Good grief has it really been more than a year since my last update here? I recall once warning my readers (all one of you) that I tend to fall off the face of the earth from time to time. D'ya believe me now?
As far as RPGs of any sort go, I have been almost completely inactive since my online "Olde Worlde" Swords & Wizardry game came to a long grinding halt near the end of last summer. I had one brief flirtation with Pathfinder as a player-character shortly after that, but a huge steaming heap of gamemaster politics and "draah-mah" brought that to a short conclusion.
Around a week or so ago my good friend Randy (Codename:Haldir) put up a cattle-call for players in a new S&W play-by-post game and I was fairly eager to take the bait. I believe "Oh HELLYEAH" were my exact words, but I digress.
I was considering playing a human fighter or perhaps cleric, but it wasn't long before Randy and I both seemed to come to the mutual agreement that I'm a character-actor, and by that I'm sure all my awesome readers know exactly what kind of character I'm talking about.
I freely admit I've got quite a few character sheets for various half-orc characters I've played in the past, some of which I routinely resurrect with minor adjustments to fit whatever game module or level of play they're about to join. But while I believe in recycling, I try to be very faithful to each character and not "reinvent" her entire personality. Janara is my favourite. She was my first...kind of like a schoolgirl crush, you might say. Even though she has appeared in D&D 3.0, 3.5, Warhammer and S&W, her basic attributes, personality and quirks have remained the same. I sometimes call her (after the Arthurian legends) "the Once And Future Janara". I hope one day to actually find a way to work her into a futuristic sci-fi game.
So, back on topic (in a roundabout way), I didn't think Janara the Hafforc Cleric would be the best fit for Temple Of Elemental Evil, so I called up another character from the minor league. She was one I made for our thieves' guild game using Labyrinth Lord rules, and her name was originally Burzug,...I admit not a particularly good name for a character, but I was in a bit of a pinch and had to name her quick. I will now claim the name was just an alias.
She is now going by the name Chara...which is coincidentally also the name of the team captain of the Boston Bruins. She, like he, is a bit of a goon,..loved by some, loathed by many more. Though she is technically speaking only a fighter, her lifelong aspiration is to be a thief. In fact that is what she was doing before joining the party, and I'm sure the circumstances of her leaving behind her life of crime to become a traveling adventurer will be interesting..as soon as those details come to light.
In my new game, the adventure began at a crossroads. Our party was deciding which way to go first, and we all were already acquainted with one another. This saves us much in-game time getting to know each other, and permits all players the chance to reveal bits and pieces of our pasts as we (the players) get a better feel for our own characters and those of the other players.
So, Chara has somehow won the approval of a lady monk called Isha, a human cleric called Coriander Waterspout, or Cory, for short, and a dwarven magic user (yes, you read that right) called Golden Hammer, and Golden Hammer's bodyguard, who calls himself Body Guard. We're a motley crew and you can probably already imagine the fun sorts of group dynamics that can develop as the game progresses. At the moment, the magic user and cleric are kind of taking charge. Perhaps that is because Isha and Chara are "just girls", but somehow I suspect that neither monk nor fighter will remain wallflowers forever.
And now to compound Chara's troubles..and yes, she is a complicated woman, she has Body Guard following after her like a lovestruck puppy.
At this point, the adventurers have just arrived at the Inn of the Welcome Wench. No doubt there will be booze a'flowing soon, and I have invited the other players to fill in a bit more of Chara's history, specifically what happend any one of those times she got so drunk that she herself cannot recall what she did.
I only hope no players will take TOO many liberties with poor Chara's history. She is, after all, a distant cousin of Janara, and Janara might have her cut off from the family fortune.
Showing posts with label Talkin' bout my character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talkin' bout my character. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, March 09, 2009
A fun blog-quiz for roleplayers
This one got sent to me years ago on LiveJournal..and is lots of fun, especially if you play a wide range of characters in a wide range of RPG systems.
FIRST..
