Preserved Topic: RPG - starting a new campaign ][

Continued from RPG - starting a new campaign
Play nice now...

___________________________________________________________________________


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
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The more the merrier as they say. So if you want to play you're always welcome.

If some of you are starting to get your characters ready maybe you could post your chars class and some short general info about him here to get it all started. The characters doesn't have to know each other from before or anything. They will all meet each other in the beginning of the camaign anyway- muahahaha <- evil laughter

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Ok then...

My character is a Half-Elf Sorcerer. Brought up by a traveling band of Half-Elf wanderers, he has a name that is neither wholy Human or totally elvish. His name is Indemar Lothlorien. Although slightly larger than most boys his age, he tended towards being a bit bookish, so he was a popular target for bullies. He first discovered he had the raw magical power of the Sorcerer within him when, after much provocation and a small amount of physical violence, he turned one of the local bullies into a small, three-legged goat. While in most communities this would have been enough to secure his exile, he was already lving amongst a group who felt themselves to be outcasts, so his presence was tolerated, although he was treated with suspicion and shuned by almost everyone. At the age of twenty, he left the community. Wandering may have been the life for him, butit had to be wandering alone. He tried to surpress his powers. He couldn't live near anyone for fear that he'd harm them. He knew little of the way his powers worked, and he didn't want to know. He just wanted to be rid of them. He pushed them deep, deep down within him, but they kept coming back out again. Whenever he got angry, or afraid, or upset, he'd feel it. It started as a tingling feeling, not unlike when your foot went to sleep, depp within his chest, then it would move. It would go down his arm, and build up in his hand until it hit the critical point. Then it released. Each time it happened, it got more powerful, more wild, and more dangerous. Around the time when a wild, blue glowing ball of energy blew the roof off of the tavern where he was staying (hey...he had to come to town sometime of the necessities, and he'd happened to get caught up this time) he decided he'd better start learning how to control it. It was then that he finally realised one of the true laws of the Sorcerer. Once you've opened the box, you can't close it again. During his itme wandering he had purchased a sword and crossbow for use in defense and hunting, and had become pretty proficient in their use. His time spent surpressing his powers had been exercising them, so they had grow powerful. Some days he felt as if magic was leaking out of his nose and ears he was so full of it. In his travels he met other Sorcerers and discovered he had an ability that is both rare and useful amongst them. He can feel magic, it's ebb and flow within the world.

He spent 34 years wandering, so I join the party at the age of 54

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Great character Skaarjj, sounds interesting



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Man I wish I hadn't avoided the other thread... I love D&D, oh so many saturdays wasted of D&D, Magic The Gathering, and Risk...


_____________________
Prying open my third eye.

Since when had D&D been a waste of time?

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

Ok, here is my character...Ulik Stonehammer, Half-orc Paladin.

Ulik was born in the reaches of the far north, under the lofty peaks of the ranges there into the Gutripper clan. His world was one of violence and brutal conventions. His mother was taken on a raid from a nearby tribe of barbarians, and to survive, became the property of the Orc Chieftain, Balorg. Though the son of the Chieftain, Uliks life was harsh because of his mixed blood. The many scars of his rather brief childhood attend to that. At the age of six he began the ritual of maturity (the ritual that orcs must go through to 'prove' their ability as a warrior and thus proving their worth to the clan). His ritual was to raid one of the nearby dwarf holds (along with the other 'younglings'). On this raid, he and the others succeeded in obtaining a few dwarven heads (but with severe losses...). Ulik returned in triumph with his trophy, marking him as a warrior of the clan. Not long thereafter, the dwarves retaliated, slaughtering the entire clan...Ulik went down due to a hammer blow to the forehead, which instantly rendered him unconcious. Upon regaining his senses, his nose registered the unfamiliar oder of dwarves...he had been taken prisoner, but keep alive (as he found out later) due to his mother...though she had taken a fatal wound in the battle, her last dying breath she used to beseech one of the dwarven warriors to spare her son...and she called upon an age-old debt that the dwarven hold owed her barbarian tribe. The grizzled old veteran, remembering the debt of honor, upheld her request and took Ulik with them.

At this point, as Ulik floated in the half-dead, half-alive state, he received a vision : the dwarven god Moradin appeared to him, in all his terrible might, and offered him either the way of death to his dark orcan diety Grummish, or that of life, but in his service. Torn between his orcan side, or survival, Ulik could not decide. Then the spirit of his mother appeared, and gave him her memories...Ulikes rage at the plight of his mother fueled his decision - he would live, and exact revenge...

Upon his return to life, Ulik threw himself into the dwarven fold. The strange mark upon his forehead (which looks like a hammer and anvil) marked him under the dwarves as a favored of Moradin...he became the ward of the High Priest of the dwarven hold of the Stonehammers. His training consisted of learning dwarvish and continuing his warrior ways...his black rages in combat due to his orcan blood drew concern from the other dwarven warriors, but his human half mostly contained these to combat. Though he is not particularly smart, he has a sly cunning, a combination of his orcan and human bond. That, combined with the dwarven system of loyalty and discipline, rapidly advanced him on his way to becoming accepted into the dwarven hold. With the age of 16, Ulik Stonehammer (his 'dwarven' name) was accepted into the ranks of the dwarven tunnel fighters and received the great honor of being put into the great book of the Stonehammer Hold. His fighting talents in the tunnel fighters were greatly respected (if not his 'impure' bloodline...) and he was always on the front...his skills with the great Hammer improved, and due to his great build and muscle-mass, fit perfectly together with his fighting style. His barely controllable anger when fighting orcs drew respect from his fighting comrades, and his stature in the hold grew. After a year of service with the tunnel fighters, the dwarven High Priest came to him on his birthday, and put him to the question : what was Uliks place in the world. This question threw Ulik into a quandry. After withdrawing into solitary for 1 month, with much soul-searching, Ulike again received a vision : the God Moradain offered him the chance to serve...but Ulik could not restrain his hatred of the orcs and take the path of the priesthood...and instead took the path of the paladin, in Moradins service. His sworn oath of sevice - to rid the world of the orc menace...either by bloodshed, or the turning of the orcs from their dark gods. His lifequest was found. With this resolved, Ulik applied for and obtained permission from the dwarven elders to leave the hold...to begin his quest...

