Before recorded time in pockets of antiquity the poets and singers of the old songs described a rich and dangerous land called Myrrgoth. Here the young human races grew alongside the fey and wild of valley and orchard and isle. The earth belonged to these children, but they were not the first inheritors. The children of the chaos god Vartek and the primordial mother Yyngalla-- whose house had been supreme before the new gods arrived--slithered into caverns, grottoes; they dove deep into the yawning chasms of the earth, to the bottom of the briny oceans, shriveled into air and fire, water and earth. Driven mad, succumbing to lust and violent rage, greed and bitter hatred, or gnawing hunger, Vartek's children populated all the dark corners of Myrrgoth.
On the borderlands, the space between these monsters and human civilization, men and elf went mad. When meeting the dark horrors, some were enticed into dark bargains with the old god's children and thus, chaos spread like a mindless plague across the plains and hills and forests. To fight such beasts and rid the land, the new gods took pity and emboldened the hearts of individuals: these the heroes of this early age.
You wish to be one of these brave souls, sponsored by a deity. Seek out your destiny.
Adventure awaits!
[PLEASE POST YOUR CHARACTER DESIGN AND NAME TO THIS ENTRY. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GIVE YOUR GODSELF--YOUR ALTER-EGO--A NAME. THIS WILL BE THE PATRON GOD FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S).]
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Epic Journey #1 - A Test for Heroes
Directions:
I am conducting a blog-based, open-style dungeon adventure. To contribute, you will need to post a fantasy-based character using the rules below. Similar to D&D, the object here is to immerse ourselves in the story telling process, develop character, and have a chance of interacting on-line, sometimes several times daily, as player's move their fictional "pieces" (their characters) across a board that only I, your game master, can see -- but will describe to you.
As this is a test, I will be tweaking the system as we go along.
Rules:
Using your posts, I will insert your character's choices and the element of random luck to tell a story. The more often you post reactions to the story, or help out with details, the more involved your character will be in the story.
Creating a character:
Roll a standard d6 for each of the following stats, to help me understand who your character is and what inherent strengths and weaknesses he/she may have.
In general all the stats break down to mean the following:
1 is weak or deficient, 2 is below average, 3-4 is average, 5 is above average, 6 is gifted or exceptional.
Strength: a measure of physical power. (STR) measures a character's muscle and physical power. This ability is especially important for combat. High or low STR affects a character's ability to hit and cause damage in combat, and the chances of a character performing an act of strength or brute force.
Dexterity (DEX) measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is important when avoiding attacks, or using ranged weapons. It is important when using any skill based on hand-eye coordination, or fine manipulation (such as playing a musical instrument, crafting or painting).
Constitution (CON) represents a character's health and stamina. It determines how quickly your character heals or endures extremes of pain, infection, or annoyance before succumbing. It also determines how much you can push yourself physically, how exhausted you might become after strenuous exercise, how fit you are, and so on.
Intelligence (INT) determines how well a character learns, remembers, and reasons. This ability also indicates how much knowledge your character possesses regarding history, skills, etc. It is also how observant and creative your character is in dealing with the fictional world.
Wisdom (WIS) describes a character's willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition. While Intelligence represents
one's ability to analyze information, Wisdom represents being in tune with yourself and other people (or the universe). It also measures how spiritual or "mystical" your character is likely to be.
Charisma (CHA) measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and
physical attractiveness. Please note: not everyone who has a high charisma is physically beautiful. A low charisma score is also likely to be a person who has no leadership skills, is awkward, or hesitant when trying to manage a situation. Many bad bosses might have low charisma scores, even if they are good-looking. It is also how a character sees him/herself, for example a character with low charisma is likely to second-guess his/her options because he/she does not trust him/herself. This ability is important for how other characters or monsters will respond to a character in an encounter, and affects the morale of hirelings and the number of companions or associates a character may have.
Luck: (Luck) measures how fortunate a character is. It is a vague attribute, one reserved for the Gods of the Game. In general, it determines how often you may get out of tricky, nasty situations; or whether good fortune is likely to strike at a random time.
MInor characteristics. Minor characteristics help us flesh out your character and give us a little more understanding who/what he/she is (and how to play the character). These may be rolled normally (d6) or simply chosen by you.
Size: Indicate whether or not your character is small or skinny for his/her type, large or tall, or average. A character with a low size score but high strength score are likely to be beefy, muscular types. A character with a low strength score and a high size score might indicate someone overweight or flabby (of course, depending on constitution as well).
Skilled: Indicate how skilled or educated your character is. A score of average (3-4) might indicate some schooling or proper apprenticeship in one specific area, or more than one in general areas. A low score might indicate little practical skill ability (or irrelevant skills pertaining to being a hero - like learning how to sew or brew beer... handy, but not a skill that is often called for in a dungeon, generally. After the adventure, however, it is). A highly skilled character may know various helpful skills and may teach these skills to other players.
Status: Indicates class and background. It will help determine the ability to keep and utilize helpful contacts, how much material aid may be received or used, and also indicates starting possessions and resources. It is a relatively fluid statistic, one that will change with the game.
Morality: Indicates your character's understanding and ability to follow societal rules, how pious or sacrilegious you may be, or your general behavioral alignment in regards to breaking/upholding the law, attitude toward societal structure or tradition. For example, a thief who has a score of above-average (5) for morality, may still steal (particularly if that means surviving), but will feel either very guilty about it, or compensate society in some way for each broken law.
