Difference between pages "Armies and Warfare (Current Era)" and "Scene Running Guide"

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(Created page with "=Prologue= In the current era standing armies are rare. The fundamental reason for this is full standing armies are expensive and generate little productive economic value. I...")
 
(Created page with "=Introduction= The phrase, "Running a scene," on a game like Kingdoms of Kahara refers to when one player or member of staff facilitates a scene. Usually by playing out NPCs,...")
 
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=Prologue=
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=Introduction=
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In the current era standing armies are rare.
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The phrase, "Running a scene," on a game like Kingdoms of Kahara refers to when one player or member of staff facilitates a scene. Usually by playing out NPCs, the atmosphere, and anything else the other players may need. In this sense they're temporarily taking on the role of a gamemaster.
  
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The fundamental reason for this is full standing armies are expensive and generate little productive economic value. It takes an abundance of wealth and materiel to maintain one. While Valland and Prevelka maintain some elements of a standing army under direct command of their rulers, they and the lesser powers of Kahara simply lack what is required to have a full fledged standing army.
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This page is intended to help those who are interested in running scenes in how to get started, what pitfalls to avoid, and the rewards for running scenes for other players.
  
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This is a major reason mercenaries are able to be profitable and keep finding work. It allows the various kingdoms and nations flexibility so they are only paying for military might when and where it's needed.
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=The Rewards=
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Let's start with the good part. Why run a scene? Some people just love running scenes for people and taking on a gamemaster role, some only like to do it occasionally. For these people, running a scene is its own reward.
  
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=Military Organization=
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For those who want to know what Kingdoms of Kahara offers as an obvious benefit to running scenes, for every log of a scene a player runs they will receive 2 BP for one of their characters. This is in addition to the BP from just being in a scene.
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With that established, an examination of what kinds of units are used.
 
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==Adventuring Companies==
 
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While adventuring companies aren't usually involved in military activities in the conventional sense, small groups of them may find themselves contracted for special missions that benefit from highly trained people few in number. These contracts usually pay quite well for those involved, though they are the least common and tend to require a degree of access to those with power normal adventurers find hard to get.
 
  
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Another matter of concern is most of these contracts are inherently political, which means many adventurers shy away from them unless they are seeking to get in or remain in the good graces of a potential patron.
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=Getting Started=
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==Concept==
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The first thing a would be scenerunner needs is a concept. What are the PCs trying to get done? What do you want the PCs to try and do?
  
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Adventuring companies often strain themselves to field more than five people at once, and it is almost unheard of for one to field more than twenty at a time on one contract.
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This can be anything from navigating a caravan from Point A to Point B to a merchant negotiating a big deal to going on an adventure to trying to get someone at the local tavern who has had a bit too much to drink to go home.
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==Levies==
 
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The most numerous form of military unit for Valland and Prevalka. These units are made up of lower class members of their respective societies, given primitive weapons, and sent to wherever a noble sees fit.
 
  
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These units are cheap to field, but fight poorly and are prone to desertion, particularly if they are kept on a campaign for too long. The wise noble seeks to use these units somewhat sparingly as overuse may turn what would have been a simple peasant revolt into an armed peasant revolt.
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==Complications==
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Next up for planning a scenerunner needs to come up with a couple possible complications which could make accomplishing the goal more difficult. These are the twists and turns. A one night scene might have one, where a longer plot which spans many scenes will have many more.
  
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==Mercenary Companies==
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==NPCs==
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Mercenary companies are commonly used when someone with power needs soldiers with a higher degree of professionalism than levies but more numerous than what adventuring companies can provide. While prolonged use is expensive, they can be much cheaper than arming levies which revolt and need to be suppressed.
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Finally, a scenerunner may need to come up with some ideas for some NPCs the PCs might interact with. These come in three general flavors.
  
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Most mercenary companies are, as the name suggests, company sized, or smaller. This means about 100 soldiers as a rule. Where adventuring companies may be able to handle matters with surgical precision, mercenary companies are better equipped to handle duties more associated with soldiering.
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===Bystanders===
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==Standing Armies==
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Bystanders are NPCs which may have seen something the PCs care about or the PCs might talk to. Many of these have scant backstories and might not be given names. They require minimal prep time generally.
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Standing armies are when a state pays for the continued maintenance of an entire group of people as well as their infrastructure to serve as soldiers. Overall standing armies lead to the highest discipline, supply, and morale over other options, but they are very expensive to raise and maintain, which is why only Moriquende in the current era uses them in large numbers.
 
