In Progress Torment on the Shards, Part 36 - Planescape-inspired CYOA

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The Void is an endless expanse of black nothingness, charged with unused energies of creation. Strong belief and the force of will can make this energy take physical form, shaping reality, but no one knows what the original shaping force was or how the Void came to be. Mysterious Shards float through the void, each bound by their own rules.

The City was built on Demiurge's Shard, both willed into existence by a nearly-omniscient being known as the Demiurge. A shaper of reality with no peer, the Demiurge has populated his City with numerous races he made to fit a variety of purposes. Demiurge's Shard travels the Void under his guidance, consuming and absorbing other Shards, expanding the City with new terrain and stranded refugees.

Heed this warning: this City eats more than Shards. Bothersome officials enact the Demiurge's edicts with zeal, and are not above solving crises through pogroms and mass executions. Representatives of every belief system fight for dominance, attempting to recruit as many people to their belief as possible, bending reality in the process. Revolutionaries, illegal wizards, and Trickster's Apostles attempt to tear everything down. All of the above need mercenaries, freebooters, and other scum to do tasks as deniable assets. You might just make a killing out of this faction war - if you are not eaten up by this City, that is.

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I like the principle of "belief = power" from Planescape but dislike D&D cosmology, so this setting is different apart from that fundamental principle. Other inspirations include Arcanum and Thief (expect steampunk elements). I am currently running a PnP campaign set in this setting, and decided to run a CYOA to get a better feel for the world and hopefully improve my writing. This game will have mechanics based on a little system I wrote up, which is essentially a bastardized version of World of Dungeons. I already have a heap of information about the lore and mechanics of this game, so my plan is to release information only when it becomes relevant, to avoid shitting out a bunch of irrelevant lore from the get-go.

I will try my best to update this once a day. Since the first three updates or so are going to be character creation, and I might get only a trickle of players (if any), I'll wait until I get at least three votes before posting update 2.

INDEX
Character sheet, journal, and mechanics
Part 1 - Particularly Violent Adventure (Character Creation I)
Part 2 - The Ward Makes Sure (Character Creation II)
Part 3 - Crumbling Little Place (Character Creation Wrap-up)
Part 4 - Tortured Metal
Part 5 - Her Blaspheming Hands
Part 6 - A Lie Well Sold
Part 7 - Plays-With-Bodies
Part 8 - How It Eats
Part 9 - That Which Does Not Belong
Part 10 - Musty Cage
Part 11 - Choice of Patron
Part 12 - Belly of the Beast
Part 13 - He Has Already Won
Part 14 - Black and White
Part 15 - Watered by our Blood
Part 16 - Clueless and Disposable
Part 17 - A Mere Bribe
Part 18 - Outfit Choices
Part 19 - Something Stirs
Part 20 - Behind the Face
Part 20.5 - Steel's People
Part 21 - Seeker's Curse
Part 22 - Suicide's Stigma
Part 23 - Trust Your Intuition
Part 24 - Streak of Red
Part 25 - Vanity
Part 26 - Binds for the Dead
Part 27 - Bloodied Wrecks
Part 28 - No Triumph
Part 28.5 - Melancholy
Part 29 - Collected
Part 30 - Trembling
Part 30.5 - Bloody Hands
Part 31 - One of Torment
Part 32 - A Power
Part 33 - Someone is Watching
Part 34 - Keeping up Appearances
Part 34.5 - Crooked and Wrong
Part 35 - Thing to Remember
Part 36 - Terrible Idea

 

CHARACTER SHEET

STRIDER the EXPLORER
Level: 3

HP (1d6+Health Bonus+CON): 8

Race: Herald (Heralds) (Creep)
Created by the Demiurge for roles that require communication. Heralds are lanky humanoids, with delicate pale skin and sharp features. Their bodies and faces were made in the Demiurge's image, save for their bulbous heads. The tops of their heads can peel away like a blooming flower, revealing the overdeveloped brain underneath covered by a transparent membrane, which allows them to project their thoughts onto others and sense surface emotions of other people. These traits make them easily suited to be messengers, merchants, and socialites, though many find them alluring and repulsive in equal measure.

Faction: Seekers Guild (Seeker) (Suicide)
Status: Namer/Member
Tenets:
*An hour that is not spent in search of new discoveries is an hour wasted
*Knowledge comes primarily from discovery, examination, and experimentation
*Discovery is the best path to knowledge, power, and purpose

Belief: 2/2 (max: 3)
Belief Moves:
*Locate the nearest path or shortcut to an unvisited location
*Sense the intent of someone you have eye contact with
*Communicate via thought with someone in sight

ATTRIBUTES

STR: 0
DEX: +1
CON: +1
INT: 0
WIS: +2
CHA: -1

SKILLS
Survival, Crafting, Athletics

ABILITIES

Rover
When you travel through an uncharted territory or a dungeon, you do so without leaving obvious tracks or a trail, and can hide tracks and clues left by others.

Tracker
When you search for clues or tracks, you can always do so quickly and while on the move. When you find and identify tracks or a set of clues, you get some information as to who they belong to and/or where they lead.

Direction
When you are in an uncharted territory or a dungeon, you can always sense where up and down, north and south are (if such exist in your location), and are able to locate the closest source of shelter and sustenance.

PROPERTY
75 coins (0 weight)
Gambeson (worn, 1-armour, 1 weight)
Gray Shardwalker's Topcoat (worn, 0-armour, 0 weight)
Explorer's Kit (5 uses, 20 coin, 1 weight)
Bloodsensing Swordcane (d6, close, fast, light, 15 coin, 2 weight)
This elegant blade is concealed in a finely-made cane and can only be drawn by the last person to deposit a drop of their own blood into a ruby-like vial in the handle.
Adjuster Crystal (150 coin, 1 weight)
After inhaling a dose of stardust, the user is able to reduce the size of a thing in physical contact wrapped by the device's wires for ten minutes per dose.
Potion of Featherfall (0 weight)
After drinking this potion, the user's fall is slowed to a crawl for ten minutes.
Sketch of a door within an "endless hallway" (0 weight)
Load: 5/8

Private room at the Last Meal inn, Voidship Yards ward.
When resting here, add an extra die to your Recovery roll.
Price: 750 coin, Rent: 70 coin/week per person, Upkeep: 15 coins a week per person
If you are renting this property, the landlord will regularly check your stored belongings for contraband, and will likely alert the City officials if they see anything illegal or heretical taking place.

NOTES
-It is day 6.
-Day 13: rent is due.

-Belongings left in your room at the Last Meal inn:
299 coin (2 weight)
Pack of Rations (5 uses, 5 coin, 1 weight)

-Belongings left with Knows:
Large vial filled with a dark, cloudy liquid (1 weight)
Growing flesh-thing (??? weight)

-Someone has broken into your previous hideout and left behind a sketch of a door within an endless hallway, proposing that you find that place within the Termitarium ward for "assistance, information, and employment opportunities."

-The Censors knew that there was contraband in Seamstress' hovel but were unable to find it, placing a spy there instead.

-The Lord-Inquisitor's spy has spotted you inside of Seamstress' hovel.

-You have retrieved Whisper's belongings: a large vial of alchemical glass filled with a dark, cloudly liquid and a small ball of smooth flesh that appears to morph, growing orifices when observed.

-You have accepted Knows' task of exploring the properties of freefalling in the Shard of Curious Depths, the next step of which is to visit a sorceress called Veil within the Twilight Sonata inn in the Twilight Beastlands ward.

-You have met Step-There, an old shardwalker who was a part of your and Whisper's last gig.

-You lost your left eye.

-Lord-Foreman Steel is keeping beholder memories of you killing Lady Loyalty so that you don't tell on him.

-Step-There has given you his address.

-Knows is dedicated to researching Whisper's belongings for you.

-You have accessed the first part of Whisper's beholder memories, discovering that the two of you have unintentionally ended the life of a powerful being on the Cold Shard, potentially dooming its inhabitants.

-According to Knows the sample of flesh that Whisper left for you may possess free will. It is an ordered chaos, a perfect contradiction. And it has grown.

JOURNAL

Dramatis Personae (open) Dramatis Personae (close)

CONTACTS

Knows - old herald. An eccentric scholar operating out of his hideout in the Facade Ghetto.

Step-There - an old manus; a seeker aspirant. He had attempted to explore every Shard that he could, but always backed up before making substantive discoveries, a history that made him venerable in some circles and a joke in others.

OFFICIALS

Belt, Lord-Inquisitor - a vain middle-aged herald, filling a largely bureaucratic position in Demiurge's Plaza.
Demiurge - the creator and driving force of Demiurge's Shard; recognized as a deity by the Temple Guard and much of the City; a human.
Loyalty, Lady-Scribe - a beautiful heraldress. Her position in Demiurge's Plaza has historically been one of little scribing and much allure. She seems to follow the trend very well.
Schism, Lord-Inquisitor - an outrageously flamboyant manus censor attached to the Voidship Yards ward; he is onto you.
Sees-It, Lord-Foreman - a solitary beholder, owning a very large amount of facilities within the Gambit Badlands. Rumored to have have skeletons in his closet a hoard of questionable wealth.
Steel, Lord-Foreman - an "esteemed gentleherald of the Enterprising League"; owns a lion's share of the facilities in Gambit Badlands and is said to have once been a brilliant overseer who turned into a rich, successful dandy.


