Here are the Hub and Spokes, the basic rules of the game.
Group/Character Planning
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Aug 18, 2016 2:58 am
We'll chat about who the group and characters are, here, and discuss their goals and motivations.
Here are the Hub and Spokes, the basic rules of the game.
Here are the Hub and Spokes, the basic rules of the game.
Aug 20, 2016 1:32 pm
Welcome, welcome! I'm excited for this game. Did any one of the situations in the interest check thread sound interesting to play? I kind of love the idea that the characters are a group sent to investigate why the spring flooding of the Nile hasn't happened.
Aug 20, 2016 2:44 pm
That's the one that struck me as being the most iconically Egyptian.
I think for exploring the setting, it makes perfect sense to, well, go exploring. Since the Empress is a goddess, does that make scribes pseudo priests? And what, if any, magical resources do the PCs have access to?
I think it might be interesting to play a social climbing junior priest/scribe. Somebody who is thinking more about how to garner favor and build social connections then stabbing people in the face. Besides, it's so much easier to stab them in the back.
I think for exploring the setting, it makes perfect sense to, well, go exploring. Since the Empress is a goddess, does that make scribes pseudo priests? And what, if any, magical resources do the PCs have access to?
I think it might be interesting to play a social climbing junior priest/scribe. Somebody who is thinking more about how to garner favor and build social connections then stabbing people in the face. Besides, it's so much easier to stab them in the back.
Aug 20, 2016 4:12 pm
I'm cool with the flooding one.
I had an idea, but don't know how well it fits in the setting. I'm thinking like an escaped or former slave whose wife was lost when we were building a tomb and I'm trying to find a way to cross to the underworld and get her back. The other side of the Nile is metaphorically (and perhaps literally) the land of the dead. If something is amiss with the river maybe it provides opportunities for me to cross over.
I had an idea, but don't know how well it fits in the setting. I'm thinking like an escaped or former slave whose wife was lost when we were building a tomb and I'm trying to find a way to cross to the underworld and get her back. The other side of the Nile is metaphorically (and perhaps literally) the land of the dead. If something is amiss with the river maybe it provides opportunities for me to cross over.
Aug 20, 2016 4:53 pm
Priests and scribes are related, but different.
I've got a page over on City of Brass where I've put together some notes on this setting. I invite you to peruse it, especially the Culture page. It's very much a work in progress.
I really love the idea that you're searching for your wife in the underworld, WarDomo. That's very rich and connected to the setting.
OrigamiSamurai, your ladder climbing character is also really cool. In a strict caste system like this one, wanting to change your lot in life is a very interesting story.
I've got a page over on City of Brass where I've put together some notes on this setting. I invite you to peruse it, especially the Culture page. It's very much a work in progress.
I really love the idea that you're searching for your wife in the underworld, WarDomo. That's very rich and connected to the setting.
OrigamiSamurai, your ladder climbing character is also really cool. In a strict caste system like this one, wanting to change your lot in life is a very interesting story.
Aug 20, 2016 5:16 pm
Shark_Bone says:
I've got a page over on City of Brass where I've put together some notes on this setting.Aug 20, 2016 6:37 pm
Woops. Forgot to change the privacy settings. You should be able to see it now.
Aug 20, 2016 10:44 pm
So...I've never played a Burning Wheel anything. I'm super interested though because I've always seen it mentioned in r/rpg as having a very character driven system. I want to give it a whirl but am unsure where to start.
Aug 20, 2016 11:33 pm
The hub and spokes PDF that shark bone linked is a solid start. We'll have to get setting stuff and character creation from him unless you pick up burning wheel gold
Aug 21, 2016 12:34 am
Yeah, the link to City of Brass that i provided is what setting info I've got so far. You all are more than welcome to contribute ideas to it. What i need from you all, who don't have access to the book, are character concepts. I'll have to make the character for you.
If you do have the book, we'll make concepts first and burn up the character after that. I want everyone to build concepts together. Talk about who you are, why you are the group that is being sent on the investigation and how you all relate to each other.
If you do have the book, we'll make concepts first and burn up the character after that. I want everyone to build concepts together. Talk about who you are, why you are the group that is being sent on the investigation and how you all relate to each other.
Aug 21, 2016 12:50 am
So, looking at it, maybe my character could be a lower priest who's trying to increase his influence. Maybe he's working with WarDomo because he thinks if he can learn to bring somebody back, he can do the same for someone important to the God-Empress. That's his ticket to fame/fortune.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Aug 21, 2016 1:05 am
Maybe your priest was overseeing or sanctifying that tomb construction project. My wife was part of a crew that was digging holes for the foundation and the ground gave way. The priest and I were there and he organized a crew of slaves (including me) to recover the bodies. But there were no bodies in the pit. After that day, You purchased me off that crew and we have worked together to figure out what happened.
Or maybe I came to you after that happened trying to learn as much as possible about the afterlife
Or maybe I came to you after that happened trying to learn as much as possible about the afterlife
Aug 21, 2016 1:11 am
Throw in a couple dirty secrets, some blackmail, and unrequited love and we've got ourselves a party.
So as a priest, what kind of fancy magicky talking to the gods would he have access to? Is it more along the lines of casting some bones and reading omens for divination, hexes, etc? Or are we talking full on sandstorm-wielding destroyer types?
I imagine my guy would be more subtle than a fireball cannon. Since we might be dealing with ye olde death deity, maybe he specializes in spirits and shades and divining secrets through what the dead know?
So as a priest, what kind of fancy magicky talking to the gods would he have access to? Is it more along the lines of casting some bones and reading omens for divination, hexes, etc? Or are we talking full on sandstorm-wielding destroyer types?
I imagine my guy would be more subtle than a fireball cannon. Since we might be dealing with ye olde death deity, maybe he specializes in spirits and shades and divining secrets through what the dead know?
Aug 21, 2016 1:16 am
Interesting. I like the idea of him overseeing the project in some capacity. They've got a shared secret that they're hiding about what happened.
Aug 21, 2016 1:20 am
Of course, if you're up for it, they both know he'll try to murder your character if he doesn't need him once he figures it out. You could have a major goal of digging up enough dirt or making yourself so indispensable that he can't get rid of you.
Aug 21, 2016 1:35 am
In Burning Wheel, there exists Faith magic which i think would be perfect. You pray to the gods, begging their favor in a specific problem. If you succeed in the roll, you get their benefit.
There's also full blown sorcery, which would also fit with a priest, but I think that would be better for a more established priest.
There's also full blown sorcery, which would also fit with a priest, but I think that would be better for a more established priest.
Aug 21, 2016 1:49 am
So, this system has life paths to burn characters. What four steps in the characters life do you think have brought them to this point?
Aug 21, 2016 1:55 am
origamisamurai says:
Of course, if you're up for it, they both know he'll try to murder your character if he doesn't need him once he figures it out. You could have a major goal of digging up enough dirt or making yourself so indispensable that he can't get rid of you.Aug 21, 2016 2:01 am
As for life path...
1. He was born and raised in the neighboring Land of Nubia and trained as a warrior
2. He was enslaved after the outpost he was defending was taken by the God-Empresses forces.
3. He lost his wife (also a slave) in a mysterious cave in while building a tomb
4. Has been working with a priest to find a way to get his wife back from the land of the dead.
How's that sound?
1. He was born and raised in the neighboring Land of Nubia and trained as a warrior
2. He was enslaved after the outpost he was defending was taken by the God-Empresses forces.
3. He lost his wife (also a slave) in a mysterious cave in while building a tomb
4. Has been working with a priest to find a way to get his wife back from the land of the dead.
How's that sound?
Aug 21, 2016 2:55 am
Also, forgot one more thing, there are a few Stocks (races) available. Man, Elf, Dwarf and Orc. The Mannish lifepaths are going to be the simplest to adapt to this setting, but I'm OK with someone playing the other three stocks, as well. Dwarves suffer from Greed, Elves suffer from Grief and Orcs suffer from Hate. These are defining emotions for those Stocks and have their own rules associated with them. If this is your first time playing, I recommend sticking with Man, but I'm OK with someone trying another one out. So, let me know which Stock you're going to play, as well.
