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

[gideonpepys]

Session 61 - A Night in Cherage & Cherage to Orithea

Session 61


A Night in Cherage

• Malia Baccharin asked everyone to return to their seats as they approached Cherage.
• The Danoran capital was built on seven hills around a steeply sloping bay. The architecture here was splendid, the smell of industry masked by the geography of the hills and the stiff winter breeze.
• It was divided into various enclaves, with a curfew preventing citizens from entering the wrong enclave after nightfall.
• The rail enclave contained two hotels (one posh, one inexpensive), a number of bars and restaurants, a theatre and some other tourist attractions.
• As the group disembarked, it became clear that the majority of 1st and 2nd class passengers - save those who were staying in Cherage for good - were headed for the posh hotel, while the guards, militia and coach passengers were staying in the flophouse on the other side of the tracks.
• Magic item salesman Alexi Morbacher could be seen organising a team of dwarves unloading huge crates of merchandise.
• The unit headed for the posh hotel and set about keeping tabs on their individual targets.
• Korrigan waited for the Grientos to return from their sight-seeing. While cooling his heels, he established that the hotel staff had little time for Elanor Yanette.
• Sly Marbo went after Bethany Cousineau. She went to the theatre, during which Sly nodded off (or thought he had...) Then she went back to her hotel room and went to bed. Sly headed back to the train to keep an eye on things there.
• Malthusius headed off to the fundraiser, heading out of the rail enclave. (The fundraiser invitation doubled as a pass to do so.)
• Rumdoom latched on to Verzubak, who sat in the foyer of the posh hotel, playing with a casino chip and watching the world go by. Verzubak, though always friendly, turned out to be incredibly boring.
• Uru followed Boone who, having got a room in the posh hotel, went to the cheap hotel to pick up some poomtang. He began chatting up a pretty teenage girl, and then left with her to head for L'Wabe du Fonne, a popular bar.
• Matunaaga followed Bree to the same place.
• After a while, Verzubak headed there too. Tagging along with him, Rumdoom came across an altercation involving Korrigan, the Grientos and a group of drunken railway militiamen. The latter had begun to verbally abuse and threaten the half-orc 'savages' as they returned to the hotel, which led to a scuffle when Dabo Griento flew into a rage typical of pubescant half-orc girls. As the militiamen began to rough the family up, Korrigan intervened, flooring one of the men when they refused to back down. Rumdoom immediately threw himself into the fray and ended it very quickly indeed. The police arrived (whereupon Verzubak promptly scarpered), and accepted a small bribe to overlook the incident. Korrigan and the Grientos returned to the hotel, while Rumdoom chased after Verzubak.
• Meanwhile, Leon followed Elanor Yanette and her veiled companion Isobel, who left the rail enclave in the company of two guards and headed to a plush mansion owned by an influential bureaucrat. They left by carriage some hours later and returned to the posh hotel.
• Only Damata Griento felt up to eating after the incident with the miltia, so he and Korrigan went to get some food. During their after-dinner conversation, Korrigan collapsed and woke up transformed into his earthshock manifestation (which he had recently learned to suppress). He quickly turned back to 'human' and made suitable excuses.
• Following an exuberent toast made by Verzubak in L'Wabe du Fonne, after a big win at cards, Olivert Boone left the bar with his female companion, and skipped out of the rail enclave to canoodle in a darkened alleyway (with Uru watching over him).
• Bree attempted to slip out of L'Wabe but was spotted by Matunaaga who continued to tail her. Bree now seemed to be aware that she was being tailed. Her route led straight past Olivert who happened to stumble drunkenly out of the alleyway into Matunaaga's path. He drunkenly apologised, but Bree had given Matunaaga the slip.
• Uru, however, had picked up her trail, realising that she was at least up to something a bit more interesting than Boone. She had a pass that allowed her to move from enclave to enclave after curfew. As they entered a very well-to-do region of the city (near to the centre of government judging by all the civic buildings) Uru's attempt to follow her was ended when he inexplicably collapsed. On waking up just moments later, he contacted Korrigan, who began to message all of the other team members.
• It turned out that each one of them had suffered a similar episode: Leon and Matunaaga as they returned to the hotel; Sly in the theatre; Rumdoom in L'Wabe ("But you're not even drinking!" exclaimed Verzubak, before leading Rumdoom on an extended tour of the enclave's other nightspots); and Malthusius in his jail cell.
• Yes, by this time, the organisers of the fundraiser (for orphans of the the Yerasol war) had spotted the stranger in their midst and called for the police. Malthusius had gone quietly and spent the evening trying to talk himself out of this awkward situation without connecting himself to the unit...
• Both Leon and Korrigan bore witness to a strange sight as they returned to the hotel. A physically imposing man dashed past dressed in nothing but an old coat. He was being pursued by enclave police and was grinning with enjoyment. He jumped over fence adjacent to the railway and disappeared.
• That night, Leon asked for Uru's help. Without letting anyone else know, they returned to the house of the bureaucrat visited by Elanor and Isobel, and broke in. The podgy administrator was terrified when he awoke to the sight of a tiefling and a gremlin sitting on the edge of his bed. Leon asked him one question: "What does Isobel look like?" to which the man responded, "A beautiful eladrin maiden". Then Leon cut his throat and set fire to his bed before the pair returned to the rail enclave. (This sudden and uncharacteristically ruthless act by Leon really reflects his burning desire to defend the fey and uphold the Vekeshi philosophy. Player earns a benny. Uru's player is thrilled that for once someone else is drawing shocked expressions from the rest of the group.)

