Behind the Screens 2008

It seemed to me good to start a new thread; after all, the old one was getting pretty long. Anyone who needs to reference it can find it as Behind the Screens Continues, and can get to the last game-related post here.

Happy New Year; John 4, Max, John 2, and Adam are the guests at today's party.

John 4 adds 12 pairs of drum sticks to his equipment. I, knowing his penchant for percussion, am allowing it without a roll, as I cannot really imagine him going anywhere without them. I'm surprised they weren't in the back pocket of his pajamas. He also looks for his dog, who is on his equipment list, and she will be sleeping beside him.

Max is making some solid preparations for his upcoming meeting. We'll fill in a few blanks on that.

John 2 has inspired a new thread on holy magic botches, and is now praying. On examination, I conclude that the prayer is a M2@4 Cure Disease, capable of curing multiple diseases. There is a baseline of ten minutes, and he has specified "a few minutes", which I usually take as a number between three and seven, so I'll call it 5:00, and take -10 from the chance of success. I'm also not happy that he's curing multiple diseases, but I'll only take -5 for that. He gets +5 for appropriateness, +2 for sound necessary, +15 for total physical involvement, and I believe I gave him a bonus for limiting a prayer to his room previously, +10 for that. This makes the skill's inherent sit-mod -10-5+5+2+15+10=+17, and he has the +10 alliance bonus and his own +9 for religion, a 1@4 mag bias, and a 2@2 BRA. That means +17+10+9+22-24=34% chance of success. The roll is 11, which is a decent success. To consolidate, the description is 1@1 Cure Diseases M+2@4 retire to personal room or quarters, kneel with total body involvement, pray with appropriate words for healing of specified ailments, sound necessary, 5:00TF, +17SM.

Adam is getting oriented to the new surroundings. This will be fascinating.

--M. J. Young

It occurs to me that I owe Adam some character sheets.

Name Adam Micheal Keller
a.k.a. Jhiaxus (Online handle)
Anthony Killian, alias used in Why Spy, of former U.S. Army Ranger, current merc/assassin

Attributes
Persuasion 2@10
Charisma 2@9
Animal Magnetism 1@8
Strength 3@1
Stamina 3@1
Resistance 2@2
Density 1@10
Flexibility 2@1
Agility 2@10
Hand/Eye 2@10
Intellect 2@1
Intuition 2@7
Education Level 2@5
Will Power 2@5

Averaged Attributes
Ranged Strike Value 2@9
Martial Strike Value 2@9
Target Value 2@6
Damage Value 2@5

Best Relevant Attributes
Tech 2@6
Psi 2@9
Mag 2@6
Bod 2@10

Bias
Tech 12@9
Psi 10@1
Mag 15@1
Bod 10@2

Weaknesses Near Sighted (Astigmatism <sp>)

Description skin very pale, 6'2", 180 lbs. dark brown hair, and blue eyes. Big boned build, but again overweight, scar on index finger knuckle, scar below knee, no piercings, tattoos, birthmarks: one at neck, freckles. a few small scars.

Skills

Tech
1@9 Field Preparation T0@1
3@10 Ambush T0@3
1@7 Basic Fire Skills Package T1@1
1@5 Ignite Fire from Spark T1@2
1@6 Cook T1@2
1@4 Create Single-axle Cart T2@2
3@5 Archery
1@7 Use Standard Hand Tools T3@X
2@2 Quarterstaff T3@1
3@2 Lock Picking/Safecracking T3@2
1@9 SabreT3@3
1@10 Felling Trees T3@3 using saws, axes, and other wedge and lever technologies. +2
1@3 Make Lye T3@3
1@6 Photography
2@8 Demolitions package T6@X (T6@1 defuse, T6@2 hardshell, T6@3 soft wrap, T6@4 impact, T6@4 controlled blasting, T6@5 non-fuse detonators, T6@5 timers, T6@6 shaped charges, T6@7 plastic explosives)
3@10 Use scope T6@1
1@9 M-1 Rifle T6@1
3@10 PSG-1 Sniper Rifle T6@1
3@10 M-29 Rifle T6@1
3@10 Pistol use FN57 on right hip T6@1
3@10 Use Grenade T6@1 (flash, smoke)
3@10 Use Special Vision Starlight Goggles (X-ray, others) T6@1
3@10 Use Special X-ray Goggles T6@1
1@1 Non-fuse Detonators T6@5 (radio)
3@10 Use Pneumatic Beretta M9 Tranquilizer pistol with laser sighting T7@1
2@1 Operate Motor Vehicle T8@1
3@10 Operate Comanchee Attack Helicopter T8@2 +1
3@1 Activate Vibroblade T9@0 with a +15 Sit Mod
1@1 Use Thrown Gas Pellets T9@1
1@1 Mold Armor from Synthetics T9@1
1@1 Create Vibroblade T9@4 allows the design and creation of a sword or similar edged weapon with a small motor that causes vibration in the blade for improved cutting.
3@4 Operate Two-way Radio T10@1
1@10 Digital Photography
3@10 Electronic Security Systems T10@6
1@2 Operate Spaceship Weapons T11@1
1@4 Operate Kinetic Blaster T11@1
3@10 Computer Security T11@2
1@3 Operate Laser T11@3 (wristwatch laser)
3@10 Computer Software/Hardware Programming T11@4
3@10 Build Computer T11@5
2@1 Decipher Gene Code T12@1
1@8 Import Genetic Material T12@2
1@1 Design Function Machine Robot T12@3
Electronic and Mechinical Repair (I have had to create robots albit simple ones, from circuit boards, I have had to use multimeters, after dissembling a machine, and also have had to put said machine back togeter)
2@5 Design Organism Modification--virus T12@3
2@5 Modify Organism--virus T12@6
2@2 Mutagenic Virus T12@8
1@5 Design Life Form T12@9
2@6 Physics T14@0
2@2 Chemistry T14@0
2@1 Aerospace Engineering T14@0

Psi
2@10 English P0@0
1@4 Latin P0@0
1@5 Orcish P0@0
1@2 Orc Hand Signals P0@0
3@10 Japanese P0@0
3@10 Italian P0@0
3@10 French P0@0
3@10 Spanish P0@0
3@10 Russian P0@0
3@10 Arabic P0@0
2@2 German P0@0
2@1 Chinese P0@0
3@5 Teaching P0@1
2@10 Training Martial Arts P0@1 +7m
1@4 Read Surface Thoughts P1@1
1@4 Invisibility P1@5
1@2 Jedi Mind Trick P1@5 suggestion requires that the suggested thoughts/actions be voiced in hearing of the target +10SM
1@2 Possession P1@10 resisted with will power RS=S/D/N
1@3 Detect Life P3@1
1@3 Clairaudience P3@5
1@4 Clairvoyance P3@6
1@3 Remote Sensory Presence P3@10
2@8 Haste P4@0
1@3 Simple Telekinetic Pulse P4@1
1@3 Out-of-Sight TK P4@3
1@3 Marionette P4@6
1@3 Enhanced Restful Sleep P5@0 enables user to get double benefit from sleep per unit of time.
1@4 Resist Burn Damage P5@1
1@3 Resist Kinetic Damage P5@1
1@2 Microscopic Vision P5@1
1@2 Diagnose Medical Problem P6@1
1@3 Heal Damage to Self B6@1
1@2 Pyrogenesis P7@4
1@2 Redirect Energy P7@6
1@1 Weaken Molecular Structure P9@1
1@1 Strengthen Molecular Structure P9@2
1@1 Force Shield P10@1 fixed to self, five foot curved shell forward, one-way kinetic protection

