Another miscreant in our heroic party. Text by Anni N. Permanent page for Ms. Brauer is here.
Marleene replaces poor Walburga, who lost an arm and burned to death in a Bögenhafen warehouse.
---
Marleene was bored.
But then again, hadn't she
always been? Boring childhood in the boring part of the city. Parents
and their tedious work brewing potions and selling concoctions that never did work. Living on the borderline of decency and being poor.
Marleene was supposed to learn the family trade of alchemy as well, but she wasn't too keen on studying. She would rather sneak out and roam the streets of Altdorf.
She was quick to learn how to adopt a convincing demeanor and what it meant - that
making people believe you knew something was just as important as
actually, truly knowing. She was also quick to scatter, to retreat to the
shadows.
When her parents died,
she wasn't too sad. Master Hieronymos, friend of theirs, had already
promised to take her in as an apprentice. But she had to leave Altdorf and
move to Delberz, and she couldn't possibly think of a place more dull.
And now she actually had to work. Oh the tedious hours looking for
herbs and grinding incredients. But at least Hieronymos sold potions that
really worked, and was fairly prosperous.
He didn't hesitate to send Marleene
to do chores in Delberz and other nearby cities - if you could call them
cities. Still, Marleene had her fair share of freedom. Hieronymos didn't ask
where she had been when she was late, and she was late often. He didn't
ask if a few gold coins were missing and thus Marleene never pilfered
too much.
He had sent Marleene to Bögenhafen
to get some herbs. Yes, there was the summer festival and Marleene
managed to see a three-legged goblin without paying... But still. Rather
boring. So she decided to have a few beers. And then more. And then
some.
Morning came, she woke up, not having
the faintest idea where she was. A boat maybe? And why was there a pile
of post on the floor? Well, it could be something interesting!
Another one in our series of meet the party, here's Günther! Text by Mikko K, permanent page for the character can be found here.
Günther Konrad
Born at the village of Schlafebild, near Altdorf, Günther was the last of four sons. He was also the only one who never met his father, seeing as old Horst died in a fishing accident the day before Günther was born. Maybe the family thought that his birth was an ill omen, but as soon as they found out that Günther would always be a puny lad, they shipped him off to learn his letters and numbers and other useless things.
It is remotely possible that they thought an educated boy would be helpful to the family business. But their business was fishing, so Günther himself always believed they just wanted to get rid of anyone who wasn’t fit for physical labor. Where the money for his education came, he has no idea. In any case, things happened, shit as well, and Günther discovered he was pretty good with those numbers, his hair had turned prematurely grey, and he was now employed by the local government as an exciseman.
A sobering thought, you’d think, but no. Our Günther liked his alcohol. The only reason he didn’t embezzle some funds was because he didn’t know his supervisors were much less mathematically talented. They wouldn’t have noticed any creative bookkeeping! When Günther did realize this, he went on an extended drinking tour a ways off from Altdorf, which ended when his employment and his savings were both terminated.
The first session of the campaign started with our three characters just outside "Coach and Horses", a coaching inn on the Delberz-Altdorf road. Holger and Günther had been traveling together for a while, disillusioned with their lot in life and looking for something new and profitable. Grimgrim the (grumpy) dwarf just happened to be traveling in the same general direction.
The fact that we started our first proper session with only 3 out of 4 players present was due to real-life scheduling issues. And I knew that adding Errindel the Seer to the party would not be an issue: his visions would eventually guide him to the right place at the right time. Gotta love seers.
Seeking shelter from the rain, the characters entered the coaching inn. While there, they noticed a job offer: Crown Prince Hergard von Tasseninck was looking for bold adventurers (but not dwarves- eliciting a profound "meh" from Grimgrim the Dwarf). Altdorf was not that far away...
Smoothly, the characters interacted with the other patrons at the inn. Or actually, they mostly invested their remaining coins on some food and beer, and a warm place to sleep. It looked to be an early night in. Not that the other patrons were exactly looking for company: Lady Isolde von Strudeldorf looked down her nose at the rabble, a student was preparing for his physician's test in Altdorf, and two coachmen were getting uproariosly drunk.
