Clockwork Abattoir: A Cadaverous Earth campaign

[Rose-of-Vellum]

 
[ooc=Mr. Nix]Furtive Male Ghul Witch (Diabolism) 1
XP: 0; Benefits Gained: none
Grit: 1
Pools (Edge): Might 7 (0), Agility 10* (1), Intellect 15 (1); Damage Track: Hale

Defenses: disease & poison (mastery), aging & death effects (immune); AC 1; Might Cost: 1; Agility Penalty: 2*
Recovery Rolls: 1d6+1; Rolls Left: 4

Languages: Hellspeak, Shambles
Lifestyle: Poor
Senses: See in the dark (100 ft.), perception of demons (expertise)
Skills: deception (expertise), demonology and persuasion of demons (expertise), illusion- & deceit-based invocations (expertise), stealth (expertise), witchcraft (expertise)

Weapons:

• Derringer (light ranged weapon)

• Knife (light bladed weapon)

Esoteries:

• Emonomancy (2 Intellect points): Through a brief calling and binding ritual, Mr. Nix commands demons to scan an area equal in size to a 10-foot cube, including all objects or creatures within that area. The area must be within short range. Successful emonomancy of a creature or object reveals its level. He also learns whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent about the matter and energy in that area. However, this esotery doesn't tell him what the information means. Many materials and eldritch fields prevent or resist emonomancy. Action.
• Soul's Torment (1 Intellect point): Mr. Nix can attack a foe's mind, filling it with harrowing, phantasmagoric images of Hellish landscape and denizens. To use this invocation, Mr. Nix must be able to see his target. With a successful check, this mental attack inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage. Some creatures without minds (such as automatons) might be immune to this variant. Action.

Flaws:

• Carnivorous: Mr. Nix can only digest meat.
• Light Sensitivity: Mr. Nix is dazed in direct sunlight.
• Slow & Certain: swift movement (defect)

Items:

• Eldritch Oddities:
  
  
  • Lashing Tongue: This foot-long appendage appears to be the still-living tongue of a demon. Mr. Nix keeps it in a bag, where it worms and thrashes around eerily but ineffectually. It is slimy, and drips saliva constantly, and it is covered in ugly boils and blisters. Anyone who dares to put it in their mouth will instantly be able to speak Hellspeak, but can only manage to shout profanity and curses.
• Theurgic Devices:
  
  
  • The Dark Glass: The edge of this jagged shard of obsidian has been carefully engraved with glyphs of seeing.  Upon command and with a successful roll against the target's DC, the glass will display an image, albeit smoky and slightly indistinct. The vision lasts for one minute, and at the end, the vision fades, and the glass becomes ordinary obsidian.
  • Glutton Worm: Mr. Nix keeps this sluglike creature in a small ivory box. Properly known as aerugo larvae, the glutton worm secretes a powerful, unique acid which can dissolve inorganic material of level 3 or lower, but has no effect whatsoever on flesh or other organic matter. The creature gobbles up the dissolved material around it, and in a matter of rounds, eats until it curls up into an ephemeral cocoon, then explodes, releasing a cloud of tiny aerugo-flies.
  • Wailing Bottle: A bottle carved with mourning, screaming faces, the lid is stoppered up, and sealed off with clay. If this bottle is smashed open on the ground, it releases the damned souls in torment that were trapped inside. They instantly start to be pulled down into an otherworldly Hell, and they will reach, pull, and claw at a single living creature within immediate range to try and remain in this world. Upon a successful attack, a horde of spirits assaults the target of this bottle, increasing the difficulty of all its actions by 1d6 rounds.

Mundane Items: Voulge Chirurgeon derringer pistol (12 shots), ornate ceremonial knife, spider-silk cuirass, clothing (tricorn hat, frock coat with hidden sleeve pocket, mask), chalk, 9' knotted measuring cord, tallow candles (5), matches (5), votive silver chain, 12 crowns.
[/ooc]

[ooc=Vex]
Familiar: demon; Level: 2
Health: 6; AC 0
Attack: bite (4 damage) plus poison (level 2, 4 damage)
Skills tracking (expertise)
[/ooc]

I couldn't tell whether you were suggesting Voulge Chirurgeon is the name of the type of derringer he uses, or the name he has specifically given his gun. If the latter, feel free to replace 'derringer' with its name in the Weapons section.

Also, I'm assuming your silk cuirass is light armor, thus granting you AC 1. However, remember that light armor imposes 1 Might damage/hour, and a 2 point reduction to your Agility pool so long as you wear it. I've modified your sheet accordingly.

