We had nothing to do with what they were doing at the Cataviir estate, merely serving as vassals, and selling food to them. It didn't matter to those men, crusaders bearing "Righteous fury" upon the necromancers. after the lord was dead, they turned on the village. The sky glowed orange, we were lucky they contented themselves to simple "Cleanse the unhallowed grounds", but that moring, we were homeless, refugees, and pariahs.
in this game, you will be playing local leaders/heroes to a community in exile. your village was burned down, and because a local lord was practicing necromancy, everyone who survived are personae non gratae.
the system is Dungeon world, a PbtA sstem designed to create a D&D esqe fantasy world. Once we have a party, we will decide more about the situation and world.
available playbooks are: All of core, all of Grim world except Necromancer (And Slayer is borderline, unless you really want it), and all of Inverse World except the captain, golem, and rainlord (I will hear appeals on golem), and I will consider other playbooks you show me, as long as they seem balanced and fit the tone.
I want a maximum of 5 players, and one person has already expressed interest, so 4 slots remain. anyone interested?
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Gorn is the son of village's blacksmith, and his foreign ogre wife. He still blames himself for not being able to single-handedly save the village from the Recent Unpleasantness, and swears to be a bulwark upon which the tide of evil may crash.
***
I so rarely see a straight fighter played in DW, I thought I'd take it for a spin.
Also Gorn is about as far from Retzack as one can get. ^_^
well...
I don't hate it, but I kinda prefer This Wizard hack. I would encourage you to use this one, if that's okay.
also, Gorn is cool, I like Gorn
Rumors (and Varis insists they are simply rumors) have been spreading like wildfire of his family's ancient connection to diabolic cults granting them indentured Dryads who turned the Inkweed Swamp that disappeared a few hundred years ago into the grand Silverleaf Forest where living oaks grow faster and taller than any other. Varis' family gained political favor sponsoring hunts, and wealth by building the structures his homeland become well known for with fine timber gilded with the famed fine metals from the unseen and heavily guarded Silverbrook mines. After several court battles (which Varis insist were motivated by political opponents) the entire land owned by the Silverspears were banned from further trade, and the family has been living off their wealth and name for a century.
Varis, having done nothing in the decades after his graduation, decided he needed to take an exotic adventurer walkabout that is all the rage with the young nobles of the day. It's only been a month or two, but Varis is very proud of his journey of personal growth and learning what it's really like to explore the true Varis.
That was pretty quick once I sat down to do it.
I am certainly interested. I'll try to come up with a good character concept.
EDIT: I'd like to try out the Walker from Inverse World. I've never seen it in play before.
I think this fills out the roster
and MCKaos, it will be outside a lot, that could limit walker utility. It's fine, go for it, but be warned
In that case I'll go with Sky Dancer, another that I've never seen in play before.
Volsung, which of the three methods of flight would make the most sense in this setting?
I was thinking maybe of going with an avian race if that would work.
I think an avian race is good as well.
A half ogre, an elf, and an avian, this is a very diverse village, I suspect this may have something to do with it's destruction and lack of aid.
I didn't read the OP before writing my background, and I'm thinking that Varis makes sense being related to the necromantic family. I am thinking this was perhaps a rural aunt or uncle who was meant to be the ones to train him after his prestigious education in the art and science of magic, who were working on breaking him into the family dark magic business but it never got enacted before the family was killed and the village burned.
Now Varis is left in three sheets to the wind knowing his family are evil necromancers and worse and that all those rumors about his family cavorting with demons might not be far from reality.
Since I'm recycling the alias, is it possible to have some portion of the Cataviir estate to have elven blood?
Varis
by all means, sounds good. actually, maybe he was whole elf... I think some of this purge may have been motivated by... other reasons.
like I said, Witcher-esque
I was thinking the situation would be best if there was reasons for Varis to not reject his family, and injustice would be a good reason even if he knows his family are evil wizards with just the sickest skull rings. I like where this can go.
Vandin
Drive: Enemy of Darkness
Origin of Light: Stolen Property
Vanadin "met" Sola while hiding out in the woods near town. A clearing in the forest, with a square of silver energy laying atop the dirt, and a mass of retina-searing white light in the square...mostly in the square. Almost without thinking, Vandin grabbed at the one small piece outside the square. His hand passed right through, and he ran off, but that bit of light followed.
