Grant and Ethan
Grant (left) and Ethan (right), with Macavity the Cat
Saturday, 30 April 2016
Monday, 25 April 2016
Feedback from BelleSorciere
It is interesting! And I like the take on handling "above PC levels" you've got there - much more streamlined than say having an entire host of ranks above PCs such as can happen in Amber.
Ranking Table (Reviewing the Ranks)
The following is the result of my conversation with Lurker37 regarding Ranks, Advancement and where the NPCs fit in.
Hopefully some GMs (or would be GMs) find this explanation useful.
Part 1 - Use of Ranks above First Rank
- Characters like Vala, Drake, Mordecai and Bastiano have been around for a while - all have Ranked abilities above 1st PC Rank (Dominant Rank). So we begun the conversation about what the ranks should mean in relation to Dominant Rank. We used the naming “X+1”, “X+2” and “X+3” ranks meaning one rank above Dominant Rank - this is taken from the Lords of Olympus Diceless Role-Playing Game, but it seems to work in the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow context as well.
- Our conclusion was as follows (examples follow in Part 2):
- So what we agreed to do was as follows:
- We then tested this out with some examples.
Part 2a - Example - Tackling the “Son of Krovaliss” or an “Usari Warlord”
- The obvious examples are that either Krovaliss has a son who is almost as tough as he is, or there is a Usari Warlord who has conquered a vast number of realms. Let’s say that this individual is “X+2” Rank in Warfare. We then talked about how Grant and Ethan would tackle such an opponent (without calling in Drake and the other ‘big guns’).
- It was clear that foreshadowing would be required in these examples. Either the PCs would encounter powerful minions, or they would hear about these characters from other Lords of Gossamer, or possibly join the dots by visiting the realms that these individuals had conquered. They would not simply blunder into such a character. Furthermore, we also talked about these characters being three-dimensional. Even if they did accidentally meet such a character, would the “Son of Krovaliss” really want to kill Grant or Ethan? Unlikely - there would have to be some reason for it.
- But if Grant and Ethan needed to beat such an individual in a Warfare contest, it would be very hard. They would need to “stack the deck” a great deal - with a cunning stratagem, put their adversary at a significant disadvantage. Our conclusion was that it would take something very special for Grant (Dominant Rank Warfare) to beat someone with “X+2” Rank in a Warfare contest, even using Umbra and with Gorgorin, and even with Ethan for assistance. Beating “X+2” is not something that could be achieved easily.
Part 2b - Example - Fighting “Kargoth”
- We have seen a a Warfare fight where Grant and Ethan fought Kargoth who had “X+1” Rank in Warfare (GM’s note - a detailed account of that battle is in Session 67). In that situation, Grant was victorious but there were numerous factors in their favour. Grant wielded Gorgorin, he had support from Ethan, and the realm itself was predisposed for Good to beat Evil. I’m simplifying here, but there were enough factors for Dominant rank to beat a higher “X+1” Rank.
Part 2c - Example - The Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik
- Lurker37 explained to me that the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik has “X+1” Rank in Psyche. I already knew this, and Ethan already knew in character that his opponent was stronger than he. Lurker37 was careful to introduce this, and each time he did he had the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik operate through proxies (e.g.: controlling the realm, projecting his presence etc) - this clearly gave Ethan the impression that he was outmatched - hence Ethan did a lot of running as he had no mechanism to fight back and prevail. The only victories he achieved were firstly to suddenly attack the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik through a mental combat, and rather than draw it out, the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik chose to withdraw; and secondly, Ethan escaped with Lucien by being sneaky rather than confront his adversary directly.
Part 3 - The New Ranking Table
- In conclusion, we decided that we wanted up three ranks above Dominant rank - “X+1”, “X+2” and “X+3”. We then sat down and decided which characters to put into these ranks. This is what we came up with:
- This puts Krovaliss in a very powerful position - he is the highest rank in the game in three Attributes.
- We then talked about what would happen if we played the game for a long period of time - this is the 3rd year of gameplay. What if we played for five years? What would make sense? I could see Ethan potentially reaching “X+1” in Psyche, maybe one day getting to “X+2” as an ‘ultimate Ethan’ version which would put him on a par with Mowbray and the Empress - but not any further. It would be part of Ethan’s heroic journey to one day match Cal and Lucien - and perhaps one day surpass them.
- In Grant’s face, we could both see him one day getting to “X+1” and possibly even “X+2”. Warfare contests are more likely to end up in the death of Mordecai, Bastiano and possibly even Drake over time so again it makes sense that Grant would rise as one of the other High Ranked Warfare characters. Again, it’s something that we see often in heroic literature that the mentor falls as the young hero rises to take their place.
- However, to reach the higher ranks requires more ‘in-game’ time. They cannot hope to reach “X+1” without years (decades?) of experience. Hence time needs to progress in the game.
Part 4 - Implications of Grouping
- In the Core Rulebook, Cal has 85 points of Psyche and Lucien has 100 points of Psyche. By grouping these characters into a single Rank (“X+1”), we are effectively saying that they have the same raw power in that Attribute. We could have created extra Ranks but we decided against it.
- To illustrate the point, I suggested that in a particular realm (it doesn’t matter which), Grant can lift 5 tons. He has Dominant Rank. In the same realm, Bastiano and Drake can lift 15 tons because they both have “X+1” Rank Strength. It may well be that Drake has more upper body muscles, whereas Bastiano is wiry and strong but the net result is the same.
- Hence there is no such thing as Rank x.5. Only whole ranks.
Part 5 - Advancing Beyond Dominant Rank
- The next step was to talk about how a Dominant Rank character would advance to “X+1” - Lurker37 had been loathe to put a point value on the higher ranks but he agreed that it made sense to put a point value on the “X+1” rank only.
- Hence it is a significant jump from the current Dominant rank to these “X+1” point values. If/when a PC reaches the “X+1” Rank, this becomes the new Dominant Rank, “X+2” becomes “X+1” and “X+3” becomes “X+2”. At the point that “X+1” is reached and becomes the Dominant Rank, we would determine the point value for the next Rank (i.e.: the “X+2” rank which has become “X+1”)
- But does a character become better when they invest more points and get to the next rank? The agreed answer is “yes”, they do. Using the Strength example from Part 4 (above), if Grant reaches “X+1” Rank, he can then lift 15 tons in the realm mentioned before, same as Bastiano and Drake. Apart from raw potency, the power is more accessible, more reliable and flows more easily.
So that is our framework going forward. We have talked further about whether we want Krovaliss to be Ultimate Top Rank in 3 attributes. We are still mulling that over.
One thing that we do agree on is that we want powerful characters who are not allied with either the Dwimmerlaik or the Lords of Gossamer to be in the game. For example, a Usari Lord who has “X+2” or “X+3” Rank in Endurance; or a Dragon Highlord who has “X+2” or “X+3” Rank in Strength. Hence these would be powerful NPCs with their own goals that it would be in the PC’s best interests to have good relations with. One of the things that we don’t have in this game (Lords of Gossamer) is many factions - the Lords of Gossamer are on one side, and the Dwimmerlaik are on the other. The Usari Lords are possibly a third group, but there were many splinter factions with their own agendas in Amber Diceless. We’re thinking about introducing some more of those so we don’t end up with polar factions (black v white).
Hope this has been useful to some of you.
Hopefully some GMs (or would be GMs) find this explanation useful.
Part 1 - Use of Ranks above First Rank
- Characters like Vala, Drake, Mordecai and Bastiano have been around for a while - all have Ranked abilities above 1st PC Rank (Dominant Rank). So we begun the conversation about what the ranks should mean in relation to Dominant Rank. We used the naming “X+1”, “X+2” and “X+3” ranks meaning one rank above Dominant Rank - this is taken from the Lords of Olympus Diceless Role-Playing Game, but it seems to work in the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow context as well.
- Our conclusion was as follows (examples follow in Part 2):
- A contest between Dominant Rank v “X+1” could result in victory for the Dominant rank character if the Dominant rank character could “stack the deck” to win. (GM’s note - such as Corwin’s victory over Benedict in the Amber books by Roger Zelazny)
- A contest between Dominant Rank v “X+2” would be unlikely to result in victory for the Dominant rank character even if factors significantly favoured the Dominant Rank character. It would require something very special to enable a victory.
- A contest between Dominant Rank v “X+3” could not be won. Such contests should definitely be avoided.
- So what we agreed to do was as follows:
- 1. There will be very few characters at “X+1”, “X+2” and “X+3” levels.
2. They will be named.
3. They will either be known or at least foreshadowed.
- We then tested this out with some examples.
Part 2a - Example - Tackling the “Son of Krovaliss” or an “Usari Warlord”
- The obvious examples are that either Krovaliss has a son who is almost as tough as he is, or there is a Usari Warlord who has conquered a vast number of realms. Let’s say that this individual is “X+2” Rank in Warfare. We then talked about how Grant and Ethan would tackle such an opponent (without calling in Drake and the other ‘big guns’).
- It was clear that foreshadowing would be required in these examples. Either the PCs would encounter powerful minions, or they would hear about these characters from other Lords of Gossamer, or possibly join the dots by visiting the realms that these individuals had conquered. They would not simply blunder into such a character. Furthermore, we also talked about these characters being three-dimensional. Even if they did accidentally meet such a character, would the “Son of Krovaliss” really want to kill Grant or Ethan? Unlikely - there would have to be some reason for it.
- But if Grant and Ethan needed to beat such an individual in a Warfare contest, it would be very hard. They would need to “stack the deck” a great deal - with a cunning stratagem, put their adversary at a significant disadvantage. Our conclusion was that it would take something very special for Grant (Dominant Rank Warfare) to beat someone with “X+2” Rank in a Warfare contest, even using Umbra and with Gorgorin, and even with Ethan for assistance. Beating “X+2” is not something that could be achieved easily.
Part 2b - Example - Fighting “Kargoth”
- We have seen a a Warfare fight where Grant and Ethan fought Kargoth who had “X+1” Rank in Warfare (GM’s note - a detailed account of that battle is in Session 67). In that situation, Grant was victorious but there were numerous factors in their favour. Grant wielded Gorgorin, he had support from Ethan, and the realm itself was predisposed for Good to beat Evil. I’m simplifying here, but there were enough factors for Dominant rank to beat a higher “X+1” Rank.
