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Okay, I'm done thinking about this game.  Now I've got to play it.

So, let's play Dogs on IRC, as soon as possible.  I'm 12 time zones away from most of you guys, but that doesn't matter.  We'll find some time to play.  If the first session goes well, we might have to find a regular time to play, but let's not overextend ourselves initially.

Here's what I'm interested in, as a GM: emotional trainwrecks of the wuxia variety (without the kungfu silliness, obviously) where there are no solutions that don't break someone's heart (or head), exploring the times when bad people do good and good people do bad, and giving some serious agency to the Mountain People (none of the victimization or peace-loving earth spirits crap; they're angry and they have good reasons to be).  If you want to play, PM me or just post here, listing a few of the themes you might be interested in exploring.  I'll do my best to pitch you situations that you'll dig, though I throw a mean curveball too.

Depending on Vincent's whim, we could even post characters here and try to collaboratively tweak them into an interesting and narratively-potent stew, so people could have an example of how character creation might work.  Then, we could take things to IRC and do some hair-raising intro scenes.

Can ya dig it?

Yo.

I am particular interested in playing a character that comes out of a non-functional society / family.  Not necessarily for the angst, but they know corruption when they see it.  The question is whether they know grace when they see it, too, or goodness.

yrs--
--Ben

Heya.  I can't commit to a game at this point (I'm way overcommitted to other stuff) but I just wanted to say, "Yo, thanks for putting Dogs in IRC."

Yo, thanks for putting Dogs in IRC.

Yes, please use this forum for as much as the arrangement and setup as you like, up to and including character creation. Thread appropriately.

-Vincent

I'm gearing up to run my own online Dogs game, so I'd be very grateful for the opportunity to take a test drive.  

I'm interested in an angry young man type.  A character who's usually tightly wound and under rigid control, but every so often the beast in him just needs to let loose.  He might beat the crap out of some poor soul, or go drinking and whoring for 24 hours in a heathen town, or spend a day riding the range, cursing himself and God.  Then, back to the job, to punish in others what he can't accept in himself.

Here's what I'm interested in, as a player: Dogs as conduits of His Power and Will, and how much is too much in a given situation; the idea of inheritenace, particularly of power, sin, and fate, and are you beholden to this inheritance; is there a Better Way to God's will than the way of Dog?; shamanistic implications of "Dog" perhaps contrasted with Mountain People avatars (think Shadowrun).

I'll definitely need a character-creation walkthrough (no book yet.. been in an RPG slump, and I'd like to play a game first before buying), either here or PM or IRC, or just pointing me to an old DITV thread and I'll cobble together some proto-stats based on that, then tweak it here.

Well let me provide some text.

Quote from: DogsCreating your Character
Your character's initiation took two months at the Dogs' Temple in Bridal Falls City. The teachers there proved, trained, educated, initiated, and inspired him or her. The Dogs' Stewards then assigned your character to companions and a route.

It's your responsibility to create a character suited to service and within the genre of the game.

1. Choose one:
- Well-rounded: 17d6 for Stats, 1d4 4d6 2d8 for Traits, 4d6 2d8 for Relationships.
- Strong History: 13d6 for Stats, 3d6 4d8 3d10 for Traits, 1d4 3d6 2d8 for Relationships.
- Complicated History: 15d6 for Stats, 4d4 2d6 2d10 for Traits, 5d6 2d8 for Relationships.
- Strong Community: 13d6 for Stats, 1d4 3d6 2d8 for Traits, 4d6 4d8 3d10 for Relationships.
- Complicated Community: 15d6 for Stats, 6d6 2d8 for Traits, 4d4 2d6 2d8 2d10 for Relationships.

2. Divvy your character's Stat dice between Acuity, Body, Heart and Will. Give every Stat at least 2 dice.

3. Create some Traits and assign your character's Trait dice to them.

4. Create a couple of Relationships and assign some of your character's Relationship dice to them. The rest of your character's Relationship dice are Available.

5. Write down your character's Belongings and assign them their dice. Remember to describe your character's coat.
- It's normal: 1d6.
- It's excellent: 2d6.
- It's big: 1d8.
- It's big and excellent: 2d8.
- It's crap: 1d4.
- All guns get an additional 1d4.

6. When your GM comes around to you, say something that you hope your character accomplished during initiation. Make it what's at stake in a conflict, set a stage, roll dice, See and Raise, and at the end give your character the outcome as a new Trait at 1d6.

Here's a bit more supporting text about Traits:

Quote from: DogsWords vs. Dice: You can create your character's Traits as tidbits of history: "I used to break horses with my dad." You can phrase them as simple facts about your character: " I've worked with horses and I know how they think." You can phrase them as skills: "horsemanship." You can phrase them as attitudes: "I'm very comfortable working with horses."

You can't give your character more Traits than you've got dice to assign, but you can double up (or even triple up) dice on a single Trait if you want. The only limit is that all the dice you assign to a given Trait have to be the same size: "horsemanship 2d6" is fine, "horsemanship 1d4 1d6" isn't.

Also, Michael, be sure to grab the pullouts from my website (http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/dogsources.html).

Oh, hey, everybody, just to be clear: I'm not playing, but I'll watch and if you need anything, ask.

-Vincent

Awesome.  It's a throwdown at the hoedown.

So, so far we've got Ben, Danny, Michael, and then Claire and James (who PMed me).  Five sounds like a great number, because if we have scheduling conflicts or cats catch on fire, losing one or two won't keep the rest of us from playing.  If you really want to get in on this, but haven't contacted me yet, send a PM and I'll write you back if we start losing people like a Sunday carnival in Utah.

So I'm in Nanjing, China, as I said, and Claire's on the great continent of Australia, but let's try to schedule around that.  However, I don't want to use this thread to work out scheduling, so everybody email me from the address you want to use for the game and we'll hash it out off-thread.  Right now, let's assume that there are no problems and everyone's gonna play.

