Continuing with the test run of Scum and Villainy. Last week, I recreated Tanya, the family assassin, with success. Not many changes were needed, just adding on a few details. This time out, I want to create a character who fits in with the included setting a little better. To follow along, take a look at the playbooks available at Evil Hat's site.
Before getting into the trenches of character creation, I want to get an idea of who this person is. The first idea I had was someone who is good with melee weapons, like a staff. That concept is better suited for the Mystic, though, at least in the game. Second approach, ex-military, a corporal who was dishonourably discharged. If you have a problem, and if you can find her, no, wait, wrong setting. Corporal Katya Orrin, though, feels that she was set up and that her discharge was uncalled for. Slightly bitter, especially since the discharge cut her off from a number of legitimate career paths, she's now part of the crew of smugglers, the captain's stick when the carrot isn't enough.
On to character creation!
1 Feb 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Previously:
The sun sat on the horizon as the small group arrived. Leomund dismounted first; he led his charges into the unmarked inn's courtyard. Nyssa followed, bringing her horses in. Wren took charge of the elves' mounts. Kazimier eased Jyslyn down to the ground. The dark elf took several unsteady steps, then rubbed her legs.
"That was different," Jyslyn said.
"You'll get used to it," Kazimier said. "Just walk it off."
Nyssa hooked a thumb at the inn. "We should get inside. Let Wren and Leomund handle the horses. We need to get space, either on the common room's floor or a private room." The knight gave Jyslyn a significant look. "Ideally? A private room. We don't want trouble tonight."
"I will vouch for Jyslyn," Kazimier said.
Jyslyn placed a hand on Kazimier's arm, holding him back. "I am well aware of the reputation my people have. It is well-earned. I may not start anything, but there could be someone in there who will."
Previously:
Final preparations and a look at Jyslyn's home.Inn at the Crossroads, outside the Sylvan Forest
The sun sat on the horizon as the small group arrived. Leomund dismounted first; he led his charges into the unmarked inn's courtyard. Nyssa followed, bringing her horses in. Wren took charge of the elves' mounts. Kazimier eased Jyslyn down to the ground. The dark elf took several unsteady steps, then rubbed her legs.
"That was different," Jyslyn said.
"You'll get used to it," Kazimier said. "Just walk it off."
Nyssa hooked a thumb at the inn. "We should get inside. Let Wren and Leomund handle the horses. We need to get space, either on the common room's floor or a private room." The knight gave Jyslyn a significant look. "Ideally? A private room. We don't want trouble tonight."
"I will vouch for Jyslyn," Kazimier said.
Jyslyn placed a hand on Kazimier's arm, holding him back. "I am well aware of the reputation my people have. It is well-earned. I may not start anything, but there could be someone in there who will."
31 Jan 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Commentary 14
Setting off on adventure and a look in at Jyslyn's family, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 14.
Kazimier did try to brush off who he was bringing with him as he accompanied Nyssa. His great grand-aunt, though, has raised enough children and has spent long enough on the Council of Matriarchs to know when someone is avoiding the truth. Matriarch Starpetal is family; she's concerned about Kazi's well-being, even if she isn't his mother. My goal here was to show that the Matriarch was still a person and that she did care about Kazi.
Why did Tilly leap to the conclusion that Kazi's wizard is Jyslyn? He only used the pronoun, "she". This goes back to first edition AD&D where drow men were far better as wizards than drow women, who tended to be better at being priestesses. In my setting, I wanted the dark elves to have splintered from the surface elves, for reasons lost to time. Both the Wildwood elves and Jyslyn's home were matriarchal. Why not have the same division of magic? Elven men, regardless of origin, tended to be wizards. On the surface, Kazi went into a priesthood, like Jyslyn studied magic. The mirroring wasn't intended, but as the setting gets more developed post-NaNo, these tidbits start getting obvious when they weren't during writing.
