Bonus Character: Swords of the Serpentine - Rashan Moridi, political scholar

So, since I had another dream last night I decided to put it into a character. Consider it a bonus, and please meet Rashan Moridi.

Prof. Moridi is an Erebosian scholar who joined the Imperial University a few years ago. An eminent scholar of politics he has a solid academic reputation and has written a large number of influential papers already very early in his career. He took his current position in Eversink for a number of reasons. One was that the offered remuneration was very, very solid. The second – and the one he told his Erebosian colleagues about at the time he left – was the opportunity to see the melting pot that is Eversink and let it inform his thinking. A third reason that he has only shared with a few close friends in Eversink is that he perceived Erebos to be stifling; as a distant cousin of the High Priest, he was under constant surveillance, just in case all of the 68 people standing to inherit the title before him would suddenly perish. He was under constant, vigilant guard to see if he was still pious and following Erebosian culture, and if his research might present a dangerous ideology. To be honest his expressed curiosity about Eversink already came close, but his family connections kept him somewhat safe. He wanted to get away from all that surveillance, and by moving to Eversink he mostly managed to do that. He is sure some spies will keep an eye on him, but that is far less worrisome - they hhave to be far more subtle, and outside a handful of events over the years he hasn't really noticed them.

There is a secret final reason he won’t share with anyone until he is very ready to do so – he wants to become the greatest political scholar ever known. To that end he started analyzing the factions in Eversink, starting with the Mercanti. What looked from the outside like a combination of acquiring funding and learning about what made these people tick had another purpose entirely. When he had learned enough Rashan performed a small ritual to contact a nearly forgotten minor goddess. Siyasa was willing to make a deal, and the price was fairly low and easily paid. For the gift of Professor Moridi’s true name and some precious goods the goddess taught him the basics of sorcery; combining the social sorcery she was able to teach with his own knowledge of politics allowed him to learn the Sphere of the Mercanti. Since then he has added more such knowledge on other factions. His ultimate goal is to use his ability to enact empirical political studies with an unprecedented ability to create exactly the scenarios he wants to test. 

Until he is ready to undertake the perhaps most impactful research any political scholar has so far, he is biding his time. So far he has used his knowledge to create a comfortable but not exceptional academic life for himself; often seen walking through the city, often with a university guard for protection, he is well known to owners of various cafes and restaurants, where he whiles away his time, watching people interact. He is also a quiet presence at many social functions and has interviewed and been interviewed by many influential figures. And he always seems very, very harmless and trustworthy.

One thing he hasn’t thought about is that the Triskadane might notice something is awry in the city patterns - he hasn't studied them in sufficient detail yet. They so far have not noticed his meddling beyond some weird minor hiccups withh no clear cause. But it is a matter of time now.

In mechanical terms, I created him as a part of a two-player party. He is Amicable, Private, Quiet, Eloquent, and Elegant. He finds best in life 

    • Figuring out the little intricacies that underlie society

    • Wielding my will to change the shape of a nation

    • A thoughtful discussion of intriguing topics

He has a Health of 6 and a Morale of 12. His Investigative Abilities are Charm 2, Liar’s Tell 1, Nobility 1, Servility 1, Trustworthy 4, Corruption 3, Forgotten Lore 1, and Prophecy 2. His General Abilities are Preparedness 8, Stealth 8, Sorcery 10, and Sway 4. His Sorcerous Spheres do morale damage, and they are Mercanti, Ancient Nobility, and Church of Denari. Yes, Denari is likely not too happy with him. For Allies he has the Mercanti and the Ancient Nobility at 1 each; his enemy is The Triskadane, at -1. The low scores more reflect how little he has used his magic; as a result he neeeds to use Corruption if he wants something major to happen.

What remains is his gear:

    • A lot of favorite spots in the city to rest, have a beverage, and watch people

    • Scholarly robes and ink-stained fingers

    • A well-worn notebook, regularly replaced, usually rapidly filled with notes

    • A few students who he loves to present with challenging questions

    • A small red pebble that is a memento of Siyasa

And he has a sheet, of course.

Looking at him he'd be best not as a PC, but as some kind of sneaky, hidden enemy, or maybe some kind of quest giver.

Swords of the Serpentine - Informa, spy

 Informa is a bit of an odd one – she is almost certain that she has a past, and was once a member of a family, had parents, all these things. But something happened, and she doesn’t seem to remember anything from before. Well, there are some odd flashes here and there – if pressed she’d guess that the world somehow shifted, if that makes sense, and now her life before the shift never happened. She, however, is still here. And she has a bit of a problem. You see, not only is her former life a bit of a haze. Her current identity is as well – she has been someone defined once, but after the shift, she got a bit … ‘uncertain’? In any case, she has gained keen insight into how to pretend to be someone else, from the inside out. Sadly she has been so many people by now that she has a hard time remembering who she started out as. Luckily a city like Eversink has a use for her. Informa is a highly sought-after spy. No one knows quite how she does it, or really even what she looks like, but she delivers. Maybe we should see why?

(Note: I think she has made a deal with something bad so as to gain magical power. And it cost her far more than she expected. Now she quite unconsciously tries to forget who she was.)

She tends to be Chaotic, in a quite Subtle way. She is Freewheeling most of the time, but on the job, she is Precise, and can be quite Frightening.

Best in life for her are:

• Moments of clarity, when everything just seems to slot into place for one shining moment.

• Fitting into a social group that doesn't even know who you really are.

• Being someone else.

Her Investigative Abilities are Charm, Intimidation, Liar’s Tell, Nobility, Servility, Forgotten Lore, and Prophecy at 1, Trustworthy at 2, and Corruption at 3. Note that she has no Thief Abilities – she is the ultimate social engineer and bets on being able to get access by being the right person when needed. Her Allies are the Ancient Nobility, and the Mercanti, and she has made some Sorcerous Cabals her enemy – they have an idea of who she is and what she does, and disagree. The Thieves’ Guilds haven’t caught on yet, though. Her General Abilities are Burglary and Stealth at 3, and Preparedness, Sorcery, and Sway at 8.

For Sorcerous Spheres she has Flesh, Personality, and Sounds. Quite scary, and she does wield them ruthlessly. They affect Health, as in ‘Rending Flesh’, or ‘Making someone suicidal’. Her Health is 13, and her Morale is accordingly 5 – she isn’t very brave, and absolutely not grounded in any way. Her molded bodies tend to be sturdy, though. I think in the long run the character would grab some Leechcraft/Bind Wounds, and round out the Social Abilities.

Her iconic gear is a bit weird:

• Ever-changing faces
• Ever-changing clothes
• A birthmark in the shape of a scale in her left armpit
• Whistling tonelessly a song of joy and sorrow
• A piercing stare

And that is Informa.

