While I want to play this, I find it hard to remember to keep checking when I keep finding no progress.
Rather than dropping though, let's continue and see how it goes.
We've made it this far, it seems a shame to stop completely.
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James leaned towards Roy and Chaney, "What's with the look on Llewella? She's usually more reserved in public. Has something happened?"
I only had filler planned, so we're good.
BTW, who rules in Rebma these days?
I'm still here, it's just been a busy work/life lately.
Is there a particular response to Eztil from any of the Amberites?
The intent was to list the parents 'son of Cullum Beowulf of Shadow and Deirdre, Princess of Amber', then give his own titles. Hopefully, it sounded clearer spoken than it looked written. James does not claim the title of Prince.
The herald cleared his throat, then boomed,
(cough) The three paused at the wide doors, surveying the room, before entering. James led Eztil into the room, nodded fondly toward Llewella, before bowing deeply to King Ramdom of Amber. "I must take a moment and greet Aunt Llewella and those of Rebma. Then, I think wine will be required.'
I'm about to go have the herald announce the 3 of us, then go in.
With V. K's connection problems, he might still be awhile. Edit: And we're in. I do not envy the herald having to pronounce all that.
James looks at the herald, "Go ahead and announce us that way, would you? Him first, then me, then Eztil. I want to watch and see if anyone reacts to 'von der Drachenburg'." "Roy, most of the paperwork was for Belferran to keep me appraised so I could get caught up when I got back.
"Roy, I'm James. If the right side of the law is behind the desk, though I sometimes wish it were the other way. It's always so much simpler to break the law than enforce it." "Has Random made you Sheriff? It was the office I held before I left, but it's his office to bestow. We should probably let this gentleman know before he explodes, trying to decide which to offend or how to announce both of us as Sheriff." James looks sideways at the herald as he backs away from the group of them. "Ease yourself, man. There'l be no duels here today. My cousin and I are just talking." 'Roy, this man is Eztil. Random has answered his request to learn about his family by inviting him to the council. I'm guessing his questions will receive some answers before it's over."
We can do the preambles over in the roleplay thread, but I'm worried we'll lose track if we don't get to the story soon.
Court like this is unusual in the books so we will be winging it to a large extent.
James entered the hall outside the Council Hall, nodding to the guards. As he approached the herald outside the doors, he said, "Sir, if it be time, would you announce me- in full formal 'James, son of Cullum Beowulf of Shadow and Deirdre, Princess of Amber, Duke of Faiella-bionin, made Knight of the Stair and Gentleman of her Court by Moire, Queen of Rebma, and Sheriff to the city of Amber' and announce this man as 'Eztil-tlatia-teotl, Nahualli of the House of Razors, once Varick von der Drachenburg'." He looks down the hall and smiles, "Hold on that for a minute, I believe I must ask this gentleman first." "Sir," he says to the approaching Family-member, "We have not met, though I believe our paths have crossed. You are Roy MacArran, are you not? I am James, and I have heard that Random has had you at the post of Sheriff. Would you be announced so as we enter?"
Alright, the first step of introductions is done in the role-play thread.
The letter read as James expected it.
"Come then, I will guide you to the chambers.
And so that we may be announced, what name shall you be known by?
He leads the suspected Cousin (or perhaps other kin) to the hall outside the Great Council chamber where a line of others wait to be announced.
In the interest of getting moving again, I will wait 'til this evening, then ret-con Eztil's appointment as being the actual big meeting. I'll take him in with me, let him give his name and titles to be announced, and prepare to enter. We will come together with Roy before entry, meet and greet, and then go in. Chaney can either already be there or enter after; same with Nikolas. Marjana can then make an entrance. And, after dealing with all entering, Viscount K can give us the briefing on what the campaign will be about. Everyone not OK with this, please speak up.
In regards to entering the council chamber, I just picked titles and such this morning (after a busy couple of days in RL).
I would be happy to post my entry, with who I go stand with and what titles are announced once the other bit is set. If I go in, I can either meet Roy at the entrance and we'll walk in together (and be announced as Sheriff and Acting Sheriff) or he can use my entrance as an example and follow me. Chaney, Nikolas, are you comfortable with hearing yourselves announced or do you want to do it yourselves? I think Marjana wants to bust in after the others are introduced. We seem to have lost Alric.
I'm fine with your story, but I shouldn't take over the meeting you have scheduled with someone else (likely it would have to be Viscount K). The fact it was the day of the big council meeting and I had just arrived back let me make the mistake that you were family and called to the king's meeting. Finding out that was not the case and that you were scheduled to be elsewhere at what I thought was the time of the campaign specific meeting means I have to hand you off. If you would rather the note be from the king (or a representative of him) and the meeting listed be the main meeting, we can run it that way. Anything set up by your unknown relative might have needed to already happen if you are planning your character to attend the council meeting.
