Character Creation and Game Discussion

Ah - that makes sense.

Tragedy - Death of a family member
Destiny - Balancing of socioeconomic classes

I think it's better when they are a bit more specific, and less generic and conceptual. So what you posted as your destiny earlier was perfect for a destiny. For your tragedy, "death of a family member" is too generic. Notice Ahsas and foolsmask have, basically, the same tragedy (a family member died) but their tragedy captures the part of the event that shook their character and a has stuck with them. They capture some of the relevant emotion.

lol - ok, so let's hope third time is the charm.

This is too long:
Tragedy: I was walking the streets with my kid brother and we were run down by a noble's carriage. There had been no warning given; we just hadn't moved out of the way quick enough. I almost died, and my brother did. As I recovered, I discovered my ability to burn Pewter.

and this is too vague:
Tragedy: Death of a family member

So let's try:

Tragedy: Seeing younger brother brutally and carelessly killed

If that doesn't work, let me know and we'll go for try four! ;)

Perfect :)

How do we determine what our Attribute, Standing, Resilience, and Power ratings are?

Oh right, I forgot to cover the last step of character creation since everyone else just did it automatically. Sorry. Here you go (customized to your character):

Powers
You chose Average, Misting - Pewter. So you have Allomancy (Pewter) at rating 5. You also get to pick 1 stunt from the Pewter listed below with the rules for pewter burning as well.

Attributes
You picked Strong. So, you get 13 points to distribute between Physique, Charm and Wits. Each needs to have a rating of at least 2, and no single one can have a rating above 6.

Standings
You picked Weak. So you get 9 points to distribute between Resources, Influence and Spirit. Each needs to have a rating of at least 2, and no single one can have a rating above 4.

Resilience
Health = Physique + Resources
Reputation = Charm + Influence
Willpower = Wits + Spirit

PEWTER MISTINGS
While burning Pewter, you may add your Pewter rating to your Physique score, which in turn increases your Health (though again, only as long as you burn the metal). Should your Health drop to 0 when you stop burning Pewter, you immediately fall unconscious or begin dying, as determined by the Narrator based on your physical state and any injuries you’ve sustained (see Damage and Defeat, page 183).

Burning Pewter also lets you run at speeds up to 25 􏰍􏰋 mph — fast enough to automatically outrun any normal human — though prolonged exertion of this nature runs the risk of a Pewter drag (see next).

Finally, your healing rate is doubled — from 1 recovered Health to 2􏰍 — during any day when you burn Pewter for 8 hours or more.

Pewter Drags: If you exert yourself for eight or more hours while burning Pewter, you suffer from Pewter drag unless you continue to burn Pewter while resting for another eight hours. Pewter drag prevents you from burning Pewter and drops your Physique score to one-half normal, rounded down. This reduces your Health accordingly, and if your Health drops to 0 as a result you immediately begin dying (see page 185).

Burn Rate: Pewter burns swiftly, each charge lasting only 5 􏰋minutes. When flared, Pewter burns at a rate of 􏰕30 seconds per charge.

Flaring Pewter: In addition to increasing your Pewter rating by 1 (which con- sequently increases your Physique score and Health by 1 each), flaring this metal also lessens the severity of a single Physical Burden by one degree (a Mortal Burden becomes Grave, a Grave Burden becomes Serious, or a Serious Burden is lost).

Stunts (pick one)
Denser Tissues: While burning Pewter, your flesh becomes tougher and denser, and you suffer 1 less damage from physical attacks. You may take this Stunt a second time, reducing the damage you suffer from physical attacks by 1 more (for a maximum total of 􏰍).

Extreme Speed: You can run as fast as a galloping race horse (approximately 􏰪0 mph). During each Beat, you may take up to 􏰍 steps toward or away from a target without penalty, or you may choose not to gain any Action or Defense dice for the round to take 􏰕 steps toward or away from a target.

Inhuman Endurance (Trait): You may exert yourself for a number of days up to your Pewter rating without suffering Pewter drag. In addition to its story implications and descriptive applications, this Stunt grants the "Inhuman Endurance" Trait while you’re burning or flaring Pewter.

Prodigious Strength: While burning Pewter, you add an additional die with Physique rolls involving physical strength, including lifting and moving objects, and wielding heavy weapons. You may take this Stunt twice.

Slow-Burning Pewter: Your Pewter burn rate is doubled (i.e. from 5 􏰋 minutes per charge to 10 minutes per charge). You may take this Stunt a second time, increasing your Pewter burn rate from 10 minutes per charge to 􏰍20 minutes per charge. This Stunt does not increase your Pewter burn rate while flaring.

