Welcome to a new Cypher System game!  We can hash out exactly which Cypher System game we want to play, what tier we want to start at, brainstorm character ideas, and everything else we need to solidify our start.

First off, which game?  Several people said they had Numenera.  As I said in my interest check post, I have nearly the full run of Cypher System books, including:

Numenera
Numenera Discovery & Destiny
The Strange
Predation
Unmasked
Gods of the Fall
Cypher System core rulebook

Is Numenera something we all want to do?  Or is there greater interest in something different?

Hey there gamers!

So what are we all thinking here?  I could likely get enthused about whatever sort of sci-fi action we all agree on.  My experience with Cypher system is in the generic Cypher rules, though I do have the books for the Strange and Gods of the Fall also.  I know basically nothing about the Numenera setting and don't have the books, but I'm glad to learn if that's the way we want to go.

I was quite frankly unaware at quite how far the Numenera system had been expanded, while I have no doubt I could find and make use of any specific expansions to that system I am only really able to comment on the original setting itself.

If the systems really are the same then there should be no reason not to play characters from any of them thrown together via the Numenera settings paradigm of unusual events regardless of what the core story uses as its world setting.

Oh and for tier I am all about skipping the massively overused Tier 1 and starting at either Tier 2 or 3.

P.S.  I found the core rules and figured out how to build the character well enough using nothing but that, so I don't really care what setting we are in at all now.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:13, Sat 22 Sept 2018.

* waves * :)

I really enjoy Numenera ("an Empathic Nano who Works Miracles"), and have been interested in trying The Strange.

Either of those options would work well for me...  :)

+1.  I am definitely more interested in the Sci-Fi end of things (including The Strange's Mad Science, Psionics, "Supers", etc.), and less interested in the Magic end of things...  :)

Numenera is sort of the ultimate sci-fi.  It takes place a billion years in the future of Earth, when eight great civilizations who commanded immense power over various scientific principles have risen and then fallen.  Matter and energy were theirs to command.  But this is the Ninth World.  Humans don't use "natural resources" to build their semi-feudal communities, they use the imperfectly-understood technology of the past (the numenera).  You'd mine building material from a hill that was once a war memorial statue, get metal from an ancient crashed ship capable of going through dimensions, plow your fields with a blade made from the heart of an ancient star and with beasts once bred as war mounts for some distant conflict.

On the surface, it looks like a fantasy campaign in terms of how most people live.  People without much experience might look at someone with studied control over gravity and call them a wizard.  The numenera is not well understood.  Even those who study the past and can get use out of it don't really know its original purpose, but they can certainly make it work for what they need.  But this is a campaign where you can have cyborgs and werebeasts and energy vampires and genetically modified soldiers all working alongside each other to delve into the ruins of the past to make a better future.

--

The Strange is set on modern-day Earth.  The premise is there's a dark energy network (The Strange) created an unbelievably long time ago by an alien race.  It allowed for quick travel to other worlds by "translating" you there - your original body goes into a fold of space-time while a new body, completely adapted to the local environment, is now available for your use in the new area.

The Earth is particularly unique in that the area around it in The Strange encourages recursions to grow.  These are limited worlds based on the collective imagination of humanity.  You'll find a world that comes from fairy tales, myths and legends, TV shows, movies, books, or songs.  New Centropolis is a superhero world, Ardeyn a fantasy world, Gloaming from modern-day vampire and werewolf movies, Ruk a sci-fi world, etc.  There are worlds for Star Trek and Firefly, 2001 and General Hospital, Zootopia and zombie films, and so much more.  Most people in these worlds are shadows, like NPCs in a video game, with no understanding that they're in a limited world.  Some gain the spark of true sentience, which can be useful, or (in the case of, say, Professor Moriarty) terrifying.

You play agents of The Estate, who explore and defend all these recursions, and protect Earth from reckless use of The Strange, which could attract a planetvore to destroy all life as you know it...

