Ameena's hidden OOC thread

Forum for the finished DM D&D game 'Time's Champions' run by beowuuf

Moderators: Ameena, raixel

Forum rules
Please read the Forum rules and policies before posting.
Post Reply
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Ameena's hidden OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Thread for OOC comments!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Yeah, 25 is a good roll for perception! So good that the party would have that door open if you'd been there checking for the switch! So yeah, lots of information about the pit, and Ameena can spot both the lever beyond and the glow behind. Sadly, won't spot any switches (if there are any) on this side with the current conditions!

Because of the various rules, Ameena does actually an amazing climb so if she wanted to attempt climbing down, she could try. The DC for jumping a pit, as long as Ameena is running on all fours and does take a run up, is ok too. If she tries a standing start, or is on two legs...not as good.


Watch out for making Ameena too independant here. The reason I would have prefered running Ameena in the IC thread this time would be a) so that the group still feels some form of cohesion, and b) so that there are meta-game hooks for the party to act on. It's certainly encourage you to keep track of what the rest of the people are doing, and at least post in the OOC thread.

Meta-gaming is usually bad, but you do occasionally have to do it, since this is a shared story. It's bad to act as if each player has the 'PC halo' surrounding them and metagame too much in introductions, etc, but it would be just as bad in a game if each PC acted as if the other charatcers were NPCs and everyone tried to tell their own individual story around a table!

At the moment Ameena the character might be feeling separate from the group, but as a player and writer of her story, you have to make sure you still give her enough hooks to survive somehow and also have a way to get back to the party. At the moment it sounds like she's going to get stabbed by the next soldier she talks to, and she won't care! Either that or injure herself and die :(
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

It's not so much that as she feels like she doesn't have a huge number of choices - it's already pretty clear why she doesn't want to rejoin the others, which leaves going off on her own in the hopes of finding something interesting, like a way out, by herself. Also, they've already come across Helm and (though she's tecnically more or less unaware of it herself) Aurek and Farel - there might be any number of other such people down here. It's not that she doesn't want to die, it's more a case of, given the choice between staying by herself and trying to talk to someone who's fairly likely to kill her, being a murafu she'll take the latter option as being less painful in the long term. Anyway, being sneaky as she is, she might be able to find some more soldiers and maybe follow them to an exit or something - it's not like she's gonna spot Drommal in the distance, walk right up to him and say "Hi there, can you show me the way out?" ;).
Meanwhile, as to her immediate situation...she wouldn't fancy climbing into anything that smells like that. She might jump, if she thinks she can manage it with one hind foot mostly out of action. I realise mechanically she can still jump okay, but RP-wise she's noe feling particularly comfortable right now with regards to movement ;). I'm guessing that a jump would come under Acrobatics, so she'd get +11 - that'd probably be okay, I imagine, unless I rolled maybe less than 5, and obviously a crit fail is never something that's wanted ;). I'm guessing she'd break more than a couple of bones if she fell down there and with (apparently) no-one likely to come back and look for her any time soon, that wouldn't really be a good way to go. Oh, and taking a running jump would probably be the only way she'd try it - jumping from her hind legs just isn't something that murafu do (they can stand, walk, and crouch but that's about it), and she can probably tell that she'd need a bit of a run-up for this one and would probably take one anyway just to be safe. I doubt she'd be able to reach the switch on the other side to close the pit, because of its height. A jump would probably become more of a hop because of her foot, though maybe sort of trying to grip the bricks really briefly to hoik herself up there long enough to grab the switch (though I'm guessing it's in the downward position which would mean pushing it back up again) might be something she'd try. If she had any particular reason to want to close the pit and try out an unknown switch in order to do so.
Maybe I should make a post in the OOC thread suggesting that someone go back for her or something - not that I'd be trying to tell anyone else how to play the game or anything, but her "companions" don't seem very companion-like if they just leave her behind because she doesn't like icky blood and smelly dead bodies (which no-one else actually seems to have reacted to, I mean, Arbrut can't smell very nice, I'm sure - human, metal-plated barbeque, yummy). At the rate she's going, though, she's probably gonna end up either falling down the pit in an attempt to jump it, running into someone/something nasty, or just keeling over from the poison as I continue to get crap Fortitude saves ;).
Speaking of saves...requested Will save gets me...16 (14+2). Oh and don't forget that nausea from any regained memories won't be a symptom in her non-vomiting species ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Ameena wrote:Meanwhile, as to her immediate situation...she wouldn't fancy climbing into anything that smells like that. She might jump, if she thinks she can manage it with one hind foot mostly out of action. I realise mechanically she can still jump okay, but RP-wise she's noe feling particularly comfortable right now with regards to movement ;). I'm guessing that a jump would come under Acrobatics, so she'd get +11 - that'd probably be okay, I imagine, unless I rolled maybe less than 5, and obviously a crit fail is never something that's wanted ;).
Actually, a jump comes under athletics. I believe as a rat you get alot of actions using dex instead of strength, which is why you've got a good score. Let's not talk about the extra climb/swim bonuses that make you insanely good at those :D

