Player characters, NPCS and followers

I love creating characters but worry that, despite my intentions, I play them all pretty similarly. And this bleeds over to the NPCs and followers when I am running games. Pretty sure I've mentioned that I am not good at handling multiple NPCs. Even when playing, I have a hard time with followers and all that. Reading some of the rules in Dolmenwood it talks about towns people and adventurers and gives succinct rules for finding them (which is oddly reminiscent of searching for trade goods in Traveller as you can only check once per month per location). 

Every time I have more than 1 NPC with the players, I forget about them and do not use them as helpers to the group. I've forgotten NPCs that are there to help out the players. Not really sure how to deal with this, then realized I have far too many books on running games. So, I decided to see if there were any good ideas there. 

XDM defines NPCs as follows:

Where to begin? With this questionnaire!16 Rather than starting from the backstory biographical bits, we’re beginning with the NPC’s function in the story. Because form follows function. 

• Which player character motivation, value, or mission does this NPC oppose? 
• Why do they oppose it? 
• How vigorously do they oppose it? 
• Can they be persuaded to explain their position? 
• Can they be persuaded to change their position?
• How does this NPC’s backstory interlock with other elements of the story?

While it goes into motivations and backstories, it does seem to cover how to actually play the NPCs as far as I can tell. And to be honest, I did back the Kickstarter for this but in the end, was pretty underwhelmed with it for the most part. It had some really good theoretical and practical overviews of various theories of storytelling designs but seemed to miss the point in some ways. However - it has been a bit since I read it, so perhaps I should try & re-read it to see if I really missed the important bits. I have used some of it when designing an adventure, but between work, the gym and generally living, I don't seem to have the time really design some things to that level of detail. And honestly, some of my best games were ones where I had some real basic prep but not a lot of details and winged it. But perhaps if I re-read the chapter in running at the table it may help. 10 pages should include some good ideas. Though this stands out and I've tried it in the past but need to do this more often:

In Chapter 3, under “Go Modular for Maximum Flexibility,” we explained how the NPC we created to be a Miraldonian courier might also serve as a cudgel maiden on the City Watch. All the cells in your flowchart should be designed in this way so that you can move them around however you see fit. For these modular elements to be useful, they need to be sorted and perhaps categorized. It’s the difference between “which of my dozen NPCs will work best for this bit of dialog” and “I need a low-level townsperson, and hey, I have three to choose from.”

Hopefully somewhere it gives ideas on how you actually organize this.

Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering has some good tips about running NPCs: keep conversations short and try to get to the point. If conversations start meandering, remember that the NPC probably has job they are doing and must be off. Avoid too much NPC-to-NPC conversation except as it moves the story forward, He has notes about having lists of names ready to go and how to come up with names. Which I've done - I actually have a sheet of names I printed and used in the Corsairs game (which I need to work in for the game in 2 weeks. After several weeks of not playing, we're trying to get back into regular bi-weekly games). One fun note is not using the same name: sadly, due to spur of the moment the Corsairs game has 3 Henrys. At least the various ship crews have distinct names as the doctor, 3rd mate and cook came from that sheet!

The Secret Art of Game Mastering has decent advice and stuff as GM we already know: NPCs are one way of allowing the GM to play in the game but also help keep things on track. But there seems to be a dearth of advice as to how to run and organize these NPCs. And of course, one of these days I also really need to re-read this book. I've skimmed it but after some point, and so many books, a lot of the advice is pretty much the same old stuff, and I may miss the unique take in a specific book. Not sure why I keep getting them to be honest!

So You Want To Be A Game Master has an appendix on the supporting cast, aka NPCs. And this one starts out saying that it is challenging enough to run a single character, let alone a legion of them. At least it starts off with my view of things! And also notes, as do all the other guides, that the more important an NPC is, the more you have on that character. And then finding what is really important in the game can get lost in the walls of text. There is an NPC template with several sections: name, appearance, role playing (quirks and stuff to make the character unique, 2-3 bullet points was suggested), background, key info which is where the stuff the NPC is really there for does not get lost. And only if really needed, the stat block.

