Valsera's page

Reminders:

• an additional 10% of LP (145 in this case) can be spent on knowledge skills.
  
• at each circle that you advance, you can spend LP to advance an attribute. you can only do this as you advance a circle, and can't go back and 'make it up' later.
  

Alisa - glad to hear the operation went well - I'm impressed your walking again already :)

Valsera takes a step back and begins to assemble mystic energies for the spell bone dance.
thread weaving: 1d8 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + (3) = 7 (target number 7)

Perception: 1d12 ⇒ 10

Angruf.. Angruf... I had a cousin by that name. When we were younger we looked enough alike that we were mistaken for each other. Sometimes, we'd make a game of it.

Or... now that the die is cast, Grayson could give it the old college try. I promise I'll sew up whatever I can afterwards.

<spoiler=kiranov> stuff </spoiler>

Hearing Kiranov calling for some space, Valsera backs off, preparing a spell to cast at the rampaging creature.

initiative: 1d10 ⇒ 5

When you perform a Karma Ritual, you get back your rank in Karma Points. There are, in fact, a few Talents that require the use of Karma. Therefore, you want to ensure that you do not keep your Karma Ritual Talent at zero.

Just a quick note - Karma Ritual actually affords you an opportunity to spend you Legend Points on new Karma. The new Karma costs a small amount per point, depending on your race.

"I wasn't considering the Liferock, somewhat because I'm not sure if I'd recognize if we found the inhabitants. But you're right, it's clearly labeled and obviously the closest. Let's do that then."

"Soonest started, soonest done."

Hiking his pack, and resettling the sack slung over his shoulder, Valsera begins to move vaguely in the direction of the 'path' down from the hills, and vaguely towards the Liferock.

Everyone should update their character sheet so that they've used all their Circle one slots. Additionally, you have another 600 Legend Points you can spend.

As in my old game, you can generally take 10% of that and put it directly into knowledge skills that relate to what you have been doing. In this case, however, you don't have a choice - giving you a bonus of a rank 1 in "History of the Scourge".

BTW, I was just updating, and noticed that the 1 rank in History: scourge actually costs 200 points (not 60). Unless you steer otherwise, i'm going to assume that the intention was one full rank for free.

can you confirm or deny?

Also note - after spending 600, I can advance to circle 2. FYI

This is Daniel. I'm still the furry one (at least here). And the PbP thing is a little confusing at times. A little player patience, a lot of GM patience and cat-herding, and it works out OK.

Percption: 1d12 ⇒ 4
No danger of any knowledge of nature from this dwarf. Nature has neither beer, nor good pipes, nor warm fireplaces, nor nice crisp bolts of clothe for sewing. nature. Bah! overrated!

Peering dimly through the trees, and at the randomly strewn dirt and rocks amid the forest floor clutter, Valsera swallows a muttered, "That is a trail? Someone marked that on a map once? If I sneeze the 'trail' will disappear under the jumble from my sneeze. hrmmph. trail my foot."

As the band finishes the descent of the cliffs surrounding the Esopus Valley, Valsera casts a gaze around his companions, "Our map shows a way away West to a place called Throal, and a road South to Aral. Those looks like long treks. The map also shows a West/Southwest road to somewhere named 'Uropa'. I don't see large mountains or a sea by that name. Perhaps there was once a town or city in that direction. Shall we investigate such a thing before we set off to far distant lands?"

percpetion: 1d12 ⇒ 5
percpetion: 1d12 ⇒ 10

Valsera embraces Delamater briefly as the older dwarf bids them farewell. Despite his own trepidation at the new revelations and capabilities the Ghost Master had imparted on him, Valsera sensed the dwarf's emotionality at seeing them off. As the embrace, Valsera hands Delamater a small scrap of note, and says quietly, "Please see that Master Dorran gets this. I didn't want to risk leaving it at the shop when I left. But I think you understand that I want him to know my gratitude, and that I was pursuing something, and not fleeing my master. Please, in your own time, in your own way."

somewhat in preamble of the Great Departure.

