Griffin Mountain character generation?

[Hteph]

I’ve lately starting to mull on starting a Griffin Mountain campaign... have anyone done work on a family history for the area? I fail to find anything with searches, but perhaps just my google-fu are bad.

[Bill the barbarian]

The only person I can think of who might have done such a thing would be Jon Hunter. Try a search with Jon Hunter and Balazar as search items and you will pull up his great page...and maybe even find a family history or a link to one... You never know.

Good luck

[jajagappa]

50 minutes ago, Hteph said:

I’ve lately starting to mull on starting a Griffin Mountain campaign... have anyone done work on a family history for the area? I fail to find anything with searches, but perhaps just my google-fu are bad.

I don't believe anyone has done anything formal yet for Balazaring background.

One of the players in my Colymar Campaign runs a Balazaring Yelmalion though so I had to come up with some background material for him.  The following is explicitly for a citadel dweller in Balazar (vs. the nomadic hunter-gatherers).  Hopefully it is of some use though it doesn't have much development of explicit background events.

Homeland: Balazar (citadel)

Starting Passions:

Love (family): 60%
Loyalty (temple): 60% (e.g. Sun Dome Temple)
Loyalty (citadel): 60% (e.g. Elkoi)

Rune Modifier:  Fire +10%

Homeland Skills/Weapons:

Skills: Swim +10%, Dance + 5%, Sing +10%, Speak Own (Balazaring) (50), Speak Other (Tradetalk) +10%, Customs (Balazaring) (25), Herd +10%, Track +15%, Survival +10%, Hide +10%, Move Quietly +10%, Spirit Combat +15%
Weapons: Dagger +15%, 1H Battle Axe +15%, 1H Spear +15%, Composite Bow +15% or Sling +15%, Javelin +10%

Relevant Occupations:  Apprentice Shaman, Bandit, Crafter (in citadel), Healer (in citadel), Herder (in citadel), Hunter, Scribe (in citadel), Warrior (light infantry - in citadel)

Light Infantry - Balazaring Sun Dome
Scan +10%, Battle +30%, First Aid +15%, Listen +10%, Hide +10%, Move Quietly +10%, Survival +10%
Unit Weapons: Javelin +25%, 1H Spear +25%, Medium Shield +25%
Other Weapon: 2H Spear +25%
Dagger: +15%

He gets this Equipment
Linothorax (3 pt. protection), cuirboilli greaves and vambraces (3 pt. protection), composite helm (3 pt. protection), his weapons, 1D3 notable scars (if desired), sleeping roll, traditional Balazaring clothing, war booty worth 2d100 L

Yelmalio
Cult Lore (Yelmalio) +15%, Worship (Yelmalio) +20%, Meditate +5%, Area Lore (Balazar) +15%, Speak Other (Tradetalk) +20%, Sing +10%, Devotion (Yelmalio) starting at 60% (or +10%), Honor starting at 60% (or +10%)
add +20% to one of the above and +15% to a second.

He gets 5 points of Spirit Magic. He can choose from:
Coordination (2 pt), Detect Gold (1 pt), Farsee (variable), Lantern (1 pt), Light (1 pt), Lightwall (4 pts), or Repair (variable)

He gets 3 Rune Points to start. He can use these to cast Common Rune Spells or to Special Rune Spells that he has specifically sacrificed for. Yelmalio only has two special rune spells: Catseye and Sunbright. You can include both on his list of Rune Magic.

He gets a Gift and its corresponding Geas from Yelmalio.
Roll 1d10 for the Gift and 1d100 for the Geas to see what Teron has. (and depending on the Gift, he may need a 2nd and/or 3rd Geas)

------------------------------------------------

The player just mapped out a rough background where he was a citadel dweller whose parents were pig-herders, and subsequently Lunar slaves.  The character escaped to Dykene, and joined Yelmalio temple there. 

The citadels with Yelmalio temples are Elkoi (which was ruled by Lunar Empire and where he was a slave) and Dykene in the far east of Balazar. There's an annual caravan between the two temples.

The player drafted the following for background:

He worked as a slave in Elkoi for five years, developing a deep hatred for Lunars, as well as a fear of aberrant creatures of chaos (due to events that he has repressed from memory). His cleverness gave him better treatment than many slaves, and he learned a fair amount, but he always hated his status.

At age 15 (or thereabouts) he managed to escape Elkoi. He lived in the wilds well enough until he found his way to Dykene. There he managed to stay alive by doing odd jobs, hunting, gathering, etc. He hung around the small but disciplined group Sun Dome Temple spearmen, and developed a keen admiration for their candor, honor, and fairness. He’d imitate their training when no one was around, often going out into the woods to do so. At this time he swore his devotion to Yelmalio, Mercenary God of the Winter Sun and Lord of the Last Light.

