Dice Avatar Legends: The Outlaws' Tale - OOC

[jaydude]

So we're going with something like options 1 - 1 - 2?

Assuming no-one else tries to veto it. And we can probably have this "powerful foe" be our first antagonist as well.

 

[ithinkcat]

I actually really like the idea of stealing something valuable from a powerful foe. Can the valuable item we stole be my Rogue's answer to my, "What is your favorite possession that you stole, swiped, or otherwise acquired illegitimately", question?

 

[jaydude]

I actually really like the idea of stealing something valuable from a powerful foe. Can the valuable item we stole be my Rogue's answer to my, "What is your favorite possession that you stole, swiped, or otherwise acquired illegitimately", question?

Sure, assuming it's something small enough to qualify as a trinket, e.g. a bit of expensive jewellery.

Building on from this, how about we have it so that for Act 1, you befriended a servant working in the estate of one of the city's richest Upper Ring families while planning a heist at said estate, with Act 2 being the lot of you pulling off the heist and stealing the trinket - among other things - and act 3 being you narrowly escaping the family and their hired goons.

 

[jaydude]

ithinkcat
Looks good. And sure, you can have Gozu be the answer to both of Song's NPC questions if you like. Even if it's not specified that you can do that in the corebook, I'm the kind of guy who makes exceptions to the rules on certain occasions.

The Cat Man and DemonKitten , how are things coming along with you two? Still interested?

 

[ithinkcat]

jaydude Yeah, sorry, but covid brain has made it hard to be creative. The questions just read too similar to me initially so I couldn't justify making the answers different for them, but now that you've pointed it out I feel like I should have made the answer to the second question be the daofei boss I mentioned and make him like a rival of hers or something. I can change it if you want. Thanks for being flexible with me, regardless.

 

[EbonChevalier]

So whats our characters connections with each other? This is for Zea

• Connection #1 [Blank] could use training from someone who knows what they’re doing; I suppose I am up to the task.
• Connection #2 I’m not sure if the overtures of friendship from ___________[Blank]_______ make me happy, mad, or both.

 

[ithinkcat]

Song's are:

• __________________ is waaaaay too uptight, too trapped in themselves; they need to break some rules!
• __________________ is amazing and I hope they like me; maybe they’re worth playing it straight?

 

[EbonChevalier]

Song's are:

• __________________ is waaaaay too uptight, too trapped in themselves; they need to break some rules!
• __________________ is amazing and I hope they like me; maybe they’re worth playing it straight?

Think Zea could be the one Song admires?

 

[ithinkcat]

EbonChevalier That could work. Zea would have to do something big for as a first impression to overcome her prejudices, though. She has a strong dislike for people that got life handed to them on a silver platter, and being a prodigal bender is like winner the genetic lottery. She's not gong to be too favorable if Zea shows off his bending too much.

 

[EbonChevalier]

EbonChevalier That could work. Zea would have to do something big for as a first impression to overcome her prejudices, though. She has a strong dislike for people that got life handed to them on a silver platter, and being a prodigal bender is like winner the genetic lottery. She's not gong to be too favorable if Zea shows off his bending too much.

He is a natural at bending but it’s plantbending he’s also from the foggy swamp. Those were two reasons were why a lover of his left him. Also I’m guessing a lot of folk in the city look down on him seeing him as a bumpkin. That and being prodigy in the foggy swamp tribe didn’t mean he was fawned over. They sent him to hard ass water bending master to curb his ego

 

[The Cat Man]

The Cat Man and DemonKitten, how are things coming along with you two? Still interested?

Definitely still interested! Just very busy with exam season, but I'm writing his character bit by bit, just brainstorming a way for him to go from the Fire Nation to Ba Sing Se!

I think I'm satisfied with something like a gift from the Fire Nation in sending troops in order to appease tensions after the war, with my character being one of those troops and slowly being placed within the Company after diplomatic shenanigans or something, but I'm seeing my options!

 

[EbonChevalier]

Definitely still interested! Just very busy with exam season, but I'm writing his character bit by bit, just brainstorming a way for him to go from the Fire Nation to Ba Sing Se!

I think I'm satisfied with something like a gift from the Fire Nation in sending troops in order to appease tensions after the war, with my character being one of those troops and slowly being placed within the Company after diplomatic shenanigans or something, but I'm seeing my options!

The war? What war?

