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Callos_DeTerran
2011-06-13, 09:47 PM
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7843/leadershipw.jpg
"It is better to be feared then loved if you cannot be both." -Machiavelli
"You keep what you kill." -Orc Chieftain

Armies clash in the mid-day sun as spies lurk through dark alleys carrying the secrets of nations in their satchels. Studious cabals of witches and warlocks try to divine how best to aid their home city while solemn chants rise to the heights of vaulted ceilings. Workers and laborers slave to build the foundations of the greatest fortresses and homes alike, all under the guidance of the one who guides the fate of hundreds of men and women for their own betterment or to the betterment of the masses. These are the images that were conjured up in my mind when I first read the Leadership feat and, while it delivered on those images a little, I found Leadership to sadly be lacking in what I really wanted. What I wanted was a way to govern countries and cities with more to the process then telling the DM what I wanted my followers to do and have it mostly resolved by fiat or a single dice roll with the target roll basically being decided by whatever the DM felt fit the situation right. There was nothing to sink one's teeth into, no way to have a more global conflict that could still fit within the framework of D&D, something I feel is a tremendous hole that needs to be filled.

That's what this project is for, to try to fashion some simple to use rules for handling the process of running everything from a small village to a massive country. Right now this is in it's infancy, I'm still working on a lot of things and it's going to need some serious fine-tuning I imagine, but that's why I'm putting this project up on these boards!

The Basics
At it's heart, this system is meant to be familiar to players of D&D 3.5 and simple to use. So, in that vein, it follows the same basic principles of D&D. Events proceed 'round by round' with the players able to take certain actions on their turn, actions that will usually be resolved by a d20 roll against a set DC or an opposed roll by the target the action affects. The 'hard' part is determining what modifiers are applied to those d20 rolls and finding out just what your character can do in the first place. However, there's an even more basic question that needs to be answered...

...When can your characters use this system?

The answer is simple enough, when a character who has taken the Leadership feat finds that their character has a Leadership score of at least ten (the earliest that you get non-cohort followers), they can begin to use these rules with their DM's approval. All of these rules require followers in order to function and the more followers you have, the more you can do at once.

What does the Leadership feat have to do with running a city or even a country? You barely get enough followers for a small town!

This is where fluff comes in. If you're using these rules then the assumption is that your DM has allowed your character to take a prominent IC title or position, perhaps because they took the Leadership feat. If your DM hasn't, then there's sadly very little here that will be of use to you. It's my hope that people do use it, cause I feel it can be used to provide plot-hooks and adventures in a campaign, but if they don't then don't try to force the issue either.

So what are the modifiers for the d20 roll?

This is perhaps the most important piece of info to use these rules. Whenever I mention a d20 roll, I'm referring to this formula.

1d20+bonus from structures built+the combined level of every follower assigned to the task+1-3 descriptive bonus.

That last one might seem a bit odd, but it's like stunting from Exalted. If you describe the action being taken in suitably descriptive and exciting ways, the DM should give you a bonus from 1 to 3 depending on the description. You should always strive to add in the awesome details!

The combined level of every follower assigned to the task is exactly that. Take every follower granted by Leadership that you assigned to do a given task from the relevant category (see below) and add their levels together to get the appropriate bonus. 10 first level followers of the relevant category would provide a bonus of +10, while 3 followers who are all level 4 would provide a total bonus of +12.

How many followers can I assign to any given task?

You can assign a number of followers to a task equal to half of your Leadership score. Thus, a character with a Leadership score of 24 would be able to assign 12 followers to any given task. This may not seem like much, and it doesn't feel quite right to me yet either so I'm open to suggestion on changing this.

How long is a round?

Unlike regular D&D combat, a round in this system does not take 6 seconds. It'd take forever to get anything done. This is another subject up for change, but as of right now a single round designates a single year of in-game time. This feels like it may make the system mostly un-usable when combined with regular D&D, so I'm working on this as well.

How do I know if I succeeded or failed?

This is an important question, and one that's going to be handled in the next post. To simplify the process here, your city/country/etc will have a 'Morale' score and a 'Wellness' score. Your successes and failures, as well as attacks by enemies, will lower or raise these scores. The higher your Morale and Wellness, the better off you are. The lower they are, the more you risk coups, rebellions, and outright revolution!

What about my cohort?

What your cohort can do will be handled later on. In short, the character can choose to either keep their cohort with them, in which case they function as normal, or leave the cohort behind to run things in their absence.

