Tell me about your character...

[Rico]

So, by way of having something to read around here until Ed drops more info on us, what y'all thinking about playing?*

Me, I'm noodling about with Tiefling Warlocks, see what I can come up with.

I'm pretty settled on that combo, just working out the details.

What about the rest of yez?

*for idle curiosity purposes only.

[Chris Dey]

I'm not sure, spent many years playing a paladin, was a ranger too. I'm considering a druid to try them out. More than happy to fit to anything that we are missing though.

Just not a bard for me.

[Mark Lucas]

Now bear in mind my profound D&D ignorance, having not played it since 1984-85. I'm hoping to have the 5e. player's guide, this weekend.

First stab: 

Maiva Bellum

• Human
• Age: 71
• Hermit
• "Witch" - I don't think there's an exact fit in terms of 5e classes, although, I believe there is at least one homebrew take on the class. I'd have to come to an agreement with Ed about the best class to use.
• Lives on the outskirts of the village. Rarely comes into the village, although is visited by many villagers who trade for medicines / herbal remedies and *whispers* a hooch carefully made from mandrakes.

Then, one day she hobbles into the village, looking to join the first group of explorers, foolhardy enough to leave its safe bounds.

[Ed Chivers]

Mark - I love the character concept, I think some of the warlock or sorceror types could work with this (personally I'd tend towards warlock but that's just me). See what you think https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/classes#Warlock

[Rory Cullen]

Yeah, I think you could make this concept work with warlock, sorceror, wizard, druid, maybe even cleric depending on what sort of game abilities you want to have.

R.

[Mark Lucas]

Good options! I wasn't familiar with the Warlock class, very intriguing. Hopefully, I'll be able to create a few characters over the weekend and see what I like the most.

Mk 

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Mark Lucas

[Rico]

What Rory said - you can pretty much make this work with the spellcasters in the PHB, depending on what flavour you want.

The whole 'wise woman in a wild hovel with herbs/healing/hooch' says 'Druid' to me, though ;)  And, you know, Wildshape' is a pretty sweet ability for a witch, too!

On Friday, 1 March 2019 11:28:18 UTC, Mark Lucas wrote:

[Chris Dey]

I had a similar thought for a druid, an outsider who wasn't welcome in the village until the recent calls for adventure.

Perhaps someone who did help people but mostly stayed in the wild.

I don't mind changing but could also be interesting to have 2 characters who don't like each other but are different sides of a similar coin.

[Rico]

TBH I don't think people should worry at all about 'doubling up' - the member list here is up to 10 + DM, so its going to happen sooner or later.  So long as its not 'all Sorcerer's, all the time!' or similar '8 out of 10 players picked Paladin', I think we'll be alright :)

As an aditional thought, I'm skewing my Warlock background choices in a roguish direction, so we have +1 in the picking locks and disarming traps club.  So to speak.

[Mark Lucas]

Agreed,

Two characters may share an outward similarity but still, be very different. I'm still very class-agnostic, and will happily shove old Bella into a seemingly at-odds class, should we begin to feel the group is a bit magic-user-heavy.
 
I don't want to blab Bella's story too much, as that's supposed to come out in play, but she has always been welcome in the village, especially among customers of her moonshine, her exile is self-imposed. It's common knowledge in the community that she's spent many years mad with grief, borne from the loss of her four children. Only now there's a rumour that there was a 5th, unmentioned child who may yet live and wanders abroad, somewhere beyond the mountains.

Right, I better get back to trying to define our AWS tagging strategy...  ;-/

Mk

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Mark Lucas

[Evie]

I was thinking about a tiefling warlock. Warlock because I've never played a magic user before, and tiefling because that cantrip is awesome.

[Rico]

Evie wrote:

I was thinking about a tiefling warlock...

All the cool kids are doing it ;D 

[Rico]

Alright you slackers, I just submitted 'Whisper, Tiefling Warlock' for Ed to give a once over ;D

[Adam Spragg]

On March 02 2019 at 08:06, Rico wrote:
> Alright you slackers, I just submitted 'Whisper, Tiefling Warlock'
> for Ed to give a once over ;D

I have submitted Lyle Thorngage, Halfling Cleric.

Although as soon as I did, I realised that I missed out a skill
proficiency that I get from my Cleric domain. Doh!

[Mark Lucas]

Typical that I spot the error 3 seconds after sending you the character sheet. It looks like Orcpub didn't accept the Hermit background and stuck with the default Acolyte.
Here is the corrected one.

Mk

[Ed Chivers]

Also, I spent some time with Andy and Jacquie yesterday, we have a halfling life-domain cleric named Briar and a mysterious wood elf ranger with no name (yet) aboard. I'll let J&A tell you more about them :)

[Kathryn Karnage]

Stop stealing my mysterious wood elf ranger schtick 😁

On Mon, 4 Mar 2019, 13:12 Ed Chivers, <ed.ch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Also, I spent some time with Andy and Jacquie yesterday, we have a halfling life-domain cleric named Briar and a mysterious wood elf ranger with no name (yet) aboard. I'll let J&A tell you more about them :)

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[Andy Clark]

It’s only a mysterious wood elf ranger because my brain was dribbling out of my ears last night and I’ve still not finished writing up a background or name!

It’s also been a few years since I’ve roleplayed so i’m definitely going with the “cookie-cutter elf-ranger” options...

[Richard Matson]

I hope you took the background 'ambulatory fruiting body of an ancient underground fungus', or none of the other elves will be your friend!

On Mon, 4 Mar 2019, 15:15 Andy Clark, <talm...@gmail.com> wrote:

It’s only a mysterious wood elf ranger because my brain was dribbling out of my ears last night and I’ve still not finished writing up a background or name!

