Action 1 continued
As everyone makes acquaintanceship, Dreithik stands a bit to the back thinking to himself and fingering the golden locket around his neck. You fool, how do you manage to chase people away at every turn? This is a fresh start, These people don't know what you can do and they don't have to.
After working himself up, he then tries to start a conversation with Agia. "Er... Hello Miss, I am Dreithik. If I may, you look a bit more worse for ware than I... what brings you on this journey?
This did NOT make it into the turn recap but feel free to bring up another time.
Game on!
Action 1
Agia stepped back as the pitiful group approached, happy to have Antar Es taking the front. She remained tense as they spoke their piece but slowly relaxed as she became convinced they didn't mean any harm.
Just desperate people, in the end. Given how far gone they are, they probably needed help a lot sooner than this.
She blurted "We've brought medecine, things should be alright now!"and then instantly regretted it. She didn't know if the Aeon Priests could use the medicines to treat these people and it was foolhardy to announce that the ship was carrying something so precious to a crowd that was clearly on edge.
This did NOT make it into the turn recap but feel free to bring up another time.Game on!
Action 1
Picking himself back up, Dreithik gets a better look at what was happening.
He turns to Agia "These people are of no bother, we are being paid to deliver to the Priests and the Priests alone.... Although It's best if we don't be near these ones. Wouldn't want to join the ranks so soon..."
He then looks back, spying Zion, not knowing exactly how he got there or how he knew he did. "Lets get this over with" Although I would like to know how this happened...maybe why? I wonder what the symptoms are...
Seeing as Deymish is still out of it, his search for knowledge got the better of him and he Called out to the small group of red-eyed townsfolk "You there! What caused this? How does it feel? Hot, Cold? Does it burn? Does it have a name?..."
I would rather you did NOT do that because it does keep the game going on at different time periods and then it seems like it never advances or that things that are being played out in the past can affect actions in the present.
I understand the medium and I try to provide more than one 'break' for your input. However, I try that whatever you do in actions 1 won't prevent the subsequent actions and the break for actions 2.
But this is game, an interactive story, so sometimes things don;t happen that way. if that's the case, they we reshuffle and deal again. This is one of the advantages of the turn recaps, nothing has really happened unless you read about it in the recap.
BTW, I usually wait for a two-three people to post before responding for NPCs just so we give more people a chance to express their intent.
Also feel free to add rolls to your actions. If you want to persuade, intimidate, etc, please roll for that. Remember that rolls are not only for combat.
Questions?
Game on!
part of action 1...
, Dreithik
IC:
Deimysh seemed to jerk and spasm while in his trance. Silently, one of the ship's ropes slithered towards Dreithik and tightly wrapped itself around his leg. Although not crushing him, the rope felt like it would restrain the young man.
_______________
might 4 to pull away
intellect 3 to notice (others)
Action 1
Zion continues to watch the scene unfold, getting more nervous every second Zion draws his dart thrower and readies a dart just in case.
These people do not look normal, there is clearly something wrong with them.
Glancing back at the boat, Zion is torn between remaining hidden and retreating to the safety in numbers of the crew. Deymish was clearly still out of it so the boat wasn't about to depart.
Action 2
This can't be good, now there are three more, they don't seem to be stumbling like the others but boy are they agitated. Could this be why the Aeon Priests needed the medicine...perhaps but you would think they would mention the whole zombie like appearance of the inhabitants.
Zion began to scan the dock area, looking for any other inhabitants that might be coming from other directions.
Seeing no one else, Zion spots a small structure at the opposite end of the dock that he could use to get a better vantage point. It would be risky but it would give Zion higher ground to be able to get a better view of the situation. Zion quietly moved between the crates and barrels, trying to stay unseen until he reached the outer wall of the structure. It was an easy task, the town folk were focused on the boat and each other.
The roof had a bit of an overhang, but the structure was easy enough to climb due to the rough stone construction, nothing like some of the cliff faces he had scaled in the ancient ruins.
Zion crouched down behind the chimney of the building and watched on, keeping an eye on the direction the people had come from, watching for more.
part of action 1...
Deimysh seemed to jerk and spasm while in his trance. Silently, one of the ship's ropes slithered towards Dreithik and tightly wrapped itself around his leg. Although not crushing him, the rope felt like it would restrain the young man.