Part 2c - Example - The Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik
- Lurker37 explained to me that the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik has “X+1” Rank in Psyche. I already knew this, and Ethan already knew in character that his opponent was stronger than he. Lurker37 was careful to introduce this, and each time he did he had the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik operate through proxies (e.g.: controlling the realm, projecting his presence etc) - this clearly gave Ethan the impression that he was outmatched - hence Ethan did a lot of running as he had no mechanism to fight back and prevail. The only victories he achieved were firstly to suddenly attack the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik through a mental combat, and rather than draw it out, the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik chose to withdraw; and secondly, Ethan escaped with Lucien by being sneaky rather than confront his adversary directly.
Part 3 - The New Ranking Table
- In conclusion, we decided that we wanted up three ranks above Dominant rank - “X+1”, “X+2” and “X+3”. We then sat down and decided which characters to put into these ranks. This is what we came up with:
- Psyche - “X+3” - Vala, “X+2” - Mowbray, Empress, “X+1” - Cal, Lucien
- Strength - “X+2” - Krovaliss, “X+1” - Bastiano, Drake
- Endurance - “X+2” - Krovaliss, “X+1” - Empress, Vala, Bastiano, Drake, Lucien
- Warfare - “X+3” - Krovaliss, “X+2” - Drake, “X+1” - Bastiano, Mordecai
- This puts Krovaliss in a very powerful position - he is the highest rank in the game in three Attributes.
- We then talked about what would happen if we played the game for a long period of time - this is the 3rd year of gameplay. What if we played for five years? What would make sense? I could see Ethan potentially reaching “X+1” in Psyche, maybe one day getting to “X+2” as an ‘ultimate Ethan’ version which would put him on a par with Mowbray and the Empress - but not any further. It would be part of Ethan’s heroic journey to one day match Cal and Lucien - and perhaps one day surpass them.
- In Grant’s face, we could both see him one day getting to “X+1” and possibly even “X+2”. Warfare contests are more likely to end up in the death of Mordecai, Bastiano and possibly even Drake over time so again it makes sense that Grant would rise as one of the other High Ranked Warfare characters. Again, it’s something that we see often in heroic literature that the mentor falls as the young hero rises to take their place.
- However, to reach the higher ranks requires more ‘in-game’ time. They cannot hope to reach “X+1” without years (decades?) of experience. Hence time needs to progress in the game.
Part 4 - Implications of Grouping
- In the Core Rulebook, Cal has 85 points of Psyche and Lucien has 100 points of Psyche. By grouping these characters into a single Rank (“X+1”), we are effectively saying that they have the same raw power in that Attribute. We could have created extra Ranks but we decided against it.
- To illustrate the point, I suggested that in a particular realm (it doesn’t matter which), Grant can lift 5 tons. He has Dominant Rank. In the same realm, Bastiano and Drake can lift 15 tons because they both have “X+1” Rank Strength. It may well be that Drake has more upper body muscles, whereas Bastiano is wiry and strong but the net result is the same.
- Hence there is no such thing as Rank x.5. Only whole ranks.
Part 5 - Advancing Beyond Dominant Rank
- The next step was to talk about how a Dominant Rank character would advance to “X+1” - Lurker37 had been loathe to put a point value on the higher ranks but he agreed that it made sense to put a point value on the “X+1” rank only.
- Psyche - “X+1” = [100 points]
- Strength “X+1” = [50 points]
- Endurance - “X+1” = [50 points]
- Warfare - “X+1” = [100 points]
- Hence it is a significant jump from the current Dominant rank to these “X+1” point values. If/when a PC reaches the “X+1” Rank, this becomes the new Dominant Rank, “X+2” becomes “X+1” and “X+3” becomes “X+2”. At the point that “X+1” is reached and becomes the Dominant Rank, we would determine the point value for the next Rank (i.e.: the “X+2” rank which has become “X+1”)
- But does a character become better when they invest more points and get to the next rank? The agreed answer is “yes”, they do. Using the Strength example from Part 4 (above), if Grant reaches “X+1” Rank, he can then lift 15 tons in the realm mentioned before, same as Bastiano and Drake. Apart from raw potency, the power is more accessible, more reliable and flows more easily.
So that is our framework going forward. We have talked further about whether we want Krovaliss to be Ultimate Top Rank in 3 attributes. We are still mulling that over.
One thing that we do agree on is that we want powerful characters who are not allied with either the Dwimmerlaik or the Lords of Gossamer to be in the game. For example, a Usari Lord who has “X+2” or “X+3” Rank in Endurance; or a Dragon Highlord who has “X+2” or “X+3” Rank in Strength. Hence these would be powerful NPCs with their own goals that it would be in the PC’s best interests to have good relations with. One of the things that we don’t have in this game (Lords of Gossamer) is many factions - the Lords of Gossamer are on one side, and the Dwimmerlaik are on the other. The Usari Lords are possibly a third group, but there were many splinter factions with their own agendas in Amber Diceless. We’re thinking about introducing some more of those so we don’t end up with polar factions (black v white).
Hope this has been useful to some of you.
Sunday, 24 April 2016
GM Commentary
Session 79 wasn't run last week as I had a very heavy workload, but I did spend a few hours with David talking about Rankings, Advancement, where the powerful NPCs fit in and how we would resolve contests between the Dominant (1st PC) Rank and the Ranks above.
I've already documented all of that conversation - I'm just waiting on Lurker37 to provide feedback. The next post should be very useful for GMs and would-be GMs. We've played years of Amber Diceless and now years of Lords of Gossamer - this was our opportunity to take stock of how these areas are running and then decide how we wanted things to work going forward.
Cheers,
Bruce
I've already documented all of that conversation - I'm just waiting on Lurker37 to provide feedback. The next post should be very useful for GMs and would-be GMs. We've played years of Amber Diceless and now years of Lords of Gossamer - this was our opportunity to take stock of how these areas are running and then decide how we wanted things to work going forward.
Cheers,
Bruce
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Feedback from Garomac
If you don't mind my two cents, I was in a very long-running Amber campaign where we frequently fought people with much higher attributes that had no compunction about killing us.
The rule we used was that a higher rank beats a lower rank, assuming all other factors are equal. It's that last bit that's important. If you are fighting someone with a higher warfare, you need to cheat. Use your strength, get the high ground, bring several friends, use better weapons, etc., etc. I found that fighting superior opponents really got the creative juices flowing.
One time we had to fight the most powerful non-Amber/Chaos sorceress in all of shadow, a real Morgan le Fay type whose Psyche was up over 100 and had Exalted Sorcery, a ton of items with points, and thousands of years of experience. On top of that, we needed to take her alive. Had we gone straight at her we would have been toast. We lured her away from her hidden stronghold, to someplace where magic was weak, brought a ton of allies, used every spell, power word to and loose piece of furniture we could lay our hands on, and were able to capture her. Granted, my character got body-slammed by her guardian golem which broke most of the bones in my body, but we pulled it off.
Another thing to consider is that if you have ranked warfare and fight defensively, it is almost impossible to be one-shot even by a much superior opponent. If Grant runs into Korvalis, he should be able to survive long enough to fall back, pull a dirty trick, call for help, etc.
I hope that helps.
The rule we used was that a higher rank beats a lower rank, assuming all other factors are equal. It's that last bit that's important. If you are fighting someone with a higher warfare, you need to cheat. Use your strength, get the high ground, bring several friends, use better weapons, etc., etc. I found that fighting superior opponents really got the creative juices flowing.
One time we had to fight the most powerful non-Amber/Chaos sorceress in all of shadow, a real Morgan le Fay type whose Psyche was up over 100 and had Exalted Sorcery, a ton of items with points, and thousands of years of experience. On top of that, we needed to take her alive. Had we gone straight at her we would have been toast. We lured her away from her hidden stronghold, to someplace where magic was weak, brought a ton of allies, used every spell, power word to and loose piece of furniture we could lay our hands on, and were able to capture her. Granted, my character got body-slammed by her guardian golem which broke most of the bones in my body, but we pulled it off.
Another thing to consider is that if you have ranked warfare and fight defensively, it is almost impossible to be one-shot even by a much superior opponent. If Grant runs into Korvalis, he should be able to survive long enough to fall back, pull a dirty trick, call for help, etc.
I hope that helps.
Monday, 18 April 2016
GM Commentary
Yes, I've actually caught up. We didn't run a session last week. Maybe this Thursday. We'll see.
We're trying to draw up some new ground rules for going forward - and redoing the points/ranks. We currently have different points of view, and are trying to work through those differences.
- For example, if the PC with 1st Rank has invested 50 points in that attribute, what's the incentive to put another 10, 15, 20 points into that attribute? He's still First Rank. David argues that the benefit to the PC is that they're increasing the gap between 1st and 2nd Rank. He follows Rules As Written which says that the Ranks matter and the Points do not. I would prefer that putting extra points into the rank actually gives you a benefit - ie: you are better than you were. I would prefer that X+1 Rank (one above First Rank) is, say, 20 points above First Rank - so there is an actual rung to reach. We just have differing points of view - normally with a single GM, the GM would make a call and that would be it. But it isn't like that here. We need to establish something that we both feel comfortable with.
- And then the next point is where to the NPCs fit into the ranking system. I would prefer to have 3-5 ranks above the PC 1st Rank but David points out that this means that the PCs may get killed. The difference between Amber Diceless and Lords of Gossamer is that if Benedict beats you (in Amber), he may not actually want to kill you. You might just be left with a 'scar' to remind you not to do it again. But in Lords of Gossamer, if you run up against Krovaliss (the highest Warfare character in the game), he would likely kill you. If you've read the writeup to date, Ethan has been stabbed, shot and badly wounded many times. I'm okay with that because it's part of the character and the journey that Ethan is on. But not everybody enjoys that sort of game - David for example, does not. David and I are different people and we get different things out of the game - I don't mind Ethan getting trashed and suffering setbacks (as long as the plot is going somewhere), but it really pisses David off to lose. He doesn't play a game to get his character stabbed, lose the girl, run away from the villain etc. David fears that introducing Krovaliss (for example) could mean some sort of instant kill for Grant or Ethan. I think that's a reasonable concern so we just need to talk about how best to deal with it. There is no point having characters in the game which will just spoil the fun for either of us.
At the heart of the above is that the PCs are not 100 point characters any more. They are approaching 250 and 300 points - so you would expect them to start rivaling the more experienced characters in the rulebook. That's why we need to figure out how we want to interact with them.