Now, examine your stats. Determine what kind of character you have created. Once you have thought about the possibilities, write a short description of your character. Include any background notes you think may come in handy in playing or using the character in our story. The more detailed you are, the more I will be able to include this sort of thing into the structure of the story. Remember to include a name. NOTE: this first campaign is a fantasy setting. You are free to choose any type of character class or racial stock that would normally be found in a swords & sorcery or high fantasy setting. (Unlike D&D there are no prerequisites or limitations, except for your imagination.)
End your description with what you character is doing right now for a living, and give them one long-term goal. What do they want to do (and why?)
Finally, give your character an appropriate sounding name. Post your character on the site, and I will include that character into the story. After your description, I will post any additional notes or information you may need: such as starting possessions, friends, contacts, skills, job opportunities, etc.
See the post above for a description of the world-setting.
I am conducting a blog-based, open-style dungeon adventure. To contribute, you will need to post a fantasy-based character using the rules below. Similar to D&D, the object here is to immerse ourselves in the story telling process, develop character, and have a chance of interacting on-line, sometimes several times daily, as player's move their fictional "pieces" (their characters) across a board that only I, your game master, can see -- but will describe to you.
As this is a test, I will be tweaking the system as we go along.
Rules:
Using your posts, I will insert your character's choices and the element of random luck to tell a story. The more often you post reactions to the story, or help out with details, the more involved your character will be in the story.
Creating a character:
Roll a standard d6 for each of the following stats, to help me understand who your character is and what inherent strengths and weaknesses he/she may have.
In general all the stats break down to mean the following:
1 is weak or deficient, 2 is below average, 3-4 is average, 5 is above average, 6 is gifted or exceptional.
Strength: a measure of physical power. (STR) measures a character's muscle and physical power. This ability is especially important for combat. High or low STR affects a character's ability to hit and cause damage in combat, and the chances of a character performing an act of strength or brute force.
Dexterity (DEX) measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is important when avoiding attacks, or using ranged weapons. It is important when using any skill based on hand-eye coordination, or fine manipulation (such as playing a musical instrument, crafting or painting).
Constitution (CON) represents a character's health and stamina. It determines how quickly your character heals or endures extremes of pain, infection, or annoyance before succumbing. It also determines how much you can push yourself physically, how exhausted you might become after strenuous exercise, how fit you are, and so on.
Intelligence (INT) determines how well a character learns, remembers, and reasons. This ability also indicates how much knowledge your character possesses regarding history, skills, etc. It is also how observant and creative your character is in dealing with the fictional world.
Wisdom (WIS) describes a character's willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition. While Intelligence represents
one's ability to analyze information, Wisdom represents being in tune with yourself and other people (or the universe). It also measures how spiritual or "mystical" your character is likely to be.
Charisma (CHA) measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and
physical attractiveness. Please note: not everyone who has a high charisma is physically beautiful. A low charisma score is also likely to be a person who has no leadership skills, is awkward, or hesitant when trying to manage a situation. Many bad bosses might have low charisma scores, even if they are good-looking. It is also how a character sees him/herself, for example a character with low charisma is likely to second-guess his/her options because he/she does not trust him/herself. This ability is important for how other characters or monsters will respond to a character in an encounter, and affects the morale of hirelings and the number of companions or associates a character may have.
Luck: (Luck) measures how fortunate a character is. It is a vague attribute, one reserved for the Gods of the Game. In general, it determines how often you may get out of tricky, nasty situations; or whether good fortune is likely to strike at a random time.
MInor characteristics. Minor characteristics help us flesh out your character and give us a little more understanding who/what he/she is (and how to play the character). These may be rolled normally (d6) or simply chosen by you.
Size: Indicate whether or not your character is small or skinny for his/her type, large or tall, or average. A character with a low size score but high strength score are likely to be beefy, muscular types. A character with a low strength score and a high size score might indicate someone overweight or flabby (of course, depending on constitution as well).
Skilled: Indicate how skilled or educated your character is. A score of average (3-4) might indicate some schooling or proper apprenticeship in one specific area, or more than one in general areas. A low score might indicate little practical skill ability (or irrelevant skills pertaining to being a hero - like learning how to sew or brew beer... handy, but not a skill that is often called for in a dungeon, generally. After the adventure, however, it is). A highly skilled character may know various helpful skills and may teach these skills to other players.
Status: Indicates class and background. It will help determine the ability to keep and utilize helpful contacts, how much material aid may be received or used, and also indicates starting possessions and resources. It is a relatively fluid statistic, one that will change with the game.
Morality: Indicates your character's understanding and ability to follow societal rules, how pious or sacrilegious you may be, or your general behavioral alignment in regards to breaking/upholding the law, attitude toward societal structure or tradition. For example, a thief who has a score of above-average (5) for morality, may still steal (particularly if that means surviving), but will feel either very guilty about it, or compensate society in some way for each broken law.
Now, examine your stats. Determine what kind of character you have created. Once you have thought about the possibilities, write a short description of your character. Include any background notes you think may come in handy in playing or using the character in our story. The more detailed you are, the more I will be able to include this sort of thing into the structure of the story. Remember to include a name. NOTE: this first campaign is a fantasy setting. You are free to choose any type of character class or racial stock that would normally be found in a swords & sorcery or high fantasy setting. (Unlike D&D there are no prerequisites or limitations, except for your imagination.)
End your description with what you character is doing right now for a living, and give them one long-term goal. What do they want to do (and why?)
Finally, give your character an appropriate sounding name. Post your character on the site, and I will include that character into the story. After your description, I will post any additional notes or information you may need: such as starting possessions, friends, contacts, skills, job opportunities, etc.
See the post above for a description of the world-setting.
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