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Mistborn

Started by Q. G. Pennyworth, September 13, 2013, 08:51:08 PM

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Q. G. Pennyworth

Quote from: Eater of Clowns on September 26, 2013, 09:37:08 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 14, 2013, 07:41:10 AM
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on September 13, 2013, 10:15:11 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 13, 2013, 09:45:19 PM
Is that based on Brandon Sanderson's books?  It's not a bad setting if so.

Yes, I believe so. Metal eating magic stuff.

Yup, that's the one.

I'm actually reading the first book in the series now; I can see it being a lot of fun for tabletop.

How would you grade it as far as "adult content"? The kidlet's only 9, so we still screen things.

Eater of Clowns

Quote from: Sad Sack on September 26, 2013, 09:51:44 PM
Quote from: Eater of Clowns on September 26, 2013, 09:37:08 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 14, 2013, 07:41:10 AM
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on September 13, 2013, 10:15:11 PM
Quote from: Cain on September 13, 2013, 09:45:19 PM
Is that based on Brandon Sanderson's books?  It's not a bad setting if so.

Yes, I believe so. Metal eating magic stuff.

Yup, that's the one.

I'm actually reading the first book in the series now; I can see it being a lot of fun for tabletop.

How would you grade it as far as "adult content"? The kidlet's only 9, so we still screen things.

It's a full blown crapsack world. Murder, beheadings, implied rape (Lord's right, or whatever they called it), brothels, beatings. None of it is particularly over the top or graphic, but they're there.

I don't know your 9 year old, of course, but that sounds pretty young.
Quote from: Pippa Twiddleton on December 22, 2012, 01:06:36 AM
EoC, you are the bane of my existence.

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 07, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
EoC doesn't make creepy.

EoC makes creepy worse.

Quote
the afflicted persons get hold of and consume carrots even in socially quite unacceptable situations.

Cain

#17
-

Q. G. Pennyworth

Oh, yeah, this thing!

So, we've been VERY NAUGHTY PEOPLE.

We jailbroke Friend 2 (let's just call him Murderface from here on out, because that's about who he is) Murcerface's metalurgist friend, blamed it on House Renault's shitty security and one guy in particular being terrible at his job. Archer + magical riot incitement = VICTORY. The metalurgist is pretty nutballs on account of mercury and all, but we've got him safely away and he tells us about some wacky new metal thing he's been working on. Whatever,

The inquisitor shows up and we mostly try to lay low, successfully keeping House Venture looking awesome. Ladrian Renault, the head of the household, is sentenced to be executed. Fuck that noise, he sounds useful! I spend the time conspicuously being at a party and not being part of any jailbreaking while the rest of the team gets their jailbreak on. Unfortunately, another crew also mounted a rescue attempt, so chaos ensues. Falstor gets the shit kicked out of her, but they get the guy. We then decide shit is too hot in town and decide to leave.

During our travels, we develop the symbol, costume, and rhetoric for our resistance movement. The goal is to make it look like we are merely one cell of a terrorist organization with deep roots everywhere in the empire. The costumes are maroon, well, burqua's probably the best way to describe it. Friend 1 and I make sure to only interact with Ladrian in costume, so he can't identify us later. He explains he's got his own group of people who want to overthrow the emperor. We are still deeply suspicious, of course.

We get to a town far away from the capital and decide we're going to full on act of terror all over the place, to draw the Inquisitor away from the capital and also because we said terrorism, after all. Hire a bunch of goons to start a riot, block all the exits out of the noble part of the city, and light burning barricades at their gates. FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! and leave town.

It took the Inquisitor about half a day to show up and ruin everyone's day. By the time we returned to the capital he was already back.

Next plan? Stage a heist at House Hastings, steal some very expensive jewels and a less expensive platinum bust, plant the jewels at House Venture, get someone from House Cett caught trying to fence the bust, making it clear to investigators that House Cett was to blame for the entire ordeal, and has probably been putting the frame on the other houses for all this shit going down.


BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Q. G. Pennyworth

Nobody's reading this, I don't care.

We successfully stole the jewels from Hastings and plant them in House Venture. We even succeeded at planting evidence to prove that House Cett was behind the whole debacle. The Inquisitor, however, did not succeed at giving two shits about who was actually to blame. Despite my arguing for returning the jewels to Hastings, Venture held on to them until Redthorn scheduled a meeting with the leadership. As a bookkeeper, I wasn't exactly "high up" in the ranks, but important enough to be at the meeting. There Redthorn murdered our head of household and appointed me for who fucking knows what reason.

