Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

[Gillipig]

Cats like to lie on clothes but not wear them lol. I remember the cat we had when I was young, she loved to lie in the dirty cloth basket.

[Gillipig]

Macbone, why haven't you sent us a message proclaiming that this has been called off? Doesn't take much effort and would be the decent thing to do especially after you got our hopes up earlier.

[MeDeFe]

Well, I suppose in a pinch we could just make shit up and freeform something.

[Gillipig]

Well, I suppose in a pinch we could just make shit up and freeform something.

You might have something there MeDe!
I don't understand GURPS or any of the techincal stuff behind calculating the probability of events. From what I've understood, among us only macbone knows the speficics of how to run the game within the agreed upon settings. But if we were to create a different type of game, more geared towards spontaneous writing than statistics, then I have a suggestion for a system.

My suggestion is that we remove the character sheets we currently have and forget about the math behind this. We write a more detailed description of our characters (preferably still the same characters however), describe their possessions, abilities, fears, physical attributes and where the story starts for them. Some stories of their past is also appreciated of course.
And then without any grand plan or future story in mind we begin writing. I suggest we decide the order in which we are allowed to post our story, for example Woodruff get's to go first, then it's MeDeFe's turn etc, this will make it's easier to follow the story. To make a bit of a game out of it, after someone has posted his story, another member of our game gets to write an alternative ending to the one recently posted. So if Woodruff write a story about his gnome thief successfully robing a merchant, I for example borrow the majority of the story but give it another ending or twist. Maybe the gnome thief fails and goes to jail!?
The rest of the players then gets to vote which story they liked the best, and the story that gets the most votes is the one we will count. This could be a lot of fun and good practice in "selling" your story, and also of finding ways to improve stories and understanding what the reader wants.

[/]

An interesting idea, I admit I don't have much hope after a month+ of waiting since the last post, I'm willing to give it a go.

[Gillipig]

An interesting idea, I admit I don't have much hope after a month+ of waiting since the last post, I'm willing to give it a go.

Great! You're onboard !

[MeDeFe]

I'd keep the sheets and stats actually. The GURP system really is very simple, you roll three six-sided dice and try to beat a difficulty. We probably should be conservative about it, but any situation where there's a risk should include the possibility of going wrong, even horribly wrong.

[Woodruff]

I have Dungeon-Mastered before, but I have zero experience with the particular world that macbone was planning to use.

I don't know that I'm particularly interested in a non-statistically-based gaming aspect, to be honest. That was always sort of the "thrill" of gaming for me. Hell, I even used dice-rolls to create my character.

[Gillipig]

I'd keep the sheets and stats actually. The GURP system really is very simple, you roll three six-sided dice and try to beat a difficulty. We probably should be conservative about it, but any situation where there's a risk should include the possibility of going wrong, even horribly wrong.

I have Dungeon-Mastered before, but I have zero experience with the particular world that macbone was planning to use.

I don't know that I'm particularly interested in a non-statistically-based gaming aspect, to be honest. That was always sort of the "thrill" of gaming for me. Hell, I even used dice-rolls to create my character.

Sounds like you guys are very much in the same boat. Creative writing was what got me interested in the game, the formulas were for me the means to make it work, not the fun part.
Do you really think we could make it work using the dice without having a mod? The suggestion I made included a sort of self modding, but here we have no such thing.
Nothing prevents characters from quickly dying off for example. What if my character has to do a leap over a cliff and you'd have the dice determine whether he succeeds or not. Exciting for a few seconds perhaps but I think these types of dilemmas will just make us hesitate to come up with storylines where our characters are in real danger.
That's certainly not how you go about making interesting storylines. If a writer has to worry about his main character dying off early on by some minor threat, he's not going to put his character in much danger. So that's a big minus.
There's also the problem with no interaction from other players/members in the text. When macbone was the mod he would've been able to make some adjustments to the text or tell us that it's not really possible/plausible to do "x", and my suggestion was built on letting other users come up with alternative stories to the ones written. But we have no moderation at all if we just go with the same concept minus macbone. At the very least we need to deal with moderation issue before we attempt to make it work.

