You're on a no-frills boat (but not quite a "tramper") taking you from the Human continent of Trellak to the "new world" of Keltica. You're headed for the biggest Human colony WeMadeIt (yep, that's what the few survivors of the first colonly ship called it, and it stuck!).
You've heard there's vast uncharted territories, fearsome creatures that don't exist anywhere else on the planet, and great fame and fortune to be had for the lucky few that survive if they venture outside the colony towns.
During the month-long journey, you've met all the other passengers, and have found a few that aren't too terribly annoying, and have the same general goals as yourself, without being too specific - explore the continent and see what you can find.
Each of you has decided to hang with the others for as long as it works out, so go ahead and introduce yourselves to each other. You can present as much information (true or false) about yourself as you like.
These discussions would have taken place over the course of several weeks, as you get to know each other.
A man looked out over the horizon, feeling in good spirits. He had been dreaming of this his whole life. Adventure. Excitement. A chance to see an unexplored world.
He smiled and pushed up the glasses on the end of his nose. And scratched his head where a streak of hair had gone prematurely grey. He placed his arms on the railing of the bow of the ship and began to hum contentedly.
Unless a character has exceptional powers of observation, it is unlikely that anyone is aware of Arabella being on board until late in the voyage. She mostly only walks about on deck after dark and then wears a gray cloak that hides her face and disguises her features. She does not initiate conversations with anyone and if anyone tries to get her attention, she feigns not noticing and moves away.
Toward the end of the journey, when others have begun to form the core of the group that is to be, Arabella will appear next to them some night when they've been chatting alone on deck, perhaps enjoying the view of the night sky and talking about what you'd like to do on the continent. She will have eavesdropped on the party to discern their natures and intentions before revealing herself.
I'll post once others have interacted a bit.
So, are you saying Alex wouldn't even talk with the other PC's? I'm seeing a potential problem here... :)
I don't know if there's a mix up of expectations, but I was hoping everyone would just post how you would present yourselves to others in conversations with them. I'd rather not actually *have* the conversations (WindRider is waiting, after all), but just describe what the other PC's would perceive of you (looks, attitude, etc.) and whatever personal history and reasons for taking the trip (true or not) you care to reveal.
The "real" game begins when you disembark.
Thanks!
Immersed in the sensations of rushing wind and warm sun, she cuts through the air with eyes closed, savoring the freedom of flight high above the ground.
Though apparently not high enough above the ground. Flying headlong into an unseen bug, she reflexively snaps into a sharp bank. Her eyes pop open to a distressed vocalization as pain from an improperly-healed broken bone shoots through her.
With what passes for a grimace on her face, she closes her eyes again and tries to return to enjoying the day despite the soreness echoing from the old wing injury. But she can't.
Something...
She opens her eyes and looks around. At the clouds, at the ground far below, at the tiny dot of a bird in the distance. She closes her eyes again, but the feeling returns and she opens them once more.
The throbbing discomfort, yes... but that's a well-known, if unwanted, companion every time she flies. There's something else, something almost... pulling at her. She looks around again, then sheds some speed with a climb before slipping into a wide, slow gliding turn.
The character of the pull changes, almost as if it's moving around her brain. There! Straight ahead, now. She looks down and around, confused, unsure... and curious.
It only takes a moment for "curious" to win. A scaled neck and tail stretch out for speed and leathery wings begin flapping as she powers off towards whatever's pulling at her.
Off the coast and out to sea.
Marko took in one last deep breath of the sharp tang of the ocean spray in the air and stepped away from the bow. It was a beautiful day, but sadly there wasn't much to do on the boat except gamble, and he was nervous to lose what little money he had before he made it to the New World.
Normally, he would be buried in books but he had already read the few he had brought with him. In fact, he had already given them away to a small recluse boy he had seen on the ship, so he couldn't reread them even if he wanted to.
He still had his Uncle's Book of Spells, but he was loathe to study it much while on the ship. It made him antsy and want to practice his magic again. And that was something he simply he couldn't while cooped up on this ship. The last thing he needed was overly superstitious folk saying he was in league with devils.
In retrospect, he really should have been paying better attention to where he was going. That way the collision could have been, if not completely avoided, at least somewhat lessened in degree of embarrassment.