And Vincent's given us a blessing to use the lumpley forum and even been so kind as to post the character creation rules (thanks, V!) so what are you waiting for?  Let's make some Dogs!  I'm gonna sit down with the town creation rules today and sketch out a community, saving the details to be inspired by your characters.

Ok, character creation!  I'm going to need some assistance too, because I'm not book-enabled either.  Also I'm not very familiar with the genre and tropes so part of this is a challenge for me to get my head around those.

Collaborative character creation sounds like a good way to go.  I've got some ideas for a character that I've started to pull together, and I'm happy to throw them out and see what people like/dislike and so on.  It's not the first idea I had, but I like this better.  I'm still not sure how lots of things apply, so I might be on completely the wrong track.

I want to play a fairly new Dog, who never expected to become a Dog, and who's got some rather mixed feelings about being one.  He's a guy who was a good kid and stuck to the straight and narrow, so may have trouble dealing with sin, or having understanding of those who have sinned, because he's never really been bad himself.  I wanted him to have a reasonably high status background, so that he's not totally unfamiliar with the idea of respect, but that status came from someone else, not his own qualities.  So I make him the son of a moderately important man in the community.  Who's important in this society?  I didn't want his father to have a position in the Faith, because that gives a different dynamic, so an important profession is better.  What about a gunsmith?  That could give the character an interesting approach to guns and violence.

So this is where I'm starting from:

Jared

I never thought I'd become a Dog.  Didn't ever enter my head.  That was my sister's thing.  Ada and I were good kids.  Learning, working hard, helping Da, keeping out of trouble.  She was my big sister and took it on herself to keep us both out of trouble, but we never went looking for it anyway.  A few years older than me, she was always smarter, stronger and better than me.  And Ada wanted to be a Dog.  It was that way as far back as I could remember.  She was bright, and strong, full of courage and full of faith, and when she wasn't picked I think it broke something in her for a while.  That's what comes of wanting something too much, I guess.

Anyway, that was how things were, and Ada was getting over her disappointment and learning there's more to life than she'd thought.  Then I was picked to be a Dog.

I'm considering killing off their mother during their childhood, but I'm not sure if that changes the dynamic from what I want.

Well rounded

This seems the best choice for a young, new dog who hasn't had a complicated past, or much time to do much.  Though if anyone thinks differently, I'd be glad to hear why.  I'm still working out how everything fits together.

Stats

Acuity   4d6
Body   3d6
Heart   5d6
Will   5d6

These are the only dice I've assigned so far, and that's because I started and realised I simply didn't understand Traits and Relationships enough yet.  Everything is fluid.

Traits

Should traits be purely descriptive, or can they be aspirations?  For example would 'got to be as good a Dog as I think my sister would have been' a trait?  Or a Relationship?  Is it something that's neither, but expressed differently in one, the other, or both?

And if there's 3 sorts of dice for Traits that means I need at least 3 Traits, doesn't it?

These are some I'm considering at the moment:

Very new Dog
Good kid
Helped out my father making and fixing guns.  Or maybe Got to play with all the guns my father made before he sold them.  Not sure exactly how I want to tie this in, but something about dad's guns goes somewhere.
My big sister wanted to be a Dog all her life and wasn't picked, and I never did and was

Relationships

I'm really unclear on what these should be.  And what should be a trait and what should be a relationship

Belongings

Where do dice for belongings come from?

I'll just describe those Belongings I'm dead keen on so far.

Gun – The gun my dad made for my sister for her 16th birthday present that she gave to me when I went off to become a Dog
Coat – Both my mum and my sister took charge of making this.  The main colours are browns and earth tones, all in piecework, with patterns, some that stand out, and some that you don't notice until you take a second look, but with a black and white checked stripe along the cuffs to show that both sins and godliness always shows up on the outside in time, so I should live so that I should never be shamed by someone looking at me.  It's very new, and still free of dirt and damage.

During initiation

Resolve doubts about whether I really deserve to be a Dog

This is just the first thing I thought of.  I'm unsure whether I should be making all of these things very distinct, so that the character has many different aspects, or tying them in together as much as possible, so that the character is richly interwoven.  My usual approach is to do the latter in character creation, but usually this stuff is not overtly part of the mechanics.  So I'm just a little confused.

All comments and suggestions welcome!

Hmm... maybe we should spin out chargen into another thread?  No matter.

What I'm not grooving on with Jared is the trait selection.  Also, given that the father figures so big into the initial concept, he's surprisingly under-represented in the background.

Also -- "I'm a new dog" as opposed to "I'm a dog" is an interesting choice.  My assumption is that, unless we choose otherwise, we're *all* new dogs.  Right?

I also think a big issue here is "what did your sister think?"  I mean, we can explore that some in play, but what was her initial reaction?  I think a great place to express the way that your family things about your doghood would be in your possessions.  Most likely, you sister and mother are going to take point in making your coat, and your father is going to make a gun especially for you.

So let's look at traits.  Here are some vague suggestions for traits:

My Dad was a respected gunsmith
(I think that something about how respected your family was is a must.)

I used to make guns with my dad
or
Guns are like cousins to me
or
Played with all the new guns before they got sold

I never wanted to be a dog.

My sister always wanted to be a dog, but never was.

(I split these into two traits because I really think that they are two seperate things.  Particularly, I think that the first should probably have some bigger dice, and the second is a screaming d4 trait.  But that's my opinion.)

I'm a good kid is a great trait.


Don't worry about relationships for now.  You might want to put some dice into "my sister" and "my father" but that's about it.  Keep most of those dice for later.  (you can do this with relationship dice.)


Let's talk about belongings.

Every new dog coming out of Bridal Falls City has a coat, a gun, and a horse, unless you don't want the gun or the horse for some reason.  Now, I reckon that -- yer pa being a well-respected gunsmith and all -- you've got a mighty fine gun (if you don't, it says something about how things are between you and yer pa, don't it now?).  So that's either 2d6+1d4 if it's a normal gun, or 2d8+1d4 if it's a big ol' thing.  Likewise, if you've got a normal gun, that ain't too special, that's 1d6+1d4.  Really bad guns are 2d4.

