The Crimson Markiz

A play-by-post game of Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies hosted at rpg.net.

Players

The following are the players in this play by post:

• Ovid playing Ietan Longwalker
• Glyptodont playing Zafiri Kitab
• Insertname playing Izolda

The game will be GM'd by roryb

Links

• In Character thread
• Out of Character thread
• Recruitment thread

Player Characters

Below are the stats of the main characters. We can tweak them here and refer to them by link. Mark damage Ranks and notes on the character records. Refer to the Key below for damage codes.

Ietan Longwalker

played by Ovid

Foible: “Goes Too Far”

Motivation: Good [+2] Atone for his Past

Nationality: Good [+2] Viridese

Past: Good [+2] Academy-Trained Scout

SWASHBUCKLING FORTE: Expert [+4] Fencing

• Techniques: Unexpected (idiom), Port and strike (maneuver), Saber (weapon), Crowded (situation), Nothing but air (maneuver)

Other Forte: Good [+2] Gift: Qilin

Other Forte: Good [+2] Sidekick

Training Points: 0

Style Die: 2

Story Hooks: Motivation (Atone for his Past)

Izolda the Free

aka Izolda the Ferret/Rash/Ill-Tempered (what most Ilwuz who know her call her)

aka Lass/Kid/Red/Idiot (what everyone else calls her)

aka Izolda Lizavetasdar (the name her parents gave her)

played by Insertname

Foible: Less Than No Etiquette

Motivation: Expert [+4] Earn Some Respect

Nationality: Good [+2] Ilwuzi

Past: Good [+2] Peasant

SWASHBUCKLING FORTE: Good [+2] Repartee

• Techniques: Vulgar (idiom), Bars (location), Distraction (maneuver), Vulgar Hand Gesture, Taunt (Maneuver)

Other Forte: Good [+2] Brawl

Other Forte: Good [+2] Pirate

Training Points: 1

Style Die: 3

Story Hooks: Pirate

Zafiri Kitab

played by Glyptodont

Foible: A Knack for Running Into Zultanate Peregrinators

Motivation: Good [+2] Revenge for the Death of His Master

Nationality: Good [+2] Zultanate W

Past: Good [+2] Secret Koldun

SWASHBUCKLING FORTE: Expert [+4] Koldun

• Techniques: Dragon, Thunderbird, Chimera, Foci (rapier for Dragon & Thunderbird, physical contact for Chimera), Idiom: dramatic chant, quotation or exclamation

Other Forte: Good [+2] Fencing

Other Forte: Good [+2] Organization (Fraternity of Kolduns) W

Training Points: 0

Style Die: 0

Story Hooks: Motivation (Revenge for the Death of His Master)

Character Damage Ranks & Story Hooks Key

F = Failure Rank

W = Wound Rank

Strikethrough = burned story hook

Style Dice

Dice in Circulation: 6

Bowl: 1

GM's Style Dice: 0

When the GM awards a Style Die for Feeding the Plot, or Good Form!, add a style die to your character's record. Also, don't forget to subtract one from the bowl. Likewise, when you spend a Style Die for something in the game, return it to the bowl. The bowl can never have more than the total number in circulation.

If you get a Style Die for any reason (which comes from the “Box”), the total number of dice in circulation increases. Usually, the GM will do this; but if you happen to, please remind the GM that you are playing to your character's Foible, then you may do this yourself. Just remember to increase the total number in circulation. Don't forget that you can Good Form! Gift one another. Doing so will pump another die into the circulation (and into the bowl).

Every five scenes will constitute a “session”, and thus reset the bowl and amount in circulation. So...use what you have by scene five. Create the World―often! Create NPCs and Dictate Facts.

For clarity, everyone who makes a change in Style Dice, both to the character record and the bowl, should note such in your spoiler block IC notes, or out-of-character post: “1 SD spent—noted.”

Format

Keep text in all in-character posts just that―in character. Use the [sblock=OOC][/sblock] code to mark out-of-character things in these IC posts, including rolls for Challenges and Duels. The GM will try to foresee approaching Challenges and list some possible TN’s. If you want a TN NOW, but don’t want to wait for a response from the GM, take your best guess. There are some notes in the rules for general descriptions, such as “difficult for trained professionals” and the like.