The fun part of this, mechanically, is that you can change your focus for every new recursion.

So if you're a Clever Vector who Serves and Protects on Earth, you could be a Clever Vector who Slays Dragons on Ardeyn, a Clever Vector who Solves Mysteries in Gloaming, and a Clever Vector who Is a Cyborg in Ruk.

This sort of game lets you basically play in multiple genres without ever having to switch games.  ;)

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Numenera and The Strange are the two oldest properties, so obviously I have the most books for them.

Armed with that information, does that give people a better idea of what's what with those two settings?

Hi all!

Personally, I find Numenera's setting more compelling as I tend to prefer secondary worlds. It doesn't hurt that I already have most of the books.

That said, I haven't gotten a chance to play the Strange, so I wouldn't mind trying that out either!

I don't know if there is a way to adapt something like a 17th or 18th century setting or the Great Pendragon Campaign to the Numenera setting but if so I'd be interested in that sort of historical/medieval setting.

When Worlds Collide: Converting Numenera and The Strange has some ideas for combining the two settings.

We could start with the Numenera setting embedded within The Strange as a recursion, with the potential for side trips to other recursions as the game progresses...  :)

EDIT:

+1 for interesting historical recursions.  It is always fun to be in a setting with extraordinary powers and abilities, trying to stop bad guys with extraordinary powers and abilities, and all the while trying not to attract the attention of the Inquisition while using said powers.  :o

One important question I have: what preferences does the GM have?  If the game is going to survive and thrive, then it will need to be something that excites both GM and players...  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Sat 22 Sept 2018.

While I like many historical things, I cannot guarantee a huge amount of historical accuracy if we do go that route.  I could likely handle it on a more limited basis, such as in a recursion, rather than extended.  While I know much of the trappings of medieval Europe, I also know the trappings of Ancient Egypt too.

Having Numenera as a recursion is definitely possible.  I ran a game with that premise for a while, but it succumbed to player attrition before we could get into the Numenera party very deeply.

Would everyone else have interest in a Strange campaign?  That is literally the "something for everyone" option.  While set on modern-day Earth as a default, your character's world or recursion of origin doesn't have to be Earth.  One could have gained the spark in their own home recursion due to Reasons, and joined the Estate later. If we have a merry band of misfits, the Estate might send you to new or lesser-known areas of known recursions due to your mixed experience giving you more tools to get the job done.

In reply to GM (msg # 10):

Would it be possible to build a (starting) character using Numenera and/or the core rules? I can pick up the Strange if I need to, but I figured I'd ask first

Certainly possible, though I can supply the needed information for the type, as they're a bit different in The Strange than Numenera.  Numenera has glaives, jacks, and nanos.  The Strange has vectors (glaive-ish, fighters, athletes), spinners (jacks, rogues, fast-talkers), and paradoxes (nano-like, strange powers, psychics).

The Foci available in each recursion or world in The Strange is limited by the laws and the theme.  Most worlds have Standard Physics laws, some also Magic, Mad Science, Psionics, or others.  You aren't going to find a spellcaster on Earth in the classical sense, because of the underlying laws of Earth don't support magic, for example.

Not to say that people won't have some fantastical powers on Earth for their types, they just don't have the trappings and technicolor side effects of such things in more spectacular recursions.  One paradox power, for example, is similar to Onslaught from Numenera - it does a small amount of damage at a distance.  In Numenera, that might be from a bolt of fire or electricity or something.  In The Strange, on Earth, the same sort of thing might cause a bookcase to fall on someone, or a rug to trip them.  Same mechanical effect, less likely to be caught on the nightly news.  In the Strange in a recursion with Magic laws, however, the same effect might look like fire bolts again.  In a Mad Science recursion, it might look like nano-darts or little killer drones or something of the sort.

If we all agree on The Strange, I'll have lists of Foci up for our most likely target recursions (and which Foci can be dragged from recursion to recursion).

