Crowl "Smiles" Strathmill's page

I agree with Vlaire's observations about the character, all of it is accurate for sure.

Just like Vlaire, all my XP earned will be going into that sweet, sweet Playbook.

Smiles moved through the alleyways of Silkshore, holding the still aching knife wound upon his side. There was a frown upon his face for a moment as he looked for the flickering blue light that Lydra had told him about.

The small, somewhat crooked door that was dangerously low to the waterline. Three sharp knocks followed and the door would open with a small Iruvian man. Decorated with tattoos, he gave Crowl a look and shook his head.

"We're not open for business. Go awa-" Before he could close the door, the Spider would put his foot in the door. A slow smile would spread over his face as he gave a small nod.

"Oh no, you most certainly are. Lydra sent me, I have a cut that needs looking at." The man stared at the ruffian, frowning for a moment before nodding. "Bring the coin in."

I'm going to say that the man has 2d6 for healing? Sound fair?

Healing: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10
Three segments filled. Just got to keep safe for the next score.

Since I had Jerren help me, I'm going to roll for that additional d6 for clearing heat.

Clear Heat: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Same result :D

So I was going to post this in the main chat but I felt it'd be too wordy and I didn't want to clog it up with OOC talking.

So the Spider gains XP whenever he uses conspiracy or calculation to overcome his challenges. I think I did that quite a few times, a lot of it through flashbacks. Setting up Vlaire as the minx that'd get the captain's attention, making sure the right "equipment" arrived at the room for the assassination, then having Masia go off and try to drug the one guard with a quick slip of the drink. I'd like to push for 2 XP but if you guys think differently, that's cool by me. :D

Now I wanted to check for the "express your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background" trigger. You have it that it has to be expressed in the mission but the character sheet says that it just has to be expressed. I think that'll be pretty hard to trigger than since most character development seems to happen in downtime and freeplay honestly. I don't think Smiles had shown any of these things regardless, maybe his early interactions with the group showcased his somewhat gentlemanly nature?

You Got A Friend In Me: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Yay. I did not overindulge so definitely no XP there.

As for Crew XP, I think we definitely hit the bolstering of the "Strange" reputation. Ghosts appeared and stalked through the building, a captain was found naked and dead surrounded by bondage gear. I think that should at least be 1 XP.

As for our drives, conflicts, goals, and nature of the crew? I think we showcased a bit of a conflict or schism in the group. There are the "truly strange" members of our group; Bell, Shadow, and Vlaire. I feel like Crowl and Masia are using the group's strangeness to their advantage more than indulging in it. So maybe 1 XP?

What do you guys think? I'm going to reread through everyone posts and try to help you all get some more XP goodness :D

It doesn't look like any of us are friends with anyone who happens to have access to a witch or a physicker for healing. Would our crew's contact, Lydra, have something for it? I'll spend my 1 coin for the extra downtime event, just want to have a chance for an okay roll. Otherwise, we'd have to acquire an asset I think to have access to healing, yah?

"As you say, Shadow. The job went well, we all came out relatively unharmed, and have a nice bit of coin to call our own. A fair trade, I saw." Smiles would murmur as he rose up from his seat, stretching for a moment before looking towards the others.

"If you excuse me, I have a date with a friend to handle some of this risky business we've been in to and to make amends to hassling poor Madame Tesslyn. I bid you all a good day."

He almost turns to leave, stopping and having a small moment of recollection before he turns back and steps towards Vlaire.

"Miss Kingston, a gift for you. When the man was unconscious down below, he was touched by a ghost. His tattoos seemed to glow and I sketched them the best I could. It may be useful to you, it may not, but it is yours nonetheless." He would pull out a nicely folded paper with the sketchings of the Hollow's tattoos. What information she could gain from them, Smiles did not know. He was no Whisper, after all.