  
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Valland and Prevelka do have standing units, but these are often referred to as "royal" or "elite" units rather than outright calling them standing armies.
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===Experts===
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Experts are characters the PCs may go to when their own characters don't know something and may need it spelled out for them. This could be an experienced magic user, a learned scholar, or a skilled healer.
  
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=Warfare=
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They generally don't go out on adventures themselves, and are usually not directly involved with the concept of the scene.
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One thing to keep in mind is wars rarely last that long. The nature of the weather leading to a campaign season between when crops are planted and harvested means it is extremely rare for even an outright war to last an excessively long time.
 
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==Guards==
 
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Many units garrison their forces at strategic points along a border. They often choose strategic spots to control which would make it difficult for an army to pass without being contested, but due to limitations in money and personnel these are often pourous, allowing smaller amounts of people to pass through less watched areas without being noticed.
 
  
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Moriquende generally uses a standing army here. Valland uses its standing units mostly with the border with Moriquende, and most others use small units most of the time. However, a sure sign of tension is when a kingdom or nation augments its main forces with mercenary units.
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===Commanders===
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==Skirmishes==
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Commanders refers to a range of NPCs which are giving the PCs orders to do something. They can be anything from nobles to a random person the PCs are performing a task for. In some cases the scenerunner's PC may be the "NPC Commander" for the PCs.
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Skirmishes and low intensity conflicts do not happen all the time, but are not uncommon. Most of these involve a mercenary company on at least one side and most of them end once communications catch up and clear up the misunderstanding which led to the skirmish.
 
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==Sieges==
 
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Between protective magic powerful enough to protect castles and cities as well as the lack of weaponry which can readily break it, capturing a city is exceptionally difficult. Most of the time this requires a siege, which is not only time consuming, but often leads to many deaths on both sides due to hunger and disease. This is one factor which limits the ability of anyone to be involved in a protracted war. Levies often fill out unit numbers in sieges, but their low discipline rarely makes them good for anything such as seizing a city.
 
  
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It is customary for a place under siege to be given multiple chances to surrender before it is stormed. Surrenders which take place before an outright assault when those inside deem the defense no longer viable are considered honorable. With a surrender, the city will change hands.
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These characters don't usually get involved in the scene after giving the PCs their task, as they're asking the PCs to do something for them.
  
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Other penalties are determined when a surrender takes place and the status of both the siege and the city's defenders.
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=Pitfalls=
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While it's difficult to provide a comprehensive guide on how to run scenes, and this page tries, we also need to talk about some things not to do, as these will often trip a scenerunner up.
  
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For a short lived siege, the city may simply change hands. Depending on the local political situation it isn't wholly unheard of for the old leaders to be maintained, though this only happens when those in charge of the city believe it will change hands at the end of the conflict.
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==Too Long==
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MUSHes are on the slow end for real time roleplaying. This means too many complications or something too difficult may make the scene go too long. Keep things simple if you aren't sure about how to time things until you get your footing. A good time target is about four hours for a single night scene.
  
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For longer sieges, the leadership is often replaced. The former rulers' fate varies from house arrest to execution, often correlating with the effort needed to take a city. It is not uncommon for a "fire tax" to be imposed on those who live in the city to give them a chance to avoid the city being looted, particularly in long sieges. Fire tax terms are often negotiated before the end of a siege.
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==Massive Property Damage==
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Running a scene gives players a lot of power, and it can be abused. Don't plan scenes which will cause large amounts of property damage in well visited areas. If a player should take actions which would cause such damage, talk to staff so we can sort it out afterwards.
  
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Should an assault on a city be required, there are few rules the attackers are expected to abide by in regards to soldier conduct during war. Between the protocols for surrender being robust combined with the possible consequences of an assault, the vast majority of sieges take quite a bit of time but ultimately end in a surrender and not an assault should the siege be maintained and unbroken.
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==Self Glorification==
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With the power of running a scene, a player could use it to glorify their own PCs. This is not the intent of why we give players the ability to run scenes. If you're new, we recommend keeping your PCs out of a scene you run. If they are in a scene, think of them more like an NPC than a PC for the duration of that scene.
  
