SIFRP chargen -- Honey and Gall
So, running a 4-shot or so game of Song of Ice and Fire RPG (or SIFRP). I was inspired to do this because it's something I've been wanting to do for a while, I'm not in the midst of school, and I need to get a handle on how the system actually functions a bit better so I can keep writing for it (hey there, Joe!).
So last Monday, pre-Origins, was chargen. The first session will be next Monday. I am already behind. :) I was really pleased, though, with how we did on time with the chargen. We ran a bit over and I didn't quite get as much info on how the characters interact as I'd have liked, but we got the house and the characters done in one night, with lots of semi-random rolling (thank you, Green Ronin, thank you) on all those lovely tables.
Experience with the property: Neither [Bad username: affectionsedge.livejournal.com] nor Toasty had read the books.
innocent_man had read to where Bran gets pushed out of the tower and stopped. [Bad username: docelboze.livejournal.com] is catching up to where I am in the books. Glen's read all of them so far. So there's a pretty wide range of familiarity. To make sure everyone's on the same page, we watched the first episode of the series. We're basically starting a bit before that, with Robert firmly on the throne and Jon Arryn as the Hand.
So, without further ado, here's the House and the characters.
The players joined forces to create House Mellifera, an old, somewhat down-on-its-luck, but still powerful house in Dorne. Once upon a time they had a manor house and maybe a castle, but now all they have is an unfortified house and a couple of towers, one on either end of their huge lands-one by the water and one in the plains. Their motto is “Defend the Queen,” and their colors are green and gold, displayed on their shield as the upper half green, lower half gold with a slashed line between them, with a golden bee, seen from top down, facing upwards (no, I can’t be arsed to go find any of the actual heraldic terms right now).
The house was founded back during the Andal invasion. It was initially granted through the king (although history that far back is a bit spotty-if it were a longer game I’d decide who the king was, but not for this). They climbed in power, serving well, and then came the antecedent for the modern house, involving Treachery, Treachery, Infrastructure, Invasion/Revolt (against/by the Targaryens), more rebuilding of Infrastructure, and a final bit of Treachery to draw it to the close. The last bit has been defined and will be expounded upon in discussion of the House family.
While Lannister is known for its gold and Tully is known for its rivers, Mellifera is known for its bees. Well, mead and ale, really, with a bit of wine thrown in for good measure. The best of the Dornishlands comes from Mellifera, which is probably the only reason they haven’t been overrun by now. They have a lot of land and a number of good units, as well as two Banner Houses (one for each tower). They also have a problem with banditry throughout the lands, in part because their forces are spread so thin. The truth is, though, that while the house has wealth and influence, it’s bound up in shipping and breweries and meaderies and investments abroad: in training its forces and providing for its people, not in conspicuous consumption, making it something of an oddity among the houses of Westeros-or at least in King’s Landing. Mellifera is itself, of course, a Banner House of Martell, and the relationship between the houses is congenial and long-standing.
The head of the house is Lady Siobhan Mellifera, who just turned 40. She’s on husband #3, Lord Riordan Lannister (who’s a minor cousin of Tywin’s a couple of times removed). The lady has given birth to six children still living - the heir [daughter] and the second born [son], who were born to her first husband, the 3rd was the child of her second husband (the traitor (see the most recent House Treachery)), and the three to Lord Riordan. Lady Siobhan’s sister, Meghane, is married into one of the two banner houses (a shocking lack of detail here). The last four kids are PCs, which cements this game firmly in the realm of family politics.
Okay, so, the characters:
The oldest [23] and the son of the Traitor is Ducaleon Mellifera [played by Karafa]. He’s given to visions but fears he’s going mad (and he may not be altogether wrong). He’s smart, educated, and a natural healer, but he cannot live down his father’s legacy (his father was in league with Balon Greyjoy to overthrow King Aerys, and sought to give them a southern foothold for an attack against King’s Landing-Lady Siobhan had him put to death publicly once his crime was discovered, using the “bee helmet”). He will always be an outcast among his own people, something Ducaleon never forgets, even as he searches for love and acceptance.
