John's Character: Aleksi Nikolov

[Harliquinn]

Aleksei "Martikyos" Nikolov
Ussuran (Vodacce) Fhideli Knife Thrower

Traits [56]
Brawn ●●○○○ Finesse ●●●○○ Wits ●●●○○ Resolve ●●○○○ Panache ●●●○○

Reputation: 0

Swordsman School: Cappuntina [27]
- Pin (Knife) ●●○○○ Throw (Knife) ●●●○○ Trick Shoot (Knife) ●○○○○ Expliot Weakness (Cappuntina) ●○○○○

Advantages: [24]
- Fhideli Connection [5], Linguist [2], Showmanship [3], University [4], Secret Society [5], Twisted Blade [4], Inheritance [1], Left-Handed [1]

Arcana: Loyal [-10]

Languages: [8]
- Fhideli (R/W) [1], Ussuran [0], Avalon [1], Castille (R/W) [2], Eisen [1], Montaigne [1], Vendel [1], Vodacce (R/W) [1]

Civil Skills: [14]
- Acrobat [1]: Balance ●○○○○, Footwork ●●●○○
- Artist [1]: Pysanka ●○○○○
- Archaeologist [0]: Occult ●○○○○, Research ●○○○○, Society Lore ●○○○○, Syrneth Lore ●○○○○
- Bard [1]: Etiquette ●●○○○, History ●○○○○, Oratory ●●●○○, Singing ●●○○○
- Criminal [1]: Gambling ●○○○○, Shadowing ●●○○○, Stealth ●●●○○
- Doctor [1]: Diagnosis ●○○○○, First Aid ●○○○○
- Fortune Telling [1]: Oratory ●●●○○, Palm Reading ●○○○○
- Guide [1]: Climbing ●○○○○, Stealth ●○○○○, Street Navigation ●●○○○
- Performer [1]: Acting ●●○○○, Dancing ●○○○○, Oratory ●●●○○, Singing ●● ○○○
- Servant [1]: Etiquette ●○○○○, Fashion ●○○○○, Menial Tasks ●○○○○, Unobtrusive ●○○○○
- Spy [4]: Disguise ●○○○○, Shadowing ●●○○○, Stealth ●●●○○
- Streetwise [1]: Socializing ●○○○○, Street Navigation ●●○○○

Martial Skills [9]
- Athlete [3]: Climbing ●●○○○, Footwork ●●●○○, Sprinting ●○○○○, Throwing ●○○○○
- Cloak [2]: Parry (Cloak) ●○○○○
- Dirty Fighting [2]: Attack (Dirty Fighting) ●○○○○
- Knife [2]: Attack (Knife) ●●●○○, Parry (Knife) ●○○○○

Backgrounds: [2]
- Hunted [1]: The wife of a Vodacce man I helped kill is tracking me through the Twisted Knife I carry.
- Code of Honor (Never refuse a challenge) [1]: My character cannot refuse a direct challenge to his ability or bravery

Points: 56 + 27 + 24 + 8 + 14 + 9 + 2 - 10 = 130

[Black Jack Rackham]

I swear if I had a penny for every Vodacce male with a twisted blade who was abducted by the Fhideli and taken to Ussura at a very young age, but not before he secretly learned Cappuntina from his nanny, and who left them to go to the University in Avalon where he learned the secrets of the Bards before being trained in the art of spying…

Ok enough razzing I do have a couple of questions/comments though.

1. Inheritance? It’s either 500G or an item, but what specifically?
2. Language. Got a couple of comments here.

First, you get Fhideli for 2HP because of Fhideli Connection, -1 for Linguist, but Connection doesn’t give you R/W for the cost, so it should be 2HP.

Fortunately, however, my read of the Linguist is -1 unless the cost is already 0 (to a minimum of 1). So for Castille R/W which is 1 + 1 for R/W (which is more than 0, so 2-1 or 1 total). That makes the points even out.

