It's Friday and we have no clear victor on the name front, so I form the tie breaker. I'm afraid no one will have all of their choices win, but so it goes. Here are the results this time!
Now for the questions:
The ongoing of character creation:
While you were on the run you and your sister gained new abilities which helped you survive, and will continue to do so. For you it has been a gift of magical power, for her physical skills. (As befits a slave...)
What is the nature of the powers you have gained?
A4: Summoner
What is the nature of the Skills your sister has mastered?
B1: Warrior
What are your names?
C5: Gloriana of Magecraft & Caethes of the Silver Blade
(Formerly: C3: Tanya the Innkeepers-Daughter & Jade the Innkeepers-Daughter)
(I picked this as the winning vote for two reasons: 1; It was the first vote cast, and 2; I felt it was the one with the most story potential.)
Onward with the story!
The days till the snows of Winter imprison us in the castle are finite and growing ever fewer: what should we do first to ensure our survival?
D5: Survey our domain. (And speaking of exploring, there's a bunch of abandoned farmsteads around here. Maybe some of them have something of use?)
I rolled very good for your scavenging attempt! (10) You gain increased benefit!
The system I am using works on 2d6, the more extreme the results [2 and 12 being the best] the better you do. If a 7 is rolled something goes wrong. The results of a 7 will be worse the more risky the action you were attempting. Conversely the better the good results are if you roll one of the extremes when taking a risk. Some actions, [gathering Firewood or Food are two examples,] pose effectively no risk, they just take up time. The worst result you can get on these actions is that you come up empty handed. In increasing order of difficulty we have No Risk, Low Risk, Moderate Risk, and Serious Risk actions. With each increase the number at which you come up empty handed increases by one step. Serious disasters still only happen on a 7, but setbacks can happen at any number below 'empty handed.'
Now To Explain All That!
You are 'Gloriana of Magecraft', formerly "Tanya the Innkeepers-Daughter". You have picked this name because you are going to be Glorious, and you have, during your journey thus far, awakened to a mage gift. You are a summoner, you can conjure creatures from other planes of existence to do your bidding. Elementals, Nature Spirits, Demons, and Celestials fight, kill, and 'die' in your cause. You can also cast a small range of other magics: a few Cantrips, Wards, Buffs, and Hexes are within your power, though nothing like a mage who focuses on those areas. Lastly you have the ability to bolster or weaken summoned creatures, your own or another's.
Your Sister is called '
Caethes of the Silver Blade', formerly "Jade the Innkeepers-Daughter". Her new first name literally means "Slave" in elfin, and you are either amused or chagrined every time you say it. On your journey Caethes has become a proficient Warrior, fighting with sword, shield, and armor. She is by no means an expert at this role, but is growing better all the time. When out in the world your sister wears piecemeal armor taken from brigands you've encountered on your journey. An open faced helm with a horse tail plume, a chain shirt, spiked gauntlets, leg armor made of leather, a quilted cloth arming tunic, sturdy leather boots with a steel plate in the sole, and a neck piece of tough steel that fits over her collar. She takes no pride in her haphazard armor, but maintain's it like a professional.
The second half of her name stems from something you discovered when you first found the castle. On the floor above the basement where you and your sister have been sleeping is the ruins of a grand audience hall, and at the back of that hall in a large granite throne was the skeleton of what you believe to be the former king of this land. He had been stabbed through the heart with what you think was his own sword, a rune inscribed silver blade known as "+ULFBURHT+". You checked everything for traps with your summoned creatures and scanned it with the First Sight of course. There was no evidence of any spells or traps other than the enchantment of the blade. Braving the danger your sister drew the blade out of the skeleton's chest, (who you can only guess to have been "Sampson of the Silver Blade",) and declared it to be her own. You took "Sampson" and 'buried' him in the river that hard-by stands near the castle, using the commoner's prayer for unknown gods.
"+ULFBURHT+" bears potent enchantment, and you still have not plumbed all it's functions. It can cut steel with ease, never needs sharpening, magically increases the sword's skill of it's user far beyond what they have already grasped, and glows like the moon in the presence of enemies. You have also learned that it can fire Mage Bolts, protect it's bearer with a sheathing of magical force, let it's bearer instinctively know the direction and distance to the nearest body of clean water, and purify fouled food or drink once each day, but these powers require you to speak a word of command: words you have not been able to learn. You suspect it has other powers, but have not discovered them yet. You have, at times, considered asking your sister for the sword, but always discard the notion. Swords are warriors weapons, not the stuff of mage's learning, and you know that she has grown quite attached to the thing. She is your slave, and so, indirectly, the sword already belongs to you. Best to let her have her prize.