With his business done, his hood was brought up over his head and he made his way out into the darkness of Duskvol's streets once more.

~~~MEETING AT THE RED LAMP~~~

Smiles would enter back into the wonderful estate, his mind now able to move from a business state to one of pleasure. Beautiful girls, women, boys, and men seemed to move throughout the estate and Smiles's needs were woefully unsatisfied. As he made his way in though, he caught the outline of the wiry man with the thin black mustache that was his friend Jerren.

"Jerren, my friend! Good to see you!" Smiles would say with a wide grin, stepping in close to his childhood friend. The two had stayed close ever since those days in Crow's Foot, he was one of the few to come and check in on Crowl while he was locked away in Ironhook Prison.

"Crowl, you bastard. You think you can bring an archivist of my caliber to a brothel?" The feigned indignation from his friend brought a laugh from Smiles, who nodded quite cheerfully.

"If he is the chap I remember when I was young, I do. I remember you staring at the minxes when we were young!" This drew a scoff from Jerren, who shook his head. "Only because you didn't want me to get a crush on the ones you liked, you arse." The man's lips curved into an honest smile as he embraced his scoundrel of a friend firmly. "It is good to see you Crowl. So...you've been busy...and injuring yourself, it seems." The latter statement coming from when Smiles winced at the firmness of the hug.

"You know me, business as usual. Come, let us drink and talk. I'll find you a real pretty girl if you'd like."

The two of them talked together, sharing glasses of wine and reminiscing about the past. It was a good change of pace from the strange company he had found himself with these days. Business would eventually come into being and Jerren was no fool to think that this was just a chance to remember the younger days.

"You mean you were involved with the murder here, Smiles? And you're back here again?!" The incredulous look upon his face was priceless and it brought a wide grin to Smiles' own lip.

"As true as the sea is black, my friend. It would've been quieter but, alas, there was always something to complicate things. My crew and I, we're just beginning ourselves and to have eyes on us this early would be quite troublesome. You'll help me, won't you?"

Jerren rubbed his chin, his skin pale and clammy despite the warmth of the Red Lamp. Black, beady eyes looked back at Smiles' face before he murmured.

"I don't know..." He whispered softly, frowning for a bit but unable to hide his smirk as Smiles stood and grabbed a girl nearby, pulling her in with a surprised yelp and a giggle.

"Well, let us enjoy ourselves a little bit then, shall we? Then, then we can talk a little more business. Don't be a dour sod, lets enjoy tonight's decadence!"

Now, I remember somewhere in the book there being a thing about if you go and indulge your Vice with a friend, you get a +1d to the roll for stress relief. I can't find it though so I won't ask for it but if anyone else finds it, let me know. I'm going to use the scene both as my Consort to lower the group's Heat and my Vice Indulgence.

Consort: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
Indulge: 1d6 ⇒ 4

That'll be 4 stress and 2 heat reduced.

I'm okay with taking the extra heat. If necessary, Smiles can happily take the fall occasionally in order to lower Wanted thanks to his Jailbird special ability. It gives me a slew of advantages in prison if it comes down to it. That...and traumas are fun! :D

Paying off the Grey Cloaks is a good idea, they could become very good allies if we work things well enough. I'm fine with the heat increase as well, I know I'm going to be looking to decrease it and my stress this downtime. I may spend my coin trying to heal, two coin is a hard hit for us but I am confident in our ability to deal with wanted levels. Do we have access to a healer through any friends?

Smiles laughed a bit, that grin wide upon his face even as he winced a little. Claret's question brought a quick nod, his eyes scanning the others.

"I do apologize, Miss Kingston. I had drugged the one man and it took a bit for him to fall. I had to take him outside and deal with it." His tone wasn't particularly irritated, though his eyes went over towards the Cutter.

"He actually noticed you put it in? I'm sorry, I must've not been distracting enough. Next time, next time will be better."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I have no idea, it is just what Smiles would say. Crooked is a Cutter, he'll see what will work best and do it, I'm sure. Mostly, it was just to make sure that the others can get away. If they get away clean, easy peasy.