Swords of the Serpentine - Nabat "Mercedes" Moridi, salesperson

 Bonus program: One more character for Swords of the Serpentine. You see, I am playing Hitman, with the new Freelancer update, and had the idea of actually making a full-blown assassin character. Not the ‘as edgy as possible’ stereotype, with black clothing and gear from head to toe etc. No, something a bit more fitting. Let us look at “Mercedes”, born as Nabat Moridi in Dezhakos, Erebos. Nabat lost her parents when she was a teenager when Parvana and Rehan were accused of plotting against the government, heretical thoughts, and demon worship. The last time Nabat saw her parents was when they shoved her out of a window while the temple guards stormed the family home. Nabat was always a good swimmer, and she managed to escape, sneaking aboard a trade ship. Granted, the crew uncovered her within minutes, but they had seen the burning houses. And when Nabat explained who she was, and where she came from, the Eversinkish crew decided to keep her hidden. A few weeks later she emerged from the hold, following some recommendations by one of her new friends to visit a local merchant who might need someone willing to work in selling fine cloth. That was several years ago. Nabat has stayed with Iuri, the merchant who gave her both a job and a home. And she never told him that the accusations were true and that her parents' cult had trained her in the fine arts of killing people. And that she has contacted some local friends, and helps feed their financial needs by killing people for money. And sometimes, priests of the Erebosian God of Fire and Flame find their way to Eversink. They rarely make it out again. Free of charge.

Mercedes is Charming, Friendly, and Enthusiastic. Not many people notice that she is also very Observant. And people who meet her under the wrong conditions often find her very Frightening indeed. For her, best in life are:

• Meoa'aflix benevolence – he is the demon prince of revenge
• Helping Iuri to succeed in life
• An expression turning from satisfaction to horror.

She has 10 Morale and 8 Health. Ability-wise I will spend as if only one other player is in the game – I think she best fits into the smallest group size. This means 14 points to use for Investigative Abilities, and she has Charm 2, Intimidation 1, Servility 2, Trustworthy 1, Felonious Intent 1, Vigilance 1, City’s Secrets 1, Ridiculous Luck 1, Skulduggery 1, and Leechcraft 3. Her Allies and Enemies are Mercanti 1, Thieves’ Guilds 1, and City Watch -1. It might sound surprising, but direct attacks are not her thing. Nabat specializes in getting where no one should be, and quietly placing a few drops of the right substances onto the right plate, or into the right goblet. Accordingly, she has Athletics 2, Burglary 8, Preparedness 8, Stealth 8, and Warfare 4. Some of her old training is left, but since she really cannot afford the wrong person spotting her and maybe recognizing her later, she has let some of those skills lapse.

As for gear? 

• Her place in the market, every afternoon, selling colorful clothes to the people.
• A constant smile that only vanishes when she is out to kill.
• A small branding under her left foot, the sigil of Meoa'aflix.
• A set of small bottles containing various poisons.
• Thieves’ tools, carefully embedded in her multiple, brightly colored robes and belts.

And she has a sheet as well.

Swords of the Serpentine - Kumisbir Beyyenay, nasty business impersonated

Onto the fourth and last member of the mercenary gang: Kumisbir Beyyenay.

He was found as a child, crawling alone across the prairie of Votavni. The tribe that found him first thought that his family might have been victims of an ambush. The trackers never found anything, though – the trail the toddler had left was surprisingly long, but just vanished at one point. The kid was taken in and raised as one of the tribe’s children. Over time, the nearly inevitable happened – strange things around Kumisbir, prophecies told, and it became clear the child was touched by the gods. Fast forward a few years, and you could see teenage Kumsibir legging it as fast as possible to escape a life he didn’t want. But he still loved his tribe, and to this day he has not told anyone about the prophecies, or what was planned for him. Kumsibir has become an infamous mercenary, far away from home. That was several decades ago.

What would a band of misfits be without a strange older sorcerer? So, here he is, Quiet, Curmudgeonly, Wily, Cowardly, and above all Loyal companion of Vera, Henrique, and Hieronimo. Well, and Coba, though he hasn’t quite figured that mystery out yet – see Vera’s entry for more on that. He is the one companion who has some residual nagging feelings when he interacts with their new friend, though. 

For him, best in life are:

• A warm, soft meal.
• Striking an enemy from behind.
• A night under the open sky, ideally with song and wine.

He has 12 Morale and 6 Health. His Investigative Abilities are Servility 1, Taunt 2, Corruption 4, Forgotten Lore 2, Leechcraft 1, and Prophecy 2. As for his General Abilities, he makes do with Bind Wounds 4, Preparedness 8, Stealth 4, and Sorcery 12. His Allies are Outlanders and Mercenaries (each at 1), but he also doesn’t like people from Votavni (Outlanders -1). 

He learned his Sorcery in his youth, and his sphere from them is still Life. He has grown, of a sort, since then, and learned to manipulate Curses, Weapons, and - mostly due to an ill-conceived bet with a minor god of war - Hair. Since that weird event he has learned that it is hilarious to strangle enemies with their own beards, so there is that. 

Iconic features that make him very recognizable are:

• A badly bent back.
• Talismans, colorful bands, herbs, and tinctures. All for show.
• A few yellow teeth, the ones who remain.
• A piercing gaze filled with scorn, and some tiny spark of mischief,
• A rusty dagger.

And he also has a sheet.

And with that, the challenge has been met.

Swords of the Serpentine - Hieronimo Magnotta, lucky mercenary leader

Coming near the end of the challenge, and I still have a party to finish – Vera and Henri still need two companions. Time to wrap up the challenge by wrapping up the Swords of the Serpentine band of mercenaries. Today, let us look at their unofficial leader Hieronimo Magnotta.

Hieronimo is a child of the city, the son of a far too large and far too poor family who saw the writing on the wall pretty early. He took careful note when his older siblings already entered lives of working for a pittance for those who own the city, and for a while, Hieronimo had done the same. He had a knack for working as a guard. And then he discovered a knack for letting people into his boss's house, taking a cut of the results, and then leaving the city as fast as he could. He had lined up a place as a sailor on a boat leaving the city in the morning. Sadly, his luck had run out, and he nearly ended up as merchandise when that boat was captured by pirates. But then he was lucky again, and the pirates decided to recruit all able men to fill gaps in their ranks. 

The next few years continued in the same vein – bad luck, then a longer streak of amazing luck, cut short by bad luck… Hieronimo slowly got a reputation, along with an illustrious series of careers. Pirate, then prisoner, then soldier, then barman, beggar, thief, smuggler, merchant, bandit, and then finally mercenary – Hieronimo has stopped expecting stability, accept that his luck was as crazy as people said, and decided to roll the dice. Every day. Any time he isn’t sure about something, he looks to something to give him a sign. Often dice, cards, or a throw of a coin. 

Hieronimo carries 40 years of changing luck on his body, in the shape of deep scars. He likes to dress comfortably, and while an enemy's flaming saber made sure that his smile would never really be all that beautiful again, he has a knack for making people trust him.

Let me stat him up.

He is Adaptable, Capricious, but also Loyal and Outspoken. Most importantly, his mind is always on the money. For him, best in life are:

• Getting paid with little effort.
• Enemies failing to predict what I’ll do.
• A warm, soft bed.

His Health and Morale are 10 and 8, respectively. For Investigative Abilities, he has Charm 2, Command 1, Trustworthy 2, Ridiculous Luck 5 (!), and Tactics of Death 2. His General Abilities are Athletics 4, Burglary 2, Preparedness 4, Stealth 4, Sway 8, and Warfare 8. He has friends among the Mercenaries and Mercanti (1 each), but the City Watch is less enamored with his shenanigans (-1).

And that leaves the gear:

• A flowing red cape made from velvet, stitched dozens of times.
• A jaunty leather cap with a 'griffons' feather.
• Two blunt wooden sticks, harden but notched, stained with the blood of many.
• A wineskin, filled with the best red he could afford that day.
• Coins, cards, and dice.