I'm picturing him as a fast talker, usually quick enough with his tongue to stay out of too much trouble. Who or what Sola, or this aspect of him is/was, no idea yet. Vanadin thinks the silver square was probably some kind of trap set by the Cataviiri, but who knows for sure?
Still need to finish setting up the alias, but does the above sound good?
Tera made his living hunting on the outskirts of the village, occasionally traveling to the central market to sell his kills. He never really felt truly comfortable in the village proper. The villagers were nice enough, but he knew that he represented the unknown, and disliked making people uncomfortable. Still, he knew from experience that he wasn't welcome elsewhere, so this had become home.
Since his mother died two decades earlier, Tera has never encountered another member of his race. She had told the hatchling stories of his people being scattered to the four corners by an invasion of dark beastmen. Tera puts little faith in these stories, and has always wanted to seek out the truth, but feared traveling alone. His sole token of his people is a sword that his mother claimed had belonged to Tera's father.
Tera secretly sees the recent calamity and the new nomadic existence of the villagers as an opportunity to explore for the truth about his people. He remains with the group, using his unique talents to spot danger and forage for food.
Silvia is probably a changeling. She was probably stolen by those wicked, wicked goblins, with a replacement infant left squalling in the wooden crib. She was probably the protege of a bored and manipulative forest nymph who's tree-home was threatened by the expanding goblin settlement.
The confusion stems from the fact that Silvia murdered her goblin "mother" at age thirteen. Then, wearing her visage, murdered the goblin "father", followed by the rest of the village.
Trekking cross country for three months, she returned to the human town and spread the blood of her negligent human parents across the living room, before turning on her replacement.
One of them survived.
Naturally, Silvia slipped through the cracks, and has been drifting through the bottom feeders and mud-dwellers of society. Nobody can be quite sure if the corpse of Silvia left in that house was the original or the doppelganger. Only one thing is certain: Silvia isn't telling.
Put up a discussion thread, and some questions
found here
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Okay, so we've gotten down to 3 players, and I would like to bolster our numbers... so, I'm re-opening this thread.
before we begin, there have been some things that have been established in setting:
- Vegetation grows extremely fast, and monsters & fey live in the growth.
- Races as a whole tend toward neutrality.
- The true diety/dieties of this world all have the same, limited, sets of manifestations. In particular, it/they never appear as a unique individual, only a vaguely humanoid glowing figure, and they never communicate intelligibly (no writing on tablets, clear voices from above, etc.) The actual number of dieties is, therefore, hard to determine - but it's probably more than one, given the religious wars over the years.
- Demon is the elvish word of deiy, demon worship is worshipping the gods of the elves
- magic pervades living things, and can be imbued by sentiment or passion.
- Humans are the dominant species, and several sects in human culture would see intelligent nonhumans subjugated or destroyed. several nonhuman sects would see the same done with humans (and the other non-them races)
This time, there are two options for your character's origin, and a set of questions for each:
1.) a member of the caravan. If you choose this, you are a refugee from the village of Kalin's Rest, which was burned down by paladins of the cleansing church because the nearby cataviir estate was beleived to be practicing necromancy, and demon worship .
- What did you do in the village?
- how did you survive the blaze? and who didn't?
- And, what do you plan to do now?
2.) An inhabitant of the town of Conclave, a wizard-town about a week from Kalin's Rest. It is relatively quiet, but surrounded by fae woods. The PCs have stopped by the town, but are due to leave soon
- What do you do in the town?
- And, why do you want to leave town with the next armed caravan?
Hi all! Just coming over from Gauntlet Slack to check it out. Definitely interested in what I've been reading. I've never done a PbP before, so bear with me as I learn the ropes.
For now, I have some playbook reading to do. :)
Hey there, welcome.
okay, available playbooks are: [list]
That's a review for a different slayer (which is, objectively, not so great). Don't play that slayer.
This Slayer is the one from Grim world. it's less "badly-written witcher" and more "unstable Murder addict". that said, it was slightly sarcastic, it is a really chaotic,dangerous class, all about balancing power and risk. I enjoyed the hell out of playing one, but you have been warned
also, generally, if I'm urging you to do something with dramatic enthusiasm, it means it will introduce complications and chaos, and generally help me make your lives interesting
actually, I did brief write-ups, found here note, these can sometimes get a tad... facetious, but all of the descriptions, except maybe the rainlord (maybe), are accurate.
