Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Legendary Sidekick]

Let's RP!

Okay, so here's the deal according to the Fate PDF: characters are proactive, competent, and there's drama in their lives. What I want—and it seems the Fate designers agree—is for players to have SOME creative control. My job, according to the Fate guys, is to start the scene and say "cut" when we've done enough.

In other words, we can skip past the part where characters have to pee, walk 17 miles, etc. I can also (if you're up for it) start an episode with some drama, but I'll hold off until I've had a chance to know your characters, especially new ones.

Since the episode is named after Ariel and I colored her first, let's start with Lily and Ariel after a good hunting session. It's been about a month since Ariel's been in a town at all, and since her skills reflect it, she has actually surpassed her trainer when it comes to accuracy with a bow.

Furtano, Mariya, and any other player are free to write reasons for coming in-game. Mariya's elsewhere in the real game, but her mother is a goddess (worshipped by Ariel's father) and lightning is in The Voice's domain. So my thought: Vincent and Diana are caring for The Maiden—The Voice's sister—so The Voice sends Mariya to aid Vincent's daughter. Why, you may ask? Some of the creatures from The Other Side have found a way to travel through the Flat Earth. They think the pristine wilderness is their home, and don't take kindly to humans. Are they evil? Is it just a misunderstanding? You'll have to find out… though keep in mind we're testing combat here, so maybe the answer is predictable.

What are the creatures? Well… you'll see them soon enough. Have fun RP'ing while I color. I'll have Lily speak first, but since I'm heading out, a note to Devor and Noma: feel free to butt into the conversation when you feel like jumping in, since I don't know when I'll be back to post.

Oh yeah, and before we start, take SOME liberties regarding how far along the characters move (or keep that vague) when you post. Just keep the characters in the wilderness. The threat is far from civilization… at least when you first encounter the threat. I'm not making guarantees regarding the safety of innocent villagers.




Somewhere on Roku-Roku Island…

LILY: "Well, Ariel, I hate to admit it, but shooting a buffadillo right between the eyes is better than most of my shots. Maybe all of them. And come to think of it, I like admitting this. I must be a good trainer.

"Oh! And you might've noticed I didn't paint my face this morning. Not that I really care what people think of that, but we're heading back to town today. It's been a whole month, so I think you've earned the right to the title. Don't you think so, Huntress?"

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

At Lily's words, I grin so hard my face hurts. "You're an awesome trainer. Thank you!"

I can't believe it's been a whole month already. I haven't been as homesick as I thought I'd be, considering I'd never been away from Dad for more than a couple weeks at a time before coming here. But I've had tons to do and learn, and a lot of fun doing it. Still, I think I deserve a break.

The idea of going back into town makes me think of Mum and Dad. I wonder how they're doing, wherever they are? Wait till I tell them I got a buffadillo right between the eyes! I wiggle in excitement from my hair down to my jackalope-fur boots.

As we head off, I start to sing, not really caring who else can hear. Sing like nobody's listening, that's what Dad always told me. He certainly does, and he's dang good at it. I bet the Voice is proud to have such a devoted servant. I hope I can be the same.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily laughs. She let's Ariel finish singing before going on.

"Aw, I'm kidding about my skill as a trainer. You got natural talent, and I won't take credit for that. In fact, I got a confession to make, Ariel. Your dad looks like… well, an intellectual. I don't mean it as an insult, just that usually the professor's daughter ain't ready for what's out on the island. I had that worry, but I saw a strength in you, so I followed my gut and told myself stop worrying and take the job.

"Once it was just me and you, I didn't have to tell myself to stop worrying. I just stopped. I had a good feeling, and even when I was confident in you, you still managed to surprise me with that shot."

Lily looks around for any signs of danger, or maybe a tasty animal…

…but Lily is distracted. Ariel can plainly see the mixed emotions on her trainer's face—a mix of giddiness, but with a hint of sadness as the training session has come to an end.

Spoiler: rolling

To roll, go to Rolz.org.

Your character's name is the nickname.

The room name is FE2014.

JOIN> THE DICE ROOM BEFORE YOU ROLL or you'll hate yourself if the roll is good but doesn't count!

To roll, type 4u1+[MOD]

[MOD] is your skill modifier, a number from 1 to 4. You can also eave a space and type #[SKILL NAME] as Lily did.

