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

Andrew Moreton · Sep 27, 2021

Do not be Amazed, there is a better Kobold Revelation to come!
There always is

Echolocation · Sep 27, 2021

"If we TPK, at least we can come back as a team of kobolds" - one of my players after a deadly encounter to come

Echolocation · Sep 27, 2021

Pick your Poison - A mid-session interlude by Ella's player

Ella clutched at the carriage seat with numbing fingers, feeling the paralysis take hold. A coolly detached part of her brain tracked the toxin's progress with curiosity: it was rare to find a firsthand account of acute hemlock poisoning - usually the victim died too quickly, unable to communicate through their stiffening muscles. Most reports of its effects therefore relied on external observations. Perhaps her own notes could help? Not that she’d get a chance to write them, if the frantic conversation between John and Lisandra was anything to go by… None of them had come prepared for poison it seemed.

How utterly idiotic of her; it wasn’t difficult to pack toxin-slowing alchemicals. What was the RHC paying her for? Ella watched her fingers twitch and curl with morbid fascination, wondering whether John or Lisandra would be willing to write her notes for her. She didn't think she could hold a pen at this point - especially in a moving carriage. A quick glance at the controlled panic on their faces dissuaded her from the idea. The medical world would have to do without her minor footnotes.

Titans, what a stupid way to die: poisoned coffee. People might just assume she’d finally put too much sugar in it and given herself a heart attack. Why hadn’t she accepted the alcohol instead? At least she’d have gone out with a buzz.

What was that saying? I wish to arrive at my death late, drunk and in love? She hadn’t even managed one of those things. Bee would be so disappointed…

Recriminations and regret span in pointless circles, ticking down the last minutes of her life.

Think. What did she know?

As best she could tell, she'd ingested Conium maculatum: poison hemlock. Highly toxic. Sometimes mistaken for wild carrot. No known antidote. Commonly deadly. Her mother had once treated a goat that ate some growing wild and the poor creature died within the hour: trembling uncoordination giving way to collapse and then death. That had only been a small dose. Hers would have been concentrated and she was smaller than a goat.

Given the elapsed time since the coffee, she likely had three to five minutes before total respiratory paralysis. A fate she had no way to prevent or delay because she'd failed to pack some basic supplies.

Sweet brieberries, all this mental rambling really wasn't as distracting as she'd hoped…

A stuttering, unsteady beat of Ella's heart sent an abrupt wave of icy dread through her. Had it reached her lungs? Was she dying?

...No, just panicking. Her fingers felt stiff but they could still move: curling into anxious fists. The sharp prick of claws on palms seemed duller than usual. Skeet bounced fretfully at the end of her numbing leg. By the woods, she didn’t want him to experience this: bad enough she’d felt Millie’s death and was now experiencing her own, Skeet shouldn’t have to suffer alongside her. He was barely three seasons old. Where would he even find another gnome in need of a left leg?

Breathe.

There was still time. Maybe not for all the things she’d wanted to do with her life, but John and Lisandra were safe at least so she could tick ‘protect her friends’ off the list. Assuming the kobold in the carriage didn’t kill them; not that he seemed inclined to do anything now other than watch as the carriage bumped its way toward their unknown destination. Were they actually traveling to a healer? No way to know, and if not then she probably wouldn’t survive the trip to find out.

Gods, what a stupid mess. Drinking the first thing someone offered her without even checking it? They were on a mission, not a holiday! Now the famed Dame Eleanora might be felled by a hot beverage. How moronic. She hoped they didn't write a newspaper article about it - bad enough she'd had to leave her family with nothing but a hastily written note; reading about her witless demise would break their hearts. Aunt Maya might try to scold her ghost.

That was assuming Lisandra didn't use the scroll of raise dead they’d bought. Odds were good she'd survive to try it - the kobolds didn't seem hostile. They were improbably helpful, in fact. How had they known where to park the carriage? Or when to assault the shop? She had too many questions and not enough time.

