Thanks Arete, it's nice to get some positive feedback. I should have called out in the GM notes that it was also an attempt to show another complex combat. It's rarely as simple as one character is higher in a particular Attribute, therefore he/she wins. I was attempting to show a range of factors that need to be considered - and then it's a GM judgement call as to how it plays out. I was talking to someone from the US via Google Hangouts about this and he seemed to want hard and fast factors (e.g.: if you have cover it gives you +3 points of Warfare, if you are surprised it gives you -3 points of Warfare). Playing Diceless where there is no formula (and I would strongly advocate not having a known formula because then the players will use it) is a lot of fun.
I wish I had as much time to write-up the other campaign (Campaign 3). There are three narratives going on in person, via email and over the phone. I'm having trouble keeping up.
PS: By the way, if there are any particular requests, we'll try to weave them in. For example, Lurker37 introduced a character with Invocation because we hadn't seen that yet.
Grant and Ethan
Grant (left) and Ethan (right), with Macavity the Cat
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Feedback from Arete
I'm still enjoying this immensely. Thanks for continuing the story. In particular I appreciate the gm asides and the negotiation of the universe comments between the two of you.
Saturday, 23 August 2014
Session 39 - 24 Hours in Orlano
GM Observations
- And we move into the Third Story Arc. This session is effectively self-GMed by Mister_Bruce after a discussion with Lurker37 about time period, boundaries and what sort of things were permitted. Lurker37 has already reviewed this and made some minor tweaks. Yes, some of this is inspired from time spent in New Orleans and Savannah. I have travelled quite widely and lived in many different places. When Lurker37 first mentioned “Orlano” as the name of the place and that it was a mediaeval setting with a parade, I imagined a mix of those two US cities.
- In terms of the foes described below, I looked at the stats of Dwimmerlaik Generals and Warriors, and created an Ethan-level foe with stats in-between those levels to challenge him - someone with better Warfare. I also thought about a series of disposable flunkies (a hit squad) that Dwimmerlaik might use to weaken an opponent with enough individual character between them to stand out. No one likes a pool of ‘red shirt’ minions - it’s much more fun if they all have individual traits.
Realm 40 - Orlano (Brown Door)
Part 1 - The Festival
- Isabelle seems to be enjoying herself at the festival, joining a group of dancers at the front of one of the floats. Ethan walks along the edge of the parade, between the crowd of onlookers and the balconied buildings flanking the street. Even with a shield on his back, Ethan draws little attention as there are so many in costume. There are dancers, jugglers, magicians and even bizarre creatures out of myth and legend which are caged on some of the floats. Ethan can only assume that these are the local equivalent of circus animals.
- The streets are crowded with onlookers and everyone is having a good time. Ethan smiles as a girl throws flower petals from a nearby balcony onto the crowd below. He passes a skilled juggler dressed as a cat-like creature who is juggling nine balls with his two hands and a tail which looks to be part of his costume. There are hawkers selling small handmade windmills and brightly coloured candies. Each float that passes has something new and exciting to look at.
- Ethan reaches the point where the crowd of onlookers is particularly dense and he decides not to push on. Instead he enters one of the nearby establishments, orders a drink which is described as a 'Hurricane' and he heads upstairs to watch from the balcony. Time passes and eventually he finds a stool to sit down and he watches the parade go by. He figures that he can find Isabelle again when he needs to and she cannot leave the realm without assistance from a a Lord of Gossamer to open the Door. He doesn't feel threatened so he relaxes. The Hurricane is a sweet cocktail and Ethan enjoys it. It puts him in a good mood and he decides contact Grant via Icon to see how he is faring.
- And that's where it starts to go all wrong....
Part 2 - The Stabbing
- Ethan contacts Grant and starts talking with him about Marindar. An Icon contact requires focus and attention, which means he is not paying as much attention to his surroundings. He is talking to Grant and watching the parade, not paying attention to the individual sitting next to him.
