Neverwinter World; a Dungeon World Playset

* @Nephis , what do you do? Do you take the attack yourself, sheltering the plant from harm (take 1d8 +1 damage but take +1 armor for the primal protections of the surging water)? Or do you try to evade the attack or defend from it; be aware that if a move generates a 6- here, the DBSM will take the plant from Twyll and crush it lifeless right before the DBSM itself is slain by the tidal waters!
TWYLL watches as the Deathborne Shambling Mound raises flailing tendrils, intent on crushing this miracle-of-life-within-undeath as its final act before being extinguished in the onrushing waters. She could save herself. Head into the waters, safe from further attack. But that would mean exposing this delicate growth to the Shambler's sure retribution and spite. She remembers Dilys then.

No, instead she hunkers down where she is, curling her body around the fragile life in her care. Tendrils more powerful than a mighty constrictor wrap themselves around the drow, squeezing her fine frame not only with the force of rib-crushing compresssion but also oozing necrotic acid that sizzles and burns against any exposed skin.




@Nephis has declared that Twyll will eat the DBSM's attack, shielding the delicate plant with her own body, taking r7 +1 -1 armor -1 special armor conveyed by waters = 6 HP damage. Twyll is now at 7 HP!




The profane pull inside Pritchard (Asmodeus himself?) oddly demands that he snuff this small life...not that it "be snuffed"...but, rather, that he himself do the snuffing.
* If the Deathborne Shambling Mound destroys the small plant, take -1 ongoing until you atone with offering or break free from the yoke of your master.

* If you destroy it, gain a new Alignment XP trigger (Evil) that works simultaneously and independently from your current one.

* If you let it live, you must either (a) always keep the plant near you and nurture it to protect you from infernal retribution (and prepare for more related troubles) or (b) keep the plant near you and enslave it for profane purpose when demanded.

Which will it be @darkbard ?

Asmodeus. He Who Was. The Flayed Memory. Helm. PRITCHARD's mind races over the players as the compulsion to snuff this fragile vegetative life swells within his breast, literally taking away his breath and nearly overcoming him with malice. Yes, to crush that budding plant beneath his heal like a vile insect...

But no! Pritchard's ratiocinating mind takes over, tamping down the hate in his breast.

Instead of fleeing, he had lingered here to pull whatever secrets were responsible for the continued existence of this tiny life against all odds in a morass of undeath. At the very least, such knowledge--potency against necromancy and undeath!--would prove useful in the fight against Valindra Shadowmantle and her unliving servants. Now it seems even greater forces contend here, some seeking to use him as their puppet.

That will not be, whatever the cost!




Pritchard trafficks with dark forces and sometimes gives in to wicked impulses. For now, however, he continues to wield[] dark power in order to do good. I will keep the plant near me and nurture it to protect myself from infernal retribution (and prepare for more related troubles as a result).
 

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How do the pair of you take up the small plant? What do you use as a planter? What is your source of soil?

Per Nephis:

Making sure to layer in some pebbles for drainage first, TWYLL gently digs her fingers into the river-loosened silt and soil and places the hastily rescued plant within a collapsible leather helmet that she withdraws from her rucksack.

She hands the planter to Pritchard with a nod.

“Your unleashing of the flood saved its life–saved all our lives–may some of this luck rebound upon you. Keep it safe!”

Pritchard receives the gift reverently, tucking the planter within his satchel so that the topmost leaves and bud protrude to receive light.

Twyll notices that the diabolist’s mood has changed; that he seems almost beatific.


Twyll marks 1 Adventuring Gear for the leather helmet.

PLANT OF DIVINE SPARK (weight 1)
While Pritchard or Twyll are within Near range of the tiny plant, they can halve the damage or remove a keyword effect from a profane source, Devil, or Undead creature (x x Reload Pritchard Level-up).

The skeletal wolf so animated does not collapse again into a pile of old bones when the undead plant mass perishes by inundating tide. It stands near the copse of trees…still like a statue…regarding Pritchard curiously. Its eye-sockets vaguely glow white as it throws its skull back in a silent howl. What do you do about this odd creature?

Per darkbard:

PRITCHARD returns the undead wolf’s regard. His briefly placid demeanor gives way to grim determination.

“Shoo!” he hisses, gesturing animatedly with one hand to drive the creature off. “We have no use for you!”

That’s when TWYLL notices it, that tingling feeling that accompanied Valindra Shadowmantle’s surveillance through the arcane sensor. Does the necromancer observe them now through this undead creature?


TWYLL makes a Discern Realities move here to see if her apprehension is so.

DISCERN REALITIES

When you study a situation or person, looking to the GM for insight, roll +WIS: on a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers.

· What happened here?

· What is about to happen?

· What should I be on the lookout for?

· What here is useful or valuable to me?

· Who or what is really in control here?

· What here is not what it appears to be?

r5,2 +2 WIS -1 Debility = 8. Who or what is really in control here (of the wolf).

While the skeletal wolf could no doubt be used as a conduit for Valindra Shadowmantle's scrying, that is not the case here. Despite its state, its posture and mannerisms are distinctly canine and the burning white light in those sockets is distinctly its own.

Curiously, after the noiseless howl, it rolls on its back, belly up; a submissive posture. What to make of that? What to do with that
(Take +1 forward if you act upon that)?

Beyond the curious undead canine, where the haunted copse was, and where the river momentarily surged to destroy the Deathborne Shambling Mound, the water's retreat has taken the remnants of once unliving plant to recycle it at the bottom of the bed. Now, the disturbed earth in the trees gives way to a mystery buried beneath the befouled shambler, where the tiny plant was; an old, torn, bloodstained banner of the missing deity Helm. Do you take it up or leave well enough alone and let this piece of history be?


Per darkbard:

PRITCHARD shuffles over to Helm’s standard. Just a moment ago, he issued the first true prayer of his life–and it was answered! It can be no coincidence that this symbol of the missing godhead has been revealed to him now. What meaning it holds is unclear; what is not unclear is his need to claim this banner to investigate that meaning further!

Pritchard tucks the banner (0 weight) into his satchel.

As Pritchard tucks away the banner, the living wolves baying begins anew as does the call of their alpha. They seem aware that the danger has passed. The high moon above bathes you in its light. Soon the pack will again close in on the gulley’s high walls above you. Will you hide, flee, fight, or position yourself differently?

Per Nephis:

THE BREGAN D’AERTHE SPY pulls off one boot, then the other, emptying each of foul river water. She then scrapes the residue of squishy mud from her leather breeches with the edge of her blade.

“Quick, apply this to that wound on your forehead,” she urges her companion while applying a similar patch of spongy moss to the worst of the acid burns left by the Shambler.