Here's my pitch for a Human Thief called Rasp the Rogue.
If Rasp had a life before the fire, he certainly can’t remember it now. His earliest memory was the stench of his burning flesh and the sound of his own screaming. It’s hard to say how old he was; he was always a small child. But if he had to guess, he must have been 6 or 7.
It was a time of war, and a homeless, burned waif wasn’t going to garner much sympathy in the city, even at the best of times. And if not for the spontaneous sympathy of a band of thieves, he might never have survived at all. But he did. At least long enough until he could take care of himself, which by their estimation wasn’t long at all.
He had burns covering every inch of his body and a voice that sounded like nails scraping down a chalkboard. In retrospect, the nickname “Rasp” was practically a kindness from his fellow misanthropes.
Alas, he wasn’t “cute” enough to make any coin begging. But a growing boy had to eat, so he soon learned the tricks of the trade. He wasn’t the strongest, the fastest, or even the smartest. But he was patient. And when needs must, he could be as still as a shadow, and as silent as a grave.
Rasp joined a guild about a year later. He was resourceful, and competent. And if he wasn’t liked, he was certainly at least respected after a measure. He wasn’t happy exactly, but he was surviving.
Eventually he left the guild. There was nothing keeping him there really. And he had just enough money that he thought he could survive somewhere else. He arrived at Conclave with the hope of finding something legitimate. But most people couldn’t see pasts his burns, so there was no work to be had. His savings were considerable, but they weren’t limitless. And so now he desperately needs to find a new line of work.
Perhaps adventuring?
I'm interested! I've played DW once before (also on these boards) and own the base book.
I'd like to play a Ranger. A few possibilities:
a) The rampant vegetation is a sign of some threat to the balance of nature. I will find the cause and right it.
b) I was taken as a child and raised by the fae. I understand them...but sometimes badly misunderstand civilized folks.
c) I'm a daughter of the necromancer, though I rebelled against him in disgust. Since I ran off, I've been alone in the woods--seeking balance, and to right my father's wrongs. Perhaps I only now learned that he (and our village) has been leveled.
Do any of those fit the established story? Or make the world more interesting? Let me know and I'll flesh things out in that direction.
Also, what do we know of elves so far?
Thanks.
I have a couple of ideas, and I guess I'd throw it out to the group to provide some direction on where our gaps are (and what the nature of the campaign is with regards to how much combat and roleplaying is involved).
If we need a face/utility character, I'm liking Bard. The mix of healing and persuasion skills seems fun and useful, but given that we have a cleric, this might be a bit redundant.
For damage-dealing, I'm leaning toward a Channeler from Grim World. Very evocative class, and will add a bit of chaos to the proceedings. Not a replacement for a Wizard though.
Speaking of Wizards, I was just reading through the alternative Wizard playbook Volsung posted above (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3eN9t7beS_zSGNfdm8xSldKOE0/view). That's pretty neat, and so much more open than the core DW version. I dig it.
Playing off the narrative of how the vegetation grows so vigorously, a Druid would be interesting and fairly versatile. Seems that our potential new Ranger might be addressing the vegetation plot point though, which is great!
Thoughts? Opinions?
Rasp
I like it, and I've never seen someone play a rogue on the forums.
Gyrfalcon
I love rangers. okay, but
1. the overgrowth is just a feature of the world, not a new thing.
2. fae... we don't like to think too hard about what happens to the children who are replaced by changeling
3. This one works pretty well. the silverspears (the family of mages that were targeted) are elves, but the backstory works. you'd catch up with them in Conclave, which i about a week away by caravan, or 3 days by ranger.
also, general elf stuff: they live pretty long, they worship different gods than human, they've been around longer, they have their own settlements, and they often find themselves in conflicts with the fast growing races (Humans and Orcs) over resources. they hav their own architecture, but they don't, like, live in the overgrowth or anything (not quite Lothlorien). any other questions?