Ulik is well learned in all things dwarvish. He can read, write and speak dwarvish perfectly. He also understands orcish. His understanding of common (the human tongue) is crude, and he cannot read or write it. Thus, most humans view him as a simpleton, as a brutish orcan barbarian. His common has gotten better in his travels in the world for the last year...though it is very broken, with a thick dwarven dialect, and he cannot make sensible complicated sentences. He wears dwarven made armorment, tailored for his massive size and girth. The scar of the hammer and anvil on his forehead marks him as one in the service of Moradin. He uses the Greathammer as a weapon, schooled as he is in its use. His fighting style is very dwarvenlike, as is much of his demeanor. He is slow to build friendships, though his friendship is as those of a dwarf - solid, loyal and true. To get on his bad side is to 'enjoy' his resentment and distrust forever. Due to the amount of prejudice that he has had to deal with his whole life, he has build up a very thick skin against it...and just brushes such things from him as others would dust. He is adamant in his service to Moradin and his lifequest. He enjoys being on the frontlines, crushing the enemy, and only finds an amount of peace between his orcan and human half in battle, where the orcan fury can flow, tailored by the hard awareness of his human side. Though not particularly intelligent, he knows battle and his place in one. He is searching for those who wish to support him on his lifequest...the total destruction of the orcan gods, and their societies under the orcs. He firmly believes that orcs can learn new ways and cease to be a threat to other cultures, instead living alongside other races peacefully. He is a living example that this is possible.

Ulik Stonehammer joins the party at the age of 18.

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-10-2002).]

Ooohh...I like the sound of him...

a fine battle companion.

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Yes...very interested in seeing the others...and seeing how Veneficuz
ties it all together...

*Starts to get excited*

BTW - really like the half-elf...'saved' the bg info...great stuff...

Who is next?

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-10-2002).]

Since I don't want to read the 100 messages on the other one....what's this all about? Or should I just go ahead and read that during my lunch break?

Genevieve<---that's me!!
Jinxed<--------that's me too(in description form)!!

Wowzers! o.O
Visit my cell! http://faq.ozoneasylum.com/FaqWiki/shownode.php?id=754&sortby=rating

Well, the short of it is that we are trying to start up an RPG (D&D) campaign with inmates from around the world. We're now at the point where people are deciding on their characters and giving background information.

(Which brings up something I've been meaning to say: I've always felt that the DM should be the first to see the background info, and then he/she can decided if the other PCs should see it. I don't think each PC should know everything about the other PCs--this eliminates possible roleplaying opportunities and plot twist surprises. Just my opinion, though, and maybe a little late in coming.)

Anyway, Genevieve, you might want to at least skim through the other thread to get an idea as to what's going on here...

[Edit: Oh yeah, and ignore Petskull's "play nice now" comment at the beginning of this thread and the "this is getting ridiculous" comment at the end of the last one. Although he may not share our interest in the subject, everyone was "playing nice," and there was nothing "ridiculous" about the last thread. Long perhaps, but not ridiculous.]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-10-2002).]

*smacks himself* sorry skaarjj, dnd has never been a waste of time, just a fun hobby to do when u have free time

Master Suho...remember, this bg info is for the players...your character may (or may not) know this...that is considered 'roleplaying'...esp. considering that we cannot meet 'face-to-face' with each other, therefore a part of the role-playing (voices, mimics, etc) are missing...I find it almost necessary to know the bg of the characters to make up for the lack of 'face-to-face' clues...

However, there are reasons for keeping some of the bg info 'secret'...it just depends on the character, I guess...therefore, one should first discuss this with the DM...for example, someone playing a Drow character, maybe...or for a character that 'belongs' to a secret group, cult, etc.

Personally, there are always 'ways' to work in 'secret' parts of a bg...for example, let us use Indemar Lothlorien as an example - we don't know who the parents are. In all unions of human/other races (in this example, half-elf), there is always the 'other race' factor...who is the elven parent in this union? What position does he/she occupy? Under what conditions did the union come together? Etc, etc...maybe he is the 'bastard' product of an Elven king...which could have astounding reprecussions on the campaign...maybe the Elven kings opponents are searching for Indemar Lothlorien...to use as a 'weapon' against his father...or maybe he is the only 'legitimate' heir...sent into hiding (and he doesn't know it?) because of the threat to his existence? Political, social and other considerations...

Let us take Ulik for an example...which barbarian tribe? Maybe his mother was the daughter of the Chieftain? Maybe his father Balorg survived the attack...who knows? Most of a bg describes the character...and sets the scene for the other players on how the character came to be as he/she is...and why the character acts as he/she does...any 'secret' parts can be left to the DM...or worked out together with the DM...

In the case of Indemar Lothlorien, maybe his father was human...one of the 'great' wizards...one of the seven...who knows?

So as one can see, there is plenty of room for secrets...if that is something concerning you, just drop the DM a line or two...

Now get cracking!

@Genevieve - in general, it is certainly rude not to read the posts...for much information remains 'lost' to you...until you read them. That, in turn, will help you to 'avoid' asking questions that have already been answered...and that goes for most of the threads here...

If you are interested in playing, please read the posts...it would be nice to have you play...women always bring a different view to the game...at least, my experiences have shown that...

WS: You beat me to it...I was going to say something very similar

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Hehe...*beats Skaarjj again* Awww man...now my beloved tomahawk has a dent...

*Takes puff off of peacepipe*

Suho: When I said 'general info' in the first post I meant give a little information, about as much as you would want your fellow adventurers to know. If you char has some secret from that past that (s)he doesn't want the other to know just send that info to me in a mail or something. WS allready covered this pretty good so I won't say more about it, if you don't have any questions that is...

Another little question about the timing etc: when can you start playing (date) and have we decided to play at night time (EST), morning (GMT) and evening (GMT+)?

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Great character ideas.

This weekend or next sounds like a great time to start. I just need to know when so I can make plans around it.



[This message has been edited by tikigod (edited 09-10-2002).]

WB: :: blushes::: Okay, ya, I know better than to ask and not have read them...but there are certainly a lot of posts!! LOL. I wouldn't mind so much if I was there from the beginning...but I'll read 'em and then decide if I should play or not... if I've even got the time to do so. I've never actually played dnd though I've heard a lot about it and I've RPed quite a bit with friends of mine, though all on-line not irl. So... I guess I'll get cracking when I need a break from work!! (hehe, a long one )

Thanks!

Genevieve<---that's me!!
Wowzers! o.O

Visit my cell! 754

OK, guys, I know where you're all coming from. I'm just used to having the DM get the background info first, then decide what the other players should see.

WS: yes, you're right, the players can know something that the characters don't know, but you've got to admit it's fun when the players are just as surprised as the characters are.

As for my character, I've decided I'm going to wait and see what everyone else plays. I'm kind of leaning towards a cleric now, since I don't think anyone has expressed any interest in being a healer. Then again, I may just go battle priest and focus on war and death. Heh, yeah, I kind of like that idea. Which reminds me, was there a rule on evil characters? I know we've already got a paladin, so that might make things a bit messy.

Oh, about those books (PH, etc.)... I think I may be needing to look at them.