OTHER

Boxes - a hammerite, owner of the Last Meal inn in the Voidship Yards ward; a simple older male, with few wishes, like a beast in a forest.
Deadliest Vile - a beholder walking armory who has seen plenty of fighting and made a ludicrous name to himself. Clearly he expects said name to carry him far.
Head-Taker - a lurk, close friend and bodyguard of Foreman Steel. A refined, albeit stubborn individual, wicked with an axe.
Look-It-Up - a manus Censor who was once a freebooter, seemingly prefers books to people. Currently a book-taker who aspires to replace the current Lord-Inquisitor of Demiurge's Plaza.
Master Flagellant - philosophizing beholder, apparently with the Temple Guard. Wears a ceramic harness that hides his face, and is also known as the Philosopher of Pain.
Quiet - shrewd manus, head servant of Loyalty, Lady-Scribe of Demiurge's Plaza. The brain behind the face.
Red-Earth - a manus; fixer and shady salesman extraordinaire.
Seamstress - manus whore. Whisper trusted her to hold onto something for him. Why?
Silver - a pathetic manus lieutenant of the White Cloaks.
Whisper - beholder seeker. Your old friend that proved hard to find after a mutual hardship forced the two of you apart
Wretch - a misshapen buzzer, pet of Belt, Lord-Inquisitor of Demiurge's Plaza. Strangely loyal despite being treated like a beast
??? - a murderer you've met in the slums of Voidship Yards. Calls itself an artiste. Possibly mad.

Factions (open) Factions (close)

Note on namers: namers are those who adhere to a Faction's tenets without being officially recognized as members of said faction. Members are those who have been deeply involved with the Faction and have had their beliefs tested. For now, new players start as namers.

OFFICIAL FACTIONS
The Demiurge's power is said to be unlimited, but his attention isn't. Thus it was necessary for him to relegate some power to his subjects. These factions have the Demiurge's approval to run the City. Their leaders and the seneschals of each ward form the Auspicious Assembly, which decide on matters of the City.

Faction name (Faction Member Name) (Pejorative Faction Member Name)

Bureau of Builders (Builder) (Deader)
Tenets:
*Greatest good for greatest number
*Concerns of the individual must be secondary to the concerns of the group
*Waste not

Responsible for establishing and maintaining laws, schools, hospitals, roads, etc. This faction is an order of administrators and bureaucrats that believe that virtue and effectiveness of any given decision is measured in the amount of people it can help. Builders tend not to consider individual interests at all, instead looking at people as a collection of groups. The bigger the group is and the farther its influence, the higher priority is their interest. Builders promote the suppression of one's own best interests in favor of the greater good. Waste is seen as an affront to these believes, which extends to the dead - reanimated bodies make up the bulk of the Builder's workforce. While their influence is widespread, the bulk of their administrative buildings lie in the Demiurge's Plaza, where they court petitioners and people of influence in an attempt to determine the best way to run the City. Detractors call them "Deaders", referring to their tendency to deny their own individuality, and often bringing up the example of the bothersome busybody bureaucrat as the typical Builder.

Belief moves (namers only have access to the first, members to all):
*Mend something broken
*Make someone consider the greater good above their own interest
*Give something a new utility or purpose

Censors College (Censor) (Thoughtkill)
Tenets:
*Our ability to rationalize which knowledge is beneficial and which is harmful is more important than our ability to pursue it
*Knowledge is the most precious treasure and the most guarded secret
*We do not trust commoners with power, why should we trust them with knowledge?

Responsible for finding and identifying dangerous knowledge, securing it, and using it to develop new sorceries and technologies. The Censors believe that the spread of knowledge should be controlled, for knowledge informs one's beliefs, and therefore constitutes one's power. The Censors recognize the power of knowledge, but do not consider the pursuit of truth important; rather, they believe it is their duty to rationalize which knowledge is useful to the general public and which is dangerous. The former is shared, whereas latter is kept locked away, only to be accessed when absolutely necessary (if at all). Besides their roles as inquisitors, they subject captured knowledge (whether it comes in the shape of a person, thing, or place) to intense study. Most Censors are scholars, and most scholars eventually become sorcerers. The College itself a closely guarded complex on Censor's Island, and is part-asylum, part-university. Most dangerous objects or criminals are seized by the City officials end up there. Detractors call the Censors "thoughtkills", stating that their censorship is not a necessary security measure but an attempt to control speech and thought.

Belief moves (namers only have access to the first, members to all):
*Sense sources of danger
*Uncover a deception or obfuscation
*Steal an idea or piece of knowledge from someone

Temple Guard (Temple Guard) (Botherer)
Tenets:
*The Demiurge is our creator and facilitator; thus our lives are best spent in servitude to Him
*The Demiurge is the most powerful being in the Void and is therefore Divinity
*Stability, order, and peace are the most preferable states of being

Responsible for law enforcement, cultural preservation, maintaining order, etc. The Temple Guard maintain the Cult of the Demiurge, which worships the Demiurge as a God. Membership of this religion is not mandatory, but it is the only religion in the City that is legal to practice. The Guard are grateful to the Demiurge for the lives and City he has given them, and believe that life is best spent in servitude to him. Thus they exist to further the Demiurge's plan, by preserving his Cult, protecting him and his City, and enforcing the edicts of the City's officials. Their temple-fortress on Heartisle protects the headquarters of the Temple Guard and the Demiurge both. Detractors refer to them as "botherers", mocking their swiftness in evoking the will of the Demiurge as justification for their actions.

Belief moves (namers only have access to the first, members to all):
*Incite the Demiurge-fearing people to action or assistance
*Sense the Demiurge's enemies
*Smite an enemy of the Demiurge

TOLERATED FACTIONS
These factions are too benign or too useful to persecute. They carry neither the Demiurge's favor nor scorn.

Enterprising League (Taker) (Hollow)
Tenets:
*Success is always deserved
*One ought to look to themselves before they look to others
*If every individual works to further their own interest, everyone benefits

Members of the controversial Enterprising League believe that an individual should consider their own interest above all. Weakness is an excuse, for if someone works hard enough and believes in themselves hard enough, they can achieve whatever they want - period. This sort of mentality would eventually have gotten the League executed, if not for the fact that their willingness to trample on other people's interests quickly made them some of the most successful business minds in the City. Their belief in a perfect society in which everyone helps each other by helping themselves was just enough of a distinction from pure selfishness for the City officials to allow the League's growth. Thus the League, composed of the City's leading industrialists, was able to run the majority of the City's industry - located primarily in the Gambit Badlands - better than anyone else. Most recently, their invention of the steam engine has reminded everyone that they are an unliked by useful part of the City. Detractors call them "Hollows", citing their heartlessness and obsession with success over finer things in life.

Belief moves (namers only have access to the first, members to all):
*Create an opportunity
*Make someone see your best interest as their best interest
*Turn a loss into greater profit

Seekers Guild (Seeker) (Suicide)
Tenets:
*An hour that is not spent in search of new discoveries is an hour wasted
*Knowledge comes primarily from discovery, examination, and experimentation
*Discovery is the best path to knowledge, power, and purpose

Seekers believe that life is best spent in pursuit of knowledge, truth, and new discoveries. Unlike the Censors, they encourage others to be creative and curious about the world around them. Seekers believe that the best measure of reality one has is the senses, which drives them to actively explore and experiment to find new knowledge. Since there are few volunteers outside of the Seekers Guild that are willing to explore other Shards before they are absorbed, the City officials have issued the Explorers Guild salvaging rights to nearby Shards. Guild headquarters are in the Voidship Yards, where members pool their resources together in order to fund new voidships and ventures. If a venture is successful, the Seekers submit their findings to the City officials, who confiscate anything deemed dangerous together with a healthy tax. The rest is sold, proliferated, or used to further private research - the Seekers Guild has developed sorceries and ship technologies with the help of their discoveries. Detractors call them "suicides", citing the many times the thirst for discovery has led Seekers to early graves.

Belief moves (namers only have access to the first, members to all):
*Locate the nearest path or shortcut to an unvisited location
*Instantly travel to a previously visited location
*Understand the purpose and function of a thing, person, or place

Freethinkers (Freethinker) (Lost)
Tenets:
*Think for yourself

A faction in name only. Freethinkers are individuals who either don't care for factions, or whose ideology does not align with any of the existing factions. As such they are often treated with contempt - few are more despised than those who dare to think for themselves. Called the "Lost" by detractors, who say that their reluctance to pick a side is wishful thinking at best, and delusional thinking at worst.

Belief moves (one cannot be a member of this faction, namers get the following):
*Get away with breaking a custom, tradition, or law
*Make someone doubt their views or perspective

ILLEGAL FACTIONS
Not much is known about these dark forces, except for the fact that they are anathema to the Demiurge, the City officials, and just about any semblance of order. They are typically tied to the equally mysterious and unsavory figure known as the Trickster, a creature that is said to be the Demiurge's ultimate adversary who corrupts people and turns them against the Demiurge with promises of power.

Races (open) Races (close)

Note on races: people is a term used to refer to intelligent races, whereas beasts is used to refer to unintelligent animals.

When creating a new race, it must be both fictionally and mechanically different from existing ones, and no belief moves may be shared between races.

You have the choice to play a crossbreed. Choose one belief move from either one of your parent races, to the maximum of two. Keep in mind that crossbreeds are anathema to the City officials.