GCPDblue
I've never played bard, or seen it played, so i can't comment on it, but Vanadin has decent CHA, if that effects your descition.
as for channeler... Ive never met a channeler I didn't love, really fun class, if you roleplay it well
and Druids are also really fun, especially in a primarily wilderness setting.
If blue plays a bard we could have dueling bards!
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More importantly, Gorn would be utterly convinced that this other so-called 'bard' was nothing of the sort :p
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"What? We have another who would claim to a be a bard amongst us? Nay! See here, that one is healing our wounds and strengthening our STEEL in GLORIOUS COMBAT! 'Tis obviously a brother-cleric of some sort. No doubt 'tis a chaste personage and quite boring. Come now, Vanadin, summon thy light trick and make it dance for us again! HaHA!"
Alright, I think I've narrowed it down. Here are my background pitch. Those familiar with Babylon 5 might recognize the inspiration.
Cylus the Halfling (Grim World) Bard
Cylus is a squat Halfling with a soft body betraying a life of ease and luxury. He's clothed in finery, choosing styles and colors representing the old Halfling empire which is now in decline. Still he dreams of the days when Halflings were a force to be reckoned with.
Now squarely in his middle age, Cylus's political career has stalled. Old fashioned values only take you so far in these uncertain times, but his family lineage keeps him within the circles of Halfling power. To do away with him, Cylus was made ambassador to a farswept corner of the world where he might be forgotten.
That corner was Baron's Hollow, a bustling city some week's journey from Conclave. Of little strategic and commercial worth to his people, Cylus's role as ambassador is little more than a joke. Indeed his gift for oratory serves him well in representing Halfling interests in the city, but a looming sense of uselessness pushes Cylus to other less productive endeavors.
Cylus spends much of his time enjoying Baron's Hollow's many distractions. He's well known in the city for his love of drinking, eating, gambling, and enjoying women and men alike. He's utterly undaunted in his leisures and able to avoid repercussions through his whit and guile. That is until the arrival of his new ambassadorial attaché, Willem, a portly Halfling barely into adulthood eager to please and to serve. Cylus knew is free ride was over.
Innocent and eager, Willem brought with him new orders from the settlement's leadership. Cylus was to engage the mages of the Enclave and win their trust so that their training and magical relics might benefit Halfling-kind. Naturally Willem was to join Cylus on this important diplomatic mission to observe and learn the art of diplomacy. Of course Cylus recognized him for an unwitting spy.
And observe he did as Cylus's life of eccentricity finally caught up with him. In Conclave, Cylus crossed a particularly humorless Warlock attempting to con him out of an heirloom of Halfling make claiming it belonged to Cylus's family. That wasn't quite true, and when Cylus accused the Warlock of thievery, arcane words were spoken leveling a particularly nasty curse on Cylus. Pain, chronic and sudden, would come upon Cylus when he least expected it until he repented for his repugnant lifestyle and used his gifts for good. The Warlock placed Willem in charge of determining when Cylus lived up to this condition, and so they are inextricably linked until the curse has been lifted.
Cylus considered whether killing the Warlock would work, but somehow thought the better of it. He was no murdered anyway. Instead he brooded for days, nursing headaches that might just as easily have come from alcohol consumption as from the Warlock's curse. Willem, desperate to set his master on the path to redemption, engaged a caravan of stout-hearted adventurers on Cylus's behalf. Loyal to a fault, he spoke only of diplomatic skill and bardic gifts, leaving out the less desirable traits.
Cylus's bardic tool of choice is oratory. He is a weaver of words and story, which are just as potent at confounding his opponents as they are at enrapturing an audience. He's a studied historian and lore-master, and will talk a man's ear off especially about his people's glory days. Those who know Cylus understand him to be selfish but ultimately well-meaning. Despite Willem's aggravating optimism, Cylus has developed a paternal fondness for the lad. Perhaps that's driven by desperation to lift the curse, but Willem chooses to think there's good in Cylus after all. Maybe this curse will be a blessing after all.
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For what it's worth, I had a chance to read your gameplay thread and am caught up. Seems like a lively bunch. :-)
DM Volsung, thanks for your reply!
Having read a bit more, I realize you've already had a Silverspear in the party. That might be fine...but maybe it'll make sense to go in a different direction instead. I'll keep mulling on the exact origin and motivations of my ranger. While I do, some random bits:
. . .
