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In the sidebar on page 19 of Skinsaw, it mentions tracking sins the PCs commit or lean toward morally along the AP. Has anyone developed a good system for doing this beyond the obscure hashmarks system Richard Pett suggests?
Are you looking to weight sins, then? Stealing candy from a baby is a worse sin of gluttony than getting drunk? Hitting your wife is a worse sin than stabbing a goblin? That sort of thing?
I award sinpoints mostly arbitrarily. I think it fits. :D
My group will be filling out a PC Background questionaire, to get them thinking about who their families/friends/rivals are, how they like to spend their time, what motivates them, etc. One of the questions:
Imagine that your PC has a day to spend, however he wants, between adventures. Rank in order (from 1 to 7, with 1 being the thing your PC would most want to do) which of the following would be your PC’s preferred way to spend the time.
(NOTE: This is what your PC would want to do during down-time, NOT what you would want to spend time on during the game session.)
___ Enjoying fine food and drink.
___ Enjoying the company of an attractive companion.
___ Getting into a fight.
___ Earning some extra money.
___ Telling stories of your achievements to an admiring audience.
___ Taking action to get an advantage over a rival (or to make them look bad).
___ Just relaxing somewhere.
FoodDrink = Gluttony
Companion = Lust
Fight = Wrath
Earn Money = Greed
Admirers = Pride
Vs. Rival = Envy
Relaxing = Sloth
Director of Brand Strategy
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My group will be filling out a PC Background questionaire, to get them thinking about who their families/friends/rivals are, how they like to spend their time, what motivates them, etc.
Nice idea! My players might not go for something like this, but I do like it. Would you mind sharing the full questionnaire? How do you plan to track the points after the game begins?
Would you mind sharing the full questionnaire?
The version I have at the moment was written back in October, and is a work-in-progress. I plan to make some final edits after I finish my version of the Player’s Guide, to ensure I’m not steering everyone to make identical answers on specific questions (more on the Player’s Guide below). Note that each question only has room for a short answer (maybe three or four lines). I’ve put the questionnaire in a Spoiler block because of its length:
Player Name:
Character Name:
Race:
BACKGROUND
Where are you from?
Bonus Feat selected:
What do your parents do for a living?
How old were you when it became obvious you had the potential to be <INSERT CLASS HERE>? What did your family think about it?
What was your most treasured possession as a child?
What treasured items/mementos do you carry with you? (CAN’T be weapon/armor/gear)
GOALS
What is your greatest desire (e.g. wealth, power, knowledge, recognition, admiration, the love of a specific girl, the forgiveness of someone you hurt)? Discuss.
RELATIONSHIPS
What is your relationship with your family?
NOTE: You must provide a “Yes” answer to at least ONE of the following three items:
Is there an adult (other than parents/siblings) who had a major impact on you as you were growing up? Who was this person? How did you become involved with them? What was your relationship with them? What is your relationship now?
Have you had a significant romance (or a “first crush”)? Who was the object of your affections? Did they share your feelings? What happened? Where are they now, and what are your current feelings toward them?
Did you have an important rival (or a specific group that caused you trouble) while you were growing up? Who was this person? Were they your age, older, or younger? What brought you into conflict with them? What were they better at, and what were you better at? How did this relationship affect you? How do you feel about them now?
UNIQUE EVENTS (CHOOSE ONLY TWO OF THE FOLLOWING SEVEN ITEMS)
___ When you were little, the older kids wouldn’t let you tag along/participate in some activity. What was it they wouldn’t let you do? Did you ever get to join/play, or did you reject that activity? How did that experience shape you?
___ You were originally supposed to do something else with your life (e.g. apprenticed to a craftsman, planning to enter holy orders, betrothed to marry). How did those plans change, and were you, your family, or others upset by the change?
___ At some point while growing up, you broke the law (or otherwise did something that you knew was wrong and that would get you in trouble). What did you do? Why did you do it? Who did it with you (if anyone)? Who knew about it, and how did they find out? Were you ever caught/punished?
___ You (or your family) were victimized by someone against whom it was impossible to strike back. Who were they? What did they do?
___ You (or a loved one) suffered a serious illness or injury. What happened? How did it affect you?
___ Someone you loved suffered a sudden or violent death. Who was it, and what happened? How old were you? How did it affect you?