How much mixing and matching is possible?  I really love the Empathic Descriptor from Numenera Character Options...  :)

I'll be quite happy to mix and max descriptors and foci from all the Cypher System products, as long as you can justify specific foci for a particular place!

For a Numenera recursion, we'd obviously use the Numenera foci, as Numenera would be considered Mad Science and Magic both according to the laws of the Strange.

Oooo!  Very interesting.  Now all I have to do is get my head wrapped around the Paradox type...  O_o

We had one vote earlier for starting higher than First Tier.  What is your preference, Friend GM?  :)

I have no objection to starting at Tier 2.  Then we can figure out how you wacky bunch all found each other and did your first big job together.  That'll be why you have gotten tapped for this mission (the specifics of which TBD).

As I am most familiar with Numenera and it is a better fit for the character I think I will use that as my point of origin.

That can either be a side trip in one or more character's background to the strange place where they get followed home, or myself dropping into the middle of wherever the 'zero mission' takes people, and following them home from there.

I’m more of a fan of Numenera than The Strange, but happy to play in the latter; like Cube, I would probably place my origin as the Ninth World

It sounds like everyone's pretty thrilled about the Numenera setting...  why don't we just play Numenera?  :)  Smooshing the two together seems kind of overcomplicating things, if really we're mostly just interested in the one, y'know?

If that be the vote, then I'd go that way.  :)  I hear three votes so far, Hapax, Eris, and Cube.  What say the rest of y'all?

Numenera is fine by me.  :)

As a note, there is a possibility of historical-like play in Numenera.  The "civilized" part of the known world, the Steadfast, has mostly-stable countries, cities, and villages, though there are still many isolated parts of the world.  Displaying too much power before the masses could disrupt the delicate balance of power of government by rogues, and that will never do...

Just throwing that out there as a thing.  :)

Numenera is my preference too!

That seems like we're more or less unanimous, which is...  kind of shocking, actually  :D
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Sun 23 Sept 2018.

Madness!  Ok, lemme just do some stuff here and... now everyone should be seeing some short versions of the character creation and whatnot.

Obviously you guys don't need to RTJ, but if you need to run a character concept by me or anything, go right ahead.

Also, being as we'll be starting as lofty Tier 2 folk, I'd very much like to figure out what brought you guys together initially and why you stayed together.

Do we want to assume that we are already together, or do we want to roleplay meeting one another?

We could do the latter by all being on the Wandering Walk (with each character including in their background why they are on the Walk).  We all end up at the same location, where events bring us together...?  :)

Since we're aiming to not have overlapping descriptors/foci, do we want to call out what we're thinking on here? It sounds like Empathic may be spoken for-- anything else anyone is particularly wedded to?

I'm still pretty up in the air on what I want to play-- I'm leaning towards a glint or a jack., but I haven't settled on a descriptor or a foci yet. So far, Exists Out of Phase, Siphons Power, and Steps Into the Outside look fun, and Mercurial or Altruistic look like fun descriptors. How about the rest of you?

Also, the Wandering Walk sounds like a cool start to me if that works with the GM!

I don't think a little overlap of either Foci or descriptor is anything like a problem in a game where so much of the 'character' is based cosmetic choices.

That said if we happen to get two people with exactly the same set of three big categories we could do some shuffling to undo that.

Yes, I am an Empathic Nano who Works Miracles.  :)

I am rather likely to choose the road less traveled by.  For age, I will probably choose either the oldest (gray haired) or youngest (preteen) character in the party, depending upon the preferences of the rest of the party.  For gender, I will probably choose the one less chosen by the rest.

If folks have any ideas about your character's age and gender, feel free to let us know, so that I can fill in the gaps for my character.  :)

Can't help you there.  Cube doesn't have a gender, or track age well enough to know it.

