From 2d332e20aa535788a7133cf60fead2ea69c6bb6f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dozens Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2022 19:45:34 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] episode 7 --- README.md | 2 +- db/npc.rec | 3 +- db/threads.rec | 10 +- doc/game.md | 2 + src/00007-blackguard.md | 55 +++ src/about.md | 16 +- src/index.md | 3 +- src/journal.md | 22 ++ www/00007-blackguard.html | 267 +++++++++++++++ www/00007-tall-man.html | 271 +++++++++++++++ www/about.html | 32 +- www/episodes.xml | 97 ++++++ www/index.html | 2 + www/journal.html | 21 ++ www/journal.xml | 698 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------- 15 files changed, 1349 insertions(+), 152 deletions(-) create mode 100644 src/00007-blackguard.md create mode 100644 www/00007-blackguard.html create mode 100644 www/00007-tall-man.html diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 746cabd..d416efc 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -# brighter worlds +# cleric + thief http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/index.html diff --git a/db/npc.rec b/db/npc.rec index d675336..71a2bd4 100644 --- a/db/npc.rec +++ b/db/npc.rec @@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ note: illegally smuggling stuff (drugs? weapons? people?) in from Givziean. Saht id: 3 name: Count Dindrati desc: Half-Dragon Governor of Kriteach County. Got scales on his face like scarab shells. And one eye like molten metal. -note: Dindrati is going to let Blackguard take the fall if he needs to, but he also isn't ready to give him up just yet. He thinks the H and has him, so he's going to crack down on them to show his displeasure / to get them to give him up - +note: Dindrati is going to let Blackguard take the fall if he needs to, but he also isn't ready to give him up just yet. He thinks the Hand has him, so he's going to crack down on them to show his displeasure / to get them to give him up id: 4 name: Sahtor diff --git a/db/threads.rec b/db/threads.rec index 0f41188..93bf80c 100644 --- a/db/threads.rec +++ b/db/threads.rec @@ -15,6 +15,14 @@ note: Does the Hand have Blackguard? id: 3 name: Why does Sahtor want war between the Onq and the Givziean? +note: to acquire wealth id: 4 -name: the dead god +name: Matrik, the dead sky god +note: why he dead? janice is new baby god. +note: Matrik, the King Vulture, was a favorite of Dekrik, but Nautrik (?) decided to let him die because ??? +note: the immured body is the 12th abbot of Melior Abbey who committed a crime. Related to the death of the King Vulture? + +id: 5 +name: Givzi refugees? slaves? +note: where do they come from where do they go? where do they come from cotten eye joe? diff --git a/doc/game.md b/doc/game.md index cf1d7c7..d01d6b0 100644 --- a/doc/game.md +++ b/doc/game.md @@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ https://blog.miso.town/ The world of Aulia +https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/ + oracle: curl -X 'GET' \ diff --git a/src/00007-blackguard.md b/src/00007-blackguard.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..922252d --- /dev/null +++ b/src/00007-blackguard.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +--- +title: 00007. Tall Man +created: 2022-09-20 +updated: 2022-09-20 +--- + +Iofi walks up the dirt path to the cottage with a basket of fresh picked goosefingers from the abandoned orchard. + +She stops before a blank wall on the side of the log house and waits, her arms full of fruit basket, as an opening slowly appears. When it is large enough, she steps inside and the portal closes behind her. + +Inside, Meadowgloom is sitting, propped up in a chair near the fireplace. He is pale and thin now. His hair is thinner, and white. His large watery eyes dominate his sunken face and his meaty jowls hang on an otherwise gaunt face. + +It is traumatic coming back from the dead. + +Blackguard and Maddox are sitting with him. + +Iofi sets the basket down on the table and retrieves one of the long, yellow, fuzzy pods. She peels it open revealing a bright green flesh speckled with small dark seeds. She scoops out the flesh, plates it with some bread, and brings it to Meadowgloom who accepts with a weak smile. + +Maddox shifts uncomfortably in their chair. Iofi looks at him questioningly. + +"Nothing," they say. "I just. I just didn't expect it to still be this hard. Being back here." + +"You don't have to keep going down there," she replies gently, sitting down next to them. "Why don't you come on back. There's no reason to torture yourself." + +Maddox looks away, closes their eyes, and nods slightly. Another Maddox snaps into existence by the table with the fruit basket. "I'm recalling everybody," this new Maddox says, the first Maddox popping out of existence. "I need to have just one person in my head for a while." They leave the common room, going into one of the bedrooms and closes the door behind them. + +Iofi turns and looks at the fireplace. She and Blackguard watch in silence as Meadowgloom pretends to eat. + +
~ * ~
+ +Bridgers Farm is an abandoned orchard just outside the walls of Kriteach. The goosefinger trees are growing untamed. More and more they are becoming a small, wild forest. Goosefinger fruit lies rotting on the ground in the summer. The birds and small critters can't eat it fast enough. + +The farm used to supply Melior Abbey with goosefinger to make wine and brandy, which the monks sold to support the abbey. And the farm. + +When the King Vulture died and the monks all went mad, the abbey was abandoned. And then it was razed to the ground: what the people of Kriteach started in retribution, the monks themselves finished in penitence. + +A lot of rubble and a few walls, an intact room here and there, are all that remain of Melior above ground. + +Below ground the tunnels remain. The cellars and the catacombs, and a few sealed tombs. One such sealed tomb is rumored to still hold the remains of the 12th abbot of Melior who, according to legend, was entombed alive as punishment for heresy and for plotting against the King Vulture. For centuries the abbot's remains have rested inside the wall undisturbed until just very recently when he unexpectedly gained a new