[Changeling] A Gathering of Mists (OOC)

[Raz_Fox]

5, 2, 9, 1. One success.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Yep. At this point Charlotte avoided screaming, so we'll see what happens.

Edit: What I think I'll try is to describe the environment and penalties in the IC thread. Then people can come roll here, as well as bring up any discussion related to the roll, as with the athletics question I had. After the roll, results get described in the IC thread.

Sounds good. What's your stance on us calling our own rolls? I guessed stealth + composure, but in the future things might be trickier. Should we still say what we are trying for and roll?

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Sounds good. What's your stance on us calling our own rolls? I guessed stealth + composure, but in the future things might be trickier. Should we still say what we are trying for and roll?

Calling your own roles is fine, though I need to approve them before you actually roll. If you call something weird (e.g. you decided that strength+streetwise should be your stealth check here) then I wouldn't approve it, but otherwise you're encouraged to use what skills you think are appropriate.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Calling your own roles is fine, though I need to approve them before you actually roll. If you call something weird (e.g. you decided that strength+streetwise should be your stealth check here) then I wouldn't approve it, but otherwise you're encouraged to use what skills you think are appropriate.

What's your stance on how I actually rolled? That is, "I rolled X dice and got this, cut the penalties off the back end."? I find it smooth as far as SNAFUs go, but also highly presumptuous, and probably suspicious if there is a success in the first few dice.
I'm experimenting with fair trust structures, can you tell?

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

I can't go against the party's wishes? They didn't express that desire to me...

I hope someone is capable of reliably going against the party's wishes because I have a suspicion this party is going to have sub-optimal wishes a lot of the time.

Now let's all go home and have bagels.

Wisdom.

edit: could I request that we shunt as much of the rolling and calls for rolls into this thread? The IC is getting all cluttered with it and it gets in the way of all the pretty pretty words.

Good call, I concur.

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

Well, I was trying, but Stephanie is just so gosh darned stealthy it hurts. I think we're still waiting on rolls from you and Raz, though.

I'm too stealthy for my shirt
too stealthy for my shirt
so stealthy that it hurts


Waiting on Raz's IC post before proceeding.

[SiuiS]

Also, Anarion, you seem to keep calling me Marchande. Is it my avatar? The puppy dog eyes?
It's the puppydog eyes. I can tell.

(how would Raz be mistaken for Charlotte, I wonder...)

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

What's your stance on how I actually rolled? That is, "I rolled X dice and got this, cut the penalties off the back end."? I find it smooth as far as SNAFUs go, but also highly presumptuous, and probably suspicious if there is a success in the first few dice.
I'm experimenting with fair trust structures, can you tell?

I would prefer you roll the correct number of dice. Meaning that if you ask for a roll, you would them wait for me to approve it and tell you the penalties or bonuses.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Also, Anarion, you seem to keep calling me Marchande. Is it my avatar? The puppy dog eyes?
It's the puppydog eyes. I can tell.

(how would Raz be mistaken for Charlotte, I wonder...)

Did I get it wrong in the IC thread? I know I switched who was carrying whom in this thread, but I thought I fixed it for the IC post. All you Fremch sound the same anyway.

Edit: Fixed it in the IC thread. For some reason I just really convinced myself that Kalina had picked up Marchande and Stephanie Charlotte. Even after rereading it I still keep thinking it's the opposite.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

I would prefer you roll the correct number of dice. Meaning that if you ask for a roll, you would them wait for me to approve it and tell you the penalties or bonuses.

You got it boss!

Did I get it wrong in the IC thread? I know I switched who was carrying whom in this thread, but I thought I fixed it for the IC post. All you Fremch sound the same anyway.

Edit: Fixed it in the IC thread. For some reason I just really convinced myself that Kalina had picked up Marchande and Stephanie Charlotte. Even after rereading it I still keep thinking it's the opposite.

I should have drawn it out after all! I'll get on that tomorrow.
Oddly, I had a huge bout of anxiety thinking I had it backwards; the weirdest things get to me sometimes.

[Anarion]

By the way, poke me in this thread if you want more info. I thought I'd give you guys a chance to talk for a minute, but at least a couple of you have enough dots that you probably know where in the city you are at this point and what else is nearby.

