OOC Discussion (Session 4)

[Ludanto]

Here we go!

Rabon's expert eye places the value of the book at 2D (but you still have to find a collector).

There is, unfortunately, no market for your potions and salves of dubious origin. Sorry.

The helmet's base price does double, allowing you to sell it for 1D. (Precedent has now been set!)

On the bright side, replacing (even retroactively) quarrels and other ammunition, is just part of the cost of doing business, and is thus covered by your lifestyle.

[Marullus]

Huzzah!

That gives us 1D Cash more to distribute for the helmet (16D Cash total) -- good haggling, Thag! -- and we're not buying quarrels, so our treasure distribution now looks like:

- Preserve the sack of gems (Allric, 3D)
- Purchase lamp oil (3D cash, +1D fresh, Ob2)
- Buy quarrels
- Thag: Buy a whip (2D cash, +1D Fresh, Ob1)
- Thag, Rabon, Berry and Allric get 2D cash each to pass enhanced lifestyle tests (8D total)

Thag: I'm concerned that if you buy a whip you'll have an inventory problem. If you're carrying a sword (belt), dagger (belt), crossbow (two-hands), and quiver (shoulder), you don't have any place you can possibly stash your whip and have it available for use. At that point you need to pack it in your satchel, which (if I were Ludanto) would cause complications. You're already investing a lot in two-weapon fighting AND crossbow (and you have a natural twist of losing your crossbow, since you need to drop it every time you do something else, since it can't be worn or stowed).


We're keeping these things in inventory:

Allric:
- an invigorating potion (cures Exhaustion) (pack 1)
- an invigorating potion (cures Exhaustion) carried by Thag
- a calming potion (cures Anger) (pack 1)
- sack of gems (3D cash) (pack 1)
- scroll of Wisdom of the Sages (pack 1)
(Still packing a mirror, 2 candles, 2 small sacks, cloak, pole/staff, dagger)

Berry:
- A large, gilded, gem-encrusted book (2D Cash) (pack 2) carried by Thag
- old book with scribbling about an evil dwarf god (book of dwarven prayer) (2D Cash) (pack 1)
- Ring of Tarog: A large ring with a round red stone (Hand 1)
- scroll of "Sanctuary of the Lord of Shields" (Pack 1)
- an unusually large red gem, cut like a teardrop and bearing some sort of runic inscription [Plot item]
- Dwarven Shield (Carry 1)
- Flask of Oil (x2) [pending successful purchase]
(still carrying Helmet, packed cloak, 4 torches, leather armor, mace, lantern)

Thag:
- Dwarven Crossbow (Carry 2, 1D cash)
- Quiver of Bolts
(Still carrying longsword, dagger, bracers, quiver of bolts, tinderbox, rope.)

Rabon:
- Dwarven Handaxe named "Skyfall" (Carry 1)
- Flask of Oil (x2) [pending successful purchase]
(still carrying rope, grappling hook, two small sacks, lantern)

Other Inventories...
- Moved one rope to Rabon to carry with his grappel, left one rope with Thag
- moved Rabon's dagger to Thag's belt
- Both Berry and Rabon are carrying lanterns; packed two flasks of oil on each of them pending successful purchase
- Thag's tinderbox is bumped to his backpack by the dagger.
- Packed 2-slot gem-encrusted book in Thag's pack.
- packed third potion in Thag's pack

At present state - our four inventories are completely full with these items except for Rabon who has one free hand. That means we do need to spend all 13D cash on our rolls while in town (not a bad idea, converting them to 1D resources as we have a wealthier reputation). Also note that we do not have any food (we do have water/wine), but we'll expend some potions as we get conditions. If we need to free up space:
- Allric can throw away his two candles for 1 slot, since we have four torches and two lanterns with four flasks of oil, plus his spell(s).
- Thag or Rabon could throw away a rope for 2 slots (we still have the other)
- Thag could trade in the crossbow for 1D Cash, freeing up four slots (two hands, two quiver)
- Berry could throw away his spare cloak for 2 slots (we still have Allric's)
- Both Rabon and Berry have a pack slot filled with 2D Cash which could be spent.