Cherage to Orithea

• Next morning, the unit kept an eye out for new passengers, while Malia and some other guards loaded a crate of firearms onto the train for use during the Malice Lands safari.
• Malthusius had still to be released from his jail cell and would have to try to catch up with the unit in some way.
• As they boarded, they noticed the following newcomers:
• The 'mystery guests' joining them in first class were a flat-faced tiefling noble and a sternly beautiful elf whose hand and neck tattoos indicated that she was a clergy oracle. They communicated in sign language, before the tiefling thanked a guard with a heavy stammer. They learned from Elanor that the man was Luc Jierre, member of the Danoran royal family, and a recluse. She guessed the woman might be his bought bride and wished that she could have arranged such a lucrative match herself. The pair headed straight for their suite and remained there for the entire journey.
• Malia Baccharin was approached by a handsome man with an attache case chained to his wrist. There was an urgent exchange between the two before he boarded in second class. Uru disovered that his name was Cardiff Hengehill. He spoke in a Risuri accent and was rudely dismissive of Uru in his 'inquisitive halfling' guise.
• Another individual was spotted radiating nervousness and briefly arguing with the ticket vendor. Matunaaga spotted that this man had spots of blood on the soles of his boots.
• Leon saw another second-class passenger studying arcane documents. She was a Danoran Professor studying the effects of the Malice Lands. Her name was Kipana Swansdottir. She heartily recommended a museum in Orithea dedicated to Pala - the state established by the heretic philosopher William Miller and asked the handsome tiefling if he would like to accompany her...
• A chatty little man with thick spectacles bore a case that was heavily warded by magic. He claimed to be an ophthalmologist named Dan Boyene and his suitcase was filled with (newfangled and very expensive) lenses and specs.
• Also joining the train at Cherage was Herbert Nembillion, a tall, loud and well-built duellist heading for the arena in the independent border city of Nalaam.
• The group discussed the strange fainting phenomenon from the night before. Leon was perplexed, as magic did not work in the Dead Magic Zone, except for items which slowly drained over time. So it was hard to explain how they had all been affected at once, and no ritual or spell he had ever heard of could affect so many people over such a distance.
• The train left Danor and entered the Malice Lands. It would not stop now until it reached Orithea. As soon as they left the Dead Magic Zone, Leon secretly contacted the Vekeshi with a sending to report on the Elanor/Isobel situation.
• Soon afterwards, despite the cold, the safari went ahead as planned. Korrigan and 'Kai' joined Damata and Tarro Griento on the roof of the first class carriage - alongside Matunaaga, Cardiff Hengehill (who attached his briefcase to his ankle so he could aim), Olivert Boone, Bree Kaldeckis and Herbert Nembillion - all taking potshots at luckless malice creatures, while Malia and two more guards kept an eye out for danger.
• The noise of gunfire disturbed a stowaway - the half-naked man from last night appeared on the roof of one of the luggage compartments, waving a crowbar angrily. Train guards rushed to apprehend the man, but failed to locate him despite a thoroughgoing search.
• As they pulled in to Orithea, it was time once again to decide who the unit would follow.

As mentioned in my previous report, the Ob are trying to scry the group, but their attempts are being obfuscated by Uru's regalia granting him low-ranking membership of the Unseen Court. They tried clairvoyance (which the regalia blocked by plunging the first class carriage into darkness), then mind-reading (causing anyone who knows where Uru is to faint). Their final attempt will be a few days hence, when the necessary reagents have been sourced, and will succeed. The timing of this latest episode meant, of course, that Uru was unable to follow Bree to the royal palace. But I don't feel too bad about that, as he was told to switch targets by Korrigan's player when Boone 'accidentally' stumbled into Matunaaga.

Meanwhile, some real-life challenges have beset my players. Least of my worries this week was the one-off absence of Malthusius. (Hence his arrest.) But both Sly (from last week) and Rumdoom (from two weeks hence) need to take some time out. Their absence is tough to explain on a train journey. I could just get them arrested, but for what?

