In reply to Domitius (msg # 198):

So, Marik made a simple statement of fact, and in response you challenged Cass to a duel? How does THAT make any sense?

If Dom wasn't willing to follow the oath of the Brevic Knights, why did he so swear?

Cass was a different insult, Marik called Dom's word into question now he refuses to back up his statement which implies he doesn't believe it's true.

And you asked that last time, he swore because Henry told him too.  To be honest I must admit I thought it would be Adoven first after all the slights he has given Dom over the course of the game.

To be honest, Adoven doesn't understand what the big deal is concerning 'Aldori Honor'. It just sounds like another excuse to wage war and engage in land-grabbing.

I got to side with Adoven here, y'all are serious about honour

Oh, it's the stuff of legends - great tales of fighting against all odds to keep one's honour, struggling for years to regain lost honour, choosing death over dishonour.  The list goes on and on.

Frankly it all sounds rather exhausting ...  :P

Maple doesn't see it that way, the Aldori sword lords hoarded wealth and power while the less fortunate starved. Where was the honour in that?

An evil king used evil dragons to conquer the land of the Aldori. Many of the Aldori fled to safety, while those who remained were subjugated by the evil king. Both factions of the Aldori longed for justice and a return to their rightful positions.

Domitius is of the faction of Aldori that remained in Rostland. It was the fleeing faction that set up residence in the River Kingdoms.

Cass grew up a street rat and part of what helped him to survive and thrive were tales of the Aldori and dedicating himself to learning Aldori bladesmanship. But having seen that the reality of the Aldori did not meet the romantic idealism, Cass spoke out against them during the war council. In slurring the River Kingdoms Aldori, Cass inadvertently did not make the distinction between that faction and the Rostland faction. Domitius took insult regarding his family and issued a duel challenge to Cass for the offense.

So, in my opinion, Dom is standing up for idealism and the honor of his family.

Of course, thanks for that bit of clarification. I didn't see any of that :)
And Kendrick... probably didn't see much of that either... or the nuances of the different factions. He has um... other factions :)

Duel on!

So I am more than happy to deal with this in game, but since we're here, here are my thoughts:

1) I supposed it depends on who is going to consider Marik a coward for ignoring Domitius' challenge. From what I'm seeing in the OOC chat, the answer is not many. Domitius has spend way too long in noble court's to think people are going to care that much. Moreover, a quick check of the "Influence in Midmarch" page shows that Marik has a 21 influence in Midmarch and Domitius has a 12. I'm no expert, but that seems like a pretty big difference to me. Finally, I think it's probably a pretty good assumption that Marik's diplomacy skill is much higher than Domitius', so it's probably not a good idea to challenge him in the court of public opinion.

2) I was going to bring up what Andalon stated. It doesn't seem very honorable for someone who has likely trained with a sword since they were a wee child to challenge someone to a duel of blades who has literally never picked one up. Super courageous on Domitius' part.

3) Marik really doesn't care about Domitius' opinion of him. As he stated in the same rant you quoted above, Marik's mother was a whore, he doesn't know who his father is, and he grew up on the street. Honor doesn't mean much to him and he doesn't really care if Domitius (and likely very few others) are going to call him a coward. And again, given his influence in Midmarch I seriously doubt he'll be "shunned at social occasions", and Marik doesn't really have any businesses. Rather, he is one of the more prominent landholders in Midmarch and has a literal monopoly on all iron, gold, and silver mined in Midmarch. I doubt people will refuse to deal with him. Besides, with Marik's social skills, it won't take long for him to turn things around and make Domitius look like a bully.

4) If there was a duel with Marik using magic, Domitius wouldn't be allowed to use his bow. See, the equivalent of Domitius' challenge to a sword duel would be Marik challenging Domitius to a duel of spells...something I'm guessing Domitius wouldn't be very good at.

