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 The City The city state of Esperata has survived mostly by being too convenient to destroy. A huge merchant port, it's easier to use its infrastructure than to rebuild it. It's never had to keep a standing army; if anyone ever attacked, the city's council would use some of its vast resources to hire trained mercenaries. Unfortunately, they're now threatened by forces that they can't pay their way out of. Two armies intent on duking it out are converging on them, choosing the port as their battleground. If they meet, the city will be wiped out. The only way the city can possibly survive is by raising its own army, conscripting citizens and offering huge pay to any mercenary to join them. The Enemies  The Holy Empire of Stratoff To the north lies the Empire. While technically a monarchy, in practice it's a theocracy with the only people rising to prominence being the devout. It has mostly ignored Esperata in that detached way that superiors ignore their workers. Its army is led by High Inquisitor Adalheid (pictured), a holy paladin said to be blessed with military genius from the gods themselves.  The Bloody Tribes To the south lie the tribes of barbarians. They used to just fight amongst themselves, never caring much about foreign affairs. Until one man rose up and brought them all together, that is. If you believe the tales, he killed each one of the tribes' leaders at their yearly lodge meet-up where they all come together to get incredibly drunk before going back to killing each other. There's no record of the man's name and or even of what the barbarians call him, so he's been dubbed The Tribal King. The Recruits Esperata is hiring and conscripting anyone it can find, enlisting farmhands and offering amnesty to criminals if they fight in the army. Most of the bigger mercenary groups are sitting this one out. Neither the Empire nor the Tribes are hiring them and they are not crazy enough to work for the underdog. However, Esperata's coffers are certainly attracting some of the newer mercenary groups, and to some people's surprise, older out of practice soldiersare joining for one last hurrah. The more trained soldiers are sent to the south as the Tribes are approaching faster and becoming more destructive. At the same time, the less trained ones are sent north to delay the Empire until the southern front is won or lost. The System We'll be using Dog Kisser's Land of the Manitou. It was entered into Covok's July contest thread and I've decided to help him playtest it in the PbP format. You have a 250 XP budget to buy stuff with the only rule being you have to end with three soldiers. What this means practically is that you can get three recruits and buy gear or you can get two recruits and a blooded soldier, but even if they're recruits, give your folks a bit of character. The three soldiers can be anything to each other from childhood friends to folks thrown together by the higher ups. So here’s how it'll work: I'll take around 10 people to be soldiers for a grand total of 30 soldiers in your platoon. If one of them dies, I'll open recruitment back up. Anyone not in the game is allowed to be a Manitou, giving bonuses and minuses to members of the army. That includes people who didn't even join for recruitment. I might use the optional rule to drop the bonuses of the Manitou depending on how much traffic we get.
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Aug 19, 2014 22:33
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Heck, remember being interested when I first saw that system on the contest. Might do something in a bit.
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Aug 19, 2014 22:50
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Excellent - I'm interested to see how this ends up playing out. I'll post some character concepts and a writeup once I've settled on what I'd like to play! They're gonna die anyhow!
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Aug 19, 2014 23:29
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I'm interested, but I'm unsure how to make the characters -- the SpiritWargame.xlsx (which I presume is the spreadsheet mentioned on page 8) only has info about Manitou actions. How much XP does an Unbloodied character cost?