Mag
History: Military (love history, and specilization in Military History)
Tactics (Small Unit Operations, I have never done any on a military level or any official level, but I do know how to choose people for a job, and I know what to do on a "mission", whether it be a sweep and clear, stealth, or elimiate all enemies. I figure all my military simulation games have at least got me thinking that way)
1@1 Archaeology and Antiquities M0@0
3@1 Role Playing Games M0@0
1@1 Guitar M0@0
1@1 Electronic Musical Keyboard M0@0
1@1 Dance: Tango M0@2
1@1 Religion (Norse) M1@0
1@1 Receive Assurance M1@1 One minute of prayer asking confirmation that Odin is listening, eyes closed, grants inner assurance
1@3 Bonus Nature-based Magical Attacks M+1@4 raise holy symbol with either hand while saying "We have tried to make peace with brothers, they refuse and want bloodshed, grant me the power to call apon your subjects Ullr and Frey to grant me powers of nature strike down with the force of your anger. Odin, grant my prayer, and let Frey and Ullr grant me the power over nature itself, and strike apon our enemies, with the power of primal fury", will only work if an effort at settlement has been attempted, SM=RS/5 for all magical attacks which rely on natural elements, RS minutes effect. +5SM
1@3 Limited Damage Cure M2@1 1:00 prayer to Odin while holding holy symbol
1@1 Cure Any Disease M+2@4 2:30 prayer to Odin for healing
1@2 Dig M3@6 20:50:75:100:+1/1 yards provided that the initial starting point of the dig is in sight, Casting Time: 1 Minute, upon completion of ritual caster may move up to 4000 cubic feet of ordinary mixed dirt in ten parts over the course of 1 minute, volume equivalent to approximately ten metric tons; denser or less dense earth may be moved in quantities adjusted according to estimated equivalent weight, can be attempted not more than once in six hours, hold shovel in both hands, say "Move this earth with the power of the arcane" in Latin, "Permoveo is terra per vox of ianus", permits movement of dirt from one place to another within range. User has control of the shape of the excavation and the point of deposit of the dirt. It cannot penetrate artificial rock such as asphalt or concrete. It can be used to compress the targeted material rather than shifting it, compressing dirt into soft stone, mud into a adobe-like brick, and soft stone to harder stone. Hard stone cannot be compacted +93
1@2 Silence 15 radius M4@3 RF 1/360, Duration: 30 minutes, the person or object touched is the center of the silence radius, say Planto haud sanus, latin for make no sound, waving both arms, holding a Bell wrapped with twine makes noise inaudiable within the radius and prevents any noise generated within to be heard beyond it. The twine is destroyed in the casting. Especially loud noises such as gunshots will be heard as muffled sounds, and weapons doing sonic damage will take -DC, +1SM
1@1 Invisibility M*5@8 RF 1/360 (once per six hours) with 0:12 casting time, Duration: 4 hours, or automatically dispelled if the person under the effect of spell launches an attack on a being, the person touched is under the effects of the spell, user says Fade ex sight, in latin, spoken loudly and forcefully, it will not work where there is no sound (unless a vocalize spell is used), normal waving of both arms, Vial of Water containing no impurities in a clear container, makes someone invisible to sight in any frequency range, rain can make a silloute, water is destroyed, +78 sit-mod.
1@2 Read or Comprehend Languages M*7@4 will enable caster to understand written or spoken language of a single source for RS/20 minutes, TF 0:06, say Ego agnosco vos, sound vital, while touching a pinch of soot and a few grains of salt with either hand.
1@2 Read, Comprehend, Write, and Speak Languages M+7@4 will enable caster to communicate through written or spoken language of a single language for 2 hours, TF 0:06, say Ego agnosco vos, sound vital, while holding holy symbol with either hand, four times per day maximum, +16 sit-mod.
1@3 Detect Magic M7@9 0:06 TF 1:00 duration detects any magic within sixty feet straight ahead in ten foot wide path when user raises both hands in front of him and recites Veneficus Ego expiscor thee, sound necessary, cannot attempt again within six hours after using, RS=Magic/Nature/Detail, will detect presence of magical invisibility but not the location of magically invisible objects, +104SM
1@1 Alarm M9@3 creates a loud sound when a living creature enters a designated twenty foot cubic area, after attaching a silver wire to a small bell, both of which are destroyed in the casting, and waving it around the area while saying Si vos capto obduco vacuus a password, vos mos erectus illud in area, which is Latin for If you try to pass without a password, you will alert those in the area, the detection lasting for RS/10 hours, the ritual taking only 0:06 but cannot be performed again for six hours, the password which prevents activation can be set at the time of casting +52SM
1@2 Create and Control Thunderstorm M+9@5 (incorporates M+4@7 target lightning): 110:220:440:880:+5/44 yards, Duration: RS/10 minutes, creates Lightning Bolt area attacks fatal to 2.5' radius, -DC per 2.5', may attempt once per 6 hours, hold holy symbol aloft, plead to Odin to grant me out of his followers powers over nature, the skies immediatly darken and a raging thunderstorm rises. User must concentrate to aim bolts of lightning, can direct 4 strikes per minute (targeted magical attacks) for RS/10 minutes, after which the skies return to previous conditions. (The rain can also put out fires.) The caster can do nothing during the duration, but hold his holy symbol and direct the lightning bolts.+34SM
1@1 Color Spray M10@5 0:06 TF creates a momentary burst of pale rainbow-like light in a wedge 5x20x20ft (insufficient for practical illumination), while saying Inviso puchellus lux lucis quod somnus user moves body around while casting multi-colored sand from a bag at targets who fall asleep for at least RS minutes +70 SM
1@2 Charm Person M10@6 0:06 TF caster says Vos es meus amicus , acsi vos don't teneo is etiamnunc, Latin for You are my friend, even if you don't know it yet, while moving hands around, may not be attempted again for six hours after an attempt, target gets intellect checks every RS/5 days, RS=S/D/N, +40SM.
1@1 Find Familiar M11@5 calls a non-sentient creature of the chosen type and causes it to be friendly for at least fifty days (subject to mistreatment shortening this time and normal associates rules thereafter) of intellect 0@10 to serve as friend and servant of the skilled user, 12 hour TF, saying Adeo mihi, meus novus compatriot, and using a bit of feather, fur, scale, or other body part from the desired creature type, destroyed in the casting, +31 SM.
1@1 Jump M15@1 temporarily enables the target individual to jump 30' forward or 10' backward, 0:06 TF can repeatedly jump for 0:18 if desired, must break a grasshopper leg using any means available while saying "EGO can jump amo grasshopper".

