ZEITGEIST [ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.

gideonpepys said:

I love the shades of grey presented by the AP and the fact that the bad guys aren't out-and-out evil. Must make sure to emphasise the palpable honesty and 'goodness' emanating from Ottavia (thanks to her headband of telepathy) as she rains down holy fire on her foes next week! That should confuse and conflict the poor buggers no end!

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I know what you mean. We just finished up Always on Time this week. The party had bonded with Ottavia and Luc since getting their help in freeing Isobel from the clutches of Elanor. Even after getting trapped on the Isle of Odiem by Ottavia, the party's leader has decided to track her down so they can take Ottavia to Luc, who they just kidnapped in grand fashion.
My players have also liked how the bulk of the conspiritors so far have been well-sketched out people.

Sound of Azure said:

Even after getting trapped on the Isle of Odiem by Ottavia...

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I'm wondering how the party will react to Ottavia. They tend to have very little time for people who try to kill them, no matter what their motivations. On the other hand, I hope they don't take too kindly to her or they'll end up dragging a DM NPC around with them, which can get old pretty quickly.

A final note on our last session while I'm at it: Sly Marbo has reverted to an NPC now his player has left the group. I could have got rid of him earlier in the adventure, but I decided to wait until now, and have Luc's group capture him shortly before the meeting in Vendricce. His presence as a captive will provide an added frisson to that encounter, I hope. (And if the PCs manage to rescue him, provide them with an account of the exchanges between Lya and Luc, too.)

Session 67 - And then there were four...

Leon's player was absent this week, so I was forced to take radical action to explain his absence:

• Even if Xambria hadn't woken the adventurers from their charmed state, the torrential rain might well have done. Finding themselves surrounded by dozens of shambling undead, they leapt into action and ran for the safety of the lighthouse building ahead. Uru arrived first and tried to open the weathered bronze doors, but they were barred.
• Leon and Korrigan lagged behind, and Leon was grabbed by one of the zombies. He teleported to away at once, leaving the zombie smouldering where it stood, but his knees almost buckled as he reappeared and vomited a lungful of seawater.
• "The Drowned Dead of Odiem seek to share their cold, dark fate with these living vistors," the Voice of the Island crooned.
• A blazing arc of radiance peeled down from the highest point of the crumbling lighthouse and struck Matunaaga squarely. He staggered up to Uru, almost brought to his knees too by the fierce, holy light. Malthusius was impressed (and disconcerted): Ottavia's level of power indicated a purity of heart and purpose that caused him to regret their enmity. Her earnest discourse earlier was clearly genuine (if, in his opinion, deluded).
• The drowned dead lurched closer on all sides. There were dozens of them on the island already, and more rising up from the waves. Korrigan dashed past Leon and ordered him to pick up his pace.
• Uru used his regalia to create a web, and scrambled up it to the top of the crumbling wall. At once, he too was struck by Ottavia's searing light.
• The Voice of the Island then uttered a single, hideous word that caused the drowned dead to recoil, giving the unit more time to get inside the lighthouse. The word appeared to affect Leon as well and he pitched towards the lighthouse as if drunk or deranged. Malthusius recognised the language as Abyssal.
• Matunaaga leaped the wall and he and Uru got the door open before dashing for cover. Malthusius ran in and hid in one of the side-chambers, while Korrigan paused in the doorway, waiting for Leon before he closed it.
• Leon dashed straight past him, failing wildly and - ending up in open ground - took a blast from Ottavia that caused him to clutch at his side in agony. At once, the cursed ground beneath him began to open up, but Leon was too far gone to help himself. Before the others could do anything about it he plunged through the ground out of sight.
• With the zombies gaining, and their numbers growing still, and with excoriating blasts of holy fire raining down upon them, now was not the time for the remaining four RHC officers to worry about their fallen comrade. They needed to deal with Ottavia and fast.
• Keeping an eye out for Luc and Bree, they dashed for the lighthouse tower. Parts of it were in utter ruin, including the stairwell, and it was very difficult to make the four-storey ascent, especially with the clergy oracle now targeting them with bursts of sonic energy, that could reach round corners and catch them even as they hid.
• By the time they reached the upper floor, all except Korrigan were flagging, as Ottavia's power had taken its toll; but between them it didn't take long to subdue her at close range (ignoring the suggestion of the Voice of the Island that they "kill the clergy bitch and come quickly down the stairs").
• When Ottavia eventually surrendered, the group restrained her was best they could (their mage cuffs and other equipment having been left behind in the dash from the train).
• Before Malthusius remove the headband that granted her telepathy, he sensed a curious mixture of relief and fear radiating from her.
• When questioned, Ottavia confessed, with no great relish or triumphalism, that Luc and Bree were not with her. She had used an illusion ritual to lure the party away in a desperate gamble following Luc's failure to banish them to the plane of Nem. But she had no escape plan. Ottavia was now trapped on the island with the unit, having sacrificed herself to protect her charge.
• She was no more keen to die than they were. Confident that none of them could escape the island until dawn, Ottavia was prepared to join forces with them in an attempt to survive the night. Uru was none-too-keen on this arrangement, but was outvoted. He took his frustration out on the Voice of the Island, threatening it, but couldn't be sure if it could hear him.
• They took a badly needed breather, as only Korrigan had remained relatively unscathed. They could see the hordes of dead filling up the lighthouse, scrambling up the staircase and climbing the walls of the tower, but they could not go on without healing. They even allowed Ottavia to heal some of her own wounds, and unbound her hands and feet.
• Once rested, they braced themselves and surged downwards, using flight spells to avoid the biggest drops. Their ranged casters took care of the first few zombies on the stairs, while the front-liners waded in and kept the remainder back, while the casters recharged and fired again. When a space was cleared they made a dash for the downward stairs that led to the vault, aided by the Voice of the Island, who once again used an Abyssal command to stun the drowned dead.
• They were able to enter the vault through broken doors, and brace them sturdily with other debris they found there. A wide passageway that would once have been heavily warded lay ahead of them. The wards were now broken, their magic long gone.
• This passage gave out onto a balcony over a circular chamber. Above, the ceiling had collapsed in places and rainwater poured in from the lighthouse. Right in front of them, the balcony had collapsed. There once might have been a platform here that could be raised or lowered: the platform and the mechanism were lost amid the wreckage thirty feet below, but there were chains hanging from the ceiling that, though rusted, looked sturdy enough to be climbed.
• Then, amid that very wreckage, they spotted the twisted form of Leon, his back arched over broken stonework - totally still and apparently lifeless...