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Aug 20, 2014 00:46
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Friar John posted:I'm interested, but I'm unsure how to make the characters -- the SpiritWargame.xlsx (which I presume is the spreadsheet mentioned on page 8) only has info about Manitou actions. How much XP does an Unbloodied character cost? Look at the bottom in the tabs. Excel is weird like that. Edit: It's somewhere in the book. Unblooded cost 50 XP each. djw175 fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 00:47
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Ok, I think this comes out to 250 XP all together then.pre:1: Edward Tel
Sex: M
XP: 100
Level: Bloodied
Class: Reaver
Hitpoints HP 30
Defense D 16
Melee Attack MA 6
Ranged Attack RA 4
Movement M 5
Club Smash Deals 1d6 Damage + 3, and push target 1 square
Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None
Reaver Skills
Heartseek Give adjacent ally +2 to hit / take 1 damage
2: William Bonne
Sex: M
XP: 0
Level: Unbloodied
Class: Recruit
Hitpoints HP 20
Defense D 15
Melee Attack MA 2
Ranged Attack RA 2
Movement M 5
Club Deals 1d6 Damage
Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None
3: Kelly Bonne
Sex: M
XP: 0
Level: Unbloodied
Class: Recruit
Hitpoints HP 20
Defense D 15
Melee Attack MA 2
Ranged Attack RA 2
Movement M 5
Club Deals 1d6 Damage
Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None Edward  William on the left  Kelly The Bonne brothers, William and Kelly, never really liked their cousin, Edward. A bit older, tougher, braver, stronger, even humbler. So when he left the city (and the extended family's warehousing business) to make some gold by fighting, they breathed a sigh of relief. No more would they be constantly compared to their present cousin in attempts to get them to shape up, but the family would realize they had to deal with that the brothers were, and not what they wished. A few years passed. William got into a nasty fight with some sailors one night over a card game and ended up covered head to toe in scars, and Kelly once gambled all the cash he had on him (and a good amount that he didn't) on a dog race, only for the favorite to give up the ghost halfway through due to poisoning. Now, with war and the rumors of war on the horizon, their cousin Edward has returned from wherever he had been. He was certainly more skilled in fighting, but he'd lost some of the shine in his eyes, and every once in a while he'd drop an anecdote about some fairly cruel things that seemed to clash with everything else about him. When the city called for soldiers to serve Esperata, Edward immediately joined up, and he dragged along the Bonne brothers behind him, much to their chagrin. Friar John fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 01:05
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This looks cool.
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Aug 20, 2014 02:23
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quote:The Bonne brothers, William and Kelly, never really liked their cousin, Edward. A bit older, tougher, braver, stronger, even humbler. So when he left the city (and the extended family's warehousing business) to make some gold by fighting, they breathed a sigh of relief. No more would they be constantly compared to their present cousin in attempts to get them to shape up, but the family would realize they had to deal with that the brothers were, and not what they wished. A few years passed. William got into a nasty fight with some sailors one night over a card game and ended up covered head to toe in scars, and Kelly once gambled all the cash he had on him (and a good amount that he didn't) on a dog race, only for the favorite to give up the ghost halfway through due to poisoning. Now, with war and the rumors of war on the horizon, their cousin Edward has returned from wherever he had been. He was certainly more skilled in fighting, but he'd lost some of the shine in his eyes, and every once in a while he'd drop an anecdote about some fairly cruel things that seemed to clash with everything else about him. When the city called for soldiers to serve Esperata, Edward immediately joined up, and he dragged along the Bonne brothers behind him, much to their chagrin. I love how you worked in the little random fluff descriptions in the Excel sheet! Very cool! I'm glad to see stuff like this coming out of the game already.
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Aug 20, 2014 02:47
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dog kisser posted:I love how you worked in the little random fluff descriptions in the Excel sheet! Very cool! I'm glad to see stuff like this coming out of the game already.  How are those details figured out, by the way? From tinkering with the names it looked like it was based off of that.