Yeah, not moving fast (being ickle or loaded down) and not taking a run up gives bad penalties to the jump. Being able to be an all fours for 40 feet and taking a run up will make it an easy jump.
I doubt she'd be able to reach the switch on the other side to close the pit, because of its height.
Yeah, I would have hoped Ameena would have realised the spirit Haynuus gave her the torch, and even though she coulnd't light it, might take it as a pit/lever poking stick-come-walking stick for her bad foot.

[quorw] A jump would probably become more of a hop because of her foot, though maybe sort of trying to grip the bricks really briefly to hoik herself up there long enough to grab the switch (though I'm guessing it's in the downward position which would mean pushing it back up again)[/quote]

Yes it would, but the good climb bonus might mean she could do it if she was determined to do it and just bump into it.

[quuote]Maybe I should make a post in the OOC thread suggesting that someone go back for her or something [/quote]

Aww, apparently everyone alreayd knew and was working out how to get back Ameena. Falkor's all in crisis because of his actions due to your reaction, and Westian's just comign throug hthe teleporter. Would Ameena hesistate long enough to still be there when he goes through?
Speaking of saves...requested Will save gets me...16 (14+2).
Cool, will update for that....only a C15 success/fail, so a sort of middling amount of memory recall/suppression/
Oh and don't forget that nausea from any regained memories won't be a symptom in her non-vomiting species ;).
Yeah, note I'm calling it dizziness from now on :D

Anyway, I'm going to assume that Ameena won't be instantly spottable in the half-dark. Basically as a fudge to allow you to say if she's spent a round's worth of action hesitating, or if she's already gone and tried to jump the pit. If she's hesitated, feel free to just post in the main IC thread. If she's going to try and hide, roll me a stealth check to hide, or if she's bounded over the pit, roll me an athletics check.
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Awww, your team-mates haven't forgotten about you, Westian to the 'rescue', and Falkor's all wallowing in self-pity and so forth :D
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Did you mean to post in the main OC thread? If so, I'll post the above back and forth in the same post too...

And heh, at the moment Westian has a PM update :D

Roll me another perception check to see if you can hear what's going on with him...
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

And done already!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Wee, and unlocked the OOC thread again for...well, you know, OOC comments.

Oh, I didn't say in the IC thread, but basically the posting schedule will be 'whatever happens' in this case. Since you will be diverging sufficiently from the party and probably that I can allow a greater time difference.

We'll see if we need to shore up the difference in the two paths at the end, but there will probably be time jumps in each direction if you do find your way back to the party (or do something that would relate to the party) so it should smooth out.
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Woohoo, I have access :D.
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

*waves*

try not to break anything while i'm asleep:D
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Heh it's okay, Ameena just asked Helm a bunch of questions and generally wasn't much help ;).
And bugger, I know what I forgot - Ameena didn't pick up her cloak again. Oh well, erm...no, actually, sod it.. I will edit one of my previous posts to have her pick it up (rather than just assume she did and carry on regardless). Otherwise it'll bug me :P.
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

String-knot-tying roll here to avoid putting unnecessary OOC-only posts in the IC thread :).
D20+Dex bonus = Bollocks. Critical fail, lol.
Presumably something will happen like the string just breaks or something, but if this is one of those rolls where a crit-fail doesn't apply, presumably we can just keep trying or something...?
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

There are no critical successes nor failures on anything except attack rolls, and even then a critical failure just means you always miss.