- The man next to him turns on his stool as if to leave and get another drink. At that moment Ethan feels a sharp pain in his side and snaps out of the Icon contact. His left hand instinctively reaches for the source of the sudden pain and he finds that the person next to him has knifed him just below the ribcage. (GM's note - ranked Warfare and Strength that Ethan reacts instinctively and grabs the weapon hand before the blade is fully embedded in his side) Despite the shield on his back, he had no protection on his side and his assailant has attacked him while he was distracted.
- Ethan flings the man away and he begins running for it. Ethan's shirt is already blossoming red and he concentrates for a moment to seal the wound using Eidolon. Ethan has been hurt before and although the wound isn't serious, it is still a shock to the system. He begins following the man as he flees, picking up speed as his assailant begins to panic.
- Ethan catches up with his attacker two blocks away. By this point the man is screaming for help and making a scene, attracting the attention of the crowd. Ethan flattens the man with his shield, laying him out. This draws the attention of the local police guard. Even though Ethan protests his innocence and says that he was stabbed, the police are not completely convinced as there is no wound (because Ethan healed it) even though his shirt is stained red and has been pierced. Ethan’s attacker does not appear to be carrying a weapon. The guards advise Ethan not to cause trouble and let him go (they seem most unwilling to leave the festival). Ethan agrees and leaves, but he finds the assailant's lack of a weapon disturbing.
Part 3 - Hunted
- By this point Ethan does not know that he has been recognised since splitting with Isabelle. He also doesn't know that his assailant was paid to get a sample of his blood (on the knife) so that Ethan's identity could be confirmed. This knife was quickly passed to his colleague who easily got away in the crowd.
- Hence the Enemy became aware of Ethan's presence and decides to kill him to retrieve the weapon that he is carrying. Ethan is more on edge than he was, but he’s still not expecting the Enemy to come after him in force. Even with Ranked Warfare and High Ranked Psyche, Ethan does not have the advantage (especially with high levels of Bad Stuff). His adversaries are careful and they have a lot of cover and distractions. Even worse for Ethan, they have time to plan an attack and then execute when Ethan is least likely to be able to defend himself.
Part 4 - First Strike
- The procession of floats ends in mid-afternoon, leaving in its wake a myriad of very happy and inebriated party-goers. Ethan is given a garland of flowers and a kiss by one happy girl, and he relaxes a little. Everyone is making merry. Everyone is happy. Many people are dancing to a band that is playing nearby. Others are watching magicians and clowns. A number of pop-up stalls selling wares and frivolous foodstuff have been established. The sun goes down and Ethan is still wearing the flowers and is happily munching on a oversized drumstick from some animal).
- Ethan smiles as the fireworks go off overhead, and everyone’s attention is drawn to the spectacle overhead. While Ethan is totally distracted and there are cracks of magical incantations exploding overhead, the Enemy strikes.
- Ethan has been shot before, but not like this. He feels the impact of tiny needles in the front of his chest and recognises an attack. Two people collapse beside him, but everyone else is too focused on the fireworks to notice. Ethan pulls his shield from his back to guard against further attack, and takes further hits until the shield is in place. He senses other threats in the crowd about him, but doesn’t have time to determine which way they are coming from. Instinctively (due to Ranked Warfare), he decides that ‘up’ is the right answer. Triggering a flight spell, Ethan launches himself into the air.
- As he does, Ethan feels something thin and wet wrap around his leg. He doesn’t see who has done this at first, but suddenly his whole leg feels like it’s been dipped in acid. This would disrupt a lesser Sorcerer’s focus but not Ethan (Ethan has High Psyche and High Endurance). He takes to the air, dragging ‘Teeth’, one of his assailants with him who has a extendable whip-like weapon which inflicts agonising pain. Gritting his teeth, Ethan flies into the sky towards the fireworks.
