A Time of Monsters

[Grey]

The old world is dying.

The king is dead, his son is a halfwit heretic, a dozen dukes raise armies to contest the throne and bark like caged hounds on the borders. Foreign powers decry every side as a heathen and barbarian and back their favourites for promises of land and treasure. Schismatic faiths hire mercenaries and rally witch-hunters to bloody ends for their preferred crown pretender. The faultlines threaten to spread and consume the continent entire.
The nobles, the clergy, the merchants - they stand to profit. But the peasants suffer. The citizens of sieged cities suffer. Even the soldiers break and become as rabid wolves in the wilderness.

A new world is struggling to be born.

Where the war has not touched, farmers and shepherds are driven from their land 'for protection'. Taken into the cities where they must serve to survive, in the squalid dormitories and burgeoning textile mills. The generals of distant battles will pay their last grout for muskets rolled out of factories worked by children. Away from the smoke and the stench the fine new homes of freshly rich abut the hoary manses of complacent aristocracy and their owners lobby the queen for more privileges, to quieten the restive workers, to consider proposals to civilize their savage neighbours.


And in all of this - you. You who were left near dead; broken, alone, used up.
You who cried out in anguish and your voice was the voice of everyone ground to gore in the jaws of Power.
And there, in the dark, something heard you.
Something old. Something hungry.
Something abiding by a thin place in the skin of the world, waiting.
And it asked you; wouldst thou wield my might, and yet more justly?
All you heard, in the depths of agony, was 'will you make them pay?'

Now is a time of monsters.

====================

This is a game in the Crucible: Mud & Thunder setting.
This RP will be for 4-6 players.
The mechanics are easy enough to learn, a dice-pool system that's simple to use but has mechanical depth if you want to engage with it.
No prior experience with this game or tabletop games required. All skill levels welcome.
One post a week is ideal, once a month is acceptable.
No set post length - just post what you feel is necessary to move things along and satisfies you creatively
Yes, this is inspired by the Thirty Years War.
I'll reveal setting information in response to questions or with enough interest to get started. There are no stupid questions.
As implied, your character is going to be offered terrible supernatural powers at a steep price, and are then free to do what they want with them in pursuit of revenge, justice, or a better world - but if there's a happy ending, you probably won't live to see it.

Meredith

 

[Meredith]

Ah, man, I’m always up for a revolution.. deal me in, for sure.

This concept certainly relies on the assumption of characters being especially lower class, blood in the machine- but have they always been so? I would expect a significant landholder to be protected from this kind of systemic exploitation (correct me if necessary), but I might be interested in playing a former merchant or money-lender (pawner, even?) whose displacement made them indistinguishable from the rest of the, ah… “peasant horde”. We love channeling bitterness in this house > : )

 

[Bone2pick]

I like this. I like it a lot.

Something old. Something hungry.
Something abiding by a thin place in the skin of the world, waiting.
And it asked you; wouldst thou wield my might, and yet more justly?

Spoiler: My character’s answer

 

[Grey]

Ah, man, I’m always up for a revolution.. deal me in, for sure.

This concept certainly relies on the assumption of characters being especially lower class, blood in the machine- but have they always been so? I would expect a significant landholder to be protected from this kind of systemic exploitation (correct me if necessary), but I might be interested in playing a former merchant or money-lender (pawner, even?) whose displacement made them indistinguishable from the rest of the, ah… “peasant horde”. We love channeling bitterness in this house > : )

That's entirely possible, there are plenty of reasons why at least one character might be someone from comparative privilege who got fucked over. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong patron, wrong interpretation of the faith - maybe you got forced to quarter soldiers and then they sacked the place when they found out they weren't getting paid because their commander or employer was killed or something, maybe a rival named you in a witch hunt, maybe your town got razed and all refugees got treated the same where they wound up, or hell, maybe the disruption to local commerce meant you could be gouged by suppliers until you had to start selling your own property to afford food.
Between a freak weather event and all the armies marching around, there's a bit of a famine in the regions with the most fighting.

