|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Greetings all. I have been in the planning stages of a Kingmaker campaign for a few months now. Now that finals are upon us, I will soon have free time and gaming should commence in the near future. I wish to present some information and ideas that I have thus far so that I might get feedback and suggestions from my fellow DMs.
First of all, this is not going to be Kingmaker straight out of the books. My players and I are VERY heavy on RP and we have made it clear to one another that we expect a campaign full of politics and dark secrets just as much as heroics and monster slaying. I have had them watch the first season of Game of Thrones as a primer.
It is currently my intention to use the main campaign, the Book of the River Nations, additional tweaks for kingdom building and mass combat by Bobsson and others, Curse of the Fellnight Queen, and many bits and suggestions from Dudemeister and Redcelt.
E: Female human cavalier(gendarme), the character that will likely end up the ruler of the player's nation. From Galt, though her mother was a Medvyed. She got caught up in Galtese politics and had to flee the country, blames herself for the death of her parents. Now joining the expedition as a way to prove herself. Plans to take Eldritch Heritage feat line to start exhibiting Red Dragon traits; this ties in to her side quest involving her favorite uncle who went mad after becoming a dragon-blooded sorcerer, after which he burned a whole hamlet to the ground and fled the country. She will fear for her own sanity and try to hide her draconic traits. Also, was thinking of having some Brevic nobles decide, after she finally comes to terms with her heritage and it is known she has red dragon blood, that this marks her as the true heir to the throne of Brevoy at which point they will try to convince her to have the player kingdom and Brevoy merge, with her as its monarch. Idealistic, progressive, high standards, probably NG or LG.
B: Male human ranger(skirmisher), this player is a history major who loves Russian history in particular, so he is having a field day coming up with stuff for this campaign. The character is the bastard offspring of a Surtova lordling and a common whore. Twelve years later, the lordling's father died, making him a boyar, and he converted to the worship of Abadar and learned responsability. Due to this he acknowledged his bastard and took the boy in to train under one of his druzhiniki (knights) to eventually join the druzhina (lord's retinue) himself. Unfortunately, the lord's wife and legitimate son were ambitious schemers, so they poisoned the lord and pinned the murder on the PC, who had to flee the country. He joined the party as a way to escape until he can figure out a way to clear his name and enact revenge. Gruff, jaded, ruthless, probably N or CN.
L: Female half-elf wizard, born and raised in Cheliax by a minor noble family that considered her to be an embarrassment. When she attended the magic academy (what was the name of the famous one in Cheliax? I know Korvosa has the Acadamae...) with her younger half brother (who, being full human, was physically about the same age) she was teased and derided until she snuck into a teacher's office and used a magic item there to summon a powerful devil in the hopes of proving herself to everyone. Things went wrong, her brother busted in trying to save her, and both brother and devil disappeared. She was expelled, her family considered her an even bigger embarrassment, and her elven father offered to raise her in Kyonin. There she continued to study magic, but chafed under the slow pace of life, and heard rumor of her brother possibly being in the Stolen Lands, so she hared off to join the expedition while telling everyone it was so she could study ancient elven ruins in the area. Impulsive, unsure, inquisitive, probably NG or CG.
J: Male human bard, part of a traveling band of performers who often tried their hand at cons and even outright banditry when the opportunity presented itself. Eventually they were caught by local authorities and hanged, every man, woman, and child; but this character awoke afterward to be given a choice by a mysteriious man: go back to the gallows, or join the party pretending to be there to chronicle their efforts, but in reality acting as a spy for his mistress (the Surtova regent's sister, whose name I can't be bothered to look up at the moment). Obviously he chose the latter, and I look forward to the roleplaying when he is finally found out by the others... Nervous, lecherous, silver-tongued, probably N or CN.