[Drakkon]

if it winds up being D&D format, say 3.5, I am in... but I understand the issue of no DM. Would anyone want to take on thay role?

[/]

I might be able to do it, I've read up on GURPS, and a bit on Banestorm, perhaps not the same storyline depending on things, but like Gillipig, I'm more interested in the writing and characterization anyhow, so I don't really care if I'm an NPC or not.

[/]

Alternatively, for a more free flowing story with all of the aspects we each desire, we could switch off as GM between "chapters". Once per major location stopped at, or once per "adventure" in the campaign.

Also, as long as it's being considered how many of you know how to play D&D?
I know about as much as playing NWN for the PC.
I think there's some sort of easy conversion between the two sytems though, so if you need help Drakkon, I can try to be of assistance.

[Woodruff]

Alternatively, for a more free flowing story with all of the aspects we each desire, we could switch off as GM between "chapters". Once per major location stopped at, or once per "adventure" in the campaign.

Also, as long as it's being considered how many of you know how to play D&D?
I know about as much as playing NWN for the PC.
I think there's some sort of easy conversion between the two sytems though, so if you need help Drakkon, I can try to be of assistance.

I'm a very experienced AD&D player (3rd edition), I've played a little tiny bit of GURPS, and I've played a lot of role-playing-games on the computer (none of which are actually role-playing games). I have Dungeon-Mastered some, and I'm not against the idea of doing that. But since it's during the school year, my time is very limited, so it would be pretty slow-going if I'm running things (that would change in the summer months).

[MeDeFe]

I'd keep the sheets and stats actually. The GURP system really is very simple, you roll three six-sided dice and try to beat a difficulty. We probably should be conservative about it, but any situation where there's a risk should include the possibility of going wrong, even horribly wrong.

I have Dungeon-Mastered before, but I have zero experience with the particular world that macbone was planning to use.

I don't know that I'm particularly interested in a non-statistically-based gaming aspect, to be honest. That was always sort of the "thrill" of gaming for me. Hell, I even used dice-rolls to create my character.

Sounds like you guys are very much in the same boat. Creative writing was what got me interested in the game, the formulas were for me the means to make it work, not the fun part.
Do you really think we could make it work using the dice without having a mod? The suggestion I made included a sort of self modding, but here we have no such thing.
Nothing prevents characters from quickly dying off for example. What if my character has to do a leap over a cliff and you'd have the dice determine whether he succeeds or not. Exciting for a few seconds perhaps but I think these types of dilemmas will just make us hesitate to come up with storylines where our characters are in real danger.
That's certainly not how you go about making interesting storylines. If a writer has to worry about his main character dying off early on by some minor threat, he's not going to put his character in much danger. So that's a big minus.
There's also the problem with no interaction from other players/members in the text. When macbone was the mod he would've been able to make some adjustments to the text or tell us that it's not really possible/plausible to do "x", and my suggestion was built on letting other users come up with alternative stories to the ones written. But we have no moderation at all if we just go with the same concept minus macbone. At the very least we need to deal with moderation issue before we attempt to make it work.

I actually consider the "formula" as you call them a framework for the game and story. Something to work with and around, and not so much against as you seem to imply. A hero can get hit by a car running a red light or a cold can become case of pneumonia, people die of small things every day, and it's not necessarily a bad thing if our characaters don't take risks that are best described as "hellafucking stupid" all the time but only when it's absolutely necesssary.

[Gillipig]

woodruff, /, if any of you feel knowledgeable enough to mod while also playing I have nothing against that. As long as we're not playing without moderation I'm fine with it.

[Woodruff]

I'd keep the sheets and stats actually. The GURP system really is very simple, you roll three six-sided dice and try to beat a difficulty. We probably should be conservative about it, but any situation where there's a risk should include the possibility of going wrong, even horribly wrong.

