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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 6515364" data-attributes="member: 386">I don't think the home nations need to be very detailed.&nbsp; I'd focus on how they deal with trade, how they use magic, and how they deal with piracy.&nbsp; These are what the PCs are going to be interested in - should we ally with this nation over another?&nbsp; This nation turns a blind eye to piracy and stolen goods but they don't pay well, while this other nation really tries to crack down on piracy but they pay well.&nbsp; Design the nations to give the players some interesting choices to make.&nbsp; As for personality, a little bit of colour will go a long way - ruled by a despotic king; warlike and aggressive; industrious and amoral; etc.Fleshing out individual ports will be more important.&nbsp; I'd try to make sure that they're all at arm's length from their home nations - that'll give the PCs more leeway to change things.&nbsp; If every port can call on the full resources of its home country's navy, the PCs won't have much room to operate.&nbsp; If they need help from the PCs to get things done - a governor of a port wants to kill a naval captain because the captain slew his son in a duel when the two countries were at war, but now there's a truce and he's forbidden from taking his revenge, he'll be willing to pay the PCs for an assassination - then the PCs will have more options for adventure.&nbsp; (That's actually a bad example, because that kind of revenge plot could happen at any time.&nbsp; A better one might be that a port town is under siege and he needs the PC's help to break it, or at least smuggle in food and weapons, because the home country's navy is stretched thin; he'll pay the PCs but also turn a blind eye to piracy and maybe give them a port to trade in/do repairs in for the future.)Don't worry about naming things.&nbsp; As long as the players can remember the names and tell the different ports apart you'll be fine.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 6515364, member: 386"] I don't think the home nations need to be very detailed. I'd focus on how they deal with trade, how they use magic, and how they deal with piracy. These are what the PCs are going to be interested in - should we ally with this nation over another? This nation turns a blind eye to piracy and stolen goods but they don't pay well, while this other nation really tries to crack down on piracy but they pay well. Design the nations to give the players some interesting choices to make. As for personality, a little bit of colour will go a long way - ruled by a despotic king; warlike and aggressive; industrious and amoral; etc. Fleshing out individual ports will be more important. I'd try to make sure that they're all at arm's length from their home nations - that'll give the PCs more leeway to change things. If every port can call on the full resources of its home country's navy, the PCs won't have much room to operate. If they need help from the PCs to get things done - a governor of a port wants to kill a naval captain because the captain slew his son in a duel when the two countries were at war, but now there's a truce and he's forbidden from taking his revenge, he'll be willing to pay the PCs for an assassination - then the PCs will have more options for adventure. (That's actually a bad example, because that kind of revenge plot could happen at any time. A better one might be that a port town is under siege and he needs the PC's help to break it, or at least smuggle in food and weapons, because the home country's navy is stretched thin; he'll pay the PCs but also turn a blind eye to piracy and maybe give them a port to trade in/do repairs in for the future.) Don't worry about naming things. As long as the players can remember the names and tell the different ports apart you'll be fine. [/QUOTE]

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