Also, I wasn't sure which item you were considering your 'free' esoteric talisman. Knife? Votive chain? Either way, a knife is also a weapon, so I listed it in your weapons section. However, if you were thinking the knife is so ceremonial that it is nonfunctional in combat, feel free to clarify and remove it accordingly.

I subtracted the funds to pay for your items. I wasn't sure what you meant by smokepowder capsules. But if you meant smoke-bombs like Xavier uses, then they count as theurgic devices and cost more crowns than you have at the moment. But maybe you have bought some from Xavier -or the syndicate he belongs to- in the past, and might do so again in the future.

The pictures help quite a bit, so thanks for sharing them.

Other than the above questions/changes, your PC is ready to go. I'll create a character thread asap. Post Mr. Nix's full sheet (photos not necessary) at your convenience.

[Rhamnousia]

I've finally got Phrixia's theurgic items up, so that should be all for her.

[Rose-of-Vellum]

Wunderbar; I'll review her stats asap.

Thanks again to everyone for their excellent submissions.

[Ghostman]

Re:Lifestyle: Xavier probably lives in a tenement in the Copper Ward. He should be able to blend in easily with all the artificers in that neighbourhood.

Re:Flaws: I missed the difference between debility and defect. Anyway, I'll have to scrap the animal thing and come up with a better replacement flaw.

Re:Theurgic items: Given that the primary function of a smoke bomb is to enable a quick retreat, how would reducing perception check DCs accomplish this? Can it be assumed that NPCs would be required to make perception checks if they wanted to attack or prevent the PCs from retreating under the cover of the smoke? As for flash bombs I'd propose immediate distance, one round duration.

The Verses is a rich, creative idea. However, it is a bit beyond the scope of an eldritch oddity. Namely, eldritch oddities are inherently able to affect others. I mean, yes, Bartleby could throw his bleeding trophy at someone but that's a stretch. So, if you wanted to tweak the 'item', you could have it so that when Xavier recites the poem, or a stanza from it, that his breath turns to indigo smoke that dances like a salacious sylphid or forms leering, vaporous faces. You can maintain the disorientation and orifice bleeding if you wish.

I'm unable to see what you're getting at. How is it that changing the effect from random feelings to a visible puff of smoke would make a difference? It's not like there's any game mechanical effect to it either way.

Eye: A clockwork eye is perfect for your syndicate ties. However, eldritch oddities are usually curios, not sense or skill-enhancers, and theurgic devices are temporary.

Simplest solution would be to just drop the low-light vision part of it entirely. Of course, he's still going to be half-blind like a mindgrub when ever he's wearing the eyepatch.

A garrote would be a weapon (heavy).

Now this here creates a BIG problem. Strangling is intended to be Xavier's favored means of killing (when not using poison), but being a rogue he can only use light and medium weapons without penalty. Got any suggestion on how to solve this dilemma?

Lockpicks are 50 pence. Attempting lockpicking tasks without them impose a hindrance.

Ok. Looks like Xavier won't be doing much of break & entry after all.

A cheap lighter is about 10 pence. You might consider making one of your eldritch oddities function as a lighter.

That'd actually make a good replacement for Venomous Verses.


I'll hopefully get around to posting a revised character sheet soon-ish.

[Rhamnousia]

I think instead of making the garotte a heavy weapon in and of itself, you shouldn't distinguish it from Xavier's light unarmed attack. It's like how Night's Black Agents handles grappling: if you can deal enough damage to kill the target in a single attack (and with the Swift Death ability and some Grit, that's a possibility) then you've gotten the wire around their throat and successfully strangled them. If you don't, then they've gotten free, your hand slipped, etc. Specific grappling rules are the bane of systems like this and, as we've seen, can completely deflate a character concept.

[Seraph]

I figured the smoke powder capsules would function thusly:  they create a momentary cloud of dust that only momentarily obscures vision.  The idea being that when among people who can see him, he can toss one to create a distraction that helps him to hide.  More misdirection than anything else.  It would provide a one time benefaction on a stealth roll, but would not otherwise hamper the enemy's vision.

[Ghostman]

Come to think of it, it doesn't make sense that you could wield a garrote like an ordinary weapon. It should be something that only works on a successful surprise attack or if the target is otherwise defenseless for some reason.

[Rhamnousia]

With a handful of exceptions, weapons in Numenera are just a matter of flavor, so that should work out.

[Rose-of-Vellum]

Ghostman,

Re: Lifestyle: Copper Ward tenement sounds good.

Re: Flaws: Understandable miscommunication. Also, as said before, feel free to keep the bestial handicap if you'd like for further character development.