I'm keeping Sly on board as an NPC, just in case anything happens to one of the other characters. (So Malthusius can play him until he manages to free himself and rejoin the group...) Only he won't be in the first class carriage when Luc pulls his lantern trick (because he is masquerading as one of the guards), so my idea is that he will rush to the front of the train and be captured by the bad guys (just as the rest of the unit chase after Ottavia and her illusions). This will fit in very neatly with his background as a POW. He will be a captive during the final encounter. Not sure how to make the most of that. Would the bad guys kill him if the unit attack?

Rumdoom will attend the lecture by Vlendam Heid and agree to help Damata. My idea here is that he will want to go alone, to allow the others to pursue their mission, and that the Family cave is a day's travel from the rail enclave. (I mean, why would they make it easy for Damata?) That gets Rumdoom out of the picture for a while, and leaves him to fight Family alone - an encounter we may not play out until the player returns. If he loses, the unit will need to call in a favour from Cippiano...

All of this will leave just five characters for the remainder of the adventure and will be the first time they have tackled challenging encounters without a defender. (When Rumdoom was absent previously they had Karl Krauss in the group - a hybrid swordmage; and for the Dreaming buffer adventure they were joined by the fey golem Conquo.) So it will be interesting to see how they manage.
This session was a real challenge to DM (as were the previous two). My advice is to prepare well. I have a sheet telling me which NPCs board and leave the train at each station; another telling me what each one of them does in every city; and a reminder post-it note on my DM's screen that says ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES. (I have a habit sometimes of throwing obstacles in the path of player actions/suggestions that I wasn't expecting, particularly if they threaten to open up a can of worms or make things really complicated, and I'm determined not to respond in such a negative fashion during this adventure - or subsequent ones for that matter!)

Always on Time is quite the most unusual of D&D adventures - even more mold-breaking then previous episodes. My players have recognised that and commented very positively on it. Also, this is a record-breaking third session in a row without any combat (unless you count the scuffle with the militia, which I don't).

 

[gideonpepys]

Session 62a - Aurora over Orithea

Session 62

• The train passed through a hilltop fort on the border of Danor and the Malice lands. Large numbers of disembarking troops were greeted by a brass band playing upbeat celebratory music: The Malice Lands seemed to reflect the mood of the people within it, and it was important to keep spirits high.
• Korrigan experienced a more dramatic side-effect, thanks to his arcane link to the earth, which (having been easily suppressed in the dead magic zone) suddenly returned with a vengeance. As they clambered down from the roof following the safari, his arm suddenly spasmed and returned to its stone form, yanking a rung off the ladder in the process. Matunaaga managed to catch him, and with the help of a concerned Damata Griento, helped him to his suite. The symptoms of the ailment were disorienting. Korrigan vomited up a small school of goldfish and then collapsed.
• Meanwhile, Uru headed down the train in the direction of the luggage cars. While down there, he stumbled across the slumbering figure of the strange hobo, asleep with one eye open in a crate of religious artifacts. The hobo reached out and grabbed the young boy he saw before him. He said they were going to play a game of hide and seek, but Uru said he wasn't allowed to play with strangers, so the hobo introduced himself as Mister Mapple and told Uru to run and hide. "Don't tell anyone you found me, or I will come and find you. And the people I find don't enjoy the experience." Uru scuttled off to tell the rest of the unit, but it was decided that Mr Mapple was unlikely to be Obscurati.
• Leon divided his team as they arrived into Orithea: once they had bundled Korrigan into his hotel room, Leon would follow Luc & Ottavia; Uru would follow Bree; Rumdoom would try to tail Olivert Boone; Matunaaga would shadow Cardiff Hengehill; and Sly decided to tail Leeroy Flowers - the man with blood on his shoes. (Malthusius sent word that he would meet them in Trekhom, having caught a fast clipper ship.)
• Cardiff Hengehill headed for Brilliance, a plush tower-top restaurant with a phenomenal view of the arcane aurora that crackled over the Malice Lands.
• Leeroy Flowers took a room in the cheap rail enclave hotel, bought some booze and went back to his room.
• Olivert Boone picked up a girl in the posh hotel, dallied with her on the way to the Effervescent Cup, a popular nightspot. Some time later he snuck out for a canoodle, where Rumdoom lost him. Rumdoom picked him back up again as he headed for an inn outside the rail enclave where he spent the night with his lady friend (until Rumdoom lost interest in the early hours).
• Bree Kaldeckis also went to the Effervescent Cup. Uru watched as, just like the night before, she left the bar by a back door and headed past the alleyway where Boone was canoodling. She then made for the docks where she spoke to a team of stevedores with a horse and cart. After she had handed them some money, she sat on the dock wall watching the aurora.
• When Luc and Ottavia left the posh hotel, Luc was carrying a large square case. On the advice of a concierge they headed for the Cup, where they both looked out of place and uncomfortable. Then they headed for the Night Market.
• Here Leon witnessed an encounter between Elanor, Isobel and Mister Mapple, who seemed to have taken an interest in the veiled maiden. When Elanor reached for her spell components, he grabbed her wrist, but fled when she screamed for help.
• In the busy market, Leon almost lost his marks as they sped past him in a carriage, but his quick thinking and fast talking saved the day and he was soon in hot pursuit. But when the carriages reached the docks, Leon's path was suddenly blocked by the cart of stevedores Bree had paid off. Luc & Ottavia were gone.
• Uru was still tailing Bree, however. She headed for a spur of land jutting into the bay, at the end of which was a squat building next to a lighthouse. Both were heavily guarded. But Uru, master of stealth and shadow - Duke of the Creeping, Crawling Fey - was not to be deterred. He easily slipped past the guards and watched through a window as Bree joined Luc, Ottavia, and an unknown fourth party (a well-to-do artisan by the looks of him) in demonstrating the contents of the case: an ornate lantern.
• At 10:12 precisely, all of the fires in Orithea suddenly turned to water, plunging the city into near darkness, save for the glow of a few magical lights. At the same time, the waters of the bay around the lighthouse suddenly burst into flames, which dissipated just as suddenly. Everyone put the phenomenon down to the effect of the Malice Lands.
• But Uru knew it was caused by an accident while Luc Jierre was showing off his lantern. The group was alarmed but soon calmed down. (Clearly the lantern was misbehaving thanks to the chaotic magical aurora.)
• The meeting ended just after 11pm, and Luc & Ottavia left by carriage. Bree left on foot and returned to the posh hotel (which is where Luc & Ottavia had gone too it turned out). Uru decided to make sure her activities were over for the night and scaled the walls of the building to peep in through her bedroom window. As he climbed up he was surprised to see another figure, clinging by only his fingers to the window-sill outside another bedroom: Mister Mapple - clearly intent on catching a glimpse of young Isobel. Unseen in the darkness, Uru whispered, "Are we still playing hide and seek?" Mister Mapple was so startled he lost his grip and plummeted fifty feet down to the ground.

