(OOC) The Fight For The Cub

[Ameraaaaaa]

Here we agogo baby.

(4d6)[5][6][5][1](17)

[Gareth3]

Thanks, I misunderstood the rules. I'll roll in the IC thread.

[Wymmerdann]

Alright, so I Think I still know where people’s rolls went, and I’m pretty confident the numbers add up. This last edit is in line with suggestions made by @Joywonderlove and @harmony. Please let me know if you spot any errors, but I think this can otherwise be added to the Original Post for this thread @Andrethegiant

Harmony, Gareth, Leonard – 4, 1, 5 Goes to wealth
Ameraa and Wymmerdan – 1 and 2 goes to power
Joywonderlove, Batcathat 4, 3 goes to defense

Spoiler: House Scales - Final

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Defence = 42 Castle Redford - Castle - 40, Crypt 2 (0 Spare)
Influence = 24 (Max Lord Status 4) Heir - Sister (10), Sister (5), Sister (5), (4 Spare)
Lands = 13 Castle Redford: Plains (5) Grassland(1), River (3), (4 Spare)
Law = 27 (House Fortunes -2)
Population = 14 (House Fortunes +0)
Power = 32 Veteran Personal Guard (11), Veteran Cavalry (8), Veteran Archers (8), Trained Engineers (5) (0 Spare)
Wealth =32* Priest (free), Horse Husbandry – War Horse Herds (15), Master at Arms (10), Crypt (3), Scorpions (1) (House Fortunes +2) (3 spare)

Totals for House Fortunes
House Fortunes = +0
Influence Gains = +2
Influence Losses = -1
Wealth Gains = +1
Cavalry Cost Reduction = -2

Other Benefits
60% Cheaper Coursers
+1 on injury rolls for Units
One Free Equipment Upgrade on Each Unit

Key NPC Household Members
3 Sisters of Young Lord
Septon
Master at Arms

[Harmony]

Looks good to me!

[Andrethegiant]

Updated.
And this is the official backstory for the house?

Spoiler: Castle Redford

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Castle Redford sits on the Eastern Bank of the Wendwater, fifteen miles south of Wendwater Bridge. And is well known for the great tree that dominates its courtyard, and for its role in fortifying a secondary crossing over the river that also serves as a fortified stone dam. This dam allows for water to be held and redistributed to a second minor river, the Wendwyne, which irrigates the nearby farms of House Errol to the east. Like the more famous Castle, Riverrun, this dam also allows for a moat to be flooded in times of war, surrounding the castle on all sides and creating an island accessible only by a narrow causeway that sits atop the dam.

Spoiler: The Fall of House Redoak

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The Castle was held for a thousand years by the Lords of House Redoak, loyal vassals of House Durrandon and then Baratheon. In 180 AC the bastard of King Aegon IV, Ser Hyle Waters married the Lady Barba Redford, becoming its Lord Protector, having a daughter Saera. Ser Hyle was legitimised on the death of his father, enjoying fifteen years of peace and prosperity.

In the years that followed, the tyrannous Hand of the King, Bloodraven began to suspect that his half Brother Ser Hyle was sympathetic to the treacheries of the Blackfyre conspiracy and tasked a loyal knight of House Targaryen to investigate the matter. Ser Edric Scales spent two years in the region, following rumours, but was able to find no proof, though he did fall deeply in love with Saera Redoak, a maid of six and ten. Alas, Lady Barba would not entertain the suit of a mere sworn sword of the king for the hand of the heiress of an ancient house.

At the outset of the first Blackfyre rebellion in 196, Ser Edric accosted Ser Hyle upon the road with a retinue of hired swords, and arrested the man for treason, with scant evidence. He soon set about interrogating dozens of the retainers of Castle Redford and several, under torture, admitted to passing messages between Ser Hyle and Lords Bracken and Peake – known traitors, though little other evidence was discovered. Ser Edric went to fight bravely in the Battle of the Redgrass fields, and was personally responsible for the arrest of Lord Bracken when he returned from Essos. For his service to the crown, Ser Edric was granted the hand of Lady Saera, and the Hand declared that their children would bear the father’s name, establishing House Scales of Castle Redford. Ser Hyle was summarily executed.

Many local knights and lesser lords thought Lord Edric’s rise presumptuous, and civil unrest followed, but Lord Edric put down such matters cruelly – often impaling or immolating lowborn perpetrators after summarily convicting them of treason and supporting House Blackfyre. The Hand supported such action, and Ser Edric became known as the Bloodscales – a Blackguard in service to the crown. After his death, grisly discoveries were made, showing that Ser Edric’s persecutions were even more widespread than publicly known, against harmless smallfolk as well as traitors, but these were hushed up by his heirs.

