Online High-level Dominion Game

Online High-level Dominion Game

James_Nostack 13 Oct 2009 22:26

Concept: Play-By-Post or Twitter game using high level (300,000+ XP) characters operating strongholds and dominions, probably on the Isle of Dread.

Rule Set: Cook/Marsh Expert Set (1981) for characters. Mentzer Companion Set (1985?) for details of stronghold maintenance; optional use of LBB (1974) if their rules are sufficiently readable. War machine rules based on Mentzer Companion set; optional use of Chainmail (197?) for battles, hampered by the fact that I think mini's are kind of stupid.

Players: Four protagonists. Room for many more mid- or low-level henchmen and NPC's.

Duration: Six weeks? Daily posting schedule.

Purpose: Figure out what the End Game of D&D really looks like.

Special Notes: This may end up being kind of a Pulp Fantasy setting, in which there are no demi-humans. Fighters and Clerics would come from a culture vaguely similar to medieval Europe. Thieves and Magic-Users would come from a culture vaguely similar to Polynesia. I haven't decided this exactly yet; I'm still kicking it around.

Last edited on 13 Oct 2009 22:27 by James_Nostack Show more

Re: Online High-level Dominion Game

TavisAllison 14 Oct 2009 01:06

My friend Mark, who is a big Paizo fan, says they are gearing up for a sandbox-style barony-building adventure path called Kingmaker that is likely to have some useful mechanics (though that's a ways away). The 3E Stronghold Builder's Guide may also be useful, and I've heard the d20 Fantasy Craft may be useful.

Awesome plan, btw, and some of my old group may be interested as well.

Re: Online High-level Dominion Game

evil_evil_evil 14 Oct 2009 13:54

Count me in! I've been thinking lately that I'd like to get back into PBP of some sort, and this sounds awesome! I can just imagine playing a Thief who builds a sprawling resort where the wealthy can indulge in the most dangerous game. I am inspired to wax poetic:

On the Isle of Dread did my PC
A stately pleasure dome decree.

I'll have to work out the rest as the muse dictates.

Re: Online High-level Dominion Game

TavisAllison 14 Oct 2009 15:42

Here's what I read in a review of FantasyCraft:

"Fantasy Craft’s treatment of social stats, adventuring downtime, holdings, and more are one place I would say its definitively better than any other rival I’ve come into contact with. It’s quite possible to cannibalize these aspects to fit into any d20 type game. It’s not a perfect fit into all games, but the rules on Reputation, Prizes, Favors, Holdings, and Down Time are well thought out, balanced, and satisfying numeric solutions to the rather difficult task of fairly adjudicating these sorts of actions in most fantasy RPGs. For anyone that has thought about taking their campaign away from the adventuring-only archetype this provides tons of great ideas and guidance to make that process simple, satisfying, and ultimately rewarding for both DMs and Players."

Re: Online High-level Dominion Game

James_Nostack 14 Oct 2009 15:56

Joti, you're in!

I'm still figuring out how to work this. I think there will basically be 3 tiers of players:

High level characters (300,000 XP) - 4d6 discard lowest, arrange to taste for stats. One High Level guy per character class (4 max)
Mid Level characters (30,000 XP) - 4d6 discard lowest in order for stats. Max = per charisma of principal
Low Level characters (3,000 XP) - 3d6, arrange to taste for stats. Max = per Expert rules for strongholds
Nobodies (0 XP) - 3d6 in order for stats. These are strictly NPC's.

Mid-level characters are assumed to be Hirelings of the High Level characters.

Low-level characters are assumed to be the stewards/apprentices/nitwits that come with building a stronghold - class generally defined by whoever operates the stronghold (high-level Thieves for example attract low-level Thieves)

Nobodies are the footsoldiers in the war machine, servitors, commoners etc etc.

Re: Online High-level Dominion Game

evil_evil_evil 14 Oct 2009 17:44

Cool! This actually reminds a bit of some PBM games I used to play years ago (that's Play By Mail as in snail mail). There was one in particular that I enjoyed, called It's a Crime, where each player controlled a gang on a grid of city blocks. The goal was to expand your territory, eventually destroying or absorbing other gangs and becoming a boss. Once you became a boss (meaning the game was whittled down from a large number of players to just a few), there were other rules that came into play, but I never made it that far.

The basic kinds of things you could do each turn were:

• Try to take over a block adjacent to one you already control.
• Attack a neighboring gang.
• Earn money by selling illicit goods.
• Increase your gang's morale by spending money on them.

I don't know how relevant it is to what you had in mind, but in case you're curious, the rules are online here: http://www.kjcgames.com/crime/index.php?page=2