Twyll spends a moment to clean her gear of the river muck to restore her capability to be CATLIKE. She then extends both uses of her Poultices and Medicinal Salts to restore 7 HP each to her and Pritchard.

Per darkbard:

Since we’re on the far side of the tributary from the wolf pack and its leader, we will prepare ourselves for a social encounter. We have proved our might by defeating the undead creature that drove them off, and PRITCHARD feels he has the upper hand via the knowledge that the Uthgardt people’s disturbance of this land by felling trees played a role in causing the Deathborne Shambling Mound to stir in its unlife by weakening the sacred water’s ability to permeate the land–knowledge he hopes to exploit to his advantage!

High above the eastern gulley wall, directly over the flowing tributary, the pack emerges in that same overlook position as before. The quadrupedal members of the pack pace back and forth around their leader who stands regarding you, chest high, in full bipedal, werewolf glory. A growl from the alpha appears to instruct the pack as they each sniff the air and then bound downward toward the gully itself below, though with neither flattened ears nor upward tails over arched backs. Above, the werewolf's breast heaves with energy, excitement, anticipation, huffs of frigid air escaping from its nostrils and mouth as it looks down upon the scene below. The savage beast of the Uthgardts shows no sign of aggression...yet...

What do you do?
 
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Per Manbearcat:

Curiously, after the noiseless howl, it [the skeletal wolf] rolls on its back, belly up; a submissive posture. What to make of that? What to do with that (Take +1 forward if you act upon that)?

PRITCHARD registers the skeletal creature’s submission to him, slayer of its nemesis that he be. Calling the creature to his side, he growls, “Come!” and points at the bare earth beside him.

When it obliges, he growls a second command, “Heel!” This time he curls his hand in an upward fist, and the skeletal creature half-collapses beside him on what remains of its haunches.


Since the creature has already demonstrated submission, I don’t think any roll is necessary to get it to carry out these actions, with nothing essentially at stake. But correct me if you feel otherwise!

Per Manbearcat:

The savage beast of the Uthgardts shows no sign of aggression...yet...

What do you do?

As the half-man half-canine looms into view, PRITCHARD meets its gaze under the gauzy moonlight.

“You have returned to the site of your people’s crimes, have you not?” he calls out. “Once a great evil befell this place, giving rise to the necrotic energies you have seen at work here. The sacred waters of the flowing river held the worst of this malevolence at bay, but your people’s felling of trees and similar transgressions have weakened the forest’s natural defense against this evil.

“So it is good that you come here in atonement, for we have cleared the path for you, ridding this copse of the enemy that bested you.” At this, the diabolist gestures at the skeletal wolf beside him in clear indication of the power dynamics at play.

“The pack takes care of its own. It purges the weak and reclaims its den from the competitor.” His voice takes on a droning, hypnotic quality. “I honor your desire for atonement, which must begin with the release of your once packmate from its torment of undeath.”


Building off that earlier Spout Lore result (interesting but on me to make it useful), Pritchard is trying to convince the werewolf that its reason for returning to this copse is to atone for its people’s defilement of a once-sacred space … and that atonement begins with putting an end to the skeletal wolf and its pathetic existence!

FIREBRAND

When you introduce a new idea to an NPC, roll+CHA. On a 10+ they believe the idea to be their own and take to it with fervor. On a 7-9, their passion fades after a day or two. On a miss, they respond negatively, speaking out against the idea.

r4,4 +2 CHA +1 forward from acting upon status as accepted alpha from the skeletal wolf (how much worse does that make my betrayal of it?!?) = 11.

I think Firebrand is at play here since Pritchard did the detective work to establish what might have been the sequence of events leading to this moment but this knowledge was not available to the Uthgardt werewolf. If not, perhaps this is a simple Persuade move; if that’s the case, I think the fictional positioning has been established for such through the DBSM’s routing of the pack, our triumph over it, and the skeletal wolf’s submission to me as alpha.

Boy, do I feel like a jerk right now. Pritchard has a weird moral compass.

Per Manbearcat
As the wolves filter down, they circle their felled packmate, sniffing at its skeletal form. It can’t help but retreat from their moon-imbued radiance, drawing stray growls amongst the numbers.

The werewolf listens without interruption to Pritchard’s words, silently acknowledging them. It then snarls at its pack below, clearly instructing it to encircle and press upon the undead wolf. As the pack “snuggles” the wolf, their combined radiance forces the necrotic unlife to give way to rest; the bones again collapse into their pile.

The werewolf itself bounds down into the formerly profane valley. As it walks toward Pritchard, the creature casually changes its form to that of a bare-chested and bare-footed yet trousered male, bearded, braided, pack-brand looming on chest.

He hands Pritchard a dagger with “for your companion,” and, during the exchange, imbues Pritchard with the glow of radiance from the moon:

MOON-SOAKED DAGGER (1 weight, Hand, Finesse, Piercing 2 vs Undead)
When you deal your damage to an undead, the GM reveals their moves and you remove one of your choosing. (Reload x, Session)

SELUNE’S PROTECTION
When you wear no armor or shield you get 2 armor.

“Pack-friend,” it says simply. It then looks around the entirety of the gulley and surrounds, indicating that the pair may come and go freely. “Follow the river and you will find what it is you seek.”

It calls the pack and turns to go.


Are we done here or is there some back-and-forth to be had? If we’re done, I’ll cut to the the northern basin where the river empties for our final sitch here.

Actually, there is a bit more we wish to accomplish in this scene before we move on!

As the Uthgardt warrior turns to leave, PRITCHARD reaches out and grasps the beefy fellow by the forearm.

“Wait!” he exclaims breathlessly. “I do wish us to be pack-friends. Will you share a toast of brandy with us, in the traditional manner of my people, as formal allies? We have boar jerky for the members of your pack….”

Meanwhile, TWYLL has managed to halt the uncontrollable shaking that had come over her since the werewolf first appeared … and she was taken back to that fateful day amid her people long ago.

There were tales among the drow that just as the surface elves differ from her people–reliant upon the light of sun or moon for sight, weakened not strengthened by the constant competition and jockeying for power that defines drow society–the werefolk of the surface differ from those of the Underdark–natural shapechangers in service to the moon goddess, Selune, instead of wicked creatures struck with the curse of lycanthropy.

She looks at the pack-leader for the first time not as a thing, a thing of irredeemable wickedness to be feared, but as a person as complex and as nuanced as her companion here.



Once the Uthgardt and his pack depart, the drow prepares a small fire atop the bluff, from where the duo can survey any approaching interloper, and sets a kettle of wolfsbane collected from the riverbank and cardamom from her small cache of spices brewing. Knowing the pack is far enough away for her to shed blood without their immediately picking up its scent, she runs the blade of the dagger gifted to her by the Uthgardt across her palm, jarred by the acuteness of the pain coupled with the heady workings of the tea. This ought to clear the last lingering fear and confusion wrought by the echoes of tragedy!