But as it was he bumped rather painfully into someone, knocking both of them to the ground. He froze in terror when he felt his glasses slip off his nose.
"Wait! My glasses! Please be careful, I need to find them!" he said panicked. He tried in vain to spot the blasted things.
A figure nearby the collision adjusts a pair of tinted goggles as she regards the mature gentleman fumbling for his glasses.
A faint point of light, barely noticable in the bright sunlight, glides toward the man and passes into his forhead. Instantly, the world comes into sharper focus . The figure continues to watch with interest from a shadow nearby.
For the most part, Connor had improved. Sure, the first couple days had been difficult, until Alexander James let him cover the mirror in their room, and sure, restlessness was beginning to get under the boy's skin after being on the ocean so long, but for anyone who had known Connor during the months leading up to this expedition, they would have seen his behaviour on the ship as a marked improvement.
It is true, though, that none of them had known him, and after watching him run around the ship, were glad of it. Connor's curiosity had lead to him trying to talk to the various passengers, but rarely did any of them pay him any mind. To most of them he was simply a child whose guardian needed to do a better job of watching him.
With no one to talk to and entertain him, Connor of course turned to making his own entertainment. One of his favourite things to do was climb onto the ropes and rafters, and use his slingshot to annoy the ship's crew. Many a time he was dragged by the ears back to his room, where complaints of his antics were shrugged off by Alexander James.
What no one understood, what they hadn't cared to understand, was that this was a boy who was bored and lonely. He was not malevolent, merely seeking in attention.
So you must understand, that just now, when he was running across the ship, and intentionally barreled into an older gentleman, making him drop his glasses, that really, the boy was just bored, and trying to outrun and escape the infinite depths of his own mind.
Scooping up the man's glasses from the floor of the ship, Connor holds them behind his back. "Oh I'm sorry mister! Your glasses?! Whatever did they look like?"
Marko's vision oddly cleared up for a moment. But he still couldn't find his glasses. He looked around and finally noticed the boy in front of him.
"My glasses are silver in color. Dwarf made. Thick lenses. Oh, dear. I really need to find them. I can fix them if they get broken, but I hadn't considered the thought of them being lost. I wouldn't be able to fulfill my prescription until we hit port!" he says with rising panic.
The figure in the shadow watched as the boy got up from the collision.
"The little snot has his glasses. This could be interesting. Let's see how this plays out."
So far on the journey, the old man's been genial enough, although a little strange and quiet about his past. He wears simple but well-made clothing and walks with a cane, with long, wild white hair and beard. He seems to be at least somewhat intelligent--certainly not senile, although his mind wanders--and he'd be pleasant company if it weren't for the heinous cigars he constantly smokes.
Still, several of the other passengers who can put up with the foul smell and the thick smoke and the old man's wandering anecdotes and nigh-constant commentary on the state of the world today... Well, he isn't easy to get along with, maybe, but he's not a bad guy if you can get past that.
On this day, Azander walks down the deck, taking in the sea air through a haze of smoke. A cloud billows behind him as he walks, flowing back like the long seaman's coat he wears when atop the ship. His cane raps on the wooden deck, and he pauses, turning to see a young man speaking with a boy. Ah, that scamp, and the curious man. He leans on the cane and takes a long drag on his cigar, watching with amusement as the lad hides he glasses behind his back.
I'm not sure if the lower class is confined to another deck or something, but if they were he simply wouldn't go there.
Heh - this isn't an modern ocean liner with staterooms and such. Your tiny little cabin with 2 bunk beds has...
TWO "lower class" people in it! Oh, the horror! :)
Up to this point, "Emma" would have spurned attempts at conversation with anyone (so you can get a sense of what it feels like, AJT:). She's not rude but behaves like an extremely introverted type who's too shy to converse with strangers. Also, although she is upper class by birth and breeding, she wears a leather jumpsuit with a dagger on the belt, so not typical attire for the upper crust, I'd think. Anyone with the curiosity hindrance will probably be itching to learn more about her.
"Emma" walks around the man looking for his glasses and the boy, so that she can make eye contact with the boy and winks at him when he looks up at her. "Maybe it slid over here when it fell," she says, adding a moment later, "No. Maybe behind this pipe?"