There was a Rainman-esque moment when a Bretonnian gambler named Philippe Descartes challenged the characters to a friendly game of cards. Günther, the supernumerate former exciseman, gladly took the poor gambler's money.
For the next morning, the characters arranged a coach ride onward to Altdorf. The hungover coachmen caused a delay, and when it was finally time to leave, it became apparent that there was no room in the coach itself (also, lady von Strudeldorf does not travel with common folk, thank you very much!). The characters traveled on the roof of the coach, miserable in the rain (except for Grimgrim, who was busy going through lady von Strudeldorf's luggage).
A couple of hours later, the journey was interrupted. Squatting by the side of the road there was a human figure, his back to the coach, bent over the body of a Four Seasons coachman. The figure turned around, and to their horror the adventurers saw a severed human hand hanging out of the the creature's mouth. The thing was human, but abhorrent to behold - it's flesh was hanging in shreds and green ichor seeped from it's eyes.
Walburga was especially shocked, for she knew the mutant. It had once been a fellow militiaman named Rolf, who had suffered from a strange skin condition. Now not much remained of the man she once knew.
Rolf the mutant rushed towards the coach slashing with it's bloody dagger. The horses panicked and bolted, snapping the reins as they did so. One of the coachmen was pulled off the coach and dragged across the ground. The coach came to an abrupt halt, and the mutant attacked!
The mutant was quickly dispatched. One mutant against both Walburga and Grimgrim was a lopsided fight to begin with. From further around the corner, a bestial cry could be heard. The characters went out to investigate.
Another coach was lying across the road, with two horses desperately trying to struggle free. Four more mutants were at the scene. One was hacking at the horses maniacally with an axe, another with cloven feet was feasting on the body of a small child, and a human with a dog-like head was screaming and holding it's leg while another mutant with a pointed head was trying to bandage said leg.
The characters managed to surprise the mutants, and a melee ensued. Another mutant was behind the coach, and started firing at the characters with a crossbow, but after the characters took down two of the mutants, it ran off into the woods.
The fight was short and bloody, but our adventuring heroes did not suffer any major injuries. After the mutants had been taken care of, the characters found a body lying nearby. Shockingly, the corpse looked exactly like Günther! After searching the body, the characters found a letter.
The body belonged to one Kastor Lieberung, and apparently he was the sole heir to a faraway baronet, and
entitled to the sum of 20000 Gold Crowns. Did I mention that he looked
exactly like our hero Günther Konrad?
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Grimgrim, always a dwarf of action, smashed the real Herr Lieberung's head right in! This was easily the most violent moment of the session, shocking everybody, including Surkis.
Shock, horror, meh.
Lieberung's body was quickly dumped wayside and covered with leaves. The party continued onwards to the Empire's capital, Altdorf. Just after dark, the coach arrived at the capital's main square, the Königsplatz.
In the hustle and bustle of the Königsplatz, a peculiar thing happened. Günther was approached by two men. While one of them watched the crowd, the other scratched his left ear with the little finger of his right hand, all the while staring hard at Günther. This was repeated a number of times, leaving Günther rather befuddled. After a while, the two men looked relieved, and hurried over to a nearby doorway, where a stocky man was standing. All three went through the doorway and closed the door behind them. At the Königsplatz, three characters were left to wonder what the hell was that all about. After that, the adventurers found an inn, and settled in for the night.
The following day the party discovered that Prince von Tasseninck
had already departed for the Grey Mountains. Not that it mattered much,
Günther et al had bigger fish to fry.
On the streets of Altdorf, the characters by chance happened to meet one Josef Quartjin, a friend of Grimgrim's. This chance encounter led to a few drinks at a nearby tavern, which led to a few drinks in the next one, and so on... After a few drinks, Josef also offered the characters a job: he needed guards/stevedores for his boat on his trip to Bögenhafen. The party was going to go there anyway to meet the lawyers ("Lock, Stöck & Bärl") who sent the letter to the original Lieberung, so they quickly said yes.
