Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 6/11 Conditions:

Fili goes over to listen at the door while Hank looks after Harolde. He seems to be in good hands. Hopefully Hank won't have to carry him.

OOC: PER 15-, or a bunch of related skills at 14-. Whatever you think appropriate.

Are you going to make selections on the 31st, or just after you've finished reading the current apps?

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 6/11 Conditions:

Fili hangs back until last, to keep watch in back of them. There's no telling what might pop out after that stone snake rose up from behind. She hears Harolde fall with a crash but Hank quickly go to his rescue.

Once she's sure the others are at the bottom, she makes her descent.

OOC: Climb+2: 15-

Cleary not all this geography will fit together. We'll have to adjust some compass directions after player selection.

My app is aiming for something vaguely Central Asian / Sasanian Persian, if that wasn't apparent already.

So pre-Islamic settled people with horse nomads on their frontier.

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 7/11 Conditions:

Fili sloshes along beside Hank down the hallway. It's useless trying to walk quietly in here, but she frowns as she wishes people would at least not talk so loudly. Maybe the cultists ahead will think it's just the giant snake making with all the sloshing.

OOC:

Never mind, I was wrong. You had to spend 1 Luck Point per die because they were d20 rolls. It's 3d6 for 1 Luck.

The way I read it, you got to reroll 3 dice for only one luck point. So you only spent 1.

@Sizniche page 21: You may re-roll up to three dice for 1 Luck Point

I would say I'm closest to #2

However, I wasn't happy with the suggestion that magic will be added to the world and realms will have to race to get it. I would prefer a more 'magic was always there and now it's being included in the game mechanics'.

How many players are you looking for, btw? We've got seven apps in process already.

We all like magic, but I think we should try this concept out for a bit without to see how it's going. We can add more complications later.

Almost done with my app. I cannot believe how terrible my grammar was yesterday when I typed all this in. I'm normally better than that.

Has anyone else had trouble with color on this template sheet? I kept trying to change red to black and it wouldn't work, so I had to delete red sections and retype them in black.

It's also harder to make up a magic system than it is to invent stats and assign relative numbers to them.

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 7/11 Conditions:

Her staff back securely in her hands she tries again for a might swing on the beast before it can get its teeth into Hank.

OOC: Doing another All-Out Attack (Strong) without spending a fatigue point. Attack 13-

Hit for 8 damage

Realm

Allard, the Distant Valley

Region, Culture, & Standing

Region: Allard is the easternmost region of the empire, across the Tarsh mountains. A bowl-shaped, landlocked plain with mountains on all but the north side, many lush rivers flow to the small sea in its center. Its greatest wealth is in grain and horses, and in the surrounding mountains all manner of metals can be found. On its open side to the north the fertile valley gives way to drier grasslands where stock raising is possible but not farming.

Culture: The bountiful crops have led to a large population in the valley, but one more disposed to pleasure than hard work. And the greatest of pleasures is travel along rivers or into the foothills. Those of a more steely bent take to the high mountains or the edge of the grassland where there is work to be done. Their god is also a wanderer with no fixed abode, and neither are his priests, who continually travel and preach in the market squares the virtues of work and privation. But most of the people seem more interested in hedonism than religion. Important people in the realm go by only one name, and commoners must also use a family name; the granting of the right to use only one name is a royal prerogative.

Standing: The other realms see Allard as exotic, and frankly, odd. Visitors admire it but often misunderstandings arise with the locals. Distant goods not found in other realms are bought and sold here, and Allard sends out caravans of traders to distant lands and maintains well-stocked trading posts in the high mountain passes.

Stats

Realm

Martial 4 (9), Commercial 3 (5), Agricultural 4 (9), Industrial 2 (2), Artistic 1 (0)

Settlements

The capital of Telimnare stretches for miles along both sides of the river Dualam and the tributary Em. Metals and stone are floated downriver to it, fish are rowed upriver to it, and grain and meat come from all sides. It is a leisurely metropolis where no one works too hard and state charity provides for those who cannot. The king lives here in his palace of tents (a concession to the national religion), and large spaces are set aside for campsites for parks. Yet most of the residents live in multi-story houses. Agricultural 4, Industrial 1, Artistic 1.