The adventurers finally get out on the road. It took long enough, though I wanted to set up the story and the characters before setting out on the plot. I made note of what everyone had here, in part so that I could refer back to the chapter if I needed to remember what people had. Kazi was already shown with a longsword back in Chapter 1. The estoc, carried by Jyslyn and by Wren, was chosen because it wasn't a rapier but still had the long thin blade. Turns out, it's also two-handed, mostly, so that will have to be fixed at some point. Nyssa's horses were inspired by the King Arthur Pendragon RPG, which detailed not only how many horses a knight would have but what types of horses, too. Nyssa won't be riding her charger; the horse is too valuable to risk injuring when not in a battle. She and Leo will use the riding horses, leading the charger and the pack horses. Wren's horse was bred for speed.
The interregnum came about because I needed to figure out what was happening elsewhere. While I could have just made notes in a text file, I decided that it'd be easier to just write the scene. First, it's NaNo and those words would count in the story. Second, I had no idea what was going on back in Jyslyn's home. Turned out, Jyslyn's eldest sister is not a nice person at all. Well, neither of her sisters are, but Valenza puts in an extra effort. After all, falling on swords and then throwing yourself into a river doesn't happen everyday.
Valenza also made sure that the rest of her siblings knew who had power. The goblin was a redshirt here, combined with the innocent victim of monster and shark movies. He existed to show what Valenza could do and how dangerous she is. It was fun writing the scene. Everything that the heroes wouldn't do, not even Jyslyn, could be on display. I wouldn't be able to have a Valenza-led story, but having her make an appearance here did help me figure out what was happening behind the scenes a little.
Friday, the first night, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 15.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Bumblebee.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, parodies.
Kazimier did try to brush off who he was bringing with him as he accompanied Nyssa. His great grand-aunt, though, has raised enough children and has spent long enough on the Council of Matriarchs to know when someone is avoiding the truth. Matriarch Starpetal is family; she's concerned about Kazi's well-being, even if she isn't his mother. My goal here was to show that the Matriarch was still a person and that she did care about Kazi.
Why did Tilly leap to the conclusion that Kazi's wizard is Jyslyn? He only used the pronoun, "she". This goes back to first edition AD&D where drow men were far better as wizards than drow women, who tended to be better at being priestesses. In my setting, I wanted the dark elves to have splintered from the surface elves, for reasons lost to time. Both the Wildwood elves and Jyslyn's home were matriarchal. Why not have the same division of magic? Elven men, regardless of origin, tended to be wizards. On the surface, Kazi went into a priesthood, like Jyslyn studied magic. The mirroring wasn't intended, but as the setting gets more developed post-NaNo, these tidbits start getting obvious when they weren't during writing.
The adventurers finally get out on the road. It took long enough, though I wanted to set up the story and the characters before setting out on the plot. I made note of what everyone had here, in part so that I could refer back to the chapter if I needed to remember what people had. Kazi was already shown with a longsword back in Chapter 1. The estoc, carried by Jyslyn and by Wren, was chosen because it wasn't a rapier but still had the long thin blade. Turns out, it's also two-handed, mostly, so that will have to be fixed at some point. Nyssa's horses were inspired by the King Arthur Pendragon RPG, which detailed not only how many horses a knight would have but what types of horses, too. Nyssa won't be riding her charger; the horse is too valuable to risk injuring when not in a battle. She and Leo will use the riding horses, leading the charger and the pack horses. Wren's horse was bred for speed.
The interregnum came about because I needed to figure out what was happening elsewhere. While I could have just made notes in a text file, I decided that it'd be easier to just write the scene. First, it's NaNo and those words would count in the story. Second, I had no idea what was going on back in Jyslyn's home. Turned out, Jyslyn's eldest sister is not a nice person at all. Well, neither of her sisters are, but Valenza puts in an extra effort. After all, falling on swords and then throwing yourself into a river doesn't happen everyday.
Valenza also made sure that the rest of her siblings knew who had power. The goblin was a redshirt here, combined with the innocent victim of monster and shark movies. He existed to show what Valenza could do and how dangerous she is. It was fun writing the scene. Everything that the heroes wouldn't do, not even Jyslyn, could be on display. I wouldn't be able to have a Valenza-led story, but having her make an appearance here did help me figure out what was happening behind the scenes a little.