cellmate, the Hand's master assassin. + +The Melior tunnels connect the abbey, nestled inside the city walls in Scholar's Gate, to the orchard on the outside. A convenient way to transport fruit, and one of the few ways to bypass the city walls. + +The privacy and freedom of movement provided by the tunnels, in addition to the farm's remoteness and its taboo association with the mad monks of the King Vulture, are why Iofi and Maddox moved their new base of operations here from the compromised Bone & Beak bookstore and cafe. + +"I think it's time," says Iofi and Blackguard tenses. "The Crown and the Hand are both looking for you, Blackguard. Why?" + +Blackguard seems to deflate. Meadowgloom is sleeping in a chair by the fire. + +"I didn't know," Blackguard starts. "I was -- I was moving cargo. I would get a shipment container number, and then my men would go down to the dockyard and load up the crates and carry them out to Chicken Gate. And there'd be somebody there waiting to take the shipment. I didn't know where it came from or where it went." + +Blackguard looks up at Iofi, wild-eyed. "You have to believe me. Nobody believes me. I just move cargo. The Count thinks I'm behind the whole thing! I don't know how he found out. But suddenly I had royal funding. The shipments started coming in more frequently, and I had to step away from my other ventures and just ... do whatever this is fulltime. Of coure I knew the Hand would find out. They know about everything that comes through the harbor. I knew that being in the pocket of the royals would do me any favors with them. But for a while it seemed I was untouchable. Until ... until I found out what we were moving." + +Blackguard's voice drops to a whisper, he casts his eyes downward and rings his hands. "It was people. People, I tell you." + +He looks up at Iofi, his eyes blazing. "It was Western people. It was Givzi people." diff --git a/src/about.md b/src/about.md index 08810e4..b2889a8 100644 --- a/src/about.md +++ b/src/about.md @@ -56,14 +56,15 @@ peace perfection - DEX d6 - WIL d8 - GRIT 4 -- Domain d8 +- DOMAIN d8 - Equipment - Janice, A two-headed turtle, Tiny God of Doors and Tides - Ceremonial Hammer (d6) -- Eulogy (XP: 1) +- Eulogy (XP: 2) - Suvive a deadly encounter with Cleaver and the Gang, landing some smashing blows with your glass hammer - Get through Madam Walker's Supper Club and convince her to help find Blackguard - Bring somebody back to life! (Ep. 5) + - Trapped somebody in a labrynth of doors (Ep. 6) CORE ABILITY: @@ -91,9 +92,9 @@ Step up your Domain Die if the statement: ADVANCED ABILITIES: -Gemini: Your god has a second Domain, complementary in some way to the first. +1. Gemini: Your god has a second Domain, complementary in some way to the first. -Offerings: Make offerings to step up the Domain Die. Minor offerings last for a single statement, significant ones last for a day, and major offerings like establishing a church and congregation last indefinitely. +2. Offerings: Make offerings to step up the Domain Die. Minor offerings last for a single statement, significant ones last for a day, and major offerings like establishing a church and congregation last indefinitely. ## Thief @@ -119,9 +120,10 @@ satisfaction freedom - Daggers (d6), you always manage to have another one secreted about your person. - Ring of 6 Bump Keys, roll a d6 to open a lock: (1: the lock and key break, 2-3: the lock or key breaks, 4-6: nothing breaks). - A Dramatic Looking Cloak -- Eulogy (XP: 0) +- Eulogy (XP: 1) - Survive a deadly encounter with Cleaver and the Gang, snapping everybody out of harm's way at the last moment - Get through Madam Walker's Supper Club and convince her to help find Blackguard + - Immmure the Dead Ringer in the tunnels of Melior Abbey (Ep. 6) CORE ABILITY: @@ -129,9 +131,9 @@ Illusory Self: Create a number of illusory clones up to the number of advanced a ADVANCED ABILITIES: -Snap: Recall your clone to yourself, or yourself to your clone from any distance. Anyone touching you while you do so is carried along. +1. Snap: Recall your clone to yourself, or yourself to your clone from any distance. Anyone touching you while you do so is carried along. -Multifarious Copies: When you create your clone you may change its physical appearance. +2. Multifarious Copies: When you create your clone you may change its physical appearance. ## Setting diff --git a/src/index.md b/src/index.md index 622d4a3..dfbc8ce 100644 --- a/src/index.md +++ b/src/index.md @@ -2,12 +2,13 @@ title: "Cleric + Thief" subtitle: Adventures of Iofi and Maddox created: 2022-08-30 -updated: 2022-09-10 +updated: 2022-09-20 --- [subscribe to episodes](episodes.xml) +- - [00007. Blackguard](00007-blackguard.html) - - [00006. Bone and Feather](00006-bone-feather.html) - - [00005. Dead Ringer](00005-ringer.html) - - [00004. Pinky](00004-pinky.html) diff --git a/src/journal.md b/src/journal.md index edad811..5c9f6e6 100644 --- a/src/journal.md +++ b/src/journal.md @@ -10,6 +10,28 @@ This is a journal of meta-content and behind the scenes kind of updates. [subscribe to updates](journal.xml) +## - 00007 Blackguard + +Hi, I have covid đź‘‹ + +I felt blocked on this update for a while because I thought it wasn't "good writing" to just kind of worldbuild and lore dump. + +But here's the cold hard truth, my little cabbage. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, this is just a game I'm playing by myself. And sometimes, for me, playing the game means just thinking of backstory. + +That said, there is a lot of backstory and worldbuilding and lore behind this update. + +As always, I'm not sure how it's all going to fit together, or how it's all going to end up. + +I'll just have to keep playing to find out. + +## - Brighter Worlds 0.9.1 + +New update to Brighter Worlds! + + + +I have an update I'm working on, but am kind of struggling with it narratively. + ## - Pantheon A twelve sided die has 12 faces, 30 edges, and 20 verticies. diff --git a/www/00007-blackguard.html b/www/00007-blackguard.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..47b5671 --- /dev/null +++ b/www/00007-blackguard.html @@ -0,0 +1,267 @@ + + + + + + + 00007. Tall Man + + + + + + + +Cleric + Thief +| Episodes +| Journal +| About +
+

