Character Creation and Game Discussion

Hello! Welcome to the Mistborn AG! First step is character creation, and really this should be done together. Your characters will form a thieving crew, and so it will be important that you're skills and abilities don't overlap (think of heist films, where each character has a role/job to perform/play).

Unless you have a very good story idea/reason I'm going to preemptively prohibit Kandra characters, admit at most 1 Terris character and tentatively prohibit Mistborn (you can, of course, still play Mistings; but no two Mistings of the same type). If you're new to the setting and all of those terms make no sense, worry not, I hope to start writing up setting primers soon. Here is the rulebook's recommend process of character creation:

Step 1: Start with the Crew: First, you and other players need to visualize the Crew — why they’re together, what causes they have in common, and what they hope to achieve as a team.

Common Cause: Vengeance
Primary Target: The Nobility
Method: Whatever Works

Step 2: Devise a Concept: Next, turn your attention to the concept for your personal character. Rough out an idea of what he or she is like and where he or she fits into the world and the Crew.

Ahsas (Disenfranchised Obligator)
foolsmask (Sly Con-Woman)
spaceseeker19
Remnant (Disgruntled Factory Worker)
njohn858

Step 3: Answer 10 Important Questions: Concept in hand, answer a series of questions that are common to every Hero. These will help you define core details about your character: his or her most important beliefs, history, personal- ity, skills, powers (if any), and other reasons he or she is special.

Step 4: Define Your Strengths: Armed with the answers from Step 3, prioritize your character’s strength in three different areas: Attributes, Standings, and Powers. Choosing between these strengths determines your abilities and the number of points you can assign to them.

Step 5: Fill in the Details: The technical part of your character is done and you can now apply the last little details that make him or her unique: name, race, Resiliences, and starting Props.

Step 1: Start with the Crew

As a group (myself included) we need to answer these questions:

1. What is your Crew's Common Cause?
Every Crew starts with a cause — a common aspiration that binds the team together. Is the Crew a band of thieves seeking fame and glory, or mercenaries in service to a noble house? Maybe they’re rebels hoping to liberate the skaa from the Lord Ruler...

I want to run a game about a band of thieves, so that partially answers this question - but if you're a group of thieves, what drives you?

2. What is your Crew's Primary Target?
Crews often choose a particular individual, organization, or establishment as the target for their actions. Who is the most common victim of your schemes: a particular noble, the army, the Steel Ministry, Allomancers, other crews, a social norm, or something else?

3. What is your Crew's Preferred Method?
With your Crew’s cause and target in mind, think about how you prefer to operate. Do you tend to wage open warfare or use deception? Do your methods focus on theft, sabotage, diplomacy, confidence schemes, or do you employ a varied approach? Your Crew’s method can help everyone tailor their characters’ skills and specialties, and also illuminate how they can best coordinate concepts and character choices.

1. Thievery sounds good to me.
2. I kinda like the idea of trying to undermine a particular noble house. Perhaps they caused some bad blood at some point in time and we're seeking revenge? Another idea is that we could be a bit more altruistic. Emulate Robin Hood's MO or be trying to bring the classes together by taking the houses down one by one - and whatever house we're targeting is the first. I'm not set on any of this...just throwing out ideas.
3. I'll let someone else throw out a response to #3 to better facilitate a collaborative Crew Creation.

Well, I have a few thoughts. First in my mind is the fact we are playing in an established setting with a story that happens. If we are playing in that world we are automatically limited by the overall plot of the books. In a Star Wars game unless you are playing as Han, Luke and Leia, you aren't going to be blowing up the Death Star and getting a medal. You might be the guys that steal the plans or who make a secret attack while the heroes have the big bad guy distracted, but you won't be the main heroes. So I would put out there that we should not have "overthrow the Emporer" as our Cause because that is the focus of the novels' plot.

So I am more in favor of "Money & Power" or "Vendetta against X". "Money & Power" being an open ended story that could go on forever, with new targets and acquisitions being needed after each successful job. "Vendetta against X" puts someone in the crosshairs and gives us a big bad to target. It's like "Overthrow the Emporer" but on a smaller scale. We each Coke up with a Reason to hate one particular NPC and our goal is to take them down, but they are to high up for us to just break into a mansion and kill. We need to work our way up to their level for a true take-down

From my point of view (I'm not up on the book series lore mind you).

1.) For Thievery Crew would we be like Leverage? Not that I don't want to be the Leverage but this probably isn't the game for it... or is it?

I guess it would depend on if we're well off or not for the common cause, stealing from the rich who are not cool and getting a better life for ourselves would be different than being well off and ruining those that got rich through certain ways we don't like (Human Trafficking for example) or deem appropriate.

2.) This depends on what we're all working on for our 'common cause' we'd be working towards goals I take it.

3.) I don't think open warfare would be the best of ideas for a band of thieves but maybe as a misdirect... I figure the tricks of the trade used would depend on the situation we'd probably do our fair share of stacking out a mark or location for a job and do our homework.

foolsmask -- with respect to your first point, my plan is to set the game in a city in one of the outer Dominances. I thought that, by avoiding Luthadel - which is the main city where the Lord Ruler lives, and the city in which most of the books take place - it would be much easier to 'carve our own story in the world' and feel less 'restrained' by the lore and events established by the books.

Man after doing some reading we're not really Thieves... we're revolutionaries (that will be successful). But mostly we're stealing stuff to make things happen?