Another thing about Arabella, unless it is strictly forbidden (and enforced), she will wear a flintlock pistol in a holster on her left hip. If carrying guns is merely frowned upon, she will frown back and wear the gun anyway, saying only, "I understand pirates sometimes attack ships such as this. One must be ready for emergencies."
No one will likely have heard her talking at this point, but when she does speak, she has the accent and vocabulary one might expect from someone from the upper class.
Connors eyes light up when he sees that the strange woman isn't someone who's come to reprimand him, and a huge smile spreads over his face. Standing behind the older man, Connor slips on his glasses, and looks at the girl, trying (badly) not to burst out laughing, as he suggests to the man that "Maybe they fell overboard!"
On the horizon straight ahead, a tiny dot slowly starts resolving into one of those strange floating things that've been spitting out the new bigs. The noisy ones that look different. She slows and tries varying her heading a bit from side to side. The pull, which has been getting stronger all along, is definitely coming from that direction.
She looks beyond the floaty box hopefully, but sees only ocean. She slows some more, nervous about being so far from land, having nothing but water beneath her, approaching this odd thing. She decides to cut to the right a bit and swing around it when she gets closer.
Strange, strange thing. Trees sticking up from it with vines tight and high in the air between some of them. But... not trees. No limbs and the big fat ones are spewing little clouds and firesmoke.
She banks into a tighter circle to get closer. She can see bigs crawling all over it, walking on the top of it. There, one coming out from inside... how many more in that box? Risky, risky, danger, she should leave this thing, go back. But the pull is almost overwhelming now... as is her curiosity.
She adjusts her heading again to fly directly at one of the thinner not-trees, pulling up sharply with a wince of pain. Her speed drops to zero just as she reaches one of the vines... no, "not-vines"... joining the not-trees, and she lands lightly and silently. Tail whipping briefly to stabilize her balance, she folds her wings and cranes her neck to look down at the bigs. At least she's safe up here far above them, and she can watch for a while.
"Maybe they fell overboard!"
Marko's face fell.
"Well - I guess that's it then. Th-thank you for your help." He stood up, looking dejected and walked away.
Still focused on the spectacle before him, Azander shakes his head and puffs out another cloud of smoke. He sets off across the deck over to the others and shakes his head.
"Sad! Distressing and despicable, it is, to see such behavior coming from the youth of today. Taking a man's glasses and hiding them from him! Pah!" Azander drags on the cigar and blows a ring of smoke at Connor and Arabella. "Tell ya, when I was young, we wouldn't go running around, taking men's glasses and hiding them, huh? For one thing, ya didn't pick on a guy with glasses--there weren't that many, and the poor sods already had glasses, no reason to pick on 'em more. But if a fella really did deserve it and he happened to have glasses, then what ya do is snap 'em in half or slip 'em in his pocket so he goes out and buys another pair an' then finds the old pair and he wasted his money. Then again, back then all the pranks we pulled were better, we just had a drive that kids these days don't have, don't you know, focused more and put more into it, really worked at it, huh?" He cocks an eyebrow and leans on his cane.
"But you young things don't wanna just listen to an old man proselytize on this an' that all the day long, so I'll just let ya give the lad back his glasses an' move on with everything, huh?"
Arabella ignores the old man and moves over to Conner. She nudges him in the direction of Marko and says, "Good con, kid. Better get over there and make sure he doesn't work off a gang plank."
Result = 8, success + 1 raise.
Since no one's tried it yet and succeeded, the Notice roll for WindDancer is at a -2 for her size and the distance.
Alex - sorry for the delay in replying, I forgot : there's a small chance some of your bunkmates are PC's...
Huh, yes, one of them is...
Heh - lucky you! Azander. Even tho you and the other 2 bunkmates have demanded that he not smoke while in the small cabin, the smell of cheap cigars clings to his clothing and permeates the cabin when he's in it.
"Oh the humanity!" :)
Nope. Nothing around but some seagulls.
Actually Conner "double-dipped" his penalty, that's why I always save any bonuses or penalties until the dice have stopped exploding :
Wild#1 = 6
Wild#2 = 4 = 10 -2 (the penalty) = 8
Almost everything in SW (except combat, go figure) has a Target Number (TN) of 4, meaning you succeed if your total is the TN or higher.
But wait, there's more (if you order by midnight tonight...)! If you roll 4 or more above the TN, you get a "Raise", which means something extra special happens. And you can get more than one Raise too.