Pritchard’s overture is genuine. Ever since his prayer was answered, he feels transformed, a being agitated by pent-up possibility, now palpably invigorated by the raw animal masculinity of the Uthgardt.

He expends 1 Adventuring Gear for the brandy and 1 rations for the proffered jerky for the pack. (He is now down to 1 and 3, respectively; and 14/17 HP for those keeping score at home.)

Twyll inflicts r1 HP damage to herself in the ritual bloodletting and expends 1 Adventuring Gear and a bit of time after the Uthgardt has left to collect enough wolfsbane for her tea to clear her WIS debility. She is down to 2 Adventuring Gear, 4 rations, and is at 13/17 HP.

She also Spouts Lore about the nature of werecreatures, drawing upon tales of the differences between surface and Underdark creatures of this type. She's trying to draw a distinction between shape changers of the honorable sort, like the Uthgardt here, and those infected by lycanthropy as a curse, recalling both the evil werewolf from her youth and rumors of Valindra Shadowmantle’s desire to use shapechangers (eg the Neverwinter Nine) to infiltrate Neverwinter's government.

SPOUT LORE

When you consult your accumulated knowledge, roll +INT: on a 10+, the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the topic at hand; on a 7-9, the GM will tell you something interesting—it’s on you to make it useful; either way the GM might ask, “How do you know this?”

r6,6 +1 INT = 13! Something interesting and useful, please!


Per Manbearcat
Something Hakon (the name the Uthgardt gives) says while they break bread triggers a sequence of thoughts. He says “The Dark Lady of the Night, Shar, twists truth and makes secret what should be plainly revealed.” As they break bread, Hakon goes on to say that he believes it is both the physical light of the moon and the constant commitment to spiritual absolution via never hiding from the darkness-sanitizing light that keeps him from the twisted heart and mind that other lycanthropes fall prey to.
If true, to fulfill this ideological impurity, Valindra must subvert the truth in a most malevolent way. What best way to do that? Hide in plain sight or “right under the proverbial nose.” Her works with the Neverwinter Nine must be very close to the source (Neverwinter) indeed!


Go ahead and take 1 Clue!
 

A mile hike following the tributary down the thirty degree slope empties into a vast river drainage basin with fir trees lining the reservoir's shores on all sides. At the mouth of the reservoir there are signs of a fixed, ruined campsite that would have predated the apocalypse and those it claimed. One standing structure remains; a small, yet sturdily built church of stone, its southern wall partially caved in due to a massive tree strike, the remains of which still reside in the nave. Beyond the church, a dug well of stone casing and a dock for fishing and launching/mooring small boats remains, though both not even close to fit for use.

The ground itself is covered with the old evidence of the pyroclasm's storm; pumice and layers of ash interlaced with seasonal foliage.

The water near the shore stirs with fish frantically trying to escape one predator or another.

The ruined church's interior is the deepest dark, impenetrable without probing light. Subtle sounds from within can be heard. Squirrels or birds nesting in the wooden rafters? The gentle blow of the wind forcing the typical creaking of ancient architecture? Something else?





What do you do? The moonlight will suffice for light out here, but the depths of dark of the church will require some measure of artificial light, even if just a lit ember.

What are your instincts. What would the tired people of Neverwinter done here? Was the church and this small reservoir getaway still active during their flight from the volcanic payload?
 

Per darkbard

On the journey from the once-defiled copse, PRITCHARD is alternately pensive and ebullient. There is something potent in his seemingly answered prayer, be it through the moon goddess Selune or self-sacrificing Helm, that strikes a marked contrast from the power he commands–or does it command him?--through the brand on his chest. He had cried out for aid, and yet nothing has been asked of him in return.

The long shadows cast by the conifers on the black surface of the reservoir by the moon’s light call to him, and when Twyll holds up a hand and signs to him that she will investigate the interior of the ruined church, Pritchard wades through the ash, almost as if sleepwalking, towards the shoreline, perturbed as it is with activity.

Clearly this is the place Hakon described, where his ancestors laid down their lives, caught unaware by the pyroclasm that devastated the city and its environs. But where specifically are the bones buried? Are they taken by time and the filling of the changed landscape by water? Or are they elsewhere, buried beneath ash instead of water?

His instincts tell him there is some connection between this ruined church, Helm, and his common ancestors with Neverwinter’s Wraith. Was the banner he took up left behind by them? Is that why it resonates so strongly? Did they make their way here, to a sanctuary of Helm, as a refuge–one that failed in its purpose as the deity’s attentions were elsewhere?

But before returning to Twyll and the ruins, whatever lurks beneath the surface, disturbing its fishy inhabitants, draws his attention.


Pritchard, standing at the shoreline but out of the water itself, peers beneath the water’s surface, searching for anything that might be disturbing the fish and pose a threat to their own safety!

DISCERN REALITIES

When you study a situation or person, looking to the GM for insight, roll +WIS: on a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers.

  • What happened here?
  • What is about to happen?
  • What should I be on the lookout for?
  • What here is useful or valuable to me?
  • Who or what is really in control here?
  • What here is not what it appears to be?
r4,1 -1 WIS = 4. Gulp. I mark XP.

Per Manbearcat
The splashing fish go still, allowing the reservoir’s waters to become glassy. The light of the moon above reflects radiantly upon the surface like a mirror. Within that “mooney mirror” Pritchard can see the image of Lord Dagult Neverember emerging from Vellgard Manor in Neverwinter’s Blacklake District, having been the dinner guest of Mordai Vell, diabolist-king in material world service to Asmodeus. The eyes of the savior or doombringer of Neverwinter reveal a concentrated mote of infernal red and a grim face.

As the Open Lord of Waterdeep gets on his own horse, he is flanked by a squad of his best mercenaries. We hear the clatter of a large horse and the captain of all Mintarn forces in Neverwinter trots up. Neverember eyes the shining, armor-clad figure on horseback in the courtyard as she takes off her helm. “You summoned me, my lord,” Captain Sabine says.

“I did,” says Neverember, his face grim as he readies himself on his mount for the ride back. “You’ve hidden behind your subordinates long enough…given orders from the safety of Protector’s Enclave. A blade becomes dull and useless as a stick when it is not intermittently sharpened. It is high time you saw some action again.”

Looking at Sabine directly and fiercely, “take as many of your forces as necessary to The Driftwood Tavern. We know it is the covert headquarters of the Graycloaks. Do the same for The House of the Thousand Faces. I want the proprietors of both establishments and every agitator of the Graycloaks and Nashers within brought to The Hall of Justice for open charging of high crimes of treason and whatever low crimes they can be arraigned for. It is time we stabilized our fair city, showed our people that Neverwinter is a secure place of order and prosperity…that armed revolt will not be tolerated…that Blacklake District will be brought fully to heel.”

