interest check - SPIRE: the city must fall

Hey all,

if I ever find the time to actually GM something here on Gamersplane, it would problably be a game using the system and setting of SPIRE - the city must fall.

I would like to know if there's anyone both interested in this game and if so, whether they already have read the rulebook and are confident enough with the setting and system.

This is one of my favorite RPG but I don't think I have it in me to both teach new players the game and run the adventure, so I'd rather ask first.

If you any questions please ask!


EDIT: GAME IS OPEN!

Spire is on my shelf, but I have not gotten round to reading it yet, despite the good things I keep hearing about it.

I would be interested and having a game would motivate me to finally read the thing.

you should anyway... the system is ok - decent but nothing special. The setting is amazing and inventive. The way the character classes and their powers work with the setting is absolutely unbelievable.

My situation is similar to vagueGM. I have both Spire and Heart. I have read Heart and like it a lot. I haven't gotten to Spire yet, in spite of it being released first. If it is half as good as Heart, I'd be interested in playing. I'll see if I can get through it tonight or tomorrow. I probably wouldn't be able to teach it after one read thru, but I expect that I'd be able to get by with minimal hand-holding.

It would be my first game with this system but im confident in being able to follow and it look awesome :)

I heard good things about what they did with the elves have not read (or own!) anything.

Having read the book, I am confident in my ability to help teach it and support you if you choose to run it.

It does look interesting and I am keen to play. As usual, I can play anything so I will let other choose their characters first and then fill in any gaps or add any supporting character as needed. If you want to see anything specific, just ask and I can probably make that happen.

I've read the core book now, too, and feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the system. I'm definitely interested if you decide to move forward with the game. The Bound and the Vermissian Sage are the characters that I found to be the most interesting, but that is only by degrees. I'm sure that all of them are fun to play. For me, it is the setting that makes the game stand out.

I feel both Heart and Spire have perfectly serviceable systems and amazing settings. I personally prefer Spire but both are great.

I'm glad there's some interest! First I'll see if my new life setup allows me to post regularly as a player. Perhaps in a month or so I'll open recruitment.

Let us know when you are ready, and feel free to reach out if you need help.
No pressure... but looking forward to it. :)

This is one of the games I have and have been meaning to get round to reading and internalising. Would love to play, but don't want to burden the GM with a newbie to this. Diving into the rulebook, so if the game does open up I'll be ready!

This game looks amazing, definitely will be checking this system out sometime in the future. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your game Aironfabio!

I would be interested in either Spire or Heart. As in, greatly interested.

Couldn't help noticing this...
https://gamersplane.com/games/3244/

yeah, I'll open it for real in while
First game created in GP, didn't notice I left it open
There will be an actual pitch and all the trimmings when it's really open :D

Looking forward to it.

Shout if you need any help setting it up.

Great news! I'm glad you've decided to pull the trigger on this.

I would be interested in this game, if you'll have someone new to the site and the system. The themes are right up my alley. I'll get the book and read up on it.

Aironfabio: You have lots of interest in this game. :)

While I am keen to try it, if you have too many, I don't mind sitting this one out. Don't let not including me in the game stop you from reaching out if you need help with the setup (or whatever), and don't let my offers of help influence you into having me in the game, either.

This is Spire. A mile-high city in the land of Destera, ruled by cruel high
elves, in which the drow – you, and your family, and your friends – have
been oppressed for centuries. A nightmare warren of twisting passages and
structures, built and rebuilt, atop itself. A city of a thousand gods. The furthest
bastion of a terrible and burgeoning empire. A structure of unknown make
that houses a blistering, rotten hole in reality at its centre where the sane
dare not tread.

You have joined the Ministry of Our Hidden Mistress, a paramilitary cult
that worships a forbidden goddess, and sworn in blood
to avenge the wrongs placed upon you and your people.
You have made an oath to fight the high elves, to subvert and capture their resources,
and to take Spire back into dark elf hands once more.
It is a cruel and thankless task, and your family would most likely report you
to the city guard if they found out what you did at night.
But it is a task you have sworn to perform, and you will kill for it.
You will die for it, too.



✅ The Pitch.The game will be Spire as written: a story of fight for justice and struggle for survival in a weird, wild, impossible city. It will start in the lower parts of the city, among the helpless masses and far from the luxury of the aelfir. Depending of player's actions, it might move upstair.

✅ Style.I promote cooperative storytelling and will delegate descriptions related to the character to each player e.g. each Knight swears allegiance to a pub. If you play a Knight and the party ends up going to your pub, you will be asked to describe the pub and come up with a couple a of regulars and perhaps the bartender for me (I will then describe their actions).

✅ Controversial themes and inclusivity. The game is very welcoming to any marginalized group. However, keep in mind you are somewhere between freedom fighters and terrorists. You are fighting a minority dictatorship possessing alien values and biologically incapable of empathy. There will be violence, fantasy racism, psychological abuse, and body horror.
The lines I will not cross are:
- sexual abuse
- physical violence against children
- graphic depictions of torture
The violence and body horror will be sometimes weird, surreal, almost comical, other times realistic and brutal. The dictatorship is universally bad, and never normalized, but not all drows are good. If what I wrote doesn’t put you off, know that this is a good chance to fight back against oppressive and systemic injustice.

✅ Character Restrictions. I own Spire, as well as the Strata and Black Magic sourcebooks. Feel free to pick from those books.

