Darksmokepuncher |
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Hi everyone!
Welcome and congratulations.
The first thing I'd like to see is an alias for each character with includes their stats and backstory plus any additional, pertinent information.
Please keep your stat block in the alias. I do not want to have to link to an outside character sheet.
At least include AC, Saves, Perception, and attacks.
Secondly, I'd like to know what questions you have about what you know, where you are, etc.
You are all citizens and/or soldiers in the city of Narv on the boarder of Odalisk. A month after signing an historic peace treaty with ODalisk, Pollexia was invaded with surprising speed by the new ally. They rushed the cities of Pyrandon and Ryn overtaking them in mere days.
Unable to supply and prepare for a siege since the hostile nation now surrounded him, Duke Simeon Geb (your lord) brought all his forces forth and attempted to punch through enemy line, passed Ryn and on to Pollex.
On the plains before Ryn castle, Duke Geb and his troops were soundly defeated. It is currently unknown what has become of Geb and his nobles. You, one way or another, have managed to flee into the forest south of Ryn.
A few other survivors have also managed to take refuge in the large forest.
What is to become of you now? Do you seek to rejoin the Pollexian war machine and drive the invaders forth? Do you turn your cloak and join the usurpers? Perhaps you disappear into the wilds and are never seen again?
What will you do?
Ashling_Frost-wing |
dotting for now, have a few things to do
but everything will be in this alias later tonight.
Darksmokepuncher |
At this point, it is unclear why Odalisk has invaded, but it is clearly them.
At this point you all would know that Odalisk and Pollexia have quarreled in the past, but, to your knowledge, not so much as a skirmish has come of it. Tensions were high for a while, then a great peace treaty was struck and all went back to normal.
Now, a month-ish later, they have invaded and scattered Duke Geb's army.
Generally speaking, it is never good for the local populace during war, especially for those on the receiving end.
Now, does that mean things won't get better once the war is over? Who can say.
I like to run my games with the players directing the show. You guys can choose what to do, even if thats high tailing it to the mountains and founding a fishing village. (That would not be a fun game though).
The bottom line is choose what you want to do and make decisions as a group as much as possible.
I do not like PvP in my games, and I expect none of you will come to blows with one another. Bickering and disagreements are fine: they even make the story more believable, but remember these are supposed to be real people and people can only take so much. Let's not push each other too far when there are so many enemies already.
It is also important to gather information as much as possible. If you decide to assassinate someone, but do no recon, I will not pull punches when you bust in to find he's always got three crossbowmen in his rooms for just such an event.
What other questions are there? :)
Robert the Highlander |
Was the leader of our country a good one or a tyrant one? Just out of curiosity.
As far as what I would like to do... well, I know what Robert would like to do.
In this order:
*Survive with the people he has bonded over cruel war.
*Stop the invaders from screwing around with innocent people (He doesn't like our current leader or society, but doesn't like either that foreigners come to f!~& around with people that are having their lives)
*Survive
I don't mean he'd like to stop the invasion as a whole, but he sure will like to act if the fricking Odaliskian are pillaging the good people of Middleofnowhereville.
Riley Vesper |
Got the alias set up, but not really sure what to ask. How do the other countries view Pollexia? I picked Odish as a second language, but I don't really understand the significance of that.
Ditto on defending countrymen. I think Riley would first and foremost keep his family safe, as well as his brothers and sisters in arms.
Ashling_Frost-wing |
mine should be set as well.
As for anything involving the nation, she would go with whatever is riskiest/most fun so... fighting invaders why not, as far as is concerned she had a contract with the old government so her loyalties would still be to them.
Ganterra |
Note : Recycling old Avatar so if you look at my posting history you'll see some old now irrelevant posts.
By the way, gorgeous map. Your work or did you "borrow" it?
Oh, one key question. What are my people called? And what would I call the normal Pollaxians?
Ganterra is largely in agreement with Robert. Our first priority should be survival. We then need to find somewhere where we can hole up, figure out what is happening in the kingdom, and if necessary do small things to protect a small area.
Should we basically all assume that we know each other and look at each other stat blocks/personalities? Or do it live?
Heck, doing it live is more fun :-)
"Well, that was quite a disaster. Are any of you injured at all?
I've met a couple of you before but not all of you. Maybe introductions are in order.
My name is Ganterra. As you can see, I'm a ???. I'm still a loyal citizen of Pollexia, of course.
The one thing that you NEED to know about me in the current circumstances is that I'm a remarkably good doctor. You keep me alive and I'll do my best to keep all of you alive as well.
I'm reasonably good in a fight but I'll be trying to mostly stay in the background as I think that I'll be a lot more good to everybody patching up the wounded rather than killing the enemy.
Until I recently "enlisted" in the army I worked for the Andallan Travelling Circus. As with all Carnies, I picked up a wide range of skills to complement those I learned from my people. I'm a pretty good hunter, and am somewhat competent in talking to people.
"This is Harthfield, a leopard I raised from a cub. He likes to think of himself as my personal bodyguard and who am I to argue with him? Don't underestimate him because of his small size, he is quite decent in a fight."
Robert the Highlander |
"Well, mister sawbones, nice to have one o' your kind with us. Name's Robert and I'm sick of being fooled around. Can you patch that, doc? Hahahahaha!
Nuff joking, we are in deep s#+~ now. I don't know what the heck those fancypants from Odelisk want from our country now. If the soldiers didn't lie, and they always do, we had a treaty.
So this is what I want to do: I don't want to die and I don't want none of those dogs screwing around with our people.
So I say we hole up somewhere safe and we go hunt us treacherous dogs. Yaknow whadimsayin?"
Darksmokepuncher |
While I love the initiative, let's table in character RP for now.
The King of Pollexia is Merek Destrian. He is considered to be a fair, but absent ruler. In his time as king, he as inacted several laws that give more power to the individual (similar to Magna Carta), his mandates and laws tend to strengthen the economy and give power to the local authorities who know the needs of their people best. However, he has not toured his kingdom in some time. In fact he's barely been seen around the capital in the last few years.
There have been no rumors of his death or any whispers of illness. It seems that the king has simply, slowly become a hermit.
The problem with that is, once the local powers find a way to exploit the new law or mandate, it tends to go badly for the people.
Most people want to like the king and he gains a surge of popularity every time a new edict is passed because people make more money and freedoms are increased. Then the Lords come through having "found the intended interpretation" and the collar is slapped on tighter than before.
Most people blame the king, but the highly educated or very intelligent see the game for what it is. You can imagine what happens to such people if they are caught speaking out...
Your Lord, Geb, Is greedy but not unfair. The spirit of the King's decrees live in his domain, but his taxes tend to increase with them. In all, he's not so bad, but he is disorganized and brash.
Most countries view Pollexia similarly to the way many view the United States. It is a powerful country that has made great leaps in technology this century: they discovered the method to create steel for instance. But the country is passed its hay day in all likelihood.
Sepal and Jocasta are simlar countries to Pollexia in that they do much trade by sea, but Jocasta is far more mountainous and lacks Pollexia's vast farming and grazing lands. Sepal boasts roalling grasslands and dense forests and as a result, trade in mostly timber and horses. Their lack of metal resources keeps them from becoming a great power indeed.
Odalisk is land locked and relies on trade with neighbors for goods from far away lands and for any bounty of the sea. They are an industrious people with amble resources and is the only true rival of Pollexia.
One old codger in the camp swears that Odalisk used to have come claim on all Pollexian lands south of Ryn clear across to Eneini. Pollexian law recognizes no such claims.
I did borrow the map :)
Any other questions?
Darksmokepuncher |
Ganterra, you people are the Torrio. They live in the forest just north of Odalisk, north of the river that bears their name.
They are thought to be the natives of modern Pollexia and most have mated into the country long, long ago. Your people are those that still (2-300 years later) do not recognize the outsiders and would drive them forth if they could. Torrio tribes people refer to Pollexians as such to their faces mostly, but outsider, usurper, invader, etc. all fit. Thos with less Torrio blood (the ruling familes and such) are generally referred to as Milks due to their pale skin and their affinity for the drink. Those with obviously more Torrio blood are often ostracized and even assaulted. They are called blood traitors by some.
The current chieftain of the Torrio people is called Raolo. He is a progressive thinker and allows trade and travel with and among Pollexians stating that they need to know the enemy better to push them off the land, but those closest to him realize that Raolo sees the inevitability of fighting the Pollexians and the futility in holding to the old ways for it's own sake. He may be planning something big...
Ganterra |
Ganterra, you people are the Torrio. They live in the forest just north of Odalisk, north of the river that bears their name.
They are thought to be the natives of modern Pollexia and most have mated into the country long, long ago. Your people are those that still (2-300 years later) do not recognize the outsiders and would drive them forth if they could. Torrio tribes people refer to Pollexians as such to their faces mostly, but outsider, usurper, invader, etc. all fit. Thos with less Torrio blood (the ruling familes and such) are generally referred to as Milks due to their pale skin and their affinity for the drink. Those with obviously more Torrio blood are often ostracized and even assaulted. They are called blood traitors by some.
The current chieftain of the Torrio people is called Raolo. He is a progressive thinker and allows trade and travel with and among Pollexians stating that they need to know the enemy better to push them off the land, but those closest to him realize that Raolo sees the inevitability of fighting the Pollexians and the futility in holding to the old ways for it's own sake. He may be planning something big...
That all works for me. Ganterra would be a full blooded or nearly full blooded Torrio from a more traditional group of his people. Still very happy to take advantage of Raolo's attitude, mind.
Riley Vesper |
Doy. I just realized I know the language of our enemy. That's super helpful for a scout. I don't know why it took me so long to put together that Odalisk=Odish.
Edit: Also, can you connect the gameplay thread so we can dot? Even if we aren't starting just yet, the game is easier to get to from there.
Darksmokepuncher |
I am going out of town on Thursday to my grandfather's funeral. That being said, I am hoping to do some posting, but I honestly don't know what I'll be able to manage. I will not start the game until I see how things go there. However, I will be back Sunday, so not too long a wait.
Any other questions about the world or your predicament? Any thoughts on where you want the game to head?
Will you regroup with allied forces elsewhere? Fight for Odalisk in hopes of gaining a better life under the new regime? Become independent guerrilla fighters? etc?
Ganterra |
My vote is to basically lie low at first until we can gain some information as to what the invaders plan to do with their conquests. Then decide what to do
Robert the Highlander |
Independent guerrilla fighters sounds awesome to me, but as Trent said we need to gather intel first. We don't know what they want or what are their plans.
On the other hand Ash, Riley and me are really stealthy so we can get advantage over that.
Ashling_Frost-wing |
Agreed we should focus on gathering intel first, five or six people rejoining the main battle won't do us any good.
Then we act from there, support our group while away from it.
Ashling_Frost-wing |
all set on my end as well
Trent Walker |
By the way, I'm assuming I can take 10, and that Trent doesn't actually outrank Riley. Otherwise that post'll need changing. Lemme know if other wise.
Heh, didn't think about taking ten. Not like our skills are all that different (the whole group has a Survival skill between 5 and 7).
Rank doesn't mean much in this situation, Trent is just doing what comes naturally, or at least ingrained at home (noble born and bred). He'll gladly step aside for someone with more interest or experience. He doesn't tend to be an outside-the-box thinker.
Riley Vesper |
Riley Vesper wrote:By the way, I'm assuming I can take 10, and that Trent doesn't actually outrank Riley. Otherwise that post'll need changing. Lemme know if other wise.Heh, didn't think about taking ten. Not like our skills are all that different (the whole group has a Survival skill between 5 and 7).
Rank doesn't mean much in this situation, Trent is just doing what comes naturally, or at least ingrained at home (noble born and bred). He'll gladly step aside for someone with more interest or experience. He doesn't tend to be an outside-the-box thinker.
Riley isn't really... good with politeness, hope there's no offense taken. But he's the sort who follows the books himself, even if a situation like this crops up, so he wouldn't likely answer to someone younger than him without a badge or rank of some kind.
Green Smashomancer |
Also, side note: Can you stick the link to that map in the Campaign info page, or campaign description?
Also also: How'd the surgery go? You seem alive, so it could have been worse.
Green Smashomancer |
More specifically, first page was:
Which of you soldiers has the highest rank here?So Riley responded with:
Riley grunts at Trents quick acquiescence, nodding curtly.
I believe, it would be... Beck over there... He states quietly shaking his head. Poor man... Failing an order from him, each of us outranks non-military.