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<blockquote data-quote="Tolamaker" data-source="post: 8462498" data-attributes="member: 7031495"><p><strong>Session 10</strong></p><p>Tiljann leads the party to Papuvin, the elder Seela who explains that the song they have been hearing is the Song of Forms, a fey magic song that gives form to spirits, and preserves the forest. It is this song that has been ensuring the forest stays alive throughout the fire. The party goes around asking questions for how they can potentially stop the flames. Orwin double checks to make sure that the Song is only keeping the forest alive, not the flames as well, while Gruz speaks with a seela who saw some of the orcs and goblins who set the forest ablaze. He says that they didn't come from the Ragesian border, but traveled through the forest up to the north to set the fire. The orcs were constantly drinking potions, and the goblins ate seeds from a pouch.</p><p></p><p>Mishka, who was unable to get any information from anyone, is approached by Vuhl, a seela who leads a group of dissenters who believe they should stop singing in order to let Indomitability free. He says that Indomitability is a fire spirit who is keeping the forest ablaze, and if he runs free, the fires will end. He's willing to gamble on that, because he says life isn't worth living here in constant pain.</p><p></p><p>Eventually, Tiljann tells them how to sing the song (if they know Sylvan) and says they might go talk to Gwenivere, as she might know something about it. They travel around the lake to a clear and cool pond, mostly untouched by the flames and ash. They find a cave that holds a shrine, with a lock of hair around an idol of Talasius. When Mishka picks up the idol, she becomes hideous, and Gwenivere emerges from the pool, accusing them of thievery.</p><p></p><p>Eluriah and Gruz manage to talk Gwenivere down, and convince her they are trying to save the forest. The way Gruz talks about Anyariel makes Gwenivere open up: She and Anyariel were lovers, which means that Timbre hates her. Timbre has been taken by the fire, and won't respond to anything other than Anyariel's hair, or Gwenivere's head on a pike. The group convinces her to give them a bit of Anyariel's hair. Begrudgingly, she also turns Mishka face back to normal.</p><p></p><p>Backtracking to Timbre's glade, the group passes Vuhl, who encourages them to kill Timbre. The group finds Timbre in a glade, underneath a willow that looks exactly like Anyariel's Shrine. With the gift of Anyariel's hair, the burning dryad explains that her heart, the Sword of Anyariel, is keeping Indomitability pinned to the lakebed. The party must remove the sword, and then kill Indomitability, for if the sword is destroyed, the forest will die. The party thanks Anyariel for her very straightforward explanation that everyone understands, and goes back to the Seela village to prepare for the fight.</p><p></p><p><strong>Post Session Thoughts</strong></p><p>"Straightforward explanation" has about twenty air quotes and an eyeroll on top, because I got so mixed up when trying to explain things I actually had to step out of the game to just reread the adventure. I was honest with the players, and they thought it was funny. I kept getting details of Song of Forms and Indomitability's effects, and the Sword of Anyariel mixed up, it was ridiculous. I think I eventually summed it up right, but it took a bit of rephrasing and rehashing to finally set the record straight. I also had to tell them OOC that some of the other information they had gotten earlier might be faulty on purpose, because I didn't want them to think the other conflicting information was just a mixup as well.</p><p></p><p>They really got a move on this session. It felt like they were trying to speedrun the module compared to previous sessions, and they got all the way through the mystery of how to deal with the forest in just a few short hours, I almost felt like we didn't get to spend enough time with Gwenivere and Timbre. But it was a fun RP session, and they're ready to fight Indomitability, so I'm not complaining! Kazyk is waiting in the wings to jump them, and that should be fun.</p><p></p><p><strong>Changes to the module:</strong></p><p>The biggest explicit change I made was to have Gwenivere and Anyariel actually be lovers, to add to the drama of the situation. I did this for two reasons. One, Jacob Driscoll's blog referred to the situation as a lesbian love triangle, which I guess it kind of was, but as written, it just came off as a nymph who couldn't get over their crush. Two, I felt like so much of the adventure was talking about Anyariel as this great hero and savior of the forest, and I wanted to see how the players would react to find out that she wasn't perfect, and actually had cheated on her wife. Didn't change much of the story, just the dynamic between Gwenvere and Timbre became much more bitter. I also tried to play Gwenvere as more sympathetic, the "other woman" who wasn't recognized as someone worthy of a token of remembrance when Anyariel's body was recovered.</p><p></p><p>Because I didn't want Diashan to just up and spill the beans, I added a seela who had seen the fire start. After the session ended, Mishka's player messaged the group with her "wild conspiracy theory" that was... completely correct. Every detail from the potions being disguise self, to Shahalesti pulling a false flag operation. I was so happy that she had found the truth in my ramblings, but then she seemed to back off second-guessing herself. I'm going to tug at that next session, but I don't want to be too obvious.