Friday, the first night, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 15.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Bumblebee.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, parodies.
29 Jan 2019
Test Run - Scum and Villainy - Tanya
I haven't done this in a while. I recently purchased Scum and Villainy, a science fiction RPG where the characters fight against an evil interstellar government that's cracking down on the populace. The inspirations for the game include Star Wars, Firefly, Farscape, and even Mass Effect. I've been trying to wrap my head around the mechanics and now that I more or less have them worked out, it's time to create a character.
For this test run, I'll use Tanya, last seen as the test subject for the full Firefly RPG. As a refresher, Tanya is the noble whose family uses her as an assassin against rivals. For the Firefly RPG, I kept the concept, adding in that she was a medical student. Easier to kill someone when you know how the human body works, right? Tanya's not tied to any project yet; her story works better as part of a larger work. I do have a few ideas, but they're not important here.
It may be easier to follow along with the player sheets available for Scum and Villainy, available for download from Evil Hat's site. It helped me with some of the game's concepts, at least when it came to character creation. While I was looking at the game to help with a possible project, it didn't quiet fit my needs there. That's not the game's fault; the idea involves a smaller ship and crew than what Scum and Villainy is written for.
For this test run, I'll use Tanya, last seen as the test subject for the full Firefly RPG. As a refresher, Tanya is the noble whose family uses her as an assassin against rivals. For the Firefly RPG, I kept the concept, adding in that she was a medical student. Easier to kill someone when you know how the human body works, right? Tanya's not tied to any project yet; her story works better as part of a larger work. I do have a few ideas, but they're not important here.
It may be easier to follow along with the player sheets available for Scum and Villainy, available for download from Evil Hat's site. It helped me with some of the game's concepts, at least when it came to character creation. While I was looking at the game to help with a possible project, it didn't quiet fit my needs there. That's not the game's fault; the idea involves a smaller ship and crew than what Scum and Villainy is written for.
25 Jan 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Previously:
Nyssa stood, unassisted, in the office of Matriarch Starpetal. Her crutch leaned against the wall by the door. She waited with Kazimier, who also stood. The matriarch entered, her blue gown trailing. "Good morning," she said. "I didn't expect either of you to be here so soon after dawn."
Kazimier bowed to the matriarch. "I thought that Dame Nyssa would like to get going as soon as possible this morning."
"I see." Matriarch Starpetal sat at her desk. "And how is her leg, Kazimier?"
"Healing, Matriarch. I'd prefer if she were off it at least another day, but Dame Nyssa does have her quest to complete."
Amusement tugged the corners of Nyssa's mouth upwards. "Matriarch, with Kazimier with me, I'm sure that won't have to lose my leg."
"And the supplies?"
"My squire is packing them on my horse as we speak, Matriarch. Thank you again for your generosity."
"Kazimier, will you be travelling alone with Dame Nyssa?"
"No, Matriarch," Kazimier answered. "I have found volunteers to come with me. One is an outrider. An apprentice, but her master has nothing but praise for her abilities. The other is a wizard."
Matriarch Starpetal cocked her head. "A wizard? Why haven't I heard complaints from Matriarch Eaglebough about one of her son's mages being usurped by some upstart?"
Previously:
Human/elven relations.Council Hall, Wildwood, the Sylvan Forest
Nyssa stood, unassisted, in the office of Matriarch Starpetal. Her crutch leaned against the wall by the door. She waited with Kazimier, who also stood. The matriarch entered, her blue gown trailing. "Good morning," she said. "I didn't expect either of you to be here so soon after dawn."
Kazimier bowed to the matriarch. "I thought that Dame Nyssa would like to get going as soon as possible this morning."
"I see." Matriarch Starpetal sat at her desk. "And how is her leg, Kazimier?"
"Healing, Matriarch. I'd prefer if she were off it at least another day, but Dame Nyssa does have her quest to complete."
Amusement tugged the corners of Nyssa's mouth upwards. "Matriarch, with Kazimier with me, I'm sure that won't have to lose my leg."
