Djibriel
2008-12-16, 07:32 AM
It's possible I'll be able to DM a 6/7 session game in a few months from now, and I had an idea that would make it different from 'normal' campaigns. I thought maybe some of you would have experience with related matters or possibly foresee problems with the concept.
Minor rundown: Eberron game. The three PCs will be a dispatch from House Deneith (hirelings) to a town where there's something amiss. The town is being attacked from the outside?, but by what is unclear. There is political/religious turmoil in the city council, and there's enough going on for side-quests. Think Saltmarsh from PHBII.
The thing is, all three PCs are squad captains. That means that all three will have three cohorts they can use/dispatch into the city, put on lookout duty, etc. The players will only have to roleplay the PCs themselves; the cohorts should be described in a single line (Kita Darkwood, quiet Rogue, smokes a lot) and will be tied to more severe limitations than the PCs themselves.
The PCs will be level 6, can only be LA0 or LA+1 races and must be Lawful in order to work as a squad captain for House Deneith.
The three cohorts are all level 2, have no Action Points (though the Heroic Companion or Heroic Spirit Feats can be used to grant them APs), cannot take racial substitution levels or alternate class features, can be single-classed only and must be Lawful to work as a team player in House Deneith.
They are, in short, not PCs. In addition, they cannot use class features that grant combat bonuses to allies (Dragon Shaman, Bard and Marshal, if I remember correctly); this mainly to prevent the possible cheese of +9 on attack and damage rolls to the three PCs and all that jazz. The team of four must serve a specific purpose or have a specific specialty, so the four characters in a team must have a certain logical reason they were assembled in such a manner.
Should one of the PCs/squad captains die, the player can take on the role of one of the cohorts, who promptly increases to level 4 and gains Action Points. This is a likely scenario, as at least some of the challenges in the town are higher ECL than they should be able to easily handle. Everything is still doable, though.
What do you guys think? Fun, strategic game? Too much paperwork?
Minor rundown: Eberron game. The three PCs will be a dispatch from House Deneith (hirelings) to a town where there's something amiss. The town is being attacked from the outside?, but by what is unclear. There is political/religious turmoil in the city council, and there's enough going on for side-quests. Think Saltmarsh from PHBII.
The thing is, all three PCs are squad captains. That means that all three will have three cohorts they can use/dispatch into the city, put on lookout duty, etc. The players will only have to roleplay the PCs themselves; the cohorts should be described in a single line (Kita Darkwood, quiet Rogue, smokes a lot) and will be tied to more severe limitations than the PCs themselves.
The PCs will be level 6, can only be LA0 or LA+1 races and must be Lawful in order to work as a squad captain for House Deneith.
The three cohorts are all level 2, have no Action Points (though the Heroic Companion or Heroic Spirit Feats can be used to grant them APs), cannot take racial substitution levels or alternate class features, can be single-classed only and must be Lawful to work as a team player in House Deneith.
They are, in short, not PCs. In addition, they cannot use class features that grant combat bonuses to allies (Dragon Shaman, Bard and Marshal, if I remember correctly); this mainly to prevent the possible cheese of +9 on attack and damage rolls to the three PCs and all that jazz. The team of four must serve a specific purpose or have a specific specialty, so the four characters in a team must have a certain logical reason they were assembled in such a manner.
Should one of the PCs/squad captains die, the player can take on the role of one of the cohorts, who promptly increases to level 4 and gains Action Points. This is a likely scenario, as at least some of the challenges in the town are higher ECL than they should be able to easily handle. Everything is still doable, though.
What do you guys think? Fun, strategic game? Too much paperwork?