Favorite "Home Base" Rules?
I haven't gotten into the nitty gritty of designing it, more just conceptualizing at this stage, but my own game is going to be taking cues from Arora: Age of Desolation. Thats a 3PP supplement for 5e DND, and its a real hidden gem.
For one, just to comment on it, Arora is probably the first time Ive read any RPG material where it felt like I was just reading my own thoughts, so while that colors why I got so excited by what Arora offers, it has actually played well in practice, not just for 5e but even DCC and Black Hack.
But as for what it does in regards to home bases, it frames their creation around the need to make Survival more of an interesting and fun experience overall, and moreover one that works even into the higher levels.
But its not just home bases or Strongholds, its entire Settlements, which scale up from big tent camps all the way up to Megaopolis sized cities, and where it really excels is that it keeps it all very manageable and non-fiddly, though it might be a little too un-granular for some; if ACKS is at one end of the spectrum, Arora is nearly its opposite.
The way the system works is a sort of step-by-step thats integrated with the supplements Exploration rules (which are also fantastic), and you go through the process over time of finding a good spot, attracting settlers, developing it and establishing infrastructure, and then the gameplay loop kicks in with the need to protect the Settlements, which provides a necessary drain on resources so that theres generally always a reason to go out and adventure.
The way my game is going to be adapting it is by extending the bookends of the progression (the camps characters make to rest through the night are going to be at one end, and entire nations at the other end), and then integrate with a more elaborate take on ACKS idea of having class-specific Strongholds and Organizations. This would then result in the Party becoming the "Alliance" as the players variously build up these large scale power bases, and through these, high level play transitions into a morphed, larger scale version of basic adventuring.
A thief in normal adventuring might use their skills to pick a lock or subdue a guard, but as part of the Alliance, their Guild will be fostering a shadowy crime-underworld, undermining the Alliance's enemies by cutting off their resources, blackmailing or otherwise scamming people on a large scale.
Its pretty ambitious, particularly given I intend for the game to cleanly scale between individual adventuring and the Alliance gameplay, as well as allow for players to cleanly and freely swap between the two at will, but its more or less what I see as ther logical conclusion for these kinds of mechanics. Plus, its also pretty important as one of my goals for the game is for reaching a high level to not be a reason to stop playing and start over.
ACKS got close but never really went far enough, and it really buries its good ideas in a lot of minutia that, while useful, tends to obscure the gameplay that makes it all worth it. Its really a book that could have done with segregating that stuff into a separate book, so that the player facing stuff could be cleaner and more concise.
For one, just to comment on it, Arora is probably the first time Ive read any RPG material where it felt like I was just reading my own thoughts, so while that colors why I got so excited by what Arora offers, it has actually played well in practice, not just for 5e but even DCC and Black Hack.
But as for what it does in regards to home bases, it frames their creation around the need to make Survival more of an interesting and fun experience overall, and moreover one that works even into the higher levels.
But its not just home bases or Strongholds, its entire Settlements, which scale up from big tent camps all the way up to Megaopolis sized cities, and where it really excels is that it keeps it all very manageable and non-fiddly, though it might be a little too un-granular for some; if ACKS is at one end of the spectrum, Arora is nearly its opposite.
The way the system works is a sort of step-by-step thats integrated with the supplements Exploration rules (which are also fantastic), and you go through the process over time of finding a good spot, attracting settlers, developing it and establishing infrastructure, and then the gameplay loop kicks in with the need to protect the Settlements, which provides a necessary drain on resources so that theres generally always a reason to go out and adventure.
The way my game is going to be adapting it is by extending the bookends of the progression (the camps characters make to rest through the night are going to be at one end, and entire nations at the other end), and then integrate with a more elaborate take on ACKS idea of having class-specific Strongholds and Organizations. This would then result in the Party becoming the "Alliance" as the players variously build up these large scale power bases, and through these, high level play transitions into a morphed, larger scale version of basic adventuring.
A thief in normal adventuring might use their skills to pick a lock or subdue a guard, but as part of the Alliance, their Guild will be fostering a shadowy crime-underworld, undermining the Alliance's enemies by cutting off their resources, blackmailing or otherwise scamming people on a large scale.
Its pretty ambitious, particularly given I intend for the game to cleanly scale between individual adventuring and the Alliance gameplay, as well as allow for players to cleanly and freely swap between the two at will, but its more or less what I see as ther logical conclusion for these kinds of mechanics. Plus, its also pretty important as one of my goals for the game is for reaching a high level to not be a reason to stop playing and start over.
ACKS got close but never really went far enough, and it really buries its good ideas in a lot of minutia that, while useful, tends to obscure the gameplay that makes it all worth it. Its really a book that could have done with segregating that stuff into a separate book, so that the player facing stuff could be cleaner and more concise.
kmdietri
Explorer
By tightened up the loose ends, did they re-release anything as a final version?
kmdietri
Explorer
That all sounds very interesting, I'll check those two out.
payn
He'll flip ya...Flip ya for real...
Yes, they did a few items. There was the Ultimate Campaign guide that rounded them up. Then, they did a hardcover version for PF1 buttoned up. Finally, there is a PF2/5E version floating around I believe. That or its release is on the horizon.
I like the system in Mutant: Year Zero where you improve your "Ark". It's a bit simplistic, but it provides a great way to build investment in the characters' home base. You start out as a band of desperate people on the edge of starvation and where any item of any worth is either scavenged or built from scavenged parts, and by building various improvements you improve both your tech production, your defenses, your food production, and your sense of community.
kigmatzomat
Hero
Tome of Heroes has an OK downtime activities system with manors, trade, magical gardens, etc. It's a little overly simplistic for my tastes.
At the other end is Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, which has a ridiculously detailed manor system. I appreciate it as a gold sink and for the quantity of flavor but admit it is too far the other way.
I feel I want something about twice as deep as ToH but a third as complex as MMSWE.
At the other end is Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, which has a ridiculously detailed manor system. I appreciate it as a gold sink and for the quantity of flavor but admit it is too far the other way.
I feel I want something about twice as deep as ToH but a third as complex as MMSWE.
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