And what would this entry be without a sheet? 

Swords of the Serpentine - Custódio Collini, messenger

And then I woke up with a new idea and made it a character. Meet Custódio Collini, trusted messenger to the rich and powerful in Eversink. Yes, Swords of the Serpentine again.

You see, the social demands placed on members of the Mercanti, the administration, and especially the noble houses mean a constant flow of missives across the city. The more wealthy ones, and for the most part the administration, employ a lot of messengers for that kind of thing. Still, there are those who cannot easily afford such an ongoing expenditure, especially among the ancient noble families which have fallen on harder timers. And even those who can find themselves from time to time in a situation where some letter or small item needs to get somewhere quickly, but all messengers are already away. In such cases, freelancers pick up the slack. They hang around the places where demand is highest, and some of them are organized in small gangs. Custódio is not in such a gang. 

Custódio is a loner, a freelance messenger who specializes in serving the needs of the ancient noble families. While most messengers are active on foot, Custódio is one of the rarer messengers who bring missives through the city in their gondola. And what makes Custódio truly unique is that he has figured out the means by which to open the wax seals on letters quickly and usually without leaving a trace. And even better, given the right tools and a few minutes he can make some … adjustments … to the pages. Tools that he has in the closed back of his gondola. Custódio is a member of one of the local thieves' guilds, the ‘Silent Lackeys’. 

Due to his diligent work the Silent Lackeys have grown in size and wealth, miraculously finding just the right times to break into specific mansions, or by selling some political information to the highest bidders. So far, no one has figured out their secret. But if anyone in power would, Custódio's life would get very interesting very, very fast.

He is a young man, tanned and muscular, respectful and polite. He carries his sand-coloured hair in a long braid and usually wears a non-descript servant's uniform when working. He is Precise and Methodical, Circumspect in all his dealings. Not liking to depend on others he is largely Self-Reliant. Nonetheless, his easy manner makes him very Likeable.

His three favourite things in life are:

• Perfect forgery without leaving a trace
• Wind in his hair, and the soft murmur of water in a canal
• Screwing over the rich and powerful

He has Morale 8 and Health 10, the stats of someone living the good life in the more or less fresh air.

For Social Abilities, he has Charm 1, Liar’s Tell 1, Trustworthy 1, and Servility 2. He specializes in conning the powerful, after all. As regards Professional Abilities, he has City’s Secrets 1, Scurrilous Rumours 2, and Skulduggery 4. Master forger, remember?

As for General Abilities, he has Athletics and Preparedness at 8, Warfare and Stealth at 4, and Bind Wounds, Burglary, and Sway at 2. He isn’t a fighter, but he does a lot of physical work and quite literally survives by being very circumspect at all times. The rest are things he picked up in his sordid youth and from his only slightly less sordid companions.

His Allies and Enemies are the Thieves’ Guilds 1, and Ancient Nobility at both 1 and -1. As with most characters, I assume his list of enemies will only grow.

His gear:

• A small and sturdy transport gondola with a closed compartment
• All the tools a real letter forger needs
• Sardine sandwiches, his favourite
• A small, nasty dagger, with a jagged edge, well hidden inside his puffy shirt
• A worn servants uniform, puffy, blatant, and hiding a surprising amount of thieves' tools

And that is Custódio. Here the sheet.

Swords of the Serpentine - Henrique, religious mercenary

Ok, after this palate-cleanser, time to return to putting more mercenaries into games. Let us go back to Swords of the Serpentine!

Henrique is the youngest member of the team, a smallish but muscular man with short brown hair who might be in the middle of his twenties. Born and orphaned at a young age in The Tangle in Eversink he is the one who suggested moving here after a disastrous employment two years ago. As a boy, Henrique was a member of a street gang and learned parts of his trade then and there. In the end, he realized that there is no future in the gangs, and went to a mercenary crew to learn the ropes. A big reason for this was that Henrique started hearing the voices of long-dead gang members. Gangs rarely have the means or even the willingness to pay for funerary statues. One, the ghost of a girl called Paoletta, was far more insistent than the others, for reasons unknown to Henrique. A part of his first pay went into a statue for her. The haunting had left an impression on Henrique, and he learned to keep listening carefully to the whispers of the deceased. 

By now he is a veteran of the mercenary companies, in part due to a long engagement of one troupe he was with as guards for merchant's vessels. That one ended when a pirate vessel hunted them down and sank the ship after robbing it blind. Leaving all merchants and the few wounded mercenaries on board. Henrique survived by the skin of his teeth, mostly due to the help of one of the dead sailors who pointed him to a bubble of air in the wreck. Two days later a ship passed by, and the wreck, only a few meters under the ocean surface, was spotted. The first person Henrique saw when rescued was an old acquaintance, Coba.

Since then, he has been a loyal friend and companion to the other mercenaries in their merry band. And large parts of his pay still go towards funerary status.

His favorite things in life are:

…putting a soul to rest

…a warm bed in a safe room

…the company of people he can trust with his life

He is boyish and friendly, patient when necessary, but decisive at times. He often trusts his intuition.

Ability-wise I went with Intimidation, Felonious Intent, Servility, Trustworthy, and Skulduggery at 1, for fairly obvious reasons. His natural gift is Spirit Sight 2, and the ghosts whispering to him at all times mean that he also has City Secrets and Prophecy 1. And yes, his Spot Frailty and Tactics of Death at 1 are also more due to advice and warnings from beyond.

He is very athletic (8), a passable burglar (4), and due to rare hints from the other side often brings along stuff that he would not have thought of himself (Preparedness 2). Youth on the streets taught him the value of being quiet (Stealth 8), and the last few years honed his willingness to hurt others (Warfare 8). Never mistake his friendly, boyish attitude for naivete or an unwillingness to cause harm if called upon.

Gear that reflects who he is:

• A small collection of writs for funerary statues underway
• A sampling of daggers, knuckledusters, small swords
• The constant susurrus of ghostly whispers in his ears
• Eyes that have seen far too much, and ears that have heard even more
• Dozens of funerary statues all over the place that he sometimes visits

And he has a sheet.

 

Swords of the Serpentine - Verayev Luiza Antonyevna, loyal friend and soldier for hire

For the next entry, I will use one of my favorite RPGs - Sword of the Serpentine. It was one of the games I created the most characters for last year, and the game has since become one of my standards. For an explanation of how character creation works in this system, please check here.

For this one, I am thinking about a bunch of mercenaries who have working together for a while. Used to the rough life outside Eversink, where they fought bandits, monsters, and sometimes other mercenaries for the rich and powerful in uncomfortable places, they happily traded for life in far more comfort in the city. Where they get hired by the rich and powerful to fight other mercenaries, thieves, and sometimes monsters. But at least the lodgings and food are a lot better, and they do not have to sleep on the hard ground in bad weather as much. 

I am not sure if I will make the whole band, but let us first look at who arguably is the heart of the group. Coba was born as Verayev Luiza Antonyevna in the vast, cold reaches of Irliev. She did leave her country as early as possible. If you listen to the stories this tall, dark-skinned woman with the flaming red braid tells in her booming voice she has had several different traumatic youths behind her. In reality, she just couldn’t stand the cold and really didn’t fit in very well. As it sometimes goes with habitual liars. In this small, nameless group of mercenaries, she has found a new family, one she will not easily let go of. They accept her for who she is.

