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View Full Version : Survival game, exploration, and caravans and all need help



WalkertheBlind
2010-06-07, 12:58 PM
Alright, In my next game the world just experienced a major cataclysm maybe a few days ago. Maybe yesterday. All that matters is it was recent. The world is still recoiling from this fact. Also a large faction of Treants are taking over. 3.5 edition.


Caravan:
Now my party is going to start off with a caravan leaving a dead/dying city. My goal would be to set this caravan as a place that they can go back and get supplies. BUT also limit the amount of supplies there. I do not want them to have to baby sit this but want them to take care of it. I also do not want them to never leave it. They will have to defend it, and help forage, get supplies.

Also, at the start I wanted to start with a caravan with a base set of values (Supplies, Speed, defense, or whatever). Then let them try to recruit people to help modify those. So, if they say got the remnants of the city guard the caravan's defense would go up with a few warriors. If they recruited some smiths they could repair. If they got hunters, they could hunt increasing supplies. Ect ect. Plus negative people. The baron who tries to buy his way in, but really is dead weight.

I want to be able to have events later on effect the caravan. People want to settle and make a town, people want to join caravan, Animals die, ect. Little random events that can help shape the caravan differently then say, scripted events. (So, I guess I'd have to make a table)





Surviving:

I want the party to leave the caravan from time to time. And they will also have to get supplies for the caravan I am going to be VERY strict on watching how much food they have. Any ideas to help my players think about their actions? Lots of hunting, plus magical intervention.


Magic:

So, I am a fan of low magic settings. My players are not. I want magic to be hurt in this setting. I have atleast three casters (One divine, two arcane) I was thinking about giving more spells per level but giving all spells a chance to fail. How can i make magic seem like its failing or hurt with out gimping my magic users? I typically don't like magical components.



Exploration: I would like to set up a blank map and have them discover it. I'll give them fragments or old maps of what USED to be there or how things have changed. (Forests now present, river not there, ect) Do believe I am going to have a table and just randomly roll what is present in the space they are in. I want to give the feeling of exploration and travel instead of speeding it through from point to point.


I got inspired by the book Dark Continent : Adventure & Exploration in Darkest Africa but cant seem to find it in any of my local or near by hobby stores. (Out of print book from a dead company). Also Oregon trail.




I want to be harsh in this setting. But not brutal. I want the players to feel like they MUST work together to survive as opposed to the usual by lvl 5 nothing can stop us. As in game months go by, everything is going to be harder to find So, at lvl 1 the world is somewhat unstable and falling, and by lvl 20 they will be either leaders of a new established world, or they will be hardened bandits, or dead.

mrcarter11
2010-06-07, 02:40 PM
Not sure what to say.. I mean it seems like a great concept. Not sure if it will work well. Guess I'm not helping much, but I really do like the idea of it all.

Another_Poet
2010-06-07, 02:55 PM
I think it sounds like a LOT of fun. Enjoy it.

I haven't done the caravan thing but I did something similar with exploring an area from a home base, which could become better through recruiting new units to guard it or new artisans to work there.

It takes a lot of time up-front, as you really, really want to have all your tables in place before the first session even starts. But once that startup work is done, it almost DMs itself. It's so fun and easy because your tables run the crunch and you can concentrate on the NPC interaction, the characters, the roleplaying etc.

For the resources the caravan has, I would start with two numbers: a gp value cap, and an availability percent. Starting out, for example, you might have:

2,000 gp cap (no items worth more than 2,000 gp are available)
70% availability (any item under the cap has a 70% chance of being available)

Each week (or day, judge by your own pacing) that goes by the availability rate goes down by 10%. When the caravan reaches somewhere where they can resupply, or the PCs find a major natural resource for the caravan to exploit, two things happen:

The gp cap rises by a set amount
The availability goes back up to its max

When availability drops to 30% or lower I would make the NPCs refuse to hand it over. The bedraggled guard clings desparately to the last +1 weapon. The larder won't give out trail rations to anyone who's leaving the caravan (such as PCs going on an adventure) because they might not come back. The PCs either have to institute martial law and take it by force, present a case for why they should have it, or do without.

ap

Altair_the_Vexed
2010-06-07, 03:01 PM
Try capping the game at level 6... (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=352719)

Although, removing all the civilisation, and thus the magic shops, wizard's libraries, and other power-boosting stuff might go a long way to keeping the casters in check, especially if the world is still full of dangerous (i.e. high CR) creatures.
If the PCs can't make their own magic items easily, and have nowhere to buy them, and the book casters can't find spells to add to their collections - then they're going to have a hard time.

Lastly - check out d20 Modern: Apocalypse (http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=d20%20modern%20apocalypse&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf). It's got some good rules for scavenging and post-civilisation survival.

Thieves
2010-06-07, 04:33 PM
I second the E6 option. Overall, I also think this idea screams COOL!

I imagine that limiting the casters is actually very easy. They can try to scavenge on whatever managed to survive or just ruins, but it's you who decides how much survived. You know, the only person in a 200 mile radius who had Wish or Miracle in their book got hit by a meteor, or the like. Also, if the cataclysm type allows for that, you can say that it caused magic to become spoiled. Magicanisms got borked -> spell failure wizards, suppression of natural aptitude by karma -> spell failure sorcerers, so many believers dead -> no deities to power clerics, nature is ravaged -> nerf druids, psionic taint "noise" -> weaken psionics. There's so much you can do with a proper cataclysm.

Also, it's Et Cetera, hence: etc., not ect. Sorry, it's for greater good.

Another_Poet
2010-06-07, 06:59 PM
Also, it's Et Cetera, hence: etc., not ect. Sorry, it's for greater good.

When someone uses "ect." I assume they mean ectoplasm, which makes their post awesome no matter how much it doesn't fit into their sentence.

WalkertheBlind
2010-06-08, 11:43 AM
What are some groups that can add variety and bonuses (Positive or negative) to the caravan?

I'm working on random tables to explain what they are finding in the world and will have a rough outline. And going to make them map it.


Yea, I am pretty sure the lack of supplies would hinder magic users. Enough.


My problem with a lvl 6 game only, is yes its gritty, but I want them to eventually help fix the world.

Thieves
2010-06-08, 05:36 PM
What are some groups that can add variety and bonuses (Positive or negative) to the caravan?

Thieves. These nice guys who hang around, do helpful things, contribute and are able to make a sacrifice for the community. And every other night on a natural 1 while sleeping you have to make a Listen DC 30 check followed by a Reflex DC 30 check not to get half of your belongings "mysteriously pillaged by an illithid tele-in-tele-out plunder-squad".

Hmm...