Houses of Thault: Character-Driven Storytelling (OOC/OPEN)

[Odith]

Back to Korvin. This is good:

Korvin Kuchen was born the second child of a lowly baker associated with the declining house of Thaultkal. As he came of age, Korvin searched for work outside the bakery. As several mines changed hands from House Thaultkal to House Darab, Korvin found a job pushing carts from these mines to alchemists of House Darab. Korvin hopes to find an apprenticeship to a metalworker or an alchemist so that one day he will be the one receiving the deliveries from the mines, instead of the one making them.

His family is insignificant within House Thaultkal, so no one minds or really notices when he slips away. His goals are humble, so he's not likely to attract attention. Question: what is his relationship like with his family? Does he still see them or has he cut ties? If he still sees them, has he encountered any difficulty traveling between houses? What are his parents' and siblings' attitudes towards him? The answers to these questions don't need to be incorporated into your character sheet, but they will lend some extra depth to your character and the possibly the inter-house politics, so please do consider them and write a response.

As far as the job pushing carts goes, that's tough work. I had in mind that House Darab is cultivating saltpeter in the old mines they bought from House Thaultkul, so we'll assume that he's transporting that. Nasty business.

Korvin's faicial hair is mostly like this picture:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=braided+sideburns&view=detail&id=24B341A74C2D7824BF48DC7F0E444D640ED1B954
With the braids connecting at his chin like in this one:
http://www.ilyke.net/braid-beard/9903
He has a little more hair than the first and it happens to be the same color as the second. I belive an appropiate adjective to describe his appearance would be scruffy.

Okay, that works. Thanks for clarifying.

Very focused with an excellent memory, Korvin prefers to finish one task before starting another, and when interrupted usually returns later to finish what he started. Korvin rarely picks a fight without a clear goal in mind, but often remembers slights long after the fact.

He's methodical, persistent, thoughtful, and holds a grudge. Got it.

Korvin Kuchen has …
Decent strength (d12)
Commonplace agility (d12)
Excellent health (d8)
Mediocre knowledge of the world (d12)
Pretty good perception (d12)
Impressive sanity (d10)

This is all good.

Korvin Kuchen is…
A courier in the city (d10)
A decent cook (d12)
Practiced at crochet (d12)
An average singer (d12)
A fair dancer (d12)
A competent wrestler (d12)
An improviser of knots (d20)
A carrier of supplies for apothecaries, miners, and smiths (d20)
A dabbler in acrobatics and tumbling (d20)
Illiterate (d30)

Alright, and I appreciate you ranking them from best to worst. I think you've picked up on something with "illiterate"; although I haven't stated it explicitly, literacy is common throughout Garmorgia. Looks like you are planning to have Korvin be an agile unarmed combatant. That's got flavor.

Korvin Kuchen carries…
A haversack with:
A canteen of boiled water
A crochet hook
A skein of coarse woollen yarn
A coil of rope

Have to say that I like that this guy crochets and carries his yarn around.

APPROVED, but please do write a response to the questions about his family.

[Odith]

Sort of easily distractable whenever a scientific technical opportunity presents itself...

You missed a spot.

Everything else looks good. APPROVED.

Yes. That is pretty much exactly what I mean. And yes, it could very well be disabling, but I subscribe to the Role-Playing School of RPGs rather than the Power-Gaming School. I'm not out to win the game, I'm out to make an interesting character.

Good, good. Glad to hear it.

Crossbow may in fact become relevant, depending on how successful my early alchemy and engineering rolls are. =|:}P

I look forward to seeing what you have in mind. Explosive bolts of some sort, I assume.

[Odith]

Bear with me, Murgoth. Your app needs a bit of work before I can approve it.

Wetclin

born into a house of minor tradesmen, Wetclin's earliest memories are of happiness and general satisfaction. As his mother would later tell him, his father crossed the wrong men and soon found his buisness in ruin. His mother would insist that his father's apparent suicide was in fact a careful assasination, and Wetclin never doubted her. she did her best to support the rapidly growing child, doing whatever was neccesary to get the next meal. during this time she taught him how to survive, and how to fight using his ever growing strength. though he was slow in most else, he found fighting to be a true skill of his. this would help when, one day, his mother did not return. Wetclin quickly found himself in the employ of a local gang, and lived a life of violence and cruelty. As bad as it was, he survived. while in between jobs, Wetclin caught the eye of a recruiter, being a rather large and strong looking fellow. seeing opportunity to escape the increasing danger of his current job, Wetcin gladly accepted employ as a gaurd of house Darab.

