There is a dearth of stronghold / kingdom management modules in the community. It seems that after winning a kingdom by your own hand as an adventurer, it’s believed that you can just live happily ever after. I find that doubtful…
In Border Kingdom Ruler, you and your adventuring party have just taken over a keep in one of the Border Kingdoms, and with it the kingdom’s throne. The main town lies a short ride away, its inhabitants wary of the presence of a new ruler - or perhaps just resigned to having to live with yet another occupant of the throne, which seems to change hands at the drop of a hat (or sword).
The module will be for 1-3 rulers (yes! multiplayer!) to see if they can thrive - or at least survive - in their new kingdom. It will be turn-based, with each turn representing the results of one month in-game. Internal resource management, border conflicts and diplomacy with your two neighbors, and random events will occur each turn. Accomplishments, whether in making your kingdom prosperous or defeating enemies on the battlefield, will determine your final ruler score.
Planned features for version 1.0 release:
– 10-turn game
– Three kingdoms, each with a different prevailing alignment (Good, Neutral and Evil) that will affect the game in various ways.
– Select an NPC ruling advisor, who will present you with choices each turn to execute your ruling agenda. Their class and alignment will influence available actions and outcomes.
– Select a war leader, who will command your forces in battle. This can be yourself, a fellow co-op player, or an NPC. If you die in battle and cannot be raised, however, the game ends there.
– Develop your keep, within the limited resources and time available
– Manage and protect the principal town. Relations with the population will impact your success.
– Raise a small army to protect your lands, with a mix of different unit types (including special alignment-based ones)
– Battles resulting from either random events or deliberate border incursions
Planned features for subsequent releases:
– 20 and 30-turn games
– Additional random events of various types
– Enabling dungeoneering event chains
– Seasonal changes over time
I would welcome input/ideas prior to release on design aspects and content, especially ones involving potential labor-saving devices. Caveat: a long list of cool features that would likely take months (or years) to implement, probably won’t be.
Thanks to the discussion in the NWC Discord #module-development channel, for helping make concrete some initial thoughts on the project.
A multiplayer session that will serve as a beta test has been scheduled on Neverwinter Connections as an application game, on Saturday April 27: https://neverwinterconnections.org/events/894608