Table of Contents

DoomHat
2011-06-13, 10:29 PM
This is fantastic! This is just the sort of thing I like to see.
Some recommendations, use city ambitions as plot hooks for regular play. Like, if the party pulls off a particular mission, your city turn gains a massive bonus.
I'd recommend using the structures/features of the city as a kind of Action currency. Like, each structure/feature can be dedicated to one task a month. It's up to you to pour everything into just a couple actions, split it all up into a bunch of different smaller ambitions, or hold some stuff in reserve in order to adapt to sudden upheavals that might come in the middle of the month (opportunity attacks? active defense?)

Edit: OOH! OH! In this kind of campaign you should totally just give each member of the party x number of levels in Leadership for free, so no one has to be gimped and everyone has a part ownership of the city! Everyone decides who's the captain of the guard, who runs the thieves guild, who runs the banks ect.! They can collaborate their individual monthly city resources or be stingy until everything falls apart!
Edit2: OOHHHHHHH! Maybe during the city sim parts of the game they actually play the city's nobility but during the Adventure parts they play their play their City Character's heirs, apprentices, right-hands ect.!

Stycotl
2011-06-14, 12:38 AM
funny; i just linked the birthright page (http://www.birthright.net/) for someone else's thread too. i think that this could be of use to you for ideas and inspiration. in birthright, each turn equaled 3 months, if i remember right.

then, with 4 turns per year, you can end up making a number of construction, diplomatic, warfare-type choices in a shorter amount of time. certainly isn't realistic, but as you mentioned earlier, using a realistic timeline (50+ years to build any kind of really cool structure) doesn't fit with d&d very well.

SPoD
2011-06-14, 01:53 AM
The nice thing about a 3-month turn is it represents a single season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Then you can give modifiers to certain actions based on the season, or have certain events only happen during the right season: Moving resources costs double in Winter, or crops are harvested in Fall.

Callos_DeTerran
2011-06-14, 01:19 PM
This is fantastic! This is just the sort of thing I like to see.
Some recommendations, use city ambitions as plot hooks for regular play. Like, if the party pulls off a particular mission, your city turn gains a massive bonus.
I'd recommend using the structures/features of the city as a kind of Action currency. Like, each structure/feature can be dedicated to one task a month. It's up to you to pour everything into just a couple actions, split it all up into a bunch of different smaller ambitions, or hold some stuff in reserve in order to adapt to sudden upheavals that might come in the middle of the month (opportunity attacks? active defense?)

Using city ambitions as plot hooks is something that an individual DM should handle on their own, so that the plot hooks will mesh more naturally with their setting. I only say this cause any system I could come up within to determine missions giving a big bonus on a roll of a particular type would likely be severely unbalanced.

That said, right now and as I'll get up here eventually, each structure will give a bonus on actions that relate to it and, once certain buildings are built, will allow you to train 'leaders' from among your followers who will allow you to accomplish more things in a turn. As for opportunity attacks and such...well, you'll just have to hold on until I get those rules up. :smallwink:


Edit: OOH! OH! In this kind of campaign you should totally just give each member of the party x number of levels in Leadership for free, so no one has to be gimped and everyone has a part ownership of the city! Everyone decides who's the captain of the guard, who runs the thieves guild, who runs the banks ect.! They can collaborate their individual monthly city resources or be stingy until everything falls apart!
Edit2: OOHHHHHHH! Maybe during the city sim parts of the game they actually play the city's nobility but during the Adventure parts they play their play their City Character's heirs, apprentices, right-hands ect.!

The problem with a free +x bonus to Leadership is that, pre-Epic, Leadership bonus only goes up to 25 while still giving new followers. I'm working on a fix for that but that's coming slow. As for divying up the city among a party...Hmm..Definitely an interesting though and one I hadn't thought of. That might have to be an optional rule though since A) not everyone in a party might take Leadership, though if these rules are going to be put to significant use then I imagine they would and B) As the system is in my head right now, having each member of the party run a different facet may break it. Like I said, lemme get down the general rules first and then I'll tweak them a bit to allow for entire party running one city.


The nice thing about a 3-month turn is it represents a single season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Then you can give modifiers to certain actions based on the season, or have certain events only happen during the right season: Moving resources costs double in Winter, or crops are harvested in Fall.

A 3-month turn does seem reasonable and someone pointed me to birthright after I had already begun the project actually. However, having each 3-month turn representing a season would depend on the campaign setting. I've definitely played in a couple settings when the seasons were way out of whack with the normal calender. But, that is a good idea, I'll see about incorporating something like that for optional rules if people want something more rules intensive to sink their teeth into.