Too much backstory that does little to describe Wetclin's personality. You've told us what happened to him, but not who he is. We need to know who he is. We need to know what motivates Wetclin, not simply what happened to him. You need to know what motivates him in order to play the role. Right now, the most detailed impression I have of him is that he's a beefcake who has a bit of a criminal past and is now working for House Darab.

Here's a quote from the Tips and Tricks section of The Window:

Oftentimes, a few very specific notes about a character can say more than volumes of generalizations. One good metaphor can build a rich character image better than paragraphs of dry description. Don't use stereotypes, and don't just cobble your character together from books you've read or movies you've seen. There is nothing keeping you from creating your own character, one that has truly never existed before. If you achieve this goal, your roleplaying will be more personal and much more memorable.

Click the link to Tips and Tricks and scroll down to the Ten Big Personality Questions. Skip the Background Questions; you've put enough thought into his background for now. Please focus on motivation.

Wetclin would be called "slow" in other societies, but that is not neccesarily true. it's not that he is incapable of picking up on things, but that he takes a more methodical, nearly plodding approach. that is not to say that he cannot be quick, as threats are met with violence and deadly force is returned doubly. While his central goal is just to survive in a hostile city, it does not mean that he is cruel or heartless, having learned that it is often better to be corteous or even kind when possible...

Let's work on making this more concise. How about something like this:

Wetclin moves slowly and appears to be less than astute; however, his slowness represents a purposeful and methodical approach, and he must be sure of his decisions before acting on them. In a fight, Wetclin shifts from his apparent languor to move with speed and force to neutralize threats quickly. At 6'5" and well over 200 pounds, he is built like a beast, yet dresses sharply and cultivates an appearance of cleanliness and distinction. Sea-green eyes contrast with his dark hair and beard; indeed they seem to view the world from a place removed.

Wetclin has...
astounding strength (d8)
enough agility (d12)
tough as bricks Excellent health (d8)
knows what street he lives on A crude knowledge of the world (d20)
mediocre attention perception (d12)
plodding resilience Resilient sanity (d10)

I get confused when you get creative with the trait names, and I think it's clearer for everyone if you use them rather than a synonym or phrase.

Wetclin is...
an uneducated peon d30
brawler extroirdinare d6
average spearmen d12
clubbing expert d8
dislikes his sword easily frustrated with his sword d20
connected to the underworld d10
lovable oaf d12
pain resistant d8
slow thinker d20
knows little ofcurious about animals d20

Those are some suggestions to make the list read more clearly. I'm a bit of a language nerd, so I do things like this. Think about it: "Wetclin is dislikes his sword" is just a messed-up statement; "Wetclin is easily frustrated with his sword" uses proper grammar and I think communicates the same sentiment. The same basic thing is happening with "Wetclin is knows little of animals"; instead, you could write "Wetclin is curious about animals" and get a similar effect. Or, if you'd rather, "Wetclin is fairly ignorant about animals". I prefer the "curious" statement, though, because it lets us know that he is interested in them.

"Why all the attention to grammar and shit?" you may ask.

THIS IS A SOAPBOX
Well, because this is a storytelling game played in a textual format, so it's important that those involved are able to write well. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you should at the very least be willing to proofread your posts to ensure that everything is grammatically correct to the best of your ability.

Wetclin carries...
his spear
a dagger in his boot
a sword, sheathed
a single-shoulder back-pack carrying...
-several coins for emergency situations
-a notebook of math and numbers, a ledger from his dead father
-whetstone
-rope for apprehending those not to die
-a club of fine wood
-several salted peices of meat, for when he can't grab a meal.
and wears on his body...
-cheap street clothing, about due for some patches
-a leather helm, gloves, boots, leggins, and chest padding
-chainmail vest

Looks fine.

[Murgoth]

Right. Will re-work for tommorow.

[Odith]

Drazar Torgbash

Drazar ... Razar...

Wait, what's his name?

Eventually, he was approached by House Dabar Darab to work as an assassin.

Okay, help me out here. He has a conscience and did not like that his parents took advantage of the less fortunate. He studied self-defense and developed a style of free running, and when it came time to strike out on his own, he ignored his parents' expectations and wishes to start stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. I follow that, although it doesn't seem very Garmorgian to me. What I don't follow is how he goes from a life of redistributory thievery to entering into a career as an assassin. Why would House Darab approach a thief to work as an assassin? I would think he would need to attract their attention through some covert killing first.



