Pathfinder 1E Paizo re-invents Hexcrawling

I just started a Kingmaker Subscription tonight. I was a subscriber for a while until my daughter was born and we were trimming the fat, as it were.

I can't wait to see how others have started converting this to 4e.
 

log in or register to remove this ad


I'm a big fan of the old Birthright setting, so a question for the Paizo folks: if you are familiar with that old setting, is this gonna be at all similar, even in over all flavor, to Birthright's realm rulership system?
 

Unite the old school grognards and 3.5 players once and for all. Come on, do it. :devil:
It seems they might also unite "old school grognards", "3.5 fans" and "4E fans", considering the demand for conversions. ;)

It seems (if it hasn't seem so before) that Paizo really found a great niche in the world of roleplaying - the "D&D compatible adventure". (One might have to add "...of high quality", since it wouldn't work so well if they created bad products.)
 


I'm a big fan of the old Birthright setting, so a question for the Paizo folks: if you are familiar with that old setting, is this gonna be at all similar, even in over all flavor, to Birthright's realm rulership system?

While I was designing Kingmaker's kingdom-building/city-building rules, I certainly had Birthright handy to look through for inspiration. But the rules themselves are quite different, as is the focus. With Birthright, the focus of the game WAS the kingdom management/building. With Kingmaker, the focus of the game remains on the adventure itself. The kingdom building element happens in the background; it's a lot more streamlined and a lot less detailed.

The basic gist of the kingdom rules will be that a kingdom has three scores: Economy, Loyalty, and Stability. They'll function similarly to saving throws or skill checks; you make them periodically to see how your kingdom's doing, and you increase them by growing your kingdom and constructing buildings in your cities.
 

Thanks for the reply James.
Sounds good. I know the detailed rulership rules were not everyone's cup of tea. I like the idea of a lighter set of rules. Of course, if the lighter rules are solid, then they can be a good base from which to add more detail...
 

Other than the simplicity it may offer, I do not quite understand why a " hexcrawling " type of game actually requires hexes...
 

Other than the simplicity it may offer, I do not quite understand why a " hexcrawling " type of game actually requires hexes...

I think simplicity is the reason for it. You could do it with a compass and a scale, but that can be difficult for even us professionals (land surveyor). Hexes provide not only discrete units of measurement, they also give good directional information, making navigation easier. In addition, Hexes are good for DMs as a way of populating a region (one feature per hex and about 1 in 5 of those being "significant" is a good guideline), as well as making randomized terrain or features easier.

Plus, nostalgia.
 

The basic gist of the kingdom rules will be that a kingdom has three scores: Economy, Loyalty, and Stability. They'll function similarly to saving throws or skill checks; you make them periodically to see how your kingdom's doing, and you increase them by growing your kingdom and constructing buildings in your cities.

Do the kingdom rules feed back into adventuring at all?

For example, can you get a dwarven artificer in your kingdom to make you a magical warhammer? Can you "level up" a trusted squire into a knight so, when your PC dies, you can play him instead of starting back at square one? Henchmen that you can grab from the kingdom to help you out on your adventure?

That sort of thing.

I'm writing my own "domain management" rules but I'm wondering if I have to.
 

Remove ads

Top