Aug 21, 2016 2:55 am
WarDomo says:
origamisamurai says:
Of course, if you're up for it, they both know he'll try to murder your character if he doesn't need him once he figures it out. You could have a major goal of digging up enough dirt or making yourself so indispensable that he can't get rid of you.Aug 21, 2016 8:07 pm
Name: Adom
Stock: Human
1st draft events:
As a child, he stole a scroll from his father, a scribe, because it called to him somehow. He was unable to read it, but it changed him. He returned it before his father could find out what happened.
A few years later, he began hearing the voices of the dead, drawing the attention of a priest of (god of the dead).
When it became clear the priest was only willing to take on a single initiate, he murdered the other candidate to guarantee his place in the priesthood.
As he oversaw the sanctification of a tomb of a minor (noble?), a crew of workers disappeared, their bodies vanished. He heard their voices like those of the dead, but they sounded... different. He bought one of the remaining slaves whose wife had been among the missing and begged him to help bring her back.
The book just shipped, so I should be able to do the burn myself with some input.
Stock: Human
1st draft events:
As a child, he stole a scroll from his father, a scribe, because it called to him somehow. He was unable to read it, but it changed him. He returned it before his father could find out what happened.
A few years later, he began hearing the voices of the dead, drawing the attention of a priest of (god of the dead).
When it became clear the priest was only willing to take on a single initiate, he murdered the other candidate to guarantee his place in the priesthood.
As he oversaw the sanctification of a tomb of a minor (noble?), a crew of workers disappeared, their bodies vanished. He heard their voices like those of the dead, but they sounded... different. He bought one of the remaining slaves whose wife had been among the missing and begged him to help bring her back.
The book just shipped, so I should be able to do the burn myself with some input.
Last edited August 21, 2016 8:09 pm
Aug 21, 2016 8:25 pm
There is a lot to the book, themightykobold. You only need to worry about the Hub and Spokes, the rules section before the character creation section. What sort of character do you think you'd like to play?
Aug 21, 2016 8:26 pm
If you're going to burn your own character, keep it at 4 life paths. I'll help out with any questions you have.
Aug 21, 2016 8:32 pm
Would it be reasonable to assume that the priesthood gathers gifted individuals from the other castes? Maybe with a sort of muggle-born stigma, for lack of a better analogy?
Aug 22, 2016 5:19 am
Phatasmoron, themightykobold, either of you have any ideas what sort of characters you want to play? I think we've got an interesting thing going with the whole attempting to learn the secrets of the dead / bring back some mysteriously disappeared slaves. I don't want to go so far down that path that we end up building stuff that you can't hook into with your own characters, not that they all have to be up in each other's business from the get go.
Last edited August 22, 2016 5:19 am
Aug 23, 2016 5:34 am
Worked 14 hours today. Will try to work something up tomorrow though I'm still unsure where you all are getting the setting stuff. I can see the social hierarchy page but not much on any of the others.
Aug 23, 2016 8:22 pm
So reading what you all have written so far, I'm thinking a couple things:
1) I want to be a different race than man. Might as well play on hard mode the first time.
2) I'm thinking my people are in diaspora due to the land used to build the tomb being usurped from my people.
3) I know something about the land on which it is built that may inform where these workers went but refuse to divulge because of above mentioned diaspora.
So that means I'm most likely Orc (that hates that you've taken their land) or Elf (mourning the loss of their ancestral home). I could be a slave but (since we have one already) if not, I'm most likely on the lower end of the hierarchy such as a farmer just scraping by to make a living or a begrudging merchant whose wares are indispensable to the current regime.
1) I want to be a different race than man. Might as well play on hard mode the first time.
2) I'm thinking my people are in diaspora due to the land used to build the tomb being usurped from my people.
3) I know something about the land on which it is built that may inform where these workers went but refuse to divulge because of above mentioned diaspora.
So that means I'm most likely Orc (that hates that you've taken their land) or Elf (mourning the loss of their ancestral home). I could be a slave but (since we have one already) if not, I'm most likely on the lower end of the hierarchy such as a farmer just scraping by to make a living or a begrudging merchant whose wares are indispensable to the current regime.
Aug 23, 2016 8:35 pm
I think an Elf is probably going to be easier to play than an Orc. And an Elf farmer having their land taken by the Empress to build this tomb is an interesting look at the society. I like it.
So, it seems that a main thread here is that everyone's connected by the building of this tomb where a tragedy occurred and several slaves just disappeared. You all are curious to figure out what's going on. Why take this mission to investigate why the Nile hasn't flooded yet this year? What's connecting the two?
So, it seems that a main thread here is that everyone's connected by the building of this tomb where a tragedy occurred and several slaves just disappeared. You all are curious to figure out what's going on. Why take this mission to investigate why the Nile hasn't flooded yet this year? What's connecting the two?
Aug 23, 2016 8:45 pm
Just spitballing but maybe he tomb is actually built in a way that accentuates the flood land? The land was claimed for the temple because it was the best land available to architecturally feature the temple that ends up being a partially submerged structure during the floods and a beautiful silty beach in the dry season. Maybe an phenomenon occurred at the consecration of the temple that was directly prior to the floods not occurring. This leads the lay people in thinking that the temple is to blame and the priests are not sure (or maybe they are sure it's not and this is just a fools errand to ply the people into thinking something is being done.) I don't know. I'm open to other ideas.
Aug 23, 2016 9:01 pm
Maybe the voices of the disappeared workers told Adom to something suitably cryptic like "find us ere the lifespring runs dry" or something.
If none of the other priests can get anything, but he can, perhaps they're forced to rely on him.
Maybe we're simply (mostly) expendable? Presumably this is a major crisis, so there's multiple parties pouring out their resources to figuring out what's going on separately. We could be one of several groups trying to determine what went wrong. Bonus points if whoever can figure out a solution can blame the other parties and gain additional political clout by smearing everyone else.
I love the idea of the seasonally flooded tomb. What if the workers were down in the lowest level removing water that had seeped in instead of it being a cave in? They're bailing out water in preparation for sealing that level, when they're all just suddenly gone, and that chamber is bone dry. And it could coincide with some rite being performed above ground. Something like a fairly routine ritual that suffered a horrible omen in the middle of it?
If none of the other priests can get anything, but he can, perhaps they're forced to rely on him.
Maybe we're simply (mostly) expendable? Presumably this is a major crisis, so there's multiple parties pouring out their resources to figuring out what's going on separately. We could be one of several groups trying to determine what went wrong. Bonus points if whoever can figure out a solution can blame the other parties and gain additional political clout by smearing everyone else.
I love the idea of the seasonally flooded tomb. What if the workers were down in the lowest level removing water that had seeped in instead of it being a cave in? They're bailing out water in preparation for sealing that level, when they're all just suddenly gone, and that chamber is bone dry. And it could coincide with some rite being performed above ground. Something like a fairly routine ritual that suffered a horrible omen in the middle of it?
Last edited August 23, 2016 9:03 pm
Aug 23, 2016 9:09 pm
Great ideas, all. I love the temple situated to be partially underwater during the flood season. And the dedication rite being assumed responsible for the lack of floods.
It sounds like you, Origamisamurai, may have volunteered to lead this "quest" because of the voice you heard. Of course, they had to send someone and you said, "I'll go!" and then you picked or had the rest of the group volunteer to go with you. Does that sound good to everyone?
It sounds like you, Origamisamurai, may have volunteered to lead this "quest" because of the voice you heard. Of course, they had to send someone and you said, "I'll go!" and then you picked or had the rest of the group volunteer to go with you. Does that sound good to everyone?