 

[Random Word]

I love your writing, so I'm curious! This is before the time of the Diggers and Levellers, let alone the French Revolution, let alone all the revolutions after that, so I admit I'm not sure what political movements were about other than, "We won't be Catholic!" "Yes you will!" "No we won't! Down with popery!" "You'll have popery and you'll like it!" Etc etc.

What will we be fighting for?

 

[Grey]

I love your writing, so I'm curious! This is before the time of the Diggers and Levellers, let alone the French Revolution, let alone all the revolutions after that, so I admit I'm not sure what political movements were about other than, "We won't be Catholic!" "Yes you will!" "No we won't! Down with popery!" "You'll have popery and you'll like it!" Etc etc.

What will we be fighting for?

It's complex, as you might imagine. Yes, there are conflicts of religious schisms, but it's often impossible to tell who is a true believer and who finds this politically useful. Motivations range from generational aristocratic grudges, opportunistic ploys for more land, sincere efforts to protect or spread the faith, sincere efforts to instate the rightful king, cynical efforts to profit on the conflict and retire to a foreign capital, profiteering on the war itself from a far remove...
And you do have people opposed to the monarchy but they're not all sure or all agreed on how to replace it. These are wealthy and influential people who might be compelled to support anything from military dicatorship to ecclesiastic state to a crude democracy (landowners get a vote, or peers, or anyone who can buy the right; we're a long way from democracy for the rabble).

But in the end, it's all the same war - the powerful against the powerless, the exploiters and slavers and sundry other leeches. A pack of bastards in a nice coastal city are inventing the stock market as we speak and someone has to stop them.
As much as this is inspired by the Thirty Years War we'll take some cues from the run up to the October Revolution, probably, because anyone with a passing knowledge of the setting will recall there's a pseudo-soviet military dicatorship on the west coast.

So what you fight for is up to you, but I'd like you to be fighting for the people no one else is fighting for.

And of course, there are some confounding elements - the Vampire cult out west is taking this chance to proselytize to the masses, promising salvation in Her dark embrace. The people across the south sea are considering coming to civilize their barbarian neighbours and enlighten them to the worship if the Dreaming Godhead. The former colonies in the east have broken away.
I'm also tweaking the Magic rules to be learnable rather than inherited, because I would like some secret societies and mad bastard like Paracelsus around.

I'd like player characters to focus on accepting mysterious otherworldly gifts for now but I can potentially be convinced to allow more of a spread.
I'll go into those gifts more based on rough, mundane character pitches and once we have quorum. We're on two, three out of four now?

Nice to see you three again, incidentally.

 

[Meredith]

That's entirely possible, there are plenty of reasons why at least one character might be someone from comparative privilege who got fucked over. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong patron, wrong interpretation of the faith - maybe you got forced to quarter soldiers and then they sacked the place when they found out they weren't getting paid because their commander or employer was killed or something, maybe a rival named you in a witch hunt, maybe your town got razed and all refugees got treated the same where they wound up, or hell, maybe the disruption to local commerce meant you could be gouged by suppliers until you had to start selling your own property to afford food.
Between a freak weather event and all the armies marching around, there's a bit of a famine in the regions with the most fighting.

Ah, then I'll get to composing a shortlist of "a woman scorned" character concepts to sow the seeds of rightful vengeance, of course. Might pepper in a few of originally lower means, in case those among us are adequately scorned already. I'm potentially interested in a religious or mercantile angle. Do you mind, if I can't decide, a few short pitches to help narrow things down once we have the thread up?

 

[Grey]

Ah, then I'll get to composing a shortlist of "a woman scorned" character concepts to sow the seeds of rightful vengeance, of course. Might pepper in a few of originally lower means, in case those among us are adequately scorned already. I'm potentially interested in a religious or mercantile angle. Do you mind, if I can't decide, a few short pitches to help narrow things down once we have the thread up?

That's always a welcome approach. We'll look 'em over and narrow 'em down. If you want any particular details to provide direction lmk.

The short version of the schisms in the faith are basically:
The Pontifex is the head of the church and salvation is a product of good deeds.
The Pontifex is the head of the church, but faith alone is sufficient gib indulgences.
The Pontifex is not the head of the church and we do not yet know how to earn salvation.
The Pontifex is not the head of the church and salvation is decided at birth based on the innate quality of your soul.

