), revoke all diplomatic edicts with this Houses. Improve attitude of Orlovsky by one step.
Churches (from 5 to 30 BP)
Church of Abadar (Brevoy)
Minor Offer: 5 BP
Stated: Non-chaotic Kingdom alignment. Build a Temple to Abadar in one years time.
Major Offer: 10 BP
Stated: Abadar as Official religion the the Kingdom. The High priest must be member of the Church of Abadar (Cleric, Inquisitor or Paladin). Kingdom must have a Legal alignment.
Church of Gorum (Brevoy)
Minor Offer: 5 BP
Stated: Marshal or General must be followers of Gorum
Major Offer: 10 BP
Stated: Marshal or General must be a member of the Church of Gorum (Cleric, Inquisitor or Antipaladin)
Church of Pharasma (Order of Repose)
Offer: 5 BP
Stated: Outlaw necromancy and make undead creatures kill on sight by law. The Order will also have a free hand in carrying out his mission.
Church of Erastil (Restov)
High Priest Ezvanki Keegh
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of a Granary, 50% discount of clerical cast from Keegh
Stated: Rebuild the Temple of the Elk in one year time, no deals with the Churches of Abadar and Gorum
Church of Hanspur
Offer: 5 BP, eventually an NPC High Priest.
Stated: Freedom of worship for the church, and protections in the kingdom for the Six River Freedoms.
Hidden: In one month the other Churches will automatically discovered this deal. Abadar and Erastil churches (if present) will withdraw from the Kingdom (generating 1d4 Unrest each church). The Attitude with Restov (because of Erastil) and all the Noble Houses except the Lodovka (Because of Abadar) move one step down.
nice work .. this is pure gold )
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Tonight, after a lot of months, mine PCs finally build their kingdom, taking a lot of BP from their diplomatic arrangement, also gaining some powerful friends but also powerful enemies.
I added also 2 small organizations to the big scheme reported above
Children of the West
An Halfling organization, focused on freeing the slave Halflings from Cheliax and the others country, very infiltrated inside the servants of the major Houses.
An Halfling waiter approached the PCs during the dinner, proposing an agreement between their future kingdom and his organization.
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of any kingdom building!
Stated: Forbid slavery in the kingdom, give asylum to all the escaping Halfing (no matter where they come from), have the kingdom's alignment be non-lawful and non-evil. Make a Vassalage Edict within one year to rise a Vassal Halfling State inside the boundaries of the PC's Kingdom.
Hidden: The Vassalage Edict will move one step down the attitude with all the big houses when a lot of their Halfling servants will depart their villas, castles and palaces, provoking a lot of technical troubles to their business for the first month..
The Illuminati
Vaylen Goldfield [NPC Guide]
Behind the face of this art merchants and historical/archeological business men philanthropic society lies the cultist sect of the Twilight Symphony.
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of a Museum
Stated: Councilor, Magister or Treasurer must be a member of their society.
Hidden: Whenever there is the Archeological Found kingdom events, there is a cumulative 25% chance of it being a piece of the lost symphony. If so, the next month's Event will automatically became Cult Activity.
I knew mine players wouldn't have refused the halfling offer... and so they now are in mine net, playing a political game which is bigger then what they actually know.
They made agreement with the Medvyed and the Lebeda (both major offers), the Restov's church of Erastil, the Pharasmins's Order of Repose, the Arnovsky and the Child of the West.
So now they have an Unfriendly House Surtova whose attitude will move one step worst within one year... unless they will find a way to avoiding their involvement in the future Brevic Civil War.
Last weekend, my players were invited by Lord Mayor Sellemius to the Great Summer Ball, where they encountered most of the people imagined by indigoreeds.
And it was awesome. 6-hours-of-gametime awesome.
The PCs made it an even more complicated political mess than it was designed to be. They proved to be nasty calculating politicians... and they made enemies... Powerful ones (the Surtovas and the Lumber Consortium, to name a few).
That will be interesting.
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So my players ended up in a bit of a limbo between Book 1 and Book 2. They hadn’t finished exploring, but they had already killed the Stag Lord. So I decided to throw this mod into the mix.
I ran this in conjunction with a heavily-modified A Wedding Knight and it went pretty well. One player went full completionist and tried to talk with everyone to see what deals they would offer.
I stole a lot of ideas from this thread, and it ended up being a lot of fun. Now the party has a whole host of obligations and political ties to deal with!
The way I ran it, a faction would offer BP in exchange for the players accepting certain terms. They could refuse terms, but needed to either accept, bypass or compromise on a minimum number of terms or they would receive no deal.
There were two opportunities to make deals, albeit with some overlap: Receiving the Charter and The Wedding Knight
Receiving the Charter
The players went to Restov to receive their Charter. But as they entered the city they were intercepted by a representative of the Swordlords, who led them to Lady Jamandi Aldori. On behalf of the majority of the Swordlord Council, Lady Aldori extended the party the basic deal:
Offer: 20BP
Terms: (only 1 term)
1> Create a stable territory in the Stolen Lands to the South of Brevoy independent of the Dragonscale Throne
However, Lady Aldori informed the party that there were holdouts on the Council who would chip in more if they had greater certainty of the players’ loyalty.
Swordlord Council
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms)
1> No deals with Issian Houses [compromise: no deals with House Surtova].
2> House Surtova does not learn about Swordlord involvement.
3> Sow dissent between Surtova’s allies.
4> Develop an Aldori dueling school within 5 years.
5> No alliances with Mivon.
This business finished, the players were free to go to Restov’s Trade Hall, where they were met the other charterers, representatives of House Surtova and Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius and received their Charter of Rule. But with all these nobles around, scheming inevitably ensued.
House Surtova
Lord Suvarian Surtova and his younger siblings Radomir Surtova and bride-to-be Nadya Surtova (who takes the role of Sylvie Harte).
Offer: 15BP
Terms: [minimum 2 terms; must accept fealty to House Surtova]
1> Swear fealty to House Surtova
2> Two Council Positions
3> Build watchtowers at North & South borders
4> Trade with & build road to Drelev
House Lodovka
Uthred Lodovka, nominally here out of friendship for House Surtova, actually here because he’s sleeping with Nadya Surtova (takes the role of Ser Etan Hogg)
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (only 1 term)
1> Accept Surtova’s deal with no compromises, rejections or bypasses
Together, House Surtova and House Lodovka offer a significant chunk of BP, but doing so means accepting a lot of foreign control upon their burgeoning kingdom. The players politely decline both offers. The Charterers have their own kingdoms to build and so make no offers.
However, as the players chat with the nobles, one of them is confronted by a Swordlord: Vadim Rost-Aldori.
Vadim Rost-Aldori
a warrior at heart, Vadim doesn’t give a damn about the differences between Rostland and Mivonese Adlori. He just wants to see the Issians driven out.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (minimum 3 terms)
1>connect waterways to Restov & grant Rost-Aldori exclusive shipping rights
2>ally with Mivon militarily
3>accept a deal from Gorum for Major Religion
4>High promotion edict
Vadim seeks to use the PCs’ kingdom as a diversion, directing northern aggression towards the fledgling kingdom and away from Restov long enough for the Swordlords to rally their strength. By discussing a deal with them in front of the Surtovas, he is trying to force the PCs’ hands: simply talking to Vadim reflects poorly on them in the eyes of the Surtovas and the Lodovkas.
Before they leave the party also gains the chance to speak with Jerribeth, Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius.
Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius
The Lord Mayor is a fat jovial man whose merry manner disguises a keen mind seeking to juggle the interests of a bustling city, powerful nobles and Swordlords prickly with pride. He sees in the party an opportunity to do some business and secure a safe border.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms)
1> Build a road connecting PC’s capital to Restov (this can be upgraded by stealing Vadim’s idea and offering to build a lock system connecting the rivers and/or by offering to connect the capital by highways rather than roads; either of these increases the deal by +2BP)
2> Adopt trading post charter (now the players need to govern Oleg’s trading post)
3> Build a market within 1 year
4> Keep open communications with Restov (requires building an aviary or some other messaging system)
5> Establish a trade edict with Restov
Jerribeth
an elven patron of the arts, Jerribeth bores of the scene in Restov, so is looking for somewhere new and exciting to enjoy herself. Also, she’s not really and elf but a disguised Leannan Sidhe, eager for some new artists to “inspire,” as she’s drained most of the interesting ones in Restov dry.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (Will grant 3BP if Term 1 is accepted; if Term 2 is also accepted, will increase by +2BP)
1> One hex of her choice to do with as she pleases
2> Clear and claim any elven sites for her
That evening, the PCs are sought out by Lord Walder Garess. Without the backing of the Golka Clan, House Garess has fallen on hard times and now Lord Garess seeks to make a deal.
