[OOC]Gormenghast, an ArM campaign [full]
- Thread starter Yair
- Start date
arscott
First Post
I've finished my Magus, barring corrections. (And given that this is the first ArM character I've created, there will probably be corrections) Sorry I didn't get this done sooner, but It's thanksgiving in the states.
(I've decided to make this guy a native, rather that a parisian. Besides, like you said, we've got two many people from france.)
Name: Stepka Ex Miscellania
Player: Alan
Gender: M
Age: 26 [fixed]
Intelligence: +3
Perception: +3
Strength: -1
Stamina: +1 [added]
Presence -5
Communication: -2
Dexterity: +2
Quickness: +1
Virtues:
Elementalist (+5)
Venus' Blessing (+1)
Gentle Gift (+1)
Flaws:
Feeble Presence (-4)
Lycanthrope (-2)
Hedge Wizard(-1)
Abilities:
Climb (trees) 2
Concentration (reading) 3
Scribe Latin (original composition) 3 [fixed]
Parma Magica (ignem) 2
Animal Handling (falconry) 2
Ride (speed) 3
Speak Latin (hermetic usage) 4
Magic Theory (potions) 4 [fixed]
Legend Lore (beasts) 4
Speak Slavic (expanded vocabulary) 4
Affinity with Elements 5
Personality traits
Shy +3
Studious +1
Imaginative +1
Determined +1
Reputations
Hedge Wizard 3, Order of Hermes
Magic Arts
Creo 3
Intéllego 1
Muto 5
Perdo 1
Rego 7
Animál 0
Aquam 6
Auram 8
Corpus 0
Herbam 0
Ignem 6
Imáginem 0
Mentem 0
Terram 6
Vim 0
Wizard's Sigil:
If there is one word that describes Stepka, it is quiet. And that quietness extends to his magic. The expected howling of wind, crackling of flame, roaring of waves, and grumbling of earth is missing. Instead, his spells are completely silent.
Spells: [will be revised]
Lungs of Water and Death CrAq15
Lungs of the Fish MuAq10
Chamber of Spring Breezes CrAu5
Talons of the Wind MuAu20
Broom of the Winds ReAu15
Circling Winds of Protection ReAu15
Palm of Flame CrIg5
Prison of Flames MuIg15
Ward Against Heat and Flames ReIg25
Edge of the Razor MuTe5
The Unseen Porter ReTe10
Stepka is the son of a not particularly wealthy artisan from a not particularly prominent villiage near Gormenghast. He was apprenticed at an early age to a not particularly notable Elementalist, and has resided at the covenant ever since. Because Stepka's elemental magic is only partially related to the Hermetic traditions, his presence doesn't scare people and animals as other magi do. Unfortunately, people scare him. Stepka is extremely quiet and withdrawn, and speaks barely above a whisper except when casting spells. Aside from a few of the librarians and the occasional girl who finds his shyness attractive, his only companions are animals (birds in particular). Recently, however, he learned that not a "animals" are friendly, as a recent encounter with a werewolf gave him a scarred shoulder and a monthly hair problem. Despite this, he continues to pour through the books in The Library, researching the connections between the hermetic arts and the pre-hermetic discipline in which he has been schooled.
I invite comments and corrections.
Companion to arrive shortly.
P.S.
My companion is going to be a fairly well traveled guy, and I'd like to give him some appropriate language skills. Where can I find out what languages might be appropriate?
(I've decided to make this guy a native, rather that a parisian. Besides, like you said, we've got two many people from france.)
Name: Stepka Ex Miscellania
Player: Alan
Gender: M
Age: 26 [fixed]
Intelligence: +3
Perception: +3
Strength: -1
Stamina: +1 [added]
Presence -5
Communication: -2
Dexterity: +2
Quickness: +1
Virtues:
Elementalist (+5)
Venus' Blessing (+1)
Gentle Gift (+1)
Flaws:
Feeble Presence (-4)
Lycanthrope (-2)
Hedge Wizard(-1)
Abilities:
Climb (trees) 2
Concentration (reading) 3
Scribe Latin (original composition) 3 [fixed]
Parma Magica (ignem) 2
Animal Handling (falconry) 2
Ride (speed) 3
Speak Latin (hermetic usage) 4
Magic Theory (potions) 4 [fixed]
Legend Lore (beasts) 4
Speak Slavic (expanded vocabulary) 4
Affinity with Elements 5
Personality traits
Shy +3
Studious +1
Imaginative +1
Determined +1
Reputations
Hedge Wizard 3, Order of Hermes
Magic Arts
Creo 3
Intéllego 1
Muto 5
Perdo 1
Rego 7
Animál 0
Aquam 6
Auram 8
Corpus 0
Herbam 0
Ignem 6
Imáginem 0
Mentem 0
Terram 6
Vim 0
Wizard's Sigil:
If there is one word that describes Stepka, it is quiet. And that quietness extends to his magic. The expected howling of wind, crackling of flame, roaring of waves, and grumbling of earth is missing. Instead, his spells are completely silent.
