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Murdock! Did you put sleeping pills in my milk again?
It's all about the inperceptible ties that bind. It's like a Lease agreement, but even trickier to get out of, because you don't remember signing anything.
Is it just me, or did anyone else find the A-Team movie to be thoroughly enjoyable?
Back pseudo on-topic, the keep has to have a garage for creating on-the-fly armored trucks like the A-Team used to do. Well, it doesn't really have to have that, but it would be neat if it did.
Maybe it was built atop a tor and then anchored there. If the party unanchored -- they would have a floating keep. It would be up to them to figure out how to get it to move about; as is it's default is to sit at a specific altitude and be buffeted about by strong currents of air.
A whole mystery could unfold explaining (a) where the floating rocks came from and (b) why they were anchored.
Signs & Portends, Dwarves of Lost Koldukar, In a certain realm
Unicorn with BA Barracus voice and the drugged apples to get him airborne.
But yeah, keeps are great too. I just find that as PCs get higher in level, they like to travel more/ more frequently. First overland, then overseas, then through the air.. and finally across dimensions. Although you can do all that traveling from a keep too. Its just with a mobile base they can kind of bring their posse and loot with them wherever they roam. But by all means stick to your original plans, especially if they are already in progress-- a good DM can make anything work provided you plan for a few contingencies.
Now, I've shifted gears to think about the game mechanics for operating the keep. I'm using the rules from the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook as my starting point, but have run into a question regarding the raising of money via the keep.
The system for activating nearby resource gathering is pretty well described in the book, but the book also mentions taxing the local population... which raises the question, how much annual revenue would be generated in a town of a given population? I know... I'm figuring out tax code... for a game. What is wrong with me!?
The rulebooks describe typical tax rates from the perspective of what PCs might be expected to pay to someone else... but I can't find any mention dealing with PCs on the other side of the equation.
So, I decided to come up with my own system based on the DMG calculations for readily available cash in a town of a given population. That equation goes as follows (town gp limit/2) x (town population/10) = Total available cash. I figure taxing a percent of that total available cash would be appropriate. In the case of my game, they will start with a small town nearby (gp limit 800 & pop. 1000) If they set the tax rate at 10% they'll take in about 4000/year. Does that sound like a reasonable revenue for a town of 1000 people?
This then raises another question... If they keep taxing the town, without putting money back into the system, they'll drive their populace into poverty. I'm thinking about adding the following house rule to address this: All money raised from taxes must be put towards improving the keep or the local region. Money raised from resource operations can go towards personal use. What do you think? Reasonable?
The meta game reason for the taxation is to encourage my players to invest in the new keep while curbing any whining about not having money to invest in the keep while also upgrading their own gear. I usually use the Magic Item Compendium's method for generating loot parcels, and my players tend to spend all their gold immediately, but never sell off magic items, even if they dont use them. As a result, they have little gold at any given moment, but the value of their gear is right on par with that recommended for a character at their level. Also, the other person who DM'd games for the group tended to award Monty Haul style treasure. I am generous with the loot... but not THAT generous.
Also, per the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, starting up resource nodes near a keep requires a quest, or 5% of the keep's value in start-up funds, and only returns 1% of the keep's value per year. They will have one active node when they start (a mine), which wont even cover the wages for their butler, 10 guards and an officer. Adding tax revenue will help them upgrade their staff without having to too much of their own money into the keep. These sort of slow accumulating resources also drive my players nuts, because over the past two years, they have only covered about 3 months in game time. Once the current campaign arc ends, I intend to switch to a more episodic structure, which will facilitate breaks to allow slow-growing resources to accumulate.
Starving peasants, farmers revolts, angry torch wielding mobs, false 'tax collectors' going around collecting loot under the name of the party, neighboring regions coveting this newfound tax base (war on the horizon?) ... Does the town have their own council of elders/ town council/ shamanic circle/ whathaveyou ? If so, they may want some sway over how the regional taxes get spent. They may even require the players to take care of things like a sick cow, a poverty stricken widow, the village idiot who keeps peeing in the well, etc.
Being a Baron/Lord can mean a lot of extra work! So either the players have to devise clever ways to keep everyone happy, or they can become despots (which can be fun in its own right)
Not to mention the whole nightmare - logistically- to collect said taxes. Unless the party has built up an unbelievably good reputation amongst the entire populace... it might prove difficult to figure out how to collect.
The possibilities are nearly endless! Have fun, I am envious of the torment potential you have now in your campaign!
So, to put things in context, the keep is located in a very LG kingdom with a major military bent -total knights in shining armor stuff.
My players earned the keep, because they saved the prince's life while he was being used as a living battery to power a plane-ripping doomsday device... (i.e., They deserve it.)
