Dreg the Barbarian's page

Bell, the guard is coming right at you with a weapon What do you do?

You don’t need to roll for putting out lights, but Claret’s roll is going to impede that anyway.

So, are the lights still on, or did I manage to turn them off? Either way, I'm going to attempt to tumble out of the way.

Upon revision of the rules, the description of Prowl is as follows:

When you Prowl, you traverse skillfully and quietly.
You might sneak past a guard or hide in the shadows. You might run and leap across the rooftops. You might attack someone from hiding with a backstab or blackjack. You could try to waylay a victim in the midst of battle (but Skirmishing might be better).

So it sounds like acrobatic stuff, traversing skillfully, falls under the purview of Prowl and not Finesse.

Next course of action is crushing the Silence Potion vial, preferably as part of one big cool supermove, with the tumble. Or, I can just kneel on it or something.

@DMRaven: I hadn't necessarily thought of that. Well, it doesn't have to represent the overindulgence of faith itself; it could just represent some complication as a result of the pursuit of his vice. Examples!:

A faith that observes the sacrament of reconciliation could lead to him saying more than he ought to say in the confessional. A particular acute bout of paranoia, brought on by a perceived failing of one of his amulets, could lead to him making a scene in public. His vagrancy could lead to him unknowingly wandering into enemy territory. His eagerness to find any new means of protection could lead to him getting conned or taken advantage of. His wearing of a particular holy symbol could anger a particular spirit, or offend a passing cultist or (goodness forbid) demon. His paranoid ramblings could get him kicked out of yet another church. He could abruptly leave on a "pilgrimage" with no further explanation and return weeks later.

Well, crap. I came here with the intention of also making a Lurk with Ghost Veil very similar to Vrog's character. Since this is a narrative system and party comp doesn't matter so much, and since I feel like he's a different enough character, in concept, I'll go ahead and pitch it anyways, but I have a concept for a Hound I can pitch instead, if we need to diversify the party.

EDIT: F@#~ing double crap. I wasn't paying enough attention to Vrog's character, the contacts section in particular. This is awkward.

Name: Hammond "Bell" Triggs
Look: Languid, haunted, grimy.
Tattered coat and clothing, hooded cloak
Playbook: Lurk
Heritage: Akorosi (* in Consort)
Background: Underworld - Thief (* in Survey)
Freebie dots: Hunt, Attune

Vice: Faith (any and all churches that don't require a great level of commitment)

Special Ability: Ghost Veil

Description: Born in obscurity, an orphan from birth and a mutt of no special heritage, Bell chose to run with a gang of street urchins, where his calm nerves, lithe frame, and flexibility made him a natural Skulk. Growing up, he was skilled, gregarious, and completely full of himself. There was almost no thief more cocky or daring than him. When he wanted to press his abilities further, but without the patience to train or practice, he looked to stranger means of giving himself an advantage over his peers. He heard a rumor that a witch in Nightmarket had a ritual that would give him the ability to shift into the Ghost Field, essentially becoming one himself, that piqued his interest. Despite the warnings that the other people who had undergone it met terrible fates, he was confident that they only did so because they weren't him. He pulled off a particularly daring burglary, paid the witch the small fortune that he had made, and underwent the ritual, getting arcane sigils carved into his skull by ghosts.

As soon as the deed was done, he eagerly tested his newfound ability on another daring heist, but immediately discovered the horrible price he paid. Shifting to the ghost field, even for a few seconds, is like submerging oneself in horrifying, shark-infested ink. From that point on, he was never the same again. All of his confidence bled away as he was plagued by nightmares and increasingly paranoid that the restless spirits of Doskvol had his scent and were trying to cross over to consume him. To make things worse, his former street urchin crewmembers began dying, victims of murder and freak accidents, one by one. Convinced that he was cursed and consumed by paranoia, he'd spent his last Eel and was thrown on the streets.

It was then that he turned to religion, worshipping anything and everything, taking up any measure of hope and protection he could find. He acquired his nickname from the jingling noise the innumerable talismans around his neck make when he walks, and his body is covered in religious iconography to ward spirits away, drawn on his clothes with chalk and his face and hands with charcoal.

With no money to his name, he has hesitantly returned to his old trade, and has been thieving the last several months to make ends meet. His ultimate goal is to buy a safe space for himself, completely free of the spirits that he believes plague him.

Shady Friend: Darmot, a bluecoat - The only surviving member of Bell's original street gang, Darmot turned straight at a young age and went to the opposite side of the law. While the urchins were initially delighted, thinking they now had a contact in the Bluecoats, Darmot was adamant in being a straight cop, and distanced himself from his former friends. He's as by-the-book as they come, but has a soft spot for juvenile delinquents, going lenient on them and doing what he can to set them on the right path. He and Bell recently met by coincidence, and he's reluctantly showed Bell the same leniency out of pity and sentimentality. He honestly believes Bell's claims that he wants out of this life, and does what he can to help, even bending the letter of the law in the name of the greater good.

