Welcome to Dawn World. This is the all purpose OOC thread. I'll make more specialized threads as needed.  I am new to game mastering, especially on RPOL, so please be patient with me.

Welcome new players!

I'd like to start off by having you post on the session 0 thread.  Your character name, if you have an idea, and a description of your high concept, and trouble.

A couple players described a clear ancient Greek theme in their proposal, so I'm going to use that as the aesthetic for the main setting.  Don't think of this a restriction if you want something different.  You can draw from other cultures for your character.  This is to give us a solid reference point which we can build off of.

This message was deleted by the player at 13:59, Sun 19 June 2022.

Hi, everyone. This is a holiday weekend here, so I probably won't be on too much, but I'll check in when I can.

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone had a good week end.

Unfortunately, Player 6 has other obligations, and had to drop out of the game, so we'll have to continue on without them.

It looks like we might have lost Nikandros, and Orekles. Neither has responded to my PMs. There is a possible replacement who wanted to be kept on the waiting list. I need to contact them and fill them in on where we are.

Oof, this has taken a while now. I'm still here by the way, let's try sounding off to see who's still present.

Well, I'm still here.  disconnected from my character at this point.  Forgot what the original concept was all about, even.  But still here.

I'm still here.

Thanks everyone, for sticking around.  I created a thread to reference the characters.  I've contacted one of the previous applicants, so hopefully they'll join us soon.  Then we can finish up the aspects, and pick skills and stunts.

Creating and maintaining momentum is always the big issue in rpol games...

Welcome Saulus of Britannia to the game!

Hi everybody.  Which was why when GM did not choose me to join first time round I said if you need replacement please PM me back.

So that why I here now.  Looking forward to working with you all :)

Hello. :)

Was the concept Saulas submitted in the other thread, accepted?

His very overt interactions appears to be exception to the approach we'd discussed earlier (In Session 0 thread message 24-28.  Not so much the squirrel story, but the list of abilities:

• "has a sight that goes beyond the mundane."
• "See the spirits, as they are part of the world to.
• "He can see into the realm others cannot."
• "Able to interact with them in a way others do not understand"
• He can interact and change things within the other realms.

I'm totally okay with him having extended abilities in this vein.  But, if this concept and these abilities as presented are accepted, then I feel the need to pivot Sophia.  His direct interaction with the spirits dramatically overshadows Sophia's indirect interactions, and I'm not interested in playing that particular dynamic.

I will have to give some thought to how best to adapt her to our revised cast list.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Sun 31 July 2022.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 15):

I think that's a discussion to have.  I was going to temper some of these ideas to make it in line with what we had discussed earlier.  In the description it said these abilities had loads of limits, and they weren't predictable.  I was going to use that to represent something on par your character's prophetic dreams, but they would be waking visions. It wouldn't be a window onto another world, but shadowy glimpses.

I'd like to hear from Saulas for their ideas.

I see a possibility of something along the lines of Sophia "leaving the cloister" so to speak, to become Saulas apprentice.  But she absolutely must bring something unique to the table.

Perhaps her Path of Harmony approach might inform his direct interactions with the spirits?  Perhaps his "failures" have been a direct result of not working in harmony... trying to force things to act outside of their nature, or trying to make changes without looking wide enough for all the influencing factors.   I could handle that set-up.

Truthfully, I'd forgotten about the prophetic dreams.  Thanks for the reminder.  I am seeing Sophia as a chosen of the Gods, though for what purpose, I've no clue (and she doesn't see it that way, anyway).

She's been trying all her life to get over the need for vengeance for something I haven't defined--probably the death of her parents.  And she clings to The Path of Harmony to reconcile the fact that she'll never really get the chance for that visceral closure she so desperately wants.  Hunting provides a rare moment when she is one with her environment and she can "lose herself"...

Saulas.  I would like to hear your thoughts, too...

Hiya everyone, does this skill and stunt allocation make sense.

Great (+4): Fight
Good (+3): Rapport, Drive
Fair (+2): Physique, Shoot, Resource
Average (+1): Athlete, Will, Notice, Investigate

Stunts: Keen Combat Prowess
Whenever Katerina needs to overcome obstacles with Athletes, she can switch it to Fight due to her combat Experience
Soldier's Will:
Her time at the battlefield has strengthen her mind and resolve. Any Will skill needed, she can switch it with Fight
Sixth Sense:
Whenever Katerina uses the Investigate Skill on the aftermath of a fight, she can switch it for the Fight Skill due to years of constant battle, she's seen many that she can almost picture what happened in an aftermath.