I meant to post more after making this thread but my computer shut off and I lost most of my work, so I have to recreate what I can. Be patient please!

DoomHat
2011-06-14, 01:48 PM
I'm a little confused by your response. How could you have something like this and not have it at the center of a campaign? What does it matter what the leadership feat does in regular play? It was not written with this kind of thing in mind so change it to suit you or if you're uncomfortable with that, make something new. Call it Landholder or something and provide a caveat that unless one player is a going be a prince with the rest of the party as their faithful retainers (or something along those lines), each member of the party gains it for free.
Edited to be less abrasive. I'm really excited by your idea.

Callos_DeTerran
2011-06-14, 02:52 PM
I'm a little confused by your response. How could you have something like this and not have it at the center of a campaign? What does it matter what the leadership feat does in regular play? It was not written with this kind of thing in mind so change it to suit you or if you're uncomfortable with that, make something new. Call it Landholder or something and provide a caveat that unless one player is a going be a prince with the rest of the party as their faithful retainers (or something along those lines), each member of the party gains it for free.
Edited to be less abrasive. I'm really excited by your idea.

I must admit, if these rules are being used then it's more then likely that they will be a central part of that campaign, but they're also meant to be used in a more general PvP manner as well, both on the DM's part and the PC's. A campaign could (and I plan to play-test these rules by running a brief game using them) be used to do a 'countries at war' type deal where the players are trying to over-run each other and their rivals. In the course of regular D&D, a character using these rules could bring the power of their organization against an enemy or enemy's own organization. Heck, one of the scenarios I imagined it being used for was for a more social-focused PC using this rules to hamper and hinder the BBEG while the party itself took the fight to their door-step.

That said, how the Leadership feat works in normal D&D is very important for these rules, because the followers it grants are basically the currency for accomplishing tasks and whatnot. If a character doesn't or won't take the Leadership feat then they have no followers with which to do any of these things and the DM has to account for as much. Ideally, if used, these rules would be a center-piece for a campaign and thus every PC would want to use them (which I already have ideas on how to handle this if all the PCs are working together). Realistically? Well...everyone in a group might not want to use these rules or deal with running an organization, so I'm leaving room for these rules to be used by a single character in a group and not require every character to use them. Basically, I'm trying to keep options open for various groups with various kinds of players. :smallwink:

Callos_DeTerran
2011-06-14, 04:13 PM
Morale & Wellness

Morale and Wellness are two, somewhat abstract, statistics that exist purely for use with the other rules presented here. Below more detail is given to what each entails and what a given score might represent, this section is for determining the starting Morale and Wellness for an organization (the term I'll be using from now on to denote everything from actual organizations to full-on countries). Each organization has a starting Morale and Wellness of 10, which represents the average, and is modified depending on the character's choices

First the character must decide if the organization is a lawful one or a chaotic one. A lawful organization gains a +1 to Wellness but a -1 to Morale. They are generally functioning groups but too much organization, rules, and restrictions don't tend to lean towards a happy populace. Conversely, chaotic organizations gain a +1 to Morale and a -1 to Wellness. Chaotic groups tend to live by the moment and are content with their lots in life, most malcontents simply leaving, but chaotic organizations lack the natural cohesiveness that lawful ones have.

Next, the character gives either Morale or Wellness an additional two points while two points are subtracted from the score that isn't picked. Most of the time this results in a score of 9 in Morale or Wellness and 11 in the other, but it's perfectly acceptable to have a community that with a +3 boost in one stat and a -3 in the other! Players are encouraged to describe why their organization has these scores to begin with! Does their organization start with a low Morale but a higher Wellness to represent an efficient police state or have there been a lot of mishaps lately that have gotten the people deperessed? And vice versa. Considering the fantastic nature of D&D, there are certainly more bizarre explanations for the bonuses and penalties and the player should talk with the DM to come up with reasons that fit the game and the player both if they decide to go that route.

Keep in mind that even if the source of a penalty or bonus is removed, the penalty and bonus themselves are not removed. For example, if the penalty to Morale for the city of Trice is a heavy -3 and is described as being the result of a dragon's predations on merchant caravans heading in and out of town, then slaying the dragon doesn't remove the -3 penalty. People will still be afraid of looming reptilian shapes in the sky while merchants and bards will continue to avoid the area for the time out of remembrance of the attacks. It's up to the character to build back up the morale of the citizens.

