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I am interested in running a kingmaker over multiple human generations. The idea is to have non-human characters who will be ruling for around 100 years or so. However, I find it hard to imagine how to stretch the campaign over such a long length of time. Seeing as there are many people with cool ideas on this forum, I have come to obtain some wisdom!
Why stretch the campaign over around 100 years? First, I expect the players to recruit people to deal with exploration and adventures after the second book of the path and I do not want an incredible amount of high level people in the kingdom. I am also planning on forcing the original characters to come back to adventuring for the last book of the path (older adventurers saving their own kingdom just sounds too cool to pass). So if the people they hire are still alive in book 6, it would not make sense for the rulers to save the kingdom themselves (hence the 100 years of ruling or so).
Second, the increase in size of the kingdom from around population 0 to 140,000 in 8-10 years just seems too unrealistic. So, I believe it would make more sense to have a few generations of people to make babies and increase its population naturally.
However, running a campaign over so many years causes certain issues with the story behind Brevoy’s upcoming civil war. Mainly, the path suggests that the PCs are sent to the stolen land to prepare for coming civil war (securing path for commerce with the river kingdoms and such). However, king Noleski will not live for another 100 years (even if he did, he would not be in a great state to rule).
So, does anyone have any idea how tensions in Brevoy could be kept for around a 100 years or why would people be sent in the stolen land so early before the crowning of Noleski?
On another note, I am also worried about NPCs who will not survive as long as the PCs leading to a high turnover of NPCs which in turns lead to less familiarity with them. As anyone ever run such campaigns? Any advices? How would you deal with a high turnover of NPCs?
Finaly, there is the issue of race, I am guessing that the people of Brevoy would not appreciate being ruled by people how are not humans. Any opinions on how to deal with that?
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However, running a campaign over so many years causes certain issues with the story behind Brevoy’s upcoming civil war. Mainly, the path suggests that the PCs are sent to the stolen land to prepare for coming civil war (securing path for commerce with the river kingdoms and such). However, king Noleski will not live for another 100 years (even if he did, he would not be in a great state to rule).
So, does anyone have any idea how tensions in Brevoy could be kept for around a 100 years or why would people be sent in the stolen land so early before the crowning of Noleski?
The easy way to do this is to have everything not quite ready to fall apart when Noleski dies. And slightly more so when his heir goes. And so forth and so forth. There's no time like the changing of the crown for chaos to erupt in society, and as long as there are still tensions and strife that the leadership does not/refuses to attend to, it only gets worse. After a few generations of the same old thing - or worse, of each successive ruler being worse or more inept than the last - eventually something snaps.
On another note, I am also worried about NPCs who will not survive as long as the PCs leading to a high turnover of NPCs which in turns lead to less familiarity with them. As anyone ever run such campaigns? Any advices? How would you deal with a high turnover of NPCs?
My best recommendation is that you make each NPC as memorable as possible, and when their time comes make the PCs really lament their passing. There's only so much you can do, and if the players just don't connect with an NPC there's not much you can say for that. It's a little bit out of your hands beyond doing the best you can with what you have.
Finaly, there is the issue of race, I am guessing that the people of Brevoy would not appreciate being ruled by people how are not humans. Any opinions on how to deal with that?
Well, for starters you probably can't guarantee that some players won't play humans. I had two in my group at first, though the reincarnate shuffle has removed them all from the party since. It will eventually come time for those characters to retire and die, and be replaced by a successor, offspring, or appointed replacement.
The entirety of my party is non-human now, and other than a few minor grumbles and people like Grigori stoking the fires of racial tension, it's rarely caused issues. But that's also because my players are extremely good at keeping their kingdom ticking, keeping Unrest low and dealing with disruptive kingdom events that signify an unhappy populace very swiftly. When your kingdom runs that smoothly and corruption in the leadership is pretty minimal - my players are pretty good about putting good and/or responsible people in places of authority, and haven't yet been tripped up by any of the NPCs I've presented with a hidden ulterior motive - it's hard to justify the populace throwing fits over something as trivial as "they're not the same race as me". Especially when said leadership goes out of their way to provide the same benefits and the same enforcement of law on all races in their borders.
However, if your group is less savvy about that sort of thing, then yes I could very easily see that situation raising its ugly head, especially in the early years. And that will be a challenge the players will have to find a way to deal with.
I do not want an incredible amount of high level people in the kingdom.
Those hired adventurers sure have a habit of taking on things they can't handle... shame we only found one chewed boot and a lot of blood.
the increase in size of the kingdom from around population 0 to 140,000 in 8-10 years just seems too unrealistic.
True, true. Of course, nothing increases populations quite so fast like refugees fleeing a war.
does anyone have any idea how tensions in Brevoy could be kept for around a 100 years
Why wait? Let the civil war erupt! The two sides battle each other until there's naught left of Brevoy but a shattered realm of petty kingdoms each ruled by a different house. Refugees flood into the neighboring, stable kingdom to the South evan as Iobaria looks to stretch westward into the easily annexed former lands of Brevoy. Now your PCs need to keep a strong nation from expanding into their realm. Will Pitax or even Numeria pressure them on a second front? Will they seek out a powerful (fey) ally they don't realize means to betray them but who, for now, shares their need to keep their kingdom free?
I am also worried about NPCs who will not survive as long as the PCs leading to a high turnover of NPCs which in turns lead to less familiarity with them.
Turnover can be ameliorated somewhat via the traditional routes of lickdom/deathlessness, mythic longevity, reincanation, a touch of fey-blood could corrupt almost anyone born in the Stolen Lands, and finally there's the simple matter of changing NPC races. Half-elves will outlast humans (except perhaps Azlanti-blooded ones).
Thanks to both of you! Even more so for the totally opposite opinions!
How far have you red into the campaign book? Brevoy is a Red Herring, the PCs will never go there (at least as written in book) and the civil war will never occur/influence the PC kingdom. What about Narissa? How is her plan to pull the Stolen Lands into a pocket dimension going to stall for 100 years?
I read the whole thing. Even though Brevoy is not the main issue of the campaing (far from it actually). The fact that my players will want to get invested in politics makes the timeframe of the civil war really important. Also, the path says they get their independance from Brevoy. Taking their own independance could be cool... but I was not planning on that (Good idea).
As for Nyrissa, she is the least of my worries. She has planned to take the land for hundreds of years, she can wait a little more... or it could simply take here a bit more time to get ready to do her thing.
Yeah, fey almost universally operate on grander time-scales than most mortals can handle. Having a multi-generational kingdom set up against her long-running plot is perfectly in-character.
A multi generational approach is a really cool idea. I might steal it for an on-line game :)
Personally, I would follow kadance's solution of letting the civil war in Brevoy happen - so that there were a whole new bunch of smaller startes to the north. that doesn't stop your players getting involved in politics up there, abut it does mean yuou would have to think it out a bit more. At least one of my players was related to a noble house in Brevoy, and a couple of the early NPCs are as well.
I think I would scale back the initial settlements. Start off with the PCs charters - But not start the other charters immediately. Or maybe have Varnhold de-colonised when the civil war happens. Try and restrict your party to the Greenbelt for that first generation and concentrate on building a small kingdom there.
Then a new group of settlers move into Varnhold during your second generation (perhaps 25 years down the line). That gives a good reason for Varnhold to be small, and for the extra exploration that disturbs ...
Fort Drelev is even later - have the Slough trade routes operating fairly normally up until your third generation, when Fort Drelev is colonised (from New Stetven) to clear the trade routes. Then you are back in with a vengeance ...