Session 17 (140) - Part Two: The Grand Design
Opening Statement
Once again, I'm not going to reproduce Nicodemus' speech, or the presentations of each faction, or anything that took the form of 'read-aloud' text.
A bold opening statement is made by Nicodemus, to a round of applause from the assembly. The Ob’s plan is fully detailed by Han Jierre, before the groups separate to hear from individual faction representatives.
During his speech, Han speaks of the founding of the conspiracy, and makes gestures to an empty chair that has been reserved symbolically for Kasvarina Varal, as a mark of respect by Cula Ravjahani. (“Many of us have made sacrifices in pursuit of this goal,” Han says.) But when Leon looks at the chair, he is shocked to see Lavanya sitting there, looking calmly at the stage!
Alarmed, he double-checks, and it appears that no on else can see her. Shortly before the groups disperse, Lavanya calmly rises and saunters from the main hall. Leon (as Xavier) follows. The guards here are very deferential towards the Malice Lands knight. He pretends he’s going to the toilet and follows Lavanya through a lounge in into a very long storage chamber. She turns and asks him why he is following her. Leon pretends to be Xavier, but she says she knows who he really is because ‘no one else can see me in this form’. He tries to ask her more questions but she says, ‘speak to Erskine Haffkruger’ before she disappears.
This is not what Lavanya really said. This is what I told Leon’s player at the table (and by implication, what he reported to the others). I sent him an email with what Lavanya really said, with an injunction not to tell anyone.
Back in the main hall, as the officers begin to leave, the rest of the unit deals with everything they have learned so far. Uru asks if anyone else thinks they may be on the wrong side. Xambria picks up this theme and talks animatedly about the ‘Grand Design’, seeming particularly excited by the Ob’s archeological discoveries. But Korrigan and Matunaaga remain staunch in their instinctive opposition to the Obscurati’s plan (as does Leon when he returns). For now, though, they agree to try to steer the Ob in the right direction, in case that turns out to be the best they can do!
Factions
The group circulates through the different faction representatives:
• The Arboretum. Order nature so it can spread and be controlled like industry. Presented by Reed Macbannin outdoors next to the garden. (Matunaaga slyly suggests supporting this faction to gain support from the fey, who may be destroyed when their plane is removed. When Erskine is namedropped by Macbannin, Leon looks to see how he reacts. Turns out he’s looking back at Leon!)
• Colossus. Grant ourselves godlike powers to fix problems as they arise. Presented by Catherine Romana in the chapel. (The unit agrees that this plan is the most selfish.)
• Miller’s Pyre. Increase empathy, reduce hypocrisy. Increase goodness and justice. Presented by Cula Ravjahani in the library. (Conversely, Miller’s Pyre attracts support from the unit as the preferred ‘fallback option’. Concern about opening the world up to invasion, though.)
• Panarchists. Grant individuals “super-powers,” making governments unnecessary. Presented by Han Jierre in the trophy room.
• Watchmakers. Eliminate free will and design a thousand-year destiny of prosperity for the world. Presented by Amielle Latimer in the dance hall. (Leon points out the weakness in Watchmaker is that the ghost council will survive it and will not be ‘reprogrammed for morality’ as other mortals will. Uru likes the idea of a clockwork universe.)
During the ‘crossover’ period between sessions three and four, Haffkruger disappears. During the fifth session, when their group is hearing about the Watchmaker faction from Amielle Latimer, she is informed that there has been a murder. Latimer jokes that things like this happen when people don’t act according to the script! The group investigates and learns that the victim is Erskine Haffkruger.
I suddenly decided, mid-session, to have Macbannin’s first victim be Haffkruger. I didn’t have time to think through the ramifications of this. The only real downside is that it means three of the party’s immediate retinue will ‘get got’ (if you include Vitus Sigismund). So I’m wondering if Macbannin should kill Zoltan and Baden before he gets round to Quital. Maybe Zoltan could disappear shortly after the preliminary vote? Any suggestions for cool circumstances for his murder? Could he be pushed off the lighthouse, after speaking to Nicodemus? Or is four murders too many?
Haffkruger was found stabbed in the cold storage room. A white serpent statuette had been placed in his lap. ‘Xavier Sangria’ insists on seeing the body. This is the second death associated with his group and he is rightfully concerned! Korrigan and Xambria examine the body and the murder scene. They establish that Haffkruger died from a necrotic injury. His ear had been nicked, and there is milk on his beard. (Leon recognises these ingredients from the Bonds of Forced Faith ritual they used to protect Nevard Sechim on Cauldron Hill.) The white serpent symbol is associated with the Voice of Rot. Xambria uses a trick she learned from Malthusius, reading the room to determine that Erskine entered alone and died alone.
Back in the lounge areas, while concern over the murder is evident, talk eventually returns to the Grand Design. The portal planes have been opened up. (The unit decides not to explore them personally, for fear of disrupting gestalt.) Excitement is evident. There will be an initial vote later. Meanwhile, with security and further investigation left to Vicemi Terio and the Ghost Council, Nicodemus has decided to speak to each Ob officer one at a time…
End of session.
The preliminary vote will be handled on-line before the next session. I will also send my players a heavily edited text taken from the ‘Villainous Conspiracy’ thread that all the DM’s contributed to a few years ago, so the players can read how the debate rages to and fro without playing it out at the table. They will of course be free to join in with that debate and try to influence how it proceeds.