Trouble began brewing in Balazar, and, lured by the promise of fame and fortune, he joined a mercenary unit (little better than a militia), which had been hired to supplement the crown for a war against Elkoi and its diminishing Lunar presence. During this time, he tried creating a variety of tough-sounding nicknames, but none ever stuck, since he was so young.

He fought in several skirmishes and one battle before the failed siege of Elkoi. During this siege, his militia captain deliberately led his troops to the slaughter in order to pocket more of the mercenary fees he’d collected from the king of Dykene. Teron escaped this fate as he was off hunting for provisions, but he overheard the mercenary leader gloating about it, and he hated the mistreatment of the soldiers. To Teron’s gratification, shortly afterward the mercenary leader choked on a goose bone and died, which Teron credits to Yelm’s vengeance.

After the war and the Lunars’ withdrawal from Balazar, Teron continued as a mercenary. One fateful day, he hired on with a caravan, which made an unexpected side trip to Elkoi. Once he found out, he did not want to back out, because doing so would require him to reveal his status. Instead, he hoped that he would be able to pass his time there unnoticed.

Unfortunately, he stumbled into one of his former owners in Elkoi, who demanded his immediate return. He escaped the area before he was forced back into slavery. With word of his status now revealed, he quickly laid a false trail, spreading word of his intent to return to the safety of Dykene, with a possible flight to the wilds around Griffin Mountain if need be. The deception in place, he headed to Dragon Pass, pushing westward deeper into Lunar territory (where no one would expect an escaped slave to run).

Finally reaching Sartar (safely outside of Lunar control), he tried to fit in, but Baranthos, the Chieftain of the Ernaldori clan, refused him admittance. Instead, he had to make his living on the fringe of society. He got by as a mercenary... really, not much more than a hard-luck vagrant with a spear. He wanted to go further south to see the massive Sun Dome Temple of which he had heard, but had no funds and no idea of where to go.

I noted:

Elkoi in Balazar is in Lunar hands from 1563-1622.

The Great Winter approaches but does not cover Balazar (would have been strange winds all year though coming down from the north-northeast)
Now there certainly could be a failed siege of Elkoi by the Kings of Trilus and Dykene somewhere in the 1617-23 period. Maybe best in 1621-3, roughly 3-4 years ago, possibly coinciding with the Great Winter.

If Teron escapes to Dragon Pass, then most likely in 1623 after the Great Winter - perhaps has heard that conditions are better there again. He reaches Clearwine somewhere in 1623. Clearwine is both the center of the Ernaldori clan and the Colymar tribe. He's not granted clan membership as he's not an Orlanthi. But in the wake of the losses of the Great Winter, additional hands are welcomed generally in Clearwine even though the Lunar presence via King Kangharl and the nearby Lunar slave farm is still felt.

Why does he stay in Clearwine and not go on to the Sun Dome Temple? As an initiate he would usually want to go there to participate in rituals and services so that he could renew his rune magic (if he has any)? The next closest Yelmalio temple is a good ways to the north in Alda-Chur among the Far Point tribes.  One possibility is that he did go there, but was rejected as a backwater primitive by the Lord of the Sun Dome. Clearwine would be the closest town to then settle in. But would he have tried to still go to the Sun Dome Temple to meet at least his annual obligations to his deity?

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by jajagappa

[jajagappa]

Btw, for Balazar events, Wyrms Footnotes #15 has a few noted in the Army Activity tables, specifically:

• Tusk Rider raids in: 1602, 1611, 1614
• Praxian raids in: 1607

Elkoi warriors could have joined Tarsh in the following events:

• Stinkwood (i.e. Tusk Rider) invasions in: 1606, 1609

Elkoi warriors or Yelmalions from Balazar could have been hired as skirmishers for any Lunar Tarsh campaign.

The main date in Griffin Mountain is 1564 when the Lunars take Elkoi and Bykotus becomes King.  At some point Glyptus, probably mid- to late-40s as of 1616, became King (perhaps ~1600?).  You could probably fit one generation in between him and Bykotus.

Yalaring Monsterslayer is 31 in 1616.  Presumably conquered Trilus in the period 1610-1615 (I'd suggest pre-1613).  Overthrew the Gadaringer dynasty.  Let the Lightbringers into Trilus - these are likely refugees/exiles from Starbrow's Rebellion and reach Balazar ~1614 after some time wandering.