[Edit: Screw it. I've decided--I'm going with the cleric. I'll just need some time to work out the details and stats. 28 point buy system, was it?]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-11-2002).]

Well...since I'm playing a paladin...unless the evil character has a way to 'block' a paladins ability to detect evil...I would not recommend it. It would also make the game much more difficult...bad enough, that the party has enemies from outside...let alone from inside...

To play evil...in that case, everyone should be evil...but that's a whole new ball game...and as we have a couple of 'new' players, I wouldn't recommend it...

I once played in an all-evil party...a Half-orc cleric/fighter. Along with him, a Half-ogre, a drow fighter/thief, a gnome thief/illusionist and a mage. We always used the gnome as a 'trap' finder...hehe. After awhile, the gnome developed a psychosis...and ran freely into traps...that last pitfall was his doom...man, was it deep...and since I was the only character with raise dead...(which I might add, we used alot)...

No, I believe we should keep it fairly 'tame' this time around...

But a cleric would be a welcome class...healing and turning...plus, the new rules makes clerics quite the good fighters, as well. They also have pretty good saving throws...and a few nice offensive spells. In the support area, they are unparalleled...

Don't play an evil character. The paladin would most likely have to kill you somewhere along the way for beeing evil and I would have to redo parts of the campaign. It is now made for Neutral or Good characters.

Another nice thing about the cleric in 3E is that he has spontaneous healing magic (I think that is what it is called), so you don't have fill up the spell slots with healing that might never be used.

I was hoping we could start this weekend, since I might be occupied the next weekend It is a weekend trip to somewhere with my math class, but I haven't decided yet whenever I'm going or not...

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Ive decided to play a samurai(lawful good), I just had to work out some details with Veneficuz. Ill roll him up tonight.

Suho do you speak japanese? I thought I might have read somewhere that you did. If you do can I get some help naming my swords?

As for the evil, I think you can take on some of the Battle priest attributes without creating an evil character. Think of a priest who fights along side with crusaders.

-tiki, cell 478

Wowsers, a Samurai! Coolness! Can't wait for his bg...here are some sword names...

Asura

Bizen Boat

Chirijiraden

Heaven's Cloud

Kikuichimoji

Kiyomori

Koutetsu

Masamune

Muramasa

Murasame

Sasuke

Hope that helps...

Those are great thanks, WS. Do you know the translations?

-tiki, cell 478

hey guys .. soon I'll be hosting my own UO server .. I'll announce it when things come to pass


.::. cEll .::. 513

Well, to the best of my knowledge, here are the descriptions...maybe Master Suho can do a better translation

"Asura" -- Bright white sword.
"Bizen Boat" -- Hight quality iron sand sword. Hand-made by Osafune.
"Chirijiraden" -- Chirijiraden ornamental sword, made with delicate work.
"Heaven's Cloud" -- Replica of a sword from a dragon's tail that damaged a samurai kingdom.
"Kikuichimoji" -- Crysanthemum crested sword.
"Kiyomori" -- Well made famous sword. Beautiful and cuts extremely well.
"Koutetsu" -- Sword with tiger engraved on the blade.
"Masamune" -- Beautifully designed sword and case. Masterpiece of a famous sword maker.
"Muramasa" -- Peculiar sword that sucks large amounts of blood.
"Murasame" -- A peculiar sword. Causes much blood shed in battle with its sharp edge.
"Sasuke" -- A legendary Ninja Sword.

Heh, yeah, I kind of figured that about evil characters. I guess I was just in an evil mood when I posted.

*places tip of pinky at corner of mouth*

For the record, I do not speak Japanese. I studied a year of it at university, so I do speak a smattering, but I've forgotten most of it. I can, however, read Japanese (and, to some extent, Chinese), due to the similarity of the writing systems. The thing about it, though, is that I have to actually see the Japanese to tell you what it means. Many different characters have the same sounds, so unless I can see them, I most probably won't be able to tell you what a word means (not to mention the fact that I've forgotten most of the Japanese pronunciations anyway, and only know the characters by sight).

Anyway, I think WS did a pretty good job at explaining the swords. If you showed me the characters, I could give you literal translations, but that's up to you (or WS, actually).

(I swear, you guys are going to drive me to study Japanese again. )

Who was it that I had to speak to about seeing the books? Veneficuz? I'll definitely need a look-see before I fine-tune my character.

Suho are you on right now? If so I can help you out with the books.

Im working on my character right now so Ill watch this topic to see if you re-post.

Thanks, for offering to look at he characters thats about how much japanese Ive had. I haven't used it so long Ive forgotten most of it. I've got a dictionary but its written in hiragana so ill have to sort it out.

WS, thanks for the translations.

-tiki, cell 478

Oh, I guess this is going to be a little late. I posted and ran last time--had a NWN session. I am back now, though...

[Edit: you could always just e-mail me, or I could e-mail you...]

[Edit2: And why doesn't anyone ever want me to translate Korean? That I can do. ]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-12-2002).]

I've been working on this:

dnd.tikifolk.com

I plan to flesh it out a little more as time goes on.

edit-fixed link

[This message has been edited by tikigod (edited 09-12-2002).]

Nice one tikigod...hmmm...do you plan on keeping a journal of our adventures?

As for the swords...I'm not sure just what the characters in Japanese are.

Great work Tiki

I think I will keep a journal of the campagin. I will log every session and upload the logs at least, and if I have the time I'll rewrite them to a journal/story as well.



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

tiki: cool, that's a bookmark.

Now that I have access to the PH, I'll have to get working on the specifics. I'm going to be a tad busy until next week; when were we planning on starting this?

OK...quick lesson in Japanese:

here is a chart of hiragana (the everyday) alphabet in Japanese: http://www.genki-online.com/kyozai/hiragana.html

The rightmost column are the vowels, then proceeding back towards the left are the coupled sylables. The vowels (a i u e o) are pronounced as follows:

A: AH (as in cAR)

I: EE (as in kEY)

U: OO (as in fOOd)

E: EH (as in AIr)

O: OH (as in stOp)

The couples syllables at just a basic vowel sound, but with the appropriate vowel on the start. So the symbol for KI (second column from the right, second row from the top) would sound exactly like KEY.

Every consanant is always followed by a vowel, they form one symbol together. The only exception to this rule is when a vowel is followed by an N. The N has it's own symbol (top row, leftmost column) and is a syllable all on it's own. any consanant or vowel following it is a whole new symbol.

I think that's about it



Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Suho: We haven't decided on a starting date yet, but tiki suggested this (14th sept.) or the next weekend (21st sept). And as you are busy until next weekend and I might be busy the next weekend it seems like we have to wait until 28th sept. to begin



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

quote:

---

OK...quick lesson in Japanese:

...