In reply to Katerina (msg # 18):

It looks good. The way I see it, your stunts are specifically tied to combat situations. For example if someone was trying to intimidate you in a fight, you would use fight to resist it, but if someone was trying to charm you, you would use will. Is that the kind of thing you were thinking?

Yep, pretty much, theirs a reason why she doesn't do well in social politics.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 17):

Hi Sophia.  If you want to be Saulas apprentice I am really cool with that.  If not a little bit surprised.
In D&D turns Saulas would be Chaotic Good.  In Gurps turns he would have the flaw curious.  He also a bit of a ladies man / charmer (if that did not come out in his Trouble: description then I may need to re-right it) but he never wishes anybody ill.  He is often employed as a healer.  He is kind but a little to restless for his own good.

So yes Saulas would take her as his apprentice.  Working together to help develop her prophetic dreams.  Working together as a team to access the realm of spirits.
In return she may see her role to rain in some of Saulas more dubious actions.

Would that work with you?  I let this be your post.  Your story.

---

Katerina.
Before I met Sophia I was thinking Saulas may have worked for your father the king.  Saulas left him taking a valuable war horse with him.  The reason would be a disagreement over a marriage agreement (misunderstanding).  If that is ok.
So if your ok with this.  Which daughter of your father ended up in Saulas arms (if you want it to be Katerina that cool).  However I do not wish to presume anything like this with someone elses character).  I also happy for you to decide if the kings daughter (possibly yourself) was Saulas lover, wife, or bride to be, was interested in Saulas but he did not notice at the time.
I only think it fair for you to decide.  If you don't like the idea then tell me.  But I thought it would be fun.  As this will be a major effect on your background I want you to have control of it.
If want this to be, it could be the reason you ended up leaving your father if really want entwine yourself with Saulas dubious past?

If your happy with this it will be my post.

---

Note to GM. I am aware this game is not A rated.  Any interacted Saulas has will be anything a 12 year old could read with no problems.  I will think and be careful with my posts.

Eh, the problem with that is Katerina is mostly into women. I can't really see her be interested in such a ladies man like yourself. A relationship like that sounds more like what the King wants more than her own decision, though that does add another layer of conflict to the estranged father relationship.

However, if that's not how you prefer (seeing as she might be hostile to you), she has two younger siblings I think. I'll let you describe them, theirs only one fact you need to know, her mother and sisters generally have a healthy relationship even if their currently separated.

Oh that could work.

Your father decides to arrange a marriage with his trusted adviser Saulas and one of his daughters.  He picks Katerina.  Thinking it would  put her in her place.  Saulas sort of went along with it trying to find a way out.  He finds out Katerina is not into him but woman (which he does not have a problem with).
And to top it all off one of your sister was into Saulas and upset he left.

Both try to find away out of the agreement but cannot.  So they both fed your father not knowing the other is doing the same.

Would that work?
How Katriane feels about Saulas is up to you.  However in their last meeting Katriane make her feeling felt and (maybe much to her suprise) Saulas told her he understood and respected her feelings.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:42, Sun 31 July 2022.

Yeah, I'm up for something like that.

In reply to Katerina (msg # 24):

Cool. This is why I wanted to talk to you first before making my post. I wanted this to fit in with the way you saw your character. I did not wish to make any assumptions and now you've explained more about Katrina I'm glad I did this.

I am thinking about the aspect of love should be free.

What do you think?

Hmm, sure, it's very much up to you on aspect naming.

Re: Saulas and Sophia

Hi Sophia.  If you want to be Saulas apprentice I am really cool with that.  If not a little bit surprised.
It's not going to be a traditional master-apprentice relationship.  (She'll never call him "master" for instance :)   I think we need to nail down the expected exchange.  I'm thinking He tries to help develop and interpret her gifts (the prophetic dreams) and she tries to help reframe his interactions with the spirits in ways that align with their flow of nature.   It's got to be a equal give & receive relationship or it won't work for me.  the "help" simply can't be one way.

She understands nature.  Not so much the urban environment, but the principles of harmony should still apply.

As to the ladies man thing... meh, whatever.  I'll play my character as she develops.  At the start of the game, however, if there's been any physical component between them, it's certainly not yet an emotional commitment.