Race Name, (Plural), (Pejorative)

Beholder (Beholders), (Eyes)
Created by the Demiurge for roles that require awareness. The bulk of their body is a sphere half a meter in diameter, containing all of their vital organs and mouth, dominated by a belt of segmented eyes and large, antennae-like ears. Said sphere is supported by four agile tentacle, each a meter in length, which serve as the creature's limbs. Beholders have incredible powers of perception: their eyes can notice the smallest spec of dust on the floor, their ears can pick up a hushes whisper three rooms away, and their tentacles are feelers like no other. A unique trait shared by their kind is their ability to store specific experiences, which may be accessed later by anyone who ingests their secretions. They are frequently employed as investigators, which combined with their repulsive appearance gives them a stigma as being unsavory spies.
Belief moves:
*Notice something important
*Store a sensory experience

Buzzer, (Buzzers), (Gobs)
Refugees from the Shard of Concrete. While they have a name for themselves, it is only pronounceable in their vibrations-based language (often mocked as bestial). These bipedal creatures are typically between a meter and a half and two meters tall are covered in a chitinous exoskeleton that they shed every month or so. They have four arms, a head dominated by large composite eyes, and a set of weak wings that allow them to hover a meter off the ground and glide. Their proboscis allows them to both inject foreign organisms with a paralytic venom, and to digest any organic matter by softening it into liquid form. The majority of their race dwells in the Fractal Ghetto ward, many building structures out of organic waste colloquially known as "shitglobes" where they dwell. The fact that Buzzers are picky about neither food nor habitat, and are looked down upon as disgusting waste-dwellers by a significant portion of the City's population, makes them the top choice for unskilled grunt labour.
Belief Moves:
*Paralyze target with a sting
*Digest organic substance (or helpless target)

Hammerite, (Hammerfolk), (Hardhead)
Created by the Demiurge for roles that require resilience and strength. These buff humanoids reach the height of two to three meters. Most notably, they have hard chitin for skin, and their head is protected by a dense skull in the shape of a hammer head. This gives them a natural advantage in both offense and defense, and as a result most find employment as Temple Guards and mercenaries. Those that look down upon them say that their heads are only good for smashing, not thinking, and correlate their natural advantage to violence with low intelligence.
Belief moves:
*Smash head-first through obstacle
*Use head as a weapon

Herald, (Heralds), (Creep)
Created by the Demiurge for roles that require communication. Heralds are lanky humanoids, with delicate pale skin and sharp features. Their bodies and faces were made in the Demiurge's image, save for their bulbous heads. The tops of their heads can peel away like a blooming flower, revealing the overdeveloped brain underneath covered by a transparent membrane, which allows them to project their thoughts onto others and sense surface emotions of other people. These traits make them easily suited to be messengers, merchants, and socialites, though many find them alluring and repulsive in equal measure.
Belief Moves:
*Sense the intent of someone you have eye contact with
*Communicate via thought with someone in sight

Lurk, (Lurks), (Beastlike)
Refugees from the Shard of Everdark Plains. Lurks are quadruped creatures about a meter and a half in length with a dark grey hide, a set of leathery wings, and large horns. Despite being naturally more nimble on all fours or in flight, they are able to find balance and move about on their hind legs, which terminate in hooves, while using their pawed front limbs with precision. Their hide has the remarkable quality of absorbing shadow, a trait that once made them the unseen alpha predators of their home Shard. Most of the City's Lurk population lives in the Twilight Beastlands, the ward that was once their Shard, where many work as shepherds. Some say that, being the most bestial race, Lurks should not be considered intelligent people at all, but merely domesticated watch-beasts. The fact that some Lurks choose to use their inherent advantage for peculiar purposes furthers this perception
Belief moves:
*Become invisible while in shadow
*Relocate quickly on all fours or via flight

Manus, (Mani), (Grab-bastard)
Refugees from the Shard of Dangerous Angles, who have now settled widely across the City. Mani are furry bipeds that have four front-facing arms, a set of two rear-facing arms, and a long prehensile tail. Each of the above, including their legs, terminate in a hand with four agile digits and opposable thumbs. Even their head is a hand, their face on the palm. These traits once allowed them to traverse the many surfaces of their home Shard and make them well-suited for a wide variety of tasks in the City. It is not uncommon to see Mani as skilled craftsmen, airship or voidship crew, laborers...or pickpockets and criminals.
Belief moves:
*Grab anything and/or everything within reach
*Scale a climbable surface

Shards (open) Shards (close)

As Demiurge's Shard floats through the Void, driven by its creator, it inevitably comes across other Shards. The closer they come, the more they start to influence one another, typically in the form of portals and other anomalies appearing along their surfaces.

Shards that are nearby are those that are close enough for Demiurge's Shard to begin consuming them. This process usually takes weeks, sometimes months. At this time, the rate of anomalies is highest. A voidship can reach these Shards within a day due to their proximity.

Far Shards are dangerous and generally illegal to travel to, as it takes several days to arrive there via voidship, which in turn leads to the crew being exposed to the chaotic energies of creation within the Void. Thus the only way to safely reach such Shards before the distance is shortened is through portals, which appear much more infrequently compared to those leading to nearby Shards. The fact that there is no guarantee that a traveler will ever find a portal back to Demiurge's Shard makes these journeys all the more risky.

Shard of Curious Depths
Status: Near
An endless network of rocky tunnels. There is a pleasant summery warmth all about - the warmth, as well as an ambient warm light, seems to be coming from the walls. Streamers of light in all sorts of colours duck and dive in the air. Everything vibrates with heavy musical beats, but there is no apparent source of the music, and it sounds as if it is heard underwater. The air is weirdly thick, offering a slight resistance to every movement. The rock of the tunnels is streaked with wide swathes of saturated colour. Every time the eyelids blink, the world seems to have rotated. There is no up or down but the stone beneath the feet. A jump can land in unexpected places. Shadows of various aquatic-looking shapes swim about on the walls, as if the walls are translucent windows to another world. Sometimes it looks as if these shapes are smashing into the walls from the other side, leaving the wall porous. A screaming, quivering, transparent gel is secreted from the pores.

Gluttonous Shard
Status: Far
A place of hunger and thirst; of bones picked clean and marrows drained.

Wards (open) Wards (close)

On leadership: the Auspicious Assembly elects a governor for each of the wards, called a Seneschal. The Seneschal then appoints a number of administrators, each to manage a specific area, who are called Lords and given a hybrid title to reflect their duties (Lord-Inquisitor, Lord-Commander, Lord-Surveyor, etc.)

Censor's Island
The secluded position of this ward made it the perfect location for Censors College. Part-university, part-asylum, the College is a place where dangerous items, individuals, and ideas are locked away from the public and subjected to experimentation and research by the Censors. The vigilance of the Censors makes this ward difficult to enter, and even more difficult to leave.

The island itself is an enigma. No one knows how it split from the Shard or why it hangs on so precariously close. Strange puzzle-like anomalies and mysteries are known to take place on the island from time to time, each with some internal logic, typically disappearing after someone figures them out.

Demiurge's Plaza
The City's walled downtown, home to bureaucrats and the rich. Expensive shops, administrative buildings, and classy townhouses can be found here. City Hall, where the Auspicious Assembly congregates, as well as the Bureau of Builders headquarters are located in this district. Those seeking to be among the first to hear the latest edict from the Assembly or even the Demiurge himself flock to this ward.

Everything within this ward is huge and accommodating. While its marble-paved streets contain crowds of countless businessmen and artisans, there is always enough space for everyone on its wide roads and within its huge interiors. Buildings grow in size, thoroughfares form where traffic congestion is a problem, and benches appear where they are needed over night - this ward makes sure of that.

Facade Ghetto
The Ghetto is what remains of the Shard of Concrete, a vast expanse of uniform buildings that was once home to an Elder Race. A great waste pile surrounded these strange structures, within which Buzzers lived. Strangely, after the Shard's absorption, the strange buildings appeared within the City, along with the stranded Buzzers. They quickly worked to transform what parts of the ward they could into something more resembling their home habitat, building structures and tunnels out of organic waste, colloquially known as "shitglobes". These nestle betwixt the many streets of the ward, as well as below, while above great neon lights criss-cross the ward, illuminating ancient advertisements written in a language long forgotten. This ward is where the poorest go - even the chaos of the Termitarium is more tolerable than the dullness and stink of the Facade Ghetto. Buzzers compromise about half of the ward's population, many stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty.

Great concrete cubes called the Facades cover much of the ward in their shadows. It is as if they were not properly absorbed, for when one enters them, the less there is the further one ascends. The first few floors contain scraps of ancient furniture or texts in an unknown script, but eventually they become barren, while the top floors are home to a Void-like nothingness. The awe of these mysterious structures resonate deeply within those that live here. Many cults have sprung up over the lifetime of this ward's existence, all of which have been officially purged through pogroms and mass-executions. Still, many that settle down to live here soon become superstitious people - the ward makes sure of that.

Gambit Badlands
This ward used consist of resource-rich hills, but mining practices has eroded them into badlands. Resources taken from the ground are transported to refineries dotted around the Badlands, their emissions shrouding the entire ward and the Termitarium in thick smog. Some of the operations that take place here are private, whereas others are done by the City, but the rich industrialists of the Enterprising League have a monopoly here due to their superior business sense and willingness to bear loss in order to get something better.

Dig here and you will find something of value, though you are certain to lose something as well. A child digging in the dirt will find a diamond, but not before it loses fingers to a mudbeast. A charge of crackpowder reveals a rich vein and collapses a tunnel full of workers. These costs are but a gambit to a rich business owner, but are catastrophic to the average worker.

Heartisle
The City's core, headquarters of the Temple Guard. An impenetrable temple-fortress lies on the island, the Demiurge somewhere within its depths, worshiped and protected by Guard. Besides being the Demiurge's home and bulwark, this ward is also the City garrison.

Few people outside of the Temple Guard have had the privilege to peer inside these monolithic walls. Those that did say that everything is in perfect order, and that the island itself works against intruders, sometimes swallowing them whole and absorbing them into fortress walls.

