Forging Fated: Anna Bywater

[bowchikawowers]

Hullo! This is my part of our campaign write ups! Alongside Edonil's found here: http://wyrd-games.net/community/topic/100530-forging-a-fated-felix-boon/ (sorry I don't know how to make it pretty) and our Fatemaster's. Edit: Mako posted his write up, here's his thread! http://wyrd-games.net/community/topic/100691-the-breach-reopens/

 

This will be in the form of a sketch journal, as I'm much more of an artist than a writer, so I've also made my character that way. 

 

I'm not going to write up all the details on character creation because Ed already did that and it would be redundant. also, probably less clear and concise than his. I will give some details on Anna though, they might help with following what's going on here. 

Anna is a second generation Irish immigrant born and raised in the slums of New York. Her father, Gael, was hired muscle for some local crime bosses, who drank heavily and smoked things he probably shouldn't have. Her mother, Maible, was timid and quiet, beaten down by life and an abusive husband. She has 3 brothers, Mal, Sloan, and Hagan, who are quickly falling into their father's bad ways, and a little sister named Breanne left with no mind to speak of from her father and brother's attentions. Anna fled west in her late teens, becoming a field guide, and occasionally helping out a self declared law man, Felix Boon, who had befriended her early on in her life on the far side of the Rocky Mountains. Life was getting dull though, boring and routine. Then in 1897, she heard that the Breach had reopened. She and Felix, along with two other companions, all old drinking buddies, signed on as contractors to reclaim the city. That's where our story starts. 

 

Anna's stats: 

Persuit: Mercenary

Might: +1

Grace: -2

Speed: +1

Resilience: +1

 

Intellect: +3

Charm: -3

Cunning: +1

Tenacity:0

 

All that gives me : Defense 3  Walk 5 willpower 3, charge 5 and 6 wounds. 

 

I took Long Arms, at a skill rating of 3, giving me an acting value of 6. And my station as Muscle, gave me melee. I also have track, wilderness, toughness, evade, centering, art, doctor,notice, navigation, and stealth. I got a whole bunch of 1's for my skills. 

 

And for my starting talent, I took unequaled accuracy so I don't have to randomize when firing into combat. When you deal 3/4/5 damage, it's really nice to not have to worry about hitting your friends. 

 

My destiny is: 
When your power begets your heresy

She will sit alone amongst your misery 

For the gloom will deny that it knows you

He tightens the strings and tugs at the rivets

And you will thrice damn him

 

I'm really excited to see what Mako does with these. I've played many, many games of TTB and I've never had one of my fates played out before. 

[bowchikawowers]

Here's my first journal entry.

 

 

Feb 24th 1897

 

What a first day in Malifaux!

 

This morning, we mustered at the Guild Headquarters just south of the Breach, Earthside. Dreary place. Also, bloody cold! No shortage of Guild soldiers, either, of course.  It looked like a circus trying to get on the road with everyone running around like ants. But we got moving eventually to the Breach. The Breach... How to describe it? Fair strange for starters.  Huge, and glowing blue. It just sort of hanging there; pulsing like it was breathing, or had a heartbeat or sommat.  Like it was alive. Going through was no less strange, but decided less pleasant. I felt like my brain was being pulled out through my boots, while some sadistic god roasted me on a spit over a roaring fire. I could hear the flames crackle, and feel the heat. Then we were through. Whatever awaits us here in Malifaux, I will face it head on. I do not ever wish to do that again. 

 

Our first sight in Malifaux was a tree, with a man hanging from a branch. Not so different from hanged men I’d seen out west, but it felt off. One of the other contractors, Elden Reed (and his team of Investigators, I look forward to seeing what they come up with from their “Investigations”) says the hanged man comes down at night looking for the people what hung him.  Nonsense, surely. Still.... no. It must be nonsense. The dead don’t walk outside of dreams. 

Our briefing from the captain who commands our camp was exactly that. Brief. Basically, stay out of the slums, explore the areas with the bigger buildings, and getback before nightfall. His second, Sergeant Limmel was a little friendlier, but not much more helpful. He warned us away from the forests as well. I guess we’ll have to figure out anything else on our own. 

 

We also met a fellow named Kelsey, and his pet mage Woodhouse, the only guild sanctioned mage I know of here in the camp. They both seem decent enough, though Woodhouse strikes me as a bit of a tease, sort of like Breanne was before Daddy started drinking. I wonder how she’s doing without me to look after her. 

Anyway, as we were walking toward the city, we were hit by a vicioiusly cold wind. Woodhouse laughed and said not to worry about it. That’s the city being playful. If that’s playful, I don’t want to see it in a bad mood. Listen to me. Talking like the city can have moods as if it were alive. 