After learning about the Empire condoned army of terrible monsters to our south, we explained to Redthorn that he could join us in our fight against the Empire's troops or die. He chose dying. Then I had to explain to the other heads of household that we were at war with the Final Empire, and yes this is happening and no there are no backsies. We disappeared the head of the northern garrison when he made it clear he would not cooperate with us, and put his second in command, Vanir Elariel, in charge of the military. He came with us to fight the koloss, and we chased off the Steel Inquisitor who had been commanding them. When we got home, we declared ourselves an independent nation, and started building a new way of life.

Naturally, the Final Empire was pissed. They sent down an army of 50,000 to lay siege to Edross. It was unpleasant. Eventually, we were able to create an army of our own monsters, and we staged a fake surrender to lure out the Steel Inquisitor Reimfang who led the army. After beheading him, it was relatively easy to send the rest of the army away. In the farming community to the northeast, Faron, 20,000 troops remained and surrendered to us. We named our country Direland, because this setting is full of terrible names. Wrayn got engaged, quietly, to the leader of the army.

No, of course it wasn't going to be that easy.

A month later we get word that the Lord Ruler, God Emperor of the Final Empire, is coming down with three Steel Inquisitors to wreck our shit. Murderface and our other magical beatstick were not convinced that they could kill him, so it was decided that we should try to evacuate the important people. Vanir, the captured army, and some random other people would head to the dominance to our east, while Ladrian and a huge number of civilians would head further south after all the koloss had been removed. The PCs would head north to Terris, where they would try to recruit an army of feruchemists to aid us. Wrayn insisted on staying behind with her people. The PCs let her think that was the plan, then kidnapped her on the road and sent her off to Terris.

The party is now split, with the smashy smashy group wrecking things all around the Empire, complete with a Wrayn lookalike. Team talky talky is up north, attempting to convince a bunch of very reticent magic users to stick their necks out for people who live on the other side of the world.

Q. G. Pennyworth

in-game propaganda

QuoteThe night is long, my legs are weak
But in the Empire I'll not sleep
I beg this road on which I stand
Take me home to Direland.

I've seen the peaks of Terris loom
I've stood beneath the Ashmounts' gloom
I've walked the streets of Luthadel
And in them, found a special hell.
I've sailed across the black South Sea
In Fadrex merchants winked at me
I've dipped my feet in North Seran
But long to be where I began.

I miss the port at old Nidall
The forests east of Caelfall
I miss the artists' pencil scrawls
Even the nobles' fancy balls
I miss the men, so brave and true
The women, strong and faithful too
I miss the kandra, young and free
And all the things my home could be.

For in my home they do not kill
Noble or skaa for his free will
The Pit is not a place to die
Nor will the judges bat an eye
At doling out swift punishment
To those who beat the low peasant
And all are taught to write and read
To understand the laws we heed.

The ash falls soft, the trees grow tall
At night we hear the owls call
Food is grown in rooms of glass
Fresh water fills every glass
The beer is strong, the wine is sweet
And should there not be food to eat
The rich will share theirs with the poor
Or find the judges at their door.

O, I would brave the dangerous mists
And fight the koloss with my fists
Roaming bandits I don't fear
No thing is worse than me out here
The mistwraiths won't cause me delay
No army can stand in my way
I'd walk the Empire end to end
To find myself back home again.

The night is long, my legs are weak
But in the Empire I'll not sleep
I beg this road in which I stand
Take me home to Direland.

QuoteBury me in Direland
Where laws are just and men are free
Take me home to Direland
The place my heart still longs to be

Bury me in Shauran
Where grapes grow fat upon the vine
Take me home to Shauran
The place our people held the line

Bury me in old Nidall
Where fishing boats ride blackened seas
Take me home to old Nidall
The place that soothed our hungry pleas

Bury me in fair Faron
Where fields grow tall and air is sweet
Take me home to fair Faron
The place Reimfang could not defeat

Bury me in bright Edross
Where craftsmen work and children read
Take me home to bright Edross
The place where all the slaves were freed

Bury me in Direland
Where skaa and noble live in peace
Take me home to Direland
The only place I'll lie at peace

QuoteIt is called the Final Empire for good reason: there will never be another empire after it. No, what we build upon the ruins of this diseased tyranny will be unlike anything yet seen or imagined. Where the natural dignity of all men is honored. Where wisdom is derived not from the blind directives of a madman who has set himself above all others, but from the discourse of wise men and women throughout the world, informed by the experiences of those who live in the world, not away from it. Where reason is cherished and blind obedience expected only of dogs.

