Reading about those is waaay more fun. :)
I don't read many books anymore, but I used to read a lot of high fantasy. I never finished the Wheel of Time, now that I think about it.
I like horror stories too, of course.
I think there should be some more horror themed games on the boards here. :)
Uh oh you're going to give Baldwin ideas :p I'm sure we'll find some more creepy haunted ships at least.
lol, I'm sure Baldwin has enough evil ideas of his own.
I'm thinking of a horror game set in Ustalav with Were-creatures and Vampires and Ghosts. :)
I had to look up Ustalav, but that sounds like an excellent setting for a horror game! I'd haul around an entire barrel full of holy water if I had to travel through there.
Ooh, and we'd need some harrow card reading varisian travelers.
It amazes me how many different settings there are in Golarion itself.
For instance, Numeria has always interested me because it has a sci fi element to it- a barren land full of barbarian tribes that happens to have a crashed spaceship called the Silver Mountain, a group of techno-wizards that oversee it, and a dystopian capital in the middle of it all ruled by a decadent despot with robot enforcers called gearsmen.
It's just neat that all of these things can be found in the same world. Paizo has taken their setting and made something for everyone.
Ooh, and we'd need some harrow card reading varisian travelers.
Haha oh yes! I'd have to think what kind of character I'd like to play in that setting. An undead hunting ranger seems a bit cliche, but would definitely be needed.
And I'm around, just been busy with work, though tonight is my last shift before the weekend. Weeeeee
Watched Ginger Snaps earlier. Taking a break now from horror and watching UHF now.
I feel bad that I'm a huge Weird Al fan and I have never seen UHF. I need to remedy this soon.
You can buy or rent it streaming from Amazon. I just watch a lot of things online rather than buying dvd's. :)
Just checking in trying to read through some of the posts. The long ones or detailed spoilers I've glossed over...I can't focus on details. with a bit of luck I may be able to post something tomorrow night, I'm probably going to be toast though.
Don't stress it. Focus on your stuff. We will be here when you get back.
Yeah don't worry about it. My massive spoiler post that probably no one read is on Astrianna's psychology, which is more for my benefit as a roleplayer.
Don't worry about us we're not going anywhere and can wait until Friday- but if the urge to GM strikes you we will certainly respond to any post!
So. When my GM was on vacation in my other campaign, we asked each other's characters person-defining questions to entertain ourselves. These are to be answered from your character's perspective, but not necessarily roleplayed out or anything unless you really want to.
Embrianna-
-If Embrianna had one no-strings-attached wish that could be granted, what would it be? How much/to what measure would she sacrifice if she had to trade something for that wish? We'll assume this wish is in line with Wish rules for Pathfinder.
-Embrianna is trapped in a room with several other people. They are a mix of good and bad, but average people. She is the most powerful of the group. Everyone in the room knows they can personally escape if they kill one other person. What does Embrianna do?
Darius
-How would Darius raise a son, and what would he want this son to accomplish/be? How would he raise/what would be expect from a daughter?
-If Darius found a treasure hoard of nearly endless wealth, what would he do with it?
Dirk-
-If Dirk had to choose between saving one friend or an entire city (20,000+ population), which would he choose? What if the friend begs Dirk to save them? What if Dirk knows he will see the entire life of each person that dies, including what could have been if they had lived?
-Let's say Dirk obtained an artifact of intense goodliness that gave him the power to alter reality, but only for the purpose of good, and he knows that if he uses it even once it will bind to his soul until he is killed. It is so heavenly divine that out of fear the legions of hell hound him for the rest of his life trying to destroy it, the endless hordes of hell attempt to take it to corrupt it forever, and all the druids/neutral characters of the world fear it altering the balance of good/evil and constantly harass him. However, when Dirk discovers the binding nature of the artifact he is given the option to instead give the artifact to Abadar to place in the First Vault forever. What would Dirk do?
Sath-
-What is Sath's most treasured possession, and what would it take for her to give it up?