So, in order to make this character more consistent and to fit him into the Garmorgian milieu, I'd suggest reworking his early career. I don't think you need to change anything about how he pursued his own interests as a youth; however, I do think that in order to get him into House Darab as an assassin, you are going to have to change his motivations and emphasize a more militant and covert career path. I'd also suggest looking deeper at his "guilty conscience" regarding the less fortunate. It seems aberrant given the callousness of Garmorgian society, so if Drazar is disturbed by his parents' means of acquiring wealth, I think we need to understand why it bothers him so much -- and it also begs the questions: where did Drazar get his moral compass, how do his morals affect his perception of Garmorgian culture in general, and how does he reconcile a career as an assassin with his morality?

You've got a complex, interesting character, but need to do a bit more work to make him whole.

Drazar is small, fit, and wiry for a Garmorgian. He ties his long, dark hair back in a ponytail. His disposition is generally grim, and his expressions give very little away. He is concerned about the safety of others, especially those who can't defend themselves. He hates owing anyone anything, and prefers not to rely on anyone other than himself.

Good... I wonder, though, if assassin is a strange choice of career for someone who is concerned about those who can't defend themselves. Presumably he would be choosy about who he assassinates, which would be difficult to do when employed by a political entity like House Darab. But even if he was able to choose all of his targets himself, it seems to me that assassination relies on stealth and quick, disabling strikes; the style of combat is not at all honorable or fair, which seems to contradict this idea of him being concerned about those who can't defend themselves. I could be wrong. Convince me.

Drazar Torgbash has...
Good strength (d10)
Impressive agility (d8)
Standard health (d12)
Average Below average knowledge of the world (d20)
Great perception (d8)
Normal sanity (d12)

d20 is the "Below average" rung, so make that change to the descriptor and your traits are good.

Drazar Torgbash is...
An expert with blades of all kinds (d6)
A skilled climber and free-runner (d8)
A decent salesman (d12)
A brilliant pickpocket and thief (d8)
A master of stealth and disguise (d6)
A passable poisoner (d20)

Looks good.

Drazar Torgbash carries...
Satchel with:
A small House Darab dossier
10 small throwing knives
A variety of different daggers for numerous occasions
On wrist:
Multiple vials of poison
In belt:
Sword

I'm curious about that dossier. What kind of information is in it? The names of marks? Compromising material about other houses? Who gave him the dossier and why?

I'll look forward to seeing your revisions.

[Odith]

Right. Will re-work for tommorow.

Thanks. Take your time with it. If you can have something by the weekend, that should be fine.

[Odith]

I'll post about currency later.

Later is now.

The Bank of Mardogar is in the process of introducing the flesh throughout the empire. This is a four-color banknote, paper money threaded with fibers, printed on woodblock presses. It was introduced in Gar province in 1098, and over the past 13 years has been implemented in the provinces of Hon, Guna, and Soltse, to the south and southeast of Gar. It is printed in three denominations: talon string, claw string, and tooth string, referring to strings of 100 coins.

Before the flesh was introduced, the three coin types -- gold talon, silver claw, copper tooth -- were the standard currency within the empire. The coins are still extant, given as change during transactions; however, people no longer need to carry around cumbersome strings of coins. Each coin is shaped like its namesake with a hole drilled through so that coins of like mintage can be strung together; hence the designations of flesh as talon string, claw string, and tooth string.

On a related note, I was thinking one way to handle money would be to, rather than keeping an accounting ledger of cash on hand for each character, have each character assign an appropriate rank and die type to a skill called "resources" or something similar. We'd assume that characters have enough cash on hand to pay for daily expenses such as lodging, food, maintenance of gear, and what-have-you. The resource skill would come into play if someone was looking for a rare item or was attempting to purchase something expensive. I know that at least one of you has already assigned your character a "bartering" skill. If everyone agrees that a resource skill is something we'd like to use, it would replace any skill like bartering. What do you think?

[Egrek]

Back to Korvin. This is good:

Korvin Kuchen was born the second child of a lowly baker associated with the declining house of Thaultkal. As he came of age, Korvin searched for work outside the bakery. As several mines changed hands from House Thaultkal to House Darab, Korvin found a job pushing carts from these mines to alchemists of House Darab. Korvin hopes to find an apprenticeship to a metalworker or an alchemist so that one day he will be the one receiving the deliveries from the mines, instead of the one making them.