He directs his horse toward the gates as Sabine watches him from the perch of her own steed. “Do this by the morrow’s moon, Sabine. That is this evening and a whole good day again. Do not disappoint me. I will not tolerate failure.”

Flanked by soldiers, Dagult Neverember trots off this very night as Sabine sits watching, taking in the gravity of the command.

From a third floor window overlooking the affair, Mordai Vell’s lips curl into a smile.

At the reservoir, the image on the water fades abruptly as the fish stir once again. The once light burden of the tattered banner of Helm suddenly feels weighty…substantive. Simultaneously, the heat of your infernal engine becomes suddenly noticeable as the small potted plant becomes imbued with countervailing divine spark.


  • You’re going to take Debility Cha from this profane visitation. Do you spend one of your two uses of the plant to stave off this affliction and ensure nothing further here (eg, I’m taking profane consequences off the table for the rest of the scene) or do you willfully suffer it as an urgent reminder?

Per darkbard:

As the vision displayed on the surface of the water dissipates, PRITCHARD endures the palpable struggle of Asmodeus’s followers in the world and those who would act to stop them playing out within his flesh.

The brand upon his breast smolders.

The plucky little plant, rescued from the depredations of necromantic forces, swells in response, its cotyledon leaves and nascent bud protruding from his satchel perking up as if in attendance. Pritchard knows the plant is named Trailing Butelus, sometimes called Watchflower for its single pendant white flower with black center resembling a pupil. The plant’s swelling now makes it seem almost to turn in regard of his breast.

A peaceful calm descends upon Blackmantle, and he feels the burning anger within his heart subside.


I’m marking one use of the Plant of Divine Spark here as the plant wards Pritchard from the effects of a Devil (in this case, Asmodeus’s most potent mortal servant).

- - -

Grateful that she had the forethought to take a moment to clean her gear, TWYLL carefully makes her way toward the gap in the southern wall of the structure. As her mentor Bettws’cynwyd showed her long ago, when she first entered the outer world, the Bregan D’aerthe spy ensures that no extra noise is made by her feet, stepping between brittle branches and keeping close to any trees along her chosen path.

The fondness of the memory of old Betts and his exacting training of her is evidenced only by a slight crinkle of the laugh lines around Twyll’s eyes. Otherwise, no emotion changes in her intent expression as she gingerly peers past the great fallen tree to get a glimpse of the interior of the old church. The shadows there may be many, but such darkness holds no mask against her sharp eyesight.


Twyll is using her Catlike abilities to make no sound as she moves closer the partially ruined church, along with using the collapsed southern wall to mask her surveillance.

CHAMELEON

When you use your surroundings to avoid suspicion or trouble, roll +WIS: on a 10+, hold 2 Guile; on a 7-9, hold 1 Guile and the GM reveals an Unwelcome Truth that cannot be resolved by spending Guile. You may spend Guile, 1-for-1, to:

  • Move about or maneuver unchallenged
  • Withstand direct scrutiny or questioning
  • Direct suspicion or attention elsewhere
r6,4 + 2 WIS =12: hold 2 Guile, spending 1 Guile to move into position.

Twyll then peers into the dark interior of the structure to see what is there, using her drow darkvision

DISCERN REALITIES

When you study a situation or person, looking to the GM for insight, roll +WIS: on a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers.

  • What happened here?
  • What is about to happen?
  • What should I be on the lookout for?
  • What here is useful or valuable to me?
  • Who or what is really in control here?
  • What here is not what it appears to be?
r5,2 + 2 WIS = 9: 1 question: What is about to happen?, and gain +1 forward
 

r5,2 + 2 WIS = 9: 1 question: What is about to happen?, and gain +1 forward

Multiple components here:

* This is the place of the mass grave. The interior was clearly blown open by the profound southerly winds from the pyroclasm uprooting the massive tree and forcing it to slam into the structure. They were likely to have been doomed anyway due to other aspects of exposure and fallout, but this failure of the envelope of the small church they huddled in sealed the deal. You can see remains, some in various states of mummified decay and others skeletal, through the interior rubble and heaps of ash and pumice.

* Maneuvering around the huge petrified tree with the sharp edges of its dead boughs which occupy much of the wall's hole is also a hazard.

* The structure itself is still somewhat sturdy, but the wooden framing has more than its fair share of rot and the load-bearing walls have been compromised due to the strike and various lack of stewardship and maintenance over time.

* The altar of Helm remains here. As does whatever consecrating capacity that it has to protect these bodies from profane manipulation. How do we know? The work of Valindra Shadowmantle is clear here. She must have discovered this site due to magical means and come here directly to attempt to "harvest" all of this death and suffering for her own fell purposes...and she must have been rebuffed by those powerful consecrations. However, she didn't leave her project alone. Her covetous intentions led her to ward the entire three dimensional boundary of the church with her profane necromancy, ensuring that...if she can't get in to get "what is rightfully hers..."well, no one else can either. If you try to enter, you'll have to deal with that powerful enspelling first.

Presumably, she will return here once she has discovered a ritual to foil the dead (?) god of vigilance and protection's consecrations stemming from the altar within.




Elsewhere, at the large lake's edge...

Pritchard can hear voices from behind him. They are vague and distant...as if not here from this time. A slight turn of his head easily triangulates upon the well as the source.

These are voices that are captured memories of this place. Captured internalizations and wishes, rather, at the casting of a coin down the well for luck or perhaps even portent.

With honeyed whisper, the evil god of tyranny, domination and sin, the archdevil Asmodeus, attempts to pull Pritchard from where he stands at the shore to the well. "There must be a fortune down there. Not just a fortune in coin, though that too, but also a fortune in the rich hopes and dreams of fools that can be harvested for powerful material purpose as this world is populated with like fools."

What do you do Pritchard?
 

Almost beyond his own volition, PRITCHARD advances away from the shore, towards the beckoning well.

He recognizes the machinations of Asmodeus luring him to temptation, ensnarement, downfall. But he acknowledges too the source of the voices … surely in his head alone, inaudible to Twyll: his ancestors amid the myriad voices; their desires, their fears, their accomplishments, their secrets.

Pritchard turns his head and observes the drow paused at the ruined church’s perimeter. Surely she, the trained scout and infiltrator, will be fine for a moment or two while he investigates this personal history.

He withdraws a silver coin from his purse, flicks it from between his thumbnail and forefinger down into the well. “Instead of a wish, ancient font, grant me knowledge of how to defeat Mordai Vell!”




