This thread is designed for all pre-game discussion and will be replaced with an OOC and IC thread when the game begins.

Phase 1: House Creation;

Phase 2: Character Creation;

Phase 3: Final Tweaks and integration of characters and lore.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:14, Sun 20 Sept 2020.

Howdy everyone (and by that I mean just me for now), Player One here!

The Many Faced God has gone ahead and rolled the baseline stats for us, and it looks like we're playing with:

Defense: 20
Influence: 23
Lands: 24
Law: 26
Population: 32
Power: 26
Wealth: 31

So not too shabby at all.  Granted, this is before history screws us over happens.

The first thing I think we need to figure out is how old?  I'm inclined to say relatively new, because I detest, absolutely detest, the historical events table, so 1d6-2 suits me just fine.  Can't tell you the number of times that 1d6+2 events has resulted in stats in all of our the teens.

I would like to vote for 1d6-1.

Players One & Three, do you have a primary character concept. I a few I could go with depending upon what other people are playing.

The Many Faced God, do you have a target number of players you are looking for? Can we keep moving forward with house creation or should we wait for the rest?

Truthfully, a lot depends on how the house build ends up, so while I have some ideas, that's really it until we see how the rolls shape up.

Hello everyone!

On the number of events...I'm open. I do generally like more, because it is interesting - but I'm open to doing less as well.

As far as character types go, I'm willing to fill in where needed but generally hope to play a noble member of the family in some capacity.

For a Player count I'm probably looking for 6-7, in the expectation that we have a drop out or two. Given that we have hit a quorum of Four players, I'm happy to proceed with some tentative decision making and hope to hit a full quota in the next couple of days.

For the Revised Timeline of King Arrec's Rule we're probably looking at this:

[ANCIENT] Age of Heroes [1d6+3 Events]
[VERY OLD] Andal Invasion [1d6+2]
[OLD] Justman Conquest [1000 Years Ago] [[1d6+1]
[ESTABLISHED]The Anarchy and Fall of House Justman. The Rhoynar Invasion [700 Years Ago] [1d6]
[RECENT] The Battle of Six Kings and The Durrandon Conquest [300 Years Ago] [[1d6-1]
[NEW} The Century of Blood [Within the last 50 Years] [[1d6-2]


The two factors to consider would be the number of events you end up with, with the fact that Recent or New houses are likely to be viewed with disdain or suspicion by their peers, since they have arisen during the reign of the Storm King. This would include, for example, House Frey.

I'm trying to keep a rough timeline in order and it is turning up interesting ideas, like the Fall of House Justman and the Rhoynar Invasion apparently happening in similar eras, which I'd never put together before.

Blech, I can live with 1d6, and pray we roll low.  Which would seem to make Two and Three happy.  So I'd say go for it and tell us what terrible fate has befallen our house?

I am fine with more events, or the 1d6 proposed. Events add story, and story trumps numbers.

I'm right there with you on the above statement. I think even low numbers can create a good story of how your House came to have fallen to their state over time, and also can leave you more to grasp for.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:21, Mon 21 Sept 2020.

Seems like 1d6 is the acceptable compromise then.

As far as character concepts, I have a few...some might be marginally changed by the house creation process.

The first is a young adult head of house...parents just died. Has to struggle with people questioning his ability do to age and the fact his heir is most likely an older uncle. (Any HoH position requires acceptance by full cast of characters)

Other ideas revolve around a wealthy, attractive seductive type. This is pretty open ended and can easily be adjusted by house results.

I can always create warrior types, but I tend to do them often...warfare might be another interesting option.

I'm perfectly amenable to starting with an Established House (1d6 events).

As far as my character, I don't have too much in the way of a detailed sketch, as a lot of it will depend on how we build the House - though as stated earlier, I do wish to play a member of the family (as opposed to a retainer, etc.).

I did have a couple of notions I wanted to incorporate into my character's background:

1. Forbidden Romance - a relationship with someone from a rival House (or at least, a House that would piss off the Brackens).
   
2. Unavenged Death - That somewhere in the history of my character, our house, or that of our liege lord or ally, there has been a death which has not yet been avenged

Of course, those are negotiable and just thoughts at this point. I'm not set on playing a Head of House, which works just as well as it seems at least Four has expressed an interest in that.

The Three Events for your Established House are:

Ascent
Decline
Glory

This has resulted in an overall very positive impact on your initial rolls as follows:
+2 Defense
+4 Influence
+3 Lands
+4 Law
+3 Power
+3 Wealth


This has left you with the following resources [still subject to change via player d6's]

Defense: 22
Influence: 27
Lands: 27
Law: 30
Population: 32
Power: 29
Wealth: 34

Looks like we made off far better than I usually do.  So a pretty solid place to start all things considered!  I s'pose the next thing to do is start rolling d6s and see where we can place things.

I got a 4.

That said, concepts.  I'm not in love with a PC head of house, especially since we don't know each other yet.  Seen it go poorly too many times is all?  An heir tends to be less of an issue.  Granted, I know folks can get frustrated about having an NPC telling them what to do, so I'm not unsympathetic?

If we do go the HoH route, I might see about spinning off and playing a banner house for us, if only to play off the whole young untested leader thing?  Would make for interesting dynamics, that's for sure.

I'm currently leaning towards someone fight-y, largely because I like the changes I've seen that really slow combat down.  Was also going to lean into Warfare a bit, since that's a very real possibility on the horizon, and I've never actually seen those played out.

I always find that rolling a charge for the house symbol provides some inspiration and direction. I suggest we roll on the "Animals & Mythological Creatures" table and the "Objects" table. We pick the one we like best or combine the two for our house symbol.


I rolled a 3 for my bonus resource.

I have three character concepts, but each is dependent on us spending resource points.

1. If we spend 30 points of influence I will play a scheming second son.

2. If we spend 20 points of power I will play a bannerman tourney knight.

3. If we do not have a banner house and spend 10 points of power I will play uncle & master of horse.

Before we go any further I think it would be good to discuss the history of the Home House, its name, its motto etc.

The key parameters would be that your House was established in the years following the fall of House Justman, the only Andal House local to the Riverlands to ever rule it entirely, which was brutally crushed by House Hoare of the Iron Islands after refusing to pay tribute. This would have been a time of great chaos, with various Riverland Houses trying to establish their own thrones, and the Ironborn raiding and pillaging far inland.

Your house was raised to the nobility through ascent, which means that they started as smallfolk and performed some great deed in battle or married directly into a noble line [like the Spicers marrying the Westerlings]. Presumably this ascent was at the behest of House Bracken, but I'm open to alternatives.

Your second major event, Decline, is described as essentially the opposite - a series of scandals, or "marrying down". This could be to a merchant house, or perhaps even one of the sellsword captains loyal to House Teague, as the timing would fit for a second event.

Your final event "Glory" happened some time in the last few centuries and relates to the personal achievements of a key House figure. Their achievement [military or otherwise] was significant enough to reshape the image of your house in a positive way.

Events from the house history are likely to shape how its members are viewed, and also the relationships of members of the house - for example Lord Tytos Lannister's "decline" is what made Lord Tywin so ruthless.

Storyline Context
1. Your house is a vassal of House Bracken and therefore unlikely to be of the Old Faith.
2. Aside from you, House Bracken has one other key noble Vassal - House Serbera. I'll be stealing House Clegane's heraldry for this house. They are known as militaristic and unsophisticated, but loyal to House Bracken.
3. House Bracken also numbers half a dozen landed knights, including two cousins of House Serbera [there may be others, but these are the ones with significant holdings].
House Bracken's holdings are split between the south side of the Red Fork, and the North. The North side is heavily contested with House Blackwood and its vassals, and has led to war in the past. The game map is currently depicting this.
4. Whether you end up on the north or south side of the Red Fork, your neighbours are likely to be Bracken vassals and, to the East, House Lychester of Lychester Castle. There may have been some past conflicts with House Lychester, but you are currently at peace.
5. Like all Noble Houses of the Riverlands, your house is currently being taxed heavily by the Storm King. In game this will manifest as a -1 penalty to gains and losses to wealth from House Fortunes Rolls. The King's Tax Man is Ser Jasper Wylde of Fairmarket.

The Next Steps
1. Elaborate on House Events
2. Generate a House Name, Motto, and Sigil
3. List any preferences you have for House Resources before resources get locked in.
This message was last updated by the GM at 00:17, Wed 23 Sept 2020.

Work has been kicking my butt. Will probably be tomorrow evening for a good post.

Having a thought...of a man, a hunter, a survivor. He may have had a name, but he was called Skinner by all that knew him. Skinner just happened to be in the right place and saved Lord Bracken (or his son) from an ambush. He was rewarded with a modest holding and a new house was borne. I can expand on that. Just something ccg floating around in my head.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:44, Wed 23 Sept 2020.

With the blessing of The Many Faced God I rolled a 43 on the Animals & Mythological Creatures table fish. I also rolled 43 on the Objects table dice. If we stuck with one or both of these rolls for inspiration here are my initial thoughts.

So that fact that I rolled a 43 on 13d6 and 15d6 seemed meaningful. Also 4+3 is 7 so we rolled two sevens both craps. Also that seemed lucky, so I googled lucky fish and the first result was arowana also known as dragonfish. So here are a few ideas to get us started.

House Chance

"Roll the dice"
"Rather be lucky than good"
"Make your own luck"

House Blackfin

"Give a man a fish"
"Set the hook"
"The tides are always changing"
"Always swim upstream"
"Go with the flow"
"Never be without a paddle"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:16, Wed 23 Sept 2020.

Hah!  That's quite amusing mate!

I like House Blackfin, and "The tides are always changing" personally.  Seems fitting?

In reply to Player One (msg # 19):

The only thing that just doesn't ring is the tides words. We aren't coastal so not sure tides would be something we'd associate with.

Change it to currents?

Blackfin does provoke some kind of nefarious connotations. Naturally I approve.

Perhaps, to build on Player Four's idea of Skinner - your ancestor was a River Pirate Captain who by some manner of good fortune was able to save the life of Lord Bracken from a Blackwood trap hundreds of years ago. He was ennobled, and his thugs became law-abiding retainers, collecting taxes along the rivers, rather than pillaging them.

07:55, Today: Player Five rolled 6 using 1d6.  Bonus resource.

You're welcome. My work is done here.

All hail the glorious bringer of six!

10:07, Today: Player Three rolled 4 using 1d6.  Bonus Resource.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:18, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

I really like the idea of the house being founded by river pirates. I think this adds a lot of flavor. I believe it could be combined with Player Three's suggestion about Ascent.

Also I like Player One's idea of substituting in currents.

I am not trying to push for this, just checking in with the group. How does everyone feel about House Blackfin and "The currents are always changing"?

I will get some history posts up when I get home from work. Think I have some ideas that meld some of our posts.

Ok with house name, but I am still not sure I like the words. They sound like our loyalty can change whenever. I am good with river pirate, just not sure on the imagery of the words.

Whereas I think it's a very good commentary on the house's fortunes, politics, and the like.  It just doesn't feel like it's talking about our loyalties, at least not to me?

That said, yes, river pirates gives a lot of flavor, I like it!
This message was last edited by the player at 11:02, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

I have posted a draft for the House's History under a new thread, please feel free to post any feedback on it here. Hopefully events mentioned in that thread [and others]  can help us fill out this relatively sparse period in Riverlands History.