With some fringe elements:
Actually our pope is the real pope (flavours 1-4)
Actually the highest act of communion with God is to emulate him in his role as creator, blessed are the masons and the smiths.
Actually I've discerned the language of the angels and God wants you to follow my advice and also give me money.
Actually are we sure our God and that 'Vampire' God aren't related somehow?
Actually God has been locked in an accursed prison hidden somewhere in the world and we are being mislead by a malevolent pretender.

 

[Meredith]

That's always a welcome approach. We'll look 'em over and narrow 'em down. If you want any particular details to provide direction lmk.

The short version of the schisms in the faith are basically:
The Pontifex is the head of the church and salvation is a product of good deeds.
The Pontifex is the head of the church, but faith alone is sufficient gib indulgences.
The Pontifex is not the head of the church and we do not yet know how to earn salvation.
The Pontifex is not the head of the church and salvation is decided at birth based on the innate quality of your soul.

With some fringe elements:
Actually our pope is the real pope (flavours 1-4)
Actually the highest act of communion with God is to emulate him in his role as creator, blessed are the masons and the smiths.
Actually I've discerned the language of the angels and God wants you to follow my advice and also give me money.
Actually are we sure our God and that 'Vampire' God aren't related somehow?
Actually God has been locked in an accursed prison hidden somewhere in the world and we are being mislead by a malevolent pretender.

I'm imagining that the "good deeds" faction of pontifex supporters are not down with the capitalist/feudal overlords - but which of these offshoots is considered the "majority" religious belief, following the heathen prince or otherwise? Do these factions hold substantial power within the place of focus (on this note, is the game set in the capital city, or more widely across the land)? Which of these orders have the most interaction with laymen-- which maintain power politically, and which are more secretive religiously? Religious persecution seems common, but do these factions reach across established borders to enforce their will, or are they more seated in their own smaller pockets?

Essentially, I'm trying to piece together how a character might interact with these factions as a common person or merchant, based on their presence in the area the game is set. I would definitely be willing to play a character whose beliefs are not local/accepted in the area - maybe this was a dirty secret whose exposure led them into a social/financial/physical descent. Otherwise, I could play with the concept of being ousted out of a more major religious faction, due to either religious differences or simple blackmail.

Sorry if that's pretty wide - I'm trying to focus my lens. It might be easier to do a few different short takes on a potential religiously focused character and have you comment on which factions (if any) would be applicable to the type of character.

 

[Grey]

The game will probably go all around the country and maybe to others as it proceeds, but the more we can keep the starting group close together the better.

The orthodox church faction has more sway with the laity, partly due to historical inertia and partly due to political influence. They backed the previous king and want to find a successor of his bloodline who is still loyal to the church. Status quo defenders, of a sort. They're also better at proselytizing and most aristocrats are on their side.
The reformists have a fair bit of support among the common folk, but they appeal more to the mercantile classes. They're gaining traction, though, and are likely to declare their own head of the church soon. They're backing the king's son and technical legal successor.
The predestination crowd are pretty new and a thorn in the reformists side by taking their theology a step further. They have less interaction with and less influence with the laity.

The mystery of salvation bunch are most appealing to wealthy people in more stable regions. They're not good at explaining their theology to people who can't afford to read all their books.
They're also somewhat fashionable among those same moneyed classes so their support is potentially ephemeral and they're also not very directly political beyond supporting whatever gets them left alone. They do not have much influence or support in the war torn areas and aren't active participants in the conflict. Implicitly they reject scripture, so you wouldn't want to be open about such beliefs in areas steeped in orthodox or reform powers.

The orthodoxy have the most power in the divided territories of the former kingdom, mainly due to having infrastructure in place for so long already. Being more entrenched they're also more powerful in other countries.