It's been a long time since reading the original trilogy, but I think I remember mentions of other uprisings that had been attempted. And there's the constant warring between Houses, so it seems ripe to do some insidious rabble-rousing.

The story in the first book is about a thieving crew that becomes revolutionaries (because the leader wanted to incite a revolution; not really a spoiler, that's clear from about chapter 3). Of course, *this* game doesn't have to be about revolutionaries. You could just be thieves - mostly what I liked was the social dynamic of a thieving crew (it's a group of people, with distinct but complimentary skills that work together to achieve something none of them could do alone). That's what I'd like from the group - a crew basically (I may have over imposed suggesting you should be thieves - but then again, thievery is a nice fit for the setting. High fantasy heists stealing valuable goods from rich, all powerful magic nobles... all the while avoiding the attention of the unfathomably powerful steel ministry!)

Your common cause may be anything from wealth to revolution... and it may be your goal requires you to dip a bit into both (if you seek revenge, for example, you may first need to finance yourselves). If you want to be revolutionaries that's definitely within the scope :)

I've implied so far that you'd be a group of mostly Skaa, but it's possible too for you to be a bunch of disgruntled nobles (who are perhaps sympathetic to the plight of the Skaa, and have had enough of the slavery and oppression... and have taken it upon yourselves to topple the empire - or maybe just topple the top noble family in your city so that you can covertly improve conditions for the Skaa without drawing the ire of the Steel Ministry).

So, there's some more ideas.

I think I have the general idea for a character that I submitted. As long as we don't have the rest of the crew being Nobles I think he'll fit just fine. What our common cause it probably depends on what were are and what we do though.

That is exactly what I meant. We shouldn't set ourselves up to take down the Emporer, the books tell that story. We should do something else, and being in another city helps.

I still like the idea of having a "big bad" to take down. I am unsure of how the cities are run (it's been a while since I read that part of the book) but I remember it being like classic feudalism, in that someone is at the top and they have to watch out for the nobles under them who are trying to knock them off and the Emporers secret agents trying to ferret out disloyal nobles. I kind of like the idea of having our cause be something like "Take down the current noble family so that a better one can take over. And be there to keep the next family in line." So Justice? If it has to be boiled down to a single word.

For the crew's target, I enjoy the idea of taking down our own version of the Big Bad, whether that be an individual, or a particular dynasty. It provides a target around which to focus the group's efforts.

If we go that route, it lends itself somewhat more to revenge or political motivations, although money could be an intermediate goal on the path.

As for methods, I feel a varied approach would be most interesting. Schemes that involve multiple aspects can allow players to shine in their respective roles.

Are there Factions supported by different noble houses, or perhaps major houses and minor houses that support them? I don't know anything about the setting, but I like njohn's idea that we each have complementary vendettas - our own reasons for wanting to get back at them - and it seems like having multiple targets that are allied with one another would make a campaign fit together really nicely.

We all want resources of some kind - money, magic, whatever - but that's secondary to the primary motivation, what makes it particularly sweet: bringing down the faction/houses that did us wrong. Perhaps our families/tribes/towns were eliminated as part of a policy of the houses in City X in the Outer Dominancy in which we find our story set, and we need resources to survive and also bring down those responsible.

I like that multi-target approach, as it sets us up for the possibility at least of getting back through different types of theft: retrieving sensitive information, planting incriminating evidence, stealing prized possessions, playing with the minds of somewhat unstable people to push them into insanity, provoking action that results in either revolt from below or reprisal from above, etc.

Here's some ideas for types of crew (again, not system- or setting-specific):
* the traps guy (setting/disarming)
* the stealth/sneak guy
* the persuader/fast talk guy
* the illusionist/counterfeiter
* the master of disguise
* the muscle (for feats of strength, defense)
* the getaway guy
* the heavy artillery guy (either mechanically, through weapons skill, or through magic)

@foolsmask - your summary of how a city is 'run' is spot on.

There are major and minor noble houses - one house will 'be on top' in a given city. There's constant 'warring' between noble houses as well, as they jockey for power. Mixed into that are representatives of the Steel Ministry. Obligators 'observing' all binding contracts, agreements and arrangements, and there may even been an Inquisitor about ferreting out Skaa Allomancers (as Skaa aren't supposed to be Allomancers) and traitors amongst the nobility.

I'm gathering a general tone of:

Common Cause: Vengeance
Primary Target: The Nobility
Method: Whatever Works

Given that, you should each come up with a concept for your character. I'll post the 10 questions referenced in step three in a few hours.

I've been toying with the idea of a Soother Obligator who has had a crisis of faith and no longer believes in the Lord Ruler. Alternatively, the character may end up being someone who has managed to infiltrate the Obligators with a silver tongue and very judicious use of Soothing.

The key concepts that I'm looking for are a character who uses mental Allomancy, a silver tongue, and knowledge of trade and financial law to mingle with nobles and gather information needed to select targets and pull off heists.

