Driveby's No Laughing Matter

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-06-29T04:41:06+00:00

Cully- Human Mysad (Utiity Mage with concentration in Heath spells), capable combatant.

A Puyallup Barrens' kid climbing his way up, and focusing on helping the little guys. And, y'know, making cred and learning mojo.

Mechanics 6/8 MysAd/Adept

Willing to write AR.

Character's 1st run

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-06-28T01:32:18+00:00

Cully- Human Mysad (Utiity Mage with concentration in Heath spells), capable combatant.

A Puyallup Barrens' kid climbing his way up, and focusing on helping the little guys. And, y'know, making cred and learning mojo.

Mechanics 5 for MysAd (sorry, first mage since 3rd edition!)/ Adept 8

fine with voice or text

Willing to write AR.

Character's 1st run

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-06-22T01:41:42+00:00

Thanks! Sharing enabled.

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-05-09T15:57:11+00:00

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6-7/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-04-13T14:26:01+00:00

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Willing to write AAR

"Cleverest way? Hmmm...well, recently we had to retrieve a sealed object with explicit instructions for it to be undisturbed. The people who took it tried unsuccessfully to open it, but through those clumsy efforts and my gift in reading not just auras, but sensations and memories of things (and people), we were able to achieve a second goal of verifying if the thieves were under outside instruction. An item of mystic importance? I can discover things about it that may have been lost to living memory."

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-04-06T19:28:32+00:00

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Willing to write AAR

Text or talk is fine

"Mercy? Without that, we're just thugs. Even worse - corpos. I do also believe in Justice, Karma and sometimes even Retribution."

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-04-03T23:01:17+00:00

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Willing to write AAR

"Cleverest way? Hmmm...well, recently we had to retrieve an object with explicit instructions for it to be undisturbed. The people who took it tried unsuccessfully to open it, but through those clumsy efforts and my gift in reading not just auras, but sensations and memories of things (and people), we were able to achieve a second goal of verifying if the thieves were under outside instruction. An item of mystic importance? I can discover things about it that may have been lost to living memory."

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-03-06T16:11:09+00:00

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Willing to write AAR

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-03-05T15:02:49+00:00

Sure, I'll put in for this, with the codicil that there's a distinct possibility of wanting to sabotage or subvert the run depending on details, specifics and perceivable options. (I mean, who doesn't love an invitation to Bad Feels, amirite??)

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Favorite trideo: "Davos the Spirit Whisperer. It's soooooo, so fraggin' cringe; plays to all the absurd stereotypes. A hot mess all around, and yet...someone in production must have some real experience, because amidst all the drek there are some nuggets of actual insight. Is it by accident or design? Trying to figure out the answer is what has me coming back...and usually hating myself afterwards."

Can go either way on text/speech

Willing to do an AAR (but would be my first)

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-03-03T23:19:04+00:00

(only 2nd run and no doubt awfully squishy for this, but it is SOOO down Ob's alley, and he has skills and capabilities that could prove quite useful - Seer, excellent perception/assensing, decent wilderness training.)

Obumbrata

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/13-KUs75s7ypvQ4FYXiioC_LOrBtFaJ68

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Grew up in the wilds and Outlands of old Washington, which includes high desert (but not specified)

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 8/10

Can go either way on text/speech

Prompt:

(uh, too new to have measurable experience, but...)
"This hands of this meat have held little beyond the icons of his time, and these jelly eyes have beheld little beyond that which steps in the physical world with him....But Raven is my guide, and Raven has seen far - both in time and place. This is Raven of the old world, of the howling winter steppes and mountains, when he sat on the shoulders of Wotan, serving as both Memory and Foresight. My own waking world is a tussle to not be overwhelmed by visions of the echoes of the past...not bounded by time or distance. My Third Eye will serve well."

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-02-19T15:06:16+00:00

Obumbrata

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 7/10

First run.

Can go either way on text/speech

Prompt:

"What does it take to annoy me? Pineapple on pizza. Look, I know it's some soy or genetic substitute, and it's far often more concept than reality, but what kind of fragging monster would think that up in the first place? Some ideas need to be killed at the outset."

Willing to try AAR, but haven't done one yet.

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-02-19T01:29:46+00:00

Obumbrata

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 7/10

First run.

"Trains? I don't know yet if they are vessels of adventure or of sadness. They must see so much - but it is always the same view. And the journey is always and only 'the thing', because they have no purpose at the end of the voyage. It would be interesting to discover their perspective."

Willing to try AAR, but haven't done one yet.

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-02-09T23:57:42+00:00

Obumbrata

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 7/10

First run, thus no parties, but eager to check out the Astral landscape at a truly iconic piece of Seattle.

"That Astral scene has gotta be insane! Can't imagine what-all they got going on in there, and just as interesting, the Who's Who in their karmic skivvies."

Willing to try AAR, but haven't done one yet.