I will not tell you lies about our future. I will not promise you a land where the masters are the slaves and Skaa inherit the earth. These are promises handed down by crass manipulators and doomed idealists. What we offer you is not idealism, but a real possibility at a future. A future where your lives are not forfeit on a whim. Where no man must live in squalor while another drowns in riches. I do not offer you a future where every man is a noble, but one where the word Skaa is no longer synonymous with beasts of burden. This is a future you can have, that you can give to your children and grandchildren. A life of simple dignity, of honest work and freedom from abuse.

We are the new order. We are everywhere. Expect us.

in-game affirmation for Wrayn

QuoteThere is nothing to be afraid of.

We will never be imprisoned
We are the ones who will be shot on sight
They will invent new execution tools if they have to.

We will never be captured
We are not the ones they want in a cell
They will string us up in the square unannounced.

We will never be tortured
We are the ones interrogators fear
They will scream to drown out our hideous laughter.

We will never be converted
We are the ones who turn men to our will
They will cut out our tongues before we can speak.

We will never be imprisoned
We are the ones who die upright
They will be afraid long after we are gone.

Reginald Ret

Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on July 18, 2014, 08:28:17 PM
in-game propaganda

QuoteThe night is long, my legs are weak
But in the Empire I'll not sleep
I beg this road on which I stand
Take me home to Direland.

I've seen the peaks of Terris loom
I've stood beneath the Ashmounts' gloom
I've walked the streets of Luthadel
And in them, found a special hell.
I've sailed across the black South Sea
In Fadrex merchants winked at me
I've dipped my feet in North Seran
But long to be where I began.

I miss the port at old Nidall
The forests east of Caelfall
I miss the artists' pencil scrawls
Even the nobles' fancy balls
I miss the men, so brave and true
The women, strong and faithful too
I miss the kandra, young and free
And all the things my home could be.

For in my home they do not kill
Noble or skaa for his free will
The Pit is not a place to die
Nor will the judges bat an eye
At doling out swift punishment
To those who beat the low peasant
And all are taught to write and read
To understand the laws we heed.

The ash falls soft, the trees grow tall
At night we hear the owls call
Food is grown in rooms of glass
Fresh water fills every glass
The beer is strong, the wine is sweet
And should there not be food to eat
The rich will share theirs with the poor
Or find the judges at their door.

O, I would brave the dangerous mists
And fight the koloss with my fists
Roaming bandits I don't fear
No thing is worse than me out here
The mistwraiths won't cause me delay
No army can stand in my way
I'd walk the Empire end to end
To find myself back home again.

The night is long, my legs are weak
But in the Empire I'll not sleep
I beg this road in which I stand
Take me home to Direland.

QuoteBury me in Direland
Where laws are just and men are free
Take me home to Direland
The place my heart still longs to be

Bury me in Shauran
Where grapes grow fat upon the vine
Take me home to Shauran
The place our people held the line

Bury me in old Nidall
Where fishing boats ride blackened seas
Take me home to old Nidall
The place that soothed our hungry pleas

Bury me in fair Faron
Where fields grow tall and air is sweet
Take me home to fair Faron
The place Reimfang could not defeat

Bury me in bright Edross
Where craftsmen work and children read
Take me home to bright Edross
The place where all the slaves were freed

Bury me in Direland
Where skaa and noble live in peace
Take me home to Direland
The only place I'll lie at peace

QuoteIt is called the Final Empire for good reason: there will never be another empire after it. No, what we build upon the ruins of this diseased tyranny will be unlike anything yet seen or imagined. Where the natural dignity of all men is honored. Where wisdom is derived not from the blind directives of a madman who has set himself above all others, but from the discourse of wise men and women throughout the world, informed by the experiences of those who live in the world, not away from it. Where reason is cherished and blind obedience expected only of dogs.

