Atalia’s Adventure – A Heartfelt RPG Narrative – Part 7

Atalia wakes up with her new firefly in her hands, and not moving. She believes that she could have killed it, but she remembers that the same thing happened to her other firefly, which was now obedient to her and was even there in the same place as yesterday. She then tries giving her new firefly a new order.

• Moment of the test: Atalia, in front of that stationary insect, wants to see it move. From 0.01 – 0.30 she can revive him completely, from 0.31 – 0.80 she can revive him momentarily, from 0.81 – 1.00 she cannot revive him: 0.37.
• Result: Atalia feels a little tired when her firefly obeys her new order.

Excited with the result, Atalia tries to interact more with her insect.

• Test time: From 0.01 – 0.35 she can revive him completely, from 0.36 – 0.90 she can revive him momentarily, from 0.91 – 1.00 she cannot revive him: 0.78.
• Result: Atalia feels a little tired again when her firefly obeys another of her orders.

Atalia, excited with the result, gets up and starts her daily survival tasks, gathering water, food, washing herself and keeping an eye out for people passing by on the road. But still in the morning, before washing, she hears several horses passing by and runs out into the road. There she finds several wagons moving together, loaded with boxes.

• Moment of the test: Atalia introduces herself and asks for something to eat or even offers her help in exchange for food. From 0.01 – 0.10 one of the carters is moved by the girl, and gives her something to eat and says that she can find help in a nearby convent, from 0.11 – 0.30 they say only that she can find help in a nearby convent, from 0.31 – 0.50 they ask sorry, but they can’t help you, from 0.51 – 0.80 they complain about their bad smell and ask permission to continue their journey, from 0.81 – 1.00 they complain about their bad smell and tell them to move away to continue their journey: 0.73.
• Result: Drivers complain that it smells very bad, worse than their horses, pigs, dogs… and they say that it could ruin their supplies if it stayed nearby, asking them to move out of the way so they could pass.

Atalia was seriously considering giving up on that idea. To be content with living there, alone, or to try to follow the road to some other place where she could rest in safety. But she decides to give herself one last chance, washes herself, washes her clothes and gets ready in the best possible way to convey a better appearance to the next ones that pass by. As she waits for her clothes to dry in the sun, she sees that dart point and thinks it would be nice to have a necklace, so she tries to take a thick thread from her blanket and tie that piece of metal to wear around her neck.

• Moment of the test: Atalia had time and despite never having worked with handicrafts or fine coordination, she then started experimenting with different ways of tying it in order to make it firm and elegant. From 0.01 – 0.15 she manages to make a reasonable pendant with that thick thread, from 0.16 – 0.30 she manages to make a reasonable pendant with that thick thread but ends up cutting herself in the process, from 0.31 – 0.45 she makes a very coarse pendant, which practically covered up the entire tip of the dart that would be its ornament, from 0.45 – 060 it makes a coarse pendant and cuts itself during the process, from 0.61 – 0.80 it fails to make a pendant, from 0.81 – 1.00 it fails to make a pendant and it cuts itself in the process manages to make a reasonable pendant : 0.49.
• Result: His hands were thin, but unskilled at working with knots and ends, in the process he ends up tying the thread roughly, covering almost all the metal and, on top of that, cutting his finger in the process, his blood oozes a little, but she insists on completing her work, which despite being odd, makes her proud, and soon wears it.

Dressed up, she tries to straighten her hair, next to her improvised hoe, keeping her ears open for the slightest sign of someone approaching. While she waits she takes her fireflies and continues to do some experiments. The older one seems to naturally obey her commands, but she feels discomfort whenever she gives a new order to the younger firefly, something that she realizes is not just an impression, but a real effect of this command. After a few attempts to “command” him, Atalia feels a tremendous existential emptiness, as if all her joy, hope, willpower, energy, spirit and self-esteem were immediately pulled out of her. She felt extremely tired, completely discouraged, hopeless and bitter, but something seemed to have changed in relation to her insect, as he was now as obedient as the other.