V:Female half-elf alchemist(chirurgeon), almost the exact opposite of the other half-elf, she was raised by her elven mother and community, her father having been an Issian caravan guard with a traveling merchant. After her mother died in a tragic accident, her grandfather, who had never approved of having a half-breed in the community, "suggested" it was time she sought out and learned to live with her human parent. She traveled to the general area of Issia, having no other clues as to his identity or whereabouts, where she fell deathly ill while traveling through the snowy forests and was rescued by an old herbalist who was out looking for rare plants. He healed her and taught her the arts of healing and alchemy, before finally dying of natural causes himself. She since started wandering, and joined the party pretty much on a whim. I have encouraged her to add a bit more conflict and a "dark secret" of some sort like the others have. Friendly, curious, non-judgemental, probably NG or CG.
The Cyclopes: Vordakai was hardly the only cyclops to ever leave a mark on this area of the world. The ruins over which was built the city of Skywatch was originally their work, and housed deep within the mountain is an artifact of great power guarded by the mummified Grand Astronomer himself and his fellow undead cyclopes. The PC's won't encounter them until the climax of the campaign, after the published campaign has ended.
The Elves: I do not currently have any plans to use them as a faction, but there may be some red herrings thrown in regarding all the ancient elven ruins scattered about the Stolen Lands.
The First World: Nyrissa is still a significant player in this campaign, though I hope to foreshadow her involvement more through the use of fey minions in the earlier adventures. One minion in particular I intend to have pop up more than once, though I have not yet decided his exact nature, as the mysterious figure seen advising the Stag Lord, Hargulka, and others. In fact, this minion works not for Nyrissa, but for the Eldest, sent to aid the nymph queen in giving herself just enough rope to hang herself. She is considered a nuisance, and the Eldest actually want her to fail, they just don't want to expend much in the way of resources. Early on the minion will tell the PCs that they are not welcome in the Stolen Lands and must leave. At the end, after Nyrissa has been defeated, he will reveal to the PCs that they did exactly what he had hoped they would. "If you ask a human to do something they will demand payment, even if it is in their best interest. If you tell they that they mustn't do something, they will do it or die tryiing." Also, sometime after Rivers Run Red I intend to insert Night of the Fellnight Queen, but Roswhen will now be male, the former consort of Nyrissa, who she has decided to remove once and for all as a potential rival, again with the favored minion serving to point the PCs in the right direction.
Choral and the Red Dragons: Choral was a man of great power and insight. He genuinely wished a better life for his descendants, and so he made a deal with a trio of red dragon sisters to secure for himself a new kingdom. The dragons, worshippers of Dahak, agreed due to a prophesy of destruction: "When two hundred years of royal blood is gathered, and when brother sheds the blood of brother to soak the kingdom's soil, when the fields burn, the rivers boil, and chaos rules the land, then shall be born the One Who Shall Burn The World." Essentially, Choral gained the dragons help in conquering Brevoy, set up the kingdom to run in his absence, and then disappeared. Two hundred years later the sisters returned and broke into Skywatch where they fought past the fire-fearing undead guardians to gain control of an ancient cyclopean artifact. Using the artifact they summoned and sacrificed every living member of the Rogarvia line, at which point the eldest sister laid an egg and has been nurturing it, intending to hatch the prophesied destructor (though secretly hoping to somehow take the power into herself instead). Meanwhile the other two sisters, in human guise, have infiltrated parts of the kingdom and used a network of spies and allies in order to drive events closer and closer to a civil war. At the end of the campaign the PCs will have to storm Skywatch, deal with (and perhaps make a deal with) the cyclopes in order to get to the sister, only to have the prophesy culminate before their eyes and have to face the true BBEG: a Mythic Half-Dragon Choral who, after absorbing his "mother" is intent on leading Brevoy to conquer the entire world.
