Difference between revisions of "Kingmakers"

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This is a game about dynastic power, politics, and bloodlines.  The players would be retainers of a young noble of distantly royal blood, charged with protecting him and maneuvering him through the treacherous political waters of the land.  It's about the real power behind the throne.  Intrigue, assassination, scheming, broken promises, rulership.  Think [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu Richelieu] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Colbert Colbert].
 
This is a game about dynastic power, politics, and bloodlines.  The players would be retainers of a young noble of distantly royal blood, charged with protecting him and maneuvering him through the treacherous political waters of the land.  It's about the real power behind the throne.  Intrigue, assassination, scheming, broken promises, rulership.  Think [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu Richelieu] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Colbert Colbert].
  
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The noble character, while central to the game, would likely be an NPC open to most or all the advice of the group.  In extending his influence the group would extend their own.
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The noble character, while central to the game, will be for the most part an NPC open to most or all the advice of the group.  In extending his influence the group would extend their own.
  
 
The scheming would mostly be group vs world; I'd prefer it be a cooperative game than a competitive one.
 
The scheming would mostly be group vs world; I'd prefer it be a cooperative game than a competitive one.
  
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==Campaign Pitch==
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==Campaign Intro==
  
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I've given some thought to running Kingmakers as a campaign.  The premise is the same.  My main concerns are dodging the problems of the one-shot, and here's my proposal:
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Karl Franz, the reigning Emperor, and his son and presumptive successor have been assasinated.  Rumors and speculation are buzzing as to the motivations: some suspect treachery, some suspect sorcery, some claim it was Sigmar himself, dissatisfied with the impiety of his people.
  
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The setting, instead of being wholly invented by me, would just be WFRP in the Empire.  The setup would be that Karl Franz has just died, and his heir has been assassinated, and so the throne is pretty much up for grabs.  The players could be backing any number of would-be emperors: an existing Elector Count, an Baron or Baroness, an heir to an elector count, a distant heir to an elector count, or even an external interest like Brettonian nobility, Elves back to reclaim this silly land, Dwarves who feel they're the only people left who give a damn about Sigmar, an uppity Border Prince - the possibilities are endless!  Before we (possibly) start the campaign proper, I'll narrow the list down to the point where I feel each option would be fun.
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Regardless of the motives behind the assassination, the succession crisis promises to be severe.  Boris Todbringer, Elector Count of Middenheim, is known to have desires upon the throne himself, but his enemies amongst the remaining Elector Counts are sure to put up a stiff fight.  Furthermore, foreign states are sure to take an interest in the proceedings, and the everpresent threat of Chaos looms to the north.
  
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With the players being super-competent, as would be expected of royal advisors, I'll be treating your out-of-game knowledge as pretty much solid.  Which is to say, this time, I'm not going to go rewriting all the rules of the setting, so that I can spend more time thinking about scheming and such.  Magic is magic the way it's written in the book, the magic colleges work the way they do in Realms of Sorcery, the Border Princes are constantly killing each other, etc.  Obviously an Academic Knowledge means your character knows concrete things, and Common Knowledge means you know rumors and the like, but the main thrust is that I'm not going to keep you off balance with the unknown.  Some elements of the story will be my purview, but I aim to have basic gameplay not be "ask the GM what this place on the map is."
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Enter, into this milieu, a young noble of a (yet-unknown) house and his loyal friends and retainers, whose course remains to be charted and is assured of being dangerous and rocky.
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The campaign would start with the group in their first career, and rapidly progress up to third or fourth careers where the scheming starts.  I'm going to limit that to basically 2 sessions of ramp-up, but the more the players do in those sessions, the more assets they'll have when it's time to make moves.
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It'd be a requirement that each character has at least one interaction skill (Charm, Gossip, Intimidate, and possibly Blather).  Everyone also needs a strong tie to The Candidate (ie the noble you're backing).
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'''If this sounds like the kind of game you'd be interested in, say so on the discussion page.'''
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==Goals==
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The main goal is to play a fantasy game where the acknowledged focus is manipulation, intrigue, and the use of political power.
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I also want to run a game where session-to-session creative costs are not too high for the GM.  With Supers, I pretty much had to set up every session.  I see Kingmakers as taking a lot of upfront work, but being able to go without a ton of work between sessions.
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==System==
 
