Mixing downtime and kingdom building rules from the beginning

[NielsenE]

A few of my party members are seeming interested in downtime activities (buildings and organizations) from the get go.

One is a mundane crafter (clothier) and I can see him wanting a shop and maybe a sheep ranch or greenhouses for silkworms, etc. Another is an-ex guard and I can see him wanting to build up a patrol force, etc.

Obviously they're going to be capital constrained in the beginning, but once they get some loot under their belts its all possible. Once they've done a bit of explorer and pacifiying I think I can justify a small thorp coalescing around Oleg's -- some of the region's hunters & trappers wanting a more stable life, etc.

Questions that are slightly spoiler-y:

Spoiler:

1. Should there be any Restov/Brevoy imposed timer on chapter 1, or is bandit "recharge" & continued activity if not cleared sufficient in your opinion?
2. Should additional buildings constructed using downtime rules, be 'promoted' to kingdom buildings once they found it in chapter 2? If not, should they give discounts for a similar themed building (under the theory that the kingdom buildings often represent more than one building of a given type)? Should the PCs have to choose between keeping the building for their personal use/bonuses and donating it to the kingdom for kingdom bonuses?
3. Would the "tradition" of a guard force or mercantile efforts be worth a +1 stability/economy type score in the beginning?

[pennywit]

a few answers:

Quote:

1. Should there be any Restov/Brevoy imposed timer on chapter 1, or is bandit "recharge" & continued activity if not cleared sufficient in your opinion?

I think that "recharge" and continued activity is sufficient. I would play the bandits as Active Bad Guys. If the players are lollygagging about taking the bandits out, then add more bandits to Staggy's reserve force, and let the bandits get bolder about their attacks.

Quote:

2. Should additional buildings constructed using downtime rules, be 'promoted' to kingdom buildings once they found it in chapter 2? If not, should they give discounts for a similar themed building (under the theory that the kingdom buildings often represent more than one building of a given type)? Should the PCs have to choose between keeping the building for their personal use/bonuses and donating it to the kingdom for kingdom bonuses?

I wouldn't "promote" anything to a kingdom's building unless the player gives up title and income from it. When the "kingdom" builds a "shop," for example, it's not the same as the player building a shop. Basically, the kingdom puts up the infrastructure for a shop (or, more accurately, for a one-block commercial district called a "shop"), and somebody moves in and creates a shop there.

In terms of blending them, I would give a discount (say, one-half) either way as far s the building of the shop.

As far as personal use/bonuses vs. kingdom bonuses, I would let the players have both. The personal bonuses represent the individual PC's wealth and income, while the kingdom bonuses represent the taxes the business pays, the goodwill among the citizens, and other benefits to the kingdom's economy.

[redcelt32]

I let my PCs hire minions and pay for upgrades at Olegs (like bigger walls, more buildings, etc) with gold or as repayment for favors starting from the very beginning. They did not finish Book 1 and kill the Stag Lord until late in 4th lvl for us to begin kingdom building. In return, I gave them several things "for free" as far as the BP rules went, since they spent their hard earned gold for them earlier.

It sort of fosters the spirit of pioneering and improvement early on.

1. No, just use story point leveling and don't let the PCs go past a certain level until they kill the Stag Lord. Staying at 4th level a long time will eventually get annoying and prod them into progressing the story.

2. Yes, this rewards the PCs for spending their effort and hard earned gold early on.

3. I flat out awarded them BP bonuses at various times for their individual efforts in progressing the kingdom that could not be otherwise expressed well. For instance, the druid, inquisitor, and rogue all worked together to build the moon radish market through Restov, so in return I would award them between 1-3 BP for several months as the market demand really increased, them over time, it died down to the normal kingdom benefits.