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[Song of Ice and Fire] Creating Our Noble House
feeddannow
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
To all the noble lords and ladies of the Critical Failures forum, you are hereby and hitherto invited to swear allegiance to the noblest of causes... a play by post game of roles being played! The King himself hath commanded a performance by the very best players of the realm to entertain the commons... forsooth!
Seriously though, forsooth.
I just moved to Shanghai, China and finding a decent gaming group out of the paltry 14 million people in this tiny town is proving to be something of a challenge. I picked up the "Song of Ice and Fire" RPG a while back and had some great fun running a game of it in Japan with some other tabletop friends. I'd love to have MORE fun with it on the regular with the lovely people of the forum. Details below!
System: Song of Ice and Fire RPG by Green Ronin Publishing, it might be hard to find in print (though I hear a second printing is coming out at the end of July) it is still widely available for purchase as a PDF at several places.
Setting: The lands of Westeros (AKA the place where all that stuff in "The Game of Thrones" happens).
What's going on? : The players, once chosen, will get together to create a Noble House that will tie their characters together (as noblemen and women, servants, sellswords, maesters, smallfolk etc). Everyone is expected to pitch in on the creation of the House - which will start as a Banner House in the North (so the direct liege lord would be Eddard Stark).
When does it take place?: The timeline will pick up just before the end of Robert's Rebellion. It will be up to the players to decide whether their house was loyal to the Tregaryons or the Usurper, Robert. The game will take cues from the book re: major events, but there's no railroad... I would be greatly disappointed if the players didn't wholly derail "what should be happening".
How often will we be expected to post: I have a full-time job, as I suspect many of you do as well, which is one reason that finding a "proper" tabletop game is difficult for me. But writing a small post everyday sounds pretty reasonable to me. I am expecting around 5 posts a week from my players.
How can I join? What do I need?: You'll need at least a basic grasp of the setting and the core book. If you are interested in joining the game just leave a reply to this post. In your reply, introduce YOURSELF as a player and maybe say a little about what interests you most in a game of this type. Also this is likely your best chance to call dibs on a character "type" ... while there's no need for a hard and fast "class" of character... it would be nice to know if you are more interested in playing the brutey / intriguey / thinky / stabby / funny / occulty types.
How many players are you looking for? I'll need at least 2 players - and depending on the mix I'm willing to take on up to 6. If there's a huge reply for more and more, I'd be interested in having a co-gm to help me keep things straight and moving along. PM me if you're keen for that kind of responsibility as well.
Seriously though, forsooth.
I just moved to Shanghai, China and finding a decent gaming group out of the paltry 14 million people in this tiny town is proving to be something of a challenge. I picked up the "Song of Ice and Fire" RPG a while back and had some great fun running a game of it in Japan with some other tabletop friends. I'd love to have MORE fun with it on the regular with the lovely people of the forum. Details below!
System: Song of Ice and Fire RPG by Green Ronin Publishing, it might be hard to find in print (though I hear a second printing is coming out at the end of July) it is still widely available for purchase as a PDF at several places.
Setting: The lands of Westeros (AKA the place where all that stuff in "The Game of Thrones" happens).
What's going on? : The players, once chosen, will get together to create a Noble House that will tie their characters together (as noblemen and women, servants, sellswords, maesters, smallfolk etc). Everyone is expected to pitch in on the creation of the House - which will start as a Banner House in the North (so the direct liege lord would be Eddard Stark).
When does it take place?: The timeline will pick up just before the end of Robert's Rebellion. It will be up to the players to decide whether their house was loyal to the Tregaryons or the Usurper, Robert. The game will take cues from the book re: major events, but there's no railroad... I would be greatly disappointed if the players didn't wholly derail "what should be happening".
How often will we be expected to post: I have a full-time job, as I suspect many of you do as well, which is one reason that finding a "proper" tabletop game is difficult for me. But writing a small post everyday sounds pretty reasonable to me. I am expecting around 5 posts a week from my players.
How can I join? What do I need?: You'll need at least a basic grasp of the setting and the core book. If you are interested in joining the game just leave a reply to this post. In your reply, introduce YOURSELF as a player and maybe say a little about what interests you most in a game of this type. Also this is likely your best chance to call dibs on a character "type" ... while there's no need for a hard and fast "class" of character... it would be nice to know if you are more interested in playing the brutey / intriguey / thinky / stabby / funny / occulty types.