It’s also been a few years since I’ve roleplayed so i’m definitely going with the “cookie-cutter elf-ranger” options...

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[Andy Clark]

I have a low Charisma stat. They probably don’t like me anyway :P

[Adam Spragg]

On March 03 2019 at 11:10, Adam Spragg wrote:
> On March 02 2019 at 08:06, Rico wrote:
> > Alright you slackers, I just submitted 'Whisper, Tiefling Warlock'
> > for Ed to give a once over ;D
>
> I have submitted Lyle Thorngage, Halfling Cleric.

Two halfling clerics seems a bit redundant, so I've statted up Bran
Stormwind, Human (Illuskan) fighter instead.

Adam

[Kathryn Karnage]

Yllafiel Eathalena (Working title), the brooding, haunted high elf bard, WIP progress submitted to  Ed for perusal....

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[Kelly Dorset]

Afternoon all.  Meet Brys,  He's a farmer with a bit of a temper.

http://ddb.ac/characters/9628789/XAtZUW

--

That old bull was always a stubborn animal. Today it was refusing to move into the back field behind the farmhouse despite the best efforts of the teamsters around it.

Brys looked up from the old stump he was digging out in what would be the new field watched their futile attempts to move it. At first it was amusing, seeing the bull just refusing to move not matter the pulling or cajoling, and then it started getting frustrating. This was delaying all the work they needed to get through today. Without the bull in the right field, they wouldn't be able to get the cows out to pull the plough and prepare this field. He's worked solidly all morning to dig three stumps out already and they needed every minute of the short day light at this time of year to finishing the job.

Dropping his mattock beside the stump, he walked over to the group and leaned on a fence post at the edge of the field.

"Need a hand Geth?" he called out to the lead teamster.

Looking as frustrated as Brys was feeling, Geth turned and threw his hands in the air "What are you going to do you big oaf? Carry him? If you think you can move him, move him." Geth, shook his head and handed over the lead attached to the ring through the bull's nose ring. "Be my guest"

Ducking under the fence, Brys walked over to the bull and stepped right in front of it. "You going to move?" he asked it, looking at it. The bull looked back at him, its big liquid eyes giving nothing away.

He tried a light tug on the lead which the bull shook off, and then a harder one, returned back by the bull almost pulling him off his feet.

"You aren't going to drag him like that" Geth called out, a mocking crow in his voice. The rest of the squad around him chuckled, letting Geth lead the usual light hearted teasing that was normal for the small group of staff that lived on the farm.

Brys shook his head and pulled again, again to have the bull pull back, snorting a foul breath at him. A buzzing in his head was starting to build up, frustration bubbling up into anger which suddenly cracked into action. "Come on, bloody thing! You're wasting the light." Giving up on the lead and dropping it he reached over, each hand grabbing hold of the seven inch horns curling out and forwards from the sides of bulls head.   Suddenly threatened, the bull tried to pull its head back, eyes rolling, but was suddenly in a tug of war with Brys.

“Brys!” Alarmed, Geth called out, the team scattering around him to avoid getting trampled if the bull started moving.

“Are you moving?” Brys yelled at the bull giving it a huge wrench, not moving the near stonesweight of bull at all.  “By Pelor I WILL MOVE YOU!”    One huge pull more and the bull stepped one foot forward, then with a bellow, pulled back hard dragging them both back two steps reducing the one tiny bit of progress he’d made so far.

This was just too much for Brys, the buzzing in his head had become a raging clamour of anger throughout his body and with a roar his launched himself forward, crashing head first into the head of the bull.  With a thud the front legs of the bull gave way before it, only held up by Brys seizing and yanking on its horns.  Stunned, the bull stepped forward to avoid falling to the ground and then kept stepping as Brys continued to pull, leading in to the field and bolting the gate behind it.

The job done, Brys walked away back to the stump and picked up his mattock.  He’d far too much to do for this sort of distraction.

 

 

 

[Mark Lucas]

Maiva crosses bull off her list of nightmare creatures that doom our intrepid party.  ;-)

Mk

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[Ed Chivers]

Evie has just sent me her character sheet - Kallista, a chaotic neutral Tiefling hexblade warlock. That character won't be trouble _at all_...

[Evie]

Not a slacker: character sheet (finally) submitted.

[Adam Spragg]

Cool.

I'm curious - I was looking at a barbarian before I settled on fighter,
but couldn't figure out how to reconcile the class background of
"barbarians are born into tribes of their own kind, and go walkabout to
find their place in the world - and have adventures" with the setting
background that we have. How did you manage that?

Adam

[Kelly Dorset]

I didn't. :)  there isn't a farmer class in the basic rule set, so just went with a strong farmer with a bad temper (rage ability).

I'd be quite happy to mix up the proficiencies (I.e. Getting rid of medium armor and martial weapons) if ed wants it to tie better :)  the skills work really well apart from that bit

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[Evie]

Well, I missed some things off my character sheet, so I'll send an updated version this evening.

[Rory Cullen]

On Wednesday, 6 March 2019 16:20:12 UTC, Kelly Dorset wrote:

Afternoon all.  Meet Brys,  He's a farmer with a bit of a temper.

http://ddb.ac/characters/9628789/XAtZUW

--

That old bull was always a stubborn animal. Today it was refusing to move into the back field behind the farmhouse despite the best efforts of the teamsters around it.

https://vlipsy.com/vlip/dodgeball-thats-me-taking-the-bull-by-the-horns-4exLj7pQ

R. 

 

[Kelly Dorset]

If Brys makes it to level 10, he's growing that tache!

