Hank

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

Chapter One

Falkreath hold, 21st of Sun’s Height, 4E202

They had found the barrow’s entrance hidden at the bottom of a ditch in the forest floor behind thick undergrowth, exactly where Sjara had told Hector where it'd be. She had been the one to discover the undisturbed tomb during her rangings and had shared the discovery with Hector over a mug of ale in the inn's common room a few nights ago. It hadn't taken long to gather a party of willing and able-bodied men and women to go dungeon-diving after that. Upon their arrival Hector had decided they would set up camp in the shade of the ditch for a little while to catch their breath and have something to eat. A full stomach was a necessity before exploring ancient ruins and Hector's insistence on leaving Falkreath at dawn probably left more than one person hungry and without a chance to eat their breakfast.

It was around noon and Hector was gazing at the stone door set into the damp earth. There was no obvious locking mechanism he could see, but no way to open the door that was immediately apparent to him either. Grooves, both geometric and circular in shape, were cut into the stone. He stroked his chin with his gauntleted right hand for a few seconds while staring, his eyes following the grooves, but merely assuming the pose of a thinker wasn’t enough. He -- or someone else -- would figure it out later. No rush. He looked over his shoulder and observed the group for a little while; they were gathered around a campfire fueled with wooden logs that Skall had expertly chopped down into size, eating game that Sjara had hunted down for them, and the Imperial was pleased to hear them talking amongst themselves. Interaction was good for morale. His eyes lingered on Cyrus Vensor IV, wondering what to make of the man and his Stormcloak officer's fur cloak. Hector would recognize that look anywhere for the rest of his life.

He suddenly became aware of the Dunmer's presence, Balen Oril, hovering over his shoulder. Hector looked up at the elf's face and resisted the urge to laugh at his large, bulbous eyes. That would take some getting used to.

"This is the place," Hector said in a low voice, "but I'm not familiar with a door such as this. Are you?"

The colossally tall Dunmer did not mind Hector’s reflexive and immediately hidden smirk. It was not unusual for people to be unnerved by his prominent gaze; Balen too knew that its intensity could create an almost molesting effect, and he was no exception to its discomfort. Even he himself could get startled by his gaze on occasion, after unexpected encounters with mirrors.

Taking a bite from the smoked sardine held by the fingertips of his left hand as an answer to the Imperial’s question, the Dunmer began chewing on the bite, while eyeing the door with an inspective, determined gaze that made him look like he was heavily focused on deducing its secrets. Occasionally, he exclaimed a detached ‘hmm’, as if on the edge of telling Hector the answer. Yet instead he kept looking further, taking his time. Afterwards, he took another bite from the sardine and began chewing it, again, all too slowly. After an eternity spent reducing the bite to an easily gulpable mush, he swallowed it and turned to the Imperial with a smug expression; an expression that one could surely claim betrayed his triumph over the door.

"There’s no lock," the Dunmer said, nodding slowly as if to strengthen his claim.

Hector's eyebrows slowly rose while he waited for the Dunmer to speak and make his observations clear. His gaze flitted from Balen's face to the sardine he was devouring, to the door itself, and back again. When Balen shared his brilliant deduction at last and nodded sagely, the Imperial remained quiet for a few seconds and stared at Balen expressionlessly.

"Quite right," he replied in a languid tone. "But I was hoping for something a little less obvious, Balen. I'll ask the Khajiit about it if you think the workings of this door are beyond you," he added. The corners of Hector's mouth curled into a faint half-smile and betrayed the jest in his words.

"Oh, I thought about it myself, but then again, there is no lock. Thus, she is not necessary at this point," Balen replied to Hector, his voice slightly more passionate as to not annoy the Imperial further with his monotone musing, and entertain the man’s obvious wish to stir him up – Balen was certain that Hector had added that last remark about the cat-woman to poke at his pride and get him to actual work. He put his right hand under his chin to think for a moment, and then twirled the tips of his whisker-like mustache afterwards.

"I see two, or rather, three possibilities. One is that those grooves on the door can be activated by pressure. The second is that it is opened by magic, or perhaps a word, but then again, I expect that there would be a riddle if that were the case. The third is that there’s a lever and we haven’t found it yet."

Balen raised his left hand up to his face, looking meditatively at the remainder of the sardine, lost in deep thought. He then turned his head to Hector, raising his eyebrows for a moment. "The first theory is the easiest to put to test, isn’t it?" he asked, then, having given his advice, threw the rest of the sardine in his mouth.

