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The Dragon has summoned you to her audience chamber. It seems she has set her eye upon the fruitful - though dangerous - region of Gelkrosh to the southwest. It also seems she expects you to realize her ambitions for her.
Hello all. I am setting up a campaign that will heavily use the Kingdom Building rules, set in my homebrewed setting of Eldreon. This setting isn't particularly off-the-wall, so it shouldn't take too much adjustment.
This campaign features a group of miscreants who have been sent to expand the domain of their mistress, a powerful dragon who already rules a sizable realm. My plan is to select a single player who will be the Dragon's hand-picked leader, and then that player will help select the other players to fill out the rest of the group.
This game can be thought of as open-ended within a certain frame - it has specific objectives, and a clear ending point, but no set path to get to any of them. Players will start at level 5 (with the leader starting at level 6) and can be expected to level as high as 10-12 or so depending on specific paths taken.
A generation ago, the Gelkrosh region - in the midst of an economic and population boom - was struck by disaster: prehistorical monsters dubbed mantids were unearthed from an ancient slumber beneath the vast coal and tarpits of the central badlands and spread rapidly, driving people away from a vast swath of the area and cutting off travel and trade for even more. But this was before the lands of the Dragon bordered Gelkrosh. She has had her alchemists devise a antidote for the most powerful weapon of the mantids - their paralytic poison. With this, she believes she can begin to make inroads to taking the region and its mines and farms for her own.
But how to do it? She is already at war with the giants to the north, and has no interest opening another front in the combat. She wishes to take the region more subtly. Picking a small number of her loyal followers, she directs them to subdue the region as much as possible before revealing her involvement.
There are many paths they can take to victory, by stealth, intrigue, and assassination, by the steady grind of clever economics, by sheer bold brutality, or by these and others mixed in a deft combination. All possible, and legitimate, paths to domination. But there will be worthy and clever opponents at every turn, and should they fail in their charge they'll have no refuge back in the Dragon's lands...
This campaign will begin with 3-5 players (one being the acknowledged leader, appointed by the Dragon herself) along with a company of around a dozen 'soldiers' (a motley crew of brutes, fit for fighting but not much else) being dispatched to the region known as Gelkrosh. They will decide on how and where to enter the region, how they'll go about building up a power base, how to deal with the other factions and threats, and how they'll rule the lands they control. It is entirely possible that they'll get in over their heads and end up assassinated, defeated in open battle, or simply deposed by an unruly populace.
Furthermore, after the players have established the "kingdom" aspect of the game, they'll be able to roll up secondary characters. These characters will be controlled as NPCs (but be available to inhabit kingdom roles that need filling, if desired) unless and until their corresponding player's primary character dies (a very real possibility), in which case they'll take over the secondary character.
I like high roleplay focus, low loot-focus games. I've created Eldreon to be a world where magic is rampant but magic items are rare. You won't be getting wealth-by-level, and even powerful characters might not have much in the form of permanent magical gear.
On Alignments: You can be any alignment. Generally speaking, I treat the alignment of any mortal character as "light." They have some leanings in that direction, but obviously are not embodiments of the alignment. The exceptions being divine spellcasters, other extremely religious people, and characters who single-mindedly fulfill their alignments tenets (mass-murdering psychos or feed-the-hungry philanthropists, to pick extreme examples). This extends to the use of Detect Evil/Good/etc spells: most regular people won't show up as anything in particular.
Also just a heads up, the economy is silver-based instead of gold based. Mostly that just means we transpose "gold pieces" to "silver pieces" and leave gold for much larger sums of wealth.
The ideal kind of player who's fit to be the "leader" of the group should enjoy the idea of the managerial aspects of a Kingdom Building game, as they'll need to be able to consider a lot of info over the course of the campaign. They also need to be able to make decisions and tell other people what to do, naturally.
I don't want full-on character builds! I select players based on their ability to dream up and role-play a personality first and foremost. What I want to see are character concepts. Use the details about the Dragon's Realm below, sketch in a few details of your own, and run with it. Will you be a clever but formidable fighter leading your subordinates in battle? A priest who wants to see the region they subdue come to the worship of a particular god? A spider-in-the-web puppetmaster who'll come to power by wit and machination? Something much less cliché than these?
You SHOULD include at least one tidbit of history - what you have done to bring your name to the Dragon's attention. Have you worked for her directly up until now? Were you merely a notable resident somewhere in her realm? The scion of another loyal servant? Whatever. Give me some of that history.
You can include thoughts on crunch if you like, but the fluff/background is what I'm really interested in. Once characters are selected, we'll do character builds and such in the discussion thread before beginning the campaign.
As far as race/class choices go:
Race - this region of the world is highly diverse. With all sorts of races living alongside each other (though not always peacefully).
Human - common, many human cultures both sedentary and nomadic live in the area.
Hobgoblin - just as common and varied as humans (fun fact, hobgoblins in Eldreon have no native concept of gender and reproduce asexually).
Halfling - The halflings in this part of the world tend to be more rough-and-tumble than elsewhere.
Goblin - Goblins tend to be short-sighted and prone to violence, but their communities are still tolerated in some places due to their surprising industriousness and their willingness to do dirty, dangerous jobs.
Ogre - Ogres tend to be quite dumb and violent, but they're also incredibly strong. Found frequently as bodyguards and laborers when their employers have the talents and means to keep them under control.
Elf (and half-elf) - Elves are generally disliked by the other races of the region (and vice versa) due to myriad old grudges as well as the tendency for elven communities of this part of the world to "cause trouble" (freeing slaves and such). However, some elves have managed to carve a place for themselves (often by matching the violence and savagery of their neighbors). Half-elves are more common, but also frequently the subject of bigotry.
