The conference talks, day one
He stands a midst the crowd and states that he is charged with the sad task to inform us about the premature demise of Ramos Zoltan, who had been murdered by what must be an agent trying to sabotage the grand convocation. Still, he's quite sure that the culprit will be found soon, so there's no reason to let this incident overshadow the progress of bringing the grand plan of the Obscurati to reality. Security measures have been increased as well, so we're very much in safe hands right now.
Nicodemus makes a dramatic pause and it seems as if the doom, gloom and sense of fear is vanishing bit by bit. He then asks us all to come to the grand foyer and take a seat at one of the man tables so he may make his opening statement.
When we're all seated, he then enters the podium and begins to speak with a strong, warm and welcoming voice. All of us who know Andrei get the uncanny feeling as if Nicodemus found more mastery of our dear friend's vocal cords in the few weeks that he's been in his body than Andrei ever displayed which feels troublesome indeed.
Nic also carries a lantern with him when he starts talking about our world that is very much flawed in his eyes. He talks about the state we're all living in, being overall mere playthings for the rich and powerful, corrupt clergymen, unjust rulers and warmongers. He points out that most of “us” joined the Obscurati to improve this world where the suffering of the many seems so acceptable to the few. That they had to work from the shadows as they'd otherwise been targets for those who profit from this system of abuse. And then he points out that all of this progress have been mere baby steps, hindered by the one thing that's most flawed of all: Our world itself.
But fortunately, this flaw is not a given constant, but something that can be changed and improved. The Obscurati's research has revealed that everything the Skyseers tell is true: The spheres floating around our world hold great power over our fates, but these eight spheres are no natural occurrence, they've been installed there by the Ancients.
He makes another pause there and people are gasping in surprise, including us. We try to process what Nicodemus just said and also try to guess where he's going from there, but are then caught again by his voice.
He then continues to say that these eight are but a handful of a myriad of possible spheres that could surround and influence our planet. To exemplify this influence, he uses the plane of air, Avilona. He calls it a calm but weak, damaged and thin plane. Then Nicodemus asks the audience to imagine that we could have a very different sky instead: Maybe one with stronger, more controllable winds capable of lifting greater birds or hot air balloons to the sky. Or maybe one that makes everyone filled with joy and a more positive outlook. Because everything, even our very thoughts are influenced by the planar spheres and the state we're in right now is not how it has to be forever.
Nicodemus then says that he doesn't condemn the Ancients for the planes they chose for they surely meant the best for our world. But they lacked the knowledge and technology the Obs have right now when they crafted their planar seal ritual. And now everyone here has the opportunity to correct the flaws their ancestors left in the system. And this is why he, the one who started all of this, called all of his loyal Obscurati officers to Mutravir: To vote on the direction of the organization's Grand Design, on the plan to create a better world with new stars.
He then lights his Lantern and we cannot ignore the feeling that this, and not the lantern test of Luc Jierre, is just what Nevard saw in one of his last visions. The audience stays silent for another while, and then everyone stars clapping and cheering for none of the attendants could have guessed that the Obscurati were very literally about changing the way the world works.
(And of course, we as players, were also very much surprised by this revelation. First, because the project seems genuinely well-meaning and because Nic just spoke about so many truths that our characters had been discussing over the past few adventures.
Can I just say a big THANK YOU that this campaign is bold enough to put a world-changing event in its center and explore every little detail while putting the PCs in the very middle of its chaotic vortex? I know that most other AP are limited by the fact that they are set in an existing setting and therefore bound to an established set of what can happen and what cannot and are especially dominated by a cast of powerful NPC or even gods who would be far more suited to play a role in these events. But still, this is the kind of naughty word I love to see in the campaigns I'm playing. So. Cool.)
Then Han Jierre enters the stage and explains that the Obscurati researchers put a lot of time and effort into making a few working suggestions on how a new planar configuration could look like. He invites all of us to partake in the detailed presentations of each “faction” where we can ask as many questions as we'd like about their idea. Also, there are pocket dimension examples of each of the factions and many more that we can visit in the portal gallery.
The crowd then scatters and we take a few moments to wrap our heads around what we just heard. First, we are of course pretty shocked to hear that the world we were born in and we inhabited for several centuries (in Carlyle's case) is simply the result of an Ancient ritual. Also, we're very much anxious about what the Obscurati might want to do with this knowledge. Even if Nicodemus himself spoke a lot of truths and we can agree with him to a very large degree. Especially as we know that there are a few genuinely good people within the Obscurati. Auryn goes that far to say that what Nicodemus spoke about isn't on paper that much different from what the Vekeshi are trying to do, even if they got a better mechanism of control.
