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[GreatWyrmGold]

Offer to shake his hand, a peasant's form of greeting. Nobility bow. Remember our Man of the People easy and simple good naturedness. "I'm Sam Stone, what some used to snigger and call the Peasant Knight, though they'll have to call me the Peasant Count from now on. Seems like a lot of us are getting the bump up these days--that happens in a situation as bad as this. So, what's the story of this place?"

Sounds like a good plan to start with.

[Maldevious]

You offer the man your hand, introducing yourself as Sam Stone, who some call the Peasant Count. He cocks an eyebrow at you, and then stares at your hand for a moment before shaking it, half-rising from his seat. He gives it a firm grip before settling back down into his chair.

You ask him the story of Pigsend. "Pigsend is what happens when a lot of sick, desperate people pull together instead of tear each other apart."

He gives a pregnant pause before continuing.

"I suppose you'll want more of an explanation, though. My name is Uther Ren, though not many call me that these days. I am... was... a bowyer in Curbiston, before the plague. Had a wife. Plague took her. Had a son. Some bastard bashed his head in during the riots."

He runs a hand wearily through his hair, glancing around his sparse hovel. "I don't know if you know what that can do to a man, Sam Stone. I got out of that city with my life, barely, and then I had to make a choice: do I live, or do I die?"

He sighs, heavily. "I guess I chose to live, then, since here we are. And some folks who also chose to live seemed to take a shining to the way I did things. We started watching each others backs, since no one else would. That's the story of Pigsend, in a nutshell."

[GreatWyrmGold]

First: Share some sympathy. Stone has a family, he can guess what that must have been like.

Second: Congratulate him on having made the best of things.

Third: Ask why he's called the "Bandit King". The people out there didn't look or act like bandits, after all, and his story doesn't fit with a bandit band.

[tryrar]

agreed

[Origami_Psycho]

Agreed

[Gervassen]

This guy is a real downer, isn't he? Utter sad sack. I dub thee King Eeyore.

First: Share some sympathy. Stone has a family, he can guess what that must have been like.

Yeah, Stone's an orphan actually. Lost his family to a different sickness before he joined the war. He can rightly say he's lost loved ones in a plague. The rest of GWGs questions.

[GreatWyrmGold]

This guy is a real downer, isn't he? Utter sad sack. I dub thee King Eeyore.

Neither Stone nor Ren would get that, so no.

First: Share some sympathy. Stone has a family, he can guess what that must have been like.

Yeah, Stone's an orphan actually. Lost his family to a different sickness before he joined the war. He can rightly say he's lost loved ones in a plague.

Indeed. Hadn't thought of that angle.

[Gervassen]

This guy is a real downer, isn't he? Utter sad sack. I dub thee King Eeyore.

Neither Stone nor Ren would get that, so no.

That obviously wasn't roleplay, GWG. But he is a definitely a wet blanket. I stand by that assessment. Here's some roleplay then:

"There are a thousand ways to die these days and only one way to live: a day at a time. And you've been doing that surpassing well here, Uther. I started with three shacks in my town, and you've already got a good two or three score. Don't be too humble. I know what it's like to have the good of a small community resting on your shoulders. The land needs leaders like you to heal it. Leaders like us. We can restore the land, not bring back those we lost, but save others from our hurt."

Check if he's digging it. If so...

"But sometimes, you've got to put a stop to others that don't feel the same way. These sea raiders, Uther... Maybe you've seen them. Shaggy beasts that bleat to each other instead of speaking like men. They're here now, and they ain't peaceable folk. They don't have the fear of god, and the dark devils they worship have driven them to our shores in the midst of all this. No one on this river is safe, and Fallsberg itself is sat upon in siege. Just another way to die in this miserable land, and leaders like you and me have to do something to save our people. That's why I'm here, Uther."

[GreatWyrmGold]

This guy is a real downer, isn't he? Utter sad sack. I dub thee King Eeyore.

Neither Stone nor Ren would get that, so no.

That obviously wasn't roleplay, GWG. But he is a definitely a wet blanket. I stand by that assessment.

Three obvious statements.

[tryrar]

A bit of an offtopic question: Anyone ever thought about making a TV-Tropes page for this? I'd be pretty cool...

[Origami_Psycho]

The question becomes do we make it for the story only or include the comments?

[stabbymcstabstab]

We should include the comments they provide great context for some of the stuff that happens in here.

[Maldevious]

You begin by offering some sympathy to the man for his losses, noting that you lost your parents to illness as well. He nods his head and mumbles some words of thanks, but clearly does not want to linger on the subject.

Sensing his mood, you offer him congratulations on what he has done here in Pigsend, bringing a group together like that. You reflect on your own beginnings in Feroshire, and praising his leadership skills.

"I'd say thank you, but I'm not sure what I've really done here. People mostly keep themselves in line. I solve a few disagreements, true, but anyone with an ounce of sense could do so."

Deciding to take a different approach, you ask him why people call him the Bandit King. He cracks a smile, finally. "Probably has as much sense to it as people calling you the Peasant Count. A few months back, we were being harassed by a group of bandits. I approached them and offered to give them a place to live and work in safety. Most of them took me up on the offer. Some are in the militia now, but most of them just wanted to get back to farming. So... apparently that makes me the King of the Bandits. I don't discourage it because it seems to keep people from interfering with our business, for the most part."

You compliment him on his cleverness, and again offer praise for his wise leadership of his village. You segue into a tale about how what he's built is under threat by the Sea Raiders, who are encroaching heavily on your people's lands. He listens to your tale of demon worship and national peril with mild interest, and when your done, he plays with the end of his mustache for a moment.

"So I imagine you're here to get my help with this? What can I offer? Despite my talk of militia, we only have about thirty lads who are any good with a bow, and none of them are real fighters like those men in the alley. Were you hoping that I'd have a fearsome army of bandits, Sam Stone? Perhaps this is one case where my name has done me a disservice, then."

[tryrar]

Smile a little. "Tis true I was hoping for a little more, but 30 good men with a bow is still an addition to our forces that cannot be ignored. The plague ha swept this land like an evil spell, leaving our fair kingdom weakened, and with the wolves howling at the door I'll take all the able-bodied men I can get." Gauge his response, then respond with this if appropriate:

"I'll not lie to you, this will be a difficult campaign. However, a man such as yourself, who has gained the trust and leadership of these souls, is worth his weight in gold. I can appreciate the hard work and dedication it took to transform this place from nothing, into even this modest settlement in only a few months. If you aid us in these dark times, I can promise that anyone in this village who has a, shall we say....unsavory past will receive a full pardon for any crime short of murder committed-as long as they make a full confession-as well as a generous payment for services rendered of 10 gold a week and any war spoils they can cart back."

Only offer him a knighthood if it appears we need to sweeten the pot. We can still offer it later if he proves his mettle in battle

[Talvara]

hold off on offering him knighthood until we have the rat verify his story.

nobody is going to outright say 'yeah we've been robbing and killing people to survive' to an armoured count in front of them.

I'm also not that excited about mentioning war spoils, We don't want to encourage pillaging. Finally, Technically these people are on our land and thus our serfs. We shouldn't compensate them more than we compensate our other levies.

what we can do is grant their village aid for their service.

edit:

having said that his story sounds legitimate enough for me. With time and Aid Pigsend might become a valuable addition to the county.