[OOC] Ruins of Norn: Walking Apocalypse

[Riaxh]

@Searat ill post tonight.

[Tangletail]

@Riaxh
What say you regarding our new arrival, paladin?

@Searat

Im guessing its going to be.... "FOLLOWER OF TIAMAT!" and then smite evil. Then again
Theres nothing saying the kobold follows tiamat. And the Dragonborn isn't devout to Bahamut.

[Searat]

@Lucius Cypher
How would scrounging and looting work here?
Would it be dependent on how good/bad our investigation rolls are, or do you have a fixed table that you simply choose from?

[Lucius Cypher]

@Searat

Depends on your rolls, what you’re looking for, and where you’re at. Finding rubble in the ruined city is piss easy so only a nat 1 could possibly make you fail. But if you wanted to look for say, usable firewood, you’ll need to roll well and even if you do you might not find anything. The chances of you finding something really good like a magic suit of armor would be so difficult that even if you had a natural 20 you likely won’t get it.

[Tangletail]

@Lucius Cypher speaking of... Did the bards knowledge check (19) result in anything?

[Lucius Cypher]

@Tangletail

Sorry I might’ve missed it. What were you looking for with your knowledge check?

[Tangletail]

@Tangletail

Sorry I might’ve missed it. What were you looking for with your knowledge check?

@Lucius Cypher

To see if the bard might know something about the ruins.

Normally, I'd guess Knowledge History. But I don't know.

[Lucius Cypher]

@Tangletail

As far as the tales go, here's what you might've heard in general:

The Ruins of Norn were once a great empire known as Nornum. Not much is known about it beyond what has managed to reach the mainlands, nothing about it's history, people, origins, or so forth. What is known, however, is the vast amount of magical artifacts found there. Magc in general is rare and nearly impossible to learn; it is considered the domain of the gods or god like beings such as great dragons, demon lords, or archfey. And even among them their magic is tied to their very existence, and not something easily given or learned. (To put it in mechanical perspective, being able to cast 3rd level spells is considered heroic among the vast populace, and those capable of casting at second level are thought to be extremely talented) And so the fact that the ruins seem to have so many powerful magic artifacts has made everyone from treasure hunters, desperate thieves, learned scholars, and even powerful kings set their sights on Norn. However due to the combination of multiple parties fighting one another for treasure, the natural threats within Norn, and the unknown monsters that reside there, only a small handful have ever managed to escape Norn with anything worthwhile, and those few people have long since died by the time the story begins, their names lost to history.

Indeed, it's not as if the Ruins of Norn has been discovered recently; it's at least known that a thousand years ago the place that the ruins now inhabit was once a civilization of some sort. But how it fell, how it became so dangerous, and how it still has so many treasures and artifacts, is unknown even to this day, after thousands of come and died there. So most of the world has simply written off Norn as a enigma not worth the adventure or capital to investigate, at least not until they can develop stronger warriors, weapons, and knowledge to brave it's mysteries. And even then, there is still a world beyond the ruins that exist and continue without Norn's influence. Counties at war, countries at peace, and so forth. Chasing mysteries just isn't something most of the world is worried about.

And that's all for general history one could get if they've done some research into Norn. If you want anything more specific related to Norn or those that might've explored it, I would need a history check.

[Tangletail]

@Lucius Cypher
Oof... Wish i had known that about magic a little sooner.

I guess that makes the kobold an incredibly unusual character in this world.

Edit: the difficulty that is.

[Lucius Cypher]

@Tangletail

Nah it's fine, it's not as if 2nd level casters are "rare" per say. I imagine they're much like doctors of the modern era; there are a lot of them, but becoming one is difficult and requires a lot of training and patience. Some take it to more easily than others. This is especially true since most casters tend to be clerics since healing magic is seen as much more important than say, combat or illusions.

In a world perspective, the average level of humanoid people is 1. A military person might be level 2 or 3, as many of you are. Characters from heroic tales or legends are generally around level 5, possibly 10 depending on the person telling the story. Magic is considered too niche and poorly understood to see mass employment in high risk sectors such as warfare, but have much more prominence in areas such as medicine or science. That's not to say a sufficiently powerful and wealthy nation won't have wizards and such for battle, but those types tend to be super old since magic isn't something casually picked up. Now sorcerers on the other hand, those born with magic, could be expected to be younger, but have a worse stigma; these types of spellcasters tend to be taken away from their family as soon as their magic manifests precisely because they could easily tune into magic compared to wizards who need years of study and attunement.

Bards as somewhat akin to clerics in that they receive their powers from another source, albeit the sources are more "primal" in a sense. For example a cleric would pray to their god for healing magic or to throw out a guiding bolt, and sufficiently enlighten clerics would easily gain their god's approval and the spell happens. In other words, the gods can sense their cleric's wisdom (which manifests as a sort of willpower via their faith) and will assist them accordingly. But a bardic magic need to appeal to these same forces, or at least the manifestation of those forces, in order to use magic. Hence why they use charisma; they need to fast talk magic into serving them.