Here are some sample concepts from the book, although two of you, at least, are already well on your way - this may help those not familiar with the setting. Notes in italics clarify some of the terminology:

- Idealistic young nobleman (or woman)
- Captain of the house guard (every noble house has a house guard)
- Former Steel Ministry functionary
- Newly-Snapped Mistborn Noble down on his (or her) luck ('Snapping' is when an individuals latent allomantic powers become known to them. Typically, powers only manifest once an individual has had a sufficiently bad experience - such as a near-death experience)
- Laborer pushed over the brink
- Indentured Allomancer
- Escaped plantation worker
- Veteran hazekiller (hazekillers are people who do not have allomantic powers, but are trained and skilled at fighting allomancers)
- Notorious con-man (or woman)
- Rebel skaa soldier
- Ambitious skaa merchant
- Wizened elder
- Skaa performer

The 10 Questions (every player needs to post answers to these questions; you can do so with paragraphs - but you will need to summarize them as a short, succinct word or phrase for your character sheet. These answers will influence your actual statistics allocations, and your traits will influence how you role play your character and how you roll!)

1. Why did you join the crew? (This will become your "Drive" trait)
2. How did you live before you joined the crew? (This will become your "Profession" trait)
3. What special skill do you bring to the crew? (This will become your "Speciality" trait)
4. What is your most distinctive feature? (This will become your "Feature" trait)
5. How do other people describe your personality? (This will become your "Personality" trait)

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)?
- Strong (Mistborn - all metals, or Keeper - feruchemical powers)
- Average (Misting - 1 Allomantic Metal)
- Weak (no powers)

7. Are you especially fit, smart or charismatic?
- Strong (exceptional in 2 or more areas)
- Average (exceptional in 1 area)
- Weak (exception in no areas)

8. Are you well-off, or do you struggle to get by?
- Strong (abundance of two or more of resources, influence and spirit)
- Average (abundance of one of these)
- Weak (abundance of none of these)

9. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? (this will become your "Tragedy")
10. What do you believe is your ultimate purpose? (this will become your "Destiny")

I kind of want to play a Con-woman Rioter who can infiltrate a society party or a second story window. Kind of a Selena Kyle/Catwoman. If Ahsas plays the Disenfranchised Obligator, it could lead to an interesting dynamic.

My concept is of a "traps" guy: someone mechanically gifted, who is adept at creating and subverting/deactivating contraptions. Before I answer the questions with that concept in mind, I want a sanity check: is that character concept workable in this setting? I don't have a sense of how much mechanisms are used on Scadrial, and whether they generally are or aren't imbued with Metallic Arts powers. If the idea is not a workable one, I'll come up with another.

Mechanisms aren't imbued with metallic arts. Metallic arts are intrinsic to the individual. Allomancers can 'burn' metals in their gut to create specific effects in the world - such as a coinshot who can 'burn' steel to 'push' against any metal. The name 'coinshot' comes from their tendency to use coins as projectiles. Since coins are metal, they can use their allomantic power to 'push' a coin with incredible velocity. Feruchemists 'store' traits and effects in their 'metalminds' which they (and only they) can retrieve later. To use the same metal as an example, a steel metalmind can be used to store speed. To store speed the Feruchemist will be forced to be 'slower' while they are storing, but later can 'tap' their steel metalmind for a speed boost. Hemalurgy is used to steal powers and attributes from others (by killing them with metal spikes). The type of metal used determines the power or trait 'stolen' (you don't have to worry about this one, it's unlikely that I will let any characters have a hemalurgic spike without a really good explanation as hemalurgy is a closely guarded secret known only to the Lord Ruler and the Inquisitors).

With respect to someone skilled and working with contraptions, that can definitely work. The setting is a classic fantasy setting, the most significant technological advance is canned food (notably, they don't have gunpowder - specifically because the Lord Ruler has suppressed the knowledge of any technological advance he could foresee being used to give rebellions an edge against expertly trained soldiers). I'm ok with gears, pulleys and a basic understanding of mechanics and mechanisms (they have city gates, make coinage and have very fancy noble houses, after all), from which it follows that a character could be particularly skilled at mechanics and clever with respect to creating contraptions (albeit simple ones, that doesn't mean they can't be effective). Probably also you would make liberal use of ceramics (in Alloy of Law, which is a standalone book set in the 'wild west future' of the Scadrial, ceramics are used to good effect to fight coinshots, who, lets face it, are the primary type of allomancer people worry about). So yes, absolutely can make it work (you will probably want to have decent Resources and Wits, as I can see Resources rolls to acquire odd bits to make a thing, and Wits rolls to pull off the creation effort. You would be playing a very uniquely skilled character (with a skillset the Lord Ruler has a distinctive interest in suppressing/eliminating). Which could be fun!

If you're interested in combining aptitude with magic for greater effect, being a Lurcher may work nicely (a Misting who uses Iron). Lurchers are the inverse of coinshots. Where coinshots can push metals, lurchers can pull metals towards themselves. Not as flashy, or as immediately useful (a lurcher's primary function in the book is to nullify enemy coinshots by pulling projectiles into a wooden shield). However, a lurcher skilled at making contraptions could make things that are lever activated, and trigger them from a distance by 'pulling' the lever (or relocate a metal device by pulling the whole device towards themselves). I'm sure you could come up with even more creative things with details about a task and context. I recommend Lurcher only because, if you were a Coinshot all the clever contraption stuff may pale in comparison to your ability to 'shoot coins' and 'leap as if you were flying' (by pushing against metal on the ground, and so throwing yourself into the air). Lurchers tend to get short shrift because coinshots are so much more effective, but I think a think a Lurcher that is a tinkerer could be a very interesting character to play!

My concept for Erstwhem aka Lynch seems to spread between scheming/being connected and the fact he's probably the only one most to negotiate with someone after picking them up by the throat. Is anyone actually playing a Noble?

