GM Tarondor's The Queen of Shadows - The One Ring

Game Master Tarondor

Took me a minute. But PM to Legendary Sidekick.

Better?

(From the Sidekick)

This name can still be changed, if need be.

Loads better. However, our other player "Primrose Bunce" is coming back, as it turns out. Back to the drawing board! Sorry!

No biggie! I’ll change the name (on this profile)!

Welcome to Legendary Sidekick! And, happy to hear original Primrose is returning to the game. :)

===

Hi, GM.

This is Tilly's character sheet: Tilly Applegate (give it a second or two to allow the form's details to appear - for some reason they don't appear immediately.) If there are any errors, please let me know and I'll correct.

GM Tarondor: I wanted to ask you a question. Helms can be made from leather, iron or special materials.

I gave Tilly a leather helm (for added protection, as the 2nd edition didn't offer up any other head-gear alternatives) and I listed the load as 2 (due to the lighter material). The metal helm is listed as load 4, so I was wondering if my math is correct or is the leather helm also load 4. Thanks!

As to our online Paizo character profiles, how do you want them to be formatted?

Character Sheet: Man, does that look nice! I have no idea if any of it is correct, but I'll be checking it over later.

Patron: None of you have patrons yet. Yes, I know the TOR2e rules contemplate you having one from the start, but in The Queen of Shadows you don't yet.

Helm: Well, you're asking me to make up a House Rule for a game I haven't played yet! So for now I'm going to take the simple way out and say that all helms function like the one in the book until I get a chance to look it over. Logically, a lighter helm must offer less protection, though, right? Let me get some time under my belt with the system before I start bending the rules.

Online Character Profile: Good question. I'm working hard on the game right now so I don't want to stop and whip up a format just yet. For now, just do your best. I'm secretly hoping one of you will make something really great and I can just have everyone else do that!

In 1e, Tilly had a Cap of Leather and Iron, load 2, Protection: +1.

In 2e, helm is load 4 and offers +1d.

GM, when you have the time and can house rule, I'll adjust that section on Tilly's sheet. I'll remove the patron listed and leave it blank.

I'll try my hand at whipping up a standard profile format for the 2e game. Once I have something together, I'll post it on discussion for general consensus.

Got my copy. working my way through the character creation process.
Going to make Morwenn a Captain. Currenly mulling starting rewards and virtue.

I'm so happy to be back. Primrose here.

I need to get the books, and do the rebuild.

I like Primrose, though I’m not sorry to lose the name. Belle Boffin is the name of a CHAMPION! So that’s the calling I’m running with.

Happy to join you all as a hobbit! Extra special thanks to Tarondor for helping me figure out how to build one! And you too, Tilly. Seeing your character sheet helped me kinda get it.

I still need to finish that form.

Stat block is Str.:4 / Heart:6 / Wits:4, which is the best Str./worst Wits option for a hobbit. Awe and Athletics are her two favored skills—though my original plan was Huntress… but Hunting was the favored choice I didn’t pick. Weapons are axe/bow, but I might change that.

I’m not sure what to do with Valor, Wisdom (I think hobbits have more Wisdom than Valor?), Adventure, Skill, Fellowship or how many skill boxes I can check off. (I checked off the boxes to the left of Awe and Athletics, which I assume is “favored.”)

The image is not drawn by me. I might draw on the form… no promises.

Gear, I think I understand. I get two useful items, and they support a specific skill it seems, so fancy clothes and a grappling hook would enhance my favored skills. (I suppose I need to choose a weapon or two as well.)

All player-heroes start with a Valor and Wisdom rating of 1. As you go, you'll select rewards of either Valor or Wisdom.

Your skills are shown on Slide 1 of the slide show I sent you.

Fellowship is a thing to be worked out jointly when everyone has their characters built.

For weapons, Hobbits get a 2 in either Bow -OR- Swords and a 1 in another category you choose from Axes, Bows, Spears and Swords.

Oh dear! So ZERO skill points in awe or athletics! Ha… I’ll stick with Champion anyway, but that’s interesting. Well, I’ll be really good at hiding (stealth favored +3).

@Tarondor, I think my character sheet is all set except for weapons.

(Linked in tag-line. / Apologies for messy handwriting.)

@Belle: Not sure if you were aware - the GM gave us 10 Adventure Points. Players can spend Adventure points to buy a new rank in either WISDOM or VALOUR, or, to enhance an adventurer’s Combat Proficiencies. As with Skill points, players do not have to spend all their Adventure points at once, but can save them to acquire more expensive upgrades later.

If you wish to use some of those points up now, please take a look at page 119 of the Core Rules Book pdf for it gives you a table showing the Adventure Point Cost to help you out.

I gave those points to -returning- player-heroes.

Oh, ok. Sorry about that, GM and Belle.

No biggie, Tilly. It’s the thought that counts!

@Tarondor, please let me know if that sheet looks right. I was afraid eager and merry might be redundant after reading the ‘merry’ descriptor, but the avatar just looks to peppy. I’d still like to have Pearl Took as her maternal grandmother, and I’ll have pearl earrings (which is a suggested useful item) as her heirloom. (Replacing ‘fancy clothes.’)

The point of Distinctive Features is that you can get an extra die on a skill if you can convince the GM that one of your Distinctive Features applies to the situation. So for instance I can imagine a character rushing into a battle and saying "I have Eager. Can I get an extra die on the first attack?" or perhaps trying to cheer up her fellowship after a disastrous encounter with a wraith and saying "I have Merry. Can I get a bonus die on my attempt to Enhearten the group?"

I won't have time to check over the character sheets for awhile.

Hi, GM and fellow players!

This is a standard character sheet template draft which can be completed and saved to our respective character's profile page --->Template Draft

I've included all the HTML coding, so all people need to do is copy and paste and fill in their details.

Let me know if it works, if it doesn't, what is missing, etc. I'll add some pretty dividers for the sheet once the template is acceptable to all.

Thanks!
~Tilly

=== p.s. GM Tarondor, I may need to correct that character sheet you have linked to. I'll place the new link on discussion once I'm done.

What're the three circles for after the skills? I think that might be a relic of 1e, where you checked off boxes when you used a skill.

@GM: Do you mean the skills group 3 circles? That’s at the end of the skill sets with the triple O. If/When a skill is used, then the player can change the O to a X like we did on the 1e character sheets. If they're unnecessary in 2e, then I'll remove them.

From what I can tell there is a limit as to how many dots you can have in a skill. Those are the dots that have not been realized yet. At least that was how I read the character sheets. It reminds me of the World of Darkness system.

Does that mean you can, for example, only add three dots as you invest skill points? So for example, every sheet has 6 boxes, but only my Stealth and Riddle skills start with 3 skill points. So would those be the only ones I can increase to a maximum of 6 skill points?

From the sheets I looked up all the skills looked like they could go to 6 dots. Here is an example of one that I found.

example

@Belle: You can increase any skill up to the 6 points if you have enough skill points to allocate (and depending on what experience your character has had in game). You're not fixed with only increasing your starting skills based on your character's culture.

I changed Tilly's Character Sheet slightly (made the helm a load 4 until the GM has time to consider a house rule re leather vs iron) and I took away 2 skill points I had allocated to the travel skill and used the points to get a proficiency (1) in Swords-Dagger. I removed the Patron I had originally listed per the GM's feedback. The original sheet link is still valid and should show the updated changes.

@GM: Do you mean the skills group 3 circles? That’s at the end of the skill sets with the triple O. If/When a skill is used, then the player can change the O to a X like we did on the 1e character sheets. If they're unnecessary in 2e, then I'll remove them.

Right. That's not done in 2e.

@Belle: You can increase any skill up to the 6 points if you have enough skill points to allocate (and depending on what experience your character has had in game). You're not fixed with only increasing your starting skills based on your character's culture.

Correct. Nobody should have more than 2 or 3 in any skill now, but with time you can develop into a legendary hero with 6.

Hello!

Tilly Appledore wrote:

@GM: Do you mean the skills group 3 circles? That’s at the end of the skill sets with the triple O. If/When a skill is used, then the player can change the O to a X like we did on the 1e character sheets. If they're unnecessary in 2e, then I'll remove them.

Right. That's not done in 2e.

Alright. I’ll remove that part from the template. Thanks, GM!

Hello!

Hello, and, welcome Kazmanaught! :)

I’m not the only newbie now! Welcome, Kazmanaught & Mythicman!

Hello everyone!

Kazmanaught, Mythicman19, we won't begin play for awhile yet, likely a a week or two while I continue to work on the campaign. So you've got a while yet. But it'd be good to get your character ideas worked out now so we're ready to go then.

The campaign will restart in Bree. No one has taken a dwarf or elf yet, if either of those interest you.

Hello everyone!

Hello, and, welcome Mythicman. :)

Sounds good! I’ll start working on a character, learning the system is slow but As for character ideas I was thinking an elf, maybe the last one of an older band that set out on a quest long ago that failed hoping to complete it. I’ll expand on it more but that’s a rough high level idea.

Was their a character idea that you prefered?

