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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: That's an understatement
"I don't know your tongue well enough, yet. Wait, I don't think that came out right. What I mean to say is, I know some elven but not enough to carry on a conversation."
Blushing at the realization that his old elven friend may have been right about him not thinking before he spoke, he gets the skinned rabbits and hands them to Lorae and asks her if she would place them in a bag of stasis. "They should be good eatin' for dinner next time we stop for the night, later on."
Devon went to sit down and have his breakfast and he couldn't bring himself to look the newcomer in the eye for the rest of the day after that.
Posted on 2009-03-15 at 06:42:48.
Edited on 2009-03-17 at 04:33:06 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil
Subject: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil
It is a hot summer day in Leaphaven, when some children, scared almost to to death, come screaming through the gates.
"ORCS!"
"Strange Lights!"
"I SAW DEAD PEOPLE!"
"I WANT MY MAMA!"
One of the constables on duty roughly grabs one of the boys in the group by his arm and spins him around to face him.
"Look here boy, what is this all about, hmm? You can't just go screaming what you like through the streets and scaring everyone! So, what is it? You think this a funny game?"
The boy with tears in his eyes from both fright and the pain in the arm the constable grabbed just sort of whimpered out, "It's true sir, there were strange lights about a mile outside the city gates. They looked like a swarm of fireflies, but when we tried to catch them they flashed bright. It almost seemed like I was in a house and there were long dead men walking towards me, then they disappeared."
"Well, I'm going to have your mum summoned and we're going to all see the Governor together and we'll see what he thinks of your story! And as for your friends, we'll deal with them soon enough. I will have order here, and no hooligan kids are going to wreck that order! Come along boy!"
It was a long day. All the children involved and their parents were summoned before the Governor and were questioned separately. All, that is, except one. One of the children with the group did not return with the others. The stories of all the children matched with exception to what they saw. Each recalled that after the bright flash, they seemed to be in a room like in a house. Some saw ogres, some saw an old man, one saw a group of orcs, and one of the children, a little girl, the sister of the missing boy, saw a black dragon.
The mother of the missing boy was hysterical.
"But my son is missing! This constable is treating our children like criminals and trying to hush them up like this is some fantasy that they concocted to get attention.
I believe there is a real danger outside the city gates and my son could be lost in it! Please, give these children the benefit of the doubt and do SOMETHING to find my son!"
She backs away with head in hands sobbing her heart out and tries to take a seat but misses the chair and sits hard on the floor making her only cry harder.
The Governor takes the rest of the day to deliberate on the situation, and by the next morning, comes to a plan of action. He sends the constable, and four of his best guards to the location of the disturbance to investigate, but not to enter, just for the purpose of reconnaissance.
The constable returned humbled and looking worse for wear with only two of the four guards he was sent with.
When the Governor saw the remains of the group he sent out, he stood up in surprise and exclaimed, "What in the god's names happened to you people?"
"Oh Sir, the children weren't lying! The lights they saw are starting to form something big. It looks as if its supposed to be a house or some kind of building, but just as soon as it begins to take shape it fades away!"
"Well that's all fine and well but what happened to you? I sent you out to gather information, not to do battle!"
At that point one of the guards steps up and says,"Remember what the kids said they saw? Just as the house, or building or whatever it is faded away, it apparently deposited five ogres and they immediately attacked us. Those of us who stand before you now just barely made it away with our lives, sir."
The Governor contemplatively strokes his beard and after a moment that seems like an eternity to the others says,"This looks like a job for professional outsiders. This city can't afford to lose any more guards or constables. We're short handed as it is. Crime has risen by half of what it was two seasons ago and we need eyes and ears here in the city to keep a watch out for these new nefarious guilds springing up in the city's underground. No, this is not a time we can afford to be weak. Constable, I want you to summon five of my best couriers, preferably those who can travel magically."
"At once, Sir!"
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During the hour in which the Governor waited for the couriers, he sat down with ink and quill to write out five letters of summons.
Talking to the remaining guards he says as he writes, "The children mentioned seeing walking dead. My brother wrote to me before he died of a cleric of Eilistraee that he took under his wing. He said if she ever came into Leaphaven to take care of her. She could probably use the work.
I hear tell of a half orc barbarian that lives on the outskirts of our neighboring city. I believe his name is Irgune. One of the children said they saw orcs. Well, fight fire with fire I say and I've never known a barbarian to turn down a fine wage.
The group is going to need a mage and I think I've got just the one in mind. Poor girl, she's a moon elf and she lost her twin sister, but she must be powerful, though for she did defeat a priestess of Lolth, from what I've heard.
There is this one man that frequents the Nightshade Inn once or twice a week. I'm not sure if he is part of one of the guilds we've been having trouble with but he's been doing a bit of bragging about his exploits and word has reached me about it. Strange man too, I hear he once bet that he could eat a raw fifteen ounce venison steak without getting sick and won the bet. If he thinks he's as good as I hear he is, I would like one of you to take this letter to him to see if he's up for the task and hand him this letter. Tell "Xavier", I believe that's the name he goes by, that I will pay handsomely. He seems like the kind of chap that's interested in that kind of business talk.
We will need someone who can lead such a motley crew. Someone who can inspire the best in the others and from his reputation he might even be able to get along well with Xavier as well. Who knows? But he's the most investigative paladin I've heard of if not the most unorthodox. Do you remember when I was on a diplomatic mission to get medical help from Shaarmid, for the epidemic of Red Fever that spread through here two winters ago?"
One of the guards rubbed his throat and eyes at the mere mention of the sickness, "Please, sir , don't remind me."
"Well anyway, that's where I met the Reverend Father Turalyon. During our talks he told me of Chiron Po one of his newest Knights of the Order of the Champions of the Noble Heart."
The guard cocked his head and said, "Wow, that was a mouthful. I've always wondered how you know of so many people, even those who don't know of you."
The Governor shoots a glance and a smirk up to the guard as he replies,"I've got friends in both high and low places."
The couriers showed up finally as he finished the last summons and the Governor hands one wax sealed letter to each of them to deliver.
"I believe if we can get all four on board for this mission, we can rescue the boy and eliminate this threat, once a for all"
The letter reads as follows:
"Dear Sir (or Madam),
We in Leaphaven are in dire need of help, for we are short handed in security staff in this town and a new development has arisen only a mile outside our city gates that could very well be a threat to the city. Two fatalities have already occurred and a little boy has gone missing and we believe this to be connected to the same problem. I don't want to go into too much detail for fear that if this letter falls into the wrong hands it may be viewed as a sign of weakness on our part and open us up for attack. All I will say is that this summons reached you for the reason that your reputation precedes you and though you seem young and just starting out in your career, you are good at what you do. If you accept the mission of investigation and elimination of threats outside of our city gates, please teleport to Leaphaven with my courier and come meet with me. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Cordially yours,
Governor Bailash Castor"
---------------------------------------------------
Satya, a beautiful, yet rough around the edges, young woman leaves a dark past behind, hoping to travel far enough to find a brighter future. Her long, dark, wavy hair is blown about by a wind, a wind that seems to push her, guide her in the way she should travel, and being the ranger that she is, she takes the hint from nature itself....
Satya entered Leaphaven after finding what appeared to be a dead courier from an unknown town. Because she is illiterate, she didn't bother trying to figure out what the strange markings the letter the courier was carrying meant. The only clue she had to the letter's origin was a pictogram or symbol visible within the wax seal on the letter. So she began to ask around for information, and she finally wound up with directions given to her by a traveling merchant. Following those directions brought her to a set of city gates with the same symbol in the wax seal burned into the hardwood doors. While looking for the sender, she found out a child, a young boy of around 10, was missing from the murmurs and gossip whispered and clandestine talk about town. Satya figured returning the letter to its sender can wait (still not knowing what the letter is about) for she felt a great need to find this child. An old guilt fills her and she hopes helping the child might make amends with the powers of fate. She set off in the direction of a glowing disturbance that she took notice of, northwest of the city almost a mile away, towards a glowing in the woods....
Posted on 2009-03-15 at 06:28:16.
Edited on 2009-10-23 at 17:59:58 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Gboy - Xavier Von Richter
Name: Xavier von Richter
Male, Half-Human/Half-Vampire Rogue 3
ECL: 5
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
HD: 3d6+9(Con)
HP: 27
Age: 19, Height: 5'8" , Weight: 130 , Hair: White , Eyes: Red , Complexion: Pale, almost white
Str : 16 (+3) - (5 Point-buy + 2 (template) + 1 (4th level))
Dex : 18 (+4) - (10 Point buy + 2 (template))
Con : 16 (+3) - (10 Point buy)
Int : 18 (+4) - (16 Point buy)
Wis : 14 (+2) - (6 Point buy)
Cha : 17 (+3) - (8 Point buy + 2 (template))
Total: 5+10+10+16+6+8 = 55
Init +8 (+4 (Dex) +4 (Feat))
Fort +4 (1 Base + 3(con)
Ref +7 (3 Base + 4(dex)
Will +3 (1 Base + 2(wis)
Speed 30 ft
AC: 23 (Flatfooted: 19 Touch: 15)
Base Attacks: +4 melee, +6 ranged
+6 (1d2[+3], Shuriken [Thrown]),
+6 (1d6[+3], Rapier [One Handed - Finesse]),
+6 (1d6[+3], Slam [Natural]),
Racial Features (RF):
Human
Base Land Speed 30 ft.
Bonus Feat at 1st level
Bonus skill point at each level.
Favoured Class: Any
Half Vampire
Str +2, Dex +2, Cha +2
Natural Attack: Slam 1d6+3
Natural Armor: +2
Blood Drain: With a successful grapple check, you deal 1d4 points of Con drain. You cannot drain more Con in one hour than you have Constitution points. You gain 5 Temporary hit points per point of constitution drained that last for 1 hour.
Blood Dependancy: You must drink blood from one living creature per day. If you do not, you must make a Fort Save (DC 15) or become fatigued. This DC increases by 1 for each day you do not drink. After one week, you must make a DC 20 Fort save, or become exhausted. Using the Blood Drain ability removes the fatigue, and improved exhaustion to fatigue.
DR 5/magic and silver
Fast Healing: If your HP falls below half, you gain fast healing 1.
Resistance cold and elec 5
+2 Racial Bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot Checks.
Improved Initiative Feat.
Class Features: (Class feats, Rogue/Monk abilities, etc.)
Trap Sense +1, Sneak Attack +2d6, Evasion, Trapfinding.
Skills:
Bluff: +11
Climb: +9
Diplomacy: +13
Disguise: +9
Escape Artist: +10
Gather Information: +9
Hide: +12
Listen: +10
Move Silently: +12
Sense Motive: +8
Sleight of Hand: +12
Spot : +10
Tumble: +10
Feats:
Improved Initiative (Bonus)
Weapon Finesse
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Shuriken)
Combat Expertise
Possessions: 100 Shuriken, +1 Mithral Chain Shirt
Wealth: 110 gp
Goods Stored: (behind saddle, in backpack/saddlebags/Bag of Holding, etc.)
Magic Items: 5 Potions Pass without trace, 5 potions of cure light wounds, 2 potions of cure moderate wounds, 5 potions of shield of faith, Shiftweave, Ring of Protection (+1), Amulet of Natural Armour (+1), Hat of Disguise.
Posted on 2009-03-15 at 04:12:11.
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: It never rains but it pours......
While listening to Lorae explain about the preservation of meat, Devon takes notice that Alexandria is talking to somebody, though what she said he wasn't sure of. It sounded as if she was speaking elvish.
Devon looks in the direction that Alexandria is speaking and sees a strikingly beautiful elven woman. After meeting Lorae, he's beginning to see that elves aren't all bad and many are quite beautiful to boot, though he wouldn't say so out loud in mixed company.
"Well, it seems it never rains but it pours." he muttered.
Not sure what the intentions of this new comer are, he takes position at the side of Alexandria and says the little bit of elven he does know, "Welcome, Greetings, we are not hostile towards you."
Devon's relations with elves. as stated before, were never the best. Most of the elves he came in contact with felt he was too brash and bold, not subdued and contemplative enough. A common complaint from many elves was that he spoke before thinking his words through. Some even said that Devon would let his words pour out of him like water.
Devon did however have an elven friend, though he was just as generous with his criticism of Devon's loquaciousness. Devon even asked his friend, Travinulis, to teach him to speak elven and his friend replied, " Why, so you can talk my ears of in that language too?"
Devon does know how to speak draconic and sylvan but it doesn't seem to help him in this case.
Posted on 2009-03-14 at 03:26:16.
