World Building Discussion

[sulldawga]

This thread will be for us to set expectations of how we think the game should be run, in broad strokes.

First question: does it make sense for you to create your main PC first? It might inform the discussion better if you know what you're playing. You tell me.

My plan is to use the Playing with Advanced Characters rules and start you off at Conqueror level. 310,000 xp to begin with, and 240,000 gp.

You won't need to use that cash to buy leveled henchmen. Since this is a solo game, I'm going to grant you a party of henchmen. We need to work out how many and at what levels.

[thirdkingdom]

I'm thinking of going fighter for my primary character, but want to know how you're going to allocate scores before making a final choice. And if I'm not spending cash on henchmen, what can I spend it on? Mercs sure, how about magical items? Or structures/vehicles?

[sulldawga]

For ability scores, I am thinking of giving you a set of five and letting you choose one. Since it makes the most sense to go Fighter, I will allow you to rearrange the scores as you desire. If you like an array but there's an 18 WIS and a 9 STR, for example, you could flip the two.

Since I find it highly unlikely that any 9th level PC would make it this far without an array of magic items, I'll grant you 1 weapon, 1 armor, 1 or 2 rings, and 2 (or 3 if you have only 1 ring) miscellaneous magic items, all guaranteed. I will choose but you can tell me what sort of weapon and armor you favor and if you want a second ring or a third magic item. I will probably roll randomly and bump it up if I roll something crappy like a +1 sword. If you want to buy more items, as per the rules, you can but I'll be rolling randomly for any additional buys.

The premise of the game as I imagined it is that you are a general in the Emperor's army, poised to invade Skyrim and pacify the revolting Nords. The timing is perfect, as a set of skirmishes between the orc tribes of Skyrim and the Nords has weakened both. However, just as D-Day looms, the Emperor dies and the nobility all recall their forces. The regular army is big but scattered across the Empire. There are only a few divisions of regular troops left at your command. The invasion force was strengthened by levies from the Emperor's vassals but they're all gone now.

You are a minor noble without much of a fortune. The Army is your life. Taking Skyrim was supposed to be the pinnacle of your career, allowing you to retire as Governor-General (maybe even named Duke?) of an entire province. The death of the Emperor has thrown your whole career path in doubt. Will the next Emperor be as focused on Skyrim? He will no doubt owe many people favors upon his coronation and you will not be one of them, most likely. It could be that the new Emperor names someone else to conquer Skyrim for him and you're transferred elsewhere.

However, if you were to conquer Skyrim on your own, presenting it as a fait accompli, the new Emperor is likely to accept you as ruler, especially if you swear fealty (or not, that's your call). You have remaining at your disposal one division of troops loyal to you, and perhaps a couple more that might be incented to accompany you. You'll need to recruit the rest from Skyrim itself.

Once you enter Skyrim, the border guards are going to seal the mountain passes until a new Emperor is chosen and things calm down. You'll be on your own.

So you may want to save that cash to pay your troops, or we can let you buy a Keep you had previously built in expectation of needing a command post for the war, or however you want to spend it. You just need to be aware that you'll be alone in an unfriendly, if not hostile, land with no way back to "civilization".

There are several jarldoms. Some of the Jarls swear fealty to the High King in Whiterun, Jarl Balgruuf. He acknowledged the Emperor's authority but who knows how he will respond to news of the Emperor's death? There's also the fact that he was content to let the Imperial army fight the Stormcloaks while his Nord jarls sat it out.

Other Jarls believe Skyrim should be independent and they claim Ulfric Stormcloak is the true High King. He has fought the Imperial presence in Skyrim and will no doubt fight you.

The point of this history lesson is that there may be some Jarls who will help you without bloodshed. However, they will all want something out of the deal. And, at least at the beginning, you're going to have to assume that no Jarl will give you Nord troops to fight the Stormcloaks without payment. Maybe gold, maybe you remove a rival for them, maybe you complete a quest for them...

Anyway, you know which Jarls are potential allies and which are Stormcloak sympathizers from the start. You can go to your strongest ally (pre-death of the Emperor) and look for shelter there, or you can build your own base from which to strike out. Your choice.

[thirdkingdom]

Sounds good. Would you happen to have a map I could peruse?

[sulldawga]

Here's a decent map with the major regions and cities/towns.

http://majamaki.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... map-lg.jpg

Note that there are only two ways into Skyrim by land: one is by Riften in the SE corner and the other, the way you're coming, is the Pale Pass in the bottom center of the map.

[thirdkingdom]

Thanks! I'm assuming this is the Skyrim from the video game? I've never played it, actually, so keep that in mind. That being said I think I'd like to go ahead and make my primary character while mulling over my options.

