Hi guys,
The first tome of the all new Classic Play series, the Book of Strongholds & Dynasties, written by Adrian Bott, is now shipping to distributors and will be in local stores next week.
The Classic Play series are a set of 256 page hardback books focussing on fundamental aspects of d20 fantasy games. They have been designed from the outset, in terms of presentation, breadth and scope to be the definitive works in their area, building up into a complete library that both players and Games Masters can use to enhance their games with a series of plug-in rules. The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties will be followed by the Book of Dragons (shipping soon!), the Book of Encounters & Lairs, the Book of the Sea and the Book of Planes, with more titles in the works.
The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties kicks off with an overview of strongholds, introducing those who use them and how they are often acquired - there are more routes to rulership than just carving out a niche in the wilderness and gathering workers to build a set of walls on top of a hill. . .
Before Construction Starts provides a detailed look at siting a stronghold - players must consider defensibility, supply of food and water, and the stability of the land. If it is prone to subsidence or flooding a fix must be found, be it manual or magical. An enormous amount of labour must be gathered to construct a stronghold (though details are provided on how Lyres of Building can help) and clear the area ready for the foundations. Being fantasy, players may choose to employ dwarven specialists, brute force (in the form of ogres or giants) and, of course, magic.
Basic Buildings in Earth and Wood, Intermediate Buildings and Fortifications are the next chapters, providing every structure a player could possibly want, along with ready-to-use map keys of each - essential when putting together the final map of the stronghold. These include simple moats and embankments, up to more esoteric designs such as tree forts, taverns, industrial buildings (which cover the likes of breweries, glassworks and printing presses), cathedrals and light houses.
This all, of course, allows you to build the quintessential medieval fortress, a staple of the fantasy-genre but not always practical when magic and dragons are present. So, Extraordinary Strongholds is a chapter that will let your imagination run free. Fancy a Crystal Castle or a Citadel of Ice? An Iron Clad? Also featured are exotic constructions as the Clockwork Castle, Skull Fortress and Castle of the Clouds, among many others. If players don't start building these, NPCs certainly will!
Once a stronghold has been built, players are going to want to customise it to their own personal design - this is where Additional Stronghold Features comes in. Alarm systems (mechanical and magical), armouries, beacons, carpeting, clocks and many more are all introduced to make life inside a great deal better or an assault on the place a great deal harder. The magical voice activated lock has a great deal of potential. . .
The Offensive and Defensive Features chapter will naturally receive a lot of attention from budding castle builders. These are magical additions to a stronghold, designed to provide a mighty construction with a degree of defence against fantasy attackers - animated weapons, for example, or antimagic zones. Disintegration lances can seriously ruin an attackers day and the rules for encouraging gargoyles to live in some areas of a fortress can upset potential thieves.
The other option, of course, is to build a stronghold underground, something the dwarves are very much aware of - the Underground Strongholds chapter allows you to do just that, with rules for roof support, creating tunnels, utilising natural caverns and more. This is followed by Powered Strongholds - the creation of a single engine room deep in the fortress that powers defences, traps, drawbridges and doors (a scenario right there if the villain of a campaign has a powered stronghold). Power sources include boilers, elementals, dragons, golems, lava, lightning, the sun, treadmills and water.
Once you have your stronghold, you will be looking to rule the land around it - after all, land means power, taxes and people willing (ahem) to fight for you in the event of war or great danger. The Mechanics of Government kicks of the second half of this book with a look at creating your own province in worlds of fantasy. Resources and Goods demonstrates what your land might be able to provide in terms of both sustenance and revenue, if you are willing to gather it properly.
The Power Structure details how a nation may actually be run, starting with the Inner Circle (likely the player's own party) who make the real decisions governing their people's destiny. On top of this, however, players will also have to find individuals to fulfil positions such as the public Council, Captain of Armies, Chief of Defence, Treasurer, Minister of Agriculture and many, many more. Running a few square miles of wilderness around a new fortress is relatively easy - but when your lands sprawl over thousands of square miles and include several cities, reliable administrators must be found. Every such position comes with its own special abilities - the Minister of Agriculture can introduce Rationing, for example, in times of famine, while an Archmage will be able to Optimise Communications within the government. This chapter lays out the groundwork for some serious high-level political play.