Sometimes failing by 5 or more from the DC has consequences. For example, use rope to throw a grappling hook up a wall, if you fail by more than five, actually has seemed to work but then comes away when you climb :)

In this case, I won't do the same and make you think you've tied a good knot when in reality it isn't. You'll just be forced to spend a little while experimenting with knots until you get it right! (Helm failed his role too)
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Heh, maybe the GM at my club does things a bit differently then, but if you get crit-fail there, stuff does tend to happen. For example in Dark Heresy I got a crit-fail on an Awareness (aka Perception) check and fell over :P.
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Yeah, but Dark Heresy isn't pure 3.5 ed, is it?. Other systems have bad and good things happen on crits either way. Call of Cthulhu is a percentile dice system, and if you get 01 - 09 something bad can happen, and 91 - 99 something really cool can happen. And if you get 00....hmm....

Plus some DMs like to house rule stuff like that! Not me, I'll be nice unless the rules have a specific failure result. Hell, I'll sometimes make failure a better occurance than success!
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Lol okay, I just used the DH example 'cause it was the first one I could think of. Generally in rolls in tabletop we get different levels of results depending on how high the roll is. So like, on a Perception check you might score 22 and see the obvious shape of an angry-looking black dragon approaching as it flies toward you. A score of 16 might mean you see a dragon flying in your direction. A roll of 8 might mean you think you see something in the sky, and a roll of 3 might mean you're busy admiring a really interesting ant that's just started crawling over one of your shoes.
DH uses the percentile system too - 95+ is a crit-fail and you're probably fooked (especially if, like me, you're a Psyker trying to use one of your powers...). 1-5 is a crit-success and you can get something very cool happen (like the time we accidentally cause a bit of a riotious stampede by nearly all of us getting crit-sucesses on a Deceive roll even though none of us actually had the skill) :D.
But anyway, yeah, if you're not punishing general crit-fails in random rolls, you know, I won't complain too much ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Ok, will answer the OOC IC questions here.

Yup, Ameena is now wearing a stylish string belt around her middle along with her other belt/pouch thingies. How it manages to work its way around her cloak, I'll let you decide!

No perception check needed for actually working your way backwards if you aren't doing it at speed. You can effectively take 20 since you are moving slowly. And since the metal of the soldiers and the traces of people you know well like Falkor and Helm would be strong, and you have only just passed this way an hour ago, I will let you figure out the direction of the scent with only a brief delay at any decision point.

However, the perception roll would be a good idea for another reason - your scent woulnd't let you instantly know how good the floor or when a sudden turn was happeneing. Good 27 roll there, that'll stand as a good indication you are being really careful, and the passageway isn't that bad for unexpected obstruction. Either that, or you are finding them!

For move silently, you still need to roll. It's assumed you are going to have to move at half speed or else you take a penalty. More importantly, these sort of rolls take into account bad luck having just the wrong stone underfoot, and of course the aspects your character can't control - like are any creatures looking the right way, jsut catch a subtle movement or not, etc.