Spoiler: Current troubles, laying the groundwork for a young Lord Scales under a regency.

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The previous Lord, Owen Scales, married the sister of Lord Fell, a good match, but was recently killed by Ser Simon Toyne, of the Kingswood Brotherhood in 279 AC. House Scales sent fifty knights and men at arms to hunt down the brigand, but House Wendwater and House Bywater refused them entry to the Crownlands and Kingswood, earning the ire of all within Castle Redford. Lady Scales immediately assumed the regency of her son, who is too young to rule, but this was overruled six months ago by the crown, and the boys' uncle, a Septon of great learning and reputation, made the journey from Starry Sept in Oldtown to assume the regency for the next year, until the boy comes of age.

If you have any updates to your character nudge me. I'll wait a bit for you to decide Harmony before I add your character.

[Harmony]

I think this is the final sheet, even though the background text might need some adjustment.

Amyra is the aunt-in-law of the current Lord, married to his now dead uncle Darren who she had two children with, Valena Scales and Sylvenna Scales, with the oldest soon turning ten. They are the mirror opposites, the older is more reminiscent of Amyra, while the younger is a more docile and quiet.

Spoiler: Darren Scales (deceased)

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Darren, the bad apple, uncle to the Lord.
Darren was the very reverse of ambition. He is more than content hunting, fishing, eating and finding other joys and entertainment. Always blaming someone else for his shortcomings - like that of his brother breaking a few of his bones when they trained as kids, or that his favorite horse is always ill when it comes to mounting an actual warhorse. The drunker or miserable he got, the taller the stories were, and the more fantastic his recollecting about how he was in his youth - before all bad luck that befell him. He did participate in a melee just after he had married Amyra, but did not have the skill nor the appetite when someone actually fought back. His body recovered, but his pride did not, and it remained a sour subject to touch.

He was a quite mellow man, content in all things. If he can spend most of his nights out on the road (staying overnight at inns, naturally) hunting the lands, he was at his happiest. The more duties he is bestowed, the sourer he would become. He was appointed Castellian, but it was a role Amyra took over and then still holds. The height he would display his station was to impress inn-maids to warm his bed. Like his brother, he has probably sired a few bastards. Amyra did not mind, having lovers is a normal thing in Dorne, but she does mind the cultural difference that it's not alright for her to take lovers in return, in particular now that he's dead.

Her husband was killed along with the late Lord. As she has two children who bears the Scales name, she has been welcomed to stay. Exactly who can marry her away is a complicated matter, as a lot of different laws are involved. House Vaith would claim that right, and so would probably House Scales. Their marriage alliance technically holds still, even though it's on shaky grounds.

She has attracted a band of followers, formerly known as 'The Spear of Vaith' from her family name, but as she has been married and lived in the chilly north for over a decade now, members have aged, or held different positions in the house hold, or even moved over to other bands or served other lords. such is the nature a band held together by force of personality rather than vassal bond. What stands out about the band, at least outside of Dorne is that it has quite a number of women members.

Spoiler: Spear of the Waif

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Current members: Teya Sand, Helenys Sand, Rana Storm, Elen, Alren Storm, Dennas Flowers, Justan, Aran, Blane

Brief background:
Amyra was born into house Vaith. As a third child, she held little chance of inheritance, so her worth came in the form of an alliance. She was never a book-smart kid, in fact she could ride long before she could read. Where other learned poesy, she instead focused her attention to games, quickly mastering cyvasse. Allowed to indulge in her passions as most dornish noble children were as long as they kept the basics of what was expected of them, she took her understanding of cyvasse into more practical things, like leadership and logistics. It did not matter when you could see a game unfold before it was played if it could not be communicated. And in life, there was more than just bringing game pieces. Her talents for warfare did not go unnoticed, and she was through bargains her parents did sent to serve as Castellian for House Gargalen at a very young age. It was here, she started gaining enough fame to attract what would be Spear of the Waif. While she was expecting to wed some of the sons of the House Gargalen, something happened between Lady Vaith and Lord Gargalen. She was taken by surprise when she found out she was engaged to the north, outside of Dorne, and a few months later married into house Scales. But she did her duty without objections, giving up the life that could have been in Dorne where her talents would have been appreciated, and even allowed to flourish. She did not exactly like her husband, but at the very least he kept out of her way after that notorious tournament where he had thought to impress her. As her husband was shrinking away from his duties as Castellian, she picked it up and has since the performed them. The Spear followed her, even though it's members have shifted in the years since her moving to Dorne and is no longer even a majority of them are dornish.

