You all know what to do here. Please also use this thread to explain any IC edits, or if you expect to be away for longer than a week.

Alright, it looks like we have five people, which was my threshold for moving forward. I'll leave the "requesting players" flag up for a few more days.

Next step, as I believe I've mentioned to all of you, will be to start putting together character sheets collaboratively. I expect to have a thread set up for this purpose either over the weekend, or by Monday morning, detailing holes the party will have to fill out, point limits, etc. We have one or two players not too familiar with the Warhammer universe, and one or two players without too much GURPS experience so we should all be able to help each other somehow.

For a bit about me, I live in the Mid-Atlantic (have luckily been unscathed by Sandy) and that puts my in EST (GMT: -5). I should be able to post most weekdays in the mornings and early evenings, less frequently over the weekends. I've been on this site for about 9 years, but am pretty new to being a GM. I started this game because it seems so few GURPS games on rpol make it very far. Instead of complaining, I figured I could do something about it and set up a modular campaign, giving players the opportunity to finish a game, without investing a huge amount of time. There are certainly rpol games that run for over a year, but many people are unable to make that sort of commitment.

I hope you all will have fun here! If you see any areas where I, as a GM, can improve, I would welcome the suggestion.

Do not feel as though you have to post a personal bio here, I just wanted to say hello and give you a bit of information about me, and when you can expect to see GM posts.

One final note. I will be using the occasional picture to give everyone a bit of visual reference in significant posts. Recognizing that some people might have slower internet speeds, images will go in a separate thread, with links in my posts. I will leave this thread open in case any of you all would like to do the same. Please DO NOT post pictures unrelated to the game, anything obscene, or any images of real injuries.

 Greetings fellow travelers. We have not had a chance to sit down and go over the ideas we might have for characters. At this moment i remember a game back a spell that i had a chance to run a Troll Slayer. In this game the DM was always urging the players to delve into the whys and wherefore the chars would be doing what they are doing. It was not in the DMs mind to just let you charge an enemy and hack away.

 So i am hoping to bring some of that idea and find the depth within the psyche of my Slayer. I look forward to hearing from the rest of the team.

I've got two ideas in mind. Dockside sailor or a traveling physician.

Hello everyone! I had two ideas for characters - a dwarf and a human rat catcher-turned adventurer. Seeing as we already have a dwarf I think I'll go with the rat catcher.

Hi, guys! Looking forward to travelling with you all.

My two ideas were for a sword-and-buckler fighter, or a sword-and-pistol swashbuckler. I'm still really torn between the two.

Hello! I have zero experience with Warhammer and am a GURPS veteran, having played and GMed more games than I can remember. As far as GURPS goes, I have much knowledge to share, but I will need help with the setting of Warhammer.

I have decided on a Warrior Priest, but am not unwilling to switch if something else would better aid the group as a whole.

 As far as how Warhammer is translated into Gurps i am not sure, but in the Whfp(at least in the phb and first suppliment) priest's are a bit slower to cast magic(if that is what you are aiming at.

 In Whfp it goes Initiate,priest,anointed priest,high priest. For patron, you can go with sigmar or ulric. Both are martial in power. Sigmar is more "do what you can for the king and the empire, ulric is be a man and fight your own battles.

Hi all,

I'm a bit new to both WH and GURPS, with just enough knowledge of both to scrape by. I don't know much about Warrior Priests, other than the fact that they are unique casters in WH and they take a lot of tweaking to fit into GURPS. So I guess it's fair to say that they're casters, but they're not very normal however you try to slice it. I'll leave it to Chance to see if he wants to speculate on effectiveness.

My concepts, as they currently stand are a dwarf ranger (axe thrower) raised on a farm and tales of Bugman, or a former ironbreaker/brawler with a grudge to settle on the surface. I'm still shuffling points a bit as I try to decide on a preference...

For a bit of clarification on the Warrior Priest, I am using the GURPS standards for clerical magic for the most part. The Attributes they take will be differemt, the spell list is more limited (per the magic thread), and there are no pre-requisits, but other than that, spells a Warrior Priest casts have the same requirements as though it were a spell. Their magical abilities come from a combination of prayers, inspiration to those around them (Enthrallment), and sheer charisma all of which are reflected in the required template.

A Patron god will not matter in how the mechanics of play work, but Blackfire pass is home to a significant Holy site for devotees of Sigmar (the battle of Blackfire pass was a huge victory for Signmar and the Dwarves over the Greenskins, essentially forging the Empire). A Warrior Priest of Ulric would not be received as well as a Sigmarite.

Ranks of Warrior Priest are reflected for the purposes of this game as status. Here is a rough guideline:
Initiate = Status 0
Priest = Status 1-2
Anointed Priest = Status 3-4
High Priest = Status 5-6
High Theogonist = Status 7

From a background and RP standpoint, what are the duties of a Warrior Priest? Do they merely serve as leadership and inspiration on the battlefield, or are they actual clergymen that also have martial prowess?

The rest of y'all feel free to offer your input but here's my general conception of Warrior Priests. Some are more sedentary, attending to the Emperor, operating roadside hostels, and maintaining holy sites (like the Pass battlefield). The rest are a sort of combination between traditional a fantasy paladin, and an Itinerant Preacher. They travel about whipping locals (or soldiers) into a Chaos/Orc/Undead hating frenzy and then charging off to bash those same Chaos/Orc/Undead with a hammer. Fighting evil is a high form of worship, though, for any Warrior Priest and a trip into the Border Princes is a good opportunity to not only spread the influence of the Cult if Sigmar, but also to kill things.

Yeah, they're pretty much fanatics who expect everyone else to be as fanatical.

Sounds great. Will that clash to heavily with anyone else's character concept?

 Not really. Consider my char concept. He is a dwarf who is sworn to seek out the deadliest encounters he can handle but that place him in a dire position that can lead to his death, which is what he is seeking. That is the only way for him to redeem himself in the eyes of the dwarven society for a past wrong he has done.

 So a fire and brimstone preacher isnt to far to lean forward in your concept. Still the dwarf is just as likely to punch you in the face if he thinks your insulting him..or spill his beer.

 Ummm, another word on the preacher Chance was talking about, that would be a priest of sigmar. He would be the one stiring up the peasents to go fight a chaos horde invasion. Ulric is indifferent mostly to the affairs of kings and such. And he is a favorite of the far north barbarians who have tossed their lot in with chaos hordes at times.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:08, Sat 03 Nov 2012.

I rather like the idea of a circuit preacher... with hammers.

 So, how are we looking now for classes in the group.?

Ain't no classes in GURPS. :D

 Slayer, circuit preacher, ?.

Sailor.

Warrior Priest.

At this point I'm looking to be a "spell-sword" only divine magic, hammer and shield.

Is there a place we can throw up sheets for peer review? It might help us coordinate our skills a bit, unless that's too much meta gaming for you all.

Feel free to post character sheets, if you'd like, over in the party creation thread. Actually, I would encourage you all to do this so you can get feedback from each other.

As far as the party goes, here is my understanding of where we are:
Player 1 - Warrior Priest: Possible Spokesman/Possible secondary healer
Player 2 - Grouchy Sailor
Player 3 - Sword and Board: Possible Spokesman/Financier (I like this idea)
Player 4 - Slayer, right? Or would you prefer a ranger
Player 5 - Dwarf Ranger: Tracker/Survivalist
Player 6 - Rat catcher: Rogue/Sneaking

You all will need to make sure you have someone who can bandage you all up passably. There was some talk of Player 1 and Player 2 fulfilling this role I think.

I've got first aid.

Everybody should have first aid. It's mental/easy, throw a point or two in.

I'll make sure to put a point or two into First-Aid, just in case.

It takes me forever to bang out a character, so please just bear with me; for now I've got plenty of scratch notes, but actually putting the points in will take a little more time. I'll have something serviceable by the weekend, but until then I'm very happy to put up my notes in the Party Creation Thread. I love RPing, and in my limited experience I've found it's 10x better when the group collaborates.

 Hmmm, what do you mean?, you dont think my slayer would be a good party spokesdwarf?.
^-^.

 True first aid is a necessary skill, even if limited. Hopefully the priest will have some healing magic.

 I do see one weakness though not sure how much it will affect a gurps Whfrp version and that is the lack of someone with arcane knowledge and spells.

The Warrior Priest will likely have a few spells, but magic isn't necessary for a GURPS game (in my experience, many GURPS games don't use magic). I find the system to be a bit clunky (I haven't gotten a look at Thaumaturgy yet) but I wanted to give players that option.

I don't think a lack of arcane knowledge is especially bad for the party - arcane casters are pretty rare in most visions of the Old World. That's depending of course on the kind of adventure the GM is looking to run.

I'm just a lurker for now, but since I may have opportunity to join in the future I wanted to ask a question. I am curious how you're all going about creating your characters, is there a Warhammer supplement with templates that I don't know about or are you doing them freehand so to speak?

I think there are a few conversions out there, but personally, I'm using a template the GM posted in the thread titled "Magic" (idk if you can view it). It seems at least some of the other players are more familiar with Warhammer, and so, have more knowledge to lean on, in that regard.

GURPSHammer is a conversion of Warhammer Fantasy RP for GURPS 3rd edition and is a useful resource for me. However, the setting allows for essentially any fantasy trope while adding some of its own. We have a Slayer and Warrior Priest, which are two typical Warhammer type classes/professions but the other players are making essentially a fantasy character.

Okay, so if later I wanted to convert a Dungeon Fantasy template to the specifications that you're requiring that would probably be okay?

I don't know how cinematic the game is. DF is really cinematic, but Warhammer is low fantasy -- depends on the flavour the GM likes, I guess.

While I didn't convert it, I used the Holy Warrior template as a reference for the Warrior Priest. The difference is obviously the Power Level, but it seems to be about the right level of cinematic from the feedback that I've gotten. If you were to take a DF template and do something similar to how MH converts Action templates, it would give you a good start, at least.

Similarly I used the thief and a little bit of the scout templates as a 'jumping-off' point for my character.

I went through the list of skills and picked what my character knew how to do, then gave him skill levels in doing those things.

Feel free to adapt or work off of a DF template.

I mentioned Thanksgiving in my other post just now. I will be out of town for the holiday weekend but will likely have some access to rpol and the internet at large while I'm away. Please be understanding if I or other players don't post as regularly over this time.

I just had a thought about the Slayer+Armour question: What if he could purchase an unusual background that allowed for purchasing a point or two of DR as an advantage (possibly coupled with a vow to never wear armour)? That might preserve the whole 'shirtless dwarf still tough as nails' vibe, but it might moves things into a less gritty and more over-the-top area.

Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans in the game (and to anyone else who feels like eating turkey this weekend, wherever you are).

It's actually in a couple weeks, 11/22 but I wanted to give an early heads up :)

I am fine with the DR if the majority are as well. While I don't want to get too cinematic or unfair to the other players, I also would hate to have a PC die early in combat.

There's an option in Martial Arts for that.

Take the Perk "Special Exercises: DR 1 with Tough Skin"

Then take DR 1 with the Tough Skin limitation for 3/level.

The game strongly recommends not taking more than 1-2 levels outside of superhero games.

So basically you're taking DR for 4 points/level, as each level requires a level of the perk, limited to 2 levels total.

I think that any way you play a slayer is going to have a low life expectancy, though. It's built into the concept.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:33, Thu 08 Nov 2012.

Sorry, shows what I know. We Canadians have it much earlier in the year.

My parents moved up to Canada a year or so ago, now they celebrate the holiday twice. Not where they live, but I was up in Montreal and Quebec City not long ago. Really wonderful places.

Also Grigory, I added another screen name to you for Rufus the dog. Feel free to use it when appropriate if you'd like.

I'd rather stick with Unusual Background instead of the Special Exercises/Tough Skin combo I think.

 I would have no problem with a Unusual background of infused DR over any comparison of armor. I listened to our fearless DM and am in agreement to that idea. In exchange i would opt to drop either Enhanced defense or Combat Reflexes. So i again place it out to the group as a whole for thoughts and which one should i drop in exchange?.

I'll get my character done over the weekend, and submitted by Monday at the latest.

As for the Dwarf's armour, I'm fine with whatever you guys decide. In a point-based system like GURPS, I can't help but feel like every thing balances out fairly in the end anyhow (I could be wrong, I don't have much experience with other systems, but this seems about right to me). I suppose it might be against the concept of a Slayer, but the source material goes both ways anyway.

If you took Berserk or On the Edge, Enhanced defenses and combat relfexes probably aren't worth the points. You'll be making mostly All Out Attacks.