Orc (and half-orc) - Several orc tribes exist in the area and are often found in martial trades.
Kobold - Kobolds tend to stick to themselves and don't often interact with other races, but in a kingdom ruled by a Dragon several of them have risen to prominence.
Gnoll - Gnolls are uncommon in this part of the world, but not unknown.
And finally, a homebrewed race called the Drecna which you can read about here. They're uncommon here as well, but are famed travelers.
Classes: You don't actually have to decide on one now, but I'm open to considering any class except barbarian, monk, and alchemist, and psionic-types. (Barbarian and monk 'flavors' can be worked into other classes if desired). I tend to favor people who work within the basic classes (fighter, ranger, wizard, etc) and their archetypes.
Currently, I'm planning to post a separate recruitment thread for the rest of the party once this recruitment is done.
This campaign sticks to the region of Gelkrosh, and the players don't need to know much about the world-at large. If you would like to read a bit just to see if I'm a terrible or passable world-builder, I threw some stuff up on a blog awhile back (including some things about religion, which might be useful). The Blog Is Here.
Information you'll actually want to know is in the spoiler marked "The Gelkrosh Region" or in the attached documents.
In this folder you'll find a map and a document with some initial information on the various notable settlements.
Gelkrosh is a hinterlands region bordering The Dragon's controlled lands and a couple other regional powers, one of which (a nation ruled by giants) the Dragon is engaged in a border war with. She believes the time has come to claim it, but she wants to start things off quietly by building up a base of support so that she doesn't anger the other nations before her control of Gelkrosh is already a done deal. That is where the players come in.
General History:
In the distant past, the region was very sparsely populated, with mostly nomadic populations of humans, halflings, and hobgoblins living and warring over the grazing regions. More recently burgeoning populations to both the east and west drove settlers into the area, mostly displacing or assimilating the original tribes. Once the river floodplains were found to be incredibly fertile, the increased food production began a population and expansion boom in the area. Discovery of the tar pits and coal seams in the eastern badlands region only accelerated this. However, disaster struck early into the process - coal mining opened up a cavern which held some dormant monstrosity from earlier times, enormous venomous insectoids that were dubbed Mantids. Awakened, they erupted from their cave, slaughtering most of the nearby mining town overnight and spreading rapidly. Over the coming months they caused nearly the entirety of the badlands regions populace to flee or die, and even threatened the farming towns to the north. Furthermore, they made travel so dangerous that it choked off most of the region's trade.
Almost 25 years later, the region has reached a sort of stability. The central portion is still mostly deserted, and dominated by the mantids. Gelkrosh still provides food to the rest of the area, but must transport it along a threatened route in heavily guarded caravans. Hafton has survived on its own surrounding lands and trade from unthreatened routes to the north and west. Swampside has remaining largely cut off from the rest of the region except for a small trade in magical and alchemical goods, small enough to be carried by more highly-mobile merchants who skirt the mantid's territory or pass through it by unknown means.
And finally:
As a GM, I may beat, burn, rob, abuse, and kill your characters – but I will never abandon them. I have been in several dropped games on these forums, and so here is my pledge to you as players: I will never, ever abandon a game if even one player wants to continue. We will find other players or make it a solo adventure. Due to real-life reasons, games may be delayed and they may slow down – but so long as I have players, my players have a game.
Yeesh, that's a lot of stuff. If I've forgotten something or you have other questions, feel free to ask. This recruitment will go for at least one week, with the recruitment for the rest of the party shortly after.
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Dot for interest, If Gnoll is in fir consideration I may apply as a Pyromancer of some kind, kinetisist or sorcerer probably,
However I may also want to play a Brawler, but i definitely don't want to be the groups face. I have one game where I basically am, and honestly I don't want to be the one responsible for telling thr others what to do :P
As for my character, if I'm making a Gnoll I'll want to do a character based around honor and pride... Mostly pride, and with a sense of honor that excludes hiding daggers in boots and shivs between fingers. basically I want a character who on the surface appears to be a respectable person, but earned their position by stabbing people in the back, literally.
Alternatively I may want to make a real honorable character, but that's unlikely
I guess my question is this- even with the alignments being less of a factor, is this a generally evil- aligned or generally good- aligned dragon? I've got a pair of ideas with which I'll flesh out a little bit more, but that depending on the above question will determine which character I actually propose.
So part of me of course asks how you make the character. I know that crunch isn't like 100% needed to build a character but the difference in what you can make with a 4d6, focus foilable, or a point buy character is immense and would change drastically what I'd build.
For instance if I roll something stupid strong, my first thought would be to build a Kobold Dragon Disciple to be.
Dotting for interest, even if I think I'm mostly looking to be a grunt. But I'd love to follow to process until that recruitment starts up. Or, alternatively, maybe I'm struck with inspiration.
In this part of the world, might generally makes right. The Dragon herself is pretty neutral and pragmatic, but you might say she has an evil lean as there are almost no possible methods she does not use when those are the methods that will work. She's not particularly vicious or cruel, but her overall goals are inherently selfish - she likes ruling, she likes riches and power, etc.
So, characters of any bent/alignment will fit in her employ, but chances are they'll need to be at least somewhat disciplined (if they'd be selected as the leader). No random murderers or unrestrained lunatics. If you're mad, bad, and dangerous to know, there should be a method to your madness.
@ Vitaliano: I prefer the rolling method, BUT for the leader I was going to do a 20 point buy so that they can be designed a little more deliberately. I'll probably do 4d6 drop lowest for the followers.
Hmm, interesting approach so the Leader could potentially be the weakest of them all thanks to random chance?
20pt buy is still reasonable to build a character off of of course.
