Celtricia

[limetom]

Still working on cleaning up the spellcasting stuff on the wiki. Just finished with the necromancy costs, save two spells, which apparently don't have wiki pages. First is mask the flow, second is zombie servant, red zombie. Should eventually get all of these done. Maybe I'll just bang it out this weekend.

[LordVreeg]

ok, do you need me to find those and upload them?
I can do that.

In other news, am working into the politics of Stenron, as that is about to become more germane.   
http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/73372199/The%20Politics%20of%20Stenron

also, i am looking forward to Thursday's session as the hidden exploration of Gronth Hall continues.

[limetom]

Unless they're uploaded and I just can't find them, yes.

If you have any suggestions for a busy-work project on the wiki for after this, I may be open to suggestions, because it looks like I'll be finished the spell list very soon.

[LordVreeg]

a) more spells are coming.
b) we have to format skills better, and I can show you the form I've been using.

[LordVreeg]

dropped some spells, will try to get more done tonight

[LordVreeg]

The Politics of Stenron
Page history last edited by LordVreeg (NJM4) 1 minute ago

In a city as vast as this, the political machination is huge, and in a city as truly ancient, the wells of passion and intrigue run deep.  The Grey March is a representative Monarchy, with a King ( a matriarchal lineage) and Senatorial body known as the Hondurot that is elected.  Similarly, the Governor of Stenron, the Consala, is dictated and selected by the King, but must be ratified by a majority of the Hundorot.  


The King and Consala live in the same palace, in a larger and smaller wing.  This palace is called the Wensale.  In terms of the politics of the sprawling city, this area is a hub of excitement and intrigue, in the hills of the Jarminic neighborhood. All the city-provinces of the Grey March have a home for their Hondurs and their staff there.  

The Jarmanic is an ancient district that sits on the foothills and mountain side of the huge Mount Coriel, the huge 'cork' on the eastern side of the valley.  Half way up is the huge and hoary fortress Jarmin, the home of the Tarcleri~ Knights, just above the Wensale palace.   As one moves up past the Fortress, one goes into some very old residences and estates, then strange elder temples and ruins midst older trails.  This is where the cradle term, "I'm going up the Hill with it" comes from, when someone takes an idea or thought to be decided on.
The Hundurot normally number about two hundred and fifty, with some twenty six seats being taken automatically by other settlements and towns (Miston, Hopiton, Castle Ellis, etc), five seats being bestowed by the kIng, twenty nine seats being hereditary or owned by Guild or knighthood (three of these are owned by the Order of Stenron), one seat of each of the sixteen districts within the confines of Stenron herself, and rest being literally voted on, with about half being voted on in the rest of the country and half within the confines of the city.
The term is six years, but voting happens every other year, with roughly a third of the seats being up for re-election at a time.  Since the Grey March, like many of the Cradle states, was once a collection of independent settlements, this means some eighty seats total are voted on outside of the city and tabulated through the use of the BBN.
And where the outer settlements sort of rule within their spheres (until the federal system intervenes), the Hudurot spends at the majority of their time governing the huge population of Stenron, which makes sense since almost half of the entire acculturated population of the country lives within the boundaries of the Great City.

For political movements and attitudes, there are plenty, some ancient, some new.

• Theocrats-this is a wide-ranging group of policies that think the Godstraat and the ancient nature of Stenron's background are under-represented in the government.  The most common argument is about how many seats in the Hunderot are manned by these less-secular folk, though there are people who wish for much more.

• Milatarists-A rather nice name given to those that believe that it is the duty of the Marcher nation to lead the cradle, and that resistance to the Empire of Argus should be much more active.  They tend to compare Argus to ancient Venolvia.

• Dademist - Those that tend to see progress as a cyclical and good thing.  Much of the March is somewhat hidebound, and the Dademists are normally the progressives, but very based on the idea of a political and geopolitical cycle.

• Centrists-those that want to keep political power central to great Stenron and increase the amount of Hondurs coming from the city.  Often tied to the Istar movement.

• Istar - The power of the old families, and in Stenron, this is huge, as there are 4 major Omwo~ families and many others right behind them that have held political power and mercantile power off and on for hundreds or even thousands of years.  Nobody is really against these families; though many notice their immunity to the laws and their consistent influence.  The positive side is the luxurious side of Stenron, the balls and dances and functions, and the parts of these old families that donate heavily, but there is also an undercurrent that they have outlived their use and that this small group that owns so much of the city.

• Concerted- The political thought that the 'Planars, Angels, and Saints' (as the phrase goes) directly nudge things in certain directions, in everyone's life, and affect the politics of the Grey March.  This belief often goes with the Theocrats, but not always

.

• Guildist- the power of the mercantile guilds also continues to grow, and is also seen as the voice of the powerful 'middle upper class", and often seen as the voice of the middle class, as well.  this group is often virulently annti-taxation and suspicious of war.

• Voider - the political idea that too much power is tied up in the ability to sense and manipulate the void.