_______________
might 4 to pull away
Action 1 continued
Being too intrigued with the plague brought before him, Dreithik does not notice the rope wrap around his leg until it is pulled tight. Whipping around to face the boat and seeing Daymish still unconscious, He makes an attempt to pull his leg free. "I knew I didn't like this boat before, but this is taking our relationship a bit far!"
Action 1
Sica glanced at Deymish but the captain was still out of it, embraced with his boat’s sail. He looked to see where the others were, Agia and Antar Es were on the dockside, Zion was nowhere to be seen and Dreithik …
vs, Level 5(15) (Inability)
Just desperate people, in the end. Given how far gone they are, they probably needed help a lot sooner than this.
She blurted "We've brought medecine, things should be alright now!"and then instantly regretted it. She didn't know if the Aeon Priests could use the medicines to treat these people and it was foolhardy to announce that the ship was carrying something so precious to a crowd that was clearly on edge.
The men and women looked at each other; one of them could hardly keep their eyes open. "No, medicine does not work. We need to get out of here. it's already taken Malmo..."
Seeing as Deymish is still out of it, his search for knowledge got the better of him and he Called out to the small group of red-eyed townsfolk "You there! What caused this? How does it feel? Hot, Cold? Does it burn? Does it have a name?..."
The apparent leader shook is head, his bloodshot eyes seemed to get larger. "It grips you and doesn't let go of you. Trust me; it's best if you turn around now and take us with you!"
Yes, please make your rolls with your bonuses. I know the game mechanics is structured differently but I think everyone will understand if you add +3 if trained and +6 if specialized. Likewise for assets.
Please be specific when you roll; for example:
Also, you can make all your rolls except your defense and speed rolls for initiative. I will make those and you will need to let me know ahead of time if you want to add effort to them.
Likewise, any roll in which you will add effort must be made by me. I may change this later but we'll start this way. The reason being is that it is very 'tempting' to cheat since you can know ahead of time if effort will result in a positive roll or not and therefore use it or not.
Maps? How do you feel about maps? I'm used to using them but Numenera 'discourages' its use. I just think that they are priceless in situations where knowing where people/objects are is important.
Other questions?
Game on!
Action 1
Dreithik was stood by the rail of the boat, not moving, however his body language indicated something was wrong.
"Master Dreithik", called Sica. "Are you alright?"
He started to move across the deck towards the nano whilst calling out to the others.
"What is with these people? Are they iron-touched?
Oh, please add a 'tag line' similar to what Antar Es has to your alias.
Go to edit your alias and add the text to your 'class'.
Pretty soon, we'll be very familiar with the PCs but it helps at the start of the game.
Yes, please make your rolls with your bonuses. I know the game mechanics is structured differently but I think everyone will understand if you add +3 if trained and +6 if specialized. Likewise for assets.
Please be specific when you roll; for example:
[dice=intellect check to notice people, trained]1d20+3
Also, you can make all your rolls except your defense and speed rolls for initiative. I will make those and you will need to let me know ahead of time if you want to add effort to them.
Likewise, any roll in which you will add effort must be made by me. I may change this later but we'll start this way. The reason being is that it is very 'tempting' to cheat since you can know ahead of time if effort will result in a positive roll or not and therefore use it or not.
Maps? How do you feel about maps? I'm used to using them but Numenera 'discourages' its use. I just think that they are priceless in situations where knowing where people/objects are is important.
Other questions?
Game on!
Ok, got it
Maps: I use a large area-based system (that I pinched out of the 'Mars Attacks. game
Using the die roller - never mind, just answered my own question.
Just to say, it has been MANY years since I was a player in a Game and I'm really loving this so far. Please excuse any errors at the moment, I'm used to being a GM.
part of action 1...
might 4 to pull away
Action 1 continued
Being too intrigued with the plague brought before him, Dreithik does not notice the rope wrap around his leg until it is pulled tight. Whipping around to face the boat and seeing Daymish still unconscious, He makes an attempt to pull his leg free. "I knew I didn't like this boat before, but this is taking our relationship a bit far!"
Wrenching his leg free, Dreithik calls back to adress Sica's concern. "Don't come any further, these people are all sick!"
