Idea for a New Product/Axiom Article?

Ok, I admit it... after years of playing ACKS, I still struggle with the Domain rules.

My campaign has hit that level (well, the longest running one, we've had a couple of short ones along the way) and while I get the gist of it, figuring out what domains are supposed to look like, what an X level character might control, etc is really difficult for me to parse, let alone stat out as a DM. 

I think what would be awesome would be some short example domains, in a book format showing what a domain might look like from a 9th level character up to a 14th. What a 1 hex domain could look like, a 3 hex, a 24 hex, etc, etc. You could even just make the book be about one empire and then highlight the hexes that bob rules and that jenna rules, etc, etc. And if you broke it down to smaller divisions, it would enable DMs to use them seperately as needed.

Kind of a Domain monster manual with stats for the leaders and any vassels (which could be characters from earlier in the book) etc.

I realize this would be a lot of work, that's part of why I would rather buy it than create it (that and I don't really 'get' it). Heck, it could be several different Axiom articles, each one a single example domain, working up in size. 

Anyway, just a thought. 

 

I would enjoy something like this as well. as a DM, it would be handy to have pre-generated domains that I can use as baselines.  I wouldn't limit it to 9-14 though, since some barons can have very small domains.

Ideally, a premade domain is some parts pre-gen character, NPC write-up, and site-based adventure.  Maybe the PCs will fight this domain's armies, maybe they'll go adventuring in the locales and befriend or harass the denizens, maybe they'll inherit the domain either at the start of a higher level campaign or through trickery and quests.

I started a project that resembled a domain monster manual, albeit without NPCs and locations, just stats. Also predates the release of the altered / revised domain size limits in Axioms. See https://wanderinggamist.blogspot.com/2016/06/civilized-simple-sample-domains.html and https://wanderinggamist.blogspot.com/2016/06/simple-sample-orcish-domains.html

that's pretty awesome, jedavis!  I would definitely like to see something like this but with more fleshing out as a final product.  In particular, adding the NPCs along with some relationships and motivations would be good, or possibly just a random table for names and motivations so you could quickly generate several that have the same underyling numbers but slightly different "personalities".  This could be especially useful if, say, the party is interacting with a duchess and realize they need to start schmoozing her barons in order to gain leverage.

You beat me to referencing your own blog, jedavis.

It's likely, Jard, that the Senate rules from Axioms could be leveraged to generate generic motivations and relationships between domains existing on the board.

[quote="koewn"]

You beat me to referencing your own blog, jedavis.

It's likely, Jard, that the Senate rules from Axioms could be leveraged to generate generic motivations and relationships between domains existing on the board.

[/quote]

I wouldn't be surprised to see some overlap, but there could also be personal motivations, too.  Something simple like "expand my holdings" or something more unsavory like "overthrow my liege".  There could also be things besides domain management, like finding artifacts or secrets.  There could also be stuff that's sort of domain related but isn't necessarily tied to growth/conquest, like converting the kingdom to a religion or preserving the current religion by rooting out a cult.

That is some awesome stuff! Now, flesh it out, put some NPC leaders and their vassles, their armies, and that sort of stuff and I will throw money at you. :D

maybe we could do something like the crowdsourced hex maps like they do in G+ OSR communities?

We list off and number all the information you need about a domain, starting with most basic information and leading down into information that depends on higher up information, and just as people respond to it, they fill out the next thing that hasn't been filled out.  We might not get the level of participation that those OSR threads do, but if even 3 or 4 of us started rotating response, it might lighten the load.

Sounds like a good idea!

[quote="Jard"]

maybe we could do something like the crowdsourced hex maps like they do in G+ OSR communities?

We list off and number all the information you need about a domain, starting with most basic information and leading down into information that depends on higher up information, and just as people respond to it, they fill out the next thing that hasn't been filled out.  We might not get the level of participation that those OSR threads do, but if even 3 or 4 of us started rotating response, it might lighten the load.