And I've got the tools to do all this: even bought index card sheets to put into a notebook, and those page holders, and I even have a punch for anything I print to fit into a notebook. Even bought a set of colored pens so help with notes. The only thing stopping me is, well, me. I may spend some time next weekend getting the Corsairs stuff organized into a single notebook. The Corsairs notes are scattered in a notebook with a bunch of other things, a file folder and scattered index cards in various places. To do this right, each game in progress I think needs its own notebook. I actually ran the Big Wreck game that way - I have a notebook with everything in there. I have note cards from that box I bought for TFT cards (yes, it was for recipes but it is the perfect fit for all those cards. And came with 3 colors of index cards so in theory I can also organize cards by color). 

all the bestiary and solo game cards fit nicely

Okay - after re-reading a few things, I feel I have plan for organizing my next session:

1. find an empty notebook
2. get the game rules organized
3. create NPC cards for each NPC and place into card holder pages in notebook
4. move the scattered notes into the notebook
5. ...
6. profit!

Okay, profit in the sense that perhaps I won't have another 3 Henrys in the game!

I will note that the group I play with handle NPCs really well. One GM is really great at it, the other is also really good. Makes me jealous but gives me a goal!

And yes, I will get back to the Traveller software. My approach is a lot different than others I feel: I'm creating the software that lets the user set up all the tables. Most of the generation software for Traveller has the rules and all that hardcoded in there. Cepheus has changed a few things, Mongoose in its versions have changed a few things, and T5 has also changed a few things. Hoping that this will allow people to generate systems using whatever they want to use as the rules by giving full edit capabilities to all the tables. That does present a few issues I've sort of been mulling over: what if they want 3d6 table instead of a 1d6 or 2d6 table? Or a d15 table? And yes, I've thought of that, and one of the thoughts was we add a table of tables, so that for each table we can indicate the die rolls to use. Classic Traveller is all 1d6 or 2d6 tables, and currently the logic for rolling on those tables is hard-coded. I do take into account the lowest and highest results in the table (and now realize I need to re-roll in case there are missing slots). But perhaps we need to make it even more flexible: a user may want a larger table for empty orbits or something. And of course, I also take into account various modifiers so that we can roll more than 12, say, on the government table. But do we want to make those modifications also user-controlled? So many options! And that is why I get stuck: a gluttony of choices!

Corsairs: Session 3 - On to Coastone

Having left Altes on a cargo ship, our valiant crew launches and sails off to Coastone, a stone city on the western edge of Teboa, at the foot of the eponymous Coastone Mountains and Lake. Looking back at the wood and daub houses of Brawicke, they see an ill-dressed man, our Mr. Altes, standing on the dock and watching the ship sail off. Unbeknownst to our crew, the cargo ship sailor took the coin then just dumped Edmund into the trash pile behind a warehouse. Upon waking the next morning in his knickers and a bad hangover from the drugs, he scavenged some clothes before heading back and seeing the Fools Errand sail off. With Sleve scrubbing the decks in Alte's fine clothing. 

Slightly larger than Brawicke, Coastone boasts 10 sky ship docks. As they approach, the winds behind them a giving a gentle nudge into a perfect dock, the Harbormaster greets the crew. 

"Fine dock, lads, fine dock indeed. Yea Ironbound, when ye take to the skies, do make foine sailors." Pleasantries aside, they do find that there can be guides to the mountains available here, and the Cows Manger off the Merchant Square is a "foine" place to drink and eat. Ordo takes the Harbormaster aside, and handing him a coin, asks to be notified should any ships come from Brawicke. The Harbormaster agrees to send a runner should a ship come in, but as always our crew is a bit vague as to where they will be. Miss Baudelaire was taken with the vapors and stayed aboard, splicing the main brace, e.g., getting a round for the crew (the player was unavailable this evening).