We agree that we have to gather both information about the Ancient ritual and the Obscurati suggestions before we can make any judgment, so we meet up with Ken Don, Erskine and Ines to visit the presentations.
We first head to the presentation of the Arboretum, hosted by none else but the ghost of Macbannin. The talk takes place in the garden of the manor, which we find very fitting for a faction called “Arboretum”. And of course Macbannin makes a small pun about that fact. He then explains that nature has always been the biggest chance and obstacle on the road to progress, and cites the many famines and droughts that have caused big suffering in the past. Also, a lot of wars, including the Yerasol Wars, had been fought over scarce natural resources. Which is why the idea of the Arboretum centers around the idea to make nature more controllable and tame.
Macbannin then explains that their planar configuration could make both nature and weather as controllable as a well-oiled machinery. In order to do so, they would need to replace Av as the aspect of life with another plane that has an aspect of craftsmanship. The only drawbacks are that nature would need constant “gardening” and the weather constant “tending” or else harvests would yield weaker results or there might be cases of desertification. Also, The Dreaming and the Bleak Gate would likely be destroyed, which means less unnerving fey and horrible spirits. As for ghost councilors like himself, they could simply bind themselves to objects to remain on this world.
Needless to say that we are very much appalled by this plan. And when Macbannin calls for question, Livia instantly raises her hand.
“Pardon me, ex-mayor Macbannin? I don't mean to be disrespectful, but are you serious about this? Do you understand what destroying the Dreaming might mean for fey-touched lands like your homeland of Risur? Also, what about indigenous tribes who don't know about the 'new nature and weather system'? Are you content to let these people suffer? And what about the planar barrier? This would leave the door open for demonic invaders and cause another demonocracy...”
Macbannin raises his eyebrows at so many questions and objections, then smirks a bit and respond that this is merely a suggestion and not necessarily his own opinion or even preferred plan. He'd like to point out that Herr Haffkrüger is already working on malleable plant life and animal species that might be able to strive on their own. Haffkrüger clears his throat and straightens his back at the mention of his name, but prefers to not comment.
Auryn and Carlyle then exchange a few mental thoughts about the Arboretum and they both agree that while this may be superficially a neat idea, it has far too many fatal flaws to be even close to implementable: First, removing Av is a no-go as this would possibly kill thousands of fey and cause an end to the eladrin Enclaves. Also, removing the planar barrier of our world would be non-negotiable as well as we very much know about the Gidim and the Golden Legion which might be the cause of the demonocracy that dominated our world for centuries.
Regarding the control of nature, as Auryn pointed out, this sounds good on paper, but it would only lead to suffering in the “more primitive” areas of the world and having a change that leads to less prosperity for people that are already not on the top of the food chain would be no progress at all.
When Gradiax/Haffkrüger realizes that Livia and Kiov must be in some kind of mental conversation, he tries to talk to Carlyle as well and asks him to combine their presences to enable us to have a three-way-communication. Carlyle agrees and the moment the connection is established, Gradiax expresses his frustration with the short-lived beings who are nothing but short-sighted. He seems a bit impressed that someone just figured out why his flight wouldn't work anymore 200 years ago, but leaves it with that and we cannot shake off the dread that Gradiax might very well change his opinion on the Obscurati should he see the opportunity to regain his full potential once again.
But neither of us gets any kind of suspicious vibes from the dwarf, so we continue to the next presentation.
Our next stop is the presentation of the Colossus faction, led by Catherine Romana. When hearing this name at first, and seeing that Catherine is a Risuri noble, we first fear that this might be somewhat related to the creation of Borne, but learn quickly that this has nothing to do with the giant child roaming the Dreaming.
Catherine lays out a plan where chosen individuals are empowered with special abilities. Abilities that rival the powers of gods. To achieve this, she'd use the power of a true named plane with a cyclical aspect and the power to sense problems the moment they arrive. Of course she wouldn't just empower random people, but chosen Obscurati members who have proven themselves to be enlightened and trustworthy. The cyclicality of the powers granted would ensure that every “hero” has a time when they are weak and vulnerable, so they'd stay down to earth and controllable.
She does explain that this has slight drawbacks as the world would grow colder, the seas wold grow shallower, the storms would be stronger and the planar barrier would fall. Still, the new heroes would surely be able to deal with any kind of planar threat. Also, she'd have to sacrifice Av as well.