If you can give me a check that would be cool - it's just your stealth check :D
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Okay, I'll make a Stealth check for ye then...let's see...well, I'm not gonna score less than 13 that's for sure. Aaand we get...heh, 16 lol (4+12). Presumably Helm will have to make a roll as well.
The string, I figure, will just run under her cloak (which I keep forgetting about, lol).
She is moving slowly - her whiskers will be brushing every surface they come into contact with so she won't crash into anything unless something unexpectedly moves toward her too quickly for her to withdraw. She's also moving slowly because, like she said, it wouldn't be good for her to suddenly stop abruptly and have Helm keep going and either trip over or step on her. I don't imagine they're that far apart and hopefully he's slightly to one side so as to avoid stepping on her tail ;).
Perception-wise, especially with a roll like that, I would hope we get some fair warning of anything that might be lurking, unless it's something that's sitting completely motionless and with no scent being given off - ears, nose, and whiskers are fully alert for anything, though she'll be tuning out any slight noises Helm might make (unless he's obviously trying to get her attention). I suppose the natural silence of the tunnel will help detection as well.
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Yes, I will do that too - if I ask for a knowledge chekc, for example, then I'll know what results would occur for a DC15 success, a DC20 success, and a DC25 success for example. Sometimes though (like picking a lock) you either get it or you don't, so the DC is a single number.

As you might have spotted, Helm already made a roll and didn't get a create one. Perhaps his distraction, or Ameena's distraction, means her stealth - while ok, is not as spectaculr as it could be with a +12 bonus.

And as you might see across on the IC forum, indeed a good perception check not only means no issues


Rats whiskers don't go 360 degrees, and don't have any weight. A low perception roll for moving around could still mean something odd happens - like Ameena doens't spot a subtle floor switch (since it's right on the floor where her whiskers can't brush) , or a piece of rubble or stalagnite hits her, etc.

Check rolls are abstract storytelling devices as much as anything else. They let me fairly distribute impediments into the narrative and rewards, without me having to worry about how many I've done of each. You can work out why bad things have happened despite precautions, or what foresight meant the good roll happened, and I can award small penalties and bonuses, but at the end of the day don't try to narrate your way out of check rolls until after they happen :)
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Lol no, I wouldn't try to do that - I'm sure rats do occasionally mess up and miss stuff when they're running along ;). It'll be interesting to see (err "see") whether they come across anything in this completely dark tunnel they're moving through. I wonder if light technically gives a disadvantage to the native creaturs, used to living in the dark when suddenly someone comes along with a big bright torch/magic light - "Aaargh, my eyes!!" ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Going by the DM game model, and also how Haynuus's nightsight is handled - hope!

Thinking on real life, Cat's don't look blinded when you change the light level.
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Maybe their eyes adjust better than ours - having never had a cat, I dunno whether you can suddenly dazzle them the way we can be if you suddenly turn the light on when your eyes are used to the dark. Anyway, since this is, you know, slightly Fantastical, you can probably just decide whatever you want about these critters ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Regarding magic - interesting idea about having a 'lay on hands' liek the paladin for murafu mages, but it being the water in the air. Hmm, would murafu priests be very social? Perhaps a gathering of them would have the strength together to draw healing waters from the surroundings.

Not to spoil things too much, but if you haven't checked out all the 'canon' spelllists, there was a party heal spell avaialble in DM: Nexus, so it is possible to use runes to heal without a flask. And of course, spell-like abilities through wands and stuff :)

Magic will be a funny one with Ameena. As a rogue, there is no reason she should not be abe to do some rudamentary interfacing with magical items. Of course, if Ameena's personality doens't make her feel comfortable with doing thast, or if she did not concentrate on that aspect of sneaking around prodding things, that's another matter!
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