While drinking away the night, a tall, gaunt character all dressed in black arrived at the same establisment as the characters. This was one Max Ernst, a moody bastard looking for a fight. Josef knew the guy, and told that it would be best to stay clear of him.
After a while, two young nobles also arrived, and started a drinking competition. The competition ended with one of them throwing up on on Günther. The nobles found this riotously funny. Seething, the characters tried to stay calm - attacking a bunch of nobles and their bodyguards could get very ugly very quickly.
At this point, Max Ernst started to insult the characters in earnest. Günther and Walburga were rightly incensed, and things got physical. Josef and Grimgrim watched from the sidelines as Ernst embarrassed the two heroes: both suffered minor injuries to go with the ignominy of defeat. Ernst left the bar after the brief scuffle, leaving Günther and Walburga to collect themselves from the floor of the tavern. Günther plotted vengeance ("Once I get my 20000 GCs, that bastard will pay!"). The nobles also departed, laughing loudly.
After the fight, the characters and Josef headed for Josef's barge. Along the way, the characters became aware that they were being followed. Grimgrim, the least drunk member of the party, decided to hang back and hide in an alleyway, while the rest of our heroes continued onwards to the boat.
Grimgrim saw that two men were following the characters, and recognized them as the weird double act from the Königsplatz. Lying in wait, Grimgrim also saw them taken down: one of them fell down as a crossbow bolt slammed into his back, and when the other one turned to look back, another bolt struck, aimed straight at the man's throat. Whoever shot the bolts vanished into the darkness.
Grimgrim looted the bodies, as is his m.o., and while doing so, noticed a small tattoo on both of the two men, located on the right breast. The tattoo depicted a purple hand.
With the adventurers arriving at Josef's barge, the session ended. Next up: trip to Bögenhafen.
Meet Errindel, the elven seer of the party. Text by Mari T. Permanent page for the character is here.
Errindel Elmarillion
Born deep in the elven woods, Errindel was always a...
special child. That's what his mother told him, anyway. "Errindel, you
will be something great," she would say, "I just know it." She never
really specified what it was that made him so very unique, or what it
was that would make him great, but she kissed him often and told him not
to worry about how the other little elflings giggled when he walked by
with his mother's hand in his own. "You are mommy's special little boy,"
she would say, "don't you mind what anybody else says."
As Errindel grew up, he still believed his mother. It didn't matter what
anybody else said, he was special. He must have been, because he had
foreseen that time Old Gryndall fell off his tree branch and hurt his
foot, see, he had dreamed about a large frog on a twig that broke, and
why wouldn't they see that it was a sign? He hadn't really understood
what it meant until the old elf had limped back home, cursing about the
damned branch, but it all made sense now. Why didn't the others
understand?
The others never really understood. They never understood why Errindel
was so special, and they never understood why he kept telling them that
he was made for something great. As the other children grew up, they
stopped laughing and started rolling their eyes instead; nobody
understood. Errindel decided that his presence obviously made others
uncomfortable and nervous simply because they didn't understand.
Nobody understood.
Errindel
But Errindel knew! He knew he was meant for something better than this.
He was meant for something great, just like his mother had said.
Clearly, that something wasn't here in the elven woods, however. They
didn't exactly tell him to leave, no. He hadn't committed any crimes,
the law required that they welcome him to stay. But it was in their eyes
and in the tone of their voice when they asked him if he had seen
anything interesting lately, and besides, Errindel had always been
special, so he could read between the lines. There was no greatness for
him here, no grand future among these fools who did not recognise the
prophet that would one day save them all!
And so he left his home -- to search for his destiny among the humans
who were notorious for their lack of direction, and their need for
guidance. Soon after his arrival to the human realm, he knew that he had
made the right decision. Here, among the puny humans, an elf could feel
like a God among mortals. Yes, he was on the right path now!