(So... she's basically suggesting to introduce real super heroes with a spider sense? I mean, it wouldn't be too far off after seeing our X-men team, but it still gave us a good laugh to have the very meta suggestion to switch systems)
As Macbannin before, Catherine Romana calls for questions and comments and we're not shy to raise our hands. First, Livia says that this suggestion doesn't have much in common with making the whole world better for everyone. Instead, it only caters to the power fantasy of a chosen few Obscurati members. Surely, great minds and integer persons are capable of using their powers to protect the world and fight for justice, but there is still the risk that certain “heroes” would form cartels or clubs to circumvent their period of waning powers. Which is especially troubling as many of the Obscurati she has met last day didn't make the impression of being exceptionally humanistic. Oh and removing Av would be off the table, especially for a Risuri. Again.
(Did she just advocate against the adventurer's way? 
Also, what's up with Risuri being fine of destroying their way of life and committing possibly genocide?)
Catherine, too, stresses out that this is merely a suggestion that doesn't have to reflect her personal ideas and we nod to that statement. She doesn't really fight against Livia's concerns, but could totally live with losing Av and the Bleak Gate as there's always someone getting axed when progress is to be made. Shudder.
We move on and Carlyle and Auryn instantly agree that this Colossus thing would be worse than the Arboretum. We then cautiously look to Erskine who's infuriated again that some puny mortal would so desperately try to reach his grandeur. Which is when we understand that he probably won't try to hijack this plan to gain even more power for himself. Which seems a bit unlike him, but maybe he truly fears that powerful mortals might find and kill him for good.
Next, we move to the Panarchist talk of Han Jierre. Who appears to employ a very similar idea to Romana's. Contrasting her suggestion, the Panarchists would give exceptional powers to everyone, including the ability to teleport wherever they like. Jierre explains that this would eliminate the “might makes right” tradition and also abolish the need for governments and armies as everyone would be able to fend for themselves.
(So essentially living a libertarian's wet dream?)
To keep people in contact with one another, they'd make contracts more binding by requiring the investment of one's own soul. He then confesses that the drawback of his plan would eliminate the planar barrier as well, but he's pretty sure that the empowered population would be able to defend itself from possible invaders.
This time, Kiov takes his hand up first. He asks bluntly what the Panarchists would to to prevent castes or conglomerates from forming as there'd still be power in the powerful masses who could then oppress the less numbered. Alos, he heard about these planar threats and fears that without a proper organization no one would be able to fight against these guys effectively.
Then Livia utters a quick laugh as she does find it pretty ironic that the Sovereign of Danor of all people would be the one to represent the faction who advocates for anarchy. After all, he's talking against the power he holds right now. She adds that her perspective might be compromised as she's a Risuri, but she does find it pretty ironic that the very same Sovereign who's head of a state that oppresses even the slightest protest is also head of a faction that's an antithesis of his reign while she was told to keep the benevolent King of Risur in the dark about the Obs' plans.
Han Jierre is surprised by so much backlash but he regains his posture very quickly. He explains that while he'd love for things to change in Danor, progress is usually a slow and steady path. And his nation is dominated by the rich and powerful, so he'd either face a lot of resistance or had to plunge his nation into chaos by striking against the system that's been established over centuries.
“Fair enough. I believe I now understand your motives, Sovereign Jierre.”
Mentally though, she adds the snide remark that the oppressive system of Danor might just have been enabled over centuries because it might be a Jierre tradition to be cowardly and afraid of changing anything. Or maybe because they trusted so much in the Obs' plans that they wouldn't even try to change anything.
(If we wanted to be ironic, if Han Jierrre was totally honest here, he basically wishes for an outside force like the Obs and their ritual to force change upon Danor and then claim that “a wizard did it”. Way to deflect responsibilities.)
Regarding King Aodhan, Han Jierre adds that he does think that the current monarch of Risur is a wise and just man, but that's certainly not true for all of Risur's royalty. And as “we know” - with that he points to Livia - the monarch of Risur has a special connection to land and people that makes him extraordinarily powerful. Which is why illuminating the monarch about the Obs' plans would be a major risk should they not be content with it.
Livia then would like to make a more personal remark about Lya Jierre, Han's niece. She says that she had the honor of meeting that impressive woman in person and that she hopes that she'll continue her quest for peace between their two nations. Han thanks her for that and adds that sadly she couldn't make it to the conference due to other important missions.
