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Hellgate Hotel: A Quest of Friendship and Demons

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I would just like to point out to everyone voting for Archaeologist background, that the low history in sportswoman or the low esoterica in Savvy, are perhaps not favorable to someone who goes about exploring ancient ruins in magical setting. Curses and complex puzzle traps anyone?
picklepikkl said:
[][SKILLS] The Explorer
Athletics 5, Stealth 4, Endurance 4, History 4, Esoterica 5, Perception 6, Socialize 3, Performance 2, Deception 3
(Contributed by @Randino Treviani)
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If I could suggest my QM approved write in.
Randino Treviani said:
I think it pairs really well with Archaeologist background, giving us the perception to notice traps and the esoterica and history for tomb raiding and ancient artifact appraisal, with a slightly higher athletics for potential trap avoidance or dodging.
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Which is literally designed around the Archaeologist background.
 
I like the idea of being able to specialize more in response to the quest.
[X][BACKGROUND] The Windfall
Also: esoterica is neat
[X][SKILLS] The Scholar
Question: Can our powers, theoretically, re-enforce the wards on the portal at all?
 
[X][BACKGROUND] The Windfall
[X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
[X][SKILLS] The Explorer

Edit: Removed Archaeologist because I prefer Windfall.
 
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[X][BACKGROUND] The Architect

[X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman
[X][SKILLS] The Scout

I like the idea of being the mature 'mom' figure in a sea of wild drama queens and egotistical hotshots.
 
picklepikkl said:
  • This quest will be fairly mechanically lightweight but not zero mechanics. The action will revolve around hanging around a hotel with your fellow summoned-from-far-away heroes, getting to know each other, forming political and personal relationships, and sometimes delving into arcane rifts to fight demons. You know, if you have time.
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We're really going to want someone with social skills. Otherwise we run the risk of getting stuck building whatever the heroes with better social skills talk us into. Regardless of if its a good idea, or even survivable. The Scholar actually has surprisingly good social skills with a performance of 5 but is only average in one-on-one interactions with a 4 Socialize.

[X][SKILLS] The Savvy
[X][SKILLS] The Scholar

[X][SKILLS] The Leader
Athletics 4, Stealth 2, Endurance 4, History 3, Esoterica 4, Perception 5, Socialize 5, Performance 6, Deception 3

The Savvy seems to be more of a lying focused social character, so here's a social focused skillset more targeted on honest persuasion and understanding. Top skills are Performance (persuading large groups) and Socialize (small groups). Perception also gets a 5 so that we can tell when other people are lying and otherwise pick up on details.

Then these backgrounds seem like the ones who've made more of an effort to help people.
[X][BACKGROUND] The Engineer
[X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
[X][BACKGROUND] The Windfall

I almost didn't vote for the windfall. They're going to be weaker at the start and I'm worried that'll mean they'll struggle to contribute when there are so many more experienced heroes present. Hopefully they'll luck into a good mentor.
 
AlexScribler said:
Otherwise we run the risk of getting stuck building whatever the heroes with better social skills talk us into.
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Just as a quick clarification, I am definitely not going to force you to take action based on social dice rolls made by NPCS. I'm not about that life.
AlexScribler said:
The Scholar actually has surprisingly good social skills with a performance of 5
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The default Scholar array is a very good teacher!
AlexScribler said:
[X][SKILLS] The Leader
Athletics 4, Stealth 2, Endurance 4, History 3, Esoterica 4, Perception 5, Socialize 5, Performance 6, Deception 3
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Added.
 
[X][BACKGROUND] The Engineer
[X][BACKGROUND] The Archaeologist

[X][SKILLS] The Savvy
[X][SKILLS] The Leader
 
Vote is chugging along nicely, so while it continues I will drop some additional lore for you all to chew on. (This will be added to the previous Informational threadmark as well, which I am going to restructure into a one-stop-shopping post for lore via the magic of spoiler tags to make it all readable.)

Demons & Astrology

Nothing about demons is well-understood. For most purposes, they might as well be mythical beings.

(Until you came to Vindar and saw the sealed rift with your own eyes, you may not have been entirely convinced that they even exist.)

Various legends and religious scriptures talk about demons. So do a few of the most ancient historical records. Taken together, these texts do not portray them in a consistent manner.

It is commonly believed that certain people are somehow able to summon demons into the world. The beliefs about how this works vary widely from place to place. In rural Nivvean villages, the demon-conjurer is a witch-like character who makes sacrificial pacts to wither crops and kill babies in their cradles. (Unsurprisingly, unpopular or antisocial villagers are often accused of practicing demonology.) Some esoteric scholars purport that certain kinds of spirit magic grant the power to summon and control demons. Others assert that no special gift is needed, only the proper execution of a ceremonial rite, or a particular kind of mental discipline. There are a few infamous rare books that purport to be manuals of demonology, and persistent rumors claim that decadent and eccentric elites use these manuals to summon demons for their own presumably-nefarious purposes.