Bod
3@10 Stealth techniques--cat burglar (forest) B0@6
3@10 Climbing (walls)
1@2 Quick Stand, tumble to erect position, no time penalty to return to feet after fall or throw, untargeted success roll. B4@4
1@2 Fall Impact Absorption, fall shock absorption, damage category penalty on falls and related impacts, untargeted success roll. B4@6
3@10 Great Jump B5@6
2@2 Ku Fung B7@1 Fast Defensive Weapon-adverse Punch style -20 def sit-mod, -10 def damage mod, RF2, -10 att sit-mod (PENALTY), Body Part: Hand
3@10 Katana Martial Arts Weapon B7@1 with personal Katana of Quality
2@4 Adam's Bushido B7@1 Fast Aggressive Weapon-dependent RF2 +15 Att SM -5 Def SM
2@2 Flashing Steel B7@1 fast draw katana
1@3 Spear Martial Arts Weapon B7@1
1@3 Naginata-do B7@1 Slow Defensive Weapon-dependent uses spear and shield attack x1 +15 att dam mod -10 def sit-mod -20 def dam mod
1@1 Sheild Martial Arts Weapon B7@1
2@2 Quick Draw Colt .45 B7@1
1@4 Quick Draw Pneumatic Dart Gun B7@1
2@1 Steal Initiative "Leaf on the Wind" B7@1 +1
3@10 Chow En Lai B7@1, Fast Aggressive Weapon-dependent, no Defensive Modifiers, Att x2, +20 att sit-mod, Hand & Arm
3@10 Nunchaku B7@1 damaging RF2
3@10 Ah Tsu B7@1 Fast Defensive Weapon-dependent -15 def SM Attx2 +5 off SM hand & arm all weapons
3@6 Fighting Blind B7@2
3@10 Panoramic Awareness B7@2
1@1 Kick Object Away B7@2 tactical
3@10 Solid Punch, B7@3 intensified damage: damaging, standard attack success required, -10 sit-mod.
3@10 Power Punch, B7@3 intensified damage dangerous, lethal against objects, only attack in minute against objects, limit of two attacks in the minute against creatures, standard attack success required if used against creatures or armor, attack on weapon if used against weapon, automatic breakage on failed d100 relative success density check.
2@3 Whirling Dervish B7@3 intensified damage attack does base damage to all targets within ten feet on a successful untargeted skill check; character may not make any other attacks in the minute, nor use any maneuvers that cost an attack or require the use of a weapon; the skill may not be used if there are fewer than three targets within ten feet, and the user cannot discriminate targets.
2@8 Spinning Kick B7@3
2@9 Crushing Grasp B7@3
2@9 Momentum Casting B7@3
1@3 Leaping Kick, intensified damage: dangerous, 5' run required, standard attack success roll, failure is fall for annoying damage. B7@3
3@10 Missile Escape B7@4
3@2 Following Finger B7@4
3@9 Muscle Blocking B7@4
3@10 Seize Weapon B7@5
2@7 Parrying Blade B7@5 advanced parrying uses one attack and one weapon for the full minute (that weapon may not be used for any other purpose in this minute if the roll is successful) to parry all martial attacks in that minute, RS=SM
3@7 Weapon Breaker B7@5 follows rules for disarming attacks
3@10 Disarm weaponless B7@5
2@10 Immobilizer B7@5
2@9 Improvised Cloth Weapon B7@6
2@5 Control Resistance B7@9
3@9 Alert Rest B10@2

Equipment
Leather Duster (split back trench coat)
Big Dig T-short Navy Blue
Cell phone/PDA
Wallet w/40 dollars
belt
X-Ray Goggles
Thermal Goggles
Holy Symbol: Eye of Odin Lapis Lazuli on Silver Chain
Carpenter’s Jeans
1 multipurpose tool on belt
1 swiss pocket army knife on belt
Boots, Leather Steel Toed
Tactical Harness for Vest, Legs and Back modified for two katanas, and Quiver on back or belt
Tactical Belt w/ Pouches
2x FN-Five Seven w/ 20 clips of 20 bullets of 7x28mm ball round caliber (15lbs) RF10 dangerous, titanium parts for critical elements, anti-corrosion exterior finish, night sights, laser sights q.v.
Pneumatic Dart Gun with 20 darts of sleep toxin
Kinetic Blaster, from Destiny
Compound Bow 15':??':??':??':+?/?'
Quiver for Arrows
60 Arrows (Sherwood Forest)
8 Exploding Arrows
4 Hunting Arrows
1 Gigabyte Lexar Securedrive USB thumb drive
Large Backpack
Spiral Bound Notebook
Dozen Pens and Pencils
Passport, British Standard: Alan Kittle (cover story he is an insurance broker from LLoyds of London)
Passport, British Diplomatic: Allister Konrad MI-6 #047
Masamune, steel 4@2 density katana with vibroblade hilt weapon of quality, purple Amethyst in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider, +5 damage points
Murasama, steel 4@2 density katana with vibroblade hilt, Lapis Lazuli in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider
Passport, American: Anthony Killian (cover story is he is an ex Ranger teaching martial arts)
Passport, Australian: Albrecht Kent (cover story is he is the owner of an Import/Export company)
Passport, South African: Allen Kincaid (cover story is that he owns a diamond mine there)
Passport, New Zealand: Aiden Keenan (cover story is that he is a shipping tycoon)
Passport, Irish: Adair Kennady (cover story is he graduated from Cambridge University with many degrees, and is a Physicist)
Passport, Canadian: Alex Korath (cover story is that he is a computer hacker who graduated from MIT)
MI-6 ID
All my hackmaster items on a PDF DVD: Hackmaster Complete RPG, books, modules, class guides (they give indepth of both divine, and arcane magic, thief and fighter skills +styles)
Many Sets of real gem and plastic polyhedrial dice
Set sterling silver dice
Dell XPS latest Gen Laptop (10 lbs)
50 Gold Nuggets average 2 ounces each
Calculator (Solor and Battery Powered)
Large Duffle Bag
3 Deoderant Sticks
1 Folding brush/mirror combo
1 Toothbrush
1 Tube of Toothpaste
1 Box of dental floss
1 Bottle of Hydrogen Proxide
1 Bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol
1 Box of Band Aid Bandages
1 4 roll pack of Tolit Paper
1 Bath Towel
1 Washcloth
1 Mach 3 razer, with 10 refill packs
1 Bottle of Salon Shampoo and conditioner
1 3 pack of Irish Spring soap
1 Panasonic FZ-10 camera with extra battery and charger
8 pounds of light clothing (three full changes)
Computer repair kit (small screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers)
1 Ball of Twine (100 foot)
1 Roll of Industrial Strength Ductape
Case MRE's (5#)
1 1 1/2 Gallon Jug of Deer Park Water
PSG-1 w/10x site w/ 10 clips of 10 bullets, (25lbs), RF3, base lethal, ranges 20:80:200:800:+1/8 feet, with the scope's effect doubling effective ranges but cutting the RF in half when used, optional silencer
M29 5.56/.25mm 6 shot grenade camera gun, with 10 clips of 30 5.56 bullets and 10 of 6 20mm grenades (30lbs), M-16 like gun, pneumatic grenade launcher 0:50:200:500:+1/5 yards RF 2, rifle 10':50':200':800':+1/8' RF6 dangerous Magazine Capacity: 30 rounds reload 0:18
Pancor Jackhammer MKII Automatic Shotgun 10 round drum with 200 rounds of ammo (15 lbs)
Dragon Cane Nunchaku, ends of nunchaku fifteen inches each, thirty inch long heavy cane; inside edges hollowed and threaded concealing fifteen inch cord when screwed together, decorative dragon head screws onto end, total length of cane thirty-six inches
Gold wedding ring, alternating diamonds, emeralds, rubies, twist detachable ring with fine garrotte wire
Omega Seamaster 2531.80 (Die Another Day/World Is Not Enough version) with miniature grappling hook, 50 foot high tensile micro filament, 800 pound test, dual high-powered lasers, titanium casing, men's styling
Black 40 GB Video Ipod
Custom Spectra Armor -48 cover value
Custom Spectra Helmet -4 cover value
10 sleeping gas pellets 5':10':15':20':+5/1' stamina check RS=S/D/N unconscious RS/5 minutes 5' radius center
80 GB Black Video Ipod, loaded with music
Laser sights on FN-five-seven pistols, Character must have skill in use laser sights; this skill works at +20; Successful use of the skill gives +RS to the shot; Target gets an intuition check, which may be bonused or penalized according to conditions. Success means target is aware of the beam before the shot is fired, and can take action.
Springfield XD-45 in the 4 inch barrel, night sights
5 Springfield XD-45 magazines
500 .45 ACP ammo
30 Aluminum Arrows with Broad Heads
Set good binoculars
Qt. Water Bottle, full
Pack long matches
Hand pumped water filtration tube
Charger for kinetic blaster

Stage 3

World List Tropical Island
Starship Destiny
Sherwood Forest
Orc Rising
Why Spy

I've removed the "overweight" weakness.

Geneice:

Name Geneice Baldo Killian
a.k.a.