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[Jacqueline Clark]

Ok, HI all, 

I'm really bad at this keeping up with group conversations & even worse at actually saying something! But here's a little bit about Briar;

She's young, around 25, & small even for a halfling (we worked out she's about the same height & weight as Bethany!) hence her nickname 'little Bee'.  She chose to go into the temple & work as a healer. She works in a kind of temple hospital/clinic (whatever fits with the setting) and basically triage's people as they come in, patches up the basic's & stabilises the bigger things for the more experienced clerics to fix. She's noticed people coming in with unusual injuries & stories of exploring the outer edges of the valley(if this is ok with Ed) & is getting itchy feet/calling from her God to go & explore, get some experience and maybe lose the 'little' bit of her nickname...

I feel a bit bad about Adam changing his character, I'm not sure how many sessions I'll be involved in due to my shifts, so please don't feel you have to change on my account.. 

[Ed Chivers]

Hey folks - I'm not ignoring the group, I've just been extremely busy the past couple of days. I'm going to put some more starting information up, hopefully tomorrow and then I'll start asking people to form into parties for the first few sessions.

I believe (subject to confirmation and checking the calendar!) that I should be free to run game(s) the weekend of the 16th and 17th of March. Happy to run for as few as 2 and as many as 5 adventurers, this is mainly due to table space and mental juggling ability. I appreciate we'll have a lot of demand from people wanting to play, if you can't make it that weekend or don't manage to get your character on to one of the first weekend's adventuring parties, don't worry - you'll get your chance soon enough :)

I will be posting a copy of the map the dwarves found in their mountain tunnel very soon, and then I would suggest players get on board a new thread (I've created an "expeditions" tag) to discuss who wants to go where...

[Ed Chivers]

Incidentally if I haven't responded to your character sheet submission yet, I will do soon. I've not seen anything so far which has given me concern (even from you, Rico!) so I'm sure everything will be fine, I mainly just want to check numbers/skills/proficiencies etc to make sure things make sense.

[Adam Spragg]

Hey, no problem, I quite enjoy coming up with new character ideas.

Anyway, now that I've been given the nod for Bran, here's a rough
overview:

Bran Stormwind is a 22 year-old Human (Illuskan) Fighter. He's not
stupid, but he's got a lot of energy and isn't great at concentrating
on stuff, so he never did that well in school. Fortunately, one of the
elders in the village with some martial training gave him lessons in
fighting, while teaching him to respect his strength and use it for
good, so he never ended up as a bully. He can be a bit loud and
enthusiastic, bordering on boisterous, but he doesn't intimidate people
on purpose.

He got a job working in the dwarven mines/forges, which is good for
working off his excess energy. But after a hard day carrying, pushing,
pulling and hitting things, having a tankard of beer in the Lakeside is
his best way of winding down for the evening.

Adam

[Richard Jackson]

I've now managed to get hold of a 5e PHB and am partway towards creating a character.  I have an idea I'm fond of for a draconic bloodline sorcerer who's going through a midlife crisis...

I'm undecided on race - Half-elf works very well, and the +2 Charisma for spells is definitely not to be sniffed at.  But I'm also tempted by gnome because, well, a draconic bloodline gnome is just funny.  Lightfoot halfling is an obvious alternative, but I've already played one of those in a long-running game and would prefer a race I've not played before (plus the "midlife crisis" idea works better the longer-lived the race is, and halflings don't live that much longer than humans).

I can't make the weekend of the 16th/17th, so there's no immediate rush for me to decide.  My character will get there, and I'll jump in once you super-eager lot have settled down a little! ;o)

[Mark Lucas]

Hi Ed,

I converted my character to D&D Beyond. It's very slick and hopefully doesn't miss some of the integrations of the other system I used -- just a change in her background as "Haunted One", which I assume is drawn from another source and seems to fit like a glove -- one that ironically keeps your hands ice cold...

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/9742395



Mk 

[Ed Chivers]

Hi Mark - The "Haunted One" background came up yesterday in discussions with another player, it seems it's from "Curse of Strahd". I wanted to keep backgrounds to those from the Player's Handbook, this was mainly...

a) to keep things equal, because not everyone has the books or resources other backgrounds come from
b) to keep it to backgrounds that I as the DM was familiar with

Actually though, I don't see background information on your character sheet, unless it doesn't show up on mobile? Where would I find it on the D&D beyond sheet?

[Ed Chivers]

Hey folks, just to be super-clear, the backgrounds from the Player's Handbook are:

- Acolyte
- Charlatan
- Criminal
- Entertainer
- Folk Hero
- Guild Artisan
- Hermit
- Noble
- Outlander
- Sage
- Sailor
- Soldier
- Urchin

Please bear in mind that how you frame these backgrounds needs to make sense for the starting setting of the small town in the valley. Most will fit in without problems, but I feel I should call attention to Charlatan, Criminal, Sailor and Soldier. These can still be made to fit, they just need a little more effort. For example a Charlatan could be the classic small town snake oil salesman selling fake elixirs and "magical rocks". A criminal could be a petty thief or burglar who blames his or her thefts on others. A sailor could easily be a skilled fisherman/woman who plies the central lake. A soldier could be part of a mountain patrol, keeping watch for marauding trolls. These are just examples, you get the idea.

[Rory Cullen]

I have sent a Wood Elf Monk to Ed for approval. He has a custom background but it's all PHB stuff.

I had the same issue as Mark with the DDB - no sign of Hermit, but it had Haunted One instead. It also didn't show a bunch of other stuff so I ditched it.

R.

[Richard Matson]

Yeah, with DDB, if you don't pay, you don't get the full shilling.