Skilfil Heartpiercer is 40 in 1616.  His wife died 10 years before.  His eldest children (Starnia, Eucleia) though are in early 20s.  He probably came to the throne in his early 20's, so late 1590's. 

Probably feasts and celebrations in the citadels when new kings took the thrones.

[GMKen]

Is 1616 the canon year for Griffin Mountain?  I haven’t really found anything definitive in that regard, and yeah, a lot of ages and events in the supplement are XX years before whatever the year of the campaign is.  Makes it a bit frustrating when trying to put together a consistent timeline.

I was thinking along the same lines of a character backgrounder for the Balazar book I’m trying to put together for JC.  I do want to put together an heirloom table, to reflect the fact that countless generations of Balazarings have served as mercenaries across Genertela, so there just has to be more bronze weaponry around than they are generally given credit for.  My read is that they use stone tools for daily life, keeping the bronze swords as precious and secret family heirlooms to be used only in times of emergency.  Hero wars would probably be a good time to break them out...

[Bill the barbarian]

17 minutes ago, GMKen said:

Is 1616 the canon year for Griffin Mountain?  I haven’t really found anything definitive in that regard, and yeah, a lot of ages and events in the supplement are XX years before whatever the year of the campaign is.  Makes it a bit frustrating when trying to put together a consistent timeline.

 

It is a RuneQuest 2 product which defaults to 1613, the last date in Rulebook. I assume GM starts in 1613.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Bill the barbarian

[jajagappa]

13 hours ago, GMKen said:

Is 1616 the canon year for Griffin Mountain?

Generally yes as it ties to the finale of Borderlands which occurs in 1616.  You could readily adjust for any time between 1613 (all the RQ Classics start after Starbrow's Rebellion) and 1620 though (before the Great Winter).

[Stephen L]

Just bumping this topic, as I'm just beginning to mull on a Balazar campaign myself.

Jon Hunter's Back to Balazar site is a useful place to start (http://www.backtobalazar.com/), but Jajagappa's detail for a citadel dweller is amazing.  Anyone anything similar for the rural clan folk, before I roll my sleeves up and dive in for myself? 

Similarly, there's enough to construct the family history tables, but anyone already had a go this?

Obviously, there'll need to be ducks, as I don't think my target audience could countenance their absence.  My kids have just infected their cousins with the roleplaying bug, and a campaign without ducks would be a non-starter.

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Stephen L
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[Joerg]

2 hours ago, Stephen L said:

Obviously, there'll need to be ducks, as I don't think my target audience could countenance their absence.  My kids have just infected their cousins with the roleplaying bug, and a campaign without ducks would be a non-starter.

Duck refugees after 1613 would be logical anywhere around Dragon Pass. And there have been some ducks in the region already earlier, as Gonn Orta was interested in visiting ducks for a while, inspecting any that would enter his castle.

[Zit]

They could be clanmates of Waddle Greenbeak, either trying to protect him or chasing him.

[AlHazred]

2 hours ago, Zit said:

They could be clanmates of Waddle Greenbeak, either trying to protect him or chasing him.

Waddle Greenbeak was a favorite-to-hate character in the two 80s-era games I got to play in. He was apparently always providing leads to great treasures, and then in the heat of the moment he'd grab the best thing and make his escape. The two games I got to join in, the group was hunting him because he'd gotten the Ring of Elkoi, and meanwhile they were the ones holding the bag when the citadel guards caught them coming out of the tomb. (EDIT to clarify: He'd grabbed the ring and beat the rest of the group out of the tomb by triggering a trap they'd bypassed, then collected a reward from the guards for alerting them to a "group of tomb robbers" about to make off with the clan founder's treasures.)

I'd definitely make a few of the other ducks say they were his clanmates, when secretly they're trying to find him to fulfill the bounty on his head...

Edited October 31, 2022 by AlHazred

[Bill the barbarian]

11 minutes ago, AlHazred said:

Waddle Greenbeak was a favorite-to-hate character in the two 80s-era games I got to play in

It sounds to me like your GM was making the best use of the tools-at-hand that he had!

[Stephen L]

Well, I've rolled up my sleeves, and started - many thanks again Jajapagga for the steer in an earlier post.

The cultural skills was somewhat more involved than I thought (typically before, I've found only fairly minor tweeks to the most similar culture in the core rules have been required).  But, savages barely out of the stone age (who haven't even adopted the wheel) makes many skills inappropriate (Drive chariot!).

