I just bought LoA from the Forge Booth at GenCon.  You had just left though and no one there could run a demo.  Having gone through the book twice I'm still lost on how to run the thing. 

So...other than character actions are there rules for all the cool other stuff in the game (the undead things, blessed, dragons, outsiders etc).  Any help would be much appreciated.

Hello, SaintandSinner.  I see that you're pretty new here, so welcome to the Forge!

I'm sorry to have missed you at GenCon, so I'll see what I can do to help you out here.  I'm going to work through your answer in reverse.  (It'll make sense in a moment.)

So...other than character actions are there rules for all the cool other stuff in the game (the undead things, blessed, dragons, outsiders etc).

By now, it should be obvious that Legends of Alyria does not have anything resembling an equipment list or a chart of weapons. Moreover, the information on the various cultures is intentionally vague, with only hints at the appearance of characters within these imaginary cultures. However, this does not mean that the way that a character is dressed, what he is called, or what weapons he wields are unimportant. Quite the contrary. In Legends of Alyria, these and other details about the character are perfect opportunities to express the character’s nature.

Having gone through the book twice I'm still lost on how to run the thing.

Yeah that might help.  After that could you explain to me how the "big bads" in the game are suposed to, through the mechanics, challenge the players?

SaintandSinner wrote:
Yeah that might help.  After that could you explain to me how the "big bads" in the game are suposed to, through the mechanics, challenge the players?

I want to see more of the conflict between the Unicorns and the Dragons.

Excellent.  So a throwdown between the Unicorns and Dragons in the Web.

Ordinarily, that means that we will want a dragon cultist and a Chosen as characters.  That's not always the case, but that's my suggestion for this setup.  So, unless you object, I think that we have found our first two characters.

Also, we need to have some arena for their conflict.  Remember that Legends of Alyria is all about moral conflict, so we don't just want to have two characters lobbing bolts of power at each other.  At least, not yet.  So, Scott, tell me what they are fighting about.  Is it an object?  A person?  Something else?  What will constitute a "win" for one side?

After that, tell me about one of our characters, be it dragon cultist, Chosen, or someone else involved.  What's he like?  How does he dress?  What's his personality like?  In particular, tell me three things about him that you consider to be good or evil.

They are fighting over a young child destined for the fall and rise of many.  Bringing this child "into the fold" of either side will constitute a "win".

The Chosen is a Jack who has recently undergone a bought of conciousness after nearly dying on his last "mission".  Saved by a Unicorn he realizes he has a higher calling.  But...he is still locked into the whole status thing and fears the loss of prestige or even an attack if its discovered he's "gone soft"

SaintandSinner wrote:
The Chosen is a Jack who has recently undergone a bought of conciousness after nearly dying on his last "mission".  Saved by a Unicorn he realizes he has a higher calling.  But...he is still locked into the whole status thing and fears the loss of prestige or even an attack if its discovered he's "gone soft"

They are fighting over a young child destined for the fall and rise of many.  Bringing this child "into the fold" of either side will constitute a "win".

GreatWolf wrote:
Ha!  That's very cool.  So, on the one hand, he will want to do what's right and follow his true calling.  On the other hand, he's afraid of what that will cost him.  Very nice.  Conflicted characters are good.

GreatWolf wrote:
This works for me, too.  I'm going to say that this "young child" is about nine or ten years old, with goals and desires of her own.  Let's say that she runs with a gang in the Web.  Oh, and let's say that she is female.  Aside from that, let's keep her indistinguishable from other folks.  I mean that she isn't Blessed or anything.  Her being special is the result of her future destiny, not because of her current position or abilities.

GreatWolf wrote:
So then, I think that we need to complicate the existence of our chosen one.  I'm thinking that we put her in the middle of a gang war of some kind.  Something that is actually significant to her group.  Like, maybe, if they lose, they will end up taking the Long Fall.  If this is cool with you, Scott, then go ahead and tell us a little about the opposing gang.  I'm thinking that they have some sort of leader who is significant, but I'll leave that up to you.

GreatWolf wrote:
Also, do you think that this gang war is affecting the Citadel at all?  If so, are any of the Noble Houses sending patrols into the Web to stop it?  Or is my vision getting to be too large?

GreatWolf wrote:
We also need to hear a bit about the dragon cultist.  Jamey (aka Marhault) has volunteered to join us in this thread.  Hey, Jamey!  Why don't you tell us about the dragon cultist?

GreatWolf wrote:
Also, if either of you don't like the ideas that I've put forth, go ahead and say so.  Obviously, this would be easier if we were face-to-face and could hash this through, but I don't want to force this example into places that you all don't want to go.

Heroism always comes at a price or it just is an illusion.

This is particularly important when naming a character. Alyria does not have an invented language or a particular linguistic feel. Rather, names should be chosen for symbolic meaning, providing additional character exposition. (p. 113)

Maybe the opposing gang is led by a outcast Noble from the Citadel (Henry).  This isn't common knowledge though.  He sees the other group as easy mark to show other gangs who's boss.  The Chosen's gang just got picked at 'random'.  Unfortunantly, now that Henry's commited he will not stop (or he will lose the manufactured respect he has up here).

Heroism always comes at a price or it just is an illusion.

Marhault wrote:
Is that Webby enough for you, or do his ties to the High Lords bug you?  I like the idea of him trying to make connections in a new environment, using wealth and lies to corrupt.