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[Ed Chivers]

Looks like D&D Beyond only has the backgrounds listed in the SRD at https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/personality-and-background#Backgrounds (plus "Haunted One" for some reason, I guess they must have SRD'd it, who knows).

[Rory Cullen]

Paid them £85 for two goddamn books, I'm damned if I'm paying them any more. Especially for the same content.

R.

[Kathryn Karnage]

I don't own the hard copies, so I bought the electronic one's, and it's not 85 quid....

So my DDB has all the players and xanathar, so has hermit etc, also has haunted one for no reason. Which caught me out too

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[GFSTaylor]

I've not played D&D in years, and little other than 2nd ed at that, so filling out a character sheet is taking some time.

I've got the basics of my character though:

Taika Redwood is a young woman who decided early on that life on a farm, even her parents' prosperous one near a hamlet, wasn't interesting enough. Her Aunt Halla is a ranger, and would show up now and again, going where she wanted and partolling the Wildwood. Taika started accompanying her aunt aged 9, venturing further afield as she got older and stronger. She's now 19, a little taller than most women, strong and hardy. As much as Taika loves being out in the forest, enjoying the freshness and wildness, she's also sociable. She loves music and dancing. She's young, and ready to make her mark in the world.

[Chris Dey]

OK, finally got some time to get my ideas onto a sheet.  Ed, is this OK?

Torvar, half elf druid.

[Ed Chivers]

Hi Chris - fine with the idea of a half-elf druid but those numbers don't look right. For example 4 hit points? That looks far too low. I'll get a look at the books later and get back to you separately by email.

[Ed Chivers]

Hi Gillian - sounding good, is Taika following in her aunt's footsteps and becoming a ranger, then?

See how you get on with the character sheet, if you're coming over for board games on Wednesday then we can always catch up then and check things over.

If you're available next weekend (16th/17th) you could join one of the two adventuring parties headed out along the river...

[Ed Chivers]

I know I've not given feedback to everyone who's sent me a character sheet yet. If I haven't responded yet, I will do my best to respond to you in the near future (next day or so). Thanks for your patience!

[Ed Chivers]

OK I think I'm up to date with characters now. These are the ones that I'm aware of, please let me know if I've missed yours out.

Evie – Kallista, tiefling Hexblade warlock 

Adam – Bran Stormwind, human fighter 

Rico – Whisper, tiefling warlock 

Rory – Alagos, a wood elf monk 

Chris – Torvar, a half-elf druid 

Kate R – Yllafiel, a high elf bard

Jacquie – Briar Underbough, a halfling cleric 

Andy – A so-far-nameless wood elf ranger (or do they have a name now?)

Mark – Maiva Morwenna Bellum, a human wizard

[Kelly Dorset]

You missed Brys, human barbarian: 
http://ddb.ac/characters/9628789/XAtZUW

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[Ed Chivers]

The bull wrangler! I totally did. Sorry!

[Rory Cullen]

For those (like me) having trouble with D&D beyond, I found Clean Sheet 2.51 worked well enough for me:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1086

I was able to edit it, save it and send it in Acrobat Reader, without messing about with any other Adobe products. It doesn't work out everything for you, but it automates a lot of the arithmetic.

R.

[Ed Chivers]

Kelly - I remember seeing in an earlier version of that character sheet that you'd taken the "folk hero" background. Is that reflected anywhere in the D&D beyond one you linked to?

[Kelly Dorset]

It should be included, hence the 4 skills.  It doesn't appear to include the rustic hospitality thing though

On Mon, 11 Mar 2019, 18:31 Ed Chivers, <ed.ch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Kelly - I remember seeing in an earlier version of that character sheet that you'd taken the "folk hero" background. Is that reflected anywhere in the D&D beyond one you linked to?

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[Rory Cullen]

Hey casters, how long before you can cast "Volcanic Tornado Lightning Vortex"?

https://twitter.com/41Strange/status/1105544496488439808

R.

[Ed Chivers]

Oh good God...

[Mark Lucas]

Oh wow! Fan-pyroclastic-tastic, in fact.

Mk

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[Ed Chivers]

Posting up for Evie...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dktjYE7uVy8PG96pNBPVEUAxwHg--x67/view?usp=drivesdk

[Richard Jackson]

I've got there in the end! Introducing Dramble Tavartarr - Forest Gnome, Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer, all-round entertainer:

"If you buy me a drink, I'll tell you a story."

"Many centuries ago, in arid and distant lands, far from The Valley, lived a mighty dragon. Well, he thought he was mighty (and to you and me he would appear quite fearsome, with his brass-like scales and fiery breath), but by dragon standards he wasn't really. Actually he was a bit of a softy. Liked to chatter with passers-by. If only there were more people passing by. Oh, how foolish for the dragon to wish for that! For giants are not friends of dragons. But the forest folk perhaps are..."

It was a quiet night at the Lakeside inn. An assorted group of humans, halflings and a particularly large half-orc sat huddled in a corner by the fire. A gnome was perched on a bar stool at the centre of the group. Smallish even by gnome standards, he nevertheless held the others in rapt attention. His wild hair flew around him and his eyes sparkled in the firelight as he continued: 

"Enter our hero. He'd earned the name Warryn Wildwander when, as a young gnome, he got the wanderlust and began to venture far from home. His clan name was Warryn Tavartarr."

"Tavartarr? Isn't that *your* name, Brighteyes?"

Dramble smiled down from his stool at the eager young halfling. The kid was barely old enough to drink, and sat with his legs crossed on the floor as if he was still at school. He made Dramble feel old. He sighed inwardly and brushed off the feeling.

"Why, so it is!" he replied, with a wink to some of the older members of his audience, who'd heard this story before and knew what was coming.