I think that's about it

---

Skaarjj: that's funny, man. Seriously, though, I'm sure you meant well, but it's not that easy. The instructions you gave above are for one of the four Japanese writing systems (hiragana, katakana, kanji, romaji). What we're talking about here are kanji, and kanji are not that simple. Kanji are ideograms, and there are tons of them. I could transcribe the above sword names into hiragana, but it still wouldn't get us any closer to figuring out what they mean literally. Why? Because they are not simple Japanese words that you could look up in a dictionary. They are (mostly) a combination of two characters, generally a modifier and a noun. And unless we can see the original kanji, we can't tell you for sure what they mean. If we knew more Japanese we might be able to take a guess, but I don't think anyone here is at that level.

Sorry about the tangent, but I just had to get that out.

As for starting dates, well, I suppose we'll start when we start...

That I know..for gross spellings though, hiragana is the everyday alphabet. roomaji is not a japanese alphabet, but english characters spelling out japanese words.

plus Suho, it was only a quick lesson in the simpler alphabet. Hirigana is everyday writing, Katakana is for spelling foreign words (like my name, which japanese is eidoorian), Kanji is formal words, requiring a new ideogram for each new word, since each ideogram represents a word, not a syllable, and Roomaji is for english speaking people like me and you learning Japanese.

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Thanks guys.

The link is actually very helpful Skaarjj. I can now rewrite the names in hiragana and then look them up i my dictionary. This should help alot(I dont have to go searching through boxes to find my old textbooks). I also have a Kanji dictionary but its not as easy to use.

As for a start date, the 28th sounds fine to me. I just want a little notice because I play football on the weekends and I want schedule around our session.

If any of the inmates on my intrested list are playing give us a yell in this thread? Also Spyx and Inition are you guys still in?

Ok...here's my character and his stats...

Character Name: Ulik Stonehammer
Race: Half-Orc / Class: Paladin

Level: 1

Alignment: Lawful Good

Hit Points: 11

Movement Rate: 30 feet / per round

Ability Scores:
Str: 18
Dex: 9
Con: 12
Int: 6
Wis: 12
Chr: 14


Feat -Combat Reflexes

Starting with 28 points, I managed to get this. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or tips?

thats one good lookin' half-orc

hmmm, a UO server would be just about as good as a D&D game as it gets, could you host neverwinternights also?

Skaarjj: I'm assuming that you are studying (or have studied) Japanese? Actually, roomaji is considered to be a Japanese writing system, and it is not just for foreigners learning Japanese. It is used all the time in Japanese advertising and marketing, in fact (apparently it's chic to write in a foreign alphabet). And when I was learning Japanese, kanji were taught as kind of a "bonus," but everything we did in class we wrote in hiragana (or katakana, for loan words). So it was a bit rough when I first went to Japan and found that everything was in kanji. In fact, of the three (excluding roomaji here) writing systems, I would say hiragana is actually used the least in Japan. Katakana is used far more than hiragana, since loan words don't derive from Chinese characters and thus have no kanji.

The reason the Japanese use hiragana is because the Japanese writing system uses Chinese characters--but the Japanese language (like Korean) is a highly inflected language, while Chinese is not. In other words, kanji is used for word roots, and hiragana is used for conjugations, articles, etc. There are some native Japanese words that don't derive from Chinese characters, but most words are written in kanji.

The sword names above are noun phrases, and would thus be written in kanji. Yes, you could write them in hiragana, but the original point was that you could not get the meaning without the kanji. We were looking for a translation, not a transcription. Sorry if I've been going on about stuff you already know. And sorry to everyone else for going off on a tangent--I just wanted to clear a few things up.

Now, to get back on topic:

I don't think the half-orc necessarily has to be good-looking. I'm envisioning a rugged-looking character with an inner stillness, poise, and confidence that commands a certain degree of respect. Also, that looks like 29 points to me; I think maybe the 9 Dex was a typo? Or did I miss something?

Still working on my cleric...

Yes...but with a transcription I can look in the dictionary for the definition, which is in english. Its not the most accurate translation but it will do.

I was joking about Ulik's good looks.

I know it was a little joke...Ok...very little.

*Sigh*

OK, let me try again. The sword names are probably not going to be in a dictionary because they are not everyday words like "refrigerator" or "gleeful." They are kanji combined to form new "words." The closest you could get with a dictionary and a transcription would be to look up parts of the words, see if you can find something similar, and guess at which kanji was used for that part--then you'd have to figure out what that kanji means. Looking back over the sword names, I can see that some of them are just that--names, and they are definitely not going to be in a dictionary.

Take the following, for example:



In Korean, this is pronounced "ho-geom." It means "tiger sword," and I just made it up. I guarantee you will not find this in any Korean dictionary, because it is not actually a Korean word. You could try to look up all words that begin with "ho," and then pick from the dozens of kanji (hanja in Korean, actually) that would come up, and then do the same with "geom." If you knew that it was a sword name, you could probably guess that "geom" was the "sword" character, and then guess that "ho" was the "tiger" character. But you would have to be familiar with the hanja in the first place to know this. You can't just look up "ho" in an English dictionary and get all the possible hanja definitions--it works the same way with Japanese.

Due to the nature of Chinese characters (one meaning/word per ideogram), you can slap a couple characters together and get a new "word" (noun phrase, in this example). In fact, you can generally slap four Chinese characters together and get a complete sentence or concept. Take, for example, this set of characters, which I posted in WS's marriage thread:



Literally, this means "Happiness in married life" (or what we sometimes call "wedded bliss").

And Japanese is even more complicated than Korean, because each Chinese character has two pronunciations, doubling the fun. The bottom line is that you will not be able to find these names in a dictionary using a hiragana transcription or roomaji transliteration because they are either 1) unique names and/or 2) are composed of kanji to form unique "words."

Man, I just should have kept my mouth shut from the beginning. I'm really not trying to be ornery here--you know that I love you guys, right? I guess one of my character flaws is that I just can't sit still when I believe that there's been a misunderstanding, especially when it's about a subject I am well-versed in. Anyway, that's the last I'm going to say on the subject.

Oh, and I knew you were joking about the half-orc being good-looking. (even though he probably is, for a half-orc)

[Edited for clarity (hopefully)]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-13-2002).]

Ok, new character update...

Ulik Stonehammer

Hit Points: 10

Movement Rate: 30 feet / per round

Ability Scores:
Str: 18
Dex: 8
Con: 10
Int: 8
Wis: 12
Chr: 14

Special Abilities

Divine Health
Detect Evil
Divine Grace - chr bonus to all saves
Lay on Hands - chr bonus * level


Feat -Power Attack

Starting Points : 28

+2 Str
-2 Int
-2 Chr

Skills

Concentration (con)
Craft(int)
Diplomancy (chr)
Handle Animal (cha)
Heal (wis)
Knowledge (religion)(int)
Profession (wis)
Ride (dex)

So, the character points are exactly 28...one must remember, that racial bonuses get applied last. Also, scores start from a base of 8...

