Thursday 23 November 2006

Eberron: Report One

As well as wargaming, I'm also a roleplayer and very fortunate to be involved in two very excellent RPG campaigns drawn from the same pool of DM's and players. The Wedensday night game is run by Bill and sent in the D&D world of Eberron. Bill uses the "True 20" system for combat and spellcasting and D7D3.5 for everything else. I`m too tired to go in to a full summary of events in this recently-started campaign tonight and I dont see any point starting our story in the middle. So for now, I`ll just introduce the characters and their players. These blurbs tend to focus on the characters relationship with my own PC, Cole. Mostly because we've only been playing for a few weeks and are still learning about each others characters.

Cole Tristinian: Human male 31 year old Ranger2/Rogue2 (played by yours truly).

A former scout and tracker in the armies of Breiland. Even during the worst years of the "Last War" he rarely spoke about what awaited him at wars end. He clearly came from a privileged home and was eager to take over the family bussiness. Now, four years after the war has ended, Cole is a broken man, a drunkard and a physical wreck. Cole has yet to discuss why the years of peace have been so poor to him, but he has taken to the mercenary life like a drowning man to flotslam. While he remains largely bitter and despondant whenever craving his next drink (which is often) his generous nature occasionally reveals itself through brave or honourable action.


K'Dun. Warforged "male"- personality imprint Fighter 4 (played by John)

A creature born (or rather built) for war, it is perhaps not surprising that in the peace following the Last War, the wood-and-adamantium construct named K'Dun (presumably for the noise enemy weapons make when they bounce of his armour) would turn to the mercenary life. Although unable to convey emotion through facial expression, K'Dun takes great pleasure in crunching the occasional bone between his metal jaws as a celebration of victory and is found of expressing humour by pulling open his lower jaw. At times a seemingly invulnerable warrior, K'Dun has shown touching loyalty to his former comrades, especially Cole, with whom he has been recently re-united.


Octavius: Human male Cleric of the Sovreign Host lvl 4. (played by Big Tony).

A priest of the Sovreign Host, Octavius seems to have spent much of the war in a supporting role, healing wounded troops and providing them with blessing's and prayers to enhance their abilities in combat. This is a role Octavius continues within the group, trying to avoid combat where ever possible. Not out of cowardice, but from the genuine knowledge that he is the groups only healer and therefore too valuable to risk in melee. Indeed while warriors like K`Dun and (when he's sober) Cole are available to fight in the line, there is no need. Instead, he stands ready to assist the other party members with a well timed healing spell or his ability to destroy the unded with a word. Only adding his mace to the fight when the situation demands it. Like K'Dun, Octavius has made an effort to connect with Cole but is hampered by the former scouts present disregard for "Godslaves".

Karolev: Human male Wizard lvl4 (played by Andy P)

To say that Karlev, called "The Weighty" (and not just for his heavy pondering) otherwise known as "He who must be helped out of bed by a featherfall spell," was merely corpulant would be generous to say the least. This rather small, rotund little spellcaster was little more than an apprentice and a warforged repair-man during the war. Now that peace has come he is quickly growing into his power. Still young, Karlev has a not time for fools and displays a generally brusque manner. However, he seems to reserve his acid tongue for Cole's, a man whom Karleve genuinely seems to despise. It remains to be seen if this attitude is genuine, or merely an attempt to jolt the once capable Cole out of his present lethargy.

Reading this someone might wonder why a reasonably capable bunch such as the other three characters would keep Cole around. The reason is simple: loyalty. Plus he's not such a bad sort when you can keep him sober (and he never gets drunk before a fight). That, and the fact no one else in the party can sneak around an enemy camp, speak so many languages or negotiate the perils of high-society (when he wants too) as well as Cole can.

2 comments:

"A bit political on yer ass!" said...

"[N]amed K'Dun (presumably for the noise enemy weapons make when they bounce of his armour)"
Hmm. I just summoned a couple of syllables at random from the ether when I named K'Dun. I never gave any thought as to why he was so named. I like this idea, especially since it leads naturally to the notion that K'Dun didn't so much take a name as get given one. Neat.

"K'Dun... is found of expressing humour by pulling open his lower jaw."
Actually he doesn't have to pull his jaw open. (Or does he? I'd always assumed that his jaw was articulated.) The pulling thing was just a way of letting people know that K'Dun was doing one of his 'grins'. Hmm again.

"Reading this someone might wonder why a reasonably capable bunch such as the other three characters would keep Cole around. The reason is simple: loyalty."
Yet again hmm. We have all wondered this, for sure. But the reason could be as simple as Cole not having done enough to force K'Dun to the decision that the drunken sot is more trouble than he's worth. Time will tell I guess. ;b

Meanwhile, don't think that flattering my WFRP campaign will persuade me to let up in the slightest- be it as GM or fellow PC- on either of your 2 lowlives. Aim for the gutter and it will come to meet you soon enough no doubt. Mwah hah, etc. ;)

PS. I've blogged!

Dangerous Brian said...

Wouldn't dream of it John. Simply wouldn't dream :D
Incidentlly, just for the record you DID kind of force me into taking yet another disreputable theiving type, you know. Well, not force exactly.. By the time I got involved the upright, brave and honest "brick" slot had already been taken. The only vital niche that had taken was that of the traditional sneaky type: and I had to come up with some excuse for why a paragan of virtue such as Cole would pick up thieving skills so: he became a drunk.

Works well really, if you ask me. He introduces a certain amount of conflict into a party that would otherwise get on fat too well. Being a drunk also makes him a far more interesting character than the "Near-Paladin, warrior-scholar" I originally envisioned him to be. Who knows, maybe with some supportive roleplaying and a little help from his companions ("friends" seems to be too strong a word right now)he will once again become the paragon he was supposed to be.

I hope so anyway. Playing two low-down dirty piece-of-scum characters at once is liable to become very boring very quickly.

For those of you who havent been reading Johns blog (shame on you, go read it now using the link under his comment above) I also play a particularly nasty thief-turned Protagonist is John's WFRP game. Unlike Seigfried, Cole isn't a brutal, callous thug the way Seigfried is.

On the other hand both characters are otherwise altogether too similar in terms
of party role (they're both "fighter-rogues") to remain interesting for long.