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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 12:02:43 GMT -5
I like the mercenary idea. If the game is set in a specific city rather than as mercenaries I'd personally go for Valyria, Volantis or Braavos but that's based on my pre-AWOIAF knowledge. I haven't had a chance to read much of the Essos stuff yet, though I did look at the section on Essos under the Valyrians and so forth.
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Post by flex on Oct 30, 2014 12:10:17 GMT -5
I think the mercenary company is a neat idea but it kinda limits players to the type of character they can play, namely - Mercenary. Sure, there can be many types of mercenary, but it's still a little limiting.
How about maybe the setting is an entire army that's on the march for some reason (kinda like Renly's huge host in aCoK), where there's all sorts of people traipsing a long. That might broaden the player character spectrum a little bit. People can still be mercenaries in companies that are with the armies, others could be normal soldiers, nobles, any form of camp follower or person who is important in an army.
If there's a whole traveling court thing then that lets us keep the intrigue part.
Just a thought!
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Post by The Gambler on Oct 30, 2014 12:53:59 GMT -5
The mercenary idea sounds great. The cool part about the history we have now is we could realistically start the game at the founding of the company, say after the Doom, then when we get bored of the current era we could time jump to the next era and see how our actions advanced the company.
I'd say the mercenary company probably has more options for diversity than a marching army. I mean you can have anything from ex-lords to common sellswords of any nationality. Gender isn't really an issue either and it'd certainly require some intrigue types as well. Needs a steward type to handle the coin, quartermasters, camp followers, likely a negotiator for contracts, ect.
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Post by The Black Dread on Oct 30, 2014 13:02:24 GMT -5
Dibs on the quartermaster!
Y'all better be nice to me, if you don't want your weapons & armor to fall apart in the middle of combat.
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Post by Lord Lyonel Harroway on Oct 30, 2014 13:17:43 GMT -5
The court thing could work but it would have a time limit. I mean unless they are wandering forty years in penance for worshiping golden calves, things must come to an end.
I think just being a mercenary still gives people a huge range of characters. Fallen kings desperate to redeem themselves. A dothraki blood rider who ran away with his master's khalesi. An assassin hiding from his former brothers. A freed slave who is trying to save up enough gold to become a farmer. A noble who has left his old world behind to try and sate an unending lust for blood.
As for intrigue, it would be less intrigue-y then a court set game sure, but there would still be some. I mean the commander would be like a king. And there are political and personal rivalries in any organizations. No to mention all the other companies you would be trying to one up or steal their jobs.
I already have an idea for when I am admin. And an idea for a character. A quartermaster who commands some irregulars.
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Post by Lord Lyonel Harroway on Oct 30, 2014 13:18:27 GMT -5
Ha. Sam I started writing mine before I saw yours.
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Post by Lord Lyonel Harroway on Oct 30, 2014 13:20:06 GMT -5
I can be more a steward type if you insist on quartermaster. Negotiates the deals and keeps the coins. Still with irregulars
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 13:24:19 GMT -5
I'd go with a dispossessed nobleman with a taste for fine wine and swordplay or a warrior maid on a quest of some kind. Or maybe a combination of the two  |
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Post by Nyessos Qhaedar on Oct 30, 2014 13:25:03 GMT -5
I'd be totally up for that game. Although I don't believe I'd be the best first Admin of the rotation, I'd have trouble thinking of non cliche plots for this kind of game.
I'd go with either an Ibbenese Exile or a Jogos Nhai rider.
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Horas
Westeros 
is Horas.
Posts: 1,146
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Post by Horas on Oct 30, 2014 13:42:23 GMT -5
Would we use the Lords of Westeros or Green Ronin systems? The mass battle rules of the LoW style have always been a little sketchy. If we went that route I think we would have to specifically have them written out, especially if we are rotating admins. Otherwise it would be a consistency nightmare. The Green Ronin ones are much meatier, but I know that is a turn off for some people and would make it harder for multiple admins to get acquainted with the system.
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Post by The Gambler on Oct 30, 2014 13:54:33 GMT -5
We'd definitely need to fine tune the battle system since this would have a lot more miltiary engagement than is typical. I know Brad had a decent battle system over at Civil War which I borrowed a few elements from for the Dragons battles. I've always loved the Green Ronin system, but it's a bitch to roll. We could potentially combine the two. Use the Green Ronin system for battles and keep the LoW character creation and 1v1 combat.
I'm really liking this idea. The options for contracts are basically infinite and with the world book nowhere is off limits. Each new admin would basically get to pick which land they find the most interesting and go nuts with it.
I could definitely have fun with an Asshaii sellsword.
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 13:56:10 GMT -5
Would we use the Lords of Westeros or Green Ronin systems? The mass battle rules of the LoW style have always been a little sketchy. If we went that route I think we would have to specifically have them written out, especially if we are rotating admins. Otherwise it would be a consistency nightmare. The Green Ronin ones are much meatier, but I know that is a turn off for some people and would make it harder for multiple admins to get acquainted with the system. I agree that consistency is key. The Green Ronin system is good but I've heard fights are a pain to roll. On the plus side, there's the book with the rules laid out, though not everyone has it. Not sure if the PDF is still available? The LOW rules are much easier in theory but I agree that they would need to be specified more clearly for everyone's benefit. It's a shame Stranger hasn't shown up because he knew the Green Ronin rules well from Bloodgrove days. Aside from Bloodfeud, I can't remember if we've had any other games under that system. To be honest, if we are going to use Green Ronin skills for battles, I'd rather keep them for other skills too because then you don't have to create a bunch of mostly useless skills to fill up slots, especially if you are a non-combatant. Though if there's a way to simplify the Green Ronin rules to make fights easier, that's always a blessing. |
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Horas
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Post by Horas on Oct 30, 2014 14:07:10 GMT -5
To be fair, large battles are a bit of a pain in any system. Zack did a great job making the battles engaging and fun in DoW, but IIRC the Battle of Oldtown still took him a week or so to roll out. I was trying to find an example of a good battle in the Green Ronin system on Bloodgrove -- I remember specifically one at Harrenhal with a bunch of MS Paint maps that was fun -- but it seems Stranger deleted all the posts from the earlier iterations.