This brings us back to the present.
It is the second day since you found the castle. The Day you found the castle you explored it a bit and found the sword, collected firewood, and cleared some of the debris. The first day after you simply slept, too bone weary to go on. Now you can no longer sleep, though you still feel very worn down and lethargic. You note that the state of your food and wood stores is pitiful, especially with the three long months of ice and snow fast approaching, so you formulate a plan to improve on it.
"Caethes, we need to lay in more food and wood for the coming winter. We should go out and check some of the abandoned farms, see if anything is left that we can use." You state, and your sister smiles.
"As you wish Gloriana." She says, hefting her now empty pack.
There are about 12 old farmsteads around the castle, and you go to the furthest one, looking for anything of use. At first you find little, just some rusty old tools and a huge jar of salt, but then you realize you are looking at this all wrong. It is not premade supplies that are worth taking here, but the ruins of the farmhouse itself and the feral livestock! Over half of the day you tear apart the collapsed thatched roof of the building and hunt down one of the no-longer-quite-tame hogs that roam the property. With your expertise in woods-lore you skin and butcher the thing, then take some of the salt and preserve the carcass.
You rig up a sledge from the remains of the roof, then, working till well after dark, haul your prizes back to the castle. You and your sister will grow quite sick of salt pork before the meat is finished, but it will keep you both alive, and that's important. There also is the fact that you were able to salvage one of the tools: a battered and rusty, but serviceable, ax. It was what you used to cut up and shape the beams of the collapsed roof for firewood.
As you bed down for the night you realize something kind of peculiar, you never have bothered to pick a name for the castle and the valley it's in...
Current State of Your Domain:
Resources, Goods, Tools, Weapons, and Armor:
Axes (Tool/Weapon): 0+1 = 1
Brigantine Jack [Women's, Low Quality, Damaged] (Armor): 1
Clothing [Women's, Low Quality, Damaged] (Goods/Armor): 4
Clothing [Men's, Low Quality, Damaged] (Goods/Armor): 2
Food: (30 + 18) / 2 people = 24 days.
(Ration Level: Starvation [1/3]. Full Rations: 8 / 2 = 4 Days [5+3]. Food Balance: 4 Grain, 4 Vegetable, 6 Meat, 2 Dairy.)
Water: 4,000 units per day. [(Unnamed) River: Not Polluted, Not Frozen.]
Firewood: (18 + 18) / ([2 People / 5] Round Up.) = 36 Days.
Timber: 0+6 = 6.
Items:
Personal Sledge [Low Quality] (Transport): 0+1 = 1
Special Items:
"+ULFBURHT+": (Magical Silver Sword with several abilities, not all of which are known and most of which can't be used.)
Buildings:
(Unnamed) Castle [Keep, Ruined, Partially Unexplored]:
Space: 50K sq ft. (6K Used - 44K 'Ruined' = 0 Available.) Occupancy: 2/20. Protection Bonus: +1. Administration: 3/20 (3/100)
Facilities: Cistern, Grand Kitchen (Partially Ruined), Treasury (Housing: 2 gp, 1153 sp, 19470 cp.) Main Servant's Quarters (Ruined), Laundry (Ruined), Great Hall (Ruined).
(Unnamed) Castle [Tower 1, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Tower 2, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Tower 3, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Tower 4, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Tower 5, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Gatehouse, Ruined, Unexplored]:
???
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 1, Ruined]:
Defense Bonus: +1
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 2, Destroyed]:
Defense Bonus: -1
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 3, Partially Ruined]:
Defense Bonus: +3
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 4, Destroyed]:
Defense Bonus: -1
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 5]:
Defense Bonus: +10
(Unnamed) Castle [Wall 6, Badly Damaged]:
Defense Bonus: +5
(Unnamed) Small Farmstead [Ruined, Looted.]:
Space: 0/0 (0/10). Productivity: 0/0 (0/5)
Dreams
You:
You have had a dream in the night, in one part of it you saw you and your sister stand alone against a group of Solar Crusaders and die, in the other you had a small band of minions and though some of the minions died you and your sister lived...
Your Sister:
Caethes reports the same general dream you did, except the positions were different and instead of human minions you had goblin servants...
The New Questions:
What Do You Wish To Name The Castle?
A1: Kaster Partox (Dwarven for "Castle Refuge".)
A2: Seafoam Castle (In honor of your father, whom you will probably never see again.)
