Sending an army away

[Lee Hanna]

Another long-term concept I'm working on. Since IMC the Baroness is the daughter of a major noble (Lodovka war-leader), and the home kingdom is having a low-level civil war, Father will call upon them in the 2nd year of the game, requesting a military unit for duty during a summer campaign off-map.

Essentially, the PCs would have to pay to raise an army, pay its Consumption, but not get to use it for a while (like during the Troll War).

In return, they get: an army that will improve its morale and tactics without them having to do anything; Father will move to the barony in the off-season (I have really long winters), potentially an NPC for a leadership role. Possibly, they could send an NPC they already have as a leader, too, possibly gaining levels or loot for that guy.

Does this sound like a fair trade-off?

This is my attempt to improve a story link between the homeland and the new colony, as well as keeping the players thinking about military matters.

EDIT: The funny thing is, once I proposed the idea, the player of the cavalier PC thought his guy might want to ride off to this war, instead of sticking around here.

[Philip Knowsley]

I'd think that raising an army in their 2nd year would be a hard one for
an fledgling kingdom...
Would it work 'in story' to have daddy say in the 2nd year that he needed
them, but they had until year 3 to raise them...?

I guess it all depends on your game & how fat they're progressing. My crew
would never have survived this expense on their kingdom in year 2. :)

How many people in the kingdom? What sized army will be requested...& made
up of what?

I like the idea (wish I'd thought of it...& may well use it now), but am
just trying to get a handle on your game & how best to maintain realism,
as well as have it be fun, aaaannd pay off!

[Lee Hanna]

It's not very big, and I am rethinking holding off until next (game)year. They're currently heading into autumn & winter, so I thought that would be a good time to make the request.

They're at 3500 people and 6 hexes, 1 settlement. I'm not sure right now how much of a BP reserve they are sitting on, but my wife (playing the Councilor, and running all of the Kingdom Tracking) is being fanatical about keeping money in reserve.

I was thinking of asking for a Medium or Small army, hoping that the players might want to add some bells & whistles like mounts. I wouldn't ask for all of the troops they could raise (see: Troll War), but enough to be noticeable. A hidden benefit should be that she will get an idea of how much an army might cost, and keep an eye on being able to pay that when needed.

They might actually turn him down, or send a token. Hmmm, have to think about that, too.

[Rickmeister]

You could, instead of asking for an army, ask for "taxes" or a set amount of BP to deliver so they can upkeep their armies.
Maybe even suggest that they build a certain pre-set number of buildings (smith, armory, craftsman, barracks) so they can aid the North in their struggle. Taking away their army doesn't sound like something they would say yes to easily, would they?

I mean, both my Kingmaker groups had difficulty raising said army (I'm not one to make it easy on them) so they would not likely agree.. BP however is something they can calculate into their expenses, and tie their country into Brevoy's war. Now, will they do so openly or in secret? :)

[Lee Hanna]

A tax of BP is on the table, too.

I'm definitely not taking away all of their army.

I'm not running Brevoy, so it doesn't need to be secret. OTOH, making it public might draw the attention of the rebels down their way....

[Ramarren]

Rather than '2nd year', I'd say to scope this in between books 3 and 4. The kingdom should be big enough to handle it, and it will hep your PCs start thinking I a more martial way.