Tales From Five Rivers/Five Rivers Sandbox discussion/OOC th

OK, here's the official notification.

I'll be joining the party as well, based on what I feel the party needs, as well as acting as GM as needed.

Still working on the world (more on that later), but for now we'll need to do character creation.

There are 2 ways we can do it.  I'll do the first for now unless people start getting too "lucky" with their rolls:

1. 4d6 and drop lowest, then assign as you wish. I'll allow honor system on this unless it looks like someone's fudging numbers, then I'll force option 2.

2. I roll 18d6, listing each individually. Assign and total dice as you wish (scores must be between 3 and 18). If you really want to assign 6 dice to Strength so you can get an 18 (apparently I rolled horribly), that's your call, but that's that many fewer dice for the other 5 scores...


Then we need race and class. The major powers will be Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Orc (no you can't play an Orc. More on that in a bit). Halflings are numerous, but don't have any global influence.

Of the optional races, Half-Elves and Gnomes will be available, but the party may only have one each. Of the other three optional races, they won't exist unless someone decides to play them, then I can use em too (evil grin).
[NOTE: Of these, Tiefling is currently the only ones available]

All the classic classes are available, except Monk (an Eastern character doesn't fit a Western setting). Also, the Warlock (mage who gains power through a pact with an Entity) will not be available, as they are, by nature, evil (unless we all really want to go that route...)

Lastly, I'll want a backstory. Who is your character and why are they on the road (and, more importantly, why are they in Five Rivers?)? This will help me find hooks to hang adventures on. I'll then help with fleshing out characters on a first-come basis


Now, as to setting up the world, I'm looking to do a second "sandbox" game where, in addition to your characters, you're running one of the powers in the world (no, your character doesn't have to come from there, and in fact might be sent against there in a future adventure!). I'm working on the system now, but the realm will have the same 6 attributes, but they will vary depending on the influence on the world


The game will be primarily an "interactive fiction" style game, where everyone adds to the story until dice need to be rolled (combat, skill checks, etc), then the story takes a break long enough for me to put on my GM hat and resolve things. Post as often as you like, but if we're hung up waiting for you to post (such as, for example, you need to post your interaction with the guard so we can enter, but don't post for a week), I'll pull a Mark [NOTE: from The Gamers] on you long enough to get the story moving again. I'll post etiquette rules on posting before we get started.

Game on!

Here's the write-up for the city we'll be starting in. The Free City of Five Rivers


STR 9
DEX 15
CON 13
INT 11
WIS 15
CHA 16
AL: True Neutral

The Free City of Five Rivers is a trading hub over the entire Thalnde Region. It is built around (and upon) Five Rivers Lake (named such as it is fed by two major rivers and is the origin point for three others). It is “ruled” by a council consisting of all factions who have business with and around the city. Any faction is permitted to be represented within the council, provided there are at least 3 council members willing to sponsor membership.

Five Rivers doesn’t have much of a military presence, nor do they need one, as any who attempt to disrupt business within the city will be dealt with harshly by those who do business within.

Over ¾ of the city is on wooden platforms, and about half is built over the lake. As such, fire is a major concern. The entire population must undergo a monthly course of fire safely and firefighting. Additionally, the city employs a team of Gnome engineers who regularly work beneath the surface of the lake inspecting and reinforcing the city’s supports.

lol you can roll off-screen and just PM me the end result

I'm transferring characters to a sheet on my end, so no worries on format

I'd be happy to send it back, but there's no way to upload to the forum, so you'd have to pm me  your email if you wished one

As far as the faction, again, raw stats is fine.  I'll organize it to how I want it organized on my end.  I would prefer this be PMd so you're not giving away your secrets (and so I can hit you up with clarifications)

I'm willing to take on as many as wish to join (at least until I can't juggle em all)

I once ran a tabletop game with 8 players running multiple characters (in multiple stories)  and kept everything straight in my head, so I'll take on all comers

Does anyone have any suggestions for a site to upload maps (world, city, dungeon...)?

OK, I have started posting for Five Rivers.  This is a chance to lay the groundwork/introduce key players before things truly get started.  Feel free to do the same for yourselves.

A few notes...

1. I am not requiring that anyone know anyone (or even work together).  This is a large city.  Eventually, you'll start working together, but I don't require it (see "8 players, multiple storylines", above).  Therefore, make certain you title your post with the character name so we can all follow.  Any post that has more to do with the setting will have the [meta] tag. (feel free to use it if you need to set things up)

2. I will be starting a thread outlining the major powers in the region, as well as any characters mentioned.  That way, you know who you're dealing with (probably tonight or tomorrow, as I'm writing this as I'm getting ready for work)

3. Any new characters should be detailed as much as possible (name and job at least)  I kind of goofed on the Speaker of the Council by not giving a name, but I'll be sure to include it in my character list