-There is a city with an evil decadent despot and their oligarchy of nobles who rules over and squeezes dry the clueless serfs below them. Sath knows a plague is about to hit the city that will certainly kill everyone, but she has the power to stop it. What does she do?
Adriel-
-What would Adriel do if the only way to finish a job was to ensure the mutual destruction of both himself and his foe? If he could find a way to not sacrifice himself but instead other people instead, would he go through with it?
-If Adriel had to choose between losing his martial abilities with a blade or his magical abilities, which would he pick?
Feel free to cross-answer questions if you see one you like. You can of course pose ones to me too!
Dusk had fallen and David had climbed into the rigging to watch the stars.
He heard the others on the main deck talking of plans and ideas and listened to them as his eyes gauged their direction as the prow tacked a few degrees to port to move at a direction almost perpendicular to the pole star, taking them nearly due west. Despite the many people on the ship he felt a familiar finger of loneliness press into his chest and sighed, trying to dispel it, but with little success.
He then turned his gaze to the waves and he saw a pod of dolphins breaching the waters about a league south of them. He watched them for a while, his mind moving back to when he had traveled with the men on The Seahawk. He thought of the Halfling priest who had studied the dark mysteries of ju ju and the strange powers he called on to fight against the demon-spawn of the snake god Apep and his foul cultists. He thought of Earendil who they called “Ren”, the ship’s first officer; John “Johnny” Dodger, the ship’s captain – he thought of Ella, the gnomish gunner and Kit, the kitten-like griffon cub that would snuggle with her and hiss at anyone that might offend his mistress – he thought, too of Uraga, the strange warrior from Minkai, as well as Khal Ragnast, the Varisian corsair who fought for the joy of killing. Finally he thought of Kristin – the Varisian pilot who had spent her time before the mast smuggling goods from Magnimar to Cheliax rebels.
His mind lingered on her longest, for though she was not a glamorous lady, she was fierce, proud, bold, brave and cunning. All of those were traits he found to be extremely attractive in a woman…
As he thought of her he let his mind wander and begin to hum a soft melody that he learned from a Fey priestess that hailed from Ustalav. As he watched the stars his melody slowly developed into song…
Night has come and the stars have been born
The air is chill; for the sun has laid low…
We wandered then – in the twilight between…
We wander now – in places unseen…
Our flesh knows no rest…
Awake we but dream…
The wolf calls out; a voice so forlorn
He calls the moon; his song filled with woe…
Heart was cold – he calls to his home
Heart is cold – pain shapes his tone
His pack long passed…
He thus runs alone…
The stars are Fell – and silver is their light
Hearken all – Death has come forth this night…
See, O Man, the darkness you bring
You called our Doom; of it thus we do sing…
1. The answer to the first question is difficult for David because he believes there is an inherent flaw in the premise of the question.
Specifically: to suggest that life of ten men is (mathematically) ten times more important than one man is (to him) illogical. While it may be true that ten potatoes are ten times more valuable than one potato, the fact is – Men are not potatoes. He does not believe that you can quantify human life in terms of a numeric value because the moment you start deconstructing the value of humans into a sheer formula of “worth” is the moment that you have deconstructed what man really is.
To put it another way: if a thousand children were being held prisoner in a foreign land to be killed, would you send an army to rescue those children – knowing that such an action might start a war, knowing that thousands of people die in wars? Most people would say “Yes, to save those children, I would send an army and risk a war”. But if it was only a hundred children, or perhaps only ten, they might say – “No, we can’t risk a war in which thousands die for only ten children”.
David would say – “No; they have ten of our people (or even one) – we have to try to save to them, even if the ‘numbers’ don’t add up, because people are not numeric commodities”.
To better answer the question, David would first save his friend, then save the city. He wouldn’t chose “one or the other” though; he’d do both, doing the best to solve each problem that comes to him as it comes to him to the best of his ability. He may not succeed, but it wouldn’t be because he chose not to succeed, it would because he did his best to do the right thing.
