The Dice Pool Podcast’s – Interpret This! #2

TYPE: Fantasy

SETTING: Realms of Terrinoth

SETUP: “I tell you, Nerekhall is at the heart of the matter, and with reports of a Vampire being sighted within its walls, it is a true sign that the magical barriers once thought impenetrable have started to fail.”

Caslaan Davius stamped his fist into the table to emphasize his point. The tactical pieces on the map bounced in unison as he did so, making it seem that at least they were paying attention and understood the urgency of his request. His voice echoed through the hall, and he was sure that even a chamber maid may have heard his plea. It was about to become clear though that his intended audience was not in the mood to listen.

Princess Eslin was the first to respond, her frown at Caslaan’s outburst giving an indication to the noble scholar of what was about to come.”According to the reports from the Mages of the Iron Tower, the arcane barriers are intact and shall remain so for the foreseeable future. I think, Mister Davius, that your concerns are unfounded.”

Caslaan knew it would be difficult to convince the Princess. His proof of the recent atrocities at a homestead near Tamalir and within Nerekhall itself consisted of several witnesses, each of whom still smelled of the sewers they had crawled out of. Them loitering near the doorway, shuffling and looking out of place did nothing to assist him in his plight. Caslaan pointed at the trio, a gesture which went unnoticed by the group, except for the Orc of course, who appeared as though the action added to his dismay at being in such a place. “These individuals were there! They fought the blasted creature, and her accomplice. You must consider at least sending more agents into the tunnels below Nerekhall to investigate.”

Caslaan found his voice more pleading this time and elevated in tone. He knew it wasn’t beneath him to stoop to such levels to get what he wanted, even from a woman of such high standing as the Princess. The final decision would rest with her advisers though, and Caslaan knew that at least one of them was corrupt. He watched as the Princess’ brow furrowed even more than before, as she turned to her advisers to seek their guidance. Caslaan smiled. He had been dealing with adventurers and their haggling ways for years now and was confident in his ability to turn a phrase or bargain a deal in his favour. The Princess however, was a different kind of adversary. The young noble woman cleared her throat, and it was at that moment, Caslaan knew his fate and that of Nerekhall was soon to be sealed…

SKILLS: The PCs have arrived in the capital of Tamalir to plead their case to the Princess. Caslaan is a Player Character (PC) who is well versed in the ways of nobility and has agreed to plead the case to the Princess. The Game Master (GM) has declared a social encounter and has described an opening scene in the main palace hall.

Caslaan is an Aristocrat, with a Presence of 4, has a Negotiation of 2, and his background is that of a man of noble lineage. Caslaan’s player declares that he will be using his Proper Upbringing talent and will suffer one Strain to add an Advantage to the next Social check. He also negotiates with the GM for a Boost Die given that he has evidence of the incident in the form of the witness testimony from the other PCs. Caslaan’s player wants to go into the negotiation hard and flips a Story Point to activate his Forceful Personality ability which doubles any strain caused to the Princess when convincing her to see reason. The final skill dice pool is:

DIFFICULTY: The Princess is a lackluster negotiator, with a Presence of 3 and a Negotiation of 1. She does however have 1 rank in the talent Congenial which allows her to spend a point of Strain and upgrade the difficulty of the Negotiation check once. The GM announces that due to recent troubles between the Free City of Nerekhall and Tamalir, the check will have two Setback die applied. Caslaan’s player mentions that his character is familiar with the current machinations of the two cities and wishes to apply his Knack for It talent to remove the two Setback dice. The GM also announces that the Advisers are not all that they seem and adds a Setback die to the check. The final skill dice pool is:

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

GM Hooly

Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, Ian has been a huge fan of gaming since way back in the dark ages of 1985 when he was 13. His first game EVER was the original Top Secret RPG by TSR and soon after, original D&D. His first GMing gig started in 1987, when West End Games released its first version of the Star Wars RPG using the D6 system. Ian is a former Police Officer but has since retired from active duty. Ian took his passion for games to the next level by running Gen Con Australia in 2008 and 2009, and was involved in the inaugural PAXAUS in 2013. Ian enjoys running all manner of board games, card games and RPGs as well as spending time with his son. Ian is now the Host of The Dice Pool Podcast covering the Genesys Role Playing Game.

Latest posts by GM Hooly (see all)

• The Dice Pool Podcast’s – Interpret This! #4 - May 24, 2018