The drawbacks of having a low-score are described below the details of each stat.

Morale

Morale is a simple truth that have brought the most tyrannical of regimes and the most benevolent of rulers low in equal turn, and thus most wise rulers keep a careful ear tuned for any sign of discontent among the populace. Morale is, quite simply, how happy the people of a given organization, city, or country are with their lives on the whole. A single disgruntled peasant wouldn't do much to affect the Morale score of even a hamlet, but a mob of them could see a small forest of pitchforks and torches waiting outside the local baron's keep, baying for his blood. It is because of this that even the rule of evil men and women has it's bright spots for it's citizens to enjoy and forget about their troubles for a time, such as the blood-sports of gladiatorial arenas or frequent celebrations and festivals to keep spirits high.

Despite how important morale is to keeping one's followers in line, it does not represent how healthy an organization or society is. The most plague-ridden city could, conceivably, have a high Morale as the citizens drop dead in the streets for example. On the opposite end of the spectrum, even the most efficient empires could face the threat of open revolt since a mob cares little for how prosperous their country is if that effeciency comes at the expense of their happiness.

{table=head]Morale Score|Effects*
1|The members and followers of the organization are distinctly unhappy with the current regime. Every turn the character must make a Leadership check (DC 20+2 for each turn the organization's Morale has been at 1) or find riots have broken out. A Leadership check is simply 1d20+the character's Leadership score.
2-3|The murmurs of discontent aren't so quiet anymore. Demonstrations and rallies occur almost daily and every four turns the character must make a Leadership check (DC 15) to keep the people calm. Failure on this check results in the loss of 1 point of Wellness.
4-5|The people of the organization grumble and complain, but can't be bothered to be stirred into action yet. They also can't be bothered to do their jobs well though either, giving a -2 penalty to every d20 roll to accomplish a task.
6-7|Rumors of unhappiness abound but, for the most part, the people are still hopeful that they're putting their faith in the right leader. This is the point that most leaders realize they need to start improving the situation.
8-9|The people are worried and/or scared, but still trust in their leader to do right by them. Revolution or rebellion is only mentioned in jest, if at all, as the populace hopes things start to improve.
10-11|The average organization's Morale. It's people are perfectly content with their lot within the organization, even if they wouldn't be adverse to improvements. This is the starting point for most organizations.
12-13|Good will is spreading among the people! What little the people are unhappy about, they generally keep to themselves since they are generally small matters that can be handled by the members of the organization. The leader is often cast as a heroic and inspiring figure.
14-15|People put their faith whole-heartedly in their leader, trusting from past experience that said leader will do right by them. Happy people also equal happy workers, the leader gains a +2 bonus to every d20 roll to perform a task as long as they can maintain this level of Morale.
16-17|Discontent is practically un-heard of while rebellion is all but unthinkable. The people venerate their leader and may very well lay down their lives to defend their leader's honor. Organizations with this level of Morale doesn't suffer the normal Morale loss while taking the war action for the first four turns of the war, barring a demoralizing defeat in which case the Morale loss happens as normal.
18+|A utopia in spirit, if not in reality. A leader able to cultivate such a Morale level, and keep it, find themselves the recipient of much adoration from their followers who couldn't be happier. For every turn that the organization maintains an 18+ Morale score, it gains 1 point of Wellness as the people come together in times of tribulation (yes, even in evil organizations though probably not in ways a good organization might).[/table]
These effects are cumulative.

A low Morale brings the risk of riots and mobs. Unlike how the table might indicate, when a riot happens as a result of this chart, it is not an isolated instance that only needs to be put down once. It's an outbreak of such events that threaten to push an organization over the brink to total self-destruction. When riots break out, the leader of the organization must immediately make a Leadership check (DC 35) to contain the problem before it grows out of hand. If this check is successful then the organization loses 1d4 Wellness but there is no further deterioration of the group as a whole.

If the Leadership check fails then riots and mobs break out all through out the organization. Each round the leader must spend one of his Martial, Occult, or Expert actions, as well as dedicating followers, to putting down the riots (DC 25+1 for each round the riots have been going on) with four successive checks needed to stop the fledgling rebellion. If one of these checks fail, then the organization loses 1 point of Morale and Wellness that round and the leader takes a -10 penalty on all d20 rolls to accomplish a task.

Note: Even if an organization's Morale rises above 1, a riot that has already started doesn't just disappear, it will continue until it is put down as described above. Once the seeds of revolution have been sown, they have to be stamped out entirely, even if the conditions that prompted the riots in the first place have been improved.