These discussions are entirely academic. Demonology is reviled everywhere, and if there are any actual demon-summoners in the world, they are not publicly owning up to it.
There are a few things that everyone "knows" about demons, and that all the otherwise-very-inconsistent sources agree about:
  • Demons come from the stars, and dwell there when they are not present in the world.
  • Demons are hostile to the world and everything in it.
  • Demons are associated with great moral evil.
Because the stars are home to demons, their influence upon the world is universally understood to be baleful and negative. On Orolin, astrology is the art of understanding how the alignment of the stars will influence fate, so that their effect can be avoided or counteracted if possible.

The most serious kinds of astrology touch on all the stars in the night sky, but for the most part, astrologers are concerned with the zodiac: a series of thirteen constellations through which the ecliptic of the sun passes over the course of a year.

A few Morlean religions take astrology very seriously. Overall, however, in the present day, it is treated as a harmless and entertaining superstition (much as it is on Earth). The average person knows what constellation they were born under, and knows what vague curse that constellation is supposed to have laid upon them. Some people like to make a show of blaming the stars when things go wrong for them in a way that is consistent with the evil influence of their birth-signs. There is a cottage industry of pop astrologers who write horoscopes that tell people how to escape their dooms, or books about which birth-signs are especially unlucky together for romantic or business purposes.

The year on Orolin is divided into twelve months, each of which corresponds to the sun passing through a single constellation of the zodiac. There is a single day during which the sun briefly passes through a thirteenth constellation; this day is treated as falling between months, and in most of the world it is celebrated as Lamptide, a Halloween-like festival of spooks and revelry. (Nivveas is famous for its fantastically overblown, riotous Lamptide festivities. Things are generally somewhat more subdued on Morleas, and until recent years, the Church of Borlion denounced the holiday as demonic.)

The months of the year, and their associated zodiac signs, are as follows:

Springdawn
Python, the Serpent
("You will be consumed")

Highspring
Vexilla, the Banner
("You will be conquered")

Deepspring
Furmica, the Ant
("You will labor fruitlessly")

Summerdawn
Raster, the Harrow
("You will be torn apart")

Highsummer
Saltatrix, the Dancer
("What you love will leave you")

Deepsummer
Pardus, the Panther
("What you fear will follow you")

Falldawn
Eisoptra, the Mirror
("You will be hateful unto yourself")

Highfall
Meles, the Badger
("You will know great strife")

Deepfall
Cursor, the Runner
("You will never know rest")

Winterdawn
Gladio, the Sword
("You will wound what you love")

Highwinter
Gemma, the Jewel
("Your treasure will bring you no joy")

Deepwinter
Crategus, the Hawthorn-Tree
("You will be imprisoned")

Lamptide
Lamparus, the Lantern-Bearer
("All that you perceive will be hateful to you")
A Lamptide birth is generally understood to be extremely inauspicious.
 
picklepikkl said:
Vote is chugging along nicely, so while it continues I will drop some additional lore for you all to chew on. (This will be added to the previous Informational threadmark as well, which I am going to restructure into a one-stop-shopping post for lore via the magic of spoiler tags to make it all readable.)

Demons & Astrology

Nothing about demons is well-understood. For most purposes, they might as well be mythical beings.

(Until you came to Vindar and saw the sealed rift with your own eyes, you may not have been entirely convinced that they even exist.)

Various legends and religious scriptures talk about demons. So do a few of the most ancient historical records. Taken together, these texts do not portray them in a consistent manner.

It is commonly believed that certain people are somehow able to summon demons into the world. The beliefs about how this works vary widely from place to place. In rural Nivvean villages, the demon-conjurer is a witch-like character who makes sacrificial pacts to wither crops and kill babies in their cradles. (Unsurprisingly, unpopular or antisocial villagers are often accused of practicing demonology.) Some esoteric scholars purport that certain kinds of spirit magic grant the power to summon and control demons. Others assert that no special gift is needed, only the proper execution of a ceremonial rite, or a particular kind of mental discipline. There are a few infamous rare books that purport to be manuals of demonology, and persistent rumors claim that decadent and eccentric elites use these manuals to summon demons for their own presumably-nefarious purposes.

