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  1. #1

    Running BR Pbems

    I've been thinking about running a BR Pbem, but I'd like some advice, please.

    Running Battles:
    Does anyone have a good & simple system that resolves battles in a PBem?

    Adventures:
    Does anyone have a good system for judging how many XP to give out if a regent goes adventuring? Maybe a good example might be something like this:
    When using an Adventure action, a PC (or NPC) gains XP= 1d6 x 75 x character level.

    The only problem with that, is if say a wizard uses three character actions, he'll have gained 10/13 of the XP to gain a level. After 13 Domain Turns of going adventuring (13d6 rolls later, average 136.5), he'd have gained 10 or so levels, which is obviously fairly significant. But then, he'd have been doing nothing else. Perhaps rolling 1d3 would be better. Of course, I doubt wizards- or any other class- would do nothing but adventure actions!

    XP For Domain actions (BRCS, p. 150):
    Is this a good system to use? Personally, I'd treat realm actions as single domain action for purposes of this variant, or everyone would have size ten courts (not a bad thing to have, anyway!). If doing that, then I imagine that every five domain turns, a regent would gain a level roughly every five Domain Turns; is that about right?

    Forum Website:
    I don't know how to set up websites, so is there anyone out there who'd be willing to set up and run a website for a BR Pbem forum?

  2. #2
    Ehrshegh of Spelling Thelandrin's Avatar
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    You can run an adventure however you choose, but unless you're going to play it in best dungeon fashion, I'd suggest only about 100-150 xp per character level. This ties in with the XP for domain actions, which, if you're not using full adventures, works well to grant your players regular experience.

    www.rpol.net can be used admirably for Birthright games - mine (A Shadow in the South) doesn't need to use emailing or suchlike, as everything happens in the game "board".

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    Junior Member Capricia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ericthecleric View Post
    I've been thinking about running a BR Pbem, but I'd like some advice, please.

    Running Battles:
    Does anyone have a good & simple system that resolves battles in a PBem?

    Adventures:
    Does anyone have a good system for judging how many XP to give out if a regent goes adventuring? Maybe a good example might be something like this:
    When using an Adventure action, a PC (or NPC) gains XP= 1d6 x 75 x character level.

    The only problem with that, is if say a wizard uses three character actions, he'll have gained 10/13 of the XP to gain a level. After 13 Domain Turns of going adventuring (13d6 rolls later, average 136.5), he'd have gained 10 or so levels, which is obviously fairly significant. But then, he'd have been doing nothing else. Perhaps rolling 1d3 would be better. Of course, I doubt wizards- or any other class- would do nothing but adventure actions!

    XP For Domain actions (BRCS, p. 150):
    Is this a good system to use? Personally, I'd treat realm actions as single domain action for purposes of this variant, or everyone would have size ten courts (not a bad thing to have, anyway!). If doing that, then I imagine that every five domain turns, a regent would gain a level roughly every five Domain Turns; is that about right?

    Forum Website:
    I don't know how to set up websites, so is there anyone out there who'd be willing to set up and run a website for a BR Pbem forum?
    Battles are tricky, seeking the balance between "realism" and "omg the DM's head just exploded." I will leave it to others to share their approaches.

    XP
    I would balance xp rewards for both domains and pc actions. No player should get whopping gifts of xp for something as mundane as ruling the realm they have been ruling for years. Scale it to something "special". Encourage actual role playing, give more credit to those who add spice to the game and the world they are playing in.

    http://stormsoffate.10.forumer.com/ is a good, simple free forum site that I've used both as a player as and an admin for my gaming group. I'm not a fan of Rpol, the layout is counterintuitive and confusing to me. I think you'd find this one quite simple to use given a bit of playing around. And the instructions are not that "techified"

  4. #4
    Member Swashbuckler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ericthecleric View Post
    Running Battles:
    Does anyone have a good & simple system that resolves battles in a PBem?
    That depends on the level of detail you'd like to support, and also how you're allowing your players to determine die rolls. In other PbEM games that I've both run and played in, combat was something that everyone expected to have a certain amount of detail. However, in all of those games, the DM/GM was doing the dice-rolling (and posting the results in the narrative form). The Initiative Order was posted when combat began, and players posted according to that order (with the DM/GM posting for monster/antagonists in order as well). Then the DM/GM posted results of the attempted combat manouevers, and the next round started.

    Food for thought.
    "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
    - George Washington

    Quod illo, senito aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ericthecleric View Post
    Does anyone have a good & simple system that resolves battles in a PBem?
    The best one I've encountered is Solmyr's BR War Machine, which may be found on the web at http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare...brwarmach.html. It's inspired by the War Machine mass combat rules from the old (not-A)D&D Companion Set (blue-green box circa 1983). The Companion Set also included a version of realm rulership rules which are much lower-level than Birthright; they are better rules to use if you are interested in politics within a single Birthright province.

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