- Ethan doesn’t get very far. He gets above his assailants in the crowd but also loses the cover of the crowd. Even though Ethan keeps his shield between himself and his first attacker, this leaves him open from behind. A second assailant - one that he cannot see - hits him with a shock webspell which disrupts Ethan’s magic (GM’s note - it’s a cantrip cast by a Ranked Psyche adversary) which is potent enough to knock him clean out of the sky. [/i]
- The crowd scatters as Ethan and ‘Teeth’ fall abruptly with a crash. He is back on his feet in an instant, but he can feel whatever was in those needles gnawing at him. ‘Teeth’ is slower to get back to his feet, revealing his razor-sharp fangs (hence the name that Ethan gives him) and Ethan hits him full-strength with his shield which lays him out cold. He cuts through the agoniser weapon but the pain remains in his leg. Switching tactics, Ethan applies Eidolon to his leg to cut out the pain, and uses Wayfinding to find his nearest attacker in the crowd and finds not one but two more bearing down on him. He draws Gorgorin and stays low, pushing through the people when he needs to. He catches a glimpse of ‘Slenderman’ who has unnaturally long arms and fingers but Ethan brutally cuts him down. ‘Slenderman’ dies screaming as the wound consumes him, but Ethan is already moving on. Another attacker, this one with a ‘Clown Face’ throws some strange balls at him, but Ethan ploughs clean through using his shield as a battering ram and flattens him. He cleaves ‘Clown Face’ in two (the two halves begin dissolving) and by this point the crowd is screaming and running for it. This deprives Ethan of his cover.
- Ethan feels impacts through his shield and realises that another opponent is firing upon him. Ethan keeps the shield in place and uses Wayfinding (and Ranked Warfare) to search the crowd for his other attackers. This probably saves his life as ‘Short Horn’ enters the fray. Short Horn is a young Dwimmerlaik warrior (whom Ethan refers to as Short Horn because of his underdeveloped antlers) who attacks him ferociously with a silvery weapon. Ethan parries successfully, but realises that he’s at a significant disadvantage as he’s being attacked on more than one side and there is poison in his system. Hoping that Short Horn isn’t as strong as he is, Ethan engages with him and uses brute force to smash the Dwimmerlaik out of the way and run for it. To his surprise, Short Horn is substantially weaker than him and he shatters the Dwimmerlaik’s sword. For his success Ethan is rewarded with a shot in the back.
- Ethan feels the impact, sees the red blood splatter across the inside of his shield and realises that whatever has hit him has gone clean through him. Despite this, Ethan keeps going (GM’s note - he has Ranked Strength) and he runs for the nearest hard cover - a nearby building - and keeps running until he is many blocks away. Only then does he take stock.
- Ethan is covered in blood and breathing hard with a chest wound which went clean through his shoulder blade to the other side, indicating a shooter that was firing down on him from above. His right leg is similarly messed up and he can hardly feel his toes through the pain - it feels like someone has minced it. But Ethan grimly applies Eidolon to himself to heal the wounds. This is taxing, and he can feel that Gorgorin (the sword) protesting at his usage of this ability. Ethan wonders if Isabelle is also in danger or whether this attack is limited to himself. He decides not to involve her.
Part 5 - Ethan Strikes Back
- Ethan only stops for a few minutes before he heaves himself back to his feet and carries on. He recognises that somehow the Enemy has found him here and he decides it unwise to linger. He understands that he was ambushed, and he’s now hurt and tired. He surmises that as ‘Short Horn’ is young, he is unlikely to be alone.
- Ethan uses his knowledge of Eidolon to scan the city and identify the Dwimmerlaik in it (he’s seen one, so he should be able to sense many). (GM’s note - Eidolon senses are effectively x-ray vision - they are not bound by line of sight) However, Ethan is able to sense five Dwimmerlaik, and he can tell that one of them can sense him from his use of Eidolon. This is first for Ethan and takes him by surprise. He makes a mental note of it and carries on.
