Return to D&D! on Library

Gary Harper

January 01, 2020 7:31 PM

Return to D&D! by Gary Harper

Gary dropped his things down at the now designated D&D table in the library. It wasn't nearly as much stuff as it usually was and so thankfully, it didn't make to much noise when he did it. This was the D&D group's first meeting for the year... and he maybe should think about calling it something different. They had played D&D a bit, but they've also played a few other systems in the past few years. Oh well, it worked. D&D was to Role-playing games as Band-Aid was to 'adhesive medical strip'. He sat at his traditional seat and flipped open his notebook while he waited for the others to show up.

Hopefully Conner, Parker and Ness would make it. After his discussion with Ness at the opening feast, he realized that some recruiting effort was going to be needed, and they were all supposed to have asked around the school a bit to see if anyone else was interested in joining the group. He hadn't had a lot of success himself, but the people he usually talked to were already in the group.

Unfortunately, some other aspects of that conversation he had with Ness weren't going to work out. Instead, he hoped he had another option available. Eberron's warforged. He greeted everyone as they arrived and had them take a seat around the table. Once they had all arrived, he began his opening statements.

"Welcome all to our new year of role-playing." He began, "As you may or may not know, I'm Gary our resident game master. And, if I'm not mistaken, you are all here for an adventure. Now, I know that there have been some rumors floating around of a game involving robot space pirates, but unfortunately we've run into a snag with that idea. I didn't pack those books, so Starfinder may have to wait for another time. Instead, I think we are going to play some actual Dungeons and Dragons this time around."

He paused for a moment, "The standard D&D world is one of medieval fantasy; knights and wizards, dragons and monsters, magic infuses nearly every aspect of an adventurer's life. The world of Eberron however, is a little different on that front... not much, but a little. There is a little more 'science' going on. Alchemists and artificers tinkering with magic, making strange new dangerous things. One of those things was the Warforged. A race of living, sentient constructs, superficially similar to golems." He glanced around the table with a smile. "Fantasy robots."

"This is all minorly relevant. For this game, it'll be a fairly straight forward D&D adventure. The Eberron aspect is mainly there to allow the option of the Warforged 'race' along with the standard humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, dragonborn and tiefling options. Class options are the standard; fighter, cleric, rogue, paladin, druid, ranger, wizard, sorcerer, warlock barbarian and bard."

"If your new to this, don't sweat it to much. Each one of the players will be controlling the action of one character in the situations I present to you. You are working as a team to accomplish the goal before you with whatever resources you have. Making a character can be a little complicated the first time through, so if you just want to give me an idea of what sort of character would be fun to play I can help sort it out for you."

"In case it matters for your character ideas, your characters have all been hired by a rather reclusive Lord Tennesone, to go and 'Make the world a better place.' as he says. Whether or not you know each other before hand is entirely up to you. So, enough of me talking, any thoughts and/or questions?"

Subthreads:

Is there a cheat sheet for this ‘having fun’ thing? by Heinrich Hexenmeister with Gary Harper, Evelyn Stones, Morgan Garrett, Connor Priory

I am warforged and angry by Ness McLeod with Gary Harper

2 Gary Harper Return to D&D! 1404 1 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

January 02, 2020 3:04 PM

Is there a cheat sheet for this ‘having fun’ thing? by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich saw the sign for Gary’s club in the Aladren common room. Had it come to his attention during any previous year, he probably would have ignored it. Early on, his English was just too bad. Then, during Hilda’s first year, he’d been courting a nervous break down, just waiting for someone to figure out who his parents were.

The last two years had gotten progressively better, in terms of both his mastery of the common tongue here in Sonora, and his capability to socialize without major anxiety of discovery, but he still preferred keeping to himself more than interacting with anyone but Evelyn and Hilda.

This year was different though. The first was that he was a prefect now. As such, he felt it important to support his fellow Aladren prefect’s pursuits and create a point of common experience that they could discuss during rounds when they got paired together, and Gary’s club seemed the easiest and most obvious topic of conversation for such times since Heinrich definitely had no desire to talk about anything more personal and the club could be discussed for much longer intervals if Heinrich had any idea what happened at it.

