the next roll is Subject Negative (One-Eyed Norf) Break of Chaos

One-Eyed Norf is dismayed by the arrival of Wild Bora and warns Valda not to mess with her since she is very difficult to control.  Norf felt very protective of Valda like he would of an older brother over his younger sister, the younger sister he never had since he had been disowned by his family. He suddenly appreciated the bond that had formed between the two adventurers. He realizes for the first time that he sees Valda as a woman in a way that he had never seen any other woman, not as a sexual conquest, but as a person that he was going to protect at all costs, not for his favor, but for hers.  He uses his silvery tongue once more to convince Wild Bora to negotiate his surrender to her as long as she allows Valda to go free without any harm. Like every time before, Wild Bora falls for his words and agrees to the terms, allowing Valda to pass unharmed without trouble.

Last edited by Gundarr_the_Great (10/17/2024 5:26 am)

Hey, sorry. I’m heading into a busy weekend. I’ll try to post a response tonight, but in the meantime, some thoughts…

Gundarr_the_Great wrote:

However, he never knew that One-Eyed Norf was the one who beat him, so he probably wouldn't be bothering Norf.

At least, One-Eyed Norf thinks Ariistuzuum doesn’t know he was responsible. ;) Great adventure, BTW. He’s really been around and seen some stuff.

Gundarr_the_Great wrote:

When we start duo adventuring, the advancement points may not be as frequent, but I was wondering if you wanted to limit the number of advancement points our characters could spend for the campaign so that they don't scale so high that they have no challenge.  Currently, I've spent 4 points, 1 to agility to make it 1 point, 1 to the career of thief to make it 1 point, and 2 points to a new boon, marked by the gods. I have a desire in the future to add one more career, but was thinking of keeping it at 0 points, thus using 5 points allotted (or 6 if I misunderstood how many points it cost to raise an attribute to 1 point). I didn't create any followers since the NPCs in my solo campaign have been more random and spontaneous.  Even Crixas the Knave, who I thought would have fulfilled that role, was very limited in both the adventures he appeared in and has now been married off and retired. What do you think?

Frankly, it doesn’t matter all that much to me. Essentially, Conan changed little from adventure to adventure except for the careers. He was still the same guy. On the other hand, advancements don’t amount to a huge game-shattering difference, especially at higher levels where points have to be amassed in larger amounts to push higher attributes and abilities toward their max. I also struggle with the definition of a saga (an adventure? only when there’s a windfall or loot? a series of inter-connected mini-adventures? a full campaign?). Advancements are still a fun gimmick to indulge in, and pbp is slow enough. I guess I would lean more into doing them whenever an adventure concludes?

more in a bit…

This one I may need some help with...Connection NPC to subject
Action Meaning: Celebrate Technology

The NPC that I rolled up was Sky Captain Vitan Nor

He is a sky-pilot for the Sky-Navy of Satarla and is a sworn enemy of One-Eyed Norf due to his wife getting pregnant and his humiliating him.  But perhaps, for this connection, we can have Valda crossing paths with Vitan.  

In her travels, Valda comes across Vitan. Having never seen a sky-boat before, she asks what it is, and since he wants to impress the barbarian warrior, he gladly shows it off.  He begins to brag stating that the sky-boats could fly through any storm with the right pilot.  As she watches the storm and its violent nature, she wonders if she could catch a ride on a sky-boat. 

Whether by sheer luck or dumb coincidence, she suddenly sees a sky-boat flying low above the water. Waving for the attention of its pilot, Vitan hovers on the water next to her boat.  He is surprised to see the barbarian warrior again.  Valda quickly asks if he is one of those pilots who can fly through a storm, and Vitan's arrogance gets the better of him.  He says that he is headed in that direction and invites her to climb aboard. 
(Now this will be interesting since Vitan is a friend to Valda for now, and an enemy of One-Eyed Norf, but neither Valda nor Vitan knows that they are both going to the Pirate Isles for One-Eyed Norf, just for opposite reasons!) 

