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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rilvar" data-source="post: 5861567" data-attributes="member: 67519">AER An Echo, Resounding provides a completely different approach to domain level play. It is written to work with all systems, so domains have their own stats and rules. With only a few conversions you could easily make this system relate to your game, by say setting the conversion between Wealth and gp.  It begins with game set up – creating the map, creating locations, resources, ruins, and populations. It has a very detailed approach to exactly WHAT to put in your campaign map as the recommended sandbox setup for good play, but in practice the GM could completely ignore this section and set up the map according to taste, or just use a pre-made one. What is important is deciding which locations are really important and assigning AER descriptions to all those locations. For simplicity AER assigns everything into a role: population center, ruins, resources, or lairs. The default setup assumes a wilderness or borderlands setting, so it assigns all locations an obstacle of sorts that an upcoming domain ruler must overcome. This setup can easily be changed by GMs if the campaign is not on the borderlands, where players are overcoming other domains rather than obstacles.  AER then gets into domain management. Domains are simply a collection of locations under the control of one power. Domains are described by three attributes: military, economic, and social, to which all the domains locations and assets contribute. Upkeep costs use the same three attributes, and accounting is simply a matter of not allowing costs exceed domain totals. Domain actions consist of a number of predefined actions that are resolved with a simple roll for success, modified by the domain’s attributes. In practice, it allows players to resolve domain turns very quickly, keeping the game focus on adventuring with only a small portion of the session devoted to domain management.  The domain management system is elegantly simple yet very powerful. Instead of trying to extrapolate game rules to fit the domain, using gp values to measure costs and calculating the construction time of each tower in the keep, AER’s three attribute model allows players to resolve domain actions quickly and allows GMs to manage broad domains without too much burden. Some aspects of AER can seem over simplified for GMs wanting great variety in the world (what if my location isn’t a town, ruin, resource, or lair?), but in practice these simplifications are critical to allow the game to cover the broad scope of strategic level play while keeping the game manageable.  However, the system is somewhat lacking when detail is important. For example, it reduces castles to military units that can in theory be constructed in three domain turns (turns default at a month of game time). The GM may be somewhat pressed under this system to figure out what exactly a 30 wealth domain means in game play, or what effect a lyre of building might contribute to the domain. While obviously simplified penalties and bonuses using the attributes system could account for player actions, players who like to get into the details of things may be frustrated to make the conversion between their game system details and the AER generalizations.  Where the system shines is for strategic level play. Using a simple scaling system, GMs can easily use this system to run anything from a borderland region with a few scattered towns to a sprawling empire that stretches over the continent. It even allows GMs to run a small scale domain game for the players while simultaneously running the entire region to provide a backdrop, and easily integrate the actions of the players’ small domain into the big picture. The players hear about the great war between the Rose and the Lion, so they decide to struggle to bring their hidden valley under control that they may become valued vassals in the great conflict. As their domain grows in power, they may scale up to begin playing on the big map, transitioning from town management to kingdom management.  Overall I would say it’s a great system, simple yet powerful. Those that are left wanting for more details can easily incorporate rules from other systems by ensuring the outcome of these projects translates into the three attribute paradigm. I’d recommend to anyone wanting to incorporate strategic level play into their game, though those who are only looking to incorporate a stronghold and surrounding land would probably be better off with other more detailed systems. </blockquote>

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