I have Dungeon-Mastered before, but I have zero experience with the particular world that macbone was planning to use.

I don't know that I'm particularly interested in a non-statistically-based gaming aspect, to be honest. That was always sort of the "thrill" of gaming for me. Hell, I even used dice-rolls to create my character.

Sounds like you guys are very much in the same boat. Creative writing was what got me interested in the game, the formulas were for me the means to make it work, not the fun part.
Do you really think we could make it work using the dice without having a mod? The suggestion I made included a sort of self modding, but here we have no such thing.
Nothing prevents characters from quickly dying off for example. What if my character has to do a leap over a cliff and you'd have the dice determine whether he succeeds or not. Exciting for a few seconds perhaps but I think these types of dilemmas will just make us hesitate to come up with storylines where our characters are in real danger.
That's certainly not how you go about making interesting storylines. If a writer has to worry about his main character dying off early on by some minor threat, he's not going to put his character in much danger. So that's a big minus.
There's also the problem with no interaction from other players/members in the text. When macbone was the mod he would've been able to make some adjustments to the text or tell us that it's not really possible/plausible to do "x", and my suggestion was built on letting other users come up with alternative stories to the ones written. But we have no moderation at all if we just go with the same concept minus macbone. At the very least we need to deal with moderation issue before we attempt to make it work.

I actually consider the "formula" as you call them a framework for the game and story. Something to work with and around, and not so much against as you seem to imply. A hero can get hit by a car running a red light or a cold can become case of pneumonia, people die of small every day, and it's not necessarily a bad thing if our characaters don't take risks that are best described as "hellafucking stupid" all the time but only when it's absolutely necesssary.

Well said.

[/]

Alright, new topic is up for our new adventures.

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=179662

[macbone]

If you guys are still willing, so am I. I've been behind on my CC stuff for a bit, but I'm finally caught up again.

Status:

MeDeFe - character completed
Woodruff - character completed
/ - character completed
IchLiebeMyCats - sheet still in progress
Gillipig - character completed
Kentington - waiting for final approval

[/]

I'm in, tell me when we start please, thanks.

[IchLiebeMyCats]

Born into a large family, Gwaereniel, which means Little One, is the youngest of 7 children, with 6 older brothers. Along with 6 sister in laws, and many nieces and nephews. Some of which are her age. She has her mother's looks and charisma, but her father's determination and drive.

Her mother gave up trying to turn her into a lady at a very young age. She wanted nothing to do with any of that nonsense. And being the only girl, she was spoiled and learned early how to use her charm to get her way. Not just from her parents, but from her brothers as well.

While Gwaereniel loved her mother very much, she wanted to be outside with her father and brothers and the couple of nephews that were her age, exploring, hunting, tracking and hiking. Not being cooped up in the house, doing "woman's work". She loved the outdoors, and spent almost all her time outside. There were many nights her family would find her asleep outside.

They lived on the edge of a town, so she got the best of city life and the best of country life. She much preferred the country, and being out in the open, than being in the city.

Her family were farmers. Working together on the family farm together. This included her brothers and their families.

Her father and brothers taught Gwaereniel how to shoot a bow, and she quickly became better than any of them. This irritated no one more then her nephews, cuz she was just a "girl", besting them. She went hunting with them often, where she learned how to track and move quietly.

It quickly became clear that she had some natural abilities. She could hear and see better than even most Elves could, which came in handy when she went hunting and tracking. Gwaereniel was also a natural at climbing and running, and she seemed to innately have perfect balance.

From a very young age, Gwaereniel learned to do flips, and figured if she could do that on the ground, why not up in the trees too! She would give her mom great frights because she would climb trees to the top, and then jump from one tree to another, doing flips in the air, to get to the next branch.

Her brothers wanted to make sure Gwaereniel knew how to defend herself, so they also taught her how to fight. Not just brawling of course, but also with swords. And so what she lacks in strength, she makes up for with sheer determination and stubborness. She is scrappy and wirey.

