Jeff's Character: Bron Olafson

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Jeff's Character: Bron Olafson

Postby JeffXandra » Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:28 pm

Okay, I've got three ideas tumbling around in my head, only is one more than a simple tagline at this point.

Bron Olafson Vestenwhatever Painter/Laerdom (emotion)

(I've tried writing an in character blurb for him four times but it's going to take some rewriting before I get it coherent)

Bron is the son of the village headman. He's a talented painter and sigilist who's artwork would never find true appreciation in the small Vesten villages. Olaf knows the Vesten are dying, that the Vendel will win. To save his bloodline, and his son, Olaf sends Bron south on the pretense of using his talents to win material and political support among the other nations. In reality, Olaf knows nothing will change. Bron, whose large form and dour demeanor conceal his talents, believes he can help save his village. When he is impassioned he can speak eloquently, but otherwise would rather do anything but speak. He quietly uses his skill in laerdom to influence people's reaction to his artwork in addition to more practical applications.

Unnamed Castillian Priest

Padre Juan Herrero is a faithful and loyal priest. He believes in the power of Theus and, though he's arguably not remarkable nor stridently Inquisition, he stays in line and is ultimately reliable. Of course, he happens to actually be an Montaigne agent for the Sun King, keeping tabs on both San Marcos and the Inquisition. His faith is legitimate, which makes his deceit all the more painful. I've been tempted to have him involved in the group protecting Senor Arciniega but don't want to step on toes. Oh yeah, and he has Porte.

El Petirrojo Castllian Swordmaster

Dashing and loquacious, El Petirrojo's absurdly garish scarlet garb warns ne'er-do-wells to flee as the most suave and handsome swordsman in all of San Marcos enters the fray. A master of the Aldana School, El Petirrojo's slashes, thrusts, and parries dazzle and intimidate all who merely catch a glimpse of his brillance, which is good, because he's a complete and utter coward. The sight of his own blood would cause him to faint. He cannot bear the thought of being hurt and relies upon bluster and intimidation to, hopefully, keep his foes at bay. His heart is in the right place, but he will not actually fight unless pressed into a corner.
Last edited by JeffXandra on Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:11 pm

Hmm Laerdom artist. Never thought to write those two words together, but now that I have, I can see the obvious overlap. Seems fine to me :D

A question about the priest. Is he really a Vatacine Priest or is he just pretending to be? (Just thinking about L'Empereur's open hostility with the Vatacine Church). Oh and a note, Alvara Arciniega was attacked in his home and forced to flee from the Inquisition in 1666 (two years before the campaign begins). His current whereabouts are unknown.

Regarding the Swordsman, I assume you mean he claims he is a master of the Aldana School right? (At character creation no skill can be higher than 3) Oh and btw I love this guy...

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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby JeffXandra » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:24 pm

The priest is not actually a priest; he's a sleeper agent. He is a believer in the faith, though not the Inquisition. I presumed, though this may be disallowed, to have him in San Marcos for some time in advance of the campaign. He would not be new to the city.

El Petirrojo is all bluster. I've not statted him out yet but yes, it's more bravado than fact.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:28 pm

Yup he can be a long-term resident, a native, or a complete stranger.

All three would make excellent additions to the campaign.

Mark
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby JeffXandra » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:42 pm

Oh and concerning the Laerdom painter, my original idea was a Vendel merchant using Laerdom in his negotiations but I wouldn't leap off the page for me.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby salamanca » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:27 pm

The first one just asks to be harassed by every faction in Castille. The second is going to be great for personal agenda events and have tons to do there but I would find him too pigeonholed for regular campaign sessions. The third will be a riot in regular events and have less to do in agenda events.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Sister Sonya » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:46 pm

JeffXandra wrote:The priest is not actually a priest; he's a sleeper agent. He is a believer in the faith, though not the Inquisition. I presumed, though this may be disallowed, to have him in San Marcos for some time in advance of the campaign. He would not be new to the city.

