Re: Game Discussion

[Benedict Marsten]

Yeah, I assumed the 'everyone can go' thing was more an OOC decision based on OOC information, and that the mission itself was on a need to know basis.

Though it'd be good to have some idea of what the PCs do know, IC, if they're not on the mission.

I disagree with Baelon entirely.  I see no reason why the Myr 'secret' mission would be common knowledge beyond those taking that particular story route.  Corrine might know because Ben is going, and he might have told her IC, but that would be Ben's decision.

Speaking of which, I still think we should create a back story for who came about the knowledge and how the Merry Men were formed.

[Septon Arlyn]

Speaking of which, I still think we should create a back story for who came about the knowledge and how the Merry Men were formed.

I vote yes on this

[Baelon Drakeson]

I disagree with Baelon entirely.  I see no reason why the Myr 'secret' mission would be common knowledge beyond those taking that particular story route.  Corrine might know because Ben is going, and he might have told her IC, but that would be Ben's decision.

Given the "hidden mechanics" factor it seems to me that the decision was intended to be made IC, not OOC. At least, that's how I (and I suspect most of us) approached it - "would my character take a chance at this, not knowing fully what it entails?" That question wouldn't make any sense if we didn't know about it IC.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Yeah, I assumed the 'everyone can go' thing was more an OOC decision based on OOC information, and that the mission itself was on a need to know basis.

Though it'd be good to have some idea of what the PCs do know, IC, if they're not on the mission.

I disagree with Baelon entirely.  I see no reason why the Myr 'secret' mission would be common knowledge beyond those taking that particular story route.  Corrine might know because Ben is going, and he might have told her IC, but that would be Ben's decision.

Speaking of which, I still think we should create a back story for who came about the knowledge and how the Merry Men were formed.

I agree with Gwyn, Nathan, and Ben.

[Kevan Lyras]

Could somebody in the finals please punch Aemond in his stupid face? He does not even have a scratch so far...

[Baelon Drakeson]

I think it might be dishonorable for Ser Willis to just yield at this point - it's clearly throwing the fight for Prince Aemond. When deciding to enter the melee he had to know there was a chance that he would face the Prince - if he objected to that, he shouldn't have entered.

Also, the Kingsguard must trust House Coldbrook quite a bit to have them guard the other members of the Royal family while all four of them compete.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Could somebody in the finals please punch Aemond in his stupid face? He does not even have a scratch so far...

I take it an arrow from a grassy knoll would not be appropriate?

[Nathaniel Mason]

Could somebody in the finals please punch Aemond in his stupid face? He does not even have a scratch so far...

I take it an arrow from a grassy knoll would not be appropriate?

I have a character with 7D +5B in Marksmanship and Expertise.  Would that help?  

Although, even with Triple Shot it may take a round or two to burn off all his DP.

(In all honesty... once someone burns a DP, they are removed from combat, so it's really hard to assassinate anyone with DP.)

[Baelon Drakeson]

Well, see, that's why you don't kill them immediately. In fact, don't even start with combat.

1) Drug them or otherwise be in their presence while sleeping/unconscious.
2) Tie them up, in a nested set of cages, in a viper pit. No matter how well tied, a DP can be burned to auto-succeed on breaking out of ropes/chains/cage.... so layers of redundancy are needed.
3) Start shooting them, preferably with poisoned arrows/bolts.

They might burn DP to miraculously survive for a while, but eventually they'll run out.

The problem is that the "Avoid certain death" option has no narrative limitations. In the above scene you just let yourself die, then burn a DP and show up again sometime later....?

Really, that's a place where Narrator discretion really has to come into play.

EDIT: Or, of course, be willing to burn your own DP to cancel theirs.

[Nathaniel Mason]

Except he can burn a DP for a major change of scene to foil your kidnapping plot, so you are back to square 1, unless, as you say, you are willing to burn a DP to negate.

[Baelon Drakeson]

So really, what it comes down to is that if you really want to negatively impact a primary character (PC or Primary NC) you really need to be committed to it - either for repeated attempts or to burn a DP.

Considering how much of an impact that can have on a game (especially one like this), I don't really have a problem with that.

[Loreia]

I am surprised we rolled high enough to draw Prince Aemond to our tournament. I wonder if Derrock Swann is signed up for the joust...

[Daveth Coldbrook]

Question about the Stepstones track: are the personal combats mandatory or optional? If mandatory, can we choose easy opponents for lesser rewards? Dear Alysane, my new cohort, is a great commander, a skilled archer, and only marginally better than Daveth at melee. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but not by that much). There's not really a point in sending her to the Steptones if I know the very first event will kill her (or at least make her burn a DP).