There are three or four other ships there, including one from the Roche Empire as well as a huge size 3 ship from the Alderil Empire. With the truce, the countries are having visitors but there is tension when the outsiders come to town.

Heading into town, and talking with some of the towns people, they find that the Melting Drum tends to have Dwarves, so they head for that tavern. Upon entering, and noticing a stage, Ordo makes a bet with the attractive barmaid that "our man Sleve here can play a pretty tune for our first round". Taking him up on that bet with flirtatious eyes, Sleve commences a wondrous solo, rolling no less than an 8 draft! The crowd is tapping their feet, coins are flowing, and the bartender seems quite happy with the transfer of funds for ales. 

Ylervan notices a Dwarf in the corner, and walks over to talk with him to see about guides in the mountains, trusting the Ironbound more than most people. Brandit Beastgut is drinking down some fine regellian draught in a mug bigger than his head, and welcomes the sight of a fellow Ironbound.

Getting a matching mug on the house due to Sleve's plucking his oversized lute, Ylervan finds that while Brandit is not a miner, his cousin Yuzzick Trollrock is, and has the family mine up in the Coastone Moutnains. A bit unstable, the two Dwarves head to the bar where Ordo is talking it up with the bartender, and also manages to fine that the very flirtatious barmaid is no relative of his.

Eventually Sleve finishes his set, and they discuss the plan to go to the Mining Registration Office in the morning. A bit of boisterous banner ensues as Ordo tries to get Ylervan to take his musket and coin purse to the ship, so we had a winner for 3XP in this session! Ordo heads off with Gwen who is off any time for our hirsute hero, and the Dwarf and Nomad head back to the ship. 

We also uncovered several rumors:

• the big Alderil ship may have an Alderil Empiure captain. but the woman giving the commands has a harsh Roche Empire accent. And two finely made sabers, and is not one to mess with apparently
• conflicting rumors about the local council representative, who may or may not be in cahoots with the Alderil Empire
• there are spies everywhere!

Next morning our crew awakens, and after Ordo fixes a nice breakfast for his lady friend, they regroup and head to the mining office. The burgermeister there, who works off the people's taxes, is more than willing to share public information on the mines in the mountains. They find a map that corresponds to the red-x on the scrap of a map they got from Pirate Pete. 

Heading back to the ship, I rolled a random pickpocket, and rolled again and Sleve rolled his Grit vs the pickpocket's skullduggery and noticed a hand trying nip his coins. He grabs her, and she screams bloody murder and this man is attacking her in broad daylight! Sleve, laid back Nomad dude that he is, recognizes her garb of that of a Grasswalker, a group of nomads he has hung out with in Jieghan and the huge nomad pack animals.

(And I am going to have to use this in my Fantasy Trip game - too good to not use!) Turns out that the Nomads have a very broad definition of family, and our young Sineag MacGill'Oig is distantly related, and she is on her walkabout. After explaining things to the constable (with the fine hat), our group returns to the ship, now with a young ward in tow, being met by a runner from the harbormaster. The Alterin Empire ship had left a bit before, heading north into the mountains.

And I think that's where we left it. I think I've got it all covered but my players will hopefully let me know if I left anything out.

And we learned a bit about the fish-squeezing clans of the northern islands: they only give the bad squeezings to the rich and hoity-toity, keeping the good stuff for themselves. And they are friendly and outgoing. 

We learned that the Nomads go on walkabouts when young to learn about the world in their own way. And apparently they are all related somehow.

I think the game went a bit better - perhaps we're getting our sea legs. Or is that sky legs? And my notebook did help as things are a bit better organized. And I found if I print landscape, I can have foldout pages! Other pages are 1 page character sheets for the NPCs that are important. 