I believe Ahsas is considering playing an obligator (which would mean he must be a noble). That said, any noble running with this crew is interested in 'taking down the ruling nobles', given the crew's cause is revenge against 'the nobility'. So, while Lynch may have issues with nobles (and that may lead to some interesting conflicts of personality within the crew), it's likely that he'd be willing to tolerate any nobles in the crew given they are commonly united against 'all the rest of the nobles'.

*shrugs* Until they do something that looks shifty 'maybe they are on the up and up' everyone's shifty even me though. XD The enemy of my enemy I guess.

Still working through the character creation process - I should have more time this evening to hash through it all, but I'm imagining playing some sort of Pewterarm...a bouncer-type who is generally wellknown as one to be avoided. Potentially the muscle of a ring leader or a rough tavern or something like that.

I'm toying with the idea of doing a bit of a hybrid between a pewter-burning allomantic and a steel-storing feruchemist. Refresh my memory...were those types of hybrids common during the Mistborn era, or did they come later?

At the moment, I'm working on the idea that Farden [last name to be determined] was the third son of a poor minor family in the city that the game will be set in. For reasons yet to be determined, Farden's father, whom he idolized, was executed publicly by the Lord Ruler, while the rest of the city's nobles looked on. The death of his father caused him to Snap. He was then given to the Canton of Finance where he threw himself into his studies in the hopes of finding a way to hurt the Lord Ruler and the nobles that support him. Working with the people he hates, overseeing contracts between people who laughed at his father's public death, and having to smile and be professional the whole time has turned Farden into a strong actor and quick thinker.

He brings his abilities as a Soother, his silver tongue, and his connection to the Obligators to the crew.

I'm pretty sure hybrids are completely unknown in the first book. I haven't read the series myself but my brother and I discussed it a lot as he was reading it. I think hybrid rules are in the book because they released the book before Sanderson was done with this world (if he even is at this point, I haven't checked in a while.)

That's kinda what I thought. After pondering it some more and refreshing my memory on a few things, hybrids aren't completely unknown, but they are extremely rare. They're pretty common in the Alloy of Law timeframe, but that may be because of what happened at the end of Hero of Ages. (I'm trying to keep things spoiler-free for those who haven't read the books yet).

Sanderson isn't done with the world yet, but he's done with the era that Mistborn is set in. He's doing three sets of trilogies spanning three different eras (with another book (Alloy of Law) thrown in as something of a prequel to Era 2). Book 1 (or 2 depending on if you count AoL) of Era 2 was released last month and I believe Book 2 (or 3) is due early next year. Era 2 is set in a stereotypical Western setting: trains, expansion, guns, etc. Era 3 is supposed to be set in the future, which I'm hoping means space travel. Pushing and Pulling yourself through the Final Frontier would be pretty sweet.

Here's my first go at my character concept. I'm open to changing it as needed.

Character Name: Hiram
Concept: Justice-seeking Pewterarm
Race: Skaa
Sex: Male
Age: 35
Height: 6'
Weight: 220lbs


Drive: Justice
I joined the crew because I was tired of being trapped by social injustice. I see the massive chasm between the daily hurt and pain the skaa face and the luxury the nobles dwell in, and it's just not right! This stemmed from seeing a noble casually kill my brother and not be held accountable for the action.

Profession: Thug
My day job is as the muscle of Ged's Bar. Ged was fine letting disagreements reach a certain point, but once that line gets crossed, I step in to settle the matter. My reputation precedes me to the point where those in an argument quickly settle the matter if they saw me approaching.

Specialty: Perceptive
I'm quick to gauge a situation and see the path of least resistance - the option that gets the job done most efficiently.

Feature: Scarred
My face has a jagged scar running across it - a souvenir from a noble for not getting out of the way of his carriage fast enough. I escaped with a scar - my kid brother wasn't as fortunate.

Personality: Sleeping Giant
I'm one who can take a lot before losing his temper, but once I lose it, you'd better get out of my way.

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.

Destiny: To bring the nobles down to the level of the skaa.


Other Q/A:
6. Do you have any special powers (like Allomancy or Feruchemy)? 
Average (Misting - Pewter).


7. Are you especially fit, smart or charismatic? 
Strong: Fit
Being a bouncer, I have to stay incredibly fit to continue coming out on top of each disagreement. Burning Pewter greatly enhances further my innate abilities, making me quite effective at my responsibilities.

8. Are you well-off, or do you struggle to get by?
Weak
Sustenance is a daily struggle, which is why I'm still working at Ged's, and one of the reasons why joining the Crew appealed to me.

@Ahsas - sounds great!

@njohn858 - a couple things. First, you may be happy to know that Alloy of Law was a 'stand alone' book, and that Shadows of Self is the first of a trilogy set in the '1930s' with the second book coming out in January. Also, the whole 'western' series with Wax and Wayne is a bonus trilogy! The intended "Era 2" was a 'modern' story, with "Era 3" being a space opera. So space is coming, but not for a long while.

Second, your character looks interesting, as several other players are Mistings, I still want to prohibit a Mistborn. While the game designers went to great lengths to balance Mistborns against Mistings, I'd prefer each character has a unique skill instead of a skill better than the 'jack of all trades' on the team. If you want Strong Powers, that means your only option is a Feruchemist (with all Feruchemical powers).

On an unrelated note: I've created for myself a game master notes subforum - can anyone see it?

I'm not seeing a game master notes forum....

That sounds good about the Mistborn. I'll reduce it to a Misting (Pewter) and leave everything else pretty much the same.