Aug 23, 2016 9:09 pm
For the tomb/structure itself, maybe it's for a priest of the crocodile god. It fits the theme of being submerged most of the time. Perhaps my character might have been chosen to oversee it because of some political connection. I'd hinted that his father might be a scholar who deals with some rare or unsavory scrolls (the hinted at origin of Adom's abilities). Perhaps the priest who would normally have overseen the project found a... reason... to be generous (read blackmail or some sort of quid pro quo on his father's part) and bring Adom onto the project.
Aug 23, 2016 9:12 pm
Sure. kobold, we just need to figure out why you'd actually want to come along. Maybe there's something the elves know in their folklore about ridding the land of the filth of man in the time of famine or something? That could be a nice little counter goal that underlies their interactions.
Last edited August 23, 2016 9:18 pm
Aug 23, 2016 9:26 pm
Wardomo, did you pick a Stock? I haven't burned your character yet because I didn't know which stock you want to play.
Aug 23, 2016 9:27 pm
WarDomo, how would you feel about having your character witnessing some sort of extra preparations or magic Adom was doing before the ritual proper? It may not have actually been the thing to cause what happened, but maybe Adom believes it did.
Something like Adom tries to set things up so there will be some dramatic good omen that appears during the ceremony. WarDomo, your guy sees it but doesn't say anything. When everything goes to crap during the actual ritual, Adom and your guy both realize that what he was doing before may have been a part of what happened. Maybe your guy doesn't let on about what he saw right away, since he's got a good enough excuse to want to help anyway.
Shark_Bone, does that work for you? It doesn't have to have anything to do with anything, but it's possible it does.
EDIT: I should be getting the book tomorrow, so I will probably have a first draft thrown together by tomorrow night assuming the USPS estimate is accurate.
Something like Adom tries to set things up so there will be some dramatic good omen that appears during the ceremony. WarDomo, your guy sees it but doesn't say anything. When everything goes to crap during the actual ritual, Adom and your guy both realize that what he was doing before may have been a part of what happened. Maybe your guy doesn't let on about what he saw right away, since he's got a good enough excuse to want to help anyway.
Shark_Bone, does that work for you? It doesn't have to have anything to do with anything, but it's possible it does.
EDIT: I should be getting the book tomorrow, so I will probably have a first draft thrown together by tomorrow night assuming the USPS estimate is accurate.
Last edited August 23, 2016 9:35 pm
Aug 23, 2016 9:43 pm
That works for me.
It's fun to see how my initial hook has been taken, twisted, washed, rinsed and is now something that everyone is going to care about.
And, let me know if you have any questions with Lifepaths. I found it pretty confusing the first couple times I went through it.
It's fun to see how my initial hook has been taken, twisted, washed, rinsed and is now something that everyone is going to care about.
And, let me know if you have any questions with Lifepaths. I found it pretty confusing the first couple times I went through it.
Aug 23, 2016 10:12 pm
Anybody heard from Phantasmoron? I know the first time I joined a game a had a devil of a time finding the link to the forum.
Aug 23, 2016 10:14 pm
Perhaps not only am I a displaced farmer but this land in particular, that which the tomb is built upon, is my family plot that I have secret knowledge of.
Aug 23, 2016 10:24 pm
themightykobold says:
Perhaps not only am I a displaced farmer but this land in particular, that which the tomb is built upon, is my family plot that I have secret knowledge of.Aug 23, 2016 10:24 pm
origamisamurai says:
Anybody heard from Phantasmoron? I know the first time I joined a game a had a devil of a time finding the link to the forum.Aug 23, 2016 10:44 pm
I assumed I was human. Don't see a need to change that. That's what Stock is right?
Love the sunken tomb, and I like the idea of witnessing Adon performing the rite gone awry and not saying anything. That's the real reason I approached you.
Everyone probably assumed this, but I pretty much go where Adom does Especially when it comes to this tomb.
Love the sunken tomb, and I like the idea of witnessing Adon performing the rite gone awry and not saying anything. That's the real reason I approached you.
Everyone probably assumed this, but I pretty much go where Adom does Especially when it comes to this tomb.
Aug 23, 2016 11:06 pm
I'll have to practice being a bit of a bastard for this character. I usually play big softies, but I'm looking forward to somebody that has a darker side.
Aug 23, 2016 11:11 pm
You don't necessarily have to be a bastard. You could have had the best of intentions and you're trying to make it right. Or you could be a total bastard :)
Aug 23, 2016 11:21 pm
I see him as somebody who isn't going to let other people stand in his way. By the time we meet him for this adventure, he's already killed a teenage rival in cold blood. I picture him being willing to kiss ass, lie through his teeth, and be warmer and friendlier than anyone you will ever meet, until you are unwilling to give him what he wants. He wants to build a legacy for himself and his family, and he's already jumped up in caste by the very nature of his priesthood. But he wants more. I'd like to think his grandparents or great grandparents were artisans or even merchants. So his whole life has been shaping him to want more and more for himself and his heirs, whatever the cost.
Or, ya know, a bastard.
Or, ya know, a bastard.
Aug 24, 2016 12:26 am
Shark_Bone says:
themightykobold says:
Perhaps not only am I a displaced farmer but this land in particular, that which the tomb is built upon, is my family plot that I have secret knowledge of.Aug 24, 2016 5:13 am
Ok, cool. I'll burn up WarDomo's character tomorrow evening. I think we've got a good place to start from. Let me know if you have any questions as you work through character burning.
Aug 24, 2016 6:16 am
Shark_Bone says:
Ok, cool. I'll burn up WarDomo's character tomorrow evening. I think we've got a good place to start from. Let me know if you have any questions as you work through character burning.Aug 25, 2016 5:05 am
About Beliefs: one needs to be about the Empress or the society you live in. Another must be about your current quest. The third is about a personal goal to work on during the game.
Aug 25, 2016 8:56 am
Whew. I wasn't expecting the 600 page tome. But the pages are small, so I guess there's that. Let me know what you think of the build.
I ended up having a fairly wide skill distribution with relatively low skills, which I thought would be interesting since I don't think he's really mastered any one thing at this point. I also brought in a pair of relationships. One with a minor adviser who he was able to connect with his recently dead wife via the equivalent of a seance. The other is a powerful up and coming priestess of the sun god who ditched him when it seemed like his upward mobility within the priesthood had stalled and he would no longer be of use to her. They now have a toxic relationship at best. I imagine that alliances between priests of various gods are not uncommon, but shift frequently based on political necessity. The priests of each god vie for power, but alliances are made, broken, and remade with some regularity.
Does that work?
Depending on how telenovela we want to get, their breakup could be a recent affair (maybe even due to the rumors that the Incident at the Tomb has caused) and she could discover in the next few weeks that she's got a little priest in the oven.
I ended up having a fairly wide skill distribution with relatively low skills, which I thought would be interesting since I don't think he's really mastered any one thing at this point. I also brought in a pair of relationships. One with a minor adviser who he was able to connect with his recently dead wife via the equivalent of a seance. The other is a powerful up and coming priestess of the sun god who ditched him when it seemed like his upward mobility within the priesthood had stalled and he would no longer be of use to her. They now have a toxic relationship at best. I imagine that alliances between priests of various gods are not uncommon, but shift frequently based on political necessity. The priests of each god vie for power, but alliances are made, broken, and remade with some regularity.
Does that work?
Depending on how telenovela we want to get, their breakup could be a recent affair (maybe even due to the rumors that the Incident at the Tomb has caused) and she could discover in the next few weeks that she's got a little priest in the oven.
Last edited August 25, 2016 9:03 am
Aug 25, 2016 10:50 am
The only thing that looked a little low was the Steel attribute, but I can see how you got there with the life paths. The former warrior thing didn't seem to make it in there. I had a bit more Spartacus in my head. Looking at the sheets it's as though he was fairly young when enslaved not a seasoned warrior. I'm cool with the that. Other than that it seems fine. Looking forward to the game!
Beliefs:
The empress is a false god and the retribution for her crimes against man and gods are at hand.