Trained by her father in the ways of her people, she is a fair hand with a bow and axe, but also very competent in the dressing of wounds. She habitually prays to her ancestors and uses the tinctures and herbal mixtures she learned to make as a child for healing purposes. All of this also makes her a welcome companion on any outing, together with the loyalty she extends solely to the members of her little squad. 

The team has been in Eversink coming up to two years. A few months ago they were employed by the Santambrogio family to delve into a thieves’ hideout, deep under Sag Harbor, to recover some stolen items and documents. The pay was good, and the agreement stated that they’d get to keep whatever else they’d find. And deep in the old houses and corridors, they did what they came to do. Only on arrival, they found most of the thieves dead, and the remainder binding their wounds. In a corner, crushed under rubble that probably had come loose in a fight lay an indiscernible figure. The mercenaries rushed in, unceremoniously dispatching the remaining thieves, to collect what treasure there was. Meanwhile, Coba investigated the crushed person and noticed weak movements. A bit uncharacteristically, she decided to help. 

After a few weeks of nursing the victim back to health, the two became friends, of a sort. Or at least that is what Coba thinks. There might even be some truth to that. Meanwhile, Magararasanellis, one of the few remaining Serpent Folk, has started using the mercenaries to her own ends. And she has started teaching real sorcery to Coba, for reasons of her own.

Coba’s favorite things in life are:

• to celebrate life with loyal friends
• To tell the stories of an era
• the look in the eyes of someone who only survived thanks to you

Coba is Boisterous, Dishonest, Loyal, Opportunistic, Absentminded, and allied with Monstrosities and Mercenaries. As these things tend to go there are also Mercenary groups not fond of her at all.

She has points in Command, Intimidation, Liar’s Tell, Taunt, Ridiculous Luck, Corruption (with her sole sphere being Disease), Leechcraft, Tactics of Death, and Wilderness Mastery. She does have two points in Spot Frailty - she is a mean fighter, in part because she knows exactly where to strike. She also has a very sharp tongue if she wants to.

Her General Abilities are Athletics 4, Bind Wounds 8, Stealth 4, Sorcery 2, Sway 4, and Warfare 8. She can break it, but also patch it up again.

Her favorite Gear:

• a large, shoddy axe, and a nasty, notched knife
• comfortable chainmail, adorned with talismans and colorful leather straps
• tinctures, ointments, herbs, many collected in the swamps outside, some bought
• A fiery scar on her back, in the shape of a serpent's trail, which lights up when she uses sorcery.
• And a booming and quick laugh that makes her face light up like the sun.

Find her sheet here.

Swords of the Serpetine - Ladayev Xenia Agafangelyevna, lucky street peddler

Ladayev is a street peddler who came to Eversink from Irilevian, around a year ago. She had a little bit of money and spent it to acquire a small cart and a mule, which she uses to set up shop in different areas of the city. She is a very lucky woman, and therefore pretty much always is at just the right spot at the right time to maximize profits. Thieves have not bothered her (too much, there are limits to luck), and in the few areas the City Watch keeps free of street vendors she usually is gone a few minutes before they arrive.

Ladayev is also a priestess of the minor goddess Aefyoase, Lady of Serendipity and Good Fortune. Every time someone had a stroke of good fortune, and smiles, it is a small prayer in her name. Each time a coin finds its way to those in need through pure chance the Lady has bestowed her favor upon them.

The Church of Denari has taken note that the flows of money through the city are moving in strange rivulets, and have been doing so for some time. Fortune favors the bold and those in need, and this does not quite gel with the idea of free commerce...

I see this one as a Happy, Wistful, Devout, and a bit Secretive person who will usually whistle a tune (nearly always a prayer to her Goddess). Her favorite things in life are:

• to feel Aefyoase's winds guide my way
• to see money find its way to those in need
• the smile of someone Aefyoase touched

She has a Morale of 10, and Health of 8; her trust in her goddess helps her remain resolute in the face of any adversary. She has Charm 2, Liar's Tell 1, Servility 2, and Trustworthy 1. Her mythical abilities are not really magic, but mechanically I think the Sorcerer's abilities will do: Corruption 2, Forgotten Lore 1, and Prophecy 4 - she literally reads the flow of money, but also other seemingly random events. Only the movement of swans eludes her, for some reason. Her Spheres affect Mental, and are Money and Serendipity. Her Allies are the Commoners and Outlanders, but the Church of Denari is obviously quite the opposite. Finally, her signature gear:

A cart filled with an absolutely random selection of goods, that someone close by certainly needs.

Colorful clothing.

A belt with the symbols of Aefyoase hidden on the buckle.

A face that is always smiling, but that luckily people find hard to describe when the wrong person asks.

A mule called Alfonse.

And here is her sheet.

Swords of the Serpentine - Cassandra Carpino, White Hat Burglar

Cassandra grew up as the youngest daughter of the rich Carpino merchant family. Her youth was excessively boring as a result. One thing got stuck in her mind, though - her parents' desire and envy for the prestige of the nobles in Eversink. No matter how much money they made in textiles, no matter how many prayers they and their clients made for Denari, there was always that little something missing. The thing that made waiters in the best restaurants pay extra attention while their bosses slashed their prices. The look in the eyes of the commoners when they talked to even the lowest matriarch, compared to them talking to her own mother Marcella. It stung.

So boredom and envy made for a fun little mix, and via some contacts of her older, far wilder brother Adilson Cassandra met some very unsavory characters who helped her fulfill her desires. Her desire to show up the nobles as much as possible. Cassandra had become the White Cob, 'gentleman' burglar who never steals, but leaves their calling card at the most unfortunate places. Then disaster struck, and a rival in the guild of textile traders arranged for her family's mansion to be destroyed, with most of the family and servants still inside. Now the White Cob peddles his services to the richest of the nobles and merchants, testing their security, and telling them how to make their mansions and businesses more secure. Adilson, injured when the Carpino mansion drifted into the canals, has become the peddler and public face, and Cassandra does the rest...

Cassandra is Intense, Intelligent, Easily Excited, Meticulous, Secretly Romantic, and the three things she likes best in life are 

• to see the powerful realize that they are vulnerable
• a short fling with someone who will never learn your real name
• late-night chases across rooftops

She has both the Mercanti and the Ancient Nobility as Allies, she does provide valuable services and when out of costume is still a familiar face. The Thieves' Guild, however, really does not like her, or the service she provides. Her investigative Abilities are easy to do; she has quite a few social abilities, to deal with both nobles and non-nobles. She specializes in social engineering, for both information gathering and getting into guarded places. Beyond that she has all the Thief abilities to a certain extent; she knows many of the secrets the sneakier members of society like to guard. Her General Abilities are focused on Burglary and Stealth; she excels at being where she isn't expected and getting her mittens on things like keys that she shouldn't have. Add some Athletics for those nightly rooftops, some Sway in case something goes very wrong (or someone needs to be taken down a peg at a social event), and some Preparedness to reflect her meticulous approach to break-ins.

And here she is.

Bonus Day: Swords of the Serpentine - Erika Santambrogio, matriarch

Yes, there is a bonus day - I felt the party needed their evil grandmother. Strictly speaking, I think she'd best be an NPC, and therefore would follow different rules. But hey, I like the idea of fleshing her out a bit. So, let's see how Erika Santambrogio, Matriarch of the Santambrogio family ticks.

