14:26, Today: Orlov rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 5,3,4.  resist consequences.

Not sure if i should say anything more.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:33, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Ok, you rolled 5 on the resistance roll, so you take 1 Stress. The consequence is resisted automatically, the resistance roll just determines how much stress it costs.

As such, the situation changes thus:

While returning to the mansion after the wrestling competition on the beach, Orlov is stopped by two guards from the town watch. One appears to be a higher ranking officer, a sergeant, while the other seems to just be a rank-and-file member. "Excuse me, sir. We have reports of someone lingering suspiciously around key infrastructure in town. He appears to be a..." says the town watch sergeant to Orlov, while trying to remember. "A tall, long-haired fellow... what color was his hair? Did he have a beard, mustache or not?" the sergeant asks his lower ranked colleague.

"I don't know, they didn't say much, just that there was some suspicious man." the other guardsman says and shrugs, eyeing Orlov with disinterest and a bit of disdain as well. The sergeant rolls his eyes and sighs, then turns back to Orlov. "Well, have you noticed anything unusual, sir? Anyone suspicious in town. It could help a lot."

If you tell them you don't know anything about that, they just let you go on your way. But you can try to mislead them or convince them to treat those reports less seriously. Or something else. Your choice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:17, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

"Oh, that was probably me" Orlov replied frankly. "I'm from the Falcon. Our ship is anchored nearby effecting repairs.  We will be in town in a day or two, and the quartermaster came on ahead in a boat to start organizing supplies. I've been running errands all damn day all over town. But I've never been here before, I got lost a few times. I went out to the mansion a couple of times, there's a wedding going on, or something? Who's getting married? Seems like a big deal."

Mark for XP: Using knowledge to address a challenge
This message was last edited by the player at 03:53, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Carina:

Ok, so, take 2 Stress for that flashback.

So, for the Sway, after adding together all factors including you trading position for Effect, it results in Desperate position and Extreme effect.

The governor, Alfonso Montez is stricken by the return of the mysterious countess he hosted at his mansion previously. While obviously not fond of her servants, he nevertheless grew enchanted by Carina. So much so that he gave her the finest quarters of all the wedding guests and ensured that she'd have a place of honor during the wedding feast, next to him.

"Welcome back, your magnificence. My daughter, Catalina, will surely be overjoyed that someone of your caliber will attend her wedding!" the governor greeted Carina, but then his bright smile turned into a frown when he saw Orlov and Mayumi.

"The majordomo will ensure that your... servants will be... taken care of as well." the governor said, looking at the two with obvious disdain. Orlov was an Ourogan, people of the same stock as those of Revelle, Sallicia and Valdesia, but their culture was thought to be barbaric and backwards compared to the so-called civilized world. The Waturey were even lower in the opinion of the civilized nations, so to speak, and frequently enslaved.

Afterwards, your paths split as each of you were ushered to your "quarters". Carina herself got the finest guest room in the entire mansion, located on the second floor in the western wing of the mansion. Orlov and Mayumi got settled in the servant dormitory near the kitchens. Then you all went your separate ways to do your own thing.

Gonna move the second roll to take place much later than the first one in order to make the sequence of events make more sense.

Anyway, he really doesn't want what he considers a bunch of "savages" to "ruin" his daughter's wedding with some "heretical practices". Anyone else suggested this, he'd probably think they were insane. But following the previous very successful attempt to get into his good graces, the position starts at Risky instead of Desperate. Effect starts at Standard due to the fine bottle of wine, else it would be Limited due to his prejudices. So yes, you can trade position for effect.

So, Desperate Position, potentially Great Effect.

Unfortunately, you rolled 2, so this is gonna suck and the others don't gain any bonus to their attempts.

Then, hours later in private, Carina arranged another meeting with governor Alfonso Montez and offered a bottle of the finest sallician wine she had at her disposal as a wedding gift.