00007. Tall Man

+
+

Iofi walks up the dirt path to the cottage with a basket of fresh +picked goosefingers from the abandoned orchard.

+

She stops before a blank wall on the side of the log house and waits, +her arms full of fruit basket, as an opening slowly appears. When it is +large enough, she steps inside and the portal closes behind her.

+

Inside, Meadowgloom is sitting, propped up in a chair near the +fireplace. He is pale and thin now. His hair is thinner, and white. His +large watery eyes dominate his sunken face and his meaty jowls hang on +an otherwise gaunt face.

+

It is traumatic coming back from the dead.

+

Blackguard and Maddox are sitting with him.

+

Iofi sets the basket down on the table and retrieves one of the long, +yellow, fuzzy pods. She peels it open revealing a bright green flesh +speckled with small dark seeds. She scoops out the flesh, plates it with +some bread, and brings it to Meadowgloom who accepts with a weak +smile.

+

Maddox shifts uncomfortably in their chair. Iofi looks at him +questioningly.

+

“Nothing,” they say. “I just. I just didn’t expect it to still be +this hard. Being back here.”

+

“You don’t have to keep going down there,” she replies gently, +sitting down next to them. “Why don’t you come on back. There’s no +reason to torture yourself.”

+

Maddox looks away, closes their eyes, and nods slightly. Another +Maddox snaps into existence by the table with the fruit basket. “I’m +recalling everybody,” this new Maddox says, the first Maddox popping out +of existence. “I need to have just one person in my head for a while.” +They leave the common room, going into one of the bedrooms and closes +the door behind them.

+

Iofi turns and looks at the fireplace. She and Blackguard watch in +silence as Meadowgloom pretends to eat.

+
+
~ * ~
+
+

Bridgers Farm is an abandoned orchard just outside the walls of +Kriteach. The goosefinger trees are growing untamed. More and more they +are becoming a small, wild forest. Goosefinger fruit lies rotting on the +ground in the summer. The birds and small critters can’t eat it fast +enough.

+

The farm used to supply Melior Abbey with goosefinger to make wine +and brandy, which the monks sold to support the abbey. And the farm.

+

When the King Vulture died and the monks all went mad, the abbey was +abandoned. And then it was razed to the ground: what the people of +Kriteach started in retribution, the monks themselves finished in +penitence.

+

A lot of rubble and a few walls, an intact room here and there, are +all that remain of Melior above ground.

+

Below ground the tunnels remain. The cellars and the catacombs, and a +few sealed tombs. One such sealed tomb is rumored to still hold the +remains of the 12th abbot of Melior who, according to legend, was +entombed alive as punishment for heresy and for plotting against the +King Vulture. For centuries the abbot’s remains have rested inside the +wall undisturbed until just very recently when he unexpectedly gained a +new cellmate, the Hand’s master assassin.

+

The Melior tunnels connect the abbey, nestled inside the city walls +in Scholar’s Gate, to the orchard on the outside. A convenient way to +transport fruit, and one of the few ways to bypass the city walls.

+

The privacy and freedom of movement provided by the tunnels, in +addition to the farm’s remoteness and its taboo association with the mad +monks of the King Vulture, are why Iofi and Maddox moved their new base +of operations here from the compromised Bone & Beak bookstore and +cafe.

+

“I think it’s time,” says Iofi and Blackguard tenses. “The Crown and +the Hand are both looking for you, Blackguard. Why?”

+

Blackguard seems to deflate. Meadowgloom is sleeping in a chair by +the fire.

+

“I didn’t know,” Blackguard starts. “I was – I was moving cargo. I +would get a shipment container number, and then my men would go down to +the dockyard and load up the crates and carry them out to Chicken Gate. +And there’d be somebody there waiting to take the shipment. I didn’t +know where it came from or where it went.”

+

Blackguard looks up at Iofi, wild-eyed. “You have to believe me. +Nobody believes me. I just move cargo. The Count thinks I’m behind the +whole thing! I don’t know how he found out. But suddenly I had royal +funding. The shipments started coming in more frequently, and I had to +step away from my other ventures and just … do whatever this is +fulltime. Of coure I knew the Hand would find out. They know about +everything that comes through the harbor. I knew that being in the +pocket of the royals would do me any favors with them. But for a while +it seemed I was untouchable. Until … until I found out what we were +moving.”

+

Blackguard’s voice drops to a whisper, he casts his eyes downward and +rings his hands. “It was people. People, I tell you.”

+

He looks up at Iofi, his eyes blazing. “It was Western people. It was +Givzi people.”

+ + diff --git a/www/00007-tall-man.html b/www/00007-tall-man.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aa33bf0 --- /dev/null +++ b/www/00007-tall-man.html @@ -0,0 +1,271 @@ + + + + + + + 00007. Tall Man + + + + + + + +Cleric + Thief +| Episodes +| Journal +| About +
+

00007. Tall Man

+
+

Iofi walks up the dirt path to the cottage with a basket of fruit, +fresh picked from the abandoned, wild orchard.

+

She walks past the front door, around to the side of the log house +and stops before a blank wall. She waits, her arms full of fruit basket, +as an opening in the wall slowly appears. She steps inside and the +portal closes behind her.

+

Inside, Meadowgloom is sitting, propped up in a chair near the +fireplace. He is pale and thin now. His hair is thinner, and white. His +large watery eyes dominate his sunken face now. And his jowls hang on an +otherwise gaunt face.

+

It is traumatic coming back from the dead.

+

Blackguard and Maddox are sitting with him.

+

Iofi sets the basket down on the table and retrieves one of the long, +yellow, fuzzy pods. She peels it open revealing a bright green flesh +speckled with small dark seeds. She dices it up, plates it with some +bread, and brings it to Meadowgloom who accepts with a weak smile.

+

Maddox shifts uncomfortably in their chair. Iofi looks at him +questioningly.

+

“Nothing,” they say. “I just. I just didn’t expect it to still be +this hard.”

+

“You don’t have to keep going down there,” she replies gently, +sitting down next to them. “Why don’t you come on back. There’s no +reason to torture yourself.”

+

Maddox looks away, closes their eyes, and sighs. Another Maddox snaps +into existence by the table with the fruit basket. “I’m recalling +everybody,” this new Maddox says, the first Maddox popping out of +existence. “I need to have just one person in my head for a while,” the +new Maddox continues. They leave the common room, going into one of the +bedrooms and closes the door behind them.