In return she may see her role to rain in some of Saulas more dubious actions.
Let's call it that she may see her role to instruct in ways of harmony.   It's easy enough to divert a river, for example, if you make it easier for the river to go the way you want it to...  You simply can't force a river to run uphill...  (Oh, I can see all sorts of annoying sayings like that.  That could be fun).

Great (+4): Lore
Good (+3): Empathy, Investigate
Fair (+2): Notice, Will, Rapport
Average (+1): Contacts, Crafts, Resources, Stealth

Stunt: A Lifetime of Study. Chiatracles has spent his life reading, experimenting and learning. You can spend a fate point to use Lore in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having once made an academic study of the action attempted.

Stunt: Wise Councillor. Chiatracles' sagely advice can set a troubled soul at ease. Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.)

Stunt: See the Truth of Things. Chiatracles' insights into a situation can border on the uncanny. Once per scene you can spend a fate point (and a few minutes of observation) to make a special Investigate roll representing your potent deductive faculties. For each shift you make on this roll you discover or create an aspect, on either the scene or the target of your observations, though you may only invoke one of them for free.

Hmm, is their anything else we need to discuss?

If you are ready we can move to the third phase aspect.  It's just like the second phase except you need to pick a different character's backstory to work off of.

Hey GM...

Regarding Sophia's first Trio-Aspect...

I've been giving some thought to my character and I want to change my Aspects.  Rather than
Wine and Children Tell the Truth, I want to embrace the fundamental conflict at the base of Sophia's character.  So... Let's replace that with:

Dissonance Demands Disruption
Invoke: the take action, to right wrongs, to cleave to her view of what's "right"
Compel: to force her to moral outrage, to see imbalance whether there is or no, to stir shit up!
This is, ultimately a variation on "Strong Moral Compass".  When she sees situations that are just out-of-whack, she gets emotionally involved.  She can't leave a whacked-out situation alone... She just has to get involved.  Towering arrogance to think she knows what's best?  Oh, hell yeah, definitely.

Great (+4): Lore
Good (+3): Empathy, Investigate
Fair (+2): Notice, Will, Rapport
Average (+1): Contacts, Crafts, Resources, Stealth

High Concept: The Wisest Man in Urcadia. Chiatracles is a natural philosopher who has spent his long life studying the world and reading the works of all the great thinkers who came before him. As a result, he has a great store of knowledge that sometimes seems to verge on the magical.

Trouble: An Age of Fear and Superstition. Chiatracles was driven from Urcadia by his enemies, who accused him of trafficking in matters that belonged to the gods and leading the city-state's youth astray. To his sorrow, he has found that other places are much the same - everyone fears a man who seems to know more than he should, and are quick to blame him for any stroke of ill fortune.

Aspect: Honesty Is Its Own Reward. On his wanderings, Chiatracles came to a village where all the children of a certain family were always ill and nothing seemed to help them. Performing a thorough investigation, Chiatracles discovered that the children's mother had been poisoning their food for years. Though the woman begged, bribed and threatened him to keep her secret, he announced it to the villagers. However, the villagers refused to believe that any mother could do something so terrible and instead chose to believe that Chiatracles was a wicked sorcerer who was himself the cause of the children's illness, and they drove him off in a hail of rocks and curses.

Aspect: A Sympathetic Ear. During the early days of her courtship with Anemia, Katerina sought the advice of wise Chiatracles on whether she should truly pursue an affair with someone so much lower than herself in station. Chiatracles councilled her to follow her heart. This meddling in the royal family matters might later have played a role in his banishment.

Stunt: A Lifetime of Study. Chiatracles has spent his life reading, experimenting and learning. You can spend a fate point to use Lore in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having once made an academic study of the action attempted.

Stunt: Wise Councillor. Chiatracles' sagely advice can set a troubled soul at ease. Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Empathy roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re treating for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself. (Normally, this roll would only start the recovery process, instead of changing the consequence level.)

Stunt: See the Truth of Things. Chiatracles' insights into a situation can border on the uncanny. Once per scene you can spend a fate point (and a few minutes of observation) to make a special Investigate roll representing your potent deductive faculties. For each shift you make on this roll you discover or create an aspect, on either the scene or the target of your observations, though you may only invoke one of them for free.