For a TN of 4 :
Total = 4-7 is a Success, no Raises
Total = 8-11 is a Success, 1 Raise
Total = 12-15 is a Success, 2 Raises
So the start of each Raise range is 8, 12, 16...pretty easy to remember.
But, these thresholds change if the TN is not 4!
And Conner got 1 Raise, so he can click on the "really good look at it" URL in WindDancer's SHOW button.
The key, I think, is that you get two different rolls to achieve success, one based on your skill or attribute and a second d6 (referred to as the wild roll). You take the better result and then apply the bonus or penalty value, if any.
Your first roll based on your notice skill was 1d6 = 3.
Your second wild roll was a 6. Since that is an Ace (highest possible result for that die) you get to roll again and add the second to the Ace. So your wild roll was 6 + 4 = 10.
You then take the better result (10 in this case) and apply any penalties or bonuses. So you got 10-2 = 8. The "botched" notice check is of no account, since the wild roll did better.
Conner - exactly what Arabella said. As a Wild Card, you basically have two chances to succeed. If it helps, think of *both* dice as "your Notice roll". Always take the better of the two.
Connor looks up as the man approaches to lecture him, though not in a way that the boy expected. Rapidly losing focus in the conversation, he begins looking around and notices a small lizard-looking creature flying around.
Replying simply, "Okay." he walks away from the man, keeping his eyes locked on the creature as much as possible. Going up to Marko, he says "I found them." with absolute certainty that they're the right pair, and hands them over.
Believing that everyone would now leave him alone, his eyes watched the small creature as it moved above.
Conner, as you stare up into the sky at the oddly-shaped flying creature, for some reason you can't explain, you suddenly feel a sense of...belonging.
High above them, her gaze roams across the bigs on the floaty thing as she wonders what they're doing. One, then on to the next, then the next, then...
Her focus snaps back to the one before in puzzlement. Different. Smaller. And... and it's looking at her!
Happy.
She blinks. What? A yearning, like...
She realizes she's stretched so far forward she's about to lose her balance on the not-vine. Pulling her head back to a more natural position, she cocks it to one side as she ponders.
Closer.
That little big. It's... she wants to be closer. Needs to be closer. Why? Makes no sense, no sense.
Her tail switches from side to side in frustration as she looks at all the bigs near the little-big. Too many. Too close. Too risky.
Come here.
She realizes she's shifting from side to side, nervously alternating her grip on the not-vine.
Breathe.
She tries to relax. It's okay. Safe up here. But... but... need to be closer.
A small sound of annoyance escapes her as she fights the urge to fly down.
Fidgeting endlessly, she waits.
Just to see if Arabella notices Conner's staring at the small creature:
"Hmmm. Interesting kid. Seagulls fly around the boat every day and he's still fascinated by them. His guardian must be doing something right. Most kids that age have the curiosity beaten out of them."
Arabella turns to Azander, presumably still going on about something or other. Interupting, she says, "You're right, of course. Every word. Might I trouble you to try one of those cigars you smoke. Always wondered what the appeal of those things is. They give you a buzz?"
Going up to Marko, he says "I found them." with absolute certainty that they're the right pair, and hands them over.
Marmo takes the glasses back with a grateful smile. "Thank you!" he practically giggles as he puts them back on.
"Thank you very much for helping me. I'm Marko."
"Connor." the boy replies, not correcting the man, and barely even looking at him. He takes a few steps back and takes a slightly running leap onto the nearest mast, and begins attempting to scale it, as boys are wont to do. Taking a small knife from his pocket, he digs it into the wood to aid his climb.
Conner - there is a Climbing skill, and all skills default to d4-2 if you don't have "ranks" in them. I wouldn't recommend it (only 32% chance of success).
Please stay where you are (hanging on to the mast, a few feet above the deck) until WindDancer can make a post this evening (he can't post from work anymore).
WindDancer, you've seen "bigs" hurt themselves from falling even just short distances, and now the object of your interest is trying to climb up to you - what do you do?
Or, you "adults" can react to his actions in the meantime...
Alexander, who had been strolling along the deck on the far side of the ship, was attracted by the (relative) commotion of passengers gasping and pointing at something. About time something happened on this trip.