House Garess
Lord Walder is shrewd, but a little desperate. Walder’s stonemason will send back word of the layouts, weakenesses and secrets of any buidligns he builds for the PCs. Also, Walder doesn’t know about the wedding. No one bothered to invite him. Walder is Kesten Garess’s father, and if the PCs accept Walder’s deal, Walder will offer to accept Kesten back into the folds of the family in exchange for seeing House Garess’s interests carried out in this new country.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms)
1> Grant House Garess title to the Oaktop Silver Mine (The Garess’s will exterminate any kobolds they find, so this term is a problem for any parties that made nice with the Sootscales)
2> Allow House Garess to serve as broker for any future mines
3> Hire Garess’s Golka-trained stonemason
4> Build a smithy & refinery
5> Build mines in the Tors of Levenies
Over the next few days, the party has a chance to make deals with any of Restov’s religions.
Church of Gorum
Ratibor the Shatterer, a warrior dwarf looking forward to the coming conflict between Rostland and Issia
Offer: 5BP or 10BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms or minimum 7 terms & must accept Official Religion)
1> Build a barracks within the first year
2> Build a temple to Gorum
3> Position on Council as General or Warden
4> Official religion & High Priest
5> Build Large-size army within 2 years
6> Defence must be your highest city-statistic
7> Confront foreign relations with strength rather than diplomacy
8> Kingdom alignment must be Chaotic
9> Destroy or Conquer monstrous races
Church of Abadar
First Banker Vidrim thinks expanding civilization into the Stolen Lands would be for the good of all, but investments requires compensation, even for ventures such as these.
Offer: 5BP or 10BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms or minimum 7 terms & must accept Official Religion)
1> Build a temple to Abadar
2> Build a market or bank within the first year
3> Never let taxes be two lowest levels
4> Kingdom alignment must be Lawful
5> Positions on Council as Treasurer or Diplomat
6> Official religion & High Priest
7> Economy must be your highest Kingdom Score
8> Give rights to Lumber Consortium
9> Civilize or Eradicate monstrous races
Church of Pharasma
Intercessor Urban is a quiet man, almost demure. He had not considered the idea of sending out some young Sexton into these wayward lands, but then again, is not Pharasma’s influence everywhere?
Offer: 5BP
Terms: [minimum 3 terms]
1> Build a Graveyard within the first year
2> Build a Temple to Pharasma
3> Position on Council
4> Adopt policy of completely destroying any undead encountered
Church of Erastil
Orin and Fenna Nesterov worry that in the coming conflict it will be the common folk who suffer. They are eager to see that the interests of the common folk (and their chief Deity) are represented in the PCs new kingdom.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: [minimum 4 terms]
1> Build a temple to Erastil
2> Don’t abuse the common folk (don’t withdraw BP for your own profit & never let taxes go to highest level)
3> Position on Council
4> PCs married within 5 years
5> Keep festivals at least Quarterly level
Church of Hanspur
Mal is a prophet of freedom, a charismatic whose followers are reborn through drowning. He has a creed: find a crew, get a raft, keep floating.
Offer: 3BP
Terms: [minimum 2 terms]
1> Adhere to the Six River Freedoms
2> Allow Hanspur freedom of religion
3> Maintain freely flowing riverways
Church of Sarenrae
Tu-An, a tiefling, is a firebrand. A populist, she has wandered the land spreading the gospel of Sarenrae’s redeeming light. She has a small following, but worries that the lords and powers-that-be will try to chase her band of misfits, monsters, paupers and “troublemakers” out of Restov
Offer: 3BP
Terms: [minimum 2 terms]
1> Build a shrine to Sarenrae
2> Attempt redemption before punishment
3> Entreat with monstrous races
A few days later comes the Wedding!
Nadya Surtova (a distant relative of the Crown family) and Damien Drelev (son of Hannis Drelev and Pavetta Stroon-Drelev) are too be wed! Damien is just now meeting Nadya, but already he has fallen head over heels in love. Unfortunately for him, Nadya is pregnant by her lover Uthred Lodovka. Nadya plans to see the wedding through, see that both Hannis and Damien suffer “accidents” later on, and rule a kingdom of her own.
House Medvyed
Lord Garl Brezeki and his wife Genevieve Medvyed-Brezeki are here out of Genevieve’s friendship growing up in New Steven with Nadya, though she has not seen her in some years. Garl just wants to hunt, feast and dote on his two-year old daughter, but Genevieve has an eye for politics. The pair are accompanied by Genevieve’s sister Faelbrin Medvyed, who is frustrated at the constraints of patrilineal descent. Her parents have nine daughters and yet her father is still trying for a “true heir.”
Offer: 5BP
Terms: [minimum 4 terms]
1> Build 2 royal reserves
2> Appease & Respect the Fey
3> Align with each Spirit of the Land
4> Upgrade 4 farms to apiaries
5> Establish a village in the Narlmarches
Bonus: (+1 BP if Erastil becomes main religion)
House Lebeda
Old Sabine Lebeda is here with her granddaughter Saska Lebeda (newly returned from her studies at Absolom’s Arcanamirium). Saska is just here to party with old friends, but Sabine is all too aware of he daughter Sarronna Lebeda’s schemes.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: [only 2 terms]
1> Keep the peace
2> Remain independent
As offers go this one is easy. This is intentional. The PCs appreciate the easy win, the Lebedas get to make friends with their new neighbours.
House Orlovsky
Lord Aedan’s invitation to this party was meant as a sleight against him by Lord Suvarian Surtova, a chance to show off House Surtova’s ever-increasing influence. Still, Aeden is too proud to refuse such an invitation, even if he hates every minute of it.
Offer: 5BP
Terms: [minimum 4 terms]
1> No deals with Surtova or Lodovka (+1 BP if PCs ruin the wedding)
2> Build an observatory or an academy
3> Search for evidence of Iluthiak & other dragons; allow House Orlovsky to be primary purchaser of dragon parts/bones/scales
4> Build a black market
5> Restore any ruins
The PCs can also make deals with Jerribeth, the Surtovas or Uthred Lodovka if they failed to do so earlier but wish too now.
The Wedding plays out, offering the players a chance to ruin it (and so prevent House Surtova’s influence from further spreading across the land) or seeing it through (in which case, Lord Hannis Surtova drinks a flask of mumia-laced wine (which won’t register as poison to any paranoid spellcasters in the party with <i>detect poison</i> since it is a drug). Given Hannis’s high saves, it will kill him verrry slowly, but since it is a curse as well as a disease he won’t be able to shake it. He, and Damien, will eventually be replaced by levelled-up versions of Nadya Surtova and Uthred Lodovka.)
Well hello!
I am a venture capitalist and am willing to front 25 BP to the betterment of your town.
After all we all have to do our part to spread civilization.
Anyone think the Aspis Consortium would be a nice fit here?
I did something similar (not as much written out as here) where the players have to choose (a year after the founding) between an adventures league (Pathfinder society) and a trader consortium (aspis).
They choose the adventurers but the spy master paired up with the traders.
This leads to a "free trading town" in their kingdom which was under control of the consortium and the spymaster (who stole BP from the Kingdom in a way no one recognized (fake "border agreement with brevoy about the top lane of hex fields, fake repair events for the mage tower, withhold items from the trades town black market etc.)
Was very fun :)
Plan to do something similar in my current campaign (it's a homebrew kingmaker campaign, i use the golarion setting, but homebrew Map)
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I've been developing my own Venture Capital scenario, and I was curious if offering a higher potential total than 50 BP had had any negative impact on peoples' games. I'm planning on having a weeklong trip to Restov, during which time the PCs and potential donors will have a tournament, go hunting, dance at a ball, and generally get involved in Brevoy's messy politics.
Churches----------(5-20 BP possible), 4 total
Church of Abadar-The Church of Abadar is one of the major players in Brevoy, and is eager to extend its influence into the River Kingdoms. Many of the noble houses, including Houses Orlovsky, Lebeda, and Garess, follow the Master of the First Vault, as do many merchants and tradesmen across Brevoy. The Church of Abadar is certain that having a law-driven, or at the very least, neutral, land to Brevoy’s south will help less the chaos of the upcoming civil war, and wants to have a hand in guiding that land.
