General conversation about whatever, game-related or not.

But let's start with this - where do you want to start the campaign, and what do you want it to focus on?
-is there a particular nation that seems interesting (or uninteresting) to you?
-do you have a preference for how much you want to be dealing with other humans or with monsters?  I didn't really say anything about monsters in the setting writeup, but they are out there in places (and there can be more of them if that's where you want the game to go).
-do you want more information about something with the setting or game rules before you make any kind of decision about this?

Also, if you don't have a copy of the Mythras rulebook, I strongly recommend downloading the free quick start version - http://thedesignmechanism.com/...Edition%20310721.pdf
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:42, Sun 21 Nov 2021.

I will get to my full introduction in a moment.  Just wanted to point out that the map isn't loading in the world thread.

Weird, I can see it on my computer, but not in my phone now that you mention it.  Problem with Flickr maybe?  I'll mess around with it and see what I can do...

I do have a question to help me get clarity in my thoughts.  Can you give some short descriptions of the different magic systems (mysticism, animism, sorcery, etc) with a few examples of spells.  Done some research online and have some thoughts on it, but, want to have more direct information.

I tend to like a game with a good mix of interaction types.  Social(diplomacy, romance, intrigue) can get boring IF you don't have any other interaction...so combat is something I enjoy.  I also enjoy "base-building" type things.  Whether that is guild, clan, or town/village.  I know not everyone enjoys all of those things.

Waiting to see how the magic works and then will get in to how I feel about the cultures.  Is this a home brew world or from printed material?

I'm pretty sure I fixed the map problem - check it and let me know if you see it now.

The world is 100% homebrew.  I'm also open to player input for setting details that I haven't already established.  We'll see what comes up as we play; I don't want to overwhelm people right off the bat, and it's probably better that I don't put much more energy than I already have into defining bits that will never actually come up in the campaign.

Once other players join in we'll see what they say about different activities, but one comment on what you've suggested so far is that I would definitely be on board with your "base building" idea.  I haven't put much thought yet into specific cults/guilds/etc, so this might be a fun way to play around with that aspect of the game.

----------

There are five types of magic in Mythras, each with distinct mechanics and spells (this is one of the things that got me excited about this system as I was reading it).

• Folk Magic - the simplest form of magic, and the one that is described in the "Magic" section of the quick start rules.  Requires the Folk Magic skill to cast spells, and each spell costs 1MP.  All Folk Magic spells are fairly weak for purposes of interacting with other magic, e.g. bypassing someone else's protection spell.  Sample spells include Bladesharp (increase the damage die of a bladed weapon), Disruption (deal 1d3 damage to an object or animal), and Voice (the speaker's voice is amplified such that everyone in range is forced to listen).
• Animism - deals with spirits - at low levels it's just detecting and maybe communicating with them, at higher levels you can negotiate or coerce them, and also project yourself into the spirit world.  Requires the Trance and Binding skills.  Rather than learning spells, the animist develops relationships with various spirits (or compels them into service), and then gets the spirits to use their supernatural abilities.  MP cost depends on how powerful the spirit is and what you want it to do.  Examples include ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and wraiths.
• Mysticism - intense focus that gives the caster (and only the caster) a variety of supernatural buffs.  Requires the Meditation and Mysticism skills.  MP cost depends on the type and magnitude of effect, but will usually be in the 1-6 range.  Many spells give you a bonus to a particular skill or attribute, but others include enhancements such as Arrowcut (ability to parry missile weapons with your hands or melee weapon), Immunity (total immunity to a specific source of damage), and Pain Control (automatically succeed at Endurance rolls against injuries).
• Sorcery - the traditional "read an arcane tome and learn to manipulate the laws of the universe" style of magic.  Requires the Invocation and Shaping skills.  In addition to simply casting spells, it also lets you modify certain attributes such as the duration or number of targets, and even combine multiple spells into a single casting.  MP cost starts at 1 per spell and increases depending on how many modifications you make.  Sample spells include Castback (spells targeting the sorcerer have a chance of bouncing back to the caster instead), Fly (lets you fly), and Wrack (the all-purpose damage-dealing spell, which gets reskinned with fire or acid or flying blades or whatever as suits your particular school).
• Theism - magic granted by a deity.  Requires the Devotion and Exhort skills.  Magic points must be banked ahead of time by prayer or other acts of devotion, which can only be done at a temple or other holy site, but you can cast spells any time once the points are there.  Spells cost 1-3 MP depending on the power level.  Sample spells include Awaken (bring the deity's awareness and control into a sacred statue or animal), Earthquake (ranging in power from minor inconvenience to bringing down mountains), and Steadfast (all people within the area of effect are immune to mental or emotional manipulation).

Learning a new spell costs 3xp for folk magic, and 5xp for mysticism, sorcery, or theism, and in any case requires that you have access to the new spell.  For animism it depends on the specific spirit you are trying to bind or negotiate with.

For all types of magic, which spells are available depends on the source you learn it from.  For example, a particular spirit cult will be allied with certain types of spirits and hostile to other types, and a particular school of sorcery or mysticism will only teach the spells which align with the philosophy of that school.  There is no "universal" spell list from which to pick and choose like you get in D&D.  It is possible to learn spells from outside of your tradition, but it takes considerable in-game effort.

Is this ‘homebrew’ world a typical ‘fantasy medieval’ one?
Please, what tech levels are we looking at?
Obviously, magics are a staple?

I am happy to join a ‘base-building’ game.

I didn't call it out in the setting thread or put specific numbers on it, but I guess it would be something like Armeia and Dellavria are late medieval (no gunpowder, though that might be developed during the campaign if things go in that direction), Nekhara and Shubotai are more "classic" medieval, Kaginto is a little behind that, and Dargan and Waparitja are fairly primitive (they do have some metalworking capability, but this is what the overall societies look like).

Hopefully that all makes sense, but let me know if I'm not being clear or if you want more detail on something.

Other than being unknowing of a map (I cannot see one in the map tab), I get the point.


I wonder what kind of roles or 'character types' others are interested in playing?
I'm thinking either a somewhat typical* roguish/gambler type, or a sailor.   Maybe a hunter?
         *I like stereo-'typical' types in a system I've never played in before.

Ranking the nations based on which ones jumped out and got some creative juices flowing.  This is in no way a negative towards any of the ones on the lower end...just that my mind didn't jump to possibilities as quickly.

Kingdom of Nekhara
Waparitja/Dargan Clans
Republic of Dellavria
Kaginto Confederation
Armiean Freelands
Shubotai Empire

I can play any number of roles.  I haven't sat down and figured out one specific yet.  Some form of leadership/magic role would be slightly different for me (usually I am more the combat person, and, there is legit chance I go that way again)

I am all for stepping outside your comfort zone.
If you decide to take a leadership/magic role, I'll have my character support you).


GM:
- of the 'Calculating Characteristics' options on page 5, which will you be directing/encouraging us to use, please?
- of the 'Cultures' listed on p11, which is the most like the one we will be playing in, please?

In reply to Player 3 (msg # 11):

Just my non-gm input.  I think the intent is we choose one of the nations in the other thread.  It looks like they've been written up in a similar fashion to the generic cultures in the book.

I could be wrong though.  Not like any of us have a load of character creation experience in this system.  :)

oh, I see.
I'll take a look at that soon.  But I am probably mostly ambivalent to where we are.

Are we playing a multicultural game?   in which we can all choose to play from anywhere in the world?
Or should we all be from the locale where the game starts?

I forgot to mention in my previous post, but as much as my tech level labels might be roughly accurate, more or less, expect plenty of anachronism.  For example, I'm pretty sure war chariots were done well before the late middle ages, but Armeia uses them quite a bit.

The world map is in the setting summary thread rather than Game Map.  I thought that would be easier for reference, so you have the map and the country descriptions all in one place.  If you go to that thread and you still don't see the map, let me know.

Calculating Characteristics - I'm thinking make all the rolls and assign how you want, and if at least two of your rolls are 10 or lower then you can bump one of them up to 11.

Cultures - as far as I can tell, the Primitive/Nomad/Barbarian/Civilized categories in the book are rough guidelines, and a good starting place if your game setting isn't really defined at that point.  Since I have given this setting at least a little definition, you can ignore that bit.  All of the nations listed in the setting thread include cultural skill choices and suggested combat styles and passions.

Note that I am definitely open to new combat styles if you don't like any of the ones listed.  We can talk more about that once we've pinned down what specific culture(s) you guys will be playing.

As for choice of cultures, I'm open for anything that fits, but I think certain options will work better than others for having a multicultural group.  For example, Armeia is the most open to foreigners out of all the nations listed, so you could do pretty much anything there and be from any culture you want; on the other hand, Shubotai is pretty big on cultural assimilation so it would be harder to get away with playing as an outsider there, unless your intent is to be The Outsider with all the baggage that brings.  A mercenary band could be mixed and based almost anywhere, though things might be a little rocky depending on who and where.  Player 1 likes Nekhara the best, so if we just focus on that for a moment I'm seeing options like foreign merchants or diplomats working things out with the new regime, or a Nekharan sorcerer with potentially multicultural retinue traveling around doing magicky things (or, alternately, an outsider coming in to study Nekharan magic).  Hey, maybe the "base building" idea could be a sorcerer striking out on his own to establish a new school, with a new style of magic (ie custom spell list instead of what I have in mind for "typical" Nekharan magic), and we focus the party around that.  No obligation, of course, it's just a thought.

I think that's everything, but if I missed any questions let me know.

Hi all,

I am interested in playing a Ginto Confederate island character from the listed cultures. He could be played anywhere we decide to start though, some places with more of a challenge than others. Excited to try this system out it is new to me, cant wait to work out more details with everyone.

I have a slight preference for being from Armeia or Dellavria, but I can work with any of the cultures. And coming from either of those but now stuck in another could be fun.

It might be useful to match the cultures to their equivalent guideline ones, just for bits of the rulebook that refer back to cultures.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Mon 22 Nov 2021.

So, approximately but not exactly (but good enough in case there are any rules that refer to this):
Armeia - Civilized
Dargan - Nomad
Dellavria - Civilized
Kaginto - Barbarian
Nekhara - Civilized
Shubotai - Barbarian
Waparitja - Primitive

Do you guys have any thoughts on type of game you want?

Exploration, Diplomacy, War, intrigue??

Thoughts on a story arc to give the GM some ideas?

The search for new lands, exploiting the lands of the primitives, great evil sorcerer gathering strength among the monsters??

Thoughts?

i like exploring or war the best for me with new system. then once understand it better the more complex arcs are nice.

I like the idea of exploring, but the map looks explored - unless there are areas too remote or cut off to know they're part of one of the nations.

I also like the idea of opposing a threat (such as a sorcerer). Maybe the threat's not yet widely known or recognized, which is why a disorganized bunch are investigating and opposing it rather than a more organized force.

In general, the only type of game I'm not so keen on is being part of an organized military unit.

I lean towards Waparitja or Kaginto.

Let's posit that we're still in the Age of Discovery as it was taught in the 1980's. There is always another archipelago or expanse of desert/drylands.

