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<blockquote data-quote="Tizbiz" data-source="post: 7098383" data-attributes="member: 6874057"><p>Since we are still concerned about the security of Heward Sechim, we visit the police station responsible for the security of Parity Lake. We are shocked to hear that the local officials have apparently very little knowledge of the worker's situation in the factories and hardly patrol there. (<span style="color: #0000FF">well, depends who pays for them avoiding certain places. I know, that my industrial places look like a extremly poverty ridden Charles Dickens horror story ... sorry</span>).According to the police, there are extremely few reports of mistreatment, blackmail, or arson, and we are trying our best to set the picture of the actual situation straight for the officials. We also officially demand police protection for Sechim and his factory as he is obviously being blackmailed and threatened.</p><p></p><p>Next, we head towards Cloudwood to perhaps gain the opportunity to talk to Sechim's grandfather, Nevard. On our way to the old Skyseer, however, we hear the sounds of gunfire. We decide that we, being the only officials of Flint present at this place, cannot simply ignore what might be happening nearby. Behind the next hill, we witness a strange scenery: a carriage which is about to slide down a slope and is already spiked with arrows is being shot at with arrows from two sides. Meanwhile the carriage's passengers fire back with pistols. Additionally, a panic woman is screaming for help from inside the carriage. As we suspect a case of robbery, we reveal ourselves as agents of the RHC. This doesn't seem to win us any friends on either side. (<span style="color: #0000FF">the astonished look in the partys eyes was priceless as both groups opened fire on the RHC agents</span>) In order to prevent the carriage from crashing down, Auryn sends an invisible servant to give the horse a friendly push in the right direction (<span style="color: #008000">invisible servants cannot carry that much, but an unforseen "pat" on the backside works wonders</span>) and we agree to take care of the attackers as gently as possible. After having "pacified" the first group of outlaws, we take the opportunity to ask the leader of the bandits, a certain Renard (<span style="color: #008000">hey Woodsman, where are your Black Horse Mercenaries? ;</span>) ), who doesn't cease calling for a certain "Morena", why he is attacking the carriage at all. It takes a bit back and forth with angry Renard and the hazy situation becomes much clearer: Morena, the screaming, but rather defensive lady in the coach, is actually the fiancée of Renard. Morena was abducted as an act of revenge for "interfering in the affairs" of the carriage's owners (<span style="color: #008000">judging from their looks they seem to be gang menbers of Flint</span>), so Renard and his people wanted to rescue her and kill the criminals for their crimes. Little by little, we try to negotiate a deal which might prevent a lot of bloodshed: Morena is returned to Renard and his people (<span style="color: #008000">the bandits vastly outnumber the criminals thanks to reinforcements and Morena's death would certainly end in a massacre</span>) and we take the criminals into "protective custody" to protect them from Renard as he still wants to see them dead. Renard agrees on the deal and gives us the opportunity to lead the criminals away.</p><p></p><p>(<span style="color: #0000ff">one thing i learned from this encounter ... due to the party having only two players and negotiating instead of fighting i did not really notice that the two chars were at a higher level than the adventure would assume already and their chars were outright frightening effective in combat. The fight was a walk in the park .... i still decided to not change anything besides the maximising of Hit Points which is recommended for Gestaltcharacter campaigns. I want to avoid an arms race type of exploding experience and even faster level ups if i adjust the challenge rating of the attackers.</span>) </p><p></p><p>We lead the carriage minus Morena to the local police station in the Nettles. The criminals are surprised that potective custody does not only include protection, but also custody, but cannot really resist their arrest. The bailiffs are not too happy about the prospect of having enemies of Renard in their cells. Still they promise that the criminals will be detained and interrogated and their identity proven. We especially encourage the young Steffen, who looks much more confident afterwards.</p><p></p><p>Next, we continue our journey towards the artists' camp in Cloudwood. As we learned from Nilasa's file that she had been living near Nevard's presumed retreat a year ago, we plan to use the opportunity to gather more information. On our way to the artist's community we are stopped by a group of people and druids who ask us of our whereabouts. Since we are not interested in revealing information about RHC affairs to possible members of a bandit group, we rebuff their questions as politely as possible. To get them off track, we venture into the undergrowth (<span style="color: #008000">both Auryn and Carlyle are used to the jungle</span>) to take a long detour to the small community. (<span style="color: #0000FF">and there goes my attempt to reward them by having the druids guide them to Nevard. *grin* Paranoia reared its ugly head.