✅ Specialized Software and Resources. None, as long as you have a copy of Spire to consult. See below for the sheet.

✅ Post Frequency. I think we can settle for 3-4 posts a week. Especially as I will sometimes ask you to come up with description for NPCs or locations, so not a quick and dirty post.

✅ Game Duration. I’ll start with a short adventure (one or two 3-hour sessions IRL). I don’t really know how it will translate to PbP, but I favor longer and exhaustive posts to quick replies and like the same from players - roll before I ask you to do so.

✅ Player Experience Requirements. You should at least have read good chunks of the Spire core rulebook. The base mechanic, and the premises of the setting, should be clear. I don’t care if you are new to PbP (I myself am quite new here on GP) but you should be comfortable riffing on the setting when I ask you to make stuff up.

✅ How to Apply.Feel free to post more than one submission. I will consider a submission for interest something like this:
Class (eventual extra advance): class
Concept: two or three sentences describing personality, occupation and maybe a quirk. Keep it short and relevantI think I made a pretty decent character sheet in GP: Once the game is about to start, I think it would make reference for fallout rolls and advances lookup much faster if everyone copy-pasted it (if there's something that can be done more clearly please tell me so) and used it for their character.* * *

Feels free to post any question, I'll keep recruitment and conversation open for a few days at least

* * *

Class (eventual extra advance) : Firebrand
Concept: Reldaal'Ryn was born into the Ministry. His parents were Ministers that did in the fight against the oppressor while he was young and he had been raised by operatives ever since. He had learned two major truth growing up that way. First was that bravado goes a long way, you have to act like you belong to make the best of any situation. Second was you have to live if you want to fight another day. His parents made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause and the City was no closer to being free. In his book, that was no cowardice it was only common sense.
Now he was old enough to take more responsibility and bring others to the cause and he was ready.

Class (eventual extra advance): Vermissian Sage (Demonologist)

Concept: While Rhennoha Khesic is proud of the work he does to preserve his people's knowledge, history, and culture, he had had an ulterior motive for becoming a Vermissian Sage. While studying with the Benevolent Order of Wisdom and Discovery, he learned that there had once been some accomplished demonologists among the drow. He believes that Demonology represents their best chance of reclaiming Spire from the Aelfir, and he is certain that the Vault holds the information that will teach him how to create an Eidolon and how to use the Eidolon to bend demons to his will.

After Rhennoha had spent a little time in the Vault, the Vermissian began speaking to him, or so he believes. (It is far more likely that the voice he hears is actually either the Heart, one of the Heart's denizens, a demon, or his own madness.) The Vermissian praises his genius, it confirms his belief that Demonology is the key to liberating his people, and claims that the information he seeks is, in fact, hidden somewhere in the Vault.

Rhennoha hasn't told anyone in the Ministry about his idea. He is well aware of the stigma that is associated with demonology and he believes that people will respond more favorably if he waits until he can provide them with a Demonstration.

A wonderful post to pitch the game, kudos. I did the "one character a day" challenge back in January, so I have one ready made to offer.

Class: Mask
Concept: Tathyraen Torval had to fight for survival since he can remember himself. Noticing his ability and ruthelessness, the Aelfir figured he'd be a bit of a waste in the frontlines, so they had him serve his Durance as a duellist. Very little of that time was actually spent on fighting as his masters' champion in duels of honor to settle arguments though, most of the time the High Elves would just come up with reasons to "argue" in order to pit two drow against each other for entertainment, almost like an arena fight. Still, he kept his head down and his ears open, noticing how the Aelfir conduct themselves and learning that many times, knowledge and words can be more effective than steel. He now uses these lessons learned in service of the Ministry, carrying out missions of espionage and infiltration while still able to handle himself should things get ugly.

For everyone: other than focusing on your character's past, tell me about their present.
What do they do today as a front for their work in the Ministry?
Is the masked still in an aelfir's staff? what is their role?
Is the Firebrand a smelter in steel mill in the Works where he organizes strikes, or a journalist in subversive paper?

That's much more interesting than their past. In pretty much everyone's past there's suffering at the hands of the aelfir

Class (eventual extra advance) : Blood-Witch
Concept: That Tara Velenn was sent by her aelfir into the Heart was a known fact. That she returned transformed from within by a terminal mutation of blood sorcery was a secret. Now Madame Tara, or Madame Terror as she is more affectionately known, plies a breath-taking, some say blood-tingling trade in the Perch. Her clientele, suspended by threads of woven spidersilk, relive their moments of greatest fear and ecstasy under her delicate ministrations in exchange for rumour and information which she further parlays in the hopes that one day she would have all of Middle City in her web, and maybe more.

Tally for now

TheVagrant - Firebrand
the_puppeteer - Vermissian Sage / demonologist
DarK_RaideR - Masked
BedzoneII - Blood-Witch

I'll wait a few more days to see if anyone else is interested.

Ok, it's been a few days, we have a great team of four, let's go!

Please, the four listed in the above post, apply to the game. Meanwhile, please start thinking about the following:

day job: how does your PC pays for shelter and food?
domicile: in what type of house/room do they live, and in which quarter?
bonds: start thinking about your bonds, as per your class description
community: apart from their bonds, who do they care for, and who cares for them? Do they have family or friends?

please keep everything short and relevant, this is mostly for my own information to build upon

You don't need to write them here, I'll set up a character creation thread in the Game subforum