KidCthulhu's Scarred Land story hour
KidCthulhu
First Post
Well, I'll chime in. Gemma is older than the rest of the party, by several hundred years. Her background is deeply, deeply shadowed, and she doesn't talk much about her young life. However, certain things she has said, and information she possesses, leads the group to suspect that she was actually alive during the Titan's War, and saw the fall of Amalthea during the Druid War. They know she has a deep, deep hatred of Khirdet and all its minions. She bears terrible physical scars, burns and cuts marr her face and most of her body. Her emotional scars seem to be just as extensive. She is always cloaked.
Gemma is angry, taciturn, and grim. She has smiled maybe 5 time the party can remember, and most of those were dark "I'm gonna inflict some death now" smiles. She does not speak often, but when she does, her words are short and to the point. She doesn't suffer fools, and doesn't have time for those who can't hold their own.
That said, she has shown surprising tenderness and mercy for animals and innocents. She continues to travel with the party, despite her emotional standoffishness and lone wolf past. Why is anyone's guess.
Elves encountered in the forest bow to her and address her as "My lady". What's up with that?
All in all, she's been a fun role playing challenge. Grim and depressed is easy, but taciturn is hard. I have to give myself a budget of 30 words per game, and try to stick to it. Hard for a wordy person like me.
Gemma is angry, taciturn, and grim. She has smiled maybe 5 time the party can remember, and most of those were dark "I'm gonna inflict some death now" smiles. She does not speak often, but when she does, her words are short and to the point. She doesn't suffer fools, and doesn't have time for those who can't hold their own.
That said, she has shown surprising tenderness and mercy for animals and innocents. She continues to travel with the party, despite her emotional standoffishness and lone wolf past. Why is anyone's guess.
Elves encountered in the forest bow to her and address her as "My lady". What's up with that?
All in all, she's been a fun role playing challenge. Grim and depressed is easy, but taciturn is hard. I have to give myself a budget of 30 words per game, and try to stick to it. Hard for a wordy person like me.
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Kesh said:Some background stories would be great! Of course, I get the feeling a few characters are trying to keep their histories secret, so I can understand if those don't get full writeups... still, it'd be neat to know why the charactesr are the way they are.
Well Deke is pretty straight forward, not alot of this past cloaked in mystery. He is an orphan, left in Amalthea just after the city was destroyed. He is rather young for an Elf (only 50 years old) and sometimes his inexperience shows. He has no idea who his parents are or were but on one occasion an Elf that the party met mentioned knowing of his parents. He grew up on the streets living off the speed of his wits and hands (he will pick your pocket just as soon as shake your hand, the line "You dropped this", is one of his favorites.)
He is a loner and out for himself. Every now and then he will help someone out for no real reason, but that is few and far between (especially since the last time he "helped" it got him killed). But that story is yet to come so I won't go into it.
This "group" is his first real dealings with people on a regular basis and he's not real sure about having any ties that might hold him down. "Never get into a relationship that you can't walk away from at a moments notice" has been his rule and these party members are making that difficult. We'll see what happens as time goes on....
Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
SSS-Druid said:This is great fun.
I only just started my own story hour in the Scarred Lands and am thrilled to find another in the setting.
Great fun, indeed.
Yeah I really need to get my story hour started soon! Course it would HELP if I had characters to run them in!
Kesh said:
Okay, you got it (the abridged version)
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Morgaine (half-elf, wzd, CG )
Morgaine was born one night during a malefic storm to an elven mother and a human father. Her human grandmother delivered her only grandchild just as she had delivered hundreds of other babies. A bond was formed that night that grew with each passing year.
Her parents were killed by the horrible Titan-spawn abominations when she was 13 so Morgaine went to live with Oma. There, she became an apprentice mage; and for six years, poured over books, spells, alchemical formulas and all matter of magical tools in an effort to assuage her ever-growing thirst for knowledge.
She’s never really fit in anywhere and she's never had the opportunity for close friends except her grandmother and her familiar Taylor -- in whom she confides everything. Oma was Morgaine’s mentor, confidante, companion and role model. It was she who taught Morgaine the intricacies of spell casting and how to harness the forces of the Universe for arcane magic.