- As he walks, Ethan has an idea. He has used Wayfinding many times to find places and people, but he has never seen if it is possible to hide oneself from Wayfinding. He thinks back to Master Yoda’s training from Empire Strikes Back (i.e. the movie) and wonders if it is possible to hide one’s presence within ‘the Force’. He has never practised ‘emptiness’ before but is willing to try it.
- The moons rise, and midnight passes. Ethan wanders from place to place but does not linger for too long in any one place. He wonders a little if the Dwimmerlaik are biding their time, or whether he is genuinely eluding them. He decides not to rely upon it, but occasionally uses Wayfinding as a rough gauge to sense how close the Enemy is without pressing too hard and potentially being detected. There are still many revellers out on the streets but their numbers have thinned with the cold. As Orlano is by the sea and it is a low-lying area, a mist begins to roll in a few hours before dawn.
- As the hours pass, Ethan has used Eidolon on himself in very subtle ways to speed his recovery. He remains tired, but physically he has restored himself. Fingering one of the needles that hit him, Ethan decides to go on the offensive and find the one who shot him. He uses the needle as a cue and Wayfinding does the rest. He wanders, checks his bearings, feels his way gradually and coolly closes in on his first prey.
- Just as Ethan is hunting for ‘Boba Fett’, ‘Boba Fett’ is hunting for Ethan. However, Ethan finds ‘Boba Fett’ first. (Ethan calls his opponent ‘Boba Fett’ because the shape of his helmet reminds him of the Star Wars character). ‘Boba Fett’ has set up a position watching the main street where the most people still gather and the mist is least dense. The mist provides excellent cover for Ethan in flight, and he uses sorcery to rip ‘Boba Fett’ clean off his perch and pull him into the foggy sky. There while he is still drawing weapons, Ethan slashes him and watches the body disintegrate into nothing. When he releases his telekinetic spell, only faint dust falls to the street below.
Part 6 - Hunting the Enemy
- The next two hours sees Ethan hunting down the Dwimmerlaik very effectively. The Dwimmerlaik Warriors are no match for Ethan - he is physically stronger and much more adept with the blade. Each one he encounters is cut down and burns up. He kills ‘Scarface’ (one with a terrible scar down one side of his face), ‘Short Horn’ (the young Dwimmerlaik) and ‘Fido’ and ‘Dido’ (two that he runs across together) but none of them are a match for him. They use strange weapons and exotic techniques but Ethan is able to find them faster than they can find him, and Gorgorin is deadly. Finally there is only one left whom Ethan dubs ‘Big Horn’ (for the obvious reason that he has bigger antlers than any of the others). Ethan assumes that this is the one who blasted him out of the sky when he tried to fly away from the original ambush.
