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Post by henryhankovitch on Sept 23, 2013 19:03:04 GMT -8
I've been kicking around this concept for a while. A fantasy version of the Roman Empire, using Pathfinder rules. So the Roman pantheon as the deities, dwarves and elves in the hinterlands, hobgoblin auxilia cohorts, that kind of thing. In a lull a while back, I pitched the game and the players went for it. A bit prematurely, as it turns out. I was using the Crisis of the Third Century as a general setting. I figured that would give me lots of opportunities for plotlines--breakaway empires, barbarian invasions, power struggles at the top, all that good stuff. I also wanted to focus more on the Lovecraft-esque creatures from the Pathfinder books; fewer dragons and demons, more qlippoths. I didn't even make it to the second session. I've had troubles going from the top-level concept to game-session plotlines and adventures. It's an issue I often have, but it's exacerbated in D&D, with the focus on structured dungeons and traps and all that. And I can't really draw directly from historical events for the specifics, because so much of what's recorded are invasions and wars that would be handled by entire legions, not so much small bands of adventurers. I have plenty of setting, but I'm short on plot. I suppose my biggest problem is that I haven't come up with a proper Big Bad just yet. Can't work backward from a villain's overarching plans without a villain. Any suggestions?
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maxinstuff
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Preferred Game Systems: DCC RPG, Shadowrun 5e, Savage Worlds, GURPS 4e, HERO 6e, Mongoose Traveller
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Post by maxinstuff on Sept 23, 2013 19:51:55 GMT -8
Start with a small story.
Maybe it is a local official who is part of a human sacrifice cult, and the players are just looking for a missing relative.
Also - for the love of god - don't prep past the first session. Have some bad guys, know what they will do and what motivates them, but don't prep 5 or 6 sessions in advance.
That way lies madness.
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Post by jazzisblues on Sept 24, 2013 6:28:48 GMT -8
JiB's rules of campaign creation #1 who are the player characters? Make the story personal to them and the rest will flow. Of course you've got your overarching ideas and plots but to begin with (at least) you make the game as personal as a punch in the nose.
So the questions I would ask are?
1. Who are the player characters and what do they care about? 2. If I have an idea for an over arching plot line, who would be doing that? Who would that matter to? Make that npc or npc group 3. How can I make item 1 part of item 2?
This is one of the reasons I don't tend to deal in terms of the epic overarching story. That sort of thing is beyond the grasp of the player characters right off, and they will likely get munched by anybody who would be trying something like that, so I keep it on a level they can work with, and over time the bad guy's plots and machinations grow into those world shaking things.
As always, just my 2 krupplenicks worth, your mileage may of course vary.
JiB
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Post by henryhankovitch on Sept 24, 2013 7:23:52 GMT -8
1) The main characters are:
A human sorcerer, scion of a middling Roman noble family. He's playing up the decadent and lazy type--the paterfamilias has basically just started handing him assignments "for the good of the family," which he only takes under protest. I.e., "no, your gambling debts will NOT be paid unless you accept this quaestor office in Syria."
Human paladin, cousin to the sorcerer. And by paladin I mean, "Champion of Apollo." I won't use alignment in this campaign, and divine morality is meant to be more aligned with historical Roman attitudes. The player is kind of a combat monkey, so he mainly wants to be awesome and kill big things.
Dwarf fighter, freedman gladiator serving as a mercenary/bodyguard. In this setting, the dwarven kingdoms under the Alps earned Rome's ire when they let Hannibal pass through their tunnels, and a long bloody campaign resulted in their Alpine lands being destroyed, and large numbers of dwarves being carted off as slaves. So while there are traditional dwarves in other places, there are also lots of "Roman" dwarves living as slaves and freedmen. The character has some vague idea about restoring/returning to his ancestral homeland--which would prove rather difficult as those tunnels and cities in the Alps are now occupied by nasty underground things.
There are two additional PCs, one of which is going to be absent for a few more months and the other whose job makes attendance intermittent.
2) Broadly speaking, the overarching plot was to be the Crisis of the Third Century. Not so much that the whole thing is one big plot by one big bad guy; just that there are these few decades where Rome is teetering on the edge of chaos and collapse, and there's a lot to be done if the Romans want to survive. So I'd imagined a number of smaller arcs as the party goes around the Empire discovering/troubleshooting various plots. Some vague examples: a) The independence of Palmyra and the breakaway of the East: the PCs might have to negotiate with Odenaethus and Zenobia, deal with the Parthians, etc. b) Rebellion in Egypt: a faction in Egypt wants to re-establish an elf-blooded Pharaohic dynasty, instead of those damn Roman jerks. They're making deals with this group of underground-dwelling, slave-trading elves in North Africa to establish a new line of Pharaohs.
Eventually the group might advance their fortunes and that of their family to the point where they could influence or dominate Imperial succession. There are plenty of opportunities for a strong faction to take over Rome, after all.
3) So far (and "so far" was just one session) I didn't have much beyond having them sent out as officials to solve jobs. There are possibilities to tie PC ambitions into the plot, but I hadn't come up with anything concrete yet.
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Post by guitarspider on Sept 24, 2013 21:31:40 GMT -8
JiB is right, make it more personal. This noble family one of your players is from, are they really towing the official Roman line? They must have their own plans to grow their power base -> you've got much more politics in your game, where smaller groups fit in well. Similarly the official positions, maybe the dad thinks his son can learn something, but surely there's a thing or two he can do for the family on the side.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 13:19:07 GMT -8
Are you set in Rome or are you out in the provinces?
If your in Rome proper then you can do the back stabbing political thing. Think a mob type story. That helps me think of things from a more personal and less macro level. Rome is all about its client patron relationships. So if your patron gets into trouble you might have to deal with that trouble. D and D often revolves around the whole "fight me or give me a quest attitude." That's a good place to start. Have the PC's patron give them a quest.
1. I'm having trouble collecting taxes from this area I control "tax farming" 2. My son was captured by pirates. (like Ceasar) 3. this senator is making trouble for us by insulting me. 4. This gladiator killed one of my prized slaves. 5. the emperor is threatening to seize all of my grain to give away to the poor. 6. someone is killing followers of Apollo. Why? 7. There is a new eastern mystery cult opening up in the city and its drawing people to a new kind of worship but why are people who join acting so strangely? 8. The emporor is fighting wars on the border and while he is away who will start plotting against him. will the characters join? 9. An old Gladiator connection wants you to fix some fights in the arena (we could make a ton of gold) what could go wrong? 10. Your parents have arranged a political marriage between your brother and another prominent family but their daughter seems to know a ton about dark magic. Is she what she seems? 11. One of our tin mines in Spain has gone silent what happened? 12. We need to go collect interesting fauna for the arena. What kind of creatures can we capture? 13. someone pinned a murder charge on our patron and he is going to be prosecuted. Did he do it? can we clear his name? should we clear his name? 14. The plebs are mad their is a grain shortage caused by problems in Egypt how are we going to keep our clients fed?
Just a few ideas off the top of my head. If the game takes place outside of Rome in the provinces then you need to decide where and modify as needed. Rome is a very rich setting good luck.
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Post by stork on Sept 30, 2013 14:55:34 GMT -8
This novel is a quick read, and might inform other ways to do a game in Rome, but keeping it small. Murder on the Appian Way
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Post by The Northman on Oct 1, 2013 3:37:29 GMT -8
The Collegia could be great sources for bad guys, benefactors, or both. The second season of Rome on HBO dealt with them heavily. Basically organized crime syndicates and union bosses of ancient Rome. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegium_(ancient_Rome)
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