Tiredness consumed her in such a way that staying awake seemed difficult, but she resisted until she heard someone passing by and went again, with discouragement and little hope, to try for a job opportunity. Arriving on the road, it was another cart with boxes, mostly empty, passing by.

• Test moment: Atalia looked tired, but was at least clean, when she approached the wagon and asked for an opportunity to work by pointing to her hoe, or if there was any food left that she could give her. From 0.01 – 0.10 the wagon driver is willing to help her as best he can, from 0.11 – 0.25 the wagon driver is willing to help her on occasion, from 0.26 – 0.40 the wagon driver promises to help her the next time she goes to city, from 0.41 – 0.60 the wagon driver hesitates to help her, and asks more questions to understand her situation, from 0.61 – 1.00 the wagon driver apologizes but says he cannot help her: 0.96.
• Result: The cart driver apologizes to the girl, but says that he cannot help her, that his family is also poor and it is not possible to share anything with her, asking for permission while he goes on his way.

Atalia feels that she has reached the end, the little hope she had is gone, and decides to leave, who knows how to personally look for someone in a village who might be interested in her help. She takes a deep breath and decides to rest that night, and leave in the morning, in the direction in which the carters with empty boxes seemed to come, maybe there was a city there where she could find shelter. Back in her rubble, she thinks about gathering everything she has to leave, but realizes that she really has nothing. Her blanket, makeshift hoe, pendant, clothes on her back and her two fireflies is all she has.

Uncertain about her fate, she waits for perhaps one last time, for someone to pass by, for this to take her somewhere less uncertain. When she was approaching dusk, she again heard horses passing by and ran with all she had to the road to ask for an opportunity. But it was that well-furnished and ornate carriage, which, seeing her again but now in the opposite direction, reduces its speed and stops beside her. The guy accompanying the conductor comments aloud to his colleague, about that girl still there, and still smelling bad, then asks her if she was still willing to do anything for some food?

• Test time! When faced with this question, Atalia is afraid of what her answer might imply, even though her memory of the bread was a weakness for her to respond promptly, she tries to contain herself and give a safer answer. From 0.01 – 0.30 Atalia apologizes for her bad smell, and justifies herself by saying that she worked a long time as a stable cleaner, so she got used to the bad odor and that it stuck with her, from 0.31 – 0.60 Atalia says she could work plowing the land , or cleaning stables, or with anything else they needed, from 0.61 – 1.00 Atalia immediately states willingness to do anything, and asks please to give her something else to eat: 0.46.
• Result: The driver’s companion looks at the hoe she is carrying and asks her if she has ever plowed the land? Because that would be very difficult. But because of her bad smell, he believed that she did know how to clean stables! Laughing about it along with the driver.

• Test time! Atalia had never actually plowed the land, and she knew that hoe was improvised, but she was willing to work and tried to explain herself to the men. From 0.01 – 0.30 she asks for an opportunity, saying that she has cleaned many stables, and has gotten used to the bad odor and that it has stuck in her and that she can learn to plow the land if given an opportunity and help her find a better cable, from 0.31 – 0.60 she explains that she has worked a lot with stables, but never plowed the land, and that she tried to make a handle for that hoe tip she found nearby, from 0.61 – 1.00, she asks for a chance to work, saying that she has enough hungry, and that if they had another of those loaves, could they please give it to her: 0.35.
• Result: The driver’s companion drops that jocular tone and suddenly changes to a more serious expression. He asks where exactly did she find that hoe tip?

• Test time! Atalia is still a girl, despite having gone through situations very close to death, she is not clear about her words and reactions to them. From 0.01 – 0.30 Atalia notices the change in the companion’s expression, an expression that she had already seen again, in the Duchess’s bodyguard, those were the eyes of someone who would not hesitate to kill her, and in response she says that she found that hoe tip lying on the road 5 days ago, from 0.31 – 0.60 Atalia notices the change in the escort’s expression, an expression she had seen before, on the Duchess’s bodyguard, those were the eyes of someone who would not hesitate to kill her, but cannot articulate a lie, and says that she found the tip of the hoe in a burned house, from 0.61 – 1.00 Atalia does not notice the change in expression and sincerely replies that she found the tip of the hoe in the burned house nearby: 0.15.
• Result: The companion seemed to believe her story and said he knew someone who might be interested in helping this young woman, and asked her to sit in the carriage with them so they could continue their journey.