Name 10 characters you have played in RPGs, before looking at the questions that follow. List your characters numbered 1 to 10, including the name of the RPG you played them in and maybe character class/race if applicable. Once you've picked your 10 characters, look at the questions and answer accordingly. (No peeking until you've picked your characters!)
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>
>
>
>
.... hey..no peeking unless you've made your list already.
>
>
>
>
>
>
THE QUESTIONS..
Who would make a better professor, 6 or 1?
Do you think 2 is hot?
2 sends 8 on a mission. What is it and does it succeed?
What is (or woudl be) 9's favourite book?
Would it make more sense for #4 ) to swear fealty to #6, or the other way around?
For some reason #5 is looking for a roommate. Should they share a studio apartment with #9 or #10?
#2 #7 and #3 have dinner together. Where do they go and what do they discuss?
#3 challenges #10 to a duel. What happens?
If #1 stole #9's most precious possession, how would they get it back?
Suggest a title for a story in which both #10 and #4 attain what they most desire.
What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted #1 and #3 to work together?
If #7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
If you could command #1 to perform any task for you, what would it be?
Does anyone on your friends list resemble #5 (either in appearance or personality)?
If #2 had to choose sides between #4 and #5, who would it be?
What might #10 shout while charging into battle?
If you chose a song to represent #8 what song would it be?
#1 , #6 and #7 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?
What might be a good pick-up line for #2 to use on #10?
What would #5 ) most likely be arrested for?
What is #6's secret?
If #8 and #9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, would you feel safer in the company of #1 or #10?
#7 and #9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by #4's sinister secret organization. #6 volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that he/she is actually a spy for #4. Meanwhile, #4 has kidnapped #9 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of # 5, they seek out #3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this story?
_____
I'll likely post my own results up in a few days or so ... giving myself a chance to forget the questions so it doesn't skew how I order my list.
FIRST..
Name 10 characters you have played in RPGs, before looking at the questions that follow. List your characters numbered 1 to 10, including the name of the RPG you played them in and maybe character class/race if applicable. Once you've picked your 10 characters, look at the questions and answer accordingly. (No peeking until you've picked your characters!)
>
>
>
>
>
.... hey..no peeking unless you've made your list already.
>
>
>
>
>
>
THE QUESTIONS..
Who would make a better professor, 6 or 1?
Do you think 2 is hot?
2 sends 8 on a mission. What is it and does it succeed?
What is (or woudl be) 9's favourite book?
Would it make more sense for #4 ) to swear fealty to #6, or the other way around?
For some reason #5 is looking for a roommate. Should they share a studio apartment with #9 or #10?
#2 #7 and #3 have dinner together. Where do they go and what do they discuss?
#3 challenges #10 to a duel. What happens?
If #1 stole #9's most precious possession, how would they get it back?
Suggest a title for a story in which both #10 and #4 attain what they most desire.
What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted #1 and #3 to work together?
If #7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
If you could command #1 to perform any task for you, what would it be?
Does anyone on your friends list resemble #5 (either in appearance or personality)?
If #2 had to choose sides between #4 and #5, who would it be?
What might #10 shout while charging into battle?
If you chose a song to represent #8 what song would it be?
#1 , #6 and #7 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?
What might be a good pick-up line for #2 to use on #10?
What would #5 ) most likely be arrested for?
What is #6's secret?
If #8 and #9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, would you feel safer in the company of #1 or #10?
#7 and #9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by #4's sinister secret organization. #6 volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that he/she is actually a spy for #4. Meanwhile, #4 has kidnapped #9 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of # 5, they seek out #3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this story?
_____
I'll likely post my own results up in a few days or so ... giving myself a chance to forget the questions so it doesn't skew how I order my list.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
In which I talk about my character
Yeah, I know I know..it's taboo, so I won't do it too often, but here goes.
When we started playing S&W back in November, I asked if I could still play a half-orc even though halforcs did not become PCs until 3rd edition and if I recall rightly did not even exist in the monster manual until 2nd edition.