I'm going to lunch with a friend now, but I'll be back in the afternoon to check.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

By the way, poke me in this thread if you want more info. I thought I'd give you guys a chance to talk for a minute, but at least a couple of you have enough dots that you probably know where in the city you are at this point and what else is nearby.

I'm going to lunch with a friend now, but I'll be back in the afternoon to check.

I've never had my cleverness quantified via pips before.

I like that word~
Pip. Pip pip pip~!

... Anyway.

Let me get this straight. As we are fresh from the hedge, we are wearing;
Charlotte: tattered rags
Marchande: a business suit (pants suit? Miniskirt? Bookie garb?)
Stephanie: tattered rags and a scarf/trench cost with colorful patches
Rose: the barest caress of fog

From experience, this isn't weird for San Francisco, so much as its weird we are all together. We could probably just start walking with no issues, as long as we talked like a cohesive unit, and go around the buskers.

Oh, and my clever plan is to sneak in to the opera house and steal jackets. If its cold at all, someone will have a full length coat, and we may not blend with high society but we can blend with the transients.


And the thought of having someone a foot and a half taller than me, in full armor and with concern for my safety standing right behind me? That's oddly comforting

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

I've never had my cleverness quantified via pips before.

I like that word~
Pip. Pip pip pip~!

... Anyway.

Let me get this straight. As we are fresh from the hedge, we are wearing;
Charlotte: tattered rags
Marchande: a business suit (pants suit? Miniskirt? Bookie garb?)
Stephanie: tattered rags and a scarf/trench cost with colorful patches
Rose: the barest caress of fog

From experience, this isn't weird for San Francisco, so much as its weird we are all together. We could probably just start walking with no issues, as long as we talked like a cohesive unit, and go around the buskers.

Oh, and my clever plan is to sneak in to the opera house and steal jackets. If its cold at all, someone will have a full length coat, and we may not blend with high society but we can blend with the transients.


And the thought of having someone a foot and a half taller than me, in full armor and with concern for my safety standing right behind me? That's oddly comforting

Well, you could sneak a peak in the windows and see what part of the opera house you're standing near.

I'll go post some general knowledge here in response to what you said in the IC thread. More specific info requires more specific questions, such as what kind of places you might be looking for. Ask as much as you want here.


All four of you know enough about the city to know that City Hall is one block to your east and that the area around you also has the symphony and ballet. Everyone except Marchande knows that it isn't the safest area at night, especially if you walk south a few blocks (lack of streetwise on Marchande's part). You're all also generally aware that there are restaurants and bars nearby, but you'll need to ask specific questions if you want more info on various establishments around the area.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

I've never had my cleverness quantified via pips before.

I like that word~
Pip. Pip pip pip~!

... Anyway.

Let me get this straight. As we are fresh from the hedge, we are wearing;
Charlotte: tattered rags
Marchande: a business suit (pants suit? Miniskirt? Bookie garb?)
Stephanie: tattered rags and a scarf/trench cost with colorful patches
Rose: the barest caress of fog

Stephanie's wearing the scarf in it's cape form, so she's probably the second most well dressed one here. She hasn't really had time to accumulate any patches yet (the patches are actually visual elemental representations as part of the catch for the Elements contracts she's going to be buying).

Oh, and my clever plan is to sneak in to the opera house and steal jackets. If its cold at all, someone will have a full length coat, and we may not blend with high society but we can blend with the transients.

My clever plan was to steal a wallet and then go shopping.

My actual clever plan was to proceed blithely forwards until someone demanded pants.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Stephanie's wearing the scarf in it's cape form, so she's probably the second most well dressed one here. She hasn't really had time to accumulate any patches yet (the patches are actually visual elemental representations as part of the catch for the Elements contracts she's going to be buying).

Then for now it probably just has stilted patterning, and well-wrought designs in black on black against a black background, each a slightly different shade.

My clever plan was to steal a wallet and then go shopping.

Jokes on you tough guy! You still think stealing is wrong!

... Wait

My actual clever plan was to proceed blithely forwards until someone demanded pants.

My actual plan is a combination demand pants / go somewhere that pants are, but hey. This is improv, let's not spoil the moment just yet. And do dresses count as pants? We may never trigger this clause via technicalities.

edit:

Originally Posted by Stephanie

"Oh, oh, oh," Stephanie said, "I've got a house! Well, an apartment-y thing, but it's mine, and we can stay there. It's just a little walk thatwayish," she gestured south and smiled brightly.

