This thread is for the development of two new characters, played by Vargold and bislab.
The Village of Stoat
Located relatively far North, about two or three weeks travel from the rest of the party's home, Herebury. Dwarves, elves, and other folk are not unknown, but uncommon. You know about giants, though. During winter, giants sometimes come down the mountains and wreck havoc.
Seated at the southwestern foot of the White Mountains, Stoat is a small village, but it occasionally hosts large numbers of travelers, because it is located at one of the few reliable passes through the White Mountains. As such, it is home to a large, lodge-style inn. A big part of the local economy is centered on this inn.
The local smith, Den, is a master metalworker who is said to have been apprenticed to dwarves in his youth. People often travel great distances to commission him.
Vargold and bislab: please roll a d12 and a d8 and report the results here.
Some helpful threads: Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures: Rules and Mechanics The Wide World (this is an overview of locations developed in collaborative world-building experiments. Directions are given relative to Herebury. I'll need to update it, now that our world is expanding and provide at least a rough general-knowledge map of the world)
Assistant Beast-Keeper
The old witch (or equivalent, feel free to invent somebody) in the village took a liking to you when you were still young, and you now keep her animals for her. While what you do may seem inconsequential, the witch seems to consider you to be vitally important, and favors you above all others. You dream of a more exciting life.
You have a knack with animals. Your Constitution and Wisdom begin at 10, and all of your other ability scores begin at 8.
Your father was an outcast, rightfully or not. +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Con, Skill: Survival
You solved everyone else’s problems, and never mentioned your own. +1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Cha
More rolls to come, but we'll wait for Gilbert's rolls to catch up.
bislab wrote:Going with the Young Woodsman playbook.
Got a 3 on the D12 and a 7 on the d8
Hunter, gatherer, or guardian, it takes a brave soul to wander the woods. You go where few in your village would dare, and, moreover, you feel at home in those places. You know every twig and leaf for miles around, and all your friends look to your guidance when leaving home.
You are agile and insightful. Your Dexterity and Wisdom begin at 10, and all of your other ability scores begin at 8.
What was your childhood like?
Your parents were fishermen and you grew up by the river. +2 Dex, +1 Str, +1 Wis, Skill: Fishing
You solved everyone else’s problems, and never mentioned your own. +1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Cha
bislab wrote:Next rolls:
2 on the d8 and 5 on the d6
and to finish them off if you wish:
2 on d6, 6 on d6, 1 on d6
Vargold's character is your best friend. Who else in the village befriended you while you were growing up?
The fishermen took a liking to you and you swapped stories with them. +2 Dex, +1 Wis.
Please invent an NPC for the village, someone who was/is important to your character, whether for good or ill.
The woods called to you, and you spend most of your time away from the village now. You become a level 1 Rogue. You gain the class abilities Fortune’s Favor and Highly Skilled, and the skill Survival.
What have you learned in the wild places? What sort of woodsman are you?
You are a tireless tracker, following your prey for days at a time. +3 Con, Skill: Tracking
Thanks for the additional rolls. I'll hold off on them until Vargold has had a chance to clock in.
bislab's character was your best friend growing up. Who else in the village befriended you while you were growing up?
You are about to marry into the Miller’s family. +2 Wis, +1 Str
You took on the strangest job in the kingdom. You become a level 1 Rogue-Mage. You gain the class abilities Fortune’s Favor, Highly Skilled, Sense Magic, and Spellcasting, and the skill Animal Ken.
What have you learned? The witch seems to enjoy making you do your least favorite chore. What is it?
Assisting her when she sees the sick. +3 Wis, Skill: Healing
Okay, please provide 3 separate 1d6 rolls, and invent an NPC for the village, someone who was/is important to your character, whether for good or ill.
What is your hidden talent?
Simple skills. +2 Wis, a trade skill of your choice
How do you make yourself useful to the village?
The most dangerous animals often need culling, and you do this for the other villagers. +2 Int, Skill: Tracking
Once, Vargold's character aided you in tracking a pack of ravenous wolves threatening the village, and gains +1 Int. EDIT: (Actually, hold off on this +1. We might have a third PC from Stoat, in which case these bonuses will get shuffled around)
What did you find in the woods that no one knows about?
A hidden cache of money, buried in an iron-bound chest beneath an old oak tree. There was a huge gem within, but you’ve never met anyone with enough silver to buy it. +2 DEX, a large ruby
Assistant Beast-keeper
Despite your lack of natural talent, you learned a bit of magic. What did you learn?
How to make things go easier for yourself and others. +2 Wis, Skill: Athletics, Cantrip: Blessing
One day, while wandering the woods with a friend, you saw something very strange.
The meeting of a sinister cult from another village. One of the men grabbed you, but you managed to escape. +2 Str, Skill: Athletics (getting Athletics twice gives a +4 to athletic skill checks!)
bislab's character struck the man from behind and you knocked him unconscious, and gains +1 Str. EDIT:(As above, hold off on this +1, in account of a potential third PC from Stoat.)
