rferries
2018-11-20, 01:34 AM
I had a read-through of the Kingdom rules, and was inspired to do a bit of number-crunching for a self-sufficient kingdom. The following assumes that there are sufficient 1st-level NPCs (followers or otherwise) to fill each role; Leadership is explicitly allowed by the subsystem so if at least one PC selects it there should be more than enough NPCs to go around and leave the PCs completely free to adventure.
This is very much a thought experiment - obviously most of the fun of the kingdom comes from PCs filling the roles themselves rather than delegating! Note also that I won't account for the following roles:
-The Ruler, who applies their Cha modifier to one/two/all three of the kingdom's attributes according to the kingdom's size (and potentially including a +1 bonus from the Leadership feat).
-A second Ruler, who functions as above but replaces the Consort.
-The Spymaster, who applies their Dex or Int modifier to any one Kingdom attribute.
These roles generally provide the most useful benefits to the kingdom (e.g. a single high-Cha Ruler with Leadership is more useful than 3 other NPCs, not including vacancy penalties). They are definitely worth filling with cohorts (if not actual PCs) and are worth spending money on items of ability score +6.
Table: Kingdom Attributes and Roles
Kingdom Attribute
Roles
Relevant Ability
Modifier (+1)*
Economy
Magister
Cha or Intelligence
+1
Economy
Marshal
Dex or Wis
+1
Economy
Treasurer
Int or Wis
+1
Economy
Viceroy
1/2 Int or Wis
+0
Economy (total)
-
-
+3
Loyalty
Consort
1/2 Cha
+0
Loyalty
Councilor
Cha or Wis
+1
Loyalty
Heir
1/2 Cha
+0
Loyalty
Royal Enforcer
Dex or Str
+1
Loyalty
Warden
Con or Str
+1
Loyalty (total)
-
+3
Stability
General
Cha or Str
+1
Stability
Grand Diplomat
Cha or Int
+1
Stability
High Priest
Cha or Wis
+1
Stability (total)
+3
*Assuming a 1st-level follower with 13 in the relevant ability score (for a +1 modifier), and rounding down for halved bonuses.
The above is a bare-bones model. A role can be filled by a PC, cohort, or GM-provided NPC, all of which can have much higher ability modifiers. However, even the standard NPC follower can have a score as high as 25 in the relevant ability score, calculated as follows:
-Base 13 from NPC array
-Up to +3 to mental ability scores from aging
-Up to +6 from an item of ability score +6
-A +2 racial bonus from a core race (most simply from a human's variable bonus)
-A +1 bonus if a follower of at least 4th-level
Total: 25 (ability modifier +7)
Aging and racial benefits are of course dependent on GM permission, but I think they're quite reasonable requests.
n.b. The Royal Enforcer and the Warden are the only roles that are entirely dependent on physical ability scores, so they can't benefit from aging and are limited to ability scores of 22 (ability modifier +6) in this system.
n.b. items of ability score for each NPC will cost a total of 48,000 gp (+2 items), 192,000 gp (+4 items), or 432,000 gp (+6 items). Arguably, circlets of persuasion might apply for the Charisma-based roles as well.
Using the above, we can calculate higher bonuses for a kingdom's attributes according to the ability modifiers of the NPCs (assuming they all have equal ability modifiers):
Table: Kingdom Attribute Bonuses by NPC Ability Modifiers
Kingdom Attribute
(+1)
(+2)
(+3)
(+4)
(+5)
(+6)
(+7)
Economy (total)
+3
+7
+10
+14
+17
+21
+24
Loyalty (total)
+3
+8
+11
+16
+19
+24
+27
Stability (total)
+3
+6
+9
+12
+15
+18
+21
This is very much a thought experiment - obviously most of the fun of the kingdom comes from PCs filling the roles themselves rather than delegating! Note also that I won't account for the following roles:
-The Ruler, who applies their Cha modifier to one/two/all three of the kingdom's attributes according to the kingdom's size (and potentially including a +1 bonus from the Leadership feat).
-A second Ruler, who functions as above but replaces the Consort.
-The Spymaster, who applies their Dex or Int modifier to any one Kingdom attribute.
These roles generally provide the most useful benefits to the kingdom (e.g. a single high-Cha Ruler with Leadership is more useful than 3 other NPCs, not including vacancy penalties). They are definitely worth filling with cohorts (if not actual PCs) and are worth spending money on items of ability score +6.
Table: Kingdom Attributes and Roles
Kingdom Attribute
Roles
Relevant Ability
Modifier (+1)*
Economy
Magister
Cha or Intelligence
+1
Economy
Marshal
Dex or Wis
+1
Economy
Treasurer
Int or Wis
+1
Economy
Viceroy
1/2 Int or Wis
+0
Economy (total)
-
-
+3
Loyalty
Consort
1/2 Cha
+0
Loyalty
Councilor
Cha or Wis
+1
Loyalty
Heir
1/2 Cha
+0
Loyalty
Royal Enforcer
Dex or Str
+1
Loyalty
Warden
Con or Str
+1
Loyalty (total)
-
+3
Stability
General
Cha or Str
+1
Stability
Grand Diplomat
Cha or Int
+1
Stability
High Priest
Cha or Wis
+1
Stability (total)
+3
*Assuming a 1st-level follower with 13 in the relevant ability score (for a +1 modifier), and rounding down for halved bonuses.
The above is a bare-bones model. A role can be filled by a PC, cohort, or GM-provided NPC, all of which can have much higher ability modifiers. However, even the standard NPC follower can have a score as high as 25 in the relevant ability score, calculated as follows:
-Base 13 from NPC array
-Up to +3 to mental ability scores from aging
-Up to +6 from an item of ability score +6
-A +2 racial bonus from a core race (most simply from a human's variable bonus)
-A +1 bonus if a follower of at least 4th-level
Total: 25 (ability modifier +7)
Aging and racial benefits are of course dependent on GM permission, but I think they're quite reasonable requests.
n.b. The Royal Enforcer and the Warden are the only roles that are entirely dependent on physical ability scores, so they can't benefit from aging and are limited to ability scores of 22 (ability modifier +6) in this system.
n.b. items of ability score for each NPC will cost a total of 48,000 gp (+2 items), 192,000 gp (+4 items), or 432,000 gp (+6 items). Arguably, circlets of persuasion might apply for the Charisma-based roles as well.
Using the above, we can calculate higher bonuses for a kingdom's attributes according to the ability modifiers of the NPCs (assuming they all have equal ability modifiers):
Table: Kingdom Attribute Bonuses by NPC Ability Modifiers
Kingdom Attribute
(+1)
(+2)
(+3)
(+4)
(+5)
(+6)
(+7)
Economy (total)
+3
+7
+10
+14
+17
+21
+24
Loyalty (total)
+3
+8
+11
+16
+19
+24
+27
Stability (total)
+3
+6
+9
+12
+15
+18
+21