Re: Smoke Bombs: You're absolutely right, NPCs don't roll, only PCs do. Consequently, smoke bombs would count as a benefaction to visual-based stealth tasks, provided the affected area was between you and the target you are hiding from. Such tasks would have their DC reduced by 2 steps for one round, then only reduce the DC by 1 for the following minute. Smoke bombs would similarly raise the DC of sight-based tasks (e.g., perception, attacks)

Flash bombs could temporarily blind an opponent, or group of opponents, in an immediate-distance (centered around wherever you throw the bomb). You would make an Agility roll against their DC. If successful, they are blinded for 1 round (higher level bombs would last longer). Against blinded foes, the DC of defense rolls and attack rolls is reduced by two steps. Action.   

How does that sound?

Re: Verses: The salient difference is that emotion-affecting words inherently and explicitly states that the oddity directly affects other creatures. Small wisps of dancing, eldritch smoke do not. The former implies a mechanical effect, or certainly imposes a narrative one.

Re: Eye: Your call. Although, now that I consider you are taking on a voluntary defect with your eyepatch, how about we say the clockwork eye negates 1-step hindrances due to dim illumination.

Re: Garrote: I'm open to suggestions –and I quite like the ones already provided. It would require two free hands, but otherwise, I'm fine with your just describing it flavor-wise as part of your surprise strike, and switching 'weapons' if the attack fails to slay the foe. The only mechanical issue is whether we consider it a light or medium attack. This not only affects the DC of the attack roll, but also determines its damage. I lean towards medium, as a successful garrote attack is quite lethal, but it also isn't an 'easy' weapon/strike like a jab or knife slash. Thoughts?

Re: Lockpicks: Something to buy, steal, or bargain. You could even assume you usually do breaking & entering, but say your picks just recently became damaged, and/or are being repaired in a syndicate shop.

Re: Lighter: Your call.

Let me know when you're good for round 2 review.

[Rose-of-Vellum]

SH,

As described above, your smoke capsules seem to describe Ghostman's smoke bombs. Or is there some distinction, conceptual or mechanical, that I'm missing?

[Rhamnousia]

Not to sound too pushy, but how long until Phrixia gets reviewed?

[Rose-of-Vellum]

Ask and ye shall receive...

Phrixia's stats looks great. I only have a few minor questions/comments:

1. Anything notable to the look/design of her mask? (full, half, etc.?)  You don't need to change the text, I'm just wondering what it looks like.
2. Does she have any present or past sobriquets or aliases? Not only does notoriety tend to bring such, but I also wanted to ask in light of her double-dealing in the War and subsequent attempts at avoiding retribution. Once again, tis not something that needs to be added to her 'sheet', but I was curious.
3. Foible looks good. As an addict of madwine, her lips would be stained yellow.
4. I fixed a few tiny formatting issues.
5. The theurgic items seem just a tad too powerful for a level 1 item (I have a slightly different tier calibration than Numenara). Consequently, I suggest the following changes:
a. The Ring's power only lasts 1 minute (change made to sheet).
b. The Oil's effect lasts either 1 hour (and does 1 extra damage) or 1 minute (and does 2 damage per wound). Your call (although I made the former change for convenience).

Other than those, your history, description, stats, items, etc., look great. Really solid character. I look forward to seeing her in play. Post her on the dedicated thread at your convenience.

[ooc=Phrixia Gronne]
Graceful Female Human Rogue (Way of the Blade & Pistol) 1
XP: 0; Benefits Gained: none
Grit: 2
Pools (Edge): Might 10, Agility 14 (1), Intellect 12; Damage Track: Hale

Defenses: Agility (expertise); AC: 2 (medium); Might Cost: 0; Agility Penalty: 0
Recovery Rolls: 1d6+1; Rolls Left: 4

Languages: Alleyspeak, Shambles
Lifestyle: Decent. Phrixia rents a single spacious and well-appointed room in a boarding house on the periphery of the Indigo Ward, an establishment more often frequented by travelers from Lophius than by members of Skein's established criminal community.
Skills: balance (expertise), persuasion (expertise), physical performing arts (expertise), running (expertise)

Weapons:

• Blackwand (light bladed)
• Salamandrine (light ranged)

Tricks:

• Armor Proficiency: Phrixia can wear any kind of armor. She reduces the Might cost per hour for wearing armor and the Agility Pool reduction for wearing armor by 2. Enabler.
• Gutter-Witchcraft (1 Intellect point): Phrixia can perform small invocations: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. She can't use gutter-witchcraft to harm another creature or object. Action.