Turning his attention back to the apparent leader of the Red-Eyes"If we are to turn back with haste, why would we be taking the ailed with us? Is this condition not contagious? Where are the Priests?" and then leans towards Agia and whispers Quietly "If these people are joining the Ranks in the near future, I do not wish to be among them any longer than we have to... we have to find the Priests. They must know something about this...rarely do people order medicine without first being sick
Although.....I could learn much from and entire city joining....
A sly smiles briefly reaches across his face under the black mask
Responding to Dreithik, Sica halts and unslings his bow and readies his arrows, then moves to the top of the gangplank.
"I will stop anyone attempting to board this boat"
Sica searches his (admittedly) patchy memories. Has he ever come across the red-eye sickness before and what does he know about it?
GM TO ROLL
Intellect / Trained: Stored Memories (History) / Effort 1
Action 2
Sica switches his aim to the leader of the new group.
"Come no closer. I will shoot the first person who steps on the gangplank."
The problem with that is pacing; the game will be too slow.
I could just end the turn in 'actions 1' but then we would have to wait at least 24 hours for 'actions 1' to be resolved and then start 'actions 2'. And a 24 hour turn around is fast for most PBP games.
By providing a couple of places for input, the game moves faster (more things get accomplished in a shorter time). I try my best to provide 'independent' situations, meaning that whatever you guys do in action 1 will have minimum, if any, effect on actions 2. Action 2 will happen no matter what.
Granted if something unforeseen happens in 'actions 1' that invalidates 'actions 2' then we only play out 'action 1'.
Give it a few turn recaps to get the hang of it.
Just to say, it has been MANY years since I was a player in a Game and I'm really loving this so far. Please excuse any errors at the moment, I'm used to being a GM.
I'm glad you are having fun. :)
Oh and GMs are the best players. :)
___________
GM TO ROLL
Intellect / Trained: Stored Memories (History) / Effort 1
, beats task 7
...from seeing how they have bloodshot eyes and are stumbling about, you believe that these people are seriously sleep-deprived...
Sicar still kept his bow ready and spoke to Dreithik.
"Master Dreithik. These people are obviously suffering from lack of sleep. Maybe you should check out the medicines in the crates, especially as they say it won't help them. They may be lying. I don't think they should be allowed on board yet. I will stand guard."
@Sica Sendrillar
I was setting up a tracking spreadsheet when I noticed something on your PC sheet.
What are your two 'tricks of the trade? One of them is bash and the other...
Also, please be aware that if you are wearing light armor without being 'practiced in armor', you will lose 1 might point per hour...
leans towards Agia and whispers quietly "If these people are joining the Ranks in the near future, I do not wish to be among them any longer than we have to... we have to find the Priests. They must know something about this...rarely do people order medicine without first being sick"
It pained her, but Agia saw that Dreithik was right. If they were going to help anyone they needed to stay healthy and get the facts. They needed to find the priests, and in the meantime these people were just an obstacle.
Action 2
The approaching group had weapons. This could get out of hand quickly. Agia hoped that if they moved quickly they could defuse it before things got violent. She called out to the armed band. "No worries, friends! No one is going anywhere. Just keep your distance and everything will work out. We'll get our captain, speak to the priests, and help you all as best as we're able."
She had hoped to sound commanding but her voice trembled as she spoke. She looked to the others for support.
@Sica Sendrillar
I was setting up a tracking spreadsheet when I noticed something on your PC sheet.
What are your two 'tricks of the trade? One of them is bash and the other...
Also, please be aware that if you are wearing light armor without being 'practiced in armor', you will lose 1 might point per hour...
OK, I'll check it again. Will have to wait (is 01:34 here)
No, I won't make this into a miniatures game but some sort of orientation I think is beneficial.
For example, right now Zion is off the boat and somewhere on a ceiling in a building nearby. Therefore he could be in immediate distance to some NPCs but probably not all. Is he at long distance to any NPC? I don't know because we haven't fixed' his position (or theirs).
I think I'll provide simple maps when the situation calls for it, which I think may be 'most' combat situations. So probably a map with a simple explanation may do the trick.
BTW, I know Numenera's goal is NOT combat but I like combat so there will be some of that in this game. :)
Questions?