Great first half of the session with the team's investigations bearing more fruit this week. I'm glad Uru was assigned to Bree, as he was able to witness the extent of the group's caution, and also get past the lighthouse guards to see what was happening at the meeting. Now they have to find a way to make sure they're on to the Ob! (I know Bree is supposed to confirm that by admitting to her rendezvous with Caius, but I like to make the players earn that kind of info first. I'm going to have Delft suggest that they check for Obscurati rings...)

We've started using Plot Twist Cards as benny rewards Mister Mapple. I wish I'd recorded their interaction - it was much funnier than my half-remembered account. (Uru was disguised as a little boy, and Mapple decided to intimidate him.) It was a lovely moment when Uru decided to climb the hotel wall and check on Bree as I realised he could bump into Mapple once again. When Uru whispered from the darkness, "Are we still playing hide and seek?" he earned another benny (and another plot twist card) - his keyword being sinister.

It was also nice that Leon, having sacrificed his wish to tail Elanor to the greater good of the mission, was able to witness the exchange between the fat enchantress and Mister Mapple, when he followed Luc & Ottavia into the Night Market.

Korrigan's player was absent, and his sickness in the Malice Lands was a flavourful way of dealing with that.

 

[gideonpepys]

Section 62b - The Screaming Malice

I decided not to run this combat as a normal tactical encounter, as the distances involved are prohibitive in the space where we game (and the square counting would frankly do my swede in).

So I drew up a more manageable map, with a line of squares representing each car. Each car was labelled with its function. If a mini was placed to the left of the squares, it was outside of the train; to right it was inside, to the extreme right, on the roof.

Players were told it took a full round to enter/leave a train car from inside, while on the roof they could generally move two in a full turn.