Smiles moves through the crowd carefully, like a voidshark among the unknowing eels. Eagerly, he begins to chat with the others that were there about what happened, sowing misinformation and convincing others that their details were wrong, that what happened didn't happen, and disturbing the timing of all the events. Jumbling the web up was a specialty of his after all.

Okay, I'm going to push myself to get the +1d for the roll. Come on, crits!

Consort: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 2) = 5
Nailed it. LOL

These Bluecoats seemed uncharacteristically focused on their work but the lightning hooks of the Spirit Wardens easily showed why there was such dedication being done. Rather than risk himself being caught in the open, the Spider disappeared back into the shadows to rejoin his group of Assassins.

I would've liked to have resisted that 2nd level harm from way back, try to make sure that I'm not walking around with a hell of a wound on me.

Prowess: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 6) = 9
Woot! No stress! Feel free to tell me if it is negated or just lowered a level. We'll say that Smiles dodged out of the swing's range before slipping out the door.

"Leave him alive, ain't no reason to add more bodies to burn" Smiles will murmur, tracing his fingers over the icy sigils tattooed upon the man's flesh. Quickly he'd reach into his pocket, pulling out an automatic inkpen and paper.

Moments before he left the den of sin and stumbled out into the alleyway, Smiles had caught eye of a young author indulging in the pleasantries of one of the minxes. As the man's attention was more focused upon her bosom, grabbing the paper he was writing upon and the inkpen was a simple thing to do.

Taking the recently pilfered pen, he would begin to trace the tattoo designs as best and as quickly as he could when the gunshot would ring out from inside of the brothel. He was certain that Vlaire would find them but time was no longer on their side. There was a growl of irritation, his head shaking.

"the Madame will not be happy with this. You run interference, I'll try to keep interlopers distracted." He would say, heading out of the alleyway and with the others. His smile would disappear, a facade of concern growing instead. "What the hell is going on? There are gunshots?!"

I'm trying to get Smiles into the group to sew misinformation and to hopefully slow the bluecoats down when they arrive.

Sorry I've been quiet folks! I got really sick during training so this week kicked my butt.

Smiles watches as the two men discuss something between one another, his eyebrow arching a little bit now as the guard began to move closer towards him with a blade drawn in his hand.

"How very interesting." He murmured to himself, downing his drink and rising up from his seat. Quietly, quickly, he'd make his own way out of the bar and start trying to make his way out onto the streets and alleys out front. The trick was that he wasn't trying to lose him, just lead him on just a little bit. Smiles wasn't a thief or a burglar, he had been a decent member of the Crows that ruled Crow's Foot. If it came to it, he'd be ready for the man. It helped that as he walked, he drew a small, easily concealed pistol that fit right inside of his palm.

I'm going to draw my concealed palm pistol and try to get him outside and not inside of the place. I'm thinking prowl to show that I move quick enough to get him semi-isolated with me and perhaps have Crooked show up behind me later to cover my booty.

Prowl: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Marking XP for Desperate

I will be responding in the morning, got a headache brewing right now.

"Better than that, my friend..." Smiles would say as the Cutter made his way through the crowds. He kept an eye on the man as he made his way closer now towards the Hollow, clearing his throat and standing up.

"A toast to one of the bravest kind of men among us, a man we all saw came in. A toast my friends, to the Leviathan Hunters and the brave trade they ply to keep us in the light! Huzzah!" There would be drunken cheers at that, a few grumbles, but it was enough of a scene to give Crooked his opportunity to slip the vial into the guard's drink.

That is me taking one stress to lend assistance to Crooked
Assist: 1d6 ⇒ 4
No better than his 5 :'(

If I may present a Devil's Bargain. Perhaps regardless of the result of this dice roll, the hunter's wife comes in hellbent looking for her husband, the cheating dog! Or Vlaire kills him in a way that is known to be associated with her Forgotten God, gaining the interest of the Church?

It is merely this situation that hasn't lent itself to us all using our talents. When things go well, characters have a relaxed time. We're having good rolls but it only takes a few unresisted rolls to take things from controlled into desperate.

