Grit & Gore (Inactive)

Game Master Brian Minhinnick

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Probably going Sonja "Abal" Bjornsdottr, which would make Crusty's family name "Bjornson."


HP: 5/14 | Stamina: 0/4
Stats:
(AC 17, T 13, FF 14) | CMD 16 | Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +0 | Init +5 | Percept +5

Changed

Also, are we starting having already met up? And if so, I am wondering if Crusty's toon would recognize me right off. I picture it having been several years since she was taken, and her having matured from a young girl to a young woman. Also, I figure Crusty is the elder sibling, so he likely hasn't changed too much, meaning when we do meet, Sonja would recognize him immediately, but he may not recognize her.


Sonja and Samir are definitely together already. If you guys would like, we can open the campaign with the reunion of Sonja and Gudbrandr. I think that'd be kinda cool.

Did we ever establish what exactly Gudbrandr's blackmail secret is?


HP: 5/14 | Stamina: 0/4
Stats:
(AC 17, T 13, FF 14) | CMD 16 | Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +0 | Init +5 | Percept +5

He has hairy palms, and had diminished eye sight at an early age...


Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!

1) Samir /sah-MEER/ is bursting with desires and slight on ambitions. He’s quick to chase pleasures (strong wine, rich food, fast money, wild dance, and sex with both women and men), and just as quick to get bored and distracted, and to leave things behind. Occasionally a long-term ambition will spark his fancy but so far he’s always gotten distracted a short time later.

2) Childhood: Samir was the youngest of five sons in a shopkeeping family in XXX. They hit hard times when he was 8 years old and sold him as a slave to one of their spice suppliers, to cover a debt. That brought him onto a trade caravan where he played every role from heavy labor and cleaning to handling the animals to (as he got older) guarding the caravan. In order to buy his freedom, he volunteered for two back-to-back dangerous year long expeditions across the wastes of the Northern continent to capture young griffons and/or eggs (prized as prestige steeds of the wealthy). He spent most of his 17th and 18th years on the griffon expeditions, during which he continued to sharpen his skills at tracking, hunting, and subdual with a whip.

3) Adulthood: Samir has spent his adult years drifting between pleasures and needs. After buying his freedom he found work as a bounty hunter, capturing escaped slaves and other criminals. He spent a short time competing himself in the gladiatorial arenas where his skill and finesse with a whip earned him the nickname The Golden Jackal. After nine months in the arenas, enjoying the glory and rewards of his string of victories, he saw another gladiator he admired trip and be slain by a lesser opponent and he quit the ring that day. He spent some time living off his earnings, working as a sellsword, and stealing when opportunities presented themselves.

4) Six months ago, he was approached by Mit'rak to come back to the arenas as taskmaster for the slave pens. (Some gladiators are slaves, either owned by the Sultan or 3rd parties. Others -- a few, like Samir was briefly -- are free agents, risking their life for the profits that normally go to the victorious slaves’ owner.) He was just starting to get an itch for the road when a young spitfire caught his eye: she was wild, a rising star in the rings with surprising potential, and of course was very soothing on the eyes. While many of his pleasures were boys, she had a passionate determination that made him laugh and he enjoyed letting her seduce him. On a lark (and thinking it his own plan, though he was aware of her desires) he decided to abandon this latest job and take her with him. Since then, they’ve lived and adventured together as sellswords and thieves...so far avoiding the consequences of his theft of her and abandonment of his duties. (Note, exactly how near/far he’s gone since absconding with Sarah is interesting, logistically. It needs to be near enough to be a relevant problem...but probably far enough across Ahgradin that he feels a bit of safety. I’m assuming the city is large enough (and his reputation yet small enough) for him to get away with this...for now.)

5) Samir is just over six feet tall with long, spindly limbs, broad features, dark copper skin, amber eyes with thick lashes, and a lazy smile curving the edge of his broad lips. His hair is thick, straight, and black, and he wears whatever cash he has at the time as golden jewelry and precious stones.

Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.

1) Samir aspires to nothing greater than drifting from pleasure to pleasure -- peppered with brief, exciting sources of gold and glory...most of which are opportunities to hunt and fight for cash, or simply ripe opportunities for a lucrative theft. That said maybe there was an ancient ruin he heard stories about when hunting griffons in the Northern desert, that he’s itching to try to find and explore some day.

2a) I want to see him get himself into trouble and then fight his way out of it, earning a reputation for himself as a warrior.

2b) I also might like to see him find an ambition greater than pleasure and thrills that he won’t get distracted from a few days later. Not sure it’ll happen though.

Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!

1) Samir has had only one real love so far in his life: Mosi (a wildeyed boy a few years older than Samir with skin like burnished wood and peach fuzz on his cheeks) was one of the half dozen indentured hunters on his two year expedition to capture young griffons. Late in their second year of hunting young griffons Mosi was slain by a mother griffon who tracked the hunters down. Samir doesn't talk about it but much of his focus on pleasure is a fleeting salve for this loss.