Edited on 2009-03-14 at 03:33:32 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Nimu - Seluumiel Ithil'Luume
NAME : Seluumiel Ithil'Luume
PlAYER: Nimu
RACE : Moon Elf
GENDER: Female
MAX HP: 42
CUR HP: 42
HEIGHT: 5' 3"
WEIGHT: 98 lbs
AGE : 123
HAIR : Silver
EYES : Sapphire
HAND : Left
SIZE : Medium
SPEED : 30
CLASS : Cleric 3 / Diviner 2
XP : 10,000
ALIGN : Chaotic Good
DEITY : Sehanine Moonbow
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ABIL ABIL TMP TMP
SCORE MOD SCORE MOD
STR : 10 : 0 : : : 2
DEX : 16 : +3 : : : 10
CON : 14 : +2 : : : 6
INT : 19 : +4 : : : 16
WIS : 18 : +4 : : : 16
CHA : 16 : +3 : : : 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Armour Shield Dex Size Misc
AC : 5 = 0 + 0 + 3 + 0 + 2
Total Dex Misc
Init : +0 = 3 + 0
BAB: +3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SAVES Total Base Ability Magic Misc
Fort : +3 = + 3 + 0 + +
Refl : +4 = +1 + 3 + +
Will : +10 = + 6 + 4 + +
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RACIAL ABILITIES
Immunity to sleep spells
+2 save bonus vs Enchantment spells
+2 Listen, Search, Spot checks
Automatic search check to notice secret/concealed doors when passing within 5 feet of one
Low-light vision
Proficient with longsword, rapier
Proficient with most bows
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Travel Domain (Freedom of movement 3 rounds/day, Survival added to class skill)
Knowledge Domain (Divinations +1 Caster Level, Knowledge Skills added to class skills)
Turn Undead (6/day 1d20+6)
Diviner (Barred School Necromancy)
Divination Immediate Magic (4/day Glimpse Peril : +2 Saving Throw Bonus)
FEATS
Scribe Scroll
Eschew Materials
Ritual Blessing
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LANGUAGES: Common, Celestial, Draconic, Drow, Elven (Native Language), Sylvan
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SKILLS MAX RANGES : /
KEY SKILL ABIL MISC
CC SKILL NAME ABIL MOD MOD RANKS MOD
Appraise (int) 4 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Balance (dex) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Bluff (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + (misc)
Climb (str) Level 0 = 0 (rank) + 0 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Concentration (con) 10 = 8 (rank) + 2 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Decipher Script (int) 6 = 2 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Diplomacy (cha) 5 = 2 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Disguise (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Escape Artist (dex) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Forgery (int) 4 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Gather Information (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Handle Animal (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Heal (wis) 10 = 6 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Hide (dex) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Intimidate (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Jump (str) 0 = 0 (rank) + 0 (ability mod) + (misc)
*Knowledge (arcana) (int) 12 = 8 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Knowledge (history) (int) 8 = 2 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
*Knowledge (religion) (int) 10 = 6 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Listen (wis) Level 6 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 2 (racial)
Move Silently (dex) Level 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + (misc)
Perform (cha) 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Ride (dex) 5 = 2 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Search (int) 6 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 2 (racial)
Sense Motive (wis) 4 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + (misc)
*Spellcraft (int) 14 = 8 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 2 (knowledge)
Spot (wis) Level 6 = 0 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + 2 (racial)
*Survival (wis) 6 = 2 (rank) + 4 (ability mod) + (misc)
Swim (str) Level 0 = 0 (rank) + 0 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
Use Rope (dex) Level 3 = 0 (rank) + 3 (ability mod) + 0 (misc)
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WEAPON TAB DAM CRIT RNG WGHT SIZE TYPE
Quarter Staff +3 1d6 x2 4lb Bludgeoning
Dagger +3/+6 1d4 19-20/x2 10 ft 1lb Piercing or Slashing
Dagger +3/+6 1d4 19-20/x2 10 ft 1lb Piercing or Slashing
PROPERTIES
------------------------------------------------------------
ARMOR CHECK MAX DEX___
ARMOR TYPE BONUS PENALTY DEX FAIL SPEED WGHT
PROPERTIES
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SPELLS
Max MP : 40
Current MP : 40
Divine Spells Per day 4/3/2/0/0/0/0/0/0/0
Domain Spells Per day 0/1/1/0/0/0/0/0/0/0
Arcane Spells Per day 5/4/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0
Prepared Divine Spells
Level 0:
Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Poison, Light, Purify Food and Drink
Level 1:
Command, Cure Light Wounds, Sanctuary
Level 2:
Hold Person, Sound Burst
Prepared Domain Spells
Level 1:
Longstrider
Level 2:
Detect Thoughts
Prepared Arcane Spells
Level 0:
Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Mending, Prestidigitation
Level 1:
Identify, Comprehend Languages, Magic Missile, Disguise Self
Known Arcane Spells
Level 0:
Resistance, Acid Splash, Detect Poison, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Daze, Dancing Lights, Flare, Light, Ray of Frost, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Arcane Mark, Prestidigitation
Level 1:
Alarm, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Disguise Self, Identify, Magic Missile, Mount, Obscuring Mist, Sleep
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MONEY PP: 9 GP: 39 SP: 43 CP:
------------------------------------------------------------
EQUIPMENT (WEIGHT CARRIED = 12.5 lbs [LIGHT])
Bedroll 5lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Blanket Winter 3 lb (Hewards Hand Haversack)
Scroll Case 1/2 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Flint and Steel (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Ink 2 oz (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Inkpen (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Mirror, small steel 1/2 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Pouch, belt 1/2 lb (worn)
Trail Rations 10 days 50 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Rope, Silk 5 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Signet Ring (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Waterskin 4 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Holy Symbol of Sehanine Moonbow, Silver 1 lb (worn)
Spell Component Pouch 2 lb (worn)
Spellbook 3 lb (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Clerics Vestments 6 lb (Worn)
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MAGIC ITEMS
Ring of Protection +1 (Worn)
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 (Worn)
Hewards Handy Haversack 5lb (Worn)
Wand of Burning Hands (50 charges) (Hewards Handy Haversack)
Wand of Summon Monster 1 (50 charges) (Hewards Handy Haversack)
1 Scroll of Fog Cloud (Scroll Case)
2 Scrolls of Mirror Image (Scroll Case)
2 Scrolls of Scorching Ray (Scroll Case)
2 Scrolls of Fireball (Scroll Case)
2 Scrolls of Lightning Bolt (Scroll Case)
*added Burning Hands to spellbook. 25 gp has been spent for a scroll of Burning Hands.
------------------------------------------------------------
APPEARANCE
Otherworldly beautiful, Seluumiel is built with the lithe grace of the elven people. Of average height, she is of the slender build typical of the elves. Her smooth unmarred skin is a pale white tinged with blue making her delicate features appear carved from exquisite marble. Deep sapphire eyes glitter with intelligence and hold the hallowed sorry of the elves. Her hair, a shining silver, spills in waves falling just above her lower back. On her forehead, just below the hairline, she bears the silver mark of Sehanine Moonbow's holy symbol.
Seluumiel generally wears a diaphanous silvery white gown, the skirt is split at the hips and pale grey leggings are tucked into soft grey boots. She often wears a white cloak and carries a quarterstaff made from grayish wood. She moves with a languid grace and appears an apparition of moonlight poured into flesh. The elf is quiet and reserved, and spends much of her time in solitude. In order to replenish her spells she meditates at midnight when the moons are at their zenith.
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HISTORY
As the tears of Sehanine Moonbow blended with the blood of Corellon Larethian so were born the elves. They would forever embody the light of Corellon Larethian and the mystery of Sehanine Moonbow. Some are born with the mark of Sehanine Moonbow, a silver symbol forever etched into their forehead. Touched by the Lady of Dreams they are the chosen of the Daughter of the Night Skies. Since the dawn of the elven people the chosen of Sehanine Moonbow have been known as the Ainur Ithil, the Holy Sisterhood of the Moon.
Our story begins on Evermeet, island of the elves.
It was on the night of the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud that twin girls, Seluumiel Ithil'Luume and Siliveliel Luume, were born to the moon elven scholars Lathoniel and Aerandir. Twins though the girls were they could not be more different. Siliveliel, golden haired and emerald eyed, was fascinated by stories and song. Seluumiel, silver haired and sapphire eyed, was born with the silver moonbow of Sehanine on her forehead. The silver haired elf child was different, she seemed to be able to see and hear what could not be seen and could not be heard. She soon began to have dreams of a moonlit sky and an otherworldly voice calling to her.
After the twins reached their tenth year the family was visited by and enigmatic woman calling herself Ailenuial. Silver haired and sapphire eyed, she had the silver mark of Sehanine's moonbow on her forehead. She had come to take Seluumiel, claiming that Sehanine Moonbow had called the child. Her parents at first refused, but the mysterious elf eventually convinced them to allow Seluumiel to come with her. The twins resisted the parting, but their tearful separation was eminent and soon Seluumiel left her family home with the enigmatic stranger. The pair was joined by a guard of white robed men for their long journey. For the first few days on the journey Seluumiel cried, but on the third night under the light of the moon Ailenuial sat with the elf child.
"Do not cry my child," Ailenuial told Seluumiel as she smoothed the tears from the child's eyes, "You have heard the call of the goddess, and I have come to bring you to her. All who bear the mark the Lady of Dreams have made the journey you make now." And so they continued on. Ailenuial told Seluumiel of the ways of Sehanine Moonbow and the Ainur Ithil, the Holy Sisterhood of the Moon.
They travelled through the eldritch wilds of Evermeet for a fortnight. On the night of the fifteenth day they reached a lake secluded deep in the forests. Moonlight bathed the lake illuminating a small island at its center. Ailenuial led Seluumiel to a small canoe, and together they made their way to the central isle. Small white lights danced above the dark water, and the wide eyed child stared out in awe. The small island sat bathed in moonlight, white marble temples stood amid flowering white trees and indigo night blooming flowers. They had reached Anarriima, the home of the Ainur Ithil. It was here that Seluumiel would begin her path.
The young moon elf would spend the next century on Anarriima training in the ecclesiastical practices of Sehanine Moonbow. The sisterhood believed that arcane and divine magics were at the core the same, and Seluumiel learned to harness the power of both. She grew into a mystic priestess of Sehanine Moonbow and soon became the embodiment of the Ainur Ithil.
Upon reaching adulthood, after one hundred years on Anarriima, Seluumiel was initiated into the sisterhood and became fully and wholly one of the Ainur Ithil. Despite the century apart she remained close to her twin sister. Seluumiel and Siliveliel exchanged letters over the years, and their bond never faded. Following Seluumiel's initiation she received a letter from her sister stating she would be living Evermeet to seek out the stories of before the fall of Cormanthyr. She would not hear from her sister again.
Seluumiel remained on Anarriima for the years following her initiation performing Lunar Hallowings, the Mystic Rites of the Luminous Cloud, and Ceremonies of Recovery. Beyond their oaths to Sehanine Moonbow the Ainur Ithil all swore oaths to serve the elven people and as a sisterhood of mystic priestesses the Ainur Ithil had access to powers that normal clerics of Sehanine did not. Many of Sehanine's faithful sought out counsel with the Ainur Ithil, and as a fully initiated sister Seluumiel provided council and blessing to the faithful.
After nearly ten years as an Ainur Ithil, Seluumiel began to have visions and dreams of her sister. She saw her sister swallowed by a darkness in Cormanthyr and she knew at the very core of her being that Siliveliel was dead. Seluumiel left Anarriima. She left Evermeet and made her way to Faerun. Her bond to her fallen sister pulled her to Siliveliel's body. Seluumiel soon found herself wandering the forest of Cormanthyr. She wandered through the ancient wood for days. The ruins of the fallen elven empire drew her to them, and as she wandered through the fallen city she felt herself pulled to the temple ruins. There on the floor of the temple of the Seldarine lay the lifeless body of Siliveliel. As she ran to her laughter mocked her in a voice all to musical to be anything but elven. Seluumiel turned to face the undead priestess of Lolth that now resided in the ruins of Cormanthyr. A battle between the two ensued and Seluumiel soon found herself overwhelmed by the power of the long dead dark elf. Nearly dead with nearly all hope lost Seluumiel opened herself fully to Sehanine and in that moment the divine splendor of the Daughter of the Night Sky vanquished Lolth's minion. Exhausted and spent Seluumiel crawled to the body of her dead sister. Still filled with the power of Sehanine she performed the Ceremony of Recovery, and their in the ruins of the ancient elven empire Siliveliel's soul was released into Arvandor. With the moonbows still glowing in her eyes Seluumiel fell to the temple floor exhausted with visions of Arvandor and Cormanthyr caressing her soul.
The elf remained in the abandoned city for a time, and for each day she was in an almost constant state of meditation. Seluumiel sent her sister's body to Evermeet along with messages to her parents and the Ainur Ithil that she would remain in Faerun for a time. Before the retreat to Evermeet the elves had thrived on Faerun, and she would seek out what had been lost to her people and preserve what remained of them.
Posted on 2009-03-12 at 02:35:34.
Edited on 2009-03-15 at 04:04:34 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Sorry no can do.....
All I can say about the campaign is that it is dragon centric, and powerful.
The players will be starting somewhere near Unther in Faerun.
However, location in Faerun is not important for the majority of the Campaign won't take place in that world. I'm hoping for true immersion into the storyline and honest reactions from the characters (not planned out because the PC knows what's next).
I have decided to say that the world is called Genesica. It is my own world. The following is an excerpt from the campaign module:
Genesica, the origin of which has two legends. For the most part, everything in both legends are the same. The only difference is, where did Genesica begin? There are scholars that are native or descendants of natives to Krynn who believe that Genesica was an island that existed in time unrecorded about 500-1000 miles southeast of the Celestial Delta and the Towers of Eli. Scholars and lore masters native or descendants of natives to Faerun believe something similar. They believe that Genesica was an island 500-1000 miles southeast of Estagund.
This is the Faerunian version of the legend.....
On a beautiful island in Faerun called Genesica, a red dragon named Colossus ruled with an iron claw. She just
laid her clutch of eggs then went to sleep. During her slumber, the dragon goddess Tiamat blessed one of her eggs,
for she believed that through this offspring great deeds of evil would be wrought.
When the eggs finally hatched, five red wyrmlings were crawling around in the lair and one egg still remained. The next day the last egg began to crack open. First a tiny red head poked out, then a black head, a green, then a blue. A final head poked out, white as snow or ice, and as this head became visible the shell cracked completely open and Colossus was amazed but at the same time dismayed to see that the wyrmling was deformed for all five heads were
connected to the same body.
She was further dismayed that the wobbling reptile could not coordinate and decide which way to crawl, but the last
straw was when it finally zeroed each head in on one of his siblings and burned, zapped, poisoned, chilled, and partially digested with acid five of the red babies. Each one went down lifeless and he began to feast upon each carcass.
The new mother was infuriated with the tiny death bringer and picked him up, carried him out into the morning sunlight, and tossed him away as so much refuse. Colossus had no idea of the implications that these events held and did not care, nor did she know of the consequences that were soon to follow.
Tiamat soon made her self known to Colossus and called her from her lair. When Colossus made her exit, she was
shocked to see her son held ever so gently in the hands of Tiamat. The tiny deformity, diminished by the Dragon God’s
size, began hissing and spitting vile things in draconic at his mother and almost vomiting fire, poison, and sparks of
lightning at her. Tiamat put down the baby dragon and went to war with Colossus and slew her by freezing her with an icy blast from her white head. Colossus fell, and great was the fall of her.
A millennium had come and gone. When all creatures thought they were free of the tyrannical rule of dragons, the
dreaded son of Colossus, reared and trained by Tiamat herself, *Sver’ir* (in the common tongue means Dark One)
rose on the horizon of a new terrible era of rule over Genesica. He ruled as his mother once did and was venerated as a demigod unofficially. He made a volcano his lair for he had grown accustomed to the fires of Ba’ator, the home of Tiamat. He named his new home Sverthicasver (Mountain of Darkness, or as it has come to be known, Mt. Darkest).
As the Dark One’s rule continued over Genesica, an evil plan for domination formed in his sinister mind and began
making preparations at once. He took a half wyvern, half dragon named *Lorea’renk* as his mate and her clutch of
eggs numbered in the area of one score and ten.
His plan was simple enough. Through his ability to charm masses of creatures, he brought together mammoth armies
and commanded archways to be built so he may construct portals and gates to all the planes and realms as an
eternal fixture in his land to be used as the instrument of his dominance of all creation in any plane, and to stand
forever more as monuments thereafter to his superiority.
The time had come for him to strike. His children were old enough to find prey on their own though a few had fallen
prey to other creatures already. Almost all the portals had been created.
One of the gates was opened to the astral plane by mistake in the Dark One’s rush for supremacy (Tiamat tried
to teach patience, but that lesson fell on deaf ears) resulting in a tragic end for the beautiful island Genesica.
The other end of the astral portal opened into the pathway of an asteroid belt. Great rocks from this plane hurtled
and smashed their way through the gate. Without an atmosphere to slow or stop the onslaught of rocks, three
quarters of the land was laid to waste. One third of all life was destroyed including the Dark One’s mate and all
but five of his children.
The gate to the astral plane was ruined in the fray and the other gates and portals became unstable for use. They
functioned only to anchor this island to a fractal zone it has teleported to in the outsider plane. The link with other planes and realms were fortunate for repopulation purposes but unsteady at best.
With the Dark One’s legacy still intact, he vows to try again.....
Posted on 2009-03-10 at 03:55:44.
Edited on 2009-03-10 at 03:57:05 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil recruitment
Subject: Nimu
yes there is still room. We've got melee covered we need mages.
Posted on 2009-03-10 at 03:44:07.
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Topic: The Riddle of Steel Q&A
Subject: Quick-Start TROS Rules
These are the Quick-Start rules for The Riddle of Steel.
They can be downloaded as a PDF from http://www.driftwoodpublishing.com/support/ .
It will be the 5th bullet point on the page with the choices of MS Excell Character Generator and TROS Quickstart Rules (which is the choice you want).
other wise I am posting them here, but due to possible formatting differences, I hope it is readable and helpful either way you go.
Roleplaying with an Edge
Quickstart Rules
by
Stephen J. Barringer
Version 1.0
December 2002
Driftwood Publishing
Provo, Utah
www.theriddleofsteel.net
The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
A Moment of Steel
What is an RPG?