Then Carina offered the services of Orlov and Mayumi, but when the governor heard her suggestions, he grew pale with rage, at the audacity that someone would even dare suggest something like that.

"Forgive me, madam, perhaps I've heard you wrong, but are you suggesting that I have daughter's glorious wedding... DESPOILED BY THE PRACTICES OF SOME SAVAGES?" the governor almost screams out the last part. He calms down a bit, but not much.

"Forgive me, madam, but you've clearly been outside civilized company for too long if such an idea doesn't immediatelly strike revulsion in your mind. You need to be rid of those two lest they do more damage to your mind than they already did. My plantations always need workers and I suppose the Ourogan can be put to work there. Those savages have some hope towards being civilized and out there, he won't be able to do much damage until he learns proper manners. As for your 'handmaiden'... well, she'll be put in chains and sold. You'll be compensated, of course. I'll provide you with two servants of my own, much more proper person for a noblewoman of your standing." the governor says, his mind clearly set in stone.

"And forgive me, but this ridiculous idea took much from me and I have to retire to my quarters."

You've decided to resist the Consequence beforehand. Well, the way resisting consequences works is that I need to set the proper Attribute for each consequence first.

Alright, so, two consequences:


Consequence 1 - Serious Complication: Orlov and Mayumi are to be pressed into indentured servitude and enslaved, respectivelly. Atleast, he'll try to do have his men do that.

You can resist this with Insight. If you do, he'll abandon his plans, but he'll have them expelled from town so that they don't "corrupt" your character further.


Consequence 2 - You lose the opportunity to act: Meaning, he'll end the meeting right here and you won't have another opportunity to talk with him for a long time.

If you resist this with Insight, the meeting will continue and you can try to convince him further, but you'll be in a worse position with your attempts (probably Desperate).


Remember, trading to Desperate can really pay off! But you better pull it off, or it leads to very serious consequences for your characters.

So, Carina, decide which consequences you try to resist and make the resistance rolls, if any.

Orlov:

Sure, you get the XP.

Anyway, time for a Fortune roll to see how this risky move works out for you.

The Admiral, on behalf of Orlov, rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  Fortune Roll (Orlov).

"Is that so?!" the sergeant almost exclaims in surprise and perhaps also... excitement? Perhaps he sees a possible promotion, if he can make himself a hero that has removed subversive elements that tried to ruin the wedding of governor's daughter... be it true or not. "So, where's this quartermaster of yours?" the sergeant asks. "I suppose we better continue the discussion at the guardhouse. Corporal, please escort the gentleman there." the sergeant orders his subordinate and the man in question takes a few steps towards you and tries to grab you.

So, this was a Fortune roll just to see how they'll react to this information, nothing to resist here.

So, now it's your move. What do you do, Orlov?
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:55, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Before the Guard can grab him, Orlov slips under his arm, steps past him and using a new wrestling move he has just learned, threw the surprised guard to the ground. Then he turned and sprinted for the trees.



18:35, Today: Orlov rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  brawn: trip guard and run.
Well, that went well.

"Perhaps these savages have clouded my judgement," Carina agrees with a long sigh. She looks down, rubbing the bridge of her nose, shakes her head as if to clear out the taint of the islands, then back up into the Governor's eyes. "I thank you for helping to see that. Perhaps I have been away from proper civilization for too long. However, they are my savages to do with as I see fit. I am most fond of you, Governor but I implore you not to forget your station by threatening to dispose of my property. I will see that they are kept out from underfoot of the decent and hard-working people of your home and your city until we return to Revelle and I will trouble you no further. Some time to clear my head will do me well."

Carina retires to her quarters and spends the rest of the day preparing herself. She has the governor's servants draw a hot bath, drinks more wine than she brought with her, has dinner brought to her quarters and watches the moon rise through the balcony doors from the soft bed with its elaborate bedclothes. Just having her inside the gates will probably be handy. Surely the crew can figure the rest out.


That's how the Swashbuckler is built, lots of high drama, high risk rolls. Getting +1d and increased effect for Desperate rolls with Daredevil is a really strong incentive.

