Action 1
Agia peered into the crate and wracked her brain about tales of worms, prisms and powders.
"There is an Old Tale that tells of the Sands of Sleep, dark powder that could be prepared in a way that can induce a deep slumber. Given the state of this town, this could be a similar substance. It is said that it's power came from trapping a piece of the dawning sun in a cloth made of pure shadow, then grinding it to dust beneath a millstone of glowing synth. It is also said that if it is touched by a very hot fire the shadows burn away and the Sands once again become a piece of the sun."
"What all these objects could mean together, I cannot say."
Action 2
".., yet all the shins I could muster were from widows asking me to talk to their husbands for them" He laughs bitterly "This indeed is a strange world we live in..."
This elicited a matching laugh from Agia. "Strange indeed! I'm still looking for how I fit into things out here. Back in Nebalich I got a rather impressive offer of apprenticeship from a fat tavern keeper with grand dreams of serving chilled beverages year-round, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was meant for greater things than keeping swill frosty. So here I am trying my hand at mercenary work, and whaddaya know? We can't even make our first delivery and I damn near collapse from heatstroke just toting boxes around."
"For what it's worth, your power doesn't scare me. The way you tell it, your path seems more... lonely than frightening. I know a thing or two about that." She grew quiet, struck by the sheer enormity of the knowledge that must be held by all the people who have ever died, just waiting to be found. "Though I suppose the dead outnumber the living, so in a way you have even more people to keep you company than the rest of us."
Action 4
The boat was too far from her destination to serve as a base for spirit walking, and Agia was not willing to leave her body out in the sunlight. The tavern wasn't perfect, but at least it was shady and well ventilated. Agia approached the old innkeeper.
"I'd like to make use of a private room, keeper. Something with a bed, though I'm not fussy about its quality." She motioned to herself and Dreithik. "We won't need it for very long". Some nearby townies raised their eyebrows, but Agia was oblivious to any possible innuendo. The keeper, for his part, was happy to oblige and added the expense to Agia's running tab.
Once in the room, Agia briefed Dreithik on the ritual. "For this to work, I must lie very still and prepare my mind, so the activation itself will be up to you. I doubt we have time to teach you fine points of the Chant the Awakening, which draws the spirit world close to ours, so I'll do it before assuming the position and we will just have to hope that's good enough."
She brought forth her faintly glowing necklace from within her folds of clothing. "It responds mostly to touch. Other people's touch, anyways, it's never fully accepted me. Now, These three fittings around the gem can spin, see? It's less about what position you spin them to, and more about how you spin them. Give the outer two a good twist and let them keep going round, then turn the middle around exactly once until it locks. While you do this you must be speaking aloud. Any speech will do, but I've found that it responds best to Words of Power in ancient tongues. If you know a few, feel free to sprinkle them in.
"If the fittings don't snap into place on the first try, you'll have to try again. When they do though, you should step back. It can be... intense. At that stage sometimes there are visions of demons and spirits attracted by the ritual, so be ready to cast them out if need be."
"Finally, when I return to my body, you need to ensure that it is really me that returned, and not something else that jumped into my flesh while I was gone. I will speak the secret word 'Bug-butt' so that you can be sure."
At the completion of the Ritual:
With the ritual complete, the gem in Agia's necklace began to grow considerably brighter, and the hue of its glow shifted to a deep blood red. The glow then spread outwards from the gem into two thin lines that joined together to make a halo of light that closely hugged Agia's throat before oscillating several times between her her and toes. The strobing glow hugged the counters of Agia's skin while she tried to stay as still as possible despite the intense tingling sensation. A smell reminiscent of well aged cheese filled the room and the gem began emitting an increasingly high pitched whine that for a moment grew deafening and rattled all the metal object in the inn, until with a staticky pop it ended and a second Agia stood beside the first.
This second, desaturated Agia, blurry around the edges, spent a moment contemplating the limp form sitting on the bed. "Wow, that's what I look like these days? That's rough." Her voice sounded as if it was coming from a great distance. She noticed the light from the gem on her true body's throat seemed to be dancing and sputtering in a disconcerting fashion. She flickered briefly, then stated "I better make this quick." and stepped through the wall out into the street.
