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Running a Pen and Paper AoD Campaign

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,020
Greetings fellow codexian.

As per title, I will be running a pen and paper AoD campaign following the computer game storyline and quests. Since I think the game is awesome and I want to test the port over to tabletop, I will change not change much.

BUT

Everything can be improved.

1) For devs: What do you think would be cool to implement in a pen and paper campaign that wasn't possible on computer ? [EDIT: I am speaking mostly of storyline and player C&C, not so much game mechanics]

2) For everybody: What would you change to adapt it and make it cooler on pen and paper ? [EDIT: I am speaking mostly of storyline and player C&C, not so much game mechanics]

3) For everybody: If anyone is nice enough, please shoot my way all threads/wikis/etc. that deal with lore, quests, storyline, etc.

Thanks.

PS: I adapted a system for it. It's just as punishing for combat, but different. Also, since it will be a party, I changed some mechanics to make it more interesting on that part.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
1,832
The most comprehensive wiki for the game is in its root folder. Unzip scripts.aod and in data\text\dialogues\english\ you will find the good shit.

I actually thought of doing a CYOA set in Asmara. In case you don't know it was one of the cities that fell before game began. The gist of the story of its downfall is told by Darista, the merchant near the gates to Maadoran, and the Imperial Guard annalist IIRC. Apparently a sibling rivalry between its rulers led to the city getting wiped out by the numerous mercenary outfits they hired. It appealed to me because there was enough present structure there to follow, but it was distant enough from the main game so that a GM could inject some original stuff into it without fighting with the canon of the vidya game. Check it out - you might feel the same.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Everything can be improved.
Very true.

1) For devs: What do you think would be cool to implement in a pen and paper campaign that wasn't possible on computer ? [EDIT: I am speaking mostly of storyline and player C&C, not so much game mechanics]
What we had in mind for a sequel - you'd join an expedition sent by House Aurelian shortly before the events of the first game. As in AoD, you'd be able to pick a different background: a praetor representing House Aurelian, a thief chained to the galley, a merchant representing the Commercium and tasked with establishing a trading outpost, a merc hired to protect the expedition (one of many, of course), a Boatmen assigned to the praetor, etc.

Even though the Qantari were eventually defeated, their own land wasn't touched by the war and didn't suffer any devastation. Since they did manage to retain the knowledge and machines, it would be a land ruled by demigods each with his own priesthood, temples, place in the local pantheon, ambitions, scheming n plotting, etc. From one of Dungeon Rats' endings:

... Beyond is a stone platform with a handful of colorfully dressed figures, too engaged in their own affairs to take any notice of you. The platform is the apex of a massive ziggurat, the most prominent of several buildings, their bases awash with hordes of people like islands in a sea. Barely a few meters away, a heavily tattooed man is bound to some kind of machine. He writhes and struggles under the watchful eyes of a priest and his guards, their strange, glowing spears aimed at the prisoner as if expecting him to break free and turn on them at any moment. Below, the rumble of the crowd\'s shuffling and speech subsides to an eerie almost-silence, ten thousand breaths the only sound. At last the captive man lies still, not dead but merely calm, and the priest bends down to inspect his eyes with some tiny device. Satisfied, he straightens up and nods to the guards. Visibly relieved, they lower their spears, the weapons' weird glow subsiding. The priest turns to face the worshipers below and raises his arms with a shout - something like "Ketsal Koatl"- and the nervous hush explodes into exultation and chanting in their foreign tongue. Slowly, the tattooed man rises from the machine, the leather restraints tearing away like paper, and stands. Everywhere, as one, the priest, guards and commoners fall to their knees and lower their foreheads to the ground, awaiting His approval. The altered man's gaze unhurriedly sweeps over his devoted subjects, and he is pleased, until at last his eyes come to rest on you...
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Hard to say. When we had to make a decision, AoD sales were still low. Now that we sold 100k copies without resorting to bundles, a sequel is a possibility.
 

Rivmusique

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 14, 2011
Messages
3,489
Location
Kangarooland
Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
:( Didn't know AoD2 was anywhere near the chopping block, thought the plan was to work on that after CSRPG. I really hope to see another game in that setting.
 

Elim

Augur
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
330
Project: Eternity
What system are you using? I think this would work great in Mythras.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
:( Didn't know AoD2 was anywhere near the chopping block, thought the plan was to work on that after CSRPG. I really hope to see another game in that setting.
We had to consider the possibility (without relying on it) of AoD doing really well, in which case working on AoD 2 would have made more sense. So we had an outline just in case, just like we have an outline for a third full-scale RPG just in case we stay in business long enough.