New Inventory List:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jpl ... sp=sharing


Remaining Town Actions:
- Allric buys the lantern oil with (from Haggle result)
- Thag buys a whip (does he?)
- Allric goes to the tavern to find the local wizard (from Circles result)
- Rabon stays with his friend Maid Marion (no cost)
- Allric stays with local wizard who is now a friend (no cost)
- Berry and Thag stay in the Flophouse (+1 lifestyle each)
- Thag rolls circles and Digs Up Leads (+1 lifestyle cost)
- Can Rabon buy something (perhaps some preserved rations at Ob2) to get a second Resources test with his Wise?

With those upkeep costs added.... we are at lifestyle:
Thag: 3
Allric: 1
Rabon: 1
Berry: 1

Maybe someone else Digs for Leads to spread that out. Thag?

[BillTheGalacticHero]

I can pass on the whip, so my lifestyle will only be 1 (Haggler for 1, Stables for 0). Digging for leads will add +1

[Marullus]

Stables and Flophouse are both +1 Lifestyle. Staying with a contact or staying in the Streets (with event roll) are free.

Skipping the whip doesn't save Lifestyle (but it does give us more slots, and 2D cash to spend elsewhere).

[shroomofinsanity]

There isn't really anything else for me to do, unless I need to take a crack at lantern oil if the purchase fails. So after we find out how that plays, I'm ready to roll on lifestyle and prep a whole miracle XD.

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Does the town phase count as a session in itself? I'm thinking it should since it's supposed to represent several days or weeks.

I'm asking because I would like to use by Grim Visage trait for a +1D in my Digging For Leads - Asking Around test.

If I can use it, I think I will have 6D to use: Circles 4, +1D for extra leads, +1D for Grim Visage
* - the extra lead is that we have two clues: the wolf told us that some children were missing, and we have the location of the mysterious hut

Page 92: "If you have more than one type of lead about a particular endeavor, the additional information counts as supplies (+1D) when making your test."

Current Lifestyle cost:
3 -
Haggling (+1D)
Staying at the Stables (+1D) - I'm also going to Dig for Leads there - ask the stable hands if they have heard anything
Digging for Leads (+1D)


And a couple questions for Ludanto. Is there any way to add a strap to the crossbow to sling it over my shoulder? I'm sure I could not do it with a backpack, but if I downgrade to a satchel? I think it could be done, maybe with the same restrictions as a backpack (subject to lose in twists, a penalty to combat), and possibly not usable in a "surprise or ambush" combat. If you can sling a musket (I do Civil War re-enacting by the way) you should be able to sling a crossbow.


And the last question. I've underlined the factors I think would apply, but it's Ludanto's decision

Digging for Leads Factors:
What are the legends about this place: popular legend, a generation past, ancient story, a lost or forgotten place
How do I get there: easy to find, a place of legend that few or none have visited, a place that was lost, a place that's deliberately hidden
What lives there: those who live there now, those who built the place, those upon which the place was built
What treasures are there: the obvious, something guarded, something someone lost there, something buried beneath
What traps are there: a well known device to scare away would-be explorers, something that someone escaped once, something secret and deadly

Test your circles against the obstacle created by the factors. Success indicates you've found a lead. Failure can be a twist, condition, or the enmity clause.

Does this mean it's a vs. test? My 6D vs its 5D.

[Ludanto]

Town Phase is just a Phase (you'll outgrow it, ha!). Really, it ought to be part of a larger Session, I think, but online being what it is, it will probably end up being its own Session.

How will being scary and unfriendly-looking (Grim Visage) help you talk to people?

It can be hard to know how much of the rules are the rules in this weird blend of old-school and modern game, but here's what I'll say. You can go to the Guild Hall and rent out some time to craft a strap for your crossbow. You won't be able to wear it with a backpack, and it will count as a factor like a backpack, but there are no other obvious restrictions. Don't forget that your quiver will need to hold the bolts. For lack of a better choice, I'm calling it an Armorer test. Ob1.

I'll need to get back to you on the Digging for Leads test.

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Ok, I'll skip Grim-Visaged, do i still get +1D for having two clues?

I think I might need to keep my backpack until we unload that two-slot book. But I'll keep the guild-use to make a shoulder strap in mind for the next time we're in a town.

Also, I asked a couple friends if they might be interested in joining the forum (i.e. designing characters). Any objections?

[Ludanto]

Unfortunately, both of those clues don't apply.

Also, what exactly do you want to know about this lead?
What are the legends about this place?
How do I get there?
What lives there?
What treasures are there?

Because that's at least Ob4 right there, and you don't get to pick what's there to find. It could be much harder than that.

Do you want to narrow it down to one or two questions?

