GROWING THE DOMAIN
If the adventurer is fortunate, birth and immigration may increase the population of a domain. If he is unlucky, fire, disease, and emigration will decrease it. Each month, the adventurer will make two die rolls of 1d10 per 1,000 families in the domain (rounded up). These rolls will determine the change in his domain’s population. The first roll determines the increase in the domain’s number of families, and the second roll determines the decrease in the domain’s number of families. Any die that rolls a 10 should be rolled again, with the new result added to the total (repeating the process if a subsequent 10 is rolled).
EXAMPLE: Marcus’s domain has a population of 1,200 families. He will make two die rolls of 2d10. Marcus first rolls 2d10 for increase and gets a 3 and an 8. His domain gains 11 families. He then rolls 2d10 for decrease and gets a 10 and a 7. Since one of the dice rolled a “10”, he must roll that die again and add it to the total. This roll results in another 10! Marcus has to roll yet again, this time getting a 4. His total is 10+7+10+4, or 31. Marcus’s domain loses 31 families. Having gained 11 and lost 31, Marcus’s domain ends up down 20 families.
When rolling for small domains of under 100 families, ignore results of 9 or less. Any roll of 10 results in the domain gaining or losing one family, and rolling again.
An adventurer can increase the population of his domain by making agricultural investments into the area. For every 1,000gp spent on investments in a month, the domain will attract 1d10 new peasant families.
Adventurers who are rising in power and fame will attract additional peasants to move to their domains. Provided a character actively adventures at least once per month and keeps his domain secure from threats, his domain’s population will grow by an additional amount each month, determined by the number of families already present.
Population (families)
Increase Population (Families) Increase
1-100 +25% 301-400 +10%
101-200 +20% 401-500 +5%
201-300 +15% 500+ +1%
Elven domains always increase in population as if they were two population categories larger. Dwarven domains increase in population as if they were one population category larger. EXAMPLE: An elven domain of 1-100 families increases in population as if it were 201-300 families in population, at 15% per month.
Note that if a domain ruler is not actively adventuring, does not make agricultural investments, and does not have very high domain morale, the gain and loss in population each month will tend to equalize and domain population will be flat.
RETAINERS
When they are hired, potential retainers should be of lower level than their employer. A first level character can only hire normal men as retainers; second level characters can only hire first level characters; and so on. There is no way for the retainers to directly know the level of the PC employer, but if a retainer ever concludes he is more powerful than his employer, it is cause for an immediate Retainer Loyalty check (see below).
[This change reflects commentary by backers indicating that flexibility in the level of retainers is preferable. The rules now permit retainers to be higher level than their employer, but allow for a Loyalty check if they realize they’re more powerful than their boss]
PEASANTS AND DUNGEONS
Like fighters, clerics, and most other classes (but unlike thieves), the domain around the mage’s stronghold will become settled by peasant families seeking his protection and leadership. These families can be demoralized if the mage builds a dungeon and does not protect the peasants from the monsters therein.
To keep his peasants secure, the mage must increase his monthly garrison expenditure in gold pieces. Total the experience point value of the monsters in the dungeon and divide that total by the number of peasant families (round to the nearest whole number). The quotient represents the required increase in monthly garrison. If the mage fails to pay this, his domain morale will decrease by -1 per gp/family.
EXAMPLE: Quintus’ domain has 1,100 peasant families. It also is home to a sinister dungeon with a cyclops (2,400xp), 6 ogres (1,290xp), and 60 orcs (600xp), 4,290xp total. 4,290xp /1,100 families is 3.9, rounded to 4, so Quintus’ garrison cost is increased by 4gp per peasant. Being a stingy archmage, Quintus opts to only spend an extra 3gp per peasant (3,300gp). His domain morale decreases by 1.
BUYING AND SELLING MAGIC ITEMS
In any campaign, adventurers will seek to buy and sell magic items. ACKS assumes that the market for magic items is illiquid and inefficient. Most magic items found by adventurers were created long ago, and are of dubious origin and uncertain ownership history, which drives their price down. The majority of magic items created during the campaign are assumed to be for mage’s personal use and research, or commissioned pieces created for exceptionally wealthy patrons. The Magic Item Transactions by Market Class table governs buying and selling magic items.
Magic Item Transactions by Market Class Table
Price Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI
1gp or less 1,700 585 260 65 30 10
2gp – 10gp 100 30 15 5 1 1
11 – 100gp 15 5 2 1 25% 10%
101 – 1,000gp 7 2 1 25% 10% 5%
1,001 – 10,000gp 2 1 25% 10% 5% 1%
10,001gp or more 10% 5% 2% NA NA NA
Selling Magic Items
Adventurers can sell magic items they have made for twice the base cost to make the item. (Magic items made from a formula or sample can thus command a great margin!) Adventurers can sell identified magic items found, discovered, looted, or otherwise acquired for the base cost to make the item. The difference in selling price reflects the difference in value between an item of known make and authenticity and an item of dubious origin and uncertain ownership history.
In order to sell one or more magic items, the adventurer must be in a market of sufficient size. The number of potential buyers for magic items in a month will be determined by the price of the items and the market class within which they are sold.
EXAMPLE: Using a formula, Quintus and his assistants made 4 scrolls of fireball (base cost 1,500gp) at a cost of 750gp each. Quintus has a retainer take these to sell them in Arganos (a Class III market). There is a 25% chance of a buyer for one scroll each month, at a price of 3,000gp each. Quintus also asks his retainer to sell a sword +2 (base cost 15,000gp) he found in an evil crypt. The sword +2 will sell for 15,000gp. There is a 25% chance of a buyer for the sword each month. After four months, Quintus’ retainer returns with 27,00gp – 12,000gp from the scrolls and 15,000gp for the sword.
Buying Magic Items
Adventurers can buy magic items for twice the base cost to make the item. In order to buy magic items, the adventurer must be in a market of sufficient size. The number of potential sellers of magic items in a month will be determined by the price of the items and the market class within which they are sold. Magic items are generally available only in small quantities, even in large markets.
EXAMPLE: Marcus is about to set out on an adventure from Arganos. He decides to buy potions of healing (base cost 500gp). Stopping by the local Temple of the Winged Sun, he finds one potion for sale for 1,000gp. Later, Marcus travels to the awe-inspiring city of Aura (Class I market). There he can buy 7 potions of healing for 1,000gp each, and even 2 potions of extra-healing (base cost 2,000gp) for 4,000gp each.
Commissioning Magic Items
On occasion, adventurers may commission powerful spellcasters to create magic items on their behalf. Spellcasters powerful enough to create magic items for hire can only be found in Class I markets, or through adventures.
The advantage to commissioning a magic item is that the item can be made exactly to the adventurer’s specification. The disadvantages are cost and time. The base cost and time required to create a magic item is listed on the Magic Item Creation table in Section 7 under Magic Research. The adventurer commissioning the item will be responsible up front for paying the base cost and the cost of any precious materials, and for providing any required special components. If the spellcaster successfully completes the item, the adventurer will then be charged an additional fee equal to 7,000gp per month, or twice the base cost, whichever is greater.
EXAMPLE: Marcus hires a mage to create a suit of plate armor +3 (base cost 25,000gp, base time 8 months). After describing the elaborate appearance he demands, Marcus pays 25,000gp. He also pays for 20,000gp worth of precious materials to be used in the items construction, to help ensure its successful creation (and to make it look spectacular). Finally, he delivers the special component, the iron hides of 25 gorgons, to the mage. When the mage completes the armor 8 months later, Marcus pays him an additional 56,000gp (8 x 7,000gp). Marcus has spent 101,000gp on his armor, enough to build a small keep.
Re: garrison costs for mage domains. What if the mage hired the orcs in his dungeon to be his garrison, and recruited an ogre as a 4th level retainer? Can a 4hd chaotic creature function as a retainer? If I went to a chaos city and based on city size could retainers from 1st to 4th level be interchangable with beastmen of the same HD? Basically, is an ogre (sandor cleglane, “the mountain who rides”) interchangable with a 4th level fighter?
Bargle -
- If the mage hired the orcs in his dungeon to be his garrison, then he’d avoid these problems, although he might have issues with alignment.
- A 4hd chaotic creature can function as a retainer. “Friendly monsters can be recruited as hirelings (see Hirelings, Retainers, Mercenaries, and Specialists) with a successful roll on the Reaction to Hiring Offer table.”
- Yes, an ogre is interchangeable with a 4th level fighter for most purposes and could be considered such for chaotic domains.
It seems like there’d be real appeal for a “domains of chaos” supplement.
PEASANTS AND DUNGEONS [update]
If desired, mages may actually hire the monsters in their dungeon to serve as the garrison. This will cause a -2 domain morale penalty if the monsters are Chaotic and the peasants are not. Mages with beastmen peasant families (see Domains of Chaos) do not need to increase their garrison because of dungeons, unless the dungeon’s inhabitants are Lawful.
Marcus hires a mage to create a suit of plate armor +3 (base cost 25,000gp, base time 8 months).
I’m not quite seeing how both of those numbers are right. It looks like plate armor is AC 6, so basic +1 plate would be 5,000 gp and 6 months base time. Increasing it to +3 and skipping over the +2 improvements would be 25,000 gp and 7 months. Including the +2 improvements on the way to +3 would be 35,000 gp and 8 months. Am I missing something?
When the mage completes the armor 8 months later…
Let’s say, after 8 months of work, the mage fails the magic research throw. Aside from killing all of the apprentices in a fit of rage, what are the results of failure? Obviously, there’s no +3 plate armor, but is everything gone, poof, in some unfortunate magical explosion? Marcus is going to be a tad upset if after 8 months the mage says, “Sorry about that 45,000 gp, accident in the lab, nothing we can do. Come back with more gold and more hides and we’ll try again.” That’s how I’m reading it.
It might be interesting if there was a chance for failed item creation to result in cursed or otherwise flawed items.
These families can be demoralized if the mage builds a dungeon and does not protect the peasants from the monsters therein.
It’s details like this that fill me with glee.
Undercrypt, you are right. I forgot to add the 10,000gp for the +1 to +2.
As far as the results of a failure, it simply means the materials and cost are wasted. The idea of a curse item resulting is cool, but I think we can address that in a later supplement or something…the rules are getting big!
Concerning your growing page count of rules:
Im reminded of mike mearls recent posts on his blog. He lists the climb skill and fully 80% of the text of the skill is about closing player loop holes. To a certain degree we here feed into that mindset for acks when we dig into your rules (like necromancy or construct creation). I would want you to go back through those rules and actuall ask yourself if they are really needed in the text, because it really does add up and it ends up reading like a book of exceptions instead of clear cool ideas/rules. Do you need to address every contingancy? I’d say no. Perhaps the rule doesn’t need to say that constructs are or aren’t automatically under the makers control, it doesn’t effect the rules about construction at all and is perhaps really just an opportunity for the dm to make his own ruling one way or another.
Right? In truth our nitpicking shows that (for example) that the rules on created undead or construct is robust enough to deal with either case, why should Acks come down one way or the other on the matter? I feel I sometimes ask questions of you developers as if you were my DM, but perhaps things like that are fine being left up to the DM and acks should remain agnostic on some matters and helps keep the book streamlined.
Very nice update to the rules. Its looking more and more solid every day!