And finally - several of the images came via searching while playing. The one real advantage of this type of gaming is the available resources. Which is also the downside as it is too easy to get distracted. The big nomad creature is actually out of a Kickstarter I backed by De Architectura. And the names of drinks and things via quick searches for random name generators. I actually have a few of those lists printed out for when I play The Fantasy Trip as usually I am not at the computer.

Corsairs: Setting up the next session

The players are probably going to meet some of the main NPCs for this adventure, so I've printed them out, and will see about getting my notebook better organized for play. It is one of those smaller 3-ring notebooks, but for some reason I have a pretty old-school hole punch that allows me to adjust the hole punches. So cutting a landscape paper in half, these fit perfectly. Good do know! Both are the equivalent of a steady wind, which does mean that all interactions against them are cursed: exploding 1's for failure!  

I've also named the other ship, a size 3 ship, that is being used to run the black market repellium: the Dancing Crester. Yes, using an animal from yet another Kickstarter as mentioned in another post. This ship only has 1 gun deck, the 2nd is now being used as a cargo bay for the illicit cargo. 

So, what are the plans for the game tomorrow? They are currently in Brawicke and at least know of Captain Horn and the Lady Gysby. I need to come up with some additional rumors, such as

• there are job postings for sailors willing to go for extended voyages
• a large ship that looks like a large corvette, passes through every 4 weeks or so.
• Captain George Horn was a well known Alderil Empire Navy Captain back at the height of the war
• Lady Gsyby has a strong Roche Empire accent and has been known to peruse weapon shops about town
• it has been a while since the ship was last seen so it would not be surprising to show up in the next few days, heading west. 
• my cousin in Coastone heard that miners are being hired but they have not yet returned home
• sky whales have been sighted much further south this year than ever before
• there are Alderil spies on Teboa
• there are traitors in the Council
• Joycie Gelnne (local council member) has sold out Teboa
• Joycie Gelnne is one of the few honest Council members other than Sir 

While I do like me some good deck plans, playing via Skype means the combat is all theater of the mind. Combat between the ship crews is really abstracted out via die rolls, though the characters can get in to help with an extra die I believe. I need to re-read the ship combat as I did miss a step last time. And if there is a combat, they are going against a larger ship. One with a steady wind as her captain...

If we go into personal combat, there could well be a dual. Sadly the player playing Harmony-Rose is unable to make tonight's game, and it would have been fun to have the two women in a dual should it come to that. And I may see if we can make it come to that. Duels are a thing in the world of Teboa. And if I am reading the rules correctly, the players can do all the rolls: they roll their attacks as well as the difficulty dice of their opponent; then when the opponent attacks, they roll their opponents attack as well as their own difficulty dice. At least that is how I am going to try & play it. I think it gives the players a lot more interest in the combat versus waiting for me to roll. And as with a lot of groups, this groups rolls pretty badly at times. Which is often a lot more fun!

And re-read part of the rules and yes, the player does all the dice rolls. As noted by one of my players, some of us are not fans of dice pools. Yet this particular mechanic is actually a lot of fun and we are both enjoying it a great deal. Plus it means I need to buy more dice as one can never have enough dice!

If a character is being shot at by an enemy with a pistol, the player will roll their Grit Skill Dice, and roll the opponents Crackshot Skill Dice as the Difficulty Dice.

My expectations are that there could be a number of possible encounters, both within the town of Brawicke and aboard air ships. We'll see how much skullduggery the players do. And since we're all learning to play this, I'll need to let them know that they can make these rolls for gathering rumors, and I allow charmed if they role-play it.  Perhaps I can expand out the list of rumors, and they get as many as their draft...

Some more interesting view of Brawicke. The first is a more upscale residential area, the 2nd towards the ports.

And the docks. The docks for the sky ships are all well above ground. The ships nose into the U-shaped docks with crew hauling ropes to bring the ships into the dock. Open on all sides, but with a gang plank and overhead cranes for loading and unloading cargo. Brawicke boats 6 docks at the western side of town. Prevailing winds are usually to the west, allowing for easier sailing away from the town. 