She could still feel a ghost of sensation from the sunlight pouring down on the town, but it seemed to mostly pass right through her. She sprinted through the waving heat haze towards the Priest's compound, approaching from the East after reasoning that the guard would spend most of her time guarding the actual entrance on the western end.
She passed through the fence with barely a tickle before slowing down. Now she would have to be more careful. While the guard wouldn't be able to stop her spirit form, she recalled Dreithik's tale of strange magic engendering fear and suspicion among those ignorant of its ways. It would be best to remain unseen.
The ghostly girl approached the wall and pressed herself against it. It was like trying to move through a great mass of uncooked dough and for a moment her brain insisted that she was being smothered. Then all the resisting forces gave way and she tumbled inside.
Action one:
Holy fecund... Antar Es, are you glass? I mean, if you're crystalline, this is badddd spirit. Hypnotic glowworms and coma inducing powder, ah f@$! " I was always warned of such clav's those who hunt beyond the Papacy, those who seek power instead of knowledge, control instead of freedom...
Action Two
Speaking to the siblings Couple WEEKS!! people have been without sleep for weeks!? You still demand they work!?" Jetto look stunned... He ran his hand through his hair and finished his drink. "Bartender! he called out One more please. looking back to his new drinking companions Aihhhh, aliright My name is Jetto this is Antar Es, I was sent here from Neiblish, I need to know what happened about two weeks ago? What changed in the Mine? Did they undercover a new section? When did the first rumors of a Ghost reach your ears? Think hard about that one, Was it from a specific tunnel? A specific individual? When did the Priests first get involved? Are the priests involved in the community or were they distant normally? Have you been effected?
The Hunter looked to Antar Es, concern creased his face, We're in trouble a community that won't sleep followed by a shipment of coma inducing powders and hypnotic worm! Sweet Truth"
Action Three:
Jetto downs his new drink and breathes deep:
Action One
Antar Es looks at the artifacts with slight disgust and then repacks them.
"So, we have a comma inducing powder, the making of an suggestion-implanting device and something explosive. And all that, from out hard-to-see benefactors. I am starting to dislike this claive here.
I do think I need a drink after all. And some damn answers. .
Antar hastens to the tavern and sits down heavily. He has found out that both his tolerance for alcohol and his hunger have not changed after the Incident. He orders food and a chill drink and starts to eat slowly and methodically.
Action 3
When the child returns and Jetto strikes the conversation, Antar edges closer.
"These were the things I would like to ask. Also, what is this ghost story we keep hearing? Anything ...stranger happened?"
Great stuff!
I'll wait for Dreithik and recap later today.
Questions?
Game on!
Before the Ritual
Dreithik looked at Agia, and then over to Antar Es and Jetto across the Tavern.What am I thinking? Am I turning my back on the Ranks? Those who have helped me all my life... A Ghost loose in the mines... but I can't screw this up... I will not screw this up. Maybe the living aren't that bad after all...
He took a deep breath and faced Agia."If we are going to do this, it is best that we let the others know what the plan is."
He rose from the table and made his way to Antar Es,"Alright, we may have found a way to both check the mines and the tower at the same time. I won't go into detail, but you and Jetto should head there as soon as possible, Agia and I will stay here. Worst comes to worse, we might have to break into the tower regardless, but give us this chance.."
He returned to Agai in the corner."Well, lets get started"
As Agia lay on the bed, Dreithik eyed the gem in his hands.Give the side a good spin......then turn the center once... His hands slightly shaking, he gave the right side a hard spin and it span freely from his grasp and fell to the floor with a thud. Quickly picking it back up and giving a glance at Agia who seemed to be calm as the Corare Sea, he gave it another go, firmly holding it this time. The right side spun, then the left, and he spoke aloud "Gods of this sodden land, let Agia's spirit be free to roam in the name of Redstone, so we can free these people from the demons who bind them.. With that, he gave the center one full rotation.
A burst of light from the amulet was all Dreithik saw before he collapsed.