House Rogarvia: While the true scions of this house are all gone, various banner houses remain albeit in a precarious position. Without a Great House to sponser them, they have slowly lost power and land, and are faced with a choice: adapt or die. House Surtova is rapidly trying to snap up their alliances for itself, claiming that, as the "heirs" of House Rogarvia, the banner houses should naturally now follow them. Some of the houses have agreed with this, and pledged their lands and loyalty to the Surtovas. Others have allied with the nearby Lebedas, feeling they have more in common, or the Sworldlords of Restov. Still others feel that one of their number should be raised as a new Great House in order to maintain the balance of power, though of course they don't agree on which one should have that honor. It is some of these banner houses that may declare for the PC ruler after finding out of her red dragon heritage and deciding it is a sign that she is the destined ruler.
House Surtova: Consumate schemers, though ultimately just pawns of the dragon sisters, they will be seen as antagonists to the PCs in almost any conceivable scenario, especially since they want one of them for murder. I plan on using them as pretty much the all-purpose political bad guys.
House Orlovsky: The great house with the second strongest claim to the Dragonscale Throne, and staunch opposition to House Surtova's plans to claim power for themselves. They wish to avoid civil war, however, and will avoid outright armed conflict unless left with no recourse (or convinced they could win handily). Has a deep and abiding hatred of House Lodovka due to an ancient fued between the two northern houses.
House Lodovka: Traditional allies to House Surtova, though more fractious and free-willed than that house would like. It will take an act of heroic diplomacy on the part of the PCs to gain their allegience against the Surtovas, even more so if they also plan to ally with House Orlovsky. Essentially they need to convince the Lodovkas that the Surtovas would be bad for the country as a whole, and also bring an end to a fued that has gone on since before anyone can remember.
House Medvyed: Natural allies of the PCs since their ruler is of this house. They will have to go out of their way to alienate the Medvyeds, already work surreptitiously against the Regent, such as by declaring war on and trying to annex Brevoy or some such stupidity.
House Garress: Despite RedCelt's very interesting ideas regarding this house, I am having a very hard time coming up with ties to the PCs or campaign as a whole. They will tend to stand back and avoid taking one side or the other unless they are sure they can be on the winning side. A potential hook is that they probably control the countries best iron deposits, making them valuable allies to anyone who does not want to have to import all of their weapons and armor (such as House Surtova if the PCs kingdom manages to seize and hold the Sellen).
House Lebeda: Opportunistic schemers and merchants, House Lebeda will attempt to put their fingers in as many pies as they can, figuring that they can claim to have always truly supported whoever it is that comes out on top. Plan to have potential conflicts and opportunities arise concerning a rebellious heir who would rather adventure (perhaps with the PCs) than get married off to ensure political ties for his family.
The Brethren Council: The Brethren Council of Swordlords, rulers of Restov, are the original sponsers and patrons of the PCs. Proud and cunning, they will continue to support their satelite kingdoms as long as they have the resources and it looks like their original plan will still work. If the PCs convince them that they have no intention of aiding in Rostland's independence then relations will quickly turn cold.
The Church of Abadar: While Gorrum and Pharasma are very powerful in Brevoy, it is the Church of Abadar that possesses the most political clout due to its wealth and organization. They act as advisors to lords and bankers to merchants, and will do almost anything to avoid civil war; at least in theory. In truth, the church has been long infiltrated by a group of undead worshippers of Rovagug, and the head of the Abadarran faith in the kingdom is actually a ghoul cleric of the Rough Beast who has allied himself with the dragon sisters, surmising that the destruction they will cause might be enough to weaken the seals imprisoning his god enough to finally end the world and give him release from his eternal hunger.
River Kingdoms: I have no current plans to use Pitax any further than has already been described, nor Mivon as something other than a potential source for mercenaries (for either side) and/or obstacle to diplomacy with Restov.
I shall do more later; I should probably do some studying for my finals after all. Please let me know what you think thus far and do not be shy with advice! Thank you all in advance.
Tip 1) Read the hell out of these forums, these some great stuff buried very deeply that can heavily impact your game in a good way.
Tip 2) Divide The First world into factions Seelie/Unseelie Summer/Winter are the typical divisions.