If we’re using Kingdom Building rules, then Charisma is going to be a pretty key attribute for the ruler. I might go with a Draconic Bloodrager who’s distantly descended from the dragon herself. How does that sound? If a descendant is less than workable in this setting, perhaps a trusted agent who, through some magical means, is imbued with a bit of the dragon’s power.
My first thought is a Barbarian. I've really been itching to do one for a while but I've been in a Bard/Slayer mindset lately.
I think that mostly means that I'm not likely to be the Leader.
@All: I will mention that the party leader does not necessarily need to be the Kingdom leader. And in either case, people who are not necessarily interested in being the party leader role are free to dot here, as I will make an announcement when party recruitment is up and link the new thread.
@Ouachitonian: Having the bloodline of the dragon herself is certainly a possibility. She's been ruling this kingdom for hundreds of years and also has several full-blooded dragon children who serve as her agents and enforcers.
A question because I'm curious (and occultists are awesome) - you mean the occult classes using psychic magic when you say 'psionic-types' right?
(As opposed to the Dreamscarred Press Psionic classes)
Economically speaking, the Dragon controls a nation/province. This nation has vendors, guilds, and merchants devoted to increasing her coffers. There are also public works needing to be established/upkept. Cathedrals made in her honor. A Palace for every day of the week... Depending on her ego vs her pragmatist nature - these merchant houses could still retain the noble houses established before she took over that still carry weigh in the neighboring provinces. These merchant houses could have spread out some from her power base into other nearby provinces.
She is using her military to have a border war. This causes a wartime economy. Resources are produced rapidly as productivity is increased. Threats of being sent to the front line provide the incentive to be productive.
Because of the border war, she doesn't want to open up a front line against mantids/humans who used to occupy the Gelkrosh province. She would most likely need to get grain from the Gelkrosh province to feed her military, since she converted her farmers to infantry.
Thinking of a merchant type that would have access to providing exports that the Dragon had into Gelkrosh. Probably establish businesses in Hafton and the area near Gelkrosh while undermining the influence of Zaw's Rock. Even set up shop at the Lodge to sell the mantid poison.
Why risk using the poison against the mantids when you can sell it to adventurers who will use it. Use the money to buy land, stock in businesses, and favors.
Alright, so here we go. I've got two characters to look over, because the answer to my question was eminently unhelpful in my decision- making process- nothing against you, DM! Rather, just inspired me to write about two different characters that I think will do well.
Here's the link to the fluff/backstories; if there's any comments you have, or anything else you'd like to see, please let me know!
Thanks for opening up your time, DM!
I've had so many campaigns end, sputtering and dying. Kinda like having a stamp of "no quitting without a good reason" going into it. :)
16 (10pts)
15 (7pts)
14 (5pts)
13 (3pts)
10 (0pts)
09 (-1pts)
Total: 24 points
Going to make a Tiefling Bloodrager who will go into Dragon Disiple. Should make for a fun natural attack build, and one which will fit the campaign well. Choosing Tiefling for the tail and permanent claw attacks for when not bloodraging.
Str (18) Dex (16) Con (14) Int (7) Wis (12) Cha (15)
Race Tiefling
* Outsider
* Darkvision (60ft)
* Prehensile Tail (can retrieve items from pack as swift action)
* Maw or Claw (2x 1d4 primary natural attacks)
* Fiendish Resistance (Cold/Electricity/Fire 5)
Feats VMC Cleric
Lvl 1 Feat: Fiendish Heritage (+2 Wisdom)
Lvl 3 VMC: Protection Domain (to shore up the horrific Ref/Will saves)
Lvl 5 Feat: Armor of the Pit (+2 Natural Armor)
Stat Plan
Lvl 8: +1 Int (8)
Lvl 11 Dragon Disciple: +2 Int (10)
That's it for now. Will finish up rest of crunch and fluff later.
Basic idea is that this character comes from a long line of dragon-priests. Men who worship The Dragon as a demi-god who rules by divine mandate. He will have been born with scales, claws and a tail, which will have been taken as being proof that he has the blood of dragons in his veins. Him being sent here as a lieutenant will be due to familial connections and his gifts from birth, two things which he will have relied on his entire life. Obviously not his intelligence.
@Lessah, Re: Occultist: I mostly say no to psionic classes because things that don't "feel" right to my setting make my soul itch. :) I have no experience of the occultist, and from a brief glance it seems they could be treated largely as an arcane caster? So I might give them a try.
@Brett: All of your planning vis a vis setting up shop and selling the antidote rather than using it is entirely valid and a possible strategy to try. Also, you've hit upon another likely challenge to the nascent nation: the Dragon's lands are having trouble supporting their population and food requests will be a thing - as will migration waves that increase your own population.
@Artemis: yeah, I understand. The Dragon having no particular lean certainly doesn't help alignment decisions, and I understand option paralysis very well. I'll take a look at your link and give some feedback a little later today!
@Grumbaki: Yeah, half the campaigns I get into end within a couple weeks. It gets old fast.
To others after Grumbaki: I'll request no further stat rolling in the recruitment thread, as I'd prefer to do that during actual character building in discussion once choices have been made.
Sorry about jumping the gun. If selected can always fix the rolling issue later. Just wanted something concrete to build around.
——
Also have you considered allowing this?
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/3rd-party-races/rite-publishing/dragon-tanin im/
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/rite-publishing/draconic -exemplar/
At lvl5 can make a medium sized dragon. Part of the Dragon’s brood, sent out to gain valuable experience (away from the real front lines) and to prove themselves against their peers.
Love both the concepts. There'd definitely need to be some tweaking done on the exact details for either one, but the core of each is promising - especially love the first one, a displaced native of the region coming home to take charge! Very cool. And an intelligent warrior type makes for an excellent leader figure. Thanks for the entries!
