Dungeon world Exiles (Inactive)

Game Master Elsine

I'll ask the Gauntlet Slack for recommendations and get back to my various groups here.

The consensus over at the Gauntlet seems to be that Tavern Keeper is the way to go. it isn't perfect, but they seem dedicated to continual improvements.

Is this "Tavernkeeper.com" or some such?

P.S. Mind you, this is during a Con, and things tend to go to pot during cons.
One might weigh the pros and cons of switching over against the irregular price of the servers going poopoo 2 or 3 times a year.

Wow I missed Silvia's post. By Spwack! I had fun running games for you and playing alongside you.

I don't suppose anyone has Spwack's email? So we can at least keep in touch?

I regret to hear that, and that, due to various circumstances, I was mostly away for the past few days, and didn't notice it sooner.

You shall be missed

Site seems stable now?

Unfortunately, IRL has taken a turn that means I need to drop out of my games on here.

we are... down to three players. Do you guys wanna carry on, or recruit some more? I'm ambivalent.

Sorry to see you go!, Tera says as he grabs his sweet belt.

Seriously though, I think we should open up recruitment. It worked well in the campaign with Ron, Belym, Tom, Roshan, and Conwall.

Ill agree with recruitment. Dw has enough fans so we should get a good crowd.

No complaints here.

Of note, do we want to finish the current encounter so we can meet the new players bunch of plucky young heroes in town?

My plan was to post it now, because you guys are almost done, you just need to deal with the final boss, and his allies.

My "Opening Question" was going to be Who are you, and what did you do in Conclave, and what has lead to you leaving town with the first armed caravan you could find?

That seems a fine question.

Wait, isn't the third part a bit ambiguous? Did we establish that the village was destroyed? Or overrun or something?

I have three players interested.

I have three players interested.

Holy Isaac... Anyone I know

I'll get the recruitment thread going again by this evening

Two now. You probably don't know them. They are all showing interest from the Gauntlet RPG community.

well, by all means, direct them Here

Already did!

Hey DM & gang, thanks for the vote of faith!

I'll get a full character sheet made for Kezra soon, and hope to finish catching up on Gameplay as well. Here's her (under construction) alias to start.

While I'm here, Vanadin (or DM or anyone) have an interesting idea for fleshing out my bond with Vanadin? My first thought: Does his light remind me of something? (ideas welcome!)

Cylus, I'm excited you made it in too--your backstory is great.

Cheers,

First, I wanna square this circle now that loose ends are starting to tie up. ;-)

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.”

Gorn pauses in his slashings. With a twist and a circle, he sheathes the Sword of the Aquilonian Kings along his back. A ham-sized fist casually wraps around a strong young tree, easily two spans thick. At first he seems to stand still, but the muscles along his shoulder ripple as his thick arm struggles against the tree. At last plant succumbs to ogre and it's ripped out of the ground, roots still dangling heavy clumps of wet dirt.

He silently takes the tree in a two-handed grip and bends it down, down, down, until it CRACKS apart in two. He drops the twin halves.

"I won that one," he rumbles as his face splits in a white smile.

Chuckling deeply he resumes his sword and returns to his slaying.

Gorn...we'll see about that! ;-)

DM Volsung, the ranger's starting gear is either:
Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and short sword (close, 1 weight)
Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and spear (reach, 1 weight)

I was wondering if I could chose a precise short sword?

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.

GCPDBlue, I'm gonna concur here. The new bard doesn't have healing, and healing is really rare and very useful in DW. For that alone I'd go with it. IMHO. YMMV.

Did we have someone tracking group loot?

DM Volsung, the ranger's starting gear is either:

Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and short sword (close, 1 weight)
Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and spear (reach, 1 weight)

I was wondering if I could chose a precise short sword?

Hey Volsung, no rush but I wanted to make sure you saw this question.

While I'm here, Vanadin (or DM or anyone) have an interesting idea for fleshing out my bond with Vanadin? My first thought: Does his light remind me of something? (ideas welcome!)

Sorry for the delayed response, but...

The light could remind you of basically any divine force, either one you like or one you don't; one of our established facts is that basically all divine manifestations look similar, and interpretation is mostly up to us mortals. The group of "paladins" that burned down the estate/our village all wielded similar magic, for example.

It's also certainly possible we've run into each other - Vanadin never roamed all that far from his village, but hunted game a fair amount in the surrounding woods.

Kezra Tern wrote:

DM Volsung, the ranger's starting gear is either:

Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and short sword (close, 1 weight)
Hunter’s bow (near, far, 1 weight) and spear (reach, 1 weight)

I was wondering if I could chose a precise short sword?

