Choose your path to greatness, obscurity or death. A multiple choice LP

[oscar]

First thing after we go around looking for jobs should be spending our money on some decent threads. Fuck this D&D, monster-slaying I'd much rather go down a politics/wealth road.

 

[Smashing Axe]

While politics/wealth would be interesting, I think now I'd rather take the loremaster approach and try for ancient forgotten power, then start a cult as a dark priest/sorcerer. We could have a hoard of mewling devotees and sacrifice fair maidens to unspeakable horrors, entering into a dark covenant that preserves our lifeforce and extends our influence. There's enough mystical ruins and mysteries about that this option isn't entirely outside the realm of possibility. But maybe this isn't the LP for that.

Either-way I think now we should start to come to a consensus as to what we want, considering that one of the first major opportunities of our character's life has fallen into our laps. Better to work towards something now than to make schizophrenic decisions that amount to nothing.

 

[Vernydar]

I think I have to intervene here. I am not going to spoil anything, but a few points are important I think. Better add them to the starting post too.

- I said it before, but in this lp you are free to choose your way in the world I am creating. You can be anything you want to be, as long as you manage to. In fact I think it likely you will develop more than one talent in order to succeed. I will not force you down any preordained path.
- The world is a medieval/fantasy. There are fantasy themes in the setting, though I will not specify the amount. Whether you want to delve into them or not is up to you.
- The world is not static. This is most important, no matter what you do, things are happening elsewhere. You are for now just a small part of the world. And rather insignificant . If you stay five years in some place being a farmer... well, do not expect the world to wait for you.
- And I think I will also add that the world is a dangerous place. Remember I will make you no favors. As the title says, obscurity or death are very possible How you plan to face this possibility is up to you

So what is it you will try to obtain? Personal might? Political power? Wealth and influence? Esoteric power? Fame? I have no idea and I can't wait to see to be honest

 

[Smashing Axe]

How often do you think you'll be updating a week Vernydar? (Not asking for a commitment or anything) I must admit you have me fairly excited about the course of this LP and I'm looking forward to more.

 

[Vernydar]

I update every evening around the same time Will do so as long as it stays interesting, hopefully for a long time
Let's just say that for now I haven't missed a day, though of course there could be evenings when I can't due to other commitments

 

[Rumsfeld]

Are there any brothels in town?

(Trying to think like a 16 yr old from the countryside with some coin in his pocket)

 

[oscar]

Yeah, get our boy laid ASAP

 

[Vernydar]

Are there any brothels in town?

(Trying to think like a 16 yr old from the countryside with some coin in his pocket)

If there is, you have not seen it in your first walk around the village. Of course, it could simply be that they're not displaying a sign for the world to see. It is likely at least that there's some prostitutes around....

If you want, you can vote it under Other. I believe number 13 is open.

 

[newcomer]

Are there any brothels in town?

(Trying to think like a 16 yr old from the countryside with some coin in his pocket)

If there is, you have not seen it in your first walk around the village. Of course, it could simply be that they're not displaying a sign for the world to see. It is likely at least that there's some prostitutes around....

If you want, you can vote it under Other. I believe number 13 is open.

Uh oh... From my experience in CK2, if we do this soon Kyoss will "experience a pain in places he rather not tell" (a.k.a syphilis)

 

[TOME]

So Vernydar, how are you going to handle the next update? If, for example tanner gets the most votes, do you list what is there and their prices or do you go ahead and buy armor and boots since those were mentioned in above comments?

 

[Vernydar]

I have not counted the votes yet, but apart from that, no I won't automatically buy anything from you. I made this list in the last post to be able to plan more or less the next 4 updates. Or more if I know that something interesting will happen in the places you visit.

First let me tell you, most places will have descriptions, and encounters too if possible. I will always try to put something interesting in any update, be a potential meeting with a character (a beggar asking for alms? Someone who might be looking for a mercenary? Just making examples here), a potential reaction to a scene, or in general something. Of course, there might be the very occasional place with nothing going on. The tanner could be an example of such. Which brings me to the "shop system". I have thought about it, and it's the most difficult thing for me yet

I can't tell you: buy 2 things, would be stupid to limit you so. And also, I can't buy anything that gets voted. Putting a minimum of votes required does not work also because I do not know how many of you will vote, so I can't do that well.