Secondly, Ness was in the club. Heinrich had largely avoided Evelyn’s summer sibling until now, more through general aversion to socializing than any directed avoidance, but now that he knew what role Ness played in the protecting of Evelyn’s Outside Sonora life, he kind of felt he should at least make an effort to get to know his friend’s other close friend.

And finally, Hilda had signed him up for Quidditch again without even asking him if that was okay, and when he’d brought that up with her she argued that he needed to have something fun to do and Merlin knew he wasn’t going to do anything fun without her making him.

So here he was. Doing something fun. Without Hilda. In the library.

So there.

Of course, ‘in the library’ was the easy part. He could handle that with no trouble. And he didn’t need Hilda for anything either. He’d been here for two years before his little sister started and he had survived just fine, thank you.

It was the ‘doing something fun’ that was a stretch for him, and as he sat down at Gary’s table, some of that nervous uncertainty showed.

It got worse as Gary made his opening spiel. Heinrich was having trouble following everything he was saying and he didn’t think it was even a failing of his English, though there were definitely unfamiliar words coming from the older boy’s mouth as well.

He looked around at the other players, to see if he was the only feeling entirely out of his depth.

Raising his hand tentatively- both because he wasn’t sure if that was appropriate protocol outside of class, and partly because he didn’t like admitting that he didn’t understand something- he asked carefully, “What is a druid?” There were any number of words Gary had just spouted off that he could have asked about, but he decided he’d just start with one and hope the rest followed naturally from the explanation of the first term. Or better- “Do you have a glossary of game vocabulary?” then he could read it over while the others talked about what characters they wanted.

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister Is there a cheat sheet for this ‘having fun’ thing? 1414 0 5

Gary Harper

January 02, 2020 5:48 PM

Step 1: Don't worry, Step 2: Have fun by Gary Harper

Gary beamed, "Excellent question Heinrich!" He was a little surprised, and very glad that his fellow Aladren prefect had come to at least see what this game was all about. He hadn't interacted much with Heinrich, mainly because he didn't speak any German. At this point he felt a little guilty about not even attempting to try and learn any... but to be honest, he didn't talk to a lot of people that already knew English, so....

Anyway, Heinrich had a question, well two questions. One was fairly easy, the other one sent him scrambling through his folders. Which he did while he responded to the first question. "A Druid is a person that is very 'in tune' with nature. They can communicate with animals and control plants or the weather. They believe in the balance of the natural world and living in harmony with nature." He finally pulled a few sheets out of a battered looking folder.

He passed them to Heinrich, "These should give a quick overview of the races and classes, what they are and a little bit of how they work. You can see there, in game terms the Druid is a spell caster with a focus on abilities that tie into nature; plants, animals, the weather, the sun and moon and the four elements. Keep in mind," Gary paused for a moment, still after all these years, it seemed odd to say, "magic in this game does not work like it does here in real life."

2 Gary Harper Step 1: Don't worry, Step 2: Have fun 1404 0 5

Evelyn Stones

January 02, 2020 10:21 PM

My goal is mostly just not to miss anything. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn felt like a weirdo creep. She was pretty sure it was okay to want to do things because her friends were doing them, but she was horribly afraid she was going to make everyone in the world uncomfortable. She wasn't exactly sure when her fears had gone from 'people won't like me' to 'people will actively hate me being around' but they certainly had. This was particularly true since she joined Quidditch... after Heinrich. Now, she joined D&D... after Ness and Heinrich. To be fair, she had also seen Gary's signs up around Sonora.

Truth be told, she really did want to play. She loved the fuzzy lines where her worlds collided; where the magical and the mundane were one and the same. After Gary's description, she thought she understood why. Somehow, she related to the game. Her magic didn't work the way it was supposed to and she was also this weird conglomeration of muggle and witch. Unfortunately, her knowledge of the game stopped with interest, and she was grateful that Heinrich began asking clarifying questions right away. She wouldn't have been able to say what a druid was beyond some vague understanding of the term and this was helpful. And Evelyn liked the sound of druids, so maybe there was some other cool stuff in this game.

