Glupii

Re: Medieval Farming Villages One thing to note here that may help some, I am not looking to recreate EXACTLY the medieval village for in the village I am creating all the land is technically owned by the Baron but in reality the landowners basically do what they want as long as they keep the Baron's manor in foodstuffs and trade goods. Since my gov't model is so different, lets not concentrate too much on that. However I do see your point on the size iof the farms. Would 7-10 acers for a family of a 12-15 (figuring 7-8 ablebodied men women and older children available for working the farm and animals) be sufficient? And I appreciate the insite as to the general layout of the farm That will come in handy, I am sure. As for the Blacksmith, there IS a General smith in the area under the employ of the Baron's Manor. And he takes care of alot of the major civilian needs as well. But for simple things like shoeing horses, mending tools and such, it would more likely be something that they can repair right there rather than lugging it into town to have the smith look at it.

Re: Medieval Farming Villages OK so I will increase the acerage of the outlying farms to around 7 acers given that most have several generations working it and a fair number of able bodies. Given that they also do the rudimentary blacksmithing and carpentry as well as animal husbandry (Pig's, chickens, horses, sheep). Also due to the fact that some of the acerage would be taken up by the animals as well. As for the fishing, they have a path down to the shoreline and have a small harbor built. But given the difficulty in getting the things up to the village, I figured their would likely only be 2 families fishing with perhaps 3-4 boats total. Like I say, enough to supplement the diet but not enough to be a major source of income. The political structure is in place for a reason that I don't wish to post here (Mainly because my players read this too) But I thank you for the concern on that. And the proper titles are appreciated. The main thing I will say is that the town is under the thumb of the gov't like everywhere else but perhaps a little less so for being so far away and having nothing that the Gov't considers useful. The post of Baron here is considered a backwater position at best. So as long as they pay all the formal lipservice to the Gov't Reps, they are pretty much left alone. Please keep the comments coming. I am really soaking this stuff up like a sponge. I REALLY appreciate the time and effort you are giving me on this, folks.

Re: Medieval Farming Villages WOW! This stuff is great! You guys are a fountain of useful knowledge. I learned alot just by reading these pages. so I am going to put something down here and see if I have adjusted my thoughts on the village well enough. The village is in a clearing bordered on three sides by mountains and one one side by cliffs falling off to the sea. This area is about 30 miles by 5 miles in size and is only accessible by boat or by a pass that is only open 4 -5 months out of the year through the high mountains. There is a river that runs through the area and off the cliffs into the sea. This river is fed by mountain streams. The area is pretty much isolated but does have a Lord (Baron) that is in charge of the area for the Kingdom Ruler. However he spends the majority of his time in the Capital city at court so his Magestrate generally runs things. Under him is a Sherrif who acts as Capt. of the Guard as well as chief civilian police authority. The population of the village proper will be around 300-350 and will have 12-15 outlying farmsteads run by extended families. These farms would be about an acer in size with one or two being as large as two. All the farms grow a variety of crops and a certain amount for the lord of the area. Fishing is not a large portion of the economy but there is enough done to supplement the diets of the villagers. Several farmers also grow pigs and chickens and one deals almost exclusively with sheep and goats. In the town proper there is a pub that also have several rooms that are usually taken up by farmers from the outlying farms on the days they come into town for supplies and trading. Several folk brew in town but the tavern owner has the rep for the best ale in town. there are a few other craftsman in town that are able to make a living from their trades but largely everyone makes their own things and anything they make extra they barter off on market day which happenes once a month. How does this sound so far?

Re: Medieval Farming Villages Wow! I seriously underestimated my size. Perhaps I need to scale back my Village by a bit. And the cattle I was not looking at raising as a food source. I was thinking they would each farm have 2 or three cows they breed amongst each other and the cows only reason would be for dairy. The main animal crop (?) would be sheep and pigs. Perhaps some goats but not many. See, I am too much the city boy. I didn't even know sheep produced milk. Is that what they did in ancient greece? I know they raised alot of sheep due to the land being what it was. Now to find out how big 3000 acres is. thanks for the help.