Mateo Santiago

1) Why did you join the Crew?
Mateo joined the crew because he believes they will be able to help him hurt avenge his father's humiliating public execution.

2) How did you live before joining the crew?
I was a third son in from a minor noble family of the city. We grew up relatively poor, although far better off than the skaa. After my father was executed by the Lord Ruler, I was given to the Canton of Finance where I studied hard in the hope of learning how to hurt the Lord Ruler and the nobility that support him. While studying in the Canton of Finance, Mateo learned to earn the trust and friendship of the people he despised. He was constantly surrounded by "friends", but always alone.

3) What special skill do you bring to the crew?
Silver tongue

4) What is your most distinctive feature?
Canton of Finance eye tattoos.

5) How do other people describe your personality?
Sincere

6) Do you have any special powers?
Average - Soother

7) Are you especially fit, smart, or charismatic?
Strong - Smart and charismatic

8) Are you well-off, or do you struggle to get by?
Weak - Mateo's family was poor to begin with. The public execution of his father hurt the family's fortunes even further. As a brand new Obligator, he is still poor.

9) What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
Seeing the Lord Ruler execute my father for banned books that implied that he had skaa sympathies.

10) What do you believe is your ultimate purpose?
Hurt the Final Empire.

----------------------------------------

Powers (Average):
Soother
- Focused emotion (Suspicion)

Attributes (Strong):
Physique: 2
Charm: 6
Wits: 5

Standing (Weak):
Resources: 2
Influence: 4
Spirit: 3

Resilience:
Health: 4
Reputation: 10
Willpower: 8

Traits & Burdens:
Drive: Avenge his father's humiliating death
Profession: Obligator
Specialty: Finance and trade expert
Feature: Obligator eye tattoos
Personality: Sincere

Tragedy:
Watched the Lord Ruler execute his father in public.

Destiny:
Bring down the Final Empire.

Props:
Misting vial (3 charges of brass)
Disguise

Finished my concept finally.
Name: Dezire
Concept: Rioting Con Artist and Thief
Race: Skaa; Sex: Female; Age: 23; Height: 5' 4"; Weight: 108lbs

1. Why did you join the crew?
No matter how good I am, I know I can't do it on my own. I need support, people to watch my back, and run interference. The crew offers the support I need to acheive my goals.

DRIVE: Become the best thief in the empire.

2. How did you live before you joined the crew?
I have never worked an honest day in my life. Stealing and scamming became my way of life early. A pretty face and well placed lie were just as useful as being sneaky and stealthy growing up. My spoils always went to feed my family though. Mom and Dad weren't happy about it, but they never punished me for it, it just made life easier.

PROFESSION: Con-Artist & Thief

3. What special skill do you bring to the crew?
I have been forced to steal often in my life. It is more than just a survival skill though. I enjoy challenging myself, and I'm good at it.

SPECIALTY: Breaking and Entering

4. What is your most distinctive feature?
The Noble blood I possess is strong. With a little cleaning up, I can easily pass as one of them. Sometimes even my own people fail to see that I am Skaa. Sometimes I can use this to my advantage, other times they accuse me of putting on airs, and acting above my station. I may not always correct people when they male assumptions, but I don't abuse the gift.

FEATURE: Can easily pass for a Noble.

5. How do other people describe your personality?
I try to live my life the way I know my family would want me to, finding joy and fun when I can. We live in a harsh world and learning to take pleasure in even the small things is a victory.

PERSONALITY: Exuberant

6. Do you have any special powers?
Yes. I am a Rioter. A Misting gifted with the ability to burn Zinc.

Average (Misting - Zinc)

7. Are you especially fit, smart, or charismatic?
I'm the complete package. Beautiful and fun at parties. Smart as a whip and stronger than most people expect, but my specialty is pulling second story jobs.

Strong (beautiful strong and smart)

8. Are you well-fed or do you struggle to get by?
I can never seem to keep what I take. I always find someone more deserving, someone with needs greater than my own. I don't resent

Weak (not exceptional)

9. What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?
I failed in a big way once. I fell in with some bad people once. Their leader was some snot nose noble who had more money than sense. I was seduced by the opportunities I was promised, but I had to pass a test. I shot my mouth off and bragged that I could beat any challenge they could come up with, swore on my family's life. The task they set was steal a royal seal from a rival house. I managed to get in without being noticed, but getting out was harder. They nearly beat me to death, all for a simple seal. I Snapped. I never expected that. Once I felt the burn set in I managed to play my captors against each other and when it was down to the last man, I convinced him to let me go. When I returned home, the other noble was waiting. He made me pay for failure. It wasn't my own life I had wagered though, it was my family.

TRAGEDY: I was to late to save my family.

10. What do you believe is your ultimate purpose?
I will see the noble who killed my family destroyed for his deeds. Not just dead, I will dismantle his life and make him beg for the embrace of death. Then I will grant his wish.

DESTINY: Kill the noble who murdered my family.

Powers
Misting (Zinc 5)
Stunt: Slow-Burning (40 minutes per charge)

Attributes
Physique: 4
Charm: 5
Wits: 4

Standings
Resources: 3
Influence: 3
Spirit: 3

Resiliences
Health: 7
Reputation: 8
Willpower: 7

Props
Misting Vial (Zinc -3 charges)
Formal Clothing
Lockpicks

It seems that spaceseeker is the only who hasn't done the questionnaire (and njohn858 needs a tragedy and destiny) - I expect you're still reading the deluge of information on the system and setting that I've thrown up?