___ Someone you trusted betrayed you. Who was it? How did they betray you? What happened afterward?
Imagine that your PC has a day to spend, however he wants, between adventures. Rank in order (from 1 to 7, with 1 being the thing your PC would most want to do) which of the following would be your PC’s preferred way to spend the time.
(NOTE: This is what your PC would want to do during down-time, NOT what you would want to spend time on during the game session.)
___ Enjoying fine food and drink.
___ Enjoying the company of an attractive companion.
___ Getting into a fight.
___ Earning some extra money.
___ Telling stories of your achievements to an admiring audience.
___ Taking action to get an advantage over a rival (or to make them look bad).
___ Just relaxing somewhere.
I’m having to re-write the Player’s Guide because I’ll be running in 4E, adding the new races (Dwarf, Tiefling, Eladrin), changing the available classes, and probably eliminating the bonus feats (unless I feel it’s easy enough to balance them for 4E once I’ve seen the rules). My version will also include a number of specific background details that people can incorporate into their backgrounds, such as relatives in Sandpoint, contacts in Magnimar or elsewhere, etc. I’m copying THAT portion of what I’m handing out, in case anyone else wants to do something similar.
The version that follows is for 3.5, not for 4E. So, no new races (dragonborn, tiefling, eladrin) have been added yet. I also haven't put it in its final order yet. This is behind a Spoiler block because of length, but also because it has things in it that might well count as Spoilers in other people’s versions of this campaign:
THE LATE UNPLEASANTNESS
If you were living in Sandpoint five years ago, you lived through what is now refered to as the Late Unpleasantness. Over the course of a frightening month, over two dozen people were murdered, their bodies hacked apart gruesomely. The killer was nicknamed Chopper, and his victims were found in pieces, their eyes plucked out. But even after the killer was slain, the troubles were not over. Just a month later, a terrible fire struck Sandpoint, burning the Sandpoint Chapel to the ground and destroying several other buildings and homes. The town’s beloved priest, Father Ezakien Tobyn, burned to death in the fire, along with his beautiful daughter Nualia.
Option 1: Someone you cared about was one of Chopper’s victims. It may have been your parent(s), an older sibling or other relative, or a family friend.
Option 2: Your family may have left Sandpoint during that time of fear and horror, or (if Chopper killed the family provider) soon afterward.
CRIME
You, or a family member, ventured into the wrong side of the law.
Option 1: A parent or older sibling committed a moderately serious crime (theft, assault, or manslaughter, but not murder). He was taken to Magnimar for trial, where he was given the option of taking service with the Order of the Black Arrow rather than the harsh sentence his crime would normally entail.
Option 2: Your family relocated to Magnimar five years ago, where you became involved in semi-criminal activity. You either became a spotter (young person who watched for crime and signaled others to deal with offenders) in the Bazaar of Sails in the employ of Sabriyya Kalmeralm, the “Princess of the Market” (she runs a “protection scheme” that provides real protection), or else you gained a mentor who was part of the Gargoyles, a group of cat burglars operating in residential districts in the Shore (the lower half of Magnimar).
LOVE AND BEAUTY
The prettiest girl in town, Nualia Tobyn, made quite an impression on you, with her silver hair, violet eyes, and shapely figure.
Option 1: You had a crush on Nualia, even though you were too young for her.
Option 2: You resented Nualia for the attention she received from others.
Option 3: You resented Nualia’s boyfriend, a Varisian named Delek Viskanta. (You may have been jealous of him, or you may have been a younger sibling and just trying to irritate your big brother.)
ART AND ISOLATION
Your childhood was lonely, and local artist Jervas Stoot took pity on you and let you hang around with him. (LIMITED TO ONE PC MAXIMUM)
Option 1: Your home life was unpleasant (e.g. an abusive or alcoholic parent, a step-parent that cared more for the “newer” half of the family, or just a situation of neglect).
Option 2: Your interactions with other kids your age were difficult (you were different in some way, and picked on or excluded by the other kids).
In either case, local artist Jervas Stoot didn’t talk to many people, but he talked to you. He let you hang out with him, and when he “spotted a bird hidden in the wood” and began one of his carvings on a fencepost, lintel, steeple, or doorframe, he would let you watch him carve, and even show you the sweep of a bird’s wing, the curve of beak or talon, as he began to “release” the bird from the wood. He was a good friend (at least, until the events of the Late Unpleasantness).