"Ah, pressure plates," Hector said and nodded in understanding. Quite advanced for such an ancient society, he thought, but being confined to history had never stopped the dwarves or the wild elves before. He reached out and began feeling and pushing against the grooves and the smooth stone inbetween, methodically working his way down the door. About halfway through something gave and, accompanied by the grating noise of rock-on-rock, the door split down the middle and opened, an unseen mechanism pulling the two halves aside.

It was pitch black inside. The daylight did not seem to penetrate very far into the corridor that lay beyond, and the air that wafted out was musty, thick with dust and dry as a desert. Hector covered his mouth with his hand, coughed, and averted his head before taking a big gulp of crisp forest air. "Well," he said, and slowly turned back to look into the darkness. "That worked. Thank you, Balen."

"We all do what we have to do," Balen replied, seemingly not come any closer to the door, most likely in hopes of waiting out for the crisp forest air of Falkreath to cut through the sickly air of the tomb with its sharp, pine-flavored gust. And indeed, he kept standing still for a few moments after, looking at the ground with his jaw resting on his hand, and then raised his head back at Hector. "You don’t want to go in so quickly," he said knowingly. "Let’s wait for the air inside to be refreshed. Hundreds of years of death in there, at the very least. It gets you dizzy without you knowing it," he said, turning his head slightly the campfire behind him, gauging his colleagues from the corner of his eye. "You’d be surprised how easily it clouds your judgment and your footing."

Hector looked a little skeptical at Balen's explanation at first, still unacquainted with the nature of tombs and dungeons, but decided to take the Dunmer's word for it and shrugged. "Very well," he said amicably and turned his back to the darkness that awaited them for now. His eyes went over the gathered party and he thought about each of them in turn.

Skall was, should he remain in control of his faculties, very useful to have around. The Nord's great size and choice of weapon reminded Hector of Galmar Stone-Fist, a positive comparison for sure, and Hector hoped that the Thirsty would prove himself just as fearsome in combat. The moniker was a slight source of concern, however.

Raelynn was a healer and healers were worth their weight in gold, but Hector had already noticed her upturned nose at the filth of the forest floor and the simple, rustic food. Her robe seemed far too beautiful and fragile to be worn by a field-mage and he wondered if she wasn't better suited for a life of comfort and security in the high spires of some fortified institution of magical learning. Only time would tell.

Daro'Vasora was a Khajiit and Hector still associated their race with trouble and thievery, but they were as skilled as they were mischievous and Hector hoped the Khajiit would behave enough to make her inclusion into the party worth it. Other than that he found her hard to read, unused to their facial features and expressions, and honestly did not really know what to expect.

Lord Cyrus Vensor IV... a peculiar man, and Hector once again fixated on the bear that his fellow Imperial wore over his armor. The war was over and Hector had never held any hatred for the Stormcloaks and their rebellion. He understood their emotions but did not agree with their methods. Weakening the Empire would only weaken them all. Skyrim would not be able to defend itself from the Dominion should the Empire fall. All Imperials knew this, or so had Hector thought. Either way, it was good to have another soldier with heavy armor and a thick shield, if only so the rest of the party had someone to hide behind.

Sjara, the "Elf-Daughter", the one who had found this tomb in the first place. She seemed reasonable, if a little restless, and Hector had smiled at her eagerness to get this mission underway. The skill of the Bosmer with the bow was legendary and Hector was sure he would appreciate her markswomanship in the dangers to come.

And last but not least, Balen Oril. Hector glanced up at him from the corners of his eyes. He was the most puzzling person in this party, for sure, and seemed the most out of place, but Hector knew that appearances could be deceiving. Especially when it came to the grim and reserved dark elves. Hector had a gut feeling he would find himself relying on the Dunmer's advice and knowledge quite frequently.

Hector cleared his throat and stood up straight, grabbing the party's attention through sheer projection of authority. "Good news; this is indeed the place," he said, and gestured at the open gate behind him. "Balen thought it best to wait a little while for fresh air to cycle through and I'm inclined to believe he is right. It is very dusty in there now. So, enjoy your food for now. Rest while you can. Become acquainted with one another. We leave in thirty minutes."

Warhammer 40k: The Eternal Fight for Freedom - Penal Legion RP (Looking for cannon fodder!)

<Snipped quote by Amaranth>

Whelp, I thought it was time for some

Action!

Action!

Action!

So...yea.

@Jbcool

If you're gonna make it like a

TRUE SURVIVOR

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

<Snipped quote by Hank>
Should've put money down on it!

I hope y'all liked me incorporating the fact that Sjara is a native to the Falkreath area and just so happens to be a hunter. I tried to subtly integrate into that little summary of the RP you initially gave us about the RP's premise the best I could. I think I naaaaaaaaaaailed it.