==System==
  
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Let's start with WFRP, not use hit locations except for gory ends.  I'd rather not roll for career this time around.  Also, let's stick with humans for the time being.
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We're using Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.  Armor uses the simplified model.
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==Setting==
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The game takes place in the land of Melun (for which I've drawn a map!), which is situated in the northern half of the landmass known as Rachis.  The heart of the country (and of the continent) is the Isthmus, a narrow neck of land that connects the two halves of the continent.  Control of the Isthmus, and the city that lies in its center, Lassan.
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===Countries of Melun===
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All the countries listed, except for Sumtor, are nominally client states of the Lazari king.
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Lazarre - The most powerful kingdom in the land for generations, they control the Isthmus, meaning they control the land route to Troyes and to Tor and all beyond it.  They often clash with the Sumtor peoples, though that means that their army is one of the most veteran.  Their capital is Lassan. By virtue of their power, they laid claim to the northern half of Melun for at least a hundred years.
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Sissa - comprising a finger of land jutted out over the Sansant Sea, the people of Sissa have always been loyal to the Lazari ruling family.  They've had a need to be - the land is not well populated and they require a stronger ally to protect them.
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Tor - Home to the Sumtor people, Tor is a hilly, chilly land to the south of Lazarre.  The Sumtor are considered warlike, impetuous, and uncultured by Lazari, and by extension, most of the northern peoples.
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Trian - Encompassing all of an extremely fertile delta valley to the north of the Rafaelli plains, Trian's influence has been growing in recent generations.  Adept seafarers, their ships range around the north horn to Catania, and to Sumtor and beyond, though not (as yet) through the King's Canal to Troyes.
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Sevres - To the west of Lazarre, up against the mountains, lies Sevres.  The noble house in charge here is Leman, though generations ago they split and have warred for control of the land. 
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Brund - Brund is a large plains-country occupied by petty nobles who constantly squabble amongst themselves.  It is to the north-west of Lazarre.
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The Raffaeli Plains - To the north of Lazarre - arid, inhospitable, occupied by roving plainsmen.  Its chief settlement, Fendi, is mobile, and tears down to avoid dust storms according to ancient rhythms the tribe elders have learned by heart.  Their soldiers make excellent mercenaries.
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Verdenes - Occupying the northern spire of land in the continent, Verdenes is also known as the land of Sour Lakes.  The Sour Lakes' water cannot be drunk, though it yields good crops.
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Troyes - A mysterious, xenophobic country that only welcomes visitors at the city Helena.  It has never sworn allegiance to the Lazari, and most Lazari kings have never tried to subjugate it.
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Everything will run by the book, basically.  Your characters will be competent; I will spare no expense in trying to kill them.
  
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===People of Melun===
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== Characters ==
  
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Kantor Lazari:  King.  Patriarch of House Lazari.  Wealthy, powerful, not inclined to roll over for a usurper.  The Lazari have been kings for generations, and Kantor styles himself a god-king:  demanding of complete allegiance.  This no-doubt chafes powerful nobles such as Sandis.
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Make characters using the WFRP rules, but if you'd rather not roll for stats, you can divvy up 85 points amongst your stats, added to your race's base.  All races allowed, though if you make a halfling be prepared to pay the consequences.  Just kidding!  All races allowed!  If you do the point-buy system, I'd appreciate it if you avoided egregious min-maxing, and you'd probably benefit anyways, as play will move between social, intellectual, and physical arenas pretty often and I'd like to keep everyone engaged regardless of whether their character's specialty is in focus.
  
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Ermine Sandis:  Lord of the Delta.  The region of Trian has become more and more wealthy as of late; its extensive fleet and naval power has garnered new trade connections with Sumtor and lands beyond.  As a check to his rising power, Kantor Lazari recently denied permission for Delta ships to use the King's Canal to establish a trade route to Troyes.
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You can choose your career as well.  Roll for random talents, if any.
  
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Nicola Leman:  Current lord of Courelles.  The Leman house has been fighting over Sevres for generations: the apocryphal story is that long ago, Leon Leman murdered his father, and Charles, the patriach of the "Lac" Leman line, wouldn't stand for it.  Of course, the "Lee" Leman line tells the opposite story.
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Progression through your first few careers will be brisk; after two sessions characters will have between 3500 and 4000 exp; I haven't settled on an exact number yet.
  
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Bertrand Leman: Lord of Monceau, and current head of House Leman-Coulee. Over the generations, Monceau has retreated from its land holdings in Sevres, building a minor naval empire out of trade routes to Catania and Troyes.
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Please have an idea of your character's sphere of influence; if you're making a bad-ass fighter, is he a general? Does he inspire his troops through loyalty or fear?  Does your wizard bind daemons to his service, ferret out his enemies' secrets through sorcery, or just blast people he doesn't agree with?  Most importantly, what does your character bring to the table of your noble?  This is a game about politics.  That doesn't mean you can't play certain characters, but if you make a character with no interest in the political game, then your character is out of place and you should change it or make a new one.
  
