[Burning THAC0] B2: The Keep on the Borderlands (ooc/setup)

[Mathalus]

Now that sounds like a good time had by all.

Hurry up and throw your characters in the other thread guys! We've got rabble to rouse!

 

[engrishonly]

Could some of the spies, near the top of the organization be facedancers/skindancers? The whole idea behind House Tleil'laxu (and the mention of selkie blood) was to have a medieval version of the Bene Tleilax.

I just flipped through the Character Burner. I didn't see a doppelganger song.

It doesn't mean we can't burn up one... but it seems more akin to Sorcery or some Mannish magic. It's not really an "Elven" thing, in the Tolkienesque context of BW, since Elves are a purer expression of the "song of creation" - why change form when you are perfect?

So, options & ideas.
1) New Elven song. Break the context of Tolkien-style Elves.
2) Ditch the doppelgangers. Use Threne of the Chameleon instead, and say the Tleil'laxu are mostly uber-isolationist, stern Rangers... Borderline Dark Elves.
3) Use Fey-blooded Humans (Half Elves) with the Gift for the Facedancers.

 

[HandofMystra]

Belief 1. There exist ruins with artifacts that I can use somehow to increase the dignity of the Traladarans and their ancient lines of leaders.
Sorry that I have been so quiet; I feels like a lot to digest

 

[engrishonly]

Belief 1. There exist ruins with artifacts that I can use somehow to increase the dignity of the Traladarans and their ancient lines of leaders.
Sorry that I have been so quiet; I feels like a lot to digest

Trying any new game is a lot. Let us know what needs more clarification.

A lot of this Belief process is communication & understanding. There's leaps that we have to make, in bringing this stuff together under a shared banner... but it's important to the process of "character burning".

well, my plane is about to board. I'll have comments about the Belief later. It's a good start.

 

[Voidrazor]

My original idea (though I'm not married to it) was that House Tleil'laxu is human, but due to intermarriage with selkies many many generations ago, some of them have a special trait. That trait allows them to skin other humans and wear the skin as a magical disguise. Now the head of House Tleil'laxu just wants to maintain his own powerbase, many leagues from the borderlands. His firstborn son wants to supplant him. But its his second son Cynfaen is highly ambitious. Its Cynfaen who is setting up spy circles throughout the land, lead by skindancer cousins and nephews, but composed of anyone who seems useful. Vellekhyr probably doesn't know about his employer's abilities or affiliations, being content to make a few coins while gathering information that he himself might be able to use.

A Bene Geserit equivalent would be cool too. Perhaps one of the Traladaran houses is composed of matriarchal witches. Or they might work better in charge of one of the religions. If the reverend mother is the head of the Church of Karameikos, there could be a whole papacy dynamic, i.e. the Church supports Karameikos' expansionism (to spread the word) but is a rival for control of the realm.

Should we burn up another house for the Keep to be part of? In addition to stealing stuff from Dune I'd love to grab things from George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. IMO, that series should be the goto for any BW campaign.

 

[Mathalus]

I just flipped through the Character Burner. I didn't see a doppelganger song.

It doesn't mean we can't burn up one... but it seems more akin to Sorcery or some Mannish magic. It's not really an "Elven" thing, in the Tolkienesque context of BW, since Elves are a purer expression of the "song of creation" - why change form when you are perfect?

So, options & ideas.
1) New Elven song. Break the context of Tolkien-style Elves.
2) Ditch the doppelgangers. Use Threne of the Chameleon instead, and say the Tleil'laxu are mostly uber-isolationist, stern Rangers... Borderline Dark Elves.
3) Use Fey-blooded Humans (Half Elves) with the Gift for the Facedancers.

I don't think you have to break context or create a new song. Maybe you could use Antiphon Union to combine Discerner and Song of Form.

If you want a Tolkien-esque precedent of Elven disguising magic, look to Beren and Luthien entering Angband.

 

[Mathalus]

Also, HandofMystara, I sent you my email address. Let me know if you need someone to walk you through the character creation process. Maybe we can G-Chat it. It should be quick and painless (except for beliefs and instincts, which require way too much thought!).

 

[mistrlittlejeans]

Hey guys,

I'm the poster from the BW forums. I'm working on burning up a "tank" for the group. I've burned a few characters on my own, so I should be ok with that. I might need some advice on the setting as I'm not familiar with it, but I'll do some reading. Oh yeah, there's no more classic tank than the dwarven fighter, so I think that's what I'll go with; unless, the human paladin has dropped and you guys think a human paladin is a better fit. I'm fine making one of those as well.

 

[Mathalus]

Welcome!

We'd love a dwarven fighter. I hope you can afford all the good dwarven gear with only three lifepaths!

 

[mistrlittlejeans]

Most likely not, but I plan to work some of that into his beliefs I'm assuming that the lifepath restrictions of BW still apply for Burning ThacO, meaning, if a LP has a prerequisite LP in BW, that holds for BThacO as well.

That's makes my options for a dwarven fighter limited, but that's ok. I'll figure something out.