Corsairs: A Fine Selection of Papers

As we left the first session, Captain Petey the Pirate (I am horrible at on the spot name - I need to have a ready list of pregenerated names) had died, papers flying to the floor. The characters do have the following information, most of it cribbed from the game book:

• The Alderal Empire is mining Teboa
• there are bought council members assisting with this
• Sir Dayton Griffiths, the head Councilor, is apparently not bought off
• You have been hired by Sir Griffiths to investigate the rumors of mining in the mountains of Coastone
• you are in charge of the Fools Errand, a two masted corsair ship captained by Captain Eugene Sparrow.
• the Fools Errand is owned by Henrich Holmes of Brgate, an Ironbound Dwarf

At this point we have a downed pirate ship and the Fools Errand with only a handful of surviving pirate who are now hogtied. The Fools Errand was undamaged while the pirate ship was pretty much caved in on the port side she crashed on, the rudder and ship's wheel destroyed. The lift lug was salvagable and our engineering Dwarf Ylervan Runehammer is looking those over with Sleve's optimistic and somewhat musically inclined assistance. 

Meanwhile, Ordo and Harmony-Rose start going through the papers, and amongst them is the following:

Also, some fun pirate lingo here! Such as:

Shipshape -  The ship is managed and clean, everything is under control
Shiver Me Timbers!  - Something like, "Holy Cow!" a surprised or shocked expression
Sink Me! - Another expression of surprise
Son of a Biscuit Eater -  A name or insult for someone you dislike
Splice the Mainbrace! -  Pass a round of drinks out to the crew

There will be more papers - I need to think about it, maybe get some feedback, and open things up. I try not to railroad anyone, so they are free to go where they want. Though they have agreed to work for Sir Griffith at least. Payment has not been discussed but I would not be surprised if an exceptional job is done that the Fools Errand could change hands.  Our Captain Eugene may have the contract in hand as they rushed off when the chicken coop got smashed by Pirate Petey. 

As pre my previous post, I am printing out a few things to have them handy. Sadly, I actually have pre-printed paper as per that image and could print out a real letter. Not being face to face is not as much fun as I like props! Still thinking about getting some sort of wax seal & wax. Just because....

Corsairs - An investigation to the bad guys

First, turns out I've been mispelling the main island. It is Teboa, NOT Tebou! Will have to correct my maps, or perhaps it is a local dialect?

Second, this post is about the big bads in the game that will start next week. So players beware: if you can compartmentalize and not use info your characters don't know, all is well. But if you want to be (hopefully!) surprised, then please read no more.

Now that we've taken care of that, I was reading a post from Johnn Four Roleplay who puts out some good advice. Sometimes I even try to read it and apply it. A recent post caught my eye about the villains in your story. We all know the player characters should have goals. In Traveller it is usually credits or a better star ship, or more toys. In the Fantasy Trip, experience and better weapons. The current game one of the players wants to be able to open his blacksmith, so is working towards getting the experience and skills. As I have the Amazing Shops and Inns from Loresmythe, we may be able to use those rules to make it a special place.  Anyway, I feel a good game the characters need an overarching goal beyond surviving the next dungeon. And this post said that the villains need that as well - they have to have a winning end point in mind other than being a thorn in our heroes side. With that in mind, I got a broad outline of the main bad guys in the game and what their end goals are. Or at least a couple of them at any rate.

Corsairs has some broad characterizations for those opposing our characters. Known as scoundrels, it is a way of grouping characteristics and helps to define the playing field. 

Way behind the curtain and pulling the strings we have a Sir Wysym Pycey of the Alderal Empire. He is the one, or at least the most visible one, bribing and corrupting the Council to allow for mining on Teboa. The players may not ever see him except via his henchmen and stooges. His goal is to mine Teboa as long as he can and amass great wealth. He does not care about it sinking into the Molten Sea. He provides the finances and the grand plans. He would be a Governer level scoundrel. 