Also, being the gunsmith's boy and all, you might have more than one gun.  Like yer shotgun might be a fine shotgun, for 2d6+1d4, but yer revolver might be mighty fine and also bigger than a hog's head, for 2d8+1d4.

Now, your coat works the same way.  If it's a fine coat, well-made and with care but also having spiritual power, it'll have 2d6.  If it is the normal sort of coat that is made for dogs, it'll be 1d6.  If it's some piece of crap that your sister threw together because she was so angry that you were a dog, and her bitterness and resentfulness shines through, it's 1d4.

You also have a horse.  If it's a big horse, it's 1d8.  If it's a fine horse, it's 2d6.  If it's a big old mighty fine horse, it's 2d8.  If it's an ol' nag, it's 1d4.

Anything else that you might have?

yrs--
--Ben

Okay, so I have three ideas for characters.  I want to hear from people if they are explicitly interested in one or would rather I avoid a certain one, etc.

1) A city-boy from the back East.  Raised amongst the secretive Faithful community of the East, his main problem is the struggles between the cultured, upper-class, libertine society he grew up in and being exposed to the true Faithful society.  His faith is going to be tested against his culture.

Possible Traits / Relationships / Possessions:
I'm a citizen of the Territorial Columbian Commonwealth
I could have gone to Harvard.
I've never ridden a horse before
I speak proper english.

two pearl-handled duelling pistols (2d6+1d4)
a fine, factory made rifle frock coat (2d4)

2) A more normal fellow, well rounded probably, possibly from a very poor farming town.  The point here is to make a character who isn't that fucked up yet, and let things play off of him.  If other people are more normal (like Jared above), I will play one of the other two.  If other people have crazy angst-train-wrecks, I'll play this guy as a straight man that I can bounce things off of.  I have some ideas for him, though.  One of which is that he is in love with the girl who made his coat, even though he's never met her.  (He didn't get the family's coat for some reason or another -- perhaps they were just too poor to spare the time.)

Idea for training challenge:
I hope my family did all right without the my extra hands on the farm.

3) Ah, the last one.  Suffice it to say that I have a character who has been kicking around in my head for a while.  I have this idea of playing someone who is coming out of a terribly dysfunctional settlement.  What exactly went wrong I'm going to leave up to later decision, but think sort of greek tragedy style.  In the end, the Dogs came in and killed almost all of the adults.  With no other place to go, he just sort of followed them back to Bridal Falls City...

The basic question with this character is "can I overcome my past, or am I still too entangled in it?"  It is possible that this character will be a Sorcerer (in terms of having a large relationship with a demon, not necessarily in terms of demonic practice) which also brings up "can I serve the King of Life by doing evil?"

yrs--
--Ben

Brother Esau

Esau hails from Jubilee, a little town on the edge of Mountain People territory.  His mother was of the Faith, but simple and wayward.  She had a passel of kids by different fathers, but Esau was the only one who had the Mountain look to him -- shiny black hair and straight white teeth.  He grew up big and strong, and got halfway adopted by the local Branch, Joshua Handy, who he helped out on the farm. Esau was mocked as bastard sometimes, when the Branch wasn't around.  He won most of the fights, especially when he got his size.  If he hadn't become a Dog, he'd probably have up and joined the Territorial Army, because he was sure 'nough going to end up with blood on his hands if he stayed in Jubilee.


That's right, the name's Esau.  If you're gonna say something about how I ain't no hairy man, might as well say it now and get it done with.  I heard it a thousand times.

Complicated History
Stats
Acuity 3D6
Body 5D6
Heart 3D6
Will 4D6

Traits
I'm the living proof of mother's folly, 2D4
I fight dirty when I'm mad, 2D4
I probably got the blood of Mountain warriors in my veins, 1D10
Joshua said  I was the best farm hand he ever had, 1D10
I can shoot straight, 1D6
I can ride a horse, 1D6

Relationships
A Mountain People chief I saw once, 1D8
Joshua Handy, 2D6
I will never let the Dogs down, 1D8
Available: 3D6

Belongings

Coat 1D8 This coat was donated to Dogs Temple by a good woman who couldn't or didn't spend the money for pretty colors. But it's big enough for a big man, well made, and Esau likes black and gray.  

Rifle, 2D4 This rifle is practically a museum piece, but it's big and it still shoots.  
Hatchet 1D8 Plumb useful to have around.
Pony 1D6
Jar of earth 1D6
Battered Book of Life 1D6
Workman's tools, 2D6 The branch gave him this as a goodbye present.

Quote from: DannyKThat's right, the name's Esau.  If you're gonna say something about how I ain't no hairy man, might as well say it now and get it done with.  I heard it a thousand times.

BL>  Esau is awesome.  But why isn't this a trait?  "Ain't no hairy man, heard it a thousand times" would be a great trait.

And, also, how do we see Esau and Jared getting along?  What's Jared's opinion about the mountain folk?

yrs--
--Ben

I'm going to a wedding rehearsal tonight and a wedding tomorrow, so don't have a lot of free time immediately, but I'll throw the rough idea I'd had for a character into the mix and if it fits well with the group I can flesh it out a bit more after the weekend.

Jezebel
A drop-dead gorgeous sister of the faith with a hard-nosed attitude come from growing up with those looks and that name.  

Possible traits:
Damn pretty
It's just a name
Pa always said never take no backtalk
I can see hypocrasy a mile away

James

Quote from: Ben LehmanHmm... maybe we should spin out chargen into another thread?  No matter.

It can always be split to another thread.  I read Jonathan's last post as a call for character creation and wanted to get something in before I had to sleep, so I just went for it.

Quote from: Ben LehmanWhat I'm not grooving on with Jared is the trait selection.  Also, given that the father figures so big into the initial concept, he's surprisingly under-represented in the background.

That's a good point.  I've a much better idea of Traits now and it is a gaping hole.  I'll give it some thought.

Quote from: Ben LehmanAlso -- "I'm a new dog" as opposed to "I'm a dog" is an interesting choice.  My assumption is that, unless we choose otherwise, we're *all* new dogs.  Right?