Dramble continued. He blew on his pan flute - an eerie set of notes - as he began to tell of Warryn stumbling into a home of giants and, trembling, seeking refuge in a cave. Were his audience imagining it, or could they hear the distant sound of giant feet stomping across the fields outside the inn, drawing closer?

"Suddenly, Warryn heard a roar! Much closer and right behind him!" Two halflings and a human jumped. They hadn't imagined it; that had definitely been a creature roaring. It sounded like nothing they had ever heard (certainly nothing that lived in the valley). Suddenly a burst of flames leapt out of the fire, shaping itself into the form of a dragon.

"It was the dragon, Smaheltersmiddibranner, and he was hiding from the giants too!"

"Wait... Smarheldy-what?"

"Smaheltersmiddibranner. Rolls off the tongue. Now, hiding they both may have been, but Warryn was fearful of ending up a dragon's lunch. He had to impress old Smiddibranner fast."

The story went on. Dramble told how Warryn had impressed the dragon with his quick wits, how they bonded over stories of distant lands, and how they worked together to deceive the giants into leaving them alone. As he did, flames danced in the air in front of him. They took the forms of marching giants, desert caves, and the clever duo of dragon and gnome, all accompanied by disembodied sounds and music he blew on his pipes. Fire flashed in Dramble's eyes as he played out the final chase. The others were sure it wasn't just the reflection from the flames.

"Oi, Jabble Dramble Firespinner, you watch it!" the barmaid shouted. That last fiery giant image had caught part of the counter alight as it ran away, coming rather too close to a clutch of bottles filled with spirits.

"Ooops!" Dramble had the decency to look sheepish. He waved a hand and the flames vanished abruptly.

"That's better," grunted the barmaid, though there was a smile on her face. "You know we likes you bringing folk in 'ere, entertaining 'em with your stories. Especially with how quiet it were yesterday. But it'd be better all round if you spins rather more stories and rather less fires, yes?"

It was Dramble's first evening in the Lakeside Inn for some days. Having been away in the Feygrove this past week, he had missed Dworic's pronouncement of the lost map's discovery, the two bands of adventurers who had ventured out, and the subdued atmosphere in the inn when the first band failed to return as expected the previous night. He was trying to raise everyone's spirits (but not light the spirits, ha!) but inwardly he was kicking himself. Two centuries in the Valley with hardly any excitement and he missed it when adventure finally called!

He hurried on to the finish. "Before they parted, Smaheltersmiddibranner, grateful for Warryn's help, bestowed a great gift on him. The blood of dragons would run in his veins! And not only his, but in certain others of his line who would come after him. They didn't appear in every generation, but those bearing the traits of the dragon...

Dramble paused for the final reveal, rolling his sleeves up to reveal a sheen of brassy scales covering the skin on his arms. There was a gasp, and one or two knowing nods.

"...are said to be destined for great things. Greater even than entertaining you all tonight!"

Dramble smiled. Of all the stories his family had taught him of how Warryn Wildwander had come by his draconic gifts, this was his favourite at the moment. The other one where Warryn had been rewarded for pulling a thorn out of the dragon's side was a little generic, but Dramble thought it had been improved enormously once he changed the thorn for an ogre's spear. The dragon had been called Glaedr Brightscales in that version. Warryn had ridden atop the dragon as together, Wildwander and Brightscales, they chased the ogre back to the mountains. But he'd told that one a lot, a generation ago in human and halfling timescales. This generation needed a fresh story.

He also liked the one where Warryn had been captured by a wicked dragon and tricked it into promising away its power, before using that power to escape its grasp. He might tell that one again some day. It had a lot of cleverness, with all its sneaking around, word tricks and illusions. He could spin that one out for a whole evening with all its twists and turns.

It sometimes felt hollow though. He'd pulled his closing line off with a grin and a flourish, but it had been both bittersweet and true. Two hundred years! He was practically middle-aged. Where was this great destiny he'd been promised all his life? He wanted to live the stories, not just tell them.

"Tell us another one, Brighteyes!"

Dramble was brought out of his reverie by the half-orc, who almost pushed him off his stool by what was clearly meant to be a gentle nudge with her beer tankard. Dramble offered his own tankard in return, now empty. The young halfling leapt up, grabbed it off him and ran to the bar to get another round in. As he did, Dramble settled back in his seat and began to blow a wistful tune.

What story should he tell next? There was the whole saga of Warryn's scrapes and conquests as he learned to master his powers; how he rose to become a mighty sorcerer before meeting an unfortunate end. Or a happily-ever-after end. Did they need to hear a happily-ever-after end this evening, after everything that had happened? Perhaps he could do the tales of some of Warryn's famous descendants instead. Maybe Ella Rosethorn? Or Fabien Fiddlefen and Summer Silverthread? Or...

Before the gnome could decide, the door to the inn burst open and a strangely assorted group wandered in. Dramble recognised a few of them by sight, and knew them to be the second party of explorers. They had returned! What wonders had they seen? What adventures must they have had? He had to know! This was his chance! 

"Sorry, friends. Another night, perhaps. I think the stage is theirs now!"

The gnome leapt off his stool and nudged his way past the patrons nearer the entrance, who had stood up to greet the newcomers. The travellers looked down (Well, *most* of them looked down...) at the diminutive figure in front of them, who was grinning from ear to ear and offering an outstretched hand.
 
"Hi, the name's Dramble Warryn Smiddibranner. I'd be very pleased to make your acquaintance."

"If I buy you a drink, will you tell me your story?"

[Evie]

Uncle Rich, have you read the Inheritance books?