2) Shadia (NPC 4:3, below) is a member of a bigger/more connected criminal family than she let on to Samir.

Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.

0) [Copied from Sonja, since it clearly applies to me too] “Mit'rak, captain of the Sultan's guard, has made it a personal vendetta to retrieve the insolent escaped slave and bring her back to the Sultan for proper punishment for murdering the Sultan's son.”
-- would this be the person who got me the job as the taskmaster? If not let me know and we should name her/him ‘cause they’d totally have it out for me too.

1) Jabril Il-Makah, a fence & bartender that Samir sometimes drinks with and who he turns to to sell stolen loot. They met shortly after he returned from his final griffon hunt in the Northern wastes. Samir managed to hide away an egg for himself and Hassad was the person he sold it to. Jabril enjoys Samir's company and likes the loot the young slayer brings him.

2) Fast Faisal, a fellow hunter from the griffon hunt (who also earned his freedom on it) -- the only other survivor from the second year hunt. Like Samir, Faisal has fallen into a life of opportunistic crime and odd mercenary jobs. They have a friendly rivalry and seem to semiregularly end up on the sam leads, sometimes competing, and others joining forces. Faisal is fiercely competitive and seems to compare himself to Samir constantly.

3) Shadia, another fence and source of jobs who Samir had a brief romance with. She had arranged a side job for Samir (supplying rage-inducing drugs to certain gladiators for key fights) while he was working at the gladiatorial arena. She was counting on him to slip some to a particular fighter (as he’d promised to do) the night he got side tracked with Sonja. His impulsive flight with Sonja f*&%ed the plan up, causing her to lose a good deal of money in the betting pools and some standing with her family. Samir expects her to be pissed...but also expects her to get over it and doesn't realize how much of a bridge he's burned yet.

Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.

1) memory: Spooning post-sex with Mosi under the stars in the Northen wastes, the night before Mosi was slain. Mosi, Fast Faisal, and Samir were the three surviving members of the team of six that had departed Ahgradin 11 months ago. They had captured two live younglings and three eggs, and thought they were in the clear as they headed back to Aghradin. The two teenage boys were taking turns making up stories about what their lives would be like together once they returned and bought their freedom.

2) ...OK, too tired to finish these last bits tonight...but wanted to get this to you so you can question/comment/make use of NPCs

3) ...TBD


FYI, link to draft of this in docs.

Should allow commenting on the doc (though you might need to request permissions on it first).


Samir, the Golden Jackal wrote:

Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!

1) Samir /sah-MEER/ is bursting with desires and slight on ambitions. He’s quick to chase pleasures (strong wine, rich food, fast money, wild dance, and sex with both women and men), and just as quick to get bored and distracted, and to leave things behind. Occasionally a long-term ambition will spark his fancy but so far he’s always gotten distracted a short time later.

2) Childhood: Samir was the youngest of five sons in a shopkeeping family in XXX. They hit hard times when he was 8 years old and sold him as a slave to one of their spice suppliers, to cover a debt. That brought him onto a trade caravan where he played every role from heavy labor and cleaning to handling the animals to (as he got older) guarding the caravan. In order to buy his freedom, he volunteered for two back-to-back dangerous year long expeditions across the wastes of the Northern continent to capture young griffons and/or eggs (prized as prestige steeds of the wealthy). He spent most of his 17th and 18th years on the griffon expeditions, during which he continued to sharpen his skills at tracking, hunting, and subdual with a whip.

3) Adulthood: Samir has spent his adult years drifting between pleasures and needs. After buying his freedom he found work as a bounty hunter, capturing escaped slaves and other criminals. He spent a short time competing himself in the gladiatorial arenas where his skill and finesse with a whip earned him the nickname The Golden Jackal. After nine months in the arenas, enjoying the glory and rewards of his string of victories, he saw another gladiator he admired trip and be slain by a lesser opponent and he quit the ring that day. He spent some time living off his earnings,...

Step 1, 2) What kind of place was XXX? Climate? Size? Give me a little more info, and I'll give you a name and a location. I like griffons as mounts for the wealthy in Ahgradin. Only the super wealthy though (as in the highest merchants and nobility, maybe a couple of the highest Family bosses), as such magical/mythical creatures would be extremely rare, and hard to keep in captivity.

Step 1, 4) I have a plan for this. When you got Sonja out of the arena complex, you guys needed somewhere to go to ground. You got in contact with a former fence (or something similar) of yours ahead of time. Now you and Sonja are holed up in a safe house set up by them.

Step 4, 0) Mit'rak getting you the job works well. Perhaps he dealt with you previously about purchasing a griffon for the royal house, and knew you from that.

Step 4, 3) Jabril works perfectly as the fence who set you and Sonja up with a safe house.


