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Started by SaintandSinner, August 20, 2007, 04:44:59 PM

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GreatWolf

Okay, so we now have four characters:

Furtim, the dragon cultist
Fixer, the Chosen
Stella, gang member and the "chosen one"
Henry, the rival gang leader

At this point, if we were face to face, I'd sketch out the story map.  What I'm seeing at this point is Stella in the middle, with lines connecting her to each of the other characters.  But are there other relationships as well?  For example, I'm wondering if Henry and Stella have a prior connection to Fixer.  After all, he was a lightning jack.  Did he supply them with juice?  I'm also wondering if Furtim and Henry know each other from their time in the Citadel.

In part, the answer to these questions depends on how quickly you want your game to proceed.  The tighter you wind the relationships, the faster things unravel.  In my head, we're prepping for a short game, so let's go ahead and establish those relationships, unless either of you object.

At this point, we divvy up the characters for play.  Jamey and Scott, each of you should choose which of these characters you'd like to play.  For right now, just choose one apiece.  Then post your choice here.  That way you aren't both working on the same character.

Then, go ahead and choose the character's Virtue.  The options are Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, and Sext, in ascending order from dark to light.  So, if your character is really evil, choose Matins.  If he is really good, choose Sext.

Here's an important point!  The judgment about the character's Virtue is your judgment.  I completely acknowledge that everyone justifies his actions to himself and sees himself as good.  Indeed, that is what makes for powerful villains.  But I'm not asking your character what he thinks about himself.  I'm asking you what you think about your character.

Once that is done, select your Attributes.  Divide five points between Determination, Insight, and Force.  Here are the point values, to save you from flipping through your book:

Matins 0
Lauds 1
Prime 2
Terce 3
Sext 4

For Attributes, the higher value means more of that Attribute.  So a Sext Force is the highest possible Force, while a Matins Force is the weakest.

Once you're done, post your results here, and we will then move onto Trait purchase.
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

SaintandSinner

I would like to play the conflicted jack and/or Stella.

GreatWolf

Go ahead and take Stella.
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

Marhault

I'll take Fixer then.  If there were more players I might go for Furtim, or if Stella was going to be an NPC.

SaintandSinner

Sorry for the so posting.  I'm not ignoring you.  I'm at Dragoncon this week and I'll get back to this mid next week.

GreatWolf

Quote from: SaintandSinner on August 29, 2007, 04:25:44 PM
Sorry for the so posting.  I'm not ignoring you.  I'm at Dragoncon this week and I'll get back to this mid next week.

That's cool.  Jamey, go ahead and post your stuff.  Then we will wait for Scott to get back.

Enjoy Dragoncon!
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

Marhault

I'm not as familiar with the prayer offices as the phases of the moon, so if these sound off to you, Seth, check me on 'em.

Fixer

Virtue:  Terce.  Fixer's a good guy, and he became a Jack for all the right reasons.  But he has become somewhat preoccupied with the status he is given as a result, and has lost sight of his original ideals.

Attributes
Force - Lauds
Insight - Terce
Determination - Lauds

Fixer mostly gets away with his raids through subtlety and manipulation, often posing as a Keeper in order to gain access to controlled areas.  Where sacrilege is concerned, if you're in for a penny, y'know?

SaintandSinner

I'm sort of winging this, so let me know if what I describe does not jive with the numbers (hours) I put down.

Stella

Virtue:  Prime.  She's on the cusp of light and darkness.  Her experience will force her to decide where she belongs.

Attributes
Force - Matins
Insight - Prime
Determination - Terce

She's tough mentally, hard to control.  So tough she's been turned out by everyone she's ever lived with...her life on the street is all she has left.  Deep down though she's scared that she just won't live to grow up, to learn how to live with others and love.

GreatWolf

Great.  Now let's do Traits.

Here's how this works.  A Trait is a moral quality of some kind that the character possesses.  So, "gracious" or "deceptive" or "murderous rage" would all be legit.  "Expert hunter" would not.  The emphasis here is on moral quality.

You each get five points to buy Traits, although you don't have to spend them all.  A Trait costs one point if it equals your Virtue, and an additional point for each clock face removed from your Virtue.  So, for example, Fixer can buy a Trait at Terce for 1 point.  A Sext Trait would cost 2 points, since it's one clock face removed from his Virtue.

There is a catch.  There are no Prime Traits.  Prime is the 6 o'clock prayer office, and the graphic is half white and half black.  Traits must be either Good or Evil.  Again, this is you, the player, judging your character.  What do you think of these Traits?

Any points that you don't spend on Traits are spent on Inspiration and Corruption.

So, guys, go ahead and do the Traits for your characters.  Then, pick another character and stat him out, too.
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

SaintandSinner

Stella:

  • Sneaky (Insight) - (Terce 2 pts)
    Good Friend (Determination) - Terce (1 pt)
    Headstrong (Determination) - Sext (2 pts)

Is this all right?

GreatWolf

Actually, Scott, the Trait's base cost is determined by the character's Virtue.  It's not connected to any Attribute.

Stella's Virtue is Prime (6 a.m.)  So, the Traits that you selected would actually cost as follows:


  • Sneaky--Terce (2 points)
  • Good Friend--Terce (2 points)
  • Headstrong--Sext (3 points)

Also, remember that you're making moral judgments here.  So, by saying that "Headstrong" is Sext, you're asserting that this is a Good Trait.  Is that what you're intending to say?

When working with Traits, the "light" or "dark" of the Trait measures its intensity.  So a strong Evil Trait would be rated at Matins (fully dark).

Does this make sense?  Any questions?
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

SaintandSinner

Stella (2.0)

Good Friend--Terce (2 points)
Headstrong--Lauds(2 points)

Inspiration-- (1 point)  Left over from the above calcuations.

Is this right now?

GreatWolf

QuoteIs this right now?

Absolutely!

Just a note:  the one point of Inspiration is like a little arrow, pointing in the direction that you'd like the character to go.  At least, that's how I read it as Narrator.  So, I'm seeing that you want Stella to be pointing in the direction of Good.  Is this what you mean?

Also, do you want to stat out another character?  If not, that's cool; just want to give the opportunity.
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown

Marhault

Fixer has the following traits.

Idealist:  Sext (2 pt)
Pride:  Lauds (3 pt)

Seth, as the narrator, you should get to stat somebody out too.

GreatWolf

Okay, I'll stat out Furtim in a bit.
Seth Ben-Ezra
Dark Omen Games
producing Legends of Alyria, Dirty Secrets, A Flower for Mara
coming soon: Showdown