Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echolocation" data-source="post: 8159338" data-attributes="member: 7011911">Crypta HeritcarumThroughout Book 3, when players couldn't attend the session, we ran interim episodes of the Crypta Heritcarum. Each player made a character to explore the Crypt. In part, this was to showcase the capabilities of Ashima-Shimtu's pool, as I knew in Book 4 my party would be sceptical about travelling into a crypt. Additionally, I wanted to flesh out the character of Gene, the Lunatic Godhand:Each character picked a Clergy virtue (if part of the Clergy) or a vice (if a sellsword). Virtues and vices were associated with a mechanical advantage to a particular check/bonus in the Crypt.The party roster:Mary Pottinger: An alchemist who bakes her reagents into delicious goods. Sugar rush bombs, entangling caramel, etc. Old in age but young in spirit. Ancestor of NPC-favourite Constable Pete Pottinger. Mishka: A dwarven brawler/skald. When Triegenes 'liberated' Drakr, the necromantic pacts between her family and demons were broken. Her family suffered a nasty curse and have been at the mercy of the Clergy's... charity ever since Jeseh A gathlain dinosaur druid...what more is there to say? Konrad A hellknight soldier climbing through the ranks Heck Elven four-armed alchemist/rogue The party cleared rooms, for Gene to enter and explore. It provided a good opportunity to share tidbits of lore. Heck and Mary's frying pan were felled by the rust monsters. Konrad used the rust monster egg to cow the legionaries into submission. The party wasn't messed up by item curses, but they did fall for the teleportation trap, nearly dying after accidentally entering the room of the inverted giant. The party found the first blade of Srasama, and to their surprise, it bent to the will of Mary (transforming into a frying pan).The party made it to Ashima-Shimtu's room. The demoness merely asked for a blessing, before granting the party passage out of the crypt. I then time-skipped twenty years forward. Gene visits a bedridden Mary, now at the end of her life. Over tea, the two reminiscence over their adventure into the crypt. The sweet old Mary reveals that she does not remember much, but still remembers their time together. Gene smiles, placing down his tea cup (still completely full). He swiftly leaves as Mary chokes on poison. In all the chaos, Mary's family do not notice the godhand is now missing his halo.The rest of the character roster turn up dead in their respective domains, each murder unified only by a single hand imprint plunged through their chest.Throughout the epilogue, it's revealed that the Crypta Heritcarum story is being told to their characters over a morning breakfast cooked by the skald Constable Pete Pottinger. He explains that the first blade of Srasama was handed down generation from generation. Now it resides in his hands. Pete gestures to the 15-foot metal slate he is currently using to cook eggs. Pete has no use for the blade, so he would rather it be used by another constable in pursuit of justice. The party were unable to secure the blade before leaving for Beaumont, as Pete required it for a children's birthday party. I was worried it would make tailing female suspects too easy for Book 4. In retrospect, it would have been fine. When Team BAD return from their overseas adventure, they'll find the blade tucked above a kitchen shelf.The players enjoyed the change in scenery, and the opportunity for a good ol' fashioned dungeon crawl. They enjoyed a rather introverted, quiet, meditative Gene and the plot twist. And of course, they love the idea that Pete recited all of this as a story to them whilst casually cooking breakfast with a powerful artifact.</blockquote>

Verification