If he is Montaigne, he would ordinarily speak with an accent obvious to any Castillian native speaker. Even if the Montaigne dialect that you choose has Castillian at "0", it still would be detectable. Crystal Keep has a provision for spending an extra HP to make a non-native speaker sound like one. (His nurse or nanny was a Castillian native speaker, etc.) You need BJR's ruling here.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but if your guy is not actually a priest, Sonya will figure that out easily. For all her faults, she actually has the bona fides.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby salamanca » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:12 pm

Without having read it here, I would venture it would have taken you much longer to prove it.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby JeffXandra » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:00 pm

Sister Sonya wrote:
JeffXandra wrote:The priest is not actually a priest; he's a sleeper agent. He is a believer in the faith, though not the Inquisition. I presumed, though this may be disallowed, to have him in San Marcos for some time in advance of the campaign. He would not be new to the city.

If he is Montaigne, he would ordinarily speak with an accent obvious to any Castillian native speaker. Even if the Montaigne dialect that you choose has Castillian at "0", it still would be detectable. Crystal Keep has a provision for spending an extra HP to make a non-native speaker sound like one. (His nurse or nanny was a Castillian native speaker, etc.) You need BJR's ruling here.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but if your guy is not actually a priest, Sonya will figure that out easily. For all her faults, she actually has the bona fides.


As someone from deep Southern Montaigne, his accent would be nearly indistinguishable from that of a northern Castillian. In fact, he could easily pass off as being from occupied Castille and forced to learn Montaignais (that really doesn't roll off the tongue does it) by their teachers.

Furthermore, I think you overlook the presence of the church in everyone's life during the period. Everyone knows the rite from memory. Mass was a part of weekly, if not daily, existence. Third sons, like this character might be, were expected to join the church and raised from a very young age with the intent for them to go to seminary. "Bona fides" isn't nearly the limitation you'd think it'd be because the church is universal and sovereign and thinks of itself as such. Remember, he is a confirmed member of the church. He is a believer. That's part of his dilemma. He is part patriot, part believer. How can he reconcile these divergent agendas when service to his nation means betraying his faith?
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Sister Sonya » Fri Jun 10, 2011 3:01 am

salamanca wrote:Without having read it here, I would venture it would have taken you much longer to prove it.

Sensing the lie, then feeling a need to prove it, come much easier.

JeffXandra wrote:As someone from deep Southern Montaigne, his accent would be nearly indistinguishable from that of a northern Castillian. In fact, he could easily pass off as being from occupied Castille and forced to learn Montaignais (that really doesn't roll off the tongue does it) by their teachers.

I'm not saying that a Mexican born south of the Mexican border can't speak good English, but that it ordinarily would be accented.

For him to learn English as a native speaker, he would have to learn it from a native speaker. In 7th Sea game terms, Crystal Keep allows this but it costs an extra HP.

JeffXandra wrote:"Bona fides" isn't nearly the limitation you'd think it'd be because the church is universal and sovereign and thinks of itself as such.

Candidates for ordination in 7th Sea have much to learn beyond what a layman would know, and there is a testing process at the end.

I deal with the law in my job every day, but I am not a lawyer. I've had first aid classes but am not a doctor. I've had 20 semester hours of accounting, but am not an accountant...
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby salamanca » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:44 am

He's technically building a spy, Mike. If he is trained to blend in he will have been trained to know all that stuff. Probably by some excommunicated former clergy on Leon's payroll. And frankly, catching a smart roleplayer in a lie at the table (in character) is a hard prospect. If you scrutinize everybody hard enough to do it you will be volunteering yourself for all sorts of interplayer strife.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Sister Sonya » Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:06 am

salamanca wrote: He's technically building a spy, Mike. If he is trained to blend in he will have been trained to know all that stuff. Probably by some excommunicated former clergy on Leon's payroll.

Just like old times, Dave! (edited, see below)

salamanca wrote:And frankly, catching a smart roleplayer in a lie at the table (in character) is a hard prospect.

I agree it would be difficult to impossible to get any kind of tangible evidence or proof.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Sister Sonya » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:32 am

JeffXandra wrote:Unnamed Castillian Priest

Padre Juan Herrero is a faithful and loyal priest. He believes in the power of Theus and, though he's arguably not remarkable nor stridently Inquisition, he stays in line and is ultimately reliable. Of course, he happens to actually be an Montaigne agent for the Sun King, keeping tabs on both San Marcos and the Inquisition. His faith is legitimate, which makes his deceit all the more painful. I've been tempted to have him involved in the group protecting Senor Arciniega but don't want to step on toes. Oh yeah, and he has Porte.


