In an urban setting, Throw might be better than Bows (how would he justify walking around Athlone with bow and arrows?).
If going with Throw, you could also roll it and Brawl in one single pretense, like the Chivalrous Combat example on RoP:F?
Knife Juggler: you can brawl and throw knifes with competence, but you can't fight with any other weapons, even your fists. You can still dodge if disarmed, but you can't punch or kick back.
Humm... With The Spider's Tread I imagine you will treat walls like normal ground, and will only need Athletics in situations that would also call for Athletics on the ground (eg. slippery or very irregular surfaces)? If so, maybe Athletics 5 could be reduced to 4 or 3.
I think Legerdemain only needs to be higher if he needs to steal ACs directly from people's pockets, so a 3 should be fine?
I suppose Area Lore: Faerie Roads & Trods is intended for use with Regio Network? Wouldn't Area Lore: Hibernia suffice/be better?
At night there is almost zero law enforcement in Athlone. And a short bow is not a restricted weapon (unlike say a sword) regardless. That said, if he were trying to "blend" having a bow and arrows on is certainly visibly being armed.
I think the surface doesn't really matter (for the purposes of the power) it is the potential for transitioning between surfaces that might be tricky or require jumping etc. Or that is what I was thinking when I wrote it.
That was the intent of the way I designed the power, yes.
It depends on what you want stolen and why. I would intend to be raising and working on it regardless, but the argument "for" the switch would be ... it would stack really powerfully with the bonus from his stealth power and allow him to execute feats of pickpocketing most arguably couldn't? (One supposes that being invisible, inaudible, and not perceptible by touch would be something of an advantage here.)
It is indeed intended to go with Regio Network. Arguably he would realistically also have some Area Lore: Hibernia, I would agree. I think the lore specifically for roads & trods makes the knowledge much more specifically about them, and therefore gives deeper knowledge. (Same reason Vorsutus has it.)
Part of my thinking was/is that Bows would be his primary combat skill, but ... I could lower it and call it a work in progress (or only just begun) and just say ... he isn't much a fighter outside of a knife/fist fight to start with. And that being a limitation isn't totally unappealing given the purpose/design of the character.
Not about being restricted, but about him being obviously ready for trouble.
But I keep forgetting that Gazik is very much a night only character.
An unfair advantage, I'd say. XD
The only thing better than that would be to directly teleport the desired item to his hands with ReTe (which hey, is also a nice power for a stealthy goblin to have!).
Makes sense, but how does this work with the description of Regio Network?
To determine whether the character knows the location of a networked regio in a particular locale an Intelligence + (Area) Lore roll is made against an Ease Factor of 9.
Besides that, what does Area Lore: Faerie Roads and Trods actually entails?
Makes sense, but you can only increase pretenses you see someone else using/improving during the season. I find unlikely for Gazik to have this much interface with powerful archers while following Atheus, so this might not see as much advancement as you'd like.
I find his second spread of abilities nicer than the first, albeit the reduced Bows.
You could also reduce the abilities at 7 to 6 and increase Bows.
Don’t forget you have other avenues for advancement. Eg. it should be easy for Gazik to develop Puissant Stealth through one of Atheus' schemes. So dropping Stealth to 5, freeing 65 xp to invest in Bows, should be a worthy trade off.
I see it as simply a much more focused Area Lore. I would compare it to, just to throw out an example, Area Lore: Waterways of Hibernia. And you could compare it to (one I've seen elsewhere) Area Lore: Northern Seas, or Area Lore: Hibernia. The character with Area Lore: Hibernia is going to know something about the waterways in Hibernia, but likely only at a broad level. They know generally the courses of the rivers and what areas and towns they pass through if you will. Whereas the character with Area Lore: Waterways of Hibernia will have much more specific knowledge more akin to say a professional boat captain who has navigated the rivers many times and knows the bends and curves, and the hazardous locations etc. They know the waterways much more deeply.
Meanwhile Area Lore: Northern Seas likely knows the coasts of Hibernia moderately well, as it is in the Northern Seas area, but I would expect to be significantly less familiar with the interior waterways of the island. They likely know where all of the interior waterways that are navigable exit out to the sea, and where sea traffic typically transfers cargo to river boats as a matter of the normal flow of water trade, but I wouldn't expect them to be deeply familiar with the rivers etc. And this is simply because ... they have an even broader/less focused Area Lore (as to specific area) but it is nautically focused. So they have the same broad knowledge of coastlines and ports and riverway transit points about a much broader area throughout the northern maritime environment.
