PbP - FATE Core system - SANCTUM: of Virtue and Vice

[jflo2415]

Ok, sorry to have been so late on the uptake. The High Concepts and aspects of Fate don't come easily to me. See if this suits.


Name: Lucian Kavius
High Concept: Exiled Mage Seeking Redemption
Trouble: Power Corrupts, But I Need It Anyway

Lucian was a promising up and comer among the mages of Altena; apprenticed to a respected master of the mage's council, prodigious in his early practice of the elements. As a child of the aristocracy, Lucian was raised to believe in the righteousness of the council, told a false history to account for the perpetual winter, learned to see the common people as agitators, jealous of the power wielded by the mages among them. So it was that one morning Lucian accompanied his master to observe a protest, little more than a mass of hungry people just trying to survive in the harsh climate, and watched as his master casually used his great power against them. Throwing himself between the older mage and a young woman, Lucian was able to fend his master off long enough for the rest of the people to retreat and escaped himself. He was forced to run, leave his home and his family, and he went into self-imposed exile knowing that the council would not tolerate him to live if he returned. He dedicates himself now to learning power enough to help his homeland and fight the council, without losing himself to the same corruptive influence that doomed Altena in the first place.

[Doc-Holiday]

Excellent!
And you have given a reason for why he has left the comforts of Altena.

[Luopo]

Sorry, been too busy and I don't think I'm up for the game. Sorry.

[Doc-Holiday]

I'll be making some decisions for progress this Saturday, January 31, 2026.

[jflo2415]

Doc, is there another forum that we're also supposed to be looking at besides this one?

[Doc-Holiday]

Not just yet.
I will be making the game page this weekend and sending further instructions.
I am content to start with three and can add more later.

[Doc-Holiday]

I am now moving on to create the Sanctum campaign page.

Drew, Bravve and jkfo2415 have been sent acceptance notes. I will send another note once I am ready for you to start posting in the Session 0 section.
I am still open to accepting one more participant.

Note:
My days off are Monday and Tuesday so most of my updating and heavy work is done on those days.

Available Class/Nation options still open to being filled:
Swordsman of Valsena
Priest of Light of Holy City Wendel
Priest of Dark of Holy City Wendel (exile)
Archer of Laurent

[Juramenta]

Hello Doc-Holiday,

I joined the site today and I am looking for 1-2 games to play in.
If you still have room for a new player, I will read through the book first to get a good idea of the setting and propose a character afterward.

[Doc-Holiday]

Howdy Juramenta!
Sure. Looks like the document link aged out.

Link is below.
Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

Also. Welcome to the Tangled Web!
Hope you stick around and get caught up in the stories being spun.

Also, also. The Character Classes are each unique in their mechanics, but narratively they represent a general concept and you are free to create a specific expression of that general concept. The thief can be used to represent a confidence man, a survivor, a street rat, a corsair, and much more. The mage can be all manner of specialist. How your particular character expresses his or her class is simply part of who they are. Such is the freedom of the FATE system.

Available Classes:
Mage, Swordsman, Archer, Priest of Light, Priest of Dark, Thief, Beastman
Currently unavailable Classes are struck out

(I do not apologize for bad jokes and puns)

[Juramenta]

Sounds great, I will start reading through it.

[Juramenta]

Reading through the pdf and taking inspiration from your example of turning the Falcon into a Phoenix, I came up with the following.
If it doesn't fit the campaign or you aren't feeling it, I can always come up with something else.
Here is my submission:


Name: Cienna ’Mistress of Critters’ Avalyne

High Aspect: As is my birthright, the universe owes me its secrets
Trouble aspect: Vermin always attract more vermin

Character Paragraph:
The sound of dripping water in the city’s sewers is broken up by the sound of a female voice.
’’Stop trying to speak my language, little one, though I do admire the effort. Perhaps if you stopped twitching for half a heartbeat, I could properly see what you saw” the small eager little rat suddenly freezes beneath her hand as Cienna presses two fingers gently against its forehead.
Pain immediately crosses her face. Her breathing tightens as her eyes unfocus. Her mind stretches outward through the thin, unnatural web connecting her to the swarm. Then suddenly, she sharply inhales as she regains her senses.

’’So little Lord Garreth is extorting merchants with his father's private guards?’’ as a faint smile curls at the corner of her lips, having discovered his dirty little secret. ’’How his father will be pleased this mystery has been solved once I visit him. Young nobles and their rebellious nature, how they make the lives of their parents and everyone around them difficult.’’ she says to herself after she regained her composure.

’’Collecting my pay can wait, my dearests deserve a treat first’’ she says, crouching low to focus on her swarm of critters. ’’I still need to finish preparing my bolts tonight and alchemy demands concentration. Why don't you visit Lady Sternstrum's estate instead? She is planning a birthday party. Her kitchens should already be overflowing with pies and cream. How she loves to spoil her guests. Why don’t you go ahead and feast?’’ she says, followed by a frown ’’You have no idea what I just said, did you?’’ as she starts focusing on her active critter swarm
– keep heading north until you can't go no more, go right, left, right and then up, avoid all humans and exit the room into the hallway. Smell and follow the sweetness. Don't be seen, ever. – she mentally thinks as the swarm of critters rushes away following her directions.

Cienna rises gracefully and leaps over a stream of foul sewer water, landing beside the bloated corpse of some unfortunate animal. She kneels beside it, extracting rendered fat to fuel the small improvised burners scattered around her makeshift workstation. The woman is used to moving around, never having a fixed location she remains in.
Always using whatever improvised tools are directly at hand to work her art. Even if she wanted to, she simply cannot create a permanent home for herself, as she wouldn’t want to hear complaints from above about an infestation of whatever swarm of critters she took under her wing this time. The people above whisper enough stories about her already. The Rat Witch, the Sewer Widow, the Vermin Queen, oh how creative the fair folk above can be.

Eventually she decides to take a little break as she pulls out her little notebook.
Checking which other troubles ail the city that she hasn’t had time to deal with. People fear her. Distrust her. Assume corruption wherever her critters gather.
Yet, while nobles feast, guards extort and merchants lie through polished teeth, it is always Cienna crawling through the filth to uncover the truth. However, she is never deterred from her tasks. Although she would have preferred if parents would at least stop scaring their kids with stories about her wanting to kidnap them, alas there is little she can do about that.

[Doc-Holiday]

Very interesting!
I am interested in seeing this concept filled out a bit further and yes, there are a few points that need to be touched on so your character fits the Known World of Sanctum.

I need you to choose a Class/Kingdom. ( It reads as if you may have chosen Archer of Vindor, but I don't want to choose for you)
Your High Concept needs to have the Kingdom Virtue in some manner referenced in it, your Trouble Aspect typically has a reference in some manner to your Kingdom's Vice. These two should be in tensions somehow.
For an Archer the High Concept would, in some manner, refer to Prudence and the Trouble Aspect would have something to do with Folly.

Prudence can be understood as the virtue of practical wisdom, careful discernment, and foresight — the ability to carefully assess a situation and discern the proper course of action, ensuring righteous ends are achieved through righteous and effective means that minimize the harm and maximize the benefit.

Folly can be understood both as the idea of acting without thought or consideration or the willful rejection of good counsel in favor of expeditious and self-pleasing counsel.

I love the creativity and it seems you have a particular idea in mind.

Here is what I would like to see addressed, or clarified (I might have misread something in your post)

1. If you are going with Archer, I will require the cost of one of your Aspects which must be dedicated to the concept of having a swarm of rodents or critters (I'd like you to clarify for me what kind of critters). This swarm will then replace the Falcon narratively, however the mechanics of the class stunt does not change.

2. Your submission reads as Vice-dominant. Normal submissions begin in neutral tension. A Vice-dominant submission will need to have some clarification or expansion on the character to reflect the meaningful presence of the Virtue of the Character's Kingdom and how it pushes back. The Virtue and Vice system of Sanctum is unlike the Alignment System of games such as DnD or Pathfinder where you set-it-and-forget-it. Virtue and Vice are dynamic and meaningful aspects of almost everything in Sanctum, right down to the physical properties of things. Virtue and Vice in your character sheet act as both motivators and intentions.

[Juramenta]

Thanks for the clarification.
It was the first concept that came to mind, definitely needs more fine tuning.
I'll go over it again and send you a pm with the additional information.

[Doc-Holiday]

Submission accepted!
Approval sent.

[Raserenus]

Wik, was born in Ferolia, as a Beastman his build is willowy, he was seen as weak in his youth and it was brutal he learned to move quickly to stay alive and avoid being inconveniently placed, he watched as his people struggled to survive, struggled to grow, ever aware of the Wrath within himself and the others. Feeling that well ever growing it finally burst in his adolescence when he was given his rite of first change. He went on a race through the forest fighting the urge to lash out spending weeks hunting, killing, surviving, and discovering himself. When he finally found himself and was able to mostly control the rage within him, he had traveled far, to the very edges of the wilds, seeing the world beyond it for the first time, he walked towards it, the stories, the lessons, the warnings rang through his head, but the pain, the abuse, and the suffering he suffered in his youth did as well, he questioned, why should I trust, why should I believe. He then resolved to leave his home, until he could come back with the strength to change it, to oust the beast king and rule better.

[Doc-Holiday]

Welcome Raserenus!

To be considered for play please submit a brief paragraph describing your character using one of the Class/Kingdom combinations provided in the attached Player's Manual. Post Rate is expected to be not less than [ONCE] weekly. Accepted submissions will receive a Direct Message and will be invited to the Session Zero planning area for character finalization and basic setting and lore briefing.

When submitting your paragraph include your High Concept (a phrase that sums up who your character is and where they fit in the world; this must include your chosen Class and the Virtue of your home Kingdom) and your Trouble Aspect (which should reflect the Vice of your respective class/kingdom EXCEPT for the Priests).

Just need a Trouble Aspect from you and a clear High Concept!
Feel free to message me if you would like assistance. I am looking forward to seeing Wik develop!

Also: Ferolia is outdated as a name and not in use. Please use "The Wildlands" or "Wildlands" instead. You may also refer to the "Moonlit Wood" if you wish.

[Juramenta]

If Wik were Riff's brother, it would fit perfectly!
Seriously though, welcome, Raserenus. Nice to have you on board.