These discussions are entirely academic. Demonology is reviled everywhere, and if there are any actual demon-summoners in the world, they are not publicly owning up to it.
There are a few things that everyone "knows" about demons, and that all the otherwise-very-inconsistent sources agree about:
  • Demons come from the stars, and dwell there when they are not present in the world.
  • Demons are hostile to the world and everything in it.
  • Demons are associated with great moral evil.
Because the stars are home to demons, their influence upon the world is universally understood to be baleful and negative. On Orolin, astrology is the art of understanding how the alignment of the stars will influence fate, so that their effect can be avoided or counteracted if possible.

The most serious kinds of astrology touch on all the stars in the night sky, but for the most part, astrologers are concerned with the zodiac: a series of thirteen constellations through which the ecliptic of the sun passes over the course of a year.

A few Morlean religions take astrology very seriously. Overall, however, in the present day, it is treated as a harmless and entertaining superstition (much as it is on Earth). The average person knows what constellation they were born under, and knows what vague curse that constellation is supposed to have laid upon them. Some people like to make a show of blaming the stars when things go wrong for them in a way that is consistent with the evil influence of their birth-signs. There is a cottage industry of pop astrologers who write horoscopes that tell people how to escape their dooms, or books about which birth-signs are especially unlucky together for romantic or business purposes.

The year on Orolin is divided into twelve months, each of which corresponds to the sun passing through a single constellation of the zodiac. There is a single day during which the sun briefly passes through a thirteenth constellation; this day is treated as falling between months, and in most of the world it is celebrated as Lamptide, a Halloween-like festival of spooks and revelry. (Nivveas is famous for its fantastically overblown, riotous Lamptide festivities. Things are generally somewhat more subdued on Morleas, and until recent years, the Church of Borlion denounced the holiday as demonic.)

The months of the year, and their associated zodiac signs, are as follows:

Springdawn
Python, the Serpent
("You will be consumed")

Highspring
Vexilla, the Banner
("You will be conquered")

Deepspring
Furmica, the Ant
("You will labor fruitlessly")

Summerdawn
Raster, the Harrow
("You will be torn apart")

Highsummer
Saltatrix, the Dancer
("What you love will leave you")

Deepsummer
Pardus, the Panther
("What you fear will follow you")

Falldawn
Eisoptra, the Mirror
("You will be hateful unto yourself")

Highfall
Meles, the Badger
("You will know great strife")

Deepfall
Cursor, the Runner
("You will never know rest")

Winterdawn
Gladio, the Sword
("You will wound what you love")

Highwinter
Gemma, the Jewel
("Your treasure will bring you no joy")

Deepwinter
Crategus, the Hawthorn-Tree
("You will be imprisoned")

Lamptide
Lamparus, the Lantern-Bearer
("All that you perceive will be hateful to you")
A Lamptide birth is generally understood to be extremely inauspicious.
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I love this. The idea of the stars and the zodiac being malicious evils to be fought is a delightful inversion from which you've wrought a lot of interesting worldbuilding. I'm reminded of the Gnostic idea that fate, represented by the stars, was a trap which ought to be escaped. Out of curiosity, were you inspired by Gnostic thought here?
 
Vocalist said:
I love this. The idea of the stars and the zodiac being malicious evils to be fought is a delightful inversion from which you've wrought a lot of interesting worldbuilding. I'm reminded of the Gnostic idea that fate, represented by the stars, was a trap which ought to be escaped. Out of curiosity, were you inspired by Gnostic thought here?
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Just as a clarification: I didn't write this lore. As I mentioned in the OP, this is adapted from a game written by three of my friends (and which I liked so much that I married one of them (other considerations may have applied)). One of those friends is directly assisting me in this endeavor as a lurking coauthorial influence -- normally, this is the part where I would ping her and say she can explain the inspirations they were working with better than I can, but in this case anything beyond "yes, one of the authors does in fact have a strong spot for Gnosticism," is a bunch of spoilers.

And on that note, let's close up the voting since it's been over 24 hours and the leaders haven't shifted in a long time. Final Character Creation vote will be coming soon.
Adhoc vote count started by picklepikkl on Mar 24, 2025 at 2:54 PM, finished with 28 posts and 21 votes.
[background] [skills]
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It's me, hi, I'm the lurking coauthorial influence!

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about hidden corners of the setting or the background in which it was brewed up, but yes, in this case, I think you'll be interested in seeing the next couple of days' worth of posts first.
 
Absorption is a fun purview! We could make "reverse voodoo dolls" where we absorb injuries from people into the doll so that they're "healed" maybe

Absorb someone's stress into physical stressors upon a conceptually entangled rock and have the rock crumble away unto gravel or sand

Absorb sound to help stealth (we're really bad at stealth anyway! :V) Absorb water correctly and we can make quicksand traps (a colloidal hazard!) Absorb attention and assist other people's stealth rolls (by being VERY attention grabbing!)

Esoteric leverage of our purview is fun!