His family is insignificant within House Thaultkal, so no one minds or really notices when he slips away. His goals are humble, so he's not likely to attract attention. Question: what is his relationship like with his family? Does he still see them or has he cut ties? If he still sees them, has he encountered any difficulty traveling between houses? What are his parents' and siblings' attitudes towards him? The answers to these questions don't need to be incorporated into your character sheet, but they will lend some extra depth to your character and the possibly the inter-house politics, so please do consider them and write a response.

As far as the job pushing carts goes, that's tough work. I had in mind that House Darab is cultivating saltpeter in the old mines they bought from House Thaultkul, so we'll assume that he's transporting that. Nasty business.

Korvin's faicial hair is mostly like this picture:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=braided+sideburns&view=detail&id=24B341A74C2D7824BF48DC7F0E444D640ED1B954
With the braids connecting at his chin like in this one:
http://www.ilyke.net/braid-beard/9903
He has a little more hair than the first and it happens to be the same color as the second. I belive an appropiate adjective to describe his appearance would be scruffy.

Okay, that works. Thanks for clarifying.

Very focused with an excellent memory, Korvin prefers to finish one task before starting another, and when interrupted usually returns later to finish what he started. Korvin rarely picks a fight without a clear goal in mind, but often remembers slights long after the fact.

He's methodical, persistent, thoughtful, and holds a grudge. Got it.

Korvin Kuchen has …
Decent strength (d12)
Commonplace agility (d12)
Excellent health (d8)
Mediocre knowledge of the world (d12)
Pretty good perception (d12)
Impressive sanity (d10)

This is all good.

Korvin Kuchen is…
A courier in the city (d10)
A decent cook (d12)
Practiced at crochet (d12)
An average singer (d12)
A fair dancer (d12)
A competent wrestler (d12)
An improviser of knots (d20)
A carrier of supplies for apothecaries, miners, and smiths (d20)
A dabbler in acrobatics and tumbling (d20)
Illiterate (d30)

Alright, and I appreciate you ranking them from best to worst. I think you've picked up on something with "illiterate"; although I haven't stated it explicitly, literacy is common throughout Garmorgia. Looks like you are planning to have Korvin be an agile unarmed combatant. That's got flavor.

Korvin Kuchen carries…
A haversack with:
A canteen of boiled water
A crochet hook
A skein of coarse woollen yarn
A coil of rope

Have to say that I like that this guy crochets and carries his yarn around.

APPROVED, but please do write a response to the questions about his family.

Korvin very much has one foot falling off the bottom rung on the Thaultkal ladder and the other foot landing on the bottom rung of the Darab ladder.

Korvin still sleeps on a straw mat in the family bakery and carries home a bundle of firewood each day after work. His family would prefer he get a job with House Thaultkal, Thaultru, or even Borvang; but at least he hasn't fallen in with that nasty House Taggud or House Vund. His family expected he would amount to nothing and that is just what he has done so far.
His connection with House Thaultkal, the former owner of the mines, gave the flavor of a package deal to his new job with House Darab. Buy the mines and hire some workers to go with them.
He is moderately favored in: Darab, Thaultkal
moderately disfavored in: Thaultru, Borvang
near conflict with: Taggud, Vund

Also, is Garmorgian society patriarchal, matriarchal, or egalitarian? What different roles do men and women have? I have kept my discriptions ambiguous so far.

A Resource stat seems good to me. Korvin is quite poor and would probably be a (d30) on that.

[Odith]

Korvin very much has one foot falling off the bottom rung on the Thaultkal ladder and the other foot landing on the bottom rung of the Darab ladder.

Korvin still sleeps on a straw mat in the family bakery and carries home a bundle of firewood each day after work. His family would prefer he get a job with House Thaultkal, Thaultru, or even Borvang; but at least he hasn't fallen in with that nasty House Taggud or House Vund. His family expected he would amount to nothing and that is just what he has done so far.

Okay.

His connection with House Thaultkal, the former owner of the mines, gave the flavor of a package deal to his new job with House Darab. Buy the mines and hire some workers to go with them.

Good. So we will assume that he is not the only one who has "transferred" from Thaultkal to Darab with the passing of the mines. This gives a feeling of human degradation and indentured servitude, which fits in with Garmorgian savagery; life is cheap, and can be bought and sold.