Sub-Bishop Alexi Seltov-A thin man with a droopy moustache, is always polite and is very calculating, always writing notes in a journal. Sub-Bishop Seltov wishes to see himself as the High Priest of the Stolen Lands, and he’s willing to negotiate on almost everything, with the exception of Gorum. The Church is willing to support the Stolen Lands even without major concessions, but that support will be minimal.
Lesser Offer: 5 BP: Temple to Abadar built within five years, non-chaotic kingdom
Greater Offer: 10 BP, half-price bank and market: As above, Abadar is patron god, high priest representative of Abadar (Divine Class), lawful kingdom, no deal with Gorum
Church of Gorum-Houses Lovodka and Surtova follow the Lord in Iron, though Lovodka tends to be more devout. Gorum also has priests in every noble’s hall, and holds a large amount of influence over the land. The conquest of the Stolen Lands represents an opportunity for Gorumites to extend their influence as well as send a large number of worshipers to meet their Lord.
Warbringer Goriza Bint-Hulking half-orc woman, always wears parade armor, very blunt and tactless. She has no desire to compromise on her Church’s generous offer, and also has no desire to take a position in the Stolen Lands, but she knows a certain Lovodka who might want such a role...
Offer: 10 BP: Marshal or General must be representatives of Gorum (Inquisitor, Warpriest, or Cleric), build military academy within five years
Church of Pharasma-The Lady of Gentle Repose is the deity of the masses in Brevoy, and boasts an impressive following in large swaths of the River Kingdoms. While revered as the goddess of death in nearby Ustalav, in Brevoy she takes on the role of cultivation, reaping, and birthing. Her church’s desire is to provide a supporting hand for the smallfolk’s trials, as well as an open embrace when they pass on.
Sister Andreiko-Quiet halfling, the youngest of the Church representatives. She was sent for her diplomatic skills, and is eager to make a deal with the PCs. She’ll compromise on everything except the banning of necromancy.
Offer: 5 BP, half-price graveyard: Assist the Pharasmics in eliminating undead, build temple within five years, Outlaw necromancy
Church of Erastil-House Medvyed is the only Brevic family to follow Old Deadeye, and the Grozni Forest is the only place where his worshipers outnumber the Pharasmics. His followers see the colonization of the Stolen Lands as an opportunity to guide a new land toward an emphasis on community and family, and they want to get in at the top level this time instead of the lower orders of society.
Father Gustav Zander-Traditional, Conservative priest with a long brown beard and shaved head. Exceptionally stubborn, but not rude about it. Will not compromise without exceptionally good reason.
Offer: 5 BP, half-price/double speed farm hex: Ruler must be married within a year, an heir must be produced, or at least named, within five, and a settlement must be founded at the Temple of the Elk within five.
Brevic Noble Houses and the Swordlords----------(5-45 BP Possible), 7 total
House Garess-House Garess made its fortune on mining, and is one of the wealthiest of the Brevic Houses. It’s looking for an alternate source of income after the dwarves of the Golushkin Mountains vanished on the same day the Rogarvia family did, and the House has found out that the Stolen Lands offer a few different mining opportunities.
Anton Garess- (34, Male Human) Younger brother of Howlan Garess, somewhat head-in-the-clouds, very used to getting what he wants because of the family’s wealth.
Offer: 15 BP: Allow House Garess mining rights at either the gold mine or Sootscale Caverns for 1 year. -1BP/turn for 2 years. At end of contract period, option to renew for 15 additional BP, or gain control of a working mine.
House Lebeda-The most politically-savvy house, the Lebedas own the majority of the trading caravans between Issia and Rostland. Though they consider themselves Rostlandic to the core, they prefer the Surtovan regency because it’s good for business. The Lebeda family sees an opportunity to expand their trade networks into Mivon by way of the rivers (once a way is found to bypass the rapids) and from there, into the rest of the River Kingdoms.
Lander and Elanna Lebeda-15 Male and 19 Female Humans) Son and daughter of Dame Sarrona Lebeda. He’s eager to prove himself a skilled noble and she wants to help the Surtovas succeed in their goal. The two of them work together for the most part, though they butt heads on questions of who’s in charge of their delegation.
Offer: 5 BP: Establish trade route with House Lebeda.
Greater Offer: 10 BP: As above, plus construct locks at the waterfall.
House Lovodka-The waters of the Lake of Mists and Veils are a huge source of fish, as well as a place to master the art of raiding. The Lovodkas, the newest of the Brevic Houses, arrived on shores and islands of the lake from the River Kingdoms, looking for a new place to ply their two trades of fishing and raiding. Their war with House Orlovsky has gone hot and bloody three times since the Rogarvias vanished, but they’re too valuable as fishermen to get rid of. Their goals at the meeting are twofold. First, spite the Orlovsky family. Second, get rid of Egan Lovodka.
Fons Lovodka- (18, Male Human) Younger cousin of Kozek Lovodka, a sailor who just commanded his first raid last summer. He’s had his eye on Akilina Orlovsky for some time, hoping to win her as a prize someday. Very prone to rage.
Offer: 5 BP: Accept deal with the Church of Gorum, Egan Lovodka, son of Kozek, as general or marshal. Also, decline Orlovsky offers.
Spoiler Alert: Egan is too aggressive for the piratical Lovodka family, and they’re trying to get rid of him.
House Medvyed-Though House Medvyed has been short on money for a long time, yet sits on an incredible wealth in the form of the Grozni Forest. However, their dealings with the Fey and their veneration of Erastil and the Green Faith have prevented them from exploiting it too heavily. They’ve also remained neutral in much of the politicking inherent to the Brevic Houses. Even now, they seek protection for the Fey and advantage for their faith rather than wealth from the Stolen Lands.
Lord Gurev Medvyed-(78, Human Male) Loud, fat, boisterous, and broke, the lord of Stoneclimb attends the meeting in person, albeit assisted by his youngest daughter…
Naritha Medvyed-22, Human Female) A druid sworn to the Green Faith, she’s had the good fortune of growing up a Medvyed and is now returning the favor, advising her father during the meeting.
Offer: 5 BP: Fey are not exploited within the Stolen Lands and Church of Erastil gets what it wants.)
House Orlovsky-A determined ally of House Rogarvia, the Orlovsky family has struggled since their vanishing. Though the largest house in terms of land, they’ve been bled nearly dry by constant fighting with the Lovodkas, and are concerned they won’t be able to win a civil war without forging new alliances.
Akilina Orlovsky-(16, Female Human) Youngest daughter of Poul Orlovsky. An outrageous flirt with little concept of personal space, Akilina is likely to find whoever’s been chosen to lead the Stolen Lands quite cute, in a good way.
Lesser Offer: 5 BP: Agree to come to House Orlovsky’s aid should war break out in Brevoy.
Greater Offer (Hidden): 10 BP: As above, plus marriage agreement between ruler and House Orlovsky (Akilina or her younger brother Rojir is the offer).
House Surtova- The current strongest single family in Brevoy, House Surtova has positioned itself as frontrunners to claim the throne. However, without four other houses to back them, they do not have a legal claim and cannot take actions that are too aggressive. The Surtovas desire political influence over the Stolen Lands, and they’re willing to play dirty to get it.
The Infamous Leo Surtova-(25, Male Human) Arrogant, vain, cousin of Noleski Surtova. Doesn’t treat any of the other houses with respect, including the PCs and Varn, but is very respectful and somewhat afraid of the Pitax delegation.
Offer: 15 BP: Renounce loyalty to Swordlords, decline Orlovsky offer, throw support behind Surtovas as rulers of Brevoy, and allow Brevic troops to enforce Brevic law in Stolen Lands
The Aldori Swordlords- For the Aldori of Restov, the political machinations in the rest of Brevoy are all part of the plan. They aim to see the Stolen Lands as a strong ally of Rostland in any civil war that may happen, but their honor won’t allow them to stoop to the level of violence of betrayal to make it happen.
Kaleb Aldori-(21, Male Human) Honor-driven, hot-headed Swordlord. Reacts very poorly to the Mivonese Swordlords, is likely to challenge any who offend him to a duel very quickly.
Offer: 10 BP: 5 as a gift, 5 for establishing proper diplomatic relations with Restov.
Foreign Powers and Other Groups----------(5-15 BP Possible), 4 total
The Mivonese Swordlords
Lady Andara Gisvet-Speaker of the Houses in Exile. Very good fighter, but much more controlled than Kaleb. The Mivonese offer intense resistance to the Aldori and threaten war, but it’s mostly bluster.
Offer: 10 BP: Establish trade route with Mivon within 3 years, negotiate permanent southern limits to expansion with Mivon.
