All campaign and world out of character discussion goes here.
I've added the pantheon to the Campaign Info tab. It's in it's infancy, so be kind, but I can use your guys creativity to help develop these gods. The gods are losing some of their influence over the divine races, as the threat of world war is waning, and people being lazy by nature find it easier to worship the ever forgiving "", than to cling to the fear that one of the gods is watching everything they do, ready to fork them with lightning should they look askance.
... And the gods are not particularly happy about it.
Feel free to decide if your character is from an area which still embraces the old gods, or is more modern in their outlook and worship the pantheon through "". If you choose to follow the latter faith, then feel free to develop as many Saints as you wish, and we'll make this a living creation. At this time I've only developed one which is the patron of the Monastery that is the character's goal in the first adventure.
Saint Maisontaal - Saint of Hunting and gathering.
Here is a background for Murgrim if the GM thinks suitable.
Born at the great barrier, Murgrim Ranulfsson looked to be destined to continue the watch of his forefathers. His father was a Watch-captain, holding the Wall against the ravages of Chaos for all time. While starting training he befriended a fellow stripling named Durgan who was also hale of body and quick of mind. He and Durgan trained long and well with skill of arms and while Durgan was the more skilled at arms, Murgrim was gifted with a keen eye to ferret out the enemy. His mother also noticed that Murgrim had the fine hand control for expert smithworks, but Murgrim grew into adulthood with strong martial desire fostered by his friendship and competition with Durgan. Under his fathers stern guidance both friends joined the Watchers at a young age, looking from the heights and standing shoulder to shoulder with the other guards against the horrors that would invade the southern lands and tear the last refuge from Barrier Dwarf kin.
But one night there would be an event that would sway Murgrim's fate, he stood watch in the tallest of towers with Durgan. A massive cloud of dust, almost invisible at night swept down from the north. It crashed into the wall before being thrust upwards into the tower, most of its strength spent. Whether it was a natural fell wind, the whims of Chaos or something summoned by a witch it was never known, nor where it was going. Murgrim saw the shape of the cloud and dove down the stairs with a yell that his fellow, but Durgan did not have time to follow.
Murgrim was awoken day later, rescued unconscious down the stairs a changed dwarf. While still young his hair and beard now showed the gray of age and his body had melted away leaving little more than a skeleton with skin tight on bone. Durgan although had completely disappeared.
Murgrim's next season was as a bed ridden invalid as he struggled to regain strength and health. He also blamed himself for his companion's death he fell into a deep depression. Released from service to the wall Murgrim had little to do, but the dedication of his maternal grandfather brought him back.
Gargrim Snaldsson was a mighty smith of long lineage and tradition who had seen his daughter marry a Watcher. Gargrim put the time and effort to forge his grandchild's spirit back into shape with the patience and care of a mastercrafter. Bringing Murgrim back with tales of the lost Forge-lore that the Dwarves had lost into the world while they stood Watch at the Wall.
With spirit renewed Murgrim now had a purpose before him. One that would take him away from the Wall that had dealt such pain. His body recovered its mass and strength as he trained again prior to setting forth, but the toll of his suffering still remained in hair and height, while recovering his old bulk and strength it came also with great girth. Still Murgrim now had a task. To become a Smith and Loreseeker, and while he had only skill at arms for now, hopefully Fate would bring him skill at toil to match his skill at arms.
Basic racial adjustments and notes are up in the Campaign info tab.
The first adventure we'll be running is a modified version of an old 1st Edition WFRPG module called Lichemaster. This is a good adventure to bring a party together, and serves as a good introduction to the system. I'll be converting monsters, town names(Maybe) etc. Do any of you have experience with this adventure?
Alright, here's the profile for Loup Blanc's character. I think everything's set up right, but please let me know! Backstory to come.
The first adventure we'll be running is a modified version of an old 1st Edition WFRPG module called Lichemaster. This is a good adventure to bring a party together, and serves as a good introduction to the system. I'll be converting monsters, town names(Maybe) etc. Do any of you have experience with this adventure?
Not played it - vaguely remember the minis from Citadel Compendium back in the day...
Here's Black Dow's Hedge Knight WIP Profile - coming together slowly and surely.
Oh, I'm also not familiar with that adventure at all, as I have only a cursory knowledge of WFRPG to begin with. Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush to post this morning.
