Category: TTN

• Characters are from the fishing port of Theeport located on the western coast the country.
• The town has nearly 1000 people within it’s area of influence – 10 miles radius from the dockstone – a large dolmen at the main dock which historically was used to secure longboats.
• The weather is mediterranean so characters wear minimal clothing. Armour is almost unheard of because of it’s weight and heat. There are really only two seasons – a cold autumn and a warm summer. None of the characters will have seen snow unless they specify so in their origin.
• Houses in the docks area are usually three story. The basement floor is used for non-perishables and manufacture. This is like the “garage” and small boat fishermen would keep their boats and equipment in here. The ground floor is perhaps 4-5 foot above ground level and is where the family sleep and where their valuables are kept. The top floor is the living quarters and where the cooking occurs. Entry to the dwelling is via the top floor using either a ladder or stairs. This is historically due to flooding. for the rainy season, a Storm Roof covers the entrance in the ceiling.
• Houses further away from the docks are flat roofed. The poor tend to have a single room dwelling and keep seating and “non valuables” on the roof, again accessed via stairs or ladders.
• Wealthy houses are less like caves and more like houses. People who remain devout to the Old One still prefer houses which are entered through the roof and remain dark and cool.
• Gold and copper are the most valuable metals due to their use in jewelry.
• Barter is still prevalent though minted bars are needed for dealing in the cities. This currency consists of silver bars around the size of a stick of gum (though thicker) with a single hole punched in them so they can be hung on a string. There are three values. Bars, Gilds and Gems. Bars are simple cards of silver, gilds have gold etching/plating on them and gems have gold etching and semi-precious stones embedded in them. For the villagers, one bar is probably equivalent to one months salary. One Gild equal to about 5 years salary. One Gem around a lifetime. So the ratio is 1 gem = 10 gilds. 1 gild = 50 bars. Or thereabouts.
• The diet of the average fishermen is mostly these sardine/herring type fish. Grain is rare. Leafy spinach-like vegetables are boiled into submission and served with the fish. Root vegetables do not grow well in this region and most people are unfamiliar with tubers as a result. Fermented grain beverages (booze) is rare and treated as a privilege though it uniformly causes horrendous hangovers. One type of shellfish produces a toxin which, in small quantities, causes relaxed elation, in higher doses hallucinations and in high doses, asphyxiation. It’s popular and served as an additive to a kelp-based salty tea.
• The local laws are enforced by the Fishers, a town hall of any adults who have PAID for the privilege. The cost is 1 bar per year per vote per person (which must be paid in bars and gives a reason to trade with the city). If you are not part of the Fishers at the start of the year then you cannot participate til the following year when you must pay your tithe. Wealthier people can pay the bar tithe of others in return for their loyalty and often will make sure any adults in their family are paid up so they can corral much of the vote. For law enforcement, lynch mobs are still pretty frequent. And the stocks are always occupied for one reason or other, anything from assault to just being generally unliked.
• The town is run by the Harbour Master. An elected position within the Fishers.

Our beginning characters in SeaFarers are going to be inhabitants of the fishing port of Theeport which lies on the West coast of a large country. The Narrator has decreed that we should all know each other to start, come from Theeport and know a little about boats or the sea.

I use the term Narrator to describe Paul as we’re using a “story game” approach to making characters and resolving conflict.

Here’s the first sample character, a girl called Turi and a brief description of the system we’re using.

Traits : “Turi is a shell diver like all of her family. She is tall, thin and wiry and like most in the region is dark, with coppery-brown hair. She lives with her three brothers and her father – an arrangement which has made her tomboyish and she’s a capable wrestler as a result. She carries a steel knife and a diving shell which allowed her to stay underwater for nearly 10 minutes. She has collected a small fortune in pearls and semi-precious stones from her diving exploits. She never knew her but her father claims her mother was a woman of influence from one of the big inland cities. Her family are somewhat devout to the Old One and still have a small shrine to her in their basement.
Drive : She is Driven by her desire to gain wealth and travel to see if she still has family in the cities.
Flaw : Due to an overdive when she was younger which caused her eardrums to burst, Turi is 40% deaf

In addition to the details above, each character has three scores: Hand, Wounds and Story Points. We’re using a playing card resolution model.

Hand: the number of cards the player can hold.

Wounds: The character can take up to three wounds

Story Points: representing opportunities for the player to take control of the outcomes of scenes.

Conflict is resolved for the most part by the player choosing a card from his hand and playing that against a blind draw from the deck. There’s a randomising element (the Deck) and a small amount of control the player can exert on the outcome because of the cards she may hold in her hand. She might play a high value card to win a conflict or might choose to play a low value card in a low stakes conflict as an opportunity to get a better card on the next re-draw. Underlined traits allow the player to play a second card (adding to the value of the first) if they choose.

We’ll continue to add more to the system and background as time goes on and transpose highlights to the WIKI. We are also still recruiting for a couple more players from the Greater Belfast area?