Whither "Fields of Blood"?

[Raesene Andu]

(As it happens your description of what you're after is very similar to what I want in a set of rules - unfortunately, speaking as a person who has picked up pretty much every supplement on this subject, it appears to be the Holy Grail)

So basically what you are both after is a set of rules that govern what happens when the PC take over a fort or something similar and want to rule it, or build a castle in the wilderness and try to attract people to live there, as well as rules to cover trading, resources, an army, and so on. Interesting...

 

[Arnwyn]

errr. MMS:WE? Ennies anyone?

Since what you seem to be looking for in kingdom management rules is fairly specific, I think this comment is a little unfair.

Unfair? Hardly. That book is *not* a kingdom-management system at all (though it has those elements), and am confused at why someone would suggest that it is (though the book can certainly be used as a basic foundation to build one, and is one reason why I'm a happy owner of that fine book).

(As it happens your description of what you're after is very similar to what I want in a set of rules - unfortunately, speaking as a person who has picked up pretty much every supplement on this subject, it appears to be the Holy Grail)

Yeah, it seems so (I'm another who has tried to pick up all related supplements as well). I don't think it's impossible, though - the older OD&D Companion set made a respectable run at such things (and was further detailed in three Dragon Magazine articles in the "Voyage of the Princess Ark" series around issue #187 or so).

So basically what you are both after is a set of rules that govern what happens when the PC take over a fort or something similar and want to rule it, or build a castle in the wilderness and try to attract people to live there, as well as rules to cover trading, resources, an army, and so on. Interesting...

Yes, I think that could probably be defined as the Holy Grail of kingdom-management rules... much like what the OD&D Companion set tried to do way back when (I still keep that set, as I may still need it depending on what books come out). Something that is PC-centered, and based on their actions (short-term and long-term).

To be honest, at this point I'd settle with simply a flexible and adaptable system that provides a firm foundation, and allows for easy expansion. We'll see about Fields of Blood. Maybe after that book comes out, a bunch of systems can be combined to create a coherent whole.

 

[La Bete]

Unfair? Hardly. That book is *not* a kingdom-management system at all

!?!?!? I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. My view is that MMS:WE is adequate for much of the tasks of kingdom management. Where it fails is in areas such as expanding holdings, and the inegration of religous and guild holdings into the system.

the older OD&D Companion set made a respectable run at such things (and was further detailed in three Dragon Magazine articles in the "Voyage of the Princess Ark" series around issue #187 or so).

The companion rules rocked, as did the Princess Ark series. In fact, when we have played Birthright in the past, we have transplanted the loyalty and (modified) WarMachine rules.

Maybe after that book comes out, a bunch of systems can be combined to create a coherent whole.

Welcome to my pain. I have the BR 3e rules, and the Empire book, and MMS:WE, and none of them are quite right. Im currently trying to merge them into what I want.

 

[xrpsuzi]

!?!?!? I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. My view is that MMS:WE is adequate for much of the tasks of kingdom management. Where it fails is in areas such as expanding holdings, and the inegration of religous and guild holdings into the system.

Most religious orders with any clout own land. They're just like landowners. In cities, they're just like powercenters, same with guilds. There are religious figures that are town lords as well.

We probably should have made it more clear, but religious and guild landholdings are just like other landholders. Their social obligations may have another level to them, but that's really dependant upon what type of religious organization you're setting up.

IMHO, the reason why there isn't a book that tells you how to set up a fort and expand your holdings is that everything related to this endevour is entirely based upon the game world premise. There's simply to many variables to cover all the bases. That's one of the reasons we went into such depth with MMS:WE: to help you set up those parameters so you can do your own adjudication based upon your world. We tried to provide information on "how much" based upon a core book assumption, but when you get to questions of "how" ..... well that's another can of worms.

Oh, and thanks for buying it!

joe b. (edit: uh... being channeled by -suzi) yeah, that's it....

 

[Vaxalon]

I picked up Empire, and I'm very satisfied with it so far.