2024 Session 2: TLQuest Week 2

Greetings everyone and welcome to our actual first week of the session. If you're busy this week/when reading this, the weekly goals and prompts are at the end of this text, just skip the earlier stuff!  This week we're going to flesh out our characters a bit by thinking about their race and what they keeps in their pocketses (or backpacks or satchels or whatever they carry stuff around in).  Which makes me think about the things that I find very important for doing TLQ work - things like my current favourite pen, the specific type of notebook I use as a planner, and a big cup of water.  What are your essential items?

This week's gameplay:

This week, we're going to finish setting up our characters (I'm keeping a spreadsheet of our party so we can always refer back to that if anyone forgets the details - in D&D each player fills out a fairly detailed character sheet to refer to each week)!

Firstly, decide what 'race' your character is.  The number of playable races in D&D has expanded hugely, but for this game we're going to stick to some of the classic fantasy options.  We already know Heu Mihi's druid is a gnome,  Gnomes are small (usually 3-4 feet tall), smart, see well in low light, are good at dodging magical attacks, and speak both gnomish and common (the human trade language which everyone uses as a shared tongue in D&D).

To decide your character's race, you can either pick the best option from the lists below, or have the dice make the decision: for this week we're using a standard 6-sided die or as we call it a d6.  If you don't have one around, you can roll a digital dice by CLICKING HERE : set the roller to roll 1 d6 dice with nothing added, click roll, and you'll get a number.  Using the dice: 1 - dwarf, 2- elf, 3 - gnome, 4 - halfling, 5 or 6 - human

• Dwarf - dwarves have a strong sense of fair play and are short but sturdy (considered medium sized - c. 5 foot).  They are very hardy, can see in the dark, all have combat training, skills with tools and an understanding of stone regardless of their class.  They speak Common and Dwarvish (the dwarvish literature tends towards genealogy, law codes, and detailed treatise about rocks and mining).
• Elf - elves tend to be refined and sophisticated, and lovers of freedom and independence.  They are naturally graceful, about the same size as humans but always with slender builds, can see in the dark and in general have keener senses than the other races.  They can resist some magic, and meditate for a few hours rather than sleeping as other races do.  They speak Common and Elvish - Elvish books are mostly rich and varied literature and history, often written as poetry rather than prose.
• Gnome - as described.  Gnomish writing tends towards technical treatises and catalogues of knowledge of the natural world.
• Halfling (essentially hobbits) - halflings are good-humoured, kind and traditional small folk, about 3 foot tall, who are nimble, lucky and brave.  They speak and write common and halfling.  Halflings don't tend to write much in their own language, but have a rich living oral tradition.
• Human - humans are relatively short-lived compared to most fantasy races, but they are fast breeders and very tenacious, so tend to be the dominant race in much of the world (other races mostly live in their own places, with relatively few spending time or making a life in the human areas).  D&D humans are considered "medium" creatures (5-7 feet tall) and are quick learners.  They speak Common, and an adventurous type will have also learnt at least one other language.

Next, we're going to think about their equipment - the basic things they have to take into the world.  Each class has a basic "starter set" and since we currently have a Druid, a Rogue, a Ranger and either a Ranger or a Bard, I'll just talk about those classes here (when Daisy is back from fieldwork and joins us, if she picks a different class we'll sort that then).

Everyone has a pack of basic equipment - a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, some torches, some basic rations, a waterskin, 50' of rope, and a change of clothes.  Our bard has some extra costuming/disguise supplies in place of the rope and candles rather than torches.  

• a bard also has a musical instrument, a dagger, another weapon of their choice (a sword of some flavour or a crossbow/short bow), and some basic leather armor (which can be as simple as a sturdy leather jacket or jerkin)
• a ranger has two melee weapons (e.g. short swords, hand axes etc.), a longbow and arrows, and some basic mail armor.  Because of their experience, they also know the language and ways of one common monster they often encounter e.g. orcs, goblins, or undead.
• a rogue has a sword (they might choose something a little fancier like a rapier), two daggers, and a short bow with arrows, along with a set of thieves tools, basic leather armor, and knowledge of the secret language of Thieves Cant, which includes handsigns and symbols they can use to leave messages for other rogues, or read messages left by them.
• a druid will have a wooden shield, some basic leather armor, and a simple weapon.  They also have a magical focus, which can take a range of forms like a piece of jewelery, a staff or wand, a totem they carry, and know a secret language called Druidic which allows druids to leave messages for each other etc.