An example of this, when Gwaereniel was only 13 years old, she got into a fight with a much bigger boy, because he was picking on a smaller child. She beat the bigger boy, but she ended up with a broken right arm. Gwaereniel didn't let it slow her down, as she was determined to learn how to do everything with her left hand. Which in turn led to her being ambidextrous.

When Gwaereniel was a baby, she got very sick, and while she completely recovered from that sickness, it did cause her to be just a bit smaller then the average elf. This is probably where a lot of her motivations come from, as she was teased for being smaller, and instead of letting it be a disadvantage to her, she perservered, and told herself, she would be the best in all she did.

About the only thing she is afraid of is water. When she was only 4yrs old, she went to the river with her mother, and she got to close to the edge of the river, and was pulled in, and almost drowned. If it wasn't for the quick reaction of her mother, she would have.

She loves horses and cats, they are her favorite animals. She has always felt a connection with them, that she just can't explain. And being a true Elf, she loves nature, and animals and feels she has a duty to protect them.

She leads a good and happy life. She loves her family dearly, and would die for them, without any hesitation. The village she lives in is the type of village where everyone knows your name. You help each other when they need it, and watch out for each other.

Then one day, just a few years ago, it all changed when a band of Orcs came to her village and began to pillage it. She fought along side her father and brothers to stop them. They ravaged the village and all the farms. They killed many people, included her mother, 2 of her brothers, a sister in law, and 2nieces and nephews. She still has nightmares and flashbacks from it all.

Gwaereniel is 100yrs old, is 5' tall, weights 100lbs, has green eyes and silver hair.

[macbone]

I love the character description! Ok, so she's an elf? Yrth is a wide and varied place, and although her family doesn't sound like most elves, there are always exceptions (and exceptions are usually the most fun to play!)

Elves

One thing about elves in Yrth is that their families are typically small, and communities have few children. Perhaps Gwaereniel's community was different in this regard? Most elven communities are deep in the forest, but they do practice a kind of "garden agriculture," planting the trees and shrubs of the forest that make their forests hospitable for themselves (though not necessarily for other races). Some of the plants they cultivate are fayflax, whose fibers are woven into cloth and paper; bread oak, similar to Earth's oak trees but with plump, edible acorns; and several different kinds of high quality dyes.

Some elves do choose to live near human cities.

Most elves live in tribes with anywhere from 20 to 100 individuals.

Orcs

Most orcs live in tribes in the Orclands on Ytarria's west coast (I need to upload some maps), but small raiding bands are found in all civilized lands. Some orcs have adapted to civilization, taking jobs like herdsmen, ranchers, and woodmen. Most civilized orcs are distrusted by others, and nobody trusts the barbarian orcs, not even other orcs.

Tribal orcs live by hunting primarily. They burn forests for sport, which puts them at odds with the elves, but they do so to clear hunting ranges and encourage fresh growth (they don't realize this, though - they do it because it's fun, shows their strength, and annoys the elves).

One of the differences in Banestorm that's carried over from Tolkien is the relative decline of dwarves and elves (due in part to low birthrate) and the explosion of humans and orcs (high birthrates and, for humans, influx through the Banestorm).

[Woodruff]

Never mind, guys. Looks like I've finally had enough of the bullshit moderating around this place, so I am removing myself and finding a better place to be. Sorry to drop on you (I mean that sincerely), especially after having spent so much time tonight going over character interactions with MeDeFe.

If my wife wants to continue in the game, that's certainly her prerogative, I have no problem with it. That's her call (she won't have any idea why I'm pissed off, since she doesn't play games here or participate in the fora).

[/]

Oh, that's too bad... Well I certainly hope no one else quits since we're down to three, I really was looking forward to giving it a go, would everyone be willing to move it to that "http://rpol.net/" site if it would help find players or whatever it is we require?

[macbone]

Man, Woodruff, that stinks. =( Could we persuade you to stick around just for this game?

[macbone]

OK, it looks like we'll be moving the game over to RPOL.net. You can now access it here: http://rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=38704.