Attributes
Persuasion 2@1
Charisma 1@8
Animal Magnetism 1@10
Strength 3@1
Stamina 3@1
Resistance 1@8
Density 1@10
Flexibility 2@1
Agility 2@10
Hand/Eye 2@10
Intellect 1@10
Intuition 2@4
Education Level 2@5
Will Power 2@1

Averaged Attributes
Ranged Strike Value 2@7
Martial Strike Value 2@8
Target Value 2@5
Damage Value 2@3

Best Relevant Attributes
Tech 2@5
Psi 2@3
Mag 2@5
Bod 2@10

Bias
Tech 12@9
Psi
Mag
Bod

Weaknesses

Description 5'8" Long Brown Hair, and Green Eyes

Skills

Tech
3@10 Archery T2@1
2@10 Lock picking/safecracking T3@2
3@6 Demolitions package T6@X (T6@1 defuse, T6@2 hardshell, T6@3 soft wrap, T6@4 impact, T6@4 controlled blasting, T6@5 non-fuse detonators, T6@5 timers, T6@6 shaped charges, T6@7 plastic explosives)
3@10 Pistol use (FN five seven) T6@1
1@1 Use Pneumatic Artillery T7@1 (grappling hook system)
3@10 Electronic Security Systems T10@6
3@10 Use Computer T11@1
3@10 Computer Security T11@2
2@1 Decipher Gene Code T12@1
2@5 Import Genetic Material T12@2
2@1 Design Organism Modification T12@3
2@2 Modify Organism T12@6
1@8 Design Life Form T12@9

Psi
3@10 English P0@0
3@10 French P0@0
3@10 Spanish P0@0
3@10 German P0@0
3@10 Italian (native language) P0@0
3@10 Russian P0@0
3@10 Arabic P0@0
3@10 Japanese P0@0
3@10 Mandarin Chinese P0@0
2@2 Training: Acrobatics P0@1
2@4 Teaching P0@1
1@6 Haste P4@0

Mag
1@8 Music (Violin/Clarinet/Flute/Piano/Singing) M0@0
2@10 Linguistics M0@0

Bod
3@10 Stealth Techniques--cat burglar B0@6
2@2 Horseback Riding B3@0
3@10 Fall Shock Absorption B4@6
3@10 Evasive Tumbling B4@8
3@10 Great Jump B5@6
3@10 Balance Beam Contact Stunts B6@2
3@10 Bars & Ropes Basic B6@2
3@10 Bars & Ropes Contact Stunts B6@3
3@10 Balance Beam Non-contact Stunts B6@4
3@10 Tightrope Walking B6@4
3@10 Bars Non-contact Stunts B6@5
3@10 Tightrope Contact Stunts B6@5
3@10 Balance Beam Speed B6@6
3@10 Rope & Trapeze Transfer B6@6
3@10 Tightrope Non-contact Stunts B6@7
3@10 Tightrope Speed B6@8
3@10 Knife Fighting Style B7@1
3@10 Knife B7@1
3@5 Fencing B7@1
2@4 Ku Fung B7@1 Fast Defensive Weapon-adverse Punch style -20 def sit-mod, -10 def damage mod, RF2, -10 att sit-mod (PENALTY), Body Part: Hand
3@10 Chow En Lai B7@1 Fast Aggressive Weapon-dependant RF2 +20 att sit-mod, Body Part: Hand & Arm,
3@10 Katana B7@1
3@7 Nunchaku B7@1
3@10 Ah Tsu B7@1 Fast Defensive Weapon-dependent -15 def SM Attx2 +5 off SM hand & arm all weapons
1@6 Boxing B7@1 attack multiplier 1, slow defensive, weapon-adverse, no offensive modifier, -15 Defense modifier, -15 damage modifier, hand & arm
3@10 Panoramic Awareness B7@2
3@10 Fighting Blind B7@2
3@10 Solid Punch B7@3
3@5 Momentum Casting B7@3
2@9 Spinning Kick B7@3
3@10 Missile Escape B7@4
3@10 Following Finger B7@4
3@10 Muscle Blocking B7@4
3@10 Disarm weaponless B7@5
1@3 Seize Weapon B7@5
1@3 Break Weapon B7@5
1@8 Improvised Cloth Weapon B7@6
3@10 Alert Rest B10@2

Equipment
Hairbrush with concealed knife (the handle and body of steel so that it will be evident that it is the cause of the metal detector disruption, and design a quality brush that is beautiful in a modern way, with a six inch blade concealed within)
Large diamond on platinum band wedding ring, surrounded by sapphires, cuts glass and plexiglass
Omega Seamaster 2531.80 (Die Another Day/World Is Not Enough version) with miniature grappling hook, 30 foot high tensile micro filament, 600 pound test, high-powered laser, titanium casing, women's styling
Engagement Ring:
"Insurance" box containing $125K in gems, jewelry, and metals, and explanatory letter
2x FN-Five Seven w/ 20 clips of 20 bullets of 7x28mm ball round caliber (15lbs) RF10 dangerous, titanium parts for critical elements, anti-corrosion exterior finish, night sights, laser sights q.v.
Gold wedding ring, alternating diamonds, emeralds, rubies, twist detachable ring with fine garrotte wire
Custom Spectra Armor -48 cover value
Custom Spectra Helmet -4 cover value
Springfield XD-45 in the 4 inch barrel, night sights
5 Springfield XD-45 magazines
500 .45 ACP ammo
Mishap, steel 4@2 density Katana-model Vibrosword weapon of quality with Amethyst gem in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider, +5 damage points
Circumstance, steel 4@8 density Katana-model Vibrosword with Aventurine gem in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider

Stage 1

World List (Why Spy)

There isn't much to Horus, but I'll post it if it becomes relevant.

--M. J. Young

Adam has 3@10 in languages? That's impossible. I know a guy who is a linguist. For languages, the scale is measured from 1 to 6. Fluency is at level 3. To have level 6, you would quite literally have to know every single word in the language you are speaking. Most people only have a 3 level in their native language. Doctors and people who use more complicated language only have a 4 or 5 in their native language. At best, you would probably have 2@5 in your native language. That's by the real-world scale in a real-world setting.

Sorry John, what you don't seem to realize is that this is a game and everything is possible. While I may not have even a 2@1 in English, my character can and has surpassed that.

Adam

It wasn't anything personal Adam. All I was saying is that the only way ANYONE could have 3@10 in ANY language would be to be the person that writes dictionaries.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Languages, by Jhiaxus? ^_^

Woo for starting the new year with 1@1 Telescopic Vision P5@1 added to my sheet. I loves my psionics. *nodnod*

I'm more worried that MJ has his English at 2@10, while his Japanese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, French, and Arabic at 3@10. That seems odd, though I haven't read his Why Spy thread, so I don't really know what he did.

Actually Graham, it makes perfect sense. Someone that learns a language in school is more likely to have better proficiency with it than with their native language. In school, you learn "Proper" use of that language. You're not mixed up with different slang, you don't learn it from your drunken father who could throw 4 letter words around like there was no tomorrow. You learn from a skilled teacher. It is not at all uncommon for someone to know a foreign language better than their own.

That happened to my grandfather when he was in the army. By the time he came home, he spoke German better than he spoke English. At one point he even had someone call him on the phone and couldn't tell what the guy was saying for a minute, till he realized he was speaking English. O.o;

(Edit: We really oughta stop derailing this thread.)

Adam and Geneice put years of study into their language skills, under the best experts that the world could find for them. They know all the words, all the forms, all the slang, all the dialects, pretty much everything anyone could know about those languages. Adam realized at some point that his wife spoke English better than he did, because he learned it growing up but she had studied it (her native tongue is Italian, but she studied that, also).

And as Adam says, it is a game in which anything is possible. I have no more difficulty with someone having 3@10 at Mandarin than I have with someone having 3@10 with katana.

I apologize for my absence, thank those of you to whom it is appropriate for your prayers, and turn my attention back to play with the hope that I've not missed any threads. John 4, Harry, Max, Edward, John 2, Adam, John 1, and Ryan are the threads I see, but I suppose if I missed someone it will be evident once the dust settles from these.

John 4 has found someone to answer questions, but probably not the questions he really wants to know.

Harry is in a bit of relative quiet, practicing and moving across the largest ocean in this world toward an unfamiliar port. He's got more interruptions ahead, but for the moment he's good.

