Character Creation

Æsop

The Dastardly Skald

Mighty as an olympian, for indeed he was a master of the Pankration.
Enduring as the foundation of the earth, as he trained his body to the pinnacle of athletic performance.
Lusty as a bull, the one thing Æsop enjoys more than chronicling the deviance and degeneracy of the, "Heroes," is the company of beautiful women.

Seeks above all things Notoriety
Æsop has followed the adventurers chronicling their stories and feats with objectivity. He only deals in facts, though these facts have a tendency to showcase failures rather than successes, and omit him as anything more than observer.

One theme down, 3 to go!

I'm going to say this, though. Seems super-troll-y. The idea of playing with a party member whose main goal is to s*** on the rest of the party seems less fun, than say, a root canal. If everyone else thinks it sounds like fun, I'm ok with it, since I'm just the GM. If anyone else has an opinion they'd rather PM me, PM me.

As I said, the warlock was just inspiration. I do not intend to introduce GoO into the world, it can be a dark fey or any other thing you've already established. Mechanically, it's just a power tag that I can only use to directly hinder someone, not to directly help. And I don't want any new mechanics with it, the Tinderbox Demo's rules are exactly what I'm looking for in this game.

I'd like a magic user who did not learn their magic, and for whom magic feels dangerous and, as a result, I will always describe her action when using magic as reluctant.

Also, in the veins of Fate (you said that LitM has a lot of Fate in its DNA), I'm happy to limit the Effects (on page 7 of the demo pdf) for which I can use this tag, just like Fate stunts can be limited to certain skills or action.

And it's a first idea, we can chisel it as much as we want -- for example, by renaming it.

This actually reassures me tremendously.

Slicing the mind IS a straight up psychic attack, though, have I got that right?

Here's why I'm asking. The dice in LitM and PbtA games generally are entirely in the hands of the players. I never roll to attack you. What happens is, you roll, and if you get a 7 or more, you succeed. If you roll a 9 or less, there are consequences. In a swordfight, the consequence is likely to be the other guy sticking you. Pretty straightforward. If you're researching the proper use of cheese on pizza, you may get misleading information or get pulled down some delicious rabbithole, etc.

With magic, the consequences are going to be magical. Since you've introduced our first direct magical attack AND given me a something that whispers in your mind... It's not like everyone whose mind your slice is going to be a psychic warrior who can slice back, so consequences are likely to come from your something.

Which will make using the power BE dangerous as well as feel dangerous. But only if you roll 9 or less.

Anyway, if you're good with that, I'm good with it.

Thanks for the explanation. I don't really mind the consequences, but I'd like to rename it. So, it could be disturbing visions, which is still a psychic effect, with probably the same consequences you described, but it's closer to what I'd like narratively.

I feel like the initial meetings would probably happen either en route or at the port on market day. The fisher woman and the Dino rancher may already know each other as well as anyone else who wouldn't be just newly arriving. New arrivals may have traveled together....

Just some thoughts

Not quite shit on them. More like Marco Polo. I see many fae magicians, each of them are agents of chaos, and will put their masters agenda before common sense.

I chose the name Æsop because his will be a book of hard won life lessons and more than likely a guide of how to not do things. A real story unlike a vainglorious depiction of heroics, it will just go to show these larger than life characters are at the end of the day merely mortal.

Like I said, if the other players are on board with an on board critic, it's ok with me.

But you still need three more themes.

Disturbing Visions works... and by all means, (for everyone) keep tweaking your characters until either you're happy, or we start.

Given the diverse origins and professions, etc, I'm thinking that we may need to contrive a situation that is pulling you all together.

Maybe something is calling them off of the main island and on to one of the more "wild" islands. limited options might put them all as unlikely travel companions together.

How do the themes:

Notorious Philosopher, the Socrates of the isle
Fearsome warrior, known to be a skilled killer
Lush, this man prefers the finer things to excess

Work for you?

Notorious Philosopher and Fearsome Warrior are good. Lush sounds line a weakness.

A theme, remember, is a title tag with two power tags, one weakness tag, and a quest. A giod mix of broad and specific tags is recommended.

In that case I would like to be a Meat Wizard

Is he Goku? Is he an artisinal gourmet? He is certainly not vegan.

I was thinking something along those lines. It will have to be something compelling enough to get our rancher to leave his ranch behind. So perhaps the spirits themselves are calling, which should serve to motivate him.

In my character sheet I added two power tags, one weakness and one goal for each theme. Any and all feedback is welcome about those.

1. Who's Kialla?
2. "good at instructing others how to find stuff in a town" feels convoluted. And only useful for others. Maybe "finding stuff in town"?

I was thinking about more practical applications to some of my themes. And maybe offering up a little bit more story hook type quests... Let me know what you think of my update

Theme 1
Dino Rancher (Trade or Skill) - Struthiosaurus

- Animal Handling -
- Good with tools -
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Unkempt - Balam's clothes are torn, his hands have cuts on them, his appearance reflects the look of a man who spends his day working.
Quest: Balam would like to acquire a new animal for the ranch

Theme 2
Commune with the spirits (Trait) To Balam, interacting and speaking with the spirits, especially those of his ancestors, is a simple fact of his daily life. He speaks with them like one would speak with good friends. But he also asks them for guidance and protection.
- Ancestral Knowledge - On the spirit plane, the ancestors connect with much older spirits and pass their knowledge on to Balam
- The Protection of the spirits - Some people might call it Guardian Angels, some people might call it uncanny good luck, but it just seems like there is an unseen hand keeping Balam safe from harm.
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Stubborn - Balam's loyalty to the spirits, to his family and to his friends can make him unwavering and relentless.
Quest: From the spirits' perspective, Balam is their presence on Earth. So it is he who must do things that they cannot do for themselves. They have asked Balam to leave the island and retrieve something from one of the southernmost islands

Theme 3
Protector (Personality)
- Good in a fight - he's a brawler, he's stocky, he favors big heavy weapons that break things like axes and hammers
- Get Behind Me -Balam Is unafraid. he knows how to take a hit, and how to avoid them.
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* Lookin for a fight? - He can be quick to anger
Quest: It's time to send the old bull out to pasture. During the journey south, Balam plans to return Oltoloc back to his home in the wild where he can live out his remaining years before he is called back to join the spirits. Oltoloc is not so old that he's slow, but he has been with the herd long enough and it's time to retire him

Theme 4
Provider (Personality)
- I can get a better price for that
- I can fix it
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* A little Shady
Quest: Just gotta find that one Golden Opportunity. Balam is always on the lookout for a good deal, a big payday or anything of great value.

Name: Balam

Kialla's a childhood friend, she's been missing for a few months, and that's very non-characteristic of her. Dianne found some clues (I don't know what) which led her to the Far Isles. She probably cast a wide net and asked around in the port just in case, and she did gain some info.

Yeah, that tag felt convoluted for me as well, but I wanted something that is directly about helping her companions and connected to her experiences. I'll think about that.