Celtris Tales: Small Packages Chapter 5 Slaver's Galley

Small Packages: Slaver’s Galley

Having activated Defiance’s larger form Valen managed to whirl the double mace like a bo staff to simultaneously block a coordinated number two (high left) strike and number ten (low right) strike, and side step the follow up number 8 (deep lunge) but not the rapid roundhouse kick follow up Jared loaded a cold punching snowball spell strike that rocked him back on his heels. The old man was serious today. Valen recovered his wits in time to see Jared complete a spell that created a half dozen illusionary doubles of the famed hero.

“You fight well my son, but you seem to think that matters. Your enemies will not wait to see if you’re ready to fight, they will simply look for the most expedient way to kill you.”

Valen spun Defiance again like a bo-staff and launched into a spinning assault that would offer him many strikes at the price of true momentum, it cleared all but one of the illusions solidly connecting with his father’s  shoulder with perhaps too hard a clip. Jared vanished in that moment to reappear with the tip of his rapier two inches deep under Valen’s floating rib.

Unapologetically, Jared withdrew his blade and flicked of his foster son’s blood. “Take a healing potion and fetch one for me while you’re at it. You need to stop relying on your eyes so much my son, or some clever spire mage will kill you one day.”

The words were a gentle but serious rebuke. Valen realized two things in that moment, it was the first time he had ever hit his adoptive father in a sparring match, and that his father had was pushing him harder today with a purpose.

“Something is wrong?” Valen had never been a man of many words, words came awkwardly to his lips. He preferred silent action, monks in his order rarely spoke.

Jared nodded. Before he could explain a messenger burst into the practice courtyard.

“General Ambassador, pardon my interruption but there’s a slaver ship on its way to the harbor.”

Jared’s face darkened, with deadly swift grace that Valen had heard tales of but never witnessed from his father, the half elf half goblin sheathed his blade into his walking cane, made a number of practiced arcane somatic motions and ran out toward the harbor casting spells as he moved.

Valen had seen his father shirtless enough times to know the brutal lash marks on his back, the brand on his ribs, and the deadly serious glint in his father’s eyes when the subject of slavery was broached. Jared had been a slave early in his life and few things infuriated him more thoroughly.

The bards told tales of Jared freeing himself from the southern slavers. His full elf wife was a former slave the hero had freed. Many of his men were once slave troops or caravan guards effectively stuck in a cycle of debt akin to slavery. He had fled north and begged sanctuary in Briar Hills for the price slaver’s had put on his head. Jared was worth six figures to those men, it would end up being the low bid compared to what the Imperium was willing to pay.

Jared became Briar Hill’s greatest hero. He was the high general of their armies and chief ambassador. At one point a mercenary company form the southern cities came to collect the reward on Jared’s head and their ships were burned in the harbor of Briar Hills. Since then no slave ship had dared enter halfling territory.

Valen raced after his father. No slaver would dare try to dock in the harbor, Jared was famous for what he did to slavers as he was for anything else. Valen fished a potion out of the pack he carried, it would lend him speed. He would likely have to fight his own father in more earnest if he was to prevent a terrible mistake. There was only one reason a slaver ship would harbor in Briar Hills, that reason being it wasn’t piloted by slavers.

Valen watched his adoptive father’s mental decline with silent distress. In the moment the man was deadly and sharp and with a little coaxing he could match wits with any foe, but his short term memory was declining and sometimes he acted rashly to cover for his deficiencies. Today that could mean the death of innocents, Valen buckled down and ran faster.

Next Chapter

The Fine Line: Detailed Descent

                                     Image by aissatan and taken from www.DeviantArt.com

By Scott Bingham

                “This is the place I told you to expect.

                Here you shall pass among the fallen people,

                Souls who have lost the good of intellect.”

                So saying, he put forth his hand to me,

                And with a gentle and encouraging smile

                He led me through the gate of mystery.

                Welcome back to the Flying Pincushion! This week’s theme of the poetic work of Dante, The Inferno, was altogether an enjoyable read and a conduit of inspiration in my own work as a DM. The topic for this piece is a discussion on the use of detail in our storytelling and the effect it can have on our players’ overall gaming experience.Details can be both a powerful point of interest in our storytelling and a mass of jumbled chaos that does little more than distract from what is truly important. In the instance of interest we take a close look at Dante’s The Inferno and the way in which the setting is presented in each of the Circles of Hell.