Termitarium
Once this ward was like a giant broken eggshell laying within Gambit Badlands, riddled with burrows and holes that served as housing for the City's working poor. After the absorption of the Shard of Dangerous Angles, the Termitarium grew a countless number of sides, some of which serving as the ward's roof. Inside the ward, one can walk on any of its sides, which allows its denizens to be housed on almost every surface of this massive structure. Some live in one of the ward's many grimy tunnels, while others build hovels which are suspended around the ward's interior and exterior. Due to it being within the Badlands, the ward can be reached within hours when traveling from them, and vice versa.

Denizens of this ward are no strangers to violence, civil unrest, or crime. Rabble-rousers and rebels have been known to try to take advantage of the poor and the desperate that live here.

Twilight Beastlands
The Shard of Everdark Plains once consisted chiefly of flatlands covered in perpetual darkness. After being absorbed by the Demiurge's Shard, it became the Twilight Beastlands, a stretch of pastures covered in eternal twilight that keeps nocturnal predators and domestic beasts alike in a dormant state. Lurks, the only race to survive the absorption of their home Shard, are in the majority here, most working as shepherds and farmers in dirt-poor rural communities. Members of other races also live here, but most find it hard to tolerate the constant gloom.

Terrible crimes are said to be committed in this unnatural darkness, but those are rarely investigated by the City Officials, who have more prestigious wards to look after.

Voidship Yards
A busy district teeming with laborers, craftsmen, and explorers. The Yards is where the airships and voidships are built and where the latter are kept. The docks themselves are suspended platforms that hang from the side of the Shard, and are divided into three sections: one for voidships owned by the City, one for ships owned by the Seekers Guild, and the smallest section for the privately owned ships. The ward also encompasses many workshops and warehouses, as well as the Seekers Guild itself.

This ward is best suited to the adventurous and the roguish sort. Hard work and harder drinking don't mix well, and the grimy alleys that crisscross this ward are known to house some unpleasant individuals. Remarkably, turning a corner in this ward is never mundane - something unusual or at least interesting always seems to occur when one comes here. Walk down the right back alley in the Voidship Yards, and you can find anything.

Map Example (open) Map Example (close)

Note 1: this is a depiction of the City in a separate continuity and therefore various wards/shards may not be present in the CYOA continuity. This is more of a visual reference to help you visualize the City, rather than an accurate depiction of it.

Nope 2: Blank wards exist, however they have not been defined yet.

MECHANICS

Experience & Training (open) Experience & Training (close)

You earn 1 Experience (XP) for every Coin you invest in your training between missions.
You also earn Experience for overcoming adversity:
*First time you get wounded (per Level) – 20XP
*Complete a mission on Demiurge's Shard – 25XP
*First time you drop below half your Health (per Level) – 40XP
*Increase your Belief – 50XP
*Complete a mission on a nearby shard - 60XP
*Become the member of a Faction – 75XP
*First time you drop below zero Health and survive (per Level) – 80XP
*Discover a starstone - 100XP
*Complete a mission on a distant shard - 125XP
*Kill, evade, or overcome a critical threat - 150XP
*Cross the Demiurge and live - 200XP

When you reach 1000XP, you can spend it so that your Level will increase, granting you access to further Skills and Abilities. It will also increase your Health Bonus and Damage.

With the help of a trainer, you can spend 250 XP and 250 Coin (or the equivalent in artifacts, favours, or friendship) between missions to gain access to a new Class, though you will not gain its starting Skill or Ability. From then on, you will be able to choose Abilities from any of your classes.

Alchemy & Magic (open) Alchemy & Magic (close)

Goods & Services (open) Goods & Services (close)

ARMS
In combat, one may wield a main weapon and a sidearm. When inflicting damage, you may choose to do so with either weapon, but not with both. If the wielder possesses more than two grasping limbs, they are still bound by these limitations due to space constraints of combat (though they are certainly allowed to switch weapons on the fly).

Dagger, Dirk (d6, hand, fast, light, 5 coin, 1 weight)
Rapier, Hand Axe (d6, close, fast, light, 15 coin, 2 weight)
Buckler, Parrying Dagger (d6, hand, close, light, defensive, 10 coin, 1 weight)
Throwing Knife (d6-1, hand, thrown, fast, light, 2 coin, 1 weight)

Sword, Axe (d6+1, close, 30 coin, 2 weight)
Estoc, Mace (d6 2-piercing, close, 35 coin, 2 weight)
Spear, Javelin (d6 1-piercing, close, reach, thrown, 10 coin, 2 weight)

Greatsword, Longaxe, Maul (d6+2 1-piercing, close, two-handed, 50 coin, 3 weight)
Pike, Poleaxe, Polehammer (d6+1 1-piercing, reach, two-handed, 25 coin, 3 weight)

Shortbow (d6, near, two-handed, 30 coin, 2 weight)
Longbow (d6 1-piercing, far, two-handed, 60 coin, 3 weight)

Hand Crossbow (d6, near, light, reload, 50 coin 1 weight)
Crossbow (d6 1-piercing, near, two-handed, reload, 15 coin, 2 weight)
Arbalest (d6 2-piercing, far, reload, two-handed, reload, 80 coin, 3 weight)

Crackgun (d6+1, near, light, reload, loud, 100 coin, 1 weight,)
Crackrifle (d6+2 1-piercing, far, reload, two-handed, reload, loud, 250 coin, 3 weight)

Crackbomb (2d6, thrown, loud, blast, 75 coin, 1 weight)
Firebomb (d6+2, thrown, burning, 40 coin, 1 weight)

ARMOUR
Gambeson, Mail, Boiled Leather (1-armour, run, 50 coin, 1 weight)
Brigandine, Breastplate (2-armour, march, 100 coin, 2 weight)
Full Plate (3-armour, walk, 400 coin, 4 weight)
Shield (+1-armour, 25 coin, 2 weight)

SUPPLIES
Pack of Rations (5 uses, 5 coin, 1 weight)
Non-perishable, dried foods. Digestible by any race on Demiurge's Shard.

Explorer's Kit (5 uses, 20 coin, 1 weight)
Contains mundane items useful for travelling or exploring such as bundles of rope, torches, grappling hooks, etc. When you rummage through your Explorer's kit in search of such an item, you find what you need and mark off a use.

Fidget's Kit (5 uses, 25 coin, 1 weight)
Contains mundane items useful for crafting, tinkering....and breaking and entering, such as craftsman's tools, lockpicks, spare parts, etc. When you rummage through your Fidget's Kit in search of such an item, you find what you need and mark off a use.

Healer's Kit (5 uses, 50 coin, 1 weight)
Contains poultices, herbs, and bandages. When you wish to care for someone who is wounded, you may mark off a use of this item to attempt to heal their wounds. If you are successful, they make a Recovery roll with an extra die. You may also mark off a use of this item to produce a cure for a common physical ailment, like bleeding, or a simple disease or poison.

Bag of Books (3 uses, 35 coin, 1 weight)
Tomes, scrolls, and other light reading. When you have a research topic or a question about your current environment, you may mark off a use of this item to get a +1 towards researching it.

Bag of Reagants (3 uses, 75 coin, 1 weight)
Dried herbs, mineral powders, chalks, and other items with alchemical or arcane significance. Useful in Alchemy and Conjuration.

Dose of Stardust (1 use, 10 coin)
Remains of a crushed starstone. When inhaled, gives the user vivid hallucinations and pleasant sensations, making it easier for them to use magic. Loses these properties minutes after being removed from a silver case. Legally, it is a strictly controlled catalyst of magic, handed out to the Sorcerers of Censor's College. Illegally, it is a common street drug. If more doses of stardust are inhaled than the user's Health Bonus, they must attempt to resist its negative effects with a +CON roll.

Starshard (1000 coin)
Starstones are almost impossible to break, but when they do, they split into several starshards. Some are accidentally left behind by the officials, others are stolen from them. They are contaminated with the very same energies of creation, but their effects are dulled, making them marginally safer – and less rewarding – to use. Alternatively, crush the starshard in your hand to become exposed to the Void, and instantly regenerate to maximum Health.

Starstone (? coin, ? weight)
Every once in a while, these magic rocks come flying from the depths of the Void, penetrate the Shard's magical atmosphere, and crash into its surface. They are full of magical powers of creation, and can be used as very powerful magical catalysts. These powers are uncontrollable, however, and quickly corrupt everything in vicinity. The City officials are quick to quarantine the ward where this has occurred, and to transport the starstone to a safe place. Other factions are sometimes quicker...

Silver Case (30 coin, 1 weight)
Silver is a powerful substance that is able to prevent the magical properties of stardust from decaying, and can trap the corruption of a starshard. Holds up to five uses of stardust, or a single starshard.

EQUIPMENT TAGS
General tags:
n coin – how much this item costs, normally. Just because an item is on the price list does not mean it is available to purchase everywhere, or for a fair price.
n weight –n is added to the character's load.

Weapon tags:
Fast - when damage is exchanged, deals damage first
Light – may be wielded as a sidearm. When inflicting damage with your main weapon, you may reroll the damage you have dealt with your sidearm. You may roll +DEX instead of +STR when fighting in melee with these weapons, as well.
Defensive – When wielded as a sidearm and not used to attack, add +1 to armour against melee damage only.
n-piercing – ignore n of the opponent's armour when dealing damage with this weapon.
Two-handed – takes both weapon slots to wield.
Reload – cannot be fired in quick succession; some time must be spent to reload the weapon between shots.
Loud – like a crack of thunder. Everyone in the vicinity will hear it.
Blast – damages everyone surrounding it.
Burning – sets an area on fire for a minute

Weapon range tags:
Hand –effective within a meter around the user.
Close - effective between one and two meters from the user.
Reach -effective three to five meters from the user.
Near -effective in attacking something if you can see the whites of its eyes.
Far -effective in attacking something within shouting distance.
Thrown - can be thrown at a nearby target.