I have tried to incorporate suggestions [such as the fish/dice/changing currents], and I think between the ingenuity of Captain Skinner, and the heroism of Lord Brandomyr Blackfin, there's a solid bedrock to build the House on.

I think it's great, amazing work mate!  Gives the house a lot of flavor, and as you say, helps flesh out the history quite a bit.

I've mentioned this to a few of you elsewhere, but my apologies for continued quietness. I'm hoping to soon have more time to devote here.

What I've read so far looks fantastic. I'm excited about this game - we seem to have a lot of great players here, and a GM that really knows the material well.

As a reminder, I did roll a 6.

Just got a chance to read through the history, and I love it. It does set a great tone for us to build on.

I'm great with the House name and the suggested motto. I'm also fine with the rolled up heraldry, though perhaps a tweak there? I know that fish was rolled, though I think a particular type of fish might be more apt to a river pirate: a river shark - and that perhaps in our setting canon, the blackfin is a type of river shark native to the Riverlands - and thus the chosen moniker for our House's founder.

I'm pretty open on colors, though I think black should feature somewhere.

Hmmm I like the idea, but it being an actual shark might be hard, as river sharks are only found in the tropics if I remember correctly.  Though maybe the Blackfin is a legend and not actually real?

I think we're just waiting on rolls from 2 and 4 then we can start chatting about stats?

Currently we have two 4s and a 6.

No pressure, two and four.

Haha don't mess up the curve my friends!

Player Two already rolled and has a 3, so we're just waiting on Four now.

18:56, Tue 22 Sept: Player Two rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Bonus Resource.

That leaves us here:

Defense: 22
Influence: 27
Lands: 27
Law: 30
Population: 32
Power: 29
Wealth: 34

Bonus Resources:
Player One: 4
Player Two: 3
Player Three: 4
Player Four: 4
Player Five: 6

We're at a solid starting spot in terms of resources, not supreme in any area, but also not terribly deficient. We have a good set of Bonus rolls which could help us in maybe a couple of areas depending on what folks want to play. Here's the spot where what people want to play comes into the picture.

Just to present some options:

• Defense: We have enough for a Hall. Another +8 gets us a Castle.
• Influence: Enough for a single heir. Another +3 gets us a Second Son/First Daughter. Getting into any higher of a Max Status category would be too much to dump in here (+14) to be worthwhile unless we're doing it for another reason like getting more heirs for PCs to play.
• Lands: We can get a decent array of features here with what we have, less if we want a community. It makes enough sense for a House of our stature.
• Law: -2 House Fortunes. A +1 gets us to -1, but probably not worth investing into unless Player Four rolls a 1 on the Bonus Resource roll - and even then there may be better ways for us to pick up another HF point.
• Population: +3 House Fortunes. This is the perfect sweet spot.
• Power: If we want a banner House and/or we have any Warfare oriented PCs, investment here is another good idea.
• Wealth: 34. This seems like a good amount to have that we wouldn't need to put too much more in here unless someone has a significant thing that they want or something really pushes us to the next level somehow.

Personally, I think we'd see the most return from Wealth & Power and possibly Influence.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

15:14, Today: Player Four rolled 4 using 1d6.  House increase.


Reading history now, house name I am fine with, house motto, not so much...but if i get out voted then I deal with it lol.

For house stats, remember when spending Land, that each realm we create can only hold 2 wealth holdings.  So if we pile all of our land points into one realm, then we may have an excess of wealth available (although there are ways to expand this some with the Out of Strife, Prosperity holdings).

I missed that, sorry mate!

I tend to find Wealth and Power the most useful, unless we're near a breakpoint with one of the others.  Wealth because there are so many cool things in the house supplement we're using, and power because it's both banners and actual military forces.

So personally I'd dump a 10 in one, and 8 in the other?

It doesn't seem like we'd have a castle honestly, so I'd ignore Defense.  It's the Riverlands after all!

My understanding is that we can have as many heirs and heiresses as we want, however only one would have a status higher than 2 if we retain our current influence. If we bump up to the next level, the head of house and the first and second heir would all move up one rung on the influence level. Other children would be unchanged. At least I think that's how it's intended to work?

Also, I'm good if we have a hall, and a bit of lawlessness on our lands seems appropriate based on our history.

Update on holdings from Out of Strife, Prosperity book:

Settlement Holdings require a population of some size in order to be built. Generally speaking, they require either a Community (Hamlet, Town or City) or Defensive Holding (Tower, Hall or Castle) in order to construct. A hamlet or tower may have one such Holding, a small town or hall may have two, a large town or castle may have four and there is no limit to how many larger communities or defensive holdings may have. These limits apply to all Settlement Wealth Holdings save where noted.

So, depending on how we develop our land and other holdings, we may have some options.

Currently reading through the OoS,P and Core rulebook.

A third option that I am open to would be a female heir [10], and either lesser sisters or male or female cousins [5]

Any bastards of the house could be either free in terms of influence, or [5] if they've been incorporated into the life of the house as members of the family [status 3].

This would give you a wider range of options, as a female heir and three relatives of lesser standing could be afforded without further investing in Influence.

I suggest this noting that player 5 have expressed an interest in a Female Heir, and pretty much everyone has expressed interest in either a member of the house or a knight in service to the house [whether retainer or bannerman].

I'm leaning towards an NPC head of house given some reservations that have been expressed, but such a character will have one foot in the proverbial grave at the story's beginning and PC's will have increasing control and influence as the story progresses.

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 41):

Not sure I really see the difference between a pc heir that is about to be head of house due to one foot in the grave of the lord...and a pc lord to begin with.  I'd think issues with one would be the same with the other.

However, as I mentioned in the RTJ, I do have many other concepts.

That solves my biggest concern, as it gives us time to get to know one another before the actual inheritance happens.  And, truthfully, because the heir would be a woman, things would be a touch less rigid in structure than they might otherwise be.  So as the one raising the concern about a PC head of house to start with, it seems a fair solution to me mate, so go for it!  And having a female heir would certainly make for some fun stories.  Basically turns the whole you're new thing up to eleven because she's a woman too.


Assuming we run with that, what's everyone else thinking about in terms of concepts?

And it's also worth remembering that some things from the supplement specifically require you not to have settlements.  It's a welcome change from the core rules, where you always wanted a market + mine, and thus, a settlement.

GM: Well done on the history.  It was a good read and does open up some ideas.

From reading the history though it, it does sound like we'd have two domains, the Bracken lands gifted to the family, and the old pirate hideout.

So, our Lands score should be divided between these two options.


Some initial thoughts from Defense to Land

Defense: Hall

Influence: Female heir, couple of other (per gm notes)

Land:
Plains, Stream, Grassland 5+1+1
Hills, River, Hamlet 7+3+10  (this is 27 points...if we want something else, we'd have to add from our rolls)

The Hills domain would have been the old pirate base...a hall with a small hamlet next to the river for access. The plains lands would be those gifted to the family on founding of the house by House Bracken.  We aren't large, we don't have a massive town/city, we have an open area for future growth...  Thoughts?

EDIT: Although our lands don't quite match up to our population.  Population example reads as a small town or multiple hamlets...
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

I'm fine with that.  And it simply means that we have most of our people spread out in small farms, or little fishing villages of a few families.

The flavor text often fails to line up with the numbers, so lets focus on the numbers for now.

As Player One has suggested, Population should probably be read as relating to minor holdings, and outlying farmsteads rather than larger hamlets or towns.

More abstractly it might relate to people over whom you can exercise your feudal rights - so a large city represents a huge land investment, but the house that owns it might have a small population score [say 10] because the people of that city owe no real obligations to their lord due to city charters etc. This certainly isn't how the book outlines it, but it does make more sense of small population scores for large communities.

So before we dive into Power and Wealth then, is anyone looking to play a banner?  Two, I think you mentioned you were?  I'm strongly considering it myself, and wanted to see if anyone else was before we started looking at how to break down points.

I think 20 pts is a bit much to spend. Even if we put 10 pts into power from what we rolled, we'd get 3-4 basic units to defend 2 domains. It is not a wise decision.

Just using a garrison as an example.
Green Garrison - 3
Trained Garrison - 5

We could have 6 green, untrained garrison units, or 3 trained garrison units for the points we'd have left over.  No warship or raiders to harken back to our pirate past, no infantry or cavalry for offensive options...

A couple things to note:

One, generally speaking, less is more in GoT.  You're likely only issuing 5, maybe 7 orders a round (Commander's warfare + one for each subcommander) or so, and you can issue the same unit orders more than once.  So to have a bunch of units means that you're wasting units as you likely won't have enough orders.  Plus, a hall can only hold two units, so keep that in mind if we're ever forced on the defensive.

Second, if need be, we can always raise peasant levies, which, actually make up the bulk of most armies in the setting.  It's seriously just, here's a thick shirt and a spear.  Stick them with the pointy end and try not to die.

Third, by having a banner, they in turn have a Power score, and would be bringing units if we need them, so it's not as if those points suddenly go poof!

So even if we have 19 leftover, we could end up with something like this:

Trained Archers (6)
Trained Infantry (7)
Green Cavalry (6)

It's a solid force on offense or defense, and we can always spend two points of power later to make the cavalry trained.  That and, we'd have the support of our banner if we ever went to war.

We're not in a castle, so to me, less is more.  But again, I freely admit my bias here!

And no, we don't have warships.  Yet.  But that's something that our Lord could certainly build towards!  Of course we'd need to make a point of saying that we have an actual port (which there's a holding for).  And Ports actually has the Drydock improvement.  In fact, there's also an estate holding for Timber, with a Shipyards improvement (which reduces the Power cost of ships).  Point being, if we wanted to become a major maritime power, we could certainly set ourselves up for that in the future.

That said, we certainly don't have to have a banner?  But I see the advantage being that we'd effectively control more territory, have a bit more weight to throw around at court, and not really lose anything in terms of actual Power, as the house would likely be close to that 20 themselves.  Likely.  Probably in the high teens.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:49, Fri 25 Sept 2020.

Put it to a vote: No

Points could be better utilized.

But if everyone else is ok with it, then that is fine.

I, personally, would prefer a banner house. It has nothing to do with numbers and everything to do with it adding another interesting element to the story. Previously successful and enjoyable games under this system that I've played in have had banner houses.

In terms of actual power, I feel like it usually produces power about equivalent to the power spent to create it. Theoretically it's another house to aid if necessary, but from prior experience...that's not a problem. PC house and PC bannerhouse are almost always extremely closely linked.

I am working on some numbers now that should allow an easy compromise of adding the Banner House.  Although I have no issue with a PC ran banner house, the actual rules state that banner houses are narrator controlled houses.  At the end of the day, we should be able to make it work so we are all able to enjoy things.  Just give me an hour or so and I will post some numbers for everyone perusal.

Never fear my friend, I've already asked the powers that be, as my concept was a knight bannerette in service to the house.  Provided I take sponsor and landed, it would be alright.

That said, we obviously have to agree first, so I'm looking forward to seeing your proposal!

Defense: 22
Influence: 27
Lands: 27+3=30
Law: 30
Population: 32
Power: 29+10=39
Wealth: 34+8=42

Bonus Resources:
Player One: 4 Wealth
Player Two: 3 Lands
Player Three: 4 Wealth
Player Four: 4 Power
Player Five: 6 Power

Land: 30
Land:
Plains, Stream, Grassland, Light Woods 5+1+1+3
Hills, River, Hamlet 7+3+10

Power: 39
Banner House - 20
1x Trained Garrison - 5
1x Green Garrison - 3
1x Trained Warship - 8 (7+3-2(shipyards))
Leaves 3 points open. We could upgrade the second garrison and have 1 power left over as well.
---The house should have at least one signature unit based on its history.  That isn't easy to do with a banner house, but it is semi-manageable.