I have no qualms about having a newer player be the leader, so long as you think that you as a PLAYER can handle the higher time commitment and the need to make broad decisions on fuzzy knowledge. :) If you decide to submit a character idea, I will consider it just as strongly as any other person's.
I'm likewise a huge Tolkien fan and moreover someone who has a pretty big desire/need for internal consistency within a setting, especially one I'm creating myself.
Edit: Also, thanks for the post to the old forum link, looks like a good read.
Dragons are master tacticians. They have long lives. Their strategy evolves into two avenues: short-term survival and long-term betterment. The border war feels like it was years in the planning - which is going through the normal activity that she has already flow charted out.
The arranging for the land grab into Gelkrosh feels like a gamble or spur of the moment option. Either the border war is not going as planned or is going too well to plan.
The border province going not to plan means delays in absorbing that province. Her food resources are dwindling so she needs a new source. This doesn't feel right as she has merchants who can purchase grain/food... Could be she doesn't want inflation to hit Gelkrosh if she suddenly purchases all the grain. So she wants a stable neighbor to produce grain, which means kill the mantids...
If the war is going too well, means not as many causalities, so more mouths to feed. The border province may not have enough food to feed itself and her victorious army. If the Dragon used peasant levies, then no one back home is growing food. She can't have her civilians starve - when citizens starve and get bored they revolt.
Meanwhile, there is Zaw's Rock. The Rock is probably buying as much food as they can from Gelkrosh farmers. Their exports of iron and lead probably have been reduced as that flow has turned to weapon forging for the front line against the Dragon. If the export level is still consistent or increased then the border province is in desperate need of coin for their war chest.
Speaking of Coin. Zaw's Rock would be a good source of silver to mint coin or trade bars.
Goals for campaign and Leader:
Secure food for the Dragon's official province and soon to be conquered border province.
Secure Zaw's Rock for the Dragon. Or deny it for the border province.
Develop infrastructure for a vassal nation to the Dragon or independent nation that trades favorably with the Dragon. The border province will need time to adjust to the Dragon's rule. Two or three generations should do it. The Dragon should understand that it can't assimilate two provinces into her fold without the infrastructure to hold both from rebels. Rebellions show weakness to other Nations.
Bankrupt any border province merchant houses. Or claim them through marriage, majority stock/mergers, or trade deals. Dragon could authorize a price war with the border province for Gelkrosh Grain. Pay more than the border province can afford. She can drive up the price of grain then have her vassal merchant houses sell on credit to the border province.
Ally or avoid angering the "Power". Unless the Dragon is a Black Dragon - no need to claim swamplands. Plan to outlive the "Power".
Best option is to absorb the border province quickly. Wait the two generations, then culturally annex Gelkrosh. Propaganda (I don't see directly fighting the mantids as smart - unless for morale or to impress), merchants and their debt, the military dictating martial law in the border province can then roll into Gelkrosh.
Once she is done with Gelkrosh and the border land, how does her border look in regards to a three-province nation. Can she keep her borders or must she expand somewhere else? This means, how much border would she have and can her forces hold that (I assume) longer stretch?
The more the Gelkrosh option feels rushed. She has to do this now rather than handle Gelkrosh in a few decades.
This is the true campaign.
Dotting for interest. Thinking of doing a former pirate that was captured by the Dragon's nation, and is being given a stay of execution to act on her behalf here because he wouldn't otherwise be recognized as an agent of her nation. Likely doing a Human Swashbuckler.
This is what I've got so far
- Gender: Male
- Age: 24
- Height: 5'9" (175cm)
- Weight: 179lbs (81kg)
- Skin Tone: Jasper Orange (#de8f4e)
- Iris Color: Olive (#808000)
- Hair Color: Bistre Brown (#967117)
- Hair Length: 4"
- Hair Style: Wavy. Combed back.
- Facial Hair Color: Bronze (#cd7f32)
- Facial Hair Length: Clean-to-less than 3/20" (4mm)
- Facial Features: Square jaw. Hooded eyes. Strong nose. Leathery skin.
- Physique: Toned. Obviously does some form of manual labor.
Philosophy
- Might makes right.
- People lack intrinsic rights; they have the right to only what they can protect.
- A person's life has a quantifiable value.
- Will harm or kill others when doing so is more convenient than not.
- Will steal or vandalize when doing so is more convenient than not.
- Will lie, cheat, or manipulate when doing so is more convenient than not.
- Revels in being strong, but not necessarily in inflicting harm.
- Is not capricious; consistency through risk-reward evaluations.
Personality
- Generally outgoing; puts on a show for others.
- Tends to trivialize acts of cruelty in casual conversation, rather than making ominous threats or the like.
- Open-minded; willing to hear others out and try new things.
- Tries to plan ahead, but capable of improvising as necessary.
- Hates when people ask for what they're not entitled; loathes when people snivel or beg.
Dorf Fort Philosophy
- Does not respect the law.
- Values loyalty.
- Sees power over others as something to strive for.
- Finds blind honesty foolish.
- Greatly respects the shrewd and guileful.
- Values eloquence.
- Sees life as unfair and doesn't mind it that way.
- Values decorum, dignity, and proper behavior.
- Finds artwork boring.
- Values cooperation.
- Treasures independence.
- Finds those that deny their impulses somewhat stiff.
- Prefers a noisy, bustling life to boring days without activity.
- Truly values merrymaking and parties.
- Has a great deal of respect for worthy craftsmanship.
- Believes that martial prowess defines the good character of an individual.
- Really respects those that take the time to master a skill.
- Values hard work.
- Sees sacrifice (for others) as wasteful and foolish.
