Dr. Shades wrote:What the Hell is this whole "RPG" (a.k.a. "role-playing game") thing all about, anyway?
I have no idea what any of this is.
It’s not about anything and it’s about everything. Just breathe and let the ki flow.
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
Res Ipsa wrote:Maybe we could assign destiny points as people decide to join in.
We should start brainstorming some destiny points for us to assign:
- You will receive a mysterious message from an unknown sender who turns out to be a long-lost relative. - You will save an elderly woman in distress and discover a new power. - You will find a valuable magical artifact in an unlikely place. - In order to gain a large reward, you will need to make a terrible sacrifice.
These are starting to sound like fortune cookies.
Here are your lucky numbers: 5, 23, 27, 34, 36, 48
Are these the kinds of things they mean by destiny points, RI?
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
Perfume on my Mind wrote:I think you might be fibbing here.
Quit messing around. Start writing up your character and report to the guards!
I was into "Dungeons & Dragons" back in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, so I know what a role-playing game is, but I don't know what this thing is about doing it on or through a message board.
I'm guessing it's a story that people take turns adding to? If so, what is this "destiny point" thing?
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"
Perfume on my Mind wrote:I think you might be fibbing here.
Quit messing around. Start writing up your character and report to the guards!
I was into "Dungeons & Dragons" back in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, so I know what a role-playing game is, but I don't know what this thing is about doing it on or through a message board.
I'm guessing it's a story that people take turns adding to? If so, what is this "destiny point" thing?
We're thinking of using that as a general guide for adding to the other thread I started. I just learned about this myself, but my interpretation of a destiny point is a plot point your character must develop their story toward.
The way it works is that players come up with a destiny point for every other player. This gives us all have several to choose from, so we just take one of the suggestions and run with it.
The main rule of the game is that once something is written, it becomes part of the lore, and everyone else should accept it as the history and add to it (although for Archipelago, there are rules about objecting to certain scenes or asking people to try harder - I'm not sure all that works when we're doing written submissions just for fun online).
I don't think we need to worry so much about rules, unless the rule is continuity. Just add little pieces to the story as you see fit... if you want. It's just for fun.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
I noticed in the Arch. book it suggested each player make one destiny point for every other player if playing a one shot. May I suggest that? Then every time someone joins, anyone who cares to could create a destiny point for them.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth? ~ Eiji Yoshikawa
Schmo, could you outline what you were envisioning for the setting? I've started moving the ranger in the direction of forest affinity but that's out of habit of envisioning gaming world's as forested mountains.
I have some other thoughts on my character I'm working in as well for suggestions and to help as we move the characters together in the narrative. He has a deep hatred of trolls that has contributed to his becoming quite able at hunting them down, often for bounties to earn money when he isn't living off the forest. I can see the thing that pulls him into the adventure being the type of monster or cause Sir Fletcher has at the end game of the task force being one that Yearn has history with in some way which would persude him to join a group rather than keep going it alone. That could be a notorious troll or some other creature which he could take as an enemy type. That might also justify his needing to leave the forest for another type.of land or terrain if it makes sense for the story.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth? ~ Eiji Yoshikawa
honorentheos wrote:Schmo, could you outline what you were envisioning for the setting? I've started moving the ranger in the direction of forest affinity but that's out of habit of envisioning gaming world's as forested mountains.
Without giving too much away, this is an escort mission. The characters would be traveling, so there could be multiple terrains, but it would likely be mostly wilderness.
honorentheos wrote:I have some other thoughts on my character I'm working in as well for suggestions and to help as we move the characters together in the narrative. He has a deep hatred of trolls that has contributed to his becoming quite able at hunting them down, often for bounties to earn money when he isn't living off the forest. I can see the thing that pulls him into the adventure being the type of monster or cause Sir Fletcher has at the end game of the task force being one that Yearn has history with in some way which would persude him to join a group rather than keep going it alone. That could be a notorious troll or some other creature which he could take as an enemy type. That might also justify his needing to leave the forest for another type.of land or terrain if it makes sense for the story.
Just knowing this helps shape the plot. I'll definitely keep it in mind for key elements of the mission.
Also, I made some suggestions for destiny points up-thread. Not sure if that's what the book had in mind (should they be more specific? More vague?) If you want to choose one for your character, go for it. I'll take destiny point suggestions for Zandor as well.
RI, I'd like to know more about the Tinker.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
I think the Archipelago rules intend the destiny points to be specific suggestions based on a character's backstory as the player outlines it. The more generic events seem more like the fate cards that are on hand to help move the story along if the players need a push or inspiration for where to take the character next.