We're trying to draw up some new ground rules for going forward - and redoing the points/ranks. We currently have different points of view, and are trying to work through those differences.
- For example, if the PC with 1st Rank has invested 50 points in that attribute, what's the incentive to put another 10, 15, 20 points into that attribute? He's still First Rank. David argues that the benefit to the PC is that they're increasing the gap between 1st and 2nd Rank. He follows Rules As Written which says that the Ranks matter and the Points do not. I would prefer that putting extra points into the rank actually gives you a benefit - ie: you are better than you were. I would prefer that X+1 Rank (one above First Rank) is, say, 20 points above First Rank - so there is an actual rung to reach. We just have differing points of view - normally with a single GM, the GM would make a call and that would be it. But it isn't like that here. We need to establish something that we both feel comfortable with.
- And then the next point is where to the NPCs fit into the ranking system. I would prefer to have 3-5 ranks above the PC 1st Rank but David points out that this means that the PCs may get killed. The difference between Amber Diceless and Lords of Gossamer is that if Benedict beats you (in Amber), he may not actually want to kill you. You might just be left with a 'scar' to remind you not to do it again. But in Lords of Gossamer, if you run up against Krovaliss (the highest Warfare character in the game), he would likely kill you. If you've read the writeup to date, Ethan has been stabbed, shot and badly wounded many times. I'm okay with that because it's part of the character and the journey that Ethan is on. But not everybody enjoys that sort of game - David for example, does not. David and I are different people and we get different things out of the game - I don't mind Ethan getting trashed and suffering setbacks (as long as the plot is going somewhere), but it really pisses David off to lose. He doesn't play a game to get his character stabbed, lose the girl, run away from the villain etc. David fears that introducing Krovaliss (for example) could mean some sort of instant kill for Grant or Ethan. I think that's a reasonable concern so we just need to talk about how best to deal with it. There is no point having characters in the game which will just spoil the fun for either of us.
At the heart of the above is that the PCs are not 100 point characters any more. They are approaching 250 and 300 points - so you would expect them to start rivaling the more experienced characters in the rulebook. That's why we need to figure out how we want to interact with them.
Sunday, 17 April 2016
Session 78 - Reunions
GM Observations - Part 1
- It’s no secret that I’ve wanted a ‘time compress’ for a while. I didn’t expect it to be this way, but it makes sense. Here’s the timeline (which Lurker37 has confirmed):
- Ethan is not active in this session however Lurker37 understands that we can’t leave Ethan as an isolated amnesiac for too long as otherwise I’d be GMing all of the time - the balance would be lost. I suggested to Lurker37 that the Dwimmerlaik would probably try to recruit amnesiac Lords of Gossamer if possible rather than kill them - so let’s see if Lurker37 does something like that with Ethan. For reasons that should be evident below, I doubt Ethan would be working for the Dwimmerlaik for an extended period of time, but it is does lead to character development which is interesting for me (and hopefully for Lurker37too)
- Some more observations at the end of this post. As usual this has taken me a long time to write because there is a lot of detailed content.
Part 1 - The Heart of the Grand Stair
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Vala makes preparation to leave Shatterlight. She gives instructions to key members of her court, advising them that she may be gone for some time. She advises them not to contact her unless there is dire need to do so. Grant notes that many of her top commanders have her Icon.
- Grant is surprised how quickly she is ready to move and how little she carries. She is dressed in a simple robe, and carries her pole arm Vajra, but no other artefacts of power. Grant inquires where they are going and she explains that they will travel to the ‘Heart’ of the Grand Stair, a place where they will almost certainly find Lucien. She asks if Grant is ready, and Grant affirms that he is. He sees no other way forward - to return to Marindar would solve nothing.
- Vala heads towards one of the side doors of the main audience hall. It is only a door, not a Door. She pauses and explains that there are many who can sense her presence on the Grand Stair (if they are looking) and hence they should travel quickly and avoid trouble. Even though it would be possible to travel almost directly to ‘The Heart’, she explains that she will take a ‘safe’ route with enough Doors to make tracing very hard. Using her Mastery of the Grand Stair, she connects the Stair and opens the Door, revealing the Grand Stair on the other side.
Grand Stairway Section 36 - Impressive Hall
- Stepping out into a vast hall, Vala breaks the connection, returning the Door to a blank Door. Grant is aware that they are both under an enchantment of concealment that Vala has woven.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Vala leads them only a short way before she finds a Blank Door beneath a section of Stair. It is nondescript - simply one of many.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Again, she connects the Door once more, and opens the Door.
Grand Stairway Section 37 - Opera House
- On the other side, there is the sound of music and someone singing far in the distance. Grant listens hard to the sound but it is difficult to pinpoint where it is coming from. Vala again severs the Door and explains that they are much closer now.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Climbing the Stairs, they travel a short distance and they are confronted with a huge lion-like creature with wings. It is a sphinx. Vala doesn’t seem concerned when it puffs itself up and blocks further progress. Instead Vala asks it a riddle: “I’m the part of the bird that’s not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry.” The creature smiles and gives the correct answer: “A shadow”. The sphinx then asks Vala a question: “XXX” . She thinks for awhile and the answer comes to her. She answers correctly and the sphinx smiles and grants her access to the Door behind.
Realm 79 - The Library
- A huge multilevelled library sprawls in all directions. Grant wonders if this can be Lucien’s abode but Vala tells him to be cautious in this place. She explains that there is much knowledge here and there are many who come here to seek it. They wander through many racks of books. Grant asks if they are looking for a Door. Vala says that they are instead looking for a particular book - one hidden amongst many - one that will open a particular Door.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- After about twenty minutes, Vala picks a simple leather-bound book off a shelf, and opens it. Inside the pages are blank, but Grant notes that a Door that was not there before has appeared. She puts the book back and they carry on their way. Vala warns Grant to be on guard as they are about to enter the Labyrinth. She explains that there are many ways in, but very few ways out - and there are things in the maze that are always hungry.
Grand Stairway Section 38 - The Labyrinth
- The labyrinth is a place of madness - a mismatch of passageways, stairways and corridors. Grant can tell that they are not alone here. Vala and Grant take their time to navigate in this place. Grant asks why they do not take a more direct route and Vala explains that the labyrinth is an excellent place to lose any pursuit that may be following them. It is very easy to become separated here - almost as though the place is designed for the unwary to become lost.
* Image sourced from Google Images
Grand Stairway Section 39 - Still the Labyrinth
- In the deeper sections of the Labyrinth, they see fewer creatures. Nothing living makes it this far unless they know exactly where they are going. Occasionally they pass a Door, but they are always Blanks. Grant wonders at this.
* Image sourced from Google Images
Grand Stairway Section 40 - The Maelstrom
- At last, Vala finds a Door which is connected. She opens it and they step into a new section of the Labyrinth which is even more unusual. It is as though the Grand Stair has been reduced to an abstract - even looking at the Stair is difficult - it is hard to see the passageways and even harder to find Doors.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Grant stares at this in wonder, but they are not long in this section. Vala finds a section of wall and opens it as if it were a Door.
Part 2 - Vala and Lucien
Realm 80 - The Athenaeum, Heart of the Labyrinth (Iron Door)
- On the other side is a plush sitting room with leather armchairs. There are bookshelves on the walls and a variety of trophies and memorabilia decorating the room. Vala shuts the Door and announces that this is the Athenaeum and it is Lucien’s realm.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Vala takes a moment to get her bearings and then she suggests a direction. She finds Lucien a short distance away - he has just prepared a cup of herbal tea for Vala as if he expected her at this moment. However, Lucien seems surprised to see Grant - but he just shrugs it off. Instead he smiles at Lady Vala and welcomes her to his domain. She accepts the tea and Lucien asks what has brought her here. He offers Grant a drink and begins preparing it whilst Vala explains that Grant’s appearance has convinced her that something is very wrong on the Stair.
- Lucien finishes making the tea. In offering Grant a cup, he tells Vala that Grant and a ‘most persistent postman’ named Ethan managed to rescue him from the Dwimmerlaik in recent times - it is clear that he recalls this because he can tell that Grant does not remember. With a glint in his eye, Lucien explains that the Dwimmerlaik have returned, and they have been most bold. He explains that they have a new weapon which attacks through the Icons and strips memories away from even the most powerful of Gossamer Lords. Lucien does not seem perturbed by any of this - he explains it in a matter of fact fashion as Vala sips at her tea as if this were all perfectly normal.
- With cups of tea in their hands, Lucien leads them into a garden in the warm sunshine with blue sky overhead. Under a leafy tree, Lucien sets up three white-washed wooden chairs and they sit down to talk. Vala shares that Shatterlight is restored and she has recovered Fiorin (thanks to Grant) and restored Vajra. She asks after Drake, and Lucien says that Drake does not know who he is. Lucien explains that many of the Lords of Gossamer have fallen prey to ’The Breath of Eden’ and he goes on to detail what has happened and how he came by this information.
Part 3 - Lucien’s Story - Initial Disappearances
- The tale takes some time, but gradually the picture becomes clearer.
- In Heldon’s Pass, the Dwimmerlaik unleashed their new weapon - the ‘Breath of Eden’ - a powerful Umbra-enhanced airborne plague that wiped the memories of any who breathed it in. However, the plague’s creators also designed it to be carried via Icon. They knew that the Lords of Gossamer relied upon Icons for communication and hence they developed a weapon which would spread throughout the network very quickly. After all, if a Lord had not heard from one of their fellow Lords for some time, it was quite common to use an Icon to reestablish contact. In this way, those behind the ‘Breath of Eden’ sought to cripple and destroy the Lords of Gossamer one by one, stealing their memories away to a location which is so far ‘unknown’.
- Lucien first became aware of the problem via Cal. Cal mentioned to him that no one had heard from Drake and Bastiano for some time and no one had reported whether the Heldon’s Pass defences had held or not. It was most unusual. Jessamyn agreed to investigate - she took to the Stair but did not return. It did not take long for Cal to get worried and he consulted with Lucien before making his next move (which in Lucien’s opinion was very very fortunate). Lucien tried a divination on Jessamyn’s Icon and for the first time that he could recall, it did not return a reading. Even she had been dead the divination would have told them something - but it returned nothing at all and Lucien smelled a rat. Lucien repeated the same spell on a number of other Icons and found that some of the others - like Drake and Bastiano - were also somehow ‘blank’ to his spell craft. Lucien’s conclusion was that something strange had happened to them and he advised Cal not to accept any Icon contacts without attempting a divination first.
