The Gathering Council of Highhelm have decided. A new settlement shall be founded at the base of Droskar's Crag with the secret agenda of reclaiming the ruins of Jernashall and the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords.
\[-.-]/\[-.-]/\[-.-]/\[-.-]/\[-.-]/\[-.-]/\[-.-]/
This will be a Kingdom Building adventure, inspired by Dwarf Fortress.
I'm not completely familiar with the Kingdom Building rules, so this will be a learning experience for me.
The idea is, your group of seven dwarves is sent to settle the base of Droskar's Crag. First, you must explore the land and find the best site for your settlement. Then, grow, expand, fight off goblins, orcs, and kobolds, and, of course, strike the earth! The purpose of your settlement is to dig down into the bowels of the volcano to reclaim the treasures of the Dwarven Civilization and usher in a new Dwarven Golden Age.
Starting out as seven dwarves, naturally, but as your settlement grows, maybe heroes of different backgrounds are attracted to the adventure.
This is an interest check for now, but I would like to run recruiting a bit differently. I will be recruiting players, not characters, and I want players who are committed and able to a stick out a game with an open end. Character creation will take place once players are chosen. This is a half baked idea, at best, so I am also looking for input as to how to best develop it. Here we can hash out ideas of the shape and form of the game and story.
If there is enough interest, we can evolve this thread into one of recruitment.
Interested....
I claim grouchy dwarf.
Interested.
I think we're talking Pathfinder, all dwarf campaign. I call Drunk Barbarian Dwarf!!!
But yes, Hmm...I mean you definitely wanna look at Ultimate Campaign for the details on what is required for the various rolls and buildings and adjust for flavor.
Presumably it's gonna be mostly work inside the Mountain itself (Though the kingdom will probably still need fresh air resources as well), so you'll likely wanna make like a hex map out of the mountain itself and have the adventurers plan out where they want the miners to build roads through in search of booty and artifacts.
Develop a random event setup for moving into each hex or something like that. (You could scale it to a level 1-5, 5-10, 10+ setup so as to still be unfair but fair to the PCs cause random chance is what Sandboxing is about.)
This sounds interesting, I claim non Scottish Dwarf
I think we're talking Pathfinder, all dwarf campaign. I call Drunk Barbarian Dwarf!!!
But yes, Hmm...I mean you definitely wanna look at Ultimate Campaign for the details on what is required for the various rolls and buildings and adjust for flavor.
Presumably it's gonna be mostly work inside the Mountain itself (Though the kingdom will probably still need fresh air resources as well), so you'll likely wanna make like a hex map out of the mountain itself and have the adventurers plan out where they want the miners to build roads through in search of booty and artifacts.
Develop a random event setup for moving into each hex or something like that. (You could scale it to a level 1-5, 5-10, 10+ setup so as to still be unfair but fair to the PCs cause random chance is what Sandboxing is about.)
Yes, this is a PF1 game, on Golarion even, but structured to feel like a game of Dwarf Fortress. I'm thinking the hex map will have to also extend along the Z axis, somehow.
I’m interested. Kingdom building with all dwarves could be interesting, since the dwarven Charisma penalty will mean that no one will have a great charisma score.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Bit of a flashback for me here...I once got into an all Dwarf campaign; "The Quest for Arcadia," it was called. Robert Brookes ran it; eight Dwarves, a wild range of impossibly diverse characters involved and even the recruitment itself was loads of fun. Sadly, Mr. Brookes' life took a turn and his time commitments shifted, bringing the glorious experience to an abrupt end.
Here's the campaign if you're interested in reading. Perhaps some inspiration can be gleaned. Don't let it humble you too much, though; I don't want people giving up just because they see a big pair of shoes to fill.
Definitely interested!
DWARVES UNITE.
A game where I can play a dwarf .... BOOOYAH!
Boatmurderd or nothing...
Yes, love dwarves!
Boatmurdered!
I’d say there is interest
Very interested! Especially if Spheres of Power/Spheres of Might would be on the table.
Cat Wrangler. True hero of Dwarfhome
Sounds like fun. A Dwarf Skald would be handy.
fun fact, Droskar's Crag is just shy of Mt. Everest in elevation.
I am so into playing a group of Dwarves.
|
|
So, knowing what we know simply from the campaign tagline and your intro blurb, baking the idea a little more certainly wouldn't hurt, so perhaps we should brainstorm a bit.
The phrase "Dwarf Fortress" immediately raises a few images and concepts, so this begs the question @djdust: what do you envision here? A punishing resource management simulator, flavored for Pathfinder? A major background plot that evolves in tandem with our efforts to build our fortress, whose outcome depends on the sturdiness and preparedness of our motley clan? Aside from Dwarf Fortress itself, what are your inspirations for this campaign?
The Kingdom Building rules don't seem particularly suited for this sort of thing. They're meant to adventurers with a lot of money to spend, with the idea that they're hiring an indiscriminate number of people to build/etc for them. Not really for the PCs themselves getting in the dirt on their hands and knees to do the work themselves.
My suggestion would be to split it--in true Dwarf Fortress fashion, into a round of 'Fortress Mode', followed by a round of 'Adventure Mode'.
The game would start in Fortress Mode, where the players all take a turn being the Administrator of the Fortress. During this round, they direct the Fortress for one IC month, and have a list of actions that they can have the dwarves do that each take varying amounts of time. Once their time is up, the Fortress is handed to the next player, and so on. Of course, immigrants come in at the end of every month, giving the next player even more to handle, with merchants coming in some point, and so on.
Once everyone has had their turn at Fortress Mode, there is a small timeskip where the GM gets everything sorted and settled down, and then the game switches to Adventure Mode. The players then either choose a Dwarf in the settlement to play as, or create a new character who comes in as a new immigrant/traveler. The game then plays like any normal Pathfinder adventure, with the characters starting at the settlement and only really having access to things that were set up there during Fortress Mode.
Then the characters retire, the game goes back to Fortress Mode, and then rinse-repeat until the settlement fails or the goal is reached.
EDIT: And when the place gets big enough, make a perm switch to Adventure Mode and use the Kingdom Building rules
I'm thinking a dwarf paladin, a stonelord and a paragon of dwarfishness - and perhaps prone to fey moods...
So, knowing what we know simply from the campaign tagline and your intro blurb, baking the idea a little more certainly wouldn't hurt, so perhaps we should brainstorm a bit.
The phrase "Dwarf Fortress" immediately raises a few images and concepts, so this begs the question @djdust: what do you envision here? A punishing resource management simulator, flavored for Pathfinder? A major background plot that evolves in tandem with our efforts to build our fortress, whose outcome depends on the sturdiness and preparedness of our motley clan? Aside from Dwarf Fortress itself, what are your inspirations for this campaign?
I'm thinking the early game will be one of wilderness survival, then hex exploration, as you set up a base camp and look for a proper site and a way into the mountain. Then, mid level will be more open ended but mostly as CCCXLII describes, a mix of adventure mode/fortress mode. Once the fortress penetrates into the heart of the mountain, probably a heavy shift towards dungeon delving and underground hex exploration, but the story will still stay open ended.
I am thinking Huntsman/master of the Hounds.
Edit: Seeing Kayne's post I could go another direction
Hmm... I could do this. I'm thinking a spellcaster or geokineticist. Somebody who's a bit odd, but useful to the clan.
I very much like the idea of switching between a fortress mode and adventure mode. We get a round of resource management and big picture, then into adventuring to deal with the consequences of the same!
I'd love to play Dunganagar the Mad in this game. He is fun. He was made for an all-dwarf campaign that died. Got in another homebrew campaign that died... then another all-dwarf game that died.
Who doesn't love a crazy dwarf barbarian?
Yeah, I don't think I can resist this.
I have this image of a dwarven alchemist who's bombs and elixirs are all booze-based.
Sounds fun. Definitely dotting for interest.
dot
I’ve recently become interested in the Constructed Pugilist Brawler archetype. A dwarf with a clockwork arm that he tinkers with, gradually upgrading it as the campaign goes on, seems like it could be a lot of fun. Maybe take Possessed Hand too and give it a mind of it’s own. lol
Stop punching yourself.
Lonely evenings get even lonelier
I'm thinking of putting together a bookish spellcaster, playing the "straight man" to the far more boisterous characters.
|
Oi! Found this thread a little late but you can bet yer spike-covered ale mug I'm interested. I've got a late night schedule but I'm willing to be flexible with the dwarf I build. It could work well if it's play by post.
Humble suggestion for the GM: Perhaps you can use the background skills system to make sure every dwarf has something to do for the fort? Better yet, NPCs and Migrants can be introduced as a pair of related skills to fill a spot without you having to write up their stats. As a bonus, if a PC dies, they can take the place of one of those migrants, filling in their stats using their two background skills as a guideline.
Oi! Found this thread a little late but you can bet yer spike-covered ale mug I'm interested. I've got a late night schedule but I'm willing to be flexible with the dwarf I build. It could work well if it's play by post.
Humble suggestion for the GM: Perhaps you can use the background skills system to make sure every dwarf has something to do for the fort? Better yet, NPCs and Migrants can be introduced as a pair of related skills to fill a spot without you having to write up their stats. As a bonus, if a PC dies, they can take the place of one of those migrants, filling in their stats using their two background skills as a guideline.
This will definitely be PbP. I can't do it any other way. All I ask is that we strive for a post a day to keep momentum going.
Background skills are definitely going to be implemented, with the caveat that one of the two skills must be a profession skill that matches the professions in DF (ie, mining, stonecrafting, carpentry, beekeeping, etc.)
I'm also considering that everyone automatically take Leadership at 7th lvl, and if your main PC dies, they are replaced with a cohort. I'm not entirely sure about this though. Replacing PCs with NPCs/migrants is another way of doing it, however, as the campaign rolls on and the fortress develops, other non-dwarves might be attracted to the adventure, so I want to remain open to the idea of other race options for PCs, but dwarves only starting out.
But, we can hash this out post-recruitment. I want to reemphasize what I stated earlier, that I want to run recruitment differently than it usually is on these forums. I want to recruit players, not characters. Once I've chosen seven players, we can do all the session zero stuff, develop the starting seven PCs so that we can have a balanced party, load the wagon with starting supplies, pick a group name, discuss gameplay options, etc. That'll also give me time to develop the campaign from more than just a loose idea. As the initial gameplay will be exploration/survival, I'll start with a hex map and fill in the details from there.
I also want to emphasize that my goal is not to recreate a DF game with PF rules, but rather create a PF campaign inspired by the kind of stories generated in a game of DF. To harken back to Daynen's post: A major background plot that evolves in tandem with our efforts to build our fortress, whose outcome depends on the sturdiness and preparedness of our motley clan. This will be a story of a fortress, but more than that, a story of heroes, and the story of dwarvenkind.
Looks like there's plenty of interest. I think by Monday I'll be able to have the official recruitment up and running. My thanks to everyone, always. Our fortunes rise and fall together!
One possible alternate race option: Oread, but with a requirement that they take the Dwarf-blooded feat at 1st level. It's too bad Paizo doesn't do Half-Dwarves, those would be workable too.
I'll definitely take a peek at the recruitment thread when it comes. I'm not sure what exactly I'd make, but someone able to cast spells for sure.
I think there’s an issue with the thread - I could follow it by the link, but it’s not appearing at the recruitment forums (at least not to me).