Same it is fresh to me, my experience with published is the first half of The Enemy Within and Karak Azgol. Also my chracter sheet is mostly done on profile here also.
Hey Daniel - thanks for taking note of our gritty little corner of the boards :)
Hopefully we'll do your game justice (been a joy to read through - captured that grimness of early WHRP very well mate - art and style of the book and system had me transported back to those halcyon days more than once :)
General question for anyone who can clarify - can characters buy Skill Focuses in Skills they have not selected a Rank in during their creation? i.e. - any Common Skill - or can it only be from Skills they possess a Rank in...
Cheers
@Supreme Being: Quick one for you Scran... With the old gods pantheon being Irish/Celtic in flavour are we looking to dip into that feel for the cultures (rather than the pseudo-dark ages/medieval/Landsknecht feel of the game as it sits?
Only ask as I've flavoured my character latterly - but plan to make him from a costal region and follower of Manannan Mac Lir - The Leviathan. Have read into this god and I'm taken with his sword named Fragarach ("Answerer" or "Retaliator").
Would like to build him toward being a Grail Knight (Order of The Leviathan?) who actually are searching for this mythical weapon...
Here is Morrighan's character. Still thinking up backstory stuff. Also, I am not familiar with that adventure, or the game at all for that matter. :)
@Zweihander: Is there an official answer to the question about taking skill focus without having the skill first? I don't have a problem with it, so if no official Answer, I lean towards allowing it. You just have focus in a certain area of expertise instead of knowing a lot about the general skill.
@Brunhard: Staying with the Pseudo Dark ages feel of Warhammer / Zweihander. Used the Celtic Pantheon, because it matched up pretty well with the Pantheon from the main book, and still gave familiar names. In all likelihood these gods are known by different names in different cultures, but for our sake we'll start here. The legends of the gods are the same as we know, but the've just been transplanted into this type of setting.
I hope to get up at least a preliminary map of the region this weekend. Still learning Roll20, but seems to be a good central place to post images, and in the very rare instance they'll be needed combat grids. Struggling to choose a place to keep all the campaign info. Several options, but I'm looking for the one that easiest for the players to access. Don't want to keep using the 'Campaign Info' tab to store everything, as it might begin to approach War and Peace type glut.
I would suggest maybe just Google Docs, I have seen it used for maps for other PbP and of course you can have a host of interlinked documents for your main campaign bible that you can edit and give us read only access.
Indeed, many thanks for this Herr Zweihander!! :)
My little pilgrim has been in limbo for a couple of days, busy busy, hope to have her done tomorrow.
Still around, still excited--and still slowly working through backstory type elements. I've got the basics figured out, I'm just trying to write up something solid that makes sense.
I'm excited about it as well. Trying to keep from rushing headlong into starting the game before I'm completely ready, but that's a recipe for disaster. I've got a weeks vacation week after next, and should be able to get a lot of the prep work out of the way, so we'll be ready to roll when I get my book.
Not many truly know the true history of the world as it currently exists, but I'll post a bit in the Campaign Info tab on History... which will be expanded as we go along.
OK. First real house-rule. Since the offered bonuses are not greatly empowering, I'm going to rule that if you take/have the parent skill, then you automatically get the focus you've been awarded by your cultural background without having to spend XP.
ie... once you take your apprentice rank of Toughness... you get the focus "Resist Flames" for free if it is what you've chosen from your racial choices. The caveat to this is that you must still pick your focuses at character generation, even if you're not skilled in them immediately.
In addition to that while you normally have to "Flip to fail" if you use a skill that you're not proficient in, for that particular focus you can roll without the Flip to fail. Once you have a rank in that focus, then you can "flip to succeed" as provided by your racial focus bonus.
@Zweihänder: Thanks for the clarification Daniel.
@Supreme Being - bear with me Scran as I'm still learning/reacquainting myself with the rules...
So I read it that with my character having the Industrious Upbringing - he can purchase Brawn based Skill Focuses for 50RP.
Not seeing where specific Skill Focus are detailed? Are you just talking about the Focuses listed under the Campaign Tab race info rather than the rule book?
Apologies its getting on in the evening here, brain winding down and things not adding up for me!
