Here are answers to some potentially important questions about the setting and house rules for this campaign. I'll roll this up into a document file that I can put up on Google docs, if I think of anything else to add.*****************************************************
Q. What is the objective of this campaign?
A. This is a sandbox-style game, where there isn't any single way to "win". Your broad goal is to expand your realm by promoting the growth of your own domain (the land and people under your direct control), and conquering the domains of enemy realms. There are over a dozen large and powerful chaotic realms on the far side of the mountains that you can reach through the Green Pass region, the Undying Lands, and conquering any of them would be an impressive accomplishment. More immediately, your job is to just survive!
Q. What is my title, and how important am I in the world?
A. At the start of the game, you are a member of the nobility. You've been granted your lands by a king (usually the human King of Durnovar, unless you are of another race), due to past services rendered to the cause of lawful civilization. Your rank in the nobility is at least equal to that of a baron/baroness, although you can style yourself as something else (e.g., "thane" for a more Viking flavor) if you like. There are plenty of more powerful dukes and princes in the world with realms consisting of many domains full of other barons. So you're lower-tier, by noble standards.
Q. How do I move up in the world?
A. Gain more territory and population, and rise in personal level. If you are a thief-type, then you only care about the number of employees you have, since you don't control lands; criminal guild-leaders have no official rank, aside from on someone's most-wanted list! Everyone else bases their rank in the nobility on total population. If your realm rises to 960 families, you control a "march", and you can style yourself as a marquis/marquess, which might be possible from the start of the game. If your realm rises to 4600 families, you control a "county", and you can style yourself as a count/countess. Getting to 20,000 families, which would probably require conquering a few other domains, will give you a "duchy" and make you a duke/duchess. Getting higher than that (archduke or prince) usually requires marrying a member of the royal family -- which would be a unique plot event!
Q. How do I get more domains into my realm?
A. First, you can conquer them, and install one of your heroes as a vassal, a junior-level ruler. This gives you a new domain to directly control. Alternatively, you could install a non-player underling of one of your heroes, to make an NPC domain that is part of your realm, but not directly under your control. An NPC domain will still respond to certain requests, like conscripting and sending you troops if you need them.
Second, you can explore the wilderness, clear it of dangers, and build a wilderness stronghold for a high-level hero. Once the hero hits 9th level, families will start showing up to join the new domain, and your hero will become a vassal.
Third, you can make diplomatic advances to a population of people you rescue from some threat, as a plot event, and they might be grateful enough to accept the offer of future protection.
Q. What characters do I control?
A. You directly control a ruler and a team of heroes. The ruler is very powerful, typically a successful retired high-level adventurer, but also can't stray too far from the domain without leaving it vulnerable to attack or other threats. The heroes, who are typically friends, family, or former henchmen of the ruler who have shared in that success, will often be your "player characters" in dungeon and wilderness exploration, the researchers in your magical laboratories, or the officers in your army.
Q. How does death work in this game system?
A. When you hit zero hit points, you take a mortal wound. This requires you to roll on a "mortal wound" chart. This sometimes kills you, and other times it just leaves you seriously scarred or maimed. Generally, it's not a good thing to have a mortal wound. The effect of mortal wounds (even death) can sometimes be undone by magic. A restore life and limb spell has a chance of restoring or resurrecting you, and a wish spell always works. This kind of magic (especially the latter) can be extremely expensive on the open market, so finding someone who can cast these kinds of spells is a high priority.
Often a large-scale battle ends with one side surrendering or being captured, rather than being wiped out to the last man. Typically important commanders and troops will be held for ransom or sold into slavery if this happens, so they can be rescued (for a price).
Q. What can I do with money?
A. Money (represented by gold pieces) is earned by taxes, mercantile income, criminal activity, and looting after conquest. Once you gain it, it goes into a treasury at your stronghold or hideout. It can be used to
- purchase goods and equipment at markets,
- recruit new soldiers or other employees,
- expand your stronghold,
- perform magical research,
- invest in the growth of your kingdom.
A. A market is available in towns or cities. The size of a market determines the number and quality of goods available. A Class VI market will have only a few basic items like food or arrows. A Class I market will have dozens of mercenaries, animals, powerful siege equipment, and allow you to commission large projects like ships or magical items. To determine if you can buy something, just send me a request for what you want to buy, and I'll roll on a table to see if it's present, and how many items are available.