He just needed to find the right sign to point him the way to this
elusive greatness that his mother had always talked about. The humans
were of little help; for some reason, they were less than eager to
acknowledge the fact which should have been immediately obvious --
Errindel Elmarillion would save them all!
We just had a our first session, dedicated to character creation. The system we are using is the WFRP 1st edition, and we also had access to the Character Pack for further customization. So the character creation process was pretty much randomized all the way - the various tables from the Character Pack were optional, but everyone decided to roll the dice anyway. I think we did two takebacks with the "roll for a profession"-table, and one for distinguishing characteristics ("not everybody lisps!").
I'll ask the players to write a short blurb about their characters and themselves as well for a future post, but suffice to say, things went smoothly. Randomized character creation tends to lead to characters no-one would have come up with on their own. Prior to the session, all we knew were the names of two characters (Günther and Walburga), but nothing else about them (besides Günther's mustache). The random tables did the work, and for the campaign, we now have:
Günther Konrad: Former exciseman with silver hair and a Günther-esque mustache. Great with numbers. Played by Mikko K.
Walburga Mittelmund, AKA Holger Mittelmund: Walburga is a tall, pale-skinned and red-haired woman. She pursues a military career and goes as one Herr Holger, from your local militia. Is the lisp part of the disguise or not? Played by Anni N.
Grimgrim Gormdottir: A dwarven thief. Heavy-set and short-haired, looks a lot like Mr. T. She also has a stutter. Played by Laura R.
Errindel Elmarillion: A slightly unhinged elven seer. Great public speaker with a clear voice. We'll see just how sane he is (my guess is, not very). Divination should prove an interesting device in the campaign :) Played by Mari T.
More info and stats on all of these coming up. I'll probably add a separate page for each character, so we can perhaps follow their growth/insanity/injuries (edit: done and done!). While waiting, here's a picture of Tytti, the gamer kitten, courtesy of Anni:
Where did Games Workshop Come Up With This Stuff? (From A Beginner's Guide to Warhammer Lore)
Warhammer's imagery and style are influenced heavily by gritty, classic
fantasy authors, such as Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, and H.P.
Lovecraft, as well as real-world history and a bit of Tolkien. Designers
also list influences such as Terry Gilliam,
Black Adder, and Monty Python. The Warhammer world is a playground-like
amalgam of everything from Napoleonic gun lines, to sanity-blasting
tentacled horrors, to halfings and their giant cocks (depictions of a
large rooster that serves as a provincial symbol for the little folk).
Those interested in learning more might be urged to pick up some of
these older books; Warhammer’s roots are clearly evident in Conan,
Elric, and Martin Luther.
Eli tässä sitä luvattua pienimuotoista maailmatietopakettia kiinnostuneille. Tuon pidemmälle ei hätäisimpien varmaan ole tarpeen lukeakaan :)
Etten ihan kaikkea copy-pastea ja kasvata tästä hervotonta postia, tässä linkkejä selityksineen:
Beginner's Guide to Warhammer Lore - ylläoleva pätkä on tästä raapaistu, ja on aika hyvä selonteko siitä miten miniatyyripelistä päädyttiin tähän.
Adventurer's Guide - tämä on kirjoitettu toista edikkaa silmälläpitäen, mutta perusasiat ovat pysyneet aikalailla samoina. Älkääkä huoliko suotta tuosta "tasapainoisessa partyssa pitää olla nämä jutut" -osiosta. Ei me haeta tasapainoista porukkaa, eikä se aina ihan onnistukaan tuossa ykkösedikassa. Maailma ei ole reilu, ja joku sitten on vaan se juoppo opiskelija vailla mitään hyödyllisiä kykyjä.
(Nämä Critical Missin seikkailut tapahtuvat kyllä samassa kampanjassa mitä aiomme pelata, mutta spoilerit ovat hyvin hyvin pieniä- vaikuttaisi Critical Missin porukka harhautuneen perseilemään jonnekin ihan muualle kuin pääkampanjaa setvimään. Mikä on toki teilläkin ehdottomasti vaihtoehto ja suoranainen oikeus.)
