RPG recruitment and OOC, The Eye of Sotek

"Gustav is not going to make it," said Jarla in a flat, resigned tone.

Doctor Hecker cursed softly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, doctor. Even the major arteries are turning black as coal."

"Give him something to ease his passing, and remember to burn the body when he expires. And concentrate your efforts on those who stand a chance."

With a deep sigh, the old man glanced out the window. The eastern horizon was already taking an orange hue. The thrice-damned Skink should have arrived hours ago. How were you supposed to deal with an impending crisis when bureaucracy got in your way at every turn? Doctor Hecker anxiously walked back and forth in the darkened room of the makeshift hospital, checking on his half dozen patients and encouraging his two weary assistants. If the disease got out of the building, he would be powerless to stop it. The city just did not have enough healers.

The knock at the door was the sweetest sound Doctor Hecker had ever heard.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, letting the Skink in. "We are in dire need of your advice."

"So they told me," said the Skink sullenly. "My name is Zuqini, head scout of the sixteenth northern patrol. So you have a possible epidemic, is that it?"

"See for yourself." Doctor Hecker pointed at Gustav, now halfway between sleep and death. The man had been stripped naked, revealing a network of blackened veins. "A week ago I did not even know this disease existed, until it suddenly broke out near the harbor. I named it Pitchblood. It causes the blood to turn black and thicken until it can no longer flow. The subject dies in a matter of three or four days."

"Is it contagious?" inquired Zuqini in a worried tone.

"Apparently very contagious for humans. I strongly doubt it affects non-mammals."

"Aren't you worried of contracting it?"

"No. We have found a cure, and it seems that one dose not only cures the disease but also makes you immune to it for a while. My assistants and I have already taken it."

"Then what's the matter? Just give the cure to everyone."

"Here's the matter : we're out of ingredients. We need them quickly, and for this you must help us. I understand you're familiar with Lustrian flora." He pulled out a handful of small white seeds from his pocket. "This is the key ingredient. I've sent men to look for more seeds, but they didn't find any."

"That does not surprise me," said Zuqini. "Those come from a rare plant called huatlaq. Nowadays it can only be found on the shores of Sotek's Tear, as far as I know."

"Sotek's Tear? The crater lake?" Hecker's face fell. "That's... quite hard to reach, I'm told. But we need to send an expedition quickly. We can't contain the disease forever."

"I can lend you a few Skinks," said Zuqini half-heartedly. "I could even come in person, I know this area very well. But I cannot do much more without getting entangled in bureaucracy for days."

"We could use some Saurii, too."

"Oh, you really expect the Scar-Leader to send any of his warriors on an expedition to save New One lives? No, sorry, you will have to provide your own fighters and porters. And possibly additional scouts, too."

"Couldn't you at least tell His Reverence about the matter?"

"That is probably the least of his concerns. You seem to control the situation."

Hecker gritted his teeth. "By the time it's out of control, it'll be too late."

"I understand. That is why I am trying to help you, because the Council has other matters to attend to. Besides, it would not do to have the population panic. A small, discreet expedition can be prepared in a matter of hours, as long as you provide the bulk of it, but anything big and official will take a week and require a lot of paperwork. So you better gather a few good warmbloods and send them to me quickly. I suggest that we leave at noon."

---

Welcome to my new RPG.

Again, we are using the rules of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I need four to six characters, be they Humans, Elves, Dwarfs or Halflings, but exceptionally I will also accept a single Skink (I made up some rules for Skink player characters, you can ask me about them). Those characters are, you guessed it, the hastily-gathered members of the expedition, most likely fighter or ranger types. They may be characters you already used in The Lost Library, in which case they will retain all their XP and abilities in addition to a free advance like everyone else. Remember that we start with basic careers (e.g., back-alley thugs or novice hunters), so don't come up with an almighty archmage or professional assassin.

Normally all classes start with specific equipment, but I am willing to bend the rules: if you want a bow instead of a crossbow, no problem (just don't ask me for a Hochland long rifle or a magical sword). Another modification: humans normally roll for two random Talents, but I will instead allocate those Talents based on what your character should logically have according to his or her fluff and career. You may also request specific Talents.

I will assume you do not have the WFRP rulebook, but anyone who has it will make things much simpler for both himself and me. Buy it if you can, it's cheap and useful.

There are two ways to create a character. One way (recommended) is to ask me to roll some stats for a specific race ("Roll me an Elf!") and then choose a career and background based on those stats. The other way is to create your character immediately and then ask me to roll the stats, in which case you must accept the possibility of finding yourself with a character not suited to his career (an archer who couldn't hit a Stegadon at thirty feet, for example).


