[Fellowship] The Dark Lord of the Libraries

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Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

The Harbinger Karr

Who are you, and why did you want to join the Fellowship?
In the beginning, we Harbingers ruled vast territories with our knowledge, moved mountains at our command. We were once mighty.
We were betrayed. Varethax of the burning offered us a glimpse at greater power. He was the strongest of us. I was only an Apprentice when the burning began, and we discovered our betrayal. All Magic comes from The Word, reflected in turn by all other words. In making Varethax invincible, we've diminished ourselves nearly to the point of extinction. The scales must be balanced.

Why did your people choose you to join the Fellowship, and what have they lost to the Betrayer?
The Word. The Word suffuses and binds us all. The Word is what you call Magic. Pure creation from pure nothingness. My people have no ties except to the Word, we all began as someone or something else, I count among my brothers and sisters a number of Dwarves, Elves, Men, and others even stranger. I was once what you'd call an elf, we've all forsworn our pasts, and we all now bear the mark and burden of The Word. The actions of past harbingers are to blame for the state of the world. We will atone.

I am one of the few Harbingers left in this world with strength enough to help in this undertaking.

What will you protect from the Betrayer, no matter what?
Every book, every page lost to Varethax's flames is another nail in the coffin of my people. Call it enlightened self interest if you'd like, but I fight alongside you all to save the knowledge of all peoples from the indignity of the torch.

Mors Rattus posted:

Karr, the Harbinger (Error 404): Once, your people worked alongside the Betrayer, helped him to shackle and destroy the Word. What turned you against him, and why do some still waver?

Yes we stood with him at first. We thought ourselves untouchable, our reward for this hubris was the destruction of our sacred knowledge of The Word, the language of sigils we use to express our power in the world. As our power waned, so have our numbers. There are probably less than 50 Harbingers left in the world right now, including myself and the Betrayer alongside his closest allies. Some still think he can be redeemed, others question if his path isn't still the wisest, many others prefer quiet solitude for their grief, and hide from the world.

I'm going for kind of a war-in-heaven vibe where the harbingers, while not being divine messengers, were still very powerful and nearly immortal beings until one rebelled (like Lucifer) and lead them in a crusade against the natural order. Only in this case Lucifer/the Overlord won when he destroyed 90ish percent of Harbinger magic. Yeah Harbingers are still terrifying and strong, but it's relatively nothing compared to being almost literal gods.

quote:

Name: The Harbinger Karr, or just Harbinger
Look: Messy hair, sturdy clothes, cold eyes, intricate tattoos
Agenda:Be Brave, Take Risks; Tell Us Of Your People; Improve The World Around You; Savior Complex

Blood: +2 [ ]
Courage: +0 [ ]
Grace: +0 [ ]
Sense: +1 [ ]
Wisdom: -1 [ ]
DOOM: +2 [ ]

quote:

Harbinger Core:

Doomed Soul
When your Doom stat gets damaged, you must immediately damage another one of your stats as well.
When you Overcome using magic, fate, prophecy, or folklore, roll +Doom
When you share this move with another, their Doom stat is +1

Doom and Gloom
Your Doom makes you hard for others to relate to. You can never have more than one Bond with someone, and others can never have more than one Bond with you.
This move cannot be shared.

Do Not Trifle with Wizards
Your magic is dangerous and powerful, for both you and your enemies.
When you conjure a powerful spell to destroy something in your way, ~~pay a price~~, then take up to three points of damage. You inflict that much damage to your target. You then become exhausted, and roll with Despair for the rest of the scene. Threats to the World and Set Pieces take no damage from this move.
This move cannot be shared

Wizardry
When you draw upon the magic inherent to your people, choose one option from below. You may use these spells as often as you need to.
When you use one of these magical effects, tell us how it manifests-what does it look like, what does it sound like? What do you need to do to make this happen?

Conjure a soft light which floats around you,

Deliver a message through mysterious means.

Speak, look, hear, touch, push, or grab as if you were somewhere else that you can see.
This move cannot be shared

What Is A Harbinger?

(Former) Servants of the Dark
Harbingers are so-called because they (used to) herald the coming of the Overlord, and they serve(d) the Overlord in all ways. ~~You are a renegade to your people, outcast~~, but you still command the same terrifying powers they do.
You do not need to pay a price to show others why they Do Not Trifle With Wizards.

Harbinger Custom

The Evil Eye Above
Doom follows you, but you are ready for it.
When the minions of the Overlord approach, the Overlord's player must tell you before they arrive.
When you know the Overlord's plans, you may ask them, "What is one way I could stop this?" They must answer truthfully.

Bonds

Hanna has much to learn about the ways of the world.

Amir will be of great importance in the events to come.
Others' bonds with me:
Talthe:
Karr's name is well known among my kin, because he was also once of the Sea before being seduced by the Betrayer.

Miha:
I'm definitely not gonna stop trying to get Karr to cheer up. They're always such a bummer! If I'm stuck on this trip, nobody gets to be a bummer!

Hanna:
I am of Karr's people,so they look out for me.

