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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:18 am
by Omegonthesane
Forgot to budget for downtime Desecrate - now my zombies wear chain shirts, giving me a net 25gp more. However given the concept John wouldn't have much capital left to invest. (45 GP of assorted currency to be exact.)
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:17 pm
by Avoraciopoctules
Omegonthesane wrote:Forgot to budget for downtime Desecrate - now my zombies wear chain shirts, giving me a net 25gp more. However given the concept John wouldn't have much capital left to invest. (45 GP of assorted currency to be exact.)
I already budgeted to spend 25GP of silver dust if that's any help.
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:39 pm
by Avoraciopoctules
The Korbahl ecology write-ups are really cool. Thanks for your attention to detail, Frank!
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:14 pm
by Shatner
Avoraciopoctules wrote:The Korbahl ecology write-ups are really cool. Thanks for your attention to detail, Frank!
Agreed.
Are there roleplaying restrictions on in-character knowledge of economic theory? In other words, if Dimwit the Iron Age Fighter started assembling the ingredients to manufacture gunpowder because Dimwit's player was a chemist, that'd probably get blocked by the DM. Is the same true of PCs in this campaign who have a surprising amount of insight into Keynesian economic theory despite the surrounding world being several discoveries removed from that idea? If so, I guess the PCs will have to "discover" in-game evidence for these solutions based on trial-and-error or encountering in-game economic luminaries.
Follow-up question: Can there be a half-orc named
Krug Pale-Man who fights against Deficit Hawks, Large Genie Coefficients, and Confidence Fairies?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:16 pm
by Winnah
I'll sign up on the off chance a few people drop out. Looks very interesting and has been entertaining reading.
Wilhelma Maenell Fontaine De la Tour D'Haute Rive (Billie-Mae). Feytouched Spirit Shaman.
Billie Mae was born and raised at the Chateau D'Haute Rive, a plantation complex situated in the coastal marshlands of Outer Derpistan, on the borders of Nairhon. Her family was once a member of an elite class, wielding significant economic power and influence, and claimed dubious ties to lesser members of the fey court. Fortunes were made exploiting the labours of an indentured workforce, allowing the plantation to focus on the export of cash crops, rather than subsistence agriculture.
Several factors contributed to the decline of many plantations; collectivist representation on behalf of indentured sharecroppers reduced profit margins, market fluctuations and decreases in demand for certain crops, as well as the careless and indulgent excesses of the fey over class.
The Chataeu D'Haute Rive had been in decline for several generations. Production had ceased an age ago, the once glorious estate was now overgrown and severely neglected. The stately manor had fallen into severe disrepair, tended to by a handful of mind-controlled servants that struggled to meet the excessive demands of an extended family of pretentious, highly sadistic and often inbred fey, reduced to aping the pompous and archaic rituals of a nearly forgotten, elite upper class.
Calamity struck when the current patriarch of the D'Haute Rive family, one Guilles-Albrect, put up the deed to the estate as collateral in a high-stakes game of Baatorian Baccarat during one of his infamous month long benders. The D'Haute Rive's were summarily ordered to vacate the premises by the new legal owners. Many of the family threw themselves upon the mercy of distant relatives and asked to be taken in by them, though a few refused to leave their ancestral home and walled themselves in the east wing of the manor, where they continue to haunt the new occupants.
Billie Mae took a crowbar to many of the elaborate fittings and fixtures in the manor (she ordered her servants to do this), packed her travelling chests (her servants packed her travelling chests) and sought refuge at the estate of a cousin and former suitor. Upon finding the new estate unbecoming of a lady of her station, she vowed to reclaim her family's lost fortunes, either by raising the capital to buy back her home, or at least scrape together enough money to hire enough mercenaries and attorneys to take her home back by force.
Class, Spirit Shaman. Feats, Greensinger Initiate (adds a few social class skills and charm spells to the druid list), Command (probably just some goblin servants). I can fill in the rest if you actually require another player.
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:47 pm
by flare22
Shatner wrote:Follow-up question: Can there be a half-orc named
Krug Pale-Man who fights against Deficit Hawks, Large Genie Coefficients, and Confidence Fairies?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:51 pm
by flare22
Crap double posted my bad
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:04 am
by Whatever
I still haven't read any of the spoilered information from the first post, so I'm left merely hoping that Llanaden has actual
Confidence Fairies. Because that would be great.
But "large genie coefficients" takes all the cakes.
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:36 am
by Grek
I personally want to see the armies of Roun the Pale being rallying together under the Gold Standard to do battle with Camil the Gut at Bretton Wood.
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:09 am
by Username17
I'm not currently planning to expy specific people. But having bankers in Zundun increasing Genie coefficients in order to incentivize success is something that has to happen.
-Username17
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:02 pm
by Username17
Are there roleplaying restrictions on in-character knowledge of economic theory? In other words, if Dimwit the Iron Age Fighter started assembling the ingredients to manufacture gunpowder because Dimwit's player was a chemist, that'd probably get blocked by the DM. Is the same true of PCs in this campaign who have a surprising amount of insight into Keynesian economic theory despite the surrounding world being several discoveries removed from that idea? If so, I guess the PCs will have to "discover" in-game evidence for these solutions based on trial-and-error or encountering in-game economic luminaries.