Now, his primary agent in Teboa is Lady Erin Gysby. She has two real goals: helping to achieve Sir Pycey's goal as well as get enough money to retire a woman of leisure. She has almost enough and is hoping this is her last job. Lady Gysby is Sir Pycey's contact, and lives in a modest estate he maintains in Deathorp, the capital of Teboa. She would be considered a Lieutenant level scoundrel. She has three main contacts she uses to carry out her missions.

She has a 2 master ship which I've yet to name, and it's captain is George Horn and his first mate, Rey Smythe. The captain's first priority is the ship, the second doing Lady Gysby's tasks. The captain would be a Steady Wind level scoundrel, and the  First Mate a Master Gunner. Rey Smythe tells the crew what to do based on what the captain tells him. The crew would be considered Pirates.  I'll have to find some cool deck plans - more image delving!

Lady Gysby also employs an Edmund Altes as a spy and a contact into the rougher edges of society. He would be considered a Smuggler, knowing the ins and outs of the various towns and villages. He has several Picaroons in almost every place. The running footsteps from the previous post would be one of those picaroons.  

The final scoundrel, who may or may not really be a scoundrel, is the head miner Franklin Gavit. He is boss man to dozens of miners and would be a variant on the steady wind scoundrel template. He employs picaroons as miners. 

Lady Erin: 

Captain George Horn:

Edmund Altes, Spy:

All I can say is thank goodness for Pinterest and other image sites! You can find anything on the web!

Corsairs - Game Setup, draft 1

Background

As per the Corasirs background, Teboa is being literally mined to death by the mining magnates of the Alderil Empire to the east. They have bought off enough of the council to obtain more of the magical repellium that allows the sky ships to sail above the Molten Sea. It also happens to keep the floating islands floating above that same sea, and Teboa is slowly sinking into the steaming depths.

The Council

The council consists of a dozen members drawn from all over the island, from Sebury to the far west to Pegate to the north east. The council convenes in Deathorp a week of every month to pursue governance. The remaining three weeks they are at their own estates, generally with a a stack of papers that takes most of the three weeks to go through.

The Council is lead by Sir Dayton Griffiths, a stout and older gentleman with his estates in the farmlands of Chaydale. Constantly smoking one of his prized cigars and not looking his age, Dayton was a Naval officer who returned almost a broken man. For him, the depths that people would go to were disheartening and caused him to return to his family estates, hunting and governing Chaydale. He was voted to to the council a few years later, and through the years rose to the leading position.

Henrich Holmes is from Bregate, His parents were from the northern islands, and he shares their Dwarf nature. Stubborn as he is short and wide, he mines the crystals that are used for timepieces and the navigational tools. His position on the council was achieved just a few years back and he is the most recent council member, though far from the youngest. He and Dayton will often hunt together as well. His niece, Glory Tumblestone, often accompanies them and her uncle to the big city of Deathorp on their private sky ship, the Birdsong. 

There are several other members, but I am saving them for how the game evolves and what is needed. Just needed the council lead, and Heinrich, in various names, has shown up in several of my games. He started as an NPC character in a Fantasy Trip game, managed to get him into the Traveller game, and here he is in Corsairs. I may have to add a Heinrich tag.

The Pull

The various characters are brought to  Griffith's estates in Chaydale. A sprawling farm house with a sky ship dock nearby, the estate has a forest to the east and famrlands as far as the eye can see to the east. Smaller farm houses are scattered about, and one can hear the lowing of cows and oxen, cackling of chickens and the soft sibilant sound of water flowing through raised troughs, similar to the Roman aquaducts. These take water from the mountain springs to irrigate the farm lands. The sky ship they can see docked is a sleek two masted war swoop.