Unfortunately, Oma was an elderly woman and died last year, leaving Morgaine orphaned and alone. Yet another loss - this one perhaps the most dearly felt -- devastated her and she still grieves her grandmother every day. Shortly thereafter, Morgaine set out for Amalthea because remaining in Otenazu was simply too painful.
With no other family to speak of, Morgaine decided to travel in the hopes of continuing her magickal studies. She met up with the party shortly after her arrival in the city. She plans one day to study at Lokil and discover once and for all if the rumor that Oma studied there is true. She hopes she can be half the wizard her grandmother was.
Despite the fact that she has encountered strangers from all walks of life, Morgaine has lived a sheltered existence to date. She's young, naive and rather immature. Unfortunately, she's gangly and uncoordinated. Only when she is casting, can she make her body move with grace and fluidity. She distrusts her own instincts and is only recently learning to combat that instinctive self-doubt with which she has been plagued her whole life.
Morgaine feels like a lost ship and is still searching for a port. Eventually, she hopes to learn more about magic, dreams and life in general. In the meantime she makes do with what she can learn from her adventures.
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I love playing Morgaine. There's something refreshing about playing someone who is as scatterbrained and unjaded as she is. It's like revisitng all the fun parts of my adolescence without all the angst and misery. :0)
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A brief conversation with Hammond Cotter reveals that his son is at the beach with some friends. The elder Cotter is surprised to note that the party is the second group of people looking for his son - the first were foreign dwarves -- and expresses some concern. Alarmed and disconcerted to learn they are not the only ones looking for Gobrey’s friends, the group hastily informs the father that they fear for his son’s life. He calls the city guard and sends the group ahead to protect the younger Cotter. They beat a brisk path to the beach, aware that they are more than twenty minutes behind their foes.
On the road, the party encounters a traffic jam, caused by a large cart of beer kegs that has rutted itself, spilling beer in the process. Huge groups of people mill about aimlessly, some drinking the now free-flowing ale, others simply trying to get around the mess. Deciding they will make better time off-road, the heroes ride around the cart through the rough underbrush nearby. As they crest a small hill they catch their first glimpse of the lake below, with sundry multicolored pavilions and at least a hundred bathers reveling in the warmth and sun. Marja charmingly asks the stable boy about Cotter and the young lad is more than happy to oblige her. He takes their horses and points the group in the direction of a large pavilion several hundred yards down the beach.
As they make their way along the crowded beach, the party gets more than a few stares from the local patrons. It is not common occurrence for seven obvious adventurers to find themselves on the shores of a small lake, even in Otenazu. Gemma with her heavy cloak and hidden countenance, Deke an elf with crossbow and fine rapier, Kalina wearing the garb of a druid and keeping a large wolf at bay, and Morgaine with her staff, spell books, and cat perched atop her shoulder cause many to stop in their tracks. Although not wearing her spikes, Xenia is still in light chain mail with several weapons strapped to her back; Borin’s dirty beard and unkempt appearance, coupled with his fearsome great axe, and Kel’s gleaming armor and sword do little to assuage the stir the heroes create. Even Marja, whose midriff shirt and flowing pants could be considered beach garb, is easily marked.
Marja and Deke spot a pleasant-looking dwarf with rosy cheeks splashing about at the water’s edge. He seems out of place somehow and they inform the others, who all make concerted efforts to watch him closely. Not knowing who they are looking for, the party is suspicious of everyone. They know they are looking for dwarves, however, so even if this one looks harmless, he bears close observation.
Several yards away, they see a large, brightly colored pavilion where bards play happy tunes on various instruments. There are many servants waiting on the nobility or waiting with towels for their employers to return from their swim. Most are looking hot and bored. Deke calls up to the gazebo that they are looking for Cotter, whose life may be in danger. A servant calls out to a young man in the lake wearing a red and white striped bathing costume, splashing boisterously in the small waves. He responds with a whine and is wary of the strangers in front of him.
