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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6778798" data-attributes="member: 6801286">This weekend we had an entire session with nothing but talking and hardly any skill checks. No combat, just role playing. It was great, because all of the events in this session were the result of the choices of the players. They decided to have a barbecue for the poor people in Shanty Town, and it was the perfect opportunity to tie lots of plot points together.Revelations about LauraOne of the players first visited Wiebe Ter Weel (a wealthy merchant), the father of Laura, whom the lovable drunken pirate Rummy is in love with. At the end of our last session, Laura's father had done a complete 180 on his opinion of Rummy. Seeing that Rummy was willing to risk his own life for his daughter, changed how he felt about Rummy. He now welcomed Rummy and Ché to his house, where Rummy received a long hug that lasted a bit too long for comfort. After talking out their earlier disagreements, they also made a business deal with Wiebe. Wiebe will help the players sell some of their exotic goods, and Laura will work for them, to help them with their trading. After concluding these negotiations (which my players really seem to enjoy), Wiebe shared a secret about Laura that not even she knew about, while Laura was out of the room. Wiebe explained that he was so protective of her, ever since a strange old man had tried to steal her from him twice, when she was just a baby. The party quickly realized that this was very similar to the way their Druid party member had been stolen from his biological parents by the Druids. Apparently this has to be done at a very young age. More on this later....Abdul Zafar the Enchanter returns!While Captain William Roberts is doing some last minute shopping on the market, he spots the mysterious arabian merchant, who had sold him a mysterious carpet earlier in the campaign. Abdul Zafar seems to pop up randomly on markets every now and then, where he sells them strange magical trinkets, and then disappears. Once again he sold the party two magical items: A rug that behaves like a bag of holding when you roll items into it. And a jar filled with magic fortune cookies. The fortune cookies quickly became quite popular, since they always seemed to provide cryptic but helpful advice whenever you ate them. One such fortune read: "You will have an unexpected guest"They started off with 30 cookies, which quickly reduced to 18 in a matter of an hour. They just couldn't resist eating them, to get another weird cryptic message. And every message was true, but open to interpretation of course. Oh, and Abdul disappeared once again, as he always does. Abdul is a type of character that seems to pop up in other people's campaigns too.Chef Kook LokThe Great Arietto, the famous singing chef of Vertesaux, tasked the party with a simple side quest. He wanted them to visit his rival, Chef Kook Lok, and ask him for his secret spices. Lok is an expert in exotic dishes, and especially large animals, such as whales. Arietto has little experience with preparing a dish out of a massive mosasaurus (which the players defeated many sessions ago, and now want to serve during the barbecue). So he needs to know what rare spices this chef of the bizarre uses. But he won't share it with him directly, he is too proud for that. Arietto also told the party to not call him Chef Cook Lok, because his name is Kook, and chef is his profession. So to confuse the two, and call him a chef cook, would be insulting to him. He remarked that Lok had a very unfortunate name for a chef.Shifter the Druid decided to deal with this small task, and he decided to bring Sitaara (the evil Speaker of the Dead crew member) with him. Sitaara would no doubt know a lot about herbs and chemistry, and may be of use in identifying the secret spices. The intimidation factor that comes with any Speaker of the Dead is also useful, with her blackened teeth, her heavy black eye shadow, and her garments covered in bones and animal skulls.But there was a small catch. Chef Kook Lok could already guess that they were sent by Arietto, and so he insisted that they would first try one of his exotic dishes, or he would not share his secret. What followed was a menu with several ghastly sea recipes. Shifter settled on the fermented basking shark (which smells like a rotting carcass, because it IS a rotting carcass), while Sitaara chose the live octopus dish.I described the taste and smell of the food in glorious detail. And what it looked like to try and eat tiny little octopuses that are still alive. It was a barrel of laughs, but they eventually were rewarded with Lok's secret recipe. Just in time for the barbecue.Bioran forges the holy book of St GermainThe barbecue is to be held inside the Chapel Lucia, outside Vertesaux. The players have made a reluctant agreement to hold the barbecue there under the watchful eyes of the zealous paladins of the holy Brotherhood of the Chalice. They are none too happy about this, because these zealots (even