Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

[Panzersharkcat]

"Not here, which is good enough for me."

(OOC: I was tempted to try to join up with Calvern and then stab her in the back when I leveled up sufficiently. That would be quick path to being a grease stain on the wall, though.)

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

She's a telepath, and she's got loyal subordinates whose friends you tried to kill. Risky.

IC:

The alchemist shouts, with a certain outraged sense of... I'm not sure there's a neat word for it, but he's rather upset that all these people stayed here while he went out to talk to the crazy demon-summoning fire-woman, and now they don't believe that he's telling them what happened. If they wanted to know for sure what happened, why weren't they out there with him? Anyway.

What he actually shouts is: "Look, she's a damned butcher, and if you haven't met her believe me you don't know the worst thing about meeting her, but last I saw her she was about ______* miles off, riding that way, whether you believe me or not!"

Larric jerks his thumb over his shoulder in the generally-away-from-Qulan direction that I (OOC) presume he last saw Calvern going, as she "folded into the shadows;" I presume some degree of her actually physically turning around was involved. If there wasn't and she just vanished with a "bamf" and a puff of smoke, he jerks his thumb away-from-Qulanwards anyway, but slightly more vaguely about the direction.

*However far away the meeting was- Larric would know, I don't.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Larric definitely has a point there- although, imagine what would happen if he said it out loud. "You're in danger of turning into a hero", remember?

'There's no imminent threat, stand down, everybody. You lot, with me, to the castle.' He is not obeyed, but is at least heard by enough people that they can make headway.


Detrick's warband start shoving people out of the way, pushing their way back to the castle- which is in a state of schizophrenia, some trying to barricade themselves in, others trying to get out, some trying to get everyone to shelter in the castle- most people not even sure who they're listening to and what they're trying to do.

Much shoving and some small violence occurs- nerves are tight strung, people ready to snap at each other one moment and cry on each others' shoulders the next. She casts a very long shadow.

Oh, incidentally, the covering party bringing up the rear includes Sir Oliver- one of the relatively few voulnteers who went out in a small warband/covering party to try to back you up if things did go sour.

There's a long, horrible moment when you think you might have to break into the castle yourselves, but it passes- someone on the drawbridge sees sense, and lowers it fully.

Into the keep, then, and with as many interested people of rank as can be got in and as many of those likely to panic kept out as possible, Detrick addresses everybody 'So much for the public version. You said that now that she has us, she means to beat us into shape, basically?' That to Verone. 'She's going the other way, heading into the badlands, for some strange reason of her own?'


OOC note- we are now, thanks to long standing numptyhood, on British Summer Time. Another hour's difference, dammit.

[Panzersharkcat]

"Aye, that is correct, Sir."

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Actually no. American numptyhood in this matter is more erratic than that of Britain, but its origins are almost 98% as long-standing as yours, and we've been on Daylight Savings Time for two weeks over here in the US.

The party has been operating on four hours' time difference between London and Washington D.C., and seven between London and Los Angeles, since just before we rode out to meet the Countess- rather than the usual five and eight.

IC:

"Actually, milord, from what she said... I think she... actually didn't want to scare the city." Which is said with some surprise. "I think..." He pauses to consider the chaos outside... "She's really very bad at not scaring people. She-" arc lamp flashes on in his head- "I think she might not be able to do much, uh, countessing for a while, even if she wants to, on account of that."

[White Haven]

"To sum up, she's a very burny person, and 'dead wood,' her word, not mine, should be lit on fire. Which, conversely, means she'd rather not light people who are not deadwood on fire. In essence, the way I read it, you now have an 'Or else I'll just bloody let the Countess deal with you' threat to hand down against corrupt bastards, and at the same time you have a very, very strong motive to deal with the aforementioned corrupt bastards yourself, promptly, before She does it for you, with a lot more fire and burny and death."

Verone gives a hapless little shrug at the end of that less-for-public-consumption summary, "She's scary-strong, could take any wizard I've ever met in a heartbeat for certain. She's unpredictable. She shows up when you're not ready for her, both in the macro and micro-scale. And apparently what she really wants is good governance." He smiles faintly, then adds, "Really, it's like having the hangman put a noose around your neck, then order you to eat your vegetables."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

[OOC note first- Panzersharkcat, her primary weapon skill is into three figures. Just thought you ought to know. Between them, Lorlen Karras, Bryan of the White Grove and Aburon might actually have a fair chance- not a good, but definitely a fair chance-but most people think they're dangerous homicidal lunatics in their own right.]

That seems to be enough for them to chew on for the time being- they look at you, the verderer, the sherriff, the bailiff, the treasurer, the master of the wizards' guild, the high priest, and between them manage to reach the conclusion that you are just about done in. Intelligence in high places is not dead, after all.