 

Inside the city we found an old building that was noticeably less destroyed than every other building around it. Illinois, our historian, said it was a church for some religion that never left Malifaux. Of course we went inside. Got us out of the wind at any rate. Inside was pretty empty at first, a bunch of pews, a pulpit, and not much else. Then someone started talking, he didn’t have much nice to say either. We couldn’t find him at first, then he sort of formed out of this green oily smoke. Looked human enough, dressed like a sort of priest or minister, but he walked through the pulpit. We had an actual, walk through solid objects ghost. Then he said something like “did we lose our faith?” and a bunch of other ghosts appeared in the pews and said “no”! I about ran back out through the door I did, but no one else moved, and I will be damed if I leave my friends to face ghosts alone. So I stayed. 

 

The ghost priest, he spotted Felix and seemed to fixate on him. Recognized him as a law man and demanded to know where he and all the other lawmen were 100 years ago when he and his congregation were dying. He said a whole bunch of things that I can’t even begin to understand. Something about holing “him” back for so long, and cryptic hints about I don’t even know what. I tell you what though, he seemed excited about letting this “him” through at us. He said he would not weep to see us die. Then he started laughing, and this... thing crashed through the ceiling. It looked like this

free upload

When I shot it, it bled smoke. Smoke!  It didn’t die right away either. I’m glad Roger was there, I’d be dead right now if he hadn’t distracted the creature.  Illinois, believe it or not, recognized it. He said it was the grim reaper for that religion.  I don’t know about anyone else, but this thing is a mite scarier than some skinny fellow in a hooded cloak carrying a scythe. I shot it twice, Illinois and Felix both hit it, and Roger kept it focused on him, and kept the rest of us alive. It disappeared, well, more like exploded into smoke. We thought we’d beaten it. But the ghost preacher started laughing. No minister, preacher, pastor, or man of the cloth should have such a disturbing laugh. 

 

It came back alright, not five yards away. I shot it again, and again, it didn’t seem to being doing anything but making it angrier.  I didn’t hear what he said exactly, but somehow Felix talked the ghost preacher and his congregation into forming a barrier between it and us. It was strange. Ghosts can’t affect things in the physical world, and this creature could. So it should have been able to go right through them. But when it tried, it bounced off. I shot it once more, right in the eye, and then again, right in the neck. It disappeared again, but it didn’t come back this time.

The ghost priest, he looked at Felix, told him that his faith in humanity had been restored, a little, and that he wanted to give Felix a gift.  I couldn’t see what exactly happened, Roger was still in front of me, but I could hear Felix yelling, like sommat was hurting him. He said he was fine, but for most of the trip back to camp, anything he touched frosted over. Is he really all right? We can’t let the Guild know about it, they’ll treat him like a rogue mage. 

Well, no one ever said Malifaux would be an easy place. 

[wadesauce]

very cool! I like reading both perspectives. It gives me great inspiration to Document my game when It arrives.

[bowchikawowers]

Cool! I look forward to reading about your game!  

[bowchikawowers]

This week we did my first fate; "When your power begets your heresy" and it was SO MUCH FUN!! It wound up being almost entirely conversation based, which is not my strong suit, I generally go with "It's scary, shoot it". But Mako made it talk before it did anything creepy (and it ran away at first, so that makes it a tad less frightening) and Mako does fun things with critters that talk. I think he enjoys creeping us out. 

 

Anyway, as the Journal entry below will tell you, I fulfilled my fate, rather than denying it, and got to increase one aspect. I decided to up my intellect to 4, which boosted my shooting acting value to 7 and makes it that much more likely that I can hit anything I choose to shoot at. I also took the general talent "Skill mastery" as the next step in my pursuit (I stuck with Mercenary for this session) which gives me a + flip to my attacks with my long arm skill. Combine that with the + to attack from the custom grip on my trusty Perrier and awesomeness ensues. If I'm ever in a situation where I think I have the time to add focus to it... hehehe. 

 

We also get to delve a little more into Anna's past and hint at her big secret, so that's fun. 

[bowchikawowers]

 

Feb 25 1897 morning

 

This morning started out even more eventful than yesterday. We were awakened shortly before dawn to whistles and shouts, followed closely by gunfire. When we went outside we found the camp being attacked by these little... things. They looked like kids from the waist up (not counting the horns or the things poking out of their backs)  but they had legs like an animal with cloven hooves. There were so many of them! 

The ones that bit people, they sort of... grew. No, no sort of about it, they grew. And the little stumps on their backs grew into wings. 

 

One of the little ones. I’ll call it a  Tot. Sergeant Limmel kept one that Illinois managed to snare in his whip. He said he was going to give it to Woodhouse to study it. I hope he is able to learn something useful from the little beast. One of the ones that Felix chopped up bled on him, and the blood appears to be toxic and burns. Is there nothing truly friendly in this place? Even blood is wrong!

