Anarion

Masks: BABYLON MUST FALL

[Potential 4. Insecure]

Anathet stiffens in surprise. The little golden tablet is tucked into her sleeve in a flash, faster than most normal eyes can see, though not faster than you can, Marianne. Still, you might be impressed with Anathet's human reflexes, she barely even gave away the extra twitch, it's about as good as it can get.

Then her brain catches up and you get a run of little muscle twitches. A feeling as you're holding Anathet of relaxation because she hasn't been caught with stolen goods (or she has, but only by someone she wants to know about them), then her muscles tense again in...is that embarrassment, oh goodness is that a slight flush coming to her face? She couldn't possibly be remembering the last time you met and how she didn't live up to expectations (she is, and she's also feeling that you're very close to her.

And then, a little eye dart. Marianne, is that guilt? The sign of another lover for little Anathet, a bit of irrational worry at them seeing you here like this with her in such a position? Who could it be?

All those things happen in the span of a second or two. Anathet clears her throat, brings her own aura into a soft blue calm with hints of pink anticipation sparkling inside it. Then she processes what Marianne is saying about Canada and she adds some hints of uncertainty without really changing her aura. "Should I be worried? I don't think you'd be here joking with me if she needed us urgently, but it sounds like there's something wrong with her."

A pause, then she lets those pink sparks of excitement get much larger and lets the matter of Canada pass for the moment to share her news. "If...if you're free, I found this!" Anathet slides the little tablet back out of her sleeve with the rustling of her monks fabric (was there a tiny flash, did little Anathet secret the tablet in a portal rather than merely her robe? How tricky!). "The Seneschal is ruined if anything goes wrong while Shamash is here! If we dropped in on him now, we could get him to do anything to keep from being embarrassed. Isn't this great?"

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

The warm breeze of early summer ripples the forest green pennants strung atop the keep walls of Lostwithiel like emerald waves upon the ocean. The high season of campaigning is going to begin next week and the Duchess Marianne has determined to host a tournament to honor her brave knights, entertain the common folk, and perhaps attract a few new followers to her banner.

This could easily be the most festive day of the year. Visiting knights saddle their horses with blankets and armor in the brightest colors of their house and the entire keep market is alive with the buzzing and murmuring of goods being traded. You can hear a mixture of delight from the merchants and low grumbling from the peasants who are, to a soul, convinced that they are being cheated in every deal but nevertheless pleased to find a few special objects and new tools to take home with them.

Everything would be perfect, save that some of the knights are giving sidelong glances to their squires and watching their surroundings more keenly than you'd expect. And that perhaps a few more of the peasants and laborers are looking a little gaunt coming out of the spring. Small reminders that the roads are less safe than they were and the harvest less bountiful.

But for today, they need not pay such troubles any heed.

Constance and Robena
Constance has been tasked with blessing the turning of the seasons to welcome the coming of summer. Robena, you have been tasked to accompany her and act as her honor guard, a high honor within the keep celebrating your welcome return. Your own match in the tournament is scheduled for later in the day and you'll have time to prepare for it.

Constance, how did you spend the past season and what's the fae rumor that's worrying you as you make small talk with Robena?

Robena, how did you spend the past season and what gives you confidence for the day? Oh, and you may wish to seek information on your opponent, who you know is called the Azure Knight but have never met before.

Nin and Tristan
Some of the supplies for the evening's feast have not arrived and you've heard ill rumors from a few of the peasants arriving most recently. It may be that the roads are worse even than people are willing to say, and the court has tasked you with looking into the matter quickly to ensure that everyone arriving for the tournament is well-fed. Tell us who you seek in town for information and how you start the...hunt let's call it.

Nin, how did you spend the last season and how has it prepared you to journey this summer?

Tristan, how did you spend the last season and what do you look forward to doing this summer?

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Yes to Nin probably being the head of her own household. That's just how you flavor their living arrangements.