Not even death can keep me from my beloved forever.
A plague of corruption has infected the Egyptian priesthood.
Beliefs:
The empress is a false god and the retribution for her crimes against man and gods are at hand.
Not even death can keep me from my beloved forever.
A plague of corruption has infected the Egyptian priesthood.
Aug 25, 2016 12:47 pm
Those are good starts on the Beliefs. I'd like you to add another sentence after each one starting what you're planning on doing about each one.
Aug 25, 2016 12:48 pm
origamisamurai says:
Whew. I wasn't expecting the 600 page tome. But the pages are small, so I guess there's that. Let me know what you think of the build.I ended up having a fairly wide skill distribution with relatively low skills, which I thought would be interesting since I don't think he's really mastered any one thing at this point. I also brought in a pair of relationships. One with a minor adviser who he was able to connect with his recently dead wife via the equivalent of a seance. The other is a powerful up and coming priestess of the sun god who ditched him when it seemed like his upward mobility within the priesthood had stalled and he would no longer be of use to her. They now have a toxic relationship at best. I imagine that alliances between priests of various gods are not uncommon, but shift frequently based on political necessity. The priests of each god vie for power, but alliances are made, broken, and remade with some regularity.
Does that work?
Depending on how telenovela we want to get, their breakup could be a recent affair (maybe even due to the rumors that the Incident at the Tomb has caused) and she could discover in the next few weeks that she's got a little priest in the oven.
Aug 25, 2016 10:19 pm
The character burning is really interesting. Time consuming, but interesting.
At this point I think the skills are the most intimidating thing. It's a lot of bookkeeping. But at least the PbP format gives us a perfect record.
At this point I think the skills are the most intimidating thing. It's a lot of bookkeeping. But at least the PbP format gives us a perfect record.
Last edited August 25, 2016 10:20 pm
Aug 25, 2016 10:23 pm
It is time consuming. Last night I was burning WarDomo's character and I thought I'd run through it in about 40 minutes. It too me an hour twenty because I kept going back and forth trying to make sure it was a character that would actually work and be playable. My wife told me several times that I should be charging to put so much of my time into it. XD I had to explain to her, "No, we do this for fun, and part of my fun is having this person play the game, so if I can help them help me have fun, we're good." She didn't understand. Lol.
Keeping record of your rolls is one of those things that absolutely fascinates me about this system. There's so much to fiddle with in between moments of spotlight and action. I like that a character makes me think about it even when I'm not currently doing anything.
Anyway, I'm excited for this game. I hope everyone enjoys playing.
Keeping record of your rolls is one of those things that absolutely fascinates me about this system. There's so much to fiddle with in between moments of spotlight and action. I like that a character makes me think about it even when I'm not currently doing anything.
Anyway, I'm excited for this game. I hope everyone enjoys playing.
Aug 26, 2016 3:26 am
I'll be honest, I'm still reading the hub and spokes. I can have it finished by Saturday at the latest and tomorrow at the earliest.
Aug 26, 2016 3:48 am
Ok. No need to rush. I still need to take all of our ideas and create the opposition and situation details. The Beliefs, Instincts and Traits are important for me to have to do that. So I'll start with the ones I've got and work yours in when you've got them ready.
Aug 26, 2016 4:50 pm
Sorry I must have missed the creation of this thread! I'll read through everything and post my thoughts ASAP!
Aug 26, 2016 6:18 pm
1st of all; my apologies for the silence. I've been having the week from hell with my neighbor and a "tree company" they hired to cut a tree down at the edge of our properties. I've been trying to keep an eye on the initial forum we started in games tavern but didn't see that a new forum popped up here.
2nd: I'm loving seeing these characters together! When I first read Hubs & Spokes my initial character idea was an artisan or merchant who has been wronged/scapegoated for some reason and while he/she hasn't officially dropped from their caste, their name has been smeared to the point where it's getting pretty hard for them to make a living. I'm still working on how my character fits into the dynamics going on between everyone else or how my story relates to the temple project, but I'm gonna let it stew in the back of my brain for a day or two and I should come up with something more concrete. Or I may come up with something completely different :)
2nd: I'm loving seeing these characters together! When I first read Hubs & Spokes my initial character idea was an artisan or merchant who has been wronged/scapegoated for some reason and while he/she hasn't officially dropped from their caste, their name has been smeared to the point where it's getting pretty hard for them to make a living. I'm still working on how my character fits into the dynamics going on between everyone else or how my story relates to the temple project, but I'm gonna let it stew in the back of my brain for a day or two and I should come up with something more concrete. Or I may come up with something completely different :)
Aug 26, 2016 6:41 pm
What about being branded an elf sympathizer? That might help tie you to kobold's character. I feel like WarDomo's and my character have some interesting ties already.
Or what if you just sell shady stuff? Like poisons for young clerks to kill their rivals for acolyteship with?
Maybe you used to own WarDomo's character but whatever happened to muddy your name ruined your finances and you ended up having to sell him and your other slaves?
Just some spitball ideas.
Or what if you just sell shady stuff? Like poisons for young clerks to kill their rivals for acolyteship with?
Maybe you used to own WarDomo's character but whatever happened to muddy your name ruined your finances and you ended up having to sell him and your other slaves?
Just some spitball ideas.
Aug 26, 2016 6:52 pm
I was trying to think of something to tie together with kobold's character, I like elf sympathizer. Maybe my character owns a fairly successful mill and I always try and buy my grain from kobold and the elves because I always felt sorry for them. Once flood season comes and there is no flood, kobold's people are suffering because they are in danger of losing out on an entire growing season. When I try to investigate and ask questions it comes out that I buy exclusively from elves and my name starts to get tarnished. Realizing I now have nowhere else to get grain since no one wants to deal with an elf-lover, I go to my grain contact (kobold's character) and he tells me about this little excursion to investigate the temple disappearances that may be tied to the absence of the flood.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Last edited August 26, 2016 6:53 pm
Aug 26, 2016 6:59 pm
Re-reading the artisan caste Shark_Bone put up:
"Artisans create the fine things that make life beautiful. They are free people and their wares are available for sale, as well. They pay tax to the God-Empress in coin or in items to decorate the buildings and temples commissioned by the God-Empress."
What if in addition to the above my Mill donated some hand-made grain wreaths to the temple consecration and as a result the other Millers are using this as an excuse to further smear my name. Along with being an elf-sympathizer, my wreaths caused the disappearance of the slaves.
"Artisans create the fine things that make life beautiful. They are free people and their wares are available for sale, as well. They pay tax to the God-Empress in coin or in items to decorate the buildings and temples commissioned by the God-Empress."
What if in addition to the above my Mill donated some hand-made grain wreaths to the temple consecration and as a result the other Millers are using this as an excuse to further smear my name. Along with being an elf-sympathizer, my wreaths caused the disappearance of the slaves.
Aug 26, 2016 7:05 pm
Sounds cool. So why would you leave the mill?
Are you out of business because all the elves' grain is being snapped up by the Empress as a reserve for the humans because of the coming danger of famine? Do you have an assistant you can leave in charge? Did it get burned down by anti-elf vigilantes?
Are you out of business because all the elves' grain is being snapped up by the Empress as a reserve for the humans because of the coming danger of famine? Do you have an assistant you can leave in charge? Did it get burned down by anti-elf vigilantes?
Last edited August 26, 2016 7:09 pm
Aug 26, 2016 7:07 pm
Oooh, yeah. Your filthy contaminated elf-grown wreaths must have been what caused this... :)
Totally not the shady rituals Adom has been doing...
Totally not the shady rituals Adom has been doing...
Last edited August 26, 2016 7:10 pm
Aug 26, 2016 7:16 pm
Maybe there's like a whole Sons of Man organization or something.
Adom is going to love being lumped in with an elf and a social pariah (the slave doesn't count since he owns him now).
Adom is going to love being lumped in with an elf and a social pariah (the slave doesn't count since he owns him now).