Strangely, they are now much less inclined to shove you all into a corner than they were before; there's a set of rooms- a private apartment consisting of bedroom, workroom, storeroom and privy- in the keep offered to you all by the Bailiff, and it might be a bit of a squeeze but you could all fit in, and get some peace and quiet for once.

That might seem to be a good idea.

Anyone still got the energy to do anything in the night? Any parting shots as you leave the council hall?

On another note, it's been too long since XP were handed out. It's ben a long session, so call it six, for everyone who lasted through it- Larric, Alfred, Rohal, Eliska- two for Dirt, and anyone want to make a special claim of excellence for more?

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: How much does Verone get? I put 3 into Resist Magic, 1 more into Maul, 1 into Resist Injury, and 1 into Martial Arts. My current character sheet would look like this.

Temper – 13
Interrogate – 15
Intimidate – 10
Resist Magic - 15

Fellowship - 10
Oratory - 12
Politics - 4

Charm - 11
Courtliness - 12
Resist Persuasion - 10

Logic - 12
Perception - 15

Creativity - 12
Tactics - 15

Education - 13
Survival - 12
History - 10

Strength - 15
Maul - 16
Brawl - 10

Endurance - 13
Resist Injury - 14
Resist Disease - 10

Agility - 12
Martial Arts - 13
Athletics - 10

I'd appreciate it if everybody posts their current sheet after updating. I need to update my party dossier. Also remembering Larric has two points in reserve from last time, around page 42.)

Alfred has energy enough to remove some of his armor and pack it neatly before falling into bed.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Verone, 4 I think. Yes, that's a good idea, current sheets. Anyone up to be slightly haunted in the night?

[White Haven]

Since when are hauntings consensual?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

For the player, not the character. The character, they will happen to. And from at least one remove from the obvious source.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Hopefully it won't be Ghost Bryan pissed off that Alfred swiped his horse or Ghost William. I guess I'll accept if the others are up to it.)

[Simon_Jester]

ECR, didn't you mention handing Larric an extra point for character something back during the conversation with Dame D'Avariel?

And I'll update character sheet tomorrow- I'm sorry, but I'm pretty well done in myself. I don't trust my judgment tonight.

[Simon_Jester]

OOC: Ghetto Edit:

No, Panzer, I spent those points after all. I just wasn't sure what to spend them on at the moment I made that post. I worked it out the next day and posted.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Never mind, then. I didn't see that when I was trying to find what I had put stuff in last time.)

[Simon_Jester]

Question: can XP be spent to increase Advantages, at times when it is thematically appropriate to do so? Say, to buy the "followers" advantage if for some reason your character has suddenly come into possession of a body of troops, or to sharpen the character's Supernatural Alertness after learning a great deal about the supernatural?

---

Also, ongoing revised draft of Larric's "character sheet." I'm taking notes every time on what I spend points on, and why.

Factoring in:
+4 XP gained after the first day, after the fight in Coroghan and reaching Caer Edric, and the fight with the renegade guardsmen.
+6 XP gained after the second day, after fighting the elves and reaching Qulan with Radulf.
+7 XP gained after the third day, after the duel between Alfred and Sir Oliver, after the Horrible News and Radulf being executed and the horrible elf-curse and the madwoman in the steel bikini and the madwoman with the fiery demon horse and second through forty-seventh sight (go figure, it seems as if the third day was somehow more even more psychotically eventful than the second...)

---

Day One
Four points- I allocated them to the skills that I think Larric's been practicing most and trying hardest at over the last few days.

Air magic is where his more electromagnetic tricks are coming from, and where he'd been having the most trouble actually accomplishing what the character is intended to be able to do, so building that up was a high priority. Crossbow because I wanted him to be reasonably proficient with at least one means of defending himself directly, Animal Handling because he's not thick enough to have negotiated the trek from his hometown to Edric's Elbow with a pack mule in tow without learning something.

Basically, I wrote him with the mule because it seemed a somewhat more reasonable way for him to be carrying the baggage and the supplies needed to be an alchemist, or at least to make a good start; he's not the sort of person who could keep up with an adventuring party after piling all his goods into a wheelbarrow, or into a plus-sized knapsack. I figure I'll pay in the skill points to 'earn' the mule fair and square, it seems reasonable and from his background there's no reason to expect him to be actively incompetent at animal handling.

Raise Crossbow from 9 to 10
Raise Air Magic from 7 to 9
Raise Animal Handling from 8 to 9

Day Two
Can Advantages be increased for XP, if it's thematically appropriate? Things like buying followers or, as mentioned, sharpening the "supernatural awareness" ability? 4 XP per AP-worth of skill, or something else?