Looking around, Dreithik was back in the dingy Tavern room, with a lifeless Agia collapsed on the bed.
He gave her a nod, and she ran off through the wall. Shaking his head, he thought to himself That is something that I am not too eager to experience again.......Mother...
Dreithik sat on the chair, to guard her body and ponder on what he had seen.
Before the Ritual
Dreithik looked at Agia, and then over to Antar Es and Jetto across the Tavern.What am I thinking? Am I turning my back on the Ranks? Those who have helped me all my life... A Ghost loose in the mines... but I can't screw this up... I will not screw this up. Maybe the living aren't that bad after all...
He took a deep breath and faced Agia."If we are going to do this, it is best that we let the others know what the plan is."
He rose from the table and made his way to Antar Es,"Alright, we may have found a way to both check the mines and the tower at the same time. I won't go into detail, but you and Jetto should head there as soon as possible, Agia and I will stay here. Worst comes to worse, we might have to break into the tower regardless, but give us this chance.."
I'm going to modify this because 'Agia's ghost' only lasts for 10 minutes so she will 'be back' before they go off to the mines by themselves (i.e., they won;t have enough time).
I'm recapping now.
Oh, must have missed that part, There was a lot to take in. Adjust away!
Another excellent turn. You guys are good. :)
Turn 010 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Action 1
The gem flared brightest immediately before it failed. Agia's sat bolt upright, hands clawing at her throat. She managed to tear the necklace off and toss it out the open window as it started to smoke, and the vomited her beverage from earlier out the same window. She breathed fitfully, as if she had grown unused to the act, and rubbed the fresh burn on her neck.
"It worked! *wheeze*. We've got... *cough*... trouble." Suddenly remembering procedure, she gestured apologetically, "Sorry, the phrase was 'bug-butt', it's really me. You should... *cough*... gather the others. They need to hear this."
Action 2
When the rest of the party had gathered, Agia relayed the entirety of the experience.
"...so that's it. The priests ain't in there, and haven't been there for quite a while. We're basically screwed as far as getting paid is concerned, unless we can find out where they went. There's plenty of stuff in the tower I couldn't touch, experiments and books and such. They seemed to be working on a cure, and we might find either where the priests went or a way to help the town."
"We'll still need to do something about the guard. I could confront her with this new information and if she still refuses to see reason Antar can do his thing. We obviously no longer have to worry about the Priests withholding payment due to our mistreatment of their door woman. It's a possibility she knew the priests were gone, and is trying to stop panic from spreading. We could certainly oust her by whipping up a posse of the local law, but I'm not inclined to start a panic either.
"At any rate, the trail is days old. If the rest of you want to check follow that boy first, I'm game. The clues in the tower ain't going anywhere any time soon. I'm not sure how much use I'll be while the sun is this high, but I'll do my best."
Antar Es passes his hand through his strangely synthetic hair and lets out a sigh.
"The way I see it, we should do both. The guard is most certainly lying,I doubt she doesn't know her bosses are absent. I think we have the right to insist going in.
But I say we check the Mines first. It would be a great coincidence if those two incidents are unrelated. I say we go talk to the boy's mother and then check the mines. Then, tomorrow morning or something we visit the priest's tower again.
By the way, did the guard seem rested to you?"
There was no need to roll for stealth. The guard was difficult to convince but not for other tasks.
Same thing with the search. The priests were counting on no one getting in the tower so did not see a reason to hide anything. They also sort of left in a hurry.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 1
Dreithik jumped as Agia sprung from the bed towards the window, and looked at the smoking amulet on the ground. Well, it looks like this will be the first and last time...probably for the best."Can you stand? You get Antar Es and Jetto, I'll track down Deymish. He at least should know that there is little chance of payment for his troubles.."
Action 2
Dreithik returned to the Tavern and spoke as he found his seat. "If we are to go to the mines, we should act quickly. Remember all the explosive powder we graciously brought to the town? The Priests left in a hurry, probably woke something up in the mine and aimed to close it before it became a problem. And I guess it became a problem..."
My first Numenera game as well. I don't know why it's not more popular. It's excellent and really gives the GM lots of flexibility.