Liara:
No Bond Yet

Amir:
I owe Harbinger Karr a life debt.

Raliin:
No Bond Yet

Gear:
just enough Food ([X][X] uses, food)
mystical gear ([-][-] uses, useful)
The Overlord's weakness: A fragment of time itself, trapped in amber and caught in a box etched with sigils and sealed in blood.
Source of Magic: Harbinger Tattoos, ancient sigils channeling even older powers. ([-][-] uses, Useful)

Advancement
[ ] Increase Courage or Wisdom by 1
[ ] Increase one stat by 1 (max of +3)
[ ] Gain another Harbinger Custom
[ ] Gain another Harbinger Custom
[ ] Gain another Harbinger Custom, or one more Harbinger gear option
[ ] Gain another Harbinger Custom, or ask another player to share a move with you
[ ] You have Changed. you must have at least four other Advances already marked to take this Advancement. When you Change, choose a Destiny you meet the requirements for and gain its first move.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Nov 11, 2015

# ¿ Sep 16, 2015 06:34

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 23:03

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

Karr, the Harbinger (Error 404): Once, your people worked alongside the Betrayer, helped him to shackle and destroy the Word. What turned you against him, and why do some still waver?

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Sep 16, 2015

# ¿ Sep 16, 2015 20:45

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

I'm gonna say yes. The Harbinger can still only have one back, but you can have as many as you want with them!

Oh god, If I get picked, the squire is is gonna be like Donkey to my Shrek. :v:

# ¿ Sep 17, 2015 18:10

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Auralsaurus Flex posted:

Fellowship 451

There's your game thread title right there! :v:

# ¿ Sep 17, 2015 21:55

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

I'll get my stuff finished up soonish.

Re: humans. I'm up for there being races of men, but not having them just be "irl humans"

Look at the elder scrolls games. They have 3 flavors of human, all distinct.

As for what race the Harbingers are: I thought it would be neat that they're a culture any species can join.
Karr was born an elf, but aside from pointed ears there is way more in common between him and any other harbinger than between him and any other elf, same for harbingers that came from dwarf, orc, (hu)man, or halfling backgrounds.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 18:38

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

(However, the tattoos on Karr, we have now learned, are the flesh-tone parts, since elves are merfolk.)

Yep, and the tats are made up of millions of tiny symbols.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 18:43

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

paradoxGentleman posted:

If that is the case, how are we going to handle an eventual Harbinger community, assuming such a thing exists? Do they act like an Elven/Merfolk one? Your character description makes it sound a lot like you are from another race altogether.

Harbingers are they're own race for the purposes of the rules, the differing races are just fluff and the fact they're all (wizards)harbingers is what makes them a community?
They still act like the Harbinger community described in my playbook per the rules.

Magic changes you enough to trump biology, I guess.

That said, there's approximately 50 harbingers in the world total, I don't imagine it will come up much.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 19:51

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Ok, here's my bonds:
Hanna has much to learn about the ways of the world.
______ will be of great importance in the events to come.

So I can only ever have one bond with any particular person, and anyone else can only ever have one bond with me.
Also, I haven't been able to back the KS and get the full rules yet, but I am familiar with DW and AW enough that I should be able to pick up the changes quick enough.

E: I'll give one of my bonds to Hanna sonce she's got one with me.

Error 404 fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Sep 19, 2015

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 20:45

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

With the exception of the Squire, who can love the hell out of you if she so desires.

Very true!
(please don't love me, squire, it ruins my whole brooding revenge-wizard image I've carefully crafted...)

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 20:53

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Comrade Gorbash posted:

Poor wizardy man!

Actually I was thinking of tying Hanna with Karr, in the sense of sharing a People. In this case, Hanna's folk were originally servants created by the Harbingers from small animals to handle mundane tasks. Is that all right with you?

Bonds:
I have Miha of Pebbles's back, no matter what.
I am of Karr's people,so they look out for me.
I hope I can trust Lord Amir the Ram, but I have my doubts.
I've never even seen someone like Liara of the Storm before.

Totally fine by me.

E:

Tyrannosaurus posted:

Shame. Should have gone all heirs

This is the first game, let's try it vanilla before we go breaking gnome's new toy!

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 21:20

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

I think I'm gonna say, on humans: in the sense that there are people who look like humans, they exist. None would name themseves 'human'. They'd be the Dalemen or the Enhokta or the Maitali or the Vailings, all of whom are different ethnic groups, similar to how the river-elves and the sea-elves are different ethnic groups.

Awesome

# ¿ Sep 20, 2015 03:03

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

I'll take the life debt, if you'd like.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2015 17:13

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Comrade Gorbash posted:

Important world building and party background questions:

Do people drink tea or coffee in the morning? Both? Something else?

How do each of you take yours?

I'll drink whatever, usually "spiced up" with a little something from one of my many flasks of exotic liquor, collected from far off places in my travels.