I think being a member of the Stoneworkers Mystery Cult might suit - they're small, they're often merchants and artisans, they're routinely accused of consorting with demons, they're actually - at this point - mostly good-natured folks with sincere heterodox beliefs (in future they'll get turned into a commercial conspiracy).
They're the ones who've encountered old, old texts that predate even the orthodox church and describe Degra Veen (the dominant god) as part of a pantheon who governs metalcraft and stoneworking, and so have concluded that such acts of craft performed for the love of the work are the closest to divinity a mortal can get. They were tolerated for a while because this meant they built incredibly beautiful churches at the behest of the priesthood.
These days, when things are bad, any minority faith becomes a convenient scapegoat for desperate rulers.

 

[Random Word]

we'll take some cues from the run up to the October Revolution, probably, because anyone with a passing knowledge of the setting will recall there's a pseudo-soviet military dicatorship on the west coast.

Actually God has been locked in an accursed prison hidden somewhere in the world and we are being mislead by a malevolent pretender.

All hail the heroic vanguard of Marxism-Lovecraftism! Cthulhu-fhtagn and death to the capitalist running dogs! Wait, have we invented capitalists yet? I feel like the October Revolution in 1530 is skipping a few steps, but I'm all for a hermetic secret society that wants to cast down the imposter God and restore goodness to a world gone mad, and since when have Marxists let a few skipped steps get them down? The solution to the conundrum of who watches the vanguard to make sure they don't become a new bourgeoisie is blood contracts and mystical rites of mental communion, like the real God intended. The dictatorship of the proletariat isn't anything so tawdry as democracy, it's a gestalt mind. The will of the people will literally be made manifest. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Grey]

All hail the heroic vanguard of Marxism-Lovecraftism! Cthulhu-fhtagn and death to the capitalist running dogs! Wait, have we invented capitalists yet? I feel like the October Revolution in 1530 is skipping a few steps, but I'm all for a hermetic secret society that wants to cast down the imposter God and restore goodness to a world gone mad, and since when have Marxists let a few skipped steps get them down? The solution to the conundrum of who watches the vanguard to make sure they don't become a new bourgeoisie is blood contracts and mystical rites of mental communion, like the real God intended. The dictatorship of the proletariat isn't anything so tawdry as democracy, it's a gestalt mind. The will of the people will literally be made manifest. What could possibly go wrong?

You'll love my backup pitch for if this game hadn't caught on:

Spoiler: pitch b

GLORY TO THE PEOPLE'S UNION OF KAER AND THE DEATHLESS CAUSE!

Centuries ago, the Heroes of the Revolution overthrew a theocratic tyrant and rejected the burgeoning bourgeois states of their neigbhours, founding the Glorious Necrocommunist People's Union of Kaer. The Necromancers of the Central Party assumed power, reorganized the country as a proletarian military state, and set about correcting the flaws of the old ways with brutal, merciless efficiency. Famine was solved by raising the dead as farm workers, the growing bureaucratic overhead addressed by ghosts as clerks, and the risk of counter-revolutionary capitalist degeneracy halted by oversight of the Commissariat.
Then the attentions of the Party turned towards the most immediate threat to the Revolution: the Vampire cult of neighbouring Kroms.

The king, prior to his overthrow, had been a puppet of the bloodsuckers, and what kind of creature more perfectly embodies individualistic exploitation of the common man than a Vampire? Worse, a Vampire that calls itself a god?
So began the long war against Kroms that turned the northern border into a nightmare landscape of artillery scars, magical fallout, and renegade bioweapons.

After a century of fighting, you had pushed the fiends back to their Iron Citadel - a great black tower rising high into the sky, beneath which their foul Mother of Darkness slept in anticpation of her apocalyptic rebirth.
To your shock and horror, the international community condemned you as genocides and demanded a halt to your proactive defense. They sent a foreign army of terrible power to crush your comrades and force an armistice. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Party acquiesced to this coercion. For a time.

This imperialist oppression is not to be tolerated. A new plan is underway; a revision of doctrine and weaponry guided by the deathless science of Necro-Tavronism, to develop a means to challenge the international order and fight back against their repression, and to finally destroy the Vampires and their minions for good.

