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

SanjMerchant said:

And he's still alive.

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Rumdoom's not death obsessed in that way. His branch of eschatology (which he developed himself) is focused on dishing out 'good endings' to those who will have a 'bad ending' if Rumdoom doesn't intervene. But he responds very positively to anyone who believes in something. Even if they happen to believe in something he disagrees with.

SanjMerchant said:

If you hadn't said otherwise with your aside, I would've assumed that Gupta was specifically not gestalting with Oscan (because blurring your psyche with even a well-behaved sociopath has got to be unnerving to say the least), and just trying, on her own, to answer "What would literally the worst person do in this situation?" and perhaps somewhat overshooting the mark.

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She wasn't gestalting, but 'acting' Oscan. I just happen to think Oscan would be a little more subtle than that. These Ob officers have such interesting, fleshed-out personalities, but the opportunity to genuinely interact with them is minimal.

I should add that because of Xambria's past, she is 'trained' in gestalt. She can therefore help the others in gestalt attempts, which makes their mission a little bit less dangerous.

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.

Uru asks if anyone else thinks they may be on the wrong side.

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My work here is done!

RangerWickett said:

My work here is done!

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It certainly is!

It is a huge strength of the campaign that the 'villains' have good intentions. In fairness, Uru's comment was more of a wisecrack than a philosophical comment. But to my surprise, Korrigan's player (out of character in an email exchange) asked the others if any of them had considered switching sides. I know Xambria's player - very much in-character - is fascinated by the Ob's archaeological discoveries and has asked several of the others if they would consider, at the very least, not interfering with what the Ob has planned if the convocation goes the right way. But Leon, Matunaaga and Korrigan (in-character, so far) have all said they fear that the risks are too great.

What do you think about the fourth murder idea, @RangerWickett?

(Scratch that last question, I found the info on ending the ritual!)

By the way, since you brought him up, what was the deal with Malthusius? I seem to recall (and like the time to dig through the archives to confirm) that he got himself killed after he beat Roland's Bluff with his +Yes to Sense Motive. And they were eventually able to find his new incarnation Uriel (?), though perhaps not soon enough to have his memories from his Malthusius lifetime persist that way Roland's seem to. Since then he's been hanging out in the Gidim-Foe village in the mountains, yes? What I can't recall is whether, either in or out of character, Malthusius was able to pass along the Shocking Revelation about Roland. And is Malthusius's player playing someone else or is he away from the game because life?

SanjMerchant said:

By the way, since you brought him up, what was the deal with Malthusius? I seem to recall (and like the time to dig through the archives to confirm) that he got himself killed after he beat Roland's Bluff with his +Yes to Sense Motive. And they were eventually able to find his new incarnation Uriel (?), though perhaps not soon enough to have his memories from his Malthusius lifetime persist that way Roland's seem to. Since then he's been hanging out in the Gidim-Foe village in the mountains, yes? What I can't recall is whether, either in or out of character, Malthusius was able to pass along the Shocking Revelation about Roland. And is Malthusius's player playing someone else or is he away from the game because life?

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All of your recollections about Malthusius/Uriel are spot on. But no - he wasn't able to pass on the shocking revelation - that was the whole point of having him murdered! So the player knows, but he can't tell anyone. Uriel was unable to retrieve Malthusius' memories because he is his third reincarnation (the previous two having been offed by Stanfield's assassins). Uriel will retrieve the memories of all of Malthusius' incarnations during adventure 8, using the Arc of Reida, so he will be able to deliver the Shocking Revelation himself.

Meantime, his player was supposed to be playing Conquo/Xambria, until he accidentally got Conquo killed - which came as a shock to us all. At which point I decided to have Xambria leap out and inhabit a duplicant, to give him someone to play until Uriel is required. The player likes making new builds and tinkering so it was nice for him to change up. (Throughout the orignal campaign, as Malthusius was not an official member of the unit, he would play guest characters during the buffer adventures: Oolsholeel the sea elf druid; Sly Marbo the hare hengeyokai, etc.)

We all miss Conquo though. Sniff.

gideonpepys said:

... he is his third reincarnation (the previous two having been offed by Stanfield's assassins)...

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I think I'd forgotten about those two because I got the erroneous impression they'd gotten retconned away by the whole Jenny Greenteeth timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly-ness.

Uriel will retrieve the memories of all of Malthusius' incarnations during adventure 8, using the Arc of Reida,

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I wonder where they'll run into Malthusius/Uriel/Wheover 1.0?