We could do a hex crawl (by ship or caravan) until we find a prime site for an outpost. We could be prospecting for Ginto gold or traveling on a pilgrimage for Mamanyaru.

Should we succeed in establishing an outpost, DM could get all Keep on the Borderlands with us. Anyway.

I am happy with a 'exploration' storyline,  or a 'base-building' game.
Or the former, that leads into the latter.


And I don't really care too much where we are in the world.

Hmm... Waparitja explorers looking for a new holy site, or Ginto explorers scouting out a new island for potential colonization (which very much opens up a "base building" option with a whole island colony).  Either one offers plenty of opportunity to interact with monsters, natural threats, and possible competition from other human nations.  I could certainly run with either.



I purposely left a lot of things unlabeled on the map so that we could fill it in with whatever fits the game that you all want to play.  None of the national borders are clearly defined (although some are implied more clearly than others), and there's a lot of land in between Armeia and Shubotai that isn't clearly committed to anything - plenty of wilderness and minor powers there.  Similarly, what is currently marked as ocean could easily contain islands that just haven't been officially discovered yet.  Plenty of options to go with.

BTW, I have one more player in the wings and I want to make sure they get a chance to give some input too before we commit to anything, but I do like where things are pointing in the meantime.

Awesome

I had an idea for a character and I floated pieces of it by the GM and he said I should talk to you guys and see if you want to put in the extra effort to maybe make it work.

Fact: The Shubotai conquer and assimilate making their warlike conquests a slow progress

Possible Fact: The most recent Shubotai conquest was within the last few years. They are still in the very early stages of assimilating their new subjects.

Concept: My character is one of the remaining members of the conquered people who have fled their homeland.  He serves as either the leader or representative of the leadership of the remnant and is searching for a new home for his people.  This leads to many, personal character options but could also give him a reason to be a part of any expeditions (have some ideas on this too)

What we would need to do: Create the minor culture that is being assimilated.  I already have a good amount of thoughts on this, but the GM said it would need to be addressed to all the players for input and/or creation

Initial culture thoughts:
Name: Still working on this
Small: 4-5 cities/chantries
Idea: Coteries or sorcerers gathered around different tenets but ruled by a council from each chantry.  Basically one chantry might focus on one or two types of sorcery and each of the others something different.  There would be a step beneath the full sorcerers which are the primary guards which are warriors with mysticism type abilities.  The common people made up the rest and operated the day-to-day food, trade, army type duties.  The armies would not be large or very well trained as the culture would be used to the magic and mystic warriors protecting them.  It did up until the Shubotai grew so large that they just took the losses to defeat them.

---------
As far as story plots go, I was thinking that an exploration for new lands, a la the finding of the Americas.  My original thought was it being sponsored by Nekhara as they are striving to become more relevant.  But, either the Freeholds or Dellavra could work as well.  Not sure if the GM wants to go that far out or stay on his map though.  It is possible to adapt this concept to exploring something closer.

If my character idea is not something you guys want to delve into and you would rather just explore the nations to the south, I can always adapt my concepts and play something else.

I like the idea of exploration and maybe base building around ginto islands. This doesn't mean everyone has to be ginto.

Player 1 could still be from the region above seeking to find a home for his people. Just off the shore between mainland and ginto islands.

Only culture might find it hard would be the desert one.

My concept for my guy is a ginto outrigger canoe boatsman, with martial and limited magical abilities.  Using folk and animalistic as a base. Thinking like an early hawaiian/ new Zealand culture.

Which sounded like what several others liked as well.

My concept would be a Dellavrian merchant-venturer. Good at Commerce and Navigation, OK with a blade.

So perhaps we are looking like:

P1 is a refuge looking for a new home for his people, displaced by the Shubotai.   His exploration, perhaps, ‘being sponsored by Nekhara as they are striving to become more relevant.  But, either the Freeholds or Dellavra could work as well’.

Maybe his people were from the region south of Shubotai, west of (and across the mountains from) the Republic of Dellavria.

His people have been given some small, temporary measure of assistance and protection by the Republic … and funding to explore south into the ‘unclaimed’ islands.
P3 (official Republican Physician) and P5 (Merchant) are Dellavrian’s who have  a/ been sent   or   b/ volunteered   to accompany the expedition.

And have hired the services of a Ginto ‘ocean guide’ to help them survive and explore … for a new home for these people.


Any thoughts?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:42, Tue 23 Nov 2021.

This can work, but as currently written there is still some hostility between Kaginto and Dellavria.  There are exceptions of course, and any individual can feel however they want to feel regardless of what the broader culture is doing, but if you've got those two in particular working together then it's probably worth putting a little effort into establishing how that came to be.

Also, if anyone is being sponsored by an NPC group (government or merchant house or anyone else), what are the conditions of that sponsorship?  I don't think anyone is giving out money or supplies 100% for free...

Sorry for being a bit late to the party, all.

I'm still finding my feet in this world, but thus far the most intriguing origin for me would be a character from Shubotai. I'm not sure how that would fit into the proposed milieu.

The gist of what I'm getting from what you all have been talking about is that the game would center around the efforts of [People Recently Displaced by Shubotai Conquest] to find and establish a new homeland in or around the Kaginto Confederation. Is that right?

I guess I don't really understand what we're proposing to 'explore' or what we're going to do in the Kaginto Confederation. It sounds like the goal is to colonize occupied land. Am I missing something?

agreed as a ginto as written would have an issue with most from that culture. could make exception for a merchant who is interested in fair trade or has done so in the past. the other looks like a healer so might make one there too but wary if offical from the culture.

I like a suggestion from the game "7th Sea": no matter how hostile two PCs nations are, the PCs themselves have something of a 'present company excepted' rule and respect each other. (Or, similarly, Legolas and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings.)

In reply to Player 5 (msg # 33):

If it were a simple matter of "my kind and your kind don't get along," that'd be one thing, but any Ginto PC is effectively being asked to aid an invading force in this scenario, near as I can tell.

I suspect the relationship between Gimli and Legolas might have differed substantially if instead of returning the One Ring to Mordor, the Fellowship was trying to establish a dwarven colony in Elvenhome.

It is only an invading force because you want to explore your island...I don't.

EDIT: that sounds a bit harsher than intended. Just mean that I agree that the local people might not like outsiders with different magic on their land. It's why I didn't and don't support exploration of the islands.

But, there are still many things to work out before we start.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:02, Tue 23 Nov 2021.

My understanding was that it's a new island, currently uninhabited (at least by humans), which is being explored as a potential home for a new Ginto tribe, group of refugees from Shubotai, or whoever else the PCs end up being.  Different folks might still have different opinions about how acceptable this is, but at the very least it would be something different from "Player A wants to take this land away from Player B's people who already maybe live there."  Hopefully that helps?

In reply to GM (msg # 36):

It does, but I'm personally just not connecting with the idea of colony-building on a jungle island, opposed or not. I've run Savage Tide five times now and I've had my fill of that stuff.

If that's the direction y'all are going in, that's cool, but it's not for me right now.

I can work with that as a concept.

Ginto as a guide, to keep out of existing tribal areas find uninhabited island that can be used for new home for the displaced people.

Representative of the displaced people.

Official healer of unnamed culture (spits)

Merchant of unnamed culture but semi respected

2 remaining unknowns

hoping to get a character sheet put in our areas so we can start to fill them out etc.

In reply to Player 6 (msg # 37):

If the base building happens, it most likely won't be right away.  We have to find the island, do basic exploration of the island to find a good spot, and then move mybpeople in. At that point, there will be more exploration and the base building will either be on me with GM support or the GM.

Base building can mean many things. Not just a home for my people...but perhaps one of the dellavrians wants to start their own merchant company/guild. Lots of options and, a player doesn't necessarily HAVE to partake in the logistics side of base building.

Please, do offer alternate ideas.
Discussing ideas is what we are doing.

I am even up for a mixture of the war and exploration.

We are trying to find a small rebel force from unnamed culture setting up on an island in Ginto lands. Once we clean them out, area is promised for refugee base for the other players people. This type of exploration and war could take awhile before any actual base building is to be done. Also like player 1 mentioned not all functions need to be done by the other players.

I am up for just about anything but desert area, really want to play a ginto out of the provided cultures.

No need to map out any of this in any definite form. Let there be the mystery of a sea hex crawl. The travelers can have myriad goals. I won't even think about it in more definite terms until I generate a character tomorrow or over Thanksgiving.

I was actually hoping to have some amount of definition before people start making characters so that everyone is making characters who already fit together in some way.  But if we're starting with a loose "everyone is on this chartered boat for their own reasons" then I guess we can work with that, and establish that chartered boats are a thing in the setting and don't worry about it.  Or however you all want to make this fit.

One other thought as character ideas are starting to come together - with all of us being new to the system, I want to keep starting characters at Starting Character level.  Some of you might be relatively high social status due to birth or marriage, but at this point none of you are already kings or guild masters or high priests.  I think the ideas we've talked about so far still fit pretty well with this, with maybe a little tweaking needed here or there but nothing drastic.  I just want to make sure we're on the same page about it.

Done.  I'm pretty sure they're all unlocked but let me know if yours isn't.

One other thing as people start putting characters together - if you are working from the full rulebook rather than the quick start, hold off on social status and background events.  We might come back to that, or we might skip it altogether (the quick start skips them).  It looks like we might have enough narrative fuel without those.  Also, I like what the quick start suggests for starting equipment, so I think we'll stick with that (but let me know if you think there's something else that makes sense for your character).

For careers and combat styles, if you don't like any of the options that are already listed then we can definitely talk about other ideas.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:08, Wed 24 Nov 2021.

NP, I plan on making a Ginto warrior with a little magic skill thrown in. Thinking two types folk and animal spirit/ ancestral guardians, Folk from say a grandmother or great grandmother of another culture.

For this group to work some what friendly, Thinking my Great grandmother was a Dellavria who practiced Folk Magic and was persecuted (hook) she fled to the confederation and started life over there. So myself 3 generations later a Ginto warrior with some folk magic skill and traditional guardian magic, with a little less hatred of the Dellavria due to my love of my Great grandmother.

Our Dellavria party members might have some connection to my ancestor, so that I was or am willing to assist them more.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

I am not attached to being Dellavrian.
It was just part of my suggestion; attempting to throw disparate ideas together towards a working start.

This is a bit of a process. Gears have been grinding in the skill section.

Why do professions have standard skill sets as well? Can 100 career school points be spent on either of these sets?

I think I need to color code these skill categories on my sheet.

Thoughts that could tie together an initial plotline to get us started.

1) Huge storms/waves have damaged coasts from Dellavria to Kaginto and even parts of the coastlines of Nekhar and the lands west of Dellavria.

2) A ship captain loyal to the house of the PC Dellavrian's Lady mentioned sighting of clouds and possibly a new land mass some miles off the coast of Kaginto.

