{"id":195,"date":"2018-05-01T21:06:40","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T02:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/?p=195"},"modified":"2023-07-29T14:08:14","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T19:08:14","slug":"domain-level-play-part-3-how-do-you-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/2018\/05\/01\/domain-level-play-part-3-how-do-you-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Domain Level Play Part 3 – How Do You Do It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In part one<\/a> of this series I gave the definition and origins of domain level play.\u00a0 <\/span>In part two<\/a> I put it in context and addressed an objection.\u00a0 <\/span>In this post I will give practical advice on how to try it yourself.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s deal with the million dollar question first – where are the rules or guidelines that handle the details?\u00a0 <\/span>Regardless what fantasy roleplaying game you\u2019re using you have two choices: Build your own or use a published rule set.<\/p>\n

Build It<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people don\u2019t mind building their own set of rules for handling domain level play.\u00a0 <\/span>This way you won\u2019t get more complicated than you want.\u00a0 <\/span>The trouble is, if you\u2019re a player your game master may not want to put in the time to write something and may not accept yours.\u00a0 <\/span>Most people who take this route start with the short sections on establishing domains in Original D&D, First Edition, B\/X D&D<\/a> or BECMI D&D (Rules Cyclopedia is basically a republished BECMI).<\/p>\n

Buy It<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to pick up a published solution I know of four options.<\/p>\n

Adventurer Conqueror King<\/a> (ACKS) by Autarch<\/a>
\nThis refined B\/X D&D clone is an excellent game and handles domain level play (DLP) thoroughly.\u00a0 <\/span>Not only that but a newer system was published in Axioms 3<\/a> (just $4) that can be used with ACKS to streamline things.\u00a0 <\/span>This system not only handles strongholds for different character classes but also merchant ventures, thieves guilds and chaotic domains.\u00a0 <\/span>If you buy PDFs $14 gets you everything you need.\u00a0 <\/span>If you don\u2019t want to leave the game you\u2019re currently playing, many players take the DLP rules along with the economy of ACKS and graft them onto their current game.\u00a0 <\/span>You would use prices for equipment, weapons and hirelings from ACKS instead of your own rule book but it\u2019s a small adjustment.\u00a0 <\/span>ACKS also has a supplement<\/a> that lets you handle large scale battles.<\/p>\n

Strongholds & Followers<\/a> by Matt Colville
\nThis supplement for Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons isn\u2019t out yet but should be by mid 2018.\u00a0 <\/span>It is built from the ground up to support the latest edition of D&D and should offer many interesting game mechanics and campaign ideas.\u00a0 <\/span>I look forward to trying it in my own games.\u00a0 <\/span>Matt Colville has his own rules for mass combat but isn\u2019t certain when they might be published.<\/p>\n

An Echo, Resounding<\/a> by Sine Nomine Publishing
\nThis supplement for Labyrinth Lord (another B\/X D&D clone) covers domain level play but I haven\u2019t had a chance to read it.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve heard it focuses more on roleplaying than strategy gaming but that\u2019s more my interest anyways.<\/p>\n

Birthright<\/a> by TSR
\nThis campaign setting for 2nd Edition D&D was released in 1995.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve never played it but a friend of mine had a great campaign there.\u00a0 <\/span>There are several rules tailored to the campaign setting but you may be able to adapt the material for domain level play to your own campaign.<\/p>\n

Those four options are the main contenders for published rule sets.<\/p>\n

Considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless what rules you use there are a number of considerations to keep in mind when trying domain level play.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t push DLP on your players.\u00a0 <\/span>The players who aren\u2019t interested can avoid it.\u00a0 <\/span>The players who stay out of DLP will probably be happy to stay at another player\u2019s domain during downtime.\u00a0 <\/span>Free room and board along with sword sharpening and armor repair are hard to turn down.<\/p>\n

You may have players who don\u2019t want domains but when they see others at the table gain benefits they want something to \u201cmake it fair.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>You could give them a nice magic item to even things up.\u00a0 <\/span>Keep in mind, however, that when the party goes adventuring again the domain owners leave their domains behind while the ones with impressive new magic items will take them on the journey.\u00a0 <\/span>Keep play balance in mind.\u00a0 <\/span>Instead of a magic item, a character with no domain might become the captain of the guard for the player with a domain.\u00a0 <\/span>They would have troops to command but no estate to manage.\u00a0 <\/span>If one player resents being a servant of another player at the table, have an NPC lord of some kind approach the character without a domain and ask them to lead a division of his troops, his secret police, wizard adepts, etc.\u00a0 <\/span>The player then has some NPCs to command, some respect in the game world and no management headaches.<\/p>\n

If your campaign has some momentum and you don\u2019t want to slow it down, handle domain management issues during downtime.\u00a0 <\/span>Email or Skype calls can make for one-on-one discussions between a game master and player to settle domain details without boring other players.\u00a0 <\/span>Give domain owners options to begin thinking politically but don\u2019t push them further than they want to go.\u00a0 <\/span>Some domains are isolated and stay out the affairs of other realms.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, each player establishes their own domain and lets it be influenced by their character\u2019s goals and personality.\u00a0 <\/span>This encourages the player to consider how their character wants to influence the larger game world.\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand, don\u2019t rule out joint domains.\u00a0 <\/span>The adventure module B1 In Search of the Unknown (Nov. 1978) featured a stronghold built by a wizard and fighter who decided to form a partnership.\u00a0 <\/span>A wizard might prefer to build a tower beside the keep of a lord he trusted and let that lord handle defense and the commoners who gather.\u00a0 <\/span>A thief may choose to form a thieves guild that is more of a spy network than a true crime syndicate and have it headquartered in the town that grows around his warrior friend\u2019s castle.\u00a0 <\/span>The domain of one or two characters could become the home base of an adventuring party.\u00a0 <\/span>That party will begin to care about what happens in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let your game become a \u201cbait & switch.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Let your players keep adventuring.\u00a0 <\/span>After the domain is established let them leave and continue their journeys with the party.\u00a0 <\/span>Medieval history is full of accounts of lords who left their lands for years at a time to go on campaigns.\u00a0 <\/span>When they returned their castle and their people were waiting for them.\u00a0 <\/span>Every domain owner will hire a regent\/steward\/seneschal\/whatever to manage the estate while they\u2019re adventuring.\u00a0 <\/span>Game masters are advised not to get too enthusiastic about plots involving treacherous stewards.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t teach your player to worry about their domain when they\u2019re away.\u00a0 <\/span>If you make domain management rewarding and interesting, the player will want to return to their castle periodically.<\/p>\n

The final consideration is, as a game master, don\u2019t let yourself focus on one player\u2019s domain and forget about other players\u2019 domains.\u00a0 <\/span>Part 4<\/a> of this series offers some ideas for domain level play that just might spark some of your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In part one of this series I gave the definition and origins of domain level play.\u00a0 In part two I put it in context and addressed an objection.\u00a0 In this post I will give practical advice on how to try it yourself. Let\u2019s deal with the million dollar question first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6,7],"tags":[32],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195\/revisions\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gearsonline.net\/fantasy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}