Ironsworn Odyssey OOC

[Wizard of the Coat]

2 hours ago, Delorphin said:

Did you also want to have a specific PC as well to act as a surrogate relative? If so, do you have any specific dynamic you had in mind?

I think that will depend on the options. Specifically, the surrogate relative PC would need to have been a member of the military unit, and be from the Iron Isles "home" we'll all be heading to. So far, two of Tom's character ideas seem to meet the criteria. If Tom goes with one of those two, either could potentially work as a mentor-sidekick or surrogate relative relationship.

[Wizard of the Coat]

2 hours ago, Delorphin said:

What is their perception of the war and how did it influence their personality. What is it like to be in peace for them? Like I could see it going either way: they could be pessimistic or optimistic after the war. So far we have a clear idea of Ari's history and their goals but not who they are as a person.

In general, I'm trying not to get too far ahead of the rest of you in developing my character--so I'm trying to make firm decisions about Ari.

Operating in a vacuum, I'd say that Ari previously possessed a childlike hope and optimism--which is what motivated her to search for her father for nearly a year, traveling through war-torn country. But her solo journey and subsequent three years with the unit changed her. She has seen and done terrible things, but her soul has not been completely crushed. She still has hope and the potential to develop a more mature optimism--not the "everything will turn out great" optimism of childhood, but the "make lemonade out of your lemons" optimism of adulthood.

But that is subject to change based on the personalities of the other PCs.

[Delorphin]

6 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

This one is very interesting:

So did (one of) the armies contract with him (and slavers in general) or was he a member of the army who was responsible for buying slaves and transporting them to the battlefields?

When you refer to "slaves" does that include the Iron Isles folks pressed into service?

What do you mean by "forcing people into battle?"

In terms of my own characters. The slaver I imagine as someone who was a volunteer soldier who was eventually handed that role, which they accepted as a necessary part of winning the war and ignoring the horrible aspects of what they were doing. They were responsible not of buying slaves but acquiring and managing them, these include prisoners of war and civilians captured in cities, towns, and villages. These were different from the regular pressure of conscription that others of the Iron Isles faced as they were completely in servitude of their masters. They were pressured into menial roles to support the armies as well as act as cannon fodder and grunt forces, using their lives or the lives of their families as motivation to fight. As such, the soldier would face immense amounts of guilt after being confronted with the evil that they had been ignoring this whole time and will be going out of their way to send people home. This is made more difficult for the many who have no home left to go to. I don't know what to do for the final asset, being a commander would give the crew needed for the ship but I'm more iffy about who exactly that crew is. The goal would be to eventually losing that asset if anything. Meanwhile being a shipwright opens a lot more general opportunities to the narrative of the travel itself and the difficulties in it in this harder age.

 

6 hours ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

This looks like fun!

So, any particular connection to the soldiers who are banding together to go home?

And did these two fight in the war? Where they attacked to a particular unit or where did they get moved around a lot depending on the mission or circumstances?

The soldier with the wyvern would have been a potential special unit in the war, deployed in critical theatres as needed. Much in the same way the as nuclear arms research during WWII, there was other research going on in an attempt to gain the upper hand in battle. This included trying to subjugate and control monstrous beasts to fight for them, and finding people who could control them. This naturally lead to the death of many creatures and humans at the same time. This soldier was a regular soldier but gladly volunteered themselves to this research and may have been changed by the experience to make something like a wyvern come to respect them. Here there is an impasse on what the change is. The first idea is extensive research and knowledge, in this case the soldier would be burdened with lots of knowledge, many of which is dangerous, as well as the guilt in the efforts from experimentation lead to lots of lives lost (Lore keeper). The second is more about how would the soldier reintegrate back to polite society after they themselves have become like the monster they spend time with, more bestial and violent (berserker). Lastly is a more personal dynamic, where the slayer is burdened with the responsibility of taking care of this creature, knowing that they will have to kill it if it goes wild. It also sets up for the hunting of other escaped creatures roaming the world post cataclysm and making that decision of whether to kill them or try to make them more peaceful.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Right now, I'm leaning towards either the medic or the captain. I feel like they have the clearest goals and greatest investment in the group as a whole.

For the medic, I was thinking some combination of Herbalist, Improviser, Loyalist, and possibly something a bit more esoteric, such as Talisman or perhaps some kind of animal companion.

For the captain, the obvious choices would be Commander, Veteran, some Combat asset, and perhaps even a Kindred (a surviving lieutenant or something of the sort?).

But those are just initial thoughts. I'd be happy to adjust. And I definitely think that either one ties in nicely to Ari's background, and could be tweaked to make them even more closely intertwined.