[sulldawga]

It's good that you've never played it, because A. I can change things and you won't notice and B. I can streamline it so that you aren't burdened by unimportant shit.

I will always assume that your character, having lived in this world his whole life, will know all the basics so I will feed that to you where appropriate. The history stuff may require the right proficiency. I will add a thread with a little more about the backstory so you can refer to it as needed and decide if any of your characters require a certain proficiency.

From a historical perspective, the most important thing to know is that the dwarves in this universe, known as the Dwemer, are gone. No one knows if they were teleported somewhere or if they all died, but they disappeared. Skyrim has many Dwemer ruins that could yield vast treasure so it may be useful to learn more about the race and their language...

[sulldawga]

[3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 12, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 6
[3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 14
[3d6] = 9, [3d6] = 7, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 7, [3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 11
[3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 9, [3d6] = 12, [3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 9
[3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 6, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 13

Well, those kinda suck. Let me do a run with my phone and get something better. But this is it for rolls.

9, 10, 14, 10, 17, 15

There, that's better.

EDIT: Actually, that second set wasn't all that bad but now you can choose one +2 and two +1s, or four +1s.

[thirdkingdom]

[3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 12, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 6
[3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 14, [3d6] = 14
[3d6] = 9, [3d6] = 7, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 7, [3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 11
[3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 11, [3d6] = 9, [3d6] = 12, [3d6] = 13, [3d6] = 9
[3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 8, [3d6] = 6, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 10, [3d6] = 13

Well, those kinda suck. Let me do a run with my phone and get something better. But this is it for rolls.

9, 10, 14, 10, 17, 15

There, that's better.

EDIT: Actually, that second set wasn't all that bad but now you can choose one +2 and two +1s, or four +1s.

I think I'll take set 2 for my primary character.

[thirdkingdom]

310,000 XP put him squarely in the middle of level 9.

[thirdkingdom]

Aight, so it looks like I get four class skills and four general skills (including the one from his Intelligence bonus). Let me think on this to see how I want to go:

I know I want to go Command and Leadership. Are you envisioning any dungeon crawling for the main character, or would that be the kind of thing I would send subordinates to do? How about downtime? Would it be worth taking something like Manual of Arms for my main?

I'd probably also want to go Military Strategy for another general, and Ride, I guess, for the fourth.

As to class skills, give me some time to figure it out. Are you thinking about trotting out D@W at all?

[sulldawga]

There will be mass combat. The question is whether we simplify it or try to run it D@W style. That's entirely your call.

I foresee your main PC still seeing combat. There will be low, medium, and high level encounters.

Downtime for sure. Might be more worth it for your henches than your main but if you find something you want to do, go for it.

Do you want me to create a PC template for stats, or just steal one from your game at RPG.net?

[thirdkingdom]

There will be mass combat. The question is whether we simplify it or try to run it D@W style. That's entirely your call.

I foresee your main PC still seeing combat. There will be low, medium, and high level encounters.

Downtime for sure. Might be more worth it for your henches than your main but if you find something you want to do, go for it.

Do you want me to create a PC template for stats, or just steal one from your game at RPG.net?

I'll just use the template I made for the Dwimmermount game here.

[thirdkingdom]

Couple more questions:

1)It sounds as though there will be plenty of folks on the Skyrim to hire (mercenaries, laborers, sages, etc.) -- assuming things work out politically -- so it will be less of a logistical challenge than my game, correct?

2)What size army should I look to be building?

[sulldawga]

Consider this knowledge you learned from your army spies in preparation for the invasion, rather than out of game meta knowledge.

Skyrim is a kingdom in the ACKS sense, but just barely. The population is well under 400,000 families.

There are no Class I cities in Skyrim. The largest city, Solitude, is the capital of Skyrim and is a Class II city. It lacks a local Nord jarl, as the former High King resided here and was assassinated by Ulfric Stormcloak (which kicked off the revolt against the Empire). The current ruler of Solitude is an Imperial general named Tullius. You know him by reputation but not personally. In theory, you outrank him and he should cooperate with you but since you'll be acting without the Emperor's blessing, it's an open question how he'll react to your presence in Skyrim.

The other Class II cities are Windhelm, headquarters of the Stormcloak rebellion, and Whiterun, the capital of Whiterun Hold (the most populous and prosperous Hold in Skyrim). Jarl Balgruuf, as mentioned previously, is the new High King but he hasn't taken the throne in Solitude because he feels he needs to stay in Whiterun and defend against the Stormcloak aggression, should they move on his Hold.

