clark

Totem - Accepting New Players

While the game has been going for a few weeks, don't let that dissuade you from joining: I will let you know anything you need to know. It will not be necessary for you to have read every post to know what's going on. Don't feel restricted by where the party is on what kind of character you may have. Let me figure out how to work you in. Feel free to be creative!

Totem

When Adele begins her apology, Gisele instantly responds with an icy expression; though the Bossartian's appeal cracks through her defenses almost instantly. "... every person here has a name, friends and family..." Gisele's countenance softens. Breaking eye contact, her face transforming in the span of a few moments from shame, to remorse, to resolve. She returns her gaze to Adele, her expression now set into one of earnest determination as she listens intently to the fair-haired woman's continued extrapolation. Djonn's assurances that the White Guard is committed to their safety seem to calm her even more. "Now Madam Gisele, why would anyone have reason to send assassins after Mister Hemming..?" She furrows a softly sculpted brow. "I cannot say. But I think perhaps he may..." "What's going on here?" A voice exclaims from behind Gisele. Emerging from behind a nearby caravan is Gaivus Hemming, walking purposefully forward with jaw set hard. No longer wearing the bright finery from this morning, Hemming wears a dark-colored medium-length frock coat over a high-collared white shirt, matching trousers, and a felt derby. Even from a distance, his clothes are unmistakably Bossartian. "Sir, I-I was... Forgive me, I was only..." Gisele trails off, withering under his stare. Frustration simmers in Hemming's features, though it never boils. Instead, he draws in a large breath, rubs his temple with the fingertips of a gloved hand, exhaling slowly. "Miss Margot," he says after a few moments, without looking directly at her, "I wish to depart soon. If you would be so kind as to make the appropriate arrangements to ensure that we are so prepared..?" Gisele nods curtly, and walks briskly back to the caravan, passing Marcel along the way; as she does, she glances briefly over her shoulder at the large Belencrestian. She quickly faces forward, cheeks freshly flushed, and disappears amidst the activity surrounding the wagons. Gaivus follows her exit with a sideward glance before facing the gathering. "Listen, all of you... Please, for just a moment" he says wearily. "I can understand that this, this news I imagine my steward has shared with you may seem troubling and cause for worry. However, let me assure you: miss Margot's concern, while admirable in one sense, is wholly misplaced." He sighs, removing his hat for a moment to smooth back his dark, graying hair. "Let me make it plain. My steward has conjured a plot from what I see only as coincidence. Pellan Huo's death was truly tragic, as was the wretched affair on the Elkin river. But nothing about these unfortunate events on my journey could be considered connected. Hopstead is, famously, a dangerous city; and the wretches on the Hanyemede could only be described as mere thieves seeking easy coin." He pauses for a moment, looking back the way Gisele had left, and turns back towards the group. "I certainly appreciate miss Margot's... Passion. But in mathematics, we say that nothing is true until you have proven it. And I simply see no proof." "So, if there's nothing more, I'd like to be on our way as soon as possible."

Totem

Working on a post at the moment. If you all know anyone on this site that would be a good addition to the game, let them know we have some openings. I'm messaging a few people at the moment, but just wanted to extend the invitation.

Totem

I'm sorry to hear that man, that sounds rough. Hope everything turns around for you and your family soon. Stop by the OOC whenever you want and there's open invitation if you ever want back in.

Totem

This scene between Adele and Rook...

Hider

Magic

I like to apply loose physics to magic. In my current game, I'm using a pattern-based magic system: certain materials under certain conditions will create a specific result. Like in the way that a harmony of heat, fuel, and oxygen can create fire. Certain natural patterns are capable of creating energetic reactions. Certain rudimentary totems (what I call them) are two-dimensional patterns that can be created with simple lines in dirt or paint on a wall. Other totems are three-dimensional shapes, like knots of copper wire in intricate weaves, or a complex spiral of blown glass to a precise volume. Generally, the more complex the pattern and rarer the material, the more powerful the effect, though this is not always true. In this way, a character must have the right materials and the right items to create the right sort of magic. And I like the magic systems that adheres to "...equal and opposite reaction," so your example of directly proportional spells are up my alley.