What I thought is this:
I am going to ask you to vote for the things you want to buy AND to tell me how much money you want to spend maxx. Then, I'll average more or less the max money to spend, and buy the most voted things that do not go over that average budget. A bit complicated, but I could think of nothing else unless I limit you in stupid ways like: buy at most 2 items.

Example:
Player a says: max 5 silver, and items 1,2,3
Player b says: max 4 silver, and items 1,2,5
Player c says: max 8 silver, and items 2,3,7

I'll have you buy the most voted items, trying to stay around 5-6 silvers spent.

If anyone has better suggestions, I'm open to it. As said, regarding mechanics it's the hardest thing up to now.

Also, a note. It should not happen too frequently. I mean, once you do have your gear, unless you WANT something specific, you won't need to go buy. And then again if you want something specific, like the Book of Evil , that's an adventure onto itself

And finally, it's a trial, if it doesn't work well we will think of something else

 

[Urist McLurker]

2
6
7
12

 

[TOME]

Sounds a bit confusing. It could end up that nobody gets anything.

My first thought was to make this LP closed. The GM would accept players getting in and keep count of them. Also players would be required to inform GM if they can't vote for some time period. Then it would be easier to put minimum vote to buy something because GM knows roughly how many votes there is.

Don't know if it would work any better.

 

[Vernydar]

Sounds a bit confusing. It could end up that nobody gets anything.

My first thought was to make this LP closed. The GM would accept players getting in and keep count of them. Also players would be required to inform GM if they can't vote for some time period. Then it would be easier to put minimum vote to buy something because GM knows roughly how many votes there is.

Don't know if it would work any better.

The problem with this method, is that people could still vote a number of things that exceed your money. Or get close to that. Say that you have 11 silver pieces, and that half of voters want to buy an item worth 5 and half voters want an item worth 4. But none want to be left with just 2 silvers. With the method you mentioned, both items would be bought since both got enough votes.

Since I do not know how many items you may want to buy, I can't truly think of anything better than what I wrote above. I hope it will actually be easier than it seems and work well.If not, we'll see what can be done.

And anyway, better try such a system now that you are spending a few silvers, than maybe one day when you need to decide on what structures you want to build in your castle

 

[newcomer]

I have not counted the votes yet, but apart from that, no I won't automatically buy anything from you. I made this list in the last post to be able to plan more or less the next 4 updates. Or more if I know that something interesting will happen in the places you visit.

First let me tell you, most places will have descriptions, and encounters too if possible. I will always try to put something interesting in any update, be a potential meeting with a character (a beggar asking for alms? Someone who might be looking for a mercenary? Just making examples here), a potential reaction to a scene, or in general something. Of course, there might be the very occasional place with nothing going on. The tanner could be an example of such. Which brings me to the "shop system". I have thought about it, and it's the most difficult thing for me yet

I can't tell you: buy 2 things, would be stupid to limit you so. And also, I can't buy anything that gets voted. Putting a minimum of votes required does not work also because I do not know how many of you will vote, so I can't do that well.

What I thought is this:
I am going to ask you to vote for the things you want to buy AND to tell me how much money you want to spend maxx. Then, I'll average more or less the max money to spend, and buy the most voted things that do not go over that average budget. A bit complicated, but I could think of nothing else unless I limit you in stupid ways like: buy at most 2 items.

Example:
Player a says: max 5 silver, and items 1,2,3
Player b says: max 4 silver, and items 1,2,5
Player c says: max 8 silver, and items 2,3,7

I'll have you buy the most voted items, trying to stay around 5-6 silvers spent.

If anyone has better suggestions, I'm open to it. As said, regarding mechanics it's the hardest thing up to now.

Also, a note. It should not happen too frequently. I mean, once you do have your gear, unless you WANT something specific, you won't need to go buy. And then again if you want something specific, like the Book of Evil , that's an adventure onto itself

And finally, it's a trial, if it doesn't work well we will think of something else

This make me wonder how will you adjust the shop system if we stumble on a brothel (Spend night with x, y, or 3 of them)
Which give us a special skill "HYPER WEAPON" :D

 

[Vernydar]

This make me wonder how will you adjust the shop system if we stumble on a brothel (Spend night with x, y, or 3 of them)
Which give us a special skill "HYPER WEAPON" :D

Have you ever played Fallout? Where one of the perks you could get was, Kamasutra master. No, I'm not joking

 

[newcomer]

This make me wonder how will you adjust the shop system if we stumble on a brothel (Spend night with x, y, or 3 of them)
Which give us a special skill "HYPER WEAPON" :D

Have you ever played Fallout? Where one of the perks you could get was, Kamasutra master. No, I'm not joking

No, and what does it do? 2x chance to pop up a baby?