- Cal headed off on his own but he kept in touch with Lucien and Greywalker. He even contacted Ethan once to warn him (not that Grant knew this) but somehow he disappeared anyway - it’s possible that he was exposed to the ‘Breath of Eden’ directly, or that he contacted someone that he shouldn’t have, or perhaps he found Jessamyn and was ‘infected’. Lucien doesn’t know but after Cal disappeared, Greywalker came to find Lucien and the two of them began exploring the effect.
Part 4 - Lucien’s Story - Bastiano Reappears
- Reasoning that the Enemy was behind this and that it would be folly to try to find another Lord of Gossamer given that Jessamyn and Cal had vanished trying to find the others, they began working on the Icon itself. They sought to unravel whatever had afflicted the Lords by using the Icon connection to them. They were able to learn a great deal by studying it carefully. They found that the connection to the individual remained, but any mental connection encouraged ‘it’ to spread.
- In the end they reasoned that they would need a test subject to observe and understand the effect. Greywalker reluctantly agreed to be the test subject and they made careful plans.
- However, before they could put their plan into motion, Bastiano became active again. Fearing a trap, Greywalker elected to go alone to find Bastiano whilst Lucien would gather some more of the dwindling number of Lords of Gossamer to aid them - Yaeger Zane, Cooper Nassar, Lady Victoria, Grant and Ethan. Unfortunately he only returned with two of them - Yaeger and Cooper. Meanwhile Greywalker found Bastiano - he was more than a little unstable (even more so than usual) and had only partial memories but he was definitely Bastiano. Greywalker found that he had lost his memories but somehow he’d been able to restore them ‘from backups’. Bastiano chose not to explain what that meant.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- Bastiano was able to fill them in as to what had happened at Heldon’s Pass. The Enemy hadn’t come through the gate. Instead a wind had flowed through - and it had brought forgetfulness. The defenders forgot who they were. Many fought each others and the command structure disintegrated. Those were Bastiano’s last memories before ‘blackness’ . He had used Umbra to restore himself to the degree where he had remembered that he had backups, but it had taken significant time. From studying Basitano, Lucien and Greywalker were able to deduce that the memories were not simply repressed or destroyed but taken away to place or places unknown. No amount of healing could return such memories. The suggestion that the Dwimmerlaik might be capturing and harvesting the memories of the Lords of Gossamer was a truly frightening idea, however Bastiano quickly suggested that such a dangerous weapon could be harnessed and used by the Lords against the Dwimmerlaik themselves - but it would take time to achieve such a result.
- Unfortunately they could learn little more from Bastiano himself. As an Umbra Master, he had totally rebuilt himself and whatever traces of sorcery had been borne on the wind or via Icons had been removed from him totally. Bastiano and Yaeger decided to find more of the Lords of Gossamer who were still free, whilst Cooper, Greywalker and Lucien prepared for Greywalker to contact Cal. Greywalker was almost sure to lose his memories, but between them they believed they could redirect the spell to a vessel of their choosing that had been appropriately prepared.
Part 5 - Lucien’s Story - Greywalker’s Sacrifice
- They planned very carefully and then put their plan into motion. Greywalker was placed in a containment field (both technological and sorcerous) and he then attempted an Icon contact to Cal. As soon as the connection was made Greywalker came under attack and his mind was violently ripped away. Even though Umbral sorcery was involved, they had prepared for this possibility and they still managed to shift Greywalker’s mind to the prepared vessel. The plan had worked, and they had a lot more information about how the Enemy’s new weapon worked.
- Cooper and Lucien went to work preparing to reverse the spell, but they found that the Umbra-infused enchantment which remained on Greywalker was particular elaborate and difficult to remove. Far more difficult than they expected. Studying the complexity of the woven spell, Lucien believed it to be Mowbray’s work.
- Days of work became weeks. Bastiano and Yaeger came and went with stories of the Dwimmerlaik actively moving on the Stair, hunting down newly made Lords of Gossamer before they could learn to employ their abilities and ‘turning them’ where possible. Despite Bastiano’s and Yaeger’s efforts, they were only able to beat the Dwimmerlaik to their targets on one single occasion.
Part 6 - Lucien’s Story - Unexpected Consequences
- Then something else unexpected happened. Another Lord of Gossamer had tried to contact Greywalker and the spell had attacked him. But given the controlled environment that they had been operating in, those memories did not go back to the Dwimmerlaik, but were stored in the same vessel as Greywalker’s memories. Inspecting what had been ‘caught’, Lucien realised that they had captured Ethan by accident. (GM’s note - Bad Stuff)Isabelle, one of Lucien’s descendants who lived in the Athenaeum with him was more than a little distressed by this.
- But there was another side to this which worried Lucien even more. Triggering Mowbray’s ‘memory stealing’ spell once and then diverting the memories to their own vessel had been a risk. To do it a second time increased the risk of their strategy being detected and the Dwimmerlaik developing a counterstrategy. Yaeger had not been successful finding Ethan on his previous attempt but given what had just happened, Lucien urged Yaeger to try again and find Ethan quickly lest the Dwimmerlaik find him first. In the meantime, the muddling of Ethan’s memories with Greywalker’s slowed the process of restoring Greywalker.
- Luckily Cooper rigged up another vessel just in case the same thing happened again and less than a week later, that vessel was filled as another individual was snared. This time someone had tried to contact Ethan, and Isabelle was able to identify the individual by her memories - it was Abbie, Ethan’s lover. Reasoning that she must still be on Earth (Realm 0) and concerned about the attention that that this might be attracting, Lucien decided to return to Earth to check on matters personally.
- But before he departed, something else unexpected happened. Isabelle received an Icon contact. Quickly identifying the caller as Macavity (whom Lucien describes as one of the cat lords, a race that causes much trouble from time to time), she accepted the contact and brought through both Macavity and Lady Abbie. Sure enough, Abbie had amnesia - she didn’t know who she was and she couldn’t understand anything that was being said to her.
Part 7 - Lucien’s Story - The Breath of Eden
- Macavity’s arrival brought new hope to the group. Firstly, he had brought Abbie through and they already had Abbie’s memories - hence they had another subject to test the reversal process. But more importantly, Macavity had brought a box through which he claimed had been given to Ethan by the traitor, Shimrod, who called it “The Breath of Eden”. Macavity had gifted them with a sample of the Dwimmerlaik’s weapon.
- With this, Bastiano was recalled to the Athenaeum and he, Lucien, Cooper and Isabelle began working on “The Breath of Eden” as a priority.
- Again, the combined skills of the Lords of Gossamer were most formidable. Bastiano was quickly able to adapt “The Breath of Eden” such that it could be used against the Enemy should an opportunity exist. Lucien and Cooper were able to reverse the spell on Abbie. From Abbie, they were able to learn that she had attempted to contact Ethan after not hearing from him for some time. (Grant gathers that Abbie, Macavity Isabelle were very pleased to be reunited once more)
- Lucien explains that they were making final preparations to restore Greywalker when he sensed that Vala was on her way - hence he decided to wait.
Part 8 - A New Beginning/Greywalker Returns
- Vala and Grant listen, absorbing all of the information. At last Vala suggests that they inspect Greywalker and see what can be done for him. In the days that follow, Vala studies the process whilst Grant assists Lucien and Cooper Nassar using his knowledge of Umbra to gently break down parts of the spell. Both Lucien and Cooper seem pleased to have a new ally - as Grant is more of a team player than Bastiano. At last they are ready and Greywalker is restored.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Greywalker is at first pleased to see everyone (especially Lady Vala), but he becomes more than a little cranky when he realises how much time has passed. Macavity takes a liking to him, and Greywalker takes a liking to Macavity.
- Yaeger fails to return with Ethan but he does return with a severed Dwimmerlaik head from a warlord whom he says has knowledge of the Enemy plans. Yaeger was hoping that Bastiano was available to ‘read the dead bastard’s mind’, but with Bastiano away, he settles for Grant. Grant has never done this before, but with guidance from Lady Vala he is able to piece together some fragments as to how the Enemy forces are currently structured.
- Grant, Macavity, Abbie and Isabelle remains concerned about Ethan but it is not as simple as releasing the memories held in the containment device - they need Ethan himself to be sure that the memories return to their host. Grant is determined to find his friend even though his memories are lacking, but Vala and Lucien convince him to wait as the higher priority is to follow up the fresh information which Grant has gleaned from the dead Dwimmerlaik. They need to find out where the Lords’ memories are held and how best to retrieve them without tipping the Enemy off. They need to move carefully lest the Dwimmerlaik destroy the memories and permanently cripple the Lords. Reluctantly, Grant agrees but he would still like to try to find a way to substitute one set of memories for another to see if they can get away with it. Lucien likes the plan - Bastiano apparently suggested something similar previously - but they need to tread carefully.
- Grant is disappointed that he cannot go after Ethan. He talks conceptually over the idea of getting his own memories back with Greywalker and Cooper Nassar. Cooper is a bit of a strange fellow - he is very quiet and thoughtful, and his speaks in short phrases. Cooper has a simple conclusion - to fool the Dwimmerlaik, Grant will need to find another Grant to substitute. He needs to find a doppleganger and be prepared to sacrifice him.
- Bastiano returns and confers with Lady Vala. Vala agrees to Bastiano’s proposal, and Bastiano enlists Grant’s help. He explains that he has a way to find out where the memories are being held - but it will take an Umbra Master to pull it off. Two Umbra Masters would be even better ….
GM Observations - Part 2
…. and this is where we stop Session 78. The Lords of Gossamer are reunited with a common Enemy and we have the named Lords of Gossamer finally in play and interacting with the PCs. It was a deliberate decision to leave the named Lords of Gossamer out of the game for so long because then we didn’t have the ‘Elder Amberite’ generation (using the Amber Diceless reference) there to assist, coach and generally overshadow the PCs. Now the PCs have played through 78 sessions, they are not novice characters - they are not on the same power level as Vala and Drake, but they don’t need to be. They have their own skills and experience to offer.
- It’s no secret that I’ve wanted a ‘time compress’ for a while. I didn’t expect it to be this way, but it makes sense. Here’s the timeline (which Lurker37 has confirmed):
- May 1988 - Grant commences rebuilding Marindar using Fiorin
- July 1988 - in early July, Grant has rebuilt Realm 15 (Marindar). He goes exploring his new domain with Sophia - his first outing takes 3 weeks then he returns to Central.