The coin is just color. Rather than consulting his own accumulated knowledge, Pritchard is here drawing upon the whispered secrets dwelling among his ancestors’ memories in the well to Spout Lore, utilizing Well Versed since the Ashmadai are one of his particular topics of expertise.

WELL VERSED

Mark 1 topic, in addition to the one noted in your Race. Each additional time you take this move, mark 2 more topics.

[...]

O Ashmadai

O Thayans (+1 forward when Spouting Lore)

[...]

When you Spout Lore about one of your topics, you can ask the GM a follow-up question of your choice (even on a 6-).

SPOUT LORE

When you consult your accumulated knowledge, roll +INT: on a 10+, the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the topic at hand; on a 7-9, the GM will tell you something interesting—it’s on you to make it useful; either way the GM might ask, “How do you know this?”

r2,1 +2 INT = 5. Welp, at least I get that XP and the follow-up question? <grimace emoji>

Per Manbearcat
You find yourself in the bottom of a well. Not you…but it may as well be you in this moment…and not this well. But a young, tiefling boy…the spitting image of one Mordai Vell. Something…called up to him just as you have been called here. The boy scaled down. A pile of coins he sat upon. The desperate wishes of the meek and downtrodden. The hopeful aspirations of children, parents, those in love. Now all his; both the coin and the wishes.

The tiefling boy sat upon his profane treasure with glee, hands sifting as if through sand.

You find yourself at the bottom of a well. You. This one. The moonlight above barely filtering down. Your bloody fingers ache terribly with the tremendous, unconscious effort it took you to get down here (take -1 forward to any physical act with your hands). You can’t imagine what it must have taken your puppetered body to downclimb this.

A pair of bodies hold each other, half-dust, mummified masks of death haunting their faces. They wear a pair of like lockets on their necks.

A lump of congealed coins, molten together and then cooled (3 weight, 40 coin value).

You desperately want to take it…or something wants you to take it. All of those memories…wishes…hopes. Yours. How do you resist? Or do you not?


  • And go ahead and ask your follow-up question.

PRITCHARD winces and flexes his fingers … reflexively. His eyes light up and the pain is momentarily forgotten when he sees the molten mass of coins. Despite the pain, the tearing open again of his shredded fingers and nails, he hefts the coin mass into his satchel. And then his gaze falls upon the two figures intertwined. And their lockets. Are these his ancestors?



Pritchard will make no attempt to resist the call of moloch, claiming the treasure here for his own. (He will not tell Twyll about this … for now, at least.) My follow-up question: are these bones of my ancestors, which must be consecrated and buried along with those above to fulfill the terms of my agreement with the Wraith in Neverwinter?

Per Manbearcat
  • The weight of the coins feels thrilling yet even more immense than you imagined. Take +1 ongoing with your profane powers and +1 to damage, but gain the Vulnerable tag (you take b[2dx] for all damage against you) and you lose access to your newly acquired Selune’s Protection. The duration of both of these are until you get rid of Bag of Molten Wishes (weight 3, 40 coin value) and undertake either a hallowed act or a further profane act. If you undertake a further profane act, your Selune’s Protection turns to Asmodeus’s Protection, and fire as well as necrotic sources of damage do not deny the application of this armor. However, the Plant of Divine Spark will simultaneously wilt and die.

These individuals lockets mark them as Uthgardt Barbarians, mother and child, worshippers of Tempus; deity of strength, battlefield prowess, and valor in glorious combat. These folk are not from Neverwinter nor your kin. Surely some wandering clan who attempted to take cover in the well from the cataclysm’s rampage. Unfortunately, it did not end well for them…but they perished in embrace.




Per Manbearcat: The altar of Helm remains here. As does whatever consecrating capacity that it has to protect these bodies from profane manipulation. How do we know? The work of Valindra Shadowmantle is clear here. She must have discovered this site due to magical means and come here directly to attempt to "harvest" all of this death and suffering for her own fell purposes...and she must have been rebuffed by those powerful consecrations. However, she didn't leave her project alone. Her covetous intentions led her to ward the entire three dimensional boundary of the church with her profane necromancy, ensuring that...if she can't get in to get "what is rightfully hers..."well, no one else can either. If you try to enter, you'll have to deal with that powerful enspelling first.

The itchiness across her skin has become something that TWYLL equates as the presence of Valindra Shadowmantle or at least the presence of her power and essence: was she here herself or did she use a surrogate to do this work? And will it stop Twyll from entering this sacred space? Or will the consecrating protections still in place protect them from the necrotic and profane manipulation of the lich? Hard to tell.

The drow narrows her eyes as she inspects the energies within the old church, hoping to find a way in that will not trigger Shadowmantle’s wards.




I am assuming that you telling us about Valinda Shadowmantle’s wards is the same as telling me that there is “an ambush or trap here” and that I can therefore use Twyll’s Move Danger Sense:

DANGER SENSE

You can always ask the GM, “Is there an ambush or trap here?” If they say “yes,” roll +INT: on a 10+, ask the GM both of the questions below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, take +1 forward on your next roll to act on the answer(s).

+ What will trigger the ambush or trap?

+ What will happen once it’s triggered?

On a 6-, don’t mark XP; you know there’s a trap or ambush, but nothing bad happens just yet.

r6,1 + 1 INT = 8, ask 1 question: What will happen once it’s triggered?; take +1 forward on her next roll to act on the answer. (Again, I am making an assumption: that you have told us what triggers the trap, namely if we try to enter the church.)

Per Manbearcat

  • Correct, entering the church is the trap’s trigger.

The subtle glyphs trace a pattern of effect familiar to Twyll from her days in the deep, dark below. Without protections, those who tread the area warded become enervated with dark magic, their life force cursed to be slowly drawn from them (Debility Dex and Con at first…without intervention, the curse will claim them within a day) until it is spent…and they become undead in service to Valindra Shadowmantle.

Further, Twyll’s attention feels suddenly drawn from her task…some kind of sixth sense of danger? She looks around and Pritchard is now nowhere to be found. She can faintly hear the sounds of scraping on stone coming from the well…

If TWYLL were one of her father’s old ci’y’nef hounds, her ears would be pricked up at that scraping sound. Turning her head towards the well, the drow thinks to herself, <What has he gotten himself into now?> Then, she quietly makes her way over to the well, stopping carefully at its edge.

Gingerly, Twyll leans over that edge to peer down into the darkness, finding Pritchard at the bottom of the – happily dry – well.

“What are you doing down there?” she calls, taking note of the great start he makes at the sound of her voice. Is that guilt she senses, or simply the surprise of an anxious person out of his depth?




Since Pritchard’s action of stowing the coins and Twyll’s action of moving quietly to the well could happen almost simultaneously, we chose to make a Fortune Roll to see whether or not Twyll does see Pritchard do so: 1 to 3 = Twyll arrives just after (does not see), while 4-6 Twyll witnesses Pritchard’s actions. r2 = Twyll arrives too late to witness Pritchard’s actions.

