Slavicizing my Kingmaker

[Lee Hanna]

I'll be starting KM in the fall or winter. I'll be using my favorite world, Cerilia of the old Birthright setting. For those who don't know the setting, the Vos human tribes have strong overtones of real-world Slavs or Tartars. The Mistmoor is an unpopulated, haunted region perfect for use as the Stolen Lands.

I'd like to up that flavor, dragging in some monsters from 2 old issues of Dragon magazine. I'd like to ask opinions here on how & where I might swap some monster types. Issue #290 had 4 critters that I'd like to use. All of these are solitary by nature and chaotic fey, but not of the tricks-playing type.

The vodyanoi are Medium and aquatic, I think I could squeeze one in instead of the lone boggard in part 1, as well as anywhere on the water.

Rusalka are nymph-like and also aquatic, so I'd move one in for another dryad or something.

Leshii are forest fey.

The one that has me scratching my head is the vila, another female, but more like the Valkyrie in that they sometimes invisibly aid worthy warriors. Would it be worth it to substitute one, or a band, for Perlivash and Tyg-Tutter?

Also: The Mistmoor region is supposed to be haunted by a misty cold creature. A little tweaking of the Steaming Soldier undead from Dragon #324 is in order.

[redcelt32]

The first of two RPG sources that come to mind are the Tales of the Old Margrev, which sounds like it might have some tie-ins you could use. It is basically a fey filled forest that is almost alive and sort of creepy. The feel from that supplement reminds me of the homeland of Baba Yaga, but maybe thats just me.

The second is the Unapproachable East Forgotten Realms book, which has a section on Rashemen, which is a very Russian type feel with hags, trolls, etc. Not sure it is exactly the same feel you are looking for, but it definitely sounds like it is in the neighborhood.

I might also suggest a couple of good books on Russian fairytales for inspiration, thats where most of those slavic monsters are sourced from originally. :)

[Drejk]

There were similar thread in Advice section: Odraude thread about slavic monsters.

Also, YAY! Birthright!
*murmurs to self*Where that Mistmoor lied? Where I did put those Cerilia maps?

[Lee Hanna]

Drejk, the Mistmoor is in the Vos corner of Cerilia, between Rovninodensk (roughly center of Vosgaard) and Rzhlev (lone Vos land on the Great Bay).

I figure on having the PCs based in Rovninodensk, and I'm rotating the Stolen Lands maps 90 degrees, so that instead of heading south from Restov, they'll be oriented east.

Pitax will be the southern tip of Hjorig, the degenerate Rjurik (ex-Viking) country.

What I'm hoping for is that the group here can help me make some connections or substitutions based on your experience with the KM books.

[Drejk]

Do you intend to use rotated KM maps and replace actual Birthright geography or do you intend to adjust KM maps to match original Cerilian land?

Looking on the Vosgaard map now: I assume that you'll use Rovninodensk capital city (I think it is capital, at least) of Rovnograd in place of Restov?

Do you have any plans concerning Kal Kalathor? (judging from the name it is goblin realm).

Going to read on Mistmoors later, but from browsing its description quickly I see there will be lots of occasions for:

Spoiler:

Foreshadowing the First World/The Shadow world threat before reaching the 6th part of the AP.

[Lee Hanna]

I'm going to stick to KM's maps and kingdom rules, while adding BR's bloodlines and adjusting monsters & religions to match BR's.

Restov will be demoted to the provincial capitol of Almeysk province, and some of its characteristics will migrate to Rovnograd. I've been chopping & changing the noble houses to fit, too.

Kal Kalathor is indeed a gobbo realm, the biggest in Cerilia, IIRC. I don't see any serious interest from them, but some unaffiliated clans will be in the Stolen Lands.

Spoilers:

Yep, Shadow World = First World, and Nyrissa will be a sidhe lady from the also-disappeared Tuar Annwn, one of the unseelie of the Shadow World. Likewise, Vordakai will be one of Azrai's Lost.

