Was hoping to get some ideas on how many years people's Kingmaker campaigns have taken (in game time). I'm starting KM in the next couple months and after taking a look at the books it looked like even with some time off in between adventures, that it will still take under a decade for the campaign to finish.
While that may be great, I think it still feels too fast for the amount of things that happen.
I am thinking of making the players get their phases at the start of a new season. This would basically slow things down by 1/3.
Their could be some obvious changes that would need to be made (maybe a new ruler in Pitax if current ruler gets too old).
But would there be many negatives to this?
I think my game took about 15 to 20 years, but I also artificially moved the years along at times. My players also avoided humans so they would not get old and die.
I had 9 months pass between each AP accept 5&6 which kind of run into each other. The kindgom size ended up matching the recomended size but the PC's were extra powerful because they had tons of time to build stuff.
Going into book 5 right now the campaign has taken 6 years, which has coincided with the expected growth.
Were now finished Book 2 and the Kingdom exist now for 18 Month (21 Hex).
My problem is that my group is very fast and one player try to play "game of thrones Kingmaker".
So I already introduced Varnhold as neighbour.
Also I doubt that I can get my group to a "one year break" while they only care for their Kingdom.
We're now grounded for 3 month and they want to explore into the Nomen Highlands. :)
I had my campaign centered around seasons, I told them the weather was to harsh to explore during fall, winter, and spring, they would get big minuses on perception checks, they would move slower, and the weather (snow, rain, & wind) would be particularly harsh. That centered my group on exploring only during warm weather months. During medivil times most armys only campaigned duing warm weather months so I figured it fits in to the theme.
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Excellent advice from Old Drake, btw.
IMC, the key to slowing down my players was to interfere with the happy runnings of the kingdom. Weather disrupts trade and harvests, raiders from over the border, be in Numerian, Mivon, bandits, or Brevic factions can all disrupt the calm goings on that players expect to be the norm. If they fail to shore up weaknesses in their kingdom, ie- take enough turns to get things solidified, before going off on an adventurous jaunt somewhere, other groups won't fail to notice. THAT is what the Game of Thrones in about.
Keep sending in spies, some of which the players get to notice. This gives them a great roleplaying opportunity- they can kill them, exile the, do nothing, feed them false information, turn them, etc.
Have other factions send representatives to their kingdom, seeking alliances or beneficial dealings. Sometimes what they want isnt just something a few BP or gold can fix. Maybe a neighboring city wants a beast slain, or a Brevic petty lord with access to steady iron ore wants help against an adversary.
Even within the players kingdom their can be dissenting groups. Maybe someone in a town is unhappy about a choice the player's made, and becomes an outspoken firebrand. How the player's negotiate with him can set the stage for any similar future such issues.
I've had 12-18 months downtime between each book. Were at the start of book 4 now and it's been 5 in game years, and 2 real time years. It could be 10-11 years by the end.2 RT years wow!
That sounds about right for my group as well, who are close to finishing the 10th year of game time and about 2 years of real time as well, with a good chunk of another year in front of that with Council of Thieves.
I'll be glad to be done with being the screen monkey for a while though. ;)
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I've had 12-18 months downtime between each book. Were at the start of book 4 now and it's been 5 in game years, and 2 real time years. It could be 10-11 years by the end.2 RT years wow!That sounds about right for my group as well, who are close to finishing the 10th year of game time and about 2 years of real time as well, with a good chunk of another year in front of that with Council of Thieves.
I'll be glad to be done with being the screen monkey for a while though. ;)
Sure you will. :)
Council of Thieves... you had to bring that up here, didn't you. Now my mind is filled with ideas should I run Kingmaker for a group that hasn't run through that AP before!
In a way it's too location specific to fit anywhere else, but a lot of that could be adapted to Kingmaker... A demon locked away beneath the Stag Lord's fortress that has been forgotten about? A vampire with a dark artifact moving in and terrorizing the night? A struggle between thieves guilds and their grasp for power. And the play being shown to the player characters. And I think the mother of flies is a perfect fit for the Stolen Lands. It would take a bit of work, but that AP gives a lot of ideas that could fit the story.Other APs could also provide interesting elements.
Runelords: Perhaps Mrs. TPK comes for a visit and forms a cult, or a mansion suffers an undead infestation. Or the players loose contact with one of their outposts because monsters took it over. Of course Ogre kin could live anywhere in the region.
Crimson Throne: An epidemic could make for a nasty surprise. And the castle of Scarwall could be anywhere. The sunken queen could be an interesting map for just about everything.
Second Darkness: A gambling den in the capital... or a monster from beneath.
Legacy: A magical treasure map with infinite potential.
Carrion Crown: Ustalav isn't far away. Reskinning the prison for an truly ancient prison would be fairly easy. And how would the players react to the beast in their town? Or maybe werewolves or vampires are mobing into the region.
Jade Regent: Brinewall could be anywhere, with minor changes to creatures and critters. Or the Oni-lodge; a prison far away from their normal center of power. And the island out of phase is an amazing idea...Almost anything can be inserted into the region with a bit of work; each time you include a new region, there's potential for so many secrets forgotten centuries ago.
The only danger is that the characters reach twentieth level long before the AP reaches it's conclusion....
^__^
Kingmaker, King of Adventure Paths, where almost anything can be glued in!
If you're adding in a bunch of stuffs, use slow xp advancement.
My group is early in year 6 as they start the sixth module. We probably could have spent more time if more of the PCs had been interested in kingdom building or had interests that sparked side quests.
That does feel like a fast kingdom build, roleplaying-wise. Having kingdom building take place seasonally rather than monthly seems like a good idea, but you'd have to make some adjustments in book 5 to account for army payments coming in more slowly.
Our current status:
twenty-five real-life months (done without taking any significant hiatuses)
ten in-game years
39 hexes claimed
right now we're sidequesting in Brevoy, but when we last followed the written campaign, we were in book 3
PCs are level 9, on the cusp of hitting 10
only one character has had children (she had 3 so far), but another will have a wedding soon
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Our current status:
twenty-five real-life months (done without taking any significant hiatuses)
ten in-game years
39 hexes claimed
right now we're sidequesting in Brevoy, but when we last followed the written campaign, we were in book 3
PCs are level 9, on the cusp of hitting 10
only one character has had children (she had 3 so far), but another will have a wedding soon
Sweet thanx for sharing.
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We completed it (well I say "completed"... check the obituary thread...) and I believe it took us 9 months real time and the kingdom controlled all of the Stolen Lands in just over 8 in game years. (If I recall correctly.)
The King left 3 daughters (one a set of twins.) The Paladin high priest (Sister in Law to the King) was betrothed at the end of the campaign in a political move. The other two characters were a scuzzy elven Alchemist and an aloof Elven Wizard. No-one gave a monkeys about their domestic arrangements :).
About 5 in-game years and over 2 real time years. Just starting Book IV. Had a 6 month hiatus and a 3 month hiatus. About 32 sessions. I used a lot of the modifications from the Boards here. I also posted a number of my modifications in threads back in the day.
I used Dudemeister's Book 1 and 2 threads and all the 6-player conversions. I didn't see Dudemeister's book 3 thread until I was nearly done with Book 3, but I commend him for his conversion :D.
The Ruler is exploring diplomatic options for a spouse.
No one else cares much about romancing any of the obvious NPCs, so that has otherwise been ignored in the game.
...Although the Druid had a bit of a fling with the Dancing Lady...