ZEITGEIST The chronicles of Team Big-hearted And Determined (B.A.D.)

[RangerWickett]

The fan mail is joyous.

How did the party handle the tank in Methia?

If the PCs were a bit standoffish with Kasvarina, how did she turn out? (I feel like several groups have had PCs try to romance her! But to my dismay I don't think any group has had her turn back to the Ob.)

 

[Echolocation]

How did the party handle the tank in Methia?

As the party approached the Lance, they were spotted, and the tank, approached them:

With a monstrous churning, a behemoth emerges. Its skin is stretched over several of its feet, which churn in a clockwise direction to lurch the beast forward. Its horns bellow dark soot into the sky, no doubt a sign of its inner fire, which has well-worn the insides of its exposed, elongated, cylindrical beak. Its hide is thick, but slit skin reveals several pairs of eyes trapped within. A small bell attached to its head begins to ring, and it groans in agony as it turns to face you. To most of you, this seems to be an alien aberration. But, John recognises it from some of the most insane designs in Tinker’s lab, something he simply titled: “tank”.

Master Chief fired and fuel barrels, making the party panic. John managed to pull off rather impossible shots through the eye slit in the tank. The remaining constables are melee fighters, but without magic weapons, they struggled to pierce the tank. Instead, they chose to scale it. Angharad slipped under it's treads (Master Chief kept backing up the tank and to run him over a few times), but Naomi managed to jump onto the beast. Lisandra flanked over high ground and jumped off sheer hill onto to the tank. They busted open the hatch as John managed to out-snipe Master Chief.

Taking hits without much healing was brutal for my players, but they were very happy to have a tank at the end of it.

If the PCs were a bit standoffish with Kasvarina, how did she turn out? (I feel like several groups have had PCs try to romance her! But to my dismay I don't think any group has had her turn back to the Ob.)

She turned out to be thoughtful and contemplative. She fiercely distrusts Nic, not necessarily the Ob. Atop the Lance, she sided with Nic only to betray him, allowing the party rogues to lay down some heavy sneak attack. She trusts the party though sees them as ruthlessly pragmatic. Though given what she's seen of her past, she cannot judge.

Asbray and Angharad despise the 'new' Kasvarina, seeing her as weak willed. When Kasvarina was around, Angharad sat in brooding silence. Now that she is lost, he is very vocal about not liking her.

My players and I have a channel on Discord where we RP between sessions. Here is a preview of Asrabey conversation, once the party meet up with him in Adventure Ten. This party takes place in Flint's RHC HQ courtyard, before Asrabey reveals he is Ob and betrays the party.

Asrabey's eyes return to scanning the surroundings. He turns to face Rin: "Speak your hate through word or sword. Else, I'll be bringing Thisraldion your severed tongue, cut by your own bite."

Rin abandons all verbal pretence of Naomi: "And why should I believe that promise any more than your wedding vows?"

"I swore my vows to a woman long lost. Whoever Kasvarina is now, she is not the woman I married." A somber look emerges on Asrabey's face, though he speaks plainly: "I am certain my wife would despise of that woman. She is but a long-casted shadow of the Kasvarina to whom I swore my words and secrets. To have her body twisted by the trials of the past she burnt away long ago...my Kasvarina would not stand for it. And because of that, neither can I."

"So you'd forsake all you shared for hatred of what she's become? What love is that, to be so easily abandoned?" She's slipped into Sylvan now, no longer leaning against the wall but fiercely upright. "What use are vows you can just walk away from?" There's anger behind the words disproportionate to the target.

"Emotions have no sway over my decision." Asrabey speaks with a hint of anger. "I swore vows to Kasvarina the matriarch. She left her past behind for a reason. I have not walked away from her. I still walk with her. Do you not see? I may not have her in flesh, but her memory still stands with me. I will not disgrace her by groveling before the woman she left behind."

A tinge of flame lingers in Asrabey's eyes "Do you so easily confuse vows and love? Spare me from your bewilderment."

Rin glares at him for a long moment, until the pebbles on the ground start to tremble and Humphrey [The resident RHC HQ cat] darts back into the undergrowth with a startled yowl. Then the kitsune gives a curt, perfunctory nod - "As you wish" - and stalks to the other end of the courtyard. She takes out a lone cigar gifted by Angharad and a tindertwig, and lights them with shaking hands.

Smoking isn't a Naomi habit but what does it even naughty word matter anymore?

Also from text roleplay, here is a conversation between Kasvarina and Sor Daeron in Sentosa, which conveys some of Kasvarina's changes:

Meanwhile, Kasvarina Varal stands, leaning against a wall, surveying her surroundings. She turns only her head to Sor Dareon, who sits wearily on a nearby bunch.

She speaks, sternly, her voice bereft of her typical kindness and patience: "You may not remember, but I do, those fields of battle where you proved yourself. A decorated war general. Now look at you. Killing one of Elfaiver's only daughters. You ran from Alias Primos when Srasama was felled, and you've been running for the past four centuries. Perhaps running is all you are good at, Sor Dareon."

The old elf looks up: "You have not spoken to me in a day, and now, you are here to torment me with my past?"

Kasvarina continues to cast her gaze down at Sor: "The opposite. I want to know what 'good' you think will restore your worth in this life."

Sor speaks in resignation: "My life will forever be poisoned by my actions that day, Kasvarina. I cannot bring her back." His mouth twists: "Just as you cannot bring back the god and the thousands you have slain."

The air hangs heavy, before Sor finally answers the question: "I wish to aid the Beran plight against slavery. I cannot join the Executores dola Liberta, the womanhood pledged to the cause, but I have nearly one thousand years of skills to aid the organisation. I would not want to join the Executores anyways, as I would prefer to live in anonymity."

Kasvarina arches an eyebrow, but continues speaking with flat affect: "What of your homeland and it's plights?"
Sor scoffs: "There's nothing left for me in Ushanti. Perhaps I've mellowed in age, but I have long forgotten the bloodlust that united your enclave." Sor pauses, before pressing inquisitively: "Then again, it seems you have forgotten to."

Kasvarina's eyes narrow: "What do you mean by such a thing?"

Sor smirks: "The clues are laid clearly in the dawn light: an artifact capable of reliving memories and a company of humans. These are not things the Kasvarina of old would keep. And, you have not kill me."

Kasvarina smiles: "The day is not over yet, Sor Dareon."

Sor, feeling a little more comfortable, asks Kasvarina: "What of you?" Kasvarina looks at the old elf inquisitively as Sor continues: "What will you do, to restore your worth? You have killed many more than I in years of battle."

Kasvarina speaks earnestly: "To restore the world, I must know what I have done to wrong it. That is what these people and myself are trying to uncover. Then, I will heal the world of my wrongs. Likely, I will need both this life and the next."

Sor smiles, and nods in agreement.