Interest check - D&D 3.5 in Regency England

Started by HopeFox, December 20, 2014, 01:20:24 AM

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HopeFox

#25
Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 08:36:39 AM
I would love to play a half-elven noblewoman trained as a bard ,well for a proper education, and raised among elves of a noble house of that race. Her father some noble who died in the war - a human of good qualities.

That works. There are a quite a few elven noble and gentry families in England, or you can be visiting from France. Despite the war, actual relationships between English and French people aren't too bad. (As Mr Wickham said in Lost in Austen, "War with France is traditional. War with Paris is unthinkable.")

Quote from: Kimmy on December 20, 2014, 08:48:34 AM
Is this going to be a sandbox campaign where we explore your world to suit our own ends? Or will there be a grand plot we can follow?

There will be the usual D&D-style quests - go rescue prisoner X from monster Y and pick up artefact Z while you're at it. But there will also be periods of freestyle interaction with society, so that characters have the opportunity to engage in business, politics, romance and so forth. I also intend for there to be some passage of time between quests, and level advancement will be approximately one level per in-game year. That way, business ventures, marriages and so on can have time to mature, as well as personal advancement being at a moderately sane rate. (40-year-old archmages are a little bit silly, but still better than 20-year-old archmages.)

QuoteOne consideration is the age of Ladies and Gentlemen entering high society. 16 or 17 is a common age with 15 not being unheard of - but the rules and nature of E probably make it easiest to keep an even 18 as the standard age, with some younger Ladies being allowed the privilege by less strict families.

Edit: kckolbe corrected to point out the site rule is 16+, so ignore me...

The 16+ rule is for sexual roleplaying, not roleplaying in general, but yes, the age of a social debut is important. For the PCs, though, minimum starting age is per the Players' Handbook, and humans can't start any younger than 16 anyway. You can pick whatever starting age you like as long as it's no younger than the minimum in the PHB. Age will affect the way society perceives you, though, for better or worse, and you can't have finished a university degree at 16 unless you were sponsored in as some kind of child prodigy.

Quote from: Muse on December 20, 2014, 09:21:00 AM
Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  Am I too late? 

Veks and the mods addressed the issue of races at different ages not long ago.  If a race matures more slowly, you have to wait 'til equivalent sixteen.  If the race matures more quickly, though, you still have to wait for actual 16. 

I don't mind compromising a little bit of artistic and historical integrity to protect our generous hosts--and this site in general. 

Not too late at all! And yeah, going by the starting ages in the PHB, the only way anyone would be under 16 is if they were a half-orc barbarian or something, and even then, 16 is a perfectly acceptable age for such a character.

Quote from: Muse on December 20, 2014, 02:06:31 PM
  How experienced would you like us to be at game start, Fox? 

  I can study the setting more and come up with something else, but the exploration of this era would lead in just a few short decades to Darwain's travels in the galapagos.  I'd be interested in playing a sort of gentleman explorer/naturalist.  :)

Everyone starts at level 1. An explorer would be great! This is the era of Sir Joseph Banks and his studies of Australian flora, for example. Britain has been doing a lot of exploration of the Pacific, and groups like the East India Company are doing their best to explore and exploit south-east Asia. You could be attached to colonial forces, or to a trading company, even if you don't personally support their exploitation of native populations.

Quote from: Riveda on December 20, 2014, 02:15:23 PM
I do have a couple questions that I ask about all group games, though:

  • What is the minimum expected post size?
  • What is the maximum permitted post frequency?
Because if permitted I will post 15 times a day, and I don't like writing page-length posts.

I don't mind whether you give us lots of short posts or a few long ones, just as long as everyone has fun together, and I can understand your character well enough to tailor plot to suit them.

Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 03:13:35 PM
Would you allow the Expert class, NPC, it might fit in best in the setting for many of the normal people if one thinks about it most people with a craft, profession or trade would be that not a character class proper. Just at this point considering my options.

I wouldn't disallow Experts, as such, but a large part of the game is going to be adventuring. I would expect the PCs to have PC classes in order to be competitive and useful on adventures. Experts will make up a lot of the NPC population, though.

(I mean, if you wanted to be in the game for social scenes but not go on many adventures, that would be fine, and you could play whatever you wanted in that context.)

