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The kingdom long divided must unite; long united, must divide.

AD&D 2E Game with some modifications

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betaraybill
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Post by betaraybill »

Jaded - No apologies necessary. I'm glad you're on board. I'm also glad you asked the questions you did, and look forward to many more. In fact, I do believe I'm going to you to help me elaborate where needed - so if anything ever seems unclear, don't hesitate to prod me.

To that point, why don't you tell me, in broad terms, what kind of a character you're interested in making? For instance, a straightforward kind of character, or a sneaky one? A pious character, or shifty? If you have more specific ideas - like, you'd want to be a warrior or a spell-caster of some sort, you can tell me that as well. Of course, nothing you say here would lock your character into place - I just want to start a dialogue about what sorts of characters we can do.

Breilla, all of those questions apply to you as well (if you decide that you would like to join us). Knowledge of the Old Testament, particularly the histories (Joshua - Chronicles), would be very useful to you. I was hoping to have at least one player who knew their Bible :) (although I'd like to reiterate that it is NOT a necessity for the enjoyment of this campaign).

Regarding your question, the answer is compound. The where is only a little more important than the when. The campaign will most likely start in the most natural place - that is Jerusalem (although the issue isn't yet entirely decided). As I have already stated, the campaign is set in the 8th century BCE. Here is a little bit of history about what is going on in the world of the campaign;

The year is BCE 792, about 140 years (or 6 generations) after the death of King Solomon the Wise and the rebellion of the Northern Kingdom (henceforth referred to as the Kingdom of Israel) against the leadership of the Southern Kingdom (henceforth referred to as the Kingdom of Judah). Uzziah has just been crowned King of Judah; he is a righteous man who follows the guidance of the Prophet Zechariah. By contrast, the ruler of the Kingdom of Israel is a wicked man, Jeroboam II, who oppresses the poor and constantly makes war on his southern neighbors. Moreover, the prospect of war between the Egyptian and Assyrian empires threatens to make both Israel and Judah its battleground.

Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, lies near the border of Israel and Judah on the Central Ridge Route, a highway of sorts on the plateau of the Central Hill Country of Judah, which leads between the two kingdoms. The area directly north of this region, traditionally belonging to the Tribe of Benjamin, has been hotly contested between the kingdoms.

This provides a good segue to your next (implied) question, Breila. What sorts of characters would be appropriate in this campaign?

The campaign is the begin in the Kingdom of Judah; thus all of the player characters should be natives of the Kingdom of Judah. There are four Tribes of Israel that comprise the Kingdom:

The Tribe of Judah (obviously)
The Tribe of Benjamin
The Tribe of Simeon
The Tribe of Levi

Each of these tribes will have their own individual character class options. The basic breakdown is something like this:
--------------------
Warriors:
Soldiers
Holy Warriors (Paladins)
Peasant Warriors

Rogues:
Scouts
Psalmists (Bards)
Thieves

Priests:
Anointed Priests
Temple Guardians

"Wizards"
Prophets
--------------------
I use scare quotes around the term 'wizards' because prophets are not exactly wizards. There are several kits and classes that I have not mentioned in this breakdown for one reason or another. I will elaborate when the time comes ;)

In general:

The majority of the Kingdom of Judah belongs to the Tribe of Judah. They may be of any class except priests.
The second largest group is the Tribe of Benjamin. They are primarily warriors, some of whom are highly specialized. They may be warriors or rogues (excepts psalmists).
The third largest group is the tribe of Levi - they are the priests and keepers of the temple. They may only be priests or prophets (or psalmists).
The smallest group is the Tribe of Simeon - they are the outcasts of the Kingdom of Judah, placed there by circumstance. They may be warriors or rogues (except holy warriors or psalmists).