Titans, she didn't want to waste the scroll on a mistake like this! Resurrection wasn't guaranteed and they’d barely set foot in Crisillyir! She didn’t want to die - not even for a little while. Admittedly it wasn't the worst way to go: relatively quick and painless, all things considered, but the complete helplessness of it was galling. Entire minutes in which to act and she couldn't do anything! Just sit here in this carriage and hope.

Fear battered against her ribcage like a second heart.

Pescálo help me. She'd never been on close terms with the divine but maybe prayer would help.

The true neutral Beran god of Lost Causes, Perseverance, and Deep Breaths.

...Was her heart rate slowing? She could use her pocket watch to time it but her fingers really didn't want to function anymore. Besides, if they left the carriage and anyone saw it she might be arrested before she could even be healed.

All things considered, Alais Primos really was turning out to be a terrible city. Banning technology simply because they hated tieflings was infuriatingly petty and obstinate - and she didn’t just think that because she had horns. The refusal to admit that anything good or useful might come from something they disliked was close-minded at best and actively harmful to their populace at worst.

Ugh.

If she survived, she'd need a Sydney patting session - and a drink. And maybe to write a letter to that obnoxious transmuter whose spellbook she'd borrowed. Imagine accusing her of scratching the pages! As if she hadn't handled it with utmost care. How impossibly embarrassing to have to defend her claws to the Principal Minister. Those without inbuilt hole-punchers on their hands couldn't possibly understand just how delicately she had to handle each and every document. The nerve of that mage…

In the last downtime, Ella requisitioned a spellbook from a Risuri mage to learn a few things. After handing it back, the mage complained about scratch-marks from Ella's tiefling claws. In truth, the mage is talking naughty word and is bitterly jealous of the recognition Ella is receiving. Harkover mentioned the incident to Ella, handwaving it as something the second-most powerful mage in Risur should expect to receive from petty competition. It really got to Ella, as she has a great degree of respect and maybe even a little crush on the principal minister.

The superficial outrage proved a welcome distraction: emotion better than overthinking. It helped her ignore the anxious glances of her fellow constables, the mingled fear and frustration emanating from Skeet, and the increasing shallowness to her breathing. It carried her all the way to the church - and if it couldn't literally carry her inside (Lisandra and John did that), then it had at least done its job.

Now it was time for her to do hers. Because she'd be damned if a little poison stopped her from finding the man who'd murdered her mother.

RangerWickett · Sep 27, 2021

I always love scenes of PC introspection.

Echolocation · Sep 28, 2021

Likewise, I'm incredibly blessed to have such invested players.

Echolocation · Oct 6, 2021

Session 70
Courtesy of Lisandra's player

Last session began in the wake of El Extraño's unexpected rescue, leaving our knighted adventurers regrouping outside the temple with Ella recovering from her near brush with death and in possession of some interesting and new magic items.

The Kobold driver of the carriage that had brought them there remained, a thermos in hand to offer the team a cup of real coffee. Bravely, Ella tried to stomach it, but the very recent poisoning caused her to pass the drink off to John, who was happy to double caffeinated.

With the help of their apparent new allies, the Underground League of Totally Unimpressive Ordinary Kobolds, the team had found both a guide and a convenient safe house for their time spent in the Capital.

The Team examined their leads and decided with the rest of the day they would seek out what information they could on the Cold Vessel, the ship Steelshaper arrived on, and visit the Grand Librarium to see if the Archmissionary would be able to offer further assistance with Lisandra’s little liability issue.

With time spent gathering information to find which dock and harbour master to approach. Lisandra name-dropped the Family to gain some extra sway and left the harbour master's post with a list of names of the dock workers associated with the vessel.

The sun set on their first day in Alais Primos and the team made their way to the Cathedral District in hope that the Archmissionary would still be available. As beautiful as the structure was, Lisandra felt a sense of disease fall upon her as they approached. Trying to reach her awareness out, she received a sense that the building was very crowded, and that mass of presence settled on her uneasily. Brushing off Ella’s show of concern, she insisted they move ahead.