When I picture her (making cutting remarks directed at Tri), she is Abrasive, Manipulative, and Demanding. Without a doubt, she is a Proud woman and has a mean, Cynical streak a mile wide. Not a pleasant person to be around, and I would recommend to her grandkids to keep as far away as possible. Best in Life in her opinion are:

• Getting what you want without having to tell anyone.
• Making your idiot grandchildren face reality.
• Honey-laced ice cream

As for the rest, since I stat her as a starting character I have to cut some things here and there. The sheet later will be the beginner PC status, I will, however, mention in [] brackets where I think she'd have higher stats if done as an NPC. Her Allies are the Ancient Nobility 1 [3], and the Church of Denari 1, [and the Sorcerous Cabals 1, as well as the Mercenaries 1. And a few favors.]. Her enemies are also the Ancient Nobility 1 [2, and Church of Denari 1, as well as Grudges. So many Grudges from so many factions.]. She is a headstrong woman, but physically old and frail, meaning 15 Morale, and 3 Health. Socially, she has Charm 1, Command 1 [3], Intimidation 2 [3], Liar's Tell 1 [2], Nobility 2, and Taunt 1 [2]. She also has Scurrilous Rumours 2 [5], Spot Frailty 1 [3], and Leechcraft 1 [3].

Her General Abilities are Bind Wounds 2 - she has experience in medicine from when she learned the fine art of poisoning people, at a young age. From that time stems her Stealth 3 as well. But it has been a while, and both of them are things she rarely does. Her Preparedness is 10, and her Sway 15. Don't mess with her, or she will send you home crying. Quite literally. As for Equipment, I think I'd go with:

• Elegant and expensive but simple sets of clothing that make subtle statements. Worn, but extremely well kept.
• Lots of relatives, and a few servants. None trusted.
• Useless grandchildren who need grandma to show them their place in the world.
• The indomitable will to drag the family where it belongs, to the top.
• The family manor, in desperate need of repair. And an airing. Maybe a fire.

Yeah, this is the kind of mean, emotionally abusive, unreasonable person I envisioned as 'Grandmother' to the other four characters. Best used both carefully and sparingly. And it would likely be a good idea to nudge her into comic relief territory by exaggerating some of her traits. Or, you know, not use her.

Here is the sheet.

And with that ends the Character Creation Challenge. I had a ton of fun, even though I ditched my plans a few times while doing it. Hope some people read this, and that those who did got to enjoy it. 

Day 31: Swords of the Serpentine - Ocaer 'Luca' Santambrogio, younger illicit sibling with some weird ... features

Originally I had planned to post some kind of background generation on this day, likely using Paved with Blood to make a cool city for some of my Urban Fantasy characters to roam in. But damn, I had another idea for yet another Santambrogio. This time a rather younger half-brother.

Ocaer 'Luca' Santambrogio is rarely seen outside the family mansion. They are a lot younger than the other three family members we have seen, I'd say the others are in their mid to late 20s, and Ocaer maybe ten years younger than Dri and Sti?  The four are related via the shared father, who has not been inside the mansion, or in contact, in years. Everyone in the family but Grandmother knows Ocaer as 'Luca' only. Ocaer is kind of a semi-secret the family has, living in an attic room they stay at home a lot. Besides Grandmother they most often talk with Tri, and if they leave the mansion, that is usually the family member they accompany. Ocaer's mother has never been seen by anyone in the family.

Only Grandmother knows why... actually only Grandmother knows that Ocaer is a sorcerer, for reasons that might become obvious when reading further. I think Ocaer is Secretive, Insecure, Insensitive, Aloof, and Childish. Yes, their behavior can be a bit unsteady, and it gets worse when they talk to several people at once. It stresses them out. If you'd ask Luca, they would say that the Best Things in Life are:

• Treats from Nonna
• Watching people without being seen
• Drifting in the night skies

Health will be 8 since they are a bit small and bookish, and Morale 10. Strictly speaking, I have screwed up by making the other three Siblings as if there would be three players total, meaning they all were made with one point too much in Investigative Abilities. But who cares? Let's assume we have a latecomer, and the others were made correctly. Luca has Liar's Tell 1, Nobility 1, Servility 2, and Trustworthy 1. They also have Corruption 4, Forgotten Lore 2, and Prophecy 2. Their Allies are Ancient Nobility 1 and the Sorcerous Cabals 1 - I assume that someone there has brought them to the family when found, and there is some contact left. Luca might not even know that; the arrangement was likely done by their grandmother. If so, the cabal who found them has a soft spot for this specific kid. Or maybe plans. Their Enemy is the Church of Denari - I assume there have been incidents where Luca was careless outside, and the Inquisitors are taking an interest. If they ever add some numbers up and conclude that Luca is a Santambrogio, things might heat up. A lot. For everyone.

General Abilities are Athletics and Burglary at 5 each, and both Stealth and Sorcery at 10. The Sorcery will serve to explain pretty much all the others, though. The Spheres are Decay/Entropy, Demonology, Air, and Secrets, and they harm Health. As for Equipment:

• A couple of rats and pigeons, ready to be ridden by minor demons. And for cuddles.
• A body with parts that sometimes become... unstable, absent. Nonna tells me not to, and usually, I am good.
• Lots of different clothing, low quality, always in some state of decay.
• A voice barely above a whisper, harsh, and weirdly inhuman.
• A small piece of one of my mother's horns. I miss her.

Interesting times are in store for the Santambrogios indeed. 

Find the sheet here.

Day 30: Swords of the Serpentine - Patricio 'Tri' Santambrogio, older brother and house captain

I might still have some other games on my to-do list, but I also want to make more Santambrogios - I feel like Dri and Sti need a big brother. Who is not as disappointing to his family, at least officially. Who might be a bit of a disappointment in reality. A warrior. Time for Patricio 'Tri' Santambrogio to make an appearance.

I think he is the pushover grandson that his grandmother never wanted. But there is a place for everyone, so he was sent to learn the fine art of bludgeoning people to death, missing many bad events happening at home. Currently, he is commanding the house guard. He fully believes the family line about his younger sisters being a disappointment, but also believes his grandmother when she asks him to keep an eye out for them. Just in case. They are family, after all. It helps that he is an honest, family-loving guy - he would look out for his sisters no matter what. But he is happy nonetheless that he does not have to break the family rules to do so and happy that even with the 'rift', grandma still has not abandoned Sti and Dri. Any machinations go right over his head.

I see him as an Honorable, Orderly, Quiet guy. The silent type, but in this case very Weak-willed and Passive, not someone to stand up to family. Very much the opposite of Sti, and I think they will have the kind of complicated relationship siblings sometimes have, with Dri usually playing the neutral part. I think grandma has made sure that as a commander, Tri does leave tasks like driving off unwanted guests to the actual guards - he is good with a weapon, but easily circumvented. The guards themselves will follow him, partially because he genuinely cares for them and is both a good guy and a pretty good commander, partially because they know what his grandmother will do to them if they do not. His favorite things are:

• Doing as Grandmother says.
• Someone trying to kill him in a contest of arms.
• Protecting his charges.

Simple pleasures for a straightforward man. He has 14 Health, and only 4 Morale - do not try to fight him, but embarrass him, and, well... he also has the equivalent of a full plate mail in Armor. More on that later.