We played the actual combat by ear, dealing with specific powers as we went along. Everyone co-operated, no-one spat the dummy out, and the combat was fast-paced, exciting and dramatic:

• The following day, there were no reports of a body being found - Mapple must have survived. But there were reports of another grisly, ritualistic murder of a young woman elsewhere in the city. Sly Marbo quickly investigated but could not connect the victim with the inn where Boone had spent the night.
• Korrigan was still sick. The rest of the unit helped him to his suite, where Rumdoom stood guard. Matunaaga joined the rest of the gun-happy passengers on the roof for an extended safari. Uru also spent the time before the safari on the roof, catching chaos bees and flux flies in his webs (to help pollinate his garden); after that he went inside to keep an eye on suspicious second-class passengers. Sly was circulating in second class too, while Leon stayed in the first class lounge and talked to Elanor.
• A few hours out of Orithea, the train came to a sudden halt, and an enormous shape rose up from a swamp to the north. A truly gargantuan chaos beast emerged, and lashed out at the train. Uru was closest and sent a poisoned shuriken deep into the belly of the beast (if any part of it could truly be described anatomically). [The player used another Plot Twist Card to score an automatic crit.] Then he and Leon jumped out of the train on the far side and ran down to the front to see what was going on. Matunaaga and Sly engaged the tarry reptilian spawn left behind by the beast after it crashed one of its enormous 'heads' into each carriage, while Rumdoom attracted the attention of the beast itself.
• Their actions - and the actions of Cardiff Hengehill and the train guards he rallied - soon drove the beast away and no doubt saved the lives of many passengers.
• While at the front of the train, Uru and Leon stumbled upon a clumsy heist. Malice bandits, led by a sorcerer of some description, had already wounded or killed several guards and taken over the locomotive car. But the adventurers were able to put paid to their wrongdoing in no time at all.
• [Leon misfired one of his warlock powers, causing himself to teleport 40 feet into the air. In a lovely move, he use his remaining action to heal himself and teleport one square to fall onto the roof of the carriage and thus take less damage. (He has a multiclass bard heal and can now teleport the recipient one square instead of sliding them.)]
• Nonetheless, at least five passengers were dead, many more were wounded and all were badly shaken. Three carriages were all but destroyed and it took some time to get the train moving again.
• Representatives from the Avery Coast Railroad Company met the train in Trekhom. Special provisions were made: all passengers were offered free accomodation; all were offered the option to change their travel plans; the basement of a theatre was set aside to house the dead (ten, including five railroad guards) and a special appearance was announced by none other than Vlendam Heid - founder of the Heid Eschatol movement. Rumdoom was particularly keen to attend...

Rushed this last bit to set things up for next week. It will be Rumdoom's last session for a while and the Family encounter has been modified as a result (to send Rumdoom off on a solo quest and get him off the train). I'll re-cover the entrance to Trekhom after starting the next session with Doomed Men are All Philosophical.

Anyway, the players really nailed the Screaming Malice encounter. Only 4 passengers were killed and they reached the front of the train before the bandits even left the locomotive. They didn't trouble to chase up any clues, however. What with their principle investigation finally bearing fruit, I doubt very much whether they will suffer further distractions.

They also really like Cardiff Hengehill because of his actions during the train robbery. So I'm eager to see if they even follow him this time, or just let him off the hook.

Side note: I'm glad I ran this encounter, because I almost decided to cut it altogether. Action-packed and dramatic as it is, I felt it didn't lend much to the adventure in our case (as the Ob will find out about the unit anyway). I was eager to get to Trekhom and the appearance of Vlendham Heid, in time for Rumdoom's departure. But then I realised what a serious impact the event has on Damata and decided to run it after all, albeit with the adjustments noted above. After three sessions without combat it livened things up a bit and gave the players a chance to prove how cool they are.

 

[gideonpepys]

Session 63a - Layover in Trekhom

• Rumdoom and Malthusius attended the talk by Vlendam Heid. The old dwarf deviated from his scripted speech and asked for questions from anyone who had been involved in the attack on the train earlier that day. The only other passenger who had come along was Damata Griento, who raised his hand and told the founder of the Heid Eschatol philosophy that he had been profoundly affected by the incident. The pointless, random deaths of the passengers and guards convinced him that the path he had chosen was a cowardly one:
• It emerged that Damata had lost large amounts of money in a property deal and ended up in debt to some gangsters in Nalaam. His 'trip-of-a-lifetime' along the Avery Coast was little more than a ruse to allow him to personally bring dozens of priceless family heirlooms in payment of those debts. Now he had decided he should stand his ground, refuse to make payment and sacrifice his life if necessary (once he had ensured his family was safe). He felt he could not live with the shame of what he had done, and that an honourable end was preferable to a shameful existence. Damata also said that he was hoping to have asked for the help of the brave 'Royston Porcher' and his friends, but sadly Porcher had been laid low by a tragic illness...
• Rumdoom and Malthusius agreed to meet with Damata and Heid after the event to see what could be arranged. The meeting took place in their hotel room, where Rumdoom, having established that this good deed would not interfere with the main mission, agreed to help. He also had a very long convseration with Vlendam Heid about the nature of eschatology, and learned that the venerable philosopher was unhappy about many of the interpretations of his own works. He had heard of Rumdoom and was concerned that his 'circus act' was being used to con well-meaning people out of money, but Rumdoom explained that he and Black Star Mining had long since parted company. Malthusius also asked the philosopher about the 'end' for a deva. He explained that, having spent over 80 years in his current form, he had grown rather attached to it, and was as frightened at the prospect of reincarnation as an ordinary mortal was about death. Heid said two things in response: first, that he had heard of a method whereby a deva could revisit old haunts and old friends shortly after they were reborn, and thereby recover their old personality (Governor Stanfield employed such a technique); second, that the act of reincarnation provided a fabulous opportunity for 'sacrifice and rebirth' that was unique to the deva.

