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Thoughts & Suggestions Autumn 2018


Linda
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Hi everyone,

I think you have all noticed that we have hit a slow period following the summer and the Dorne plot. We have also ended up being more absent than we expected thanks a couple of short-notice trips.

In any case, now we need to look at what we want to do during the rest of the autumn on the game, and perhaps even plan as far ahead as next year since time seems to fly. We are in the last year of Baelor's reign, so we have a few little canon events to work in, but much of that is background material rather than something that offers a lot for PCs to do. So that is where we need your suggestions!

Please give some thought to what you would like to see on the game. It could be specific plot ideas or more general thoughts about types of roleplay you would like us to facilitate.  A constant issue for any game is new player recruiting & retention, so if you have any thoughts on that, do add those as well. You can also submit your thoughts and suggestions via +jobs or via email to [email protected] but we thought it might be handy with a topic here on the forums for discussing ideas as well.

 

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In King's Landing proper

On the Baelor events that haven't happened yet (that could be fodder for roleplay), there's Baelor donating a loaf of bread to every man and woman for a year: perhaps that's just about to be announced? It could be a fun hook for some to head down to Flea Bottom to show piety genuine or feigned, and perhaps start some fashionable charity: there could be visits to orphanages, or funding erudite institutions like grammar schools if they exist in the setting (as a PC who's just about to marry into the Hightowers that would be particularly appealing).

There's also the book burnings which I did have a plot for but never really took off. A lot of PCs have an erudite side to them so that could lead to drama in some capacity.

Miscellaneous things could be the outrage of having old Lord Belgrave wash the feet of a leper and earning the contempt of a lot of the PCs, and the rumours of Baelor praying over a dragon egg for half a year. 

In the crownlands

One idea I had in mind was gathering more of the raw material for Baelor's sept, especially timber, from the Kingswood. The loggers would naturally fall under attack from bandits and the wild at some point, though maybe they manage to actually bring a livelihood to the forest for a bit, with its people having some source of employment other than banditry to turn to: everyone loves drama but the smallfolk did love Baelor, so there could be a bit of a nice plot of building up the region in some capacity (so it can come under attack at a later date)!

The second idea isn't based out of anything much other than the issue of witches in the Kingswood and the growing hostility to those of other religions at the end of Baelor's reign.

It's a little crackpot to an extent, but would rely on Crackclaw Point starting to believe some of their more eldritch faiths such as the "squishers." I believe it's implied that the regions like the Point and the Sisters remember the pre-First Men religion more than others, and so a resurgence of some crazed heathens that need to be put down would be nice -- but this of course is a little more outlandish than others. 

Of course there are also the other resident eldritch heathens, the Ironborn. Maybe their embassy is "politely" asked to leave in light of the Dornish embassy going home and Baelor's increasing fervor, and they start brewing trouble across the realm. 

I have some ideas for Dorne too, but I'll get the ideas together and submit them for public discussion some other time :) And hopefully more KL ideas will come to me too!

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Another idea for a rather big martial plot could be having a private war take place. The most obvious candidate is Meadows, as Lord Robett still does not have an heir named in the family tree, and there's Elyse and Rymella as PCs from that house. 

It could be a pretty fun event, similar to the Blackwood/Bracken private war in Riverrun that went down some years ago. The situation is quite complicated with several possible candidates who might be backed depending on who the crown/Highgarden supports, what was in Robett's will, familial connections, and succession law. Of course there'd be an onus on those from that house, so it's only one suggestion :D I hear there are rumours that the Masseys could have something similar on their hands one day, if the population dares go back to Stonedance...

 

As for recruiting, perhaps it would be possible for players to submit chargens for NPCs? Having a quick DB search, there are only 12 available pre-made men in KL between the most popular ages of 15-25; 5 for women, and most are leaning towards the older end. It could also help if a house has a certain idea in mind for one of their members; instead of impinging on a potential CGer, they could go ahead and submit a sheet for the character in question, and would perhaps increase the chances of that character getting recruited to the house.

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A few ideas for Autumn -- plots and events.