As Dante and Virgil travel together lower and lower through the depths of wailing and torment the most human response would be that of horror and fear. If any of my characters were to make such a journey (one has in fact) the overall play personality that I would bring to the table would be that of sheer terror and paralyzing revulsion. However because of the nature of detail used in describing the manner and method of each Circle’s tortured souls and their various punishments Dante feels wonder. He is impossibly pulled into the scenes of horrific and eternal damnation because of how brilliantly and beautifully these depictions are painted for him. Things that are so ugly, so grisly, so incredibly repulsive and yet Dante is drawn deeper and deeper into Hell as his curiosity and very interest is piqued.

This is a tool used graciously in the case of The Inferno to ensure that Dante involves himself in the story. Detail, when used properly, can turn the heads of our players and cause them to question and to investigate. Imagine for a moment what sort of difference that can make. Let us go the Third Circle of Hell, the one meant to punish those great Gluttons of the mortal life, for such an example. First, the version purposefully lacking any sort of hook.

As you awaken you find yourself on the floor of the Third Circle of Hell. Virgil explains that this plane is meant to punish the Gluttons. Off in the distance you see the three headed Cerberus torturing souls and Virgil calmly waves for you to follow him.

Boring.

I am in the Third Circle of the torments.

Here to all time with neither pause nor change

The frozen rain of Hell descends in torrents.

Huge hailstones, dirty water, and black snow

Pour from the dismal air to putrefy

The putrid slush that waits for them below.

Here monstrous Cerberus, the ravening beast,

Howls through his triple throats like a mad dog

Over the spirits sunk in that foul paste.

Absolutely chilling. Already there has been a sense of dread established and an innate desire to avoid the creature Cerberus at all costs. A picture has been painted for us as to the nature of these souls eternal torment and we wish more than ever to tread carefully. When you as a Dungeon Master can help your players to see what you are describing it becomes that more real for them. Personally I find it easier to be involved, interested, and participating when in my mind’s eye I can envision the scene laid out before me. I’d take extra care on where I set my feet in such a scene and keep my eyes on the beast Cerberus.

Now to the other side of things. Details are a profound and strengthening factor in our storytelling particularly when used to describe something that before would appear so small and insignificant. However such a thing must be used in moderation. It’s easy when telling our tale to our players to get lost in the details and forget that there are more important things to be accomplished. Sometimes a thing can be simple because it holds no value in what we’re trying to accomplish with our players. Sometimes a room is simply that; a room. There is a table, a bookshelf, and a chair. No embellishment needed for this room means nothing. It’s simply a room.

When detailing something of importance however we must take special care. Our stories matter to us most of all above anyone else and so it’s easy for us to get excited and at times a bit carried away in our telling. A scene of greatness can be too much for in our episodic expression of an incredible scene we run the risk of forgetting where the spotlight should shine; on our players. They are the heroes and need to know that as their DM we are interested and invested in them. For any and all who have taken the time and pains to fill out a character sheet and to write a backstory it’s nice to know that our storyteller appreciates our small contribution to building a living, breathing character to explore their world.

Consider detail as you would a spice; don’t dump the entire shaker into the mixture. Add just enough to flavor the meal and make it that much more enjoyable. Use too much and one’s appetite quickly becomes lost in the overwhelming, overpowering tang of far too many words.

Dante’s The Inferno does a masterful job of using detail in such a way that Dante’s character (which is himself oddly enough) is interested and involved, two traits that we long for in our players. Such use of detail prompts Dante to ask questions and to make skill checks all the while venturing further and further into the story and the very bowels of Hell. He feels the necessary fear and disgust at the twisted and tangled mess that is eternal damnation but the sense of curiosity that he feels is the one that we love most. Why else would he stop to speak to the various tormented souls that he meets or turn to Virgil with questions and curiosity in his eyes?

Details, especially the little ones, can make or break a scene in our story. Maybe the tiniest bit of embellishment ends up playing a crucial role in the grand finale or consistently resurfaces, drawing the party closer and closer to sinister undertones. In any case the use of details in moderation is the lesson to be drawn from this week’s Fine Line. U

Pairing it Down: Unification Day

     Welcome one and all, new and old! This week’s theme here at the Flying Pincushion is Firefly. Joss Whedon, you have my heart with this show. Can I say something that might not be taken well? I feel like I can trust you, the readers. I think Buffy is better off where it is, in the past. I had such fond memories of that show until I tried to start re-watching it.

     Firefly, on the other hand, is probably Whedon’s best series show. A rich universe, plenty of history, and most importantly, his characters feel like people.

     I wrestled with what to write about for this week’s Pairing it Down even before I wrote last week’s piece on Gilgamesh. Firefly is a show that has fans with a dedication bordering on fanaticism (myself included). Nathan Fillion (Mal), Alan Tudyk (Wash), Adam Baldwin (Jayne), Gina Torres (Zoe), Morena Baccarin (Inara), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Sean Maher (Simon Tam), Summer Glau (River Tam), and Ron Glass (Shepherd Book) all make for a primary cast of amazing characters. The interactions, the sotto-voice mutterings, the love, and the dysfunctions that make us feel like it could be our family on the screen, these are paramount to what makes this so deserving of our loyalty. These same qualities are readily apparent in all the extemporaneous characters too. There isn’t really ever a sense of a “red shirt” in this show.

     Let me give my favorite example of character building and back story from this show. It comes from the second (what was supposed to be the second) episode; The Train Job. It starts out in a bar, as so many of our adventures do, with Jayne, Zoe, and the good old captain drinking at a table. A man obnoxiously calls for attention and gives a toast to the Alliance and Unification Day. We see an inkling of what Mal’s past means when Nathan Fillion gives one of his trademark looks and walks over to the counter. He orders in what I believe is Mandarin Chinese, another point I’ll make later, in his distinctly brown coat. He seems to innocently do this right next to the obnoxious Alliance lover. Some misdirection through the use of goading happens and Zoe is right there giving a mean punch with the butt of her gun to the man. The rest of the bar stands up slowly to fight, Mal and Zoe look to Jayne, who gives one of the best insights into his motivations as a character when he says “I didn’t fight in no war. Best of luck, though.” and rests his boots on the table.

     All of that happens in the second chronological episode. We see that Mal and Zoe, while having been on the losing side of a war, still believe in what they were fighting for in the past. Shortly after that, they have a great scene with Wash coming to rescue them from the edge of a cliff with a transport ship and a phenomenal bluff about having any firepower whatsoever. Then a wonderful family moment happens when they get to the interior and Kaylee asks about a fight, Simon worriedly asks about the Alliance, and Mal just says “An honest fight between folk.”

     Character and a character are very important distinctions in any game. You can have any number of characters, but if they don’t have any character then the game will feel lifeless and dull. This falls onto both sides of the DM screen. The DM is responsible for an entire world full of characters that have to have character when the spotlight is on them. When you stop and think about how many NPCs and monsters you meet in an average session then you realize that is a lot. The players are responsible for their characters to have character as well. That may seem unfair to the DM, but the players are responsible for developing a back story and motivations that are revealed over a long period. I would say that 99% of a DM’s characters are once and done; the players are the protagonists and thusly have to make their characters just as interesting on the last session as they were in the first. Maybe that involves speaking another language comfortably and intermixed with whatever passes for the common tongue.

     That’s a quick little sidebar I’d like to point out that goes along with last week’s world building Pairing it Down. Decide if there is a common tongue and then give it some flavor by building a history that says another language got absorbed into it and became mixed in to create this common tongue. Mandarin interspersed with English makes for a wonderfully evocative sense of the future.

     In the gaming industry there is something called a “plot hook”. These are devices that are intentionally left general enough that the DM can grab onto those hooks and make any number of adventures/exchanges/etc. off of just that one bit of information. The Pathfinder iconic monk Sajan is looking for his sister. Captain Ahab is looking for Moby Dick. Mal is looking for freedom. Decide first what your character is looking for in life. It doesn’t have to be grand, but it certainly can be grand. Start small though. You’d be surprised at what kind of stories and plot hooks come from simple and slightly general back stories. Resist the temptation to build a 10 page essay about the search for your sister; instead give a quick recap and leave it at the last place you heard she was seen. Maybe you are simply looking for the next something to steal (not that you are planning to steal the Mona Lisa). Perhaps you are looking to travel so you can find the next place to help, not that you are looking to go help Sister Sarah’s church.

     That’s what I’m pairing down this week. My character’s back story and then realizing when I’ve paired it down enough. If you read your character’s back story and realize that character is doing something specific in a specific location then try to back up a level. They can do something specific but omit the specific location bit. I challenge anyone brave enough to give me a short yet plot-ful back story in the comments. Until next time, when I look for inspiration from Last of the Mohicans, you can’t take the sky from me.

