[OOC] Masters of the Hidden Valley

[Mardox]

@Shorticus
Thanks! I fixed the problems and added a positive character trait or two.

[Shorticus]

@Shorticus

So you mentioned that the technology level was that of the fall of the Roman Empire, could you please give me some examples on what is available to the people?

@Lauder

Certainly! Firstly, I'd just like to say that I'm specifically talking about the Urlandi technology. Others may have worse or better technological knowledge. Let's start talking about weapons and armor first.

You're not going to be wearing equipment from the late medieval era like full plate, big-faced bascinets, or anything like that, nor will you have a lot of the more ingenious polearms like halberds and billhooks. Breastplates do exist, as do simple helmets and helmets with different decorations (horns, spikes, antlers, wings), and you can have chain mail and scale mail. However, iron is a precious resource, and so most iron will be used to make weapons. Gallocmen may have chainmail or breastplates or scale mail, but some of them will be wearing furs or leather instead, and most kerns will just have their clothes. Landsmen may have armor if their rich. And some gallocmen will staunchly believe that running about without any armor or shirt is the way to do it.

Speaking of the scarcity of iron: bronze is still a thing people use. The process of steel-making isn't known yet, at least not to the Urlandi.

One thing to note is that philosophy in this world is a catch-all phrase for the study of anything ranging from geology to astrology to what we call philosophy to physics to mathematics to psychology to... you get the idea. If you can call it a science or a liberal art, it's probably philosophy in this setting, and it's seen as "odd." That doesn't mean it's hated or shunned; it's just seen as a queer thing to have a fascination for.

On that note, knowledge is very much steeped in religious tradition, and in this setting religious tradition is often right. Some of it makes sense in our modern perspective: tradition says the world is round (most real-world societies believed that), though the reason they give is "because the gods did it." Other things make less sense from our modern perspective. For instance, it's very true that failing to appease the gods with sacrifices can turn out really badly for you. In this setting, that's a simple truth, even if it seems dumb in a modern sense. But natural laws of physics and such are also very true, even if nobody has discovered them yet.

Some advanced construction techniques exist in this setting, such as the wooden crane, but you're a small village that doesn't exactly have a ton of resources. A lot of those techniques aren't available to you, or you just don't know how to build such things. I.E. don't expect to build giant statues or great monuments or the Hanging Gardens. Also, don't expect to have any siege weapons. If you really needed to, you could build catapults and ballistae, and you definitely could fashion together a big log with an iron head for ramming gates open, but it's just much more feasible to use wood and iron to make homes and weapons right now.

I hope that covers most everything. Feel free to ask me specifics, and remember that the Roman Empire I'm talking about is not what we call the Byzantines today, but the western Roman Empire which fell in 476 A.D. Think of the Urlandi as one of the "Barbarians" in such an era, and their technological level is around what you'd consider the "Barbarians" to have at that time, especially that of the Germanic Tribes.

@Mardox I need to wake up a bit, but I'll be looking at your sheet soon.

[Lauder]

@Shorticus

Thank you! That clears up a lot for me! I only wanted to know because my character will be thinking of advancing some technology, realistically of course.

[Shorticus]

@Shorticus

Thank you! That clears up a lot for me! I only wanted to know because my character will be thinking of advancing some technology, realistically of course.

@Lauder

No problem. Just feel free to ask me questions either here or via PM.

[Lauder]

@Shorticus
On another note, how will hero quest equivalents work?

[Shorticus]

@Shorticus
On another note, how will hero quest equivalents work?

@Lauder

Could you elaborate a little more? Do you mean you want to know the mechanics of how Heroquests work in general, or that you want to know if you need to worship a specific deity to undertake a specific Heroquest?

