Verad

Special Guest Event Poster Bellveil reporting in! Apologies for the extreme brevity of these event descriptions, as well as for the lack of pun titles, which were forbidden on pain of death. Specific dates are to follow. Please make sure to consult with the symbol attached to the event to ensure you are still following your plot thread. 1. Fishers of Men - Tuesday, March 21, 8:00 PM CST [Mostly Social] [&] Investigate the Cult of Ratatsokr to figure out what the hell's going on! 1. Evangeline Primrose 2. Klynzahr Ihrnachtwyn 3. Nihka Mioni 4. Virara Wakuwa 2. A Perfect Pest - Wednesday, March 23, 8:00 PM CST [Mostly Social] [%] Follow Friont's trail before things get worse! 1. Anstarra Silverain 2. Enju Abbagliato 3. Martillais Heuloix 4. 3. Abiding in Death - Thursday, March 24, 8:00 PM CST [Mostly Social] [#] Consult with dragons and the Ossuary about the problem of zombie dragons! 1. Sarnai 2. Leanne Delphium 3. Orrin Halgren 4. Reppu Hijiri 4. Where Two or Three Are Gathered - Sunday, March 27, 8:00 PM CST [Mostly Social] [$] Meet and discuss plans with the Inquisition! 1. Jana Ridah 2. Gallien Vyese 3. V'aleera Lhuil 4. Nheu'a Polaali

Do . . . Do I really need to answer this?

Character Name: Verad Bellveil Poem still pending since I've literally just heard of this. Representing Dubious Distributions.

She's not kidding about that first part. I am planning to recategorize an entire section of my wiki as "Aya Rumours."

I play a lot of Fate by way of using it in the game itself. It's not my absolute favorite system, but I think it's a good fit for a narrative-heavy environment like freeform RP. I have owned a lot of tabletop systems and only played a fraction of them. Unknown Armies is probably the worst offender in this regard because I love the setting and think it's a great system with a better sanity mechanic than the vaunted CoC rules, but it's difficult to get a group going. Burning Wheel is another example, and I've used some of its character design principles in making RP characters since purchasing the system on a whim. I've played D&D in most of its early forms, starting with the BECMI set and working up through 5th. 4th and 5th are where I've spent the most time actually playing the game, as my high school years were spent playing Rifts, Legend of the Five Rings, and a smattering of White Wolf games. I liked 4th edition in spite of the many, many criticisms about it, and would play it again if I had an appropriate group. I used to have a group that was big on experimentation and homebrewing, so we played lots of one-shot indie games as well as classic systems like Traveller and CoC. The downside of this is that I've only rarely seen the end of a campaign because new things would take our interest before the old one was finished. To date, the Fate-14 plots and the D&D campaign I was in for the better part of a six months are the only ones that have concluded in recent memory. Right now I'm a bit at odds with the RPG industry, which seems to have divided along wanting to make short indie games and revitalizing the old-school dungeon crawl. There's also an emphasis on system without setting as part of a DIY-aesthetic that's been fine for the most part, but I'd like a good, weird setting that I'd never have thought of with the contents of my brain alone. That's driven me back to older games like Tekumel and Runequest, the latter in particular - Glorantha is fascinatingly weird, and I'm looking forward to the release of the new edition with system and setting merged together.

Following the end of the most recent big storyline in Roll Eorzea, I have stepped down as Linkshell Master. Current staff members are as follows: Master - Spahro Llorn Leaders - Anstarra Silverain, Nihka Mioni Any of them can be contacted for invites, questions about the linkshell, and rules questions.

