The OOC thread

I don't think Nindia would learn to read/write - not the skill required for a farmer/fisher.
So: (1) RAVLANDIC is native and since there are half-elves in this world (2) ELVEN would make sense to be second. Perhaps (3) ALDERLANDIC and (4) ORCISH. Seems most regional languages based on story so far.

I believe Empathy + Lore skill (do not add Wits) count as 2 for Faramos, so he can either talk/read/write only one language or talk two.
Suggestion: I would like to argue nevertheless that Wits (representing intelligence) would need to do something with character ability to read/write in languages he knows rather than empathy. Not sure about ruling, but with his Withs of 5 it would make perfect sense to me that Faramos would be able to try interpret texts written in languages he can't fluently speak.

Ravlandic and Dwarven then. =) Like most people, Faramos won't know how to read and write, due to his low Empathy (2) and no Lore skills.

Brenda has 4 Empaty, so she will know Ravlandic, Alderlandic and Dwarven. She will also know the human (Alderlandic) alphabet, so she will read/write in 2 languages, but won't know the Dwarven runes.

@GreyWord what languages and alphabets/runes will Nindia know?

Edit: You already answered, we posted simultaneously =)

Makes sense. Interpretation of texts written in other languages is a regular LORE test. =) Of course, if you know how to read/write the language, no need to roll.

Ok, noted on the sheet: Ravlandic and Dwarven - talk only.

So what would be required for Faramos to start reading dwarf runes? I think his parents were teaching them to him, but apparently they were separated with him to soon to his level of reading being on "useful level".

Finding a dwarven book and studying it for longer time -> getting Lore skill on 1 with XP ??? :)

Mechanic wise, you just need to use 5 XP to increase your Lore. This will give you all the usual benefits to your Lore rolls as well, the runes are just a "bonus".

We can RP when we get there. Usually, it doesn't make sense to learn how to read/write without a teacher. Brukir or someone in Willowbrook can surely teach you. But maybe that's unecessary, as we can RP that you already know and it is just that you're really confident in it after spending the XP?

I will leave that to Nindia, if she wanna risk going in without Faramos or let you all SLEEP and REST for the day.

Ok, that sounds good! We will say that he have a little (tiny) book with dwarven runes - last keepsake from his parents - that he studies in his "free time". And one day... all the blocks will fit to the right holes... and we will manage to read them on quite proper level.
As Faramos is unconscious I will not state what he would do with a book or propose next actions while he is asleep. Let's see what Nindia will decide :D

Besides: I'm more, and more amazed by Year Zero Engine mechanics -> how narrative they are, being so simple in the same time!

This last push-roll - it immediately set us on direction how this book worked on Faramos and what happened, with one decision and one roll. I liked this engine before and now I'm starting to like it even more. From one point of view: you only roll a bunch of d6s looking for 6es , but... it turns out that the results can have much more possible outcomes. Very interesting for me.

Yeah, I'm really liking it as well. =) I had to edit that post a couple of times, to reconcile both my plans for the adventure and the dice results, but when its done, seems perfect. This was unexpected, but very realistic. =)

This situation looks very interesting, as it comes quite naturally from the fact that Faramos don't know orkish... So I think it would be the most interesting to solve it in character.

As this provided us with interesting "plot twist"/Nindia reaction I would stay with translations in private:)

well... Faramos were sleeping while Orc came. For me events read as Nindias failure to explain what happened

For me as well. We can go slower next time, to let her properly explain things, or I can put it in the open, so we can presume she explained correctly, because all the players will have the same information.

Or maybe Faramos doesn't listen very well, no matter what Nindia said.

"Oh.... that Faramos... maybe not behaving always as such... but he is still a stubborn dwarf... no doubt about it... too single minded sometimes..."

;)

As it seams there is a chance that we will recover somehow from the current situation, I wanted to ask for the future:
You think, GM, that Faramos could use:next time to re-enter this cave room and being not noticed by this awful fungi?

Yup. It would work. Magic has its own risks, though.

Htech! Haven't time to writ it earlier, but now I'm doing this: Your descriptions are next level! This game is a treat to read and play! A lot of creative fun for me! I don't say this to flatter you, but to let you know that I appreciate your efforts. I especially liked this part:
The whole scene of burning the "bad book" was described very similar to what I have imagined for Faramos, but wasn't able to put it in such good words... It's visible that you really are paying attention how I envision/play Faramos and how he is:) Thanks for that!

Do you use AI sometimes or your pen is simply so good? =)

I also like very much the recent descriptions, and the fact that you decided to split us in our "panic run through the forest". Very thematic! I hope Grey will also want to act upon the fact that we don't know our current locations - and are unfortunettly separated from each other.

Ok, back to writing RP post:)

Thanks! I use PbP to practice my English, so there is an extra incentive for me to write longer and more descriptive posts. I am not in this only for the game. Writing and improving my vocabulary and skills are part of the reason I do this.
I use it as an augmentation tool, not as the creator of the posts. It can give me some descriptions, smells and snippets. There is also some heavy editing whenever I use Chatgpt, as it tend to overuse some words. But like AI, I sometimes use a spellchecker, a thesaurus... They are tools. =)

People that think they can simply copy and paste from AI miss the point. =)

Couldn't agree more:)

To be clear: Your posts didn't looked like written by AI, as they have this spark of consciousness (about our game) that fortunately AI is not able to mimic (yet?). Just wanted to know how you do this, as it looks like a lot of time put in it.

I plan to use AI in my game to help me with static environment descriptions (as "how does the jungle looks and feels") - as I don't like to write them at all. I'm more keen about the interactions/relations between persons and objects:)

Since you are aware of its limitations, I suggest you use AI in your (or our) games as well.

If used well, it can speed things up a lot. With it, I can do in minutes what would take hours =)

Interestingly, by using it here, I am now writing more like the AI. I am also better at coaxing it to write what I want. I think it works both ways with me and Chatgpt.

Let's take this conversation on Nindia build issue into this thread. I am willing to try keep existing talents, but understand how to use them properly.

So I see rules on how to roll ambush at arm' s length. But how do I do I trigger that? Can't I?


I don't want to believe it was designer' s choice for this system to make Halberd a feasible ambush weapon, while scimitar is not. Still if that' s the limitation of the system I would like to ask for a different favor: remember when we looted Orc? May we say I left his armor behind and picked throwing ace instead? And use that axe to attack at the current encounter? Thanks