All murafu share the same basic personality traits - they're all social and friendly with each other, treat each other as both friends and family, and generally get on well and don't do the things that other species do such as fight/kill each other, say nasty things about each other, steal, that kind of thing. Those murafu who discover/choose to use magic aren't really thought of any differently by their fellows - it's acknowledged but that's about it. Well, since most murafu magic-users focus on stuff like healing (and anything else that can be useful and doesn't involve hurting/controlling people), if a situation comes up in which their magic can be useful, they'll probably both be called upon to use it and offer it themselves anyway. Like if a predator attacked and injured someone, everyone (well, maybe not everyone, because that would just overcrowd the patient and probably do more harm than good ;)) would try to help the best they could, but if there was a magic-user about, someone would specifically go to them and tell them what had happened (if said magic-user didn't already know, and they probably would). Whether the magic-user already knew about it or not, they'd then just probably come straight over and do their thing on the injured murafu.
Anyway...with regards to how their healing magic works, I'd just been thinking about it because I figured all murafu casters are technically mages rather than priests, because they don't have beliefs about gods (well, High Lords in this case) like other races do, so their power can't come from there, surely, because they never ask (pray) for it. And they don't use flasks so wouldn't be able to make potions that way. But most Wizard spells seem to be offensive (apart from the odd one or two like Open Door and Zokathra, obviously), which is something murafu never go near. I don't think murafu casters think of themselves by any kind of title - they're just murafu who can/have chosen to start fiddling about with this here magic stuff which can do things you can't do physically.
I suppose if murafu were, in general, less content with their existence, more of them would look into using magic to do stuff for them (you know, magically enhancing your senses would do wonders for keeping an eye out for any nearby predators or signs that one had recently passed by), but they know (those that have thought about it in the past) that then they might end up becoming reliant on magic rather than their own senses, and might start to miss things. They think dependence on magic would ultimately do more harm than good, so it's more used as a utility, a tool equipped by those who've chosen to use it. I imagine some murafu are maybe born with some innate kind of magic and sort of discover it within themselves at some point and go from there, while others learn of the stuff in their travels and interactions with other races, and then start investigating to see whether they can do it.
As for my ideas on their potion-making, I sort of made that up based on the "mechanic" you invented for how potions work in the RPG - you said the potion forms in the air inside the flask and then condenses and runs down the sides to pool in the bottom or something, right? So I figured that the murafu just touches the injury (or the area around it, or just holds their paw(s) in the air close to it) and conjures the potion in the air (whether they know this is what's happening, I'm not yet sure) which then basically does a kind of "static cling" to the nearest surface - in this case, the injury (murafu paws pushing the magic in that direction so it doesn't just stick to them or something), whereby it immediately makes contact with the wounded flesh and therefore does its stuff.
I suppose murafu use of runes is one that could be tricky. I gather that other mages/clerics (eg Falkor and Westian) sort of picture the runes in their heads and they come together and channel through the magic in the caster's body, using some of it up in the process, before manifesting themselves in the form of whatever spell has just been cast, meanwhile speaking the runes out loud is just a way of enhancing focus. As in the three steps of spellcasting mastery - Incantation, Gesture, and Thought - the first is where you speak the words to cast the spell because you need to say them out loud in order to concentrate your will sufficiently to cast the spell. The second is where you've got better at it, enough that you only need to make a gesture with your hands in order to focus yourself - gesture depends on spell being cast. And the third is where you're so good that youonly ned to think of the spell you want to cast and it happens.
