Homebrew system thread II, section 3

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

At times I think destiny, fate, karma, what-have-you has it in for roleplayers; quite what the mechanism (within the context of indulging superstitious gibberish of course) is, whether having a head running at reduced capacity because of being busy in other worlds causes us to miss and misread things in this reality, or whether all the good luck gets used up with rolling dice, never been sure- I wonder if the effect actually is statistically significant?

If I was as lucky in real life as, say, Aburon was in the context of the game- under a quarter of skill high order successes upwards of ninety percent of the time, criticals at least thirty- I would now be Prime Minister and CEO of Britain Inc. Hmph.

Oh, another semi- random footnote, on looney paladins and steel bikini armour; I have never been a stickler for accuracy in fantasy art like some of the people who go on about breastplates, because most of it is radically divergent from the actual anyway and the operative word there is fantasy; but when you look at actual wounds and injury taken in the Roman up to early middle ages, look at things like Visby and Hedeby, anything from the age of shield combat, the majority of hits are to the feet and shins, and to the face and head.

Keep a good guard up and most people fall to first of all disabling wounds to the lower part of the body that isn't covered by the shield, bringing them down, then the coup de grace to the head; or if the opponent is very good or very lucky to the head directly. Getting through the shield is a rarity.

Which means that until you have to abandon the shield to wield two handed weapons in order to batter through heavy plate, up until say the equivalent of the 1420's, there really isn't much if anything to be lost from going into battle in a chainmail bra. Not that this matters to any of the characters- at least, I really really hope not.


IC, Herault replies 'No, they were more subtle and more devious than that. They didn't need to push; just to take advantage of the fact that my temple was so determined to rush ahead they weren't paying attention to the details. The Sulidaini, the Vyrites and the Krylanyans let themselves appear to be bullied into agreeing to help, to make the riot happen, in such a poisonously counterproductive way that guaranteed it would fail and we would destroy ourselves in the process. Leaving them free to more subtly do exactly the same.'

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

At times I think destiny, fate, karma, what-have-you has it in for roleplayers; quite what the mechanism (within the context of indulging superstitious gibberish of course) is, whether having a head running at reduced capacity because of being busy in other worlds causes us to miss and misread things in this reality, or whether all the good luck gets used up with rolling dice, never been sure- I wonder if the effect actually is statistically significant?

This is the only gaming of any import I've done in many years; I mostly entertain myself elsewise.

If I was as lucky in real life as, say, Aburon was in the context of the game- under a quarter of skill high order successes upwards of ninety percent of the time, criticals at least thirty- I would now be Prime Minister and CEO of Britain Inc. Hmph.

If every such infamously lucky character were matched by a person in real life, the world would be a different place; it'd be a planet of Teela Browns.

Oh, another semi- random footnote, on looney paladins and steel bikini armour; I have never been a stickler for accuracy in fantasy art like some of the people who go on about breastplates, because most of it is radically divergent from the actual anyway and the operative word there is fantasy; but when you look at actual wounds and injury taken in the Roman up to early middle ages, look at things like Visby and Hedeby, anything from the age of shield combat, the majority of hits are to the feet and shins, and to the face and head...

...there really isn't much if anything to be lost from going into battle in a chainmail bra...

Heh. Although seldom do we see the chainmail-bikini types fighting with a shield either...

IC:

IC, Herault replies 'No, they were more subtle and more devious than that. They didn't need to push; just to take advantage of the fact that my temple was so determined to rush ahead they weren't paying attention to the details. The Sulidaini, the Vyrites and the Krylanyans let themselves appear to be bullied into agreeing to help, to make the riot happen, in such a poisonously counterproductive way that guaranteed it would fail and we would destroy ourselves in the process. Leaving them free to more subtly do exactly the same."

Larric frowns. "So they didn't need to push for recklessness, it was happening anyway... but they helped it and they certainly didn't report it to the baron."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Now you will find them doing exactly the same- jockeying for power and influence, using their victory to work their way into the baron's confidence and into government. They have eliminated their rival; now if the barony is lucky they will fall out among themselves and destroy each other. If not, a clear winner will emerge.'

[Simon_Jester]

"Right." It is on some level comforting, to Larric, to find himself agreeing with a rock. He can't really explain why.