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[LordVreeg]

Combat Maneuvers   
This has been on the site for a long time, but the recent conversation brought it to mind to post this.
From here.....
Tactical Moves



In Guildschool, there are a number of tactical moves a player or GM can use to increase their chance of success in combat situations.  Many of these can be made more effective with the use of skills, creating fighting styles that are harder to beat.

These also can aid to the immersion of the situation if used descriptively.


From the GM perspective, many of these need the PCs (or creatures) to expressly mention what they are doing.  While in reality some of these would happen somewhat automatically due to sheer physics, in terms of gameplay, they need to be mentioned.


•·       Full Parry
A character using this may forgo their attacking initiative to fight purely defensively, though they still roll initiative at -2 to determine when they can change their intent.  This adds 20% of their weapon skill (or a minimum of 3, if they have no little skill or no skill) to their protection for that initiative phase, until they roll again.  This can be added onto the parry skill, making a character a formidable fortress.


•Partial Parry
A character using this may still attack while putting some more emphasis on defense.  They roll to attack with a -2 init penalty and -10% to hit, but they add 10% of their weapon skill to their protection (+1/2 parry skill).  Please note this skill is sometimes used in combination/alternation with Riposte (below).  

 
•·       Riposte
This move requires a character to have an initiative the same or better than the person they face, and this action must be declared before rolling initiative.  Please also note this skill can be used with a worse initiative, but the riposter must wait for the attack roll against them after the riposter's rolled initiative.  A riposte assumes a parried attack and a quick counter attack.  A player making this choice adds 10% of their weapon skill to protection (+1/2 parry skill), but their attack is delayed until the segment after their opponent's attack.  The riposte attack gains no bonus to hit, but subtracts one from the damage dividing die.  For a person with a decent parry skill, or a smaller weapon trying to increase the potential of decent damage, it is a gamble that sometimes pays off.


•·       Charge
This tactic requires a user to have at least 10' of run up to use properly.  A charging attacker uses their impetus to increase the force of their attack.  A charging user uses readied initiative if their weapon is longer than a defenders.  In either case, this attack allows an attacker to reduce their damage dividing die by 1.  If the attacker has the charge skill, it is added to the attack roll in this case.


•Set to Receive
This move requires the user to have a longer weapon than the attacker, or using the move against a charging opponent, or it fails.  Period.   If a client declares this move and the conditions are met, they use their readied initiative -2, and gain a +2 to damage before the dividing die, and a -1 to dividing die if their opponent is charging.


•Full Shield cover
Obviously, this tactic requires a shield...
If used, the target does not make any attacks, but merely covers up 100%.  Initiative is rolled normally, but the attack is forgone.  This strategy does add 10 to protection.  A user can move 1/3 normal, and this bonus only applies to attacks the shield would be valid for.


•Partial shield cover
This skill is similar to Full shield cover, but it does allow an attack.  The user attacks at -10% to hit and this applies to critical hits as well.  The protection bonus gained is 5.  Movement is 1/2 normal when using this.  This action simulates moving forward into combat in a guarded position, as well as a fighting retreat.


•Back-to-back
This declaration means that 2 fighters move back to back to increase their defense.  It depends on near total trust, but the effect of this declaration means that neither combatant can be flanked or backstabbed.  If both combatants have tandem fighting skill, they increase their protection by the amount of the average of the skills.


•Split defense
A player using this must be able to outnumber an opponent.  They must be able to engage a combatant that is already engaged, and have range to get close to 180 degrees from the other person engaging.  The affect of this is to negate the shield of the defender and add one to damage before the divider.  Please note the attacker declaring it can continue declaring it until conditions change.


•Flank Attack
This is a single attack, similar to a split defense, where the attacker comes at an angle to the side or rear side of the target.  This is not a total surprise back stab, but still an advantageous attack, in that shields do not come in.  Shields do not come into play in terms of protection, and the attacker has a +15% to hit, +1% to critical and adds 2 to damage before the divider.


•BackStab (or total surprise)
Some skills or situations allow for a total surprise backstab.  This attack, if the skill rolls or extreme circumstance are successful, mean that surprise was gained, and the attacker was able to hit an advantageous area.  If the backstabbing attempts are unsuccessful prior to the attack, it is considered a flanking attack.   If it is successful, the attacker has a +20% to hit, +2% to critical, +2 to damage before divider, -1 to the dividing dice and their backstab skill is added to their chance of critical. If the attack is a critical, the -1 to the divider is on top of this.


•Knock off Balance/Upend
A player can decide to forgo a slight bit of their own initiative and damage to try to move an opponent from their own initiative cycle.  A user must declare this from the beginning of their initiative phase, and it adds 2 to initiative, but if the player successfully hits and their damage amount would penetrate protection, they can cause their opponent to lose 2 initiative if they make their reflex CC -10, or 3-8 initiative if they miss their reflex CC.  The attacker only does 1/2 damage however.

N.B., that if the attacker has this skill, they can declare it in an attack and if successful in the skill roll, they do not lose the 2 initiative or extra damage as they are skilled enough to make this attempt in the course of an attack.


