[OOC] Bifyrd-Feron Adventure [Iron Gauntlets] 3 of 4

--- STATUS REPORT ---

We are go. If you are interested in joining up, or just have questions, feel free to post up in this thread.

Tarren Mott, male human youngster (halfrogman)
Forissa of Abren, female human Priestess (maerdwyn)
Guarin of Orlebar, male human Holy Knight (dr zombie)

--- INTRODUCTION ---

I have decided to take a break from d20 in favour of a simpler system. Iron Gauntlets kept popping up in the banners, seems to fit the bill and I have it on my hard drive. So I'm going to give it a try. While having a copy of the rules would be helpful, its not required. I can help out with any of the mechanics of character generation.

Reviews can be found at RPG Blog and RPGnet

The setting is your standard vanilla medieval European fantasy. To start, I'm planning to run the BIFYRD – FERON ADVENTURES (which I snagged from the Harn website). You are welcome to join in even if you are familiar with the material. Just keep it to yourself.

--- CHARACTER GENERATION ---

Character generation is as per the basic rules, 16 points for Abilities, 30 points for Skills. No Flairs for the moment.

If you don't have the material, start with a description (the mechanics will flow pretty much from that). Try an include some indication of the character's upbringing, current vocation, personal qualities and quirks. The character will need to have some connection with the Bifyrd Manor. Something that means that when help s needed, the character's name comes to mind. Magic is an option. There are three traditions; Crafting Based (like arcane), Divinity Based, and Totem Based (shamanism).

The basics are quite simple. Below is a sample character, to give you an idea.

[sblock=Jon Harrison]Jon has lived his entire life on the manor. Like his father before him, Jon is a forester, responsible for the husbandry of the manor's well ... forests. Jon's work has left him tough, lean, and as brown as a berry. He is well acquainted with most of the manor's territory, and is as happy tramping around in winter as he is in summer. Jon is an honest man, and without a malicious bone in his body. The people of the area have come to trust him, and he has developed something of an elder statesman standing in the community despite his lack of years.

Name: Jon Harrison
Race: Male Human.
Background: Mountainfolk (2 for 1 with Survival, 1 for 3 with Streetwise, Gimmick - Resistance to Cold.)
Gimmicks: Resistance to Cold, Good Reputation (+2D bonus to Influence checks with people familiar with his reputation).
Vocation: Constable/Forester (responsible for the husbandry of the manor's forests.)
Abilities: Fitness +4, Creativity +2, Awareness +4, Reasoning +3, Influence +2.
Luck: 3
Skills: Archery +5, Brawling +3, Duelling +2, Stealth +5, Geography +5, Observation +4, Survival +6 (cost 3), Composure +3.
Equipment: Compound Bow, 10 arrows, Short Sword, Leather Cuirass, Lantern.[/sblock]

All right, I'll bite. I don't have the book, but I've been looking through the various reviews, and one even had a link to a basic system explanation. If I end up liking the game, I may pick up the book (at $7.50 its not overly expensive).


In the villages around the manors, when trouble comes and help is needed, one name springs to mind. Tarren Mott. Not that the villagers expect him to help, but they figure as he's the one causing the trouble in the first place. His father was never good for much of anything, lazy and troublesome. His mother was a good enough lady, but died birthing Tarren.

Throughout his youth, Tarren was a trouble-maker. Petty theft, causing fights, shirking his chores and lessons. He was all set for following in his father's footsteps. When his father drank himself to death, Tarren was thirteen years old. About a year has passed since then, and Tarren is trying to actually improve his life. He's reformed, mostly, but people are still quick to blame him for anything that goes wrong. Whether or not it was really his fault.

Tarren is just a kid, but eager for the chance to prove himself. If there's trouble brewing on the horizon, he will forceably inject himself into the solution. Even if he isn't wanted.

Hey halfrogman,

More than happy to have you. Its a bit of a learning experience for me too. I have had the rules for a bit, but only ever read through them.

Tarren (assistant pig keeper by any chance?). It looks like Tarren is about 14 yo. I have my reservations about playing a child. But if it is the way you want to go, let me know.

The following are just picked from the RAW based on your description. Some are better fits than others. Let me know what you like, what you don't, and any ideas you might have. Knock yourself out, I'm easy.

You get 16 Ability points to spend on 5 abilities, and 30 skill points. You roll a number of d10 based on your ability and anything under your skill rank is a success.

--- Background Options ---

Cityfolk: Doesn't sound like Tarren was raised in a city, but he has the feel of a city slicker (2 for one on Streetwise and Geopgraphy (City), 1 for 3 on Survival)
Plainsfolk: Probably the norm around B-F. Although Farming or Craft would be more appropriate than Riding I would have thought (2 for 1 on Animal Handling and Riding, 1 for 3 on Streetwise)
Ward: My favorite concept, but not a great match in some ways. If a ward of Lumin, it would put him right in the middle of things (points may be allocated to one magical ability if desired, 1 for 3 on Influence skills.)

--- Gimmick Options ---

The first seems like a shoe in. The others, well, they will give you an idea. A positive gimmick costs 1 Ability Point or 3 Skills points.
Poor Reputation*: (-2D with Influence based skills when dealing with people familier with his reputation.)
Quick-Witted: (+1D on reaction rolls.)
Sure Footed: (+1D on all rolls relying on coordination or agility.)

--- Vocation Options ---
These kind of assume the character is a little older. If you decide to keep Tarren at 14, I will probably do things a little differently (say 3 or 4 skills with few skill points and the Undersized Gimmick).
Bandit: I picked this one for the skills mostly (duelling, legerdemain, stealth, gambling, commerce, performance, streetwise, subterfuge.)

I understand having reservations about such a young character, but I'll point out a few of my thoughts behind it.

Fourteen is not actually that far from "standard adventuring age". A year or two. It's just on the cusp of adulthood.

I wanted to have a character that could have a theoretical link to Myrel. I don't know anything about the adventure you have planned, but I figured she wouldn't have been mentioned if she weren't important. A character close to her age is more likely to view her as a complete person rather than a troubled child. I liked the idea of a contemporary for her.

I envisioned a character that wasn't much of a fighter, he shouldn't be going toe to toe with someone trying to kill him. Being small and seemingly non-threatening makes for easier escape, subterfuge, etc.

All that said, I'll leave the final decision to you. I don't want to step on your toes in your game. But so far, it looks like I'm your only player Perhaps we could work something out together.

--------------------------------

Mechanical type stuff.

The Ward background does actually sound like it could make for some interesting story ideas. I suppose if his father died earlier, he could have been taken in as a ward/servant by Lumin. Perhaps this could provide a link with Myrel. But I'd need a new impetus for reform, unless the adventure hook itself could work as one.

The magic could be interesting, perhaps as a dabbler/hobby. Are the different paths divided similarly to D&D or is it more open?

After sleeping on it, I suspect that I am being overly careful. Lets try it, and see.

I think you can keep your original concept. Tarren's father or mother was a cousin of Lumin, then it wouldn't be surprising for Tarren to have been taken in. I like the idea of Taaren being friends with Myrel. He could still be something of a tear-away, but perhaps Myrel's influence (or a feeling of responsiblity towards her) is giving Tarren reason to re-consider his life. An attachment to Myrel works ...

I agree that 14 is only a few years from adulthood. But it still puts the character a fair way from the type of range and depth of skills of a regular starting character. I'm thinking 5 skills and 15 skill points. Give me a idea of the types of things Tarren is good at, I'll give you some skills. I'm thinking along the lines of Subterfuge (INF), Legerdemain (FIT), Stealth (FIT), Observation (AWA), Composure (--). Something like that.

I also think I am going to get Give Tarren the a Child Gimmick. Children are generally not listened to in the way other adults are, and are other adults generally try and keep children from harm. But children are often underestimated by adults (+1D when trying to convince adults of your harmlessness or innocence, -2D when trying to persuade adults to take you seriously.)

Crafting is the closest to Arcane magic of dnd. There are a number of skills, like Fabrica Mentis (manipulation of the mind) and Fabrica Sensis (manipulation of the senses). What sort of feel do you have in mind? Divinity is Cleric like stuff, and Totem is druid like stuff.

thotd

Hmmm, well if I'm going to be a ward, I should change my name to Burt. . . or Dick Grayson.

I guess we should discuss the over-abundance of players at some point, too

I've always wanted to try out a solo game, but I don't know if that's something you want, or if the adventure would support it in any way. But I'm interested in this character, and I'd hate to see the game die because of a lack of people.

I'm going to go ahead and trust you on the skills, they seem like they cover the range. Lying, picking pockets, hiding, keeping an eye out for anyone trying to find him, and (now) trying not to do any of that stuff, even if he wants to.

I'm guess the child gimmick could work. Presumably in place of "bad reputation"? Because otherwise at -4D interactions it looks like every adult in the village would regard me as "Kill-on-Sight". Is that a negative gimmick? And do positives balance out negatives (quick-witted and bad reputation = no point cost)?

I guess for magic I was considering simple "prestidigitation" type spells, but it's not really central to the concept, so I think I'll pass on it. It'll probably be easier if I stick to the original idea.

This is what I have so far.
[sblock=Character]Name: Tarren Mott
Race: Male Human.
Background: Ward (points may be allocated to one magical ability if desired, 1 for 3 on Influence skills.)
Gimmicks:
Vocation: Hoodlum (youth with bad habits)
Abilities: Fitness +2, Creativity +3, Awareness +5, Reasoning +4, Influence +2.
Luck: 3
Skills: Subterfuge +3 (cost: 1), Legerdemain +4, Stealth +4, Observation +4, Composure +2
Equipment: Knife.[/sblock]

Edit: Just realized I was kind of confused. Wards get penalized on influence/social skills? 1 for 3 not verse vica?

After posting about the Child Gimmick, I began to wonder about the wisdom of it. I want to keep the game as fluid and freewheeling as possible. Is a Gimmick or number for everything needed? Eventually I decided to keep it, but more as a mental note. It does help keep everyone on the same page. I think I will also add in -1 FIT for strength related activities and +1 FIT for activities involving agility or flexibility)

I don't think its a positive or negative, more like a neutral Gimmick. Obviously, the character will grow out of it. Positives and negatives do effectively cancel out. The negative give +1 or +3, the positive -1 or -3 ability or skill points.

Interesting point about the Child/Poor Reputation synergy. But then, can you imagine the villagers taking your character seriously if he can to them with a story about ogres in the forests, or that the new priest is actually an imposter. Especially after all those pranks and incidents, like the 'ghost in the barn' (for example). I think it works.

The 1 for 3 with INFLUENCE skills kind of threw me as well. I'm happy to allow a 2 for 1 on Subterfuge in this case. Especially with only 15 skill points.

Luck is d6/2 (round up) +1. Convoluted. Pick a number if you want.

I can go with one character. I generally prefer around 4 to 5. But the first adventure would be relatively easy to set up with just Tarren. It may be harder to handle though. Not so much in a combat sense, however. It would make for interesting RP I think, as Taaren wouldn't be in charge of the situation in the conventional sense.

Lets fisnish up here, and aim for a Monday kick off with whoever is on board by then.

thotd

[sblock=Tarren Mott]In the villages around the manors, when trouble comes and help is needed, one name springs to mind. Tarren Mott. Not that the villagers expect him to help, but they figure as he's the one causing the trouble in the first place.

His mother was a cousin of some sort to Lumin's father, a nice enough lady until she died in childbirth. His father never did a day's work in his life, a lazy sort, living off his wife's connections until he eventually drank himself to death a few years after his wife. Tarren was taken in as a ward of the manor.

Throughout his youth, Tarren was a trouble-maker. Petty theft, causing fights, shirking his lessons, no sense of responsibility. He was all set for following in his father's footsteps. He eventually alienated just about everyone he knew. Except Myrel, for whatever reason she never gave up on him. As a result, she is just about the only one who ever got to see his good side.


Name: Tarren Mott
Race: Male Human.
Background: Ward (points may be allocated to one magical ability if desired, 2 for 1 on Influence skills.)
Gimmicks: Poor Reputation: (-2D with Influence based skills when dealing with people familier with his reputation.); Quick-Witted: (+1D on reaction rolls.)
Vocation: Hoodlum (youth with bad habits)
Abilities: Fitness +2, Creativity +3, Awareness +5, Reasoning +4, Influence +2.
Luck: 3
Skills: Subterfuge +2 (cost: 1), Legerdemain +4, Stealth +4, Observation +4, Composure +2
Equipment: Knife.
Notes: Child, Small Build[/sblock]

OK, the IC thread is up here. . Knock yourself out. I am aiming for a free-wheeling sort of game with most of the action done narratively. Tarren has not been invited to the meeting obviously

thotd

halfrogman,

Having spent some time in the DM rolls everything camp, I am now more in the players roll their own dice camp (with some exceptions). It make games more managable if nothing else. So, unless you really want me to roll, you can roll your own dice for the sneak check.

thotd