How many players are you looking for? I'll need at least 2 players - and depending on the mix I'm willing to take on up to 6. If there's a huge reply for more and more, I'd be interested in having a co-gm to help me keep things straight and moving along. PM me if you're keen for that kind of responsibility as well.
feeddannow on
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edit: Anyway I'll do an intro if this gets off the ground and I end up playing
So yeah...in terms of character type: if we're using the terminology type I would think of a mixture of brutey or stabby mixed with thinky. I'll put up a specific concept soon-ish.
Answer to a question I got in a PM that I thought I would share:
We will be skipping forward through time periods from Robert's Rebellion, the Greyjoy Rebellion, etc to highlight some key events in the recent history of the noble house - which means if you wanted to play a young character, you might not likely be born yet as the game opens. That's perfectly fine - if you find yourself without a character in a scene, we will let you take full control of a placeholder character. The books and the TV show often use the trope of changing perspectives ... and I think it will be fun if the players get a chance to play at more than one character. There will likely be a singular main character that each player has 100% control of ... and a host of other characters related to the noble house that will be under their control as the situation warrants.
This change in perspective also allows us to deal with character death as less of a roadblock to play. Let's face it, GoT without important character deaths is like... Dungeons without Dragons.
Guys. I am seriously pumped.
Are there two secret peeps in the wings who have expressed interest or was it Cherrn
I have a player or two in the wings that have mentioned offline that they'd like to join. It looks like we will have enough interest to actually get the game up and running soon! Yay yay yay!
Since that seems to be the case, I am going to start preparations for us to make the Noble House. There's a lot to do for it, and I think it's more interesting and more engaging if every player has a part to play in the construction of the house... because you'll be using the house as a launching point for all of your characters that you play.
For those of you that have the book, Chapter 6 covers noble house creation ... and involves A LOT of fun fun dice rolling as well as player choice. I am going to be as "hands-off" as possible. The house is the players' ... At the end of the day, it will be your resource and hopefully a source of inspiration for your roleplay.
Step 1 in House creation is choosing a Realm where the house is situated. This can be randomly generated or it can be decided. So, if you are interested in joining the game, let's hear your preference.
The Realms
If it's decided by dice, it's a 3d6 roll on the table below:
3: King's Landing
4: Dragonstone
5-6: The North
7: The Iron Islands
8-9: The Riverlands
10-11: The Mountains of the Moon
12-13: The Westerlands
14-15: The Reach
16-17: The Stormlands
18: Dorne
The Realm that is finally chosen will have a pretty big impact on the entire campaign - and will certainly flavor your characters and the house... both mechanic-wise and flavor-wise. It's probably one of the biggest decisions you guys will make at the start, so put some thought into how you want it to go.
I can't wait to hear your input - if you have questions or concerns or don't know what the heck I am talking about, post or PM me anytime!
I think my top choices would be: Reach, Stormlands ...with Westerlands potentially coming in third.
ok with : Riverlands,North, Vale and Dragonstone(barely makes it here)
less ok with: Dorne
would need to be the "Communist/Socialist" House ,an Oddball House or convincing: Iron Islands , Kings Landing
I rolled a 10 (Mountains of the Moon) for what it's worth.
e: if the Original concept was us being a "North" house, I'm fine with it.
I think we have @Buddha73 , @PACherrn , and @Jdarksun , and @egos - plus another guy that might show up. A pretty good start, I say! I am seeing a couple of people rolling for the house location and hearing a couple of preferences being laid down. Good, good. I will let you guys have tomorrow to hash out where you want to start up. If you do go random, talk amongst yourselves to see who'll be the roller. Or vote on a place. Or let me know how you want it to be dealt with.
Convince me to be a pillaging asshole, Buddha. Really ,though, the only way you'll likely interest me in playing an IIslander is if our house is to be all Judas-y and backstab/overthrow the Greyjoys. ;-)
the amusement that is Theon Greyjoy
(anyway @jdarksun and @PAChern , what are your preferences. The way I figure if we each have a "top" choice in common , that makes things easier @feedannow )
The main appeal of the Westerlands to me seems to be dealing with the Lannister drama and reacting to it. And knowing your neighbors are all assholes (Cleganes).
Egos, tell me about the west?
If Reach is interesting, I could see a border area near Dorne being cool.
e: description is pretty much identical to the quickstart
Seven Kingdoms. House Lannister, who governsthese lands, is easily one of the greatest houses in Westeros and is strengthened all the more by its ties to the Iron Throne.
Ultimately I'll defer to book readers.
1) There will ALWAYS be a troublesome neighbor and possibly several. There's always somebody that wants what you have - or hates you for the deeds of the past - or is just a jerk.
2) There is no shortage of danger. The North has the Others and Wildings, The Mountains of the Moon has its savages, and the Iron Islands ... well, everyone on the damned islands is dangerous. But these are just the most obvious dangers - each realm will have its own particular brand of thing that just wants nothing more than to snuff out your petty existence.