Option A: You left Sandpoint after the death of your parent(s) at the hands of the Chopper (a serial killer that plagued Sandpoint 5 years ago), while the killing spree was still ongoing. You later heard that old Jervas Stoot was the killer…
Option B: You were still living in Sandpoint when Jervas Stoot was finally identified as the killer (it is still possible that a parent, or one of your tormentors among the town kids, was among the Chopper’s victims). The fact that you were a friend of his made your life even more difficult. When your family moved to Magnimar (or just sent you away for schooling there), it was a relief.
DWARF OR DWARF-FRIEND
You are a dwarf, or your family lived among dwarves until a couple of generations ago.
Option 1: Your family used to live in the dwarven city of Janderhoff, along the edge of the Storval Rise near Korvosa. About 70 years ago, when the Vekker Mining Company founders vanished with their investors’ funds, your family lost a great deal of money to that bad investment, or were affiliated with the Vekkers (and therefore had their reputations ruined). Your family departed for Magnimar; at some point within the past 40 years, your family moved from Magnimar to Sandpoint.
Option 2: Your family lived in Janderhoff a bit more recently, leaving that city no more than 30 years ago. While you were a child, you met a human man named Brodert Quink who had come to Janderhoff to study. Your family moved to Magnimar sometime in the last 30 years, and you again met Brodert, who was a cataloguer at the Library of Magnimar. More recently, Brodert moved to Sandpoint to study ancient Thassilonian artifacts in the area. The historian comes up with some fascinating stories about the ancient world, although you are aware that more reputable scholars consider some of his theories to be fanciful at best. (NOTE: This option assumes that you consider Brodert a friend, or at least an interesting person to talk to. This option allows for you to have spent some time in Sandpoint, either as a visitor or if your family lived there for a time.)
SHOANTI (HUMAN)
You are of Shoanti descent.
Option 1: You are of the Shriikirri-Quah (Hawk Clan). Your distant cousins Garridan and Belor Viskalai (they are brothers) settled in Sandpoint with their parents many years ago, and Garridan has sent correspondence to the clan in more recent years indicating that clan members are welcome to visit him there.
Option 2: If you are of any other clan, you are instead related to either Vachedi (jailor at the garrison in Sandpoint) or one of three Shoanti bouncers at the Pixie’s Kitten, the town brothel. This may be a distant relationship, or they could be close family (and you may have lived in Sandpoint until a few years ago).
VARISIAN (HUMAN)
You are a Varisian, and your family travels across Varisia as the wind takes you.
Option 1: You have never lived a settled life, although you have spent time in the town of Sandpoint on occasion in your young life. An ancient Varisian fortuneteller, Madame Mvashti, lives in a large manor house in Sandpoint, her old bones too weary for travel with the family. During visits, you would have stayed with her, and helped with chores and upkeep of her manor house. She may be your great-grandmother or great-grandaunt.
Option 2: Your family settled for a time in Sandpoint. (See LOVE AND BEAUTY, option 3; you are a younger sibling of Delek Viskanta.) Your brother Delek ran off nearly 6 years ago, and your family took again to the road some time after that.
DM’s Option to share any of the notes below:
NOTE 1: Your brother Delek was murdered in Magnimar about 5 years ago, and you learned about his fate, although whether you knew immediately (found his body) or only found out months later would depend on if your family had already joined him there before his murder. (If they had already left Sandpoint, let the PC have found Delek’s body, and have seen the Sihedron rune carved onto his chest by his killers. If he was still in Sandpoint at the time, only tell the PC that the body was “mutilated” but also determine how the PC was affected by the Chopper’s killing spree.
NOTE 2: Your brother Delek admitted to you before running off that he’d gotten the pretty Nualia pregnant, and that he wasn’t about to stay and let her father, the town priest, force him into a marriage that trapped him in Sandpoint for the rest of his life.
GNOME OR GNOME-FRIEND
There are a few gnomes in Sandpoint, and more in some other areas of Varisia.
Option 1: You are somehow related to (or a family friend of) Veznutt Parooh, who owns a cartography shop in Sandpoint.
Option 2: You lived some portion of your life in Whistledown, a peaceful, friendly trade-stop populated by nearly equal numbers of humans and gnomes. You are comfortable with the behavior of both races.
Option 3: You are a gnome, and have spent time in the mysterious Sanos Forest, living as a fey creature. OR You are not a gnome, but while traveling, your family came to the aid of a gnome some years ago, and in thanks, the gnome provided you with shelter (perhaps from a storm or from some frightening creature) at his tree-dwelling within the Sanos Forest. You still bear a token of gnome-friendship.
