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16:33, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Lords of Waterdeep

Posted by EndofDivine
EndofDivine
member, 2 posts
Mon 10 Aug 2020
at 18:51
  • msg #1

Lords of Waterdeep

So this is an idea that's been on the tip of my brain for awhile. If you're familiar with boardgaming, you might recognize the title as a game where players take on the role of masked lords of Waterdeep, hiring adventurers to complete quests for rewards and hindering others through schemes as they try to gain influence over the city. I'm looking to capture the essence of all that and turn it into a roleplaying game.

I've roughly settled on most of how I want the game to run and be played; think of it as 40% board game, 40% freeform roleplaying (more or less), and 20% adventure. What I'm looking for from this thread is a measure of the interest that might be out there as well as input on a few things I haven't quite nailed down.

First up, it's going to be Pathfinder 2e. This is partly because I want to give the system a try since I like the level of customization I've seen, but I'm also looking at incorporating at least some of the downtime rules from the first edition.

The aspect that is still up in the air for me (and the one I'm looking for the most input on) is the matter of the adventurers that the players will be hiring. The way I've imagined it, I've seen three different ways of handling it:

- The adventurers are just a nameless resource that you can stockpile in exchange for gold or by having a high reputation with certain organizations. They're little more than a mechanic of the game.

- The adventurers are still a resource but one the individual players can assign names and stories to should they ever wish to include them in the game in some (minor) way.

- The adventurers are completely out of the players' hands and a thread is created that lists adventurers in the city available for hire. They may or may not advance as they complete jobs assigned to them depending on how much bookkeeping that ends up being, and players would essentially start each new 'turn' by paying for the adventurers they want.

I am also looking for some input into how important anonymity would be for perspective players. I'm leaning toward having the entire cast list mixed into the NPC list and making some private throwaway posts with the actual NPCs so it's not immediately obvious which members of the list are just side characters and which ones are the actual players. Insight from anyone that's tried hidden identities in a game would be greatly appreciated.
Brosuke
member, 333 posts
New Petitions Against Tax
Tue 11 Aug 2020
at 07:15
  • msg #2

Lords of Waterdeep

This sounds really interesting, I'd definitely give it a look to see what you did with it. I'd vote for the full-NPC mercenary treatment if you felt up for running it.

I wouldn't recommend trying for out-of-game anonymity, personally. Between high player turnover on RPOL and people having distinctive writing styles, since I assume people would still be roleplaying with each other rather than playing purely solo games in the same setting, it would add a metagame element that would be tough to keep up.
Tyrantula
member, 4 posts
Mon 17 Aug 2020
at 03:36
  • msg #3

Lords of Waterdeep

I'm very interested in trying out Pathfinder 2E, and I'm even more interested in a Lords of Waterdeep-style game. I'm finding it a little difficult to picture how that intersection will work, though, since the whole conceit of Lords of Waterdeep is that the player characters are political officials who aren't primarily adventurers themselves?

If it effectively just means a highly political\intrigue-focused game of Pathfinder, I'm cool with that too. ^.^
This message was last edited by the user at 03:36, Mon 17 Aug 2020.
EndofDivine
member, 3 posts
Mon 17 Aug 2020
at 23:01
  • msg #4

Re: Lords of Waterdeep

Tyrantula:
I'm very interested in trying out Pathfinder 2E, and I'm even more interested in a Lords of Waterdeep-style game. I'm finding it a little difficult to picture how that intersection will work, though, since the whole conceit of Lords of Waterdeep is that the player characters are political officials who aren't primarily adventurers themselves?

If it effectively just means a highly political\intrigue-focused game of Pathfinder, I'm cool with that too. ^.^

Yes, it is largely meant to be a political and intrigue focused game. There's a dash of adventuring on the side for those with characters that are more hands-on, but it will all be in bite-sized scenarios that generally take place in and around Waterdeep. Behind all that is going to be the board game elements of amassing resources, hiring adventurers, empowering factions, and guiding the city in whatever direction most benefits you.

The game is still a WIP at the moment, but my intent is to make some kind of weird mash-up of a freeform city style game, a solo-ish more traditional Pathfinder experience, and the metagame in the background that will play out mostly in OOC. It's admittedly ambitious and different, but it's an idea I couldn't let go of. I'll try to put my ideas into a more concrete and concise form over the coming days (aiming for this weekend) to offer up a clearer glimpse of what I have in mind as well serving as a proof of concept.
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