Diarmuid is young (hint), strong and fast. However he's not particularly charismatic.

It's a rock, paper, scissors kind of thing, probably connected with something criminal, or at least mildly illegal.

Well right now the only people who have posted are Sikandyn, Harry the Bastard (no cast details), Jos Wollis and Diarmuid. Is it just the four of us or are there more?

Harry the Bastard has hinted at doing services for nobles. I'm thinking this involved someone mildly important from Diarmuid's neck of the woods coming to this neck of the woods. It would probably involve a bit of detective work, mostly on the hush, hush and the QT. Would require some knowledge of the underworld and whose who in the local nobility. Sounds like a repo job to me, since it requires muscle, stealth and a working knowledge of all kinds of shady.

Just the four of you.

I think Harry would be a better 'in' as he's already a fixer of sorts.

Diarmuid is giving me ideas on how to hook him in ;)

As an aside I don't subscribe to the belief D&D seems to hold that leaders have to be charismatic. It's generally true that good leaders should be charismatic, but all sorts of circumstances can lead to someone being put in charge...

I don't think there should be a 'rigid' approach to leadership. Every character brings something to the table, and a unique way to approach things. But we could have someone responsible for helping the DM keep the game going, and tell him when we are ready to proceed.

As much as Sikhandyn likes Harry, he would be extremely reluctant to accept a mission involving an assassination, for example. Harry would have known that and both would have avoided discussing the topic when they would meet for a drink.

Some kind of connection with a merchant from his lands would be good to have. Merchants were often rather like ambassadors in the old times. With news and such passing through the warehouses. Does this land have a port? I dunno, I always think of ports, with night fog as being the kind of place this group would hang out.

Diarmuid would then be the agent for his family's and other family's horses in this city. That wouldn't be enough to maintain a warehouse or a ship or anything, but I imagine someone would have to sign off on a delivery and drive the horses across the city states to their future owner. I imagine Diarmuid and the rustler Jos would be a good fit. While Harry the bastard would know the customers. Don't know enough about the other guy to say how he would fit in.

Diarmuid could be the Squire from another country. Harry would be his arranger. with Silkandyn acting as his guide and instructor. Jos would be the local lad who helps with the horses. It would all be just roles though. I imagine horses would come in once a year, leaving the rest of the time for other things. However a hard ride to deliver a trained horse through criminal infested countryside, getting past crooked border guards and the like without paying too many bribes would a good start.

Anyway, that's my suggestion. Diarmuid's been here a while and it would be easier if he knew about everyone.

Agreed - I was speaking in the general sense. Here the intention would be only to have a 'nominal' leader. Games quickly go south if someone tries to be a dictator, though it's also true that one character usually emerges as the decision maker, taking everyone's views into account. Worth noting is that you're all young or fairly young characters, and amongst a group of friends or acquiantances it's very unusual to have a real leader.



That works for me, but on the other hand I keep a close eye on the game ;)

I've been discussing Diarmuid's suggestions with him and think it would work out quite well. He'd be able to offer a basic wage for the herding tasks (which would take place offscreen occasionally unless there was an important one which would make for a good adventure), but all of you would bring your own talents and leads to the group.

Precisely - which in turn leads me to suspect quality. :D

Quick question - is the party therefore:
1 fighter
2 thieves
1 wizard?

Is this correct?

Very interesting setup if it is. Gotta love those groups without a cleric - things immediately become more realistic!

Suspicion is well and good - I have to prove the quality! But then again, one of the reasons I like to have an OOC thread is so the players can offer feedback where needed.

Close, but no cigar. It's:
2 warrior-types
1 rogue
1 wizard

Only one group here has a cleric. I haven't settled on improved healing rules yet but I intend for the Healing skill to atually be useful. There's a difficult balance between fun and common sense to be struck with healing - fortunately it's easier to have and handle downtime in a PbP game.

(I'm a fan of downtime - firstly I think most folk should have something resembling a day job, and secondly I'm also of the opinion that if you reach higher than level 12 or so then you should be getting on a bit in years! That's not a strict rule though by any means.)

No cleric is great.

Is it okay if I put some skill points in heal to take this into account?

Just as long as you're taking them out of something else ;)

Herbalism is also available - is less healing oriented but does allow for brewing of simple non-magical potions that have a basic in-game effect.

I think the direction this is going is grand. I prefer we do jobs for a nobleman or for a guild. The sort of thing which needs to be one step away from the respectable figure.

It then makes a lot of sense if one of us is the go-between.

BTW, starting money...I meant starting money if I stay level 3. Happy to have level 1 money, though; that'd actually fit the character better.

Starting gold is level 1 rolled regardless of what level you start at.