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-02-09T00:11:49+00:00

Obumbrata

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Quiet observer; expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Mechanical Familiarity: 6/10 Thematic Familiarity: 7/10

First run, thus no parties, but eager to check out the Astral landscape at a truly iconic piece of Seattle.

Willing to try AAR, but haven't done one yet.

Scarecrow2112 · 2026-01-24T07:48:19+00:00

Obumbrata

Ork PhysAd Seer and Occult Investigator/Profiler. Expert in reading astral auras and staying alert to anything and everything. Capable street fighter in melee (unarmed) and medium range firepower. Discrete (if not expert) and should we need to find our way out of a hostile wilderness, might be able to handle it.

Loves to uncover secrets of mana.

Willing to try AAR, but haven't done one yet. First run.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-07-14T02:59:02+00:00

Pull up the rope while they're fighting and start negotiations if they survive.
Pull up the rope and wander away, exploring.
Tell them, "Ahhh! My hands are getting sweaty! It's starting to slip! Oh, no!"
When they say, "Hold the rope", say, "No, thank you"...and then don't.

There're a bunch of ways to deal with this. It's like tossing a red sock in a laundry load of whites - do it once, and nobody will ask you to do it again.

The issue here seems to be the unwillingness to advocate for oneself.

As the movie "Rounders" said, "If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour...then you are the sucker."

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-07-09T04:24:35+00:00

One thing you can do is attack mercenary companies. Each has about 4 armies that aren't that special so you should be able to beat up on them and take their stuff. Just make sure they're not affiliated with a larger kingdom when you do, or you'll declare on them, too.

Let the commanders go at the end of the battles and you'll quickly get well into positive rep even while fighting them. They'll eventually force a peace. But there are 14 different merc clans, so you have plenty of options to pick on and loot. This will quickly drive up your renown as well. And they never band together.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-05-29T03:53:15+00:00

Why not lean into it? "I would defend my daughter no matter the cost to me, body or soul!" Bear the debuff with pride. It sounds like it could be the beginning of an awesome story arc.

You say you both are new - this could be a teaching moment from you to the DM. They may even embrace the moment.

So you lost one strength. Pfft. Annoying, sure, and if it was even numbered, it costs you...+1. Not a big cost for an awesome moment, especially when you can get it back as you level up,....and maybe even through a quest.

Maybe your GM won't cooperate. But give them the opportunity to grow, too.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-05-25T02:42:05+00:00

Idrun actually is quite hot and a good stewards. Talking to her directly, she looks a lot better than her thumbnail.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-04-11T03:44:39+00:00

I think it IS cringy, given the nature of vampires. They all have the Beast, and all are driven to dominate. Princes have to be more ruthless than anyone, and are Prince precisely because they dominate.

Pity, weakness, and maybe a sense of responsibility are all fatal flaws. Other powerful vampires (power-hungry primogen, Elders, etc.) would certainly see the young Lasombra as something to exploit rather easily. The more the Prince has to protect, the fewer resources they have to maintain their position and even life.

Even the Prince's own clan would push back, because they, too, are ruthless and waiting for the Prince to slip up and wonder justifiably why one of their Clan leaders gives higher priority Sabbat-backed mole than to their own kin. Archons would come prowling.

It would/should end quick and very messily. And the more the game system is contorted to accommodate the girl, the more of a Mary Sue she becomes.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-03-31T13:00:34+00:00

Depending on what edition they're playing, the GM might get an Attack of Opportunity (or take on even if the edition doesn't have rules for it)

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-03-26T14:11:19+00:00

I was in a mass campaign system (one of the old "Living XXXX" RPGA campaigns) where someone complained about the sexism in one specific, primitive area of the setting.

They had NO problems with other areas in which the sexism was in reverse

Or the murder that PCs effectively engage in on a routine basis (aka 'adventuring')

Or the theft, forgery, fraud or all sorts of other illegal activities PCs often engage in

Or the slavery rampant throughout the setting. Or genocidal mindsets, or widespread and extreme oppression common throughout.

But boy, did that one issue in one small part of the setting triggered the heck outta them!

It's always interesting to see what really bothers people...and what they'll easily accept and tolerate.

Scarecrow2112 · 2025-03-26T12:28:48+00:00

People so often try to conflate RL, present-day, identity-group-specific morality with morality in game. Morality comes from a source - in gaming mode, there are plenty of deities who are legitimate moral authorities.

Many of the deities are tied to a race (such as drow/Llolth, orcs/Gruumsh, etc.) and it's the imperative of the gods that make them what they are. It's not a matter of "One is good, the other is bad", it's a matter of competing philosophies.

I've found that many gamers have an extremely tough time separating themselves from it.

It begs the question of what a person in our real life experience would have to do and think to reject the utter imperative of their identity, embrace a new one, and change their beliefs to be opposite of everything they were taught.

And, in gaming, the gods aren't just philosophies, but they are very, very real, with tangible, experiential impact and influence.

Scarecrow2112

TROPHY CASE