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Post by Daos on Oct 30, 2016 17:44:55 GMT -8
No, Ryan doesn't know that spell. He could try using Friends to bolster his CHA and then try to convince him again, but he doesn't have that one memorized today.
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Post by Daos on Nov 1, 2016 8:31:41 GMT -8
To elaborate on what Heather said, Rivi is the only PC who knows Ladonna is a mage. It's a secret to everyone else. As far as Ryan and Zurgrim know, she's just a barmaid. Likewise, Ryan and Zurgrim wouldn't know Rivi is also a mage. Ryan and his mother, Judy, are the only known mages in the village. I even said so in my second post here. "[Judy] is also the only mage in the village, aside from Ryan who is still an apprentice."
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Post by Nuke on Nov 1, 2016 19:57:55 GMT -8
oh, ok
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Post by Daos on Nov 3, 2016 18:02:23 GMT -8
By the way, Nuke, I think Heather is waiting on you to respond to her last post, just a head's up.
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Rivi
Apprentice
Posts: 37
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Post by Rivi on Nov 14, 2016 9:59:51 GMT -8
Once again im sorry for disappearing a little I’m having some minor heath issues so iv been busy ill be away for a little while ill msg once im back up to playing status
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Post by Daos on Nov 14, 2016 15:43:46 GMT -8
Hope you feel better soon and can rejoin us. Your character has started to fall behind in XP compared to the others.
Anyway, we've passed the half-way point of the chapter, and it took 9 weeks to get there. Seems like we're finishing about 5 pages every 3 weeks. So I'm predicting the chapter will end in another 9 weeks, in January. However, that's assuming things don't slow down during the holidays.
For this update, I want to talk about 'divine favor.' Those of you who are in my War of the Lance game are already familiar with the idea, as I've used it there. This setting only has 5 gods, though, so the system is much simpler.
Now, the gods are always watching and they are aware of everything you do. As the game progresses, if you do things that please them or act in according to their teachings, you gain favor from them in the form of points. The more favor you accumulate, the more attention that deity will pay toward you. For instance, if you give to the homeless or show mercy to an enemy, you will gain favor with Octhanus. If, on the other hand, you harass the homeless or slay a helpless foe, you might gain favor with Renos instead. Praying to any god sincerely (that is, not just pretending or going through the motions), also earns favor in that deity.
Renos and Octhanus are opposites, as are Gonto and Crizza. So their points cancel each other out. So if you have say, 5 points in Octhanus but 2 points in Renos, then really you only have 3 points in Octhanus. This means if you want to have at least 5 points in Octhanus, you'll actually need to earn 2 more.
If you earn 5 points in favor with a deity, they will reach out to your character in some way (a vision, a dream, or they'll send a follower to speak with you) and they'll ask to form a bond with you. This bond can be rejected, but if you earn 5 more points of favor afterward, they'll try again. If you accept, then that means you agree to devote yourself to that particular deity. (You can follow up to two deities, but only if they aren't opposed. For instance, you could follow Octhanus and Gonto, but not Gonto and Crizza. The exception is Rabbah, who can only be followed by itself.)
After making a bond, if you earn another 5 points, reaching 10 total, then the god will send a henchman to you. This is basically a free henchman, and you are free to turn them away if you wish. The race and class depends on the situation, the faith, and what sort of character you are playing.
At reaching 15 points, you'll receive a granted power (if you are a cleric, you receive an additional one). Again, this is highly situational and depends on a lot of factors, but can include stuff like Lay on Hands, Detect Lie, Free Movement, Inspire Fear, and so forth.
Divine favor is particularly important for clerics. It is needed to rise in rank in the church hierarchy. For instance, Ryan is just an acolyte--not fully ordained. He'll need to earn 5 points in Gonto to become a kohen. If he doesn't have that much favor by the end of the first arc, the church won't promote him. He'll still level up normally, gain new spells and so forth. But he won't increase in rank.
So far only Ladonna and Ryan have earned any favor. Ladonna earned a point in Octhanus, because she released Tavos from the pillory (an act of compassion for the downtrodden). Ryan earned a point in Gonto for not releasing Tavos (respecting the authority of the watch), a point in Renos (for poisoning Tavos), a point in Octhanus (for later defending Tavos from Damon), another point in Gonto (for praying to Gonto), and another point in Gonto (for telling the truth to the kohen when asked). This adds up to 3 points in Gonto, as the Octhanus and Renos points cancel each other out.
If there are any questions, let me know. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves still.