I'm excited about the Predation 'setting' that's coming out in Spring 2017. Dinosaurs and high tech combined with low tech sounds really nice. We'll have to find some time to play that as well. :)
Conversation with the siblings (cont)
"Tell me more about the priests? In what ways were they so strange?" Jetto shifts in his chair "And lets pretend the rumors are true, what have people been saying about the ghost? And what are these dreams like to you? Finishing his drink and standing up "Can you tell me more about the source of the Redstones."
Picking back up his shield and hat the hunter looks to Antar Es "I agree I think we should speak to our little friend's mother and try to meet this ghost then go see the mine. Though I worry, Agia, will you be okay? Perhaps we could nap through the heat of the day and visit this dream world ourselves. Then tackle the ghost and mine in the late afternoon/evening when the workers are gone."
Conversation with the siblings (cont)
"Tell me more about the priests? In what ways were they so strange?" Jetto shifts in his chair "And lets pretend the rumors are true, what have people been saying about the ghost? And what are these dreams like to you? Finishing his drink and standing up "Can you tell me more about the source of the Redstones."
Picking back up his shield and hat the hunter looks to Antar Es "I agree I think we should speak to our little friend's mother and try to meet this ghost then go see the mine. Though I worry, Agia, will you be okay? Perhaps we could nap through the heat of the day and visit this dream world ourselves. Then tackle the ghost and mine in the late afternoon/evening when the workers are gone."
A couple of points so we can have actually allow time to pass and also involve everyone in these games.
PARTY SPLIT
Splitting up the party is usually not a good idea in PBPs and only works if both 'parts' have something to do. If Jetto and Antar go to the mines, we could spend days (weeks?) in real time with nothing for Agia and Dreithik to do. That's the quickest way to lose a player.
Even at times where both parts have something to do: a) Jetto and Antar go to mines and b) Agia and Dreithik follow up on the boy's mom, it could get complicated if any of the parts gets into a time-sensitive situation. Remember that this game is fairly quick but it still takes 1 real time day to get through one round (6 seconds) of combat.
So, if at all possible, stick together. If you want to go to the mines, let's roleplay out Agia being uncomfortable. It will even out when we go adventuring in the frozen wastes. :)
CONVERSATIONS/ACTIONS THAT ENDED
If I don't leave an opening (Actions x?), it means the story moved on. I do this mainly to bring everyone to the same timeframe. Otherwise, we could still be talking about something that occurred several actions behind.
However, it does NOT mean that you can no longer get information. You can say something like:
After they finished making their plans, Jetto took a moment to seek out the little boys and aske them about their mother...
MOVING FORWARD
Let me know what you want to do so I can set things up. Things to consider are:
- Break in tower (Guard?, Who to tell if anyone?, approach?);
- Visit mine;
- Visit boy’s mother;
- Other?
Depending on what you select, you could potentially do two or more things in the next turn recap. I'll cut it to one 'thing' if there are enough unique situations occurring.
Whew, that was long.
Questions?
Game on!
Yeah, I'll wait until tomorrow to move things forward.
Here come some answers:
1) The quarry is a 10-minute walk from the northern edge of town (15-minute walk from the Clave's Tower).
2) The boy's mother is in town.
3) According to the boy's mother, the ghost is haunting town but it came from the quarry. The quarry's manager and fat man have dismissed this as just rumors and hallucinations.
Let's make a plan so I can move things along tomorrow.
More questions?
Game on!
Let's not split the party. Im RL games, it makes sense to conserve RL time. In PbP we do not achieve anything. Let's all go see the mother, then the mines and finally break in the tower.
Let's not split the party. Im RL games, it makes sense to conserve RL time. In PbP we do not achieve anything. Let's all go see the mother, then the mines and finally break in the tower.
Let's not split the party.
Ok, I intend to recap and move things along later today.
Questions?
Game on!
Not necessarily. From what you understand, the nightmare triggers even when taking a nap.
Turn 011 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
PS: BTW, who saw this recruitment thread from somewhere other than on the Paizo boards? Anyone?