Spells: [will be revised]
Lungs of Water and Death CrAq15
Lungs of the Fish MuAq10
Chamber of Spring Breezes CrAu5
Talons of the Wind MuAu20
Broom of the Winds ReAu15
Circling Winds of Protection ReAu15
Palm of Flame CrIg5
Prison of Flames MuIg15
Ward Against Heat and Flames ReIg25
Edge of the Razor MuTe5
The Unseen Porter ReTe10
Stepka is the son of a not particularly wealthy artisan from a not particularly prominent villiage near Gormenghast. He was apprenticed at an early age to a not particularly notable Elementalist, and has resided at the covenant ever since. Because Stepka's elemental magic is only partially related to the Hermetic traditions, his presence doesn't scare people and animals as other magi do. Unfortunately, people scare him. Stepka is extremely quiet and withdrawn, and speaks barely above a whisper except when casting spells. Aside from a few of the librarians and the occasional girl who finds his shyness attractive, his only companions are animals (birds in particular). Recently, however, he learned that not a "animals" are friendly, as a recent encounter with a werewolf gave him a scarred shoulder and a monthly hair problem. Despite this, he continues to pour through the books in The Library, researching the connections between the hermetic arts and the pre-hermetic discipline in which he has been schooled.
I invite comments and corrections.
Companion to arrive shortly.
P.S.
My companion is going to be a fairly well traveled guy, and I'd like to give him some appropriate language skills. Where can I find out what languages might be appropriate?
Last edited:
arscott
First Post
Name: Lorenzo the Scoundrel (alias Chen the Oriental)
Player: Alan
Gender: M
Age: 29
Intelligence: 0
Perception: 0
Strength: +2
Stamina: +1
Presence: +1
Communication: 0
Dexterity: +1
Quickness: +1
Virtues:
Wanderer (+0)
Charmed Life (+3)
Jack of All Trades (+2)
Veteran (+1)
Flaws:
Curse of Venus (-2)
Overconfident (-2)
Compulsion to Gamble (+1)
Missing Ear (+1)
Abilities:
Guile (elaborate lies) 2
Brawling 3 [do combat skills have specialties? I didn't see any listed in the descriptions]
Single Weapon 2
Shield and Weapon 5
Bows 2
Disguise (foreigners) 3
Pick Locks (speed) 2
Stealth (urban areas) 1
Carouse (games of chance) 2
Speak Native Tongue [sicilian? italian?] 5
Speak Language [whatever language was primarily used by the crusaders] 3
Speak Language [whatever was spoken by the crusadees. presumably arabic] 3
Speak Slavic 4
Personality Traits
Overconfident +3
Boisterous +3
Lazy +2
Honerable -1
Equipment:
Half steel Scale
Dagger
Longsword
Round Shield
Longbow
Lorenzo was born and raised on the streets of sicily. He scraped by for several years as a general gadabout and lazy good for nothing. Then, he aquired his first sword and found that he was in fact good for something after all. He journeyed to the holy land, where he spent some time fighting in the cruades (although it wasn't a case of "smiting the unholy mahomaddens" as much as it was "put on the uniform of whichever side seems to be winning and look busy") None-the-less, he managed to lose a bit of his face in the process. After parting company with his ear and a bit of his cheek, he decided he'd had enough of the experience and began working his way north.
Lorenzo is a man of indeterminate ethnicity, and appears slightly foreign even in his native Sicily. His battle scars have only added to his alien appearance. Choosing to bank on his looks and his traveling experience, Lorenzo has spent the better part of the last five years pretending to be Chen, a traveller from far-off Cathay, earning admirers (and drinks) with his tales ornate bejewelled palaces, fountains that overflow with molten gold, and other such fantasy.
Lorenzo is a drunkard, a braggart, a lech, a gambler, a liar, a lackabout, a scoundrel, and a hell of a lot more fun to be around than your average Priest or Magus.
Lorenzo (in his guise of Chen) has recently been paid a sum of money to deliver a letter to a man named Ambrosius in Rostov, whose whereabouts may be known to one Annan the Jew.