Last edited August 26, 2016 7:16 pm
Aug 26, 2016 7:18 pm
Meanwhile, in the halls of the Sons of Man, I'm gald we sent those pariahs into the tomb as a sacrifice. Hopefully once those Jonahs are gone, the floods will return.
Aug 26, 2016 7:19 pm
Exactly, if that works for Kobold it makes total sense that the Empress would tax the elven farmers really heavily before anyone else to make up for the upcoming food shortages. Conequently, my character (female human named Ipwet I'm thinking) who always assumed the elves depended on her for business is just now discovering that she is equally dependent on them because no one else will sell to an elf-lover like her. With no other options available to her, Ipwet turns to kobold's character for help (they are good friends maybe?) and sees this mission as an opportunity to clear her name. She temporarily shuts down the mill and leaves her group of apprentices (former street-fighting urchins like herself whom she is sheltering and rehabilitating) to care for the building while she is away.
Aug 26, 2016 7:20 pm
origamisamurai says:
Oooh, yeah. Your filthy contaminated elf-grown wreaths must have been what caused this... :)Totally not the shady rituals Adom has been doing...
Aug 26, 2016 7:28 pm
themightykobold says:
Meanwhile, in the halls of the Sons of Man, I'm gald we sent those pariahs into the tomb as a sacrifice. Hopefully once those Jonahs are gone, the floods will return.Maybe Amenset (Adom's former lover, the priestess Next Big Thing in the sun god's priesthood) is one of them. Are there half-breeds running around? Maybe Adom has a family secret that somewhere in the past one of his forbears got down got funky with one of the pointy-eared bastards?
Last edited August 26, 2016 7:29 pm
Aug 26, 2016 8:52 pm
Question for Shark_Bone or maybe everyone to discuss; are the gods actually present in everyday life taking a direct role in mortal events? Or are they more just prayed to and blamed for things with no real evidence of their existence?
Aug 26, 2016 9:03 pm
Faith magic (praying for miracles) is an integral part of my character, so there's at least some precedent for supernatural beings taking an interest.
Aug 26, 2016 9:10 pm
Ahh, right. But maybe not so much for lower castes? I'm thinking Ipwet might not take much stock in the whole "religion" thing. Growing up on the streets and fighting for scraps hasn't instilled a great sense of piety in her and she hasn't witnessed any great miracles. I kind of feel like she is going to be a scrappy hard-ass bitch, my mind keeps coming back to Jack from Mass Effect. But she is fiercely loyal to those she sees as down-trodden like she was.
Aug 26, 2016 9:23 pm
Ipwet's Lifepaths:
1) Grew up as an orphan in a a gang of street-fighting urchins, Ipwet learned life's lessons the hard way developing a knack for martial arts to defend herself and a jaded world-view.
2) She was taken in by Tuya, a kindly old miller's widow who patiently helped Ipwet to turn her life around. She acted as Tuya's apprentice for a few years before Tuya's death and the entire mill was left to her.
3) During Ipwet's initial time to keep the mill running she came across (Kobold's character) and the elven people. She felt a strange kinship towards these disposed people, both of them have been dealt harsh hands by life's misfortunes and are struggling just to survive.
4) Recently, Ipwet has been receiving harassment due to her preferential treatment of the elven farmers. This boiled over into a full on boycot of her wares when the temple consecration went awry and she was blamed by the other millers due to her donation of grain-wreaths. Her old fighting tendencies have resurfaced and she wants redemption, so she joins up with the expedition into the temple to find the real cause of the disappearances.
Beliefs:
1) "I believe society preys on the weak. If I don't continue to fight for myself and others like me we will be taken advantage of."
2) "I don’t believe the temple is cursed. There is a practical reason for the disappearance of the slaves and the flood; I will help to find it."
3) "I will do whatever it takes to restore the good name of my mill and exact economic revenge on my racist competitors."
Instincts:
1) "I always take the side of the oppressed and disparaged."
2) "I always follow through on my threats."
3) "If I feel myself or my friends are in danger, I will be the first to strike out at our enemies."
Traits:
1) Hard-ass
2) Self-taught
3) Intolerant of intolerance
1) Grew up as an orphan in a a gang of street-fighting urchins, Ipwet learned life's lessons the hard way developing a knack for martial arts to defend herself and a jaded world-view.
2) She was taken in by Tuya, a kindly old miller's widow who patiently helped Ipwet to turn her life around. She acted as Tuya's apprentice for a few years before Tuya's death and the entire mill was left to her.
3) During Ipwet's initial time to keep the mill running she came across (Kobold's character) and the elven people. She felt a strange kinship towards these disposed people, both of them have been dealt harsh hands by life's misfortunes and are struggling just to survive.
4) Recently, Ipwet has been receiving harassment due to her preferential treatment of the elven farmers. This boiled over into a full on boycot of her wares when the temple consecration went awry and she was blamed by the other millers due to her donation of grain-wreaths. Her old fighting tendencies have resurfaced and she wants redemption, so she joins up with the expedition into the temple to find the real cause of the disappearances.
Beliefs:
1) "I believe society preys on the weak. If I don't continue to fight for myself and others like me we will be taken advantage of."
2) "I don’t believe the temple is cursed. There is a practical reason for the disappearance of the slaves and the flood; I will help to find it."
3) "I will do whatever it takes to restore the good name of my mill and exact economic revenge on my racist competitors."
Instincts:
1) "I always take the side of the oppressed and disparaged."
2) "I always follow through on my threats."
3) "If I feel myself or my friends are in danger, I will be the first to strike out at our enemies."
Traits:
1) Hard-ass
2) Self-taught
3) Intolerant of intolerance
Aug 26, 2016 9:28 pm
I dig it. Everything that's been discussed here is Gold.
It's funny, because when I first conceived of this game, I thought the God-Empress herself was Elf. But, if everyone hates elves and they are a "low" people, she is most definitely not. And that's totally cool.
Most people believe the gods exist and there is enough supernatural power on display that everyone feels that belief is justified. However, if you choose not to follow them, it's not like the gods will go out of their way to punish you. Belief has its own rewards.
Phantasmoron, your BITs look good to me.
It's funny, because when I first conceived of this game, I thought the God-Empress herself was Elf. But, if everyone hates elves and they are a "low" people, she is most definitely not. And that's totally cool.
Most people believe the gods exist and there is enough supernatural power on display that everyone feels that belief is justified. However, if you choose not to follow them, it's not like the gods will go out of their way to punish you. Belief has its own rewards.
Phantasmoron, your BITs look good to me.
Aug 26, 2016 9:32 pm
Thanks! This is what I've been doing at work instead of working this afternoon :)
Shark_Bone, I only have Hubs & Spokes so feel free to burn Ipwet whenever.
Shark_Bone, I only have Hubs & Spokes so feel free to burn Ipwet whenever.
Aug 26, 2016 9:34 pm
What if there's a distinct separation of low elves and high elves? Something like noble elves have certain distinct features and skin tones (which if we're making racism and bigotry a major seeing element feels appropriate). There could be a divide in the ranks of the Sons of Man where it's socially acceptable to hate the low elves but only the True Believers acknowledge that high elves are just as much of a stain on creation.
That opens up possibilities for different groups within the Sons of Man to have different agendas regarding the Empress.
EDIT: but that might be getting to convoluted *¯\_(ツ)_/¯*
That opens up possibilities for different groups within the Sons of Man to have different agendas regarding the Empress.
EDIT: but that might be getting to convoluted *¯\_(ツ)_/¯*
Last edited August 26, 2016 9:43 pm
Aug 26, 2016 10:36 pm
Lol. I LOVE that, it'd be great for some really intense treatment of those issues but I think they are probably outside the scope of the current game we're playing. I don't intend for racism to be a theme to struggle with here. Right now, it's serving as a backdrop for character motivations and I'm OK with leaving it there for now.