Spoiler: Amyra Vaith, Castellian

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Spoiler: Image

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There's no doubt that the blood of the Rhoyne flows thickly through Amyra's veins, and not only due to her olive skin and jet black hair, but also with the grace and confidence she carries herself. She prefers her dornish dresses, all in a cut to make them comfortable for riding and being maybe a tad to revealing.

Spoiler: Game information

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Name: Amyra Vaith

Spoiler: House Vaith

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Heraldry: Three black leopards standing on a yellow pile on orange
Motto: "To destroy is to control."

Age: 29
Gender: Female

Abilities
Agility 3
Animal Handling 3
Athletics 2
Awareness 3
Cunning 3
Deception 2
Endurance 3
Fighting 3 - Spears 1B
Healing 2
Language 3 - Literacy 1B
Knowledge 2
Marksmanship 2
Persuasion 5 - Bargain 1B, Charm 1B
Status 3
Stealth 2
Survival 2
Thievery 1
Warfare 6 - Command 2B, Strategy 2B
Will 3

Intrigue Defense: 9, Composure: 9
Combat Defense: 10, Health: 9

Qualities:
Attractive, Blood of Rhoyne, Cadre (Spears of the Waif)
Flaw: Stealth, Honor-Bound, Cursed

Destiny: 3/3

Personalty: Amyra typically remains, as is expected of a woman, content to holding her own opinion. She is cold as the desert night, until she's not. She has the traditional dornish temper which flares up suddenly and departs equally sudden. She's proud and maintains what she considers honorable traditions, even though they are based in dornish traditions rather than the Westerosi. Amyra has a natural charisma and a voice that is used to giving orders.

Spoiler: Equipment

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- Evening (Courser), saddlebags
- Morning (Courser), saddlebags
- Nobles Garb (300 SS worth)
- Perfumes, jewelry, makeup (210 SS worth)
- Splint armor (not typically worn), 7 Armor Rating, -3 Armor Penalty, 3 Bulk
- Castle-forged Shortspear (not typically carried), 4 Damage Rating, Adaptable (Requirement: 1B)
- Castle-forged Shortspear (not typically carried), 4 Damage Rating, Adaptable (Requirement: 1B)
- Castle-forged Shield (not typically carried), 1 Damage Rating, Defensive +2
- Castle-forged Knife, 1 Damage Rating, Fast, Off-hand +1

Coins: 2 GS, 23 SS

[Wymmerdann]

Well I flubbed my coordinate by one. It looks like everyone else's rolls are goin well though, so hopefully it won't matter.

@Andrethegiant

Yes, happy to lock in that backstory, but I think Gareth and I discussed that we might simplify the naming conventions and just make the previous family House Redford of Castle Redford, rather than House Redoak of Castle Redford.

[Andrethegiant]

Yes, happy to lock in that backstory, but I think Gareth and I discussed that we might simplify the naming conventions and just make the previous family House Redford of Castle Redford, rather than House Redoak of Castle Redford.

No worries, I'll hold off on changes

To move things along I'll update the story. Giving Lady Amyra and Lady Heartly an opportunity to come in and save the day.

[Harmony]

Will do a first roll, adding 1D for the assistance. If Lady Heartly adds more, feel free to roll those and we’ll sort out which dice stay and go

Warfare (assuming command so 2B) [vroll]9d6[/vroll]

[Harmony]

Once more, with the right text!

(9d6)[4][2][4][6][3][6][4][4][2](35) 31 so far.

[Wymmerdann]

Just trying to get a better understanding of the situation. We can choose to approach either Selmy or Celtigar by pulling alongside/using a smaller vessel, or just by using the flags?

[Andrethegiant]

Just trying to get a better understanding of the situation. We can choose to approach either Selmy or Celtigar by pulling alongside/using a smaller vessel, or just by using the flags?

They are both within "movement range" of the ship, so you can talk/shout with them.

[Batcathat]

Maybe I missed it, but do we have words and/or a coat of arms for our house?

[Wymmerdann]

We do not!

For the sigil, it probably goes back to House Redford, so anything involving a river, red oak tree, castle, bridge/dam would be a good fit. Perhaps when Lord Scales first took over he might have made a change, perhaps making the leaves glitter like dragon scales, or blood.

But I really want to open this up to everyone else - what words do we want House Scales to be driven by, and what banner do they fight beneath?

Edit: @ameraaaaaa one of my highlights so far has been your knight madly waving these flags around and just absolutely knocking that job out of the park. Great work.

[Batcathat]

We do not!