When submitting a character, fill this up:

Name: Fairly self-explanatory, I guess.
Race: You can play Humans (preferably Imperial), Elves (preferably not Dark), Dwarfs (preferably not Chaos) or Halflings (preferably not comedic). One Skink PC will be accepted (first come, first served).
Physical appearance: What does your character looks like? Gender, age, height, weight, face, eyes, hair, distinguishing features such as scars or tattoos, clothes... I appreciate details.
Personality: Your character's attitude, behavior and tastes. This is very important, as it will determine how I portray your character when I cannot give you a choice. So no 'enigmatic strangers', please.
Background: The backstory of your character. This is perhaps the most important part: it is mainly based on this that I will decide your starting Career, unless you want to choose one yourself. This said, I don't want a day-by-day biography or an epic saga filled with dragons, magic and vampires.
Abilities: What are you good at? Swinging greatswords? Reloading your crossbow in a blink? Lying? Gambling? Tracking? Surviving against overwhelming odds? This will influence the career I choose for your character.
Equipment: Everyone starts with common clothing, a dagger, a hand weapon, a backpack (containing a blanket, a tankard and cutlery), and a purse with 2d10 gold. You can choose the rest or even replace some of the basic equipment, as long as it is reasonable and in keeping with your career.
Additional notes: Optional. If you have more tips to give me about how to portray your character, or if you wish to request a small rule change, this is the place.


Registration is open for about three weeks.

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 26 2009, 07:17 PM

And like a sinner before the gates of hell, I'll come crawling on back to you.

Wait, somebody already used that song as a joke!

I know full well that I am not RPG material when it comes to humans, and your racial discrimination limits my other options! Orcs can be in campaigns too!*

I'll camp out for the next 18 days, and if it's not full by then I'll put something in, but otherwise I am remaining non-committal!

*Don't mention MY campaign. Ever.

Not entirly sure as to rules, so I went on a website that generated me a character. And now to flesh him out:

Name: Sunderland Drake
Gender: Male
Race: Empire (from Altdorf)
Skills: Common Knowledge (empire), Speak Language (Reikspiel),
Talents: Marksman(47) Resistant to Poison (58)
Career: Marine(88)
WS: 5 + 6 + 20 = 31
BS: 10 + 10 + 20 = 40
S: 3 + 4 + 20 = 27
T: 2 + 10 + 20 = 32
Ag: 3 + 2 + 20 = 25
Int: 10 + 8 + 20 = 38
WP: 8 + 9 + 20 = 37
Fel: 6 + 9 + 20 = 35
Attacks: 1
Wounds: 6 = 11
SB: 31 S = 3
TB: 30 T = 3
Movement: 4
Magic: 0
IP: 0
FP: 8 = 3

Tired, I'll finish him later.

That's if you want a randomly generated career, which in my opinion isn't always the best option from a ruleswise, RPwise and plotwise perspective. It's up to you, of course, as long as you can justify a Marine's presence in a jungle expedition.

Marines are a combat-oriented class with emphasis on both close combat and shooting. They usually come with a bow or crossbow with 10 arrows or bolts, a leather jack, a shield, a grappling hook and 10 yards of rope (in addition to the basic equipment), but as I said in my first post I leave some freedom when it comes to equipment.

Fluff-wise, Marines are ship-borne soldiers whose task is to protect their ships from pirates and raiders. They are known as tough, brutal and frequently-drunk men.

I will trust you for the stats, but normally I prefer to roll them myself.

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 27 2009, 01:59 AM

I enjoyed the last RPG, and with 5-6 people I am inclined to believe that there won't be any competition for places given the lack of activity during this time of year. Alons is getting integrated into the a storyline I'm going to start sometime in late November to mid-December, so he'll sit this out. Instead I'd prefer to see Sidaeus Cole as he fits the bill of last-minute hired muscle, and is a cahracter I have fun writing for. For enoguh money, or one of his drinking buddies catching Pitchblood would be enough to get him going.

I'll get a summary up later this week. If people who haven't gotten a shot at a RPG want to take my place, that's fine, but we'll see if that is even a problem.

Definitely interested, but I have absolutely no knowledge of WHFRP.

Also, very uninspired about my character. Tempted to say human just as a default.

So I guess I'll do that..

Roll me a human

(and tell me if his stats are any good )

Hmm... I don't like using Alexi for this one since he has too much lose ends..

I think I know what kinda character I'd like but.. It'll depend on stats.

Roll me an Elf plix plox! ^^

Edit: I think I might be tempted of making a Kislevite again though.. Rebuilding Alexi from scratch so to speak. But.. Not sure yet. Roll of Elf would still be appreciated methinks..


This post has been edited by NoOoDLe on Oct 27 2009, 08:50 AM

Here we go.

WS:31 BS:39 S:33 T:31 Ag:28 Int:36 WP:33 Fel:31
A:1 W:10 FP:3

They are.

