The Keeper of the Days - A Player Role

The Keeper of the Days - A Player Role

The Keeper of the Days, is one of four Player Roles that have Game Duties, in addition to the responsibility of playing a Character in the Campaign.  Simply put, the Keeper of the Days is responsible for keeping a written record of what happens during the Game.  This is done in the Campaign Journal to be provided by the DM, and is read prior to the start of each new game session.  They also Determine the weather, and are the wards of the calendar.

The Keeper of the Days will be awarded Player Character XP at the discretion of the DM. 

Campaign Journal entries will be according to the Calendar used by the player, usually a day count calendar as is common in the kingdom of King John.  A mage campaign may use an Elvish Long Count Calendar, but traveling with one is unlikely.

Journal entries in a Long Count Calendar may look like;

           Amber'ellor'bar'van, 34y7a.  -  Weather, Death and Gain predictions successful.  Failed to see night ambush, or sighting of a GN Dragon.  Tomorrow will bring another foggy morning, no blood shed, coins to a stranger and a parting of ways.  Possible change of plans, or toppling of leadership, not sure which.  Invocation will suffer for the next 8 days, healing will improve.  Party should seek to increase their numbers.   

The Same Journal entries in a Day Count Calendar may look like this;

           * 18th day from Wiccam Moot - by way of wild travel to the east - The moon is good for night travel.  Despite it, we lost Neem, one of the pack handles from Needles Bunk in a night ambush by clanned Kords when a fog rolled in.  White-Bone-Water clan - we killed seven, three fled.  Some of us are injured including me, nothing serious.  They carried a treasure, a glowing horn.  Iliwen our Scout sighted Akua midmorning, though we never encountered it.  Tomorrow we should reach the Delve of Mosshead and there part with Agum the Dwarf who has been accompanying us.  His is a good fighter and we will miss him.  

As you can imagine, the Long Count Calendar is more of an NPC or DM tool, and something a player could never write.  it is a great way to commune with the players as DM though, if such tricks seem enticing. 

         

       The Long Count Calendar of the Elves, is the Gold Standards for adventurers and many learn the Calendar as an NWP.  The calendar is a physical item in the game world and they are expensive.  There are books on reading the calendar and books on using it as a prediction tool.  It is hyper complicated, and in its most essential form is three books, and four large star charts.  The Players start with folded parchment and a journal.  The calendar is too complicated to produce in any practical sense for the Players, but the better Calendar that is possessed, the more is possible.  For instance, it can predict things, like weather, or meteorological events, it can predict conflict, and famine, as well as success and failure.  It’s like a cross between astrology, and an almanac.

            The Day Count of King John is very simple and not complicated and is how most travelers record their days.  Tt operates on a basic assumption of time moving forward.  There is little credence given to the past, or special days, but it is more a way to record the days as they pass.  Connection to notable events is the goal.  The calendar writer restarts the day count when it can be tied to a significant event that will be on more than one calendar.  ie, a boat sinks in a harbor killing several and losing its load to Sahuagin, would be a decent day to denote and begin a recount if you lived and worked in the harbor where it occurred.  A PC would restart their count after checking in with the sages guild at a town they stopped at, or being invited to dinner with a lord, etc, something that will likely be recorded be others also.  

            Weather Charts.  This is a chart the Keeper of the days has, that every morning, the Keeper rolls the weather for the game setting.  Things like, impenetrable fog, or hurricane force winds, or Freezing snow.  How long it lasts, all of it is the responsibility through rolls, of the Keeper of the days.

            For instance, the night watch passes on a clear night, the Keeper of the days rolls the weather, and there is fog in the morning, followed my cloudy but clear mid-day and rain in the afternoon.  It also rains all night making camping and a fire impossible.  Weather questions and weather descriptions are the sole province of the Keeper of the Days and not the DM's.

    Weather is fairly mild in the northern province and weather disruptions are rare but they do occur.

The Monster Librarian - A Player Role

The Monster Librarian - A Player Role

The Monster Librarian,   The Monster Librarian is one of four Player Roles that have Game Duties, in addition to the responsibility of playing a Character in the Campaign.  Simply put, Monster Librarian is responsible for creating a living entry for each NPC and Monster encountered by the players.