Jeff: Don't get me wrong. Personally, I think having a spy (or one more spy) in the game character mix would add a lot of interesting possibilities for Role Playing, for individual adventures, and for the plotline overall.

My own character had several aliases even before the Ochoa family ran into its difficulties.

My issue is the cost of HP (and XP) for in-game advantages, skills, knacks, languages, etc.

Ultimately, the final determination is the GM, or, in this case, BJR for HoA. However, the rules, as published in the PG, the GMG, and the Sourcebooks, are not always clear. There have been discussions as to what many of the printed 7th Sea rules actually mean, for as long as the rules have been in print (12 years now).

One of the general agreements more-or-less is that one can't short-change the costs of of these advantages, et.al. One cannot buy a sorcerous knack without buying Sorcery, a sword school knack without buying a Sword School, and so forth. It's not a stretch, I believe, to say that one should not be able to infiltrate the Rose and Cross or other Secret Society, to get Commission or Membership, or even Academy and Castillian Education, or (my favorite) Eisen Nobility and Dracheneisen, without paying the HP (or XP).

Should a genealogist and a forger be able to get together and "find" a lost Dracheneisen heir? That would go over like a lead balloon among the Eisen traditionalists.

So, it' seems to make sense to charge 4HP for Ordained. You get Scholar for free, a free raise in certain social situations, 3 square meals a day, 30 Guilders per month, and all of your basic needs taken care of.

In the alternative, if you are not a scholar, you aren't seeming to get the respect that you should, you are having to pay for your meals, your pay envelope at the Altamira Cathedral always seems to get lost on payday, and you are having to pay for priestly needs, that will be noticed before too long.

That's where I'm coming from.
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:54 am

My policy about advantages has always been (and will always be) if you want the benefits, you have to pay the points. But Mike what you're confusing here is tangible (game related) benefits vs. intangible (story related) benefits.
To illustrate, here is the advantage from the PG

Ordained (4 Points)
You’ve obtained a position in the Church of the Prophets, a position that brings you a great deal of influence and advantage (most likely that of a priest, though we leave that detail up to you and your GM). You receive the Scholar Skill for free (as if you had purchased it for 2 HP). You also gain a Free Raise in all social situations with NPCs and Heroes who are adherents to your faith (with the GM’s discretion, of course). In addition, being a member of the Church means you get three square meals a day, a stipend of 30 Guilders per month, and all of your basic needs taken care of.


The game related benefits are there in the italics (exactly as written in the PG I might add). The rest is just flavor text.

So in Jeff's case, he can say he's a member, claim that the Church is taking care of his basic needs, and show you the 30 Guilders he says came from his stipend. All that would be for free. But to get the Scholar Skill and the Free Raise, he'd have to take the points.

It's similar to your/Sonya's "Fencing" lessons. The story is you/she wasn't paying enough attention to learn parry, the mechanics is you purchased Dirty Fighting instead.

Becides, I'm guessing Jeff's Sincerity rolls will be enough to ensure you make regular donations to his 'extremely devout' sect... ;)

Mark
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Re: Jeff's Character but who?

Postby Sister Sonya » Fri Jun 10, 2011 2:33 pm

Ok Mark, your narrowing of the focus is noted. In "Brother Juan's" Confession, Sincerity would seem to be appropriate.

Black Jack Rackham wrote:So in Jeff's case, he can say he's a member, claim that the Church is taking care of his basic needs, and show you the 30 Guilders he says came from his stipend. All that would be for free.

And Cold Read might be appropriate for checking certain of the origins of the 30 Guilders, Examiner for blood on the gold, etc.

I'll take this private for some follow-up.
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Re: Jeff's Character Bron Olafson

Postby JeffXandra » Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:33 am

One thing to note is that the Crystal keep version allows to you spend an extra HP to "speak like a native" so there actually is an ingame mechanic to overcome accent. But I've been working towards Bron so it's all moot.