Yes. Campaign tab focuses
Focuses from ethnicity have been added, and I've put her backstory into the alias as well. Let me know what you think, or if anything needs added or changed!
Here I was worried the Recruitment thread had died out, when I pop over to the Discussion and realize everyone had moved over here. Will get fully updated tonight.
Me as well, been terribly busy lately.
Work is also stymieing my attempts at hammering out a background and nailing down related crunch.
Given that a Mortuary Sword is 10 gold and thus would sell for 5 gold, can I start with a Morgenstern, also 5 gold, in its stead?
Given that a Mortuary Sword is 10 gold and thus would sell for 5 gold, can I start with a Morgenstern, also 5 gold, in its stead?
I'll allow that. Just work into your background why you have that weapon instead of the Mortuary Sword... I give you creative license.
A few notes. I'll be putting up some more cultural information over the next few days, to help you flesh out your backgrounds. And much more information on the pantheon.
Also, I noticed that most of you haven't chosen a god to be worshiped. If you choose to be a non-believer that is fine, however the Gods are one of the groups seeking power in the coming years... so there might be benefits to giving them their heed... and I can prioritize more fully developing your chosen deity or Saint if I have a little advance notice.
The world is just emerging from a dark time, and there are many opportunities for power grabbing. There are no great kingdoms at the moment, but many with ideas for establishing one. Power groups tend to be localized at the moment, but dream big. You will find City-States, local barons, cultural groups, Mercenary bands, Thieves guilds, merchant princes, and just about every other imaginable group all vying for power and influence. And, it just so happens that uncovering the past is one of the keys to power.
Ohhh... and by the way Dragons are just mythical creatures used to frighten unruly children. They don't nor have they ever existed... you believe right???
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@ Brunhard:
Your idea about the order of the Leviathan gave me a great secondary aspect of the game. Due to some circumstances of the great upheaval of the past, the gods gifted the good races with weapons and methods to be used in the battle... which helped turn the tide. Now I wonder what became of all those weapons, and devices
OK got a profile done at least, fluff to come.
Speaking of Mortuary Swords, does the extra Chaos dice you roll for damage when using one cause the chaos upon the wielder or the one struck?
OK got a profile done at least, fluff to come.
Nice Profile layout... I'm going to steal it.
Speaking of Mortuary Swords, does the extra Chaos dice you roll for damage when using one cause the chaos upon the wielder or the one struck?
OK. A quick summary of how chaos dice work in combat. As you take damage for every 6 wounds you drop a level on the Injury track. Once you reach Moderately wounded you roll a d6 (Chaos Dice). If this comes up a 6 then you suffer an injury (DM has tables to roll for this injury). The sword gives you an extra d6 to cause this injury. When you get Serious it's 2 Chaos Dice, and Grievous injury is 3 Chaos dice. The extra die adds to each one.
ie. You hit with your sword and do 13 damage after soak. This damage takes the enemy to "Moderately Wounded". You then roll 2d6 Chaos Dice. If it comes up with a "6" on at least one of the dice then I roll on a table for the injury.
Injury
42 to 49 Jammed Finger -
You immediately drop whatever you are holding. Until fully recuperated, you must flip the results to fail all melee weapon attacks with your primary hand.
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Nice Profile layout... I'm going to steal it.OK got a profile done at least, fluff to come.
Thanks :) Theft is the most sincere form of flattery :D
Need to clean it up a bit in spots...
Given that a Mortuary Sword is 10 gold and thus would sell for 5 gold, can I start with a Morgenstern, also 5 gold, in its stead?I'll allow that. Just work into your background why you have that weapon instead of the Mortuary Sword... I give you creative license.
On that note can Brunhard forgo his fire hardened spear trading it in for 3.5SS and 1.5SS (from his own starting coin) to purchase a Dirk (worth 5SS).
He'll be starting the game with a Pike as his primary weapon, so wanted something "stabbie" for up close and personal engagement...
With regards background etc - is there any coastal/port cities of note that I can tap into? My Hedge Knight is a follower of Manannan Mac Lir - The Leviathan and envisage him as the son of a Shipwright.
Given that a Mortuary Sword is 10 gold and thus would sell for 5 gold, can I start with a Morgenstern, also 5 gold, in its stead?I'll allow that. Just work into your background why you have that weapon instead of the Mortuary Sword... I give you creative license.On that note can Brunhard forgo his fire hardened spear trading it in for 3.5SS and 1.5SS (from his own starting coin) to purchase a Dirk (worth 5SS).