You, brave comrades, are an experimental unit formed to test a new kind of weapon: Osteiodon - a necromechnical battle frame mounted with heavy weapons, able to traverse all terrain and adapt to changing battlefield conditions, protecting the pilot within its armoured shell, using bound ghosts to control subsystems and enhance the skills of the operator.

Soon begins your deployment to a remote and secret base for training, testing, and practice maneouvres in the Dead Marches that divide your nation from the Kromsians.
Be watchful, soldier - there is the enemy without, but also within; subfactions vying for control and prestige, infiltrators from outside, the constant threat of the secret police, and the pitiless gaze of the Commissar always sensitive to Reaction.

 

[Meredith]

I think being a member of the Stoneworkers Mystery Cult might suit - they're small, they're often merchants and artisans, they're routinely accused of consorting with demons, they're actually - at this point - mostly good-natured folks with sincere heterodox beliefs (in future they'll get turned into a commercial conspiracy).
They're the ones who've encountered old, old texts that predate even the orthodox church and describe Degra Veen (the dominant god) as part of a pantheon who governs metalcraft and stoneworking, and so have concluded that such acts of craft performed for the love of the work are the closest to divinity a mortal can get. They were tolerated for a while because this meant they built incredibly beautiful churches at the behest of the priesthood.
These days, when things are bad, any minority faith becomes a convenient scapegoat for desperate rulers.

This sounds interesting to me! I'll give it a few turns about my head, and hopefully have a couple of possibilities for a character guided by this by the time we find another player-- unfortunately, I have a paper to write tonight. In any case, I would like to build a character who had at one point a vibrant web of connections that have (at least mostly) dissolved because of hard times -> it sounds like the faction would be ideal for that kind of case. Will ruminate a little bit on the political instabilities of the region.

Looking forward to smashing some imperialist heads, though. Are you planning for a kind of inciting event to bring our characters together, or something more organic in the realm of causing mutual chaos?

 

[Bone2pick]

I'd like player characters to focus on accepting mysterious otherworldly gifts for now but I can potentially be convinced to allow more of a spread.
I'll go into those gifts more based on rough, mundane character pitches and once we have quorum.

Would it be possible — for flavor/flair purposes — for our character’s uncanny abilities to be tied to a possessed item?

 

[Grey]

Would it be possible — for flavor/flair purposes — for our character’s uncanny abilities to be tied to a possessed item?

Absolutely, in several ways.
One particular patron likes to give out swords as part of the pact. Another axes. A third could also use a book or item of jewellery. What did you have in mind?

This sounds interesting to me! I'll give it a few turns about my head, and hopefully have a couple of possibilities for a character guided by this by the time we find another player-- unfortunately, I have a paper to write tonight. In any case, I would like to build a character who had at one point a vibrant web of connections that have (at least mostly) dissolved because of hard times -> it sounds like the faction would be ideal for that kind of case. Will ruminate a little bit on the political instabilities of the region.

Looking forward to smashing some imperialist heads, though. Are you planning for a kind of inciting event to bring our characters together, or something more organic in the realm of causing mutual chaos?

I'm thinking I'd like to cover everyone's lowest moment when they make the pact. I'll then find ways to draw you together, whether through explicit directions from your patrons or other forces.

Hmm, lemme give you the run down on some of your likely patrons.

Spoiler: Patrons

Rathless, Illuminor-Prince, Mercenary Heart, Mentor of the First Sellsword, Adopted of War’s Forsaken Children, The Underhanded, Who Kills By Sight, Disfavoured of the Hellsun, Leaden Saint of Fission, Law’s Shadow

Adalgard, Illuminor-Prince, Shield of Dawn, Patron of Heroes, The Obliged Noble, Mentor of the First Lawkeeper, The Punishing Sun, Deuterium Saint of Fusion, The Terrible Power of Duty. The Grieving Sword of Execution

Tentham, Illuminor-Prince, The Defiant, Tyrant-Rebel, Quill of the Death Warrant, Mentor of the Last Rebel, Poisoner of Revolution, Bright Lure Atop Power’s Jaws, Neutrino Saint of Fission, Hypocrite in Golden Finery