I have read them all and wish there were more to read.

In the interest of keeping things going while the enthusiasm is here, I'm going to start the game. Those not finished, and still working at their characters, can jump in as soon as they are comfortable. The game will begin at the start of your first 'job' together - I am starting after you've met and decided to overthrow the nobility of Mantiz (the city the game is set in). This is an opportunity to retroactively build character relationships (by reflecting on how you met others etc while playing/interacting).

I am new to this system as well, so lets see how it plays out! :)

I had listed my Tragedy/Destiny as:

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.

Destiny: To bring the nobles down to the level of the skaa.

If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll change it up.

@njohn858 - I think what Candi means is your Destiny and Tragedy need to be boiled down into a single statement, sentence or word just like your other Traits. This way they can affect your dice pools during play. For example my character has the Tragedy "I was to late to save my family" so if during play I stop to do something while I know the other members of the Crew are in need, there is a dramatic reason for a penalty to that action. Of course these cut both ways, I can just as easily use the my Tragedy to help me overcome a challenge that is keeping me from helping my Crew if my actions are to get away from the thing that is holding me up.

I think your Destiny and Tragedy are fine, in fact your Destiny probably works as written, But if you could boil down your Tragedy to that one sentence "thing that sticks with your character" that would complete your character sheet.

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.

I see nothing wrong with this plan.

It's missing the crucial "..." step , mind you.

100% of the time the plan works some of the time... with a 13-46% variance... Oh wait that's Shadowrun XD

Sorry it wasn't clear - the guard isn't patrolling. He's standing.

Considering past sneaking around tests the sneaky one of us will probably need a Physique 2 with some bonus (I figure it's dim or dark besides the candle) or penalty (he's looking at us). I'm curious though how far it is to the guy and if there are any cardboard boxes marked oranges...

Based on the post, it's about 40 feet to the guard, and his back is to us. (at least, that's how I interpret it...)

So, subduing the guard brings us into new territory. Technically I should whip up a Conflict, but they are really involved and really only appropriate for larger battles with higher stakes.

So, I'm just going to to use a Contested roll. Instead of a fixed target number, Hiram will form a pool, the guard will form a pool, and then rolls will be made and the results compared. In order to form Hiram's pool I need to know if you're using Pewter or not.

I'll go ahead and use my pewter for the rush and attack.

So your dice pool is 10, then 5 Physique + 5 Pewter (the effect of Pewter is that when you burn it, you add your Pewter rating to your physique). You get a +1 for sneaking up, but dice pools max out at 10. For each die in your pool above 10, you get a freed nudge. So, your pool is 10 + 1 Nudge.

Also, your Misting vial only has 3 charges of Pewter. So note on your character sheet that you're at 2/3 Charges left. A charge lasts for 5 minutes when burned (so you have the benefit for 5 minutes, which may become relevant - we'll see!).

Finally, Contests:

What happens is you roll your pool, and my guard will roll his (which is a 5 dice pool). Then, you compare the results (the highest pair). Highest pair wins. In case of a tie, tie is broken by nudges. If you win, then outcome will be resolved as normal.

Regarding Hiram's last comment: enemies wearing metal isn't a sign that they don't have a lurcher or coinshot amongst their number. Lurchers and coinshots can be selective about what metal in their environment they push/pull and so could easily elect not to affect their allies. Seeing metal on guards is, however, an indicator that they aren't *worried* about being attacked by lurchers and/or coinshots (who could use the guard's equipment against them).

We're reunited with the others in their room? Well, that's a tremendous relief! I was expecting us to keep wandering around for many rounds, perhaps with some humorous near-misses.

I kind of wanted to see the fancy bathroom. I hear they have a fountain you sit on... D=

It is true that, while two of you have searched the office, none of you have searched the noble's personal chamber. Also, as a list of possible tasks you may have ahead of you here's what I'm seeing:

1. Get the Notebook (Primary Objective)
2. Get the kid out of the plantation (Lynch Personal Objective)
3. Get the woman out of the basement cell (Secondary Objective)
4. Frame or Otherwise 'deal with' the unconscious guard (Possible Secondary Objective, depending on if you decide to try and seal the deal tonight or not)

For everyone, you will need to spend 1 Spirit to get a 'second wind' and push through the night. It's the middle of the night, you spent all day travelling to the plantation, and the evening and first hours of night skulking about and gathering intel. To press on, it will take some effort.

Maybe not be the place but maybe we can steal away the woman in the basement, stag the guard to look like he did a side deal to sell her off and got double crossed by a neighboring noble (yes it's complicated!). It also sounds like the people on the inside want to take it slow as to not rouse suspicion, I don't know when their audit will be over but smaller footprints are less noticeable. We might be calling it a 'night'. There is a chance the three outsider might get stalkered by nobles for torture as well that we should be mindful of.

So, what's the plan -- Dez going to search the bedroom while the others deal with the guard/rescue the woman in the basement?

At this point, as we've had a bit of a slowdown, it's probably time to stop discussing it and start taking action; whatever that action is.

I think from my understanding some outside team deal with the guard and take off for now and find out from the Skaa about the woman. Inside team check out the room, unsure if they wanted us to wait until they get back first though.

I expect Daclish's insistence will require some more conversing. Which is fine, happy to have more development of character (just wasn't happy things slowed down!). So, I deleted the post I had made to 'speed things along' for those that may have seen it.