Wealth - spending a lot to get flavor of shipbuilding...2 wealth left over.
Trading Inn + Growth 15 wealth
--Port 10 Wealth
Timber+Lumber mill + shipyards 15 Wealth

---I don't personally like this all that much, but it gives the flavor of shipbuilding and warships while allowing us to have a banner house.

This would also be conditional on the banner house focusing a bit more on land units with what power it has.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:20, Fri 25 Sept 2020.

I'm going to put in another vote for a banner house. I think they make a positive narrative contribution to our House's story overall; I like the idea of having a vassal - and with narrator permission it might open up more opportunities for PCs.

---

Since it looks like we're leaning female heir, in the Riverlands that means that she would have no full male siblings (at least, that still live). As such, since I want to play a member of the main house, I'm leaning towards Uncle as my concept - at least in terms of where I fit into the family tree.

Question, can the Trident and the Forks actually support true warships?  I just always assumed that as a river, vessels were much smaller and lighter to allow for portage if need be, and with a shallow draft for when the river is low.

I'm digging through source material, but there's not much that I can find.  Not yet at least.

And an uncle sounds great!  Will add another interesting wrinkle to the whole house dynamic, that's for sure!

In reply to Player One (msg # 56):

By the rules, yes.  All you have to have is a River.  It doesn't say, or assume, that a river based warship is as large as an ocean going warship.  It is a ship designed for use on the waters it is built and can be used to carry other troops.

From the rules perspective, as Player Four suggested, yes, we can have warships.

Even from a narrative one, while I can't find references to the Red Fork specifically, Lord Wyman Manderly does suggest in ADWD that he has a number of warships (proper ocean faring ones) hidden away up the White Knife.  Given that the Red Fork is a major river in the Riverlands, I think it is possible we could have Warships of whatever sort there - but most likely river galleys. I'd wager that perhaps compared to other rivers, it is possible that they are more substantial river galleys that could at need be utilized as coast hugging warships.

That is not correct unless things were different hundreds of years before the books.  Eleanor Mooton is the Heir to House Mooton and has 2 younger brothers.

from westeros.org

Eleanor Mooton is the eldest daughter of Lord William Mooton of Maidenpool, and his heir.She has at least two brothers and an unknown number of sisters.

Presumably the are not full brothers, though apparently they could be.

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/in.../Customs#Inheritance

In reply to Player Five (msg # 60):

And that says, it is customary, but not binding and that a Lord can name an heir passing over others.

The whole thing is left very vague but the intent is nominally primogeniture with some exceptions.

Except in Dorne... of course, they have to be the odd balls lol

So before jumping into the inheritance discussion, I wanted to reply to the proposal with a slight tweak of my own!  Though first, props P4, you did some good work there my friend!

Wealth: Seems really solid mate, I'm all for it!  Would just toss a point at the Warships for armor (see below)

Power: 39

Banner House - 20
Trained Warships - 8 (Shipyards discount, -2)
Green Archers - 4
Trained Infantry - 7

Garrison are resoundingly eh.  Infantry have a few big advantages, and the biggest is shields.  They have them, Garrison don't.  That's a huge difference in their defense, especially given the relatively low attack totals units have.  And you don't want units damaged, like even a little, as they can easily lose quality, and fast.  That and you can use Infantry on things outside of home territory as it were, and their discipline doesn't go to crap.

Archers are just amazing, and we want something with range that can help defend our hall if need be.

Warships are solid (and super fluffy!), especially since they have a ranged attack baseline.  They're one of the few units worth spending Wealth on IMO.  It takes them to armor 10, with no penalties, and given that Warships can fight/shoot, not just drive people around, it's well well worth it in my mind.

A few thoughts.

I would like to vote yes for banner house also.

I am not sure if we determined that our fish was a river shark, but if we don't use it as our symbol, that should be the name of our ship.

I also want to thank player four for the work it did. However, I would prefer that not all of our ground forces are garrison units. ne need to fight the war in someone lands, and we want soldiers there.

Is anyone opposed to me putting my bonus 3 points in influence? That would give us two male heirs?

In reply to Player Two (msg # 63):

For the build I made, we need your 3 points in land. If you don't want to put it there, then it changes the numbers.

It is correct Westerosi inheritance custom that has occasionally been overridden through the exercise of power and authority.

For your example, Eleanor Mooton's brothers died in the war, making her the heir. I don't think I contested that our female heir couldn't have dead brothers, but I think a dead brother hardly makes a compelling PC, unless we start the game with a Red Priest resurrection.

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Eleanor_Mooton

In reply to Player Three (msg # 65):

Love to know where it says they died in that link...I mean, it clearly says she HAS 2 brothers, not HAD 2 brothers...

And, has Martin himself has said in interviews, Inheritance law in Westeros is not carved in stone.

Scroll down to the notes.

And you're right that inheritance law isn't set in stone...but other than Dorne, Male preference cognatic primogeniture is the norm in Andal culture. So if there's a female heir and you're a brother that is still alive, you've been passed over or have voluntarily relinquished the claim or have been forced to relinquish the claim.

I'd personally prefer playing an Uncle to such a character - and if you want to play a full brother that has been passed over, that's a perfectly valid choice.

Here's a helpful link on the subject:

https://amp.reddit.com/r/asoia..._guide_to_westerosi/

They break down a lot of Houses succession charts though unsurprisingly House Mooton was left out.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

Sounds like we're getting a banner house!

Yeah, moving to Influence messes up the build, that and we have P5 playing a female heir.  Playing a male character, would, as P3 said, automatically override her claim.

So maybe a recognized bastard who isn't legitimized (think of a certain Snow), or a brother who was disinherited for some reason?  Could easily play a cousin, and I think P3 was going the uncle route?  That's all of course assuming you want to be family.  Lots of possibilities for a retainer, etc.

I will not place my 3 in influence.

I will play a cousin or a member of the banner house.

Sounds like a plan!  You're always welcome in Team Banner if you'd like!  I'd tell you more, but we don't know anything about them yet until we get some dice rolled!

Alright, so based on what I have so far [and do please correct me if I'm wrong]:

Defense: 22
Blackfin Den – Hall [20]

Influence: 27
Female Heir [10] [Player Five]
Status 3 Uncle [5] [Player Three]
Status 3 Cousin [5] [Player Four]
Status 3 Cousin or relative of Banner House* [5] [Player Two]

Lands: 27+3=30


Land: 30 [With Player Investment of 3]
Plains, Stream, Grassland, Light Woods 5+1+1+3
Hills, River, Hamlet 7+3+10

Law: 30 [-1 HF]
Population: 32 [+3 HF]

Power: 39 [With Player investment of 10] [Under Player One]
Banner House - 20
House Blackfin Patrol Longboats Trained Warships - 8 (Shipyards discount, -2)
House Blackfin Yeomen - Green Archers - 4
House Blackfin Men at Arms - Trained Infantry - 7

Wealth [With Player investment of 8] [1 Spare]
Trading Inn + Growth 15 wealth
--Port 10 Wealth [+2 HF]
Timber+Lumber mill + shipyards 15 Wealth [+2 HF]
Unit Upgrade – Ship Armour

Total House Fortunes – +4

Next Step
All of these selections are still open, although I would like to move toward confirming them soon.

Player Two is free to choose a member of the Banner House, or a cousin of the Home House, but for the sake of the narrative I would ask that if he is a member of the Banner House, he holds a retainer role in the Home House [which is super common for the relatives of bannermen to do].

The plethora of cousins/uncles leaves with the question of whether our cousins are siblings, or born to separate siblings of the lord, and whether our Uncle is their father, or yet another sibling of the Head of House. I'm certainly open to any combination of those, and am happy to write living status 2 parents/siblings as necessary.

Please feel free to PM me queries/ideas, and collaborate in this thread as is helpful.

Seems spot on to me?

I'm really liking the whole shipyard aspect the more I think about it.  Should make for some fun stories, especially since we're likely one of the few people capable of the large-scale production of ships in the Riverlands.

For now, we'll assume the entire Trident and Blackwater bay is fair game for your ships, although the headwaters of the Tumblestone and Blue Fork, and Shipbreaker Bay in the Stormlands would all be be treacherous for them in one way or another.

Other houses that are likely to have some ships under their command [although not necessarily with war-trained crews like yours] would include House Mooton, House Cox, and House Piper. House Darklyn has a the closest thing to a fleet in the region, those are deepwater ships, which would not be able to make it past Saltpans [the ships of House Velaryon would suffer the same problem]. The Trident would also provide easy transit for Ironborn Longships.

I was not anticipating this direction for you house, but it is certainly an interesting one!

Can't say I was either!  But... we have pirates in our history, so ships it is!  Certainly gives the house a rather unique flavor, so that's always fun.

The numbers look good to me. House Fortunes mod should be +5 (Wealth Holdings +4 Pop +3 Law -2).

As far as my Uncle character I was thinking Uncle to the heir, so sibling to the HoH.

In the initial stuff that I have been working on, my father was the youngest brother of the HoH and I am the only child of that union.  Father and mother recently died in a fire on a ship (while at Fairmarket) that I barely escaped.

This looks good to me!

I guess we'll have to rely on our Banner House to have Raiders for all our pillaging needs.

Well, you do have some pretty solid infantry for that thankfully!  But yes, we'll just have to see what the banner house's stats look like!

Things have gotten quiet. Hope we're all still doing well.

Weekend + holiday yesterday for some folks, so completely understandable!

I think at this point we just need some dice rolled for the banner house, and then we should be ready to go, mechanically speaking at any rate!

Yeah, finishing up my character today. Well 90% as I will need to spend my gold.

Ah yes, 'dat gold.  Never enough of the stuff!

I have the core of a build done myself.  Going a different route than normal, in large part thanks to the combat changes (which again, I really like).  Guess we'll just have to see how things shape up!

I understand. I've done soooooo many combat builds, so I am going a different route as well. More well-rounded versus optimized for one thing. Started with writing a history and then working attributes and qualities around that history.

Yeah in the 'core' book you've basically got four builds.  Massive + powerful weapon/tower shield (Shield Mastery too if you can swing it later).  Water Dancer + Braavosi + Acrobratic.  Triple Shot archer.  Axe fighter + Berserker.  Anything that gives you an extra attack is bonkers, and quite frankly, broken.  And let's face it, the game just falls to pieces at higher skill levels (6 or higher).

Thankfully with the house rules we've got, combat is much much slower, and actually relatively realistic.  It's not just playing rocket tag and seeing who goes first and wins.

Head of House: Lord Thaddeus Blackfin

Lord Thaddeus Blackfin is a stern and quiet man of forty years, who carries with him many of his family’s ghosts; and their haunting has driven him to drink more and more in recent years. He has always enjoyed riding and boating, and has focused on expanding House Blackfin’s shipbuilding industry such that it is without peer in the Riverlands. Though oppressed by House Durrandon’s taxation, House Blackfin has grown wealthy under his careful stewardship. However, he has had limited success in bringing other houses into shared ventures, or in expanding this industry to include towns like Fairmarket, Saltpans, or Maidenpool.