+

Iofi turns and looks at the fireplace. She and Blackguard watch in +silence as Meadowgloom pretends to eat.

+
+
~ * ~
+
+

Bridgers Farm is an abandoned orchard just outside the walls of +Kriteach. The goosefinger trees are growing untamed, and more and more +are becoming a small, wild forest. Goosefinger fruit lies rotting on the +ground in the autumn. The birds and small critters can’t eat it fast +enough.

+

The farm used to supply Melior Abbey with goosefinger to make wine +and brandy, which the monks sold to support the abbey. And the farm.

+

When the King Vulture died and the monks all went mad, the abbey was +abandoned. And then it was razed to the ground in retribution.

+

A few walls, an intact room here and there, are all that remain of +Melior above ground.

+

Below ground the tunnels remain. The cellars and the catacombs, and a +few sealed tombs. One such sealed tomb is rumored to still hold the +remains of the 12th abbot of Melior who, according to legend, was +entombed alive as punishment for heresy and for plotting against the +King Vulture. For centuries the abbot’s remains have rested inside the +wall undisturbed until just very recently when he unexpectedly gained a +new cellmate, the Hand’s master assassin.

+

The Melior tunnels connect the abbey, nestled inside the city walls +in Scholar’s Gate, to the orchard on the outside. A convenient way to +transport fruit, and one of the few ways to bypass the city walls.

+

The privacy and freedom of movement provided by the tunnels, in +addition to the farm’s remoteness and its taboo association with the mad +monks of the King Vulture, are why Iofi and Maddox moved their new base +of operations here from the compromised Bone and Beak bookstore and +cafe.

+

“I think it’s time,” says Iofi and Blackguard tenses. “The Crown and +the Hand are both looking for you, Blackguard. Why?”

+

Blackguard seems to deflate. Meadowgloom is sleeping in a chair by +the fire.

+

“I didn’t know,” Blackguard starts. “I was … I was moving cargo. I +would get a shipment container number, and then my men would go down to +the dockyard and load up the crates and carry them out to Chicken Gate. +And there’d be somebody there waiting to take the shipment. I didn’t +know where it came from or where it went.”

+

Blackguard looks up at Iofi, wild-eyed. “You have to believe me. +Nobody believes me. The Count thinks I’m behind the whole thing! I don’t +know how he found out. But suddenly I had royal funding. The shipments +started coming in more frequently, and I had to step away from my other +ventures and just … do whatever this is fulltime. Of coure I knew the +Hand would find out. They know about everything that comes through the +harbor. I knew that being in the pocket of the royals would do me any +favors with them. But for a while it seemed I was untouchable. Until … +until I found out what we were moving.”

+

Blackguard’s voice drops to a whisper, he casts his eyes downward and +rings his hands. “It was people. People, I tell you.”

+

He looks up at Iofi, his eyes blazing. “It was Western people. It was +Givzi people.”

+

OUTLINE

+ + + diff --git a/www/about.html b/www/about.html index d3c2d22..e9fceaa 100644 --- a/www/about.html +++ b/www/about.html @@ -237,19 +237,20 @@ Spoilers: Character Sheet
  • DEX d6
  • WIL d8
  • GRIT 4
    • -
  • Domain d8
    • +
  • DOMAIN d8
  • Equipment
    • Janice, A two-headed turtle, Tiny God of Doors and Tides
    • Ceremonial Hammer (d6)
    • -
  • Eulogy (XP: 1) +
  • Eulogy (XP: 2)
    • Suvive a deadly encounter with Cleaver and the Gang, landing some smashing blows with your glass hammer
    • Get through Madam Walker’s Supper Club and convince her to help find Blackguard
    • Bring somebody back to life! (Ep. 5)
      • +
    • Trapped somebody in a labrynth of doors (Ep. 6)

    • CORE ABILITY:

    @@ -276,11 +277,14 @@ are touching. - Is copacetic with the natural working of the world. - Describes a fleeting effect. - Is a perfect fit for your god’s Domain.

    ADVANCED ABILITIES:

    -

    Gemini: Your god has a second Domain, complementary in some way to -the first.

    -Offerings: Make offerings to step up the Domain Die. Minor offerings -last for a single statement, significant ones last for a day, and major -offerings like establishing a church and congregation last indefinitely. +
      +

    1. Gemini: Your god has a second Domain, complementary in some way +to the first.

      2. +

    2. Offerings: Make offerings to step up the Domain Die. Minor +offerings last for a single statement, significant ones last for a day, +and major offerings like establishing a church and congregation last +indefinitely.

      3. +

    Thief

    Maddox (they/them)

    @@ -307,12 +311,13 @@ your person. break, 2-3: the lock or key breaks, 4-6: nothing breaks).
  • A Dramatic Looking Cloak
    • -
  • Eulogy (XP: 0) +
  • Eulogy (XP: 1)
    • Survive a deadly encounter with Cleaver and the Gang, snapping everybody out of harm’s way at the last moment
    • Get through Madam Walker’s Supper Club and convince her to help find Blackguard
      • +
    • Immmure the Dead Ringer in the tunnels of Melior Abbey (Ep. 6)

    • CORE ABILITY:

    @@ -324,10 +329,13 @@ share the senses of all clones simultaneously. When attacking with clones if you would deal Direct Damage you must either declare the clone is actually you or reveal it as an illusion.

    ADVANCED ABILITIES:

    -

    Snap: Recall your clone to yourself, or yourself to your clone from -any distance. Anyone touching you while you do so is carried along.

    -Multifarious Copies: When you create your clone you may change its -physical appearance. +
      +

    1. Snap: Recall your clone to yourself, or yourself to your clone +from any distance. Anyone touching you while you do so is carried +along.