 Ummm, lets see. For disadvantages he has blood lust,vow,alcoholism.

 Advantages if i remember them all, he has hard to kill,combat reflexes,enhanced defense's, and a few others more in tune with his dwarven abilities. Of course if i take that Unusual background i will end up dropping either combat reflexes or enhanced defense's.

 Morning all. Ok, Question. When we begin, in game terms do we know each other.?

In reply to Nikolaas von Richtgraf (msg # 43):

I think it would work if you had one or two levels of tough skin DR. Definitely makes sense for a Dwarf.

Nope. I'd say this job is how we meet.

I think it's our choice if we want to know each other or not (First post in the party creation thread mentions that, I think). I'm happy just meeting up for the job though

 Ok, then. i have one to one in the question of have we worked together and or know each other, or that we at least have heard of each other.

 I am fine with how it goes. I might suggest a reason why Grom would be part of the caravan, and that would be that it is traveling thru the border region mountains. Thus there will be plenty of chances for combat along the way.

That's a good question.

Does anyone have any positive or negative reputations? That's something that the rest of us might have heard about.

What other reaction modifiers (if any) do we all have? That'll help me figure out how to react to your PCs.

 Hmm, Grom has a -1 status. He smells bad and does not care much about his looks. I suspect that might answer your question about the slayer. ^-^

 As to the others i have no idea yet.

[Private to Grom Ironsmiter: Status in GURPS really doesn't go that low. You'd be Status -1]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:12, Mon 12 Nov 2012.

Klaus has Status -1. That's his only reaction modifier.

It gets a little confusing with several people all using blue. Could a couple of you switch to something else? I'll give up my color if anyone wants it.

EDIT: especially because the GM requested that we not use blue.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:21, Tue 13 Nov 2012.

In reply to Bjorn Jorgensen (msg # 54):

Oops, my bad; sorry. I remember reading that awhile ago, must have forgotten in between now and then.

Nikolaas will take Gray, and Maurice will take Periwinkle, unless there are objections.

EDIT

I'm sorry Bjorn, it's not too clear on my screen here; are you using Periwinkle or Lavender? I'll use the opposite for Maurice.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:59, Tue 13 Nov 2012.

I'm using Periwinkle, but I'm not in love with it. If you would prefer it to Lavender, I'll switch to something else.

No, s'okay; the Lavender is closer to Gray, so I think it works well for the pair.

Thanks all, for making that change for dialogue colors. We still haven't heard from one of the players in the IC thread. I'm waiting on him before moving forward, but feel free to socialize in the Inn if you'd like.

 Ummm, just so everyone knows. I am thinking of playing him close to a loner and very close to the edge of being crazy. Now that he is signed on with caravan his sense of dwarven honor will keep the good of the caravan and with the crew. He may not enjoy going on about things most of the humans havnt seen.

 Still if you show him how fearless you are against the green skins then he might be easier to deal with. Right now making friends with this slayer is like handling cactus bare handed.

 And no what ever he says isnt personal, so remember its just a game.

Likewise, don't take an utter lack of interest in being the antisocial dwarf's friend in the slightest as a personal slight.

In reply to Grom Ironsmiter (msg # 59):

Honestly, that's half the fun. When characters butt heads, even a little bit, it gets me into character. The dynamics of this group will be quite the adventure.

On the in-character side, Bjorn is determined to make friends with everyone. It's easier to preach to folk when you have a bit of rapport. :} I think we'll all get a long a bit better after I get a Bless spell up on everyone and we get into a battle.

Klaus is primarily interested in Bjorn as a spiritual leader and adviser. Someone to tell us that no, we shouldn't take the Chaos cultist's gear because they're tainted. They're all warriors, so he's more interested in Bjorn as a priest. And not for the magic.

In reply to Bjorn Jorgensen (msg # 61):

I totally agree; a story needs conflict in order to be dramatic, and social conflict counts. If nothing else it establishes personality, and that's probably the most important thing for a character.

So, no worries here. It's just a game, and these characters are different from the people playing them. Let what happens in IC stay in IC - we're all friends in OOC land. ^_^

Agreed!

And totally out of character, I'm pretty eager to see what the trollslayer can do in combat...

 Sorry, cross posted with you. Still it works out.

I still haven't heard from Korgen, thinking I will start to move things forward tomorrow and he can always catch up on the road.

Just for the record, I have much less opportunity to post over the weekends than I do over the week. I'll try not to slow the game down any, but I just wanted to put that out there.

Totally fine Nik, it is about the same for me too most weekends. I just didn't want to bog things down too much by waiting.

Ok all, comps on the fritz. So going to be slow posting for me.(library comps)

Klaus, you do realize that the commotion outside was caused after the merchant went out the back door, right? It seems like you're saying he went to investigate the noise. It was him checking on his cargo that caused the commotion. I don't think he thought a usual tavern noise was cause for alarm. He caused the usual tavern noise.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:26, Sun 18 Nov 2012.

I just re-read my post, and it looks like at the end there he's calling Klaus 'your grace'; my bad, I meant it to be that at the end of his point, he glanced over at Bjorn and apologized.

Also, for my own part, sorry about the long post; I just couldn't pare it down any more without losing the message entirely.

I feel like I should know, in-character, whether the sorts of creatures attracted to this eye are going to be easy to defeat or not, but out-of-character, I have no idea. Is there anything I could roll to get an idea?

I get the sense that the GM thinks escape is our best option, but I'm sure that Bjorn would stay and fight unless he knew he couldn't win.

We kinda cross-posted a bit, Bjorn, but I think we're basically on the same page.

I;ll apologize right now if this is meta-gaming (I get called on that sometimes) but if we were all sitting together at the same table, I'd say that I'm happy to fight or delay whatever is coming, but I intend to fight only as long as I have to to ensure a decent escape.

I'm assuming that whatever this is is too big/bad to defeat, but hopefully we can slow it down or hurt it enough that we can all get away, goods and gear intact and hopefully helping out a few of the other patrons.

Good vs. evil is all well and good, and Sigmar knows I'm down for the cause, but I got mouths to feed.

Tough to know I guess. Grigory is definitely in the 'run, or at most fighting retreat' camp. The impression the GM is giving is this is out of our scope as a party to just defeat in a straight fight, so maybe it's something a Sigmarite would retreat from and  alert the Witch hunters to, or at least a larger contingent of war priests?

And I for one am all for this level of meta-gaming if it keeps things moving, especially in a new game where we're still getting used to our characters, each other and the world.

I don't know if Grom can run.

I'm totally fine with the meta gaming in the early stages of this game, as we get things rolling and work out how the characters will interact with one another. I will try to make another quick update this evening, including what skills you can roll against in the situation, but I don't want to get too far ahead of Grom, who is having some computer troubles. I spoke with Korgen, the other dwarf player, and he isn't sure if he has the time to actively participate right now. I've switched him to a Lurker, so he can observe if he wants.

Speaking of Grom, a Slayer's vow may preclude one from either senselessly throwing one's life away when no honor can be gained, or require one to "work his way up" from killing Skaven, to Orcs, Trolls, Giants, and finally Demons. He may not be allowed to stand and fight this. You all could also bash him over the head, toss him in the wagon and go. Ultimately, I will leave the decision up to him and the rest of you.

Bjorn, Chaos demons vary tremendously and even as a Warrior Priest, your guess is probably as good as anyone else's right now as to what the symbol might summon. There are 4 major 'gods' of Chaos that each have their own style, though, and that might give you a bit better idea of what's being talked about:

- Khorne: bloodlust, war, death, and blood. Khorne (and his demons) favor close combat, abhorring wizards, considering them cowardly. In addition to blood and war, Khorne is also the god of courage and honor- but these trappings are always eventually discarded in favor of the primary goal of killing. While he blesses his followers by granting them strength and martial prowess, Khorne does not truly care who spills blood, so long as the blood continues to be spilled.

- Tzeentch: change, fate, mutation, knowledge. Tzeentch's followers are powerful sorcerers who prefer to channel the Winds of Magic at a distance rather than get close to enemies. Tzeentch is always scheming, his every action feeding into his great plots that only he can comprehend. Tzeentch controls and manipulates the fates of all and weaves them intricately into his devious web of manipulation and hunger for power.

- Nurgle: plague, despair, disease and death. Nurgle is a warm and welcoming god who gifts his followers with poxes and boils, rashes and sores. Nurgle thrives in death and decay, growing more powerful as great plagues spread, and his servants seek only to spread disease. People in sickness might pray to Nurgle for relief, but rather than heal the sick, Nurgle helps them endure their illness by removing their pain, all the while exacerbating their physical degeneration.

- Slaanesh: lust, pleasure, excess. He is the youngest of the four gods. His followers seek only to indulge in whatever fleeting whims and desires they feel, and they tend to become graceful, beautiful warriors who harbor selfish, cruel souls. In Warhammer Fantasy, his followers are partly responsible for the schism that led to the formation of the Dark and High Elf races.

I will try and put together a post in the Setting thread with some more info here as well. (the above is slightly edited from wikipedia)

Now that we know what's attacking us, can I make an Occultism roll to figure statistics on them, i.e., how much injury is required to disperse the swarm and how much damage do they do per turn?

Does occultism work that way? I thought it was "myths and legends" at best.

He had me roll Occultism to figure how much time we would have before "things" started showing up. Perhaps Theology or do I need Hidden Lore for this?

I dunno. Would Biology let you know how many times you had to hit an elephant to kill it?

Maybe some weird specialty of Physiology?

Oh, and should we be making fright checks? Do we do that in this game?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:43, Tue 20 Nov 2012.

Physiology might make sense, but we're not talking about a single creature here; we're talking about a swarm of tiny creatures. How they attack in a group would be more along the lines of Occultism or Hidden Lore. In Monster Hunters, for example, generic information can be figured via Occultism. More specific information may be figured via Occultism-4 or Hidden Lore of the appropriate specialty.

Eh.

Hit them and see.

Hidden Lore (Chaos Demons) might give you a good idea as to what they're like, I guess, and that might include durability and capabilities.

I'd rather wait and see what the GM says first. If I can roll Occultism or Theology or something, I'd rather know before taking a swing. I might just end up taking a swing anyways, but we'll see. :)

I think that's the kind of roll the GM makes anyway, because if you critically fail he lies to you.

To offer a bit of meta info myself, the Nurglings are only the first thing to be summoned. More will eventually follow, and those will cause fright checks if you're still around, but the Nurglings are just gross, like a swarm of rats, or a zombie missing its lower half, and probably not something the players would be too afraid of.

The Occultism entry says, in part: "For instance, a fantasy occultist would know what
magic can accomplish, and could provide advice on slaying demons..." As Nurglings are demons, I will allow an Occultism roll for some stats knowledge about them. Theology wouldn't be appropriate, as I understand that to be knowledge about one's own religion.

I will be around some today, but am travelling for the holiday tomorrow, and will probably not post Thursday. The rest of the weekend, though, I should be able to make the occasional update. Hope everyone has (or had if you're Canadian) a good Thanksgiving.

Pardon my ignorant American question, but what does Thanksgiving commemorate in Canada?

Mostly the same thing, but different groups of settlers. Heavily influenced by the loyalists who fled north during the revolution.

Nikolaas: Roll throwing. It defaults to DX-5, but the horde itself probably has a pretty high SM which will in part make up for the penalty.

Rather than rolling against Default adjusted by size modifier (+2), you may roll to hit a general area, at DX. This seems like more of what you're trying to do, and probably more appropriate for attacking a swarm. Note that, since you are carrying the closest light, everyone will take a partial darkness penalty to hit at -3 after you smash it.

Also, feel a bit guilty about Canadian Thanksgiving now :-/ lol

Oh, that's true.

GM, do you have GURPS Horror 4e? There's some expanded swarm rules there, for stuff like hordes of zombies.

Grigori: For what it's worth, the skill cap of 9 is applied after all other bonuses and penalties are assessed, so I don't know if a Telegraphic Move-And-Attack is worth it (unless your skill is less than 13, of course).

I updated my post to include the thrown lantern. Does the splashed fire offer any Darkness reduction, or are we all just at a flat -3 now?

The dice were cold, guys; sorry if anyone takes a hit on my account.

Thanks, I always get tripped up on the order of operations there. Not expecting to hit anyways, but that's ok.

Heroic Strike, if allowed, removes the skill cap for 1 FP.

Rules for Swarms are p. B461. Essentially, they hit automatically and are hit automatically. They don't roll to stay alive, but rather automatically disperse after a retain amount of damage. My default they take up a one yard area.