As for his Charisma...well, he's not the greatest looking guy around...considering his heritage. However, his 'orcish' features are subtle (only an elf, half-elf or orc can readily tell he's a crossbreed from his appearance...others would tend to think he's just an 'exotic' human-type). However, once he opens his mouth, his larger than normal eyeteeth normally dispel any doubt as to his parents. More to the point...his blonde hair, blue eyes, and long beard (just like a Dwarfs) mostly disguise the fact that he is a Half-Orc...only his massive build in the shoulders/arms, his strong, jutting jaw and his rather short, bent legs (more like stumps) may give clues to his actual race...clues that any elf would notice in an instance (they have very good eyes, and an almost perfect sense for beauty/symmetry, allowing them to spot such things). Though Ulik is 6 feet tall (when standing totally errect), his rather bent, almost shambling gait reduces his height to 5 foot 6 inches (due to his orcish heritage, and all that tunnel fighting...). His charisma, though, is mostly due to his composure...his presence tends to fill a room...he has a commanding air about him. His absolute convictions to his lifequest stream from his person. This is almost impossible not to notice...even to the dimness of creatures. To one who can understand Dwarvish, his speech and conversational skills are quite pronounced, in stark contrast to his rather primitive Common.

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-13-2002).]

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-13-2002).]

Cool. That's a lot of info... you've obviously thought this through.

(Um, so I guess the 9 Dex was a typo, right? The first scores you listed worked out to 29 points. That's why I figured the 9 Dex was a typo, and that's all I was saying.)



[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-13-2002).]

No, that was correct...you'll notice that his intelligence has been increased for the one point of dex...it sucks having a really low int...to many maybe not, but...he's not supposed to be an imbecile...just..abit slow in the noggin...so I used the one point from dex (9) and applied it to int. Since I had 1 point 'left over', I applied it to int, as well. Therefore, he has an 8 int. (because half-orcs get a -2 to int...which would have left him with a 6). Unfortunatly, his dex has suffured a bit...but with heavy armor, hopefully that won't be all that bad...he'll never be a good rider, that's for sure...hehe...*Charge...and Ulik falls off his mount while charging the enemy...*

Whoops! You were right...I made a mistake with the Chr...I forgot that the racial bonus/negative comes last...therefore, 2 points more must be used for the Chr...at least, I think that is correct...right? Therefore, I subtracted 2 points from Con.

I'll break down the points
Str - 8 + 10 points = 16 + 2 (racial bonus) = 18
Dex - 8 (unchanged)
Con - 8 + 2 points = 10
Int - 8 + 2 points = 10 - 2 (racial negative) = 8
Wis - 8 + 4 points = 12
Chr - 8 + 10 points = 16 - 2 (racial negative) = 14

Total - 28 points used.

Oh well, Dwarves don't like riding things, anyway...He's probably got the same dislike for mounts...maybe I'll increase his dex some at higher levels...he's supposed to get a mount at 5th...so I can increase the score to 9 by then...maybe.

And yes, I absolutely love to fully 'flesh' out the character...one of the things I love most about PnP roleplaying...

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-13-2002).]

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-13-2002).]

Yup, that looks right. Sorry to be such a pest.

I guess I should get me rear in gear on my character, huh? S/he's getting there... it's just going to take me a little while to get used to the new divine spellcasting stuff.

No, don't be sorry for pointing out my errors...I am thankful for it. Now it looks right.

Now get to work on that character, Master Suho!

Can someone tell me exactly which page of the PHB this 28 point buy system is explained so I get my new stats going from that?

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

That's a good question. I just read through most of the PH that tiki put up, but I couldn't find it. I think it might be in the DM manual, actually. Anyway, here's the breakdown...

Each of your stats starts out at 8 points. You can then "buy" points as you desire, based on the following costs:

from 9-14: 1 per point
from 15-16: 2 per point
from 17-18: 3 per point

In other words, it will cost the following number of points to get the following numbers in your stats:

Stat Value / Point Cost
9 = 1
10 = 2
11 = 3
12 = 4
13 = 5
14 = 6
15 = 8
16 = 10
17 = 13
18 = 16

I'm pretty sure you can't buy an initial stat higher than 18--and it wouldn't be very efficient to do it anyway. Racial bonuses/penalties are added after you've used all your points (it does make a difference).

I hope I explained this clearly enough...

Well, the rules say that you can't start the game with a character that has a bonus higher/lower than +/-5.

Thanks for the chart Master Suho. Just a couple of things to remember : try to keep all scores even. If you have a score under 10, you might want to consider making it odd though...for at 4th level, you get your first bonus point to be used on your stats...actually, every 4 levels.

Becasue of the new rules, really high stats are not as necessary as before, so keep that in mind.

Research the stats...they have done some re-working of them...With the new skill system, it's rough on a character that has a low int. Racial bonuses/negatives are added last, which is both a boon and a blessing...with the bonus, it can 'save' you a lot of points above 14...and with a negative, it can cost you alot.

Have fun!

Good point about evening up the scores. Especially considering that you get to add those ability stat bonuses every four levels, it's not really worth it to spend the points to get a natural 17 or 18 (without racial bonuses, I mean).

I've been pouring over the books (errr, .pdf), and I'm tinkering with my stats right now. Actually, I'm trying to get a better handle on my character to see which way I should lean. I think I know which way I want to go, but it does mean some sacrifices. Oh well...

Well 'optimizing' scores are good...but having mega-scores are not...takes away from the 'role-playing' aspect...too much reliance on the scores...not enough reliance on the actual character. Using your characters abilities wisely, according to the situation, is IMHO much more rewarding...and of course, sticking to the 'character' of the character...this is fun!!!

So concentrate on those backgrounds, folks! Doesn't mean you need a really wild one...just a well thought-out one. Your character doesn't have to be that prince-in-exile...he could 'just' be the farmers son...fed-up with milking the cows everyday. So he decides one night to leave home and live the life of excitement...probably biting off much more than he can chew...you know, John-boy...that ever-optimistic, annoying sort of 'C'mon guys! Let's have an adventure!'...a bit naive, maybe, but with time and experience, maybe he will change the world (Luke Skywalker comes to mind...). Or maybe she is that streetwise, homeless urchin with an innocent face...the kind of face that causes people to go 'Awww...poor thing. Here, have this' and getting their pockets picked in the process...or maybe he is the spoiled rich-kid, from an 'elite' parentage...never of having a choice or say in his life...was sent into the priesthood because his father demanded it...and now that the school is over, rebel time! (Rebel without a clue...just gotta love that film). Who knows? The sky is the limit...

