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#812558 Thu 21/05/15 14:04 UTC
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nem Offline OP
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This is a short scene where you play two local characters not directly related to the PCs or Rosencliff.

Through their interaction, you can develop your PC's back story from a second person perspective. What the characters discuss in this scene doesn't have to be the truth, it could be embellished, or pure lies, but then explore why they say such things and that itself will be a story that develops your PC.

Have fun with it. Perhaps this scene is also told by a third party, so even it isn't 100% reliable? (Much like the Prologue scenes.)

When you're ready, also decide a name for this game topic, and I will change it.

This scene is for Weston and Zoltan.

Suggestion: Perhaps a backroom discussion at the Shoppe on Spar Street in Axis, senior members of the Order of Averness talking about these two wild cards.

Last edited by nemarsde; Fri 12/06/15 20:09 UTC.
nem #812693 Fri 22/05/15 01:38 UTC
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[[ couple of things ... Are Zeim and I doing separate scenes or are we doing this together? I kind-a like the idea of a discussion by OoA where they settle on Weston and Zoltan. ]]


MikeD
MikeD #812728 Fri 22/05/15 07:13 UTC
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[Yeah, Tarantino-style short scene, two characters, your PCs being the focus of the scene, even though they aren't in it personally.]

nem #812750 Fri 22/05/15 13:18 UTC
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The Grandmaster of the Order of Averness looked at the others gathered around the table. "We are running out of time if we want to minimize the damage that this can do. We =need= to come to a consensus on this. We need to decide who we will send. Many of us have candidates to recommend. Thorrell, I believe you have someone you want to recommend. Can you tell us who caught your attention and why?"

[[ Zeim, you're up <g> ]]


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MikeD #812763 Fri 22/05/15 15:13 UTC
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The man mentioned pauses in thought. He is a senior member of the order, and has known the Grandmaster for years, decades actually. And even so, what he is about to suggest is outlandish.

"Send Zoltan." He says simply.

Most in the room look at Thorrell and the Grandmaster curiously, not knowing the name. A few others have a short intake of breath.

"Zoltan!" Denrel exlcaims. "He is an abomination! Demon blooded! Why we even accepted him into the order is beyond my ken."

"I have to agree with Denrel", Lucius says. "Wasn't he the one who killed The Jackal in Reunion? That town near to Vigil? The man who ran the crime syndicate there?"

"Yes! Yes!" Says Denrel. "Exactly. He garrotted the man from the shadows. Took his head clean off. Hung his body in the town square with a sign on it in that Demonic tongue of his. Who knows what it says!"

Other begin to chime in agreeing until the Grandmaster slaps his hand on the table.

"Enough!" Silence drops like a blade throughout the room. "I personally sponsored him for the order. I know all about his blood. And if there is any who hates it more than he I have not found them."

He turns to Denrel and Lucius. "You neglect to mention that that entire crime syndicate packed up and left town after he did that and Reunion has been one of the safest places in the region."

He next turns to Thorrell, and after a moment he nods. "He also has the benefit of being a bit more expendable than the others I considered."

He strokes his chin. "He is a bit of a wild card though. He pushes the boundaries of our order at times."

"Pushes! He bends them into pretzels!" Denrel erupts until a stern glare form the Grandmaster silences him.

The Grandmaster looks around the room. "I have decided. It will be Zoltan. However I think we should send someone along with him to keep an eye on him. Maybe temper some of his excesses? Any suggestions?"

[[MikeD - over to you.]]

Zeim #812788 Fri 22/05/15 19:48 UTC
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Yarnell had been quiet during the debate, even when Zoltan was mentioned. But when the Grandmaster asked for someone to 'balance' Zoltan's tendency for ... 'over exuberance', he had to smile. He had an even more radical suggestion.

"Well =I= have someone in mind that we would do well consider. He is not a member, and in many other ways would be someone easily overlooked. But I have had my eye on this fellow for a while. And I believe that he would be just the person to 'balance out' Zoltan's tendency to over reaction."

"He comes from humble surroundings, spending a lot of time on the streets, but still managed to end up with a surprisingly 'knightly' sense of purpose. The first incident I have been able to confirm was when he was still running caravans for his father. Apparently one of the wagons was being driven by a merchant who apparently didn't know much about running a team. At first my candidate tried to help the merchant learn how to work his team. But the man was unwilling to listen. He continued to abuse his animals for no reason. So our man finally confronted him and ended up hitched =him= to the front of the wagon for two days. Turned out the man 'learned his lesson' ... at least for the rest of the trip."

