littlehewy |
I've received my Shadows of Esteren PDFs from the Book 2 Kickstarter, and I don't have time at the moment to run a game IRL. So of course, I'm posting this, as PbPs are the next best thing.
A couple of comments:
- I've started a PbP as GM on this site, and I've struggled to keep up, even though it involved my real life friends. We've had fast-paced periods, and stylistically I'm fine, but it's been on hiatus for a while as I realise I need lots of time to do it properly. The upshot is, I'd rather be a player in this one, not a GM.
- I'd be interested in a fairly RP-heavy game, which I've found PbPs are perfect for. I play in a few games online here, and the two longest running ones are my favourites - one is a highly optimised Legacy of Fire, with lots of combat (though good interaction as well), while the other is a Wheel of Time conversion that goes months without a battle. Both are great, but the second style is more what I envisage for SoE.
So, anyone out there keen to play or run a Shadows of Esteren game? I'd be up for playing through an adventure/scenario, and we could take it (or leave it) from there. I'd much prefer to play with people who have at least the first book themselves, so that everyone's fluent in the mechanics and the flavour, and if I had a choice I'd have an experienced GM to run it - but beggars can't always be choosers :)
Also, if there are no suitable offers for GMs, I'll put my hand up - but I couldn't commit definitely for more than one adventure.
So, anybody out there..?
littlehewy |
Yeah, I bought into the recent Kickstarter on the strength of the production values. Can't wait to get my hard copies.
Well, looks like we may have a group forming here! What are you thinking VoV - are you keen to run it? If so, I'll flesh out my Varigal; if not, I'll start coming up with some campaign ideas :)
littlehewy |
I think I can live with that - I'll bring in my character after the first scenario then.
Ok, hands up if you're playing!
Also, if you have Book 0, let me know if you've read through any of the scenarios, and if so, whether that will affect your enjoyment of them. At this stage I'd prefer to run one or two of them (they're fairly short I think), but I'm happy to write my own if anyone's read them all and would rather play something fresh.
Gethric Orted |
I'm assuming we're following standard character generation?
My initial crunch thoughts are below:
Skill Domains at 2: Close Combat, Demorthen Art
Skill Domains at 1: Feats, Perception
Birthplace (Rural): +1 Natural Environment
Social Class: Commoner (Craftsman): Craft, Relation
Ways: Empathy: 4, Combativeness: 2, Reason: 3, Creativity: 1, Conviction: 5
Age: 28 - +1 to Demorthen Art, ??; Setbacks: 2d10 ⇒ (10, 1) = 11 and 3d10 ⇒ (6, 1, 4) = 11 = Lucky, Rumor and Illness
A rural Osag that grew up working as a blacksmith, but was unfulfilled. Through TBC events, he grew trained in the Demorthen Arts.
littlehewy |
@Gethric: Looks good, and yes, standard creation rules at this stage - having never played this game I've not had any chance to form an opinion on houserules :) I like the blacksmith/Demorthen combo. As an aside, I love how a characters's Ways give an insight to the character in a way that D&D/PF ability scores don't.
@Shadfrar: I like your idea, flesh it out a bit and post it up hen you can. I have made a Varigal as well, but if yours is too similar I'll think up something else for when (if) I get to play a character. Here's my Varigal for comparison - he's very much a social character, with good survival skills, stealth, and hints of other things (Demorthen, performance, shooting, perception):
Tri-Kazelian
Varigal (Travel 5, Natural Environment 3; shooting 2, relations 2, perception 1, stealth 1)
Birthplace - Rural (CC +1, NE +1)
Social Class - Middle (Performance +1, Relations +1)
Ways: Com 2; Cre 3; Emp 5; Rea 4; Con 1
Age: 22 (+1 domain, illness [Stamina -1])
Character Traits: Intuitive, Whimsical
Advantages (170):
Relations +2 (20)
Intuitive (+1 Demorthen, Relation & Travel, 40 xp)
Shooting/Throwing +3 (30 xp)
Perception +2 (20 xp)
Stealth +4 (40 xp)
Feats +2 (20 xp)
Performance +1 (10 xp)
Disadvantages (-80):
Addiction (tobacco, -1 Stam)
Phobia (locked up, 1 Perm Trauma)
Poor
Trauma (1 Perm Trauma)
Skills:
Close Combat 1 (3)
Demorthen 1 (6)
Feats 2 (4)
Natural Environment 4(9)
Perception 3 (7)
Performance 2 (5)
Relations 6 (11)
Shooting/Throwing 5 (7)
Stealth 5 (10)
Travel 6 (11)
@David: No hurry at this stage! The rules aren't crazy hard, so don't worry if you're feeling unsure/unprepared. I'd suggest that if you're pressed for time, read as much of the setting stuff as you can to come up with a concept you like, rather than the rules - so long as you feel like you have an idea of the world and its mood everyone else can help you with rules (I'd guess most of the adventure I plan to run will be storytelling/roleplaying rather than combat or skill challenges).
Also, I'd be up for people being able to redesign or switch characters after this first chapter (assuming we play on, that is). What do you guys think about that?
At this stage, I think it's safe to assume that we're beginning play in the north or northwest of Taol-Kaer. I'd love to design my own scenario, but I don't think I'm going to have time, so I'll be running either "Poison" or "Red Fall" from Book 0 - so don't read them if you haven't already! I'll keep you posted on that.
littlehewy |
Alright, let's see some characters :)
The three of you who are definitely interested, post up at least basic crunch and a general backstory on this thread. The area we're playing in is around Fearil (map location 8 on p59 of the English PDF), and once you all have your initial ideas up here we can tie in backstories, or at least come up with a reason why you're all here together.
David, if you're not confident about creating a character, feel free to ask for help, or vn play a pregen from Book 0 - if we play past this first adventure I'd like to give everyone the chance to tweak their character, or even replace them completely.
Let's aim for posting up your characters by then of the working week (Fri night). How's that sound?