</span>)</p><p></p><p>The musicians and dancers of the artist enclave appear to be cheerful and friendly and seem to know Nilasa. We talk to one of her old acquaintances and tell her about Nilasa's accident, her contacts to "activists" and the job she had in Sechim's factory. The community's people invite us share a meal with them, which we gratefully accept. When an elf starts an old ritual dance of the maiden aspect of Srasama, Carlyle appears strangely kicked out, as if someone had hypnotized him. When Auryn jokingly shakes him up the "spell" that seemed to have put him in trance dissipates . As she remembers the rituals of her past, Auryn joins the elf in her dance but forgoes further "fascinations".</p><p></p><p>Gradually, we start talking about Nevard and people finally believe that we are true "acquaintances" of Heward Sechim - not just people who abuse his name to get to famous Nevard. We find that the artists and inhabitants of Cloudwood are all more or less connected to Renard's gang and that they use to defend each others. They tell us that we have been put under observation, as they were being cautious. But now they are pretty sure we are all right. In addition, we should turn to the druids who protect Nevard for further information. So we make our way to the druids who had previously come to Renard's help (<span style="color: #008000">and asked us of our whereabouts</span>) and learn that we should meet up with them next morning. Auryn proposes to camp in order to not to lose any time, but Carlyle is less enthusiastic about her plan as he longs for his own bed and his home. So we agree to go home together (<span style="color: #008000">Auryn does not want to stay with people she doesn't know, at least not on her own</span>).</p><p></p><p>In the night, Carlyle is spied on by a raven and he isn't really amused by the fact that the avian is watching him constantly. He quickly catches the raven in a sack and locks the protesting bird in his closet. (<span style="color: #0000FF">poor raven was only doing his job</span>)</p><p></p><p>The next morning, Auryn gives her perplexed looking colleague a golden calla as a gift (<span style="color: #008000">a mean of thanking him for the long hours of training/distracting her from darker thoughts. Reference to Calla Aurea, which is her alter ego and also the botanical name for her favorite flower</span>). Carlyle, however, is eyeing the plant suspiciously, since it can also be used to extract mentally influencing substances. Auryn suspects the Raven might be a druid's companion, and so we decide to release the bird again, as he will have learned his lesson.</p><p></p><p>On our way to the office, we - again - hope to meet LeBrix at the cafe, but only see Cippiano, who keeps a favorable eye on the beginning construction of a nearby boule train. (<span style="color: #0000FF">the players asked me to give more life to reoccurring npc and i thought a villain with a clean criminal record would engage in community work</span>) In the RHC, we commission the observation of the alleged Familia member and mention that Cippiano converses mainly in the common language of Crisillyir. We take a closer look at the freshly arrived police report on the case of Nilasa and get a description of her possible contact who received papers from her before her death: He is described to be a man with a goatee who has disappeared in the Heringsgasse and left a strangely smeared puddle of blood there. A coachman also told the police that this alleged "doctor" wanted a ride to the "house of the blue birds" where he disappeared without paying him. As we have an appointment with the druids, we decide to check up on the doctor later. We also learn that the figure who shot at Nilasa was shrouded in shadows and had a glittering revolver (?) in his hands. As this person was nowhere to be found, we suspect that he/she might have disappeared via magic.</p><p></p><p>We meet with the druids who show us the way to Nevard. The Raven is also present and eyeing Carlyle suspiciously. (<span style="color: #0000FF">the raven and Mr. Carlyle will never be friends, how sad.</span>)Together, we walk to a tent which is placed next to a stone circle. Nevard is actually a more than ancient Skyseer who seems to be proud of his grandson Heward's accomplishments. He tells us that he might be able to get us in contact with Gale but asks us to do him a favor first: he wants to get a last vision as he feels like his death might be upon him. For this vision, he wants to use his last remaining power to go all the way up to Cauldron Hill, as only there he can have an clear view on the stars. He tells us that he hopes to bring all people of Flint together and, with the help of his vision, create a better future for everyone. We consider this a noble project and agree with his plan. However, since we have heard and seen terrible things from Cauldron Hill, we first want to pay a visit to mayor Reed MacBannin's house, as he should know how to deal with dark magic. Also, we know that we'd need his consent to explore the hill. Nevard agrees to this and names us a contact, to whom we are to report if we want to pick him up.