5) And like Marik (and now Adoven) have said, Marik simply stated the truth. Domitius swore an oath and then said he would not fulfill that oath. Does that mean Marik questioned his honor? I suppose so, but then it's simply the truth. The fact that "Henry told him too" doesn't change the fact that he swore the oath. That's just passing the buck.

I'd say let's go IC

Personally, I have always wondered what honour there was in challenging someone to a duel with weapons who is unskilled in physical combat?  TBH, That sounds more bullying than honourable.

Of course, as the challenged party, Marik would have choice of weapons  :)  Personally, If I played Marik I would accept a duel and choose spell combat  ....
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Sun 30 Aug 2020.

It won’t happen until all this grueling dueling business is over, but here is the “pony” Elkin will choose. It is actually a Haflinger horse standing just over thirteen hands.

https://cdn.globetrotting.com....a-Quarter-Horses.jpg

He chose a spirited stallion that he will name Thornberry.

Dom how many have you challenged? 3? Is this the making of the three musketeers?

Does this make me Porthos the Pirate? Loved the Oliver Platt rendition of the character.

Only the two sorry Adoven, you will have to wait.

I'd be interested to see what the oath was, I could see him swearing to Henry but balking at swearing to Brevoy, still it was early days and Dom wasn't as fleshed out as he is now.  Also I would like to point out he hasn't broken the oath so all Marik has is an accusation of being a traitor not a fact.

We do need to remember as a group that none of you are gutter trash anymore, you're the nobility of Midmarch and people would expect you act accordingly.  I know Dom holds you all to a higher standard than the street sweepings and treats you accordingly.

Marik you are aware Dom was one of your customers, right now he will most likely close the Jewellers down in New Dawn in light of Marik's attitude.

I have been wondering about the whole choice of weapons thing, traditionally the options were sword and gun but we are thinking more 18th/19th century than medieval there.  Back then I think it was more a case of you turned up and fought with what you where comfortable with, Dom would have expected Marik to use his magic in a duel, just as he would have expected to use his sword in the duel.

Also Dom isn't trying to kill anyone, if you want to fight to first touch with practice swords that would suffice honour for both parties.

However, those rules for Noble behaviour are down to me to decide.  This is not 18th century Europe.  And you have seen MY house duelling rules.  If they are not observed the Duelling Salon will be closed down.  Simples.

Duelling is NOT going to be a major part of this game.  Nor is ongoing conflict between players.  I don't enjoy that as a player and I don't enjoy it as a DM.

If anyone has a  Character who can't deal with that, perhaps it is time to roll a new a new character who can.

Hi Guys.  I am back from the weekend - and I still have all my extremities!

I had a great time, teaching a couple of people how to fire a musket on Saturday, then drilling with and fining a battery of cannon.  It is fair to say that the bangs were big, the beer flowed freely and the BBQ was good.

mmmmm bbq, you're making a girl hungry DM. Why did I agree to this 3 month liquid diet ;-;

We are having BBQ tonight. No beer or cannons though. At least, not planned. Sounds like you had a fun time. Huzzah!

Going to try the barbecue stuff next weekend- been too hot here, and next weekend is Labor Day here in the States so we'll be holding a pretty big one.

I want to try my hand at ribs and such- or something big.

My brother grills a lot and he suggested barbecuing a pork butt roast. On the rare occasions that I grill, I usually pick steaks, maybe a litttle seafood, and grilled corn in the cob.

You can grill pretty much anything, if you find a way.  Grilled fruit on ice cream, grilled pizza- just have to find a way.

A good roast will take you a few hours and constant attention, but it could turn out wonderful.

Damn those whispers!
Those whispers are cursed!!!


Dom, dom, dom, dun...........
:)

It was a Bring-Your-Own BBQ on Friday night - I marinaded some strips of lamb fillet in fresh mint, oil and white vinegar.  After 24 hours in the marinade, they need little more than searing to be really nice  :)

Saturday night was venison stew - We were on a farm that runs herds of deer  (among other stock).  That was really nice as well :)