Interest Check: Multiple ideas

Right, hmmm... Well, here are your details then:


1. Starting location is actually up for grabs at the moment. I'm flexible. If you guys have any particular place you want to start, toss it out there. If you don't, though, I'm thinking the harsh North could be a good place to start. It's relatively harsh, forbidding... Plenty of ancestor cults, plenty of space to hide and a nice location to start your sojourn.


2. As far as Deathlords go, unless you'd prefer to be fleeing a specific Deathlord, I'm going to have all your Monstrances be in the possession of Larquen Quen, as the Mask of Winters has the most extensive spy network and his eyes are far more focused on Creation than any other Deathlord.


3. No, I'm no fan of Sidereals.


Any more questions? I'm new to this, so lemme know if you need to know any details. You'd all be relatively recent Exaltations, so you'd not have much training yet or field experience.
 
How do we know we are free ?


I mean we decided to defect, that's for sure, going up north if we were operating from Thorns makes perfect sense... but how did we get the certainty that we were free ? How much do we know about it ?


And finally why choosing the way of the redemption ? I mean, here we are 5/6 abyssals, free of their deathlord.. with not just one but two worlds to conquer !
 
I'll go ahead and be the one to ask: How do you feel about the merits and flaws as listed in the Scroll of Heroes? They're mostly pretty good in my opinion, and provide some very useful and flavorful character options.


Oh, and just for the record - The Foole will likely be a Moonshadow caste, as that seems by far the most appropriate. The Foole is a black-clad jester, a wicked, willful harlequin who mixes truth and lies for his own enigmatic purposes. He has a bleak, black sense of humor.


Oh, and I assume we've got no starting XP of any kind?
 
Abyssals being free, well... You aren't. Not really. Not to give too much away, Mask of Winters still holds your Monstrances. He could, at any time, hurl them into the void and shatter you (or so he claims, at least), but he doesn't have that luxury at the moment. He just conquered a city and any rogue deathknights could ruin him, both by reducing the amount of deathknights he has available to him to carry out his nefarious ends and by letting the metaphorical cat out of the bag. It's one thing to say that a man who conquered a city and practices Necromancy is evil. It's another thing entirely to have his powerful servants saying so.


You still have the Sword of Damocles dangling right over you. The Mask, however, simply can't afford to suddenly lose so many deathknights at once.


As for striking out and going on your own, seeking redemption, well... That's really up to you. I thought of crafting a reason but I don't know the personality of your deathknights. One Abyssal, regretful of their decision, might see the conditions of Thorns and go renegade for as little as watching a man being killed and eaten by zombies for disobeying the Mask of Winters. Meanwhile, another would laugh at this situation but would turn in a second at a threat to their own life. I could try and craft a catch-all scenario that led to you going rogue, but I worry about that robbing you all of individual character development. I can, and am going to, be giving you a window of opportunity that suddenly lets you go and flee.


To be honest, your characters don't have to seek redemption. Just because redemption is the theme doesn't mean you must seek it. I love playing against archetypes too, and the theme of redemption could be that, quite honestly, it's fun to be bad, you just don't want to be controlled by the Neverborn or go for all that Oblivion stuff.


I don't have Scroll of Heroes, so I can't really answer. I've read the Wiki listing on them, but I'd need to approve any that you want to add.


Lastly, no, there will not be any starting XP. This is my first game, so I want to start low power and build.
 
Thanks for the information. Just FYI, merits and flaws work the way they always do in WW games - Merits cost bonus points, flaws give them to you. If I find any that I think are particularly appropriate, I'll give you the full text of them for your approval.
 
Let me rephrase this:


We are deathknights of the Mask of Winters... we know just too well (and certainly not all of it) how far his network of spies and influence go in both worlds, and we know he's not the kind of guy you just say "I quit" to.


So if we're all serving him and all decided to defect there might be a rather good reason behind this en masse defection, especially if we decided to stick together... I mean... splitting up gives everyone the best chances.


We could create various reasons for personal defections, but I think especially for this story, that we would need a strong bond as defectors and as a group.


Now I'm not saying it has to be the same for all of the players: one could be just eager to be free of servitude, another in love with a defector so he just followed, and another tired of all this void crap.
 
So, a couple of thoughts. For one, I sort of agree that it almost make more sense if we'd all fled different Deathlords - five Death Knights leaving one Deathlord would be such a gaping flaw in that Deathlord's power base that they couldn't afford not to do something about it - heaving half (or more) of your Deathknights all go rogue at the same time would be too much an invitation for punishment or attack from a hostile Deathlord.


Of course, some of us might have come from the same court - I just think it'd make more sense if some of us have split from different Deathlords. Perhaps we'd met on different missions and decide to come together for safety in numbers, or perhaps to try and establish our own power base.


Finally, I was thinking of taking the Oathbound flaw, and I wanted to know how much you think an oath that restricts speech would be worth - specifically, the speaker can never use plain language; he must always speak in verse, rhyme, riddle, song, or some other form of performance-based or enigmatic communication. Here are the rules for the Oathbound flaw, just let me know what you think this one's worth - I'm thinking somewhere between the 3 and 5 categories.