Gary seemed nice about it, too, which was great. Ness had made it very clear that Gary was a cool guy, and Evelyn couldn't help extending some warmth towards him just for being nice to both Ness and Heinrich now. Although she did wonder why Ness was so excited about this; she'd never seen her friend get like that about a person.

In any case, one of the best parts was that Evelyn would not be sitting alone in her room while her friends played a game, awkwardly avoiding the area because she hadn't decided to play. That seemed much weirder than just joining in. It was easier to join now and then decide later that it was weird and leave than it would be to decide later that she didn't mind and join in. At least she'd know the rules this way. She craned her neck a little to see the papers Gary passed to Heinrich before turning her attention back to the game master and asking a question herself.

"Is everyone's magic in tune with nature and those elements?" Over the summer, she'd read some about Wicca and the whole notion interested her. There were some connections here that it seemed might be fun to explore. "Or just the Druids'?"

22 Evelyn Stones My goal is mostly just not to miss anything. 1422 0 5

Gary Harper

January 04, 2020 11:17 AM

Goals are good by Gary Harper

Gary smiled at the girl's question. He wasn't sure of her name, so he wasn't even going to try. She was in Ness' year, he was pretty sure, but that was all he 'knew' about her. He was a little curious what brought her to the meeting, but it really didn't matter. She seemed interested and that was all that mattered at the moment. It was his job to explain everything so it made sense so she, and everyone else, knew what they were getting into.

"Excellent question. The short answer is 'no'." He responded and then grinned, "The long answer starts with the fact that your characters are not your average rutabaga farmers eking out a miserable existence just trying to get by. You may have started off that way, but somewhere along the way you've found, or have been taught a source of power that can elevate you out of such a mundane existence. Since you're here, you've chosen to do just that. This source of power could come from nearly anywhere, but they boil down into a few general categories; your own martial prowess, manipulating the arcane energies that flow through the world, being given power by a being beyond comprehension, or tapping into the primal forces of the world."

"The druid, taps into those primal forces of nature and the world about them. Wizards bend the arcane energies of the world with their knowledge to cast their spells. Some don't rely on magic at all, fighters have honed their own martial prowess to use armor, sword and shield to accomplish their tasks. Rogues use their quick hands, feet and tongues. Monks tap into their own inner power to pull off amazing martial arts maneuvers. Clerics channel the power given to them by their deities, and warlocks use the power given to them through whatever pact they've struck with whichever strange entity exists out in the twisting nether."

Gary paused for a moment, hopefully everyone was still with him at some level. "The problem is, you've traded one set of problems for another. With the safe, monotony of rutabaga farming behind you, you've stepped into a much more dangerous world." He let that sink in for just a moment, "Monsters exists. You've all heard the tales; dragons, demons, even orcs and trolls. They're all out there, and so are you now. These creatures preyed upon your fellow farmers, and now you are in the dangerous position to do something about it. Unfortunately, you are not great heroes... yet. There is a long road ahead of you, one of pain and suffering, but also rewards, learning and fame if you survive. Should you reach the end and become the pinnacle of what you can be... the gods themselves may give way before you."

2 Gary Harper Goals are good 1404 0 5

Heinrich Hexenmeister

January 04, 2020 12:58 PM

I am here to save the rutabaga farmers of the world by Heinrich Hexenmeister

Heinrich smiled at Evelyn and pushed the glossary closer so she she could peruse it as well. He stopped reading to listen carefully to Gary answer her question, and he nodded along, appreciating the additional explanation. The ending line sounded a bit over-the-top, but he attributed that to game hyperbole. He had read enough fiction to understand that leaving rutabaga farming (whatever rutabagas were) was definitely a very dangerous life choice.

He scanned over the race and class descriptions he'd been given, making sure he wasn't hogging the paper so Evelyn could read them too if she wanted.

He looked over a three-by-three grid on one part of the paper and stated absolutely, "I am lawful good." This applied to both himself as a person and the only viable way he could imagine himself playing a heroic (almost) character. "I think I will be Dragonborn," he added. He looked pointedly at Gary as he stated, "Draconic suddenly sounds very much like German. So you know."