In the carriage, the escort removes a whole loaf of bread and a large piece of cheese from the bag, handing it to her. Atalia was disconcerted by the taste of the food, and she almost cried with joy when she tasted the cheese, something she rarely ate even before starting her journey.

• Test time! The driver’s companion, noticing the enthusiasm with which she was eating, takes the opportunity to talk, initially apologizing for commenting on her bad smell and wanting to know more about how she ended up there. Atalia didn’t forget that murderous presence she felt coming from him just now, but she also felt cornered to respond because in that situation, it wouldn’t make sense to simply remain silent. From 0.01 – 0.20 Atalia lies convincingly, from 0.21 – 0.40 Atalia lies suspiciously, from 0.41 – 0.60 Atalia lies blatantly, from 0.81 – 1.00 Atalia cannot lie and tells the truth about how she got there: 0.24.
• Result: The driver’s companion listens to Atalia’s story, pretending to be convinced of her.

It was almost completely dark when they arrived at a small fortification. Some guards come to receive the carriage and salute the driver’s companion, who introduces Atalia as his guest and asks them to prepare accommodation for her, a bath, clean clothes and a meal, and thus they continue to lead Atalia inside the fortification.

Atalia is taken to the women’s quarters, where some of the women who worked there were staying, and is left in the care of a much older lady with the instruction given by the vice-captain to give her a bath, change her clothes, serve a meal and prepare a bed in the lodge. The lady immediately answered the orders, taking Atalia to where she could bathe. On the way, the lady complained about the girl’s bad smell, asking where she was to smell so bad, among other things that she questioned. The lady accompanied Atalia in the course of her actions, who sincerely answered most of her questions and tolerated most of her complaints, which went beyond the bad smell, as well as her thinness and everything she thought was inappropriate. Throughout that night, Atalia was invigorated, well fed, with new clothes, and above all, she took care to keep her two fireflies, the hoe and the pendant with her.

• Test time! Atalia is in a totally different place, although a little similar to the fortress she worked in, even the way the servants spoke was similar, the main difference being the size of the fortress. Atalia started to feel more comfortable with the situation, from 0.01 – 0.25 Atalia opens up to the lady, honestly answering all her questions, from 0.26 – 0.50 Atalia tries to avoid some answers that could compromise her, for example the real reason for her escape, from 0.51 – 0.75 Atalia tries to align her story with the one she told the vice-captain, from 0.76 – 1.00 Atalia tries to avoid answering more than necessary and aligning her story with what she told the vice-captain : 0.32.
• Result: During the bath, the lady questioned the wound on the girl’s chest, who explained that she had witnessed an attempt to steal a horse from the stable where she worked, the same story that the coachman’s wife told Rute. The lady seemed to love to complain, also teasing about that crooked hoe, and Atalia explains that she found that hoe tip in the rubble of a burned house and tried to make a new handle using a branch.

The lady soon took the hoe and said that she was supposed to accompany her, and she went with Atalia to the men’s accommodation and came to a gentleman with a white beard and showed him the girl’s hoe. The gentleman soon laughed, saying that not even a master plow could use that thing, this made Atalia embarrassed, but soon he took the tip of the hoe and separated it from the branch, examining it a little, went to a part with tools and several utensils and returned with a handle attached to it, handing the restored hoe to the girl. Atalia was immensely grateful for the restoration, saying that now she could work plowing the land to try to survive. You also ask her some questions, including about her family.