The Art of Governing establishes several governmental models players might like to attempt to follow - despotism is an easy system to set up, but they might also like a look at monarchies, high kings, republics, theocracies, magocracies, and plutocracies. Each must be set up in a different way and provides its own benefits and drawbacks. Each also has an effect on how corrupt a government can become. . . This chapter also looks at how to run a nation, through the use of Governing, Diplomatic, Economic, Legislative, Executive, Police, Civic, Military and Covert actions. These can be done by utilising the people within your power structure (telling the Captain of Armies to invade your neighbour, for instance) or by performing set actions such as Propose Alliance, Demand Tribute, Ban Certain Character Classes, Proclaim New Taxes and many, many more. There are enough roleplaying opportunities in this chapter to keep even the most power-hungry players happy for months!
The Seedtime and the Harvest chapter takes a look at the common people of a nation, those beyond the actual power structure. Their worries are usually far more mundane and if players are to avoid a revolt and rioting in the streets, they will have to watch population growth, food production and how the two can affect one another. Trade and Taxation will be of great interest to any player who enjoys the pursuit of gold and trading with neighbours is a good way to offset the likelihood of war. There are a variety of different taxes that may be placed upon a population (and inventive players will no doubt come up with many more!) but there is only so much of a burden that may be placed upon the people.
Of course, there will come a time when the power structure and diplomacy fails - players being what they are (!). This is where the Warfare chapter will come into its own. This takes a look at recruiting, building, training and equipping an army, hiring mercenaries, and building war machines - all in preparation of wars that may be inevitable in the worlds of fantasy.
All this leads on to Version II of the Open Mass Combat System. First featured in the Quintessential Fighter (with offshoots as a preview in Seas of Blood), we have spent the past two years tweaking and revising the rules, ironing out all the kinks that many of you chaps pointed out. It is now far more streamlined and has the ability to cope with literally any new d20 rule seamlessly in a mass combat environment. And yes, we sorted out the areas of effect of spells as well
The tome winds up with a few words from Adrian about what he has achieved in this mighty book, a complete index and Regime & Province sheets that will soon be available on our web site for download.
The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties will be available in your local stores next week, priced at $34.95.
The first tome of the all new Classic Play series, the Book of Strongholds & Dynasties, written by Adrian Bott, is now shipping to distributors and will be in local stores next week.
The Classic Play series are a set of 256 page hardback books focussing on fundamental aspects of d20 fantasy games. They have been designed from the outset, in terms of presentation, breadth and scope to be the definitive works in their area, building up into a complete library that both players and Games Masters can use to enhance their games with a series of plug-in rules. The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties will be followed by the Book of Dragons (shipping soon!), the Book of Encounters & Lairs, the Book of the Sea and the Book of Planes, with more titles in the works.
The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties kicks off with an overview of strongholds, introducing those who use them and how they are often acquired - there are more routes to rulership than just carving out a niche in the wilderness and gathering workers to build a set of walls on top of a hill. . .
Before Construction Starts provides a detailed look at siting a stronghold - players must consider defensibility, supply of food and water, and the stability of the land. If it is prone to subsidence or flooding a fix must be found, be it manual or magical. An enormous amount of labour must be gathered to construct a stronghold (though details are provided on how Lyres of Building can help) and clear the area ready for the foundations. Being fantasy, players may choose to employ dwarven specialists, brute force (in the form of ogres or giants) and, of course, magic.
Basic Buildings in Earth and Wood, Intermediate Buildings and Fortifications are the next chapters, providing every structure a player could possibly want, along with ready-to-use map keys of each - essential when putting together the final map of the stronghold. These include simple moats and embankments, up to more esoteric designs such as tree forts, taverns, industrial buildings (which cover the likes of breweries, glassworks and printing presses), cathedrals and light houses.
This all, of course, allows you to build the quintessential medieval fortress, a staple of the fantasy-genre but not always practical when magic and dragons are present. So, Extraordinary Strongholds is a chapter that will let your imagination run free. Fancy a Crystal Castle or a Citadel of Ice? An Iron Clad? Also featured are exotic constructions as the Clockwork Castle, Skull Fortress and Castle of the Clouds, among many others. If players don't start building these, NPCs certainly will!
