Not enough oil to do more than crisp them.
OTOH, this could be a grand tomb.
Too late to add a character?
Nope; the more the merrier.
So: what sort of character did you want?
Also: it’s time for experience points.
While Ranar got all the combat highlights, Thwip was consistently useful throughout and had assorted hero moments of his own. All up, I’d say it comes out about even.
Ten character points each seems about appropriate for all y’all went through. Let me know what y’wanna spend 'em on…
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Is Hayu’s character description above a good template to follow?
Yup.
For cultural background, see:
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BTW, now that we’re done: you get that this dungeon was basically a cross between Gauntlet and Aliens, yes?
If the opportunity had presented, I was going to have a character dragged off only to return as a Thing… 
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Charon (they/them)
Charon is an enigmatic creature: a vulnerable monster; they are strong but physically fragile, a sprinter but not a marathoner, clever but not learned. They are far better suited to life in the deep woods than the city.
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Who is/was their closest friend?
Currently: Phoebe, a sex worker who chats with them in the streets at night. This friendship is platonic. The majority of Charon’s present knowledge about the city and its people come from her.
Previously: see #5, Religion. -
Where do they hope to end up?
See #5, Religion. -
What is their general approach in a fight?
Charon’s preference is not to be seen by their enemy at all. When the enemy is an animal – a meal – Charon prefers fishing line, snares, or simply standing very still and waiting for it to come to hand…
When Charon must fight a sapient – without snares – they more readily rely on their powerful fists and any sticks or blunt objects at hand – but mostly, getting the drop on their opponent. Charon can be extraordinarily stealthy, but even when that fails, their enemy is often taken aback enough by their appearance to let them retain the initiative and win the fight before it starts.
In a straight-up 1-on-1 fight with no surprise tactics, however, Charon has a much harder time. Although strong, their tortured body simply cannot withstand as many blows as their pedigree would suggest, and their endurance is abysmal. If they can’t dispatch an enemy quickly, they’re in huge trouble. -
Describe their physical appearance. Gray eyes and black, mid-length, straight hair.
Charon is dressed in hooded gray tunic and loose leggings, with black boots and gloves recently stolen from a passed out city guard. Their face is shadowed by their hood and the fact that, since arriving in the city, they’re rarely out except at night. Those that catch a glimpse of Charon’s face might dismiss it as that of a human burn victim, but this simply isn’t true. Charon is an orc whose body was apparently put through a blender by a vengeful wizard before being magically reassembled. The word “orc” doesn’t seem wholly appropriate now; even when they disrobe, their species and gender are visually indeterminate. -
Religion. Charon claims to have been discovered by a god or goddess deep in the woods, who is now dead. Yet Charon’s descriptions of this god suggest more of a grandmotherly witch than anyone especially supernatural. Charon has no memory before being “found” by this god deep in the woods. Charon possesses a map they say was given to them by their dying god, tracing the route between the “giant treehouse” in the woods where Charon claims they lived with this god, and the city. They will return there when they pass the “test” to revive the god & be rejoined with them. They were never told, however, exactly what this test might entail, and if they could be honest about it, they are beginning to worry that even these memories are just some dream or invention or exaggeration weaved from their broken past.
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Magic.
Charon seems to possess various minor magics, although they don’t tend to recognize any distinction between these powers and the natural world. Certainly it would be wrong to think of Charon as a significant spell-caster.
These spells are like echoes of the words that stitched their body back together. They include very minor or very particular healing abilities; perhaps also ones involving the waters, the winds, and the woods. -
Attitude to humans.
They are utterly terrified of civilization, partly due to an all-too-recent near-death experience when a party of hunters injured them with an arrow, and partly because their friend Phoebe says humanity’s not much better than that on large scales, either. Still, they were directed here for the “test,” and learning to deal with people must be a part of it. -
Attitude to money.
It seems people are forced to do terrible things to get it, when really the fish are catchable & there’s always a hidden spot somewhere you can sleep.
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I did not see that! The fight against Eabd (that killed almost everyone but not really) knocked me off-guard. The battle against the Things was epic. We screwed that up, survived, but that wasn’t enough of course.
I was so worried that would happen to Eabd when the uberthing grabbed him. Fighting him the first time was so hard… him powered up by whatever was powering the Things and turned against us was not something that I wanted to face.
Overall, it was great. I never knew what to expect. Felt like we were walking a tightrope between disaster and success the entire time.
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Depending upon how much time will pass between setting up the Tomb Of The Unknown Adventurers and adventure calling again:
I’d think that Thwip will blame himself for the success of the assassin elves since he didn’t think of the possibility of the one in the entrance and his shots didn’t hit. So RP-wise he’d hit whatever the equivalent of a rifle range would be and working tirelessly to improve his aim in general and ability to hit with quick shots more specifically.
And maybe he can start to learn how to use a crossbow pistol for “close quarters” if the points are there
Boosting Thwip’s rifle by one level to 16 would cost four points; getting crossbow-12 would cost one point.
