The Unseen Servant forums

Mr Stereo1 wrote:That sounds good to me, Leitz.

By the way, do we have ponies, horses, or any other pack animals with us right now? I thought I remembered that, but I can't find anything saying we did.

I haven't been visualizing the group with animals, so if I missed that, please let me know. Speed wise, it wouldn't have made a difference due to the terrain and the weather. Finding a horse big enough for Barwuf could be a challenge.

On "how much cash do we have", the group planned a trip to Bree and back, with an expectation of side trips. Tarabim has some extra as well, so I'm assuming the group has "enough" for things like lodging, meals, beers, etc. Unless circumstances change, let's not worry about that too much.

Right, that makes sense.We'd probably be quite embarrassed marching a little pack pony through Rohan anyway.

Speak for yourself.

Ogre Mage, Barwuf would note that the only person really making contact is the barmaid. I just didn't explain it well.

Got it! Thanks!

I thought the boy leaving might have been a pickpocket hint.

OGRE MAGE wrote:Got it! Thanks!

I thought the boy leaving might have been a pickpocket hint.

More a teen boy snickering at a girl making advances. They don't look too related, but she may have given him a stare on his way out. You get the feeling that most everyone there, except for the minstrels and yourselves, are from there.



Okay, let me make sure I have the rules mechanics correct. Tarabim rolled 1, 6, 2. Normally 2d6 are rolled ( 1,6 ), but he has skill "Singing" and thus has Advantage. So all three dice count, and one success.

The question then becomes, is he trying to "Take Courage!" by producing the words (nice, BTW). However, it seems as if you can get Fate or Toughness *back*, but can you store it forward? Or should Tarabim get a 4th die, effectively spending the Fate as he gets it?

It's more that he's just trying to impress the crowd and garner praise.

Unfortunately this song might come back around (though I probably won't quote the whole thing) at a later date when Courage is needed. Depending how creative I can get with lyrics.

I think you could directly apply a Fate as a part of the process. So, they can't be stored, but they can be earned in the process of the action.

Make sense?

If you like, go ahead and roll another die.

Leitz wrote:If you like, go ahead and roll another die.

bonus for singing in a Haven [1d6] = 2

Still one success. I'll narrate a bit.

Apologies for the delay in posting, it's been an interesting few days.

If you have anything you'd like to do at the Inn, let me know. Otherwise the next scene will be on the road.

Tarabim suspects Olomir, like himself, is not just wandering. The other minstrels seems to be mostly just that, given that minstrels are seldom "just" anything.

For the others, the food is good and the drink is hearty if not high class. The night's sleep is exquisite, given what the group has dealt with for the past several days.

No sure what to make of the Browns plot hook, we're not really in a position to take people in on the death march just now, but I'd like to get back on the road. We've had a colorful interlude but it's time for adventure!

Mr Stereo1 wrote:No sure what to make of the Browns plot hook, we're not really in a position to take people in on the death march just now, but I'd like to get back on the road. We've had a colorful interlude but it's time for adventure!

It's more me adding story lines that don't have you all in the story yet. No expectation to have a lady along, but Tom Bombadil didn't join them either.

On a different note, I've been coming at this wrong. I want to give the players agency, but I'm used to having a lot of semi-hidden sub-plots that develop as the PCs get involved. I'm not really playing the TABA style, so I need to adjust.

Not sure you're going wrong with what you're doing, though if you think there's a better way to do it that's your call. Subplots that aren't picked up still make the world more interesting and immersive. I've gotten some praise from players in the past about the loose ends that tantalized them ...

If it’s any consolation, I thought about going *animal form* on him.

I'm seeing places where I could give more information, and pause the action such that the players can think about how to respond, and roll. The back and forth works in face to face games, but story-telling is a little different. Shared story-telling is even more different.

It's ok to slow things down a little so that we have a chance to roll, in fact it might help keep things moving smoothly in small steps rather than lurching along with big ones.

As we head into the next scene, I wanted to talk about the last one. Maybe I'm misunderstanding things, if so, please feel free to clarify.

My usual path is to try and understand the characters, and then put character flavored things in the story. For example, Barwuf is a healer. The serving girl took a liking to Barwuf, and she needed healing. The Brown's are societal cast-offs, a smile and some pleasant conversation would have affirmed her greatly. It wasn't about a one night stand or an abduction, but about reaching into someone else's life and healing them.

With Olomir, the story is different. Tarabim knows there's a political minefield surrounding Minas Tirith, and he's set himself firmly on the side of the king. Olomir is something in that story, but his role has yet to be revealed. Tarabim is no longer on the side-lines, he is a player in the game itself.

I'm still working on stories for Lotho and Lofar, but trying to give them a PC centric view of things. Input welcome.

Leitz wrote:My usual path is to try and understand the characters, and then put character flavored things in the story. For example, Barwuf is a healer. The serving girl took a liking to Barwuf, and she needed healing. The Brown's are societal cast-offs, a smile and some pleasant conversation would have affirmed her greatly. It wasn't about a one night stand or an abduction, but about reaching into someone else's life and healing them.
...
Input welcome.

It wasn't clear from the description that the servant girl had any kind of illness or injury that would require a healer's attention ... what I got from it was that she wanted to sleep with Barwuf. Understandably, being a decent chap just passing through, he wasn't interested.

I agree with Tibbius, I didn't read get that the serving girl needed healing at all. Lotho is a wanderer by nature, along for the ride so to speak.

While it is true that the description of the serving girl and her mannerisms was a bit vague, I dont think of a missed or misunderstood encounter as a failure.

I think things like this happen all the time in these games, at least they do in a sandbox type setting.

If I did something wrong or unclear in my reactions to the situation, please let me know.