General outline
Kezra Tern is an Elven ranger with Sharp Eyes, Wild Hair, and a Lithe Body, traveling in Camouflage clothes that blend with the forest. She travels with a hawk companion.
She is Good, and always willing to Endanger yourself to combat an unnatural threat.
. . .
Ideas for Bonds
Kezra feels a friendly rivalry with Gorn. She wants to prove herself his equal in battle.
Kezra wants to teach Gorn the foolishness of battling with nature, and the wisdom of learning to think like (and listen to) the forest instead.
Kezra envies Tera’s wings. She can train hawks and climb tall trees, but she longs to see the forest as he does, from above.
Vanadin...might take more thought, or conversation, to pick. Have we met before? Does his light remind me of something?
. . .
A random snippet
Kezra steps unscathed through the brambles, seeming to find a path where none looks possible. She chuckles as Gorn sweats and hacks his way through.
”Is it easy navigating these grasping vines and thorns? Hardly! But you only make it harder when you turn it into a battle. Who has ever won a battle against nature, in the end? No one.
“What alternative is there? Try to listen to the plants. Watch how they move toward sun, and away from shade. Learn to think like the forest and you can pass through a grasping bramble without a scratch. Fight the bramble and resign yourself to a thousand tiny cuts...or worse.”
. . .
And a question
Will new party members start out at 1st level and with starting equipment? Or something more?
BTW, it looks like you've got some great choices to join the fun. I'd be happy to join you but wish you good luck with your decision in any event.
Cheers,
well, the silverspear had to drop out, actually, that's what prompted the re-recruitment. so don't sweat the bond with Varis
and I think everyone would start at level 2, with starting quipment
Am I good to go to make my character? Wasn't sure if I needed to tweak anything in my background before proceeding.
I'll second that question. It looks like you've got some interesting options. I'm happy to work out more about Kezra if you'd like (either more back story details or crunch) if useful in making your decision. Just let me know.
Also, do you know when you plan to have a decision by?
Best of luck!
I've consulted the other players, and once all three of them get back to me, I'll make my decision. expect it by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest
Cool.
Okay, the results are in. This was a hard choice, all of these were pretty great, but there were only 2 slots...
Would Kreza and Cylus Kindly make up character profiles, and then join us in the fail train campaign.
Sure thing. I'll work on that tomorrow. Looking forward to it!
Haven't quite decided if I want to go this route, but would you allow this alternate Bard playbook from DriveThruRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/137211/The-Bard--A-Dungeon-World-Playbo ok.
Here's a link to a PDF for your reference: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyqn421h5pixrfp/theBard_playbook_normal.pdf?dl=0
I... Won't disallow it, if you really like that on ebetter, but I will ay that I think the core bard is more balanced, and easier to be useful in non-social situations.
Totally understood. I think the alternate playbook matches my background a bit better, BUT if we're expecting some semi-regular combat I'm happy to go with core. Do you think a versatile utility type character would be more useful than a social face type?
Charming & Open, Port in a Storm, and generally high CHA will already make you a competent face, and the alternate bard doesn't have multiclass moves, which really hampers it's utility.
most classes have a couple things they're good at to start with, and get a few more over time. the fighter is good at fighting, sure, but they also are good at dealing with obstacles (BBLG). the lantern can wield their friend as a mystical weapon, or command light, and they get some cool stuff with truth and whatever. The ranger is useful when you have the drop on someone, or when you're tracking them, and they gain a lot of utility in perilous journeys as time goes on. I don't see tht versatility in the Alternate bard.
Sorry, I'm actually kinda into Game design, rant over.
Alright great! How would you like me to do bonds?
Head over to the discussion thread, and figure them out with the other players.
also, have a look at the other player's profiles, and make one up like theirs (for moves, I would just ctrl-c, ctrl-v from the SRD, saves time)
you have 6 bonds, I think, find ways to fill them out (and feel free to rewrite some of them, sometimes the bonds as written don't really work)
So Tera's whole shtick is that he is woefully naive. You are a halfling? The first thing Tera will do is show you the cold iron charms that were stolen from the halfling gang the Wraiths. Vanadin knows that this is a BAD IDEA. Perhaps that could tie into our initial bond.