Spotting Connor at the source of the fuss, he frowned and squinted up at the boy. "Careful there, lad. You don't want to fall," he advised, not really believing the boy would fall. He was always climbing trees and gables and such as a boy, himself. Still, it was a bit unseemly for him to be clambering about in front of everyone.
Then he looked higher, wondering what it was the boy was after...
...but didn't see anything of note with the sun in his eyes. Must be boyish curiosity; maybe he wanted to try to glimpse land.
Yep, you did that right.
Skills have Attributes they are "linked" to, just like d20/D&D/PF. But the only time it makes any difference is when you're buying skills at PC creation time, or when you "advance" (sort of like a minor level-up) and want to increase the die value of the skill.
Connor glares at Alexander. "I know what I'm doing." He struggles to climb higher but is not at all comfortable in his ability to do so, and realises that falling will almost certainly result in injury. "Give me a boost!"
Happy.
Her heart leaps with excitement as the little-big suddenly starts to climb.
Coming!
Head bobbing, she watches in anticipation as the little-big inches upward. A pause as a big talks and the little-big answers.
Nervous.
She blinks in surprise at a sudden wave of unease. Falling? Never been afraid of falling before. Why be? If you can fly you c...
Her eyes grow wide as she realizes it's not her thought. She looks down at the little-big again.
Doubt.
The little-big? Worried about falling? But how...
Not important! Safe little-big is important. Her gaze roams quickly over the other bigs. Still too many, still too close.
With a chirp of frustrated resignation, she allows herself to fall off the not-vine, snapping her wings open and transitioning into a rapid but graceful swoop downward towards the climber. A tight spiral around the not-tree, a hard braking maneuver and searing pain, and she sinks her claws into the not-tree, jerking to a sudden halt hanging from the side of it. "Landing" vertically, tail upward and wrapped part way 'round the not-tree, head to head with the startled little-big.
Paralyzed by a flood of emotions -- not all hers -- she stares into his wide, shocked eyes from mere inches away. And as she stares, almost unable to look away, one emotion slowly wins out.
Serenity.
Suddenly aware of the situation again, her head snaps up and she looks around at the other bigs. Some drawing back, some moving towards her, some frozen in place. She looks at the little-big again, then launches herself away from the not-tree, flitting over to a nearby stack of boxes. She lights atop the uppermost one, turns to face the little-big, and settles onto her haunches, tail wrapped around her. Cocking her head, she looks at the little-big and waits.
ALL : if you don't see it yourself, as you hear gasps all around and see some people pointing, everyone notices what appears to be a small red bird fly down and land on the mast that Conner's clinging to.
At that point, everyone nearby can see that it looks *exactly* like a dragon (at least, as far as you know from the tavern-tales you've heard about what dragons look like), except only 6" long (not including its long tail).
It lands with expert precision nose-to-nose with Conner, and appears to look Conner straight in the eyes, but before anyone can react it flies over and lights on some crates on deck.
Don't bother rolling, no one's ever even heard of a critter like this.
What DO you do? :)
Conner - when this miniature dragon looks you in the eyes, you feel a burst of joy in your heart, like coming home to your parents after being lost in the woods all day, with all your favorite foods and deserts ready and waiting for you.
About to reprimand Connor for his tone, Alexander instead looked on with surprise as the little dragon appeared. When it flew away rather than attacking the boy, he relaxed an unconscious tension. So that's what he was after! Seems like a harmless enough lizard. We must be close to land, for it to find us out here.
"There, it's on the crates. Now come down and stop smudging your clothes. Maybe you can still catch it," he said with an amused smile, even as he turned to scan the horizon for the land he thought must be there.
Marko's mouth hung open as he observed the creature flutter down and wrap itself around the mast, staring at the sweet boy who found his glasses.
"Fascinating," he said breathlessly. Nothing in his books could possibly have prepared him for something like this. A Dragon? Here? Only that was silly. Proper dragon sightings have always been rare. In fact he couldn't recall one happening recently.
But this creature was so, well, small. A juvenile dragon perhaps? Only that didn't make sense either. It didn't have the usual characteristics one associated with a youngling. Maybe an offshoot? A drake? A wyvern? Some sort of pseudo-dragon, perhaps?
All of this flew through his mind in moments.
"Careful, lad," he told the boy. "I think it likes you, but be careful all the same. You don't want to startle it."