Thanqol, that looks very solid. I quite like the image of the powerful bear knight you've created, and I agree with Numbers that the horse is inspired.

Also, a reminder to both Thanqol and Numbers that enchanted items in Dark Age always come with a "maybe" attached to the enchanted bonus. That is, you always get the numerical stats, and they "might" protect you from some special harm or have some special affect on a foe. It is possible this will be denied by some other magical effect (and you'd be in a position in which your Right related to the item was denied) or that it will fail if you roll very poorly, although I will use this sparingly.

Last thing, take a look at my suggested Stronghold options a few posts back. I didn't completely fill them out, that's supposed to be a group choice, so if you have thoughts on it, please suggest them. If you don't care, I'll make some suggestions later today.

Expect an IC post this evening (US West Coast) or maybe tomorrow morning. Going out hiking now, so I won't be around for much of the day.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

So. Hopefully this is actually a fun and interesting concept to play with. I know it sounds like it could be a bit of a joke, but I promise I don't intend to treat it as one.

@Count Numbers

Indeed, and thanks for getting it up. I really appreciate the second generation character so that we get both the sense that this is home and the interesting approach to the question of chivalry and related martial codes.

I think we're just waiting on Thanqol to get an updated sheet done for his knight and then we should be good to start. You will each get to make a season move to start the game, which is how you tell us what you were up to right before this season started and what you have in plenty to start the campaign (whether that be some tangible bounty or some more intangible progress towards your growth).

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

You’re creating Nin’s people. Which might be something like a clan of 30 halflings or maybe a village of 50 or so. Populations are very small in this setting. There can be other halflings, many of whom are probably similar, but maybe a different village is more war-like and another is wealthier. You’re defining the particular characteristics of Nin’s group.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

I talked with Tatters about Constance possessing Excalibur. Although she has it, it can't be drawn by her or anyone else at the keep. You'll need to quest to find a way to use it, or find the person who can use it (which may be Arthur). Constance is the one charged with making that selection and may grow into being the Lady of the Lake in the narrative.

* I assume I'm part of someone else's household. Is the household and the keep the same? I'm not sure how households work.

@stveje

Yes. The stronghold has a lord (which I'm just going to start calling a duke unless somebody says they really want to have a petty king instead). You're part of that lord's household. If someone picks the keep liege (which is looking unlikely) that lord would be a PC, otherwise an NPC.

* I chose the right to "step out of your earthly life" because it seemed like it might be the best fit for her people's space/size-changing abilities. Maybe it's not so much changing their size or shape as stepping into another space or navigating the in-between worlds. If that makes sense.

@stveje

It does. You have freedom with that Right to make a selection of what that travel you want, and if you miss the roll, I'll select an appropriate response for your destination. I like this direction for it.

* It says a staff is 3-harm, but that honestly sounds a bit high to me. I'm thinking like a regular wooden walking stick/staff.

@stveje

You probably want to keep this. Mechanically, all the primary weapons are 3-harm because that means you're evenly matched with NPCs or monsters wielding similar weapons and wearing armor. You can still flavor it as a walking staff and the Outranger as especially skilled with it rather than merely strong-arming with a deadly weapon. Considering the outranger might be one of the people most likely to encounter dangerous creatures, I don't think you need to mechanically weaken yourself to flavor the character the way you want.

* Do you only pick one "defined by" for a people, or can you pick more than one?

@stveje

You'd only pick one in this main category. It looks right on your sheet.

* I chose numbers for a small vassalage, but maybe they have fewer than 40 warriors? Maybe a bit less than 300 people, too. Like, 200 people maybe. Thoughts?

@stveje

I don't think you want a vassalage, unless you intend that the halflings are actually structured with multiple families swearing formal oaths of fealty to a lord. What you probably want is something like a clan or an enclave to be Nin's People, representing her family, friends, and relatives who care about her personally, with the understanding that there are several such groups of halflings such that there are many hundreds of them total.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

<Snipped quote by Anarion>

Works for me. Are they still fay, or ... idk, just druidic people?

