ZEITGEIST Cypherblade's Zeitgeist campaign

[Cypherblade]

Hey folks,
In a couple of months I will start with the Gears of Revolution AP for my roleplay group.
So I'm in the middle of preparations and thanks to a lot of people here, I found a huge amount of advice and material to augment the experience of my players.
Thank you all for this awesome content!

On one thing in chapter 12 'The Grinding Gears of Heaven' I didn't find a satisfactory answer on the boards. let me explain....

Spoiler

In Chapter 12 Part 1, the party crash lands on Av and while trying to save some fey, Av breaks apart, consumed by the grinding gears of the Gyre.
In Part 2 there is some reference to Av as being plane 53 on the map which sits all way back, farthest from the destruction of the cogwheels.

How do I have to understand this? Is this a fundamental flaw in the AP? Did I misread this? Or are the remnants of Av thrown across the Gyre and will they be processed again in some distant future?

Thanks for clarification.

Hope to keep you all posted on further developments in short notice.

 

[Cypherblade]

Our first session, translated from Dutch and AI cleaned, but readable I guess.
I made a mistake letting Lebrix become angry with the inspectors, but he will send an apology note tomorrow. That way he can talk about the documents and the bullets at a quiet place which happen to be an Crysillirian coffee bar...

Spoiler

It’s a quiet day at the precinct. I’m trying to read the Flint Observer, but quickly hand it over to Felix—reading isn’t exactly my strength. Ayleen is late, which almost never happens, and strangely enough, she’s not in the workshop. Sarïa checks the locker room—nope, she’s not napping there either.


The Stove—you know, the Chief—calls the team together. He has fieldwork for us. A young woman has been defenestrated from the fourth floor of the Danoran consulate. She’s dead, impaled on the fence, and unfortunately, that means shared jurisdiction. The death is suspicious: the fence is forty meters from the window. We’ll need to be delicate and diplomatic—especially Staf, our somewhat traumatized veteran with a serious grudge against Danoran tieflings.


Right at that moment, Ayleen arrives—screaming for a medic. Her hand is completely crushed. Staf yanks her mangled hand back into place, and Ayleen promptly faints. Kane and Sarïa take her to the infirmary. The injury is severe—too much for a regular healing spell. Thankfully, Kane and Sarïa are experienced healers. After setting the hand correctly, they manage to mend it. Ayleen wakes up with a splint. She tells us what happened: three men ambushed her and smashed her hand with a hammer. They claimed she owed a debt to someone named Kjell. Ayleen has no idea what they’re talking about and demands we immediately raid this guy’s guild.

After a wild ride through the city—easy, Staf—we arrive at the consulate. Too late, of course. The body has already been taken off the fence. The scene can’t be investigated properly. Supposedly, two gunshots were heard. Witnesses have already been questioned and their stories align. The woman jumped from the window, and someone looted the corpse afterward.
Julian LeBrix, the consulate’s security chief, is waiting to brief us.


Just then, the ground trembles. An earthquake—in Flint! Highly unusual. Then again, there was a small tremor last week too. First in years.


We quickly inspect the place where the body was impaled. Nothing remarkable. A few witnesses are still around. They heard two gunshots after she jumped. She leapt with her hands covering her face. Another witness saw a dark figure at the window, then a well-dressed man with a goatee approach her, receive a bundle of papers, talk briefly, then rip a necklace from her neck before fleeing down an alley.


Three consulate personnel handled the body. Two removed it; the third came out and got into a heated argument, though the witness couldn’t hear what it was about.


At the consulate entrance, we’re admitted after flashing our RHC badges.
Julian LeBrix is an older man—clearly shaken. He had hoped to cruise quietly into retirement. The dead woman, Nilasa Hume, was a regular visitor. She didn’t work here, just visited one of the guards—her boyfriend—and brought breakfast for him and his coworkers. Apparently, consulate security is full of holes. LeBrix says he saw her head upstairs and followed her, suspecting theft. On the fourth floor, there’s a valuable exhibit: a tiara, a famous Fabergé egg, and more. He claims she was after minor items—golden cutlery and such. Before she could steal anything, he confronted her. She bolted for the window, and he shot her in the leg, reloaded, and then shot her in the back. Then she flew—forty meters—and landed on the fence.