[Tangletail]

@Lucius Cypher

Kobold: Let me sing you the song of my people

Proceedes to doot up a thunder storm.

[Lucius Cypher]

@Tangletail

Yeah that’s pretty much how it’ll go.

[Tangletail]

I wonder what to do when she casts Thunderwave.

[Searat]

Perception check on the Body:16
Investigation check on the Body:15

[Duthguy]

@Tangletail

Nah it's fine, it's not as if 2nd level casters are "rare" per say. I imagine they're much like doctors of the modern era; there are a lot of them, but becoming one is difficult and requires a lot of training and patience. Some take it to more easily than others. This is especially true since most casters tend to be clerics since healing magic is seen as much more important than say, combat or illusions.

In a world perspective, the average level of humanoid people is 1. A military person might be level 2 or 3, as many of you are. Characters from heroic tales or legends are generally around level 5, possibly 10 depending on the person telling the story. Magic is considered too niche and poorly understood to see mass employment in high risk sectors such as warfare, but have much more prominence in areas such as medicine or science. That's not to say a sufficiently powerful and wealthy nation won't have wizards and such for battle, but those types tend to be super old since magic isn't something casually picked up. Now sorcerers on the other hand, those born with magic, could be expected to be younger, but have a worse stigma; these types of spellcasters tend to be taken away from their family as soon as their magic manifests precisely because they could easily tune into magic compared to wizards who need years of study and attunement.

Bards as somewhat akin to clerics in that they receive their powers from another source, albeit the sources are more "primal" in a sense. For example a cleric would pray to their god for healing magic or to throw out a guiding bolt, and sufficiently enlighten clerics would easily gain their god's approval and the spell happens. In other words, the gods can sense their cleric's wisdom (which manifests as a sort of willpower via their faith) and will assist them accordingly. But a bardic magic need to appeal to these same forces, or at least the manifestation of those forces, in order to use magic. Hence why they use charisma; they need to fast talk magic into serving them.

@Lucius Cypher

With in that mind what is the power source of Eldritch Knights, and how do people feel about them?

[Lucius Cypher]

@Duthguy

Well Eldritch Knights are fighters with a few wizard spells, so fort he most part they're your common warrior who has also been educated and training in magic. That's the basic idea of them, but as you might imagine, a lot of people who aren't so educated think EK's are more like warlocks who have undergone some sort of ritual sacrifice to gain their powers, and some EK have, but it's not fair to say all EK's do. And of course compared to other fighters, some people might dismiss EK as being subpar fighters as well as subpar casters compared to say, a Battlemaster or a Champion who is more specialized and thus better at their intended rolls.

[Lucius Cypher]

@Searat

From your perception check you can tell that this body not only has red hair, but also insanely pale skin. This body is of a female wearing some sort of dark armor, albeit it looks like she's missing most of it. Likely lost most of it during the storm that washed her up. Aside from her attire you don't see anything else visible on her, neither weapons or supplies. Again, likely lost.

Your investigation check will let you know that she is indeed alive, though whether she's concision or not is unknown until you investigate further. A cursory check will reveal she does have many bruises and cuts on her body, though you'll need a closer look to see how bad they are. Your investigation check also yields that this woman is not human, though she may be an elf or something. Again you'll need to get a closer look.

[Tangletail]

@Duthguy

Well Eldritch Knights are fighters with a few wizard spells, so fort he most part they're your common warrior who has also been educated and training in magic. That's the basic idea of them, but as you might imagine, a lot of people who aren't so educated think EK's are more like warlocks who have undergone some sort of ritual sacrifice to gain their powers, and some EK have, but it's not fair to say all EK's do. And of course compared to other fighters, some people might dismiss EK as being subpar fighters as well as subpar casters compared to say, a Battlemaster or a Champion who is more specialized and thus better at their intended rolls.

@Lucius Cypher

So what are the worlds views on bards then? Are they often confused for common minstrels?

[Lucius Cypher]

@Tangletail

Depends on the culture. Minstrels are generally assumed to just be men and women who sing and play instruments for a living i.e. regular musicians. Bards on the other hand are a cut above them, typically employed within courts for their magical ability for entertainment, however bards also have a slight reputation of being spies and diplomats also thanks to their magical abilities. Basically, bards are like secret agents. And the fact that most people don't know the difference between a bard and a common minstrel feeds into that perception.

Also of course in other civilizations, bards play a more cultural importance, such as skalds or lore keepers. Churches and other religions would also employ bards as priests to give rousing sermons, as well as help guide and teach the common folk through tales and magic. Even in military bards have a purpose for long range communication through instruments like drums or horns, as they are the only type of soldiers who could play them well, as well as use them in battle (via spell focuses for their magic).

[Tangletail]

@Lucius Cypher next question. Do sorcerer bloodlines affect their appearances?