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I want to point out that though the world is largely complete in my head, nothing is set in stone. I expect the players to help me solidify elements as we play, so if you have an idea to use about a place your ancestors come from or a particular legend or common aphorism, feel free to interject it. If it doesn't really fit, I'll let you know, but this is as much your world as it is mine, and I want you to share in it's creation.
Excellent. Sounds like this should be a lot of fun. Thanks for offering to run the game.
Well seeing as part of Natalie's background is nobility, I was interested in the structure of Valoria's ruling class, such as titles and responsibilities. The king being on top is a given, but I was wondering wherein on the noble pyramid her family would fall - probably lower, like a count or a baron. But certainly there are those higher up just under the king who help him run the country.
I'm also interested more in the legends of how the elves came to this world - such as any rumors of the lost vessels that brought them there.
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Politically, Valenor is pretty simple. The king takes advice from his council of 13 lord knights, each considered a duke, his wife Queen Paulina, and from his grand bishop Michel(representing Krystos). The 13 dukes and King Jean form the Order of the Golden Chalice (there is also an assemblage of ladies under Jean's wife known as the Sisterhood of the Steel Rose). Each of the 13 dukes has several marquis, counts, earls, viscounts, and barons below him.
How the elves came to this world is a mystery even to most of them. Legends speak of a great skyship which came from the stars, but any truth to these legends has been lost to time.
That seemed to be the implication of WhtKnt's post, though I could certainly just be a caravan guard for someone with more proper upbringing.
Mmm, I expect that knowing others down the political totem pole in that system will obviously require higher and higher DCs, being more obscure. In Natalie's case, being the daughter of a count would probably mean she's somewhere in the 25 DC range if not higher.
Course, her station pretty much means little being a runaway and a black sheep of her family - it's certainly possible her parents haven't even publicized that she's gone missing. Plus, she's way too meek to try and use any sort of political influence.
On the elves lost vessel to the stars, finding a tiny scrap of information on the possible location of one would be baiting Natalie quite badly.
More on world building - do dragons exist? I ask because I took Draconic as a language but just realized it may be completely useless.
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Oh, yes. Dragons exist.
Among all of the races of Jenneria, the dragons are the most ancient. They were created from the very bones of the earth when the rays of the first dawn split the eternal night and though their glory has faded with the passage of time, it is not diminished. Many races believe the dragons to be immortal, and the dragons themselves do not speak of such things to lesser races. In any case, it is true that they are among the most long-lived of beings.
A dragon is just past its prime as it moves into Great Wyrm stage. Beginning at about 5,000 years (it differs from dragon to dragon), the effects of age begin to show. A dragon of 10,000 years is rare in the extreme and will show it's age in the form of lost scales, missing teeth, shriveled wings, and general disrepair. Only one dragon of such extreme age has ever been encountered by anyone who lived to speak of it and this particular wyrm, despite its advanced age, blindness in one eye, and inability to fly, still managed to slay the bulk of a small army before succumbing to their might.
From ancient texts, this was determined to be the Ancalaxus the Forge, the great beast that once brought terror to the southern lands and was presumed to have perished thousands of years before. Estimates place his age at 12,300 and some odd years at the time of his defeat. He had lain within his lair, in a state of suspended animation not unlike hibernation, for almost two thousand years, when he was awakened by a thief who stumbled upon the den and, mistaking the dragon's torpor for death, began looting the place.
If a dragon could hibernate for a period measured in thousands of years, there is no way to say how long they can live. It is generally accepted by sages that a dragon will perish somewhere before reaching the age of 15,000 years, but they admit that this is pure speculation, based on the fact that no dragon older than Ancalaxus has ever been encountered. The dragons themselves no doubt know, but they aren't telling. They do have the disconcerting habit of referring to non-draconic species as "mortals," which may be a clue or may simply be arrogance on their part.
It is not even known for certain that they do die. Throughout history, some dragons have simply mysteriously disappeared, but they, like Ancalaxus, may simply be in torpor or they may have left for other parts or simply have been slain by someone who, for whatever reason, did not advertise the deed. Dragon corpses showing extreme aging have never been reported, so it seems plausible that they either do not die, or that they go someplace hidden to perish (like the legendary Elephant's Graveyard of Earth). If such a "Dragon's Graveyard" exists on Jenneria, its existence has never been reported.
Natalie - Draconian is also what kobolds speak - so you've got that going for ya!