Hard to say. When we had to make a decision, AoD sales were still low. Now that we sold 100k copies without resorting to bundles, a sequel is a possibility.

Possible AoD sequel hinted at by Vince D. Weller. If that ain't worthy of a clickbait newspost I dunno what is. Get here Infinitron!
It's not really news as I mentioned it many times in the past when people asked if we have plans for a sequel. I thought everyone knew.
 

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,020
What system are you using? I think this would work great in Mythras.

I do not know Mythras (do you have a PDF to share ?) and made a lot of research on different systems before settling on doing my own. The one I made (or ''adapted'' would be nearer to truth) is a mix between FATE (heavy narrative, no binary success rate, etc.), World of Darkness/Vampire (character creation, backgrounds, wound system, etc.) and Shadowrun (especially for dice pool, skill on a scale of 10, etc.). The only unique thing I did is the fighting system. Being in the military and having practice HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), I tried to create something that was deadly (to be in line with AoD) and far from D&Desque combat (roll to hit, roll to wound, rince-repeat, i.e. no real strategy). I included combat style, combat manoeuvre (some of them copied from AoD, like fast attack and such), etc. Very open-ended combats as you can just disarm your enemies, pin them on the ground to control them, etc.

I cannot really share it, not because I don't want to, but because I run everything in french (I live in Quebec), therefore nobody would be able to read it and profit. If people are interested I can post summary of each game with what happened when we do start the campaign. Right now I'm finishing on the system and the campaign itself, so it won't start until August (+-).
 
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
1,832
One thing I appreciate about AoD is how well its characters would work for a PnP game. Good NPCs (in a PnP context) are usually defined by one character trait and one basic drive (maybe even one character trait OR one basic drive). Darista is ruthless, and is "tired of sleeping on the floor and eating shit" - thus she will do what she can to increase her quality of life, including selling out to Gaelius. Carbo is talented, but lives for war, so despite being quite loyal to the Imperial Guard he is willing to make a deal with their enemies in order to experience more war. They are not complicated characters, they are relatable and easy to understand (which is what makes them interesting - because of, not despite, their simplicity), and more importantly it is clear what they want and what they will do. Clear and easy motivation means easy inter-character conflicts (and inner conflicts as well, just look at Carbo), which is a crucial part of a narrative-heavy game. I doubt you will ever have to ask "What will Pavola do in this situation?" when faced with a sudden crisis because his main priority is prolonging peace. Want players to encounter more resistance and enemies? There are dozens of NPCs who want nothing more but to kill the players and take their shit, simply because money makes the world go round, without any need to justify it with a five page long backstory.

Ironically Zheng, a character who does actually have quite a lengthy backstory, proves my point. Zheng is a perfectly fascinating character without knowing about his past, and he can be efficiently reduced to a single descriptive word like "trickster". His backstory, while giving the player some insight on Legalism and making them thinking about philosophical questions in the real world, would not work in a PnP game because the players would kill Zheng before he was as much as a sentence into his past. Textdumps and monologues can work for video games, movies, CYOAs, and books, but not PnP. Similarly, it is always a bad idea to preach to your players, or try to force them to engage in philosophical discourse unless one is absolutely sure it is relevant to their character arc, or that the player is going to be 100% into it. It is always best to give your NPCs clear, simple motivations, then portray them as honestly as possible - if the conflicts in the game somehow produce a philosophical epiphany in one of your players then great, but one should not count on it.

Anyway, that is my shitty advice and every GM is going to have a different perspective. I sincerely wish you luck - AoD is a great foundation for a PnP game and if you can dedicate the time to summarizing the sessions, I am sure there will be people here (myself included) who would be interested to read about it.

What system are you using? I think this would work great in Mythras.

I do not know Mythras (do you have a PDF to share ?) and made a lot of research on different systems before settling on doing my own. The one I made (or ''adapted'' would be nearer to truth) is a mix between FATE (heavy narrative, no binary success rate, etc.), World of Darkness/Vampire (character creation, backgrounds, wound system, etc.) and Shadowrun (especially for dice pool, skill on a scale of 10, etc.). The only unique thing I did is the fighting system. Being in the military and having practice HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), I tried to create something that was deadly (to be in line with AoD) and far from D&Desque combat (roll to hit, roll to wound, rince-repeat, i.e. no real strategy). I included combat style, combat manoeuvre (some of them copied from AoD, like fast attack and such), etc. Very open-ended combats as you can just disarm your enemies, pin them on the ground to control them, etc.