Dayton knows some of the characters personally, others by reputation, and some perhaps via Heinrich, who is at the estate. The characters are brought into his study, where they are both puffing on oversized cigars. Deep chairs surround a table, with maps of Teboa spread out. Floor to ceiling book cases are on one wall, with a library ladder to reach the higher volumes. A broad glass door open to a veranda with expansive views of the farms. A butler brings in the party, who are seated about the table, and wine, water or juices are brought in. In the corner, curled up and reading a book, a young girl occasionally looks up as the conversation starts.

With a gruff clearing of his throat, Sir Griffiths starts. "Gentlemen (and gentlewomen if anyone will be playing a woman. the game doe snot differentiate) I am sorry to say I bring you together for a matter of grave importance. As you know, we've fought, and continue to fight, for Teboa's very life against the threats of the Alderal Empire. While the other empires may be biding their time, Alderal is our most significant threat to our very existence. There are members of the council who, shall we say, have been bought off, and living in largesse beyond what the council and their holdings would pay. They are selling our very right to life away to the highest bidders, and will leave Teboa before it inevitably sinks to a fiery death upon the Molten Seas below."

Heinrich takes a deep puff of his cigar, nodding.

Dayton continues: "We've brought you hear to help with the latest atrocity: there is a new repellium mine in Coastone, backed by the Alderal Empire and Sir Byron Windsor, the scallywag! We've some idea of where. While we cannot act in the providence of the Council " and here Heinrich grunts sarcastically, "we can hire private citizens to accost and destroy this mine with all due haste. You gentlemen I know either personally or by your fine reputation, and believe we can entrust you with the Samue to pursue these villains and strike at the very heart of the corruption in our council!" 

There is suddenly the sound of running steps fading off to the distance, and Glory looks out the bay window she is in and exclaims: "Uncle! A lugger has just landed on the chicken house!"

Ta-Da

And here is where the game starts. Can they catch the runner who has apparently overheard the conversation? Can they then catch the lugger (a smaller ship than the one they saw earlier) before it gets away? These questions and more to be answered in the game!

Ceawla, City of Tents part 2

The Well House

The water building is a large, square rock building housing the well house. Dug deep into the sands and into bedrock, fresh water flows up from here to fill the oasis. The water is very cold coming up, and the well house maintains this colder than expected temperature with its thick walls. As water for animal drinking at the oasis is allowed, but filling barrels or other water containers, travelers need to refill their water supplies at the water house. It is this group that pays for the guards, as well as a small tithe on goods going through Ceawla. And the guards are watching visitors.

Thamus Cire is the head of the Well House. Dressed in ill-fitting desert robes, outside the well house is constantly sweating and fanning his face with an ornate fan. Also multilingual, Thamus is a short-spoken man who demands cash up front to the tune of 2 golds per large barrel of water, 3 if he has to supply the barrel as well. While pricy, unless a traveler knows of other water sources, this is the only known one for a days journey or more.

ST 11 DX 13 (12) IQ 12

Long Bow (1d+2), Shortsword (2d-1), Cloth armor under the ill-fitting robes takes 1 point of damage

Bow Weapons, Sword, Area Knowledge, Business Sense, Languages (Common, Dwarf), Literacy, Recognize Value, Streetwise

Water Guards there are 12 fighters of various abilities. Pick from the Decks of Destiny, but the captain of the guard is outlined here:

Khali Kamal An older female Dwarf, she is a veteran of the Plains Giant War from a few years back. Her hair may be greying in her braids but she is still a stout and dangerous foe. She maintains a command tent behind the regular guard tents near the guard tower. She is known to sing and has a melodious voice which is quite surprising to most people who don’t know her.

