A Song of Ice and Fire RPG (killed due to lack of interest)

[PixelatedPixie]

I would be using the A Song of Ice and Fire RPG Game of Thrones Edition rules.

I should admit that it has been awhile since I read any of the books, and I never really got into the television series.  My desire to run this more stems from the nature of the system, and its focus on Houses and Lands, than the setting itself.  That said, I do like the setting, so between research and rereading things I can hopefully manage to keep the setting sensible.

I don't hugely want to focus on the overaching book/movie plotlines, but rather on the characters and their house.  So I am somewhat debating at what time to set things. 

I want to focus on one or two Houses and the members there-of.  However I also want to be able to have the House develop and grow.  So in general I will be keeping the scenes relatively short and have months or more pass between them (depending on what all is going on).  There may be player death, nonconsensual scenes, and if the game lasts long enough, aging.  I may also open things up to multiple characters per player.

SMUT
The game will be rated nonconsensual-human (unless a majority of players would prefer extreme), and such scenes may occur.  That said, the focus isn't intended to be on smut.  The majority of smutty scenes (consensual or otherwise) will be on secondary threads, and I am fine fading to back or otherwise skipping over things if desired. 

If a smutty scene is not completed in the timeframe of the rest of the scene, it can still continue, but will need an outline written before its completion so the story can continue despite it.  As a result there may be different threads running in different timelines.

PLOT
I'd like to run things as something of a sandbox.  There will be an overarching plot that the characters have to deal with, but at the same time I'd like the characters to generate their own plotlines and stories.

FEEDBACK
The first question is of course, is there any interest?  Beyond that, does anyone have suggestions for setting or timeframe?  I am currently leaning towards shortly after Robert's Rebellion, but may go to the normal timeframe instead.  I'll probably go random for starting realm, unless people have a huge preference.

[Kolbrandr]

I quite like that game actually, Green Ronin's SIFRP. I think setting it just after Robert's Rebellion is not a bad idea, dodges you having to deal with a lot of specific plot stuff as it rolls on.

I'm cool by random starting realm, though I reserve the right to take that back if you roll the Iron Islands ;p (I just find the Ironborn dire as far as anything interesting about them)

Are you intending to do the whole roll out a house thing? That can be neat to then come up with a history to make the rolls make sense, though I would note, for the most part you end up with minor houses at best under that system, barring really freakish rolls. I would similarly not recommend using the From Strife Prosperity add on, a bunch of its options are not really balanced well, and the costs of things stretch thin resource allocations even thinner.

[RubySlippers]

Its rules based, you can't count me in I enjoy the rules and love the setting.

[wander]

Long as we're all in the same House and PvP is at a minimum, my interest is here.

[PixelatedPixie]

Kolbrandr
I figured the bulk of the house (excluding maybe Realm) would be rolled.  Then the rest come up with collaboratively if possible.  I had planned to allow the Out of Strife book just for more options, but hadn't really read through it.  What specifically is unbalanced in it?

wander
With enough players I had thought about two houses, which might open up PvP, but I doubt it will get to that point. 

[Kolbrandr]

Aside from the whole stretching a small amount of resource numbers really thin, just everything involving the investments that allow spying/assassination/sabotage by functional couple of die rolls. It basically turns into "everyone who doesn't buy that one anti espionage holding and bling it out is effed/everyone who invests in the murder holdings becomes functionally unstoppable murder machines otherwise."

Even in just a "everyone is in the same house" kind of deal, if the house buys such a thing, the GM is basically left to watch nigh unstoppable murdersprees.

[RubySlippers]

Wouldn't it take out role-playing for a player rogue who has those killing skills or an intrigue based character who might be a spy master. just tossing some rolls to make it happen?

[wander]

It's a system game and such things would come down to a dice roll anyway, for fairness' sake. YMMV of course.

[RubySlippers]

But its fun to sneak into a enemy army camp as a whore, slit the throat of some commander yourself, walk out and smile to ones House leader afterward a job was well done. 

[Kolbrandr]

Wouldn't it take out role-playing for a player rogue who has those killing skills or an intrigue based character who might be a spy master. just tossing some rolls to make it happen?

The holdings in question obviate the need for any such stuff, is what I'm getting at. You just roll the once. You don't even really need a plan or what have you.

Basically:

As a House Action the assassin may be dispatched to another
domain to target an individual. This requires a successful
Cunning test by the head of the House, or whomever is
designated as the master of assassins. Use the chart at right to
determine the Difficulty of this assassination attempt.

At the most if you do it as a rush job or add more targets or there's a sizable law rating it increases the difficulty.

It's.. really kinda terrible. Yes, there are consequences for failing the roll, but it's not really hard to arrange things for success to be likely. The assassin/spy/etc. holdings were not well thought out.

[RubySlippers]

Seems to remove the fun, that's all, of high profile kills. I mean in the show you needed to be successful at this kind of killing either a magical worker (to send say out a shadow demon or something), a master killer (Faceless Man) or have built up the needed hard connections to have a shot. Generally hiring a thug fails.

[PixelatedPixie]

Ah, yeah I can see that as an issue.  I probably won't ban the book, but will likely look at things from it on a case by case basis.

[Kolbrandr]

I would basically suggest that every holding that reduces everything that might otherwise require some kind of involved plan or effort to a single die roll or so should get a swift booting away. Like I say, not a huge fan of the book generally, but that stuff was amongst the worst of it.

[RubySlippers]

I can get hiring thugs to take out normal guards and soldiers, or to do some side harassment of a rival house hit and run sorts of forcing them to also act in kind to defend themselves but that is different than major actions against principles such as when they tried to kill one certain paralyzed stark boy and well met a Dire Wolf. Sloppy.