Flaws:

• Prideful: a roll of 1 on any Agility task leaves her dazed for one round due to shock and shame.
• Taste for Madwine: Phrixia can go a number of days equal to her Might Pool without taking madwine. After that, she must make a Might defense roll (DC 3+1 per previous check) or lose 2 Might, Agility, and Intellect points per day until she takes the drug. Until then, or until she overcomes her addiction, she cannot recover points in her pools and shifts down one step on the damage track.

Items:

• Eldritch Oddities:
  
  • The Red Hag: an eldritch tattoo of a hagfish inscribed in vivid carmine, which ceaselessly wriggles and squirms its way across her skin of its own accord, occasionally disappearing into a black and gold arabesque only to reemerge somewhere else on her body. Close inspection of the animate illumination reveals it to be a tughra (a stylized signature) formed of curling Glatch script.

• Theurgic Devices:
  
  • Doppelganger's Defensive Ring: An iron mourning ring engraved with hellish glyphs, containing a single bound imp of exceptional rascality. On command, the ring disintegrates and releases the demon within, who assumes a form identical to Phrixia and grants her a benefaction to Agility defense actions for 1 minute.
  • Oil of Viciousness: A small glass flacon containing an ugly, viscous mixture comprised of a dead soldier's blood and yellow bile and the ichorous effluvia of a Sallow Seas demon. When the oil is used to anoint the edge of a weapon, every wound blackens and sizzles from the eldritch cruelty, inflicting an additional 1 point of damage. The effect lasts for 1 hour, at which point the oil's potency evaporates.
  
  Mundane Possessions: Blackwand, Salamandrine (12 bullets), custom-fitted brigandine jack, clothing, cigarettes (12), bottle of brandy, bottle of madwine, matchsticks (10), 60 crowns.
  

[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

Also, since we have a madwine addict among us:

Madwine
Hallucinogenic liqueur; overdose can cause permanent lunacy.  Stains the lips yellow.
Initial Effects: Mild buzz, hallucinations, which increase the DC of all sensory-affected tasks by 1 step. A user can attempt an Intellect defense roll (DC 3 + the number of glasses consumed) to ignore the hallucinations and their penalty for one round.
Secondary Effects: Intellect defense roll (DC 3 + the number of glasses consumed) or become deranged for 3d6 rounds and take 1d6 points of Intellect damage.
After-effects: Stains the lips yellow.
Overdose: A user can drink a number of glasses of madwine per day equal to half their Intellect before overdosing. If exceeded, imbiber must make an Intellect defense roll (DC equals the number of glasses consumed) or permanently have your Intellect Pool reduced by 1d6 points.
Cost: 10 bones for a bottle (decent quality).

[Ghostman]

Re: Verses: The salient difference is that emotion-affecting words inherently and explicitly states that the oddity directly affects other creatures. Small wisps of dancing, eldritch smoke do not. The former implies a mechanical effect, or certainly imposes a narrative one.

Thanks for the clarification. Anyway, I'll be swapping the oddity for a different one anyway, so this won't be an issue.

Re: Eye: Your call. Although, now that I consider you are taking on a voluntary defect with your eyepatch, how about we say the clockwork eye negates 1-step hindrances due to dim illumination.

Sounds agreeable.

Re: Lockpicks: Something to buy, steal, or bargain. You could even assume you usually do breaking & entering, but say your picks just recently became damaged, and/or are being repaired in a syndicate shop.

That's a pretty good idea. I think I'll go with the explanation that they were lost/broken when he tried to pick a spell-warded lock.


Revised character sheet is almost done, just need to solve the matter of the garrotte. I propose the following rules to handle it:

• Categorized as a medium melee weapon
• Must be used two-handedly (and thus becomes an exception to the rule that two-handed weapons are always heavy weapons)
• Is only effective against an organic creature that has a single head and a neck (hence an anthropophagus cannot be garroted)
• The targeted creature must either be completely helpless (ie. unconscious, paralyzed...) or it must be unaware of the attacker
• A creature that has been hit by a garrotte attack can be attacked again on the following round even though it has by then become aware of the attacker (this represents continuing the strangle -- if the attack misses though, the victim has managed to struggle free and the strangulation can't be continued in this manner)
• A creature that has been hit by a garrotte attack will be unable to move for one round (they can't simply run away until they've freed themselves from the strangle or killed the attacker) -- and neither can the attacker, without forfeiting the opportunity to continue strangling next round

Admittedly that's not the most elegant piece of rules but I think it'd be simple enough to be feasible in game.

How much would a garrotte cost? Anything more than 15 pence means I'll have to swap the sabre for it, since I'm definitely keeping the blowgun.

[Rose-of-Vellum]

Those rules are fine. In terms of money, list the garrote and reduce your remaining crowns to 5.