Ability-wise I give him Command 2, Nobility 1, and Trustworthy 2. From the Warrior section, he gets Know Monstrosities 1 - for some reason sometimes there will be weird creatures in the mansion, and his grandmother has explained that this is due to an old curse. And not to tell anyone. He does not remember that happening when he was a child, but then again his family probably just protected him from the truth when he was a kid. That is the kind of loving people they are. He also has Spot Frailty 2, and Tactics of Death 4. In other words, he is kind of an unholy terror if anyone ever fights him toe to toe. Well, except if they start insulting or berating him. But who would be that unfair?

Transferring one point from Investigative Abilities to Allies, I give him Ancient Nobility (1), Mercenaries (1), for his work in commanding the house guard (which will be mercs), and Commoners (1) - twice a week he helps his little sister Dri feed the needy, and he generally will help those who have a worse lot than him in life. As much as he can get away with. Some Mercenaries do not like him (Enemies at 1), after all, he commonly fights them in the little skirmishes around the Nobility and probably has killed a few, and likely will have squabbles due to unpaid contracts, or judging specific mercs for their dishonest methods.

His General Abilities are pretty straightforward as well. Some Athletics (4), Bind Wounds (2, always good on a battlefield), Preparedness 8 (very conscientious and orderly), Sway 4 (he is a Commander after all), and Warfare 12. I repeat, do not face him in open combat.

And lastly some Gear:

• Armor and two-hander I inherited from my great-great-great-granddad Ennio
• A small, sparsely furnished room in the family mansion
• The family guards
• Two days a week when I help Dri feed the needy
• My family's love and respect

Done!

Day 29: Swords of the Serpentine - Cristina Santambrogio, 'Sti', enfant terrible

Yeah, yeah, this game is not leaving me alone. I have the feeling this will become a party, which might be a fitting end for the month. This time: The sister of Adrianna, Cristina. She is quite the opposite in character - couldn't care less about the Church, or the family matriarch (Grandmother), and her favorite place is as far away from commoners as possible. Yes, Cristina is a rather flamboyant member of the upper crust, a black sheep like her twin, but again there is more to that side of the coin. You see, the Santambrogio's do not really do 'severed relationships' when it comes to family. In contrast to her twin, Cristina wants to rebel, though. She does this by collecting sexual conquests, conquering opponents in duels, and pilfering family treasuries.

She has a flair for the Dramatic, is at times a bit Enigmatic, even False. Her tastes are always Extravagant, and when in good company she is quite Locquacious (if only to distract from her other motives). She does enjoy some quiet time with a book and a good glass of wine every once in a while, but would never admit that. She also likes overcoming the rich and powerful, taking what she wants. I could say that her proudest moment was when she killed her cousin-thrice-removed Vinnie in a duel after she was found in flagranti with Vinnie's wife, but in reality that was just last Tuesday. 

She is more healthy than her twin, with all the exercise. However, Adrianna is a bit more stable - surety when it comes to her place in life, something Cristina has not found yet. Her Investigative Abilities are Charm 2, Liar's Tell 1, Nobility 2, Taunt 2, Ridiculous Luck 2 (another ability to gain limited narrative control), Skulduggery 1, and Spot Frailty 2. The last one allows Cristina to spot weaknesses in items, structures, and people - both her rapier and her insults tend to hit home. Her Allies are Ancient Nobility (1) and the Thieves' Guild (1), but the Ancient Nobility is also her Enemy (1) - a string of broken and pierced hearts will do that.

In terms of General Abilities, she has Athletics 4, Burglary 4, Stealth 6, Sway 8, and Warfare 8. 

• Flamboyant Clothing.
• A sharp tongue and a sharper rapier.
• A gondola with a small compartment with refreshments, and a padded cabin.
• A small book with lists of names, both from amorous encounters and duels.
• The latest letter coming from grandmother, crumpled and still closed

I feel like the twins are a bit semi-covertly working for the family, though both obviously also have their own agendas. Cristina will groom and nurture conflict with other noble families, and I can see her sometimes do so when carefully steered by her sister. And then someone stops being a problem. I am sure Adrianna similarily could get her to steal a specific item during a ball, and I think that she will also be the dealer taking any hot items off her sister's hands. Sometimes to sell them off, sometimes to hand them over to grandmother. And thus the rebel is actually working for the family still.

The bottom line is that you can find her sheet here.

Now to come up with a third party member.

Day 28: Swords of the Serpentine - Adrianna Santambrogio, 'Dri', merchant

Man, I really like this game! Let's make another character! How about Adrianna Santambrogio? The name stems from a great SotS name generator found on a third-party site with tools. Stepping out of the game for a second - the name refers to the concept of sainthood. This gives me the idea of connecting Adrianna to the Church of Denari. Obviously, her family has some role in the hierarchy. Either Church or Ancient Nobility, which are the descendants of the people who made the deal with the goddess that allowed the creation of the city. There might very well be some such families that traditionally have some dealings with the church, right? Mmhh... how about she is officially a merchant of unknown origin, dealing in used (sometimes stolen) goods in the city. But in reality, she is the youngest member of an old, noble family, who spies for the Inquisitors. But she, of course, also shares her findings with her family. Beyond that, she keeps up an intense trade in rumors and secrets - bringing in money, favors, and lots and lots of information. Contacts are her lifeblood, and she has likely made some weird deals. 

Adrianna is Friendly, Patriotic, Secretive, and Religious. For her, the best things in life are:

• The song of money flowing through the city.
• My grandmother's approval.
• Toppling your family's enemies without them ever knowing you had a hand in it.

She isn't the most healthy of people, but she is headstrong (Health 6, Morale 12). For Investigative Abilities, she will have a point in Liar's Tell, Nobility, and Servility, two in Charm, two in City's Secrets, and four in Scurrilous Rumors. The latter makes her a nightmare on the battlefield of intrigue,  since it allows her to know but also effectively create and spread rumors...I have a thought that she will use her shop, and maybe some other places where she works in Denari's interest, and use the opportunities to farm but also spread rumors. She wields the rumor mill like a surgeon the scalpel to make life difficult for people she targets. I take the rest of the IA points over to Allies. Hers are the Church of Denari (2), Ancient Nobility (1, essentially her family), and the Thieves Guild (1). Her sole enemies are the Sorcerous Cabals (1), due to the aforementioned deals, but mainly since she probably made life difficult for them in the past. But I see her accumulating more enemies quickly once play starts. General Abilities are Athletics 4, Preparedness 8, Stealth 8, and Sway 10 - her tongue is really quite sharp when needed!

For Gear I decide on:

• A tent in the Temple Market, filled with strange, used items.
• Colorful but practical clothing, embroidered with swans.
• Shifty manners and ticks that drop away once she is out of her shop.
• A collection of small, handwritten books, in personal cypher, containing secrets.
• A lot of customers from all walks of life.
• A backroom in Sag Harbor, where she trades food to the poor for secrets.

(The last item sadly does not appear in the PDF, the generator has limits).

Fun character, very different from the previous ones. They all would hate each other as well, I think. 

You can find the sheet here.

Day 20: Swords of the Serpentine - Imelda Minucci, city watch thief catcher with a secret

Time for an encore; Swords of the Serpentine has been on my mind quite a bit the last few weeks, so I decided to do a repeat. Mostly since I had a simple scene in my mind, one of a battered thief hunter, somewhere in a hidden chamber well below the city. A partially sun-lit chamber, floor covered with sand, and the hunter is in deep conversation with a giant scorpion. Boots of someone likely deceased are just jutting into the image. For some reason, it is obvious that the monster and the thief hunter are becoming friends of some sort.

