I have to say I have been loving this thread .... thanks for starting it and getting the debate going.
So many great ideas.
I have pulled some of my favorite bits together and will be giving some of this little lot a try
I will let you know how I get on ....
I can't see one warband pulling ahead of another with this lot.
In Game:
Weather: (To control game length to stop stronger warbands camping and wiping out weaker warbands to take all treasures)
The weather around Frostgrave is 'changeable' to say the least. With heavy snow one minute and clear skies the next.
Each turn before initiative roll D20 on the following table to find out what the weather is doing.
Whilst you start out on a bright sunny morning you know from experience it is only a matter of time before the brief window of clear skies ends and the snow returns. Each game turn after the first minus one from this roll cumulatively until the Blizzard hits and the game ends.
1-2 Blizzard! This is essentially a white out with winds over 35 miles per hour and visibility reduced to zero you can hardly see never mind shot or fight. It effectively ends the game as all you can do is get to the nearest cover and wait out the storm until you can safely leave the city and investigate whatever treasure you had collected before the blizzard set in.
3-4 Heavy snow. Heavy and sustained snow fall with significant accumulation making movement very difficult. (-3 to movement -2 shooting)
5-6 Snow Squall. Brief but intense snow shower accompanied by strong gusting winds. (-2 to both movement and shooting)
7-8 Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It's snowing. Snow showers fall with varying intensity for brief periods and with varying accumulation of snow on the ground. (-1 to movement and shooting)
9-10 Flurry ... There’s them as do say "First sign of a flurry .... get out in a hurry" This is light snow falling for short durations. It is little more than a dusting on top of existing snow (It does not affect movement but does give a -1 to shooting due to reduced visibility).
10-20 I can see clearly now the snow has gone. it's gonna be a bright, bri-i-ight sunshiney day.
A Chronomancer might want to influence this a little they may choose to add +1 or -1 to the dice roll depending on whether it is to their advantage.
Wandering Monsters: (As a balancing mechanism …. Just to slow down the stronger player and give the weaker players a chance … And just for fun .... so the game starts with a monster on the table)
The strongest player must roll on the wandering monster table and have one random monster start 9” from of one of the warband at the start of the game. The other wizard gets to place the monster.
Any further wandering Monsters which appear in the game who are naturally attracted to shiny trinkets (Giants, Trolls, etc) should target the strongest warband ona D20 roll of 6+
Post Game:
Trapped chests.
Every chest you open there is a 20% chance it is trapped. Roll D20. For each thief in your warband +2 to this roll. (Still need to do a Traps table).
Treasure: (Just to slow things down a bit and keep all the wizards at a lower level a bit longer and to so that the accumulation off magic items is left more to chance more than just buying whatever you want).
All totals for Gold Crowns in the Treasure Table will be half the listed value.
Selling items: (There is too much cash to be had by selling magical treasure you don’t want)
To sell stuff the wizard must leave the warband with the apprentice for a game or send his apprentice in his stead …either way you must play one game with only one magic user in order to sell stuff back in the nearest town or city.
Since treasure hunters have been banging away from dawn till dusk the bottom has really fallen out of the second hand magic item market.
1 It’s junk to me but someone might want it. 10%
2-3 I have seven of these already and can’t shift them 20%
4-6 I can take it off your hands but I will struggle to shift it 30%
7-10 It’s not in great shape .. I have better ones. 40%
10-17 It’s not bad … I’ll take it.50%
18-19 You don’t see many of those about these days. 60%
20 Ohhh … I haven’t seen one of those before. How much do you want for it? 70%
Buying Magic Items: (To encourage variety and make stocking up on the best stuff less appealing. It reduces the chance of one player being able to steamroller another because they have a much bigger stash of a particularly handy magical items).
Each item of magical equipment after the first costs as much again. So one dispell scroll might cost "x" gold, but the second costs "2x", the third costs "3x", etc.
Soldier Maintenance costs: (Just because)
You have to eat! It costs 5Gc per man in the warband in rations.
Any soldiers who are not fed leave the warband!