There is also at least one mercenary company that you know of, the Companions. They are led by former adventurers who were wildly successful and started the Company after their retirement.

Going out tonight but will try to get you an estimate tomorrow of the military forces you'll likely face.

EDIT: I need to make a couple edits here because I forgot the actual lore. Been a while since I played the game. Solitude does not lack a Jarl, as the former High King's wife is now Jarl. Jarl Balgruuf is not the new High King but he is the Jarl of the biggest, richest Hold in Skyrim. He would be the odds-on favorite to be chosen High King if it wasn't for that pesky Stormcloak rebellion.

[thirdkingdom]

Cool. Just wondering if I should be shooting to hire a dozen mercs or a hundred.

[sulldawga]

A lot closer to 100 than 12.

[sulldawga]

If you look at D@W:Campaigns, on p 10 they have a list of Mercenary Availability by Realm Size. Assume Skyrim is the same size as the Kingdom example (364,000 families). That will give you an idea of the total number of mercs available, across all human Holds and orcish Strongholds.

Then, on p 18, you can see the size of the entire Kingdom's vassal troop army. Again, assuming the low end, the total number of troops in all standing armies in Skyrim is going to be around 36,000. Divide that by the nine Holds, plus you think there are four Orcish warchiefs to deal with as well. So each leader in Skyrim has around ~2,800 soldiers under arms full-time.

Feel free to double check my math.

EDIT: Assume you can start with one loyal division of troops. We'll assume (and I am open to your ideas here) that a division is at least 1,000 troops of mixed rank (e.g. some light infantry, some heavy infantry, some mounted troops, etc.). I'll let you decide troop composition, within reason. You'll have to pay them but you can trust them and their leaders. They will be veteran troops, perhaps some elite.

You can try to recruit more men from the Imperial army at the beginning but I will be randomly determining loyalty and quality. Once you enter Skyrim and the gates to the Empire are closed, you won't be able to recruit any more men from the Imperials (except for the ones already in Skyrim).

[sulldawga]

Since I find it highly unlikely that any 9th level PC would make it this far without an array of magic items, I'll grant you 1 weapon, 1 armor, 1 or 2 rings, and 2 (or 3 if you have only 1 ring) miscellaneous magic items, all guaranteed. I will choose but you can tell me what sort of weapon and armor you favor and if you want a second ring or a third magic item. I will probably roll randomly and bump it up if I roll something crappy like a +1 sword. If you want to buy more items, as per the rules, you can but I'll be rolling randomly for any additional buys.

Sword +1, Flame Tongue ("Herebane's Courage")
Shield +2 ("Herebane's Wall")
Armor of Choice +2
Ring of Spell Turning (8 charges)
Flying Carpet
Amulet vs Crystal Balls and ESP

Let me know if you want another ring or another miscellaneous magic item.

The sword (which can be of any type e.g. short, long, 2H) and shield are of Elven make. You know of the existence of armor called Herebane's Fortress and have heard rumors that wearing the full set will grant the wearer some sort of added magical power. Herebane's Fortress was last seen, coincidentally, in Skyrim but it was centuries ago.

EDIT: Slightly changed the names of the armor since it didn't make much sense to have a Fortress and a Castle.

[thirdkingdom]

If you look at D@W:Campaigns, on p 10 they have a list of Mercenary Availability by Realm Size. Assume Skyrim is the same size as the Kingdom example (364,000 families). That will give you an idea of the total number of mercs available, across all human Holds and orcish Strongholds.

Then, on p 18, you can see the size of the entire Kingdom's vassal troop army. Again, assuming the low end, the total number of troops in all standing armies in Skyrim is going to be around 36,000. Divide that by the nine Holds, plus you think there are four Orcish warchiefs to deal with as well. So each leader in Skyrim has around ~2,800 soldiers under arms full-time.

Feel free to double check my math.

EDIT: Assume you can start with one loyal division of troops. We'll assume (and I am open to your ideas here) that a division is at least 1,000 troops of mixed rank (e.g. some light infantry, some heavy infantry, some mounted troops, etc.). I'll let you decide troop composition, within reason. You'll have to pay them but you can trust them and their leaders. They will be veteran troops, perhaps some elite.

You can try to recruit more men from the Imperial army at the beginning but I will be randomly determining loyalty and quality. Once you enter Skyrim and the gates to the Empire are closed, you won't be able to recruit any more men from the Imperials (except for the ones already in Skyrim).

Cool. Let me think on this a bit. I need to decide if I want to go with a mixed division of troops like a real army or do more of a mercenary company concept (a la Black Company, The Deeds of Paksenarrion, etc.) which would have more of a focus on one or two troop types.