I wrote it that way for two reasons, first because I was aware that others might want to play more experienced dogs, and second because the newness of it is important to Jared and I thought that was the key part of traits.  I'm happy with all new dogs or a mix as people like.

I'm aware I'm probably the least experienced in the game, so I set myself up as a pretty straight guy, so others can go with whatever craziness they like, and I won't do my head in.

Quote from: Ben LehmanI also think a big issue here is "what did your sister think?"  I mean, we can explore that some in play, but what was her initial reaction?  I think a great place to express the way that your family things about your doghood would be in your possessions.  Most likely, you sister and mother are going to take point in making your coat, and your father is going to make a gun especially for you.

She wasn't very happy at first, but I want it to be a tension, rather than a break, so she came to terms with it enough to be happy for Jared and to wish him well, either before he left, or while he was training.

Though the idea of his coat being tainted by her resentment is very cool.

Quote from: Ben LehmanSo let's look at traits.  Here are some vague suggestions for traits:

My Dad was a respected gunsmith
(I think that something about how respected your family was is a must.)

I used to make guns with my dad
or
Guns are like cousins to me
or
Played with all the new guns before they got sold

I never wanted to be a dog.

'I never thought to be a dog.'  Hmm, this is a tricky one, because I'm trying to get across that it wasn't on Jared's mental landscape, he'd simply never envisioned it, let alone thought about it and decided it was something he didn't want to do.  About the same as he never considered he might become poet laureat of the penguin empire.  I think I need to ponder further.

Quote from: Ben LehmanMy sister always wanted to be a dog, but never was.

(I split these into two traits because I really think that they are two seperate things.  Particularly, I think that the first should probably have some bigger dice, and the second is a screaming d4 trait.  But that's my opinion.)

That all sounds good, but why is it a screaming d4 trait?  Not suggesting you're wrong, just want to understand why.

Quote from: Ben LehmanI'm a good kid is a great trait.


Don't worry about relationships for now.  You might want to put some dice into "my sister" and "my father" but that's about it.  Keep most of those dice for later.  (you can do this with relationship dice.)

Ok, that's easier than I thought.  :-)

I think I'm good on belongings now, so I'll just work on those today.  Thanks very much.

Quote from: Ben Lehman

Quote from: DannyKThat's right, the name's Esau.  If you're gonna say something about how I ain't no hairy man, might as well say it now and get it done with.  I heard it a thousand times.

BL>  Esau is awesome.  But why isn't this a trait?  "Ain't no hairy man, heard it a thousand times" would be a great trait.

That would be very cool.

Quote from: Ben LehmanAnd, also, how do we see Esau and Jared getting along?  What's Jared's opinion about the mountain folk?

Jared's cautious of the mountain folk, but not hostile.  He comes from a town where relations with the mountain folk were pretty peaceful and even some trade occurred.  Except his dad wouldn't sell them guns, and wouldn't talk about it.  Esau's mountain folk blood wouldn't bother Jared, because Esau's of the Faith, as long as Esau doesn't get too mountain folky, then he'd be watchful and treat him less like a person and more like a potential source of sin.

How's that work?

And I really should have picked a name that I don't mistype Every.  Single.  Time.

Quote from: BlankshieldI'm going to a wedding rehearsal tonight and a wedding tomorrow, so don't have a lot of free time immediately, but I'll throw the rough idea I'd had for a character into the mix and if it fits well with the group I can flesh it out a bit more after the weekend.

Jezebel
A drop-dead gorgeous sister of the faith with a hard-nosed attitude come from growing up with those looks and that name.  

Possible traits:
Damn pretty
It's just a name
Pa always said never take no backtalk
I can see hypocrasy a mile away

Just got two comments.  I love 'damn pretty' as a trait.  That makes me smile.  And way to make Jerad's brain melt.

You guys are off to an amazing start.  I think we're cool to do most of character creation in this thread, since this is where Vincent posted the summery from the book.  Once we start talking about initiations and stuff, we can take it to a new thread.

Also, Doyce emailed me and asked if he could take part in the collaborative character creation thing, which I don't see as a problem, even though I basically declared the game closed.  That way too, if somebody has to drop out for some reason, we have another character that's ready to step in.

So, some comments on the delightful stew that's bubbling:

Quote from: Claire'I never thought to be a dog.' Hmm, this is a tricky one, because I'm trying to get across that it wasn't on Jared's mental landscape, he'd simply never envisioned it, let alone thought about it and decided it was something he didn't want to do.

What about taking "I don't really feel like a Dog yet" as your main Dog-related trait?  That way, it would be the obvious trait to change (which is what happens, over the course of play) once your character's worldview shifts a bit.  You initiation could still determine whether you felt worthy of being a Dog or not, but feeling worthy and feeling like a full-fledged Dog are too different things.

In any case, I like where you're going with Jared.  Very cool.  

Ben's point about d4 traits is that they tend to negatively affect the outcome of conflicts, though not always.  So painful or dangerous or mixed-bag traits are often d4s.

Quote from: Ben1) A city-boy from the back East. Raised amongst the secretive Faithful community of the East, his main problem is the struggles between the cultured, upper-class, libertine society he grew up in and being exposed to the true Faithful society. His faith is going to be tested against his culture.

Ben, that's frickin' awesome.  I love the idea of a city boy trying to make it out West, where other people don't think much of his high-falutin' language or attitude and make fun of his factory-made coat.  Though I also really like the idea of being in love with a girl he's never met.  If it wasn't disgustingly cheesy, you could almost combine the two and have him be in love with "Inspector #7" or something, who wrote out her appraisal of the machine-made coat in an elegant script that just made his heart skip a beat (but, then again, maybe not).

Quote from: DannyThat's right, the name's Esau. If you're gonna say something about how I ain't no hairy man, might as well say it now and get it done with. I heard it a thousand times.

Danny, you nailed it in one.  What a great, conflict-riddled character.

Quote from: JamesA drop-dead gorgeous sister of the faith with a hard-nosed attitude come from growing up with those looks and that name.