Also, Griffin Mountain states:

Quote

Because of their hardy life as children, all
beginning characters will have additional skill
bonuses added onto their beginning statistics

And the table that follows for Beginning Balazaring Skills represents a very large markup on the RQ2 Beginning skills.  Whilst it gives a delta which could be used to determine homeland skill bonuses, I've used it sparingly, and only as a start for the thinking process.

Also, I suspect for the weapons section, it would be better removing shields completely, since I'm not sure how much Balazarings use them - They're quite bulky to cart around on a hunting expedition, or indeed for a largely nomadic culture.  Perhaps they're what you strap all your stuff to when you're moving around!

I'll start work on the family history table shortly, then I think I'm done

But comments on this gratefully accepted (especially if there how to make tables come out better once posted)

Homeland: Balazar (rural/citadel)

Starting Passions:

• Love (family): 60%
• Loyalty (temple/Priest): 60% (e.g. Sun Dome Temple)
• Loyalty (citadel/Clan): 60% (e.g. Elkoi)

Rune Modifier: 

Fire +10%

Perhaps also Beast +10% (or perhaps just for the rural clans).

Occupation

D20	Occupation	Notes
1	Assistant Shaman
2	Bandit
3-4	Crafter
5	Entertainer
6	Farmer	Elkoi only
7	Fisher
8	Healer
9-10	Herder	Citadel
11-15	Hunter
16	Merchant
17	Noble
18	Priest
19	Thief
20	Warrior	Citadel – Light infantry

Homeland Skills/Weapons:

 

	Base	Bonus
		Clan	Citadel
Agility
Climb	(40)	+10%	+10%
Drive Chariot	(05)	-5%	-5%
Jump	(DEX×3)	+10%	+10%
Ride (mount type)	(05)	-5%	-
Communication
Dance	(10)	-	+5%
Sing	(10)	-	+10%
Speak Own (Balazaring)	(50)	-	-
Speak Other (Tradetalk)	(00)	+5%	+10%
Knowledge
Animal Lore	(05)	+15%	+10%
Customs (Balazaring)	(25)	-	-
Evaluate	(10)	-5%	-
Farm	(10)	-10%	-10% (0% Elkoi)
Herd	(05)	-5%	+10%
Peaceful Cut	(10)	+15%	+10%
Plant Lore	(05)	+5%	+5%
Survival	(15)	+20%	+10%
Train Dog	(25)	-	-
Magic
Spirit Combat	(20)	+15%	+15%
Manipulation
Conceal	(05)	+10%	-
Perception
Listen	(25)	+15%	+10%
Scan	(25)	+15%	+10%
Track	(05)	+20%	+10%
Stealth
Hide	(10)	+15%	+10%
Move Quietly	(10)	+15%	+10%
Combat
Dagger	(15)	+10%	+10%
1H Battle Axe or Hatchet	(10)	+10%	+10%
1H Spear	(05)	+15%	+15%
2H Spear	(15)	+10%	+10%
Composite or Self Bow or Sling	(05)	+15%	+15%
Javelin	(10)	+10%	+10%
Shield Small	(15)	+15%	+10%
Shield Medium	(15)	+10%	+15%

 

Occupations: 

As core rules, p63-73.

• Manage Household is appropriate for rural clan, Based on Jajapagga's arguments!  Perhaps called Manage Hearth.
• Ride may not be appropriate for rural clan, replacing with Animal Lore is suggested 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Stephen L
Added suggestion for Beast Rune bonus, and reformatted table

[jajagappa]

3 minutes ago, Stephen L said:

Manage Household may not be appropriate for rural clan, replacing with Survival is suggested

For Balazarings I'd keep this but have it reflect their ability to pack up and manage their goods during transport to a new site, finding a suitable site to setup camp, gathering necessary plants, herbs, etc to sustain the clan when meat is low, etc.  Keep Survival as the skill to survive in the wild when dealing with adverse weather, famine, etc.

6 minutes ago, Stephen L said:

Ride may not be appropriate for rural clan, replacing with Animal Lore is suggested

You might offer Animal or Plant Lore as options.

[Bill the barbarian]

3 hours ago, jajagappa said:

For Balazarings I'd keep this but have it reflect their ability to pack up and manage their goods during transport to a new site, finding a suitable site to setup camp, gathering necessary plants, herbs, etc to sustain the clan when meat is low, etc.  Keep Survival as the skill to survive in the wild when dealing with adverse weather, famine, etc.

3 hours ago, Stephen L said:

May I suggest Manage Campsite?

Hi, Steven. If I may make an observation or two... But first let me say thanks for your hard work as my opening observation!