In the time leading to their planned departure date, Valsera works hard not to change his behavior. It's difficult - so much is new, so many things want answering, and so many new answers want exploring. Valsera keeps his nose in his work - when he's not doing his normal work, he works on his 'side project' - warm clothes for everyone Dlamater has indicated will be going away with them.

Valsera's dreams continue. If anything, they grow in intensity and vividness, often shocking him awake at night in terror. Valsera is both relieved and deeply troubled. Now he knows these dreams are a manifestation of something real. They are an aspect of his Pattern as an Adept - a nethermancer Delamater called it. The fact that these visions have some objective reality is horrifying. At the same time, Valsera is sleeping easier and feeling less anxious overall. He is not actively losing his mind. His dreams are real, and are a part of the larger world. The occasional glimpses Valsera gets of otherworldly connections and patterns are not hallucinations, but actual glimpses of a magical reality - an imperfect perception enabled by his talents as a nethermancer.

With this internal roiling, and churning, and Valsera also realizes he is seeing his village for the last time. He actively spends time visiting the places he wants to hold memories of. He seeks out his older relatives for a chat. Without speaking them, Valsera said his goodbyes, and lagered up his memories for many tomorrows to come.

At night, in his small sleeeping niche, Valsera sits shivering. He has woken abruptly, swallowing a terrified cry. He fumbles the lamp slightly brighter, and wills himself to greater wakefulness. Valsera reaches for the cloak by his bedside, and the embroidering needle. He clears his head by searching the cloth for the place where he has left off his embroidering. Valsera summons to his mind's eye the view upriver from the bridge over the Esopus, and uses that scene to guide his hand and inspire the patterning he sews into the cloak. After several moments' diligent work, Valsera puts aside the travel cloak. He takes up his own traveling cloak, and finds where he left off in that patterning. He resumes his stitching, but now allows the terrible visions to guide his hands - Valsera tries to drain the horrible visions from his mind by giving them outlet in the decorative artwork. He alternates these two tasks for over an hour, ceasing mainly because the lamp is beginning to dim and gutter. Before he retires again, Valsera compares the two pieces.

The travel cloak for Maizi is soft, flowing, with edging and patterning that bring to mind the gentle flow of the Esopus River, with groundings and panels that somehow evoke the orderly fields surrounding the river. In contrast, the cloak Valsera keeps for himself is almost stiff with the volume and density of the embroidery work. Panels in the shoulders and down the front sway like armored plates, rather than hanging with a soft drapery of fabric. The panels, the embroidery, the patterns in them, the contain elements that are terrible. They are ugly in places, but ugly as an expression of terrible power. In other places the embroidery is beautiful, even delicate. But beautiful in a manner that comehow conveys the blade behind the smile. Both cloaks are beautiful pieces in their own way. Valsera has been meticulously careful to retain the joyful for the cloaks and sacks of the other Adepts who will be fleeing the Valley with him. But Valsera's own cloak - without explicit depiction, Valsera has given vent to those things frightful and terrible that inflict themselves on him in the night.

At last the great day arrived. Valser packed all of the supplies he had been amassing into two great sacks, and slid off, by a roundabout route, to join the others at the Kaer, and to take the definitive steps off of the track his lfe had been on, and onto a new track - a new Pattern to his life.

perception_2: 1d12 ⇒ 3

willpower: 1d12 ⇒ 11
willpower: 1d12 ⇒ 2
perception: 1d12 + 1d12 ⇒ (12) + (2) = 14

"Master Delamater I will surely do as you recommend, and help in the way you propose."

After Delamater's story, and with realization of how everyone in the group has been maneuvered into a box, Valsera blurts out, "Adepts? Where? You mean us? You? But none of us have horns, or breath fire." Valsera continues to splutter, winding down to a withdrawn and stunned shell. As others react loudly, enthusiastically, and in other ways, Valsera looks on in shock.