The trouble is, the PCs are mostly NG or CG & the two who are most excited about the keep are the CG drow cleric of Olidammara and the Aasimar bard. The cleric has already mentioned a desire to install a shrine to his mischievous god and the bard will likely be taking the leadership feat next level to attract a mob of well-meaning, but unruly minions to the party's employ.
So, not only does it look like this will likely be something other than a standard castle w/ halberd-wielding guards operation -which is really exciting- but I am anticipating the potential chaos that will likely ensue when their princely benefactor realizes he's just turned a group, consisting primarily of current & former thieve's guild members, into landed aristocracy.
This is gonna be awesome!
My players were told they would get control of the keep if they liberated the home estate of the estranged prince they had previously rescued. They just managed to achieve that goal tonight. They will be handed the keys next session. Of course, their next mission will take them on a chartered airship into the Red Wind Wastes... so they'll get some airship time too, even if they don't own the vessel.
Prior to that, however, they will need to cross a major mountain range on the scope of the Andes or Himalayas. I was thinking about having the vessel get caught in a storm during which time the PCs will have to help the crew hold the vessel together/on course. I'm thinking of it as somewhere between a skill challenge and a combat encounter. Some of my initial thoughts on problems the storm could cause.
* lightning strikes causing fire or structural damage - sorcerer has a rod of frost and some cold spells to put out fires (would require concentration checks on the pitching deck)
* The vessel can't get above the tallest peaks and must be steered between them. - The monk and/or Paladin could help hold the tiller steady with strength checks.
* Rigging snaps - the monk and/or rogue would need to make climb checks to get to the damaged lines and use rope to repair them.
* Members of the crew are injured in the chaos - The paladin &/or cleric must help heal/protect the crew to keep them alive.
Any ideas about how long I should let this nonsense go on, or about ways to further spice it up? I should mention that the airship is running weapons to a tribe of orcish partisans. The gnomish explorers provide them with advanced weaponry in exchange for protection and excavation rights in their territory. Perhaps some volatile weapons crates breaking loose could be just the spice I need.
That's all I can think of right now.
I'd let it go on for as long as there is game momentum. If it gets tedious or the players are getting upset that might be a sign to move forward. I try to make the game fun first and foremost (though very difficult challenges now and then are a necessity).
edit:
OOOOH! What if one of the orks casts reverse gravity (hey there can be orkish wizards right? or it could be another non-ork NPC) and the ship starts plummeting to the ground? They might have to get it out of the area of effect before they crash. (man that is evil)
Depending on the intelligence of any potential attackers, you could definitely have some fun causing trouble for the party. Some possible tactics enemies can use against flying vessels/ crewmembers:
Dumb foes: brute force, cosmetic damage (to prow, scorch or gouge marks etc) -- if they are borrowing the ship they might be expected to repair such things... Also, depending on size, some creatures have a lot of blood/ entrails/ excrement that comes out after a violent death (no where to run on a ship) or might even have toxic components, acidic blood, sulfur smelling guts, etc-- nasty smells, mild poisoning, etc -- cleanup, aisle 2 !
Extra smart foes: depending on the speed of your ship, a group of intelligent enemies who manage to get their hands on some intel regarding this weapons shipment could disrupt the player plans pretty easily. First, they get some flight spells going, then they load a bunch of invisibility potions in their backpacks, and finally some one shot items like smoke bombs, flash bombs, darkness 10' radius cubes, etc. They approach the airship stealthed, land, locate the weaponry then do their best to dump the weapons overboard. If and when the party discovers what is going on, the stealth group could cover their tracks, chug another invis and jump overboard to go soaring off without having to fight. ONe possible way this could go down: The lookout gets a spot check for the invisible approaching squad-- who is approaching from below the plane of the airship (impossible to detect until they actually rise to the ships altitude). The squad needs to make some stealth checks or similar to locate and sneak to the weapons cache. I am guessing the party wont have any security on the stash, since ... WHo could possible board us in mid air? is a common thought for such parties. Once located, there might be another chance for the party to discover the intruders-- noise from handling the weaponry. If its below decks, maybe they havea one shot item capable of blowing a small hole -- say 4 feet by 4 feet-- in the hull so they can proceed to dump the weapons. IN that case, the noise could either be a signal to the party to check on their stash... or if you are feeling devious the intruders could easily have a rock with silence 10 foot radius on them, which would negate the BOOM sound.
Hopefully at SOME point the party will discover whats going on, and try to stop it-- at which point you have the intruders use their distraction one shot items and have them flee.
Depending on the flow of the game, and how you feel it should progress, this could turn into a mission to land and recover the missing weapons. That encounter could easily be either totally non combat-- mapping skills, tracking, speaking to animals-- ranger, scout, or druid stuff--- or it could be a combat /ambush encounter (with the original group of infiltrators plus backup).