• Test time! Atalia is in a very comfortable situation, different from when the vice-captain questioned her, she feels good with those people around, so something encourages her to respond with a little more sincerity. From 0.01 – 0.60 Atalia explains that she had a serious disagreement with her mother, stepfather and siblings, and that led her to run away from home, from 0.61 – 0.90 she tries to invent a reason for having run away from home, which justifies the impossibility of being able to return ( as she was afraid they would convince her to return home), from 0.91 – 1.00 Atalia tries to take advantage of her Asian descent to say that her family was from another continent and she was a wanderer: 0.91.
• Result: Atalia explains very imprecisely about the origin of her family, trying to excuse being foreigners in that land and that she decided to follow life as a wanderer, working from time to time where she was welcomed.

His story lacked detail, making it difficult to fully believe. However, the fact that she had a very strong Indian ancestry, something very rare to see in those regions, gave her story credence. The two soon came to give Atalia some life lessons, about things she should be aware of, and also, care and habits that experienced hikers should have, since both have already met other hikers and Atalia clearly seemed like a hiker with no experience. After listening for a while to various warnings and instructions, they say that it was already quite late, and that tomorrow they would continue that conversation. The lady then takes Atalia to her bed, and after several nights sleeping poorly, or even without sleeping, when lying down and covering herself, she finally feels warm and comfortable, practically fainting there.

STATUS

Name: Athalia, daughter of Galieu from the region of Farhes
Appearance: Mixed Indian/European
Age: 16 years old
Profession: Wanderer
Equipments:
Body clothing (servant’s garments)
Hoe
Pendant
2 fireflies
Situation:
Tiredness
Features:
strong odor
don’t feel disgusted
Not bothered by odors
uncommunicative
likes to be alone
strong health
Affinity with animals
agile and flexible
language of the dead
Reanimate Coleoptera
Enemies:
Duchess of Mancini

Intrigues, dialogues and between the lines

As a fan of the Doctor Who series, particularly the Classic series, I admire that the Doctor is not focused on advanced technologies, superior knowledge, or unique resources of a Time Lord. The Classic series seems to have a focus on dialogue, and this carries above all a series of complex decisions, manipulations, games of interest… but the Doctor continues to save the day by confusing and deceiving the parties, so that his plan works.

The perception that there are complex and exciting plots locked in the dialogue and the intentions behind it, led me to invest in an RPG style aimed at simplifying actions and decision-making and putting everyone together in this scenario of intrigue. In this RPG system, players quickly chose between 10 character sheets already defined, with professions instead of names, a small set of skills, of which 3 are common to everyone in this universe, and a list of items that each one has with them. . This RPG received several names, but the one that stood out and remained official in the end was “RPG do Cerrado”.

Its context involving these 10 professions worked quite well at school, children/adolescents chose based on the images and professions of the characters. Then they went looking in their items for something that could be useful during the adventure. The absence of skills directly linked to combat was also a positive aspect, as it somehow forced decision-making and dialogue to deal with problems, although even in the absence of these specific skills, the public found ways to use violence to solve problems. the impasses. Although this was in lesser conditions than what is usually noticed in the most common RPG’s.

The name “RPG do Cerrado” came about when I took this proposal as a complementary activity for a training course for Cerrado monitors at UFSCar. I already had some experience running DMs for children/teens, so controlling universes with an audience of 10 players at the same time in the adventure that took place between about 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm was feasible. My friend, author of the blog anotherecoblog.wordpress.com was on that day and had a unique role in the plot, being in a way the focus of the whole plot by presenting an atypical behavior. The two hours of adventure that took place in the Cerrado was quite stimulating, as players moved away from the main scenario, pulling them back with other improvised elements and without a clear concern about carrying out meticulous tests. And as with the work with children/adolescents, violence ended up emerging in this scenario, during deadlock situations, even trivial and typical objects were seen as weapons.

In another experience with the “Cerrado RPG”, this time contextualized in a closed subway station, this period of approximately two hours also lasted, and again violence emerged from the most trivial actions and objects present in the group. This showed me that dialogue is a much more complex and difficult tool to use than force. Interestingly, in both scenarios, the first supporters of violent actions in the group were quickly suppressed by the rest, since they were minorities. But soon violence became an instrument of control and influence among those present, leading to somewhat tragic situations within the plot that should have focused on dialogue (not unlike the developments that occur in Doctor Who).

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