"And the supplies?"
"My squire is packing them on my horse as we speak, Matriarch. Thank you again for your generosity."
"Kazimier, will you be travelling alone with Dame Nyssa?"
"No, Matriarch," Kazimier answered. "I have found volunteers to come with me. One is an outrider. An apprentice, but her master has nothing but praise for her abilities. The other is a wizard."
Matriarch Starpetal cocked her head. "A wizard? Why haven't I heard complaints from Matriarch Eaglebough about one of her son's mages being usurped by some upstart?"
24 Jan 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Commentary 13
More on human/elven interaction, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 13.
The commentary for Chapter 11, all the background details I quickly worked out to have Lia, Nyssa explains for the Leo and the reader here. Though Leo wasn't embarassed by the commentary like he was here. Nyssa has no problems seeing her squire blushing. She's been there many times with her previous squires. Her former squires probably get together every month to commiserate and have Leo's invite already drafted.
Why the breakfast? I suppose I could have jumped to the characters leaving Wildwood, but that would mean that I knew what was going to happen. I was working out scenes the night before, as I was going to bed. I had no idea what was going to happen, so I let the characters do some developing. Sure, they could have done something on the road, but there's a difference between chatting with someone briefly knowing that there's a way out if needed and chatting with travelling companions when there's no escape except for dropping out entirely. A relaxed moment lets guards down.
I also tend to be dialogue heavy. It's something I'm working on, but the more characters, the more dialogue. Inter-character relationships are important, at least to me. I'm as interested in how characters get along as I am in what they're doing. Some conflict between characters helps, but if they're working together, they need to figure out how to get past their problems. Mecha Academy gets into this more with Rhiannon and Dusty. Here, the conflict is muted. Jyslyn isn't trying to be leader, Nyssa and Kazimier are professional with each other, and Leo and Wren are too young to try to vie for leadership. There's some distrust of Jyslyn from Nyssa, but mainly because the knight is aware of life below.
Language is an issue when multiple cultures come up. Kazi has a way around it, but I didn't want to have him keep using that spell. Nyssa has learned the language of the Wildwood elves; she's been around. Kazi, Jyslyn, and even Wren understand Nyssa and Leo; when one have the equivalence of several lifetimes, one picks up other languages. Leo will eventually learn the language, but he's still young.
Cuisine is another little worldbuilding detail that came up without me knowing what I wanted from it. For me, breakfast is something quick to tide me until lunch, so a muffin or a croissant, if that. Nyssa is not me, so she gets a larger breakfast. She's also adventurous, so giving whoever is cooking free rein is natural for her. A picky eater she isn't, and she's encouraging Leo to expand his tastes.
I managed to toss in one of my favourite lines from the original Battlestar Galactica, from "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part 2". Now, given the nature of the two stories, one space opera, the other epic fantasy, some changes were made. Nyssa got to be Boomer here, with, "Horses, after all, are ridden in the seated position." It's not the exact line, though. Lt. Boomer, when he reports with the rest of Blue Squadron, who are all recovering from a near-fatal disease, is told by Col. Tigh that he can barely stand. Boomer's response, "A Viper is flown from the seated position, sir." Considering that Blue Squadron came in like the cavalry to save the pogies of the people on the planet and back up the rookies already fighting off Cylon raiders, it's a line that says to me that Boomer is willing to push himself hard for his fellows. Nyssa will do the same.
Friday, setting off, finally, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 14.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, Bumblebee.
The commentary for Chapter 11, all the background details I quickly worked out to have Lia, Nyssa explains for the Leo and the reader here. Though Leo wasn't embarassed by the commentary like he was here. Nyssa has no problems seeing her squire blushing. She's been there many times with her previous squires. Her former squires probably get together every month to commiserate and have Leo's invite already drafted.
Why the breakfast? I suppose I could have jumped to the characters leaving Wildwood, but that would mean that I knew what was going to happen. I was working out scenes the night before, as I was going to bed. I had no idea what was going to happen, so I let the characters do some developing. Sure, they could have done something on the road, but there's a difference between chatting with someone briefly knowing that there's a way out if needed and chatting with travelling companions when there's no escape except for dropping out entirely. A relaxed moment lets guards down.