Swarms generally are hit automatically, but since throwing was untrained, I am requiring a skill roll here. Threw the size modifier in there to be a little more forgiving in the early stages of the game :)

EDIT: I heard from Grom, his computer is still on the fritz but he said he'll be back up and running after the holiday. I'll NPC him until then, assume that he did not come outside into the courtyard with the rest of you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:01, Tue 20 Nov 2012.

By "hit automatically," I meant only that they don't get to dodge. Everyone still has to roll to hit. I was just trying to summarize the page. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:05, Tue 20 Nov 2012.

As a point of reference, a -3 darkness penalty is the equivalent of torchlight.

Also, vicar is a specifically Christian term for a priest who either serves a bishop/archbishop (in Catholicism) or runs a parish (in Anglicanism). I don't know if that translates to the cult of Sigmar at all (if it does, it'd probably be those who work in an administrative capacity), but if we're using Latin/Christian terms then Bjorn would be closer to a Curate (those who care for souls outside the episcopal cities.

(That's just me being a word nerd.)

In reply to Klaus (msg # 98):

hehehe, 'word nerd'. I like it.

Anyways, proper title always strikes me as one of those sticking points in sci-fi and fantasy. In the absence of a proper Sigmarite education or corresponding Christian establishment in the Old World, I'm just going for flavour text.

I bet you're a monster on trivia night. :)

Well, they are heavily intertwined with the Empire, which is very much like Rome in a lot of ways. More of a "first cult among many" sort of thing, though.

I'm a little confused at how you're handling combat time. I cast Flaming Touch, but didn't attack yet (because I wasn't in range). I would roll to hit with whatever lighting penalties you assess and do damage from my mace plus damage from the Flaming Touch spell charged on it. Would you like me to roll for those now? I actually assumed the Nurglings would attack first, since they could close the gap before my next turn.

Ah, I'm sorry about that, was trying to finish up some things at work before the holiday and must have skimmed your post too fast. I'll fix it now.

Assume regular 1 second actions for your next posts. Keep in mind the rules for damage on diffuse targets on B380 as well.

I am aware. I should be able to disperse the Nurglings with my next action. :]

Need I make a DX roll to jump in the wagon?

The wagon's been departing for a few turns now, hasn't it? (I haven't been keeping track of turns)

Pretty sure I can catch up in a few turns.

Depends on distance and how far fast you are compared to the wagon.

If the wagon is 10 yards away, and you move 1 yard/second faster than it, then it'll take you 10 rounds to catch up.

And you're inhumanly fast. Probably a chaos mutation.

The way I understand it, the wagon is only just making it's way out of the yard; from there, it's going around the inn toward the main road, and from there it's full speed ahead.

If you go out through the yard's gate you're following behind it, so you'll want speed (well, donkey-pulled-wagon-speed, anyway). The other option is to cut through the inn itself, from the yard-door to the front door, and hop on the wagon as it passes; for that, I guess it's all about timing.

Wagons have a top speed of 8, so unless you're significantly faster and started right next to it (which I don't believe you did) you'll have to be moving at least 9 to catch up to it.

Unless the GM rules that Warhammer wagons are much slower, in which case never mind. Or if the wagon driver isn't particularly worried about Chaos and is cruising along at 4.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Wed 21 Nov 2012.

Wagon top speed is dependent on how big it is, how many of what sort of animal are pulling it, and the weight of the cargo/passengers (including the driver). Then you have to factor maneuvering out of the stables and through the streets, which may not (likely do not) permit top speed without crashing or otherwise losing control. It's not as simple as you make it seem.

And catching up to speeding wagons isn't as easy as you make it seem.

All other things being equal, unless the GM specifies, all we can do is assume that the wagon's capabilities are bog-standard. Standard speed for a wagon is 8. It is more likely that you are physically incapable of catching up to it than it is you'll be able to make a DX roll the round after attacking to jump on to it.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying you can't. I'm not the GM. I'm just advising you, player to player, that things may be more difficult than you're assuming they are. Clearly this is unwelcome, so I'll keep my advice to myself.

In the end, it doesn't matter what the stats are; it only matters what style of play the GM wants to encourage, so trust me... everyone's paying attention.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:10, Wed 21 Nov 2012.

You're actually wrong. Basic Speed for a wagon is 4. Top Speed (8) can only be achieved after a full second of movement in a straight line, which is what I'm saying is unlikely given the conditions previously stated.

I never said I was jumping on the back the turn after. I assumed combat time was over and posted several seconds worth of actions. I also called out to those in the wagon, indicating that I am coming so that they can slow down, if necessary, that I may catch up and, as mentioned, jump on the back.

Seems easy enough to me, assuming the rest of the group doesn't wish me left behind needlessly.

I welcome criticism, but I won't let you say things that are plain untrue without criticising you myself. :P

I was assuming that -- by the time you headed towards the wagon -- it was already at high speed. By the time you were done doing your thing, the wagon could be well out of sight, and the assumption been that you had died.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:57, Wed 21 Nov 2012.

If you assumed that you were out of sight, why did you call back to me in your last post? And why would you assume that I had died? That's rather morbid for being mere seconds after I squashed the little buggers.

Not out of sight, I assumed that we were rapidly disappearing.

And why did Klaus assume you died, or were going to? Because warhammer is a gothic horror low-fantasy game, and you're fighting chaos monsters. Gotta have a reason, right? Coulda run, chose not to, and bigger demons are on their way.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

Nurglings can move as fast as a wagon through windy streets (and with more maneuverability). I figured it was in everyone's best interest to not have them following close behind, ergo leading the bigger ones to us. I know your character could care less about the welbeing of the group, but mine sees it as a tactical advantage to have more allies.

It also seemed reasonable for me to get in the wagon if Grigory had also done so, assuming I was barely (if at all) behind him: He attacked right before I did, and, in the same second, told me to head out. Wanting to make sure they are not following us with one more hit can't put me that far behind him.

I'm not at all familiar with the setting, which is why I ask so many questions about it. Good to know how dark it is, but I think I'll survive this encounter. What are other Chaos creatures that may be approaching that could be dangerous? I.e., is there a list on the wiki or somesuch?

All of them are ridiculously dangerous. Klaus doesn't know what they are, what they can do. He doesn't know that Nurglings appearing herald the arrival of Chaos Champions.

All he knows is that they're demonic little beasties more than capable of ripping a man to pieces. Klaus thought you were dead; I as a player did not.

Interesting note: Swarm damage counts as "large area injury". Your DR is the average of your torso DR and your least protected area. I don't know how much damage nurglings do in GURPS, so you're probably fine, but in WFRP they could also cause Terror effects.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:05, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

The Nurglings were not ridiculously dangerous. We squashed them rather easily. They are barely more dangerous than rabid rats or bats.

As you said yourself, Klaus could still see Bjorn, and would know that he is not dead.

Can I get a reference for that ruling? I don't find it in the Basic Set, p. 461, where Swarms are explained in detail. The GM said to think of them as large rats or zombies with the bottom half missing, which would put them all below my waist. All the DR below my waist is 3 or more. They did 3 cutting damage, so I take none.

http://forums.sjgames.com/show...&highlight=swarm <-- Sean Punch (GURPS Line Editor) says swarms do large area injury.

I don't get how you're saying they're not hideously dangerous unless you're being all metagamey about it. Klaus is a simple mercenary, and those are filthy creatures of disease and corruption. Monsters. Literal monsters.

If you're not familiar with Warhammer, I'll add that the system was really really lethal. High level characters could be eviscerated as easily as low (which was pretty easy). I'd say it was more lethal than GURPS.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:19, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

I can understand how that would make sense for, say, bats or bees, but they aren't jumping up to slash at my face. If I can stomp them, they can't possibly hit above my lower torso without some pretty serious jumping abilities. From my understanding, they have no legs, so I don't see that as even a remote possibility.

The GM rolled Occultism for me and gave me afew basic statistics: They do 1d-1 cutting damage and are dispersed after 7 HP injury. That's weaker than a swarm of ordinary bats, which are by no means hideously dangerous. I don't see how that is in any manner meta-gaming, nor do I see how anyone would consider that dangerous in the least.

Okay, a guy with a large knife will do 1d-1 damage. Add that to the supernatural plague these guys carry.

So tell me what's not terrifying about swarms of little dudes with plague-knives.

Average damage, rounded up, will not penetrate my armor where they can reach. They can be easily dispersed. That's not scary at all, definitely not risking my life and absolutely not a fight I would back down from under any circumstances.

You're thinking in terms of game mechanics and the math behind the system, and making in-character choices based on the "I can't be hurt" concept. I'm not comfortable with that level of metagaming. Not saying that it's "Bad" or "Wrong", just not what I enjoy.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

But those game mechanics translate almost directly into in-character knowledge. I know, in-character, that they are not dangerous to me because I know out-of-character the specifics thereof. That is not meta-gaming at all. Once you completely divorce in- and out-of-character knowledge, even when there is nigh direct correlation, you lose a large sense of realism. Game mechanics are fully intended to represent features of the game world with which characters can interact.

How else would you represent my knowledge of how weak these creatures are? I likened them to a swarm of bats, because machanically they are similar. If they are similar mechanically, then it follows necessarily that they bear some resemblance in the game world. The level of fear I have for bats is similar, if not slightly greater, than Nurglings, based on knowledge that I have in-character. It's not as if I looked them up in a book. I received information based on a successful skill roll. That is never meta-gaming.

I utterly disagree, but it doesn't matter what I think.

It matters to me. Do you have any points of refutation, or do you just disagree on principle? I had at least one unanswered question that was not rhetorical, if you're up for answering it: How else would you represent my knowledge of how weak these creatures are?

BTW, Happy Thanksgiving, in a few hours anyways. :)

The issues involved run a lot deeper than that.

You're relying on an ooc understanding of the system to come to in-character conclusions. The fact that it's literally impossible for the nurgling swarm to hurt you is a weird system quirk... a SINGLE nurgling could bypass your armor in several ways (critical hit, targeting an unarmored area, armor joints, etc), and all it takes is a small cut to infect you with the deadly diseases they carry.

So if you were faced with a single foe, you'd be rightly more cautious, but because of a system hitch, a lot of nurglings is incapable of ever hitting you.

You know that as a player. And your character reacts that way, despite the fact that a single creature would be terribly dangerous. There is zero in-game reason why a group of them would be less dangerous, but there you go.

That's "this" situation, but I'll be honest: I don't want to play with you. Our styles are incompatible, and I don't think that that's a matter that can be reconciled, and I wouldn't enjoy it at all, so I'm going to step aside and let one of the lurkers play instead.

Hey, man. I thought we were just having a friendly discussion. If you don't want to talk about it, I'll leave it alone. I'd rather you not quit on account of disagreeing over what is and is not meta-gaming.

No, I enjoyed the discussion.

The problem is incompatible play styles. I'm not upset, and it's nothing personal... I just won't be able to interpret your in-character actions as anything other than a player's calculated risk/reward assessments, rather than stemming from in-character role-playing choices.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, but even if that's not what's going on in your head -- for all I know your character's quirks and disadvantages make him utterly calculating and practical, and he reduces all of life to numbers and probability -- it's what's going on in my head, and I've been gaming long enough to know what will keep me from enjoying a game.

Trust me. It's better to back out now than to have a growing frustration build until it explodes later on.

Alright. Best of luck to you, then.

All, I've been travelling and haven't had the opportunity to review the IC thread (and probably won't for a day or so), but reading through here, I did want to note a couple things. The 3hp of damage the Nurglings did took Bjorn's DR into account and is the penetrating damage. He should be 3hp down from his max, I'm sorry that wasn't clear. I did not post the roll because Bjorn is still operating under imperfect knowledge about the demon's capabilities (there could be info I'm not telling you, or you may have even failed the skill check)

For its part, the wagon is gone from the courtyard. Maurice made a teamster roll to successfully exit, and should be assumed to be hauling ass. I've said in other posts that the inn is outside the city walls, and so it does not have to navigate in any close quarters. If you did not immediately follow the wagon like Gregory, then you must cut through the inn.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Is 3 HP the final damage, including wounding modifier?

I'm not understanding how the wagon is completely gone if Grigory attacked no more than one second before I did. He could, at most, be one turn of his move closer to the wagon than I am. I assumed the wagon was at least further away than that.

I'll edit my post anyway, but I thought I'd express my confusion for the thing. :)

Grigory started towards the wagon before combat began, and continued to move after as well. Regardless, though, the Nurglings aren't dispersed.

Oops, forgot to add that 3hp is final including all modifiers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:03, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

If Bjorn makes tracks for the wagon, it would make sense for us to slow down and grab him. If this is the kind of thing that we're going to be coming across in the future, Grigory is more than happy to delay to make sure the guy with the flaming giant hammer comes with him!