- Views competition as a crucial driving force in the world.
- Greatly respects individuals that persevere through their trials and labors.
- Sees war as a useful means to an end.
- Values knowledge.
Dorf Fort Personality
- Does not easily fall in love and rarely develops positive sentiments.
- Does not easily hate or develop negative sentiments.
- Often feels envious of others.
- Is often cheerful.
- Almost never feels discouraged.
- Has a calm demeanor.
- Often feels lustful.
- Can handle stress.
- Is very greedy.
- Occasionally overindulges.
- Would never pass up a chance for a good fistfight.
- Doesn't mind a little tumult and discord in day-to-day living.
- Is a friendly individual.
- Could be considered rude.
- Is generally quite confident of his abilities when undertaking specific ventures.
- Is please by his own appearance and talents.
- Is very ambitious, always looking for a way to better his station.
- Takes offered help and gifts without feeling particularly grateful.
- Doesn't mind wearing something special now and again.
- Finds the humor in most situations.
- Doesn't tend to hold on to grievances.
- Is sometimes cruel.
- Tends to share his own experiences and thoughts with others.
- Doesn't cling tightly to ideas and is open to changing his mind.
- Is quite comfortable with others that have a different appearance or culture.
- Does not generally respond to emotional appeals.
- Does not go out of his way to help others.
- Finds obligations confining.
- Sees others as selfish and conniving.
- Enjoys being in crowds.
- Has an overbearing personality.
- Likes a fast-paced life.
- Seeks out exciting and adventurous situations.
- Has an active imagination.
- Does not have a great aesthetic sensitivity.
I have a question about the world before I started doing a backstory. Namely, I need to know where the game is taking place. You've got a world map and a local map, but I'm not sure where on Eldreon the Gelkrosh Region is located, or the Dragon's nation for that matter. Personally hoping it's vaguely western Golm, because that area looks the most likely to have pirates. Gotta make sure the concept is even viable before I go full dive into trying to work out a backstory, after all.
Love the angle. Some of the details would need to be tweaked to fit the actual realities of Eldreon (and the actual realities of the Dragon's orders), but it's a good concept.
A quick question about the 'mastermind' concept you mentioned at first: what exactly did you mean? Would the mastermind be the secondary rolled character, who ends up being sort of in charge of the scheme? I'd be willing to entertain that. It seems to have disappeared from your second write-up, though.
The Dwarf Fortress personality stuff tickles me. Also, the pirate is certainly a viable concept, and I do like the idea of the dragon making use of you for plausible deniability (that was definitely going to be established no matter who the party end up being!).
I've included a new graphic in the folder to answer your question of geography, and re-upped the link below this spoiler. Gelkrosh/Giant/Dragonland is actually in the east, but it isn't as barren as it looks - just less fleshed out. Furthermore, the map is in its first iteration and will definitely be gaining lands further east of Golm. There's plenty of opportunity for pirates there. Heck, make up your own homeland if you like - maybe I'll make it canon.
To answer Rotaretilbo's question about the location of Gelkrosh, I've added a picture to The Info Folder. See the red markings to the right/eastern portion of the map (also known as the northern part of the continent of Golm). It's probably horribly out of scale, but it'll give you the right idea.
I do have a question are those the only races available for the leader or even PCs in general or are those the most prevalent?
I really like Murumasa, the soldier, too- and as I mentioned in my notes, he seemed tailor- made for a submission- my only concern was that there might be alot of submission of military for the dragon. That, and the barb- thing.
P.S. I gave you editing privileges on the doc, so if you want to make notes/list of correctables, go ahead.
That's the list of all available races, though I do seem to have forgotten dwarves, which are another "rare in the region but you find them from time to time" kind of race.
The true game is one of revealing motivations and secrets. This is a chess match between the Dragon and the Mastermind. The Giants, the Mantids, Bragi, the Party - they're all pawns.
The Dragon would be complicit in allowing Bragi to journey under her banner. She hopes to stabilize her two provinces. She hopes to get Gelkrosh as a third. She hopes to identify the Mastermind. She hopes to prevent revolt and riots in her streets. Allowing Bragi to travel under her banner, she is able to spy closely upon him.
Otherwise, the Mastermind may still send Bragi out to do his bidding within Gelkrosh without the Dragon's control.
There is an aspect of near-immortal beings handling ruling provinces that I haven't seen done well before. Long-term plans, the outliving an opponent, the boredom of such a life, the time jumps. Periods of torpor. Intrigue must factor in with decisions and impulses.
For her reputation, the border province must fall. Open warfare has been declared. No way to save face if the border province doesn't fall. So she must win that. Gelkrosh, is covert, if she partially fails, she still wins. Only the Mastermind would know she has failed.
Gelkrosh is not quite the gamble I earlier mentioned, but it is a stalling action. Feed her people. Relocate troublesome citizens. If she successfully takes it, then she has three provinces. If she partially succeeds, she gets to keep the border province and try again for Gelkrosh.
She knows that Bragi doesn't want the complete mantid poison that is available, yet. Something about the mantids being a valuable Placeholder. One doesn't knock a Placeholder out of position until one is ready to occupy that territory. Or allow the vacuum to be filled by someone else.
Speaking of Placeholders, is Bragi truly going to carry in his Trade Caravan empty crates to the Crossroads Lake Settlements?
Inzeldrab is coastal then. Wunderschön.
Here's what I've thrown together.