But aaaanyway, I'm sidetracking myself (no surprises there ;)). What was I saying? Oh yeah, murafu and runes. I imagine a lot of murafu casters (meaning the majority of those who cast - compared to the number of murafu in existence right now, there aren't a great number of them who actively use magic) don't know about, or haven't learnt, all the names of the runes or maybe that they even exist. So maybe they sort of picture the effect they want in a different way. I mean, since Vi is the rune for "Water", technically all a Priest is doing when he/she casts it is picturing some water, just in a different, more symbolic form which happens to trigger a release of mana from him/her in the form of the Healing Potion spell. I mean, runes were probably only invented by some mage person at some point, anyway, or a High Lord. Mages and priests use them differently, so why don't murafu have their own way to summon up magic too? Even if ultimately it turns out that they are using runes but have come up with yet another way to access them (ie one which doesn't even require knowledge that such runes even exist, just enough will and the ability to channel magic in order to actually cast a spell). Meh, I don't know.
Anyway...yes...Ameena, what about her...well, if she did ever manage to do magic, she'd probably be somewhat surprised. If she did it by accident, she wouldn't ever be able to live with herself if the spell she cast was a harmful one (well, mainly if it actually hurt someone - if she just accidentally managed to randomly cast a Fireball at a distant wall, she'd probably be just be rather shocked and never do it again), but I imagine (well, I hope) that magic doesn't quite work like that, at least among murafu - if they don't know about runes, then they can't accidentally cast "Ful Ir" (for example) because they wouldn't know how. They probably do it more by "Oh no, that person is hurt...ohh it's really bad, I wish there was something I could do...hey, I feel all weird and tingly inside...hey something's trying to get out...I think...I think...hey what's happening?!? I...oooooooohhhhh...he's cured! Did I do that? Wow..." or words to that effect ;). But I don't think Ameena would ever specifically try to use magic herself, not because she's scared of it or anything - she knows murafu can cast spells (it's come up in her thoughts a few times over the RPG, though whether or not she's actually said anything out loud I can't remember) and will have met some of them during her time. It's more a case that she wouldn't really think to try casting a spell. She might have some innate magic hiding down there somewhere which she's never even considered tapping into because she doesn't know it's there. Actually, I suppose technically everyone must have that to some extent (or at least, the capacity to store magic), otherwise no-one would ever be able to gain any Wizard or Priest levels ;). Like most murafu, she knows she can get by perfectly well as she is so has never seen any reason to try and gain any other abilities like that. If she ever uses magic, it'll most likely be by accident, and presumably she will currently have a mana score of zero (like, say, Halk) so would need to be holding/wearing something which imbues the wearer/user with some mana in order to even try to cast a spell.
Wooo, this must be my longest post for a while - see, this is what happens when you (sort of) ask for some info about the Murafu (or, well, anything I've created or know lots about, really ;)). I have been thinking about these things, you know - I have plenty more info on all kinds of aspects of their lives which will probably never come up but they're there, still, so I know what they're all about and stuff - adds to character background/personality etc, doesn't it ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Be careful of breaking the DM world and the game of course. If murafu can just 'heal' without utensils, why can't everyone with some priest levels? Before you know it, there's no game balance to healing game wise, and more importantly for the game world the source dungeon master game's rules of the world aren't making sense and so we aren't actually writing for that world anymore. There is alot of space to play aroudn with since we know so few things in DM, but that makes it really important not to break any of the fundamentals :D