He'll be starting the game with a Pike as his primary weapon, so wanted something "stabbie" for up close and personal engagement...
With regards background etc - is there any coastal/port cities of note that I can tap into? My Hedge Knight is a follower of Manannan Mac Lir - The Leviathan and envisage him as the son of a Shipwright.
Sure. Minor adjustments are no problem. I'll try to get a preliminary map up this weekend, but right now there are Three major coastal cities. If you wish to be from a smaller city, we can work something out, but these three are major shipping centers.
"Major Seaports of Wrack".
- Casterhage (Thank you Richard Pett) Many Vosk here
- Virdistan (Thank you Bob Bledsow) Many Nalos here
- Port Shaw (Thank you Nick Logue) Many Savin here
The other major city on the continent is Bards Gate (Thank you Bill Webb, Casey Christofferson, Matt Finch, Skeeter Green, and Greg Vaughan) Where the adventure will kick off. I'll try to get up a meeting place there, so you guys can use the Gameplay thread to get things started in advance of my hardcovers arrival. This should allow character development to begin, and a "Grace" period for any changes to backgrounds or mechanics.
Once folk have nailed down their PCs crunch and pasts might be a good shout to do some joint chatter on the group's collective (recent) background.
As Scran/Supreme Being has said we've worked together before - so would be good to have a bare bones on the inter-group relationships etc, before we start playing.
Currently we have:
Murgrim : M Dwarf (Barrier) Warrior - Watchman
Nuriah: F Human (Nalos) Ranger - Pilgrim
Brunhard Schölhamer: M Human (Furgen) Warrior - Hedge Knight
Kudran Graybeard: M Dwarf (Sand) Warrior - Berserker
Little Aurelie: F Human (Furgen) Socialite - Envoy
Skeggi Konallson: M Human (Vosk) Warrior - Sellsword
Quite the group of disparate souls in this adventuring company lol...
Think the interactions and relationships will be "interesting" to say the least.
Hmm... I could see some interesting relationships as well. I agree that we have quite the mix of characters here.
Also, if we're allowed to alter starting gear to some extent, could I exchange my rapier for a few other items? Namely a dirk, garotte, and stiletto. To go along with it I'm thinking I might alter some of what I'd suggested for Saint Serene--rather than a patron of warrior-diplomats, she's more about cunning work, and detractors claim the Sisters of Serene are as much spies and assassins as they are envoys.
Hmm... I could see some interesting relationships as well. I agree that we have quite the mix of characters here.
Also, if we're allowed to alter starting gear to some extent, could I exchange my rapier for a few other items? Namely a dirk, garotte, shiv, and stiletto. To go along with it I'm thinking I might alter some of what I'd suggested for Saint Serene--rather than a patron of warrior-diplomats, she's more about cunning work, and detractors claim the Sisters of Serene are as much spies and assassins as they are envoys.
As long as the money's close feel free to slightly alter starting gear to fit your character concept. If you don't have enough funds for all... well that's what adventuring if for.
On another note, if you've got a god from another setting or pantheon that you think fits your mold, feel free to import them... They're just saints instead of full fledged deities.
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I've actually changed my mind on the shiv--not much reason to have one with the stiletto--but they add up to less than half the rapier's value, so no issues there. I'll admit the request is partly because the stiletto is a much better weapon for Aurelie than the rapier, but it also makes for a more interesting element to the character and her background.
I think it would more directly contribute to the main idea I have for the Sisterhood of Serene: they're respected and considered fine agents, but they're also somewhat feared and mistrusted. Whereas the Sisters see themselves as being much like their patron saint: willing to use any tool to achieve peace and prosperity, be it a kind word, a hard gaze, or a sharp knife in the dark.
Better version coming later this week, but this will give an idea of the layout of the adventuring area.
Based on your map Brunhard would most likely come from either Casterhage or Virdistan. I'm leaning toward the latter as the former is royally f***ed up place lol.
Okay - Virdistan it is. Ties in with his Folklore Talent for Foreign Lore - will have picked that up being brought up in a busy port. With his family being Shipwrights their skills would have been in demand from clients from every culture.