Crimes Against Nature Post-Mortem As with The Scales in the Sands, this is an analysis of what I think worked particularly well about the plot over the past six months, as well as some thoughts on where to proceed in the future. A brief overview: My original plan for this plot involved expanding on the number of opponents who could stand toe-to-toe with the players after dealing with the problem of large, single bosses being very easy to beat for a savvy group in Scales. The plan was to have the twelve prisoners as a regular threat, each posing an individual challenge, and each death slowly revealing the corruption of the real villain, to lead to a climactic boss-fight. I estimated it would take about three months. Since all involved know how off-base almost everything in my projections turned out to be, let's look at what worked. Strengths Theme: The concept of taking a closer look at the problems inherent in Gridanian governance - specifically that it used to be based on some pretty brutal suppression of groups marked as outsiders as recently as a generation ago, and that it is based around a kind of living child sacrifice - hit hard for a number of players, and generally everybody was sympathetic to at least one of the prisoners or O-Rehn Fahn with a few exceptions. It hit so hard that I hadn't considered the roleplayer capacity for mercy. That was part of what made the plot last so long - since nobody killed any prisoners, O-Rehn remained uncorrupted for longer. If even one had died earlier in the story, it would have taken a very different turn. Flexibility: The above necessitates discussing another element: This story could have been very different, insofar as it was "scripted." My plans for it presumed what would happen if characters killed NPC X or Y, but did not rely on them for the plot to continue. There are notes for events written up that either never came to pass or played out differently. The dungeons were different based on the order in which they were tackled. There was a third dungeon that I'd never considered but everybody seemed eager to try, so why not write it up? As a general rule of advice for budding Fate-14 DMs, it's useful to not get too attached to a specific set of outcomes in order for the story to progress. Co-DMs: Credit needs to be given to Nihka Mioni and Spahro Llorn for helping with this, addressing a problem I'd had with Scales. The two of them did a great job handling sideplots, and Nihka's storyline expanded into a mini-plot of its own. They were also extremely helpful for answering sheet questions, handling rules disputes, and introducing new players. I would be a wreck right now if it were not for their assistance. Office Hours: Taking a cue from academia and setting specific office hours where I could answer questions about the rules or help people with adjusting their sheets lightened my workload considerably as DM. Prior to that, I would field questions from players nearly constantly, and while I can't fault the enthusiasm, it did mean it was my main activity whenever I logged on. If you plan to DM and manage a larger storyline of your own, I highly recommend this. Weaknesses Too Many Hooks (Too Many Hooks . . . ): While having a lot of prisoners and the mystery of how they got out and where they came from gave many, many opportunities for players to get involved early in the plot, there were so many different angles to consider that I couldn't give appropriate attention to all of them, and could easily have shaved several. Some of these hooks were not developed through player choice: Hamond Wolfedge, the Ala Mhigan monk from before Theodric's rise to power, was largely ignored. Others were present, but weren't well-developed due to lack of time. In particular, I think I could have cut out Pelderain Dornier, the Duskwight quack, and the Horse Oil plot at large without affecting the overall storyline. Information Sharing: In Scales, one of the things I liked about the plot was that small event sizes required players to RP out of events in order to pool information and come up with plans of action. Crimes has shown me the downside of that in what happens when players won't pool information. There were several instances where players were at an impasse because their characters, for legitimate in-character reasons, did not trust each other and wouldn't share information they'd gained. This was another cause of the plot's length because it could lead to OOC delays as people argued over whether they should be working together or not, and I was not a fan of using the Fate-14 system to compel people to talk to each other. In future storylines I'll need to find some means for players to communicate effectively on the OOC level without compromising what they feel they would do in-character. Kidnapping Nihka Mioni: I need to qualify this by saying that I feel the kidnapping was the correct move for the plot as a whole. We had telegraphed the possibility of it at several points throughout the storyline by including her kidnapper from very early in the plot, and several people were aware it was a possibility. The resolution of the kidnapping also tied into the themes of the plot mentioned above, and primed some characters to be in a very dangerous mental state when they confronted Neruhm. That said, the practical act of managing the kidnapping was messy because many people were very invested in finding her as soon as possible, which made the larger storyline grind to a halt for a week or two. and in part because there was a conflict between what people were trying to do to find the character and what Nihka and I had deemed plausible methods. I found myself in a position where people were getting angry because their actions were not producing results, but I was unwilling to compromise on the difficulty of trying to find her based on the means described. It led to a lot of frustration on all sides, and I will be much more careful about attempting any plot development of such nature in future storylines. What's Next? For me, a break. I've been tinkering with the Fate-14 system for a year and a half. In that time I've run four storylines - two while I was testing out the basic system in Harbingers of Dawn and two more on my own, here in the forums. In that time a lot of people have taken interest, the popularity of the system has expanded enough that I know of at least one FC using a version of it for their own storylines, and other members of the Roll Eorzea linkshell are already planning new stories in the wake of Crimes' ending. In that time I've experienced the problem everybody who spends most of their time DMing experiences - the inability to play my own character. I've been fine with this; Verad is a bit player in the world, and I'm happy to take a backseat IC while other people do bigger things. But I'd like to get back to playing him and a few alts in earnest. To that end, I'm going to be stepping down from managing the Roll Eorzea linkshell in favor of other members as significant staff. The Fate-14 rules are finished with the single document Fate-14 Complete, and that will replace the document links in the linkshell's page. The only other document I will be adding is a bestiary of common Eorzean critters for ease of DM use. It's been a pleasure running storylines for everyone; no doubt in the future I will get the itch again. I cannot thank the RPC and Balmung community enough for taking so much of an interest in these plots that the system could grow the way it did. It's yours, now. Please look forward to it.