The city of Obar lies in the mountains at the southwest corner of Allard, where the passes leading west into the empire and south into the nation of Pith join. A garrison In Obar watches for bandits and protects travelers and traders. Martial 1, Commercial 2, Industrial 1.

The town of Tallihah is on the northern loop of the river Yer, in the northern reaches of Allard. It maintains a strong cavalry to impress and deter the nomads of the grassland, and trades them civilized goods to make them dependent. The border is long and life is hard in Tallihah, and it attracts those who like it that way. Some even say it is the most religious place in the realm. Martial 3, Commercial 1.

Connections

Allies

Pith is a prosperous nation on the outer sea, south of Allard over the mountains. Their tropical climate is bad for horses, so they are always importing more from Allard. Their perpetual peace with Allard is due to their friendly, mutually-dependent trade relationship, and the fact that neither could really squeeze enough troops through the narrow mountain passes to make more than a laughable invasion force.

Enemies

Ogyuth is currently the strongest tribe in the grasslands north of Allard. Proud and uncivilized, they scorn the trade goods from Allard that will make them soft and weak. They respect the strength of the soldiers of Tallihah, but their martial ethos means they are always spoiling for a fight. Allard policy is, as always, to wait them out. Soon enough another tribe we've never heard of will take down the Ogyuth.

Ruler

Details

Gasram III, 35, 7 years on the throne. Gasram is the second son of his father Farhill IV, and his older brother Farhill was the crown prince. This freed Gasram to travel the land, fighting with the army against the nomads, climbing rugged mountains, and walking the wastes with itinerant priests. He's seen every corner of the realm. Then he got word that his brother, whose only apparent interest in life was creating a Farhill VI, had passed out drunk in the bath and drowned. A suitable marriage was arranged for Gasram with a western princess and he was installed as the heir. It was not long before his sedentary, corpulent father met with a fatal heart attack and Gasram was free to rule as he wished. And he wished to wander the kingdom with his court. His queen had other ideas, preferring the indolent life in the capital, so Gasram takes along his favorite concubines and visits the queen when he happens to be back in the capital. His queen has given birth to two daughters and finally a son, and he has only nieces by his older brother. His other children not by the queen are not considered royals, but are of course raised at state expense. In the king's absence, decisions in the capital are made by a council of the the queen, the vizier, and the king's younger brother. The Vizier ends up doing most of the work, and can only implement policy on the rare occasion he can get one of the two royals to agree. This suits the king just fine.

Stats for Gasram III

Martial 3, Administrative 3, Diplomatic 3

Personality

Gasram is hard-working, peripatetic, knowledgeable of his whole realm, and sympathetic to the local nobles in it. He is less inclined to the flowery, indirect language of diplomacy with the western realms, and when official letters need to be sent he has someone write them for him before approves the message.

Connections

Allies

Dushali Bey, senior priest and world traveler. If there's a part of the known world the Bey hasn't seen, he'd love to hear of it. It now pains him to ride and to walk long distances, so he has retired to a well-appointed tent in Obar where he can play host to travelers and hear news of the world. The king visits him there whenever he is in the area, and the old man sends the king long letters of the news he hears.

General Roshal is the royally-appointed governor of Tallihah, and has been so longer than Gasram has been king. They have gone hunting, riding, and to war together and respect each other's strength and courage. The king takes seriously any requests for extra supplies from General Roshal.

Crown Prince Tajuana of Pith has visited the king and kingdom a number of times and it always gives him pleasure. His father the king is still strong in mind and spirit, but is getting old. The prince of course worries for his father's health, but also regrets that after his accession he will have little time for pleasant visits to Allard.

Enemies

Henreta Dulomb is the chief handmaiden to the queen, having come with her from the west when she was married. Stuffy and hard to please, she does not like the king. The king believes she poisons the queen's mind against him, but can do nothing against her unless she breaks the law, for to do otherwise would create an international incident with her homeland.

