Head
Helmet
Torso
Leather Armor
Satchel (Rope, Tinderbox)
Quiver (Bow)
Belt
Pouch(Preserved food 3)
Skin (Water)
Feet
Shoes
Would Owl be able to have a simple wood staff as well, or is he locked into just having the bow due to the one weapon rule? Also, nowhere did I see a carving or whittling knife or the equivalent, if he can get one of those for wood working he would.
Do I get anything for having Resources 1 instead of 0?
Not at the beginning of the game, but it will come into play the next time you are back in a village or town.
Would Owl be able to have a simple wood staff as well, or is he locked into just having the bow due to the one weapon rule? Also, nowhere did I see a carving or whittling knife or the equivalent, if he can get one of those for wood working he would.
That would be fine as long as you can carry it. The knife would fall under general equipment that you are assumed to have on your for performing your various skills.
Ok. Add a staff/walking stick to the carried and we are golden.
Waiting on Taimat?
Let's continue on ...
Introduce Yourself
Players describe each character’s stock, class and, perhaps, offer a pithy comment about each character.
Each player responds with a brief introduction or remark in character.
The game master then inquires: How did you get into this mess? Here are some possibilities:
* Your parents died, and this was all they left you.
* Your home was destroyed, and you were driven out.
* You stole this gear from your friend, parents or enemy.
* You sold everything to pay for this gear because you think
you’re going to strike it rich.
* Your enemy ruined your life and smeared your name. 4 Your mentor charged you with a sacred task.
The game will begin with all of you together in a small, backwater town on the edge of the wilderness, down to your last few coins and desperate for any form of employment.
I'd like all of you to collectively come up with the details. What is the name of the town? Why is it such a backwater? What are the people like who live here? What is its main industry? Are you all just meeting, or have you been together for a while? If you know each other, what initially brought you together? Do you know or are related to anyone in this town? If so, what is your relationship to that person?
Am I understanding correctly that we are supposed to be building the lore together as we go? Is that what we are are supposed to be making stick and class comments about?
Am I understanding correctly that we are supposed to be building the lore together as we go? Is that what we are are supposed to be making stick and class comments about?
No, we're building the lore together. I'll be creating a lot without you, of course, but I think it's better when we work together on some of it.
I just want you to know, that was the best answer ever.
Are we building the lore together?
No, we are building the lore together.
In the spirit of such lore building I will do my contributions from the point of view of the primitive hunter.
Stock:
Dwarves? Listen when they speak of forge and fire, they know these things as we know snow and frost. Just don't ask about their laws unless you have a year to waste.
Humans? Which ones do you wish to know? The Skaggs have held the ice sea for as long as there has been a sun. In summer we hunt the beast of the sea, in winter the beast of the land. I hear the men of the north have many tribes, but here in the south there is only ice and Skaggs to meet them.
(Just in case.) Elf? Northern legends, I do not believe in such nonsense.
Class:
Hunters? We hunt, it is what we do. If you are not hunting you are preparing for a hunt, otherwise the village goes hungry.
Outcast? The dwarves have their laws, the outcast broke one of them. Thankfully they are not our laws or we would have broken more than one just by getting up this morning.
Magicians? Witches and shaman commanding the spirits of the world. Treat them with respect or your hair might fall out.
Owl:
My name is Owl diving on mouse, but you may call me Owl. My arrows fly true, you buy my service now?
Why are you here?
Something stirs in the south, it eats villages and leaves only the goblin and bogeys in its wake.
Suggestions for the town.
Name: It is so backwater no one thinks to name it.
Reason for backwater: it is at the edges of one of the northern kingdoms before you hit the lands of the ice sea.
Main industry: the local trading post where the Skaggs bring fur and meat to trade for metal and alcohol.
People: Tough but fair. There are not many rules, but the ones that exist are life and death. Being left out in the winter is a death sentence for most.
I suggest a middle of the road for meeting. We know of each other because it is a small town and we are all outsiders, but we have never done more than pleasantly said hello and maybe chatted in passing.
Owl is not related to anyone in town.
I just want you to know, that was the best answer ever.
Are we building the lore together?
No, we are building the lore together.
Oops, guess I need a bit more proofreading of my own posts.
No worries, I just found it humorous is all. Filled my laugh quota for the day.
Humans are a mixed bag, although they can be a bit flighty a great many of them valuing individuality, which as an outcast Eddrikk appreciates.
Dwarves? I so and so of such and such clan, son of whoever, received the grave insult of having my foot stepped on by whats his face of the other clan, and by my ancestors and those gathered I will have my revenge... blah blah blah... would you listen to that nonsense? Look I get it, someone murders your kin, steals your girl, or plunders your vault, sure but every little thing, every minor slight and inconvenience. Who can live like that?
Warriors/Hunters, almost as good a dwarves but what they do they tend to devote fully to it.
Magicians, practitioners of arcane and mysterious arts, with all things human there is the good and the bad, caution is advised.
Outcasts, banished from or willingly abandoned dwarven lands, law breakers or forswearers of tradition they now try and eek out a living on the surface.
Name is Eddrikk, finder and seller of unique goods. What, grave robbery? That vase was a valuable art piece, that I acquired for a fee, the fact that there was a skeleton "nearby" does not make it grave robbery!
Why am I in this mess? If there is gold to be made, I am never far away!
Suggestions for the town.
Name: People in the north call it Lastport or Skaggport because its proximity to the Ice Sea although it is in no way an actual port but other than a handful of merchants Northerners don’t come this far south.
Reason for backwater: it is at the edges of one of the northern kingdoms before you hit the lands of the ice sea. (Sounds good)
Main industry: the local trading post where the Skaggs bring fur and meat to trade for metal and alcohol.
People: A lot of outlaws and people looking to escape the trappings of civilization.
I suggest a middle of the road for meeting. We know of each other because it is a small town and we are all outsiders, but we have never done more than pleasantly said hello and maybe chatted in passing. (Sounds good)
Eddrikk does not live in the town but is a frequent visitor, usually when laying low and occasionally to trade.
Great stuff up to now. Let me summarize what has been established (while fleshing it out a bit):
You have gathered in the town called Lastport, which is called Skaggstown by the local populace. It is located at the edge of a northern (human) kingdom before the land hits the Ice Sea. It once was a port, but then the northern Ice Sea withdrew for unexplained reasons, leaving the town a mile or so from the water. The folk who had worked as fishermen moves their boats and homes to the new water's edge, establishing a community now known informally as Fishtown.
Lastport is a trading town where manufactured goods are traded for northern furs and where the blubber from whales hunted by local fishermen is converted into lamp oil. It is a rough place full of rough people with only the barest trappings of civilization. Despite their rough exterior, the people of Lastport actually are very good at working together and looking out for one another, due to the extremely harsh winters here. This doesn't mean that everyone gets along, just that they are able to put aside their differences to help everyone survive the cold season.
There have been rumors from the south about entire communities disappearing, replaced by hordes of rampaging goblins, but that is still far away and nobody in Lastport seems particularly bothered about it.
Eddrik, perhaps you have been collecting amber, which seems to be commonly found here, and either trading it in town or perhaps crafting it into jewelry yourself?
One of you has a contact in Fishtown that you recently talked to about strange goings-on there. Which one of you is it?
Still waiting for our wizard to chime in with his introduction ...
Considering how South it is I am guessing that would be up to the Skaggman in the group. Passing rumors of weird things spoken of while hunting whale and seal. Sea receeds, and the goblin folk raid villages. Creatures most thought goblin's tales merely meant to frighten the young away from dangerous ice and deep snow. If the goblins truly rise with the thaw, maybe the sea maidens and the werewalrus are true too. Strange times.
It's been a week since anyone has seen Taimat. I'm getting concerned ... perhaps I'll post something in the Recruitment thread and see if we can generate more interest.
Sounds good. I'm hoping Taimat is ok, all things considered they may have caught covid or had the vaccine. Both of those put me out of commission for most of a week.
Sounds good. I'm hoping Taimat is ok, all things considered they may have caught covid or had the vaccine. Both of those put me out of commission for most of a week.
Yup, I'm not writing them off, just leaving us open to expand our player group.
All for it. Happy to be here and all that tosh.
*sigh*
This is not looking good. We have one player AFK and I'm not sure he's coming back. I've kept bumping the recruitment thread, but I'm not sure we'll get another player.
Here are our options:
1) We could continue with two players. I'm not sure the game is designed to really work well with two players, as it's mechanically pretty crunchy and requires enough PCs to cover all of the various skills.
2) We could wait some more. Always an option, albeit not particularly exciting.
3) We could play a different game. I have lots of games that I've been wanting to play. I've played a lot of Pathfinder/3.X over the last decade, so I'm not really interested in playing that, but there may be other games that we could get more folks interested in. If we pick this, which games would you be interested in?
Which of these three do you two prefer, or might you have another option?
I am in no particular rush
Waiting is fine by me.
Waiting it is then.
Alright. I'm here.
Alright. I'm here.
Great! Go back to post #1 of this thread and read through it. It will detail the character creation process.
Alright, so looks like we have a Dwarf Adventurer and a Human Warrior
Could we use an Elf or a Cleric or a Burglar?
I'm good with any of those.
Alright, so looks like we have a Dwarf Adventurer and a Human Warrior
Could we use an Elf or a Cleric or a Burglar?
I'm good with any of those.
Whichever you prefer. Any of those would work well.
Alright then, in the interest of keeping things diverse I'll play an Elf.
Ignore the stuff in the alias for now.
Well that was quicker than I expected.
Okay so, I did some things
I spread out Will/Health at 4/4.
I added Elfhome as my home, and then Healer 2 and Calm 1
I took the Manipulator Social Grace at 2.
Specialty Survivalist 2
Thanks for being on the ball, Niles.
Next step is to pick your wise and your nature(s). I'll list them partially here since we didn't have any elves last time around.
Elves: Choose one of the following: Elven Lore-wise or Folly of Humanity (or Dwarves)-wise; take a second wise of your choice following the guidelines in this section. Either take one of our examples or invent one of your own.
As listed HERE, you can pick from lots of other wises as well.
Elf Nature questions are:
Elf Nature Questions
Have you learned the songs of creation and do you sing them to mend hearts and calm storms? Or do you focus your ancient will into crafting works of unparalleled beauty?
*If you sing the ancient songs, increase your Nature by one.
*If you bend your will to crafting Elven artifacts, replace your Singing Nature descriptor with Enchanting.
When evil stalks the world, do you confront it? Or do you retreat to the hidden places of the elves and allow time to defeat your enemies?
*If you confront evil, increase your First Born trait to level 2.
*If you retreat and hide, increase your Nature by one.
Do you yearn to follow the gulls to the sea and journey west beyond all knowledge? Or are you prepared to live a life of struggle and grief?
*If you yearn to journey west, increase your Nature by one.
*If you are prepared to live a life of struggle, you may replace your home trait with Fiery, Curious or Restless. If you have one
of these traits already, increase it by one.
Thanks for being on the ball, Niles.
Next step is to pick your wise and your nature(s). I'll list them partially here since we didn't have any elves last time around.
Elves: Choose one of the following: Elven Lore-wise or Folly of Humanity (or Dwarves)-wise; take a second wise of your choice following the guidelines in this section. Either take one of our examples or invent one of your own.
As listed HERE, you can pick from lots of other wises as well.
Elf Nature questions are:
Elf Nature Questions
Have you learned the songs of creation and do you sing them to mend hearts and calm storms? Or do you focus your ancient will into crafting works of unparalleled beauty?
*If you sing the ancient songs, increase your Nature by one.
*If you bend your will to crafting Elven artifacts, replace your Singing Nature descriptor with Enchanting.When evil stalks the world, do you confront it? Or do you retreat to the hidden places of the elves and allow time to defeat your enemies?
*If you confront evil, increase your First Born trait to level 2.
*If you retreat and hide, increase your Nature by one.Do you yearn to follow the gulls to the sea and journey west beyond all knowledge? Or are you prepared to live a life of struggle and grief?
*If you yearn to journey west, increase your Nature by one.
*If you are prepared to live a life of struggle, you may replace your home trait with Fiery, Curious or Restless. If you have one
of these traits already, increase it by one.
Elf Lore Wise
Forest WiseSing the Songs (+1 Nature to 4 total)
Confront the Evil (First Born trait 2)
Prepared to Live the Struggle (Curious)
I might be missing some skills and traits though. Here is the sheet I'm using
There are a number of skills and traits you get for being an elven ranger.
Skills: Fighter 3, Pathfinder 3, Scout 3, Hunter 2, Lore Master 2, Survivalist 2. Since you already had Survivalist, increase it to the maximum beginner skill level of 4.
Trait: First born. This trait stays at level two. All elves get this, so you taking "Confront the evil" increased it to 2.
Weapons: Sword, spear, bow, and dagger
Armor: Leather and Chain, Helmet
Next comes Circles and Relationships. See HERE
Circles 1
Friends: +1circle Human Herbalist from local Humantown (not sure of skill to pick)saw them last in town when discussing herbs to gather
Parents: +1circle Elftown Phlithmira kin group (trade Lore keepers)
Mentor: +1circle "Elf Ranger Mentor"
No enemy
Added Helmet, Armor and weapons to sheet.
Alright, I think my sheet is updated with equipment.
Great, now scroll up to the "Introduce Yourself" post above and please answer the questions.
Dwarves: Smell bad, but better to have on your side than on other opposite side I guess. They tend to hold grudges and not let things go. They keep their word.
Humans: Such promise, but always so disappointing. I'll trust one of these when I have good cause.
Elves: Obviously the most learned and refined of the stock. However, be careful when dealing with them, they'll keep their word but twist every syllable.
Outcasts: I feel a kinship with someone who has no home, or rather who's home is the whole world. I too feel like my home is where I am.
Warriors: I guess one solution to every problem is an axe or sword? I don't think so, but they do.
Magicians: Magic is dangerous stuff at the best of times. Best not to dabble too much.
How did you get into this mess?
My task is to protect the wilds, however that may be. I become a better Ranger by visiting the wilds and walking the forest paths.
OK, Niles, take a look at THIS POST and see if you'd like to add anything to the lore we've set down.
Once you are done, you are all caught up with everyone else! Sadly, we are not quite finished with character creation.
Next we have to look at ...
There are four aspects of your character’s personality—a belief, creed, goal and instinct. You write each as a single sentence on your character sheet according to the guidelines for each type.
Invoking them and involving them in your actions and decisions earns you rewards that allow you to enhance die rolls and level up.
You decide your belief and instinct now. Write your goal after the game master has pitched the adventure and current situation to you. Creed comes later in your career.
Belief
*Your character’s belief is their personal philosophy, motivation or personal motto. It’s a code that they hold dear to their heart.
*Invent a belief for your character and write it on your character sheet in the indicated area. If you invoke that belief in play—if it guides your actions and gets your character into trouble—then you earn a reward at the end of the session.
*If your belief creates a crisis of conscience during play and you betray your own belief (through dramatic play), you earn another type of reward.
Karolina’s belief: “I am the bulwark that stands between my friends and harm.”
Dralic’s belief: “I am the leader of this group of adventurers.”
Beren’s belief: “There’s naught for me but blood and treasure, spent and earned.”
Creed
*While there is a spot waiting for your inevitable creed, first level characters do not enter this world with lofty ideals. You will gain a creed should you reach third level or make it to your first respite. Until then, try to learn enough about the horrors of this world to stay alive.
Instict
Instincts are conditional statements of action. “Always do this” or “Never do that” or “If that happens, do this.”
*Instincts allow your character to take a free action when they’re triggered.
Dralic’s instinct is “Always keep the light lit.” If Dralic is plunged into darkness, he gets a free test to try to make some light.
Beren’s instinct is “Never trust Dralic’s decisions underground.” When dralic makes a decision to go left, beren gets a free turn to scout ahead and make sure his friend isn’t leading them to certain death.