So we need to discuss our keep now, or where are we at?

@stveje

They can still be a Fae people. I’d suggest defining them using one of the Dark Age People sheets (there are a couple in the playtest doc).

The stronghold is a group discussion. My suggestions are
-defends a wealthy province of farms and forests
-enemies: an unlawful crown seized by a tyrant (in your view). Raiders by land. Maybe a third.
-fortifications: I’d suggest a square stone keep on a Hill, seems iconic. No suggestions for other options.
-armory: mail coats and iron helmets, horses/lances/kite shields for at least 10 maybe 20. Swords.

The primary people of the hold are also a group discussion. I’d suggest
-they are all the subjects of your crown/dukedom
-a vassalage of least 300, with 40 warriors.
-looks and names. Here I’d break from history and say to make them diverse
-stats. My default would be rites +0, war +1, wealth +1. I’m not sure this is optimized though. There’s a variety of options for each, I might suggest looking at their patience through suffering, their cavalry, their loyalty, their craft or metalwork, and their rich land.

You can also each select a sheet (I believe outranger in your case Stveje) and start putting it in the character sheets, selecting your particular Rights and other choices for the character and making a secondary people if the character is from elsewhere originally.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

I was really happy with Nin, so I'd like to keep her in some form under these changes if possible. I assume there's nothing in her background that's incompatible with the new system or premise, just that she's been gone from home longer and has settled down and become part of this keep of ours, perhaps still as a bit of a wanderer but with strong ties. I'm looking at the Outranger as the most obvious one for her.

@stveje

Yeah, I think you can keep the same character, and playing her as the Outranger makes a lot of sense. The one thing is that probably Dark Age is a bit easier if she and her people have a bit less overt magic. Less free size-changing and more small people with skillful woodcraft and enchantment that allows them to confuse and mislead (and maybe change sizes with preparation and special commitment to an enchantment).

What system were you using before you made the switch if I may ask? The original Pendragon? or is there another AW hack of it?

@Penny

As Tatters notes, Fellowship was how we were setting it. Fellowship has a particular structure (originally built to emulate a Lord of the Rings style of story) where there's an Overlord and then a party of united PCs from a variety of different people's opposed to the Overlord. Some of its later books (it has three books you can buy atm) include alternatives to the Overlord: the Horizon (focused on exploration without a single big antagonist) and the Empire (focused on rebellion where the bad guys have already won and control most of the land where the game is played). Setting up a corrupt Uther as the Overlord in a Fellowship game works well, but Fellowship really wants characters with very distinct peoples and lots of high magic and various sorts of technology (e.g., the Dwarf has several explosive and gunpowder options). I had kind of forgotten Dark Age existed and was trying to get this game setup to fit within fellowship, but then realized it was drifting into generic fantasy and away from the Arthurian setup.

I'd say the actual Pendragon system is a bit too clunky to run well over PBP, but it offers a lot of helpful background. The GPC has some particularly useful footnotes and sidebars especially. I don't particularly care for the detailed date/location/name of important person breakdown (too much detail) but sidebars like what types of advisors Uther has at his court and notes on political and geographic intrigue are very helpful for understanding the types of issues people would have been dealing with. The "group of players opposing a corrupt king Uther from a central keep" for Dark Age is a modification of the setup for the default Pendragon campaign.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Okay, apologies for a bit of shuffling here. I was feeling a bit off as this was getting rolling and realized today that I was maybe using the wrong system for this (thanks to Thanqol for asking the question). So, after a bit of mulling and chatting some folks, we're going to switch systems to the Dark Age rules (which are a bit sparse because they've been a playtest forever, but they have what they need). You can find them at lumpley.com/index.php/awda

The premise of the setting doesn't change (Uther is still old and corrupted and that's killing the land and leading the kingdom to ruin). So everything in my first couple OOC posts is the same.