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==Battles==
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==A Do Not List==
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Most battles do not involve great numbers of people, but these often take place at crucial chokepoints which do not devolve into sieges. Even though larger numbers than skirmishes are involved, casualties are much lighter than many may expect. The lack of weaponry which can easily outright kill combined with Restoration spells such as Stabilize, Reattach, and Regrowth substantially reduce the number of permanent casualties from even larger scale conflicts.
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Here's a non-exhaustive list of things to avoid in your scenes to give you an idea of what you should at least consult staff about before using.
  
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[[Category: Setting]]
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#Massive property damage plots.
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#Using nobility or characters with a Wealth higher than 10.
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#Plots which exist to glorify your PCs.
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#Plots which change the power structure in a region.
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#Plots which are designed to kill PCs.
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#Plots where PCs get access to powerful magic items.
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#Plots which violate Kingdoms of Kahara's general Code of Conduct.

Latest revision as of 00:49, 24 September 2020

Introduction

The phrase, "Running a scene," on a game like Kingdoms of Kahara refers to when one player or member of staff facilitates a scene. Usually by playing out NPCs, the atmosphere, and anything else the other players may need. In this sense they're temporarily taking on the role of a gamemaster.

This page is intended to help those who are interested in running scenes in how to get started, what pitfalls to avoid, and the rewards for running scenes for other players.

The Rewards

Let's start with the good part. Why run a scene? Some people just love running scenes for people and taking on a gamemaster role, some only like to do it occasionally. For these people, running a scene is its own reward.

For those who want to know what Kingdoms of Kahara offers as an obvious benefit to running scenes, for every log of a scene a player runs they will receive 2 BP for one of their characters. This is in addition to the BP from just being in a scene.

Getting Started

Concept

The first thing a would be scenerunner needs is a concept. What are the PCs trying to get done? What do you want the PCs to try and do?

This can be anything from navigating a caravan from Point A to Point B to a merchant negotiating a big deal to going on an adventure to trying to get someone at the local tavern who has had a bit too much to drink to go home.

Complications

Next up for planning a scenerunner needs to come up with a couple possible complications which could make accomplishing the goal more difficult. These are the twists and turns. A one night scene might have one, where a longer plot which spans many scenes will have many more.

NPCs

Finally, a scenerunner may need to come up with some ideas for some NPCs the PCs might interact with. These come in three general flavors.

Bystanders

Bystanders are NPCs which may have seen something the PCs care about or the PCs might talk to. Many of these have scant backstories and might not be given names. They require minimal prep time generally.

Experts

Experts are characters the PCs may go to when their own characters don't know something and may need it spelled out for them. This could be an experienced magic user, a learned scholar, or a skilled healer.

They generally don't go out on adventures themselves, and are usually not directly involved with the concept of the scene.

Commanders

Commanders refers to a range of NPCs which are giving the PCs orders to do something. They can be anything from nobles to a random person the PCs are performing a task for. In some cases the scenerunner's PC may be the "NPC Commander" for the PCs.

These characters don't usually get involved in the scene after giving the PCs their task, as they're asking the PCs to do something for them.

Pitfalls

While it's difficult to provide a comprehensive guide on how to run scenes, and this page tries, we also need to talk about some things not to do, as these will often trip a scenerunner up.

Too Long

MUSHes are on the slow end for real time roleplaying. This means too many complications or something too difficult may make the scene go too long. Keep things simple if you aren't sure about how to time things until you get your footing. A good time target is about four hours for a single night scene.

Massive Property Damage

Running a scene gives players a lot of power, and it can be abused. Don't plan scenes which will cause large amounts of property damage in well visited areas. If a player should take actions which would cause such damage, talk to staff so we can sort it out afterwards.

Self Glorification

With the power of running a scene, a player could use it to glorify their own PCs. This is not the intent of why we give players the ability to run scenes. If you're new, we recommend keeping your PCs out of a scene you run. If they are in a scene, think of them more like an NPC than a PC for the duration of that scene.

A Do Not List

Here's a non-exhaustive list of things to avoid in your scenes to give you an idea of what you should at least consult staff about before using.

  1. Massive property damage plots.
  2. Using nobility or characters with a Wealth higher than 10.
  3. Plots which exist to glorify your PCs.
  4. Plots which change the power structure in a region.
  5. Plots which are designed to kill PCs.
  6. Plots where PCs get access to powerful magic items.
  7. Plots which violate Kingdoms of Kahara's general Code of Conduct.
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