[This strikes me as the most convinient way to interject Lorenzo into the story. Ambrosius, being a representative of Gormenghast undoubtedly recieves a variety of correspondence, some of it from mundane sources. This letter is probably a trivial message of some sort. If you'd rather Lorenzo meets with the party in a different way, or is already attached to the covenant, I'd be happy to make the appropriate changes]
Player: Alan
Gender: M
Age: 29
Intelligence: 0
Perception: 0
Strength: +2
Stamina: +1
Presence: +1
Communication: 0
Dexterity: +1
Quickness: +1
Virtues:
Wanderer (+0)
Charmed Life (+3)
Jack of All Trades (+2)
Veteran (+1)
Flaws:
Curse of Venus (-2)
Overconfident (-2)
Compulsion to Gamble (+1)
Missing Ear (+1)
Abilities:
Guile (elaborate lies) 2
Brawling 3 [do combat skills have specialties? I didn't see any listed in the descriptions]
Single Weapon 2
Shield and Weapon 5
Bows 2
Disguise (foreigners) 3
Pick Locks (speed) 2
Stealth (urban areas) 1
Carouse (games of chance) 2
Speak Native Tongue [sicilian? italian?] 5
Speak Language [whatever language was primarily used by the crusaders] 3
Speak Language [whatever was spoken by the crusadees. presumably arabic] 3
Speak Slavic 4
Personality Traits
Overconfident +3
Boisterous +3
Lazy +2
Honerable -1
Equipment:
Half steel Scale
Dagger
Longsword
Round Shield
Longbow
Lorenzo was born and raised on the streets of sicily. He scraped by for several years as a general gadabout and lazy good for nothing. Then, he aquired his first sword and found that he was in fact good for something after all. He journeyed to the holy land, where he spent some time fighting in the cruades (although it wasn't a case of "smiting the unholy mahomaddens" as much as it was "put on the uniform of whichever side seems to be winning and look busy") None-the-less, he managed to lose a bit of his face in the process. After parting company with his ear and a bit of his cheek, he decided he'd had enough of the experience and began working his way north.
Lorenzo is a man of indeterminate ethnicity, and appears slightly foreign even in his native Sicily. His battle scars have only added to his alien appearance. Choosing to bank on his looks and his traveling experience, Lorenzo has spent the better part of the last five years pretending to be Chen, a traveller from far-off Cathay, earning admirers (and drinks) with his tales ornate bejewelled palaces, fountains that overflow with molten gold, and other such fantasy.
Lorenzo is a drunkard, a braggart, a lech, a gambler, a liar, a lackabout, a scoundrel, and a hell of a lot more fun to be around than your average Priest or Magus.
Lorenzo (in his guise of Chen) has recently been paid a sum of money to deliver a letter to a man named Ambrosius in Rostov, whose whereabouts may be known to one Annan the Jew.
[This strikes me as the most convinient way to interject Lorenzo into the story. Ambrosius, being a representative of Gormenghast undoubtedly recieves a variety of correspondence, some of it from mundane sources. This letter is probably a trivial message of some sort. If you'd rather Lorenzo meets with the party in a different way, or is already attached to the covenant, I'd be happy to make the appropriate changes]
Yair
Community Supporter
Well, Stepka seems a nice fellow (I especially liked the feeble presence), but there are a few nitpicks. You only used 6 points on charactaristics, not 7; you have 56 ability XP due to your age, but you used 69 (ahem); and you chose only 140 spell levels, not 150.arscott said:
Generally speaking, I'm not in favor of learning very low magnitude spells unless you intend to Master them. You can spontanously cast chamber of spring breezes or palm of flame if needed, why not pick up a higher level spell instead?
The lycanthrope curse seems rather contrived, but if that is what you want then fine. Keep in mind, however, that your parens would have been able to remove minor curses and contagions. For the lycanthropic status to be endemic it better be part or your innate nature, a divine curse, or a powerful Faerie or Infernal curse. I don't think just a werewolf's bite will do the trick.
Edit: I'll look over the companion in detail tomorrow, but feel free to meet the characters or annan, or just reach the city, or anything. Just enter the game when you want to, how you want to, and we'll take it from there.
Last edited:
arscott
First Post
Oops.
I miscalculated with magic theory and incorrectly transcribed my scribe latin scores. Also, I apparently left off stamina altogether. Fixes have been made.
As for the spell book, I'll redo it as soon as I get the chance. And here's a revised version of "Why I have too much hair and a silver allergy":
Since he's pretty good with the dogs, doesn't mind travelling, and (according to the veiws of Gormenghast's senior Magi) doen't have anything more important to do, Stepka is often sent along on hunting parties. last autumn, Stepka and another magus accompanied a party of huntsmen and dogs on a mission to track down a mysterious silver wolf (and presumed source of vis).