Humans range between 22 and 40 for all starting stats, with 31 being the average. So here you have a character with average Weapon Skill, Strength, Toughness, Willpower and Fellowship, slightly below-average Agility, good Intelligence and high Ballistic Skill. The Shallya's Mercy rule allows you to raise one below-average stat to the racial average for this stat; since Agility is your only stat under 31, I suppose you'll want it raised.

---

I will not roll both a human and an Elf, since it would give you two sets of stats to choose from. I will roll an Elf and, if in the end you want a Kislevite, my rolls can be transferred to a human profile.


WS:32 BS:41 S:37 T:35 Ag:47 Int:27 WP:24 Fel:29
A:1 W:9 FP:2


Your Elf is average in Weapon Skill and Fellowship, good in Ballistic Skill (which translates as average for an Elf), quite strong and tough, agile even by Elven standards, but rather cowardly and not the pointiest arrow in the quiver.

Shallya's Mercy would allow you to raise either your Int, your WP or your Fel to 31.

(For your human stats, just substract 10 from your BS and Ag.)

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 27 2009, 04:11 PM

This sounds like a job for Thorgil Thorsson, gentleman-dwarf adventurer!

I don't know if any of you have seen this character before... I made him for Benedictus' non-starter RP over on Warhammer Palace, and have been trying to use him ever since. He and I went through a lot of redrafts of this character, so some of the background text is inordinately long - I promise, no vampires or dragons. I'll put the long stuff in quote blocks.

---

Name: Thorgil Thorsson

Race: Dwarf (Zhufbar-born)

Physical appearance: Thorsson is an old dwarf, his full, white beard and time-worn features giving him a completely unjustified air of respectability. He usually wears several layers of thick, woollen clothing and old, fleece-lined gloves, being used to working in the Empire’s mountainous borders, and rarely makes any concessions to other climates, seemingly impervious to the elements.

Personality:

Background:

Summary: [(CMOT Dibbler)+(Daniel Dravot)+(Dwarfy MacAxebeard)]/3

Clearly he's now wound up Lustria. This would be because of the GOLD, and possibly because he annoyed a few too many wealthy people back in the Old World.

Abilities:

• Prospecting
• Mining
• Outdoors survival
• Bluffing/confidence tricks
• Storytelling
• Smuggling
• Evaluation/Haggling
• Tax evasion

Equipment:

• A dwarven pickaxe of excellent craftsmanship, probably almost as old as Thorgil.
• A light leather jack, worn under the outer layers of his clothing.
• A bulky pack, containing a spade, a heavy storm lantern and several flasks of oil for the light, as well as whatever maps or papers from his various plans he might be carrying at the time.
• An old pipe & a lot of tobacco.

Additional notes: Miner would be the best fits careers-wise: I think they can choose the Prospecting skill to start with, or something along those lines.

Hmm.. Stats don't really fit what I was looking for to be honest.. Although I'm sure I can think of something interesting with them.

Although, I was thinking (I know.. Horrible 'innit?) could you send me the details for the Skink character? I was considering Chili might've wanted dibs on it but since he didn't express his interest on said dibs I thought I could give it a try.

WS:43 BS:28 S:28 T:41 Ag:20 Int:35 WP:34 Fel:26
A:1 W:12 FP:3


Good stats... I recommend using Shallya's Mercy to raise your Strength to 31, in order to get a Strength Bonus of 3.

Just be aware that it's quite hard to make a cunning liar out of a Dwarf miner: this race and career just don't get much in the way of people-oriented skills.

The Miner career does give you the choice between Trade (Miner) and Trade (Prospector), while the Dwarf race lets you select between Miner, Smith and Stoneworker. So you can start the game with both Miner and Prospector.

---

WS: 10 + 2D10
BS: 20 + 2D10
S: 20 + 2D10
T: 10 + 2D10
Ag: 30 + 2D10
Int: 20 + 2D10
WP: 20 + 2D10
Fel: 20 + 2D10
A: 1
M: 6
Wounds: As Halflings
Fate Points: As Humans

Skills: Common Knowledge (Lustria), Concealment, Outdoor Survival, Speak Language (Reikspiel), Speak Language (Saurian)
Talents: Rover

I hope it's balanced.

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 27 2009, 03:49 PM

I shall indeed. Makes no sense to have someone swinging a pickaxe about at S2.

I'm liking the look of his Weapon Skill. Clearly he has had plenty of practice with said pickaxe... damn grobi, trying to steal his claim!

I would imagine that that side of Thorgil's character would come out more in roleplaying than through stat tests. He's rolled up a higher-than-average intelligence, though, which fits.

If this were a point-buy, I would lose some serious WP to boost his Fel to bring the stats more in line with his personality, but it don't matter too much.

That sounds like what I'm after.