He was a young man when his parents were carried away by The Shivers, his younger brothers being mere boys. His next oldest brother, Ser Tybalt, was slain within a year of being knighted by Ser Rorec Blackwood, and though Ser Rorec’s arrest was ordered, Lord Thaddeus has always believed House Blackwood and House Durrandon conspired to whisk him away to Essos.

His wife died young of a wasting illness, which left him with only a young daughter as his heir. He refused to remarry, noting that his brothers and their offspring provided a bevy of further heirs should the gods see fit to take his daughter as well.

His next youngest brother, Bradyn Blackfin was killed two years ago in a suspicious incident while aboard ship in Fairmarket, and Lord Thaddeus felt Ser Jasper blocked his attempt to properly investigate the incident, which he believed to be the action of Lord Mannfred Mistwood, seeking revenge for his own dead brother.

Lord Thaddeus has often felt slighted by Lord Lothar’s inaction in these matters, and in the greater honours awarded to House Serbera, another vassal of House Bracken, than House Blackfin.

[space is left here for another younger brother of Lord Thaddeus. Player Five is currently chalked in as the son of Bradyn. Any son of  Ser Tybalt would need to be an adult, as his death was twenty-odd years ago. There's plenty of room for further siblings of Lord Thaddeus and cousins of the Lady-Heir].
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:22, Thu 01 Oct 2020.

Five, or four? :-)

Four indeed! My mistake.

I've shared the stats for the Banner House with Player One. They've taken some hits from some negative events, but have emerged [I believe] with a positive house fortunes modifier, which means that they will be providing a +1D bonus to the House Fortunes of House Blackfin, which is a significant win.

As many of you are moving toward drafting your character builds now, I just wanted to emphasise that I am open for discussion on character builds. One thing I've become aware of is that as I've linked certain benefits to status, benefits as a whole are harder to prioritise than they would normally be. I'm open to discussing how to best manage this.

Many Face rolled 1d6-2 and still got more events than the house!  Remember when I said I hated that chart?  I hate that chart.  Doubly so after this.

Anyhow, working on my character/the banner house now!  The good news is, while Power is only 15, I've got Population of... 31.  So expect some of that to be converted over to Power in the coming months.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:11, Thu 01 Oct 2020.

Double post, but I thought I'd show folks what I'm working with, and where my head is at!

Defence: 14 (10 invested)
-Tower (10)

Nothing to note here.  He might eventually try to make a manor house (Hall), but that's a ways off, especially given the time it takes to build these things.

Influence 3

Yeah, Influence of 3.  Yup, you're reading that correctly!

Lands: 8 (8 invested)
-Plains (5), Light Woods (3)

Figure they help supply the house with lumber and the like.

Law: 25

Nothing to note here aside from the -2 to fortunes.

Population: 31

I'll likely be converting 10 points to Power with my first house action, which will take it to +1 fortunes instead of +3.

Power: 15 (15 invested)

-Cavalry, Trained (6) (5 base, +3 trained, -2 sponsor's war herds)
-Personal Guard, Trained, (9) (6 base, +3 trained)

The reason I went with personal guard and not infantry is because we can attach a commander/subcommander to the unit and give them +1D on their rolls, and not lose the ability to issue commands.  Can't do that with any other unit aside from warships.  Speaking of warships, now we have an amazing unit to put on said ships!

Wealth: 14 (12 invested)
-Steward (5) +1 to fortunes
-Apiary (5) +1 to fortunes
-Upgraded armor to Cavalry/Personal Guard (2)
-Upgraded weapons to Cavalry (0) (1 -1 sponsor's weaponsmith)

So we still end up with a +1 to fortunes, even with my pulling points out of Population, so the Blackfin keep their +1D, which is the important part.

With that 10 Power I'm converting from Population, I'd be picking up a Trained Infantry (6) and Green Archers (4).  That would give the Blackfish an extremely respectable force when they called their banners.  2 trained infantry, 2 green archers, 1 Trained personal guard (with upgraded armor), 1 Trained Cavalry (with upgraded armor/weapons).

Short term goal would be to get 6 more Power to get the house to 31 (probably more archers, though I'd love another unit of cavalry, but that would take 8, so we'll just have to see?) and nab 8 more Wealth for a Master at Arms.  Free upgrades on units is amazing, but more importantly, that reduction in injuries post-battle is huge.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:04, Sun 11 Oct 2020.

Asking the GM a question but thought I'd do it for all of us in case it is something anyone else is interested in.

According to the Errata, a superior weapon (castle-forged) costs 2x the normal cost of the weapon.

My question is, are there any mechanical benefits to buying superior armors, or superior other items...like, say I want to pay double to have superior noble clothing?  Is there a mechanical benefit to doing such or, is the only thing that matters is if it is a weapon or not?

Asking because it is mostly a house rule to apply a benefit to superior items and wanted to see what our GM was thinking on this subject.

That's a fair question!  I've always thought the bonus should extend to other things because +1 to a roll isn't anything crazy, but that's just my two cents?

Influence of 3 is....impressively low. Hopefully house fortunes rolls are kind to us in the near term.

In reply to Player Five (msg # 93):

Technically, and maybe the GM is changing things, but Banner Houses don't make House Fortunes rolls. Maybe we can do that shared action he posted and our roll can benefit him some.

Should be interesting!

Haha right?!

Yeah, we don't make them at all!  It's alright, I foresee a lot of tournaments in my future.  Convert Dragons to Wealth and all that!

Be nice to me and maybe I will send some of my wealth your way. :-)

Aren't banner houses sometimes impacted by the house fortunes rolls of the main house?

@p4 Hah, noted!

@P5 And yeah, but it's distressingly vague about what precisely that means.

In reply to Player Five (msg # 97):

They can be, yes. I need to read the rules again to see how that is handled. Been in too many house rule games to know if I am remembering the actual rules or one used in a specific game.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:37, Thu 01 Oct 2020.

I sometimes get the impression that one person wrote parts of the book, another person wrote other parts of it, and the two of them didn't bother to talk to each other.

Oh for sure!  This has to be one of the worst editing jobs I've ever seen in an RPG.

In reply to Player One (msg # 101):

Agreed

This message was deleted by the player at 00:42, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

It does suffer from very poor editing and not the most efficient placement of critical information. Character creation takes you needlessly all over the book.

I've had a busy week so have been a bit quiet on this front. I am considering going with something of a martial background for my character.

I'm thinking that he would have been a hit more of a field guy than a tournament guy, but I'm still workshopping my overall approach. Just wanted to give my fellow players some insight as to what I was planning.

The house build looks good except that you can't have an apiary and timber estate on the same land holding as both are Estates.

Edit: The Apiary is great from a fluff perspective and provides opportunities for growth down the track. I would recommend switching out the timber for a steward personage, who provides the same bonus, but gives you a loyal npc to run things when you're out of town.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:42, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

GM, can you address the question from ms 91 regarding superior quality items. It got lost in the shuffle.

Superior Weapons already have rules explained [+1 to hit for individuals, +1 Damage for units]

Superior Armour does not have established rules. I may introduce it, but I would like to test the balance of combat under the existing rules first. I will introduce a Artisan [armourer] holding at the same time.

In some ways the heavier armours [Brigandine, Half-Plate, Full Plate] are already Superior, as they’ve received a buff with the current homebrew, but I don’t intend to increase their current price.

In terms of superior steeds, I see coursers and destriers already filling this role, but perhaps we can introduce something given that your Liege, House Bracken, produces the most respected bloodlines of war mounts in the Riverlands. This would likely be a +1 to Athletics and Endurace for doubling the price of the mount, but I'd like some feedback before locking it in.

There isn’t really a precedent for superior items of a more general nature, but I’m happy to discuss it item by item if it comes up. For example, if you’d like to buy water resistant inks, a concealable stiletto, a reliable Myrish far-Eyes, a detailed map of local rivers and fords or other items that are superior in a general sense, the mechanical benefit would vary depending on what the item is used for [a concealable dagger might have a set DC to be discovered during a pat-down or more dedicated search, for example].


Lets talk about some clothing homebrew I am considering:
Clothing has the cost of different levels of cost already built in. For now, we can apply a “keeping up appearances” standard by which your garments should be worth at least 10 ss*status if you are a non-ranking member of a noble house, and a 100 ss*status if you are taking on the representation of a house in an official capacity [A Head, Heir, or official representative]. At particularly fancy gatherings this standard may be higher, while in more impoverished locations it may be reduced, or not exist at all. There would be an expectation that you have a new garment for sequential days of an event. These standards apply to noble members of the house as well as knightly and highborn retainers.

So, for example, if you were to be attending the wedding at Castle Lychester, which is a two day event, there is an expectation that you have two days of clothing fitting your status as a status 3 noble [60ss for a status 3 noble, 600 for the heir]. If one or more members of the house fail to reach this standard, it might reflect poorly on the house, while if they are all able to meet or exceed it, it might reflect positively on the house.

In certain circumstances clothing might also provide a circumstantial bonus to intrigue defence or reputation checks in an intrigue, but I will not be laying out a hard and fast rule on this because it will be the exception, and driven by rp, and perhaps require the spending of a destiny point.

Does this provide some clarity?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:13, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

It helps, yes. Thank you.

By the way, who was playing the female heir?

Player Five IIRC

In reply to Player Three (msg # 109):

Thank, there isn't very many of us, but I totally spaced on that! :-)

As always I find myself wishing I had more bonus dice xp.  Alas I'll just have to wait until play starts.

From the pictures selected, looks like we've got a nice facial hair theme going.

Too bad Player 5 is going to ruin it. ;)

Mine is coming in very well for a 16 yr old.

Hey, she might not ruin it, you never know!

How fast can I get the following added to RPOL?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladybeard

Be still my beating heart?

That would be a dream come true for all the eligible bachelors of the Seven Kingdoms. From the Broken Arm to Bear Island, suitors would arrive to court the Bearded Beauty of Blackfin.

How is everyone faring? I should have some time to solidify my character in the near future. I imagine that most everyone knows each other before game start, right? Should we work out that history here? Or in PMs?

I am having a busy last few days.  I have my character done as far as background and stats.  I do need to make my cohort and then spend a LOT of money...well, spend some money and keep a lot more on hand for bribes or other needs!

I am 16, son of the younger brother who died 2 years ago in the "accidental boat fire" at Fairmarket.  While he never speaks of it as NOT being an accident, there was one time, just a short bit after the incident, that he slipped and said that he was tired of hearing about the accident bull.  Ever since that day, he has never slipped and seems ok with the explanation.

In fact, he is a bit stern...or closed off on his emotional expression...sometimes he can be heard whispering a mantra under his breath that seems to keep him calm.  This has been going on most his life and when asked he says, "his father taught him."  His direct family has pieced this mantra together (not sure the banner would've been around him enough to get this)

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

---His father was a successful merchant, due, in part, to the dowry received upon his marriage.  In the last two years, that business has grown quite a bit.  It seems either his father was content with where it was at, or, the young man is quite good at directing business ventures.  He is not overly generous, but he is also not a miser.  He spends when needed and, tends to loan money, not give it.  He is a bit ambitious, but not at the cost of his family.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Mon 05 Oct 2020.

Conceptually, my character (Thoren Blackfin) is going to be a grumpy old man that's devoted to family. He's very angry about the brothers he has lost, and yearns to avenge them, and to protect the remaining family - especially his his niece, nephew, and son (?) - from befalling a similar fate. In terms of skill specializations, Warfare is his strong point with a little combat as well, though his best fighting days are well behind him.