Max and Marilyn are working on a code word system; I'm throwing in my two cents to see if we can come up with something truly creative.

There isn't much difficulty to what Edward is attempting; the standard human body package includes 1@3 Running High Jump to 4'6", and he doesn't have to clear the object or stand on it so I'll bonus that +20. His roll is 87 on a 76% chance of success; best solution is that it has moved upward, and he'll have to shift to the reaching jump, but the dice are not favoring him--99 will be a botch. This, though, is combat, so it costs him his attack.

John 2 rolls 88 on his great jump, which is a failure.

I should probably toss a GE roll to Adam to decide whether he meets good guys, bad guys, or something between; but I also think that I should emphasize just how pristine this wilderness is by giving him a bit of time before he meets anything.

John 1 is in the midst of plans; we'll get them started and let him make suggestions, and try to tie up the loose ends.

I think we can do something interesting with the little bit that Ryan has posted. Anyway, it can't hurt to take it this direction.

--M. J. Young

Four play for play today--O.K., away from poetry and turn my attention to Harry, John 2, Adam, and John 1.

I think I may need some GE rolls today, in connection with where people are and what they find. Harry gets the first of these, 16, which is status quo. He's headed into his next randomized event. The question is where he is when it happens, and 18 is not the worst but not the best place to be.

John 2 has a few details to confirm.

The other GE roll goes to Adam, who has thus far been in a pristine forest. He gets 23, so he's not going to go where he might prefer, at least, not yet. He's going to be addressed by someone, in a language that is not quite within his areas of expertise. He has 2@10 English, with a 10@ psi bias and 2@9 BRA, against a 78 skill check, which is in there.

John 1 is finalizing plans for this pick-up. We'll see how it goes as it goes. I should look up the notes, to be certain I haven't overlooked anyone on the crew, but I'm pretty sure I covered everyone.

I'm also pretty sure that I'm done with today's posts. A demain, as the French say.

--M. J. Young

All of today's threads are active play, including Robert, Harry, Edward, John 2, and Adam.

Robert is looking for a job in electronics retailing; this will be the first time he's interacted with someone in this world. He has a 25 GE roll, but I've put some consideration into what is likely to happen. If it takes a positive turn, it will make his game character more effective; if it goes poorly, it will make the story more interesting.

Harry rolls 31 on his telescopic vision; he's got a 1@1 SAL and a 1@9 BRA in a flatlined bias world, so that's as near a failure as he can get. I'll let him wait a moment and try again, and 05 is a success.

I'm giving Edward a +10 bonus on his jump because he is going to use the railing as a sort of springboard; a roll of 44 should be a good success. The one controling it rolls 80, which suggests that it lost control over it, but I've no particular reason to think it dropped it.

John 2 asks whether the smith is married. It is evident that the man has no son--if he had a son, he wouldn't have taken an apprentice but would have taught the business to his own child. However, A GE roll of 9 is quite favorable. I think maybe it's time to show how a roll can be better than one really wants. As for the smith, I'm sure his intuition is nowhere near 33, which is the intuition check rolled for him noticing anything different about John.

I've rolled 49 on making the next handle; I'm going to have to go back to the other thread to find the calculation for how difficult that is. That looks like it is a strong success, relatively speaking. He probably feels like he's getting better.

Adam is pitting his panoramic awareness against some of the best ambush skills he has ever encountered. They roll 64; he rolls 69. He should get the benefit of Geniece, too, but she rolls 54, so she is less aware than he.

Hey, that's a wrap. I'm good to go.

--M. J. Young

I can live with that Mr. Young.

Mr. Young, if I recall correctly, I have a 54% chance of success. So yes, a 49 is almost a perfect job.

I've got John 4, Robert, Harry, John 2, and Adam in play.

John 4 is being a bit more creative than I usually expect, but not so much that I can't work with him. Maybe I'll bring that black man back one day; but I'm going to have to decide whether there's enough magic in this world for him to really have "the sight" or whether he really is a crazy old black man. Meanwhile, he's going to meet his contact.

Robert is uncomfortable, and looking for a way out; I was hoping he'd let medical examine him, but that's not within my control.

I can let Harry's fate hang on a GE roll or on a couple of skill checks; I'd prefer the latter. I've rolled 88 for Donald's navigating skills, but the man is clearly an expert navigator with a 2@ BRA which puts him around 60% +/-10 before bias. Bias is low, though, so that's a failed navigation check. I'm going to give Harry a difficult intuition check, and I'm going to give our pilot a piloting skill check as well. Harry's roll is 19+10=29, so he's clueless. The pilot, on the other hand, rolls 53, and he's got a 2@ intuition and 3@ piloting skill, and this is a tech skill where he's got a 6@ bias, so he's got it.

John 2 likes to throw these almost certain to fail spells my direction without providing details. I'll throw another back at him.

Adam has made a couple of interesting statements here that might not fit well with his situation.

--M. J. Young

For some reason I'm feeling more tense than usual tonight; hopefully it will not impede my gaming, because Robert, Harry, John 2, Adam, Graeme, and John 1 are all awaiting my posts. In fact, I'm off balance enough that I almost missed John 2 in the crowd (because he posted before I was finished yesterday, so his post was not marked as new), and I'm going to have to be careful not to miss things.

This is one of those situations in which it's good to be a human referee. If this were a computer-run game I'm sure the computer would have been stymied by Robert's statement that he was going to go "north" in this particular environment--there is no way to know which way that is, that I can see. However, he's either superstitious about north being a good direction, has some idea that he can tell which way is north, or is picking a direction at random; I can deal with those.

Harry wraps up an eventful day; I'll give him opportunity to play with the rest of the day, and then pick up the pace toward the next event.

John 2 is throwing quite a few things my direction; let me see if I can keep them all orderly.

The prayers can be managed by viewing these as RF1 bonus single check skill, which makes it -20 for converting from TF to RF but otherwise is good. It's also -10 because it is spoken only, but +5 for appropriate words, so he's got an inherent -25SM on the skill itself. It applies to all blacksmithing and related skills, and his chance to learn it is his 2@4 bias+2@2 BRA+the 13@ world mag bias minus the 1@4 target skill and -25SM. 83 is a failed learning attempt, but he still gets to roll for drilling the holes, 03 will get one (but not a pair), so we'll do both rolls for the next hole, 05 gives him the skill and the bonus, typically RS/5, so +1 on his chance of success on the drilling, 57 just outside that. The new skill is 1@1 Bonus Single Blacksmithing task check M1@4 RF1 appropriate prayer while performing the skill, -25SM.

On a more positive front, he rolls 54 on learning to knit, and since that's a T2@2 skill and he has an instructor and a high tech bias, that's a 1@2 Knit T2@2 on his sheet.

On M7@7 Communicate Off-World skills, I have a fairly wide range of possible time factors equal to durations, up to fifteen minutes. His question isn't exactly simple, but it doesn't really require a ten minute answer, either, so I'm going to give him +10 for having a 10:00 TF (assuming an answer that takes about 5:00 to deliver). I'm also recognizing total body involvement for +15, and +5 for appropriate words, and I have been giving him +10 for the requirement that the ritual be performed in his established home base. This is all kind of important, since he's up against a 7@7 skill; in his favor, though, he gets +9 for his religion and +10 for the alliance world. That actually gives him a 41% chance of successfully learning this, and an even better chance of repeating it if successful. 07 is successful, 1@1 Communicate with Deity M+7@7 10:00 TF kneeling with hands folded by bed in home base, appropriate words asking questions, 5:00 worth of answers concurrent with second half of prayer, +40SM. That also increases his mag bias to 7@7, which will boost a lot of other stuff.

We will give Adam a look at the property owners and take him to a road.

I get to give Graeme a potent introduction. I'm not sure he knows even yet what's happening here, but he is good at rolling with the punches.

John 1 asks a good question, but not one to which anyone other than the computer is apt to know the answer; and what the computer knows is going to be too voluminous to cover quickly or concisely. Maybe John will figure out what kinds of questions will get the information he wants.