Edit: I should mention that this taboo applies to written communication, as well.

OATHBOUND
Cost: Variable


Availability: Anyone


Your character has sworn some oath or accepted some


taboo in exchange for power. Many priests and holy men


swear oaths as signs of their devotion to their deities, and


the deities in question bless their followers with magically


conferred benefits as long as that oath remains fulfilled. The


severity of the oath’s requirements is directly proportional


to the number of points gained.


Minor Oath (1 pt.): An oath that barely restricts the


character at all—never accept food from a red-headed


person, never use bladed weapons, pray to your god once


per day.


Moderate Oath (3 pts.): An oath that impedes the character,


but not in any life-threatening way—no sex outside


of marriage, never eat pork, pray several times per day at


specific intervals, never start a fight.


Major Oath (5 pts.): An oath that interferes with the


character’s life in a major way—never cut your hair,


remain completely celibate, never use any weapons,


spend at least one hour of every day in meditation, strict


vegetarianism.


Legendary Oath (8 pts.): An oath that severely limits the


character’s lifestyle—never bathe, embrace total pacifism,


reject all forms of physical pleasure, never consume food


or drink other than rice and water, spend at least six hours


every day in meditation.


Unlike most Flaws, a player who imposes an oath on


her character must specifically note what traits the bonus


points gained were used to acquire, like so: Complete


celibacy, Major (5 pts), +1 Conviction, 1-pt. Priest. If the


character ever violates the oath, he loses the benefits


associated with the oath until he has made suitable


atonement. This atonement will generally take a number


of months of contrition and penitence equal to the Flaw


rating, as well as a sacrifice with a Resources cost of the


Flaw rating or some other suitable, Storyteller-chosen form


of repentance.


In addition, at the Storyteller’s discretion,


violations of major or legendary oaths may also result in


divine punishment of some sort, such as the infliction of


a Flaw or curse of some kind under which the character


must labor until he has received forgiveness.


A character may have multiple oaths (but never


more than one legendary oath). While multiple oaths


may stack, if the character has more than one oath that


interferes with the same general area of life (combat,


dietary restrictions, sex, prayer, etc.), each oath after


the first suffers a cumulative -1 reduction in value. For


example, a character who has sworn never to start a fight


and to fight only barehanded would gain five points for


the major oath but only two points instead of three for


the moderate oath. The Storyteller should not allow the


player to select multiple oaths if one embraces the other.


For example, it would be inappropriate for a character to


swear a moderate oath to never start a fight when he has


already sworn a legendary oath of total pacifism. Likewise,


the player should not be allowed to stack an oath to never


eat shellfish on top of an oath of strict vegetarianism.
Click to expand...
 
Renegade DKs defecting from various deathlords makes even less sense IMHO... The DLs would obviously ally their networks to find the group (while trying to backstab each other's ass), and if the group stick together, find one you find all the others.
 
cyl said:
Renegade DKs defecting from various deathlords makes even less sense IMHO... The DLs would obviously ally their networks to find the group (while trying to backstab each other's ass), and if the group stick together, find one you find all the others.
Click to expand...
I might be watching too much 24 these days :lol:
 
If you weren't averse to instituting a rather large canon change, you could always say that a Deathlord was somehow destroyed, and that we, his Deathknights, were now free to pursue our own ends.


As always, Axel, it's your game. These are just my random musings.
 
I'm not very familiar with the Deathlords, but...

Renegade DKs defecting from various deathlords makes even less sense IMHO... The DLs would obviously ally their networks to find the group (while trying to backstab each other's ass), and if the group stick together, find one you find all the others.
Click to expand...
It could be that all the backstabbing is why the PCs could actually get away, if the Deathlords interfered with each other to the point where they'd actually be better off handling it alone, but can't do so after word got out.


Alternatively, it could be that the Deathlords don't work together specifically because they don't word to get out.
 
There's also two big factors, the first being safety in numbers and the latter herd protection. You're (comparatively) weak neophyte Abyssals and you're fleeing from those who could likely slay any one of you without blinking the moment they found you. Tossing your hat in with others drastically increases your odds of surviving any such encounter. There's also the comparative usefulness that every single one of your allies is a fish you can feed to the shark; a sacrificial lamb you can betray. It's far better to make being a Judas more valuable in the long run, so keeping them close, in case you ever find yourself with the wolf at your door and no out, you can betray them to save your neck. Think of them as mobile insurance policies, if you are so inclined.


WK: No, I'm afraid that wouldn't work for this. You guys being "on the run" is a big part of the story focus and, from a purely meta-gaming point of view, it is useful for me. If I need to poke you guys somewhere, give you a reason to do something, etc. then I have a blank check which not only lets me do something but give you a good reason to do it and to give you a fun story and theme to do it with. It's one thing to say "I want to go after some tome of ancient lore" but another thing entirely to say "I want to find an ancient tome to wrest control of an ancient undead behemoth to fight off the army chasing us".


I've already given you the info on the oath too, over AIM.


