Re: Enter, The Darkness [OOC/Sign-up thread]

[Ravager Zero]

And if you are going to be on here so much, maybe you should post an update....

Quiet you. 

I have never partaken in an RP thread before, how do I do it?

I'm also debating which character of mine to use, probably Lynette Lachance...

You basically just post what your character is doing, and Rav will roll some dice to see if it works. The main exception is combat, which I'll let someone else explain.

That's a gross over-simplification. I decide whether it's worth rolling dice. Then I roll some dice anyway (), then I carefully ponder the results—and if needed to push the story forward, fudge the numbers slightly (but that doesn't happen often, and never in combat)—then I consider the impact the results have on the world.

Then I write something that makes your character look good, no matter how spectacularly you failed (unless it's funny to see how you failed, in which case we get some levity). Then everyone posts here about how unexpected that was and what they need to do next—because Talking is a Free Action.

And Mabbz... every time.

Combat is based around an action system called 3 Rounds Rapid. The premise is simple: Everyone involved in the combat PM's me their 3 actions, in as much or as little detail as they desire. I do the same for the enemies. Then I create a giant wall of text post that is some of the most exciting RP combat you've ever seen (or more likely read). Most fights are generally resolved in 2-3 posts (6-9 rounds). NPCs act intelligently, which also helps: ie: the town guards will fight the daemons trying to eat you, rather than the one that just appeared in the distance.

[InsaneTD]

There is something I want to comment on but I'm sure it will cause all kinds of havoc and trouble in doing so...

[Mabbz]

And Mabbz... every time.

You wouldn't have it any other way. Admit it, you love thinking up ways to harm our characters, and get frustrated when things go too smoothly. I'm just giving you the excuse you need, and letting Kahlan take one for the team. Aren't I selfless?

There is something I want to comment on but I'm sure it will cause all kinds of havoc and trouble in doing so...

Do it! What's the worst that could happen?

[InsaneTD]

You could die? No, that's not the worst. I could die, that would be the worst.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

I thought tempting fate was my thing, or is that cheating death?

[InsaneTD]

Your's is cheating death caused by Mabbz tempting fate.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Damn you Mabbz! DAMN YOU!

[HectorSmash]

Well...

I've got a Dwarf Barbarian named Rockpunch. He's about as simple as they come, and - mentally - basically a child. Think maybe Lennie from Of Mice and Men, but with more uncontrollable fury and punching. I've got a skillsheet and whatnot all laid out for him in Pathfinder, but I'm not sure how that'd carry over to XDM (I think it was called?).

Dwarves are supposed to be very rare in this setting. Narric's lucky he got a dwarf (because he actually went and did some world-building to justify their existence). I'm not saying you can't have a second dwarf in the party—I'm saying you're going to have work hard to convince me we need a second dwarf in the party (as opposed to say, a human barbarian).

Well, a large (and by large I mean almost monumental) part of Rockpunch's character is his endless search for family. Making dwarves even rarer in this setting just gives him even more reason to travel the world looking for his kind.

As for why the party would want him, well, he'll do anything - literally anything within his mental capacity - in defense of his adoptive 'family,' and he's a #yolo-style berserker dude, which I don't think you guys have one of yet.

Also his main weapons are his fists, because that works in Pathfinder. Dunno 'bout XDM but I guess we'll see, eh?

[InsaneTD]

Probably not so good against armed daemons.

[Ravager Zero]

Well, a large (and by large I mean almost monumental) part of Rockpunch's character is his endless search for family. Making dwarves even rarer in this setting just gives him even more reason to travel the world looking for his kind.

Lets see some expansion on this. I like the idea. But why is he walking the earth looking for family?
Was he abandoned?
Did someone kidnap him?
Is he an orphan?
Were his parents exiled/banished?

Take one of those and run with it.

As for why the party would want him, well, he'll do anything - literally anything within his mental capacity - in defense of his adoptive 'family,' and he's a #yolo-style berserker dude, which I don't think you guys have one of yet.

Also his main weapons are his fists, because that works in Pathfinder. Dunno 'bout XDM but I guess we'll see, eh?

We do have a very competent NPC warrior with an epic hammer, but he's balanced offense/defense wise. You do realise that by putting everything into attack in this setting there is actually a good chance your character will die in combat, right? (Just ask the others about their first fight).

And you're going to want some gauntlets, or mailed fists, or brass knuckles, or some similar weapon. Daemons are pretty much impervious to "blunt" damage—unless said weapon is either blessed, or used with great force.

There's also a possibility you could use your fists as a magickal weapon if you're an exceedingly rare dwarf mage (but I doubt a mage would cross-class with a berserker).

[InsaneTD]

Could if he had some serious issues and was thrown out of hold for killing his family there and is looking for extended family in another hold.

[HectorSmash]

Again, in Pathfinder it wasn't such a big deal since a lot of defensive benefits come with being a dwarf barbarian (namely tons and tons of hit points). I'm not set in my ways, though; I just have a rough idea of what his skills and abilities in combat are.