@Raven - I see Madame Tesslyn could be very...business-like over it. Considering her connections and the groups she's involved with, she might be even impressed if we do it quiet enough and subtle enough. Maybe she'll want a payment for using her establishment for our wicked deeds.

I still stick with the idea that 4/5 should be the only ones that have a complication directly align with it. However, introducing new complications are just obstacles we have to get past. Just make sure to telegraph the danger, let us have a chance to jump on it before it becomes bigger.

Asking her to commit a crime would really change the whole position/effect of it. This may be a desperate position (because you don't have 1 coin to your name, none of us do) with limited effect (she knows there is security around so she isn't really in that much danger at the moment).

If you have no points in an action, you roll 2d6 and you take the lowest. Equipment and things rarely add dice, they instead can increase your Effect (from limited to standard, from standard to great, from great to extreme, extreme to...more...extreme?) or make your position safer (Desperate to Risky, Risky to Controlled). You can push yourself, taking two stress, and can either increase the Effect or give yourself +1d. You can also take a Devil's Bargain for +1d, but you can't do both for extra dice (You can push yourself for extra effect and get the +1d from a Devil's Bargain though)

It is up to Raven to what your position and effect currently are but I would like to suggest a Devil's Bargain for him to approve if he wishes. Remember, we can all suggest Devil's Bargains for each other, even our own rolls. It is up to our generous and wonderful Storyteller if they wish to use it or allow it though.

My Devil's Bargain is that "The girl knows you're doing something bad, really bad here, and has connections to the right individuals. She will use this and hold it over Shadow's head for a favor in the future."

Smiles looks over at the Hollow that is talking with one of the girls, his eyes seeming to take the man in for a moment before looking back towards Crooked with a malevolent grin.

"I think I have a plan, if you think you're coy enough to make it work." He would open up his jacket, revealing a small vial hidden within his pocket. "Slumber essence, will put a man to sleep without any issue. If you think you can slip it into his drink, that'll eliminate our own target. I should be able to get upstairs to ensure things go swimmingly."

I'm going to use a flashback here as well because I love this system and it makes being a Spider exquisite.

It was around then that Smiles's eyes would move from the man beside him and follow one of the waitresses. She would give him a small smile, the two of them had talked earlier before the captain arrived. In return for giving her a good name towards the Madame, she'd bring out a "complimentary" drink for the captain's guard to enjoy. Nothing too fancy, enjoyable to drink, and not too strong to detract from his serious duty. She'd pass buy and Crooked would hear his comrade chuckle to himself, his head nodding.

"Right on time." Crowl would say almost sweetly, sneaking the vial into his comrade's grip. "Now go and make sure this will be easy. I will provide a good moment for you."

I'm thinking 1 point of stress for the flashback there? My plan is to assist Crooked's roll by making a toast to the brave hunters that head out into the dark abyss beyond ensure our way of life continues. Hopefully, by being loud and boisterous, that'll give him the chance to slip the essence into the man's drink before he toasts with us.

We spent all our coin on the factions earlier, so we basically have no money to our name, at least nothing substantial. He could Sway her or he could use Command and just try to scare her into compliance or something.

Smiles leaned against the bar, looking back at the guards that had come with the captain. Bell and Shadow were the quiet ones, deadly and silent, and Vlaire was a seductress and in tune with terrible, arcane powers. Smiles and Masia shared something in common; they were both men of violence.

He had heard the rumors of the man known as "Crooked", a former soldier who cared for his last remaining son. it was always a shame when a parent buried their child first. It was a common thing within Crow's Foot, death was no stranger to them. He had heard about the terrible old man, capable of throwing off a gang of wishful cutters that were looking to get their names known. The guards here? They didn't really stand a chance, not with the Spider and the Cutter right nearby.

"Oh, she seems to be quite...enthusiastic about this job. Let her enjoy herself if she wishes. I am certain one of the other boys will let us know when she is done. If not, watch the guards. If they act, so do we."