Anyway. The breakdown: I was still paying for the mule, so a point spent on that. The rest of the points all went to 'people-fu,' because Larric was moving into a complicated political environment and I wanted to represent him being slightly more on his guard. Of course, Larric on his guard politically probably looks like a normal politician making drunken blunders, he does galumph, but there's a difference between "too clueless to know what's going on" and "lacks the subtlety to do the prudent thing about it."

1 pt: Increase Animal Handling from 9 to 10: to pay for the mule, so to speak.
0.5 pts: Increase Riding from 5 to 6
1 pt: Increase Oratory from 6 to 7
1 pt: Increase Persuasion from 12 to 13
1 pt: Increase Human Perception from 8 to 9
1.5 pts: Increase Politics from baseline of 3 to 6: baptism by total immersion!

Day Three
OK. 7 XP, what am I gonna do with them... for a human being, with "magic stats" in the 5-9 range, raising them by one point costs 2 XP. I'm going to be doing that at least once. Resist Magic will go up due to increased confidence and experience; Determination will go up because after a day like this almost anything else is going to seem sort of an anticlimax... honestly, yes, today was very much a day of magic and politics and surprises and people trying to push him around for Larric, so the points will be spent accordingly. Perception and Human Perception, hand in hand, because he's (re)learning to be careful- the events that he's involved in are seeming less like a short-term diversion from getting back to professional work, and more like a medium-term diversion comparable to getting conscripted into the army to fight a war.

Thematically- he's learned a few things about offensive electromancy since the day began, so making him gain a little bit of extra adeptness at that makes sense. But... was today a Wits day or a Passions day for him? I'd say Passions, really. The number of challenges he faced and handled by being clever was... I can't think of any. But the number of challenges he faced and handled by being emotional, by being sincere and basically honest and swept up in events but trying to muddle through anyhow and appeal to the brighter angels of people's nature... more of those. Also, from a gamist standpoint, Larric's hit the first barrier of diminishing returns already when it comes to increasing Insight magic, so pushing Passions upward becomes a priority. I think I'll do the same for Wits with the next shot of XP, barring something strange.

2 points to increase Passions from 6 to 7
1 point to increase Air Magic from 9 to 10
1 point to increase Resist Magic from 12 to 13
1 point to increase Determination from 9 to 10
1 point to increase Human Perception from 9 to 10
1 point to increase Perception from 15 to 16

---

Larric Smith

Temper 13
Determination 10
Resist Magic 13
Resist Persuasion 10

Fellowship 10
Bargain 10
Human Perception 10
Oratory 7
Politics 6

Charm 13
Animal Handling 10
Banter 11
Persuasion 13


Logic 14
Evaluate 10
Perception 16
Runes 11

Creativity 14
Alchemy 17
Composition 9
Scrounge 10

Education 9
Craft: Bookbinding 10
History 8


Strength 9
Club 9
Brawl 9

Endurance 10
Resist Injury 10
Resist Disease 11

Agility 11
Dodge 10
Riding 6
Crossbow 10


Passions 7
Water 4
Insight 8

Wits 8
Substance 9
Air 10

---

Advantages:

Allies: -1 AP
Larric has friends and contacts among the alchemists of the region within which he's traveled, which is large but not that large; they have very high respect for him professionally, and generally like him. Being professionals in a relatively high-end line of work, they have quite a bit of money, and contacts that could be used for minor things like getting introduced to important people. However, none of them feel so indebted to him that they would endanger their own lives or livelihoods for him- they might loan him money, but they'd expect it back.

With perhaps a few gullible exceptions, they would not do anything illegal for him, not without strong extenuating circumstances. A few would at least lend him a sympathetic ear, but that's about it.

(This might equally well be modeled as a 1 AP reputation which has basically the same effect- alchemists within a loosely defined area know who Larric is and respect him, while other people have never heard of him)

Supernatural Awareness: -2 AP
Although the way Larric perceives supernatural effects can be rather odd; if there's such a thing as synaesthesia of the second sight, he's got it.

This is a relatively recent experience for him, and he's still not entirely comfortable, or sure he can tell truth from illusion, when it comes to things like auras.


Disadvantages:

Code of Honour: +2 AP
It's not so much that he's got unusually strong ethics as that he can be stubborn about them. He's not above the idea of doing dirty to people who obviously deserve it, he understands as a practical matter there are people the world wouldn't miss were they knocked over the head, and he's not a complete blithering idiot. But he can get quite vocal, sometimes at inappropriate times, about what he sees as Just Plain Wrong. More savvy and cynical characters may (have!) come to the conclusion that he is short on survival instincts.