I'm cool with the set up...I just wanted to keep the environment of the action a little limited for now.  Also, if Henry isn't good for the pseudo-allegorical naming structure let me know.  I'm willing to find something else.

SaintandSinner wrote:
I'm cool with the set up...I just wanted to keep the environment of the action a little limited for now.  Also, if Henry isn't good for the pseudo-allegorical naming structure let me know.  I'm willing to find something else.

Alright, let's call him Furtim.  That's also Latin based.  Let's proceed!

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.

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

Go ahead and take Stella.

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

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.

SaintandSinner wrote:
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.

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?

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.

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.

Stella:

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

Is this all right?

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?

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?

Is this right now?

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.

Okay, I'll stat out Furtim in a bit.

GreatWolf wrote:

Is 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.

SaintandSinner wrote:
I would leave the point in Inspiration (as long as that's a player, not a character, choice). 

It's interesting, since I had her as prime in virtue I was not able to leave her on balence as much 'good' as 'evil'.  Was this by design?

Furtim

Here's the description from upthread:

Marhault wrote:
Our Cultist comes from the courts of the High Lords, where he has accumulated a rather impressive amount of both wealth and power.  He is rich, good-looking, charming, and ruthless.  He knows that there is something in the Web that will control the destiny of many, but doesn't know what form it takes, or that it is, in fact a little girl.  Yet.

Of course, slumming it as he is, he's mostly cut off from his power base, but he is quickly finding others who can be bought or swayed to his purpose.  After all, he has much to offer those who would escape the Web, and they are not few.

GreatWolf wrote:
So then, I think that we need to complicate the existence of our chosen one.  I'm thinking that we put her in the middle of a gang war of some kind.  Something that is actually significant to her group.  Like, maybe, if they lose, they will end up taking the Long Fall.  If this is cool with you, Scott, then go ahead and tell us a little about the opposing gang.  I'm thinking that they have some sort of leader who is significant, but I'll leave that up to you.

Saintan wrote:
Maybe the opposing gang is led by a outcast Noble from the Citadel (Henry).  This isn't common knowledge though.  He sees the other group as easy mark to show other gangs who's boss.  The Chosen's gang just got picked at 'random'.  Unfortunantly, now that Henry's commited he will not stop (or he will lose the manufactured respect he has up here). 

Excellent.  Now, if we were playing face-to-face, I'd sketch out a little storymap, with each of the characters as boxes and the lines indicating their relationships to each other.  I can't really do that now, but we do need to talk about relationships, and I'll describe how I'd sketch the storymap.

First, the relationship between Stella and Henry seems obvious.  They are on opposite sides of a gang war.  So, I'd draw a line between them, noting this.

But how do Furtim and Fixer connect?

Here's my proposal.  Furtim is related to Stella, because he shows up to offer assistance against Henry.  However, he is also related to Henry, because he is offering assistance against Stella.  So he's playing both sides against the middle, hoping that his "chosen one" will increasingly trust him as the gang war escalates.  Also, I wonder if Furtim has a soft spot in his heart for Stella, given that she is the underdog in this particular battle.  (See his "Compassion for the Oppressed" Trait.)  So then, a line from Furtim to Stella and a line from Furtim to Henry.

Then, for extra complication, let's say that Henry is a longtime client of Fixer's.  Even though Fixer is mostly out of the lightning jack business (am I remembering that correctly?), Henry is trying to convince him to supply him with electricity until the end of the gang war.  Henry doesn't figure that it will take long.  "Just for a few days at most," he says.  A line from Fixer to Henry.

That's my proposed storymap.  Does this work for both of you?

After this, we just have one last step:  preparing a priming event.  This is the spark that destabilizes the situation.  Given this setup, I like the idea of the priming event being the first rumble in the gang war, but I'm open to ideas.

So, what do you think, guys?  Got any thoughts?

I like how that fits, Seth.  Furtim has a positive relationship with the child, whom he wishes to corrupt.  It puts Fixer in the middle of the gang war, right where he belongs.  It's also interesting in that Fixer and Furtim aren't directly related, so much of their interaction will probably be through intermediaries.

So, what is the spark that will set this pile of tinder burning?  What do you think, Scott?

I don't know...I was thinking that we would start with the gang war.  Should there be more?  What about a celestial event pointing to Stella's coming of age?  A conjunction/bright star....something she can't hide from anymore.

I had thought of the gang war, but having it coincide with a celestial event of some kind would be really cool.  Especially if that event alerted Furtim and Fixer to the importance of Stella.

Maybe...um...

Well, a bright star works nicely, especially if its light beams down on her at the beginning of the gang war.

So, I'm thinking that we'd open with the opening rumble of the gang war between Henry and Stella's gangs.  Right as they start, the clouds part, and a beam of starlight shines down on Stella.  No one there realizes what's up, except Stella.

Furtim and Fixer both see it, though, and they know that someone in that battle was special.

So, that's my proposal for a priming event.  How does that suit the two of you?

Fine by me.  Lets get this rolling.  Bo)

SaintandSinner wrote:
Fine by me.  Lets get this rolling.  Bo)

Having gone through the book twice I'm still lost on how to run the thing. 

Well...I think I know how to put together characters and set up the relationship map.  I'm not sure I have a feel for the resolution mechanics though.  I should reread those sections and I'll get back to you with more specific questions.

Thanks

Sure thing!  When you have questions with those, start a new thread.  As we go through this, I'll post links to the threads in a sticky.  That way, other folks can benefit from our interaction.

Thanks, Scott!