I am in the process of working up the starting village of a new campaign. And I am trying to figure out how large the area needs to be. The area is a flat land surrounded on three sides by a narrow band of foothills and severe mountains beyond that. On the forth side is a cliff leading down to the sea. While the community most certainly gets some benefit from being on the sea, it is not their main form of subsistance. That would come from the farms. I was thinking of a village of about 300 folks and about a dozen farms, each run by an extended family having about 8-12 able bodies workers. Each farm would grow at most 2 corps with most growing one. Each farm would have a cow or two and maybe some chickens but I was thinking one farm would specialize in Chickens, pigs, and maybe some dairy cattle. Beyond the farm would be a Sheep Herder that kept a flock grazing in the hills most of the time. I didn't think the hills I was considering would support more than one flock. The area is mostly subsistance and does very little trading outside the community. It does have a Lord and Manor but beyond that there is very little in the way of outside influence. OK for my questions that I need help with: 1. How big should the average farm be? 2. How many cows would be needed to supply dairy (Milk and Cheese) for this area? 3. How big would the overall flat area need to be to support what I am looking for? I have never been savy on details of farming being a city boy. Any help on this would be appreciated.

Re: Suikoden Effect: Giving Players a base through contacts/followers. Question about this Suikoden game. Was it ever released as a PC game or is this a console only game?

Re: Firefly ACK!!! The site makes it unclear now. Is Sheppard Book in the movie? He was not in the Crew pic but was in one or two other pics. But I can't tell if the pics were all from the movie or some episode, I am just not remembering. I hav ehopes of one day discovering what it was about his past that makes him who he is in the series. He even had the best line (IMO) in the entire show! "The bible is a little fuzzy on the topic of Knee caps!"

Re: Friendly faces in the Post-Apocalypse J, Remember that you have your imagination to pull from to make things work. In the game I spoke of, the bigest threats we faced to date (discounting the obvious Wyvern/dragon reference) were a race of ill bred barbaric humanoids that more than anything resembled a throwback to humans at some lower point on the totem pole. Yes, the GM used Orcs to fasion them from, but that is not how they were introduced to us. Another critter we faced were cannablistic ravers that paralyzed you with their touch. Yes they were ghouls but the whol undead thing never had to enter into it. They attacked, we killed them. It was a close battle and it struck fear into our collective adventuing party heart. But at no point did it force us into the fantastic. And there are plenty of critters in the system that would work well for a PA game with just a slightly different description and flavor on their text. (Different SFX for all practical purposes) As for Nano, it is not important to include it, I just offered it up as an option for allowing some of the more fantastic elements to creep in without losing the techno feel. Psionics are alo harder to explain away and I personally was not planning on using them or if I did on a VERY limited basis. But Nano is something that is near future tech (or maybe already here? I have not heard that it was but I am not an authority) that could be used to explain alot of things. Much like Radiation was used for so long to explain away all manner of super powers/mutations/illnesses/giant sized lizards rampaging through Tokyo. One word of warning, becareful about what you make available and/or rare. I know the minute I made beef cattle rare but available, they would use their advanced knowledge to begin a ranch.

Re: High Fantasy HERO Site Update Incredible is a good starting point for describing this website. I have found it useful beyond compare in designing my own new world as a brand spanking new GM. Killer Shrike is my Hero hero!

Re: Firefly Ok, I watched the entire series almost a year ago when I was home sick for a few days. I took me weeks to live life normally again and not froth at the mouth everytime someone even mentioned the series with my anger over its cancellation. But eventually I evened out and did not go berzerk at every mention of it. (Knowing there was a movie coming out didn't hurt either) Now you guys have me drooling for the movie and again and have my vain desperate hopes of a series revival in an uproar even though I heard one of the conditions of making the ovie was that there were no considerations for a series revival. (still if the movie does well, I bet if enough dollar signs flashed on front of TV exec's faces, even those morons would figure it out) I will go one step better and say for me, this series was the best television I have never watched. (Only saw it on DVD). And when I run a SF game you can be sure it will be in this universe. And if there is a bright side to the show's premature end, it would be that so much of the 'verse is wide open for the GM's interpretation and completion.

