New Faction Design - Swashbucklers

[Dark Shadows]

• Factional Name: Swashbucklers


•The primary purpose for the faction to exist?
•What distinguishing feature does this faction have?
• What specific in-game benefit can this faction have?
•What makes this faction interesting and fun to play?
•What (usually mutual) factional enemies?

[Dark Shadows]

• Factional Name:

Swashbucklers

•The primary purpose for the faction to exist?

Since the GM has not included the SOA, Merc Verk, or Buccaneers, there is no Mercenary faction in the game. That being the case that means to add a new faction after the first (7) listed factions of are in the game will need for any "New" faction will need to have at least (10) players and (20) clans. They will have to play as Independent clans that declare for the future faction and must play for (12) Turns/Cycles for the faction to become live within the game. During that period they will show up as Independent clans and will have no in-game bonuses at all except what their skills or clan might grant them.  So I figure why not design a well thought out Naval Mercenary faction from the ground up. It has every much of a chance if not better to become live within this game.

So the Swashbucklers faction is a Combination of Naval Merc and Naval Merchant faction. It is more of a Naval Merc but has a strong Merchant transportation side too. They have their own designed ship types that can be built in any city depending on the levels of their factional office within a given city, which is called a Harbor Shop. They view themselves as a Naval Mercenary to defend the seas from raiders like the Barbarians, and Pirates, or other such bad influence factions like the Imperials or Banner. They are allies of the Getham Family and seek to protect their Sea Routes and Harbors/ports. Being Mercs, they are willing to be hired to almost anyone for a fee. They have a friendly relationship with the Gift Religion as well. They prefer to be defenders but can be attackers as well and work well at embargoing cities ports too. They seek to be the main Naval Mercenary faction of Midgard and beyond. They also view themselves as explorers and adventurers. They seek adventure for the sake of fun of the experience.

•What distinguishing feature does this faction have?



 They have (3) specific ship types that they produce in any harbor city depending on the number of their factional offices that a city has.

They fight on shipboard only and do not fight on land as Foot soldier Merk's, they will defend or attack a harbor if hired to do so from the sea. They excel in either Sword MI or Bow MM troops from shipboard engagements. To see their Black Flags with a symbol of a Burning Moon on it is to drive fear in the hearts of their targets. 

•What specific in-game benefit can this faction have?

- The factional office is a Harbor Shop and with each office, it gives a city +2% per office to increase a cities Harbor size.
- New ship types can be built within any city depending on the level of offices: at (6) Harbor shops Carrack can be built and placed on the market, at (15) Harbor Shops Pamphylos can be built and placed on the market, and at (25) Harbor Shops War Dromons can be built and placed on the Market.
- With (30) Harbor Shops, the city can if the City wishes to build it, can build a Harbor Fort, which adds two great walls with towers at their ends that encircle the cities port/harbor and aids in its protection. The city has to supply the resources and man cycles to build this supper structure, but the Swashbucklers will supervise its construction as only they know it's secret design.
- Clans in Naval engagements gain a +1 Damage as well as a +1 Defense in Naval battles.

•What makes this faction interesting and fun to play?

The Swashbucklers are persons who engage in daring and romantic adventures with bravado
or flamboyance. They are an explorer and something of a swashbuckler. They are a daredevil,
seeker of adventures, hero, crusader, venturer, traveler, voyager, wanderer, buccaneer,
mercenary, a soldier of fortune, madcap, hothead, adventurer · exhibitionist, stuntman,
show-off, showboat, and desperado. They are the ultimate Naval Merc that has style to command
the seas, and sail in the search for life's adventures.

•What (usually mutual) factional enemies?

Their main enemies are the Barbarians, Pirates, but also the repressive factions that seek to control
everyone and everything so they are at odds with both the Imperials and The Banner.

Their Allies are the Getham family, and hold strong respect for the Gift religion.

•What are the factional skill set?

CMD - Command
NST - Naval Strategy
NTA - Naval Tactics
NAV - Navigation
SEA - Seamanship
SHW - Shipwright
MER - Merchant

[Davin]

Well, that's certainly worth considering, but I think later rather than immediately.

Yes, I want to have both mercenary and naval factions come into play eventually, but my immediate worry is having enough players to "fill out" all the factions we've got before we start introducing new ones.  Once we've got enough clans playing in each faction to give them all a reasonable membership, then I'd like to open up the opportunity to create more of them, such as Merk Verk, SoA, B&F, Heretic, etc.

If you really want to start with something else (and a naval faction gives me whole new starting headaches), can you at least convince me that the membership of the other factions won't suffer given the relatively small number of players that seem to be interested in the revival?