One of the witch’s beasts is now your constant companion (note: this counts as an Ally). Which strange animal is your new best friend?
A silvery stag. +2 Str, a silver stag
the both of youse
Okay, so, there's your stats, skills, and abilities. Take a look at what you've rolled, and see what sort of a person seems to have grown out of it.
Please name and describe two NPCs and two locations from the village of Stoat or its environs.
bislab, please also name and describe the silver stag that follows you.
I'll describe the encounter you two shared with the cultists in more detail once we have the village nailed down a bit.
The rest of the information you need:
Reference on rolling:
Ability Score Checks: Roll a d20 and compare the result to your score in the relevant ability. If the number on the die is equal to your score or lower, you succeed. If it is higher, then you fail. Saving Throws: Roll a d20. If the result is equal to the saving throw number or higher, the roll was a success. Combat Rolls: Roll a d20 and add the relevant attack bonus. Compare the result to the enemy’s armor class. If the number equals that armor class or exceeds it, the at- tack was successful. Otherwise, the attack missed.
Fortune Points
A character may spend a Fortune Point in the following ways: Help a Friend: Normally, a character may only help a friend with an ability score check if he has a relevant skill. By spending a Fortune Point, a character may lend a helping hand and thereby give his compatriot a +2 to his score for a single roll, even without having an appropriate skill for the task at hand. Second Chance: A character may spend a Fortune Point to get a reroll on any failed roll during the course of play, such as an ability score check, saving throw, or to hit roll. Cheat Death: A dying character may spend a Fortune Point to stabilize at 0 hit points and not continue taking damage every round. Special Playtest Option: Spend a Fortune Point for a +5 bonus to one roll.
Vargold:
Assistant Beast-keeper
Class Abilities
Record your ability scores. In the space beside each, record your ability score bonus from this post: viewtopic.php?f=130&t=2757#p99620
The Assistant Beast Keeper begins with the following equipment: knife, peasants’ clothing, everything you need to care for your animal companion, and 4d6 silvers.
Pick an alignment. Your character may be Lawful, Cha- otic, or Neutral. If you can’t decide, simply choose to be Neutral; most people are.
Your Base Attack Bonus comes from your class. As a level 1 Rogue-Mage, you have a BAB of +0.
Your Initiative is equal to your level, plus your Dexterity bonus, plus 1 for being a Rogue-Mage.
Your Armor Class is 10, plus your Dexterity bonus, plus the bonus of any armor you have.
Your Fortune Points are 5.
Your hit points are 8 plus your Constitution bonus.
Record the ‘to hit’ and ‘damage’ statistics for any weapons you think you might use (viewtopic.php?f=130&t=2757#p109223). Your to hit bonus for a melee weapon is your BAB plus your Strength bonus, while you use your Dexterity bonus instead for any missile weapons. Your Strength bonus also adds to the damage of any melee weapon.
Hit Dice: d8 Initiative Bonus: +1 Armor: The Assistant Beast Keeper may wear any armor lighter than plate. Fortune’s Favor: The Assistant Beast Keeper has 5 Fortune Points instead of the usual 3. Highly Skilled: The Assistant Beast Keeper receives two additional skills at first level. Your Playbook has already given you your extra skills. You gain an additional skill every odd numbered level thereafter (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc).
Spell Casting: The Assistant Beast Keeper may only cast cantrips.
Cantrips can be cast as many times as you like. They require either an Intelligence or Wisdom test (depending on the cantrip). Success means that the cantrip works more or less as desired. When a mage fails a cantrip roll, one of two things can happen at the player’s discretion: either the mage finds herself robbed of magical energy until she has rested, or the magic spins out of control.
In general, cantrips produce only minor effects. They cannot damage a target, they only work at ‘Near’ range, and they do not produce any permanent effect.
Sense Magic: Being naturally sensitive to the world of magic, Mages may determine if a person, place, or thing is magical. Doing so requires concentration and a few minutes, so mages cannot tell if something is magical simply by being in its presence, and people tend to notice if a mage is staring at them intently and ignoring his food during a meal. The GM may rule that, when in the presence of particularly intense sorcery, the mage notices such immediately.
bislab: I assume you have a playbook, and so I don't need to copy the information here. Let e know if I'm mistaken, or if there's any additional information you'd like.
What did your old gaffer do? 1d12=9 Your mother was an apiarist, Raising bees and cultivating their honey. +2 WIS, +1 DEX, +1 CON, Skill: Animal Lore
What possessed you to leave your comfortable home? d8=5 Goblins destroyed your home. +2 STR, +1 WIS
When you left your own people you found it difficult to live with humans. However, the other characters became your fast friends. Who else became your friend? d8=3 You made fast friends with a local merchant. +1 DEX, +1 INT, +1 CHA
You took to the road and never looked back. You became a level 1 Rogue. You gain the class abilities Fortune's favor and Highly Skilled and the skill Stealth.