When Sophia decided to deal with the gluttonous father, she went to Chiatracles for help. He provided her with herbs that would make the wine and meat even more intoxicating, making it easier to extract his confession.

Aspect: Master of Potions

Chiatracles
The Gluttonous Father was a riff on Erysichthon of Thessaly.

I would just love if he should appear later on in the game.

---

Katerina
What kind of relationship do you envision or want between Katerina and Sophia?



There's a few things that this introduces into the narrative of the setting.

• Some nobles organized an attack on the Cult of Harmony suggests that there is a high level of religious intolerance in this setting.
• Such religious intolerance has led to the local militia being used to push an agenda of religious persecution and "extermination".
• Katerina has met with Sophia in the past
• Katerina has delivered "heavy injuries" to Sophia

I want to reiterate that I'm using the term "cult" to mean "not a formal religious organization"... I'm not looking for the sinister connotations of the word "cult" by today's standards.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Fri 05 Aug 2022.

So, first round looked like this:

Chia-->Kat
Kate-->Soph
Soph-->Saul
Saul-->Kat

Second round looks like this so far:

Chia-->Soph
Soph-->Chia

This means that Chiatracles hasn't had anybody tie in to his story, and Katerina and Sophia have both had two connections.  With only four active players, we're already all in each other's stories.  Except Chia and Saul.  They currently have no connection between them.

PC:   Active         Passive
Chia: Kate  Soph     Soph   --
Kate: Soph  --       Chia  Saul
Soph: Saul  Chia     Chia  Kate
Saul: Kate  --       Soph  --

So, ideally,
Saulas would put something in Chiatracles story, and
Katerina would put something in Saulas Story


----

Chiatracles  The Wisest Man in Urcadia
                  An Age of Fear and Superstition
                  Honesty Is Its Own Reward
                  A Sympathetic Ear (Katerina)
                  Master of Potions (Sophia)

Katerina      Greatest Warrior In The Making
                  Estranged Father
                  I Will Always Be Here For You
                  Arbiter of a Witch Hunt (Sophia)
                  As Yet Undefined

Saulas        Magical child of Nature
                  A man with a price on his head
                  Kindness is good for the soul
                  Everybody should be free to love and live as they wish (Katerina)
                  As Yet Undefined

Sophia        Huntress on the Path of Harmony
                  Prophecies of Peril and Praise
                  Dissonance Demands Disruption
                  Silver-Tongued Storyteller (Saulus)
                  Mother Green: Fostered to the Forest (Chiatracles)

I was planning on doing this anyway.  Hope to post in weekend.  So this is find with me.

Hey GM!

Can you please enable to RPOL Character so I have some place to consolidate all my information? and where I can make personal notes that only you and I can see?

In the mean-time, here's where Sophia Stands:
.
I'm still dickering around with skill, ranks.

Name: Sophia

Stress & Consequences
Refresh: 3/3, Physical: [1][2][3], Mental: [1][2], Consequences [2][4][6]

Stunts:
Huntress on the Path of Harmony
Prophecies of Peril and Praise,
Dissonance Demands Disruption,
Silver-Tongued Storyteller,
Mother Green: Fostered By the Forest

Skills:
+4: Notice,
+3: Athletics, Deceive,
+2: Empathy, Rapport, Shoot,
+1: Fight, Lore, Physique, Provoke,
+0: Burglary, Contacts, Crafts, Drive, Investigate, Resources, Stealth, Will

Stunts:
Visions of the Future
(Justified by Prophecies of Peril & Praise)
Once per session, you may ask the GM a question about future events, the likely outcomes of your actions, or any other information you can only access through seeing the future. The GM must answer as honestly as possible, but should be vague..

Danger Sense (FC p117)
You have an almost preternatural capacity for detecting danger. Your Notice skill works unimpeded by conditions like total concealment, darkness, or other sensory impairments in situations where someone or something intends to harm you.

It's Just Creative Lying
Acting is just an advanced form of lying. Use the Deceive skill instead of Rapport when performing in an oratory fashion (acting, giving a speech, etc)

Eh, not much, Kate only spared you cause she believed that her job was finished. However, she also sees that what you do might bring peace. Though, I'd like to leave it up to you on what their relationship could be when they meet.

The Game will start on the road. You are traveling together, so It makes sense to flesh out your characters relationships particularly if they started out rocky.

