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Hellgate Hotel

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RandyTrevelyan said:
Can we be a fallen Silver Knight? One partially currupted by some outside force that enhances a certain aspect of our abilities but weakens another? For example "Silver Ravager: Cursed by the rage of a dying foe, you are a Leader no longer. Slaughter is your only goal upon the battlefeild as plans drown in the sea of rage. Tho your Armor and Weapon are more fearsome than ever, They are now blunt implements of Destruction. Beyond a bloodthurst fueled awareness of where your enemy is weakest, all strategy escapes you."

Thats just one direction we could take such a character. I'd Also Like to suggest a collosal Javelin for our ranged weapon and double war Axe for our melee weapon.
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.....Or we could actually be a genuinely good, shining-knight hero. I feel like there's 50 billion stories of edgy half-dark barely-better-than-a-villain antiheroes. Our society is drowning in stories like this. Fudge that, if we're gonna be a Silver Knight?

I wanna be the Silveriest Silver Knight who ever Silvered, the Knightiest Silver Knight who ever Knighted.
 
KnightDisciple said:
.....Or we could actually be a genuinely good, shining-knight hero. I feel like there's 50 billion stories of edgy half-dark barely-better-than-a-villain antiheroes. Our society is drowning in stories like this. Fudge that, if we're gonna be a Silver Knight?

I wanna be the Silveriest Silver Knight who ever Silvered, the Knightiest Silver Knight who ever Knighted.
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I definitely prefer to this being a boring edgelord.
 
Since we're a Kamen Rider Silver Knight, I demand at least twenty-five different form changes. We'll sell more toys have more versatility that way.
 
KnightDisciple said:
Or we could actually be a genuinely good, shining-knight hero. I feel like there's 50 billion stories of edgy half-dark barely-better-than-a-villain antiheroes. Our society is drowning in stories like this. Fudge that, if we're gonna be a Silver Knight?
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Funny, I read a lot of stories of the exact opposite. Maybe it's the specific fandoms we are reading? Compromise then. How about a Silver knight who weilds a Medieval cannon instead of a Melee weapon? Like this...

But obviously Female.

As for the Temperment? Well meaning and friendly with a penchant for shameless teasing and a love of bad jokes?
 
Quick update: I was reviewing my notes on the skill system (which ties into the upcoming vote) and realized that there are things I need to fix before the vote goes live, so no vote tonight. By way of apology, have a lore post about demons.
 
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Demonology and Astrology
  • Informational
    • 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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  • Informational
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    Character Creation -- Part Two
  • Threadmarks
    • Results:
    • [MAGIC] Silver Knight
    • [GENDER] Female
    Background
    Who you are lives in what you do; for no one is this more true than spirit mages, whose lives, experiences, and outlook shape and direct the expression of their powers. In this section you will be voting on the broad strokes of the life you have lived so far, which in turn shapes how your magic manifests.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Marshal
    You are the commander of the military forces for one of Nivveas's nine provinces. It is not half as prestigious as membership in one of the great knightly orders would be, but working for the bureaucrats who actually govern lets you focus on problems close to home: responding to monsters transgressing on civilization, suppressing bandits, and guarding the frontier from raids. Your weapon is a longbow that can shoot multiple arrows, and your specialty is battlefield tactical command.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    Holding high rank in a Nivvean martial fraternity is impressive for anyone, but at your age? Your depth of talent and potential has you singled out as one of the rising stars of the Empire and a key asset for your order in the internal jockeying for status, even if you have no great deeds to your name yet. Your weapon is a leaf-bladed spear.
    Note: Your youth mean    s that you are less polished a combatant than other options: you have not yet developed a specialized fighting style or unique expressions of your spirit magic. However, this means your potential for growth during the quest is larger and more possible to actively direct than other options.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    Zareas is a harsh land, where humanity clings to the fringes and struggles to survive, where the weak face threat upon threat to their lives and livelihoods: from monsters, from Nivvean corps, from bandits. You have had to be harsh yourself to survive, but you direct that harshness inward, to control your emotions and your wants, and wherever you wander, you try to help, in the ways a harsh woman can. Your weapon is a staff covered in serrated scales, and your specialty is fighting when outnumbered.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    Vespalonia is large and strong, and much of it has lived almost untouched by the wars which have been fought across central Morleas for decades. However, internal borders against geomantically-weak and monster-infested territory can be as dangerous as external borders against jingoistic neighbors. You are an independent monster hunter, who goes where the trouble is and kills it, gaining the regard of the countryfolk, the bounty placed on the monsters, and the body parts to sell to merchants. Your weapon is a tremendous two-handed axe, and your specialty is fighting against things significantly larger and stronger than you.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Veteran
    Your city-state joined up quick with the Republican Entente when the League of Chivalry began throwing its weight around, but that didn't save it from having to fight. You were blooded in the Chivalry Wars, as your spirit magic made you a significant military asset despite your age, and you've defended your home ever since. You've fought the League, you've fought petty warlords trying to carve out kingdoms, you've fought other cities trying to settle scores, and you've been preparing for the day when Omonezh would come and you would fight again. Your weapon is a sword and a shield, both of which you can imbue with brilliant light, and your specialty is holding positions and defending your allies.
    Note: Your age and experience mean that you have developed your powers more than other options, with an extremely polished fighting style and unique magic. However, your potential for growth is smaller, as you have already followed much of the path available to you.