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Post by Daos on Dec 7, 2016 21:26:42 GMT -8
We're now 2/3rd of the way through the first chapter. I haven't heard from Rivi in about a month. I'm not sure if/when he's coming back, or if I should start looking for a replacement (or who I would even ask). On the other hand, there are plenty of NPC companions to choose from, so when the party starts their first adventure, they won't be lacking for assistance. So it's probably not a big concern right now. I think I'll just wait and see what happens for now.
I hope everyone is still having a good time. The council meeting will be starting fairly soon, in the next few pages. But before it does, I wanted to ask...were there any issues any of the PCs wanted to raise during the meeting? If so, please let me know now, so I can make room in the schedule for it.
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Post by Daos on Dec 12, 2016 9:46:27 GMT -8
Just a head's up to everyone--it is now 6 PM in the game, and the village council meeting starts at 7 PM, in one hour. Or in other words, once we hit page 24. This will happen regardless of whether the PCs are at the inn to witness it or not.
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Post by Daos on Jan 23, 2017 12:30:36 GMT -8
(OOC: Does Zurgrim have all the stuff to start brewing, either on hand or easily accessible without disturbing his neighbors? Would he be able to finish the steps of brewing needed to get past where his ingredients would spoil before dawn? Would Zurgrim be able to function in the morning if he doesn't even try to sleep?) From my own research, there are two main steps to making beer, which are malting and brewing. Malting is the preparation of the grain for brewing. The grain is soaked in water for 48 to 76 hours. The water is drained and replaced with fresh water at least once a day. At this point, the grain starts to sprout small root shoots (this is called germination). When this happens, the grain is spread out to a depth of about 10". Once the sprouts are about 2/3 the length of the grain, the grain is put in a dry kiln and baked. Then comes the brewing. The dry malt is crushed between rollers and mixed with water to form a mash. The mash is thinned with hot water and then boiled, while stirred constantly. This liquid, called wort, is then drained from the grain, or grist. Then the hops are added. (I assume this is where the strawberries would be added, as well). The boiled wort is cooled and placed in a fermenting vat. After fermenting several days, the wort is then run into a settling vat. The yeast rises to the surface and is skimmed off. The beer is then drawn off and stored in casks and barrels to age before being bottled. So would Zurgrim have all of the equipment he needs at his house? Probably not. It's a very small place with only one room, so between the necessities (bed, table, pantry, fireplace, etc.), I can't imagine he has room for a kiln, fermenting vat, and settling vat, among other things. I suppose the very first step, though, of soaking the grains in water is probably something he could do. He'd need someone to come in and change the water each day he's gone (assuming he's gone more than one day). In any event, I don't think doing this would disturb neighbors any. Missing one night of sleep won't incur any penalties. Other than he wouldn't be able to memorize any spells, were he a spellcaster (but as he's not, he should be fine).
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Post by Daos on Jan 23, 2017 23:48:08 GMT -8
Okay, the first chapter is done. XP is up. I'll post my notes tomorrow morning.
Hopefully, everyone is still having a good time.
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Post by djhyland on Jan 24, 2017 8:49:29 GMT -8
So would Zurgrim have all of the equipment he needs at his house? Probably not. It's a very small place with only one room, so between the necessities (bed, table, pantry, fireplace, etc.), I can't imagine he has room for a kiln, fermenting vat, and settling vat, among other things. I suppose the very first step, though, of soaking the grains in water is probably something he could do. He'd need someone to come in and change the water each day he's gone (assuming he's gone more than one day). In any event, I don't think doing this would disturb neighbors any. Missing one night of sleep won't incur any penalties. Other than he wouldn't be able to memorize any spells, were he a spellcaster (but as he's not, he should be fine). All right, then, Zurgrim will do what he's able to before morning, which is probably just soaking the grain, and take the chance that he'll be back before a day passes (hopefully a scouting mission won't take more than a day). Afterwards, he'll try to get what sleep he can.
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Post by Daos on Jan 24, 2017 12:16:47 GMT -8
Here are my notes for the first chapter:
Title and Theme The title of this chapter, "A Day in the Life" is pretty straight-forward. At least until that evening, with the twist during the council meeting, everything was pretty normal--just like any other day in Buho Village. I felt like it would be a good idea for the first chapter to be mostly interaction, as the village and its people are very important to the first arc. It would also give the PCs time to get used to how things are, get to know people, and figure out what it is they want to do.
Strange New World One thing I suspected might trip up the PCs a bit, was how very Lawful Neutral Tardiff is. Its religion, its culture, and its laws. Most of the villagers are LN, including most of the council. Usually when people think of a small, agrarian village, they think of everyone being Good. But the nation of Tardiff, largely due to the influence of Gonto, is very LN instead. Whether the PCs are followers of Gonto themselves or not, they'll need to at least try and act that way in public, or else they risk being ostracized.