3. Overall comment – The points seem fine and I can’t find anything mechanically wrong with the character, but I’ve noticed you spent a lot of points knowing and being useful for dealing with the Fhideli. That’s fine with me as long as you’re comfortable with the fact that it’ll probably have very little to do with the overall campaign.
You have a lot of good skills that will be useful, and I hope that will be enough to make playing the character a fun experience. I just worry you’ll be frustrated that your characters main utility will not really come to the fore.

[Harliquinn]

Okay a few comments and questions

1) *grin* Thanks for the razzing, and while you have most of it correct, it's in the wrong order...
If you had a penny for every Vodacce male smuggled out of Vodacce, taken to Ussura and given to the Fhideli at a young age, where he learned knife throwing, swore an oath to gain vengeance by the killing of his blood brother in Eisen by a Vodacce minor noble, masqueraded as an Eisen woman for a year in Vodacce serving the courtesan of said Vodacce noble, picking up Cappuntina through watching her train and then using it to help kill the Vodacce with the twisted knife of the courtesan and taking the twisted knife to get it out of Vodacce so that Sorte wouldn't find it right away....

2) Bard: In your game do you see it more as a 'bardic skill' (someone who travels, tells tales, studies history, etc) or do you see it as the true "Bards of Avalon" descended from Druids? I see it as the former (a category of sorts) and I see the latter as taking the Druid magic, etc. Let me know if it's uncomfortable for me to have Bard without learning all the 'secrets of the Bards' and using it more as entertainer.

3) Inheritance is 500g, and I'm treating it more as 'wealth I've accumulated' in my pre-adventure travels through busking and other means. I wasn't given a lump sum inheritance by anyone in particular.
3a) Same with University. I never attended a 'formal' university, but I figured growing up among the Fhideli, traveling to many cities and countries, you learn at the "University of the World" (same game effect).

4) Languages: Oh good catch on that; gladly it all works out evenly That's why I posted it for checking.

5) I'm perfectly fine with Fhideli not being a large part of the campaign. I plan to play him as a carefree vagabond, with a mission, so to speak. There are likely some things I'll share with the DM only of course, just to have some things going on in the background.

From a game standpoint, I see my character being half-faceman, half-rogue, and half-investigator (yes that's 3 halfs, but we are Fhideli after all). Without knowing if the game will take place completely in Altamira or even Castille, I made him useful enough if it is, and expandable enough should we venture into Eisen, Montaigne, or Vodacce. And if the Fhideli show up in Castille sometime, more the better

6) The original character was going for the Sophia's Daughers Secret Society, where he was being trained as an assassin, so I need to change that part of his background. Don't worry, it wasn't for the mechanics of it, it was for the fluff mainly.

[Black Jack Rackham]

1. Wow, that was pretty good for a complete guess

2. Use it however you see fit I was just giving you some harassment.

3. Were you worried you wouldn't have enough money? Reason I ask is I'm really trying to make sure the game appeals to the Heroic Types (who get involved because it's the right thing to do), the Mercenary Types (who are looking for a reward of some kind, be that money or items), and the Social Types (who are looking to build their reputation). So, hopefully, I will have given your Hero a reason to get involved without you having to worry if He can afford the rent next month (unless that's part of the hero's charm, like say RoMAYo).

4. Actually your character sheet was BY FAR the most accurate I've ever seen. And it was accurate despite some very complicated overlaps. Color me impressed.

5. Good, I'd hate to think anyone who plays feels like they wasted their time.

6. I'm guessing you're going with Explorers now? If so WOO HOO Our very first Explorer! (we have several Vagos, the very first character is an IC, and my son begged to be a KRC, but I gotta say I was a bit flabbergasted that there wasn't more interest in the ES).

Mark

[Harliquinn]

1. Wow, that was pretty good for a complete guess

Yes, if you want, I can send you the whole background at some point. If you're at all interested.

2. Use it however you see fit I was just giving you some harassment.

Cool, will do. I tend to use the 'mechanics' of a rule item to realize a 'flavor' that I want and go with it.

3. Were you worried you wouldn't have enough money? Reason I ask is I'm really trying to make sure the game appeals to the Heroic Types (who get involved because it's the right thing to do), the Mercenary Types (who are looking for a reward of some kind, be that money or items), and the Social Types (who are looking to build their reputation). So, hopefully, I will have given your Hero a reason to get involved without you having to worry if He can afford the rent next month (unless that's part of the hero's charm, like say RoMAYo).

