Look! A thread for continuing side-quest shenanigans for people that need it!
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The year is 882 "apres le miracle," and the sun begins once more to set over the city of Triskellian. The bells of the Cathedrale de Temoin ring out the Office of Nones with gusto, signaling the end to another busy jeudi. The great masses of common folk in the city still go about their business of doing business, and some nobility can be seen in their carriages bedecked with ornamentation, on their way to whatever appointments the highborn must keep. Within the hour the day workers are moving home, and the twilight cycle species begin their own "day." Dockworkers are loading and unloading goods from both Calabria and other lands, the Constabulary are patrolling the streets (at least in the better districts), and merchants are hawking their wares in Triskellian's many markets. For some, this afternoon is like any other. For certain others, it soon will be a morning of change unlike they've experienced before. Rosza Juette:
Blinking into the afternoon sun, you realize three things immediately: One, you forgot to close the window shutters. Two, you were lucky enough to pass out in one of the Compass Rose's rooms, as opposed to somewhere in Old Town. Three, someone is knocking rather insistently at your door.
It sounds like Guillaume, but you're not entirely sure, as there's still a mild warmth and buzzing in your head. Judging by the large, nearly empty carafe of water on the sideboard, you're lucky it isn't a full-blown hangover. You think you hear the words "breakfast" and "job." You're fairly certain your name is in there somewhere as well. Natalia:
Despite the bats' natural tendency toward nocturnal life, many of your professors are Day cycle species, and so you've been up for a few hours already when into your dormitory flounces Deirdre, the Skunk who is so proudly your next door neighbor. Continually fascinated by the idea of being so close to "real nobility," Deirdre has usually been too charming to remind of her status as a commoner, albeit a smart one. You're fairly certain she's spent most of the day attempting to impress a mutual professor, Mssr. Aldous of Harrowgate (a skunk as well), because she's wearing her infamous "White Dress" that leaves far too little to the imagination, and is in danger of bursting straight out of her clothes as she pumps your arm in welcome, crushing a piece of parchment in between her hands and yours.
"Heya string bean! How's our little Nattie doing today? I bet you're doing just wonderful and..." her words melt into a dizzying torrent for a minute or two until she realizes that you've got parchment in your hands, upon which she shouts "OH! So sorry, I crunched your letter up! Really sorry! It's important too..." Quinn:
After two weeks on the isle of Calabria, what you're most certain of is that far too many of these people fit the "barbarian" mold all too well. Not all of them do, however, and a number of the sailors on the junk that brought you across the sea have introduced you to a few useful contacts, and taught you quite a bit of Calabrese, especially the phrases and behaviors to look out for.
Needless to say, most of the natives stopped trying to con, rob, or entice lewdness out of you after a few thaumaturgic displays, and you've already developed something of a reputation among the foreign quarters down at the Docks in Triskellian. Case in point, you've been speaking with a distant cousin this very afternoon about opportunities for your house. "Well..." he tugged on his whiskers thoughtfully, the light afternoon breeze ruffling the short topknot of his head-hair. "My uncle's daughter, you are still a newcomer to these lands. While the barbarians may be backward in many ways, they still recognize the value of connections and a skilled hand. I may have something for you, but you must remember that the Calabrians will not recognize your status here, and be prepared to possibly do something demeaning." Ceallach: The way of the mercenary has treated you well enough to make a living, but lately coin hasn't exactly been flowing your way, and hiring Phelan Atavists for their shock value isn't in vogue in Triskellian like it was in the Bisclavret lands.
So it was with a quick step that you met an old friend from your pit-fighting days down at a raggedy old pub in Old Town about a potential avenue of employment. You've been waiting for about an hour, the pub already full of Day cycle species getting of work when he finally slides into a chair opposite you in a smoky, dark corner table. One of the Faela, like yourself, Eamonn is a former Brehon who found himself in the pits years ago following a Doloreaux attack on his home. After extricating himself from the pits, he found work with the Merchant's Guild of Triskellian. Conversing easily in the Berla Feini, he greets you. "Och, my apologies for my tardies, may three and five go by before it happens again. You said you needed work Ceallach? I may have found just the thing for you."
OK. Hello to my initial group of four! Here's our Discussion/OOC thread, where I'll lay down the law, you'll discuss your plans for the game, and we'll all listen to each other as it suits us. (Note: It should suit us quite often if we hope to have a good game!) Before I get into anything meaty, I'm gonna lay down a few GROUND RULES 1)Regarding text formatting when In-Character: Please use italics for thoughts, bold all spoken dialogue, and follow the standard conventions of English grammar as best you're able. If you're not sure how to word something so I'll understand it, ask me via PM. 1a)Quote marks: Use them for dialogue. Bold text and quote marks both. 1b)Please don't get annoyed or incensed if I say something about the way you worded something or a grammatical choice in the OOC thread. If I'm asking you about it, it means I don't understand what you're saying. If I don't understand what you're saying or meaning, I can't properly respond to you. If I can't properly respond to you, the game grinds to a halt. 2)Please make at least a marginal attempt to standardize your character sheets so I don't have to puzzle them out while dealing with all the other necessary game information. You can decide who has the best format amongst yourselves, but pick one please, and stick to it. 3)Don't let any antagonism from IC drip down into OOC. Period. Discuss feelings on game subjects liberally in OOC where necessary to prevent this, please. 4)Related to 3, make sure we all know where to draw the line on any given subject. If you're not sure "X" subject is OK to talk about, or if you think a certain character behavior might aggravate someone, ask first, either in OOC or by using OOC text in the IC thread. Similarly, if something I do IC bothers you, tell me so I can correct it, or at the least make a compromise if it's something really important to in-game events. Questions?