</p><p></p><p>Then we go to the estate of the mayor, a spacious, well-tended area, which is particularly charming to Auryn. MacBannin's butler asks for our patience while he tells his master that RHC agents are looking for his help. On this occasion, we meet a mysterious, slender man who seems to be a bit absent minded and philosophizes in monologue about the current condition of Flint. When he notices our our present, he offers us a leaf of Nicodemus which we thankfully accept. Dragging us into his philosophical musings, he seems to see the world in a state of perpetual chaos, which desperately calls for a new world order. He asks us about our thoughts on the aspirations and aims of the population of Flint and how one could serve them best. Carlyle sharply rejects the trend of gaining power through money, which he considers to be an illegitimate way to accumulate political influence, and states his fears that in the near future wars could be waged purely for profit. Auryn sees a problem in the fact that many people only have their own interests and points of view in mind and thus see everything that does not belong to their own sphere as some sort of enemy. She pleads for exchanging experiences and to let people seek their happiness. The three of them can roughly agree on the thought that people need benevolent, sensible leaders who are altruistic enough to not only pursue their own interests. At his departure, the mysterious man reveals himself as Doro.</p><p></p><p>(<span style="color: #0000FF">unexpectedly at least to me the players instantly liked Doro and thought he was "cool"</span>)</p><p></p><p>Shortly thereafter we are greeted by MacBannin. The mayor asks us for the reason why we'd want to visit the hill and we tell him about Nevard's concerns. MacBannin tells us that we should start our journey during the day and have our camp fixed before nightfall. In addition, we would have to wear amulets for protection and stay in circles drawn with the blood of animals, which can distract evil spirits. In any case, however, we should start and end our journey at his estate. He also advises us to maybe go up this the same day, as the weather is just favorable. Plus, we should make sure to have protection against the unnatural cold which haunts the mountain's top at night. We agree to this and decide to quickly buy some equipment and then to contact Nevard.</p><p></p><p>(<span style="color: #0000FF">nice day ... lots of roleplaying and negotiations. Rewarding but no big surprises this session</span>)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tizbiz, post: 7098383, member: 6874057"] Since we are still concerned about the security of Heward Sechim, we visit the police station responsible for the security of Parity Lake. We are shocked to hear that the local officials have apparently very little knowledge of the worker's situation in the factories and hardly patrol there. ([COLOR=#0000FF]well, depends who pays for them avoiding certain places. I know, that my industrial places look like a extremly poverty ridden Charles Dickens horror story ... sorry[/COLOR]).According to the police, there are extremely few reports of mistreatment, blackmail, or arson, and we are trying our best to set the picture of the actual situation straight for the officials. We also officially demand police protection for Sechim and his factory as he is obviously being blackmailed and threatened. Next, we head towards Cloudwood to perhaps gain the opportunity to talk to Sechim's grandfather, Nevard. On our way to the old Skyseer, however, we hear the sounds of gunfire. We decide that we, being the only officials of Flint present at this place, cannot simply ignore what might be happening nearby. Behind the next hill, we witness a strange scenery: a carriage which is about to slide down a slope and is already spiked with arrows is being shot at with arrows from two sides. Meanwhile the carriage's passengers fire back with pistols. Additionally, a panic woman is screaming for help from inside the carriage. As we suspect a case of robbery, we reveal ourselves as agents of the RHC. This doesn't seem to win us any friends on either side. ([COLOR=#0000FF]the astonished look in the partys eyes was priceless as both groups opened fire on the RHC agents[/COLOR]) In order to prevent the carriage from crashing down, Auryn sends an invisible servant to give the horse a friendly push in the right direction ([COLOR=#008000]invisible servants cannot carry that much, but an unforseen "pat" on the backside works wonders[/COLOR]) and we agree to take care of the attackers as gently as possible. After having "pacified" the first group of outlaws, we take the opportunity to ask the leader of the bandits, a certain Renard ([COLOR=#008000]hey Woodsman, where are your Black Horse Mercenaries? ;[/COLOR]) ), who doesn't cease calling for a certain "Morena", why he is attacking the carriage at all. It takes