The Unseen Servant forums

Well then, let's hope I'm doing this right.

I've created my character in the appropriate forum.

Trying out the die roller, took me awhile to get it running, I thought my forum id here would already be there, but it wasn't.

I'm excited. I hope that I do a good job.

Really looking forward to this! Hanks for running it, Ludanto.

Hi all. I am still in this, but the weekend was very busy, I now have a pinched nerve in my neck, I have yet another musical for this weekend, my son's 7th birthday Friday and my parents anniversary (we are all going to Niagara Falls).

I'll get it done though. I already had a rough draft done a will ago:

The character will be a human thief from a remote village. Equipment will include a 10' pole and backpack. Traits will definitely foolhardy. He probably won't be a cook, after all, but he will have the peasant and dungeons skills.

Musical!

I will try and finish my character soon... This week has gotten crazy, though I should have expected it with my 10th wedding anniversary on Friday (celebrated with a day/night away for me and the missus and a party on Saturday) combined with my daughter going to a new preschool this week...

It could be tomorrow, it could be Sunday, before I have a chance to finish my elf.

In the meantime, if anyone has an opinion of whether the elf should come from elf town or the religious bastion, feel free to chime in.

Frank

Congratulations!

Ludanto wrote:Congratulations!

Thanks.

Frank

ffilz wrote:In the meantime, if anyone has an opinion of whether the elf should come from elf town or the religious bastion, feel free to chime in.

Rusty Tincanne wrote:The character will be a human thief from a remote village. Equipment will include a 10' pole and backpack. Traits will definitely foolhardy. He probably won't be a cook, after all, but he will have the peasant and dungeons skills.

I'll answer these on the Chapter 0 thread.

I'd kind of like to start the adventure this weekend, and let the remaining characters catch up.

Would that be weird?

Play by Post is slow. If everyone is still updating characters this week it might be through Turn 1, maaaybe Turn 2. If you're okay, I am okay.

One thing I did want to ask before you begin. Are you willing to consider starting artha?

Normally, you begin your first session with 0 Artha. However, when you're sitting down with your group at a table and playing a few hours, you award Artha at the end of every "Session" which means you have Artha by the end of the first night of play. Being able to acquire and spend Artha not only has a big effect on how much risk the PCs are willing or able to take, and also sets the pace of character advancement as spending artha (after earning it) is the route to level advancement.

In PbP we are slow. We need an artificial construct for what is a "session" (previous GMs set this at an arbitrary "11 turns" which was pretty fair; we'll need to ask you to state this before we start as well).

If we are aggressive, with daily posting, I think we might achieve at most a turn or two each week. That's about eight RL weeks per "session." That means our first two RL months of play will be with 0 Artha. Assuming an average of one persona per session awarded per PC, that means it will take three sessions to earn 3 Persona, a fourth session to spend them, and then we need to get back to town before we level. That means we are looking at about eight months to a year of aggressive, consistent gameplay to level up the first time, and about a year per level after that.

I've never leveled in a Torchbearer game, ever. I'd like to do so someday.

So, before we begin... two proposals to the GM:

Starting Artha: Will you consider issuing starting artha, rather than having us start at 0? This lubricates the game from the start (allowing heroic acts, letting us use Wises, etc). While Torchbearer starts at 0, Burning Wheel recommends a minimum of 1 Fate, 1 Persona, or an accelerated start of 3 Fate, 2 Persona. (There is a difference, as Torchbearer levels as PCs spend artha and return to town - 3 Fate, 3 Persona is all that needs to be earned and spent for level 2. An accelerated start ensures that most, if not all, PCs can achieve a level bump should we complete this first expedition and successfully return to town.)

Liberal vs Static Awards: While we do accounting every "session" (11 turns, or otherwise defined) and award for Goals, Beliefs, Traits, and Group Awards, will you as GM consider a deliberate policy of rewarding with Artha during gameplay as well? (There's nothing more formal to say, here... it really is subjective and adjustable during play no matter what. I just want to ask once, OOC, before we begin, so that we all have correct expectations and so nobody feels the need to beg or feels slighted later on. I want to head-off issues I've seen in other pbp games up front.)

Good call.

So let's say 2 Fate, 1 Persona to start, and a 9 Turn session?

A little bump and a faster turnaround, but without giving everything away.

What do you think?

(I'm not sure about instant rewards, though.)

That's fine by me - really, anything you decide is fine, so long as we've asked and clarified.

Hey, everybody!

Take note that all characters will start with 2 Fate points and 1 Persona point.

Carry on.

I nominate Allric as party leader. Also, who's mapping?

Aaaand... We've started.

If your character isn't done yet, that's OK. Just fake it until you're ready.

Ludanto wrote:I nominate Allric as party leader. Also, who's mapping?

I would, but I don't have that skill - until in real life where I actually was a cartographer for several years.

You people all lead very interesting lives.