[Lauder]

@Shorticus

Just if we need to worship the specific deity or not. I assume the actual mechanic work similar to how it will normally, like even if I pick the right choice I can fail EVEN THOUGH I KNOW ALL THE DETAILS THAT JUST WENT TO WASTE ALONG WITH ALL THE GOODS I SACRIFICED *screams into pillow*

[Shorticus]

@Shorticus

Just if we need to worship the specific deity or not. I assume the actual mechanic work similar to how it will normally, like even if I pick the right choice I can fail EVEN THOUGH I KNOW ALL THE DETAILS THAT JUST WENT TO WASTE ALONG WITH ALL THE GOODS I SACRIFICED *screams into pillow*

@Lauder

Don't worry! You'll ALWAYS have a chance of failure at EVERYTHING you do, not just Heroquests, no matter how well you prepare!

Okay, so I'll let you guys in on a little secret: one of the chief mechanics behind the scenes of this roleplay concerns "advantages" and "disadvantages" that affect the outcome of the die roll. In this case, having the wrong deity as a patron = a disadvantage of varying degrees. Deities that are deemed "similar" will only have a minor disadvantage. Deities that are deemed WAY DIFFERENT (like a worshiper of Dyvella conducting a Heroquest that Camvor is famous for) will receive major penalties.

Obviously, knowing the details is important. But remember that you don't necessarily have to follow those details if you have a skillset very different from that of the deity whose Heroquest you're conducting. Maybe it's better for you to use your magic to defeat the monster rather than swing your sword at it.

Also note that I will have a few Heroquests which aren't actually conducted by the gods but by mortals of the past.

[Lauder]

@Shorticus

Do I have a chance to fail at breathing?

[Mardox]

@Shorticus

Do I have a chance to fail at breathing?

@Lauder

Why give the GM ideas?

[Lauder]

@Mardox

Shorticus is a nice guy to the point of me assuming he won't pull that on us

[Mardox]

Then why ask and tempt the gods?

[Shorticus]

@Mardox

Shorticus is a nice guy to the point of me assuming he won't pull that on us

@Lauder

Your mistake.

@Mardox Accepted!

[Lauder]

<Snipped quote by Lauder>

Your mistake.

@Mardox Accepted!

@Shorticus

Welp, I doomed us all. It has been a pleasure everybody.

[Mardox]

@Shorticus
Thanks! I'll try to breathe properly!

[Lauder]

Word of advice in KODP; DON'T TRUST THE TRICKSTER

[Shorticus]

The Trickster can save your butt or ruin your clan. I love turning rat-armadillo-reptile things loose on rival clans.

[Lauder]

@Shorticus

It doesn't help when he literally got rid of all my magic and more

[Lexicon]

@Shorticus Since I can't let Lauder have all the fun, I had two quick questions. First, I know you said we'd be ICly voting on certain aspects of our clan's history starting on the 12th. Can you tell us a bit more about that? I'm guessing you'll present us with different options and we'll vote for whichever ones we like. How do our characters come into play, though? Also, will we be discussing any past interactions between our characters during this portion as well? Or is that a topic for us to discuss amongst ourselves?

[Shorticus]

@ShorticusFirst, I know you said we'd be ICly voting on certain aspects of our clan's history starting on the 12th. Can you tell us a bit more about that? I'm guessing you'll present us with different options and we'll vote for whichever ones we like.

@Lexicon

Essentially, yes. There are a couple questions which will be open-ended, but they're not exactly essay questions. They're things like "What is the name of the clan?" and "What is your favorite dessert after a good raid?"

How do our characters come into play, though?

Your characters are not involved in the voting process (which will take 1-2 weeks). However, at the end of the voting process you may have to edit your character sheets as a result of your clan history being something you didn't expect, or you may just want to add to your clan history.

Also, will we be discussing any past interactions between our characters during this portion as well? Or is that a topic for us to discuss amongst ourselves?

It's not part of the voting process, but guys: you are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to do exactly that. Talk to your fellow players. Work out how you may know each other. There's only ~600-800 people in this village, and you're all on the Council, so chances are you've spoken with each other at some point.