Me neither, ha! If the horse goes down on the character sheet as a companion it gets a bit of extra consideration as a part of Anwen’s character. But until then, it’s more or less gear, which means it’s in the crosshairs at more or less any time danger has been established!
Wow, those were two intense scenes. Poor Kirs. It's horrible but I react more to the death of a named character than the other unfortunates caught up in the storm. I loved that Padrig tried to talk the assassin down.
I'm torn between the animal companion and completing the Chumbawumba trifecta. As a player I'd try to avoid having to rely on extra death saves, and lower damage when I'm already hurting, but it's so in keeping with Anwen.
I know what you mean -- it’s always tempting to make Anwen much more of a combat monster and focus on never taking damage at all but a more heedless combat style is really how the playbook is designed and how Anwen behaves as a character.
And I’m glad the scenes were intense. They were intense to play and write, too! 🫣
Who spins the tales for the Tu’d? I kind of expect Kirs to make it into some sort of addendum to whatever form the original Kirs story took. (Song? Story? Dance?)
Great question -- I had some prep concerning the story of the Kirs (and Kirs’ father!) and I suspect it’s still useful despite the younger Kirs’ untimely demise.
My strong intuition is no. We don't have him on the record stating a clear piece of unfinished business -- of course, he wants his band to return to a place of safety and security, but I think that's a bit loosey-goosey to be a tether for a Revenant.
HOWEVER, we have established the Crossroads as a location, and I could see a world where Anwen needed to ask a question of Kirs. Bringing a ghost back to the crossroads always carries the risk that they will remain on this side, and if brought back in that context, Kirs might also choose to remain and take vengeance on the Stormcrows.
A little like with arcana and magic items, you don't want to overdo it (probably).
While there might be a world (campaign) where such things (revenant/zombie apocalypses) are more dominant and/or part of the major narrative tone so to say.
That said, I think its cool that Stonetop has those 3 variants prepared in terms of playbooks.
Oh boy, that was a tense fight with the storm imbued assassin. (it looks like that strolling and conversing with Anwen alone in the wilderness has its special risks attached °L°)
I missed the Anwen Level poll, but here is my opinion anyways :P
I find Animal Companion the most compelling as it:
* dips into another playbook
* opens a new branch of development
* is narratively fitting
That said, I myself tend to build more broader chars so to speak and not be too specialized. (Jack of all trades, master of none). Also, my feeling is, that Anwen already dipped into her anger and sturdiness quite deep, so maybe further moves that play into that can wait a little longer?
Guardian might be interesting, but I find it a little bleak as it "only" carries mechanical value, while e.g. animal companion opens new narratives.
I always love getting the string of 'Like' notifications when you're catching up with the story. Makes my day. :)
I'll reveal the results of the poll this Friday -- I very much agree with a lot of your rationale. I do think that an argument could be made that Animal Companion isn't quite 'earned' yet-- of course, if we selected that advancement, we could easily lay the fictional groundwork in a couple of episodes, highlighting how much Anwen learned in a short time and how the horse has bonded with her, but I do think it impacts how people vote. Anwen's toughness is very, very strongly established, and so further investing it feels very natural.
As awesome as the animal companion would be, chumbawumba is so her muse…
I’ll keep Animal Companion in the mix for at least one more level up — assuming nothing goes wrong with the horse 😬
Well, that’s a good point - I hadn’t expected Kirs to die!
Me neither, ha! If the horse goes down on the character sheet as a companion it gets a bit of extra consideration as a part of Anwen’s character. But until then, it’s more or less gear, which means it’s in the crosshairs at more or less any time danger has been established!
Yuuuup. Plus the slow yet enduring levity of Chumbawumba moves.
Possible horse names of course are: Cloud, Mist, and Tubthumper. 😂
Wow, those were two intense scenes. Poor Kirs. It's horrible but I react more to the death of a named character than the other unfortunates caught up in the storm. I loved that Padrig tried to talk the assassin down.
I'm torn between the animal companion and completing the Chumbawumba trifecta. As a player I'd try to avoid having to rely on extra death saves, and lower damage when I'm already hurting, but it's so in keeping with Anwen.
I know what you mean -- it’s always tempting to make Anwen much more of a combat monster and focus on never taking damage at all but a more heedless combat style is really how the playbook is designed and how Anwen behaves as a character.
And I’m glad the scenes were intense. They were intense to play and write, too! 🫣
Who spins the tales for the Tu’d? I kind of expect Kirs to make it into some sort of addendum to whatever form the original Kirs story took. (Song? Story? Dance?)
Great question -- I had some prep concerning the story of the Kirs (and Kirs’ father!) and I suspect it’s still useful despite the younger Kirs’ untimely demise.
If it's not animal companion, I don't want to know...
I think that, given the propensity to split the party, keeping Anwen alive is a good idea.
I'm fucked up, but glad I read this on a Sunday night and not on my lunch 😅. Rip CW teen romance lead. Name the horse "Arthur" or "Oath" or "Storm"
I was a little fucked up when the Oracle dice fell, too. All the possible ways the story could unfold, cut short! 🥲
I just noticed... Is there a chance that Kris may come back as a revenant or ghost? Not sure if he has strong enough unfinished business or tether.
My strong intuition is no. We don't have him on the record stating a clear piece of unfinished business -- of course, he wants his band to return to a place of safety and security, but I think that's a bit loosey-goosey to be a tether for a Revenant.
HOWEVER, we have established the Crossroads as a location, and I could see a world where Anwen needed to ask a question of Kirs. Bringing a ghost back to the crossroads always carries the risk that they will remain on this side, and if brought back in that context, Kirs might also choose to remain and take vengeance on the Stormcrows.
Yea I agree, good points and interesting outlook.
A little like with arcana and magic items, you don't want to overdo it (probably).
While there might be a world (campaign) where such things (revenant/zombie apocalypses) are more dominant and/or part of the major narrative tone so to say.
That said, I think its cool that Stonetop has those 3 variants prepared in terms of playbooks.
Agreed! If one of the PCs died, I would strongly, strongly consider one of those. :)
Oh boy, that was a tense fight with the storm imbued assassin. (it looks like that strolling and conversing with Anwen alone in the wilderness has its special risks attached °L°)
I missed the Anwen Level poll, but here is my opinion anyways :P
I find Animal Companion the most compelling as it:
* dips into another playbook
* opens a new branch of development
* is narratively fitting
That said, I myself tend to build more broader chars so to speak and not be too specialized. (Jack of all trades, master of none). Also, my feeling is, that Anwen already dipped into her anger and sturdiness quite deep, so maybe further moves that play into that can wait a little longer?
Guardian might be interesting, but I find it a little bleak as it "only" carries mechanical value, while e.g. animal companion opens new narratives.
I always love getting the string of 'Like' notifications when you're catching up with the story. Makes my day. :)
I'll reveal the results of the poll this Friday -- I very much agree with a lot of your rationale. I do think that an argument could be made that Animal Companion isn't quite 'earned' yet-- of course, if we selected that advancement, we could easily lay the fictional groundwork in a couple of episodes, highlighting how much Anwen learned in a short time and how the horse has bonded with her, but I do think it impacts how people vote. Anwen's toughness is very, very strongly established, and so further investing it feels very natural.
It's.... it's friday °L° (my dudes)
Er -- I meant Monday. On the publication day! The usual one!
*faints (I will never recover from this)