I can't really divert you if you have a scheduled meeting already.
If you wouldn't mind, send me a PM one more time with your final points, one last time, noting specifically any secret Attribute buy-ups or sell-downs. Names and titles as you would present them to the steward, please. Feel free to be as verbose as you want (nobody's gonna tell you no), but like the man said, brevity is the soul of wit. I admit to some confusion. Did you want the names and titles as part of the PM about final accounting or do you want us, in the game play thread, to enter the council chamber after an announcement of our names and titles?
The letter grants Eztil entrance to the castle with instructions to meet in Faiella's Garden at 11 bells. I can take you to the garden for the meeting, but not do the meeting itself (that would be V.K.'s side). Is that what you're after?
James turns in surprise, looking closely at the young man. "You arrive today, at the time of the Great Council called by King Random, with invitation in hand.
He reaches out his hand towards the vellum, saying "If I may?"
"Former gang or former period?" The guard nods twice. "I see." James walks quickly to where the visitor, dressed in his colors, waits with the guards at alert. Hmm, There's something about this one, something either dark or, more likely, familiar. "Pardon all, perhaps I can help?" "Sir, you await entrance? Have you been summoned on this day?" The senior guard shows the invitation bearing the Seal.
He turns, with the expectation that the man will want to speak privately, and misses the guards' reaction to 'Cousin'.
To be clear, I'm not being called by the guards officially (I've been out of town and am not in charge of palace guards anyway) as much as being available at the right time. Anything in the city earlier would have been dealt with by the guards present or passed on to Roy. I'm going to make an error when I go to see what's up at the palace entrance, so we'll see where it takes us.
Eztil Sorry, I didn't get anything up last night.
james
Eztil, if you want more interaction before entering, copy and paste this to your next post. James checked in at the mirror, nodded at his reflection (thankfully back in the proper colors after a steady uniform of black), and left for the Palace. As was his habit, he Trumped directly to his rooms there and then stopped by the nearest stationed guard to let them know he was in. Family etiquette required each to announce their presence to the Guard if the regular doors were not used, to prevent any 'mistakes'. Looking relieved, the guard said, "Sir, I'm glad you're here. We have a 'disturbance', a, a 'special guest', you could say, at the front gate that may require a Family member." "Very well, I'll walk by. As back up, of course." Turning back to the guard, "And let His Majesty know I've returned." Then run with it. If he wants to do this, does anyone else want to join us?
Inside his private quarters, James checked his mail. It was the usual mix of formal invitations, out-of-date secrets, and cards left by visitors he hadn’t been around to greet. One invitation stood out though. Evidently Belferran had finally wised up and taken the retirement his wifes' had been demanding. I wonder who Random stuck with acting Sheriff since he didn’t recall me. I hope he didn’t replace me entirely; I could use some quiet paperwork after the last couple of years. Unlikely as that is if he had to send a full recall to all. Oh well, at least there should be some new faces. He checked in the mirror, nodded at his reflection (thankfully back in the proper colors after a steady uniform of black), and left for the Palace.
Standing outside behind his open car door, the dark haired man in the plain black suit and dark glasses called out, “Mr. Reynard, I understand your reluctance to surrender after your previous dealings with what passes for law enforcement in this town, but I am a Federal agent and I’m telling you, you will be treated fairly.”
Are we going with our choice of Amber parent or will that be part of the story?
Edit: If we've been local to the city for awhile, do we need to know anything particular to the present emergency before we get started?
As an aside, this is something I've been wondering about.
Answer (thank you, internet):
Viscount and Viscountess
How to address a Viscount and Viscountess
Viscount by Courtesy
Now we know.
Is there anything else people have questions about or need clarification on? If I haven't answered you about something at this point, it's because I forgot or the forum ate my post and I didn't notice, so please re-ask anything I haven't answered yet. I believe my public questions have been answered, but I have more private questions once you have answered the PM's.
That's Battle Rock, that is.
