| 13 people marked this as a favorite. |
I may never have the confidence to try running Kingmaker myself, yet sometimes the urge strikes me. And with that urge comes ideas.
One thing I've noticed is that when you're building a kingdom, PCs often seem more willing to consider legacies and the like. I've seen some great ideas for noble brides, but it occurred to me that a young nation might have a demand for brides of all sorts.
So, as much to get the idea out on paper already as anything else, I made a few concepts and thought I'd share them.
My thought is, if I ever ran this, I'd have, sometime after the first town starts going, a demand for eligible women crop up. Ones that might be good for just flavor even if bound for NPCs instead of PCS, and each with a plot hook of one sort or another (Even if it's only a chance to show kindness). One day, a wagon would pull up, and out would step the ladies who've come here to gather husbands in a new land where they can make new lives.
Estrild Burrel- Estrild is a stocky lass in her early twenties, causing some to mistake her for fat. She's fairly strong as well, and not afraid of hard work. She keeps her brunette hair cut about shoulder length, and often puts it up when working in a kitchen or outside on a hot day chopping wood. Shes a fair cook, but will admit she's not as good with a needle if that's what a fellow is looking for in a wife. She also does hard labor as well as any man, and with no complaint, so she'll farm, lift heavy things, and get the job done. She's looking for a husband who is as unafraid of hard work as she is, and is rather no nonsense about her approach to marriage, or at least that's how she'd like folks to think of her. In truth, Estrild finds she has a weakness for flattery if she thinks its sincere. A fellow who works hard will earn her hand. A fellow who works hard, and then whispers how wonderful she is in her ear may win her heart and cause her to gush in a fashion she will blush about.
Gundred Capellarius- A tiefling woman who tries her best to hide the horns that curl on the side of her head with mixed results, Gundred is the embarrasment of the Capellarius noble family. This is an exile for her, but she's been raised all her life to believe its nothing less than she deserves. The flaxen haired woman is slender and studious by nature, finding a refuge in books that society rarely offers. Thus, this normally shy creature is most alive when discussing academic matters with someone as interested in them as she is. Gundred has been told she's probably going to end up with some country barbarian for a husband, and probably a drunk one if he can look past her tainted heritage. When she arrives, Gundred is probably in agreement that is the best she can hope for. Her self esteem, as you may have guessed, is shot. While not the best cook, she's got some skill with the needle. Her real talent is all that book learning, she's actually quite versed in more subjects than one, and multilingual to boot. A man who has education, intelligence, and a kind heart is most likely to win her over and help her see her own worth.
Isolda Capron- A gorgeous woman, Isolda Capron is shapely with lustrous raven hair and blue eyes that threaten to ensnare a man with a glance and she is aware of her charms. She knows how to sing, and dances quite well be it to a hearty jig or a more stately dance at a more formal ceremony. Alas, the young woman fears, however, she'll find no husband despite her advantages for she is barren. When her former husband discovered she could bear no child, he abandoned her. While a priest of Erastil could not restore her fertility, he did release her from her vows after a year and a day sans husband had passed, and suggest that perhaps, in these stolen lands, she might find a miracle. Isolda is not convinced her worth is bound to her womb, despite what many believe, but she knows that for some men, it is a deal breaker, and should a suitor present himself, she will be candid about her situation. She would like children, but barring that miracle spoke of, she'd likely settle for adoption. She is aware that, that flaw aside, she's a hell of a catch. Her cooking, sewing and cleaning skills are quite fine, but she's a bit fond of spices on the first, so her prospective husband better have a strong stomach for heat.
Margeria Drape- A halfling With light freckles and red hair (even on her feet), Margeria Drape stands out. This twenty five year old lass presents herself as 'the girl next door type' and is an excellent cook, able to make a man reluctant to ever pass on seconds. Indeed, she might be the best cook of the lot. She was warned there might not be many, if any, halfling men waiting for her, but claimed she wanted a chance anyway. The truth is, however, she doesn't expect to find a husband. She is using this as a cover to set up a station for the Bellflower network in this new land. She plans to 'seek a husband' fail, and just set up shop, probably serving food. The new place would become a half way house for escaped halfling slaves fleeing persecution in other lands and heading towards the River Kingdoms! Margeria shares the River Kingdom hatred of slavery, and hopes to do her part to help all those shackled. What she isn't counting on is that there might just be a handsome halfling fellow there after all who just doesn't fit in her plans, but she can't help but find rather enticing. Should he prove to hate slavery as much as she, she may just find herself falling... darn it, that's not how this is supposed to go!