I have a question. You've asked us to spend 1 Spirit to keep going through the night without sleep. I agree that asking us to take "damage" for that makes sense, but shouldn't the hit be to Willpower? I thought that our Attributes and Standings were more or less set and "damage" was always taken from our Resiliences. Since Willpower is derived form our Wits and Spirit, a reduction of Spirit would mean a reduction of Willpower as well, right?

For that matter...Health and Willpower both make sense as being damaged by a lack of sleep.

Standings double as resources and stats - you can spend standings to achieve outcomes. Spending a standing is not a permanent reduction of that standing, you recover standings as time passes (or as you rest), and so doesn't affect your Willpower. I tried to describe how Standings work and spending them works in this post here.

Your Resiliences are a resource you can 'spend'. Damage is accrued when things act against you (or you fail and 'harm' yourself - which resilience is affected depends on what kind of harm is suffered).

I do find with this system, since it is so loose and free wheeling, that there's lots of ways one can go about mechanically representing things (such as carrying on through the night).

I felt that 'pushing through the night' was less 'harm' and more an act of determination, which to me felt like the kind of thing you spend 1 Spirit to do (you actively spend standings) instead of losing 1 Willpower (seems to me you'd lose resilience in the case that you were FORCEd to carry in, but here you choose).

Fair enough. I can accept that explanation. I will spend the spirit to keep Dezire moving.

Lynch, if you wanted to go with Hiram you can assume Lynch saw the same thing.

Also, for sake of cleanliness, can we try to keep posts that are just OOC in this thread? Thanks!

I'm fine burning pewter for the carry and run across the fields. I almost put that in there anyway, so it's nice we're on the same page.

Question though...are the voices (and the dock) upstream or downstream from where Hiram is?

Let fate decide...

Added my Wits roll. I asked about adding Profession and added it as a separate roll but in the end it didn't matter. Results from just Wits were 6,1,6,1...Profession was a 4.

I would have allowed the profession. Also, in general, that approach to making rolls is a more efficient one than we've been using. So, it would be great if you players can all do that from now on -- when I call a roll, make the pure stat roll on its own line, then add a since d6 for each trait you want to claim as a +1. Then, if I approve the trait I can include that die result in the roll automatically and there's no delay from the inevitable discussion about applicable traits following the call for a roll.

Whoops, I didn't see your request here until now, just after I added the 6d6 as one roll (instead of two rolls: 5d6 and 1d6 separate), assuming that the last die would be the trait die. I'll label them in future. But I am unclear on how to read the results; I have three nudges and no other matches.

Yeah you get 3 nudges and a result of 0. Which is a failure, with 1 consequence... BUT, nudges can be spent to eliminate consequences, so it's a failure with 0 consequences (and the 2 extra nudges do nothing, you can't spend nudges for anything besides reducing consequences on a failure).

I find the dice mechanics of this system interesting... but a bit irritating as well. The system tells me that most tasks, except the most strenuous and risky, are Difficulty 1... but with the amount of dice you guys roll, that means most tasks don't have meaningful costs for failing, because if you don't roll a pair of 1's (or better), you certainly roll at least one 6. Going to have to do some rethinking about difficulties of tasks, I think, because while 'heroes' shouldn't fail often, failure is where interesting plot twists, complications and unexpected happenings come from!

Can I get a number on the misting vials?

It's "1 set" so that's 3 charges, so 3 vials.

Oh I see, I got some game terminology wrong - I said "vials" whereas the game mechanics are 1 vial = 3 charges. I just imagined that was 3 vials. So, why not, you've got 3 Vials of steel (each with 3 Charges).

Thanks.

Just so I have a clear understanding, I'm rolling 7d6 for the check? 5d6 for Physique, then +2d6 for Perception and Circumstance?

And you indicated you'd like to have the +1s be rolled separately, correct?

Roll 7d6 as one block. My request to have the +1s be rolled separately was for cases where players take the initiative, recognize the possible need for a roll, and include it with the description of the action. In dong so, you'll also look at your traits and suggest ones that might grant +1's. By rolling them separately it's easy for me to see what the roll is if I decide that, indeed, the trait you thought applied does not (because ultimately the decision rests with me).

I finished reading The Bands of Mourning today. Excellent addition to the Mistborn saga. And of the Wax/Wayne series, I think it's the best so far! :D

Well, no spoilers because I won't be buying the book until the weekend!

We seem to have hit a bit of a lull here..... If RL is getting crazy, that's understandable...I'm just wondering where things are at.

Also, I read the new Mistborn: Secret History as well - It's definitely chock-full of spoilers for the first trilogy (and a couple for the Wax/Wayne series), but it helps fill in the gaps of what's happening.

I'm waiting on Candi to tell us what's happening with the doc boys and if you're going to go Oh Shi! and combat ensues. Several of the games are stalled I/we're in though. I figure that was a PbP thing.

PbF definitely has an ebb and flow, but it is important not to let an ebb last too long. Sorry it's my holdup, I actually forgot (it's a good idea, if you're waiting on me, to post in this thread like njohn has to double check that we're still live -- if I see the main thread post, but don't deal with it in 24hrs it tends to have fallen off my radar)

I figure you were trying to wrangle the three way split. Plus other games. XD

Yeah, the three way split is why I often don't respond right away - because I need a solid 10 uninterrupted minutes to handle this game :P

No worries. There's definitely a normal ebb/flow to postings, but I also know that RL can throw in some major curves, which can understandably put the brakes on a game. Glad to hear it's just the former. ;)

And kudos for keeping such good track of the three-way split! :D

Going to wait up for Daclish before carrying on, as timelines are getting skewed but the probability of intersection is rising!