OK, so I've got sufficient interest to officially have a Recruitment thread, YAY! Before I start putting out details, here's an echo from the last thread in case people missed it: Disclaimer of Sorts:
1)I own the Ironclaw: Squaring the Circle omnibus book, the Book of Mysteries, and the Book of Fools. These are all 2E products, and I have no older Ironclaw books. We run 2E in this dojo.
2)I've never actually run this game system before, so it's gonna be an adventure for everyone! If anyone actually has play experience from either edition of the game, please inform me of potential pitfalls if possible. I'd rather avoid landmines if it's all the same to you. OK. Here's the pitch: My game conceit runs thusly: In the city of Triskellian, mercantile and trade guilds of all sorts are flourishing in the absence of hereditary despotic rule. With all the house of Rinaldi essentially dead (second son Fabrizio's whereabouts unknown), and the Jakobas out of reach, the city continues business as usual as best they can. Oft-times, business continues with a mean streak. There are multiple organizations competing for the same coin and goods in just about every field, and many of them (or factions inside them at least) are not above using unscrupulous methods for dealing with adversaries. Sometimes, this backfires. Case in point, one rather large guild recently lost a valuable shipment of goods to a bandit attack, one surely planned by a rival guild. Needing this shipment returned to them post-haste, the PCs have been approached individually (or together as the case may be) for their skills that may be of use in returning goods to their rightful owners. The "zero-point" for tone I'm aiming for is more on the lighthearted end of the spectrum. I'm playing in or running a bunch of serious games, so I'd like something a bit less "drama" and a bit more "comedy with serious bits." That doesn't mean things can't GET serious, just that I'll be working to bring us back to the base tone by the end of each plot arc. Lastly, just because I'm aiming for lighthearted doesn't mean the game won't be aimed squarely at adult players. Violence, moral issues, sex, politics, emotional trauma are all things I like to use in a game to make plots feel more real and relatable. The specific degree of each of these will depend on where we fall on the scale below as a group. That's the pitch in a nutshell. I haven't decided on what kind of manufacture or trade guild you'll be hired by, so if you've got leanings of any sort, now's the time to inform me of them! What I Need From Applicants: Aside from your actual character application, I need you to answer a few questions when you post that final app. The first three deals with encounter types, the rest are more of "theme" questions. Please try to keep your answers from becoming paragraphs long, thanks. 1)How much combat do you want to see? Ironclaw can be decidedly deadly for everyone at most levels of power, so think on that as you answer this question. 2)How much social RP and/or intrigue do you want to see? I've lumped this one together as the main theme of the game will cause the two to blur an awful lot as you go onwards and upwards. 3)How much "puzzle-solving" do you want to see? Mental gymnastics, convoluted riddles, investigations dealing with conundrums, and generally "impossible" situations. How much Sherlock would you like in the game? 4)How much "grit" do you want to see? Basically, how far do I need to lean toward "dark" fantasy. Keep in mind the tone in the pitch above. 5)How much "epic fantasy" do you want to see? Epic fantasy typically involves less grit and more heroics. How far do I need to lean toward this? 6)How much personal RP and interaction do you want to see? (This covers romantic sub-plots as well!) This covers resolving personally important background points, how much non-plot-important RP you want to engage in, romance, and just putting your character's personal thoughts out there. Final NOTE: I'm pretty sure I don't have to say this, but because it's the internet: Ironclaw assumes its anthropomorphic characters act no different than any other fantasy race in another setting. IE-like people. They eat, sleep, breathe, and have the whole wide array of wants and needs every other sentient creature does. This ain't Redwall, though it's an influence.
Exactly what it says. I have a few ideas for an Ironclaw game. Any takers? Two important notes- A: I only have 2nd Edition (Squaring the Circle) products at hand. B: I've never actually gotten to run a game with this system before, so any potential pitfalls are things I do not know.
With the arrival of the final chapter in Commander Shepard's story, I've been inspired to look back on the various ideas I've had for a Mass Effect game over the years. Without getting into a lot of detail (mostly because I haven't nailed down many yet), does the idea of a PBP game in the Mass Effect universe intrigue anyone? Play would be set in an era without Cmdr. Shepard's presence, either in the two-year interim between ME1 and 2 or in a yet-to-be-defined era post-ME3. As for system considerations, I've looked at an awful lot of them and right now a Star Wars Saga Edition conversion is looking most likely because I know that system already. Please post any questions, considerations, or interests here, especially if you've got thoughts on making an SWSE conversion successful and flavorful to the ME universe! |