Offer (Hidden): 5 BP: Facilitate negotiations between Restov and Mivon at a neutral location within five years.
Kingdom of Pitax
Grandlord Ulfric Divretto of Pitax, very aggressive and self-assured.
Offer: No Offer: Divretto arrives sometime during the meeting, along with a group of escorting knights. He brings the leader of the Iron Wraiths’ head and demands that Brevoy stop incurring on his claimed territory. He observes the rest of the meeting, making sure his territory is not compromised.
The Iron Wraiths
Ilora Nuski-sent by the Iron Wraiths to negotiate for aid against the numerous bandits and barbarians in their region. Cannot offer BP, and attempts to compete with the PCs’ kingdom until Ivoretti’s arrival, at which time she vanishes from the meeting.
Maegar Varn and Company
Maegar Varn-leader of Varnhold, the duchy/barony/fiefdom to the east. Jumps eagerly at offers and has to be helped by…
Caspar Morgarion-Cleric of Erastil and companion/advisor to Varn. Prickly facade, but cares a lot about what happens to Varnhold. Is a voice of reason to Varn’s eagerness.
Offer: No BP up front, variable BP (to be negotiated later) in return for a marriage promise. Alitsi Varn (his oldest daughter) is nearly an adult, and could be betrothed, but not married for a few years.
Hans Drelev and Company
Hans Drelev-leader of the Drelev Demesne. Arrogant, haughty, and hard to get along with. he’s sure his barony is on par with those of the great houses of Brevoy, and talks down to anyone not from them.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Great writeups and descriptions of the representatives. I think I'll be using some of those. It's always interesting reading someone else's take on the noble houses.
I don't think it would hurt to have more than 50 BP. It would just mean the kingdom could get a little more set up before having to slow down and start depending on its own meagre income. If anything, having less than 50 would be more of a problem. Kingdom turns with no money and a tiny kingdom aren't very exciting, and people sometimes comment on these boards that player kingdoms expand slower than expected by the AP.
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So, my players' kingdom is almost two years in and I will say this much:
GM Aest has the right idea by setting completion dates on the various factions, and by setting them 5 years down the line.
Most of the deals I offered didn't have timelines attached, meaning that for the most part, the players don't really feel pressure about the deals.
On the other hand, the one deal that did have a completion date attached was that the players build a marketplace within 1 year. Especially when they also decided to start building a castle. Now, my players are using the Ultimate Rulership rules put out by Legendary Games, which allows for buildings to be built over a period of months. But watching their BP swing down to almost-zero month after month, right up to the month where they went into negative BP one month, as the deadline loomed ever closer, gave them quite a fright.
The players ended up hunting down a Lyre of Building just so that the marketplace was completed exactly 1 year later. They scraped through, but just barely.
Lately, after another incident where they almost went bankrupt again training an army to battle Hargulka's trolls (using Dudemeister's excellent mod), the players seem quite happy to just build little things like inns & granaries.
So, in summation - give some of the requests deadlines, but make sure that they are far enough in the future that the players won't crash and burn their kingdom trying to fulfill them.
At least, not unless you plan on using that one Contract Devil from Hell Unleashed...
Nice writeups.
My players started with 60-something BP, and it worked out ok. But they also had to build a bunch of smaller buildings (mostly shrines) in the first 4-8 months because of their agreements.
Children of the West
An Halfling organization, focused on freeing the slave Halflings from Cheliax and the others country, very infiltrated inside the servants of the major Houses.
An Halfling waiter approached the PCs during the dinner, proposing an agreement between their future kingdom and his organization.
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of any kingdom building!
Stated: Forbid slavery in the kingdom, give asylum to all the escaping Halfing (no matter where they come from), have the kingdom's alignment be non-lawful and non-evil. Make a Vassalage Edict within one year to rise a Vassal Halfling State inside the boundaries of the PC's Kingdom.
Hidden: The Vassalage Edict will move one step down the attitude with all the big houses when a lot of their Halfling servants will depart their villas, castles and palaces, provoking a lot of technical troubles to their business for the first month..
@T.A.U. (hopefully you're still keeping an eye on this thread) - I particularly love this idea, and the whole unintended consequences thing with the Brevic Nobility is brilliant.
My question for you - do you have the half price building thing going on in perpetuity, or was that something that only lasts for a set period of time. If you do have it ongoing, have you found it to be unbalancing?
Children of the West
An Halfling organization, focused on freeing the slave Halflings from Cheliax and the others country, very infiltrated inside the servants of the major Houses.
An Halfling waiter approached the PCs during the dinner, proposing an agreement between their future kingdom and his organization.
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of any kingdom building!
Stated: Forbid slavery in the kingdom, give asylum to all the escaping Halfing (no matter where they come from), have the kingdom's alignment be non-lawful and non-evil. Make a Vassalage Edict within one year to rise a Vassal Halfling State inside the boundaries of the PC's Kingdom.
Hidden: The Vassalage Edict will move one step down the attitude with all the big houses when a lot of their Halfling servants will depart their villas, castles and palaces, provoking a lot of technical troubles to their business for the first month..@T.A.U. (hopefully you're still keeping an eye on this thread) - I particularly love this idea, and the whole unintended consequences thing with the Brevic Nobility is brilliant.
My question for you - do you have the half price building thing going on in perpetuity, or was that something that only lasts for a set period of time. If you do have it ongoing, have you found it to be unbalancing?
As all the others discounts, it was only one-shot. The difference was that it could be any kind of building, not a static one.
Mine players spent it to gain a Free Castle in their capital (50% Staglord ruin + 50% free from the Halfling).Now they are facing the political consequences, and trying to recover on the diplomatical/political plane what they unconsciously lost in the last month when their halfling vassals proclaimed the new Republic of Vilʹne, protectorate of the Barony of Arendelle.
As all the others discounts, it was only one-shot. The difference was that it could be any kind of building, not a static one.
Mine players spent it to gain a Free Castle in their capital (50% Staglord ruin + 50% free from the Halfling).Now they are facing the political consequences, and trying to recover on the diplomatical/political plane what they unconsciously lost in the last month when their halfling vassals proclaimed the new Republic of Vilʹne, protectorate of the Barony of Arendelle.
That makes more sense. I'm definitely grabbing this one - my players are softies, and I can't imagine that they will turn down a chance to help halfling slaves. I think it will be a fantastic introduction to the law of unintended consequences.
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So - quick question to all who have followed this path. How have you handled it if the PCs didn't manage to uphold their end of the bargain?
I'm thinking some or all of the BP from the offer gets "repossessed" by settlers leaving and taking stuff, and probably added Unrest to the kingdom (maybe something like 1d4-1 added to the Unrest score).
Thoughts?
Mine players never failed in their promises, anyway if they will ever not fulfill their terms I'll act in this way:
1) Remove all the benefits and the gifted BP from treasury.
2) Increase Unrest as if the Players have withdraw those BP for their personal use (1 BP = 1 Unrest).
3) Revoke any diplomatic edicts (if any) between the Player's kindgom and the Organization, and move the Organization Diplomatic Attitude down of 2 steps.
4) If the Organization has some ally within other Organizations, move the Ally's Diplomatic Attitude towards the PC's Kingdom down of 1 step.
5) Add any opportune in-game consequences.
i.e. the Players don't fulfill their promise with the Church of Erastil (Restov), not rebuilding Temple of the Elk in time, or are discovered having a deal with the Churches of Gorum or Aabdar:
1) Remove 5 BP, the discount of the Granary and the 50% discount of clerical cast from Keegh.
2) Increase Kingdom's Unrest of 5 points (5 BP)
3) Revoke diplomatic edicts with the Church of Erastil (Restov), and move the Attutude 2 steps down
4) House Medvyed and the City of Restov move the Attitude 1 step down.
5) Jhod Kavken moves away from the kingdom, and they need a new High Priest.
When my players were late on fulfilling certain obligations, I called for Loyalty checks each turn with failure netting them +Unrest.
I haven't had the players have a complete break with a sponsor (yet), but if it happens, I think it'll be good for an auto Unrest increase plus other stuff (depending on the nature of the sponsor and their relationship).
Need this where I can get to it easily :)
Dotting to use when my PCs get to Book 2!
Hi, everyone.
With my Stag Lord currently below 50% HP and no one else alive in the fortress, my party's about to hit my Deal with the Devil (PbP happens slowly). I'll be posting a link to the Google Doc later so that people can see what I did, along with comments about what worked and what didn't.