@Inkarnate

Oh. You know, I hadn't even realised that, but it makes perfect sense. I'll incorporate that into our post.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

@Peik and I are writing a collab that establishes the scene at the entrance to the Nordic tomb in the forests of Falkreath. Please hold.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

<Snipped quote by Hank>

And I personally feel strongly about not putting all my cards on the table and revealing everything there is to know about my character before the story even begins. If you picked up a book, and the author immediately tells you what kind of character each person is, how trustworthy they are, their ultimate goal... where's the fun in that? Where's the mystery? If I say he likes to backstab people, or has a strong sense of honor/selflessness... there won't be any surprise if he betrays the group or gives his life to save one of them. His personality is also going to be in back of the other players' minds when they have their characters' deal with him, and whether they are aware of it or not could affect their characters' behavior towards him... hence why I tend to avoid reading other people's personalities when I go through their sheets, in order to make my characters' interactions feel as genuine as possible.

Why do you need to know how the group members are going to mesh with each other? Isn't the entire premise supposed to be that a group of unaffiliated adventurers came together for an adventure? They don't know each other, and it's more fun to see their relationships develop as the story progresses, rather than be able to predict them before the characters are even introduced. Whether they all turn out to hate or befriend each other, it's a surprise. Now, if you're specifically looking for characters who will all get along, or all become bitter rivals, then that's something you should have said at the beginning. If you're simply looking for a diverse past, then enough information has already been shared through my character's appearance, backstory, and abilities, to make him significantly unique from everyone else.

And haven't you ever heard of the phrase "Show, don't tell"?

Honestly, in the personality section I straight-up told you I intended to reveal his personality over the roleplay, and it wasn't my preference to reveal it all in the character sheet. If it really was a dealbreaker, you could have told me that and I would have added it in. Instead you led me to believe I had a chance, and I hung around here checking out other characters and talking to people, and then you just rejected me. My refusal to initially fill out the personality section says nothing about what I'm like in a roleplay. You yourself said the character and bio were good except for that one section, which I would have filled out had you simply asked.

As for me not putting 'Marne' into my bio... I actually did read your rules when the thread first came out. Then I had to walk away from my computer to do other things, and by the time I got back it had slipped my mind. Maybe it's because I'm used to roleplaying in a small tight-knit community where everyone is familiar with each other so we have no need for rule-trapping like that, but it's been years since I actually came across one of those so I wasn't on lookout for it. But yeah, I did mess up there.

Anyways, this isn't meant to come across as a rant - just an explanation of why I did what I did, a defense of my roleplaying habits, and some counter-criticism.

@Not Fishing

@Inkarnate already said everything I was going to say. I think you and I are used to different styles of roleplaying. I don't actually like being surprised. I often plan ahead with other players what our characters are going to do and having a fleshed-out personality to draw on helps me decide which characters would be good or fun to interact with. It's easier to plan a disagreement or a fight if you can tell what would set that character off and subsequently fit the writing to make that scene believable, for example, but that doesn't prevent relationships from developing unexpectedly over time. Context is powerful and two people who might seem very different from the get-go could still end becoming fast friends or lovers if they survive hardships together. That doesn't require a blank sheet.

On top of that, I do indeed use the sheet to judge the character and your ability to write, and I didn't leave you an option in the setup of the sheet to leave something blank. With these levels of interest I will give priority to everyone who followed the instructions completely over someone who didn't, and I deliberately didn't give anyone a chance to address the issues with their sheets beforehand by informing them of what my criticism was going to be. You were no exception.

And "let the personality/history come out in the RP" is (or was, I'm an old fart) basically a meme about bad roleplayers here on RPG. Our culture is different than what you're used to, I think.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

Alright boys and girls, here we go. First things first, Peik is unexpectedly occupied this evening so his reviews will follow later. We did agree on the lineup for the first mission, however, so fear not; this is indeed the moment of truth. Jbcool dropped out for the time being and will re-apply with a different character later.

I would also quickly like to note that many of the concerns I raised in my reviews actually apply to Hector Sibassius himself, namely that he's pretty bland -- that's because he's 50% character and 50% an in-story GM authority vehicle, so he's excused.

Seriously though, let's roll.

---

1. Megana Corvus, @Greenie
There is honestly nothing wrong with Meg as a character. Her history and her personality make sense (though "my parents are dead and now I want to see the world" is a very common story; on the flipside I like her interactions with the Khajiit caravans), the sheet is descriptive enough and the use of English is perfectly legible. The equipment is sensibly modest and the sentimental value is a nice touch and her reasons for becoming an adventurer are very believable -- we see the same thing from many Skyrim characters, like Erik the Slayer. Her only problem is that she doesn't stand out among the stiff competition of this round of applications. There is no particular quirk or oddity about her that makes her truly interesting. That said, I would like to see Megana join the party at a later point after you've addressed these points. Make her pop. Right now, when forced to choose between so many great characters, she falls just a little short.

2. Tóra Gunnarsdotter, @Applo
Tora and Megana are pretty similar characters and sheets in the sense that there isn't anything wrong or illogical about Tora either and she would be a fine fit for the party... if it weren't for the competition. She is also in the unfortunate position of being one of three characters with archery as one of their Major skills, and similarly one of the many characters that are or were hunters at some point. Tora's sheet also feels, despite the reasonably lengthy history, a little bare in the most of the sections, especially the personality. Strong-but-silent type with only schadenfreude and resenting family-talk as noteworthy points doesn't feel like a real, fleshed-out person. I would like to see Tora expanded on some more, like Meg, before accepting her in the future.

3. Sjara "Elf-Daughter", @Inkarnate
The execution of this sheet is great -- it's pretty to look at, descriptive enough to get the point across and well-written. Out of the various hunter-archetype characters that were submitted this is definitely the best one. I like her history, the realistic amount of racism that she faced and the effect it's had on her personality, which you described very well. She feels real and whole and, like you said, ready to take on the world. Our only concern is that she could fall into the trap of merely "being there", or as Peik put it to me, "adept archery training NPC-levels of presence". Make sure you find ways for Sjara to express herself and be involved in the group dynamics. Other than that, well done!

4. Daro'Vasora, @Dervish
This is definitely the sheet that impressed me the most, and I think everyone here will understand that. The attention to detail is immaculate. You once expressed to me that you admired my descriptiveness when I was pitching sheets for another RP to you, Dervish, but you've outdone yourself with this one for sure. The history is extensive and sensible while also being adventurous and interesting. Your knowledge of the Elder Scrolls world beyond Skyrim shines through in Vasora's youth in Cyrodiil, and of course you used the correct Khajiiti prefix for her name. The amount of habits and quirks you've described in her personality and miscellaneous sections is fantastic and makes her seem very very real, and you carved out a great niche for her in the group with her utilitarian skillset. All in all this sheet makes me wish I spent much more time developing Hector's, even though I know him very well inside my own head.

5. Lord Vensor IV, @Hekazu
There are a lot of things I really like about this character. The way you've enthousiastically interwoven his history with the recent geopolitical events in Skyrim so tightly is cool, even if it was to our own detriment initially because you had to rewrite a chunk of his past after I finally elaborated on the barebones information I provided at first. But the strongest virtue of Lord Vensor is his flawed nature. "Disgraced aristocrat" is a common trope but I think it's a good one, and I know Peik is a big fan of characters that are past their prime and bitter about it. He also slots into the party well as a second authority figure when Sibassius is incapable to lead, but more interesting is the potential for the butting of heads between the two and other members of the party -- not because Vensor is needlessly a dick, but because of who he believes he is and what his status should be. It's believable (even moreso because he's secretly a coward) and I see a lot of potential for natural conflict there, which his good. My biggest gripe is that his appearance is described a little weird and I have a difficult time actually picturing what he looks like.

6. Raelynn Hawkford, @Stormflyx
No adventuring party is complete without a healer, eh? That's one of several reasons to accept Raelynn, but more important are reasons similar to what I wrote about Vensor; she's believably flawed. Her pampered upbringing and snooty nature lend themselves perfectly for suffering in the tragic conditions the party will undoubtedly find themselves in underground and I like how she's superficially sweet but secretly shrewd and a tad greedy. It's a refreshing change of pace from healers that do so out of a poorly-motivated sense of altruism and benevolence. Her temper is also a nice counterpoint to Hector's patience. All in all, I think she'll make a great addition to the party and I look forward to reading about her antics with the group.

7. Judena Callisar, @DearTrickster
You win huge points for sheer creativity and originality here. The idea of an Argonian mage with such a significant weakness as short-term memory loss tickles my funny-bone in all the right places and we're big fans of the concept and quirkiness of the character. That said, you admitted to me that the sheet would be a lot more polished if you had more time and I believe it's better to give you that time now. There are still awkward turns of phrase and other grammatical errors in the sheet and some things about her history don't logically line up with the rest of the character without some further explanation. Why Mysticism, for example? How did she end up learning that school of magic and why did she choose it over something more practical, like Destruction? Peik and I also had our doubts about the hidden stashes you mention in her sheet. It seems unlikely for a lone treasure hunter to find enough valuables to have not just one, but several hidden stashes of items. On top of that, why didn't she sell her discoveries? Peik is better at explaining these concerns so I'll leave it to him to elaborate further. We definitely want Judena in the RP, make no mistake, but when the last character slot became a choice between Sjara and Judena, I felt obligated to go with the character I can accept right out of the gate over the more unique and interesting one that still needs some work. Please don't be discouraged -- we'll work with you to iron everything out and then I'm sure Judena will be a fantastic, hilarious and endearing addition to the crew.

7. Kalthar Tarrowhand, @Altered Tundra
I appreciate the amount of effort that went into this character sheet. You were quite descriptive, covered all the important events of Kalthar's life (which is a little excessive in its grimness and tragedy, perhaps), chose a sensible skillset, remained modest with the equipment and many of the elements that make Lord Vensor an interesting character are also a part of Kalthar's personality and history... but it still felt off. Your writing style comes across as a little disjointed. The personality section (for example) restates some facts about his character at least twice, like how he's blunt and speaks his mind, and it isn't apparent why he's a bit of a cunt precisely. His father is described as both honorable and a child-beating asshole in the same sheet and I'm not sure if Kalthar looked up to his father or despised him. The latter seems to be the case with Kalthar leaving him to die and fleeing, which I thought was a great twist, but it doesn't have a believable impact on his character as outlined in the sheet. You describe his motivations as 'vague', which I agree with, but that's not a good thing. As a player and a GM I should be able to divine what is that Kalthar wants out of life, but I don't feel like it's apparent now. When it came down to Vensor and Tarrowhand in the category "prickly guy with heavy armor" we leaned towards the former. He has many of the same characteristics as Kalthar but the execution and the motivation for the flaws are just a bit better. If you straighten these issues out and create a bigger correlation between his history and his personality, Kalthar has the potential to be a very interesting and polarizing character.
PS. Why would General Tullius recognize a lowly soldier?

8. Darius Arenar @Not Fishing
The idea of a bard tagging along with the company to record their adventures and heroics for posterity is a good one, and I like Darius' history and his motivation for signing up on the trip. There is one big, gaping hole of a problem, however, and that is the empty personality section. I understand it can be hard to pin down a character without having played them and they might turn out to be quite different over the course of the story, but the personality section is a large part of my ability to judge the character's internal consistency and ability to mesh with (or appropriately conflict with) the group, and simply to judge how fun they are to play with. Right now, accepting Darius would be like a coin toss. I have no idea what to expect. I could have said something about this earlier and given you a chance to add a personality before this moment but I feel strongly about providing complete character sheets and I have my doubts about a roleplayer who does not (yet) understand that. Peik said it more harshly; it feels like a cop-out. But I see the potential here and I am definitely willing to take another look at Darius later if the sheet is entirely filled out.
PS. The word 'Marne' wasn't included anywhere, which was one of the rules.

9. Roland Corvo @Oak7ree
I have very little to say about Roland, because you know I already like the character and his history with Hector. This mostly just came down to us running out of slots. When compared to other character sheets this time around, Roland's personality section is very short and not very informative. It gives a glimpse at the man, a hint at what he's like in large, silhouette strokes, but lacks detail. The criticism that I offered some of the others, namely that they didn't stand out enough, is even moreso true of Roland. The history, on the other hand, is just as detailed as I'd reasonably expect of anyone, and the other sections are just fine as-is. If you're interested in joining later when more slots open (which I would like), try to expand on Roland some more. Read some of the other sheets here for inspiration.

---

So with that in mind, the accepted characters are Lord Vensor IV, Raelynn Hawkford, Sjara "Elf-Daughter" and Daro'Vasora. Congratulations guys! Please post these sheets without hider in the Characters tab.

As for everyone else, fret not. All of the characters are good enough to be welcome in the RP later on, provided you assuage my concerns with the necessary edits and additions. It was a difficult task to choose the current roster and Peik and I went back-and-forth on several decisions. Close calls all round. You will all take priority over anyone else wishing to join, and considering there's so many of you now I will be closing applications for this RP for the foreseeable future.

Warhammer 40k: The Eternal Fight for Freedom - Penal Legion RP (Looking for cannon fodder!)

Fine by me. Let's go die somewhere.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

It is currently 11:37 where I am. I will be home from work around 20:00 and that's when I'll wrap up the reviews and Peik and I make the final decision... for now, of course. Friendly reminder that anyone rejected for round one can join later.

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

I personally recommend the Gravity and Fury movie soundtracks by Steven Price for suspense/combat scenes, especially "Tiger Battle".

The Elder Scrolls: Swords & Septims

She was already posted somewhere in the thread, @Inkarnate. I didn't imply you had to do that twice.