Being a Peregrine on the Wandering Walk sounds a decent starting point, and the expanded explanation on the Alexandrians website is decent enough (with Ascents and Descents)

Veering towards a Seeker who Exists in Two Places at Once, but not settled on a Descriptor fully. Nor gender or age

Even if two people with the same descriptor and focus could indeed be wildly different, considering we're pulling from most Cypher System books for your choices in this game, I don't think it will be too hard to find a unique combination.

----

I would like the group to have already been together, and recently gone from Tier 1 to Tier 2 together.  Meeting together on the Wandering Walk the first time is a good starting point.  Consider, why did you stay together?  And how did you end up in the Steadfast country of Navareen?

In reply to GM (msg # 32):

What if we’re still on the Wandering Walk?

So...  I have some preliminary character thoughts, drawn from the Cypher books I have, which include the generic Cypher game but sadly not Numenera.  How different is a Seeker from the Explorer type described in the generic system book?

Seeker, Delve and Explorer are all the same.

The games are set up that no 2 characters are supposed to have the same descriptor.  Foci are fine.  multiple people can have Empathic, but only one is supposed to have a Halo of Fire.

It seems everyone is happy with Numenara.

I really like Gods Of The Fall and Predation too.  They are pretty awesome.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:13, Mon 24 Sept 2018.

Where do I find this information? I don't have the book

In reply to thattripletguy (msg # 36):

Rules for the Seeker are in Character Options 2 (for Numenera); they're an explorer type (vs. Glaives/fighters, Nanos/mages, Jacks/rogues or Glints/bards)

Firmed up that my character will be a Noble Seeker who Exists in Two Places At Once, unless someone had a very keen interest in taking that foci?

I think I'm either going to be a Gregarious Jack who Consorts with the Dead or a Mercurial Glint who Consorts with the Dead.

I've never played a Glint before. Does anyone have any thoughts on the class?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:11, Mon 24 Sept 2018.

Does anyone have Numenara: Destiny & Discovery?  Or is everyone working with 1st ed?

I have Discovery and Destiny, but I believe everyone else has 1st ed (or doesn't have it at all, in the case of thattripletguy).

I ended up making A Tough Glaive who Abides in Stone with a cosmetic shift to Ooze, drawing from both Numenera and the Cypher core book so I doubt there will be any important overlap problems.

I have neither book currently!  But I have the 1st Ed book currently on the way to me from Amazon, scheduled for delivery tomorrow.  :)  So I'll start putting together some more solid thoughts tomorrow night.

I have the 1e books.

Also, changing things up, I settled on a Lonely/Iscobean(?) Glint who Speaks to the Datasphere. It felt more Numenera-y.

With some folks firming up on their character choices, what are your thoughts on this question from the GM?

Or, perhaps, to start? Why were you on the Wandering Walk?

I'm still working on bits and pieces like which Noble clan Eris is from, but I suspect their background is  a recessive heritage coming to the fore and hence a relationship with their family being one of: "Of course we love you, dear, but we would love you more if you were ... elsewhere". Hence Eris, Other Eris and a retainer sent for their continued existance/education were encouraged onto the pilgrimage. They learn from being exposed to the weird, and it seemed a weird enough place to start

Wandering is the very cornerstone of Cube's existence, finding him anywhere normal would be the odd part.

For character ties anyone could find him anywhere out in the non urban world.  First encounters may be a bit of a shock, or some light conflict but eventually those that get to know him realize that Cube is just out to find interesting things.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Tue 25 Sept 2018.

... am I coming to understand correctly here that you're actually intending to play a gelatinous cube?

I do not make any claims about the understanding of others, particularly on the internet.

... I'm not sure what that means.  :D  Is that a yes or a no?

It means that when you meet Cube, you'll find he quivers, and not's because he's scared or cold.  :D

Speaking of meeting Cube if you want to have been the first to have done so send me a pm with a location of your choosing and an initial reaction to Cuba's description.

Procrastinating today so ... some further thoughts my background and on their Wander together. If these are of interest, perhaps folks might expand, tweak or suggest more?

