New world campaign

[clockworkjoe]

According to the usual interpretation, the term pontifex literally means "bridge-builder" (pons + facere)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus

[beowuuf]

Yeah, I saw the name Gordon Pontifex as a Half Life chapter title and looked in to it. So you knew that when naming the character? Interesting...

[Setherick]

Yeah, I saw the name Gordon Pontifex as a Half Life chapter title and looked in to it. So you knew that when naming the character? Interesting...

You'd be amazed at how little much research goes into RPPR games.

[clockworkjoe]

hell, I spent like 2 hours looking for a tent revival photo from the 1930s for the Wages of Sin AP post. Of course NO ONE COMMENTS ON IT >:O

[Setherick]

hell, I spent like 2 hours looking for a tent revival photo from the 1930s for the Wages of Sin AP post. Of course NO ONE COMMENTS ON IT >:O

NERD!

[clockworkjoe]

 

[Guy]

the epic tier adventures feel strange compared to the others. Perhaps it's because I know the end is coming soon? It's still good, but it feels sad in a way. Perhaps this is why Cody called it bittersweet. Though he finally got to build his steam powered robot.

Also if the drow thief, axegore and various other minor villains don't show up forming a league of evil i'm gonna be pretty upset.

Actually all the stuff with Thunderbird and the frost giant colony and angel slaying was super fresh, maybe what I meant is just the last few episodes

[beej]

I'm still weeping bitter tears over Balgran.  Will the strategic battle mechanic be in the forth coming PDF?  And when will the PDF come out?  Is it true the last PDF kickstarter was a scam feed Caleb's addiction to Kentucky Fried long-pig?

[Kroack]

so... the last New World session coming out soon.

it's been a long journey.

[Setherick]

Since people have been discussing Lemuria, which I know Ross is finishing editing, I'll give people a teaser of a supplement idea that Ross and I discussed and outlined but will probably not finish and release. The supplement was going to cover Revolutions in the NW. What I'm posting here is just bulk text in draft form.

Before attaching the bulk text, here's the link to the thread that has Petro Sarkis' biography and Bjorn Hallerstein's biography. Both of the characters would have appeared as NPCs in the supplement.

Chapter One: Declaring Independence

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence

One of the first things your players will probably want to do is declare independence from the mother country. As outlined in this beginning chapter, declaring independence is not as easy as writing up a list of wrongs inflicted upon the colonists in the game by the rulers of the mother country. In fact, declaring independence will require your players to perform a number of sophisticated political actions and negotiations.

For this reason, we start with this chapter in which we discuss the actions necessary for declaring independence. These actions include garnering support for the cause, declarations of independence as instruments of international law, gaining recognition as an independent nation-state, and, lastly, outlining wrongs inflicted upon the colonists. Note and remember that outlining wrongs appears last in this list and will appear last in the chapter. For a more complete game experience, you should feel free to direct your pesky players away from wanting to immediately come up with their list of wrongs.

Garnering Support

The first action your players will have to perform is garnering support for a war for independence. This is a much trickier proposal than may first appear. You should keep in mind that a number of colonists have much more to lose – politically, monetarily, and socially – from a war with any country let alone a war of with the mother country then have to gain from such a war. As we will discuss in chapter two, the factionalism that arises from declaring independence is not limited to simply pro-war and anti-war factions. It may be useful to keep this in mind as your players attempt to garner support for a war for independence.

Probably the easiest way your players can garner support for the war for independence is through pamphleteering. Political pamphlets allow players to reach a wide audience. The drawback to pamphleteering is that it is very visible to the colonial government. Because it is so visible, the colonial government may attempt to crack down on pamphleteers. Two possible scenarios of such a crackdown are outlined below.

Encounter One (Political): The colonial government raises the price of and importation duties on paper. The new price and duties make it difficult for your players to obtain the amount of paper they need to mass produce pamphlets. What do your players do to obtain new supplies?