Anything else? You could buff a bunch of 1-pt skills a little bit, or get some other skills you don’t already have.
Buffing Stealth might be useful.
On second thought, maybe a different direction is called for. How far can both his fast talk and diplomacy get boosted?
Also, we should strip down our assassin elves and look for any identifiers. Or something that marks them as being more than some jerks in a black cloak like we were. How common or uncommon are their blades?
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They’re both currently 1pt skills. For each one, 1pt to raise it one level, another 2pts to raise it another level.
Or you could buy a level of Charisma for 5pts; that gives +1 to all reaction rolls.
Which path would produce the best overall dice rolls once everything is spent?
Also, I’m assuming “Fast talk” is a publishable way to say “Bullshit” whereas diplomacy is all about talking to people and getting them to not stab you?
You use Fast-Talk for short-term bullshit, Acting for long-term bullshit, and Diplomacy or Intimidation for reasoned persuasion.
Fast-Talk
IQ/Average
Defaults: IQ-5 or Acting-5.
This is the skill of talking others into doing things against their better judgment. It is not taught (intentionally, that is) in school; you study it by working as a salesman, confidence man, lawyer, etc. In any situation that calls for a reaction roll, you may make an Influence roll against Fast-Talk instead; see Influence Rolls (p. 359).
Note that Fast-Talk differs from Acting (p. 174). In general, Fast-Talk is used to get someone to make a snap decision in your favor, while Acting is used for long-term dissimulation. However, there are situations in which the GM could allow a roll on either skill.
Modifiers: +2 for Voice (p. 97); -3 for Low Empathy (p. 142); -1 for Oblivious (p. 146); -1 to -4 for Shyness (p. 154); -2 for Stuttering (p. 157); -5 for Truthfulness (p. 159). The GM may ask you for details of the story you are using, rather than just let you say, “I’m using Fast-Talk.” Your approach and the plausibility of the story may further modify the roll, at the GM’s discretion.
Diplomacy
IQ/Hard
Defaults: IQ-6 or Politics-6.
This is the skill of negotiating, compromising, and getting along with others. You may substitute a Diplomacy roll for any reaction roll in a noncombat situation, as described under Influence Rolls (p. 359).
Unlike other Influence skills, Diplomacy never gives a worse result than if you had tried an ordinary reaction roll. Failure with Fast-Talk or Sex Appeal alienates the subject, but Diplomacy is usually safe. A successful roll also allows you to predict the possible outcome of a course of action when you are negotiating, or to choose the best approach to take.
Modifiers: +2 for Voice (p. 97); -3 for Low Empathy (p. 142); -1 for Oblivious (p. 146); -1 to -4 for Shyness (p. 154); -2 for Stuttering (p. 157).
Hmm. Okay. Brass tacks: What would it take for Thwip to be able to go out there and try to deescalate a violent situation?
Things that make a good diplomat or conman:
- High IQ, because most influence skills are IQ-based. Thwip is good here.
- High influence skills. Thwip has these at base level already, they can be boosted if desired.
- Anything that provides a reaction bonus. This includes Advantages such as Voice, Charisma, Appearance, Rank, Status. They all cost around 5pts per +1 bonus. Thwip has none of these.
Things that hurt:
- Anything that impedes communication or provides reaction penalties. Shyness, stuttering, social stigma, odious personal habits, appearance, etc. Thwip has none of these, although some his quirks get close.
Diplomat/Conman is as much of a specialist build as warrior or wizard. Lots of points invested in appearance, voice, social status (or the ability to fake social status) and influence skills.
Thwip could get competent at it, but he wouldn’t match a specialist without some major revision.
BTW, another way to boost Thwip’s combat effectiveness:
Synergise tech and magic.
There are magic items known as “spell stones”. Basically, they’re enchanted gemstones that allow the holder one-time use of whatever spell the stone contains.
Howzabout Thwip finds an open-minded enchanter and invents spell bullets?
Thwip was highly effective in the centaur fight, when he was shooting at living targets that weren’t too hard to hit. He was severely disadvantaged vs the Things and golems because they were almost immune to piercing/impaling weapons due to being non-living. He struggled vs the elves because they were very, very hard to hit.
Magic bullets could help a lot with that. Variant damage types for undead targets, explosive or homing rounds for elusive targets, non-lethal utility effects (flares, ropes, gas, binding, etc) of huge variety.
It’d be expensive, but worthwhile if you can afford it.
That doesn’t seem like too bad of an option TBH. I’m assuming that it’ll be more likely than him miniaturizing the air gun tech. Shaping the spellstones into bullets? Hmm.
If I could do both and make a Judge Dredd Lawgiver… ooh, baby.
For Ranar, if it’s reasonable for him to learn tactics, I’m thinking (including 1 saved point according to character sheet):
Learn Tactics: 1 point to go from default [5] -> 9
Increase Strength: 10 points to go from 15 -> 16
Maybe it would be better to spend those points on skills instead of strength?