The answer is, "Yes!"
Welcome!!
That’s 2. I hope to begin with 5-8 players.
You there, step forward and speak up …
I'll throw in.
That's a neat idea. It seems like it'd enable a slightly more...organized? sort of playstyle when there's ancillary staff included as a core conciet; perhaps a more directed expeditionary style of play. I keep imagining a fantastical 1800s-style hunting lodge/club for whatever reason. Allan Quatermain sort of style.
I would be interested.
That’s 4! Enough to begin discussion on the nature of your troupe.
Merely as food for thought, from my original post:
o Sorcerers in a walled townhouse estate, with laboratory and library
o Guardians in an old watch tower
o Ruffians in a dilapidated moathouse
o Explorers in a large sailing ship
o Venturers in a merchant caravan
I suggest each player make a proposal or three, and perhaps see where your interests intersect.
Have fun with it!
Hi Charles,
What do you imagine a troupe would look like, on a day to day basis? Are we going to switch from one character to another with different adventures, or simultaneously playing 5 different characters? I'm definitely interested, I just don't want to bite off too big a commitment.
Personally, I'd like to do something like a Silk Road campaign, in a caravan, trading our own accounts, or maybe like the Black Company, our own mercenary band at the platoon level.
I needs me some rolls to decide this sort of thing...
Okay, so I've gone with the ACKS "roll 5 sets, keep 3" method of rolling attributes. Let me know if you want me to go with something else (e.g., just the first set).
Interested!
Especially a ruffians troupe sounds good.
But I could also imagine someting along the domain game could work, like the denizens of a small keep (on the borderlands?)
Those sound like great ideas. I'll throw out a few more.
A circus troupe that puts on performances as a cover for larceny/espionage.
Decadent sons and daughters of aristocrats looking for adventures to relieve their boredom.
Heretics of the state religion one step ahead of the religious authorities.
Guardians of a sacred artifact trying to protect it from the many groups that want it.
This may vary depending upon your troupe selection and the need to keep the PbP moving, but …
The key point is you will manage one character “on screen” at a time. Any “entourage” characters also present will be managed as NPCs, albeit favorably disposed NPCs.
In the beginning of the campaign, there may be more structure spotlighting different elements of the entourage, but longer term you, the players, will allocate the resources of your troupe to the tasks you choose.
I hope you won’t be disappointed in my obvious softness in allowing you to use the rolling method from Dragon #39 for your primary “Adventurer” character:
“Roll 4d6 seven times. Record the sum of the three highest six-sided dice. If that sum is six or less, reroll at once. The sums must be recorded in order. The player is allowed two chances to alter the numbers as recorded. She may switch the positions of two of the numbers and she may discard one number – not necessarily the lowest one.”
You may not combine this with the ACKS core raising of a prime requisite ability or abilities by sacrificing points in other abilities.
I very much like “organic” characters, and I especially do not like frequently occurring characters with an 18 in their prime requisite.
You can use the other rolls above for your entourage characters (similarly without raising/sacrificing).
Hmm...having trouble getting the dice roller to do 4d6, drop the lowest. I'll have to test a bit...
edit: Interesting. The documentation claims this should work, but it did not.
(Sadly I’m not signing up to play, I just don’t have the brainspace for another game.)
Fixed now.
Update: when I actually type the syntax in right, it's fixed....
Trying it…
Ok, so I did 8 because you said drop 6 or less. Now I could swap the positions of any 2, and remove any 1?
Also, did I do it right… I edited the post each time to roll the next roll.
Rolling
Main Character's ability scores!
Frontier style game, perhaps - either a "New World" (lost world?) sort of thing, or more Western-style, new frontier or gold rush sort of situation. As businessmen, prospectors, land-grant-holders...all of the above.
Yes, and possibly, depending on the troupe and how you see your character “fitting in”.
First, you need to agree on the nature of your troupe: the reason your Adventurers find yourselves in the company of one another, likely the motivation for the activities you will pursue together, and perhaps influencing how you interact with the campaign world.
The suggestions you’ve made so far are (in physical order of posting):
o A Silk Road campaign, in a caravan, trading our own accounts
o Like the Black Company, our own mercenary band at the platoon level
o A ruffians troupe
o The denizens of a small keep (on the borderlands?)
o A circus troupe that puts on performances as a cover for larceny/espionage.
o Decadent sons and daughters of aristocrats looking for adventures to relieve their boredom.
o Heretics of the state religion one step ahead of the religious authorities.
o Guardians of a sacred artifact trying to protect it from the many groups that want it.
o A frontier style game, either a “New World” (lost world?) sort of thing, or a more Western-style, new frontier or gold rush sort of situation.
You can continue to make suggestions to one another, or highlight the opportunities you see for a particular troupe concept.
Then, perhaps you can each list your first three preferences, so we can look for intersections of interests and make a selection.
That looks right.
Yes, now you can swap the positions of any 2, and remove any 1, or vice versa. You are not required to swap, but obviously you must drop 1.
The order of your rolls is as presented in ACKS:
Str
Int
Wis
Dex
Con
Cha