11-01-2014, 01:47 PM | #1 |
Stick in the Mud
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Rural Utah
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[Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
I'm gearing up for a Banestorm campaign set in Caithness, mostly centered around the brewing civil war (which seems to have been brewing for 20+ years at this point). So I have pulled out all the resources I personally own for the setting. Banestorm, Fantasy second edition (for 3rd edition), Tredroy, Harkwood, and Orcslayer.
Some of the sources list orcs as being near mythical critters in Caithness, and yet others (the more generalized setting books) don't seem to give the impression that they're all that rare in the less populated areas. Anyhow, I'm considering using Orcslayer somehow as a setup (altering the location, so not Castle Defiant most likely) with maybe one Barony making a deal with the devil in the form of aid from orcs and others, even though this will likely turn around and bite them in the end. Any suggestions on further plot complications?
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11-01-2014, 01:49 PM | #2 |
Stick in the Mud
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Rural Utah
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
Additionally, there will be players new to GURPS involved, so I'll be starting fairly simple, probably 200 points, Basic Set, Low Tech, Banestorm, and Magic (possibly just the magic from the Basic Set).
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11-02-2014, 05:03 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
#1. How about cells of techno-rebels? One of baronies is quietly courting engineers with black-powder weapons and other TL4 technologies in exchange for support in a tentative later uprising further east, which is part of the reason the other barony is recruiting orcs (to throw in the way of the guns)?
In turn, the Ministry of Serendipity/Michaelites/Order of the Stone are discreetly active in the area to unearth the rebels and destroy the evidence of guns. #2. Dark Elves masquerading as original-recipe elves, supposedly here at Lady Bronwen's invitation but looking for evidence of evil humans colluding with the hated orcs? #3. A candidate for the near-mythical title of "chief of chiefs" among the orcs is as horrified at the idea of local chiefs making deals with human lords as the human kings are, and has half-orc agents in the area?
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11-02-2014, 07:29 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
Blythe made that deal and will suffer for it.
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11-02-2014, 08:38 PM | #5 |
Stick in the Mud
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Rural Utah
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
I'm actively trying to avoid the whole Underground Engineer and MoS thing, at least for the time being. The play group will consist of about seven players, six of which are totally unfamiliar with Yrth as a setting, and only three or four who are familiar with GURPS.
For the Orcslayer thing, I'm not doing the Castle Defiant part, but more updating the concepts to a more current timeline. Perhaps try to tie in the concept that an orc attack is somehow instigated by one faction or another, to either weaken in preparation for the general opening of hostilities, or to trick hesitant/unaligned Baronies into believing that the attacks were caused by one side or another. Note: At this point, the PCs haven't even been built yet, and I don't know which of the three possible groups they'll choose to align with, Royalists, Rebels, or Unaligned. So how things ultimately go remains to be seen, I'm just mining ideas right now (character build session is Saturday).
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11-02-2014, 09:11 PM | #6 |
Stick in the Mud
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Location: Rural Utah
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
Additionally, any ramifications I may not have thought of regarding reducing the lifespan of the extremely long lived non human races.
I'm considering reducing the life span of Dwarves to 150 years average, and Elves to 200 years average, etc.
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11-03-2014, 05:07 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: One Mile Up
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
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11-03-2014, 12:19 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
I disagree. I'd tend to throw them in and see which way they go. Choosing a side is the best part of political RP. Gives the players scope to debate among themselves which way they'll go, too.
More Possibilities: - Megalans trying to swing a more Megalan-friendly leader, or a more anti-Megalan leader in hopes of provoking a fresh war. - Sahudese diplomats just... watching. Not doing anything much, just interested. (Sub-plot: Rebels assassinating the Sahudese in the hopes of making the Royalists look bad.) - Dwarves, similar lines to the Sahudese. Also incensed at the idea that humans are working with orcs. - Order of the Stone generally monkeywrenching things, as they value Caithness itself more than the king or any of the factions. Implications of long lives: one of the big ones is that still relatively-young dwarves and elves will remember and had dealings with people the current crop of Caithnesser nobility regard as near-mythical, including Old Peredur himself. A faction trying to invoke Peredur's memory in support of their cause might attribute values to him that a dwarf who knew him might publicly dismiss because he knew the man.
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11-04-2014, 04:12 AM | #9 | ||
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
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11-04-2014, 09:33 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Re: [Banestorm] Caithness civil war and Orcslayer
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Absolutely! (We get the same over here, of course, with the many narratives of Thatcherite Britain :s ) The difference is one of scale; someone who looks younger than you who remembers a king from before your father was born is probably a bit offputting.
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