Should Morale fall to 0, the organization veritably self-destructs as the bottled up resentment of the people explodes forth. The ability of the leader to accomplish tasks or construct new buildings is removed entirely as they only command their immediate followers as blood-thirsty mobs hunt for the character's head. Fleeing the area is almost a given and the DM is encouraged to place appropriate obstacles in the character's path as the consequence of their actions catch up to them (the rules for running mobs in DMG II come to mind).

A leader coming to a position of leadership after a rebellion has their work cut out for them. The starting morale of the organization takes a -5 penalty and the Wellness takes a -2 penalty, showing the distrust the populace has for new leadership until they prove themselves capable or trustworthy.

Wellness

If Morale is the hearts and minds of an organization then Wellness is the body, neither can thrive without the other. Wellness represents how healthy the organization as a whole is with a Wellness of 0 resulting in the organization disintegrating as the people living under it disperse to find better places to live. A high Wellness score is exemplified by an organization that is efficient and free of problems or detriments, not necessarily by how many people occupy the organization. Even an organization of a few hundred can have a high Wellness while a country could have a very low Wellness due to inept or corrupt leaders.

As with Morale, Wellness does not represent how happy the people are. A high Wellness score but low Morale could very well come from throngs of slaves doing the hard work while the few elite languish in decadence, the perfect breeding grounds for a well-organized and effective revolution. Thus it's just as important to keep Morale as high as Wellness if one wants to avoid finding themselves without an organization to lead.

{table=head]Wellness Score|Effects*
1|The organization is practically a ghost-town, most people having fled while they still could. Those who remain are the sick, the criminal, and those too poor to flee, a poorer workforce is simply not possible. Every turn the character must make a Leadership check (DC 20+2 for each turn the organization's Wellness has been at 1) to perform a task. This roll must be made for each task the leader wants to begin or continue progressing on. If a leader fails this check for an ongoing task, that task merely adds another round to it's completion time, it doesn't need to be started again. A Leadership check is simply 1d20+the character's Leadership score.
2-3|People abandon the organization in droves as it takes a downward spiral and the people's attitude gets worse every day. Every two turns the character must make a Leadership check (DC 15) to keep the people upbeat. Failure on this check results in the loss of 1d3 points of Morale.
4-5|Crime, corruption, and sickness are prevalent in the organization, making accomplishing anything a trial in and of itself. The people of the organization simply don't have the ability to do their best, for one reason or another. Every d20 roll takes a -2 penalty to accomplish a task.
6-7|Crime and poverty are wide-spread, but not omnipresent and still a manageable problem. Poorly worded laws and rules allow the organization's system to be abused or broken, but it hasn't begun to affect the organization's ability to function...yet. This is the point that most leaders realize they need to start improving the situation.
8-9|The people are down trodden and fractious, but are still capable of getting the job done when push comes to shove. New people might not be flocking to the organization but there's still a steady stream of new arrivals.
10-11|The average organization's Wellness. It's capable enough and only suffers minor setbacks or the occasional major one. There might be some bad apples but they're influence is limited. This is the starting point for most organizations.
12-13|Efficiency is high, usually generating a surplus of supplies and materials for the organization. Things get done in an orderly manner while poverty and wide-spread illness are uncommon while crime rates are low.
14-15|Poverty is a thing of the past and the standard of living is unusually high, a minor catastrophe would be needed to upset the day to day happenings of the organization. The leader gains a +2 bonus to every d20 roll to perform to train new followers and construct buildings as long as they can maintain this level of Wellness.
16-17|Crime and corruption are things that happen to other people, not this organization. The poor are educated and put to productive work while only the most virulent of plagues can get a foothold in an organization with a Wellness this high. Organizations with this level of Wellness doesn't suffer the normal Wellness loss while taking the war for the first four turns of the war, the organization's well-oiled machine able to reliably find and train replacement soldiers for the fight. It takes a major loss or a major catastrophe (DM's discretion on what constitutes a major loss or major catastrophe) removes this benefit.
18+|A utopia in practice, if not in spirit. Corruption, crime, illness, and poverty are things in the past, and swiftly dealt with if they crop up again. For every turn that the organization maintains an 18+ Wellness score, it gains 1 point of Morale as organization deftly handles malcontents and dissidents or the problems they may have.[/table]
These effects are cumulative.