Next is Gineva Mellifera [played by Glen], who at 19 is the blond Lannister -bred spitfire of the household. She is bold and opinionated and rash-a fine swordswoman, she’s trained with the Braavosi and traveled widely. She is ambitious and luck seems to favor her, but she has yet to learn either tolerance or discretion.
The next child is Sel Mellifera, [played by Matt], who at 18 is his father’s son through and through. Sel has his mother’s spirit (and some say her appetites as well). He is handsome and charming and a highly skilled archer, but his inability to turn away from a pretty face is going to get him into trouble one day - or has it already? He is the image of his father, with golden hair and laughing green eyes.
The baby of the house is Oberyn Mellifera [played by John], who at 14 is still considered a child by many regardless of how annoying he finds it. Oberyn has a great deal to live up to and he’s anxious to get started. He is a talented fighter and ranger, with a talent for noticing details in battle and turning them to his advantage. He has his mother’s hair and charisma, and of all her children, it’s said that Oberyn resembles her most.
In addition to the Mellifera heirs, there are two household retainers who accompany them. The first is [name to be provided later,] who is played by Toasty and is the oldest, at age 27. He’s a knight for the Banner house by the coast; As a child, he was held by the Greyjoys for ransom when the invasion went against them. He was rescued and grew up within the banner house and is now a leading fighter and trainer for the household.
The last member is the Septa for House Mellifera, Septa Setia Ceeda. At 19, Setia is one of the youngest Septas assigned to a house without minor children in it in recent memory. With auburn hair and grey eyes, she stands out among the dark and light of Mellifera like a fire among shadows. She gives and receives attention to both Ducaleon and Sel, but nothing publicly untoward occurs, and Lady Siobhan seems unconcerned. She spends a great deal of time at the side of either Lady Siobhan or Gineva, adding her wit and charm to social events even as her station as Septa imparts a touch of social formality not often present in House Mellifera in years previous.
So last Monday, pre-Origins, was chargen. The first session will be next Monday. I am already behind. :) I was really pleased, though, with how we did on time with the chargen. We ran a bit over and I didn't quite get as much info on how the characters interact as I'd have liked, but we got the house and the characters done in one night, with lots of semi-random rolling (thank you, Green Ronin, thank you) on all those lovely tables.
Experience with the property: Neither [Bad username: affectionsedge.livejournal.com] nor Toasty had read the books.
innocent_man had read to where Bran gets pushed out of the tower and stopped. [Bad username: docelboze.livejournal.com] is catching up to where I am in the books. Glen's read all of them so far. So there's a pretty wide range of familiarity. To make sure everyone's on the same page, we watched the first episode of the series. We're basically starting a bit before that, with Robert firmly on the throne and Jon Arryn as the Hand.
So, without further ado, here's the House and the characters.
The players joined forces to create House Mellifera, an old, somewhat down-on-its-luck, but still powerful house in Dorne. Once upon a time they had a manor house and maybe a castle, but now all they have is an unfortified house and a couple of towers, one on either end of their huge lands-one by the water and one in the plains. Their motto is “Defend the Queen,” and their colors are green and gold, displayed on their shield as the upper half green, lower half gold with a slashed line between them, with a golden bee, seen from top down, facing upwards (no, I can’t be arsed to go find any of the actual heraldic terms right now).
The house was founded back during the Andal invasion. It was initially granted through the king (although history that far back is a bit spotty-if it were a longer game I’d decide who the king was, but not for this). They climbed in power, serving well, and then came the antecedent for the modern house, involving Treachery, Treachery, Infrastructure, Invasion/Revolt (against/by the Targaryens), more rebuilding of Infrastructure, and a final bit of Treachery to draw it to the close. The last bit has been defined and will be expounded upon in discussion of the House family.
