What would be the best system for a Kingmaker game?

[Ghost49X]

For those of you who don't know, a Kingmaker game is a game where the players rule over one or several kingdoms as the nobility or other people of importance. It's named after a Pathfinder adventure path (#31-36) series of modules.
That being said I'm looking for different options for a system to run a similar game off of.

Of course I might have to customize any given system and add house rules to make it work but for now I just want to see what are my options and the advantages/disadvantages of using a system.

Wish list
-Robust Social system: with running a kingdom comes intrigue, I'd rather have a decent system that allows for social oriented characters beyond maxing out 1-3 skills. A system that includes more social mechanics than just skills.
-System should also have the capability to value mental stats such as intelligence or wit.
-Non-linear dice curve: the typical d20 system is very linear as each possible outcome on the dice has an equal 5% chance to happen, often with only the highest and lowest possible outcomes do anything special where as a system that uses exploding dice or successes allows for a better dice curve.
-A power curve that isn't too steep: being of higher or lower level than an opponent shouldn't throw away the competition.
-Options for magic that are useful without making everything else obsolete.

[Knaight]

REIGN. It has everything you want, but more than that it has explicit mechanics for organizational conflicts, organization improvements, so on and so forth.

[Ghost49X]

REIGN. It has everything you want, but more than that it has explicit mechanics for organizational conflicts, organization improvements, so on and so forth.

I will look into that, generally I'd come up with my own system for organizational conflicts, improvements and the like but it's good if it already has a decent system for that.

[Knaight]

I will look into that, generally I'd come up with my own system for organizational conflicts, improvements and the like but it's good if it already has a decent system for that.

The Enchiridion version is $10, the full version closer to $40. You can get the core rules from the free Nemesis, though they look very different when made for fantasy instead of action-horror.

[sktarq]

The World of Darkness games can be used this way using dark ages or roman era supplements may be useful

Will second REIGN - i've not had good experiences but I don't think it was the system's fault.

D&D 2e Birthright system may be a good source as well - at least to pull ideas from. (tit has a passable 3.5 version wiki)

[Ghost49X]

The World of Darkness games can be used this way using dark ages or roman era supplements may be useful

Will second REIGN - i've not had good experiences but I don't think it was the system's fault.

D&D 2e Birthright system may be a good source as well - at least to pull ideas from. (tit has a passable 3.5 version wiki)

World of darkness is one of the systems I'm considering. My only issue with it is if using it players want to pull from the multitude of splat books such as vampire the requiem which has tons of options most of which are strictly for a supernatural template. While I wouldn't mind the influence of the supernatural I definitely not aiming for a game with the players themselves having supernatural templates with a few exceptions (Thaumaturge from second sight for example might be allowed if a character is into mysticism)

[Kol Korran]

I am not familiar with Reign, but it sounds to me that FATE core can be easily adapted to it (The Toolkit expansion might have some useful ideas),
You can base the skill systems in different ways, and I thin kit can lend itself quite nicely to social conflicts 9I've used a simplified versionin my first game, and it worked very nicely). Different kinds of social/ intrigue maneuvers can be easily be made into advantages or aspects.

Hmmmm... you might make the settlements/ regions/ nations into sort of pseudo-characters, with their own stats (Economics, stability,military, and so on)m aspects ("Mountain monarchy of the old way king", "The water ways, are our ways", "City of roof tops") and possibly even stunts? ("this is Sparta: When defending the settlement, increase the defense and moral value by 2. Economic boost: By spending a Fate point you can finish a current project in one turn).

Hmmmm.... I might do this later on. I liked the concept of the Kingmaker AP,but hated the cart loads of rules that went with it.

[sktarq]

World of darkness is one of the systems I'm considering. ...(Thaumaturge from second sight for example might be allowed if a character is into mysticism)

So give 'em a list if using the nWoD (pre Onyx Path) with blue book, damnation city (very useful), and perhaps second sight.

anything else you go through the books and add what you want yourself-things like household staff merits from the ghoul book may be useful for example. and Hunter stuff could be a thing.