As mentioned above, a Wellness of 0 represents a catastrophic failure on the part of the leader as those under her rule, those that can anyway, seek fairer pastures to live in. Mobs and riots may or may not occur, depending on the situation that leads to a Wellness of 0, so the DM is encouraged to be creative with the consequences of having an organization fail in this manner. Only the end result is certain, the organization is no more and the leader is left with only their immediate followers who will obey them.

Gaining and Losing Morale and Wellness

Barring exceptional organizations with high Morale or Wellness an organization's Morale and Wellness scores require constant effort to keep them high enough to prevent problems. Every two rounds an organization loses 1 point of Wellness as the populace consumes food and public services which require replenishment. A leader may lose 1 point of Morale to increase his Wellness by 1 (only once a turn), an example of cracking down on more frivolous matters for the 'betterment' of the organization. Keep in mind that if Morale falls too low, a leader still risks revolt! This pattern repeats itself even as you accomplish tasks that improves them, or lowers them as a consequence of failure, or if an enemy leader successfully completes a task that damages your Morale and Wellness scores. Various tasks that can be performed are detailed below along with the categories of minions..

Callos_DeTerran
2011-06-14, 07:30 PM
Followers & Minions

For the purposes of these rules, a distinction is being made between followers (as in subjects granted by the Leadership feat) and minions (followers who have been trained into one of the categories listed below). Followers represent a blank slate, a person that a character can have trained in one of the following categories so that they may perform tasks related to that category. Once trained into a specific kind of minion, a follower cannot learn the duties of another category unless their leader has built certain buildings that allow cross-training to occur, so it's important to carefully decide what kind of minions you want your followers to become!

As a reminder, just because you train a follower into a minion does not mean they cease to be a follower for the purposes of the Leadership feat, you don't gain a new follower because an old one has become a minion because you can still only control so many followers/minions. Unlike normal tasks taken on by a leader, there is no check involved in training a minion and thus no chance of failure. All that is required is a certain amount of gold, the prerequisite building, and a follower capable of being turned into a minion. Any number of followers may undergo training at the same time, but like each category, you may only begin training followers once. For example, Lord Daggerbane orders 10 of his 2nd level followers to undergo training to become Martial minions that round. While he may decide to add more followers to that number before his round is up, he may not decide to also begin training 10 more followers as laborers. That training would have to begin on his next turn, though it would not interfere with the training of the Martial minions he began last turn.

Whenever a minion is involved in a task that effects enemy minions (or is affected by enemy minions), that minion only offers it's full bonus if the roll required is of it's category, otherwise it only provides half of the bonus it would other wise give (rounded up).

Example: If Lord Daggerdale's newly commissioned Martial minions come under attack by one of his enemy's Martial minions, then they provide their total bonus of +20. However, if his Martial minions come under attack from, say, an enemy's Occult minions, then they lack the proper training to resist the attack properly. Against an Occult attack, the Martial minions would only have a bonus of +10. They're still capable of resisting, and possibly winning, but their lack of expertise is obvious and against an equal force they risk outright destruction. The obvious solution is to mix-and-match minions if you're expecting an attack from a certain category, to better defend your own minions.

If you perform a task but at least half of the minions assigned to it are trained in another category, then it becomes a combination of the two categories (Ex: If the War task is started but with half Martial and half Expert, it becomes a Martial/Expert task). To receive the full bonus to the opposed roll against a dual category task, the defender against such a joint task must have half the number of each kind that the attacker has. In the above example, if 5 1st level Martial and 5 1st level Expert are sent to attack a group of 10 1st level Martial, which normally means the defender would only have a bonus of +5. The defender would need have needed to include at least 2 Expert minions to receive the full bonus against the attack.

http://wizards.com/dnd/images/cd_gallery/81347.jpg
Divine Minions
Time to Train: 4 turns (12 months)
Cost: 400 gold pieces per minion
Prerequisites: Chapel devoted to a deity

Divine minions are some of the most cherished minions that a leader can train, especially if his organization is a primarily theocratic one. Divine minions are trained in the doctrine of the chosen deity and learn the rituals and practices of that faith. By the end of their training, divine minions are capable of astounding feats of faith, both spiritual and magical, that can boost the Morale and Wellness of the organization that they belong to. Divine minions of a good deity are powerful forces of healing and charity among their organization, beloved figures of the community and confidants of troubled souls. Divine minions of an evil deity tend to be scourges upon the enemies of the organization instead of kind care-givers, capable of calling down holy fury upon the enemy, sending plagues amongst them, or even organizing inquisitions to root spies, heretics, and enemy minions that might do harm to the organization.