Gunbrandr - We're just waiting on you to finish the pre-game story aspects. I'd like to open with you reuniting with Sonja after years of searching. I'm a bit stuck on how that goes down though. How would Gunbrandr go about looking for his sis? By using diplomacy (gather information)?


Well, I'm on and doing a couple quick updates before I crash. Hop in IG Roll20 if ya'll wanna chit chat. Otherwise, I'll be crashing soon as I update RotR and Absalom.


Nizar was a free gladiator who fought in the Sultan's arena. He was a favorite of the Sultan and had never been defeated. He was used to getting his way, and one day he decided he would have his way with Sonja. There was nothing she could do to get him punished, so she vowed she would have her revenge. She had no chance until the night of her and Samir's flight from the gladiatorial stables. On their way out, she stole into Nizar's room while he was sleeping. She slit his throat and castrated him at the same time. Once the deed was done, her and Samir slipped away into the night, leaving Mit'rak one more reason to hunt them down.


Bassam al-Azad is a prince of Ahgradin. He is third in line for the throne after his elder brothers Alim and Rashad. As third son Bassam has few responsibilities. Every want or need he has is attended to, leaving him with a great deal of time. He fills that time with a great interest in blood sport. For lack of anything better to do, he religiously attends gladiatorial fights, chariot races and any other kind of bloody spectacle. He has been known to gamble fortunes on the outcomes of certain matches.

When Sonja was sold to the Sultan's stable, he fell head over heels for her the first time he saw her fight. Bassam would often come to the stables to court Sonja, and would take her into the palace for lavish meals and walks in the many gardens. He was a perfect gentleman, and insisted he would court her until she loved him like he did her. He is well educated and spoke with her on any topic that she desired. Sonja and Samir's escape put a hold on any plans Bassam might have had for his 'Abal', but he genuinely cares for her still.


Sonja, what're you doing hanging out with me? That dude's a freaking Prince!!


What's the chain of events Gundbrandr would need to track down Sonja?
1. Find the slavers who captured her (which perhaps he can do through his own Order of the Compassionate Slavers)
2. Find whoever they sold her to...and potentially whoever they sold her to. I like to imagine that she was initially slotted to be a concubine...until they determined she was a bit too feisty, at which point they realized she was better suited for the gladiatorial pits. Even if that's the case, not sure if that'd be one sale or two. At any rate, this can just be a matter of paying/negotiating/intimidating for information.
3. Once he gets to the gladiatorial arena, he'd start asking questions (and find that he'd just missed her).

What next? Perhaps Jabril (who's monitoring rumors about the escape/theft) discovers that -- in addition to Mit'rak's soldiers looking for them, there seems to be a religious Northerner looking for them as well. Jabril could then arrange for a reunion.


Male Civilized Human Cavalier (Emissary) of the Blue Rose 2

Alright, tomorrow I"m going to be working on Gudbrandr and getting his backstory finished (and started heh). I'll message you if I have questions, Jelani. Or if I see you on roll20.


Samir, the Golden Jackal wrote:

What's the chain of events Gundbrandr would need to track down Sonja?

1. Find the slavers who captured her (which perhaps he can do through his own Order of the Compassionate Slavers)
2. Find whoever they sold her to...and potentially whoever they sold her to. I like to imagine that she was initially slotted to be a concubine...until they determined she was a bit too feisty, at which point they realized she was better suited for the gladiatorial pits. Even if that's the case, not sure if that'd be one sale or two. At any rate, this can just be a matter of paying/negotiating/intimidating for information.
3. Once he gets to the gladiatorial arena, he'd start asking questions (and find that he'd just missed her).

What next? Perhaps Jabril (who's monitoring rumors about the escape/theft) discovers that -- in addition to Mit'rak's soldiers looking for them, there seems to be a religious Northerner looking for them as well. Jabril could then arrange for a reunion.

I'm imagining this search having gone on for years. Step 1 sounds good. Step 2 would have been a long series of "I sold her to _____ over in __________" leading Gunbrandr on a series of hops from settlement to settlement northward. This would have taken years and been the majority of the search. Eventually step 2 would have lead him to Ahgradin. "Oh that redhead? I sold her to the Sultan's stables a couple years ago"

Then step 3 occurs. After step three, I'd imagine Gunbrandr heads to the docks and asks around about any red headed Southron girls booking passage out of Ahgradin. Jabril helped Samir to book passage for him and Sonja. The captain is a friend of Jabril's and informs him when Gunbrandr comes poking around asking questions. Jabril then tells Samir (who presumably tells Sonja).

From there, assuming Sonja recognizes the description of her brother (or is at least curious enough to check), we can open with a meeting having been arranged at the safehouse by Jabril. Sound good to you guys?


I absolutely refuse to not go along with that plan.


Samir is totally curious what this Gudbrandr character is like. Inquiring slayers want to know!


Yeah, I seem to remember hearing tomorrow two days ago. Hmmmmmm. Wonder what the international man of mystery is really like???

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