stveje

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Nin only plans to locate the creature, observe it safely, and then follow its trail back to its source, although that last step depends on what they learn from observing it. "You can bring the polearm if you like," she adds as a final advice before they strike out, "but just know that, if it comes to us being chased by a monster, I'll be running faster than you." Brutal honesty, although she doesn't seem like the type to leave people behind, so maybe she doesn't mean it too seriously.

The obvious place to start are the places where attacks have happened, according to the people they've talked to. Most monsters don't spend much thought or effort on hiding their tracks, if the concept even occurs to them, and even if some has been obscured by effort or simply by weather and time, Nin is an expert at picking up even small clues left behind.

The way is winding, bringing them from clue to clue down narrow and twisting paths, but there's not much doubt that they're on the right trail from the first moment, and Nin is careful not to let their prey catch wind of them as they sneak up on it.

*

Wary: 4+3+2 = 9

They find their way at once, without much casting about for it.
The way is direct, with little meandering or backtracking.
The way is safe, and does not bring them near their enemies.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

"Until we know where it is, there is always a chance we'll run into it by pure chance before we're ready, or that it will find us before we find it, no matter where we go or what we do," Nin says. "That's why it's best to start by finding where it is; only then can you avoid running into it by accident. If you're worried about bloodshed, should it catch wind of us or should we fall right on top of it by accident, we can always retreat rather than fight."

"And even if it is as you suspect, that it can't go back to where it came from, that don't mean we can't follow the trail it left back to its source. Or at least it will help us narrow our search."

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Nin raised an eyebrow. "Both our sources say we're looking for a creature that burrows, that much seems to be clear. Whether it can also talk ... I'd prefer to know before testing it face to face with the creature, but you're welcome to try if we do run into it."

She thinks for a moment. "Tracking it to where it came from may be harder if we don't know where it is now. We have to start somewhere, and even a burrowing creature ought to leave signs of its passage. If we can find it, then we can observe it, learn its behavior, and maybe follow it or its trail back to where it came from."

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Nin considered this seriously, showing no sign that she thought it was a tall tale. When the merchant was done, she thanked her. "Whatever this is, you've helped us avoid its trap and given us a chance to find out why it's here."

She leaves and finds Tristran waiting for her. The fact that he'd slunk off hadn't escaped her notice. "Learn anything?" she asks him.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Nin is the listening type, less of a talker, and while she has authority here, she's never been used to waving it around. So she just nods at the pelt merchant when she talks about the wolves, as if her scowl is reserved for the wolves and not the lie, then ask her about her pelts. She spends some time letting the merchant show her various pelts and picks out one that she fancies while she waits for the other merchants to return to their own work. She lets the merchant do most of the talking while she listens and studies the pelts.

When she feels like they've become sufficiently casual, and there's no one else paying close attention, she quietly brings the conversation back on topic. "I got the feeling there was more you wished to tell me, in private perhaps, about the roads. Did you see something else? I am only looking for information, you understand; you have my word that what you tell me will stay between you and me."

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Sure, they "could" go looking for "wolves" and just see what they find, but Nin has never been one to walk into something well-knowing it's not what she's told it is. That's how fools walk into traps, and Nin is not a fool. Even if these people aren't trying to make her walk into a trap (let's give them the benefit of the doubt), if there's one thing Nin can't stand, it's being lied to or not being told the whole story.

So she scowls, not that you're likely to tell the difference, because she's always scowling, but perhaps you can say the scowl darkens a little as she listens to these stories and looks around at the merchants. As always, it only serves to make her look kinda cute.

She takes careful stock of the people here (Wary: 1+5+2=8). What is her best way forward with these people? Who is in control here? Basically, who is most likely to give her some real answers if she presses a little more?

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Posted a sheet for the stronghold and its people. All of this is still malleable if you'd like to change any of it and there are a couple TBD items. For Stveje, much of the terrain (including the stronghold name and surrounding features) comes from suggestions that Tatters brought up in Discord.

@Anarion

For my own part, I'm okay discovering the rest through play or letting the others decide. For Nin and I, it seems more natural to discover the keep than to define it, at least most of it, if that makes sense.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

When Nin came to this land years ago, it was in a traveling carriage drawn by a single pair of young goats. Since then, she's mostly left the carriage parked near the edges of town, in favor of traveling on foot or goatback. It still serves as her home, however, and she's managed to make it quite a comfortable home too.

The two goats have since become a small flock. The younger goats aren't quite like the two she started with—not quite like the goats of her homeland—because naturally she's had to breed them with local goats. But they're still very fine goats, if she's allowed to say so herself.

The past few years, her flock has grown, and this spring she's spent herding them around the countryside. Keeping an eye on her herd, keeping them safe and on the right path is a good way to spend her days and also gives her plenty of opportunity to explore the lands. There are few places a goat can't wander, and Nin follows to keep them safe.

She's also begun selling them and their products on the market, not that she intends for it to become a living on its own, but trade is a good way to ... keep an eye and an ear on what goes on in the local community. You get to know the kinds of people who tend to know other people, and at the market you hear a lot of things if you only keep your ears open.

That's what she's been doing, and if anyone knows about supply routes and missing supplies, it's surely the traders at the market.

What has she already heard?

*

Tristan is impatient to get out of the city and hunt something, Nin can tell (it's not hard to tell), but hunting is mostly a waiting game. It's about lying still and listening, observing, waiting for the right signs.

Right now they need to find the right trail to follow, and that starts with missing supplies. If she hasn't already heard something that'll put her on the trail, someone among the traders will know what she needs to know.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

You’re creating Nin’s people. Which might be something like a clan of 30 halflings or maybe a village of 50 or so. Populations are very small in this setting. There can be other halflings, many of whom are probably similar, but maybe a different village is more war-like and another is wealthier. You’re defining the particular characteristics of Nin’s group.

@Anarion

Alright, I went with village. Also, she now has a full name: Kenina Haig.

I'm still confused about Household. I see the others have made, like, their own little household within the keep? If that's the case, then I imagine Nin's household is just Nin herself, and that'd make her the head of the household. Does that work? Is that how I'm supposed to do this?

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

You probably want to keep this. Mechanically, all the primary weapons are 3-harm because that means you're evenly matched with NPCs or monsters wielding similar weapons and wearing armor. You can still flavor it as a walking staff and the Outranger as especially skilled with it rather than merely strong-arming with a deadly weapon. Considering the outranger might be one of the people most likely to encounter dangerous creatures, I don't think you need to mechanically weaken yourself to flavor the character the way you want.

@Anarion

That's a good point.

I don't think you want a vassalage, unless you intend that the halflings are actually structured with multiple families swearing formal oaths of fealty to a lord. What you probably want is something like a clan or an enclave to be Nin's People, representing her family, friends, and relatives who care about her personally, with the understanding that there are several such groups of halflings such that there are many hundreds of them total.

@Anarion

So ... the People I'm creating are the halflings as a whole, but the number only refers to a small part of them? That's confusing.

Or should I only create a People called "Nin's Family and Friends back home"? But then the whole Rites, War and Wealth seem like overkill, or idk.