Encounter Two (Action): Troops of the colonial government begin raiding print shops where your players’ pamphlets are being printed. The troops destroy what pamphlets they find and the printing presses used to print those pamphlets. The players learn that troops are about to raid another print shop. What do your players do?


Another direct way for your players to garner support for a war for independence would be to hire a number of bards to spread the players’ message throughout taverns in the colony. If one of the players happens to be playing a bard, this would also provide an excellent opportunity for role playing. Hiring bards or performing as a bard makes the players’ intentions visible to the colonial government, but is not as highly visible as pamphleteering.

A more indirect way for your players to garner support for the war of independence is to utilize preachers from the various religions found in the colony. Whereas pamphlets will allow players to attempt to persuade literate colonists to support a war for independence, preachers can spread the same message to the illiterate mass. Also, preachers give some moral justification for a war for independence.

These are just a few examples of how your players could go about garnering support for a war for independence. You should encourage your players to come up with their own ways.

Declaring Independence and Gaining Recognition

The line quoted from the Declaration of Independence above is probably the best known to your players. The line begins the paragraph that outlines the wrongs inflicted upon American colonists by the King and English government. What is important to note about the line is that it does not appear in the beginning of the Declaration. In fact, the line begins the second paragraph. The first paragraph of the Declaration actually declares independence from England by claiming the American colonies were independent states capable of self-government.

When your players begin discussing how to go about declaring independence, you should remind them that such a declaration must establish the colony as an independent nation-state. In this way, a declaration of independence functions as an instrument of international law. Without attempting to establish the colony as an independent nation-state and without gaining such recognition from another foreign power, the would be revolutionaries are simply rebels fighting a civil war. Rebels do not get much sympathy from foreign powers because of the tendency of rebels to spread rebellion into lands controlled by other foreign powers. As DM, you should make your players aware of such consequences either before or after they attempt to declare their independence and fight a war for independence.

Declaring independence from the mother country, therefore, requires a two step process after the players have garnered enough support for such a cause in the first place. First, the players must actually draft a declaration of independence. (This declaration can either be role-played with the players drafting and revising, making negotiations with different factions, etc. Or it can just be described as existing with certain negotiations mapped out.) Second, the players must negotiate with foreign powers to gain recognition of the colonies as an independent nation-state.

Negotiating with foreign powers provides an opportunity for role-playing in a number of ways. Two ways are outlined below.

Encounter One (Political): The players negotiate with foreign power A for recognition because A can provide additional ground troops that the colonists desperately need. In the act of negotiating with A, however, the colonists annoy foreign power B, which controls a valuable shipping lane around the colony. As a result, B refuses to recognizes the colonists as an independent nation-state, which causes the colonists to lose favor in the eyes of other foreign powers. How do your players rectify the situation?

Encounter Two (Political): Foreign power A will only recognize the colonists as an independent nation-state, if the colonists consent to turn over lands with large holdings in gold and other valuable minerals after the war for independence has been completed. Even though the support foreign power A could provide the colonists would help greatly to bring the war to an expedient end, do you players agree to the bargain?

Encounter Three (Action): Foreign powers A and B agree to recognize the colonists as an independent nation-state if the colonial army can win a decisive battle against loyalist troops and take a strategic port city. The loyalist army is deeply encamped in the city. Can your players defeat the army and take the city?

Outlining Wrongs

Finally, we come to letting your players outline wrongs inflicted upon the colonists by the mother country. Let your players go crazy. Let them come up with every wrong they can think of and be creative as possible. Furthermore, as they outline the wrongs inflicted, make your players come up with an outline of the natural rights that have been violated. If a wrong has been inflicted, then some natural right must have been violated. One catch, though, make your players write down every wrong and why that wrong violates a natural right. Keep this list of wrongs and violations of natural rights in mind as the game progresses because of the unintended consequences that become associated with such designations of natural rights.