Under the hunter's moon, Stepka and a pack of dogs encountered the wolf, which they killed with little trouble. But as soon as the wolf died, there was a blinding flash of light, and an irridescent silver-white figure appeared.
"Look at what you have done," spoke the figure. "This magnificent beast bleeds his life out onto the snow, due but to your miserable quest for paltry power."
The dogs began to whine in terror, but remained rooted to the spot. Stepka likewise remain frozen in place.
"Under the full moon have you hunted this creature to death. Thus, under every full moon from now till death takes you, you shall take a wolf's form and be hunted in turn."
When the figure spoke his final word, the dogs burst into flame. a silver-white fire transformed them instantly to ash. Then, flames took Stepka and he instantly blacked out.
It was only by pure chance that his companions found him the next morning, minus dogs, minus wolf, and even minus equipment and clothing. Since then, on the night of the full moon, Stepka has assumed the mind and shape of a large, silver wolf.
I miscalculated with magic theory and incorrectly transcribed my scribe latin scores. Also, I apparently left off stamina altogether. Fixes have been made.
As for the spell book, I'll redo it as soon as I get the chance. And here's a revised version of "Why I have too much hair and a silver allergy":
Since he's pretty good with the dogs, doesn't mind travelling, and (according to the veiws of Gormenghast's senior Magi) doen't have anything more important to do, Stepka is often sent along on hunting parties. last autumn, Stepka and another magus accompanied a party of huntsmen and dogs on a mission to track down a mysterious silver wolf (and presumed source of vis).
Under the hunter's moon, Stepka and a pack of dogs encountered the wolf, which they killed with little trouble. But as soon as the wolf died, there was a blinding flash of light, and an irridescent silver-white figure appeared.
"Look at what you have done," spoke the figure. "This magnificent beast bleeds his life out onto the snow, due but to your miserable quest for paltry power."
The dogs began to whine in terror, but remained rooted to the spot. Stepka likewise remain frozen in place.
"Under the full moon have you hunted this creature to death. Thus, under every full moon from now till death takes you, you shall take a wolf's form and be hunted in turn."
When the figure spoke his final word, the dogs burst into flame. a silver-white fire transformed them instantly to ash. Then, flames took Stepka and he instantly blacked out.
It was only by pure chance that his companions found him the next morning, minus dogs, minus wolf, and even minus equipment and clothing. Since then, on the night of the full moon, Stepka has assumed the mind and shape of a large, silver wolf.
Yair
Community Supporter
Lorenzo looks grand.
I put in combat skill specialization for you - you can specialize in a specific weapon, so I chose the ones you have.
I also put Speak French as the standard Crusade tongue, I have no idea if that's true but it very well might be. Kind of fitting for it to be the linga franca of the day...
I'll upload the character to the website soon.
Again, feel free to insert him into the adventure at any juncture. Do you want me as the DM to be the one putting you in?
I put in combat skill specialization for you - you can specialize in a specific weapon, so I chose the ones you have.
I also put Speak French as the standard Crusade tongue, I have no idea if that's true but it very well might be. Kind of fitting for it to be the linga franca of the day...
I'll upload the character to the website soon.
Again, feel free to insert him into the adventure at any juncture. Do you want me as the DM to be the one putting you in?
Yair
Community Supporter
I got ArM5, and am in the process of digesting it. It has some good parts and some bad parts, honestly I am not sure whether I like it or not. We won't be switching to it wholesale (at least not unless everyone has the rulebook - the free pdf rocks!). I may want to port in a few mechanics, but I'm still thinking which, if any.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Yair
Just thought I'd let you know.
Yair
Ghostknight
First Post
I have returned to Enworld after a months or so hiatus- pressure at work just got to me and I had no time to login (yeah, I worked through December and pissed my boss off but not working on Saturdays even though we were in crisis mode!) If I'm still in the game, let me know and I'll post again- but I fully understand if I've been replaced.
(Hmm, and our local shop actually got the limited edition, cheap furst release of the 5th edition rules- as yair said, nice in parts, but bad in others- especially on starting skills/arts they have become miserl in the extreme!)
(Hmm, and our local shop actually got the limited edition, cheap furst release of the 5th edition rules- as yair said, nice in parts, but bad in others- especially on starting skills/arts they have become miserl in the extreme!)
Yair
Community Supporter
Frankly, I thought you quietly slipped out of the game. But you haven't been replaced, so if you want to game you certainly can. The thing is the folks are already in the middle of the adventure... nearing the end, really... I'm not sure how to insert a character that they'll trust at this point... I'll think about it, I'm open to any ideas.Ghostknight said:
Heh, down here WORKING on sabbath would be illegal...
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