Leon has in fact broken his back, which all sounds terribly serious, but will be resolved next week with Ottavia's help. (Unless the player accepts the bargain Ashima-Shimtu will offer him via email, which he probably won't.)

In accordance with the suggestion made in the adventure sidebar, I have beefed up the Odiem Vault somewhat, but the players took such a hammering over the last two encounters that it will turn out to be a very challenging dungeon indeed unless they take an extended rest.

Can't decide how to run Ottavia - whether as DMNPC (meh...) or player controlled (meh...); whether to leave her as a monster or stat her up as a companion (with surges, etc).

Also, not sure how to play her relationship with the group, or how she will respond when it becomes clear that Ashima-Shimtu can undo all of her hard work. Will she attack again, or resign herself to defeat?

Might the devil in any case refuse to transport Ottavia? Or evenOr trick the group and keep her in the vault? Might they find the oracle mysteriously absent, only to discover her tortured body when they return to the island in late paragon? Any ideas?

I want something interesting to happen beyond dragging a sullen prisoner around Vendricce!

Secrets and Lies

As part of my expansion of the Vault of the Clergy section of Always on Time, I decided to have Ashima-Shimtu try to make a secret bargain with each of my players. Quite simply, she would offer them a favour in return for their 'service' in the outside world.

I'm imagining that the demoness has a lot of secret knowledge at her disposal and that having a party member (however reluctantly) bound to her would be interesting later in the campaign. My thought is that she has information brought to her by the tides of the sea (in whispers that only the Lady of the Forked Tongue could interpret) and that a tribe of kua-toa also come to communicate with and worship her, entering through the sea caves below the island (to connect up with a wee subplot I've developed concerning the various aquatic races of Lanjyr).

But Ashima-Shimtu cannot directly influence anything beyond the island itself, and thus seeks to bargain with and influence anyone who comes here.

The idea was inspired by the sidebar in the adventure which suggested this as a good point for prophecies/links to the demonocracy, etc. But none of my players had a direct connection to that, so the idea of speaking to them through Ashima-Shimtu occured. I also thought it would be cool if back in Flint Xambria started acting strangely inside Malthusius' head, and it turned out she'd accepted the offer (in return for a new body).

