OOC Thread [The Darkening]

I've been dining with friends this evening and it's a bit late to read everything, but the spirit binder thing appealed to me, somewhat. Is there no way to summon creatures/spirits with classical sorcery? (elementals with element based magic, etc.)


Also, what characteristics are important to magic? Willpower, Intellect?
 
http://fansci.nuigalway.ie/Crucible/?page_id=14


The single most important stat for Magi is Willpower. I didn't want to risk the squishy wizard archetype, so it's entirely possible to have an Intellect 1 Strength 4 Magus who is still a dangerous magical combatant provided he has the Willpower to control the Magic. Lore (Magic) is also important, as it allows Magi to better stave off the Fiends. I'll post the full Magic system in a few minutes, too.


Dreanyth, I'll post the mechanical benefits of the Infernal Bloodlines later today, but the descriptions are there and should give you an idea of what they're like. See if you can guess from which vices they descend.
 
Is Lore(Magic) bought separately from other lores, or is it a specialization?


How is Logos derived? Is starting at 1 mandatory?


Likewise, what about Willpower?
 
Depending on background, I'm usually willing to let you start at 2. Maybe even 3. Logos 1 is generally a roleplaying decision.


Lore (Magic) is a specialization, free to characters with formal Magical instruction in their backstory.


Willpower is an attribute, like any other.
 
In which category does it belong? Mental?


Also, do we have a base of 0 or 1 bar for attributes?
 
Very interesting setting, Grey - I can feel character ideas coming on already. Will have questions once I sleep on my ideas a bit.
 
Brekkir said:
In which category does it belong? Mental?
Also, do we have a base of 0 or 1 bar for attributes?
Base one, sorry. I always forget that part.


Willpower is, technically, a Mental Attribute. But don't worry about Attribute categories, in this game. When you choose your three Major Attributes, any combination is valid - Strength, Intellect, and Intuition, for example. Same goes for Minor. Just ensure Willpower is a Major Attribute for your character.


Which, incidentally, works in terms of character, too - Conduits can be immediately recognizable by their strong will and forceful personality.


Oh, and Lore is a Mental Skill. As a Magus, you'd be able to combine Intuition with Lore on certain rolls, owning to your intrinsic comprehension of Magic, where an ordinary Mortal with Lore (Magic) would never be able to roll it with Intuition.
 
So, we get a minimum of 1 bar in each attribute, right?


Do you have any particular requests for our backgrounds - do we know of each other, do we have anything special in common - an enemy, a broad goal to achieve, a mutual interest in a place or person?


If there are no special requirements, I will probably have my Troll Conduit start his life in Trollhaven as a member of the priesthood, who, while travelling to Hrothguard alongside a Powerstone convoy (to visit several outlying settlements, and relieve the local acolyte), ended up in the middle of a pirate/brigand attack, which lead to a catastrophic chain reaction (perhaps an atypical Powerstone had ending in a major conflagration. The combination of exposure to intense magical energy, terrible wounds, and intense determination and efforts to survive, caused something in my character's soul to awaken and break at the same time, and the young priest discovered he could no longer hear either the voice of Mother or the Resounding Cry. Recovering from his wounds in a Trollkin trading post near Hrothgard, he decided against returning in Trollhaven, for in his new condition he would face shame and quite possibly execution. Realizing soon enough that he could negate and even use all magic, he became a mercenary magus as soon as he was healed, and led a more or less adventurous life until the campaign started, developping his combat and leadership skills as well as his magic, leading a small mercenary unit specialized in the defense against and neutralization of mages (most often at the request of powerful private interests with a wish to have an annoying mage under the protection of rivals be quite simply eliminated or taken out of the equation).
 
You do get one bar minimum, correct.


I would like to find a way to plonk you all on Dreanyth's ship, but that may prove remarkably easy. I can work with any background quite happily, and that one sounds good to me. You'd have quite the reputation as a Magehunter - possibly some respect or suspicion from the Inquisition, animosity from the Sorceror-Kings. I imagine your patrons may most often have been the Infernal Houses.
 
Grey said:
You'd have quite the reputation as a Magehunter - possibly some respect or suspicion from the Inquisition, animosity from the Sorceror-Kings. I imagine your patrons may most often have been the Infernal Houses.
Well, originally he was just about neutralizing/dispelling magic. He only started fighting more directly when the opposing magi/patron's rivals hired goons to take him out. He learned that no one plays fair :P Though he's somewhat picky in his contracts usually - he wouldn't assassinate a Communer leading a peaceful community in 'civil disobedience' against a typical corrupt governor/baronet. A Conflagrant leading an open, armed rebellion would be fair game, as would a Seer mercenary using her magic to accumulate intel in a power grab between political entities.
Besides, he still considers himself remotely a magus, despite losing something dear to him to access that power. Killing a magus 'just because' is a big no-no :x


Question: what's the highest number of 'free bars' would you grant for a well-written background?


Also, do you have examples of typical Troll names?


Being a former priest, what would his relation to music be? Intolerance, melancholy?
 
Leadership is looking good at speeches and parades, governance is getting anything actually done :mrgreen:
 
Well put, Brekki. That is indeed how they work.


I rarely, rarely give free Attribute Bars. Skills are more common. I normally award three backgrounds, maybe more, maybe less, or around two to three bars each. They don't always give extra points, sometimes Backgrounds have unusual effects or give specialties. Bungler is a good example, reflecting wildly see-sawing luck.


Troll names tend to be quite musical, compared to the guttural Orc names or brief Goblin names.


Strylwyren is an example - bit of a Welsh influence.


Melancholy would be his main reaction to song, I think. May, of course, lead to him being more open-minded as he encounters singers from other species.
 
Honestly up to you. Preferably something independent rather than attached to an organization or country, though. I'll post up more details on your Perks in an hour or so, because the number of Ranks you take in Ship influences the size and utility of your vessel. For example, one Rank would be a small ship good for one purpose, minimum of 12 crewmembers, room for some passengers. Other PCs can count to your crew if they serve a purpose onboard. Depending on type it might also come preloaded with some weaponry or other special features, since there are ten kinds of airship based on the Etheric Patterns.


I ran a game in this setting a few weeks ago - the Captain in that had a Necromantic airship he named 'The Neverborn.'
 
I thought of a small ship propulsed by th Golden Flame and named "Spitfire" (yes I love this WWII planes)
 
Sounds good. The aesthetic would be sturdy, but sleek, lots of dark wood, metal, and burnished brass.
 
Could we please have details on the freelancer class ? (and possibly the other not detailed so far classes)
 
Which classes did I neglect to detail? I'm reluctant to put Freelancers back in, after some thought, because they seem a bit underpowered alongside everything else, and Captains struck me as filling the same role.


But I'll slot them back for completeness sake, it's up to you if you really want to play one. Oh, and I forgot Phayders, silly me. I'll detail Twilight Caste on request.


EDIT: Freelancers are FAR too underpowered to function in this version of the setting. They don't even make much sense fluff-wise.
 
Huh, thinking about backstory stuff over here... What kind of reasons would an engineer have to be on a ship? I am considering writing my char as being part of the crew. How likely is that to make sense?
 

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