Sweet.  I look forward to seeing where you go with this and how the other characters react to sharing the trail with a such a hottie.  All I think you need now is some sort of interesting conflict in her background, to make her less of a one-trick-pony.

Keep 'em coming, folks!  Hopefully Michael and Doyce will slap something up here soon and we can begin to stir the pot a bit, setting up a few inter-character conflicts/relationships and then prepping for initiations.  Remember to email me if you haven't already, so we can do scheduling stuff!

Took me awhile to come up with a name.  And come up with some actual background for him, not just his patriarchs.

Brother Hosea, strong history

Hosea Laurent is the nearly the last in a legendary line of Dogs, stretching back 3 or 4 generations. Schooled strong in the Faith on the Laurent Ranch, he grew up fairly isolated from the nearby city folk of Bridal Falls. Childhood was spent in contemplation and physical perfection for the calling of Dog, and a year ago he was sent to the Dogs' Temple for formal completion of his training.

At 15, he is one of the youngest Dogs in recent years, and it happened because of his grandfather.

It's hard to talk of just one Laurent without touching on others up the tree. The one to influence Hosea the most was his grandfather, who recently died in the service. Grandfather Laurent was cold, distant, and rarely at the ranch; and it's been his death that has moved Hosea's life greatest.

Grandfather Laurent, it's told, was filled with the light of the King of Life, became a manifestation of something greater, and laid waste to the town of Hope, purging the demons in a battle that shook the ground for miles around. Few survivors were left the next day when church officials arrived to survey the destruction. All that was found of Grandfather was his coat, and inside that, the hilt of a sword. The battle also claimed the lives of his father, mother, and two older brothers, Dogs all.

The leaders of the Temple decided it best to accelerate Hosea's training and see him out onto a route; several other Laurent Dogs have died over the last year since the judgement of Hope, and it's taken as a bad sign that there are but a few left patrolling the frontier.


Acuity: 4d6
Body: 4d6
Heart: 3d6
Will: 2d6

traits
Yes. Those Laurents. (4d8)
Invincibility/arrogance of youth (2d10)
Heart-wrenching singing voice (2d6)
What do you mean, where's my Book? Don't you have it memorised? (1d10)
Heard about that once, around the hearthfire (1d6)

relationships available: 1d4 + 1d6
Grandfather went out with the Fire and the Fury, and left me the name (2d8)
Cousin Amayn Laurent, fierce Dog (1d6)

belongings
Grandfather's Coat (2d8)
Temple-issue revolver (1d6+1d4)
Temple-issue horse (1d6)
antique sword hilt (1d4)

The coat is a bloody crimson red, with an excrutiatingly, elegantly detailed rood design on the back (which wasn't there before the judgement of Hope, and the coat used to be grey). The primary way it was identified was by the Old World symbols Grandfather had stiched into the collar and sleeves in pure white thread. It wears large on the kid's frame, but not comically so.

I'd really like a couple more trinket-belongings with some dice attached to 'em, but can't come up with anything super-interesting right now. Large part of that is just player preference.. I like my Items and Inventory!

Did I leave anything out? I'm not sure whether to come up with the sekrit initiation desire now, or wait for another thread (in case I stew for awhile and come up with something better..)

Quote from: MichaelDid I leave anything out?

Well, the family background rocks, but you haven't really told us much about how all of this affects your character.  What does he think of grandpa?  Does he feel worthy of his family name?  Is he a goody two-shoes who got treated nicely by the trainers?  Is his singing voice natural or was he trained by his family members?  How does he feel about being an orphan? Etc.

I'm going to comment on Hosea and Jezebel later (Jonathan pretty much said what I wanted to say, though.  These are good concepts, but I kind of end up asking "and then what.")

Cyrus Patrick Haynes II

Background -- Cyrus (only my sister gets to call me "Brother Cyrus") comes from an old family in the faith, one of the first generation of converts.  His great-grandfather, Cyrus Patrick Haynes (blessed be his name), was converted by the Prophet himself, and served time as an Ancient of the Faith before they settled in the land of balm and virtue.  His grandfather, Ezekiel Patrick Haynes (blessed be his memory), founded a large number of missionary organizations and paid for many many families to be resettled in the Holy Land.

But the Haynes family never came.  Who knows why?  Perhaps they're just too tied to their life in the east, the society, the fortune, etc.  Cyrus grew up in wealthy society circles of the east, full of spiritism, temptation, sin and decadence.  His family's Faith was, essentially, an open secret, and regarded as some odd eccentricity.  His father took the faith very seriously, and tried to get Cyrus properly educated, but his mother and sister barely regarded it at all, and openly held seances with spirits, etc.  Cyrus didn't really care either way -- he mostly just wanted to be left alone to read his books.  He was always a bright lad.

But, in the year when he was preparing for college, when the Branch called for him to become a Dog, god-damn his father was not going to let him get away with not going.  His father had always wanted to go to the Holy Land, but his obligations and his wife kept them from it.  Cyrus's mother and sister, after they had tried to persuade his father not to send him, decided to treat it like some sort of soiree, social occaision, or something -- they decked him out in fancy clothes, cologne, dancing manuals, proper gifts for young ladies, picnic baskets, silverware, etc.

So Cyrus shows up in Bridal Falls City with a stage loaded down with baggage, a bad cold, and superior disgust mixed with intense curiosity.

I haven't decided how, exactly, to make the character yet, so here's a list of traits, relationships, and possessions.  I'd love it if other people let me know what here clicked with them.

Traits:
I'm a Citizen of the Territorial Columbian Commonwealth
I could have gone to Harvard
There's a lot more books than just the Book of Life
Only my sister calls me Brother Cyrus
You are right.  That Haynes Family.
I've got soft hands
I speak proper English
My father could buy this entire pathetic town
I don't wear my coat yet
But, for what it's worth, I'm a dog

Relationships:
The girl who made my coat
Territorial Authority

Possessions:
A Factory Made Rifle-Frock Coat -- 1d4
A set of pearl-handled duelling pistols -- 2d6 + 1d4
Fancy, city-made clothes -- 1d4
Bottle-thick eyeglasses -- 2d8 (well, quality + big?  I don't know...)
Many other fancy, city made city things (soap, razors, etc) 1d6
Selma, the old easy-to-ride horse -- 1d4

The old family Book of Life, dating back to the times of the First Prophet, with the first sentence written by His Blessed Hand -- 2d8

A big, thick, fine Dog coat, inscribed with illustrated verses from the Book of Life and stitched in a thousand and one colors, that I don't wear -- 2d8

I think the interaction between Cyrus and Esau might be very, very interesting.  They've got complementary insecurities.

Quote from: DannyKI think the interaction between Cyrus and Esau might be very, very interesting.  They've got complementary insecurities.

BL>  Yeah, it'll be interesting.  They're coming at the same problem (do I belong in the faith at all, let alone the dogs?) from opposite sides -- you from the side of the outcast, and me from the side of the aristocrat.  Which is awesome.


I think, though, that to start with Cyrus won't even really regard Esau as a person -- he's never seen a Savage Indian before, and he'll be scared and condescending and curious kind of all at the same time.  Breaking down that relationship will be fun.

I think, also, that all of these characters seem to have some traits in common -- all of them are trying to live up to, or live down, their names.  Jared needs to prove himself for his sister, Esau needs to prove himself a true member of the Faith, Jezebel needs to prove that she ain't no bad woman, Hosea is needs to prove himself worthy of the family name, and Cyrus... well... Cyrus doesn't know what he wants to prove, yet, but it has to do with whether he's more Faithful or more Cultured.

I point this out because I think that Family and Name are some great repeated issues, anyway.  wink wink nudge nudge.

yrs--
--Ben

P.S.  Hey -- Hosea's player (uhm... missed your name)!  What I really want to see addressed in your character is Pride.  A family of all Dogs, who pull strings for each other to become Dogs, is just brimming with it.  How do you relate to it?  Are you a Dog out of calling, pride, family obligation, or something else?

P.P.S. James -- what I want to see with Jezebel is some addressing of what she does outside of being a pretty girl.  I don't think being pretty is enough for her to be a Dog.  Likewise, what I'm going to be watching for during play is her own sexuality -- I mean, you've put sex on the table just with that character concept, which is cool -- but I want to see what it means internally, for her, rather than just what is put upon her from the outside world.  You may already be on top of this.  I'm just shooting the breeze.

Quote from: JonathanWhat does he think of grandpa? Does he feel worthy of his family name? Is he a goody two-shoes who got treated nicely by the trainers? Is his singing voice natural or was he trained by his family members? How does he feel about being an orphan?

Okay. I've a problem with getting FAR too wordy with my character histories, and was trying to keep it to comparative length to the others so far. ;)

Being pretty firmly a teenager, Hosea wavers fiercely between believing he's doing the family proud, and believing he's letting them down; living as a Laurent, shouldering the responsibility and legacy, is his biggest motivator right now. There will absolutely come times when he has to decide whether to be a Laurent, or whether to be a Dog, I think. Maybe he's struggling trying to reconcile the two, which may seem difficult to him but so easy for his elders.

For the lost-family issue.. I dunno yet. I want to say the emotional impact hasn't really set in yet. He sees it, at the moment, more as a loss to the Temple, to the Faith, than as a personal loss. Maybe feels a little guilty about that, a little uspet that he's.. not upset. The accelerated time at the Temple (which had no kid gloves for Hosea) didn't help; Laurents died, the Temple came for him, and now he's got his companions and his route.

The singing voice is just, at the moment, a bit of character. It's talent, pure and sweet. Hmm! Shall we say there was a choir of some sort at the Dogs' Temple? That'd be a way to work it in background-wise.

As to the Pride issue.. he's a Dog because the Laurents are Dogs, or otherwise closely tied to the church. I don't know if he's had time to really consider if this is a personal calling, or not.. he believes it is. The Temple wanted him out on the frontier as soon as possible, because they feel it's bad, bad news to have so few Laurents out there now. So.. yeah. Absolutely, a big chunk of Pride. The family does it, the Temple believe they need him out there (which in his mind, is tantamount to the King of Life personally asking him to pick up a gun and judge)..

Okay. Am I a bit better off now? Again.. trying to touch on points without devolving into novella writing, which I have.. a bad habit of doing. -.-

Quote from: Jonathan WaltonAlso, Doyce emailed me and asked if he could take part in the collaborative character creation thing, which I don't see as a problem, even though I basically declared the game closed.  That way too, if somebody has to drop out for some reason, we have another character that's ready to step in.

Ladies and gents, thanks for letting in on this a bit -- I appreciate the chance to get some feedback on my understanding of the rules, dress out a character that hopefully works with the themes I've been seeing in other's submissions, and see what comes out of it.  I know there's probably no room to play at this time, but I don't mind sitting on the bench for a game like this.

For my turn at the wheel, I found myself in the lucky-unlucky position of being the last person to pitch a concept, and wanting to find something that (a) appealed to me and (b) didn't plow over already planted earth.  Here's what I've got:

Jubal Goodall

Jubal is a convert lately come to the Faith  -- a man who has ridden many trails on patrol, but never in the service of the Dogs; rendered many judgments unto the guilty, but never in the name of the King of Life; and done many things for which he realizes he must atone.

He came to the Faith while being nursed back to health by a lone Faithful family that lived on the patrol route he rode as a lawman for the Territorial Authority -- Jubal had been waylaid by banditos who shot him up pretty badly and the family saved him and showed him the true nature of mercy-with-Justice...

... they were the family of a man he'd sentenced to hang a year earlier.

After he got his strength back (and done what he could for the family), Jubal traveled to Bridal Falls and came to the Temple with his hat in his hand, asking for whatever menial service they would give him as a way of  serving the King of Life.

Another year passed, in which Jubal cleaned, cooked, worked the fields, and studied.  One cold winter night an instructor at the temple came to him and told him he was being called to service.

It was his fifty-sixth birthday.

Strong History

Stats
Acuity 3D6
Body 3D6
Heart 4D6
Will 3D6

Traits
I'm a hard-nosed TA lawman from way back 1d6
I don't want this to end in bloodshed 1d6
I'm young in the Faith 1d10
I'm a fair hand in the kitchen 1d8
I've shot more men than I care to count 1d10
I can knock a man out if I have to 1d10
I never married 1d8
With age comes some small wisdom 1d8
Got a lot to atone for 1d6
I've got a soothing voice 1d8

Relationships
The local TA reps and lawmen 1d4
The Dogs are my salvation 1d8
The (female) instructor at Temple who's about my age 1d6

Belongings
Black Wool Coat 1D6
This simple but servicable coat was donated to Dogs Temple.  Before it was given to Jubal, someone at the Temple stitched embroidery on it: grey at the cuffs and white at the collar.  Jubal suspects he knows who.

Horse 1d6
Jubal is an old hand at traveling a patrol route -- he doesn't like it any more than he likes cleaning up after cooking his supper, but it's something that needs doing, so he does it.

Rifle 1d8+1d4
Jubal's service rifle, with which he is more than familiar.  He has removed the metal star inlay of the TA from the wooden stock, but hasn't yet replaced it with an emblem of the Tree -- he doesn't know if he should.

Jar of consecrated earth 1D6

New but well-handled Book of Life 1D6

Worn but very well-cared for camping and travel gear, including his smoker's kit 1d6

-----

For his initiation, I'd say that Jubal wants to find out if he still has a knack for knowing Evil when he sees it.

-----

That's it for now: feedback welcome.

Okay, to start with Ben, here are the traits that click most for me:

Quote from: Ben LehmanI'm a Citizen of the Territorial Columbian Commonwealth
I could have gone to Harvard
There's a lot more books than just the Book of Life
I've got soft hands
I speak proper English
My father could buy this entire pathetic town [Great!!!!]
I don't wear my coat yet
But, for what it's worth, I'm a dog

...
A big, thick, fine Dog coat, inscribed with illustrated verses from the Book of Life and stitched in a thousand and one colors, that I don't wear -- 2d8

Your list of possessions is very cool, but I especially like the beautiful coat made by the mysterious girl that you don't wear.  This, of course, is just begging for a scene where Cyrus actually puts on the coat and goes to hand out the Retribution of the Lord.  You've got plenty to work with here, so I think you can work this into a semi-final form now.

Quote from: MichaelOkay. Am I a bit better off now?

Much.  Thanks.  It'll also be interesting to see how the upperclass boys from the families Laurent and Haynes get on.  They might find some sympathy in each other, or might try to stay away in an effort to fit in with the pleebs.

One final thought.  You don't have a trait that asserts your Doghood, so what about something filled with Pride, like "Of course I'm a Dog."  That would be fun to mess around with and change as the character changes.

Quote from: DoyceThat's it for now: feedback welcome.

Very cool.  There can be something good about being the last one to come up with a character concept, because it leads you down less-trodden paths.  I like the aging ex-lawman concept and I like how you haven't made him a stereotypical recent convert extremist, out to prove that he's a stronger member in the Faith than others.

Unfortunately, I don't know that I have any special comments for you.  The character looks great to me. Anybody else got anything for Doyce?

---

Okay, so looks like everyone's getting really close.  What say we try to wrap the characters up so we can start a new thread about initiations and how we want to run them (individually on IRC, as a group, etc.).  I'll give people a few more days to finish up character stuff, but then I'll start the initiation thread anyway, so we don't run out of steam here.  After all, the whole point is Actual Play!

Scheduling email will go out soon.

Okay, here's some tentative stats for Cyrus.  Doyce, comments for you in the next post.

Cyrus Patrick Haynes II
Complicated History

Stats:
Acuity: 6d6
Body: 2d6
Heart: 4d6
Will: 3d6

Traits:
I'm a citizen of the Territorial Columbian Commonwealth 2d4
I was raised in the East 1d4
I could have gone to Harvard 1d10
I speak proper English 1d6
I've never seen blood 1d6
I don't wear my coat yet 1d4
But, for what it's worth, I'm a Dog 1d10

Relationships:
The girl who made my coat 2d8
The Territorial Authority 1d6
Free 4d6

Possessions:
A factory-made rifle frock coat - 1d4
An illustrated copy of the Harvard Classics - 1d6
A Gentleman's pistol, light and well made, that's never been fired - 2d6
Clothes in the latest styles - 1d6

A big, thick, fine Dog coat, inscribed with illustrated verses from the Book of Life and stitched in a thousand and one colors, that I don't wear -- 2d8

I'm open to suggestions for the training challenge.

yrs--
--Ben

Quote from: Jonathan Walton

Quote from: DoyceThat's it for now: feedback welcome.

I like the aging ex-lawman concept and I like how you haven't made him a stereotypical recent convert extremist, out to prove that he's a stronger member in the Faith than others.

Heh.  I misread that initially and missed the "haven't" part, so I was shaking my head, but yeah... I'm glad that concept came across.  What I really see is a balancing act between (a) his new teachings and (b) the ingrained habits of a lifetime... some of which are very useful and some of which are so, so wrong.

And oh, I forgot... 2d6 and 1d8 relationship dice remaining.

Jonathan,

re: Dogblood.. that's part of what I was thinking that "Yes. Those Laurents." took care of, and why I assigned so many dice to it; I wanted the whole Laurent family thing to be -really- strong. In fact.. hmm. Now that I write it out that way, I can't believe I didn't devote more space (originally.. still kinda scarce) to how he deals with the whole prestigious-family-name thing. Maybe I'll take another crack at that tonight.

I'm not sure how vague and all-encompassing we can get with our traits. Can two or more traits be combined on a single roll?

Jezebel
Complicated Community

Jezebel grew up in the little town of Hope Springs, so named for the nearby springs that nothing would grow without.  Folks wandering through – not a lot, it was off the beaten path – would sometimes wonder at the names of kids in that town: Caine, Jezebel, Lilith, but mostly they just shook their heads and moved on.  Until the Dogs came to town.  Things really came to a head when a Dog asked Caine "Why'd your momma name you?" and he replied quite innocently "Because my brother died sick and she wanted me to live."  Well after that, a few folks got shot, and a few folks got exorcized and the King of Life came back to Hope Springs, courtesy of the Dogs.

Jezebel's momma wanted her to be beautiful.  And she is.  Jez doesn't know the price her momma paid for her looks, but since the Dogs, momma prayed a whole lot, and walked the straight and narrow till sickness took her when Jez was 17.  Two days later, Jez was called to serve.

Jezebel's daddy was one of the folks who got shot.

Stats:

Acuity: 4d6
Body: 3d6
Heart: 3d6
Will: 5d6

Traits:
Damn pretty 2d6
Momma walked the straight and narrow since the Dogs came 1d8
I know what demonic influence looks like 2d6
I can see hypocrisy a mile away 1d6
I got into a lotta scraps as a kid 1d8

Relationships:    Available: 2d4 1d6 1d8 2d10
The demon that gave momma my name/looks 2d4
Dogs saved my town and momma, now it's my turn 1d8
Brother Micah: The Dog who exorcized and shot my daddy, now a teacher at the Temple 1d6

Possessions:

Rich black leather that highlights her looks, with brightly stitched passages that tell the marks of demonic influence, and a beautiful spreading tree of life on the back.  The coat. 2d8
Daddy's Book of Life, with a few improper annotations d4
Jar of earth given me by Brother Micah 2d8
A horse.  1d6
A gun 1d6+1d4
Gifts from home 2d6

---
Jezebel grew up as an innocent kid who didn't have the slightest clue her daddy and her town were in the clutches of demons.  After the Dogs came,  it got harder, because while she didn't know exactly what, she did know that every time momma looked at her, momma saw her own sin.  Jez learned to hate her beauty, but all the same, knowing that her momma had paid for it somehow, she couldn't neglect it or damage it.  Deep down, she feels a whole shwackload of misplaced guilt over this.

Her teenage years were a balancing act between normal teenage rebellion (with those looks!) and her momma's straight and narrow path.  She never fell too far from the Tree, but there is some stuff she never woulda told momma, like the time she had to break David's nose because he took flirting a little too far and wouldn't back off.

The Dogs had a big effect on the Town, and Hope Springs has never had a problem with demons since.  Oh, a little touch of Pride or Sin here and there, but the Dogs always manage to root it out.  Never went farther than that; it just seems like everyone in the town right down to the kids knew what it looked like when the demons really turned their eye on a place, and kept well clear.  Every man woman and child in Hope Springs put something into her coat, not just a stitch, but also a useful little gift, like a shaker of salt or a spool of strong thread.

For her accomplishment, I'd like Jezebel to have to use her beauty as a positive thing, and maybe get an inkling that it's not just a demon-curse.

---
Jezebel's turned out to me more about the demons that I'd originally aimed for, but I think it worked out Ok.  She's definitely more than just a pretty face.  I'm seeing her in my mind's eye as a bit cold in one-on-one, but a genuine force of nature, all fire and heat when she's on the warpath.


James

Ben: Cyrus looks great.

Doyce: Yup.  If we can find some way to work Jubal into the game, I think that'd be great.  But handling 5 players on IRC is going to be difficult enough.  We'll see.  Maybe if we get a regular game going...

Michael:  I get it.  Having "Yes, Those Laurents" as your Dog-trait is pretty cool, actually.  I just didn't recognize that that's what you were doing.  So that "Of course I'm a Dog" is just assumed.  Hot.

James:  Holy smoke, you really topped my expectations there.  Beauty that's a gift from the demons is sure going to be fun to play with.  Lovin' it.

So at this point we're just waiting on Claire, I guess, who'll hopefully have a semi-finished version of Jared up soon.  Claire, if you need any more help, just yell, okay?  That's what this forum is for.

Ok, revisions for Jared.  I'm sorry I didn't have these earlier.  I was going to post them yesterday but I was sick and just couldn't look at a computer screen for more than 30 seconds at a time.  Today I can see, and this is a good thing.

Stats

Acuity   4d6
Body   3d6
Heart   5d6
Will   5d6

Traits

I'm a good kid.   1d8
My Pa was a respected gunsmith   1d6
Played with all the new guns before they got sold   1d6
My pa never sold guns to Mountain Folk   1d6
My sister always wanted to be a dog, but never was.   1d4
I got to be as good as my sister would have been   1d6
Are you sure I'm a Dog now?   1d8

Relationships

Father   1d8
Sister   1d6
Available   1d6 1d8

Belongings

Revolver my pa made me   2d8 + 1d4
One of pa's best shotguns   2d6 + 1d4
Coat my ma and sister made, looks fine, but the bits my sister made are not as well done as she thinks they are   1d4
Horse   1d6

During initiation

Resolve doubts about whether I really deserve to be a Dog

Quote from: BlankshieldJar of earth given me by Brother Micah 2d8

I just realized this got the 'shortened' version, not the version that was in my head.  It's supposed to be:

Jar of consecrated earth from Hope Springs, taken from the town square where the Dogs drove out the demons, given me by Brother Micah 2d8

James

Initiation thread's up:
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=12941

Scheduling email has been sent.  Let me know if you didn't get it.

I am a constant last minute tweeker-of-characters.

I'm going to add a trait to Cyrus, and rearrange some stuff.

So now the traits are

I'm a citizen of the Territorial Columbian Commonwealth 1d4
I was raised in the East 1d4
I could have gone to Harvard 1d10
I speak proper English 1d4
My father could buy this entire pathetic town 1d6
I've never seen blood 1d6
I don't wear my coat yet 1d4
But, for what it's worth, I'm a Dog 1d10

Darn it!  I want more d4s!  Nothing for it but to take some fallout, I guess.

yrs--
--Ben

I've gone so far as to install a wireless network so I can play this game.  Hopefully I did it right.