I intend to recap and move to the next scene (s) tomorrow morning (approx. 12 hours from now).
Game on!
Please have some combat in the game! And perhaps more than some! I mean, Antar Es is a glaive, after all, he can do few other things well.
Action 1
Antar Es relaxes his fighting stance but keeps eyeing the group wearily and with a bit of exasperation. He knows nothing of those things and he really does not wish to fight children and mothers unless he has to.
The others seem to know even less. Nevertheless, he plunges on
"Please give us information. Who is Malmo? From did this thing start? What does it do? What do the Priests say?
This is not our boat to sail, so you will have to wait for the captain."
Antar Es remains between the craft and his companions and the people, but keeps scanning the perimeter for more signs of what is happening.
Action 2
Then more men appear.
Well, they do seem more determined. Perhaps they know more
Sicar still kept his bow ready and spoke to Dreithik.
"Master Dreithik. These people are obviously suffering from lack of sleep. Maybe you should check out the medicines in the crates, especially as they say it won't help them. They may be lying. I don't think they should be allowed on board yet. I will stand guard."
Action 2
Dreithik cautiously approaches the crates they were about to carry off the ship and opens one. "Lack of sleep doesn't 'grip you and never let go' as they said, there must be something here for an explanation. Maybe if damned Deymish would snap out of it already. I knew this job sounded too easy...." And where are those damned Priests...and THIS AIR IS HORRIBLE
My sincere condolences, I know only too well where you're coming from. Take all the time you need and keep strong.
@Sica Sendrillar
I was setting up a tracking spreadsheet when I noticed something on your PC sheet.
What are your two 'tricks of the trade? One of them is bash and the other...
Also, please be aware that if you are wearing light armor without being 'practiced in armor', you will lose 1 might point per hour...
Fabian
Have completely rebuilt Sica from scratch and re-posted him in Aliases. I had made a complete mess of undoing the character from the solo Game. Sorry
My condolences to you and your family. I don't know how that feels yet, but my thoughts will be with you and your family.
I am very sorry to hear this. My condolences to you and your loved ones.
As I've said before, do not worry about the game; Zion will be here when you're ready.
If at all possible, post a brief email letting us know how things are going.
@Others: please do not actively involve Zion in the game. He will be around (so can be played at a moment's notice but in the 'background'.
Fabian
Have completely rebuilt Sica from scratch and re-posted him in Aliases. I had made a complete mess of undoing the character from the solo Game. Sorry
Ok, no problem. I think I'm good with this. Thanks.
Turn 002 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, pass
, fail
--------
Target to Beat 3 (9)
I was not looking for that and totally missed it. :(
How about if there's a GM intrusion in the speed initiative roll, then that PC loses his next action. Of course, I'm counting on you to get creative in your descriptions as to why you lose your action. :)
If a '1' is rolled when you attempt another type of action, I will take care of the intrusion in the very next recap.
Yes, we will use minor and major effects in your actions and, since you will know ahead of time, you can incorporate them in your description of intended actions.
I like table 2 as well but we'll wait to hear from others. In my PF games, I usually have a table like:
100% of hitpoints: Healthy;
75 to 100% hitpoints: light wounds;
50 to 75% hitpoints: medium wounds;
25 to 50% hitpoints: serious wounds; and
0 to 25% hitpoints: critical wounds.
But this only accounts for one 'pool' and not three like in Numenera. You also need to know your pool stats if you are going to be applying effort to your rolls.
Game on!
Fabian and fellow players,
As synchronicity would have it, I was also thinking of adding a twist to Antar Es. As he stands, he is a bit bland. So I would like to put forward an idea about him, that gives him a twist as a character. I decided to try religion (which I rarely do):
I was thinking that going from flesh and blood to flesh and steel, and from a troup performer to a trained killer would be a traumatic experience for him. So perhaps he ended up in Seshar, half delirious and with a bounty of cyphers on him, which he could not and dared not use.
