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mc776This grew from a passing thought that the Potterverse would make a lot more worldbuilding sense if Gryffindor and Slytherin were actually one and the same house. Added a side helping of a bit of an RPG thing that sprang up in my head on Friday.
House Melis favours bravery, loyalty and standing up for what is right.
They care greatly about both personal and collective honour and go to great lengths to preserve both. Those of noble blood and high-minded spirit frequently find themselves assigned to this House.
They suffer the most opaque and treacherous political intrigue of the three Houses, as nothing gets people riled up more than having to root out and defeat those who insist on the wrong interpretation of the One True Way.
Fighters tend to be soldiers or enforcers. As adventurers, many are brave knights on a quest or envoys of the Law bringing light and justice to a dark world.
Tinkerers also tend to be militarized in some way, often working on weapons or fortifications. As adventurers they may prove to be the party tactician, scouting for traps and using the environment to maximize the group's defences.
Casters tend to be extremely effective within a narrow, very well delineated set of rote spells, usually involving destruction, illusion or healing. Others may take lower roads and specialize in commanding magical beings from other worlds who cast the real effects for them. As adventurers, consider them your classic 21st-century RPG wizard, except likely heavily armoured where appropriate.
House Blatt are the survivors, the quiet unsung heroes who carry the day when everyone else is down.
They pride themselves in not caring about high-minded nonsense in favour of doing whatever it takes to get the job done and live to teach others how to do it. They are despised by both Melis for lacking principles and Trantul for lacking heart.
Their loyalty comes from strength of necessity and camaraderie, often forged from shared pain and suffering (often inflicted by members of the other two Houses). Their internal politics have not turned violent in living memory.
Fighters tend to be assassins, spies and investigators, and guards in places where someone from House Melis may prove too volatile.
Tinkerers can be anything where anyone needs something done. As adventurers, they are the party generalist who can cook, clean, forage, disarm traps, sabotage enemy weaponry and perform life-saving field surgery and repairs.
Casters follow very similar lines of development to Tinkerers, but with magic rather than machinery. Sorcery is rarely a specialty of a Blatt caster, not because of any moral qualms but because demons cannot be trusted and it is more profitable in the long term to study them to see how to replicate their effects - or destroy them if (when) they get out of hand.
One way or another, each member of House Trantul is trained to see what others might not, and remember that which otherwise will be lost. Their House is that of the scientists, artists and poets, and whoever else can constructively apply their yearning for themselves and others to be free of the banality and darkness around them.
A typical Trantul's loyalty is to their work first, their friends and lovers second, the House a distant, occasionally remembered third tied with family. House leadership is mostly for prestige and recognition except in emergencies (in which the Blatt leadership are usually ultimately, grudgingly given deference).
Fighters are often remnants of a bygone age, with knowledge of any number of obscure weaponry and tactics and songs of great deeds of old. There are tales of Trantul tacticians who have bested better trained and better equipped Melis opponents with strategies adapted from the opponent's own ancestor ten generations back. They are adventurers almost by definition.
Tinkerers often find themselves curators of unusual or ancient arts and relics, when not a contributor to them. Without the loyalty of Melis or the work ethic of Blatt, Trantul typically work in Frankensteinian fits of fecundity, barely aware of the magnitude of whatever it is they end up creating at the end of it. As adventurers, they are often called upon to handle ancient, alien devices that would otherwise be incomprehensible to the party, and their downtime creations can easily be the cause of a new adventure themselves.
A Trantul caster's magic burns from the fiery passions of the heart, and much of their art is just weaving that energy into spells as fast as it can come out. They can specialize in anything, as long as it is aligned with their drive and temperament. Sorcery is frequent, along with misplaced pride in believing one is innately good enough to deal with a demon and the demons' own attraction to chaotic human magic. The trouble they can get into in their ordinary studies, they often may not need to go on an adventure.
Fighter
Fighting, Bluff, Stealth/Reading
Tinkerer
Machinery, Reading, Survival
Caster
Magic, Reading, Fighting/Bluff
"Reading" should be scaled: if everyone is modern-literate in your setting, this means reading foreign, archaic or obscure writing systems, languages and diction.
Resolution: Player declares an action, say yes or roll the dice. Success on a 6.
Success may also be on a 5 if the action proactively advances the player character's House values at the expense of something else that the player or the player character values.
Base 1 die, add 1 more for each of:
- It is covered by a skill the character has.
- The player is using something established in the scene.
- The player specifies an action that directly addresses the in-game reason the GM wanted to call a die roll instead of simply allowing the action.
- There is no other reasonable option for the player character, given that character's values and circumstances.
- The action builds on top of a previous action in which more than one successful die was rolled.