The Monster Librarian receives bonus character XP at the DM’s discretion. 

The Monster Librarian will receive two Books from the DM, the Codex Malus where each monster has its own page to describe it.  And the Librum Eficus where each person met is described.

Librium Malus this book will describe each monster encountered.  For instance, a Kord.  The more that are encountered or fought, the more the players will find out about them.  Do they speak a language, how big are they, do they fight with weapons, etc.  Not all entries will have names and most will be more like, the thing in the hills by the shrine, of the tree/spider/beast in the swamp.  The DM will do his best to provide some imagery where possible to add to the entry.  Things that should be recorded could be, it had a lair and treasure, it did not seem to want to eat us.  When it touched us in was numbing.  It smelled like death.  It out ran us but had no real legs, mostly looked like a fog. Etc.

Codex Efficus this book will catalogue entries of NPC that have been met in the campaign.  For instance;

Wayne the Hunter.  Dragon Hunter, camps at Willem in the fall.  Lives in Bricking.  Travels with a quiet elf (name?)  He is a fifty year old human, has a limp, black hair dark eyes, bit of a badass.  Strictly a bow wielder, though has a fancy dagger in a chest sheath.

*    Will guide.  Will hire on as hunter and scout.  Will not go underground.

The Campaign Lawyer - A Player Role

The Campaign Lawyer - A Player Role

The Campaign Lawyer is one of four Player Roles that have Game Duties, in addition to the responsibility of playing a character in the Campaign.  Simply put, the Campaign lawyer is required to keep track of the Four Tokens of the Game, (Sure Hit, Ex Machina, Epic Save & Pearls of Wisdom).  They record and keep track of most XP in the Game.  They sometimes are called upon to act as the DMA. They also possess and are responsible for the Book of Law.  

Experience.  Using an XP Record Sheet that the DM provides, the Campaign lawyer will record each successful NWP roll by the players, The XP received from overcoming foes in combat or by subterfuge, as well as XP from special events.  It is the Campaign Lawyers responsibility to collect this info from the DM as the Game is live.  For instance each successful NWP use is an automatic 10xp.  This does not require communication, jut recording by the lawyer on the Sheet.  After combat, the lawyer should ask the DM what the experience was, and the Dm will say 750.  The Lawyer then divies that between the players as they see fit, for instance, the mage never got a spell off and the thief threw daggers but missed each time, only the two fighter actually killed it so the Campaign lawyer weights their participation more heavily, and they split 80% of the xp, while the mage and the thief split 20% f the xp.

The DM will keep a record of Special XP, that will go to each player privately.  For instance, the DM will hand the Mage a note that says he loses 50xp, because he instinctually threw daggers in combat instead of withdrawing from the melee and observing the creature and its methods, or casting spells.

At the end of the game session, the Campaign Lawyer will give out XP to the party.

The Book of Law will be provided by the DM, and will be divided into sections;

            Quotes.  This will be where the Campaign Lawyer records particularly funny or ridiculous things that are said during the game. 

            20’s and 1’s.  The  Campaign Lawyer will also record every 20 and every 1 rolled in the game.  As these rolls have special significance in the game and effect the characters in ways the live past the rolls themselves.  For instance, Rath rolls a 20 on a fear check the first time he sees a dragon, and now is scared of dragons.  That’s real.  He must find a way to remove 5 counters from his fear of dragons, to be able to face and fight them without penalty.  Or, Gully rolls a twenty on a Naga, and kills it instantly, giving everyone in the party +2 to hit and damage in a frenzy of ass kicking and hollering and every round the other Naga’s remain they must make a moral check to stay and fight.  Those will be recorded.

Tokens. The Campaign Lawyer will also keep track of how each token is earned, and how each token is redeemed, in the Book of Law.  They will actually have the tokens, and at the DM’s request they will both hand them out to, and receive them from, the players.  For instance, Shira uses an “Ex Machina” Token to escape the Bakery with her life.  Lavicus receives a Pearl of Wisdom token because she was brave enough to sip a potion to try to see what it did.

            Sure Hit this token can be surrendered prior to initiative, and will give the player a sure hit in the combat round that follows.  They are given out at the discretion of the DM.