[/quote]

I would be somewhat interested in this.  I have little faith in my ability to produce interesting NPCs, which leads to some reservations about adding rulers to the "domain beastiary" stuff I worked on, but a collaboration would present opportunities for learning from others that I do not usually get.

[quote="jedavis"]

 

 

maybe we could do something like the crowdsourced hex maps like they do in G+ OSR communities?

We list off and number all the information you need about a domain, starting with most basic information and leading down into information that depends on higher up information, and just as people respond to it, they fill out the next thing that hasn't been filled out.  We might not get the level of participation that those OSR threads do, but if even 3 or 4 of us started rotating response, it might lighten the load.

 


-Jard

 

I would be somewhat interested in this.  I have little faith in my ability to produce interesting NPCs, which leads to some reservations about adding rulers to the "domain beastiary" stuff I worked on, but a collaboration would present opportunities for learning from others that I do not usually get.

[/quote]

 

do you think it would be better to do it here or on G+? I guess it's a question of likely participation.

We could always crosspost them...

[quote="Rodriguez"]

We could always crosspost them...

[/quote]

the issue is that if we have a 1-2-3-4-5... list of things to be defined, it could lead to multiple people reserving the same item.  I would definitely be in favor of, wherever we decide to do it, putting just a link to it in the other place... maybe that's what you meant.  Yeah that's probably fine.

Great idea, though my personal preference is forums as topics are easier to find I think.

ok, here is my initial rough draft based on what was on the wandering gamist blog, plus a small handful of things I added.  I figure we should workshop what else should be added or if things should be re-arranged (I tried to list dependances by name rather than number so we can shift around easily).  We'll also discuss the rules that will get posted with this list, and probably end up making a new thread.

 

  1. Civilization Level (Civilized/Borderlands/Wilderness)

  2. Ruler rank (Baron/Marquis/Count/Duke/Prince/King/Emperor)

  3. Ruler Name

  4. Ruler Class

  5. Realm Name

  6. Number of Vassals

  7. Size of personal domain

  8. Land Value

  9. Size of vassal domains (either a single size, or individual sizes, which then depends on #3)

  10. Population, both rural and urban (depends on [civilization level] and [size of personal domain] for maximum possible rural people)

  11. Net Domain Income (this depends on a lot of things and may be better off farther down the list)

  12. Market (Depends on [size of personal domain] for urban population)

  13. Gives liege lord (thanks to Axioms, this only depends on [population] and [Land Value])

  14. Ruler Max Level From Domain XP (depends on [Net Domain Income], and sort of on [ruler's class])

  15. Stronghold Value (requires [Civilization Level] and [Size of Personal Domain] to determine minimum value required)

  16. Garrison (requires [Civilization Level] and [Population] to determine minimum... unless the domain is experiencing a morale penalty...)

  17. Field Army

  18. Pillaging (can't remember what this requires, but it seems like a calculated field)

  19. Razing (same)

  20. Ruler Motivation

  • this can be claimed multiple times,

  • preferably a number of times that is a multiple of a die result

  • each entry goes into a table

  • 4=d4, 5= 2d3-1, 6 = d6, 7 = 2d4-1, 8 = d8, 9 = 2d5-1, 10 = d10, 11 = 2d6-1, etc.

  1. Other important NPCs

  • can be claimed multiple times

  • depending on size and nature of them, either they all exist or you roll for one

  1. Increased or decreased demand modifiers (depends on [Land Value]

  • can be picked a number of times as prescribed Domain Specific Adjustments on page 233 of Core ACKs

does this seem good to everyone?  If I made a separate post for this, would people contribute to it?

I assume if this gets its own post, the idea will be anyone wanting to contribute will start by posting just the number of what they want to fill in, then coming back to the forum and making sure there's no double-booking, deferring to whoever posted first. Once you've got a number locked in, then you edit the post to give the actual details.

Looks good, certainly would contribute.