He is wise and experienced in the world especially where martial concerns are involved, and so would give good advice, but our liege would do well to keep him away from any delicate negotiations and intrigues lest his temper get the best of him.

The heiress (Gwendolyn Blackfin) will be in her late teens. She is shrewd, contemplative, and has a tendency for analysis (and sometime over-analysis). Gwen has spent some time with her liege's family, and returned to the Blackfin Den filled with confidence and energy. When around her father she is appropriately deferential, and has a reputation as being very close to him (Gwen has no siblings or mother). When on her own, she has no hesitation in seeking wisdom from those that should be wiser (i.e. Thoren, et al).

She is willing to 'let her hair down' when the occasion allows for it, and seeks enjoyment in her life. Sometimes, enjoyment for her is tackling difficult mathematical problems. (Don't judge!)

In terms of skills, she will be good at Stewardship and seems to keep abreast of everything that is happening in the Riverlands. In terms of her social style, she tends to assess wants/needs and then determine how she can use that to her advantage. She also uses logical arguments as her primary tool.

Logic, math, value-comparisons, details...those seem to be her strengths.

She tends to miss some social nuances, though realizes it's not a talent of hers.

I have been very impressed with characters so far. I'll post my recommended characters sheet below, shamelessly stolen from another game. I found this easy to modify and read, but let me know if you think it's a bit clunky. Once again, I readily admit I'm unfamiliar with the RPOL GM tools, so if I've clearly made an oversight, please let me know.


|Drawbacks:|



Land Holdings (If any): Special Possessions/ Heirlooms:


Character Description:

Personality:

Special Skills/Education:

History:

With the GMs permission, I'm posting an alternative character sheet that I got from someone a decade ago:


TIP: When you use it in your character sheet, you may want to change the 60% to 100%
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Sun 11 Oct 2020.

I think you need to give us all permission to edit our character sheets. At least you need to give me permission.

Also, we either need name changes or we need a separate character for our character. I've seen it done both ways where the GM keeps an OOC persona (Player one through five) as well as an IC persona (i.e. Gwendolyn Blackfin) OR each player just has their character. I think the latter is far more common.

In reply to Player Five (msg # 124):

Along the lines mentioned by P5, to rename us to our given character names:

GM Menu > Edit Characters > (Select the Character) > Edit/Rename

To give us access to character sheets:

Character Details > (Select the Character) > Create Character Sheet > Check the "User Editable" checkbox > Update Character Sheet

Excellent, that should all be accounted for now. Thank you both!

I would like to be moving towards finalising builds and perhaps towards some kind of prologue scene by the weekend. Please let me know if there's anything on my end that is obstructing you , such as permissions.

Can you create more time in the day? Because that's what I really need!

I should be able to put all my numbers in my character sheet today. Note that I won't have a lot of availability this weekend, but should be available again Monday evening if I 'disappear' for a bit.

I'm also dealing with a bunch of work deadlines through tomorrow. October is not my favorite month.

I definitely understand that real life comes first, and I appreciate the communication. Once character sheets are locked in I'll be able to move a few pieces around and we can coordinate an introduction scene.

Will try to finish my purchases tonight. Work has been killing me.

Kudos to Darvil for spotting that we had two Lanna's in the house. These would be known as "Red Lanna" and "White Lanna", owing to a fiery and reserved temperament respectively.

If we are catching things, one of the brothers seems to be a blackwood, and Jord isn't on the other personalities list

I am sure that I will continue to make mistakes, and I seem to be in excellent company for catching them!

I must have presumed that in being killed by a Blackwood, Tybalt somehow became a Blackwood.

Everyone makes mistakes...especially when you're trying to type up a long list like that!

Could you please add our Holdings to the House Blackfin thread? Presumably House Knollwood will also need a similar thread?

I like the name Knollwood. I went to college in a dry city, and there was a neighborhood on the edge called Knollwood that incorporated itself as a city just so they could sell liquor.

On topical notes related to this game: I will have my character sheet wrapped up by the weekend.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Thu 15 Oct 2020.

Thoren - I've stated in my backstory that you are my most trusted advisor. Hopefully that's reasonable/accurate...

On a side note, I used to live in a place called Knollwood...

Snorts

I'm glad everyone is amused by my choice of name!

Thoren is certainly trustworthy, and has a devotion to family. He has the bearing to be a good advisor, particularly on matters that touch upon wartime footing, keeping the family well defended, and the like.

Great! Gwen knows only the basics about those things, so Uncle Thoren will be trusted on all things military.

I've just updated the homebrew thread with this modification to what are currently "benefit taxes" at character creation. This benefit will apply to character creation as well.

As always, feel free to provide feedback on my forays into rule tweaking. I'll try to avoid unilateral moves like this one in the future, but I do not anticipate too much disagreement with it.

I like it. Combined with the other House Rules it is pretty solid. The rules as written have always been too punitive IMO for Heir/HoH players as unlike most other concepts you have to pay multiple costs for your role in the House without sufficient reciprocal benefits.

Alright players, as we finalise builds I would like to achieve a modest degree of momentum, and so I am throwing open to anyone that would like  a bit of a prologue scene before we move forward.

We will be working toward a scene in which Lord Thaddeus sits his family and trusted lieutenants down to discuss his plans for the tournament, including the route taken and goals for the house, so this prologue would be a good time to either connect with another PC before that scene, or to connect with an NPC.

Once we have done out opening scene, we will proceed to the tournament in fairly short order. The tournament will consist of two days worth of scenes. Without offering any spoilers, I think it might be helpful to give you an idea of major events that are expected.

Day 1:
1: Neighbours are expected to arrive early on the first day and will have the chance to participate in a hunt in the sprawling woods around House Lychester's lands, or falconry and a light repast in the nearby hills.
2: There will be a welcoming feast for the bulk of the guests in the evening.
Day 2
1: The day will begin with prayerful vigil in the sept and a light repast.
2: A knight's tourney of roughly 32 contestants,
3: A squire's tourney of 16 contestants, with the winner to be knighted by the groom, Ser Addam.
4: The Wedding Ceremony in House Lychester's chapel.
5: The Wedding Feast [including the wedding and bedding]
Day 3, Guests depart

Feel free to respond here or by PM

I would thoroughly enjoy a prologue scene with the caveat that I will be unable to post anything Thursday through Sunday this week. Which could be a momentum killer, so feel free to prologue without me if that helps get/keep things moving.

I can always drop in on the conversation upon my return, or could also have some other brief discussion with some NPCs just to get into character before we truly embark on our epic journey.

On another note, did we ever make a final decision on heraldry and colors? I believe the motto that was tossed out and generally approved was 'The currents are always changing'?

Can we get a summary of those things in our house thread? Does Knollwood also have a motto, heraldry, and colors?

The Blackfin Coat of Arms is  a Black Salmon on a pale green field with a blue tressure [similar in layout, if not colour, to House Mooton], with a pair of dice showing a six and one.

House words that were discussed as I recall were “The Currents are always changing.”

As I recall there was some concern that these words were altogether sinister or treacherous. I would suggest that the family words since the time of Captain Skinner were “The currents are always changing”, but that these have changed over time [particularly in the time of Lord Bedevre, the son of Lord Brandomyr, and father to Lord Thaddeus so that members of the house are more likely to use the phrase “Beware the changing currents” – this would reflect the house growing more established, and the house words becoming a little more distinct from, and suspicious of, its own founding.

House Knollwood is a very young house, with minimal historical clout. I’ll leave the door open to Berion on this one, but we might keep its arms simple [Two Swords, white and yellow, crossed on a red field within a yellow tressure], with house words of “Leal and True”.

Cousins of the house who wear their own arms might quarter them with another house, or alter the colour in some way.

I’ll add this to the House threads once we’ve had some feedback on this final draft.

Hey all, quick technical question:

I'm setting up a couple of private threads for the prologue and see that they're appearing under private messages rather than in the main thread.

Will I be able to make these threads public later, or do I need to use the "Group" function if I want to do that?

AFAIK you won't be able to make those private threads public.

I think the best approach for what I believe your intended purpose is to assign us to Groups and the use a Group for each respective thread. Then you can simply change the Group later when you want to increase or decrease visibility.

Group 0 is public. You can give us all access to Group 1 for any non-public but universal threads that we should all be able to see, if there's a need for that. Then outside of that you can assign us to groups as there is a need. For example, if you wanted to temporarily have a scene with just Thoren and Darvil (and keep that information private for those players either temporarily or permanently for immersion purposes) assign us to one of the groups [GM Menu > Edit Groups] and then assign the thread to the same group [In thread below text box next to Post Message/Update Message Button].

You can always double check your group assignments by looking at the Cast page where they are listed.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:02, Sat 24 Oct 2020.

Thank you very much. Hopefully I can firm up my understanding of such things as we progress.

I want to stress that these prologue scenes are designed to help us get a feel for characters as you all finish character design and I become more acquainted with the GM Menu/tools. We will move into the main plot shortly.

Always glad to help with that stuff.

Pray tell, what season is it for our characters now? Or what is the weather like? I assume for some reason, a bit cold. Is winter coming?

I’d like to place us in early spring, only a month or so since snows have melted sufficiently for major trade routes and roads to become  easily travelled. The previous winter was remarkably short, lasting just shy of two years.

This allows characters to be returning from a bit of a hiatus in terms of their knowledge of other characters, as most will not have been seen in at least two years, as travel is infrequent in Winter.

Edit - I’ve had a RTJ from an open minded player who will likely end up as a low born retainer or squire, suggestions are welcome.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:26, Mon 26 Oct 2020.

If they're looking to play a squire, Ser Berion has two that they could easily take over, or just replace if they so desired.

As for a lowborn retainer, a master of scouts/hunt auxiliary type seems like it would cover a niche we don't have yet.  Baring that, some sort of smuggler would fit in nicely with the house's roots.  A deniable asset as it were.

Good to know as to the season.

As to the new player, I'm glad that we will have more company. I think Berion's suggestions are sound ones.

If they are interested, it might be colorful if they were someone or the other's bastard. Not from our House necessarily - could be from elsewhere in the Riverlands. Just a loose thought and nothing I'm too fixated on.

We have ships. Ships need captains. And first mates, if the player doesn't want to be that important.

Speaking of captains, Bryce needs, uh, employees. This could be Berion's 'deniable asset' idea, as an example.

Hey guys.  Open minded player here.  Sorry I am just now making myself known.

So, 'deniable asset' and squire are main suggestions, but there seems to be a leaning toward someone of questionable morals.  Do you want him to be part of the house, or a hireling?  I will start working on the sheet.  Should be done within a few hours as long as I do not get too busy in the meantime (the holy trinity of wife, kids, and work).

Honestly?  Play whatever makes you happy mate!  If you want to squire, squire!  Want to be a river pirate/smuggler types, do that!

That said, if you do go the scoundrel type, I do like the idea of a bastard that Thoren mentioned, though not necessarily from the Blackfins.

And oh my yes, trust me, I understand that trinity completely.

Do you have a general idea for the age for the bastard?  I think I will go with a bastard/scoundrel set up

Depends on if you want to play some young buck or a grizzled veteran.  So entirely your call!  We've got a good mix of ages as is (teens through 30s).

