GM Observations
- And we’re back to part of the session being for Grant, and part being for Ethan. As I write up this narrative, we’ve actually done Session 97 now and we’re closing in on Session 100. Who knows, we might even run a “Christmas Special” for the fun of it.
- Grant is still tracing the damaged memory canister, hoping that it will lead back to wherever the Dwimmerlaik are storing the stolen memories from many Lords of Gossamer. Given that the architect behind this is Mowbray, they are not making it easy for Grant but he has Dominant Rank (1st Rank) Warfare and he’s an expert in Shapeshifting (with a lot of in-game practice at tricky/sneaky stuff) plus he’s now a Master of the Stair. One of the biggest things in Grant’s favour is that the Dwimmerlaik don’t know much about him - they can’t decipher his memories because he’s an Umbra user, so they will likely assume (incorrectly) that he’s Bastiano. They don’t realise that the Lords of Gossamer have another Umbra Master amongst them who also has High Ranked Warfare. Because Grant has been so sneaky, they haven’t yet figured this out. Bastiano is infamous to the Dwimmerlaik, and Grant doesn’t realise that he’s contributing to Bastiano’s infamy.
- Talking about Dominant [1st] Rank, it’s worth noting that Bastiano has [X+1] Rank in Warfare and above him, Drake has [X+2] Rank, and Krovaliss has [X+3] Rank. Why do I mention this? Because as described in previous sessions, Drake has been affected by the Breath of Eden and ‘turned’ to the Enemy. We start to see evidence of the consequence of that in this session. Part of the reason for turning Drake to the ‘dark side’ is that it makes Bastiano and Grant extremely important - because they are literally the best of the best that the Lords of Gossamer has….. and beyond that, well, you’ll just have to read the session writeup.
- Finally this session makes reference to Stratospheria which is an official Rite Publishing supplement. You can find it at DrivethruRPG here. Buy it! It’s worth it.
Part 1 - Assistance from Greywalker
- Grant attempts to contact Lucien via Icon but can’t reach him. This is most unusual. He pauses and then decides to try Greywalker. He initiates a contact using the method he has been taught to prevent transfer of the Breath of Eden and, to his relief, Greywalker answers the call.
- Hello, he says, it’s been quite a while. Grant then launches into an explanation as to everything that is going on. Greywalker listens for a while and finally stops him, asking if he is in danger and then to slow down. Grant takes a deep breath and tries to explain. Greywalker listens patiently, and then agrees to come to see the ‘fascinating Door’ that Grant has found.
* Image sourced from Google Images
- The contact is broken, and Grant sits down on the Stair to wait for Greywalker. He has no idea how far away the old Lord of Gossamer is, and he prepares himself for what could be a long wait.
Part 2 - On the Warpath
- To his surprise, Grant receives an Icon contact after a few hours. The Icon contact is sudden, painful and insistent. Grant doesn’t quite know what to do - he doesn’t think it is an attack, but the person on the other end is clearly desperate.
- Grant accepts the contact and it is Bastiano. (GM’s note - Bastiano has already lost his memory to the Breath of Eden and as an ‘infected’ person, he can’t lose it again. So in this case, there is no transfer of the Breath of Eden)
- “He’s gonna kill me!” yells Bastiano, and Grant hastily invites him through. Bastiano collapses in a heap at Grant’s feet. There’s a nasty gash across his forehead which is bleeding everywhere, his clothes are torn and he sobs uncontrollably. Grant has never seen Bastiano like this. He is astonished to see Bastiano so broken.
- Bastiano looks around and demands to know that they’re not in the Labyrinth, which Grant confirms. Bastiano goes into shock, and Grant realises that he has been badly injured. He has sustained multiple bullet-wounds and he’s bleeding all over the place. But who could possibly do this to Bastiano?
* Image by Jason Rainville
- Grant uses shapeshifting to try to heal his wounds quickly, but he quickly realises that the damage to him on a physical and psychological level is severe. He needs to get him some assistance.
- Helping Bastiano to a nearby Door, Grant connects it to ‘Comet City’, a modern metropolis where there are large numbers of superheroes. In this place, villains are scarce because they are quickly mobbed and flattened by a plethora of nearby superheroes. An ambulance is quickly called, and Mega Man helps fly the ambulance to the main hospital. As they fly, Grant asks Bastiano what happened to him and he tells Grant that Drake almost killed him. Grant feels sick - he knew that Drake was one of the missing, but it seems that Drake is now working for the Dwimmerlaik, probably because his memories have been altered. Arriving at Emergency, Bastiano is whisked away. Nevertheless, somehow he still manages to deliriously profess his love for one of the nurses there. (GM’s note - yes, typical Bastiano)
- Once Grant is sure that Bastiano is receiving appropriate medical treatment, he thinks as to how to best protect Bastiano from Drake. Grant doesn’t want to stay here, especially as Greywalker was heading to meet him, but if another Warden of the Stair is coming for Bastiano, he can’t leave him unguarded. But who could possibly stand up to Drake?
- Grant goes through his Icons and decides upon Yaeger Zane. Yaeger accepts the contact, and Grant explains the situation. Yaeger is a little bit disappointed, suggesting to Grant that he was in the middle of something, but he agrees to help out. Yaeger Zane appears in the hospital - he looks as if he’s just come from a war zone as his coat is torn and stained with mud. When he realises where he is, he quickly puts aways his favourite chainsword and asks his ‘bud’ if the cafeteria does a good mocha? They head to the cafeteria and exchange information.
* Image of Yaeger Zane by Sam Denmark
- Grant tells Yaeger that Bastiano has been a fight with Drake, and that it is possible that Drake will come after him again. He explains that he thinks he’s on the right track to find the stolen memories, and Greywalker is helping him. Over an extra-large mocha, Yaeger tells Grant that its complete bedlam on the Stair at the moment. The Dwimmerlaik are fighting each other, and Yaeger has been helping to stir up trouble to further encourage the conflict. Yaeger wonders if the Empress has lost control of the situation - he hopes that is the case. He knows that Drake has been on the warpath for the last six weeks or so, as the Lords of Gossamer have been attacked by his ‘Dragon Army’ on more than one occasion. Grant asks about Lucien but Yaeger isn’t sure where he is.
- After the drink, they head back to check on Bastiano. Seeing his condition, Yaeger remarks “Man, you got your butt kicked.” Bastiano hears Yaeger’s voice and groans. Pulling out a wad of cash out of his money pouch, he hands it to Yaeger and asks him to take care of Bastiano. Yaeger agrees to this.
- On the way out, Grant also seeks out someone tough who can be counted on here to protect Bastiano. He meets a beefy fellow named Guardian who is dressed in blue with silver trims. Grant explains the situation and describes Drake to him. Guardian offers to protect Bastiano while he recuperates.