[Dark Shadows]

Well, that's certainly worth considering, but I think later rather than immediately.

Yes, I want to have both mercenary and naval factions come into play eventually, but my immediate worry is having enough players to "fill out" all the factions we've got before we start introducing new ones.  Once we've got enough clans playing in each faction to give them all a reasonable membership, then I'd like to open up the opportunity to create more of them, such as Merk Verk, SoA, B&F, Heretic, etc.

If you really want to start with something else (and a naval faction gives me whole new starting headaches), can you at least convince me that the membership of the other factions won't suffer given the relatively small number of players that seem to be interested in the revival?

Davin,

I understand what your saying, but I am defining this faction here in now to get the basics laid down to plan for the future of the development of this faction. I like to play 'Naval' based play, but I understand that you're not seeking to work all that out for gameplay in the beginning. I also understand that the Skill System is another area you do not wish to stand up from the beginning and plan on considering doing something with it later on.  Plus your planning on selectively only going to start the game with just the following factions:'Imperials', 'Boda', Getham','Roder','Banner Religion','Gift Religion', and 'Ring".  You have cut out all the other factions that were played, and you want anyone that wants to play to 'Just' play one of those listed factions.  So you have started these redesign threads of them, otherwise, you would be hard-pressed to get many people to play some of them.

So what will you do if after you start your game and get your factions stood up and then when you open up the game to other factions and players abandons these factions to play and start up new ones? They will take their clans and 'undeclare' for the old factions, and then stay Independent for 12 turns/cycles (a real year) to start up playing in factions they want to play in. Then you might end up with dead factions with a few Ghost players playing less than a handful of clans. We have seen that before within the game. I would think to allow the players to play in factions that they want to play in and these paying players would be more important to the game. You're never going to keep people playing in just these 7 factions, you're trying to force the issue and that may end badly for you and the game.

You're the GM and the owner, and what you want is what you will get. I should point out that to have a successful product, you might have to give a little so that the future players also get what they want too.  Speaking just for myself, the factions that I played n that I enjoyed were; SOA, Bandits, Buccaneers, Cymru, Seekers, Heretic religion that in one game was to be the Seeker religion and The Cult of the Dark One in another. Now for me, all of those are not here so I have to choose from one of these (7) or remain Independent. Even then the Skill System isn't in place to begin with either, so playing an Independent is really hard with little to no benefit or future.
What would you do if most people just played only Independents and didn't declare for any of the factions? You keep talking about the factions not having enemies, well you have taken all of the Bad Guys out of the game and want to make these (7) fight each other.  

I think as long as you have players within a faction then it is ok, you might find that you only have a handful of players in each faction for a long time. Rember as long as you have paying customers playing in the game, then it is ok.  Many of the people I have played with based themselves in a single city and just worked on that same city. They would interact with others that they played with and usually they might work together. I don't know what to tell you here, I don't think it is needed to force players to just play in these core factions will make you have a successful long-lasting game. I think you will loose players that way. I think you should open up a couple of other factions to be included as well too. Adding other factions will give more possibilities were players have other choices to work with.  I am not sure what to do here, I just want to enjoy a game that I have played and loved. I am one voice and others would hopefully speak their mind as well too.

[DreamWeaver]

In Davin's defense I believe I understand were he is coming from. You see he is recoding all of this game. Think of the game as a Master program and each faction is a Application that is within the Master code and needs to be worked out for each. I think he is trying to get these 7 applications working completely first, and then he will work on other aspects of the Master program like the Skill System.

I myself am a little bit concerned about this but if he does do the redesign as he is stating of these core 7 factions, then  they will be playable. I like the direction that the Gift are going in. I also like both the Getham and Boda too. If these three factions are pretty much redesigned as have been talked about so far, then for me these will be great to play. I also think that the Roder is heading in the correct direction as well too. The other factions I am not the best person to help out, although I think the redesign for the Imperials would make them really a Kick Arse faction as has been proposed.

Now the Swashbucklers as has been designed seems like a pretty good Naval Merc, and reminds me a lot like the Buccaneers. I feel it would add to the game, but I also understand it is Naval and that part of the game is not yet worked out in the code, I would think when the GM starts the game, allow those that are interested to begin the process to bring that faction to life. It is understood it takes time to be added into the game. in other words gives you like 12 turns (year) work out the naval side of the code. 

Maybe you also have a hard  look at both the Merc Verk and SOA and merge these ideas together and create a single named Land based Foot Merc faction. That is just my thoughts on this. Hopefully others will also comment.

[Davin]

Please see my more-general reply over in Factional redesign.