Doomed Slayers - A campaign framework justifying roving bands of adventurers

[Jürgen Hubert]

Just bought the PDF and it downloaded / displayed without any issues. Let the enjoyment commence. Thanks!

I still have the bug. Very strange indeed.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I just got an email from DriveThruRPG, saying that they are working on this problem. Hopefully they will solve it soon...

 

[Derren]

If they claim to be Slayers but refuse to act like one, then they will not get the benefit of the privileges of Slayers - which may mean criminal persecution for tax avoidance, breaking travel restrictions, theft, and anything else that may apply.

Either failure to act like a Slayer, or other Slayers denouncing him and/or coming after him for failing to live up to the Code. After all, such people ruin it for everyone...

From your short description "acting like a slayer" mainly contains going out and kill monsters, something people can not verify. So when a heavily armed person comes into the town and proclaims himself to be a slayer people have to believe him. All the while he enjoys respect, no taxation and the other benefits and then he either goes to the next town to not blow the ruse. And if someone asks him to help he of course accepts, negotiates a forward payment for equipment if possible and then runs off never to be seen again. And people still don't know if he was a slayer or not, after all he might have been killed trying to do whatever he was tasked to do.

For other Slayers to denounce him they also first have to know that he is a fake. Also if that is enough it leaves the door wide open for witch hunts caused by slayers with a grudge. And which Slayer do you believe when they accuse each other to be a fake?

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

From your short description "acting like a slayer" mainly contains going out and kill monsters, something people can not verify.

Well, "lack of monsters plaguing the local community" is a good indicator.

So when a heavily armed person comes into the town and proclaims himself to be a slayer people have to believe him. All the while he enjoys respect, no taxation and the other benefits

Well, he still has to earn a living. Slayers don't get a stipend for doing their job.

And as for "respect"... well, Slayers aren't really adored. They are dangerous people doing dangerous jobs and have a reputation for rowdiness, which is enough to make most people wary of them. They are appreciated when they have helped someone out, of course, but they won't get freebies just for being Slayers - in fact, prices often tend to rise sharply when they are around.

and then he either goes to the next town to not blow the ruse. And if someone asks him to help he of course accepts, negotiates a forward payment for equipment if possible and then runs off never to be seen again.

Which is why smart villagers should insist on payment upon completion of the job. Furthermore, if the village is poor and can't offer much in the way of payment, the Slayer is still expected to help out - though if he is helping more prosperous folks, he is entitled to "appropriate compensation" if they can afford it.

And people still don't know if he was a slayer or not, after all he might have been killed trying to do whatever he was tasked to do.

Well, if he dies during the job they won't have to pay him, unless they negotiated badly.

For other Slayers to denounce him they also first have to know that he is a fake. Also if that is enough it leaves the door wide open for witch hunts caused by slayers with a grudge. And which Slayer do you believe when they accuse each other to be a fake?

Mostly people try to stay out of such squabbles, or else suggest some monster they could hunt down to prove which one of them is real.

 

[GhostBear]

For other Slayers to denounce him they also first have to know that he is a fake. Also if that is enough it leaves the door wide open for witch hunts caused by slayers with a grudge. And which Slayer do you believe when they accuse each other to be a fake?

This doesn't sound like a problem to me. It sounds like an opportunity for the characters to do some investigative and social work.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

The product page is up again, and this time I did successfully download it.

Anyone else who had this problem please try again and tell me if it worked.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

This doesn't sound like a problem to me. It sounds like an opportunity for the characters to do some investigative and social work.

Yup. I didn't want to make the rules for Slayers to be covering every possibility because no rule system or code of conduct can do that in the real world - and keeping things loosely provides more possibilities for opportunities, as each Slayer may have a different interpretation of what being a Slayer means. Does a certain Slayer transgress against the Code, or does he live up to its letter? And who gets to judge him? The player characters will have to come up with their own answers solutions, and how they present themselves to their peers and the rest of society will matter just as much as the facts.

While Slayers can be run as straight-up monster killers and dungeon delvers, the opportunity for all sorts of social interaction is definitely there - and intentionally so. I believe this is actually facilitated by making Slayers a distinct social class.