On the road, the party encounters a traffic jam, caused by a large cart of beer kegs that has rutted itself, spilling beer in the process. Huge groups of people mill about aimlessly, some drinking the now free-flowing ale, others simply trying to get around the mess. Deciding they will make better time off-road, the heroes ride around the cart through the rough underbrush nearby. As they crest a small hill they catch their first glimpse of the lake below, with sundry multicolored pavilions and at least a hundred bathers reveling in the warmth and sun. Marja charmingly asks the stable boy about Cotter and the young lad is more than happy to oblige her. He takes their horses and points the group in the direction of a large pavilion several hundred yards down the beach.
As they make their way along the crowded beach, the party gets more than a few stares from the local patrons. It is not common occurrence for seven obvious adventurers to find themselves on the shores of a small lake, even in Otenazu. Gemma with her heavy cloak and hidden countenance, Deke an elf with crossbow and fine rapier, Kalina wearing the garb of a druid and keeping a large wolf at bay, and Morgaine with her staff, spell books, and cat perched atop her shoulder cause many to stop in their tracks. Although not wearing her spikes, Xenia is still in light chain mail with several weapons strapped to her back; Borin’s dirty beard and unkempt appearance, coupled with his fearsome great axe, and Kel’s gleaming armor and sword do little to assuage the stir the heroes create. Even Marja, whose midriff shirt and flowing pants could be considered beach garb, is easily marked.
Marja and Deke spot a pleasant-looking dwarf with rosy cheeks splashing about at the water’s edge. He seems out of place somehow and they inform the others, who all make concerted efforts to watch him closely. Not knowing who they are looking for, the party is suspicious of everyone. They know they are looking for dwarves, however, so even if this one looks harmless, he bears close observation.
Several yards away, they see a large, brightly colored pavilion where bards play happy tunes on various instruments. There are many servants waiting on the nobility or waiting with towels for their employers to return from their swim. Most are looking hot and bored. Deke calls up to the gazebo that they are looking for Cotter, whose life may be in danger. A servant calls out to a young man in the lake wearing a red and white striped bathing costume, splashing boisterously in the small waves. He responds with a whine and is wary of the strangers in front of him.
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Morgaine casts detect thoughts on the youthful Cotter, stretching her mind out to find his and feels the connection link his thoughts to her own. Marja calls out to him, doing her best to seem alluring. While the young man stalls, Morgaine clearly “hears” him search his brain for reasons the ravishing woman on the shore wants to talk to him. He is suspicious but intrigued and more than a little excited. She relays this to Marja who turns up the charm.
Just as Cotter is about to make his way toward the beach, something unseen grasps him from behind and attempts to pull him under the water. Cotter manages to break free and quickly moves away before the creature can attack again. Deke rushes into the water to help the now terrified young man as a large, black sinewy appendage surfaces and snakes toward Cotter. Gemma rapidly knocks two arrows and sends them hurtling through the air toward the tentacle. Just as it latches onto Cotter, Gemma’s arrows find their mark. The suction-cup tentacle recoils, dragging Cotter under the water with it.
Gemma shouts to the locals to clear the beach but no one is really listening, entranced as they are by the spectacle in the water.
Borin goes berserk with rage and charges into the water, swinging his axe wildly as he does so. Delirious as he is, however, he misses the black creature and hits Cotter instead. The poor noble falls unconscious as the water around him turns red with his spilled blood.
Just as Cotter is about to make his way toward the beach, something unseen grasps him from behind and attempts to pull him under the water. Cotter manages to break free and quickly moves away before the creature can attack again. Deke rushes into the water to help the now terrified young man as a large, black sinewy appendage surfaces and snakes toward Cotter. Gemma rapidly knocks two arrows and sends them hurtling through the air toward the tentacle. Just as it latches onto Cotter, Gemma’s arrows find their mark. The suction-cup tentacle recoils, dragging Cotter under the water with it.
Gemma shouts to the locals to clear the beach but no one is really listening, entranced as they are by the spectacle in the water.
Borin goes berserk with rage and charges into the water, swinging his axe wildly as he does so. Delirious as he is, however, he misses the black creature and hits Cotter instead. The poor noble falls unconscious as the water around him turns red with his spilled blood.
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