Totem

How's your job going, Hank? You feeling better, Commodore? How's the internet, Neon? I don't know what sites you ought to see in London, Churro, the only thing I remember were the street musicians, but not where :( Does anyone need me to do more in the IC? I've been snowed in for the past 3 days so I've got a little cabin fever.

Staying ahead of someone who is ahead - Tacticians needed

It's difficult to strategize when I still don't know how wide the pass is. Can you post a link to this RP or giving us the info that you have? I don't know how steep the slopes are. I don't know how high the mountainside goes. I don't know the terrain. I don't know the enemy's composition or position. I don't know if the GM is able to whip out a super convenient item whenever he feels like it (or if the urn is singularly unique). I don't know the effective range of the urn. I don't know if your goal is ultimately offensive or defensive. I don't know how powerful your magic can get. Because I don't know these particulars, these suggestions may be dumb: That Urn has Got to Go Do whatever subterfuge you need to steal or destroy it. Disrupt their Supplies Send out spy-mages on covert missions. Climbing up or down the slopes, circle around to their camps, behind enemy lines. Block off their supply route with a landslide or an avalanche. Poison their food sources. Set fire to the forests on their side of the mountain: no local supplies for them. Shapeshift or use the armor of fallen enemy to sneak into their ranks for recon and sabotage. Give their warhounds rabies, strike them with madness and let their own people deal with them. Make Pass Impassable Use mages or explosives to destroy the pass If the pass is "too large" to destroy outright, you could at least constrict the surface area of the battlefield to make it easier to deny flanking maneuvers and mitigate their advantage in numbers. Bonus points bring an avalanche directly into their forces, or to crumble away the stone beneath them. Create massive ice slicks that slope towards the cliff edge. Or just use ice slicks to restrict their cavalry. Dig out a trench that spans the width of the pass, using temporary bridges until it's done. Then fall back, removing the bridges. If you've burned down the forests on their side of the pass, they won't be able to build proper bridges any time soon. Booby trap the trench for extra points. If the situation is truly un-winnable, your best bet is to find some way to destroy the only avenue they have of getting to you. But yeah, this RP actually sounds very interesting. I might have to rip off this idea.

Totem

Gisele stares daggers back at Adele - blue eyes narrow and unblinking - though the pink flush blossoming across her cheeks and neck betray her attempt at composure. For the briefest moment it seems as if the tension will be dispelled when Zacharias steps between them and the Montgardian attempts to lead Adele back... That is, until the Zacharias turns towards her with his inhuman eye, a beaming smile, and a threat to abandon her and her people. Gisele's face flickers with revulsion, though before she finds the words to speak, Rook steps in. "... Thank you for sharing this with us, but it does change the nature of the mission." "Of course it changes the nature of the mission," she snaps back. "Why else would I... I shouldn’t even be..." She begins to shake, her blue eyes shimmering with emotion. Her layer of self-control begins to evaporate; she seems unsure, frustrated, conflicted, and for the moment it seems like she may just turn around and walk away, when Marcel approaches. "How immediate do you think this threat is, Miss Gisele? Is there anything we could do right now to help stifle it?" "I," she falters, shaken for the moment out of her anxiety by Marcel's presence. Hesitant, her eyes pass from Marcel, to the rest, back to Marcel. "I do not know,” she says finally, the quaver in her voice slowly receding. “At least, I am unable to say for certain.” She takes a deep breath. “Before we arrived in Belencrest, while we were staying in a Hopstead tavern, one of our number was found dead in the hallway outside of Gaivus’s room. At the time, I believed... We all believed it to be a run in with a burglar or some drunk, a tragic misfortune. However,” Gisele continues, “when we were sailing here, three of the ship’s crew were discovered breaking into the hold where Gaivus was sleeping, armed with daggers. When they were exposed they attempted to flee and were slain. I spoke with the captain, and he told me they were new hirelings with good references. It seemed inexplicable. And I cannot help but believe the two events are linked.” At this she glances over her shoulder as three of the caravan drivers walk past at that moment, speaking quietly amongst themselves. “And now, this road, that blockade, my fear is renewed... And I am unsure of who to trust: even my company,” she adds, glancing towards Adele and Zacharias, “even yours.”

Totem

Hahaha, true. As an aside, I'm making a mental note to align the universe in the future to somehow let Marcel have a horse of his own. As well as bring in more characters with nice calves, as that seems to be the only thing Adele responds positively to.