So yeah. I'll go into more details when I start the OOC thread, but briefly, everyone starts at level 1. I won't rule out evil PCs as such, but I'd rather the PCs be able to get along at least grudgingly. I also want PCs who are willing to jump at the call of adventure, whether for the sake of money, prestige, duty or heroism.

Quote from: kckolbe on December 20, 2014, 09:23:26 AM
So how will technology be handled?  Firearms were quite common by this point, after all.

Yep, pistols and muskets are available, and within the reach of starting cash. Money will be measured in pounds sterling, naturally, with £1 being equivalent to 1 platinum piece, so just divide all gp costs in the book by 10 to get pounds. 1 gp is equal to 2 shillings, 1 sp is roughly tuppence ha'penny, and 1 cp is roughly a farthing. (Using England's ridiculous old currency is important for immersion, I believe!) Everyone will start with 15 pounds, regardless of social class - we'll figure out a way for everyone's background to line up to that amount, whether you're a pickpocket who just made a major score, or the third son of an earl without much of an allowance.

I would like to see a nice variety of social backgrounds, on that note. Social class is very important in the setting. It won't outright exclude anyone from adventures or the social scenes that I designate as being for everyone, but it will influence things. A lower class worker will have trouble fitting in at a high society event (but will still get an invitation if an upper class PC insists upon it), whereas a highborn gentleman will stand out like a sore thumb at a working class gathering (and be a target for pickpockets and drunks who want to start a fight). You can be pretty much any character class at any social level, with the exception that under most circumstances, you need to go to university to be a cleric or wizard.

I'm so excited! I'll get the OOC thread going soon, and I'll put more detailed character creation and setting information there.
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

Angie

My Dwarf Ranger is a bit of a trapper, I'm assuming the fur trade is potentially lucrative? Navem is pretty low class, but maybe he got a lucky break recently and ends up with a little extra cash and gets some fancy new gear...
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HopeFox

Quote from: Angiejuusan on December 20, 2014, 04:55:51 PM
My Dwarf Ranger is a bit of a trapper, I'm assuming the fur trade is potentially lucrative? Navem is pretty low class, but maybe he got a lucky break recently and ends up with a little extra cash and gets some fancy new gear...

There is certainly money to be made trapping English foxes for their fur. Of course, the real money in fur trapping is overseas - Canadian badger pelts, Russian wolf fur, Alaskan seals. He could be part of either of those - be a local English or Scottish trapper working the local trade, an English trapper travelling overseas, or a foreign trapper visiting England.

It's also entirely possible that he's not an independent operator, but has just recently been picked up by one of the fur trading companies, who have sponsored him with some high-quality gear. Or if he's local, he could be in the service of a noble or gentleman landowner, who employs him to harvest furs from their forest.

Oh, yeah - if he's a trapper, that means going out into not-very-tamed wilderness areas, and those are likely to contain monsters. That's why it's a lucrative profession - it's not terribly safe. :) Which is good news for PCs, of course!
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

Angie

There is nothing that cannot be solved with a trusty crossbow and hatchet. Well, at least, no monsters that can't be solved with them.

Speaking of, is there any Ranger Combat style that uses Crossbows instead of straight Archery? Having Rapid Shot with a crossbow just doesn't seem logical.
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HopeFox

Quote from: Angiejuusan on December 20, 2014, 05:13:22 PM
There is nothing that cannot be solved with a trusty crossbow and hatchet. Well, at least, no monsters that can't be solved with them.

Speaking of, is there any Ranger Combat style that uses Crossbows instead of straight Archery? Having Rapid Shot with a crossbow just doesn't seem logical.

I'm not aware of any, but I'm amenable to coming up with something. Maybe Rapid Reload at level 2, Woodland Archer at level 6, and Improved Precise Shot at level 11. A crossbow does seem like the right weapon for this character, since firearms are so noisy. Favoured Enemy: Animals, I take it? That gives you bonus to tracking, hearing, spotting and killing them, and it doesn't necessarily mean you actually dislike animals, just that it's your job to hunt them.
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

RubySlippers


Angie

#31
Quote from: HopeFox on December 20, 2014, 05:23:22 PM
I'm not aware of any, but I'm amenable to coming up with something. Maybe Rapid Reload at level 2, Woodland Archer at level 6, and Improved Precise Shot at level 11. A crossbow does seem like the right weapon for this character, since firearms are so noisy. Favoured Enemy: Animals, I take it? That gives you bonus to tracking, hearing, spotting and killing them, and it doesn't necessarily mean you actually dislike animals, just that it's your job to hunt them.