Re: Friendly faces in the Post-Apocalypse Well I make no claims of ANY authority on the knowledge of Hydroponics. However I DID do a highschool project on it back in the 70's (oh shut up, yall will get old one day too if you're lucky) and from what I remember it would take a pretty huge project to feed even 20 folks year round. That is not even counting what it would have to grow for animal feed. Of course alot may have happened between the days I collected my data and the more modern times on which you are basing the Vault's initial tech. And they may have developed ways of enhancing the output somewhat we have yet to discover. So you can go with whatever you feel like. Animals though, now that would be hard to realistically justify. I like the idea you started on with the bugs. It is a good bet that Vault dwellers may have bread a speciallized form of Pork or some other animal that could be rasied cheaply, fed on scraps and a minimal of edible organics, and that would make a decent potted meat when supplemented heavily with other sources like Soybeans. Chickens are another possible source but again you have the whole feeding thing. As to healthcare, I agree that a medeval type society would be the most appropriate for most towns. I like the feel of the moremystic based voodoo for the tribes you describe. Witchdoctors and such. I was planning on my world being a much more technoligically advanced society before the "Event" so I was thinking of having the existance of Nano take its place. I can see a town springing up around what was once a research facility for Nano and the local well/fountain is flooded with self replicating health bots that keep the locals free of disease and illness and slows the aging process considerably. And this leads into my answer to your last question. I am partial to the d20 version of the Gamma World remake. They took history well beyond what we know today. That way even the players do not really know what to expect of the "Ancient Artifacts" or what they can do. When they were put under most of the ancient tech was not even invented yet. So you have Nano (Magic), Psionics, Cyborgs, Androids, the whole range of oddities. Basically, it differs little from a fantasy setting. But you have the occasional item or reference that gives it just a little different flavor. One other idea we have been toying with in a PA game one of my players has been running is along the lines of the Morrow Project, where the players are all put into deepfreeze at some point before the "Event" and come out of it some decades/centuries later. The world has evolved into this wild wasteland and it is their duties to go out and search out other bases that may or may not have survived and try to rebuild humanity. It has worked well so far and all of us are having a ball with it. Everytime we come across something in the local town (Seeley Lake, Montana of all places!) that we can use for something, it is like finding a treasure. Finding old rusted trucks and cars we could scavage the leaf springs from and make crossbows was a major find! The GM has been able to recycle fanasty monsters and can almost explain anything away. We have fought Giant beetles the size of a truck, A breed of dark, ugly mutated humanoids with tusks (can you say Orcs?), Even a giant winged lizard that was a vicious battle to take down even with our advanced weaponry (we have a 50 cal. on a hummer but are running out of ammo for it). All in all it is a blast!

Re: Friendly faces in the Post-Apocalypse

Re: A funny thing happened on the way to the Dungeon... Ohh the agony It is that 24 hour brain tumor! Gets me everytime! And the worst one was about Sir Ameik! OUCH There goes the pain again....

Re: The Ultimate Steve Long Well having met A Steve Long (Who knows how many of them there are out there?) I can say at least one exists. I even have an autographed FH book to prove it. However with as prolific as he has been, it would come as no surpise that he actually has the power of duplication or else he has been cloned.

Re: Friendly faces in the Post-Apocalypse If I were playing the chosen one, I would be very careful about how seriously ole Big Mac takes this "brotherhood" thing. In his tribe, you may not be aware of everything "brotherhood" involves. Seriously though, it sounds great. The one thing that keeps me hung up on my PA world is what is going on in the rest of the world? If there is anyplace that can utilize, repair, or heaven forbid, create, advanced tech, why have they not spread to this area yet? My own flavor is to say there are no such societies though there may be a small enclave of scientists somewhere that survived the "event" and are looking for tech that will allow them to take humanity out of the mire it is in. What drives the world now though? Is it fuel like in the Mad Max universe? Food, like the old Car Wars universe? Water, as someone here suggested? Or simply tech and anything that makes survival better, similar to the old west? I kind of like the old Carwars type scenario where you have the large cities (New Philadelphia, New Denver, etc.) where some tech is available and you have civilization that is akin to the late 1600's. then everything between those oasis of near civilizations is lawless, anything goes areas.