When we ask for his weapon, he refuses. He wears it in a fancy holster.
While he’s distracted, Ayleen inspects the window. It’s completely shattered, which matches his story. LeBrix can’t explain how she landed so far away. He insists nothing was stolen.


Felix notices scratches near the lock of a different room—the consul’s office. We’re not allowed inside. Kane knocks. LeBrix loses it. He explodes with rage and threatens to throw us out—pistol in hand, furious. We back off and go to retrieve the body.


The guard who was her boyfriend is sobbing. He’s ugly. She was stunning. The whole thing reeks of manipulation. Classic spy case. They “knew” each other for six months. First night was drunk and wild. She visited regularly with food.


Back at HQ, we examine the corpse. The leg wound fits LeBrix’s story. The back shot suggests she was either on the ground or flying—the angle is extremely steep. The wounds from the fence are clear. A small cut on the back of her neck indicates something was yanked off—likely the necklace.


No tattoos or scars. We find a release note from prison—dated five days ago—and a receipt for 2450 gp worth of “drams.” with the initials D.W., It lists on the backside: Silvo, Feldman, Family Wharf, There’s also a small empty vial, and two chocolates meant for the guards.


Sarïa examines the items. Ayleen and Felix detect lingering magical auras. Some flight magic. Auras of transmutation, illusion, healing, and necromancy. The necromantic aura is strongest around her head. The empty vial held a potion of Invisibility.


We’ve never heard of Family Wharf. The name Sechim rings a bell—he’s a Skyseer. That’s all we know. We want to find out who paid for her release, so we head to the prison. But first, The chief demands a report. He suspects "Family Wharf" is a front for La Familia, a criminal guild from Crisillyir.


Kane has some harbor contacts who’ll look into Crisillyiri activity. At the docks, we take a rowboat—Gustaaf rows us out to the prison ships floating in the bay. They’re old and decrepit. We’re greeted and let aboard thanks to our RHC badges. Unfortunately, the release note came from the Parity Lake prison. This trip was pointless.


Kane knows the warden, Goodson, and asks about any Crisillyiri prisoners. Possibly, but he knows little. No tieflings are held here. Staf presses the issue—he’s desperate to know. His father is set to marry a Crisillyiri woman, after all. There is a merchant family doing business in the docks.


At the Parity Lake prison, we ask about the woman. The clerk, of course, tells us it’s 4 PM—no overtime. One gold later, he agrees to look. After ten minutes, he finds the relevant files.


Our search continues to the factory districts. The air reeks of chemicals. Workers are being locked inside, and women are protesting.
We find the workshop of Sechim. He’s not surprised to hear Nilasa is dead. His uncle—a known Skyseer—saw it coming. Nilasa was his adopted daughter. She had long been associating with Hannah Gale Soliogn, a fey terrorist. Nilasa wanted to fight for the factory workers’ rights and hoped to gain the support of this radical activist. Sechim’s uncle is apparently in contact with the same terrorist.


Sechim mentions a strange man came by recently, trying to buy strong acid. He reeked of burnt oil. Sechim refused. Later, two more people came asking the same thing—this time with threats.


In Nilasa’s room, we find an Elven language textbook.

 

[Cypherblade]

Second session. wow, it's hard to keep track of all little details. But I avoided major mistakes.

Spoiler

Morning Briefing
This morning, we gathered at the station. Felix hadn’t filed his report, but thankfully Kane had. Serena told us someone had left a note yesterday:
“My apologies for what happened at the consulate. Can we meet at Tearoom Pousse Café to talk? – Lebrix.”

