| clearshades |
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Recently started running 2E and am near a completion of a 1E. I'm hoping to incorporate more of the background timeline into how things play out. I could just fiat this but I feel like many thing may have answers that I'm missing either because they reference events and I don't realize it or they have a logical answer "A happened before B but after C and therefore is in X year".
Examples: How old is the King of Pitax and when did he ascend to the throne?
When was the last time the River Kingdoms (any of them) and Brevoy go to war?
How old are certain major NPCs like Hannis Drelev and Maegar Varn?
Why is this important? If Varn is a young man then maybe he came of age as a warrior in the last couple of years taking advantage of the opportunities for a mercenary in Brevoy in the wake of House Rogarvia's disappearance. On the other hand, maybe he's more middle aged and based his career on serving Rogarvia and that's why he's at loose ends.
Sure, I could just decide and for somethings I definitely will but if there are some Answers that are specific I would rather know that so that I know if it might cause a contradiction with something later on or maybe be more inspiriting for connections to other parts of the campaign.
Thanks in advance.
| BismuthBronze |
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I'm sure you've clocked it already, but to put it down in writing, the Year the charter is given out to players is 4710AR.
The Vanishing occured 4699 AR, with the Surtovans stepping in promptly to fill the empty throne.
I'm not good with clocking age, but Irovetti picture looks like he's 40-50 years or something. There's tiredness in those eyes.
Castruccio Irovetti has ruled for "over half a decade" according to his statblock on Page 593, BUT on page 334 it states that the Rushlight Festival has been held every year since he claimed the throne, & it's the 5th annual year. He did rise to power relying mostly on Modify Memory, so his subjects' minds might be a bit scrambled admittedly.
334 is a good place for his whole backstory though: we learn that his pops died in one the crusades @Worldwound. It also mentions that his hometown was Hajoth Hakados. HERE it states that after the 2nd crusade, the old route knights took fell, so they started traveling past that very city from that point on. So from the 3rd crusade onwards, Irovetti's dad passed through, had a kid, went off to war, & sent money back to put the kid in school before tragically dying. Let's assume he was in the 3rd crusade: 3rd Crusade ran 4665AR - 4668AR: King Irovetti is therefore 42 to 45 years old.
| BismuthBronze |
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There wasn't a lot to go off of for Drelev, so I went subjective:
There are two different artworks of Hannis Drelev. His portrait for the statblock on 597 looks NOT THAT BAD, & his description states he spent his youth in Brevoy frustrated at the lack of opportunity, & he has the vibes of a man willing to cut corners that culminates in the poor war tactics that lead to him having to hang his tail between his legs & surrender to Pitax & Armag.
And then we have his portrait on page 309. Maybe it's the grimace on his face or the way the artist portrayed the shadows & scar, but I feel like he aged a few years between the 2 photos. His wife on Page 313 isn't flattering either; lots of stress lines, but she's apparantly "a master of the game of social politics" so that's something. His Young mistress, the Daggermark spy, seems young. I'd guess Hannis is in his 40s, his wife in her 50s+ (political marriage), & his mistress in her 20s. Drelev strikes me as a guy who'd suck up to whomever is sitting in the throne, Rogarvia OR Surtova.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find dates or significant events to latch onto in regard to Maegar Varn either. Just that he's the 3rd son to a Brevic Baron, unlikely to inherit a title or holding, which is why he's out in the stolen lands. His father, Androth, is apparently a good friend of Lady Jamandi. His portrait on 251 is sporting salt-&-pepper hair though, so he can't be too young. I hate to say it again, but I think 40s.