[Richard Jackson]

You know I have! ;o)

[Krissy]

Do you know what the problem with coming late to the party is? Someone always sets the bar high! So...introducing Aila Oakenheel, Wood Elf, Paladin of the Oath of the Ancients, a figure from campfire tales told by the hunters in the Wild Wood.

She approached the tavern cautiously, it was not her natural environment - usually loud, busy and far too warm. However, she had heard tell of a map, of possibilities beyond the Valley. She was a little young, it was true, but she'd decided that a few years would make no difference, and taking the light and harmony she carried beyond the Wild Wood she'd cared for all this time pulled her to claim her adulthood and set out to help those who lacked the security of this safe haven. Perhaps she would be in luck and avoid too much conversation. As she opened the door, she spied the group, enraptured by the gnome creating shapes and images with living fire at the hearthside - perfect! She slipped in as quietly as possible.

***

The small, slight figure of the elf went almost unnoticed as the copper tones of her hair and skin melted into the firelight. Almost, that is, except one young halfling who gazed in astonishment at her. That face! He'd never forget it, even though it had been, what? 20, 30 years? He had been so young then (and stupid), but hadn't they all? They'd heard the runours of the forest fire in the Wild Wood, the veteran hunters telling them to stay away, but never having seen how terrifying it could be, they headed in anyway. It was a frustrating trip, few animals to be found, and then the wind had changed, a rush of noise, then the orange flames all around! He'd run, they all had, but he'd got lost, blinded by the embers and the smoke. Disorientated, burned, he'd found a hollow beneath a large rock and, near death, resigned himself to his fate.

Suddenly, she'd appeared above him - a blurry image to his eyes, almost dream-like. She'd laid a hand on his chest and his heart beat stronger at her touch. "Can you walk? I can't carry you", she'd said. He found, to his surprise, that he was able to get to his feet quite easily now, and followed her as she led him through the forest and to the safety of the plain beyond. She'd left him there and disappeared back into the forest. His friends had found him there, staring into the flames. He'd told them all he could remember, and had to listen to their laughter, the campfire tales ever after about the wood elf who'd appeared, saved his life an disappeared as swiftly as she came. But here she was! He nudged his companions and they stared, astonished at this legend-made-life, as he began to get to his feet to approach her and give her the long-overdue heartfelt thanks he had carried all these years.

Before he could, however, the door slammed wide, and a weary-looking group entered. At once, the tavern was abuzz with interest - they were the second group who'd set out into the wild and everyone wanted to hear their tales!

[Rory Cullen]

Been toying with the idea of a Dex-based paladin, you'll have to let me know how it works out!

R.

[Anne]

Hi

I have a character now. Her name is Birel and she is a half elven sorcerer. She is both from the valley and not. She left her mother's kin half a lifetime ago in their terms but her father's lot still regards her as mostly as a child. It is a source of mild frustration for her that they don't seem to remember that she isn't going to live for 700 years. She is curious about the world and wishes to resume exploring.

[Rory Cullen]

I have submitted a High Elf wizarlevard for the approval of the DM.

R.

[Ed Chivers]

*wakes up with a start* wait, what?

Rory, your character looks fine to me, go ahead and stick it on a character sheet.

Rico, I've emailed you about your new character. Looks good, we just need to work out how to bring those story elements into the world.

[Richard Matson]

OK, I'm working on Zardan, Tingling  Warden (paladin) of the Church of Leng Kaddath!

He will be known to most folk, a stalwart if rather dour protector of the valley, good for chasing wolves away from flocks, tackling anyone who doesn't freeze when the imortal cry of 'stop, thief!' is raised and other sundry law enforcement activity.  On slow crime days (so, most days in the valley, probably) he can be found righting upset carts, driving pilings for the new bridge with his great maul, and other sundry community service.

He had just been assigned to hunt the fugitive known as Whisper, but that problem seems to have solved itself, so now he seeks to investigate existential threats these new lands may harbour.

Rico

On Tue, 2 Apr 2019, 13:21 Ed Chivers, <ed.ch...@gmail.com> wrote:

*wakes up with a start* wait, what?

Rico, I've emailed you.

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[Richard Matson]

Tiefling. FFS.

[Ed Chivers]

Oh I don't know, I'm kind of amused by the prospect of a "tingling warden" 🤣

[Kathryn Karnage]

Is it bad that I read that correctly and didn't blink at the idea of a tingling warden....

On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 1:44 PM Ed Chivers <ed.ch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh I don't know, I'm kind of amused by the prospect of a "tingling warden" 🤣

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[Rory Cullen]

On Tuesday, 2 April 2019 13:42:26 UTC+1, Rico wrote:

Tiefling. FFS.

 No, go back to Tingling, that sounds much more amusing :D

 My new character is: TAGARIEL THE CURIOUS (High Elf Wizard 1; male, 35yo, 5'8", 130lbs; platinum hair, pale skin, blue eyes; burgundy hooded coat, brown waistcoat and trousers, cream shirt)

 Many of you will be vaguely aware of some sort of wizard academy up in the north end of the valley, but by all accounts it's a tumbledown sort of place and there's not much reason to go there. This skinny elf chap has shown up, however, talking nineteen to the dozen about all sorts of long-winded magic nonsense and in a terrible hurry to go and investigate "the Sub-Cascadian Archaelogical Zone" whatever that is.

 He's laden down with books and parchment and notes - not to mention a crossbow, do wizards even know how to use crossbows? - and he's got this sort of fleece-lined oilskin pouch thing on his belt with an owl in it! Not a dead one, an actual live owl! He talks to it and brings it out in the pub and feeds it snacks. And he's constantly doing little magic things, like opening doors without touching them, or lighting candles with a snap of his fingers, and all that stuff.

 Bit of a weirdo, I reckon.

R.