The building was stunning, the grand architecture towered above them, featuring a beautiful mosaic of a key on the lobby floor lit with magical lanterns. Lisandra quickly enquired about the Archmissionary’s availability and it wasn’t long before Cornelius himself entered the Lobby to greet them. Lisandra refrained from introducing her fellows, but chose to use her own name in the introductions, instead of her cover. The Archmissionary’s face showed an immediate recognition and he invited them to his office to discuss further.

On the way there, they witnessed floating books moving about and shelves restocking themselves. As Ella started spinning several arcane hypotheses, Lisandra sight could see the reason; spirits. Hundreds of spirits packed into this place to serve the librarium. Cornelius apologized for her discomfort and explained that the spirits were of priests, sages and scholars who pledged themselves to the Library--in life and in death.

It wasn’t hard to miss Ella’s fascination and the medium assured her that she could go browse if she wished. With some reassurance, Ella dashed over to the shelves, but not without a warning from the Archmissionary that the spirits could see through her gnomish exterior and may still hold some prejudice to her kind. After some hesitation, she used a spell to infuse her physical form into a Deva instead, hoping to set the spirits at ease.

Once again she bounded off toward the books. John took his leave to keep an eye on her and Anghard joined Lisandra in the Archmissionary’s quarters. They discussed a device that Cornelius could construct that would focus a soul gem’s power. If a gem filled with a soul consumed by rage, the emotions amplified could be enough to disrupt a Psychic Lich’s power. He advised that a recently departed soul would be the most affected, as Lisandra would know, the spirit fades from the waking realm, and with it their human ties.

Lisandra told Cornelius that her father carried a weapon that could change it’s shape and housed the soul of her mother. While the Arch Missionary had not heard of a specific weapon of that description, he did note the part of destroying a Psychic Lich involved destroying the Nemian shadow and the sliver of soul contained inside once the Lich’s body is destroyed. If not, the Lich is able to eventually regenerate. To destroy the shadow, you need a soul betrayed by the lich before his undeath and a soul betrayed by the lich following his undeath.

As is inevitable with so much exposition, this player recap misconstrues what was said. To dismiss Balthazar's plot armor, the players require a headband required must contain a soul gem imbued with anger (likely Steelshaper's soul). The gem itself must be doused with the blood of someone betrayed Balthazaar in life. The only living betrayer is the one Balthazar does not know about---the priest who refused to throw baby Lisandra into Enzyo Mons (instead, he sent her to his cousin in Flint). Once the arc of Reida is recovered, the players will be drawn to Enzyo Mons whilst travelling with Kasvarina, and there, history will repeat itself.

After the lich is defeated, his blade and the headband are required to destroy his Nemian shadow, to prevent regeneration.

Angharad asked if there were any known local Fey factions, hoping his contacts may be able to help with such a dubious item but was informed there were certainly none within the city, and possibly no closer than Nalaam.

Lisandra requested the Archmissionary begin constructing the headband, and in the interim they would deliberate on the issue of the soul gem itself. Before leaving to find their companions, Angharad offered his ashen hand to Cornelius, using it to gauge the Archmissionary’s character. He was hit with an overwhelming lawful scent that hit him like a snort of hot pepper, causing him to sneeze profusely.

He's a dragon. A powerful one too, causing Angharad to become stunned after detecting law. A few centuries ago, the Archmissionary made a deal with the king of Risur. Much like Harkover, the Archmissionary has long forsaken his draconic heritage to pursue a more moral life. Cornelius keeps in contact with Harkover, discussing matters of magic and the soul. Though, unlike the principal minister, the Archmissionary has pledged himself to the religion of humans. After all, if a dragon genetically destined for evil can improve themselves, who can't? Unfortunately for Cornelius, the planar tinkering of the Ob will eventually unravel his draconic disguise in the middle of Alias Primos. Unable to tap his innate magical powers in a changed universe, the Archmissionary will be defenseless against the church he once served. He will perish, and his blood will be used to trial the gods.