He looks over at Crooked for a moment, observing the man before he gives a small murmur. "I'm glad to have you along honestly. The others have...strange tales about them to some degree. I'm intrigued to see how things develop." He says with a chuckle, swirling the wine slowly in his glass before taking another sip.

laughs maniacally and summons the bad rolls!

"Things are going exactly to plan, Masia. Shadow is upstairs, Bell is exactly where you think, and the client is being well-entertained." Smiles says, waving over a glass of wine for the older gentleman there. "Tonight will be flawless, I think. If all goes well, this drink is the only thing you'll have to down."

The Red Lamp was Smiles's favorite place to go; ritzy, beautiful, well-maintained. The smell of perfume, fine alcohol, and sex permeated the air. Smiles was dressed in nice but worn and out of fashion clothing. The trousers were patched in certain places, his long coat wasn't the right colors anymore, and his shirt wasn't used to the size he had become while he was in prison.

Drinking from a fine wine glass, he watched the interaction between Vlaire and Alric go perfectly. That dangerous smile was etched across his face as she took him upstairs. He, much like Shadow, had arrived early and the room had been properly prepared.

I'd like to use a flashback here. feel free to tell me the stress it'd cost.

Smiles knew many different girls, an addict of the flesh. He didn't beat them (unless he paid for that), he treated them with respect, and he adored each and every one of them. He had experienced all different kind of pleasures in their soft, well-paid hands, and knew of a few different...tastes to enjoy. Talking with one of his favorite girls and exchanging a decent amount of slugs would allow him to rent her gear for the night, gear that would be available for Vlaire.

Within the room would be ropes, chains, buckles, blindfolds, gags, and other sinfully wonderful implements. Things from far away from Duskvol, exotic pleasures that perhaps even the Leviathan captain had not yet seen before. Vlaire would have her own personal, little torture chamber available for her. All they had to do was play their parts.

Holy hell! A critical success! Woot! I look forward to seeing how things are progressing then.

That sounds pretty exquisite to me. I'm going to be going with 3 load for the mission, Smiles isn't wanting to stand out too much and would rather be quick on his feet.

Do we get the additional +1d to our engagement for it being a murder in our hunting grounds?

Smiles's grin seems to weaken for a moment as the Whisper takes a long drink from the bottle and disappears off into the back of the lair with a wickedly tempting dress, a makeup kit, and the rigging they had learning and earned. He looked at the others with a curious raise of his eyebrow, awaiting the woman's return from the back.

When she returned though, his smile that had been almost a small smirk instead grew into a wide smile upon his face before he let out a laugh. It was a full, honest laugh and he would shake his head before speaking, his voice honest and smooth. "Miss Kingston, you are a woman after my own heart. Yes, let us get this over and done with."

He'd nod to the others and grabbed his supplies, making his way out of the lair and towards the Red Lamp. Tonight...Klein would die.

Truth. I am excited to be using the flashback system to get around the super in-depth planning and just go for it. I'm sure we'll adapt around it and get it going, see how things work out.

"He has a decent choice in whores, I have to say, and frequents The Red Lamp within Silkshore. I'm very intimate with the place, it is my personal favorite after all. The Hollows are created with a tattoo and some ritual, no one knows how honestly. If it comes to a fight, keep an eye out for it...it may be a weakness of theirs."

"He's also upset House Pendryn, made quite the enemies through some reckless dueling. There is that possibility but I don't think that is where we're aiming." He looks towards Vlaire, giving an appreciative look-over of her body before he nodded. "He fancies the minxes, dear, so you'll need to be our lure. We'll get you all dolled up and pretty. I'll make sure to sell you well, don't you worry."

"Shadow, Bell." He says, his attention turning towards the mysterious and dangerous man. "Your task is to make sure she isn't bothered and that she stays safe. He is an accomplished duelist, we'll want to kill him on his back. His eyes finally drifted to the older man, that dangerous grin spread across Smiles's face.

[b]"Now...this place is my favorite place. I would rather keep Madame Tesslyn out of it and keep this as...clean...as possible. However, perhaps one of the working girls would be willing to work with us for a decent amount of slugs...or...the right leverage."