It was in Seshar he met Prospero, the Mad Prophet. Prospero is a somehwat known eccentric of Seshar, living in a cave near the channels, and teaching the Word of Lachesis, the Lady of the Way. In Prospero's teaching, sentient life should have as an ultimate goal to become one with the Cosmos. But the Cosmos includes everything natural and unnatural, the numenera, the trees and the alternate dimensions. Prospero teaches that Lachesis strives for humanity to join the cosmos, as she did with the races that made that last Eight Worlds. Lachesis gives each and everyone a single chance to pursue their true path to oneness, transforming oneself in the process. Her sign in this world are the stars, the Lights, which are both her eyes and her promise of infinity.
Such a philosophy of transformation and transcendence fell into Antar Es' ears like water in a desert. Numenera biomodification is of special importance to the Stargazers, as the followers of Lachesis call each other, because it seen as an exemplary way to accept oneness with an uncaring a complex cosmos. Thus, Antar Es was told that happened to him was a sign from Lachesis, a rare omen pointing to transcendence, a promise of a great future.
Through that philosophy, Antar Es reforged himself spiritually, as his new body was reforged mechanically. It is this new sense of purpose that led him to pursue his current job, as the first step towards his new path.
So... what do you think?
As for the other things:
I like the second table better, too. Also, we should clarify what we are going to do rather quickly, because if there is indeed an intrusion, then Antar Es will lose his action and I should know to post accordingly!
But I suggest Fabian that you just treat it as the rules say: Make things more "interesting" and just don't give any XPs. After all, such interventions did not give XP to players anyway.
Waiting for your call on this and on the matter of XP generaly.
Fabian and fellow players,
So... what do you think?
I like it!
I'm all for giving the PC deeper backgrounds/personalities/motives/etc. so yeah, go for it.
BTW: is the stuff you mentioned 'official' or just made up stuff.
As for intrusions in the speed initiative roll, we'll have those PCs lose their next action (in creative ways) so both Antar and Agia will post about 'whatever happened' to them that made them to response to turn recap 3 (not the current turn recap).
In this turn, you can start posting something that would lead to your 'accident' if you wish.
Questions?
Game on!
BTW: is the stuff you mentioned 'official' or just made up stuff.
Nope, it is made up stuff. Glad you liked it.
As for the accident, I think that Antar will find out that having your reflexes altered by an alien numenera machine which assumes you have more limps that you actually have may be detrimental from time to time.
No, the crates were not opened but you can try to open them this round. Remember that a round is six seconds long...
OOC Stuff:
Ok, so I'm rereading the Numenera books to make a better campaign by bringing in elements intrinsic to the Ninth World.
Some thoughts:
SOCIETY
This is a medieval society interspersed with very high tech (magic) but not everything is high tech or magical. People lead normal 'medieval' lives most of the time.
PCs
Tier 1 PCs are exceptional people, well above the norm.
RUINS/NUMENERA
Ruins and stuff from previous worlds are 'everywhere'. Is this how you guys see it? How common is the numenera? Will a typical person from an Aldeia or small town have contact with numenera or just have heard of it from 'a friend of his cousin'?
PREVIOUS WORLDS
How is it that we find stuff from all previous worlds (all very advanced civilizations)? How is it that the 'eight world' NOT eradicate or explore everything from the previous worlds if they were so advanced? To me, the setting is more believable if the Ninth World (a medieval society) discovered and used (misused) stuff by the Eight World only.
Just some random thoughts to make sure we are all in the same wavelength regarding the setting.
Please comment.
BTW: I'll recap later this afternoon. Hopefully, Sica will post his action by then. If not, I'll DMPC him since I don't like everyone else waiting for a player or two.
Action 1
Being driven his need for knowledge, Dreithik blindly attempts to rip open the crate to expose its contents."If medicine doesn't work to cure, maybe it is medicine to kill? a poison for this demon?"
Ooh, lore discussions! :)
Apologies for the big post, I think about this stuff a lot.
People lead normal 'medieval' lives most of the time.
Agreed, though the world contains a lot of fantastical elements, I get the impression that the average person farms, works or trades in ways that aren't terribly different from the historical medieval period, with the exception of scavengers that specifically dig for numenera items and Aeon Priest that make a living through studying and using the numenera
Tier 1 PCs are exceptional people, well above the norm.
Agreed, I like to think of Tier 1 PCs as somewhat resembling the power level of Luke Skywalker in "A New Hope". While he hadn't gotten his superpowers yet he still had great potential and exceptional piloting skills that already set him apart.