"There have been a number of other incidents where he has continued to show a propensity for picking the side of those in need. In his most recent 'encounter' he managed to get arrested for defending the honor of a peasant woman from a noble known for his depravities. Weston seems to have just what we need to temper Zoltan's excessive enthusiasm."


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MikeD #813419 Tue 26/05/15 21:04 UTC
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The Grandmaster frowns. "Someone outside the Order? I am not sure......, Unless you are thinking of sponsoring him? Would he be amenable to joining? Perhaps after the mission is over?"

Denrel cannot help chiming in. "Herald help us. With Zoltan as his example, what kind of Order would he think we're asking him to join?"

The Grandmaster raises his hand and Denrel stops. He turns to Yarnell. "If you believe him to be our best option, then let us go with him. You say his name is Weston? What do we know of his family?"

Zeim #813446 Tue 26/05/15 22:58 UTC
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With a smile Yarnell listened to the responses.

"Well", he began evenly, "I know that he grew up with a Teamster and his wife as if he was their child. But =I= do not believe that he is their blood, however. Nor do I believe that Weston knows or suspects that. But most importantly, I don't believe that is particularly important to the issue at hand."

He paused more for effect than anything else, looking around the table, then continued. "=He= is the issue ... =and= whether he would be the best choice for the mission or not. If someone else would like to present a candidate ..."

He paused again as he waited to see if someone else wanted to advance a candidate. When no one else spoke up, he continued.

"As to whether he would like to join our organization ... well that =is= an interesting question. And to be honest, I am not sure if he would be interested. He has not, as far as I know, expressed any interest in joining us. But I have not seen any indication that is is =not= interested either. Perhaps, depending on his performance in this mission, it might be worth considering asking him whether he is interested."


MikeD
MikeD #813637 Wed 27/05/15 16:00 UTC
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The Grandmaster nods, then smiles. "We will tell Zoltan that he is evaluating Weston for membership and the tale of Weston being along to keep him out of trouble is, while true, just an excuse for him to observe."

He turns to a man sitting in the corner of the room. It is the most shadowed spot in the large room, and the man seems as if he belongs there. "Grave." It is both an appellation and a description. "See what you can find out about Weston's parentage. Just as you did with Zoltan. If we choose to ask him to join we need to know."

Zeim #813653 Wed 27/05/15 19:09 UTC
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"That may be easier said than done", said Yarnell. "So far I have not been able to find anyone that knows anything. I suppose we could go back and check records for births at about the right time and see if any are unaccounted for. But that would take a team of researchers." He turned to the Grand Master. "It will take your authorization for the commitment of resources. My question is do you want to do that now with the =hope= that it will be useful information or should we wait until after this mission when we will know whether we want to offer membership."


MikeD
MikeD #814014 Sat 30/05/15 01:54 UTC
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"Hmm. Perhaps we can afford to wait and see. Keep looking, informally though."

Zeim #814062 Sat 30/05/15 12:42 UTC
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"Unless there is a pressing need to add to our ranks that I am not aware of, I would rather adopt the wait and see attitude. I know that =I= have other tasks that I should be about sooner rather than later", he began, then paused a bit before continuing, "but I guess that does not mean I can't keep that idea in mind as I go about my business", he finished with a sly grin.


MikeD
MikeD #814335 Mon 01/06/15 11:58 UTC
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"You know", muses Thorell out loud, "isn't it interesting that many of the most promising of our order are those who are orphans or with unknown parents?" He nods towards Yarnell. "Presuming this Weston ends up joining us, of course."

Denrel chimes in again, sputtering. "We know who Zoltan's parents were! Foul demons!"

"Now, now", say the Grandmaster. "That is not entirely correct Master Denrel. Only his father. His mother was an elven lass, and their joining was not by her choice. Neither was Zoltan's parentage by his own choice, as applies to each of us here. We are all here not because of who bore us, but by the deeds we've done and the way we've lived since we were born."

"Or have you forgotten, Master Denrel, that is was Zoltan who saved your cousin and his family? When they were wrongly accused by a mob of hording food during the terrible drought of '07? And he managed to do it without having to kill anyone I might add."