Reynilda Lynge- A pretty if not gorgeous caramel haired woman of about nineteen, Reynelda Lynge is quick to praise any man of station, or wealth. Indeed, the more coin a man seems to have, the more the buxom girl hints what a fine wife she'd make to him. Though she tries to be subtle enough not to seem crude, the truth is, she is not that good at it and can come across as either too obviously brazen or only after a man for one thing. Yes, Reynilda Lynge isn't looking for a good man, or a handsome man, she's looking for a wealthy one and hopes to find one in this new frontier where entrepreneurs may abound. Any man who does marry her, and keeps her well funded, will find she spends precious little of the allowance she's offered on herself. You see, Reynilda is making payments to keep her mother and younger sister alive in Brevoy. Her mother is quite sickly, and the family was never rich even before father (Whose gambling debts put them in arears) died. Reynilda hopes to earn enough coin to send to her mother not just to make payments on their small home, but to eventually pay for a cleric's healing. She tells herself she's offering herself up as a wife, not a prostitute, but more and more she's wondering how much she's just lying to herself. She's become jaded about men, and would be startled to find one who offered to help just out of kindness sake and not for lust or greed of his own.
Xibyl Pannarius- To call Xibyl exotic would be to put it mildly. She's far from Taldor, and is of half Kelishite heritage giving her a rare complexion for the River Lands to be sure. Her nose is a bit pronounced (Something she's a touch sensitive about) but her eyes are dark with gold flecks and her lips curve easily into a smile. Xibyl is looking for a husband, but plans to take her time about it. She would prefer to marry for love, and is quite serious when she says that. She skipped out of an arranged marriage in Taldor, and left a rather rude note for both her father and would be husband that she was not a cow to be traded and milked at their convenience. She hopped on a series of ships and wagons, and just kept going west. She's really not sure how she got this far, but she's fairly sure she's finally beyond a vengeful groom's reach*. While she looks for love, she'll also be earning coin on the side, for she comes from a long line of silversmiths and is getting pretty good at it. She can be fiery and temperamental when her pride is pricked, but truly does want a man who she can love as an equal.
* Of course, she underestimates her scorned groom's pettiness. An assassin is on his way to kill her. Meaning she is (Unknown to her) a damsel in distress. When she finds this out (assuming she lives) she'll be furious
Ysabella Van Horten- This Auburn haired warrioress was once a member of a city guard. She lost her right (and dominant) arm in duty, and found the guard didn't have a need for a one armed woman as a member. Feeling useless and sorry for herself for a few weeks, a relation of hers pointed out that she was still a handsome woman and if she couldn't be a warrior, no doubt she could marry one and maybe help him out in some way. She did want to get married some day anyway right? Figuring there might be fighting men in the wilds who wouldn't mind a woman with similar interests (Even if she could no longer fight by his side regularly), the twenty three year old has her eyes out for a fellow who won't feel threatened by a woman who gives advice or at least talks shop on fighting styles and the like. Anything less, and she fears she'd go mad with boredom. She's trying to get in touch with her 'feminine side' but in truth, she'd rather drink a few pints and laugh at a tavern, or arm wrestle good naturedly than more traditional wifely duties. And she fears that'll be a strike against her. She's a terrible cook who could find a way to burn water.
Thanks for reading ye olde wall of texts above.
Other factors...
1)While the whole 'frontier brides' angle could be legit, I am actually considering making all seven women victims of swindlers who charged them a 'finder's fee', forged letters from their 'suitors' and then arranged to drop them off. When in fact, none of the folks in the PC's young nation knew they were coming.
2) Many of the concepts could have a gender flip, and the mail order brides become mail order grooms. Expectations on cooking, sewing, and other wifely duties might need to be altered to more stereotypical masculine roles (if indeed, such roles are expected for either in your setting...ignore the whole 'Can she cook' angle if your players would find that insulting and it doesn't make sense for your take on it) like farming, knowing how to build with his hands, hunting and so on.
3) Sexual orientation is presented above as heterosexual, that surely doesn't have to be the case obviously. One of the above ladies might actually prefer a wife.
4) I'm quite aware that more than one of the examples is in need of a rescue and would fall under the old 'damsel in distress' trope. That may offend some, but I was looking for plot hooks. I hope I balanced out some of the weaknesses with some strengths. For some of them, they don't need the right romantic interest to save them , a adventurer just willing to be their friend could also help them out with no expectation of romantic reward.
5) related to #1, I could see a certain NPC cleric of old Deadeye arranging the arrival of these prospective brides on his own in hope of settling everyone down and bringing (Eventually) a sense of community. How would the players react to find themselves abruptly introduced to NPC potential mates who may be looking them over as if evaluating them for husband material? That swinging bachelor bard might beat a hasty retreat in a fashion that would be amusing for the GM at the least. Or so is my hope.
Anyway, please let me know what you think (Or if in a game, what your characters might think), and if anyone wants to add on some more concepts for brides (Or grooms) please feel free.
I like this angle.
I actually could see this working as an expansion to give faces, names, stories to the settlers coming into the greenbelt.