A3: Sister-Hold Castle (In honor of yourselves, and your intention to hold the castle against all outsiders.)
A4: Wait And See. (Don't pick a name yet, wait to see if you can somehow discover what the name of the place was before it was abandoned. Then you can decide if you like that name or want to change it.)
What Do You Wish To Name The Valley?
B1: Vitamin Valley (A good name for an isolated farming area.)
B2: Heartland (A nice name for a small realm, which can morph into a local name for the core of a bigger land...)
B3: Gloria's Holding (A little harmless self-aggrandizement would make you feel better about your situation.)
B4: Swordhold (A name of authority for a realm on the rise.)
B5: Wait And See. (Don't pick a name yet, wait to see if you can somehow discover what the name of the place was before it was abandoned. Then you can decide if you like that name or want to change it.)
And while we're on the subject of names, there are two more questions...
What Do You Wish To Name The Farmstead You Looted?
C1: Matchstick Steading (In recognition of what you did to the roof.)
C2: Hog-Get Farm (Because you killed and butchered a feral Hog there.)
C3: The "Salvation-in-Death" Ruin (Because you "killed" the farmstead and pig to provide wood and food to keep yourselves alive, and without a roof the farmstead is effectively a ruin now.)
C4: Wait And See. (Don't pick a name yet, wait to see if you can somehow discover what the name of the place was before it was abandoned. Then you can decide if you like that name or want to change it.)
What Do You Wish To Name The River That Runs Past The Castle?
D1: The Damel (Means 'River' in Dwarven. [Not the most inspired name ever...])
D2: The Sea-Father (In honor of your father.)
D3: The River Innsbruck (In honor of your mother: 'Innsbruck' is an archaic word in Trade-Speak [of uncertain origin] for a female innkeeper that owns her own establishment.)
D4: Wait And See. (Don't pick a name yet, wait to see if you can somehow discover what the name of the River was before the area was abandoned. Then you can decide if you like that name or want to change it.)
What should we do tomorrow?
E1: Find some help! (Many hands make light work, but also mean more mouths to feed. [Conversely however, there is safety in numbers...]) [Low Risk]
E2: Gather wood. (We need enough stockpiled for all your people, [you and your sister for the moment], to survive AT LEAST 3 months of ice and snow, typically more like 4 but sometimes as much as 6 at this elevation... Right now we have less than 2 months worth.) [No Risk]
E3: Gather Food. (Forget freezing to death, starvation could kill us long before THAT
becomes an issue!) [No Risk]
E4: Explore the Castle. (Who knows, maybe the castle HAS wood and food? Won't know till we've checked the whole thing...) [Moderate Risk]
E5: Survey our domain. (We got some good supplies from the farmstead we explored today: perhaps we should look at another tomorrow?) [Low Risk]
E6: Repair the Keep. (And this is next to last because its probably more long term, but if we can't defend ourselves everything we've built and collected could be snatched away from us...) [Low Risk]
E7: Do Something Else? (We COULD spend the day doing just about anything, but it's probably not a good idea.)
"Explore the Castle" and "Survey Our Domain": Each day of exploration 'clears' one building in the castle, of which there are seven, or checks out one farmstead, of which eleven remain. (As far as you know, on both counts...) Both types of exploring carry some degree of risk, exploring the castle especially, (Highest Risk Action you can take right now...) but the rewards of success will be greater than 'No Risk' actions, as we have seen already today.
"Repair the Keep" Uses 1 'Timber' or 'Stone' per day. Full Repair requires 40 Timber and 20 Stone, plus at least 1 follower with each of the "Wood-Wright" and "Stonemason" specialties to use more than half Timber requirement or any Stone, respectively. For each 5 Timber or Stone expended Keep's "Defense" bonus increases by 1. At certain levels of repair it's Space and Administration capacities also increase.
"Do Something Else?": If you have another suggestion for what you and your sister do, leave it in a parenthetical comment. Some possibilities: Go Hunting (You Don't have bows, spears, javelins, or bolas.), Go Fishing (You don't have nets, lines, or fishhooks), Explore Up or Down The River (You could run into just about anything...), Fix up the Kitchens or Servant's Quarters (You don't have brick, mortar, tables, jars, pots, knives, cooking utensils, or cutting boards: nor hammers, nails, varnish, paint, wallpaper, cotton, wool, hemp, thread, cloth, straw, or down...), Take A Day To 'Rest' (You can 'rest' all winter...), Practice Magic (On What?), or Practice Sword-Fighting (Again, on what?).
Time to vote!
