The Spodcast – RPG Sessions #1: Character Creation

I really loved this whole thing. I’ve never actually sat through an entire podcast before, because they’re usually too long, but I sat through this whole thing, completely engrossed by it. As a DM myself, I’m also jealous by how much thought and detail everyone put into their characters and how into things they all became over time. I’ve never heard of this game myself before, but I’m very interested in seeing how things turn out with it. Can’t wait for the next one!

Also, echoing Smiley Face’s sentiment above, it was great to have Mumbles back in the group. I had nearly forgotten how ridiculously infectious her laugh is.

I find it mildly hilarious I just ran this game Tuesday and did character creation a couple of weeks ago. Although, my crew went with a cult who worships the tentacled god who used to bring the sun across the skies with the ultimate goal of bringing the sun back. I originally was expecting some type of normal game. I’m having to adapt because I expected thieves or assassins or something. Oh well. Seems your game ended up being a bit more straightforward 😉

This was a awesome episode! I can’t wait for the first game session, and I hope you’ll consider doing this sort of thing more often. I find myself imagining how the story will unfold, and now I’m sad I probably have to wait several weeks for my next fix. But seriously, it sounds like you would have a really enjoyable time with it too, so keep it up, and you’ve got nothing but thumbs up from here.

The .ogg file seems to be truncated at about thirty minutes.

Hopefully you’ll post the character sheets for viewers (or non-viewers) to see/reference, but until then:
—–
*Chris*
Arden Dalmore – The Wirecutter [m]
–
description: bony and wiry; wearing waxed coat and suspenders
background: noble (family lost all their money, but he still acts like he’s rich and simply has to collect what’s rightfully his)
vice: luxury (all the ostentatiousness and finery that no longer constantly surrounds him)
attributes: 2 Study, 1 Survey, 2 Command, 2 Consort
playbook & ablities: Leech – physicker (use Tinker to treat wounds with first aid, and use Study on corpses; bonus to everyone’s healing)
friend: Malista, priestess (at the fancy church he attended as a noblechild; he didn’t care much for the faith, but got along well with the priestess)
rival: Eckerd, corpse-thief (learned medicine under Eckerd, but didn’t like how he fleeced the poor to get his cadavers)
questions: {if you could flip a switch and get your aristocratic life back, but all sealed up in a bubble with nothing of your scoundrel life in it, would you? would you miss anything from scoundrel life? -instinctively I’d say yes, but upon thought I would miss the pride of having made my own way and earned things myself} {what makes you least proud about your work? what makes you feel guilty? -I feel guilty both for acting selfless (because that’s robbing me of my rightful return to riches) and for acting selfish (because now I’ve seen first-hand the desparation of lower-classes life)}
—–
—–
*Alex*
Cross Keel
–
description: athletic and slim; wearing knit cap and eel-skin bodysuit
background: labor (joined Adonis-cult that holds physical laborers in high esteem due to their buffer bods)
vice: weird (unspecified)
attributes: 2 Finesse, 1 Prowl, 2 Consort, 2 Sway
playbook & ablities: Slide – mesmerism (you may have targets you Sway forget that you’ve done so until you next interact with them (when they then notice the missing time))
friend: Klyra, tavern owner
rival: Harker, jail-bird (got him put in jail in the first place)
questions: {what is it about manipulating people that calls to you? -I used to be the one that had to do stuff for others, to do all the work and also be self-sufficient, so I enjoy making others do stuff for me} {what was the lowest point for you when you were entirely self-sufficient? -probably when i was really desperate and even got rejected as a potential recruit by the cult because my physique wasn’t good enough for their standards; that was before i figured out the ways to navigate the cult}
—–
—–
*Mumbles*
Faye Templeton – Crow [f]
–
description: fair and affable; wearing tricorn hat and slim jacket
background: merchant (aggrieved by military dudes requisitioning her wares, so learned to control ghosts, the military-dudes’ worst fear)
vice: obligation (is mentoring a 16-year-old unworldy watch-merchant named Iris)
attributes: 1 Hunt, 1 Study, 2 Skirmish, 2 Attune, 1 Sway
playbook & ablities: Whisper – compel (use Attune to force ghosts to manifest and obey your commands; note that you aren’t terrified by a ghost you summon, but the rest of your crew might be)
friend: Flint, spirit trafficker
rival: Nyryx, possessor ghost (Faye is a human that controls spirits, and Nyryx is a spirit that controls humans; they were destined to hate each other)
questions: {what would it take to get you to go back to a simple merchant life? -if Iris and I just had regular no-problems shops with no one ever trying to take advantage of them, but obviously that’s never going to happen} {do you accept the truth that Iris simply doesn’t have what it takes to make it on her own in this world? -oh hell no, I’d go absolutely nuts if I did}
—–
—–
*Josh*
Sethla Rowan – Frost [f]
–
description: athletic and striking; wearing half-cape and “vest or waistcoat”
background: academic (fired from university for being too literal about class warfare)
vice: stupor (the booze)
attributes:
playbook & ablities: Cutter – ghost fighter (grapple ghosts; potency in combat vs the supernatural)
friend: Mercy, cold killer
rival: Sawtooth, physicker (found Sawtooth’s use of certain medical procedures to be unethical)
questions: {who do you think is the most trustworthy person in the crew? -Faye (Mumbles’s character)} {when did you first realize you liked fighting? -a fellow student was stealing my work, so i bashed him in the head with a nearby statuette, and realized that violence really can solve problems}
—–
—–
*Glitch*
Quess Who
Orlan Penderyn – Echo [m]
–
description: slim and stern; wearing suit & tie and vest
background: underworld (obsessed with Josh’s character as the perfect addition to his criminal someday-empire)
vice: gambling (of money and human lives)
attributes: 2 study, 1 survey, 2 command, 2 consort
playbook & ablities: Spider – mastermind (use special-armor to protect teammate or push yourself when gathering info or working on a long-term project)
friend: Salia, information broker
rival: Jennah, servant
questions: {where do you see yourself in 10 years? -running a well-staffed, things-go-smoothly criminal empire} {what makes you doubt that’ll happen? -i’ve risen and fallen repeatedly, and know that this shit is hard; so many i work with think it’ll be simple progress}
—–
—–
—–
*the crew*
“Black Coin”/The Black Coin Project
–
type: Shadows (thieves, spies, and saboteurs)
reputation: professional
lair: in the unassuming backrooms of a merchant’s shop (specifically, Faye Templeton’s shop (Mumbles’s character’s))
hunting grounds: Six Towers district
ability: patron (less costly to advance, due to benefaction of a patron)
upgrades: underground maps and passkeys; elite rooks (con artist/spy/and socialite cohorts start off better)
contact: Adelaide Phroaig, noble
liked by: the local beggar gangs and laborer gangs
disliked by: The Academy, and the local aristocratic class, who’ve begun to suspect the crew’s involvement in thefts from them