Mon 23 Apr 2018, 12:52
Hi Fria Ligan team
I checked the Stronghold rules that are currently available, and I would like to give some feedback maybe it would help.
The system as it is now is solid but I feel they are not well implemented. Since the rules became available I started play testing the system, and the character rules and the combat system is five star, but the stronghold rules ... sadly i feel it rushed and badly implemented.
But lets start from the beginning.
I think the current system is very lightly on the definition of "stronghold". Is it a Castle? Is it a house with some palisade wall? A Manson with building surrounding it?
We do not define the starting building in way at the start. There should be a difference between if you start your "stronghold" in a peon house, or in a castle. Living space, building material, Upkeep cost and needed material, fuel need for heating and cooking. While we can say that these questions could be managed and limited by the GM, there is no any relative mention of it.
What we have is Dice rolls for the Hirelings and Functions daily work. Lets see the Lumberjack produces 2D6 units of WOOD per Quarter Day. These means that in one Upkeep cycle of the Stronghold (that is a week) we would have 20 Dice roles, if we assumes that he only works during daylight, and have a weekend brake. 20 dice rolls for one Lumberjack /Week. And in default that will produce 60 Wood. A Library cost 50 Wood. I think this is more of some book shelf than a library.
The Quarry works the same 2D6/worker/Qday. 20 Dice roles there for each week. (A little note here, I asume that the tool requirements are /worker, it is not clarified. It is sad that tools are to build a "function" but in a quarry I think all workers need a pick axe)
But lets step back for one step. Raw materials: Wood, Stone, Iron. These three is used in the system. But what is 1 Wood? 1 Iron? I do not need exact quantity but some representation at least. An Inn cost 500 WOOD or 500 STONE, but a Library 60 WOOD. Ok, so One is a building the other is a room? You need a building that you put the Library in? Can I put my library in my Inn? If I have a castle and dedicate some part of it as an Inn the cost is lowered? These should be marked somehow that what is a building, what is a interior. I hope that the building costs and resource needs will shed some light on it, but currently we handling an Inn on the same scale as a Fireplace. Btw does the Inn have a fireplace or it is needed separately?
So all these random throws are just pointless. If you have 3 Lumberjack and 2 people work in a mine, you will throw 100 Dice every week!!! For 5 People!! Plus the caffs, sheep, eggs and what so ever. "During the FALL, you can harvest D66 units of GRAIN each month" Guys Seriously? D66 for one field???
Cant we just drop the dice rolls and set up some needs and usage systems? It is safely assume that when the party will have 10-30 soldiers, we are moved out of the what we will eat tonight phase of the game.
There is some strange dynamic of here that aims for a fortified tavern with some extra buildings, but we try to call it as a "Stronghold".
So how many people do we have? well 10 guard is the minimum. So I assume a stronghold can have a few dozen at least.
But there are no Barack, Serf hut, servant house. No hunters, fishers, who can bring in meat. There is a forge, but no weapon workshop, armor workshop Fletcher, Healer hut or Apothecary. No mess hall, kitchen, brothel, that would assumes a war band. We talk about 10 - 50 solders need to be fed, clothed, maintain payed.
And that brings to the last part the Siege mechanic.
Ok, Lets start with the elephant. EACH adventurer worth 1 Deference Die. That means that a 4 people group that have there little Inn as base,no fortification, have 4 dice. The same amount as 60 strong warband lead by a warlord... Jesus. No amount of this enemy would have any trouble to kick out the team of there little building, if we use character combat rules. Yet in Siege 4 people regardless of there xp worth 61 people...
I would say that the players as a team worth 1 deff. No more. If they have there own little group of retainers, than one person could be considered 1 deff.
And yes there is a good system here, but the implementation is just questionable at best.
There is only one Soldier. Every 10 Soldier is 1 Dice. So can I have archers, riders, anything? Nope.
But it is a simple system, different unit types can't be simulated. Yes, but some creative game rules you can.
Lets say that the Regular Solder is the Militia Spearman. 10 of them is 1 defense dice.
You can decrease the number of a formation to represent there strength, like Shield Infantry could have a group of 5 as one deference dice. Knights who is 1 or 2 of them are 1 Def.
You can give the unit types special traits like, modified the crit injures, you roll to be more deadly. Heales that lowers the chance of killed troops.
There is a lot of options here playing with the numbers, the system provides.
These would be my first thoughts of the Stronghold system. In the current state it is just a tedious side game, Reaching for a lot of things, and cant grasp any of it.
Sorry for the heavy thoughts, but I felt I need to comment it after I read the first version.