1st favored enemy will definitely be Animals. And make no mistake, he loves the furry little buggers, but hey, everybody's gotta eat/spend pounds on expensive furs.

Also, depending on what I'm hunting, firearms would just ruin the meat/pelt, so yeah, crossbow.

I like the proposed idea for the Crossbow style, Rapid Reload sounds good, and so do the others.
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Muse

Looks like the guys get some nice outfits.  :) 

http://www.pinterest.com/gaul0434/mens-regency/

Fox, will we be dealing 'realistically' with pregnancy and STDs?  Or can we use magic or herbalisim to control that somewhat without messing up the setting? 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Angie

Quote from: Muse on December 20, 2014, 07:01:48 PM
Looks like the guys get some nice outfits.  :) 

http://www.pinterest.com/gaul0434/mens-regency/

Fox, will we be dealing 'realistically' with pregnancy and STDs?  Or can we use magic or herbalisim to control that somewhat without messing up the setting?

You've never read the Book of Erotic Fantasy, have you?
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Muse

Quite the contrary.  :)  I'm well versed in that book.  (I also contributed to the 3.5 GUCK.) 

For that matter, the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting has herbal contraception. 

It was a question of setting.  : )
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

RubySlippers

#35
I decided on a character, Emma Abbey, a half-elf Sorcerer and scoundrel after all she didn't need to go to Oxford to learn magic. :P

And you toss a Charm Person on someone it makes robbing a house much easier, or a Sleep spell to rob them and if pressed other spells to escape etc.

CORRECTION:
Battle Sorcerer Variant with the Animal Companion Variant, she grew up in the mean streets of London so learned to harness herself to use magic and a decent weapon and gain a proper animal companion I'm thinking like Bullseye from Oliver Twist a mean pit bull or something. But will have all the shiny bits and street level clothes.

HopeFox

Quote from: Muse on December 20, 2014, 07:01:48 PM
Looks like the guys get some nice outfits.  :) 

http://www.pinterest.com/gaul0434/mens-regency/

Yes, please show me what your characters are wearing! I mean, if you feel like it, I won't insist on it, but this is the sort of thing that enhances the setting, I feel.

QuoteFox, will we be dealing 'realistically' with pregnancy and STDs?  Or can we use magic or herbalisim to control that somewhat without messing up the setting?

For a start, female PCs won't get pregnant without the player's explicit agreement... however, I may end up saying "if you keep having sex this often, you'll get pregnant", but only if you're getting, y'know, a lot of sex. And pregnancy and marriage are both viable options in this game, since I hope for it to cover several years in-game. I'll make sure that there's always someone to take care of your wife, husband and/or kids while you're adventuring, if that's what you want.

Don't worry about STDs in any major sense. The diseases PCs should be worried about are things like mummy rot and lycanthropy. They exist, and if a PC acts imprudently with the ladies at the London docks he might end up with an unfortunate itch, but I'll let you guys play that out rather than impose anything from on high.

There were birth control methods available even in the early 19th century - they just weren't very good. I'll probably allow some kind of level 1 contraceptive spell. With due care, the odds of getting a random NPC pregnant are low, but it can happen unless you use magic.

Generally, I'm happy to bend probability a fair bit in order to facilitate fun sexy roleplays, but not completely. I want the setting to feel realistic, even if, by the numbers, it isn't.

Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 07:26:27 PM
I decided on a character, Emma Abbey, a half-elf Sorcerer and scoundrel after all she didn't need to go to Oxford to learn magic. :P

And you toss a Charm Person on someone it makes robbing a house much easier, or a Sleep spell to rob them and if pressed other spells to escape etc.

Sounds perfect! Lower class, then? From London or somewhere else? Who were her parents? Is she part of some sort of gang, or does she work alone?
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

RubySlippers

Mulling over ideas, but her dad and mum once they figured out she could do magic naturally well her step-dad her mum was a whore and bedded an elf so there you go it was a golden moment since it was a damned rare talent. Not sure about the rest but will hail from poor roots. As for a gang it depends on her cut, magical casters like her are damned rare she expects more than a fair cut. She WILL be Lawful Neutral but in the honorable roguish sort not follow the rules of proper society but HER society.

