Saturday, October 24, 2020

Building Upon Mythraelai, Raven Grey...

Seven days before Halloween, and I am still picking Descriptors apart. I pulled together pieces of Masque of the Red Death, the unofficial Masque of the Red Death Player's Guide for 5th edition, Bloodborne and Dark Souls to make a setting that feels more comfortable. Comfortable. Relatable. Either word comes across wrong for some.

The Grey Raven, Uncertain Hexblade : cautious, determined, intimidating, resistant

Raven’s hair is burnt umber; her eyes are a grass green, all concealed under the shadow of a tricorne. Years of unending fighting has kept her athletic and perpetually wary. Beneath the dark leather duster, her affluent Victorian clothes seem coated with a layer of ash. The Edge of Eternity, the signature blade granted by The Raven Queen, hides in the space between worlds.

Borrowing from the Ethanol Pop setting in Descriptors, Raven can trade one adjective for two consumables to represent the Warlock spells and invocations at her disposal. My initial thought is that casting a spell requires bidding two adjectives to represent the Dark Powers check from Masque of the Red Death. Failing to bid two adjectives means the spell takes effect, and The Dark Powers notice. Incorporating the Unearthed Arcana Arcane Gunslinger Invocation, Raven can conjure a sword or a pistol as needed but never both.

Opening : Skarlett Riot, Feel

"We did it," Laneira whispers.

I glance up from my seat at the Virtual Interface Unit. Laneira and Vince are across the room sitting on a couch; her head rests on his shoulder.

"She did it," Vince replies. "I had to learn to let go, and I..."

And I couldn't do it. They think I can't hear them. I shake my head, donning the helm and activating the VIU interface. I... couldn't do it. I couldn't shatter Eternity and lose them. Silly, isn't it? That the product of a piece of software in this in-betw-

"You 'k?" Fetu asks over the VIU's communications.

A smirk dances across my lips, reminiscing about a book I have never actually read, "Always."

My vision flares to life as the neural interface injects itself into my perceptions then turns to shadow. For the briefest moment, I am alone. In darkness. In silence. Nothing external. Just... me.

Closing : AmaLee, Brave Shine

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Stirrings of Mythraelai

I came across a link to Descriptors, a quick play diceless, adjective based role playing game. I read it (and it was quick, the rules are one page long) and considered what could be done with it. It actually reads like FU2 but diceless. So, I pondered where to go with it and figured I hadn't done Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in, I think, ever. Sprinkle in the Agenda and Principles of Simple World, this is what I end up with...

I rolled d1000 twice to figure out what her starting career would be from the Warhammer Career Compendium, randomized her other attributes on the tables provided in the core rulebook and came up with Rae. Naturally, I had to mess with it to suit my personal gaming needs:

Locations and Fishing : I need to keep myself honest, so I will randomize the quantity of available adjectives by rolling d4-1, in keeping with the suggestion of 0-3.

Challenge Rating : Again, to keep me honest, a d6 will be rolled per scene. A result of four or less is a bid of one adjective, and a five or six is two. Challenging scenes, such as a final scene, will add one to the amount of bids; four or less is two adjectives; five or six is three.

Gear : Borrowing a concept from Vornheim, gear can hold one adjective per syllable. Gear begins play with no adjectives but may gain adjectives if safely shopping in town, foraging, looting or some other narratively appropriate action.

Advancement : While unlikely, I envision advancement to be adventure based. Borrowing from Primetime Adventures, a career advancement is available every nine sessions.

With all that in mind, 

Mythraelai, Elven Messenger : calm, knowledgeable, perceptive, precise

At 5'5" and 100 lbs, the wood elf has a braid of copper hair and grey blue eyes. She was born in Reikwald Forest under the sign of The Greased Goat sixty years ago, a decade older than her brother Halfaren. Mythraelai wears travelling clothes under a leather jack.

Gear : backpack, clothes, dagger, leather jack, map case, riding horse, shield, sword and 16 crowns

Friday, October 9, 2020

Rewrite of Amynta for Freeform Universal

With this being October, it was time to transition into more festive gaming. The beta for Freeform Universal 2 was released on the 5th, so I naturally want to give it a try. Since Amynta was already available and hasn't started anything yet, I translated the translation from QuestWorlds to FU2 by, basically, just using the Abilities and filing off the score.

As far as her setting goes, I'm inspired by the Fate World of Adventure Eagle Eyes. Eagle Eyes is set in Rome, but I brought the timeline forward a bit to match the (more or less?) historical time period of Thyatis: the late Byzantine era. GURPS Constantinople, Horror and Cabal will factor into the game at some point, of course. But it's still set in Mystara. I just want a more historical Mystara, which sounds really weird now that I typed it out, but, there you have it.

Amynta

Amynta is a Thyatian Forester. She has been trained in archery, fights with kite shield, sword and spear, and learned The Revelations of Artemis. Her Lawful nature can sometimes cause problems. However, she believes to dishonor herself is to dishonor her clan.

The Revelations of Artemis allows Amynta to cast each spell inscribed in her spellbook once per day. The spells written are: Charm Person, Detect Evil, Hold Person, Invisibility, Read Magic.

Her russet hair is tied into a Psyche knot, and her brown eyes are hardened from years of combat before joining the Eagles. Amynta has an average build since being transferred from soldier to investigator. The clothing beneath her mail shirt is plain and functional, light tunic with dark trousers accompanied by boots in place of sandals.

Drama Points [ ] [ ] [ ]

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