I also tend to be dialogue heavy. It's something I'm working on, but the more characters, the more dialogue. Inter-character relationships are important, at least to me. I'm as interested in how characters get along as I am in what they're doing. Some conflict between characters helps, but if they're working together, they need to figure out how to get past their problems. Mecha Academy gets into this more with Rhiannon and Dusty. Here, the conflict is muted. Jyslyn isn't trying to be leader, Nyssa and Kazimier are professional with each other, and Leo and Wren are too young to try to vie for leadership. There's some distrust of Jyslyn from Nyssa, but mainly because the knight is aware of life below.
Language is an issue when multiple cultures come up. Kazi has a way around it, but I didn't want to have him keep using that spell. Nyssa has learned the language of the Wildwood elves; she's been around. Kazi, Jyslyn, and even Wren understand Nyssa and Leo; when one have the equivalence of several lifetimes, one picks up other languages. Leo will eventually learn the language, but he's still young.
Cuisine is another little worldbuilding detail that came up without me knowing what I wanted from it. For me, breakfast is something quick to tide me until lunch, so a muffin or a croissant, if that. Nyssa is not me, so she gets a larger breakfast. She's also adventurous, so giving whoever is cooking free rein is natural for her. A picky eater she isn't, and she's encouraging Leo to expand his tastes.
I managed to toss in one of my favourite lines from the original Battlestar Galactica, from "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part 2". Now, given the nature of the two stories, one space opera, the other epic fantasy, some changes were made. Nyssa got to be Boomer here, with, "Horses, after all, are ridden in the seated position." It's not the exact line, though. Lt. Boomer, when he reports with the rest of Blue Squadron, who are all recovering from a near-fatal disease, is told by Col. Tigh that he can barely stand. Boomer's response, "A Viper is flown from the seated position, sir." Considering that Blue Squadron came in like the cavalry to save the pogies of the people on the planet and back up the rookies already fighting off Cylon raiders, it's a line that says to me that Boomer is willing to push himself hard for his fellows. Nyssa will do the same.
Friday, setting off, finally, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 14.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, Bumblebee.
18 Jan 2019
The Elf's Prisoner - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Previously:
"Get up, you lazy lump." Nyssa threw her pillow at her squire, nailing Leomund in the back of the head.
Leomund rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his chestnut brown hair. "I'm awake, ma'am."
Nyssa hobbled across the room, her wounded leg limping. "Good. Breakfast awaits. Have you ever had elven cuisine, Leomund."
"Does last night count?" Leomund flipped over to see his liege.
"I don't remember much from last night. What did you have?"
"I asked for stew. I got soup."
Nyssa tsk'ed. "Leo, you should have had me with you."
"Yes, ma'am, but when you got here, you passed out on your bed." Leomund rolled out of his bed. "I would like a proper breakfast, ma'am."
"Excellent, my boy. Get cleaned and dressed, then meet me downstairs. I will give you a lesson on diplomacy"
Previously:
Wren and Jyslyn joined the investigation party.Four Leaf Inn, Wildwood, the Sylvan Forest
"Get up, you lazy lump." Nyssa threw her pillow at her squire, nailing Leomund in the back of the head.
Leomund rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his chestnut brown hair. "I'm awake, ma'am."
Nyssa hobbled across the room, her wounded leg limping. "Good. Breakfast awaits. Have you ever had elven cuisine, Leomund."
"Does last night count?" Leomund flipped over to see his liege.
"I don't remember much from last night. What did you have?"
"I asked for stew. I got soup."
Nyssa tsk'ed. "Leo, you should have had me with you."
"Yes, ma'am, but when you got here, you passed out on your bed." Leomund rolled out of his bed. "I would like a proper breakfast, ma'am."
"Excellent, my boy. Get cleaned and dressed, then meet me downstairs. I will give you a lesson on diplomacy"
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