Thinslayer

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

@Thinslayer
Sorry! I'll respond in a day or two if that's okay? (probably later today is the fastest I can do)

@ineffable

Understood. :)

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

@ineffable Waitin' on ya. ;)
@Avali Magic Messaging is fairly rapid. Maybe have Grace discuss plans with the High Priestess before making her debut in Dragan.

medieval /fantasy

I've got it!

EDIT: Nope, screw this plot. Got a better one; see below.

medieval /fantasy

Honestly, I'm not sure. In order for an RP to get off to a great start, I have to nail the opening. Those I have in mind don't cut it.

* We're a pack of wyvern riders diving into the battlefield. To justify that kind of high-flying adrenaline rush, the RP would become something like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, in which the main adventure takes place in the sky. It could work, but I don't have any lore prepared for that whatsoever.

* We're a squad of knights fighting a courageous battle against evil! Given the dragon's motivations, though, this could turn very dark very quickly. If we wanted to keep the themes upbeat, either the enemies are unambiguously evil (which weakens our villains and lowers the stakes), or it's a heartwarming story of redemption (which I suck at writing).

* We're a group of heroes gathered together to stop the dragon.
How were we gathered? By letter, individual request, by coincidence?
Why were we gathered? By orders from above? Because we were asked to?
Where were we gathered? On the battlefield? At a council? To court?
When were we gathered? All at once? One at a time?
I haven't the faintest idea. Did everyone get a letter summoning them here? I did that RP already. Not repeating that. Perhaps a Gandalf-figure recruits us one by one into the party? It could be weeks, months even, before everyone gets to play together, because writing enough story to reach each new player can take forever. Additionally, procrastination, writer's block, and player-dropping could stop this thing cold. Not gonna open that can of worms.

Moreover, none of the openings I'm imagining have my blood pumping, and that's really bad. As mentioned earlier, I have to really nail it if this RP is to have a chance at lasting.

The End of the World on an X

They reached Tinsdale shortly before dawn. The sky was still a deep blue when they entered the New Grog Inn, legs aching from the journey. It was nearly noon by the time they awakened. Amalthea took off on her own to "check out the shops," swearing up and down and on her pinky that she wasn't going to buy anything. Surprisingly, Rose almost told her it was okay to buy things, and even had half a mind to go with her, but thought better of it once she realized their adventure could get expensive.

Instead, she opted to stay behind with Solomon and spend all afternoon on logistical work. She counted the money everyone had in their wallets, listed every item they carried in the party, and calculated what supplies they would need for the journey to Midhaven and the estimated cost thereof.

When she finished, she put down her pen and turned to see if Solomon was still on the bed where they left him. Perhaps some of that promised training was in order.

Lore: Economics

The currency is divided thusly:
10 copper "cents" = 1 silver "sil"
10 silver "sils" = 1 gold "crown"
The standard wage for unskilled work was around 1 cent, about the price of one loaf of bread. If that seems small, consider: one loaf of whole-wheat professionally baked bread will feed a man really well, maybe even two men, depending on their daily workload. 1 cent wasn't much, but it was a big deal for those who had nothing.

Solomon's courier work would be lucrative. While I can't speak to his own business model, I'd imagine many couriers would charge by the mile and tack on fees for risks or difficulties incurred. More experienced couriers who knew the land better could command better rates. The usual rates were 1 cent/mile on foot over easy ground, 2 cents/mile on horseback over easy ground, +1 cent/mile for difficult terrain, +2 cents/mile for dangerous terrain or bandit territory. Of course, prices and conditions vary wildly between towns; in Tinsdale, for example, couriers charge 1 cent/mile for horseback delivery because horse-care services are relatively inexpensive in these parts, but +4 cents/mile for bandit territory because they lack combat experience and can't defend themselves well.

A courier's expenses might include hay and stabling (if a horse is used), inn fees, clotheswashing fees, occasional item replacement, and of course food. Non-major expenses add up to about 3 to 8 cents per trip. If Solomon has been rigorously saving his money (and skimping on inns and washing), he should have a few crowns to his name.

Rose was paid a salary of 2 cents/day for her scouting and assassin work, which she augmented with odd jobs during her missions. Bonuses were granted for meeting secondary objectives, which she almost always accomplished. Expenses include weapon and armor repair, ration replenishment, and miscellaneous mission-related items. She has a tidy sum of 8 sils in her wallet. Her house in the outskirts of Northaven cost about 6 crowns, which is why she doesn't have much in her wallet depite a year's worth of excellent work for Lady Grey.

Princess Amalthea is given an allowance of 1 sil/day, but she tends to spend it as soon as she gets it, so if we don't count the value of all the property she acquired, she has 10 cents in her wallet.

As for the item list, Rose keeps the aforementioned pouch of 8 sils,
a black robe,
a light fur jacket with multiple pockets,
cloth apparel,
5 steel daggers (1 was lost in the previous battle),
a pack of rations with 4 days worth of food remaining,
a change of clothes,
a length of rope,
a small coffee pot,
flint & steel,
fish hooks,
needle & thread,
gauze bandages,
and Amalthea's pendant.

Amalthea keeps her pouch of 10 cents,
the bow and quiver given to her,
a single arrow left in the quiver,
the clothes on her back,
and nothing else. Most of her luggage was in the carriage, which is now in enemy hands. She'd been expecting her trip to be relatively short.

Rose would like nothing better than to acquire a Bag of Holding, but those things are expensive and only sold at Midhaven.

medieval /fantasy

So here's the combat system.

* For Dynasty Warriors-style battles, dice rolls determine how many enemies you kill in one turn. Your character charges in with the sword raised, I roll and spit out a number, and then you get to describe how you got there.

Ex:
P1: Hero charges into a group of goblins with his sword raised high and courage in his heart.
GM: [rolls a 3] 3 goblins charge at you. They look woefully unprepared to fight you.
P1: Hero guts the first goblin. Two other goblins charge at him. Hero lifts up the dead goblin's body and hurls it at them, knocking them down. He follows it up with a clean swipe that beheads them both.

EDIT: The PvP combat system needs more work.

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

>:)

The Voids aren't exactly sitting idle...

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

Caradras' rationale for his attack is actually well-known to me, and constitutes a major endgame plot point. The problem with using him as an antagonist is that his rationale is not conducive to ordering strikes on human settlements. As a Guardian, his ultimate goal is humanity's well-being.

Wait a sec.

I think I know how to fix the villain problem...

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

I guess the reason I'm asking is because I feel that character motivation is in the tank right now. What are they all fighting for? They're only here because the Reaper dragged them here. At first, I thought the golem threat would help, but it's coming across as really lame, and I've been scrambling to salvage it. The Void threat would make more sense, but it's far too early to open the Portal. There's nothing I can think of that would motivate the player characters to get anything done. So player motivation, likewise, is suffering, and solutions aren't coming to mind.

In order to gauge where player motivation needs improvement, I need feedback on its current level. Just based on my own motivation, I need a compelling new villain, and fast.

The Faraway Land: Resurrection

I could stand to learn a few things listed here.
roleplayerguild.com/topics/91296-rper…

Any feedback on the RP? I feel like I'm missing something, like a good villain or something.