Aug 26, 2016 10:36 pm
Phantasmoron says:
Thanks! This is what I've been doing at work instead of working this afternoon :)Shark_Bone, I only have Hubs & Spokes so feel free to burn Ipwet whenever.
Aug 26, 2016 10:53 pm
No worries. I think we'll have plenty of juicy conflicts to play with as it is. :)
Last edited August 26, 2016 10:53 pm
Aug 27, 2016 9:39 pm
I think we found our muscle. Though, after reading the mechanics for death and combat, yikes. One good shot with a bow and you're right and truly screwed. Looking forward to being actively pants-crapping scared of combat.
Aug 28, 2016 12:51 am
Nice! I'll have to reread Hubs & Spokes to remember what all this stuff means ;)
Aug 28, 2016 12:59 am
I'm going through the last ten pages of the hub and spokes and have my beliefs all set (I think)
The Empress is a false pretender to my ancestral home.
I will earn my land back, by sword or by song.
What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?
The Empress is a false pretender to my ancestral home.
I will earn my land back, by sword or by song.
What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?
Aug 28, 2016 2:15 am
Just got to the point where he quotes Vincent Baker and Dogs in the Vineyard. That's seriously my favorite game.
Aug 28, 2016 2:25 am
Pg. 72. Dogs in the Vineyard is a game where you play Cowboy Mormons (loosely) called Dogs of the Faith that go town to town delivering mail and punishing sins while driving out demonic influences. The dice system is super fun. I would go as far as to call it unique as I'd be hard pressed to think of another game that uses its calling system.
At the character burner. Here goes.
At the character burner. Here goes.
Aug 28, 2016 2:27 am
Enjoy :)
One thing I felt dumb about was I didn't think you could pick another lifepath in the same setting. I thought you had to go down one of the links. Then I reread it and it made way more sense.
One thing I felt dumb about was I didn't think you could pick another lifepath in the same setting. I thought you had to go down one of the links. Then I reread it and it made way more sense.
Aug 28, 2016 2:45 am
origamisamurai says:
Also, I now need to find that game.Also, in other news:
Quote:
About Beliefs: one needs to be about the Empress or the society you live in. Another must be about your current quest. The third is about a personal goal to work on during the game.Aug 28, 2016 3:18 am
Updated beliefs. Better?
Still need 1 more instinct and a relationship
I will return to Nubia with knowledge of the Egyptian armies, tactics, and encampments
I will exhaust every possible avenue to find and recover my beloved.
I will expose the plague of corruption that has infected the Egyptian priesthood to the common people.
Instincts
I always walk two paces behind my master's right shoulder.
When in the presence of others, I never speak without my master's permission.
Still need 1 more instinct and a relationship
I will return to Nubia with knowledge of the Egyptian armies, tactics, and encampments
I will exhaust every possible avenue to find and recover my beloved.
I will expose the plague of corruption that has infected the Egyptian priesthood to the common people.
Instincts
I always walk two paces behind my master's right shoulder.
When in the presence of others, I never speak without my master's permission.
Aug 28, 2016 3:35 am
TheMightyKobold: Your first and third Beliefs need an actionable statement in them. What are you going to do about what you've written?
WarDomo: What you've written looks good.
Also, Dogs in the Vineyard is a game that I've only played once, but it left such a mark that I had to buy it, so I've got the PDF. I love it. It's one of those systems that works so well for drama. Like Smallville.
WarDomo: What you've written looks good.
Also, Dogs in the Vineyard is a game that I've only played once, but it left such a mark that I had to buy it, so I've got the PDF. I love it. It's one of those systems that works so well for drama. Like Smallville.
Aug 28, 2016 3:51 am
So I'm having a lifepath dilemma.
I'm liking the idea that I am the rightful heir to this land so I was trying to get to prince and then get exiled.
Since we are born as a first lifepath I can go Etharch Born>Spouse>Sword Singer>Prince and boom, nobility. But I really wanted to hit prince and then be exiled down to farmer.
Is it safe to say that even if I don't get to the prince lifepath, being Etharch born implies the nobility so that I can take my sojourn into exile sooner and end up as a farmer?
Perhaps even along a more bardic path?
I'm liking the idea that I am the rightful heir to this land so I was trying to get to prince and then get exiled.
Since we are born as a first lifepath I can go Etharch Born>Spouse>Sword Singer>Prince and boom, nobility. But I really wanted to hit prince and then be exiled down to farmer.
Is it safe to say that even if I don't get to the prince lifepath, being Etharch born implies the nobility so that I can take my sojourn into exile sooner and end up as a farmer?
Perhaps even along a more bardic path?
Last edited August 28, 2016 3:51 am
Aug 28, 2016 4:11 am
The Empress is a false pretender to my ancestral home and I will earn my land back, by sword or by song.
Knows the paths to the land of the dead (the West) and refuses to lead the uninitiated there.
What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man? I will harvest that which is ripe and sing a song to its passing.
Better?
Knows the paths to the land of the dead (the West) and refuses to lead the uninitiated there.
What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man? I will harvest that which is ripe and sing a song to its passing.
Better?
Aug 28, 2016 4:23 am
Well we've decided that the Empress is not elven. Maybe you are supposed to be prince of the elves, but they are liked down on and even in subjugation so you nobility is just a title acknowledged by the elves?
Aug 28, 2016 4:32 am
He being Elven doesn't matter in terms of the lifepaths. I think it was more a question of whether I had to achieve the Prince lifepath for the story element to be viable but as you said, it would be enough to be acknowledged by the subjugated elves in our story. What I'll do then is have my path end as a Harvester somewhere in the middle of a longer path that would have led to being a Prince.
Aug 29, 2016 4:21 pm
Character is all finished. How are my beliefs and instincts? I feel that the beliefs may be too large and my instincts I'm not sure of either. I kept going back and forth on whether I wanted to be conspicuous or inconspicuous. I think I should be trained in conspicuous but try not to be... Or maybe he was always conspicuous in Elven society because of his Aman (I spent my floating trait point on Feâ to really hit the "born nobility" aspect but I'm not sure if it was something I could do) and the inconspicuous is something he's learned over the last 50 years as a farmer.
Aug 29, 2016 8:34 pm
I think you're Beliefs and Instincts are fine, for the most part. I'm a little worried about your 3rd Belief. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight for that goal. I don't think it's actually something you can say, "Yes! I accomplished this!"
Aug 29, 2016 9:14 pm
You could go with a sibling who's still enslaved. That could be an interesting way to continue gathering information, plus a lever for Adom to threaten him with if he ever tried to blackmail Adom.
For the instinct, what about something related to the masonry expertise, like checks buildings subconsciously to see if they're structurally sound before entering? If he's been digging tombs and whatnot, it could be the equivalent of a construction site Spidey sense.
For the instinct, what about something related to the masonry expertise, like checks buildings subconsciously to see if they're structurally sound before entering? If he's been digging tombs and whatnot, it could be the equivalent of a construction site Spidey sense.
Aug 29, 2016 9:49 pm
You don't absolutely have to have a third yet. You can make it up later as it comes to you and you get s better handle on who your character is.
Aug 31, 2016 2:00 am
So, it seems like everyone's pretty much done with the characters, right? Anyone need any help still?
I'm going to plan on kicking this game off this coming Sunday. There's still some prep work I need to do, like collecting everyone's Beliefs into one place and figuring out which ones to challenge in this first part of the story and working that into the framework I already have. I'll have more time to do that starting Friday.
I'm going to plan on kicking this game off this coming Sunday. There's still some prep work I need to do, like collecting everyone's Beliefs into one place and figuring out which ones to challenge in this first part of the story and working that into the framework I already have. I'll have more time to do that starting Friday.
Aug 31, 2016 2:03 am
For the other relationship I was thinking it could be either another slave or maybe someone back from Nubia. Maybe someone in the household of another priest.