3) The Lady also took in my people in hopes of either exploiting our magic or using us to help her gain more power/fortune (some of my ideas here I will pm to the GM)

4) She sees this sighting as a possible gold mine in multiple ways.  First, an initial exploration could tell her a lot about the assets available there and second, settling my people there with EXTREMELY favorable trade agreements (basically some form of servitude that would warrant her helping us...again, will post my thoughts on this to the GM)

5) Not knowing the what they may find on or around the island, she uses her contacts to hire a Ginto guide (she knows her family history and that, possibly her aunt or great aunt was the great grandmother our Ginto PC mentioned)

At this point, we have an in for a Dellavrian Captain/Merchant/Whatever, Myself, A Ginto Scout, and any other character that would fit in with a Dellavrian expedition (be that someone of my people sent with me, or someone from another culture that is more of a mercenary than a patriot or such)

This also leaves ALL SORTS of openings for the GM to create initial adventures as who knows how or why this landmass rose.

Are you placing any limits on how high we can take skill percentages at creation?

Standard skills are still useful for a given career - a hunter or explorer would certainly want to have good Perception, for instance.

Your 100 points get distributed between the complete set of (7 standard skills + 3 professional skills).

Same thing with culture skill points, btw - 100 points distributed between (7 standard skills + 3 professional skills + optional 1 combat style).  Make sure you are using the list for your specific culture (Ginto, Dellavrian, etc), not the generic lists for Civilized, Barbarian, etc.  Also, I didn't notice if the quick start says this, but everyone gets a free +40 each for Customs and Native Tongue.

Bonus skill points - I just noticed the quick start doesn't say this but the core book does, so I'm giving it to you all: for the 150 you get at the end, in addition to spending them on skills you took earlier, you are also allowed to choose one more professional skill or combat style ("reflecting a personal hobby or interest") and spend some of these points on that as well.



Yes, following this rule from the core book - all starting PCs are young adults (2d6+15 if you feel like rolling for it) and have a spending cap of 15 points per skill at each step (so an absolute max of +45 if you get the same skill in all three steps).



I'm a little iffy about "a new island appears in what was previously empty water," but maybe I just need more time to think about what might be there that fits with this origin never mind, I got something I'm happy with.  And it does provide an easy answer to the question of why humans haven't already inhabited this particular island.

It sounds like we already have some very similar thoughts about why a Dellavrian merchant or banking house would be sponsoring this expedition :)  Plus it makes sense to hire a Ginto ship, because a Dellavrian ship being spotted in or near Ginto waters, far from any established trade routes, risks attracting unwanted attention.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:04, Thu 25 Nov 2021.

In reply to GM (msg # 51):

My thoughts on the island were that, if it had been there forever, it would already have been explored by shinto and either colonized, deemed unfit for people to survive, or be a holy place. Whereas a natural or supernatural event bringing a new land mass up would have a none of the above. First to explore, first to claim...

Also fits with why my Dellavrian merchant-venturer would be involved. Their merchant house might not expect anyone to trade with, but would want to lay claim to any valuable resources before anyone else can. My character will have mixed feelings: it's a great opportunity, but they're trained for trade rather than prospecting. (Of course, there may be unexpected trading opportunities too.)

Yeah, it makes sense.  At first I was having trouble thinking of what would be on the island if it had just risen out of the sea or whatever, but I've come up with some answers that I'm pretty happy with, and that you all will potentially be able to figure out over the course of the game.  So I think we can stick with this general idea of "island that wasn't there before is there now after the big storm."

By the way, since this is still part of the shared game setup, do you all have a preference about where the island is located?  I was initially thinking that it would be off to the west, which means that any interactions would most likely be with Kaginto or maybe Dellavria, and maybe Shubotai if they have any kind of navy (and I'm leaning toward "no they don't" but it's not set in stone).  On the other hand, if it's in the east instead then that opens it up to more potential interaction with Nekhara and/or Waparitja.  So if any of you have preferences about which other human cultures you're most likely to run into, beyond what's already established with character backgrounds, this might be a place to vote on that.

I like west myself.

Thinking about this a bit, forgot to come back to it until just now - I think it makes sense to say that this mixed ancestry is not uncommon in Kaginto.  Not super common, but hardly unique either.  Different individuals have different opinions about whether or not this is okay, but there's no formal discrimination or anything.  And you're probably more likely to catch flack from ancestor spirits than from anyone currently alive.

Okie, I think I have the skills sorted out for this Kaginto sailor lad.

I am working on my Ginto outrigger boatsman myself. He is looking pretty good so far. For craft taking outrigger canoe so can make another worst case

I've changed player names for those of you who have already given me names for your characters (but if there's anyone I missed just remind me).  If anyone else wants to throw a name at me now I'll get yours as well.

Makawmano is a good name for my guy I think
This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Fri 26 Nov 2021.

In reply to Player 1 (msg # 49):

This sounds like an intriguing setup.

If this is what we're going with, I'm cozying up to the idea of a Dellavrian gentleman-explorer in the employ of the voyage's financier, sent along to faithfully report back our findings to her and ensure that her interests are protected. Probably looking at the Detective, Hunter, or Scout as careers. Likely not be a magic-user.

He'll probably be a middling combatant but will thrive in intrigue and social challenges and in logistics. Hope to have a fleshed out and largely complete sheet by EoW.

Alright, looks like this is our cast of characters now:

Aldos - Dellavrian physician
Makawmano - Ginto trader
Mrtyu'ca - representative of the Yuizhan refugees
Zabella - Dellavrian merchant
Player 2 - Ginto sailor
Player 6 - agent of a Dellavrian merchant house (though not a merchant himself)

Does this sound about right to everyone?

Yes, Barnutan is on board with that.

Mrtyu'ca - representative of the Yuizhan refugees
           backed by a Dellavrian interest, who is sending along
Zabella - Dellavrian merchant
Player 6 - Dellavrian scout/explorer
Aldos - Dellavrian physician
              who have hired the services of
Makawmano - Ginto trader
Player 2 - Ginto sailor

Are Zeballa and {player 6} willing to be known to each other and Aldos?
Maybe have worked together in the past?

Will the GM permit the Ginto’s to own the ship we are hiring?
Or, at least, be the captaining crew?


I have to rework a few of my skills, with the limits mention above, but otherwise I seem ready to go, also.

So, to clarify:   if a Standard Skill doesn't appear on either your 'Culture' or your 'Career' list, you cannot improve it at all?

When I created Zabella, I interpreted 'existing skills' as all the standard skills (since everyone has them) and those professional skills and combat styles Zabella had already gained from culture and career - with the option of one new professional skill or combat style as a 'personal interest or hobby'.

Zabella has it right (at least by my understanding), you can spend the final 150 on any standard skill, even if you didn't take it earlier.  Professional skills are still limited to those you did take earlier, plus the one new one you can choose at this stage.



Yes, certainly.  Though to be fair, I was picturing it as a large outrigger or something like that, just enough to carry the six of you plus supplies, rather than a ship big enough to necessitate any kind of crew.

Great.  Thank you all.
With that, then, my character submission is almost done, and awaiting GM approval (in the appropriate Private Thread).  Then, I just got to pick my two last Passions.

GM: do we need to use the character sheet you have posted?  its a bugger to edit on my phone (which is the limit of my internet capabilities).
I'd, please, much prefer to just post the simple, text sheet I have given you:  it has all the info.

Note for everyone, now that character stats are coming together and I'm looking over them - certain skills require you to specify what your skill covers.  For Craft, Lore, and Language I think this is straightforward enough, but if you're not sure what to do with it let me know.  For Locale, this needs to refer to a specific geographic area, like your home city or island.  Since I haven't established anything at this scale yet, you are free to define your own.

Oh, and we should probably have everyone on the same system for Action Points.  The quick start just makes it a flat 2AP for everyone, but the core rulebook gives you 3AP if Dex+Int is 25 or better.  With my current thoughts on how to run combat here, I'm feeling less pressure to keep it uniform, so if you do have the high stats then you can go ahead and mark the extra AP.



If another format is easier for you, including plain unformatted text, then definitely go with that.

One other thing - the check boxes on the character sheet are to mark when you've earned xp in a given skill due to fumbling a roll during the game.  I apologize for not making that clearer before.

For info, I've just downloaded the quick-start rules, and they confirm it more clearly than the main rulebook: "[Bonus points] may be applied to any Standard skill or those Professional skills gained as part of Culture or Career".

Yeah, I feel like the main rulebook is less clear than it should be in a lot of places.  Also not organized really well - for ex., the xp rules should really have their own section and not be stuck in the middle of the big alphabetical list of "things that might come up in your game."  But at least the info is there.

I plan to rely on you to administer the rules. The book is, as you say, not exactly well-organized. I will spend some time skimming it -- maybe it has some colorful examples.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Tue 30 Nov 2021.

The question of armor has come up.  Since you're going by the simplified gear list and not shopping for things individually, and since combat is reputedly quite dangerous in this game, I will say that everyone can start with free leather or linothorax (layered linen and padding) armor that provides 3 armor points to the chest, abdomen, and arms.  You can reskin it if you want, as long as it remains relatively light, flexible, and inexpensive.  If you put points into a combat style that includes a shield of any sort then you get that too.

This is probably also a good time to mention that, if you want, you can take a little time at the start of the game to negotiate with your sponsor (or someone else important) to get some extra gear or supplies.

I'd like to get the game started this weekend.  I know some of you are still working on your stats; I'm okay with it if they're not done yet.  Apart from that, do you all feel okay to get going or do you want more time for prep, questions, etc?

Please, what does 'provides 3 armour points to ....' mean?  is that considered +3HP to that location?  or  the first 3pts of damage to that area are negated?


A doctor's pack:   maybe this gives a bonus to the First Aid and Heal skills?

This one is correct.



The book lists a Healer's Kit with supplies for 10 uses of the Heal skill (you can improvise materials for First Aid if needed, but not Heal, which is more intensive).  The kit is pricey, but you start with one for free as the "trade tool suitable to your profession" like the quick start says.

Awesome.    Please, what is the mechanical effect (if any) for my character when he uses this?

And ... I am ready to go.

First Aid - Takes 1d3 minutes to perform, and can only be done once per injury.  Life-threatening injuries are considered stable while they are being treated.  Requires some kind of supplies (bandages at the very least) but improvising materials is okay.  Exact result depends on the type of injury being treated - Minor wounds heal 1d3 damage, Serious wounds don't heal damage but the area is partially functional again, Major wounds don't restore hp or functionality but they do stop the injury from killing you, and other types of damage (e.g. bleeding or asphyxiation) are stabilized.  A critical success increases the amount healed, and a fumble worsens the injury by 1 damage.

Healing - More advanced medical practice, such as suturing wounds and setting bones.  Requires specialized supplies, as found in a Healer's Kit.  For a Serious wound, it heals 1d3 damage (+1 on a critical success).  For a Major wound, provides the necessary surgery to allow natural healing, after the wound has been stabilized with a First Aid roll (and immediately heal 1 damage on a critical success).  The book specifically notes that surgery cannot reattach a severed limb.  Additionally, Healing can be used to counteract disease or poison - make an opposed roll against its Potency, and on a success you prevent it from taking effect, or if it already took effect then the victim can make a new resistance roll right away, 1 step easier (or 2 steps easier with a critical success).

Hey, when are we going to start?

I had some things going on earlier today, but now seems like a fine time.  Everyone can post whenever they are ready (and if you don't feel ready yet then no problem, just let me know what you need).