In reply to Grigory (msg # 134):

As is Maurice.

As an aside, bummer about Klaus.

Right, but if he attacked the Nurglings literally right before me, I don't understand how he can be long gone. The only way I can make heads or tails of it is if we were not functionally in combat time.

No matter; I'm running through the inn. Did I seriously critically fail that Occultism roll?

After a discussion with the GM I've decided to stay. I apologize for my difficulties with Bjorn, and promise that it won't be an issue.

I'm not quite sure how it all breaks down either, but I did two move and attacks, which would have put me at least 10 yards away after your spell and attack turns. I also am not sure how critical it is - seems like we're all getting out of here.



Maybe there was just extra information that was withheld? I don't know GURPS as well as you, but WFRP daemons in other systems often have supernatural resistances and/or regeneration, which might be the issue.



Glad to hear it!

Yeah. I'm not worried about it. I was just wondering.

In GURPS, whenever a skill would provide information, a success does so. A failure means you don't know, but you know that you don't know, and a critical failure means the GM lies to you. For example, if I rolled Detect Lies to see if someone is lying, a success means I know one way or the other, a failure means I can't tell, and a critical failure means I thought I could tell one way, but I was gravely mistaken.

In this case, the GM rolled secretly for Occultism to see if I know how tough Nurglings are. A success would provide whatever information the GM wishes to provide, a failure would provide nothing (I don't know or can't remember at the moment), and a critical failure means the GM gives me misinformation.

The way swarms work, after a certain amount of damage, the swarm disperses. The numbers given to me (7 HP) were obviously incorrect. I assumed I critically failed for that reason. Supernatural resistances don't really matter at this point. I just sucked really bad at remembering how to fight Nurglings :)

And in some cases, like searching, finding nothing might mean either "I failed" or "I failed and there's nothing there" or "I succeeded but there's nothing there".

Of course, misinformation might mean "I critically failed" or "The lore is wrong, but I remembered it correctly" or "these Nurglings are different from what they should be."



From what I understand, this is what happened:

Turn 1:
Nurglings show up.
Maurice drives the wagon and exits the yard at Move 4.
Nikolas throws his lantern.
Grigori moves and attacks, 5 yards towards the wagon (gaining 1 yard on it)
Bjorn casts a spell.

Turn 2:
The wagon continues. Move 8.
Nurglings attack Bjorn.
Grigori continues running after the wagon, but loses 3 yards on it.
Nikolaas moves 5 yards into the inn, followed by Grom.
Bjorn stomps and swings his hammer and such. I don't know if this is one action or more; if Bjorn has the Extra Attack advantage he can stomp and smash. Casting spells is a Concentrate action and cannot be mixed with attacks, but maybe the GM allows imbuements.

Turn 3:
Wagon continues. Move 8.
Bjorn heads 5 yards into the inn.
Nikolaas moves 5 yards into the inn.

At this point, assuming the wagon has a standard speed, the wagon has moved 20 yards from "the gate". Grigori has moved 10 yards towards it, but it's much faster than he and he'll never catch up unless it slows down.

Those heading through the inn -- assuming there's a straight shot through it -- may or may not be able to catch up with it, depending on the distance between the gate and the inn door they exit through. Also Bjorn is 5 yards behind Nikolaas, so if Nikolaas catches it, Bjorn will miss it, but if Nikolaas beats it and waits, then Bjorn can catch up.

If Maurice sees that the others are trying to catch up, he might slow down for them.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

First turn:
Step and Concentrate, Casting Burning Touch (charging it on my Warhammer).

Second turn:
Attack (doing damage with both my Warhammer and the charged Burning Touch spell).

I don't need Extra Attack to stomp and smash: "Shields can crush flying creatures; a shield does 2 HP per turn, and can attack at the same time as a weapon. Stomping does 1 HP per turn to nonflying vermin, and can be done while attacking with a weapon." (p. B461)

Gotcha.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

For the record, Maurice is going as fast as he can to get out of the yard with the Evil Eye, but he'll slow down enough to make sure everyone gets on board once he's by the inn's door.

Bjorn sure appreciates that. :)

So does Grigory! Don't leave him here with whatever is coming out next!


EDIT:


Huh, I always assumed margins of success would apply for things like that (pass by 0 you get basic info, pass by 5 you get very detailed info), but that's probably just a habit I've brought over from other games.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Thu 22 Nov 2012.

Yeah, in GURPS it's either a success, critical success, failure, or critical failure. Degree isn't as big a deal unless it's a quick contest.

You can always check the skill description to be sure. If there is a reason to note margin of success or failure, it will tell you; some skill rolls essentially are Quick Contests (e.g. Stealth, Holdout, Detect Lies, any Influence roll). The GM may decide to give better or worse information for noteworthy rolls, but this isn't always applicable.

GM: Do we need to roll Fright Checks or anything?

For those of you new to the setting, one of the worst things about "Chaos" isn't that it can kill you (which it can. Pretty much everything -- chaos or otherwise -- is more powerful than humans, except maybe goblins, but there really aren't any "weak" monsters compared to normal humans, and even goblins are much tougher than most people), but its corruptive influence.

Both spiritual and physical. Demonic energy can twist the soul and warp the body, and the stock Imperial/Sigmarite response to any sort of mutation is "Kill it fast."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Fri 23 Nov 2012.

Don't know if this'll help, but this is the info on "warrior priests" from the Warhammer books:



I don't know how much that carries over; GURPS is not a system with actual classes, so "warrior priest" isn't so much a position within the church as it is a description.

Since I'm digging through my books, I'll post some stuff on the religions. While worship of Sigmar is the state religion of the Empire, they're not monotheistic or a theocracy. These are the different "human" cults:

Manaaan is the god of seas, oceans, and great rivers. Usually worshipped along the coasts and by those who depend on the sea.

Morr is the god of death, protector of the deceased, ruler of the underworld. ALso the god of dreams. Very opposed to necromancy. Usually only worshipped by the bereaved. Also worshipped by the dwarves as Gazul, Lord of the Underearth.

Myrmidia is the goddess of soldiers and tacticians. Represents the art and science of war. Limited appeal in the Empire, which already has two war gods (Ulric and Sigmar).

Ranald is the trickster god of rogues and gamblers. Abhors violence. Worshipped by rogues, gamblers, and the lower classes.

Rhya is the goddess of fertility, childbirth, and family. Mostly worshipped in small farming villages.

Shallya is the goddess of healing, mercy, and compassion. Concerned with the suffering of mortals. Worshipped throughout the Old World, very popular with the urban poor.

Sigmar is the father of the Empire and its patron. The state cult of the Empire; outside of the Empire nobody really worships him. Arrogant attitude towards the other gods, but gets on best with Verena and Manann.

Since we're mostly Imperials here's the general doctrine of the Cult of Sigmar:

This is what the cult teaches:



Taal is the god of the wilderness and storms. Token nature god, basically.

Ulric is the god of valor and ferocity. Worshipped by hunters, pit-fighters, and barbarians. Also god of winter. Former state cult of the Empire, and almost as popular as Sigmar there. Competetive with Sigmar.

Verena is the goddess of scholarship, reason, and justice. Worshipped by the educated upper-class.

Nah, no fright checks. You all have escaped immediate danger and should know it. Regardless, I don't think fright check will really impact gameplay right now either.

[Private to Klaus: i don't want to give anything away, but the chaos encounter will be given more treatment.]

Thanks for posting the religious info. That piece about Sigmarite teachings is handy, I'd seen it once before but couldn't remember where.

I was wondering because in WFRP Nurglings have the Terror ability.

Yeah. Thanks for all that stuff. I picked up what was on the wiki, but that was about it.

14 miles/hour is the equivalent of driving the mules at Move 7 (near full speed) for an hour. They can only manage this for a few minutes at a time before tiring out.

The fastest sustainable speed is 75% of top speed (move 6) which is as fatiguing as hiking, so it depends on the load they're pulling.

(It's a wagon so divide effective load weight by 5 for figuring out what encumbrance the mules have.)

They can go indefinitely (or at least, as fatiguing as a normal walk) at Move 4.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:59, Fri 23 Nov 2012.

Alright, thanks! This second hour of travel counts as rough terrain, halving the mules' distance.

I sense that I may be in the minority as an American here, I can switch over to metric units if the rest of y'all prefer.

Imperial units are fine with me.

In So Cal here. 'MRRRRRRRCA

Midwestern US.

Canadian, but GURPS is in imperial units so it's probably best to just leave it as is. I'm pretty good with them, and google is great for quick conversions if I get tripped up.

What Grigory said.

I'm going to regret asking this, but... what? How did a partnership come into play? It was the word "dividends", wasn't it? I had a bad feeling about that word the second I chose it.

Anyways, without wanting to labour this out IC, the way I'm intending to pay out is on a "share" system - once we sell the cargo, I'll be dividing the cash into shares for everyone (one share for each of you, more for Nik as the principal investor). I was going to go for a flat wage, but that would have amounted to like $5 a day and that... just didn't seem worth the danger involved (oh, sure, maybe for an NPC, but not actual players).

So no, not remotely partners, but I do appreciate your opinions on sorting out the watch. Is there any way we could do this a little more cooperatively, or would I be better served just being a bossy, imperious dick?

You want an employee, you pay a wage. You want to get away with a profit share, you're dealing with a partner.

Klaus will accept a fair wage for the labor involved, though IIRC day-by-day pay is a lot more than monthly wages.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:40, Mon 26 Nov 2012.

Fair enough, wages it is. $5 a day, paid out upon arrival at Akendorf, with the same offer to sign up for the second leg of the trip.

I'm sorry, but that's just not true. If Bob owns 51% of the company stocks and Jane owns 1%, Bob and Jane are not partners. Bob has much more authority than Jane. Actually, he makes all of the decisions, and Jane can't complain. She's an investor, not a partner.

I was under the impression we were working on a wage, but I don't really care much either way.

^^ Point is, employees get a wage. If we're shareholders who don't get a wage, we're not employees. We're shareholders.

$5 a day? That's $150 a month, half below a Status -1 cost of living. Mercenary is an Average wealth job.

Average wages for a Mercenary in the warhammer GURPS book is 200 GC a month ($800). $26-27 a day. (About average for a TL 4 job)

Spoils of war adds a nice bonus to that, but really with our skills and point values we're worth a great deal more. Klaus is perfectly willing to work for $26 a day, or accept a share in an equal venture in exchange for his services (which would not make him your subordinate employee) if the profit from his share is likely to be more than the daily rate.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:27, Tue 27 Nov 2012.

Partners or shareholders are people that actually buy in to a venture, which all of you did not. It is up to the investor(s) to distribute profits (or not) as they see fit. If they choose to give a share, that is their prerogative.

As far as a daily wage, I offered that number to Nik based off of historical salary data for an experienced mercenary of the 1500s in England. GURPS money is inflated to an extent I admit now I should have looked at in better detail. I will allow a daily wage of $20 if Nik wishes. However, none of you negotiated a price before you signed on, and so will have to agree to whatever the financier decides.

If I buy in with my labor it's still buying in. Klaus is utterly unwilling to work for less than standard Mercenary wages; if you're lowering Average income to $600 a month, are you going to lower Status 0 cost of living as well?

Or do mercenaries get paid less than "Average?"

These changes to GURPS's economic assumptions have wide ranging effects. If Mercenaries are mostly "Struggling" or less, that makes them cheaper across the board but also unable to afford quality arms and armor -- we'll encounter more mercenaries, but their arms will be cheap quality.

I don't understand what your problem is. Food is $6/day for rations, plus water that can be kept without spoiling for a long journey. That with the $20/day wages is not less than average.

If you're going to keep on whining about this, I don't want to play anymore. This game has been plenty of fun without all this budget nonsense. I'm fine with the way the GM is running it whether we get paid $20 or $5. Your squabbling sucks the fun out of it for me.

Well, golly, Bjorn, I'm sorry that my mercenary character's insistence that he get paid a fair wage is spoiling your fun. Greed is kind of central to the character concept.

I'd be fine discussing this in-character if it'd make you feel better, but the current discussion is on the economics of the setting, a topic -- that while not related to beating stuff up -- is sort of important.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Tue 27 Nov 2012.

The only way you could be a partner is if you had bought in to the original venture. This was an option originally considered before the game started, and you all elected to forgo that option. Signing on as a guard, makes you a guard, regardless of how you are compensated.