Aug 31, 2016 2:15 am
I'm pretty much done. There's the priestess from Adom's background if you wanted to use that. *shrug* Dunno if that's a bit too much coincidence or ties between the two of them, though.
Aug 31, 2016 2:15 am
Oh ok. So the other slave probably isn't as good for that... Let's make it a brother that is still back in Nubia. He had been away delivering a message to the capital when our outpost was attacked.
Aug 31, 2016 5:53 am
Changed my third belief to "I have taken on the mantle of the reaper and I will spread a mission of vengeance among the elves."
I don't think I can take Feâ if I take Aman. Aman seems more correct though for what I'm thinking but I'll have to assign that trait point somewhere else unless you think it's fine to double dip in the Elvin gene pool.
I don't think I can take Feâ if I take Aman. Aman seems more correct though for what I'm thinking but I'll have to assign that trait point somewhere else unless you think it's fine to double dip in the Elvin gene pool.
Last edited August 31, 2016 5:53 am
Aug 31, 2016 12:51 pm
One thing for Kobold; we never really discussed our characters' relationship, are you cool with Ipwet and Magnus being friends? And in what capacity? I had mentioned that Ipwet buys grain from the elves and Magnus is her contact, but is it just a relationship borne of necessity or do they genuinely like each other?
Aug 31, 2016 9:31 pm
Phantasmoron, it would be helpful for you to put you Beliefs and Instincts with your character sheet.
Aug 31, 2016 9:45 pm
Wardomo, does your character have a name yet? And putting your Beliefs and Instincts on your sheet would be helpfull too.
Aug 31, 2016 10:36 pm
Ok, this game is official now. Commissioned @cowboycentaur for Adom's character portrait. :)
Sep 1, 2016 1:37 am
Ipwet is Erurainon's foothold back into the human lands. He regards you with caution but understands your predicament in helping him. He is more likely to spare you in the uprising than any other human. This he considers friendship.
Last edited September 1, 2016 1:38 am
Sep 1, 2016 1:43 am
I'll admit, I have no idea how this stuff is going to shake out. It's going to be interesting to see what happens.
Sep 1, 2016 2:34 am
I'll say he does trust you. That was probably hard earned. He's probably only coming on this because you asked him and he feels he's bided enough time.
Sep 1, 2016 10:27 pm
@Shark_Bone: Just listened to the Pod Chatter episode from Friday. Bummed you won't be at AcadeCon. But now I'm curious what crazy stuff from the Burning Wheel Codex might make its way into this game. :)
Last edited September 1, 2016 10:27 pm
Sep 1, 2016 10:43 pm
Yeah, I was really excited to go. But, yes, I've been reading the Codex off and on and mostly, it's got a TON of advice on BWG. I've already read the Beliefs section twice to help me get a better handle on how to use them. Oddly enough, using them as the GM is a lot like using Relationship statements from the Smallville RPG. I'm surprised I didn't realize that before.
So, I already feel more comfortable as a BWG GM. So that's good.
So, I already feel more comfortable as a BWG GM. So that's good.
Sep 1, 2016 11:16 pm
I had the exact same thought as you guys were discussing the Smallville RPG. I've never played it but it sounds cool.
Sep 2, 2016 4:23 am
Phantasmoron and Kobold, are you planning on using a Character Sheet for your character or a forum thread?
Sep 2, 2016 10:10 pm
The interwebs (Reddit) delivered today: Bluff vs scales
Last edited September 2, 2016 10:10 pm
Sep 2, 2016 10:24 pm
Actually I think what I would like to do is print out a legit character sheet and post a picture of it in the forum if that's cool?
Sep 3, 2016 5:24 am
Phantasmoron, I'm going to have to borrow the color coding. That really makes it pop.
I'll take a stab at the more general questions I saw in the thread. (Not sure about question #2)
1) What exactly are the Hesitation and Stride attributes and how might they come into play?
Hesitation is basically how hard it is for you to act when scary/surprising stuff happens. If you have a high hesitation, you're going to be, well, hesitating when it comes to the beginning of combats, freaky stuff happening, etc. Basically you're a sitting duck, run away, or otherwise have Bad Things happen until you can regain your composure enough to act normally.
Stride is literally a measure of how fast you move, but in game terms if you have somebody with a low stride in your group you lose some of the initiative in a battle when trying to maneuver, etc. A group of dwarves is going to be more easily outflanked by a bunch of lanky elves.
3) Reputations & Affiliations (1D) does that mean I can add 1 die if I can justify that reputation or affiliation applies to the test?
Pretty much. You get to apply up to one applicable Reputation and one applicable Affiliation when you're trying to use your connections if I remember right.
4) Gear; do these items have any mechanical benefits or just for flavor?
*Weapons* (note, there's a name all the stats below but I can't remember what they are)
Damage: For melee weapons, add the weapon damage to your power. For missile weapons, it's fixed. Not sure about ranged. There are two additional damage "bands" if you get additional successes above the number required to hit your target.
# of successes to bump damage: most weapons require two extra successes per bump in damage band, but a few only take 1 per bump
VA (Armor piercing): ignore this many dice of armor when you hit
"speed": how many times in a row you can attack with the weapon before you have to do some other action (basically, a giant battleaxe is going to take you a moment to reset for another swing, while you can keep shanking somebody with a dagger all day long).
*Armor*
Basically, how many dice you get to try and negate the attack. All armor gives you a point of torso armor, but better armor will give you more dice to try and "turn" the attack. Also, better armor will armor your arms, your legs, and head. There's a mechanic where successes can be "spent" (used up so you can't use them to bump the damage) to move the attack to a more vulnerable location. But, the defender may also use successes they generate with their defense to move the attack to a less vulnerable location.
5) I have absolutely no idea what PTGS is or what all those abilities are :)
PTGS stands for Physical Tolerance Grayscale I think. For our purposes, you can pretty much ignore the "B" part of these values, unless Shark_Bone is feeling particularly cruel. When it comes to damage, "G1" is one point more damage than the highest damage on the "B" scale, so literally a killing blow.
Essentially, these values are the thresholds for taking a particular type of wound. For this example, let's use your values. You have a superficial threshold of B3 and a light threshold of B5.
If you take B2 damage, you're fine. It didn't meet the superficial wound threshold so you don't take any 'real' damage. If you take B3 or B4 damage, you'll take a superficial wound. If you take B5 damage, you'll take a light wound, and so on.
Wounds are cumulative. Superficial wounds aren't so bad and are a special case. After the first one, your tests are made with +1 obstacle, but you don't take any more penalties from superficial wounds until you've accrued a third. Any light wounds or above get nasty fast, as they directly subtract the amount of dice you can roll for every check, and every single light or worse wound stacks with all the other wounds.
I'll take a stab at the more general questions I saw in the thread. (Not sure about question #2)
1) What exactly are the Hesitation and Stride attributes and how might they come into play?
Hesitation is basically how hard it is for you to act when scary/surprising stuff happens. If you have a high hesitation, you're going to be, well, hesitating when it comes to the beginning of combats, freaky stuff happening, etc. Basically you're a sitting duck, run away, or otherwise have Bad Things happen until you can regain your composure enough to act normally.
Stride is literally a measure of how fast you move, but in game terms if you have somebody with a low stride in your group you lose some of the initiative in a battle when trying to maneuver, etc. A group of dwarves is going to be more easily outflanked by a bunch of lanky elves.
3) Reputations & Affiliations (1D) does that mean I can add 1 die if I can justify that reputation or affiliation applies to the test?
Pretty much. You get to apply up to one applicable Reputation and one applicable Affiliation when you're trying to use your connections if I remember right.
4) Gear; do these items have any mechanical benefits or just for flavor?
*Weapons* (note, there's a name all the stats below but I can't remember what they are)
Damage: For melee weapons, add the weapon damage to your power. For missile weapons, it's fixed. Not sure about ranged. There are two additional damage "bands" if you get additional successes above the number required to hit your target.