Phobia: +2 AP
Fear of dead bodies, more so than normal for a medieval society. See ECR's descriptions for a rough sense of how bad his reaction is.

[Kaelan]

Any parting shots as you leave the council hall?

Dirt will survey his surroundings;
Poor Brickwork that looks like it was assembled by a blind orangutan who was holding a grudge, furniture that you would feel ashamed to make your torture victim sit in (unless that was the actual intention of the torture) and as for the decor....
Barely any magic in the place, for crying out loud they’re even using torches for light.
In short, this place is a dive. Still, he’s held up in worse places for the night.

Whispering to his companion in elvin.
“So, how long are we staying in this outpost before moving onto the actual castle? And is there anything to eat around here. I’ve noticed that human’s tend to get upset when you eat the ‘wrong’ thing.”

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

It's not actually all that bad- pretty good, by human standards.

Detrick speaks a little elvish, and one of the guildsmen- woman, actually, dark blue robe and crystal headed staff- speaks more; not enough to recognise the words, but enough to spot that that is what he's speaking. Both of them look very surprised.

[Remember, Dirt's version of Elvish is at best archaic, full of shorter, less complex terms, and really makes too much sense to be mistaken for modern elvish.]

The sorceress looks at Dirt, looks at Detrick, says to Dirt 'Say that out loud. An ogre who can speak the woodlander tongue- extraordinary.'

[Kaelan]

pretty good, by human standards

Human being the operative word there, nothing like setting the bar low.

Dirt looks up, mildly happy that there is more than one person in the room that he can talk two in words of more than one syllable.

“I was clarifying to my recent travelling companion human etiquette so as to avoid alarm and panic in what appears to be a self wrought situation. Then a question what our current movement plans are to be over the coming days so I can plan accordingly. Being somewhat restricted in the human vernacular of these region I suspect that several of the recent conversations have passed by myself unawares. As it is apparent that you can converse direct with myself feel at liberty to ask any questions you may. However it would be courteous to repeat the same questions to those present to allay any potential suspicion from our conversation.”

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Can I ask where you learned to converse in the tongue of the elder race? They are notoriously reluctant to act as pedagogue- disquiet that anyone not of their blood would comprehend them, I believe. Futhermore your grammar and pronunciation belongs to a time- shrouded age, with a great deal of psycholinguistic evolution and syntactic drift between those halcyon bygones and the present day.'

Everyone is now looking blankly at the guildswoman and the ogre both, and she feels it necessary to translate for the humans, 'He speaks very archaic elvish, nothing like the modern tongue- actually closer to Svartalfven, which branched off early on but never developed very far in its' own right. I wonder...'

[Simon_Jester]

Larric scratches his head. "I don't know, maybe he learned it from a very old elf then?"

[Kaelan]

“I learnt the tongue in the same manner in which I have obtained most of my skills – observation and time. I suspect that the ‘how’ is of less importance than the ‘where’.”

Dirt quickly looks over the immediate area again to refresh his memory, looking out for key factors such as the location and readiness of the guards, doors & windows, potential trip hazards and obstacles etc. The quickly through potential combat options. Best asset in this location would be his speed & stride, though he would have to incapacitate\delay the sorceress first, and then barge the door down. The odds are not good, so an alpha strike would be required. If he gets out the room, best option would most likely to use the roof tops until he’s past the outer wall and then head towards the countesses last location. Just have evade the attack party for long enough and he can outpace the horses. With luck most of them won’t carry on the pursuit in that direction.

Still, nobody is swinging yet and they haven’t drawn steel in his presence. Despite already having one of the party threaten to ‘ride him down’. Just like being back in the garden again....

So then, ears & eyes open and spidey sense on max. Might as well press on and see where this ends.

“My former employer disliked conversing in other languages. Not that he went out of his way to explain what he was saying, rather he refused to express himself in any other tongue except when he was most pressed to when gathering information. As for the formality in expression, I would hypothesise that this is a result of the social construction of the Elvin society I was abiding in. When misspoke words can quickly degrade into assassination and genocide one becomes more cautious about supplanting and adapting the local vernacular. In summary, I learnt the local tongue of the area. Carefully. Along with the required manners to survive in elvin society, at least enough to go the local markets without being sold or killed.”

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

The guildswoman doesn't translate much of that at all; takes it in, looks at the knights, who are alerted by Dirt's state of alertness, they're on guard because he is- she asks him 'This employer of yours- what colour was his skin?'

[Kaelan]

'This employer of yours- what colour was his skin?'

"Pre or post retirement?"

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

That was poorly worded anyway- sorry about that.

'Was he a svartalfven? Underground, lots of verminous icons, grumbled a lot, wore thick back armour, prone to murderous rages, very peculiar sense of humour?'