Warlords of Hyperborea: Strongholds & Followers

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Posted by joseph
10/23/2014 8:12 am
#21

For those interested in looking over the BECMI/RC version of the resource management rules, check out the Dark Dungeons retro clone. Off the top of my head, I believe it's all in there and the pdf is free.

I have had people in my group build strongholds, but I have not seen it for a decade or more (simply because we played a lot of 3.0). I had a character who was given control of a town and had to rebuild the place and establish a military. It was good fun, but it does change the game and it's clearly not for everyone. When I introduced AS&SH, one of my players expressed how he missed the stronghold building of name level.

Our problem is actually getting to that level.


ravengodgames.blogspot.com ~ cartography, writing, game design
Author, Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess
 
Posted by Blackadder23
10/23/2014 10:10 am
#22

No player of mine is going to sit in a castle and collect taxes while his serfs chop down trees.
If anyone tries it, his stronghold will be a cesspool of murderous intrigue and a magnet for usurpers and outlandish horrors until he's happy to return to the adventuring life!


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 
Posted by Handy Haversack
10/23/2014 10:17 am
#23

Blackadder23 wrote:

No player of mine is going to sit in a castle and collect taxes while his serfs chop down trees.
If anyone tries it, his stronghold will be a cesspool of murderous intrigue and a magnet for usurpers and outlandish horrors until he's happy to return to the adventuring life!

Those are stronghold rules I can get behind! Outlandish cesspools are sort of our wheelhouse.

 
Posted by The_Great_Lestrade
10/23/2014 12:16 pm
#24

I love reading this sort of stuff in rpg books but I've never had a character in my fantasy campaigns get past about 4th level, or earn much more than a couple of thousand gold. This is partly due to death and partly as I cannot get people to stick with any campaign beyond a handful of sessions.

 
Posted by RedJowel
10/28/2014 1:17 pm
#25

So no one's gotten there kingdom yet? I see that as a challenge, especially considering it is still my character's primary goal and one he's been working dilligently towards, though mostly by raking in as much fame/notoriety as he can.  I imagine if I ever do accomplish my dream of establishing a domain (got a sweet spot up the Black Forest Inlet picked out),  It would mostly act as safe haven/treasure dump for the party and if the king ever needed to settle more permanently Id be happy to retire the character as a powerful npc and take controll of one of his followers to go adventuring in his stead.  It's possible I could get the other character's on board,  I'm sure thered be room for an assassins guild and a wizard's tower around my mead hall when they come into their own, but obviousely I don't want to turn AS&SH into sim-castle.  Probably gloss over the particulars of bringing in colonists and building, it'd be enough to say wether they are prosperous, breaking even or sinking as i think was suggested in the section on running your kingdom.  I almost would'nt bother collecting any taxes, "running my kingdom" would be like "lets haul in a mammoth for our people, now thats a beast of burden!" and then drunken debauchery.....

 
Posted by Ghul
10/28/2014 2:47 pm
#26

I like the cut of your jib, RedJowel.


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 
Posted by Tikon2000
12/01/2022 11:23 am
#27

Castle building is my major end goal for my game. Since their patrons in Khromarium want another bastion of civilization in the wasteland. Another stronghold to shield against attacking barbarian hordes.
That and I want to use mass combat rules for a major invasion into the setting.
Nazis escaping their defeat on old Earth using eldritch gates, to conquer Hyperboria instead.
(Jeffrey Talanian did say you could have an alien invasion in your setting if you wanted)
Given the pulpy weird science/fantasy inspiration of ASSH, as well as Call of Cthulhu.
Perfect excuse to pit my player's fantasy forces, versus weird-science walking tanks from the dieselpunk era.

 
Posted by rhialto
12/01/2022 6:07 pm
#28

Very cool concept, I like it. 


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 
Posted by Caveman
12/02/2022 5:53 am
#29
Posted by Tikon2000
12/03/2022 10:26 pm
#30

Thanks Was wondering about ideas and game rules to entice settlers over to PC's strongholds.
Since their patrons are also interested in siphoning off all the slum dwellers in old town to new locations.
Like a resource? Lumber, silver, green diamonds? 

 
Posted by Caveman
12/04/2022 6:46 am
#31

Well, settlers around the world are enticed by the prospect of personal freedom, the promised land, free of tyranny for their families but in the end, they take the land away from probably the local natives who become even more vicious and cruel in their frustration to eradicate something that will never go away.

The notion of wealth, good living, prosperity. As you mention, good resources which are in demand in the big city. But where one family makes it rich, nine more suffer, die or fail to achieve their goal and fade away.

Reputation of lord. Redjowel states it, fame and prestige of the new governor of this land and how the people think of him and would they rush to serve him and his banner (his future heirs).

** Hmm, money, the idea of a secure life (whether that can happen in a world on monsters and frustrated local natives), personal freedom and the thought/idea of being part of a prospering group, instead of living in a slum?

Motivation enough, whether right as wrong as part of the construct of life in Hyperborea...









 

 
Posted by Ghul
12/04/2022 1:47 pm
#32

Tikon2000 wrote:

Castle building is my major end goal for my game. Since their patrons in Khromarium want another bastion of civilization in the wasteland. Another stronghold to shield against attacking barbarian hordes.
That and I want to use mass combat rules for a major invasion into the setting.
Nazis escaping their defeat on old Earth using eldritch gates, to conquer Hyperboria instead.
(Jeffrey Talanian did say you could have an alien invasion in your setting if you wanted)
Given the pulpy weird science/fantasy inspiration of ASSH, as well as Call of Cthulhu.
Perfect excuse to pit my player's fantasy forces, versus weird-science walking tanks from the dieselpunk era.