Some questions:
  • What does it take to get those bodies out of the well? I am imagining the expendure of 1 Adventuring Gear (rope?) might suffice to retrieve them. Or will it require a Move? If so, whose Move might that be?
  • Getting Pritchard out of the well: again, whose Move might that be, Twyll or Pritchard’s? If it is Pritchard’s Move, Twyll will Aid Another.

Per Manbearcat
1 Adventuring Gear would be enough to call forth a rope and set it sufficiently to heft poor Pritchard from his predicament. However, if you want to bring the mother and child forth, some kind of litter will have to be crafted from framing and material for that; 1 more Adventuring Gear.

No move required. You could attempt a Forage move for the litter’s materials instead of spending the 1 AG. Remember, on a 7-9 I will describe a danger that impedes your ability to secure what you need…and you have to choose “avoid danger,” otherwise there is some as this threat manifests.

Pritchard calls back up to Twyll, “I do nothing but get myself in further trouble, it seems. My hands are a bloody mess–literally! Please lower down a rope to ease my ascent.”

The drow pauses a moment. “And what of those bodies? Will we leave them there? Don’t you need to bury them?”

“The lockets they wear are pendants of Tempus and mark them as Uthgardt,” the diabolist responds. “These are not my ancestors.”

“Tempus,” the drow says neutrally. “There are some among my people who call him ‘the Butcher.’ If these Uthgardt sought refuge in this well in the face of pyroclasm, they met their fate with cowardice. Their god would not approve.”

Having retrieved a coil of hempen rope from her pack and exerting the lion’s share of effort to rescue Blackmantle from his plight–”Heavier than I thought,” she grunts–she shares another thought with her companion.

“Don’t the tribespeople of the Uthgardt burn their dead?”

“Indeed, they do,” Pritchard acknowledges. He then pulls a torch from his satchel, lights it with a tinderstick, and drops it upon the desiccated corpses, which immediately go up in flames.




Twyll expends 1 AG (now at 1 remaining use) for the rope, and Pritchard expends 1 AG (now at 0 remaining uses) for the torch.
 

per darkbard:

Once the Uthgardt remains are reduced to ash, PRITCHARD follows Twyll back to the threshold of the ruined church. The drow pulls from her pack a glowstick, that Underdark phosphorescent-equivalent to a sunrod, and ignites it.

“Our last source of light,” she notes grimly. “But you must see within the ruins if we are to retrieve your ancestors’ bones.” Then she informs him of Valindra Shadowmantle’s wards of the sanctuary.

Though it no longer swells with vernal promise, the Watchflower palpably vibrates.

“This plant is sacred to Helm, taking its common name thus. Though it is said Helm is fallen, presumedly gone from our realm or any other, this plant somehow seems to contain and funnel his divine spark. If Helm protected my people once, perhaps The Watcher can do so again….” Pritchard makes as if to retrieve the plant from his satchel and bring it to bear against Valindra’s necromantic wards.

“Wait!” Twyll warns him. “If the Thayan lich has warded this place, perhaps she surveils it, too. Maybe I can use the technique I mastered when I carried her scrying device to observe her when we trigger her scrying.”

Pritchard nods. The drow closes her eyes, focusing on her faculty of scent. The diabolist removes the plant from his satchel, holds it up gingerly, and brings it to bear against the invisible barrier.

He swears the bud turns to meet the plane and the leaves bristle slightly. There is a flash of golden light, like sunlight reflected off a polished metal surface, in a semi-spherical arc around the ruins.

Twyll breathes in deeply through her nose.

The plant seems to wither and droop, its inner power expended for now.


Twyll spends the last of our Adventuring Gear for a light source for Pritchard to be able to see within the dark ruins.

Pritchard expends a second use of PLANT OF DIVINE SPARK. While Pritchard or Twyll are within Near range of the tiny plant, they can halve the damage or remove a keyword effect from a profane source, Devil, or Undead creature. (x x Reload Pritchard Level-up; marks 2nd use).

Meanwhile, TWYLL focuses her attention on the dissipation of Valindra’s wards, hoping to discern a further clue to the lich’s whereabouts as she becomes aware of her protective barrier failing.

DISCERN REALITIES

When you study a situation or person, looking to the GM for insight, roll +WIS: on a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers.

  • What happened here?
  • What is about to happen?
  • What should I be on the lookout for?
  • What here is useful or valuable to me?
  • Who or what is really in control here?
  • What here is not what it appears to be?
This is a fairly novel implementation of Discern Realities. Our rationale for using it here is your revelation that Valindra has the place warded, and since she’s already made use of scrying remote locations it’s both logical and fun to turn her preparations against her once again. (Probably pissing her off even further!) Twyll is not looking for further details about the ruined church (she’s already used DR to that effect) but to glean another clue to use against Valindra.

r5,3 +2 WIS = 10. That’s three questions, bolded above. Hope it makes sense how those particular questions tie in to the paragraph immediately preceding.

Since the answers to these questions have no bearing on the outcome of further actions here, I’m going to go ahead and continue our interaction with the scene below.

The lich’s curse lifted from this place, the two companions enter the dark space, TWYLL’s glowstick lighting PRITCHARD’s way.

“Be careful of these petrified branches,” the drow points out. “Sharp as a spear. Follow my lead closely.”

With the practiced care Pritchard demonstrated at Thundertree, he mimics Twyll’s movements flawlessly.


Making use of her significant grace and agility, Twyll maneuvers around the petrified tree. Pritchard studies her movements carefully, noting each detail of muscle flex and torque, to enact the same path through danger.

DEFY DANGER

When danger looms, the stakes are high, and you do something chancy, check if another move applies. If not, roll...

... +STR to power through or test your might

... +DEX to employ speed, agility, or finesse (Twyll)

... +CON to endure or hold steady

... +INT to apply expertise or enact a clever plan (Pritchard)

... +WIS to exert willpower or rely on your senses

... +CHA to charm, bluff, impress, or fit in

On a 10+, you pull it off as well as one could hope; on a 7-9, you can do it, but the GM will present a lesser success, a cost, or a consequence (and maybe a choice between them, or a chance to back down).

Twyll r3,2 +2 DEX = 7.

Pritchard r2,4 +2 INT = 8.

That’s two mixed successes!