[Wizard of the Coat]

13 hours ago, Delorphin said:

The slaver I imagine as someone who was a volunteer soldier who was eventually handed that role, which they accepted as a necessary part of winning the war and ignoring the horrible aspects of what they were doing. They were responsible not of buying slaves but acquiring and managing them, these include prisoners of war and civilians captured in cities, towns, and villages. These were different from the regular pressure of conscription that others of the Iron Isles faced as they were completely in servitude of their masters. They were pressured into menial roles to support the armies as well as act as cannon fodder and grunt forces, using their lives or the lives of their families as motivation to fight. As such, the soldier would face immense amounts of guilt after being confronted with the evil that they had been ignoring this whole time and will be going out of their way to send people home. This is made more difficult for the many who have no home left to go to.

This character concept is very engaging. I wonder if they are perhaps a little too weighty to work as part of an ensemble cast in a story about the journey home after the realities of war. At the same time, it is not uncommon that the ensemble cast in such stories has one particularly "heavy" character--and this concept would fit the bill.

13 hours ago, Delorphin said:

The first idea is extensive research and knowledge, in this case the soldier would be burdened with lots of knowledge, many of which is dangerous, as well as the guilt in the efforts from experimentation lead to lots of lives lost (Lore keeper). The second is more about how would the soldier reintegrate back to polite society after they themselves have become like the monster they spend time with, more bestial and violent (berserker). Lastly is a more personal dynamic, where the slayer is burdened with the responsibility of taking care of this creature, knowing that they will have to kill it if it goes wild. It also sets up for the hunting of other escaped creatures roaming the world post cataclysm and making that decision of whether to kill them or try to make them more peaceful.

This concept continues to look like a lot of fun! Your articulation of these "third asset" options brought the character to life for me--helping me to see how the character would add possibilities to the narrative. All of these options look interesting. Personally, I like the third option best, because it seems like it would brings the companion more firmly into the story as a "character."

Would there be a way to more directly tie this character concept to the Iron Isles unit survivors and their journey home?

Is it possible for example, that the wyvern was taken from the Iron Isles not far from the village we're all heading to, so that the character's motivation for traveling "home" is more about the Wyvern than the character (e.g. returning the wyvern to his home and setting him free)? This might be particularly suited to your third "relationship-focused" Asset option.

[Wizard of the Coat]

10 hours ago, TheObsoleteMan said:

But those are just initial thoughts. I'd be happy to adjust. And I definitely think that either one ties in nicely to Ari's background, and could be tweaked to make them even more closely intertwined.

I like these initial thoughts.

The Commander would have a particularly difficult time. They're the commander who's unit was mostly wiped out, leaving them as one of the few survivors. Lots of options for development.

The medic would also pose interesting options, e.g. "I couldn't save them all" angst, "hardened by all the soldiers who died on my table,"....

I look forward to see where you go with these character ideas.

And I'd welcome discussion of the character's relationship to Ari once you've got a firmer handle on the character.

[Vladim]

Alright, I haven't been completely on top of this OOC thread, and I haven't been following the discussions super-closely... but the first draft of my character idea is up. I shuffled through the assets a bit but after some indecision paralysis I think I have three that I like and also fit with the concept.

I wrote a brief backstory to give the gist of the character-in 2nd person as I find this more engaging, though in-game I tend to post in 3rd / past tense. There's some vague ideas there that could either be fleshed out further or revised, so just let me know if you have opinions. I don't see too much point in writing more without feedback / collaboration.

I may need a personality section at some point but I still don't have a good grasp on the character in that regard-we'll see how it goes!

[TheObsoleteMan]

I had a flash of inspiration while looking over everyone's concepts, and a connective thread sort of popped into my head. This is just a suggestion based on what we have so far. Let me know if it fits with what you all are envisioning for your characters!

[UNNAMED] (TOM's character) was the second (or third or fourth) in command to the great warlord Kuno (connected to Vlad's character Melia). Ari's father's unit served under Kuno as well. When Kuno died during the war, [UNNAMED] had to take command. Unfortunately, that didn't go so well, as we all find ourselves as the last few survivors of the army. Amongst them was a soldier (Delorphin) who was (entrusted? burdened?) to safeguard the secret weapon of Kuno's army--the last of the ancient dragons, still just a fledgling at this point in its life. Each has a reason to depart the battlefield and return to the shores from whence they--or those they swore vows to--came.

Just some loose connective tissue that could be developed further. How does everyone feel about the basic set up?

[Vladim]

2 hours ago, TheObsoleteMan said:

I had a flash of inspiration while looking over everyone's concepts, and a connective thread sort of popped into my head. This is just a suggestion based on what we have so far. Let me know if it fits with what you all are envisioning for your characters!

[UNNAMED] (TOM's character) was the second (or third or fourth) in command to the great warlord Kuno (connected to Vlad's character Melia). Ari's father's unit served under Kuno as well. When Kuno died during the war, [UNNAMED] had to take command. Unfortunately, that didn't go so well, as we all find ourselves as the last few survivors of the army. Amongst them was a soldier (Delorphin) who was (entrusted? burdened?) to safeguard the secret weapon of Kuno's army--the last of the ancient dragons, still just a fledgling at this point in its life. Each has a reason to depart the battlefield and return to the shores from whence they--or those they swore vows to--came.

