Session 0: Character Creation

[Rusty Tincanne]

...I'd say that all of the Goals he listed can reasonably be achieved by our group, or he wouldn't have suggested them. That said, we may not know how to achieve them going in...

Ha! True enough. You totally guessed my real question, which was, are the first two goals I listed within my abilities.

Very well then (and even if they are not), Rand's would not believe demons are able to work towards the well-being of the world, so his belief is, "I will banish any lingering Daedra spirits."

[thesniperknight1]

As a thief and a man supporting his sister, I have to pick "I will loot this place for what it's worth" but I would love to get my hands on daedric armor

[C. Steven Ross]

Sounds good! When DrPete can pull away from finals and post up his Goal, everyone should then head on over to the Session 1 topic and start playing!

Describe to live, tell me what you do, don't worry about the mechanics. Try and do stuff in the game world and sneak it past me so that I *don't* make you roll dice. Rolling dice, a test, can lead to all sorts of trouble.

[drpete]

Hey guys,

Ok, so small tweaks:

I'm gonna add a spell component to inventory (a little basket ring, I guess)

I'm gonna tweak my instinct just to make it clear it's not "scout"... "search for" or something close to that.

Goal: I want to find the crown. It may be too tough. That's ok

[C. Steven Ross]

Yes! CharGen is DONE. Let's go to the Session 1 topic and start posting your actions.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Great news!

Before we begin proper, I have a few questions:
1. Are we keeping record of our own characters, or will you be editing those sheets?
2. We are rolling our own dice (via the US dice roller), correct? If so, I need to learn more about that!
3. Will you be giving a bit more narrative prior to us beginning (what our immediate surroundings look like, etc) or should we jump right in? If the latter, do we have an inkling regarding an opening to the dungeon, or is this a scenario where we know something is there, but that is about it?

Thanks!

[C. Steven Ross]

1. That is your responsibility. Since you made the post, I actually am not even able to edit it if I wanted to. As the admin on this campaign, I can delete posts, but not edit them.

2. Yes. There are some helpful guides in the advice forums.

3. The topic's first post has all the description you start with. If you want to learn more, ask and tell me what your character is doing.

[Rusty Tincanne]

1. Cool.
2. Cool.
3. Cool.

[thesniperknight1]

Now, I have a question about instinct. Mine is "Always check for traps", but when actually does it apply? Do I say I am gonna check for traps as an instinct or does it automatically happen whenever I am around something suspicious? And how many times can I use it? Because since it doesn't take any actual time, instinct would be a bit of a broken ability with endless grinding capability if it has no restrictions.

Oh, and the 2d scout was help from Trandir and Norgrim. or can't I use two help dice from the same character?

[Enoch]

I believe that the Instinct basically means that, so long as you're the one checking for traps, when Steven says to check for traps, you still have to test but it doesn't take a turn.

[C. Steven Ross]

Enoch: Correct! If I call for you to make a test, you then tell me "Aha! This is my Instinct!" and then the test happens but won't advance the grind.

SniperKnight: Yeah next time just be clear what D is coming from whom, only 1D of Help per character, and how their character is able to help.

[thesniperknight1]

Oh, that makes more sense

[Rusty Tincanne]

Now, I have a question about instinct. Mine is "Always check for traps", but when actually does it apply?

I believe the recommendations on the Burning Wheel forum are include a frequency (always being the default), what (checking for traps in your case) and a when. Perhaps Steven might allow you to edit one in. Something like, when I prepare to pass through a portal, when I enter a new area, before I pick a lock, etc. What was your intent with your instinct? It will be easier for you to to remind Steven about using your instinct if you are clearer about when it matters.

Out of curiosity, are you guys just going to ring that bell-thing, or do you want Tandir and Rand to try and scholar/loremaster our way through interpreting it?

[thesniperknight1]

Yeah, that was basically my intention, whenever something looks suspicious or there is a high chance of a trap. Thank you all, I understand better now

If we do make the test, are we going to lose our Fresh condition?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Losing fresh is at the discretion of the GM, but will only happen if you fail a skill test or if we reach turn 4 at which time the grind sets in. So far you have passed two tests and are still fresh. I, on the other hand, have failed two. The weather twist gave me the chance to keep fresh, but it seems unlikely now.

anyhow, That is why we might want to make camp. You and Enoch (and perhaps drpete) will retain fresh and the turn clock resets.

Your instinct tests do not advance the turn counter, bu you also are not allowed to get help from the rest of us. Which is another good reason to retain that extra fresh die on your rolls.

And per Stevens request to amend your goal, I would suggest you check for traps "when entering a new area." And you still get to narrate that action, so you get to describe rooms, etc!

[thesniperknight1]

Edited instinct and added goal

I think I am starting to grasp the mechanics of the game better now

[Rusty Tincanne]

If I weren't for having read the Mouse Guard RPG, and later a lot of posts on the Burning Wheel forums, I don't think much of this would make sense to me. It also helps that the play by post RPGs I have participated in were narrative-heavy, and the GMs usually encourage the players to fill out their posts a lot. Of course that lead to my hunter check, so I might reign that in a bit.

I have really enjoyed reading Enoch's and SK's posts, by the way!

[Rusty Tincanne]

Steven,

Sometimes I find I would like a bit more description from you of what we are seeing. The tracks are one example. Norgrim's inspection of the gong-thingy is another - which I read as Enoch asking if his character might just have seen anything like it in the past. But that misunderstanding is makes it clear that I am misinterpreting things. Which is making me wary of making my posts descriptive at all. And I don't want that to happen.

So what is the best way for me to get a clearer picture of my surroundings/items of interest - including basic deductions about them - without invoking an unintentional test? Should I just make an OOC request?

Thanks,
Rusty.

[C. Steven Ross]

Yeah I think maybe what we could do is be more clear as to what you're going after, and using OOC might be a good means of projecting your intent. For example, if I described a set of tracks and you feel like I'm lacking a bit on the basic description, you could ask in OOC red, and then if I felt you were stretching towards a testable I might ask you back some questions. Like , "how are you learning more about the tracks?" "Where did you encounter the magic disk before?"

How's that sound?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Perfect. Thanks!