[Valar Dohaeris]

They are optional. You may also want Daveth be the 'active' character in Phase II, per the cohort setup recently discussed in the mechanics thread.

I am also finalizing a way to make these variable risk/reward, so even lesser combatants can take part - the current plan is to have different 'tiers' of enemies, kind of like what happened with the Velaryon arrests, but instead of a short list of opponents and the best rollers get to choose, you would select a difficulty and I'll build opponents to suit. The idea being that there are enough such opponents that IC characters would have a wide array of choices.

Also I would note that these opponents will not be knights, and these fights are not necessarily honorable duels. I am quite open to working with players if they want to do something a bit different, or have an interesting idea for a foe or situation. I make no guarantees on any particular proposal being accepted, of course. As always, higher risks can yield higher rewards (and of course the reverse is also true).

Finally, the default penalty for being defeated will be being ransomed (House takes a Wealth penalty) and/or ridiculed (House takes an Influence penalty). I'm looking for a story to be told, not to kill characters. Dead characters tell no tales, and where's the fun in that?

[Valar Dohaeris]

Just a quick clarification about the Roll Call thread (posting this here as well to make sure it gets seen):

I asked about interest in being a commander because there are currently multiple commanders needed at a time in the later phases, and I wanted to make sure I had enough commanders to make them work as written. Don't worry about denying others the opportunity to lead, this is just an interest check.

Feel free to edit your responses, if appropriate.

[Ser Alfred Haigh]

Its not about taking away others' opportunities here, just that I think there might be people better qualified for the role than Ser Alfred. But if a whole score is needed, I'll bump him up.

[Reader]

Glad to see that the "tiering" approach of enemies from the Velaryon event is being continued. Retains the world's verisimilitude and lets a broad range of people take part - higher skill PCs take defeat stronger foes and win more glory/exert greater influence on a battle, but everyone can contribute (or fail!).

[Valar Dohaeris]

Hi folks, sorry to say that the new events will not be up today as I planned, as I have been spending the day with my mother, who is in the hospital with what has thankfully turned out to be just a minor pneumonia.

Should be up this weekend, for sure. Gives me a chance to get an email out, too.

[Ereth Redwain]

I can be a commander if needed, not sure how many others are so far.

[Valar Dohaeris]

Hey folks, I'm starting to put together a list of rumors that would be circulating during phase 1. I've got some ideas, but I want to make sure I don't miss anything good.

If you have any ideas about off-season/phase 1 goings-on that you think people would be talking about, let me know - in your private forums please.

In particular:

• Noteworthy events that happened publicly, but not in King's Landing
  
• Major events happening in King's Landing that people are still talking about
  
• Any rumors that the schemers among you might want circulating
  
• Especially anything you did in the off-season that you think might be particularly rumor-worthy. Remember that bad rumors make for good RP as much as (or more than) good rumors, so sharing bad stuff is encouraged too.
  

Remember that these are just rumors - they could be true, misinterpreted, or even intentional falsehoods. If you think NCs might misinterpret something that happened or might seek to spread rumors, feel free to make an argument for it... though again, in your private forums.

I'm aiming to have these go live around the same time I release the "preview" of the KL Phase 2 events, but the sooner I get them the more likely it is that I can incorporate them. Obviously some new stuff will probably come up between now and then, but that should be easy enough to incorporate if I've got the older material squared away already.

[Loreia]

I have an idea for a player-influenced story mechanic in a campaign set during the Ice and Fire saga, once it's finished.

In the campaign, there are several candidates for who Azor Ahai is. (Sam Tarly, Jon Snow, Stannis Baratheon, Jorah Mormont. Jaqen H'gar, tc), These become the "factions". Some of the events players take part in will reward them with points to give to a given "faction" or candidate, like votes for who the prophesied one will be, until a point of no return. Or, multiple points of no return, per candidate, such as things happening to them as a result of votes (or lack thereof) that kill them off or otherwise remove them from play. Heck play your cards right and Eddard Stark could be a candidate (and throw everything off the rails in the process). Does that sound interesting?

[Ayleth Bartheld]

Hmm... it's interesting, but knowing who Azor Ahai is (or at lest knowing that it hasn't been determined) takes some of the questions out of supporting Stannis, for example.

[Loreia]

So, fewer options than I was led to believe. There are more than a handful of threads in online forums that debate/have debated the identity of Azor Ahai. It was just an idea that flew over me, thought I'd share.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

I always liked the idea that it was Danerys...or the combination of Dany and Jon...

But as Tyrion notes, the prophecy is vaguely worded to the point of pointlessness.

[Valar Dohaeris]

As all good prophecies are!

That way you can just claim the interpretation was faulty when the prophecy does not come to pass, and who can argue? Everyone knows that prophecies are hard to interpret.

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