[Game Closed] Warlords wanted: Warring Provinces

[Jondera]

Game Name: Warring Provinces
Gameplay Style: Army warfare, international intrigue, nation-building, nation-destroying, multiplayer fun
DM: Jondera
Short Description: With the withdrawal of the Valdun Empire from the northlands, land-holding nobles prepare for war and ambitious mercenaries prepare to get rich. Players can choose either to be a Noble in charge of a province's army and fortifications, or to be a Mercenary, boss of a smaller army-for-hire.
Expected Posting: About 1/day
Players Wanted: I'm looking for a few more players, particularly Nobles, before the game gets into full swing. Several provinces on the map have been placed off-limits so that new nobles can have an uninvaded kingdom to design/start in.

Application: Please post your application here in the advertisement thread. No dice-rolling. The application should include:

• Name
• Noble or Mercenary
• Race
• Class
• Alignment
• Style of leadership
• General style of rulership if you want to play a noble
• Composition of army if you want to play a mercenary
• A roleplaying sample (preferrably hyperlinked, but written is OK)
• Expected Posting Rate

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Character Level: 15th +2,000 xp for crafting
Ability Generation: 32 point buy
Accepted Materials: Core books, Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior, Dragon Magazine 293-current by request, Heroes of Battle, Miniatures Handbook, Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, and other books by request. Please cite book/issue and page number. No Psionics.
See the House Rules and Character Creation Guidelines for full details.

Noble Character Creation
Race: Core only
Wealth: 100,000 gp for personal equipment, 90,000 gp for mundane army equipment, 150,000 gp for your hereditary stronghold, 300,000 gp for everything else: building strongholds, hiring mercenaries, further equipping armies, etc.
Leadership: Nobles can only attract cohorts with the Leadership feat. Instead of followers, they get an army.
Army: 600 1st level grunts, 60 2nd level sergeants, 30 3rd level lieutenants, 20 4th level captains, 10 5th level majors, and 10 6th level colonels. The army consists of warriors and experts, with a maximum 10% expert density. NPC levels can be traded for PC levels at a 3:2 exchange rate.
Province: Once accepted, you get to choose a province from the attached map (2, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are taken) to rule. Each province contains one large city, several smaller cities, and a number of villages and hamlets. You'll eventually be expected to submit a description of your province.
Notes: Expect 25,000 gp/month in tax revenue, given when I say. You may take the Landowner feat (from the Stronghold Builder's Guide) to gain an additional 250,000 gp for stronghold construction.

Mercenary Character Creation
Race: +2 LA or less, +3 LA or less template
Wealth: 100,000 gp for personal equipment, 70,000 gp to equip followers.
Leadership: Mercenaries attract chohorts as normal and attract five times the normal followers given by Leadership. NPC levels can be traded for PC levels at a 3:2 exchange rate, and followers can be traded for a follower of the next higher level at a 10:1 exchange rate (e.g., 10 2nd level followers for 1 3rd level follower).

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Current Players:

Nobles:

• Felius -- fair and iron-fisted patriot
• LordofProcrastination -- Barclay Olivetree, charismatic diplomat
• Turkleader -- Trascius, educated warlord of Hextor
• Jondera -- Gammet Chieral, pious noble, living for the good of the people
• Cal -- Lawful Samurai

Mercenaries:

• Dalamb -- Cormalibrar, elven siege engineer for the Valdun Empire
• Demagogue -- Simlarad Flumag, warlock with various associates
• Kord -- Regos Fornar, ninja leader of warriors and samurai
• MichielH -- Animus Silva, the Claws of the Wood
• Thalin Slayer -- Corrac Brithbon, woodland defender

Stuff To Keep In Mind:

• There are other NPC Nobles and Mercenaries, run by me.
• I will post some basic castle designs, for Nobles who don't have the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook.
• Mercenaries should keep in mind that specializing their mercenary group will be advantageous, and can lead to higher pay. Each group should have some kind of selling point that differentiates them from average NPC mercs.
• Because this is a large-scale-combat based game, the actual PCs aren't going to be doing much fighting. (mercenaries will be expected to do some, though) Keep this in mind when designing your character.