King's Landing

Sticky Fingers Pt. 3 - Final portion to a set of plots in King's Landing that began early 2017 and ran until as recently as just before the trip to Dorne. The theme is honey and the plan is to party - should any PC's from the Reach or Riverlands wish to get involved, there may be specific roles they can fill - but all KL players are welcome to join.

Seven Taxes - A series of different tax collections that occur at the whim of Baelor, or by a specific necessity for coin. All proceeds intended for the great sept -- perhaps not all make it?

Jousting Circuit - Scheduled events where characters will be expected to travel short distances to compete/spectate. In effort to appease Baelor, the champion of each event shall receive no purse -- and/or all ransoms to split as donations to the Great Sept -- however, the ruler of whichever demense the tourney is being held /may/ offer gifts to the finalists. At circuits end, a Grand Champion can be determined by victories along the way

Bay of Crabs - In an effort to spread the light of the Seven throughout Westeros - a mission of pious individuals, keen on pleasing Baelor, will set off north, to relatively safe lands torn between two faiths - however, coming or going, they're waylaid by troubles in the waters around Crackclaw Point.

Dorne

Greenbloods - An ambitious set of plots involving recent debt and new trade, a pole boat race, smuggling, foriegn influences, and a potential kidnapping - all focused on and around the Greenblood.

Except for Sticky Fingers - none of these plots are currently active. However, I would be more than happy to discuss any point further, should anyone wish to get involved or perhaps tie one of their own ideas into one of these. Feel free to page DD in game or +mail if I'm unavailable.  

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More ideas for Autumn -- recruiting and retention.

Recruiting

Closed - As much as I would enjoy running a few extra characters through CG, I believe the same goal can be accomplished by reopening some characters who have been closed due to lacking updates. Using established events, from tidings or other updated characters, we can find a few more CG options to choose from. I'm certain some players would volunteer to help with submitting these updates for approval if it meant reopening connections (I say this without know exactly what goes into that process - just a thought)

Wanted - Since we hit a patch of inactivity - I've noticed a smaller wanted list at various times late in the month. That said, this method of recruiting has been working rather well lately - but for myself, I am often torn between voting for characters that my own can RP with and characters that are good for the game (such as the warden and huntsman). Perhaps an extra vote or two might allow for a better variety? (Again, very little understanding of what that entails, or if it's been done before - just a thought)

Retention

Common scenes - With the understanding that most of our characters are at court to network with other nobles, perhaps a prepped weekly/bi-weekly public scene (not quite an official event) can be held to promote current events and conversation? This would work great if experienced players and scene runners worked together to bring in new players, volunteering for shifts or particular slots they are available for.

Coordination - Often times, when a small plot pops up, or certain events move in ways not always prevalent, players come together to discuss situations OOCly -- but sometimes, not everyone is keyed in as well as others. To alleviate this, and help new players get in the know, a scheduled meeting to discuss IC topics OOCly could be arranged by aware and more experienced players to be held on a semi-regular basis.

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I would definitely second an effort to try and re-open some of the closed characters, as well as trying to schedule more regular +events in a little while: I have mostly seen that be used for big events rather than anything else and would certainly do my best to submit more "slice-of-life"/networking events: a dance in the queen's ballroom, an open salon, giving patronage to a famous weaver or musician (about how wonderful our characters are), and maybe some player run tournaments as that's always a pull for activity. Plus some rather run of the mill events like bowls or a darts contest in the Three Hills Inn, even though I know casual stuff can be boring to some. 

Have no objections with Durance's proposals either and they certainly seem rather fun to get involved in. That Greenblood plot sounds very fun too and could work when Rayne and I hammer out something to do with trade with Vaith.

In terms of another suggestion, I suppose this would be a little more ambitious, but I was going through I think an in-game AMA log for TWOIAF, and Bal mentioned a plot about a "reverse Marco Polo" at some point i.e. a YiTish scholar coming to court to chronicle the tales of the barbarians out west. Could be a fun element while kickstarting the social scene at court, so that people could explore their prejudices, interests in lands afar, and trying to put on a good show for this envoy who might tell his people of the barbarous westerners with their zealous king, royal incest and some likely hilarious interpretations of our characters. 

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