[Information] Colonial Ideas

[Shadow0136]

Referring back to point 5 from dbaque in regards to the starting level.

I'm going to set the starting level at level 5 for the players. I'm doing it for a few reasons, the first being as you and Xildur have pointed out that those who have experience in leadership should be a higher level although as I stated I'm trying to avoid them being too powerful. My second reason for the choice of a this level is in regards to the overall world, it's closer to the actual earth than most fantasy settings, and from that the typical level of anyone is going to be lower than what most players are likely used to due to a more civilized and less "adventurer prone" reality. Lastly, and perhaps the main reason I'm going for 5 rather than 7 is because of the leadership feat itself, I want the players to actually roleplay their leadership and gain the respect and loyalty of the peasants as they build up a following. And I want to avoid starting with cohorts, who I feel should be found more naturally from a faithful companion or servant rather than just someone who is there to back up the player, in addition to that the players will need to familiarize themselves with one another and major npc's without having to worry about who's cohort he is, and who she serves, etc...

Does this sound reasonable to you guys? And any suggestions as to what bonuses should be offered for starting in a different kingdom? Think Britain, France, and Spain.

Also opinions on playable races/classes? Remember first that this is the age of Human superiority, so most if not all other races are considered second class citizens at best.

[Xildur]

Even with human, you can give some traits that make difference between them or even give them + and - in attributes.

Britain : something with sailor (maybe Balance in deck or something)

France : maybe something with art (Appraise bonus or Profession/Crafting)

Spain : with some faith (maybe Knowledge Religion or +1 Caster Level for Divine)

If you have Eberron, Spain could be Thrane, France as Old Cyre and Britain as Breland.

[Shadow0136]

Those sound good but I'm going to take some time to think of more options.

Also point buy or rolling opinion?
15, 20, or 25 point buy?
Or Roll 4d6 drop lowest/18 and 8, roll 1d10+7 for remainder?

Also should any classes/archetypes be banned? Lastly I'm thinking of making it Core races only with a preference toward Humans/Half-(Elves/Orcs) and halflings.

[Xildur]

Depend on what kind of game that you want to run.
If you want to focus on role play, stat becomes second.
But if you want to rely heavily on roll, your players need to have more point buys (28 or 30) or give them better chance (5d6, instead of 4d6).

For class, most of classes that heavily depended on undead, devil and demon should be banned for PC character.
No normal government will allow such character to lead their colonists and colonists will fear whether they will be killed by their new lord.

[Shadow0136]

I'm planning to focus the game on (role) over (roll) play. So more balanced stats are my goal so the players will be on a (mostly) equal ground.

I agree on restrictions classes based on undead or similar dependencies because of how it will alienate the colonists, but what is the general opinion of limiting alignments to good and neutral only? Or should evil be allowed (Lawful or Neutral but not chaotic) For roles like the Spymaster or a Brutal General?

[Xildur]

If Evil is not allowed to play (not chaotic evil though), then tyrants will never exist then.

[Shadow0136]

Would you care to elaborate on that Xildur?

[Xildur]

What I mean is : Not all ruler has good motives to do colonization.
He may be an ambitious noble that tries to prove his worth for political move of his family or just trying to get another power source for his political agenda.
He will sacrifice some of the colonists if necessary but he will take care of the colonists' needs since his power will grow together with the colony's size.
And he would not back down from war if he thinks it necessary to keep his power and throne.

So basically, evil rulers will use the colony as tool to reach his ambition.
Good ruler is using his power to serve others (colony).
Lawful ruler will set up regulation and order with proper planning.
Chaotic ruler just only set basic rules and let his people solve their own problem.

[dbaque]

So it would not be out of the question, but he'd need something else to justify entrusting him with this colony. Rulers may not otherwise look kindly on a fledgling tyrant.

L5 and 20 point buy make senses for reasons above.

Core might be best if there is some racial tension, perhaps also some of the plane-touched races.

Let's see. There would be some bonuses for PCs and bonuses for the colony. Some faction advantage options:
Britain- cheaper/better longbows and ships, more mercantile
France- graceful diplomacy & swordsmanship, deadlier heavy cavalry
Spain- divine knowledge/casting bonuses, earlier/developed muskets, tougher infantry

[Shadow0136]

Alright, in review.

Rules
Race: Core Only
Level: 5
Class: Any official Paizo except for those using undead/demons/devils. Summoner Excluded
Alignment: Any except for Chaotic Evil
Point Buy: 20
Starting Gold: Standard Amount (10,500 gp)

I would like to remind you guys of this, what roles are the PC's going to take?
Roles

Role	Who?
Ruler	<vacant>
Consort	<vacant>
Councilor	<vacant>
General	<vacant>
Grand Diplomat	<vacant>
Heir	<vacant>
High Priest	<vacant>
Magister	<vacant>
Marshal	<vacant>
Royal Enforcer	<vacant>
Spymaster	<vacant>
Treasurer	<vacant>
Viceroy	<vacant>
Warden	<vacant>

[Sageheart]

First question I have is what the reasons for colonization are.
For example, England was late to colonize, and much of their colonies were made to further trade in New regions since Spain dominated the Medaterrian which they wanted access to. They were also driven by religious groups such as purtians looking to escape religious turmoil.

Dutch on the otherhand, formed colonies through a state sponsored corporation looking to have places for ships to dock between visits to the west Indies. Hence the creation of Manhattan.

If there are three kingdoms it must be determined their rationale for colonization, their abilities, and where they stand in this new world.

Races also become issue, do elves know of this land before, or it new for them as well? Are the kingdom racially diverse? Could racial issues force a certain group to be more focused on travel?

Also nobles wouldn't really travel on the first trip, they would find it but not travel, perhaps change noble to government official? Or perhaps minor noble.

I would also argue might be interesting to make the players the second wave of settlers coming to a barely functional colony.

[Shadow0136]

I have a different set of hours to work today, and am still dealing with the remnants of the flu and getting better atm so it will take me a little bit to reply to you Sage, but I will get up some answers later tonight.

Off topic though I've got two other players interested right now in joining and would like to propose something to everyone here. Would you all be OK with doing a sort of playtest? Where we could do a preliminary run of the game to see what works/doesn't work and what everyone enjoys before I fully open it to new players? If anyone has one extra person to suggest that would be great, as each colony could be run by two players for the test in a more manageable way before I try to jump in with 9, 12, or 15 players!


Edit for Placeholder:
@ Sage: The Pc's/Npc leaders would be minor nobles (can also be a government official) as you suggested, I had thought I made it clear but that's my error. And prior to these colony attempts there has been NO exploration besides the search for landing sites and the coast. Christopher Columbus never existed in this world and the "New World" is a recent discovery.

More coming later...

[dbaque]

As for the classes, no Path of War classes?

I'd be game to play guinea pig. Dibs on Spain Saekairhiel.

[Shadow0136]

I'm going to say not allowed Dbaque, sorry. Also we have the other two players, JFlynn and Jinro.

Continuing in my reply to Sage, no other races have knowledge of the new lands. Or if they did it has been lost generations ago and is unknown by the current society. As for elven society now think of the elves from Dragon Age.

[Sageheart]

I love the elves in dragon age! Down with that.

I'd do playtest but never played PF and my posting is reduced by school and overbooked games.