Part 7 - Negotiation with Big Horn
- ‘Big Horn’ does not try to run. He does not seem surprised when Ethan finally catches up with him. ‘Big Horn’ knows Ethan by name, and knows of the weapon that Ethan carries. He admits to being surprised when one of the locals was able to identify the blade that Ethan carries, and asks for the weapon to be returned to the Dwimmerlaik people. Ethan refuses. ‘Big Horn’ attempts to reason with Ethan and explains the importance of the blade to his people, and how it has been handed down within House Cavalarn for more than six thousand years. He argues again that it belongs to the Dwimmerlaik, not to a Lord of Gossamer. Ethan asks for ‘Big Horn’s name and he replies that it is Levanicus. Ethan considers for a moment - he has heard much about the Dwimmerlaik as a great enemy and wonders if returning the blade to them might be a good thing. With a sigh, Ethan says he isn’t prepared to give up the weapon - and that Levanicus would strike him down with it were he to hand it over. Levanicus does not confirm or deny this. Instead he draws his own blade and prepares to face Ethan in the deserted streets.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- A mighty duel is fought in the mists. Levanicus is the superior swordsman (GM’s note - he outranks Ethan in Warfare by one rank), but Ethan has a 4 point shield, a 16+ point weapon (Gorgorin) he is much much stronger (GM’s note - Ranked Strength v Paragon Rank) and has much greater levels of Endurance (GM’s note - High Ranked Endurance v Superior Rank). Levanicus knows that he is the better swordsman but he cannot afford to be struck by Gorgorin. Given that Gorgorin also wants to be returned to the Dwimmerlaik, it wants Ethan to lose this fight - Ethan is on maximum Bad Stuff during this fight. To begin with Levanicus plays a careful game, striking many small but painful blows against Ethan to wear him down, but Ethan is very very strong. (GM’s note - Ethan has Ranked Strength which includes a component of damage resistance) Every blow Ethan strikes is painful for Levanicus to defend against and Levanicus finds himself tiring much faster than Ethan. As time draws on, Levanicus continues to wound Ethan many times (GM’s note - due to superior rank in Warfare) but Ethan keeps fighting and does not fall (GM’s note - due to the gross difference in Strength and Endurance between Ethan and Levanicus). Ethan can tell that he is fighting a superior opponent, but he can tell that Levanicus is tiring. Ethan’s right arm is wounded and his sword arm is weakening. He is bleeding from half a dozen wounds. But suddenly Ethan remembers what Grant did in his first battle with the Dwimmerlaik (GM’s note - way back in Session 8 Part 3) and decides to risk another wound from Levanicus in order to get a hand on him. Levanicus takes the opportunity to badly wound Ethan through the chest, but Ethan gets his hands on the Dwimmerlaik. In that moment it is over as Ethan head-butts Levanicus once, twice, three times … .smashing his skull into the Dwimmerlaik’s and then when his adversary is clearly reeling, Ethan finally brings Gorgorin the Shatterer down to finish the job. Levanicus’ body disintegrates into dust.
- Ethan sinks to his knees, bleeding and exhausted. His face is pulped and bruised - his head aches badly. His side has been badly slashed and blood is pouring down his leg. He feels a shadow of disappointment from Gorgorin - clearly the blade was hoping for a different outcome. Ethan has enough presence of mind to check for any other threats. Finding none, he drags himself to his feet and staggers off to a doorway to collapse in a heap. He gradually uses Eidolon to heal his splitting headache and heal his face and body, but it takes time - he has very little reserve remaining. He feels very very tired and it is very cold just before the dawn. It is about then that the glow of dawn is first seen through the mist. It is morning. He’s survived the night.
GM Observations
- I’m imagining that Isabelle will discover Ethan slumped in a doorway in a pool of blood (she’s out for a morning walk) but with Ethan’s current Bad Stuff, maybe he’s dragged away by the town guard and thrown in a cell. Who knows. I guess I’ll find out next session.
- Note that I also made reference to House Cavalarn in this write-up (this is drawn from the Threat Book : Dawn of the Dwimmerlaik). Again it’s a way of dropping little clues that may be important in the future.
- Lurker37 has said that Ethan won’t hang onto Gorgorin, and I’m inclined to agree with him. Gorgorin is a plot device. Ethan won’t stay a Bad Stuff character for long once Gorgorin is ditched. And we do need some Advancement Points - after all, 39 sessions and we’re still 120 point characters….. time for a power-up/fast forward.
- And we move into the Third Story Arc. This session is effectively self-GMed by Mister_Bruce after a discussion with Lurker37 about time period, boundaries and what sort of things were permitted. Lurker37 has already reviewed this and made some minor tweaks. Yes, some of this is inspired from time spent in New Orleans and Savannah. I have travelled quite widely and lived in many different places. When Lurker37 first mentioned “Orlano” as the name of the place and that it was a mediaeval setting with a parade, I imagined a mix of those two US cities.