Ruins and stuff from previous worlds are 'everywhere'. Is this how you guys see it? How common is the numenera?
The corebook states that the ground itself is mostly a substance called 'drit' composed of the eroded fragments of previous civilizations, so old stuff is indeed 'everywhere', but I get that you probably mean usable, identifiably ancient fragments. I would say that objects on the level of Oddities would be pretty common, with many households keeping one as a sort of heirloom. A Cypher level object would something the average person sees once or twice in their life, and the average person only ever hears rumours about powerful artifacts, with most of them being false. That's just my impression though, and I don't think the corebook really specifies, so I think it mostly comes down to whether you want a "high magic" or "low magic" sort of game.
How is it that the 'eight world' NOT eradicate or explore everything from the previous worlds if they were so advanced?
I think it's reasonable for there to be objects from multiple previous worlds due to a few factors. For the sake of clarity, all my examples are purely hypothetical, since very little is said about previous worlds in the lore.
The primary one is that a civilization can create things that cannot easily be destroyed even by civilizations of equivalent technology. Our own society struggles with this when it comes to things like plastics, dead satellites and nuclear waste. A society that arose from the ashes of our own would have to struggle with these things, and even if they eventually surpassed us they would have already learned to just live with the stuff thousands of years prior, so it's as likely to be seen as a subject of religious reference as it is something that they need to get rid of. Something similar could happen with the previous worlds, where the sixth doesn't bother getting rid of an upside down mountain from the fifth because by the time they know how to do it they're used to it as is.
I think another other factor is a difference in technological paths taken by the various worlds. Maybe one world was a space empire that surrounded the world in satellites and ships, but all the space detritus made space travel almost impossible for the next civilization which instead got to other worlds by opening dimensional gateways. By following a different path the later world wouldn't even encounter many of the previous one's greatest artifacts. This goes double when we consider that some of the previous worlds weren't even human. An aquatic civilization wouldn't affect things on the land as much, for instance.
The third factor is that many of the Old Worlds likely messed with time in one way or another. A spaceship that travels near lightspeed from the third world could return and crash land sometime during the fifth with the crew having only experienced a few decades through time dilation. Or the fall of the fifth world could be brought about when an army of cryogenic preserved soldiers from the fourth world wake and begin fighting a civilization that no longer even knows the concept of war. Or maybe archaeologists from the eighth world reached back in time to the first world and pulled an entire city forward in time to study.
All of this is pretty academic though. The source material is deliberately vague on what the previous worlds were and which one any particular bit of numenera came from because it generally isn't knowable or important to the characters. There's so much history associated with the previous worlds and most of it is so alien that most Ninth World citizen just can't concern themselves with "when was this from?", "What was this for?" or even "How does this do what it does?". The important question for a pragmatic citizen is only "Will this kill me?" and if the answer is no, "What can I make it do?". In that context, even if everything came from the eighth world (or even if there was a different number of worlds than nine) nobody would really know, and possibly wouldn't even care if they did know.
...
As an aside, if anyone's interested in a deeper exploration of far future science-fantasy I highly recommened Gene Wolfe's "The Book Of New Sun", which was a major source of inspiration for the Numenera world.
Ooh, lore discussions! :)
Apologies for the big post, I think about this stuff a lot.
No apologies necessary. I enjoy reading about this stuff.
BTW, this is a social game so feel free to bring up anything and everything even remotely related to the subject at hand. :)
Just as long as you keep up the posting rate for the game. :)
As an aside, if anyone's interested in a deeper exploration of far future science-fantasy I highly recommened Gene Wolfe's "The Book Of New Sun", which was a major source of inspiration for the Numenera world.
It seems that book has been on my to-do-list for ever. I will have to get to it. :)
The whole series is a good one, and it has been stated that it was the direct inspiration for the whole setting.
Turn 003 is up (short recap)
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Antar feel free to not only prevent the townie from moving through to the captain but also do something else as a result of the roll above. Don't forget that you also 'lose' your next action so maybe combine the two? Up to you, of course.
Action 1
Being driven his need for knowledge, Dreithik blindly attempts to rip open the crate to expose its contents."If medicine doesn't work to cure, maybe it is medicine to kill? a poison for this demon?"
Dreithik: Feel free to keep this action for round 1.