Also in Pathfinder, there are various abilities that negate the necessity of using weapons while 'unarmed.' Spiked gauntlets, caestuses and the like are considered 'armed,' so eventually your unarmed character will pretty much need to lose the gear.

So, the story goes as I have it right now - his parents hid the toddler dwarf in a pothole while they were being chased or hunted through a forest. Knowing they would soon be caught, they did the only thing they knew of to try and keep him safe, and left his fate to nature. At that point in time, he was old enough to have memories, primal emotions, and basic survival functions - maybe 4 or 5 in human years?

He survived in this cave for decades. I have a pastebin with his story in it, here: http://pastebin.com/WTSSHe5Q

Some of the information in there is unnecessary or overridden by what I've said in here. I'm going to cut the pastebin entry at the point when he crawls out of his cave, unless you guys want more story.

TL;DR: Rockpunch has a deep-seated desire to find a place where he belongs, but cannot because of his rage, his great difficulty in speaking, and his race.

[Ravager Zero]

That story looks fine Hector.

And, as I'm too lazy to go hunting through the thread to find the character generation section, I'll just post it again below.



The world of this setting is alternatively known as Firma or Sera, with Firma being the ancient/traditional name. (Such as a Terra being latin for Earth). The planet has 5 moons of varying size, 2 are major satellites (Chronos—silver & Aberros—pale green), 1 is a minor satellite (Disyrious—azure), and 2 are no more than captured asteroids (Efram—ochre, and Lune—gold). The day is approximately 25 hours long (but is still divided into 24 "hours" by the populace), while the year is significant at 420 days long (437 24h days). This means that years are approximately 1.2 times as long as Earth, thus ages begin to tell quicker. For example, someone who is 24 on Firma would be 28 in Earth years.

The year of Firma is divided into 4 seasons of roughly equal length. These seasons are special because they are global, caused by a highly elliptical & eccentric orbit (for those of you that remember the Orrerry in the catacombs, that was the revelation). Quickening is the equivalent of Spring, when new life bursts forth from the snow. Firetide is the height of summer, when wildfires can sear through the forests. The Turn is autumn, when leaves change colour and fall from the trees, and the first snows begin to fall. The Great Fall is the depth of winter, marked by freezing temperatures and great snowfalls. Much of the world's trading happens in the Great Fall due to the utility of the ice barges.

Magick is a powerful force in this world, drawn from Essence, a 'wind' of magic that exists in another plane, forming Skeins, can be drawn from and/or manipulated in their raw form. Essence can be Enmeshed into mundane materials, altering their physical properties. Magick is divided into schools, each of which is the domain of a particular god or goddess. These schools are further divided into canticles, or areas of study—two for each god(dess).

Schools of Magick
Kyron (The God of chaos and madness)
Chaosigan = Destructive magicks
Seer = Precognition, Negative 'status' magicks

Deaze (The principal God, and God of magick and nature)
Shaman = Beast & Nature control (Water, Wind, Sky; Chants & Calls)
Mystic = Studies the heart of magic and can dispel

Rai-Tane (God of Fire and Stone, lord of volcanos and the inner earth)
Pyromancer = Fire magicks
Geomancer = Earth magicks

Shaya (Goddess of life & mystery)
Illusionist = Deception and Mind magicks
Healer = Magicks of the body and soul, 'status buffs'

Morrde (God of death & unnatural things)
Necromancer = Magicks of Undeath and Unnatural Things, spells of blood and bone
Summoner = Call upon creatures of Essence, Daemons, or Sprites, spells of Binding

Colours of Magick
All mages have an associated colour that determines how they draw their power from the skeins, and where or when their magick is most powerful.

Grey = Drawn purely from the skeins, with no moments of intensity or weakness compared to other colours. Average strength all round.
White = Drawn from Life, most powerful in nature and areas full of life, such as cities and forests. Strongest during the day, surrounded by life. Weakest when surrounded by blood.
Black = Drawn from Death, most powerful at night, in graveyards and on old battlefields. Weakest when surrounded by life and positive energy.
Red = Drawn from Blood, powerful at dawn and in battle, when fresh blood is spilt. Most powerful of all sacrificial magick—and most costly with blood price. Weakest when surrounded by death.
Blue = Drawn from Soul, most powerful when helping others and near dusk. Weakest when acting alone or surrounded by enemies. Most volatile in power, based on strength of heart more than strength of will.

Runic Tables
Destruction = Direct damage, physical & elemental
Protection = Reduces damage, counters magicks, some healing
Alteration = Transmutes things, "status magic"
Binding = Stops things, holds souls, entraps power/Essence
Cornerstones = Legendary powers



Character Generation
Character generation for XDM is surprisingly simple, and flips the general idea of high stats being better on its head. The XDM system is an "exceed to succeed" system, thus, the lower your relevant stat, the more likely you are to succeed at a given task. Modifiers will often be applied based on the difficulty of the task (such as +20 to your stat for "I kill the dragon with my hatpin, to +3 for "I leap the narrow chasm", or -20 for "I breathe" ).

Stats
Physical: Your raw strength, agility, and ability to take a blow.
Mental: How bright your character is, your social ability, and how easily you can solve puzzles.
Mystical: Your power as a mage, and your knowledge of the arcane. Only really important for mages.