Shady Enemy: Roslyn Kellis, a noble - left with the misfortune of being robbed not once, but twice by Bell, it was by Kellis' coin that Bell acquired the small fortune needed for his Ghost Veil ritual. Bell initially targeted their manor because of their relatively lax security measures, and made off with several heirlooms that they viewed as priceless. Along the way, he discovered a hidden wall safe that he then came back for in a second burglary, stealing several compromising documents that provided the other noble families with ample material to blackmail them with. With the family's finances and reputation in ruin, Roslyn's parents both commited suicide, leaving her the sole inheritor of the estate. Overcome with bitter hatred, Roslyn did what she could to restore the family fortune, investing in several businesses, and began a clandestine campaign of wreaking horrible vengeance upon the rival families that ruined her own. With the public reputation of being a savvy investor, restoring the family's name through legitimate enterprise, as well as an underworld reputation of being a merciless killer who pried her family's former fortune from her enemies' cold, dead hands, she's always viewed the mysterious burglar that started the whole affair as the one that got away, and her vengeance won't be complete until she's paid him back in kind.

@karlprosek The thing about the Leech is that they really shine during downtime. So, play-to-play, I'm sure it wouldn't make much of a difference.

But, if there's one thing that I've learned about this system it's that downtime actions are a precious commodity, and it feels like you barely have enough to do what you want. It's very Xcom-ey that way. So, if someone is badly injured and has to waste their precious downtime actions recovering from their wounds, and you make that process easier on everyone, we will all like you. This bonus also extends to you and doesn't cost you any extra actions yourself. Plus, there's an extra bonus to physicker that they don't really call attention to on the character sheet: someone with physicker can apply first aid in the field, and if successful, the recipient ignores the effects of an injury for about an hour. If there's someone with level three harm, that could potentially be life-saving.

So physicker is a fine choice, don't worry. You can still research and craft alchemicals like normal, and if you discover any recipes it'll give you a nice headstart for when you pick up the alchemist upgrade.

@Darkfire Thief: the Dark Project, Dishonoured, Bloodborne, Fallen London, Snatch, Peaky Blinders... Yeah, the creators don't even try to be subtle about wearing their influences on their sleeve. I'm sure you could take the system and transplant it into any of the above pre-existing settings and it would work just fine.

@Aspissassin Nice idea for the vice, but vices are something your character does during downtime to unwind, unless killing people is your character's vice. I don't want to discourage you from playing who you want to play, but so far all we know about them is that they were raised from a young age to kill people, they're good at killing people, and they like killing people. Which is fine if we're assassins or bravos, but if the group decides to pick a different crew type, I don't want you to get bored or feel useless if you can't kill people. So like...I don't know, where does he live? What does he spend his blood money on? Why is he no longer associated with the Imperial military? What does he think of Skovlanders after the war? Does he like birds, or does he get offended if you ask him? What's with the bandages? Does he have some kind of medical condition?

I don't know, little details like that will help flesh him out a bit more.

@karlprosek As far as I know, you can spend time planning a score; rules-wise there's nothing stopping you, but the rulebook actively discourages you from doing so. I'm not super crazy about it, since I like thinking ahead and anticipating problems and feeling like a smart guy, but based on some of the horror stories I've heard from Shadowrun, I completely understand the decision.

@Aspissassin Right now, the only place is really in the sourcebook. If there's something specific you'd like to know, feel free to ask, though!

Yeah, upon review, I did my math wrong. I'd have to give up +1 attune to have 2 dots in each category. +2 finesse it is!

Anyways, the missing details:

Enemy: Bryl, a drug dealer. A Tycherosi immigrant himself, Dusky met the criminal upstart when he was growing up in Charhollow, and quickly became friends and partners in crime. They initially shared a similar ambition to move up and out of poverty, but once they became less desperate, it became apparent that their ideas on how to get there were very different. Dusky wanted an accomplice for his confidence schemes, but Bryl wanted brains for his muscle. They had a falling out when Bryl settled on dealing drugs and extorting money from his impoverished addicts, while Dusky wanted to run real estate scams targeting more well-to-do marks. After the split, Bryl was hard-up for money, and sold out Dusky and his scheme to several landowners, whose property he was secretly operating on. With his enterprise ruined, Dusky, in turn, sold insider information of Bryl's operation to a rival drug lord, who cracked down and ruined Bryl. While Bryl has set up shop in another district of town, somewhere, they don't go out of their way to exact revenge upon one another, but their absolute hatred of one another continues to run deep.

Friend: Nyrix, a prostitute and fellow con artist. Nyrix caught Dusky's eye when she flagged him down on the street, mistaking him for a wealthy man, and told him there was a devil in her (rather generous) bosom gnawing at her chest and she needed money for medical treatment. He immediately spotted the bizarre con for what it was, and after patronizing her, realized that she was much more clever than she looked, and an aspiring actress, to boot. He asked her to be his accomplice in several different schemes, and the two have gotten along famously ever since. They both share the same taste in expensive fineries, and their rapport has developed to the point where they can finish each other's sentences and signal each other with the smallest and most subtle of gestures. Despite being a regular customer of hers, in addition to her partner, their relationship remains purely professional. Purely professional.

