| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Have any PCs tried to get two or more of the five factions to mount a joint expedition to Saventh-Yhi instead of stabbing each other in the back all the way there? (Of course, the preceding two options are not mutually exclusive, but still.)
My group did just that and it was a good roleplay challenge that allowed the bard to step to the fore. They tried to work in as many factions into a coalition as they could but found that some groups were never going to work together. The way I worked it was that each of the factions had some things that they were not flexible on and some things they had a minor to no interest in. My group ended up getting an agreement with the Pathfinder Society and the Sargavan Govt.
But here's a general quick take on how I played out the interests of the different factions:
Pirates - no to deals with Red Mantis, primarily wants wealth and would push for a majority share of the wealth/treasury (60-75%). The most flexible of the lot as they're not fussed about holding territory, but would expect a cut from land sales or artefacts. Any technologies or magical items related to sea travel or boats are theres with no split or sharing.
Sargavan - no to deals with Pirates. Primarily want the wealth and not willing to take less than 75% share of the treasury. Not flexible on control of the city and any magical item/artefacts tied to defense of the city and military/mass warfare. They'd also want any artefacts/items that could unify or divide the people.
Red Mantis - no to deals with Pirates, primarily want the lost temple and its relics. Will want sole control/occupation of the temple and everything inside. No interference or non-Mantis people to go inside the temple. Prestige/reputation within faction a bonus and they'll want a cut of the treasury.
Pathfinder - no to deals with Aspis, primarily after lost knowledge, artefacts and expand regional influence. They want full access to historical sites in the ruins and artefacts and would not be flexible on this. Want a lodge on site within the ruins. Want majority of artefacts. Wealth a bonus, but expect a cut of the treasury.
Aspis - no to deals with Pathfinder, primarily wants the wealth and the potential wealth from exotic artefact sales. Prestige a bonus. They'd want majority of treasury and artefact sales (75%). They expect to be able to set up a trading outpost there.
What modifictaions did you make to their ability to defend themselves and resupply and such in book three, if any? Would the two camps 'stack' or no?
I've had a look at book 3 and specifically the role that factions play in it and what I figure is that the coaliton gets a balance of the +'s and a chance of copping the -'s of the two factions (depending on morale). There won't be any stacking, but instead the group either gets the benefit of the highest score. So for my group who has a coalition between the Sargavan Govt and the Pathfinders their scores are:
Defense: 12
Exploration: 12
Supply: 10
I figure that I'll have the PCs decide on which campsite the coalition goes with. I haven't decided whether that is a factor in determining which of the PC benefits the camp gets (+4 Defense or +4 Exploration) or to just simply split the two benefits in half (+2 Defense and +2 Exploration).
I'll have my group making diplomacy checks to keep the two factions working harmoniously so while things are all peachy they keep the PC benefit, but if they fail the diplomacy check then they lose the benefit. On three successive fails the agreement starts to fall apart and the camp scores become the lowest (Defense 8, Exploration 8, Supply 10). If they fail the next three rolls then the agreement falls apart.
As a GM I'll need to make sure that consequences are clear to the players and add in ways for them to keep the morale up (appeasing the goals of the two sides) which will gives them some bonuses to the rolls. We're still in book 2 so I've got awhile before I get to this stage so I haven't really locked to the specifics just yet.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32
|
Excellent! My players are also working on getting the Pathfinders and the Saragavan Government to cooperate. I like what y'all have suggested and look forward to seeing more.
I would definitely use the rivalry/competition between the two "allied" factions as a way to add more role-play to the path, especially when the adventure starts feeling like "open one door, kill the monster, get the stuff, now the next door..."
Some conflicts off the top of my head would be....
1) SG (Saragavan Government) wants the treasure now, Pathfinders want to study it
2) Pathfinders want to go carefully study whats there; SG says go now, now, NOW!
3) Personality conflicts between individuals in either faction
4) SG wants everyone to know that they have claimed Saventh-Yhi. Pathfinders would p[refer to keep it hush-hush to avoid attracting treasure seekers.
5) Pathfinders see nothing wrong in using the SG as a cats paw -- send in the flunkies to find the traps. Needless to say, the SG doesn't appreciate this.
Any others?
The closer I get to running this part the more I like the idea of colilitions. Initially, it'll be much easier to have 2 sides, the PC alliance and the rival alliance, and then have fun with each alliance trying to break the other's, defections, strange bedfellows, betrayals, frame-ups, you name it! Once that has a little history and development, adding the Saventh-Yhi factions to the mix in the same way could make the city book much more intrigue filled.
Some more conflicts of interest ideas:
1) The Sargavan government wants the settlement and looting to be governed by Sargavan Law, especially Sargavan tax law. The Aspis wants the protection of the Sargavan courts, but they want it governed by the South Arcadian Charter, which specifically exempts them from the majority of Sargavan Tax Laws.
2) The Red Mantis isn't interested in the bulk of such antiquities, however they demand the Achaekek related items as theirs by right. The Aspis wants first pick of *all* antiquities (the looting of garund's antiquties being their primary business), including Achaekek-related items.
3) The Pathfinders, while OK with ultimate re-sale of whatever's discovered, want time to document everything. The pirate captain has no patience for that. She wants to fill her hold with treasure today, not 5 years from now. The Sargavans also want to tax it all, the Pirates balk at that on several levels.