 

[Kathryn Karnage]

35? A mere babe in arms!

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[Rory Cullen]

Yeah. It always feels really weird to me that elves are like 70 years old or whatever before they're considered adults, just because they have long lifespans. I mean, that's not generally how lifespans work.

R.

On Tuesday, 2 April 2019 14:22:26 UTC+1, Kathryn Karnage wrote:

35? A mere babe in arms!

On Tue, Apr 2, 2019 at 1:57 PM Rory Cullen <ro...@pimoroni.co.uk> wrote:

On Tuesday, 2 April 2019 13:42:26 UTC+1, Rico wrote:

Tiefling. FFS.

 No, go back to Tingling, that sounds much more amusing :D

 My new character is: TAGARIEL THE CURIOUS (High Elf Wizard 1; male, 35yo, 5'8", 130lbs; platinum hair, pale skin, blue eyes; burgundy hooded coat, brown waistcoat and trousers, cream shirt)

 Many of you will be vaguely aware of some sort of wizard academy up in the north end of the valley, but by all accounts it's a tumbledown sort of place and there's not much reason to go there. This skinny elf chap has shown up, however, talking nineteen to the dozen about all sorts of long-winded magic nonsense and in a terrible hurry to go and investigate "the Sub-Cascadian Archaelogical Zone" whatever that is.

 He's laden down with books and parchment and notes - not to mention a crossbow, do wizards even know how to use crossbows? - and he's got this sort of fleece-lined oilskin pouch thing on his belt with an owl in it! Not a dead one, an actual live owl! He talks to it and brings it out in the pub and feeds it snacks. And he's constantly doing little magic things, like opening doors without touching them, or lighting candles with a snap of his fingers, and all that stuff.

 Bit of a weirdo, I reckon.

R.

 

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[Kathryn Karnage]

TBH "Adulthood" in human(and presumably human-like) civilisations seems to be mostly cultural not biological once you are out of juvenile stage, and varies a lot between cultures and time. 

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[Adam Spragg]

Yeah, I suppose that in a race of people who live for 700 years, until
you've got the perspective, sense of time, and emotional stability that
comes from being at least 70 then most other "adults" will probably - at
best - find your naïveté "cute".

On the other hand, imagine if the glacial maturation of Elvish brain
chemistry meant that they had teen angst, poor impulse control, and a
complete lack of empathy for over half a century. It'd be a
miracle if even half of them survived 'til adulthood. Worst. Adolesence.
Ever.

Adam

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[Mark Lucas]

Very possibly!
Yuval Noah Harari, pointed in his book, Homo Deus, that if humans lived for 300 years, we'd probably still be living under Queen Victoria and Joseph Stalin. It's not that a 30-year-old Elf isn't "mature", it's just that there's a much longer wait before you get any responsibility or authority.

Mk

Mk

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[Rory Cullen]

I'm not sure about Queen Victoria, but someone would definitely have bumped Stalin off by this point :)

It's an interesting conjecture though - rather than a physical or psychological standard, elven society doesn't consider you mature until you've gotten a couple of centuries of experience.

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[GFSTaylor]

Taika Redwood has recently appeared at the tavern and agreed to join the expedition. She was a little disheartened by her recent business in the Wildwood and wants to do something a little different.

The young ranger was called upon to help deal with a lynx which had taken to preying on farmers' livestock. It turned out that the lynx (Sheba) had been taken in by a farmer as a small cub and raised initially as a pet in his house. By the time she was six months old, she was too large and troublesome to keep inside, so he kept her fastened to a kennel in his yard, to be a guard and a deterrent to other wild animals, as the farm was close to the edge of the forest. He managed her for 2 years, until she reached sexually maturity. Then she broke her rope one night and made off into the forest. Unfortunately, Sheba had lost her fear of humans and their settlements. She appeared regualrly at local farms, preying on sheep, small pigs and hens: she was recognizable as she still wears a stout leather collar. Things came to a head when a small child was threatened by her, but Sheba was scared away by the farm's guard dog.

Taika was called into the deal with the lynx. It was impractical to try and relocate Sheba further away, so Taika was forced to track and kill her. She skinned the lynx and took the pelt back to the farmer who had taken Sheba from the wild. Taika made him stroke the pelt of his dead pet while she told him off for interfering with nature, and made him realize the consequences of his actions in trying to make a pet of her. Taika kept the pelt and left it in her home village to be tanned, as there's no point in wasting it, since the animal had to be killed. She's trying to decide between a rug or a hood and gloves for the winter.

Taika want to get away and clear her head for a bit, so going exploring out of the valley seems very appealing. She's taller than average for a human female, strong and athletic, and a yound adult (19). Her dark brown hair, hazel eyes and tanned skin blend well with the forests she's at home in. While she likes the peace of the forest, she's not an introvert: Taika loves music and dancing, and plays the penny whistle.

[Kelly Dorset]

Hello!

Meet Halla Stoneward.

https://thevalley.boreworms.com/wiki/Halla_Stoneward

[Ed Chivers]

Halla is a part of the valley's militia, a volunteer defence force that also serves as the town guard. We talked about it over on the discord server and it seemed a good way to work in characters with the "soldier" background.

There's more on the wiki at https://thevalley.boreworms.com/wiki/The_Valley_Militia

[Marek Dalibor]

All dwarves fight. Not all the time, but regularly. And therefore all dwarves learn how to wield a weapon and look after themselves. Krabog Boltzen is no exception. Even though he spends most of his time helping out in the kitchens of the Dwarven Forges, he’s had plenty of practice in contests of strength and resilience. His friends usually send him up ahead, to soak up the opponents’ attacks. Krabog has got rather good with his shield and doesn’t mind a few scratches and bruises. He believes that this makes him popular with his friends.