    Skills
    In this quest there are nine skills, which cover noncombat challenges that merit mechanical resolution. The skills are Athletics, Stealth, Endurance, History, Esoterica, Perception, Socialize, Performance, and Deception. The normal range for skills is 1-5; as a spirit mage, your range is 2-6. Your rating in a skill determines how many d10s you roll on a skill challenge of that type; 1-6 are a failure, 7-9 are a success, and 10 is two successes. Most non-opposed challenges will require one success; hard challenges will generally be represented with a penalty to your rating rather than a higher requirement for success. Rolling no successes and at least one 1 constitutes a botch (a failure with further negative complications), and rolling at least 3 successes more than you need (i.e. generally 4 successes) will constitute a crit (a success with additional positive consequences).

    Rather than have a complicated plan vote where you draw up legal skill arrays, I have just generated a number of skill arrays for you to vote on (with some basic assumptions like "as a Silver Knight, probably you're pretty good at physical stuff"). All skill arrays have 1 skill at each of 2 and 6, 2 skills at each of 3 and 5, and 3 skills at 4.

    Esoterica is used for random bits of metaphysical theory or weird nonsense related to magical things in the world. I promise it is not the Solve The Metaplot skill, it is a grab-bag of curiosities.
    Socialize is used for creating a favorable impression in one-on-one or small-group interactions. Performance is for performances either artistic (e.g. music or writing a poem) or rhetorical (e.g. speechifying to crowds or writing an essay).
    If you have questions about other skills, tag me and I'll post more in here.

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

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

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

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

    [][SKILLS] The Wielder of Secrets
    Athletics 4, Stealth 4, Endurance 3, History 3, Esoterica 2, Perception 5, Socialize 5, Performance 4, Deception 6
    Added by @AlphaDelta

    [][SKILLS] The Unyeilding
    Athletics 5, Stealth 4, Endurance 6, History 2, Esoterica 3, Perception 5, Socialize 4, Performance 4, Deception 3
    Added by @RandyTrevelyan

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

    If there is an alternative skill array you really want, tag me and I'll add it. It's not required that its descriptive tag start with the letter S, but I'll be pleased with you if it does.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • One of these:
    [][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [][BACKGROUND] The Genius

    [][SKILLS] The Wielder of Secrets (write-in)
    Athletics 4, Stealth 4, Endurance 3, History 3, Esoterica 2, Perception 5, Socialize 5, Performance 4, Deception 6

    For the Unexpected Spymaster build. Nobody expects the Paladin to be good at Spycraft.

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [X][SKILLS] The Wielder of Secrets

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    [X][SKILLS] The Wielder of Secrets
     
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    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius

    I like being able to have in depth influence on a character. This will also probably be stronger than the others in the late game. Also spears are cool.

    [X][SKILLS] The Savvy

    We're weak now so we'll need trustworthy friends to help us get to the late game.

    Edit:
    [X][SKILLS] The Scholar
    Spear Nerd could also be fun.
     
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    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [X][SKILLS] The Scholar

    This sounds fun to me! We are likely to be outnumbered by the demons so the Ascetic with her staff is cool, but on the other hand who doesn't like a prodigy?
     