I will not tell you lies about our future. I will not promise you a land where the masters are the slaves and Skaa inherit the earth. These are promises handed down by crass manipulators and doomed idealists. What we offer you is not idealism, but a real possibility at a future. A future where your lives are not forfeit on a whim. Where no man must live in squalor while another drowns in riches. I do not offer you a future where every man is a noble, but one where the word Skaa is no longer synonymous with beasts of burden. This is a future you can have, that you can give to your children and grandchildren. A life of simple dignity, of honest work and freedom from abuse.

We are the new order. We are everywhere. Expect us.

in-game affirmation for Wrayn

QuoteThere is nothing to be afraid of.

We will never be imprisoned
We are the ones who will be shot on sight
They will invent new execution tools if they have to.

We will never be captured
We are not the ones they want in a cell
They will string us up in the square unannounced.

We will never be tortured
We are the ones interrogators fear
They will scream to drown out our hideous laughter.

We will never be converted
We are the ones who turn men to our will
They will cut out our tongues before we can speak.

We will never be imprisoned
We are the ones who die upright
They will be afraid long after we are gone.
Yay! I love reading this!
Also, that last one sounds familiar :P
Lord Byron: "Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves."

Nigel saying the wisest words ever uttered: "It's just a suffix."

"The worst forum ever" "The most mediocre forum on the internet" "The dumbest forum on the internet" "The most retarded forum on the internet" "The lamest forum on the internet" "The coolest forum on the internet"

Q. G. Pennyworth

it had to be edited to work in game, I'm glad you liked the rest of it!

Q. G. Pennyworth

More in-game propaganda

QuoteI am a Free Woman

My enemy is coming
On horses black as soot
Their axes gleam in sunlight
The miles race underfoot
Together with his servants
All fierce and riding hard
King of Men, God Emperor,
The Infinity Shard

And when he comes to kill me
I'll neither beg nor weep
For I am a free woman
And I'll die on my feet.

I will not sing his praises
Nor obey his command
I'll never recognize his claim
To rule my native land
I'll treat kandra as people
And tell the skaa they're free
I'll burn down every building
Of his Steel Ministry

My every breath is treason
I face certain defeat
But I am a free woman
And I'll die on my feet

I will not lock my heart down tight
For fear that it may break
I care about the land I'm from
And know the risks I take
I will find the strength to fight
And be a woman still
I won't shut up to save myself
And I'll love who I will

No matter how it pains me
My heart and soul I'll keep
I'll live a free woman
And I'll die on my feet.

We were once noble and skaa
Kandra and terrisman
We once fought and schemed against
Those we now call friend
Our Ruler sought to keep us down
By driving us apart
But we have learned to live at peace
We've earned our fresh start

And when he comes to strike us down
We will not bend our knee
Because we are free people
And we'll die on our feet.

Junkenstein

I'm reading this and would like to read more.
Nine naked Men just walking down the road will cause a heap of trouble for all concerned.

Q. G. Pennyworth

Quote from: Junkenstein on July 21, 2014, 09:52:31 PM
I'm reading this and would like to read more.

More propaganda or more recap?

Junkenstein

Both, preferably.

I suspect this has quite a bit of potential.
Nine naked Men just walking down the road will cause a heap of trouble for all concerned.

Q. G. Pennyworth

I've been talking with some of the other players about writing the whole thing up properly at some point. We have a lot of good writers in the party and I've been very happy with the plot as it's been evolving. In the meantime, more propaganda

Quote
What are you so angry about?

No, before that. Before the little slight that finally tipped you over the edge. What are you really angry about?

The poor harvest this year. Your daughter being stolen away in the night. Your sons being killed. The hours of backbreaking labor all day and watered down broth for supper. The taste of ash on your lips. The drudgery of knowing that this is your life, and this is all it will ever be.

Then you get angry because someone hit you with a serving tray, and you take it out on each other. It's pathetic. It's why he's winning.

All of your problems are because the Lord Ruler decided a millennia ago to punish your ancestors for having the balls to resist him. All of this is his fault. Not your neighbors, not the guy who hit you with the tray, not even the nobles who serve his will all too eagerly. Your misery is the fault of the Lord Ruler, and as long as we're all too busy fighting each other, he'll never stop making things worse.

He turns us against one another, so no one has the strength to fight him.

