Backstory:You are a serf. Or at least you were, before the you and three of your closest buddies managed to sneak away from your noble lord. You grew up there as children, under the rule of a tyrannical noble. Your parents worked on the farm all their lives, until they died. But, farming is for chumps. Now you're off to do whatever you want! Maybe adventure or something. Get some fame for killing orcs and then become a knight. Get babes and spread your genes... There's always the life of a hunter, or a thief... Or you could go back to farming, on your own land! Maybe hire some chumps to do it for you. Basically you're free now. At least, if the noble doesn't send his knights after you... You should probably stay low for the time being. You're also EXTREMELY poor. So poor that you have nothing but the tattered, sack-cloth clothes on your back. That's IT.
You don't even have shoes... All you know is that you're hoofing it to the nearest town before you can do anything. Shoes would be a good investment. The roads are pretty rocky...
Notes:Basically the world is medieval Europe (feudalism, knights, nobles, a king, etc.), but with a little fantasy. No king arthur stuff, but all the humans have decided to band together and fight under one king. It's all a means to an end, as everyone needs protection from the Orcish warbands that constantly assault the fringes of Human civilization. There's a grand army, it's always looking for recruits to fight the Greenskin menace.
The king oversees the capital city and settles disputes between nobles. He also assigns titles and recruits mercenary companies for use in defense of the various human settlements. The king's favor with the noble's is good, and with his people is better. He doesn't have any worries that the Orcish menace will penetrate his defenses, but he doesn't have enough soldiers to push into their lands as well as leave his people well defended. Instead, he works to smooth tensions as the various nobles seek protection and ask for more soldiers. The forces may be spread thin, but they are adequate for defense.
The Human kingdom is large, and many nobles are selling land to independent farmers. The king will also give out plots of land to those who have the means to settle it and the coin for the title of noble. Nobles are also always looking for adventurers to help protect them from the Orcs. Rumor has it that they pay pretty good coin, and sometimes if you're successful enough, they'll name you a knight and buy you armor! Then you get to live there for free and eat and stuff. That's a pretty sweet life...
Farming, mining, and logging are probably the most difficult professions to get a start in, but they can be very profitable industries for the determined. Most nobles get born into it, but many come from these humble professions. Many nobles have a finger in each industry in order to expand faster and be more independent. Though, much can be said for those who focus on one industry and sell their remainder for whatever they don't already have.
You four can stick together if you'd like, but you're under no responsibility to do so. You can split your separate ways, become various famous people, then vie with eachother for power. You could become bandits or guardsmen for a town, you could even be a chef if you wanted! Whatever you choose, remember you're a poor, title-less peasant without shoes. Or food.
Hunger and thirst will take their toll, so keeping up food supplies is very important. Your characters can go three days without water and five days without food before losing consciousness and slipping into a coma. Also try to keep in mind that NPC's need food and water too, so if you're a bandit lord with a group of henchmen, you'll need to keep them fed or at least instruct them to keep themselves fed. Each turn is one day, so all characters will automatically consume one food ration and one water ration each turn unless they run out or specify otherwise. There may be times when the players will want many turns to have passed at once (for example, building a castle or palisade). I'll allow it as long as the other players have something to do in that time, and everyone has the right amount of food for it. Basically, you can't skip a month ahead if you don't have a month in rations. Alternatively, a noble who has 4 peasants couldn't skip ahead a month unless he had 150 units of food and water saved up (30 of each for himself and 30 for each peasant), or the ability to readily harvest that food over the month. In any case, if anyone's hunger or thirst levels get too high, death is a definite possibility.
Mechanics like combat, time, health, healing, crafting, and building will all be handled as we come to them. Right now, the only systems you need to care about are item quality, hunger, and thirst. I'm planning on doing the rolling on a d10 system.
Systems:Each roll has a few different variables. Conditions and difficulty modifiers play a big part. A roll of 6 and above is considered a success.
The anatomy of a roll [(x)-y+z=S]
x = The actual roll on a 1d10
y = Condition Modifiers
z = Difficulty Modifier (can be +,-, or sometimes not be present at all)
S = Ending Roll
Quality changes the properties of an item and gives the user bonuses for rolling. Items may be increased in quality by working on them at their respective setting (jewelry at a jeweler's table, a sword in a forge, etc.) or decreased by exposing to them to destructive forces (heat, blunt trauma, rust, mold, etc.)