[kestrel404]

Wish list

Use the Exalted system, with a generic fantasy setting and no exalts. Just mortals, who can get Thaumaturgy pretty easily, and Terrestrial Martial Arts, Basic Sorcery or Basic Necromancy, if they REALLY REALLY TRY.

[Aneurin]

FATE or one of its mods - like Dresden Files - would probably work pretty well. They work well for most things, really.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e might also work well, it's more about intrigue and investigation than hitting things with sharp objects (though it can do that just fine too). I was actually considering running a Kingmaker-inspired WFRP 2e campaign a little while ago, and it seemed simple enough to convert the kingdom building rules over if that's what you wanted to do. You may wish to alter the magic rules (or at least the miscast table effects), if you want to run a game not set in the Warhammer world.

I'd second WoD, just because it seems to fit your wish list quite well.

And... 7th Sea might be another option, though I've not played it in years. Very swashbuckle-y, but I recall it having a reasonable set of social mechanics too. Exploding dice, too.

[Fable Wright]

I'm going to third REIGN. It has one of the best non-linear die rolling systems I've seen, it's got a balanced magic system, and the skill/stat system is clean, functional, and robust. And its rules for organization building and organizational conflicts explicitly allow for PC action to intervene for effect, does not require PC intervention, and blends personal wealth and organizational wealth together very robustly.

What you're describing here is exactly the niche that REIGN was created to fill.

[Ghost49X]

So I'm currently looking at the systems people have named so far. Now the next question would be what is the best medium to work a game like this? Previous attempts at something like this involved contacting each player once a month by skype. Though PBP, IRC are all good choices. When we first tried something like this we did it the traditional table top way, and not to disregard the good times we had, there was just too much sitting around while the GM talked to single players in rotation.

[Ghost49X]

Use the Exalted system, with a generic fantasy setting and no exalts. Just mortals, who can get Thaumaturgy pretty easily, and Terrestrial Martial Arts, Basic Sorcery or Basic Necromancy, if they REALLY REALLY TRY.

Which of the 3 editions would you recommend for Exalted?

[Coidzor]

The Enchiridion version is $10, the full version closer to $40. You can get the core rules from the free Nemesis, though they look very different when made for fantasy instead of action-horror.

Action-Horror kingdom ruling/organization running?

What in the world is that, even?

[Knaight]

Action-Horror kingdom ruling/organization running?

What in the world is that, even?

The kingdom ruling and organization running aren't what I'm talking about by core rules: I mean things like how the die mechanics work, the wound system (with about no overlap on the equipment side), the use of attributes, etc. The skill lists are different, both have substantial systems built on them that don't show up in the other game, with REIGN having magic, the organizational side, esoteric disciplines, and martial techniques; Nemesis has a complex system for psychological trauma that isn't in REIGN.

[Giant2005]

The A Song of Ice and Fire system is the obvious answer.

[Ghost49X]

The kingdom ruling and organization running aren't what I'm talking about by core rules: I mean things like how the die mechanics work, the wound system (with about no overlap on the equipment side), the use of attributes, etc. The skill lists are different, both have substantial systems built on them that don't show up in the other game, with REIGN having magic, the organizational side, esoteric disciplines, and martial techniques; Nemesis has a complex system for psychological trauma that isn't in REIGN.

I'm not sure why I would need a system for psychological trauma, maybe if it was meant to be a really dark and twisted setting but even then I wouldn't need it to be particularly complex.

The A Song of Ice and Fire system is the obvious answer.

That is one of the system I'm considering.

[Knaight]

I'm not sure why I would need a system for psychological trauma, maybe if it was meant to be a really dark and twisted setting but even then I wouldn't need it to be particularly complex.

You don't, and REIGN doesn't have it. I was just clarifying my point regarding how applicable the free game that runs off the same engine is.