I cannot really share it, not because I don't want to, but because I run everything in french (I live in Quebec), therefore nobody would be able to read it and profit. If people are interested I can post summary of each game with what happened when we do start the campaign. Right now I'm finishing on the system and the campaign itself, so it won't start until August (+-).

I believe a system called Riddle of Steel was designed by HEMA practitioners and was an attempt at creating a deadly and authentic combat system. Maybe check it out for inspiration.
 

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,020
One thing I appreciate about AoD is how well its characters would work for a PnP game. Good NPCs (in a PnP context) are usually defined by one character trait and one basic drive (maybe even one character trait OR one basic drive). Darista is ruthless, and is "tired of sleeping on the floor and eating shit" - thus she will do what she can to increase her quality of life, including selling out to Gaelius. Carbo is talented, but lives for war, so despite being quite loyal to the Imperial Guard he is willing to make a deal with their enemies in order to experience more war. They are not complicated characters, they are relatable and easy to understand (which is what makes them interesting - because of, not despite, their simplicity), and more importantly it is clear what they want and what they will do. Clear and easy motivation means easy inter-character conflicts (and inner conflicts as well, just look at Carbo), which is a crucial part of a narrative-heavy game. I doubt you will ever have to ask "What will Pavola do in this situation?" when faced with a sudden crisis because his main priority is prolonging peace. Want players to encounter more resistance and enemies? There are dozens of NPCs who want nothing more but to kill the players and take their shit, simply because money makes the world go round, without any need to justify it with a five page long backstory.

And I agree. This is why I included into my character creation system a category of ambition and personality, and I will use it with NCPs too. Fortunately most of them are already written down so I know how to RP them.

Ironically Zheng, a character who does actually have quite a lengthy backstory, proves my point. Zheng is a perfectly fascinating character without knowing about his past, and he can be efficiently reduced to a single descriptive word like "trickster". His backstory, while giving the player some insight on Legalism and making them thinking about philosophical questions in the real world, would not work in a PnP game because the players would kill Zheng before he was as much as a sentence into his past. Textdumps and monologues can work for video games, movies, CYOAs, and books, but not PnP. Similarly, it is always a bad idea to preach to your players, or try to force them to engage in philosophical discourse unless one is absolutely sure it is relevant to their character arc, or that the player is going to be 100% into it. It is always best to give your NPCs clear, simple motivations, then portray them as honestly as possible - if the conflicts in the game somehow produce a philosophical epiphany in one of your players then great, but one should not count on it.

I agree. To me the extra fluffy stuff will be there for the players to ask around, but I don't feel sad if they don't find it since I didn't 'personally' waste my time actually writing it. It takes off my shoulder a weight so that I can just enjoy moving the parts around the player instead of forcing them to look at some.

I'm eager to know how they deal with Militiades. I'm guessing he's going to die fast.

Anyway, that is my shitty advice and every GM is going to have a different perspective. I sincerely wish you luck - AoD is a great foundation for a PnP game and if you can dedicate the time to summarizing the sessions, I am sure there will be people here (myself included) who would be interested to read about it.

Thanks ! I'll do.

What system are you using? I think this would work great in Mythras.

I do not know Mythras (do you have a PDF to share ?) and made a lot of research on different systems before settling on doing my own. The one I made (or ''adapted'' would be nearer to truth) is a mix between FATE (heavy narrative, no binary success rate, etc.), World of Darkness/Vampire (character creation, backgrounds, wound system, etc.) and Shadowrun (especially for dice pool, skill on a scale of 10, etc.). The only unique thing I did is the fighting system. Being in the military and having practice HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), I tried to create something that was deadly (to be in line with AoD) and far from D&Desque combat (roll to hit, roll to wound, rince-repeat, i.e. no real strategy). I included combat style, combat manoeuvre (some of them copied from AoD, like fast attack and such), etc. Very open-ended combats as you can just disarm your enemies, pin them on the ground to control them, etc.

I cannot really share it, not because I don't want to, but because I run everything in french (I live in Quebec), therefore nobody would be able to read it and profit. If people are interested I can post summary of each game with what happened when we do start the campaign. Right now I'm finishing on the system and the campaign itself, so it won't start until August (+-).