In other words; he doesn’t believe in the “No Win Scenario”.
2. This is also a complicated question; what specifically is “good”, in this case?
David believes in good, and doing good, but he also feels that making the world a perfect Utopia would not be “good”.
Without challenges there is no way man can ever hope to engage in a journey of self-discovery; learning who he is as a person, or who his friends are, or his quality as a person. Would “Doing Good” mean eliminating all disease? That would be wonderful on many levels (especially to a doctor); but that would not eliminate all the problems in the world – but even if it did, how could someone know which problems are worth removing, and what problems must remain to test us and to push us to ever greater levels of excellence?
This should be self-evident, however, as David has purposefully taken the road that is often times harder simply because he feels taking the “easy” way out may not be bad, but it doesn’t always feel “good”. That’s why he didn’t heal himself with magic after he received that minor wound on the first battle; that’s why he cleans things by hand, not magic, when he wants them cleaned. It’s why he uses science and medicine, not magic, to help people. He doesn’t avoid magic specifically, but when it comes to the task at hand he prefers a “let’s roll up our sleeves and do this” approach instead of "I'm going to snap my fingers and it will be done without any effort on my part" type of approach.
So to better answer the question: David would have no issue with the troubles of being pursued by enemies who want to kill him simply for doing the “Right Thing” or the “Good” thing – his only concern is that he himself may not have the proper wisdom to know what is the “best/right” right thing to do with such power.
If he knew the right answer, he’d do it, though – even if it means being hunted. After all, everyone dies; why let fear keep you from doing the right thing?
Cool! Well, I hope that answers the questions alright. I wrote a brief piece of Social RP above it; I had asked if others wanted to do any Social RP via Ret-Con while we wait for the GM; if you’re up to it, I’m down with some Ret-con Social RP at any time if you are.
PS - I read your backstory spoiler when you posted it earlier. I liked it and favorited; it was interesting to read and helped me in understanding the character more. Good times! :)
-How would Darius raise a son, and what would he want this son to accomplish/be? How would he raise/what would be expect from a daughter?
A: Surprising to those that know of his privileged upbringing, Darius would want his children, son or daughter, to be their own person. He would treat them fairly, try to give them equal attention (as he felt ignored as the last in line of inheritance), but would be strict with discipline. If a child proved trustworthy, they'd have more freedoms. Deceitful children would be on a tighter leash.
-If Darius found a treasure hoard of nearly endless wealth, what would he do with it?
A: Darius is obsessed with making a name for himself and leaving his mark on the world. He would use the wealth (if truly endless) to fund the founding of his own little corner nation in Golarion. Though, more realistically, if he found a large sum of coin, he would try to establish himself a strong reliable business enterprise that he could use to ensure he and ALL his children lived lives of comfort. And he would make sure that on his death, his holdings would be divided evenly.
Dirk-
I actually expected this as Dirk's answer, which is why I did not say "He must choose one or the other." Now, a further question- if Dirk tried to save everyone which resulted in him saving no one and everyone dies, would this change his outlook?
"Good" in this case is the Pathfinder/RPG definition of good- not just a philosophical alignment but an energy which is capable of being channeled and makes up entire planes of existence. There are beings who by their very definition are good.
I enjoyed your little RP and the song you wrote (let's be honest, you should have my job, I can't actually write songs :p). I'm going to hold off on the actual RP, Baldwin seems to enjoy involving npcs and the world even in our character-to-character RPs, which I have been highly enjoying.
Thanks for reading the wall of stuff. Astrianna is so different from myself I need to have guidelines to play her, or I fear I'll end up being inconsistent.
Darius-
I like both of these answers and it really tells me something about Darius. Leaving ones mark on the world is a good motivation for an adventurer- Hopefully Shaw doesn't chew us up and spit us out if we set up a business there, and Darius can have his mark. Pirate politics can be rough!