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Aug 20, 2014 02:56
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Friar John posted:Yeah, I thought they were nice! Both of the Bonnes ended up with "Thinks themselves extremely unlucky" which I think is perfect It was one of the first things I set up and I actually don't totally remember! I think it's actually taking the first two and last two characters of the name and converting them into integers - each of the two sets accounts for one of the little blurbs. People with similar names will end up with identical/similar blurbs. I just thought it would give them a bit more character, but obviously people don't need to follow them! code:Three young soldiers from a small coastal village to the south, bound by luck and friendship. While returning from a night trip with their father's fishing fleet, Camille and Abesh happened upon a castaway, barely clinging to life. They hauled the young man in and nursed him back to health, but he was never able to say exactly why he was out there or how he managed to survive. They became fast friends, and over the years working the seas, they got tough. Growing up, Abesh and Camille had the importance of self-defense drilled into them by their father, a retired veteran and a firm believer that no one had the right to infringe on your personal space. Even with their father's passing, the twins keep up with the routine, sparring often in their spare time. Though not the type to seek a fight, Abesh prefers to end them quickly and decisively - though some find him excessively cruel in his punishment. Working among rough men at sea, Camille has unfortunately had many opportunities to put her skills to use - one day, however, her magical talent flared wild, striking her attacker down with unspeakable damage. Since then, she has been left alone, though the memory leaves her haunted. 'Knock', the man pulled from the sea, grew up to be strikingly handsome, with a sly smile and a cunning wit - but though he fished with his adopted siblings, he never quite got over his fear of open water. One fateful day, they returned from a long fishing trip to find the town razed and abandoned, work of the Bloody Tribes. With nothing left to do, they made their way to Esperata to ply their trade, and were eventually forced into mercenary work to make ends meet. Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 12:48 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 03:04
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The Civilian Defense Force was founded by a young and naive son of a wealth merchant prince. This Quinton Leo was dumb enough to sign up without even asking for payment! He even got his friends to volunteer and bought some basic gear for them! How heroic! How Patriotic! They'll be dead in a week, but maybe they can slow the Bloody Tribes down long enough for some real soldiers to get here.quote:Quinton is a talented young gentlemen, sportsman, hunter, and spoiled young upstart from new money. His father is a shrewd sea trader who gave his son everything he never got in life. Quinton's a good kid, really, just not very in touch with reality. He wants to have a heroic adventure defending the city of his birth with his best friends. He'll make sure no one gets hurt! quote:Joey ran with a bad crowd. He was in and out of jail most of his life. Then Quinton found him, gave him food an shelter, gave him a new life. He didn't want nothing, just a bit of fun and company. He owes Quinton everything. And if Quinton wants him to fight, then by golly he'll fight! quote:Betty's father works for Mr. Leo. She's known Quinton since they were kids. She knows she's not good enough for him. Too ugly, too big, too coarse for such a fine gentlemen. She know that, but she still loves him so. Now he's going off to war, and she has to protect him. Maybe she can never be with him, but if she gives him her life then their souls will be together forever. Mr. Prokosch fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 22:46
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Mr. Prokosch posted:Snip! Don't forget, you get 3 soldiers - a recruit + a boomerang is 90 XP out of 250, so you can still get two other recruits and either outfit them a bit or save your XP for later. Edit: nevermind Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 23:04
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dog kisser posted:Don't forget, you get 3 soldiers - a recruit + a boomerang is 90 XP out of 250, so you can still get two other recruits and either outfit them a bit or save your XP for later. Yeah, it was just an accidental post while I was still typing.
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Aug 20, 2014 23:07
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Mr. Prokosch posted:Yeah, it was just an accidental post while I was still typing. Saw that after - oops! Looks great though.
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Aug 20, 2014 23:45
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Well unless we get a bunch more people, it looks like this won't be happening. Sorry Dog Kisser.  If we get a total of 5 or 6 people I'll still do it smaller scale, but we only have three applicants so far.
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Aug 25, 2014 19:41
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Hey! I'm interested and am slowly in the process of writing up an entry so maybe this bump will flush similar people out of the woodwork?
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Aug 25, 2014 23:34
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I am also interested. Been a bit pressed for time lately is all.
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Aug 25, 2014 23:35
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You're welcome. 
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Aug 25, 2014 23:39
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Y'all are great. I can do up custom head sprites for your dudes (if we're doing it with the included sprites!)
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Aug 26, 2014 00:00
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pre:
Sorkaktani
Gender: Female
Level: Bloodied
Class: Taker
XP: 100
HP: 30
Defense: 16
Melee: 4
Ranged: 6
Movement: 5
Club Deals 1d6 Damage
A.Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 10 / +1 to hit within 5.