In either case, an abundance of Divine minions among an organization are a sure sign that the organization has a deity's eyes upon them and in truly miraculous situations this gaze can lead to fashioning of powerful relics of that deity's faith, the epitome of a Divine minion's capabilities. A Divine-heavy organization on the war-path is a fearsome sight, invoking all the imagery of an angry god. Plagues and (un)holy fire will devastate the enemy while the organization communes with divine servants to determine the best course of action. In more typical warfare, Divine minions are usually battle-field medics and occasionally divine artillery though they don't have as many options in this regard as Occult minions do.

At least one Divine minion must be included in any group of minions being assigned a Divine task, some may require more. More importantly, Divine minions may also be included in tasks conducted by other kinds of minions, both to provide protection from other Divine minions and to add their own expertise to certain opposed rolls. Any task where at least half of the minions assigned to it are Divine becomes a Divine/X task (X being whatever category the task normally belongs to).

Tasks:
Alms for the Poor
Beatify
Blessings on the Harvest
Commune
Grand Ceremony
Healing the Ill
Holy Wrath
Inquisition
Plague
Relic of the Faith

Expert Minions
Time to Train: 6 turns (18 months)
Cost: 600 gold pieces
Prerequisites: Trade Hall

Expert minions are the ones responsible for keeping everything running smoothly and for great works of culture. If laborers are the ones who build the assets of an organization, then experts are the ones who design the plans the laborers follow, however they have many more roles then just that. Expert minions are also in charge of keeping the populace happy and content, of trade relations with other organizations, and, in their most hostile of roles, of sabotaging these same tasks that an enemy may attempt to perform.

An abundance of Expert minions is generally the sign of an organization that prefers diplomatic solutions to it's problems. Why fight the enemy when you can bleed them dry? Why violently put down the revolutionaries when you can convince people the organization is in the right with propaganda? Why risk looking into the future when you can have a nice network of spies feeding you information? An Expert-heavy organization on the war path signals an outbreak of shoddy equipment, sabotage, embargoes, and slander that weaken the enemy long before blades need to be crossed in the first place. In more traditional warfare, Expert minions are typically siege engineers, saboteurs, scouts, and so on.

At least one Expert minion must be included in any group of minions being assigned an Expert task, some may require more. More importantly, Expert minions may also be included in tasks conducted by other kinds of minions, both to provide protection from other Expert minions and to add their own expertise to certain opposed rolls. Any task where at least half of the minions assigned to it are Expert becomes an Expert/X task (X being whatever category the task normally belongs to).

Tasks:
Embargo
Faulty Wares
Festivals & Celebrations
Mint
Pariah
Propaganda
Reform
Spy Network
Trade

Labor Minions
Time to Train: 1 turns (3 months)
Cost: 100 gold pieces
Prerequisites: None

Labor minions are the backbone of any organization. If something needs to be built, the laborers are the one's doing it. If resources need to be gathered, laborers are out there doing just that. Without laborers, most organizations simply fall apart under the stress and needs of it's own members since they have no way to support their other minions. While others may look down on Labor minions, everyone must begrudgingly admit that nothing could happen without them.

And, against the sensibilities of most leaders, laborers can be a crucial lynchpin even in war efforts. Who else is going to build the siege engines, fortifications, and trenches that other kinds of minions need use of? Who better to stir up the common folk of an enemy organization then the common folk of the leader's own organization? Raw manpower is an extremely valuable force in almost every endeavor, especially the construction projects of Expert minions and Occult minions.

At least one Labor minion must be included in any group of minions being assigned a Labor task, some may require more. More importantly, Labor minions may also be included in tasks conducted by other kinds of minions, both to provide protection from other Labor minions and to add their own expertise to certain opposed rolls. Any task where at least half of the minions assigned to it are Labor becomes a Labor/X task (X being whatever category the task normally belongs to).

Tasks:
Construction
Form Union
Gather Resources
Monument
Riot

Martial:
Time to Train: 2 turns (6 months)
Cost: 200 gold pieces per minion
Prerequisites: Barracks

Martial minions are the least complex minions to train after labor minions, it doesn’t take much to put a pointy stick in someone’s hand and point them at the enemy and that simplicity naturally leads into martial training. Martial minions have many uses, they provide mundane protection for one’s organization and can launch brutal assault on a rival’s. They are integral for keeping one’s endeavors save and for keeping the peace, it’s martial minions that are usually put to the task of putting down riots or quieting dissent.

