Prataferro: A New Campaign

[Loonook]

So I have officially decided to close the books on Legendfall for at least awhile... But the homebrewing bug has yet to leave the cockles of my heart. Or perhaps the sub-cockles... Somewhere in the general cardiac area. After delving into the Economy of D&D a bit I think I've found my muse in currency and high fantasy.

I present the basic tenets of Prataferro. Yes, I know it is a cheap method of generation for a name (Silver/Iron in Portuguese? Meh) but I like the fact that it frames the setting's nature. I've taken my lessons from other settings and believe I have a good background to work off of to create something big.

The Setting is...

Genre-Savvy: An understanding of the SRD in 3.x and the D&D milieu in general exists within the setting. An assassin will take the heart and jaw to prevent himself from being found out... and making his target's supporters pay. Lead trades for a good sum due to its use in protection from divination. The jail of a commoner is quite a bit different than where an adventurer may go...

Patronage/Diplomacy is Key: An Adventurer rises into society through his friends. Keeping yourself ahead of the headsman, taxman, and the law will depend on how happy your patrons are with you.

Life is Currency: The Church will resurrect a commoner... After their account accrues interest. And their relatives pay the Inscription fee to keep their accounts balanced in the Book of the Dead. You may place your body and soul as collateral on loans. Spellcasters pay for their reagents, and some spells may cost you more than that... Soldiers sell their corpses to their Liege, and if they die in service without paying their flesh-price...

Necromancy is Not Hidden/Evil: Someone doesn't pay your Inscription? Your bones go to the Soul Auction, sold to any liege in need of soldiers. Kings raise armies of the dead to battle when times need, and soldiers stand beside their kindred, knowing their lives are just as forfeit.

Economy: Players pay taxes, tolls, and costs. They invest in businesses, fund caravans, and carry their weight. An adventurer may be a man paying a debt in produce of his journey, someone paying their flesh-price, or just keeping ahead of the Collectors...

Age of Exploration: The setting has cannon and gunpowder. Great ships of men seeking fortune bear holds of groaning riches. New worlds can be found on the horizon, and no one knows just how far the world reaches... and what lies beyond. Piracy, privateers, scourges of sea and air, and clashes between the Old and New will arise.


These are the basics behind the setting so far. I want to bring back a bit of the old feel of magic (aging/weakening as a cost to casting certain spells, spell components being a bit more expensive/harder to find) while also providing for a unique setting. The players actually have an investment (literal and figurative) in the places they go. Costs are important, and maintaining your lifestyle is as important as having a magical sword.

So what do you think?

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Gold Roger]

Love the crazy and unique ideas you have here.

Putting in game economics at the forefront should make for a rather unique play experience.

However, as a player I'd be worried I'd have my head swimming with numbers in no time and keeping track of the PC's finances, debts and insurances alone sounds like a lot of work for the DM.

If you're good at that stuff (I'm admittedly not) and can present it in a digestable way to the players, then I say you've got something very promising at hand.

Only thing that gets a negative knee-jerk reaction from me is the gunpowder. As I read through your ideas, I imagined a rather archaic/antique style world to contrast all the very modern and genre sawy. But that's propably just be me and my unholy love for rampant anachronism.

 

[Loonook]

Love the crazy and unique ideas you have here.

Putting in game economics at the forefront should make for a rather unique play experience.

However, as a player I'd be worried I'd have my head swimming with numbers in no time and keeping track of the PC's finances, debts and insurances alone sounds like a lot of work for the DM.

If you're good at that stuff (I'm admittedly not) and can present it in a digestable way to the players, then I say you've got something very promising at hand.

Only thing that gets a negative knee-jerk reaction from me is the gunpowder. As I read through your ideas, I imagined a rather archaic/antique style world to contrast all the very modern and genre sawy. But that's propably just be me and my unholy love for rampant anachronism.

It is the Age of Exploration. Gunpowder is still quite expensive... But Pathfinder does include them with some not-so-terrible versions of guns. The fact is that the economy of the early period doesn't have a depth-of-field that I wanted to work with... And I don't mind blunderbuss and cannonade. Make the Magi fearful .

Some of the setting information can be found Here, along with my first take on how to handle the Debt. I haven't started in on the Advantages and Flaws system yet; however, I feel that various 'racial' combinations will lead to higher debts, as they require specific Classes or Caste prereqs to take and actually have a cost.

This allows me to use GP as a form of XP. You invest yourself in clearing the Debt or suffer the social (and later physical/mystical) issues of shirking your debt. The Collectors are not creatures to be trifled with...

Also, as the campaign expands there will be access to various other groups. The Choice may affect them in different ways that allow me to exploit various ideas I have regarding D&D and things to do with it. Finding the balance will be the interesting part... The Debt numbers have yet to be playtested .

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Aeolius]

taxes, eh?
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ahJPxfGp4]Popeye Taxman - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Loonook]

taxes, eh?
Popeye Taxman - YouTube

Cruel Aeo. Cruel.

The Flesh Price serves as an offset of Level Adjustment and a bit of balancing factor for various classes. The Setting will also be using a series of rules for Training and other options... But I also wanted to create something unique.

So I went with the Miseravel. What happens when you don't pay your debt in time? Well... Read the Wiki and see .

Slainte,

-Loonook.