Where in...?

[EJARVIS@yaleads.ycc.yale]

I was wondering where in the world are your campaigns held? Mine, right
in-between the Gorgon and the Sphinx. I wanted my players to be fearful of
the Gorgon but not be right next to him. My dwarven player rules the realm of
Baruk something :) I dont have the book in front of me, and i can never
remember how to spell that realm. :)

well, how about the rest of you?

Eric

[Eric Putnam]

On Tue, 26 Nov 1996 EJARVIS@YaleADS.YCC.Yale.Edu wrote:

> I was wondering where in the world are your campaigns held? Mine, right
> in-between the Gorgon and the Sphinx. I wanted my players to be
> fearful of
> the Gorgon but not be right next to him. My dwarven player rules the
> realm of
> Baruk something :) I dont have the book in front of me, and i can never
> remember how to spell that realm. :)

Baruk-Azhik? :) If it's as interesting as Tuarhievel (just bought!), the
player who runs the dwarf ought to be pleased.

> well, how about the rest of you?

Funny you should ask. I'll be using the BR rules to set up a game in my
own campaign world. I can't decide how best to handle regency; dispense
with the "blood" rules and assume that any ruler can collect RP? Or
something else?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Eric C. Putnam | "If you can name the object
eputnam@osf1.gmu.edu | In that baggie over there
One Guy's Opinion...| Then mister, you're a better man than I."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Robert Harper]

At 10:28 AM 11/26/96 -0500, you wrote:

>Funny you should ask. I'll be using the BR rules to set up a game in my
>own campaign world. I can't decide how best to handle regency; dispense
>with the "blood" rules and assume that any ruler can collect RP? Or
>something else?

A recent issue of Dragon translated BRright into Al-Qadim setting with an
arabic/religious explanation for Bloodlines that works quite well. Any "in
ancient times divine blood mixed with mortals" explanation can work.

In my campaign, a series of cataclysms wracked the world for several years,
absorbing magical energies from items, potions, spell books, spells in place
and even the essences of several deities. Eventually this magical energy
was unleashed back into the world in a flood. Some remarkable individuals
and creatures absorbed this energy as Regency (it has also had lots of other
effects).

I have added a feature in that province borders are 'fae flows' - that
mortal minds conceived of these regions as borders and thus magical energies
were channeled along them. These fae flows are turbulent zones which impede
magical transportation or scyring - forcing more real travel and espionage.
Giving borders more substantive effects has proved very useful in keeping a
higher level campaign under some control.

__________________________________________________ _________________
| |
| We ask ourselves if there is a God, how can this happen? |
| Better to ask, if there is a God, must it be sane? |
| |
| Lucien LaCroix |
|_________________________________________________ __________________|

[Sepsis]

At 01:45 AM 11/26/96 EST, Eric(EJARVIS@YaleADS.YCC.Yale.Edu)wrote:
>
> I was wondering where in the world are your campaigns held?...
>

My Players are based in Dhoesone. It allows each of them to be Regents of
equal standing, and play from the same country. I should point out that each
Player is a Regent of a different type of Holding, of course.

Undertaker, richt@metrolink.net
RL Homepage: http://www.metrolink.net/~veleda/sepulcher.html

[Eric Putnam]

On Tue, 26 Nov 1996, Robert Harper wrote:

> A recent issue of Dragon translated BRright into Al-Qadim setting with an
> arabic/religious explanation for Bloodlines that works quite well. Any "in
> ancient times divine blood mixed with mortals" explanation can work.

Thanks! I totally forgot about that article! I'll give it a close look-see.

[SNIP--interesting stuff!]

How crucial is subdividing domains into provinces? From an economy-of-
effort standpoint, it would help to have a one-to-one ratio of rulers to
areas.

What's the easiest way to simulate membership in a confederacy/empire?
Low-level law holdings in each area? Is there anything *better*?

Looking forward to hints/stories/whatever from this group! And I'll make
sure to share any insights I come up with along the way!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Eric C. Putnam | "If you can name the object
eputnam@osf1.gmu.edu | In that baggie over there
One Guy's Opinion...| Then mister, you're a better man than I."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Robert Harper]

At 09:16 PM 11/26/96 -0500, you wrote:
>How crucial is subdividing domains into provinces? From an economy-of-
>effort standpoint, it would help to have a one-to-one ratio of rulers to
>areas.

I think subdivision is crucial. It allows areas to be added piecemeal,
slowly expanding, and to be splintered and contested in the same fashion.
It also forces strategic decisions about development and domain actions.
This emphasises the political and economic aspects of the game.

At large size, say a kingdom/empire/nation of 20 provinces, it becomes
impractical for a single "Ruler" to hold all provinces as s/he still has
only one action a domain turn and can't respond to all developments. Thus
the need for local rulers (vassals in BRight rules who give a portion of
earned Regency to their overlord, along some with revenues). They can be
hereditary or appointed officials - this works equally well with a feudal
heirarchy or appointed governors, or even elected officials.

Whether as subordinates or allies, this can also encourage PC-cooperation
and give everyone "something to do".

Democratic domains are fun. Elves are Athenian-style democrats in my
campaign (helping to explain why they like smaller communities), and an
elven ruler can be contested by someone without any law holdings just on the
basis of popularity.

>What's the easiest way to simulate membership in a confederacy/empire?
>Low-level law holdings in each area? Is there anything *better*?

A large domain generates enough Regency that unless it is preoccupied with
alot, it can easily swamp a single province domain, or small domain, in any
RP bidding war to influence reactions.

Further, the ability of Law Holdings etc. to suppress trade routes means
that if you can control a critical area for trade routes to pass through you
can blackmail everyone who depends on those routes (either becoming very
powerful, or making alot of enemies and getting into alot of trouble).

This can also provide a group of small states a reason to cooperate: the
Veridian Republic is in danger of gaining complete control of the only pass
by which the mountain clans send trade goods to the coast lands. Once they
do that, all four mountain clan provinces will find they have no outside
trade routes and the port city-state of Lycros will lose much of its income
unless they both accede to Veridian demands to allow priests of Veridos to
build temples (which leads to contested Temple Holdings, once they control
the temples the priests use their freebie Agitate actions to lower loyalty,
and then they move in on political control).

The use of merchants or priests as the "first string" in conquest or
expansion has many historical precedents.

This can be useful if local laws and cultural mores advocate "freedom of
religion" - how do you stop priests building temples, repression? To keep
them out, you start having state religions, edicts about acceptable
practices etc. - lots of fun (especially if your PC's like to be more
free-wheeling chaotic types as so many do). Likewise the big empire
insisting on "free trade" gets its merchants in the door.

__________________________________________________ _________________
| |
| We ask ourselves if there is a God, how can this happen? |
| Better to ask, if there is a God, must it be sane? |
| |
| Lucien LaCroix |
|_________________________________________________ __________________|