 

[haakon1]

Do you envision "Slayer" as a badge anyone can fix to his breast or are the Slayers a somewhat organised group?

Sounds like a guild or crusader organization to me.

If it's a guild, I imagine it providing apprenticeships, testing people who are ready to be "journeymen slayers", and providing some resources like leveling-up training and the spellbooks Wizard's copy from for their "level up" free spells. So a background element for the players, and a downtime element, but not direction and control from anyone.

If it's a crusader organization, I can see it having fortified outposts or depots, commanders who assign missions, and roles for old wizened adventurers as trainer, logisticians, and guards. Also a lot of room for roleplaying and background. The crusader option would likely involve some special form of dress ("taking the cross" in real life, or "taking the black" in Game of Thrones) to identify people the peasants should feed and the lords should allow free passage, as opposed to random non-crusading freebooters.

 

[haakon1]

1. Why are slayers needed? Why can't cities send the militia to destroy monsters?
1b. Why can't cities keep soldiers trained as slayers for permanent defense?

My campaigns aren't about Slayers, but I'll answer how I deal with these issues (which I think are excellent questions for any campaign).

1a) WHY CAN'T THE MILITARY DEAL WITH MONSTERS?

The militia and other military forces are low-level in my campaigns (which are in 3.5e). The setting doesn't "flex" to fit the levels of the PC's, it just is what it is.
-- Professional soldiers are typically Warrior 1. This includes Town Guards (gate guards/police/firemen), Castle Guards (gate guards/archer/missile engineers), "yeomanry" feudal forces (richer farmers who pay their rent in military service), rank-and-file troopers in professional units like Bissel's Border Companies, Ket's Copper Guard, and the Knights of the Watch.

-- Sergeants are anywhere from Warrior 2-Warrior 4, or Fighter 2-3. Bodyguards for a noble would be these sorts of levels too.

-- Knights might be Aristocrats or Fighters, and could be a wide variety of levels. Average might be an Aristocrat 2/Fighter 1 for rural knight, or Fighter 2-3 for a member of a knightly order whose profession is fighting.

-- Professional military officers are "higher" level Fighters, which in my campaign means Fighter 4 or higher, usually. A Captain-General (commanding a regimental-sized unit or larger) might be Fighter 7-9 or so.

-- A village militia will have few Warriors, more of the usual mix of Commoners and Experts. A typical rank-and-file village militiaman only serves if the manor is under attack, and would be a Commoner 1 carrying two spears, no armor. The village head might be an Expert 4 with chain armor, a crossbow, and longsword.

-- As Jurgen said, the militia and the professional troops could deal with things like a goblin raid or a human war, but not a vampire infestation. In my campaign, a particularly well-fortified and rich town dealt with the news of werewolves in the area by doubling night watches on the walls and at the town gate, having a rule that two men must always be together at night -- no one is ever out of sight of another guard -- and issuing two silvered crossbow bolts to each man.

1b) WHY CAN'T CITIES KEEP SLAYERS ON RETAINER?

In my campaigns, PC's are often hired by the national government to be "trouble shooters" across the land. Cities are a bit too small to need constant adventurers on hand, unless they are troubled places like Cauldron.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

My campaigns aren't about Slayers, but I'll answer how I deal with these issues (which I think are excellent questions for any campaign).

1a) WHY CAN'T THE MILITARY DEAL WITH MONSTERS?

The militia and other military forces are low-level in my campaigns (which are in 3.5e). The setting doesn't "flex" to fit the levels of the PC's, it just is what it is.

Yeah, there is that, too if you go with the assumption of D&D/d20.

1b) WHY CAN'T CITIES KEEP SLAYERS ON RETAINER?

In my campaigns, PC's are often hired by the national government to be "trouble shooters" across the land. Cities are a bit too small to need constant adventurers on hand, unless they are troubled places like Cauldron.

Technically, they probably could - but most cities (barring something like Ptolus) won't offer as much opportunity to get experience in monster-hunting as roaming the lands will, so Slayers who stay within a single city won't be as experienced as others.