It's your character...so make it yours. Don't worry about really high scores...just make sure you have the major scores for your class covered (i.e. bonuses). Also, for those of you considering the multi-class path, do some heavy thinking on the scores...normally, that means making some compromising...keep in mind that you get points every 4 levels...so a multi 2/2 gets a point...multi's also build levels more slowly, so keep that in mind, as well...and try to avoid XP penalties...

Let's see those backgrounds!

Honestly, I don't think ability scores affect the role-playing aspect either way. It may be that min-maxers aren't as big on role-playing, but I don't think you can say that having an 18 stat takes away from the role-playing aspect (or adds to it, for that matter). I think it's a case of confused cause and effect (ie, cause = min-maxer likes hack and slash, effect = chooses high scores and relies on roll-playing, rather than role-playing).

I'm working on my background right now, actually, but I've got to take a break to go out to the gym. I suppose I should also be doing some work...

Skaarjj: the standard point system is explained in the DM book, but what Suho said is pretty much all you need to know about it. At least that is all I know about it

I have always found it easier to first think out the characters background then modify the ability scores, feats and skills to fit the background story. If you chose to min/max the stats the only "problem" with that is that he might be very diffucult to roleplay, but it might also be very fun...



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Sorry players, but if you have been trying to access dnd.tikifolk.com its temporarily down. Whats left ofHannah(Tropical Storm) just stopped by Augusta on her way up the Eastern seaboard. She got a little rowdy(They must not have let her in the National) while she was in town and so she fried my cable modem. I should be back up after I run to CompUsa and purchase a new one.

its back up

-tiki, cell 478

Bump-o-rama

Uhhh...anybody else going to post characters?

Hello?

OK, OK...

Name: John-boy

Background: John-boy was sick and tired of milking the cows, so one day he gathered all his friends and said, "Come on, guys! Let's have an adventure!"

Sorry, WS, I couldn't resist.

I do actually have most of my stuff done, it just needs a little fine-tuning now. I promise I will have something up very soon (as in, within the next few hours). It's going to be a bit on the long side, though. Just a warning.

Ha! How's that? Just a little over an hour and I have the information I promised. And, as I mentioned before, it is very loooooooong.
_________________________________

Character: Telana (te-LA-na) Lightblade

Background

Telana was born the eldest daughter of a common family in a small village, where she spent most of her youth. From an early age she showed an affinity with the divine, and was sent to study under the priests at the nearby temple of Pelor. She excelled in her studies, and the priests were eager for her to become a full member of the clergy. Before she was inducted, though, a clash between nearby warlords spilled over into the village. The village was decimated, and most of the villagers were killed, including Telana's parents. The remainder took refuge in the temple and looked to the priests for guidance and aid.

The priests tended to the villagers' wounds, but they were extremely reluctant to confront the powerful warlords. Telana sought vengeance, but the priests only fought over which warlord to support. To Telana's young mind this was unabashed cowardice, and her rage grew daily at her utter inability to act. When the priests decided to adopt a neutral position, Telana was furious. She presented herself to the priests one last time, and spoke out for what she thought was right. The priests tried to explain themselves, but Telana would no longer hear, and she left the sanctuary of the temple--a young girl of sixteen, alone in the world.

The lands around the temple were swarming with the battling soldiers of the two warlords, and Telana traveled by night to avoid detection. She had almost gotten free when, passing by an isolated camp, she stumbled over a sleeping sentry in the darkness. Startled, the man raised his lantern and his sword, but when he saw the young girl in front of him he dropped his weapon and grabbed for her. Telana was too terrified to move at first, and he pushed her to the ground. A quick prayer escaped her lips, her mind cleared, and she remembered the last gift her father had given her. Quickly, she reached into her tunic and pulled it out--and thrust the small blade into the man's heart as he came down on her. With strength she didn't know she had, she pushed the heavy body aside and struggled to her feet. With the bloody dagger in her hand, she began to run.

In death, though, the sentry ultimately did his duty, loosing one final cry that awoke the camp. The rough soldiers quickly surrounded Telana, and their leader stepped forward with a wicked grin on his face. He stood there motionless for a moment, then his eyes glazed over and he slowly toppled forward, an arrow protruding from his back. The eyes of the soldiers grew wide with fright, and they barely had time to turn around before four armored figures came striding through the darkness with swords flashing. For a moment, Telana thought they were angels, and the white tunics over their armor she took for flowing, heavenly robes.

The newcomers were no angels, but they came in the strength of the divine, and in a moment three of the soldiers were lying dead on the ground. The rest were terrified and threw down their weapons, begging for mercy. This they were granted, but only after they were stripped of their weapons and armor and tied up. One of the angels--for that's what Telana still thought they were--looked down at her, and immediately recognized her for what she was: a fellow servant of the divine. He held his hand out to her, and Telana did not hesitate in taking it.

Telana discovered that the angels were actually priests, although she refused to believe it at first. These valiant warriors in their bright armor and tunics were nothing like the priests of Pelor she had known--kind and gentle in their own right, but eager to avoid conflict. These new priests were members of what they called the Fellowship, and recognizing the divine affinity within Telana they invited her to join them. Again, she did not hesitate. It was as if it had all been part of a divine plan, and she was merely following the path chosen for her.

Telana lived with the Fellowship for five years, almost as long as she had been with her hometown priests. The Fellowship, however, was different. While the temple she had known had a rigid hierarchy, the Fellowship was more of a loose congregation. Members called each other "brother" and "sister"--some of the older members were referred to as "Elder," but this was more out of respect than anything else. As it was, the Fellowship did not exist in any one place, but existed wherever two or more of its members were gathered. They believed that physical power was just as much of a gift from the divine as holy spells, and they ranged far and wide across the land, seeking to right wrongs and defend those who needed defending. Where evil was found, they brought the sword, and where evil had left its mark, they brought healing. As a member of the Fellowship, Telana found meaning in her life. If nothing else, she thought, in this way she could preserve the memory of her parents, by fighting injustice wherever she found it.

Each member left behind their family name and took on a new name when they joined the fellowship. This name was most often chosen for them, as a gift, and Elder Korin, the man who had first held out his hand to the young, frightened girl, chose Telana's. He named her Lightblade, in memory of the small dagger and the divine clarity that saved her that night. As she grew from a young girl to a woman, she trained with larger weapons, becoming especially skilled in the use of the longsword, but she always kept the dagger close to her side in memory of her father. During her training she grew both in divine power and combat prowess, and after five years it was deemed that she was ready to travel the land, upholding justice and righteousness.