For those of you without the books or who need a little help choosing realms and whatnot, I'll drop some knowledge on you in the spoilers below:
King’s Landing
The very place where Aegon the Conqueror began his campaign to conquer
the Seven Kingdoms, King’s Landing has become the seat of power
and center of trade throughout the Seven Kingdoms. King’s Landing
is the cultural and political heart of Westeros. It is from here that King
Robert, sometimes called the Usurper, rules the entirety of the Seven
Kingdoms from his mighty castle, the Red Keep.
While King’s Landing is but a city, a number of noble houses swear
fealty directly to the crown and the capital of the land. Houses sworn to
King’s Landing benefit from a slightly higher population, improved law,
and defenses due to their proximity to the Iron Throne. However, they
are almost all smaller, weaker, and less influential than other houses.
Dragonstone
The former seat of House Targaryen, Dragonstone
is an ancient castle festooned with
dragon carvings that rises from the narrow
sea beyond the Blackwater Bay. When King
Robert awarded Dragonstone, a lordship of
small influence and few banners, to his brother
Stannis, it was viewed as an insult. There are
few houses sworn to Dragonstone. Isolation and
lack of arable lands make houses sworn to Dragonstone
small and poor, but the rocky islands and remoteness
make besieging them difficult
The North
Warden of the North
Until Aegon the Conquerer, the Kings of the
North ruled this realm. Faced with annihilation,
the last king knelt before the Targaryen
warlord and swore fealty to their line. Easily
the largest of Westeros’ realms, it also cleaves
closest to the ways and customs of the First
Men. Thinly populated, much of the North is an
untamed wilderness punctuated by the occasional
castle or keep and littered with the ruins of another
age. Houses in the North have greater holdings than do
their southron counterparts, and because Lord Stark is the Warden of
the North, those sworn to him have slightly more influence than their
rivals. The North, though, is a poor land, sparsely populated and frequently
plagued by wildlings that come over the Wall.
The Iron Islands
Consisting of seven islands spread throughout Ironman’s Bay, the Iron
Isles are home to a fierce people who, for generations, subsisted by
raiding and pillaging. While others may view such activities with revulsion,
the ironborn celebrate them as their way of life and custom.
Only through superior numbers of the rest of
the Seven Kingdoms have the ironmen been
brought to heel, but such a hold over them
is tenuous at best. Like vicious dogs, they attack
if they sense a weakness, and should the
Seven Kingdoms falter, there can be no doubt
that Lord Balon Greyjoy and his ironborn will
once again take to the seas, bent on rapine and
plunder. It is, after all, their way. The Iron Islands
are strong and defensible, but defeat during Greyjoy’s Rebellion has
diminished this realm’s influence in the Seven Kingdoms.
The Riverlands
This area was originally held by the Riverlords
of old, defeated long ago during the
Andal invasion and later by the ironmen. A
fertile realm, the riverlands form the heartlands
of Westeros, from the edge of the Red
Trident to the Mountains of the Moon, from
the swamps of the Neck to the shores of the
Gods Eye. Rolling farmlands, the waters of the
Trident, and numerous other creeks and streams
characterize this region. Verdant lands with countless
streams and rivers, the riverlands enjoy an abundant population, and
houses here have slightly larger holdings. However, the lay of the
land makes defense difficult.
The Mountains of the Moon
Hand of the King, Warden of the East
The Mountains of the Moon spread through
the eastern corner of Westeros, scratching
the sky with their high, windswept peaks.
Infested with savage and violent clans of
mountain men, it is a wild place, scarcely kept
under the control of its putative lord. One region
shines brightest, however, and that’s the
Vale of Arryn. Wrested from the old Mountain
Kings of the First Men, the Vale of Arryn is now
the seat of power for one of the purest Andal lines
in Westeros and features the lands and holdings of House Arryn
and those banners sworn to him. Banner houses sworn to House
Arryn enjoy the benefits of the security the Mountains of the Moon
provide, but there is little available land for new lords within the
confines of the Vale. Furthermore, the mountain clans cause endless
trouble for the people living here.
The Westerlands
Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West
Located west of the riverlands, the westerlands
a hilly region is noted for its great wealth and
power. Having numerous ports and countless
mines, it wields a great deal of power and influence
in the Seven Kingdoms. House Lannister,
who governs these lands, is easily one of the
greatest houses in Westeros and is strengthened
all the more by its ties to the Iron Throne.
The Reach
Lord of Highgarden, Warden of the South
Like the riverlands, the Reach is an area of fertile
country, but it is south of the westerlands.