I have uploaded a map of the island to the main Game Map.  Of course there's not much there now, just a little bit of coastline that was spotted by the sailors who reported it in the first place.

I also posted a separate thread with rules reference to save having to look everything up elsewhere (I don't know about all of you, but this will probably at least be a big help to me for times when I am posting from my phone).

So, in addition to introducing yourselves in the IC thread, you should probably come to some sort of agreement on how you want to approach the island.  The game map shows the little bit of coastline that has been revealed so far, as well as plenty of blank space for you all to fill in.  You can discuss it here or in IC (we can jump back and forth in time a bit while everyone is still working their way in, so this discussion could even be after you've already set sail, in theory).

In reply to GM (msg # 82):

If Orlando has any voice in how the approach is conducted, his only (potentially obvious) concern is in circumnavigating the island entirely to get the best picture of its whole size and features before choosing where to make a landing.

Regardless of how the approach is conducted, he'll be taking assiduous notes and drawing sketches of what he sees.

It looks like it's just the four of us?

At the moment.  I'll check in with everyone who hasn't posted yet and see who's still around.  I expect this time of year probably interferes with games more than usual, in addition to whatever else might be getting in the way.

Update for those who are still here - I will give it until after the weekend (I can understand that whole "holiday with families" thing potentially getting in the way), and then I will assume that anyone who hasn't chimed in by then has left the game.  We'll proceed from there with whoever is still around and we may have one or two more joining in place of whoever has left.

Alright, it seems like more of you are still here than not, and we'll have one or two more people coming in shortly (either taking over vacated characters or bringing in new ones, that remains to be seen).

If there are no objections then we'll go ahead with Orlando's plan to circle the island before picking a landing spot.  IC update in the next couple of days.

Greetings. I was waiting for a chance to join this game and the GM has kindly permitted me to take over Makawmano, so I will be your Ginto trader-captain for this expedition. I look forward to carrying you to the new-found island, and, if all goes well, back...

I may say that although I am still discussing details with the GM, I expect my version of Makawmano will be less Dellavrian than the previous incarnation, though he still has a Dellavrian grandmother to explain his fluency in the language (it would be awkward if we could not communicate).

I have gone ahead and posted a description of Makawmano and his career to this point, though it may still be subject to revision. If you would like to know more about him, feel free to ask.

We may still have some details to settle in port before departure, but I hope we will be sailing soon. Once you are ready, you may load your luggage, choose your seats in the outrigger, and prepare to depart.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

I am Real Lifed^tm right now.
I'll need at least a few days before I'll be posting again.

Understood.  Thanks for checking in, and I'm glad to hear that you're at least kind of still around.

Question: We haven't set sail yet, have we? Barnutan will next post when that happens.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:56, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

It's midday exactly on New Years Eve, where I am

I hope you all have a lovely New Years, and lovely new year.

I'll post again sometime early next year.

Thanks Aldos, you as well!

Barnutan - my plan for the next IC post was to fast forward through most of the sailing and get to what happens when you reach the island, following Orlando's plan of circling the island first before landing.  But if you want to do something while you're still at sea then I can certainly slow my pace down a bit.

Works for me. I'll post again then.

Hi all,
I am sorry for my absence.     The proverbial Festive Season has been a hell period, this time around.
My wife and I are forced to be selling out house, and moving out.    Both my dad, and my mother-in-law are close to loosing their respective fights with cancer, and my work is in overdrive  (I've just done 80hr in the last 8 days:   so many people either off work with Covid, or awaiting Covid test results so they can return).

I hope you can forgive me, but I don't think I'll be back quite yet.
I hope you are all well, and surviving/thriving in your lives.

Thanks for checking in Aldos.  That is... a lot.  Good luck with it all, and take your time with coming back here if you need to.

I can only offer deepest sympathy to Aldos and look forward to gaming with him when his situation improves, which I devoutly hope it does.

That seems enough to call it consensus for waiting until morning.  Following that, do you want to land at the nearest spot to where you are now, or is there somewhere else on the map that you like better?

I would go with the horseshoe cove on the northern side of the island.

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 99):

Makawmano will go wherever Zabella tells him.

You estimate that it would take about 4 hours of sailing to get to shore at the farthest point in.  If you want to you could roll Boating to shave off up to an hour, though you would also risk making things worse on a bad roll.

Makawmano and Barnutan both have 54 in Boating, so either one of you could roll with the other one assisting and it would bump your target up to 65.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 100):

I see that Zabella logged in today, though she has not posted since December. If she wants to be active and post, as I said before, Makawmano would defer to her. If not, do we just go on without her?

In reply to GM (msg # 101):

As I understand it, Makawmano is the equivalent of "captain" of the ship, so I suppose he would be the primary Boating roll if we are in fact sailing to the cove.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 102):

Hopefully she returns before long, but in the meantime let's continue with the players who are available now.

Greetings all,
I am sorry for my absence.  The 'Silly Season' has been particularly brutal on me.
But I feel life settling again now, and feel able to return to RPoLing.

I'll read up on where we are, and try to start contributing something worthwhile.

Very glad to have you aboard, shipmate. No knowing what strange disease we may pick up on a new island."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

After the last few posts I realized that it's not going to work really well to run a hexcrawl with only verbal descriptions to try to agree on which hexes we're talking about, so I updated the game map with coordinates.

Does this mean that we are landing on G06? Or maybe F06?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 108):

Based on previous comments I had understood the plan as being to come ashore at G06, so I went with that (and this is exactly why I decided to add coordinates).

I trust each hex discovered will trigger rolls on no fewer than 7 tables.

In reply to GM (msg # 109):

Just eyeballing the map, I had thought G06 was the most likely spot.

I wish I had said tables at the ready, but unfortunately that's a lot more home brewing than I've had time for.  I hope that some modicum of actually planning ahead for what's where I this island will suffice, much as it saddens me.

Maybe some modify pre-existing tables to suit your devious purposes? Even the DMG had some random dungeon generation tables.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Sun 23 Jan 2022.

So, IC:   we are staying aboard the boat for the night, off-shore G06 ... then in the morning, heading shore bound with the intent of exploring  HO6 -> H07 -> G07 -> F07 -> F06,  yes?

Please, GM:  how long will it take us to 'explore' each Hex?

In reply to Aldos Paleirte (msg # 114):

Spent the night on the boat off the coast of S09, then started the day sailing around to G06 and coming ashore there.

Time spent per hex depends on the terrain (at minimum).  I'm assuming a modest pace, trying to balance between covering ground and mapping as you go.  Open, steady ground will be about half an hour per hex, wooded areas will be an hour or more per hex, depending on how thick it is.

(To clarify, this is for unexplored territory - you can definitely move faster through hexes that have already been explored)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:40, Mon 24 Jan 2022.

I put out an ad for new players and have gotten a few bites already.  Still working out details, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up that, to my make my own life a little easier, my plan is to retcon and say that any new characters have been there all along, rather than trying to find a way to introduce them into the story where we are now.

In reply to GM (msg # 116):

I am glad you have had some bites on new players. Since our party so far had minimal interactions on the journey to the new land, I do not think there should be a problem in assuming they were traveling with us all the time. The only question will be whether they are in the landing party currently negotiating with the lizardmen, or in the group aboard the boat.

I might note that some of our original characters, notably Zabella who is quite important to the plotline as the presumed head of the expedition, have not been active lately. The GM may want to ask the original players if they want to continue; if they don't, new players could replace them in running those characters.

I thought about it, but at this point I'd rather let the new players go with whatever characters will be interesting for them, provided that they do fit with what's been established so far.  We can edit who's connected I what way later on, as needed (if nothing else, there's nothing to stop us from declaring that an NPC version of Zabella isn't still hanging out at base camp, if the player doesn't return).

I would just remove those bottom three players from the roster and shift Zabella to NPC status. New players are more likely to be attracted to a game with steady players than one with a mix on the roster. We're not here to play a "waiting game" on absent players but to play this game.

Hey, that would be me!

Hello everyone, this is Alessandra da Canopa, your friendly shipwrecked pirate privateer captain, looking to find a new crew and make some quick money for a new ship to get back in business. I'm picking my skills at the moment; a bit worried that with 2 sailor types already on the team, Navigation and Seamanship might be redundant?

In reply to Alessandra da Canopa (msg # 120):

Welcome, Captain de Canopa. Believe me, quick money is something that Makawmano understands (and loves). I hope there will be enough to go around and make us all rich. As for seafaring skills, realistically I think a privateer would pretty much have to have them, though her other skills might be more militant than ours. Since our primary method of travel is by sea, I don't think it is a problem to have 3 people with sea skills.

Hi folks! This is me:

Thalia Firolo was a young, ambitious officer in the Dellavrian military. While she was posted to the Nekharan border, her garrison commander almost created a diplomatic incident by mistreating some Nekharan merchants. The rank and file were no danger to the commander, but the other officers were, should they choose to testify. Strings were pulled and those officers were each sent to a distant corner of the Dellavrian world.

So combat and high falutin' social stuff.

Hiya, Thalia. That is... Pretty much the build I was going for. So many Dellavrian vets around.

Hey Everybody!

I'm going to be playing a noble of a kingdom(Uln) that has been since swallowed up by Shubotai expansion. I'm with the expedition as security, but besides swinging a big sword around I'll also have some woodsman-y skills to help us explore.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Thu 17 Feb 2022.

Oh cool, maybe we know eachother and maybe there is a fighting style where we can be synergistic.r

Alright then, if you're going to be the posh officer then perhaps Alessandra should be the more rogueish pirate, so we don't step on each other's toes: less courtly dancing and friends in the Admiralty and more puse-snatching and drunk gambling in port taverns?

Welcome to the three new players. Barny's more of a fighter than a sailor. He has some minor technical ability.

I wouldn't worry about toes just yet. If we have too many, we can always lop them off.

In reply to Thalia Firolo (msg # 122):

Welcome, Thalia. We will home this expedition is enough of a success that you can return home with honor, regardless of what your former commander did.

In reply to Uorsin Konig (msg # 124):
Welcome, Uorsin.
Being mostly a trader, Makawnano hopes swordswinging will not be needed, but it is nice to have someone along who can go it, just in case. Once we get further inland, the forestry skills may be very useful, since several of us are more beach boys (or girls).

Are we now heading from G06 into G07?

We're in E06 heading to E05, up the western side of the cove.

OK so to be sure, who has Navigation or Seamanship?

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 131):

Thanks for the clarification.

In reply to Alessandra da Canopa (msg # 132):

Makawmano has Seamanship and Navigation, as well as Boating. He grew up messing around in boats on the Ginto coast.

So, am I right to think +30 is the maximum points we can put on a Combat Style, since it is only present in 2 out of the 3 steps?

In reply to Alessandra da Canopa (msg # 135):

I think we discussed point allotment early on in the OOC if you want to have a look, Alessandra.

Barny has boating and oceanography.

If your career offers the same combat style that you took in the "culture" phase then you can max it out at +45.  You can also take different combat styles in those two phases, and put bonus points into both of them for a total of +30 each, which would potentially give you greater breadth of weapon options as a tradeoff for the decreased proficiency with each.

OK, I've redesigned my character around a more low-class piratical idea: meet Salty 'Sandra.

Alessandra Docks received her name from an her early childhood in the docks of Portocanepo, one of the major trading seaports of southern Dellavria. She was the daughter of a smuggler and a dockside whore, and her first "jobs" were pilfering a few copper coins from tavern drunkards. Her real career started as a cabin girl on a merchant ship when she was 9.  She was rated a seawoman at 12, able seawoman at 14, and at 15 she joined the Dellavrian Marines.

At 17 she was part of the botched East Island landing, the last Dellavrian attempt at colonialism in the Kaginto Confederation. Alessandra's platoon couldn’t make it back to the beach before the ships sailed away, leaving them stranded. According to the Dellavrian Navy, she deserted; according to her, it was the Dellavrian Navy that had deserted all of them.

A year later, the pirate sloop Red Siren stopped to resupply at the island, and Alessandra took the chance to get back on a ship.

She discovered a love for the piratical lifestyle. All along the coast of Armeia and Shubotai she helped board ships and raid coastal villages, using her military training with flamboyance and brio, earning the nickname Salty 'Sandra.

'Sandra was delighted to have finally found her true calling in life, when a massive storm sank the Red Siren and drowned most of the crew. Clinging to a floating barrel for dear life, 'Sandra arrived at the shore of an unknown island. She stranded and alone, with just the clothes on her back and her sword… but alive, and eager to find herself another crew, another ship, and as much gold as she could lay hands on.

'Sandra is a tall and physically impressive young woman, standing at 183 cm, with the tanned skin and athletic body of a lifetime at sea – at 19, she has spent more time on a deck than ashore. Her arms are covered in Kaginto tattoos, a memento from her time amongst the islanders. She wears salt-encrusted tall boots, fitted trousers and shirt, and carries her trusty Dellavrian Marine-issue falchion and a couple of daggers at her belt.

Officially colonization efforts ended decades ago (long enough for social changes in Kaginto to have developed, so we can pretend my culture writeups make sense).  But the Dellavrian Navy could certainly find excuses to still have some presence out there.

In that case, it must have been "strictly an anti-pirate operation" whose objective was not to establish a colony but to "ensure the safety of vessels of all flags sailing these waters", naturally acting "with the best interests of the Ginto people in mind" that did not result at all in a failed amphibious assault and the loss of several marine infantry units because, you see, those units were never there.

+1 to this. Personally I hate having to dig through the graveyard to find out who I'm playing with.

My apologies, folks.    My life is beyond 'interesting' right now:   I am going through a messy divorce, which includes having to sell our family home, and find a new place for my daughter and I.   Not to mention my father is loosing his fight with cancer (he's bedridden now, and heavily medicated), and my mother-in-law (who I count as a good friend) is also loosing her fight with it, though she's not as far along as he.

I only just realised today that I haven't thought of RPoL, or this game, in well over a week I think.
I'm sorry, but I'll be back later ... but right now, I got other stuff to deal with.

Don't worry at all about the game Aldos, we'll be right here whenever you come back :) IRL takes precedence every time, naturally, and by the sounds of it you have your plate more than full. Here's hoping everything goes as well as possible, considering. Stay strong!

Nothing is more important than a daughter.

Thalia, I'm waiting on you, but I have just realized I don't know if you're active yet. Are you?

In reply to Aldos Paleirte (msg # 142):

My deepest sympathy for all the RL issues you must deal with. I will be happy to game with you once your life stabilizes.

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 145):

Sorry, I didn't see that. I haven't finished my character so I had assumed I wasn't.

I can reply ahead of finishing, if that is okay. This weekend is Carnaval here (Brazil) so I had planned to have some time then.

Today is a bit of a wipeout because of the news.

Oh no worries, no need to apologize :) I was only asking before I go out on that little scouting expedition to the buildings because I thought it would make sense for 'Sandra to ask the nearest officer for permission, being Dellavrian and all that. Just giving you a chance to intervene if you feel like it, if not 'Sandra will just carry on with the mission as normal.

PS: And yes, I can sympathize with that too... I'm finding it real hard to be motivated to do anything today, considering what's going on in the world... :/
This message was last edited by the player at 16:44, Thu 24 Feb 2022.

My wife's father was ethnically Ukrainian, so naturally she is very concerned with the news.

Aldos - absolutely, do what you need to do.  I'm certainly not going to fault anyone for prioritizing the real world over the imaginary one.



The deed is done.



No, you can go ahead and post in the IC thread if you're ready, even if your stats aren't.  If we hit a point where you need to roll for something and the numbers aren't there yet, just let me know.

Ready to move on to the next day.

Anything you want to do before your noon rendezvous?  In theory you've got a couple hours to mess around.  Or you can sleep in.  Either way there are no wandering monsters this time around.

Pending approval from the others, I think we might explore a little in the morning, though not going so far out of our way that we will be late for the appointment.

No objection from me.

Where do you want to go?  East is open ground from what you've seen so far, so you can probably cover more in a short amount of time; west is slower going but also gets you closer to your meeting spot.

Makawmano would probably favor going west since he does not want to miss the meeting.

I agree. Let's not be late for that meeting.

Maybe I'm looking too far ahead here, but once we're done with the meeting, and assuming the lizards are still friendly, I would say we complete the exploration of the NW peninsula (north up the D's, south down the C's), then push SE following that river from C8.

That way we know we'll have a water supply all along (and maybe we can fashion canoes, or buy them from the lizards?).

I will be having a total hip replacement tomorrow (March 16). I am not sure how soon I will be able to game again, but it may be several days.

I agree with the exploration plan and I will not mind if the rest of you proceed with it while I am away.

Wow, I hope the procedure goes well and it improves your quality of life!

I'm also happy with that plan.

Oh, hey, Mak, it's Lenny. You're much more of a chatterbox in this game than in Arden Vul. I had a client who had a hip replacement a couple of years back.  She wasn't exactly mobile but she was certainly functional the day of the surgery. Ok, by functional, I mostly meant cognizant of her surroundings.

Good luck Makawmano!  We'll be here when you're ready.

Sorry I've been so quiet. We´ve been kicking off our postgrad semester and I´m very busy until a block of lectures finishes next week. Then I´ll only be running one course.

Glad you're still with us, Thalia. 'Sandra needs some Navy officers to keelhaul


^^

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 161):

I am very happy to say I am back with my new hip as of Mar. 25. I am sorry this took several days longer than originally expected. I will do my best to catch up with everything I may have missed. I thank all GMs and players for their patience.

On Mak's being more of a chatterbox here than in Arden Vul, I joined AV well into its history as a replacement character (2 replacement characters, by now) so I tend to let the established PCs take the lead.

In Mythras, I was one of the starting characters, and as captain of the ship, one of the ranking characters. The lady who would naturally have been my superior dropped out, so I have not really had anyone to answer to, and am able to go my own way.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 165):

I guess I'm the same way, in the forefront in some games, in the middle in others, and in the rear in yet others.

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 166):

You seem much more in the forefront in AV than in this game.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Sun 27 Mar 2022.

Yay! Congrats!

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 167):

I think it depends on my comfort level with the system and the type of adventure.

I'm going to run an OSRIC version of Tegel Manor in May, if you're interested.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:16, Sun 27 Mar 2022.

Glad to have you back with us Makawmano!

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 169):

I might well be interested. Please keep me informed.

Great. I think I have 5 so far (2 others from Arden, a DM from another game, and a new player) which leaves one spot open for a OSRIC+Tegel Manor enthusiast (or someone willing to become one).

Hi all,
Sorry, my life has been interesting:   divorce, selling my family home, dad died.

But I'll read up soon on what's happened since I was last here, and see what I can contribute.

Oh wow.  That is a lot.  Thanks for checking in, but, you know, take your time if you need.

In reply to GM (msg # 170):

Thank you very much.

In reply to Aldos Paleirte (msg # 173):

Those personal issues are appalling coming all together, but I will be very glad if you find time to play with us. At all events, I hope the issues do work out for you.

Aldos - the Customs skill is for knowing the details of your own culture; the Culture advanced skill would be for understanding foreigners (although you have to buy it separately for each culture you want to learn).  That said, I don't want to let a good roll like that go to waste, so I still gave you a little something for it.  Insight will be the skill to use in the future for similar situations like this, and if anyone wants to spend enough time hanging out and learning their culture then you could certainly pick up Culture (Lizardfolk) in the future.

Sorry for the holding pattern post everyone, I'm just trying to figure out what to have ´Sandra do in the situation. Ain't nothing/nobody she can steal, swindle, kill or outmanuever for the time being, so she's bidding her time.

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 178):

Well, these are several beings she could try those nefarious actions on, but I would not recommend it.

Is someone still there, besides Makawmano and me? Do we need to shake things up or what?

I'm here but with nothing more to contribute to this scene.

Well, perhaps we should move on to further exploration, if the lizardfolk make up their minds to buy my javelin.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:37, Wed 27 Apr 2022.

Yes, let's get a move on, unless our wise GM has other plans, naturally.

Just so a lizard does not decide to test his new javelin on me.

I have a lot of stuff going on in the next few days, so I may not be able to move things along until Sunday or so, but it will happen.

May we assume that we leave the lizards and start moving on?

Hi folks. I still exist but I am waaaay behind here. To add to that, I've been having some mental health issues that have knocked me sideways.

I don't think I'll be able to do anything meaningful before next week. Things should be okay by then but I can't make a promise about that.

In reply to Thalia Firolo (msg # 187):

I devoutly hope you will feel able to play with us by next week.

Look after yourself Thalia, mental health is the most important thing first, second and n-th.

I think we have to acknowledge that those other three players just haven't been able to play and look to replace one or more of them.

Thalia - sorry I didn't respond sooner, but echoing what others have said, take care of yourself and come back if/when you're able.

Barnutan - I had a similar problem in another game that I'm wrapping up now, where the group quickly dwindled to three core players and any that we tried to add after that would only last for a short time and then drop out again.  After a few rounds of that we agreed that it was much more satisfying to just move on with a smaller party than to keep trying to fill it out.  So I think I'm going to keep that approach here as well.  If any the other players do return, great.  If I spot someone else specifically looking to join up with some Mythras (or if any of you know someone who wants in) then that's also great.  But I'm going to hold off on advertising for now.

I am sorry we seem to have lost some players, at least for now, but personally, I expect to hang on here and keep playing as long as the GM and my two faithful shipmates are willing.

Same.

Hi folks. Sorry about this. I haven't been able to make any advances here with the character. RL is still keeping me a bit busy while I catch up with things (work thi GS mostly).

If you want to replace me, that's fine, I realize I have been dragging this out forever. Otherwise and that isn't fair on you all. Otherwise, I'll try and get this character sorted when I can.

No worries Thalia - if you're able to come back eventually then great, and if not then it's no big deal (this is only a game, as much as I am loathe to admit it).  If I do decide to recruit new players at some point and you haven't returned then I'll offer your character to someone else, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there.

While the decision is ultimately up to Thalia and the GM, my feeling is that we seem to be carrying on all right with what amount to 3 speaking parts. The rest of the crew can be assumed to be either following us quietly or staying behind to guard the ship. If Thalia is assumed to be with us, she can simply speak up when she is ready to participate. If she is back at the ship, she can join us when we return there, or later. I must admit I don't recall whether she has actively joined the current exploring party.

That's pretty much what I was going with.  If she returns when you're out in the field, we just retcon to say she was there all along.

I´m pretty sure Barnutan is sleeping too.

Salty 'Sandra rolled 11 using 1d10+8.  Initiative

Well, it was impossible to beat 20. If I'm still alive when my turn arrives, I'll spend it grabbing my falchion and dagger. Assuming I slept in my clothes.

Alright, tell me what my best option is and how to do it. This is teaching time.

I am at least as new as you are, Barnutan. We must rely on the GM for teaching.

Alright, let's crack this book open and see how things happen...

First thing, Action Points.  All three of you have 3 APs, so you get three actions per round.  You can only take one action when it's your turn in the initiative; you use the others to defend yourself when attacked, and if you still have any APs remaining after everyone has gone then you can take another action.

Movement rules are flexible.  The book specifically says that in one turn you can move as far as the GM decides makes sense (with the caveat that one round is ~5 seconds).  I kind of established that your enemy is very nearly in melee range, without putting any numbers on it, so for right now I will declare that you can close any remaining gap and make an attack roll on your first action, if that's what you want to do (although Makawmano will have to spend his first action gathering up his weapons if he's sticking with his net plan).

If you want to attack, roll against your combat style.  Your enemy has a chance to defend itself, and in this case it definitely will so if you'd like you can save time and roll against 64% for it to parry with its shield (but if you want to roll your attack and then wait for me with the defense that's fine).  If you hit and his parry fails, roll your weapon damage, and also 1d20 for hit location.  If the parry succeeds, his shield will nullify all of the damage (this is because the shield is a larger size than your weapon - if it was parrying with something smaller it might only block half the damage).

Now here's where it gets interesting - separate from the basic question of do you bother rolling damage, there may also be special effects.  Compare the success level of your attack roll and the enemy's parry roll, and check the table at the bottom of p16 of the quick start rules.  However many "levels of success" it tells you, the winner scores that many special effects against the loser.  The table on p22 of the quick start rules lists all of the special effects options and when you can use them, and the following page has descriptions.  If you score special effects on your enemy you can choose them now or you can ask me more questions first and then decide; if the enemy scores effects on you then I'll choose them the next time I post.

Hopefully I've made this clear enough for the moment, but if not then let me know.

For the record, there is an optional rule about relative weapon sizes giving a disadvantage to the combatant who is too close in or too far out for the weapon they are using.  This is the first Mythras combat for all of us so I'm going to ignore it for now, but depending on how comfortable everyone is feeling we might add it in later.

Thank you very much for the helpful explanation. For now, I will stay with my previous declaration and say Makawmano spends his first initiative gather up his net (folded ready for throwing)  and his club.

OK, I'll be able to post tonight.

I made the initial rolls but I need you to walk me through the "interesting" part.

That's some good rolling!  Crit success on the attack, and regular failure on the parry, that's a difference of two success levels so you get to choose two special effects in addition to doing your normal damage (I don't think you ever specified which weapon you're using, but since it was already pretty close I'm going to assume your club rather than your javelin - so that's 1d6 damage, plus your 1d2 modifier).

Going through the table on p22, these are the options that are available for having scored a crit and using a bludgeoning weapon (and skipping a couple that don't apply under the circumstances):
Bash
Choose Location
Damage Weapon
Disarm Opponent
Maximize Damage
Stun Location
Trip Opponent

Read the descriptions of those in the pdf and then choose which two you'd like to use.  My recommendation, if you want it, would be

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Choose Location (hit the head) and then Stun Location, which would make the creature potentially lose its turn for a number of rounds equal to the damage you inflict

---

.  But you're welcome to choose any combination you want.

So what happens and what's the order of initiative for the rest of us?

Initiative order looks like this:
1) Barnutan and Makawmano take their first actions
2) enemy acts
3) 'Sandra takes her first action
4) all three of you get to act again (doesn't matter in what order) if you still have APs that you haven't used

First action being grab a weapon, right?

In reply to GM (msg # 206):
OK, post updated.

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 209):

That was Makawmano's first action, as I understood it.

In reply to GM (msg # 208):

Sorry for my ignorance. How do I know if Makawmano has any APs left after seizing his weapons?

Same question here. Also, in any case I´m behind you in initiative order, Makawmano - so, after you, skipper.

Your character sheet says how many you get each round.  It's a derived value based on Dex+Int, and it turns out that all of you have a high enough combined score to get 3 per round.  You spent 1 to get your weapons, the enemy lost its turn so no one had to spend any to defend themselves, so you all still have 2 remaining for this round.

'Sandra - at this part of the round it's just the PCs acting, no one else, so you can post in whatever order without having to wait for someone else.  Actions will still resolve in initiative order if that's important.

By the way, I put a Special Effects summary table in the rules thread.  It doesn't have the specific mechanics but it gives you an idea of what each effect does, and whether or not your target gets an opposed roll.  It's based on the full rulebook, so there are some entries in there that aren't in the Imperative quick start pdf.  Let me know if you want the details on anything there.

In reply to GM (msg # 214):

Thank you very much for your patient explanation.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 215):

No problem; that's why we're all here :)

Alright, then, I'll change the location of his second hit to its HEAD. Splat!

Well, I guess we all got to learn at least a little bit about combat mechanics, and I maybe learned a little bit about balancing encounters.  But at least I succeeded in my goal of not accidentally killing PCs already in the first combat of the game.

I don't know. It's one data sample which was skewed by Barnutan's devastating first attack.

Yeah, that was a pretty amazing opening.  My worry was that a good first roll on my part could cripple one of you, which is an acceptable consequence as the adventure progresses but not something I would want to deal with while we're all still learning the ropes with combat.  We'll see how things go the next time a fight breaks out...

Any particular skill or combination of skills for running an enhanced interrogation, or do we just start chopping off bits until he talks?

I'm not going to stay around for PC-initiated torture. Kill him, stick him in the brig, or free him -- those are the choices.

Brutal cop/fake cop would only work with a shared language.

I guess we tried that because at one point it uttered something that sounded like Dellavrian, but fair enough. Any of those but free it so it can go warn his fellow murderapes.

Let's just retcon this that it died in battle and move on.

I'm okay with the retcon if you all are on board

Personally, I would rather go on trying to question the ape. After all, we are exploring and trying to learn more about this new land, and presumably this creature knows something about its people and where they live, which would be helpful to know.
Since Barnutan feels otherwise, I suppose the deciding vote lies with Sandra, who so far has been seriously trying the question it.
If we decide to give up on questioning it, I don't think we need to retcon it. We can just hold a knife to its throat and give it a last chance to talk. If it still won't talk, use the knife. It's a bit ruthless, but early explorers often were ruthless.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Thu 09 June 2022.

Explorers/colonizers (usually the same thing in different guise) in general have been ruthless, and this was always a danger of the setting. But colonialist readings aside, Sandra is a pirate, so using violence to extract information isn't something she would flinch at, if not her favorite pastime.

Personally I have a dislike of retconnings in general because they make actions and decisions feel trivial and control-Z-able. I'd go for an ultimatum like Makawmano suggests, but if you really dislike the whole thing, Barnutan, the ape can also die silently off-camera or get put in a cage as a curiosity to bring back to Dellavria.

Zoological specimen would be fine.

OK, in that case let someone more science-minded than 'Sandra come up with that idea.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:32, Wed 08 June 2022.

I guess it's a good thing we have those ex-PCs hanging out in the background :)

Aldos as a doctor might be likely to suggest saving the ape as a specimen. I don't suppose we would build a cage on the spot. We might tie it to a rope and force it to go along with us.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Thu 09 June 2022.

I am ashamed to say I don't know just where we are on the map now. On the whole, I think we might go a little further south and then return to the ship by heading north along a different route than we came, in order to explore more territory.

I think that's the last indication we got, and we moved some more, so I'm assuming we camped somewhere between the SE corner of C8 and the western bit of D8 (incidentally, do we really need such a fastidious level of granularity? Could we explore whole hexagons at a time, this is a bit tedious, no?).

Personally I think we should drop the murdermonkey at the ship soonish, before more of them appear. If the river continues eastwards, I'd go as far east as F8 or G8 then detour north to drop the thing at the ship before we continue. If the river turns more southwards, then let's cross ASAP and drop the monkey before we come back to the river.

I had assumed that you returned to the campsite by your ship, at G06, so the next round of exploring starts from there.

Exploration will generally be a full hex at a time.  My comment about being at the edge of C08 was to indicate that you had moved some distance away from the river by the time you spotted the pigs.  I apologize if this gave the wrong impression.

I don't mind assuming we went back to the ship and dropped off the monkey before going elsewhere, if that is the way the GM wants it. If so, do we want to try going in a different direction, such as SE, for our next foray?

Good, then we drop the monkey first thing. I'd rather find the river again and follow it to its source, tidier that way, nah?

Sure. Travel to F09 -> E08.

All right.

Let's go.

Sorry for the delay, had a lot going on this week.  Hopefully back on track now.

Glad you are with us. Onward!

Excelsior!

How small is small? Do we need to squeeze by, stoop a little, crouch, crawl?

I should say I will be traveling July 3 through July 9. I am not sure how much internet access I will have.

Makawmano - thanks for the heads up, and enjoy your trip!

'Sandra - "smaller" in that it looks roughly human-sized, as opposed to the wider cave you've been traversing so far.  You could walk through without any discomfort.

I did enjoy the trip, aside from having to do more walking than my old legs enjoy.

Asking this here instead of IC, because Sandra would be knowledgeable enough about navigation to know instead of wonder: do we have oars, and the shallow keel, to navigate the ship upriver, Viking longship dtyle?

It would be a faster way to make inroads into the island, and we'd be carrying our base with us

With my GM fiat level of knowledge about boats in general, and outriggers specifically, I'm going to say yes this one is capable of river travel, so long as the river in question is wide enough.  Which this one definitely is.

That's very helpful, though of course we must get back to the boat first.

I expect to be away at the Pennsic War from tomorrow (Aug. 5) until at least the following Thursday. I might be able to get on during that time, but I can't count on it.

Maybe we should try to track them back to their homes rather than kill them?

Good point, better to know where they live than to stumble into their place inadvertently.

I have a moment online. I agree with tracking them, though somebody will need to suggest it in as PC since Makawmano's plan was different.

Have fun at Pennsic!  I have friends from college who go there most years; heard great things about it.

Since the wise GM states that group Stealth is very difficult (makes sense) and Alessandra is probably the stealthiest one, my idea is to follow this guy and report back. Meanwhile, you wait until we're far enough for the sound not to carry, and kill the one by the river.

Side note to point out we're doing the colonizer routine to a T.

That was the storyline that the original player group agreed on, so that's what I've put together.  That said, if Conquerors & Colonists isn't what you want to play, I promise there will be opportunities to deviate from it as you continue to explore (and I don't just mean by sailing back to Dellavria and telling your patrons to bugger off, although that is certainly also an option if it comes down to it).