I'll get back to you all as to a few possible reasons as to why you are fleeing but I've got to leave momentarily now so I will post it a tad later.


Edit: Alright, so, the grand why. I don't want to rob you guys of character development so, instead, I am offering an option here. Let me know what you think, okay?


The option is thus: One way or another, your character has ended up in the dungeons of the Mask of Winters. You're all relatively new deathknights who, one way or the other, are about to be executed by the Mask for your plots to turn rogue. You may have actually been planning to flee, to turn on good Mr. Quen, to turn to a different Deathlord... You may even be innocent, of this at least, but, whatever the circumstances, you will all be his prisoners and the day that you end up dragged from your soulsteel prison to have your Exaltations ripped from your fleshy forms and your souls cast into Oblivion draws close.


Then, by fate or by un/holy providence, an attack is staged on the portion of the Underworld in which you are being held and you are freed, leaving you running through the nearest shadowland (which is Thorns) and fleeing north. The game would either start with you all breaking free or catching your breath on the outskirts of the charnel city.


You are then free to follow your motivation wherever it leads you, although it may be haggard by the angry forces of the Mask, swiftly chasing you after realizing you are all free.


I'm also thinking of including some form of reason for you all to stick together, such as Soulsteel manacles that prevent you straying far from one another or your life-force will start to drain, which seems reasonable enough, but I don't wish to make things too contrived or strain your group dynamics too much. Still, it gives you a good reason to stick together if the deaths of any of you could severely impact the others.
 
A strong "leader", able to lead the others into disappearing into the shadows (I was thinking to make a day caste ala sleeper / jack bauer) might also help achieving this end.


Like "come with me if you wanna live", and of course it would be up to the group to determine their mechanics.
 
I'm thinking up a Midnighty background, but draft one doesn't work so it'll be awhile before I get done xD
 
definitely interesting. am considering a Day caste, but he's really not the leader type, though he might evolve later to lead troops.
 
If that's ok with everyone else:


The Last Jackal aka Jack or Jackal.


Before he was even turned by the Mask of Winters, this man always thought that violence coercion and traumatizing experiences were the best means to obtain a result. He was once the head of the counter intelligence of Thorns... a position he maintained for ten years before all hell broke loose and he was caught off guard by the machinations of the Mask.


Before the sack of Thorns he knew there was something off, and investigated the members of the close circle of the Autocrat... only to find evidence that someone was altering the geomancy of Thorns for a purpose unknown. Before he could gather enough evidence against one of the ministers (an abyssal infiltrated), he was charged of high treason with fake accusation, but enough fake evidence to lead to his capture and eventually his execution.


His whole family was tortured and killed in front of him by his second in command, happy to show his former master just how much he had learned from him. Unfortunately, this man didn't spit any valuable information, because he did not have any... his second finally cut his throat and he was thrown at the sea as it was tradition.


He obviously accepted the deal of Mask of Winters when he proposed him a second chance and a revenge.


Soon after, Thorns was sacked, and he recieved the black exaltation as the last jackal.


He always thought this was a coincidence and acted faithfully as a servant of the void, a master spy of the day caste, until he learned from the Green Lady that it was Mask of Winters himself that planted the seeds of his demise.


Then things changed, and he started to plot against his master. He was eventually caught and imprisonned for interrogation, as his plans had started to bear fruits, and the Marukani Alliance was starting to mobilize their troops to block the armies of the dead.


Obviously as he meant to gain some time to think of an escape plan he gave up other names of his allies in his treachery... and those names are the names of the other deathknights imprisonned.


Now questions to the ST:


Obviously if we start from "we're in prison, the prison is blown" we ain't gonna have access to many backgrounds like "liege" "artifacts" "manse" and stuff like this... am I wrong ?
 
Well, obviously not Liege, no. However, your weapons could be recovered during the prison break and/or from where you kept them in Thorns or elsewhere in the Mask's territory before you leave. As for manses, there's no reason you could still be attuned but it is unlikely that you'd get to stay attuned. Familiars could be waiting for you outside the prison, having followed you there, and so forth. Followers might be more difficult...


You get the idea. Your options are there, you just have to be creative.
 
So:


Allies / Backing / Contacts / Familiar / Mentor / Ressources = OK


Artifacts & Manse = maybe.


Cult / Liege / Abyssal Command / Underworld Manse = NO
 
Pretty much. Artifacts are restricted to what you can carry, with the following exceptions:


1. They are stored elsewhere, hidden enough that you can get to them before your Deathlord.


2. See 1 but your Deathlord is unaware of them.


In either case, be prepared to explain how/why.


Manses, meanwhile, are tied to similar restrictions. That is, your Deathlord is simply unaware of them.
 
Doesn't seem likely that a DL would be 'unaware' of so powerful an item as a HS. Artifacts, they have ROOMS of them. HS are not the same.
 
We can also probably imagine that whatever we found was scavenged from the prison... though I doubt we had 20 mins for the atunement. :lol:


I'd say no to artifacts... would be fun to hunt DB for loots for once :twisted: :roll:
 
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