I'm fine with the plan!
(Why do I get the feeling that we're headed for trouble?)

Just so you know: I'm trying to become someone respectable, like a powerful wizard with, you know - his own estate, the right girl, a few books, etc.

--> Try not to ruin my future with your petty schemes, Harry! I know them all too well.  :D

In that case...

17:27, Today: Harry the Bastard rolled 8 using 4d4. Starting money.

Harry needs work!

Sik, you wouldn't happen to play in the RoA, would you?  Because your bio lines say that you do.

And Jos also has dreams of going legit.  But it won't happen for some time.

RoA? What is it?

It's one of the DnD mega-campaigns on RPoL.  They run 6 or 7 boards, each with 5 or more groups active.  I just made the comment because your bio line info is SOP for them.  They standardize lots of things to make it easier on their dozens of DMs.  I was pretty active with them a while back, but then the game I was in went belly up and I couldn't join any of the other ones I wanted to, so I ditched out of it then.

I'm playing in Guild of the Bronze Hand, and the DM there had his players implement this. I believe it's quite good actually, especially for the DM.

You guys interested in applying the best practice for our group?

Apart from that, I think we're ready to roll - as soon as Harry finds his next scheme to get us all to rot in jail opportunity for profitable business. ;)

I have Harry nearly ready, so would be more than happy to get rolling and fill things in as the opportunity arises.

Jos is ready to go.  Should we just start in on the first job, or should we RP out Harry getting our gang group together?

I nearly joined that game!

I'm not interested in enforcing the stats-in-the-bio thing. It's fairly neat, but I prefer to keep stats out of the RP as much as possible. That's not a ban though - your bio is your own choice :)

I'd prefer to get going and have you know each other already. You can work out any creases etc and your relationships as we go or in this thread. Will see if I can get the first adventure out tomorrow or (slim chance as it's late) tonight.

Ok folks, here's your first lot of info. I've wound up quite busy at the moment so you may have to be patient while I get things written up. We should be able to get going without too much info though - the key things are your relationships with each other, and plot hooks. You lot can sort out most of the first; I'll get the second to you before too long.

---

You'll be starting in the city state of Guril-Forsihe, which is where Diarmuid has his clients and where those of you who are from the area live. It's the only major port in Tern and thus the most rich of the city-states. Neighbours are Guril-Thursuum and Seldennal to the north-west and The Yrimba to the south-west.

The Yrimba is a small but rich mountain-state and is Forsihe's main rival. The Yrimba makes good use of mountain beasts for labour and, when needed, warfare.

Guril-Forsihe itself is a city on two levels. The upper level, atop a fairly low cliff, is home to the ecclesiastical, merchant, arcane, and noble districts, as well as some middle and lower class housing. The lower level is the trading and manufacturing sector, and also has lower class housing. Built into the cliff under the upper level is a network of man-made caves, largely used as warehouses.

The Rethayn family currently holds power. Turil Rethayn is the patriarch. His brother Meril is a powerful noble in his own right, and a trained mage. Turil's neice Illiamia owns many taverns and businesses throughout the city. Rival families to the Rethayns are the Breganzas and the Kussemrob.

---

So that's your very basic info on the place. Questions welcomed and encouraged ;)

Guril-Forsihe faces a fair bit of political pressure from Kar to keep the coast of Tern clear of pirates and worse. It's also the main point of contact for Kar since it's easier to travel and trade via ship than brave the wildernesses overland. Kar also frowns upon the relatively free nature of mages throughout Tern, so there's a little tension there.

Let me see if I can sum up the status of the characters:

Diarmuid - on station here in Guril-Forsihe as contact and merchant for his family, who ship their horses over here, usually once per year. For RP interest I'd like to say he's only been here six months, during which time he's struck up a friendship with...
Harry - A local 'fixer' who knows his way around the underworld - not that there's much of a seperation between under- and over-worlds here in Tern! Harry in particular has built up a rep for dealing fairly and reliably with nobles and other 'respectable' folk. He's good at being the man-in-the-middle.
Jos - childhood friend of Harry's who, rather than heading down Harry's semi-legit route, took to common banditry. Having seen his friend's successes though he's now seriously considering a change of pace, though he's unlikely to go straight any time soon.
Sikhandyn - another friend of Harry's and Jos's, he's arguably the most law-abiding of the bunch. His past, though, is chequered and he certainly has an affinity with these slightly rough men. He's invaluable to the group as the only one with any knowledge of mysticism - a talent of quite some worth in almost any circle, in fact.

Does that sound about right?

Correct! Ready to roll. ;)

I like it.  Whenever you're ready Mr DM.

Thumbs up from me..