IsabellaRose

I'm halfway through creating Jack Bennett, then I just have to do Joshua Thane, then get a intro hook setup. If all goes well, we'll be ready to play first week of Jan!

New Distinction for Jack Bennett: MORTICIAN'S APPRENTICE: You have been trained to work with the dead: washing, embalming, stitching, dressing, and preparing bodies for viewing or burial. You know anatomy by touch, the language of wounds and decay, and the quiet rituals that surround death. You are steady-handed, unflinching, and accustomed to secrets that don’t belong to the living. Sometimes… the dead seem to notice that. Roll this Distinction’s die when your mortuary training, anatomical knowledge, composure around death, or familiarity with corpses gives you an advantage, whether that’s identifying how someone died, handling remains without panic, concealing evidence, or performing quiet, respectful rites. d4: Earn a Plot Point when your association with death unsettles others, costs you social standing, or makes a scene uncomfortable or tense. d8: Spend a Plot Point to create a d8 Useful Detail about a corpse, cause of death, tampering, time of death, or what doesn’t match the official story. d12: Spend a Plot Point to Step Down Afraid or Insecure Stress for the rest of the scene when dealing with death, gore, or the unnatural.

TIAL-V is done! The loyal servant of Edmund who is strangely fascinated with Alicia and counts on Millie for his repairs. I'm working on developing TIAL-V's voice, something vaguely "British butler/manservant" while also being mechanically analytical. Trying to imagine a typical morning at Blackwood Manor... “Good morning, sir. As you instructed, the woman from last night has been escorted from the estate." TIAL-V paused. “She departed at dawn. She was handsomely paid. I also provided a carriage, and a firm reminder that your name is best enjoyed in memory rather than repeated aloud.” There was another pause, then, “She asked if you were fond of her.” TIAL-V turned his head slightly, as if recalling something mildly embarrassing he once saw someone else do, and before Edmund could answer, he said, “I informed her that you are fond of so very many things, but that none of them require conversation afterward.” He began preparing Edmund's outfit for the day on the valet stand. “For what it is worth, Sir, she seemed satisfied. Exhausted, but satisfied. I will refrain from elaborating.” The faintest hint of smugness slipped into his tone. “I have taken the liberty of ensuring that the staff did not make eye contact, form opinions, or begin wagering on whether or not this one would return.” Relationship Statements: I exist to anticipate Edmund Blackwood’s needs, especially the ones he refuses to acknowledge. Alicia von Vulf is an unresolved variable I find myself… monitoring beyond assigned parameters. Value Statement: Glory is irrelevant; perfection is its own reward.

Another new Distinction for TIAL-V: Pacification Protocols: Your frame and mind were designed with limits: you are not meant to harm humans. Instead, you were programmed with a precise martial discipline focused on control, redirection, restraint, and disabling force without injury. Every movement is calculated to neutralize threats while preserving life, even when violence would be faster or easier. Roll this Distinction’s die when you are disarming, restraining, redirecting attacks, subduing opponents, or protecting others without inflicting harm.

Should I keep updating everyone, or just let you know when it's all done?

I had to create a new Distinction for TIAL-V... Perfectly Appointed Servant: You were designed to serve with flawless precision: impeccable manners, encyclopedic knowledge of protocol, and an unshakable calm in the presence of danger, scandal, or aristocratic excess. Whether pouring tea, managing staff, delivering veiled threats in a civil tone, or quietly positioning yourself between your master and harm, you perform your duties with exacting efficiency and dry, understated wit. Roll this Distinction when etiquette, discretion, preparation, or polite authority would give you the advantage.

Kirsa is done... and for fun, here are some teasers from her sheet: Relationship statement Kojo's greatness exists because I have bound it into a shape the world can endure. Value statement I wield my Power to decide for others when they are too weak or dangerous to decide for themselves. Distinctions Family Name: Your kin are known - proud, notorious, or disgraced. Roll when reputation, debts, or obligations sway things. Wealthy: You have enough money to buy your way out of nearly any trouble you inevitably get into. But it also makes you a target. Roll the Distinction’s die when pulling out your wallet, signing a check, or drawing on your vast fortunes would improve your odds at success. ...next up, TIAL-V!

I started statting up Kirsa first, and I have to say, she is shaping up to be a formidable woman.

...and with that, we are officially done with Pathways! Now I have work to do. I have to step through Pathways for every NPC who became a Feature (Kirsa, TIAL-V, Bennett, and Thane) and figure out their motives, goals, and plans. Then I need to pick a hook to start the game and set the scene for the big opening.

Based on the previous steps then, you still have a d4 Relationship with The Blue Hour Lady, which makes @AsBloodTurnsEverCold's Blue Hour Lady a Relationship as well. Nope, I misread that. You removed the Blue Hour Lady, stepped up TIAL-V, Kojo's Blue Hour Lady is still a resource... ugh.