Mishelved: The Princess Bride

               picture by BogapeJane and taken from www.deviantart.com

By Frank Gori

When I think about The Princess Bride what comes to mind is a collection of small moments that endear me to the film.

-Andre the Giant saying in a forlorn voice “my way isn’t very sportsman-like” after Vizzini tells him his way to kill is to throw a rock at the man in black’s head from a hiding place.

-Both Wesley and Inigo declaring that they are not left handed in their duel.

-Humperdink being bluffed into surrendering, then being tied to a chair and left to contemplate his own cowardice.

-Billy Crystal yelling “Have fun storming the castle” and the exchange afterwards.

Small moments can make a film, and consequently a game. They are also the province of a good player. The difference between a good game and a great game is often not on the GM but on the players.

I’m a fantastic GM but I can’t make a group of people bring fun characters to the table that’s on my players. A good player builds in quirks, flaws, and motives that make a game and their characters more memorable.

To put it bluntly, if your character is too perfect it’s boring. If you want to “win” all the time play a console game on easy mode. Tabletop RPGs are about making a fun shared story and that is as much on the players as it is the GM. Your GM is busy making every bit part and setting entertaining while as a player you get to make one of the star characters.

Just like a GM it never hurts to borrow aspects from your favorite characters, just don’t rip off everything (no one is excited about your drow ranger dual wielding rapiers and using a tiger animal companion so stop it.) The key is to either separate concept from mechanics or use mechanics to flesh out concept.

For example one approach to building a character might look like this:

I want to play Inigo Montoya…

Why?

The two core elements of the character are this: he is a son looking to avenge his father’s death and he is an expert swordsman. The latter is caused by the former and that can be taken to any character. Does obsession with vengeance drive a man to study evocation magic to face the wizard that slew his father. Maybe instead your character pursues alchemy to achieve the perfect balance to defeat said wizard? If you want to be the best swordsmen perhaps a different motive make you so dedicated, like a tournament to win the hand of a princess in marriage that takes place in a year when she is going to turn 18.

Either way you have a character different from Inigo that you can make your own.

Another approach is to take something you admire for mechanical reasons and build a story to explain the numbers.

For this example let’s say we want to play something like Fezzik.

For the size you might see if your GM will let you play a half ogre as it allows for allot of the stats that would make sense like size, strength, con, and perhaps not the brightest intellect.  For the unarmed mastery perhaps monk is the proper class but now you’re lawful. For an opening feat throw anything seems appropriate based on Fezzik’s boulder tossing antics.

Explaining this combination builds a great character. Was the character a product of rape, or a strange love that would be forbidden to both cultures? Did the baby get left on the doors of a monastery? Did the child grow up with ogres and find himself too lawful and gentle for their ways?

Borrowing from your favorite characters need not amount to something blatantly plagiaristic. There is nothing wrong with liking a character and wanting to pay homage to it, just try not to take everything or maybe mix and match it with another character you love.

Jeff Crunch: A Soul Bound for the Locker

Ahab - awaiting the white whale by Thomacek from www.deviantART.com

By Jeff Harris

Captain Ahab
male human expert (sailor) 5/deep sea pirate 6
Description: Captain Ahab cares nothing for other ships or other men’s goods, he lives only to be master of the Pequod and to kill what he sees as a devil incarnate, the great white whale.  At five and fifty years his zeal to find the creature that maimed him is undiminished. The man himself is tall and wind burned, his thick dark beard half masks his scowl.  Dressed in a fine but understated black suit and never seen without his bronze studded leather great coat on deck, the Captain cuts an intimidating figure.

Captain Ahab CR 10
NE Medium crusty* humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +17
===== Defense =====
AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 18; (armor +4, deflection +2, natural +2)
hp 134 (14d8+68)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +8
Defensive Abilities  Liquid Courage, Stubborn as Hell, Tough as Nails
===== Offense =====
Spd 25 ft. (due to the peg leg)
Melee “Hell’s Heart” +15/+10 (1d8+5/19-20x3), +1 bich’hwa +13/+8 (1d4+4/19-20x2), unarmed strike +12/+7 (1d3+3/20x2)
Ranged “Hells Heart” +12/+7 (1d8+5/19-20x3)
Special Attacks Ranged Grapple (harpoon), Sneak Attack +2d6
===== Tactics =====
Before Combat Captain Ahab is a reasonable man, in so far as he will try iron handed diplomacy before taking more drastic measures.