Years From Now, Somewhere in the Shroud “Do you remember the first time you planted a tree?” Brand asked the question without looking back, for if he took his eyes off of his feet he was sure he’d lose his balance. The pond near his family’s farm had a bunch of old stumps and logs leftover from the Calamity, and sometimes he and the other boys on the nearby steads would play to see who could stand on the smallest one the longest. Right now Oswyn was the best, he’d been able to stand on the smallest for a half-bell on only one foot, and he’d made it back to the shore without falling. So, with a nice warm day and all his chores on the farm done, Brand had come out to practice. O-Rehn laughed. “As a matter of fact, I do,” he said. Brand hadn’t expected his friend to be out at the lake, but he was glad to see him all the same. It was fine anyway; he’d told Brand he didn’t like to go out to the farms, so when they met it was out in the woods. He was a little older than Brand, and he had Padjal horns and all, but he was fine. Everybody said the Padjal were fine and kept the forest safe, so Brand never worried. “My family used to have an orchard,” he continued. “When I was about five summers my father bought some new saplings and he spent too much to hire any hands to plant them all. He took my older brother out to help him plant, and of course I wanted to help him too. So he took the very smallest of them, and he put it in my hands - if you’d turn around to see - “ “I can’t see, or I’m gonna fall!” Brand scrunched up his face as he stuck out his arms to keep his balance. “All right, all right. So he put it in my hands, and it was nearly twice my size; there was no way I could hold it. He had to walk with me to make sure he could put it in its place in the ground. Then he took it out of my hands and he said that was my first tree.” “You had to do it when you were so little? My pa made me wait until I was ni - “ He felt his shoe slip out from under him and stumbled forward a step. Pondwater loomed dangerously close when he caught himself. “Do be careful, Brand.” “I’m fine, I’m fine! And you can just do magic with the spirits to help can’t you?” A thought struck him, and Brand adopted a wide-eyed, devious look. “Can you do it to help me stay balanced?” The Padjal bobbed his head in apology. “I could, but I think your friends would notice, and I would hate for them to think you cheated. You can win on your own.” Brand scrunched his face up at being told no, but went back to keeping his balance. “Why do you ask about the tree, by the way?” “Oh, well, um.” The boy tentatively lifted himself off of one foot to see how long he could stay. A few moments of wobbling and he put it back down. “What does it sound like when you hear spirits?” “Many things. Sometimes I hear words, sometimes feelings or sights or smells. They can show themselves in all kinds of ways.” O-Rehn folded his arms behind his back - he had no staff, and Brand had heard they all had staffs or staves or however it was said, but O-Rehn said he’d given his away - and gave Brand a worried look. “Do you think you heard one?” “Maybe? I think, um.” This was too much thinking and balancing at the same time. Brand hopped back a step to one of the larger logs and sat down, kicking his legs against the old wood. “I thought I heard things whispering behind me and they just felt really happy. But it wasn’t mine? It was like - “ He frowned. The words weren’t coming out right. “It was like the whole forest was happy.” “Hm.” “And I just thought what if that was like being one of those wizards that hears things, or if it meant being like you.” His eyes widened. “Do I have to grow horns?!” “Have to?” O-Rehn paced around the side of the pond, just outside the water’s edge. “I do not believe you have to. Would you want to?” “Would I?” Brand leaned forward on the log, his brows raising. “What’s it like?” “It can be quite wonderful. You get to hear everything around you and understand it. When the forest is happy you get to hear it, and you get to make it be happy.” O-Rehn smiled, and it was a funny thing, looked sadder than anything else to Brand. “But it can also be quite sad. Sometimes the forest will say someone cannot live in it, or has to leave it. And there are other things.” “Do you have to fight monsters?” “Sometimes, but not often. No, the other things are like . . . Well, you love your parents, right?” “Uh-huh.” He would not admit this except under extreme duress anywhere else, but it was easy to tell things to O-Rehn. “And your brothers, you love them?” “. . . Most of them.” The youngest had been infringing on Brand’s space in the house of late, and winning appeals to parental authority by way of being smaller and having bigger eyes. “Just most?” “. . . Not just most.” “I see. That can make this very hard at times.” He gestured to himself. “It can take you away from them and then you don’t get to grow with them. They’ll still love you, of course, but you will not get to see them as often. If you were to be like me, that is something you would have to accept.” “Oh.” The prospect didn’t seem too appealing at first, and it must have shown on his face, as O-Rehn continued. “But you can help them be safe. Safe and happy in the Shroud. You can have a hand in that. And if you love the forest, and you love your family, it can be a good choice. And it is your choice, Brand.” He held out his hand. The log was close enough to shore that Brand could reach out take the outstretched palm if he wanted. “Is that something you want? You can say no.” Of a sudden, the child realized how quiet the forest was around him. The birds had stopped singing and there was no more buzzing of little vilekin. Everything around the pond was still. It was like the woods were watching. He reached out to take O-Rehn’s hand. -end-