Then Leon ended up with a broken back and I thought, of course, that Ashima-Shimtu would definitely make an offer to him: he's a tiefling first of all (and therefore connected to her on a number of levels); and in serious need of help. (Although, unbeknownst to him, the best she can do is help fend off the wights that infest the Vault. No healing powers, this devil, unsurprisingly...)

On a whim, I decided to have every player receive a secret, whispered offer from the Voice of the Island; something to tempt them - some knowledge I know the character seeks, and would function as a focus for further character development even if the player didn't accept.

In fact, I didn't anticipate that any of the players would accept, as they are, generally speaking, quite a moralistic and/or cautious lot. But out of five of them, four did!

(I'll post the offers I made to the players later.)

I love a good devil's bargain. Can't wait to see it.

I'm thinking of turning the Vault into a D&D Next playtest for my group. Let them make Next PCs and have the group come and plunder the tomb for its treasures when the place is more populated and would be more of a dungeon crawl. Then when they end up stuck there, they'll have only themselves to blame for why there isn't much loot left.

RangerWickett said:

I'm thinking of turning the Vault into a D&D Next playtest for my group. Let them make Next PCs and have the group come and plunder the tomb for its treasures when the place is more populated and would be more of a dungeon crawl. Then when they end up stuck there, they'll have only themselves to blame for why there isn't much loot left.

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If you'd posted that idea earlier I would definitely have done it. Great idea, which I'll have to use in another campaign some time.

On the subject of dungeons, Uru's player is hoping that one day the rotting underground garden he's creating in the Nettles - as a place for the spirits of the children he's rescued to play and feel at home - will one day serve 'as a dungeon for a first-level party'.

I was thinking of having the B-team raid it while he's away on the Avery Coast, investigating rumors of a haunted well...

Leon's bargain

Here's the first offer I made - the one that got the ball-rolling:

When you come to you are lying in the pitch black, in agony, on cold stone, and as you come to you can hear a scraping in the darkness. You have no idea where the others are or if they'll be able to get to you.

You also hear a sensual woman's voice whispering in your head - the same one I referred to at the end of last week's session report. Again she speaks in the third person as if narrating your story:

"Little does this god-cursed realise what a debt he already owes to Ashima-Shimtu. Be she can do more for him now - much more. Will he accept her offer, or will he die cold and alone, or torn to pieces by the unhallowed guardians of this prison-vault? He need only acquiesce, and their bargain will be sealed. Refuse, and she will not offer again..."

Leon felt that he had no choice but to agree.

The Voice responds to your mental nod: "Once again the Crow survives and Ashima-Shimtu has a worthy ally. She is most pleased."

Nothing else happens at first, only when whatever hungry creatures infest the vault come shuffling out of the darkness to lay hands on you, the flames that greet them are far more intense and prolonged than any you have previously produced. The creatures are driven back and the flames seem to cauterize and stabilize your condition, although you still cannot move. Gradually, you drift back towards unconsciousness.

For the time being your tiefling racial power deals +4 damage. (Remind me as this will need to be described to the others. The initial burst was much more powerful - almost white heat. This is just a side-effect.)

What the bargain entails, precisely, remains a mystery for now.

Ashima-Shimtu's last, breathy words to you are accompanied by a snakey background hiss which sound more like "Sssshhhh!"

To reveal the terms, or existence of your bargain would be to break it...

This is the pattern I followed with each of the bargains - a major offer that would appeal to the player (or was a fait au complis in Leon's case) made in return for 'service'; and a bonus reward added in return for silence.

So Leon got protection from the wights that were about to chew on him, and an ongoing bonus to his tiefling racial power.

The idea is that Ashima-Shimtu cannot really enforce her bargain in the outside world, but she can place a fiery geas on the character to prevent them from talking about it. If they break their vow of silence, they take huge amoutns of fire damage and lose their ongoing benefit.

If they refuse to do Ashima-Shimtu service in the outside world (favours which might not be called in until Ashima-Shimtu returns in late paragon) all they will earn is her enmity.

The temptation of Uru Scathaig Ciotog

This is the email I sent to Uru's player:

Some time after you enter the clergy vault, Uru hears the Voice of the Island whisper:

"The fey mortal shows courage. Ashima-Shimtu offers him power: A heart will beat in his clockwork toys! He need only vow to serve her in the world beyond and the fire of life will be bestowed upon him. What will his answer be, she wonders?"