(PbP happens slowly)
Tell me about it. My guys are still just preparing to 'visit' the Stag Lord and probably (still) a couple of months away from all those nice deals I started planning back in September last year :)
Lucky you. Mine have been going over two years, and we're just finishing Book One. Plus, there's a lot of unexplored stuff, but I'm hoping to handwave it and have the colonists explore some of those hexes.
*Grin* The game has been running for just over a year, with two groups exploring all the time. We still haven't done the Mites and Kobolds, but I want to get on with some Kingdom building - like I promised them when the game advert first came out :)
Lucky you. Mine have been going over two years, and we're just finishing Book One. Plus, there's a lot of unexplored stuff, but I'm hoping to handwave it and have the colonists explore some of those hexes.
SAME! I decided on fast advancement but it means I'm going to have to cut a lot!
So my players ended up in a bit of a limbo between Book 1 and Book 2. They hadn’t finished exploring, but they had already killed the Stag Lord. So I decided to throw this mod into the mix.
I ran this in conjunction with a heavily-modified A Wedding Knight and it went pretty well. One player went full completionist and tried to talk with everyone to see what deals they would offer.
I stole a lot of ideas from this thread, and it ended up being a lot of fun. Now the party has a whole host of obligations and political ties to deal with!
The way I ran it, a faction would offer BP in exchange for the players accepting certain terms. They could refuse terms, but needed to either accept, bypass or compromise on a minimum number of terms or they would receive no deal.
There were two opportunities to make deals, albeit with some overlap: Receiving the Charter and The Wedding KnightReceiving the Charter
The players went to Restov to receive their Charter. But as they entered the city they were intercepted by a representative of the Swordlords, who led them to Lady Jamandi Aldori. On behalf of the majority of the Swordlord Council, Lady Aldori extended the party the basic deal:Offer: 20BP
Terms: (only 1 term)
1> Create a stable territory in the Stolen Lands to the South of Brevoy independent of the Dragonscale ThroneHowever, Lady Aldori informed the party that there were holdouts on the Council who would chip in more if they had greater certainty of the players’ loyalty.
Swordlord Council
Offer: 5BP
Terms: (minimum 4 terms)
1> No deals with Issian Houses [compromise: no deals with House Surtova].
2> House Surtova does not learn about Swordlord involvement.
3> Sow dissent between Surtova’s allies.
4> Develop an Aldori dueling school within 5 years.
5> No alliances with Mivon.This business finished, the players were free to go to Restov’s Trade Hall, where...
I just read through this writeup and the accompanying "Wedding Knight" adventure. I am dying to know what happens next! Please update us on how your players dealt with this (if you are still playing Kingmaker that is).
Also, just a thought, but what would change if you wanted Hannis Drelev to play the role of Etan Hogg/Uthred from the adventure?
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Might be a bit too late for a response, but here we go:
My players made deals with the Swordlord Council, Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius, House Garess (of which they got the better end of the deal by far), House Medvyed, House Lebeda, the Church of Abadar, the Church of Erastil and the Church of Sarenrae (with whom one player became generous and promised not only a Shrine but a Temple!).
One of the players (the General) also went, months later, and made a deal with Lady Jerribeth behind the other players' back. There was quite the surprise when Lady Jerribeth rolled up into the nascent kingdom and demanded her personal hex! The Ruler almost had the General executed.
The Wedding Knight ended up being a lot of fun.
My reasons for running it were simple: foreshadowing. I really wanted the players to get the chance to learn about people and events they would be dealing with later on. The know who was attacking them and why beforehand rather than afterwards while the PCs loot the bodies.
The thing about putting Hannis Drelev in the role of Etan Hogg is to be prepared for events to go either way. With PCs, you can never really guess which way they'll end up going. They follow their own capricious whims.
If Hannis Drelev is playing the part of Etan Hogg, then that shifts the focus a little. Pavetta plays the part of bride-to-be Sylvie Hart, and someone new gets to play the role of oblivious groom Kevan Manning. Likewise, Hannis Drelev and Pavetta Stroon are likely younger than presented in Book 4. Likewise, making Pavetta the bride-to-be gives her a bit more agency. She gets to be a schemer and plotter and the power-behind-the-throne rather than the petulant society woman (though she can be that too! People are complex).
Because the marriage is between Sylvie Hart & Kevan Manning, why are the PCs invited? Is one of the players related to either party? Is Kevan Manning the knight to be given command of the Hooktongue Slough and Etan Hogg a knight in his service? If that is the case, then either Hannis gains power after joining the Manning household, or Kevan Manning holds a grudge against the PCs for revealing his fiance's infidelity.
If I wanted to use Hannis Drelev as Etan Hogg/Uthred, then I would play him as ambitious. Maybe a little obsessed with getting the finer things in life to match how he bungles up ruling Fort Drelev later on in life. And I would play Kevan Manning as deeply caring about prestige and decorum, so that if the players do reveal Pavetta's infidelity, then you have a justification both for why he would be upset not only at Pavetta, but at the PCs as well.
Whatever path the players take, you are good so long as you reach this end: a person who will rule the land to the west of the PCs and who holds a grudge against them.
Whichever person ends up playing that role, the Wedding Knight offers the PCs a chance to interact with them. To get a feel for them, learn some of their vices, and maybe even develop a bit of a rivalry.
I expected my players to either side with Nadya Surtova or side against her and inform her Hannis Drelev.
Instead, they allowed the marriage to happen, then implied the truth to Hannis Drelev without offering any evidence. After that, one of the players challenged Uthred to a duel and slew him.
This soured relations between my players and House Drelev right from the get-go, helping to foreshadow the hostilities that would happen later.
Eventually, in my campaign, Hannis Drelev died of mummy rot, Pavetta Stroon-Drelev was killed, her death framed as her "hanging herself out of grief" and Nadya Surtova-Drelev ruled with her weak-willed husband Damien Drelev at her side, and her newborn son, which she convinced her son to name Uthred in honour of Nadya's 'dear friend.'
Nadya Surtova-Drelev later joined the cult of Gyronna, becoming a high-level Veneficus Witch (able to both poison and hex a foe with a single glance - right up her alley). She also moved on. Uthred was dead, but there were other big burly warriors that caught her eye. One in specific interested her, one man with ambition to match her own - a barbarian calling himself Armag Twice-Born.
My players have since been through Book 4. Actually getting to meet Damien Drelev and Nadya Surtova-Drelev long before getting invaded by them immensly helped build up their rivalry. They immediately recognized that Damien Drelev was just a puppet - their real challenge was deciding who the puppetmaster was. Ultimately, they decided to blame Armag and Imeckus Stroon, allowing Nadya Surtova to escape the PC conquest of Fort Drelev unscathed. Maybe she'll return someday, to poison them with witch hexes once more.
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I used much of what was here with a few edits to make a collection of deals for my players
For the record, in my game we have one fighter who was a knighted soldier of Orlovsky, one magus (eldritch scion/eldritch archer) who was adopted into Orlovsky, a summoner bastard of Surtova, one foreign witch, and a soulknife bastard of the missing house Rogarvia
For the purpose of this game I moved the emerald spire from one side of the river kingdoms to the other, placing it at the top of the green belt
Kingdom deal offers: churches
Church of Abadar, Lesser Offer
Offer: 7 BP, settlements with a shrine to abader gain a +2 law, stability and productivity
Stated: have your country's alignment be non-chaotic, and build a shrine within 18 months and a bank, market or black market within the first year
Hidden: never let tax level be "none" a tax manager can be supplied by the church if the treasurer position is absent but they must be paid for their services using downtime rules for a manager (2gp per day worked) and they will not add their relevant stat to the economy.
