Fantasy Sidereals - New Beginnings OOC

[Psychie]

We will have our OOC chats here.

 

[D. Rex]

First!

 

[D. Rex]

Alrighty! With that out if the way. What's the plot boss? I got Xun the Glass Dragon on standby for an easy char.



But! If it is only two of us, then it would be wrong of me not to suggest an opportunity of a bit of cooperative creation.

Im not sure what the plot is yet. But there is a chance we could get our characters tied together from char creation. Or have a plan in mind of what we want.

Any cool ideas? Random Word

 

[Psychie]

I don't want to drop too many hints of the plot yet.

 

[Psychie]

But yes, if you want to have some ties to one another, that is good.

 

[Psychie]

It has been decided that Rykon will be taking the place of D. Rex . I hope that this will go as well as I envision it to.

 

[Random Word]

In a vacuum? Until Psychie weighs in on the kind of story we're telling (themes, kind of activities we're engaging in/problems we're tackling, etc) we're left with broader questions that apply to every Sidereals game, and even broader questions that apply to every game. Do our characters get along? BFFs/rivals forced to work together? Clashing personalities/super complementary personalities? Gold/Bronze/Silver/Independent? Same faction or opposites?

The colour pair we pick says a lot about what we do. Green + Blue is political and dynastic intrigue, holding important alliances and families together despite the terrible skeletons in their closets. Red + Purple is war and revolution. Red + Yellow is epic fighting retreats or forced marches to be Big Damn Heroes at Helms Deep. Green + Red is weird - fighting to keep a secret? A battle as a distraction to prevent a secret from being uncovered? A battle to reveal a secret? Some of the pairings are unclear. Yellow + Blue would be like the hero's journey to win the heart of their beloved.

 

[Psychie]

I have a quick errand to run, but I'll try and answer some of the questions that you have.

 

[Psychie]

Well, I suppose I can tell you guys that I am going with the Rise of the Scarlet Empress, and you will be two of the only Sidereals that will be alive after the Empress makes her move against the Fivescore Fellowship. Whatever rivalry you may have will be thrown out the window when you learn about the details.

 

[D. Rex]

That sounds awesome.

 

[Random Word]

Oh! First minute substitution. Alas, poor D. Rex. I knew him well. Hi Rykon. Oh, we're doing whatnow? Well, alright then. The process by which said hypothetical rivalry is overcome in the face of the Lotus Massacre is certainly interesting dramatic fodder.

Exactly how badly do you want us to break the game here? If we're using Scroll of the Monk SMA as written we're obviously setting a high baseline for broken - do you want us to break it more, or try our best to tone it down?

I'm not super familiar with RotSE beyond the highlights. Will we still be able to use Astrology after Yu Shan is assaulted? Are the Incarna still alive, and is the Loom intact or under enemy control?

 

[D. Rex]

Oh! First minute substitution. Alas, poor D. Rex. I knew him well. Hi Rykon. Oh, we're doing whatnow? Well, alright then. The process by which said hypothetical rivalry is overcome in the face of the Lotus Massacre is certainly interesting dramatic fodder.

Exactly how badly do you want us to break the game here? If we're using Scroll of the Monk SMA as written we're obviously setting a high baseline for broken - do you want us to break it more, or try our best to tone it down?

I'm not super familiar with RotSE beyond the highlights. Will we still be able to use Astrology after Yu Shan is assaulted? Are the Incarna still alive, and is the Loom intact or under enemy control?

A shame. I had some good stuff in store for the pair of us. Would have been mind blowing. Yet I will have to spare your mind until our next game. Wherein our one-two combo will be a stuff of legends.


Had to take one for Psychie, here. I'll join her on her next 1x1(+1) if she has one! I'll be a mechanical dead weight in this game.

 

[Psychie]

Oh! First minute substitution. Alas, poor D. Rex. I knew him well. Hi Rykon. Oh, we're doing whatnow? Well, alright then. The process by which said hypothetical rivalry is overcome in the face of the Lotus Massacre is certainly interesting dramatic fodder.

Exactly how badly do you want us to break the game here? If we're using Scroll of the Monk SMA as written we're obviously setting a high baseline for broken - do you want us to break it more, or try our best to tone it down?

I'm not super familiar with RotSE beyond the highlights. Will we still be able to use Astrology after Yu Shan is assaulted? Are the Incarna still alive, and is the Loom intact or under enemy control?

Lets try to keep the level of game shattering awesomeness to a dull roar. Hard to do with SMAs, but we can try.

Some of the stuff from RotSE will be tweaked to make it a surprise to those that are more familiar with the setting, but the Incarna are alive after the attack, and Yu-Shan as a whole is closed as all of the Celestial Gateways are sealed up tight, but that doesn't happen right away. The Loom is still intact, and under friendly control, and as far as Astrology goes, it makes my head hurt trying to understand it, so I am going to need a hand with that if you guys start pulling some of the fancy-schmancy stuff from that part of the book.

 

[Rykon]

Just got back home. I'm grateful for the chance to jump in. Thanks D. Rex and Psychie .

I can scale up or down in levels of silly depending on the needs of the game. I never got to play Tien of the Calamitous Fist, so I may steer in that direction, or I may go back to my roots with Journeys caste Vagrant Smile. In terms of capability, Tien was obviously more geared towards intense martial arts where Smile was originally built to support a Solar circle and focused on Astrology heavily.

