This is the thread to discuss you character ideas, comments, and questions. Have fun!

Hey folks,

Quick Update. I've heard back from all four players whom I asked to join the game and all four of you were interested. Woo! From the responses I received I'm expecting to receive RTJs sometime between now and Monday-ish.

As I told one of you who asked, In addition to any plots you guys generate during character creation, I definitely a loose plot framework in mind at this point. The thing is that framework is going to be HEAVILY colored by the types of characters I get from you guys. They'll shape how you go about it, how it turns out. Etc. My GMing philosophy has always been "a player's character sheet is a love letter to the game" meaning that what they do with their character sheet is what they'd like to see/want to get out of the game. So if you create a Knight who's a beast at Armour combat then I'm going to put them in situations where they're destroying Emergent Combat forms on a regular basis. If you make a knight who's cunning and clever then I'm going to put him in situations where he's leading other people or working his magic at court. In short, YOU tell ME what kind of game we will play.

So with that said, have at it folks. ;)

Hi! I've got a name picked out, but that's about all I have so far. I'm envisioning a younger knight, eager to prove himself to his peers. And that's about it.

His name is taken from the first adventure game I beat as a child. The character of Gwydion was a clever young man who'd been kidnapped and raised by an evil wizard, who planned to kill him on his 18th birthday. Adventure ensues. I don't think any of that can be applied to the character backstory here.

I, too, only have a name so far.

I know I wanted to make a young Valkyrie, probably one who was brash and inexperienced and perhaps needs a bit of humbling in actual combat (where the rules of honor don't apply), and completely out of place in courtly intrigue.

Because I, myself, can't wrap my head around that stuff, so I'd rather not try to make a character who is good at it.  Much more fun to be a horrible diplomat and get pulled back by the rest of the party so someone else can apologize for my presence and smooth things out.

As the other two party members take me down with clorophorm.

I copied your posts over from the other thread just so we'd have everything all in one place.

Great ideas so far you guys. Two relatively inexperienced knights? Oh that is rife with potential there! =)

Maybe the whole group are young knights errant out to prove themselves, or maybe the two young knights have been taken under the tutelage of more experienced knights. Heck, maybe even one is a knighted former squire of another. Who knows!

Can't wait to see what concepts you come up with and how the groups develop.

First idea!

Name: Brun

Concept: Edge Knight

Born to a Venusian noble family, Brun was always considered something of a family burden.  With his elder sisters, he had little chance of achieving much and the family was seeking a fine marriage for him; his only way to contribute to the family fortune.  Till then he served in his sisters' vassal train as a squire.

During a disastrous attempt on a bandit band in the wreck, Brun was captured.  Misunderstanding Venusian nobility, the bandits thought they had a prize and asked a high ransom.  It never came.  Luckily, Brun proved himself useful and managed to survive there.  He has since repaired an old Javelin armor, heavily modified with spare parts at hand.  Mercenary work never felt right, do he answered Arthur's call.  The Edge Knight balance to ignore the taunts and jests about his past and his ill fitting armor.

Thoughts?

Nice! I dig it. That's a very solid concept with tons of ways you could develop it. It'd give the group access to contacts outside of the norm too. I can't wait to see how you flesh it out.

Alright, I'm looking into the idea of an Earth knight, possibly a nephew or godson of Arthur himself and a staunch supporter of Earth. Really, my idea was very much like Meara's: talented in combat with too little actual experience, not as skilled in courtly politics as he thinks he is, replacing tact and shows of respect with youthful exuberance and a loud mouth.

His personal goal would be to use his skills and idealism to pull more support for Arthur, maybe selling his service in exchange for promises of support.

To expand upon Meara, she would not be brash so much as naive, ignorant, and inexperienced in the ways of the world.  Sheltered would be another good way to put it.  She doesn't mean to be rude, uncouth, wild, or unruly.  She simply doesn't know any better.  Her life has always gone her way, and she appears spoiled (and rightly so) because of it.

But behind all that is a heart full of passion and caring that wants to do the right thing for everyone, regardless of social class or power.

Unfortunately for her, to obtain that ideal, she has a great deal of things to unlearn before she can learn the proper way to behave.

Of course, getting her arse handed to her or her allies because she acted without restraint or discipline in combat or some other situation will definitely help temper her behavior.

Won't make her not want to punch the snobby, arrogant prat looking down at her and her friends in the face, though.  That will never go away.  Kinda core to her personality.