• As for the rest of the unit, Sly Marbo was tied up working for the railway that night; Korrigan remained all-but-comatose. With Rumdoom and Malthusius otherwise engaged, that left just Matunaaga, Uru and Leon to follow the suspects.
• Leon followed Elanor and Isobel who kept an appointment with a dwarven ritualist. Leon could not get close enough to learn any more about their meeting.
• Uru tailed Luc Jierre and Ottavia who went to a bar (the Korol Moroya) where Matunaaga (tailing Bree) spotted them pass a note to her via one of the bar staff. Matunaaga watched Boone leave, and Bree leave shortly afterwards.
• Matunaaga followed Bree in and out of dark alleyways for a couple of hours. Eventually, she found what she was looking for, it seemed: another ritually murdered, disemboweled body. Bree seemed both angry and disappointed at her discovery, and then returned to the enclave hotel.
• Uru hitched a ride on the underside of Luc & Ottavia's cart and thereby arrived at another lighthouse. He slipped into the building via a chimney flue and watched a full and successful demonstration of Luc's magical lamp. There was talk of modifying his small prototype, and Uru could see a map of the coast, complete with models of many lighthouses dotted along it (as well as the huge spire the train had passed on the border of Drakr and the Malice Lands).

• The following morning the unit received a response from Stover Delft, who suggested they make certain that Luc, Ottavia and co. were really Obscurati agents. The group then remembered the special rings they had already found and planned to have Sly and Uru use their thievery skills to double-check they were on the right track.
• They needn't have bothered: not long out of Trekhom, Bree Kaldeckis visited their train compartment with a bottle of wine - to raise a toast to 'old soldiers' who had helped drive off the Malice. (She was talking about Rumdoom and Leon here: no-one knew that 'Kai Porcher' had been involved.) While chatting amicably, she revealed that she had boarded the train to provide security to one Caius Bergeron, but he had not showed up. Malthusius could see that she was eyeballing them all at this point to see if the name got a reaction. Nobody flinched except Matunaaga...

 

[gideonpepys]

Session Report 63b - The Family Stone (or The Cave of Carnage)

"Fifteen minutes outside of Nalaam, Malia politely reminds you to please return to your seats. More than other cities on the route, Nalaam is renowned for its tricky thieves. She suggests you keep an eye on your personal effects, to make sure no one hops on board in the commotion and nicks your valuables. Nalaam, a city founded upon a wellspring of magical energy, and controlled by a cabal of powerful wizards, announces its presence with light brighter and more colorful than the sunset. In the shadows of the surrounding mountains, the lights of this infamous den of iniquities hide many crimes and cruelties the rest of the world forbids. As the train pulls into the enclave, you are dazzled by the gilded, glittering spectacle. Throngs of people ply business and pleasure out of polished marble carves and atop bizarre structures built in the shapes of arches, trees, even dragons. Above it all rises the Grand Casino, a tower of endless games of chance and skill, which generates immense wealth for the archmage lords of the city. Nalaam, with all its temptations, beckons you."

• Once they had escorted Korrigan to his hotel, the unit met with Damata Griento. The half-orc had left a letter with the concierge to deliver to his family the following morning. He and his 'warriors' daubed themselves with warpaint and equipped themselves with the magical totems, headbands and bracers which Damata had brought with him.
• They set off through the enclave and out into the rougher parts of Nalaam, heading for an erotic dance parlour called Holes.
• When they explained who they were, they were ushered into a back room, where an unpleasant looking man greeted them with a sneer, and told them that Sylvester Fomazelli - Damata's creditor - was not there.
• Before he could go any further, Uru shot him dead.
• The others looked back at their impetuous comrade with shocked expressions on their faces. Uru shrugged and said, "I thought we were supposed to kill everyone." Clearly, Korrigan's steadying influence was much missed.
• Fortunately, the unit were able to find a note on the dead man with instructions as to how to reach Fomazeli's stronghold: a cave in the mountains surrounding Nalaam, where one Azon the Stoneforger would turn the Griento family heirlooms into residium.*
• Unfortunately, the stronghold was made difficult to reach by winter snows, and in any case was a couple of hours' travel; at this time of year, it was closer to half a day.
• Leon apologised to Damata - the unit would have to return to their principle mission. Damata was crestfallen but accepting. Nonetheless, he intended to press on alone if necessary. It was at this point that Rumdoom announced his intention to accompany Damata come what may: He had made a promise to Vlendam Heid, and nothing could dissuade him.
• Reluctantly the rest of the unit returned to the rail enclave while Rumdoom and Damata pressed on alone.