He is moderately favored in: Darab, Thaultkal
moderately disfavored in: Thaultru, Borvang
near conflict with: Taggud, Vund

Hmmm. Not so sure about all of this; after all, Korvin is basically a nobody. Thaultkal doesn't notice that he's gone, or if they do, they don't care. Likewise with Darab -- he's a lowly cart pusher, working with saltpeter (also called niter, below), a substance that is cultivated from waste matter -- garbage, feces, urine:

Niter-beds are prepared by mixing manure with either mortar or wood ashes, common earth and organic materials such as straw to give porosity to a compost pile typically 1.5×2×5 meters in size. [10] The heap was usually under a cover from the rain, kept moist with urine, turned often to accelerate the decomposition, then finally leached with water after approximately one year, to remove the soluble calcium nitrate. Dung-heaps were a particularly common source: they contain ammonia from the decomposition of urea and other nitrogenous materials. It then undergoes bacterial oxidation (first by means of the Nitrosomonas bacteria) to produce (calcium) nitrite, and then (by means of the Spirobacter bacteria) to produce (calcium) nitrate. It is then converted to potassium nitrate by filtering through the potash of wood ashes.

Note: the above is a fairly modern scientific description of saltpeter cultivation from wikipedia. No Garmorgian would have that scientific insight; hence the "garbage, feces, urine" method. All of that good stuff gets dumped into a mine to ferment over a period of months (time passing differently in this milieu, with months being 64 days long), and then is carted out by Korvin and his cohort.

While we're talking about his wonderful job, how would you feel about Korvin, rather than pushing carts, driving a team of horses that pulls the carts? It would be more efficient for House Darab and less soul-crushing and filthy for Korvin. Keep in mind that the mines are some leagues south of the city.

Also, is Garmorgian society patriarchal, matriarchal, or egalitarian? What different roles do men and women have?

Excellent question; I love being asked stuff like this, by the way. We know that the Garmorgians are belligerent and aggressive, and although everyone, both male and female, has been socially conditioned by the Ku, it is a patriarchal society. Women are "kept" as wives and mothers and often looked upon as property. Some girls -- often orphans or bought children -- are trained from childhood to become courtesans or assassins, and sometimes both, in the various houses. Unmarried women can have a variety of roles -- craftswoman, merchant, baker, courier, banker, alchemist, liaison between houses or with the ku, and even lord -- but they face difficult challenges to prove themselves as capable as men.

Men have an easier time making their way independently in society, and may fulfill any role; however, they are limited by the circumstances of their birth, and upward mobility is difficult. Someone like Korvin then, would never become a lord of a house; at best, he might ascend to the rank of alchemist or blacksmith, unless someone from a higher station intervened on his behalf. Benefactors and mentors like this are not unheard of, but they are rare, and they always have an agenda that belies altruism.

The above is a first essay into the Garmorgian social hierarchy. I'm open to feedback.

A Resource stat seems good to me. Korvin is quite poor and would probably be a (d30) on that.

One vote for the resource skill, then. And a d30 sounds about right for Korvin.

[Egrek]

He is moderately favored in: Darab, Thaultkal
moderately disfavored in: Thaultru, Borvang
near conflict with: Taggud, Vund

Hmmm. Not so sure about all of this; after all, Korvin is basically a nobody. Thaultkal doesn't notice that he's gone, or if they do, they don't care. Likewise with Darab -- he's a lowly cart pusher, working with saltpeter (also called niter, below), a substance that is cultivated from waste matter -- garbage, feces, urine:

Yes, right, I was thinking out loud from Korvin's perspective and was not too clear. It is more a measure of how he views, and expects to be recieved by, the followers of those houses in his own social class. Those higher-up on the social ladder add their feelings of class to their feelings of house making Korvin even more unwelcome. If Korvin is looking for a higher grade of yarn from a middle class merchant he will shop first with those likely to tolerate his presence and not throw him out on sight.
Also note there is no house in which Korvin feels truly accepted. He has a case of unhomeliness.

While we're talking about his wonderful job, how would you feel about Korvin, rather than pushing carts, driving a team of horses that pulls the carts? It would be more efficient for House Darab and less soul-crushing and filthy for Korvin. Keep in mind that the mines are some leagues south of the city.