a bit back and forth with angry Renard and the hazy situation becomes much clearer: Morena, the screaming, but rather defensive lady in the coach, is actually the fiancée of Renard. Morena was abducted as an act of revenge for "interfering in the affairs" of the carriage's owners ([COLOR=#008000]judging from their looks they seem to be gang menbers of Flint[/COLOR]), so Renard and his people wanted to rescue her and kill the criminals for their crimes. Little by little, we try to negotiate a deal which might prevent a lot of bloodshed: Morena is returned to Renard and his people ([COLOR=#008000]the bandits vastly outnumber the criminals thanks to reinforcements and Morena's death would certainly end in a massacre[/COLOR]) and we take the criminals into "protective custody" to protect them from Renard as he still wants to see them dead. Renard agrees on the deal and gives us the opportunity to lead the criminals away. ([COLOR=#0000ff]one thing i learned from this encounter ... due to the party having only two players and negotiating instead of fighting i did not really notice that the two chars were at a higher level than the adventure would assume already and their chars were outright frightening effective in combat. The fight was a walk in the park .... i still decided to not change anything besides the maximising of Hit Points which is recommended for Gestaltcharacter campaigns. I want to avoid an arms race type of exploding experience and even faster level ups if i adjust the challenge rating of the attackers.[/COLOR]) We lead the carriage minus Morena to the local police station in the Nettles. The criminals are surprised that potective custody does not only include protection, but also custody, but cannot really resist their arrest. The bailiffs are not too happy about the prospect of having enemies of Renard in their cells. Still they promise that the criminals will be detained and interrogated and their identity proven. We especially encourage the young Steffen, who looks much more confident afterwards. Next, we continue our journey towards the artists' camp in Cloudwood. As we learned from Nilasa's file that she had been living near Nevard's presumed retreat a year ago, we plan to use the opportunity to gather more information. On our way to the artist's community we are stopped by a group of people and druids who ask us of our whereabouts. Since we are not interested in revealing information about RHC affairs to possible members of a bandit group, we rebuff their questions as politely as possible. To get them off track, we venture into the undergrowth ([COLOR=#008000]both Auryn and Carlyle are used to the jungle[/COLOR]) to take a long detour to the small community. ([COLOR=#0000FF]and there goes my attempt to reward them by having the druids guide them to Nevard. *grin* Paranoia reared its ugly head.[/COLOR]) The musicians and dancers of the artist enclave appear to be cheerful and friendly and seem to know Nilasa. We talk to one of her old acquaintances and tell her about Nilasa's accident, her contacts to "activists" and the job she had in Sechim's factory. The community's people invite us share a meal with them, which we gratefully accept. When an elf starts an old ritual dance of the maiden aspect of Srasama, Carlyle appears strangely kicked out, as if someone had hypnotized him. When Auryn jokingly shakes him up the "spell" that seemed to have put him in trance dissipates . As she remembers the rituals of her past, Auryn joins the elf in her dance but forgoes further "fascinations". Gradually, we start talking about Nevard and people finally believe that we are true "acquaintances" of Heward Sechim - not just people who abuse his name to get to famous Nevard. We find that the artists and inhabitants of Cloudwood are all more or less connected to Renard's gang and that they use to defend each others. They tell us that we have been put under observation, as they were being cautious. But now they are pretty sure we are all right. In addition, we should turn to the druids who protect Nevard for further information. So we make our way to the druids who had previously come to Renard's help ([COLOR=#008000]and asked us of our whereabouts[/COLOR]) and learn that we should meet up with them next morning. Auryn proposes to camp in order to not to lose any time, but Carlyle is less enthusiastic about her plan as he longs for his own bed and his home. So we agree to go home together ([COLOR=#008000]Auryn does not want to stay with people she doesn't know, at least not on her own[/COLOR]). In the night, Carlyle is spied on by a raven and he isn't really amused by the fact that the avian is watching him constantly. He quickly catches the raven in a sack and locks the protesting bird in his closet. ([COLOR=#0000FF]poor raven was only doing his job[/COLOR]) The next morning, Auryn gives her perplexed looking colleague a golden calla as a gift ([COLOR=#008000]a mean of thanking him for the long hours of training/distracting her from darker thoughts. Reference to Calla Aurea, which is her alter ego and also the botanical name for her favorite flower[/COLOR]). Carlyle, however, is eyeing the plant suspiciously, since it