It’s late again. I ran some Stonehell again! The holiday season really broke my flow.
I’m still writing for Knives. Today, once more in the form of advice dressed up as a play example interspersed with a discussion of what happened…
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Claudia says, “Adalric and Brunhilde are climbing the winding trail that leads up to the tower of Ulrike the Beautiful. It’s a hot day in spring and the crickets are loud. A crow seems to be watching you, always retreating uphill as you approach.”
Silence. Alex and Berta don’t know what to do with the crow info.
Claudia jumps forward in time, “You arrive at the tower. It stands right at the precipice overlooking the Ulrichen valley. You see that a gap of a few meters separates Ulrike’s tower from the rest of the mountain. It stands on a stone column of its own.”
Berta says, “It’s well defended. Do we see the witch?”
Claudia says, “As you look around, you see the face of a woman appearing in a narrow window above the gate that opens into the void separating the tower from you. ‘What do you want, kids?’”
Alex says, “I’ve come to fetch the Grapes of Eelgau for lady Trudeberg!”
Claudia says, “I see… she wiggles her head and mumbles a few words. The stone on both sides of the gap stretches, as if there were giant hands beneath the surface trying to touch each other. You can walk over these stone fingers to the door. It opens and there she is, Ulrike the Beautiful.”
Alex says, “All right! I explain about the book. Lady Trudeberg needs it. We’re just here to fetch the book. Or is she going to teach me a spell?”
Claudia says, “She’ll let you take a look at her books for a day if you’ll go up the mountain and pick some Blue Roaring Ears at the Lake of Tears. Just be nice to the marmot man who lives by the lake. You get the feeling that this could be the start of a working relationship. Maybe also not the last errand you’ll run for her if you agree.”
Alex looks at Berta and she shrugs. He says, “OK, we’ll do it.”
When the players handled Urs, Claudia realised she hadn’t prepared much for Ulrike. What sort magic did she have? No time to roll dice. That would have to come later. So a quick look at the list and she jotted down Healing, Sleep, Doors, Plants, Brewing, Charm, Diplomacy, Illusion, Literacy – classic Passive and Manipulative careers!
After the game, Claudia picks Ulrike’s age, say 50. So we have about 34 years and therefore 34 dice to roll. Let’s take 4d6 and roll four times on the Passive table, four times on the Manipulative table, and add each of the skills we listed above at 1. Using 2d6 for attributes, this is Ulrike the Beautiful: Strength-8 Dexterity-8 Endurance-12 Intelligence-6 Education-8 Status-3 Healing-2 Sleep-6 Eyes-4 Doors-2 Plants-5 Brewing-2 Charm-5 Singing-4 Diplomacy-4 Illusion-3 People-3 Literacy-4. Surprisingly fit! She probably does a lot of hiking up here in the mountains. And fantastic Sleep, Plants and Charm talents!
The players are heading up into the mountains. Why is the lake called the Lake of Tears?
Claudia says, “The way up is hard going. It’s steep and the wind is cold. You’ve been hearing the marmots whistling and you’ve been seeing the bearded vultures circling. How about you give me an Endurance roll to see how well you’re holding up.”
Alex says, “What happens when we fail?”
Claudia says, “How about you need to send the night because you’re exhausted?”
Alex rolls 10 which is higher than 7. Berta rolls a 12 which is higher than 9. Neither has the Climb talent. Berta says, “It’s going to be a long night.”
When Claudia had mentioned the marmot man, she didn’t have anything particular in mind. Some kind of fay creatures – and so she rolls for a Nightling: Damage-10 Endurance-6 Life-4 Fight-9 Attack-6 Escape-7. It’s aggressive and deals a lot of damage! Maybe he wields a devil blade? Or is it some sort of desiccation magic that he wields via the twigs of a sacred tree? She goes with that.
Now, questions: Is the marmot man evil? Why is he opposed to humans gathering Blue Roaring Ears? How might he be convinced to part with them?
Now, it’s always easy to feel that the answers to these questions should have been prepared. But sometimes the players go in unexpected directions and the world needs to expand, seamlessly. Wherever players look, more stuff gets added.
+-----+--------------------------------+ | 2d6 | Reaction | +-----+--------------------------------+ | 2 | attempt to kidnap and ransom | | | you | | 3 | rob you, take your stuff | | 4 | threaten you and your friends | | 5 | demand help and cooperation | | 6 | refuse to cooperate | | 7 | be sceptical, doubt your | | | competence | | 8 | be wavering, doubt your | | | success | | 9 | only take safe bets, stay in | | | the back | | 10 | cooperate, take reasonable | | | orders | | 11 | be friendly, offer sympathy | | 12 | be helpful, offer advice | +-----+--------------------------------+
#RPG #Knives
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Status is interesting - a global talent? Could you see certain games having multiple status talents relevant to different polities (kinda like Etiquette skills in Shadowrun 2e)?
– starmonkey 2023-02-04 09:40 UTC
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The Traveller Book:
Social Standing notes the social class and level of society from which the character (and his or her family) comes.
Also:
Titles: The social standing characteristic shows relative position within society for the individual. Those with social standing of B+ (11 or greater) are considered to be noble, and may assume their family’s hereditary title. Noble titles are commonly used, even if the individual is not engaged in local government. At the discretion of the referee, a world may be generated (see Worlds) and the noble may have some ancestral lands or fiefs on it.
So that’s how I think about it. You could also think of it as you social class, or the societal resources at your disposal, I guess.
– Alex 2023-02-04 10:29 UTC