$600 plus loot will get you to $800 or beyond in all likelihood. Bjorn also brings up a valid point about the food. $20 a day is the maximum I'm going to allow (plus any profit sharing Nik may want to offer).

Klaus is not going to work for less what the average mercenary earns.

Don't think of it in terms of $/day or month, but "what lifestyle does this job provide?" If Mercenaries earn a Struggling income, then all Mercenaries have struggling Wealth.

I can't see Klaus agreeing to such a low wage, particularly considering how much "better" the PCs are than average.

Thank you for the game.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Tue 27 Nov 2012.

Understood, and I appreciate your participation.

To clarify for everyone, I believe I had mentioned that I was including food for the journey with the wagon. You will not have to pay for supplies for this first leg of the journey.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:02, Tue 27 Nov 2012.

*reads posts*

Well, looks like we'll be able to steam on ahead now. Sucks that it had to come to that, but it doesn't look like there was much option.

I'd like to say that I second Bjorn's statement that I'm enjoying the way this game is being run, and am looking forward to more adventure.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:42, Tue 27 Nov 2012.

Glad everyone else is enjoying this so far. That's what the game should be about and, if a player does not have fun, then no hard feelings if they wish to bow out.

This week (and the next) is shaping up to be very busy for me at work so if my posting goes down a bit, that is why. Things should be back to normal as we get into December.

Okay, glad that's over, and really glad I slept through the last part. And that's all I'll say on that score.

I'm also still psyched for the game, and am looking forward to the adventure. Something tells me we'll be able to work a little more cooperatively going forward. Without wanting to labour the point, everyone will be paid out fairly when the time comes.

Cross posted a bit. Hope I didn't step on your toes, Nik.

No harm, no foul, Bjorn; I think we're on the same page here. ^_^

I just wasn't sure if spilling the beans was exactly what you wanted... and it is what I did. =D

I rolled pretty well for Diplomacy, so hopefully we don't get the rubber gloves for this one.

I'll be honest, that decision made me... nervous. But we'll see what happens; in between your Diplomacy, my Savoir Faire, our collective innocence and a more-or-less unified front, I think we'll weather this storm.

I thought you were in favor of warning them lol.

Good morning everyone!

Lurker 1 has graciously agreed to hop in and bump the party back up to 5. We've talked a little, and he is considering either a Bretonnian Longbowman (analogous to the English longbowman) with Heroic Archer and Weapon Master, or a Grey Wizard. The decision is ultimately up to him, but I wanted to put the choice to you all as well, since each of you had some say in the other's character build.

Thoughts?

@Bjorn: All for warning them - but nervous all the same; all that witch-hunting talked has me freaked out ;)

As for the new guy (welcome, by the way), I'm a little shy giving advice but I ask for it often enough, so fair's fair.

Classically, I'd say the party needs a wizard - we basically have the "Fighter" (me and Grom), "Rogue" (Grigory) and "Cleric" (Bjorn) already. That said, I'm not sure we have much dedication by way of Ranged attackers (I have a musket, and I think that's about it), so an archer would be seriously useful.

If it were me, I'd go archer just because I don't like playing mages, but either one would be handy; if you decide on the Grey Wizard though, make sure to pack a few ranged spells.

Welcome!

Personally I like the archer concept better (and with WM and HA I'm sure they will be quite fearsome), but that's because I'm a bit biased towards a lower magic Warhammer universe. I definitely won't object to having a wizard along with us :).

 Either will work for this group. If this were the WH game i might caution any new magic users about the odds of casting spells but i am not sure how magic works with this gurps version.

 Again though, either will work.

Grey Wizards don't really have many ranged spells, they are tricksters and illusionists, but I was also considering playing a Pyromancer (Fire mage) or an Astromancer (Lightning mage) in order to give more ranged capability.

I'm also totally fine playing the archer, since the GM approved Heroic Archer and Weapon Master (Bow).

The thing that I would like is a place to read up on the lore, because I am pretty much unexposed to Warhammer. I really only know what I've been able to observe (I can't figure out how to download the Gurpshammer book or find anything else either), so if you guys could direct me to some place that I could read up on the lore of the classes that I'm thinking about I'd be much appreciative.

I would recommend Lexicanum, which was originally set up as a lore reference for Warhammer Fantasy RP. Regular wikipedia actually has some pretty good info, and the painting/hobby site for Warhammer Empire is good for some Empire specific knowledge. The Warhammer Online wikia has good lore info but the maps and locations are not cannon since they're designed for a MMO nor is there a complete racial list.

http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://warhammer-empire.com/library/
http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Lore

I'd refer you also to the following articles:
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Warhammer_(setting)
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Bretonnia (the map doesn't show "Albion", essentially Medieval England and part of Bretonnia)
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Colleges_of_Magic
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Magic#Shadow
http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline (a historical timeline, there's an abridged one on the same site)

Anyone else know of any other good resources? Grey Wizards do not get a whole lot of treatment in the background material I'm familiar with, so you'd have some freedom there and not have to worry as much about going outside of cannon lore.

Grom, I'm actually not familiar with WHFRP magic rules but I believe GURPS magic is a bit more forgiving. It is highly unlikely, especially at the level we're playing at, that a PC could miscast and destroy the party, or something along those lines.

EDIT: The code on rpol is messing with the setting link, wont work if you click through but should work if you copy/paste the url
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:21, Wed 28 Nov 2012.

Lexicanum is probably the best free online source of warhammer info. Here's a link to the general magic article, but it's got a lot of good things for a lot of the lore:

http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Magic

I think the benefits of a range focus outweigh those of magic, especially considering that I already have a few spells.

I really like the dynamic Maurice and Nikolaas have going - Maurice is so friendly and outgoing, and Nik is very much not.

Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun playing the two personalities, it gives me all sorts of creative freedom.

Grigory's going to look awfully foolish if this is all in his head...

It almost sounded like Grigory asked Grom to cuddle... just saying.

Hahaha! I did not mean it that way at all. Though I guess it would be some kind of choke-hold cuddle...

EDIT: All right, I think I've got a better way to phrase it. My fault for trying to get all arts-y. But don't think this means Grigory is not going to hide behind Grom as quickly as he can if we're swarmed by rats during the night.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:11, Tue 04 Dec 2012.

 At least until you heard the sound of a neck breaking. Sound carry's so good in the quiet mtns.

"Whoops!" said Grom, lifting his arm.

Grigory's head was facing the wrong direction. Blood oozed out of every orifice on the man's face.

"Well," he paused. "One less mouth to feed I suppose."

Darn, I missed it!

Anyway, I will start to move things along today again. Work has gotten back to normal, if anyone wants to know anything about U.S. Defense legislation, I may be your guy.

Maurice critically succeeded his cooking roll, and is possibly one of the most awesome servants ever. Also, if it is alright with everyone, I think I will roll an average of your hiking (Bjorn has the leadership for it) and take care of the daily travel teamster skill check from now on. Should save some tedious rolls for y'all.

In reply to Chance (msg # 196):

Much appreciated!

U.S. Defense Legislation? Oh, wow, I bet things have been interesting in your office these days.

I should have said something before, but I would have liked to cast Bless on someone else before we slept. If I can do that, who wants the buff?

That's fine, I knew you were planning on it but it slipped my mind yesterday. If someone wants Bless, Bjorn may go ahead and make the rolls to cast it, and we'll assume he did it the night before.

I'd still appreciate a bless.

It's no trouble at all. I'm always happy to see a game moving forward. :D

I'll just put this here:

Bless for Nikolaas:
11:04, Today: Bjorn Jorgensen rolled 7 using 3d6. Bless 15.
Energy Cost: 10 - 1 = 9 FP

So after dinner Bjorn was at FP: 3/12.

Dang, that really takes it out of you, huh? Much appreciated, thanks.

Bjorn, this probably won't do you any good until we get some CPs, but it sounds like you're looking for this (poorly named, I think) perk from MA51?

Shield-Wall Training
You’ve drilled extensively at fighting from behind a shield
wall. You can sacrifice your block defense to block an attack
on an ally standing beside you. Furthermore, you may ignore
the -2 to attack when holding a large shield (see p. B547).

OH! I totally missed that line of the description. Shield Wall Training is sacrificial block... plus other stuff. XD

Yeah, it's pretty great.

I'm definitely making the most of my perks. Now I just need to Thor* someone.

* Thor
transitive verb
1. to shoot lightning out of a hammer
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:07, Thu 06 Dec 2012.

My first CP is going into Dual-Ready (sword and shield). I only had to see it once to know I wanted it.

Not Fast-Draw (Sword)? If you can Fast-Draw one of the two weapons, you don't need Dual-Ready. The only reason I chose it is that there is no Fast-Draw (Mace) skill.

Oh I can think of a few Fast Draws I'd like to have, and I'll invest gradually, but the Dual Ready thing just seems so perfect; even if you fail the fast draw roll, you'll still have 'em both ready.

I played in another GURPSHammer game (very briefly) when I was still really new to GURPS, and the one fight we played I ended up using only Shield Bashes because I couldn't spare the second to Ready my sword - only time enough to pick one or the other. That could have been solved with Fast Draw too, but at the time all I could think of was "sword or shield, sword or shield, ARGH, whadoIdo?"

Fun fact, I was also in that GURPSHammer game with Nik as a GURPS newbie.

[Private to Nikolaas von Richtgraf: Also, the guy who caused all that drama in our GURPSHammer game recently RTJ'd to this one. I politely declined]

You have a good point about the back-up thing, but if you're going to spend the point on Dual-Ready, don't bother with Fast-Draw unless you plan on fighting without your shield at some point.

Holy crap, I can't believe I succeeded my roll to hit! Hopefully he's too busy aiming down sight to see it coming. :D

We cross-posted a bit there, Bjorn, but with any luck it'll all work out in our favour; it takes too long to reload my musket in the middle of a fight, but I don't see anything wrong with over-killing a Skaven or two.

[Private to GM: Good call! I wish I had more experience with gaming, then I'd have better horror stories, but that guy still sticks out in my mind; part of me was convinced he was the guy playing Klaus!]

Grigory, you rolled a 4! That's a critical hit! You should roll on the critical hit table to see if you get additional special effects. :)

EDIT: apparently I can't read lol but GRATZ
This message was last edited by the player at 22:52, Fri 07 Dec 2012.

Heh, yeah I forgot to make it more obvious. Result was double the shock penalty to max -8.

I posted my generic defensive strategies in case Bjorn is attacked. Would it be helpful to include rolls as well, just in case? Alternatively, I could include them in my next action, should defense rolls be required.

I just made my update and only Grom needs to make a defense roll. Dice have never been kind to me, which means they were pretty good to you all!

To answer your question, if you post your active defense and level, I will make the roll for you (and post the result). Otherwise, you should roll for yourself on your next IC post if directed. Sound good to everyone?

sounds awesome

Wow, I didn't think those maneuvers were such long shots that none of them would hit... I guess I used up all my dice luck last round.

It's alright, that rat isn't doing anything anytime soon. Nor is that second one the way I've been rolling!

Question for you all, to make sure I'm interpreting this correctly. Grom is a bit newer to GURPS, and we have been working out his parry roll. If he parries the Skaven's unarmed attack with his axe and succeeds, he then rolls against his weapon skill. If he passes that check he rolls for damage. Now B376 says that he would hit the attacker's limb, and then roll for damage normally. However, he would only be able to inflict up to the damage required to cripple the attackers limb, correct? (B420-421) He could still sever the arm.

In reply to Chance (msg # 219):

The way I understand parrying an unarmed attack with an armed one is that, yes, you have a chance to inflict damage against the offending limb. The damage rolled is suffered by the target up to the amount required to cripple the limb. Any extra damage is ignored. If the attack did enough damage to cripple the limb, it is either crippled or severed according to the weapon used to parry it (that is, parrying with a sword will cost you the arm, but parrying with a club will turn your bones to sand).

That's my understanding, anyway; I should go on record saying I've never actually run a GURPS game before.

One small but crucial correction to this (bolding mine):



Regular crippled limbs are not especially terrible - it might take weeks or months to heal (B422 for Duration Crippling Injuries) but it is likely to happen. Dismembered limbs require more damage because then the limb is gone for good. Not that it will make much difference to our rat friend, but it could be very important for us!

I have never run a GURPS game either, but I played in a low-tech arena for some time and became pretty familiar with the dismembering rules!

Alright, that's what I thought, I just wanted to make sure.

I'm curious, I know this question is asked frequently on the GURPS forums, but what sort of game would y'all most like to play? For my part, I would love a cinematic or realistic martial arts campaign. I have spent some time in China, and am fascinated with the culture and history.

