Irongron wrote: âMon Jan 29, 2024 11:19 pm
- they were actually designed as areas where owning settlements could fight without the server lag/logistical problems of warfare in the streets. I had hoped DMs and players would come together to make this happen from time to time, but alas there was seemingly no appetite for it.
Castles- and guild houses in general- have a lot of potential. The problem with castles in particular is that they are tied to a settlement, thus keeping the settlement as the ultimate target of any sort of narrative driven conflict. Sure, once in a blue you get a good group that is anointed the lord of castle x, y, or z, but more often than not they don't exist and even if they do they are subject to the whims of settlement elections.
And therein lies the issue with guildhouses in general, because it's not the bells and whistles of the location that makes it interesting, but the players behind it. And with the randomized nature of bids- and the first come first serve nature of what was before- you are essentially putting all your chips in on 8 on a roulette table and hoping it hits. A system where groups earn an open guild house by doing cool stuff in game and making a name for themselves would ultimately be best shot and making sure these places live up to their potential as much as possible, even if there's always going to be duds along the way.
Focusing back in on Castles, I think it ties into what I see as a bigger problem with settlements, the constant upheaval election after election. It's not good for the setting, it's not good for gameplay, and frankly it's not good for the new chancellor. The sheer amount of work that goes into revamping the government is insane and is singlehandedly the reason I would never run for a pc government position again. I like playing the game, not feeling like it's my job.
Now i have mentioned this before, but never directly to you so I'm gonna do it again. The settlements would benefit greatly from "fixtures" in the government that don't eliminate the need for the elected official we have now, but rather enhance the gameplay for them. Using Cordor as an example, here are three ideas:
1) City watch/military: Run by a NPC, but with a position right below him that pcs can earn their way into via promotions. That player would make all the key decisions, unless they did something that goes against the grain of what the faction is supposed to be, prompting the npc to step in.
2) A temple to the faith that most represents the city: This could be whatever god you guys chose, or group of gods that make sense together for more flexibility, with a similar set up to the guards. a npc (or multiple if its multi faithed) with pcs right below them making all the day to day decisions.
3) Daerrowdeep castle: Run by Lord whatshisface, the main rival to the king in the city, that has one or a few lesser nobles on retainer beneath him. The king hates his guts, but given his proximity to the iron mines and one of the islands forest the keep is invaluable to bringing in resources for the city.
Now each of these factions can have "Powers" that tie into their role in the city. If the watch is unhappy with the current chancellors laws for example, crime on the street goes up. If the Church isn't happy, the commoners become disgruntled toward the current chancellor as well. Lord Whatshisface wants nothing more than to depose the king and put his own rear on the throne, but he still has to be kept happy because of the supplies he brings in. Ect ect ect.
Now, these are all just rough ideas tossed together in the time it took me to write this post, and clearly would need a lot more thought and fleshing out. But I hope they were good enough to make it clear how in practice everything would be better if settlements had more of this, and less blank canvas that gets redrawn every time a new person wins an election. And the rub is, the person who would benefit the most in my mind from such a direction is that chancellor who recently won that election, because they now still have a game to play after the election is over as opposed to piles of work organizing a military, a navy, a guard, a trade infrastructure, and a noble to run whatever castle Cordor currently owns until eventually said new chancellor burns out.