It's a fantasy, so the main characters can certainly have insights that allow them to essentially create modern or recent economic theories by looking at evidence and making the "right" inferences. Das Kapital was made by Marx looking at some German industry and On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation was made by Ricardo watching some Italian corruption grind along. As long as the players get enough evidence to put together a hypothesis about what's going on and what can be done, I have no problem with them making some logical leaps and doing the full Lenin (or the full Kenan Evren, for that matter).
-Username17
Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:23 pm
by Avoraciopoctules
Whipstitch wrote:(How many D&D campaigns start off with people creating their own boutique fashion label? Our products cost more because they're better, and you can tell they are better because they cost more.)
That would be awesome. I hope it ends up being feasible, this could spawn all kinds of interesting plot hooks.
These kinds of schemes always turn out better when multiple players can work to fine-tune them together. I never would have thought of turning high fashion to the group's advantage, thanks for the idea!
Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:38 pm
by Prak
...how many of the characters in the group are evil? Conceivably we could treat clothing with a high addiction contact drug...
Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:50 pm
by Avoraciopoctules
3 evil, 2 neutral, 1 good.
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:03 am
by flare22
Moral objections aside Do any of us even have high enough ranks in craft achemy to make that feasable let alone the cash it would cost to steep all the cloth in contact pioson?
Also fun fact for those who don't know the term "mad as a hatter" comes from the people who made hats they used to rub mercury into felt used to make hats with their bare hands it was a method of curing felt
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:09 am
by Prak
Ok, that's not a terrible ratio for the idea.
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:36 am
by Avoraciopoctules
Questions:
1. Do Horrid Bats (ECS) exist in the Korbahl forest?
2. Can you customize the feats of animal companions?
3. Can a character with Body Assemblage create humanoid skeletons with levels in Warrior that are still mindless?
4. Can you give somebody a variant template like Skeleton Lord, Fast Zombie, etc., or is it just the standard skeleton/zombie templates available?
5. Can you create undead too powerful for you to control?
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:56 am
by Prak
What would it take to research a new type of undead? Say a little vampire pumpkin or something?
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:12 am
by Avoraciopoctules
Can you 'upgrade' undead you created with a necromantic feat? Say, we're level 7 and we want to add warrior levels / undead HD to our bugbear zombies. Would we pay for just the added HD, or the total HD of the final creature?
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:19 am
by Whipstitch
We'd probably be better served just openly trying to be drug pushers since that'd dramatically cut down on overhead.
Also, as far as alignment and moral compass goes, there's nothing particularly stopping Silas from being a drug pusher, but I'd stress that for all his pretension, he's still from the sticks, and his brand of observance to Nerull is sort of a throwback to the Old Faiths and is very fatalistic, with themes of autumn and winter. It's more "Hear that, Mr. Anderson? That's the sound of inevitability" than "Lives for the Life-cutter!". So, less ritual torture, more tolerance for parasitic undead and treating lichdom or vampirism as an entirely rational response to the inevitability of normal decay and a universe that cares little for your continued existence.
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:26 am
by Avoraciopoctules
On the drug thing, Drovak is of the opinion that getting caught for something like that would be really bad. And if you are marketing to the super-rich, who can afford to have a Diviner and Cleric on retainer, you will get caught sooner or later. Detect Poison is not a hard spell.
Dragonslaying offers a better risk/reward ratio, and it's a lot easier to present yourselves as the good guys.
-=-=-=-=-=
BTW, I'm trying to remember where 3.x has a Mummy template. Can anyone point me to the right book?
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:43 am
by flare22
its funny most times i imagine dragons with their high wisdom and intelligence scores would be more likely to be sleeping on a bed of stock portfolios contracts and deeds to diamond mines then on a bed of gold gems and magic items
but in this setting i can actually see dragons using all their wealth to buy gold and magic items then putting it in their cave to protect it as an intelligent financial move that they might actually try
wow now im imaging some nations version of the VOC collapsing because all the dragons sold their shares at once.
may be the key to fixing the economy is to convince a bunch of dragons to invest in it rather then hoarding all the gold like the one per-centers they are
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:50 am
by Avoraciopoctules
I expect that we will see a variety of lifestyles among the Korbahl dragons if we do the necessary research. The trick is finding one that is both unlikeable and not under the protection of something outside the party's weight class.
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:55 am
by Avoraciopoctules
Okay, I did a little research and Libris Mortis has Mummified Creature. I hope we aren't playing with Level Adjustments?
Is there an alternative that includes Unholy Toughness I missed?
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 5:37 am
by Omegonthesane
On the drug thing, it depends how strong the existing legislation against drugs is - I had actually worked in John's liquid pain abuse on the assumption that it was just expensive rather than illegal.
We sadly can't start there without a level 4 spell, though, so if we want to branch out from fashion into drugs it'll be softer stuff.