As far as RP only stuff, I dont know how many NPCs you have tagggin along, but anytime you have a closed environment can be a fun time to have certain NPCs start exhibiting weird/ funny/ annoying behaviors. Maybe an NPC chooses this trip as a time to express their undying love for one of the PCs-- inspired by the sunset over the mountains perhaps. Maybe there is even a poem to be read by the NPC, in front of the while crew to the embarassment of the PC about that love. Another good one is having two NPCs start quarrelling-- if the PCs dont manage their people enough, it could spill over into conlfict or even mutiny given enough time.
I guess my only other advice would be to add in an event or two for any of your players who dont normally get to shine as much as the other players in your group (if such exists). Some of the stuff I mention above works for that, but I dont know your PCs as well as you do obviously. If you have a bard, maybe have the crew start requesting a new song with each evening meal. If you have a leader type-- they should be expected to handle the personnel issues, solve disputes, and make major decisions (do we land and go after the weapons that got dumped, or just continue on?) -- and have NPCs make ongoing comments about those decisions as the adventure progresses.
I could go on... but I should probably answer some emails lol.. anyway sounds like a very cool campaign, and yeah, keep us up to date on what is happening, we are hooked.
As to the attack: If I throw in the storm scenerio, chances are the ship will be damaged. They will then be attacked by wyvern-riding orcs as they pass into orcish territory. So intelligent enough to use some battle tactics, but not big on the cunning plans.
Also, I like the thought of more NPC interaction while in a dungeon. I actually have a PC-NPC scenerio I am trying to utilize in preparation for a future reveal and this might be the perfect time for that... the build-up, not the reveal.
I am super psyched myself, just got word from our DM that our pen and paper session will be happening this Sunday night! woot! My adventuring goal for the evening: successfully have my gnome swashbuckle across a room on his grappling hook while drinking an ale--without spilling any. Wish me luck!
That incident prompted me to implement a "yes, but... rule":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-westerlands/wikis/risk-and-reward to help encourage my players to undertake spectacularly hare-brained/heroic ideas that make for amazing storytelling.
I like the way you cut jibs!
Something that is surprisingly fun is hull-jumping... this is when a character ties a rope around the main mast and his waist an jump off one side of the ship. The idea is to jump far enough out so that you have a taut rope to swing around the hull of the ship to the other side. There is usually bets on how long of a rope the character can use and still make it to the other side of the ship (they have to land on the deck on the other side). I'm not sure what I would assign the difficulty number to for d20, but I would make it reasonable difficult with a +1 modifier with each 1 or 2 feet added to the rope. I would rate this as a simple dex test, unless someone specifically learned hull jumping as a skill. if a character is able to default off another skill it could seriously put the game in his favor. You will probably need to pick up a passenger that has knowledge of hull jumping... but it's common in my world, among air sailors.
But in the GM guidebook for Paranoia-- the most important thing they stress is that Fortune Smiles on the Bold. If memory serves, the accompanying picture next to this rule is one that features an unarmored character dangling below a helicopter by one hand, firing off a sub machine gun at a group of grunts in armor below, who are returning fire but can't seem to hit our hero.
Ever since reading that, I try to keep that in mind when gaming, either as a player or GM. It makes the session more fun for everyone in my opinion.
One other cool tidbit from the paranoia rulebook that got etched into my memory: You don't need to worry too much about characters becoming too good at things. They tend not to last very long anyway. But that comes from a game where you start out as a clone, and you have to follow orders from everyone with a security clearance higher than yours -- including an order to march directly to the liquidation vats. Add to that the fact the every player must also belong to a secret society, every citizen has something called treason points, and the entire city is run by a computer programmed with a cold war mentality... and voila, you have Paranoia.
I still have fond memories of the first time I announced (as the voice of the Computer) during the game session : All Red Level Troublehooters report to the liquidation vats immediately.
:) -- FYI, every player starts out as a red level troubleshooter in paranoia.
Unfortunately, airships are a relatively new invention in my game, operated almost exclusively by the gnomish government, so the only place a lighthouse might exist is in the mountains near the Gnomelands. Unfortunately the path of this particular adventure goes nowhere near that direction.
Igor, the "yes, but" rule works fantastically when my players remember it exists. I remember our monk wanted to jump off a balcony and spin kick a kobold in the face once. Unfortunately, he failed his check horribly, so I had him land face first on a table, knocking himself cold. When he came to, he discovered the kobolds had set up a little scorpion fight gambling session on the table where his face landed... its the little things.
Incidentally, the rule also works great for resolving stalemates that are dragging on for many rounds and starting to bore everyone. -e.g. evenly matched grapples.
http://pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showbook&bookid=386
There are some interesting things in that adventure, but the characters are working for Air Warden Drimsby and they don't own the airship.
I hope one of your PC's used the trick against them at some point in the fight and "hull-jumps" into his own flanking position!