Getting the feeling that poor Katerina is doomed to end up getting stuck in loads of problem coursed by Saulas however hard she tries to not to or however far she travels to get away from him.

In reply to Katerina (msg # 38):

Okay....

Being on the Path of Harmony does not mean Sophia is particularly nice nor forgiving.

From my perspective, there is a moral obligation for Sophia to balance the scales. This suggests an antagonistic relationship.

If you're not comfortable with this, we'll need to work out why Sophia doesn't harbor a grudge.

I can't really fathom why Sophia would -choose- to travel with a woman who almost killed her.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:57, Sat 06 Aug 2022.

I thought it was to be Saulas and Katerina what would have a grudge against each other but it seems otherwise.

Sophia can harbor a grudge.  In fact I think it would be good for the game.

You see Saulas tells Sophia not to kill his sort of fiancée.  That she has a lesson to learn here.
To learn the value of not always killing your enemy but finding a use for them to be alive.  That they can be useful.  That maybe enemies do not have to stay enemies for ever.

Remember Saulas is kind-hearted.  Killing someone is for him the last resort.  He is forgiving and does not hold grudges.  He could technically have grudge against Katerina (and she him) but does not.  He cares about her (Katerina note I use the word care and not love for a reason).  Saulas excepted her for who she is).

So poor Sophia is stuck with being with her.

What do you say player Sophia?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Sat 06 Aug 2022.

Heh, I am fine with this. Being antagonistic or friendly is all fine and dandy to me.

Okay.  I think that there's potential for a character-arc for Sophia in this.

She'll forebear her vengeance out of respect for Saulas.  She likely won't be overtly mean or cruel, but definitely guarded and distant.  As to where she goes... so much will depend on the story.

Sorry. I didn't realize the character sheets weren't accessible.  I'm still new at this side of RPOL. Let me know if you're still having issues.

Just a passing note.

Normally in most game character sheet work but maybe in this game we should use Character Description.

The difference is anybody can see Character Description but only the player can see character sheet.
With character creation in this game more party based than player based it maybe useful to have most if not all the player character sheets open for everybody.

Just a thought.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

This makes sense.

In fate based games, I personally like using the character sheet as a private notepad that only myself and the GM can see.

I updated the public character sheets; please look them over to make sue I got it right.  Also let me know if the character sheets are working in your character details.  The public character sheet is mostly to help organize and so people know what aspects you can invoke.

I think we're just about ready, unfortunately, I'm going on a trip at the end of the week. It will only be a week, but it's right when we're getting started.  I'll try to check in when I can.  I'm hoping you can use the time to RP and build the character dynamic, which I feel is the heart of the game.

Hmm, so do we got a dynamic. I feel like we've got a feel for each other's characters. Maybe.

Hope the trip was fruitful!

Unfortunately, we're not really in a position to roleplay.   RPOL limits thread-creation to GMs only.   We depend on you to establish the scene...   If we are travelling together we need to know why: what we hope to accomplish by doing so (and by inference what's at stake if we don't).  Ultimately, this means that we're in  a holding pattern until you, our illustrious GM, lead us down that primrose path....


Re: Personal Sheets
Back in message #31 in this thread, I requested to change Both Wine and Children Speak the Truth for Dissonance Demands Disruption.  My RPOL character sheet is updated with these in place.  I've also got the full revised character sheet in Message #37.

If you have an issue with Dissonance Demands Disruption as an Aspect, let's please discuss.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 50):

I've updated you character sheet, and I linked your new aspect to the old narrative if that's ok.

I also started an IC thread.  I'll be back home by Sunday, so I can spend the time to really focus.

Sorry I'm a bit slow posting. I've got a lot of overtime this week. Thing should be back to normal next week.  I'll post the current scene later today, but I wanted to respond to someone's question so they can post.

PM

Sorry I haven't been around. Work got busy this week.

I am still here.  Sorry work and the sad passing of the much loved head of state of my country.
Being civil servant it has had an effect.  It just sad.

Anyway try to post over the weekend.

I was asked a question about what a character could do, asked in private, which I'm happy to answer in private.  But, we have a number of players here who might also have ideas which can help. If you have questions about something you're trying to do, we can talk it out as a group if you feel comfortable with that.  We can discuss things in ooc, so we don't tie up the action of the scene.

Also offering my apologies.  Several distractions of late.