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Alfonso Haffon:  Lord of the Sour Lakes and of Verdenes, and apparently loyal to Ermine Sandis. 
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===Skill Swapping===
  
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The Raffaeli are nomadic plains-people; their lands are arid and inhospitable.  They fight as light mounted cavalry.  Their primary settlement, Fendi, is mobile - a collection of tents and temporary structures - but it is a market for all kinds of goods.  Raffaeli culture extends all the way down to Thassis, and Agusport is a thriving, multicultural trader's town.  The Raffaeli troops are almost all mercenary.
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This came up in the talk page:  Yes, if you want skills outside of your chosen career, you can petition me for them.  That means I need to approve all deviations from your career.  I'll approve stuff like base-level dodge blow for most careers easily.  Stuff like Strike Mighty Blow for a scholar is gonna require a good sales job.
  
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Tuor Sumtor:  Tuor Sumtor is a poorly understood figure, though he has managed to unite the warring clans of his countryfolk.
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Given that you can choose a career, I'm hoping people can create characters with strengths in their preferred styles of play, and that we don't need to change this stuff around too much.
  
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==One Shot==
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== Old Stuff ==
  
 
[[Kingmakers One-Shot]]
 
[[Kingmakers One-Shot]]

Revision as of 18:03, 12 October 2009

Premise

This is a game about dynastic power, politics, and bloodlines. The players would be retainers of a young noble of distantly royal blood, charged with protecting him and maneuvering him through the treacherous political waters of the land. It's about the real power behind the throne. Intrigue, assassination, scheming, broken promises, rulership. Think Richelieu or Colbert.

The noble character, while central to the game, will be for the most part an NPC open to most or all the advice of the group. In extending his influence the group would extend their own.

The scheming would mostly be group vs world; I'd prefer it be a cooperative game than a competitive one.

Campaign Intro

Karl Franz, the reigning Emperor, and his son and presumptive successor have been assasinated. Rumors and speculation are buzzing as to the motivations: some suspect treachery, some suspect sorcery, some claim it was Sigmar himself, dissatisfied with the impiety of his people.

Regardless of the motives behind the assassination, the succession crisis promises to be severe. Boris Todbringer, Elector Count of Middenheim, is known to have desires upon the throne himself, but his enemies amongst the remaining Elector Counts are sure to put up a stiff fight. Furthermore, foreign states are sure to take an interest in the proceedings, and the everpresent threat of Chaos looms to the north.

Enter, into this milieu, a young noble of a (yet-unknown) house and his loyal friends and retainers, whose course remains to be charted and is assured of being dangerous and rocky.

System

We're using Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Armor uses the simplified model.

Everything will run by the book, basically. Your characters will be competent; I will spare no expense in trying to kill them.

Characters

Make characters using the WFRP rules, but if you'd rather not roll for stats, you can divvy up 85 points amongst your stats, added to your race's base. All races allowed, though if you make a halfling be prepared to pay the consequences. Just kidding! All races allowed! If you do the point-buy system, I'd appreciate it if you avoided egregious min-maxing, and you'd probably benefit anyways, as play will move between social, intellectual, and physical arenas pretty often and I'd like to keep everyone engaged regardless of whether their character's specialty is in focus.

You can choose your career as well. Roll for random talents, if any.

Progression through your first few careers will be brisk; after two sessions characters will have between 3500 and 4000 exp; I haven't settled on an exact number yet.

Please have an idea of your character's sphere of influence; if you're making a bad-ass fighter, is he a general? Does he inspire his troops through loyalty or fear? Does your wizard bind daemons to his service, ferret out his enemies' secrets through sorcery, or just blast people he doesn't agree with? Most importantly, what does your character bring to the table of your noble? This is a game about politics. That doesn't mean you can't play certain characters, but if you make a character with no interest in the political game, then your character is out of place and you should change it or make a new one.

Skill Swapping

This came up in the talk page: Yes, if you want skills outside of your chosen career, you can petition me for them. That means I need to approve all deviations from your career. I'll approve stuff like base-level dodge blow for most careers easily. Stuff like Strike Mighty Blow for a scholar is gonna require a good sales job.

Given that you can choose a career, I'm hoping people can create characters with strengths in their preferred styles of play, and that we don't need to change this stuff around too much.

Old Stuff

Kingmakers One-Shot

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