If Embrianna had one no-strings-attached wish that could be granted, what would it be? How much/to what measure would she sacrifice if she had to trade something for that wish? We'll assume this wish is in line with Wish rules for Pathfinder.
I am never good at answering the type of questions that ask for an unknown sacrifice. I rather that someone else makes the offer first and then I can haggle down or decide to just not accept it.
As for what she wants, she wants to find a place where she belongs. She still feels a 'call', something pulling at her. As a result, she is always restless in nature, never liking to be still. That is one of the reasons why she is on land for no more than a week at a time, she likes to be constantly moving on a ship. That and the fact the call seems to be coming out from the ocean somewhere.
-Embrianna is trapped in a room with several other people. They are a mix of good and bad, but average people. She is the most powerful of the group. Everyone in the room knows they can personally escape if they kill one other person. What does Embrianna do?
First she would exhaust all other option, such as looking for means for everyone to escape together. If all other options fail, then yes, she will pick someone to kill and do it as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Dirk- a further question- if Dirk tried to save everyone which resulted in him saving no one and everyone dies, would this change his outlook?
That’s tricky. Basically the answer would be “no” with one caveat. If his plan resulted in everyone dying, he’d have to modify the plan.
But these kinds of questions are pretty difficult because they don’t allow for a lot of variables. But ultimately it would remain “no” because it’s like – if risking everything to save everyone is something he believes in; sometimes that plan might not work, but it won’t fail because trying to save everyone is a bad idea; it fails because he didn’t try in the best way, or the smartest way, or he had bad luck – or something like that.
In other words, the desire to try to save everyone wouldn’t go away simply because the plan was bad, if that helps?
"Good" in this case is the Pathfinder/RPG definition of good- not just a philosophical alignment but an energy which is capable of being channeled and makes up entire planes of existence. There are beings who by their very definition are good.
David (like me) gets a bit frustrated with such esoteric concepts for what constitutes "good and evil" in a game world. For example – it is an evil action to “Torture” someone; but yet there are weapons to buy with “serrated edges” to cause someone to suffer "bleed" damage. But isn’t a weapon designed specifically to inflict a painful wound that won’t seal up akin to torture and therefore using it is an “evil” act?
In point of fact, at this stage alone our party can no longer be considered “good” in the classical level. “Bluffing” is “lying” – that’s not a “Good” act. “Intimidation” is akin to using a “Fear Effect” on someone – but isn’t frightening a person to manipulate their decisions/free will to coincide with our own an “Evil” act?
While I’m at, if I’m trying to kill an enemy if I use a Poison to render them helpless or unconscious so I can take them prisoner – as opposed to just killing them with my mundane sword – isn’t poison an automatic “evil” action, even though I might use it specifically to try to not kill them?
Of course, you’ve probably seen these arguments many times before on the boards. They’re old as D&D; ever since Gary Gygax was ripping off LoTR stuff and had an entire magic system based on "Good" defeating “Evil” and creatures were codified as such; but that was also back when it was “roll” playing, not “role” playing and people didn’t really try to develop these nuances, they just built characters to win fights.
But Alignment is a fun thing to think about…
To be honest, this is probably the first time I’ve formally put up my “Alignment” on the character sheet in a long time. Mainly it’s because I/David doesn’t think what we’re doing is “evil”, but maybe the Law Enforcement/gods/GM disagrees with me?
Maybe my “neutral” actions are really more Lawful considering how I will obey the Captain? Or maybe I’m slowly sliding into Evil because I didn’t attempt to kill the Evil Chelaxian enforcers down by the docks and instead ran off? Honestly, neither me or David would know the answers to those questions, but a third party in the form of the “law” or “gods” or whatever it is that judges my actions would know my alignment better than me, and be keeping an eye on where my alignment is, and how it is constantly in a state of flux.
The short answer here is that in a “classical” good sense, David would do what he can to do something he believes is “Good”. If it means that he’ll be hunted or attacked personally, that’s bad luck. If it means he’ll bring bad luck on his companions – he’ll consider their requests before he chooses to act.