ELF, HALF-ELF, OR ELF-FRIEND
There are a number of elves and half-elves in Sandpoint and throughout Varisia. A few are described below.
Option 1: Shalelu Andosana is a ranger and expert on the goblin populations in the area around Sandpoint.
Option 2: Nisk Tander is a half-elf alchemist in Sandpoint.
Option 3: Hannah Velerin is an elf woman in Sandpoint who serves as the area’s midwife. An elf raised by her would have learned about the herbs she gathers for various uses, and might have carried messages during birthings.
Option 3: Tsuto Kaijutsu is a 21-year-old half-elf; however, his mother and “father” are both humans, and thus when he was born, his obvious half-elven blood was quite a scandal. If you are an elf and are sufficiently old, it is possible that you had a youthful affair with Tsuto’s mother, Atsuii Kaijutsu, about 22 years ago, and Tsuto is your son. You have been away for a number of years, and have decided to visit Sandpoint and check on your son (and perhaps Atsuii). (NOTE: You have probably done this before, but you have never revealed yourself to him on your past visits; in any case, you have been away for at least 5 years at this time.) OR if you are not old enough to be Tsuto’s parent, he is your half-brother, as you have just discovered from documents of your father’s, and you have decided to travel to Sandpoint and meet your half-brother.
HALF-ORC
Sandpoint has a few half-orcs among its population. Across the breadth of Varisia in general, half-orcs are rare, and are most frequently the result of violence.
Option 1: Gorvi is a half-orc who operates a street-sweeper business in Sandpoint, hiring vagrants and troublemakers to keep the streets clean. He also acts as a mentor for troubled youth – he is the sort of person you can go to with any problem, and he will help you find a responsible way through it. You may be a friend or relative of Gorvi, or you may have worked for him (which may have been your assigned punishment for some act of youthful mischief, such as mild vandalism).
Option 2: The orcs of the Hold of Belkzen frequently conduct raids into human lands specifically to breed more half-orcs, as the smarter half-breeds make the best leaders of the various orc tribes (although only the strongest are able to survive to reach such an exalted position). You may have been born to a human slave-woman in the Cinderlands, or your mother may have escaped or been rescued while she was pregnant with you. In either case, your young life would have been challenging, as little sympathy is spared for such half-breeds in most communities. In human lands, you might have been raised by your mother, or in an orphanage, or by a farm-family that pitied your situation and decided to take you in. If you were raised in the Hold of Belzken, you probably snuck off at some point before or during adolescence, deeming your odds of survival would be better elsewhere.
HALFLING
A small population of halflings dwell in Sandpoint and in Magnimar. Halflings tend to adopt the culture of the other races amongst whom they dwell.
Option 1: Olmur Danvakus is a halfling who runs the Grocer’s Hall in Sandpoint. He coordinates with farmers throughout the area, ensuring that the stalls are occupied each day, and that farmers with similar crops come on different days to help ensure that all prosper. Relatives or employees of his might spend substantial time traveling between farms throughout the growing season.
Option 2: Bethana Corwin is an elderly halfling woman who is employed at the Rusty Dragon (an inn) as a maid. She’d be an appropriate grandmother for a halfling PC.
Option 3: You were raised as a member of a specific culture, just as if you were of the appropriate race, except that your family were halflings. You might have been raised on a farm in the outlying area near Sandpoint, working your family’s land and joining with all the families (halfling and human alike) going from farm to farm at harvest time to bring in the harvest. You might have been raised among the Varisians, traveling across the face of Varisia as the winds took you. You might have been raised among the dwarves, elves, Shoanti, or some other community (see the appropriate entry above, but you would have been considered a part of that community and you will have many of that culture’s attitudes, appearance, and behaviors – neither the Sanos Forest gnomes nor the orcs of the Holds of Belkzen are appropriate for this variant, however).
How do you plan to track the points after the game begins?
Actually, I’m just planning to keep a notebook, and whenever a PC does something that strikes me as “sinful,” I’ll jot a brief note on that PC's Sins page. That way, I can scan down the list when the time comes, and remember the details well enough to make the decision.
I’ve also considered setting people up for temptation (esp. on a couple of the sins that are least likely to make an appearance), such as their behavior regarding the free food at the Swallowtail Festival (gluttony), or seeing if they decide to skip out on helping with the annual harvest (sloth).