Military Academy Design (was Open Question for Wulf Ratbane on "Lazy Days")

[blargney the second]

Thanks for the feedback and input, guys!

Here's the setup that I'm thinking of using for generating stats:

3 PC's, all start with 8 in each stat. Each player gets a stack with 12 cards: 2 that add +2 to each stat. Once the cards are in their final distribution, they can each pick one of the seven special ability cards.

Can anybody think of a way to improve this system? What sorts of PCs do you think it will tend to generate? I'm no great shakes in game design, I'm just doing the best I can here!

-blarg

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

3 PC's, all start with 8 in each stat. Each player gets a stack with 12 cards: 2 that add +2 to each stat. Once the cards are in their final distribution, they can each pick one of the seven special ability cards.

Can anybody think of a way to improve this system? What sorts of PCs do you think it will tend to generate? I'm no great shakes in game design, I'm just doing the best I can here!

-blarg

I would definitely distribute the special cards with all the rest. There's something about those special cards; some folks would rather have them than ability scores. Give them the option!

Also note that in your setup, someone could end up with all 6 of one card, total bonus of +12, total ability score of 20. I don't know if that's a problem for you or not, but the players could definitely have some collusion there-- a couple of folks who dump out of Charisma, suffering 8's, so their buddy the paladin can have a 20 Charisma.

After racial modifiers, you could be looking at a 22 for some stats.

So you might want to raise the minimum to 10 and reduce the number or value of the cards. A 10 in every stat, 2 cards at +1 each.

So if you don't trade, you end up with all 12's. (Same as before.)

If you corner the market, you end up with a 16, 18 after possible racial mods.

That's the setup I would go with. It also lets players min/max a little bit (keep an 11, or 13, with the intent to raise it at 4th level) which isn't a bad thing, since it gives them that extra cookie to look forward to at 4th level (instead of having to raise a score at 4th level, and get nothing for it until they spend another point on it at 8th level).

Wulf

 

[Shallown]

I did they all start with 10 and have one card of each stat worth +2 in that stat and a special card. At first I had the special cards sealed but the players wanted to know what they were seeing no point in trading cards with no value (since they didn't know what the special was). So they opened them up and they were then valuable.

As far as starting skill points goes you could asign the extar 6 based on a background story. then you don't have to worry about some subset of rules for spending them. You use the info provided by players but you asign them. Gives you a little freedom.

I personally added 2 skill points to every class and it has never been a problem allowing lots of knowledge, profession and craft skills to be bought just becuase no one has to be stingy with skill points. I think it is a matter of play style. My style uses lots of skill checks etc. I didn't want to punish players for not having skills do to mechanical/rule reasons. Of course the ranger with .5 rank of Knowledge (stinky fish) still throws me. (He worked in a fish cannery for 2 months)

Later

 

[blargney the second]

I didn't specify it previously, but I had already decided that 18 was the max for any stat before racial mods. Note to self: there can be no unwritten rules!

I want to keep the number of rules and cards to a minimum, while allowing 18s if the players want them. Wulf, you're absolutely right about the uneven stats and min/maxing - two odd scores will allow some of that to occur.

Taking your suggestions into account, here's what I'm thinking:
- stats start with 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10
- 6 stat cards/player, +2 each
- 1 special card/player (given with the stat cards)
- 1 extra set of cards that I'll trade with them and keep for future PCs
- 18 max in any stat before racial mods

How does that sound?

Shallown, I love the idea of giving bonus skill ranks based on their background! *yoink*

Incidentally, I've started developing a bit of the campaign material. The PCs will be younger sons of minor nobles, enrolled in an academy for training gifted scions who don't necessarily have a future in the family business.

Amongst the things I would like to include:
- faculties for each of the major disciplines
- tournaments, fairs & taverns
- field trips
- attacks on the school
- visits from the academy's lord
- rivals and allies for the PCs
- family coming to visit
- vivid teachers and caretakers
- a golem guardian that will cause some havoc at some point
- a village with appropriate amenities

More ideas are very welcome!
-blarg

 

[blargney the second]

I've had a few more ideas! I just re-read Johnn Four's NPC Essentials, and it inspired me to make up a quick list of NPCs and organizations.

I want to have something of an Animal Farm undercurrent to the game, so one of the villains will be an awakened boar druid that is secretly awakening animals in the city. He is recruiting them into an army that he will use to overthrow the humanoids when the time is right for a revolt. One of his main motivating tricks is to promise to awaken their mates only if they side with him.

I am waffling on the religion front right now. I would like to incorporate both the Small Gods ideas as well as the cultural religious differences from CleverName's Palaestra setting (of Byzantium on the Shannon fame) with monotheist human invaders vs polytheist non-humans.

In the nobles' (military?) academy
Teachers & Faculty
Headmaster
Dean of Warfare
Dean of Arcanists
Dean of Prayer
Riding & mounted warfare: a condescending awakened horse.
Summoning & planar lore: an earth mephit (secretly the familiar of a dragon or similar powerful entity to be determined/used later.)

Students
Noble scions
Postgraduate students (alumni)
Independent researchers
Visitors

Non-Teachers
Golem guardian: inactive for so long that it has moss on its head & shoulders (controlled by..?)
Lord
Lord's Steward
Academy's Steward
Master of Birds (messengers)
Gargoyles

Servants
Stablehands
Gardener
Cooks, scullions, Chef
Cleaning staff
Hospital, healers

Potential villains
Doppelgangers

In the town around the academy
Guilds
Smiths
Merchants
Dockworkers
Bakers
Tanners
Entertainers
Thieves (The Old Boys' Club)
Wizards
Masons
Brewers
Tailors (aka The Cloth Guild)

Taverns, Stores & Markets
Expensive auberges
Mediocre hostels
Common taverns
Seedy dives
Breweries
Bazaar vendors/clients
Farmers' market
Familiar Shoppe
Herbalist/Exotic ingredients
Magical candy store

Administration
Town Mayor
Notaries/scribes
Tax collectors
Town granary
Town stockpile
Foreign embassies? (Heralds)
Chamber of commerce
Port authority
Racial community representatives
Water board
Gaoler
Magistrates
Executioner/public flogger
Public work slave gangs (criminals/prisoners) & masters
Undertaker/Coroner

Religious
Monotheist church?
Proselytizing foreign zealots
Shrines for small gods

Military & paramilitary
Constabulary
Gate guards
Local militia/reserves
Armory
Barracks
Aerie (griffons etc)

Citizens
Upper crust
Minor nobles, landed gentry
Passing nobles and knights

Middle crust
Healers, midwives
Wine merchant
Magic broker
Bourgeois, nouveau riche
Banks, moneylenders

Lower caste
Homeless/Poor/Beggars
Orphanage
Undercity & sewer dwellers

Illicit activities
Non-guild thieves
Smugglers
Red light district
Awakened boar druid (awakened by..?)
Necromancers in wizards guild?

In the region around the town
Resources
Mine, refinery
Manors (supply food, etc)
Quarry
Forest
River, coastline, or lakefront

Future movers/shakers
Earth mephit teacher's master. (dragon?)
Were-seagull pirates
Evil humanoid marauders
Fiendish winged monkeys.. gotta figure out how to include them!