We all have our vices, Gandalf had his pipeweed, let grandpa have his 'cough medicine'

Cyphoderus posted:

I'm cool with that. It's probably a grudging thing, as Amir does not understand magic in the slightest, and in many ways he hates that it exists. His warrior brain has trouble dealing with the fact that one of most magical beings in the world has saved his life.

I'm sure about the circumstances, however. You got any ideas?

Imagine the scene.
A horde of Overlord minions have you and your companions surrounded and unable to escape certain doom. With neither sound nor fanfare, a thin figure in a dark hooded cloak simply appears among your number. Casually sidestepping a few of the enemy's blows, he speaks, calmly, in a surprisingly warm and cultured tone.
�It is often said; do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for we are subtle and quick to anger. They are often right."

He raises his arms in an imperious gesture. His tattoos glow with an unsettling power, bursting forth from his hands in a blinding flash, instantaneously turning the horde in every direction to nothing but piles of ash. For a moment all is silent except for the heavy breathing of you and your companions.
"I say; gently caress subtle.�

:black101:

IPlayVideoGames posted:

Karr's name is well known among my kin, because he was also once of the Sea before being seduced by the Betrayer.

a) How long do elves tend to live? Harbingers tend to live very very long lives (provided nothing is actively trying to kill them), often centuries or milennia. Karr is only 4-700-ish years old, which isn't very old for a Harbinger.
So when you say my name is well known, is that because you're just as old/were there when it happened, or is this something you've heard passed down from grandparents or elders?

b) Do you think I was seduced directly by the Overlord? Or is this a semi-poetic, "all Harbingers are betrayers" kind of thing because of what eventually happened?

E: and both my bonds are filled as follows:
Hanna has much to learn about the ways of the world.
Amir will be of great importance in the events to come.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2015 07:04

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Here's a bit more world building from me:
Magic is Unique.
Yes, the Magical Tattoos all Harbingers bear are how we channel magic, but magic itself is an infinitely variable, constantly shifting energy source, and all who study it (Harbinger or other) tend to express their power in very unique ways.
Here's a random assortment of Harbinger pictures that may come in handy at some point down the line:
http://i.imgur.com/oAUcMpD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OUGQhtg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/B1XszJL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Y2gZ9Wu.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kuJCYhO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tO6xgH5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vrxkPno.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/F5r0aGr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SBUXmWg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/K8uH8X2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pvVX5uA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gfg3hdK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/s7dxQ09.jpg

# ¿ Sep 21, 2015 09:42

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

IPlayVideoGames posted:

a) If Karr is pushing 700 years he's definitely past the lifespan of the Merfolk, who can maybe live for 300 years or so. While Talthe has very likely never personally met Karr, the fact that Karr left the oceans to become something else entirely is something weighty enough to give him a place in legend and their history. Is Karr unique in his origin? Or are there many other ex-elves? They would also be remembered with him, whether dead or still alive.

b) In terms of considering him seduced by the betrayer, I mostly meant that the day Varethax started war against the Elves is the day that Elves considered Karr not one of their kind anymore.

A
Yeah, keeping in mind how few of us there are, Karr has met a handful of 'former' elves so it's likely been a thing throughout history.

B
That makes total sense.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2015 19:08

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Here are mine so far.

My bonds:
Hanna has much to learn about the ways of the world.
Amir will be of great importance in the events to come.

Others' bonds with me:
Talthe:
Karr's name is well known among my kin, because he was also once of the Sea before being seduced by the Betrayer.
Miha:
I'm definitely not gonna stop trying to get Karr to cheer up. They're always such a bummer! If I'm stuck on this trip, nobody gets to be a bummer!
Hanna:
I am of Karr's people,so they look out for me.
Liara:
No Bond Yet
Amir:
I owe Harbinger Karr a life debt.
Raliin:
No Bond Yet

I'm cool with having no bond with some folks at first, that can get changed through play.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2015 23:01

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

today SA is being slow as poo poo for no reason.

oh hey, I thought it was just me

# ¿ Sep 25, 2015 00:42

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

I've probably been slumming it with Amir since I saved him (and maybe Hanna's been hanging with me) so however Amir gets pulled in probably goes for me too (and maybe Hanna)

# ¿ Sep 25, 2015 20:02

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Comrade Gorbash posted:

I have presents!

Ooooooooh Shiny!

# ¿ Sep 26, 2015 01:12

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

POSTED!

# ¿ Sep 26, 2015 05:51

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Comrade Gorbash posted:

Ack, I left the halflings off by accident, they were supposed to get sticky buns. I must have deleted it because I kept changing things for the merfolk.

Hm what to do.

Devoid of context, this post is hilarious.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2015 19:56

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

I'm just waiting for my turn to solve a problem/make a problem.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2015 05:54

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Mors Rattus posted:

you can take the current one if you want, neopie can't post right now

Ok, I'll get a post up in just a bit.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2015 06:17

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 23:03

Error 404: Jul 17, 2009; MAGE CURES PLOT

Honestly, that sort of thing is why I tend to transcribe the basic moves as part of my sheet. I've been lazy, I'll get them written up soon.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2015 19:08

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