Hit Points: How much damage you can take before keeling over dead. At 0 hit points you're dying. At -1 to -3 you're dead unless someone/something intervenes to stabilise & save you. At -4 or less, you're unequivocally dead.

So, now you want to know how to generate these stats, right?
Simple, each stat is a based on a roll of 15-d8, giving you a number somewhere between 7 and 14. That's your stat. Mages get to subtract 4 from their Mystical stat, but must add a total of 4 to their other stats. Finally, your hit points are the sum value of your two lowest stats. Thus, less skilled characters can take more damage, while more powerful characters aren't as tough.

A character can also have a unique ability, discussed with the GM. The cost for this is reduced Hit Points, usually by 2. This means characters with unique and powerful abilities are less able to tank, and have to fight smart.

As to equipment, everyone is assumed to start with generic adventuring and survival gear appropriate to the setting and location they live in. Anything else that's reasonable can be added with the GM's permission. Anything extra can be purchased in shops. Starting wealth is based on rolling several D10s, with the number of dice determined by your upbringing and social class, as well a modifier influenced by your profession(s).

Character Sheet
Name:

Physical:
Mental:
Mystical:

Equipment:
Wealth:

Description/Look:
Bio/History:

[Narric]

Do you still have all the Dwarf stuff, Rav? I don't, which is annoying as I wrote it

[Ravager Zero]

Do you still have all the Dwarf stuff, Rav? I don't, which is annoying as I wrote it

I do.



The Dwarfs of Firma are a short race of humanoids. They are naturally tough and strong, but are slower in speed when compared to humans.
They're predominantly armed with Axes and hammers. Slow and forceful weapons that complement their physique and talents.
The Dwarfs live in Great Halls, caved into the world where the rock shows most. This is often at huge crevices, or Mountains. Each Great Hall is ruled by an Elected rulers, who is advised by a council of thirteen.  The number of Halls present in the world, is currently unknown. They often keep to themselves, and are also uncaring of the younger Human race that covers the lands to the East. Each Great Hall is predominantly self-contained. Only trading between each other for raw materials, but this is sporadic, as Dwarfs are excellent at recycling old material.

Magick and Runes
Magick isn't a wholy practised area. Dwarfs usually have difficulty controlling the Essence around them, and some even create Essence black-outs around them, though these are few. Instead of Wizarry, the Dwarfs looked to capturing small amounts of essence into their tools and weapons, through specially designed runes. These runes near always have the effect of passively drawing essence in. This passive effect, powers the second part of each rune.
Compared to Human developed Runes, Dwarven runes are often complex, and have the appearance of several human runes etched one ontop of the other. Skill human Runesmiths can easily decipher Dwarven runes, more by feeling the essence flowing around the weapon, rather then examining the rune directly.
Dwarven runesmiths, are held in high praise, and are so well paid, they rarely want to of anything, not even to see the light of day outside their Halls.

Dwarven gods
Dwarven Gods are more simple in nature than the Pantheon of the Humans. Their names are spoken of in high praise:

Kazun is the God of War
All Dwarven Warriors carry somewhere on their person a small totem to this God. He watches over them and when needed, will grant power to a Warrior he deems worthy.

Diuna is the Goddess of Wisdom
Dwarven woman keep a totem to this God on display at all times in their homes. A Runic Totem is often inscribed onto a Dwarfs satchel, or sack, to act as a focus for all they learn during their travels and teaches.

Helzon is the God of the Forge
All Smiths, and even some especially talented Runesmiths, are said to acts as this God's hands in creation. When a Dwarf tells a human, he is a chosen of Helzon, they are showing the greatest respect a Dwarf can give.

Nata is the Goddess of Life
She watches over the small farms that dot the countryside, and in Dwarf tails she is said to not care off racial difference. She on occaision will cause pain to those that are evil, and bless those that do good. She will always side with the soul that means to do good, and has never been tricked.

Kohil is the God of Luck and Trickery
Near everything that cannot be attributed to the other four Gods, is often attributed to Kohil. It is said, to invoke the anger of Kohil, is to curse your family for generations, if the unfortunate who anger him, lives long enough to start one. To general Knowledge, no Dwarf of the Great Halls has ever anger Kohil.

Dwarven tails have hinted of interaction ebtween the Gods. Some say that Diuna and Helzon make their decisions hand in hand. This talk is often quashed by older Dwarfs, as it is disrespectful to speak of the Gods, like they were beings of the world.


Technology
Dwarven technolgy always looks ornate. From a simple smoking pipe, to the massive machines that cut into the world to expand the Great Halls. Despite its ornateness, everything has a function it is perfect for, and is obvious. Dwarfs waste no material on useless things. Rumours among the Halls, say that some exceptionally mad, or inventive, Dwarven engineers are designing flying machines, with which to travel the great oceans, to spread civilisation to the four corners of the globe.

Gunpowder weapons were invented early, and have only ever been used in defence of Dwarven territory. Darfs have devloped devices for their gun which are considered similar to the Clockwork devices of humans.