            Ex Machina This token will require the DM to provide the player an otherwise improbable escape from a situation.  They are given out to players at the DM’s Discretion.

            Epic Save This token can be used at any time, and will be the equivalent of the best roll possible when a roll is required to determine the effect of an event requiring a save.

Pearl of Wisdom.  This can be used to gain special insight into a person a place or a thing.  The details will be significant.

DM’s Assistant.  There are times when the Campaign Lawyer will be asked to assist with some DM Duties, typically with newer or less experienced players. 

           

            

The Campaign Cartographer - A Player Role

The Campaign Cartographer - A player Role.

The Campaign Cartographer, is one of four Player Roles that have Game Duties, in addition to the responsibility of playing a Character in the Campaign.  Simply put, the Campaign Cartographer is responsible for keeping a record of the mechanics of things in the Game World.  For instance, recording travel times, distances, directions, locations as well as collecting site drawings and maps, as well as making maps. 

They are also responsible for recording the descriptions of locations, goods and services, maps; both collecting them from the DM and writing them themselves, and although a scribble will be provided, in most cases and during gameplay, by the DM, actual detailed maps will be provided by the DM as soon as feasible, for towns, cities, ruins, countryside, etc, however,  detailed info on travel is the responsibility of the Cartographer. 

The Campaign Cartographer receives Bonus Character XP at the DM’s Discretion.  The Gazette must be brought to each game and avaialbe for each character and the DM to review.

Directions are hand written, for instance, things tend to extrapolate from Place, so it is often best to title each page as a place and move into deeper description from there.  The Page for Kneeling has been added as the first page of the Campaign Cartographer’s Gazetteer.    

Common important areas of detail for locations are;

Description taken from the DM’s Description, and given verbally, this can be added too as the characters experience more around the location; ie, the town where we all get pickpocketed.  The town of the Mosquitoes.  It can acquire nicknames given by the players like “Stirgehaven” or “Stinkwater”

Location; meaning where in the world is it.  Kneeling is a semi permanent settlement that is often located on the southern edge of the Kneehi Bog.   

Demographics pertaining to the societal makeup of the location.  Kneeling is mostly inhabited by Halflings, though there are dwarves and humans, few elves have made the place their home. 

Organization is where the location can be described as a wilderness area or a Mine, or a township.  For instance, Kneeling is  a semi-permanent community that is organized by a group of Hunters.  It has sprung up around some very talented fishermen and hunters and when they say the township needs to move, everyone follows them. 

History, is a collection of stories for the most part. This is collected from people that can be spoken to throughout the campaign.  Points of interest that are recorded are almost always helpful when looked back upon.

Travel and Directions; will be where the Cartographer records how long it took the party to get there, and how long it took them to get to where they were going when they left there, and by what means, on foot, boat, horse, etc.  For instance, while Kneeling exists as a series of huts thrown together on land and over the swamp, travel to and from Kneeling is wild, meaning there are no roads.  It may have taken the characters 3 days by skiff to get to the eastern edge of the Bog, but where the hell is that?  It takes the party another 5 days on horse to find a road in the woods that leads them to a Hamlet two days later..

Services will describe what services are or were available.  Is there a smith, a healer, a trader, etc. 

Goods will describe what can be acquired there, like Pennyslip wine, or Black dragon Leather, or Bog Freshy. 

Persons of Interest will list who can generally be found there, like Olo the Healer, or Elkhart the Fisherman and guide.  Take care not to go into much detail as that should be done by the Monster Librarian. 

Places of interest can list the significant places of that location like the Gator Hatchery, the Water Witches Hut, or the Dragon pens.

The Cartographer is a student of spaces, distances and ways, not of people or monsters.  And that while it is important for the Cartographer to note that Alfinal lives in Kneehi Bog on the Kneehi Bog page of his gazetteer, a listing for who and what Alfinal is, remains the purview of the Monster Librarian. 

And finally this is just a partial list of things the cartographer can add to the page over time.

Included on the page of Kneeling, might be a drawing of the Dragon pen’s by the DM, and the sketch of a map by the DM for the layout of the Village.  There might be a general drawing of the swamp in relation to things visible on the horizon, like Mountains, and forests, with a general Compass notation.

Inspirational Imagery might also be provided by the DM to help with Visualization.