A historical example of this from American history can be found in the expressed civil liberties found in the Declaration of Independence. In the first third of the nineteenth century, at the same time the function of the Declaration of Independence as a document of international law was forgotten, these expressed civil liberties became the basis of abolitionist claims that slavery made a mockery of the American Revolution. Though this is a positive consequence of the Declaration, it was unforeseen by Thomas Jefferson and the other framers of the Declaration. It should also serve as an example for how you should treat your players’ outlines of wrongs inflicted and corresponding natural rights.

Once your players have created their outline of wrongs, you should consider how the different colonial factions (see Chapter Two) interpret this outline. How do different factions interpret the outline of wrongs differently than each other and differently than the players? Do your players uphold or violate their own outline of natural rights? And, if they ever violate them, how do different factions react? Let the outline of wrongs and natural rights become something that provides a continual political influence on the game. Even place them in situations where they have to balance their actions against their own outline of natural rights.

More bulk text.

Procuring Allies

Mercenaries

Once your players have written their declaration of independence and the colony has gained recognition from foreign powers as an independent nation-state, it’s time for your players begin strategizing how to fight a war for independence. One of the first steps your players may want to consider is procuring allies to help them fight the loyalist army. As some of the possible encounters above suggest, gaining recognition as an independent nation-state and procuring allies could go hand-in-hand. Here we will discuss some of the additional ways to procure allies and the problems associated with them.

SIDEBAR: “The mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not; if they are, you cannot trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness, either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others contrary to your intentions; but if the captain is not skillful, you are ruined in the usual way.” – Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince

An easy way for your players to procure allies is to hire mercenaries, although the quote from Machiavelli exemplifies two possible problems that can arise with them. You should also consider whether or not the mother country will employ mercenaries to bolster the numbers of troops in the loyalist army. If your players hire famous mercenaries, or at least well-trained mercenaries with famous leaders, there is always the chance that the mercenaries will follow their own agendas and not advance the war for independence. If your players hire inexperienced mercenaries and the mercenaries are killed immediately, then your players have wasted the gold and supplies necessary to hire and equip the mercenaries.

Another problem Machiavelli outlines in The Prince not quoted here is that because mercenaries work for money and not national honor, if someone were to pay them more money, the mercenaries would be mostly likely to change sides because they have no other loyalties to bind them. Depending on whether your players or the mother country have hired mercenaries, this can be advantageous or disadvantageous for your players. The mother country could attempt to hire your players’ mercenaries out from under them or vice versa. This can also create a circular effect where your players and the mother country jostle for control of mercenary forces in the colony. Two example encounters follow:

Encounter One (Political/Action): The players have employed mercenaries to help them fight, but the mother country has paid the mercenaries to betray the colonial army. The players learn of this before the mercenaries can carry out their betrayal, what do your players do?

Encounter Two (Political): The mother country has hired a number of mercenaries to help bolster the number of troops in the loyalist army. The players learn that these mercenaries could be persuaded either not to fight or to switch sides. The catch is the players do not have enough physical gold to be able to buy off the entire mercenary army. What do your players do?

[Salkovich]

Not gonna lie. Teared up at the end, with the toast.


Damn fine job, gentlemen.

[iceemaker]

Ditto, Salkovich. I know I gave my maudlin "sad-to-see-ya-go" speech earlier in the thread, but it bears repeating that I thoroughly enjoyed this campaign. Great job, RPPR crew.

[clockworkjoe]

I must admit I too felt a bit sad when I wrote up the last episode summary. I was listening to this at the time:

<a href="" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win"></a>

[clockworkjoe]

The New World Campaign is 3.8 gigabytes

The New World Campaign is 144 hours 4 minutes and 23 seconds long

THE MORE YOU KNOW

[beowuuf]

Is the New World campaign the new Chuck Norris? Because it was so badass it went forward in time and came back out the other side to become its own father.