However much you try, you can't engage the voice in any kind of conversation (to negotiate, ask for clarification of terms, or try to identify her). You somehow know that all you need to do is wordlessly accept or decline - a mental nod or shake of the head will suffice.

I half-expected that Uru's player might say yes, and indeed he did. Uru isn't afraid of a demon!

"Ashima-Shimtu is pleased. The brave little darkling will find a stoppered bottle hidden in the Vault. He will be as a flame to the moth-spirits of the Hill."

This referred to a bottled quasit, a servant of Ashima-Shimtu that will try to corrupt him further. In particular it will teach him a ritual that will allow him to cause the fungus in his garden to bloom and enable him to cross over into the Bleak Gate. My plan is that Uru will discover the facility in Cauldron Hill for himself, but will not be able to find his way back there later. This is all part of his personal story-arch, and would have happened anyway. Ashima-Shimtu is a rainmaker!

His short-term bonus is that his clockwork toy, Little Jack, gains resistance to fire. It will explode if he talks about his deal.

Oops

Matunaaga next. Following the same pattern again:

"The gidim-foe seeks understanding that has passed beyond the memory even of his own people. One who already serves Ashima-Shimtu knows the way of the Rrakkma, for she awakened the knowledge within him. But she grows tired of his service and would gladly bestow the torch upon another; another who could venture into the outside world and do her some small service in return for living weaponhood!"

Matunaaga's player agreed, saying "Any foe of the gidim is a friend of mine". So he mistook what she said and thought she was referring to herself, not him. Ashima-Shimtu is perfectly happy to accept his mistake, however:

"Ashima-Shimtu is pleased. The gidim-foe will find the plates he seeks on the corpse of Gene."

This is when he realised his mistake, of course. But too late!

Matunaaga's 'reward' is access to his paragon path. (Which he would have gotten anyway - you see, Rainmaker...)

His short-term bonus is much more interesting: Gene carries what appear to be non-descript metal plates in a pouch around his neck. These are guides to the philosophy of combat practised by the maustin people (reskinned githzerai who live in the Anthras Mts) whose guidance Matunaaga has forsaken by remaining in the human world. My idea is that psionic combat was taught by these people to the clergy godhands centuries ago, and that Gene - seeking more and more power - wanted Ashima-Shimtu to unlock the secret for him.

The plates are essentially The Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon from Planescape:Torment and will unlock various alternative treasure rewards as Matunaaga progresses with them.

He is the only one not being bound by a geas (because his pledge was false, and he would have gained all of these benefits without Ashima-Shimtu), but he doesn't know that.

Et tu Baldrey? Et tu...?

Okay, so the biggest surprise of the lot was Korrigan. I really did think that he would reject Ashima-Shimtu's advances. Her offer here relates to Korrigan's personal story arc. His wife, Elizabeth is now trapped behind a barrier of briars, held in stasis to prevent the birth of their child. She promised their first-born to the River King to secure Korrigan's safe return from Yerasol. This is also my biggest intrusion on the main plot:

"The schism-wrought is noble, and will surly take pity on poor Ashima-Shimtu, bound and helpless as she is. Should he vow to do her service in the outside world, she will grant him the power to free his wife and child."

Korrigan's player emailed me saying he knew I wouldn't expect him to accept but, metagaming, he thought it would be more interesting if he did! Our roleplaying justification is Korrigan's quiet despair over his wife and child.

"The schism-born must offer a wife to find a wife. Ashima-Shimtu sees many things, and knows his path will cross with another who has sought his spouse for many years. All the schism-born need do is help this one to find his Kasvarina and the honourable eladrin will burn the briars down. But where is Kasvarina? The herald of winter will lead the way. In the meantime, the schism-born may draw on Ashima-Shimtu's heat for a fire of a different kind."

Hilariously, while I was writing this reply, I got another message in my inbox. I pressed send and opened it, to find Korrigan's player had changed his mind and wanted to renege. Too late! But poignant and in character.

Again, rainmaking, Ashima-Shimtu predicts a deal which Asrabey Varal will make anyway - to wipe out Elizabeth's debt to the fey in return for help finding Kasvarina. Of course the player was bemused as to who she was, and how he could help find her, but that's half the fun, right?

Korrigan's minor bonus is actually quite good: he gains access to another elemental manifestation - cindersoul.