And that finishes these.

--M. J. Young

I've got posts from John 4, Robert, Harry, John 2, Adam, and Ryan; let's see how many I can address before I have to take an extended break.

John 4 is asking me to give him a call; that's not something I can do at the moment, but I was thinking of calling him the other night as it was, so maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a phone call late tonight.

Robert is entering a random store; I'm not certain what he's hoping to find. (I'm actually hoping to get him connected with medical services, for a host of reasons, but that's not my call.) He gets a solid 10 for a GE roll, but I think I'd better question him before guessing what he's hoping to find.

It is at least interesting that several of the randomly-generated events for Harry involve navigation, and he landed in navigation. There have been no pirate encounters, no derelict ships, and even now that there's what is essentially an engineering problem it has a navigation interest. He's on his fifty-first day in this world.

John 2 has thrown a few things my direction, but most of them are easily resolved. His casual mention of having learned something "in school" is going to catch attention, though. As to the mind reading, it is unclear in his post whether he's doing that now or making a note to do it later, so I'll let him decide that.

Adam gets a 14 GE roll on the road.

For Ryan to demonstrate his pyrogenesis to Magdi, Ryan must make a successful skill check, and Magdi must successfully watch his mind. I'm bonusing Ryan for the relaxed conditions, +10, and he rolls 49, which sends me to the numbers. He is, unfortunately, limited by the world area bias in psionics, 2x7@; his Psi BRA is marked as 1@6, and I've only got a 1@1 SAL listed on the skill, so with the bonus we're looking at 51%, and he's succeeded. Magdi is a one each Mu-tahk, which are listed as having specific skills plus whatever they might learn. I'd wager he's got a mind reading skill, but a 21 GE roll says he does not. I'm enjoying the conversations, though.

I'm also making dinner, and should turn my attention back to that for the present.

--M. J. Young

Mr. Young, mentioning going to school and taking Home Economics was kind of for you. I'd say I have 1@3 sewing by hand, and 1@3 cooking. That's from the three semesters of Home Ec.

As I said in today's Blogless Lepolt post, I owe a lot of apologies. One is to all of you, because not only did I never get back to post on Friday, I never managed to catch up on Saturday. Two of those apologies are to our first player, John 4. I must apologize that I never got to him on Friday night, for reasons hinted in the blog, and that I never called to let him know it wasn't going to happen (although I was half hoping he would call my cell phone while I was driving through the area and my wife would have to answer it and be talked into a quick visit). I must also apologize that on Thursday when he posted twice I completely missed the first of the two posts; I have done so by phone (which is when he made me aware of the post I did not see). Because of the way this board works, it is probably best to make sure that you mention in your last post if there is another one before it, because I might not see it.

After John 4, I have Robert, Harry, Edward, John 2, Adam, and Graeme.

We'll give John 4 a huge chunk to digest.

I already rolled that 10 GE for Robert; he wants something to which he can react, so he picked a random store and entered. I'll give him something.

I'm not sure from what he says whether Harry would prefer that there were or were not sea chanties in this world, but I'm inclined to think that he'd rather learn them than take it upon himself to introduce them to the world. 12 is good enough to favor that. There are four navigators, so we have four chances to roll a successful check. Harry rolls 60, which is not successful; the next roll is 03, which is a weak success, and 01 which is even weaker, but 26 is going to work. I won't penalize them on time for going to the island, but they will lose a day for the repairs.

My impression is that Edward actually has completely misjudged the situation--as Yoda would say, the amount of weight on the object is irrelevant to the ability to move it telekinetically. On the other hand, I'm not sure, apart from grabbing it psionically or magically, just how one would derail such an object, and jumping on it is as good a bet as any--so I'm going to give him a GE roll for the effects of his efforts: 22 is not going to go the way he wants it to. On the other hand, the creature in control rolls 94 for trying to control it, and that is going to be a botch. I'm torn--part of me says this is a combat situation, and part of me says it's not really combat. I'm going to have the controller drop the object.

John 2 rolls 28 on his first mindreading attempt; a 2@2 BRA and 1@6 SAL gives him 38% chance of success. Since he named Mary first, that roll will go to her. He rolls 96 on reading Ruth's mind, and that 38% chance of success means I need a botch list. I'm reminded that someone just recently joked that I was going to drive John 2 back into his psychosis, but hopefully it won't come to that.

1. mind link
2. psionic shock wave
3. wrong target
4. telepathic message
5. brain burn
6. neural breakdown
7. neural breakdown--target
8. confer knowledge

The roll is 7, so Ruth is going to be in pain, and a 17 GE roll suggests it's going to be for a while.

Adam rolls 14 on a GE roll, which is mildy favorable.

Graeme gets the bombshell information I've been keeping. He probably actually knows quite a bit more about what they're doing now even than they do. Let's see what he does with this information.

I'm gone. I have reason to believe that tomorrow will be very difficult, but hopefully I'll make it here at some point.

--M. J. Young

Damn, out of all of the botches, it was the only one that would hurt someone besides me. I would have almost preferred being driven psychotic again. At least that I know how to deal with.

Make that a botch for me BTW. Full-blown psychotic episode. You would have to specify which one it was though. Erin and Tracy are the worst two, and the most likely to happen. After that, the fits aren't as hard to deal with. However, I do know how to stop them, if I know which fit it is. I learned that prior to going out on my misadventures.

And yes, I have names for my psychotic episodes. Erin, Tracy, Mike, and a few others I can't think of at the moment. (One of them, I call Mr. Young....) The Erin fit is the worst one, the most likely to happen, but, coincidentally, the one I have the most experience controlling.

Hopefully she won't know where it came from and just assume it's a migraine or some such thing.

Oh, I'm sure she doesn't know where it originated; it's just an unexplained sudden severe persistent headache.

I know it's late, but I'm going to attempt to get through posts from John 4, Harry, John 2, Adam, and Ryan.

John 4 left me a note to call him; we did talk, but I guess he hasn't gotten back to continue since then.

I don't expect anything really bad to happen to Harry, but I'm going to use a GE roll to see whether things go as he hopes; 21 says they don't, but they're not all that bad.

John 2 just botched; he's trying to correct the problem. His 1@10 SAL at this hypnotic healing is not sufficient, though, to work on a roll of 66, even without me assessing penalties for the severity of the headache. He's not having a good time of this, either, as he rolls 91 on the cure disease skill on which his 1@1 SAL is not going to make it even with his religion bonuses. He rolls 39 on learning to whittle, though, so that's going to be a success.

I'll bring Adam to the edge of town, where there will be a locked gate.

I've thrown some dice for Ryan, but given that he is a trainer in psionics and he's got several things going for him, these were mostly to be certain he didn't botch. I needed several rolls to get where he was going, but didn't jot them down.

Lord willing, I will make it tomorrow.

--M. J. Young

The Lord apparently is willing--I have made it. So have Harry, John 2, and Adam.

Harry asks whether his deck hand interruptor Andrev knows any songs; of course, the unasked question is whether Andrev can sing worth a darn. The GE roll is 22.

John 2's post is mostly questions of mechanics, which I'll answer.

We'll have some discussion at the gates before Adam can be admitted. I'm not familiar with the character name he's taken here (I need to add it to his sheet, but I'm waiting for a bit more detail) but it will be interesting to see what he tells the gatekeeper.

--M. J. Young

Harry, John 2, Adam, Graeme, and John 1 are my players today.

Harry has more events ahead, but he's got a long stretch of quiet time first, so I'll give it to him and let him play with it if he likes before moving to the next disruption.