Generally, I’d like players to do all (or most) of the rolling. The more results you see, the more chance you all can craft an interesting narrative of those results (and, thus, get more Style Dice!). Rolls can be listed in your [sblock=OOC][/sblock] spoilers. If a character is facing a minion squad, which will be the large majority of foes they will face, the GM will list how the dice will be divvied in advance, such as:

• Minion squad (5): Good Guards (+2). Strong attack 4/1

The above example shows how the squad’s five dice will be divided between attack and defense. Four dice (the best of two) for attack, one for defense. Players can roll these so the game can progress quickly through Duel turns.

For more dramatic Duels with important foes (Villains or Arch-Villains), the GM will likely handle the rolls of the bad guys.

In your posts, be cinematic and colorful. Cliches are your friend! The trick is to be flavorful and descriptive without being overly prosaic. We don’t need compendious exposition—just quick, pithy, memorable narrative. Please refer to your characters in the third person.

Setting the Dials

• Aesthetics: I’m thinking Action with a good dose of Villainy for the bad guys, and whatever themes the players want to bring into it. This will be a one-off episode.
• Firearms: Just another weapon.
• Good Guy vs. Bad Guy Islands: No decision here until all players have submitted their characters. I like a good bad guy nation. Barathi machinations always seem sinister to me!
• Justify Why PCs are Together: Recently met in the Tilted Ruq, the three heroes have discovered a common interest in their nemesis.
• Mysticism: A cost of 1 Style Die whenever a big effect is desired (treated as a Challenge). TN is variable according to the magnitude of the effect required. MOD used for basic Challenges and Duels.
• Poison: A variety of uses, depending on the strength of the poison.
• Team Sanctum or Team Vehicle: If everyone likes the idea, then sure!

PC Backstories and Story Hooks

Ietan

Ietan Longwalker was originally raised to be a Warmaster, but in his teenage years his ego and arrogance overwhelmed him and he killed a man in an unfair fight. As punishment he was sent to be a year-slave in one of the hellmines. The experience tempered him and he emerged stronger, although deeply regretful for leaving a family bereft of a father. His path probably would have ended in the criminal world were it not for meeting a Koldun that helped him find a new route in life. However, after years of tutelage, he still never felt comfortable living with the Viridese, and now travels around seeking to atone for the mistakes of his youth.

Story Hook: Heart held by Josephina Lorensdar, a rare Colrona woman that has established herself as a sky trader, traveling the 7 Skies. She feels romantically about him, but feels neither of them are ready for anything serious.

Izolda

A young peasant girl, Izolda ran away from home when she was only thirteen, escaping the oppression, the hardship, but mostly the boredom. She stowed away on a merchant ship. Naturally, she was caught and thrown in the brig, but when then the ship was attacked by Captain Rhawl, an ambitious pirate captain. After subduing the ship, Rhawl offered the surviving sailors a chance to join him, always looking to build up his crew. Izolda (who had heard form the brig) volunteered, loud enough for them to hear her up above. Rhawl laughed out loud at this young girl trying to join his crew of felons, but something in her determined eyes warmed his old heart, and he had her hauled up to join the ranks, as the cabin girl.

For three years Izolda served loyally under Captain Rhawl. He was a good captain, as far as murderous pirate scum go, treated her kindly and kept the men from doing anything too uncouth to her. But, Izolda wanted to move up in the world, she was sick of being cabin girl, and Rhawl wasn't willing to put her in harms way, or help her on making foolish choices.

So, Izolda left Rhawl and settled in Ilwuz. For the past two years she's worked as a barmaid, apprentice to any number of dull jobs, a pickpocket, and, during one extremely bad week, a midwife. Most proper employment gets cut off not long after she punches a customer in the face.

Throughout it all, Izolda tried to find her way back to sea, but not many pirate crews have much use for a girl whose never fired a gun, doesn't know how to hold a sword properly and, worst of all, doesn't show the captain proper respect.

So, these days she's mostly known for hanging around “The Tilted Ruq” cussing out everyone with three miles, telling dirty jokes, singing bawdy songs, gambling, selling merchandise that "fell off a boat", and losing fights almost as often as she loses drinking matches.

Physically, she's less than impressive. She's still rather small, getting in at 5'4". If you could get her to take a bath, put on a proper dress, and managed to get makeup on her face without her biting your finger off, she might pass for plain. She's tough and wiry, and unfemininely proud of both the bulge of her biceps (a misplaced pride, at that) and her many scars. Despite having short cropped mousy brown hair, she's earned the nickname red because of her ability to be almost completely sunburned, practically constantly, even under a layer of dirt. It doesn't help that, proud as she is of her scars, she displays them quite openly, meaning she's dressed down enough to sometimes get mistaken for a discount harlot.