Hey Volsung, no rush but I wanted to make sure you saw this question.

go for it.

Now, Gorn, we are off to slay a manticore.

Hm? We're entering another combat without adding the new players? Are you...sure?

It'll be fine, it's barely even a boss fight. (well, then again, neither where those serpent demons...)

Oh I assumed they would be handwaved in. Nevermind.

Enough 6- rolls, anything can become a boss fight!

I'm pretty sure, no matter how many 6- chains you guys get, the manticore won't turn into a god.

"Pretty sure"

I think that will be my new go to move on a 6- in my games.

"You hit the goblin, but it seems to have no effect as it has been raised to godhood, like just right now. What a coincidence, right? What do you do?"

Tera Tchizzeck wrote:

Now, Gorn, we are off to slay a manticore.

Hm? We're entering another combat without adding the new players? Are you...sure?

Oooh Oooh! Maybe we'll get to have a dramatic last minute appearance to turn the tide of the ascendant manticores!

Moved over from Recruitment...

Suggestions welcome! I wrote out my bond prompts so we could start filling those in collaboratively.

[General]
Name: Cylus Windwhistle
Race: Halfling (Grim World)
Race Ability: When attempting to influence someone (Parley) with Social Status, 7-9 is the same as 10+
Playbook: Bard
Alignment: Chaotic (arching toward Neutral)
Level: 2
Armor: 1
Hit Points: 15
Damage: d6

[Look]
Cylus is a pale-skinned Halfling with a somewhat ruddy complexion. His hair is dark and carefully styled, and he wears finery representing the colors and adornments of the once mighty Halfling empire. He has intelligent eyes that are constantly seeking an angle in whatever conversation he happens to be in.

Cylus's presences ranges from jovial charmer to downtrodden curmudgeon. The former is his public face, that of an experienced politician and negotiator lending his charms and guile to bend situations in his favor. The former is the real Cylus, weighed heavy by an unfulfilled life and a curse that causes unexpected pain not unlike Arthritis.

[Personality]
As the Chaotic alignment implies, Cylus isn't classically heroic. He'll generally do the right thing, but at this stage in his progression, he's driven by greed and a thirst for relevance among his people and the greater world. He's a fierce patriot believing that his people have been lead astray, but that the great Halfling empire can and should return to prominence.

His cherubic attaché, Willem, is part-time protégé, part-time Jimmminy Cricket to Cylus. Try as he might, Cylus has a soft spot for the lad and will take risks to protect him.

[Stats]
STR: 8 (-1)
DEX: 12 (0)
CON: 9 (0)
INT: 15 (+1)
WIS: 13 (+1)
CHA: 16 (+2)

[Moves]
Arcane Art
Bardic Lore (Grande Histories of the Known World)
Charming & Open
A Port in the Storm
It Goes to Eleven

[Starting Gear]
* "Windwhistle" Pipes, a family heirloom that Cylus never bothered to learn how to play
* Leather Armor
* Dueling Rapier
* Halfling Pipeleaf

[Bonds]
* This is not my first adventure with ______.
* I sang stories of ______ long before I ever met them in person.
* Willem is often the butt of my jokes.
* I am writing a ballad about the adventures of _____.
* Tera trusted me with a secret (cold iron charms taken from the Wraiths, a Halfling gang).
* _____ does not trust me, and for good reason.

Volsung, do you know where I could find the alternative wizard playbook you've mentioned a few times?

Volsung, do you know where I could find the alternative wizard playbook you've mentioned a few times?

I think this is it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3eN9t7beS_zSGNfdm8xSldKOE0/view

yeah, that'd be the one. I'll admit, I like the idea of jacob randolph's versions, but in practice ive always felt they lacked crunch-mechanics, and I feel this is a good compromise between the freedom of the mage, and the mechanics of the wizard

(unrelated note, I kinda want to make a Sir Terry-inspired "Wizzard" playbook, about being an innefectual wizard, and cosmic plaything)

Here's what I've come up with for bonds, after some rewrites and creative liberties. Let me know if any of these don't work for y'all.

• This is not my first encounter with Vanadin, but I doubt he recognizes me.
  
• I am loyal to Krystus Cobblecliff, the current Regent of the Halfling empire, and will do what I can to help him take the throne.
  
• Willem Dockswain is often the victim of my japes.
  
• I am writing an opera about the travails of Gorn Steelbreaker, but it's best if he doesn't know that.
  