A place of frequent conflicts with the Dornishmen
to the south, this realm serves as a border
between the somewhat independent Dorne
and the rest of Westeros. The most notable
place in the Reach is Oldtown, which is known
to be the oldest community in the Seven Kingdoms;
it once served as the seat of the Faith, and it
still houses the Maester’s Citadel.
The Stormlands
The stormlands are a stretch of land bounded
by the Reach to the west, King’s Landing to the
north, and Dorne to the south. Facing Shipbreaker
Bay, it is a place of sometimes savage
weather, hence the name. The stormlands were
held in olden times by the Storm Kings, who
were eventually defeated by a Targaryen bastard
who was raised up and made lord of all those lands.
Dorne
The lands of Dorne spread south of the Dornish
Marches, a people far different from those of the
rest of Westeros, differing in custom, blood, and
heritage. Forged from the Rhoynar invasion
long ago, Dorne maintained its independence
and even resisted the Targaryen conquest. It
wasn’t until a century later that this realm joined
with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, their loyalties ensured
through marriage and alliance. Even though they swear fealty to the
Iron Throne, they are very much a people apart from the rest of Westeros.
Think Stormlands will get my top place though. After getting some confirmation it was remotely interesting, it might be amusing to see how things work if Renly still makes a play.
e: that said still open to most and others with convicing (even iislands)
As far as a player history goes I've played Pathfinder for the last 2 years. Had some dabbles in d20 Modern and the new World of Darkness in that period as well.
I'm a huge Thrones fan however, absolutely devoured the books once I was told about them by my friend.
I'm currently not doing any roleplaying with my regular group so I have a roleplaying hole currently.
also Stormlands sounds great if thats the current leaning.
PSN: Corbius
Info -
I generally GM every RPG for my group, while I have never been a player, so a change in perspective would be nice. I've run games of D&D Next, Edge of the Empire, Paranoia, and this very game in fact (so naturally, I own the core rulebook).
I'm also a massive fan of the setting, I've read all the books, watched all the show episodes thus far etc.
In making a character in this setting, I'd probably go for the older warrior type. The kind that has been around the household for years, training militia/heading the household guard or similar. Traditional and always trying to offer wise advice.
Alternatively, if there are a lot of other 'combat focused' characters, I am happy to take the role of a Maester or likewise profession to balance things out.
In taking part in the PbP, I am on these forums every day, often multiple times, normally after work. So your participation expectations aren't a problem.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
That said I'm looking forward to the History rolls. Should be amusing.
On that note , will we have all rolls done here or go with a offsite dice roller of our choosing (Invisible Castle,Orokos,etc.) ?
@Egos - I don't owe particular allegiance to any diceroller... all I ask is that you pick one and use it consistently. I personally will be using invisible castle because that's what I am familiar with. If you prefer Orokos or the on-site roller, feel free to use whichever... as long as you know how to use them, I am fine.
I think that most people seem ok with the Stormlands, so I am going to assume that's the final choice. It's an interesting one, for sure... and one not super-covered. That's great because it means that the players will have a lot more freedom to kind of "make it their own."
The Stormlands
Defense +5
Lands -5
Law +10
Population -5
Power +10
All other resources unaffected.
There are 7 resources that every noble house has.
Defense, Influence, Lands, Law, Population, Power, and Wealth. To determine the starting values of these for the house, 7d6 should be rolled for each of the stats.
@Egos - rolled 22 for House Defense, +5 for Stormlands ... making it 27 Defense! Not bad!
@Corbius - please roll for Influence
@The brayster - rolled 23 for Lands which are adjusted down -5 to be 18 Lands
@jdarksun - rolled 23 for law, which is boosted +10 ... 33 law!
@buddha73 - rolled 36!!! for Population, which is pretty groovy even after the -5 modifier... 31 Population.
@PACherrn - rolled 18 for INFINITE POWER... luckily the stormlands gives +10 for that, bringing it up to 28 Power!
I'll be the roller for Wealth
Rolling for Noble House Wealth (7d6=25)
EDIT: Don't worry too much about these starting values, by the by, one the starting resources have been rolled for each player also gets a 1d6 to add to a single stat of their choosing... that'll help you shore-up any roll that you think was too low. Also as someone hinted at ... the house history rolls will give you a lot of chances to mess around with the values as well (for better or worse). I'm not a huuuuuuuge number cruncher, but these values will be important for letting you know where your house sits, relative to its neighbors - it also has some crunchy value in game play as well. Besides, who doesn't like rolling on tables? That's what Rollplaying is!
And hey! My rolling didn't put you you guys into the poor house... lucky!