While Lannister is known for its gold and Tully is known for its rivers, Mellifera is known for its bees. Well, mead and ale, really, with a bit of wine thrown in for good measure. The best of the Dornishlands comes from Mellifera, which is probably the only reason they haven’t been overrun by now. They have a lot of land and a number of good units, as well as two Banner Houses (one for each tower). They also have a problem with banditry throughout the lands, in part because their forces are spread so thin. The truth is, though, that while the house has wealth and influence, it’s bound up in shipping and breweries and meaderies and investments abroad: in training its forces and providing for its people, not in conspicuous consumption, making it something of an oddity among the houses of Westeros-or at least in King’s Landing. Mellifera is itself, of course, a Banner House of Martell, and the relationship between the houses is congenial and long-standing.
The head of the house is Lady Siobhan Mellifera, who just turned 40. She’s on husband #3, Lord Riordan Lannister (who’s a minor cousin of Tywin’s a couple of times removed). The lady has given birth to six children still living - the heir [daughter] and the second born [son], who were born to her first husband, the 3rd was the child of her second husband (the traitor (see the most recent House Treachery)), and the three to Lord Riordan. Lady Siobhan’s sister, Meghane, is married into one of the two banner houses (a shocking lack of detail here). The last four kids are PCs, which cements this game firmly in the realm of family politics.
Okay, so, the characters:
The oldest [23] and the son of the Traitor is Ducaleon Mellifera [played by Karafa]. He’s given to visions but fears he’s going mad (and he may not be altogether wrong). He’s smart, educated, and a natural healer, but he cannot live down his father’s legacy (his father was in league with Balon Greyjoy to overthrow King Aerys, and sought to give them a southern foothold for an attack against King’s Landing-Lady Siobhan had him put to death publicly once his crime was discovered, using the “bee helmet”). He will always be an outcast among his own people, something Ducaleon never forgets, even as he searches for love and acceptance.
Next is Gineva Mellifera [played by Glen], who at 19 is the blond Lannister -bred spitfire of the household. She is bold and opinionated and rash-a fine swordswoman, she’s trained with the Braavosi and traveled widely. She is ambitious and luck seems to favor her, but she has yet to learn either tolerance or discretion.
The next child is Sel Mellifera, [played by Matt], who at 18 is his father’s son through and through. Sel has his mother’s spirit (and some say her appetites as well). He is handsome and charming and a highly skilled archer, but his inability to turn away from a pretty face is going to get him into trouble one day - or has it already? He is the image of his father, with golden hair and laughing green eyes.
The baby of the house is Oberyn Mellifera [played by John], who at 14 is still considered a child by many regardless of how annoying he finds it. Oberyn has a great deal to live up to and he’s anxious to get started. He is a talented fighter and ranger, with a talent for noticing details in battle and turning them to his advantage. He has his mother’s hair and charisma, and of all her children, it’s said that Oberyn resembles her most.
In addition to the Mellifera heirs, there are two household retainers who accompany them. The first is [name to be provided later,] who is played by Toasty and is the oldest, at age 27. He’s a knight for the Banner house by the coast; As a child, he was held by the Greyjoys for ransom when the invasion went against them. He was rescued and grew up within the banner house and is now a leading fighter and trainer for the household.
The last member is the Septa for House Mellifera, Septa Setia Ceeda. At 19, Setia is one of the youngest Septas assigned to a house without minor children in it in recent memory. With auburn hair and grey eyes, she stands out among the dark and light of Mellifera like a fire among shadows. She gives and receives attention to both Ducaleon and Sel, but nothing publicly untoward occurs, and Lady Siobhan seems unconcerned. She spends a great deal of time at the side of either Lady Siobhan or Gineva, adding her wit and charm to social events even as her station as Septa imparts a touch of social formality not often present in House Mellifera in years previous.