Works for me, but how involved would he be in the care of the horses? If the answer is very, I smell another place Korvin might sleep if he wants to get away from home or keep an eye on those valuable horses. How large is this stable? I expect the manure gets carted to the mines?

If House Darab is going for efficiency, Korvin would likely make at least two trips a day. In the morning he drives down with men and equipment to the mines and takes a load of saltpeter back to the city. In mid-day he delivers the saltpeter and picks up a load of garbage and sewage for the mine, perhaps the contents of chamber pots are thrown in by servants as he goes on a circuit around town. In the evening he then returns to the mine where the rubbish is unloaded and the workers ride back into Thault. If the workers live at the mines Korvin could bring supplies or more rubbish in the morning and another load of saltpeter in the evening. Depending on the size of the mines he might visit a different one each day of the week, or just serve one. Scratch that, it simplifies the storytelling to treat all the mines belonging to House Darab as essentially the same place. We can single them out latter if we need to.

Also, is Garmorgian society patriarchal, matriarchal, or egalitarian? What different roles do men and women have?

Excellent question; I love being asked stuff like this, by the way. We know that the Garmorgians are belligerent and aggressive, and although everyone, both male and female, has been socially conditioned by the Ku, it is a patriarchal society. Women are "kept" as wives and mothers and often looked upon as property. Some girls -- often orphans or bought children -- are trained from childhood to become courtesans or assassins, and sometimes both, in the various houses. Unmarried women can have a variety of roles -- craftswoman, merchant, baker, courier, banker, alchemist, liaison between houses or with the ku, and even lord -- but they face difficult challenges to prove themselves as capable as men.

Men have an easier time making their way independently in society, and may fulfill any role; however, they are limited by the circumstances of their birth, and upward mobility is difficult. Someone like Korvin then, would never become a lord of a house; at best, he might ascend to the rank of alchemist or blacksmith, unless someone from a higher station intervened on his behalf. Benefactors and mentors like this are not unheard of, but they are rare, and they always have an agenda that belies altruism.

The above is a first essay into the Garmorgian social hierarchy. I'm open to feedback.

Good, so Korvin has an older brother and, let's say, three sisters, one might have been bought and trianed by one of the houses. Korvin should save his copper teeth if he wants to afford a wife. When he goes into a shop he can exspect more respect from a female proprietor than from a male proprietor.

[Memnoch de Marbulia]

This is very interesting.
I would like to be a secretive, cutthroat, tactical genius with political aspirations and battle dispositions that has a small very loyal following mainly due to manipulation and blackmail but also because they respect his skill and accomplishments and are slightly frightened by his ruthlessness and notoriety.

[Odith]

Works for me, but how involved would he be in the care of the horses? If the answer is very, I smell another place Korvin might sleep if he wants to get away from home or keep an eye on those valuable horses. How large is this stable? I expect the manure gets carted to the mines?

If you'd like him to be involved in the care of the horses, then he can be. You will need to add a new skill related to horses, maybe two, to cover handling and grooming. Let's assume the stable is quite large and one of many. House Darab owns many horses, some of them much more favored than others. Korvin, naturally, would be involved in the upkeep of some of the basest of these animals.

If House Darab is going for efficiency, Korvin would likely make at least two trips a day. In the morning he drives down with men and equipment to the mines and takes a load of saltpeter back to the city. In mid-day he delivers the saltpeter and picks up a load of garbage and sewage for the mine, perhaps the contents of chamber pots are thrown in by servants as he goes on a circuit around town. In the evening he then returns to the mine where the rubbish is unloaded and the workers ride back into Thault. If the workers live at the mines Korvin could bring supplies or more rubbish in the morning and another load of saltpeter in the evening. Depending on the size of the mines he might visit a different one each day of the week, or just serve one. Scratch that, it simplifies the storytelling to treat all the mines belonging to House Darab as essentially the same place. We can single them out latter if we need to.

Sounds good.

Good, so Korvin has an older brother and, let's say, three sisters, one might have been bought and trianed by one of the houses. Korvin should save his copper teeth if he wants to afford a wife. When he goes into a shop he can exspect more respect from a female proprietor than from a male proprietor.

Good and yes.

[Odith]

This is very interesting.
I would like to be a secretive, cutthroat, tactical genius with political aspirations and battle dispositions that has a small very loyal following mainly due to manipulation and blackmail but also because they respect his skill and accomplishments and are slightly frightened by his ruthlessness and notoriety.