Heinrich looked at the classes again. "I am uncertain between cleric and paladin. I wish to defeat the bad wolves - the monsters of the world, and save the farmers still growing rutabagas for me. I love rutabagas." He paused, then asked, very seriously, because it was a joke but it was also a serious question, "What are rutabagas?"

1 Heinrich Hexenmeister I am here to save the rutabaga farmers of the world 1414 0 5

Evelyn Stones

January 04, 2020 10:20 PM

I am a literal potato. by Evelyn Stones

Gary smiled, which was cool, but Heinrich also smiled and that was great and Evelyn smiled back. And then he talked about fighting off bad wolves and Evelyn's stomach just felt warm. There was something really special about her friends; between Ness who had been kind and loving to her since day one (literally), and Heinrich who cared in his own little way and was ceaselessly kind and selfless, Evelyn counted herself pretty lucky. She didn't know Gary but if Ness thought he was cool, then he was probably cool. Ness was too smart to be friends with someone crappy, which maybe should've been something Evelyn took to heart in the case of their own friendship but she hadn't yet gotten that far.

Evelyn pressed her lips together as Heinrich firmly aligned himself lawful good. She thought that was fitting for him and smirked a little at the thought of him trying to be a more chaotic character. Still, she was glad he so quickly aligned with the good. For herself, she thought it may even be fun to play an evil character. However, that wasn't something she wanted to roleplay with people she didn't know well, and people she knew well enough to know it could be sensitive. Lawful good was definitely out of the question though, as the Pecari badge on her chest made clear.

She was also torn on some of the classes. Gary's explanation of the Druid sounded particularly appealing to her, but also not very much like herself. If she was going to be doing this whole thing for the first time, maybe it would be better to be something she knew well? But then, what did she really think of herself?

"I think maybe halfling?" she said, enjoying the not-so-subtle joke about her own diminutive stature. She didn't quite make it to five feet tall, so there were a fair number of people who would probably think of her as halfling sized already. "Can I be a chaotic good Fighter? Does that all go together okay?" She looked at Gary for confirmation or denial, but also cast a glance both towards Ness and Heinrich. Well, that's why she was here after all.

22 Evelyn Stones I am a literal potato. 1422 0 5

Gary Harper

January 06, 2020 6:51 PM

I've heard a potato can generate up to 1.2 volts of electricity by Gary Harper

"Hmm..." Gary considered Heinrich's first question. "The cleric's normal job is to heal the other characters in the party to keep everyone in good shape. The paladin is a combination of the cleric and a fighter. They have a little healing, but can stand better on the front lines protecting the others." Heinrich's second question made him think harder. "I'm... not actually sure I can tell you honestly. I'm pretty sure it's some form of root vegetable? Maybe?" Gary shrugged. Now he'd have to find out for himself, that's what he gets for pulling a random word out of thin air to fill in the narrative with a little extra exotic detail. He should have just stuck with potato farmer.

"Halflings are fun," Gary responded to Evelyn. "They get bonus a to dexterity, which is good for avoiding attacks and making ranged attacks with bows and crossbows. I'd recommend going with the 'Stout' sub-race for the constitution bonus. It'll make your character a little more hearty and hard to kill. Do you see yourself as a offensive type or a defensive type?" He grinned, "In combat, do you want to wade into your foes trying to hew them down with a two handed weapon, or stick with your allies trying to keep them safe by keeping your sword and shield between them and your enemies?"

He turned back to Heinrich, "Class-wise it's completely up to you, but if there is a fighter in the group, a cleric is a good match for them. You can enhance and heal them while they protect you and dispatch of the enemies." He glanced around at the rest of the group sitting at the table, "However, if someone else wanted to play the healer, whether it be cleric, druid or something else, a paladin and a fighter side-by-side on the front line can make a really nice wall between danger and the rest of the group."

2 Gary Harper I've heard a potato can generate up to 1.2 volts of electricity 1404 0 5

Morgan Garrett

January 24, 2020 11:23 AM

And it's super-fun to light things up with them. by Morgan Garrett

Morgan knew two things about Dungeons and Dragons.