(For Lily's roll, here's exactly what I typed "4u1+1 #Notice")


So what is Lily doing? Well, if Furtano has any funny ideas about using that stealth stunt of his, well… uh… it'll work on Lily. Her "notice" is at -1 now. I decided to write in an emotional distraction being the reason for my sucky roll. If I rolled a 4 or 5, I'd have written that Lily is very alert and Ariel might see that a true Huntress never lets her guard down! But her guard is down, so… that's the way the dice roll.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I nod as Lily speaks. Her confidence and trust in me makes me want to swell up with pride, but I resist. Dad would never let his ego get too big. "Funny you should call him a professor -- he is one, back home. He teaches music. Gets summers off, of course. He figured he and Mum could do with a vacation after dropping me off here."

I can tell by the look on Lily's face that she's sad to see me go, as well as being proud. She looks around, and I do too. Maybe I'll find us a snack.

((Stupid sticky 4 key! I can reroll that if you want...))

 

[Ireth]

((Here's my remaining 3u1 roll. Dang, Ariel's on the ball!))

 

[Devor]

I hate the wilderness! And on an island no less. I'm taunted by the sea without the comfort of walls. And I'm back to sleeping on a hammock. At least there isn't another hammock strung above me, swinging back and forth with the stench of a man that needs a bath, a doctor, and a liquor that doesn't reek as much as rum.

No matter. A boat ride to Roku Roku. A few nights in the wild. It is pittance to complain about. But ohh am I used to complaining.

Still, I will remember this week fondly if somebody here really can put me in touch with the Maiden herself. You, good Leppy, have been far too corrupted in this... thing. The Maiden can purify you. She can set you right, and then you can tell me your name. And not have your magics be a slave to this twisted wood.

And to me.

But I would not survive otherwise. I hope you will forgive me. And not -

*he stops his monologue*

Is that singing?

Good riddance your magic conceals my voice when I speak with you. Or they might have heard every word.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel notices some hoof prints on the ground heading SOUTH. They look like that of a donkey, and the direction is strange, as if a rider was rearing the donkey and it kept zig-zagging and circling for a vary long time. There seems to be more than one, and as far as Ariel can tell, the donkeys are never on all fours.

She also hears a rustling in the leaves, but she doesn't see the source of this sound, which is to the WEST.

((In the picture, it's morning, so shadows point west to the background; south is to the right.))



Furtano's magic spell is SUPERB! For the next five minutes, he will speak in a voice that only a leprechaun or pixie can possibly hear. To everyone else, his lips might move, but no sounds will come out.

((I hope my interpretation of the spell works. I have some thoughts on magic and stunts, which I'll post before we get into combat. The stunts so far are fine as they are, I just want to come up with something that keeps the power level of stunts fair.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I tilt my heead, then crouch down to look closer at the hoofprints. "Weird. Hey, Lily, come look at these." She's better with stuff about animals than I am; maybe she can figure them out. Meanwhile, I'm going to check out that sound in the bushes over there. I hope I didn't lure anything nasty toward us with my singing.

((Do I need another roll to Investigate the sound or Notice its source?))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((You can roll investigate if you want. Because your notice roll was near-legendary, you noticed quite a bit. If your investigate roll doesn't work out, Ariel's quite certain about the direction of the hooves and the sound.))


Lily looks at the tracks.

"Wow! How on earth did I miss this? It's like this jackass is careening out of control, and… he just keeps careening. But that makes no sense. I'm not a tracker like my friend Violet, but I know plenty about riding. To ride a beast on two legs and just keep spinning? That's not possible. These steps are deliberate.

"I could believe it if it were one track. Then I'd say, I guess I ain't the best rider on the island. I'd like to meet this person. But no way a whole bunch of beast-riders can do this. And if there is a group of riders with such talent, why ride something stupid looking?"

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I frown in confusion at Lily's assessment as I creep toward the noise I heard. What kind of riders are they, indeed?

I keep my eyes forward, peering through the bushes.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel sees a thin man with a bushy mustache. He seems to be talking to his wand, or at least his lips move as he looks into the gem on the top of the wand.

Furtano can hear female voices coming from the east. But when he looks in that direction, he sees the glare of the rising sun through the leaves.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I raise an eyebrow at the sight of the mustached man with the wand. Is he talking to it? Maybe he's trying to cast a spell. I keep watching, trying to figure out what to make of him. I wonder if he knows anything about the donkeys?

 

[Devor]

Blasted! What is that light?

Damnit. I think I've been discovered. Well, better keep it calm. I wanted to stalk the island a little more, but I can't find the Maiden without talking to these people eventually.

Okay, Leppy, here it goes.

Furtano takes a step few forward. Behind him a hammock hangs between two trees with a cutlass and a haversack resting on it. He shifts his wand to his off hand and lowers it. Then he holds out his hand and smiles and greets you warmly.

Hello! Well met! I am Furtano, and I need your help.

