[Mage Blade] Let's Play a Game...

[MacLeod]

My character is Asmerith Grandenwater, an elven ex-slave of a wealthy orc slave trader. His time as a slave has caused him to view life more like an orc than an elf, this aspect is reinforced by how easily he rallied the orc slaves to rise against their cruel master. Asmerith has lost his right eye and left arm in gladiatorial combat yet he remains an amazingly efficient and brutal killer. Through all of his experiences Asmerith has retained a strong sense of nobility, likely feeding off of his noble heritage and feelings of superiority amongst a primitive species.
Asmerith's element is air.

Hope this is enough, or... not too much. =)

[Lance D. Allen]

Matthew,

It nears the border of too much without crossing. I can totally see how this would work with the full character generation rules, and I can see how it'd be fun, so I'd say it's fine.

Ron,

There are canonical magical schools, with curriculums and uniforms and oaths of fraternity and all that. There are also hedge mages, and master-apprentice relationships. I don't want you to necessarily make a character that fits in the setting though, so much as one that can be made with the system. So any sort of magical school is great for this process.

If that's still a little too unconstrained for you, then here're some examples of Schools: There're one each for each of the 4 primary elements (Earth, Water, Air, Fire). There's an order of warrior-mages who specialize in light and life magic. There's a dark mirror order of knights that focuses on necromantic magic. There is a small, obscure school of nature devotees, whose magic tends toward protection of, and oneness with, the wilderness. There's a guild (not a formal school) of weather magi that specialize at assisting sailors make long, dangerous journeys. There are small, traditional ways of magic that involve helping your crops and mending small injuries that are common among farmers. The rich hire private tutors for their children, who teach a broadly useful spectrum of magical theory.

Is that enough to work with?

Libra is an Air sign. So does Air work for you?

[DWeird]

Man, I had a similar problem to the one Ron had. I need (want!) more information on the starting setting.

What if we're not building an empire? What if we're taking an existing one over, from the inside? What if the initial situation instead starts with orcs as a slave race? None of that has been determined in this single sentence.

Any of these would be fine and good, but just as long as I get to know in advance what I'm sticking my head into. Knowing would have helped me to create a character that has deeper connections to the world... Right now, I just went with a vague "orcish" feeling ("have tribes and are warlike") and went with a character concept that's doesn't really have a strong connection to the community he starts in, and some good-ish reasons to sever the ties he does have.

Now, what actually happened in my head was a lot less orderly and linear than I presented this, and I am rather happy with the character I did end up with, I still wonder a bit what I would have if I could have chosen a less, uh, wandering-prone role than I did. A plump magistrate in the decadent human Empire? The head slave of a group assigned to a mirthril mine?

Or is the "you're a wanderer tied to no man nor no land" thing actually a prerequisite for the sort of loosely-defined story you're going? Not so much that one HAS to make a 'wanderer' character, but rather - it's prudent to make a wanderer, since characters with deeper connections are more likely to get stuck, not being able to move towards the Endgame in plausible and interesting ways.

Just thinking out loud.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Lance,

Much better. I confess I cannot resist the dark order of knights with necromantic magic.

If possible, I'd prefer his element be Earth. I see him as barbarian-born (earthy) with a strong highly-educated makeover (which is the air, but it's not his primary identity). I don't know if that's allowed by the rules.

Best, Ron

[MacLeod]

Man, I had a similar problem to the one Ron had. I need (want!) more information on the starting setting.

[random tangent] I'm use to playing in games with no established setting... I think its fun to create something in a void like that, make a piece of the setting yours through description via your character. Maybe that's just me though? [/random tangent]

[DWeird]

'Starting setting' was not the best way for me to put it. 'Starting position' or some such may be better.

Setting is about "how things are" - when you play, you play within it, toying around with details of varying, but usually minor, importance. It exists independently of you.

Position is about what's given to you at the start of play - you take it, play with it, change it, break it, take the pieces, and play with them some more. But there does have to be something to take at the start!

[telperion]

Character sketch --

Ahldam Hammerhand the dwarf. Loves to drink mead, dark ale, anything dark and heavy. Brash and outspoken but quite loyal and surprisingly caring to those close to him. Light  on his feet ( for a dwarf ) and skilled with battle axes and two handed great axes. Practices as an apprentice blacksmith and is hoping to become an armorer for his clan. Served his required 7 year stint in his military body where he aquired his proficiency with axes, and close combat. His elemental type is fire, and like his clan - hatred and suspicion of anything non-dwarvish, in particular orcish, has been driven deeply into his core.

[telperion]

Or if that is too much...

Character sketch --

Ahldam Hammerhand the dwarf. Big burly dwarf, but surprisingly fleet footed.  Practices as an apprentice blacksmith and is hoping to become an armorer for his clan. His elemental type is fire... Hatred and suspicion of anything non-dwarvish, in particular orcish, has been driven deeply into his core.