Unlike Drelev though, who relies on Soldiers & bodies between him & danger, there's plenty of text that suggests Maegar was still out & about adventuring with his buds, not unlike the PCs. He hung out with a ranger, cleric, Fighter, & a wizard, & gave them all room & board in Varnhold for their help. So in a way, yes Maeger was middle-aged, but also yes, he probably still was doing mercenary work, having a ball with his buds (something I hope I'm still doing well past middle age)
| lemuelmassa |
On the opposite side, I'm starting a new Kingmaker in August. to start the game "today" (4725 AR), other than Gorum's death, what other events should we be aware of/update... Refugees from Kyonin from the Spore War? Rumors of inner sea war floating around... I'd love to hear about what changes would be necessary to set the adventure in 4725 AR
| BismuthBronze |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
On the opposite side, I'm starting a new Kingmaker in August. to start the game "today" (4725 AR), other than Gorum's death, what other events should we be aware of/update... Refugees from Kyonin from the Spore War? Rumors of inner sea war floating around... I'd love to hear about what changes would be necessary to set the adventure in 4725 AR
Ah Jeez, where to start.. Welp, within that 15 years I think there's 3 major events in the local vicinity that ought to be addressed:
- 1. 4716AR The Technic League collapses, & Numeria's old king awakens from his drug-coma. Under normal circumstances, Numeria doesn't have a strong role in the story, delegated to background dressing, BUT with Pitax's king's association with Numeria, maybe they now have more bite in the story?
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2. 4718AR The Worldwound finally closes. That means that there isn't a stream of donated soldiers passing through the lake of Mists & Vails anymore. In my own game, I had it so the Surtovans were "donating" soldiers that questioned the crown to Mendev to die in the meat grinder, so without a meatgrinder, there's more dissatisfied soldiers around. Mendev's economy would have gone through a struggle to get back set up, which probably meant an over-reliance on their neighbors across the lake? Lots of directions to take that angle in -
3. 4718AR A political marriage between House Lebeda & Surtova fell apart. Surtova accuses Lebeda for treason, & House Orlovsky sides with Lebada (accusing Surtova of fabricating the story). What happens next isn't written, but the natural course of events I think is House Lodovka siding with Surtova, making a 2v2 civil war (where Garess & Medvyed side is up to interpretation) Either way, Brevoy would have gone through an even more stressful high-tension political era than before.
The land of Numeria referred to the Godsrain as the Second Rain of Stars, which reactivated some long-dormant Androffan technology within the Silver Mount and across the nation. An influx of reactivated androids strained Hajoth Hakados's capacity to accommodate them, and reactivated robots marched in precise but mindless patterns across Numeria, reacting only when attacked.Would you look at that, it's Irovetti's hometown again. One could argue that MAYBE Pitax is experiencing a wave of Android immigration, which in turn could have resulted in an influx of imported goods & tech. Since He over relied on tech in order to get the crown, he might see this as either a blessing or a curse: More toys for him OR more power in the hands of his citizens. We don't get to see Irovetti's opinions on Androids, so how they mesh with the city is up to you (food for thought).
Four earthquakes and related tsunamis struck the Lake of Mists and Veils in the wake of Gorum's death, raising unrest in Brevoy and led a faction called the Children of Choral to suggest that these were signs of the imminent return of Choral the Conqueror. Another faction, the Brevic Truthseekers, claimed the disasters were signs from deities proving that King-Regent Noleski Surtova was unfit to rule. The Black Tears, a thieves' guild, also took advantage of this new conflict to consolidate their power, but they had not yet chosen a side in the growing conflict
This implies that the civil war I mentioned either didn't pave through, is still going full swing, or ended several years prior, only to be at risk of starting up again. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see how these 2 factions wouldn't get along: you can still have Surtova not be worthy of the crown WITH Choral showing up. They don't seem exclusive to eachother. The bit about the Black Tears is interesting though, because in the book they're simply a thorn that pops up now & then, with them 1st being hired by Pitax to attack Jamandi's mansion. NOW, there's opportunity for them to be fleshed out into a larger opponent. Maybe they attack the mansion to halt the Stolen Lands exploration of their OWN fruition, rather than being hired for the job? Why would they want to do that? That'd be fun to explore.
| BismuthBronze |
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I should have mentioned, those 3 events came to mind immediately because I intend on having them come up in my own game. There's A LOT of downtime in this campaign as a result of the kingdom turns each being an in-game month, so I took the liberty of writing down local events likely to occur in the background. The event with houses at each other's throats for example meshes REALLY WELL with the later chapters of the campaign, where it's implied that Brevoy &/or Rostland are too busy with rising tensions to aid you in the war with Pitax & Drelev.
So if you're using the normal timeline, I'd highly recommend keeping an eye for events happening in the background to help flesh out the world.