In reply to GM (msg # 254):

I am happy to say I am back. I am sorry I could not post much while I was away. My computer was at Herald's Point the entire time, and while I was there I was usually busy researching people's authentic (we hope) medieval names.

Personally, I have no objection to the traditional colonizer project, though I suppose Sandy and Barnutan could always mutiny if they dislike my plans and take the expedition in a different direction, metaphorically or literally.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:52, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

I think I'm going to put a crossbow bolt in that ape before it finds me. Can I use Stealth to help in that roll, or how does ambushing work?

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 258):

He already beat you on a roll of your Stealth vs his Perception, so the perfect ambush opportunity is gone.  Without intervention, he will find you when his initiative comes up (but I think it's safe to say that will take his whole action).  If you roll higher than 12 for your initiative, you have a chance to hit him before he does.  This might be a good time to spend a Luck point if needed, to reroll either your initiative or your attack (or swap the digits on your attack roll).  Any Luck you spend will refresh at the start of the next "session."

If you do beat him on initiative and shoot before he finds you, I'll allow you to use Stealth to augment your attack roll (add 1/5 of your Stealth score, rounding up, to the target number).

I was going to say something about time to ready your crossbow, but I just looked back and I see that you already declared that several posts ago, so you're good.  It takes 3 actions to reload though, in case you want to try to get a second shot during this fight.

The two fights are completely separated - Sandy followed the other one for about a quarter mile before it noticed her.  You know that she went after it but you don't know how it's going.

We would wait by the river for a spell, perhaps a lengthy one, for her to report back. I think that's how it would work were a ranger to go off and track some bandits.

OOC: Well, that seems to be the way the events are working out.

I apologize for not reporting I would be away for 2 days (Sept.1-2) while attending my MA graduation. For some reason, I could not get on RPOL just before I left in order to warn you.

MA graduation?  That's awesome, congrats!

Thank you very much. The graduation was a lot of fun. My brother and sister-in-law, whom I do not see as often as I would like (I live in WV and they live in NJ) were able to come, and we were able to stay in special suite together because I got priority on the reservation since I was one of 2 students selected to give a short speech during the ceremony. The speech got a standing ovation, to my surprise. There was also a vast amount of good food. I gained about 2 pounds.

What was the topic of your speech?

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 266):

Well, the first half of it was a fairly conventional celebration of how wonderful my teachers, my thesis adviser and my fellow students were. Since my masters was in Applied (Eastern) Orthodox Theology, the second half included a retelling of the encounter between Bishop Nonus and Pelagia, a story about 3 monks in the Egyptian desert, and finally a quotation from the psalms.

"3 monks enter a desert, and the first one says..."

Actually, the first one went to reconcile those who had quarreled, the second went to comfort those who the sick, and the third went to the desert and prayed...

The story of Bishop Nonus and Pelagia was more colorful, since Pelagia was the most famous actress in Antioch in her day, and was riding through the city wearing her jewels and little else when they met...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Thu 08 Sept 2022.

Everybody okay?  Have we run out of steam here, or are we okay to keep the game going?

I'm ok and ready to play on.

I don't know. The game has been feeling a bit directionless for me lately, and also personally I have very few spoons lately (which is nobody's fault but mine), so it's hard for me to find the enthusiasm lately. At the same time, I don't want this to go the same way as the vampires vs spies game, that was a pity.

And that was a lot of latelies.

I agree about the lack of direction, honestly.  The original group of players voted to do some exploring, with background plot to explain why, so I put together this island with things to find but nothing specifically pulling you toward one or another.  Note that the group is you three, if you're not feeling it with the "explore an island" game I would be okay with switching gears.  Is there anything in particular that you'd rather be doing, or just something more structured? (this question goes out to all of you, to be clear)

I don't mind doing some more exploring, but sooner or later we probably should expect to go back and report to our patron (it is a pity in my view that the player who was running the representative of our patron dropped out early), and maybe do as many early explorers did and recruit support for an actual colony. That might be a good opportunity to see if we could find some more players who would join us.

Wow, I have a lot of spoons. I didn't know how many spoons I had.

My preference is always pretty much for a dungeon crawl, preferably with a module-imposed structure. I don't know that if this system caters to that.

But there isn't really anything to be done until Sandra washes a few of her spoons and completes her current encounter -- except that she doesn't have enough of them to complete light housework. That's the Spoon Catch-22.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Thu 22 Sept 2022.

I think her current encounter has proceeded far enough that we can safely assume an ending.

If everyone is on board with a dungeon crawl then it can happen during the current expedition, with just a little rearranging on my part.  If not that then we could also fast forward to your return to Dellavria, handwaving a few more days' worth of exploration, and then go with whatever would be your next move from there.

It's generous of you to offer a new dish, but I think at this point it's best to clear the table and plan a new menu with some new guests. Sandra's only going to feel more pressure to participate, and she doesn't appear to have the energy for it. I do think games need 4 or more active participants. If we had 5 players, then a Sandra could slip into the background for a spell until her appetite returned.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:22, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

Personally I don't like dungeon crawls at all. So if the whole team would rather crawl in dungeons as stated, I'm happy to bow out and let you guys have your fun without being an obstacle.

I do not think that accurately represents the discussion that we've been having. I further object to your characterization of yourself as "an obstacle." There are some barriers to overcome and we're discussing them.

A dungeon crawl was suggested. GM said he could do that. It was up for discussion with nothing else, as of yet, advanced.

There is very little in the way of a whole team here. We don't have enough players.

In a manner of speaking, you have already bowed out by leaving your encounter hanging and then by mischaracterizing the follow-up discussion. DM said he would only crawl with all on board. You are part of that all.

Now, if you don't cotton to a crawl (wilderness or dungeon), what are you in the mood for? If you simply don't have the energy for gaming (or this game), then, yes, we should probably wrap up here and try again with a new players wanted.

I also enjoy investigative Mythos games or survive the night in Hill House type of games.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:09, Sun 25 Sept 2022.

I'm not mischaracterizing anything. All I said is, if you want a dungeon crawler, go ahead and play it. Please don't explain to me what I said or did, it comes across as patronising even if that surely wasn't your intention.

Personally I'd be fine with a CoC style game, or anything with intrigue/politics in it, or espionage/thriller with or without supernatural touches like the previous game.

Regarding group size, I would much rather have 3 stable players than 4-6 with a lot of inconsistencies (I'm wrapping up another campaign right now which went exactly this route).  Only 2 stable players would be a different story though.

As far as game content... if I'm sticking with Mythras, I would want it to be the same sort of low-ish fantasy implied by the core rules.  I could definitely do a politics and/or espionage game within the setting I have here, although if people don't care for this setting then I can whip up a new one.  It could be a continuation of this campaign, skipping ahead to what happens after you've explored the island, or we could scrap this whole storyline and start fresh with some new characters.

Lately I've also been feeling tempted to run something in the Warhammer setting using the Mythras system, if anyone wants to do that instead.

Mystery/horror/espionage/etc in a more modern setting I would want to do with a different system.  Fate if it's going to be cinematic action levels, maybe GURPS if we want something grittier than that, or Kids on Bikes if you're more in the mood for that tone (although this one is mechanically pretty light, which I know is not to everyone's taste).

If we can reach a consensus for which everyone has both interest and energy, then I'd like to do that before we start looking for new players.  If we can't reach a consensus then we'll decide on next steps at that point.

Personally, I would prefer to stay in this general setting, but if the other players want more intrigue, I think reporting back to Dellavria and working on getting backing for a colony might satisfy that desire without a drastic change in the system or setting. If there is to be a drastic change in the system or setting, I would be likely to drop out.

That's definitely an option.  To clarify (in case you would be interested) I was also offering to start a new campaign with new characters and plot but in the same setting.  Either way is fine with me.

Probably I'd lean towards reprising our characters in a more intrigue-oriented way. Maybe the easiest way, as Makawmano suggests, is to get back to Dellavria and deal with the political ramifications of our discovery.

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 285):

I am glad you see the option I suggested as workable.

Alright, looks like same campaign, shifting to more intrigue has the votes.  I have some initial thoughts on where to go with it, but I'll need a week or two to put together enough details to get it started.

In the meantime, everyone gets 3xp (or "experience rolls" in Mythras jargon, but personally I don't like that term since there are other ways to use them besides rolls).  You can spend your xp in the following ways:
-spend 1 to improve any skill that you have already put points into - roll 1d100+INT, if you roll lower than your current score in that skill then increase the skill by 2, if you roll equal or higher than increase the skill by 1d6+2.
-spend 3 to purchase a new Professional skill at default value.  Besides the xp, this also requires one month of training time, and some way to learn the skill.
-spend 1 to temporarily increase any one of your attributes by 2 points (except for SIZ).  This boost will last until the next time I give out xp.  If you spend more than 1xp to boost the same attribute, then it only loses 1xp(2 points) of improvement at each interval.

In addition, all of you get a free 1d6+2 improvement to Dellavrian or Ginto, whichever one is not your native language (or get it at default level if you don't already know it).

Last question for now, before I start recruiting new players - with the move to political intrigue, do you guys also want to open up the game to potential PvP, or stick to everyone being on the same team?

Very good. I hope Barnutan is also satisfied with the decision to go back to Dellavria and work for support for a colony. Sandra should be able to take out the ape before we head back to our ship.

On the language benefits, Makawmano rolled 4 on 1d6+2 to improve Dellavrian -- which he will definitely need.

On the use of the other points, since we are looking towards more intrigue, he will take the new skill "Deceit" at default level. Is "default" 25 for him (INT +CHA)?

On whether newcomers would be all in our party or rivals, I would be open to discussing that with the other current players and newcomers, though I tend to favor our all being in one allied group, with rivals being NPCs.

Aye, the votes have been tallied.

I can't promise that Barnutan has any head for court politics but maybe he'll pick up a few things as the plot progresses. His combination of a high customs skill and a low insight skill make him an odd duck in that respect.

PvP would seem to be a lot of extra work in terms of running the game.

Very glad that Barnutan is agreeable to the new plan.

Barnutan - if you want we can talk about ideas for changes to the character, or events that could happen in the next chapter that would nudge him in a new direction if there isn't a reason for him to go that way just yet.

I...don't have strong feelings about this. It's always good to have some muscle in a court setting.

Ironically (or not), Alessandra might need some little tweak to fit, character-wise if not necessarily skills-wise (I do see a few of her piratical skills being useful in this new cloak and dagger business, but she needs a motivations to get involved in politics when so far her main plan was "do the job, find a ship and get back to piracy")

That's okay, I figured the hook for chapter 2 would essentially be "quest-giver has a new quest for you, this time there's more politics involved, and yes there's a paycheck to go with it"

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 292):

Very true. Roughly early modern courts tended to include duels, assassinations, etc.

Jester was about the only safe position to have.

Barnutan has made 3 exp rolls, resulting in +2 to combat, +8 to mechanics, and +7 to evasion.
He now has default fluency in Dellvarian at 24.