So things to remember: People are generally more concerned with following the rules than doing what is 'right.' Conformity is important; those who stand out or make waves are seen as troublemakers. Change is feared. Authority is respected. Things like duty, honor and honesty are valued most. Trying to take the law into your own hands (something Adventurers are very prone to do), will likely get you arrested, even if your intentions were noble.
I feel like this got across pretty well, though, with the many little scenes throughout the chapter.
The other big thing is that there is massive amounts of racism and classism in Tardiff. These will play a large role in the game's main themes throughout.
Council Votes When Ryan had his disagreement with Damon, I prepared for the idea that he might try and persuade the council to side with him. I had decided what it would take to convince each member of the council--bribery, persuasion, blackmail, etc. Sennah was the only one who could not, under any circumstance, be persuaded. Norm was the only one who could be persuaded by appealing to his better nature. The others all required different techniques.
However, Ryan didn't start trying to persuade anyone until just before the meeting started, so by that point he really didn't have time to try. He did get Norm to side with him, but that wasn't enough in the end.
Recruits So we have our initial party. We lost Rivi, but then gained Zurgrim. Now each of you have recruited one NPC each, so that gives us a party of six for this particular quest. That's not too bad. Half are front-liners, half are back-liners. We have a healer and a tank, so the most essential roles are filled.
There were, as I said in an earlier post, eight potential NPC recruits. The five that were not recruited can still be so for future quests. Feel free to rotate them, get to know them all, figure out which ones you'd like to eventually take as henchmen later on.
Divine Favor All of you earned at least some, except for Rivi (who I'll probably be taking off the list anyway now). Nobody has enough favor to really make a difference yet, but we'll see how things shape up in the next chapter. Ryan by far earned the most favor, but he acted a bit erratically, some of it got canceled out.
Prestige I went a bit easy on you all, at least for this first chapter. Any faux-pas that were made were not counted so long as an apology was made. Of course, helping stop a second Battle of Buho could help bolster your prestige quite a bit. It will all depend on how you conduct yourselves.
Ladonna's prestige drops from 4 to 3, because she let Tavos out of the pillory. She would have dropped another point for swearing at the temple, but since she apologized and prayed for forgiveness, the villagers decided to overlook it. So although she is in good standing, people are starting to think she might be a little...weird.
Ryan's prestige remains at 6. It would have dropped like a stone had he tried to fight Damon and failed to garner enough votes. But since he let it go and apologized, the villagers forgave him and he lost no points. He remains in good standing.
Zurgrim's prestige drops from -1 to -2, because of the big argument he had with Shanson and Frye at the inn. He is now seen as a rabble-rouser and a bit of a troublemaker.
Relationships Zurgrim earned a point of approval with Bula. Ryan earned a point of disapproval with Damon (it would have been more, but he apologized). Overall, this doesn't have any real impact on things just yet. But those points add up over time.
Goals I didn't ask anyone for goals when we started, because I figured you all probably wouldn't have any yet. But now that the first chapter is over, if anyone has any personal goals that aren't related to the main quest, feel free to share them. I'll reward XP for completion of any stated goals, depending on how difficult they were.
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Chapter two will go up tomorrow. Time will flow differently in this one. Instead of being based on page number, it will move forward based on the party's actions (e.g., if they spend an hour traveling, an hour passes, and so forth). This adventure should take up all of chapter two, however it's possible it might bleed into chapter three, as well. The party's actions will determine how things play out from this point on.
If there are any questions, concerns, or any feedback at all, let me know.
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Post by Nuke on Jan 24, 2017 16:57:43 GMT -8
Interesting mechanics here. We will see how things work out.
One goal I will set is that Ryan wants to improve his relationship with Damon. By the end of this little adventure, he would like yo see Damon having more respect for others and not be quite so full of himself. Ryan has some ideas about how to make this happen.
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Post by Daos on Jan 24, 2017 18:28:39 GMT -8
Ah, so that's what his intentions are. I was wondering if it was that, or he was trying to lure Damon into a false sense of security to try and get revenge later on or something.
I'll add that as a goal for Ryan. Once you get to know Damon better, it will be easier to figure out how he thinks. You mentioned you had ideas on how to change him. Care to elaborate any?
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Post by Nuke on Jan 24, 2017 18:35:00 GMT -8
The general intention is to let him get a bit overextended, or even goad him into it, resulting in him needing others assistance to saved his life. There are even some personality traits that might just work for this little plan.
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