As can be expected, if an all out war is launched, it’s martial minions that are on the front line though many organizations mix in other types to avoid becoming too predictable. Martial minions can compromise literal armies, small strike-forces, bands of brutal assassins, and so on. Any person that inhibits the enemy through primarily combative means (as opposed to the deception of Expert combat, the magic of Divine and Occult, and the support of Labor minions) falls under the purview of martial minions.

Despite the expectation that martial minions would be necessary for any engagement with the enemy, this is not so. When an enemy organization has an abundance of minions from other types, it’s ill advised to use just martial minions against them since, despite their training for combat, they are ill-prepared for the trickery or sorcery that could potentially be brought to the table.

At least one Martial minion must be included in any group of minions being assigned a Martial task, some may require more. More importantly, Martial minions may also be included in tasks conducted by other kinds of minions, both to provide protection from other Martial minions and to add their own expertise to certain opposed rolls. Any task where at least half of the minions assigned to it are Martial becomes a Martial/X task (X being whatever category the task normally belongs to).

Tasks:
Guards & Patrols
Raid
Parade
Plunder
War

Occult:
Time to Train: 8 turns (24 months)
Cost: 800 gold pieces
Prerequisites: Arcane Tower

If Labor minions are the backbone of an organization, then occult minions are the pinnacle that many strive towards. Wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, binders, etc, occult minions are minions that tap into non-divine supernatural power. With the breadth of options that raw magic can accomplish, it’s of little surprise that occult minions are the most difficult to attain and the most expensive to train, to offset the variety of powers they have at their disposal. Occult minions are the only other kind, aside from Labor minions, that can gather units of resources that can be used for further construction and training.

When Occult minions go to battle, an awesome sight is inflicted visited upon the land. Cascading sheets of multi-colored light, plagues of frogs and fish falling from the heavens, and the sudden appearance of hordes of extraplanar allies are but a few of the things that occult minions can bring to bear on their foes. Still, they are fragile creatures and any task that is performed by Occult minions is treated as having a -2 penalty solely for the purpose of determining if minions are lost.

At least one Occult minion must be included in any group of minions being assigned an Occult task, some may require more. More importantly, Occult minions may also be included in tasks conducted by other kinds of minions, both to provide protection from other Occult minions and to add their own expertise to certain opposed rolls. Any task where at least half of the minions assigned to it are Occult becomes an Occult/X task (X being whatever category the task normally belongs to).

Tasks:
Conjure Horde
Fashion Artifact
Magical Barriers
Produce Resources
Spread of Nightmares
Visions of the Future

Decrease Efficiency
Increase Efficiency

Callos_DeTerran
2011-08-15, 01:37 AM
Surprise surprise, this topic isn't dead! Now that the minion types are finished (finally!) I'll move unto the different tasks and what they do (as well as covering how you determine if minions are lost in a failed task or not), which is probably what a lot of people were waiting for. After which is leaders/buildings and then how to apply these rules on a kingdom-sized scale which...is still needing some refinement. For now though...sleepy sleepy sleepy. x.x

NineThePuma
2011-08-15, 07:50 PM
Looking over this, it seems slightly scattered and disorganized still. There's still no way to gain Morale/Wellness.

However, this is the barebones of a wonderful concept, one that I've tried tackling myself on occasions where I'm bored. I look forward to more.

Callos_DeTerran
2011-08-16, 12:18 PM
Looking over this, it seems slightly scattered and disorganized still. There's still no way to gain Morale/Wellness.

However, this is the barebones of a wonderful concept, one that I've tried tackling myself on occasions where I'm bored. I look forward to more.

Well, as is, you'll gain Morale/Wellness by performing tasks, which I'm about to detail. :smallwink:

NineThePuma
2011-08-16, 12:21 PM
Then allow me, in the words of a certain fat itallian plumber, to provide encouragement.

Hurry up already! :smallbiggrin:


Here's a disclaimer about how I'm not trying to order you around; my comments are meant to be taken as encouragement that I'm anticipating an update, not as an order that you work faster.

Silva Stormrage
2011-08-16, 05:13 PM
This looks very interesting and I will make sure to check up later and post feedback once there is more info :smallbiggrin:

I also agree with making the rounds a season instead of a year. Most things do take less than a year to complete and I am not sure how you would work any kind of warfare in a year system.

137beth
2011-08-16, 06:46 PM
I think this is great!
I would actually advocate a 2-month turn, to add a bit more flexibility in. I'm gonna see if I can use this in a game, since I always liked the leadership feat...