And here you have the second preview! As promised, this one is on the rules-y side of things!

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Second Preview: The Heart of the Cards

We all know the feeling. Perhaps you just couldn't justify to yourself to charge into the burning orphanage to save those orphans while on an important quest, and you feel that is justified - but now you are supposed to take corruption for it! Or you feel like something should be possible, but the gods above just don't see it your way!

The difference in power between a player and a GM can amount into a frustrating barrier, in which it is easy to blame an individual for just being close-minded on an issue, or perhaps even having become mad with power! [i]INFINITE POWER!![/i]

I thought long and hard about this issue, and then decided that something should be done about this. But what? Well, inspiration struck in my free time, as I was watching a martial arts competition. In the tournament, it was possible for trainers to disagree with a judges call - and the judge would accept the complaint without a second thought, and the decision would be reviewed on the spot. It was due to the formal nature of... "The Card".

"The Card" is something all players get per season. A player can only hold a single card. And when those orphans are getting extra-crispy while you are rushing to save your respective nobility instead, and think that is a very reasonable act and not deserving of corruption, you hand in your card.

As a result, the GM that is currently managing the issue will step back, and a second GM will step in and review the issue on his/her own.

If the second GM produces a ruling that is different from the first, the card is then handed back to the player, and the second ruling is kept. If the second GM however produces the same ruling, the card is kept and the player will only receive a new one next season!

I believe that if an approach such as this one allows for cool heads during people trying to actually beat one another in a competition, it should be more than enough for a cooperative narrative experience.

Where: The forums are currently being prepared (we've found a reasonable and free host with most of the functionalities we wanted).

When: There scedule has been a bit chaotic due to some outside changes. We do not have a start date as of yet. A rough prognosis would be the game starting in about 3 weeks. At the current rate of things, we'll open the forums for discussion and creation in about a week.

Objections: The only objection I could think of is that you're not inviting all your inexperienced PBPer friends as well.

The third preview is centered arround our primary location, Charouse, and hooks. Lots and lots of hooks!

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Third preview: Captain Hook

Season One: Montaigne
This season will focus on the nation of Montaigne, especially in intrigue and the mysteries surrounding its capital city of Charouse. While player stories can take place in surrounding lands, or in extreme cases surrounding countries, a small intro nevertheless seems in order!

Charouse:
Sprawling across a large basin and surrounded by peaceful and bucolic farmlands, the capital city of Montaigne seems a wonder of the world, one of the cultural beacons of Théah. Upon close inspection, the horizon and mmanorial houses of the nobility hides sprawling slums, filled with refugees, the destitute poor and veterans.

L’Empereur Court:
For the wealthy, the party never ends and none of the patrons is more exuberant than l’Empereur. His latest get-together has caused quite the stir, as he invited many across the world to pay homage to the “Restoration of Enchantment and Empire”. Even with such autocratic overtures, the court has lured many with its intrigues:

• Ambassador Positions: L’Empereur has recalled many diplomats in the past years without working to repair relationships. In an effort to cultivate good relations with lesser nations, he is planning to assign new ambassadors. No self – serving noble would miss this opportunity to increase their prestige and where they go, their allies and enemies follow.
• Missing Bishops: As part of his long term plan to weaken the Church of the Prophets, l’Empereur found a convenient way to keep clergy apart of internal politics by assigning them as diplomats and ambassadors. Many of them lost such privileges; rumours abount that some of the missing bishops put ambition above common sense and might show up to court in an attempt to re-seize their former jobs.
• Wives and Courtesans: It seems the Empress is losing favour with l’Empereur and many wonder if they can become the fourth wife… or the latest bed warmer.
• Return of Sorcery: The Emperor has invited infamous sorcerers and has used his own Muskeeters and Porté nobles to smuggle them safely to Charouse. Just what is going on in the shadows?
• Rock of the Age: It is going to happen. The two young musical prodigies Wolffgong von Hazel and Madeleine Prevoye are going to meet for this first time. And it will happen here, right in this court. Who will provide to be the best composer and musician? Who lives, who dies, who tells their story?
• Death and Debts: It is an open secret that many socialites live above their wealth, contracting massive debts to keep up to the latest fashion and appear to be patrons of the arts. Many are due, and gold may end up carrying an interest in blood.