Ul'dah, Alchemist's Guild "Sign here, and here." The clerk had done all of this before a thousand times, and Lynch could sense her aggravation as he found himself fumbling to even hold a pen. After forty years, he had forgotten the occasionally brutal efficiency of the system could lead to many a cramped hand and ink-stained fingers. "Annnnd . . . " She turned a page to reveal a piece of parchment that was only a blank page, and seemed mildly disappointed. "That should do it. Your license is cleared with the Guild. We'll provide you with a caravan and an inventory in a sennight's time." "Not to the Shroud?" Lynch tried to sound as if this was a small thing, but feared the fear might be creeping into his voice. If it was, she was too bored to notice. "Strictly to La Noscean ports and the Mor Dhona route to Ishgard," she repeated. "Accommodations for your partner included." Apparently this was a new feature for the guild's vendors, something to do with some personal epiphany on the part of the Guildmaster. Lynch didn't question; he merely applied to take immediate advantage of it. He looked over his shoulder, where Carter dawdled near a railing, peering at various experiments. The thief hadn't wanted to be left alone. He rarely did, now, and it had taken some effort to convince him that being in a separate room was fine. There was no meeting of the eyes between them at this moment, nothing romantic like that. If he did happen to meet Lynch's gaze, he always looked nervous, as if he were apologizing for being too forward. That was fine. There was no telling how long the two of them would last. They'd never even met before being pulled into the dark; theirs was a relationship born out of terror and the knowledge that everyone around them was even worse, just a frightened thief and an unlucky merchant. Mutual protection, as much as it was possible in the will of Neruhm, was the original goal. It had grown. Perhaps it would not last long; better things that began in better circumstances had failed, and theirs had begun in the worst. But that it lasted at all had meant something all the same. Even something good could come out of hell.