Armour tags:
n-armour – n becomes your base armour when worn.
+n-armour – must be wielded as a sidearm. Adds n to character's armour.

Armour speed tags:
Determine how cumbersome an armour is, and how quickly one can move in it over time. Note that this does not determine speed of individual actions, and is only used to determine who would win in a pursuit (for example, a thief in a gambeson will always outrun a group of guardsmen in breastplates, and an unarmoured assassin will always catch catch up to a battlemage in full plate).
The list of speed tags, from fastest to slowest:
*Sprint(unarmoured)
*Run
*March
*Walk



HIRELINGS

When you order a hireling to do something risky and they go through with it, roll 2d6+Quality.
Hirelings will do their job if it covered by their skill with no questions asked, unless the order is humiliating or suicidal. It might take some convincing to get them to do something other than what they are skilled in, though. To turn a regular character into a hireling, simply assign them quality, skills, and use their existing stats.

Messenger:
5 coin/message+5 coin/day of travel, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Dagger, Riding Beast

Craftsman:
15 coin/day, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Skill (Crafting), Fidget's Kit

Guide:
15 coin/day, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Skill (Streetwise), Dirk

Healer:
15 coin/day+15 coin/treatment, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Skill (Treatment), Healer's Kit

Scholar:
15 coin/day+15 coin/consultation, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Skill (Lore), Bag of Books

Archer:
20 coin/day, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Skill (Marksmanship), Shortbow, Dagger

Hitman:
20 coin/day contract, 0-Quality, 6 Health, Skill (Stealth), Hand Crossbow, Dagger, 3 Throwing Knifes

Guard:
25 coin/day, 0-Quality, 6 Health, Skill (Melee), Spear, Shield, Mail

Henchman:
25 coin/day, 0-Quality, 6 Health, Skill (Athletics), Crossbow, Hand Axe, Boiled Leather, Explorer's Kit

Thug:
25 coin/day, 0-Quality, 6 Health, Skill (Melee), Axe, Buckler, Gambeson

Green Freebooter:
35 coin/day contract, 0-Quality 6 Health, choose a skill, choose 100 coins worth of equipment

Explorer:
45 coin/day, 1-Quality, 6 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Survival, Awareness), Longbow, Sword, Rapier, Explorer's Kit

Spy:
45 coin/day, 1-Quality, 6 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Stealth, Deception), Dagger, Poison, Fidget's Kit

Voidship Crew:
45 coin/day, 1-Quality, 6 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Crafting, Melee), Axe, Dirk, Gambeson, Fidget's Kit

Assassin:
60 coin/day contract, 1-Quality, +2 damage, 6 Health, Skill (Melee, Stealth), Dagger, Parrying Dagger, Fidget's Kit

Gunner:
60 coin/day contract, 1-Quality, 6 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Marksmanship, Awareness), Crackrifle, Sword, Crackbomb, Firebomb, Mail

Sniper:
60 coin/day, 1-Quality, 6 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Marksmanship, Stealth), Arbalest, Dagger, Parrying Dagger, Boiled Leather

Champion:
75 coin/day, 1-Quality, 12 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Melee, Athletics), Polehammer, Sword, Shield, Dagger, Full Plate

Duelist:
75 coin/day, 1-Quality, 12 health, +2 damage, Skill (Melee, Rhetoric), Estoc, Rapier, Parrying Dagger, 2 Crackguns, Gambeson

Pikeman:
75 coin/day, 1-Quality, 12 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Melee, Awareness), Pike, Sword, Buckler, Breastplate

Sargeant:
75 coin/day, 1-Quality, 12 Health, +2 damage, Skill (Melee, Leadership), Poleaxe, Mace, Brigandine

Veteran Freebooter:
100 coin/day contract, 1-Quality, 12 Health, +2 damage, choose two skills, choose 500 coins worth of equipment

BEASTS

When your beast does something risky, roll 2d6+Quality. It must be noted that unlike Hirelings, beasts only act in accordance with their instincts – they simply don't know what else to do. When you acquire a beast, detail what it looks like, which shard it originated from, etc

Flying Messenger Beast:
15 coin, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Instinct: to deliver a message, to fly a long distance

Hunting Beast:
20 coin, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Bite (d6-2, hand), Instinct: to sense foe, to savage prey

Flying Hunting Beast:
25 coin, 1-Quality, 3 Health, Claws (d6-2, hand), Instinct: to scout, to distract prey

Beast of Burden:
30 coin, 0-Quality, 6 Health, Instinct: to pull a cart or to carry 10 load

Venomous Beast:
40 coin, 0-Quality, 3 Health, Venom (d6, hand, ignores armour), Instinct: to move silently, to sink venomous fang into flesh

Small War Beast:
60 coin, 1-Quality, 6 Health, 1-Armour, Bite (d6, hand), Instinct: to protect its owner, to savage foe

Riding Beast:
100 coins, 1-Quality, 6 Health, Kick (d6, hand), Instinct: to carry its rider, to outrun danger, to kick desperately when cornered

Large War Beast:
250 coins, 1-Quality, 9 Health, Trample (d6+2, hand), Instinct: to carry its rider into battle, to trample foes

PROPERTY

Lodgings
Lodgings are safe places where one may rest (resting outside lodgings is almost always a risky endeavor). When you pay for a lodging, you also pay for a full access to its services – daily meals, baths, clean linens, etc. If the place is classy enough, that includes a small team of discreet and helpful servants. Upkeep includes food and maintenance costs.
However, if one wishes to merely feed themselves for a day as opposed to renting lodgings, it costs 1 coin.

A bed at a flophouse, or a horrible hovel:
When resting here, roll the Recovery die as normal.
Price: 250 coin, Rent: 5 coin/day per person, Upkeep: 10 coin a week per person

If you are renting this property, the landlord will check your stored belongings for contraband rarely, if at all, and will be relatively discreet with the things they see and hear.

A room at an inn, or a humble house:
When resting here, add an extra die to your Recovery roll.
Price: 750 coin, Rent: 70 coin/week per person, Upkeep: 15 coins a week per person
If you are renting this property, the landlord will regularly check your stored belongings for contraband, and will likely alert the City officials if they see anything illegal or heretical taking place.

A private room at the fanciest hotel in the City, or a marvelous mance:
When resting here, add two extra die to your Recovery roll.
Price: 1250 coin, Rent: 105 coin/week per person, Upkeep: 20 coins a week per person
If you are renting this property, the landlord will check your stored belongings for contraband via frequent, unexpected checks, and will most certainly alert the City officials at the mere suspicion of something untoward going on in their establishment.

Transport
It takes a better part of a day to travel to a nearby ward on foot.

*Passage via beast-pulled carriage (arrival to nearby ward within hours) - 3 coins
*Passage via undead worm (arrival to nearby ward within an hour, within hours to a distant ward) – 5 coins
*Passage via airship (arrival to nearby ward within minutes, within an hour to a distant ward) – 15 coin
*A cart, carrying 30 load (requires a beast of burden to move) – 20 coins
*A carriage, carrying 20 load, enclosed and allowing for privacy (requires two beasts of burden to move) - 40 coin
*Airship upkeep (double that if the ship is significantly damaged) – 50 coins/week
*Voidship upkeep (double that if the ship is significantly damaged) – 100 coins/week
*Passage to a nearby shard via voidship (arrive within a day) – an official commission or salvaging rights
*Rent of a airship (daily inspections) - 200 coins/week
*Purchase of a airship (weekly inspections) – 1500 coins
*Rent of a voidship (shakedowns upon departure and arrival) – 500 coins/week + an official commission or salvaging rights
*Purchase of a voidship (daily inspections) – 3000 coins + an official commission or salvaging rights

An airship is any vessel capable of taking flight, whether it be an undead airbeast fitted with an engine or a fully mechanical structure. They require 5 crew to operate, and are useful for hunting airbeasts, many of which are full of oil and crackpowder.

A voidship is bigger than an airship airship, and is fitted with a large magical engine that generates an artificial atmosphere around the vessel. This allows the voidship to dive into the void for extended periods of time, making it the only way to reach other Shards without going through portals. It requires 10 crew to operate, and an official permission. As all Shards will eventually be eaten by the Demiurge's shard, City officials proclaim that all the contents of other Shards are their property. The most common way one would get an access to a voidship is by getting salvaging rights, which are possessed by factions such the Seekers Guild, and the occasional freebooter captains.

Steam engines are large and inefficient things, used primarily for industrial purposes, sometimes used in lieu of magical items to operate ships. This way a ship may be operated by a skilled user, as opposed to the use of magic.

City officials are naturally more prudent when inspecting property that legally belongs to them, and are more trusting of independent captains (and their bribes).
e large and inefficient things, used primarily for industrial purposes, sometimes used in lieu of magical items to operate ships. This way a ship may be operated by a skilled user, as opposed to the use of magic.

City officials are naturally more prudent when inspecting property that legally belongs to them, and are more trusting of independent captains (and their bribes).

Addendum - Postal Services

When one wishes to send a message or package to a different ward, three options are generally available:

Bureau of Builders Postal Service - 2 coin, will almost always deliver a message in exactly 24 hours. However, the City Officials reserve the right to pull any messages or packages for inspection and may keep records of the parties involved.
Private Messenger - 5 coin/message+5 coin/day of travel, typically owning riding beasts or carriages. Usually more discreet, sometimes faster alternative to the Postal Service.
Flying Messenger Beast - 15 coin. When purchased, may be used to send messages to any place or person the beast had seen before. Convenient, but speed may be unpredictable, and long flights are risky.

