I've played kingmaker and had a lot of fun, and recently as dm the players took some bait and started to raise their own settlement.
They are in a home brew world and not wanting to be kings/queens or rigid leader figures. And yet they now have a motte and bailey on a river and an increasing number of tenants (seven families now) of multiple species. Freemen and freewomen, lizardman peasants and thri kreen hunters.
Like kingmaker, their base is a keep, they have their water supply, and they have pushed back multiple threats in the region before settling down briefly with some down time. Then, people have arrived to this new safe and protected region.
What they have faced already:
Araneas, werewolves, ankhegs, rust monsters and rust lords, feuding witches, a granny drake (make a paizo search), broken a zombie raising ring releasing a disgruntled zombie to freedom (again make a paizo search), sirines, medusa, grimlock barbarian rogues, a druid tyrant and lots of animals both dire and normal.
Climate is temperate, hills, nearby woods, good water supply, fey and mostly peaceful ogres around, strong enemies to the south east and north west. In a stretch of mostly safe land (the werewolves aren't all gone).
So a friend remarked that the players are beginning a game of civilisation. I am surprised the fighter monk and ninja players take it in the this direction.
I am brain-storming for what to add, so how do you think it should go from here? What should they face next in terms of threats, missions and internal problems for the new settlement. Inner and outside difficulties?
:D Cheers,
Trev
So some other info for the curious, the party has a pool of npcs they team up with (certainly works for a kingmaker type game) and two central chars, one LG fighter monk leaning to NG, and one chaotic good ninja leaning a bit to selfish evil.
The monk cares not for wealth and doesn't want to tax the people, he only wants to help them and buy them new tools, respond to their needs, help everyone get alone.
The ninja doesn't like the continual arrival of people, has sent some away and wants to levy a rate of tax. The good adventurers are not yet certain on their domestic policy or what they will build next. Their hesitation to let the place take off may lead to it fizzling or it might take off regardless of what they do, they are not barons or lords, and only have limited control over the people thus far (although at level 12-13 they personally have a lot of juice themselves).
Turkey farmers have arrived, there are fishermen, newly established farming areas, so it is mainly an agricultural region. There is a metal crafting settlement to the south, so far relations are good, and a silver mining and farming community to the north which loves the heroes for saving them from araneas.
Got any ideas kingmaker people?
What should they face next in terms of threats, missions and internal problems for the new settlement. Inner and outside difficulties?
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Part of RotRL deals with taking over an abandoned base : rebuilding, creating relations with nearby settlements and influent players in the area.
That could help you find some other ideas to challenge your players. Maybe some other APs have similar parts but I have not played them yet.
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Well what's underneath the keep? Something that I think Kingmaker missed out on was downward exploration. A few hexes set underground where they might discover resources like a gold mine etc might mitigate some of their money problems if they can attract some dwarves or humans to mine the previous vein.
Of course it's protected by something in those dark places, something BIG. (My thoughts are Dragon or perhaps a massive aberration of some kind).
Oh yeah, they have been going down.
Love dungeons and subterranean areas. I've thrown vegepygmies down there, rust monsters, maybe need more trolls.
Lot of water in this delta region, so I can fill it with caves.
Well what's underneath the keep? Something that I think Kingmaker missed out on was downward exploration. A few hexes set underground where they might discover resources like a gold mine etc might mitigate some of their money problems if they can attract some dwarves or humans to mine the previous vein.
Or heck Kobolds! They have the Sootscales right there.
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Here's a suggestion, a friendly in your face sorcerer villain. The kind that acts as though your friends while he basically is taking your sh*t right in front of your face.
They aren't sure they want to run a kingdom?
What happens when someone tries to take over.
Human nature, sometimes we don't know we wanted to play with that toy until the other kid started playing with it...
Ah ha! Yeah that is good stuff. Friendly "leader" sorcerer.
Now this sorc needs something or allies to counter a great ac monk and a ninja.
I think they will become more involved, fight for their new territory (they did put their coin to this new motte and bailey after all, putting more into the region for other upgrades as well).
Equalizer, do not read.
Okay, they have been a bit perturbed by the number of people coming in, so the idea is that a cleric of a non-evil faith arrives, followed by a sorcerer.
Cleric wants to set up shop, has some power. Good intentions, but also communal assimilation.
Sorc arrives, want to build a nice mansion over time, but will try to drive the cleric out and side with the pcs on this. Basically slips into their side. The sorc is a lot stronger than the cleric, it doesn't have to come to war, the sorc just nods and plays the I'm a good guy game.
Then, this sorc will try to take over, hmm, got to work out a strategy.
I can also encourage their growth as a power by providing something like the lyre of building as loot.
There will be consequences if word of this powerful item gets out (low magic world).
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When you are looking to change things up, consider unnatural or natural weather. Even something like a drought or an abnormally harsh winter in a neighboring territory let alone the one the PC's are in can cause 'events'. Creatures normally not present can flee/move into the area for food/respite.
The old bloodstone pass (1e) series and the bloodstone lands followup region supplement (2e?) had some idea kernels you could mine for regional stronghold event ideas if you have stuff that far back.
Arrr, alas I don't have bloodstone, but this is reminding me of large event tables I made, which included weather, for a series of games I ran with the players as counts, generals and dukes.
But now I have a grasp of what will happen next, alongside the quest paths (I run sandbox games now for D&D) and the random events (which won't be known until they get rolled).
At the end of the vegepygmy lair (or "vegies" as my wife calls them), past the gas spores, guards, red sinew and vegegyants, past the chieftain and near the russet mold shrine, they will find the bongos of building.
This is going to take right off.
After some quests to the south, they are coming back with bongos of building to face new problems, which may just push them to really care and make some decisions regarding their new region.
When I was doing this sort of thing with a group of low level PCs we used some of the Falcon's Hollow based adventures - as a base to work around.
I also went for a series of mini adventures from the One Page Dungeon competition. Just a case of picking and choosing for something that matches the feel at the moment.
But it sounds like you have a good mix of residents for them :)
Earlier on, I also used a Cadfael murder mystery except in a monastery of monks, lately they are purging monsters from the region.
Now they are investigating attacks by barbarian terror turkeys, which will lead to a forest "dungeon", a suicidal spellcaster and a lot of nastiness.
As they have been solving more problems, I have had them moving further out. Right under their noses could be good, but they have been mostly making the region safer and filled with allies.