Delayed: none
Church of Abadar, Greater Offer
Offer: 14 BP half-price bank and market, all banks and reliquaries built take on properties of the first vault gaining the fortified modification (+2 hardness and break DC, 5 fire and acid resistance, +5 to the DC to pick the locks) this offer will be repeated when the country has its second and third settlement if the country is lawful or is otherwise in good standing with the church
Stated: have your country's alignment be lawful, and build a temple to Abadar as soon as realistically possible (within 12 months at latest), never let the tax level be none. (Wants Abadar as the official religion of the capital city and/or the nation, will settle for treasurer, high priest or leader capable of standing in as ruler being a worshiper of Abadar) no deals with Gorum
Hidden: never let the tax level be "none" or the 2nd lowest level,
Delayed: none
Special: the BP portion of this deal is a loan and is intended to be paid back eventually. Rate of payback and possibility of interest depends on what other deals are made and how much bartering is done with the deal and how well the kingdom keeps their side of the bargain
Church of Pharasma
Offer: 4 BP (3BP if country alignment contains no neutral component) half price graveyard, settlements with a shrine to pharasma gain +2 lore. Kingdoms with a temple to pharasma in the capital gain a 1% (+1% for every settlement with a shrine) chance of predicting the next kingdom events in advance
Stated: never raise your tax level to the highest level outlaw necromancy and make undead creatures kill on sight, as well as allow the Order of Repose a free reign in carrying out this mission, must allow the church to oversee all burial rights
Hidden: never raise your tax level to the 2nd highest level
Delayed: after you gain official "kingdom" status, the church realizes it wants a more direct presence, and decides it too wants a temple and at least one holiday dedicated to pharasma per year, must include a shrine to pharasma in every major settlement
Church of Erastil (Restov)
Given by High Priest Ezvanki Keegh
Offer: 5 BP, half the cost of a Granary, 50% discount on clerical spell casting services from Keegh. Keegh can be called to the nation with a delay of 1d4+1 weeks (1d4+1 days if it’s urgent)
Stated: Rebuild the Temple of the Elk in one year time, no deals with the Churches of Gorum, outlaw worship of rovagug, if any of his spawn or similar entities are discovered the church must be notified and all resources reasonably possible must be used to aid in the hunt of such creatures , ruler, high priest, ruler or councilor must be married within three years (for high priest to count must be a worshiper of eristil), Must not destroy any special natural formations
Hidden: will provide the costs of one holiday +1 BP whenever a leader of the nation gets married.
Priests of Torag
Offer: 5 BP; and will aid in the construction of all smithies and watchtowers in settlements where there are none (discounting cost to ½ or maybe -1, haven’t decided, might depend on diplomacy checks)
Stated: Must have a worshiper of Torag on the council, Must outlaw the worship of Rovagug. Must not let a worshiper of Sarenrae sit on the council because they perceive their forgiveness as weakness.
Must celebrate a famous dwarven battle holiday once per season with an Edict. Kingdom must retain a Lawful Alignment.
Hidden: In 5 years if all requirements are met completely the Priests of Torag will assist in the construction of a Cathedral for ½ price in a kingdom settlement closest to the mountains.
Priests of Bolka (The Golden Gift)
Offer: 2 BP; and provide ½ cost discount on one shrine of Bolka (can be in any city)
As a very minor church of a very minor god, bolka’s church does not have a greater offer
Stated: Ruler or Consul must be wed within a year of founding of the country.
Hidden: none
Delayed: All council members must take husbands or wives within 5 years or Bolka will withdraw her support.
Caladain cayden
Initial investment 4, half price on first inn, exploration edicts cost -1bp
Country alignment must be either chaotic or good, must not be evil.
Inn built within 4 months
Vineyard built within 4 months
Brewery built within a year (one of the three must be built within 2 months)
Kingdom holiday frequency must be at least 4 in the first year, 6 in the second and 10 thereafter
Gozera/green faith
4 BP
Holy cites to the faith can be built in the hexes outside of the city and can share the hex with a farm or vineyard (+1 to the cost of each, grove must not be larger than shrine size to share space)
The attuned building augmentation (under downtime) can be added to a new building for half price, if sufficient quantity of buildings are built with this quality the romantic settlement quality will be added, damaged buildings may be magically repaired cheaply and quickly by the druids but without specific fireproofing methods fire events are more likely to spread.
Cost
Hexes with unusual flora/fauna must be preserved
For every 5 hexes developed one must be set aside as a natural preserve
If possible you must not march your army through said hexes either
Holy grove (use shrine statistics) must be built within
Alignment must contain a neutral component
Church of Norburger
???
Contact comes in the form of a letter dropped on their desk around month 2 if they haven’t cleared out the church/thieves guild
Comes with spymaster offer without penalty if the character was already spared and made to be non hostile
Church of Apsu
???
Maybe have a client cite with dragons?
Maybe provide discount on observatories? The ability to combine watchtowers and observatories? Increase to the number of magic items produced?
Increase to the lore stat of the settlement?
Still hashing out the details of the last two there
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House Surtova
Nirion Surtova a charming man with slicked-back dark hair and angular features, he is a cousin to King Noleski Surtova and is at the ceremony to make allies among the new colonies.
Offer: 10 BP and free fort garrisoned with “Surtova's finest,” if a full deal is accepted they can be argued up to at least 17 BP +1 if the ruler is from Brevoy, +1 if they were already a noble (not from Orlovsky) +1 if they were a noble from Surtova’s house
Stated: He wants a formal declaration of friendship and aid between the PC kingdom and House Surtova, recognising Noleski Surtova as true King of Brevoy, and recognising the PCs as true nobles of a Brevoy Colony in a new Noble house of their devising (this last part is considered a concession by them) the permission to carry out Surtovan business in the kingdom unmolested, formal declaration where the bastard PCs and her future heirs formally renounce any claim in the legacy (the Surtovian bastard may alternatively vow to never use their beast form in public). Both parts recognise their common origin.
[This document will remove the PC's Bastard trait drawback
Must build a watchtower on their northern and southern boarder
Must build a road that leads directly or indirectly from the capital of the nation to Brevoy.
Accepting their aid will strain relations with Lebeda and Orlovsky, but increase the amount offered by Lodovka. Garess and Medyved probably would be unaffected
House Lebeda
Old Sabine Lebeda is here with her granddaughter Saska Lebeda (newly returned from her studies at Absolom’s Arcanamirium). Saska is just here to party with old friends, but Sabine is all too aware of he daughter Sarronna Lebeda’s schemes.
Offer: 5BP
Keep the peace
Remain independent (deals can be made but no swearing fealty to any particular house and no officially backing any particular candidate for the dragonscale throne)
As offers go this one is easy. This is intentional. The PCs appreciate the easy win, the Lebedas get to make friends with their new neighbours.
House Orlovsky
Lord Aedan’s invitation to this party was meant as a sleight against him by Lord Suvarian Surtova, a chance to show off House Surtova’s ever-increasing influence. Still, Aeden is too proud to refuse such an invitation, even if he hates every minute of it.
Offer: 6 BP (+1 if the ruler and/or general is from Brevoy but not Surtova, doubled if they were noble, +1 per term agreed to after 4)
Terms: [minimum 4 terms]
1> No deals with Surtova or Lodovka
2> Build an observatory or an academy within 4 years
3> Search for evidence of Iluthiak & other dragons; allow House Orlovsky to be primary purchaser of dragon parts/bones/scales
4> Build a black market (can be negotiated to instead build a regular market)
5> Restore and explore any ruins
6> accept the offer of the fanged legion
7> swear an oath to back house Orlovsky in the event of a war
8>Must build a road that leads directly or indirectly from the capital of the nation to Brevoy.
House Lodovka
They won't offer much unless they gain Surtova's favor first. Even if they do, they're more strapped than some of the others and wouldn't offer more than 5 or 10 and will likely require fealty to be sworn
House Garess
Represented here by Evan Garess (Kesten's father, cousin of Lord Howlan) House Garess is not particularly interested in colony development, since they still suffer the vanish of the Golushkin dwarfs. Evan is still not interested in any contact with his disowned son.
Offer: 5 BP, an Embassy edict with House Garess, and a promise of a future deal (Treaty) for their mineral resources or yours.
Stated: No trade deal with any of the other Houses (Lord Garess don't want the other houses gain a second hand access to their mineral resource, whether potential or actual)
Must build a road that leads directly or indirectly from a settlement with logging or mining to Brevoy
Lady Nina Kitalla Of house Medyvad
a fragile old woman with dishevelled hair and an elegant but moth-eaten gown, she represents old money in Brevoy and now uses her wealth to pursue her particular brand of philanthropy. Astute PCs might note she has a particular air of the First World about her.
Offer: 5 BP
Stated: Lady Kitalla uses her wealth for various eccentric activities in her somewhat demented old age, including her favorite: fae equality. She wants the PCs to extend all fae basic rights and citizenship, and treat them equal to all others in the laws of the land. In addition this will require that all fey that seek asylum must be granted it barring truly extreme circumstances
She also wants assurances that the PCs will not just take her money and then change the laws when convenient, and may seek a position on the council if she thinks she can get it.