Since runes are pictuograms, and the murafu can't read nor write, you could perhaps make a case for murafu in older times knowing some writings they found were 'significant'. Perhaps the first priest used that scroll, just ocncentrating on the shapes, and managed to heal someone. Not knowing how it worked, it could have evolved from there, murafu finding that they didn't need to have the shapes written down, they just needed to 'know' them and think about them. At no point would they actually need to know the names nor really the function of rune magic, and hence not associate it with now any outsider casts magic. Because I assume the priests would pass down the secrets of the shapes to those who could use it?

As for the different between priest and mage spellcasting, I don't think it has anything to do with High Lord interverntion. You just use runes and possess mana and that's that, as long as you have the 'levels'. To me, the invocation is mental. If you have the mindset of a make (trying to force the world under your control, therefore being 'selfish') then you can use the runes for mage spells. If you have the mindset of a priest (yourself being second and trying to invoke the runes for the benfit of others) then you have the right mindset for casting runes in #priest' ways.

Being subservient to a high lord and thinking they grant the ability helps with the priest spell mindset. Being intellectually curious and trying ot understand the world and change it helps with the mindset of the mage spells. Neither is necessary for rune magic, but the mindsrt is, and hence mages and clerics are the ones who tend to be able to invoke magics regularly!
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Ahh, I thought it was the traditional difference between Priests and Mages in that the former gets their power from whichever god they pray to, while the latter draws it out from the elements or whatever by themselves, or something. Well, I don't suppose it matters, really, how murafu magic works in relation to this game since it's unlikely to come up. The illiteracy of hte Murafu isn't due to them having lost the ability or anything - it's purely a racial thing in that their minds just aren't structured to be able to comprehend that kind of stuff (as with their not-very-good counting ability). If the Murafu could read, you probably wouldn't be able to enter a library without wading through crowds of them attempting to satisfy their unending curiosity in the assortment of books they'd have found therein ;).
I suppose the discovery that magic can be used by thinking of these weird and apparently unrelated symbols can have come about easily enough - there will have been murafu here and there, over time, who will have befriended magic-users of other races and been shown pictures of the runes or whatever. There will also have been murafu who just found drawings/inscriptions/carvings (etc) of the runes by themselves in various places (anywhere that kind of stuff might have been left lying around - old abandoned buildings/ruins, a book on someone's table, a piece of paper dropped on the floor, etc). At some point there will have been a murafu with an innate amount of mana who found or was shown runes, and who would then have (probably serendipitously) discovered that it was possible for the Murafu themselves to actually use magic. From then, word would have got around the rest of the species pretty quickly (in as much as any traveling murafu who knew of it would give the information very high priority when exchanging news with fellow murafu during their travels), and plenty of others would have had a little mess around with this weird rune stuff themselves - those who had mana would have probably then actually discovered it (their mana), and may or may not have then chosen to continue using it for stuff.
Ameena herself probably knows about the rune-symbol-things that casters use, and know they're important to making magic work in some way (though she doesn't really understand how - how can a little image of something make magic things happen?), but has never really had much to do with it herself. There's a lot to learn about in the world, and though every murafu probably wishes they could discover all of it, they know they'll never have time for that so choose to concentrate more on some things than others ;).
Note that these theories I'm coming up with here on murafu magic-usage are only for this version of the world, which uses the DM/DnD rules - if I ever get round to writing a murafu story of my own, it'll be in a world of my own making and therefore using my own rules as to how magic works and stuff, so things will behave slightly differently to the way they do in our game/story ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

I forget if I asked you this already (I think I did in a general whole group kinda way) but have you ever thought about DMing yourself? You like to have characters but don't like other people moving them, you create cool worlds but never get around to writing up your billions of idea on them, and you generally get a handle on characters.

DMing would be perfect! Rules you can sort of rely on other people for if the players are knowledgeable, there are only a few situational and constructional rules you need, most of the time it's matching known DCs to a situation

Just something to think about...
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

Hrmm, somehow the idea of being a DM/GM myself has never really appealed to me. I think it's 'cause I prefer to be the one wandering around in someone else's story and sort of following along with it. Generally (ie not specifically realting to DnD or whatever) I prefer not being the one in charge - I don't mind helping the one in charge, but I think I just don't fancy the responsibility of handling everything and it being my fault if it all smegs up ;). Like I've never managed to actually make my own custom dungeon, but I've helped various people with aspects of theirs - I wrote the hints for Conflux, backstories for dungeons being made by both Sophia and Adamo (whether those dungeons every actually got finished in terms of being made, I'm not sure - I don't think either of them did, anyway), and recently designed a few bits for Trego. All upon request, this is (mainly through those people reading stuff on the forum and asking me based on what I've said).
I don't know...I'm not sure I'd be much good at stuff like pitching the difficulty level just right, or keeping it interesting enough, or resisting the urge to keep giving players/characters "pushes" toward what I want them to do. I think me being in control of stuff is a bad idea, 'cause I know I usually end up trying to somehow sort of take over - if I'm just sort of the "assistant in-charge person", then I'm just sort of guiding it but within the restrictions laid down by the "in-charge person".
If any of that makes sense.
But hey, you know, if Ameena ends up getting ganked by these baby-and-adult-DM-style-Giant-Spiders (as my current theory on their identities stands...), maybe I can reroll as assistant-NPC-manager or something and come up with loads of freakish puzzles and stuff for everyone else to solve, and throwing in some new random weird characters and stuff :twisted:. I did actually come up with most-of-an-idea for a new character in the event that Ameena snuffs it (thought this one up around the time she split from the main group - it's not been something I've been thinking about since we started or whatever). But then the specifics of that character's race would need to be thought up (hey, that's another thing you didn't mention - I just have to be unique, avoid anything resembling a human, and have stuff of my very own creation as often as I can possibly get away with it :twisted:), which would probably take time and brain cells from us both and I think it's been said that you're busy enough keeping all this going without even getting into RL stuff like wonderful work, lol.
See, one little suggestion is all it takes to provoke what seems to be a several-page-long post - and you think I might be good at GMing? Hehehehhehe ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
User avatar
beowuuf
Archmastiff
Posts: 20687
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 2:00 pm
Location: Basingstoke, UK

Re: OOC thread

Post by beowuuf »

Lol, fair enough to the DMing stuff, was juist interested.