I enjoyed your little RP and the song you wrote (let's be honest, you should have my job, I can't actually write songs :p).
Thanks! But I shouldn’t get all the credit for that song.
Although I wrote the words, they were based loosely on the conversation on the board that some of you guys were having about a horror-like story in Ustalav. When I saw that I thought it deserved a song and I felt that the coming of Man to the world of the Fey would seem like a death knell.
Also, the “melody” for the song isn’t mine, either. I don’t know how to write musical scores/notes – I can just write the lyrics. But the melody was from a song that was played in The Hobbit movie which I heard when I saw the trailer yesterday (it was written initially for The Return of the King). So if you hear the melody and sing the words aloud, it makes more sense – but, yeah – writing actual music is not something I really know how to do. Here’s the melody for the song, though:
Thanks for reading the wall of stuff. Astrianna is so different from myself I need to have guidelines to play her, or I fear I'll end up being inconsistent.
I think that’s true in any RPG; it’s especially hard for PbP games (in my opinion) because in real life months can go by and we ourselves change our passions and inspirations, even though “In game” it’s only been a short time. Then the next thing you know, you’re playing a character who was originally based on the ranger Jon Snow from "Game of Thrones", but after several months in real life you might change your “voice” to reflect a ranger like Darryl Dixon from "The Walking Dead", instead.
I'm going to hold off on the actual RP, Baldwin seems to enjoy involving npcs and the world even in our character-to-character RPs, which I have been highly enjoying.
I understand. As for now I think I’m going to keep RPing, though.
I like to write, and I like to play, and I think I’m going to keep doing posts like the last one. For now it won’t involve anyone in the group directly, and it’ll be under spoilers, but it’s the chance for me to just write and have fun with my character.
I should add that When/If I keep writing and you (or anyone else in the group) decide to read through any of the Spoilers and want to respond “In Character” I’m totally down with that, but if not, that’s okay, too.
But as for now, I just want to write, though. It’s what I like to do :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Here is more the song style that I would pick for Embrianna.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Here is more the song style that I would pick for Embrianna.
Awesome song, Embrianna! Now I know much more about her ;)
I almost put this song up initially (I had seen this band perform at the Renn Fest a few years ago), but it seemed a little too “intense” for Embrianna. But now I’m not sure... she may like it after all :)
Here it is, if you’re interested; Fun Song - and again, great choice on your song, I love it!
I'm wallowing in the blood of my enemy right night enjoy the coppery flavor of a fresh kill. Justice was served! It was damn good week for my client and now I sit back enjoying a fantasist bottle of wine...lets get gaming!!!!!
I'm wallowing in the blood of my enemy right night enjoy the coppery flavor of a fresh kill. Justice was served! It was damn good week for my client and now I sit back enjoying a fantasist bottle of wine...lets get gaming!!!!!
Congrats via your job stuff, that's awesome :)
Enjoy the wine and let's rock!
I need to reorient myself give me a few minutes.
I need to reorient myself give me a few minutes.
No worries...
Just got out of Guardians of the Galaxy. Woop!
good to see the crew here...I'm ready.
Just got out of Guardians of the Galaxy. Woop!
Damnation! You lucky basterd, I want to see that so bad. I hope you enjoyed it, though...
As a huge fan of the Infinity Guantlet graphic novel, you bet I did.
As a huge fan of the Infinity Guantlet graphic novel, you bet I did.
Sadly I don't even know that story arc in the Marvel Universe; I was more into Darkhorse then Marvel (with the exception of a few books; Wolverine, X-Men, Spiderman, though I did get into the 2099 series for a while).
But when I saw the trailer I thought to myself:
1. Hot Female Assassin
2. Crazy guy with lots of guns
3. Esoteric pacifistic creature that occasionally goes into bouts of violence
4. Brooding killer who loves to fight
5. Crazy captain with clever-one liners; fast with a gun; and wearing a "brown coat"...
6. Joss Whedon worked with the Avengers - which has Thor - Thor dealt with the Cosmic Cube - which was taken by Thanos - who adopted Gamora - one of the Guardians...