+1 BP if the offer of the church of eristil is accepted, +1 if both the offer of eristil and gozera are accepted
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Kingdom deal offers: other organizations
Hellknight Order of The Pike
Offer 10BP? +1BP per deal made with godlcaw deities
all armies funded and inducted into the order gain the bloodied but unbroken boon and the improved armor resource, access to the emerald spire as a capital cite, +2 law +1 defense to any city with a outpost manned by them
Requirements
Must have a lawful aligned country
At least one member of the leadership charged with upholding the laws must be inducted into or provided by the hellknight order of the pike (acceptable positions: ruler, marshal, warden, enforcer, general)
If the fanged legion is also accepted, some sort of custom deal must be made to ensure their monsters uphold the law
All intelligent monsters must either submit to the law or be exterminated
All laws of the country must be upheld both inside and outside the cities
Judges must be approved by the order
An expedition must be taken into the spire to determine the results of their last expedition into the spire.
Destroy any force of chaos within the spire
Must not allow foreign access to the spire
Must not allow deals with any thieves guild
Must eventually partner with the order for enforcing the laws of the kingdom
Must regulate which chaotic gods are allowed to be worshiped
A fort within three days travel of the spire must be given to them
A copy of a map with records of all unusual things found within the spire must’ve given to the order
Must not deliberately build a black market, if one is found, steps should be taken to remove it
Hidden: the order is adopting the strategy of contract devils by demanding several things while offering up things they mostly don’t care about (you using their formerly claimed location) and will budge on several points, for example, while they initially claim to require lawful kingdom alignment, given their small size and large list of requests they will accept non chaotic.
Children of the West
An Halfling organization, focused on freeing the slave Halflings from Cheliax and the others country, very infiltrated inside the servants of the major Houses.
An Halfling waiter approached the PCs during the dinner, proposing an agreement between their future kingdom and his organization.
Offer: 5 BP, and half the cost of any one kingdom building (Second part must be redeemed within 3 months)
Stated: Forbid slavery of any kind in the kingdom (initial offer contract includes indentured servitude, they come to the metaphorical table fully willing to barter this part away), give asylum to all the escaping Halfing (no matter where they come from), have the kingdom's alignment be non-lawful and non-evil. Make a Vassalage Edict within one year to rise a Vassal Halfling State inside the boundaries of the PC's Kingdom.
Hidden: The Vassalage Edict will move one step down the attitude with all the big houses when a lot of their Halfling servants will depart their villas, castles and palaces, provoking a lot of technical troubles to their business for the first month..
Hidden: Must not ally with the nation of chillex or any of it’s allies
The Fanged Legion
Offer: 5BP, if amassed as an army gains the mount resource with the scent, flight and your choice of either the breath weapon or poison special abilities
The Fanged Legion, the wyvern and drake riding mercenary company made of the remnants of House Rogravia's favored para-military police group, lacks a lot of resources but could provide minor assistance to the PC's kingdom. Agents are widepsread in the Stolen Lands, around the River Kingdoms, and in Brevoy.
Stated: Safe base of operations. (This will provide a bonus to stability checks as well as a possibility of fielding extra armies at a reduced BP cost or enhanced ability due to their mounts)
No deals with the usurpers Surtova.
Hidden: Starting from the next month, and once per year, make a Loyalty check (add the Spymaster bonus even if it's currently used in Economy or Stability. If it’s currently actually set to loyalty, add both stats if they are both positive ), if the check fails the Surtova spies discovered the deal between the colony and the fanged legion: move two step down the Attitude with Surtova and their Allies (primarily Lodovka and Lebeda), revoke all diplomatic edicts with these Houses. Improve attitude of Orlovsky by one step.
Hidden: Will eventually ask the PCs to assist with a quest to help find a Rogravian Heir.
Delayed The Fanged Legion will petition the PCs to not accept House Surtova as legitimate rulers of Brevoy. They will ask the PCs city to be neutral or lawful in alignment and adopt the legions style of everyone working in balance and to each other's strengths. Doing so will provide extra stability and loyalty. Failure to do so increases the likelyhood of assassination events in your kingdom as well as penalties to stability.
Thieves guild of Restov
15 BP +2 if kingdom alignment is chaotic, +2 if the church of norburger is also accepted and merged with the guild
Black market built in the capital within 2 years
Sanctioned Guild operation will not be directly subject to law enforcement
Guild gets to appoint someone to the martial, Royal enforcer or treasurer position
Other effects
The guild will keep the kingdom informed of its actions to avoid any.... unfortunate incidents
A monthly stipend (based off of downtime rules) will be paid to the council for their discretion
Buildings that increase a settlement’s crime modifier can be made at a 20% discount
Economy& productivity stat -1 crime +1
After the black market is built there is a 10% chance that the kingdom will gain 1 unrest on any given month without another event.
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The Wedding Knight ended up being a lot of fun.
My reasons for running it were simple: foreshadowing. I really wanted the players to get the chance to learn about people and events they would be dealing with later on. The know who was attacking them and why beforehand rather than afterwards while the PCs loot the bodies.All the ideas shared here are awesome, and I am using them currently.
However, your link to Wedding Knight is dead, would this adventure be the same as the one from Green Ronin on Drivethru RPG?
It is a Song of Ice and Fire RPG adventure from Green Ronin using the rules for that game. However the story is easily lifted and converted to any ruleset, since it is primarily RP and politics.
i found a copy **here*
Let me just say that this is a great thread for adding more politics into Kingmaker. Reading and playing through the AP when it first came out I was a little disappointed with how it skirted around politics. It makes sense considering it came out years before they developed systems like in Ultimate Intrigue and I am tempted to go back in and flavor that in.
I basically utilized bits and bobs from all the posts above to create my series of venture capital listings and I presented them all to my players. Except for some major players (Surtova and the Swordlords namely) most groups offered only 5-10 BP with some having an optional +5BP for an extremely specific request like putting a member of their organization into a specific council position. I can post that all up later if you want but it really is just a rehash of stuff from above.
The big change I made was making the whole negotiation process a skill challenge. I didn't want the one player with the best diplomacy rolling over and over again so I lifted the idea of skill challenges combined with Matt Coville's caveats: You must be trained in the skill and a player can only use a given skill once.
I explained it to my players as that you are at a party with nobles and important VIPs and you are not the only group going around trying to raise capital. Each player can really only engage a single person for a contract (this helped keep the players from spend hours gaming the system for hundreds of extra BP) and each party had a list of 3-5 demands. If you wanted to alter the demands or remove one then it required a skill check (DCs ranged from 15-25 depending on the importance of that request) BUT you can only use a given skill once. You can only flatter someone so much, in my opinion, before you have to change up strategies. This gave me a chance to really push certain knowledges to the forefront so things like Knowledge: Nobility was really important to use with the Noble Houses while things like Knowledge: Geography is great when dealing with the merchant leagues who want to know what kind of resources they can expect from your area. Knowledge: Engineering to impress the miners or Survival to impress outdoorsmen etc.
The only things I added that haven't been mentioned above is as follows:
Aspis Consortium - 5 BP
They want a "Market" (translation Black Market) built within 5 years.
Numeria - 10 BP
They want an Embassy Edict, Chaotic Alignment, Slavery tolerance, +5 BP if you appoint a member of the Technic League as your magister and access to ruins and archeological digs for research and relic study.
Ustalav - 5 BP
I used Esme Currindon from the NPC Guide but she is in disguise as Esme Muralt claims she is a representative of Ustalav but really she is trying to raise a mercenary army to reclaim her county. She offers the funds upfront exchange for a pledge to help her against "peasant traitors" later on. This will end up being a huge expense for the players, at least 2-3 medium armies (might just set a DV requirement) for the span of at least 6 months (a total consumption cost of 48 BP...quite the return on investment!).
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And don't forget to have people turn up in dribs and drabs with offers - Don't make all of the offers at once, let some of them come in later :) It keeps the players on their toes.
My game is set up slightly differently - with each player getting a share of the initial BP to spend as they wish. It has been interesting to watch loans between players develop. There has been at least one interest-free loan to seal a political agreement, and interest and payment rates vary between the other loans. I have also had one player approach the bank in Restov for a loan :)
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I feel like the transition between books 1 & 2 is too abrupt, and I can't help but ask the question "where does that 50 BP come from?" Since I just got to that point in my homegame, it's high time to do something about it.
They're heading back to Restov this session, and this is where they will meet Varn and Drelev. The festivities will be delayed while they wait for the Iron Wraiths. (Yea, I know the whole settlement thing is written as being on the down-low, but I'm making it a big public todo.)
Anyway, I'm thinking the Swordlords themselves will only be able to pony up about 15 BP to the PCs. To get the rest of the BP, the PCs will have to look to various other groups within Brevoy to get funding. And these funds with definately come with strings attached. Some obvious, some not-so-much.
(Will make follow up post later with specifics.)