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Post by The Gambler on Oct 30, 2014 14:10:54 GMT -5
We used it in Vale of Arryn, Long Watch, and whichever one I played Alaric Corbray as well.
It might be more manageable with rotating admins. The issue is that it was such a pain to roll that it often burned out admins. It basically requires 4 rolls for every 1 that the LoW system requires. With the admins switching out each contract, we might avoid that issue. Sam and I typed up all the rules for Bloodfeud, so the PDF isn't necessary. We can just copy them over if we decide to go that route.
The nice part about Greem Ronin is that the house management system, in this case company management, has a really simple economic system for buying war equipment. So we wouldn't require the annoying minutia of having to manage each person's individual coin, but could easily manage the company funds as a whole.
Edit; I thin they're in the archive Horas. I remember seeing them.
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Horas
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Post by Horas on Oct 30, 2014 14:13:08 GMT -5
Looks like I just had to sign in. This is the battle I was thinking of, as a reference for how things might work under the Green Ronin system. Though likely with more individual players making decisions along the way. thebloodgrove.proboards.com/thread/673/battle-harrenhalAnd yeah, I was thinking the House system could be modified a little too and work out pretty well. Turn Law into Discipline, drop Defense, etc. |
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Post by Lord Lyonel Harroway on Oct 30, 2014 14:16:49 GMT -5
I agree we need a standardized rules. We can probably hybridize the green ronin rules. I can do big rules. I just prefer simplicity over complexity. And not just for myself but over long rules can intimidate a lot of players.
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 14:18:38 GMT -5
I wonder if we could set out a group spreadsheet for rolls to cut out the hard work, particularly in battles and fights? I think Sam had one at one point but I don't remember which system it was for. Or maybe I imagined that. To be honest, I haven't really ever rolled Green Ronin style in any meaningful way but I'm sure I could learn in the interests of a communal system. A spreadsheet would certainly help out anyone who hasn't used the system for admin purposes.
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Post by The Gambler on Oct 30, 2014 14:18:45 GMT -5
I was thinking Wealth is the only part of the system we need, as there's a rule for mercenaries that it replaces the Power stat. So we'd use it to expand and buy additional units using the merc system in the book. The amount of gold we have would also likely be the deciding factor in discipline, or more accurately the amount we're divvying up among the troops.
Sam did have a spreadsheet that cut down the work, but it was still pretty complicated. Personally, I preferred using actual dice.
A hybrid system would likely be best, as it would allow us to borrow elements from Green Ronin (large battle, the company management, ect) while allowing us to keep small engagements and social rolls simple. It would also let us avoid the awesome but super complicated Green Ronin talents and flaws system for each individual character.
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Horas
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Post by Horas on Oct 30, 2014 14:29:10 GMT -5
I would be fine with a hybridized or simpler system as well. Something where player input has a meaningful effect but you don't have to be a rules or tactics savant to participate. But I think the single most important thing is to have a system in place that everyone can look to and work off of. Which could take some work to do. Admin discretion is fine of course, especially if players get creative. But there needs to be some framework in place at least.
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 14:35:10 GMT -5
I'd be cool with skipping talents and flaws, but I liked the way you had to spend points on the preset attributes and had a set number of skills from there. Some of those could probably be combined or dropped. Having said that, Green Ronin uses the age system to determine the number of points a character has, but older characters have to take flaws to balance things out. That means the age categories would need to be dropped if flaws are dropped. Having said that, I think it was interesting to have benefits and flaws earned in game for exceptional circumstances. Even though I don't think I ever earned a benefit due to my tendency to screw up.  I think we should probably discuss who is willing to take their turn as admin in a rotating system and who wants to just be a player, because of course anyone who admins is going to need to work the most with the system. |
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Horas
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Post by Horas on Oct 30, 2014 14:39:38 GMT -5
Also, our company totally needs a company chronicler who keeps track of our glorious achievements throughout the ages. I'd volunteer, but I can't think of a character concept more tailor-made for Pyke.
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 14:41:34 GMT -5
Eek this conversation made me forget to continue reading the book. Though to be fair I'm on the Dance of Dragons and knew most of that section anyway.
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Post by The Gambler on Oct 30, 2014 14:46:45 GMT -5
Hahaha Pyke could make a picture for each chapter. That'd be amazing.
If we're doing rotating, I think almost everyone would be willing. I wouldn't be able to until January, but would certainly be up for it. The nice thing is that over the years most of us have done it at some point or other.
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Post by Vhagar on Oct 30, 2014 14:52:22 GMT -5
Hahah as long as I don't have to do it in November Still think someone else should go first though. |
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Post by Nyessos Qhaedar on Oct 30, 2014 15:02:02 GMT -5
I'd be up for Admin rotation, but would prefer (for the benefit of all) not to be the first. I have a hard time adapting to systems so if we could make a demo chapter for me to see how things work out, I'd gladly be the second one.
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Hopefully going to kickstart the festival too