I'm resisting the first consequence only. The dice are still the same as the original resistance roll.

I'll take the risk of Indulging Vice with that second Downtime action. Carina is basically cutting her losses, blowing off looking for info on the Dowry and hoping that everyone else will have come up with something by tomorrow morning.
21:39, Today: Carina Flamanico rolled 5 using 1d6 ((5)).
Aaaaand promptly overindulge. We are the worst pirates ever! Hahahaha.

This message was last edited by the player at 05:46, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Orlov:

Ok, so, position was risky, effect... well, gonna say Standard as I won't be counting the Tier too much for this particular one, as their equipment and such doesn't come into play yet and these are just simple town guardsmen, not the governor's elite.

Gonna assume Orlov didn't trade position for effect.


Orlov tries his maneuver, but it unfortunately goes wrong. Before he knows it, he's pinned to the ground by the watchman. The sergeant arrives to help and soon enough, Orlov's hands are bound behind his back.


Consequence 1: Bound and On The Ground.

You resist with Prowess. If you resist, you aren't bound, nor on the ground, instead you are still standing and merely grappled by the two guardsmen and can still fight. Your position will most likely be Desperate though.

Consequence 2: Alert, with a 4 segment clock. Once it's filled up, reinforcements arrive, so you'll have to deal with more guards. If you aren't gonna resist, I'll fill 3 segments of the clock.

You resist with Insight. If you resist, I'm gonna fill only 1 segment of the Alert clock.

Orlov slips free and...?

... and tries to talk his way out.

"Look guys, I don't want no trouble. I don't want to go to no guard house, I don't want to drag my Ship's name through the mud. I'm already on thin ice cause the bosun's mate's a real bastard and I punched him in the face. One more strike and I get beached. He does things with rats you wouldn't believe. They crawl over your blankets when you're sleeping, they sit on your face and tickle you. Sometimes they're dead, and you wake up with this goddamn dead rat with dead eyes and half its face gnawed off sitting on your chest tickling you with its whiskers. It gives me the shits.

"I don't want trouble! I don't want to get beached! I want to leave the ship, but I ain't got paid! You don't get paid until the ship gets to port, and the purser pays everyone out and then you go to town.

"What do you want, anyway? I answered your questions. I just been doing my job. I've been tramping all over town all damn day and I told you that and I'm tired and I'm hot and I want a beer and a shag and a swim. And no fornicating rats."

20:19, Today: Orlov rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,4,1.  resist insight.  20:19, Today: Orlov rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,1.  resist prowess.

21:28, Today: Orlov rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,5.  sway, devild bargain.

This message was last edited by the player at 08:29, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Carina:

You've Overindulged your Vice, I guess it's gonna be the Vice Purveyor (the Governor for now) cut you off.

After convincing the governor to merely expel her servants from the town instead of his original plan, Carina decides to use this opportunity to calm down and use whatever luxuries the governor's manse offers its guests.

This didn't go well.

Probably only Carina knows what exactly happened, if she simply lost control, it simply went out of hand or perhaps Carina had a bit too much to drink. The important thing was that when all was said and done, a lot of expensive stuff was destroyed, Carina's room was trashed and also, something was set on fire.

The governor didn't take it well and despite her apparent noble status, Carina was asked to leave the mansion and barred from attending the wedding, due to 'disturbing the king's peace', which governer Montez is supposed to maintain.

"I'm sorry, madam, but I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to ruin yourself in this way. Those savages have gotten to you, madam, I beseech you, go back to Revelle before you become... one of them." governor Alfonso Montez said as he was ushering Carina out of his mansion with servants and guards in tow. Clearly, he was both concerned for her and also didn't want her to ruin the glorious event that was to take place in a few days with her debauchery.

Some of the other noble guests are also gathered at the courtyard, conversing between themselves and looking at Carina, the adventurous noblewoman with savages as her servants who just arrived and managed to trash the place and cause a scandal that no one will soon forget.