PS: BTW, who saw this recruitment thread from somewhere other than on the Paizo boards? Anyone?
Action 1
To Agia's disappointment the building was almost as stifling as the open streets, with even the slight breezes from the canal blocked by the shuttered windows. When the rumpled form in the bed sat up weakly, Agia started at the sight of the woman's ruined face before peering in for a closer, fascinated look.
“This woman's far gone. She's a danger to herself and others. At this point I reckon much of the town probably is, too. Normally I'd be happy to see what I could do for her, but right now I don't think I can look after much more than myself.”
Agia sat down heavily on the floor by the doorway and waved at her companions to continue helping as she tried to catch the barest hint of wind that occasionally trickled in.
Antar Es leads with the boy the others, checking around constantly. It was kind of his job to do so. When they arrive, he goes in first to check if anything strange is going on.
ACTION 1
Seeing the woman makes his sigh. He is no expert at medicine, but this woman is in a very sad state. He says to the others in a low voice
"Should we bandage her hands or something? That way, she will be less of a danger to others. Or perhaps try and give her some of the powder we sneaked in? Though that could lead her to be trapped within an alien nightmare"
ACTION 2
When they get to the quarry, Antar Es is actually sweating. He hasn't done so for quite a while and for a moment he is almost surprised. But he moves on, careful to point out shades that Agia can use.
Hearing the supervisor, Antar Es nods. That seems about right. But maybe he has missed something.
"Is it alright if we take a look around? Just to be sure?"
OOC:
Antar Missed both rolls, so...
and
PS: BTW, who saw this recruitment thread from somewhere other than on the Paizo boards? Anyone?
Would you mind replying to that original post and saying that the game is still looking for a fifth player? Maybe say something nice about the game would help... :)
ACTION 2
Hearing the supervisor, Antar Es nods. That seems about right. But maybe he has missed something.
"Is it alright if we take a look around? Just to be sure?"
He hesitated, "Er... sure but don't distract the workers. They have their hands full just trying to stay awake and not get into an accident."
He ten added, "You folks ain't from 'round here, are you?"
_____________
I'll need to know what and where you will be looking...
Would you mind replying to that original post and saying that the game is still looking for a fifth player? Maybe say something nice about the game would help... :)
Would you mind replying to that original post and saying that the game is still looking for a fifth player? Maybe say something nice about the game would help... :)
Ah, Ok. I never go on Reddit but I was running out of options and wanted to catch as many potential Numenera fans out there as possible.
Well, we can only keep trying to get another player. Maybe someone will get the itch and find out that PBPs are really well suited for character development and story-telling.
Thanks anyway.
Game on!
Action 2
Agia put up a good fight against the heat. While the ritual had taxed her body, it has also reminded her of her power. The glacier may sweat in the summer heat, but it does not cleave. She kept her head high as the group worked there way out to the mine, but was grate for Antar's assistance in keeping her in the shade. Still, she had begun to sway by the time they reached the mine.
"You folks ain't from 'round here, are you?"
Shivering and sweating, clad in a robe much too thick for the weather and muttering in a foreign accent, Agia rolled her eyes. "You're a quick one, ain't ya?"
"Nah, we're far from locals, though it looks like we might be hanging out for a spell while everything gets sorted out. This town has been more... complicated than expected. How much longer do you think your people are gonna be able to keep working? No stone, no town, right?"
...
"Well, if we're gonna be poking around, I'm goin' to find somewhere shady to do it."
On a whole, the workers seemed about as steady as Agia. Not eager to become part of any impending accidents, she scanned the area for some out of the way crag for her to sit down and pretend to be helping in the search.
. Success!
An area of the quarry not far away seemed entirely free of commotion. Agia ventured off in that direction without much thought as to why the area might be unoccupied.
As she walked over, she reflected on what the supervisor's tone when he had mentioned the ghost.
Failed.
But in the heat, she found it difficult to care.
That's fine. I'll wait for your post and hopefully have enough information to move this game along later tonight.
Questions?
Game on!