When a lull develops in the conversation, Valsera interjects, "This... renaming... can you do it privately, without our being exposed to all of Esopus? How would it change me?" Valsera listens to the responses intently. He is obviously thinking it through - torn. Uncertain. "So I wouldn't be the same person - I'd be transformed in spirit? I might be a different kind of Adept? Or similar to me, but no hallucinations? no dreams?" Again, Valsera listens, and he seizes on something in the discussion.

"We are special, aren't we. I've never been special. In fact, I've always been sub-standard. Not fast, or strong, or good at hunting. Maybe a bit clever. But nothing that will prevent me from becoming an old bachelor tailor in a hard scrabble village."

"I think keeping this would cause me to lose my mind. I have been fearful of that for several months, and I didn't even understand what was happening to me, never mind trying to repress it or hide it." Drawing a deeper breath, "Renaming would put the essence of my self at risk. It would not necessarily work - I might orient to a different Adept pattern. And for what? A quiet life of poorly recognized and under appreciated service to clan and village, with little prospect to establish a family or garner the admiration of my comrades. Sewing and embroidery are a staid, respectable, steady, and necessary occupation - but not one to inspire blind devotion of amorous attention."

~~~~ Valsera follows the conversation for some time, rather than lead it ~~~~
"So you think they're right? You think we should be cast out into the wilds? To die? I know you say it will be different in a group, with preparation. But what do we know about what we can find there?"

Valsera listens to discussion, retorts. It appears he has made his determination, but is interested in taking in more information, and gauging his colleagues. His colleagues that he is seeing in a new light.

"I will undertake this initial adventure. I will depart as disaffected youth for a winter, and learn what I can from your ancient materials. I fear this will cost me my life, or my sanity. If, after the winter, I am alive and not entirely out of my mind, I may choose to opt for a private Renaming." Sensing perplexity, Valsera attempts to explain, "I am frightened. To death. I have been for months. Now I know options. None of them are particularly attractive - execution, solo exile, risk all that I am for a quietly desperate sinecure, or a the sanity challenging task of internal wrestling with the greatest demons of our generations - myself as an Adept. It is insane. Everything I've learned screams that it's evil. But the alternatives are worse."

"So I'll take my chances on flight. I may fail and choose a coward's option. But I will try to transcend."

@xyanna - <dice=some text>dice code</dice>
replace angle brackets with square brackets... :)
<dice=target 15>1d12</dice>

For example:

Valsera is wondering if Delamatar might be afflicted by a dwarven disease..
Lore: Dwarves: 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6, 1) + (3) = 10

Valsera buckles in and knocks out the last of the garments for tomorrow's order.
Tailor: 1d12 ⇒ 7
previewing
conveniently, on of my lore die max'd, so I add another die, and preview again
now that no more of my dice have max'd, I hit 'post'!

'Well that was certainly an odd drop-in,' Valsera thought to himself as he continued to work diligently through the stack of orders for the following day. 'I wonder how Delamater knows of my night terrors, or what an aging dwarf blacksmith can do for such things?'

Valsera shrugs, dismissing his musings. He'd given his word, and he'd be visiting with the old dwarf at moonrise the following day.

"Delamatar will explain what he will, tomorrow." said Valsera to the empty room.

K - updated, and good-to-go.

REMINDER We need to treat Earthdawn dice mechanics manually through the message board system.

Here's Daniel checking in. I'm leaning toward a human warrior. Hasbrouck used to be a happy warrior, and avid participant in the town militia. He left the militia and has taken to solitary hunting in the hills.

Hasbrouck has been grappling with 'strange feelings' surrounding his service in the militia. He really loves the militia, and all things marshal. So he's grappling on the one hand with the guilt and shame evoked by his 'special feelings'. At the same time, he's feeling isolated and depressed because he can't participate in his favorite activity - his calling. Hasbrouck has been a very grumpy and moody jock for the last several months.