You could also ask a question or two at a time (at the cost of more Lifestyle).

I wouldn't mind new faces, and now's the time to bring them in while you're in town. Of course I'll consider other opinions from your fellow players.

[shroomofinsanity]

I wouldn't mind new blood in the thread. Especially if they come from an angle we don't have covered at the moment. They could even weave into some number of our backstories to bind the group together.

[Marullus]

New players is fun!

How do I get there?

We have the accurate map. Why would this be a +1Ob factor instead of a +1D Helpful info?

[BillTheGalacticHero]

My friend Buck may be joining the group. He likes the idea of the asynchronous style here since he's usually super busy with work and can't commit to a specified time per week. I sent him a list of all the character classes in the base rules and official supplements.

[Ludanto]

Bill, so you're looking for more information on the witch's hut? What exactly do you want to know? It's true that you already know where it is.

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Bill, so you're looking for more information on the witch's hut? What exactly do you want to know? It's true that you already know where it is.

Looking for any information about who lives there, and if there is any connection to the rumored missing children. Did the children go missing near the hut's location? Or somewhere miles and miles away?

[Ludanto]

Go for it. Circles, Ob1. No bonuses.

[BillTheGalacticHero]

It's a vs. test, so you will be rolling as well, right?

[Ludanto]

Nope. Ob1. You just need one success.

[Rusty Tincanne]

FYI: I'm still here and involved but allowing Thag and Allric' scenes play out as they will. As always, Rabon is happy to offer help when he can.

Bill: Aoife is gone - she disappeared from the story before we headed back to town, even. Not sure if your friend would want to use her character or not. It has the advantages of some character advancement already, though not much IIRC.

[Marullus]

Your mentor would certainly teach you a spell if you went to find him at the Ashen Throne. This is a guy who would be willing to act as your Mentor for a price. That's what your Circles roll came up with.

Also, while your Mentor would normally choose the spell you get, I'll let you pick this one, unless for some reason I don't think Shen would have that spell or teach it to you.

Moving this over here.

That's fair - I just wanted to be clear, as I thought we said above that he'd act as Mentor for a few levels. This means he's an Ally from the circles test (not yet a friend) and a Hired Instructor (p.42) for the purpose of learning the spell.

I did some deeper research to clarify the rules and relations on these Circles tests.

- A successful circles tests puts someone under Allies on your sheet. (Allies are easier to find again with +1D Circles)
- A "genuine and sincere gesture" is required to convert the Ally to a Friend. (Friends are found without a roll (if present in that town), you can stay with a friend in town for free, etc)
- A failed circles test has three options. Succeed in finding an Ally with a condition, suffer a twist, or suffer the Enmity Clause (the person you find is an Enemy).
- A Friend or Ally can also convert to an Enemy narratively if you screw them.
- An Enemy actively plots your downfall. They get +3s to disposition in drive off, argument, or speech conflicts with you. They could pretend to be nice but secretly screw you, too.

Spells Offered:
I don't think I'd say no to any of the spells, but some are more in-character than others (for me, or the Imperial). I'd assume the Imperial has Eldritch Darts, and that's the mathematically most-common spell we're supposed to get on the tables. I think that'd be useful as we've lost most of the fighting strength of our group and it means that he wouldn't have to sit out of those conflicts while our group is smaller.

Otherwise, I think the second most likely to be tradeable with the Imperial (and of high interest to Allric) would be Supernal Vision. I'd be most happy with either of those, and still content with other picks.

Handling this situation:
Gifting him a gem encrusted priceless book of history is more than payment for a spell. I would classify it as a "genuine and sincere gesture" that makes the Imperial Wizard into a Friend in addition to teaching the spell. Is that fair?

If so, I'd like the other players' inputs before we give away this important find. (Thankfully, we then aren't carrying the book. Bandy still has the religious text of profane/evil dwarven ritual for his storyline.)

I'd again advocate for us to visit the Ashen Throne in the near future, then, as a trusted place for Berry to deal with his book and to visit my mentor separately.

Thoughts?

[shroomofinsanity]

I accept this trade, I'd like more help in fights, and trading loot for narrative assistance seems good long term. And torchbearer characters are famously bad at long term game so any boost sounds good to me. Side note, I don't have much left to do in town, I've already leveled, and just need to stay in the flophouse unless there are any conversations you'd like me for.

Any votes for law miracles I should try and prep?