The Riddle of Steel
About the Quickstart Rules
2. Basic Mechanics
Attribute Tests
Vocation Tests
Proficiency Tests
Contested Rolls
Extended Rolls
Fumbling
Gameplay Mechanics in Action
3. Character Creation
Assigning Priorities
Social Class andWealth
Attributes
Vocations
Proficiencies
Spiritual Attribute Use
Character Progression
4. Combat and Injury
Initiative and Exchanges
Attacks and Offensive Maneuvers
Defenses and Defensive Maneuvers
Determining Damage
The Damage Table
Weapons and Armour
Healing
5. Sorcery
Sorcery Attributes
The Sorcery Pool
The Three Realms
Spell Types: Cantrips and Rituals
Casting Target Numbers (CTNs)
Spellcasting and Aging
Resisting Spells
Refreshing the Sorcery Pool
A List of Sample Spells
6. APart of the World of
Weyrth
Mainlund and its Kingdoms
Angharad
Cyrinthmeir
Stahl
Tales from Far-Off Lands
Typical Market Prices
7. Seneschal Strategies
Tips for RunningThe Riddle of Steel
Designers. Notes
A Selection of Encounters
Closing Credits
Credits
The Riddle of Steel: Quickstart Rules by
Stephen J. Barringer © Driftwood Publishing
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 3
1. Introduction
A Moment of Steel
BALOR.S BREATH sent small puffs of steam up through
the vents in the front of his helmet. His armor.s
joints creaked in protest as he marched down the
snow-covered path. News of barbarian raiders had
reached the clan, and he and his men had been sent
to eliminate the problem . sent into a three-day
march through unrelenting, bitter cold, the snow
and frost more dangerous than any raiders they could
imagine.
A soft sound echoed from the surrounding
woods . nothing more than a whisper, but enough
to break Balor.s grim train of thought. He held up
his hand to halt the war party. A dead silence filled
the area, a silence Balor knew too well. He reached
down and unclasped the warhammer from his belt.
At once, as if the forest itself had roused to
fury, large dark figures crashed out of the underbrush
and the surrounding woods, descending upon
them. Balor had barely enough time to get his shield
up as a massive axe sliced down, gleaming edge aimed
to split his head. The axe lodged in the shield, and
Balor swung his hammer around, striking his attacker
in the shoulder. The attacker, his leather and furs
reddening, stumbled backwards with a cry, his warpainted
face twisted in pain. Another swing from
the warhammer, and the bandit fell to the crimsonsmeared
snow, never to rise again.
Breathing heavily, Balor looked around to see
the barbarians fleeing, most of their men left behind
to the same fate. Some of his own clan had
joined them, their bodies contorted among the trees
in different poses of death. Steam rose from where
their blood spilled into the snow, rising to vanish
without trace into the bleak, merciless sky.
The small battle had begun quickly, and . like
his kinsmen.s lives . ended even quicker.
What is an RPG?
An RPG, or .Role-Playing Game., is basically .let.s
pretend. with rules. The players of the game create
fictional personae whose abilities are defined and
rated by the rules, and who interact with a fictional
world described by the game.s referee, known inThe
Riddle of Steel as the Seneschal (SEN-uh-shall). The
Seneschal creates and describes the situations, characters
and opponents encountered by the other players characters; the players, making up their own lines
in character, describe their actions and reactions to
those situations. Special 10-sided dice are used to
determine the outcome of conflict. The best games
take on aspects of storytelling, interactive theatre,
creative writing and strategy gaming to create a
unique, fun-filled experience with actual people . not
just a TV screen or a computer program.
The Riddle of Steel
The Riddle of Steel involves fantasy elements familiar
to most gamers . magic, swordplay, intrigue,
war and adventure. What sets the game apart is its
approach to these traditional elements. Roleplaying
games often seek to create an enforced balance in
play, by rigorously defining how a character.s power
level and classification determine his or her abilities
. in combat, magic, skills and in-game influence.
This is meant to ensure no one character can dominate
the game and shut out other players... but it
also, all too often, puts players under a stringent set
of arbitrary restrictions that stifle imagination and
excitement.
Things are different here. Magic is deadly
and powerful . even the weakest sorcerer is a lethal
threat. Swordplay is fast, dynamic, and bloody .
choose your battles wisely. Heroes don.t get better
by hacking up monsters and counting up gold . they
get better by chasing their own passions and dreams,
growing as characters rather than just gamepieces. And
players don.t get a free balance built into the rules
for them . each player has to take responsibility for
his own participation and enjoyment. The world
of The Riddle of Steel is more real, more dangerous,
and more exciting than what you.ll find in most
RPGs... at least, we.d like to think so.
About the Quickstart Rules
These Quickstart Rules present a highly simplified
version of The Riddle of Steel as presented in
4 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
the main corebook. These rules will let you get
started learning the basic mechanics of Riddle
right away. However, the primary corebook
provides much more in the way of rules, resources
and information, including:
A more detailed character creation
system, allowing you to play nonhuman
races, select character gifts and
flaws, expanded attribute range, a
more complex skill set and wider range
of social status and starting wealth.
Extended combat rules, including
more Proficiencies, more Maneuvers,
more weapons and more complex and
realistic damage tables.
Advanced sorcery rules, with more
complex spell definition, more options
for sorcerer characters and more
sample spells listed.
A full gazetteer of the world of
Weyrth, examining over 40 nations in
detail and presenting far more information
on Weyrth.s economy, history,
religious background, cultures and
geography.
So why bother with these Quickstart Rules at all,
then? First of all, because they.re a good way to
introduce new players to the game . to get them
familiar with the .feel. of The Riddle of Steel
before they lay out $40 for the corebook. Secondly,
because they.re fast and simple, which
makes them perfect for those .beer and pretzel.
games you sometimes run on short notice. Finally,
they.re available for free download on The
Riddle of Steel.s web site, which can be a useful
backup to your copy of the corebook.
2. Game Mechanics
The Riddle of Steel uses 10-sided dice for all its
rolls; you can get these dice at any gaming store and
most comic stores, and you should probably get 6
to 10 for each player (including the Seneschal). We
also recommend each player get one die in red and
another in white. Small bowls for holding your dice
at the gaming table are a good idea as well. The dice
rolls fall into five basic types.
Attribute Tests
Attribute Tests are made by rolling a number of
dice equal to one of your Attributes (like Agility or
Presence) against a Target Number (TN) based on
the difficulty of the task at hand. TNs can range
from 2 (foolproof) to 12 (very difficult) or higher
(nearly impossible), and are set by the Seneschal.
Each individual die which equals or beats the TN is
kept as a Success; the others are ignored. Any dice
which roll 10 may be rerolled, adding the new result
to the rolled 10. This is called Stacking. Any given
die can keep Stacking as long as you keep rolling 10s
on that die.
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 5
Usually, only one success is needed to accomplish
an action, though some actions may require
more; likewise, the number of successes indicates
the quality of the result, with one success equalling
a marginal scrape-by while four or five indicates
a flawless feat. You may also gain bonuses or penalties
to your Attribute (and thus to the number of
dice you can roll) if the Seneschal states a particular
task is easier or harder, due to circumstances, than it
would otherwise be.
Vocation Tests
Vocation Tests are a special kind of Attribute Test,
made by rolling an appropriate Attribute against the
Vocational Rating (VR) of that Vocation; the VR thus
acts as a Target Number. Thus, lower VRs are better
than higher ones, and the lower your VR the more
accomplished you are in that Vocation.
Proficiency Tests
Proficiency Tests are made by rolling dice from one of
your three Pools of dice: your Combat Pool, Missile
Pool or (for sorcerers) Sorcery Pool. These dice are
rolled against TNs set by your choice of weapon,
maneuver, or magical invocation; more information
can be found in Parts 3 and 4, below.
Contested Rolls
Contested Rolls, sometimes called just Contests, are made
whenever two or more characters or forces are directly
struggling against each other to win. Each
competitor rolls their dice in an Attribute, Vocation
or Proficiency Test against their own TNs, which
may be identical for each or different depending on
circum-stances. The number of successes scored
by each competitor are compared; the competitor
with the most successes is the winner. The loser.s
successes are subtracted from his to determine his
final Margin of Success. (Ties will indicate varying results
depending on the situation; a tie in armwrestling
will mean something different from a tie in bladeplay.
When in doubt, the Seneschal will make the final
call.)
Extended Rolls
Extended Rolls can be any of the four types listed
above. These rolls are made for long-term, extended
tasks like forging a sword, creating a spell or climbing
a high cliff. An Extended Roll sets not just a
TN, but a number of Required Successes, which must
be accumulated over the course of several rolls. Each
roll represents the passage of a set length of time .
when forging a sword, each roll may represent a day.s
work, while the process of spell research may require
a week for each roll. These rolls take as long
as they take, unless a Fumble is rolled (in which case
the player must start over from scratch) or unless
time runs out due to other circumstances in the
game.
Fumbling
Sometimes Tests aren.t just failed; they.re completely
botched. This is called Fumbling. Whenever you fail
a roll (i.e. roll no successes at all) and roll two or
more 1s on the dice, you have Fumbled . not only
failed, but screwed up spectacularly badly. The Seneschal
will determine the exact results, based on the
situation.
Gameplay Mechanics in Action
Geralt, a Cyrinthmeiran bladeslinger (played by Jake), and
his friend Vhord, a knight of Stahl (played by Nick), are
travelling a road together through a misty twilight. Steve, the
Seneschal, sets the scene for them:
S: The evening mist has thickened over the hills,
and moisture is collecting on your bags and armor.
The twilight is chill, and the wilderness noises are
subdued and muffled. Your aching feet feel every
step you make on this rutted path.
J: (as Geralt) Can we stop a moment? I don.t want
my bowstring getting wet.
N: (in character as Vhord) Certes, my friend. I would
not see thee helpless.
J: Don.t you ever relax?
N: But I am relaxed.
S: Jake, I.m gonna ask you to roll Geralt.s Wits and
tell me what you get.
6 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
Wits is a Mental Attribute, which includes senses and perception
as well as intelligence. In this instance, Steve needs to
know if Geralt hears the bandits lying in wait up the road;
but he can.t tell Jake the TN or what the Attribute Test is
for, because then Jake will know what.s waiting for them!
J: Okay, lessee... (Geralt.s Wits is 5. Jake rolls 5 10-
sided dice, getting 7, 4, 8, 9, 2. No fumbles, at least!
Steve had set the TN to hear the bandits as 8 . hard, but not
impossible. Geralt scored two successes, which Steve explains
as follows:
S: Geralt . as you.re coiling your bowstring for
storage in your pack, you hear an odd noise carried
through the mist. It sounds like a scrape on gravel,
combined with an oddly huffing breath....
J: You mean . like a horse.s hoof on dirt? Did the
breath sound like a horse too?
S: Bingo.
N: (out of character) Crap. Bandits.
J: Okay. I tell Vhord, .You wait here. I.m gonna
sneak around and see what.s what..
N: (back in character) I have little liking for cowering
in the mist, Geralt.
J: (also in character) There.s honour, Vhord, and then
there.s foolishness. Would you send men into battle
without knowing your enemy as much as you could?
N: No, but neither would I allow lack of such knowledge
to be an excuse for cowardice!
J: Okay, okay, just keep your voice down... (to Steve)
Any chance the bandits heard us just then?
S: They might have; you heard them when they
were being quieter than you were just now. But
sound carries oddly with the wind and the mist.
J: Actually, that.s perfect. (to Nick) Vhord, I want
you to sing a Stahlnish song to distract them. Something
loud and obscene, as many verses as you can.
(to Steve) While he.s doing that, I.m going to sneak
around through the hills and try to come up on these
bandits from behind.
S: Vhord?
N: (still in character, stiffly) If they are bandits, they
do not deserve honour; if they are not, Geralt.s...
advance scouting... will merely avoid a misunderstanding
(out of character) I don.t lose a Conscience
point for that, do I?
Conscience is a Spiritual Attribute, which rises and falls as a
character acts in keeping with or against his conscience. It is
important because it not only grants bonus dice on certain
rolls, it determines how Vhord can advance in experience. In
this case, Steve is generous:
S: No, Stahlnish honour isn.t that strict. Don.t worry
about it. Okay, I.m gonna need Vocation Rolls from
both of you: Nick, roll Presence vs. your Courtier;
Jake, roll Agility vs. your Woodsman.
N: Why am I rolling vs. Courtier?
S: To see how well you sing your song, of course!
Vhord has a Presence of 4 and a Courtier VR of 8; he
rolls 4 dice and gets... 3, 6, 7 and 9. One success; the song is
acceptably done but no more. Geralt has an Agility of 6 and
a Woodsman VR of 8; he rolls a 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, and 0, then
rerolls the 0 for another 7 . a total of 17. Three successes.
S: As Vhord.s voice booms out with a Stahlnish
tavern song about a barmaid and a rock dwarf, you
slip into the hills and make a wide circling arc through
the heather, trying to close in on where you heard
the noise. Give me a second here....
The bandits don.t have sentries, but there.s a chance they may
hear Geralt as he closes. Steve rolls theWits of the rearmost
bandit . a measly 3 . against hisWoodsman VR of 9. He
rolls 3, 6 and 8... no successes. He doesn.t hear Geralt.
S: You get within a few yards of the bandits, for
bandits they are; three men on either side of the
trail hidden by a rise in the ground, armed with crossbows
and shortswords, decked out in patchwork
leather armour and scraps of chain. The horse you
heard was one of about four, tied off to a tree off
to your left.
J: Crossbows. Three-become-One, I hate crossbows.
Can I get close enough to take out the
rearmost without the others noticing?
S: That.ll be a lot trickier, but you might be able to
manage it....
J: No, wait! I.ve got a better idea. I.m going to
sneak over to the horses, cut them free, then whack
one of them on the butt and stampede them all
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 7
towards the bandits. That should put a crimp into
their plan!
S: Not bad. Okay, roll Agility against your Woodsman
VR again to get over there without causing the
horses to give you away....
J: (rolling) Okey-dokey, here we go.... 3, 2, 6, 9, 7, 1.
Well, one success is all you need, right?
S: In your case, yes, you.re lucky. The horses snuffle
nervously at you as you untie them, but don.t react
beyond that. Vhord is starting on the third repetition
of his song, and you can see the bandits shifting
in restless suspicion....
J: Time to roll the apple-cart. I draw my sword and
start whacking the horses. butts with the flat.
S: You want to hit them all?
J: Yeah, why not?
S: Okay, your Combat Pool is 12, so that.s three
dice to each horse. Your longsword has a TN of 6;
I.m bumping that to 7 because you.re trying to hit
only with the flat. You.re not gonna miss, but the
better you roll, the faster and more accurately the
horses will make for the bandits....
This is a series of Proficiency Tests. Jake gets two successes
on his first Test, one each on his second and third, and on his
fourth he rolls... 1, 1, and 4 . a fumble!
J: Ah, crap! What happens?
S: The blade turns in your hand and cuts into the
horse.s hindquarters! With a shriek of pain and fury,
the horse kicks out and back at you!
J: Damn, damn, damn, and I don.t even have any
dice left in the Pool for a dodge... Anything I can
do?
S: (fiendish grin) Nope.
Steve rolls for the horse.s attack, but Geralt is lucky; Steve
only gets 1 success. Added to the horse.s STR of 8, this does
a total of 9 wound levels of damage. This is reduced by 5,
for Geralt.s Brawn, and by another 1 for Geralt.s tough leather
vest, leaving Geralt with a final 3 levels of wound damage.
S: Take a level-three wound to your midsection.
You reel backwards and collapse to the earth, coiled
around a huge, numb agony in your guts, barely able
to breathe. Fortunately, your plan seems to have
worked; the bandits are off chasing the horses.
J: All of them?
S: Nope . not quite. One of them turns, comes
charging back towards you, stands over you and levels
his crossbow.