An interesting take mught be a family or extended family unit, detailing the patriarch, matriarch, children, cousins and whomever is coming with them.
This has the flavor of the Hirelings into the wild pdf that is free here on paizo.
Thanks for the Hirelings into the wild suggestion, btw.
And I'm glad you liked the concepts here. I might try my hand at a few more or the groom side of things if anyone's interested.
I'd love to see more of these. It's always nice to have NPC personalities/backgrounds, even if I'll probably rename them.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd love to see more of these. It's always nice to have NPC personalities/backgrounds, even if I'll probably rename them.
Makes sense to me, I'm mostly making up names as I go along by borrowing from search engine results and whim.
Here's six more concepts:
Avis Attiva- Avis Attiva has lost her faith. The twenty year old served the Church of Razmir since she was fourteen. Then, young and eager to be part of something greater than herself, she chose to blind herself to the truth of the church's activities of cons, coercion, extortion and intimidation. But the further she progressed, the more she became a part of it, and the harder it became for her to deny whatever the church was, it was not a force for good in the world after all. She broke with the Church quietly as she could, and this 'bride to the wild lands' seemed the best way to get some distance. She hopes to find a husband and put her past behind her, but she's wracked by guilt for the crimes she took part in in the name of a faith. Avis is pretty, with chestnut hair and hazel eyes, and any would be husband will find that's not all she can offer. She can cook, clean, and sew, but she also knows how to lie, and pick a pocket thanks to the church's education. Avis believes the Church's reach does not extend here, but if she should see a priest of Razmir in the area, she will break into a cold sweat.
Bersabe Bluntstone-slagdam- Bersabe is a dwarf lass who faces most things in life, including her name, with the stoicism you'd expect from a dwarf. Sadly, as her name would suggest, her bloodline is dishonored. Her grandfather was accused and found guilty of an act of great cowardice, forever marring the name of his part of the clan. Bersabe will not be albe to cleanse her heritage (And the heritage of any children) until she somehow takes part in an act of heroism. Were she a warrior, she'd fight, a scout? She'd make some discovery...and so on. But Bersabe's a weaponsmith, a damn good one, so her chance for redemption will lay in putting one of her masterpieces in the hands of a suitor, and sharing in what great deeds he achieves using it. But will there be a man who would want to go through such trouble for a wife? Bersabe doesn't think of herself as a beauty, but some find her twin blonde braids and spit curl over oh so serious eyes adorable. She cooks if you ask really nice.
Deshara Honoria- Delshara has no secret agenda, no hidden past, no great quest, and is exactly what she seems, a 19 year old woman with wavy mahogany tresses, a pleasing form, and an easy smile who came here looking for a husband. She does come from a large family, Two older brothers, one older sister, and two more younger brothers besides numerous cousins. Deshara likes to joke it's a good thing she left them behind or any potential husband might be a tad overwhelmed. Out of necessity, she learned how to help her mother with chores at a very early age and is a good cook and efficient at cleaning. She even learned a little of the healing arts so to tend her brothers after the scraps they insisted on getting into. Delshara is quite social, and makes friends easily. While she's never pursued the profession, she actually has a fine temperament to be a healer and if offered advanced lessons would likely latch onto it with gusto. She's just a genuinely nice person and would seem an ideal wife for any goodly man. However, her soft heart means she'll often push her husband (or prospective husband) to help someone who is down on their luck or hurting even if he'd rather not.
Galswintha Moraby- Seventeen year old Galswintha Moraby has tasted humiliation and loss at a very young age. Her father was a hard working humble man of Restov, a herbalist of gentle disposition and local renown. One sword lord, one Varnius by name, came to him to discuss matters in private. Varnius was to face a rather challenging duel, and soon, and since magic would be checked for, he wanted a more 'natural edge' on that perhaps a herbal extract could provide. While Master Moraby admitted there were some extracts that could indeed add energy, he was reluctant to help intrude on a duel of honor. Thus it was, the 'honorable' Varnius threatened her father, and his family in a not too subtle way. Moraby eavesdropped and found her father yield in order to protect her. Whether it was the extract, Varnius' skill, or a mix of both, Varnius did indeed conquer his opponent. And then, arranged for cut throats to break into the Moraby house hold and kill them all. Had it not been for her father and mother sneaking her out through a refuse bin, she'd have burned with them. But she knew who was behind the murderers, and she has since sworn revenge. Galswintha has ringletted hair the color of brown sugar and eyes to match, and is passing fair. She has learned herbalism, some basic alchemy, and taken many lessons in etiquette and social decorum. Unfortunately, young Galswintha has also learned ruthlessness. Those in power are not to be trusted, there fore, the best option for her is to marry a man of potential, one she can either manipulate, or ... if he's truly strong enough, support as he rises to greater heights himself. She will actually be quite the loyal, if ruthless, wife in this. She fully intends to arrange for the deaths of Varnius and his thugs. After that? Well, again, the only way to trust those in power is to have as much power as they. If the right man is the weapon she needs to gather that? So be it.