Enter Imelda Minucci, said thief hunter. Since I have described how to make a SotS character already on Day 7, I will not repeat that part. Instead, I will talk a bit about Imelda. I picture her as someone quiet, usually mono-syllabic, but competent at her day job. She has hidden depths and has always looked for something ... different. I think while she likes people well enough, she has always been looking for someone to have deeper conversations with. Turns out she found it a while ago when chasing a heavy from the thieves guild deep into the hidden areas under the city. I am thinking all of this happened somewhere under Sag Harbor, a poor area where Imelda both works and lives. I think she shadowed the bad guy to Ropso's Fight Club (nomen est omen), and then further underground. At some point, she ran into a trap, and only made it out since the giant scorpion, hidden deep in the bowels of the city after escaping the FC as a youngling, decided to intervene. 

Imelda came back from time to time, largely to convince herself that she did not imagine that the scorpion had helped, and might even be friendly. After a time she tried to connect via scratches in the ground. Finally, she managed to hunt down a sorcerer who helped her strike a minor deal with a small god to get access to sorcery, in return for some help that should not be mentioned. I think the sorcerer probably learned her true name in the process, something she does not know about. This will allow him easier access to her with his magic. And if the GM wants she might still owe the god a favor.

So, what about the stats? Her Best Things in Life depict why she became a thief hunter - she loves 'Springing Traps on a Trapper', the thrill of outwitting someone who traps and hunts people for profit, like thieves, burglars, robbers. Killers. She enjoys challenging her own viewpoint - 'Deep conversation with someone from a wildly different world'. Learning to communicate via magic allowed her to contact more monstrosities, and she is slowly becoming an ally of sorts to them. At least the nicer ones. Finally, she has a soft spot for the outcast ('Protecting those outcast'), underlying both her watch activities and her unusual relationships.

Her other stats should mostly explain themselves; socially, she will usually try the more charming approach and tends to backstab more than threaten and attack (Charm 1, Liar's Tell 1, Servility 1, Trustworthy 1). She is a Sentinel and has the basic abilities her work requires (Felonious Intent 1, Laws & Traditions 1, Vigilance 1), but her unusual place in the watch, and her hobby, have led to some unusual additions. She has a better idea of the hidden nooks and crannies of Eversink than most coppers, and she has also learned basic magic (City's Secrets 1, Skulduggery 1, Corruption 1, Know Monstrosities 2). Her magic sphere is Monstrosities (Mental). It depicts the communication ability, but I assume that comes with some other capacities, and I think her non-human contacts might serve to explain rare occasions where this becomes useful towards humans. Imagine driving enemies away when some 'friends' of hers appear, which mechanically might very well be the use of her Sorcery. 

Her General Abilities are varied, she has Athletics 2 (from walking and running a lot), Burglary 2 (Thief-Catchers do weird things in the pursuit of criminals), Preparedness 8, Stealth 4, Sorcery 2, Sway 4, and Warfare 8.

Finally, equipment-wise she is subtle; she has chosen a place to live that allows easy access to the underground where her friends roam, and she has some items that describe her past. The trinkets that she has gathered from monstrosities serve as color for the Sorcery, and maybe some other abilities. She is a subtle character, with hidden depths. A team player who might pull out a colorful surprise at some point during a game.

Done.

Note: Now that I am done I realize that I could just make the same character without the Sorcery and Corruption; after all, the game does allow one to use any explanation for abilities, and GM willing I could just say she can talk to non-human Monsters and use Ally Monstrosities (maybe pushed to 2) as an excuse to add color to other abilities. But I like the idea that someone like Imelda went out and made a shady deal to learn sorcery, putting her on a new life path.

Edit: Generated an image using DallE.

Day 11: Night's Black Agents - Christophe Laurent, get-away driver

Night's Black Agents is another Gumshoe game, and this is the first game I am talking about here that I have GMed before. Quite a lot, actually. It is an excellent game, in which players are freelancers in the world of espionage that run afoul of a vampire conspiracy, and have to fight it. The game offers a lot of tools to play different types of espionage flavour, and for creating lots of different types of vampires as opposition. It is maybe the most crunchy Gumshoe game on the market, but that does not make it difficult. The rules excel at making the PCs competent, and allowing them to play risky, and still come out ahead. In case you haven't noticed, I like the game a lot. For this one, I am using TheBlackBook, Pelgrane Press' own character editor/campaign management webpage.

I will create a guy called Christophe Laurent, who I envision as a former member of ETA, around 2005. I assume he slid into the terrorism game as a youth but left after a short while when his ideals met the reality of civilian casualties. His dad was a car mechanic specialising in customization and tuning, and young Christophe hasn't met a vehicle he can't master. With ETA he worked as a clandestine courier; since he left, he has worked in the shady world of the freelance espionage game and organized crime, offering his skills as a wheel artist to the highest bidder that he is willing to work with. Theft is ok, even violence, but no civilians!

These days he is driven by a simple issue - he is seen as a traitor by many former friends and is still on record as a terrorist, so he has no other way to make a living that he can see. His Drive is 'Nowhere Else To Go'. The Drive comes into play in certain play modes (NBA's way to adjust the espionage side), and if it does it adds another way to tie roleplaying to mechanics. His Background will be Wheel Artist; this essentially just tells me which skills would be good for someone with that Background to have. For MOS I choose Sense Trouble - once a session Christophe automatically succeeds at a Sense Trouble roll, no questions asked. He is really good at running before the shit hits the fan, so to speak.

NBA has a lot more Investigative Abilities than SotS had, and I get to distribute 22 points. There are no specific professions or allegiances. As an NBA character, Christophe gets a free point in Tradecraft (essentially basic espionage training) and Streetwise. Two points in an investigative ability mean he is on the level of a regular professional. Wheel Artists suggests two points in Cop Talk and Urban Survival each - he knows how to connect with cops and get out of things, and he knows his ways around cityscapes, along the lines of finding optimal routes, that kind of thing. As a Wheel Artist he also should have two points in Streetwise.

I add single points in History, Human Terrain (understanding how people organize, essentially), Law, Research, Bureaucracy, Negotiation, Reassurance, Forgery, Outdoor Survival, Photography, and Traffic Analysis (analysis of flows of data or logistics). Two points each go into Languages (meaning he speaks up to five foreign languages, which can be decided at game time), Bullshit Detector, and Notice. Most of these skills I find fitting for his place in life, and the way he earns a livelihood. Photography and History are more hobbies, and maybe an interest in his country's past.

Now to General Abilities. NBA comes with a few points here already, 10 in Cover (used in-game to make up Cover identity documents on the spot, as something the PC already had from their life before) and 15 in Network (similar, but spent to create useful contacts). He also comes with 4 points each in Health and Stability (not Sanity, this is more about developing PTSD and the like). As a Wheel Artist, he should have Driving at 10, Mechanics and Piloting at 4. I take those, but raise Mechanics to 8. General Abilities unlock special effects, so-called Cherries, at 8. Beyond that he gets Athletics at 8, Conceal at 8, Disguise 4, Health raised to 8, Preparedness 8 (this skill allows the player to pull things out of thin air since the character planned well), Sense Trouble 8, Stability raised to 8, and Shooting 4. Yep, 70 points to distribute, NBA characters start out really capable.

