A change in leadership! Deaths! Corruption!
The death of some members of the party happened this session, including the party leader! Things get more serious, closer to the end. This is the 4th last session. After the last session, I will post the answer to the above riddle, as well, as final ideas that never got used (if any), and my view of “what happened afterwards”, and also my metaphysical views of the gameworld (how to reconcile heaven, hell, old faith stuff, etc.).
Christine begins the game in a sumptuous dining hall, and is being asked, in exchange for healing for her and her white hart, as well as power, to help introduce a woman named Lily to the party, with the purpose of tempting Tristan (Sir Andrea’s son). She says she could not make such a decision so quickly, and is told that time in his realm runs differently, so she has months to decide (the penny drops here – this is a deal with the devil!). Indeed, she stays there for months and every day he asks her again, and everyday she says no. Eventually he gives up (gaining nobility) and she returns to the party (the bronze statue was just a statue).
The main party’s session begins with a cat in a tree. The party is traveling westwards towards the first of the three grey abbeys. They come across a misty land, and hear a cat cry and a wolf howl and make will saves (which all of them make except one character – Mind Fog). Then a little girl with a club foot asks for help getting her cat out of a tree (30’ up a 40’ tree). She asks Prince Hammoton, and he sends Hubert to go. At the top, Hubert gets the cat, who rubs against him and forces him to make a will save. He fails, and he and the cat disappear into inky blackness! Then some of the party (not members close to Prince Hammoton, who as a noble has an aura making people within 10’ immune to fear) have to make saves vs. the Weird spell, and Prince Caius and his cohort Hobb die before they can even take an action! Shocking stuff! The party has to find out who is casting the spells (not the “little girl”, who turns out to be an illusion). And every round have to deal with Weird spells. Lady Christine and her White Heart perish, as well as the druid Cassandra’s wolf companion. Many party members are stunned. Hubert, meanwhile, was dumped 400 feet away and after falling 30’ has to run back. Eventually the bad hedge mage is located and dealt with (LOTS of snakes summoned by Leanne and Cassandra, plus a timely trip via a tree-climbing Sir Anton). She is killed, and eventually revealed as a high-ranking nun! (yeah, I know, more evil nuns, but they are going to a grey abbey, and hedge mages have the prophecy power and so can make preparations and ambushes). [This was a 15th level caster in a zone where she could cast as a 17th level caster – she had less spell points, but could cast 9th level spells here, like Weird].
There is nearly a fight between Anton and Andrea over whether the late Prince Caius was new faith (One God) or old faith. A duel is arranged for (set for after the Grail is found, if ever).
The second temptation of Christine by Lucifer is also met with a flat rejection, but as far as the party is concerned Lady Christine was only knocked to the ground unconscious, and arises unhurt after the battle. Tristan is scared of the battle, so Lady Christine comforts him.
The second night of this, Sir Bradley and his cohort spot Lady Christine going off into the woods, and then Tristan following. They wake up Lady Andrea, who follows, hears “I will obey” in a masculine voice and discovers him stabbing Lady Christine with her own magic spear! Andrea wrestles an unresisting Tristan to the ground, and the latter is tied up. Lady Christine thanks Lady Andrea for protecting her from Tristan’s apparent madness.
And they reach the nunnery, which is in a state of uproar as the Mother Superior has gone missing! Lady Andrea wants Prince Hammoton, as ranking noble, to pass judgement on Tristan. Prince Hammoton commandeers a private room to interview people, one at a time. Meanwhile, “Lady Christine” is causing trouble. She kissing Sir Anton a few times (weakening him) but is stopped by the timely arrival of a suspicious Lady Leanne (why is Lady Christine not mourning the loss of her White Hart?). She also gives her spear to Sir Andrew for safekeeping.
A nun later offers to “purify” the spear that evening, if Sir Andrew agrees.
Then a Court Mage arrives at the nunnery, following word that Prince Caius is here (the Court Mage serves King Anguish) and wanting to report on how he is doing.
At this point, the party is breaking up into small groups and having conversations. I don’t mind this as long as no one is bored, and they summarize what they talk about.
There is a scream. A nun has discovered a dead sister nun with her face removed! Yet all nuns are accounted for (except the Mother Superior, who doesn’t fit the body type of the dead nun). Lady Leanne finds nun #7 suspiciously not that upset over the death, so she is marked as a suspect. Prince Hammoton orders all the doors to be secured by knights and the nuns to be interrogated one by one by him. While nun # 6 is interrogated, nun #7 disappears in a cloud of smoke! And then a knocking is heard outside the abbey. Lady Christine has returned from her walk in the woods.
The party (some of them) smell that a jig is up, and Leanne and Hammoton take Lady Christine with them (with Anton and Lady Cassandra outside the door to the interrogation room). Sure enough, “Lady Christine” tries to attack Hammoton, and timely attacks from Leanne and especially Sir Anton put her down, and her last words are “Lady Christine shall burn in hell forever!” and she disappears in a cloud of brimstone. [yeah, she was a succubus – the real Lady Christine stayed dead].
Meanwhile, 5 other nuns (who each has special rings, not the Sir Andrea noticed (but Lady Leanne did)) are approaching Sir Andrea and offering to purify the spear right then and there. Andrea gives one nun the spear, and the five of them start mumbling. The interrogation party arrive at nun-central just a little too late, as a firey pit opens and the 5 nuns start descending into it! But Sir Bradley’s cohort Brother George, who realized that the spear must be the very evil Lance of Longinus (since “Lady Christine’s” wounds never healed, as didn’t the White Hart’s) disarms the nun, at the cost of an Aoo on the first failed attempt that gets him permanent damage for his pains. But he succeeds in getting the spears before the nuns disappear (amid heat metal, wall of thorns, pyrotechnics, and holy water (the last causing screams of anguish, the other just causing laughter – the pit itself laughing as a throat). So the spear is now known for what it is, and the party has it (and Sir Andrea mustn’t let it fall into the wrong hands). On the other hand, Tristan is slightly corrupted for using it, and so will never find the grail. Score one for the bad guys, but they didn’t corrupt anyone else.
So overall people liked it. Lady Christine’s player is running the Court Mage. Prince Caius didn’t intro a new character yet (he worked on the campaign he will develop after mine ends – Spellslinger (d20 fantasy western). So it will go me next week, him for two weeks, me for two weeks, maybe the movie night (Excalibur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and then his Spellslinger campaign from then on.
I was impressed that Prince Hammoton adapted to his leadership role, as well as doing the Columbo schtick (going from 0 info to cracking the case!). Only one good nun died.
Oh, the “fingerbones of Christ” at this abbey don’t radiate magic. The remaining nuns are so grateful for being rescued from demons that they give these fingerbones to the obviously pious Brother George.
Well, 1 grey abbey down, 2 to go, and then to Albion (if there is time)!