That grin seemed to grow fiercer as he nodded, looking at his assembled band of murderers. "Let's go and kill us a captain."

My vote for the kind of plan we'll want to take is Deception. The method of deception is having Vlaire be the prettiest and newest Minx at The Red Lamp to lure him somewhere to be murdered.

I am unsure of what to select as an additional downtime activity. What do you all think?

It is a very strange feeling, I have to agree. Flying by the seat of your pants and just coming up with details is both fun and also a little nerve-wracking. I've been riding along by the seat of my pants and enjoying myself.

Yay for excellent rolls and details!

*For Klein's ship crew, is there someone who seems to be able to control the Hollows or do they a weird charm upon them? Perhaps it will be possibly to have Ophelia tweak their control and use them to kill him for us or perhaps do something awful like tear the body apart for us.

*Is there someone in particular that is annoyed with him? Perhaps the Rosencruz family could help set him up in a situation or we can fake being his employer to lure him into a trap.

*Which Brothel does he tend to visit and does he have a favorite girl at all? It'd be significantly easier to kill him when he is on our turf rather than vice versa.

Leaning in over a table, the low hood obscuring most of his face, the trademark grin on Smile's face is all that can be seen in the candlelight that lingers there.

"A leviathan hunter is a hell of a first mark but not an impossible one. What kind of monster hunter thinks that he'd be the hunted away from his awful prey?" His grin falters for a moment as his head turns towards Bell, nodding towards the stuttering man. "We get lights when we show we're worth a damn, not a moment sooner." His tone is equal parts mocking, jovial, and actually serious.

The man the group has come to know as their Spider isn't the most physically impressive man. A rough, blonde stubble beard and hair that would've been shaggy if it wasn't for the slightly receding hairline. He speaks and moves like a thug would, comfortable in the most vicious of vice dens and other unsavory places. His hooded coat is worn and frayed near the end, his dress shirt stained by not terribly so underneath. He is a poor man that is getting by the best he can. What is there is that clean, white smile upon his face. Either a sign of good fortune or terrible omens.

"Political ramifications indeed, this will hit his family and house quite hard. The truth is...the struggles of the elite aren't our business. The killing is, we'll focus on that. If we do good enough, maybe his surviving kin will hire us in retribution." Pulling out a series of papers, he'd wave everyone in closer. "Now...lets get to work. I got a bit of information about the man I think may help..."

I'd like to Consort with a bunch of the dockers and sailors, try to learn what I can about the man from them. I'm sure that there are rumors about his life going on, so one and so forth. Maybe they've even hit some legal issues and Jerren knows something?

Consort: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8
Woot! A six!

As for plans, there is a list of them and they all have a missing detail that they want us to fill in. They are as follows...

Assault: Do violence to a target - Detail: the point of attack
Deception: Lure, trick, or manipulate - Detail: the method of deception
Stealth: Tresspass unseen - Detail: The point of infiltration
Occult: Engage a supernatural power - Detail: the arcane method
Social: Negotiate, Bargain, or Persuade - Detail: the social connection
Transport: Carry cargo or people through danger - Detail: The route and means

We can do some gathering information about where he is, what he likes to do, what he does for fun, so on and so forth. If we can get him into Silkshore, we'll get the +1d for our Engagement rolls. Keep in mind, we should pick what sounds like the most fun rather than what is the most optimal. For myself, I'm thinking either Deception or Infiltration at the moment.

I'm thinking something like....The Black Glove Society. I don't know why my brain is wrapped around "glove" but I like the "Society" part at the end.

@DMRaven - Crow's Veil and Emberdeath aren't upgrades, they're Special Abilities. We get one Special Ability and two Upgrades. I'm putting my vote in for Crow's Veil and then Deadly.

I am 100% for giving a coin to Scurlock and ensuring he is a friend of ours that way. I haven't had much contact with him in any of the games I'm running and he is a very interesting character.

As for what to do with our other coin. I think paying off the Gray Cloaks would be best. They can be very helpful and useful later on and having a neutral basis gives us space to work with them. I personally like having an enemy of the Lampblacks, they can bring it on. :D