1) It was a game that existed, and

2) It was a game that some of the more histrionic churches back home thought would make kids become devil-worshippers.

Morgan was, she knew, fortunate that her family wasn’t that intense about anything. Her mom had been part of a church once, but had quit after Morgan was born for obvious reasons. Her grandpa talked a lot about his church in the woods – by which he meant going on his own outside whenever he could manage – and she wondered if that was somehow related to Dad’s habit of ritualistically going out for a meal with Sage and, when she was with them, Morgan every Sunday afternoon. On the more formal side of things, Anna had been quite religious, but Morgan had only really ever been to church with her Nana, who was what she thought of as a fairly normal person: someone who talked a lot about it all and read these really boring, really oddly-sized little books sometimes, but didn’t let it all interfere much with the mechanics of ordinary life. Morgan had wondered what that meant, but it didn’t bother her much, and that was beside the point here anyway. Her family would most likely not care one way or the other if she showed up to the game night she had heard about, but knowing that there were people back home in Kentucky who would object with much screeching frankly was still enough to make the idea too tempting to resist at least trying out.

The ‘game master’ (or, less formally, Gary) was saying a lot of words that Morgan didn’t understand, but one thing kept her from extricating herself at once: the statement that they each controlled a character. Her eyes lit up at that explanation. So they were acting!

Admittedly, she could not really imagine Princess Grace (whose leaf-pendant choker and earrings she was wearing tonight, in plated replica) being a fantasy robot, but she had been a princess of an imaginary country once, in The Swan. That was at least a little fantasy-ish, wasn’t it? And it was probably the best chance for experience that she was going to get.

They had been hired by Lord Tenneson (Alfred, she wondered?) to make the world a better place. So, was her motivation money or actually making the world a better place? That had a lot to do with how one played the part....whatever the part was going to be. That got back to the issue of all the words she hadn’t quite understood.

Luckily, one of the other kids (who all seemed so much older than her; was she, in fact, actually supposed to be here? Nobody had told her to go away yet, but that didn’t mean they weren’t all thinking it) didn’t seem to know quite what was going on and started asking questions, which got things going. Morgan had to stifle a chuckle when the guy with the German accent – one of her other House prefects – said he wished to protect the rutabaga farmers...and then asked what a rutabaga was. It wasn’t the question, just the delivery and contrast to the firmness of his preceding statements.

“I could do that,” she piped up when Gary suggested someone else could be the healer while the German prefect fought wolves and the pretty blonde girl was also a good fighter, but shorter. The role sounded like it would be relatively straightforward to figure out what she was doing with while she was figuring out how this game worked, plus a fantasy roaming adventure doctor offered lots of potential for doing things with motivation, maybe. “And a rutabaga is a root vegetable,” she added, hoping to make herself seem less obviously less skilled and knowledgeable than everyone else here. “It’s kinda like a turnip. You mash ‘em up like potatoes when you cook ‘em.”

16 Morgan Garrett And it's super-fun to light things up with them. 1470 0 5

Ness McLeod

January 29, 2020 4:44 AM

I am warforged and angry by Ness McLeod

Ness took a seat at the DnD table. Opposite Evelyn and Heinrich. When Evelyn had been enthusiastic about playing, Ness had been kind of thrilled. Admittedly, DnD had always kind of been the Aladren’s thing, and in some ways it’d been nice to have that, but there could be other things – after all, Ness had pitched the idea for this game, and Evelyn wanting to be in on that had felt best friendy and cool and Ness couldn’t wait to invite her in.

Except, now Evelyn had brought her ‘boyfriend’.

It was fine that Evelyn liked Heinrich. It was maybe a bit boring and heteronormative and whatever, but it wasn’t like Ness was mad that Evelyn liked someone in that way. That was what happened. It was fine. Except, like, did that mean Heinrich was going to be everywhere now? Was it not exciting enough for Evelyn to get to hang out with Ness? Apparently not. Because there Heinrich was.

