Deck of Many Things Throne card and city building

[Eric Hinkle]

I was just looking at Classic Treasures Revisited and it got me to thinking: if one of your Kingmaker PCs draws the Throne card and gets the castle and associated +6 on Diplomacy, then must the new castle be set within a town/city hex to actually be useful in affecting your nation's Economy/Loyalty/Stability rolls?

Or can it be set off in the countryside somewhere for a fort (though I think you'd be nuts to turn down a free castle in town!)?

Also, with the bonus on Diplomacy rolls... can it be altered to something like "+3 bonus on whichever of your nation's statistics you're already affecting, based on your role in the government"? I.e., the General can apply it to Stability, the Marshal to Economy, and so on.

Thanks for any help.

[Archmage_Atrus]

In the extreme instance where you allow a Deck of Many Things onto your game (a hillariously bad idea, if you ask me, as the DoMT is also known as Campaignbane in the circles I run in for the number of tales it has cut hideously short), then I would allow them to place the castle in a city and give them bonuses for having built a Castle (for free of course). If you use the alternate Fort stats someone posted, you could also use it as a fort, yes.

Or you can make up your own damn rules, like giving a bonus to a stat for whomever owns it. That actually sounds pretty cool to me, and is what I would go with. You're the GM, make it up! If its fun, it can't be broken.

[DM_aka_Dudemeister]

You could conceivably drop a castle anywhere in the Kingdom. A town with only one building (such as a castle or garrison) works great for simulating a border fort.

[KnifeW1se]

If your PC starts with a castle but no kingdom I suggest that you use the ultimate campaign downtime building rules until such time as a hex is cleared. You could use same rules for a castle outside the Kingdom. However, the card specifies that you must choose the location within 1 hour and that it can be anywhere. If you have a kingdom then why would you set it so far out. What I am curious about is how many people would come with a castle from the card?

[Philip Knowsley]

Why not give some benefit to the player? The way the question was asked - all
of the benefit is for the kingdom...

E.g. yes, get a castle, but why not also just keep the +6 to Diplomacy?
That way the kingdom gets a castle + bonuses...RP can have it be the players
residence, but also - the player gets a bump to Diplomacy...something that fits
thematically with owning your OWN castle...

[pennywit]

This gives me an idea, actually ... what if some adventurer out in the world draws the Throne card, and it pops a keep right on the edge of the players' kingdom in the Stolen Lands?

[T.A.U.]

Pennywit, that's a magnificent idea... something I could use in mine campaign too!

It also perfectly fits one stanza of the prophecy about the Stolen Lands who is the central idea of the Mythic advancement.

7th stanza italian version/english translation:

Sorgeranno castelli e regni / Castles and kingdoms will rise
che dell'ora saranno i segni / marking the proper time
compirassi allor la profezia / when the profecy will accomplish
delle rubate terre la razzia. / of the Stolen Lands' theft.

[pennywit]

Brilliant.

IMC, my players haven't claimed the hex vacated by the Dancing Lady almost a year (game time) ago. So, as we are about to embark on book 4 and things are heating up in Brevoy, Pitax just moved into the Dancing Lady's keep. My players are going to investigate ... but Pitax is just trying to assure the smooth flow of trade between the River Kingdoms, right?

heh

[Turin the Mad]

The throne card makes an excellent single-use method by which to introduce NPCs (or even a replacement PC) into a Kingmaker campaign. *Pouf*, new castle in a brand new city district (cleared only, but nothing fancy like underground unless the new baron is a dwarf) that the PCs have to diplomacize with or risk antagonizing someone hostile to their interests within their borders.

[pennywit]

Turin the Mad wrote:

The throne card makes an excellent single-use method by which to introduce NPCs (or even a replacement PC) into a Kingmaker campaign. *Pouf*, new castle in a brand new city district (cleared only, but nothing fancy like underground unless the new baron is a dwarf) that the PCs have to diplomacize with or risk antagonizing someone hostile to their interests within their borders.

GM: A new castle appears at your borders

Players: A new castle?!

GM: Your players report it is inhabited by .... Steve, a 1st level commoner. He says he won the castle in a card game.

[Turin the Mad]

pennywit wrote:

Turin the Mad wrote:

The throne card makes an excellent single-use method by which to introduce NPCs (or even a replacement PC) into a Kingmaker campaign. *Pouf*, new castle in a brand new city district (cleared only, but nothing fancy like underground unless the new baron is a dwarf) that the PCs have to diplomacize with or risk antagonizing someone hostile to their interests within their borders.

GM: A new castle appears at your borders

Players: A new castle?!

GM: Your players report it is inhabited by .... Steve, a 1st level commoner. He says he won the castle in a card game.

"Landed Cardrissian, at your service." smooches Her Majesty's hand ;)