though they are lawful good) are spreading their faith like wild fire, and they also mean to burn the holy book of St Germain which they took from another church (The church of St Germain). The Brotherhood regards St Germain as a heretic, and thus his book of lies must be destroyed. The players want to preserve this book, because it is an important religious artifact, and it may contain details regarding the last voyage of St Germain. The players want to seek out this ship wreck, in search of valuables. So they want to steal the book from the holy order during the barbecue. Their plan is to create a forgery of the holy book, and then use their new magic carpet to quickly make the switch. Of course I made the roll for him in secret, so Bioran has no idea how good his forgery is. As with a lot of characters in my campaign, the Brotherhood are not completely black and white. They are good, but they are also zealous. They are zealous, but they are also kind and generous to the poor. The players hate them, and yet also respect them. Its a love-hate relationship, just the way I intended them.Ché confesses his love to AmaziahThe half elf Ché has never been great with the ladies, but at long last he was able to admit his love to his cleric student Amaziah, with the aid of the magical fortune cookies. When Amaziah read what the fortune cookie said, she knew that Ché was in love of her... and Ché's cookie simply said "She knows". This is because the fortune cookies always provide helpful advise that concerns the current situation. In this case, it revealed a truth that Ché had long hidden from her. They had a long talk about his feelings for her, but she also explained that she did not want to rush things. After all, many years had been stolen from her. She had been locked inside a magically sealed tomb for many years by Teehlian'tara, the evil goddess of the flesh, frozen in time. It was thanks to Ché that she was liberated from her prison, but now she has so much to catch up on. It is not just love she has to catch up on, but the entire world. Every day is like a whole new world to her. Ché also revealed to her with one of his cantrips that it was he who saved her from that awful place. Amaziah mentions that she worries if now that her body has been taken from this evil deity, if perhaps Teehlian'tara will try to find another vessel.... Foreshadowing!The great barbecueThe barbecue was the point where a ton of lingering plot lines got resolved. It was all the idea of the players, but this was the perfect opportunity for me as a DM, to throw tons of interesting npc's together. While chef Arietto and his student Jantje were outside underneath two tents to prepare all the food, the inside of Chapel Lucia had been cleared out to make room for three long rows of tables. The place was crowded with the poor and the needy, while the paladins of the holy order kept a vigilant watch on the proceedings. Captain William Roberts makes a grand entranceThe captain of the party opens the festivities with a rousing speech, to remind everyone why they are here. William is looking for carpenters and other craftsmen, to help him build his new base. The player improvised the speech entirely, but it sounded amazing, and so I rewarded the whole party with bonus experience for it (as I always do for great role playing moments).Shifter reunites with his brothersShifter's two Druid brothers decided to attend the barbecue, but in their human form. Ermilio the dancing circus bear, was now just Ermilio the man. And Patamon the badger, was now just Patamon the old man with a playful look in his eyes. This was the first time that Shifter saw Patamon in his human form. It should be noted that Shifter's brothers are not blood brothers. They were all taken from their original families when they were just a child (just like Laura almost was). Nature became their new family. During the barbecue they teach Shifter two important things. First they teach him that he was anointed, and brought before the fey as a child. So the fey all know him, and it also allows him to see the fey. They teach him how to see all the dozens of invisible creatures that normal people cannot see.They also teach him how to "walk the path", which is a mysterious Druidic ability that allows him to walk into any forest, and appear at a forest in a pocket dimension, where all Druids can meet each other. Both brothers also inform Shifter that neither of them was responsible for trying to steal Laura as a child.... but it could have been their Druid father.Mamma Zima reveals Uruntu Khan's journeyChé joins the much respected Kooghan mystic called Mamma Zima at her table. This rather large kindhearted lady is a valuable ally to the players, and is also an expert at scrying and visions. She reveals the current fate of their Kooghan pirate captain, Uruntu Khan. Uruntu Khan is still wandering the icy wasteland of the Eternal Depths. He has now successfully crossed a dangerous area called the Frozen Summit, and reached a dark harbor city that has a striking resemblance to Vertesaux. He is now in a dark