Odula Tetha- Odula Tetha is a silver haired beauty in her late teens, with the rare feature of one blue eye and one green one. She moves with almost subconscious sex appeal even when not attempting to woo but stiffens if she realizes she's doing it. Her garb is almost always modest, yet it doesn't hide her charms and her body language bespeaks of passions seething beneath the surface, unless, once again, she's aware of it and then she forces it away. In truth, Odula has been fighting strange urges since womanhood first began to grace her, and not in the way of most. While the a learned PC might realize it, Odula doesn't know the truth about herself. She's a Changeling, a hag daughter who has confused 'the call' and her own desires in a muddle to the point she feels her own sensuality is something foul and evil. Odula hopes to marry to make her passions 'right' and 'decent' rather than 'sinful' through marriage. She not only denied the call, she has inhibited herself greatly. A push from an outside influence could open her up to becoming quite the hedonist, or send her towards the call entirely where she would embrace her nature as hag to be. Or she might just cut herself off from all aspects of passion even more as she grows more and more inhibited and repressed all in the name of decency. Rare would be the man who might help her release her fears, but on the terms she wants, and not what others want for her.
Paterlee Sanya Ulane- Patterlee Sanya Ulane is another attractive potential bride with something the others don't have: a half-elven baby. Patterlee is herself human, but for a very brief time, she was wed to an elf, one Alorath Ulane. They were very deeply in love despite the tragedy born in such romances between elves and humans. They decided they could bear the tragedy of her withering while he stayed young and likely forlorn. Instead, tragedy came in another form. During a flog, Alorath sought to help complete strangers, and drowned. Paterlee was heartbroken, and then, two week later, discovered she was not just a widow, but a pregnant widow. It's been a year and a day since her husband passed, and now Patterlee seeks a father for her child first, and a husband for herself second. She still has a weakness for slender men with fine features (And yes, most elves fit that) but her priority in a man is paternal strengths and a willingness to raise a boy who isn't of his own blood as if he were. She is an excellent cook, and can sew rips and mends just fine but she's still hurting even after all this mourning, and while the sandy haired young widow plans to be a good wife, she doesn't know if she'll ever love again.
Hopefully folks will have some favorites out of the thirteen presented that they see potential again after some personal tweaking for their own campaigns
Now if you get the 13 potential grooms we can play match maker on who should marry whom, maybe one of the kingdom rules for settlement is that land will only be granted to families, not individuals....
I only recently came across the hirelings pdf.
Well, like I said a post up above, with a little tinkering you could do a gender flip to some of them.
Not sure how many more I could do without accidentally repeating myself too much. I hope I've got plenty of variety to choose from and that everyone here has at least one favorite they can find useful
Thanks for reading ye olde wall of texts above.
Other factors...
1)While the whole 'frontier brides' angle could be legit, I am actually considering making all seven women victims of swindlers who charged them a 'finder's fee', forged letters from their 'suitors' and then arranged to drop them off. When in fact, none of the folks in the PC's young nation knew they were coming.
I really like the ideas you listed here, thanks for sharing them.
I especially like the above idea/plot seed. Might make for a fun adventure where the annoyed 'grooms' and angered brides hunt down the con artist who set this all up.
I did have an idea for something along these lines for a planned half-orc character, though I was going to make his hoped-for lady-love a Hungerseed (oni-heritage tiefling) who was just as big and rough as he was, but with high expectations for the manners and couth displayed by her husband.
Then there was the Dragon Disciple, who might have a hard time finding anyone given that scaly draconic horrors aren't usually at the top of lists of potential husbands.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I really like the ideas you listed here, thanks for sharing them.
Thanks! I admit, I was a bit worried this thread would have tumbleweeds go by, so glad to know folks were interested.
I especially like the above idea/plot seed. Might make for a fun adventure where the annoyed 'grooms' and angered brides hunt down the con artist who set this all up.
Heck, you could even turn it into a storyline for whichever player character has taken on the appropriate law enforcement role.
I did have an idea for something along these lines for a planned half-orc character, though I was going to make his hoped-for lady-love a Hungerseed (oni-heritage tiefling) who was just as big and rough as he was, but with high expectations for the manners and couth displayed by her husband.Then there was the Dragon Disciple, who might have a hard time finding anyone given that scaly draconic horrors aren't usually at the top of lists of potential husbands.
Interesting. I especially like the Dragon Disciple. Given nearby Brevoy's ties to dragons, maybe there would be someone who would be intrigued enough where the scales were plus?
And please, if anyone else has already done stuff like this and/or wants to bring up their own concepts I'd love to see them on this thread
Neat thread and interesting write ups.