What have you learned on your travels?
What did you learn in the last town you passed through? d6=3 The tales of all the travelers in the inn. +3 INT, skill Folklore
Why have you been in this particular town so long? d6=2 The pastries keep you in debt to the local baker. +2 CON, skill Flattery
Trouble seems to follow you. What happened to you in this town? The player on your right was there during your troubles. d6=4 A giant eagle carried you and your friend a day to the east and dropped you in the branches of a tall oak. It was hard to find your way back. The friend to your right figured out why the eagle did such a strange thing and gains +1 CON. +2 CON, skill Pathfinding. Ask your friend what the eagle was up to.
What reminds you of home? d6=5 A book of family recipes. +2 CON
bislab's character makes himself useful to the village by culling dangerous animals around the village environs.
Once, Desmond aided bislab in tracking a pack of ravenous wolves threatening the village. Desmond gains +1 Int.
Elton the Baker, makes fine pastries. Desmond has shared some family recipes with him.
Giselle the merchant's young daughter. Her father is a good friend of Desmond. She loves to listen to Desmond's traveller's tales. She thinks it is wonderful that a person her own size knows such wonderful stories.
Locations:
The bakery. Desmond can often be found here sampling the cakes and pastries and trading recipes.
The Crown and Weasel taproom. Desmond enjoys spending evenings here listening to travelers tales and spinning a few yarns of his own.
Playing: At the Forest's Edge: Desmond Halfling Vagabond
The Northern Marches: Hengist Cleric of Baudh
Okay, here's the breakdown on the characters' shared history (and the distribution of bonuses):
A giant eagle carried Desmond and Vargold a day to the east and dropped you in the branches of a tall oak. It was hard to find your way back. Vargold figured out why the eagle did such a strange thing. Vargold gains +1 CON.
Vargold: please come up with why the eagle did this.
Vargold and bislab's characters discovered the meeting of a sinister cult from another village. One of the men grabbed Vargold, but you managed to escape.
bislab's character struck the man from behind and Vargold knocked him unconscious. bislab gains +1 Str.
bislab's character makes himself useful to the village by culling dangerous animals around the village environs.
Once, Desmond aided bislab in tracking a pack of ravenous wolves threatening the village. Desmond gains +1 Int.
About the cultists Vargold and bislab encountered: This was just a few months ago, in the deeps of winter. The two of you were out, hunting winter hares, when you came across a gathering around a fire in an snow-filled copse. There were several people from Tamworth and Coldstone, and, alarmingly, even a couple of people from Stoat at the gathering. They had painted red marks on their bodies in elaborate patterns of parallel lines and concentric circles. You watched their rites for awhile, which were mostly chanting garbled things about a goat. Then you were surprised from behind. The cultist caught Vargold's character, but hadn't noticed bislab's, and so the two of your were able to overpower him. You ran back to the village. When you returned with greater numbers, the gathering had broken up and disappeared. Their tracks led to the mountain pass. This pass is blocked up and extremely dangerous during the winter, and the people you'd seen were not prepared for travel (they were equipped with robes and knives and body paint). It is assumed that they are dead at the bottom of a snow drift, probably not more than a few hundred feet into the pass.
Regarding the eagle: Up to Vargold whether or not this figures into his explanation, but there is a lot of folklore in the northern Olfdene about birds. Specifically, in the White Mountains range is Mount Parlay, which is said to be where the Kings and Queens of every type of bird in the Wide World gathers each summer to hold a parliament.
There are lots of stories about wise birds with the powers of speech, and hunters do not shoot at wildfowl anywhere within the region of Mount Parlay. Even the local farmers have a tradition of asking a question of any domestic fowl and then waiting a few seconds before butchering them, just in case they were about to chop the head of an avian monarch. Although there is also a folk tradition of asking convoluted or paradoxical questions that couldn't be answered before the axe falls. After all, once the formality has been observed, no one wants to actually spare their dinner. As a result of this tradition, riddles and wordplay are held in high esteem in this region.
No worries, I think it's that way all around. I'm about to have a crazy-busy couple of weeks, which either means I won't be around much or I'll be here all the time, procrastinating like mad.
Drawn by the scent of fresh, crusty loaves Desmond pops into the bakery just as the first of the mornings baking pops out of the oven.
"There wouldn't happen to be a crust to spare for a poor hungry fellow in danger of wasting away from hunger?" he asks hopefully.
"No, and you're in no danger of wasting away," laughs the baker. "Now be off with you, honest folk need to earn a living."
Des shakes his head ruefully. It was worth a try anyway. He decides to head to the inn and see if there is anything left in the kettle over the fire. Maybe someone will be up and about with a tale to tell. If nothing else perhaps he can flirt with the barmaids.
Playing: At the Forest's Edge: Desmond Halfling Vagabond
The Northern Marches: Hengist Cleric of Baudh