Of course, other options may be arranged.

Fucking belief moves how do they work? (open) Fucking belief moves how do they work? (close)

Belief Moves
Make a list of your Belief and Faction moves. You start with 2-Belief (min 1, max 3). You may trigger your belief moves an amount of time equal to your belief between rests. When you go out of your way to act in accordance with the tenets of your faction, add 1 to your Belief. When you act against the tenets of your faction, remove 1 Belief.

Belief moves should be premeditated to a degree.

Mechanically this means that you have to declare them during a choice (be it one of the ones I offer you or a write-in).

Narratively this means that you can't, for example, instantly travel away from a wolf who has you pinned and is about to rip out your throat. You need at to have at least some distance from immediate threats and a few moments of time to consciously will something into existence.

When you trigger a move, there is no roll involved; it just happens.

The more belief you have, the more is expected of you:

At 1-Belief, you are unprincipled, or only pay lip-service to your tenets.
Your Belief increases when you go out of your mission's, your party's, or your own way to follow your faction's tenets.

At 2-Belief, you are principled and follow your belief, but tend not to go to the extremes.
Your Belief increases when you pursue the tenets of your faction at a personal cost, or at the party's cost, or against your mission's interest.
Your Belief decreases if you take an active action that goes directly against your faction's tenets.

At 3-Belief, you are a true believer, extremely devoted to the principles and tenets of your faction.
Your Belief decreases if you don't go out of your mission's, your party's, or your own way to follow your faction's tenets.

Can you use belief moves when in presence of danger or a combat situation (ex. facing down a bunch of people who are about to attack you)? Sure thing, as long as it has those two requirements not present in the wolf scenario: a lil' bit of space and a lil' bit of time.

 

Part 1 - Particularly Violent Adventure (Character Creation I)

Hulking ship carcasses cast long shadows over the dockside of Voidship Yards. You walk within them, traversing a filthy strip mostly populated by dock workers and drunk crew. Your eyes travel up the smokestacks crowning a pair of recently-built voidships in the private section of the dock, suggesting that they are equipped with a recent invention: a big, loud thing called a steam engine. Either the Seekers Guild got a major acquisition or some freebooter captain struck gold.

You note that the dock is emptier than usual. A few days ago Demiurge's Shard came close to another Shard – close enough to allow for travel via voidship. Now expeditions sponsored by the City Officials, Seekers Guild, and freebooter captains alike are all eager to salvage whatever is valuable on this mysterious new Shard before it is absorbed into Demiurge's Shard. You've heard a few rumors about it – apparently, this Shard is... (choose 1)

a) A place of hunger and thirst; of bones picked clean and marrows drained.
b) One of great crevices and dark places, and the tiny things that dwell within. Can you hear their bated breaths?
c) Ruled by light and noise, bright and loud, and signifying nothing.
d) Got a better idea? Write-in a short description (I have the final say of what will be allowed; Kleve's Kool Kodexian shard populated by trannies and neanderthalls is not going to be accepted, sorry)

To your right, the Void; to your left is a stretch of warehouses, taverns, probable drug dens, and other such places. You dodge a small party of dock workers carrying heavy crates that suddenly erupts from an alley to your immediate left. One of them swats at you with one of his tentacles, the prick. You eye the alley with suspicion. In the Yards, every twist, nook, and cranny hold adventure. Such is the rule of this ward. A ward's reality is shaped by the beliefs of its denizens, just like you are shaped by your own beliefs. You are a... (choose 1)

A) Builder, namer of the Bureau of Builders. The Demiurge, preoccupied with greater things, has left the authority over his City in the hands of the people he has created. The onus is on the people of the City to look out for one another. The greatest good for the greatest number must be insured, and those in its way should be removed. By force if necessary.
B) Censor, namer of Censors College. You've always recognized and desired the value of knowledge. It is precisely why you don't want everyone to have it. The wise and righteous can put it to good use, sure – but let it fall into the wrong, or, Demiurge forbid, common hands and many will suffer.
C) Faithful, namer of the Temple Guard. Everything around you - these marvelous ships, these dangerous angles, this City – was created, directly or indirectly, by the Demiurge. Who besides the most wretched of ingrates could think that he is not deserving of worship? You seek to preserve and further the Demiurge's will and his City.
D) Taker, namer of the Enterprising League. You always stick up for yourself. If others happen to benefit from that, its a bonus – but it is not your job to care if they don't. It is this mindset that has made you a ruthless, enterprising freebooter. Any other way of thinking would have held you back.
E) Seeker, namer of the Seekers Guild. If you didn't have someplace to be, you'd rush into this very alley and uncover its secrets. To you, every mystery is a challenge to be solved. You always had an urge to uncover the truth, and how can you be sure of truth until you have seen it, felt it, tasted it?
F) Freethinker. The city is full of bothersome proselytizers, each insistent upon telling others what to think and do. People that are stupid, obedient, or willing to follow them are found in even greater number. You find all that dreadfully boring, and insist on choosing what to believe yourself...or perhaps you simply haven't made up your mind? (later on I will ask you to specify your personal philosophy or lack thereof)

Sounds of a particularly violent adventure coming from around the corner force you to stop lingering, so you continue walking down the dockside. After some time you come to the part of the ward you've been searching for: a shantytown of hovels on the edge of Demiurge's Shard, many built out of disused voidship parts, jutting out towards the Void. The woman you are looking for is inside one of them...

Notes (open) Notes (close)

-added faction descriptions to the Journal
-added description of Voidship Yards to the Journal

Consider at least skimming the description of the faction that you like in the journal before committing to your choice. Note that you start of as a namer – an informal believer of a given faction's philosophy. This means that, while you likely have worked for it in the past, you are neither married to it nor officially ordained as its member.

Your faction choice gives you belief moves. This is the primary way in which your believe interacts with reality. When you trigger a belief move, you do what the move says – no roll required. You may trigger an amount of belief moves equal to your belief between rests.

 

d) An endless network of rocky tunnels. There is a pleasant summery warmth all about - the warmth, as well as an ambient warm light, seems to be coming from the walls. Streamers of light in all sorts of colours duck and dive in the air. Everything vibrates with heavy musical beats, but there is no apparent source of the music, and it sounds as if it is heard underwater. The air is weirdly thick, offering a slight resistance to every movement. The rock of the tunnels is streaked with wide swathes of saturated colour. Every time the eyelids blink, the world seems to have rotated. There is no up or down but the stone beneath the feet. A jump can land in unexpected places. Shadows of various aquatic-looking shapes swim about on the walls, as if the walls are translucent windows to another world. Sometimes it looks as if these shapes are smashing into the walls from the other side, leaving the wall porous. A screaming, quivering, transparent gel is secreted from the pores.

E) Seeker

OR

F) Freethinker --->Contrarian. Whatever the status quo, it must be broken. Whatever the minority opinion, it must be held.

 

A) A place of hunger and thirst; of bones picked clean and marrows drained.
d) An endless network of rocky tunnels

though a write-in sounds appealing.

E) Seeker

 

Thanks for voting. I very much want to have room in this CYOA for collaborative elements in the setting, and hello friend's shard idea is a great example of what I mean. Well done.

I am mostly done with the next update (except for the bits that depend on your faction choice, of course). Once someone casts a decisive vote, I will post it. If we don't get more votes in ~24 hours, I will go ahead and assume Seeker and hello friend's shard won (if it is fair to assume that Nevill gave his tacit support for that idea?)

 

Thanks for clarifying via edit, Nevill. Alright, since we have consensus, fuck it. We'll do it live!

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Part 2 - The Ward Makes Sure (Character Creation II)

The morning light fades away as you traverse a tunnel of brass and stone, doing your best to avoid stepping into any piles of shit. This was once a functional dock that became outdated a few generations of voidship designs ago, and turned into a scrapyard for broken and unfit ship parts. Quickly after it became the home to the broken and unfit denizens of this ward as well. While some of the shantytown is built on firm ground, a large portion hangs precariously off the Shard's edge.

Around the corner you find a hammerite, his bright green chitin betraying his young age. The kid suspiciously eyes the...(choose 1)

A) Beholder's many eyes. You have been hearing the whispers since you've been here: "You've got Eyes on you, better leave soon," and "I wonder what an Officials' spy is doing here". Your ultra-sensitive ears can pick up the chattering from the shadows a hundred meters away. Your tentacles feel every grain of filth on this miserable street. A wave of nausea hits you, yet you remain standing upright. You are used to this.
B) Buzzers' sharp proboscis. Buzzers have been abused by Officials and rich industrialists ever since their home shard became the Facade Ghetto ward. The former saw your rapid breeding as a plague that had to be quarantined within the Ghetto, while the latter saw you as nothing more than a cheap labour force. You've stuck it to both of them and broke your chains. This shantytown is a laugh compared to the squalor in which you were raised.
C) head that is a hammer, a formidable visage of a fellow Hammerite . You are of the race of warrior-poets, stalwart defenders, brave paladins, and other such fools. A fool you are not, however, having taken on a much more lucrative and much less ethical profession. Though not every member of the Hammerfolk is a Demiurge-bothering strongarm that kills before they think, many have labelled you as such before they've even met you.
D) humanoid features of a Herald. As magnetism personified, you were made in Demiurge's human image, albeit with distinctions. This is both a blessing and a stigma, for those that do not love you are sure to be bitterly jealous of you. You know both feelings so well – it is your job as a Herald to know how people feel, after all.
E) bestial features of a Lurk. Your people have it hard – having been ripped from your home Shard, where you were once apex predator, you are now filthy shepherds and farmers who are met with contempt. Your horns, once a symbol of fraternity, are now seen as a sign of your animalism. Your hide, once allowing you to rule the Everdark Plains, now a mark of a criminal.
F) face on the palm of your hand. As a Manus, you feel uneasy in this low and twisted place. Your many hands instinctively grasp for walls and ledges around you, longing to climb out of here.