I'm actually not very concerned with money once the game starts. However, without knowing any details, I didn't want to be destitute in game. Unfortunately, none of the 'money making' advantages really fit with the character, other than perhaps "patron," and I knew I had to buy a lot of throwing knives (at 6g each) at the start, so I needed a way to A) afford the items I wanted to start with and B) represent the fact that he's a vagabond and has 'picked up' wealth here and there.

4. Actually your character sheet was BY FAR the most accurate I've ever seen. And it was accurate despite some very complicated overlaps. Color me impressed.

Thanks. I went over it several times to make sure I had everything correct. For me, building characters is probably the most fun part of any new game.

6. I'm guessing you're going with Explorers now? If so WOO HOO Our very first Explorer! (we have several Vagos, the very first character is an IC, and my son begged to be a KRC, but I gotta say I was a bit flabbergasted that there wasn't more interest in the ES).

Well, to be honest, I only picked Explorer's Society because it was the only one available that fit at all. I wanted a secret society because I think (and hope) that there may be 'special missions' within adventures for members of the societies and I always love to take part in those.

If it had been available, I would have picked Rilisciare with no hestitation. It is more along the lines of where I see my character going, in terms of being a spy, courier and assassin as needed. The Rilisciare, with its attitudes on sorcery and the veil, would have been a natural fit for the character's background and progression. Now, if you allow that secret society on a 'request only' basis, let me know and I will certainly provide adequate reasons for my character to be a member instead.

The Explorer's Society is an interesting RP hook; however, mechanically it suffers compared to other societies. There really is not much benefit to being in the society. You don't get any savings on advantages, no free connections, only 1 skill, or no special access to items for joining. That said, it has a a nice bit of fluff and all to it in the Explorer's Society book and the "Modern Investigators" part of it somewhat fits along the lines for my character. I also like their 'code'.

[Harliquinn]

Aw, the hint was too subtle

[Black Jack Rackham]

John, sorry your post got lost in the shuffle, saw it and forgot to respond. You were OBVIOUSLY giving me a hint and I'm apparently not picking up on it. Wanna try again (using smaller words)?

Mark

EDIT: Ok I'm guessing you were hinting about adding the Rilasciare? If so, lemme tell you the issues I see with adding them. Oh just for good measure SPOILER ALERT

First off, there is the issue of joining the Rilasciare. Where other secret societies are pretty universal in their focus, I have to ask myself when someone joins the Ril which sect are they joining? Some are innocuous (like the Couriers), others are just silly (the Freeman League), and some are outright dangerous (The Guerrilla Alliance, The Oppositionists).

In theory I'd have no problem with the Couriers or the Freethought Society, but I could see it being difficult for members of the Freeman League to get on board with the metaplot. The few times I've played with members of the Liberation Guild, they just spent their time trying to steal everything in sight (but if there were a core group of ROLEPLAYERS who wanted to do the Liberation Guild I could see a cool subplot coming out of it). And since this isn't a bomb-throwing campaign and some of the other PCs will be mages (some might even be Fate Witches) having either GA or the Oppositionists is right out.

The Second problem comes with subplots. The plan is to have By Invitation Only adventures at each of the big cons. The BIO adventures will be Secret Society specific so right now depending on whether I run the same BIO adventure at every con during the same year (so one new BIO adventure per year) or a different one at each con (meaning 4 per year) you could be waiting up to 4 years between BIO adventures. Adding in the Rilasciare means that many more BIO adventures and the hopes that enough players decide to become members of that specific sect AND are at the same con together.

Just to give you a bit of insight, as it stands right now I have 2 confirmed members of the Knights of the Rose and Cross, 1 Invisible College, and one person expressing interest in Los Vagos (who plans to see if he can join by gaining Vagos interest throughout the campaign). I'm hoping Origins and GenCon bring several more Secret Society members but I'm not positive I'll have enough to pull this off. Putting in another secret society just dilutes the possiblity that this will work the way I planned it.