ST 15 DX 13 (11) IQ 10

Fine Battle Axe (3d; +1 to hit), Leather Amour takes 2 hits

Axe, Expert Weapon in Axe, Area Knowledge, Diplomacy, Shield Expertise, Toughness x2 (takes 4 hits), Bard, Poet, Literacy

Just  a quick note about a lot of this: I've been rolling on the quick generation for the races (p14), and then picking cards from the Decks of Destiny for the stats, as well as using the talent cards as at least the basis for the skills. These are not starting characters, so are not legal from that perspective. They are assumed to have been around the block a few times. For the most part I also do the d6 roll for male or female where even is female and odd is male (I figure guys are always odd anyway...not sure when I started that but I've been using that technique for years for random Traveller characters).

I also use various sites for the names. I am horrible at names (even in my real life programming world - naming is considered one of the hard things in development. You may not think that, but if you write code for a living you will understand!)

Finally, I added a wine list which I'll add here. There are so many wonderful random name generators out there! Prices are per bottle in silvers. Apparently Thrinin has some really good stuff! Some may be race-specific wines. I;d go with the fruity ones being Elven, Horrors and their ilk Goblin or Orc.

River Amigo.............$12

Vibrant Orb.............$14

Fantasy Buzzer.......$16

Strawberry Storm...$18

Capital Rum............$20

Blueberry Wave......$22

Yellow Horror..........$24

Gingerroot Blitz......$26

Black Drop..............$28

Potato Smash..........$30

Light Ale Cooler......$40

Oaken Wave............$60

Tea Wonder.............$100

Mad Blitz................$200

And really finally, I'll probably post the PDF later. All this is out of the document I am working on. I tend to go overboard in world detailing, but this time I am printing it out & putting it in a notebook so I can actually track things! I've yet to come up with a good organizational process despite reading a LOT, but I;ll figure out one that works for me.

Ceawla, City of Tents, part 1

People of Ceawla

There are several permanent residents at the Tent City. Guards tend to be mercenaries and hired for months at a time.

The Sarap Evi

Gauwis Jamis is considered the mayor of Ceawla. He is also the owner of the Sarap Evi, the winehouse at the edge of the waters. A little above average height and just past 50, he wears silks and a turban with a single faceted jewel. This jewel is actually a detect enemies magical item: Gauvis has made enemies over the years, and this helps to protect him. As does his quartet of bodyguards. He tends to smile a lot.

ST 12 DX 12 IQ 14

Sword, Area Knowledge, Languages (Elf, Orc, Goblin, Common, Reptile Men), Literacy, Recognize Value, Business Sense, Assess Value

Bodyguards His four body guards may be drawn from the Deck of Destiny 36 point characters.

Anin Effrin is Gauwis’ dancer. Human, she moves more like an Elf according to some. Unknown to most, she is also a mage and does more than dance: she is a hidden body guard as well. She looks to be in her late 20s with long hair coiled about her head. A small powerstone is inset in her belly button and has 8 ST. The is also a small hidden silver knife in her sash, and a pair of silver hairpins that are enchanted for extra damage and about 8” long.

ST 11 DX 15 IQ 12

Spells Detect Magic, Reveal Magic, Dispel Missiles, 3 hex Fire

Talents  Sex Appeal, Knife, Dancer, Acrobatics, Unarmed Combat I and II

Weapons silver dagger (1d-1), enchanted silver hair pins (1d+1 damage)

Thrinin Duri The Sarap’s wine steward, Thrinin is a Dwarf with a bright red beard and apparently excellent taste in wines. With a Dwarven stamina, he has never lost a drinking challenge. Hired by Gauvis almost 5 years ago from a passing caravan, Thrinin seems to really enjoy wines and has an extensive knowledge of wines from all over the region. He has standing orders with many caravans to bring in new wines. Jovial with a constant twinkle in his eye, he also more of a wine snob than initial appearances would seem. And there is this quite large hammer on the back wall.

ST 14 DX 11 IQ 12

Vitner, Axes, Toughness 2, Languages (Dwarf, Common, Elf), Weapon Expertise in hammers