Here's the relevant section quoted that might help us sort out how best to use this feature:
Using Destiny Points
The destiny point is one of the most important parts of the game. It’s what keeps your stories tight, what stops them from just flowing out and ending nowhere. You know what your character’s destiny is for this session – play towards it! In each scene you’ll be steering your character towards their destiny, and on the third or fourth turn you play, they should face that destiny.
Other players should help you get to the destiny point – by playing relevant secondary characters, describing fitting events etc.
After your destiny point has been played out, you may choose to let your story rest for this session. If so, you still participate in the others’ stories as always, but when it’s your turn to portray your character, just skip your turn.
When all characters have faced their destiny points, it’s probably a good time to end the session.
The best destiny points are often those that surprise and challenge the player. Here are some tips:
A destiny point might show the character from an unexpected side. For a pacifist character, “You kill three people with a found gun” is a scary and interesting destiny point. We’ll all be wondering how that’s going to happen.
A destiny point might kill darlings and be anticlimactic challenges. For a character who’s spent two sessions looking for her long-lost father, who she believes to be a Supreme Technomancer, a destiny point saying “You find your father, who works as a shopkeeper in some anonymous suburb” would certainly be a twist. We’ll be wondering how the character reacts to that.
A destiny point might give the character a chance to really shine. For a character who’s been second-in-command for a long time, a destiny point saying “You prove your competence in a dramatic battle and are given command of your own special unit” would make us all cheer for the character.
With that in mind, I think it would help to post a little bit about the characters as they are being envisioned without necessarily requiring complete, total reveals. Then anyone who wants to posit a destiny point could do so based on what they think makes for a good motivational move. In some ways I suggested a couple of Yearn already such as there being a connection between him and the supposed villain behind the quest that motivates him to join the party for personal reasons.
My thoughts on Yearn -
The path that led him to become a ranger stems from an event in his past that involved trolls that was devastating for him. Something like his family was killed by a small band of them or perhaps his entire village was destroyed by a character who controlled trolls who still has possession of the area where Yearn was born to this day. He was young when it happened, but by more luck than skill he managed to kill a troll through causing it to fall and break its neck while pursuing him that allowed him to escape death. But it also resulted in his feeling both survivors guilt as well as constantly being nagged by the feeling his successes in life are the result of being an imposter.
Not long after this event, while wandering between villages, he discovered a secret group of druids. He associated with them without joining them, and due to some event that involved his earning some of their respect while also ensuring he could never be one of them, he learned to assume a wild shape of a Camp Robber Jay Bird that mimicked his relationship to the group. But because he could now no longer continue to associate with them, he left to fend for himself in the forest where he fully embraced the path of the ranger, learning the arts from Nature as if from a goddess who speaks to him in dreams. It was from Nature he took the name Yearn, which described his feelings for Her and all of Her dominion.
He was initiated into his adult life by coming across what had been a traveling party that had been set upon by two trolls. They had killed the party, except a young girl had survived by luck. Reviving her, he took her to a nearby farmstead and then tracked and killing the two trolls. Returning to the girl, he helps reunite her with extended family who offer him a reward for doing so. This established the pattern of the next decade of his life as he spent his time dedicated to wandering the fringes of civilization, hunting and killing trolls along with other monsters that preyed on villagers and travelers.
The magic of his decoy cloak is a bit of a mystery. But somehow it works through a portion of his essential self becoming lost in existential thought concerning his survival and imposter's syndrome. It has the effect of making vaguely humannshaoed objects under it appear quite real and acquires his scent so that his physical self while it is active is without any discernable odor. He's also without a sense of self-consciousness while the decoy cloak is active but also less attached to Nature which calls him back to reunite with his existentially conflicted whole self. He's been tempted to project his pain into the cloak and abandon it but simply can't.
His arriving in Harlot's Cross was the result of just having tracked and killed a troll that had been harassing the herdsmen of the town and stealing their livestock on a regular basis while killing any of the villagers and even some soldiers who had pursued it. So he received a slightly larger reward than he normally expected for this particular bounty. He wasn't comfortable with money or civilization but since this hunt had been difficult, the people he helped being appreciatively insistent he enjoy some of the town's hospitality, and the outcry of Sir Fletcher's need led him to the tavern to drink, eat a meal he hadn't hunted himself, and begin the adventure.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth? ~ Eiji Yoshikawa
That's a nice little character background, honor. One destiny point idea that springs to mind:
In an unexpected twist of events, you save a troll's life and reluctantly befriend him.
Also, it wouldn't be a stretch at all to suspect the problem that Fletcher wants help with involves a certain someone with a penchant for stirring up trolls into mischief.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.