For the sigil, it probably goes back to House Redford, so anything involving a river, red oak tree, castle, bridge/dam would be a good fit. Perhaps when Lord Scales first took over he might have made a change, perhaps making the leaves glitter like dragon scales, or blood.

But I really want to open this up to everyone else - what words do we want House Scales to be driven by, and what banner do they fight beneath?

Oh, is it "Scales" as in what a dragon has? I assumed it was the kind you use for weighing stuff and figured one of those one a shield might look pretty good. Though I suppose inheriting one could make sense. In any case, when we've decided on something I'd be interested in trying to illustrate it as I usually take any excuse to play around in Photoshop.

As for words, I thought something about "balancing the scales" or similar might be nice, but that is again dependent on what sort of scales we're named for.

[Wymmerdann]

It could be either! In fact, the scales of justice fits our backstory fairly well.

@gareth3 I hope you don’t mind that I’ve had Casyr push Tommen for more- if you wanted to more actively conceal Tommen’s feelings I could redo the post, or if you wanted to make it a deception/awareness test we could roll?

[Batcathat]

Poor Casyr, not even proper lord yet and already has advisors pulling him in different directions. And that's just among his closest relatives.

[Gareth3]

No, it's fine. I didn't use any game mechanics to conceal his real feelings, so it's fine that Casyr detected them. I'll post IC soon.

[Ameraaaaaa]

Interesting predicament we are in. Btw not sure what the gm thinks but isn't influencing other players with social rolls generally taboo?

[Wymmerdann]

Interesting predicament we are in. Btw not sure what the gm thinks but isn't influencing other players with social rolls generally taboo?

We probably want to discuss the etiquette around it. I've seen games where it's integral and positive, and games where it's banned.

I think it's great when it's more about "this is how convincingly I make my point so you can roleplay appropriately in response" and less about "this is so you have to do what I say".

[Ameraaaaaa]

We probably want to discuss the etiquette around it. I've seen games where it's integral and positive, and games where it's banned.

I think it's great when it's more about "this is how convincingly I make my point so you can roleplay appropriately in response" and less about "this is so you have to do what I say".

That example makes sense to me. Personally I'd also see what the gm thinks of it.

[Leonard Van Rin]

I am fine with social rolls, I for one allow them in my games.

[Gareth3]

Sorry if that was inappropriate. There will probably be other situations where my character needs to convince another PC of something, but I can just roleplay it without the mechanics if people prefer that.

EDIT: I've made a family tree of House Scales at www.familyecho.com. Log in using the username casyrscales and the password casyrscales to see it. It's consistent with everyone's backstory, and I've named people using names from House Baratheon history. Let me know if there are any errors or if you would like any changes.

[Andrethegiant]

The intrigue is there to add a layer to the game, not as a limiting factor. Rolling a persuasion roll is a good way to show how persuasive your character is (together with the roleplay), but the player decide if their PC gets influenced. We won't do intrigues between players.

So feel free to try to talk to each other, and if you want to roll persuasion, but it is in no way binding the other PC. The player decides what would be in character for their PC without any OOC influence.

As an example: I was curious about shaving my head after watching Jason Bourne and fightclub in my teens, my friends and I convinced each other to do it. Now as an adult with a job that wouldn't happen, even if the best salesman ever made that pitch.

[Gareth3]

Fair enough.

[Batcathat]

Would it be possible to roll something to try and figure out the best way to suck up to Lord Crabby Celtigar and if so, what? Both Knowledge and Status seems possible but neither seems perfect.

[Leonard Van Rin]

Would it be possible to roll something to try and figure out the best way to suck up to Lord Crabby Celtigar and if so, what? Both Knowledge and Status seems possible but neither seems perfect.

Status seems quite fitting imo

[Wymmerdann]

Would it be possible to roll something to try and figure out the best way to suck up to Lord Crabby Celtigar and if so, what? Both Knowledge and Status seems possible but neither seems perfect.

I think your assist to Tommen helped us find out that self interest and survival was probably his strongest motivator - which Casyr doesn't yet know.

Edit: I can do a reply to Tommen, but I also think we could just move forward now that we've picked Lord Ardrian.

[Andrethegiant]

Would it be possible to roll something to try and figure out the best way to suck up to Lord Crabby Celtigar and if so, what? Both Knowledge and Status seems possible but neither seems perfect.

That was your assist to Gareth- Gareth on his own knew of the heraldry, but you knew how to approach each of them to get them to listen to you.

[Andrethegiant]

I think your assist to Tommen helped us find out that self interest and survival was probably his strongest motivator - which Casyr doesn't yet know.

Yes, I see now I was unclear on that point.