J: Oh, man....
N: (clearing his throat) Hello? Can I do anything
now?
S: Absolutely. You heard the ruckus and the uproar
a few seconds ago.
N: Then I go charging forward into the fray!
S: Your timing is perfect. As horses and bandits
run hither and yon about you, you see the figure
emerge out of the mist, lifting a crossbow to aim
and fire....
N: I drewmy sword when I charged; I simply swing
it out to one side as I run, aiming for the neck.
S: Okay, combat time. Throw down your initiative
die.... (Nick throws down a red die, indicating that Vhord
is attacking this round; Steve throws down a white die, meaning
the bandit will try to defend.) What.s your Combat
Pool?
N: 13 - I.m spending 7 on this cut to the neck.
S: You caught him by surprise. He tries to get his
crossbow up to parry; he can only spend 5 dice.
N: Let.s roll!
Vhord.s longsword has a TN of 6; the TN to parry with a
crossbow is pretty high, as it.s not something the thing was
built for - 8. Vhord rolls 7 dice vs. TN 6 as the bandit rolls
5 dice vs. TN 8; Vhord gets four successes, the bandit only
one, giving Vhord a Margin of Success of 3 . a hit. Vhord.s
sword does his Brawn, 6, + 2 in damage, or 8; adding his
three successes, that.s a total of 11 versus the bandit.s
unarmoured Brawn of 5 . or 6 damage levels to the neck!
On the Damage Table, this is an immediately fatal wound,
with obvious results....
S: Your sword knocks the crossbow from the
bandit.s hand without slowing, continues on into his
throat, and out the other side in an explosive gush
of red as the bandit.s head and body go separate
ways.
N: Woo hoo! Never screw with a Stahlner, buddy!
I spin around. Anybody else want a piece of me?
S: They.re too busy chasing their horses, and any
who might have been close enough have been thoroughly
discouraged by the swift death of their col8
The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
league.
N: Then I.d better get over and give Geralt a hand....
J: Great. Stahlnish medicine. I shoulda let the horse
kill me....
And that.s how it goes: simple, fast, brutal and comprehensive.
The strategy comes in playing to your strengths and
knowing when to attack and when to ambush; the fun comes
in creating these other people, and vicariously enjoying their triumphs.
3. Character
Creation
Assigning Priorities
Quickstart characters in The Riddle of Steel are
built around four areas of ability: Social Class &
Wealth, Attributes, Vocations and Proficiencies. To create
a character, each of these areas must be assigned
a priority, from A to D; A is the strongest and D the
weakest. Each priority gives a different amount of
ability in each area, as shown on the chart at the
bottom of this page.
So, for example, if you wanted to create a lowerclass
rogue who is a poor but clever thief and trickster,
you might assign her priorities as follows:
A - Vocations: One at VR 6, a second at VR 7.
(Entertainer and Thief are two possibilities.)
B - Attributes: 20 points to divide among her Attributes.
C - Social Class/Wealth: Peasant/Serf equivalent.
Pretty poor.
D - Proficiencies: Only 3 dice. Not much of a
fighter at all.
A young noble squire, on the other hand, would
have his priorities assigned as follows:
A - Social Class/Wealth: Nobility. Quite wealthy.
B - Proficiencies: 9 dice. A good bit of martial
training.
C - Attributes: 18 points. A little better than average.
D - Vocations: 1 at VR 9, probably Courtier or
Knight. Little non-martial schooling.
Social Class and Wealth
The four levels of Social Class and Wealth provide
benefits as follows:
Nobility (Priority A): Adventuring nobles are
assumed to be from among the lower ranks of the
nobility, usually without a landed title. If they
receive income, it is from their work as soldiers,
courtiers or freelances. Noble characters begin
with 100 Gold Pieces. Income depends on exact
position, but generally bachelor knights or free
lances receive 31-40 (30 + 1d10) Silver Pieces a
month, while courtiers live on the patronage of
their superiors or liege lords. Nobles have the
right to bear all arms and armor, are almost always
formally educated, can own land, and enforce the
laws of the realm or their liege lord. They are
addressed as .Sir. or .Lady..
Freeman (Priority B): The middle class . ranging
from merchants to clerks, farmers, soldiers, clergy,
artisans, tradesmen, blacksmiths et al. Most
adventurers or wanderers come from this class.
They are sometimes formally educated. They
begin with 25 Gold Pieces; income (if established)
is an additional 11-20 (10+1d10) Silver Pieces per
month on average. They may bear arms and wear
non-metallic armour, but may not own land
without the consent of the local liege lord; they
are not obliged to obey any noble to whom they
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 9
have not sworn allegiance, but open irreverence
and disrespect will earn swift retribution.
Peasants/Serfs
(Priority C): Workers bound to a
particular lord or area of land by an oath of fealty;
in return for their service (which they may not
voluntarily refuse) the lord agrees to protect them
militarily. They seldom have any education or
training, and cannot own metallic weapons or
armor (which still gives them staves and bows).
They begin play with 5 Gold Pieces, and typical
income is 2d10 Silver Pieces twice a year when
crops are sold. Adventurers from this social class
have probably snuck away from their liege lord, a
practice technically illegal but seldom prosecuted,
to see the wide world of adventure if they can.
Prisoners/Slaves
(Priority D): The bottom of the
barrel, a condemned criminal or outright
piece of property. Prisoners or slaves are
assumed to have just escaped, or are about to
escape as part of their first adventure; thus,
they not only begin with no funds, income or
possessions, but usually with the forces of
the law pursuing them. Slavery is legal in
many kingdoms in Weyrth, and escaped slaves
or prisoners can expect little help or assistance
. which only makes the adventure all
the more challenging.
Attributes
Attributes break down into four types, Temporal,
Mental, Spiritual and Derived, as follows:
The Temporal Attributes cover your physical
abilities, and range from 1 to 10; the
average human possesses a rating of 4 in
both Temporal Attributes.
Agility (AGL): Dexterity, speed,
body control and balance.
Brawn (BRN): Physical power and
muscle strength, toughness, fitness and endurance.
The Mental Attributes cover your mind, thought,
strength of character and will. Like the Temporal
Attributes, they range from 1 to 10 with a human
average of 4.
Wits (WTS): Mental sharpness, alertness,
intelligence and awareness.
Presence (PRS): Strength of personality
and force of will and determination.
The points you receive from your Priority are
divided among these four Attributes, AGL, BRN,
WTS and PRS. Priority A gives you 22 points to
divide, Priority B 20, Priority C 18 and Priority D
16. No attribute may be lower than 2 or higher
than 7 at this point.
The Spiritual Attributes cover the profound aspects
of your personality and nature, the drives and
feelings that make your character who he or she is.
They can range from 0 to 5; there is no .average.,
and scores can fluctuate highly throughout the
game (see Character Progression for more). There
are three types of Spiritual Attribute:
10 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
Conscience: The desire to do the right
thing, regardless of personal cost.
Faith: The bond between you and your
chosen patron deity or philosophy.
Passion: A great love, hate, or loyalty that
drives you through life. The subject must be
specified.
A player must divide five points among these
Spiritual Attributes. He can assign a maximum of
5 to any one Spiritual Attribute, and can rate the
others as 0 if desired. Passion may be taken twice,
for different subjects each time.
The Derived Attributes are calculated from the
Temporal and Mental Attributes. There are three
of them, as follows:
Coordination (CRD): A combination of
Agility and Wits, determining your ability to react
and act quickly and accurately under stress. To
determine Coordination, add Agility and Wits,
divide by 2, and round down.
Resistance (RES): A measure of how hard
you are to knock out or take down. To determine
Resistance, add Brawn and Presence, divide by 2,
and round down.
Move (MOV): Determines how much
distance in yards you can cover on foot in 1-2
seconds. Move is equal to your Agility, plus ½
your Brawn (rounded down).
Vocations
In the Quickstart Rules for The Riddle of Steel,
all areas of character skill and training (outside
weapon proficiencies or sorcery) are collapsed
into one-word Vocations, each of which describes
the capacities of that profession or area. Starting
Vocations and their Vocational Ratings, VRs, are
determined by the chart: Priority A grants one
Vocation at VR 6 and one at VR 7; Priority B
grants one Vocation at VR 7 and one at VR 8;
Priority C grants one Vocation at VR 8 and one at
VR 9; and Priority D grants only one Vocation at
VR 9.
Some sample Vocations, and their areas of
strength, are listed as follows:
Woodsman/Ranger: Hunting, tracking, survival,
scrounging, herbalism, orienteering, stealth
and wilderness camouflage, climbing and
swimming.
Knight: Horsemanship, first aid, hunting,
heraldry, military strategy and tactics, tournament
etiquette.
Soldier: Leadership and intimidation, riding,
military strategy and tactics, heraldry, first aid,
battle, rank politics.
Tribesman/Clansman: Hunting, first aid, clan/
tribal etiquette and language, stealth, leadership
and intimidation, sailing (for naval
peoples) or survival (for land peoples).
Sailor: Navigation, climbing and swimming,
sailing, artillery use, boating, naval tactics,
heraldry (flags), street wisdom and astronomy.
Peasant/Craftsman: Trade of choice (farming,
smithcraft, tailorship, masonry etc), first aid,
folklore, animal handling and herding, survival,
hunting and trapping.
Clergyman: Theology, court and church etiquette,
meditation, ritual, oratory, literacy,
diplomacy and first aid. Priests can.t automatically
heal people in The Riddle of Steel. but
miracles have been known to occur with a
sufficiently strong Faith....
Druid : Naturalism, meditation, ritual magic,
arcane theory and symbol drawing, herbalism,
astronomy, and surgery.
Scholar: Ancient languages, literacy, oratory,
research, etiquette, and other areas of esoteric
knowledge, including ritual magic.
Labourer: Teamster work, street wisdom,
scrounging, intimidation, gambling, a trade
skill of choice (farming, masonry, carpentry,
mining, shipbuilding, etc.)
Courtier: Court etiquette, diplomacy and
persuasion, ridicule, games and gambling,
dancing, literacy, intrigue, legal knowledge and
lying/bluffing.
Entertainer: Dancing, intrigue, oratory, musicianship
and singing, acting, acrobatics, juggling,
and disguise.
Rogue: Panhandling, trap detection, street
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 11
wisdom, scrounging, stealth, pickpocketing
and lockpicking, climbing, breaking and entry,
and gambling.
This is only the beginning of possible Vocations.
Players can make up their own, coming up with
names and listing eight to twelve areas of ability
covered by each Vocation. Sorcerers should take
either Druid, Scholar or Clergyman as one of
their vocations.
Not all Vocations are equally applicable to all
situations; part of the challenge to your players is
to come up with clever justifications for how your
training applies. In general, it is the Seneschal
who will decide how applicable your Vocation is
to the action of the moment. If the action is
covered by one of the areas specified in your
Vocation description, you roll against your VR. If
the action can conceivably be related to the
Vocation but is tangential at best, you roll against
your VR +2. If the action has absolutely nothing
to do with any Vocation you have, the Seneschal
will handle it as an Attribute Test instead at a very
high TN (minimum 9).
Proficiencies
These dice are assigned to your proficiencies in
various types of weapons. Priority A gives you 12
dice to assign, Priority B 9 dice, Priority C 6 dice
and Priority D 3 dice. These dice can be assigned
among various types of weapons as you prefer: if
you had 9 dice to spend, you could spend 3 in
Longsword, 3 in Dagger and 3 in Bow, 5 in
Greatsword and 4 in Axe, or any other combination
thereof. These Proficiencies are added to
your Coordination Attribute to determine the
number of dice in your Combat Pool (for melee
weapon Proficiencies) or your Missile Pool (for
missile weapons). A warrior with a Coordination
of 5 and a Proficiency of 4 in Longsword, for
example, will have a Combat Pool of 9 dice when
fighting with his longsword.
Characters who wish to play sorcerers may also
spend these dice to purchase ability in the Realms
of sorcerous power: Temporal, Mental, or Spiritual.
Each Realm has three levels of power .
Novice, Apprentice, and Master; each level of
power, for each Realm, costs 2 Proficiency dice.
So a character with 6 Proficiency dice could buy
Proficiency 2 in Quarterstaff and Novice-level
power in two of the Realms (2 dice each), or buy
Quarterstaff 2 and Apprentice-level power in one
Realm (4 dice).
Spiritual Attribute Use
Spiritual Attributes are valuable in two ways: they
represent additional dice that can be called upon
for actions that further those Attributes, and they
provide the means by which your character grows
and evolves. Essentially, whenever you are performing
an action that supports or is supported
by your particular Conscience, Faith or Passion,
you can add dice equal to that Attribute to your roll.
You can add dice equal to your Conscience to any
roll for an action that involves .doing the right
thing,. especially if there are easier or more
tempting alternatives. Every time you act Conscientiously,
you can increase your Conscience by 1,
up to the maximum of 5. Going against your
Conscience, by acting out of selfishness, greed or
cowardice, can result in the loss of a Conscience
point at the Seneschal.s discretion.
You can add dice equal to your Faith to any action
roll that significantly furthers or defends the
belief, faith or religion involved, or to any roll to
defend or protect the truly faithful. Every time
you act in keeping with your Faith, especially in
the face of danger, you can increase your Faith by
1, up to the maximum of 5. Going against your
Faith can cost you a Faith point at the Seneschal.s
call.
You can add dice equal to your Passion to any
action roll directly affecting the object of your
passion . rescuing a dear love or true friend,
attacking your deadliest enemy, defending the
King you.re sworn to serve, etc. You gain a point
in Passion every time you undertake a risk or make
12 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
a sacrifice for the object of your passion, up to
the maximum of 5; you needn.t be successful, you
just have to really try. Ignoring such opportunities
or neglecting the object of your Passion will cause
a loss of 1 point, at the Seneschal.s discretion.
Character Progression
Character development inThe Riddle of Steel is
directly related to how effectively you pursue your
character.s dreams, passions and beliefs. In order to
progress, you must spend points from your Spiritual
Attributes, effectively causing them to drop (but you can
recover these points through gameplay for further
development and roleplaying). Spiritual Attribute (SA)
points can be spent as follows.
To increase a Temporal or Mental Attribute: Spend SA
points equal to the Attribute.s current rating to increase
that Attribute by 1. Derived Attributes can.t be directly
improved; you have to improve the Temporal or Mental
Attributes they.re calculated from.
To increase aWeapon Proficiency: Spend SA points
equal to the Proficiency.s current level to raise it by 1.
Acquiring a totally new Proficiency costs 1 SA point, but
you must find a teacher with at least Proficiency 5 in the
weapon to train you. Raising Proficiencies already
possessed does not require training.
To increase a Sorcerous Realm: Spend SA points equal
to three times your current level in the Realm (so to go
from Level 1,Novice, to Level 2, Apprentice, costs 3 SA
points; to go from Level 2 to Level 3, Master, costs 6 SA
points). Level 1 in a Realm not already possessed costs 3
SA points. Double these costs for anyone trying to learn
without benefit of a master, large library, or similar
resource. Characters must buy at least 1 level in 1 Realm at
character creation in order to develop more sorcerous abilities later .
a character who did not buy any ability in at least one
Realm at character creation has no sorcerous talent, and
cannot develop it later in life.
To reduce a Vocational Rating: VRs don.t directly
change by spending SA points, but through practice and
use. For every time you successfully use a Vocation
under duress of any kind, youmay place a check in one
of the little boxes beside your Vocation. When you have
accumulated five checks, roll Wits against a TNof (15 -
current VR); e.g. if your Vocational Rating is 8, you roll
against a TNof 15 - 8, or 7. Success on this roll lowers
the VR by 1. If you fail, your VR remains as it was, and
youmust erase three of your five checks. (Fumbling
eliminates all checks and leaves your VR as it was.)