- equitorial archipelago east of Golm, Volligluck
- Volligluck initially colonized by dissidents from Inzeldrab; semi-autonomous due to distance
- minor port city on equitorial peninsula, Arglos
- maritime trade opens up between Golapor and Inzeldrab, results in Arglos becoming major trade hub
- Volligluck too far south for Inzeldrab to reasonably govern; insurrection
- pirates begin praying upon naval trade between Golapor and Arglos
- pirates support Volligluck insurrection in exchange for commission and safe harbor
Backstory
- Wolfgang is born on Volligluck to a prostitute, father is absent and unknown
- mother cannot support him, proprietor has no work for him, but does not put him out
- at 14, Wolfgang is leased to privateers to pay the debt he has incurred being housed and fed by his mother's proprietor thus far, serves on the Red Fox as cabin boy
- at 17, Wolfgang wins his freedom from the captain of the Red Fox through gambling; Wolfgang cheated
- the captain refuses to honor the bargain regardless, and Wolfgang slits his throat in the night
- the new captain, on a whim, grants Wolfgang his freedom, provided Wolfgang stay on as a privateer
- Wolfgang agrees, and is nicknamed the Blood Wolf by the captain
- at 23, the Red Fox is led into a trap by fellow privateer, and captured by the Inzeldrab navy
- much of the crew is executed by hanging for piracy, but Wolfgang is spared
- as a man with little prestige and no loyalty to the pirates, he could be useful
- the Dragon knows that Wolfgang will act on her behalf, if that is in his own best interest
- she demonstrates her power for Wolfgang, demonstrates the price of failure, the absence of possible escape
- Wolfgang has no intrinsic loyalty to Inzeldrab, but he is loyal to himself, and serving Inzeldrab keeps him alive
I hope I am correct in my assumption that Inzeldrab is the nation which we will be serving. I poked around the blog, and noticed that it was referenced as a nation ruled by a dragon. If not, substitute that for the correct name. If any of these details don't line up with the world as it currently exists, let me know and I'll make alterations as necessary.
The major assumptions are that Inzeldrab has existed for at least 30ish years, likely much longer, that Inzeldrab would have any interest in colonizing an archipelago to the south for purely national reasons in the absence of an important resource on the island, that trade between Inzeldrab and Golapor is both possible (politically, economically, and physically) and that it's fairly recent (less than 30 years ago), and that Inzeldrab maintains a navy sufficient to deal with pirates, but is not willing or perhaps able to otherwise crush the rebellion on Volligluck.
Also, here's a link with vaguely where I imagine Volligluck and Arglos are located.
https://i.imgur.com/ZWd2TA1.png
Dotting for interest.
This might be a good game for Qazag Qoroshúk, my half-orc cavalier, a former low-ranking cavalry officer who was sent on the mission to pacify the region. Qazag was made for another kingmaker-type game in a homebrew world, but that game died out.
That's nice to hear. I like the occultist myself because you get a bit of magic and sword hitting, but not quite as combat focused as the magus. Also some of the implement abilities are really neat.
I think I'll start tinkering then, but as I'm not looking to lead, I'll try and stay out of your hair for a little while :-P
Apologies, almost missed your comment! Many of the details would be little things, and not really worth getting into unless you end up in the campaign (whether as leader or party member). The biggest one that you can pay attention to now is timeline issue.
Basically, the timespan you have is too short. There's no way Muramusa could have been there before the modern settling period and still be in his prime by the time of the return. Here's the timespans we're talking about, if we use year 0 as the discovery of coal/tar in the region:
Year : Event
-20: Settlers being to flood the region
-15: Friction between indigenous nomads and settlers begins
-15 to 0: Nomads increasingly pushed onto less and less land, but their traditional ways of life continue
0: Large coal and tar deposits discovered in central Gelkrosh badlands
0 to 10: Increasing amounts of industry, trade, and immigration further sideline the nomads, many nomads lose young people who go to the towns to work in mines, pits.
5: Mantids unleashed
5 - 6: Mantids spread, pushing everyone out of affected area. The few nomads who remain must survive on marginal land to the east, or be pushed beyond the river to the west.
This isn't definitive, but you see the sort of time involved. Assuming we want to keep Muramusa relatively young (30 or so?) he was probably born sometime right around when the mantids were unleashed or just before, assuming at least 20 years go by in between the mantids appearing and the campaign starting.
The nomads do survive in the area, so he can still know the life of a nomadic herder for a time before he leaves the impoverished region to join the Dragon's military, so the story still works just fine. But the amount of the events he experienced first-hand is more limited. He'd probably have heard the stories from his older relatives, though, so he'd be intimately familiar with them.
I forgot to mention a bit about being a barbarian: I dislike the class because I think it blurs the line too much between role/profession and culture. When people want to play a warrior who relies on rage (berserker type) that can be arranged. We can talk about it should you end up in the campaign!
That sounds fine, and I'm always fine with people needing breaks or delays (provided they don't mount up too crazily). Basically, I meant the team leader needs to be able to be mostly on top of the info presented. Hopefully his team will be engaged with everything and willing to shoulder burdens that fit their characters without too much input, but should they require direction it's up to the leader to give it.
As to your questions:
Vis a vis power level (very good question, and one I'll be making clear to the picked players): The average power level of this world skews a little higher than the average Pathfinder setting. You can think of it as a bell curve centered somewhere around level 7, with larger cities having more higher level people. Level 5 is still pretty high - there are people who 'live' their entire NPC lives and don't make it that far. Your average NPC will be level 1 or 2, say. Most leaders of small towns might get as high as 5 and no higher. So you guys will be pretty badass for the region in general right from the start, but NOT right at the top yet. And of course there will be certain outliers.
Inzeldrab can be thought of as feudal, sure. A couple of people have had questions about this now, so I'm brushing up a document I used to get all this straight in my own head. I'll post it up later today. Generally speaking though, the Dragon is on top, and the various regions below her are semi-autonomous as long as they offer up taxes and troops when called upon. Her realm is highly heterogeneous when it comes to who is in direct charge of day-to-day governance.