This is gonna be fun! Hagnar discovered his magical gifts from the Master Craftsman while stonecarving. He is especially taken with making lifelike carvings and statues (eventually leading to his making golems!) His stated reasons for travelling are to see te world and earn some coin to set up his own shop.
The real reason he is out in the world Hagnar keeps to himself - the stonemaster he studied and apprenticed under banished Hagnar when he created a near life-like carving of the dwarven god's face - and it spoke. The senior dwarf was terrified of the magic. Hagnar heard the message of the Master Craftsman and is travelling to find that which the voice spoke of. (to be developed further! =)
Wow, I wasn't expecting such a detailed explanation of dragons - that's pretty awesome, WhtKnt! I guess being the oldest species, knowing how to read and write Draconic is a good choice. Though I expect Natalie to be the party linguist - she speaks, reads and writes seven languages so far, and is working on her eighth (Dwarven).
Don't expect her to be much of a conversationalist to start, though - she's actually quite nervous being around such heavily armed, armored and rough looking men. Like being the only rabbit among a pack of wolves.
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ASTRONOMY
Jenneria is the third of nine worlds in its system (the innermost world is a hot rockball, the next in line is a hothouse garden; beyond Jenneria, the worlds are a desert world, three gas giants, and two icy worlds) and orbits a G5 main-sequence star. All of this is superfluous of course, so far as your characters are concerned, but I thought you might like to know.
Two moons orbit the planet—one about the size of our own Luna, the other about one-half that size. They are known by different names to different peoples, but in Valenor, they are called Marcel (the larger) and Éloïse. They are named in honor of two legendary lovers who defied their families to be together. Éloïse’s orbit is slightly faster than that of Marcel, so it is possible (though rare) for both moons to be full or new at the same time.
CALENDAR
Jenneria is similar to our own world in that it has a 24-hour rotation on its axis, an axial tilt of about 23 degrees and a revolution period of 365 days. Days are divided into 24 hours, each hour of which is subdivided into 60 minutes. Note that the populace rarely makes references in terms of hours or minutes, typically preferring terms such as midday, evening, night, morning, dawn, etc. Clocks that (somewhat) accurately mark the passage of time exist, but tend to be rare and expensive. Hour candles and sundials are commonplace, however.
Valenor uses a calendar which divides the year into twelve months, each 30 days in length, based on the phases of Marcel. Each month is further divided into three tenday periods called, appropriately enough, a tenday. The remaining five days of each year are festivals; one for each season (spring, summer, fall, and winter) and a fifth day which is sacred to the Master Craftsman.
Different cultures have different names for the months and days, but locally, days are referenced by number (e.g., 3rd week, 8th day), while months have individual names.
The Festival of Creation takes place in mid-Solimen, and commemorates the creation of the world. Festivals are days of celebration by all civilized people, regardless of which deity they actually worship, and are marked by grand feasts, merriment, and general mayhem. Most towns and cities hold street fairs and put on much pageantry. Local lords recognize that the festivals are essential to the well-being and general morale of the people and allow them to continue, so long as things do not get out of hand.
In Vaelnor, the months are named:
WINTER
Fribreve (Coldwind)
Festival of the Frost
Duveneige (Deepsnows)
Frihart (Coldhearth)
SPRING
Resoli (Sunrise)
Festival of the Thaw
Verdeguin (Greenswarden)
Enscement (Seeding)
SUMMER
Solimen (Warming)
L'onjour (Longdays)
Solinum (Highsun)
Festival of the Sun
FALL
Brevest (Winding)
L'ondoveur (Longshadows)
Récolt (Harvest)
Festival of the Harvest
Interesting calendar system. I take it that we're in the month of Solinum right now, since you said we're at the late days of summer. What tenday are we on there? Just to reflect an accurate count of the day. I was thinking of writing a Natalie Labelle journal to go along with this campaign.
Debating on a birthday as well - thinking Resoli, 3rd week, 4th day. It's fun to choose, after all, and it certainly adds more depth.
I'll just scoot her birthday to the Festival of the Thaw, then. So much expected of her to start, and letting everyone down in the end. Sounds like Natalie.
WhtKnt, when you get a chance, it would be nice if you could post the job listings for the notice board - more than one of us went there.
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Eh, its all good. Fergors nose has been broken several times in bar brawls, but thankfully has all his teeth. As for social skills, he can talk coherently, but lacks a filter when it comes to stereotypes and women. Thus the pass at the wizard, and remarks about you knowing traps. And now he gets loudrr and more boistrrous the more fun he is having. When you need to watch out is when he is really quiet.
