Dialectic

[Leitz]

That sounds rough and I'm sorry to hit a sore point. I only scanned the thread and I thought it was just drama.

No worries. It took me a while to process, but I can joke about it now. I will say, however, there are no guns in the upcoming game. You'll have to fall on your wine bottle, or something.

[Mr Stereo1]

In lighter, in game, thoughts is it viable to carry one, or several, of our little fishing boats to the stream and cross it a few at a time? Perhaps on the night of a full moon so we can strike at night and see what we're doing when we cross.

Could we hire the next trading ship that stops by to carry our militias over and back?

[tibbius]

Definitely possible to do so. The same men who carry the boats (the militia members are the sturdiest of the village kingdom) also could ride them across and stow them on the far side. Marcus' tactical sense recognizes that retreat might be possible from that point only if the boats were left at the very edge of the stream. He's not sure how far it is from the stream to Rododafni. He's also not sure how to accommodate Donat's men in the boats unless they make multiple trips across the stream. But then retreat becomes improbable.

The trading ship idea is problematic for two reasons: unpredictable and unreliable. No idea when the next one might come (the one that dropped off Origen and Andrew was a surprise) and no guarantee that a merchant would wait for the men to return home. Also, with what would they be paid? The kingdom has goods to trade but no real surplus.

[Leitz]

I'm going off the assumption that everyone who can speak to the elders is allowed to.

[tibbius]

I'm going off the assumption that everyone who can speak to the elders is allowed to.

Expected to ...

[Mr Stereo1]

What's the campaign id by the way?

[tibbius]

Campaign ID 810

[Leitz]

Long ago, like, really long ago, I wanted to learn Greek. Never really got past the alphabet, but with cognates I understood two of the three words there.

I'm liking Bran; he has some strengths to play off of and some big story arcs to dive into. He just faced down Elaionas' champion, so the old guys back home don't really frighten him. Acting in a way that is bold, but reserved and respectful, builds Bran and the community. Of course, doing something that makes Ohannes look good is nice, when one considers Sosan.

[Leitz]

Is Bran literate?

[tibbius]

Is Bran literate?

Nope.

[Mr Stereo1]

Campaign ID 810

Thanks, edited that into the roller.

EDIT: And I feel like people are overemphasising the idea of war on Rododafni. Yes, that's our current lead and likely target, but it's the Lycanthropes who attacked our neighbors. The villagers might have been lied to and might denounce and turn on them if we told them about the attacks. The Lycanthropes might have attacked them after arriving. The King might hate them, but some powerful man in the village is their relative and he doesn't have the militia to make them leave.

Lots of possibilities here and I wouldn't want to lumber into attacking the village falsely, and exacerbate the original dramatic misunderstanding of the story into a real tragedy.

[Leitz]

Campaign ID 810

Thanks, edited that into the roller.

EDIT: And I feel like people are overemphasising the idea of war on Rododafni. Yes, that's our current lead and likely target, but it's the Lycanthropes who attacked our neighbors. The villagers might have been lied to and might denounce and turn on them if we told them about the attacks. The Lycanthropes might have attacked them after arriving. The King might hate them, but some powerful man in the village is their relative and he doesn't have the militia to make them leave.

Lots of possibilities here and I wouldn't want to lumber into attacking the village falsely, and exacerbate the original dramatic misunderstanding of the story into a real tragedy.

Agreed. Bran has come to distrust everything the lycanthropes have said, and his own focus is solving the risk of Aegium being attacked. Rododafni isn't really a target, as they haven't attacked Aegium.

tibbius, I'll work on a way for Bran to learn to read. Especially with a scriptorium right there, and he already speaks the language.

[Mr Stereo1]

Agreed. Bran has come to distrust everything the lycanthropes have said, and his own focus is solving the risk of Aegium being attacked. Rododafni isn't really a target, as they haven't attacked Aegium.

tibbius, I'll work on a way for Bran to learn to read. Especially with a scriptorium right there, and he already speaks the language.

By the way, in case you want to take offense I think the Elders called you whippersnapper earlier. I think that's what φαντασμένο μηδαμινό άτομο means, anyway. The translator checks out, though it might mean Lightweight instead.

[Leitz]

Agreed. Bran has come to distrust everything the lycanthropes have said, and his own focus is solving the risk of Aegium being attacked. Rododafni isn't really a target, as they haven't attacked Aegium.

tibbius, I'll work on a way for Bran to learn to read. Especially with a scriptorium right there, and he already speaks the language.

By the way, in case you want to take offense I think the Elders called you whippersnapper earlier. I think that's what φαντασμένο μηδαμινό άτομο means, anyway. The translator checks out, though it might mean Lightweight instead.