The player like making new builds and tinkering so it was nice for him to change up.

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Glad someone else out there enjoys the character creation minigame.

We all miss Conquo though. Sniff.

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That we do. :raises glass:

Session 17 Interim - The Preliminary Vote

We dealt with this via email so we could come back to our second convocation session with the initial vote in the bag. I decided to alter the vote numbers to make the count a little closer, for dramaturgical purposes. But I forgot to alter the later count (or estimate) made by Dame Constance Baden, so I hope the players aren't keeping track! Here is a bunch of 'readaloud' text from the adventure that I simply sent my players. Apologies for cribbing this straight from the adventure. Note that I had already sent out details of each of the portals from the gallery, as the players visited the gallery but did not interact with the portals for fear of disturbing their hosts and being forced into a contest! (They are a cautious bunch. Understandable under the circumstances.)

Into the Night
The conspirators discuss, then cast a preliminary vote, all the while conscious of the murder that has just taken place.

The mood of the convocation has turned wary. Some theories are bandied around, including that a spy has infiltrated them, that this is some sort of mind game by Nicodemus, or that someone’s trying to kill people who would vote for a different faction. (Everyone was fairly sure Erskine would vote Arboretum.) Amielle Latimer jokingly suggests it could be 'the ghost pirates', and eagerly tells the story of how a crew all perished at the hands of the clergy when their ship was set ablaze just off Mutravir Island. (Some say you can still hear their screams...)

Most people gather in the trophy room or the dance hall to have large group discussions, with a few people getting up the courage to go in small groups to visit the Portal Gallery.

All the while, Nicodemus is peeling officers away one by one and talking to them. (Some of you go now; the rest, along with any remaining officers will be seen after the initial vote. We'll deal with this in-session, obvs.)

Preliminary Vote.
At midnight, Nicodemus asks everyone to gather again in the Main Hall. Erected on stage is a metal plate with the names of the five factions painted on it, as well as “Other.” Beside it is another plate with small magnetic tags, each of which has the name of one of the Obscurati officers.

Erskine's magnet has been placed on Arboretum, to discourage any further shenanigans.

Nicodemus asks people to file through, pick up their named magnet and cast a vote. He reminds them this is just preliminary, and that tomorrow night everyone will be able to cast a new vote, and that other proposals might be added between now and then.

Count.

The players voted Miller's Pyre as a bloc of six, with Rumdoom (as Kiov Hetman) abstaining, on the basis of 'insufficient evidence'. He was encouraged to revisit the portal gallery. Rumdoom did this in order to draw out staunch advocates of different factions - making himself a target for their advances.

Everyone is asked to vote, even if they just vote Other. Nicodemus goes first, placing his magnet on Miller’s Pyre. Vicemi Terio goes next, telekinetically placing the twenty-five magnets for himself and the majority of the Ghost Council on Other. He explains that after the final vote, the Ghost Council will endorse whichever faction has the most votes.

Including your votes, the result is:

• The Arboretum. 4 votes.
• Colossus. 12 votes.
• Miller’s Pyre. 14 votes.
• Panarchists. 7 votes.
• Watchmakers. 5 votes.
• Other. 8 votes, plus 25 ghosts.

The “Other” votes are cast by the representatives of the minor factions. (This is when discussion of those factions really hots up.)

Dining on Ashes
After the vote, people go back to various conversation spots to keep on politicking and debating. One proposal that starts to gather a fair bit of support is a compromise — designed by Dame Constance Baden — called MAP. It mixes elements of Miller’s Pyre, Arboretum, and Panarchists, as well as Long Now, Trekkers, and Sky League. Dame Constance estimates they can get 24 votes easily, and if it gets the Ghost Council and Vicemi that’s 49 out of the necessary 57.

Unfortunately, those in the Colossus and Watchmaker factions are strongly opposed to Miller’s Pyre, and shrug off accusations that they’re just worried they’ll end up with less power in the new world order.

I'll post the debate email later, along with an interesting email exchange between my players.

Interestingly, my players never considered what voting as a bloc might look like, and neither did I until now. Is it likely that anyone in the Ob leadership will notice this? Particularly since they know how ruthless Oscan is...

I'd totally have someone pull Oscan aside and be all, seriously dude, either you're f***ing with us, or you have some super f***ed up way you're intending to abuse that new system. What is it? Some sort of 'use empathy as a new way to torment people'?