When the chief arrived, we were instructed to investigate a missing person—last seen by a coachman. Outside, we found the coach and spoke to the driver, Jack Byron from Bosum Strand. He’d transported a man to the consulate, who later returned covered in blood. The same man had rented a room at the House of the Blue Bird but disappeared without paying. He was well-dressed, dark-haired, with a goatee. Claimed to be a surgeon and carried documentation.


Chief’s Office
Back at the office, I tried submitting my report, but the chief tore it up because of the knock. I insisted someone verify if the consul was alive and well. The chief warned that if Lady Saxby saw the report, she'd weaponize it against me and surely'd use it when she saw fit.


Supplies and Leads
We visited Alaric, our quartermaster. He handed out wages—150 gp—and let us pick from potions: invisibility, pugilism, five healing potions, and 200 gp worth of magical ingredients. Our enchanted pralines would be analysed by afternoon.

We had two leads: the House of the Blue Bird and the meeting with Lebrix. On the way to the first, I spoke with contacts Lars and Lobke. They mentioned Crysillian is spoken in parts of the city—by sailors and locals alike. I asked the kids to look into a group known as the Warf family.

The House of the Blue Bird
This hotel in North Shore rents rooms. At the front desk, we inquired about a guest matching our description. A man with a goatee and strange accent had checked in—Dr. Wolfgang Von Recklinghausen. A police officer, Roger Porter, had asked for him yesterday. The doctor, bloodied, had stopped by briefly to collect supplies and then vanished.

We searched his room and found a letter from Dr. Barnaby Camp, a recommendation for Von Recklinghausen. On the floor, we discovered a black stain with a burnt-oil smell—different from the doctor’s usual soapy scent. Officer Porter, meanwhile, smelled like the stain and had been seen with a bandage covering a black mark.


Looking for Officer Porter
We visited the local police station but no one had heard of Porter. Same story in Parity Lake. At Sechim’s factory, we asked about Nilasa’s possible ties to the consulate—nothing. No one there had heard of Von Recklinghausen either. The man who came asking about acid had no mustache and dressed plainly.


At the Consulate
The guards told us the consul had just gone to lunch. Lebrix had removed Nilasa’s body from the fence yesterday. Felix asked which of the consul's visitors might've argued with him. The receptionist only remembered the doctor—Von Recklinghausen—there for a visa to Ber. The application listed Dr. Camp and Professor Kindleton as references. She also hinted at a mysterious third visitor who’d gone to the basement—she didn’t know who he was.

Lebrix hadn’t shown up today. His unexplained absence was suspicious.


The Drugged Pralines
Meanwhile, Kane was scouting pubs. The guards often visit The Dry Throat after hours. Ayleen went ahead to check out Pousse Café. She noticed Crysillian being spoken there but didn’t see anything suspicious.

Back at HQ, we examined the pralines. They were laced with fey pepper, a stimulant and popular party drug that dilates pupils and causes agitation. Nilasa had brought the pralines for breakfast—many were eaten by the guards. Fey pepper is expensive and -as we learn now- are measured in drams—also popular among university students.


Meeting with Lebrix
At Pousse Café, Kane, Felix, and Saria entered, with Saria using detect magic. A few minutes later, Lebrix arrived. He apologized—he wasn’t himself yesterday. He’d eaten two pralines. We explained they were laced with fey pepper and could be the reason for his unusual behaviour.

He revealed that he had been investigating financial irregularities in Danoran-funded factories: stolen construction materials and rumors of smuggling. Each site had crates full of small glass bottles containing black oil. The consul had pulled him off the investigation when he included the oil in his report.

Yesterday, the consul, Methan Du Nadria, had been in the basement with a visitor—likely the shooter. Lebrix was eating breakfast. Nilasa came with her boyfriend and breakfast, including pralines. There was only one visitor: the doctor. At some point, Nilasa vanished. Then, two gunshots. The consul told Lebrix to say nothing happened, and to take responsibility for the shots. The visitor insisted the body be moved to the other side of the fence.