Purveyor of Vice: Mademoiselle Gladheart, owner of an upscale clothing boutique in Brightstone. Dusky made her acquaintance when she went discreetly (by her standards) looking for a Whisper to cleanse her shop of the devils that were plaguing it. Dusky gratefully stepped in with his knowledge of the old country, and warded off the evil spirits with his ancient Irruvian rituals. He agreed to do it, and return once a month to perform the arcane rites anew, for a hefty discount at her shop. She agreed, but only if he kept their arrangement a secret. And that he only come after hours, when none of her regular customers would see him. And that he not use any of the finer fabrics, nor her newer designs. And that he not tell anybody where he got his clothing from. Dusky found this arrangement perfectly acceptable, but only because her store wasn't actually haunted, nor does he actually know any ancient Irruvian rituals.

@WarforgedMan Nice!

@DMRaven Yeah, I'll say. Great job!

I gotta say, I'm liking the diversity of everyone's suggestions so far. Everyone's been raising the bar more and more on their character descriptions, so I'll elaborate more on the bits I left out at some point. Currently, I'm debating whether to keep my action points where they are or spread them out more. On the one hand, having 2 points in finesse would be very useful to a grifter, or anyone trying to employ misdirection or manual dexterity. But on the other hand, by putting that second point up in one of the Insight skills, I'd have two dots of resistance in each category, and if I regularly lie and deceive people, I'm probably gonna be resisting Insight a lot. But on the oooother hand, I don't want to spread myself too thin.

I think I'm gonna go with +1 Hunt, +1 Survey, +1 Finesse, and +1 Attune after all.

@DMRaven although I'd say painting might be a little too healthy of a hobby to be considered a vice, you might want to think about how potentially irresponsible your paintings are.

If you spend most of your free time and money on painting, it could be Pleasure. If you're an artist as a side business, doing original works or forgeries, it could be Obligation. If you shut yourself away from the world and paint obsessively for stretches of time, it could be Stupor. Or, if you're feeling Weird, you could be like that guy in Ghostbusters 2 and restore creepy, haunted paintings of Forgotten Gods from the ruins under Doskval.

Dushyant Kalyan Chaudhari, or "Dusky" as he's more commonly referred to as, is a second-generation Doskvolian from an immigrant family. He has the deeply tan skin, brown eyes, and jet-black hair of his father, and the short stature and round face of his mother. He has perpetually long stubble and a handlebar mustache. He exchanged his Irruvian clothing, turban, and accent for posh Akorosian ones at a young age, but can effortlessly put it all back on if it's advantageous for him. Despite living in poverty, he has a wardrobe of expensive clothing and jewelry, and even though you can find holes in the fabric and hammer marks in the metal on close inspection, he wears it all with dignity and class.

He comes from a long line of wealthy Irruvian archivists. His grandparents, father, uncle, and aunt ran an expansive occult library in the Home Country before they fell under Imperial persecution and had to flee, leaving nearly everything behind in the process. Fleeing for Tycheros, but running out of money on the northern coast of Akoros, his grandparents tried to ply their trade, but found Duskwall to be more puritanical and superstitious than Irruvia, and had little success. Penniless, and with their family name in ruin, they were forced to find work in one of Duskwall's many eeleries. His father eventually met and married an Akorosian artist.

Dusky was given a traditional Irruvian birth, with arcane rites and ritual bloodletting. If you were to inspect his mouth with a bullseye lantern, you would see what looks like a series of intricate, demonic tattoos lining the bottom of his tongue, the roof of his mouth, and the back of his throat.

Raised by a discontented family, taught what occult practices they could remember by oral tradition, and hearing stories of the luxury his ancestors used to live in, Dusky became determined not to live a life of low-born labor. Instead of cowing to Imperial law, he decided to use his natural charisma and dexterity, as well as his given talent of speaking with spirits and demons, to lie, cheat, and steal his way to a life of luxury.

While he's found success as a small-time grifter, his incurable taste for expensive clothing and fine luxury items has ensured his place below the poverty line. He knows that he can't make it to the top on hustling and con jobs alone. He needs to take on bigger, more dangerous marks. And to do that, he needs to fall in with the right crowd -- one as skilled and foolishly ambitious as he is.

Personally, I like Hawkers the most, but I wouldn't mind Shadows, Smugglers, or Assassins for the crew as well.

I'll go ahead and put my money on Slide, cause I can see everyone is having the same problem I am, and the more decisive people we have, the better. So, The Slide:

He's a grifter (underworld) of Iruvian descent. His vice is Luxury, and his special ability is Ghost Talk.

He's friends with Nyryx, the prostitute, but hates Bryl, the drug dealer.

Action dots: Attune +1, Finesse +2, Survey +1

Yes, I'm one of the two. Unfortunately, I'm in the same boat as you, I usually wait until the others have picked something and try to fill the niche. As such, I've pretty much thought of a concept for every class. And what type of composition we'd want also depends entirely on the type of crew we settle on.

So for now, I'll say that my favorite concept is probably The Slide, but if we need more combat-centric people I can easily switch to a Hound or Cutter, and if more people want to be faces, I can switch to a Leech or Lurk.