Pytheas' Grogs

[size=150]Morlaer the repented pirate[/size]

Characteristics: Int -2, Per +1, Pre 0, Com -1, Str +3, Sta +1, Dex +2, Qik 0
Size: 0
Age: 26
Confidence: 0(0)
Decrepitude: 0
Warping Score: 0(0)
Virtues and Flaws: Covenfolk, Warrior, Tough, Fear (of magi), Missing Ear
Personality Traits: Afraid of magi +5, Brave +2, Angry +1
Reputations: None
Combat:
Dodge Init +0, Defense +3
Knife Init +0, Attack +7, Defense +4, Damage 5
Thrown Knife Init 0, Attack +7, Defense +4, Damage +5
Axe Init +1, Attack +12, Defense +6, Damage +9
Axe and Round Shield Init +1, Attack +12, Defense +8, Damage +9
Throwing Axe: Init 0, Attack +9, Defense +5, Damage +9
Hatchet: Init 0, Attack +10, Defense +5, Damage 7

Soak: +6
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
Abilities: Breton 5 (legends), Athletics 5 (rowing), Awareness 4 (in combat), Brawl 3 (knife), Brittany Lore 3 (coast), Carouse 5 (power drinking), Leadership 2 (intimidation), Profession: Sailor 1 (small boats), Single Weapon 5 (Axe), Stealth 1 (hiding), Thrown Weapon 4 (throwing axe)
Equipment: Axe, round shield, throwing axe, knife, reinforced leather jerkin, jug of spirits.
Encumbrance: 0 (3)

Morlaer was a pirate who had the misfortune to attempt to attack a ship carrying a magus from Fudarus. As he found himself in the water and facing death by drowning (he never learned to swim) he cried out, promising to serve the magus faithfully if he was saved. He has served as a grog of Fudarus since, and assigned to Pytheas as his shield grog. His unshakeable loyalty is entirely based on the fact that he is far more afraid of magi than he is of dying.
Morlaer isn't exactly a genius, but he is quite good at anything that requires plain old strength, from fighting to rowing...

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[size=150]Benarec the retired sailor[/size]

Characteristics: Int 0, Per 0 (down from +1), Pre -1(1), Com +2, Str +0, Sta 0 (down from +1), Dex +2(1), Qik -1 (down from 0)
Size: 0
Age: 47
Confidence: 0(0)
Decrepitude: 2(0)
Warping Score: 3(0)
Virtues and Flaws: Covenfolk, First Warping Flaw: Compulsion (playing pranks on magi), Second Warping Flaw: Lesser Malediction (cannot see people wearing mostly green or mostly purple)
Personality Traits: Loyal (Pytheas) +5, Prankster +2, Old Salt +3, Respectful -3
Reputations: None
Combat:
Dodge Init -1, Defense -1
Knife Init -1, Attack +3, Defense -1, Damage +2

Soak: 0
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
Abilities: Breton 5 (storytelling), French 4 (Norman), Low German 5 (Flemish), Athletics 4 (rowing), Awareness 2 (alertness), Bargain 3 (household supplies), Brittany Lore 3 (ports), Carouse 2 (drinking songs), Charm 3 (young women), Etiquette 1 (magi), Flanders Lore 2 (ports), Folk Ken 3 (magi), Guile 3 (remaining impassible), Intrigue 2 (gossip), Leadership 2 (ordering servants), Music 3 (singing), Normandy Lore 2 (ports), Order of Hermes Lore 2 (seaside covenants), Profession: Sailor 5 (small boats), Profession: Valet 5 (cleaning clothes), Stealth 3 (sneaking), Teaching 3 (servants)
Equipment: knife, clothes
Encumbrance: 0

Benarec was born the third son of a fisherman, but with no chance of inheriting his father's boat he signed on as a sailor instead. For 15 years he sailed up and down the English Channel and occasionally beyond, then a tempest shipwrecked him on Ushant. He was recruited by Fudarus to sail the small ship they keep to make supply trips from the mainland, and in between those trips acting as a valet for Fudarus' steward (a mundane with delusions of grandeur). As a servant to the servants, Benarec often ran into Pytheas, who as apprentice was often set by his master to the most menial tasks available. By then Benarec was already given to pulling practical pranks on the magi of Fudarus, and Pytheas aided him more than once (and ended up punished for them far more often than he actually took part). This created a link between the two.
Two days before Pytheas passed his Gauntlet, Benarec uttered aloud a fateful phrase : 'I wish all those feuding magi and both Primi just disappeared and all this silliness came to an end". When he woke up the following morning, they had (in truth he had fallen under a curse from all the magic he had been exposed to, and was merely unable to see them). The day after that he ran into Pytheas, who had just forced his parens to acknowledge him a full magus, switched his allegiance to Harpax, then changed into blue clothes. When he learned that Pytheas was leaving in a boat, Benarec offered to come with him 'so the young idiot wouldn't capsize in the first ten minutes'.

How long as he been a grog at Fudarus? How long has he been assigned as Pytheas' shield grog?

If he spent most of his adult life as a pirate, his sailing skills should probably be higher and his weapon skills less diverse. On the other hand, if he's been at Fudarus for a long time, then his abilities would be right on, but fear would probably have lessened with time. He's still alive, after all, and unwarped. :laughing:

Well, he's pretty stupid, so I was thinking that the fine points of sailing are beyond his capacities. For some reason he always seems to end up wielding a pair of oars when he's on a boat (see his athletics skill). Or told by someone who knows to 'pull on that rope'. More Strength based athletics. Does that work ?

He's been at Fudarus for several years (after all, he has to get used to Pytheas' Blatant Gift). So you're right, he should be warped. Although it takes a 6+ aura to warp someone just by living in it, but then there all those incidental spells. Actually, L&L even mention that the aura of Fudarus warps grogs, but I know that's not Canon in this saga. It's a funny warping actually: the grogs are unable to see (or hear) someone who wears the wrong color: if the grog is loyal to Buliste, he wears purple and cannot see anyone wearing green, and vice-versae. Of course Morlaer was assigned to Pytheas before Pytheas changed his allegiance, so he would be unable to see anyone wearing green (a Lesser Malediction due to Warping). Would that work ? Or do you prefer that I find a less exotic warping ?

OMG! He will be unable to see Quercus and Fresse! Or Pytheas, for that matter, so it might be difficult to protect someone you cannot see... The curse is great, though, so maybe we should simply try to wear other colors.

Pytheas is already wearing blue rather than green, hereby stating that the feud between Primi is not of great importance to him. But yes, it is a dangerous flaw, particularly for a shield grog... And I'm actually thinking of doubling down for my servant (he can't see green or purple).

However, doubling it would have meant that he must have tought he was living alone in Fudarus so it might be a little bit extreme. I like that flaw in any case.
Man you SOOOOO need to get a MuIm (change clothing colors) spell to be used in combat :smiley:

I would have thought that he might have learned to swim after his traumatic rescue. I like the "fear of the crazy magicians" flaw. I never thought of it, but it makes a lot of sense and might use that in some of my other characters :slight_smile:

But it would explain why he latched onto Pytheas when Pytheas left: finally one magus has come back !

lol. True

He doesn't need to be warped enough to have acquired a flaw. Just a few points, to represent either living in Fudarus or, more likely, from spells cast as punishment.

There's a good reason why he's afraid of those crazy wizards. Being turned into a bunny and tossed into the dogs' pen is not his idea of fun!

Well, the first flaw comes with five points of warping, so 'just a few points' add rather quickly.Still... it might be interesting to give him exactly 4 points. Then the first time he's subjected to a powerful mystical effect he gets to roll on the Flaw lottery :slight_smile:

I was thinking on going with an older servant for my other grog, since I'll need him to be well accomplished socially, and still have the skills of a servant and a fisherman. So this one is pretty much bound to be Warped, maybe even have picked up the second warping flaw. If that is all right ?

I'm fine with it. So he'd have up to 3 minor virtues and 5 minor flaws if his Warping Score is 3 (30 points), right? Or were you thinking about pushing him to a Warping Score of 5 (75 points) and giving him a Minor Virtue as well?

Warping 5 ? No, I just don't see how a man that's still young enough to walk by himself could acquire that much warping, short of ending up as a lab experiment by an insane Bonisagus. Warping 3 should do nicely. Now I just need to figure out two minor flaws from the rather restricted list in the core rulebook. Oh, and a story about how Pytheas managed to recruit him in the few hours between his Gauntlet (because Tytalus apprentices don't rank servants, if anything they serve the servants) and his departure from Ushant.

So far I have two possible ideas: that he is a blood relation of Pytheas (who after all was born on Ushant), come to work at Fudarus; or that by some amazing timing[sup]TM[/sup] he got his second warping flaw days before Pytheas Gauntlet, just as, by more amazing timing[sup]TM[/sup] he had uttered the pregnant sentence "To Hell with those arrogant Primi and their idiotic Feud ! I wish they would all leave decent folks alone !", and that flaw was by an act of perverse coincidence[sup]TM[/sup] the Lesser Malediction I mentioned earlier, that he cannot see (or hear, or perceive in any way) any person wearing mostly green or purple (the colors of Harpax and Buliste.

Or I could do both. That would certainly explain why he left with Pytheas, even if a suspicious mind would infer the actions of a supernatural entity in that chain of coincidences. I mean, if this were Arabia, we would be looking for the Genie who decided to grant that wish in such perverse fashion :slight_smile:

He could be an older servant who was assigned to you midway through your apprenticeship. He has slowed down quite a bit, but you have grown fond of him (a little bit of a father figure to you) while he has grown used to your Gift. Or perhaps his specific warping had the fortunate (for you) result that he is unnaffected by your Blatant Gift.

He probably isn't litterate, but he may be a fount of practical knowledge, most of which about things he no longer has the physical fortitude to do. Makes him grumble a lot.

Just throwing out ideas to you. Feel free to ignore.

Tytalus apprentices don't get assigned servants. That would be coddling them. Tytalus apprentices may however be assigned to servants if the parens is feeling a bit perverse. That might actually work...

An arthritic grumbling old sailor might be a great addition to the covenant. I can see him cursing the shield grog for his incompetence and stupidity in sailing matters as they sail to anvers. :laughing:

Added Benarec the servant. Sorry, he's not arthritic, I need him to help sail my boat :slight_smile:

He does, however, need to make 12 aging rolls. Arthur, shall I do this or would you prefer to do them yourself ?

Works for me :slight_smile: I like the fateful sentence bit :slight_smile:

You do it. For a grog, that is simply routine.

All right. This corresponds to years living at Fudarus as a servant, so I gave him a +1 Living Conditions modifier
[tableborder][tr][th]Age[/th][th]dice roll[/th][th]total[/th][th]result[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]35[/td][td]8[/td][td]11[/td][td]1 Aging Point in any Characteristic (1 in Perception)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]36[/td][td]4[/td][td]7[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]37[/td][td]6[/td][td]9[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]38[/td][td]8[/td][td]11[/td][td]1 Aging Point in any Characteristic (1 in Stamina)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]39[/td][td]2[/td][td]5[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]40[/td][td]9[/td][td]12[/td][td]1 Aging Point in any Characteristic (1 in Dexterity)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]41[/td][td]1,9[/td][td]22[/td][td]Gain sufficient Aging Points (in any Characteristic)
to reach the next level in Decrepitude, and Crisis (2 in Perception; Perception 1->0)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]42[/td][td]5[/td][td]9[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]43[/td][td]7[/td][td]11[/td][td]1 Aging Point in any Characteristic (1 in Presence)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]44[/td][td]0[/td][td]4[/td][td][/td][/tr]
[tr][td]45[/td][td]6[/td][td]10[/td][td]1 Aging Point in any Characteristic (1 in Quickness; Quickness 0->-1)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]46[/td][td]1,9[/td][td]22[/td][td]Gain sufficient Aging Points (in any Characteristics)
to reach the next level in Decrepitude, and Crisis (8 in Stamina; Stamina 1->0)[/td][/tr][/tableborder]

This stings a bit !

Aging rolls are a stress die (no botch), so a 0 counts as 0, not 10.

But yes, aging hurts. I ought to know! :wink: