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Me? It would depend on the character, but I'd be strongly inclined to just walk away from the test entirely. Nothing good comes of trying to get evil outsiders to serve you. (I suppose if I have to open one of them, it would be Pride. Less chance of a mishap. Be self-reliant and all that.) Though I think my old WotW character Bernald would do Envy in a heartbeat (see what I mean about character having an impact.)
They were such great additions.
The Judge probably needed to accept the concept of a "safeword" ;)
Roleplaying and cut scenes, and interesting NPCs with backstories, were all fun to read about. The interactions with the other Knots and the NPCs had a great deal of promise for later, plus were fun to see. A lot of the adventure-type encounters were also fun (the rolling ball of doom, the fight with the treant, the attack on Ballentyne -- and the plotting leading up to it!) The level jump did kind of take some of the wind out of the sails, I think. Was looking forward to seeing the infiltration into society and so forth. And Shmoove -- ah, who could forget Shmoove... ?
And I enjoyed lurking, and will keep an eye out for this, if it ever revives...
I shall contine to lurk regardless :)
Bards can't do silent spells, but they can sing the Song of Lurking!
Still keeping an eye on this, ready to sing the praises of the New Order when it arrives. ;)
Third and a halfed?
Good luck on the job front. I will be happy to hang around in case this ever starts up again -- it's been extremely entertaining!
I took the reference to all the forking paths in the garden as a reference to Destiny of the Endless, from Neil Gaiman's Sandman. But if DMDM says it was a Borges reference, Borges it was.
Still lurking, and hoping someday to be allowed to sing the praises of the New Order in Talingrade...
High-level endings are difficult to write, and particularly to write well. Plus you pretty much have to tailor them to your party. Kngmaker has the advantage that a lot of tailoring has already taken place in its sandbox environment.
Glad to hear the link will be posted -- following this has been loads of fun!
I loved DMing Kingmaker -- a real blast, a very flexible AP with plenty of room for Inserting your own ideas and adventures, and responding to player moves and initiatives. Not nearly so much railroading as some. So many different ways you can take things.
(Takes a silent seat and munches popcorn as the show gets underway)
What the Baron said, both times. Bernald, still hoping to be allowed to sing everyone's praises when the New Order comes to Talingarde.
This tale looks to be a legend that will go down in history. At least as the College of Heralds (purged and revamped) will tell it.
Focus: Charisma
Dex =
They call it a good kingdom, don't they. A bright and shining state. But I know the truth about it. That's why I'm in here. Yes, me, one of the Royal College of Heralds. We keep track of marriages, you see. And inheritances. And crime records. You'd be surprised what you learn. Particularly if you check the sealed records -- crimes that were never prosecuted, never punished. Oh, they go on and on about how the King watches the nobles, and the nobles watch the King, and the priests all watch them both -- but if you're rich enough, you can make spaces where nobody's watching. And when nobody's watching, there's no evidence. Unless you take a little look, and see how many times something almost comes up. Over and over again. I found my way in there, oh yes I did. You say I'm a noble's son. So what? My family had too many children for too many generations. Split the wealth, share it equally, leave me about as close to starving as an alley cat in winter. They threw me into the Heralds because they couldn't find anybody noble enough who'd take me in marriage with no lands, no castle, no rents, no -- well, you get the point. But I'm smart, not like those witless fools who like to read off all the names in their ancestry -- like names will buy you food, or a roof, or a wife. I looked through the records. I learned some clever little trick like you're not supposed to know. I saw my chances and I took 'em. Like the Duke they never could prove the fraud against -- you remember that case, right? Well, I knew he'd been looking for money for years, so I had a quiet word with him one day at Court. There was a baron out by the coast that had some money -- so I hooked them up. Claimed I was promoting a nice marriage, when my boss asked. Got it arranged, too -- but really, the Duke needed money, and the Baron had some to offer. Where'd he get it? I dunno. Doesn't matter. I got my share. That was the first. Wasn't the last, either, not by a long shot. And when they hung the Baron for piracy, a few years later, why, I was on the other side of the Kingdom. You'd be surprised what kind of vacations a Duke will pay for if you pitch it right. And then I got him to introduce me to, well, you wouldn't know the name. Grew some plants out in the marshes, she did. Ones some people would pay a pretty penny for. And they knew other people.... So I hooked 'em up. I saw my chances. I got a lot of gold salted away somewhere, and if we ever get out of here, why, I'm generous to my friends. I am. They aren't. They stuck me in here. Wouldn't speak up for me, when I know all their little secrets. Said I was an extorter, a liar, an arsonist. Well, I did do the arson -- nice way to cover up a lot of little fiddly bits in the records, isn't it? They can't prove anything now. Except that Prince. Why, I could tell you things about him -- that little place he keeps above the docks. The little boys that show up there. The very well-fed fish underneath that house. Oh, no, they won't tell you about those. And they won't let me talk about them either. Said I was buying and selling them. Just taking them somewhere as a favor for a friend, I was -- did I mention I do lots of favors for my friends? And I have a lot of friends. They won't let me die in here, you'll see. I did too many favors for them. All of them. Every single stinking noble family in this kingdom has its black sheep. And I know them all -- they'll save me, you'll see. You'll see. It wasn't the arson, or the extortion, or the involvement in piracy, or the forgery -- none of which were ever proved. It was getting caught red-handed as a slave-trader with the four chained-up kids in the bloodstained back room, and the altogether too large amounts of gold. (Which was all confiscated, by the way. Ignore any claims otherwise.) Bernald is very untrustworthy and somewhat self-delusive, but he's quite convinced that everyone is corrupt, some just hide it better than others. And all the people he did favors for, and didn't help him when he was in trouble -- why, he wants all of them, and their whole stinking sanctimonious families, dead and rotted. Or maybe addicted to poppy dust and sold to slavers -- it would be more profitable that way. Greedy little arranger with an eye for the main chance (his own!), not inclined to violence unless he must (too messy), knows everybody and every black secret (he thinks), and slippery as a bar of wet soap in a grease factory. But very friendly, oh yes, very friendly. And the slave-buyer? Bernald knows, absolutely, it was the King's youngest son. Of course, Bernald is not the only person who knows how to disguise himself... or lie to implicate others. [IE, DM's call...]
No problem with the DM wanting a bit more thought and response with such a wide field to choose from. People tend not to fall quickly. Bernald kind of sauntered vaguely downwards for a while, before discovering the stairs got greasy further down. And he still clings to some possible-delusions bout himself... But maybe I should let him speak. Core Beliefs:
"Everyone wants something dark. Everyone indulges somehow. Some of 'em are very good at hiding it. They get called honorable. Some of 'em put a really high price on their favors. They get called virtuous. But nobody's innocent, everybody wants something. It's only a matter of finding out what it is. Let me help you to your heart's desire, and I can get you to give me mine." "What do I want? Well, once upon a time it was respect. Then I found out nobody was respectable. Not the way the priests say. Not deep down. Then I wanted wealth. Still do, sure, makes so many things easier. But some people you can't buy with gold. Or maybe I didn't have enough gold hidden away for them. They wouldn't help me. I know what I want now. I want revenge,!" "What do you want?"
Redeeming Quality:
"I'm honest. I'll tell it to you the way it is. I told you, I saw my chances and I took 'em. Oh, I can be a prig in public when they're all listening. But we can talk straight, one on one. You help me, I help you. And I keep my bargains, I do. We might want to talk again someday, after we get out, right?" If Bernard ever experienced a genuine act of altruism, it would probably shake him to the core.
Fixed Bernald to be NE. He likes orde and system to society because its easier to exploit that way; he doesn't want to wreck it. But he's definitely out for himself first,though he's smart enough to see that having reliable allies helps a lot.
Fixed grammar and avatar. Bernald would say that he hadn't done anything that anyone else wasn't doing. He just helped them do it. Why is he getting punished for stuff everyone does, but doesn't want to talk about? Really, most of it was information transfer and getting people together. One reason he got caught slaving was that he isn't as practiced at skulduggery as he thinks he is....