And woohoo to you rolling up a new character! I was worried I'd have to point out the nature of how Ameena wasn't necessarily dead as a character, since, no surprise, I won't break the world enough to kill the Grey Lord, so at some point in the future he could hand wave Ameena coming back to life. Ie - reassure you your story writing wouln't have to die if Ameena died. Then again... different world for the stories I guess!
User avatar
Ameena
Wordweaver, Murafu Maker
Posts: 7515
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:25 pm
Location: Here, where I am sitting!
Contact:

Re: OOC thread

Post by Ameena »

The "new character" idea wasn't necessarily for if poor little murafu got ganked - it was also in the possible event of her (and Helm) managing to escape the dungeon - there's no way she'd ever go back there. I'd completely forgotten about Rezzes, lol, but I suppose someone would need to find Ameena's corpse (or whatever was left of it) in order to chuck it on an Altar.
Ooooh...lol, I just had a very Mean-and-Nasty idea (:twisted:) - there are Giant Rats in DM, as we all know. Well, I suppose one of those critters would probably be a bit bigger than a murafu (they certainly look bulkier and fatter in-game, apart from all the scratches and crap they have all over themselves ;)), but, you know, if Haynuus and co. came across the skeletal/half-mauled remains of one, they might not necessarily realise that straight away ;). Of course, Giant Rats being Chaotic (ie, Chaos-made) creatures, they'd probably just poof into smoke upon death, but, you know, there might be some real Giant Rats there, ones that do leave a body. I just thought it might be interesting to see how everyone's characters (and players, comes to that) react when they see what is so obviously a very large, yet very dead ratty-looking thing lying somewhere ;).
And then, when conclusions have been drawn (by the players/characters), the truth can be revealed in one of several ways - they get attacked by a still-alive Giant Rat, someone (an NPC, one who has no clue about Ameena or the Murafu in general)) comes along (or is already with the group) and mentions that there are giant rat thingys in the area and that they should be careful, or maybe Ameena herself shows up at some point soon after and then everyone can freak about there being giant rats (or not - finding the remains of one is no indication of hostility, after all ;)).
Buuuut anyway...yes, erm, what was I gonna say...oh yeah, about that character idea I had...I had a vague idea what she'd look like (I had originally pictured her as male but then I thought "Hey no, I never play male characters if I have any choice in the matter, plus that would make all the PCs male and that's boring :P"). Still a Rogue, possibly carrying some kind of stabby-spear thing instead of/as well as a knife (or knives...though I realise inventory isn't necessarily something I'd get any more choice in than I did with Ameena's starting kit, or lack thereof ;)). Still honest. Still friendly(ish). Just somewhat...lacking in concern over bloodshed. With murafu, it's a case of "Oh no, something hostile, better try to talk my way past it...oops that didn't work...better try and run...damn, can't get away, let's try talking again...nope, still ain't working...okay, I'll just let go of this branch I've been leaning back against to knock it into the face of this critter so I can leg it...woohoo I'm free, and that creature is only stunned so I didn't cause any lasting damage, phew :D". With potential-new-character-I-rather-hope-I-never-have-to-fully-create-because-it-means-Ameena-is-gone, it's more a case of "Oh, something hostile, better try talking my way out of it...okay, that didn't work...let's try waving this sharp pointy thing at it and hinting that I'm not afraid to use it...ohh, still advancing on me...okay then, you were warned...*stab*...bleh, blood all over the floor now, oh well, I'll just step around it...there we go...hmm, don't think that thing will be walking again for a while...oh well, I'm safe and free :D".
Hehe, this post is getting rather long - I seem to be doing that a lot these days. Muahaha ;).
______________________________________________
Ameena, self-declared Wordweaver, Beastmaker, Thoughtbringer, and great smegger of dungeon editing!
Post Reply