The number of items available is limited by demographics, so you'll often find that you want to hire 100 heavy cavalry, but a market only has 13 of them! This might encourage you to travel farther to find another market, or to invest more money in your own domain's city, so it's market can expand.
You can usually find a healer who can cure you of exotic maladies (being petrified, polymorphed into a rabbit, etc) at a moderate-size market.
Q. Where can I find a really good market with lots of stuff to buy and people to hire?
A. If you start the game in Elysion (the region west of Green Pass), then you will be close to Straddleport, a Class II market. That's a decent place to hire most type of mercenaries, or purchase large amounts of equipment. Traveling between strategic hexes along a road takes about a week on foot, so you should be able to get there and back in a month. Alternatively, you can travel to the military outpost of Footman's Notch (the guarded gate at the center of Green Pass) to use a smaller Class III market, which might be closer if you are living out on the borderlands.
If you need to buy something rarer, or hire lots of top-end mercenaries, you can travel over the ocean to Durnovar. You'll need a ship, typically a sailing ship, to bring back your purchases -- maybe even a whole fleet of ships! Durnovar is roughly another week away by sailing ship (depending on ship speed). If you want to go farther afield for even more supply, you can make a long sea voyage to the distant port of Chukchi in Beringia, which is a couple thousand miles (a few months) away to the west. The sea kingdom of Beringia is populated by all sorts of megafauna suited for cold weather, like giant prehistoric mammals.
Obviously there are more sinister markets in chaotic realms beyond the mountains where you could shop, if you weren't liable to be killed on sight. Infiltration to buy something in those realms would require lots of stealth, planning, trickery, and an exit strategy...
Q. What sorts of threats exist to my domain?
A. Elysion suffers periodic incursions of monstrous armies from beyond the mountains. When these forces show up to raid domains, you'll have a chance to sally forth to meet them in the field. If you don't, they'll use spies to probe the local defenses. If your realm looks weak or your ruler doesn't seem competent, they'll probably show up to pillage your land, enslave your peasants, and maybe even besiege your castle! Even if your realm is strong, they'll probably hang around and make trouble for other nearby realms, who might reward you for your help.
There are also monthly random events that can positively or negatively affect your realm. Having a qualified and attentive ruler helps to ensure that these events are favorable rather than harmful.
Q. How do my characters (heroes and ruler) gain skills or levels?
A. In addition to winning experience from classical exploration activities like any RPG, you can also gain experience by
- conquering enemies in the battlefield, and pillaging their treasuries
- expanding your stronghold, or building other structures (mage-types can build a dungeon stocked with monsters to earn experience...)
- earning income from a domain's taxation, or from merchant activity (ships and caravans)
- performing magical research, if you are high enough level in the right class (5th for potions and scrolls, 9th for items, and 11th for designing monsters or raising undead)
Q. What kind of characters do I need to field an army?
A. Any character with at least 3rd level can command a platoon, at 5th level can command a company (a collection of platoons), and at 7th level can command a battalion (a collection of companies). Early in the game you'll probably be leading a division made of platoons, so 5th level is enough for a commander of a division of several platoons, and 3rd level is a enough to be lieutenant of a single platoon under the command of someone else.
You can also hire mercenary commanders, but they are expensive and not very loyal.
Q. What role do non-player characters (NPCs) play in the game?
A. You can hire additional characters to serve as henchmen for your heroes, just as your heroes are former henchmen of your ruler. They are not perfectly loyal, and require pay. High-level NPCs can become very expensive to retain! They are under your control most of the time, but might run away if a battle turned badly against you after a failed morale check. If you install them as vassals in a conquered domain, then the domain will be allied with you, but not fully under your control.
Hired NPCs must be lower in level than the hero for whom they are working, so if you want a 5th level NPC, you'll probably need a 6th level hero. NPCs gain levels slowly, at half the rate of a player character, since they are not making decisions for themselves.
Q. How do spellcasters get more spells?
A. For clerics (and subtypes), you get automatic access to any spell your religion allows. For mages and subtypes, you will need to either find spells in a dungeon, or research them in a library. You can either research a standard spell from the spell list, or you can invent your own new spell by mixing and matching effects from a table.
Q. Are there any restrictions on what I can do? If I find a dungeon full of low-level monsters, can I send in my 10th level mage-prince and take them apart with fireballs?
A. Nothing stopping you, but don't come crying to me if he falls into a bottomless pit. Or if your realm is attacked by the Egg of Coot while he's away....
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