Just some loose connective tissue that could be developed further. How does everyone feel about the basic set up?

I like it! I like this sort of thing in general, and it feels a pretty natural, non-forced was to link up all the PCs together.

[Wizard of the Coat]

19 hours ago, TheObsoleteMan said:

I had a flash of inspiration while looking over everyone's concepts, and a connective thread sort of popped into my head. This is just a suggestion based on what we have so far. Let me know if it fits with what you all are envisioning for your characters!

[UNNAMED] (TOM's character) was the second (or third or fourth) in command to the great warlord Kuno (connected to Vlad's character Melia). Ari's father's unit served under Kuno as well. When Kuno died during the war, [UNNAMED] had to take command. Unfortunately, that didn't go so well, as we all find ourselves as the last few survivors of the army. Amongst them was a soldier (Delorphin) who was (entrusted? burdened?) to safeguard the secret weapon of Kuno's army--the last of the ancient dragons, still just a fledgling at this point in its life. Each has a reason to depart the battlefield and return to the shores from whence they--or those they swore vows to--came.

Just some loose connective tissue that could be developed further. How does everyone feel about the basic set up?

I like it. Here are some questions.

1. Has Delorphin made his choice of character (the wyvern warrior)?

2. Is Melia's warlord (Kuno) an Iron Islander? Is this the reason she's headed that way after the war or is she heading that way because she's an Iron Islander?

3. What's the Wyvern Warrior's reason for heading to the Iron Isles after the War?

4. Is TOM's (your) character from the Iron Isles? If so, could he be from the village that Ari is heading to?

[Vladim]

3 minutes ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

2. Is Melia's warlord (Kuno) an Iron Islander? Is this the reason she's headed that way after the war or is she heading that way because she's an Iron Islander?

She's travelling for him, so our [final destination] should be his homeland, not hers. Maybe somewhere in the mainland? I left the details of who he is, where he comes from etc. vague so they can be determined depending on what makes most sense and is most narratively convenient.

As for Melia's home, I imagined it a small village on a small island; it could serve as a waypoint on our bigger journey 'home' (again, Kuno's home) and it could be an interesting scene for her character development. Maybe. We could also just skip it.

[Wizard of the Coat]

5 minutes ago, Vladim said:

As for Melia's home, I imagined it a small village on a small island; it could serve as a waypoint on our bigger journey 'home' (again, Kuno's home) and it could be an interesting scene for her character development. Maybe. We could also just skip it.

So she's an Iron Islander, but not from the specific island we're heading to.

[Vladim]

1 minute ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

So she's an Iron Islander, but not from the specific island we're heading to.

Yes. I wasn't sure if we were heading towards another island or the mainland. Either is fine with me though!

[Delorphin]

40 minutes ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

Has Delorphin made his choice of character (the wyvern warrior)?

Yes I have chosen that as that is the character that seems most compelling to most people. I've almost finished the character sheet, just working on the personal details and possibly finding a picture to represent him.

 

42 minutes ago, Wizard of the Coat said:

What's the Wyvern Warrior's reason for heading to the Iron Isles after the War?

The reason is twofold. First is to find other wyverns, if there are any still around, and find a place where the wyvern can be more than just a weapon at the disposal of humans. Second is to search for other creatures such as the wyvern, who were either created for the war or were created in the aftermath of the cataclysm. He'll be doing that as a sense of guilt nad responsibility as he is complicit in their existence after all. Ideally, he'd like to save them all and rehabilitate them. Worst comes to worse he will kill them, including the wyvern, if he deems that they cannot be undone from the harm that has been caused to them.

[Wizard of the Coat]

I think things are shaping up nicely.

Here are some questions.

1. Regarding the "background vow"... Do we roll for that vow using the Swear an Iron Vow move? Or does the Swear an Iron Vow move only apply to the vow we make in response to the "inciting incident?"

2. Is the inciting incident different for each player or is it some shared event that we all experience together?

3. In Ari's history, her mother was "captain" of a small knarr (viking trading ship). I put captain in parentheses because she'd have only had 2-3 crew. It occurred to me that we'll need a ship for our journey home. So I thought of the following. When Ari's mother died, one of her crew decided to take the ship for his own rather than serve a 12-year-old girl as she attempted to find her father's military unit. He might have even tried to kill Ari--precipitating her solo journey with minimal gear and resources. Upon finding her father's military unit, Ari might have realized that the warriors were not going to leave the war until it was over or their term of service had ended. With the war over, and the four survivors finding each other and realizing they were all headed in the same direction, Ari would have brought up her ship and asked the others to help her take it back--to fulfill a vow she made to herself to reclaim her mother's ship.

Does that work?

Edited March 20 by Wizard of the Coat (see edit history)