Sounds great to me, too.
 


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 
Posted by Tikon2000
12/09/2022 8:07 pm
#33

Cool thanks

 
Posted by Tikon2000
8/31/2023 10:15 am
#34

I have been working on my campaign. I started with the Blak Hag of Lug adventure in the 2nd Edition main book.
From that, I sidetracked into helping that sad troglodyte in the caves recruit the PCs to retake his tribe. Then role played the trek to Khromarium to meet my patron NPCs. Trogo & Blix, a hyperborean and Atlantean team of Magicians who hire people to recover magical artifacts for the city to use. I used the Hollenwagon as an encounter, from the Merry Mushman's Folklore Bestiary OSE book.
For the Patrons, I headquartered them in the One-Legged Shield. Which confused the players until they saw it. Thinking it was a weird name for a tavern. It's actually a Flying Saucer with one central landing gear/stair entrance down. That's been stuck there since the original crew all died while visiting right as the Green Death happened. (Yes I am leaning heavily into the weird in weird fantasy )
From there I am thinking of using the Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes adventure. As well as the Charnell Crypt of the Sightless Serpent, and later the Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess.
Other adventures I hope to utilize are Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier. Great as an add-on to the Dessert Dunes adventure. As it deals with more crystal finding.
Along with DCCs The Corpse that Love Built. And Hungarian D20s Lost Valley of Krishnar. That high-level adventure I think would be perfect for where the PCs can set up their stronghold if they start one. As it has an interesting resource they can utilize. Being a divine tree that bears fruits of fertility. Something that the dwindling Hyperborean and Atlantean families would pay through the nose for... or try and take for themselves. And maybe it will be a good base for the PCs when I introduce the Nazi invaders.

I guess the advice I am asking for is the placement of all these locations. The Crystal Frontier should be close to the Desert Dunes of course. I'm wondering where to place the Lost Valley. Somewhere close to Khromarium? Like Trogos? As it is seeking to expand its holdings. Or more far-flung like the Valley of Mists? Or the Red Desert?
That and where the interdimensional Nazis stargate in from. In Pictland? Where they might ally with the King there? Or brought in by the Witch Queen of Yithorium? Or do they try and conquer Vikland? Since they're obsessed with Norse mythology.
Anyways,, thanks for reading through my ramblings. I'd appreciate any ideas anyone would like to share.

 
Posted by Tikon2000
8/31/2023 10:58 am
#35

Almost forgot, the Amazonian Sky Skiff from Dessert Dunes is another resource to play with.
Now ordinarily I assume the PCs just take it. And find a way to deal with the fuel source problems somehow.
I thought that their acquiring it would start a bidding war among the factions of Khromarium. The city wants to use it for defense. The Amazons who think it rightly belongs to them, The sage's Guild that wants to study it. The plans for making one are in the Desert Dunes adventure correct?

 
Posted by rhialto
8/31/2023 6:23 pm
#36

Tikon2000 wrote:

Almost forgot, the Amazonian Sky Skiff from Dessert Dunes is another resource to play with. The plans for making one are in the Desert Dunes adventure correct?

I don't believe so, no. It has a thorough description, a nice schematic and statistics, but not exactly "plans to make one". It is a weird science artifact, left to the Ref to develop how it could be made.


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 
Posted by Tikon2000
9/01/2023 2:39 pm
#37

Ah okay, but valuable to the Sage's guild nonetheless?

 
Posted by rhialto
9/03/2023 5:53 am
#38

Yes, I would think so: my group knew its value and built a hanger to conceal it. 


"It is all very well to point out that the man lacks facility; as he asserts, sheer force can overpower sophistication."
Jack Vance, Rhialto the Marvellous
 
Posted by Tikon2000
10/11/2023 1:28 pm
#39

Yeah of course I would have to be prepared for my players to just keep it. I would.
Though as I said, it would be cool to pull out a skyboat armada when the Pulp Reich invades.

Actually, it would be cool if the PCs rescued the only ones able to make magic items. The Dwarves of Underborea. Seeing as the bad guys would mistreat them as subhuman degenerates. That would be interesting.

Last edited by Tikon2000 (10/11/2023 1:31 pm)

 
Posted by gizmomathboy
10/11/2023 9:39 pm
#40

Fuel for a sky ship is a very real problem. A decent amount gets used going from the Diamond Desert to Khromarium.

As it turns out when I ran Ghost Ship they stopped by Port Greely on the way back to Khromarium. They were able to get the golems there...and also have to deal with 2 party members injured by those golems.

They used those golems to empty the water out of the mine and then had them start bashing the mine. Sort of on autopilot as they were on a quest to the Lemurian Remnant to get the injured players restored to full health.

The campaigned ended with them on some island in Lemuria so they never got
back to those golems.

I figured they would have a high chance of being dead/malfunctioning from being exposed to so much green diamonds. Thinking on it, I think they would also be radiating like green diamonds from being exposed to them. Even though there isn't a lot of green diamonds they would expose it would be enough I think.

They decided it was "best" to buy a ship to go to the Remnant rather than risk running out of fuel and not being able to get back.

Of course, sea travel in Hyperborea is...interesting on the open sea.
 


What? Me worry?
 


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