Gwydion and Meara seem similar in a lot of ways. Sounds like they'd make great friends or rivals. Just reading over both of your descriptions gave me a huge Wally/Artemis from Young Justice vibe.

Hello everyone.

The concept I've been giving the most consideration too, is a Knight of Mars. Fairly standard fare; started out working in the foundries of Mars; built his Armour on his free time from what he could beg, barrow, steel, and scavenge. Fought his way to freedom in the arena, but with the added point of, having attained what he had worked his entire life for (freedom to act as a Knight) he's left asking "what now?" It would probably be logical that he would explore options off planet when possible, and throwing his lot in officially with Arthur would give him motivation.

As to the character himself. He would be very much, a product of Mars, who believes that respect is earned, and not a right by birth, so he might take issue with courtly types. He also believes that with a little hard work, and tenacity, any problem can be overcome. His upbringing makes him empathic to the plight of the downtrodden, so when he wouldn't be piloting, a good deal of his time would be assisting the rebuilding on earth, if possible, or, in more general terms, helping the less fortunate.

In terms of combat, he would be well versed in fighting singular opponent, but has little understanding of actual battle. He would take to it quickly enough, he would just have no large scale conflict to draw on in his past, only duels in the arena.

That sounds really great Player 4!

It looks like everybody has a basic concept at least:
Gwydion: Brash young Knight and close relation to Arthur
Meara: Sheltered Valkyrie out to prove herself
Brun: Edge Knight, former Bandit/Mercenary
“Martian”: Accomplished Arena fighter, knighted by L4-NC3-L07 because of his prowess

I really love how the group seems to break down into some really fun dichotomies. We've got two knights who are inexperienced vs. two who are very experienced. Two from privedged backgrounds vs. two who are self-reliant. Gwydion who is forward and brash vs. Meara who's a bit more naïve. One Venusian of high standing vs one who is a 'mere' edge knight. Brun has experience in actual battle vs. Martian having fought largely in Arena Duels. Fun stuff!

It seems you're all Loyalists. One Knight of Avaluna Court. One Valkyrie. One Martian Knight, One Edge Knight of Venusian birth (which I'm assuming makes him pro John Arthur.) You're all also of a really heroic bend. Defending the weak and the downtrodden, wanting more than a mercenary's life. Excellent.

Does everybody feel that they have enough of a basic concept to start putting together a character mechanically? If so, go at it. Don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have.

I've thrown together a sample character for you guys as an example. He's at the botton of the post. If you've read any medieval literature, I'm sure he'll be a familiar fellow. ;)

Also, please list at least one sample invoke and compel for each of your character's aspects, just to make sure we're on the same page.

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As a bit of a side note: I once played in a game where no matter what the party did, the plot the GM had planned was going to happen regardless of our myriad and ardent attempts to prevent it. It was incredibly frustrating. That is NOT going to happen here. Yes, we are using the Arthurian Legend as a backdrop, but just because that's the case don't think the same things need occur as did in the literary tradition. They certainly can if you want them to play out that way, or they can go completely differently. It's up to you. First and foremost this is the story of YOUR knights and you have a lot more to say about the story that gets told here than any sort of literary tradition. Do not be afraid to stick your fingers in there and really mess around with the tapestry of the backdrop if that's what you want to do. Or you can ignore it entirely. It's completely up to you.

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R014ND
High Concept: Loyal Knight of the Court
Trouble: Pride Comes Before the Fall
Other Aspects: OL-1V3R is My Battle Brother, With Durendal, I Strike, "The Blackest Heart is Cowardice!"

Skills
Great: Devotion
Good: Armour, Daunt
Fair: Blast, Chivalry, Melee
Average: Mark, Smithy, Vigor, Zeal

Stunts
Strength From Determination: Use Devotion instead of Vigor on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.

Pain Is My Blade: Once per scene when you have a consequence, you can choose to make your next attack roll with a bonus equal to the value of your highest consequence (+2 for mild, +4 for moderate, +6 for severe). If you do, the consequence is stepped up by one level—that is, mild becomes moderate, moderate becomes severe, severe becomes taken out.

Face me!: When you create an advantage on an opponent using Daunt, you can use your free invocation to become the target of that character’s next relevant action, drawing their attention away from another target.