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Ability: Focus (+1 to RA and MA and +5 damage next turn).
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None
A former steppe nomad, Sorkhatani is one of the veteran fighters of the Windless, and is now the Sergeant in charge
of the young recruits. While somewhat annoyed at the fact that she is nothing more than a babysitter at this point,
she at least hopes to either put some sense on her subordinates, or at least to rise in the company's ranks.
Mustapha Al-Hadid
Gender: Male
Level: Unbloodied
Class: Recruit
HP: 20
Defense: 15
Melee: 2
Ranged: 2
Movement: 5
Club Deals 1d6 Damage
Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None
Mustapha was a simple goatherd on his country before seeing the Windless fight against local bandits. Inspired by what
he saw, the young man left his animals behind and became a novice mercenary, although the fact that he has yet to see
a real battle hinder some of his ambitions.
Sun Yanyan
Gender: Female
Level: Unbloodied
Class: Recruit
HP: 20
Defense: 15
Melee: 2
Ranged: 2
Movement: 5
Club Deals 1d6 Damage
Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5
Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed
Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5
Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage
Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage
Item None
None
A former farmer girl who ran away from her home after her parents tried to marry her with an elder merchant, Yanyan has since then
joined the Windless alongside Mustapha, and started to bond with her fellow recruit. While the two of them have only worked as
caravan guards until now, she plans to gain enough money on the mercenary business to come home as a rich woman.
Plutonis fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Aug 26, 2014 |
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Aug 26, 2014 00:01
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The Poxed Dog's Daughters are a street gang turned mercenary company. Whether or not there's ever been a Poxed Dog or if they're actually siblings is up for debate. It's just not a very smart debate to have within earshot of the Daughters... They'll stab you and set your house on fire. 1: Rock Sex: F XP: 50 Level: Bloodied Class: Rupter Hitpoints HP 20 Defense D 17 Melee Attack MA 6 Ranged Attack RA 4 Movement M 5 Club Deals 1d6 Damage Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5 Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed Shockwave Deals 4 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / burst 1 / base range 5 Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage Item None None Rupter Skills Drainstrike Gain 1d6 HP per strike (Melee) The oldest/most aggressive/likeliest to set you on fire. Is the de facto leader by virtue of magical shockwave-related prowess. 2: Roll Sex: F XP: 0 Level: Unbloodied Class: Recruit Hitpoints HP 20 Defense D 15 Melee Attack MA 2 Ranged Attack RA 2 Movement M 5 Club Deals 1d6 Damage Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5 Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5 Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage Item None None Has a reputation for cruelty and doesn't like to talk about it. 3: Reck Sex: F XP: 0 Level: Unbloodied Class: Recruit Hitpoints HP 20 Defense D 15 Melee Attack MA 2 Ranged Attack RA 2 Movement M 5 Club Deals 1d6 Damage Sling Deals 1d4 Damage / base range 5 Grab Deals 2 damage and target is grabbed Pulse Deals 1 damage and -2 Penalty to hit / base range 5 Melee Weapon Club 1d6 Damage Ranged Weapon Sling 1d4 Damage Item None None The youngest(?) Dog. Oddly enough also the tallest. And the biggest.
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Aug 26, 2014 23:15
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Yeah I'm definitely not going to have time for this after all. Work is getting brutal. Good luck!
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Aug 27, 2014 20:55
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Well with the recent influx of more people, I'll leave it open until Friday when I'll have some free time to start the thread.
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Aug 27, 2014 21:18
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Nice, looking forward to it - hopefully we'll attract people after we start playing and worst case scenario they can join up after the fact. Or they could just play as Manitou! I'll see if I can recruit anyone else, though my TG connections are few and far between. Even so, with 15 soldiers that's not an insignificant amount, so it should be interesting.
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Aug 28, 2014 02:07
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Sorry about taking so long. Sickness and also nervousness came together to make this take a while. But it's here!
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Sep 2, 2014 06:56
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