The GM, likely fearing yet another rant about oppression, green-rage and "the man", said he'd allow it, so long as the character could be expressed in Oe terms..that is to say, she had to be a fightingMan Orc-ette with emphasis on Strength and de-emphasis on Intelligence and Charisma. She would get no advantage for her orcish blood..not even Darkvision. But that was alright by me. After all, the game should be about playing the role of a character rather than playing stats and special abilities, right? Also, due to the fact that the six attributes can grant at best a +1 bonus and at worst a -1 detriment, having even the proverbial "minmax" character does not make you a window-licking Terminator.
Surprisingly, it did not take too much getting used to, even though Janara (you might say she has achieved the status of recurring franchise) was originally created for 3e D&D. Okay, so she kept forgetting to light her torch at first,... as did our Dwarven cleric...but that's neither here nor there. On a completely unrelated note, the GM has more recently decided that in his games, demi-orcs and dwarves get darkvision just the same as their later counterparts. I mean, why should Elves get to have all the fun, huh?
Actually, in the game setting Janara belongs to, Elves would be as yet unknown beings. They might just be legends..or they may be (as Dunsany would say) 'beyond the Fields We Know'. Orcs, on the other hand, are based on historical barbaric tribes from the east of the big continent (Europe, actually) who were brought to the isle (Scotland) by the Latins (Romans) to provide a buffer against the northmen (Vikings). Half-orcs might be more properly called orc-blooded, since their kind has been left alone and to their own for a few centuries by the time our adventure begins. Janara only knows that she is different, that she comes from a people who are different, (but no differenter than the picts or that crazy yellow-haired berserker NPC her party had originally hired...may he rest in peace). She's never seen an orc, and is curious about the stories she has been told about the eastern warrior tribes. For all intents and purposes, she was raised human... Christian actually... and has no doubt that she is one of her God's creatures too... as are the people of her ancestry if she should ever happen to meet one.
Well..that's how it started at least. Janara and company did a bit of low-level romping around in the highland hills, but as such things happen, they eventually boarded a longship and went to a place suspiciously Norwegian in topography, custom and outragiously exaggerated accents. It was there that they encountered their first halfling and their first elf. The halfling was, of course, trying to unlock a treasure chest, and the elf was quite deceased.
I won't go into too much detail, as you may find yourself in this same adventure some day...as I highly recommend you should. Stefan Poag's work is top-notch adventuring
So imagine what poor Janara thought the first time she came across actual orcs. Of course these orcs were hostile and attacked first, so being a loyal fighter who stands by her friends, she helped slay the ever-lovin' doggy-doody out of them.
But this time after the fighting is over, rather than help the others toss the room for hidden treasures or loot the bodies for useful weapons or coins, she carefully looked over the dead orcs' bodies for any jewellry, regalia, totems or other such items that she would think to be culturally unique to orcs. She did the same with the next two orc encounters as well, eventually collecting one rather odd-looking dagger and a little medallion made of bone.
She really cannot quite explain her recent interest in orc-anthropology, and she is really starting to suspect that orcs as a collective group are generally and deservingly disliked by everybody. The Dwarf in the party has shown no hostility toward her, but then again the Dwarf is a man of God..even though he sometimes calls God by the name Thor. Janara is almost certain that God has different names and aspects for different people in different lands. This might account for why her Christian education was cut short and she ended up becoming a fighter...but that's yet another story.
Yeah..she's a complicated orc... can ya dig it?
___
Oh... and then there's the point, which I almost went right past without getting around to.
Don't let the lack of a Bard class or Ranger class or the absence of Tieflings keep you from enjoying the older edition roleplay games. All it takes is imagination and a bit of flexibility on behalf of the player and dungeonmaster to make things possible. The old Oe rules are only there as a toolkit and house-rules are practically encouraged and in some spaces almost necessary. Even the retro-clone rules encourage the concept that the DM and players run the game, not the book.
By the way, Janara's newly-embued darkvision was "discovered" by her halfway through the dungeon adventure. She will likely explain it away like this. "I never tried it before. When it was time to put out my fire, I'd just shut my eyes and go asleep."