The pair found Ella and John amongst the stacks, with the disguised tiefling being followed very insistently by a spirit pushing a stack of books in her direction. They collected themselves and left for the safe house to prepare for another day of work.

When the sun rode, the kobold of the house greeted Team BAD with coffee, which Ella quietly avoided. They drove the team out to Enzyo Mons and the Cathedral of Tiegenes. The head priest of the Cathedral, Father Antonio Aneenya was a name Lisandra knew well. The family name of her adoptive father, Otis Aneenya. She approached him carefully, under the guise of her cover identity as they spoke. Lisandra inquired about someone she was looking for on Leon’s description, and with a hefty donation into the caldera from Angharad’s purse, the priest was more than happy to share what he remembered. Leon had traveled here, Spring 28 by the records he kept, but not for long. He stood out, because he brought a metal head with him to cast into the caldera and left in a wagon with a man Father Aneenya couldn’t see clearly.

Growing bored of work, and highly enthusiastic about his volcanic surroundings, Angharad became distracted with theorizing potential ways to use magic to steal a volcano, insisting this place should definitely come back to Flint. Ella attempted to curb his intentions with logic and reason. He decided that if a volcano was too much, then maybe some magma would have to do and proceed to let Gariad out to play. Confusion and concern slowly began to spread among the Clergy as Lisandra finished her conversation with Antonio, urging him to write back home sometime and cast off his regrets.

Heading back into the Capital, the team returned to rest for the evening. They were welcomed back with nachos for supper--extra burnt for Angharad eating pleasure.

The third day was spent following up on the list of dockworkers, who most notably remembered Leon asking for recommendations on where to buy some new clothes. Naturally the following day was spent investigating those storefronts, though with Ella’s caffeine withdrawal causing her to be… disagreeable, the investigation was slower than they’d have liked. Lisandra eventually learned that Leon had also asked directions to a premium wine shop.

So the next day they tracked down the shop in question, though none seemed to remember a man of Leon’s description. However, a rental property across the street was advertising, and interviewing the landlord revealed that he had in fact stayed there for a short while.

With just the Quital family vineyard the only lead to explore, the team returned to the lodging to rest and begin planning how to approach their final lead.

Will they find Steelshaper hiding out in his daddy’s basement? What new twists and spanners can be thrown at our constables today? Well, the only way to find out is to jump in. So get ready, for today’s predictably unpredictable Adventures of Team BAD.

RangerWickett · Oct 7, 2021

I like the Archmissionary element. Nice addition.

Echolocation · Oct 7, 2021

Session 71
Courtesy of Ella's player

As you may - or may not - recall (depending on how hard you’ve been hitting the drinks at the railway enclave’s bar during downtime), we ended last session having successfully tracked Steelshaper to Trekhom! A place where he bought two train cars, had them refitted, and proceeded to have them shuttled all over the country at random. Whether Steelshaper himself is on these train cars… we have no idea. It sure would be nice if Grappa had dated his letter so we knew whether he sent it before or after Steelshaper started his train shenanigans...

In any case, that might be where we ended the session but it certainly wasn’t the start! No, that was back in Alais Primos: having just discovered that Steelshaper had been seen travelling in a cart marked with Quital Vineyards during his last known day in Alais Primos.

Following that lead, we hit the streets - or rather the paperwork - looking for more information on Leone’s family vineyard and whether they had any Drakrans on staff. The answer to that was no, but they did have a close association with a neighbouring business: Cejakreig Vineyard.

A second day of investigating and looking up various acquaintances revealed that while the Quital family might not have any Family with a capital F connections, John certainly had some family with a lower case f ones. Those being some rather influential people who’d be more than happy to call in a Clergy inquisition on Quital Vineyards should the esteemed Sir John of Flint, son of Viscount Inspector Nigel Price-Hill, require it!