Per Manbearcat

RE DISCERN REALITIES

Take 1 Clue. The countersurveil yields the following scents and brief imagery shifting on the dark canvas of the night as if through a veil:

  • The sweat and stink of a night laborer, burning oil, then its image of a lantern held aloft in the gloom of night, leading a shadowy group through a labyrinthine collection of askew tombstones.
    [*]A red robed figure, spindly undead fingers holding a chain leash with ghoulish hound sniffing the ground of graves.
RE DEFY DANGER

The threat here is either injury or the church framing becoming compromised, thereby putting a precarious clock on this effort. One of the PCs takes 1d4 damage (no armor applies) due to the effort/exertion to not impale themself (your choice which PC) and the other complication is going to be that the old, dead tree is basically buttressing that exterior, load-bearing wall. Even the slightness of your collective traversal has very slightly shifted things. The compromised, wooden framing of the church ceiling groans, a rafter splinters and shards of debris and dust fall to the floor, a gaping hole to the sky opens up, Selune’s moonlight filtering through. Stones on the exterior walls shift or audibly crumble. When everything settles, it becomes abundantly clear that the whole structure won't last much longer…

Nonetheless, you pair are in the church, sunrod flaring with moon looking on from the new hole in the ceiling.


RE REST OF SCENE ELEMENTS

Exposed arms, hands, legs, and feet are long since skeletal. Those bodies buried under the layers of ash and pumice are surely mummified.

On the eastern wall, the half-broken statue of Helm at the humble church’s altar still stands vigil, as if locked in permanent stewardship of his wards.

The cache of belongings of the people who fled still lies in the state it was left. A heavy, hardwood table in the northwest corner of the church contains various iconography and totemic pieces for worship, ritual, and communion. Even as benign artwork, they would fetch a fine price (2 weight, 80 coin) on the open market. Helm’s Hold to the south of Neverwinter would be very happy to see them brought into the bosom of the cathedral of the dead god there. Further, rations long spoiled are interspersed between 2 x uses of Adventuring Gear, 2 x uses of Bandages, and 1 x uses of Bag of Books.

Getting to the altar or the ritual table will be precarious as the heavy wood floor is unsteady itself due to the combination of heat from pyroclasm, hard freezes, and mountain runoff having all taken their toll to swell and contract the substrate over the years. This has advanced the state of wear of the structure as a whole. Even walking upon the floor generates a dreaded noise and subtle yaw.



Twyll is too concerned with her companion’s capacity for following her graceful lead. So much so that she turns into a protruding petrified branch, jagged and sharp.

“Cythraul!” she curses under her breath.


TWYLL takes r2 damage as the first consequence for the mixed Defy Danger roll.

- - -

The diabolist steps back and assesses the situation: the creaking floor boards, the crumbling mortar from the ceiling, the bodies half-buried in broken columns and petrified tree and various shards of structural components. “We need to retrieve and sanctify my ancestors’ bones and then bury them outdoors, under Selune’s protection,” PRITCHARD muses aloud.

Twyll looks at her companion’s ruined hands. Then considers her rucksack, empty of any useful digging tools.

“Let me see if I can find a spade or shovel amid their equipment.”

The drow re-enters the precarious structure and carefully makes her way towards the collection of useful items in the northwest corner.


Twyll defies the danger of collapse through grace and agility, with the goal of filling her rucksack with the items enumerated above (iconography, adventuring gear, bandages, bag of books).

DEFY DANGER

When danger looms, the stakes are high, and you do something chancy, check if another move applies. If not, roll...

... +STR to power through or test your might

... +DEX to employ speed, agility, or finesse

... +CON to endure or hold steady

... +INT to apply expertise or enact a clever plan

... +WIS to exert willpower or rely on your senses

... +CHA to charm, bluff, impress, or fit in

On a 10+, you pull it off as well as one could hope; on a 7-9, you can do it, but the GM will present a lesser success, a cost, or a consequence (and maybe a choice between them, or a chance to back down).

r3,6 +2 DEX = 11. Success.

This extrication of his ancestors’ remains will take some care and time, it seems. And muscle. She may not be built like an ox, but TWYLL is tireless. And, according to Pritchard it seems, capable of taking direction. Between his “brains” and her labor, they should be up to the task. Not to mention the advantage of the shovel she found among the gear!

Pritchard assesses the structural integrity of the ruins and their subtle disturbance thereof to give Twyll guidance as she uses the newly acquired shovel to remove the remains from the rubble. As Twyll follows her companion’s direction, she realizes that this drudgery surely releases her from any debt she owes him.

AID OR INTERFERE

When you help or hinder someone, roll+bond with them. On a 10+, they take +1 or -2 to their roll, your choice; on a 7-9, they still get a modifier, but you also expose yourself to danger, retribution, or cost.

Pritchard r6,3 +1 bond = 10. Twyll takes +1 to ensuing roll.

DEFY DANGER

When danger looms, the stakes are high, and you do something chancy, check if another move applies. If not, roll...

... +STR to power through or test your might

... +DEX to employ speed, agility, or finesse

... +CON to endure or hold steady

... +INT to apply expertise or enact a clever plan

... +WIS to exert willpower or rely on your senses

... +CHA to charm, bluff, impress, or fit in

On a 10+, you pull it off as well as one could hope; on a 7-9, you can do it, but the GM will present a lesser success, a cost, or a consequence (and maybe a choice between them, or a chance to back down).

Twyll r5,4 +0 CON +1 Aid +1 Adv Gear = 11. Success!

Per darkbard:

After burying the final body of her companion’s ancestors, Twyll plants the spade into the soil beside the new graves. Then she turns to observe PRITCHARD who seems at a loss.

Taking a breath, he begins to speak: “Selune, you aided us … in the defiled copse … We beseech your aid once again …”

The diabolist turns his face up to the heavens and winces at the moonlight, as if the glare is too much for him.

The drow lets him struggle for a moment before bending down to her rucksack and removing one of their newly acquired “treasures.” Handing him the dusty tome embossed with a pair of eyes surrounded by seven stars, she murmurs, “perhaps this might help you.”

Pritchard riffles through the text, his eyes widened. “Here,” he says, “Liturgy for the Departed.

“Scion of the Blackmantle name, let the Moonbeam blanket your grave; slumber in peace,” he proceeds to intone over each grave.


We will utilize the single use of the Bag of Books Twyll found to finish the necessary interment.

- - -

END OF SESSION MOVE

1) Did you resolve any bonds? If so, mark XP and update your bonds.

* Yes, Twyll has resolved “Blackmantle saved my life; that debt must be repaid as soon as possible.” New bond: “I have gone out of my way for Blackmantle: now he owes me!”

2) If you fulfilled your alignment at least once this session, mark XP.

* Pritchard Alignment (Neutral); to seek answers that maybe you oughtn’t. Yes. So many times! Let’s use the “whole well incident!” Or perhaps his interaction with the Deathborn Shambling Mound!

* Twyll Alignment (Neutral); to deceive, misdirect, outthink. Yes. Most recently by outthinking Valindra (again!) by re-engineering the wards in the ruined church to spy on her. Also, redirecting the attention of Deathborn Shambling Mound to the Uthgardt.