Description

Telana is fairly tall for a woman of her time. She is thin and agile, but also very powerful and hardy for her frame. Her auburn hair hangs down beyond her shoulders, but she generally wears it in a single braid tied with a small, white ribbon. She has a light complexion, and while she is not the traditional ideal of "beauty," her somewhat aquiline features are striking, and she is not unattractive.

She carries within her the scars of her parents' deaths, and she sometimes shows impatience with those who do not act decisively when necessary. Her experience with the priests of Pelor gave her a deep-seated distaste for bureaucracy, but she does recognize the need for order and self-control. Her experiences have given her a courage of self, and she is not afraid to speak out--and act--for that which she thinks is right. Her time with the Fellowship, though, tempered her impetuousness and taught her how to better deal with people. Now, she is much more able to present her position in a way that is easier for others to accept.

Most of all, she has forged a closer bond with the divine, and has gained an exceptional understanding of life, considering her youth. She understands the role of the divine in her life and in the lives of others, and this understanding has made her more adept at channeling the power of the divine for the cause of good. It is as a defender of justice, a representative of the divine on earth, that she goes forth into the world.

[Edit: Oops, I forgot: Telana joins the party at the age of 21. Yeah, I know you can figure it out from the background, but I thought I'd just make it easy on everyone.]


[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-18-2002).]

Very nice...saved that bg. I think we'll get along well...even though we are 'Gods apart'...hehe...

Thanks for posting.

Who's next?

With my players necessarily high charisma score, would any of my fellow party members mind if I do what the PHB suggests and serve as the face of the party?

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

Sorceror, right? Well, you, WebShaman, and I are all going to have decent charisma scores, but you're right--you'll probably have the highest. As to being the "face" of the party, well, I don't have a particular problem with that, but don't think that means I'm just going to sit by and let you do all the talking, especially if I disagree with what you're saying ;-).

However, I think it's a bit early to decide who's going to be what, since the party isn't even fully formed yet. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to figure things like that out once everyone is on the same page.

And since your characters haven't met each other yet it would be kind of strange to get that sorted out allready

Your character is looking good Suho, I got your mail and I'll take a look at the sheet later on when I get home. But it is probably all fine.



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Power Word : Bump!

Yes, bump indeed. I think we dropped off the first page for a while there. So, what's the status here? To the best of my knowledge, confirmed characters are as follows:

Skaarjj: Indemar Lothlorien, half-elf male sorceror
WebShaman: Ulik Stonehammer, half-orc male paladin
Suho1004: Telena Lightblade, human female cleric

I know others have mentioned what classes they'd like to play (and that info is all up on dnd.tikifolk.com
]dnd.tikifolk.com[/URL]), but I think these are the only characters with names and backgrounds. Did I leave anyone out?

Veneficuz: I know I promised to send you something last week, but I've been a tad busy and haven't been able to finish it yet. I'll get it to you as soon as it's done, whenever that may be.

[Edit: Link fix]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-23-2002).]

[Fixed Link... ]

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 09-23-2002).]

[Edit: Stop editing my posts! I was getting there! I fixed it right after I did the first edit. Grrr.... ]

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 09-23-2002).]

No problem Suho, just send to me when it gets done

We also need to set a starting date so we can get it going.

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Yup. Let's get this thing off the ground...any ideas on a start date?

Hehe...Master Suho has slow fingers...

They call me "the fastest fingers in the East."

I was just drinking at the time, that's all. (I made some Welsh Rabbit and had some beer left over--what was I supposed to do?)

I was thinking of maybe this Saturday?

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Ok, I'm in...when on Saturday...

quote:

---

if Tiki and SPyX could stay up late it might work for all of us... 2am for them is 8am for ws and me and 8pm for Suho and Skaarjj.

---

This was the time schedule I proposed in the first thread and it seemed like it would work since no one complained about it.

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

I'm in. Just tell me the time.

I worked on my character last night. V. had said we could roll or use the point buy system, so I chose to roll. I got the best grouping of rolls in my life! The Problem was if I used this character he would be overpowered in relation to the others so I went back to the point buy.

So, Harada Josan (my samurai) has come to life I'll post his background later this week.

-tiki

I think I agree about the point buy system--it would unbalance things a bit if some of us were using it and some weren't. Also, I think point buy is a lot easier to deal with than rolling. Just a personal opinion, of course.

This Saturday? Uh, I'm not sure if that's going to work out for me. I just got a thirty-page project dumped on me that has to be done by next Thursday, so I'm most likely going to be working my butt off until then (finding my butt and reattaching it shouldn't take too long, though). Also, I forgot what time this means for me. Maybe we should just post the GMT version and let everyone calculate from that.

Sorry to have to bail like this at the last minute. I really wasn't expecting this. I should be good to go after this is done, though (famous last words of the freelancer).

*Makes mental reminder to schedule Master Suho for more shocktreatments*

Hehe...I now have a key to the basement...

Ummmm...I still don't know how to put all my character stuff into OpenRPG...any ideas?

Koan 63, written on the wall of cell number 250:
Those who Believe
Can
Those who Try
Do
Those who Love
Live

To put the char into openrpg you have to get a character sheet first. Either you make on yourself or you get one from someone else. I think I'm gong to make a character sheet for openrpg later on (hopefully get it done before we start) so you might want to use that one. If not I think Tiki has one that is rather good if I remember correctly.

There is also a PC generator(PCGen) that can export your char as an xml file to be used in Openrpg, but I haven't tried it yet...



_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

I exported my character sheet last night. Ill post it friday on my server along with instructions on how to fill it out. Since Suho can't play this weekend it sounds like we have plenty of time.

* bumpitty bumping with a few questions *

Tiki: have you uploaded the char sheet? and is you characters background finnished?

And to all of you: When are we going to start playing? Is every one available this Saturday? I want to get this thing started

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

I was just thinking about posting about that, actually. I hate to be a pest, but what time did we agree on for playing (GMT please)? I should be OK for this Saturday, if I live that long.

Cell 270

I think the agreed upon time is GMT 07 am.

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Yup, that character sheet would come in handy...where is it? Also, maybe a 'small' amount of instruction on how to use openGL would be nice...

And the server ID...we'll be needing that to connect, right?

I'm working on it I have had some personal matters come on last week. I am also sorry about not getting the sheet up friday (I spent the day dealing with a deadbeat client, I hate it when they dont want to pay).

So sorry all for being a slacker...

Don't oyu mean OpenRPG WS? Unless you want to get into an in depth discussion on how to program a render engine

WS: I (or tiki) will start a server when it is time to play. It will probably be called something along the lines of "Asylum Adventures" or "Adventures of the Loonies" But I'll post some more specific instructions when I know who is going to host the game.