• Eris D'Iscordian, Ridder of the House of Iscordian, hails from Qi; their branch of the Malevich noble house act as factors for the main line
• Eris is relatively well-travelled, having accompanied their house on trips to Malevich, to neighbouring kingdoms and other outposts of the house; during one such trip they were caught outside whilst the Iron Wind passed by. It left them subtlety scarred, covered in whorls and hexagrammatic patterns. They begin to collect tattoos that are worked in and around the scars
• On their majority Eris left Qi, travelling upstream along the River Wyr - where the Wandering Walk and the river follow the same contours. Sometimes
• Sheltering from a storm in the ruined skull of a unknown creature, one that had been transmuted to some form of coral, Eris encountered someone else and someone else, would had met on the Wander a few days previously. All three of them watched in wonder at the sheets of violet and lilac lightning then shared stories into the night
• Following the Wander close to the shores of the lake south of Beoth, the small company encounter a seskii that has adopted an granite statue of a tall and slender man who weeps on the water's edge; it is wounded and aggressive, calmed by tidbits of their rations sufficient to permit our worker of miracles to heal it that the rest may pass by. Someone carries a pair of scales in the pouch where they keep their shins as a momento
• In Beoth, Eris and someone else receive matching tattoos, only it's Eris' twin and their tattoo last only until they vanish a few days later; someone is bitten by a Laak delaying the company from leaving town
• Dallying in Auspar the company delve into a set of catacombs that have been extended down even as the rest of the City of Needles is built ever upward. They are quickly out of their depth and retreat to the surface, but only after glimpses of a snarling mass of mechanical mining automata each the size of cat. When they return better prepared, there is no sign of the automata, only ancient and dusty sewers.
• Last week they crossed the border into Navarene, travelling with a aneen-led caravan and paying for their passage with their skills

Any takers?

@GM, would it be possible to have a small bit of extra XP to some small Long Term Rewards? I'm thinking things like a Contact, a luminescencing tattoo, a piece of jewellary...

If you all bring backstory like that to the table: yes and yes!

I hereby declare 3 XP for a long-term reward for a good backstory (doesn't have to be a completely shared one).

My own backstory isn't as developed (yet!), but here's the thumbnail:

Acia hails from the Black City, but hasn't been there in years. At first, when Acia's powers awoke as a child, they were scene as a messenger and a guide against the demons of earth and air, even a herald of "The Future One."

However, on a trip down from the city to conduct trade with a nearby clave, Acia's powers awoke a sleeping numenera machine. Their family was horrified and, too ashamed to return with the child they now thought of as a demon, they left Acia in the clave when they returned to the Black City.

Since then, Acia has been surviving on their wits and traveling the beyond. Unsure of their place spiritually, Acia was drawn to the Wandering Walk in hopes of finding answers-- or of losing themselves in a walk that could take the rest of their life.

As far as tying things together-- Acia could be one of the people who sheltered with Eris in the skull. Acia is also eager for acceptance (Lonely, and all), so they could be the one to get the matching tattoo as well.

SimianNym, looking good!

I don't know if everyone saw, but I do have a blank character sheet in everyone's character sheet area, user editable.  Please use the sample sheet in the Character Creation thread as a reference, and do let me know if you have any questions.

Two Links to the Party (Periwinkle text) are up for grabs...  :)

ELEISAI

AN EMPATHIC NANO WHO WORKS MIRACLES

Human female, sixty years old, gray hair, blue eyes, 5'3" (1.6 m), 99 lbs (45 kg).

She is calm, wise, friendly, empathetic, devout, and dedicated.  She has a loving heart and a listening ear, and makes a good confidante, source of wisdom, moral compass, and/or parental figure.

Her faith is based strongly on a rare surviving echo of Calvinism, including a vague distrust of those associated with a Pope.  The Sovereign One created all, and rules over all.  All proceeds according to The Plan, yet all answer for their choices in The Plan.