Go ahead and roll a human for me. If it something close to Sidaeus (high toughness, decent strength and weapon skill, but lacking in the other areas) I'll go with him. If it's something off the board for him, I'll develop something else tomorrow or Thursday.

WS:33 BS:26 S:36 T:33 Ag:28 Int:39 WP:26 Fel:35
A:1 W:11 FP:3


So what you have here is a strong, intelligent and rather charismatic character with above average WS and T (not very brave though). You can raise either your BS, your Ag or your WP to 31.

Sounds fair enough to me with the skink. Could I use the results of the rolls you did for the elf? (as in the current stats with the elf bonuses subtracted and the Skink bonuses added up to them) As they fit the kind of Skink character I'm after perfectly.

That's quite an intersting character you rolled. All right, I'll go ahead an knock up the agility as I think keeping the willpower low is too interesting an aspect to pass up. I'll think up a character during my 3 hour night class, and I'll edit this post tomorrow.

EDIT: All right, I have a character. As soon as I get my work done today I'll jot it down here.

EDITEDIT: And... here we go.
Name: Isaac
Race: Uber-Vampire Daemon Troll!… erm… I mean human
Physical Appearance: Isaac at first is not a very pleasant sight. He is dressed in black clothes with a layer of grey dust makes Isaac appear as a beggar. Wild, black hair covers much of his face, just like a ruffian. Worse of all is the deep scar that runs down the left side of his face, crossing his eye that is now a dead pale green. However, the right side of his face is fine, if a bit unshaven, and his right eye is a jovial green, full of life. His smile is quite pleasant and he seems unable to hurt a fly when he speaks, calmly and softly. He stands about six-foot-two, is decently built, and his age could be anywhere from a very, very rough twenty years, to a more generous mid-thirties.
Personality: Isaac despite his appearance is a very warm person. He tends to keep to himself mostly, reading a trio of old, dusty tomes he keeps with him. However, when approached he stops whatever he’s doing (well, if he’s holding someone up or something he won’t just drop them) and listens intently. He tends to become more open the more people there are, as if the more to share a conversation, the better. Though Isaac rarely drinks, and only drinks wine if he does so, he is known to dance his heart out at a festival.
Background: If asked, he will say that he is a traveling scholar who inherited just enough from a late uncle to travel, or so he thought. Now he works odd jobs in order to pay ends meet and to get to his next destination wherever that may be. He is fairly new to Rezephua, less than a year, more than six months, but otherwise little is known. (Real background will be PMed to Sentinel).
Abilities: Empathy, literate, common knowledge (Empire), amateur herbalism (though he knows nothing of Lustrian flora)
Equipment: Three dusty old tomes with tiny writing, pair of glasses (left lenses broken), a flat shaped box that is as tall as him that he slings over his shoulder (contents unknown), a small jar of sealed water.
Additional Notes: He prefers to stay in the middle of a pack when travelling.

This post has been edited by daelrog on Oct 28 2009, 04:52 PM

WS:22 BS:31 S:37 T:25 Ag:47 Int:27 WP:24 Fel:29
A:1 W:8 FP:3


You will notice that those stats are lower than or equal to the Elven ones, the sole exception being the additional Fate Point. Fate Points are the great equaliser between the races: Humans and Halflings usually get more than Elves or Dwarfs. A Fate Point is, in essence, another life: if something would kill you, you instead spend a Fate Point and survive.

Additionally, each Fate Point gives you a Fortune Point (i.e., the ability to re-roll a test) every in-game day.

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 27 2009, 11:11 PM

Sentinel, what is your ruling on comical characters? Like, on a scale of 1 to 10, let's say Burrsa is a 9 and Lewt is a 5, what is the highest number of comical we're allowed to have? It's the only world I can exist in!

Here. That last sentence. It explains exactly why Thragka and I were reluctant to accept your characters in our respective RPGs: you seem unable to take anything seriously. You like to roleplay Orcs as funny and goofy creatures, but you tend to forget that they are most of the time blood-thirsty beasts who live only to wage war. You like to roleplay a happy-go-lucky thief, but how will said happy-go-lucky thief react if she gets caught by the local crime lord, who then breaks her thumbs for stealing in his territory without his authorization? In my last RPG you wanted a pyromaniacal wizard who sets fire everywhere, but the WFRP rulebook explicitly states that the penalty for arson is death.

The Warhammer world is an endless source of dark humor, but remember that it is not a Saturday morning cartoon.

My upper limit on your 'comical scale' is 3. Are you able to create a character who fits? If not, then this RPG is not for you.


Edit: Yeah, sorry if I sound harsh. Just felt I had to be firm.

This post has been edited by -Sentinel- on Oct 28 2009, 03:33 AM

My life has no more meaning! 3 is a tad low for me, I think. Oh well!