You can improve VRs through training .out-ofgame
., by spending 10 SA points to make a Wits roll as
above. These SA points are spent even if the Wits test
fails. You may also purchase a new Vocation, provided
you can find a teacher, at a starting VR of 9 for 10 SA
points.
To improve Social Class &Wealth: Find money. Marry
rich, or well-connected. Blackmail a noble, or gain his
favour. In short, you can.t do it by spending SA points
or rolling dice; you have to do it through the actual story
of your character. Talk to your Seneschal if there are
particular rewards you.d really like to achieve; a decent
Seneschal will give you at least a few opportunities to
acquire them (though he.s under no obligation to make
that acquisition easy for your character!).
4.Combat and
Injury
Combat in The Riddle of Steel, even in this
.rules-light. Quickstart version, is fast and deadly
dangerous; victory requires not just high scores
and big weapons, but tactical thinking and planning.
There are no .hit points. or cosmetic
damage; every wound has the potential to be your
last, and every weapon can kill anyone. Make
plans, team up, play dirty, and above all, don.t be
stupid.
Melee combat is fought using the Combat Pool,
which is the total of your Coordination and your
Proficiency in the weapon you.re using: if you
have a Coordination of 5 and a Longsword
Proficiency of 6, for example, you will have a
Combat Pool of 11 dice whenever you fight with
your longsword. Once you.ve determined your
Combat Pool (or CP, for short), set aside the dice
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 13
and get ready for the fight!
Rounds, Initiative and Exchanges
Melee combat is structured around the Combat
Round, a period of time lasting about 1 or 2
seconds in which combatants engage in two
Exchanges of Blows . Contest Rolls using some or
all of their CP to roll contests of attack and
defense. At the beginning of the fight, each
combatant should take their red die and their
white die into their hand. To signal the beginning
of the combat, the Seneschal will call out .Throw!.
To show you are attacking, throw down the red
die.
To show you are defending, throw down the
white die.
If more than one combatant throws down a red
die, they attack in order of their Coordination
scores, from highest first to lowest last.
Taunting: If nobody throws down a red die, the
combatants circle for a few moments, and can
Taunt each other to try to provoke the other into
attacking. Each player should make an Extended
Roll of Presence, with TNs and Required Successes
equal to their target.s Presence; the first one
to accumulate the necessary Successes has provoked
the other into attacking, and the loser must
throw down a red die at the next call.
Surprise: If a player does not throw down an
initiative die when the Seneschal calls for it, or the
Seneschal rules that the character would reasonably
be caught by surprise (getting jumped on
from a dark alley, getting stabbed by a trusted ally,
etc.), the surprised or hesitating player must roll
Coordination against a TN set by the Seneschal to
indicate the degree of surprise . ranging from TN
7 if you didn.t throw down your die or are otherwise
aware of your attacker but caught off-guard,
all the way to TN 13 (requiring a Stacking success)
if you were caught totally blindsided! Failure
indicates that no action can be taken until next
round, but if you get at least one success, you can
defend (or attempt to Buy Initiative).
Buying Initiative: This dangerous tactic requires
waiting for your opponent to strike, then attempting
to beat him to the punch by moving faster
than he can. You can buy initiative when you have
both thrown down a red die, or if you throw
14 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
down a white die and then change your mind.
Instead of simply waiting for your attack turn in
order of Coordination, or defending as normal,
tell the Seneschal you want to buy the initiative by
spending CP dice equal to your opponent.s Wits.
You may then roll a Contest of Presence against
your opponent.s Wits, each against a TN equal to
the other.s Coordination; the one who gains more
successes will strike first.
Once the actions of Initiative have been established,
the first Exchange takes place: the attacker
allocates a portion of his Combat Pool to an
attack and rolls; the defender does likewise with
his Combat Pool to defend. On the following
Exchange, the winner of the previous Exchange
attacks with the remainder of his Pool, and the
loser defends. This signals the end of the Round,
and Combat Pools refresh. The winner of the last
Exchange retains the initiative next Round; the red
and white dice are not thrown down again. This
continues until both opponents choose to break
off, or one defeats (usually by killing) the other....
Attacks, Offensive Maneuvers
and Target Zones
All attacks in The Riddle of Steel must use a
deliberately targeted Maneuver . you can.t just flail
away randomly and hope to hit somebody! In the
Quickstart rules, there are three different types of
attacking Maneuvers, each of which must be
aimed at a particular Target Zone. To attack, a
player must state the Maneuver he is using, how
many of his Combat Pool dice he is spending on
the attack, and which Target Zone he is aiming for
. for example, Jake might say, describing his
bladeslinger Geralt.s choice of attack, .I.m swinging,
for 6 dice, to the head,. or, .I.m thrusting for
4 dice to the chest..
Roll the dice you.ve stated you.re spending. Your
Attacking Target Number, or ATN, is set by the
weapon and Maneuver you.re using . see Weapons
and Armour, later, for details. Make a note of how
many Successes are scored on this attack; this will
determine your damage, if you hit. If you fumble
your Attack roll, you immediately lose half the dice
you just spent on your attack from your remaining
Combat Pool . e.g., if your Combat Pool is 12
and you fumble a Swing for 6 dice, you lose 3 dice
at the beginning of the next Exchange.
The three basic attacking Maneuvers are:
Thrust . Driving a weapon or blow home with a
straight lunge or stab. Thrusts are very fast, but
lose the extra damage of a swing.s angular momentum;
you gain an extra die to use in your
attack roll, but must reduce the damage done on a
successful hit by one level. You can spend an
additional CP die before you roll to eliminate this
damage reduction, if successful.
Swing . The elemental attack for most melee
weapons: swinging them through an arc to add the
weight of momentum and leverage to its impact.
As with Thrusts, you can spend an additional CP
die before rolling to boost the damage of a
successful hit by 1 level.
Feint . A deceptive maneuver designed to .fake
out. the defender. The attacker must first announce
a Thrust or Swing to his initial Target
Zone as above; after the defender declares his
defense, the attacker can spend 1 CP die to call,
.Feint!. and changes the Target Zone while
adding extra dice to his attack, at an additional
cost of 1 CP for every extra die added. The new
Target Zone should be fairly near to the original .
pulling off a huge change in direction, like feinting
at the feet and then attacking the head, will cost 2
CP dice for every die added to the true attack.
Example: Geralt, with a CP of 13, is facing off
against Stefan, an old enemy. He decides to go
for a Feint, and declares a Swing for Stefan.s left
leg (Target Zone II) for 6 dice. Stefan declares a
Block for 5 dice (he has a shield, and is feeling
pretty safe). However, Geralt then spends 1 of
his 7 remaining dice and calls .Feint! Now I.m
swinging for Stefan.s side!. He spends 3 dice and
adds the last 3 dice to his Swing, which is now 9
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 15
dice to Target Zone III against Stefan.s measly 5.
Geralt has a much better chance of getting that
blow home now....
Feints are a little harder to execute than Thrusts
or Swings; you must have at least Proficiency
Level 4 to use a Feint. In addition, Feints lose
their impact when used more than once against
the same opponent. Each repeated identical feint
(same original Target Zone, same new Target
Zone) against the same opponent, even if time
has passed since your last duel, costs an extra CP
die to execute.
The seven Target Zones are as follows:
Zone I Lower Legs
Zone II Upper Legs
Zone III Belly/Sides
Zone IV Chest/Shoulders
Zone V Head/Neck
Zone VI Groin/Hips
Zone VII Arms
Remember the location of your hit; it will be vital
in determining the effects of your blow later.
Defenses and Defensive
Maneuvers
To fend off an attack, the defender has a choice
of four basic defensive Maneuvers. He must state
the Maneuver he is using and how many dice he is
rolling for it (.I.m Blocking for 4 dice,. or .I.m
Parrying for 7 dice.), but unlike the attacker he
need not state a Zone . he is automatically assumed
to be defending in the Target Zone chosen
by the attacker. The Defending Target Number, or
DTN, is set by the maneuver and tool selected.
The defender.s successes on this roll are compared
to the attacker.s. If the defender rolls more
successes than the attacker, he has successfully
beaten back or avoided the attack, and may attack
on the next Exchange. If the attacker rolls more
successes than the defender, he has hit and
wounded the defender; subtract the defender.s
successes from the attacker.s to determine the
attacker.s final Margin of Success. (If attacker and
defender tie, no damage is done, but the attacker
retains initiative.)
The defensive Maneuvers are:
Block . Getting your shield (if you have one) in
the way of the attacker.s weapon. The DTN is set
by the type of shield used; see Weapons and Armour.
Shields also provide a certain level of passive
protection, equalling anywhere from 4 to 10
points of protection to Target Zones III, IV, VII
and possibly even V and VI, depending on size
(see Weapons and Armour for more information).
If you do not have a shield, you cannot Block.
Parry . Using your weapon to deflect the attacker.s
weapon away from or past you. The DTN is set
by your choice of weapon . it.s easier to parry
with a rapier than a battleaxe!
Dodge . Getting the hell out of the way. This is
the simplest defense in one way, and the hardest in
another; it leaves your weapon open for use but
may have a higher DTN, depending on what
you.re trying to do. There are three different
types of Dodge, and you must state which you are
using:
Dodge and Break (DTN 4): Full evasion
or retreat . you.ve broken off combat, and no
attack is possible for either party in the next
exchange. A new Initiative Throwdown must be
held. You cannot Dodge and Break immediately
after your own attack.
Dodge and Stand (DTN 7): Partial evasion
. if successful, you can steal initiative on the
next exchange, becoming the attacker, by paying 2
CP dice. You can also steal initiative for no cost if
your opponent fails completely (rolls no successes)
or fumbles.
Duck and Weave (DTN 9): Step inside the
attacker.s blow to gain an advantageous position.
If you win, you steal initiative, and the attacker
loses half the CP dice he spent on his attack from
his Combat Pool, as if he had fumbled his Attack
Roll.
16 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
Counter . Also known as the riposte, a Counter
turns the attacker.s attack against him. To use a
Counter, you must spend 2 CP dice immediately
and then allocate dice as if Parrying, at the
weapon.s standard DTN. If you succeed, you
steal initiative and gain bonus dice on your attack
equal to every die used in the attacker.s roll; if you
fail, the attacker gets an extra success on his
attack, increasing his Damage Level.
Determining Damage
On a successful hit, the attacker will have scored a
Margin of Success over the defender. Damage is
determined by adding this Margin of Success to the
Damage Rating (or DR) of the weapon being used.
Most melee weapons. damage is determined by the
wielder.s Brawn, ranging from Brawn -2 to Brawn
+3. The defender subtracts his own Brawn, and the
Armor Value (AV) of any armor worn that covers the
struck location. The final result is theWound Level,
ranging from 1 to 5, which is cross-referenced on the
Damage Table to determine the exact results . level 1
wounds are only momentarily disabling, whereas
level 5 wounds are usually fatal or close to it. Location
makes a difference as well; a Level 3 wound to
the head is worse than one to the shoulder.
There are no .hit points. inThe Riddle of Steel.
Damage is assessed through three factors: Shock,
Pain and Blood Loss.
Shock indicates the dice that are lost from all your
Dice Pools (Combat, Missile and Sorcery) immediately
after receiving the blow. It lasts only for the
round in which the blow is inflicted, unless the
Shock penalty is greater than the receiver.s current
total CP; in this case, the remainder of the penalty is
applied at the beginning of the next round, unless
the Pain penalty is greater. (For example, if you are
hit for a blow which does 7 Shock, but you only have
5 CP left, you lose all your CP for the rest of this
Round and 2 CP at the beginning of next Round.)
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 17
Pain indicates the dice that are permanently subtracted
from your Dice Pools until the wound heals. People
with high Presence can resist the effect of Pain
somewhat. Pain is also important for determining
healing times.
Blood Loss reflects the deterioration of health due to
bleeding and internal damage, and is measured by
rolling against a Blood Loss Target Number (abbreviated
as BL). The first wound received sets this
number; every wound received thereafter increases
this TN, as long as it comes from a different part of the body
. e.g. if you get hit twice in the arm, your BL does
not increase, but if you are hit in the arm and then in
the leg, it does. At the beginning of each Round, all
wounded characters must roll Brawn vs. their current
accumulated BL; whenever the roll is failed, one
point of Brawn is lost. (This does reduce the damage
you inflict and resist!) When Brawn reaches 0, the
character enters a coma and dies.
Certain wounds can also inflict Knockdown or Knockout.
Whenever a character receives a wound that
inflicts enough Pain or Shock to reduce his CP to
zero or less, he may be knocked down. Roll Resistance
against a TN of twice the attack.s Margin of
Success; failure indicates you have been knocked
prone, which reduces your Combat, Missile and
Sorcery Pools to 1/3 normal. Certain blows,
expecially to the head, may call for a Knockout test;
this is also a roll of Resistance against a TN set by
each wound . failure indicates loss of consciousness
for 1d10 seconds, usually with immediate collapse,
and fumbling indicates 1d10 x 10 minutes of unconsciousness.
Example: Melee Combat in
Action
Our hero Geralt, played by Jake, has been called out on a
duel by his old enemy, Stefan. Geralt has a Brawn of 5, a
Coordination of 6 and his Combat Pool is 15; he.s
carrying a longsword and wearing no armor. Stefan has a
Brawn of 5, a Coordination of 4, and his Combat Pool is
13; he.s wearing a full suit of chainmail, a pot helmet and
carrying a heater shield, all of which reduce his CP to 9.
They are fighting on foot.
Seneschal (as Stefan): Declare attack or defense.
Both Jake and the Seneschal grab their red and white dice,
then throw down. Both throw white.
S: The two of you circle for a moment, sizing
each other up. Throw again.
Again, both Jake and the Seneschal throw white dice.
Geralt and Stefan continue circling. They throw again,
and again, both of them throwing white in each instance.
S: Stefan, tired of circling, begins to taunt you,
insulting your family and your skill.
J: I.ll return the favor. I say, .It.s your brother
whose head this inbred, unskilled bladeslinger tore
from its shoulders. Perhaps you.d like to join him
in hell?.
S: Roll Presence.
They have engaged in Taunting. Geralt has a Presence of
5; Stefan has only 4. Stefan must get 5 successes of 5 or
more; Geralt need only get 4 successes of 4 or more. On
the first roll Stefan gets 2 successes, Geralt 3.
S: Throw down again.
Again, both throw white dice.
J: He wants me to attack first, but this just might
work. I say, .Your brother never even put up a
fight. I felt bad after I killed him . it was like
slaying a handmaiden!.
S: Roll Presence again....
Geralt gets 3 successes, Stefan only 1. Geralt has easily
surpassed his minimum requirement of 4 successes.
S: Looks like that did it. Throw down for initiative.
This time Stefan throws a red die; he lost the Taunting
contest and snapped first. Geralt throws down white,
waiting to see what strategy Stefan uses (and hoping to turn
a Counter against him).
18 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
S: Here we go: Round 1, exchange 1. Stefan
comes in quickly, swinging for your head, zone V,
for four dice.
J: About time . I.m gonna Duck & Weave, so I
can get past that shield! I.m spending 9 dice.
They both roll: Stefan gets 2, 5, 8, 9 . only 2 successes
against the ATN of his weapon, which is 6. Geralt rolls
2, 3, 3, 4, 7, 7, 9, 9, 0: three successes against the Duck
and Weave DTN of 9. Three against two only wins by
one . but that one is plenty. Stefan.s sword whickers
harmlessly by, opening a large hole in Stefan.s defense.