Hmmm. We need to think about how such a character would fit in with the others. So far we've got a toiling peasant, an alchemist, an assassin, and a guard. In terms of story, we can link the peasant and the alchemist through the saltpeter connection, and can likely work out a connection between the assassin and the guard. Thinking about it now, we can also make a connection between Wetclin, the guard, and Korvin, the peasant. You're proposing a character who seems to be in a different league than these others, and we can already see a fair bit of class discrepancy between them.

The character that you are proposing might work, and might help to unite the characters and get the story moving, but do keep in mind that all characters are starting out green. Certainly have your character aspire to great things, but also fit him into the atmosphere, which is one of personal struggle towards aspirations. Another way of putting all of that is: make him secretive and cutthroat. He'll have to position himself politically to become the tactical genius that he wants to become. While he may well have a knack for commanding, his story will first focus on acquiring opportunities in which to test and prove his skill.

Also, I'll put it to the other actors who have come forward so far with character applications: how do you all feel about a character like this and how do you see your character relating to him?

[Egrek]

Works for me, but how involved would he be in the care of the horses? If the answer is very, I smell another place Korvin might sleep if he wants to get away from home or keep an eye on those valuable horses. How large is this stable? I expect the manure gets carted to the mines?

If you'd like him to be involved in the care of the horses, then he can be. You will need to add a new skill related to horses, maybe two, to cover handling and grooming. Let's assume the stable is quite large and one of many. House Darab owns many horses, some of them much more favored than others. Korvin, naturally, would be involved in the upkeep of some of the basest of these animals.

If House Darab is going for efficiency, Korvin would likely make at least two trips a day. In the morning he drives down with men and equipment to the mines and takes a load of saltpeter back to the city. In mid-day he delivers the saltpeter and picks up a load of garbage and sewage for the mine, perhaps the contents of chamber pots are thrown in by servants as he goes on a circuit around town. In the evening he then returns to the mine where the rubbish is unloaded and the workers ride back into Thault. If the workers live at the mines Korvin could bring supplies or more rubbish in the morning and another load of saltpeter in the evening. Let's have the workers live in the city. Depending on the size of the mines he might visit a different one each day of the week, or just serve one. Scratch that, it simplifies the storytelling to treat all the mines belonging to House Darab as essentially the same place. We can single them out latter if we need to.

Sounds good.

Good, so Korvin has an older brother and, let's say, three sisters, one might have been bought and trianed by one of the houses. Korvin should save his copper teeth if he wants to afford a wife. When he goes into a shop he can exspect more respect from a female proprietor than from a male proprietor.

Good and yes.

Alright, I think I will also add shoveling as a skill mostly for manure, but also for hay, saltpeter, etc.
Korvin Kuchen is...
An average shoveler (d12)
A decent horse driver (d12)
A beginner groom (d20)

This is very interesting.
I would like to be a secretive, cutthroat, tactical genius with political aspirations and battle dispositions that has a small very loyal following mainly due to manipulation and blackmail but also because they respect his skill and accomplishments and are slightly frightened by his ruthlessness and notoriety.

Hmmm. We need to think about how such a character would fit in with the others. So far we've got a toiling peasant, an alchemist, an assassin, and a guard. In terms of story, we can link the peasant and the alchemist through the saltpeter connection, and can likely work out a connection between the assassin and the guard. Thinking about it now, we can also make a connection between Wetclin, the guard, and Korvin, the peasant. You're proposing a character who seems to be in a different league than these others, and we can already see a fair bit of class discrepancy between them.

The character that you are proposing might work, and might help to unite the characters and get the story moving, but do keep in mind that all characters are starting out green. Certainly have your character aspire to great things, but also fit him into the atmosphere, which is one of personal struggle towards aspirations. Another way of putting all of that is: make him secretive and cutthroat. He'll have to position himself politically to become the tactical genius that he wants to become. While he may well have a knack for commanding, his story will first focus on acquiring opportunities in which to test and prove his skill.

Also, I'll put it to the other actors who have come forward so far with character applications: how do you all feel about a character like this and how do you see your character relating to him?

I think this is excactly the kind of "someone from a higher station" Korvin hopes to have "intervened on his behalf." A low-level aristocrat in House Darab would be ideal to reach down through the classes to find the most loyal followers and bring them under his banner, whatever that may be.