I guess I thought the suggestion was for the character to be one of you players bastards, but being someone else's, off screen as it were, opens more possibilities.  I will work on it.

Sounds good!  And yeah, only one of the PCs is really old enough to have a bastard that would actually be playable, and besides, as you say, having it be another Riverland noble gives us fun stories in the future!

I went with an Iron Isles bastard.  He didn't want the throne, but his blood was worrisome enough that they didn't want him in the Kingsmoot.  They kicked him out.  He found his way to this house and has been a ne'er do well for the house ever since.  I have the basics up in my character detail.  Still fleshing out some ideas if anyone wants to chime in.  I put him at 42

Sounds great!

Are you attached to our house's naval power in any way?

Thoren is married to an Iron Islander himself, originally of House Harlaw. That might be a good, natural place for a connection with House Blackfin.

Both could work.  I don't know what the GM has planned, so I will tentatively say I like both associations.

I wonder if Thoren's wife would like him or not.  He is a rogue/possible raider who does sneaky things.  Could be a point of contention for Thoren, or if she likes him, maybe Thoren and him have a flagon every once in a while and they accost each other with tales of old (and new) glories.

You'll find no shortage of people in the Blackfin household that appreciate the sorts of expertise you have.

We are a house that originated from river pirates, after all. A modern-day river pirate can expect fair consideration by those that call Blackfin Den 'home'.

I like both the pirate history of the house, and the links to the Ironborn that are emerging with a number of players. I will gently remind everyone that this will generally be met with dislike by a number of other houses; mostly as a default by those who do not know the House well, or by those who have had particularly harsh dealings with the Ironborn. Chief among them would be the servants of House Mallister [though their Lord did once marry a lady of the Iron Isles] as well as House Banemark and its banner houses, House Whaler and House Fisher, as they have suffered the reavers for long centuries.

But I definitely like the direction our new character is heading, as these skills are not the focus of another party member.

I must admit that I'm also enjoying the rather notable difference between the Blackfin and Berion too.  He's this classic Andal knightly types, and the Blackfin... aren't.

I added a small little blurb for a history in case you guys wanted to take a look at it in the character details.  I can change it as needed.  I left it fairly vague to see if you wanted me here for years/decades/or maybe only months.  Whatever is good

Up to you, though the longer you've been here the more trusted you would be. How do you think you'll fit into the house power structure? I think I asked before about connection to our naval assets, but I don't think there was ever a clear answer to that.

Also note that if you are a bastard from the Iron Isles, you would be Edwyn Pyke, not Waters.

I will get that changed.  I don't know why I thought Waters.  Good catch.  The games I played never dealt much with the west coast.  As to the naval assets, I could see him being a something close to Davos in that he does a lot of smuggling.  He deals with smaller boats that he can handle himself with maybe a second or third person if really needed.  He probably knows his way around bigger frigates and the like, but his type of work is in and out without a trace.  That is not something one normally gets with a huge 3 mast Galleon or a long riverboat skiff.

Power structure wise, he is more of a scoundrel and scallywag.  He is nice and trustworthy to be sure, but I think in terms of the house, his area of expertise makes him more suited to stay outside of the structure to give the family plausible deniability.  I have talked with the GM and we decided he is more than likely going to be cousin to Lady Lanna Blackfin, so in terms of the structure of the family, he is more a distant relative you see and buys you presents at Christmas but is really only allowed in family matters because there is an obligation to decorum.

For enemies, conflict is the candy of a campaign, so I am ok with whoever is pissed off at the House.  I hope these answer your questions to your satisfaction madam Gwendolyn.  If I am completely off the mark, please do let me know.

Hey all, sorry about the wait on game start.
 I would like to get our First shared scene started by the end of the week, and will be rounding off the prologue threads in the interrim.

Please reply below, and let me know if you have any outstanding questions or requests before we launch into that scene [which will be Thaddeus gathering you together before the Wedding]

Sounds good by me.

Sounds good to me as well!

Are all the PCs still with us?

A good question as we've got some folks who haven't logged in for a good while.

I am still here.  I just haven't worked on the equipment minutiae for my character sheet.  Birthday was yesterday and I have been gearing up to go back to school as a midlife crisis.

Congratulations on the birthday and return to education [and commiserations on the mid-life crisis].

I am a little concerned that I have not heard from our dear Blackfin Cousins in a little while, but we will move forward for now. I will leave it a day or so more to hear back from them in this thread or by PM and then I will begin.

Equipment does not need to be 100% resolved by the beginning of this scene, and I will generally not require players to keep track of minutia like torches or arrows [and if I do, I'll let you know].

I'll respond to my post shortly; this has been my first week at a new job after being laid off a few months so it has been quite busy.

No worries. I'm fine with a relatively slow pace, as long as we keep people on-board.

No obligation to respond immediately to the Lychester thread, I'm really just trying out the sound of my "voice".

I still intend to finish off our prelude scenes, but feel that we've progressed far enough with them to do a shared one.

I have posted for Darvil for now. I'll see about transitioning him to an NPC as we go.

I will be bumping the recruitment thread now, as we appear to have hit a rough patch.

I will aim for one more short scene after this before our arrival at the tourney, but will see how we go with re-recruitment.

I have added two new players to the game. the first is working on an original character, likely a retainer or bastard of the house [Player Seven], while the latter is working towards one of the existing squires of either Berion or Thoren.

My post rate should now be picking up as well. Thanks for bearing with me.

Hi all, I will be joining soon, just sorting char gen out.

Good to hear.  Welcome folks!

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 183):

Hey all! I just wanted to say hi and that I am looking forward to writing with you all. I will hopefully be taking over the role of Valen Vance, Squire to Ser Berion. May the Seven help him! Cheers

Then it sounds like we should chat mate!

This message was deleted by the player at 13:14, Thu 10 Dec 2020.

How old are the various PCs. I’m trying to pitch my Pc at the right age for my concept, which is a bastard son of Thaddeus’ father.

Roughly speaking, I believe Gwen is in her late teens/early 20s, Berion is in his mid-20s, and Darvil is mid-30s I think?

Again, rough estimates here, but it should give you something to work with.

And if you're looking to play the bastard half-brother of Thaddeus/Berion, you'd likely be looking somewhere in yours 30s.  Maybe even 40s depending on when it happened.

In reply to Player Seven (msg # 187):

Valen would be around 13 Winters.

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 188):

Yeah I was thinking late 20s, early 30s...

Probably going to have to go early/mid 30s to make it fit, given the age of everyone involved.  Men of a certain age and certain... problems and all that.  But yeah, sounds good!

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 191):

Lol! Happens to the best of us!!!

The legitimate Blackfin brothers age (or would have) in range from 48 to 37. Thaddeus is 48. Thoren is 38. The other two are dead.

In reply to Thoren Blackfin (msg # 193):

Thanks, so I could be a younger bastard...

Welcome to the game, new players!

I don't think it matters to any of the discussions, but Gwen is 18.

In reply to Gwendolyn Blackfin (msg # 195):

Thak you! :)

A couple of queries if anyone knows the answers as I couldn’t see them elsewhere:

- what was Lord Thaddeus’ father’s name?
- how long has Thaddeus been Lord?
- is Thaddeus’ mother still alive? What is her name?

My plan is to be a bastard younger brother, several years younger than Thoren so that would fit well. I wanted him to be acknowledged by the former lord before he died, so he can claim the surname Rivers. He will have no claim to any titles, but will be a trusted part of the household.

Thaddeus became Lord in 269, the year of the Shivering Spring, as the sickness took both of his parents.

Thaddeus has been lord for 31 years, and can’t reasonably have a half sibling of a younger age than 30, and I would prefer the early 30’s.

Thaddeus’s parents are (I believe) not yet named, and I’m happy to expand on this in reference to a new PC.for now we’ll go with “Thoven” and “Barbry”.

Chronological details are likely to remain ironclad due to some hefty forward planning. Rewriting timeline details would likely result in plot holes.

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 198):

That’s fine, I can go for early 30s then.

Can I get a user editable char sheet so I can crack on with char gen. thanks

Okay, I’m going for 32, the bastard of Lord Thoven Blackfin. My name will be Gerhart Rivers.

I would like to be the Master of the Hunt. Is that realistic for an accepted bastard? I am honest and loyal to the family.

I've been a bit busy and have posted quickly, but I just want to throw in a welcome to the new players that will be joining us.

As far as the role for Gerhart, if it works by the others and the GM, it's fine by me.

In reply to Thoren Blackfin (msg # 201):

Thanks, Ser! I am very happy to be here. :)

Almost done now. Waiting for GM approval and need to buy equipment. I will be playing Ser Berion's squire, Valen Vance, but if anyone wishes to talk over backstories and such shoot me a PM. I am looking forward to writing and gaming with you all. Cheers :)

In reply to Player Eight (msg # 203):

I’m in pretty much the same situation. I will be Gerhart Rivers, bastard younger brother of Lord Thaddeus. I am Master of the Hunt.

In reply to Player Seven (msg # 204):

Welcome to the game! :)

Alright all, I'm getting back on top of some messaging and would like to get to a point where our new players can make a short introductory post in the game thread before we move onto the tourney.

Thanks to all for bearing with me, its been a very hectic new years.

I think the balance of the adjusted party is good, and I am looking forward to moving forward.

My Character sheet should be done now. Once the GM checks it over, I should be ready to go. I am looking forward to the game and writing with you all. Blessings :)

Still here - just wanted to say that the reprieve has been welcome as the holidays were hectic for me as well.

In reply to Thoren Blackfin (msg # 208):

I look forward to writing with you, Ser, and serving House Knollwood and Blackfin.

In reply to Player Eight (msg # 209):

Glad to have you join us! Should be fun

Excellent ass kissing manners squire, well done!

"
Well, with all the practice I have had with you, I thought it only right and proper to put it to good use. ;)

Seriously, thank you for reaching out and guiding me along. I am very grateful! Cheers :)

Something I just saw was that the winner of the Squire Tourney gets knighted. Hmmm... I wonder if Lady Gwen would allow me to wear her favor that day? :)

Hi all, planning to catch up by the weekend!

That would require you to work up the courage to ask!

Gerhart and Valen should both be cleared to post and be replied to. Our next short scene will be at the Hearty Woodsman, a small Inn a half-days ride from Castle Lychester, as I'd like to build up a little momentum.

Please let me know if you would like to address major details of planning or preparation before we move on to that scene, as I'm trying to be more communicative.

Do you think I should post the setting of that scene as a new thread, or "draw a line under" the current scene in the existing "Storm at Lychester" thread? I'm open to suggestions on formatting scenes.

I would think that depends largely on how significant you expect the scene to be there. I'm generally a proponent of more threads as it costs nothing to add a thread and tends to keep things better organized.

Great point. I've uploaded this second scene, but players can feel free to prioritise the Storm at Lychester thread.

Are Bryn, Darvil and Edwin active, or have they dropped out?

Edwin, Bryn and Darvil all dropped out before the game began.

Darvil will remain an active NPC due to his relations with other PC's and non-pcs. I may delete Edwin's character entirely shortly as it never really got off the ground. Bryn probably exists as a person, but has remained in Blackfin Den, due to having little to do with tournaments and the like.

I just wanted to say I have been enjoying everyone's posts. I am really like the party's dynamics so far, even if we are stuck in the stables! Have a great weekend, folks. :)

Yes, I agree with Squire Valen. Well done so far, fellow players, and thanks again to the Many Faced God for creating and running this game.