      2. +

    2. Multifarious Copies: When you create your clone you may change +its physical appearance.

      3. +

    Setting

    The world of Aulia is divided into the western continent, the eastern diff --git a/www/episodes.xml b/www/episodes.xml index 162833f..d46f2a4 100644 --- a/www/episodes.xml +++ b/www/episodes.xml @@ -1,5 +1,102 @@ cleric + thief http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/index.htmladventures of iofi and maddox + + 00007. Blackguard + http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/00007-blackguard.html + Sun Oct 16 00:00:00 MDT 2022 + + 2022-10-16 00007. Blackguard + + Iofi walks up the dirt path to the cottage with a basket of fresh +picked goosefingers from the abandoned orchard.

    +

    She stops before a blank wall on the side of the log house and waits, +her arms full of fruit basket, as an opening slowly appears. When it is +large enough, she steps inside and the portal closes behind her.

    +

    Inside, Meadowgloom is sitting, propped up in a chair near the +fireplace. He is pale and thin now. His hair is thinner, and white. His +large watery eyes dominate his sunken face and his meaty jowls hang on +an otherwise gaunt face.

    +

    It is traumatic coming back from the dead.

    +

    Blackguard and Maddox are sitting with him.

    +

    Iofi sets the basket down on the table and retrieves one of the long, +yellow, fuzzy pods. She peels it open revealing a bright green flesh +speckled with small dark seeds. She scoops out the flesh, plates it with +some bread, and brings it to Meadowgloom who accepts with a weak +smile.

    +

    Maddox shifts uncomfortably in their chair. Iofi looks at him +questioningly.

    +

    “Nothing,” they say. “I just. I just didn’t expect it to still be +this hard. Being back here.”

    +

    “You don’t have to keep going down there,” she replies gently, +sitting down next to them. “Why don’t you come on back. There’s no +reason to torture yourself.”

    +

    Maddox looks away, closes their eyes, and nods slightly. Another +Maddox snaps into existence by the table with the fruit basket. “I’m +recalling everybody,” this new Maddox says, the first Maddox popping out +of existence. “I need to have just one person in my head for a while.” +They leave the common room, going into one of the bedrooms and closes +the door behind them.

    +

    Iofi turns and looks at the fireplace. She and Blackguard watch in +silence as Meadowgloom pretends to eat.

    +
    +
    ~ * ~
    +
    +

    Bridgers Farm is an abandoned orchard just outside the walls of +Kriteach. The goosefinger trees are growing untamed. More and more they +are becoming a small, wild forest. Goosefinger fruit lies rotting on the +ground in the summer. The birds and small critters can’t eat it fast +enough.

    +

    The farm used to supply Melior Abbey with goosefinger to make wine +and brandy, which the monks sold to support the abbey. And the farm.

    +

    When the King Vulture died and the monks all went mad, the abbey was +abandoned. And then it was razed to the ground: what the people of +Kriteach started in retribution, the monks themselves finished in +penitence.

    +

    A lot of rubble and a few walls, an intact room here and there, are +all that remain of Melior above ground.

    +

    Below ground the tunnels remain. The cellars and the catacombs, and a +few sealed tombs. One such sealed tomb is rumored to still hold the +remains of the 12th abbot of Melior who, according to legend, was +entombed alive as punishment for heresy and for plotting against the +King Vulture. For centuries the abbot’s remains have rested inside the +wall undisturbed until just very recently when he unexpectedly gained a +new cellmate, the Hand’s master assassin.

    +

    The Melior tunnels connect the abbey, nestled inside the city walls +in Scholar’s Gate, to the orchard on the outside. A convenient way to +transport fruit, and one of the few ways to bypass the city walls.

    +

    The privacy and freedom of movement provided by the tunnels, in +addition to the farm’s remoteness and its taboo association with the mad +monks of the King Vulture, are why Iofi and Maddox moved their new base +of operations here from the compromised Bone & Beak bookstore and +cafe.

    +

    “I think it’s time,” says Iofi and Blackguard tenses. “The Crown and +the Hand are both looking for you, Blackguard. Why?”

    +

    Blackguard seems to deflate. Meadowgloom is sleeping in a chair by +the fire.

    +

    “I didn’t know,” Blackguard starts. “I was – I was moving cargo. I +would get a shipment container number, and then my men would go down to +the dockyard and load up the crates and carry them out to Chicken Gate. +And there’d be somebody there waiting to take the shipment. I didn’t +know where it came from or where it went.”

    +

    Blackguard looks up at Iofi, wild-eyed. “You have to believe me. +Nobody believes me. I just move cargo. The Count thinks I’m behind the +whole thing! I don’t know how he found out. But suddenly I had royal +funding. The shipments started coming in more frequently, and I had to +step away from my other ventures and just … do whatever this is +fulltime. Of coure I knew the Hand would find out. They know about +everything that comes through the harbor. I knew that being in the +pocket of the royals would do me any favors with them. But for a while +it seemed I was untouchable. Until … until I found out what we were +moving.”

    +

    Blackguard’s voice drops to a whisper, he casts his eyes downward and +rings his hands. “It was people. People, I tell you.”

    +

    He looks up at Iofi, his eyes blazing. “It was Western people. It was +Givzi people.”

    + + ]]> + + 00006. Bone and Feather http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/00006-bone-feather.html diff --git a/www/index.html b/www/index.html index 22c120f..2946145 100644 --- a/www/index.html +++ b/www/index.html @@ -182,6 +182,8 @@ Cleric + Thief

    subscribe to episodes

      +
    • - 00007. +Blackguard
    • - 00006. Bone and Feather
    • - 00005. Dead diff --git a/www/journal.html b/www/journal.html index 91a9b4b..83c2a94 100644 --- a/www/journal.html +++ b/www/journal.html @@ -183,6 +183,27 @@ Cleric + Thief updates.

      subscribe to updates

      +

      - 00007 Blackguard

      +

      Hi, I have covid đź‘‹

      +

      I felt blocked on this update for a while because I thought it wasn’t +“good writing” to just kind of worldbuild and lore dump.

      +

      But here’s the cold hard truth, my little cabbage. At the end of the +day, when all is said and done, this is just a game I’m playing by +myself. And sometimes, for me, playing the game means just thinking of +backstory.

      +

      That said, there is a lot of backstory and worldbuilding and lore +behind this update.

