Malvoisin's War of the Burning Sky PbP

[Malvoisin]

BACKGROUND

It is New Year’s Eve, and near midnight on this frigid evening the
heroes gather in a small condemned tavern in the Free Citystate of Gate Pass.
Located in the mountain pass which separates two hostile nations –
Ragesia and Shahalesti – Gate Pass has been neutral since the end of their last
war, but now from Ragesia a scourge comes for the city.

By now, every magic-user in Gate Pass knows of the Scourge. The Emperor
of Ragesia died barely a month ago, and in a move to cement herself as the
next emperor of Ragesia, Leska, leader of the Ragesian inquisitors, has
decreed that all disloyal magic-users are to be tracked down and killed, to
prevent future threats to the empire. The inquisitors, clerics specialized in
countermagic, travel with military escorts to the borders of Ragesia.
Their first target is Gate Pass, its neutrality long viewed as an insult to
the nation’s honor. Those who resist them will have to face the searing
power of the Ragesian Empire.

An entire army marches for Gate Pass, and the people of the city fear
that they will not be able to resist the might of the Ragesian military. The
city leaders are bowing under pressure, and have barred the exit from the
city, intending to welcome the inquisitors that come with the army, for they
foolishly hope that the Ragesians will reward their cooperation with
mercy.

A local resistance movement, devoted to keeping both the Ragesians and
the Shahalesti out of the city, has gathered vital military intelligence,
and they need messengers to deliver the information to allies at a distant
wizard’s school. With all their strongest warriors preparing to hold
back the Ragesian assault, this vital mission falls to a party of
inexperienced heroes – the player characters.

The Ragesian army is nearly at Gate Pass’s doorstep, so time is short.
The war is about to begin!

Taken directly from the adventure, here is the background info that sets the stage for the opening scene. RA, does that help any in establishing Fae?

 

[Rhun]

Hey Rhun, not to rush you or anything, but....

HURRY UP!!!!!

Actually, it will probably take me a day or two to get things organized anyway. But, make no mistake, we'll be kicking off this baby real soon.

I'm hurrying, Mal! Don't start without me!!!

I'm on-call tonight, which means I'll spend the night sitting in front of my PC with nothing to do...so I think I should be able to get my character completed by night's end.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I think it would be inappropriate, because the intel apparently refers to plot points that come later in the adventure, and also it would cause me to have to rework the plot of this adventure quite a bit.

Isn't it possible that Fae might agree to help the Resistance with the mission just for the fun of it? It could be fun to have her start the adventure with the rest of the party thinking she's something/someone entirely different than herself. I'm not sure if you intended her to be that capricious, but it's just a thought...

I actually thought of that, but it is a very bad idea to depend upon her caprice because we don't want her to leave if it stops being fun (and if she is forced to fight her own battles, it stops being all fun and games).

What about #2, then? If the intelligence is a plot point for the next adventure, then having Fae want to learn it for herself is actually not a bad hook--will that work?

Also, I read the background, and this:

The
city leaders are bowing under pressure, and have barred the exit from the
city, intending to welcome the inquisitors that come with the army, for they
foolishly hope that the Ragesians will reward their cooperation with
mercy.

would mean that Fae has failed to convince the city leaders of their foolishness (in her identity with council connections). This leads me to some new possible hooks--

#4: Fae doesn't care about the intel at all. She just wants to do some recon on the Ragesians so that she can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that they intend to loot and conquer, rather than show mercy. She is looking to convince the council to support war rather than surrender

#5: (very dependant on factors that only you will know, but--) I'm guessing based on the description that the Ragesians aren't here yet. Thus, since every adventure has fights, we're most likely going to be fighting something else. Choosing the most appropriate of those something-elses, Fae is aligned against the something-else or wants to get the something-else out of the way through manipulation, or by proxy force if necessary

#6: (my least favourite) Fae is analysing the strength of the Resistance to see if they are worth supporting in the upcoming conflict or whether she needs to bail to Shahalesti, and to do so, she'll need to watch them fight and see what sorts of challengers they can defeat and how easily. To do this, she would be infiltrating the group just to watch.