You are not going to get these guys you have hired to stick around in the snow and ice just for the fun of your company. They are going to need further payment. In between each game each surviving soldiers will require 10% of their hiring costs in pay.
Any soldiers who are not paid leave the warband on a D20 roll of 1-10
Furthermore … You are not going to be walking away with flippin’ great bags of cash and everyone not be expecting their cut having risked life and limb to get it.
Each surviving soldier will be expecting a 5% cut of the treasure.
Although giving a soldier a magic item instead of their 5% cut also seems fair.
Any soldiers not getting their cut of the treasure leave the warband on a D20 roll of 1-5
Guarding your Base: (As a fluffy balancing mechanism)
Any wizard with a base needs to leave it guarded by a healthy soldier, preferably Man at Arms or better, otherwise he may come home to find it empty (or occupied by another band of explorers).The sensible rich wizard will of course hire a Man at arms for base security, but that takes out one of his soldier options so he must venture into the city with a warband of just nine men. If you want to leave it to chance, and leave your base unguarded, roll more than your wizard level on a D20 to come home and find it intact. Deduct one from your roll for each treasure item left in the vault. If you fail the roll, you have been raided by another warband. Lose any treasure items on a 50/50 roll (roll for each one), and roll a D20x5 to see what percentage of your cash went. If it was guarded by injured soldiers and you fail the roll, then it was an "inside job" and they've stolen your loot to retire home (so you've also lost the soldiers).
Attacking an enemy base: (As a balancing mechanism)
The weakest player has the option of attacking any of the other players with a base whilst they are off exploring in Frostgrave. Roll D20x5 to discover what % of unspent Gold you find and Roll D20 for each magic item left in the vault … on roll of 11-20 you find that Magic item.
If the wizard leaves a guard ….You must fight him before you can raid the camp for treasure.
Experience: (To slow things down a bit and to stop successful warbands getting too far ahead and being hard to catch … Increasing the gap between levels is a tried-and-tested mechanism, but may disadvantage some schools that build between games, e.g. using the Absorb Knowledge spell? This also would give weaker wizards a better chance to catch up, and it could even be a consolation for players whose wizards get killed).
Levels 1-9 cost 100 XP each, but levels 10-19 cost 200 each, 20-29 cost 300 each, and so on.
Survival against a better wizard: (As a balancing mechanism)
There is much to be learned by simply staying alive in a fight against a better magic-user. A bonus of 1 XP per level difference per round is earned by the weaker wizard surviving.
(In a game where the wizards are only a level or two apart, this will probably give less than 10 XP, but simply lasting 3 rounds against a wizard who is 10 levels higher than you would net you 30 XP).
Killyness: (To reduce the reward for using killy spells over other magic).
Reduce experience for killing to +10 for a soldier / +20 for an apprentice / +40 for a wizard.
(I can't bring myself to reduce it to zero ... there has to be some recognition for taking out the enemy ... especially the opposing wizard .... in a game of battling wizards).
Applying a degree of 'latitude' to the phrase "Personally takes out of the game" is encouraged ... If an illusionist were to 'Transpose' an enemy apprentice into the middle of a group of hefty lads who then proceeded to pummel said apprentice to death .... I would be inclined to give the wizard the points for 'taking him out'.
Experience for killing monsters. (You can't get points for an enemy soldier and nothing for taking down a frost giant).
Wizards gain 1 Experience per Health Point for Monsters killed by their warband.
Wizards day off: (Balancing mechanism)
Once wizards pass level 10, apprentices should in theory be capable of stepping up to command. When one or more of the wizards in a game is above level 10 and there is a difference in level (possibly of a threshold value, e.g. 5) with the opposing wizard, roll a d20. If the number is equal to or less than the difference in level, the wizard has stayed at the base and the apprentice is in charge of the expedition. That leaves the higher-level group with one less member and only one spell caster on the table. There are still mouths to be fed, so the apprentice will have their work cut out for them. Of course, should the apprentice die, a replacement of suitable level becomes increasingly expensive.
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April 28, 2024, 07:26:19 AM
July 24, 2015, 08:38:34 PM