Angharad also flexed his Vekeshi contacts to find out that Steelshaper had been spotted in Nalaam on the 48th of Spring, but with the vineyard and the prospect of tormenting Steelshaper’s family so close by, we decided to delay the Nalaam lead for now.

The day of the potential inquisition dawned bright and lovely: an unfortunate juxtaposition for the storm about to descend on Quital Vineyards… John took the lead: striding into the establishment and bluntly demanding information from the Steelshaper-esque figure who greeted us. The man’s initial terrible lies turned to fear as soon as an inquisition and certain names were mentioned, and he turned out to be Steelshaper’s second cousin. It seemed the rest of Leone’s family didn’t know much about the so-called “Watch-wrestler”. He’d rarely contacted them and never spoke about his work, although apparently he’d once been an aspiring politician - a “charismatic” man whose description as such made Ella’s blood boil.

On an interesting tangent, Lisandra’s questions revealed that Steelshaper had always had his steel-shaping powers, even before he left Crisillyir 15 years ago. He’d returned to his family vineyard this spring on the 35th, and stayed for 12 days until the 47th, when a dark rider on an undead horse arrived. They spoke together, and the next morning Steelshaper was on a train to Nalaam.

Having confirmed our next lead, we thanked Leone’s cousin for his time and assured him that there’d almost certainly not be an inquisition - leaving before Ella could ask Angharad to burn the entire place down. Destroyed buildings were still on the agenda though! As we bedded down for the night in an abandoned house. Lisandra’s brief chat with it revealed that it really hated turtles, druids who could turn into turtles, and anyone who occupied it. The Urban Empath reassured it that it could “return to its regularly scheduled hollowness” come morning and fell asleep to the building’s disgruntled groaning.

The promised dawn proved to be the building’s last though, as Angharad and Simon the kobold disaster-chef indulged in some ill-planned pyromania. The kineticist rescued the kobold from the inferno - much to the other kobolds’ disappointment - and we continued on our way. Straight to the Avery Coast railway station! Where we confirmed that Steelshaper had indeed bought a ticket to Nalaam and bought some of our own. The dozen or so kobolds accompanying us didn't bother though, simply cramming into the luggage carriage like a backwards clown car.

Our arrival at the Nalaam station was met with snipers and assassins, who were quickly dispatched - and in one case decapitated - before the local police arrived. Angharad managed to use an unexpected Vekeshi connection to reduce our legal fine from “the price of a man’s life” to absolutely nothing. Because if there’s one thing the Vekeshi are good at, it’s getting away with murder…

We left our assailants to the authorities and continued our investigation: discovering that Leone had recruited a dozen Drakran guards and met with a number of foreigners and Obscurati members before leaving by train for Trekhom. Thus confident in our next lead, we bedded down for the night in a magically created shelter that had Ella muttering in Gnomish for at least half an hour. The arrival of a message in the wall only underscored her own inability to manipulate the structure at all.

The magical message was from Lord Kulp, master wizard and secret Vekeshi, assuring Angharad that the situation at the train station had been dealt with and wishing us well with our stay. A very short stay apparently, as the next morning we were already on a train to Trekhom. The Drakran city was much as we remembered... and thankfully free of assassin welcoming parties.

I think it makes sense that Lord Kulp grows his political power over Nalaam throughout the course of the adventure. This justifies his appearance at the conference in Book 10. Kulp has been working his Vekesh connections well, with the city is cementing itself as a haven for the mystic cult. Kulp made it his personal goal to follow up with the assassins that ambushed the party. He disposed of the satyr that divined Team BAD's location, but not before warning the Ob the assassins failed. With both Roland and the satyr warning the Ob, Steelshaper will be expecting Team BAD at his doorstep. He has requested the Ob compile a document on every known combat ability of the PCs, and ordered unique bullets that will sabotage the party's ability to concentrate on their spellcasting.