So what does this mean (in my thinking anyway) that Area Lore: Faerie Roads & Trods is? I see it as a similarly focused Area Lore to say "Waterways of Hibernia" but specifically focusing on the High Roads, Trods, and Regio connections of the system. The familiarity should be greatest here in Hibernia but because the system is also simply "how Faerie works" and not exlusive to Hibernia as the Lore potentially goes up so does the broadness of knowledge. There are High Road connections I've stipulated out to say Loch Leglean, Stonehenge, and Normandy for example. And while there may not be as many actual High Roads as there are in Hibernia there are still I'd imagine "some" and liminal spaces that count as Faerie Trods like ... any given river that has a Faerie Aura. These are all places in theory usable for Regio Network: Faerie Roads & Trods for travel starting or destination points, if you know where they are. So the Area Lore: Faerie Roads & Trods is focused in that ... it is knowledge of these various areas and connections. It does not however really include knowledge to any meaningful degree about the local area regarding any of these things, beyond where the Faerie places are, what kind of Faeries and Faerie things are there, and how to navigate them and/or propitiate any Road Guardians etc. Though I kind of see the Regio Network: Faerie Roads & Trods virtue as essentially making the character highly proficient/effectively already pacted regarding dealing with Road Guardians anywhere.
I decided to take some of your advice and spread the xp around a little more.
Perhaps. Perhaps even likely. However any down season you, for example, spend in the lab or studying Gazik can/would be doing his own things with the Goblins and have access to the broader network of Goblin crime/enterprise from which to source his glamour harvesting. Which I'm not sure how to judge that, but having broader potential sources when he isn't off adventuring with Atheus seems quite likely.
I like him. Already starting to make plans for how to employ his abilities.
Restricted Might remains as a non-flaw for him. Wondering if it's right to have this at the start, even if the intent is for him to gain powers during advancement.
The matrix on RoP:F pg. 65 has no entries for gaining Minor Virtues + Major Flaw (which could grant a power + the Restricted Might flaw), but it seems like it would be on the same level as EF 6. And progress from there.
EDIT: bad habit of leaving half-finished thoughts behind.
What I meant is, you could start without Restricted Might, but get it together with a Minor Virtue granting a power that is restricted by it (perhaps a Focus Power to create illusions, for example).
Power progression-wise it fits as a theme. You embrace more power, but also embrace the cost for that power.
As character arc, it offers a clear transition: a goblin that could act during the day is bound by the night.
The reason I'm suggesting getting it with a Minor Flaw is because I'm sure Atheus can beat that EF with his current Int+Intrigue (8). But gaining a Major Virtue and a Major Flaw is EF 15, which requires a roll of 7 or above on the stress die.
Humm... Or spending two confidence points. That would be a sure way to further Gazik's advancement (as long as the roll doesn't botch).
I'm pondering switching it out for a Major Personality Flaw: Lecherous. Though I'm considering just how that would play out with a super sneaky guy who then is suddenly struck by encountering pretty ladies while on a mission.
But that could be part of the fun?
How would you feel about it being in your group with Atheus?
I don't see a problem with Lecherous characters, and it would sure be interesting to see how it plays out.
Humm... I think as long as it doesn't detract from tone it should be fine? Like, ok if he sees the opportunity to steal a piece of underwear and goes through, not ok if this results in him running around while sniffing on the piece of fabric for comedic effect?
That's most likely not the best example, but it was the best one I could think off right now.
I think we have the same sense of things here. More I was thinking he might steal hair ribbons or handkerchiefs and be very distracted around them. Perhaps be tempted to do more but that would vary based on circumstances.
I'm trying to find/think of something else that seems suitable for him as a potential replacement and struggling.
Have you considered Dwarf? Or maybe Small Frame and two more?
I think Susceptible to Deprivation, Vulnerable to Cold Iron (minor) and Small Frame could be a good selection.
You could also scale up Traditional Ward from Minor to Major and get only one more.
Also, don't forget you can lose the Minor Flaws (way) more easily than one Major Flaw through advancement.
That would exceed 5 Minor Flaws (the limit). So it needs to be replaced with another Major Flaw, or his whole Flaw spread needs reworked.
Virtues: Narrowly Cognizant (F), Faerie Sight (1), Humanoid Form (1), Improved Powers (1), Ostentatious (3), Personal Power x 2 (1x2:2), Personal Vis Source (1), Regio Network: Faerie Roads & Trods (1)
So I like the "Cold Iron" vs just Iron, and I think that only fits the description as a Minor. Dwarf I was consciously avoiding but Small Frame isn't so bad. Some things could be reshuffled here but either way I'd still need another Major Flaw.
Totally forgot there was a limit of 5 minor flaws.
Did you gave up on Lecherous (Major)?
Actually this would be changing from Traditional Ward to Sovereign Ward.
With Traditional Ward you are only uncomfortable in the presence of Cold Iron, and it burns you like fire.
With Sovereign Ward you can't hurt or harm someone warded by Cold Iron, you actively flees it's presence, and you are destroyed by touching it. It's way harsher.