- August 1988 - in mid-August, Grant decides to find Vala’s Pride. It takes him a few days to locate the ship. He crosses over into Shatterlight and he spends ten days with Vala before he returns home. Late in August, he attempts to contact Ethan via Icon and has his mind wiped.
- September 1988 - Abbie competes in the Seoul Olympics (17th September --> 2nd October)
- October 1988 - Weeks after the Olympics and having not heard from Ethan in almost three months, Abbie decides to contact Ethan via Icon and she is also struck down.
- January 1989 - after five months in ‘the Farm’, Grant returns to Central. He spends weeks relearning from the various sources available to him.
- February 1989 - Grant returns to Vala’s Pride and seeks an audience with Lady Vala. He was not expected.
- Ethan is not active in this session however Lurker37 understands that we can’t leave Ethan as an isolated amnesiac for too long as otherwise I’d be GMing all of the time - the balance would be lost. I suggested to Lurker37 that the Dwimmerlaik would probably try to recruit amnesiac Lords of Gossamer if possible rather than kill them - so let’s see if Lurker37 does something like that with Ethan. For reasons that should be evident below, I doubt Ethan would be working for the Dwimmerlaik for an extended period of time, but it is does lead to character development which is interesting for me (and hopefully for Lurker37too)
- Some more observations at the end of this post. As usual this has taken me a long time to write because there is a lot of detailed content.
Part 1 - The Heart of the Grand Stair
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Vala makes preparation to leave Shatterlight. She gives instructions to key members of her court, advising them that she may be gone for some time. She advises them not to contact her unless there is dire need to do so. Grant notes that many of her top commanders have her Icon.
- Grant is surprised how quickly she is ready to move and how little she carries. She is dressed in a simple robe, and carries her pole arm Vajra, but no other artefacts of power. Grant inquires where they are going and she explains that they will travel to the ‘Heart’ of the Grand Stair, a place where they will almost certainly find Lucien. She asks if Grant is ready, and Grant affirms that he is. He sees no other way forward - to return to Marindar would solve nothing.
- Vala heads towards one of the side doors of the main audience hall. It is only a door, not a Door. She pauses and explains that there are many who can sense her presence on the Grand Stair (if they are looking) and hence they should travel quickly and avoid trouble. Even though it would be possible to travel almost directly to ‘The Heart’, she explains that she will take a ‘safe’ route with enough Doors to make tracing very hard. Using her Mastery of the Grand Stair, she connects the Stair and opens the Door, revealing the Grand Stair on the other side.
Grand Stairway Section 36 - Impressive Hall
- Stepping out into a vast hall, Vala breaks the connection, returning the Door to a blank Door. Grant is aware that they are both under an enchantment of concealment that Vala has woven.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Vala leads them only a short way before she finds a Blank Door beneath a section of Stair. It is nondescript - simply one of many.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Again, she connects the Door once more, and opens the Door.
Grand Stairway Section 37 - Opera House
- On the other side, there is the sound of music and someone singing far in the distance. Grant listens hard to the sound but it is difficult to pinpoint where it is coming from. Vala again severs the Door and explains that they are much closer now.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Climbing the Stairs, they travel a short distance and they are confronted with a huge lion-like creature with wings. It is a sphinx. Vala doesn’t seem concerned when it puffs itself up and blocks further progress. Instead Vala asks it a riddle: “I’m the part of the bird that’s not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry.” The creature smiles and gives the correct answer: “A shadow”. The sphinx then asks Vala a question: “XXX” . She thinks for awhile and the answer comes to her. She answers correctly and the sphinx smiles and grants her access to the Door behind.
Realm 79 - The Library
- A huge multilevelled library sprawls in all directions. Grant wonders if this can be Lucien’s abode but Vala tells him to be cautious in this place. She explains that there is much knowledge here and there are many who come here to seek it. They wander through many racks of books. Grant asks if they are looking for a Door. Vala says that they are instead looking for a particular book - one hidden amongst many - one that will open a particular Door.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- After about twenty minutes, Vala picks a simple leather-bound book off a shelf, and opens it. Inside the pages are blank, but Grant notes that a Door that was not there before has appeared. She puts the book back and they carry on their way. Vala warns Grant to be on guard as they are about to enter the Labyrinth. She explains that there are many ways in, but very few ways out - and there are things in the maze that are always hungry.
Grand Stairway Section 38 - The Labyrinth
- The labyrinth is a place of madness - a mismatch of passageways, stairways and corridors. Grant can tell that they are not alone here. Vala and Grant take their time to navigate in this place. Grant asks why they do not take a more direct route and Vala explains that the labyrinth is an excellent place to lose any pursuit that may be following them. It is very easy to become separated here - almost as though the place is designed for the unwary to become lost.
* Image sourced from Google Images
Grand Stairway Section 39 - Still the Labyrinth
- In the deeper sections of the Labyrinth, they see fewer creatures. Nothing living makes it this far unless they know exactly where they are going. Occasionally they pass a Door, but they are always Blanks. Grant wonders at this.
* Image sourced from Google Images
Grand Stairway Section 40 - The Maelstrom
- At last, Vala finds a Door which is connected. She opens it and they step into a new section of the Labyrinth which is even more unusual. It is as though the Grand Stair has been reduced to an abstract - even looking at the Stair is difficult - it is hard to see the passageways and even harder to find Doors.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Grant stares at this in wonder, but they are not long in this section. Vala finds a section of wall and opens it as if it were a Door.
Part 2 - Vala and Lucien
Realm 80 - The Athenaeum, Heart of the Labyrinth (Iron Door)
- On the other side is a plush sitting room with leather armchairs. There are bookshelves on the walls and a variety of trophies and memorabilia decorating the room. Vala shuts the Door and announces that this is the Athenaeum and it is Lucien’s realm.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Vala takes a moment to get her bearings and then she suggests a direction. She finds Lucien a short distance away - he has just prepared a cup of herbal tea for Vala as if he expected her at this moment. However, Lucien seems surprised to see Grant - but he just shrugs it off. Instead he smiles at Lady Vala and welcomes her to his domain. She accepts the tea and Lucien asks what has brought her here. He offers Grant a drink and begins preparing it whilst Vala explains that Grant’s appearance has convinced her that something is very wrong on the Stair.
- Lucien finishes making the tea. In offering Grant a cup, he tells Vala that Grant and a ‘most persistent postman’ named Ethan managed to rescue him from the Dwimmerlaik in recent times - it is clear that he recalls this because he can tell that Grant does not remember. With a glint in his eye, Lucien explains that the Dwimmerlaik have returned, and they have been most bold. He explains that they have a new weapon which attacks through the Icons and strips memories away from even the most powerful of Gossamer Lords. Lucien does not seem perturbed by any of this - he explains it in a matter of fact fashion as Vala sips at her tea as if this were all perfectly normal.
- With cups of tea in their hands, Lucien leads them into a garden in the warm sunshine with blue sky overhead. Under a leafy tree, Lucien sets up three white-washed wooden chairs and they sit down to talk. Vala shares that Shatterlight is restored and she has recovered Fiorin (thanks to Grant) and restored Vajra. She asks after Drake, and Lucien says that Drake does not know who he is. Lucien explains that many of the Lords of Gossamer have fallen prey to ’The Breath of Eden’ and he goes on to detail what has happened and how he came by this information.
Part 3 - Lucien’s Story - Initial Disappearances
- The tale takes some time, but gradually the picture becomes clearer.
- In Heldon’s Pass, the Dwimmerlaik unleashed their new weapon - the ‘Breath of Eden’ - a powerful Umbra-enhanced airborne plague that wiped the memories of any who breathed it in. However, the plague’s creators also designed it to be carried via Icon. They knew that the Lords of Gossamer relied upon Icons for communication and hence they developed a weapon which would spread throughout the network very quickly. After all, if a Lord had not heard from one of their fellow Lords for some time, it was quite common to use an Icon to reestablish contact. In this way, those behind the ‘Breath of Eden’ sought to cripple and destroy the Lords of Gossamer one by one, stealing their memories away to a location which is so far ‘unknown’.
- Lucien first became aware of the problem via Cal. Cal mentioned to him that no one had heard from Drake and Bastiano for some time and no one had reported whether the Heldon’s Pass defences had held or not. It was most unusual. Jessamyn agreed to investigate - she took to the Stair but did not return. It did not take long for Cal to get worried and he consulted with Lucien before making his next move (which in Lucien’s opinion was very very fortunate). Lucien tried a divination on Jessamyn’s Icon and for the first time that he could recall, it did not return a reading. Even she had been dead the divination would have told them something - but it returned nothing at all and Lucien smelled a rat. Lucien repeated the same spell on a number of other Icons and found that some of the others - like Drake and Bastiano - were also somehow ‘blank’ to his spell craft. Lucien’s conclusion was that something strange had happened to them and he advised Cal not to accept any Icon contacts without attempting a divination first.
- Cal headed off on his own but he kept in touch with Lucien and Greywalker. He even contacted Ethan once to warn him (not that Grant knew this) but somehow he disappeared anyway - it’s possible that he was exposed to the ‘Breath of Eden’ directly, or that he contacted someone that he shouldn’t have, or perhaps he found Jessamyn and was ‘infected’. Lucien doesn’t know but after Cal disappeared, Greywalker came to find Lucien and the two of them began exploring the effect.
Part 4 - Lucien’s Story - Bastiano Reappears
- Reasoning that the Enemy was behind this and that it would be folly to try to find another Lord of Gossamer given that Jessamyn and Cal had vanished trying to find the others, they began working on the Icon itself. They sought to unravel whatever had afflicted the Lords by using the Icon connection to them. They were able to learn a great deal by studying it carefully. They found that the connection to the individual remained, but any mental connection encouraged ‘it’ to spread.
- In the end they reasoned that they would need a test subject to observe and understand the effect. Greywalker reluctantly agreed to be the test subject and they made careful plans.
- However, before they could put their plan into motion, Bastiano became active again. Fearing a trap, Greywalker elected to go alone to find Bastiano whilst Lucien would gather some more of the dwindling number of Lords of Gossamer to aid them - Yaeger Zane, Cooper Nassar, Lady Victoria, Grant and Ethan. Unfortunately he only returned with two of them - Yaeger and Cooper. Meanwhile Greywalker found Bastiano - he was more than a little unstable (even more so than usual) and had only partial memories but he was definitely Bastiano. Greywalker found that he had lost his memories but somehow he’d been able to restore them ‘from backups’. Bastiano chose not to explain what that meant.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- Bastiano was able to fill them in as to what had happened at Heldon’s Pass. The Enemy hadn’t come through the gate. Instead a wind had flowed through - and it had brought forgetfulness. The defenders forgot who they were. Many fought each others and the command structure disintegrated. Those were Bastiano’s last memories before ‘blackness’ . He had used Umbra to restore himself to the degree where he had remembered that he had backups, but it had taken significant time. From studying Basitano, Lucien and Greywalker were able to deduce that the memories were not simply repressed or destroyed but taken away to place or places unknown. No amount of healing could return such memories. The suggestion that the Dwimmerlaik might be capturing and harvesting the memories of the Lords of Gossamer was a truly frightening idea, however Bastiano quickly suggested that such a dangerous weapon could be harnessed and used by the Lords against the Dwimmerlaik themselves - but it would take time to achieve such a result.
- Unfortunately they could learn little more from Bastiano himself. As an Umbra Master, he had totally rebuilt himself and whatever traces of sorcery had been borne on the wind or via Icons had been removed from him totally. Bastiano and Yaeger decided to find more of the Lords of Gossamer who were still free, whilst Cooper, Greywalker and Lucien prepared for Greywalker to contact Cal. Greywalker was almost sure to lose his memories, but between them they believed they could redirect the spell to a vessel of their choosing that had been appropriately prepared.
Part 5 - Lucien’s Story - Greywalker’s Sacrifice
- They planned very carefully and then put their plan into motion. Greywalker was placed in a containment field (both technological and sorcerous) and he then attempted an Icon contact to Cal. As soon as the connection was made Greywalker came under attack and his mind was violently ripped away. Even though Umbral sorcery was involved, they had prepared for this possibility and they still managed to shift Greywalker’s mind to the prepared vessel. The plan had worked, and they had a lot more information about how the Enemy’s new weapon worked.
- Cooper and Lucien went to work preparing to reverse the spell, but they found that the Umbra-infused enchantment which remained on Greywalker was particular elaborate and difficult to remove. Far more difficult than they expected. Studying the complexity of the woven spell, Lucien believed it to be Mowbray’s work.
- Days of work became weeks. Bastiano and Yaeger came and went with stories of the Dwimmerlaik actively moving on the Stair, hunting down newly made Lords of Gossamer before they could learn to employ their abilities and ‘turning them’ where possible. Despite Bastiano’s and Yaeger’s efforts, they were only able to beat the Dwimmerlaik to their targets on one single occasion.
Part 6 - Lucien’s Story - Unexpected Consequences
- Then something else unexpected happened. Another Lord of Gossamer had tried to contact Greywalker and the spell had attacked him. But given the controlled environment that they had been operating in, those memories did not go back to the Dwimmerlaik, but were stored in the same vessel as Greywalker’s memories. Inspecting what had been ‘caught’, Lucien realised that they had captured Ethan by accident. (GM’s note - Bad Stuff)Isabelle, one of Lucien’s descendants who lived in the Athenaeum with him was more than a little distressed by this.
- But there was another side to this which worried Lucien even more. Triggering Mowbray’s ‘memory stealing’ spell once and then diverting the memories to their own vessel had been a risk. To do it a second time increased the risk of their strategy being detected and the Dwimmerlaik developing a counterstrategy. Yaeger had not been successful finding Ethan on his previous attempt but given what had just happened, Lucien urged Yaeger to try again and find Ethan quickly lest the Dwimmerlaik find him first. In the meantime, the muddling of Ethan’s memories with Greywalker’s slowed the process of restoring Greywalker.
- Luckily Cooper rigged up another vessel just in case the same thing happened again and less than a week later, that vessel was filled as another individual was snared. This time someone had tried to contact Ethan, and Isabelle was able to identify the individual by her memories - it was Abbie, Ethan’s lover. Reasoning that she must still be on Earth (Realm 0) and concerned about the attention that that this might be attracting, Lucien decided to return to Earth to check on matters personally.
- But before he departed, something else unexpected happened. Isabelle received an Icon contact. Quickly identifying the caller as Macavity (whom Lucien describes as one of the cat lords, a race that causes much trouble from time to time), she accepted the contact and brought through both Macavity and Lady Abbie. Sure enough, Abbie had amnesia - she didn’t know who she was and she couldn’t understand anything that was being said to her.
Part 7 - Lucien’s Story - The Breath of Eden
- Macavity’s arrival brought new hope to the group. Firstly, he had brought Abbie through and they already had Abbie’s memories - hence they had another subject to test the reversal process. But more importantly, Macavity had brought a box through which he claimed had been given to Ethan by the traitor, Shimrod, who called it “The Breath of Eden”. Macavity had gifted them with a sample of the Dwimmerlaik’s weapon.
- With this, Bastiano was recalled to the Athenaeum and he, Lucien, Cooper and Isabelle began working on “The Breath of Eden” as a priority.
- Again, the combined skills of the Lords of Gossamer were most formidable. Bastiano was quickly able to adapt “The Breath of Eden” such that it could be used against the Enemy should an opportunity exist. Lucien and Cooper were able to reverse the spell on Abbie. From Abbie, they were able to learn that she had attempted to contact Ethan after not hearing from him for some time. (Grant gathers that Abbie, Macavity Isabelle were very pleased to be reunited once more)
- Lucien explains that they were making final preparations to restore Greywalker when he sensed that Vala was on her way - hence he decided to wait.
Part 8 - A New Beginning/Greywalker Returns
- Vala and Grant listen, absorbing all of the information. At last Vala suggests that they inspect Greywalker and see what can be done for him. In the days that follow, Vala studies the process whilst Grant assists Lucien and Cooper Nassar using his knowledge of Umbra to gently break down parts of the spell. Both Lucien and Cooper seem pleased to have a new ally - as Grant is more of a team player than Bastiano. At last they are ready and Greywalker is restored.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- Greywalker is at first pleased to see everyone (especially Lady Vala), but he becomes more than a little cranky when he realises how much time has passed. Macavity takes a liking to him, and Greywalker takes a liking to Macavity.
- Yaeger fails to return with Ethan but he does return with a severed Dwimmerlaik head from a warlord whom he says has knowledge of the Enemy plans. Yaeger was hoping that Bastiano was available to ‘read the dead bastard’s mind’, but with Bastiano away, he settles for Grant. Grant has never done this before, but with guidance from Lady Vala he is able to piece together some fragments as to how the Enemy forces are currently structured.
- Grant, Macavity, Abbie and Isabelle remains concerned about Ethan but it is not as simple as releasing the memories held in the containment device - they need Ethan himself to be sure that the memories return to their host. Grant is determined to find his friend even though his memories are lacking, but Vala and Lucien convince him to wait as the higher priority is to follow up the fresh information which Grant has gleaned from the dead Dwimmerlaik. They need to find out where the Lords’ memories are held and how best to retrieve them without tipping the Enemy off. They need to move carefully lest the Dwimmerlaik destroy the memories and permanently cripple the Lords. Reluctantly, Grant agrees but he would still like to try to find a way to substitute one set of memories for another to see if they can get away with it. Lucien likes the plan - Bastiano apparently suggested something similar previously - but they need to tread carefully.
- Grant is disappointed that he cannot go after Ethan. He talks conceptually over the idea of getting his own memories back with Greywalker and Cooper Nassar. Cooper is a bit of a strange fellow - he is very quiet and thoughtful, and his speaks in short phrases. Cooper has a simple conclusion - to fool the Dwimmerlaik, Grant will need to find another Grant to substitute. He needs to find a doppleganger and be prepared to sacrifice him.
- Bastiano returns and confers with Lady Vala. Vala agrees to Bastiano’s proposal, and Bastiano enlists Grant’s help. He explains that he has a way to find out where the memories are being held - but it will take an Umbra Master to pull it off. Two Umbra Masters would be even better ….
GM Observations - Part 2
…. and this is where we stop Session 78. The Lords of Gossamer are reunited with a common Enemy and we have the named Lords of Gossamer finally in play and interacting with the PCs. It was a deliberate decision to leave the named Lords of Gossamer out of the game for so long because then we didn’t have the ‘Elder Amberite’ generation (using the Amber Diceless reference) there to assist, coach and generally overshadow the PCs. Now the PCs have played through 78 sessions, they are not novice characters - they are not on the same power level as Vala and Drake, but they don’t need to be. They have their own skills and experience to offer.
Thursday, 7 April 2016
Session 77 - Not Who He Was Before
GM Observations
- In some ways this session reboots the game. It certainly shakes things up. Heldon’s Pass has been a sleeper plot for almost 30 sessions and it finally blows up in everyone’s face. The named Lords of Gossamer from the rulebook and from this campaign have not been idle but some of that is not revealed until Session 78. At the end of this session it became clear to Lurker37 as to what the Dwimmerlaik are up to - and hence the writeup at the end explains some of that (even though Grant doesn’t yet know everything that Lurker37 and I know)
Part 1 - Touring Marindar
Realm 15 - Marindar (Silver Door)
- After months of work, Grant has successfully remade Marindar. It is finished. He is the Master of this Realm (GM’s note - he has paid points for a Primal Realm over which he has Control) His relationship with Lady Sophia is quite solid now. It has been revealed that she is the Queen’s sister - she is literally a Princess. Marindar now stands at the centre of an intergalactic alliance of worlds and Sophia is Marindar’s principal diplomat in this new remade reality on the First Council.
- Marindar is remade in many ways. Grant has altered things so that it is no longer undefended. There are many more people here - they are no longer a people diminished by war and attrition. He has also changed the way that the octahedral structures function such that they will separate on his command, breaking apart so that they no longer form a complete structure. He knows that Doors will not function if there is not a complete structure on the other end. In this way he can cut Marindar off as required. The Marindan Approach is restored but Grant has more control over it than before. Many of the subdivisions of the Realm are merged, although Grant leaves ‘the Farm’ as it is (as he knows it contains dangerous individuals). The people of Marindar do not realise what has changed - it is as if it has always been this way. Even his own family who is living in Marindar at the moment do not realise that the world around them has changed.
- With Sophia at his side, Grant sets off to tour all the wonders of his new domain. There is so much to see even on Marindar itself. It takes time and he revels in his new life as Lord and Master of Marindar.
Part 2 - An Audience with Lady Vala
- After three weeks of travelling, Grant and Sophia return to Central. Sophia quickly immerses himself in her duties, and Grant takes delivery of a ship that has been built specially for him. It is a small scout ship with a jump drive, capable of folding space over vast distances. He makes a discreet exit from Central and heads for Vala’s Pride, the captured Dwimmerlaik warship that he has visited before. He knows that it is still in his Realm because of the degree of control that he has over the reality of Marindar. It stands out to him.
- The journey is relatively short. The alien vessel looks just as it did before. It glows dimly with a pale purple light.
* Image sourced from Google
- Grant is able to find the docking bay, and he makes his way through the corridors to the bridge. The bridge is empty, but there is a large orb present which radiates pale blue light. Grant reaches out to touch the orb and he is instantly transported.
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Grant finds himself in the radiant city of Shatterlight. He finds the presence of so much Eidolon discomforting. There are people here but none are moving. Everything is still. There is no wind, no birdsong. Grant feels for Vala’s presence and then heads through the city to her palace. He passes inert bronzed guards that stand at attention. He enters the palace gardens where the grass is a lush green. There he finds Lady Vala, her eyes closed, her face serene.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- At his approach, her eyes open and he feels the wind blowing gently. There is the sound of birdsong once more. “Welcome back, Lord Grant,” she says gently. “Did you bring it?” To his surprise, Grant finds that he knows that she means Fiorin, and despite not remembering bringing it with him, he has it. Grant apologises and says that he didn’t know that he had it with him. Vala thanks him for returning it to her and waits for him to offer it. Grant is suddenly suspicious but he is sure that this really is Lady Vala and not some pretence. He asks how she could possibly know that he would have recovered it. Vala explains patiently that she engineered the situation, arranging to cast it away (a reference to Zeus) so that it would have to be recovered and returned to her at this moment. (GM’s note - yes, yes, I’ve done an Oberon from Zelazny’s Amber and made Vala capable of unexplainable feats for obscure reasons that will be revealed…. later) Grant returns Fiorin to her, and she attaches it to the haft of her pole arm, Vajra (GM’s note - yes, in this game, Fiorin is an integral part of the weapon’s power) Vala explains delicately that Grant must have felt that he was pouring energy into Marindar like a bucket without a bottom - she thanks him for helping to channel so much energy into Shatterlight, explaining that the realms are (for the moment), linked. Grant thinks on this but says nothing.
- Vala asks Grant what has transpired of late. She knows that a number of Lords have ‘fallen from her sight’. Grant retells what he knows of Heldon’s Pass and of the Dwimmerlaik becoming more bold. As the conversation progresses, Vala’s white-robed attendants bring them ambrosia in delicate vessels. Grant sips at the nectar, and tells Vala about his adventures, and about his friend Ethan. He tells of Ethan’s recent ambush and the battle on the Stair. Vala listens calmly to everything that Grant says. Time passes. They go for a walk together and they talk.
- Vala seems comfortable in Grant’s company. She tells him who is not ‘lost’ - she can see Lucien, Bastiano (who was ‘lost’ for a time, but she can now see him), Grant (obviously), Dayle, Yaeger Zane and Cooper Nassar (whom Grant has not met). She wonders if the others have gone to a place that she cannot ‘see’. A place perhaps that is hidden from her sight.
- Even though Shatterlight is uncomfortable for Grant, he is very keen to learn from Vala. Like Marindar, Shatterlight seems to be at ‘full strength’. Grant elects to stay with Vala for a time. He is keen for her to teach him and for him to gain further understanding as to what a Lord of Gossamer is truly capable of. He has never had a mentor in the ways of the Grand Stair (GM’s note - not that he remembers anyway) and he asks her for common, ordinary advice. She answers that “We are anything but common.” Over the next ten days, Vala gives her the benefit of her wisdom and she gently introduces him to what true Mastery of the Stair can do. (GM’s note - yes, Grant is starting to build towards Mastery of the Stair)
- Vala notes that many on the Stair would detect her should she step onto it without making the effort to conceal her presence. She shows Grant some of what is possible with Mastery. Grant is interested in what is required to connect and disconnect Doors, and gradually he is able to do it himself.
Realm 15 - Marindar (Silver Door)
- Returning to Vala’s Pride via the link between the realms, Grant takes his small vessel back to Marindar. Lady Sophia is pleased to see him and he settles back into life on Marindar. All is well. Trouble seems far away.
- And then it happens….
Part 3 - Not Who He Was Before
- Grant’s first memory is of waking from blackness. He has completely lost sense of time. He doesn’t know who he is, or where he is. However, there are people helping him. He quickly relearns to walk and talk (relearning how to speak Marindan without the benefit of exegesis.) There are supportive people around him who are kind to him. He gradually learns about where he is - it is called Marindar.
- There are four people who look after Grant. One is a beautiful lady who says that her name is Raine. The other is a wizened fellow who says that is Meliander. The third is a puckish red-haired woman with a wry sense of humour - she says that her name is Jasla. And the last is a pale elven lady who says that her name is Vidaniel. (GM’s note - none of these characters are new - they have been seen before) There is only one with Grant at a time but each is kind to him. They explain gently that he did not come from here. They explain that he is a Lord of Gossamer, one who is able to open the Doors which lead to other worlds. None of it brings back any memories - it all feels very strange.
- Grant learns that he is in a safe place called the ‘Farm’, but when he is strong enough they take him back to his estate. Grant is reintroduced to his parents, his brother and his sister. They hug him and seek to jog his memories but he cannot understand them at first (as they speak in an alien tongue). Using sorcery, Meliander enables Grant to hear and understand the English - the stories that they tell of him are interesting but he has no recollection of them.
- In the days that follow, Grant visits the Museum and see a display dedicated to him. He learns about Ethan, about Lady Sophia, Macavity and the others. The Marindans know a great deal about what he has done and it all seems very real, but Grant does not remember what has transpired.
- Grant begins to investigate as to what has happened. He is driven by a desire to 'fill' the hole in his mind. He is like a sponge. He learns quickly. Supernaturally fast. Within a week he has relearned Marindan sorcery and he can feel his connection to Umbra coming back like a flood. He does not have his Warden abilities yet but his Umbra powers are strong, perhaps stronger than they have ever been.
- It has been five months since he was last on Marindar and apparently in control of his faculties. The evidence suggests that he had used an Icon (of Ethan) as there was an Icon found on the floor next to where they found him, beside the inert form of Lady Sophia. Whatever was triggered was powerful enough to black out all of his memories and put Lady Sophia in a coma, but no one else was affected. Meliander and Jasla (both sorcerers) can tell that there is still a potent spell on Grant. It is a complex weave, and it is most certainly powered by Umbra. None of them believe they can dispel the magic - whoever has done is this is a powerful sorcerer.
- Looking for clues, Grant wonders what has become of Ethan. He understands from the Marindans what an Icon can be used for (and Meliander was a victim of a mental attack by Shimrod) and he assumes that this is the device that was used to attack him. He cannot tell whether his memories have been erased or stolen, but Umbra does not seem to repair them. Grant retrains himself in combat as he believes that he has come under attack - he is a natural and he quickly masters all of the drills that he had forgotten (GM’s note - First PC Rank Warfare). Then one day his gold serpent simply appears with Gorgorin in ring-form around its neck like a collar - he has his weapons back. (GM’s note - this was Lurker37’s call, as Grant becomes a ‘hole in reality’ when he is not himself)
- Grant pieces together that he cannot go back to Realm 0 (Westgate) without a Key - and Ethan had both the Keys. So that avenue seems closed to him. Backtracking his last movements, he finds his space ship in a hidden bay but the ship’s logs have been falsified (because Grant previously did not want anyone backtracking to find Vala’s Pride). Grant attempts to retrace his last journey but travels to the wrong coordinates, realises that he has tampered with the records and uses the Marindan equivalent of Wayfinding (plus his Umbra mojo) to then correctly retrace his steps.
- At last he reaches Vala’s Pride once more. The great vessel of the Enemy is still there. Grant docks his vessel and he makes his way slowly through the corridors, hoping that he will meet someone who can help him. He reaches the bridge and is disappointed to find no one waiting for him. There is however a large pale blue orb which glows with a strange light. Then suddenly Grant is gone.
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Grant finds the bright light of Shatterlight painful. Bronzed guards clad in gold raiments express surprise that he has returned - he was not expected at this time. Grant confirms quickly they know who he is, and he is guided to the palace of Lady Vala.
- Lady Vala is equally surprised to see him and she is rarely surprised. She dismisses the court and asks who he is. “You are not the Grant who was here last time.” Grant asks how he has changed, and she observes that he is ‘incomplete’ and not even Eidolon can repair what has been taken. Taking time to sense what has been done to him, she says that it is an Umbral spell, and that a spell remains on him ‘even now’. The spell is very carefully woven, and it seems to react to her presence. She ventures that Lucien will be able to confirm it, but she suspects that it is Mowbray’s work. Lady Vala takes this as a sign that she needs to leave Shatterlight and consult with Lucien.
Dun dun dah…. Yes, we finally have some serious stuff going down. The Dwimmerlaik have found a way to attack the Gossamer Lords via their communications - i.e.: via Icon. And yes, they have found a way of either wiping or stealing memories. Think of what that would do to a Warden - ping, you’re no longer a Warden anymore. You don’t even remember how to find those Doors. But I’ll not completely spoil what happens next.
- In some ways this session reboots the game. It certainly shakes things up. Heldon’s Pass has been a sleeper plot for almost 30 sessions and it finally blows up in everyone’s face. The named Lords of Gossamer from the rulebook and from this campaign have not been idle but some of that is not revealed until Session 78. At the end of this session it became clear to Lurker37 as to what the Dwimmerlaik are up to - and hence the writeup at the end explains some of that (even though Grant doesn’t yet know everything that Lurker37 and I know)
Part 1 - Touring Marindar
Realm 15 - Marindar (Silver Door)
- After months of work, Grant has successfully remade Marindar. It is finished. He is the Master of this Realm (GM’s note - he has paid points for a Primal Realm over which he has Control) His relationship with Lady Sophia is quite solid now. It has been revealed that she is the Queen’s sister - she is literally a Princess. Marindar now stands at the centre of an intergalactic alliance of worlds and Sophia is Marindar’s principal diplomat in this new remade reality on the First Council.
