migration

[kolvar]

I am thinking about doing a netbook/ guide/ rules-supplment about migrations of nations as a some kind of campaign setting or something to give a new kick to old campaigns.

I got ideas for the descriptions but am missing everything that is rules, like PrCs, Feats, Spells, Economic factors etc.

Anybody interested to help?

 

[Steven McRownt]

Your idea is interesting, and i could help you, but i would know more of what you have in mind. In particular, if you think of a particular settings, or just general rules...

Steven McRownt

 

[kolvar]

I was thinking about a general supplement. explaining what it is, impact on economy of the nations the migrations goes through, dayly death-rate, reaction to the migration, reasons for start and end of migration, organizating a migration, military might, how it navigates, resources needed and impact on the campaign, retro-introducing migrations into a campaign.

I got a bigger list, but would have to translate it first.

 

[Steven McRownt]

Kolvar, you don't know how much i understand your translation problems!!!!!! Anyway, i give all my help on the topic, and i will start to write down some ideas. Perhaps just a division in chapter of what we want to do....

Steven McRownt

 

[kolvar]

fine, what have I got me into again (g).
If you had not answered, I would just have dropped the toppic for quite a while, now I have to work real hard on it.

I will probably post something tomorrow

 

[Steven McRownt]

And i will post something too. Good work Kolvar.

 

[Steven McRownt]

Here i am, as promised. But i didn't do my homework yesterday night ...anyway my ideas were to look the Athasian Elves (Dark sun) and look at the way they've been converted to 3e. After all their nomadic nature seems to be a good starting point.

Steven McRownt

 

[kolvar]

I do not know much about darksun, could you breif me.

Here are my ideas, what I would like to dexcribe/ write about


1. what is a migration of a nation
2. Reasons to migrate
a. Threat from a powerful neighbor or a large invading force
b. threat from within (progroms vs. a large group of the population
c. environmental catastrophes
d. hunger/ economic preasure
e. Overpopulation (sometimes only a part of the people starts to migrate
3. Prerequisits:
a. a country/ land to migrate to.
b. basic mobility (ability to transport some household goods and norishment)
c. central leadership (either one person to rally behind or some kind of organized and respected institution)
d. a feeling to be a people of at least some understanding that one is a group (other people sometmes start to follow the migration, increaing the number o the trek).
4. likely cultural level and organization of the people
a. most often, the people that start the migration will not be urbanized, because people living in cities tend to stay close to their wealth
b. the country/ land the people starts may not be to large, else the people would just wander to another part of the country.
c. the level of civilization when the migration starts will not be very high (either never having evolved or being reduced through war)
5. When is a group of fugitives large enough to be a migration of a nation (number of persons relativ to average number of persons belonging to other nations)
6. How does the are look like the migration leads to?
a. vacuum of power: an empire is week or declining or some desease or war has decimated the people living in that area
b. A strong army is most often able to stop the migration
c. unorganized areas allow the migration to migrate through the area.
d. sometimes empty areay (deserts)
o Empires sometimes will accept the migrating people as allies or will employ them as troops or may settle the people as a buffer vs. other aggressors Puffer, Hilfstruppen etc.
7. Mobility of the people
a. cavalry
b. chariots, carriages, carts, wagons
c. infantry
d. herd animals
e. ways to sustain the people
f. military might
o aggressivity of the people: Will they search fo a mainly uninhabited land or will they fight for their new home
8. We! feeling of fellowship
a. common language
b. same home-country
c. leader
d. sub leaders
e. similar traditions/ customs
9. Navigation
a. How do they find their way
b. pathfinders
c. help from locals
d. divine hints
e. Stars
f. by specific places/ landmarks/ rivers/ mountains
g. frontiers of countries and empires

10. military organization
a. which weapons
b. the way to fight
c. how strong relative to other people they meet

11. How long will the migration last?
a. just the neighboring country (d.h. the people are strong enough to fight for the land which could lead to another migration by the original inhabitants of the country)
b. migration lasts for several years, sometimes reaching every corner of a continent.
c. is stopped by treaties or forc

12. economical results
a. what does it mean for the people that are visited by the migration

13. cultural results
a. what do the migrating people learn
b. what do other learn from these people (cultural influence)


Rules:
How fast is the trek
how much does it need for sustainance
number of deaths per month/ week
birth-rate
how many persons will start going with the trek each month
Moral
How many fighting men (women) per civilian
Relationship to other people (and why)
splitting of the trek (reaons and chance)
settlement

Examples:
Real: (Cimber and Teutons? Franks? Goths?)
example tribe

Campaign uses:
to bring disorder to existing structures
great war
explaining existing structures, cultural similarities between countries, languages etc.

Sheets:
Describing a Great Tribe (number of persons, warriors, religion, death-rate, birth-rate, xenophbic?, way to navigate, reason to migrate etc.)
(maybe two sheets: one for tribes and one for migrations)

 

[Steven McRownt]

First of all i give you the racial traits of Athanasian Elves, taken by a conversition i found months ago in the old Eric Noah's Conversion pages (perhaps it is still to be found in the enworld black pages)

Racial Traits
Ability Score Modifiers: +4 Dexterity, -4 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom
Medium Sized but base movement is 45 feet (30 in heavy or medium armor)
Low-light Vision
Endure Elements: Have endure elements (heat and cold) as a extraordinary ability.
Racial Skill Bonuses: +2 to Bluff, Hide, and Move Silently Checks
Favored Class: Defiler
Elf Run: Add Constitution (in miles) to daily movement rate

Elf run
Con + 1d20 Days before
Penalties
10 or less* 1
15-19 2
20-24 3
25-29 4
30-34 5
35-39 6
40+ 7

*or a natural “1” or no attempt to prepare for run
Elven leaders may add their Charisma modifier to the roll for a mass elf run.

Elf Only Racial Feats

Water Conservation [Special]
An elf only needs half the water of a creature of his size.
Note: The character may only buy this feat at 1st level.


I already told you that they are nomadic tribes moving form a part to another of the desertic world of Athas. The high bonuses on the stats are so high just becuase life there is very very hard...!


Anyway your ideas really likes me, and i started a research in the national library here in Rome, to have more historical facts. We should however think that we have to set a fantasy-level in all this (how much magic there are, and how can affect those variables): forgotten reals is a high magic world, a standard one could be greyhawk, low magic is DarkSun (and for someone Ravenloft)....

Another problem is finding some cultural basic ideas for non human races who migrates. We have to modify the human point of view... after all the timing of an elf migration could be much more longer, and just for -i guess- real dangers...

Steven McRownt

 

[kolvar]

I think we have to come from what we realy know (i.e. no magic) and think about the problems that people with access to magic would not have or could overcome in a different way (food is rather easy with a lot of clerics, navigation is a different manner).
Look at the bible (Exodus): the people where norisched and led by god, but they had to wander around and hunger nonetheless.
Why do gods allow their people to get hungry or get defeated by another people?

So many questions!!!