Unconscious Burning: You automatically burn Pewter when unconscious, though only if also injured (i.e. you don’t automatically burn Pewter when sleeping). Each Pewter charge burned in this fashion lasts for three hours, and the only benefits it conveys are increased Health, accelerated healing, and avoiding Pewter drag. It has no effect on Physique rolls or dice pools. This special Pewter burn stops immediately when you regain consciousness.

On a side note how's the throttle on posts? Too much? Or okay where it is since we're kind of all split up... and are we missing a player also?

At the moment, fine, because the other group is several beats 'ahead' in time (and I'm holding Mateo up on purpose as the next description for him will be the tour which will take up several beats). If it gets too fast, I'll just do what I'm doing with Mateo (hold up progress until things equalize).

Candi, everyone, I apologize that I've taken so long with this one. Let me know how I can/need to refine this.
I'm also not clear on how to proceed with steps four and five.

Name: Daclish Laclure
Concept: Lurcher Tinkerer
Race & gender: Skaa male
Age: 20
Appearance: Daclish is a man of moderate height with a light brown complexion, dark wavy hair, and bright blue eyes. He disdains his striking appearance, and so he's usually grimy, slouching, and unkempt with anything between stubble to a scraggly beard, depending on how long it's been since he's needed to impress a potential employer.


1. Why did you join the crew? (This will become your "Drive" trait)
To revenge myself on Alexandre de Chappotin, the plantation owner who used and discarded my mother, aunt, and sisters. My mother had been his favorite in her youth, and he used her frequently to warm his bed, siring two girls (my sisters, 2 and 4 years older than me) and then me. Once I was born, he stopped taking her to bed for a while, though she continued to get preferential treatment. While I was a baby, he took my aunt to his bed. Her mind eventually snapped, and her resultant seizures got bad enough that he kicked her out and took my mother back to his bed when I was four. By the time I was ten, the ravages of time and abuse were showing on my mother's features, and he started taking my sisters to bed instead, at first separately, then together. He continued to be kind to us during the day, still referring to my mother as his "pearl," but he neglected her more and more while lavishing disgusting attention on my sisters, who started going mad. When my mother died of a wasting sickness years later, my sisters committed suicide, and I fled the plantation.

de Chappotin is a close friend to Letourneau; my desire to get back at de Chappotin made me leap at the chance to hurt another plantation owner.

2. How did you live before you joined the crew? (This will become your "Profession" trait)
Like many Skaa, I was born on a plantation. Mine was owned by the noble Alexandre de Chappotin. Early on, I demonstrated a facility for operating the simple machines used in the farming operations on the plantation. So I worked in various jobs - still operator, bellows pusher, mill winch lugger, well capstan turner, ditch digger, plumber - and in each I gleaned a bit more knowledge about the mechanics of gravity, weights, measures, and so on. This fascinated me, and gave me something to focus on other than the sexual abuse at his hands. When I fled, I found odd jobs I could do in factories.

3. What special skill do you bring to the crew? (This will become your "Speciality" trait)
I am good at crafting and operating mechanisms.

4. What is your most distinctive feature? (This will become your "Feature" trait)
A strong resemblance to Alexandre de Chappotin: I can easily pass as him under casual inspection.

5. How do other people describe your personality? (This will become your "Personality" trait)
Quiet, brooding, laconic

Each of the next 3 questions will be accompanied by a degree - Strong, Average and Weak. You must use each degree once (so one question will be "Strong", one will be "Average", and one will be "Weak").

6. Do you have any special powers (like Allomancy or Feruchemy)?
- Average (Misting - 1 Allomantic Metal) - Lurcher

7. Are you especially fit, smart or charismatic?
- Strong (exceptional in 2 or more areas): physically fit, mentally alert, and handsome

8. Are you well-off, or do you struggle to get by?
- Weak (abundance of none of these) - I am homeless, finding shelter where I can, often in exchange for some job

9. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? (this will become your "Tragedy")
Worse even than finding his mother and sisters dead, was the realization that came later, that Alexandre de Chappotin was my father, and that I have much of his personality.

10. What do you believe is your ultimate purpose? (this will become your "Destiny")
To free the Skaa.

Powers
Allomancy (Iron): 5
Stunt: multiple targets

Attributes
Physique 5
Charm 2
Wits 6

Standings
Resources 2
Influence 3
Spirit 4

Resiliences
Health: 7
Reputation: 5
Willpower: 10

Traits & Burdens:
Drive: Take revenge on Alexandre de Chappotin
Profession: Tinker
Specialty: expert at crafting, repairing and operating mechanisms
Feature: dead ringer for Alexandre de Chappotin
Personality: brooding

Looks great! Glad you're still with us :)

The next challenge you've got is boiling down most of that into traits. Traits are 1-3 words, and focus on the essence of your answers. Your Destiny (to free the Skaa) and Tragedy are fine, but the rest of your answers need to become their respective traits.