 

[jaydude]

Definitely still interested! Just very busy with exam season, but I'm writing his character bit by bit, just brainstorming a way for him to go from the Fire Nation to Ba Sing Se!

Good to hear. Hope things go well for you.

I think I'm satisfied with something like a gift from the Fire Nation in sending troops in order to appease tensions after the war, with my character being one of those troops and slowly being placed within the Company after diplomatic shenanigans or something, but I'm seeing my options!

Like EbonChevalier alluded to above, this game is set during Kyoshi's time, meaning a couple of centuries before the war in the show even started.

In terms of Fire Nation history from this time, the most major event is the Camellia-Peony War (It's called a war, but if anything it was just a period of instability that toed the line between peace and formal warfare). A large dip in the Fire Nation economy led to Chaejin - a bastard son of the previous Fire Lord - and his mother Huazo forming an alliance of clans (Fire Nation noble families) to try to take the throne from Zoryu, the legitimate Fire Lord. They failed and got themselves arrested when Zoryu framed them for conspiring with a foreign assassin - a massively dishonourable act in the Fire Nation - and the vindictive Fire Lord is currently going after their supporters while simultaneously starting to dismantle the clan system in order to centralize the government for his successors.

Perhaps your character could be from one of the clans who supported Chaejin, but was forced to flee to the Earth Kingdom after Chaejin and Huazo's "treachery" came to light?

 

[EbonChevalier]

EbonChevalier That could work. Zea would have to do something big for as a first impression to overcome her prejudices, though. She has a strong dislike for people that got life handed to them on a silver platter, and being a prodigal bender is like winner the genetic lottery. She's not gong to be too favorable if Zea shows off his bending too much.

Also were supposed to be friends and want to be together in a group

 

[The Cat Man]

Perhaps your character could be from one of the clans who supported Chaejin, but was forced to flee to the Earth Kingdom after Chaejin and Huazo's "treachery" came to light?

Mmhmm! That's exactly what I was writing about! My clan's supposed to be a more spiritual/military one, aligning to Chaejin due to the Fire Sages, they end up getting snuffed out within the violent uprisings as they have rivalry against BOTH the main clans. My character is essentially a child survivor from those, getting integrated into the Fire Nation's military system.

supposed to be friends and want to be together in a group

I mean, not necessarily supposed to be friends at first and more so aligning with a common goal, I believe? It's fine to have butting heads or such, especially since our characters are going to be growing, just not too much so that everyone diverges!

 

[ithinkcat]

EbonChevalier Just in case you hadn't looked, it's literally my role's Balance mechanic for Song to struggle between friendship and survival. So I'm a bit unique from everyone else's roles in that sense. Song is going to start pushing people away the further she is towards survival, but the opposite is also true that she'll start trying to be a good friend to others (in her own awkward sort of way) the further she is towards friendship.

Now as far as the context of my PC connection goes, we're not just talking about who does Song want to be her friend. We're talking about who does Song admire so much that she would consider giving up on her core identity for. There's gotta be a good reason for her to feel that way. I just want you to pitch some ideas to me of what that reason could be for Zea.

Did Zea save Song when she was in a tight jam? Did he suffer the consequences of one of Song's actions for her and genuinely doesn't hold it against her? Does he constantly talk about her like she's the coolest kid in town?

The Cat Man I'm a bit confused how your character would be allowed to join the Fire Nation army/navy if they're supposedly on the chopping block from the purge. And then why the Fire Nations would send troops into a foreign owned city. It makes more sense to me that your character would've just had to run away/get exiled to avoid being purged and that's why they've found themselves in the Earth Kingdom.

 

[The Cat Man]

ithinkcat Essentially, it's less so of a "I want to join the military!" but more so a "There is nowhere for you to go now, either make yourself useful or be purged.". And I took inspiration from old kingdoms essentially sending troops to other nations as a "Here! Have some of my troops and let's be friends!", essentially an attempt to ease tensions in the relationship between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom after the Avatar's actions around the period of instability within the Fire Nation and their own reactions to it.

 

[jaydude]

ithinkcat Essentially, it's less so of a "I want to join the military!" but more so a "There is nowhere for you to go now, either make yourself useful or be purged.". And I took inspiration from old kingdoms essentially sending troops to other nations as a "Here! Have some of my troops and let's be friends!", essentially an attempt to ease tensions in the relationship between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom after the Avatar's actions around the period of instability within the Fire Nation and their own reactions to it.