We could lend weight to an ally's words! Give someone Gravitas to their presence! We can even throw a rock! More than one, even!

I mean think about this idea:
If a rock absorbs enough rage, will it eventually try to hit something on its' own?
If the earth absorbs enough depression will it form a sinkhole?

Inquiring Minds Must Know! Can We Make Pet Rocks Happy!!?!
 
mirror_lock said:
It's me, hi, I'm the lurking coauthorial influence!

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about hidden corners of the setting or the background in which it was brewed up, but yes, in this case, I think you'll be interested in seeing the next couple of days' worth of posts first.
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Thanks a bunch. It's looking very interesting and I'm glad to have a chance to explore it once more.

Scholar(8), explorer(6), savvy(5) are the top 3 skills vote wise in that order as of this edit.

Windfall(9) is in the lead background wise with Archaeologist and Engineer tied for second(6)
 
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Character Creation -- Part Three New
  • Threadmarks
    • [*][BACKGROUND] The Windfall
    [*][SKILLS] The Scholar

    Tally

    You are a young and brilliant hero from one of the cities comprising the Republican Entente (or, as a forthcoming supplement about Morlean-specific history and lore will explain now that this is your background, its successor the Latterleague). You saved a lot of lives, and that act was your ticket out of the difficult life you'd been living until that point. And now you're doing heroism again, so that's obviously going to be twice as good, right?

    Anyway, now that you've dealt with the big mechanical issues, we have some bookkeeping to address before we're ready to go. First of all, your name.

    [][NAME] Write-in

    Onomastically, you should feel free to be creative. Morleas is a very large and diverse continent and basically any name origin has a plausible story for how you wound up where you did. However, given your specific background, feel free to mine historically mercantile seafaring cultures for inspiration, plus here are some examples dotted from around the continent:
    • Rocío de Moncada (Vespalonia)
    • Lucia Helena (Vespalonia, personal name)
    • Pilpyas (Omonezh, personal name)
    • Enyasthe (Omonezh, personal name)
    • Galinar Fulgen (Gavis)
    • Verina Juven (Gavis)
    • Paxton Isaias (Fatharol)
    • Tamaline Nemeth (Fatharol)
    • Goran Mironov (Borlion)
    • Rushenna Celanova (Borlion)
    • Demetrios Harpakrides (Drovos)
    • Cinara Iseides (Drovos)
    • Sabine Brochard (Lorania)
    • Marina Caulet (Lorania)
    • Vanessa Croes (Caruva)
    • Yuisa Mahase (Caruva)
    Oh, one last thing: remember how I got hype and dropped some lore about demons and astrology? I thought it would be nifty if you guys voted on what sign you were born under, and thus what astrological doom you have. Purely for fun and flavor, of course. I can't see why it would come up.

    [] [ZODIAC] Python, the Serpent
    Born in Springdawn: "You will be consumed"

    [] [ZODIAC] Vexilla, the Banner
    Born in Highspring: "You will be conquered"

    [] [ZODIAC] Furmica, the Ant
    Born in Deepspring: "You will labor fruitlessly"

    [] [ZODIAC] Raster, the Harrow
    Born in Summerdawn: "You will be torn apart"

    [] [ZODIAC] Saltatrix, the Dancer
    Born in Highsummer: "What you love will leave you"

    [] [ZODIAC] Pardus, the Panther
    Born in Deepsummer: "What you fear will follow you"

    [] [ZODIAC] Eisoptra, the Mirror
    Born in Falldawn: "You will be hateful unto yourself"

    [] [ZODIAC] Meles, the Badger
    Born in Highfall: "You will know great strife"

    [] [ZODIAC] Cursor, the Runner
    Born in Deepfall: "You will never know rest"

    [] [ZODIAC] Gladio, the Sword
    Born in Winterdawn: "You will wound what you love"

    [] [ZODIAC] Gemma, the Jewel
    Born in Highwinter: "Your treasure will bring you no joy"

    [] [ZODIAC] Crategus, the Hawthorn-Tree
    Born in Deepwinter: "You will be imprisoned"

    [] [ZODIAC] Lamparus, the Lantern-Bearer
    Born on Lamptide: "All that you perceive will be hateful to you"
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • No strong name preference on my end. I may add approval votes for ones I like, however, when it comes to Astrological Dooms:

    [X] [ZODIAC] Meles, the Badger

    I really like this one. This isn't necessarily a tragedy, knowing great strife is just a protagonist's lot. Never being able to settle down peacefully is certainly a Doom for our character, but for us the Questers it just ensures the Quest won't get boring. If we get any bonuses based on these (which seems dubious, but hey, it's a thought), this one would also likely be to combat which, with Windfall already chosen, we could use.
     
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