A beautiful and terrible beginning. I like it.

Also! I made the mistake of browsing a wiki. I thought Wyrd 2 was required for dual kith; good thing I didn't read up on it. I'm happy the way Charlotte is now.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Jokes on you tough guy! You still think stealing is wrong!

... Wait

Reality is that Stephanie is kind of okay with stealing. That has a lot of inherent 'buts' and 'unlesses' and contradictions along with a kind of confused moral code.

Clarity is not the same as morality, though. The fact that she doesn't think stealing is wrong is different from the disconnection from reality caused by embracing a life where stealing is normal.

My actual plan is a combination demand pants / go somewhere that pants are, but hey. This is improv, let's not spoil the moment just yet. And do dresses count as pants? We may never trigger this clause via technicalities.

I'm afraid language is a purely literal construction and the comparability between pants and dresses exists purely in the psychology of the individual.

A beautiful and terrible beginning. I like it.

I would like to take this opportunity to request of the ST that no punches are pulled with regards to Stephanie's Fetch. Be as mean as you can bring yourself to be.

[PhoeKun]

I would just like to confess at this point that I have no idea what I'm doing and any hints to the contrary are lies.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

I would just like to confess at this point that I have no idea what I'm doing and any hints to the contrary are lies.

I'm pretty sure that's my core concept.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

I would like to take this opportunity to request of the ST that no punches are pulled with regards to Stephanie's Fetch. Be as mean as you can bring yourself to be.

You should be happy that you talked me into forcing you all to start at Wyrd 1. It makes it far less likely that your fetch kills you all on the spot.

Anyway, I do have a scene planned out with Stephanie's fetch (and for Phoe's and SiuS's. Raz I'm not quite sure yet). And I'm sure I don't have to remind you that killing a fetch is a clarity degradation event, should it come to that.

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

I would just like to confess at this point that I have no idea what I'm doing and any hints to the contrary are lies.

That's intended. Changeling powers or no, you're all basically really badly abused people suddenly in a strange place with the previously unknown ability to decide what you're going to do. Though you will probably get an info dump later on.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

That's intended. Changeling powers or no, you're all basically really badly abused people suddenly in a strange place with the previously unknown ability to decide what you're going to do. Though you will probably get an info dump later on.

At least it's intentional.
Slow posting is slow, because while I could do every other post myself, I want to moderate that urge. It's hard~

Questions! Somewhat random ones.
Some contracts seem to specify that they can be taken multiple times. Fang and talon 4, for example, says you need this contract separately with the same animal if you want both of its movement modes. Elemental contracts as well. How does this work?

Kalina is obviously upset, but there's more to it than that. What attribute plus Empathy would I apply to figuring out the gist without directly answering her?

... Oh that's it. Hee.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Anarion

You should be happy that you talked me into forcing you all to start at Wyrd 1. It makes it far less likely that your fetch kills you all on the spot.

Have you read Autumn Nightmares? Cripes. There's some stuff in there that seems quite deliberately aimed at making a Fetch an end boss.

Anyway, I do have a scene planned out with Stephanie's fetch (and for Phoe's and SiuS's. Raz I'm not quite sure yet). And I'm sure I don't have to remind you that killing a fetch is a clarity degradation event, should it come to that.

Stephanie is both incapable and unwilling!

Originally Posted by SiuiS

At least it's intentional.
Slow posting is slow, because while I could do every other post myself, I want to moderate that urge. It's hard~

Know that feel.

[Anarion]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

At least it's intentional.
Slow posting is slow, because while I could do every other post myself, I want to moderate that urge. It's hard~

Questions! Somewhat random ones.
Some contracts seem to specify that they can be taken multiple times. Fang and talon 4, for example, says you need this contract separately with the same animal if you want both of its movement modes. Elemental contracts as well. How does this work?

Kalina is obviously upset, but there's more to it than that. What attribute plus Empathy would I apply to figuring out the gist without directly answering her?

... Oh that's it. Hee.

Fang and Talon has several possible repeats because you can take it for a bunch of different animals. I think, but am not certain, that for each animal you'll need to start the chain from contract level 1. However, if you're dealing with the swinging flying monkey in the example, you could take contract 4 twice without buying another set of 1-3.