Once a stronghold has been built, players are going to want to customise it to their own personal design - this is where Additional Stronghold Features comes in. Alarm systems (mechanical and magical), armouries, beacons, carpeting, clocks and many more are all introduced to make life inside a great deal better or an assault on the place a great deal harder. The magical voice activated lock has a great deal of potential. . .
The Offensive and Defensive Features chapter will naturally receive a lot of attention from budding castle builders. These are magical additions to a stronghold, designed to provide a mighty construction with a degree of defence against fantasy attackers - animated weapons, for example, or antimagic zones. Disintegration lances can seriously ruin an attackers day and the rules for encouraging gargoyles to live in some areas of a fortress can upset potential thieves.
The other option, of course, is to build a stronghold underground, something the dwarves are very much aware of - the Underground Strongholds chapter allows you to do just that, with rules for roof support, creating tunnels, utilising natural caverns and more. This is followed by Powered Strongholds - the creation of a single engine room deep in the fortress that powers defences, traps, drawbridges and doors (a scenario right there if the villain of a campaign has a powered stronghold). Power sources include boilers, elementals, dragons, golems, lava, lightning, the sun, treadmills and water.
Once you have your stronghold, you will be looking to rule the land around it - after all, land means power, taxes and people willing (ahem) to fight for you in the event of war or great danger. The Mechanics of Government kicks of the second half of this book with a look at creating your own province in worlds of fantasy. Resources and Goods demonstrates what your land might be able to provide in terms of both sustenance and revenue, if you are willing to gather it properly.
The Power Structure details how a nation may actually be run, starting with the Inner Circle (likely the player's own party) who make the real decisions governing their people's destiny. On top of this, however, players will also have to find individuals to fulfil positions such as the public Council, Captain of Armies, Chief of Defence, Treasurer, Minister of Agriculture and many, many more. Running a few square miles of wilderness around a new fortress is relatively easy - but when your lands sprawl over thousands of square miles and include several cities, reliable administrators must be found. Every such position comes with its own special abilities - the Minister of Agriculture can introduce Rationing, for example, in times of famine, while an Archmage will be able to Optimise Communications within the government. This chapter lays out the groundwork for some serious high-level political play.
The Art of Governing establishes several governmental models players might like to attempt to follow - despotism is an easy system to set up, but they might also like a look at monarchies, high kings, republics, theocracies, magocracies, and plutocracies. Each must be set up in a different way and provides its own benefits and drawbacks. Each also has an effect on how corrupt a government can become. . . This chapter also looks at how to run a nation, through the use of Governing, Diplomatic, Economic, Legislative, Executive, Police, Civic, Military and Covert actions. These can be done by utilising the people within your power structure (telling the Captain of Armies to invade your neighbour, for instance) or by performing set actions such as Propose Alliance, Demand Tribute, Ban Certain Character Classes, Proclaim New Taxes and many, many more. There are enough roleplaying opportunities in this chapter to keep even the most power-hungry players happy for months!
The Seedtime and the Harvest chapter takes a look at the common people of a nation, those beyond the actual power structure. Their worries are usually far more mundane and if players are to avoid a revolt and rioting in the streets, they will have to watch population growth, food production and how the two can affect one another. Trade and Taxation will be of great interest to any player who enjoys the pursuit of gold and trading with neighbours is a good way to offset the likelihood of war. There are a variety of different taxes that may be placed upon a population (and inventive players will no doubt come up with many more!) but there is only so much of a burden that may be placed upon the people.
Of course, there will come a time when the power structure and diplomacy fails - players being what they are (!). This is where the Warfare chapter will come into its own. This takes a look at recruiting, building, training and equipping an army, hiring mercenaries, and building war machines - all in preparation of wars that may be inevitable in the worlds of fantasy.
All this leads on to Version II of the Open Mass Combat System. First featured in the Quintessential Fighter (with offshoots as a preview in Seas of Blood), we have spent the past two years tweaking and revising the rules, ironing out all the kinks that many of you chaps pointed out. It is now far more streamlined and has the ability to cope with literally any new d20 rule seamlessly in a mass combat environment. And yes, we sorted out the areas of effect of spells as well
The tome winds up with a few words from Adrian about what he has achieved in this mighty book, a complete index and Regime & Province sheets that will soon be available on our web site for download.
The Book of Strongholds & Dynasties will be available in your local stores next week, priced at $34.95.