Action One:
"Madame?" Jetto called out just to make sure she was truly catatonic. Perception to see her hands:
"She did this to herself, boy!? Well son, it looks like we can't help your mother by staying here we'll have to try to get help in another way. Unless she becomes more alert."
Jetto looks over the house to see any signs of forced entry or of strange tracks that don't belong to the child/mother. If there is access to the roof I gain it to look there too. We need to make sure this isn't a real thing and is actually a hallucination, thoughts on detecting such power Dreithik? Agia?." guess that portly mayor was right in writing this off as hallucinations.
Action two:
muttering under his breath "I told you we should nap through the heat, sweet truth." fanning himself with his hat only made it worse too.
Listening to the man Jetto knew something wasn't being said but couldn't quite put his finger on it...
"So you're not affected by these hallucinations then? How strange, how strange that you, the mayor, and the owner of the mine don't seem effected as badly...if at all... you do see the implication here?" As a matter of fact," Jetto pulls out a small device with a strange symbol on it, flashes it at the foreman giving him just long enough a look to see a symbol he doesn't recognize then puts it away, "As a matter of fact we are not from here, we've been assigned by the clav in the captial to investigate this issue and find out who's causing this. Because we know it's a who." Shooting the grouchy foreman a piercing glare, Now I suggest, you explain to me whats going on around here, we have been given instructions to see this through in any way possible, the redstone must flow." with a pointed glance at the bulky Antar Es "I suggest you start three weeks ago and work from there. and explain to me when was the last time the priests were here and what they did while here."
Action two: "So you're not affected by these hallucinations then? How strange, how strange that you, the mayor, and the owner of the mine don't seem effected as badly...if at all... you do see the implication here?" As a matter of fact,"
OOC: the mayor and manager did not accompany you to the mine. I'll fix it so that you're talking to the 'supervisor'.
Action two:
Jetto pulls out a small device with a strange symbol on it, flashes it at the foreman giving him just long enough a look to see a symbol he doesn't recognize then puts it away, "As a matter of fact we are not from here, we've been assigned by the clav in the captial to investigate this issue and find out who's causing this. Because we know it's a who." Shooting the grouchy foreman a piercing glare, [dice=trickery/intimidate] d20+3+3 Now I suggest, you explain to me whats going on around here, we have been given instructions to see this through in any way possible, the redstone must flow." with a pointed glance at the bulky Antar Es "I suggest you start three weeks...
The man was sweating more than what he should have been; he blinked a couple of times before answering, "I- I told you. Nothing unusual happened. It's just that people around here can't get much sleep, is all."
He caved in as he saw Agia head over to the unoccupied area, "Ma'am, you shouldn't venture there. It's... it's not safe."
__________
Sense motive (detect lies) difficulty 5 (15) to determine he’s hiding something
I intend to recap tonight if I have a path forward...
OK, we'll see if any other player becomes interested. Thanks.
Action 2
The walk was treacherous and hot. Dreithik's pale skin burned quick if not covered, and there was a noticeable tone change in the skin around his eyes not concealed by the mask. By the Gods if I die here now... at least the cough as ceased...
Reaching the Quarry, he looked over the equally as sweaty man as he rejected the notion of Ghosts at every turn. I'm sure if I was covering something up, I wouldn't reveal it to a bunch of foreigners...
He caved in as he saw Agia head over to the unoccupied area, "Ma'am, you shouldn't venture there. It's... it's not safe."
=Success
Turn 012 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Action 1
Agia drank deep from the water barrel, then poured a cupfull over her head. The beads of moisture had begun to frost over a bit by the time she felt up to reexamining the brittle rock. "I've seen plenty of stone in my time. In ages past The Great Glaciers threw down rocks from all over and cleaved the land as they passed through. Walking those lands is like sitting at the knee of the Glaciers and hearing the tales of their journeys. I wouldn't say desert rock is my specialty, though, but I'll take a look."
She unsheathed her stronglass dagger, and tried to pry some of the rock loose. "Brittle can mean rock weakened or created by strange magic. Or it can indicate a cursed object, leeching its energy into the rock itself. Or even an infestation of some variety of rock grub."