Agreed! But it certainly has tied these two characters together, and even allowed Valda to enter into the world of One-Eyed Norf by getting to know at least three of his NPCs (Madame Loviise, Wild Bora, and Sky Captain Vitan Nor), while sharing in a few adventures that followed their threads!

I think these characters can collaborate well and have each other's backs. As I stated, One-Eyed Norf looks at Valda as a younger sister that he is going to protect since he was disowned, hence his lack of a family name. I think we can assume that the visit to the Pirate Isles allowed Valda to make enemies with both Wild Bora and Sky Captain Vitan while exposing her to the whole pirate culture as well. What is next for these two?

As far as the advancement points go, I agree in the sense that it is kind of fun to have the opportunity to develop their skills. I just did not want One-Eyed Norf since he had three prior adventures, which were all about 7 chapters in length, to get too far ahead of Valda.  I think since you have had at least two missions, the one where you broke into the fortress, and the adventure in Halakh (which was 9 chapters long), you should have at least three or four advancement points as well.  I usually award the advancement points for the style of the "after" party rather than the actual mission. One-Eyed Norf, in the first adventure, was rewarded by the missing wife, by her giving her husband's gold (and something more) since she felt the antidote to the poison was not enough. In the second adventure, One-Eyed Norf dispatched his beaten enemies into brothels, the dark sorceress, whom he used a gonzo alchemist weapon on to render completely confused, was retrained as a prostitute in one, while the defeated Sky Captain in another where he paid the clientele to make him lose his honor as a respected noble. He was also rewarded by the pregnant noblewoman with her riches and more. In the last adventure,  Norf attends the wedding of his friend Crixas serving as his best man, then celebrates in a tavern with a serving wench, who rejected his company earlier since he had no money. I have used four points from these, and I am figuring that I have at least one more point to spare, which I will keep. When it comes to One-Eyed Norf think of James Bond around the women, they are not Bond girls, but Norf girls...What he lacks in looks, he makes up with his silver tongue, but even that is not infallible! He views Valda differently, however, as the only woman whom he can trust and respect as a younger sister. I am assuming Valda is probably in her early 20's or is she a late teen?  Just some thoughts, looking forward to the first adventure!

I have a suggestion for the campaign, let's call it the Misadventures of the Lemurian Misfits or something with that theme...

 

Last edited by Gundarr_the_Great (10/18/2024 2:20 pm)

No worries, I will be very busy this weekend as well!  But I did roll this up last night at least to start the adventure off. 

Move towards a thread: bypass the storm
Action Meaning: Deposit of Environment 

One-Eyed Norf and Valda in a haste to escape the Pirate Isles, came across the pirate captain of the Last Pearl, whose name was Vik. He was preparing to leave port. Although he did not know him personally, this man was from Oomis much like One-Eyed Norf and so they shared much in common. He was able to gain his trust very quickly and gain his help without having to explain too much of their situation.  

Captain Vik was destined to travel to Parsool, but due to the bad storm, decided to head far East to try to avoid it.  However, the further he sailed East, the more the weather pushed them further East.  On board, the crew of the Last Pearl had never seen a barbarian from Valgard, especially one that was a woman as beautiful as Valda.  At first, One-Eyed Norf became very protective of her, getting into minor conflicts to protect her.  However, he soon realized that Valda could take care of herself.  Watching her defend herself very successfully, she not only earned the respect of the crew but also their fear.  After weeks of travel being pushed further East, an island was soon spotted, which was identified as Thule!  Norf cursed their luck, urging Vik to change course before they would get in distance of the island.  Yet, soon many of the pirates began to fall into a deep sleep.  This deep sleep began to engulf them all, until finally even Norf and Valda became its victims as well.

(I borrowed this idea from the Barbarians of Lemuria plotlines for Zalut, I hope this works!)

Last edited by Gundarr_the_Great (10/19/2024 9:13 am)