There are quite a few options for the simple weapons all our characters can choose, which can cause various amounts of damage, and again you can either choose one that suits your character or roll a dice on this list: 

1. a dagger (can also be thrown, but do less damage than others)
2. a handaxe (can also be thrown)
3. a javelin or spear (can be used to stab or thrown)
4. a quarterstaff
5. a short sword (the typical town guard or army infantry weapon)
6. a rapier (a longer, thinner bladed sword suited for duels or sneak attacks rather than general fighting)

You can also have one other 'toolkit' of your own choice - that could be a first aid kit, a plant collecting kit, a notebook and pen and ink, some simple wood or leatherworking tools, a sewing kit, supplies for fishing and making snares etc.

And finally, our spellcasters need to pick their basic spells.  In D&D choosing and managing spells has lots of rules and complications, so I'm going for a very simplified version here!  There are two kinds of spells - cantrips (spells you know so well you can cast them all day) and spells (which take more energy and often also require special ingredients or more complex chants or gestures - you can only cast spells a few times each day before you deplete your energy reserves).  As your character gains experience, they get access to more spells, can cast more spells per day, and can cast spells which have bigger effects.

For our simple version, our first level characters just starting out on their adventures, each spell caster (bard, druid) knows two cantrips, can cast two spells a day, and can know three spells.  our half-caster (ranger) will know one cantrip and one spells, and can cast the spell once per day.  Here are some suggestions for cantrips and spells you can choose from - if there's something you think your character needs but it's not here, do ask!

CANTRIPS

• firebolt (casts a ball of fire at an enemy or object to cause damage)
• mending (you touch an object, and a single break or tear up to 1foot long is repaired)
• minor illusion (you create a sound or image anywhere within 30' which lasts one minute)

SPELLS

• animal friendship (convince a beast you mean it no harm)
• cure wounds (touch a person or creature and restore some of their health points)
• detect magic (cast the spell, and any magical objects or effects within 30' of you glow)
• entangle (at a point of your choice which you can see, vines and brambles erupt from the ground and tangle round any creature in a 20 foot square area)
• find familiar (this spell takes an hour and requires some expensive incense, but allows you to summon a spirit which takes the form of a small animal and can do simple tasks for you - you can also communicate telepathically with it when it is close and "borrow" its senses to see/hear what it sees or hears.  If you don;t want it around it can spend time in a pocket dimension and reappear as needed)
• magic missile (you create three darts of glowing magical force which can be thrown at any creature within 60')
• speak with animals (you can understand and communicate with animals and ask them questions for 1 minute - answers will depend on their intelligence and perspective!)
• thunderwave (a wave of concussive force rolls out 15' from where you are standing, doing damage and pushing creatures and objects away).

Next week will be a bit less wordy on my part, as our characters will all meet up in the tavern and choose what sort of quest they will be going on!

Last week's goals:

Dame Eleanor Hull

- keep "office hours"
- finish Alms and send it
- 2 units Greek review
- 3 x 2 hours in the garden

Heu mihi

1. Two hours on my book x 4
2. Proofs of two journal articles
3. Yearbook letter (don't ask)
4. Assign TAships
5. Start making one book (for a fundraiser)

JaneB

1)            self-care: tick off at least 75% of the regular chores list, additional intentional movement three days, eye specialist appointment, resting as needed (my first full 4 days week)
2)            fun: play D&D, knit some, and finish the novel I'm currently slowly reading. Book the Annual Leave days I've noted for June, July and August.
3)            teaching and administration (it's our last week of assessment/exams for the semester): complete some marking (two first year pieces, moderation of a module, check for late work). One online CPD course I need to tick off.
4)            rewrite the discussion section of Consultancy Paper, look for samples and assess where we are with Scribbly Paper (which was last touched before COVID), send a couple of emails starting to pick up with different service stuff in my field now I'm "back".  Improve research session goal.

Julie

1. Mark two lots of exam scripts (about 80 in total, due Thursday)
2. Agree dissertation marks with co-markers.
3. Help with GCSE revision as needed.
4. Exercise
5. Eat healthily

Susan

Research:
- Finish Big Collaboration work
- Return to Famous Author and figure out what I need to do.
Admin:
- Organize committee meeting to plan fall
- Meet with Deans on issues
- Keep up with whatever happens next
LIFE
- Get books to campus and to the library
- Start packing both for summer and fall
- Do any last minute shopping
- Do something fun

In summary

your TLQuest prompt is: pick the race and starting equipment that your character has (any specifics in their equipment e.g. what instrument they play or what weapon they carry, what their extra item is, and if they are a spell caster their starting spells).  And do they have a name?

your real world TLQ prompt is: reporting on weekly goals, and if you choose talk about the essential items in your researcher's toolkit - what's your current favourite pen or notebook, do you have a less obvious essential like a particular scent or kind of tea?  If you were a wandering scholar, what would be in your go-bag?