*Please note the lack of quotation marks.*

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily follows Ariel and sees Furtano mouthing something. She can't hear a word the man's saying. She turns to Ariel, "Is he rehearsing a pick-up line or something? If he is, the answer's 'no.' We've got a spotless record when it comes to returning daughters to parents without news they're gonna be grandparents." She turns to face Furtano, then quickly back to Ariel. "One spot."

Finally acknowledging Furtano, she waves vigorously, her overly-friendly grin concealing the suspicious expression from seconds ago. She apparently assumes the man's a deaf mute, but she talks slowly anyway, as if it will help. "Hiiiiiii, myyyy naaaaame is Liiiiilyyyyy." It doesn't take long for her speech to revert to normal speed, and a bit faster than normal, "I'm a Huntress from Roku-Roku Island, and this is my student Ariel. My awesome student. She shot a huge beast in the face. So what brings you here?"


((Furtano is no longer blinded by the glare from where he's standing.

As for the buffadillo meat… other Huntresses, Rose, Susan, Ivy, Violet and Heather, handled the process of carting the meat back to town. Ariel did notice that while it was mostly just her and Lily for the month, it seemed at least one of the other five Huntresses was nearby, sometimes accompanied by a teenage trainee.))

 

[Devor]

Pick up lines . . . ? A huge beast in the . . . are you threatening me, madam?

I have never met such blithering condescension in all my days aboard the Red Hull. A man with a mustache cannot simply greet two fair maidens with a hello and an ask for help - HELP! of all things - without being accused of some kind of . . .

His lips trail off as he watches the maidens' expressions. He lowers his eyes for a moment, then looks up and smiles at them.

"Hello! Well met! My name is Furtano. And I assure you, were I attempting to put another spot on your record on this island, I would first shave the mustache."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily takes a step back, wide-eyed. "Heh… spot. Yes. I didn't mean, er…" She turns to Ariel.

Spoiler: what Ariel notices + background knowledge

Ariel sees Lily's socially awkward expression, a face she hasn't seen since the day they left town a month ago. In the wilderness, her trainer was always fearless, even going so far as to pet a liger or tiger or any other jungle cat. She wouldn't let Ariel shoot a cat, even one capable of taking both their heads off. She would take to the animal. Around people, she was nearly the opposite of that.


((Note: Players are free to fill in background knowledge like this. It doesn't need to be in a spoiler, but I think it's helpful, and maybe this is more interesting than sending a PM, so all players can read the info even if not all characters can know it.

Any thoughts on this?))

Facing Furtano again, she glances at his sheathed blade. "So is that for shaving mustaches, or do you do magic tricks like 'eat the sword' or 'stab the box?'"

 

[Devor]

Furtano glances back at his sword and his hammock and hesitates a moment before answering.

"Mostly it is for beheading shrubs, disemboweling ropes, and stabbing the wind. But it has been known to inflict the flesh wound now and again. I have healed from the most recent one, but you may see my scar as proof."

He holds out his finger. A thin red line runs across his fingertip.

Spoiler: Background

Furtano, in his time as a pirate, has killed many, and when his sword is unsheathed, you might notice that is far too well sharpened and tended for his stated use. You might also note a small billhook in his haversack if you ever see him rummage through it.

((aside))

I don't know what you were doing before, but spoilers seems to work.

I think I'll wait for Ireth to get involved before delving into Furtano's purposes.

 

[Noma Galway]

A bolt of lightning hits the ground with a BOOM, and as the light fades, a pixie can be seen standing there.

"Whoa!" She stumbles slightly and looks up at the Huntresses and man. "Um, hi." She grins.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily leaps back—

—and lands on all fours like a cat ready to pounce.

In her low stance, she finds herself eye-to-eye with Mariya. Her look of discomfort melts into an expression of awe. She looks like she's about to scream in the pixie's face, but Lily composes herself.

"I didn't know lightning made pixies! Does that happen all the time?"

 

[Devor]

Furtano takes two quick steps back towards his hammock, casually tossing his wand into his right hand, pointing it down. Lightning. Pixie. Cat girl. It's a lot to take in.

"Hello," he says to the pixie but can't pretend to mean it. A pixie could know something about leprechauns. About Leppy. But would she try and help him? Or take him away?

Even before the Pixie answers, his fear begins to get the better of him.

He can't let them know, especially the pixie. Not yet. Not until Furtano knows what they'll do.

He casually swings his wand behind him, attempting to keep the leprechaun hidden. Behind his back he whirls it carefully.

And he appears to toss it aside like a worthless stick while he slips it inside his haversack.