"And I... I'll be praying for your soul!" the governor says to Carina and looks at her with concern, moments before the gates of the mansion shut behind her.

That certainly didn't end well.

You gain XP from struggling with your Vice.

While wrestling with the two guards, Orlov talks and talks and talks an proves to be surprisingly eloquent. The sergeant sighs, deciding that this man is not worth their while and they won't get anything useful out of him. Or anything worth the hassle with him.

So, the two guards just throw Orlov to the ground. "Damn fool!" the sergeant growls as he kicks Orlov in the ribs. The other guard soon follows that with his own kick to Orlov's other side. "You lot from the Falcon better not cause any trouble. We'll be watching you scum!" the sergeant finishes with a threat and makes sure to spit on Orlov lying on the ground. Then, the two guards leave, while Orlov gets up, bruised, but free.

Upon arriving back at the mansion, Orlov finds out that he's no longer welcome there. Apparently, the governor decided that having an Ourogan 'savage' in his manor and thus, he's unceremoniously ushered out of the mansion. Thus, he had to make way back to whatever the set-up meeting place was for your group.

Gain Level 1 Harm (Bruised and Battered).

Jaabir will take the rat bite but resist the ambush.

09:40, Today: Jaabir (Gibber) Ishqadeem rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4.  Resist Ambush.

2 Stress and Level 1 harm updated.

Alright, so, you hear those three coming from a side alley. You realize you should probably make yourself scarce. So, decide how you avoid the thugs and roll the relevant action rating.

"Gah!" Jaabir says under his breath stiffing a shout of pain as the rats teeth sink into his finger. He drops the foul beast when he hears several men conversing by a fire.

Better make like the rat and get out of here, he thinks to himself as he tries to sneak far enough away that he can take off and run.


Assuming this is a Skulk. I have a 0, but I will push myself for 1D6.

11:37, Today: Jaabir (Gibber) Ishqadeem rolled 5 using 1d6 with rolls of 5.  Skulk and Pushing it.
2 Stress updated for a total of 4

Ok, the Consequence is that they will spot you just as you are leaving the alley and might decide to pursue you.

You can resist it with Prowess. If you resist it, the consequence is entirely eliminated and you get away safely.

I suppose it's better to resist and live to fight another day. It's been a stressful day lol

12:26, Today: Jaabir (Gibber) Ishqadeem rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Prowess Resist.
4 more stress added for total of 8

Battered and bruised, Orlov caught up with Carina, who appeared round be nursing a headache."So what happened to you? Why'd we get kicked out?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

Carina has changed back to her usual shipboard outfit and is looking a little worn herself. Several streaks of grey-black soot cross her face but despite all of the wear and tear, she is still smiling and has a tankard of something in her hand.

"It's a long story. You'd think a wedding drawing noble guests from all over would have a party atmosphere. There was one fire, a small fire. . . in the library. . . and a few monkeys got loose, some broken bottles in the wine cellar. . .two or three. . . dozen, stuff that would be just another day on the Memelesi, honestly. A few people fell off my balcony but that was totally not my fault. They had to hide in the bushes while the servants brought their clothes down. For some unfathomable reason, it was all too much for the governor's delicate sensibilities and everyone was all too happy to blame the Countess. As if all of these other nobles weren't up to their own ridiculous debaucheries. The hypocrisy is frankly staggering!"

Carina stops for a dramatic pause, giving Orlov a chance to process her wild, and probably not entirely accurate, story.

"On the other hand, it all made an excellent distraction. I'll have a few surprises when the time is right. How did the mapping go?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

A happy grin split Orlov's craggy features. "I'll show you later."

"Fire and monkeys and dozens of bottles of spilt wine and nobles hiding in the bushes without their clothes? Sounds like a most entertaining piece of chaos. You should do this more often, and get paid not to attend parties."