Yes! Thanks to the Many Face God for all he has done and continues to do to make the game great. Oh! Gerhart Rivers needs to be added to House Blackfin's entourage list. Again, have a great weekend all! :)

Is Bryn back with us? I hope so! :)

In reply to Valen Vance (msg # 223):

True!

Bryn's player remains absent, I believe.

For context, Ser Naton's family holdings are just on the other side of Stone Hedge, and he would be a relatively common fixture at Lord Lothar Bracken's court, and would therefore have been formally introduced to all noble members of the party. However, he likely hasn't seen any members of the house during the winter. His family is also sworn to Lord Lothar, making them formally allies, but lacking a close tie to House Blackfin.

I only asked because it seemed he logged in on Tues,02 Feb. Animal Handling Check made. :)

At this stage I've labelled rumors as private [one being shared by Gerhart, who arrived early, and Gwen who is gathering information, and two others going to Gwen alone, due to her excellent roll.] I'm happy for players to share this information in-character, or to share it in this thread if they have no compunction about it becoming public knowledge.

In contrast, Thoren's observations are labelled as public, and this is a somewhat arbitrary distinction on my part, as I think hiding information from players about physical activity in the room is likely to lead to confusion. For small-stakes stuff like we're dealing with here, I'm happy for all players to know it, but in this case Thoren is the only character who is aware that two of Naton's group have left the back of the inn.

I'm trying to be transparent about my process so that players don't feel like I'm sharing or hiding information in a preferential way, but as always, feel free to offer your perspective.

Hey all! I hope to post later today, but we have a terrible ice storm here. Our power has gone on and off already. If I am gone for a while, it is due to this. Thanks! :)

Apologies, I will try to catch up by the weekend.

I feel ya mate.  Here in PA we've had our fourth round of snow in about a week and a half (and there's more on the way).  Got a good three feet out there right now at least.  Most I've ever seen in the almost decade I've lived up here, that's for sure.

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 228):

A very fair and soundly reasoned approach

In reply to Valen Vance (msg # 229):

Yeah here in TX, the most mildest amount if ice is driving the city into a tizzy. Hope your power is restored soon!

Thanks for communicating. I'll give everyone a chance to either post in the thread or indicate they're ready to move on in this thread before we do.

Feel free to ask clarifying questions where my IC posts may be unclear.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:20, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

And PA is about to get, wait for it, more snow.  Yay.  But I should be fine, and getting back into the swing of posting regularly here in the next day or two.  Hopefully everyone else is in the same boat so we can get things moving, as I'm very excited about the group we've assembled!

That said, I'm happy to move things along whenever everyone is comfortable.

Alright guys, it does sound like there's a lot of interruption due to extenuating circumstances. I've moved the conversation along mainly because I don't want to lock out players who wish to participate but might not have significant reason to chat with Naton [specifically Gerhart and Thoren].

Naton will move off unless anyone has questions or comments for him, but other PC's can RP at another table if they would like.

Valen has a chance to respond to the horse in the stables being unsettled before I move that part of the scene forward.

Let me know if there are issues with the pacing. I know we're still finding our feet.

Just wanted to drop an FYI that my situation is generally unpredictable and I'll post when I can. Where I live (Dallas) has now been blasted with weather the likes of which we usually don't get and are totally unprepared for on every possible level.

I'm currently warm and have power, but in the last few days I've gone without it for stretches (and am largely without internet unless on my phone).

Anyway by next Tuesday it should be 68 and sunny so I'm sure I won't be out too much longer.

Sorry, I will try to post tonight. Power has been going on and off, but things are finally settling down. I should be getting back to normal posting. Sorry for any delays. :)

Thank you for the communication. I don't think I can imagine what you're all going through while I'm down here in sunny Australia.

For the sake of the scene, I'll let you know I've got a minor twist/interaction planned for Valen, and the Inn itself is mostly up to you. Players can pursue interaction with the hedge knights or other NPC's, or simply plan amongst themselves.

I'm happy to hold off a little longer while you guys deal with what sounds like a very serious situation, but I just didn't want to fall into the trap of presuming no-one was ready to move on, and then have the game fizzle out due to my inaction as a GM.

I would enjoy a little time at the Inn still - hopefully a chance for all the PCs to interact a bit and settle into our characters.

In reply to Gwendolyn Blackfin (msg # 239):

I would also, but I am not sure Valen would come to the common room without Ser Berion's leave. He is in enough trouble as it is. ;)

Once you're done with your work, by all means, come on in.  Berion is strict, but not a monster!

Plus, Gwen is expecting you to join...

Oh goodness, now you've gone and given the boy ideas.  That's a bad Gwendolyn!

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 241):

Oh! I know he is no monster. He is Valen's hero, and his image of a knight true. Valen just doesn't want to push his luck, you see.



What? Does Lady Gwen expect me? *Face Flushes Red And He Collapses*

I need to wait on the GM. I think he may have something for me. Then I'll come in. Thanks all! :)

Valen's antics and crush on Lady Gwen are honestly very entertaining for me.

Thank you for the kind words, and thanks to Lady Gwen for putting up with me. This is an awesome group, and the game does capture the feel of Martin's world to me. I am pleased to have found this game and all of you to share it. :)

I'm glad for the spread of characters and players we have ended up with. I'm aiming for a game that includes more than just the naming conventions of ASOIAF. I think the element I'm wariest of is that I can have inconsistent posting/pacing at times, and I'm thankful for your collective forbearance with me so far.

No worries! I am happy to be here. You have nothing to apologize for. I am sorry for my silence of late. I had a death in the family last week. I am home now, but it may take a day or day to get my mindset back to posting. I thank you for your patience and apologize for any delays. Blessings :)

I'm so sorry to hear that Valen, hang in there mate, real life is always more important.

I'm so sorry for your loss. We can park Valen's character/altercation until you feel comfortable to proceed, and proceed with the other characters inside the inn for now. Take the time you need.

EDIT: For other players, feel free to respond to Gwen's prompt. I won't be directly connecting you back with the activity in the stables before we hear from Valen, in part because his scene is probably ahead of yours due to the time it took to work with the horses.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:15, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

Valen, very sorry to hear about your loss. Take care, take time, and we will all be very glad to write with you again when the time for that comes.

We'll be moving into Chapter Two now, although I'll leave the door open for Valen to run through the events of the stable when he returns.

Feel free, but not obligated, to make a post in The Hearty Woodsman thread prior to departure, particularly if you wish to engage with any NPC's before departing. Otherwise we'll jump into the next scene.

Gerbart’s  player has resigned due to real life concerns. For now Valen will be parked as an npc, as his player has not logged in for some time (although I intend to leave that door open given how well he communicated with me).

We have interest expressed from a new player, and I would just like to check in with you all. I know the game has been building slowly, but we are now moving toward some ability based scenes (and perhaps even combat).  I will endeavour to respond to feedback as best I can.

Sounds good to me!  I really enjoy this game, and what we're building, so I'm all for pushing forward!

To our new folks, please reach out if there's anything I can help with!  I am a giant sucker for character connections after all, so I would be delighted to work with you in any way that I can.

Sounds good to me as well!

Like Berion, please get in touch with me if there's a desire to make some background connections.

We've actually had a good amount of interest in the last day or so.

We have two players expressing interest in handmaids to Gwen, and one in a squire.

These roles seem very workable to me, but we'll discuss it further in this thread.

Also, I'll be updating my last IC post very shortly. I made an error in attributing Ironhold to House Tullison - which is actually the seat of House Banemark.

Excellent news, can't wait to meet everyone!

Yay! Looking forward to the new blood!

Players Nine Ten and Eleven have been added to the game in the hopes of using this thread to flesh out character ideas. Existing players have a pretty clear idea of the key relationships in the house and are welcome to provide guidance.

Player Nine is guilty of being a chatterer, so partly suspects the Many Faced God added me to share the pain of constant PMs XD

Anyway!

Looking at making a handmaid for Gwendolyn (one of two I hear!) who is a younger sister to Berion Knollwood (so banner house petty-nobility, who I think often spent time in service to their liege's smallcourts).

The way I have her very roughly sketched out, she has ties to every character I'm aware of:

In service to Gwendolyn as handmaid
Sister to Berion
Previously fosterling to Thoren and Red Lanna
Fellow handmaid and hopefully friend (rival/frenemy is also possible?) to the other handmaid character I'm hearing about?

This is all very rough though, and subject to approval and changes from the existing cast and our local deity.

It's good to be here!

Snorts So are Berion and Gwen's players, so I think you'll fit right in!

That said, hi little sis!  Ahem, I mean, yes, welcome welcome!  Delighted to have someone over here on the Knollwood side of things, so if you want to talk house stuff in PMs or the like, please, feel free!  Sure I'll likely start poking ya with questions and the like soon enough anyhow.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:02, Mon 03 May 2021.

Hello all, lovely to be in the game with you. *Curtsies* I've been looking at possibly playing Jenny Goodbrother, house Ward, of Iron Isles ancestry but Westerosi upbringing.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Mon 03 May 2021.

Welcome to the game, new players!

As Berion mentioned, I'm happy to chat about character backgrounds with anyone. The two that have expressed interest in being a part of Gwen's inner circle, please let me know if there are particular areas of expertise you have and about how long you are thinking you've been with her.

A few notes about Gwen:
-Her mother died when Gwen was very young.
-She Warded with the Brackens during her mid-teen years. She is now 18.
-Due to her father's failing health, Gwen has had to spend much more of her time concerned with the running of the house.

That third point may be particularly relevant as she has some business interests nearby that ladies in her inner circle might be able to help run, as well as various duties within the house itself that she might hand to a trusted friend to become part of their 'portfolio'.

For the sake of the narrative, Red Lanna  will not be attending the tournament, as she will be visiting the Stoney Sept during the time of the tournament. Although she is formally responsible for Jenny's care and education, she will likely have left Jenny with Gwendolyn [either at Jenny's request, or over her protestations].

So while Jenny is currently filling the role of a lady-in-waiting, this is likely not her normal role with the Lady of the House.

We can tweak this as needed, but that's the current lay of the land.

In reply to Gwendolyn Blackfin (msg # 263):

I don't have a name for my girl yet, mostly because I want to be sure it fits with any family names or naming styles Berion already has running (probably have one in the next day or so).

I gave the Many-Faced-One some options with different personality types I could bring to the dance for Nameless Knollwood, and he felt the best counterpart for Jenny would be a handmaid with a more worldly outlook on things, possibly bordering on cynical at times. That being said she is still 15, and she is a handmaid to Gwendolyn in both the personal-servant and apprentice-lady sense of things.

So if Gwen's experience of being Young Lady Blackfin is having to help run the House, Nameless would be absolutely keen to help out both for Gwen's sake and her own chance to learn.

I have her being warded/fostered with Thoren and Red Lanna in her early teen years (provisionally, and if Thoren's player is fine with this), so possibly she was placed in service with Gwen on her return from the Brackens? From your words that feels like around 2 years ago, which would work.

I haven't finished building Nameless on a sheet yet (still waiting until we have her concept and relationships known and agreed), but any key skills you'd like to see her have learnt from Gwen over the last possibly-two-years-?

Oh, I'd have been thinking the girls might have grown up together, but if Gwendolyn was fostered that changes things a bit.

I'm still working on my sheet, since we can't reduce a stat to 1 I have fewer points to work with than I'm used to so I'm trying to find the right balance.

Hey there!

I was the one interested in playing the squire. This week is finals week for me and then graduation next weekend,so I might not be around a ton this week, unfortunately. I'm looking forward to joining you.

Welcome Number Eleven!

Good luck with Finals and Hat-tossing, and congrats on finishing whatever you’re graduating from!

Mazel tov on the graduation there mate!  Very much a big deal, so you should be proud.

Who were you thinking of squiring for?

As our new female characters possibly seem to be finding form in Jenny Goodbrother, and Ser Berion's sister, it's worth noting that these will not replace Gwen's other existing handmaids, the NPCs White Lanna, and Myranda.

Regarding abilities - Everyone will begin with characters substantially weaker than is the norm in many online campaigns I've been a part of. The idea is that most characters are at the start of their journey, with plenty of room to grow, and that we're all a cut or two below the likes of Kingslayers and Mountains. The challenges you face will be scaled for your ability [though still fraught with risk]. For that reason, don't worry if your final abilities come out with one-three 4's, and a lot of 3's.

Honestly, this system scales horribly at higher levels (non-scaling XP costs being a bit reason, but far from the only), especially if folks get 6s/7s in combat skills.  This goes for social combat too.  The point being, a 4 is someone who is well trained in something, with 5 being exceptional, and 6 being the best in Westeros at what they do.  So yeah, I for one am grateful for this.

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 269):

Thank you! I'm not totally sure who my guy would squire for yet.

I've dropped my sheet in, hopefully I'll pick up my name and can note out my details as soon as I've fixed any issues with it.

Alyssa Knollwood, at your service.

Welcome to the game, all the new folks! Glad to have you along to help liven things up.



That's fine with me! I'm very open to player connections.

Note that this was only for a couple of years (ish) it's intentionally a bit vague to allow for background connections. If you were thinking of a connection from younger years, that is still possible. It would have been from about her 14^th nameday to her 16^th (again, roughly).

In reply to Thoren Blackfin (msg # 274):

Thank you!

Hey all. Thanks to new players for their energy and initiative, and for existing ones to being open to help maintain the lore, characters, and setting established so far.

This week has been one of my busiest, on top of being down with a bad cold, so I'm going to need a raincheck of about 48 hours before I can get back to existing queries and post an update of our progress.

Hopefully this doesn't cause any distress.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:08, Wed 05 May 2021.

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 277):

No worries, life always comes first!

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 277):

Get well soon!

Don't worry, your world will still be here when you start feeling better <3

Does anyone in the house have Healing as a skill?

In reply to Player Ten (msg # 280):

Not me!

Alyssa reads very well and potentially can help the Maester at his work or Gwen with her books and accounting (Language rather than Stewardship, although I’d like her to grow in Stewardship over play).

I do not.

Two of our new players are moving towards finalising their characters, while the third is still working through their character concept.

Our next step will be a parallel scene, with the falconry and hunt run as simultaneous scenes, with PC's participating in both. I will likely have a post or two leading us into this in the existing chapter 2 thread.

As with previous scenes, I'll be creating some opportunities for players to pursue narrative threads as they desire, but this section will require both some initial rolls [to determine your success in these activities] and perhaps some further ability rolls [depending on how far you get]. While there won't be an opportunity to engage in a standard intrigue, there will be an opportunity for some simple intrigues - either to gather information, or to make a good first impression.

The assumption will be that males will participate in the hunt, although some, like Lord Lyman and his men-at-arms  will hang back to oversee the camp.

I'll round out the Chapter 2 Thread in the next 24 hours.

Very exciting.

And congratulations Player Eleven, hope graduation went amazingly!

It did, thank you!

I'm in!

Look forward to writing with you all.

Huzzah!  Welcome little sis!

Big brother! *hugs*

Finished updating my 17 lines of shopping too, so all set for adventure.

Proper, ladylike adventure of course at my Lady's side *squints*

Oh yes, nothing if not proper.

It's a good thing the menfolk brought squires to help carry Alyssa's lengthy shopping list. :)

And Alyssa ended up adding her own pack mule to the expedition :)

As well as a riding palfrey in case ladylike adventure ends up meaning “keep up with Gwen” at some point!

Guess we're going boar hunting eh Thoren?

Promise I'm not ignoring the thread, but as Gwen directed her uncle to see to the division, I'm sitting tight for a bit.

Has the sidesaddle been invented?

I don't remember anything clearly stated from the books, so I'm assuming Alyssa is riding astride with a slit riding kirtle or similar.

If those don't exist, I'll change her description to something with riding leathers too :)

Great question; I'm inclined to say that this is a technology in development, perhaps used as an oddity in the Vale and Reach by a few ladies, but unknown in the Riverlands.

I might even save it as a minor plot point for later.

Happy to hear other perspectives on this.

At this point the existing scene can be wrapped up for those who have anything to add, but we will otherwise be moving into the Lady Gwendolyn's Pavilion thread, which I've set up specifically to give our PC's a chance to converse, and discuss any questions, strategies, or advice before they split for the hunt and falconry.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Just so we can keep things moving and kick this game back into high gear, any objections to the proposed split?  If not, I'll post as much and get us going.

I'm fine with it. I was trying to decide if Alyssa should say something in response to Gwen, but I'm not sure if she'd be falconing or anything.

I think she wouldn't, she'd mostly be helping.

No objections here

I've posted an update for those attending their respective events. I'll likely break the event into 3 or so sections, with PC's being able to make an RP action/reaction post based on their established priority. This should give the event a sense of structure while we feel out our characters and start to introduce some of the mechanics.

In reply to The Many Faced God (msg # 299):

Nice!

For 'Finding our Place in Line' am I right that we say what our target is (or, where we're attempting to ride) and then roll against that?

Or do we roll first and then choose?

In reply to Alyssa Knollwood (msg # 301):

Correct, please identify it in your roll.

This would represent you essentially making a choice about where to ride, and being able to do so with the required social graces. So sure, you can ride up along with Lord Lyman, but the risk of a minor gaffe and embarrassment is a little higher, which would result in you then riding with the daughters instead. Alternatively you could choose to ride with the noble daughters [themselves status 3] or a few yards behind, with the daughters of the Lychester gentry/retainers.

You can choose your priority after you've worked out your place in line with the status roll. If you'd like help rp'ing out the consequences of you role, feel free to PM me.

The goal of this is to simulate the quick, subtle games of social etiquette that establish a pecking order. It will give access to certain NPC's in this event, but may not have long term consequences.

UPDATE: Just a reminder, that "appropriate clothing" for a noble at an event is estimated at costing Status*10 silver stags, or *100 for an heir or head of house.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:50, Thu 20 May 2021.

Beautiful post, beautiful dice Jenny!

What do you have for us, Lady Gwen? :v

I'll give everyone a full 36 hours from this post to get their responses in for the falconry and hunt. I don't want to be too inconsistent with my standards around this, but I'll log in character-appropriate actions if they aren't responded to in this time.

I think that's a great idea in general (some sort of time limit).  Nothing kills a game faster than a loss of momentum after all!

Agreed - I also love the baked in options you provided. I think that will help decision paralysis greatly.

In reply to Berion Knollwood (msg # 305):

I agree, great idea! I'm excited about this game and look forward to seeing where it goes.

Apologies- you posted the request for a roll right when I left on a trip to Las Vegas. I’ll try to roll from my phone, but I’m not sure when I’ll be able to make a full post.

Have fun in Las Vegas!

We thought Gwen might ride ahead, it’s why we didn’t want to risk being caught at the back of the ride. ^^

In reply to Gwendolyn Blackfin (msg # 308):

No worries. I'll try to avoid abrupt deadlines and your communication here was super helpful.

Feedback on how sections of the chronicle are being run is also appreciated, as I'm trying to balance the construction of a narrative against railroading your PC choices.

Questions about the mini-events are both welcome and expected, I'm sure there's plenty of room for miscommunication in the fairly truncated notes I've provided.

For the next section of the hunt, we'll nominate options first and then roll if that's ok, as I'd like to do the coordination roll before the rest, as it can impact the overall result.

Whoops!  Well uhhh Berion is going to attack.  He's resoundingly meh at the other options.  If someone decides to coordinate, I can tweak rolls as necessary.

And yes, I second the feedback about options.  It's not railroading since you're saying people could do other things, but it helps folks who might otherwise be on the fence.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:48, Sun 23 May 2021.

Brother mine, what's the name of our House's seat?

Knollwood Tor, or something similar?

EDIT: Thanks Many Faces! Knollwood Tower it is.

And brother mine? So disappointed lol
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Sun 23 May 2021.

This is my fault for listing important information in more than one place. If Thoren wants to Coordinate the pursuit, he can roll for that. If he doesn't, Gerhart will [If Thoren does, then Gerhart will try to snipe the beast to at least do some damage].

Either of these options gives Berion a solid chance at a +1B on that ride check, which I'll let apply retroactively this time, due to my miscommunication. If the Coordinate the Pursuit roll is flubbed, then Berion can spend a destiny point for a +1B if he likes.

Pshhh, the Animal Handling roll was trash, but not his Fighting (which was great), so there's that at least.

Thoren you beautiful bastard, thank you!

Gives me a 15 (and a second action), up from 10 thanks to my horrible rolls (triple ones, really?).  Just need to find out a few things about armament and the like, and then I'll be able to post.

Three cheers for Thoren! ^^

Watching the hunt unfold, I really like how these mini events are being structured. It works well for the PbP format, and means we each have a show to watch outside our personal challenges.

Part two of the falconry is now live as well. Please clear up any concerns here before rolling or posting, as best you are able. I'm a little concerned that I'm incorporating too many rolls into this stage of the event, so some feedback on this would be helpful.

Am I reading it right that someone participating in the Falconry makes all four of those checks, or do they choose between them? Assume the former but checking :)

I’m personally curious about it, but Alyssa is aware she’s never flown a falcon in her life and unsure about the propriety - she’ll probably wait and see what Gwen does, and only try flying a bird if explicitly encouraged to do so :)
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Mon 24 May 2021.

Personally speaking, I think the number of rolls, and more importantly, the difficulty level, are right where they should be.  But again, just my two cents.

I agree, nothing feels arbitrary or excessive.

Agreed!

Go Jenny!

Alyssa will probably follow her example.

And yes, she's not wrong about Westerosi society but that doesn't mean that teenagers in any time or place have to like it, however obedient they are ^^

In reply to Alyssa Knollwood (msg # 322):

Thank you!

What's the difficultly on the persuasion task?

We don't know, so probably Many Faces will tell us what our results get us after we write it.

Whoever else you're planning on teasing, feel free to tease Alyssa playfully ^^

She's going after you, and her Merlin isn't cooperating :v

Precision Personified indeed! Nice rolls and lovely post!

I'll be updating the falconry and hunt before the weekend, but there may be a pause while I tabulate results and finalise the posts. I've also invited Darvil's new player to make a post in the hunting thread which I will use when finalising the results for the hunt.

Rewards for successful completion of these events will likely result in minor XP [2-6], disposition boosts with some PC's, and perhaps Glory/Influence [0-1]. XP and disposition boosts are character rewards, while Glory/influence will accrue to House Blackfin or House Knollwood.

One thing that probably hasn't been clearly identified yet is that House Lychester, Serbera, and Blackfin are generally on good terms, and most NPC's at this stage of the story likely have indifferent of amiable dispositions toward PC's.