During Combat Captain Ahab will answer challenges from his crew as needed, he will not hesitate to turn his harpoon on a crewman should his crime warrant it.  However if faced with the white whale Ahab will not relent, taking to the whale boat with harpoon in hand to face his nemesis.                                                  

Morale There is little in this world that can move Captain Ahab from his course, and he fights to the death against his sworn foe.  Such is the fate of a man who thinks he is a hand of god, any god.
===== Statistics =====
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 11
Base Atk +9/+4; CMB +12  CMD 24
Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bich’hwa), Improved Critical (harpoon) Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed, Intimidating Prowess, Lightning Reflexes, Martial Weapon Proficiency (harpoon), Skill Focus (sailor), Toughness, Weapon Focus (harpoon). 
Skills  Acrobatics +10, Appraise +10, Climb +11, Diplomacy +8,  Intimidate +12, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +17, Profession (sailor) +14, Profession (whaler) +11, Sense Motive +9, Swim +11.
Languages Common, Shoanti.   
SQ deep breath, farseer, shipboard authority, storm sailor, windrigger
Combat Gear hell’s heart, +1bronze studded leather great coat, +1 bich’hwa (gifted to him after his fateful encounter with the white whale), three 50 ft. spider silk rope coils, ring of protection +2 (his wedding ring); Other Gear peg leg made of whalebone ivory, fine black suite, leather bound journal containing the Pequod’s logs, spy glass, silver pocket watch, brass whistle.
===== Special Abilities =====
Deep Breath (Ex): The Deep Sea pirate can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to three times his Constitution modifier before he must start making Constitution checks.                                          

Farseer (Ex): Pirates take turns serving as lookouts. A Deep Sea pirate with this ability reduces any distance-based penalties on Perception checks by half when he is at least 10 feet off the ground or above the deck of a ship.                                                                                                                                       

Liquid Courage (Ex): When intoxicated, the crusty creature gains the benefits of a rage spell in place of the normal effects of intoxication.                                                                                                             

Shipboard Authority (Ex): As a full-round action once per day, the Deep Sea pirate can shout orders to his crew. All allies within 30 feet of the Deep Sea pirate who can hear him gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls or on a particular skill check for 1 round per the Deep Sea pirate’s level. The Deep Sea pirate specifies which bonus applies when he uses this ability and may not change the bonus for the duration of this ability.                                                                                                                                                         

Stubborn as Hell (Ex): Those with the crusty template are hardier and more set in their ways then their more youthful peers and gain a +2 to CMD, Will, and Fortitude saves.                                                      

Storm Sailor (Ex): The Deep Sea pirate treats all storms as if they were one category less severe for the purposes of sailing and navigation. (This benefit stacks with the Hurricane Savvy character trait and other effects related to wind conditions.) He can make an Acrobatics check to move his normal speed across uneven ground, and he does not take a penalty on any Acrobatics checks due to slightly slippery, slightly unsteady, or moderately unsteady conditions.                                                                                          

Tough as Nails (Su): Treat this as orcish ferocity, meaning the crusty creature can act in a round that would normally knock them out.                                                                                                                      

Windrigger (Ex): The Deep Sea pirate has learned the tricky art of tacking. With a DC 15 Profession (sailor) check, he increases his ship’s base movement by 5 feet for 1 hour.

Hell’s Heart
Aura faint necromancy, moderate conjuration, moderate transmutation; CL 10th
Slot weapon; Price 20,000; Weight 16 lb.
===== Description =====
Hell's heart is the name the crew have given Ahab’s harpoon. The weapon itself is a mahogany hafted harpoon with a plain but razor sharp barbed head.  Engraved all along the weapons shaft is tiny writing, which seems to ramble on about devil whales and tests of faith.

Hells heart is a +2 returning whale bane wounding harpoon, though instead of returning to you as a normal returning weapon, hell's heart spawns a mundane copy of itself, leaving its “husk” as a permanent steel harpoon, along with the length of line attached at the time, imbedded in the target.  Hell’s heart itself returns to the wielders hands after each throw.  The weapon's wide barbed head ensures the weapon sinks deep and fast, and bleeds the target as well.
===== Construction =====   
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bleed, fabricate, summon monster I, telekinesis.           Cost 10,000 gp

Armor                                                                                                                                                          
Studded Leather Great Coat (light armor) AC +3 max Dex +4, Armor check penalty -1, Spell Failure 10%, Weight 10 lbs.

*Please note that the “crusty” template is courtesy of FrankGori and Kobold Press.