Yes, the arrow direction is important. I explained it in an earlier post, but the gist is: arrow FROM your character TO npc = add them to your sheet arrow FROM npc TO your character = don't add them to your sheet

Actually, in looking at the sheet, you never connect FROM Edmund TO Holland Beck, so you wouldn't have had a relationship with him. During Step 7 "Draw an arrow from your square to an existing circle (NEW Relationship) or diamond (NEW Location)" you did: Edmund > occasional allies > The Blue Hour Lady This is where you would have changed her to a Relationship from a Resource. We have 2 options: 1. During Step 7, connect Edmund to Judge Holland Beck instead of the Blue Hour Lady. This will create a d4 Relationship with Judge Holland Beck and will also move Missy's Judge Holland Beck Resource to a Relationship. In this case, you wouldn't be able to remove the d4 Blue Hour Lady to step up Judge Holland Beck in Step 9. 2. Remove the connection to the Blue Hour Lady as described in Step 9 and step up an existing Relationship instead. The only Relationships you have are with the PCs and TIAL-V.

The arrow only goes from him to Alicia, so still just a resource. At any point during game play you can spend a Plot Point to add a d6 Relationship with anyone, including someone that's just been introduced, that will last until the end of the scene. You can spend another Plot Point to make that Relationship permanent and add them to your character sheet. You can also use dice from your Growth Pool to step up existing Relationships. When you do that, you're telling me as the GM that this NPC is more important than other NPCs. You're telling me that you want them to show up in the story regularly, that you want them to have their own goals, motives, plans, etc. You're also telling me to step through the entire Pathways process for them and make a character sheet for them, which takes some time. I advise caution in doing this. We already have a zillion characters. Some of them might fade as the plot takes off, but we made a LOT of NPCs.

I see the note about maybe doing that, but it wasn't done on his sheet, so I assumed he was musing and hadn't actually done so. @MagnificentBastard - can you clarify? Did you drop The Blue Hour Lady from your sheet and bump up "Judge" Holland Beck, or did you decide to leave them alone?

By Jove, I think we're done!

Kojo looks great! All set! One thing I noticed is that you'll want to change The Blue Hour Lady from a Resource to a Relationship. You'll also want to make sure your sheet and mine match. You'll just need to select one of the SFX as the one the gear has at the start!

Missy is all set! As I asked everyone else, please make sure your sheet and mine match. If there's a discrepancy I want to iron it out before play.

Millie is all set except for adding her last Gear. Also, double check my copy of your sheet against your own, make sure neither of us has anything wrong. You'll want to add the die rating of your Gear (I think they're both d4) so you can reference that when you need to roll.

Edmund should be all set. You'll also want to update your sheet. I noticed a couple items that should not be on there, like a relationship with Judge Holland Beck and the Thane-Cash Rebirth Hall as a Resource. When an arrow is drawn back to your square from a location or person, you don't get to add the item to your sheet. You only add the item if you draw an arrow from your square to the circle or diamond.

Thank you! Alicia is all set. Please double-check and compare my copy of your character with your own. I stepped through everything alongside you and I want to make sure that you didn't miss adding anything or stepping anything up on your sheet. It's really easy to miss things, even just a simple bump up, in this process which is why I do the side by side character sheet.

Fuck, because... well. I'm certain we'd both enjoy ourselves much more than being married or killing anyone.

It's perfect! We're playing a ruleset designed so one player can play Clark Kent and another can play Lex Luthor, so... antagonistic, scheming, backstabbing, evil plans, hopeful heroes... it's all baked into the way the rules work. The one thing that's not really baked in is D&D style murderhobo mayhem or PvP killings. It's plotting, staying within the letter of the law (if not the intent) as your character, and doing shady stuff around back where no one sees. So confrontations won't likely turn into "fight to the death", they'll be dramatic, emotional, manipulative, political... but rarely fists, swords, or guns. It's a "real world" type setting, where killing someone has consequences. Not to say that it won't happen, but Johnny Law and the posse will always be around making life difficult if anyone just starts randomly killing people.

Step 9 is up! There are a couple options to remove d4 items from your sheet and step up other items. I highly advise doing so if you have a lot of d4 or 2d4 items on your sheet. Fewer d6 items are more useful mechanically than more d4 items. Once this step is completed, I'll need to stat up all the Features and work on a setup for the first chapter. Also, once you're done with this step, let me know where in town your character would be on a random Tuesday, and what they would be doing. Also, what aspect of the world we've built you're mot interested in exploring first. It doesn't have to be all the same stuff, and we might not get to your plot points in the first chapter, but I'll do my best to get everything incorporated.

Edmund is all set! The LAST STEP is coming up!

Alicia is all set!