Tip 3) Consider throwing them a cleric NPC other then Jhode to join their group and run the 6 player party conversion. Reason is two-fold, first the bard doesn't have enough healing to cover your whole group, second if you run the NPC you can add another flavorful faction of your own, the cleric and his religion. Personally I'd go with either a female elf that's into Calistra (and ads a nice CN vengeful ally) or perhaps a LN cleric of Asmodeus that adds a useful but legalistic and somewhat untrustworthy ally in the mix.
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
My own experience with the campaign, from the one I'm running right now.
Here are some threads/posts that I've found useful:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p742?Expanding-the-Kingdom-Events-table#1 I like the expanded events and monthly events have created a lot of the story in our campaign.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l27u?Kingdom-Building-Towns-Villages#1 Really a fan of this.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2klsv?Kingmaker-Expansion#1
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kpjz?My-Kingmaker-Toolbox#1 I the idea of party origins.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2o4uw?Redcelts-Game-of-Thrones-in-Brevoy#26 Run for lives players! Here be monsters!
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kqeq?Noncity-Kingdom-Improvements-Fort-Mine-Ca mp-etc#1 Jason delivers the goods.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ku76?Ambient-Encounters-in-the-Stolen-Lands#1 Its not all bandits and killing you know, just mostly.
For myself, we just ditched the magic item economy entirely. It may come up later when the kingdom is larger, but for now it's just out. Replaced it by making the gold mine a +5 econ; +3BP resource once a mine was built. It's worked out nicely.
Other things that have worked well for us, Carnival of Tears and Fellnight Queen led nicely into each other with a little tweaking. Players get a dramatic, and horrifying, into the evil fey are capable of and immediately rally the troops to end the menace that inflict such sorrow on their kingdom. Good way to introduce the players to the mass-combat rules.
Agree with Carnival of Tears, will checkout fellknight queen- also going to recommend highly Gaming Paper's Citidel of Pain
|
|
Ah, thank you gentlemen. This is more what I was hoping for. I will be sure to continue combing the boards, and pay especial attention to the threads you have laid out for me. I have, indeed, contemplated using the 6-man conversion and allowing the PCs to pick their 6th from a cast of NPCs (running NPCs with distinct personalities is one of my favorite parts of DMing). If I do introduce a cleric to adventure with them, it will likely be an Abadaran, because I feel I would be better served reinforcing the role of that church in the storyline than trying to add yet another player. I shall have to see if I can get a hold of Carnival of Tears and read it over; what level is that adventure for? Where would it be inserted into the main campaign?
5th level but beatable at 4th, best done between the stolen lands and rivers run red, or you could do it between RRR and The Varnhold vanashing by making everything in the book take the advanced template but that's more work :p
I am *very* interested in your Cyclop-Skywatch approach. Are you planning on writing the whole Skywatch dungeon yourself, or pilfer another source? I'm looking for a suitable published dungeon/module/location to convert to Skywatch myself, as I don't have the time (nor, perhaps, the inspiration) to build everything from the ground.
Also, I introduced the concept of a "Land Diet", an irregular meeting of the Great Houses to discuss Important Stuff. For example, after the Rogarvia disappearance, a Land Diet convened to decide on the Regent. Now, with Prince Tzakiv Korya scheming in Iobaria, trouble in the Stolen Lands, and the constant danger of a Numerian incursion, most Houses are calling for a strong Brevic leadership. In my game, a new Land Diet is to be held, which will decide on the future and the nature of the kingship. The meeting gives the characters lots of opportunities for intrigue and scheming, if your players are up for this. The Land Diet lasts for a week and, apart from politics, also offers games, competitions, and tournaments for the nobility.
On a different note, I added a few hamlets to the Greenbelt, and used a modified "the Feast of Ravenmoor" module when the PCs began raising taxes in one of these settlements. They loved it.
Lastly, I am hosting a group of six players, and I mostly wing the difficulty of the encounters (adding monsters, HP, etc.) without any real problems.