      +

      As always, I’m not sure how it’s all going to fit together, or how +it’s all going to end up.

      +

      I’ll just have to keep playing to find out.

      +

      - Brighter Worlds +0.9.1

      +

      New update to Brighter Worlds!

      +

      https://awkwardturtle.itch.io/brighter-worlds/devlog/439150/update-to-091-big-changes

      +

      I have an update I’m working on, but am kind of struggling with it +narratively.

      - Pantheon

      A twelve sided die has 12 faces, 30 edges, and 20 verticies.

      Let’s start by creating a domain / portfolio / aspect for each face. diff --git a/www/journal.xml b/www/journal.xml index e953c2c..efcfc98 100644 --- a/www/journal.xml +++ b/www/journal.xml @@ -1,5 +1,505 @@ cleric + thief http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/index.htmlbehind the scenes of cleric + thief + + 00007 Blackguard + http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/journal.html + 2022-10-16 00007 Blackguard + Sun Oct 16 00:00:00 MDT 2022 + + + Hi, I have covid 👋

      +

      I felt blocked on this update for a while because I thought it wasn’t “good writing” to just kind of worldbuild and lore dump.

      +

      But here’s the cold hard truth, my little cabbage. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, this is just a game I’m playing by myself. And sometimes, for me, playing the game means just thinking of backstory.

      +

      That said, there is a lot of backstory and worldbuilding and lore behind this update.

      +

      As always, I’m not sure how it’s all going to fit together, or how it’s all going to end up.

      +

      I’ll just have to keep playing to find out.

      + ]]> + + + + Brighter Worlds 0.9.1 + http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/journal.html + 2022-10-14 Brighter Worlds 0.9.1 + Fri Oct 14 00:00:00 MDT 2022 + + + New update to Brighter Worlds!

      +

      https://awkwardturtle.itch.io/brighter-worlds/devlog/439150/update-to-091-big-changes

      +

      I have an update I’m working on, but am kind of struggling with it narratively.

      + ]]> +       +       + + Pantheon + http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/journal.html + 2022-09-20 Pantheon + Tue Sep 20 00:00:00 MDT 2022 + + + A twelve sided die has 12 faces, 30 edges, and 20 verticies.

      +

      Let’s start by creating a domain / portfolio / aspect for each face. These are gonna be our “Major Twelve” gods, the Olympians.

      +
        +
      1. Law
        2. +
      2. Magic
        3. +
      3. Healing
        4. +
      4. Chaos
        5. +
      5. Life
        6. +
      6. Death
        7. +
      7. Plants
        8. +
      8. Dreams
        9. +
      9. Time
        10. +
      10. Sun
        11. +
      11. Animals
        12. +
      12. Moon
        13. +
      +

      Second, each vertex will get a domain. These will become our “Minor Twenty” gods. Lesser gods, local gods, demigods.

      +

      A) Trickery +B) Metal +C) Fertility +D) Water +E) Change +F) Creation +G) Destruction +H) Fire +I) Madness +J) Storms +K) Courage +L) Wealth +M) Air +N) Earth +O) Weather +P) Wisdom +Q) Strength +R) Protection +S) Travel +T) Pain

      +

      Okay so each god, major and minor, gets their own domain, and then their neighbors. That’s neighboring faces for points (four total), and neighboring points for faces (six total).

      +

      In order for any of that to make sense, you need to stare really hard at Polyhedral Pantheon Design top and Polyhedral Pantheon Design bottom at http://www.kjd-imc.org/blog/polyhedral-pantheons-revisited/

      +

      Major Gods Template:

      + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
      ID PRIMARY DOMAIN SECONDARY DOMAINS
      1 Law ABCDE
      2 Magic AEFNO
      3 Healing ABFGH
      4 Chaos BCHIJ
      5 Life CDJKL
      6 Death DELMO
      7 Plants QRGHI
      8 Dreams FGOPQ
      9 Time PTMNO
      10 Sun STKLM
      11 Animals RSIJK
      12 Moon PQRST
      +

      Minor Gods Template:

      + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
      ID PRIMARY DOMAIN SECONDARY DOMAINS
      A Trickery 1,2,3
      B Metal 1,3,4
      C Fertility 1,4,5
      D Water 1,5,6
      E Change 1,2,6
      F Creation 2,3,8
      G Destruction 3,7,8
      H Fire 3,4,7
      I Madness 4,7,11
      J Storms 4,5,11
      K Courage 5,11,10
      L Wealth 5,6,10
      M Air 6,9,10
      N Earth 2,6,9
      O Weather 2,8,9
      P Wisdom 8,9,12
      Q Strength 7,8,12
      R Protection 7,11,12
      S Travel 10,11,12
      T Pain 9,10,12
      +

      Okay let’s fill out the templates.

      +

      Note: I discovered at this point that it’s best to shuffle your list of domains lest your domains be thematically clumped. For example, when brainstroming, I wrote out all my elemental domains at once. This resulted in a god of fire, water, earth, and water. So spread your domains out thematically if you’re doing this.

      +

      By the way, every god is merely an aspect of the god-above-all-gods, PATRICK.

      +

      The major gods:

      + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
      ID Name PRIMARY DOMAIN SECONDARY DOMAINS
      1 Unutrik Law Trickery, Metal, Fertility, Water, Change
      2 Dutrik Magic Trickery, Change, Creation, Earth, Weather
      3 Tritrik Healing Trickery, Metal, Creation, Destruction, Fire
      4 Kvartrik Chaos Metal, Fertility, Fire, Madness, Storms
      5 Kvintrik Life Fertility, Water, Storms, Courage, Wealth
      6 Sestrik Death Water, Change, Wealth, Air, Weather
      7 Septrik Plants Strength, Protection, Destruction, Fire, Madness
      8 Oktrik Dreams Creation, Destruction, Weather, Wisdom, Strength
      9 Nautrik Time Wisdom, Pain, Air, Earth, Weather
      10 Dektrik Sun Travel, Pain, Courage, Wealth, Air
      11 Eltrik Animals Protection, Travel, Madness, Storms, Courage
      12 Dotrik Moon Wisdom, Strength, Protection, Travel, Pain
      +

