The bad news is that the game still didn't start tonight.
The GOOD news is that we did actually meet and do something tonight. It was more of a character building session, but the GM also gave us background on the setting.
First, Ariel got some changes (which will also be reflected in the opening installment)
- Per the GM's insistence, she picked up the Heroic and Loyal Hindrances, since he has this thing about all his characters having those two 'traits'. Something about not wanting his players backstabbing one another. Neither Ariel or I are a fan of it, but there's not a whole lot that can be done about the matter. Well, aside from playing them as loosely as possible, that is.
- Using the points gained from these required hindrances, Erin gained another point in Strength and another point in Streetwise.
- Due to a misunderstanding of the Guts skill, it seems I was wasting points there, which were redirected to picking up another point in Fighting and gaining another Knowledge skill in "Government and Politics".
Second, there's the Party. In this adventure, Ariel will be joined by three other regulars.
To briefly sum it up, as referred to by their character names:
- Phineces - He's an Alcemist/Healer type. Or, as his player liked to put it, the 'Heavy Artillery'. He's also the guy with the vow to never refuse hospitality, which should provide for boundless entertainment.
- Balian - Technically, he starts out as a busboy at a tavern. I think his character was adopted by the owner. I think he's going to be more of a melee type fighter, though I'm not sure yet.
- Arcane - Don't quote me on the name, since I'm guessing on this one, and wouldn't doubt if he actually has a different name for his character. He's a Satyr, and a Stealthy Bard type. I got the sense that he's not going to be much good in combat, so we'll need to keep an eye on him.
- EDIT: Actually, his name is Naper
There's also a fifth potential player who'll be a Centaur, though there's not much to say about him right now since there's no telling when or when not he'll show.
Third, the Setting:
- The land the setting takes place in is called Arcadia. It's a rustic land which the GM described as a "Polis".
- In this case, the term Polis refers to a City State without the titular 'City'.
- Arcadia is more farmland than urban area, though it does have a central Castle/Fortress which is joined by 7 villages, though only 5 of them are villages in the traditional sense.
- One of the other two is a Satyr 'Village', while the other is a wandering tribe of Centaurs.
- The capital/government center of Arcadia is known as Aphrodia. The GM compared it to Venice and New Orleans, though I think the later was just in terms of geography.
- HEAVY EDIT: Seems there was some misunderstanding about the Arcadia/Aphrodia thing. Aphrodia is NOT part of Arcadia, just another land nearby.
- Bad news for Arcadia, because the King is pretty well useless, and his son, the crown prince, isn't much better. The King likes to get drunk and probably enjoys other pleasantries, while his son, the Crown Prince, is neredowell fancy pants who's more interested in being fancy than doing anything to fix the kingdom. Yeah, Arcadia's kind of in a bit of a sad shape at the moment.
- Ariel fits into this by being a member of the Queen's family, and a cousin to the Crown Prince. I'm not sure if this makes her a Princess or a Dutchess or what, but she's royalty of some kind, just not the kind who's in line to inherit the throne. I'll have to get clarification as to exactly where she fits into the family next week.
- She does get a nice Villa somewhere in Arcadia, though. So that's cool.
- EDIT: Ariel is still a member of the Queens family (In Aphrodia), but has no relation to anyone in Arcadia. Her 'official title' is "Patrician". She still gets a villa is Aphrodia, though.
- She does get a nice Villa somewhere in Arcadia, though. So that's cool.
FINALLY, there was equipment. And this, readers, is where the participation comes in!
While going through and picking out her basic personal gear (weapons, armor, etc), I couldn't help but notice that there was an option to buy a Hawk. Which basically functions as an attack bird. Upon learning this, I couldn't NOT get Erin a pet Hawk. How could I possibly pass up the opportunity of getting Erin her very own life-long feathered friend? Who can also claw monsters eyes out?
So I bought Erin a pet Hawk. This made her very happy. I even spent a little extra money on it for some unspecified bonus which I'll learn about later. This also made her happy.
I also got her a whistle to go with it. Erin wasn't entirely sure what to do with it, but I told her I figured it would probably help her signal her pet attack Hawk of DOOM or something like that.
So here's where the participation part comes in. Ariel has her Attack Hawk of DOOM, but said Attack Hawk of DOOM still needs a name. Because as cool as "Attack Hawk of DOOM" sounds, it's really not going to cut it. Especially in an Ancient Grome setting.
Therefore, I'm taking suggestions for a name. If you got any, feel free to throw 'em out there and if I see one I really like, I'll use it.
Till next time, folks! Stay off those 1s!