(for the above, specify (x) male or (y) female. Assume a given race to be sexually dimorphic unless otherwise specified)

G) hood upon your head. You hide your form for you are the wretched crossbreed from one (or more) of the above races, hated and feared alike. Your very existence is anathema to the City Officials, who would kill you if they knew what you were. Detail the physical traits that reflect your parentage and pick up to two belief moves from your parent races. (This is the EXTREME option. It requires discretion, closes a lot of doors, and opens some; indiscretion will result in a faster decline than a planetary governor with a thirst for souls.)
H) stranger's face. The Shard is home to many races. Some were created by the Demiurge, others are refugees stranded in the City after the absorption of their home Shard. The above races are by no means the only intelligent inhabitants of the city. Write-in your own race (description and belief moves must be sufficiently different from existing races. As always, I reserve the rights to deny or change any suggestions)

You give the youth a handful of coins and ask him if he knows who the Seamstress is.

“Sure do. She was one of my girls. Manus whore, made good money.”

Satisfied, you inquire as to where she can be found.

“Can't help you with that. Botherers took her away. Heard she was executed publicly a few days ago. Caught with those that weren't of her race, she was. Not under our watch, mind you – the Guard would have had my head on a pike if they as much as suspected it. No, she solicited for herself, took them in her own home, she did. And who could blame her? Mani around here found good work on the new ships, moved out of this shithole. Their business went with them – I bet they are enjoying the company of uptown sluts right now.”

You look incredulous. An indiscriminate whore in a place like this must have had many clients. The Temple Guard must have been kicking down a lot of doors...

“It's not like that. They only took her away, didn't find any clients. Rumour is, the Seekers Guild is hiding them.”

Skeptically, you ask why in the Demiurge's name they would do that.

“They likely judged them innocent. You'd kill a man for experimenting? Bah! You'd have to kill this whole ward. Everyone here's experimenting – the ward makes sure of that.”

You give the kid another handful of coins and ask him to lead you to Seamstress' home. He obliges.

A race-mixing prostitute, huh? Your own checkered history sounds like high praise compared to that. Still, the timing of her death is inconvenient to you – too inconvenient. Finding her was in the wishes of your dying friend. You curse Whisper for deciding to get himself into this mess before kicking the bucket. To break up the monotony of dirt and brick, you recall your and Whisper's past as...(choose 1)

a) Bloodseekers. A kind of bounty hunter, specializing in not only tracking down and killing people but also finding out everything they know. The dreadfulness of the secrets you've extracted from the unwilling is rivalled only by the horrific methods you've used to do so. While all the hunting and killing made you a ferocious opponent, it left little time for sharpening up your intellect. You get either the i) Melee or ii) Marskmanship skill.
b) Arcanists. The two of you thirsted for the knowledge that the Void held, joining voidship crews so that you could experiment closer to the its black expanse. You still dream of the things you saw. You have sagely intellect, but are clumsy from the many years you've spent in idle study. You get either the i) Lore or ii) Treatment skill.
c) Shardwalkers. People like you find the fastest route to another Shard and brave its undiscovered depths. Sometimes you'd join Seekers Guild's ventures, other times you sought out the portals on your own. Highly illegal, the latter practice, but the two of you had more wanderlust than the law had power. While wise and aware of the Shards' many dangers, you carry a Suicide's stigma – people are naturally distrustful of those with reputation of traveling to other Shards. You get either the i) Awareness or ii) Survival skill.
d) Inventors. The two of you labored over many a project. Alchemical devices were his forte', but you were always very good with gadgets. A myriad of theorems of how one should view technology and magics (if there is a difference; he insisted there wasn't) was penned between the two of you. Naturally, as someone very good with your hands, you frequently resorted to less-than-scrupulous ways of acquiring the funds for your ideas. Although you are good with your hands, your actual strength leaves a lot to be desired. You get either the i) Stealth or ii) Crafting skill.
e) Lords. Lord-Spymasters of the Termitarium, to be specific. It was once your job to know every plot, every whisper, and every agitator in that blasted ward. Before you were a pair of grifters that were recognized for their talent and appointed by the now-deceased Seneschal. Soon after, however, you came to see the pursuit of information as an end rather than the means. You are quite adept at manipulating people, which is good as your frail constitution has forced you to rely on others for protection. You get either the i) Rhetoric or ii) Deception skill.

You've worked with each other for years until hard times have forced you to abandon your professions. You became a freebooter, trying to apply your skills to the mercenary trade, while Whisper just disappeared for a year. The change of profession had been difficult, but the experience you gained is invaluable – you are skilled in...(choose 1, cannot choose the same skill twice):

1) Lore
2) Athletics
3) Awareness
4) Crafting
5) Deception
6) Leadership
7) Rhetoric
8) Stealth
9) Survival
10) Treatment
11) Melee
12) Marksmanship

Many times in the span of a year you were desperate, poor, and hungry, and you tried to find Whisper. Each time you were unsuccessful.

Until yesterday's letter, that is...

Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler

-added the race descriptions to the journal
-added some information about the shards to journal, along with the Shard of Curious Depths (courtesy of hello friend)
-added Demiurge, Seamstress, and Whisper to Dramatis Personae section in the journal

Yep, while the Demiurge is an all-powerful human, he is the only one known to exist. All other denizens of the City are non-human races. It should be noted that the term people refers to any intelligent race, whereas beasts refers to unintelligent creatures (like animals). And race mixing is haram!

Once again, consider at least skimming the description of the race you are interested in. Races give you belief moves just like factions do.

The mechanics of the game are simple. There are 6 attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma. They are assigned values ranging from -1 to +3. When you do something risky, I roll a 2d6 and add a relevant attribute to the roll. The results of the rolls are almost always the same: a 10+ is a success, a 7-9 is a success with consequences, a 6- is a failure. If you have a skill relevant to the roll, the 6- counts as a 7-9 with a more severe consequences, and if you happen to get a 12+ you get a critical, which means you go above and beyond what you intended to do.

Some notes on style: I am more used to play by post than I am to CYOAs, so I prefer writing shorter, more regular updates. After the character creation ends next update, the plan is to have the updates be longer and cover more events. Also let me know if you'd prefer traditional dialogue to the quasi-silent protagonist.

If you've got any questions, feel free to ask them. As before, I will aim to update tomorrow, but if there are less than three votes and no consensus, I will extend the time.

 

G is so tempting. Seems like an express ticket to fuckupville, but looks real fun. Better not. Or?

Can you say something about how the skills work? How does Deception and Rhetoric differ? How is Survival used? How about Awareness? Leadership?

 

Combinations I like: Lurker BloodSeeker, Herald Lord, and... Beholder Shardwalker?

Does "*Notice something important" interfere with Awareness in any way?

 

Great questions!

The dangers of G actually greatly vary on how obvious you want to be. A Hammerite with Lurk's wings can pretty much just wear a cape, as opposed to some misshapen monstrosity that has to travel via sewers VotM-style. Once anyone connected to the Officials finds out, however, you are pretty much on the Top 10 most wanted list, and so is anyone you have ever associated with. Knowingly assisting a crossbreed or assisting in its creation is punishable by death. As I tried to suggest, it was highly unusual that the Temple Guard didn't go after Seamstress' pimp or her regulars. Or that the shantytown is still standing, for that matter.

There are no specific skill rolls, like a Persuade roll or a Deceit roll. Instead, I just roll whenever you do something risky. Slitting someone's throat while they are sleeping does not require a roll, but trying to sneak across their bedroom without waking them up might. Whenever you have a skill relevant to the roll (in this case it would be Stealth), you 1. cannot fail (a 6- just counts as a 7-9 with a more severe consequence) and 2. you can excel at your action (if you get a 12+).

There is some overlap in skills. For example, getting up on a table in front of a hungry mob and doing a speech wherein you suggest there is food in "that guardhouse over there" and that they should rise up against the Officials could be both Rhetoric or Deception. However, honestly arguing for a raise with your employer is just Rhetoric, and trying to pass off as someone else while wearing a disguise is just Deception.

Survival is used when trying to figure out, for example, what food/water is safe to consume, where you can find shelter, how to navigate on any given Shard, etc.

Awareness can be relevant for any kind of perception roll, like "casing the joint", trying to figure out is carrying concealed weapons, etc.

Leadership is used when ordering people around, and is probably most relevant if you choose to get hirelings instead of going the lone wolf route.

Basically, just go for what sounds good. If you think that you want a character that will be doing x in the narrative, go for x skill.

The former is a belief move, which, when triggered, happens automatically and without the need for roll. However, you can only trigger 2 belief moves between rests. Awareness is a skill, so it makes your rolls more reliable and gives you an opportunity to excel, as explained above. No interference there.

 

Ax) Beholder's many eyes.
ci) Shardwalkers. (Awareness)
11) Melee

an alternative build would be...

Dx) humanoid features of a Herald.
eii) Lords. Lord-Spymasters of the Termitarium (Deception)
6) Leadership

 

Ok. I'm voting for

G) Lurk/Manus hybrid. Head and pigmentation of a Lurk, with the wings and that, copious armage as per Manii. Fur all over, so either a very regular shaver or an occasional waxer. In a bind can attempt Deception to blame it one some weird magic or disease picked up on some Shard.