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    [X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman

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

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Marshal

    Edit - adding this

    [X][SKILLS] The Wielder of Secrets
     
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    [X][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman

    Gimme a Jedi with a kickass Staff. It cuts and blends! It crushes and gores! And yet the wielder serves Justice, Kindness, Empathy, and Compassion. Woe to the Cruel, Smite the Evil, Crush the Cowards!
     
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [X][SKILLS] The Scholar
     
    [x] [BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [x] [BACKGROUND] The Veteran
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Marshal
    [x] [SKILLS] The Scholar
    [X][SKILLS] The Scout
     
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    MEGA UNGA BUNGA!

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    [X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman
    [X][SKILLS] The Savvy

    Also talking is fun.

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    [X][SKILLS] The Scholar

    Also young spear nerd amuses me as a concept.
     
    RandyTrevelyan said:
    This one feels right for the monster hunter. That athletics would come in hand6 to leaping to strike at vital spots, and High endurance is good for any build. Perception is also essential for battle awareness. We don't want to over commit or get taken offguard. I don't see much use for history or deception given that I'm aiming for a frontliner, so I'm comfortable with those scores being low.
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    Just to be clear here: the skills are primarily non-combat in application. I can't swear that there will never be a skill check with mechanical consequence in battle scenes, but mechanical support for combat is strongly rooted in your spirit magic and the abilities it grants. A high-athletics monster hunter will definitely do some acrobatic nonsense or perhaps the Shadow of the Colossus thing where you climb up a gargantuan beast, but a low-athletics monster hunter will be just as effective in their monster-fighting idiom, just differently flavored. Skills govern what you want to be good at when weapons aren't drawn.
     
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Genius
    [X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman

    I have a brand to maintain.
     
    picklepikkl said:
    [][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    Zareas is a harsh land, where humanity clings to the fringes and struggles to survive, where the weak face threat upon threat to their lives and livelihoods: from monsters, from Nivvean corps, from bandits. You have had to be harsh yourself to survive, but you direct that harshness inward, to control your emotions and your wants, and wherever you wander, you try to help, in the ways a harsh woman can. Your weapon is a staff covered in serrated scales, and your specialty is fighting when outnumbered.

    [][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    Vespalonia is large and strong, and much of it has lived almost untouched by the wars which have been fought across central Morleas for decades. However, internal borders against geomantically-weak and monster-infested territory can be as dangerous as external borders against jingoistic neighbors. You are an independent monster hunter, who goes where the trouble is and kills it, gaining the regard of the countryfolk, the bounty placed on the monsters, and the body parts to sell to merchants. Your weapon is a tremendous two-handed axe, and your specialty is fighting against things significantly larger and stronger than you.
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    Both of these apeal to me. Given the scale of the horde to come, and potential monstrosity to arrives, either of these specialties could be essential. I'd rather avoid the underbaked or overcooked options, and I'd rather read a character focused on there personal combat rather than directing others.
    picklepikkl said:
    [][SKILLS] The Sportswoman
    Athletics 6, Stealth 4, Endurance 5, History 2, Esoterica 3, Perception 5, Socialize 4, Performance 4, Deception 3
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    This one feels right for the monster hunter. That athletics would come in hand6 to leaping to strike at vital spots, and High endurance is good for any build. Perception is also essential for battle awareness. We don't want to over commit or get taken offguard. I don't see much use for history or deception given that I'm aiming for a frontliner, so I'm comfortable with those scores being low.
    picklepikkl said:
    [][SKILLS] The Scout
    Athletics 4, Stealth 5, Endurance 5, History 4, Esoterica 3, Perception 6, Socialize 3, Performance 2, Deception 4
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    This could work well with ascetic. Max perception for keeping track of a great many enemies. The ability to fight off many enemies is good for a scout, and we could make that work for us with the self and such.

    [X][BACKGROUND] The Ascetic
    [X][BACKGROUND] The Monster Hunter
    [X][SKILLS] The Scout
    [X][SKILLS] The Sportswoman
    [X][SKILLS] The Unyeilding
    Athletics 5, Stealth 3, Endurance 6, History 2, Esoterica 3, Perception 5, Socialize 4, Performance 4, Deception 4
     
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