# of successes to bump damage: most weapons require two extra successes per bump in damage band, but a few only take 1 per bump
VA (Armor piercing): ignore this many dice of armor when you hit
"speed": how many times in a row you can attack with the weapon before you have to do some other action (basically, a giant battleaxe is going to take you a moment to reset for another swing, while you can keep shanking somebody with a dagger all day long).
*Armor*
Basically, how many dice you get to try and negate the attack. All armor gives you a point of torso armor, but better armor will give you more dice to try and "turn" the attack. Also, better armor will armor your arms, your legs, and head. There's a mechanic where successes can be "spent" (used up so you can't use them to bump the damage) to move the attack to a more vulnerable location. But, the defender may also use successes they generate with their defense to move the attack to a less vulnerable location.
5) I have absolutely no idea what PTGS is or what all those abilities are :)
PTGS stands for Physical Tolerance Grayscale I think. For our purposes, you can pretty much ignore the "B" part of these values, unless Shark_Bone is feeling particularly cruel. When it comes to damage, "G1" is one point more damage than the highest damage on the "B" scale, so literally a killing blow.
Essentially, these values are the thresholds for taking a particular type of wound. For this example, let's use your values. You have a superficial threshold of B3 and a light threshold of B5.
If you take B2 damage, you're fine. It didn't meet the superficial wound threshold so you don't take any 'real' damage. If you take B3 or B4 damage, you'll take a superficial wound. If you take B5 damage, you'll take a light wound, and so on.
Wounds are cumulative. Superficial wounds aren't so bad and are a special case. After the first one, your tests are made with +1 obstacle, but you don't take any more penalties from superficial wounds until you've accrued a third. Any light wounds or above get nasty fast, as they directly subtract the amount of dice you can roll for every check, and every single light or worse wound stacks with all the other wounds.
Last edited September 3, 2016 5:27 am
Sep 3, 2016 5:48 am
You got it all right. Most of that stuff pertains to rules that we won't be using right at the beginning. We're going to just concentrate on the Hub and Spokes until we feel really good with it. Then we can start adding in other rules.
Sep 3, 2016 6:24 am
Huzzah! All those reading comprehension tests in elementary/middle school were good for something, apparently.
Also, I spent entirely too much time colorizing and re-prettifying my sheet. Check it out on my thread. If anybody wants the markup, I can email it to you if you PM me with your email address.
I wanted to colorize the Routine / Difficult / Challenging and make it super easy to cross reference with the tables at the bottom so tracking your "XP" a.k.a. Tests would be really simple visually.
Also, I spent entirely too much time colorizing and re-prettifying my sheet. Check it out on my thread. If anybody wants the markup, I can email it to you if you PM me with your email address.
I wanted to colorize the Routine / Difficult / Challenging and make it super easy to cross reference with the tables at the bottom so tracking your "XP" a.k.a. Tests would be really simple visually.
Last edited September 3, 2016 6:31 am
Sep 3, 2016 11:20 am
Wow, ok first of all thanks for the answers, that helps a lot! Second, you really took that color-coding idea and ran with it! You inspired me to do it in the first place with your nicely organized char sheet so glad I could return the favor :)
If it's not too much trouble, could you list the stats for bare fists (damage, speed, etc...)? I'm fairly certain that's what I'll be using most if not all the time.
Lastly, Shark_Bone I know you probly have enough going on with getting ready to start the adventure but whenever you have a minute there were a couple questions relating specifically to my character (the ones about traits and the gear stats).
If it's not too much trouble, could you list the stats for bare fists (damage, speed, etc...)? I'm fairly certain that's what I'll be using most if not all the time.
Lastly, Shark_Bone I know you probly have enough going on with getting ready to start the adventure but whenever you have a minute there were a couple questions relating specifically to my character (the ones about traits and the gear stats).
Last edited September 3, 2016 11:22 am
Sep 3, 2016 2:13 pm
Fists are easy.
IMS (incidental, mark, and superb ?) are damage levels.
I: 1/2 power, rounded up
M: power
S: 1.5 x power, rounded down.
For melee weapons, you'd add their damage to the middle range band, then calculate the I and S (half or 1.5 of power+weapon damage).
It requires 2 extra successes to jump to the next damage band.
No armor piercing, and no limit to the number of times you can punch before you have to reset by doing another action.
IMS (incidental, mark, and superb ?) are damage levels.
I: 1/2 power, rounded up
M: power
S: 1.5 x power, rounded down.
For melee weapons, you'd add their damage to the middle range band, then calculate the I and S (half or 1.5 of power+weapon damage).
It requires 2 extra successes to jump to the next damage band.
No armor piercing, and no limit to the number of times you can punch before you have to reset by doing another action.
Last edited September 3, 2016 4:57 pm
Sep 3, 2016 2:16 pm
I think the stat entry is something like
Damage bonus: -
Bump: 2
VA (armor piercing): 0
Speed: X
The lack of an SRD online is killing me.
Damage bonus: -
Bump: 2
VA (armor piercing): 0
Speed: X
The lack of an SRD online is killing me.
Last edited September 3, 2016 2:17 pm
Sep 3, 2016 4:25 pm
Yeah, it's just a book game.
I saw your questions last night, Phantasmoron, but it was late and I didn't want to half-ass any answers. I'll look in detail now.
I saw your questions last night, Phantasmoron, but it was late and I didn't want to half-ass any answers. I'll look in detail now.
Sep 3, 2016 4:36 pm
And let me just say Origami, I'm glad you have a decent handle on the rules. Its going to help answer questions quicker.
Sep 3, 2016 6:53 pm
Ok, I think I'm ready to kick this one off. Anyone have questions or still need to complete something with your character before we do?
Sep 4, 2016 8:38 am
Ok, regarding the Bare Fist question earlier, here are the official stats:
Weapon: Bare Fist
Power: - (doesn't add anything to your power stat to calculate damage. )
Add: 2 (takes 2 extra successes to bump damage up a band)
WS: 3 (you can make 3 consecutive attacks before having to take a different action in combat)
VA: - (doesn't bypass any dice of armor)
WL: shortest (weapon length, used for the advanced combat rules)
Handedness: one-handed
Thusly, the damage bands for bare fists are:
Incidental: 1/2 your power, rounded up
Mark: your power
Superb: 1.5 x your power, rounded down
Adom has a dagger. In comparison, here are the stats for that.
Weapon: Dirk (run of the mill knife)
Power: 1 (adds 1 to your power before calculating damage)
Add: 1 (takes 1 extra success to bump damage up a band)
WS: X (no limit to the number of consecutive attack actions)
VA: - (doesn't bypass any dice of armor)
WL: shortest (weapon length, doesn't give you any advantages)
Handedness: one-handed
Thusly, the damage bands for bare fists are:
Incidental: 1/2 of (your power +1), rounded up
Mark: your power + 1
Superb: 1.5 x (your power + 1), rounded down
Weapon: Bare Fist
Power: - (doesn't add anything to your power stat to calculate damage. )
Add: 2 (takes 2 extra successes to bump damage up a band)
WS: 3 (you can make 3 consecutive attacks before having to take a different action in combat)
VA: - (doesn't bypass any dice of armor)
WL: shortest (weapon length, used for the advanced combat rules)
Handedness: one-handed
Thusly, the damage bands for bare fists are:
Incidental: 1/2 your power, rounded up
Mark: your power
Superb: 1.5 x your power, rounded down
Adom has a dagger. In comparison, here are the stats for that.
Weapon: Dirk (run of the mill knife)
Power: 1 (adds 1 to your power before calculating damage)
Add: 1 (takes 1 extra success to bump damage up a band)
WS: X (no limit to the number of consecutive attack actions)
VA: - (doesn't bypass any dice of armor)
WL: shortest (weapon length, doesn't give you any advantages)
Handedness: one-handed
Thusly, the damage bands for bare fists are:
Incidental: 1/2 of (your power +1), rounded up
Mark: your power + 1
Superb: 1.5 x (your power + 1), rounded down