She crushed her small sample in her hand and mused over the stone face. "Of course, sometimes rock is just brittle and there ain't no rhyme or reason for it. Let's see here..."
Action 2
"Them Priests kept their secrets well. No one seems to know what they've been up to lately. It seems them high and mighties were treating the rest of the folk around here like patsies, and maybe messing with stuffs that shouldn't be messed with. If we want answers, I say we stop bothering with victims and head straight for what could very well be the source of this whole mess up in that tower."
She licked the dust from her lips. "Plus, even if they ain't around to pay us, the shinies they owe might still be up there. I'm all for helping folks out, but I'm in no position to be offering freebie services."
"'Course, that watchwoman of theirs might be opposed to us taking some advance pay, even if she's willing to let us up there in the first place. Bet we could roll her if she gets lippy. If we find something there that can save the town, then all is forgiven in the end. If we find out the town can't be saved, we can make off with what we can carry and come the end of the week there won't be much town left to be pointing fingers."
She cocked an eyebrow in the direction of Jetto. "Or would such a practical course of action run contrary to your 'civilized ways', 'faster?"
I still haven't decided on how I will do this. I will definitely use a GM Intrusion if you guys ever roll a 1.
As far as XPs for other types of GM intrusions, I just don't know yet. I like them to be 'significant'.
I understand that these small scenarios should give the each PC about 4 XPs but do I give them at the end or throughout, I don't know yet.
How do you guys plan to use the XPs? For rerolls or momentary advantages or save them up to buy 'stuff' and work towards your next tier. I would think the latter but this game system is new to me.
IC: The rock just seems more brittle in that area.
Antar Es takes the time to tighten his bandages once more, noting that the heat seems to have made the leaking from his joints lessen. Interesting. He has also stopped sweating, as he can fill various fluids inside him adjust.
When Jetto mentions him, he takes care to look impassively at the foreman. Perhaps that would be intimidating enough. It seems to have worked and so he follows the others into the dangerous area. Turning to the others, he says
"If there is something here, let's look for it. But perhaps there is just nothing"
Action 1
He takes a careful long look around the area, measuring his steps, tapping gently with his spear, looking for anything strange or unusual again and again. When he is satisfied, he goes back to the others.
In the tent, Antar Es takes a long drink from the water.
"The guard knows something she is not telling us. Either her bosses told her where they were going and why, or she is in league with what took them and tries to divert attention. Either way, I will go in and rattle her a bit. As I should have done from the start. Let her just try and stop me".
OOC: I plan to hoard XPs and use them for character development. Antar Es needs to get trained in perception rolls and later on, repair rolls. Not to mention all the other benefits coming on
OOC: I plan to hoard XPs and use them for character development. Antar Es needs to get trained in perception rolls and later on, repair rolls. Not to mention all the other benefits coming on
That's what I suspected.
What I'm really eager to do is to see how this system holds up to some combat. And not just one but several combat interspersed throughout a typical adventuring day.
Would you guys use effort? How often would you heal up? How quickly will you use the numenera?
I also want to verify the 'guidelines' for challenges found in the core book (pg. 348) , which I know are 'relative'.
Once I get a good handle on that, then I can start converting 'longer' stories from other systems into this one. This would solve my biggest issue with the game, which is that, apart from Devil's Spine, there really isn't a 'long campaign' ready to run. You have to make it up yourself and who's got that sort of time?
Would you guys be up for making some 'disposable PCs' and take them through some combat. No story (or very little). Just mechanics.
Thoughts?
Action 1
After the supervisor hurried off to the yells, Dreithik turned to the rest of the companions. "That man is hiding something. I can taste his fear. And how much are you willing to bet that all that commotion is from his crew hallucinating? He didn't do a very good job at convincing us that this area shouldn't be trifled with purely because the rock is brittle."
That's what I suspected.
What I'm really eager to do is to see how this system holds up to some combat. And not just one but several combat interspersed throughout a typical adventuring day.
Would you guys use effort? How often would you heal up? How quickly will you use the numenera?
I also want to verify the 'guidelines' for challenges found in the core book (pg. 348) , which I know are 'relative'.