I have to make a choice concerning John 2's prayer for healing. On the one hand, his previous prayer was five minutes and this is ten, so I could call it a new skill, doubling the time factor and giving him an additional +10SM for the doubled length of time; on the other hand, I could treat it as doing the same skill twice, giving him two rolls instead of one. That is more convenient for me, because I really don't need to fill up his sheet with dozens of healing skills each identical except for the time factor. On the other hand, it increases his chance to botch when he would expect that chance to decrease. Thus if it's Cure Diseases M+2@4 retire to personal room or quarters, kneel with total body involvement, pray with appropriate words for healing of specified ailments, sound necessary, 10:00TF, +27SM, and the roll is 39, that's going to be successful, a new 1@1 skill.

He has also added a few new prayers to his prayer list:

• Blessings on "the day", by which I expect he means the events which will happen to him and those around him.
• Blessings on Mr. Smith and his household, which causes me to wonder exactly what John means by "blessings" (I know what King David meant, and I know what the word in the Beatitudes means, but I don't know that either of those is what John has in mind).
• Help with the blacksmithing project, which is apparently distinct from the bonus skills prayers he has done already.
• The most interesting, that he might know what to do in this place.

I think I have to ask him about these.

Adam is in a fantasy world that is probably quite a bit different from most of those fantasy worlds with which he is acquainted; this should start to raise his awareness a bit.

Graeme has made me laugh aloud: I would have preferred nukes. Aye, but nukes are primitive technology for this world, and for reasons not understood by anyone don't work well against their enemies. I can't imagine that no one from the military design team is present to hear Graeme's statements, so let's follow this bouncing ball.

John 1 has narrowed his focus, and now I need to figure out what he would prefer and disfavor so I can interpret this 20 GE roll. I think he'd like it to be a place without any inherent dangers--something like an ice planet with rich mineral resources whose atmosphere is adequate but which has very little life of its own. That means he doesn't get that. It also means this has just become a potentially more interesting story.

--M. J. Young

Just because I'm curious: I often see on people's sheets something indicated as a "weapon of quality." Would anyone mind explaining me that? Sorry for the off-topic-ness.

Sometimes, when a very, very highly skilled craftsman does an especially good job, the weapon he produces turns out to be a weapon of quality - that is, it gets a damage category bonus. If you've ever run across a samurai story where the hero starts his quest by tracking down a master swordsmith so he can convince him to come out of retirement long enough to make one last sword (because only with the best possible weapon does our hero stand a chance against the impossible odds he will face on his quest), that's the sort of weapon we're talking about. In Kill Bill, for example, Uma Thurman's character receives a katana of quality from Hatori Hanzo.

Sounds like the guy who made my SoulMourn (although it's hardly his most epic masterwork like you describe)... *sniffs at the thought of never seeing Master Dan and his wonderful blades again (even though he's not dead just far far away)*

Some weapons of quality are better than others (depending on a number of factors that I could list if you're curious), so there's a little room for variation. When I read the bit about meteoric iron, I actually thought of this rule. Feel free to make a case to MJ.

Guys, you might want to start a new thread.

I would but I don't trust my Persuasion.
On the other hand, being hand forged from meteoric iron by a man who mixes his own steel and has been making heirloom-quality swords for thirty years ought to count as /something/, no? *shrug* I'm far too tired to try and argue, it just ... y'know, one made me think of the other. When I get to a high psionics Verse I totally plan to have that sword enhanced anyway...

Apparently we are discussing a sword that is believed to be above the norm. Yes, I will consider the possibility that someone actually owns a "weapon of quality", although that strikes me as highly improbable in the modern world. Still, you make a good case for it, and were I not so pressed for time tonight (and that seems to be happening with alarming frequency of late) I'd discuss it.

Harry, Edward, John 2, Adam, and John 1 are playing; I won't get to everyone before rehearsal, and things will be busy after as well, but eventually everyone will get a chance to play.

Harry asks about the job of being captain, and Captain John is pretty open about such things, so he'll get some straight answers--although not, I think, exact salaries of anyone at this point.

Edward's eight-foot fall will do a damaging level of damage, unless he successfully rolls with the fall, which will reduce the impact. However, I'm not sure whether to make that a skill check (and against what level of skill) or a skill learning check.

John 2 gets the award for making the referee laugh aloud, with his making porridge by botching at an attempt to make beef stew; but it gives me a great idea for a future cooking failure. Otherwise, it's just questions and answers for the moment.

Adam enters a medieval keep, a small one but one that knows the rules of chivalry.

John 1 and Miralla and Bob should all roll for their alert rest skill, as he said a few posts back; the rolls in that order are 72, 42, 49, and the chance of success for each is (2@4 BRA+2x10@ bias+1@10 SAL=)64, (1@10 BRA+2x10@ bias+1@1 SAL=)51, (1@10 BRA+2x10@ bias+1@1 SAL=)51, so they succeed but he does not. He's almost to the landing; hopefully he'll tell me what he's taking with him when he goes.

--M. J. Young

I guess I should tell you how I made the porridge. I was making beef stew in the crock pot. Meat, potatoes, carrots and onions. I put in a box of Rice-a-roni to add some flavor and thicken it up a bit. Then let the crock pot cook for the next 6 or so hours. When I got back, the top of it was beef stew, and the bottom was porridge. The rice has dissolved into a consistency not unlike oatmeal. Wasn't bad.

If I've managed to sort everyone aright, I have Harry, Edward, John 2, Adam, Graeme, and John 1 playing. I'm also still fascinated by the game Graeme is running for Kelly, and can't help trying to make guesses on its influences--but I'll keep them to myself for the moment.

Harry has gotten a whole string of events that involve navigation; it's been so long since I've run a navigator in this scenario (I think Tristan was the last one) that I'm not sure just how ordinary this is. However, a GE roll of 14 suggests that this does not fall on his shoulders, but he is around to take action if he wishes.

Edward has persuaded me that he's got an average amateur ability at this fall impact avoidance thing, 1@5 Fall Impact Absorption, B4@6 fall shock absorption, damage category penalty on falls and related impacts, untargeted success roll, which combined with a 1@5 BRA and 2x5@ bias means 40% chance of reducing this to annoying. 52 means he does not, it's still damaging, and 80 means it's seriously damaging--4 intensities against his 1@8 damage value. The question now is whether the enemy makes another move just yet. A roll of 94 is going to be a botch by the enemy; I know just the thing.

I'm finally getting around to answering John 2's prayers, giving each of them 150 seconds.