place, at the end of his journey, and surrounded by enemies. And he needs guidance.One of the players comes to a brilliant revelation. Several days ago the party had stumbled upon a portal to the Eternal Depths in an abandoned house in Vertesaux. If Vertesaux is indeed mirrored in the netherworld, and if there's an active portal to that realm in Vertesaux, then they can bring Uruntu Khan back! All they need to do is create some sort of a beacon of light, so he can find his way to the portal!Ché also asks more information about his amulet, which is part of his character's backstory. Mamma Zima advises that he takes the amulet to the island Salt, where the priestesses of Mor will be much better at helping him. Father Julien shares a storyThe head of Chapel Lucia also gives a short speech. He tells everyone in attendance of a nightmare he had, of a stormy sea, with a giant black tentacle rising up from the water, and grasping for him. The frightful vision was dispersed by morning dawn, but it is a reminder that dark times are coming. He urged everyone to stay strong in their faith, so that it may shine a ray of light in the darkness that approaches.Later that evening, Sophie Marceau (daughter of the Marquis) asks Julien if he knew the dreaded pirate captain Black William. It might be confusing that both the player character and this villain are called William, but just so you know, they are two separate characters. Julien shares a story of how Black William once came in for confession, during a time of great doubt. Many of the pirate captains had been considering retiring from piracy, because they feared their luck would eventually run out. None of them wanted to end their life at the end of a rope.Black William felt that now was the time when they needed to stick together, because it was the only way to protect their freedom. He felt they should form an alliance together, or they may lose all that they had built over the years. And so Black William killed another pirate captain in secret, who had spoken out the strongest against him, in the hope of putting an end to the opposition. When Black William came in to confess about this murder, it was not out of shame over the killing, but out of regret and doubt. He feared that he may have made an error in judgement. He also feared the type of man he may need to become to turn the tide. Black William was referring to his impending attack on Vertesaux, where the other pirates would eventually betray him, and which would claim his life. Julien still wonders if anything he could have said could have changed that decision. But one thing was clear: When he walked out of that church, he became the monster, and left behind the man. Then again, this is also what would eventually lead to the Marquis establishing peace in the region. So perhaps some good came out of it. Julien reminds Sophie that the Marquis loved her very very much, and that is why the Marquis is her REAL father.... and she should never doubt that. This came as a surprise to the players. Apparently Father Julien knows that Black William is secretly Sophie's biological father.... a secret that she keeps close to her heart. But he promises her that her secret is safe with him.Magister Aldric Flamant and his assistantAldric is the kind owner of the one and only magic shop in Vertesaux, which the players often visit. He always has a talking toad with him, who always provides hilarious apathetic commentary. He also brought his young female assistant with him, Chantal. He explains the players how he's been teaching Chantal some simple harmless cantrips.Meanwhile his toad provides condescending remarks with a tone of complete disinterest: Toad: "What's even the point of teaching her all that?"Aldric explains that her family can't afford to send her to an arcane university, so he's teaching her some simple stuff himself. But only harmless spells, he assures the party.Toad: "-As far as you know..."Chantal gives a demonstration of some of her cantrips. She casts some dancing lights.Toad: "Beautiful. Maybe now we all have permanent damage to our eyes, who knows?"She casts a light spell on her fork.Toad: "How useful, with all those candles already on the table. Why even bother?"Meanwhile Sitaara notices that Chantal's ways of spell casting look far more experienced than mere beginner level. She suspects that Chantal may have been secretly looking into some of Aldric's other books, and teaching herself when he isn't looking. And Sitaara shares this information with Captain William Roberts.An unexpected guestOne fortune remains unresolved. Earlier in the session, one of the cookies predicted that there would be an unexpected guest. The players all guessed wrong who it would be. At some point during the evening, Captain William Roberts is called over by one of the paladins, with news that a woman outside asks for him. When he walks over to check who it is, it is none other than Scurvy Scarlet. Scurvy Scarlet: "What's the matter dear? Afraid that I wouldn't get the invitation?"</blockquote>

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