Belief moves:
*Relocate quickly on all fours or via flight
*Grab anything and/or everything within reach

cii) Shardwalkers, Survival

5) Deception

 

Hm. If we don't get more votes (slow days?), consider me flopping to hello friends' option to continue.

 

C
d (crafting)
1 (lore)

 

Well, I pretty much have an update that I've been sitting on for 18 hours. I was going to wait a bit longer and then have the "so, are we killing this thing?" conversation, but looks like we probably don't have to do that (thanks for voting, Azira )

The lack of votes is probably my fault due to the cluttered introduction and boring vignette. On the plus side, the next update will be the last one like that.

I will stand by for a few hours. If there is no majority opinion I will assume Nevill have flopped to hello friend's option. Let me know if you change your mind.

 

You ought to tag some of the people who are usually active in other CYOAs. I found this one purely by chance.
Tag people, let them know this exists, and some of them will probably choose to participate.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Azira. I considered it, but was worried about etiquette implications.

Calling in the Barren Lands crew.

Grimgravy
Kz3r0
Storyfag
Gauldur's Bait
oscar

 

D) humanoid features of a Herald.

c) Shardwalkers, Survival

4) Crafting

 

You are a male Herald.
Your class is Explorer.
Your skills are Survival and Crafting.
Your Wisdom is +2; Your Charisma is -1.

Part 3 - Crumbling Little Place (Character Creation Wrap-up)

You finger Whisper's letter in your pocket as the alley twists and turns. Around one corner, a small flying beast with crippled wings is drowning in a puddle. Around another, a buzzer stumbles into you, his arm impaled on his own proboscis.

“Accident,” he buzzes apologetically.

The young hammerite stops suddenly and turns towards you, his muscular arms on his hips and his head cocked.

“My mouth parts have been clicking ever since you've come here. You are a freebooter, right?”

You sigh. The fires of mischief appear in the kid's eyes.

“I knew it! What is it that you do? Cleave people apart left and right? Brave the Shards? Cast sorceries? Come now, you must tell me! I won't take you anywhere until you do!”
Demiurge, save us. Why didn't the botherers take this hardhead away? After some negotiating, you agree to tell him a little bit about you as long as he keeps his voice down.

As a shardwalker, exploring strange new shards is your specialty. As such, you have the following abilities (choose 2):

1) Daring
You can always attempt to avoid environmental dangers before they affect you.
2) Direction
When you are in an uncharted territory or a dungeon, you can always sense where up and down, north and south are (if such exist in your location), and are able to locate the closest source of shelter and sustenance.
3) Hunter
When your target is unaware of your presence, roll damage twice and take the better result at range.
4) Rover
When you travel through an uncharted territory or a dungeon, you do so without leaving obvious tracks or a trail, and can hide tracks and clues left by others.
5) Tracker
When you search for clues or tracks, you can always do so quickly and while on the move. When you find and identify tracks or a set of clues, you get some information as to who they belong to and/or where they lead.
6) Scout
When you take the lead in an uncharted territory or a dungeon, you always spot your targets before they spot you.
7) Whisperer
You can communicate with and attempt to command beasts.
8) Sniper
When you are in a concealed or elevated position relative to your opponents, get +1 armour (cannot be pierced or ignored, doesn't stack with armour bonuses from other Abilities).

The young hammerite gets bored with the theoretics, and asks you what is it that you have actually done. You reply that you have once...(choose 2)

a) Decapitated an angry three-headed beast on the Shard of Tears with a single blow (actually, it only had one head, but the tears in your eyes really made it look like three. Still, you are stronger than most)
b) Snuck onto a City-owned voidship, under the noses of armed patrols (it was really a smallish airship, and the guards were drunk. Still, you are more dexterous than most.)
c) Survived a poisoning attempt by a rival freebooter with little more than digestion issues (well, the poison was watered down, and you spent weeks recovering. Still, you can endure more than most.)
d) Banished a mad wizard by answering all three of his riddles (to be fair, it was only a senile alchemist who stumbled into your room drunk one night and threatened you with a spoon. Still, you are more intelligent than most.)

You deny the youth his attempts to extend this conversation and insist that he holds up his end of the bargain. He complies, pointing towards the end of the alley.

“That way is where she lived. Crumbling little place on the very edge, can't miss it. Good luck, freebooter!”

You look at the bug-eyed pimp and consider his expression, tone of voice, the look in his eyes...
You don't get the sense that he intends to harm you, but then again, he might just be doing his part in an elaborate plan. Besides, this is a very dangerous neighborhood - especially for a herald.

Better safe than sorry.

You swing your elbow into the kid's head, which connects with a crack. He curses, going for a dirk at his belt, but you are too quick for him – your left hand is already on his right wrist. After twisting him into a painful submissive pose, you let him know that you weren't born yesterday.

“It's not like that! I didn't want to go there with you because a few folks said they heard weird noises coming from her old place!”

You will see about that. Keeping him restrained with your right hand, you reach into your coat with your left. Your gray double-breasted fur coat bears some scratches and burn marks from the many Shards you've been to. Within its capacious pockets and belts are 50 coins, a dagger, a pair of throwing knives, Whisper's letter, and the following tributes from your past jobs (choose 2):

A) Some arms made by a rich blacksmith operating out of Demiurge's Plaza. The craftsmanship is superb.
Tribute: a melee weapon (consult the equipment list), and a choice between a shield (a), buckler (b), parrying dagger (c), shortbow (d), longbow (e), hand crossbow (f), crossbow (g), arbalest (h);
Contact: Furnace, wealthy Manus weaponsmith from Demiurge's Plaza
B) Technological marvel, a crackgun given to you as a personal gift by a Taker who runs one of the refineries at Gambit Badlands. This is a compact weapon of great power, though it is as loud as a crack of thunder and takes a while to reload.
Tribute: a crackgun with ammunition;
Contact: Lord-Foreman Steel, of the Enterprising League.
C) Supplies from the Swift Provisions warehouse in Voidship Yards. The Swift brothers run a successful business selling equipment to crews and freebooters, and manage a smuggling gig on the side, selling questionable tools to the most unsavoury of characters.
Tribute: a pack of rations, and a choice between an Explorer's Kit (a), a Fidget's Kit (b), a Healer's Kit (c), a Bag of Books (d), and a Bag of Reagants (e).
Contact: The Swift Brothers, provisioners and smugglers of the Voidship Yards.
D) Silver case of stardust, a potent magical catalyst and a hallucinogenic drug. This was a favour from Knows, an...experimenting scholar who deals in arcane matters, operating out of his hideout in the Facade Ghetto.
Tribute: Silver Case /w 5 Doses of Stardust;
Contact: Knows, an eccentric scholar dealing in magical matters from the Facade Ghetto.
E) Some savings, left from a much larger reward received for taking a commission from the Seneschal of the Twilight Beastlands.
Tribute: 100 coins
Contact: Walks-Upright, Seneschal of the Twilight Beastlands.
F) Strange parchment with the sketch of a door on one side and the words “find it within an endless hallway for assistance, information, and employment opportunities. Termitarium ward” that was found inside a pocket of a brand-new gambeson. A week ago you came home to the hideout you were staying in, and was surprised to see that someone had picked the lock and left a gambeson on the clothing rack.
Tribute: Gambeson; picture of a door “within an endless hallway”.
Contact: ???

Satisfied that your equipment is in place, you pull yourself upright, dragging the kid with you. You can handle this, whether it be a gang ambush or some “weird noises”.

You think so, anyway...

Notes (open) Notes (close)

-added a list of equipment to the Mechanics section
-added a section about the City's leadership to the Wards section of the journal

Abilities are pretty self explanatory. They are like feats in D&D or perks in Fallout - if you have an ability, you gain its benefits.

Strength increases your load, and Constitution increases your HP, besides being used for rolls.

Your choice of tribute determines not only your items, but also your contacts (and, as with every other choice in this character creation vignette, your past). If you don't have a contact that can provide you with goods/services/other crap, you will have to search the City for a source, which is extra work unless whatever you are looking for is completely mundane.

Some notes about equipment:
-Most weapons do 1d6 damage, or more. Most people have 6hp or less, and you will start with 8hp if you go for Con+1. This means that, yes, a single lucky hit from a great weapon will kill you. Combat is going to be deadly for everyone here.
-Armour is a flat reduction against the damage you take.
-Kits allow you to just pull whatever useful stuff you can think of out of them. You might produce a set of lockpicks out of a Fidget's Kit, or a grappling hook out of Explorer's Kit, for example.

Lastly, you will be able to increase your attributes, HP, and gain more abilities when you level up. You will even be able to train to use abilities from other classes if you choose to in the future. However, I won't bother you with that until you start getting some XP.

 

1) Daring

d)Banished a mad wizard

F) Strange parchment

 

FYI, all choices in the last update allow for two options.

 

2) Direction | 4) Rover
b) Snuck onto a city-owned Voidship | c) Survived a poisoning attempt
D) Silver case of stardust | F) Strange parchment with a sketch of a door

 

2) Direction
4) Rover
b) c) dexterity/endurance
c) a) Swift brothers/explorer's kit
f) unknown/gambeson

Tempted to sub one of the above out to get some weaponry however.

 

1) Daring4) Rover

b) Snuck onto a City-owned voidshipd)Banished a mad wizard

F) Strange parchmentD) Silver case of stardust

 

5,6
b,d
A(sword + longbow),F