The Unspeakable, Nightmare-King, Annihilator of Meaning, The Colour of Madness, Voice of Apocalypse, Moonless-Night Sovereign, Here-And-Nowhere, The Tall Man, Prince of Falling Leaves, Second Symbol of Royalty, Thief of Hope, Master of Mirrors, Walker in Dreams

Margenta, Nightmare-Prince, Master of the Maelstrom, the Overflowing Cup, Patron of The Too-Sighted, The Untameable Hands, The Ceaseless Tongue, Unknowing Knower, Rapture of Wilderness, Bearer of The Rare-Chance Piece, Mask of Mania

Tower-Ever-Falling, Nightmare-Prince, Lord of the Dead City, The Watcher From The Garret, Cageheart, The Great Empty, All Unseeing, Love’s Last Revenge, Voice of the Dusk, Bearer of The Ice-Piece, Mask of Tragedia

Ebroad, Nightmare-Prince, Keeper of The Bleak House, Moonscorned, Eater of Sleep, The Hungry Threshold, Thought-Jawed Trap, The Thing With The Endless Tongue, Eversmiling, King of the Toads, Bearer of the Night-Piece, Mask of Commedia

Old Scrape, Nightmare-Prince, Tender of Night’s Vast Garden, Scarecrow Lord, Rot-Shepherd, Beloved of Beetles, Cemeterian, The Lord of No Court, He Who Walks Behind The Hedge, Bearer of The Scale, Mask of Acedia

Ur-Sekhem’gal, Avenger-King, End of All Swords, Keeper of Thunder’s Forge, The Great Drake, Of Adamant Scale, Third Symbol of Royalty, Doom of Nations, Vengeance of Spiritus Mundi, The Burning Tower

Shurdat’urma, Avenger-Prince, Lady of the Flaying Wind, Destroyer of Kings, Doom of Tyrants, Thrice-Penitent Killer, Blood-Drowned City, Guillotine Queen, The Red Axe, Vengeance of the Downtrodden

Karpallas, Avenger-Prince, Bloodshot Eye of Desperate Fury, Trenchlord, Sovereign of the Killing Fields, The Bloody Fisted Wraith, Vengeance of the Forsaken Soldier, Heart of Murderous Intent

Y’shora, Avenger-Prince, Widower Knife, Bloody-Handed Child, The Ashen Hovel, Wild Flame of Anguish, Vengeance of the Wounded Soul, The Woman With Red Teeth, Stonehearted, Whom No Love May Conquer

Red Lotus, Avenger-Prince, Bodhisattva of the Twin Graves, The Path of Crimson Footprints, Vengeance of the Penitent, Destroys-by-Touch, Drinker of Poison, Cuts-You-Cuts-Me, Retributor, Sin-Eater

Valtanta, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Winds, The Coldest Shoulder, Cutting Sigh, Evergone, The White Mourning, Cruel Prophet, Lord of the Rain of Tears, Lady of Last Resorts, Voice of Betrayal, The Kindly Knife, Saint of Exile

Twilight Mirage, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Mesopelagia, Sea of Ghosts, Ice-Rimed Eyes, The Empty-Handed, First of the Drowned, Forget-Me-Now, Inward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of the Lost

Luce, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Bathys, Lightscorned, Whalecorpse Palace, Shipwrecker, Blackheart, The Great Serpent, Jaws Within Jaws, Scapegoat Seeker, Outward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of Murder

Isioros, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Doldrums, The Hungering Void, Master of Empty Rooms, Heartstopper, The Crushing Fathom, Silence Absolute, Doomsickness, Great Kraken, Saint of the Wounded

The Moon In The Deep, Sovereign of The Abyss, The Great Attractor, Nightsong, Who Abides Eternal, Martyr In Themself, What Loves You Always, The Glow In The Rock, False-Home Spectre, Saint of Suicides

There's a handful more I cut for space and because I want to tweak them a bit. The nature of your patron determines mostly why they chose you and some elements of how their power affects you.

 

[Bone2pick]

Absolutely, in several ways.
One particular patron likes to give out swords as part of the pact. Another axes. A third could also use a book or item of jewellery. What did you have in mind?

A child’s doll. I’ve been brainstorming the idea of a humble dollmaker, who after suffering considerable hardships and injustices, connects with an otherworldly entity via one of his creations.

If you don’t feel a concept like that is right for this roleplay, don’t hesitate to let me know. I won’t have a problem pitching something else.

 

[Grey]

A child’s doll. I’ve been brainstorming the idea of a humble dollmaker, who after suffering considerable hardships and injustices, connects with an otherworldly entity via one of his creations.

If you don’t feel a concept like that is right for this roleplay, don’t hesitate to let me know. I won’t have a problem pitching something else.

I like that - any of the Nightmare-Princes are especially likely to do that and use it as a conduit to make suggestions. They're also the most likely to engineer a meeting between the characters.

EDIT: Up to you all, but you can either choose a patron OOC, indicate a category of patron, or let me choose for you based on the kind of character you make.

 

[Bone2pick]

Up to you all, but you can either choose a patron OOC, indicate a category of patron, or let me choose for you based on the kind of character you make.

Tower-Ever-Falling strikes me as a fitting patron. But if you think there’s a better match after looking over my finished character, I’ll go with whatever you suggest.

Also, Grey, if you could come up with a name for a duke, as well as a name for one of said duke’s towns — my character will be from there, so it needs to be large enough for a variety of shops and craftsmen — that would be helpful. I need them for my character’s backstory.

 

[Random Word]

Shurdat'urma and Tentham seem most likely to be interested in sponsoring a vanguard cult to awaken the class consciousness of the proletariat and change the mode of production through ushering in the theurgic-industrial revolution. Unfortunately Shurdat'urma seems largely good for murdering the nobility, and less good for anything constructive afterwards. Tentham sounds like they're less of a murder-hobo, and they're the Neutrino Saint of Fission. Fission definitely has industrial applications! If we're going to have an October Revolution in 1530, why not a fission reactor? Although the neutrinos aren't really the useful part of fission, so I hope they aren't the patron of scientifically fascinating but industrially impractical fission, otherwise my character will just end up like Madame Curie. There are worse ways to go.

 

[Grey]

Tower-Ever-Falling strikes me as a fitting patron. But if you think there’s a better match after looking over my finished character, I’ll go with whatever you suggest.

Also, Grey, if you could come up with a name for a duke, as well as a name for one of said duke’s towns — my character will be from there, so it needs to be large enough for a variety of shops and craftsmen — that would be helpful. I need them for my character’s backstory.

Duke Auguste de 'lim, town of Port d'Erbor?

Shurdat'urma and Tentham seem most likely to be interested in sponsoring a vanguard cult to awaken the class consciousness of the proletariat and change the mode of production through ushering in the theurgic-industrial revolution. Unfortunately Shurdat'urma seems largely good for murdering the nobility, and less good for anything constructive afterwards. Tentham sounds like they're less of a murder-hobo, and they're the Neutrino Saint of Fission. Fission definitely has industrial applications! If we're going to have an October Revolution in 1530, why not a fission reactor? Although the neutrinos aren't really the useful part of fission, so I hope they aren't the patron of scientifically fascinating but industrially impractical fission, otherwise my character will just end up like Madame Curie. There are worse ways to go.

Shurdat'urma loves The Terror and is ambivalent about what comes after. Tentham loves Kronstadt.
Neither can teach anything about nuclear physics because it's not a thing they know, rather a thing they are (their superior, His Supreme Nuclear Radiance Lux Tyranis, the Hydrogen Saint, is literally a nuclear reaction in the rough shape of a man bounded by six wings of lead and elecromagnetic fields).

 

[Meredith]

I'm thinking I'd like to cover everyone's lowest moment when they make the pact. I'll then find ways to draw you together, whether through explicit directions from your patrons or other forces.

Hmm, lemme give you the run down on some of your likely patrons.

We're scrawling on the legal pads about what should constitute a "darkest moment" presently. Will update you soon! Been a little busy, but I'm excited o7

EDIT: Up to you all, but you can either choose a patron OOC, indicate a category of patron, or let me choose for you based on the kind of character you make.