Switching to Dark Age does change your setup though: different playbooks, different types of moves and characters, a different starting situation than the wandering adventure party. My proposal for how this would work best is that you're all part of the same wealthy but small kingdom or duchy, either retainers for an NPC lord or one of you is the lord who the others serve.

It would look something like this:
Your keep and lands are not large, perhaps a day's ride across at most, and situated within Uther's kingdom. Perhaps near the forests a few days ride from Camelot. Your household swore oaths of fealty to Uther when he was younger, and you prospered under his rule. But now, you see that the land is suffering and the people under your protection suffer with it. You know that as the king, so the land, and you've heard dark rumors of Uther's doings. He has broken his oaths and abandoned his honor and so it is your duty to oppose him, though you are not strong enough to do so openly without being crushed. Your household must do many things. Offer refuge to those knights fleeing from Uther and build up your forces and your stockpiles. Provide relief to your people, who are beginning to suffer famine. Fight off raiders who are taking advantage of the weakened lands to prey upon the Kingdom. Seek out the aid of the fae, the druids, the church, and anyone else who will assist your efforts. Find Merlin and, if you're lucky, even Uther's rumored heir who could be positioned to succeed him.

As part of character creation, you'd also jointly define some specifics of your keep, the characteristics of your people and perhaps the characteristics of some other peoples if some of the characters are at the stronghold but come from elsewhere.

I realize this is a big shift, and again apologies for shuffling things up. I kind of forgot Dark Age existed and was trying to make Fellowship work as the best system I remembered while writing this up. I am much more excited to run this setup though and I do think it will be better!

Masks: BABYLON MUST FALL

[Potential 4. Insecure]

With the Annunaki in charge, no one can truly feel safe. But reading in the garden is the closest that Anathet can get. She had returned to her room and put away her Set costume in a portal for ease of access, and then simply gathered a handful of tablets. Some she kept for her own writing, some had short novels contained in them (she was really into the Hyperborea spin-off series where Jessamine, Esmeralda, and Kyouko had an unlikely team up), and one had her prize from the estate.

She tucked them into her sleeves and went out behind her little cottage to go and read in the moonlight. While one side of her little tea house had a clear view of the Seneschal's estate, on the back side, she had created a sand garden and behind that was a series of maple trees arranged in a neat grove. She had always loved the shape of the leaves and the way they turned colors during the seasons, and she loved the idea of building up a tranquil series of forest paths, so having the trees planted had been one of her first gardening decisions. It wasn't as fancy as the little rainbow falls she had crafted, but a maple grove with wandering paths set the mood of the place and allowed visitors (and the hostess) an option for tranquility and solace. She had begun planting various flowers around the bushes along with lines of hedges to better structure the experience, and one of the paths looped around to the uncovered area where the little stream and its waterfall garden was. Little steps to build up a nice space here. One that made her feel comfortable, and that pleased the Annunaki and their servants who visited. It was nice, at least, that they did appreciate her taste and she didn't have to do anything gaudy like some kind of huge sculpture of the winged cats they liked. They'd probably make her do a veil for it out of Azaleas, gods.

Evening visitors were exceptionally rare, especially at a time like this with such lockdown, and she wasn't sure whether Tia would be joining her or not after that little outburst, so she simply found a quiet spot at the base of a tree and set herself to reading.

It was not long before she was nearly quivering with excitement. Oh, this was so good. The Seneschal was in a bind, they could get anything out him. If they were careful, they might even embarrass him over it in a way that would make his rage afterwards impotent because they'd have even more blackmail material. It was probably too much to hope he could even be made into a permanent mole, but a girl could dream! At the least, they could use him to get access to, oh, maybe the Ab-Enkiji wing with its weapons and its anti-djinn laser. And perhaps she could get a hint of how to reach Tia, though that would be difficult without overplaying their hand. Ah, so many ideas, she was practically bouncing happily in her little spot by the tree, her robes rippling up and down with the motion. This was the best!