As for step 4, your answers to questions 6,7,8 provide guidance. Here's what you need to do now:

Powers
You chose Average, Misting - Lurcher. So you have Allomancy (Iron) at rating 5. You also get to pick 1 stunt from the Iron listed below with the rules for iron burning as well.

Attributes
You picked Strong. So, you get 13 points to distribute between Physique, Charm and Wits. Each needs to have a rating of at least 2, and no single one can have a rating above 6.

Standings
You picked Weak. So you get 9 points to distribute between Resources, Influence and Spirit. Each needs to have a rating of at least 2, and no single one can have a rating above 4.

Resiliences
Health = Physique + Resources
Reputation = Charm + Influence
Willpower = Wits + Spirit

Iron
Burning Iron lets an Allomancer physically Pull on metals within several dozen yards. While burning Iron, a character sees bright, transparent blue lines leading from his or her center of mass and leading out to all sources of meta; within range; the further away an object is from the charater, the fainter the blue lines. The character may Pull on any metalic objects sensed in this fashion, and this process is commonly called "Ironpulling." By varying the strength and speed of an Ironpull, a character may affect objects of various sizes, and also control their velocity. A skilled Pull can drag a coin slowly across a surface or hurl a metal urn at speeds approaching that of an arrow.

There are several limitations to this ability. First, objects are Pulled directly towards the character’s center of mass, which is good when drawing a weapon to hand but not as helpful when others are blocking the character’s line of sight to it. Strategic Pullers might use this to their advantage, Pulling a weapon (or another object) that’s situated on the other side of an opponent, turning it into a ranged weapon. This is great until the character misses, at which point he or she becomes a target of the very same missile. Many Ironpullers carry wooden shields for this very reason.

Additionally, the weight an Allomancer can move using Iron depends upon his or her own — Pulling an object that weighs as much as the character results in a pointless tug of war, while Pulling something heavier, or something anchored down in some fashion that would support the character’s weight, moves the character toward the object instead. Thus, Pulling the lock of a sturdy door would draw the character toward the door, unless the surrounding wall were somehow unstable enough that it wouldn’t support the character’s weight.
Allomancers often anchor themselves by Pulling on a second larger object, or increasing their weight. Creative characters use this to maneuver, Pulling themselves up toward anchored objects and using others to guide their trajectories through the air. Careful "Pulling" can even work like relaxing a muscle, letting the character slowly drop from a metal fixture at the top of a high structure or sliding down a steep incline topped with an anchored metal object. Burning Iron can even let a character hover in midair below a sufficiently secured mooring, like a metal chain holding up a large chandelier, or the metal binding around a wooden rafter.

One last restriction: virtually no Allomancer can Pull on metal that’s inside a person.

Rules for Ironpulling
While burning Iron, you automatically detect and may Pull either one or all metal objects within 100 paces (Medium Range). This distinction is important — you may not choose to Pull more than one object unless you Pull all of them, or you have the Multiple Targets Stunt.

If a Pulled object is smaller or lighter than you, it’s drawn toward you; otherwise, you’re Pulled towards it. In both cases you can control velocity, up to a maximum speed of approximately 100 mph. Generally, Ironpulling requires no roll unless there’s a compelling reason the story might be enhanced with failure (the Narrator always makes this call, as he or she has the best view of all story implications). When a roll is required, it’s made with your Iron rating.

A common use of Ironpulling is to attack with loose metal objects behind an enemy. When you make such an attack, you roll with your Iron rating and apply the other rules listed here:

Small metal object (ie. coin): +1 Damage, Striking/Medium Range
Medium metal object (ie. weapon): +2 Damage, Striking/Medium Range
Larger metal object (ie. scenery): +3 Damage, Close/Medium Range

Pulling an object held or worn by another character is a Contest between your Iron and the target’s Physique. Battling for a metal object with another Allomancer is also a Contest, pitting your Iron vs. his or her Iron. In both cases, success drags the object away from the target (if it’s held) or sends the target sprawling (if the object is worn).

Pulling Extremely Heavy Objects: Anchored Pulling can put great stress on an Allomancer’s body. Each time you Pull on two or more extremely heavy objects — for example, anchoring yourself to the metal on a building while tearing a metal gate from its hinges — you lose 1 Health from physical strain.