Hafton is, essentially, the main industrial center that both the Gelkrosh region and the neighboring regions (including regions this campaign will only deal with indirectly) largely depend upon for anything that can't be made by a local blacksmith, including raw metal ingots. Lots of farming equipment, generalized engineering equipment (fittings and fixtures for mills, as well as tools for various trades which need specialized tools) come from here. It also turns out much of the weapons in use in the region. Their products are of good quality, but they don't turn out enough of them to be very widespread (due to low demand in comparison to more populous areas such as the kingdom of the Dragon). It also produces gems, as it sits upon a modest sapphire mine - most of these gems are shipped further inland (southeast and northeast), though, given the danger of trade to the west.
Mostly, Hafton gets its metal ores from Zaw's Rock and similar settlements, and charcoal from Zeb.
Our regional map is smaller-scale than the average Kingdom building map. A hex is 3 miles across (thus, 3 miles from the center of one hex to the center of any neighboring hex).
Always happy to nerd out on worldbuilding details!
Some thoughts as Bragi reads through reports in his tent. Drinking ale slowly from his frost giant skull. A prized possession, the skull keeps ale properly chilled. Bragi doubted that the frost giant shaman who cast multiple permanency spells upon himself expected such an outcome. However, Bragi enjoys the slight chill upon his beard when drinking from it - some droplets cascade from a deliberate design flaw in sealing the eyeholes. He paid the warrior well for the purchase and more importantly, the bragging rights to such a kill.
What are the Powers That Be outside the sandbox? Who would be potentially angered if the Dragon took the Gelkrosh province? Is Zeb likely to be attacked by elves from the Wyrdwood? What are the cities towards Golm's central lake? Does the Dragon control a Coastal port?
Can the Dragon's alchemists work on a Mantid frenzy effect, a Mantid attractor, and a Mantid paralysis effect (Bragi enjoys a deep sip as he savors the poetic justice mixing ). What are the Mantids goals? Can they be persuaded to be citizens of the Dragon? Can they be manipulated to attack the Giants?
The Mantid's control central Gelkrosh province.
North of that is the Giants control Zaw's Rock, which has a network of trade with Gelkrosh city, with vassal thorp of Harraw, Birksdreb (outside former Capitol), and Hafton, which already has a vassal thorp of Zeb. Could be argued that the Lodge is within this area of trade, commerce, and travel.
South is the Swampland is various population centers of the Power.
The Dragon's nearest entry into a province population center would be directly opposite the Rock. The Dragon's entry point into the province would be Crossroads Lake Settlements. Either expand into the Power's area or into the Lodge. Tough choices with both. The Power due to name branding or the distance to the Lodge. Need to talk to cartographers if there is a suitable place for a population center between us and the Lodge... Doubt that Her Highness would promote the Power within her span of control.
Betting a silver piece that the mantids have a burrow speed. That is why they can't oust Gelkrosh city or the Crossroads Lakes Settlements. They drown underground if they burrow into those areas. Bragi speaks to someone who is not present, but can obviously scry upon the tent. With some amusement in his voice as he raises the frost giant skull mug, Be named Sherrif or Magistrate of the Crossroads Lake settlements, first order of business is to find an easier mouthful for the towns.
I can't tell if you're asking questions that you want answers to or just continuing to muse over strategy. You might want to drop into OOC language if you have actual questions. :)
Dotting for the forthcoming general recruitment thread. I'm not interested in a leadership role, but would be interested in the campaign.
Also, are the Hobgoblins in this world culturally the same as default Pathfinder Hobgoblins outside of the changes you noted?
-Zorblag R`Lyeh
Dotting to watch for general recruitment.
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@Brett's Questions - I'm going to rephrase some of them as actual OOC questions since I'm curious.
1) Are the Mantids intelligent?
1a) Do they build stuff (that has been observed)?
1b) Have anyone tried communicating with them (Tongues/Vermin Empathy ect)?
2) If yes to any of the above; does the Dragon have access to that piece of information/expertise?
3) Do any of the other neighbouring realms have any interest in Gelkrosh?
4) What's the general policies of the neighbouring realms? (Interventionists, isolationists, hates X, wants to spread Y ect ect)
And some of my own since well I'm still curious :P
5) What flavour of elves are accessible?
My thought went to the drowier kind - the Dragon has questionable morals, access to a mountain presumably filled with caverns and Poison Use seems nifty here. I mean it's part of the plot and without worrying too much about magical marketplaces and wbl one might actually get to poison someone without crying tears of money.
Plus they might not be quite as insanely evil (or that part might not be common knowledge) here so playing one isn't a constant game of dodge-the-pitchfork.
6) What flavour of giants rule the neighbouring nation?
I think this has been asked, but I couldn't find the answer.
---
On a separate note, I'm sure some of these questions might be answered in the blog. I'll go and look there now : )
Edit: I took a look at the blog and now I have another question!
7) What's the arrangement of Planes like?
(This isn't really something I'll use in building a character - this one is really just to indulge myself!)
Alright, I finished up Surtur! I included a timeline at the end, and assuming the campaign starts 20 years after the mantids are unleashed, everything should be a little more continuous. At least, I hope so! Here's the link, in case you need it.
Let me know if there's anything else that needs doing!
@GM Mercy. No worries. Wanted you to understand the direction my character will go / where my mind is. If the Questions are public knowledge then info dump works. If the answers are secret, then we'll have fun finding out.
Big thing to convey is that this Dragon plan feels rushed. Which is very cool in tone.
@Lessah... Thanks! Your Questions rock too...