He was not able to indulge his passion for technological progress or loyalty to his family. However, he did feast upon the bounty of the sea and land. Upon further consideration, Barnutan's fascination with the mechanical traps of the cavern might represent an indulgence of his passion for progress.

What becomes of our unspent Group Luck? Does that roll over into the next chapter to join the fresh supply?

A minor housekeeping thing: I would change the status of the non-participating players in the cast to lurkers, so that people checking out the game see that it has 3 active players.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:35, Sun 02 Oct 2022.

In reply to Barnutan (msg # 296):

Even jesters could get into trouble if they made the wrong joke at the wrong time, though they were supposedly entitled to a privilege of comment.

Thank you for following up on all the housekeeping.

Did my 3 XP rolls:

Salty 'Sandra rolled 87 using 1d100+15.  XP for for Gambling 51.
Salty 'Sandra rolled 5 using 1d6+2.  Increase in Gambling.

Salty 'Sandra rolled 81 using 1d100+15.  XP for for Streetwise 54.
Salty 'Sandra rolled 3 using 1d6+2.  Increase in Streetwise.

Salty 'Sandra rolled 91 using 1d100+15.  XP for for Influence 51.
Salty 'Sandra rolled 4 using 1d6+2.  Increase in Influence.

I'm just a little more socially-savvy little pirate now, heh.

EDIT: Not actually 'little'...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:36, Wed 05 Oct 2022.

OOC: Not just a little socially savvy, or not just a little pirate?

Ah, ambiguity, the mother of all mystery...

(she's just very tall)

Personal Luck and Group Luck both refresh at the start of each chapter.  Unspent points do not get saved.

Know you naught of compound interest?

I have no points in Lore (Economics)

Use Gambling instead.

Aaaand we're back - next chapter is officially open.  You can post there whenever you feel up to it.

Hello everybody :)
Still struggling with that CharSheet filling out, equipment and all that. Not expecting any rolls just now I allowed for an IC.
Bit clumsy with only mobile phone.

Talk about equipment - what can we afford with 150 silver?

How many refugees are we talking about?

Depends on what you're looking for, of course.  The equipment list in the rulebook is considerably shorter than in, say, most editions of D&D, but here are a few examples to give you an idea of what standard prices look like:
Armor, fur or leather (1 armor) - 20sp per location covered (140sp for a full suit)
Armor, padded or quilted (2 armor) - 80sp per location (560 for a full suit)
Weapons - 100sp could get you a mace, battleaxe, shortsword, or whip, while the full 150 would get you a lance or a light crossbow
Shields - 150sp buys a heater or target shield, both of which can protect 3 hit locations; a mere 50 will get you a buckler, which only protects 2 hit locations
Other items - 150sp could get you a top-quality winter coat or cloak, two top-quality suits or dresses, a medium-sized lockbox, two full sets of crafting tools, two unspecified musical instruments, three weeks' rent at a reasonable townhouse, or the best pig (or worst ox) on the farm

There are a few land vehicles listed, but no ships.  Loosely extrapolating from what is in here, I would say that something worthy of 'Sandra's ambitions is going to start at at least 15,000sp.

For the record, there are also rules here for making your own stuff if anyone wants to try their hand at that...



400-500, they don't have an exact count.  Or at least they haven't given you a more specific number.

Sorry, had a tough week at work, will try to contribute this weekend

In reply to Leontes (msg # 310):

Sorry about the tough week. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you as a future party member.

Makawmano will invest his entire 150 silver in a light crossbow, useful for dealing with apemen (on the island) or assassinating rivals (in Dellavria).

Incidentally, what's the season? Trying to figure out if I'm gonna need a Top Quality Winter Coat.

It's late summer.  You expect things will start cooling down in a couple of weeks, but you're still some time away from winter coat territory.

Makawmano - you are not trained in a combat style which includes the crossbow, or even anything close.  That means that your skill for shooting with it would be a mere STR+DEX.  Stealthy ranged attacks are not going to be your forte anytime soon.  If you want to increase your killing power and don't mind being obvious about it, I would allow you to use a mace in place of a club within the Island Warrior style.  That would cost you 100sp, and bump your damage up from 1d6 to 1d8.

If you can find someone to train you in a Dellavrian fighting style then that would also work, though it'll take a bit longer (depending on how good of a trainer you get, it would probably take 2-3 months to get you up to around 50%).

And where/how far is that refugee camp again?

It's in the western mountain pass.  I don't think I ever said anything about distance, so let's call it two days' walk.

In reply to Makawmano (msg # 312):

In light of the GM's advice, Makawmano will buy a mace instead of a light crossbow.

I was thinking of doing the same. Good idea!

DM, did you get those questions a ways back about B's passions?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Thu 20 Oct 2022.

I'm afraid I didn't, and now I can't find them.  What were your questions?

He was not able to indulge his passion for technological progress or loyalty to his family. However, he did feast upon the bounty of the sea and land. Upon further consideration, Barnutan's fascination with the mechanical traps of the cavern might represent an indulgence of his passion for progress.

I ask primarily to learn more about this aspect of the game.

Gosh, yet another Chaos Week. And this weekend an 80th birthday "party"...

XP can be spent on Passions in the same way as Skills, except that the die roll can be used to increase or decrease the relevant Passion, whichever is more appropriate to the narrative.  I'm going to want a little more justification for this than I would for skill improvement, but I'll allow "spent time studying traps that he found" to count.  Keep in mind that increasing the score would not just mean that Barnutan's excitement about technology gives him a bigger bonus on relevant skill rolls, but also that it becomes that much harder to resist the pull of learning about new tech when he encounters it, if that's ever an issue.



No worries, I've had times where it was "that kind of week" for months at a time.  I appreciate you checking in.  And at least you have the party, so that sounds like it will be "fun"...

In reply to GM (msg # 322):

So there is a synergy between his mechanics skill and his passion for tech? How does that play out?

The passion for tech is a personality trait rather than a skill - it's there the nudge you toward relevant decisions, and maybe to be tested if there is ever a time when indulging in that passion might be unwise.  Where it gets into synergizing is that you can use your passion to augment any skill roll where it would make sense.  This would include Mechanics rolls involving understanding or creating new tech, but could go with other skills too if it would make sense for that passion to help you out there.

How do I gamble away the money? A pirate would buy one of those flashy sets of clothes to look cool, and then drink and gamble the other 75 sp.

If your plan is "play until I run out" then we can call it done and erase the money from your character sheet.  If your plan is "play for the night and see what happens" then say how much you will wager and make a regular Gambling roll (defaulting to INT+POW) - on a regular success you double your money, on a crit success you triple it, on a regular failure you lose half of it and on a fumble you lose everything.  If you want to make it more granular than that then we can negotiate something, but this seems to me like a good starting point if your night in the casino is basically part of the pre-adventure shopping trip.

Sweet and simple, works for me.

Salty 'Sandra rolled 75 using 1d100.  Wager 75 sp (Gambling 56).

Seems I'm down to 37 sp then. Do I have another night before we leave for the camp, or that's it?

You'd be getting at least a little pressure from Lady Estivale about getting to the camp sooner rather than later, but if you can convince her (and your fellow PCs) that one more day to prepare will be helpful then you can probably get away with it.

Any opinions from the fellow PCs?

Maybe instead of gambling it away she could just invest in a large quantity of the local equivalent of rum.

Good shout, let's go with that. New clothes, bad gambling, ho ho ho, and a bottle of rum!

I stand ready.

Rum is produced in Kaginto but not in Dellavria (and not officially imported either, due to longstanding animosity).  You can get various wines and beers, ranging from 2-6sp per bottle depending on quality, or fancy brandies and/or black market rum at 8-12sp per bottle.

If that's all that remains in terms of preparation, then I will try to have a real IC update by the end of the weekend.  Maybe sooner if real life nonsense doesn't distract me.

Could be an acquired taste from her sailing days, hell she probably smuggled rum herself. Drinking the cheapest stuff at 8 sp, that's 4 bottles and change. Should be enough(ish) for a few days.
Let's go!

Makawmano is ready.

Bother, again apologies.
Boss is driving me nuts... actually bosses, especially those 3 Tiers higher up!
At some certain wage levels (which I am unfortunately waaay distant from) people throw their common sense, heck, their very brains, overboard:[

So what do you think about getting them drunk, then murdering them? :)

In reply to Salty 'Sandra (msg # 336):

More a pirate solution than a practical RL one, satisfying though it might be.

Gotta have a clone or a doppelganger or something ready to go, otherwise the bosses' bosses get suspicious.  Not that I would know anything about that...

Lol I meant the cart guys

So you *don't* want to murder them?

Talk to me guys

Oh, we're back to IC plotting then?  It takes Barnutan a while to fix everything, so it's probably not the worst idea to decide on what the rest of you are doing during that time.

Well I don't know, whatever you guys prefer. Im just thinking: lady Estivale said there might be interferences from other houses, and we just came across retainers of other houses heading to the camp. Alessandra is a pirate so to her it makes a lot of sense to just cut some throats here and now and make it look like it was regular highway throatcutters.

But I wanted to ask before I start killing left and right.

While Makawmano is well aware that these servants of a rival House may be dangerous, he believes that Lady Estivale would prefer not to have her House's party blamed for starting any trouble. His notion would be to let them start it and be sure we were ready to finish it -- and them, if necessary.

It would not even occur to Barnutan that they should fall upon fellow travelers in such a manner.

Sincere apologies.
I cannot fullfil my committment, my project (150MEur) is going down and I'm under fire. Not my fault, but hey, that's what accountability is all about, so...
Would have loved to play, but I don't find the time... not for any RPOL.
Thanks anyway.
Sorry, Cheers

That a fair bit of spare change, L.

And it's understandable. Hope it L ends well, and see you soon!

In reply to Leontes (msg # 345):

Very sorry you must leave us before you really had time to play. I wish you the very best in dealing with your RL crisis and hope someday you will be able to play on RPOL again.

Sorry to hear it Leontes, but thanks for the update and good luck!

So, gang. When in the best moment to kill them all?

Well, Barnutan didn't sign up to be a member of a murdering band of road pirates.

As a player, I signed up for island exploration and, when that didn't work out, I signed on for politics/diplomacy.

That, at least in my estimation, leaves us at an impasse.

If S tries to kill them, as a character, B would defend them. Since I have zero appetite for PvP, I would have him run away instead. I would likely leave the game at that point.

If S decides to just rob them, B would probably switch sides after S had relieved them of their cash. He would pledge his service to the injured parties. That would also be game-ending.

So those are his cards; they're on the table.

So you're basically leaving the game?

I wouldn't put it that way. I would say there appears to be some irreconcilable differences here.

One possibility would be for Sandra's bloodlust to pass. She could let the rival merchants go with their coin and their lives. Barnutan would have second thoughts about her, but she wouldn't necessarily have crossed a line. Relations with the other merchants would probably be unsalvageable but the game could go on.

Another possibility would be for Sandra to incapacitate them in some manner but do no harm beyond that. I suppose that would all but guarantee that we reach the refugees first.

I suppose I could do the Jake Spoon thing from Lonesome Dove and be the shiftless guy who fell in with Bad Company, but I'm not eager to do that.

Ideas on the 'how'?