For Kalina, I'd say wits+empathy. You're making an immediate judgment based on the context of the conversation and her body language. If you want to make that roll I'd say -1 penalty because it's dark, so you can't see her face as well to read it. Though if you do a bit of probing first you could improve your dice pool.

Or you could just ask.

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Have you read Autumn Nightmares? Cripes. There's some stuff in there that seems quite deliberately aimed at making a Fetch an end boss.

Nope, I only have the main changeling book and the WoD book right now. Though if you have a recommendation for which one I should get next, I'd be interested in hearing it.


Regarding posting speed. I'm perfectly okay with 1-2 players asking a lot of the questions and keeping things moving if they're able to post a lot. Particularly in the OOC thread. However, if someone else has trouble keeping up or is feeling left out (or I'm getting that sense even if nobody says as much) then I'll ask you to slow down.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Nope, I only have the main changeling book and the WoD book right now. Though if you have a recommendation for which one I should get next, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Rites of Spring is very much the second half of the Changeling core. Autumn Nightmares is an antagonists book with some very interesting things to say about the True Fae and how to use them in games. Haven't completely absorbed the gameline yet so that's as far as my recommendations go.

[SiuiS]

I will shelve it for now then. I'd have to crane my head around and up to read Kalina's face. That's not inconspicuous at all. And it gives me a chance to do something I've thought about doing for a while; keep track of my game notes!

Random aside, equinox road has a 'No Seeming' merit.

[Raz_Fox]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Let me get this straight. As we are fresh from the hedge, we are wearing;
Charlotte: tattered rags
Marchande: a business suit (pants suit? Miniskirt? Bookie garb?)
Stephanie: tattered rags and a scarf/trench cost with colorful patches
Rose: the barest caress of fog

Marchande is wearing the kind of dark suit that implies that, with sunglasses, she could be the kind of secret agent who comes to confiscate alien artifacts. Skinny, dark, and sharp. Also, pants. Pants all the way.

And the thought of having someone a foot and a half taller than me, in full armor and with concern for my safety standing right behind me? That's oddly comforting

That is oddly comforting. I want to give Rose hugs.

Originally Posted by Thanqol

My clever plan was to steal a wallet and then go shopping.

My actual clever plan was to proceed blithely forwards until someone demanded pants.

Ha! Marchande already has pants!

Please do not steal Marchande's pants.

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

I would just like to confess at this point that I have no idea what I'm doing and any hints to the contrary are lies.

I have an idea of what I'm doing. The problem is that it's dredged up from the depths of my mind every time I sit down to post, and so it's constantly changing and mutating.

Originally Posted by Anarion

Regarding posting speed. I'm perfectly okay with 1-2 players asking a lot of the questions and keeping things moving if they're able to post a lot. Particularly in the OOC thread. However, if someone else has trouble keeping up or is feeling left out (or I'm getting that sense even if nobody says as much) then I'll ask you to slow down.

I had cousins over this weekend. And I work pretty much all day tomorrow. And sometime soon I may actually be getting a real job. This will be offset by the fact that I am practicing sitting down and, as they say, getting the writing done.

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Rites of Spring is very much the second half of the Changeling core. Autumn Nightmares is an antagonists book with some very interesting things to say about the True Fae and how to use them in games. Haven't completely absorbed the gameline yet so that's as far as my recommendations go.

Huh. I should probably go read Rites, then.

[Anarion]

I'm interested that you guys are going with all four of you apparently not knowing that the mask exists. Is this subtle prompting that someone should walk by?

[Raz_Fox]

Originally Posted by Anarion

I'm interested that you guys are going with all four of you apparently not knowing that the mask exists. Is this subtle prompting that someone should walk by?

Well, on my part, I'm running with what Marchande would know, given the fact that she's just escaped from Faerie. And, well, when in Faerie would you find out that, hey, people don't see you for you? That's the kind of thing you figure out when you come back home, just like the Fetch, just like the Glamoureating, just like the Courts. March saying, "Oh, don't worry, there's a magical effect that lets other people not see us for what we are!" is akin to March saying, "Go to your house? Nah, let's go find a Winter hideout where we can keep our heads low," or "Are you crazy? There's a magical duplicate of you waiting there, ya dumb broad!"