Well, I'll say anyone who has that much to write about for his/her character obviously did a good job. The story part is good, very well- written. The pace was good, the characterization was good. Excellent job, mate!
@Zorblag: The standard Pathfinder/DnD hobgoblins are exemplified by the largest and most powerful hobgoblin nations (highly regimented, militant, etc). Players who wanted to go with Hobgoblin as their race could definitely go with the standard style. There exist other hobgoblin cultures, though.
@Duilin: Write as much as you like, but if it gets much beyond a couple pages I'd also appreciate a summary so I don't necessarily need to read the ENTIRE thing before I can understand what you're going for.
1) The Mantids display only animal intelligence. They do not build. Their nests are somewhat like ant hives. The characters wouldn't know about any specific attempts to communicate. The Dragon would probably tell you to assume such an attempt had been made, and that the person who made it was probably eaten shortly after.
3) So far as the neighbors go: There are communities that have an interest in the region primarily due to trade. Downriver to the South (past the Crossroads Lake on the map) are numerous settlements, and some distance to the west there is a smallish theocratic Hobgoblin nation that trades with Hafton and Swampside. For various reasons, none of the other neighbors is likely to try and directly control Gelkrosh, though - so while the players might somehow make use of the trade relations they wouldn't have to worry about sparking any kind of invasion from these routes. Unless they really worked at it, I guess.
4) Further inland from Gelkrosh there aren't a lot of cohesive realms until much farther away, but there are some other prominent settlements (and now I guess I have to name them...)
- Shorak's City (West, Hobgoblin dominated, Theocratic): A city that is slightly smaller than Hafton, dominated by a cult dedicated to a minor Hobgoblin deity. Occasionally belligerent to their close neighbors, but too far from Gelkrosh/Hafton to be militarily interested.
- Bel'kathine: ( Southwest, Elven dominated, Insular): Of the the few sizable elven-dominated settlements in eastern Golm, Bel'kathine is founded around the home of a powerful elven druid. They have very limited interaction with the outside world.
- The River Cities: (South, Human/Halfing majority, varied): A scattering of settlements both large and small that survive by virtue of the large river and marsh systems of the area. Band together to resist outside threats, but have never been conquerors.
- The 'Twin' Tribes: A combined nation of orcs and ogres, who warred with one another for a time before unifying into their present state. The 'unification' is rather haphazard, and while they are occasionally troubling to their neighbors internal strife usually keeps their numbers and attentions in check.
There are numerous other, less noteworthy (or less known, at least) communities of various sizes.
5) Drow don't exist as such, but if you feel like coming from a very "drow-like" elven community I won't mind at all! Just remember that communities in Eldreon (just like communities in real life) are rarely evil in and of themselves, especially the really large ones - but they can be LED by evil people.
6) I haven't finalized that, as it turns out. I find the "different giant flavor for every environment" kind of comical, so the prototypical giant in Eldreon is probably more or less a Pathfinder Stone Giant.
7) The Planes are more or less like Pathfinder standard, with a few tweaks to suit my personal tastes. I'm still cooking a lot of this up (and finalizing the details) whenever I feel like it, so a lot of it is subject to change.
Inner Planes - The Positive and Negative Energy Planes as well as the Ethereal Plane (I haven't nailed down exactly how I want to treat the Ethereal Plane, but it might just stay the same as standard)
Material Planes - The Elemental Planes and the Prime Material Plane. The Elemental Planes are coterminous with certain points in Eldreon (the passage between the Dwarven kingdoms in Ottrunval and Golm passes through the Plane of Earth, and other places exist where one can move seamlessly between Eldreon and the other Elemental Planes in places appropriate to each element - hearts of volcanoes for fire, deep places in the sea for water, etc).
The Outer or Spiritual Planes where most deities make their domains. I'm considering making a decently impactful change here, in that there might be only three Major, infinite Planes corresponding to good, neutral, and evil (Heaven, The Maelstrom, and Hell) and any similarly aligned plane technically exists within them. Thus, Elysium is the Chaotic-aligned part of the Plane of Heaven, and there are boundaries where you go from Elysium to other parts of Heaven without the need for magic/portals/etc. Thus, all good-aligned planes are coterminous with each other, and likewise for neutral and evil planes. Still deciding on that, though.
I'll get to character feedback for Duilin and Artemis a bit later.
ALL: I have decided to END this recruitment on SUNDAY, JULY 15 at 8:00 PM EASTERN TIME. Any submissions should be posted before that time. I'll post my choice on Monday and start up the rest of the party recruitment immediately after.
I don't mind the length at all, it's a nice backstory. Do you envision him perhaps as a ranger? Not that you need to decide yet, that's just what I was getting from the story.
Honestly the only part that gives me pause - and this is not a big deal - is that the story seems so complete. I like how traveled the character is, and how much he's been through, but it seems honestly like his arc could be over. Instead he... decides to go to the Dragon to ask for work? After losing everything? Just seems like an odd continuation. But that can be worked on, I enjoy the character. :)
Solid write-up. Nothing big that would need changing. I do have a question over how the character deals with other people who he isn't looking to rob: what might his leadership style be? Knock heads together until people do what he says? Engender loyalty somewhow? I've never read Malazan or Prince of Nothing so I'm not able to get anything from those comparisons, I'm afraid.
Similarly, does he feel any loyalty or dedication to the Dragon, or was it a case of 'go work for the biggest, baddest creature around so I can reap the benefits' ? Both (or something else entirely) are completely valid, I'm just curious.
Thanks for the answers!
And I'm looking forward to monday then : )
Yep, seems reasonable! And wasn't an actual problem - despite my megalomaniacal tendencies, I try not to nitpick every detail of a player's story. It's their story, after all. :)