"More fun than I had however. My tasks went okay except the guards accosted me for being suspicious and gave me a thrashing. I don't know why, I was telling them the truth: I'm a member of the Falcons crew which is due here in a day or two, I was sent ahead with the quartermaster to organize supplies, I've been traipsing over town all day and I got lost and I'm hot and tired and want an ale, a shag and a swim. Oh, and I may have mentioned that the bosuns mate does unspeakable things with dead rats. You wake up with a dead rat on your chest with dead eyes and a gnawed face tickling you with its whiskers. Left them that to dwell over.

What did they think of your proposal to bless the bride? And how did your attempt go to seduce the bride into a life of lesbian anarchy aboard a pirate ship?"

Mayumi:

Before she got ultimately thrown out due to Carina's actions, Mayumi learned this:

1) The governor's daughter, Catalina Montez is a very beautiful young lady of proper manners who enjoys painting, sewing and playing the piano. She's apparently looking forward to the wedding and seems to be very much in love with her husband-to-be and seems intent of letting the whole world know of it. While she never met her fiancee, she apparently exchanged letters with her fiancee and had a portrait of herself painted and sent to him. He responded in kind. She was heard that she can't wait to finally meet him in person.

2) The fiancee is Enrique de Trenezes, a scion of the prestigious "de Trenezes" Revellan noble family. The family's also fallen on hard times financially, so this marriage is supposed to set up a source of income for them, as the governor will share his plantations with the family in exchange for being considered part of it.

3) Apparently, it's also supposed to be an attempt to "tame" Enrique in some way. Enrique is the youngest son, a great fencer who fought many duels and got into a lot of trouble and adventures over the years.

4) There are a lot of wealthy guests, basically anyone who's anyone from Revelle in the Carrascan Sea either attended themselves or sent an envoy on their behalf with gifts to the soon to be newlywed couple.

5) There's nothing particular or unusual about how the food is delivered or stored.

6) The dowry is kept down in the underground vault under the mansion. The locks are very sturdy, the only key to them is in the possession of the governor who keeps it on his person at all times (even while bathing, apparently).

Carina laughs and takes a big swig from her tankard. "The last thing I need is a paramour onboard. I just. . . feel bad for her. Sure, she's got every comfort but a gilded cage is still a cage. Most noblewomen aren't even allowed to learn to read. Where I come from, the only women both freedom and wealth are courtesans or daughters of the Merchants Princes ruthless enough to contest their own brothers to become a Merchant Princess. It's all. . ." she gestures vaguely with the tankard, staring off into the middle distance, "cross-stitch and painting, motherly arts and directing servants.  It doesn't matter what she has a talent for or finds rewarding, her course was charted at birth. She could be the best sharpshooter in Revelle or a powerful witch and go to her grave never even knowing that potential was there. Maybe that's fine with her but I wanted to look her in the eye and know one way or the other.
"What about where you come from, Orlov? Are the women allowed to do whatever it is that you do?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:23, Fri 17 Nov 2023.

Orlov filled his own tankard and drank deeply. "Women can do what they want. Most stay at home and look after children and cook and clean and so on, but there have been some whose husbands have died and they just took over, ran the castle, the lands, the whole lot. Once there was a queen, Queen Brunhilda, who ruled by herself, and with an iron fist. Some become warriors, others lead ships, some enjoy hunting. Most don't.

"But that ritual you wanted me to do, no. I couldn't have done that. In my land, women are the witches, the seers; they can bless and curse and make prophecies. They are very powerful, and have great respect. Men don't do that. Men who do that are called seidermen, they are shunned and feared as sorcerors, much like Revelle shuns and fears female witches.

"Some men are priests. But only of manly gods, war gods, hunting gods, knowledge, the sea; not of fertility, love, prophecy, magic spells. Thats female. So a seiderman is like a male/female, maybe both, maybe neither. Strange. Some people fear them. Strangely, the more manly man type the man, the more they fear the half man/woman.