I was able to mentally translate the literal cognates in the first and last words, but the third letter in the middle one escaped me. The colloquial meaning was totally beyond my skill, but Google Translate is good to me.

Hoping Bran scored social points by letting that pass. He's not one to brag on himself, but he did just go toe to toe with the Elaionas champion. Bran "won" because of his courage there, and the rightness of his cause. That made it easier for him to ignore the whispered attacks from smaller men. Sort of like an adult walking by a schoolyard, and the kids saying stupid stuff.

Bran seems to be forming into a leader-priest sort of thing, in my head. Not a champion, like Marcus, but not merely a politically savvy speaker, either. Someone with battle experience, and the confidence borne of success. We'll see how it goes.

[Leitz]

Being unfamiliar with the process, is there something Bran could/should be doing? I'm pretty sure it's clear where he stands on all this.

[tibbius]

Being unfamiliar with the process, is there something Bran could/should be doing? I'm pretty sure it's clear where he stands on all this.

Pretty much, it would be wise to go see Alec and advise him consistent with what you told Origen. Plus anything else that seems useful. I'll move things along once all three of you have posted something about what you're doing next.

[tibbius]

It's a familiar problem with PbP that it can take months to cover a few hours of game time.

Here we've covered about ten days in forty days or so.

I feel like the characters are due some advancement. Andrew has undertaken significant research, so maybe a bump up in his abilities there; he's gone beyond the tasks of a mere apprentice. Bran and Marcus both are very well spoken, so maybe an increase to their relevant abilities.

@Leitz, I should note for your interest that (given the hidden nature of the rules) I'm veering away from what I started with because that's much better suited to in person gaming than to the slower pace of forum games.

Here's how I see the characters, after the present advancement and accounting for roleplay:

Andrew is an educated man, of average intellect but superior training. He is good at finding things out.

Marcus is a skilled warrior, powerful in physique and personality. He has developed a gift for persuading people.

Bran is clever, strong, and charismatic. He has always been good at swaying the opinions of others.

Once @cybersavant creates some story about how he finds the weapons cache, I'm going to advance the narrative as well as the characters, and add to Andrew and Bran some moderate skill in fighting to reflect the training that Marcus and Donat give them and the rest of the militia.

Sound good?

[Mr Stereo1]

That sounds great for me.

I heard it said somewhere that one of the key skills of ancient (and medieval) warfare was a kind of sports team coaching, to to raise the troops morale and keep them confident so they won't route. I imagine Marcus' role in the militia is going to be something like that. He's got to encourage the farmers, give them a sense of competence and make sure they're in the right head-space as much as he's got to train them in the actual skills. Having some persuasion ability really fits into his apparent role as militia-commander, to complement his 'elite' (only!) warrior role as Champion.

[Leitz]

tibbius, I think your skill at coming up with game rules, PbP or tabletop, is noticeably better than mine. Happy to go with the flow on this.

Here's my thinking on Bran, as he goes forward. In "points to buy things" games like Champions and GURPS, there's a breadth to the stories characters can build. A character can put all their points into one key skill, or spread them out. I'm often a "spread them out" sort of player because I write stories as I go. This is a large part of why Bran is talking about marriage, it's a major turning point for a young man, and part of the story I see him in. The "get rich/famous and come home to the princess/heiress/scullery maid throwing herself at your feet" trope is way overdone. I'm shooting for something different.

In this case, spending effort in building a "home" resource. A good wife can tend the cows, help the parents, and keep the lands while Bran is going hither and yon. In effect, he's using his XP to buy a good NPC side-kick. In return, his existing investments, like those four cows and the house he's going to work on, can grow. In theory, doing that well will build Bran's reputation/social standing.

Besides building his resources, Bran is actively engaged in his rhetoric/orator/cleric skills, and will be training with the Militia, under Marcus. That's a lot to advance for one character, so, however you choose to balance it, I'll support. Just wanted to let you know what I was thinking, since my thinking ventures seldom find the well trod path.

Before leaving for Temeni and Elaionas, Bran will talk to his parents about the marriage idea. If i understand correctly, in the current culture they have a large part in all of this. It also puts that question off for a while. Let me know how much you want me to detail that in game.

[tibbius]

Before leaving for Temeni and Elaionas, Bran will talk to his parents about the marriage idea. If i understand correctly, in the current culture they have a large part in all of this. It also puts that question off for a while. Let me know how much you want me to detail that in game.

If you go at this about the same as you have been doing, I'll be happy to read it.

That, and @cybersavant's story of how Andrew and Marcus' father search the village (roll [1d6][1d6][1d6] to see whether that succeeds, I'll let you know after I read the details of the search), will wrap this thread. The next one will be Chapter 4: Preparations for War.