Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

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Dlanaan
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Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by Dlanaan »

I have been running a game for the last few months, with the most sensitive individual being a Diviner (now 2nd level) with his chosen psychic abilities as Sixth Sense and Clairvoyance. My concern is that I may not be giving the player the full benefit of his class. Specifically, I'm not sure how and when to make signs and omens show up, without making them too blatant. For example, the current adventure has clues that a werewolf, a vampire, a possessing entity, or a magic ritual is causing some problems in the current investigation. Only one or two of these are accurate (I don't want to give too many details in case any of my players read this forum). How would you place signs for the diviner to help narrow down the options? What signs would you show? I don't want the signs to give it all away, but I also don't want to shortchange the diviner.

My second question is about Lore skills. How do you tend to run them? For example, if a character runs into a hellhound, what would a successful Lore roll tell them? If, during an investigation certain clues are dropped, for example that a body seems to have risen from death and beetles were all around (evidence of a Dybbuk), what would an appropriate Lore roll say?

More of a GM question (I suppose most of these are), but do you let the players roll their Lore, or do you or your GM do it (so they don't know if they are successful?)

Thanks,
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Natasha
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Re: Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by Natasha »

The description seems at one point to say the divining is not specific and then at another time it is specific, which makes it difficult. I would start with generalisations and then go into specifics as I gain a feel for things - or perhaps the characters need a bump in the right direction, then they can get something a little more specific. After all the diviner is about building up the big picture. I do not know what I would do, I would probably make it up as I went along. The deeper they get into the investigation the more clear things should be come for the diviner, that is a part of the point of having one on the team. And starting generally and going specific helps with that. Remember that the sign does not have to be something obvious like a passing a cinema with a special showing of The Exorcist at midnight but it could be tree branches bouncing in the wind, which gives you a much freer hand. Resist the urge to keep them in the dark if they are moving too fast.

Players roll. If they fail they fail. I tend to describe it in such a way that they never heard about it or they heard so much about it they just do not know what to believe. Something like that. I personally do mind if they know they are successful or not. As for success it really depends on the situation. You can say speak about how the character remembers something they read in grimoire known from medieval days or something describes the beast in a strikingly similar manner as what is before them, or just be straight forward about it. Again, kind of depends on the situation.
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mrloucifer
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Re: Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by mrloucifer »

Dlanaan wrote:My second question is about Lore skills. How do you tend to run them? For example, if a character runs into a hellhound, what would a successful Lore roll tell them? If, during an investigation certain clues are dropped, for example that a body seems to have risen from death and beetles were all around (evidence of a Dybbuk), what would an appropriate Lore roll say? Thanks,


During an investigation, try not to give it away too soon. For example: If examining a body of a victim killed by a Hell Hound, with a successful Crime Scene Investigation skill roll you can narrow it down, but you dont have to give it away: "Due to the strange nature of the bite marks, You can't be certain what did it, but here are the fact. These bite marks are canine-like in nature, definitely not human. But the power behind the bites seem too strong to be a common dog or wolf. The claw marks seem to support these facts."

Once they know the above details, it they roll a successful Demon/monster lore, your STILL not required to give specifics (unless you want to). Try something like: "The Bite marks and claws are not enough to specify what did this, Its possible that Werewolves, or Hell Hounds, or a Boschala with a canine like mouth, or something else entirely made these marks."
"Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places."
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mrloucifer
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Re: Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by mrloucifer »

Dlanaan wrote:I have been running a game for the last few months, with the most sensitive individual being a Diviner (now 2nd level) with his chosen psychic abilities as Sixth Sense and Clairvoyance. My concern is that I may not be giving the player the full benefit of his class. Specifically, I'm not sure how and when to make signs and omens show up, without making them too blatant. For example, the current adventure has clues that a werewolf, a vampire, a possessing entity, or a magic ritual is causing some problems in the current investigation. Only one or two of these are accurate (I don't want to give too many details in case any of my players read this forum). How would you place signs for the diviner to help narrow down the options? What signs would you show? I don't want the signs to give it all away, but I also don't want to shortchange the diviner.


Coincidentally, the Diviner is my favorite class (to both play and to Game Master with).

The bottom of page 41 is your guide here: "As noted, use the omens, visions, and flashes of insight to provide a bit of information, confirmation of already gathered info, or to prepare him and the player group for danger or trouble, as well as to identify the enemy."

Some of the omens and such I've used in past game include the following:
-A plume of car exhaust meant that something is obscuring his vision to the truth.
-A spider building a web gave insight that the someone died close by, and the spider builds its webbing in anticipation for the flies the body is attracting.
-A hole in the cloudy overcast above let down a beam of light, and the diviner understood that it was the direction he should go.
-While pouring creamer into his cup of dark coffee one morning, the clouds in the coffee gave an omen that he will be "mixing it up" with a dark presence himself soon.
-While walking by the display window of a wig shop, one of the wigs falls off of a display dummy's head; it was an omen that a Brain Burrower is nearby, and on the move.
-The receiver on an old pa phone suddenly falls off its cradle without provocation; as the receiver dangled and swayed, hanging from its cord, it was an omen that someone's life hangs in the balance right now, and its supernatural related.

Hell, even the billboard example you mentioned above can work: The Diviner is in the passenger seat of the group's car, and the car stops at a stop light/red light, nearby to an old cinema theater. Tell this to the diviner: "One of the back lights are flickering on the billboard wall, catching your attention." When the Diviner responds that he'll look closer, say "The flickering back light happens to be behind the title of the movie showing tonight, which is "The Exorcist". To anyone else its simply a malfunctioning, dying back light; but to you, its an omen. Part of this paranormal investigation will require the help of an exorcist (or an exorcism) before its over."

You following me?
"Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places."
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Dlanaan
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Re: Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by Dlanaan »

Thank you both for your insights. They are very helpful and will assist me in my future games.
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mrloucifer
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Re: Two Questions: Diviners and Lore Skills

Unread post by mrloucifer »

Excellent! Have fun with it. :)
"Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places."
–H.P. Lovecraft

By night I'm known as Steven Dawes, that "BTS" guy, and the Host of the House of BTS!
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