But, for all her terrible manners, bravado, and blue language, is a girl just trying to get the scumbags around her to show her some Respect, and take her for more than an off island bumpkin.

Story Hook: Captain Rhawl, his crew, and his ship have gone missing. No one seems to know what happened, save that, before the disappearance, Captain Rhawl was reportedly working for someone called the Crimson Markiz. Izolda is filled with a new resolve and determination to find out what happened to her former captain, and old friend.

Zafiri

Story Hook: Zafiri Kitab was discovered by an underground group of unfettered kolduns who work to restore the honor of Koldun magic in the eyes of the Zultanate. Zafiri was recruited into their ranks and was a promising student. One day while returning from a visit to his family, Zafiri found his master murdered and their secret kolduncraft laboratory burnt. The only clue was a burnt scrap of parchment that his master still clutched that had the words “The Crimson Markiz” written on it. Zafiri fled before the Zultanista Sandmen arrived to investigate and with the aid of the Fraternity of Kolduns was smuggled out of the Zultanate.

NPCs

List of notes and stats for NPCs. There will be no secrets here!

Amir Fatima

Sidekick-level NPC

Amir Fatima is one of the Perigrinators of the Church in the Zultanate--and the only koldun to reach the rank of Amir. She is notorious for being a ruthless hunter of renegade koldun and a true believer in the idea that koldun cannot be trusted to be honorable--herself included. The golden bracelet is her fetter that she wears with pride. And if she had her way, every koldun under the Seven Skies would wear one.

• Foible: Overzealous
• Good [+2] Priest

• Techniques: Fanatic Anti-koldun (idiom)

• Good [+2] Fettered koldun

• Techniques:

• Average [0] Secrets (Zultanate Agenda)

Brother Loren

A Royalist peregrinator recently arrived on Ilwuz with a full compliment of unsavories. Brother Loren is preaching against koldun heretics in light of the Zultinate Church's recent reversal of policy regarding the gifted. He hasn't made any disturbances other than a few sermons and shaking fingers, all the while taking names, descriptions, and notes into a black pocket book.

Captain Rhawl

A close friend and former pirate captain of Izolda. His current whereabouts are unknown, though he disappeared shortly after coming in contact with someone known as The Crimson Markiz.

The Crimson Markiz

Little is known of this man. Only rumors of wild variety and guesses persist about him, including that the name is an alias of a new and powerful pirate, to a zealous follower of the Church, conducting a cleansing of non-believers. None have reported seeing him, and even Merhorses have not been able to discern anything about the man.

Minions and Underlings

• Gar Wetblade

Dakkar Flameshine

The Viridian koldun who helped Ietan out of a scrape or two in his youth.

One-Eyed Johnny

A koldun with an eyepatch and a glass eye—has constructed a skyship of bizarre design that he calls the Quiet Qilin. This special ship channels One-Eyed Johnny's mystical powers, allowing him to jump it from place to place. At least, that's the theory. He's looking for trustworthy sorts to sign on as crew/security guards for it.

Ship & Crew

• The Quiet Qillin: Good [+2] Sky-ship

Rika Almasdar

The illegitimate daughter of the famous of the famous duelist Alma Fulkesdar (p. 70). Yvone's son, Gerome, and Rika had a torrid affair under the nose of her overprotective mother. It is rumored that the the two stole money from Vaoz's Chalice (p. 70).

Tonza

Sidekick-level NPC

A shapely and attractive Viridese mercenary contracting out on Ilwuz to the highest bidder. A messy romantic entanglement with Ietan left her with some bitter feelings.

• Foible: Too Quickly Resorts To Violence
• Forte: Good [+2] Viridese Warmaster WWW

• Techniques: Fierce (idiom), Saber (weapon)

• Forte: Good [+2] Passionate Lover WWW
• Forte: Average [0] Contacts (High-Paying Patrons) FW

Yvone Ruqtilter

Long time (and third generation) barkeep of the Tilted Ruq, Yvone is a large, usually good humored man, with a gut somewhat resembling a small wheeltree (hence Izolda's less than flattering nickname for him). He keeps an ear on the going ons of Gulliver's Port, and the world at large, but mostly just minds his own business, and his own bar.

He's been doing this job all his life (and his two sons are already joined in), and will probably continue until he dies, which is still hopefully a long way off.

• Forte: Good [+2] Barkeep
• Forte: Good [+2] Rumors

Setting Notes

Below will be the game’s gazetteer with a few notes on locations, personages, and items. Everyone should feel free to update this for everyone’s benefit.