These past few weeks, Krabog has been spending rather a lot of time in the Lakeside Inn. He’s been lapping up the stories that have been flooding in of adventure and exploration, told by brave heroes who have been journeying in the plains below the Falls of Ardun. Krabog has mostly kept to himself, listening, and dreaming. It’s taken many sleepless nights staring at the ceiling above his cot, but he’s finally worked up the courage: the next time someone sets off to leave the Valley, Krabog is going to ask to come along. He’s going adventuring!

[Richard Jackson]

Apparently I need an alt character.  And you can never have too many gnomes. :o)

Late summer:

Tenena stalked away from the Lakeside Inn. Having listened to that irritating sorcerer going on about giant spiders and magical stone constructs (Reader, see here), she wondered how long it would be before another of these adventuring parties got themselves killed. Or worse, brought back some unforeseen danger to the Valley. Something needed to be done. She slunk off towards the hills where the Tower of Arcane Wisdom stood, eager to hone her knowledge and her skills. If trouble came, she wanted to be ready...

Autumn:

Dramble whistled a jaunty tune as he made his way home through the Feygrove, the night drawing in. He was pleased with himself. Another successful adventure and he felt his destiny calling more strongly than ever. Plus he'd enjoyed another night at the Inn, regaling the patrons with tales of all they had done at Harmenton and the Cursed Fort which lay beyond.

So lost in his thoughts was he, he didn't hear the other gnome stealing through the branches overhead.

Tenena gestured. The sound of a branch cracking in the bushes ahead caused Dramble to come to a dead stop. Tenena lined up her bow on her target (From here she could hardly miss!) and let loose.

The arrow rammed through Dramble's shoulder and out the other side. Startled and in pain, he dropped to the ground. Getting up, he readied a firebolt spell and looked around frantically for his attacker. As he did so, his eyes passed over the arrow sticking out of him. He recognised the fletching. "Oh," he said out loud, "you're back".

With that, Tenena dropped from her branch, landing gracefully in front of him, her black cloak billowing behind her. "Yes," she said simply. "And this is what is going to happen next."

Autumn, a few days later:

At the Lakeside Inn, Kazkan turned to the barman. "Ere, what's up with our Dramble? When he was in earlier, he looked like he'd been shot! I didn't reckon anyone had been venturing out to the Plains again again besides m... I didn't reckon anyone had been out venturing. I'm sure he'd've told us if he'd been off again. He seemed a bit glummer than usual too. What happened to him?"

"Eh?" said the barman carelessly, as he cleaned a tankard. "Oh, I wouldn't worry. He's probably just getting his arse kicked by that sister of his again."

Still autumn, a few days after that:

"I still don't see why you had to shoot me."

"Oh relax. I'm an excellent aim. It was only ever going to be a flesh wound."

"But why...?"

"Because you need to understand you're not invulnerable. Because you need to understand I'm a match for you and can help too. Because you need to stop doing stupid things! I mean, you're poking at things you don't comprehend and possibly hastening the end of the world, for all the gods' sakes! You need people with some sense going out there too."

"And that would be you, would it, little sis?"

"Don't you 'little sis' me, Jabble!"

"I am 8 minutes older than you, Miggle."

"8 minutes! In 203 years! And I'm taller than you!  And stop calling me 'Miggle'. My name is Tenena Heltinne Knightcloak Tavartarr, and don't you forget it!"

"Wait, the way you just said 'Nightcloak'... You've added a silent "K" to that, haven't you?"

Tenena stiffened. "What if I have?"

"Nothing. I just thought it was time you got beyond this overly pretentious phase."

"...Says the guy who makes fire prance about to show off and get people to buy him drinks."

...and so it went on, until a group of passing gnome children pranked the pair of them, breaking the tension for a short while.

Winter:

Tenena knew she was ready. Fate had dealt her a poor hand, while her brother had had all the fortune. Both were descended from a dragon-slaying hero, whose true origins had been lost in the mists of time. But where Dramble had inherited the fire sorcery of their ancestors, she could summon no more than the small illusions which came naturally to all gnomekind. Where Dramble could conceal the scaly mark of their heritage, she had an ugly patch of scales running down the right side of her face - a disfigurement she often hid beneath her hood. While he had been off exploring the world beyond the plains, she remained here in the Valley.

She told herself she was being cautious and did not need to venture beyond the falls. Truth be told, she was jealous of her brother's escapades and wanted to see the world for herself. She had overcome her doubts, studied the knowledge previous parties had brought back with them, and honed her own natural abilities. Stealth and cunning were her allies, along with her nimble skills with the bow and the rapier. She would not need magic to make a difference out there! She could never bring herself to go out on an adventure with her annoying brother - she knew they'd bicker too much and prove a liability to the group - but perhaps if another party were venturing out without him...

Then, a few days ago, came the final straw. Dramble and four others had travelled to the elven port of Taurhopa. Word had finally come back. Dramble's letter was over-excited and barely comprehensible, but one thing was clear - they had found real life dragons!

That was it! Tenena wasn't missing out on this bigger world any longer. She marched down to the Lakeside Inn, striding in with none of her usual unobtrusiveness. She threw back her hood and asked the startled patrons:

"So, is anyone here about to go on an adventure?"

[Evie]

"you're poking at things you don't comprehend and possibly hastening the end of the world"

Doesn't everyone do that?

[Kathryn Karnage]

All I can say is that this is all the PCs...

On Sun, 11 Jul 2021, 17:05 Evie, <fam.c...@gmail.com> wrote:

"you're poking at things you don't comprehend and possibly hastening the end of the world"
Doesn't everyone do that?

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