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Introduction:

In the northern region of the Valdun Empire, land disputes have occurred since time immemorial. In the distant past, most of these disputes were small affairs, between one farm and another, or between to men in a village. With the coming of the imperial aristocracy, however, the disputes got bloody. Small wars raged back and forth between the nobles for generations, until the imperial government got tired of them, and sent a governor north to quell the disturbances.

His mission was successful, and the governor and his heirs stayed in the north, protecting the peace, for five generations, until the imperial government got tired of funding an army that wasn’t doing anything but sitting in the north, keeping their bunks warm. They recalled the governor and his army, and sent them off to another part of the empire, where there was a minor border war with a neighboring kingdom. Back in the north, however, there were the first stirrings of a generations-old squabble. Blood feuds that had gone unchallenged in centuries were reawakened, and the lead nobles started gathering power.

As they consolidated their positions, the nobles started gathering funds, and arranging for more money to be supplied to them as quickly as they could get it. They also put a call out to all mercenaries in the region, and surrounding regions, that there would soon be good work for their kind in the north. The shadow of war has descended on the northern provinces, and everyone is doing their best to be sure that they don’t suffer more than they have to.

[Thor123]

I just wanted to let you know that I am totally interestd in being a mercenary. But, I am going out of town in about 30 minutes from now so I can't fill out an application until I get back tomorrow evening. But the application WILL be finished by the time I get back so I would be very gracious if you could hold me a spot. Please Please, this game sounds awesome. Thanks,

Thor123

[Kalessin]

Interested in a noble with an army. Will be a very busy stronghold.
I'm reading through the house rules now.

[Kdkatz]

Hey there I want to be a mercenary but like the first guy I can’t get started right now (I have to go to fencing) but army will be small and specialized in sneaky operations. Do you think that will work?

[Necromas]

How do you handle army combat with over 600 NPC's in each army?

[Krowout]

Originally Posted by Necromas

How do you handle army combat with over 600 NPC's in each army?

With an evil grin on my face.

[Beyond]

I am interested if there is still a position available. I will work on a character design and post again when I am finished.

[Kalessin]

Borogravia

• Clovis the Theocrat
• Human Cleric, Lawful Good
• Style of leadership: Crusader style
• Style of rulership: Theocracy
• Posting Rate: 1 per day plus replies when available.

[Kdkatz]

Ok so I’m applying but first, I have a few questions…

For the 32-point buy system…do the stats start at 8?
After the buy system is used do we get to add 4th, 8th and 12th level stats ups?
I own the DMG but I still don’t understand the difference between a cohort and a follower could you help me out on that.?

By the way I’m the one who wants to do a smallish band of rouges. Do you think that that will work out in this campaign?

[Jondera]

Answers to various questions:

There are lots of positions, both as Mercs and nobles, so don't be shy about applying.

32 point standard buy, as listed in the DMG. You do add level-up ability increases after the point-buy.

I will be using the Miniatures Handbook rules to run battles. They'll take a while.

Feel free to run merc armies as anything you want; one guy has just himself (a ninja), his cohort, and 1 follower (lvl 8), and he plays as a specialized assassin.

The difference between Cohorts & followers is as such:

you never have more than 1 cohort; your cohort is 2 levels lower than you, or the highest level allowed by your leadership score, whichever is lower, and is in all other ways a PC. (note that the Improved Cohort feat from Heroes of Battle allows cohorts to be up to 1 level lower than the PC)

Followers, on the other hand, are low level, and come en masse. Standard 3.5 rules say that followers can be any PC class, but I'm throwing back to 3.0 rules, and saying that followers may only be NPC classes, except using the 3/2 conversion rule (see the house rules section).

Essentially, your cohort is your second-in-command/bodygaurd/assistant, while your followers are mostly just grunt soldiers.

Also, it's harder to recruit a cohort of different alignment (reflected in a -2 leadership score when you do so), but followers come in any alignment within 1 step of you on any axis (so a true neutral character can have followers of any alignment).

[Kalessin]

I'll be taking area 8, next to the lake. Is it a lake or an inland sea?
Character coming up.

I will post some basic castle designs, for Nobles who don't have the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook.

Will you post options for strongholds? Some walls will be needed and watch towers for the little hills (or mountains).