I've always wanted to try an Age of Sail campaign. I'm a bit of a history nerd, and I'm absolutely in love with the 1700's; for my money, there's no better setting for drama, intrigue, action, adventure or romance.

Not to nerf myself too hard or anything, but I don't think pounce gets an automatic grapple, it just has a chance of knocking them down as per a slam.

Yeah I gave it to you the first time, and then realized I was wrong. Decided to go ahead and play it out that way, but now that the little guy broke free once I'll act per the rules.

I have been looking around for a good picture of a warpfire team to post in the setting info for reference, but have been unsuccessful. For those unfamiliar with the setting, the weapon is essentially a short ranged flame thrower. The equipment is highly volatile and just as dangerous to the team as to their adversaries.

To offer some metagaming info, that tunnel opening will keep disgorging Skaven until you close it up somehow. Dumping in vanquished enemies will slow things down, as those inside will be tempted to eat their comrades, but you'll need a boulder or something explode-y to seal it. Also keep in mind that Slayers are suicidal, and this might offer a good opportunity to Grom. I'll leave it up to you all (and him) as to how you want to play it.

Well, since we're on the subject anyways...

Could the nearby pile of rocks provide enough loose debris to start sending down the hole, or is it too solid a piece?

Also, assuming a miraculously swift defeat of the flamethrower crew, how long would it take/would it even be possible to steer the artillery piece into the hole?

Query: How volatile is the flamethrower, i.e., if I shoot it with Lightning, will it explode, catch fire, or otherwise become useless to them?

The whole apparatus only weighs about 80 lbs. The rats are encased in a fair amount of protective armor which further encumbers them, but is not a part of the weapon. To answer Bjorn's question, shooting it with lightning will cause a fiery explosion, yes.

Sounds like a plan if I've ever heard one. ;)

Forgot to answer Nik's other question, the rocky outcrop is too homogenous and large to move over the hole.

Other option, the way I see it, is to toss one of the gunpowder barrels Nik brought inside and then blowing that. I'll work with whatever y'all decide though.

I was thinking of using a powder barrel, but I wasn't sure if it was worth hoping for.

I'm inclined to use the artillery to plug the hole - kill two birds with one stone like - but if the hole is getting too scary (or Grom is starting to look like he's going to take the plunge) Maurice might just toss one.

Incidentally, how many barrels do we have? I wrote up all the powder in terms of shots and, honestly, I have no idea how much it amounts to.

If Nikolaas and Grigory manage to take out the flamethrower guys without blowing the thing up, tossing it in the hole would be an idea (and save gunpowder).

In reply to Chance (msg # 222):

Finally getting around to answering this question:

I'm a fan of diversity. If it's something I've never tried before, I'll probably jump on it like a fat kid on Halloween candy. If it's something no one js doing, even more so. From my experience, I prefer more light-hearted/simple games, but the occasional dark setting and extra complexity is refreshing. I have the most experience with fantasy, and that tends to be most of what I see out there, but a new take on the same thing excites me.

I don't know why, but a full on powers game seems boring to me off-hand. If the setting is interesting enough, it would draw me, but not just plain Powers for the fun of it. Things that interest me the most are the games done the least (as far as I have seen).

Specifically, I'd like to play a MH game at some point (RAW). Steampunk is a less-explored genre that I like. Cyberpunk I love, especially if unique or a blend a la Shadowrun et al.

I also have the strange urge to play something gritty and realistic, maybe low fantasy or historical fantasy.

A few ideas I've been pushing around that I don't have time to run, but would love to play:

• Dungeon Fantasy but player races limited to the "Monster" or "Barbarian" races, e.g. Goblinkin, Trolls, and Ogres, definitely not the usual Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Catfolk, Faerie Folk.
• TL 0, historical fantasy, gritty/realistic, tribe of indigenous people just trying to survive.
• TL 9, no super-science, gritty/realistic, NON-dystopian something or other (kind of like Looper sans Time Travel and TKs).
• Legend-inspired low fantasy (e.g. Antlantis).
• Shadowrun with GURPS.
• Some Ultra-Tech game that incorporates fantasy elements, especially magic (like Shadowrun, but maybe higher TL, and maybe not as dark, not post apocalyptic, and not dystopian).

Haven't even half fleshed out any of these ideas e cause I know I can't handle running them right now.

TBH, this is pretty close to exactly the game I want to play. I love the WFRP setting, and the longest game I've ever run IRL was with WFRP 2e. I don't always like gritty, but I think that systems other than GURPS are better for providing the kind of cinematic stuff I sometimes like. And I've been on a 'back to basics' kick for a while now where all I've been craving are some standard fantasy dungeon crawls and adventures. Of course I've always been a sucker for near future and cyberpunk, and one of my RP regrets is never having made use of my copy of CP2020 (now I think even if I were to play it I'd use GURPS since the system is old and clunky).

Grigory makes the right answer! I know someone who will be getting extra character points soon. Actually, I will be awarding 1cp to everyone both for passing 500 posts in the game and completing combat, whenever that wraps up. More details on that soon.

I've actually also been considering a TL0 game at some point next year, or possibly a gritty game set in the Roman Empire (as an excuse to try out a little of the Mass combat rules). I'd find those to be more fun to run, but the martial arts more fun to play.

Happy almost 175 posts IC! It's like Christmas seeing a game get this far.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:46, Thu 13 Dec 2012.

This message was deleted by the player at 17:45, Thu 13 Dec 2012.

 Hmmm, impressive. Rufus has alot of hps for a dog. (14)

I've done it before too. XD


It's not totally unheard-of. The Hound from DF 5 - Allies as ST 13 HP 15. The only exceptionally cinematic aspect of the template is semi-sentience. (Druidic Allies therein have IQ 6 and can understand but not speak their master's language at an accented level.) Then of course ST (and hence HP) are admittedly open ended. Big dogs are strong and hardy, especially if trained to kill.

In reply to Grom Ironsmiter (msg # 238):

13, but yeah, more than Grigory! I took his physical stats (and pretty much everything else about him) from the Druidic ally Hound from Dungeon Fantasy 5 - so he's pretty tough. But I think he's going to be in serious trouble if he starts to get hit - only defense is dodge and he can't wear armour.

If you think about it in real life combat terms, though, Rufus is a large Molosser (my understanding), a classification of dogs popular through the middle ages and including mastiffs, bulldogs, boxers, and the like. They are all bread to absorb lots of damage and keep on fighting. If you think about it, a mastiff that gets shot, mauled by another dog, or gored by a boar is going to keep on fighting. A human in the same situation would fall like a sack of potatoes.

To everyone, Grigory and Nic in particular. I propose that we allow you two to skip ahead a bit and make it to the warpfire thrower, instead of a couple more real life days of "I run forward zig-zagging". That way, you can engage in some combat, along with everyone else. If that is alright with everyone, you may:

Start your next post/turn assuming you are 6 yards away. Grigory outside of the immediate firing arc, and Nik to Grigory's left, perpendicular to the warpfire team and facing the mountain side. You would still be out of range of the machine (3 yards), and they would have to turn in order to target either of you, so they are not waiting simply 'till you come in range to torch away.

In reply to Chance (msg # 241):

Works for me, and thanks very much for the consideration. ^_^

That works for me. Did you want any attack/defense rolls for the rest of us?

Yes, we'll use two separate combat times. Grigory and Nik will be operating in the future, you (Bjorn) and Grom in the present and catch everyone up when the warpfire team is dispatched.

Oh, I get it: Time Travel. :D

How is the armour on the team set up? Grigory's in a pretty good position standing over them right now, so I'd like to target an unarmoured portion of their anatomy if at all possible.

EDIT: (That's assuming I can roll something lower than a 16 this round!)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:14, Mon 17 Dec 2012.

They are wearing full helmets (that protect the eyes as well), medium brigandines, and gauntlets all made of bronze. Their necks, and legs are exposed

Nice work, Grigory!

 Ummm. Just a heads up on the warp fire thrower. In the warhammer world it is a rat pack(like a flame thrower) not so much a piece of artillery. Not sure if it is in the gurps world. One rat carrys the warp mixture and the other carrys a pump(bellows) to add pressure to the mixture.

Yeah, I've been picturing it roughly like this, right?

Shouldn't be a problem for two men to carry over to the hole.

http://www.games-workshop.com/...wersMain_445x319.jpg

Oh, that's not at all what I had pictured; if it were, I would have been way more terrified to make that run toward it! I sort of had the image of just a big old field cannon on an axle.

It all ends up the same, but holy crap! You ever get The Fear after the fact? ^_^

That would be the "Post Combat Shakes" disadvantage I think :)

Grom and Grigory have it right, it is essentially a WWII style flame thrower carried by two people.

For folks that have been asking, making an obviously lethal attack on an unconscious victim is usually an automatic kill, but "finishing off" a stunned or prone for is usually not. They'll have severe penalties to defend (-4 and cannot retreat if stunned, -3 if prone) that are cumulative, but it's still possible for them to evade unless the GM rules them mooks, and hence "dead "after they reach -HP.

If you know a foe cannot defend, make a Telegraphic Attack for +4 to hit. If you know you're safe from attack (or are willing to take the risk), make an All-Out Attack. Or both!

If a step is insufficient to reach the nearest Skaven, I'll spend 1 FP to make a Heroic Charge if that option for Extra Effort in Combat is allowed; otherwise, I'll just Move and use those rolls next turn.

I didn't kill you all! (something I was slightly worried about)

I will be heading to the Southwest tomorrow to spend Christmas with my in-laws and won't be able to post. I should be on occasionally throughout next week, though, to make updates as needed but please do not feel obligated. If you are spending time with friends and family during the holiday, great! if you are tired of them and want to make a post, also great! The next few things I have in store require little to no combat, so there should be less pressure to post daily.

Also, everyone gets 2CP to spend on existing skills, new perks, new or existing techniques, or to save. 1CP for passing 500 posts, another as a Christmas/Holiday gift. If you are unsure of what to buy, please feel free to ask the group.

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays, if you prefer), and try to enjoy the in-laws as best you can.

This is my year to stay home and enjoy a year free of family obligations, so I'll likely keep popping in.

And thanks for the CP; mine are getting banked for now.

 Not sure what would be a wise investment for a slayer (in Gurps rp).?

A couple of suggestions Grom:

Headbutt (a technique) would allow you an interesting backup attack if you have to parry with your weapon:
Head Butt
Hard
Defaults: Brawling-1 or Karate-1.†
Prerequisite: Brawling or Karate; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
This is a close-combat strike using the forehead. Natural targets are the face (-5) and skull (-7) of a standing adversary, but you can attack anything! However, while the skull is hard, it has poor reach and leverage for striking. Roll against Head Butt to hit. Damage is thrust-1 crushing. Your victim may defend normally; if he parries, any damage this causes affects your face. Self-inflicted injury for a target with DR 3+ applies to the skull; however, your skull’s DR 2 protects normally. If you have rigid head protection – e.g., a metal helm – add +1 to damage and apply your armor’s DR against self-inflicted injury.

2 points would allow you to use the skill at your brawling level

Perks (1pt) to consider could be Alcohol Tolerance, No Hangover, Drunken fighting, and Weapon bond (which gives you +1 skill to your axe)

Nik, to answer your IC question, you can use the warplock gun with a rifle or musket skill.

 Nik: Maybe a small point on the warplock weapon or maybe a big point depends on who see's the weapon(like a priest of Sigmar or a witch hunter) kinda frown on anything to do with warpstone.

 Chance: ok his brawling is at easy(16) so that is an idea to consider and i had wondered about the gurps slayers. In WHfrp, slayers get the skill consume alcohol.

 So i would follow the classic slayer templete and take the alcohol tolerance. Seems right for this char.

If you're fighting with a Parry U statistic weapon, you can always spend 1 FP via Rapid Recovery, if we are permitted Extra Effort in Combat. It's from Martial Arts, I believe, an allows you to Parry and Attack without the Ready maneuver in between.

Grom, what does the "Consume Alcohol" skill do? we can see if we can replicate it in GURPS.

I'm really not a huge fan of "extra effort", especially when you all are already pretty highly powered.

Unrelated to this game, but I think some time early next year I will be starting another GURPS game here on rpol. Set in the Roman Empire, during the early part of Hadrian's reign in Dacia. Dacia was one of the most restive provinces in the empire, and their fighters (and the Falx) were formidable enough to be feared by the Romans (for example, Spartacus was possibly a Dacian). Hadrian was also thought to be the first emperor to set up a secret police type organization, and Dacia was a brand new province at this point in his rule. Trajan had succeeded in subduing some of the Dacians but a few years before his death.