---------------------------------------------------------------------

phew. I need to go to bed.
-- Bill
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by betaraybill »

A few more options:

Multi-classed:

Soldier/Prophet (Judah)
Anointed/Prophet or Temple Guardian/Prophet (Levi)

Classes:
Benjamite Warrior (Ranger) (Benjamin)

Kits:
Simeonite Solider (Simeon)
Cavalier (Holy Warrior) (Judah)

Ack. I should have just mentioned those in my last post.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by Breila »

There were two characters that came to my mind as possiblities:

- a weaponsmith and fighter (of Benjamin perhaps)
- a levite who knows about healing and herbs

what do you think?
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by HorizonsDream »

I know very little about the Bible, and the history of that part of the world. Though, I think I have an interest. I am leaning towards a thief, and I will most likely play a female.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by JadedDM »

Hmm...the first idea that springs to mind is someone based on David. Not actually him, of course; he'd have been dead for some time by this point. But I mean a peasant warrior, perhaps a shepherd, who relies more on his cleverness to win battles than his muscles.

I'm not married to the idea, it's just the first one that pops into my head.

Perhaps Horizon's character could be related to my own; his wife or sister.
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Post by betaraybill »

Alright then. I can wait :P I'll send a PM to Jenara.

OK, to address character ideas:

First off, Breila. Either of those characters should do nicely. Whichever you choose, I can work with. The Levite character would be fairly easily workable as a female character, if you feel so inclined. If you want to hear my opinion, I would rather you decided to make the Levite Healer type character (but like I said, it's entirely up to you).

Horizon - How do you feel about being Jaded's sister? If you were to make a thief character, what sort of thief? A street thief? A brigand? A character who is basically good, but is forced to steal out of necessity (a la Aladdin)? Someone who steals for the thrill of it? Perhaps even a thief that doesn't steal at all - just sneaks about and maybe spies on people?

Jaded - A character like that could be approached in several different ways, all of which should be easily workable. If you decide to go that route, we can talk about options. For instance - a basic fighter would probably be the most versatile in that you would be able to maximize your use of both ranged and melee weapons. A Holy Warrior has some casting abilities (greater than a normal Paladin), but could be approached as a sort of Mendicant Warrior or Shepherd Warrior - after all, as you point out, David himself was a shepherd. The peasant warrior kit gives reaction bonuses at the cost of starting equipment - not a bad deal when you consider the role-play opportunities it provides.

Here are some other things I'd like to highlight to anyone thinking about making a warrior type character:

The Scout class is pretty tough, has sneaking abilities, can deal a lot of damage and offers interesting bonuses by Tribe.
Simeonite Warriors are known for their ruthlessness in battle. They get increased To Hit and Damage, depending upon circumstances.
The Cavalier gets a bonded mount at first level, plus plenty of room for future character growth and most of the other abilities of a Paladin.
The Benjamite Ranger is highly adapted for ranged weapons, along with having plenty of other neat little abilities.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by HorizonsDream »

I wouldn't mind making my character his sister. That works for me just fine. As for the idea, I was kind of going with an Aladdin type of thing. She would be a street thief, just doing what she needs to do to survive. I figure she probably gets lectures from her brother (he is probably older than her), about her ways.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by betaraybill »

OK, just to keep the ball rolling, what kind of secondary skills (ie non-weapon proficiencies) would you be interested in having? How might you have come to possess these skills? That goes for everybody as well.

I really like Breila's idea of herbalism being something of a focal NWP. It's always been a personal favorite of mine :)

And, just as an update, I've requested a gaming board from Jenara, and I intend to see if anyone over at kingdomofmass is interested.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by JadedDM »

Hmm...good question. There are no shepherding proficiencies. I guess it doesn't take much skill. I'll have to think on that.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by Jenara »

Surely animal handling with a focus on sheep ie a bonus with sheep and a reduction with others would work?

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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by JadedDM »

That was my first thought, but Animal Handling says it's for pack animals specifically. I'm not sure if sheep count as pack animals.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by betaraybill »

I'd say animal handling is a sufficient proficiency to cover that exigency. Close enough probably; how different is a sheep from a camel anyway?