Näistä pitäisi päästä ainakin jyvälle siitä missä mennään. Kampanja on vakuuttava, ja materiaalia on paaaljon- pelatessa pääsette tutustumaan Keisarikunnan meininkiin ihan riittävän hyvin.
Eeppinen äänestys päättyi tasatilanteeseen, mutta järjen ääni ja peliporukan erikoispiirteet veivät tällä kertaa Warhammerin voittoon skavenin viiksikarvan mitalla. Eli Warhammeria tiedossa. Tässä äkkiseltään pieni pätkä maailmasta.
Joo, on siinä jotain tuttua. Periaatteessa voi siis olettaa että ollaan semi-Euroopassa, noin 1500-luvulla. Tuliaseita on, mutta ne ovat kalliita ja epäluotettavia (toki ehdottoman näyttäviä). Sopivat vastineet eri eurooppalaisille kansakunnille löytyy: Estalia on Espanja, Tilea Italia, jne. Ihan kamalasti ei siis tarvinne opetella mitään uutta tai esim. vampyyrien sosiaalista hierarkiaa :) Kaikki olennaiset asiat pitäisi löytyä: on Sylvania, josta on monesti epäkuolleet uhanneet Imperiumin valtaa; on Norsca, kylmä ja ankea maa pohjoisessa; Kislev, jossa on jotain mätää; Albion, saarivaltakunta joka on vähän erillään muusta Vanhasta Maailmasta ja jossa sataa aina.
Erojakin toki on, omassa maailmassamme ei taida olla navoilla ulottuvuuksien välisiä kaaosportaaleja. Eikä haltioita, kääpiöitä ja puolituisia, esimerkiksi. Maailma on aika jännä mash-up: sellainen Tolkien meets 1500-luku, brittihuumorin kautta (joo, pelin kirjoittajat on kaikki brittejä ja se näkyy).
Kampanja alkaa Imperiumista. Lainaanpa suoraan kirjasta:
Your homeland - The Empire
Largest and most powerful of all the countries of the Old World, The Empire is your homeland. Its history goes back some two-and-a-half thousand years, to the earliest days of Human development. Its founder was the legendary warrior Sigmar Heldenhammer, Hammer of the Goblins, who united the warring Human tribes and, in alliance with the Old World Dwarfs, drove the Goblin hordes from the Old World back into the Dark Lands beyond the World's Edge Mountains. Later, the legends tell, he was accepted into the ranks of the gods, and now his religion is the most powerful of all the The Empire's many cults. Indeed, the Cult's high priest, the Grand Theogonist, is the Emperor's closest adviser.
The current Emperor, Karl-Franz I, was elected (by those few provincial rulers known as Electors) ten years ago, and crowned in Altdorf by the Grand Theogonist. He is still a young man, and the people have great hopes that, under his benevolent leadership, The Empire is poised on the brink of a new golden age.
For one reason or another, your group has been thrown together outside a coaching inn called the Coach and Horses, not far from the country town of Delberz. Each of you has his or her own reasons for wanting to try a life of adventure, but none has any experience to speak of. Still, the glittering Imperial Capital is but two day's coach journey away, and where better to start a life of adventure?
---
Eli aloitellaan hyvinkin perinteikkäästi. Hahmot voi tulla mistä vaan, ei-ihmishahmot ovat sallittuja, seikkailijan elämä odottaa. Myös tähän allaolevaan läpyskään ovat hahmot matkoillaan jo törmänneet:
Handout #1. What could possibly go wrong?
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tarjolla olisi kolme eri makuista kamppista:
1) RuneQuest: Borderlands
Hitusen länkkärinhajuinen palkkasoturikampanja, joka tapahtuu Praxin
autiomaassa, hyvinkin rajaseuduilla. Tämä on kamppiksista kaikista
selkein/helpoin, eli ideana on se että hahmot ovat paikallisen
aatelisen, Lunar-herttua Rausin uusia palkollisia. Ko. herttua on itse
maanpaossa jonkinlaisen skandaalin takia, eli melkeinpä mikä vain pätevä
kaveri on mahdollinen rekrytoitava tässä tilanteessa.