Once I get a good handle on that, then I can start converting 'longer' stories from other systems into this one. This would solve my biggest issue with the game, which is that, apart from Devil's Spine, there really isn't a 'long campaign' ready to run. You have to make it up yourself and who's got that sort of time?
Would you guys be up for making some 'disposable PCs' and take them through some combat. No story (or very little). Just mechanics.
Thoughts?
All these are good questions.
Antar Es is a character created to excel in combat, so he can be used for mock fights as is. That said, I think that the scenario would be important on how I will have him act in combat. If he is up against one powerful character or a number of smaller weaker ones will be important. As is, he is hard to hit and can take a fair amount of punishment.Thus, he will not use much Effort against a level 3 enemy, or even a score of such enemies, since they will go down on average of one or two per round. He will use Effort against a L5 enemy.
Also, it will be important if he knows whether there are more enemies ahead or not. He can heal something like 10 points on average with two rests. It will be important to know.
Finally, his current numenera need time to work. The healing pill not so much, but the instant companion very much so. I am a 'hoarder' usually, but I want to make an effort to use numenera as much as possible.
Unrelated note 1: There is something that had been bothering me on Numenera (the setting, not the mechanics) and I finally figured it. I have been following Cook's work for some time now (from Arcana Unearthed to Ptolus and beyond). With Numenera, I was expecting something strange and anarchic, like the Jack Vance books alongside the Claw of the Conciliator ones. The initial blurbs hinted as much and I was waiting to see things hinted upon like (brainstorming here) the Glass Bioalchemist of Tor, the Gnostic Crusade, the Mad Viziers of the North and the Metal Shamans which ride spirits into battle.
Instead, Numenera is a pseudo-medievan setting where stats are given for almost everything. There is also the Stable Kingdom to Act like a Base(tm), the Wild Beyond (tm) and the Bad Guys (tm). I realized that these are a bit too familiar for my taste (after 20 years of RPGs) to act as background for the wonderful freshness of Numenera.
Unrelated note 2: Has anyone looked at the Cypher System Guidebook? It is like a superset for Numenera. Many more foci and descriptors and a bit more expansion on the rules.
All these are good questions.
Antar Es is a character created to excel in combat, so he can be used for mock fights as is. That said, I think that the scenario would be important on how I will have him act in combat. If he is up against one powerful character or a number of smaller weaker ones will be important. As is, he is hard to hit and can take a fair amount of punishment.Thus, he will not use much Effort against a level 3 enemy, or even a score of such enemies, since they will go down on average of one or two per round. He will use Effort against a L5 enemy.
Also, it will be important if he knows whether there are more enemies ahead or not. He can heal something like 10 points on average with two rests. It will be important to know.
Finally, his current numenera need time to work. The healing pill not so much, but the instant companion very much so. I am a 'hoarder' usually, but I want to make an effort to use numenera as much as possible.
Unrelated note 1: There is something that had been bothering me on Numenera (the setting, not the mechanics) and I finally figured it. I have been following Cook's...
Yep, I do realize that you guys would need to know something (minor story) in order to make some tactical decisions.
If we do this, then it will be with different PCs. Heck we can even use some of the pre-gen characters available so we don't have to spend time making characters.
Numenera has to have some familiar setting (i.e., base, bad guys, etc.) otherwise, we would not be able to relate enough. I hinted at this in saying that I would like it more if it was just one civilization that went belly up and a new one rose that's trying to figure out what these other guys left. I just can;t see stuff from Civilization 1 still being around after Civilization 8 was supposedly so advanced.
When it comes down to it, a guard is a guard in Numenera or in D&D. A caravan guard is the same as well, etc.
Cypher system: Yes, did see and have the book. Looks very interesting. I even posted something about running the Predation setting when it comes out next year. Dinosaurs and high tech. Yum. :)
So the plan is for Antar Es to confront the guard, let her know that the priests aren't there, and intimidate her into letting you in.
Did I miss anything?
Anything else?
I intend to recap tomorrow.
Game on!
If we find nothing, then I propose that Antar Es just climbs in and force the door open. She had her chance last time.