Keeping up with NPC regents

[Lord Eldred]

I am interested in knowing how people keep up with the NPCs in your game. If you don't look after them as far as experience and rp and gb, when your PCs turn their attention to them they won't be able to put up a good fight.

SO what do you do? Given that there are so many NPC regents in everyones campaign with all the different countries.

[Birthright-L]

On Mon, 19 Aug 2002, Lord Eldred wrote:
> I am interested in knowing how people keep up with the NPCs in your
> game. If you don`t look after them as far as experience and rp and gb,
> when your PCs turn their attention to them they won`t be able to put
> up a good fight.

I ignore them, mostly. The only NPCs worth keeping track of directly are
the ones the PCs deal with often. I make vague notes of regional events,
wars, famines, whatever, for use in rumors and news. Should the PCs take
a sudden interest in someone I haven`t been keeping track of, I
extrapolate their current state. Look at their original domain stats, how
much they pay in maintenance, plus how agressive their neighbors are, and
you can figure out how much they have and need to spend on their military.
NPC regents spend their time Ruling, Fortifying, and Building, mainly,
stuff real life rulers did, so by the time the PCs notice them, I tack on
a couple of extra province/holding levels, and a few more castles, based
on how much time has passed, and am done.
--
Communication is possible only between equals.
Daniel McSorley- mcsorley@cis.ohio-state.edu

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[kgauck]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lord Eldred" <brnetboard@TUARHIEVEL.ORG>
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2002 8:59 PM


> I am interested in knowing how people keep up with the NPCs
> in your game. If you don`t look after them as far as experience
> and rp and gb, when your PCs turn their attention to them they
> won`t be able to put up a good fight.
>
> SO what do you do? Given that there are so many NPC regents
> in everyones campaign with all the different countries.

I do two things. First I give the NPC ruler a strategy and a set of traits.
Second I assume that modified by their traits, they are about as successful
as the PC`s are. I keep track of where most nearby NPC rulers are by
describing their actions as news. The far away rulers I more or less just
assume they have improved as much as the PC`s have.

If I kill off a powerful NPC ruler (let`s say my campaign takes place in
Stjordvik) like the Archduke of Boeruine:
* I have a decent heir in the wings
* I have powerful NPC`s ready to aid the new ruler
* I have some idea of how things are going to play out with the realm

By about the time players start entering mid-level, I start killing off
notable NPC`s with some frequency. The heirs are people that the PC`s have
encountered and have relationships with as often as I am able to pull that
off. Again, thinking of Stjordvik, as each of the Eorls dies or each of the
local kings (Svinik, Rjuvik, Dhoesone, the Blood Skull Barony) dies. I want
the PC`s to have encountered the heir at least once in some capacity. Some
times a realm they have not paid attention to is suddenly inherited by an
NPC who they had a rivalry with. Generally the purpose is to gradually
replace characters that started out with a huge experience head start with
peers. I also don`t start PC`s off as rulers any more. Heirs, sure, but I
let them get the lay of the land a little bit before I let them sit in the
big chair. About the time they succeed their antecedents, their rivals
begin to gain power as well.

Kenneth Gauck
kgauck@mchsi.com

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[Ariadne]

In our game NPC regents are still in command. That we ignore them in our campaign I can't say. They appear in a diplomacy action as well as as enemies (some are simply replaced by now, but in play, not "just for fun"). They even plot egainst each other or against the PC.

Further we are very careless about these domain sheets. The most part of a campaign is an adventure and in this other NPC's (and NPC regents) apear. So attacks from neighbors are not the greatest fear. We try to integrate NPC's as good as possible (as good as one DM can overlook all), for the rest we ignore them...

[Sir Justine]

In my campaign the pcs are not regents yet, so I'm not worring much with npcs regents for now. But I have to admit that I'm a bit lazy with npcs in general. For ones listed in the book, for example, I consider that when they first met the pcs they are at the listed levels, with the listed equipment etc. From that point on, I keep a mostly mental record, and when I write the adventure I do their statistics, if they think they would have changed since the first encounter.

[Sir Justine]

In my campaign the pcs are not regents yet, so I'm not worring much with npcs regents for now. But I have to admit that I'm a bit lazy with npcs in general. For ones listed in the book, for example, I consider that when they first met the pcs they are at the listed levels, with the listed equipment etc. From that point on, I keep a mostly mental record, and when I write the adventure I do their statistics, if they think they would have changed since the first encounter.

[Birthright-L]

Since I don`t use XP, this is manegable for me. PCs level up once a year,
NPCs level up once every two years (on odd years). PCs started out at 1st
level, and NPCs generally started out higher, but now at level 12, the PCs
have bypassed most NPCs in level.

/Carl

Lord Eldred <brnetboard@TUARHIEVEL.ORG> wrote at 02-08-19 03.59:

> Lord Eldred wrote:
> I am interested in knowing how people keep up with the NPCs in your game. If
> you don`t look after them as far as experience and rp and gb, when your PCs
> turn their attention to them they won`t be able to put up a good fight.
>
> SO what do you do? Given that there are so many NPC regents in everyones
> campaign with all the different countries.
>

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[Lee]

In a message dated 8/18/02 10:04:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
brnetboard@TUARHIEVEL.ORG writes:

<< I am interested in knowing how people keep up with the NPCs in your game.
If you don`t look after them as far as experience and rp and gb, when your
PCs turn their attention to them they won`t be able to put up a good fight.

SO what do you do? Given that there are so many NPC regents in everyones
campaign with all the different countries. >>

Well, for a while I was randomly rolling that 1/3 of them were active in
something that could affect the PC regents or their neighbors in any given
DT, but it just got too big to handle. Now I just roll to see if anyone has
a Random Event, and slip that into the news & rumors that filter back to the
PCs. I also rely on written long-term strategies for a few of them, and make
things happen by DM fiat.

Lee.

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