And then Gary dropped the second bombshell within five minutes. No space robot pirates? He… didn’t have the books? Wow, if only there was some way of dealing with that. If only books could be like… mailed or something. Had he not really liked the idea? He was talking about having some ‘fantasy robots’ but in the next breath said they were all but irrelevant. They were just going to do wizards and stuff. And… okay, that should have been cool. It was the game that Kir and Zevalyn had started out in, and it had been something Ness had missed out on. It was The Classic. It would be cool to add that to the list of adventures Ness had had. But it wasn’t space pirates. It wasn’t the idea that Ness had pitched and which Gary had seemed to like, and now… now he was making the flimsiest of excuses over why it couldn’t happen, and Evelyn was here with Heinrich and it was nothing like Ness had planned or wanted it to be. Especially not as somehow the characters Evelyn and Heinrich wanted just went perfectly matchy matchy together. Regardless of what they chose. Either they could fight side by side, or one could be the fighter whilst the other one healed them.

“I’d like to be a warforged,” Ness stated, seeing as Gary had included an alleged robot option. “I do not understand your stupid human ways and refuse to participate in meaningless social rituals. What does that go with?”

13 Ness McLeod I am warforged and angry 1419 0 5

Connor Priory

January 29, 2020 9:22 AM

I usually just use lumos by Connor Priory

As Connor entered the library, he felt a twinge of wistfulness. This was his last year at Sonora and thus, his last year playing Dungeons and Dragons. Next year, he'd be off to study to be a Healer and have to say goodbye to this group of people. They'd already lost a few of the original bunch to graduation and next it would be his turn.

Besides even if Connor could find people to play with, he wasn't sure if he would have time. He was on a fairly intense schedule now before he even graduated from Sonora. The seventh year had to take every single class except for Care of Magical Creatures because it was necessary for his future career. He just hoped people didn't think he was a show-off.

However, he'd wanted to be a Healer for as far back as he could remember. There were a fair amount of people among his close relations who had had health issues over the years. His mom had back problems. Lydia had been a preemie. Bridget's mother was chronically ill. A cousin of his, Autumn, had health issues as a result of her eating disorder. Connor really just wanted to take care of people like he always had even if he couldn't fix any of their problems.( Although Autumn's sister Willow had assured him that Autumn was unfixable.) He was sure he'd have to pick a specialty but that kind of sucked, because that would limit the amount of people he could help.

He joined the rest of the DnD group. It looked like there were some new faces among them as well as Gary and Ness. The newcomers included Ness's friend, Evelyn Stones, whom Peyton had initially objected to being on a Challenge team with almost as much as she had Eden because the Pecari had been rude to Ivy for no reason at one point and the sixth year had been worried that Evelyn would treat her the same way but she hadn't and Peyton had got on with her fine. Others that were in attendance were Heinrich Hexenmeister, the German Aladren prefect whose sister Sophia was getting to be friends with and a younger girl that Connor didn't know.

As far as his own recruitment efforts had gone, he had invited Bridget so she could get her mind off things with regards to her mother's illness. As far as the seventh year was concerned, DnD was an amazing way to escape into another universe and forget your troubles. However, he wasn't sure his cousin would feel like socializing with people. Though she really did seem to want to make friends so Connor wasn't sure. He'd also mentioned it to Peyton and Ivy and really really hoped the former especially would show up.

However, he had not encouraged Sophia to join in. Not because he didn't want his younger sister around but because of, well, Ness. Connor personally tried his best to see the fourth year's positive qualities but since she could be sort of...aggressive about her ideology, he thought it best that Sophia, who would not put up with such things if she disagreed, stay away in the interest of keeping the peace and not spoiling things for everyone. Not that his sister was obnoxious or aggressive or argumentative in general but she and Ness would be a toxic combination and DnD was supposed to be fun.

On the other hand,it might have been helpful to have Sophia around to translate for Heinrich in case he didn't understand the English words. Even if he spoke decent English, DnD had words that probably did not come up in daily conversation and the fifth year might not understand them. Then again Sophia might not even know the German translation.

Connor smiled at the new people and introduced himself to them. "I'm Connor Priory of the Wisconsin Priorys". His tone was casual and welcoming but as he didn't know who the younger girl was, he felt the need to use the formal pureblood greeting just in case. The Crotalus did not want to chance offending a member of proper society and have them speak badly of him or his family.