3) Then answer these three questions as a group:

3a) Did we learn something new and important about the world?

* Yes. Necromantic powers are defiling natural systems. There are ethical and moral varieties in different types of shapeshifters. Helm has some lingering presence in the world. Mordai Vell has corrupted Lord Neverember, who has ordered Captain Sabine to purge the Sons of Alogandar.

3b) Did we overcome a notable monster or enemy?

* Yes. The Deathborn Shambling Mound was killed. We forged an alliance with Hakon of the Uthgardt clan.

3c) Did we make notable progress toward or forestall a Grim Portent?

* No.

3d) Did we prevent an Impending Doom?

* No.

In addition, Nephis earned 4 XP via 6- rolls and darkbard earned 2 XP via 6- rolls. Thus, Twyll earns 8 XP (levels up to 3 and has 3 extra XP) and Pritchard earns 5 XP (L2 with 8 extra XP). Twyll raises her WIS from 16 to 17 and chooses as her Advanced Move

PERCEPTIVE

When you Discern Realities, you may ask 1 additional question. Even on a 6-, you can ask 1 question (though you might not like how you learn the answer).

- - -

We are heading directly back to Neverwinter to pursue our various goals there, beginning with meeting the Wraith.
 

The return to Neverwinter's available northern gate (the River District's gate is closed) into the Blacklake District features the following:

* A hastily constructed, wood-framed message board where 3 x parchment are hanging from iron nails:

INSURRECTION NO MORE. DRIFTWOOD TAVERN AND HOUSE OF A THOUSAND FACES CONSPIRATORS ARRESTED. ESTABLISHMENTS TO BE AUCTIONED. REPORT TO MAYOR SOMAN GALT'S OFFICE IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE FOR INQUIRIES. AIDERS AND ABBETTORS CAN TURN THEMSELVES IN AT SAME LOCATION WILL BE GRANTED FULL PARDON WITHIN MINIMAL DAMAGES OWED NEVERWINTER'S COFFERS IF. IF NOT, THIS LENIENCY WILL BE RESCINDED BY TOMORROW EVENING AND YOU WILL BE FACE THE SAME HANGMAN'S AXE AS THE CONSPIRATORS.

IN LIGHT OF THE SCARCITY OF ROOMS AT NEVERWINTER'S INN'S, THE MOONSTONE MASK WILL OPEN A DOZEN EXTRA ROOMS TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS. HALF-OFF ALL ROOMS THIS ONE NIGHT.

Meta: The Moonstone Mask is Convalescence House (43-Charisma coins: You Recover Hit Points (full), Prepare Spells, and Resolve all Debilities) with the following consequential amendments; 21-Charisma coin for this night, if you partake of its extravagant amenities you can take +1 forward the following day, those amenities come with a cost as it is well-known that the owner is in league with and a spy for Lord Neverember...so there will be attached fiction/danger related to that spying.

The alternatives are the dangerous Squid House (Peasant's Inn w/ required move for threat) in the Swamped Docks and the pirate-owned Beached Leviathan (Well-to-Do Inn) in Blacklake District where gambling or drinking games or fighting can lead to coin or complication (or both!). Alternatively, alternatively, you can Make Camp outside of Neverwinter or in the dangerous hideout of Bregan D'aerthe where denizens from all over the underworld traffic (move required but different than Make Camp procedures).

THE OLD TEMPLE OF TYR IS BEING RECONSECRATED AS A NEW FAITH HOUSE, CEREMONY TOMORROW NIGHT AFTER THE CONSPIRATORS MEET THE AXE. LORD DAGULT NEVEREMBER TO SPEAK ALONG WITH SPECIAL GUEST WHO WILL PERFORM CONSECRATION. DO NOT MISS!

* The portcullis is down, but the weary guard winch them up with only a minor bit of trolling you. Any efforts to get information from them is met with standofffish "at the end of my shift...read the board's papers...its all there...I ain't got nothing to say on those matters or any others."




The haunted tower's pall in the deadly River District is lifted. There is no sign of Pritchard's ancestor-wraith. Its curse lifted, it has ventured to the beyond. All the remains is the promised cloak, a heap of soft grey fabric held together by silver clasp in a singular pool of moonlight on the ancient, ruined cobbles of the old road.

CLOAK OF PROTECTION (1 weight)
When you take damage from an enemy's physical blow, hold the brooch and summon the cloak's magic for protection.

  • Spend 1 xp to remove any Piercing x tag.
  • Spend 1 xp to force the enemy's damage expression to suffer disadvantage and note the disadvantage dice. If the disadvantage dice result is less than the initial damage dice, mark 1. If the enemy's damage expression begins with advantage, then mark 1. When you mark your 2nd box, the brooch shatters, and the cloak's power is no more.




IMMEDIATELY IN PLAY:

* Pick your recovery option and we'll resolve.

* You have until tomorrow evening to recover Nimor Inronvice's drake for him...or double-cross him and there will be hell to pay!

* You have to meet The Nameless One at dusk tomorrow evening at Tilly's Rather Doubtful Coffeeshop; two doors down from the Fallen Tower in the River District.

* Note the initial 2 x Grim Portents for our pair of Threats. The rash, aggressive change-of-plans indicates that The Ashmodai's leader Mordai Vell appears to have seduced Lord Neverember into the thrall of the cult. Will you intercede or attempt to undo either his seduction or the coming executions (if you don't intercede in the latter, Belyse will not be happy!)?

Will Valindra Shadowmantle (a) be happy with the current state of affairs of the insurrectionist Sons of Aglarondar being destroyed by Lord Dagult Neverember as her circumstantial proxy? Or (b) will she come to their aid, interceding before their executions, with the promise of their fealty to her? If (b), that will surely be some kind of show of force or powerful wizardry that will bear implications upon Neverwinter.

* With Driftwood Tavern proprietor and Son of Alogandar facilitator Madama Rosene's arrest by Neverember forces, The Nameless One's Night Hag from the infernal depths of The Hells will be secretly turned loose upon Neverwinter's citizenry! Will the capricious creature assume its same "tavern/inn hired-hand" identity and get work at The Beached Leviathon, The Moonstone Mask, or Squid House? Or will it melt into the population and commit its predations in another fashion?

* Finally, should Twyll report to her superior officers? The situation in Neverwinter is disintegrating. You can't very well war profiteer or take advantage of an unstable, rebuilding city without a thriving insurrection against an entrenched power source, can you? And with Neverember now so boldly asserting himself? Would he now dare assemble his ample forces (either at the behest of The Ashmodai or alongside them) to unearth and dislodge the dangerous drow spy network of Bregan D'aerthe?
 
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