After each career, I listed some souvenirs I kept. Here's that list. Souvenirs: dog tags listing identity and ratings and excellent boots Souvenirs: photo albums of early life Souvenirs: Mer-hide clothing, fancy hats, and a trophy weapons' belt with over-decorated pistols and a presentation hanger (sword) Souvenirs: clown makeup, juggling clubs, an impressive collection of card tricks, a fortune teller’s regalia (including crystal ball), and thieves tools Souvenirs: multiple portfolios of my work as well as a collection of the work of others, a collection of dried up paints and worn pencils, and a habit of carrying a sketch book and doodling Souvenirs: law enforcement training and experience, exposure to unusual creatures and abilities, several plain black suits (with matching dark sunglasses), and an unbreakable pocket comb
Thanks!
a story: As part of the training I received after walking the Pattern the first time, I would be taken on a Hellride while blindfolded and my guide would leave me to find my own way back to the castle. I remember counting to 100 before removing the blinders and being eye to eye with the largest beaver you’ve ever seen. (He introduces himself as Bucktooth of the Beavers- it was that kind of place.) Having him ask if I was ready didn’t help. Evidently, I was now on a ‘quest’. “Born ready”, I said, and we were off. The idea was I needed to find the missing children from a forest village having trouble with a crone in the swamp. Pretty standard fairy tale stuff, so I went with it. Bucktooth guided me to the Crone (who made a fine cup of tea, by the way). She said the villagers had disrespected her by not delivering the tribute they had promised (a silver ring each year they used her path through the swamp to take their goods to market). The villager’s story was they sent her the ring each year, giving it to the Crone’s agent. “What agent?” says the Crone. (Remember, neither party is talking to the other all this time and I tramping from village to swamp with tea on one end and ceremonial beer on the other – warm, lumpy beer, served in bowls.) Somewhere in all this, the beaver leaves. Right about the time I figure some sort of trickster has been stirring things up. I head over to the market town (getting the Crone’s permission first and being respectful about it). The silver smith gives me a really good description of the rings he’s been making and I do a Trump to match. First use takes me to a raven’s nest on the side of a nearby mountain. He gives me the ring in return for clearing the clog keeping his favorite spring from flowing. Second use takes me into the river, where a lady fish has swallowed the ring, thinking it was a lure used by her beloved fisherman. I get that ring by trading the gold ring the fisherman has been too shy to offer her. Rinse and repeat for four more rings. Each time I bring a ring to the Crone, another child finds his or her way home from the forest and there’s more tea and beer. Sixth ring (and child) is the last- tribute all caught up. “Happy Day!” I’m thinking. Yeah, we’re having a village feast with happy Crone in attendance. Finally, I’m thinking, something solid to eat. And what was the main course planned for the festival, you ask? Me, naturally. (It was that kind of place.) After all, they had been marinating me for a while now, with all the herbal tea and barley beer. And they'd invited the beaver tribe to the celebration. That's when I started wearing 6 silver rings. (After all, 6 is 2 three's.) That’s also when I started carrying a Trump of the castle on those excursions, hidden away.
Well, we know he wasn't an English Wolf.
I'm at my personal limit on bad stuff and can't think of any special cards I'd want to make it worth the extra debit. No worries, I do understand. If anyone does have the points, this is a good deal, but I definitely understand not wanting Bad Stuff.
Last day of the offer, folks. Chaney and I will be getting these cards, but without other input, you won't get the price break or the custom cards (without some sort of in-game deal). edit:
Cynosure and Arden it is.
We should go hunting tour-bots someday. Alright, that 2 points.
Custom cards, people- a short-cut to your necessary hang-outs.
I can see how that might be a worry. It has been said "technically speaking, they're James's Artifacts". I wouldn't interpret that to mean I could take them from you. Paying points makes it possible to recover them if lost, I'm not sure me removing my influence from them would mean you would lose them.
Ultimately, it's your decision.
If you want to volunteer a point by PM, I'm OK with that.
If there's a problem later, I'll have to take the hit if you take your point back.
"I suggest we meet as a group for the sittings.
GM V.K., are you OK with this? Eztil, are you interested (and perhaps have a point or 2)?
Any volunteers?
A few volunteered points between us and we're equipped with an essential. Four folks giving a point (Half what it would cost them on their own!) and I'll throw in a custom location card each. And, of course they'd have a Unicorn back- we're of Amber!
"Cousins, King Random has asked I spend some time with each of you.
I'm taking Trump Artistry.
You know, I never even looked at the work sheet. Seeing it written out like that , it makes sense to me. Thanks, guys.
A historical note. Per Ask History/The History Channel: The concept of modern policing has its roots in pre-Victorian England, when the British home minister, Sir Robert Peel (1778-1850), oversaw the creation of London’s first organized police force. Before Peel’s 1829 reforms, public order had been maintained by a mix of night watchmen, local constables and red-coat-wearing army soldiers, who were deployed as much to quell political troubles as to deal with local crime.