With it just being the two of us we're certainly going to be a bit curtailed in bonus stacking with endorsements from Sids outside our conspiracy.

 

[Psychie]

I want you guys to have to try and assemble a resistance force against the Empress, and I have a few surprises that I plan on throwing into the mix to make things even more interesting.

 

[Psychie]

I also added the starting points for your Colleges in the Character thread. Forgot them the first time.

 

[Random Word]

Assembling a resistance sounds like, what, Green + Red? Purple + Red? Could do a few other colour combos, but they all probably have a splash of red in there. Are we subtle masterminds pulling the strings in a spy drama, or is this a Hong Kong action movie where we throw down most scenes?

 

[Psychie]

I am envisioning a mix of both the behind the scenes masterminds of the resistance force, but I do want you to have the fun of a major scrap against some tough foes.

 

[Rykon]

Assembling a resistance sounds like, what, Green + Red? Purple + Red? Could do a few other colour combos, but they all probably have a splash of red in there. Are we subtle masterminds pulling the strings in a spy drama, or is this a Hong Kong action movie where we throw down most scenes?

Hmmm... For the sake of discussing inspiration, I see the ending as already been set into motion. Though that merely comes across as dismissive. If it's a theme you want to operate within by all means.

To be more helpful with the remaining options... do you see the legend we will end up weaving as a war or a quest? Is what lies on the other side a secret or an instrument of peace?

Alternatively, is it a quest for a weapon?

To get yet more meta, are our characters the heroes of the legend or merely the narrators of the epic? Would we be most defined by the secrets we reveal? The pathways we send our instruments down? The struggles we witness, cheering our champions to victory? Or the peace we seek to restore through our blessed heroes?

 

[Psychie]

I have been thinking that one place that you'll be able to find some allies in this fight against the Demon Empress is . . . in Autochthon. By awakening the sleeping Primordial, that will give you the force you'll need to be able to take on the Demon Empress in a no holds barred fight to the finish.

 

[Random Word]

Bringing about an ending set in motion is very Purple, which isn't to say Purple is mandatory, just in theme IMO.

Let me see how much would have to change to make Dao-Cleaving Insight legal:

Starting Essence is 4 before any extra points are spent. Attributes are 7-6-5, and 40 Abilities, and you don't have to use Bonus Points to raise them above 3. 6 dots of Specialties, and 20 points in Backgrounds, and a starting Willpower of 7.

For Charms, you get to pick 35. Any SMA is available.

Finally, you have 25 bonus points to spend.

Forgot to include the 12 points of different Astrological Colleges for you to pick from.

Vs

You will start at Essence 4, and that can be bought up with Bonus Points.
You begin with a complete Celestial Martial Art style for free. This is in addition to the starting Charms you get.
You will also be able to get up to the Form Charm of a SMA of your choice for free.

Since I am mandating you to get the SMA Charms, you will be starting with 20 Charms.
Your Colleges for your Resplendent Destinies start with 12 dots.
Abilities start with 40 dots and can be raised to 5 without using your Bonus Points. Don't forget to check with the Sidereal book for the required Abilities for each Caste.
Attributes start with 9/7/5 dots instead of the normal 8/6/4
Backgrounds get 20 dots
Finally, Bonus Points start at 20, instead of 18.

Okay, so we have fewer Attributes (We get the default spread but lose one from primary and add one to tertiary?), same Abilities, same Backgrounds, more WP, more flex slot Charms but probably fewer Charms overall. It's close, so if I were to take Red I have a character mostly made but their Charms probably have to be reworked.

in Autochthon

Oh Maidens - does the Loom even work in Autochthonia? That's going to be fun to discover. Opening the gate is a good fallback plan for the end of the world. I like it.

 

[Psychie]

Oh Maidens - does the Loom even work in Autochthonia? That's going to be fun to discover. Opening the gate is a good fallback plan for the end of the world. I like it.

I'm glad you like it!

 

[Psychie]

Okay, so we have fewer Attributes (We get the default spread but lose one from primary and add one to tertiary?), same Abilities, same Backgrounds, more WP, more flex slot Charms but probably fewer Charms overall. It's close, so if I were to take Red I have a character mostly made but their Charms probably have to be reworked.

I must have mistyped the Attributes. They were supposed to be higher across the board. Let me fix it.

 

[Rykon]

I have been thinking that one place that you'll be able to find some allies in this fight against the Demon Empress is . . . in Autochthon. By awakening the sleeping Primordial, that will give you the force you'll need to be able to take on the Demon Empress in a no holds barred fight to the finish.

I can't help much with Autochthonia, but I'm not against it. I may as well throw out a few amusing additional suggestions like provoking a second Balorian Crusade, choosing Fae as our champions, or forging a pact with Deathlords who may have memories of their most coveted weaponry all while doctoring contracts to covertly seal them in an ink prison by the end. Eclipse Exalt Ways is a mighty trollworthy path to take, but one worth considering if we can't find one of our own to shoulder the burden of our schemes. In fact, I might have a few in mind.

That's not counting those of the Seventh Legion, Silver Pact, or newly minted Suns that we could snatch from their little corner of the globe.

You also said heaven was being sealed, so our access to certain features may be a bit stymied... hm...

 

[Psychie]

I hope it will be a fun challenge to you both.