Part 3 - Dash and the Birdman
- Grant heads back to the Stair, returns to the Starfield section and the location where he lost the trail. He finds Greywalker waiting for him, puffing calmly on a pipe. Grant apologises for his delay and explains what has happened to Bastiano. Greywalker listens and remarks that things on the Stair are more chaotic than usual. He implies that he has contributed to the situation, but does not explicitly say so.
- Grant explains the route that the courier took, and Greywalker inspects the Door. On it, he finds not only part of the coordinates but he is able to glean a mental image of the courier. The courier is relatively short (under 5 1/2 feet high), with pale sullen features and faintly serpentine features. He is clearly not human, nor is he Dwimmerlaik. Greywalker shows Grant an images of the courier, projecting light from his staff to form an image. He agrees with Grant’s assessment that they will need to find the courier in order to complete the spell. Given that Grant is infected by the Breath of Eden, Greywalker will get the information from the courier when the locate him.
- They set off at once with Greywalker leading. He warns Grant to stay alert as the Stair is more dangerous than usual. Grant gets the impression that Greywalker takes a very cautious route - through back channels and infrequently travelled passages. They stop briefly at a mediaeval inn for lunch. Over lunch, Grant asks a number of questions as to what Greywalker has been doing to destabilise the Empire, and Greywalker is evasive in his answers. Grant is not sure whether he isn’t trusted, or whether there is something else at play, but Greywalker remains polite towards him.
- Travelling on, they reach a section of Stair which appears metallic like the interior of a factory. There are metal grill-plates underfoot and a number of Doors are hatches with yellow and black hazard markings around them. Greywalker locates the right hatch and opens it.
* Image by Adrian Mark Gillespie
- Above the clouds are purple, green and even blue. The air here is thin. It is some sort of city in the clouds. They look around, Grant following Greywalker’s lead. It seems that this place is called Aerion Prime. It feels like the courier is a long way from here - in this realm but clearly not in this city. In the city there are humans, and also slim avian creatures that appear to be flightless.
- There are a number of sky ships here and it is clear that they will have to either steal or hire one in order to get to their destination. Greywalker suggests that they find a suitable pilot, and he uses Wayfinding to locate a suitable one at a local bar. Greywalker warns him that this place could be “a little rough” and Grant gets a feeling of deja vu as he enters the bar, acutely aware of the cantina music that is playing here (GM’s note - yes, we are effectively replaying the famous Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker scene as they enter the Mos Eisley cantina - cue music!) Inside, the bar is dirty and smoky. Grant has a drink whilst Greywalker finds a suitable pilot and his co-pilot.
- It does not take Greywalker long to find a pilot named Dash who has a ‘fast ship’ that can take them where they need to go. Dash has an avian co-pilot who doesn’t speak any of his language, so he just calls his co-pilot “The Birdman”. Dash and Greywalker discuss payment, and Dash asks if they are prepared for sky pirates (which are apparently aggressive and common here). Even though no money changes hands, Dash is convinced that he has been paid. The Birdman protests at Dash’s stupidity over this but of course Dash can’t understand a word of what The Birdman has said to him.
Part 4 - To the Skymax
- They set off quickly in Dash’s ship, a fast sky ship that has been heavily modified by multiple successive owners. At dusk they see grey nebulous ‘cloud giants’ - great jellyfish like creatures that float amongst the clouds and give off their own luminescence as the light fades. Dash’s ship has no external lighting - they are ‘running silent’ in case they are spotted by other ships. Dash follows Greywalker’s directions as to where to head, despite The Birdman’s protests.
* Image by Adrian Mark Gillespie
- In the darkness, there is still an aurora of light above where charged particles are hitting the upper atmosphere. Dash refers to it as a ‘Twilight Sparkle’. (GM’s note - aw, I can’t resist a My Little Pony reference) Greywalker presses Dash to keep going, but Dash keeps an eye on the fuel gauge in case they run into difficulty.
- At last, despite Greywalker’s obvious manipulations of Dash, Dash figures out where they are heading and he snaps out of the situation. He wants to know why they’re heading to the Skymax as they’ll get shot out of the sky. Grant asks about the Skymax and he is told that it’s a maximum security penitentiary. Dash is about to turn the ship around, when Greywalker puts a hand on his shoulder and gently calms him down. The Birdman becomes agitated by this apparent trickery but Greywalker again uses his influence to calm them both and keep them focussed on taking them to the Skymax.
Part 5 - Oscar’s Tale
- (GM’s note - this section continues on Ethan’s narrative which we left off in Session 92) Another beer arrives for Ethan and he asks Oscar why he was in the library, and why Oscar was there too. Oscar explains that Ethan was looking at the records for someone, but this doesn’t make sense to Ethan so Oscar tries to fill in the blanks for him, and Ethan starts to remember what happened.
- Ethan apparently had felt activity on the Stair and gone looking for the source of the disturbance. He was led to the Door which opened into the deserted city with the library and the nearby Guardians. Ethan believed that he was hunting another Warden, but she was terrified. She practically radiated fear.
- But then she vanished or masked her presence. Ethan tracked where she had been to the library, and that is where he met Oscar. Oscar had also felt a disturbance, and was also investigating the same thing. Together, they found where she had disappeared in the library. Ethan managed to get a mental impression of this person - and it was a young girl. She was frightened, and being chased by something.
- A number of books had been disturbed, but there was one book that was out of place. It was a sorcerous text. Ethan wasn’t sure if she had put it there, or abandoned it - but he had thought of Greywalker. Unfortunately, Ethan had been unlucky - by contacting Greywalker at the time that he was working with Lucien to lose his memories and have them restored, Ethan got ‘zapped’ and lost his mind as well. Oscar comments that it had been fortunate for him that Ethan had chosen to contact Greywalker privately without him around, or else he might have been ‘zapped’ too.
- Oscar knew something had happened to Ethan, but he kept away to begin with, fearing that whatever had affected Ethan could also have affect him. Oscar only stepped in when Ethan ran afoul of the plant-zombies in the city and they swarmed him. Oscar helped Ethan fight his way out of the city, but then Ethan asked Oscar to leave him be. Oscar did as he was asked, but kept an eye on Ethan from a distance just in case. Unfortunately Ethan got zapped a second time at the farm - Oscar still doesn’t know how that happened. Ethan asks what happened to the sorcerous book that he recovered from the library, and Oscar says that he doesn’t know - he presumed that Ethan had it.
* Image by Francoclun on DeviantART
- Oscar pauses at this point, and Ethan thanks him for his help. He says that he remembers some of it now, but there is still a gap. He asks if the girl is still out there and Oscar says that he didn’t manage to find her. Ethan wonders if the sorcerous book is still somewhere nearby the farm.