• Tera Tchizzeck trusted me with a secret (cold iron charms taken from the Wraiths, a Halfling gang bent on looting the Empire's treasured relics).
  
• Kezra Tern does not trust me, and for good reason. Her keen eyes see right through me.
  

umm.... Bonds are only kept between PC's. you can have more than one per PC.

Y'know, I always wondered about that.

Okay, only PCs, and you can have more than one per PC. Got it. And you can only ever have as many as your base class starts with, yeah?

with one notable exception from Grim World.

You don't need to burn a bond slot to have a "bond" with an NPC. That is just your history.

Fair enough. I'm open to some ideas for two additional bonds. Anything come to mind? Than you Tera for the iron charms idea. :)

OK, the details of my motivation and backstory have shifted a bit--partly due to Cylus's inspiration, so thank you!

. . .

Kezra /KEZ-rah/ 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 her cougar companion, Lalleath /LAHL-ley-ath/.

Kezra grew up in the woods between Concave and some smaller settlements, where she was quickly developing a reputation as a hunter. This year was her first chance to enter the annual hunting competition and she was eager to prove herself. At the end of the day she (together with her cougar Lalleath) had taken down a record haul: five pheasants, a stag, and a wild boar.

Kezra stood, beaming, ready for to be awarded first prize...only to be told that she’d been disqualified due to an obscure rule no one remembered which stated that cougars were disallowed as hunting companions. Instead, the first prize went to a halfling slinger who’d brought in one beaver and four ducks.

Kezra suspects a fix but at this point is just fed up and ready to leave town...and prove her mettle in the wild.

. . .

Her profile and status bar are all set, and I'm ready to join the fun whenever makes sense.

I'm happy to be out ranging and run into the group at some cinematic point...or to meet the gang when they're back in town.

BTW, Cylus, I'll leave up to you if you were involved in the (presumed) hunting games fix. You're welcome to have even been the judge, if you want more backstory together. On the extreme end of entanglement, it might be amusing to have Kezra join the party to get away from you (and Conclave in general)...only to have you show up minutes after she's agreed to join them.

Alternately, I'm happy to leave it as them having had no interaction and just being suspicious due to his demeanor.

Either way, I'm looking forward to diving in!

Ooh interesting. I think Cylus was an honorary judge being a visiting ambassador, but was largely disinterested until the glory of a fellow Halfling was on the line. I think when he saw Kezra pull ahead, he ordered Willem to research some obscure contest rules and back-channeled the information to the contest organizers. Just a harmless passing of information to do with as they liked. If that disqualified the Elven upstart, well, no one ever said life was fair.

While what he did wasn't technically wrong, it was petty and selfish. I don't think Kezra is aware of exactly what happened there, but given Cylus's reputation and the convenience of the whole thing, she has her doubts. Winning trust between the two will be difficult. To Cylus's credit, or lack there of, he probably doesn't remember Kezra very clearly. She's familiar to him, but he can't place her.

I'll say that this occurred before Cylus's run-in with the angry warlock. He's on the road to redemption, but events like this will certainly follow him for a long time to come.

Does that work for you, Kezra?

How do you set up one of those fancy status bars?

Ooh interesting. I think Cylus was an honorary judge being a visiting ambassador, but was largely disinterested until the glory of a fellow Halfling was on the line. I think when he saw Kezra pull ahead, he ordered Willem to research some obscure contest rules and back-channeled the information to the contest organizers. Just a harmless passing of information to do with as they liked. If that disqualified the Elven upstart, well, no one ever said life was fair.

While what he did wasn't technically wrong, it was petty and selfish. I don't think Kezra is aware of exactly what happened there, but given Cylus's reputation and the convenience of the whole thing, she has her doubts. Winning trust between the two will be difficult. To Cylus's credit, or lack there of, he probably doesn't remember Kezra very clearly. She's familiar to him, but he can't place her.

I'll say that this occurred before Cylus's run-in with the angry warlock. He's on the road to redemption, but events like this will certainly follow him for a long time to come.

Does that work for you, Kezra?

Perfect!

How do you set up one of those fancy status bars?

Edit your profile. You'll see various fields, e.g. Gender and Classes. I pasted the following into Gender on my profile. Not all of those show up under your profile but I know either Gender or Class will.

"Elven Ranger 2 | HP 21/21 | XP 0/9 | Armor 1 | d8 | STR 0, DEX 2, CON 1, INT 0, WIS 2, CHA -1 | cougar: Ferocity +2, Cunning +2, Armor 0, Instinct +1"

Thanks for the tip!