Re: Chickens? Lets not forget the Chicken's most fearful attack, Crapping at will and turning the entire surface into a slippery nasty mess. And what about Egg slinging? The kind of non-conventional attack that would be-fuddle the minds of almost any adventurer. "How do you fight something that keeps pelting you with EGGS?" And why does it have to be giant to be a threat? Think Monte Python's Vorpal Bunny.I can hear it now... "Oh sure, just go in and lop it's 'ead off. I'm tellin ya, its got a mean streak a mile wide! And its BEAK! "

Re: Magic system question That makes sense. Of course I am not one of the gaming guru's who might have something I had not thought ot. But it sounds logival to me.

Re: A funny thing happened on the way to the Dungeon...

Re: Magic system question I don't have my book here to look it up and I am fairly new to the system yet, but I always thought Independent was for something with a focus that could be taken away? That was the reason for the huge limiter. So if they are done this way, it would seem that they definatly could be stolen. Just my thoughts. I am in the same throws as you on my system. If you have not already done so, check out Killer Shrike's site. It is choc full of great resources and considerations I never even thought of before reading it.

Re: Magic system search Actually, my Russian wife tells me it means "Silly" more than stupid. She said Stupid in the mean way would be more like the word "Durock" But yes, I knew Glupii had a Russian meaning. It was why I came up with it. I had a character concept (originally for Evercrack) for a Goon natured but extreamly simple Troll and she helped me with the name. It stuck. It is even on my License plate. LOL As for the differences I am trying to achive between wizards and sorcerers is that Wizards can know any number of spells but are limited in their power and the number of spells they can have access to at any given time. While a Sorcerer has fewer spells but those spells can be more powerful and can cast them pretty much at will. I am trying to simulate the spellcaster that discovers his magical ability by trial and error, force of will, and with no specific understanding of how it actually works. Since the sorcerer does not understand the mechanics of the spell, he can not change any integral parts of it. However he CAN learn how to focus harder, push himself, control more power channeling it in the same way. Thus he can increase the POWER of the spell (Extra dice, maybe making it AP, longer range if it already had range, etc.) but not the effect (changing the AoE, NND, etc). Does that make sense or am I rambling?

Re: Converted Spells: Magic Books of Faerûn Well said! Yes, I like the flavor of the D&D style games. It was just about all I played for decades. the same exists for most of my players. We like the game. We LOVE the game. I like the game mechanics of Hero better.

Re: Converted Spells: Magic Books of Faerûn Yes! This is fantastic!!! Thank you!!!!

Re: Magic system search As it stands right now, Any spell they know can be altered only if it increases the power. (ie more dice of effect, applying AP, or something of the sort). If they alter it in any other way (Add AoE, etc) they have to purchase the spell all over. Also worth note, Socrerer spells are all RP/5 for actual cost.

Re: Spells: A Harper's Companion, Volume III Excellent! I look forward to it! Thanks again!

Re: Magic system search Mud, I agree with you. And the wizard system I have in place does that. They have VPP's for each college of magic they know and they can switch the spells in each of them with other spells from that college in their spellbook. There is no limit to the number of spells they can know, just to how many they have available at any given time. The size of their VPP's is up to them. They can specialize in a specific college and build up that VPP to accomodate more powerful spells from that college. Or they can spread out and get the less powerful spells from many different colleges. Of course they still have to aquire the spells for their spellbook in some fashion (bought, found, treasure, traded, researched, etc.). Sorceres on the other hand have a limited number of spells they can know but those spells can be much more powerful. Does this fit with the advice you were giving me? I want to make sure to give hard thought to everyone's wisdom who is gracious enough to share it with me here. So if I misunderstood what you were saying, please clarify. Thanks again!