#7: (similar to #2) Fae has been hired by an agent of Shahalesti or someone else who doesn't like the Ragesians to get a copy of the intel for their use. This is otherwise similar to #2 except that it wasn't Fae's own initiative to read the intel.

I can try to come up with more too

 

[Rystil Arden]

More thoughts--

#8: A dying young girl in Gate Pass could be saved easily by a medicine made from non-native herbs, but they are inaccessible thanks to the foolish blockade of the city. Fae secretly decides to help save the girl, but if anyone suggests that those are her motives, she'll threaten to slit their throat. (this doesn't work if we're supposed to be not coming back to Gate Pass after this adventure unless she can get the herbs sent in somehow)

#9: (Possibly the one with the highest probability of working with the adventure yet! I can't even see a possible hitch for this one ) Fae is on a typical job--smuggling, as I mentioned before. The only trouble is, smuggling the goods to the right place is impossible with the blockades--damn those fools! Wherever the party is supposed to go is around where she's to deliver the goods. Searching for any possible option, she stumbles upon the Resistance plan and offers to join (in a cover identity, of course) for the Resistance's offered pay for this mission, in order to kill two birds with one stone (and get some protection too).


I think #9 may be a winner!

 

[Rhun]

Mal,


Xander Marsh has been posted to the Rogue's Gallery. I couldn't find starting gold for a Psychic Warrior, so I just kind of gave him some stuff. Let me know if you want me to change things.

Also, the background is a bit basic (and I don't even know if goblins and trolls exist in this campaign setting), so let me know if you want more added or want anything changed.

 

[Malvoisin]

Mal,


Xander Marsh has been posted to the Rogue's Gallery. I couldn't find starting gold for a Psychic Warrior, so I just kind of gave him some stuff. Let me know if you want me to change things.

Also, the background is a bit basic (and I don't even know if goblins and trolls exist in this campaign setting), so let me know if you want more added or want anything changed.

Great, thanks Rhun! I'll look it over and let you know if anything needs to be altered. Goblins and trolls certainly exist in this Campaign, so no problems there.

 

[Malvoisin]

More thoughts--

#8: A dying young girl in Gate Pass could be saved easily by a medicine made from non-native herbs, but they are inaccessible thanks to the foolish blockade of the city. Fae secretly decides to help save the girl, but if anyone suggests that those are her motives, she'll threaten to slit their throat. (this doesn't work if we're supposed to be not coming back to Gate Pass after this adventure unless she can get the herbs sent in somehow)

#9: (Possibly the one with the highest probability of working with the adventure yet! I can't even see a possible hitch for this one ) Fae is on a typical job--smuggling, as I mentioned before. The only trouble is, smuggling the goods to the right place is impossible with the blockades--damn those fools! Wherever the party is supposed to go is around where she's to deliver the goods. Searching for any possible option, she stumbles upon the Resistance plan and offers to join (in a cover identity, of course) for the Resistance's offered pay for this mission, in order to kill two birds with one stone (and get some protection too).


I think #9 may be a winner!

#9 is a winner indeed, RA! I don't see any plot complications arising from that, so let's roll with it! Good job!

 

[Malvoisin]

UPDATE:

Here's where we stand with respect to getting this thing rolling.

1. I need to go over Xander, and make sure his character sheet passes inspection.

2. Umm, I think that's it. But, everyone should definitely check out the new OOC page which I started on this morning. It's got some stuff to whet your appetite. Once char sheets are all final, we'll close up this recruiting thread, and move the OOC conversation over there.

IC thread is pending...note that we will start with the meeting at the abandoned pub with the NPC contact for the Resistance, so everybody please make sure you've got your motivation all line out.

I figure IC thread should kick off Friday or Saturday. There's an outside chance for tomorrow, but don't necessarily count on it.

 

[Rhun]

IC thread is pending...note that we will start with the meeting at the abandoned pub with the NPC contact for the Resistance, so everybody please make sure you've got your motivation all line out.

Thinking from Xander's point of view...I assume there is some gold in it for us?

 

[Malvoisin]

Thinking from Xander's point of view...I assume there is some gold in it for us?

Actually, no. The adventure departs a bit from the typical 'I'm your patron, do this task and I'll pay you' beginning, so Xander will be disappointed if he's only in it for the money.