I believe a system called Riddle of Steel was designed by HEMA practitioners and was an attempt at creating a deadly and authentic combat system. Maybe check it out for inspiration.

I know Riddle of Steel and did look at it. It was interesting, and took some ideas. But the whole combat system was, for me, a little bit too much on the details and knowledge of players. So I took a step back for what I'm using, with more general guidelines. Also it was good for duel, but sketchy for line-fighting and big-group fighting, which AoD (especially if I now include a full group) does have at some point.

Thanks for the reply to everyone.
 
Self-Ejected

Lurker King

Self-Ejected
The Real Fanboy
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
1,865,419
Bunch of noobs don’t know how to profit from their ideas. Time to make a franchise of AoD! Let's make PnP, tv series, action figures, personalized mugs and t-shirts. Let's create a massive synergy and make millions!

:takemyjewgold:
 

Elim

Augur
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
330
Project: Eternity
Stormcrowfleet, look for Mythras: Imperative. It's basically the free core rules. It's a d100 system, skill based, no classes. You pick your culture (you can easily homebrew that) and your profession (you can easily homebrew more, too). Then you distribute points and off you go. It's my favorite generic system, hands down.

There are critical successes, successes, failures and fumbles. In combat this means you compare rolls, if you beat the opponent you get special effects which are fight enders, most of the time. Basically you would not need to make your own system because Mythras already does most of the stuff AoD does.

Riddle of Steel is nice and all, but the system is pure trash. Nobody wants to play a game that grinds to an halt. Mythras gets the same thing done but much more elegant, combat is over in two to three rounds.
 
Last edited:

Elhoim

Iron Tower Studio
Developer
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
2,878
Location
San Isidro, Argentina
I always thought of making the "AoD campaign" in Teron, letting players work in different guilds, including fighting among themselves when their objectives clash. For example, one guy joining the AG and another the IG, things like that. It would be kind of a mess maybe, and probably similar to what D:OS 2 is doing.
 

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,020
Stormcrowfleet, look for Mythras: Imperative. It's basically the free core rules. It's a d100 system, skill based, no classes. You pick your culture (you can easily homebrew that) and your profession (you can easily homebrew more, too). Then you distribute points and off you go. It's my favorite generic system, hands down.

There are critical successes, successes, failures and fumbles. In combat this means you compare rolls, if you beat the opponent you get special effects which are fight enders, most of the time. Basically you would not need to make your own system because Mythras already does most of the stuff AoD does.

Riddle of Steel is nice and all, but the system is pure trash. Nobody wants to play a game that grinds to an halt. Mythras gets the same thing done but much more elegant, combat is over in two to three rounds.

I checked Mythras and found it interesting. But since I'm already pretty much complete on my own, I see no need to switch for it. I'd say it's a good free-RPG ! Some very interesting stuff. [EDIT: What I mean is that I wish I had found this earlier !]

I always thought of making the "AoD campaign" in Teron, letting players work in different guilds, including fighting among themselves when their objectives clash. For example, one guy joining the AG and another the IG, things like that. It would be kind of a mess maybe, and probably similar to what D:OS 2 is doing.

I'd say it would be the most satisfying way of playing out an AoD campaign since AoD was made for that. However, I doubt I have the logistical capability and GM talent to do so.
 
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
1,832
I'd say it would be the most satisfying way of playing out an AoD campaign since AoD was made for that. However, I doubt I have the logistical capability and GM talent to do so.

Check out Apocalypse World and its Fronts & Threats mechanics. I'm a faggot who mostly uses rules-light systems as opposed to anything that would require math, and have found the clocks that AW uses to be a very elegant way to keep track of conflicting agendas/organizations. Might help you run the type of campaign that Elhoim describes.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Now that we sold 100k copies without resorting to bundles,.
100K? Steamspy says 70K. Now either Steamspy is wrong, or you really did sell a lot on other platforms. Congrats for this performance by the way, you almost sold as many as Torment Numanuma. :D
 

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,020
Vault Dweller

Another question for you. Did the music composer do an interview somewhere at some point ? I am eager to see what was his influence for the music. I'm asking because looping Teron music for 4-5h hours straight might be a bit sad for the players (even if I really like it).

Thanks.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Nobody ever asked questions about the music so no.
 

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