I've been intermittently plotting this conversion since the AP started appearing. My regular group is nearing an end of Savage Tide, and it's long been agreed that it's my turn to run this next. Two of my 6 players already have detailed backgrounds, the others have picked classes. They're already tossing around the battle cry, "Like a Vos!"

[Drejk]

Will the party be wholly Vos or is anyone thinking about immigrants from other regions (depending upon interpretation as GM of Vos ability to tolerate foreigners)?

I will gladly learn about players background if you happen to have spare time - Birthright is one of settings that appeal to me very much (personally I would rather use modified Birthright rules concerning ruling the realm than KM's but that's because I am huge fan of turn-based 4x games and startegic boardgames - my players might not appreciate that so much as I).

[Lee Hanna]

I'm willing to allow non-Vos, especially Brecht, but no one's taken me up on it yet. I see Cerilians as pretty mobile and accepting people as a rule of thumb, so even goblin PCs are legit with me. For my KM, whenever I read "Swordlords," I'm seeing "Brechts, either mercenaries or merchants who are living in Rovninodensk."

Yes, Vos are the least tolerant of Cerilians, but I'm wiling to allow some leeway. The hard part for me may be toning down the one player who's only ever played 4e, "I can't be a drow-tiefling shadow assassin?"

Stag Lord, Armag & followers will be the losers of the last civil war, building strength to make a comeback.

Spoiler:

Oviinrbane will be a blood-bane weapon, with legendary prestige. The old tsar's daughter, and the current tsar, will be VERY interested in whoever's holding that one.

Backgrounds so far: all Vos
PC #1 is a Cavalier (I'm stretching that one to cover varsk-riders, sworn to a warlord's service). He lost his two brothers in the last civil war (6-8 years ago), one of them may have disappeared in the Mistmoor, and he'd like payback on the fey. He's likely to be our regent, but his bloodline is minor.

PC #2 is a rogue with a major bloodline. She may end up being the ruler, as she's plunking a lot of her skills into political ones, while role-playing to her 'girly' aspects. Her player said she wants Sansa Stark, but with brains. Her half-elf mother disappeared in the Mistmoors, and I will use this connection to feed foreshadowing for episodes #5 and #6.

PC #3 is a ranger, an orphan who apprenticed to another ranger that guided caravans (rare, and heavily armed) across the Mistmoors to the Brecht realms. She's the sole survivor of last year's caravan, all slain by something cold in the mist. The steaming soldier from Dragon #324 (mentioned above) would fill the bill here nicely. Not blooded. She'll have some knowledge of the people and places in episodes #1 and #2, like Nettles' Bridge and Oleg's Trading Post.

PCs 4-6 are undefined as yet. #4 wants a winter-wolf as a companion, so I've got her thinking of a priestess of Karesha, with the Animal domain, and a puppy that will have to grow into its HD. #5 is used to fighting types, but some have half-convinced the player to try a warpriest of Belinik. #6 (the newb that's only played 4e) just says she "likes to bash things." I'll show her the pics of Amiri from the books and see if she likes the "barbarian with a big-ass sword" concept.

What, no arcane PC?! Yep, they're willing to try it, and it feeds into my concept of wizardry being rare and powerful in Cerilia, as well as suspicious and dangerous in Vosgaard, so that's fine with me. They'll have two clerics and at least three or four fighting types, so I think it will work out.

Rules: I went back and forth on using either the KM kingdom rules or the BR regency rules, and decided to go for KM. I want to see how they work, and the additions from here seem to be pretty neat. One player was quite intrigued to see the cutout buildings and city map on the back of the KM Players' guide, so I'm going to stick to that. I am going to allow one to use a Bloodline Score as an option for the rolls in the KM rules.

[Coridan]

I recommend playing Quest For Glory IV to get yourself into the themes/mindset for such an endeavor.