Tarjolla
fantasialänkkäriä Gloranthassa, hahmot voivat olla melkein mistä vaan ja
kamppiksella on selkeä alku ja loppu- palkkasoturisopimus on vuoden
mittainen, sen jälkeen voikin sitten katsoa mitä muuta hahmot haluavat
tehdä.
Tähän kampanjaan hahmot voivat periaatteessa tulla mistä vaan, ja
voidaan myös tehdä useampia hahmoja- jollekin tehtävälle voi lähteä
vaikka 3 taisteluhenkistä kaveria, muiden viiden jäädessä reserviin:
ihan vaan koska paikalle tuli vain 3 pelaajaa.
Ja joo, aikalailla kaikki mahdolliset western-kliseet olen ovelasti
liittänyt kampanjaan.
Lyhyesti: suht perinteikäs fantasiakampanja jännässä maailmassa,
kaikenlaiset hahmot tervetulleita. Runequest on aika selkeä systeemi
ainakin jos Stormbringer tai Call of Cthulhu on tuttuja. Runequestissa
vain sattuu olemaan kasa oikeita jumalia, jotka voivat auttaa/haitata
menoa
2) Warhammer: Enemy Within
Klassinen Warhammer-kampanja, jota on kaikkien aikojen parhaaksi
roolipelikampanjaksikin äänestetty.
Warhammer on vähän jännä. Periaatteessa ollaan renessanssiajan
saksantapaisessa, mutta elämä on synkempää ja on mutantteja ja mustaa
huumoria. Jos saksa on hallussa, voi olla ihan viihdyttävää spotata
demoninnimenä esim. "Hammaslääkäri".
Hahmot ovat melko heikkoja, vastukset vahvoja. Warhammer onkin jonkun
mielestä sitä, kun pelaajat luulevat pelaavansa D&Dtä, mutta
oikeasti pelataan Call of Cthulhua. Ja hahmothan tehdään osin
randomisti, eli voi valita minkä henkinen hahmo on tulossa, mutta ei
spesifejä ominaisuuksia. Oma paras hahmoni oli opiskelija, jolla ei
ollut muita kykyjä kuin Read/Write Classical (paikallinen latina) ja
Consume Alcohol.
Kampanja itse on aika huima. Vähän railroadia, mutta hyvällä tavalla. En
spoilaa kummemmin, mutta hauskaa menoa on tiedossa
Ja aloitellaan tottakai tavernasta.
Lyhyesti: Aloitellaan tavernasta. Mustaa huumoria, synkempi versio
Euroopasta, perinteikäs kampanja. Ei kannata kuolla punatautiin tms.
Jonkinlaisen ajatuksen Warhammerista saa esim. täältä:
http://www.criticalmiss.com/issue8/jameswallisruined3.html
3) Vampire: Giovanni Chronicles
Vampire on jännä peli, ja tää on kanssa aikas jännä kampanja. Peli alkaa
vuodesta 1400-jotain, ja jatkuu nykyaikaan. Joskin jossain kohtaa
vaihdetaan se hahmo millä aloitettin täysin uuteen :P
Jos tämä on ongelma, voipi olla hyvä valita joku toinen
kampanja-vaihtoehto.
Mutta joo, vuosi on 1444, ja hahmosi (on hän kuka vaan/mistä tahansa
lähtökohdista) on kutsuttu juhla-aterialle, joka on paljon hahmosi
statuksen yläpuolella. Sen jälkeen tapahtuukin sitten kaikenlaista.
Lyhyesti: Vuosisatoja kestävä vampyyritarina, jossa (ikävä kyllä)
siirrytään jossain kohtaa ihan eri näkökulmaan. Myös, oikeaa selkeää
loppuloppua ei ole tiedossa. Tämä voi olla pettymys.