So, all things considered, it's as close as I'm going to get to a sequel to Serenity :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm wallowing in the blood of my enemy right night enjoy the coppery flavor of a fresh kill. Justice was served! It was damn good week for my client and now I sit back enjoying a fantasist bottle of wine...lets get gaming!!!!!
I wish all business matters were described like this. Glad to hear you were super successful!
I am very confused to Hawk's state of mind.
When we left off, he was b*#@&%% crazy.
Now he seems more himself, at least to me.
I'm also confused. Hopefully all will be revealed in time. Perhaps Hawkin's truly believes he is Captain Cray now, which is why he is acting "normal?" As if he has always been Captain Cray...
Well, if it helps, I'm more confused then the two of you put together.
To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how to act. I don't really know who Captain Cray is, so I don't even know if I'm acting properly via his personality, though I am trying.
Hopefully the insanity part of the game is completed soon and I can revert back to my character but I guess we'll see what happens next :)
I think it's amazing keep up the insanity :p
Going to bed- see you guys in the morning.
I think it's amazing keep up the insanity :p
Thanks :)
Alright, gang, I'm off to bed.
Via my remaining Standard Action -
It's either to cast to see if things are really magic, or if the skeleton is an actual monster and not just a corpse that I think is a monster - then I guess I'd attack it.
Anyway, I guess I'll see what happens in the morning :)
Oh sure. I go offline early and you guys start the game back up without me. :P
At least you haven't been haunted all night by what could have Captain Cray torn. What did he tear?! A map? An ACL? through the last bit of leftovers? A portrait of a long lost lover?
It's similar to that sealed box. I'm the type of person that would open Pandroa's box just to see what was inside.
Dirk believes he is the Captain of this ship. He has been imprinted with Capt Cray's base personality and he basically believes you are his crew. He also mistrusts you as he believes his crew is mutinous since the ship has run into a bit of bad luck. He actually wants his cat and is beginning to think the crew did something to it.
The rest of you should be confused because he is acting more odd than usual.
Astrianna - I think there may have been some kind of glitch with the GM's posting - he normally doesn't log off for the night without a head's up, also - given the fact that he was stoked for quick posting, I'm surprised things ended so abruptly; unless there was an error, that is.
On the other hand, this may all be part of his plan to add to the mystery...
Dirk believes he is the Captain of this ship. He has been imprinted with Capt Cray's base personality and he basically believes you are his crew. He also mistrusts you as he believes his crew is mutinous since the ship has run into a bit of bad luck. He actually wants his cat and is beginning to think the crew did something to it.
The rest of you should be confused because he is acting more odd than usual.
1. My other theory seems to be wrong - the GM is here...
2. Dammit, man, I'm doctor, not a long-dead skipper who captained a cursed ship with a mutinous crew! ;)
As far as the insanity or change in personality, I'm certainly not going to have it impacting the character beyond this encounter.
Astrianna - I think there may have been some kind of glitch with the GM's posting - he normally doesn't log off for the night without a head's up, also - given the fact that he was stoked for quick posting, I'm surprised things ended so abruptly; unless there was an error, that is.
On the other hand, this may all be part of his plan to add to the mystery...
Yeah...I was summoned by my wife. :-)
As far as the insanity or change in personality, I'm certainly not going to have it impacting the character beyond this encounter.
Thank God! :)
2. Dammit, man, I'm doctor, not a long-dead skipper who captained a cursed ship with a mutinous crew! ;)
Me doctor, treat sick make good health long time. (Not making fun of you for the typo, but the image of an ogre with a passion for medicine popped into my head.)
Yeah...I was summoned by my wife. :-)
What? You mean it wasn't a clever ploy to heighten intensity and add to the general feeling of dread, loss and fear?
Hmm... well, the point is - you're back now! :)