The consulate's cleric, Bartide Jannis, had removed the bullets and noticed a cut on Nilasa’s head. Both necromantic and healing magic had been used—possibly even gentle repose.


Lebrix also noticed Ayleen carried pistols and offered to teach her a trick: engraving a name on a bullet to make it never miss.


Interviewing the Cleric
We asked around and found Jannis after 30 minutes. He admitted he was uncomfortable with what happened. After the shots, Lebrix had rushed upstairs. Nilasa's body was brought in. She had facial injuries, two gunshots, and had been impaled. Jannis was ordered to conceal the blunt head wound—he used cure wounds and gentle repose, and handed the bullets over to the consul.

Final Stop: The Thinking Man
Nilasa had met her boyfriend Braden at The Thinking Man, a bar frequented by professors and students. We stopped by on the way to Central. The tavern was quiet—it was still early. Barbara, a kitchen worker, was shocked to hear Nilasa had been killed. She said Nilasa often mingled with “the professors”—mostly students. She had been closest with Hennet Rinus, who had only recently returned after a long absence.

 

[Cypherblade]

The inspectors falling for the idea of the revolution? I think there's stuff for some news articles in the next gazette.

Spoiler

We return from the Thinking Man to RHC headquarters. It’s still early in the evening, and none of the Professors are present yet at the tavern. In the meantime, Staf questions quartermaster Alaric Brasswell about the presence of fey pepper in the pralines.

Kane asks Felix a few more questions about his time with the Professors. Staf complains that he spent his entire monthly salary on professional gear – specifically, a potion of invisibility. He asks Sarïa to re-examine the camouflaged head wound on Nilasa. Upon closer inspection, she finds a small fracture in the skull, possibly caused by a fall against the edge of a table.

Stover Delft casually remarks that one typically doesn’t receive a receipt when purchasing illegal fey pepper – something we were, of course, already aware of. He adds that the plant from which fey pepper is derived only grows near portals to The Dreaming.

We return to the Thinking Man, stopping briefly for a sandwich along the way. The tavern is now packed. We’ve barely stepped inside when the ground starts to shake – an earthquake! Hennet Rinus boldly proclaims to the room, “There hasn’t been an earthquake in a thousand years, and this won’t be one either. See? It’s already over!” The band resumes their performance without missing a beat.

Staf spots a familiar face – his former captain Thames Grimsley, accompanied by two comrades. Thames immediately launches into a tirade about the social injustices faced by workers. As a union man, he’s determined to see change: “Workers of the world, unite!” Staf questions Thames about the small oil vials. Apparently, those were also delivered to the factory where Thames’ companions work and have been sitting there for at least a week. Staf points out that his old captain recently appeared in the newspaper, following a police crackdown on their group. Babs quietly warns Staf that his tab at the Thinking Man is climbing, as various patrons seem to be drinking on his account – noblesse oblige!

Meanwhile, Kane and Ayleen take a seat near the Professors and discreetly eavesdrop on their conversation about authority in Flint. During a trip to the restroom, Hennet Rinus is pressed up against by “Elly” (Ayleen in disguise), who whispers in his ear that she’s a friend of Nilasa Hume. Hennet invites her to join their corner, where a lively discussion about law and justice ensues. He also mentions that Nilasa had asked him to write a letter in Crisillyirian to a certain Mr. Cippiano.

After the band finishes their set, Kane, Ayleen, and Felix approach them. The singer, a halfling named Jerret, writes protest songs critical of the King’s reliance on Danoran technology – a stance that contrasts with his own sister’s views. He predicts a coming revolution, as society is growing increasingly divided. Jerret knew Nilasa from the Cloudwood. If we want to find Hana Gale Soliogn, he suggests we seek out the old skyseer Sechim.

We then wrap up the day.