Quote
For a thousand years, the sun's light has been choked out by clouds of ash that decimate our crops and foul the air. For a thousand years the mists have haunted our nights. For a thousand years we have suffered under the reign of a man who claims to be the shard of Infinity, while great houses bicker and fight, and the common skaa die in their thousands. He says he rules wisely, but this is a terrible place.

If his powers are so great, why does he not abolish the ashfalls that weaken our food supply and spoil all that is beautiful? Our keeps and hovels are plastered with black soot, it runs through our streets and alleys, it seeps into our water and blackens the sea. Either he is too foolish to see the harm of the ashfalls, or he cannot stop them, or he is merely unwilling to act. Whether through incompetence, impotence, or malice, he allows this awful state to persist.

If his powers are so great, why does he not cure the skaa of their ignorance and sloth? Why does he not strike down the foolish and cruel within the great noble houses who bring misery to their families and the skaa who serve them? Men die fighting pointless wars between rivals, they die in the fields under the whip and at the hand of abusive lovers who must "clean up their messes." They die stupid, pointless deaths, nobleman and skaa alike. What wonders could we accomplish, if instead of abusing one another we had space to build instead? Either he is too foolish to see the harm of this broken culture he has fostered, or he cannot stop it, or he is merely unwilling to act. Whether through incompetence, impotence, or malice, he allows this awful state to persist.

If his powers are so great, why are the nights filled with terrifying mistwraiths, and our borders plagued by koloss? These monsters haunt our fields and streets, cutting short our working hours and scaring peasants half to death. They sit upon the borders of the Empire, raiding villages and destroying goods. Either he is too foolish to see the danger these creatures pose, or he cannot stop them, or he is merely unwilling to act. Whether through incompetence, impotence, or malice, he allows this awful state to persist.

No skaa revolution will ever succeed, because the skaa have never been permitted to learn the arts of ruling themselves. They have no ability to strategize in battle, not the slightest hint of political acumen. The arts of governance have been denied them, and with that their revolts are forever doomed to failure. Though they are many, they do not have the might of the noble's allomancy, or the terrismen's feruchemy.

No terrisman revolution will ever succeed. The cruel implements of the Lord Ruler's will strike down their most powerful as children to empower the ranks of the Inquisition. They remember the time before his reign, but they bear the weight of a thousand years of suffering, remembered clear as day. Their magics alone could not defeat him when they mounted their resistance, some 40 generations ago.

No kandra revolution will succeed. The contracts binding them to the service of the Lord Ruler are more draconian even than the restrictions put upon the skaa. Their strength and cunning go wasted, for fear of total genocide.

No nobleman revolution will ever succeed, because we have frittered away the years in endless bickering and internal conflicts. While we should have been organizing, using our skills in allomancy and strategy to bring together the disparate forces of the Final Empire's foes, we cut away at each other instead. We wasted the metals prized from the earth with the sweat and blood of the skaa on our own selfish causes. We are birds in gilded cages, and too many of us were fooled by our comfort to realize we were not free.

The only revolution that can succeed is one where all the peoples of Skadrial are united. This is why the Lord Ruler has pitted us against one another. This is what we must overcome. Of all the people, the nobles by far have the greatest debt to repay - not for the sins of our forefathers, but our own indifference in the face of the suffering of kandra, terrisman, and skaa alike. For our part in the Final Empire's cruelty. This is not a debt that can be repaid in blood, but only in service. We must use these skills we have nurtured, the ability to lead, to bring together all of civilization against its terrible and unfit master. We must stand together: allomancers and feruchemists, kandra and man.

If we emerge victorious, we will already have the foundation for a bright future in the partnerships we have nurtured. And if we fail, then let the Lord Ruler strike us all down and leave the world bare. Let him rule an empire of ghosts, because we will not serve him any longer.

Because this world is a terrible place. Because the Lord Ruler is too stupid, cruel, or powerless to fix it. Because our children deserve to see the sky, to live and work together in peace. Because no one else is going to save us. We have to save ourselves.

Raz Tech

Everything in this thread is awesome.

Q. G. Pennyworth

Quote from: Raz Tech on July 21, 2014, 10:45:49 PM
Everything in this thread is awesome.

Thanks! I've been suffering pretty badly from "let me tell you about my character" syndrome.