Milestones and Character Advancement If your name is listed below, you qualify for the appropriate benefits of the milestone. Please bear in mind that we will be using the pyramid structure for improving skills; I will explain this below. For this plotline, experience is being given out based on involvement throughout the length of the storyline as well as character development. If your character substantially changed through the course of the plot, you are much more likely to get a Major than a Significant milestone. Minor Milestone Ashmira Honzen Edda Eglantine Franz Renatus Ginshaw Ihrnachtwyn Jil'enkette Denma Kestya Nolan Klynzahr Ihrnachtwyn Mholi Mujuuk Nheu'a Polaali Odile Dornier Qara Htgo Spahro Llorn Tiergan/Lurial Vashir V'aleera Lhuil Verad Bellveil Minor Milestones grant one of the following benefits of the player's choice: Rewrite any Aspect except your High-Concept Aspect Swap the placement of any two skills on your sheet. Replace a +1 skill with a skill not on your sheet. Buy a new stunt, reducing your FP refresh by 1. Rewrite one of your existing stunts with a new one. Significant Milestone Aya Foxheart Enju Abbagliato Gallien Vyese Jana/Khena Ridah Leggerless Hanzou Orrin Halgren R'elend Tia Reppu Hijiri R'Shesha Otharn Significant Milestones grant the benefits of the Minor Milestone above and all of the following: Add +1 to a skill up to the limit of +4, or add a new +1 skill. The skill pyramid must still be maintained (see below) If you have an untreated Severe Consequence, rewrite it so it's in recovery. Major Milestone Anstarra Silverain Kiht Jakkya Leanne Delphium Liadan Summerfield Nihka Mioni Tengri Moks Zanzan Yanzan Major Milestones grant the benefits of the Minor and Significant Milestone above and all of the following: Gain a permanent point of Fate Point Refresh. You may immediately cash this in to buy a new stunt if you wish. Your +1 to a skill of your choice may now break the +4 limit. The skill pyramid must still be maintained (see below) You may rewrite your High-Concept Aspect if you wish. If you have received an Extreme Consequence, you may now rewrite it so it's in recovery. The Skill Pyramid (Mostly Copied from the Main Rules) Under these advancement rules, there can never be more skills at a higher level than those at a lower level. So if Verad's skills look like this: +4: Rapport +3: Contacts, empathy +2: Deceit, Rogue, Provoke +1: Will, Notice, Stealth, Resources Verad can't use a point from a Milestone to push Empathy to +4, since that would break the rule above. Instead, he would have to get a new skill at +1 and then use other milestones to push Empathy up to +4 like so: +4: Rapport, Empathy +3: Contacts, Resources +2: Deceit, Rogue, Provoke +1: Will, Notice, Stealth, Physique Some of you may have sheets that already break the pyramid from other plots. That's fine, but your skill choices in the future will need to rebuild the pyramid. If your pyramid is out of order, you may take this opportunity to reorganize your sheet entirely, or you may keep your pyramid locked as is until future milestones give it the pyramid shape. Awards Awards have no bearing on advancement and are entirely for player amusement. Wear them with pride. Expert Goose Chaser - Orrin Halgren, whose lust for Amdapor ended the threat of the dread voidsent Diabolette and sent the group on a tangent. The Hand of Fate-14: Leanne Delphium, who is the #1 most-frequent participant of events, signing up for 15 when most people have an average of 6-7 events in total. Least Likely To Blow Up Anything - Zanzan Yanzan, who, despite having the powers of pure fire and destruction at his command, has Rapport as his most-rolled skill. Most Overblown Threat - Kuru, whose frustrating cuteness thwarted the efforts of several nightmarish horrors to kill everybody else in the party. Mercy Award - Pretty much everybody for consistently choosing not to kill NPCs I was sure weren't going to make it out of their first event alive. Special mention to Leanne Delphium. Artificial Plot-Extender - Liadan Summerfield, who spent so much time hanging around the villain that he actually changed his mind when I expected him to die in a bossfight. Edit: Adjusting the tally to shift Kiht Jakkya from Significant to Major after discussion with her and the other DM.

A Few Places in Gridania: "You've a fair bit of nerve coming back here." Gerard was bad at keeping a neutral tone of voice, and preferred to sound sardonic where possible as a defense mechanism. Seeing the monk back in Quarrymill put poison in his voice, and there was nothing he could do to help it. To his credit, the monk had the decency to hang his head. He also kept a good distance away from the other refugees, who watched him with wary eyes from the other side of the river. Not just him, Gerard knew; after the botched interrogation, and putting two other good Mhigan boys in the ground thanks to it, many of those eyes were directed at him as well. "I know," he replied. "I have no excuse." Despite towering over Gerard by a good fulm, he seemed smaller, somehow, less defiant than when he'd been chained and railing against being set free to return to his "Young King Theodric." He did not look Gerard in the eye as he continued. "I was . . . unwell. I know the truth of things now." Gerard did not unbend. "That why you came back? To apologize? That it?" "Yes. And to make it right for those I have hurt." Gerard spat on the ground, glancing between the monk and over his shoulder, at the few scattered refugees. Every moon or so a few more, those who braved an escape from Ala Mhigo and a flight past a Castrum. They were in terrible shape, ragged and beaten down. If he told the monk to leave, he'd regain some favor, maybe. Put paid to the rumors he'd been in too deep with the Wailers, let them see an opportunity to get a few Mhigans slain. Certainly the monk hadn't earned a second chance. But he remembered where he was a year ago, when it had been him and a few other desperate Mhigans hiding in the caves, waging a war of his own, stolen gunblades and a battered walker their only weapons. He remembered what he'd done and who he'd slain, and how he'd had no right to a second chance himself. And then a few Keepers had spoken up for him. He snorted, and unfolded arms that had been crossed since the monk entered the fort. "Come on then," he said, stepping past the monk and clapping him on the back. "Let's get you sorted with the Hearer, see if you're allowed to stay." --- Guerrique returned to his quarters after a shift on watch at their cave's entrance to hear sobbing down the tunnel to his chambers. Typically quiet on his feet, he made a point of cracking his boot sharply on a rock to announce his presence. He said nothing, nor called out his name, and pretended to ignore the gasp of sharp surprise before she strangled herself mute. "All quiet tonight," he said once he entered the chamber, still poorly-appointed; neither of them had the heart yet to go on a proper raid, not after what the adventurers had done for them, and their furnishings were little more than cast-offs and rags, a cot or two swiped from an Adder outpost for a double-bed. Ursuline lay curled on one side, pretending to rouse herself to waking. Guerrique let this continue as he undressed himself. "Aurifort's on point. He's got good eyes, he'll be fine." His next question was light as possible, his tone airy. "Said he caught word of a caravan coming up soon. Wanna hit it?" "No." "I see." He paused, his tunic halfway undone. "Well, hrm. Maybe next sennight?" "Maybe." She was good at sounding drowsy, excellent at feigning a half-asleep shrug of the shoulders. "Yeah, that's good." He went back to undoing his vest, and he was sure, later, that the only reason the words came out so easily was because he had that momentary distraction. "How about we just swive off then, ditch the clan and light off elsewhere?" She freezed, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark he saw her turn her body to face him through the rustling of her clothes. "What?" "Clan's dead," he said, matter-of-fact as he could. "Old one, anyway. 'Bellies got it first, and time got the rest. What we're building, it'll be new, but not what we had. Can't get it back." "Just abandon everything." Her eyes were worst when Guerrique couldn't see them clear. He knew the gaze was on him. "Y-yeah, pet, just like that. You're dying here. Finishing the job got started in the dark. So let's go." "Or?" There had to be an or, didn't there. He wasn't a talker. He couldn't explain. He couldn't say the place was killing her, and she was killing her. That every night and in every training he could see the spark fall out and away from her face, lost in the thought she couldn't watch the Padjal end himself. He could chat, sure, but he couldn't convince her, couldn't explain. So there had to be an or. "Or it's me," he said, at last, his mouth dry. "Or I just go on alone." "You'd do that?" "Mm. I would." He fell silent. She stared. Later in the night, Aurifort missed two shadows in the dark, creeping away together. Bereft of leadership, the nascent clan disbanded. --- "Hearns, someone to see - shite, sorry, someone to meet with you." Hadrian frowned, keeping his hand on his tankard. The Boar was smoky, and visibility was (hah) limited, but he could only tell through the acrid smell of stale tobacco in his nostrils. They said blindness was supposed to enhance the senseless. They were full of shite and if he ever got ahold of whoever said it he'd thump them about the ear if he could find it, which would no doubt involve some fumbling and laughter on their part as they fled out of his reach. Things were all settled then. The Serpents had been placated, most of his crew had received appropriate compensation for their work, and souls had been saved. A bully good time for all involved. And Hearns? He got to be blind as a deaf bat and possessed of a pair of scabrous and scarred pits in place of eyesockets. Still, not being tortured for all eternity was a benefit. And his position was secure; he'd squirreled away his part of the horn powder sales, and swiped Pelderain's share since he had no need for it. His room and board were frugal but stable, so he couldn't gripe too severe. He was now just another battered old Wailer telling stories around the bar with a few battered old Wailers doing the same, clinging to the mask on his face like it was the only thing left that mattered about it. Gods, how he despised it. "Hearns?" His griping was interrupted by the repeated insistence of one of the boys. He couldn't tell which - hoarse laughter and voices ruined by smoke and strong drink all sounded the damn same when there was no face to tell them apart. "Hm? Yeah, sure, bring him to the table. First one's on me." He smiled, and took a long pull of ale to hide the scowl that followed thereafter. He was allowed a moment in relative peace before, amongst the background chatter of the Boar's clientele, he heard the waddling patter of tiny feet and the scrape of a chair, the grunt of someone small struggling to use it. Some things were clearer, and he knew a Lalafell's gait when he heard it. "You're Hadrian Hearns?" The voice was a little high and nasal, a bit too formal. Ul'dahn accent. Hearns could hear the gil clinking behind every syllable. That wasn't improved hearing, mind, just plain xenophobia, even if it was true. "That's me. You with the Ossuary or something? Man at the bar get you a drink?" "No, I am quite fine, thank you. I wanted to ask you about the possibility of employment." "Who, me? Not really in the security business anymore, ser, eh . . . " He gestured with his other hand. "Jeresu Resu, ser Hearns. And no, I don't require you for a bodyguard. I understand there's some bad blood between you and a certain Mr. Bellveil?" Hearns recoiled as if struck, his lips thinning below his mask. After the moment's surprise, they split into a broad and sharp grin, and he leaned forward to rest one elbow on his table "Really now. If it's that's kind of work, then please, go on."

Sometime in the Near Future, Location Undisclosed: Minutes from the Trial of Zelia Godois, Formerly Captain in the Order of the Entwined Serpents, 3rd day of trial: Tribunal reconvenes with Captains Clifois, Geadiu, and Drepoud in attendance, and summarized testimony of the Sixth Spear from the day prior finding this in accordance with the events reported by retired Wailers from first day of trial (See attached document for summary of witness identities). Captain Clifois calls for Godois’ subaltern, Lieutenant Nyvellise, to provide testimony regarding alleged patronage of Senna family. Nyvellise offers a prepared statement from the Senna family disavowing any deeper connection between Godois and the family beyond their initial recommendation for placement in the Entwined Serpents, stresses that recommendation was based on “merit.” Any implication of an exchange of favors was entirely the belief of Captain Godois. The accused seemed visibly stricken by this. Following disavowal, Godois is called to testify and offered chance to recant prior statements. Godois refuses, insisting that her intended victim was, indeed, a rogue Padjal determined to destroy the Shroud. Geadiu and Drepoud both demand she cease what is tantamount to heresy. Godois refuses to relent, and insists her further statements are inscribed accurately for posterity: [A large section of this document has been removed with surgical precision and replaced with a description of opo-opo mating habits] Following a brief period of discussion, the Tribunal declares Captain Zelia guilty of crimes against nature, and recommend she be stripped of her rank and sentenced to execution. The accused is determined to be placed in the Wailing Gaol, pending a sentencing date. The tribunal briefly discusses plans for a late breaking of fast, and determines to have buttons in a blanket.

But is it dubious? He was never invited back to play cards again, so I assume so.

If it's anything like the last time, use the opportunity to berate everyone around him while making no effort to cover up, then march out the door escorted by a squad of heavily-armed Keeper ladies.

As of last night's event, Crimes Against Nature is complete. Experience and a post mortem will follow next week. Participants are welcome to continue posting in the IC thread for any final thoughts and epilogues.

Have there been any combats reliant on larger numbers of enemies? Also, you mention providing examples of enemy stats. I'd definitely like to see some for the sake of seeing what is an appropriately balanced challenge for the number of players you're describing.

Whenever I see "Dark" or "Mature" in somebody's tags: "I would like other roleplayers to quibble about exaggerated versions of what this means instead of asking me directly."

This is the last event, and, understandably, there's going to be a lot of interest, well beyond the 5 allotted spaces. That being the case, let's make the following modification: The scene is open. However, when time comes to put dice on the table for the final actions, it will be up to four participants. This can be either those who have already signed up, or left to the choice of the players who appear. We'll play that out as things proceed on Saturday.

Maybe you and Tengri can share a spot. >.> That's a reasonable compromise. One Au Ra enters and a Keeper leaves. I'll set it up that way.

Final Fahn-tasy Situation: All is in readiness. The twelve prisoners have been quelled, and the entity (or whatever it was) Neruhm has been laid dormant. All that remains is to cleanse the remaining prisoners and free O-Rehn Fahn of his corruption, severing the last remaining ties to his unfortunate bargain. But will the adventurers listen to his last request? Date/Time: Thursday, 7 PM CST 1. Liadan Summerfield 2. Gallien Vyese 3. Tengri Geneq (Early)/Nihka Mioni (Late) 4. 5. Note: If you have not already been a participant in Crimes Against Nature, it is not a good idea to sign up for this.

Senile old man and threat to public health treated as charming by people who should know better.

1. We are still around. 2. There has been a revision of the Fate-14 rules. Most of this isn't drastic; it's a condensing of the three documents used so far into one, a clarification of rules or explanation of options that should be available to players, and a tweaking of Job and class abilities. A link to the new document can be found here: Fate-14 Complete

You spend two years fine-tuning and modifying a dice-system and working with 30+ players at a time because god dammit roll RP has merit.

We will set First and Forsaken Fahn for . . . Sunday, Jan 31st, 8PM CST That should give people time to wrap this subplot with Nihka that has sprung up, as well as find information regarding where, precisely, O-Rehn Fahn is at the moment. Speak now or forever hold your piece. Or just PM it. Or just mention if there's a scheduling conflict.

The first two Open Events are by necessity going to be hotly contested. OOC discussion between those who have expressed interest is critical. I will not be signing those up on a first-come first-serve basis.