++ Masterwork: Items with this tag are the best they could be. They give the user a +2 to any rolls made while using them. They're typically inlaid with designs and very sturdy. Items of this type are also made from very strong materials and last a very long time.
+ Superior: Items with this tag are much better than regular. They give the user a +1 to any rolls made while using them. These items are more common than the higher quality versions, and much more affordable. Items of this quality are typically more sturdy, sharper, and last longer than their regular counterparts.
Regular: Items with no tag are considered regular. Regular items afford no bonus. These are the normal versions of items, and work pretty much as you'd expect.
- Tarnished: Items with this tag are sub-par. They give the user a -1 to any rolls made while using them. Items that are tarnished may be bent, pock-marked, ripped, rusted, or made from sub-standard materials. These items may also be more prone to failure or wear and tear. They're also much cheaper, and offer an affordable alternative to any would-be adventurer.
-- Junk: Items with this tag are hardly considered whatever they claim to be. They give the user a -2 to any rolls made while using them. Items that are junk may be splintered, barely held together, unwieldy, bent beyond recognition, burned, or otherwise nearly destroyed. Some smiths will sell apprentice's junky weapons or armor to peasants for a pittance. These items are extremely prone to failure and can break at any moment.
X Broken: Items with this tag aren't usable for the purpose they serve. You can't do anything with them except try to repair them or scrap them for parts. Broken items can be anything from a cup with a hole in the bottom to a rotten steak.
You lose 1 food ration and 1 water ration a day, unless you specify something else in your turn prior. Each day without the proper rations raises your level of hunger or thirst respectively. On the highest level, your character cannot make turns. One day after that, your character will die. It is possible for a follower or another character to save your life by providing you with food or water, but that is entirely up to them. If you decide you want to stagger your food and just try to ride on hungry/thirsty, that's fine, however you'll recieve a -1 to any rolls you make that day. They are cumulative, so if your stomach's rumbling AND you're thirsty, you'll have a -3 to rolls. It can be pretty debilitating to be hungry. Keep in mind that some foods can perish, so remember to keep non-perishable foods around (dried meat, smoked fish, nuts, etc.)
Days Without Food - Hunger Level
1 - Hungry
2 - Stomach's Grumbling
3 - Exhausted
4 - Starving
5 - Skin and Bones
Days Without Water - Thirst Level
1 - Thirsty
2 - Parched
3 - Barren
Much like hunger and thirst, tiredness is a gauge of how sleepy your character is. Each day of sleeplessness will increase your tiredness level by 1. Each level will give you a cumulative -1 to all rolls. Unlike hunger and thirst, tiredness won't kill you. At tiredness level 3, the character has a chance to begin hallucinating. After tiredness level 4 you will pass out from exhaustion and sleep at least an hour before waking, regardless of what's going on around you.
Days Without Sleep - Tiredness level
1 - Sleepy
2 - Tired
3 - Nodding Off
4 - Incoherent
The currency of these lands is in three denominations. Copper, Silver, and Gold pieces. For sake of reference, an ear of corn would cost about a copper if you bought it straight from the farm. Food and a room for a night would be in the realm of two silver. A rental horse for a day would be around a gold piece (without the saddle). Prices are always subject to variation, inflation, and other changes. There are also people who don't care what the average price is, and will try to swindle you.
10 copper = 1 silver
10 silver = 1 gold
Sometimes things require very, very little skill to do, and as such have a low difficulty. In game terms, this means that you don't need to roll as high to do them. To succeed at most things, you need to roll a 6.
Difficulty - Roll Modifier
Impossible -5
Very Hard -3
Harder -2
Hard -1
Normal 0
Easy +2
Very Easy +4
Trivial +6
Skills are things that you are particularly good at, or are getting better at. You can be an apprentice, journeyman, or master at a skill. Each level gives you a cumulative +1 on rolls that have to do with that skill.
Skill Level - Roll Modifier
Apprentice - +1
+Journeyman - +2
++Master - +3
So yeah, four players, just say what you want your name and age to be and you're in. Try to keep it medieval-y...
Caellath
Name: Barthole Altheon
adwarf]
Name: Barthale Arthelon
King DZA
Name: Bartholomew Asthian
I might add more slots if I feel the game is moving quickly, but I'd like to get a few players started and see how the pace feels. I'm willing to get up to 12 players, depending on what the players I have decide to do with their lives. If it's full, keep checking for new player slots to be added. There will be a waitlist if we fill the player slots.
Author
Topic: [RP]Freedom - Fame and Fortune (3/4) (Read 5407 times)