Jenara - Thanks much. I realize the discussion on this particular thread has diverged away from recruiting - so we'll take it to the game board.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by Jenara »

I will move most of this thread to the OOC thread when the board is set up... So carry on.
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by betaraybill »

Alright then - Feel free to pull out those source books and look for things that might interest you in there. Obviously, I'm not giving a blanket-policy that they would be accepted, but I'm open to suggestions.

I can make suggestions regarding secondary skills if anyone feels so inclined.

Since it seems as if everyone involved in the discussion here is relatively committed to following through with the game, I want to start a bit of discussion regarding my "house rules." From the looks of it, everyone here is pretty experienced with 2nd Edition AD&D. As I have mentioned, I intend to run this game as modified version of 2nd Edition, and the discussion of NWP's is a good a place as any to begin to elaborate upon the modifications.

I don't want to scare you guys, but who here is familiar with the Player's Option books? I want to make it clear that I don't accept the rules presented in those books (Skills & Powers, Spells & Magic, Combat & Tactics) wholesale. The Character Point system is pretty much unworkable as presented in those books. I'm fairly certain anyone who has ever tried to run a campaign with them will agree with me on that point. I have however adopted some of the sub-systems presented in those books into my modified system. Here is a rundown (particularly as it regards the character creation process):

So, as far as character creation goes, the first real step will be to pick a Tribe (as already discussed) and a class. Players receive 80 points for allotment as they see fit to ability scores (no sub-abilities) - that is more than enough to satisfy the minimum requirements of any class. I am eventually going to present the group with a more detailed list of the characteristics of each Tribe, as well as the character classes to choose from. Further personalization of characters in detail can then be pursued between each of the players and myself, if so desired.

I begin to adopt some of the rules from the Player's Options when it comes to proficiencies - both weapon and non-weapon. Players will receive a lump-sum of points (which I will refer to as proficiency points) to allot between both types of proficiencies, with a minimum requirement on each. I will likewise provide a detailed list of the skills that these points may be spent on in each category (with the exception of NWP's, which I am flexible on). I am using the base-score system and stacking points in NWP's as described in Skills & Powers. If anyone is unfamiliar with these rules, they should be fairly easy to explain. As such, any NWP pulled from a different source will have to be adapted to the system - but as I have been running games using this particular system for some time now, I have a working catalog of them already modified to work in the system.

Proficiency points will be gained at the advancement of levels, generally 1-3 depending on the performance of the player, and what can reasonably be justified.

I think that's enough to chew on for the moment. How does that sound to everyone?

Now, I have some questions to present to all of you. It has been a long time since I've run a PBMB game. What kind of rules do you all think are necessary in order to keep the game running at a decent clip? For instance; Jaded - I saw in some of your posts you mentioned a 3-day minimum posting policy. I think I need something like that. What sage advice can you all give me on that subject, and more importantly, what is workable for everyone here?
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Re: The Divided Monarchy (2E AD&D MOD)

Post by JadedDM »

Haha...sounds complicated. But then, I've never used PO before. Although I think I have a pdf of Spells and Magic somewhere around here.

Hmm, advice. Well, the three-day rule is a good idea. However, Breila, Horizon and myself are all active posters (usually posting once a day, if not more), so it likely won't ever really come up. Still, a good rule to have just in case.

I don't know what timezone you're in, but Horizon and I are in Washington and Breila is in Germany. Not sure if that will ever matter, but probably worth knowing, if you're ever waiting on someone to post.

All three of us are pretty integrated into the community, too. I run two games, Breila runs one and participates in three others, and Horizon participates in two. So there's no worry about any of us three vanishing without warning.

Yeah, the two biggest killers of pbps are pacing and people mysteriously vanishing, and since neither of those should be a problem with the three of us, I don't foresee any serious problems.
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