- In studying Oscar, Ethan has recognised that he is carrying technology identical to the other items that he found scattered across various realms, and identical to the wrist blaster that Grant wears. Ethan asks if the escape pod that he found is his, and Oscar confirms this to be the case. Ethan asks what happened.
- Oscar takes a deep breath and tells Ethan a tale from the Great War. The warship that he was travelling on exploded, scattering many pieces of his realm’s technology across many different places. Oscar laments that the ship was too reliant on the home realm. It lost connection with the navigational beacons during a critical time which weakened the vessel, leading to its destruction by the Dwimmerlaik. Oscar explains that he has been trying to find his homeworld ever since - he hopes it is still out there but he has been looking for a very long time (hundreds of years). He feels that his homeworld is still out there, but there is no connection to it. So he has travelled to many ‘broken worlds’ since the end of the Great War, looking for clues.
- Another serving of hot chips arrives with another round of beers. Oscar explains that Lucien keeps encouraging him, telling him that his world must still be there, somewhere, even if they can’t yet find a way to connect to it yet. Ethan asks if there is some way that he can help. Oscar laughs a little then thinks better of Ethan’s offer. He says that some Doors have a resonance such that one can’t sense what is on the other side. He hopes that his world is there somewhere, just warded in such a way that he can’t find it amongst the millions of others.
- Ethan thinks this over. As he does, he realises that there is another mind present, originating from the device that Oscar carries. He is reaching out to Ethan but Ethan does not let it connect.
- Switching the topic, Ethan asks for Oscar’s advice about how to remove the ‘Breath of Eden’ curse. Oscar advises him to get his missing memories back first, and then to remove the curse. He points out that the Dwimmerlaik knows that they have stolen some of Ethan’s memories, so they will be reluctant to establish a mental contact with him. He may be able to use that.
Part 6 - Returning Home
- At last, Ethan parts with Oscar and he returns home via a sorcerous teleport. Opening the Door into Westgate Manor, the cats and ravens quickly tell him that there has been an intruder on the grounds. Ethan heads outside and finds that something has been within a metre of the fence. There is a ring of dissolved grass and earth surrounding the property and a peculiar smell. Ethan can tell that it is the creature that he encountered a few miles away from Westgate. (GM’s note - first encountered in Session 70, it then proceeded to eat the hotel that Abbie was staying in Session 72 - all because Ethan hasn’t dealt with a problem but instead has allowed it to fester.)
- The creature doesn’t seem to be present now, and his ‘date’ with Abbie is tomorrow - so he decides to leave it be for the moment. He asks Macavity about any other ‘strangeness’ and he is advised that there has been a man in town with large bulbous eyes. The ravens attempted to investigate but then he vanished.
- Ethan thinks about the situation and decides that he will have to deal with these problems, but after his planned getaway with Abbie. He doesn’t want to ruin things by trying to solve these problems in a rush.
…. and that’s where we ended Session 95.
Session 97 was run this evening. Closing in on Session 100.
GM Observations
- This session continues on from Session 93 as Grant pursues the damaged memory canister across a realm called ‘The Violet’. The Violet is a realm idea taken from Beyond Countless Doorways, a realm book written by Monte Cook (and his colleagues) which is a good fit for Lords of Gossamer. There are probably 50+ ideas for realms in it, and a number of realms are well fleshed out and easily adapted.
- As I write this, we’re only two days from Session 97 and we’re closing in on the magic Session 100. For those of you who have read this far, you’ll see the ‘Big Bad’ changing. For a long time we had the Dwimmerlaik being a threat in the background. Then they became active and they were clearly organised. The problem with having the Dwimmerlaik Empire in a Lords of Gossamer campaign is that they should squash the ‘rebels’ easily if they were truly a unified and coordinated group. Hence we’re moving into the next phase of the game where the Dwimmerlaik Empire is at war with itself, otherwise they overshadow too much in the game. This also allows us to engage with the Dwimmerlaik without all of them being villains that we would attack on sight.
- In terms of the Ethan plotline, this is the last session which only focuses on Grant. On a side note, I don’t see a reason for Grant to bring Ethan into his storyline, and frankly it annoyed me as a player that Grant jumped into Ethan’s plotline to find Lucien very near the end of that arc (even though it made sense in character). So this arc is coming to an end, such that we can reunited the PCs and go forth with the next arc. Separate narratives are much more work than sticking together and taking turns to GM.
Part 1 - Entering the Violet
- Grant pauses at the threshold and decides to contact Lucien to let him know that he’s reached a realm that could be warded. The conversation is brief, then Grant climbs down through the trapdoor into the realm that glows purple through the Door. He finds himself emerging from a hole in the ground. He appears to be standing on a very small landmass - an island of some kind. The ground is made of stone but there are numerous vines criss-crossing it, and occasionally a tangle of them reaches up into the sky. There the vines either dangle, or they reach other stony islands in the sky.
- Looking down at himself, Grant realises that everything in this realm is glowing a faint purple (violet) colour except for himself. He appears as a dull grey. (i.e.: he stands out)
- Grant tries to use Wayfinding to find the canister but he cannot sense it. There is some interference here and he feels that it is because of his proximity to the Door. So he begins to make his way away from the arrival Door. As soon as he steps more than a few metres away from the Door (outside the ‘bubble’ which the Door radiates), he realises that there is no air here in this realm. Grant quickly adapts his form so that he will not need oxygen. But he also finds that there is no gravity here either. The vines are not reaching upwards, they are just reaching out in any direction out into the purple void - the space between the islands. In some places there are few vines but in others there are many, like a forest.
- Moving further away from the Door, Grant attempts to size up the situation. He finds the Door has been built into an island, and there are many other islands ‘overhead’ - some of the islands have clusters of vines connecting them, and some do not. Using Umbral sight, he realises that this place has its own natural order and that it would almost certainly crush any minor magics here. Grant surmises that this place is being used as some sort of ‘firewall’ to prevent sorcerers (or Lords of Gossamer) tracking canisters back to their source. He finds that his Wayfinding works a little better here as he moves further away from the Doors.
Part 2 - Vines and Guardians
- Judging this place to be a maze of islands and connected vines, he decides to follow one of the vine bridges from this island to the next. He notes that simply pulling himself along it and using it as a guide (he is weightless as this is a zero-G environment) results in movement along the vine. Realising that this could attract attention, he changes his form into that of a purple cockroach (with sticky feet) in order to follow the vines. Nevertheless, he expects trouble and he keeps a close lookout.
- After only a few minutes on the vine bridge to the nearest island, Grant spots three purple serpents heading in his direction. They glide effortlessly along the vines and Grant decides to hide. Masking himself as best he can (and he’s very good at doing this), he comes within a few centimetres of one of the serpents as it passes him. He can tell that it has a strong mind.
* Image is taken from Beyond Countless Doorways book, page 204. The art could either be by Kevin Crossley, Eric Lofgren, or Tyler Walpole
- When the creatures have passed, Grant holds his position for some time before deciding to carry on. He considers it possible that the serpents were attracted to the opening of the Door, not to his movement along the vines.
Part 3 - The Violet Maze
- Grant reaches the nearest island to where he arrived. However, again he finds something interfering with his Wayfinding and after a little exploration across the tangled surface, he finds another Door. Grant wonders if it is possible that some or even all of the islands have Doors, in which case the best place to get his bearings and use Wayfinding would be on the vine bridges between the islands. Chuckling to himself, he realises that this would be easy to navigate for someone who knew the way, but it’s clearly easy to get lost here, easy to be found, and it will take him considerable time to find the right way.
- Carefully, Grant works his way across multiple vine bridges and uses crude trigonometry to estimate where the canister has gone by taking ‘gut feel readings’ from multiple points. Once he believes he knows the right way, he tries to head towards it, but again he finds that Wayfinding is only partially helpful here and it takes him a considerable amount of time to find the right path. (Hours and hours)
- Sure enough, he finally reaches what he believes to be the right Door on an isolated island with only one connecting bridge to it. The Door is made of stone but there are gold designs (glowing violet) inset into the rock. Grant opens the Door and steps through.
Part 4 - A Dead End?
- Back on the Stair in a corridor with black polished tiles on the walls and floor, Grant pauses to contact Lucien and update him. Then he follows the trail further, this time in a nearly invisible form. He hopes that he is getting closer. He follows it for a few minutes, but then suddenly the trail goes completely dead in the middle of the corridor.
- Using Umbral sight, Grant determines that sorcery has been used. The courier appears to have teleported away. Grant pauses to think about the situation. He is not certain what to do next. His Wayfinding has led him to this spot. Now what? Concentrating on Wayfinding, he feels that his true target is far from here. For an ordinary Warden of the Stair, it would take a considerable amount of time to walk the distance on the Stair to find the new destination. But as a Master, could he do it?
- Grant considers talking to Lucien about it, but ends up deciding upon Bastiano instead. Bastiano advises him that as a Master of the Stair he should be able to connect Doors, effectively going ‘blind’ to his destination. He wishes him luck.
Part 5 - The Starfield Stair
- Grant finds a blank Door nearby - literally the next Door along the black tiled corridor is blank. He then concentrates on it and connects it to a Door which is near to where his Wayfinding is telling him to go. Once connected, he attempts to sense what is on the other side but he can feel nothing apart from it being Stair. Opening the Door, he finds a circular staircase which leads both up and down, but the walls and floor are almost completely transparent, and behind is a vast starfield in all directions. It feels as if Grant is literally walking through the void - a most disconcerting feeling.
- Grant disconnects the Door, and it becomes once more a blank Door. Heading down, he finds every Door here is blank. He travels a little further and finds the place that the sorcerer arrived. However, the sorcerer’s trail again disappears in front of a blank Door.
- At first Grant assumes that the Door has been connected to somewhere else and then severed, however after he touches the Door he realises that is not the case. There is a sorcerous inscription on the Door itself, but it is encoded and it is incomplete. Grant has never used psychometry before, but he tries to glean what he can. He gets a mental impression of the last person who came here (presumably the courier - a Dwimmerlaik of serpentine appearance) and also he realises that the inscription on the Door contains part of a sorcerous teleport spell, but the target coordinates are incomplete. He tries to use Wayfinding to locate the canister but the trail ends here - Wayfinding tells him that he needs to be here. This suggests to him that the canister is now located in a warded location.
- Grant feels that he is on the right track here as the Dwimmerlaik are going to extraordinary lengths to stop the canister being tracked. He assesses the situation, and then realises that he’s going to need to find the courier - he has a good mental image however he knows that interrogating such an individual will be difficult given that Grant is still affected by the Breath of Eden. He decides to ask for help.
…. and that’s the end of Session 94. Sessions 95 and 96 were split between Grant and Ethan.
Glad to see a new session up. Thank you. 
GM Observations
- Sorry for the delayed write-up. I’ve just moved from one side of Australia (Perth) to the other (Canberra) and it’s taken me some time to get to this. On the plus side, David and I are now in the same timezone which means longer sessions. Woo!
- This narrative carries on from Session 90, as Grant decides what to do after discovering that Lord Aurum was behind the assassination attempt on Lord Forst and Lady Erla of House Suril.
Part 1 - The Plot
- Grant weighs up the situation and decides that that his chance of remaining Trell is almost nil. Members of House Suril will attempt to contact Trell via Icon and that connection won’t reach him. Even if it did, he’s still cursed with the Breath of Eden which would attack whoever made the contact. There is no way forward on that front. He knows that Lord Aurum has tried to assassinate Lord Forst and Lady Erla, and Lord Aurum is influential on the High Council. Revealing what Lord Aurum has done could create a division within the Dwimmerlaik.
- Grant initiates a series of conversations, firstly with Cooper Nassar, and then with Bastiano. Given that Grant is still infected with the Breath of Eden, they take ‘precautions’ to avoid the transfer of the hostile spell. Cooper confirms that the stone Icon is that of Lord Aurum - he is certain. Cooper also confirms that of the two memory canisters that he has in his possession, the canister of Galatea’s memories is complete, but the canister of Lady Sophia’s memories are incomplete. Discussing the situation with Bastiano, they devise a plan to one of the canister’s as bait, and hopefully trigger some conflict within the Empire.
* Image is from the Lords of Gossamer Sourcebook (Joe Shawcross) - this is Cooper Nassar
Part 2 - A Disturbance in the Empire
- Bastiano and Cooper Nassar journey to Metro City. Cooper takes the canister of Galatea’s memories (and fabricates an identical canister). Bastiano volunteers to find ‘The Goddess’ (i.e.: Galatea) and convince her to travel with him and restore her memories. (Grant suspects that Bastiano is particularly interested in helping given that Galatea is an attractive woman) (GM’s note - yes, this is Bastiano that we’re talking about here)
- Meanwhile Grant has considered the implications of breaking his cover as Trell. His servant Arana will in danger, but he doesn’t trust her far enough to attempt to recruit her. So he decides to leave her for the time being and come back for her later. She has her own residence which is part of the main complex on the world assigned to Trell.
- With Cooper’s assistance, Grant is transported to Chammont, one of House Suril’s realms and the residence of Lord Forst and Lady Erla. Disguised as an assassin from House Devish, he prepares in the realm and then performs an assassination attempt. Grant (as Trell) knows a great deal about House Suril’s defences and how to break them. He does not wish to kill Lord Forst or Lady Erla, but he wants to make it look like a solid, plausible attempt. He also wants to be thwarted in the attempt, but in fleeing, he wants to leave some of the evidence pointing to Lord Aurum at the scene.
- Grant’s assassination attempt goes very much as planned. Even though House Suril’s defences are in a heightened state of readiness, and more than one Dwimmerlaik Witch is on alert, Grant penetrates the defences easily (using Umbra). He very nearly kills Lord Forst before being ‘forced’ to withdraw, and even with the forces of House Suril on his tail, he still manages to find time to sow considerable discord in their ranks, committing numerous acts of sabotage across Chammont.
- Grant does not see how the Empire reacts to this attempt. He returns to Metro City to find that the second part of the plan is ready to put into place. Using Umbra, Grant ‘blows up’ the building where Lord Forst and Lady Erla were conducting their observations of “The Goddess”. He destroys it sufficiently to convince any investigators that Trell must be have been killed. The canister which Cooper fabricated is also destroyed totally, but the canister containing Sophia’s memories is badly damaged (‘just as planned’)
- At this point, Grant withdraws from Metro City. Both he and Cooper Nasser have been very careful with the damaged canister so that each is certain that they can track it across the multiverse if required. They expect the damaged canister to be retrieved by the Enemy sooner or later, and then they should be able to follow the trail and find out where the stolen memories are being held.
Part 3 - The Enemy Within
- Grant goes to ground. He knows enough of the Empire now to position himself where he will learn about some of the fallout from what he has done. At first there is little news, but he forces himself to be patient. He also finds that his body wants to keep returning to the form of Trell, not Grant. He has not ‘been himself’ for some time. Nevertheless, he has to assume the identity of more than one Dwimmerlaik to move freely, listen, and learn as to what is happening.
- After a few days, news start to trickle in that House Suril claims to have been attacked by House Devish, and that some of the other noble houses have sided with House Suril. Grant notes that the Empress is involved and observes the prevailing viewpoint that a political settlement will be reached. Grant is less than satisfied with this and he decides to stir things up.
- Over the next two weeks, Grant tries to bring the Dwimmerlaik Houses into conflict with one another. Using the identity of the first (dead) assassin from House Devish and the (invented) second assassin, also from House Devish, Grant strikes targets of opportunity in House Cavalarn’s territory and he murders a Dark Witch from House Malkesh. Each time, he takes tokens where he can so that he can spread the suggestion that there are multiple factions involved in an undeclared war.
- To begin with, Grant thinks that he is attempting the impossible. He is only one man, he can’t be everywhere and he doesn’t know the exact points to hit in order to cause real disruption to the Empire. But then, quite suddenly, things start paying off. House Suril has had a Mass Driver in its possession for many years (GM’s note - used against Arcadia way back in Session 34), and Grant sabotaged it in Session 81). There are reports of House Suril using this weapon against other Imperial Targets, but the Empress herself ordered Lord Krovaliss to intervene. Even though Suril’s Mass Driver was quickly destroyed, it’s clear that this situation is not over.
- Grant takes a more subtle approach on his next attempt. Using information from House Cavalarn, he commandeers a battalion ‘on the orders of the Empress’ and uses it to launch an attack on House Suril. This is very successful, and he causes a great deal of damage to House Suril holdings before he decides to switch sides, join the defenders and swing the battle the other way, this time impersonating a Dwimmerlaik Witch from House Malkesh who has come to their aid. The result of this is even better than he expected, with two other noble houses offering an alliance to House Suril as each concerned that they may be picked off without allies. The concern is that the Empress herself could be siding against the minor houses.
Part 4 - The Cannister Moves
- Meanwhile, Grant is aware that the damaged cylinder has been removed from Metro City. Despite his many forays across Imperial-controlled Stair, he has kept tabs on its movements until it suddenly ‘disappeared’ from view. Grant contacts Lucien to get his point of view. Grant explains that the canister was taken deep within Dwimmerlaik territory before suddenly disappearing from his view. Lucien is wary of a trap. He think it it is possible that the realm is warded and warns Grant to be cautious.
- Turning his attention from tricking the Dwimmerlaik into war, Grant begins the long walk towards where the canister disappeared from sight. Using Mastery of Stair, he takes many shortcuts and he is very careful - he travels through Imperial territory in disguise, pretending to be a Dwimmerlaik Lord and he changes his identity frequently. He suppresses that he is a Warden of the Stair (which is well practised in) and he avoids sections of the Stair which are ‘hostile’.
- At one point he senses the presence of another Warden but he avoids them. Even with Mastery of the Stair, it seems that it will take him considerable time to reach his destination.
Part 5 - Contact with Vala
- After more than day travelling, Grant receives a contact from Vala. She has clearly been talking with Lucien as she asks him to be especially cautious. She explains that Greywalker has reported that pockets of the Dwimmerlaik have begun openly warring against each other, even though the Empress is trying to stop the fighting.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- Grant is intrigued and interested in hearing what Greywalker has seen. It sounds like his efforts have been making waves in the Empire. Vala assures him that this is the case. Vala praises Grant for his efforts in creating divisions within the Empire - his fellow Lords of Gossamer are trying to take advantage of that situation in an indirect fashion. In particular, Bastiano, Greywalker and Yaeger Zane have been stirring up considerable trouble for the Enemy. Grant then asks about Galatea and Vala assures him that she has recovered. Grant wonders if the Dwimmerlaik fighting one another might have impacted Ethan. He asks Vala if there has been any word from Ethan and she says that there has not. Vala wishes him luck and the contact is cut.
Part 6 - Following the Trail
- Grant feels very tired. Talking with Vala made him realise that he has started something and yet he hasn’t stopped in days. He decides to find a forested realm, and he goes down a burrow as an animal in order to rest. He sleeps deeply before returning to the trail.
- Grant reaches a section where the Stair is little more than stepping stones and there is no apparent wall, ceiling or floor. Apart from the grey stepping stones, all else appears to be void. Grant finds this quite disturbing but he carries on. At last he comes to a stepping stone that contains a trapdoor - the Door leads down.
- Grant takes a deep breath, lifts the trapdoor and notes that there is a faint purple glow coming from the realm below.
…. and that’s where we left Session 93. I’ll try to get Sessions 94, 95 and 96 written up over the next few days.
And lastly, since it’s been awhile that I’ve done any LEGO Lords of Gossamer, I’ll show you a Work In Progress shot of a shadow box that I’m working on to display the characters. Yes, some are missing horns, hair, Yaeger Zane’s wings etc and the blocks aren’t perfectly lined up yet. I’m still working on it. (Macavity is missing too)
From top to bottom:- Row 1 - Stolvir, Yaeger Zane (currently missing wings and chainsword), Red-Eyed Dwimmerlaik (currently missing hair/horns, weapon)
- Row 2 - Lady Sophia, Grant (missing weapon), Ethan (missing shield, weapon, Macavity), Abbie
- Row 3 - Drake, Lady Vala (missing hair, weapon), Lucien (missing weapon), Isabelle
- Row 4 - Greywalker, Mordecai, Jodan, Bastiano (missing weapon)
Session 96 was run yesterday evening. Hopefully I can get one of the write-ups done tomorrow night and posted.
Session 95 was run this evening. Greywalker, Oscar, Bastiano, Drake, more mess in Realm 0 and introducing Rite Publishing's Stratospheria too.
Whew... I am now 3 sessions behind on write-up. Attempting to move from one side of Australia to the other with my family plus trying to run the Chosen of the Stair game is just a bit much at the moment.
Session 94 was run this evening. I'll do my best to get the writeup done in the net week. 
GM Observations
- A long time ago, we played an Amber Diceless roleplaying game with ~14 players for about 2 years. It was called the ‘main game’ by those who played it. In one of the sessions I clearly remember an incident where a GM introduces a foot-high fluffy dragon into the game and the First Rank Warfare character promptly shot it with an arrow. The GM was upset, wondering what had prompted such a response. The player answered that he’d just spotted a clumsy plot device and he wasn’t going to be drawn in by something so obvious. I’m sure there was an in-character reason as well, but I don’t really recall.
- The reason for mentioning this is that back in Session 51, Ethan met a mad-old fellow named Oscar who is almost certainly Grant’s mentor/master. I, playing Ethan, could have asked Oscar lots of questions about him but it didn’t seem to be in character to do so, so I just carried on with the plot of rescuing Lucien. So the opportunity for expository was lost.
- David took this in his good-natured stride, but now, 41 sessions later, there will no doubt be consequences for Ethan failing to engage with this fellow at the time. What has happened since?
Part 1 - Exploring
- The others that Ethan is with decide to stay in the inn for a day or so. Bartholomew and Sally have a lot of catching up to do, and both Moses and the Colonel need some time to adjust after their imprisonment. With two days left before Ethan is supposed to meet Abbie, he decides to excuse himself and head back onto the Stair to see what progress he can make before he returns.
- Focusing on which Doors have been opened recently, he identifies a total of seven Doors within a few miles of each other. He decides to pick the nearest Door and steps through.
- On the other side is a slice of modern suburbia. There is a corner store selling petrol and snacks. There are overhead powerlines and cars on the roads. The people are dressed in one-piece garments in a range of different colours. The presence of Stolvir attracts attention - some people stop to stare.
- Ethan takes a deep breath and uses Wayfinding to look for anything different here. There is no Warden present but there are three unusual power sources (sorcerous power). Two are close together. Ethan goes for a walk down leafy streets to find the nearest one. He cloaks himself (and his companions) using his mental invisibility spell. His Wayfinding leads him to a nearby school with large, old buildings. He finds his way to a chemistry building, down into the basement and through a number of locked doors. At last he comes to a room with signs warning of a radiation hazard. He prepares a simple protection spell, asks Macavity and Stolvir to wait, and then steps into the room.
- There are a number of small containers here. One of them contains blueish crystals which store and slowly radiate sorcerous energy. Ethan senses that they are part of something bigger.
Part 2 - Escape Pod
- Three miles back the way he came, Ethan follows his Wayfinding instincts to a shed in a suburban backyard. Again he asks Stolvir to wait but Macavity leaps the fence and Ethan follows. Even though the shed is locked with many padlocks, these are nothing to a Warden of the Stair. Ethan opens them all. Inside there are many tools on the walls and workbench, some of a higher technology level than should exist here.
- Under drop sheets, Ethan finds what can only be described as a small space ship, shaped like an egg on its side. The space ship is clearly too big to fit out of the door. It is made of a silvery metal with no seams. The design looks oddly familiar but Ethan can’t immediately place it. Elsewhere in the shed there is a case and inside is an orb of black energy. Ethan can tell that it contains Umbral energy, but there seems to be barrier surrounding and containing it. Studying the barrier, Ethan can tell that it is not Eidolon, but Wrighting.
- Ethan closes the case and goes back to the ship. He puts his hand on the metal (which feels like a liquid to his touch) and tries to ‘listen’ to the ship. From touching the ship is able to determine that it is a long range armed escape pod, designed to return someone to their home base and capable of cross-dimensional travel. He can tell that this ship has suffered a navigational failure because of an inability to detect certain ‘marker beacons’. Apparently there was a battle, centuries ago - this may have been the cause of the navigational failure but Ethan can’t quite tell.
- Replacing everything as it was, Ethan returns to the Door and heads back onto the Stair.
Part 3 - Further Still
- Over the next day, Ethan goes to five other worlds that the other Warden has accessed. He visits an realm of blue ice, a realm in the middle of a great land war where much of the landscape has been blasted into a moonscape of muddy craters, a forested world where the natives thought that Stolvir was a ‘Great Spirit Wolf’ god, a crystal city where even the slightest noise triggered a symphony of sound, and a world with giant robot machines which creep over the landscape, harvesting crops. In each realm Ethan finds more objects made of the same silvery metal that are both solid but liquid. Each object seems to be part of something bigger. By this time he has figured out where he had seen these objects before - the serpent coiled around Grant’s arm is made from the same materials.
Part 4 - The Mad Warden
- At last, Ethan finds himself in the seventh realm. Stepping from the Door, Ethan finds himself in an outback town. Everything here is covered in a layer of thick red dust. He looks back and finds that he’s just stepped out of a crude wooden ‘dunny’ (toilet). Almost immediately Ethan can sense the presence of another Warden of the Stair.
- There aren’t many buildings here - a fuel station with a diner attached, a motel, a repair garage, a ‘Quick-Mart’ and a few other houses. There is a dust cloud on the horizon and a windmill with large blades slowly turns in the breeze. A single bitumen road runs through the town.
- Ethan heads over to the diner. He feels that this Warden is somehow familiar to him but he can’t place the individual’s identity. Outside the diner are some blocky looking cars with large sturdy tires. All are caked in red dirt. Stepping inside, he notes that there are a handful of patrons scattered across the twenty or so small tables here. The proprietor seems surprised to see him, Stolvir and Macavity as he didn’t see Ethan drive into town. He shows Ethan the menu and he makes a selection.
- By the time Ethan has paid for the food, he has identified the Warden in the place. It is Oscar, last seen on Brairus. Oscar is dressed a little better than last time, but his clothes are still pock-marked, trail worn and overdue for replacement. There are two empty plates on the table but he is eating a huge hamburger from a third plate.
* Image by Francoclun on DeviantART
- Oscar shows no sign of recognising Ethan so Ethan sits down for his meal. A short while later, it arrives. Stolvir whines for some food and the proprietor brings over the largest dog food bowl that he has and fills it from an oversized can. While Stolvir tucks into some overdue dinner, Macavity sits on one of the human chairs and insists that he will not be eating out of a bowl on the floor. Ethan asks the owner for some fish, but the owner responds with a blank look. Macavity is disappointed that this realm has never heard of fish, so he settles for some other meat.
- It is only after Oscar’s fourth meal that he glances over in Ethan’s direction and Ethan gives him a casual wave. Oscar redirects his next order to Ethan’s table and he relocates to join him. While he waits for his next meal, Oscar asks if Ethan ‘found her’? This is not what Ethan was expecting him to say and he is taken aback. Oscar gives a chuckle and says that he’s clearly lost his memory. He tells Ethan that he dragged Ethan out of the library before he could be overrun by the plant-zombies. (GM’s note - a reference to Ethan’s adventures from Sessions 79 to 82) He reiterates that Ethan was looking for a girl and Ethan doesn’t know who Oscar could be referring to.
- Oscar peers at Ethan and chuckles again, saying that he’s clearly been ‘touched by it twice’. (GM’s note - clearly a reference to the Breath of Eden) Oscar grimaces and says that he wishes he’d killed Mowbray when he had the chance. Ethan finishes off his meal and orders another beer.
… and that’s where we left Session 92. We then switch back to Grant for Session 93 and what he got up to next. The two characters will be reunited shortly, and we’re closing in on Session 100.
And yes, I guess I’d better think about a LEGO Oscar character.
GM Observations
- I’ve never been three sessions behind in writing these up before. ‘Real Life’ is very busy at the moment, to the degree that I’ve asked David to postpone Session 94 by a week.
- This session was a bit of a filler episode that David cooked up in a hurry. He’s dealing with his own ‘Real Life’ issues at the moment.
Part 1 - Old Ground
- Ethan makes plans to return to the vicinity of Trollworld (GM’s note - last seen in Session 49) and the corridor of identical Doors. He remembers fleeing into Trollworld with Isabelle and Abbie when a tidal wave of something that wasn’t water came rushing down the corridor. He doesn’t relish the thought of heading back.
- Ethan decides that Stolvir and Macavity must come with him - he can’t simply leave them in Skandia where they could be nabbed by the Enemy. Both of them have been to Realm 0 so Ethan is now worried that the Enemy could trace them back to his home. Stolvir does not object to heading out on the Stair, nor does Macavity - he has smelt the ‘other cat’ (Kade) for some time and has been using sorcery on the sly to ‘deposit hairs’ around Ethan’s home. Ethan guesses that it will only take him a day’s walk to reach that section of Stair so he heads off, carrying the red disk (which looks very much like a wax seal although it is solid) that Kade gave him to keep in contact.
- En route, Wayfinding guides Ethan through a realm which is heavily fortified by the Dwimmerlaik. A transport with covered windows is waiting for him by the Door. He is ushered into the transport by two very heavily armed and armoured guards and the vehicle takes off. Ethan feels that he’s going the right way. The realm seems to equally balanced in both Eidolon and Umbra but Sorcery is very strong here. Ethan asks casually if they get many visitors here and one of the guard answers that it is very rare. Ethan is allowed to look out one of the slits in the side of the vehicle and he sees a barren landscape with pockets of green around isolated trees. There are many floating weapons platforms here. Ethan asks about whether the guards come from here and they do. They are on a contract - it isn’t pleasant work.
- After many hours they reach a modern, fortified, garage complex which is built around an old hut. The Door is located in the old hut. Ethan considers leaving a teleportation mark here but decides not to. Noting that this Door is also very well defended (many soldiers, gun turrets etc), he leaves through the Door and finds himself on the section of Stair with identical Doors. There is no water here, but it does look like the corridor has been scoured - whatever liquid rushed down the Stair has actually damaged it. Ethan is surprised by this - he didn’t think that was possible to physically damage the Stair.
Part 2 - Recent Activity
- Following his instincts, Ethan heads in the direction where the tidal wave came from, searching for the section of Stair which has seen recent activity. He passes the Door to Trollworld, and he passes the world into which he threw one of the Sons of Saul. After about 1/2 mile of corridor, the corridor starts spiralling up. The Doors are fewer here. After about 10 minutes of walking, Ethan finds an airlock Door which is shiny and there is a residue at the base. The residue is still smoking. Passing the Door, he carries on upwards. The next Door shows no sign of scouring, confirming that the airlock Door must have been the source of the acid wave. The Door itself is a double-door (Ethan has never seen one before), made of mahogany. Opening the Door he finds himself in a well appointed room with wooden paneling. There is intricate tracery decorating all of the surfaces and Ethan can tell that this has been enhanced with Eidolon. In the centre of the room is a dining table with a cream coloured tablecloth. The table has not been set.
- There are two doors exiting this chamber. Macavity asks Ethan which way and Ethan chooses one of the doors. He can tell that there is another Warden within fifty metres. He also senses that there are other minds nearby, but they are ‘not right’. There are in distress - there is some sort of danger here.
- Opening the nearby door, he finds himself in an ornate corridor which has been elegantly furnished. There is no dust on any of the ornaments. It is spotless. He heads for the second door on the right - this is where the Warden is - so he decides to knock and he hears a muffled voice in response.
- Opening the door using his Warden abilities, Ethan finds a sitting room. There are many bookshelves here, some comfortable looking armchairs and a large trunk. Walking over to the trunk, he opens it carefully, expecting to find a person it in. Instead there is a jewellery box and an old rug. The Warden is apparently ‘in’ the rug.
Part 3 - Long Captivity
- Ethan frowns. Could the Warden be a ‘little person’? The rug doesn’t look big enough. Ethan asks the rug if someone is really in there. A muffled male voice sounds very unamused by the question and asks if he could be let out. Ethan takes out the rug and opens it. There, in the middle of the tapestry is a dapper looking fellow with a hawklike nose and a feather in his cap. The man is literally in the tapestry. He coughs, spitting out dust. He explains he’s been stuck in the tapestry for many years and the only way to free him is to substitute someone else for himself. Ethan thinks on this - this means that this Warden is not the one who has been recently opening Doors in this section of the Stair.
- Ethan also mulls over the fact that he can sense a handful of others here, but none of them are Wardens. Then he looks at Stolvir and Macavity. Macavity takes a step back, already guessing what Ethan is thinking. Ethan gives Stolvir a big hug and then asks him to step into the rug. Reluctantly, Stolvir does this. The tapestry opens up like quicksand and sucks him down. A man appears - the man from the tapestry - and instead there is now a woven image of Stolvir in the tapestry, looking rather glum.