      AND the minor gods:

      + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
      ID NAME PRIMARY DOMAIN SECONDARY DOMAINS
      A Aatrik Trickery Law, Magic, Healing
      B Batrik Metal Law, Healing, Chaos
      C Catrik Fertility Law, Chaos, Life
      D Datrik Water Law, Life, Death
      E Eatrik Change Law, Magic, Death
      F Fatrik Creation Magic, Healing, Dreams
      G Gatrik Destruction Healing, Plants, Dreams
      H Hatrik Fire Healing, Chaos, Plants
      I Iatrik Madness Chaos, Plants, Animals
      J Jatrik Storms Chaos, Life, Animals
      K Katrik Courage Life, Animals, Sun
      L Latrik Wealth Life, Death, Sun
      M Matrik Air Death, Time, Sun
      N Natrik Earth Magic, Death, Time
      O Oatrik Weather Magic, Dreams, Time
      P Patrik Wisdom Dreams, Time, Moon
      Q Qatrik Strength Plants, Dreams, Moon
      R Ratrik Protection Plants, Animals, Moon
      S Satrik Travel Sun, Animals, Moon
      T Tatrik Pain Time, Sun, Moon
      +

      So now I have d20 minor gods, and d12 major gods. Neat!

      +

      A lot of things here just work when you look at them. The god of madness and chaos? The god of life and fertility? Others are interesting. The god of Law and Trickery? The god of Healing and Destruction? Nautrik is the god of Time and Wisdom, but also of Time and Pain.

      +

      I imagine none of these gods will use actual names, but will instead remain rather loosely conceptual, going by an epithet when it is neccessary to refer to them.

      +

      I also admit that this is all a little bit over the top. Do I really need 32 gods in my little make believe game? No, I do not. But now I can have some readymade, weird, jumbled portfolios that I can draw on when I want to, all of which are random and jumbled enough that they ought to be quite interesting.

      +

      Some fun resources on pantheons:

      + + ]]> +       +       00006 Bone and Feather http://tilde.town/~dozens/clericthief/journal.html @@ -8,17 +508,11 @@ -🎶 [Minotaur - Thee Oh Sees](https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=aeD3-sdGf1c) - -The Dead Ringer plays the part of both Theseus and Forunato in this episode. And Iofi is a more clever Daedalus, for her labyrinth successfully delivers the villain into the hands of the Minotaur to be immured as revenge. - -Or is it just that this Minotaur is a more competent and capable monster? - -In other news, we now have some old church ruins to play around with! I guess maybe I should make a pantheon? - - +

      🎶 Minotaur - Thee Oh Sees

      +

      The Dead Ringer plays the part of both Theseus and Forunato in this episode. And Iofi is a more clever Daedalus, for her labyrinth successfully delivers the villain into the hands of the Minotaur to be immured as revenge.

      +

      Or is it just that this Minotaur is a more competent and capable monster?

      +

      In other news, we now have some old church ruins to play around with! I guess maybe I should make a pantheon?

      ]]>       @@ -30,17 +524,11 @@ In other news, we now have some old church ruins to play around with! I guess ma -So the dice insisted on telling an intense story by the end of this episode. - -They compelled Blackguard to "suddenly act", Meadowgloom had to die, and the Ringer had to find the safe house. - -Quite a climax! Can't wait to see what happens next. - -It didn't even occur to me for a long time that Iofi might be able to do a resurrection, despite her being a cleric. It was a difficult roll because it was a big miracle. And she *barely* pulled it off. But yay! Meadowgloom lives! For now. - - +

      So the dice insisted on telling an intense story by the end of this episode.

      +

      They compelled Blackguard to “suddenly act”, Meadowgloom had to die, and the Ringer had to find the safe house.

      +

      Quite a climax! Can’t wait to see what happens next.

      +

      It didn’t even occur to me for a long time that Iofi might be able to do a resurrection, despite her being a cleric. It was a difficult roll because it was a big miracle. And she barely pulled it off. But yay! Meadowgloom lives! For now.

      ]]>       @@ -52,15 +540,10 @@ It didn't even occur to me for a long time that Iofi might be able to do a resur -Yes, the Hand are luchadors. - -Yes, they follow parlimentary procedure during their meetings. The Index insisted on it. - -Yes, Pinky's spies are Facebook. - - +

      Yes, the Hand are luchadors.

      +

      Yes, they follow parlimentary procedure during their meetings. The Index insisted on it.

      +

      Yes, Pinky’s spies are Facebook.

      ]]>       @@ -72,60 +555,50 @@ Yes, Pinky's spies are Facebook. -In Episode 00004 - Pinky, I used playing cards to generate the layout of the Supper Club, and its encounters, on the fly. - -Here is a summary of how to make a quick dungeon with playing cards as first described in [the 'cardtography' series of posts on koboldpress][cardtography]. - -[cardtography]: https://koboldpress.com/howling-tower-cardtography-a-simple-dungeon/ - -You will need a deck of cards and a whole bunch of six sided dice. - -1. Lay out 25 cards face down in a staggered 5 x 5 grid: - - ``` - A B C D E - 01. o o - 02. o o o - 03. o o - 04. o o o - 05. o o - 06. o o o - 07. o o - 08. o o o - 09. o o - 10. o o o - ``` - -2. Flip the bottom, middle card face up and place a dice at the bottom edge. This is the dungeon entrance. - -3. Imagine the card as a clock that goes up to six: - - - 1 = Northeast - - 2 = Southeast - - 3 = South - - 4 = Southwest - - 5 = Northwest - - 6 - North - -4. Roll 3d6 (2d6 for the first card) and place them at the appropriate corners. - -5. Doubles are long hallways, or locked doors, or traps. - -6. Explore, turning cards and rolling dice. - -INTERPRETING CARDS - -1. Black cards are empty rooms or puzzles. Come up with something atmospheric or interesting. - -2. Red cards are adversarial. Low numbers are easy / simple encounters. High cards are dangerous. - -3. Face cards are special. - -4. When a card is the same suit and value as another face up card, that is the boss, or an exit to another level of the dungeon. - - +

      In Episode 00004 - Pinky, I used playing cards to generate the layout of the Supper Club, and its encounters, on the fly.