Goal
*Goals are, well, goals. They are objectives framed as active statements: I will... I must... I won’t....
*They are immediate—something you could feasibly accomplish this session. They’re not long-term dreams.
Karolina’s goal is: “I will Find out what happened to Jora.”
Whereas Beren has something a bit more true to his nature: “I will loot this tomb for all its worth.”
* “I will be king one day,” is a bad goal. And don’t write dumb goals like “I will light a torch.” There’s no reward for accomplishing dumb or bad goals.
Your character starts at level 1. Note your level and benefit for your class on the back of your character sheet.
Outcast Level 1
* Outcasts may wield any weapon except great swords. They may wear any armor, wear a helmet and use shields. Outcasts grant +1 to camp event rolls in dungeons and dwarven-made structures.
Ranger Level 1
* Rangers may wield bows, swords, spears and daggers, wear leather and chain armor and wear helmets. Rangers grant +1 to camp events rolls in the wilderness.
Warrior Level 1
* Warriors may wield any weapon and wear any armor, wear helmets and use shields. When in camp, warriors may keep watch and lead the effort to prevent a disaster for free provided they have no conditions (except fresh).
Give your character an appropriate name if you haven’t already.
What distinctive item of clothing does your character wear?
Beren’s raiment is his sky blue hood which he brought with him from the strange priests who raised him.
Choose an age for your character from the appropriate stock.
Dwarf: 30-51
Elf: 60-101
Halfling: 26-31
Human: 14-21
Check off the fresh condition! It’s the last time you’ll feel this good for a long while.
Once you've done all of this, we're done with character creation!
Belief: If it has to be done right go do it yourself.
Instinct: Always take the shot. (Be it an elk or a goblin. I forsee this going very wrong if it turns out there are six more of them behind the first.)
Level 1
Name: Owl Catches the Mouse, son of Wild Howls the Wind and Gentle Flows the Stream.
Raiment: A bracelet his daughter wove for him before he left for that last hunt. It's blue and green threads stand out against his otherwise white and brown clothing.
Age: 21
Fresh... check.
Belief: Gold makes the world go round.
Instinct: Always search for traps and hazards. (I can't spend my gold if I am dead)
Level 1
Name: Eddrikk
Raiment: Gold coin necklace with his mother on one side and father on the other.
Age: 32
Belief: I protect the wildlands and forests of this realm.
Instinct: I try the nonviolent way first, always.
Level 1
Name: Nalun Phlithmira (Phlithmira is my family name in Elfish, it means roughly "Worldwalker")
Raiment: Dappled green cloak and pants
Age: roughly 100
Nalun is in Lastport because he is doing his noble elven tradition of the An Padad "long walk". Elves in this world travel for at least 10 years, usually solo or in small kin groups when they reach the age of majority. This is a rite of passage for them and it's the primary way that most of the rest of the folk have contact with the elfish race. Nalun and the rest of his kinband are rangers, their calling is to watch the wild places of power and protect them from desecration from man, goblinkin or other. Nalun has been in Lastport for several months assisting a local herbsman collect flora for his tinctures. He was just about to move on when he was introduced, by his friend, to Eddrikk and Owl Catches the Mouse.
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Owl: Always take the shot. (Be it an elk or a goblin. I forsee this going very wrong if it turns out there are six more of them behind the first.)
Nalun: I try the nonviolent way first, always.
Eddrikk: Well crap
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Okay, I think we are ready to GO!
We certainly have a real outdoorsy vibe to our little group.
We certainly have a real outdoorsy vibe to our little group.
Indeed. First IC post is up!
So, in the interest of building lore I'll fill in some elven lore
Iarnúr (Old People) are the race of elves that Nalun belongs to, they live in forest cities (barnúrguin), but work stone and metal as well.
Nethnúr (Young People) are the race of elves that humans would call "Forest Elves". They live in the forest in mobile bands, and their works are of nature. It is said that metal working is beyond them.
The elvish of both cultures organize into kin groups (noshúd) of 10-15 or larger kin bands 50-100 (limnosdorth). Larger cities/towns exist amongst the Iarnúr but not the Nethnúr.