•Coup de Grace
This is an attack when the victim is helpless or the attacker is readied to kill, dagger up against the throat, pikemen surrounding a victim on his knees, etc.  As always, the attackers still must roll, but if the conditions are met, the attacker has a +20% to hit, +2% to critical, +2 to damage before divider, -1 to the dividing dice and their backstab skill is added to their chance of critical. If the attack is a critical, the -1 to the divider is on top of this.

[LordVreeg]

Milestone alert.
The Celtrician wiki hit 1200 pages yesterday.  On a page about the fabled and riotous Steel Isle Dungeon Crawl...Which I miss...the wiki hit that milestone.

Most of the recent growth has been in the continued writings of the Collegium Arcana game, and in fleshing out Stenron. 

Carry on.

[LordVreeg]

ran Igbar last night, long session of mainly discovery and politics.  Long night of play, but only 5 bottles of wine to go with 2 roasted chickens, pan fried root vegetables, and baccon-cabbage.
The group, after 12 years of continuous play, is well ensconced in Igbar, but recently, their apartments in the Sweet Retreat were ransacked, and indeed, everyone in the place was found dead, headless in fact.  Even Terribly Billy was found thus.  
the New Legion has made many enemies in their time,  They have many business dealings to attend to, and this, added to trying to settle down their estates on the Eastern Tiche plains and iron out their next three trips kept the game busy, whilst they tried to find what happened to the Sweet Retreat. 
Blood everywhere...the group is told by Rex Bin, Necromancer of the Alternative School that they are being scried regularly...might be time to leave town.

[LordVreeg]

Igbar games last Sunday, 2 games since the last post. 
Chicken 40 cloves of garlic, a huge bottle of Seralunga 2007 Barolo, and a bunch more.   
The chaos in town has continued, with the slaughter at  Cylobars.  This was very high end House of Ill-Repute in the Reginal Tine Block of the Rip Cut Crucible neighborhood, and where Sirrah Grobach was spending much of her time, taking Basic Carnal lessons.  Poborian, a new recruit used to actually run the security at Fabled Cylobars, so this is the second mass killing attached to the PCs...who are feeling very pinned down.  They have a number of enemies, and they realize belatedly that whilst they have won a few political battle, they have never really eliminated any of their political enemies of especially their larger picture foes.  Their long-time apartments at the Sweet Retreat were looted a day back, and now this.  And they have no idea who is doing it. 

The New Legion retreated to one of the ancient and decrepit dorms of the Alternative School of Magic, where their knightly allies, Garcellenti' Euridios' Order of the White Paladin is patrolling, and where Rex Bin and Palimar's (two senior mages at the School) Occulomancy try to parry the scrying of their enemies.

The group has taken a contract from Vinivixias FoxFolloed to clear the NorthTag Fields of the bands of ravening undead that have been terrorizing that area and the Recum Road in the last few goesi.  Partially as they are fighting the undead's progenitor, partially as it is a good political move, and partially to remove the easy political bullseye from their back.

[LordVreeg]

The collegium game is going very well.
But I have had it in my head for a while to make two HP tracks like we do in Accis, One is physical HP, the other is Subdual/status HP.  Not totally sure, but I think this is the way to go.

Unlike Accis, where Physical damage does not accrue until Status HP are done, there will be times a character might suffer both, and sometimes both evenly.   But Subdual/Status HP will be higher, but also have some effects during the track, such as once a person is below half here, any feat (skill attempt, attack, CC roll) is at -10%.  They will be slightly higher, but represent wind and remaining endurance and current mental condition, while Physical HP remains that.

still working it out, but I prefer the semi-realism added in here.  Physical HP will remain slow to regenerate without magic, while Status HP will normally return at the end of a night's sleep.

[limetom]

So a mechanics question:

How do CCs work mechanically? I assume they're a roll-under like most everything else, but what do the CC numbers on your character sheet actually mean? Are they a bonus? The number you have to roll under? Something else?

[LordVreeg]

the CC's reflect commonly used rolls, Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Surprise and social.
do you mean where are they derived from?
http://celtricia.pbworks.com/w/page/14955423/Circumstance%20Checks
does this answer, or am I missing something?

[limetom]

I was more interested in how they were adjucated.

[LordVreeg]

Hmm.
Circumstance Checks are rolled as a response to an outside, environmental event.  Unlike skill checks, like combat or even detection (where the Player can ask for modifiers), this is purely a result of the situation, as opposed to rolls that come from the players decision to use a skill.

The numbers displayed for Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Surprise and Social are the base chance of success in an unadjusted situation.  However, what success or failure means depends on the exact circumstance.  And many, many of these checks are adjusted by the situation. 
Also, whenever a character succeeds or fails by 25%, they are assumed to have had a substantially better or worse result, and as always, a roll of 93 or higher is a  failure and a roll of 07 or under is a success.

Social is by far the hardest and most interesting in the game, and particularly the Collegium Game.  Whereas the other CC rolls come from events where the results are pretty straight forward (Fear effect from undead, spell effects, trying to dodge something, etc), social is so much more loose and context specific.  And more fun for the GM.  Replay the session where Pholian critical failed social during the dance.  Twice.