 

[Rumsfeld]

13 - Find the nearest brothel. Invest a few coppers in an access-all-areas initiation to the world of women (and STDs).

Hopefully this will move us past the stage of staring at random 12 yr olds in remote villages and improve our skill rating in certain essential areas.

 

[Hoodoo]

See if we can find a bank in the city, put our money there for interest and join the army.

 

[Vernydar]

Ok, 14 votes for 2) and 7), 9 votes for 5) and 8 for 11). So, tanner, bookstore, market, and tavern. And one vote for the brothel and STDs
Due to logic, I'll do the market first so you can sell your stuff, and then proceed with bookstore, tanner and tavern in this order. Unless of course something happens.....
From what I gathered from the previous posts, the items people want to sell are the antlers and the average quality axe (a weapon you can't use that is currently just taking space in the backpack. And it weights a lot, and it's not worth much..).

20 – A morning at the market

You decide to start with the market. You hope you can manage to sell off the axe and the antlers, and you think it is the most likely place for that. After selling this, you can maybe buy something at the store of books and maps, and from the tanner. And then take a look at the tavern.

The market is not very big, but once again it's a new experience to you, seeing so many people selling and buying in the same place. You start by going around and asking various small merchants how much they would give you for the axe. At last, you find an old, grizzled merchant that offers you 30 copper pieces for it, and you accept. You think you did a decent job in haggling, but you wish you had some formal training or experience.

After that you search for potential buyers for the antlers. Here you have it easy. An old trader offers you quite a bit. You pretend to be uninterested, and then he raises the price to 2 silver pieces. You are actually surprised, but he explains to you that antlers this big are very hard to find, and that they are in demand in the capital for crafting some figurines for the nobles. You think a bit, and then sell them to him. After all, you have no real way to determine the price of the antlers, something you should try to correct. And it seems a good price.
(You have gained 2 silver pieces and 30 copper pieces)

After that, you decide to use the rest of the morning taking a look around the market, listening to rumors and observing the people.

You do hear a few interesting things. First, there are some rumors about Lord Medah. It seems he came to Bitak two years ago, under direct order from the King to take the place of the previous Lord of Bitak. There are a lot of rumors about him, but you do not hear anything reliable regarding who he truly is.

Then, there are some people telling you that Lord Medah has ordered a lot of stone blocks to be transported here. It seems they will build a stone wall around the village at last. Also, the rumors say that Lord Medah is searching for people to employ for various tasks, but nobody knows why.

Finally, everyone has noticed that the patrols have been tripled in these last two years, and that there are always quite a few soldiers manning the walls. And this of course has made everyone uneasy....

After some time listening to rumors you decide to look around to see if there are any interesting people. Maybe you could try to learn more of the world by talking to them...

in the middle of the plaza, you notice a merchant that is clearly from a different nation. He's very tall and has a rather dark complexion. He's also dressed in some foreign clothes. Maybe you could try asking him about his nation?

After that, you see an old woman in a corner of the plaza, with some strange stones on the floor before her. She is talking to some man, who after a while pays her and leaves. You ask around and you are told she's an old fortuneteller. Most consider her a fraud.

Also, you see a man in a corner near a small street, dressed in casual clothes but with clear eyes and a set jaw. He seem to be watching the entire plaza with cold eyes.

Would you like to talk to someone before heading to your next destination?
1) The foreign merchant. Ask him about his nation.
2) The old fortuneteller. Ask her to read your fortune.
3) The unfriendly man in the corner. Ask him what he's doing.
4) No. Relax for a bit and then go to the store selling books and maps.

 

[TOME]

1.

 

[Kalin]

4) Disregard the unsavoury elements - acquire books and maps!

 

[ScubaV]

1

There's no need to blind the old woman with the brightness of our future and the unfriendly man isn't going to talk to us anyway. Maybe he's a spy, but I'm not sure we have the skillset yet to extract worthwhile information from him. So let's try to become a little more cultured.

 

[Urist McLurker]

1 The guy ought to be rather willing to talk about his home in efforts to get us to buy something, he's a merchant after all. Expanding our knowledge of the world seems like a good idea.

 

[Zwist]

1