Agreed.

I take it me and Hiram are on standby outside waiting to see skulking Dac with someone in toe? Santi is in her room. Dez is doing ninja like stuff yeah? Time's on a few different speeds so I'm unsure. Hope no one else is flipping the bird at the snow.

Yeah sounds right. At this point I'm just waitin on Dac to respond to Dez.

Thumb twiddle

You can go see the new Deadpool movie since we have time...

Sorry guys, was waiting on Daclish (and spaceseeker has noted elsewhere on here that he and his family are sick). I was going to move things forward and assume a response, except I'm now in Costa Rica on vacation. I've been able to keep up my other games, as they are rather straightforward, but this one takes the most work for me to advance (we're going to do a bit of a fast forward when I post --)... I'm going speed things up with a bit of 'plot jump' as I'd like to get us past this 'prologue' of sorts, but there are still two important things left to 'resolve'.

Ah man... eat an empanada for me mang.

I was just going to have Daclish sneak out, but it isn't necessary to play out if you want to jump us forward to when we're figuring out what to do with the notebook info.

So, as a general remark, so far this system intrigues me but some features are frustrating and cumbersome. Specifically, failure is really hard to come by following their rules and guidelines. You have had no problem generating a pool of 5-6 dice which guarantees success (or meaningless failure) against difficulty 1 (which the system recommends most tasks are, and that higher difficulties should be used sparingly).

Secondly, it's hard for me not to 'double count' circumstances. Setting difficulty and modifying dice pool by circumstances are to sides of the same coin, and it's not clear how to manipulate those sliders to get a challenge to be 'right'.

Finally, the constant negotiation in tests is a real slow down for PbF (ironic, as the game states it was designed to support forum play, I think the designers failed in this regard). We haven't had a combat yet, but wait until we do. And, I've been smoothing some details and eliminating some of the negotiation by just analyzing your sheets and telling you your fully modified dice pool.

This isn't to say there aren't things I like. It's a neat system, but I feel like it lacks polish. I'm tempted to a) tweak it to fit PBF needs better (smooth, non-negotiation play) or b) use it as the base for developing a lighter system that still captures the metaphysics of Scadriel. Before I go and do any of this (or we, this would, be done in another thread in this forum and you'd all be welcome to contribute), I want to get feedback on your end about the system so far (knowing that we've sampled about 2/3 having not had a fight yet).

I would agree with the lack of danger and the negotiation slowing things down. As a simple fix, I might suggest increasing the base difficulty of everything to make 2 the default and perhaps just leave it up to the player to apply and subtract circumstances. As always, I'm more than happy to defer to others if anyone has stronger opinions. As long as we can tell a fun story, I'm happy.

Part of the problem may simply be nudges reducing consequences of failure. I'll look back over the tread, we have lots of data now, and see how base difficulty 2, 3 and "nudges mean nothing if you fail" all would have affected the overall chapter.

I would prefer tweaking the system to designing a new one. The graded success and failure is potentially very interesting, kind of like an ffg Star Wars lite system... It's just, failures are so beyond rare they never happen!

D= GM jinxed us.... *burns his digital dice*

And we're off! Here we are now engaged in a planning phase. The first chapter skipped this, or, I did this for you, so that we could get right into the game and feel out the mechanics. Now that we've got that together, everyone can replenish their Standings and Resiliences and we can do a proper 'session'. A session begins by planning a job, heist, caper - whatever you want to call it (the rulebook calls them schemes). Once planned, we move into putting it into action.

I'll start by letting you RP some stuff out, feel free to make up a Noble you want to sack and as you go I'll intervene and guide the planning to ensure you put all the right details together.

You're going to want a Goal, a Method, I'll provide some Obstacles (as you work those things out), an 'in', things to work with, and some things you don't know (or are uncertain about). You don't need to specify this all up front, just start RPing out a 'planning session' and we'll get a scheme whipped up in no time! :)

I'm going to reread through everyone's backstories to come up with a caper or two to throw onto the table. Hopefully I'll get that done and post up tomorrow.

As I said, you don't need a fully complete plan to start the discussion.

Some more setting details: not all nobles live in plantations. Most live in fancy mansions in the city, and often host or attend balls.

As I recall, Dez hadn't named her nemesis yet. So there's a name for you, and some more details :)

Sorry folks. I'm still around, just super busy so input will be minimal for a bit.

I came down with a bad stomach bug so I won't be able to post until tomorrow at the soonest. Carry on!

I've been a bit busy did I miss anything I was suppose to be doing before we meet back up?

I don't think so.. If you think of some source or kind of information you'd like to gather post away - otherwise just keep an eye, I think there's only three intel threads left to tie up (and I handed power over to the respective players on those ).

Just a heads up, I'm going to be on the road/out of town for the next month, and the regularity of my postings will probably suffer for it. I'll try to stay on top of it, but I don't really know what my day-to-day schedule will look like. Please don't let my absence prevent the game from continuing.

And I just want to say, this game has been a blast for me to play in. Thanks all!

Just got home from my roadtrip. I'm going to crash tonight, but will be back in the PbP saddle tomorrow or Friday.

Huzzah!