---

10 Spring, 500 AOV


The next morning, we first report to Stover. Gaetan offers to cast Speak with Dead on Nilasa’s body – a task Kane has long avoided. Eventually, the reluctant inspector musters the courage and, after preparing our questions, conducts the interrogation with the deceased:

• What was your goal in breaking into the consulate?
  I was sent to find incriminating documents.
• Who gave you the order to do this?
  Gale.
• Where can we find her?
  Somewhere in the Cloudwood, but I don’t know exactly where.
• What was in the documents you stole?
  Gale had said they contained proof supporting the revolution, but it was a report by Lebrix on factory conditions.
• What is Dr. Wolfgang von Recklinghausen’s role in all of this?
  I only met him just before, when he tried to help me, and I gave him everything.

After the interrogation, Kane excuses himself to the bathroom feeling sick of the effort.

We head to the factory operated by Thames Grimsley’s two comrades. Staf insists on being let in. When his approach becomes too forceful, Felix casts Suggestion on the factory boss, who then obliges and leads us to the warehouse. There, we find three crates of black oil vials, which have reportedly been sitting there for about three weeks. The staff have no information about the delivery. Kane gets chills from three of the vials, inside which faint ghostly shapes seem to drift.
Felix finds it funny to suggest a payed leave for all the factory workers. They all shout in joy when the boss confirms the suggestion. We carefully transport the crates back to RHC headquarters and inform Stover. The lab will examine the contents.

We then travel to the Cloudwood, following instructions from Heward Sechim to locate the old skyseer Nevard Sechim. As we drive along a forest path, a gunshot rings out. A panicked horse bolts toward us, followed by a second shot. Ayleen sends her bat familiar ahead as we continue with the carriage. Mist drifts among the trees. The road is blocked by an overturned cart, behind which two gunmen are taking cover. Up the slope, crossbowmen have positioned themselves.

Staf climbs the hill and attacks the crossbowmen, who immediately accuse him of being a Kell-gang sympathizer. This leads us to suspect that the gunmen must be the real Kell operatives, so we turn our attacks on them instead. A fiery Chromatic Orb hits both, dealing serious damage. A woman inside the toppled carriage suddenly appears to be screeming. Ayleen casts Sleep, briefly neutralizing both gunmen. One collapses, but is soon kicked awake by the other.

Staf ends up skirmishing with some of the forest dwellers. He yells that they are under arrest, seemingly unaware that he’s targeting the wrong group. One would expect better battlefield awareness from a war veteran, but his emotions seem to get the better of him.

Meanwhile, the carriage begins to slide down the slope. Felix and Kane rush in to hold it steady. One of the forest dwellers frees a handcuffed, red-haired young woman from the coach – apparently the lover of one of the woodsmen.

 

[Cypherblade]

something like:

The Flint Observer

Is the RHC siding with the workers?
Raid or reputation management?

Flint, 10 Spring 500 AOV – In a striking move, the Royal Homeland Constabulary (RHC) conducted a raid yesterday on a factory in Parity Lake. Led by a team of investigators, workers were allegedly “rescued” from a warehouse reportedly containing “dangerous substances.”

Coincidence or carefully staged performance? The factory in question has ties to union man Thames Grimsley – a vocal critic of the current establishment. That this particular site was targeted raises questions about the Constabulary’s true motives.

Sources inside the factory say workers were unaware of any threat. “No one felt unsafe until the RHC stormed in with magic tricks,” said one anonymous worker.

Whether this was a matter of public safety or a public relations stunt, one thing is clear: the RHC is stepping ever deeper onto the political stage.

 

[RangerWickett]

Man, be careful with the yellow journalism. Or at least have some other paper report on them more favorably?

I ran an Eberron game set in Sharn where the session recaps were written by a journalist who had decided to turn the PCs into villains by blaming everything on them. Sadly the campaign ended before they got a chance to give the guy his come-uppance. (He was going to end up being a minion of a Moriarty-esque mastermind.) The Sharn Inquisitive archives