Splitting up, Ella and Lisandra found some rail workers who revealed that Steelshaper had bought two train cars and had them refitted, while Angharad and John philosophized with some bureaucrats to learn the exact specifications of said alterations. Apparently each of the carriages were reinforced to support more weight, and several windows on the left side were covered over with steel.

An interesting observation, since we knew from Grappa’s letter that Steelshaper was staying in a windowless room… and if the trains the carriages were attached to stopped moving at night and Grappa only “woke up” when Steelshaper went to sleep, then it’s possible the former construct might not realise he was on a train… Still, even if Steelshaper is hiding in his fancy carriages, it doesn’t help us if we have no idea where they are.

Careful questioning revealed that the carriages were spotted travelling through the Trekhom station every week or two, with rail workers under special orders to transfer the trains they were attached to between a particular set of tracks. It seemed the carriages were travelling all around Drakr, constantly changing the engines and other carriages they were attached to. With such a wide area to search over, the kobolds volunteered their services as lookouts: offering to keep watch at stations throughout Drakr and keep track of where the carriages were spotted. We gratefully accepted and, finding ourselves with surprisingly little to do, holed up in the local rail enclave hotel.

Lisandra and Angharad honed their swashbuckler skills by jumping all over the furniture, while Ella and John casually stepped through a pot plant back to Flint - as you do. There John took a relaxing breather from civilisation while Ella gladly embraced the chaotic madness of her family home. For three days nothing bad happened and no one died or brutally murdered anyone (looking at you, Angharad). On the evening of the third day though, duty called: in the form of a kobold snout emerging from the wood of the hotel table and speaking in the familiar voice of El Extraño.

What does the mysterious kobold master spy have to tell us? Did the other kobolds finally get rid of Simon? Find out this week: on Zeitgeist!

Andrew Moreton · Oct 7, 2021

I had Lord Kulp as a hidden Bronze Dragon in the Vekeshi which explains why he is a signifigant power , also a Wizard but I never needed to stat him up

Echolocation · Oct 12, 2021

Session 72
Courtesy of Angharad's player

Met El Extrano at the needle factory. So many kobold guards We talked about the train activity, and how they had worked out Steelshaper's next spot to be either Mirsk or Pretba, and had sabotaged the lines to Pretba. So, Mirsk it was. El Extrano left via the eye of the needle, sucking himself through it. Stylish as heck teleport.

Team BAD quickly traveled to Mirsk. Lisandra and Ella scoped out the station at Mirsk, John, and Angharad talking to workers to find out more information. Leading for the group to find out which train carriages were Steelshaper's and they fact they had been reinforced. Team BAD staked out overnight, but it wasn't until the next morning when Steelshaper's carriages began to move. They were attached to the engine, and then ~ 20 other carriages were attached after.

The team ready for the fight, quickly encanted some spells, teleporting onto the train, Angharad doing it himself and not telling Ella how. Ella would start to detach the non-essential train cars from Steelshaper's, Lisandra dropping down to stop the inside minions, Angharad throwing himself at Steelshaper and John putting bullets into things.

Witchoil golems would come to the roof to interfere in combat with Sydney, while Steelshaper flung around carriage roof at the party outside, ripping them up.

While Sydney was distracting the golems, John gets a wonderful round of bullets into Steelshaper. Lisandra dealing with one of the dwarves inside, but the others were still fighting her.

Angharad got tied up in metal after having a sheet of metal wrapped around him, while Steelshaper, mad at everyone interference, rips the train off the tracks, sending it flying everywhere. The witchoil golems and Ob minions destroyed from the impact.

And that my friends is how we come to this session. Lisandra 100 feet high in the sky inside a carriage, Angharad held down by the metal wrapped around him, Ella, John, and Sydney with a carriage between them and Steelshaper.

DM Notes

With a nifty trick, our combat had a moving train. It's speed increases once Ella disconnected the other carriages.

Here is the complete map. It's a little shifty at the ends, because the map contentiously loops over, so the left and right hand side needed to be relatively similar: