3.5e Planescape - Cold Black Mask OOC Thread

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

I'd also like to bring up a point.

I know I don't post nearly as much as everyone else. Part of this is because I've been busy the last month (getting married, then adjusting to married life). However, part of this is because Pierce is, by nature, a reticient individual. Reared for a life of combat, her social skills have suffered. A good bodyguard isn't supposed to force her opinion on her employer. I know this puts me in the extreme minority of the other characters, all of whom have some social skills or quirks, and this is my own fault for building a combat machine for a game that has a lot of roleplaying.

However, Cage-Rattler has graciously put in several situations where Pierce can contribute, notably some connections to Acheron, demons and devils, and Blood War mercenaries. I've tried to contribute when these items come up, but I feel because of my low posting rate it's very easy for Pierce's comments, offers, and suggestions to be buried beneath the avalanche of everyone else's posts.

In short, people forget she's there.

In keeping with her character background, which is she's trying to prove her worth by having someone be willing to hire her, she's more than once delicately inquired of Sindr if her services will be required beyond this first day. No one's addressed that. She wasn't able to directly participate in the battles (she didn't really do any damage, Sindr did more). So she's basically feeling like she's failed in her last test of worth.

And so have I.

Is it worth it to have Pierce in this game? The plot seems intriguing, but I feel like I'm a gray ghost, gliding along behind the party, then standing in the corner like a statue.

If Pierce has come to the end of her dubious worth, I've left an opening for her to go now. I can try to post more if you all want to keep her around, but she simply not as garrolous as the others when it comes to anything except things revolving around combat. I can branch off of that with related experiences from other mercenaries, but since she's relatively low-level, I don't want to assume too much knowledge. She's not a scholar, but she should know about battles and weapons and fiends (withint limits). But when it comes to speculating about the mask, she can only offer speculations about its defense. Is that going to be enough?

 

[Ambrus]

I'm not certain what to say about Pierce. But then again, I'm not entirely certain what to say about the rest of the party either. Our characters are in an odd situation considering that none of us have known each other longer than a day; except for our background relationship with Hagen. István trusts Heinrich and Sindr largely because they're friends of Hagen who his wife likewise trusted enough to ask for aid. The fact that they selflessly agreed to enter a strange portal in search for István's friend speaks well of them. István also knows that Heinrich is a priest of a Tyr, a righteous god, and so affords him a fair amount of respect and deference because of it. Sindr is rather strange in appearance and mercurial in demeanor but he's proven to be damnably effective in battle if nothing else.

Everyone else however is something of a blur of strange faces for me. Pierce, Anthony, Cang, Sonata and Vervain... What to say about them? Their interests and motives are unknown and largely suspect considering their eagerness to ingratiate themselves with the newly arrived primes. The fact that a shadowy association of infernalists and thugs are after the primes doesn't help build trust and goodwill at the moment. As is, István is hard-pressed to trust Sonata and Vervain (who seem to know a little too much) and already suspects Anthony of having betrayed his group. Honestly, if it wasn't for the blinking PC light over the head of each of these characters, István would likely seek to disassociate himself from all of them.

Pierce and Cang seem helpful and friendly, but to István at least, Pierce is just awfully strange in appearance. In his experience, creatures with barbed skin are infernal abominations in need of slaying. István might have objected to Sindr hiring her on as a mercenary, but he kept his tongue because Sindr himself is fairly odd in appearance and something of a stranger to the gnome himself. That she didn't do much except issue challenges during the boarding house raid hasn't done much to convince him that hiring her was a good move. In her defense, Pierce does seem to know something of the mask and its origins. Unfortunately though, István hasn't been able to make sense of anything she's said; much like his interactions with Sonata.

I haven't responded to much of what Pierce has said because (aside from getting lost in the shuffle of the slew of PC and NPC interactions) she's also Sindr's hireling and responsibility. I figured it'd make more sense if he were the one to speak with her and respond to her ideas.

 

[Shayuri]

I haven't been around long enough to weigh in concretely on this. I just want to add a voice of encouragement. Admittedly, I've only dealt with one other character so far, but he hasn't listened to me either.

Maybe it's more of an IC thing than an OOC? I cannot say yet.

I know I would try very hard to respond to you though, and I am not an olympic class poster either...far from it!

 

[Ambrus]

Admittedly, I've only dealt with one other character so far, but he hasn't listened to me either.

Well that's different. Pierce is just freaky looking. Sonata on the other hand is pretty, but obnoxious and rude.

 

[Dire Lemming]

Man, if Anthony were here he'd want to give Pierce a hug.

Don't go jumping ship just yet Isida! Now that you've said that I'm sure folks will be a bit more receptive to Pierce. Anthony would have if he hadn't wandered off and everything.

As for Anthony's motivation, I thought it was fairly clear that it was your money.

 

[Shayuri]

lol

Obnoxious and rude, eh?

Maybe I need to re-think her then, cuz that's not what I was trying for.

 

[Dire Lemming]

I think Istvan just has a different idea of Obnoxious than most folks, what with being so short and quiet and all that.

 

[Ambrus]

Well, Sonata did call István "barmy" and "clueless" only moments after they met. That'd probably pass as being hospitable in Sigil, but back in the Realms it'd just be called rude.

Maybe if she'd helped István drag the reave 300 yards back to the boarding house the gnome would like her better, but as is he simply sees her as something of a jabbering tag-along who claims to have saved his life.

Look at it this way: his opinion of her can only improve, right?

 

[Dire Lemming]

I don't know... She could start kicking him repeatedly for no reason. That would probably lower his opinion of her.

 

[Shayuri]

Hahaha

She did try to stop herself from calling him Clueless, but you've got a good point. He couldn't know that "Clueless" means something more than a personal insult in Sigil.

And of course she didn't help him drag the Reave because she didn't want him to drag it in there.

So it makes sense. She of course feels much the same about him.