[Cal]

Sounds like an excellent game. Here is my character idea:

+Name: Siegfried Gerhard Hildebrand
+Role: Noble
+Race: Elf
+Class: Samurai 11/ Kensai 4
+Alignment: LN
+Style of leadership: Open, 'do what you like', but if you break the laws, swift punishment will come. Supports trade and diplomacy, but recognized the occassional need for 'agressive negotiations'.
+General style of rulership: Benevolent Monarchy
+Province: Eight
+A roleplaying sample: Strategy Sample , Background Sample , Another Sample
+Expected Posting Rate: At least once a day, maybe twice during the week. Probably twice a day on the weekends

Feats: Leadership, Landowner

I do have the Stronghold Builder's Guide, so I won't be needing that. One question: do we choose our population race ratios?

Ideas for province: Capital city in very center (largest city). Port town on the tip of the section that sticks out above Province 3. Small trading city at the intersections of the borders of Provinces 3, 4, and 8. Small trading city in the southernmost part (near the forest of Province 7). Several villages/hamlets along the forest border, possibly within it.

Ideas for population races: very intermingled. Probably human greatest percenage. If one of the surrounding kingdoms is primarily of another race, there will probably be a respective increase in that race's population representage.

[Kdkatz]

• Name Zook Quickdagger Shadowwalker Silence
• Noble or Mercenary I am Mercenary
• Race Gnome
• Class Rouge
• Alignment Neutral
• Style of leadership Friendly most of the army was once part of Quickdagger’s thieves guild
• Composition of army My cohort is a cleric to Oildammara and all of my followers are thieves. I may throw in a few fighters into the mix.
• Character Link Quickdagger
• Cohort Link Lyle
• Army Links
  • Level 1 Experts
  • Level 2 Experts
  • Level 2 Rogues
  • Level 4 Experts

Background
When Cameal was just a small child, she was often bullied by the larger children. She was small even for a gnome and the only way she was able to survive her childhood was because she could often dodge the bullies’ fists. One day the strongest of the bullies, a dwarf, was going around town tell everyone that he was going to kill Cameal with his father’s axe. Cameal didn’t think he was serious at first but then the bully found and cornered her in an alleyway. He was wielding a large axe. “I’m ganna cut you up with me pa’s axe if you don’t do as I tell you,” he snarled to her. Cameal was cared stiff and just stood their as the bully got closer and closer to her saying, “ We’ll you ganna speak up? You ganna do what I say? Or ya ganna just stand their and watch this axe cut right through your scared bones?” By then the bully was within five feet of Cameal who was still panicking. Suddenly she just reacted without actually trying to. She smoothly drew the dagger her father had given her on her 30th birthday. The bully didn’t see the dagger and continued to approach unawares, “Well?” he asked, “what it ganna be?“ he took his thumb and rubbed it across the blade of the axe. While the bully was momentarily distracted Cameal slipped behind him. “Oh now your running. Good that’s always more f-“ the bully fell to the ground with a dagger sticking out of his back. And Cameal stood behind him expressionless. Blood was trickling from the body and soaking into the dirt. Cameal was afraid of what might happen next so she grabbed her dagger and ran. She never knew just how far she ran but she ran far enough to leave the shouting voices, which had found the body, far behind her.

She eventually reached a small city dieing of thirst and hunger. There were no churches in the town to ask for help and whenever she asked a passing pedestrian the response was either “I’ve got my own problems” or “No gold no food” and then the person she asked would walk off in a huff. If no one is going to care about me then I’m not going to care about nobody. she decided and that is just what she did. She began using her skills of stealth she gained from constantly hiding form bullies to earn herself her first free meal. Cameal eventually became skilled enough to lift a purse or two to allow herself a stay at an inn, which she was always desiring. She was often caught by the city guards, who unfortunately came to know her face, but they never kept her in jail long and she actually never minded. One step down from sleeping at an inn but one step up from sleeping in the gutter, Cameal would always say to herself when she was staying at the jailhouse. Eventually she could no longer “make a living” in that city because her “costumers” were beginning to recognize her too and she had to move out.