I'm happy to let you choose the patron as a result of the character, but I think I'm looking to lean into a more supportive role, though the opportunity to get rage-drunkenly destructive would also be appreciated. I'm toying with stealth as a concept, but I'm not sure if it will fit the vibe (tm)![/QUOTE]

 

[Grey]

Honestly I think you're getting one of the Scourges and it will be Good And Fine.

 

[Meredith]

Pitch One: A somber woman in her early fifties. Her pallid cheeks stand starkly against the laugh lines engraved about her mouth and eyes, grey eyes dulled and lips pressed tight. Once, she was known as a tailor, working along with her husband, a few skilled tradesmen, and a handful of apprentices. There was the occasional demand for custom-made work–especially from the workers of other trades–but the great majority of their income was of course derived from more crude, accessible garments, adjusted upon their purchase to the wearer. This was the task that [name] had most enjoyed: a new set of clothes was always a pleasant occasion, and the odd embellishment here or there had never been poorly received.

It fell apart so quickly. So fragile, that kind of life. A war waging, decimating the spending power of the local population as they struggled to pay for bread. Waves of refugees, only devaluing the price of labour and making resources more scarce, but where else were they to go? It was only reasonable to try to make do with limited stock, to accept the recycling of textiles for a lower price, to spend time mending things for those without thread. It did harm to the heart, to see people unclothed.

But it was not their altruism that sank the ship. The reality was that there was not enough money to be made in what business they could manage, and worse, the respiratory illness her husband had suffered for many years had only intensified with the crowding in the houses and the streets. The network she had relied on before in times of crisis–many involved with the Stoneworkers Mystery Cult, and others assorted craftsmen and women–had begun to hush, intimidated by a rush of investigations of traitorism and consorting with demons alike. While her work had once been admired in the eye of the public, very few were willing to collaborate with her. Their hesitation was reasonable, with the escalating political climate. With only one other tailor and an apprentice remaining, they were only taking on debt to order materials at their price.

And the fact of the matter was that they were taking on debt rapidly. The herbalist whose tonics seemed to ail her husband’s pains had always charged heftily for her skills, and she too was struggling with obtaining imports. Their supplier–a man that [name] had worked with for years–made the difficult decision to sell their debt to a collector, being unable to maintain his own living, or perhaps being unwilling to be involved in their ledgers. This was reasonable, but still devastating. The pressure to pay on their debt.. intensified. There were threats against their home, small acts of violence. .Slowly, the tools of their trade were repossessed. She pawned a good part of her personal possessions, hoping to keep the threats of having her husband incarcerated in a debtor’s prison at bay. Having little ability to practice the mercantile trade, she could no longer argue the tradesmen’s defense on his behalf. Their last workers abandoned the workshop, reasonably. There was nothing left.

Her husband died at home, alone, while she pleaded for a tincture to soothe a final pain from a healer who could not afford to give it to her without payment. A personal debt would not be paid so quickly, she knew, when others more powerful were first in line. This was reasonable, too, even if it pained them both.

This did nothing to cool the anger rising through her body, from flushed cheeks and hot tears, clenched arms and nails biting bloody into her palms. She had worked, worked hard and long, and for what? For this? No, no. She was quite done being reasonable.

It was almost time to burn it all down.

Pitch 2: It's kind of like the above, but with a betrayal plotline, which I think I like less.

The first pitch is all very "tragedy of the circumstances", where one might blame the ones in power, but it's all very abstract, and not overtly to be blamed on those around you (if not, you know, for the authority who persecutes you and pressures others to abandon you). I think it fits for this, though. Let me know what you think!


[Ah, also, for anyone peeking: we're still looking for another player!]

 

[Bone2pick]

Meredith I nearly made my character a tailor before switching over to dollmaking, but I settled on him having been a cordwainer instead. So between your character and mine, if anyone we encounter should need new clothes, shoes, or dolls we’ll be covered.

 

[Grey]

I'd like to get one more players if anyone knows someone who would accept an invite, but elsewise I'll just get an OOC thread up later.