3 hours ago, Stephen L said:

Sing

(10) 0 10

Singing should be available to clans as well, even wolves sing at night when the moon is full. I would think primitive man would sing, well see the notes below... 

 

3 hours ago, Stephen L said:

Dance

(10) 0 5

Why would a citadel dweller be a better dancer? One could say more civilized perhaps, but better?

 

Cheers

[Stephen L]

15 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

If I may make an observation or two

Observations gratefully accepted please, I'm not precious. 

Actually I'm dissatisfied - particularly with the sheer number of changes.  It feels inelegant. Most other culture bonuses run to under 10 non weapon skill modifications...

15 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

May I suggest Manage Campsite?

Jajapagga's arguments are compelling - Manage household has a place, if reinterpreted for campsite.  I might call it "Manage Hearth", as the Balazarings have the concept of hearth running throughout the book.

 

15 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

19 hours ago, Stephen L said:

 

Singing should be available to clans as well, even wolves sing at night when the moon is full. I would think primitive man would sing, well see the notes below... 

Well argued, and admitted.  However the fault lies with my poor tabling skills (and haste in copy and pasting from Excel).  There should be a plus to indicate bonus to the base which is in the brackets.

15 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Why would a citadel dweller be a better dancer? One could say more civilized perhaps, but better?

Singing and dancing seem to be fairly ubiquitous in the core rules with bonuses for most cultures.  My interpretation is the importance in ritual.  However, the Praxian don't get it, and so I had the Citadel dwellers being more similar to the barbarous Sartarites in Sing/Dance, whilst the clans being more like the Savage Praxians...

[Stephen L]

Well, I've had a go at the family history, and attached for comment (or use if you like!)

I've kept to the RQ2 classic timeline, and adopted a 1616 start date, convinced by jajagappa's argument.

All events are referred to in Griffin Mountain, and I *think* I've got the dates right (there is some leeway in some of the dates).  And I've added the raids involving Balazar in from Wyrms Footnotes #15 (from the army events).  Between them, that gives quite a rich background, and quite colourful.  I've tried to tie in as many connections as I can with NPCs from Griffin Mountain.  The marriage of Glyptus, sudden death of his father, and ascension to the Elkoi throne all happening very rapidly, the year before the characters are borne gives interesting possibilities... 

But if I've missed any noteworthy event, do please let me know.

I've kept the text from Griffin Mountain about the rebuilding of Dykene in 1580, where it refers to "rebuilding began under the direction of the great grandfather to Skilfil Heartpiercer".  If Skilfil is in his 40s in 1616, that's a lot of generations to squeeze in, but having just done the maths, it just about works for a precocious line (Great Grandpa would have by pushing 70 in 1580 if we assume 21 years between generations).

Given it's rather long (8 pages), I've attached (word doc and PDF for those that don't like MS) rather than create a monumentally long post...

 

BalazarFamilyHistory.docx BalazarFamilyHistory.pdf

Edited November 12, 2022 by Stephen L
Updated probabilities for rolling on plunder table

[Stephen L]

I've just updated the attachments for the family history tables in the post above - The probability of rolling on the plunder table was slightly high...

[soltakss]

Thanks, I do enjoy looking at family history generators

[Hteph]

On 11/12/2022 at 1:04 PM, Stephen L said:

Well, I've had a go at the family history, and attached for comment (or use if you like!)

I've kept to the RQ2 classic timeline, and adopted a 1616 start date, convinced by jajagappa's argument.

All events are referred to in Griffin Mountain, and I *think* I've got the dates right (there is some leeway in some of the dates).  And I've added the raids involving Balazar in from Wyrms Footnotes #15 (from the army events).  Between them, that gives quite a rich background, and quite colourful.  I've tried to tie in as many connections as I can with NPCs from Griffin Mountain.  The marriage of Glyptus, sudden death of his father, and ascension to the Elkoi throne all happening very rapidly, the year before the characters are borne gives interesting possibilities... 

But if I've missed any noteworthy event, do please let me know.

I've kept the text from Griffin Mountain about the rebuilding of Dykene in 1580, where it refers to "rebuilding began under the direction of the great grandfather to Skilfil Heartpiercer".  If Skilfil is in his 40s in 1616, that's a lot of generations to squeeze in, but having just done the maths, it just about works for a precocious line (Great Grandpa would have by pushing 70 in 1580 if we assume 21 years between generations).

 

Cool this was exactly what I was looking for and also started to tinker with, but real world happened, and I lost both energy and muse, so I'm happy to see it done!