Re: The Cartel

Sorry if they did seema  little godlike everyone, btu lately ive been
playing high level campaigns and i guess i might have got a tad carried
away.  ill change a little here and there and resubmit when i get a chance.

The other erason they are powerful is so i have the pc's on their toes,
wondering when these violent races that the Gerese moved away from are going
to start rocking up.  Provides me with a ncie high-powered enemy once my
campaign gets higher (ie after doing all the SJ adventures published, pcs
are likely to be about 15th level themselves i would think, and thats what
im planning to do)

Tilaurin
tilaurin@???????.com
"Because by fate even the gods are cast down/Weep ye all with me"
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott McCarroll <unix_guy@???????????.com>
To: <SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 3:08 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] The Cartel


> ----         rupert smith <radsmith.geo@?????.com> wrote:
> >
> take a high level fighter mage, prepare a few delayed blast fireballs
> > to
> >
> deal with the minions, cast antimagic shell, and chew the fat gimp
> > up
> >
> with your trusty sword. it's amazing how quickly a high level fighter
> >
> can do 90 damage..
> >
>
> Yeah, this is true.  For me its a more philosophical thing.  I have seen
> a real trend in D&D gaming (spelljammer included) towards more and more
> power.  Me personally, I prefer more socially/role-play oriented tactics
> to keep players in line than in creating NPC traders that take a
determined
> high-level character to "off."
>
> For example, if the Garese were "ordinary" humanoids (in the sci-fi sense,
> not goblinoids) with access to better "technology" there defenses could
> be just as formidable, but without having to be "godlike."  Let me try
> to explain.
>
> 1) Instead of a Crystal Sphere that is 100% impregnable to an invading
> fleet, have it be hard to find.  Then if the Garese have effectively
> an sphere-spanning empire with lots of resources, an invasion would be
> very costly for the invaders, which could explain why they are left alone.
>  However, it still could happen.
>
> 2) Instead of making *every* Garese a giant super-mage, come up with
> stats for "ordinary" Garese.  I personally dislike the sheer volume of
> 10th+ level characters that are floating around.  Admittedly magic is
> more common in Spelljammer, but I still think the *vast* majority of
> character-types (or equivilents) should be less than even 5th level,
> with 6th-10th being rare, and 11th+ being very rare.
>
> 3) As for the defenses of the "average" Garese trader, the DM should
> just imagine what a similarly equipped PC would do to defend their
possesions
> from thieves and assasins.  Don't forget the possibility of good
old-fashioned
> hired mercenaries as guards.  Its also likely that they would work on
> a by-order basis and only keep a small stock of commonly purchased items
> on hand.  PC's pay in advance, and receive delivery of their order at
> some later date and place.
>
> 4) Now, if the players are actually *stupid* enough to kill one of these
> guys, what happens then?  Well, the local authorities might come under
> some pressure from the Cartel to find/capture/kill the perpetrators.
>  The Cartel itself could use magic to determine the identities of the
> killers (such a divination shouldn't be too hard for them to manage)
> and then post a reward for their capture everywhere the Cartel has
influence.
>  Net result: players get nifty stash of magic items, and become hunted
> in every single known sphere.  Live and learn.
>
> None of this requires the Garese to have any powers/abilities beyond
> that of your average 5th-10th level character.  In all likelihood, the
> average Garese could be even lower level than that, and simply be brokers
> for their higher-level brethren back home.  Equipped with some simple
> defensive magics (to prevent charming and what-not) they should be able
> to handle/escape from nearly any trouble.
>
> Scott M.
>
>
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