Thinking about it a bit more, this could perhaps work. The head of the Beifong family - very wealthy and influential in the Earth Kingdom during this time - was murdered in the Fire Nation Royal Palace during the events of Shadow, which could reflect poorly on Zoryu and thus give the Earth Kingdom some degree of grievances against him. It probably wouldn't be enough to seriously trouble Zoryu, but at the same time, it would be little bother for him to send a few troops - perhaps a penal unit of sorts if we're going the whole "reluctant soldier" route with your character - into the Earth Kingdom to help with the daofei problems there.

 

[EbonChevalier]

ithinkcat i say he helped her out when she was running from someone she stole from. He plantbended a bush or some tall grass to hide her while her pointed her persuers in the opposite direction

 

[jaydude]

DemonKitten , you still with us?

 

[jaydude]

Well, I haven't heard anything from DemonKitten, but we've got our group focus, inciting incident and characters, so I'm think I'm going to try and get this started some time this weekend, if you're all cool with that.

 

[Random Word]

Song-Me seems like the obvious candidate for the second bond. Her outlook and attitude are naturally going to appeal to Aph Kyang. To Aph Kyang she looks free, strong, and like someone who takes no shit from anyone. Unfortunately she's also the closest match for the first - Zea and Taosei are foreigners who didn't grow up knowing anything about Aph Kyang's family or their reputation. Of the two, I think I'll choose Taosei for the first bond. I imagine any strict code of Fire Nation honour will be offended by assassination, deception, blackmail, and general skullduggery for hire. Maybe there's a personal angle as well. The family could have done something to him or someone he cares about while he was in the Earth Kingdom.

• Taosei has major concerns, fears, or grievances with my lineage—and with me, by proxy.
• Song-Me seems free of their past in a way I wish I could let go of mine; hearing them talk about the future feels amazing!

I am puzzled by Taosei, though. His history doesn't explain how he went from a foreign legion serving an indefinite term in the Earth Kingdom to a Daofei. Did he desert? If so, why did the Flying Opera Company trust a Fire Nation deserter enough to recruit them? Aph Kyang will definitely be inclined to suspect Taosei is a spy for a magistrate or general, given his background, so something big must have happened to overcome her mistrust.

 

[EbonChevalier]

• __________________ frustrates me so much when they act without thinking about the consequences! This could be for kea. He is freewheeling and more go with the flow

 

[The Cat Man]

I am puzzled by Taosei, though. His history doesn't explain how he went from a foreign legion serving an indefinite term in the Earth Kingdom to a Daofei. Did he desert? If so, why did the Flying Opera Company trust a Fire Nation deserter enough to recruit them? Aph Kyang will definitely be inclined to suspect Taosei is a spy for a magistrate or general, given his background, so something big must have happened to overcome her mistrust.

Essentially, although the Earth Kingdom would have accepted the Fire Nation's attempt at settling things, they probably wouldn't trust some of the sent troops enough to properly integrate them into their system, so the Kingdom either dealt them away to private agencies like the Company or handed them inequal jobs that mantain a safe subjugation until they prove themselves.

And I fail to see why that App Kyang's mistrust is such an issue when that could be used as a backdrop for her own connection with Taosei and for even more possible development! Again, things don't have to be all friendly yet, it's fine if it's developed on the way.

• __________________ frustrates me so much when they act without thinking about the consequences! This could be for kea. He is freewheeling and more go with the flow

I noticed that could fit for either Kea or Song Me after a quick skim-through! I'll definitely have to read more closely later though

 

[Random Word]

so the Kingdom either dealt them away to private agencies like the Company or handed them inequal jobs that mantain a safe subjugation until they prove themselves.

Ah, unless I've misunderstood something, the Flying Opera Company is definitely not affiliated with the earth kingdom military or government. Daofei are basically bandits sworn to some honour code. So you can see my confusion not only at the government assigning troops to serve with bandits attacking said government, but with the bandits accepting the service of government troops! That's why I thought Taosei had deserted. I didn't see how else he could go from soldier to criminal, unless he's an under cover agent.

Yes, I agree mistrust isn't inherently a problem, but if Aph Kyang mistrusts him it's unclear why the heads of the FOC don't, and they decide who to recruit! Someone in the FOC leadership needs to take a shine to him for some reason despite his inauspicious past.