* Now knowing that they're dealing with a supernatural creature of darkness, Dap whispers words of
Consecration to a
Flame (his lantern) which now
emits a holy light, causing creatures of darkness extreme discomfort to look upon it (it lasts until the flame goes out or you consecrate another flame...no move resolution).
As of this point, their Adventure has gone as perfectly as they (Dap, Gavin, and Trys initially) could hope. Since the Threat was introduced with the Spring Breaks Forth move, they've aggressively pursued it, not had any 6- results that made sense to tick a Grim Portents toward Impending Doom if the PCs don't resolve first.
* So I framed the scene as
@hawkeyefan depicted above. Mechanically, I took advantage of T
horin's (Dap's wolf) tags (overprotective, fierce) and Instinct (to bark and threaten) to frame the scene with a
soft move; Thorin, unnerved by the unnatural corruption before him and sure it is a threat to Dap, begins barking and threatening...his posture tells us he's going to lunge into the clearing to confront The Dark Below if not brought to heel.
Now, although this is only a "minor" manifestation powerful supernatural entity, it could still very plausibly eviscerate poor Thorin (1d8 +2 damage, ignores armor vs 6 hp).
* Gavin attempts to bring Thorin to heel with an
Order Followers move to bring Thorin to heel; 6- (mark xp).
Thorin isn't having any part of it. He recklessly rushes into the clearing to confront the inky puddle that is coalescing into a terrible form akin to a Xenomorph from Aliens though featureless face and long spindly arms ending in wicked claws. It has
Reach to Thorin's
Close so I'm just going to straight up deal damage to Thorin if they can't intervene somehow. Ordinarily, wading into melee when you have a reach (tag) disadvantage would require either (a) eating the damage, (b) a playbook specific move, or (c) Defy Danger. But this is a follower, and in this case, the Order Followers move result tells us that Thorin is recklessly charging in (so he's just eating that damage to get in range to Clash). Order Followers failed, they don't have any capacity to Defend at range.
* Enter Dap who pulls forth his lantern and
Invokes the Sun God w/
Hold Back the Darkness (ongoing); roll +Wis. He gets a 7-9 which means it works but both the player and I choose a consequence. So, in order of operations:
1) GM consequence: the effort taxes you, mark a debility.
The intensity of the coronal flash saps all of your strength; Weakened (disadv on Str and Dex).
2) Player response to GM consequence.
Dap grasps one of his 3 Holy Relics during the channeling of the consecration (mark a use when Invoking the Sun God in lieu of a complication) and he holds firm against the coronal flare's effects.
3) Player chooses consequences.
Reduced Effect for
Hold Back the Darkness. Creatures of darkness will recoil from the light and cannot approach (and will also deal damage with disadvantage while bathed in the light) but Dap must maintain an unbroken litany of prayers or the coronal flare is snuffed (so if he voluntarily does something that would break these prayers or I break them with an attack, Hold Back the Darkness ends).
Both The Dark Below and Sigurd recoil from the judgement of the light, with Sigurd dropping the knife and the limp body of Fang (which he was preparing to sacrifice).
4) He has the consecration active, but the range on the lantern is not sufficient to cause the creature to recoil and protect Thorin. So he has to make a move to rush the clearing. Because this is basically a coronal flare that should extend the range of the light, I give
@Ovinomancer advantage on his
Defy Danger Dex to act quickly and get in the clearing to protect Thorin with his light. He gets a 10!
Dap rushes the clearing with his consecrated light and the creature recoils protecting Thorin from his own recklessness (so I don't deal damage to Thorin for the reach differential). If we would have gotten to a Clash move for Thorin and it would have yielded a counterattack against Thorin, I would be dealing damage with disadvantage (so w(2d8) +2) because of Hold Back the Darkness.
* With the manifestation of the Dark Below reeling from the consecrated light,
Gavin spends 1 Stock to call upon Danu to bind a spirit or perversion of nature (Danu's Grasp +Wis). He gets a 7-9 which is reduced effect so he only chooses 1 from his list. He chooses 2d4 damage (no armor) and, remarkably, gets an 8. The Dark Below discorporates as it tangles with the primal magic-infused earth and plants pulls the struggling shadowy flitting tendrils back underfoot.
The clearing is free of its unnatural taint. All that is left is Sigurd, an admixture of defeat and sorrow and rage on his face.
* The rest is as above. In order:
1) Fang is near death so he is priority. Dap
Aided by
Gavin's laying of hands and primal magics (so
Advantage) uses
Bath of Healing Light to save Fang. He gets a 10+ so
the invocation heals him and resolves his problematic wound; Fang survives.
2) Sigurd (myself as GM) and Dap (
@Ovinomancer converse for a time about what has happened her and what has animated Sigurd, about Sigurd's burden, about Sigurd's shame. Given what has transpired here and the way that it has gone down, I'm not going to make a soft move off of Sigurd's instinct or tags. The player gets to dictate the scene and then I'll escalate once a move is triggered on their part if that move result requires a move from me. Doesn't happen.
Dap is gentle and kind and understanding and engages him with the prospect of atonement and absolution. He makes his
Spring's First Thaw move and gets a 10+!
When you spend time (an hour at least, maybe more) seeking to stir hope, kindness, or mercy in an NPC, roll +CHA: on a 10+,
you light a fire deep within them and affect a lasting change;
Sigurd becomes a follower of Dap and Helior.
Sigurd (widowed father, intimidating, volatile, stubborn, lost and found, smithing-wise)
HP: 8; Armor 1
Damage: d6 Hammer (Close)
Instinct: To defeat his dark affliction
Cost: Consistent absolution
Loyalty: +1
* Basically this was a home run. Miraculously, this threat was resolved with no Grim Portents ticked at all and everything turned out perfectly. A pillar of the community (you can't just replace your Blacksmith - they're a key asset of Stonetop) returns and redeemed at that and the beloved Fang returns very much alive.
The five of them
Return Triumphant; When you return home in triumph, having saved your fellows, put down the threat, seized an opportunity, etc., increase the steading’s Fortunes by 1 (to a max of +3).
Stonetop is now Fortunes +2.