Sophia walks beside the wagons, or ahead if not on an established roadway.  Do we have established roadways?  I'm not making any assumptions about the setting, so I'm afraid I have to ask the stupid questions...

We notice three bandits come from the front and two from behind.  They're humanoid figures.  Since no horses were mentioned, I'm assuming that the bandits are unmounted.  Is that correct?

Can you give us a bit more of a description of what we actually see?  Do they look like miitary?  Or are we taking Bandits to mean certain things, like disheveled, unruly, alrmed, etc.?


Aspects:
A Wagon In The Road
Trees and Underbrush
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Mon 19 Sept 2022.

Hi.  I the one that PM the GM.

I think the bandit are on horses.  I update my post as I asked if Saulas could effect the horse and GM kindly said yes he could panic the horse.  So that what he going to do.  If I understand this right it make it harder for them to hit up as they trying to control their houses as well.

I didn't see anything in the GM's post that said the bandits had horses.  However, we have horses.

It would be epically amusing if the GM thought you were talking about scaring our horses...  In which case, I'm glad I grabbed my bow first!

If I remember rightly we are following horse tracks? but I maybe wrong.

Sorry for the confusion. I didn't say specifically say they had horses, but that's a reasonable assumption, so I "yes and" it. I like to think of the game as a shared story, and I left things a bit vague so you guys could fill in details that you want.  I think I left it a bit too vague, that's my goof up. I'll detail the setting a little better in the IC thread, and I'll be sure to give a more detailed description in he future.

This thread, message #57:
Sophia walks beside the wagons or ahead if not on an established roadway.

I've revised my most recent post to clarify her position with respect to the wagons.


Thank-you for the updated description.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Wed 21 Sept 2022.

I don't see any reason for Katerina to change what she'd posted... except maybe the intent.  Is she looking to cause bodily harm or to warn them to take us seriously?  Both are well served by her action!

Actually, if I'm reading the turn order, the order would look like this since we made our post after the GMs.

Bandits then Chiatracles, Saulas, Katerina, and Sophia, then Bandits

So Katerina would not know of the parliament. Either way, she's a soldier, mercy is for those that surrender.

I was offering the option. Sophia acts before Katerina, so if Katerina wanted to listen to Sophia, she could. She doesn't have to.

I think we're good to go for another GM post.

Sorry for posting so late. I was working overtime last week.

Don;t worry.  All Gm have day and even month when thing don't work and they cannot post.

Main thing is you don't give up on the game and do post when you can.

So of my best games have taken 6 month brakes then ran for few more years.  Just how thing are on this web site.

Stress

One of your options to mitigate the effect of a hit is to take stress.

The best way to understand stress is that it represents all the various reasons why you just barely avoid taking the full force of an attack. Maybe you twist away from the blow just right, or it looks bad but is really just a flesh wound, or you exhaust yourself diving out of the way at the last second.

Mentally, stress could mean that you just barely manage to mitigate some comment, or clamp down on an instinctive emotional reaction, or something like that. Stress boxes also represent a loss of momentum—you only have so many last-second saves in you before you’ve got to face the music.

Your stress boxes each have a shift value. By default, all characters get a 1-point and a 2-point box. You may get additional, higher-value stress boxes depending on some of your skills (usually Physique and Will). On your character sheet, you have a number of stress boxes that have different values.

When you take stress, check off a stress box with a value equal to or greater than shift value of the hit (and only that stress box). If there is no next available box, you’re taken out of the conflict.

Remember that you have two sets of stress boxes! One of these is for physical stress, the other for mental; you’ll start with a 1-shift and a 2-shift box in each of these. If you take stress from a physical source, you check off a physical stress box. If it’s a mental hit, check off a mental stress box.

After a conflict, when you get a minute to breathe, any stress boxes you checked off become available for your use again.

Consequences

The second option you have for mitigating a hit is taking a consequence. A consequence is more severe than stress—it represents some form of lasting injury or setback that you accrue from the conflict, something that’s going to be a problem for your character after the conflict is over.

Consequences come in three levels of severity—mild, moderate, and severe. Each one has a different shift value: two, four, and six respectively. On your character sheet, you have a number of available consequences, in this section:

When you use a consequence, you reduce the shift value of the attack by the shift value of the consequence. You can use more than one consequence at a time, and even combine the use of stress and consequences if they’re available.