• "Blessings on the day" is defined as preventing anything bad from happening in his life, and so is probably a sort of M1@6 protection which if successful means that all GE rolls get read a point or two in his favor and botches are mitigated some. He gets +15 for time on that, and it's a mild enough skill that I'll let it last RS/10 hours at the baseline. I also see +15 total body involvement (kneeling), +10 for doing it in his established base, +5 for appropriate words, all of which means +45SM on this skill, and his roll is 21, so it will hold for 3 hours, 1@1 Blessings on the Day M+1@6 mitigates GE and botch rolls for RS/10 hours, must kneel in established home base, pray appropriate words aloud, 2:30 TF, +45SM.
• Mr. Smith's idea of "Blessings on Mr. Smith and His Household" would be a lot closer to the traditional Old Testament view of blessings: a solid influx of money and a husband for his daughter. However, this being a generalized "blessings on these people", as John has described it, it becomes, "may they receive whatever they want for themselves". Best I can do with that is an RS/5 bonus on the next prayer each prays; but since it covers multiple persons, that's going to be a penalty. On the other hand, the baseline is a 1:00 TF and an RS minutes duration, so he's already +15 for the TF and if the duration is just "the next prayer each prays", I'll shift the duration into RS/5 prayers, scattered among the target group. In this way, if he prays it for one person, they'll get that many requests bonused, but if he prays it for more people than requests, they'll each get one until they're all used. Again I've got the +5 appropriate words, +15 body involvement, +10 home base, so that's +45SM, and it's a 1@4 bonus checks skill. His roll is 92, but given everything to this point I've got to crunch numbers: 7@7 bias+2@2 BRA+45SM+1/2x1@7 religion SAL+15 world bias-1@4 skill bias=something near 162% chance of success, so he's got 1@3 Bless Named Group M+1@4 gives +RS/5 to next prayers prayed/holy magic skills used by all members of target group for next RS/5 prayers distributed among them equitably, appropriate words, total body involvement (kneeling) in established home base, 2:30 TF, +45SM. It also means that the smith and his family are going to get +19 on their chance of having their next 19 prayers granted. I'm not going to figure out all of them, but I'll give a scattershot impression of what might happen here.
• His "Help with the Blacksmithing Project", though, is a huge request, asking for bonuses on scores of skill checks over many hours, all on a 2:30 TF. I need to double RS minutes enough times to create an average of something between five and ten hours; figure that the average roll for RS minutes is an hour, if there's a 100% chance of success, and now double it thrice to get eight hours, that's -30%. He still gets the +15 total involvement, +5 appropriate words, +10 home base, and +15 for his 2:30 TF, so it's +15SM on this one. 38 is successful, 1@1 Help with Blacksmithing Project M+1@4 RS/10 bonus on all skill checks for RSx8 minutes, must kneel in established home base, pray appropriate words aloud, 2:30 TF, +15SM, and the 38 means +4 for five hours and four minutes.
• Finally, we have a 2:30TF M7@7 prayer for divine guidance, but it seems focused on a single redirection request, that God would point him in the right direction if he's going in the wrong one. 2:30 is actually 5/6 the base time factor for single questions, so I'm going to have to knock off -2 for time; he still gets the +15 for kneeling, +10 for the room, +5 for appropriate words, so the inherent sit-mod is +28; the bias of this skill is much higher, though, so he is less likely to learn it. The roll is 79; the bias of the target skill and his own bias cancel each other, so it's +28 for the sit-mod, +9 for religion, +15 world bias, +22 BRA=84%, so he's good with 1@2 Request Course Correction M+7@7 2:30 prayer kneeling in home base with appropriate words for God to point him in the right direction if he's going the wrong direction; success might be basis for divine directive bonus on subsequent skills, +28SM.

That should stir things up a bit.

Adam meets his host who, in the course of asking questions, repeats some information.

Graeme is involved in a courteous but high-stakes debate at the moment. It may take a few posts to get through it.

We'll drop John 1 on the planet and get a quick inventory of his current gear.

--M. J. Young

14 gets me a sea monster... I'm not whether you or your dice have the more twisted sense of humor. :-P

If you could do me the favor of listing all of my current "Magic" skills, I'd appreciate it. The way you put it down, I have a difficult time keeping track of everything. Just a listing of my "Magic" skills. Thanks.

Harry--the sea monster is not from the roll of 14; the roll of 14 means you're not the guy on the forecastle looking through the telescope at it.

The Mary Piper Twin Scenarios has a run of die rolls to determine random events, when and where these happen, and what happens in each situation. When you're at sea, there's a d20 rolled to pick such events as you've seen so far--"engine trouble", storm, sea monster--plus other things like pirates, derelict ship, patrol ship, foreign vessel, and obviously a few others. A different die roll determines the space between these events.

To save myself time and trouble, I use a BASIC computer program, and at the beginning of the run it creates a text file for me, telling me what happens on what days, how long it takes to get from one port to the next, how severe certain regular situations are. I then tweak the text file in response to what happens--for example, you had a damaged mast shortly after being driven off course by a storm, so I associated those two random events into a connection; I also looked at some GE rolls, and decided that the storm was bad enough to knock you off course, but the damage wasn't so bad as to require replacing the mast before reaching a civilized port, and I added a day total to your time. There are ways to decrease the time, too.

Also, one must be careful about assumptions; but we'll get to the game soon enough.

John:

John Edward Cross II
• 1@7 Religion: non-denominational Christian M1@0
• 1@1 Bonus Blacksmithing/Metalworking Skill Checks M+1@4 retire to personal room or quarters, kneel with total body involvement, pray with appropriate words for forgiveness, wisdom, strength, and help with current task, 5:00TF, confers +20 on next major task attempted, +53SM
• 1@1 Bonus Single Blacksmithing task check M1@4 RF1 appropriate prayer while performing the skill, -25SM
• 1@3 Bless Named Group M+1@4 gives +RS/5 to next prayers prayed/holy magic skills used by all members of target group for next RS/5 prayers distributed among them equitably, appropriate words, total body involvement (kneeling) in established home base, 2:30 TF, +45SM
• 1@1 Help with Blacksmithing Project M+1@4 RS/10 bonus on all skill checks for RSx8 minutes, must kneel in established home base, pray appropriate words aloud, 2:30 TF, +15SM
• 1@1 Blessings on the Day M+1@6 mitigates GE and botch rolls for RS/10 hours, must kneel in established home base, pray appropriate words aloud, 2:30 TF, +45SM
• 1@1 Cure Diseases M+2@4 retire to personal room or quarters, kneel with total body involvement, pray with appropriate words for healing of specified ailments, sound necessary, 5:00TF, +17SM
• 1@1 Cure Diseases M+2@4 retire to personal room or quarters, kneel with total body involvement, pray with appropriate words for healing of specified ailments, sound necessary, 10:00TF, +27SM
• 1@1 Communicate with Deity M+7@7 10:00 TF kneeling with hands folded by bed in home base, appropriate words asking questions, 5:00 worth of answers concurrent with second half of prayer, +40SM
  1@2 Request Course Correction M+7@7 2:30 prayer kneeling in home base with appropriate words for God to point him in the right direction if he's going the wrong direction; success might be basis for divine directive bonus on subsequent skills, +28SM

Good?

--M. J. Young

I have Robert, Harry, Edward, John II, Adam, and John I, if I saw everyone.

Robert is looking at medicine; now he's going to have to figure out how to integrate into this high-tech future world--and he's going to learn some things along the way.

Harry is stunned by the presence of sea monsters; but then, what would a high-adventure early gunpowder seafaring world be without sea monsters? He's about to get lessons in how to handle these.

Edward has already learned an important lesson about the verse: ask questions. He's asked a good one, and there's a priest present; is a roll of 79 good enough for the man to have an answer? He's in a low mag world, but he's got a high professional or low expert level in religion, plus probably a low to mid 2@ BRA, so I'm looking at 60 before I sit-mod--but I'm not going to get much in the way of sit-mods here, so we're looking at a close failure. He's going to be at least partly right, but not really certain of anything.

John II rolls 44 on his blacksmithing effort, which is a strong roll for his level of skill. As to his concerns for the princesses, I would think that if I prayed about what I'm supposed to be doing, and it immediately came to my mind that the princesses were marrying men about whom no one knew anything, I'd at least wonder whether that was something I should be investigating. However, apparently that's not John's thought, so I won't worry about it.

Adam is getting his first clear notion of when he is; there is a lot more still to learn, but this will get him oriented a bit better.

John I is now on the ground with his team; I'm not sure what will happen next, but I'll get things moving in the right direction.

--M. J. Young

MJ Wrote:
As to his concerns for the princesses, I would think that if I prayed about what I'm supposed to be doing, and it immediately came to my mind that the princesses were marrying men about whom no one knew anything, I'd at least wonder whether that was something I should be investigating. However, apparently that's not John's thought, so I won't worry about it.

If I had married the princesses, it would be the same thing. No one would know where I came from either. What's the difference?

I mean really, I see no cause for alarm there, just because no one knows who they are or where they come from. Arranged marriages were commonplace not that long ago. Oftentimes, the bride and groom would not meet until the day they were to be married. What's the concern? Why should that bother me? Why should I worry about the affairs of some princesses, who are probably just doing the same thing that their parents did? What would be there to alert me that something was wrong? The only thing that alerts me to is that the princesses are following tradition. What's the problem?

Besides that, they vowed to marry whomever could cure their sleepwalking. If these guys did that, then they are doing what they vowed to do. Nothing more, nothing less. I mean if farmer Jim from Timbuktu cured their problem, no one would know who he was either. You're acting like I just got a red-flag warning, when all I got was confirmation that the princesses are doing what they said they would do.