S: You evaded his blow and can attack; he.s lost 3
CP for your Duck and Weave.
J: Man, that was close! Okay, I.m spending my
last six dice Swinging for his left side, zone III.
S: He.s going to Dodge and Stand, spending his
last two dice.
Geralt rolls 2, 2, 5, 7, 8, 0... four successes against his
weapon.s ATN 5 (it.s a very fine sword). Stefan rolls 6
and 8 . one success against the DTN 7 of his Dodge &
Stand. Geralt wins with a margin of 3, plus his sword.s
damage rating of 8 (BRN +3, for a greatsword) for a
damage total of 11 to Stefan.s side. Stefan subtracts his
own BRN 5 and his AV 4 (for the chainmail protecting
that location), total 9, from Geralt.s damage: 11 minus 9
is 2, for a level-two wound to the side. On the Damage
Table, this reads: .Bleeding, torn and shredded muscle:
BL 5, Sh 3, Pn 6-PRS.. On the next Exchange Stefan
will have only 6 dice to work with (his CP of 9 minus 3
Shock), and every Exchange after that he will have only 7
dice (CP 9 minus 2 Pain, which is 6 minus his PRS 4).
S: You duck under his sword and land a solid
blow to his side . it would have killed him if he
hadn.t been armored. But you.ve left him reeling,
and you can follow up with another attack.
Round 2: pools refresh.
J: I.ll swing up from below at zone VI. 10 dice .
I wanna gut this puppy.
S: He.s blocking with his shield for 4 dice.
Geralt rolls 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 7, 7, and 7 (bad luck!) .
only three successes on his ATN 5. Stefan rolls 2, 3, 7, 9
. two successes against his shield.s DTN of 5. Geralt
hits with a margin of 1; his weapon damage brings it up to
9. Stefan.s BRN and AV bring that back down to 0,
inflicting a level 0 wound . a scratch.
S: You land a hit on the inside of his leg, but it
fails to break through the chain. However, you
still have initiative, and can attack again.
J: You know it! I.m spending my last 5 dice to hit
him in the side, zone III.
S: He.s blocking with his last 2.
Geralt rolls 1, 2, 2, 4, 8 . one success on ATN 5.
Stefan rolls 7 and 9 . two successes! He blocks
Geralt.s attack, stealing initiative. Round 2 ends.
As Round 3 begins, the Seneschal rolls Stefan.s BRN 5
against his BL 5; he gets 2 successes, so Stefan.s fine for
now. However, Stefan still only has 7 dice to work with,
for the Pain of his wound in the side.
S: Round 3: pools refresh. Stefan has initiative
and thrusts for your side, zone III. He.s spending
five dice, which gives him six for a Thrust.
J: No problem. I parry sideways, 8 dice.
Stefan rolls 4, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9... four successes for his
weapon.s ATN 6. Geralt parries, rolling 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 9,
0, 0... three successes against his sword.s DTN 6. Stefan
hits with a margin of 1, adding this to his sword.s damage
of BRN (5 levels) for a final total of 6... but this is
reduced by 1 to 5, because Stefan was Thrusting. Against
Geralt.s BRN 5, this drops to a level-0 wound.
S: His sword skitters along your ribs, slicing skin
but doing no real damage. He follows up with
another attack, a Swing to your head for his last
two dice.
J: Time to finish this. I.m gonna spend two dice
to Counter, then use the last 5 to trap him.
Geralt spends 2 CP dice, then rolls the remaining 5 against
his DTN 6 as Stefan rolls. Stefan gets 7 and 9, two
success... Geralt gets 2, 3, 7, 7 and 8 . three successes!
This successful Counter gives Geralt the initiative on the
next Exchange, and gives him two bonus dice for
Stefan.s two successes.
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 19
S: You trap his sword and knock the blade
aside, bringing your own sword into perfect
setup. Round 4 begins, pools refresh.
He rolls for Stefan.s Blood Loss, but again Stefan
succeeds.
S: You won the counter, and can launch your
attack with 2 bonus dice.
J: I.m swinging for the head. 10 dice, plus the
bonus 2, for 12.
S: He.s going to try to Dodge and Break, for all
7 dice . he knows he.s going down if he doesn.t
get out of here; you can see it in his eyes....
Geralt rolls his 12 dice: 1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9,
0 . nine successes on his ATN 5! Stefan rolls 7 dice
against the DTN 4 of a Dodge and Break, and gets...
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 8 and 0 . two successes. Geralt.s blow
does his weapon damage, 8, plus his 7 Margin of
Success . 15! Even after subtracting Stefan.s BRN 5
and pot helm.s AV 5 (on his head), that.s a level-five
wound. On the Damage Table, this reads: .Instant
death. Very messy.. And that ends the fight.
S: Blood spatters you at your opponent drops
like a bag of sand. Now his retainers start
advancing on you....
J: Okay, time to get out of here.
As shown by this example, the right Maneuver
at the right time is more useful than a big
sword, lots of armor or a high CP. Jake only
needed one successful hit to give him an advantage
that won the fight, and he got that hit by
saving his dice for a Maneuver that would get
him past Stefan.s defenses. This is what is
meant by thinking tactically and planning your
fight.
Missile Combat
Missile combat functions a little differently from
melee, although it also draws on a Dice Pool: your
Missile Pool, which is the sum of your Coordination
and your Proficiency in the missile weapon
you.re using.
The Missile Pool begins at 0 and refreshes to its
maximum size (Coordination + Missile Proficiency,
as above) at a rate equal to your Wits per
round, beginning once the missile weapon is ready
and in position to fire. Thus, a character with
Wits 6 and Missile Pool 12 would gain the full
benefit of all 12 dice after 2 seconds of aiming
(though you cannot gain more dice than are
normally in your Pool). Once a shot is fired, the
Missile Pool drops to 0 and begins to refresh again
at the same rate.
Most weapons require a little preparation time
before they are ready to fire, especially between
shots. Haste, hesitation or circumstances can
shorten or lengthen this time. You can reduce
your prep time by spending MP from your Pool;
each weapon has its own MP cost for hurried
preparation.
Range is also a key factor in successful missile fire.
In The Riddle of Steel, each ranged weapon has
a Range Increment which increases TN at every
interval of this distance: thus, if a weapon has an
RI of .+1 per 10 yards,. the base TN increases by
1 for every 10 yards to the target . so all shots at 0
to 9 yards are made at the weapon.s base TN, all
shots at 10 to 19 yards are at +1 TN, all shots at
20 to 29 yards are at +2 TN, and so on.
A typical missile weapon is described thus:
Standard Short Bow
Prep Time: 2 or 4 rounds (0 rounds to pull
arrow from ground, 2 to pull from quiver; 2
rounds to nock and draw)
Refresh Begins: When arrow is drawn
Hasty Prep: Spend 2 MP to reduce Prep
Time by 1 round
ATN: 6
DR: 5
Range: +1 ATN per 10 yards
Circumstances will modify prep time according to
20 The Riddle of Steel: Roleplaying with an Edge
common sense. A player who carries an arrow
nocked to his bow will obviously have a shorter
prep time for that shot, while a crossbow in a
backpack will require much more prep time than
usual.
Target movement can affect your chances to hit as
well. Any target that is moving constantly at a
steady rate subtracts 2 MP from your Pool.s total;
a target moving erratically and unpredictably
subtracts 3 MP. A target that is aware of incoming
fire can Dodge and Break as well.
Example: Missile Combat in
Action
April.s character Lira, a Dardanian freedom fighter with
WTS 6 and a Missile Pool (Short Bow) of 12, has come
to Otamarluk to assassinate the Sul.taan. She has worked
her way up to a rooftop across from the palace entrance,
and is evaluating the range.
April (as Lira): So how far am I gonna be shooting?
Seneschal: Looks like about 25 yards, give or take.
A: Not less than 20?
S: Nope.
A: Okay. I.ll stick three arrows in the ground and
wait.
S: An hour passes, then another. Finally, you hear
a commotion from below, and peer over the
roof .s edge to see the Sul.taan exiting the palace,
surrounded by guards.
A: I grab an arrow from the ground and nock it.
S: 2 rounds total.
A: How fast is he moving?
S: Not very... he.s walking at a steady pace with
his guards, but they.re moving in a straight line.
The guards are looking around . it doesn.t seem
to have occurred to any of them to look up yet,
but sooner or later....
A: I.m not rushing this shot. I.m taking the full
two rounds to aim.
S: Your Pool loses 2 dice for the Sul.taan.s movement,
and your ATN.s two higher for the range .
8.
A: 10 dice, at ATN 8. I can live with that. I fire
for his chest.
Lira rolls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8... two successes. A
hit. Her damage level is 7: 5 for the bow, plus 2 for her
successes. The poor unarmored Sul.taan.s BRN is 4; he
subtracts this from 7 to yield a level-three wound to the
chest. On the Damage Table, this reads: .Heavy injury,
tearing major blood vessels: BL 6, Shock 6, Pain
8-PRS..
S: The Sul.taan reels back, spouting blood everywhere.
Doesn.t look like he.s quite in danger of
dying, though... and now the guards are fanning
out, shouting frantic orders to one another as they
cast around to find the archer who laid their liege
lord low.
A: I want this guy dead. I.m going for another
shot; gonna spend 2 MP for hasty prep time.
S: 1 round to nock and draw, 1 round as you
refresh to 6... and with shouts and cries, the
guards below converge on the building you.re
standing on.
A: Crap. I.m out of time. I.ll fire with what I.ve
got. At least he.s not moving any more....
S: You.ve only refreshed up to 6. Lose 2 MP for
the hasty prep time, roll 4 dice against ATN 8.
Lira rolls: 4, 4, 6, 7... a miss! She must now choose
between firing her last arrow, or making her escape before
the palace guards catch up to her....
The Damage Table
This is it . the table that determines whether your
character lives or dies. To find the effects of a
wound, cross-reference the level of damage
inflicted with the Target Zone. The last row,
Generic Damage, is used for all-over, non-specific
damage such as fire, sorcery, lightning, poison,
disease and other injurious things.
If you are fighting a non-human opponent, rough
analogues should be used to the appropriate
Target Zones, bearing in mind the progression of
Wound Levels: Level 1 is glancing and light, Level
2 a little more serious, Level 3 is a significant
hindrance, Level 4 is incapacitating, and Level 5
represents crippling, maiming or mortal injuries.
A Hint at the Riddle: Quickstart Rules 21
Particularly large creatures may even require 2
Damage Levels per Wound Level, or more . and
not all creatures will bleed or feel pain like humans,
which can cause even more interesting
battles....
The Damage Tables in the full corebook of The
Riddle of Steel offer much more complicated
and detailed breakdowns of injury types, differentiating
damage by cutting, bludgeoning or piercing
and including a hit location roll for exact lo
Posted on 2009-03-09 at 04:11:41.
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Ava- Ardulace Despana-Everhate (Lacey)
Ardulace Despana-Everhate was born in the Drow city of Guallidurth, the offspring of a meaningless tryst between two members of rival houses. Her mother was the daughter of the Matriarch of House Everhate, while her father was a warrior of house Despana. Both her mother and grandmother were Priestess of Lolth. The Matriarch of House Everhate pressured her daughter to terminate her pregnancy, not wanting any issue from this illicit liaison to be a liability that could be used by House Despana against House Everhate.
Ardulace's mother however, did not see the need for such drastic action, and carried the child to term. Also determined that the child should not be used against her own house, she fostered the child with a wealthy merchant who had deep ties with House Everhate. She was well treated by the merchant and his family, and given a first class education as befitting a child of a Noble Drow House. She became close friends with the merchant’s son, a boy roughly her own age.
When her father's house discovered her location and attempted to seize the child, a small conflict erupted between the two houses. The Matriarchs of the two houses opted to negotiate the matter rather than waste valuable lives over something so insignificant, and ultimately decided that the child should be sent to the Academy of the Iron Orchid, an institute devoted to the training of novice clerics of Lolth. Both sought merely to remove the child from the direct influence of the other house, while still retaining the possibility of using her against the rival house at some time in the future.
Ardulace did well at the Academy, but did not develop the truly deceitful nature needed to rise high in Lolth's service. While at the Academy she remained close friends with her foster father's son, and discovered that he was part of a sect devoted to Eilistraee. Such worship was forbidden in Guallidurth, and those caught were punished harshly. Through her close ties with him, she eventually drifted away from the worship of Lolth, and into that of Eilistraee. When the sect was discovered and most of its members caught, her childhood friend was sacrificed to Lolth in a very public and bloody ceremony. As a result Ardulace foreswore her bond with Lolth and embraced Eilistraee.
Ardulace and several other members of the sect realized the danger they were in, and immediately fled the city. The group split into two groups, one opted to attempt to find another city in which they could live undisturbed, while the other (Ardulace included) chose to try to reach the surface. The small band that tried to reach the surface, numbering only four and almost completely unprepared for a long journey through the underdark, battled through numerous encounters with duergar and other denizens of the dark. They faced many trials and after many weeks of harrowing and arduous travel Ardulace alone reached the surface, the rest having fallen to the dangers of the subsurface world.
She emerged from cave at night half expecting to see Eilistraee herself dancing beneath the moon, but instead found only a cloudy night. When the sun rose the following morning she was blinded by the harsh light, and retreated back into the cave, lingering in it for days, until she grew somewhat accustomed to the light. At night she would venture out, and found herself utterly entranced by the beauty of the stars and moon. Out of food and short of water, she finally left the cage and found herself amid a seemingly endless mountain range. Following the lay of the land she went downhill until she came to a stream, and followed that until she came to a river. Spearing her fish with a dagger lashed to a tree limb, she ate them raw along with what nuts and berries she could find.
As she continued downstream, she discovered that her belongings were beginning to fall apart. Her clothes rotted away to nothing, the only item to survive was a sword of dwarven make that was given to her by her foster-father. Naked, alone and hungry, she continued to follow the river for days. Finally, having grown weak from hunger, she despaired of ever finding her way out of the wilderness, and cast herself down beneath a tree and wept. Eventually she slept, and dreamt of Eilistraee. She saw the goddess dance naked beneath the moon, a shining silver sword in her hand. The bright gleam of the silver blade seemed to burn into her eyes. She woke with a start and saw a bright light hovering in front of her... a will of the wisp. She rose and approached the wisp, only to see it flit away. She continued to follow it through the night, desperately trying to reach it, not even certain why, only sure that she must. Weak and weary, she tripped and fell over a fallen log. When she rose, the wisp was gone. But there, far off through the trees, she could see a red flickering light.
As quietly as she could, she crept closer. There she spotted a campfire, and around it a group of five wagons and a band of wandering tinkers. At once elated and terrified, she remained hidden and watched the group. She watches until the group goes to sleep. Desperately lonely and hungry, but knowing that her kind were rarely welcomed by surface dwellers, she crept back into the forest and slept. Still not used to the glaring light of the sun, she remained hidden through the day, then rose near sunset and found the tinkers gone. She scoured their campsite, and found a few bits of cast off food that she devoured right away. Their heavy wagons left tracks that anyone could follow, so with no other viable options she set out on their trail.
Traveling as swiftly as she could, she caught up with the slow moving wagons in a few hours. The tinkers were camped on a small hillock, not far from the river. As the tinkers went about their routine, Ardulace watched from beyond the ring of light thrown by their fire. She watched them carefully, listening to every word they said, and paying very close attention to where they kept the food. The patriarch of the group of tinkers appeared to be an ancient half-elf. When all the tinkers had gone to sleep, just as the moon rose over the hillock, Ardulace crept forward as quietly as she could, directly to where she had seen the food placed. Taking a burlap sack hanging from one of the wagons, she quickly and quietly filled it with as much food as she could, then grabbed a bottle of wine and turned to leave.