Pulling Objects in Bodies: Pulling metal objects from a body (such as piercings) is exceedingly difficult, requiring a successful Contest of your Iron vs. your target’s Physique with an Outcome of 􏰀5 or greater.

Burn Rate: Iron burns at a rate of one charge every2 􏰁0 minutes. When flared, Iron burns at 2 minutes per charge.

Flaring Iron: Flaring Iron provides no additional benefits beyond increasing your Iron rating.

Allomantic Iron Stunts (pick one of these):

Increased Velocity: You may Pull objects at a velocity of up to 25􏰁􏰀0 mph, and the damage they inflict increases by 􏰂1.

Iron Redirection (Reaction): Once per Beat, you may Pull metal objects that are already in motion (such as steel-headed arrows, coins, and other thrown metal objects), potentially redirecting their flight. This is a Reaction (see page 177), and grants you a number of dice for your Reaction roll equal to your Iron Rating. You may add Action or Defense Dice to this pool if you like, though you may not roll more than 10 dice, as usual. If your Reaction Result beats the attacker’s Result, you may adjust the object’s trajectory enough that it either misses the original target or flies toward you instead (your choice). With success and if you Pull the object toward yourself, you may also spend 􏰁 Nudges to catch it. You may take this Stunt up to twice more, each time gaining the ability to use this Reaction once more per Beat (though you may still react only once to each attack, event, or circumstance)

Ironslide: You may Pull yourself at a heavy object at breakneck speed. During each Beat, you may Ironpull to take up to 2􏰁 steps toward or away from a target without penalty, or you may choose not to gain any Action or Defense dice for the round to take 3􏰃 steps toward or away from a target.

Long Range: You detect and may Pull metal objects out to 3􏰃00 paces (Long Range).

Multiple Targets: You have finer control of your Ironpulling and may simultaneously Pull a number of individual metal objects, or attack a number of different targets, up to your Iron rating. When attacking multiple targets, make a single Iron roll which each target must defend against individually. Nudges are ignored (they may not be gained) when using Iron to attack multiple targets.

Slow-Burning Iron: Your Iron burn rate is doubled (i.e. from 􏰁20 minutes per charge to 4􏰄0 minutes per charge). You may take this Stunt a second time, increasing your Iron burn rate from 4􏰄0 minutes per charge to 80 minutes per charge. This Stunt does not increase your Iron burn rate while flaring.

OK, I've revised my entry (above); I think all that remains is props (if any). A set of mismatched/scavenged tools, perhaps?

Nice. I would suggest making your drive "Revenge" (you'll appreciate the more general version later, I'm sure!).

You get a number of props equal to your Resources (so 2). There's a big chart, but since you only get two and you'll want a Misting Vial (Iron), which contains 3 charges of Iron, I'll just grant you a set of 'mechanics' tools for your second one and we're good to go!

The trick now is incorporating you into the group. It would be best if it was always part of the plan for you to arrive separately. Although, to what purpose? (feel free to just post in the main thread if you have an idea).

I'd like to have entered the plantation (a place I may have visited before, or at least a type of setting familiar to me) ahead of the rest of the group and done some reconnaissance already. If you wouldn't mind, I can have worked with Aengus to have acquired red belts for the stable...or at least tried to - I'd like to roll for it, if you'll allow.

Question about the system, though, that wasn't explicitly covered in the "Playing Mistborn" thread:
So the Difficulty of the Challenge/Conflict/Contest is subtracted from the Result of the roll, and the final number is your Outcome. Correct?

I ask because I think I may still be missing something of the mechanics there; the very first check in the game had a Result of 5 and a Difficulty of 1, but how is it that the Outcome was 3?

Instead of rolling, I'm happy to allow you to spend 1 resource to have the red belts (without needing to roll).

Also, the explanation for your observation is that both Ahsas and I missed the pair of 5's - he reported it as a result of "4" and I accepted that report. So, human error. The outcome was, in fact, 4. Which is to say, you've got the idea right (we just implemented it wrong)!

Ah, I see! I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the various How to Play posts, trying to figure it out. Thanks!

Sorry for my delay. I came down with a stomach bug over the weekend and started a new job this week. Monday wiped me out. Should be back to a regular posting now though...hopefully.

(groan) Now my character, eager for revenge, is going to sneak into the house with no way to communicate with the people inside, who aren't where we expect them to be...we're all going to be wandering around in the dark, instead of waiting for the people inside to do their jobs and come out as planned. It's going to be like a Pink Panther movie in there.

And that's where the fun is.

I love that the plan is just a to do list. What could go wrong?

We tap on their window first, get the wrong window, knock out some noble. Sneak in free a skaa turns out to be a noble that was being tortured... Lynch votes to put him back.