In creating London’s Metropolitan Police (headquartered on a short street called Scotland Yard), Peel sought to create a professionalized law enforcement corps that was as accountable to everyday citizens as to the ruling classes. When Peel’s opponents complained that the creation of the new police force would restrict personal liberties, Peel responded, “I want to teach people that liberty does not consist in having your house robbed by organized gangs of thieves, and in leaving the principal streets of London in the nightly possession of drunken women and vagabonds.” Instead of the resented red coats, Peel’s patrolmen wore black jackets and tall wool hats with shiny badges. They went out armed only with a short club and a whistle for summoning backup, walking regular beats and working to gain the trust of the local citizens. Robert Peel’s system was a success, and by the mid-19th century large American cities had created similar police forces. In London, the policemen were so identified with the politician who created them that they were referred to as “Peelers” or—more memorably—“Bobbies,” after the popular nickname for Robert.
A story of James, called the Late: It came to pass that James was born, son to the great hero, Cullum, and Diedre, a warrior woman from a far land. Now this woman returned to her people while James was an infant, so when he reached manhood, he journeyed to her homeland, looking to win her favor. He was too late, as she had perished in a great war fought between her brothers for the rule of their land. Her youngest brother, now the king, greeted James and gave him welcome. James joined in the celebrations of peace and passed much time with the fetes and fancies of his royal kin. There came a time, though, when his thoughts went to his Father and he traveled back to the lands where he had been raised, seeing many strange sights on his journey. To his dismay, Cullum lay in state, having found his death in the defeat of a great beast which had threatened the kingdom; some say in despair, thinking his beloved son had perished, so long had he been gone. James wept to hear this news, but found solace in one of the stories told by his father’s retainers- a strange tale of Cullum’s time in the realms of the Faire Folk, where the passage of days was a turbulent river, with hours, days, and years of twisted length. Cullum had returned from those lands, untouched by the many years he spent here, and spoken little of those days. The story went that time there was unbound and that the natives could bend it to their will. James went to the great stone circle, as his father did before him, and entered the strange realm, hoping to turn the circle of his days and return to find Cullum or even Diedre still alive. But this was not to be, as the folk of those lands, unbound by time according to legend, were long dead and the realm empty. Without a folk to moor it, the realm itself had begun to fade and James was forced to bend his will upon that place, so that he became its master. In his new power, he forgot his quest, as he brought forth life upon that land; with new peoples to walk the forest and new cities to grace the re-born kingdoms. When the reason of his journey returned to him, he found that while the stories were true and time followed the command of the ruler of that realm, its passage could only be varied, never turned back or reversed. Outside the realm, centuries had passed while his subjects followed his whims, and when he returned to his father’s land, he was forgotten and Cullum long buried. Even his mother’s people had counted him dead and their sons and daughters now held place in the kingdom, though his uncle still ruled and they welcomed his return, one again offering him a place at the festivals and celebrations. This time, James had learned at least some measure of wisdom and requested that the king give him duties and responsibilities, that his life be moored in reality, not Shadow.
I have a question about constructs,
A construct is sort of building a power (Ghostwheel) or an enhancement to a power (spikard). So the first step is concept and having the power that would be incorporated into the construct. No extra cost. Step 2 is to define the Shadow it is located in and find the cost of that Shadow as a personal Shadow. Apply a multiplier for more than one Shadow. Step 3: Define access, whether by artifact, manifestation, or personification and apply a connection multiplier based on that. The fourth and final step is to determine the Psyche of the construct (and thus it’s beginning level of sapience- later it can possibly improve on its own, even to becoming independent.). Most important is to understand that points don’t create the construct, GM permission does, at each step of the way. Ghost wheel was based on Pattern and Trump and could generate its own Trumps pretty much at will and send a manifestation and power through them almost without limit. A spikard gives access to countless sources of sorcerous power throughout Shadow and can provide formulations of spells as needed, without spending the time to formulate and hang the spell before use. An example given of a player built construct was a Trump Observatory. Presumably based in a single Shadow and based on Trump, this construct would give the ability to look into other Shadows like a telescope looks at distant stars. Cost: (the Shadow = 1 for personal Shadow + 4 for Guarded = 5) x (1 shadow) x (2 shadow conduit- likely a Trump access) x (1 no Psyche) = 10 points. Sound correct? Also note that more than one player can contribute points towards a Construct and that, unlike an Artifact, buying a Construct does not guarantee continued possession- it can be taken away. (Another thing to remember is a standard reminder that GM's can create Constructs, too. Abuse of your power from a construct can result in abuse of you by a GM controled construct.)
I don't always use PMs, but when I do, I'll be having a Dos Equis.
Edit: Dammit gets through the filters? Coool.
My word on it. I wouldn't cross a gunman of your caliber. Consider yourself the Head Troubleshooter, with your choice of offices and an expense account that always gets approved.
After years of Poirot, Criminal Minds, Gunsmoke, the Phoenix Guard, and many more, I think I could be a good Sheriff.
I bid 4 for Sheriff.
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