Bernald Jehannum (25 point buy) Whence Cometh He?:
They call it a good kingdom, don't they. A bright and shining state. But I know the truth about it. That's why I'm in here. Yes, me, one of the Royal College of Heralds. We keep track of marriages, you see. And inheritances. And crime records. You'd be surprised what you learn. Particularly if you check the sealed records -- crimes that were never prosecuted, never punished. Oh, they go on and on about how the King watches the nobles, and the nobles watch the King, and the priests all watch them both -- but if you're rich enough, you can make spaces where nobody's watching. And when nobody's watching, there's no evidence. Unless you take a little look, and see how many times something almost comes up. Over and over again. I found my way in there, oh yes I did. You say I'm a noble's son. So what? My family had too many children for too many generations. Split the wealth, share it equally, leave me about as close to starving as an alley cat in winter. They threw me into the Heralds because they couldn't find anybody noble enough who'd take me in marriage with no lands, no castle, no rents, no -- well, you get the point. But I'm smart, not like those witless fools who like to read off all the names in their ancestry -- like names will buy you food, or a roof, or a wife. I looked through the records. I learned some clever little trick like you're not supposed to know. I saw my chances and I took 'em. Like the Duke they never could prove the fraud against -- you remember that case, right? Well, I knew he'd been looking for money for years, so I had a quiet word with him one day at Court. There was a baron out by the coast that had some money -- so I hooked them up. Claimed I was promoting a nice marriage, when my boss asked. Got it arranged, too -- but really, the Duke needed money, and the Baron had some to offer. Where'd he get it? I dunno. Doesn't matter. I got my share. That was the first. Wasn't the last, either, not by a long shot. And when they hung the Baron for piracy, a few years later, why, I was on the other side of the Kingdom. You'd be surprised what kind of vacations a Duke will pay for if you pitch it right. And then I got him to introduce me to, well, you wouldn't know the name. Grew some plants out in the marshes, she did. Ones some people would pay a pretty penny for. And they knew other people.... So I hooked 'em up. I saw my chances. I got a lot of gold salted away somewhere, and if we ever get out of here, why, I'm generous to my friends. I am. They aren't. They stuck me in here. Wouldn't speak up for me, when I know all their little secrets. Said I was an extorter, a liar, an arsonist. Well, I did do the arson -- nice way to cover up a lot of little fiddly bits in the records, isn't it? They can't prove anything now. Except that Prince. Why, I could tell you things about him -- that little place he keeps above the docks. The little boys that show up there. The very well-fed fish underneath that house. Oh, no, they won't tell you about those. And they won't let me talk about them either. Said I was buying and selling them. Just taking them somewhere as a favor for a friend, I was -- did I mention I do lots of favors for my friends? And I have a lot of friends. They won't let me die in here, you'll see. I did too many favors for them. All of them. Every single stinking noble family in this kingdom has its black sheep. And I know them all -- they'll save me, you'll see. You'll see.
Statistics:
25-point buy Bernald Jehannum
Skills (12/lvl - bard 6, int 3, human 1, favored class 1, trait 1*): Appraise* +7, Diplomacy +8, Knowledge (architecture) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (nobility) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +3, Perform (oratory) +8, Profession (herald) +4, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +6 Traits: Slave-trading (campaign) - one free rank/level in Appraise, which is a class skill
--------------------
Spells Known (Spellbook):
Whither Goeth He?: It wasn't the arson, or the extortion, or the involvement in piracy, or the forgery -- none of which were ever proved. It was getting caught red-handed as a slave-trader with the four chained-up kids in the bloodstained back room, and the altogether too large amounts of gold. (Which was all confiscated, by the way. Ignore any claims otherwise.) Bernald is very untrustworthy and somewhat self-delusive, but he's quite convinced that everyone is corrupt, some just hide it better than others. And all the people he did favors for, and didn't help him when he was in trouble -- why, he wants all of them, and their whole stinking sanctimonious families, dead and rotted. Or maybe addicted to poppy dust and sold to slavers -- it would be more profitable that way. Greedy little arranger with an eye for the main chance (his own!), not inclined to violence unless he must (too messy), knows everybody and every black secret (he thinks), and slippery as a bar of wet soap in a grease factory. But very friendly, oh yes, very friendly. Just... don't turn your back on him. And the slave-buyer? Bernald knows, absolutely, it was the King's youngest son. Of course, Bernald is not the only person who knows how to disguise himself... or lie to implicate others. [IE, DM's call...]
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