I was able to take down one or two of the larger ones. They were awfully clumsy. Like children grown into the awkward teen stages. I’m afraid we haven’t seen the worst these creatures  are capable of.  Sergeant Limmel said they will be quiet for a while before they come after us again.  They came from the woods. If they’re quiet, it might be worthwhile to go check out the forest soon. I do miss the trees. 

Roger slept through the whole thing, recovering from the swipes he took yesterday from the reaper cat. Actually, he’s been sleeping all day as far as I can tell. It must have done more than any of us thought when it hit him. 

After the attack, Limmel told us we might as well go have breakfast. He was very causal about the whole thing. I get the impression they get attacked a lot. He also mentioned that they don’t attack  whenever the russuans are around. I wonder how they know?

Later on, we were looking at the map. We noticed a yellow flag. That hadn’t been there before. Sergeant Limmel was there updating it and explained that yellow flags were 

artifacts and generally they prefer to let the mage deal with them. He also said he knows how that’s going to work out, telling a bunch of hired guns that there’s something quite likely valuable out there and then telling them not to go get it? yeah. We didn’t 

disappoint on that one. It was kind of funny, really. When we told him we were going treasure hunting, he just sort of sighed and told us he’d tell Woodhouse not to hurry over there. 

While we were walking through the city we came across the church we were attacked at yesterday. We gave it a wide berth. I don’t think any of us particularly want to go back there again. Eventually we came to the intersection where the yellow flag had been. It was then we realized we’d completely forgotten to ask Sergeant Limmel what it was we were looking for. Hopefully Illinois will be able to identify it for us. The major buildings in the intersection were a museum straight ahead, a theatre to our left, and some sort of admin looking building to our right. 

We figured the museum to be our best bet, so we started there. Interesting stuff to be sure. Statues that don’t get dusty? I can see whoever figures out how that works being lauded by cleaning staff and housewives all the world over. 

While Felix and Illinois were looking at something that doubtless was shiny and interesting, I caught sight of a shadow moving in the balcony overhead. When I pointed it out, though, Felix insisted it was just the rain and I was seeing things. One of these days he’ll learn to listen to me when I say I see something. I went to check it out anyway, and the guys followed. Lucky they did, too, because there was definitely something up there. A man was standing in the balcony in the first room. Well, he looked like a man at the time anyway. He got scared and ran off, right off the edge of the balcony and only just managed to not fall. Illinois and I tried to pull him back up. While we were pulling him we heard a sort of wet tearing sound, and the skin on his arm came off in Illinois’ hands. It was almost as unnerving as seeing the ghosts yesterday. Underneath it was just black. Like someone had painted bare muscle with ink, and it was still wet. He didn’t seem hurt by it either, just surprised. Next thing we know he’s jumping across what must have been a 25 foot gap between the balcony we were on and one across the room. 

Then he pulled the rest of his skin off! Wet and inky black muscles underneath again. Except his face, he had almost no features, except for purple eyes. 

It got really creepy here. This thing, I can’t call it a man anymore, it started talking. Saying things like it couldn’t use the skin because it hadn’t asked his name. No, wait. It said “we” like some sort of collective mind. 

Then it said “we know your name” When illinois asked who’s name it meant, it said “We know Bywater’s name”. How did it know my name? It can take the skin of people, so I guess that means anyone in the camp could be one of these things. Even scarier, on a personal note, they also claim there’s another Bywater in camp. There is no one in my family I particularly want to see here. Daddy’s dead, so it can’t be him. Can it? We did run into ghosts yesterday, but they died here in Malifaux! I guess all I can do is hope and pray it’s not Daddy. How would he get on the books here in camp anyway? Ok. For the sake of my sanity, we’re going to go with not Daddy. That leaves my brothers, Momma and Breanne. My brothers, well, I can see them coming here or enlisting in the guild. 

Especially Hagan. He always did want out of the business. Momma, though? I suppose she could have found work with the Guild as a laundress or a cook. She would have had to find work of some sort after Daddy died. And even the way Daddy and the boys left her, Breanne can still stir a pot of stew or a vat of laundry. Goodness knows an army can never have too many Landresses and cooks, and that’s pretty much what we have here. A small army. 

Enough. Whoever the other Bywater is, they’ve been no threat so far. And really,

Bywater isn’t all that uncommon of a name. I’m sure there’s a bunch of us wandering the world, it only makes sense that another would come through the Breach as well. 