Petit Charouse:
Surface Charouse is just the tip of the iceberg. The city sinks in layers, standing with the underground hovels dug by the poor amidst collapsed buildings, which finally give way to old catacombs, crumbling necropolises and ancient sewers of the Old Republic.
Then there is the [i]other[/i] Petit Charouse that nobody talks about. The antediluvian tunnels carved by inhuman hands. The halls of madness. The prisons for ancient evils. The shadows that serve Legion.
A Secret Society has broken deep onto Petit Charouse and brought dangerous knowledge back to the light of Theus; in an immediate response, l’Empereur has sent the city guard and Muskeeters to torch slums and collapse the tunnels. However, the desperate keep digging and it is only a question of time before someone once again braves the depths.

Heroic opportunities:
Ultimately, player stories are built upon the cooperation of GMs and you, the player. Here we give some suggestions of goals that might bring your Hero to L’Empereur Court. Consider them inspiration, or yours for the taking.

Avalon: Charmed Lives. Despise their bloody past, modern Avalon and Montaigne share more than they would care to admit. Agents of Queen Elaine might try to cultivate a good relationship between royal families or spy on other guests; after all, many of the guests will be the power movers of Montaigne future.

Castille: Pyrrhic Victory. A Castillan Hero can achieve a lot in court, playing the nobility against each other with their allure of southern riches. The most apt ones might even play a higher stakes game, slowly convincing the Royals that Castille is a tainted prize, no worth the trouble. Maybe the troops would be better served elsewhere…

Eisen: Home. No Eisen Hero would lower themselves to pan – handle, but Montaigne is a prosperous neighbour with a lot to offer. Besides championing for Eisen refugees in Montaigne, or lobbying for positions in the military, many Eisen Heroes see the region of Lock – horn Forest as a prime target for Eisen settlement… if l’Empereur could be persuaded to relinquish it.

Montaigne: Reform and Revolution. Many of the Montaigne Heroes seek change but too much is concentrated in the hands of the few. Opposition seems a fever dream. The court is a prime scouting opportunity, to learn the leanings of the aristocracy, to find out more about eventual enemies or discover unexpected liberal nobles. More pragmatic Heroes understand that l’Empereur absolute power also means absolute potential; instead of revolution, there could be reforms that would otherwise be resisted by the nobility.

Commonwealth: Full Circle. The Golden Liberty originated from the writings of Montaigne free thinkers and the old ways of the Republic; their Heroes champion democracy and can bring it back home to Charouse. They understand that most of the people of Théah see the Commonwealth as backward. A perfect position to impress and prove wrong such prejudice for eager Heroes.

Vendel|Vestenmannavnjar: Blood Money. Many of the nobles own money and goods to the Vendel league, and plenty of ships set sail filled with wealth from Montaigne to Kirk… all to be lost to their pirating cousins before they even leave sight of the coast. Due to this, Vendel Heroes might wish to lobby for larger spendings in the Montaigne navy. Vestenmannavnjar Heroes see a lot of potential in damaging the League and the Guilders by ruining their trade relations with their biggest partner or by serving as Montaigne privateers - and amass riches in the process.

Vodacce: Grander Games. This Vodacce Hero is here to enjoy the art and party. Definitely not Spying on behalf of a prince or sabotaging the interests of another. And definitetly not engaged in a trade war against Vendel. Okay, maybe he dabbled on that . But he is absolutely in no way acquiring artifacts from Petit Charouse and smuggling then across Théah. No sir.

Ussura: Let us be. Most of the Ussarians are happy to let silly Sunflowers die trying to struggle against the will of the Mathuska. Due to the kind of low bar, everyone who came all this way to give Montaigne a chance might be considered a hero in their own right.

The board is currently in the process of final preparation and a test-run of a story in our format. Check it out!

http://driftwood.boards.net/

Additionally, we will open for discussion soon, so stay tuned!

We are now open to discussion! Join us at driftwood.boards.net and bounce arround ideas, listen in on the test story we are running, or get aquainted to fellow players!

Hoping to see you there! :)

Character submission/approval is now open! :)