Starting soon!

Howdy! I'm going to start PCing in the spring after a couple more NPC weekends, but I had a couple questions before I start gathering my gear.

1) I want to do a Barbarian Dragoon. How much armor do barbarians usually wear? Would it be out of character for me to show up with full plate(cuirass, pauldrons, gorget, tassets, etc)?

2) I found an axe that I like but it is 150cm long, which is 59.1 inches. I was hoping to use it as a pole arm but the threshold for that is 60 inches. Would this be considered 'close enough' or is that 60 inches non-negotiable?

3)How fearful of magic are barbarians? My friends are making a healer and a mage, would it be odd for us to be hanging out?

Thanks for the help!

-Chris

P.S. My ideal pole arm is a double bit axe about 65-70 inches long. Anybody know a site where I might find one that matches that?

Hi, Chris. Glad to hear you're thinking about making a PC.

1) It wouldn't be at all out of character for you to have full plate mail. Northmen take great pride in they're crafting. The armor could even have a great story behind it.

2) I'm going to defer to a rules marshal on this.

3) It varies. There are some barbarians who will kill mages on sight. There are others who will tolerate magic as long as it is not cast upon them. A friend of mine once played a barbarian who didn't hate magic so much as considered it's use a sign of weakness. Maybe you have a similar view, or maybe this particular mage has earned your trust, despite your cultural superstition.

Hey Chris, welcome to Knight Realms! Let me try and tackle some of your questions...

1) It would be totally acceptable (and sweet!) if you were to show up in the full gambit of armor as a Barbarian.
2) Honestly, .9 inches I don't see a problem with, the thing about latex weapons is that they are rarely customized so we tend to have a bit of breathing room with their sizes.
3) Barbarians are very suspicious of magic, and their general disposition especially with Fire and Necromancy is to be quick to anger. Ultimately it is up to you to decide in which means you want to respond to the sight of magic, but in following the RP Guidelines of Barbarians it would be very doubtful you would ever truly accept this person, and you would abhor his or her means of combat and defense as a Mage. You might demand he never use his magic around you, threatening his or her life if they do so or you might be uncomfortable around them and instead prefer to walk off as if their casting of magic is an affront to you, however if they go the route of Fire or Necromancy (which is evil in nature anyway) you would likely swing first and worry about why later if following the generic RP Guideline.

As to your 65 to 70 inch Polearm question, you may want to check out www.larpexchange.com

As for the suspicion of magic. As someone who plays a character who has the same rp requirement. I know it is a tough requirement. I would guess that 80 % of the characters cast magic or use magic items. However, it is a choice you are making to take the racial benefits, so too come the racial detriment (or play a barbarian like kormyrian).

The rp requirements are a guideline on how the race generally feels. At the very least it should be held to the standard of great grandma's superstition. Oh well, Magus McArcane is ok enough for a mumbo jumbo soul stealing wizard... but that doesn't mean I want him casting is devil magic on me or in my house! What would the neighbors think. On the other extreme think fundamentalist (insert religion here) watching someone call on the devil for their power. Sure the law says you cannot stone them, but that is what they deserve, and though I might not kill them, I don't really have to save them either.

So while an individual may get used to the prevalent use of magic, just as you may come to accept that other people eat bugs, you would never want to use magic, or eat bugs.

Thanks guys, these are all really helpful!

-Chris

After getting through the holidays and thinking over my character, I've decided to chain things up from what I initially thought and would love to get an opinion on what I have. This is what I am planning on running for this weekend.

Kromnar, barbarian warrior

edge mastery for 3
strength +1 for 8
6 body points for 2

Bringing a chain shirt and bastard sword, swinging it 2h when possible.

"Kromnar, Son of Fader the Bold, has come to Travance to seek adventure, fortune, and to make a name for himself. Being superstitious, he adorns his weapons with skulls and bones to try to scare off the magic that might otherwise hurt him. This is his first time venturing out of the Northern Wastes and he is eager to show the lesser races how a real warrior handles the dangers of the world. His tribe doesn't use last names, instead each member will earn their 'title' through their deeds in battle or elsewhere, referring to them through their lineage until such a time when they earn one. Fader the Bold, Kromnar's father, earned his title by charging headlong into a pack of wolves that threatened his a hunting party, and Grotan the Merciless, Kromnar's grandfather, led raids on villages to the west during a tribal war decades ago, killing anybody foolish enough to not flee in terror. Kromnar hopes to live up to the history of his family and earn a name that is worthy of his proud lineage."


Does this sound like a worthwhile starting place or should I rethink this?