Not sure of more right now.

HopeFox

Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 08:09:29 PM
Mulling over ideas, but her dad and mum once they figured out she could do magic naturally well her step-dad her mum was a whore and bedded an elf so there you go it was a golden moment since it was a damned rare talent. Not sure about the rest but will hail from poor roots. As for a gang it depends on her cut, magical casters like her are damned rare she expects more than a fair cut. She WILL be Lawful Neutral but in the honorable roguish sort not follow the rules of proper society but HER society.

Not sure of more right now.

Okay, I like all that! Lawful but following the rules of her particular branch of society is pretty cool.
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

RubySlippers

Will you allow Flaws and Traits, no planning on taking Flaws but Traits are good for some color. I'm thinking about:

Illiterate (book learning is not all that important in her world)
Spellgifted (damned good at enchanting folks, not to good at other kinds of magic)

Sorcerers don't actually need to read to cast spells unlike wizards.

HopeFox

Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 09:08:51 PM
Will you allow Flaws and Traits, no planning on taking Flaws but Traits are good for some color. I'm thinking about:

Illiterate (book learning is not all that important in her world)
Spellgifted (damned good at enchanting folks, not to good at other kinds of magic)

Sorcerers don't actually need to read to cast spells unlike wizards.

I'd rather avoid the Flaws and Traits system - I don't really like the effects it has on overall balance. Your character's literacy level is something you can decide when you make the character, and of course she could improve her skills in-game (for no cost, of course, since she's not a barbarian).
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

Angie

I figure Nevan isn't all that well educated, he can read a bit and write a little and he knows his figures (so he doesn't get screwed), but he's not gonna read the works of Shakespeare or pen any kind of complex critique of it anytime soon.
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HopeFox

Quote from: Angiejuusan on December 20, 2014, 09:36:17 PM
I figure Nevan isn't all that well educated, he can read a bit and write a little and he knows his figures (so he doesn't get screwed), but he's not gonna read the works of Shakespeare or pen any kind of complex critique of it anytime soon.

Yeah, he'd want to be very map-literate, and know his way around basic accounting and invoices, but he's not a man of letters.
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

Angie

Just assuming we're starting at level 1? Since our starting 'gold' is 150...
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HopeFox

Quote from: RubySlippers on December 20, 2014, 07:26:27 PM
Battle Sorcerer Variant with the Animal Companion Variant, she grew up in the mean streets of London so learned to harness herself to use magic and a decent weapon and gain a proper animal companion I'm thinking like Bullseye from Oliver Twist a mean pit bull or something. But will have all the shiny bits and street level clothes.

Sorry, just saw this bit. Looks nice! She does sound very tough, with a very personal, organic approach to magic.

Battle Sorcerer is cool. Where is the Animal Companion variant from?
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

ShadowFox89

 Would Psionics or Tome of Battle be allowed within the game? Barring that, Warlock?
Call me Shadow
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Angie

Quote from: ShadowFox89 on December 20, 2014, 09:57:39 PM
Would Psionics or Tome of Battle be allowed within the game? Barring that, Warlock?

You mean, the three things that may as well be labeled "Game Breaking 101"? I kid, I kid, don't hit!
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ShadowFox89

 I wasn't asking about Druids, Clerics, and Wizards, no.
Call me Shadow
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HopeFox

Quote from: ShadowFox89 on December 20, 2014, 09:57:39 PM
Would Psionics or Tome of Battle be allowed within the game? Barring that, Warlock?

Those are all fine. There are some important warlock NPCs in the works, and England is the home of the White Raven Naval Academy.

... that said, I do hope someone wants to play a man (or woman) of the cloth. A party without a cleric is not a fun party. :)
If you're such an iconoclast, where were you when we trashed Constantinople?

Angie

Quote from: HopeFox on December 20, 2014, 10:13:43 PM
Those are all fine. There are some important warlock NPCs in the works, and England is the home of the White Raven Naval Academy.

... that said, I do hope someone wants to play a man (or woman) of the cloth. A party without a cleric is not a fun party. :)

I might, if no one volunteers. Though I might play a bit more 'religious scholar' if I go that path.
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