However, there’s an additional penalty. When you use a consequence, your character also gains an aspect that represents the lasting effect incurred from the attack. The opponent who forced you to take a consequence gets a free invocation, and the aspect remains on your character sheet until you’ve recovered from that consequence. While it’s on your sheet, it gets treated like any other aspect, except because the slant on it is so negative, it’s far more likely to be used to your character’s detriment.

Unlike stress, consequences cannot be reused until you’ve recovered from them, which may be long after the conflict is over. Also unlike stress, you only have one set of consequences; there aren’t specific slots for physical versus mental consequences. This means that, if you have to take a minor consequence to reduce a mental hit and your minor consequence slot is already filled with a physical consequence, you’re out of luck! You’re going to have to use a moderate or severe consequence to absorb that it (assuming you have on left).

Still, it’s better than being taken out, right?

Naming a Consequence

Here are some guidelines for choosing what to name a consequence:

Mild consequences don’t require immediate medical attention. They hurt, and they may present an inconvenience, but they aren’t going to force you into a lot of bed rest. On the mental side, mild consequences express things like small social gaffes or changes in your surface emotions. Examples: Black Eye, Bruised Hand, Winded, Flustered, Cranky, Temporarily Blinded.

Moderate consequences represent fairly serious impairments that require dedicated effort toward recovery (including medical attention). On the mental side, they express things like damage to your reputation or emotional problems that you can’t just shrug off with an apology and a good night’s sleep. Examples: Deep Cut, First Degree Burn, Exhausted, Drunk, Terrified.

Severe consequences go straight to the emergency room (or whatever the equivalent is in your game)—they’re extremely nasty and prevent you from doing a lot of things, and will lay you out for a while. On the mental side, they express things like serious trauma or relationship-changing harm. Examples: Second-Degree Burn, Compound Fracture, Guts Hanging Out, Crippling Shame, Trauma-Induced Phobia.

Recovering from a Consequence

In order to regain the use of a consequence, you have to recover from it. That requires two things—succeeding at an overcome action that allows you to justify recovery, and then waiting an appropriate amount of game time for that recovery to take place.

The action in question is basically an overcome action; the obstacle is the consequence that you took. If it’s a physical injury, then the action is some kind of medical treatment or first aid. For mental consequences, the action may involve therapy, counseling, or simply a night out with friends.

The difficulty for this obstacle is based on the shift value of the consequence. Mild is Fair (+2), moderate is Great (+4), and severe is Fantastic (+6). If you are trying to do the recovery action on yourself, it’s two steps harder.

Recovery for physical damage will use the lore skill, and a couple people have aspects and or stunts which can help.

With six damage, do I have any choice but to be taken out of the conflict? It's higher than the highest possible consequence, right?

Hi.

I am still getting my head round the rules for this.
However if I read this right I go straight to moderate Consequences with only taking +3 damage?
As you cannot seem use unused boxes to soak up the damage?

In reply to Chiatracles of Urcadia (msg # 70):

That is a bit of a text wall I left for you. I'll list out the options for your situation.

For Chiatracles

You could take a a 2 shift stress and a moderate (4 shift) consequence.

You could take a mild (2 shift), and a moderate (4 shift) consequence.

You could take a a severe (6 shift) consequence.

I recommend the first option because stress disappears after the combat. A moderate consequence will persist for a while, but we have healers and magic which can speed up the healing.

For Saulas

You could take a 1 shift stress, and a Mild (2 shift) consequence

You could take a moderate (4 shift) consequence.

Again I recommend using stress first if you can.

A mild consequence could mean the attack hurt but didn't penetrate or it was only a minor cut. A moderate consequence means you were struck hard enough to need medical attention. A severe consequence means something like you could bleed out.

If you're in a combat and you think you will use up your stress and consequences, you can concede instead of defending, and you will have some control as to what happens. If you defend and are still taken out you're at the mercy of the enemy.

OK thanks for that.

That also make more sense.  So you can soak up 1 damage with 1 shift stress.

So yes:- I will take:-  "You could take a 1 shift stress, and a Mild (2 shift) consequence".

Second if I read the rules right.  If I am to heal this myself it is +4 to heal?
So I would have +3 and +2 toward it.

The reason I asking is I have post in mind but what make sure it fits with rules.
Once Saulas is healed he will turn his attention to Chiatracles
This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:15, Mon 10 Oct 2022.