Marus Ingeil is a foreign trader caught committing fraud and banned from the kingdom, now fallen on hard times and leading a gang of bandits in the western mountains. He holds a personal grudge against the king for judging and punishing him.

Heir

The greatest weakness of Gasram (potentially IV) is that he is only two years old. Some day he will leave the capital and ride with his father, but for now he stays with his mother the queen. He education as yet consists of no more than the learning of restraint and self-discipline, and the daily round of tutors speaking to him in foreign languages to hopefully inculcate them in their young charge.

The second in line to the throne is Gasram III's younger brother, prince Tuharad. He sits on the council of state in the capital and assists in running the kingdom while the king is absent. He has traveled to the easy-to-reach cities and and famous places in the kingdom but does not have the king's appetite for hardship. He corresponds politely with royals in other realms, but in deference, he sends his letters first to the king who reads them before passing them on.

✅ I have read and agree to the preliminary info doc.

So let's say I buy Martial 3, Commercial 3, Agriculture 3, Industrial 2, Artistic 2. I could then assign Capitol: M0 C0 Ag3 I1 Ar2, Small City M1 C2 Ag0 I1 Ar0, Town M2 C1 Ag0 I0 Ar0. Are these the sorts of thing you're looking for? I'm guessing zeroes are allowed, because we can't afford to buy threes in each stat to spread around ones to all the settlements.

I'm a bit confused here about how to allocate the 24 points of culture. Do we divide those 24 points across 15 categories (5 for the capital, 5 for the small city, and 5 for the town)?

I only see 3 rolled effects on Satch, btw

I thought Sarah was in front to take the snake attacks. But the snakes had other ideas.

Feel free to drink all the AP, Satch. You'll need it.

Sarah

AP Pool: 4/6 HP: 17/17 Luck: 10/10 Conditions: None

Quick buggers, Sarah thinks as the other two slither past her to get at the weaker humans.

She turns and chops sideways at the midsection of the one snacking on Jane and Satch.

OOC: Move (minor) and Attack (major) the Close Range rattler. Skill 9+3, tagged. Spending an AP to get a third die. Three successes, so adding 2 AP to the pool. 7 + 1 effect (Vicious and Persistent), so it takes 8 damage this round and another 8 damage next round.

My most active game on MW right now (I'm not running it) illustrates combat with screen shots from the GM's roll20. Each round he moves the tokens, changes the visibility, and zooms in on what's currently taking place.

I don't think the number of rounds of combat is the problem. I don't see all combats being over in three rounds. As cailano says, it's the lulls. If you're in combat and one player isn't posting, the GM must skip them or take their action for them to keep things moving.

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 7/11 Conditions:

Fili's swing goes wild and her staff rebounds off the wall instead of the dragon, making her lose hold with one hand, and she takes a moment to get a firm two-handed baseball grip on it again before giving it another try. Least I din't hit Hank in the back of the head, she thinks.

OOC: Parry 11-

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 7/11 Conditions:

As Hank steps between her and the serpent and takes a swing at it, Fili lashes out at it with all her strength, putting her faith in Hank as a meat shield rather than trying to defend herself. Instead, though, Fili mishandles the weapon, nearly losing her grip on it.

OOC: Attack 13-. Taking All-Out Attack (Strong) without spending a fatigue point.

GM NOTE: Critical Miss. The weapon turns in your hand. You must take an extra Ready maneuver before you can use it again.

It's an interesting question.

I use third person (i.e. Bob charges the dragon) exclusively in PbP to distinguish between what I want and what the character wants in character. I only use first person when the character is speaking (i.e. Bob says "I think Jane deserves the magic sword"). I have to admit that I slip up in live play and sometimes use first person where I intend to use third person. PbP is less rushed, so I rarely make such mistakes here.

I think that "distinguish between what I want and what the character wants in character" is important. It helps me put my personal preferences aside when making in-character decisions.

Fili Kober

HP: 11/11 FP: 7/11 Conditions:

With the rumbling behind her, Fili quickly turns around and see the pile of debris rising up into a giant snake about to strike Richard. Along with Hank, she strikes around him to get to the beast.

OOC: Attack 12-, Parry 11-, both due to water.