Sorry, been juggling a lot this week.  I might be able to work out character stats in the next day or so, definitely this weekend if not sooner.

And yes, I'd definitely like to take the decoy lock if that's an option.

Updated "The Sandstone" threadpost to show that the locked door leads to an empty room...

I am still here. My life his upside down, but I have more time for post and I am looking forward to this game getting started as a nice distraction.

Dr. Mindermast and I are discussing the making of his mage over PM... Should, theoretically, be with you somewhat shortly...

Okay, Dr. Mindermast will be playing Rasal, the mage. Kingjawa, your PC needs a name.

Both of you, choose portraits.

Rasal, make up a friend and an enemy.

Okay, I've added those to my character sheet

HA Rasal

(Explains to Kingjawa: Rasal's chosen portrait is my character's portrait in the game I'm in that Rasal GMs.)

Also, Kingjawa, you need to give your character an actual name and choose a portrait.


ANYWAY,

This game has four repeating phases:

1. Downtime: this phase is for three things:
--First, expanding and improving your base,

You can't do that right now, because you have hardly any money, and no helpers.

--Second, gathering information you'll need later

This, you absolutely can do. Each of you may choose to use this phase to go talk to your friend (or anyone else you want to try to get information from), and get information you'll need to do a Raid.

--and Third, trying to recruit helpers and/or allies.

You can also do this, in whatever manner you want to try to do it.

Now, Wicked Ones (the game, as you'll recall, that I disassembled to make this one) started off with a lot of NPCs and factions to work with in that way...

So do you guys wanna
1. brainstorm those now (with my help)
2. make 'em up as we go, or
3. have me make 'em up now?

I am totally okay with any of those three choices.

I would like to either create some factions or have input on some. How many factions are we talking about total? I also think you as the GM you should create some (maybe one starting one as an example), but leave room for creating more in the future.

The original game came with sample factions.

It had:
--6 factions of tier 1
--6 factions of tier 2
--3 factions of tier 3
--2 factions of tier 4

So getting a tier 1 faction to help you would be kinda helpful. Getting a tier 1 faction mad at you would be inconvenient.

Getting a tier 4 faction to help you would be REAL hard but REAL helpful.

Getting a tier 4 faction mad at you would be REAL unhelpful.

So let me make some factions, to give you the idea.

TIER 1 FACTION: Travelling Merchants. Moving goods along the road between the town and the next kingdom over. Generally on the lookout for trouble.

TIER 2 FACTION: The Farmers. Hardworking farmers who need just a little more push from the Tyrant (or encouragement from rebels) to start defending their lands and watching each others' backs. Each farm generally has several houses with extended family spread throughout them.

TIER 3 FACTION: Boris the Wizard: Boris has an interesting relationship with the city, getting supplies and other odd products for his mysterious arcane experiments in return for... things. Sometimes Boris pays for what he wants with gold, sometimes with minor magical items that he's apparently made by himself. Delivery wagons regularly travel back and forth from the city to his tower.

TIER 4 FACTION: The Wanderers: No humans can survive in the most inhospitable parts of the desert like the people called The Wanderers. They're devout worshipers of some deity they don't talk to strangers about, and they're very fierce fighters. Everyone respects them, and no one dares to cross them. They come to the edge of the city every few months to trade for supplies, but they're very independent.


I can make more, or let you make some.

All these I just made are human, but your factions don't have to be...

Since you mention it, I would love for there to be a faction of spirits, or something like that.  Maybe nature spirits affiliated with a certain environment, or a certain location.

Yes, that is entirely allowed.

You wanna write it up? Or you wanna let me do it?

You wanna write any of the rest? Or just make further suggestions for me...?

I have a lots of ideas, but I have one question first. Should the factions be mercenary groups, because that is what the the tyrant uses against us or those mercenaries are his troops and should not be factions?


Rasal- I love the idea group of faction of nature spirits!

Mm, yeah, the factions really shouldn't be traditional mercenaries.

Here are some factions I would like to add. I am really trying to go for fun and flavor. I will work on a few more as long as you both don't mind.

Tier 1

The Faithful - In utter fear for their lives after the tyrant took over and started hunting them for being heretics. The truly faithful still whisper prayers to other gods.

Marvelous Masons- A secret society with strange rituals and hidden agendas. The only thing that is truly known about them is that they all know how to build things.


Tier 2

The Cacti Court - This prickly court of characters is full of all different kinds of fey. They are recognized citizens of the kingdom even though they live outside the city limits.


Tier 3

The Dragonbone Collective - In ages past this was a group of dragon slayers, until the they killed the last known living dragon. Now they control the trade in dragonbone, dragon scales, and any other  dragon bits still survive.

These are fine with me. So here's what's left:

--3 factions of tier 1
--4 factions of tier 2
--1 factions of tier 3
--1 factions of tier 4


Shall I do them, or do one or both of you want to fill more in...?

Gnarl, those are great!  I don't have any other ideas at the moment, but I'll be right back here if I think of something.

Gnarl, shall I take your silence as suggestive that I should make the rest of the factions myself...?

I would still like to work on some more factions. However, it seems like there is enough of them to if you want to move the game forward.

Rasal-should I write up your nature spirits faction or do you want to give it a shot? What Tier do you want it to be?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Mon 20 Apr 2020.

Well... if either of you wanna make more, then make more, but I don't want to start until we've got 'em all...

So either make more, tell me to make your ideas into factions, or tell me to fill in the rest myself, but whichever of those three ways (or combinations of those three ways) we go, get back here and let's go in them!

How about this:

The Dervishes - Tier 3

Spirits of the desert, banded together to defend and spread their land.  They can take the form of a warm breeze, or a vicious whirlwind gathering up sand into a biting mass.  When they want to communicate, they will coalesce into a humanoid shape made of swirling sand, and speaking with the voice of the desert wind.

Sort of local air elementals, eh? Okay, that's fine, I'll add them...

Okay, anyone gonna write up any more, or shall I fill in the rest...?

Go ahead and fill out the rest GM.

I have finished making the appropriate Factions in the Faction thread!

I re-counted the sample factions in the original game, and it turned out it was 6, 6, 3, 3, so we ended up with 3 level 4 factions! Exciting!

SO! We return once again to where we were before!

1. Downtime: this phase is for three things:

--First, expanding and improving your base,

You can't do that right now, because you have hardly any money, and no helpers.

--Second, gathering information you'll need later

This, you absolutely can do. Each of you may choose to use this phase to go talk to your friend (or anyone else you want to try to get information from), and get information you'll need to do a Raid.

--and Third, trying to recruit helpers and/or allies.

You can also do this, in whatever manner you want to try to do it.


So! Each of you: Will you use this phase to

A: Gather information that'll be useful for a Raid, or

B: Try to recruit some helpers or allies...?

Gnarl knows that the under the tyrant's room things have become desperate for some. He closely watches the oasis for an outcast that does not get along well with his or her traveling companions.

I am going to use my action to recruit a raider.

Maybe we should create a downtime thread.

I have made such a thread.

Gnarl has no points, as yet, in Finesse, but:

--Terror: You can take a point of stress to know anyone’s worst fear and take +1d when you act on this knowledge.

That could give you an extra die to roll on Finesse.

ALSO: you DO have a point in Scan, so I would let you roll 2d6 to first try to find an especially-willing subject...

So either:

--roll 2d6 for Scan first of all, and we'll see what the result is, OR

--roll 1d6 to try to finesse somebody, OR

--roll 2d6 to try to finesse somebody, but take a point of Stress.