"And priests are usually only priest of one God. I am the priest of Aegir and Ran, the God and Goddess of the sea. He is the husband and is calm and powerful; she has a crazy temper and is the goddess of storms, she is the drowner of sailers. But it is not all bad, she keeps the drowned sailers and entertains them and feasts them in her halls beneath the sea, maybe for years, maybe for a hundred years if she likes them. Then she sends them on their path.

"So I am a priest of Aegir and Ran. Sea gods. Not war gods, not gods of poetry or farming. I am not a blesser of babies nor giver of good luck charms. To do so would be an insult to my Gods, and to declare myself a Seiderman. You were asking too much of me. And, if they know anything of my culture, you were asking them if they wanted the marriage to be blessed by a halfman outcast witch. Maybe this is why they threw you out.

But yes, in my culture there are men who are reciters of the laws, rememberers of the histories, poets and speakers and wise men. And some women are Volva, powerful seers and wise women. They are not the same, they are different paths, but they are both respected."

Marking XP: • You expressed your beliefs,drives,heritage,or background.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:22, Fri 17 Nov 2023.

Carina smiles warmly, leaning in on the table. Her normally carefully controlled expression softens. This is probably the most unguarded that Orlov has ever seen her.

"Well, you are truly a person of unexpected depths, friend. For what it's worth, I didn't want you to do anything real, just put on a show. Deception and intrigue are so ingrained in Sallician nobility that I forget that it doesn't come naturally to everyone. I'll consult with you more closely in the future.

"I did try to study my own people's magic but it didn't go very well. The priesthood says that redheads have the eye of the devil, so they can't train as nuns. Not that I would have anyway. My hair wasn't a barrier with the witches but my teacher said I was too reckless to be a proper strega."

She chuckles and shrugs.

"I can't really argue with her there."

She reaches down, patting the hilt of the sword on her hip.

"Turns out the one place in Sallice that doesn't have a problem with reckless redheads is the Cappontena school of swords and dance."

Orlov snorted. "Red hair. People care what other people look like. The sea doesn't care. The land doesn’t care. And magic, and gods... i think that is a calling, if you have it you have it and you have to do it, if you don't,  there is little point trying. Though i think your teacher was right, you are too reckless to be a user of magic.

"Speaking of how people look, today i saw many people that looked like Mayumi toiling in the fields. They didnt look happy, they looked very poor, thin, half starved some of them,  and i saw some get beaten. Why is this?"

Carina goes quiet for a moment. She rolls her tankard between her hands, looking down at the rum inside, rum that was probably made from sugar grown in the very fields that Orlov is asking about. How much blood was on the stalks of sugar cane that produced this one mug? She could recite the math of human misery from memory.

"Each acre of cane field harvests enough sugar to make five barrels of rum per year. A 40 acre plantation can put out 200 barrels. That's a lot of silver, enough silver to blind people to what goes into making it. Back home, those people are just numbers. A hundred barrels arrive every six months along with an expense report for food, overseer salaries and 'replacement workers'. Ten is a good number, two human sacrifices per thousand gallons. Usually it's higher, sometimes it's much, much higher but no matter how high it gets, the rum makes money, so the rum gets made.

"The Governor will tell you that Revellans were chosen by God to have dominion over the world and that being his slaves will 'civilize' the locals. He'll tell you they're better off working the fields than doing whatever they were doing before Revelle took the island. My friend Hauera would spin a long tale around material causes and the inherent cruelty of a system that allows the nobility to exist.

"The real reason, the best I can figure, is because we: Revelle, Sallicia and the rest, have guns and they don't. The plantation owner's guns protect the men with the whips. The governor's guns protect the plantation owners and the Revellan fleet's cannons protect the Governor. Those with power take what they will. Those without endure what they must. The graveyard is full of people who didn't understand that and the hills are full of the bullets and cannonballs that taught them."

She looks up at Orlov and smirks. "And before you ask, yes, I'd love to see the Continent's cannons silenced but that's out of our league. . . for now."