Starting Refresh: 3

Stress
Mental     [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Physical    [ ] [ ] [ ]

Durendal:
• Head: Advanced Offensive Suite (Great Melee)
• Front: Vibranium Alloy (+2 Armour vs. Melee attacks)
• Back: Olifant Networking Hub (+2 to Daunt when creating advantages involving superior numbers)
• Arms: Monoblade Greatsword (When you succeed with style on a Melee attack, you may put a scene aspect with a free invocation into play instead of just a boost)
• Legs: Charger Rockets (Use Armour instead of Zeal when attempting to overcome obstacles)

R014ND is a Martain Knight who joined John Arthur's cause alongside  L4-NC3-L07. He stands over 7' tall and both he and his armour Durendal make quite intimidating figures. There are few as loyal to John Arthur as R014ND though his willfulness makes him both stubborn and proud.

Roland's Coat of Arms features a Golden Greatsword on a field of Red. The crossguard of the sword seems to be made of an ancient warhorn and is silver rather than gold.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:55, Mon 28 Apr 2014.

Everyone doing okay? Any questions?

Yep, just had two game nights in a row. So standard character creation: High Concept, Trouble, Skill ladder capped at Great +4, and three Phases (two guest starring), right? Let's get this a-rollin'.

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High Concept: Young Knight of Avaluna
Invoke when using position to gain leverage, or to represent training. Compel when trying to resist going to the aid of others rather than focusing on the task at hand, or when responsibilities come up.

Trouble: Transparent Principles
Invoke when using personal conviction to gain trust. Compel when trying to gain support from traditionalists or elders, when trying to lay low while others are being treated badly, or when trying to deceive or resist deception.

SKILLS
+4 Melee
+3 Chivalry, Devotion
+2 Armour, Lineage, Zeal
+1 Household, Lore, Mark, Vigor

PHASE ONE: Doomed to Repeat
Gwydion couldn't help himself. He'd only just arrived at the Jovian court the previous day, and already he'd managed to offend rather than impress. He'd earned himself three duels, one right after the other. It was only the fortunate timing of an Emergent raid that pulled the young man away from his opponents, though they'd have preferred he stay and fight rather than rushing off to protect those targets the machines had chosen.

Aspect: I Stand By Justice
Invoke to hold conviction or appraise the justice of a situation. Compel to hold conviction in the face of being wrong, or when justice demands making a difficult choice (such as running away from an honorable duel to save the lives of the innocent).

Looking good so far Gwydion. I didn't see it mentioned, did you decide to eschew being related to the King?

No, and I was using Lineage to represent that connection at first, putting it at +4 to show he's pretty near the top of the food chain. Then I remembered I wanted him to be good at stuff, and a +4 pyramid is a lot fewer skills than it sounds. :P So Melee got swapped up to +4, Chivalry and Devotion seemed like they should each stay at +3, and Lineage moved down to +2. That way, he doesn't like using his connection to Arthur to sway people, and would rather accomplish feats on his own merit.

On the other hand, Lineage +4 wouldn't represent his own willingness to throw his weight around, but the perspectives of others seeing him as a link to Arthur. It's hard to hide who he is without actively trying to, after all, and he has zero skill at hiding himself. Now I'm thinking of putting Lineage back at +4 and having Melee at +3. Devotion would go to +2, as I've already got no less than two Aspects to use for Devotion rolls. How does this look:

+4 Lineage
+3 Chivalry, Melee
+2 Armour, Devotion, Zeal
+1 Household, Lore, Mark, Vigor

Household is so low because he travels a lot and isn't in charge of his own estate, his parents would be. Lore is so low because he's spent more time training his martial prowess and focusing his idealism than academic pursuits, but he /did/ have an education. Just daydreamed a lot during lessons, you see.

Right. Exactly. High Lineage doesn't necessarily mean he's running around taking advantage of his relationship with Arthur. It could also just mean that people know who he is and that has a weight in and of itself.

What exactly is your relationship with John Arthur? His Godson? His Nephew? That could be very important. Both would give plenty of reasons to have a Great +4 Lineage Skill, but if the King were Uncle John to you then that would put you in line for the Throne if something happened to the King and Queen and they had no children.

I'll be his nephew, on the Arthur side (as opposed to Valerie's nephew). That'll drop a lot more serious responsibility on him, and mean each victory and defeat is considerably more important. No pressure, kid.

Oh man, I'm so tempted to have Lineage at +1 or not at all because despite being part of a noble family, most nobles are like, "Oh gods, it's HER.  Quick, don't make eye contact!"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

There's a great Aspect in there for sure.