- Marindar is remade in many ways. Grant has altered things so that it is no longer undefended. There are many more people here - they are no longer a people diminished by war and attrition. He has also changed the way that the octahedral structures function such that they will separate on his command, breaking apart so that they no longer form a complete structure. He knows that Doors will not function if there is not a complete structure on the other end. In this way he can cut Marindar off as required. The Marindan Approach is restored but Grant has more control over it than before. Many of the subdivisions of the Realm are merged, although Grant leaves ‘the Farm’ as it is (as he knows it contains dangerous individuals). The people of Marindar do not realise what has changed - it is as if it has always been this way. Even his own family who is living in Marindar at the moment do not realise that the world around them has changed.
- With Sophia at his side, Grant sets off to tour all the wonders of his new domain. There is so much to see even on Marindar itself. It takes time and he revels in his new life as Lord and Master of Marindar.
Part 2 - An Audience with Lady Vala
- After three weeks of travelling, Grant and Sophia return to Central. Sophia quickly immerses himself in her duties, and Grant takes delivery of a ship that has been built specially for him. It is a small scout ship with a jump drive, capable of folding space over vast distances. He makes a discreet exit from Central and heads for Vala’s Pride, the captured Dwimmerlaik warship that he has visited before. He knows that it is still in his Realm because of the degree of control that he has over the reality of Marindar. It stands out to him.
- The journey is relatively short. The alien vessel looks just as it did before. It glows dimly with a pale purple light.
* Image sourced from Google
- Grant is able to find the docking bay, and he makes his way through the corridors to the bridge. The bridge is empty, but there is a large orb present which radiates pale blue light. Grant reaches out to touch the orb and he is instantly transported.
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Grant finds himself in the radiant city of Shatterlight. He finds the presence of so much Eidolon discomforting. There are people here but none are moving. Everything is still. There is no wind, no birdsong. Grant feels for Vala’s presence and then heads through the city to her palace. He passes inert bronzed guards that stand at attention. He enters the palace gardens where the grass is a lush green. There he finds Lady Vala, her eyes closed, her face serene.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- At his approach, her eyes open and he feels the wind blowing gently. There is the sound of birdsong once more. “Welcome back, Lord Grant,” she says gently. “Did you bring it?” To his surprise, Grant finds that he knows that she means Fiorin, and despite not remembering bringing it with him, he has it. Grant apologises and says that he didn’t know that he had it with him. Vala thanks him for returning it to her and waits for him to offer it. Grant is suddenly suspicious but he is sure that this really is Lady Vala and not some pretence. He asks how she could possibly know that he would have recovered it. Vala explains patiently that she engineered the situation, arranging to cast it away (a reference to Zeus) so that it would have to be recovered and returned to her at this moment. (GM’s note - yes, yes, I’ve done an Oberon from Zelazny’s Amber and made Vala capable of unexplainable feats for obscure reasons that will be revealed…. later) Grant returns Fiorin to her, and she attaches it to the haft of her pole arm, Vajra (GM’s note - yes, in this game, Fiorin is an integral part of the weapon’s power) Vala explains delicately that Grant must have felt that he was pouring energy into Marindar like a bucket without a bottom - she thanks him for helping to channel so much energy into Shatterlight, explaining that the realms are (for the moment), linked. Grant thinks on this but says nothing.
- Vala asks Grant what has transpired of late. She knows that a number of Lords have ‘fallen from her sight’. Grant retells what he knows of Heldon’s Pass and of the Dwimmerlaik becoming more bold. As the conversation progresses, Vala’s white-robed attendants bring them ambrosia in delicate vessels. Grant sips at the nectar, and tells Vala about his adventures, and about his friend Ethan. He tells of Ethan’s recent ambush and the battle on the Stair. Vala listens calmly to everything that Grant says. Time passes. They go for a walk together and they talk.
- Vala seems comfortable in Grant’s company. She tells him who is not ‘lost’ - she can see Lucien, Bastiano (who was ‘lost’ for a time, but she can now see him), Grant (obviously), Dayle, Yaeger Zane and Cooper Nassar (whom Grant has not met). She wonders if the others have gone to a place that she cannot ‘see’. A place perhaps that is hidden from her sight.
- Even though Shatterlight is uncomfortable for Grant, he is very keen to learn from Vala. Like Marindar, Shatterlight seems to be at ‘full strength’. Grant elects to stay with Vala for a time. He is keen for her to teach him and for him to gain further understanding as to what a Lord of Gossamer is truly capable of. He has never had a mentor in the ways of the Grand Stair (GM’s note - not that he remembers anyway) and he asks her for common, ordinary advice. She answers that “We are anything but common.” Over the next ten days, Vala gives her the benefit of her wisdom and she gently introduces him to what true Mastery of the Stair can do. (GM’s note - yes, Grant is starting to build towards Mastery of the Stair)
- Vala notes that many on the Stair would detect her should she step onto it without making the effort to conceal her presence. She shows Grant some of what is possible with Mastery. Grant is interested in what is required to connect and disconnect Doors, and gradually he is able to do it himself.
Realm 15 - Marindar (Silver Door)
- Returning to Vala’s Pride via the link between the realms, Grant takes his small vessel back to Marindar. Lady Sophia is pleased to see him and he settles back into life on Marindar. All is well. Trouble seems far away.
- And then it happens….
Part 3 - Not Who He Was Before
- Grant’s first memory is of waking from blackness. He has completely lost sense of time. He doesn’t know who he is, or where he is. However, there are people helping him. He quickly relearns to walk and talk (relearning how to speak Marindan without the benefit of exegesis.) There are supportive people around him who are kind to him. He gradually learns about where he is - it is called Marindar.
- There are four people who look after Grant. One is a beautiful lady who says that her name is Raine. The other is a wizened fellow who says that is Meliander. The third is a puckish red-haired woman with a wry sense of humour - she says that her name is Jasla. And the last is a pale elven lady who says that her name is Vidaniel. (GM’s note - none of these characters are new - they have been seen before) There is only one with Grant at a time but each is kind to him. They explain gently that he did not come from here. They explain that he is a Lord of Gossamer, one who is able to open the Doors which lead to other worlds. None of it brings back any memories - it all feels very strange.
- Grant learns that he is in a safe place called the ‘Farm’, but when he is strong enough they take him back to his estate. Grant is reintroduced to his parents, his brother and his sister. They hug him and seek to jog his memories but he cannot understand them at first (as they speak in an alien tongue). Using sorcery, Meliander enables Grant to hear and understand the English - the stories that they tell of him are interesting but he has no recollection of them.
- In the days that follow, Grant visits the Museum and see a display dedicated to him. He learns about Ethan, about Lady Sophia, Macavity and the others. The Marindans know a great deal about what he has done and it all seems very real, but Grant does not remember what has transpired.
- Grant begins to investigate as to what has happened. He is driven by a desire to 'fill' the hole in his mind. He is like a sponge. He learns quickly. Supernaturally fast. Within a week he has relearned Marindan sorcery and he can feel his connection to Umbra coming back like a flood. He does not have his Warden abilities yet but his Umbra powers are strong, perhaps stronger than they have ever been.
- It has been five months since he was last on Marindar and apparently in control of his faculties. The evidence suggests that he had used an Icon (of Ethan) as there was an Icon found on the floor next to where they found him, beside the inert form of Lady Sophia. Whatever was triggered was powerful enough to black out all of his memories and put Lady Sophia in a coma, but no one else was affected. Meliander and Jasla (both sorcerers) can tell that there is still a potent spell on Grant. It is a complex weave, and it is most certainly powered by Umbra. None of them believe they can dispel the magic - whoever has done is this is a powerful sorcerer.
- Looking for clues, Grant wonders what has become of Ethan. He understands from the Marindans what an Icon can be used for (and Meliander was a victim of a mental attack by Shimrod) and he assumes that this is the device that was used to attack him. He cannot tell whether his memories have been erased or stolen, but Umbra does not seem to repair them. Grant retrains himself in combat as he believes that he has come under attack - he is a natural and he quickly masters all of the drills that he had forgotten (GM’s note - First PC Rank Warfare). Then one day his gold serpent simply appears with Gorgorin in ring-form around its neck like a collar - he has his weapons back. (GM’s note - this was Lurker37’s call, as Grant becomes a ‘hole in reality’ when he is not himself)
- Grant pieces together that he cannot go back to Realm 0 (Westgate) without a Key - and Ethan had both the Keys. So that avenue seems closed to him. Backtracking his last movements, he finds his space ship in a hidden bay but the ship’s logs have been falsified (because Grant previously did not want anyone backtracking to find Vala’s Pride). Grant attempts to retrace his last journey but travels to the wrong coordinates, realises that he has tampered with the records and uses the Marindan equivalent of Wayfinding (plus his Umbra mojo) to then correctly retrace his steps.
- At last he reaches Vala’s Pride once more. The great vessel of the Enemy is still there. Grant docks his vessel and he makes his way slowly through the corridors, hoping that he will meet someone who can help him. He reaches the bridge and is disappointed to find no one waiting for him. There is however a large pale blue orb which glows with a strange light. Then suddenly Grant is gone.
Realm 22 - Shatterlight (Gold Door)
- Grant finds the bright light of Shatterlight painful. Bronzed guards clad in gold raiments express surprise that he has returned - he was not expected at this time. Grant confirms quickly they know who he is, and he is guided to the palace of Lady Vala.
- Lady Vala is equally surprised to see him and she is rarely surprised. She dismisses the court and asks who he is. “You are not the Grant who was here last time.” Grant asks how he has changed, and she observes that he is ‘incomplete’ and not even Eidolon can repair what has been taken. Taking time to sense what has been done to him, she says that it is an Umbral spell, and that a spell remains on him ‘even now’. The spell is very carefully woven, and it seems to react to her presence. She ventures that Lucien will be able to confirm it, but she suspects that it is Mowbray’s work. Lady Vala takes this as a sign that she needs to leave Shatterlight and consult with Lucien.
Dun dun dah…. Yes, we finally have some serious stuff going down. The Dwimmerlaik have found a way to attack the Gossamer Lords via their communications - i.e.: via Icon. And yes, they have found a way of either wiping or stealing memories. Think of what that would do to a Warden - ping, you’re no longer a Warden anymore. You don’t even remember how to find those Doors. But I’ll not completely spoil what happens next.
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