Someone walking by might not have the best effect, given that Rose is stark naked. Or it might have the best effect. I dunno.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Anarion

I'm interested that you guys are going with all four of you apparently not knowing that the mask exists. Is this subtle prompting that someone should walk by?

To be fair, I spent A fair bit of mental effort trying to find a way to discover the mask in character. From what I recall though, despite the illustration,we would see our miens if we saw our reflections. The best I can think of would be maybe Marchande seeing her reflection and wanting to be normal hard enough to reflexively spend glamour.

Ah well. For later. Currently we need direction,and for that we need cohesion. So let's put that Composure 3 to work!

[Anarion]

Oh I agree that you can't see your mask without some kind of active effort. I was more wondering if Changelings would naturally know that they could spend glamour to look like their human forms or not. It's not clear either way in the book, and having glamour at all seems like the kind of thing where you might instinctively know what you could do with it. Or not though. And I'm interested in where this is going.

Just be aware that if you stand in one spot talking for too long, eventually someone might come by.

[PhoeKun]

Originally Posted by Anarion

Oh I agree that you can't see your mask without some kind of active effort. I was more wondering if Changelings would naturally know that they could spend glamour to look like their human forms or not. It's not clear either way in the book, and having glamour at all seems like the kind of thing where you might instinctively know what you could do with it. Or not though. And I'm interested in where this is going.

Just be aware that if you stand in one spot talking for too long, eventually someone might come by.

From my reading of the book, the running theme felt like, "You are a Changeling. Everything in your life sucks, hahahahahaha." Which manifests itself as escapees having to cobble together knowledge as they go and stretch it into some twisted double life that they'll have a .08% chance of pulling off without going insane, most especially because everything could explode in their face at any moment and they're not even the best at being themselves anymore, and even killing the imposter version of themselves and watching it explode into detritus only drives them insane.

So, you know, with the heavy heavy emphasis on "there are two worlds, and both of them are actively kicking your teeth in", it felt to me like we'd know about what powers we had and had to use while in Faerie. Rose probably knows something about Glamor and how to fuel Contracts or any of the things she needed to do to fight monsters and be a hero, but in that forest she had no Mask and nopony to tell her what a Mask was. The idea that instinct would kick in seems like a cruel, cruel joke.

edit: I thought about using Occult to justify the knowledge, but the book was also pretty clear that reading about magic is not the same thing as knowing about magic. Faerie is unknowable and awful, and even Changelings are very ill-suited to understanding a fraction of its secrets.

[Anarion]

I think Phoe's reading is totally legitimate. As I said, the book itself is unclear and it probably depends on the ST for how exactly glamour works. I wasn't sure, and I think it's going an interesting direction right now, so for this game we're going with the interpretation that you know whatever you can remember about your normal life and whatever you worked with while in Faerie.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by PhoeKun

From my reading of the book, the running theme felt like, "You are a Changeling. Everything in your life sucks, hahahahahaha." Which manifests itself as escapees having to cobble together knowledge as they go and stretch it into some twisted double life that they'll have a .08% chance of pulling off without going insane, most especially because everything could explode in their face at any moment and they're not even the best at being themselves anymore, and even killing the imposter version of themselves and watching it explode into detritus only drives them insane.

So, you know, with the heavy heavy emphasis on "there are two worlds, and both of them are actively kicking your teeth in", it felt to me like we'd know about what powers we had and had to use while in Faerie. Rose probably knows something about Glamor and how to fuel Contracts or any of the things she needed to do to fight monsters and be a hero, but in that forest she had no Mask and nopony to tell her what a Mask was. The idea that instinct would kick in seems like a cruel, cruel joke.

edit: I thought about using Occult to justify the knowledge, but the book was also pretty clear that reading about magic is not the same thing as knowing about magic. Faerie is unknowable and awful, and even Changelings are very ill-suited to understanding a fraction of its secrets.

That is painfully bleak. I'm glad my clarity is low...
Sort of. Reading the book messed with my actual, real-life clarity so it's a mixed bag ><

Glamour is intrinsic to changelings. One does not notice room temperature, though. One notices changes. Harvesting, or expenditure of glamour would clue them in fast, but staying at set point is by its definition not going to be odd at all.

So I think I posted? Honestly I've spent the last three hours in anticlimactic forum combat. And I remembered a dream about Anarion posting something, and well... I have no idea what's going on anymore.