After Tiki has posted the sheet I'll write a little tut on how to use openRPG (if the need is still there). I want to see the sheet so I know what you are 'looking at' before I write the tut. But the User's Manual following openRPG explains most of what you need to know.

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

07:00 GMT? OK, then that would be 16:00 for me--which is actually not that bad.

I must confess, I have not yet downloaded OpenRPG. I've taken a look at the site (I even registered), but I haven't touched the program yet. All that time on Saturday morning should give me a chance to get up to speed.

So, I guess our party is finalized then? A paladin, a cleric, a sorceror, and a samurai... I wonder who's going to get the dubious honor of setting off all the traps? Probably the big, burly paladin...

[Edit: Ack! Miscalculation on the time zone...]

Cell 270

[This message has been edited by Suho1004 (edited 10-01-2002).]

Here's mine:

At age 12, Harada Josan served as a page for his uncle Mitsui Hide(Hee-Day). He is the youngest of seven sons.
The Empire of Rokugan was in the midst of massive a civil between those loyal to Shogun Ashikaga and the allies
of Toyotomi Saito (the Usurper). The two armys clashed on the Yamato Plain.

The Mitsui clan held the left flank of the Harada and Saito was at his uncle's side. They were close
enough that they could a see Harada Danjuro(Josan's Father) and his Oldest brother, Genki. In the midst
of the Battle Josan looked over to see a katana coming out of the chest of Danjuro. As he looked back
he saw that the samurai who held the sword was his brother Genki.

Josan yelled out and alerting his uncle Hide. Hide turned to see Genki lower the body of his brother-in-law to the ground.He restrained the young Josan to prevent him from running to his fallen father. Misui watched as Genki removed Danjuro's katana and wakazashi, the symbols of the Harada, and place them in his obi.

Genki's retainers then fell upon Josan's other brothers and the Harada samurai turned on the Mitsui lines. Hide and his
clan were forced from the field, costing the Shogun the battle. The old samurai took his orphaned nephew back to the Mitsui lands in defeat. Mitsui met with Shogun Ashikaga and told him of Harada Genki's betrayal. Mitsui later found out that his daughter, Akiko, Genki and Josan's mother, as slain by the evil son upon Genki's return to thier lands. This act severed the last tie of alliance between the clans.

Six years passed and Josan grew up. He was adopted by Mitsui Hide who trained him as if he were is own son. The the armies of the Ashikaga and the Toyotomi clashed again Biden pass. The Usurper was slain, killed by an archer as his cavalry charged the Ashikaga lines. The rebellion was finished. The Toyotomi rebels lacked a leader Saito's charisma and their resistance waned.

To stabilize the empire, the Shogun gave amnesty to rebels provided they return to their lands and swear an oath of loyalty to the Shogunate. The Rokugan whould again be at peace. there remained but one loose end

The Shogun realized that the feud between the Mitsui and the Harada whould not be so easily ended. As long as Josan remained with the Mitsui,he would provide them with a symbol of the Harada Genki's betrayal. Josan was also in great danger from Genki, who needed him dead to cement his hold on the Harada. The simple solution was to assist Genki in killing Josan. Ashikaga could not bring himself to help a traitor by slaying a boy who had done no wrong to the Empire.

He summoned Mitsui and Josan to his palace. He approached the young Josan:

"Will you serve me as a loyal retainer just as your uncle uncle and father had," the Shogun asked.

"Yes my lord," the shaking Josan replied.

"Then swear to me, on your honor and on the spirit of your fallen father, that you will not seek vengence upon your brother Genki," Ashikaga continued.

The patriarch of the Mitsui's mouth was agape. Shocked at the Shogun's request.

Josan's body shook harder and a tear came to his eye as he thought of his dead family.

"Yes my lord" the young Samurai answered.

The shogun then informed Josan of the merchant's tales of the lands to the west. It was his wish the Josan travel with the caravans tothe west as an observer. Josan was to stay as long as he felt was necessary and to return in 11 years with a full report. He told Josan a lot can happen in this time and to sieze whatever oppurtunities present themselves. Josan had plenty of time to gain control of the Harada.

Josan set out into the west. Josan was given the daisho(swords) of the Mitsui clan by his uncle as a parting gift.
Harada Josan joins the party at age 19

---------------

I have uploaded the character sheet to dnd.tikifolk.com. I have redesigned the page(soon to become a site) and added all of your backgrounds to the page. Its running a little long so I may still make some more tweaks. Like adding the next game times.

V. -can you write up a little something about how to use the sheet. ICQ me if this is a problem or you need help.

Sounds like I.m going to be up at 2 a.m. friday. I guess Ill just stay at the bar till game time.

-tiki

edit- fixed link

[This message has been edited by tikigod (edited 10-02-2002).]

Yup. Nice, tikigod, very nice...BTW - what's the name of your swords?

Ok, looks like we are ready to kick some monster butt!

Yep, that web-page is looking good...how about posting the starting stats of our characters? Just a thought...

Oh, and who is lighter, the half-elf or the cleric? Well, guess it doesn't matter with my strength...I can throw both of them...great trap finders...hehe...

Oh, that's not in sync with my alignment...too bad...*sigh*

[This message has been edited by WebShaman (edited 10-02-2002).]

Nice, tiki. Another strong warrior for me to heal. The webpage is coming along nicely, too.

WS: No, no, you've got it all wrong! I stay back while you look for traps so I can heal you after you set them off.

Looking good tiki

I'll download the openRPG character sheet and have a look at it later on when I get home.

_________________________
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
- copied from the wall of cell 408 -

Cool...I've got that sheet, now, how do we apply it?

Um, yeah, I downloaded the sheet... man is that a lot of stuff. Is there an easy way for us to fill this out, or do we have to scrape through it ourselves? I'm kind of hoping for the easy way, but I suppose I could do it the hard way if it came to that. I haven't had much exposure to xml files...

I should be done with my mind-numbing project tomorrow (this is the last time I agree to translate a friggin' legal document), so I should be able to give OpenRPG a crack and figure out what the heck it is I'm supposed to be doing. At the moment I'm clueless.

On a related note, the timing is perfect on the start of this campaign. My Neverwinter Nights group suddenly discovered the latest Unreal Tournament, and it looks like we won't be playing NWN for a while. Besides, it'll be good to get back to some real role-playing. I'm looking forward to this.

It will probably be easiest if you copy the a sheet and used my old character as a template.

If Veneficuz does not have time today I wll try to do something tonight. I had to stay up late to finish a propsal earlier this week and thats kind of sapped my strength for a couple of days.

continued here: http://www.ozoneasylum.com/Forum1/HTML/005571.html