- The player expressly allows the GM to come up with some terrible side effect of success.
House Melis favours bravery, loyalty and standing up for what is right.
They care greatly about both personal and collective honour and go to great lengths to preserve both. Those of noble blood and high-minded spirit frequently find themselves assigned to this House.
They suffer the most opaque and treacherous political intrigue of the three Houses, as nothing gets people riled up more than having to root out and defeat those who insist on the wrong interpretation of the One True Way.
Fighters tend to be soldiers or enforcers. As adventurers, many are brave knights on a quest or envoys of the Law bringing light and justice to a dark world.
Tinkerers also tend to be militarized in some way, often working on weapons or fortifications. As adventurers they may prove to be the party tactician, scouting for traps and using the environment to maximize the group's defences.
Casters tend to be extremely effective within a narrow, very well delineated set of rote spells, usually involving destruction, illusion or healing. Others may take lower roads and specialize in commanding magical beings from other worlds who cast the real effects for them. As adventurers, consider them your classic 21st-century RPG wizard, except likely heavily armoured where appropriate.
House Blatt are the survivors, the quiet unsung heroes who carry the day when everyone else is down.
They pride themselves in not caring about high-minded nonsense in favour of doing whatever it takes to get the job done and live to teach others how to do it. They are despised by both Melis for lacking principles and Trantul for lacking heart.
Their loyalty comes from strength of necessity and camaraderie, often forged from shared pain and suffering (often inflicted by members of the other two Houses). Their internal politics have not turned violent in living memory.
Fighters tend to be assassins, spies and investigators, and guards in places where someone from House Melis may prove too volatile.
Tinkerers can be anything where anyone needs something done. As adventurers, they are the party generalist who can cook, clean, forage, disarm traps, sabotage enemy weaponry and perform life-saving field surgery and repairs.
Casters follow very similar lines of development to Tinkerers, but with magic rather than machinery. Sorcery is rarely a specialty of a Blatt caster, not because of any moral qualms but because demons cannot be trusted and it is more profitable in the long term to study them to see how to replicate their effects - or destroy them if (when) they get out of hand.
One way or another, each member of House Trantul is trained to see what others might not, and remember that which otherwise will be lost. Their House is that of the scientists, artists and poets, and whoever else can constructively apply their yearning for themselves and others to be free of the banality and darkness around them.
A typical Trantul's loyalty is to their work first, their friends and lovers second, the House a distant, occasionally remembered third tied with family. House leadership is mostly for prestige and recognition except in emergencies (in which the Blatt leadership are usually ultimately, grudgingly given deference).
Fighters are often remnants of a bygone age, with knowledge of any number of obscure weaponry and tactics and songs of great deeds of old. There are tales of Trantul tacticians who have bested better trained and better equipped Melis opponents with strategies adapted from the opponent's own ancestor ten generations back. They are adventurers almost by definition.
Tinkerers often find themselves curators of unusual or ancient arts and relics, when not a contributor to them. Without the loyalty of Melis or the work ethic of Blatt, Trantul typically work in Frankensteinian fits of fecundity, barely aware of the magnitude of whatever it is they end up creating at the end of it. As adventurers, they are often called upon to handle ancient, alien devices that would otherwise be incomprehensible to the party, and their downtime creations can easily be the cause of a new adventure themselves.
A Trantul caster's magic burns from the fiery passions of the heart, and much of their art is just weaving that energy into spells as fast as it can come out. They can specialize in anything, as long as it is aligned with their drive and temperament. Sorcery is frequent, along with misplaced pride in believing one is innately good enough to deal with a demon and the demons' own attraction to chaotic human magic. The trouble they can get into in their ordinary studies, they often may not need to go on an adventure.
Fighter
Fighting, Bluff, Stealth/Reading
Tinkerer
Machinery, Reading, Survival
Caster
Magic, Reading, Fighting/Bluff
"Reading" should be scaled: if everyone is modern-literate in your setting, this means reading foreign, archaic or obscure writing systems, languages and diction.
Resolution: Player declares an action, say yes or roll the dice. Success on a 6.
Success may also be on a 5 if the action proactively advances the player character's House values at the expense of something else that the player or the player character values.
Base 1 die, add 1 more for each of:
- It is covered by a skill the character has.
- The player is using something established in the scene.
- The player specifies an action that directly addresses the in-game reason the GM wanted to call a die roll instead of simply allowing the action.
- There is no other reasonable option for the player character, given that character's values and circumstances.
- The action builds on top of a previous action in which more than one successful die was rolled.
- The player expressly allows the GM to come up with some terrible side effect of success.
(no subject)
Date: November 12th, 2013 17:29 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: November 13th, 2013 07:20 (UTC)