I'm not sure if you're asking me or your fellow players but I'll answer any way. The One Ring 2e currently supports a limited array of Heroic Cultures (i.e., backgrounds). Others could be made, but I don't see a reason at this point. So as cool as your man from Rhûn might be, I'd prefer to stick to the cultures in the Core Rulebook.

If somebody is -dying- to play a Noldor, I've got rules for that from the new Rivendell supplement, but I think I'd prefer our elves to be Sindarin elves of Lindon. Let's leave some mystery in the Noldor.

You mentioned an idea for an exiled dwarf. He needn't be exiled, but he can be if you like. At least some of this campaign will visit the dwarf-holds of the Blue Mountains and there is a possibility that you will also go east at a late stage of the campaign, beyond the Sea of Rhûn, so you could easily run into the dwarves of Erebor, the Iron Hills or points east.

But the question isn't which idea I prefer. It's which idea grabs you!

I will be going on vacation from Saturday through Wednesday. I will try and check the boards in the evenings but I may be slow to post over the next few days. Feel free to bot me as needed.

I will post what I have for my character in his Profile in case Tarondor wants to look over the characters before I get back. I have not spent his extra exp but I think I have gone entirely through the character creation process. I have not had a chance to review it though so we will see how well I did on the first run through and I am not sure this is the most clear cut character creation I have seen.

Just to make it a little easier while Waylon is away on vacation (have a fun and safe time!), I put his info into the character sheet template for GM Tarondor to post a link to.

I filled in what I could from Waylon's profile info. The only thing I couldn't figure out is which skills he's chosen as his favoured skills, so the sheet doesn't currently show that (but can be edited/updated) when Waylon is back from his trip.

From Rangers of the North, Waylon can choose one favoured skill from Hunting and Lore. From Warden, Waylon can choose 2 favoured skills from Awareness, Healing and Insight.

Here is the pretty character sheet for Waylon so far: Waylon

I've posted Tilly's character info on the template on her profile page. I'll need to amend her backstory a little to show the change in Callings.

GM Tarondor: You initially had us make some character connections when we played the 1e game. I removed one of mine as the player left the game (I still have Primrose and Morwenn as connections). With the two new players joining us, do you wish for us to have some connection to them or no?

For favored skills I was going to go with Hunting and Awareness. And then I was going to take insight if someone else had a Healing focus. If not I was going to go with Healing.

For favored skills I was going to go with Hunting and Awareness. And then I was going to take insight if someone else had a Healing focus. If not I was going to go with Healing.

Just as a FYI, Tilly has the following favoured skills: Awareness, Insight & Healing.

I'll note the Hunting and Awareness of your sheet now. Choose what you'd rather (and what makes more sense for Waylon) for the last favored skill. :)

@Waylon: Did you wish to have some acquaintance/connection with Tilly? Perhaps as a Ranger of the North, he visited Bree and they crossed paths at The Prancing Pony?

@Tilly, I think this is just a continuation so we have been traveling together at the start. If that does not end up being the case I would be happy to set up a back story where we met in Bree.

And I will go with Healing since you have Insight and I am pretty skilled at Healing already. I plan to mainly focus on Hunting and Survival if I can figure out how to get skill groups.

@Waylon: I realise re the continuation. Since I removed Elarinya, I thought to replace her with Waylon - even though they know each other better now since travelling/fighting alongside each other in game. :)

I'll add Healing as your favoured skill on the sheet. Thanks! Your sheet has been updated here: Waylon

Just to make it a little easier while Waylon is away on vacation (have a fun and safe time!), I put his info into the character sheet template for GM Tarondor to post a link to.

I filled in what I could from Waylon's profile info. The only thing I couldn't figure out is which skills he's chosen as his favoured skills, so the sheet doesn't currently show that (but can be edited/updated) when Waylon is back from his trip.

From Rangers of the North, Waylon can choose one favoured skill from Hunting and Lore. From Warden, Waylon can choose 2 favoured skills from Awareness, Healing and Insight.

Here is the pretty character sheet for Waylon so far: Waylon

That is very pretty. Thank you. I'd like to link to one that Waylon controls, though, or you'll have to make updates every time he alters his character!

GM Tarondor: You initially had us make some character connections when we played the 1e game. I removed one of mine as the player left the game (I still have Primrose and Morwenn as connections). With the two new players joining us, do you wish for us to have some connection to them or no?

No. The connections were to show that, pre-game, some of you knew each other. The characters will be new, so no need.

[Here is the pretty character sheet for Waylon so far: Waylon

That is very pretty. Thank you. I'd like to link to one that Waylon controls, though, or you'll have to make updates every time he alters his character!

Waylon can download the sheet and then upload to his own Google drive and update when necessary. I just did it for him so you could have it to look over while Waylon was on vacation.