Anyway, this thing goes on and on making cryptic remarks about taking my name, not taking my name, taking someone else’s name, on and on. I didn’t understand anything it said hardly, though I do get the impression if it takes my name, it also takes my skin. Which I like very well right where it is. It didn’t seem too inclined to attack though, it or the other ones that started showing up one or two at a time. At one point while we were, well I guess “discussing” is the right word, with the creature across the room another one came from above us and pointed at Felix and said “I want that one”. Things got a little more tense then. These guys, Felix, Illinois, and Roger, they’re more like family to me than my blood relatives have been since Daddy took to the drink when I was 12. I seem to be doing lots of thinking about my family today. Maybe I am missing the way things used to be.

Somehow I wound up our spokesperson, and me the least chatty of the whole group! Ah well. The creatures did seem to be rather focused on me, over the rest. Maybe because they knew my name? Anyway, we somehow wound up sort of negotiating a deal for information. They’ll tell me what they know of the other Bywater (here’s hoping I can understand what they say! darn cryptic shadow men) In exchange I bring them, um, something from camp. They didn’t really specify what they wanted. They know a disturbing amount already, they could be useful if I can keep them under some sort of control. My own personal spy network. Of sorts. 

Here’s what they look like. Good thing they have ways to, um, disguise themselves I guess.  Whatever they look like, or however they do things, I don’t really care. So long as they don’t hurt my friends, and get me the information I need. 

Creepy buggers though, aren’t they?

 

[Mako]

It really did make a very vague deal, didn't it! They want... something (that the guild won't like), and in return they'll (probably) tell you... some stuff. 

 

Glad you had fun with it, I was honestly expecting (and repeatedly trying to get you all to start) violence but you lot wouldn't be provoked! I even tried dropping two or three on you with a fairly hard notice check and you kept passing the blasted things

 

The other Bywater plot is going to be so much fun

 

(also, I should really write mine up soon... you've managed a writeup and a drawing and I've only done a paragraph!)

[bowchikawowers]

2 drawings :3

We get to make a wild guess as to what they want, and hope we've got something they like . yay.

Yeah I'm pretty excited to see what you do with the other bywater plot.

[Mako]

Well, you know they're not hugely fussed either way by humans, but they really don't want the guild about... you could always start murdering guild people randomly? They'd probably quite like that...

 

:D

[bowchikawowers]

yeah I can see that going just brilliantly...

[Mako]

Heh. Sneaking about and offing them silently in the dark isn't in anyone's skill set so far, is it...

[bowchikawowers]

Well.. if you give me a silencer.... 

[Mako]

Shame you don't know anything that's good at sneaking about and killing people without people realising, really, isn't it

[bowchikawowers]

shhh, they're spies, not assassins. not yet anyway.... 

 

though... that is an interesting thought... what happens to the guild if all the guild leadership gets taken over by skinwalkers?

[Mako]

I have to replan some of my later plot arcs, that's what happens...

 

lol.

[bowchikawowers]

ha! Well, that's almost guaranteed to happen anyway, isn't it? I mean... getting us from point A to point B without going through points C-Z and every possible combination and iteration of numbers and letters too is well nigh impossible isn't it? Ed always complained we were like herding cats. 

 

I thought "Do everything the FM does NOT plan on" was the definition of player character...?

[Mako]

I'm still baffled that you didn't split the party when you came so close to it...

 

That would have been epic. You'd have had to negotiate while those two brawled away on the ground floor. 

[edonil]

Herding cats was easy compared to you lot. When I have to threaten you with a Tyrant to get you to ask questions so that I can give you the freaking evidence...

[bowchikawowers]

"NO I DON'T WANT THE EVIDENCE I WILL SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WITH THE POWER OF RUNNING AROUND AIMLESSLY!!!"  

 

Mako, the non party split was entirely on them. It certainly would have put a little more pressure on the negotiations, and I might have asked different questions... or something along the lines of "whatever you want, fine just stop!"

[Mako]

Would have been pretty funny too, given how fast those things are. Might have even been able to confuse them enough to end up with Felix getting whipped round the knees...

 

The power of running around aimlessly is a force to be reckoned with. It should always be used in a crisis, or an situation that might result in a crisis, or could even remotley possibly go a bit wrong.

[bowchikawowers]

lol now I wish we'd split just so I could have seen that! 

[Polyclept]

 

I thought "Do everything the FM does NOT plan on" was the definition of player character...

 

That's signature material right there. That's always been my understanding of the metarole of a PC, and yet I still managed to be completely BLINDSIDED by this tendency the few times I've to GM!

 

 

 

The power of running around aimlessly is a force to be reckoned with. It should always be used in a crisis, or an situation that might result in a crisis, or could even remotley possibly go a bit wrong.

 

Also signature material. You two are so quotable! 

[bowchikawowers]

Heh, Mako's a clever guy. Helluva Fate Master too! He actually had me legitimately nervous with his creepy skinwalker dudes. My info net.