The different special effects he gets mean that he can gain some Athletics points by giving cool descriptions, and he can help people out if they have issues with such actions ('here, grab the rope!').  He can hide small objects like a small knife well enough to pass a standard body search (not Xray or strip search) without a roll. He can hotwire normal cars without having to roll and gain Driving points with cool descriptions. His Mechanics and Preparedness work together - he can spend Mechanics points for Preparedness, as long as he provides a cool flashback of how he jury-rigged something (think Mission Impossible montage). His Preparedness not only allows him to have prepared some kit in advance but at this level also timed effects like a previously rigged disturbance to shake off pursuers in a chase, that kind of thing. Finally, even though he is not a great combatant, his innate Sense Trouble allows him to act early in combat (presumably to duck or evade). He is also marginally harder to hit, as the athletic guy he is.

Finally, I decide that he carries around a locket he inherited from his grandmother, with an image of the family ancestral farm in it, as a symbol of what he lost and hopes to come back to. He also has a close friend named Mathilda Berrington, a drifter who is working as a roadie in Europe, and who is the one person he feels close to enough to talk to about private thoughts. Finally, he owns a small private close to Banyuls-sur-Mer in France, where he feels safe. All of these can play a role in the right play-mode to keep him from a mental break, and of course as story hooks for the GM. 

Done.

 

Day 6: Swords of the Serpentine - Agostinho Alberti, poetic moonlight sorceror

Swords of the Serpentine is the most recent incarnation of the Gumshoe system, and was written by Kevin Kulp and Emily Dresner. The book itself is not available yet, but pre-order of the print edition gives access to the PDF. SotS is a Sword and Sorcery game that comes with a suggested setting, a fantasy city called Eversink. Eversink is surrounded by swamps, existing only due to the grace of the goddess Denari who a thousand years ago made a contract with some people for the city to become possible. These people became the ancestors of the current nobility and the city is... kind of actually the goddess. It is actually called Denari, but people took to calling it Eversink since most buildings in it are constantly sinking, a few centimeters each year. Eversink is a kind of fantasy not-quite-Renaissance Venice, full of politics, crime, and adventure.

The game features some really cool mechanics and is less crunchy than for example Night’s Black Agents. There is an excellent character generator online here, which I employed. So, let’s make a character.

My idea is to make a poetic Sorcerer, a melancholic creature called Agostinho Alberti. The rest should become apparent during creation. Generally, we would make a whole party in one go, all players together. But it is just me. So, Agostinho will be an only child. 

First I choose his Profession. We can choose Sorcerer (done), but Warrior, Thief, or Sentinel would also be possible. These are not set in stone, and abilities can be mixed and matched, with a very slight cost. Sentinels, by the way, are detectives/policemen/investigator types. Commander Vimes of Ankh Morpork would be a good example. 

Next, I come up with a few Adjectives to describe Agostinho. Let us go with Melancholic, Delicate, Distractible, Friendly, and Empathetic. Not a bad guy, if a tad too dramatic. 

Then we answer the famous question “What is Best in Life?” - we need three answers:

1. “To see the moonlight mirrored in heavy drops of rain” (Yeah, goth it up!)
2. “Living life to the fullest, by proxy”
3. “Helping those in dire straits”

I think these three allow him to be a good party member, if maybe a bit shy.

Gumshoe games have two types of Abilities, Investigative and General. Investigative abilities succeed automatically when it comes to finding associated clues, and points are mostly there to spend for specific effects. There is never any rolling involved here. In SotS there are social IA, IA for each of the four professions, and Allegiances. We distribute points between the IA for social and professions. The number depends on the number of players in the game. If we only spend these points in social IA, and at maximum IA of one profession, our focus is rewarded with one extra point.  Since I think Agostinho might be a bit insufferable I assume there is no party; he is also focused on his Sorcery. This means I can spend 15 points.

I will go with Corruption 4; this is the IA needed for Sorcery, and as mopey as he is Agostinho is really competent. Beyond that, I choose Forgotten Lore 2 (meaning he knows a lot of ancient lore, and can in fact make up things in that realm during play by spending some of these points), Leechcraft 2 (some healing), and Prophecy 2 (predict the future, also useful for player story contributions). Finally, I look at social abilities and take Liar’s Tell 1 (spotting untruths), Nobility 2 (I picture Agostinho as a former noble), and Trustworthy 2 (he can be strangely supportive and believable).

Now for his Allegiances - strictly speaking, these are also Investigative Abilities, and I could have spent points here. However, they can be negative (meaning the GM gets to spend points to introduce shenanigans caused by that faction), and every PC at generation gets two points for allies and one for an enemy. Independent of the other points for IA. Mmhh… the Thieves Guild is an Ally - Agostinho sometimes helps their less competent members with their problems, either with sorcery or by patching them up. The Sorcerous Cabals are both my Allies and Enemies - he is one of them, and a good one to know since he is friendly, if a bit morose. But he is also an embarrassment, and maybe a bit too happy to display what he is - Sorcery isn’t banned, but it is complicated. Big sorcery beyond the everyday stuff usually causes corruption, and this can be internalized, which leads to changes in the Sorcerer themselves or externalized. The latter causes devastation in the environment, in Eversink literally the goddesses body. So, sorcery isn't illegal, causing corruption very much is, and sorcerors are not exactly welcomed with open arms. There is the inquisition of the Church of Denari to think of as well. They aren't an enemy yet but might be in the long run. I assume at the moment it is mostly other Sorcerers, some of whom see not-quite-there Agostinho as a potential risk. I like it!

I also get to spend points on General Abilities. These are more classical skills, rolled with a D6 plus however many points I spend. Let's take Bind Wounds 4, Preparedness 8 (Agostinho is very good at pulling stuff out of his invisible narration hat), Stealth 4, Sorcery 10 (yep, a magical overachiever), and Sway 4. Several of these are likely a consequence of his magic; SotS is big on making the narrative dependent on the whole character. So, Stealth or Binding Wounds might be mundane, but also might just be done magically somehow. I like the idea that Agostinho is sometimes just not quite there when in shadows, blending into the aether. Binding Wounds I will explain using equipment later. Finally, I split points between Health and Morale, for 8 Health, 10 Morale. He is likely a bit emaciated and not in perfect health, but not quite earthly, so not easily fazed.

Now for the magic; first I have to choose whether Agostinho's magic affects Health or Morale when used against people. Let’s go with Morale. Next are Sorcerous Spheres, areas of magic Agostinho can influence. There is no fixed list, it is up to invention. I go with Rain, Moonlight, Shadow, and Memory. Oh sorcerous sadness, ride the skies in the light of the rain-cast moon.

Finally, I will get some equipment. Again, equipment in this game is not purchased from a big list or something but for the most part supposed to underline the character and explain some abilities. How about…

Seemingly neverending dark blue robes that blend into the night and obscure the body

A pouch with memories in small, tear-shaped vials, gleaned painstakingly from shadow’s friends in the light of sister moon.

A few dark violet silken scarfs which staunch blood flows from wounds.

A jaunty, colorful cap, kept hidden in the depths of my robes

A small hut, built on top of a hospital; the hut doesn’t have any entrances beyond several windows too small to enter through.

Done!

And that is a valiant attempt at out-gothing anyone in this game. As a final note SotS will in my opinion be one of the finest games coming out these years, and I heartily recommend anyone to take a look.

Edit: Generated an image using DallE.