Background Notes for our group:
@Nuriah: Am wondering in the past if Brunhard perhaps met up with Nuriah as she travelled through Virdistan?
@SupremeBeing: Out of curiosity what's the relationship between Barrier Dwarves and Sand Dwarves? How do the subculture's view each other? Also are "Adventuring Companies" a thing - or would be just be perceived as mercenaries for hire?
I've also listed below each of our merry band's alignments - again to help flesh out potential inter-group relationships (for weal or woe lol)
Murgrim: Compassion/Melancholy
Nuriah: Independence/Rebellion
Brunhard Schölhamer: Pride/Arrogance
Kudran Graybeard: Ferocity/Hatred
Little Aurelie: Zeal/Fanaticism
Skeggi Konallson: Wisdom/Rancor
The plot thickens...
@ Brunhard: The relationship between the Sand Dwarves and the Barrier Dwarves is a tricky one. Eons ago there was only one Dwarven nation, but two Dwarven Armies. The army of the South, and The Army of the North. When the Upheaval came and the world was torn asunder, the Armies lost communication, and each created their own kingdom, separate but equal.
On the surface and officially they are allied, and friends, but some still hold resentment, and disagree who is the rightful true ruler of the Dwarves.
@Brunhard: That sound fine, just need to figure out how Nuriah got to Virdistan :) I've got an idea forming, just want to get the details right.
GM, does the Nalos originally come from farther South? The Sea of Sand? further?
If you could give me a little more info on them? Thanks :)
So Adventuring companies are all the rage in Wrack at the moment. With various groups surging for power, and much to be discovered, Nearly every group of friends with a dagger between them is starting or joining an Adventuring Company.
This trend started in Bards Gate, and it's proximity to the Shield Peaks, The Darkling Wood, the Waste, and the Sand Sea, make it a perfect departure point for these bands of brave (or foolish) adventurers. Some of them are so famous, they've almost become cult icons, and the Bards College has a strong Counter-culture specializing in outrageous ballads about various groups... some even with a partial origin in truth.
@ Nuriah: The Nalos come from the far west, stretching east to the edge of the Sand Sea. Much of their homeland was open plains, and coastal villages, and several large islands. Much of this sank under the Sea after The Upheaval, and now the remaining tribes either cling to an existence in the farmost expanses of the Sand Sea, or have integrated themselves as both family units, and larger tribes into the more civilized areas of Wrack.
A particularly large contingent settled in Virdistan... arriving both from a long journey overland, or sailing their triangle sailed vessels South around the continent with the prevailing currents sending them past Port Shaw, and it's dangerous pirate fleets.
I've been keeping an eye on here for progress and will be redoing my equipment also somewhat, thanks.
Was my earlier background ok or does it need some adjustment? I will add some more for more recent events of course.
@Nuriah: No worries - was just a possibility for interlinked backgrounds, but more relevant is the formation of our little band I guess.
I'm also formulating my own background so once I have a rough draft we can see how it shakes out with the rest of the crew.
@SupremeBeing/All: Re: equipment re-adjustment. Know we're doing some swapping out/in of kit - If the warriors all took Mortuary Sword as their starting weapon this would give them 5GC to play with for purchasing arms/armour. Is this acceptable (know its not in the strict spirit of things per say) - but selecting a Pike as a starting weapon (6SS resale) vs the aforementioned sword or Arbalest (2GC/6SS) seems a little off balance.
Similarly for Nuriah she could start with a hunting bow and trade it for 2GC worth of kit...
Thoughts/Rulings?
I'm tending to limit swapping out of too much gear. I don't have a problem swapping out one weapon for another, but selling the cost of the weapons to buy more weapons, or other gear is a bit out of spirit to me. It kind of defeats the "trappings" effect of the game to allow unlimited swapping... might as well just give GC to start the game and allow you to buy equipment.
The only reason I'm allowing any swapping out is that you've already adventured (1000 xp) a bit, and as this isn't the "Old World", I haven't really had time to give cultural weapons to each group. In future iterations of the game I'll probably roll randomly for beginning culture, and you'll start with those weapons... so if you make changes in weapons or armor... Swapping one for another, think about your cultural upbringing before making the swap.
Remember in a "Dark and Gritty" game things aren't fair or balanced. It's up to you as a character to pull yourself out of the dregs and into the light.