Yea - dwarves take a -2 Cha at the outset =) I think I'll revert back to my early days in the military for how he talks / acts / reacts - standby!!
In terms of CHA scores the group has:
Sudara: 20
Reigar: 14
Natalie: 14
Lucian: 13
Lucuis: 9
Hagnar: 8
Sequin: 8
Fergor: 7
So, one excellent, 3 above average, 4 below average. We should be fine should we actually get along with each other. ;)
It seems reasonable that at some point we are going to give up on courting Natalie, and she can then go off and adventure by herself. Alternatively she can sit in the keep and read. Either way this is getting tiresome.
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Natalie, if you don't mind me asking, why are you making it so difficult to get your character to join the group? If she is a failed apprentice Wizard, do you not think that a large party would be benificial as she would be able to hide amongst the group and act as support? What are you looking for to get you to join us? I don't really want to see you kicked out of the party before you join, ya know?
(1-5 = festival day)
The problem is threefold, here.
First, you've all been approaching her doggedly. Natalie isn't used to people actively wanting her, and coming after someone with the disposition of a scared rabbit like that is only going to scare her off. Not to mention she doesn't believe that any of you would really want her, being a useless wizard with no armor, few weapons, and a weak body (Her opinion, not mine).
Secondly, Natalie will join up - when it comes to a job. She's already interested in the same extermination job that everyone else seems to be going for right now, and though she'll feel like an outsider, she'll try to include herself in it.
Third, and this is perhaps the most important part - Natalie isn't your friend yet. She doesn't even know how to make friends, and she doesn't know the PCs. The fact that you've all gotten together completely buddy buddy like you have actually makes it more difficult for her to try and include herself.
So, to recap: You don't need to pursue her, or to court her, or to woo her. You just need do things that Natalie will feel like trying to join in with, and she'll come along and do her best. Let her just listen for a while, and eventually she might join in on the conversation, once she's worked up the courage.
And as a note, I apologize if you think that Natalie's behavior is frustrating. I'm just trying to portray her as realistically as possible, and that includes her glaring flaws as a person.
No - I like a well-developed and played character - especially the flaws! It can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, which are fun for the characters but not so much for the players =)
So you go on wit' yo bad self, little mouse! But don't be surprised when the dwarf gives you that as a nickname ;-)
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Well Reigar tries to make friends in anybody. Since you travelled together he sees you as an ally. Reigar is naive about humans, he is used to an open community where everyone helps and benefits each other. He doesn't understand shyness or the like. He'll always try to talk to people if nobody else will and sometimes won't knowwhen to stop talking.
Posting will be a bit sparse for the next 48 hours or so. DMPC me as needed. Thanks.
So before we get into actual combat situations, I just wanted to confirm all of the alternate rules, because I've noticed that some of the others haven't updated their sheets for them and I was wondering if you canceled certain ones.
As I understood it, we were going with Hero Points, as well as pretty much all of the variant rules for combat HERE, listed below:
- Armor as Damage Reduction
- Called Shots
- Piecemeal Armor
- Wounds and Vigor
I've also realized that it's a possibility that some of the players haven't read your Obsidian Portal wiki detailing your homebrew - the link as I saw it on the recruitment page was slightly hidden, so I'll repost it here for everyone's viewing pleasure:
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN WIKI
It might be a good idea to post the link for quick reference in the same fashion as you did the map, or in the campaign info tab.
Hey everyone - going on an overnight camping trip with my wife...back online tomorow night!
How are we going to break this up? We'll need front liners in each party. We'll probably want a healer in each if we have them (though I think we only have the one cleric).
I'm going to be a bit spotty on internet time this weekend. I'll try to check in, but bot me as needed.
Can I just make a roleplaying point that Sudara summoned a freaking dragon in the same room as everyone else, and that's currently getting zero reactions aside from Natalie?
This is a low magic world, after all. Other than the spellcasters here in the party, it's possible the rest have never seen nor experienced magic of any kind. It's possible that Natalie and Sudara and Hagnar are the very first people they've met who could use magic.
Only if Sudara knows Draconic. Eidolons know all the same languages as their Summoner - though, just wanted to clarify, Sudara isn't from Valoria, right? So he knows his regional language, Trade Tongue and Celestial? I'm trying to figure out where everyone in the party is actually from.
Natalie, as in her bio, is from Lionsgate in Valoria.
Lucian is a bit of switch-hitter. While he is slightly better at hitting his target with his bow, he does more damage with the falchion.
Essentially we can make it work either way.