I cannot thank you enough for making this suggestion and starting this amazing thread. So, while I know I am going to fall short I will still try... THANK YOU!!!
Now for some sort of explanation.
Rather than have the Swordlords give the players any starting capital, I had Restov host a series of games. Each of the PCs had a chance to challenge a Swordlord to a competition to earn BP as the winner's prize. Our Orc Warpriest of Gorum fought a no holds barred battle against the largest Swordlord and had a wresting match with a old man who still had the strength of his youth. Our Investigator decided to try his hand at fencing against the dueling master and jousted against a cavalier. And finally our Azlanti Harrowed Magus showed off her skills as rider in an obstacle course race and proved herself the superior orator against a diplomat bard. This netted the PCs 15 of the 50 build points they were told was their goal to obtain.
Next came the churches. Two of the three main faiths of Brevoy were well represented in our group. Our Azlanti Harrowed Magus was raised by house Medyved as an adopted daughter and she respected Erastil but held true to the faith of the Grey Lady Pharasma. Our Orc Warpriest was a Gorumite through and through. Abadar was not well known to the PCs. In dealing with the head priests of the faiths they found deals could be struck with all but Abadar, whose faith leader saw little to gain in supporting a cause backed so strongly by Gorum. War does, after all, always interfer with commerce and business. They agreed to assist Erastil's priest in restoring his hidden temple, to outlaw Necromancy for Pharasma, and to build a barracks in Gorum's honor. They plan to do much more for each faith as the kingdom progresses, but these were simple terms for a net gain of 20 BP.
Finally came the Nobility. With current characters having ties to House Medyved and future characters having ties to the bannermen of House Rogarvia, it was interesting to see how the players handled the rest of Venture Capital. They were careful in what they said to who and how the faiths of each house interacted with the Churches they made dealings with. Even going so far as to explain upfront to each potential house their plans for incorporating Kobolds into their Kingdom. House Garess wasn't too thrilled with having to share a mine with the Kobolds, but a few good points and a strong Diplomacy roll later and they dealt with it. They ended up not only securing BP for their kingdom, but really experiencing the Nobility of Brevoy in a personal up-close way. They made minor enemies, strong friends, and have set me up to really mess with them later.
Without this addition to my game, I had alot of doubt I was going to want to keep running Kingmaker. It was the campaign I always wanted to run, but I was getting tired of prepping for sessions that felt like they were missing something. Now with how excited everyone has become due to these recent roleplay-packed sessions, I've got my drive back. This Kingdom is going down in history. I plan on keeping detailed notes on everything that goes on in our campaign so I can use it as a background for my son's first venture into roleplaying. He's three years old now, but I want him to play in a setting where his mother's character was the queen and my background NPC as king and my son is their heir. I really think that would be just awesome, so thanks again. Thank you, thank you... thank you.
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After ... several IRL years, my party has FINALLY, started making their own deals.
First, a MASSIVE thank you to EVERYONE that's participated in this, and numerous other threads here on the Kingmaker specific boards, and those who chimed in over here when I asked a generic magic item cost question.
I run games with light reins, which is good, because the party of now 4, launched their assault at level 2. A Bit of luck, and a few hero-points later, the party succeeded in not dying! And recruiting Auchs, Dovon AND Akiros as things went spectacularly bad for the Bandits, including Dovon and the party rogue getting shot by Staggy. The question to the rogue was "uh ... what's your Con?" "12 ... why?" "K. Please take 29 damage as you are shot in the head." (Confirmed Longbow Crit!) "Oh, I need to stabilize in one go, as I'm 1 hp from the point of no return. Good thing that's not something YOU roll." (I may have a history with failed stabilization rolls.)
A few moments of high tension later, we remembered we had Hero-points, and the rogue spent one.
The other Fort high-points being Auchs Nat 20ing his Sense Motive check to realize the parties infiltration tactic was a lie, his telling Dovon, who told him that there were traitors in the Fort, moments later a botched attack by the remaining normal bandit hitting Auchs, instead of the PC he was aiming for, and getting clobbered 15' for his trouble, an improvised weapon of a rogue-in-a-bag getting tossed at Dovon, and more than a little bit of high end roleplaying, and some hot dice.
One of the first offers I threw at the party, was the Church of Erastil, as I was working in a new player as their requested Council member.
This brings the PC allotment
Elven Bladebound Magus, with a drop of Silver Dragon blood
Halfling/Goblin cross uRogue
Human Wilder
Human Oracle of Life
Half-Elf Ranger of Erastil
Happs and Kressle
Akiros
Auchs and Dovon
Mikmek and Chief Sootscale
EX PC Hunter and EX PC Samurai, who are around in case the IRL players come back.
Damien Drelev, who's getting married to Nadya Surtova ... None of my PC's have decided on Kingdom Roles yet ... and no one volunteered to be Ruler ... yet, so I threw them a Strawman as a fallback. Either the Wilder or the Oracle will fill the Heir slot, along with whatever else they end up, sidestepping the normal rules. And well, if Damien Dies, or decides to have NOTHING to do with the party after last sessions shenanigans, then well, one of them will be Ruler.
So, the PC's traveled to Restov, met with Lady Jamandi, and quickly made both the normal deal (25 BP), and the extra (30 BP total), met with the major Churches, and made deals with Abadar, Gorum, Erastil and Pharasma (47 total), including a pair of 1 point counter-offers, which iirc, were extensions for the highest city stat terms to be 'priorities' but not "Highest". They have also 'filled' 8 of their Council slots, including themselves.
Then they mingled with the Nobles in residence for the Wedding. While several of the PC's independently managed to find out certain ... facts about Nadya, the entire PC party knows about Uthred, and are well on their way to destroying the wedding.
So far, things look like there will be fireworks instead of a wedding, the only thing in question is ... who's going to start the rumble? Two-Timing Uthred? Nadya? Lord Aedon? Damien? Or will one of the PC's try their hand at assassination (Again), to save their 'friend' Damien?
three of the PC's have inside information, that would potentially still the uneasy hearts of the rest of the party but ... those facts are not yet in evidence.
Until next game, I'm presenting an offer every other irl day from someone AT the Festivities, (Swordlords, Nobles of the Realm) starting with Lord Vadim Rost-Aldori's, who's offer has caused much confusion) to allow the Players to talk to each other and strategize, and then see if they can make a counter offer on game day, and not bury them in details. The next three I intend to dangle are the Ladies Jerribeth, Vellara and Nina Kitalla.
I worked up close to 60 groups and individuals that are willing to make
offers, expecting that the PC's will end up with a very comfortable 100-130, but since I have plans (Thanks Dudemeister!) to increase consumption I'm not worried. Once my party is through this stretch, I'll post my lists, though many are up-thread. I DO intend to make the PC's actually LOOK for many of the Church groups, instead of having them just send their offers and/or stretch offers out over the first year.
But
Group ...........Offer...T2 offer ......Total
Swordlords.....38........7...............45
Nobles............75.........2...............77
Churches........173......22..............195
Others............140......635.............775
Total...........426......666.............1092
Total - LC......356.......36..............392
Lets see there's ...
Swordlord Council
Vadim Rost-Aldori
Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius
Jerribeth
House Lodovka
House Surtova
House Garess
House Medvyed
House Lebeda
House Orlovsky
House Jacobo
House de Travilia
House Navarra
House Corbo
Both the Summer AND the Winter Courts
Aspis Consortium
Pathfinder society
Farmers and Merchants of Rostland
Merchants Guild of the One Eyed Witch
Lumber Consortium
The Fanged Legion
Lord Slissk
Lady Vellara
Count Addar Arnovski
Lady Nina Kitalla
Children of the West
Aformorgon
Church of Abadar
Church of Apsu
Church of Asmodeus
Church of Bolka
Church of Calistria
Church of Cayden Cailean
Church of Desna
Church of Erastil
Church of Gorum
Church of Gozreh
Church of Hanspur
Church of Iomedae
Church of Iori
Church of Ketephys
Church of Lamashtu
Church of Milani
Church of Nethys
Church of Norgorber
Church of Pharasma
Church of Ragathiel
Church of Rovagug
Church of Sarenrae
Church of Shelyn
Church of Torag
Church of Urgathoa
Church of Zon-Kuthon
Followers of Count Ranalc
Followers of Imbrex
Followers of Magdh
Followers of Ng
Followers of Ragadahn
Followers of Shyka
Followers of The Green Faith
Followers of The Green Mother
Followers of The Lantern King
Followers of the Lost Prince
Representatives of a Great Old One or Outer God under an assumed name