Motivations include serving the Sovereign One, serving and healing those around her, exploring the world around her, learning tidbits about the past, and acquiring interesting abilities/technologies/etc.  She has a touch of xenophilia, and enjoys interacting with unusual sentients.

Link(s) to the Party:
EMPATHIC Initial Link: You established a close bond with another PC and can’t bear to be parted from him or her. (???)

NANO Connection: You learned nano-skills in the Church of the Sovereign One.  Its leaders and worshippers, although small in number, respect and admire your talents and potential.  NOTE: This was the source of your Psionics Advancement ("Understanding this natural talent took time and training...").

WORKS MIRACLES Connection: Pick one other PC.  This character quietly suspects that you're a messiah or other supernatural being.  (???)

Background:
Eleisai is a native of Hayrest.  Her parents perished before she was old enough to remember them, and she was taken in by an orphanage run by the Church of the Sovereign One.  Recognizing her psionic gifts, they provided training from an early age.

The Church possesses an ancient artifact that is able to telepathically transmit their ancient records, including their Sacred Scriptures, as if someone was reading them aloud, and they are comprehensibly perceived in the mind of the listener regardless of any language barriers.  Thus, their writings have survived, preserved even through the passage of time and changes of tongue.

As part of each member's training, they create their own book, writing their own copy of the ancient records as telepathically dictated.  Eleisai has her own copy, which is her most treasured possession.

As an Empath, her experience with the artifact has had an additional facet.  At times, her dreams include glimpses of other experiences from other Empaths that have used the artifact through the ages.  A given dream may be based upon a memory from someone else, perhaps of other places, perhaps of other times... or it may be just a normal ordinary dream.  She usually will not know for sure... although there are times that she encounters a new place or a new situation with a sense of deja vu.

Members spend periods of time alternating between serving in Hayrest and sojourning elsewhere to serve the physical and spiritual needs of a lost world.  Eleisai is currently sojourning.

Count me in!  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:32, Tue 25 Sept 2018.

My connection requirements are quite simple.

At some point, someone I don't already have a link to found themselves in a fight that at least looked bad, Cube then rolls up, smashes a few heads, and for some obscure reason even he may not know picks you out as the one to save.

so we have a Nano and I think a Seeker.  I saw one person waffling between a Glint and Jack.  What was everyone else thinking?  I usually play what no one else will take.  I haven't seen any one commit to a Glaive or Jack.

Thanks DM!

I have the following bond up for grabs (there are a few other options in CO2 if no one likes this one).

Pick one other PC. You’ve discovered
that this character is somewhat tuned to the datasphere, too. While you’re within short Range of them, the two of you can speak “mentally” by using the datasphere as a channel.

Glad folks liked the starting suggestions for the Wander ... we need to flesh it out to answer why we've stayed together, I suspect - hopefully the connections will help with that



Our current/known role call is:

• Acia, a Lonely Glint who Speaks to the Datasphere
• Cube, a Tough Glaive who Abides in Ooze
• Eleisai, a Empathic Nano who Works Miracles
• Eris D'Iscordian, a Noble Seeker who Exists in Two Places At Once

Lacking Jacks, it seems?



Assuming this happened on the Wander, was it part of a bigger encounter? A swirling confusing melee, perhaps a bandit attack with plenty of phases into and out whilst we escorted the aneen caravan into Navarene? I'm keen not to claim all the connections, but happy to be rescued if no-one else wants to pipe up



Claiming Royalred, if I may.



How religious and/or evangelical are you thinking of being? Starting to think about Eris' beliefs



Great, what's the tattoo? Eris would probably encourage something that hinted at the weeping statue or the seskii, perhaps if we expanded on what happened there to make it more of a moment between the two of them? Perhaps discovering their connection (see below)



Can I claim this? I think it plays nicely with the Iron Wind encounter in Eris' youth

In return, the connection options for Eris are as follows:

1. Pick one other PC. This character finds your talent unnerving and unsettling. For her, the difficulty of any task made to help your duplicate is increased by one step.
   