• Sly Marbo called in a favour. A couple of local gangsters were indebted to him, and were no friends of Sylvester Fomazelli. But nor would they wish to risk 'sticking their heads above the parapet' either. They agreed to send along one of their crew, who would at least try to take a shot at Fomazelli if the opportunity arose.
• Rumdoom and Damata trudged through foot-thick snow for several hours, eventually coming to a small village, where the local peasants stared warily at them. It was clear their approach had been noticed. They soon found a treacherous path up to a cave in the mountainside, where they had been told they would find Fomazelli and his crew. A couple sat at a rough stone table outside, despite the cold, and formed a rearguard as the pair entered. Inside were another ten or so men, as well as a dwarven clergy priest, Azon the Stoneforger and his two apprentices.
• Fomazelli called for the two to halt in the cave entrance. His men spread out, and rested their hands on their pistols. The Crisillyiri gangster was a nasty, foul-mouthed individual who poured scorn on Damata's attempt to defy him. But when he stepped forward to demand the half-orc place his magical items on the ground before him, a shot rang out: a rifle shot from the bell-tower of the clergy church in the hamlet below (the only building to give a view of the cave entrance).
• This took Fomazelli and his cronies by surprise, but not Rumdoom - who assumed it was a shot fired by the gang and unleashed a can of whup ass in response, egged on by the tribal cries of Damata Griento.
• Eighteen seconds later, Fomazelli and his men were all dead, and Rumdoom's craghammer, armour and shield were dripping with blood and gore.
• Azon the Stoneforger had fled through the back wall of the cave. Now the cave entrance closed behind Rumdoom...

 

[gideonpepys]

The 'Cave of Carnage' post-match analysis

Okay, so Rumdoom's player needed some time off, and just having Rumdoom stay in Trekhom to hang out with Vlendam Heid (my initial idea) was totally out of character for him - committed as he is to the unit, and to Korrigan in particular.

So I decided to extract as much sympathy for Damata Griento as possible and stress the pseudo-religious nature of his side-quest for Rumdoom, since it had been cemented by the intervention of Heid.

Then all I needed to do was put the hideout of Sly Fomazelli out of central Nalaam (several hours' travel in winter), and Rumdoom would have to go it alone, or force the unit to abandon their mission.

So far so good...

I then had to decide what to do with the encounter. I decided it would be weaksauce to dilute the threat level, and left it as it is. I have often commented on these boards that I find some of the Zeitgeist encounters to be a little on the easy side and I felt that this encounter was particularly weak. (Fine if that is intentional, but it does say 'level 9'. With one full-strength monster and 10 minions that didn't seem likely to me.) But I also realised that if Fomazelli managed to render his men invisible for the best part of two rounds, things were likely to go against our doughty dwarven maniac. And in any case, even if this was a weak encounter for five PCs, it must surely present a serious challenge for one. Needless to say, I had a cool back-up plan for what would happen when he inevitably went down. (As an eschatologist he would automatically pass his first death save in any event.)

As it turned out, I needn't have troubled myself.

Funnily enough, this encounter led to the rest of the players spending almost all of their Plot Twist roleplaying rewards:

First off, when Uru shot the Family intermediary before he even had a chance to say where Fomazelli was, one of them played a 'Success from Failure' card to have the information on his person (where I probably would have put it anyway). Uru's premature strike was a great moment: When the NPC started being an ass hole (as all of these criminal types tend to be) his player just shrugged and made a shooting action before I had even finished my sentence. I paused and said, 'Is that what you are doing?'

He responded with a 'hell yeah' kind of gesture, while the rest of the party cried 'No!' simultaneously. I decided to hold the player to his action and he made the shot...

Then, unhappy at sending Rumdoom off to die, Malthusius played 'A Shot from the Dark' (and spent one of Sly Marbo's '20-20 Hindsight Tokens' as well) to have a rival gang agree to follow Rumdoom and Damata at a distance. He would then try to take out Fomazelli (or one of his gang) when the opportunity presented itself.

I decided that the shot was a very difficult one and imposed a -5 penalty; when it missed, another player played 'An Unexpected Outcome' and I allowed that Rumdoom would get the equivalent of a surprise round as a result, as the only person who leapt into action when the shot rang out.

So there we were: One PC and a level 1 ally (albeit with pretty cool leader power) against a Level 9 bad guy and 10 minions.

Here's how the combat went:

Surprise round:

Rumdoom uses Come and Get It to draw Sly and three of the impetuous gangsters adjacent to him. He wounds Sly and kills three minions. This sets off their Part of the Family power, causing three more to dash forward and make attacks on Rumdoom, crying, "Hey, you killed Vespuccio! Hey, you killed Fromagi!" etc

Round One:

Fomazelli uses Knife to Throat to cause some serious ongoing damage to Rumdoom. (He is holding off using Sudden Disappearance until his minions move forward as he has been drawn out of range of four of them. This turns out to be a mistake.)

The minions mostly hit Rumdoom, but he is still not bloodied.

Rumdoom uses Bonecrusher against Sly, but Sly uses his Disappear in a Crowd trait to have his huge daily land on a minion. Then Rumdoom sets of Rain of Blows and uses an action point to make another major attack against Sly (who again deflects it at the cost of another minion, but is now left with no one else adjacent to him). NB: The death of these minions causes other minions to rush in adjacent to Rumdoom...

Damata boosts Rumdoom's next attack.

Round Two:

Fomazelli renders himself and the rest of his minions invisible. He shifts but takes damage from Rain of Blows.

The remaining minions around Rumdoom (which is every minion except one) die as a result of Rain of Blows, causing the remaining minion to rush in...

Rumdoom uses second wind and then lashes out at the square where he hopes to find Fomazelli (with a -5 to hit, partly ameliorated by Damata's bonus). He hits, taking Sly within 15HP of death!

Damata eggs Rumdoom on, granting more bonuses.

Round Three:

Sly hits Rumdoom again, but is seriously hurt by Rain of Blows and unable to get away (as he is marked).

The remaining minion pops thanks to the same incredible power.

Rumdoom makes another 'shot in the dark' against Sly and kills him.

End of Combat

Three rounds later, and Rumdoom has won.

What was particularly cool was that I ran this encounter with the full attention and enthusiasm of the rest of the group, even though they had no role in the combat. (I let them role the attack dice for the minions, but still...)

 

[RangerWickett]

(Rain of Steel, I assume? Daily 5. Not rain of blows? Encounter 3.)

As long as the group had fun, I suppose it's not a big problem, but yeah, 4e minions are really meant to work as "you spend one action to kill them," not "you spend one action and kill 10."

I generally follow the mechanical guidelines of the game when determining encounters, but in hindsight this was more of a level 6/7 encounter, not level 8 as listed. We probably could have used 'two-bite' minions instead of 'handful at a time' minions.

I've been moving more toward 'goons' in the last few adventures -- half the normal HP (and half the XP value) of a normal monster of the level.

 

[gideonpepys]

(Rain of Steel, I assume? Daily 5. Not rain of blows? Encounter 3.)

Yes indeed. Shame that power is so good. Every fighter takes it no matter what the build. It doesn't feel very 'Rumdoom' to me, but it saved his skin on this occasion.

I've been moving more toward 'goons' in the last few adventures -- half the normal HP (and half the XP value) of a normal monster of the level.

Goons are a sound invention. To minimize book-keeping I have three levels of minions - regular, two-hit and three-hit. If a player crits it counts as two hits. Strikers do two hits by default and three on a crit. (The book-keeping is reduced because the hits are indicated by the tokens we use in combat anyway - orange for injured and red for bloodied.)

The group really had fun, and Rumdoom's player had a blast. It added a nice level of poignance and drama to the Griento subquest too.

I generally follow the mechanical guidelines of the game when determining encounters...

But which monster damage tables do you adhere to when inventing new critters? I think monster damage levels in the AP occasionally err on the low side. (Especially humanoids who tend to deal the appropriate damage for their weapon, when that doesn't count for an awful lot in upper heroic onwards.)

PS. My players didn't bother to interact with Cardiff Hengehill in any way. What ramifications might their be of their presence on the train while a Risuri agent hands over military secrets to the Drakrens? Reckon it might come up at the peace conference?

 

[RangerWickett]

If they interacted not at all . . . I dunno. It would be kind of out of the blue to say to them, "And here's what happened because you ignored that guy." "Which guy?" "ExACTly!"

Now I'm tempted to have Cardiff reappear in #7 or #8. Not sure what we'd do with him.

 

[gideonpepys]

I should have been more detailed: Cardiff attracted their attention all right; they followed him in Orithea but gave up after that. Then, during the Screaming Malice encounter his actions impressed them (in fact one player decided he was their 'new favourite NPC') and they simply wrote him off their suspect list. So they know who he is and would remember enough to register any fallout. I just liked the idea of a repercussion for not doing something - not a punishment, just a consequence. But okay, I guess I'll let this one go.