In reply to Saulas of Britannia (msg # 73):

For full success in healing your own mild injury you would need to beat a great(4) difficulty on the lore roll. If you and Chiatracles take cafe of each other you can avoid the +2 difficulty.

You also always have the option of "conceding" the fight.  That's the "yeah, you win." approach.  The benefit to conceding is:

• You receive one fate-point for the concession plus a fate-point for every consequence you received in the conflict. (so... concede now and you'd get two fate-points for use later)...
• more importantly, you have a greater say in what the end of the conflict means for your character (like "left for dead on the battlefield" instead of "stripped and taken into camp in shackles"). 

This might be to our advantage since us being taken prisoner might well mean confirming whether they've got the children as prisoners, too...

Hey, GM!
Sophia was successful with the Arrow attack.   Was "Arrows At the Ready" used or do I still have a free invoke on that?

Now, if I read the scene correctly, Katerina blocked B1's attack, killed B2 & B3.  Sophia killed B4, and Saulas knocked B5 from his uncontrolled horse.  That would mean that B1 & B5 are still active.   B5 was "knocked from the horse" so is likely on the ground...
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Tue 11 Oct 2022.

The combat is over. Katerina killed the bandits in front, Sophia killed bandit 4, and Saulas took down bandit 5, but he didn't say he was going for a kill. If you choose you could interrogate him. Unfortunately it's too late to concede the fight at this point, and the tactical advantages didn't get used. These were just patrolling nameless guards who were pretty squishy enemies. There will be tougher enemies in the future who won't go down so easily.

Ah gotcha.  When Katerina knocked aside the first bandit's blow, she also killed him.  I missed that.

I wasn't actually suggesting we concede this fight.  I was simply advising that this is always a mechanical option in a conflict.  Sometimes, you just don't want to take more shifts of stress.

Ohhhhhh, I can both take stress and a consequence? Okay, let's take 2 stress and a moderate consequence, then. Do I decide what consequence, or is that the GM's job? It'd reasonably be something like "deep sword wound"...

Depends if it sounds thematic enough. Like Burnt Leg or Broken Ribs

For yours, I'd say you should be given Deep Gash

I'm sorry that I've been silent.  I'll post something this weekend

Meh, It's a game.  Do it when you can.  We'll do likewise.  Nobody wins if you're stressed about it.

But, on the other-hand... I very much appreciate you ping.  My biggest complaint is the number of ghosts on here.

Same for me.  Will post over the weekend.

Still here!

Still here. :)

Can you guys please get in my wagon so we can rescue those children.

I'm already there! I'm sitting there trying to redeem a villain through Philosophy. 8)

I'd rather scout ahead, so we have some idea of what awaits us.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 87):

I agree, Sophia should scout head and Saulas can stay and guard the wagon.

Hey folk;

I'm likely going to be offline throughout the next week and a half or so.  Major serious life issues I can't actually talk about right now.  Like... press conference on Monday type of stuff.

I should be more attentive after next week.  Please play Sophia as you need.  I'll roll with anything, when I'm back.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 89):

I hope things work out ok.

It looks like we're ready to move to the next bit. Unless I hear something to the contrary, I'm assuming you're taking the southern approach that the prisoner suggested.

I'm back.  The crazy week is done with and I've got a little quiet time now.

Welcome back!

It looks like you guys are still discussing your plan, so the timing worked out

We seem to have stalled. I won't be available through the holidays. After the New year, we can see where we want to go with this.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Hi! everyone!  Happy New Year! Are we ready to continue?

Happy New Year! :) Yep, I'm ready to go.

Sure. I'm around.

I am still around.  I will try to pick thing up at weekend.  I only had 4 days over over Christmas and New Year but needed to spend time with my elderly mother.

Katerina hasn't checked in, so I'm going to move forward with her character in the background for now.

When we left off the group was coming up with a plan. Saulus knew which hut the children were in. The prisoner told you that the south was the safest rout to enter the camp. Chiatracles volunteered to make a distraction.  Does that sound about right? Do you need more planning time?

Ah right, was I supposed to say anything

Welcome back!

I have some holiday at last.  So will try to move things forwards this week.

I'm sorry folks. I'm going to have to end the game. I'm running out of steam. Thank you so much for taking the time to game with me, and I wish you all well in the future.

Well, thanks for giving it a shot.

That you for running an interesting game.  I am sorry I did not had the time to put as much effort in as I like to have.