[Barbarians of Lemuria] Terry Pratchett's Moist von Lipwig



The news of Terry Pratchett's death last Thursday hit me harder than I expected, probably since I had only recently finished teaching Going Postal for the first time (and consequently binging on other  Discworld books—Feet of Clay and Raising Steam—as well). I wasn't a fan of Pratchett's at first: the Rincewind novels didn't appeal to me when I first encountered them as a teen in the 1980s. It wasn't until a friend convinced me to try Small Gods in the mid-1990s that I got the point and became a lifelong fan. The Tiffany Aching books are my particular favorites, but I have also assiduously followed the Death, Guards, and Industrial Revolution sub-series as well.

So as a tribute to Pterry I'd like to revisit my first Vargold post on his work by writing up a Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Edition version of Moist von Lipwig to stand alongside my 2011 Barbarians of Lemuria Legendary Edition write-up for Captain Carrot Ironfounderson. I haven't had a chance to really read the Mythic Edition rules yet (despite backing the Kickstarter), so this should be fun.

Moist von Lipwig

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 0
Mind 3
Appeal 1 

Combat
Initiative 2
Melee 0
Ranged 0
Defense 2

Careers
Beastmaster 0
Merchant 0
Scribe 1
Scoundrel 3

Resources
Lifeblood 10
Hero Points 5

Gear
Nothing noteworthy

Boons
Detect Deception
Master of Disguise
Silver Tongue

Flaws
City Dweller
Greed

These game stats represent Moist as he is in the novel just after he gets his first visit from an angel named Vetinari—so no golden suit yet, no avatar-y goings on, only the vaguest inklings of a change of heart. Attributes: Moist is almost Vetinari-clever, so he gets the maximum possible starting Mind score; his Appeal is only at 1 because his looks are rather average. Combat: Moist is not really much of a fighter (a plot point in Raising Steam), so I've put his points here into getting the jump on threats (so that Moist can run away) via Initiative and avoiding getting hit through Defense. Careers: His grandfather raised Lipzwigers, so there's some Beastmaster-potential in Moist; Merchant also gets a 0 to reflect Moist's ability to know just enough about the economy to scam people; Scribe has an actual level since Moist is an active forger; and Scoundrel, a variant of Thief, is obviously maxed out at 3 for our favorite conman. Boons and Flaws are all straightforward, obvious choices.

"Goodnight, sweet Hogfather, and flights of anthropomorphic
personifications sing thee to thy rest!"

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