</p><p></p><p>Next time, they go scuba diving!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tolamaker, post: 8462498, member: 7031495"] [B]Session 10[/B] Tiljann leads the party to Papuvin, the elder Seela who explains that the song they have been hearing is the Song of Forms, a fey magic song that gives form to spirits, and preserves the forest. It is this song that has been ensuring the forest stays alive throughout the fire. The party goes around asking questions for how they can potentially stop the flames. Orwin double checks to make sure that the Song is only keeping the forest alive, not the flames as well, while Gruz speaks with a seela who saw some of the orcs and goblins who set the forest ablaze. He says that they didn't come from the Ragesian border, but traveled through the forest up to the north to set the fire. The orcs were constantly drinking potions, and the goblins ate seeds from a pouch. Mishka, who was unable to get any information from anyone, is approached by Vuhl, a seela who leads a group of dissenters who believe they should stop singing in order to let Indomitability free. He says that Indomitability is a fire spirit who is keeping the forest ablaze, and if he runs free, the fires will end. He's willing to gamble on that, because he says life isn't worth living here in constant pain. Eventually, Tiljann tells them how to sing the song (if they know Sylvan) and says they might go talk to Gwenivere, as she might know something about it. They travel around the lake to a clear and cool pond, mostly untouched by the flames and ash. They find a cave that holds a shrine, with a lock of hair around an idol of Talasius. When Mishka picks up the idol, she becomes hideous, and Gwenivere emerges from the pool, accusing them of thievery. Eluriah and Gruz manage to talk Gwenivere down, and convince her they are trying to save the forest. The way Gruz talks about Anyariel makes Gwenivere open up: She and Anyariel were lovers, which means that Timbre hates her. Timbre has been taken by the fire, and won't respond to anything other than Anyariel's hair, or Gwenivere's head on a pike. The group convinces her to give them a bit of Anyariel's hair. Begrudgingly, she also turns Mishka face back to normal. Backtracking to Timbre's glade, the group passes Vuhl, who encourages them to kill Timbre. The group finds Timbre in a glade, underneath a willow that looks exactly like Anyariel's Shrine. With the gift of Anyariel's hair, the burning dryad explains that her heart, the Sword of Anyariel, is keeping Indomitability pinned to the lakebed. The party must remove the sword, and then kill Indomitability, for if the sword is destroyed, the forest will die. The party thanks Anyariel for her very straightforward explanation that everyone understands, and goes back to the Seela village to prepare for the fight. [B]Post Session Thoughts[/B] "Straightforward explanation" has about twenty air quotes and an eyeroll on top, because I got so mixed up when trying to explain things I actually had to step out of the game to just reread the adventure. I was honest with the players, and they thought it was funny. I kept getting details of Song of Forms and Indomitability's effects, and the Sword of Anyariel mixed up, it was ridiculous. I think I eventually summed it up right, but it took a bit of rephrasing and rehashing to finally set the record straight. I also had to tell them OOC that some of the other information they had gotten earlier might be faulty on purpose, because I didn't want them to think the other conflicting information was just a mixup as well. They really got a move on this session. It felt like they were trying to speedrun the module compared to previous sessions, and they got all the way through the mystery of how to deal with the forest in just a few short hours, I almost felt like we didn't get to spend enough time with Gwenivere and Timbre. But it was a fun RP session, and they're ready to fight Indomitability, so I'm not complaining! Kazyk is waiting in the wings to jump them, and that should be fun. [B]Changes to the module:[/B] The biggest explicit change I made was to have Gwenivere and Anyariel actually be lovers, to add to the drama of the situation. I did this for two reasons. One, Jacob Driscoll's blog referred to the situation as a lesbian love triangle, which I guess it kind of was, but as written, it just came off as a nymph who couldn't get over their crush. Two, I felt like so much of the adventure was talking about Anyariel as this great hero and savior of the forest, and I wanted to see how the players would react to find out that she wasn't perfect, and actually had cheated on her wife. Didn't change much of the story, just the dynamic between Gwenvere and Timbre became much more bitter. I also tried to play Gwenvere as more sympathetic, the "other woman" who wasn't recognized as someone worthy of a token of remembrance when Anyariel's body was recovered. Because I didn't want Diashan to just up and spill the beans, I added a seela who had seen the fire start. After the session ended, Mishka's player messaged the group with her "wild conspiracy theory" that was... completely correct. Every detail from the potions being disguise self, to Shahalesti pulling a false flag operation. I was so happy that she had found the truth in my ramblings, but then she seemed to back off second-guessing herself. I'm going to tug at that next session, but I don't want to be too obvious. Next time, they go scuba diving! [/QUOTE]
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