The old half-elf, a long since retired master thief, woke in the darkness of his wagon, his bladder badly in need of draining. Stepping from his wagon, he startled the drowess as she leapt across the camp fire. The old man cried out in alarm, at the sight of a sword bearing, naked, dark elf maiden silhouetted against the newly risen full moon.
Pausing a moment to see who had cried out, Ardulace then fled into the darkness. As the camp came to life behind her, she heard the old man call out “A vision….I have had a vision!”. The rest of the tinkers gathered around as he told them what he saw. The old half-elf’s son, noting the empty box where the food had been replied “Well, your vision has stolen most of tomorrow’s food”.
Ardulace ran until she was certain she was not being followed, then gorged herself on the food and drank the wine. Unused to such rich fare, she quickly fell fast asleep.
Angry about the stolen food, the son of the tinker chief insisted on tracking the drowses. Wanting to meet his “vision”, the old man agreed, and a group of tinkers set off into the woods. Within a few hours they had tracked her and found her fast asleep. All but the old half-elf pounced on her and quickly tied her up.
For the next few weeks they keep Ardulace captive, they clothe and feed her, and the old half-elf speaks to her every day, but she says nothing in response, merely waiting for her chance to escape. One morning, having remembered a trinket he had stolen years before, he retrieved it from his wagon, and approached the drowses. Extending his hand, he opened it to display a holy symbol of Eilistraee, a silver amulet of the moon with the enameled figure of a dark elf maiden silhouetted on it. Offering it to her, he turned to leave, but this small token was enough for her to break her silence. The two began to speak each evening, and eventually the half-elf took her under his protection despite the protest of his son and several of the other tinkers. The son had intended to turn her in for a large bounty.
As Ardulace and the old half-elf became closer, he realized that his days were limited and that his death was near. Knowing that Ardulace was in danger from his own son, and knowing that as old as he was, if his son challenged him for leadership of the band, there was little he could do to retain his power. He equipped her with all that she might need to travel through the wilderness, and knowing she would need it more than he, he gave her his most prized possession, a Hat of Disguise. He then bid her goodbye and wished her well.
In her travels, she stumbled across a few clerics of Eilistraee, from whom she learned all she could. She joined a band of adventurers that thwarted a smuggling ring, explored many a ruin and spent a great deal of time Waterdeep. Much of the time she has had to use the Hat of Disguise to conceal her race, and usually adopts the form of a half-elf named Lacey when she does so.
While adventuring she has accumulated some small wealth and a few magic items. Though she has found places where she was not killed on sight for being a Drow, she still seeks the place where she will be genuinely welcome, and is determined to find it, even if she has to found such a place herself. She utterly hates Lolth and considers the Drow people to be her victims, enslaved by the spider queen. Though she is distrustful of everyone she meets, she longs for true friends and is horribly lonely. She dislikes having to use the Hat of Disguise to conceal her race, but feels she has little choice.
She is very leery of tightly organized religions, seeing them as only a means to control their followers in order to keep those in power in power. Likewise she distrusts overly lawful societies, seeing those that write the laws as using them to oppress the populace in order to retain their wealth and power. Above all else she values the freedom and independence of the individual. She remains devoted to Eilistraee, convinced that it was the goddess that sent the will-o-wisp that guided her to the tinker’s camp in her moment of despair. As a cleric of the Dark Maiden she has given up the use of traditional cleric weapons and adopted the Bastard Sword and Long bow. She loves music, song and dance, both for their simple pleasure and as part of the ceremonial worship of Eilistraee. Since her home city of Guallidurth has had little contact with the surface for centuries, the version of the common tongue she learned there is somewhat archaic and formal, so Ardulace has a tendency to sprinkle her speech with thees and thous. She continues to work on this and has been successful to a degree. Typical of her race, she is possessed of great passion and fury, but seeks to keep both under control and tries to approach things as level-headedly as possible.
Name: Ardulace Despana-Everhate / Lacey
5th level cleric of Eilistraee
Chaotic Good
Str: 14 (+2)
Dex: 17 (+3)
Con: 13 (+1)
Int: 14 (+2)
Wis 19 (+4)
Cha: (+4)
HP: 36
Saving throws:
Fort: 5
Reflex: 4
Will: 8
Base Attack Bonus: 3
Feats: Empower Spell, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Armor Proficiency (light, medium and heavy), Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency
Languages: Common, Undercommon, Elven, Drow
Clerical Abilities; Turn Undead
Racial Abilities: (Not sure what you are permitting here, so I just used standard Elf abilities, let me know if you want these changed to actual Drow abilities, though they are very powerful ) +2 Dex, -2 Con, immune to magic sleep effects, +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
Low light vision, Weapon Proficiency(Martial Weapon proficiency for longsword, rapier, longbow, shortbow.
+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot checks. Entitled to a search check if passes within 5’ of a secret/concealed door.
Equipment:
+1 Half Plate (worn)
+1 Small Steel Shield (carried) Note: This shield is painted dark blue with a field of stars and a full moon with the silhouette of a sword bearing dark elf on it.
Bastard sword, belt and sheath (worn)
Longbow, 30 arrows, quiver (slung on back)
Hat of Disguise (worn)
Heward’s Handy Haversack (on back)
Blanket, winter
Bedroll
3 candles
4 case, map or scroll
2 pieces of chalk
Cleric’s vestment (usually worn only for ceremonies)
Flint and steel
Healer’s Kit
2 Holy Symbol’s of Eilistraee (one worn around neck, back up kept in pack)
Noble’s outfit (worn, clothing)
10 sheets of paper (in map/scroll cases)
2 belt pouches (one worn on belt, spare kept in pack)
Two weeks (14) daily rations
50’ silk rope
2 empty sacks
Sewing needle
Signet ring
Soap
Spell component pouch (belt)
Spyglass
Vial of ink
2 waterskins
Anything without a specified location is packed in Heward’s Handy Haversack.
Appearance:
As herself: Ardulace is tall for an elf (5’7”), but typically slender (104lbs). She is quite lovely to look upon, her skin is flawless ebon, and her eyes pale violet. Her hair is silvery white and falls just past her shoulder blades when not put up. She walks with the grace of a trained dancer (which she is, as both part of her childhood education and as a cleric of Eilistraee), and makes a conscious effort to maintain good posture (head up, shoulders back, back straight). When not in her armor, her typical attire is demure and modest, usually consisting of a white silk blouse, dark blue pantaloons tucked into a pair of tall, soft boots. She is built like a ballerina, very slim. She displays no cleavage (she doesn’t actually have much), and makes a point of not showing much flesh (she is both modest, and easily burned by the sun). She sometimes wears a broad, red sash as well. Still being sensitive to bright sunlight, she will wear a broad brimmed hat during the day to help shield her eyes from the sun’s harsh glare.
As Lacey: She adopts the identity of a ½ elf, physically the same, but with pale ivory skin and flowing black hair. Her eyes remain violet. She attempts to change as little as possible with the Hat of Disguise… simplicity being easier to maintain.
In either guise, she loves to sing and dance, and has some minor skill with stringed instruments (nothing to rival a bard, nor currently approaching the Perform skill), and greatly enjoys playing and singing in taverns or in camp.
Posted on 2009-03-07 at 07:20:51.
Edited on 2009-03-24 at 04:00:27 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Devon returns
After hunting, Devon returns to the camp drawn by the smell of food. With 8 medium sized bird eggs in one haversack pocket and 4 rabbits, held by the hind legs, two in each hand.
As he approaches the Alarm area he whispers,"Arcaniss" and once again to enter the center warded area.
"Well, It seems breakfast started without me. Anyone feel like eggs this morning?"
"Lorae, you said to feel free to ask questions about outdoor living. Well, I can skin these rabbit without a problem, but how does one preserve the meat to keep it from going bad?"
Devon eats breakfast and either cooks the eggs for everyone or saves them for later if no one is interested in them at this time. Afterward, he packs his bedding into his magic haversack.
Devon finds a place away from the sight of the others in consideration that some are still eating to skin the rabbits. He cleans them well and buries the stuff he deems to be no good (mostly guts, head and feet keeping the pelts). He returns to the camp after the deed is done and summons his mount by casting mount.
Posted on 2009-03-06 at 07:02:52.
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Good night.....Morning.
Devon returns the nod and says,"Good night, Lorae. Sleep well and safe everybody." Shifts himself down into his bedroll and sleeps.
Devon gets up with the sun and stokes and/or relights the fire after getting enough wood for creating a cooking fire and tries to go hunting his own special way. Casts Greater invisibility and fly. Devon flies slowly surveying the ground below for rabbits or small game of that sort. when he sees one he chucks a dagger at it from no higher than 10ft in the air. He also checks bird nests for eggs in trees. Whether or not his dagger throws are hits or misses, he always retrieves his daggers.
Posted on 2009-03-06 at 04:59:03.
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Topic: ^ < V game
Subject: getting kinda crazy
^ contributor to insanity
< original 80's rebel
V an asylum escapee only to become an inn-mate!
Posted on 2009-03-06 at 04:40:42.
Edited on 2009-03-06 at 04:41:28 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Deucalion- Chiron Po
Name:Chiron Po
Age: 25
Place of Birth: Nihzyn; a farming community near the River Shaar
He was raised by his aunt, who was the local healer when travel to Shaarmid for priestly care was impractical or impossible. Little information is available about his aunt or why she cared for him instead of his mother. We do know she fell ill when he was six years old and by the time he was eight they had moved to Shaarmid, and then to Innarlith in search of better care and healing. Unfortunately her disease was too advanced by the time a cleric of Ilmater was able to tend to her and she passed away, but not before she went through the Ritual of Turning, becoming a convert to Ilmatari and giving her charge over to the care and tutelage of the church.
The next three years showed Chiron to be a most excellent student. He seemed to have an innate ability to heal and ease suffering, and he was developing a true love for the Crying God. He began asking for admittance into the Companions of the Noble Heart a full year before he reached the minimum age to even be considered for training as a paladin. This failure to meet the prerequisites didn't slow him at all, he would seek an audience with the Reverend Father every week to ask for his new training to begin.
With hindsight, this might have been the first sign that Chiron has the ability to see past the rigid framework that binds so many others once they swear to uphold our unyielding code of conduct.
Reverend Father Turalyon did allow Chiron to be trained as a paladin, once he satisfied the minimum age requirement, and Chiron's potential to heal the injured only increased. He threw himself into the tasks the Reverend Father laid before him, but he didn't appear to be developing a camaraderie with his fellow knights. They embraced the typical and expected, "Let evil see me" approach to dealing with almost everything.
Chiron used less conventional methods and would almost always score highly in simulated assaults on Cult of Loviatar fortresses. His opponents would confidently march into a room and assume it was secure when nothing immediately jumped out to attack. Meanwhile Chiron would lay in wait until he could surprise the commanders from behind, and often would capture them without much of a fight. He said it would lead to less bloodshed overall if one could remove the opposing leaders without wading through all of their troops first. He peers accused him of using the tactics of thieves and villains and such things were not fit for him to use.Turalyon reported to me that Chiron's response to such accusations was that "an act is not evil simply because it is an evil man committing it." He would continue to be a mild irritation to his fellow trainees through the day they were officially knighted and Chiron joined the Companions of the Noble Heart.
His second mission with the Companions was to the city of Ormpetarr. Rumors held that a cult of Loviatar had established a temple somewhere in or near the city and Chiron was part of the detachment sent to discover the veracity of the claims. Through a substantial amount of footwork, they were able to prove that there was indeed a cult operating outside the city and the paladins concocted a plan to thoroughly destroy the cultists' temple and capture the followers of the Maiden of Pain. The reason this otherwise routine outing is worth noting is that this was to be the first time Chiron would find his sense of "right" in direct opposition with his sworn oath as a paladin.
During the investigation the young paladin stumbled across a man who owned and managed a hospice, a place for the ill and dying to go to be comfortable in their last days. Such a place was not unfamiliar to Chiron, since the clerics of Ilmater operate many similar homes. However, the conditions with which this man kept his wards were appalling. Half of the residents were malnourished, rats had domain over most of the rooms, and the roof leaked in many places making in nearly impossible for anyone to keep warm. Everyone who was there was already dying, though, and were almost expected to be sick and uncomfortable. Unfortunately the Companions had just confirmed the location of Loviatar's temple and his report about the poor conditions at a local hospice was buried under the fervor of planning the assault on the Maiden of Pain's followers. Apparently Chiron was unable to let go of what he'd found and couldn't reconcile the conditions being so poor with the amount of money the owner received in donations each month.
The night before the planned assault of the Loviatar cultists, Chiron sneaked into the hospice's back office to check the financial records tracking donations and expenses. Over half the income intended for building upkeep and medicine appeared to be going directly to the owner instead of the dying. He took the records and turned the corrupt owner into the city guard the next morning.
He exposed corruption where others ignored it and as a result he was stripped of his Ilmater-given abilities for nearly a month before the Reverend Father allowed a priest to perform the rights of atonement for him.
And this isn't the only time he's been temporarily relieved of his position as a paladin. The most recent incident, and reason for this report, began simply enough:
Chiron apprehended a pick-pocket on the streets of Innarlith and turned him over to the city's Watch.
Next week Chiron caught the same man again plying his skills as a cut-purse. Over the next two months Chiron handed this man, Malosey, over to city guardsmen nearly a dozen times and all for the same charges of theft and robbery. Malosey, or one of the criminal's friends, and found a way to ensure his quick release with the careful application of gold pieces and threats. The pattern of Chiron catching him, being turned over to the authorities, and being released in only a few days had became a game for the thief and he decided to raise the stakes.
The next time Chiron handed Malosey over to the guard it was on charges of kidnapping and assault. The thief had decided it was too much work to spend all day relieving market goers of their pocket change and he'd kidnapped a merchant's son, asking for several hundred gold pieces before the child could be returned. This escalation in tactics resulted in only two extra nights in a cell for Malosey before he was back on the streets again. And again he tested the limits of what he could do without punishment. He used the same plan as before, abduct a merchant's child for ransom, but this time he picked a business man with a daughter and was able to violate the young woman before Chiron tracked him down.
Every time Chiron caught up to the man, Malosey would drop his weapons, fall to his knees and surrender. He knew the paladins code would prevent anything from happening to him once he had surrendered, it would even make his captor protect him from his victim's anger! Other than the minor inconvenience of a few nights in a jail cell, nothing could be better than having a paladin always be the one to arrest him after a crime.
Malosey must have spent his five days in prison hatching his next depraved plan, because as soon as he was released he headed straight to the marketplace. Witness accounts say that he spent almost an hour moving from one store front to another, but paying no head to the items the shops were selling.
"It was like he was looking at the buildings themselves, and not really what they were being used for. It was weird. Every time he comes near my place I gotta watch him like a hawk. He's always eying the rings and brooches, you know, the stuff he thinks you won't notice disappearing, but he didn't even glance at any of my necklaces or bracelets, and those are a lot easier to run off with than, like, the rings and stuff." ~Jasmine, owner of Jassy Jewelers.
Whatever criteria Malosey was searching for, a blacksmith's shop seems to have satisfied them. He marched inside, took the sword the smithy was working on, and ran the man through before heading upstairs with another of the dead man's recently finished works. Here is where witness reports become fuzzy. Some say that Chiron had been following Malosey through the market all day, others say that he simply happened to be nearby and heard the screams. Either way, shortly after the murderer made it to the second floor hysterical screaming could be heard coming from an open window above the shop. Chiron ran into the shop, paused long enough to determine that the blacksmith was beyond any help he could give, and bounded up the stairs after Malosey. The screaming stopped.