As for ideas, I have the feeling that rather than Vlaire finding Smiles, Smiles finds Vlaire. He isn't a Cutter, he is just a fairly violent Spider. He meets her because he found out she has been gathering people for some reason and offers his connections, resources, and skills.

EDIT: I fully corrected Smiles's profile now. I used the template from the other game and didn't fully change it.

Crow's Veil is also in line with the "Strange" methods. A group that can kill without being noticed is quite the power. We'd have to consider how we came across that ability and what ritual we do to take it.

The ability that one of our guys can phase through walls helps too. It'll be pretty interesting to see how we apply the "Strange" idea when we make our plans and such.

I really embrace the whole "Do what is fun, not always what is best" mentality. So I'll usually go with whatever works best.

As an aside, I think with our Crew's veteran advances, we should grab stuff either from Bravos or Cult to help with our dangerous but weird reputation.

I'm for using...unusual methods of killing. Like using a swarm of terrible spiders that eat a man whole. Arcane rituals, weird methods, things like that.

Alrighty, as for our second crew upgrade then I agree with is Assassin's Rigging. Having more inventory space is fantastic, especially when that space can be dedicated to more murdering.

We also need to decide on our special ability as a group of starting Assassins. I think that Deadly would be the best one. It gives us that additional action point to put into one of three of our most useful skills; Hunt, Prowl, and Skirmish.

So what ideas do people have for us being "Strange". What is it that we've adopted that makes people look at us oddly and with discomfort?

I was hoping to wait for the results to appear of how many voted for what, then we could talk about it some.

I voted for our reputation to be Strange. Kind of a compromise of not being a cult since there are members who would really like it. I can even see Smiles approving of it because "people get scared of what they don't understand."

As for a location, I decided on an abandoned old house down the end of the road in Six Towers. I thought that'd be quite a bit of fun, the group holed up in the old, strange house. I'd also be for an underground grotto perhaps in the Docks.

For our hunting grounds, I was thinking Silkshore. There is a very strong Venice feeling there and it is the source of all the brothels, artists, casinos, and other dens of pleasure. Would be fun to be killers there.

As for upgrades, I decided on Secured & a workshop. Quarters was a close runner-up for sure.

I also went with Exeter as our contact because having a Spirit Warden contacting a Strange group of Assassins to do jobs has quite the odd and delicious tone to it.

For our specialty, I was thinking the tried and true Murder for what we do. Gives us a real clean-cut purpose, we just do it strangely is all.

I've got the books on PDF and I have the latest version as well.

Smiles could potentially be a member or a driving force within a cult, though I definitely see him having more of a "business relationship" than as an actual true and honest worshiper. The Forgotten God has power, has needs, and will give power to have those needs met. It is a bit unorthodox and a little strange, sure, but no more than the tastes of decadent nobles right?

I also know that I'm -very- interested in the less occult of things, I like the idea of gang wars and territory being taken. I adored Gangs of New York, Dishonored, things like that. I really like the supernatural and the occult aspects of the setting, I just don't know if I'm interested in having them dominate the majority of the game play that being a Cult would do.

Indeed, part of creating a Cult is creating the Forgotten God together. What kind of entity are they, what kind of aspects do they represent, so that could lead to Arkath being changed or manipulated somewhat into something a little different. At least we'd have something to base it on and work on. Like Vlaire said, different sects and stuff can be interested.

I think I'm still interested in Assassins or Bravos, whichever one we choose, but I am interested in having the occult be an active thing we deal with/get involved with.

Cultists are neat and I am intrigued in maybe eventually falling into that kind of lifestyle maybe? I have just really adored the gangland idea and want to do that really badly.

I'm excited for Assassins though, same with Bravos possibly.

EDIT: Good call on adding Stash to the end of the code. I forgot about that.

DOUBLE EDIT: Also, feel free to put up the argument for it Vlaire. There is no reason why not to and the more I think about it, the more I realize I can still get that "gangland" feel and be a Cult.

That and I like to spoil my DMs when they're in games with me :P