I have adapted one of the advantages and am introducing a new style of artist so obviously, feel free to reject if I'm pushing the boundaries too far

Traits (56)
Brawn ●●●○○ Finesse ●●○○○ Wits ●●●○○ Resolve ●●○○○ Panache ●●●○○

Reputation: 16

Advantages:
Large (3), Jarl(8), Old Name(2), Published (2) (treating this as selling paintings), Spark of Genius (Painting) (2)

Arcana: Stubborn (-10)

Languages:
Vesten (N), Castille (2)

Sorcery: Laerdom Full Blooded (40)

Bevegelse ●●○○○, Fornuft ●○○○○ , Nod ●○○○○, Tungsinn ●●○○○, Stans ●○○○○

Skills and Knacks
Civil
Artist (3)
Painting ●●●○○ (if rejected, Drawing as substitute)
Sailor (5)
Balance ●●●○○, Climbing ●●○○○, Knotwork ●○○○○, Rigging ●○○○○
Hunter (2)
Stealth ●○○○○ , Survival ●○○○○ ,Tracking ●○○○○

Martial
Athlete: (4)
Climbing ●○○○○ Footwork ●●●○○ Sprinting ●○○○○ Throwing ●○○○○
Commander (2)
Strategy ●○○○○ , Tactics ●○○○○
*Heavy Weapon: (6)
Attack (Heavy Weapon) ●●●○○ Parry (Heavy Weapon) ●●●○○

Equipment and Starting Money
Starting Money 520g , Monthly Income 100g

I still need to figure out the equipment portion.

3pts left to spend on Backgrounds. I've illustrated some of it in his backstory earlier, feel free to provide recommendations. All help is welcome. I've never made a Laerdom user before.
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Re: Jeff's Character Bron Olafson

Postby Sister Sonya » Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:43 pm

I believe Painting would be a subset of Drawing, but that's Mark's call. The ability to portray lost persons and the bad guys is greatly overlooked in campaigns IMO.

Nod, Stans, (and Tungsinn) are a good combination.

The HoA campaign likely will have many opportunities for Grenselos, and you can be a hero to anyone/everyone in your group who you free. You only need one pip in it IMO. The most efficient route to Master is restricting your knacks to five, but there are opportunities (such as Grenselos) that should be considered.

My character in the Crimson Valor campaign (which also has events at Origins and GenCon) is Trygve Theusson, who also has full Laerdom.
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Re: Jeff's Character Bron Olafson

Postby Black Jack Rackham » Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:41 pm

The Artist skill specifically mentions painting portraits, but this really sounds more like a definition problem than a mechanics one. I'm a GM that loves creative uses of ordinary skills. Call it whatever you like Jeff, we'll make due.

As for your points, I went over them and you are spot on. So no problems there.

Now suggestions for the last three points...

You might consider a reason for Bron to be in Altamira (so very, very far from home, especially considering your nationality and the vast temperature change). What immediately popped into my head was Eaters of the Dead only in reverse. The northman goes down south to hang with the Crescents (er, no the Castillians) So the question would be, Why? Well you're an artist, and the Castillians know a lot about art...

Maybe you're just interested by all the new-fangled art you've seen coming from down south (Fascination).
Maybe you've discovered a mathmatical equation which good art is associated with and you want some folks to see if you're right (Contentious Theory).
Maybe this whole 'art' thing was just a convenient excuse to get out of your familial duties (Bethrothed)
Maybe you learned that your cousin (a blackguard and Vendel to boot) has been passing your art as his own, and you mean to confront him at an event he is having in Altamira (Hated Relative).
Maybe you went in debt to complete your art, and now the person you owe is forcing you to bring your art to a wider audience (Obligation)
Maybe a piece of art you did was way better than it had any right to be. You are certain it's sending you a message and it's telling you Altamira (Moment of Awe)
Maybe your love affair with Castillian art has less to do with the art and more to do with the Artist (Romance).

Hope that helps.

Mark
smafdi wrote:STOP BEING SO DARN POPULAR GUYZ SRSLY I NEEDZ MEH GAMEZ TIHS YAER!!!

kenderleech wrote:If the cows were not meant to be ridden, why would they be so close to the chase scenes?
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