With those things in mind, I'm thinking of a realistic, low tech game where the players act as some of these secret police, all veteran Roman soldiers. Thwarting scandals, quelling rebellions before they start, and the like. It would occasionally require the PCs to do some unsavory things, but I figure it might be interesting to play a kind of bad guy on occasion.

Not fishing for you all to sign on, just looking for any feedback/thoughts or, if there is another type of ancient history campaign you'd like to see.

 I would say almost like alcohol tolerance.

 In the whfrp book it states: Use this skill to resist the effects of alcohol. It is vs Toughness.

Sounds interesting; I'm not really up on my Roman history but if that's not a requirement for understanding the game then I'll sign up.

I'll try to figure out what to put my points into. I think Grigory may need to start buying off some of his social disadvantages...

In reply to Chance (msg # 261):

I'm also pretty bad with my history, but I loved the Rome and Spartacus shows, so I've got that going for me; anyways, I'm a huge GURPS fan, and I have room in my queue for another setting. If it ends up happening, let me know!

Also, I've remembered how sexy Dual-Ready was, so I'll be spending one of those CP right away here.

Also also, Grom brings up a good point. Is it a really bad idea, socially or legally or whatever, to pick up and use a Warpfire weapon? Would the socially responsible thing be to destroy it? Could it/should it be sold?

I know some, but not a lot, of Roman history. As long as players are still in the feel of the game and setting, I'm not gonna be a stickler for perfect historical accuracy.

The XIII legion, which I think was the home unit for some of the Rome characters, was actually one of the two stationed in Dacia and where I intended the PCs to be attached.

Back to the game, to answer Nik, that's something you all will have to decide among yourselves.

Good to know. :)


As long as the unsavory things aren't simply because the characters are sadistic.

I don't ever like playing the bad guy, i.e., a truly evil person. While everyone has faults, and it can be fun from time to time to deal with the difficult situations that arise from such conflict, the constancy of actually being evil eventually grates on me, and it becomes not as much fun as I thought. What I find works better is when the PCs are not necessarily evil themselves, but are forced to make evil decisions as a matter of necessity: in order to survive, as a means to an end, for the Greater Good, etc.

That is almost exactly what I'm talking about. The Dacians are simply fighting for freedom, while the PC Romans are duty bound to the Emperor and their comrades. My intent would be to actually hit people with their "Duty" disadvantage where the player might want to do one thing, but their character cannot/would not.

For clarity, no crucifying people or slaughtering families, just maybe roughing people up for crucial information. That sort of thing.

Yeah. That sounds like a blast. :)

The game... not the beating people up. Okay, maybe a little. XD

All,

Please welcome Nigel Plaskitt, formerly Lurker 1, who will be joining the party by the next scene.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

Welcome, Nigel! :D

Why thank you Bjorn! And hello to everyone else as well! Looking forward to joining up with you guys.

Cool, an archer; welcome to the show, Nigel.

And Merry Christmas all.

I have a few questions about the current scene:

1. How large is the mob?
   
2. How much damage has the woman taken?
   
3. By this point, have I had time to recover lost Fatigue?
   
4. Does the mark on her face look like anything in particular, e.g., a birth mark, a scar, a wound (i.e., from the beating)?
   
5. Do I have authority to pass judgment?
   
6. Does judgment mean death? If so, must I carry out the execution?
   
7. Do I have the authority to disperse the crowd (whether they will comply or not)?

I'm not 100% certain what role I am expected to play (i.e., my Duty).

I have a few potentially conflicting disadvantages: Fanaticism, Duty, Paicifism (Cannot Harm Innocents). I think that if she were clearly tainted or if proof could be provided of the accusations, Bjorn would have a difficult time executing her unless she was trying to hurt people. If there is some sort of interrogation typically done by Witch Hunters or something, he'd probably turn her over for questioning.

If she's innocent, though, I'm not sure what I should do (rules of The Order and such). Am I expected to protect the innocent or keep the peace? Both? Neither?

What do you guys think? Here's where my knowledge of the setting peters out.

 Hmmm, off hand from what i remember of the warhammer world. Priest's of Sigmar are fairly strict on matters of dealing with Chaos. Then again each priest will have different views on what is proof, that someone has been infected by chaos.

 I wont say either way how you should judge but having a birthmark wont make Grom consider her a being infected.

 What was interesting was the other priest's watching from the hill and doing nothing either way.

Yeah, major props to our GM for this dilemma. I'm excited about it. :)

Bjorn, to answer your questions:

1. 15 people
2. She has been hit and kicked by the flagellants, split lip, black eye, other bruising, but you cannot tell specifically how much damage she has taken. She does not appear to be on the verge of death.
3. You have rested from the previous fight and recovered all of your lost fatigue from spells. Assume you have been hiking for an hour at your present encumbrance. I believe you are  at no encumbrance, so -1fp from your max
4. It looks like a bright portwine stain (Capillary Vascular Malformation) that covers easily half of her face. Your character would not know what a portwine is (they occur in about .3% of people in real life), but I tell you so you can have an idea of what I'm talking about. Note, I'm not implying that it is or is not just a portwine.
5. You do, but the mob won't necessarily accept it if they don't like it.
6. If you judge that she is a cultist yes. If you do not carry out the judgement, the flagellants will burn her
7. If you are talking law enforcement powers, like a cop telling a crowd to move along, then no. However, these are fanatical followers of Sigmar, a deity for whom you speak.

Witch Hunters would probably extract a confession out of her, but your group does not know if there are any here. There is no other evidence besides her mark, and the flagellants word on which to convict her. As far as whether or not your role is to keep the peace or protect the innocent: either, both, or neither. Like Grom said, each priest would have different views.

For a bit of background info, I'm not sure if this has been covered yet. An individual that devotes themselves to Chaos will begin to manifest mutations that will get more grotesque and obvious as time goes on. These mutations are the primary way Witch Hunters and the like identify cultists. Mutations may also develop as a result of being exposed to warpstone or being in close proximity to demons.

Awesome. That helps out a lot. :)

Mobs are a tricky thing to deal with, and I'm glad I'm not the priest in this situation, but hear me out.

The reason Fanatics do what they do is because sometimes something as simple as a birthmark actually does demonstrate Chaos taint; I'm not saying this is the case here, but it could be, just as easily as it could be a pointless lynching of an totally innocent girl.

My suggestion would be to control the mob's anger, secure the prisoner by whatever means necessary, and conduct whatever tests and trials Bjorn thinks necessary (or truck her along until we find a proper Witch Hunter).

Now what I'm really curious about are those nearby Warrior-Priests...

I'm headed back home and will be flying the rest of the day. Expect to be able to make an update this evening or tomorrow.

This looks like it is shaping up well, though. Glad to have y'all intrigued. Hope everyone had a good holiday too!

In reply to Nikolaas von Richtgraf (msg # 278):

That is along the lines of what I'm trying to achieve. If I can convince them that they don't have enough substantial evidence (I don't think they do), then we should be able to disperse them on the grounds that we will investigate the matter ourselves.

So I know I'm being a bit difficult, but I'm also stalling a bit to give Grigory some time to post when he can, while still giving you all something to do.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:27, Fri 28 Dec 2012.

Dang. Now that's some good role-playing, pretty sure anything else I can say will just sound stupid. :)

Thanks! Don't worry, though. Your services may yet be of use. :D

 Hmmm, While a priest of sigmar is zealous for his beliefs i have to wonder if he would condone torture in his presence?. True the land is harsh and fairly tough enviroment to grow up in but i would hope their are those who dont get their jollys by causing unneeded pain on the poor peasants. Who in truth are mostly powerless against the authority figures over them.

 Grom already said what he was going to say and no one paid any attention to the slayer in their midst?, Hmm, does that say something about the mentallity of the flagellants nearby.?

I think I made it pretty clear that if anyone tries to touch the woman, they are asking for serious trouble.

They probably ignored you because they have more fear/respect for me. They are fanatics, and I'm a priest. While you could break their bodies, I'm responsible for their soul, or at least they might think something like that. Oh religious zealots. :)

I don't know if I'd say, get their jollies. To the point of how much attention the Slayer is paid, Flagellants are single minded to say the least. They are fixated on doom and Chaos and little else. Bjorn is a spiritual authority figure and so this bit is more focused on him and the pay him more heed, but my plans for this scenario should involve all of you at some point :)

Woah dang. Chance, I must say you're the king of conundrums. This is fast becoming one of my favorite games just because of all this conflict; I'm not even sure how Nigel will respond at this point.

Thanks! I appreciate that. I meant to insert a private line to you, but it is implied in the post, so I'll go ahead and mention here that you are not implicated with the rest of the party, she knows that you arrived with the onlookers instead of with the wagon. You will end up wrapped up with the party eventually though (more to follow on that as things develop).

EDIT: Also, the Witch Hunter has enough fame that pretty much anyone in the Empire or who has spent a lot of time in the Empire would know who she is, at least by name.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:17, Tue 01 Jan 2013.

 Hmmm, this is as good a time as any for Grom to find his doom, though he doesnt like the thought of him being called a aide for the chaos forces.

We'll see what happens now. :)

BY THE POWER OF LOGIC!
This message was last edited by the player at 23:41, Tue 01 Jan 2013.

Hi all, sorry for the absence - the holiday was a lot busier than I expected and I wasn't able to post. I'm back now and will catch up today.

How is the Bretonnian reacting to all of this? They don't worship Sigmar there, AFAIK.

Glad to have you back!

I think that is correct, yes, and I am intending to work that angle soon ;)

Well I just outright said I don't worship Sigmar while moving over to help the caravan, so I'm sure that'll come back to bite me (and everyone else now lol) in the butt.

Well, that changes things a bit for me, but I like the move.

For the record Nigel isn't aiming at the the witchhunter, or anyone else for that matter, he just readied an arrow.

Nigel, I don't think you have to roll to ready your bow unless you're also shooting the same turn.


Don't you need 20 minutes of uninterrupted storytelling for Suggest to work? I would have been using Captivate but for similar requirements. The main reason I keep rebutting her argument is because I'm trying to prevent her from being able to use Enthrallment skills on the crowd by interrupting her speech.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Wed 02 Jan 2013.

I was fast-readying it and taking a wait maneuver, so that I could shoot it that turn if things turned ugly right away.

You're right. I made that post from work and didn't have access to the book, sorry about that, assume I didn't make that roll.

In reply to Nigel Plaskitt (msg # 298):

Oh, good idea. :)

In reply to Chance (msg # 299):

No worries. We talked about modifying at least some aspects of Enthrallment skills, so I wasn't sure how much we were changing. :)

I just wanted to mention that I am very much enjoying everyone's posts in this situation so far.

In reply to Chance (msg # 301):

Me too; this place definitely deserves a high five! ^_^

This character is a lot of fun to roleplay. He may be somewhat atypical for a Warrior Priest, but if he's the only one in the Empire that has a moral compass that points true North, I'm okay with that. I'm totally making up his beliefs about Sigmar. I haven't the faintest clue if they are true, but he believes them anyway.

I seriously love this game! This whole scene has been absolutely brilliant, both in its design and in the player responses.

Yup! Having a lot of fun here :)

It's nice of all of you to be so patient with Grigory. He just really hates rats - or being interrogated by the Witch hunters.

:)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:02, Fri 04 Jan 2013.

In reply to Grigory (msg # 306):

Can't really blame him for that. ^_^

I don't know how much character history will come into play, but Nik has a soft-spot for madmen, and Grigory totally strikes him as... eccentric. I don't know if he's officially bonkers or whatever, and I'm sorry if I'm putting subtext on him that shouldn't be there, but I'm loving the added level of interaction.

Thanks guys :)

I had intended to take the next few happenings in a bit of a different direction, but I liked how you all reacted to the last scene enough that I will be tweaking things a bit to your favor.

For the record, I am totally in favor of our favor. :]

Lol, I think we all are.

 Hmmm, i would hope the count isnt talking to Grom ?. Still sofar he is not suffering any imparement to his fighting abilities. Sheesh he has hardly begun to drink yet. ^-^

I think he is just musing... (at least that is my read).

Grom, do you want to post anything about your interview with the Warrior Priest? If not, I'll go ahead and put up an update soon.

 Most likely cant be printed what he says about the ##### ####### witch hunter. So move ahead.

In reply to Grom Ironsmiter (msg # 311):

Well, the talking part - "be careful, and what the Hell is up with that girl" - is to Grom and everyone else at the table, really.