That's her story, and she's stickin' to it.
When we started playing S&W back in November, I asked if I could still play a half-orc even though halforcs did not become PCs until 3rd edition and if I recall rightly did not even exist in the monster manual until 2nd edition.
The GM, likely fearing yet another rant about oppression, green-rage and "the man", said he'd allow it, so long as the character could be expressed in Oe terms..that is to say, she had to be a fighting
Surprisingly, it did not take too much getting used to, even though Janara (you might say she has achieved the status of recurring franchise) was originally created for 3e D&D. Okay, so she kept forgetting to light her torch at first,... as did our Dwarven cleric...but that's neither here nor there. On a completely unrelated note, the GM has more recently decided that in his games, demi-orcs and dwarves get darkvision just the same as their later counterparts. I mean, why should Elves get to have all the fun, huh?
Actually, in the game setting Janara belongs to, Elves would be as yet unknown beings. They might just be legends..or they may be (as Dunsany would say) 'beyond the Fields We Know'. Orcs, on the other hand, are based on historical barbaric tribes from the east of the big continent (Europe, actually) who were brought to the isle (Scotland) by the Latins (Romans) to provide a buffer against the northmen (Vikings). Half-orcs might be more properly called orc-blooded, since their kind has been left alone and to their own for a few centuries by the time our adventure begins. Janara only knows that she is different, that she comes from a people who are different, (but no differenter than the picts or that crazy yellow-haired berserker NPC her party had originally hired...may he rest in peace). She's never seen an orc, and is curious about the stories she has been told about the eastern warrior tribes. For all intents and purposes, she was raised human... Christian actually... and has no doubt that she is one of her God's creatures too... as are the people of her ancestry if she should ever happen to meet one.
Well..that's how it started at least. Janara and company did a bit of low-level romping around in the highland hills, but as such things happen, they eventually boarded a longship and went to a place suspiciously Norwegian in topography, custom and outragiously exaggerated accents. It was there that they encountered their first halfling and their first elf. The halfling was, of course, trying to unlock a treasure chest, and the elf was quite deceased.
I won't go into too much detail, as you may find yourself in this same adventure some day...as I highly recommend you should. Stefan Poag's work is top-notch adventuring
So imagine what poor Janara thought the first time she came across actual orcs. Of course these orcs were hostile and attacked first, so being a loyal fighter who stands by her friends, she helped slay the ever-lovin' doggy-doody out of them.
But this time after the fighting is over, rather than help the others toss the room for hidden treasures or loot the bodies for useful weapons or coins, she carefully looked over the dead orcs' bodies for any jewellry, regalia, totems or other such items that she would think to be culturally unique to orcs. She did the same with the next two orc encounters as well, eventually collecting one rather odd-looking dagger and a little medallion made of bone.
She really cannot quite explain her recent interest in orc-anthropology, and she is really starting to suspect that orcs as a collective group are generally and deservingly disliked by everybody. The Dwarf in the party has shown no hostility toward her, but then again the Dwarf is a man of God..even though he sometimes calls God by the name Thor. Janara is almost certain that God has different names and aspects for different people in different lands. This might account for why her Christian education was cut short and she ended up becoming a fighter...but that's yet another story.
Yeah..she's a complicated orc... can ya dig it?
___
Oh... and then there's the point, which I almost went right past without getting around to.
Don't let the lack of a Bard class or Ranger class or the absence of Tieflings keep you from enjoying the older edition roleplay games. All it takes is imagination and a bit of flexibility on behalf of the player and dungeonmaster to make things possible. The old Oe rules are only there as a toolkit and house-rules are practically encouraged and in some spaces almost necessary. Even the retro-clone rules encourage the concept that the DM and players run the game, not the book.
By the way, Janara's newly-embued darkvision was "discovered" by her halfway through the dungeon adventure. She will likely explain it away like this. "I never tried it before. When it was time to put out my fire, I'd just shut my eyes and go asleep."
That's her story, and she's stickin' to it.
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