Moments later, when the city guard arrived, they were greeted by Chiron as he exited the shop carrying the blacksmith's daughter wrapped in a blanket. The girl was unconscious and her throat was wrapped in bloody bandages. Inside her father, mother and infant brother all lay dead. So, too, was their murderer dead on the floor next to his last victims.
Chiron's version of the incident is that when he arrived the blacksmith, his wife and the infant were all dead and Malosey was waiting in the master bedroom with a knife to the girl's throat.
"Malosey made no demands about how the situation would play out. He only said, "Well, now. What do you do here?" when I stepped into the room.
He had a weapon in hand so I drew my sword and ordered him to drop his dagger, slowly stepping closer as I did. His response was to slit her throat and throw her aside. I was afraid he might engage me next and the girl didn't appear to have been instantly killed, so I dispatched him quickly so that I might render aid before she followed her family into death.
My connection to Ilmater suffered from some unknown influence. Mayhap my anger at the amount of suffering Malosey caused in such a short time clouded my mind, but I was unable to call upon the One Who Endures to heal the child's throat. I treated her as best I could and carried her outside in search of a priest or another paladin who would be better able to call for divine aid.
I hear the girl's throat didn't mend properly. Is she still unable to speak?" ~Chiron Po
Something about the event doesn't add up. Chiron should have been able to call upon The Crying God if everything happened exactly as he recounted it. Malosey's body was found with a dagger in hand. The location and depths of the cut to the girl's throat wouldn't leave much time to change the scene before tending to her. Leaving the girl's side after treating the wound wouldn't allow for her to bond so fiercely to him. For some time during her recovery, she would only smile when he stopped in to visit her. No, he would have had to treat her as soon as Malosey was dead, and stay with her and keep her from looking at her dead family while she was still in the house.
Whatever Chiron did to remove an increasingly violent and dangerous man from the community, it was enough for Ilmater to revoke the special blessings granted to Chiron for his service as a paladin. It was not enough to keep Chiron from being returned to the Crying God's grace after a ceremony of atonement.
This was the second time Chiron's actions both proved a benefit to the community and violated his code of conduct as a paladin. Because of the controversy surrounding this second "offence", Reverend Father Turalyon, in his wisdom, sent Chiron from Innarlith on an extended mission to bring healing and faith of Ilmater to the people of distant lands. This mission is the reason for this report. Chiron's last known location places him near your city and I believe that he would make a most welcome addition to our special order.
~~Excerpt from a report by a Grey Guard recruiter
BLOCK ARROW
You can block incoming arrows with your shield.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Shield Proficiency.
Benefit: You must be using a shield to use this feat.
Once per round when you would normally be hit with
a ranged weapon, you can deflect it so that you take no
damage from it. You must be aware of the attack and not
flat-footed. Unusually massive ranged weapons, such
as boulders hurled by giants, siege weapon attacks, and
ranged attacks generated by spell effects (such as Melf’s
acid arrow) can’t be deflected.
GUERRILLA WARRIOR
You know how to move stealthily, even when armored.
Benefit: When you are wearing light or medium
armor, reduce the armor check penalty of the armor by
1 (minimum 0).
Hide and Move Silently ranks cost 1 skill point, even if
these skills are cross-class for you. The maximum number
of ranks you can purchase in a cross-class skill remains
the same.
Normal: If Hide and Move Silently are cross-class skills
for you, each rank you purchase in those skills without
having this feat costs 2 skill points.
The content taken from Complete Champion is as follows:
HEALING DEVOTION
You can heal damage faster than normal.
Benefit: Once per day, you can gain fast healing 1, +1 for
every five character levels you possess (maximum fast heal-
ing 5 at 20th level). This effect lasts for 1 minute.
You can activate this feat as an immediate action or, if
you have a daily available, it automatically activates if you
are reduced to 0 hit points or below (but not killed).
Special: As a full-round action, you can transfer this ability
to a willing recipient as a touch spell. Doing so counts as one
daily use of the ability.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times, gaining
one additional daily use each time you take it.
Special: If you have the ability to turn or rebuke undead,
you gain one additional daily use of this feat for each daily
turn or rebuke use you expend.
CHARACTER SHEET
Chiron Po
Human
Lawful-Good
Paladin 5
HP Max: 34
AC: 21 = (+5 armor, +3 shield, +2 dex, +1 deflection)
Touch: 13
Flat-footed: 19
STR: 16 : +3
DEX: 14 : +2
CON: 10 : +0
INT : 14 : +2
WIS: 18 : +4
CHA: 17 : +3
BAB: +5
Grapple: 9 = 5 + 4
FORT: 7 = 4 + 0 + 3(Misc: Divine Grace)
REF : 6 = 1 + 2 + 3(Misc: Divine Grace)
WILL: 8 = 1 + 4 + 3(Misc: Divine Grace)
..Attack Options..
--Longsword
+9 melee : 1d8+3 : 19-20 x2
--Mwk Composite Longbow
+8 ranged : 1d8+3 : 20 x3 : Range increment 110ft : max range 1100
..Abilities..
Code of Conduct
Aura of Good (Ex)
Detect Evil (Sp)
Smite Evil (Su) 2/day (+5 damage)
Divine Grace (Su) (+3 to all saves)
Lay on Hands (Su) (15 points healing / day)
Aura of Courage (Su) (immune to fear (magical or otherwise)) (allies within 10 feet +4 morale bonus vs fear)
Divine Health (Ex) (immune to all diseases)
Turn Undead (Su) (as Cleric1) (3 + Cha mod /day)
Special Mount (Sp) 1/day, 10 hour duration
..Feats..
Healing Devotion (Complete Champion) human 1
Guerrilla Warrior (Heroes of Battle) character 1
Block Arrow (Heroes of Battle) character 3
..Skills..
Concentration: 8 = 8 + 0(con)
Heal: 12 = 8 + 4(wis)
Hide: 6* = 4 + 2(dex)
Knowledge(Religion): 10 = 8 + 2(int)
Move Silently: 6* = 4 + 2(dex)
Ride: 8 = 4 + 2(dex) + 2(Prajna's military saddle)
Sense Motive: 12 = 8 + 4(wis)
*-1 armor check penalty if shield is worn
..Special Mount..
Prajna
Heavy Warhorse (Magical Beast)
Large Animal
HP max: 46
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50ft
Armor Class: 22 (+4 armor, -1 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+12
Attack: Hoof +8 melee (1d8+4)
Full Attack: 2 hooves +8 melee (1d8+4) and bite +3 melee (1d4+2)
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +2
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 6
Skills: Jump +13, Listen +6, Spot +5
Feats: Endurance, Run, Improved Natural Attack(Hoof)
..Spells..
MP: 10
Caster Level: 2
Highest Spell Level: 1
..Equipment..
+1 longsword
mwk composite longbow; str:3
20 arrows
+1 chain shirt
+1 heavy steel shield
Ring of Protection +1
Backpack
Belt pouch
Sack
50ft silk rope
waterskin
small steel mirror
bedroll
flint and steel
whetstone
silver holy symbol (Ilmater)
Explorer's outfit
rations (4 days)
Healer's kit (10 uses)
--With Prajna--
Military Saddle
Bit and Bridle
Masterwork Chain Shirt Barding
Saddlebags
rations (10 days)
Healer's kit (10 uses)
Funds: 730gp; 16sp; 18cp
Languages Known: Common, Celestial, Dwarven
..Physical Description..
Standing at just over six feet, Chiron would be quite the imposing figure in his shined armor were it not for the disarming grin almost always on his face. He keeps his dark hair cut short, and his beard, if you could call it that, would be better described as groomed stubble. There are no elaborate engravings on his armor or shield marking him as a holy knight. In fact, if a casual observer missed the symbol of The Broken God (a pair a hands, bound with a red cord) hanging around his neck, they might take him for a mercenary or some other secular fighter.
Posted on 2009-03-06 at 04:20:11.
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil recruitment
Subject: just one so far
I've got one paladin. We need a TRUE healer (cleric), Mages, and fighters.
Posted on 2009-03-04 at 05:45:37.
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Topic: Old newb
Subject: Welcome and Well met
Please check out my game which is soon to be up and running.
It's a 3.5 D&D play by post game called "Diabolic Genesis: Origins of Evil". Wrote it up myself. Probably will take close to a year to play through.
and again...I'd like to extend a laurel and a hardy handshake to our new.........inn-mate. (someone leaning against a wall in their chair collapses)
Posted on 2009-03-03 at 20:26:51.
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Topic: The Riddle of Steel Q&A
Subject: got a question
why can't race be "A" or "C"?
Posted on 2009-03-02 at 04:48:33.
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Topic: Come one! Come All! Help hunt for... The Riddle!
Subject: im interested
I'd love to play and I post something here almost every day so it will be no prob. I'll be in this for the long haul. I could use some help in character creation though seeing how I'm new to this. all I've ever played was dnd. You might wanna post a Q&A thread for this game.
Posted on 2009-03-01 at 08:53:32.
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: here's how i understand it
It was explained to me in this way when I was introduced to the idea, "You never heard Gandalf say oops can't use that one cause I've used it already" and he is a wizard. So I'm going to say that you still need to prepare your spells as a wizard does or pray in your case, and according to the limits of the book, only you may cast your prepared spells as long as you have MP.
So a 5th level wizard would prepare at the start of his/her day four 0 lvl spells, three 1st lvl spells, two 2nd lvl spells, and one 3rd lvl spell all of which he/she can cast until the MP is depleted. Using this system of a Magic pool, if you have magic missile in your prepared list you can cast that one spell if you wish until your Mp is gone.
Posted on 2009-03-01 at 08:22:43.
Edited on 2009-03-04 at 06:59:50 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Alarm
"Anyone who enters the warded area which is roughly 60 ft from the center of the camp in any direction, without saying the password I've shown y'all, will set off the alarm. I could be almost a mile away and still hear it mentally, but to you it will sound like someone ringing a hand bell rapidly. As far as knowing the location of a breech, the 'Alarm' spell tripped is the one that will sound off so you will know the direction from where the sound is coming from."
Devon draws in the sand a rough mapping of the "Alarm" areas. There are seven circular areas, six of which are arranged in a hexagonal shape. The seventh warded area is in the center of the hexagon of circles which is the camping area.
Posted on 2009-02-28 at 06:43:48.
Edited on 2009-02-28 at 07:28:26 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: I Cast.....
"I think it would be a good idea to ward our area with a couple of "Alarm" spells. I think I'll cast one "Alarm" spell that you can hear and one that only I can hear and cover a large area with them. These alarms will last all night and then some."
Devon calls over all the party to a common area with sandy ground and uses a stick to write a word in the sand. The word is "Arcaniss". This is the password to enter the warded area without setting off the alarm. Once all of the party reads it, Devon uses his foot to erase the word.
(OOC: I will be casting 14 "Alarm" spells to cover a 60 ft radius or 120 ft diameter with our occupied area as the center point. Each 20 ft area has the spell cast twice so that everyone will hear if an intruder enters the area and I will be able to hear it mentally if I'm checking on any other disturbances. 102 mp - 14 mp = 88 mp till my mp replenishes the next day I'm assuming.)
Posted on 2009-02-28 at 01:56:19.
Edited on 2009-02-28 at 06:02:41 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Camping
After digging latrines in semi-sheltered and private areas down wind of the camping area, Devon takes the cues of where the best place is to set up his camping supplies, tent and bed roll. He figures that his horse could use refreshing so as to be ready for him in the morning. He gives a gesture and a word, no longer concerned as to who sees him, and the horse dissipates into nothingness. Devon catches the scent of dinner on the evening breeze and is drawn to the fire.
"I'm not much of a wilderness person, unfortunately, otherwise I could have helped in the hunting. I guess I spoiled myself in living in Sebria for almost five years. I'll take the first watch if that's alright with everyone. I don't need prayer or meditation and I'm too energized with excitement to sleep anyway."
During supper Devon listens in on the conversation, adding insight on what he knows about, asking questions on what he doesn't know or understand and after dinner lights up his pipe and puffs leisurely.
Posted on 2009-02-27 at 05:52:17.
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil recruitment
Subject: DITTO
I second that!
Posted on 2009-02-27 at 01:23:14.
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Topic: Diabolic Genesis-Origins of Evil Q&A
Subject: Response to Deucalion "MP"
This is the best way I can explain:
This is the mp for a 5th level sorcerer-
His Charisma score is 17 (+3) which means he gets 1 bonus spell each for spell levels 1, 2, and 3, making his spells per day 6/6+1/4+1 (he can't cast lvl 3 spells yet)
caster level X Caster's relevant ability mod= MP
5 X 3= 15
Spell levels over 0 level= 2
Spells cost the amount of points equal to the spell level, with the exception for 0 lvl spells which cost .5 of a point. Which means if you cast a 0 lvl spell it costs .5 of a point, cast a 1st lvl spell and it costs 1 point, and to cast a 2nd lvl spell costs 2 points, and so on.
With that in mind,
Spells per day X spell lvl= mp
(with exception to 0 lvl spells,
spells per day X .5= mp for 0 lvl spells)
0 lvl
6 X .5 = 3
1st lvl
7 X 1 = 7
2nd lvl
5 X 2 = 10
then add them up-
15 + 2 + 3 + 7 + 10 = 37 mp
Now as long as you have points to spend, you can cast. If your points reach 0 before the end of the day, the points will replenish the next day naturally or you can take one of the "Cure" potions as a "rejuvenation" potion using the same mechanics as the "Cure" potion (potions have to be bought as "Rejuvenation Potions" for the same price and potency as the "Cure" potions. I hope this was helpful to you.
Posted on 2009-02-27 at 01:22:13.
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Thank the Higher Powers of Fate!
Devon answers Lorae's question.
"I believe that I am to find THE Sword of Light. My homeland is in great trouble at this time so it could be the sword I seek. However, the word light in my culture could mean Truth. Many people misconceive what darkness holds until one sheds some light on the subject to reveal what is really there."
And to Briana, Devon responds to her question.
"It is rather quite fortunate that the Dark One which rules my homeland is not presently in this realm. Besides, I assume that this once paladin turned evil is human or at least humanoid, am I correct? Sver'ir lives in Mt. Darkhest, a volcano on the edge of the Desert Sea of Genesica.
He is a dragon that was blessed, reared, and trained by Tiamat herself. I doubt very seriously that the your Dark One and mine are the same. We are safe for now from any threat from Sver'ir in this realm."
Posted on 2009-02-27 at 00:28:32.
Edited on 2009-02-27 at 00:50:31 by Tiamat5774
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Topic: Peradyse Lost
Subject: Dark "One"?
"Evil doesn't seem to count imagination among its characteristics. There is an evil creature that rules my homeland named Sver'ir which translates from draconic to common as "Dark One". The reason I was to go to Tilverton was to get information about an artifact called the "Horn of Lost Calling". With it, one could call back to its rightful place anything lost or stolen. I suppose I'll have to get my information elsewhere."
As Devon's horse walks, Devon shifts his hips with the rhythm of his horse's steps. Carefully he reaches into an inside pocket of his robe and pulls out his map to read the instructions of the destination planned after Tilverton.
It's Cormyr! The instructions say,"Search out a party to help find the Sword of Light." Well it seems Devon has the party part taken care of.
"It would seem that there may be many parallels in the other realms. According to my map, my father left instructions for me to try and locate a "Sword of Light". I wonder if the sword you seek and the one I seek are of a kind?"
Posted on 2009-02-25 at 05:45:38.
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