Lowly Korvin has little to blackmail, but would be well inclined to follow any aristocrat who took a personal interrest and made Korvin a part of his band. Respect of nobility, skill, and fear could earn Korvin's loyalty; add a drop of mutual respect to make it unquenchable.

This makes me think a loyalty skill might be in order, but then I think that is going overboard with the numbers.

Korvin's daily movement around the city with a cart might prove invaluable to a secretive genius with political aspirations.

[Odith]

Lowly Korvin has little to blackmail, but would be well inclined to follow any aristocrat who took a personal interrest and made Korvin a part of his band. Respect of nobility, skill, and fear could earn Korvin's loyalty; add a drop of mutual respect to make it unquenchable.

Ok, good. One vote for Memnoch's character idea. Everyone else? Please reply by the end of the day Monday. I'm having a hard time telling if interest is waning or if people are just busy.

This makes me think a loyalty skill might be in order, but then I think that is going overboard with the numbers.

Nah, I think we can RP loyalty without making it a skill.

[The Quadruple Alliance]

I am replying by the end of Monday.

I'm still here, lurking. =|:}P

[Odith]

I am replying by the end of Monday.

I'm still here, lurking. =|:}P

Thanks. How do you feel about Memnoch's proposed character and how do you see Gharthov relating to him?

[The Quadruple Alliance]

I am replying by the end of Monday.

I'm still here, lurking. =|:}P

Thanks. How do you feel about Memnoch's proposed character and how do you see Gharthov relating to him?

I have no opinion either way, as I do not know how "followers" would work in this game. But, overall, I can see how someone with political aspirations could fit in with the rest of the group cohesively. After all, securing alchemists who are experimenting with fire dust WOULD be necessary for gaining power within this House in particular.

[Odith]

I have no opinion either way, as I do not know how "followers" would work in this game. But, overall, I can see how someone with political aspirations could fit in with the rest of the group cohesively. After all, securing alchemists who are experimenting with fire dust WOULD be necessary for gaining power within this House in particular.

I think what we are looking at here is Memnoch's character being the leader of the group, and the rest of the characters, for various reasons, finding themselves drawn to him; in that sense, the other characters are the "followers". So how do you feel about that? Garthov being a follower, being under another character's command?

[The Quadruple Alliance]

I have no opinion either way, as I do not know how "followers" would work in this game. But, overall, I can see how someone with political aspirations could fit in with the rest of the group cohesively. After all, securing alchemists who are experimenting with fire dust WOULD be necessary for gaining power within this House in particular.

I think what we are looking at here is Memnoch's character being the leader of the group, and the rest of the characters, for various reasons, finding themselves drawn to him; in that sense, the other characters are the "followers". So how do you feel about that? Garthov being a follower, being under another character's command?

In Character: Could care less who's in charge, as long as I can EXPERIMENT!! Mwahahahaha!!

[Odith]

Alright. I'm still waiting to hear from Murgoth and Procastitania on this. It would be good if we all discuss how the characters will relate to each other. I wrote earlier:

In terms of story, we can link the peasant and the alchemist through the saltpeter connection, and can likely work out a connection between the assassin and the guard. Thinking about it now, we can also make a connection between Wetclin, the guard, and Korvin, the peasant.

Agree/disagree? Other ideas? Please discuss.

We'll assume that, if Memnoch goes forward with character creation, he'll be the unifying force -- an aspiring tactician coming out of left field and hoping to impress the Lords of Darab through the manipulation and command of the rest of the characters.

[Odith]

Okay, well...

I did say in my OP that I intended to move slowly with this RP, so I'll just assume that people are moving slowly, and that's fine. I'm going to go ahead and start an IC thread within the next few days, focused on Garthov and Korvin, and then others can join in when they are ready.

[Odith]

Quad: For the initial IC post, I need to know what kind of experiments you plan for Garthov to be working on so that I can assign a target number to the roll.

[The Quadruple Alliance]

Quad: For the initial IC post, I need to know what kind of experiments you plan for Garthov to be working on so that I can assign a target number to the roll.

Primitive Rocketry. Rolling fire-dust compactly into paper tubing, with a dust-and-rope fuse running into the center, forcing energy from the burning powder out the end of the tube. Experiments shall be, technically speaking, to direct the energy of fire-dust burning.

[Odith]

Okay, the first IC post is up along with some rules.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=203541

First post concerns Garthov. I haven't forgotten about Korvin. I should be able to put something else up by the weekend.