Denrel's teeth clench. The Grandmaster knows he doesn't like being reminded of that incident, or of being in debt of any kind to a demonic half-breed.

As the meeting begins to break up, Denrel seeks out Master Yarnell and beckons him over to a quiet corner.

"This Weston you recommended. Do you think he might be open to more than just observation?"

Zeim #814351 Mon 01/06/15 13:16 UTC
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Yarnell listened to the discussion. "Perhaps", he said thoughtfully, hoping to distract Denerel's thoughts away from the painful subject, "those that have a harder life ... and are not broken by it, a small minority, I suspect ... perhaps they become something more ... the way steel that is repeatedly heated and cooled becomes harder, better able to hold an edge."

As the meeting broke up, he nodded as Denerel approached him. He considered the question. "Now that =is= an interesting question. Do you have something specific in mind?"


MikeD
MikeD #814396 Mon 01/06/15 21:50 UTC
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[Very cool. So will we learn anything about why Weston started the game in a gaol, and what Zoltan might've been up to with the Grandmaster's secretary? grin ]

nem #814492 Tue 02/06/15 12:46 UTC
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Denrel looks around to make sure no one is in listening distance. Only the secretary, Miss Coppercoin, is nearby and she is busy sorting papers. Besides, a man like Denrel does not pay attention to servants. It is beneath him.

Leaning in to Yarnell, he says, "It strikes me that we may have gone in a bad direction for our organization with this Zoltan. Demon blooded? In our group?" He shudders. "So, do you think this Weston person of yours would be open to a small bonus? While he is observing Zoltan and trying to 'keep him out of trouble'", he doesn't have to make the air quotes, they're obvious, "he can also judge the man. If he comes to think, as I believe he will, that Zoltan is not fit to be with us, perhaps he can simply neglect to intercede on his behalf at a critical moment?"

Zeim #814516 Tue 02/06/15 14:54 UTC
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"I agree that Zolton's 'parentage' is a concern", he said with a thoughtful nod. "But I have always been of the opinion that it is not the blood that matters so much as what someone does with it. Look at how many people with an 'impeccable pedigree' take the wrong path.", he finished with a shrug.

"And if we look at our other potential candidate, Weston didn't have all the 'right stuff' on the face of it. And yet he seems to have found the right path. In fact, one of the reasons we chose Weston was the hope that some of his tendency towards 'restraint' might rub off on Zoltan ... or at lease he would be there to restrain him if Zoltan loses control."

He was silent for a moment, then added, "And perhaps some of Zoltan's ... 'enthusiasm' will help to nudge Weston into being a bit more proactive about getting involved in things. While he seems to come in on the right side of things, it is only when it is 'in his face' that he seems to want to get involved. Now I can see how that would not be unexpected in someone who the watch would tend to suspect as the 'guilty party' in any altercation ... take his current incarceration, for example. Had his adversary not been a 'slumming noble', nothing would have come of the altercation."


MikeD
MikeD #815027 Thu 04/06/15 12:43 UTC
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"Blood tells", Denrel repies firmly. "You can put a royal robe on a pig, and it is still a pig. A dog can save your life, but it is still just a dog."

"As for Zoltan's enthusiasm", he lets out a harrumph, but doesn't finish the thought out loud.

"Well, perhaps let Weston know that if he returns from this alone he can have Zoltan's share. Plus a bonus."

He turns and walks off.

Miss Coppercoin suddenly looks extremely engrossed on a piece of paper she is holding as Denrel walks by. Although anyone who looks closely could see she is holding it upside down.

Zeim #815047 Thu 04/06/15 14:50 UTC
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Even here, it seemed, there were some that just couldn't look beyond their own prejudice, he thought sadly. He could only sigh and shake his head as Denrel walks off.

Then he noticed Miss Coppercoin and could only smile. He had no intention of embarrassing her.



MikeD
MikeD #821558 Sun 26/07/15 12:36 UTC
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So it was that heroism was managed. An organisation like the Order of Averness had not survived for millennia by gallivanting around the lands haphazardly. One did not just bump into the threats it was sworn to counter. One planned and prepared, and when finally there was heroism to be done, it was done by whoever was deemed most likely to triumph whether they were heroic or not.

After all, it did not take a hero to thwart evil, it simply required the will and ability to do so.


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