2. (Preferred) Pick one other PC. This character seems convinced that you are really a pair of identical twins with no actual powers.
   
3. Pick one other PC with a companion. This PC’s companion seems to have an unusual relationship with your duplicate.
   
4. Pick one other PC. You used to move in the same social circles and knew of each other, but you had never been introduced.

Open to any of these
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Wed 26 Sept 2018.

If nobody else is going with an intentional technology using theme strong enough to connect to your data sphere Cube can be able to interact with your communication system, but he won't realize it is anything rare or that others can not hear it.

From our PMs, I think that Eleisai is the first to connect with Cube.  Is this where we connect, Cube?  Please confirm.  :)



She is devout, among other things.  If you mixed Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars IV) and Shepherd Book (Firefly), you wouldn't be too far off.  :)


I don't know if Eleisai should be one of the skull shelterers if she is already with Cube, but Acia (Lonely) and Eleisai (Empathic) really go together.  Eleisai would definitely gravitate toward taking Acia under her wing...  :)

Jacks got the biggest facelift in the new books so they aren’t half Glaive half Nano. Any chance I can use that?

Don't let being the first to find Cube stop you from engaging in other connections, in the case of sheltering in the skull Cube could easily have been up to something else, as there aren't a lot of things he seeks shelter from other than boredom.

OK.  I'll wait to give other folks a chance before stealing all the available connections, but I will be happy to take the other skull shelter slot if no one else wants to claim it.  :)

Feel free to nab, expand or alter any of the non-'Eris specific' stuff I put forward - this was simply a set of suggested scenes and encounters from our Wander woven into my backstory!

For example, per Cube's comment, what were they up to whilst we sheltered? Was anyone else with them? Was this before folks met up with those there? Was it when we met them? If they weren't there, did they witness the same storm a day's travel ahead or behind - and hence, what delayed them or the company so that we met?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:33, Wed 26 Sept 2018.

Yes, I have no objection to using the new jack.

---

Guys, the storylines are coming together great.  I prefer to have a character-driven story, so if you guys want to develop some goals for the group as a whole or your character personally, that'd be spiffy.

They don't have to be world-shaking things. It could be something like: connect with my family, discover my origin, craft the item I saw in a glimmer, rescue a childhood friend now that I'm strong enough, meet a particular person you admire, get revenge on the abhuman tribe who killed your brother, remove the corrupt Aeon Priest from power in the clave you grew up in, etc.

Works for me!



In your other post, you mentioned that Eleisai and Acia seem like the would be drawn to each other (I agree), so maybe the Empathic link would work? That would probably be my preference.

Acia also comes from a superstitious culture, so the Works Miracles link could work. That said, the Elychious are more than a little hidebound, and they have a lot of demons in their spirituality. Outside of the Black City, Acia views everything as a bit of a fallen world, so "messiah" might not be what she believes Eleisai to be. If you are okay with the relationship being a little negative or fearful, I could take your Works Miracles connection too.




I'll work on a more concrete goal (sorry for the litany of excuses. Work kicked into gear this week), but I think that broadly, Acia is looking for community. For now, that probably looks like earning vir way back into the Black City. (Ve/vem/vir pronouns). Over time, that will hopefully evolve.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:20, Thu 27 Sept 2018.

Let's go with the Empathic Initial Link for now, and see if anyone else wants the other link...  :)

Ok everybody, things are looking great!  I'm going to work up a game post in the next day and a half so we can get the ball rolling.

Jack Starkiller and thattripletguy, whenever you guys get your characters all situated, we can work you into the plot!

Woo hoo!  :)

Sorry I've brought everything down to the last couple options.  My Jack options seem to be:

Descriptor:  Clever, Serene or Graceful

Foci:  Moves like a Cat or Explores Dark Places  (Leaning toward Moves Like A Cat).