While in the wilderness she became quite good at shooting a crossbow, which she had “found”, to catch a dinner but it wasn’t the same as the thrill of a city. So she set off to the biggest city she could find but before she got there she ran into a group of adventures that were in need of a tracker. Cameal agreed to go, for a handsome price, because she felt that the adventure would fill the gap that her thievery usually filled but it didn’t. Adventuring just wasn’t the same as the city life had been but the treasure involved pretty much makes up for it. In fact from that adventure she obtain her first and favorite magic item, a bag of holding. After Cameal was finished with those adventurers she took her gold and was just off to spend it when she was caught up in another adventure and that was pretty much her life she would thieve until her heart’s content and then an adventure would find her. She would never seek them out but when there was tons of gold to be made and magical treasure to be found; she could never say no. Throughout her adventuring Cameal often changed her nickname from part to part one group would know her as “Shadowstalker” and another as “Silentstep” but she really couldn’t decide on the name she thought defined her.
Eventually Cameal moved reached a large city and decided to settle down and by that she meant she was going to start her own thieves’ guild. She realized the enormous profit that can be made through a guild and thought it would be nice to have a “home” per say and started out on making one. Unfortunately she couldn’t rely on her past glories to help with the founding of the guild as all of her fame was in varying names but it didn’t even bother her. Cameal soon sweet-talked a tavern owner into letting her use his facilities and had a small band of thieving followers. It wasn’t until later that she met Lyle. The halfling man had managed to gain entrance to Cameal’s guild but was soon apprehended by the door guards and brought before Cameal for judgment. When the guards brought him in he looked quite dignified. Lyle told Cameal that he was from the church of Olidammara and had come to convert the guild. Cameal found that Lyle could be useful to the guild and when she offered he signed right up. Eventually Lyle did convert most of Cameal’s guild including Cameal herself to the worship of Olidammara. Later Lyle became Cameal’s most trusted ally and he even found a nickname she though worthy of herself. Lyle dubbed her “Quickdagger”.
When the uneasy peace between the lords of the world came about Quickdagger saw it as a great opportunity for personal gain and took the most skillful of her guild (and Lyle) with her to act as a special operations force for the highest bidding noble. She left the guild in the care of her third in command, Lyle was her second, and they set off to meet with the lords.

[Jondera]

Originally Posted by Cal

do we choose our population race ratios?

A little bit. The empire is about 90% human, so you have to be at least 85% human, but you can play around with the remaining 10-15% if you want; just don't completely block out anyone. Very nice, complete application; I'll look over it today, and get back to you by this evening.

Kdkatz: Looks good; the one thing I notice is the follower makeup; please note that only NPC classes are allowed (Adept, Commoner, Expert, & Warrior), and can be traded only to Brb, Clc, Ftr, Rgr, & Rog using the 3/2 rule.

[Thor123]

Ok here is my application:

Name: Artemis Sklived
Mercenari
Race: Githzerai
Class: Rogue/Assassin
Level: 13
Alignment: Lawfull Evil
Style of Leadership: "you have the oppotyunity to work with the greates mercenary of all time. You will be able to learn and experience much from me, shaping you all into killing machines. What of betrayer? I might be evil, but I do have my own principals and I will not turn on the people who want to learn from me and be just like me....Oh, you mean betrayel against me? Oh, hahaha, well lets put it this way, you try to do me in, well, then you will be dead begore you force that pretty little blade down or before you nock that arrow and let it fly. Now who's with me?! Fame and riches to ALL!!" (Artemis, at the recruiting assembly)
Army: Well I wanted it 4/10 rogues 3/10 rangers (1/3 bow specialization 2/3 two weapon fightin) and 3/10 barbarians....but I forgot about NPC so I will get back to you on that.
I can post 2-5 times/day on average, but if fast paced and many replies then 6-12 is good too.

Sample:

Startled by the arrow, Morgan rushes to the Gnome's side ( I, 3 ) faces the direction of the voices and pulls out his bow, ready to let an arrow fly into the face of the strangers if they are to make a wrong move.What in bloody hell was that? As he gets to the Gnome's side he whispers a sentence of encouragement, Good job guy, now allow me to help out you. Morgan prepares for a possible battle. Who are you? He says to the voices. You just better hope you are friendly or else you might be leaving without some limbs.....

I hope that is sufficient. I didnt have time to go through all my posts, so this is the best one I could find fairly quickly. It is from "We are decieved!!" a 3.5 ed in forgotten realms ..just incase you wanted some proof.... I "edited" it but the original IS mine so it should all be good.