The "be careful you don't get blind drunk" thing is just in general; to be honest, I'm not even sure there is actually enough booze in the place to knock a Dwarf slayer out. So yeah, totally just musing. ^_^

Alright, bear with me on that last post. I do have a plan and I'm not just being a jerk I promise :)

S'okay. Pretty sure we all blame Benedikta and will most definitely kill her if we see her again.

Edit: Updated my character sheet with the new equipment and took note of the changes in stats for me. This new equipment is pretty crippling compared to what I had, I hope we get our regular stuff back soon.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Mon 07 Jan 2013.

 If grom were a bit paranoid he might begin to wonder about the "Merchant" and the Witch hunter. He has enough doubts about manlings already, now we have a noble becoming a trader in the border mountains. Is he looking to set up a new kingdom for himself and has something of value to the forces of chaos down here.?

 Like i mentioned, just a thought.

I'm definitely not a fan of Benedikta; well, as a character she's actually awesome since I love to hate her, but in character? Ooooh, I'm gonna do something bad when I find her. >:}

As for the noble-cum-merchant thing, I agree that should seem a little odd. I've actually put a lot into Nik's backstory, but short of just dumping a novella onto you (and really not wanting to screw up a potential avenue for drama) I'll keep the full explanations to myself for now. There's always time for some nice character exposition when we're sitting around a campfire and counting our cash... provided we get the shipment back, that is.

You know, I went back and forth and eventually decided to fully stat out Benedikta. I'm glad I did, because I think it really helps me to make her more villainous.

I honestly have no idea what would be the implications of being reported for incompetance to the High Theoginist, but it seemed scary enough to me. Maybe it'll convince them to cough up some more reasonable weaponry, or more money.

It should be noted that while Bjorn thinks it rather probable that Benedikta is somehow responsible, he doesn't like spouting off accusations without evidence. He won't stoop to her level, but if she is responsible, he will rather enjoy bringing her to justice.

Does anyone have any investigative skills? It might be beneficial to start at the scene of the crime.

Wow, we all kinda signed in at the same time there, huh? Once more with feeling: I love this game, and you guys are awesome!

I'll hold off on any IC posting for awhile just to make sure I don't muddy the waters any, but I just want to sort out OOC: who is taking what weapons? I'm more inclined to let you lads arm up with the best you can before I stick my nose in and pick something I'll just be using at Default level anyway. If no one else wants the sword I'll take that, but otherwise you guys can have first pick; I can use Brawl until I get my stuff back.

Obviously the bow is mine lol, but with only 10 arrows I'd like to take one of the long knives for a backup.

 So, from the sounds of it, not only did she make off with the merchandise of the merchant, she also took all our weapons?. Umm, hard to think they would not put the weapons seperate from the wagon instead of storing the weapons with the wagon.

 I dont see any two handed weapons in the trash pile of donated weapons...

Grom - I don't see why that's hard to think; several of us stated that we stowed our weapons in wagon, because its a logical place for them to be stored.

I'm not worried about getting our weapons back, we'll be able to get them back, it just may not happen until we catch up with the wagon. I bought my bow with signature gear not only so that I didn't have to spend half my money on it, but also so that if anything like this happened to it, it'd be guaranteed to be returned to me. Technically, the gm doesn't have to give us back any of the rest of our stuff, but I'm really hoping he will because I totally just joined and lost 65 fine quality arrows plus a shortsword that weren't protected like my bow... (He said to trust him and since this whole game has been awesome, I do).

As for your concern about there being no two handed weapons in the pile... Yeah, that really sucks; you're gonna have to use either one of the maces or the pick at a default of -3 from Two-Handed Axe. If it makes you feel any better I get 10 shots then I'm stuck using the knife at a -3 default from my 14 in Shortsword.

Bjorn - I have a 12 in Interrogation, Scrounging, Search, and Streetwise, so we could take a look over the stables and question the guards before leaving just to make sure we set out with as much information as possible.

Nikolaas - I must again agree with that sentiment, this game is awesome! Even this obstacle of not having any of our weapons is pretty cool; I've never had anything like this happen in a game before.

Edit: I just realized that I specifically stated that I stored all of my gear in the wagon, not just my weapons... I don't even have personal basics, a blanket, or anything right now (not even my food!). I just have my clothing, armor, and the replacement weapons we've been given. I hope we catch this wagon quick!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:55, Tue 08 Jan 2013.

I'll be fine using one of the small maces or just brawling and wrestling. I forget: did they take our armor as well?

Just our weapons.

 Umm, the cleric with the busy beard took Groms weapon.

You all may investigate the stables if you wish, and the priests remaining will be able to show you the wagon trail, but cannot leave the holy site.

Glad everyone is having fun still. To be clear, you all are missing your arms, any possessions stored on the wagon, all of the wagon's supplies (food), the mules and the inventory.

I'm all for a quick investigation of the stables and questioning the guards, but the operative word here is "quick"; I can't risk letting that wagon get too far, and with no horses we're in for a brisk march as it is.

 Ummm, Grom will most likely not stop to check out the horse droppings since since the witch hunter has his ancestors weapon, so he will find out the direction the wagon went when it left and use his knowledge of these border mountains to close the distance between them. If they stay on the road we know where they are going mostly. If she goes off the road then she will be moving slower and getting the mules to do the right thing might not be so easy.

Just to clarify the situation, did Grom just go off on his own, or did he join the supply party first? Nik would try to pay Grom out before he left (if he had an opportunity), but in any case - since we all have ultimately the same destination - I don't think it's too much of a stretch for us to at least have a chance at tracking a Dwarf on the warpath.

What I mean to say is, Grom: if you want to hit the road right away, that's cool and I totally understand. Nik isn't willing to go out into the woods without a few basic supplies first and a chance at some clues but, depending on just how fast you go, I think we might be able to catch you up anyway.

Unless that was the "fuck you manlings I'll do it myself" kind of walk and you really don't want to be caught up with, in which case I guess it's first to the finish.

Grigory, quick question just so I'm sure and I tell/told you the right things. You accompanied Nigel to the Stable, correct? I think Nik suggested IC that you go with him to collect food so I wanted to make sure I didn't misread anything.

Oops, sorry Nik I missed that. Yes I went to the stable.

 He was going to the stables to see where the wagon tracks lead and then he is going after the wagon, if the rest of the group is ready by then we all follow after the thieves, if not then he will travel alone.

Scrounging takes a hour if I remember correctly (and is the amount of time Nik told you all to take). The stable is attached to the Priest quarters  on the opposite side of where you all first spoke to Karl. The hostel and its food larders are 100 yards away on the other side of the road.

If Grom decides to set out immediately after the tracks, I think he has one of the lower speeds of the group and you all should be able to catch him soon enough.

No worries, Grigory, there's work to be done there, too.

Okay, so as I see it now it's Nigel, Maurice, Bjorn and Grigory checking for clues, Nik gathering supplies, and Grom on the road, is that right?

If it's no trouble IC, Maurice will go with Nik to help with the supplies; keep the split a little more even (and save Nik from having to carry too much).

Grom, need a final word as to whether or not you struck out on your own. You did not come across any other weapons (like a wood ax).

If you did, you would be about over 2 miles ahead of the group. Give me two rolls against your tracking (to determine if you are successfully following the trail).

 Ok, tracking skill 12/avg:13:42, Today: Grom Ironsmiter rolled 11,8 using 3d6,3d6. first and second roll /12

Just so I'm sure, we're waiting for Chance to resolve the stuff with Grom before posting right? I just don't want to be sitting here doing nothing, if there was something we could be doing.

Would it be okay to rp talking while we walk? Or would everyone rather wait for the action?

Feel free to talk while you walk if you like :).

Also yes, I'm waiting on one more reply from Grom and then I will update the rest of the party and move things forward.

No tactics roll is needed, but I promise that I will give you occasion to use it soon :)

Sorry about things slowing down a bit, everyone should be back together soon.

I should be around this evening and tomorrow morning to update things as necessary, but not this weekend. Have to go out of town for an unexpected family thing. Nothing too serious and I hope to be back by Monday.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:09, Thu 10 Jan 2013.

 I have hit the troll a good solid hit and would of had two more but it keeps dodging my good attacks. I am guessing that it regens like most fantasy trolls?.

I had thought that Warhammer trolls didn't regenerate but the Lexicanum suggests otherwise so yeah, probably there is regeneration going on.

I've only seen one of your attacks so I'm not sure if you've been using it already, but with your high skill you could probably afford to take some penalties to make Deceptive Attacks. That might keep the troll from dodging.

I'm still hitting it from behind, but with no vital organs I can't do much damage... I'll run around the front and hit it in the eyes.

Man...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOxrm4CU0U

This troll does regenerate. I went back and forth about simulating the mechanic from WHFB but it was trying to model troll re-gen anyway and I think would have made him too difficult.

...I didn't attack the troll, but I guess it would have died anyway?

Burning Death is a melee spell...

I misread your post, was trying to get it and something for work done at the same time. Apparently not the best idea!

Grom's axe wound finished him off anyway. That was a brutal hit.

Nigel, I wouldn't worry about the tracking fail, Grigory's dog should be able to take you right there if you all want to find the lair.

Finally, I will note it in my next update post, but Grom was down 10hp so he could still use some additional healing. If he'll let you do it :) bandages could also be made from some of the cloth you are transporting, if Nik allows it.

I'm at -3 to recast on the same target the same day and can't heal more than 4 HP at a time. I can, however, use Share Vitality to transfer his wounds to me, then heal myself. That is probably what I'll do, but I want to wait for his reaction first. He can be mad at me all he wants, but there is no way to resist a healing spell. MUHAHAHAHA!

Sorry for stealing everyone's weapons to only give them back again soon after. I didn't want to be too much of a jerk and just take everything you all had statted out and all that, but I did need a way to introduce the girl again :)

I've read more about gaming than I've actually experienced, and one of the things I keep stumbling onto in the GM sections is "don't be afraid to mess with the character's stuff". On paper, it seems obvious. In practice, it was a pretty terrifying experience. Excellent way to pull people out of their comfort zone; don't apologize for doing your job and doing it well!

Okay, I wrote and re-wrote that post like half a dozen times and I'm still not totally satisfied with it, so I'm taking some of it OOC.

I can't afford to pay you guys to come on an adventure with me, nor do I suppose that's a problem often encountered by the "you all meet at an inn" crowd, so if you want to come sacking the troll's hideout (as I suspect we all do) then it's pro-bono work.

I totally want to kick Benedikta right in the feelings, but there's no money in that, and I didn't hire you guys as a hit-squad. Again, not a problem encountered in any other group dynamic, but as it is I can't in good conscience say "fuck the load, we're going after her!"

Finally, IC-wise, I really do need to get this shipment to Akendorf on time and intact, but I really don't want to use a month's wage as an excuse to cheat a group of adventurers out of two possible adventures.

So there you go. In any other group I'd just say "I vote we sack the troll's lair, hunt down Benedikta if it's convenient or on the way to Akendorf, and then get back on the road", but since I'm Johnny Job-maker over here I have to couch the proposal a little differently.

I think you did a good job. We certainly want to sack the troll's lair, but killing Benedikta will have to wait until she pops up again, which she most certainly will. For now, we're caravan guards and we'll do our jobs, but if you had said, "Screw it! We're gonna go kill the witch!" I am certain that no one would complain, in fact we'd all relish the chance to kill her.

I already regret not shooting her when I had an arrow trained on her when we first met, although I'm pretty sure that would have ended this character at the hands of the warrior priests.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:26, Tue 15 Jan 2013.

Grigory's with you for both - he was never all that interested in the money over the chance to travel out of the Empire with a heavily armed group. Now that Benedikta's followed him here he's more than happy to help anyone and everyone interested in killing her.

Are the gestures necessary to communicate to her? She seemed to understand when Grigory warned us of poison. I got the impression that she could understand us, just not the name "Benedikta." Maybe I'm wrong, though.

That's correct. She did not know Benedikta's name, but she can understand you if you speak to her.

At the same time, it is human (and Dwarf) nature to try and mimic communication techniques so she wouldn't be offended.

After reading the thread, more on gestures:

A successful gesture roll is used to convey one simple idea or concept silently. For our mute NPC, I will also occasionally roll against all of your gesture skills to see if you understand a pantomime that might not be immediately obvious or might be construed as meaning something else.

As to the troll's den. I thought about making the trek a bit more challenging, but after the troll itself, I didn't want to throw you back into combat right away. I have enough of that planned soon anyway *evil laugh goes here*

Finally, speaking of Skyrim, I just joined an Elder Scrolls GURPS DF game here on rpol. I'm looking forward to it, and if you all end up in a dungeon soon, know that I'm pirating ideas directly from the other game lol.