can also be used to extract mentally influencing substances. Auryn suspects the Raven might be a druid's companion, and so we decide to release the bird again, as he will have learned his lesson. On our way to the office, we - again - hope to meet LeBrix at the cafe, but only see Cippiano, who keeps a favorable eye on the beginning construction of a nearby boule train. ([COLOR=#0000FF]the players asked me to give more life to reoccurring npc and i thought a villain with a clean criminal record would engage in community work[/COLOR]) In the RHC, we commission the observation of the alleged Familia member and mention that Cippiano converses mainly in the common language of Crisillyir. We take a closer look at the freshly arrived police report on the case of Nilasa and get a description of her possible contact who received papers from her before her death: He is described to be a man with a goatee who has disappeared in the Heringsgasse and left a strangely smeared puddle of blood there. A coachman also told the police that this alleged "doctor" wanted a ride to the "house of the blue birds" where he disappeared without paying him. As we have an appointment with the druids, we decide to check up on the doctor later. We also learn that the figure who shot at Nilasa was shrouded in shadows and had a glittering revolver (?) in his hands. As this person was nowhere to be found, we suspect that he/she might have disappeared via magic. We meet with the druids who show us the way to Nevard. The Raven is also present and eyeing Carlyle suspiciously. ([COLOR=#0000FF]the raven and Mr. Carlyle will never be friends, how sad.[/COLOR])Together, we walk to a tent which is placed next to a stone circle. Nevard is actually a more than ancient Skyseer who seems to be proud of his grandson Heward's accomplishments. He tells us that he might be able to get us in contact with Gale but asks us to do him a favor first: he wants to get a last vision as he feels like his death might be upon him. For this vision, he wants to use his last remaining power to go all the way up to Cauldron Hill, as only there he can have an clear view on the stars. He tells us that he hopes to bring all people of Flint together and, with the help of his vision, create a better future for everyone. We consider this a noble project and agree with his plan. However, since we have heard and seen terrible things from Cauldron Hill, we first want to pay a visit to mayor Reed MacBannin's house, as he should know how to deal with dark magic. Also, we know that we'd need his consent to explore the hill. Nevard agrees to this and names us a contact, to whom we are to report if we want to pick him up. Then we go to the estate of the mayor, a spacious, well-tended area, which is particularly charming to Auryn. MacBannin's butler asks for our patience while he tells his master that RHC agents are looking for his help. On this occasion, we meet a mysterious, slender man who seems to be a bit absent minded and philosophizes in monologue about the current condition of Flint. When he notices our our present, he offers us a leaf of Nicodemus which we thankfully accept. Dragging us into his philosophical musings, he seems to see the world in a state of perpetual chaos, which desperately calls for a new world order. He asks us about our thoughts on the aspirations and aims of the population of Flint and how one could serve them best. Carlyle sharply rejects the trend of gaining power through money, which he considers to be an illegitimate way to accumulate political influence, and states his fears that in the near future wars could be waged purely for profit. Auryn sees a problem in the fact that many people only have their own interests and points of view in mind and thus see everything that does not belong to their own sphere as some sort of enemy. She pleads for exchanging experiences and to let people seek their happiness. The three of them can roughly agree on the thought that people need benevolent, sensible leaders who are altruistic enough to not only pursue their own interests. At his departure, the mysterious man reveals himself as Doro. ([COLOR=#0000FF]unexpectedly at least to me the players instantly liked Doro and thought he was "cool"[/COLOR]) Shortly thereafter we are greeted by MacBannin. The mayor asks us for the reason why we'd want to visit the hill and we tell him about Nevard's concerns. MacBannin tells us that we should start our journey during the day and have our camp fixed before nightfall. In addition, we would have to wear amulets for protection and stay in circles drawn with the blood of animals, which can distract evil spirits. In any case, however, we should start and end our journey at his estate. He also advises us to maybe go up this the same day, as the weather is just favorable. Plus, we should make sure to have protection against the unnatural cold which haunts the mountain's top at night. We agree to this and decide to quickly buy some equipment and then to contact Nevard. ([COLOR=#0000FF]nice day ... lots of roleplaying and negotiations. Rewarding but no big surprises this session[/COLOR]) [/QUOTE]
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