      +

      Here is a summary of how to make a quick dungeon with playing cards as first described in the ‘cardtography’ series of posts on koboldpress.

      +

      You will need a deck of cards and a whole bunch of six sided dice.

      +
        +

      1. Lay out 25 cards face down in a staggered 5 x 5 grid:

        +

        ``` + A B C D E

        +
          +
        1. o o
          2. +
        2. o o o
          3. +
        3. o o
          4. +
        4. o o o
          5. +
        5. o o
          6. +
        6. o o o
          7. +
        7. o o
          8. +
        8. o o o
          9. +
        9. o o
          10. +
        10. o o o +```
          11. +
        +
        2. +

      2. Flip the bottom, middle card face up and place a dice at the bottom edge. This is the dungeon entrance.

        3. +

      3. Imagine the card as a clock that goes up to six:

        +
          +
        • 1 = Northeast
          • +
        • 2 = Southeast
          • +
        • 3 = South
          • +
        • 4 = Southwest
          • +
        • 5 = Northwest
          • +
        • 6 - North
          • +
        +
        4. +

      4. Roll 3d6 (2d6 for the first card) and place them at the appropriate corners.

        5. +

      5. Doubles are long hallways, or locked doors, or traps.

        6. +

      6. Explore, turning cards and rolling dice.

        7. +
      +

      INTERPRETING CARDS

      +
        +

      1. Black cards are empty rooms or puzzles. Come up with something atmospheric or interesting.

        2. +

      2. Red cards are adversarial. Low numbers are easy / simple encounters. High cards are dangerous.

        3. +

      3. Face cards are special.

        4. +

      4. When a card is the same suit and value as another face up card, that is the boss, or an exit to another level of the dungeon.

        5. +
      ]]>       @@ -137,13 +610,9 @@ INTERPRETING CARDS -NPCs are kind of a weird concept in the context of solo games. - -Every character is a player character when you're the only player. - - +

      NPCs are kind of a weird concept in the context of solo games.

      +

      Every character is a player character when you’re the only player.

      ]]>       @@ -155,15 +624,10 @@ Every character is a player character when you're the only player. -Okay some of you will get a kick out of this. - -I decided I needed to roll my own feeds, and so I used ED to programatically edit my source files into recfiles, used an m4 include in one instance, and then used recfmt templates to create the rss items. - -That is right. Ed, m4, and recutils. - - +

      Okay some of you will get a kick out of this.

      +

      I decided I needed to roll my own feeds, and so I used ED to programatically edit my source files into recfiles, used an m4 include in one instance, and then used recfmt templates to create the rss items.

      +

      That is right. Ed, m4, and recutils.

      ]]>       @@ -175,11 +639,8 @@ That is right. Ed, m4, and recutils. -It is definitely *not* true that I based the looks of Iofi and Maddox on Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams from the 1980 American musical comedy smash hit *Popeye*. - - +

      It is definitely not true that I based the looks of Iofi and Maddox on Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams from the 1980 American musical comedy smash hit Popeye.

      ]]>       @@ -191,17 +652,11 @@ It is definitely *not* true that I based the looks of Iofi and Maddox on Shelley -Made an update that will hopefully fix the links in the Episodes feed. - -If not, I might need to start handrolling a feed instead of relying on [blog.miso.town](https://blog.miso.town). - -In fact, I just noticed that the journal feed is kind of borked too. - -Yeah I may just need to create my own feeds.. - - +

      Made an update that will hopefully fix the links in the Episodes feed.

      +

      If not, I might need to start handrolling a feed instead of relying on blog.miso.town.

      +

      In fact, I just noticed that the journal feed is kind of borked too.

      +

      Yeah I may just need to create my own feeds..

      ]]>       @@ -213,13 +668,9 @@ Yeah I may just need to create my own feeds.. -Hey gamers it's ya boy dozens! - -This update focuses briefly on Meadowgloom. Which is a name I snatched up from a fantasy name generator. It also generated the astounding name "Eccentric Kevin". Who is a character I have every intention of introducing at some point as a perfectly normal, sane, and reasonable straight man. - - +

      Hey gamers it’s ya boy dozens!

      +

      This update focuses briefly on Meadowgloom. Which is a name I snatched up from a fantasy name generator. It also generated the astounding name “Eccentric Kevin”. Who is a character I have every intention of introducing at some point as a perfectly normal, sane, and reasonable straight man.

      ]]>       @@ -231,20 +682,11 @@ This update focuses briefly on Meadowgloom. Which is a name I snatched up from a -Hey I started a new thing! - -This is the narrative version of a solo roleplaying game. - -It is based on the mechanics and the *callings* of [Brighter Worlds by awkwardturtle][brighter]. It is a lovely game and I wanted to play it. I came up with the setting and the starting scenario using [GRAPES and WTAF?! tarot spreads as described by Sean F. Smith][grapes]. And then I used the [One Page Solo Engine][opse] to answer questions during play. - -[opse]: https://inflatablestudios.itch.io/one-page-solo-engine -[brighter]: https://awkwardturtle.itch.io/brighter-worlds -[grapes]: https://sean-f-smith.medium.com/with-this-tool-youll-never-run-out-of-ideas-15d19ab72dfb - -My thief almost friggin died in the very first scenario. Yikes! Combat is lethal. - +

      Hey I started a new thing!

      +

      This is the narrative version of a solo roleplaying game.

      +

      It is based on the mechanics and the callings of Brighter Worlds by awkwardturtle. It is a lovely game and I wanted to play it. I came up with the setting and the starting scenario using GRAPES and WTAF?! tarot spreads as described by Sean F. Smith. And then I used the One Page Solo Engine to answer questions during play.

      +

      My thief almost friggin died in the very first scenario. Yikes! Combat is lethal.

      ]]>