Gary gave his spiel for the adventure they were going to have. Heinrich began asking questions about druids and Gary gave him a sheet that would help explain things. Evelyn followed up by asking about magic being in tune with nature. Heinrich decided to be Dragonborn and lawful good and Evelyn decided to be a chaotic good hafling. They both wanted to fight. As far as Connor was concerned they could have that role. He had no wish to be a fighter. Then the younger girl decided to be a Healer and Ness wanted to be a Warforged that "didn't understand their stupid human ways and refused to participate in their meaningless social rituals" Yes, good thing Sophia wasn't there. That would at a bare minimum have caused the third year to roll her eyes.

Unlike what his sister would have done, he just ignored it and moved along. Connor considered his options. "I think I want to be a sorcerer and definitely a good alignment. Either lawful or neutral. And maybe...a tieflig?"

11 Connor Priory I usually just use lumos 395 0 5

Gary Harper

January 30, 2020 5:21 PM

Yes... use your anger, and your hate and... cookies? Is that right? by Gary Harper

Gary smiled at Ness, he had to hand it to the Aladren. Ness was getting right into character from the sounds of things. "Excellent! That sounds like a perfect true neutral alignment. You just do what makes the most sense to you without society or other people's opinions swaying your decisions." He then thought for a moment, "As for class... Hmm... Probably the best that fit with that mindset would be barbarian or rogue."

"Barbarians are usually strong melee fighters. They wield big weapons and carve swaths of destruction before them using their strength and rage. They are not generally known for their social niceties. Rogues on the other hand are your thieves, assassins, scoundrels or thugs of the world. They usually rely more on deftness and cunning, but have a similar disregard for society's rules and regulations."

Gary slides some of the sheets in Ness' direction with the class information on them. "The other thing to keep in mind," He glances around at the table as a whole, "Is your character's motivation. Why have they decided to work for Lord Tennesone? His stated reason to help people is a good one," He looks back at Ness, "but probably not for your warforged. He is also paying you all a stipend for food, board and travel expenses, so you don't need to worry about going hungry..." he paused again, "also not an issue for a warforged, they don't need to eat or drink... or breathe for that matter."

Gary thinks again for a moment before continuing, "There is always the quest for knowledge, understanding, power, artifacts, and... well, money. Those that survive the adventuring trade often become quite wealthy from their endeavors." He shrugs, "On the other side, perhaps your character is somehow indebted to Lord Tennesone and this is how you've worked out paying off that debt. Regardless of the reason, you will want one to give your character a reason to be here and to go on these adventures. Otherwise, there's not much of a game." He grins again, "What fun is that?"

2 Gary Harper Yes... use your anger, and your hate and... cookies? Is that right? 1404 0 5

Gary Harper

January 30, 2020 5:50 PM

But if someone transfigured your wand into a potato? by Gary Harper

More new people! Gary had no idea who the young girl was, but he was pretty sure he'd seen her around the Aladren common room. It didn't matter though, more new people were always good. She also clarified the rutabaga question, so that was one less thing he'd have to look up later. Excellent. Now as for her healer...

"What sort of healer would you like to be?" Gary asked the girl, "It is mostly done with magic, there is a medicine skill, but it pales in comparison to what magic can do. Clerics are the best healers, they channel the power of higher beings into their spells. Druids can be decent healers, they get their magic through the primal forces of nature." He paused for a moment, "Bards can also technically heal as well, but they're not that great at it."

"Tiefling sorcerer," Gary grinned, "Excellent combination. Sorcerers get their powers from one of two places... in this version. Either some dragon blood got mixed into your family bloodline at some point in the past, or from a wilder source. Perhaps some strange interaction with a far plane of existence, or the touch of a powerful fey or demon." he considered for a moment, "The tiefling aspect does suggest some demonic influence somewhere in the family line. Granted, the mixture of demon and dragon blood could be interesting as well."

2 Gary Harper But if someone transfigured your wand into a potato? 1404 0 5