[I imagine all this is being translated through Dirt, actually, which would put its own interesting spin on matters and probably result in a few humorous misunderstandings]

"Now..." he turns to Dirt and Dale. "What I think we agreed is, now we go back to Qulan town, fetch a wizard with rock-magic of his own to speak up for what Herault's said. And then, if that's what Herault wants, we can leave him here. Or somewhere else. A man deserves a quiet retirement. Or not, as he likes, in which case we'll see if we can get him changed back."

"Or have I not understood?" He's not sure just what kind of sensorium rock-Herault has, but he directs that last statement in the direction of the rock. He's recapping, mostly for the sake of making sure there is no misunderstanding, because he thought that was the deal.

[Kaelan]

"Don't know about staying a rock. Rock's get broken into other things. Would be best to turn back into Man again."

Pausing for some thought of what has happened over the past few days, "Maybe we work this for us. Lots of mind magic going about. Be good to have a priest who want's what is good for all and not for self for a change."

hefting the rock a few more time, Dirt turns to the rest of the party, "should we go get food and head back now and talk on the way?"

[Simon_Jester]

Larric nods slowly. "Food..." suddenly he realizes he is hungry; oops.

"Let's do. It's a ways back to town, we've time to think."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Larric probably isn't that much of a professional paranoid, but Dirt probably remembers enough dark elf shenanigans (including the time when three young dark elves whose horseplay had got a bit out of hand trying to bury the body of a fourth in his vegetable plot) to be familiar with the concept of silencing the witnesses.

Considering the lead, you probably do have time, but it would be wise to be prepared for trouble as you get closer to home.



On an out of character note, Fiji_fury has now passed the horizon at which I stop being grumpy that he isn't posting and start being worried that something is preventing him. We are seriously short of bodies. Jub? Anybody?

[Simon_Jester]

I'll check around my friends and see if anyone's interested in joining.

[Kaelan]

Just a bump to show that I'm still around (& reading/posting).

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Ah, risen from the grave...so what is Dirt actually doing?

Simon seems to be in the middle of moving house, so not in a good state, you had the flu, I..well, it wasn't a good winter all round, it seems.

There have been twitches- KlavoHunter, are you out there?

For that matter, anyone seen Fiji_Fury, Jub's been about but not in, anybody?

[Kaelan]

Dirt is waiting for his friends to turn up (still).......

[Simon_Jester]

When last I checked we had agreed to go get food (presumably at the nearby inhabited... was it a structure or a small village), then head back to town.

For Larric, at least, a few hours' sleep wouldn't go amiss if conditions in the immediate area permit.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Oh, good. I never meant for this to go away, you know, it just seemed like a particularly chaotic time all round and not the sort of thing to be pushing about at that particular moment. Or moments.


You had two choices as you approached, the tower (which you found the rock, formerly priest of Valdemiron, in) and the remains of the rest of the village, inhabited by refugees of uncertain nature and temperament. They are still of uncertain nature and temperament; they do not seem to have run away any further, at least.

You have had very little rest, and the walk back to Qulan will be a lot longer for tired people than fit and rested. There's precious little here (consults map, hm)- a couple of very small villages on the edge of the woods to the east of you, the road to the north.


Heading for the refugees- yes? Taking any precautions on the way?


Still worried about fiji_fury and Jub, and new blood always welcome, by the way.

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

What's the status on KlavoHunter?

Also, I think Dale is effectively relegated to NPC status, but logically I'd think he's still with us unless the Valdemironi rock-priest's Someone Else's Problem field interacted fatally with his sense of responsibility and caused him to vanish into the exorcism of his own ghost or something similarly bizarre.

IC:

Larric, talking to Dirt:

"Let's see if the refugees have anything to eat-" he remembers who he's talking to "-that isn't the refugees. If they don't, maybe we can try the next village over?"

Meanwhile the back of Larric's mind is working on desperation schemes for foraging. The first thing that comes to his mind is dynamiting fish with lightning-grenades inscribed on potsherds.

[Kaelan]

Dirt looks at the ramshackle collection of structures. From past experiences of humans this could go badly wrong quickly if Dirt tramps into the camp.

"You go in first, Dirt wait on edge of camp until you say to come in. Unless you want free food....?"

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

KlavoHunter? Smeg knows. Haven't heard from him at all- no reply to PM.