- Immediately the man gives a shriek and runs for the bathroom. Ethan rolls up the rug (which whines a little bit) and Macavity follows him at a distance. He quickly traces the fellow down to the toilet and waits for him to finish. His groans are painful to listen to but finally he’s done.
- When the man emerges, he tells Ethan to watch himself as the whole house is ‘trapped’. He’d been stuck in the tapestry for a long long time. He explains that sorcery in this place is formulaic, with spells slow to craft but they have long term effects. Ethan sizes the fellow up, noting that he is armed with a flintlock pistol and a rapier. Suddenly there is a terrible shaking in the house, and then it suddenly stopped. When it stops, the man explains that the house does this at regular intervals - and the house reorganises every time.
Part 4 - The Other Prisoners
- Ethan checks his watch and begins timing how long it takes for the house to reorganise. He finds the dining room is different - it is bigger now. The corridor is less ornate and looks more like a suburban house. The man gives his name as Bartholomew. Ethan is surprised by this but he does not resemble Bartholomew Smith (GM’s note - his legal adviser in Realm 0) Bartholomew says that he came into this realm with a friend and he’d like to find her. Ethan agrees to this and he starts looking for someone else who has been trapped.
- It does not take him very long. Another two rooms away there is a washroom with a full length mirror. A dark-skinned man, dressed only in a towel with shaving cream still on part of his face scowls at Ethan. Ethan asks how long the man has been trapped and he tells Ethan that it has been more than 35,000 days - after that he lost count. The man says that the trigger for the spell was touching the taps with wet hands - he warns Ethan not do to this. Ethan asks if the man would like to leave his prison, and the man scowls at him again at what he believes to be a stupid question. Ethan tells the man that he’ll try to get him out but it will take him a little time. Macavity can barely hide his relief at not being asked to get wet and enter the mirror.
- Ethan can sense two others. He goes for a walk and quickly finds them. He finds one in a sowing room, trapped in a dressmaker’s dolly. The dolly has a face and she screams when she sees Ethan - Bartholomew calls her Sally and urges her to calm down.
- The last individual is in one of the guest rooms. He finds a tea set and on the tea pot is a fine gentleman with a large curled moustache. He seems pleased to see Ethan and apologises for being unable to shake hands. Apparently he has been trapped here for over seventy years. Ethan thinks for a moment, aware that it has been more than ten minutes and the house could reorganise now at any time. He decides to try something on the distinguished gentleman - he tries a simple Sleep spell - it takes longer for him to get the effect off than normal, but he succeeds in putting the man to sleep. A snoring sound comes out of the spout.
Part 5 - The Madman
- Suddenly the whole house comes alive again, chattering and clattering, drawers banging and cupboards opening and slamming. The house has reorganised once more. Ethan can sense that the Door has moved - what was a two story house is now a four story house and Ethan can tell that he is on the ground floor. Ethan checks his watch - the house reorganises every fifteen minutes. He can feel a presence upstairs so he heads upwards. On the top floor there is a parlour room, and in the centre of a round table there is an ornate stand and a crystal ball upon it. Inside the crystal ball is the image of a floating face. He is elderly with scraggly grey hair. The man chuckles at him, and says that this is all that is left of him. Ethan tries a Sleep spell, but immediately he finds that the madman here is no pushover and they are locked in mental combat.
- Ethan is stronger but he is unable to properly engage because of the Breath of Eden. Instead he has to pin his opponent mentally and then extract the information from him. The madman is not real - he is a copy of a long dead wizard that was left to look after his house. However the long centuries of entrapment within the crystal ball without any sensory input have unbalanced his mind. Ethan pushes hard to take the information from him as to how the traps were created in the first place and how to disarm them. In doing so, he pushes so hard that the madman’s mind shatters into tiny fragments even though this was not Ethan’s intent. But he now knows where all of the traps are and how to disarm them.
Part 6 - Aftermath
- Ethan sets about freeing each of the prisoners, but he forces Balthazar to do the relevant incantation to free Stolvir. Ethan notes that the Door opens into a different place here - when on the 3rd Floor, the Door opens to a location close to Nexopolis - it looks like this realm opens in different places based on the configuration of the house. Ethan finds this interesting, and then decides that it is time to take the others to get some food. Returning the house to its original configuration, Ethan leads them back onto the original section of Stair and they head to a plain wooden Door which leads to a traditional English pub. There is no electricity or gas here but the place is welcoming and it is snowing outside. The people seem surprised that they have just come into the tavern without any sign of recent travel. Stolvir finds the fire most welcoming and he curls up to rest and warm himself. Macavity follows suit but maintains a safe distance.
- As they eat, Ethan learns that the girl is Sally Shotgun, clearly Bartholomew’s girl. The well dressed gentleman with the moustache is a retired army colonel, and he carries a breach loading rifle and cutlass. The african fellow is Mason - a few of the locals give him a curious look as if they have never seen a dark skinned man before, but nothing is said.
- After a hearty meal, Ethan takes a short walk through the snow to the toilet (an outdoor pit sheltered by crude structure) and contacts Kade using his sorcerous device. He advises Kade that he’s met another Warden named Bartholomew but he was a prisoner, and not actively moving about on the Stair. Kade thanks him for reporting in and tells him to carry on. (GM’s note - Ethan knows that the Dwimmerlaik expect him to be friendly with other Wardens in case they can be recruited)
…. and that’s where we left Session 91.
Session 93 was run last night. Now I'm three sessions behind on writeup. Sorry folks.
S92 was run last night. It was a short one but now I’m two sessions behind on write-ups.
Thanks. I'm a bit late with the writeup as I've been helping another campaign get started. Soon....
This is great stuff. Keep it coming.
Session 91 was run this evening. Hopefully I'll get the write-up posted by Thursday.
Mister_Bruce wrote:Session 90 - Memory Canisters
GM Observations
- Ooo… Session 90. This is good. Closing in on 100 sessions of this game - probably before the end of the year. It’s a massive effort to keep going for this long, documenting every session so hopefully some of you out there are enjoying this. David and I are definitely building the storyline up for the next 10 sessions. I can see already what is going to happen. Trell (Grant) is closing in on the memory store, and he’s got some ideas (which I won’t spoil as they are in the writeup below) as to how to turn the tables on the Dwimmerlaik. After all, the Lords of Gossamer have been on the defensive for a long time (many many sessions since Heldon’s Pass). We can’t have the Dwimmerlaik being the big bad indefinitely. Something needs to change the balance and that ‘something’ is coming. I think Ethan is also going to run afoul of the R.E.D (Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik) again and the things that are loose in Realm 0.
I'm still enjoying this, and hopefully others are as well.