[Lance D. Allen]

D:

The really-real game will have a much more detailed setting. My current struggle with setting (which this exercise is helping to inform on) is to put in enough to inspire and give shape to adventures without overdoing it. My current thoughts on how to present it is in distinct chunks, each built up of people and organizations with interlaced goals and a set piece or two. Things you can drop PCs into and play, but shouldn't feel constrained by.

I am experimenting with giving you too little information, to see how people fill in the gaps. Among various other, hard to define needs that this exercise is meeting (in addition to being interesting and fun) that one is important. Play at the table will be better able to nail down the starting 'position'. Hell, discussion in this thread can nail it down, as it's not against the rules. Mage Blade is very, very player-centric. The things you decide for your character, unless they strongly clash with what we've agreed with so far (such as the setting) are basically law. I don't get to tell you "No, that won't work in the game I'm planning on running". You all get to tell me what you're interested in playing, and I and your fellow players get to figure out how all of that works together.

Prior to "picking" The orcish Endgame Goal, I literally had no idea what sort of game we'd be 'playing'. That's the way campaign and character generation should feel in real play, too.

Ron,

Earth is perfect. It's about as influential on his personality as a zodiac sign.. Meaning that it *can* be entirely wrong.. Or it can be somewhat right, as I've noticed most zodiac signs are in real life. It's a roleplaying carrot, not a stick to be whapped with.

Tel,

The first sketch is fine. It's more than is *needed* for this experiment, but that's not a big problem. I just don't want essays of character background, and I want to avoid the "play before you play" issue. As the real character generation system is a lifepath system, your first sketch will mostly work for it, too.

So far:

Snikskab, the orcish runner: Air
Asmerith Grandenwater, an elven ex-slave/rabble rouser: Air
Ron's nameless barbaric necro-knight: Earth
Ahldam Hammerhand the dwarven smith/warrior: Fire

[MacLeod]

Perhaps Ron's guy is bound by a barbaric tradition where names are powerful secrets and only by manipulating the dead can one learn a warrior's true name. =)
Maybe I'm drifting a little too close to Planescape: Torment...?

[Ron Edwards]

No, it only means that without some idea of Earth-analogues for culture, I don't have enough to go on for a name, and I hate the pseudo-Greek/Norman modern fantasy standards (Arion! Morianna! Galron!) and their monosyllabic Turette's Syndrome accompaniments for orcs or whoever like them (Bork! Bonk! Arrgh!).

My character's name is Lance.

Best, Ron

[Lance D. Allen]

Ron,

Suddenly your character seems much cooler and more compelling than before... but you might largely hate the names I've got in the setting, then.

Named human characters:
- Randahl Arien
- Morgen Zanduur
- Sabrine Crysse
- Fellahn-Shad Xamirre
- Pethor Lythelis

Named orcish characters:
- Karak
- Gothrek
- Goroth

Named elven characters:
- L'Reale Iridial
- Pol D'Avarius
- Elan D'Avarius
- Tyrialin Fetharis-D'Nalle (half-elven; Fetharis is a human surname)

Named dwarven characters:
- Gunter Lorgard
- Lorya Druthfang

I'm going to be posting the beginning of Phase 3 a little later on today. Anyone else who would like to toss a character out there is fine, but they should follow the directions for Phase 3 as well.

[Lance D. Allen]

Okay! Phase 3 begins now. By this point in a real game, we'd have gone through the full character creation system, choosing lifepaths and getting your skills, attributes and traits. You now have 50 points to purchase Foundational Goals.

What is a Foundational Goal? Well, at its most basic, it's a goal you have for your character, right when play starts. There are a few guidelines regarding the sorts of goals you choose. A foundational goal doesn't need to point you toward the Endgame Goal, not yet. There are two main considerations to keep in mind. The first is that the primary purpose of these goals is to get your characters in motion. They serve a similar function to the Kicker in Sorcerer, or the Best Interests in In a Wicked Age. Getting your character moving can involve getting your characters together, if a party-based game is what you want. Even if you don't, it's a good idea if your Foundational Goals can be used to make your path cross that of other player characters. The second consideration is that maybe your character concept isn't *quite* complete. He's on the cusp of being complete, but there's a thing or two he hasn't done yet. You can create a Foundational Goal that gets you there. In this case, they serve a similar function to Vampire: the Masquerade's Prelude, and Dogs in the Vineyard's Initiation scenes.

When it comes to how to spend your points, what you want to keep in mind is the rule that every 10 points you put into a goal means 1 significant challenge to overcome. A 'significant' challenge might be a fight, or a series of skill checks, or even a single difficult check. It might even not involve dice rolls, if that's appropriate. There is no specific hard-and-fast rule for values that aren't multiples of 10, but with that as a basic guide, it should be easy enough to adjudicate those other values. Anything other than multiples of 10 would probably be exceptions to the rule.

[DWeird]

Snikskab the runner:

Get back at that bastard of high rank who insulted me (20)

Fight in a real battle for once (20)

Punch an elf.(10)

[MacLeod]

Asmerith Grandenwater

~*~| Lead his fellow ex-slaves to a better life and perhaps a better society. [30]

~*~| Reclaim his position as Heir to the Grandenwater Estate by any means necessary. [20]