Third, my plan for this campaign is to emulate Swashbuckling movies, as such I want Heroes, and while I think the actions of many of the Rilasciare are heroic (standing up against a government and showing those in charge for the fools they are is gutsy in anyone's book) it's not really like the over-the-top Heroics I see from KRC, LV and ES (IC isn't normally but they've had to learn quickly since the Inquisition came knocking).

[Harliquinn]

It was more of an alluding to rather than a hint. Was just wondering why Rilisciare was not an allowed secret society. DK I understand. SD I understand.

[Black Jack Rackham]

Woops I was editing while you posted, I hope that explains it a bit more

[Harliquinn]

Fair enough. All good points and reasons. I appreciate the insight. I'll be sticking with Explorer's Society, as none of the others really fit where I see Aleksei going and the opportunities for the "Modern Investigations" is pretty close in practice for him.

I see events are listed, now I hope to get a ticket for Wed's Games

John

[Harliquinn]

Updated: (6 Episodes / 08/11/2013)

Aleksei "Martikyos" Nikolov
Ussuran (Vodacce) Fhideli Knife Thrower

Traits [56]
Brawn ●●○○○ Finesse ●●●○○ Wits ●●●○○ Resolve ●●○○○ Panache ●●●○○

Reputation: 0

Swordsman School: Cappuntina [27]
- Pin (Knife) ●●○○○ Throw (Knife) ●●●○○ Trick Shoot (Knife) ●○○○○ Expliot Weakness (Cappuntina) ●○○○○

Advantages: [24]
- Fhideli Connection [5], Linguist [2], Showmanship [3], University [4], Secret Society [5], Twisted Blade [4], Inheritance [1], Left-Handed [1]

Arcana: Loyal [-10]

Reputation: 19

Languages: [8]
- Fhideli (R/W) [1], Ussuran [0], Avalon [1], Castille (R/W) [2], Eisen [1], Montaigne [1], Vendel [1], Vodacce (R/W) [1]

Civil Skills: [14]+4
- Acrobat [1]: Balance ●○○○○, Footwork ●●●○○
- Artist [1]: Pysanka ●○○○○
- Archaeologist [0]: Occult ●○○○○, Research ●○○○○, Society Lore ●○○○○, Syrneth Lore ●○○○○
- Bard [1]: Etiquette ●●○○○, History ●○○○○, Oratory ●●●○○, Singing ●●○○○
- Criminal [1]: Gambling ●○○○○, Shadowing ●●○○○, Stealth ●●●○○
- Doctor [1]: Diagnosis ●○○○○, First Aid ●○○○○, Surgery ●○○○○,
- Fortune Telling [1]: Oratory ●●●○○, Palm Reading ●○○○○
- Guide [1]: Climbing ●○○○○, Stealth ●○○○○, Street Navigation ●●○○○
- Performer [1]: Acting ●●○○○, Dancing ●○○○○, Juggling ●○○○○, Oratory ●●●○○, Singing ●● ○○○
- Servant [1]: Etiquette ●○○○○, Fashion ●○○○○, Menial Tasks ●○○○○, Unobtrusive ●○○○○
- Spy [4]: Disguise ●○○○○, Shadowing ●●○○○, Stealth ●●●○○
- Streetwise [1]: Socializing ●○○○○, Street Navigation ●●○○○

Martial Skills [9]+10
- Athlete [3]: Climbing ●●○○○, Footwork ●●●●○, Leaping ●○○○○Sprinting ●○○○○, Swinging ●○○○○,Throwing ●○○○○
- Cloak [2]: Parry (Cloak) ●○○○○
- Dirty Fighting [2]: Attack (Dirty Fighting) ●○○○○, Attack (Improvised) ●○○○○, Parry(Improvised) ●○○○○, Throw(Improvised) ●○○○○
- Knife [2]: Attack (Knife) ●●●○○, Parry (Knife) ●○○○○

Backgrounds: [2]
- Hunted [1]: The wife of a Vodacce man I helped kill is tracking me through the Twisted Knife I carry.
- Code of Honor (Never refuse a challenge) [1]: My character cannot refuse a direct challenge to his ability or bravery
- Nemesis (Santino Avilla de Silva) [1]:

[Black Jack Rackham]

Just a suggestion, John. Might consider putting the cards you've earned, in case you lose or forget to bring them.