So, finally solidifying my pronouncements-- I'm really tempted to take either Contact or Connection to an Organization. Right now, I'm thinking it could be kinda cool to be connected to a group of mutants who are fighting back against the Angulan Knights (I'm really not sure why, but that conflict has always fascinated me in Numenera).

From the GM or other players-- any suggestions on groups worth knowing/you think would be fun to be connected to? I guess contact gives me a bit more flexibility, but connection feels a bit wider reaching. What are your thoughts?

Mutants could be rather fun, as they would be the underdogs in nearly every situation, and thusly you would have some friends in low places.  ;)

Certainly some low-life or underbelly connections would be an interesting foil to Eris' noble contacts! I have been poking a little at the setting and I like the concept of the Cult of the Sleeper too

Is anyone up for one of the connections I offered earlier? Is anyone still looking for a connection?

Count me in.  :)

In reply to Eleisai (msg # 76):

Great! I was also thinking of their Foci connection, posted a bit after that in this thread

Excellent! I'll take connection to an organization as one of my Pronouncements then. If you want to keep things easy, this could be the Fahat out of Nihliesh (CRB pg 211), but alternately I'd like to propose...

The Threshold falls somewhere between a crime syndicate and a resistance movement. Composed of both mutants and non-mutants, they work throughout the Steadfast and the Beyond to help mutants escape to Nihliesh, and more broadly, to oppose the agenda of the Angulan Knights. Since the Knights are often held in high esteem, the Threshold is used to working in the shadows. Sometimes this can be as innocent as backroom conversations, while other times it can mean cooperating with groups like the Convergence, the Twelfth Ode, or worse.

Whether the Fahat or the Threshold, Acia met them shortly after being abandoned by vir community. Alone and scared of vir new powers, Acia encountered a Fahat/Threshold agent named Petal. While the agent decided that Acia was not in fact a mutant (which is a murky distinction at the best of times, only made less clear by the biotechnology of the Black City), he took Acia in for a while, training vem in survival in exchange for helping with the cause. Petal was caught (and presumably killed) by the Angulan Knights (even though his only had a minor mutation to his eyes), but Acia has maintained vir connection to the Fahat/Threshold over the years since.



I hadn't seen the Cult of the Sleeper before. The concept is definitely cool, but it doesn't fit as well with Acia in my mind.

Okay everyone.  If folks could please fill out their character description and put their background and whatnot into their character sheets in the appropriate areas (if you have not already done so) that would be great.

I have also given everyone their cyphers and oddities.

The game thread is up for your reactions!

---

Jack Starkiller - a Serene or Clever jack who Moves like a Cat could be a lot of fun, particularly in areas where one must both keep one's cool and get places quietly...  :)

Pretty much done.  Thanks for your patience.  Take a look at the character sheet and let me know if there is anything you would like me to change.  I'll most likely elaborate or come up with more details as we go.

Where are we?  How did we meet initially?  Where is everyone else from?

Jack, your character looks good and I have given you your cyphers and oddity.  As for who's what and where, check out this post from Eris, which gave us a great jumping-off point:




Several connections were established further up the thread (this was initially posted as msg #51), to get the party connections between people.  I believe there were still a couple open still.

Still open for you, Jack, if you wish...  :)

Likewise these are still open



Specifically, we're now in Navarene, having met and worked our way along the Wandering Walk and then hired out as merchant guards. Eris (and their doppelgänger, Erin) are from Qi, though their noble House is from Malevich



Happy to take this one, or 2 or 4 from your list

Also, we are live for our in-character thread!  Do feel free to post!

How far away is Eleisai from where the rumbling noise, and from where the child disappeared?  :o

Y'all are a long distance away!

In reply to GM (msg # 86):

Tweaked my post slightly to account for that, but still splitting between Eris maintaining watch over the caravanserai and Erin investigating