My internet has gone u/s again, BT really are not impressing me as a service provider at all, so things might be intermittent and heavily dependent on library computers for a while again.


Logically, yes, Dale should be there, but where is the player? Another source of worry. He isn't with BT, is he?


Heading for the makeshifts, there are a handful, four semi- armed men stand up to meet you; they don't look like they actually want to fight, this is a fear reaction on their part. They don't look country people at all; city types driven out more like, good quality clothes to start with but not made for the open, and badly in rags now. Frightened and pushed into a corner.

There are some more local- looking individuals behind them; counting structures there may perhaps be thirty all told, many of them are still hiding. Opening line?

[Simon_Jester]

Larric nods politely, smiling in his best inoffensive I'm-a-harmless-village-alchemist-with-no-kit-to-explode manner, pouring on the Charm-Persuasion:

"Hullo, could we buy some food?"

[Kaelan]

Dirt will fight his instinct to give a friendly smile...

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

BT has now let me down so badly that I no longer believe they either can or will give me home internet, and I may have to seek legal advice.

Anyway, short version- once communication is established, this lot turn out to be the city cousins of a farmer of these parts, fled Auvaine itself for a place of safety and hunger.

One of the largest figures in the black economy there has emerged in the aftermath of the chaos as the strongest being left standing, and is busy setting the place to rights- his version of right anyway.

They can feed you- don't show them too much coin, old habits die hard- but they also have news.

Apparently the Valdemironi in the capital tried something similar, and the aforesaid crimelord smashed them down for it.

Does that change your plans any?

[Simon_Jester]

Larric smiles. "That... that's the least surprising bit of good news I've heard all winter. I wonder if the plotting in Auvaine had anything to do with the plotting in Qulan?" He thinks for a bit, then speaks to Dirt and presumably Dale. "If the priests of the chieftain in Auvaine were doing the same thing there, obviously they won't go slapping down foolishness from the priests of the chieftain in Qulan. If the people in Qulan town don't already know that- and I'd expect that they do- then we should tell them... but... we still need to find another rock-mage, known in town, to talk to Herault for the sake of his testimony, most likely. That part, I don't think changed."

"Going to Auvaine for help putting things in order was Herault's idea, not ours, and I don't think it was ever that good a plan- not if they really did try an uprising over there. We don't need to rush the Valdemironi priests into power. We just need to make sure no one church or bunch of priests takes over all power now that there's a hole where they used to be."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Things may be functional again, although they got extremely bad tempered for a while- I had to do things like make enquiries with another phone company and mention the consumer protection act before BT bothered to turn it on, and now that they have I'm wondering whether or not to follow through with any of them anyway.

The plotting between Valdemironi temples may have been initially coordinated but looking at the timing, it's obvious events pushed too fast for any kind of coherent synchronised move. Which is odd, because if anything it is the temples that should be able to coordinate; summoned and dismissed messengers. Disrupted by other people's plans, perhaps.

In terms of rock mages, there is the usual (extremely)suspect- you'd think a druid would be quite good at that sort of thing. Failing that, someone at the tower should do.

The one bunch you should be keeping an eye on are, well, who subverted the Valdemironi's mind ritual for them? Sulidain, Elnur...Krylanya. Are you grabbing some rest here to be reasonably well ready for what's likely to be happening at Qulan, heading straight there, planning to get close and then lie up and observe, what?

[Simon_Jester]

Larric is angling for "get some food and maybe a short catnap, then head back to Qulan," with the implication of hopefully, hopefully getting to at least physically do some more resting after returning there.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

That can be done; this would have been a good point for any fresh blood, by the way, but, hm.

So, after a couple of hours of rest, enough to get some energy back at least, and carrying a fairly detailed rock, it's about a twelve mile, four hour with burden, walk back to Qulan. There will be the usual collection of traders and travellers on the road, including a party apparently on their way (by the long way round) to the Grumbling Falls to complain to the gods about recent events.

Most of which you were there for, there is little to surprise you except some of the garbled versions that are starting to emerge, that people saw bits of and let their imaginations fill in the rest. The biggest single "oh, crap" is a suggestion that non- religious influence was at work; that the cavern left bad blood, that basically buying a revolution was part of an attempt to pay off- that a baronial feud was much of the trigger for all of this.

Someone's shaping opinion again...

At the gates, then, about an hour before noon, and what do you do, where do you go?