[Harliquinn]

Well haven't updated in a while....so here's the current state of Aleksei Nikolov

Updated: Origins 2022 (Episode 20 - 6/11/2022)

----------

Aleksei "Martikyos" Nikolov
Ussuran (Vodacce) Fhideli Knife Thrower

Traits
Brawn ●●○○○ Finesse ●●●●○ Wits ●●●●● Resolve ●●●○○ Panache ●●●●○

Swordsman School: Cappuntina - Apprentice
- Pin (Knife) ●●●●○
- Throw (Knife) ●●●●○
- Trick Shoot (Knife) ●●○○○
- Exploit Weakness (Cappuntina) ●○○○○

Advantages:
- Fhideli Connection [5], Linguist [2], Showmanship [3], University [4], Secret Society [5], Twisted Blade +3[4], Inheritance [1], Left-Handed [1]

Arcana: Loyal [-10]

Reputation: 104

Languages:
- Fhideli (R/W) [1], Ussuran [0], Avalon [1], Castille (R/W) [2], Eisen [1], Montaigne [1], Vendel [1], Vodacce (R/W) [1]

Civil Skills:
Acting ●●○○○
Animal Trainer ●○○○○
Balance ●●○○○
Circus ●○○○○
Climbing ●○○○○
Cold Read ●○○○○
Conceal ●○○○○
Cryptography ●○○○○
Dancing ●○○○○
Diagnosis ●○○○○
Disguise ●○○○○
Drive Carriage ●○○○○
Etiquette ●●○○○
Fashion ●○○○○
First Aid ●○○○○
Forgery ●○○○○
Gambling ●○○○○
History ●○○○○
Juggling ●○○○○
Lockpicking ●○○○○
Menial Tasks ●○○○○
Occult ●○○○○
Oratory ●●●○○
Palm Reading ●○○○○
Pick Pocket ●○○○○
Prestidigitation ●○○○○
Pysanka ●●○○○
Research ●○○○○
Scrounging ●○○○○
Shadowing ●●○○○
Society Lore (Explorer's) ●○○○○
Syrneth Lore ●○○○○
Singing ●●○○○
Sincerity ●●○○○
Socializing ●○○○○
Stealth ●●●○○
Street Navigation ●●○○○
Surgery ●○○○○
Trap Lore ●○○○○
Unobtrusive ●○○○○
Underworld Lore ●○○○○

Martial Skills
Breakfall ●○○○○
Climbing ●●○○○
Footwork ●●●●●
Leaping ●○○○○
Sprinting ●○○○○
Swinging ●○○○○
Throwing ●○○○○

Weapon Skills
Attack (Dirty Fighting) ●●●○○
Attack (Improvised) ●●●○○
Attack (Knife) ●●●●○
Parry (Cloak) ●○○○○
Parry (Improvised) ●○○○○
Parry (Knife) ●○○○○
Throw (Improvised) ●○○○○


Backgrounds:
- Hunted [1]: The wife of a Vodacce man I helped kill is tracking me through the Twisted Knife I carry.
- Code of Honor (Never refuse a challenge) [1]: My character cannot refuse a direct challenge to his ability or bravery
- Nemesis (Santino Avilla de Silva) [1]
- Nemesis (Agitazione Students) [1]
- True Identity [1]: Born Vodacce as the bastard son of a prince
- Taming the Bear
- Vow (Firefly sample for Explorer's Society) [1]

Cards:
I read about this once
I know right where we are
I can make it
It's not as bad as it looks
I know your secret
Watch out behind you
You killed my mother, prepare to die
Keep your eyes on the road
Where is your Llama?
You sir are a coward
Cows are meant to be ridden
You've got lying eyes
I can hear you breathing
A little help for my friends
I need a literate Castilian
Legen...Darcy
Stand and deliver
Leaps and bounds
Social niceties
You dance divinely