- In terms of the foes described below, I looked at the stats of Dwimmerlaik Generals and Warriors, and created an Ethan-level foe with stats in-between those levels to challenge him - someone with better Warfare. I also thought about a series of disposable flunkies (a hit squad) that Dwimmerlaik might use to weaken an opponent with enough individual character between them to stand out. No one likes a pool of ‘red shirt’ minions - it’s much more fun if they all have individual traits.
Realm 40 - Orlano (Brown Door)
Part 1 - The Festival
- Isabelle seems to be enjoying herself at the festival, joining a group of dancers at the front of one of the floats. Ethan walks along the edge of the parade, between the crowd of onlookers and the balconied buildings flanking the street. Even with a shield on his back, Ethan draws little attention as there are so many in costume. There are dancers, jugglers, magicians and even bizarre creatures out of myth and legend which are caged on some of the floats. Ethan can only assume that these are the local equivalent of circus animals.
- The streets are crowded with onlookers and everyone is having a good time. Ethan smiles as a girl throws flower petals from a nearby balcony onto the crowd below. He passes a skilled juggler dressed as a cat-like creature who is juggling nine balls with his two hands and a tail which looks to be part of his costume. There are hawkers selling small handmade windmills and brightly coloured candies. Each float that passes has something new and exciting to look at.
- Ethan reaches the point where the crowd of onlookers is particularly dense and he decides not to push on. Instead he enters one of the nearby establishments, orders a drink which is described as a 'Hurricane' and he heads upstairs to watch from the balcony. Time passes and eventually he finds a stool to sit down and he watches the parade go by. He figures that he can find Isabelle again when he needs to and she cannot leave the realm without assistance from a a Lord of Gossamer to open the Door. He doesn't feel threatened so he relaxes. The Hurricane is a sweet cocktail and Ethan enjoys it. It puts him in a good mood and he decides contact Grant via Icon to see how he is faring.
- And that's where it starts to go all wrong....
Part 2 - The Stabbing
- Ethan contacts Grant and starts talking with him about Marindar. An Icon contact requires focus and attention, which means he is not paying as much attention to his surroundings. He is talking to Grant and watching the parade, not paying attention to the individual sitting next to him.
- The man next to him turns on his stool as if to leave and get another drink. At that moment Ethan feels a sharp pain in his side and snaps out of the Icon contact. His left hand instinctively reaches for the source of the sudden pain and he finds that the person next to him has knifed him just below the ribcage. (GM's note - ranked Warfare and Strength that Ethan reacts instinctively and grabs the weapon hand before the blade is fully embedded in his side) Despite the shield on his back, he had no protection on his side and his assailant has attacked him while he was distracted.
- Ethan flings the man away and he begins running for it. Ethan's shirt is already blossoming red and he concentrates for a moment to seal the wound using Eidolon. Ethan has been hurt before and although the wound isn't serious, it is still a shock to the system. He begins following the man as he flees, picking up speed as his assailant begins to panic.
- Ethan catches up with his attacker two blocks away. By this point the man is screaming for help and making a scene, attracting the attention of the crowd. Ethan flattens the man with his shield, laying him out. This draws the attention of the local police guard. Even though Ethan protests his innocence and says that he was stabbed, the police are not completely convinced as there is no wound (because Ethan healed it) even though his shirt is stained red and has been pierced. Ethan’s attacker does not appear to be carrying a weapon. The guards advise Ethan not to cause trouble and let him go (they seem most unwilling to leave the festival). Ethan agrees and leaves, but he finds the assailant's lack of a weapon disturbing.
Part 3 - Hunted
- By this point Ethan does not know that he has been recognised since splitting with Isabelle. He also doesn't know that his assailant was paid to get a sample of his blood (on the knife) so that Ethan's identity could be confirmed. This knife was quickly passed to his colleague who easily got away in the crowd.
- Hence the Enemy became aware of Ethan's presence and decides to kill him to retrieve the weapon that he is carrying. Ethan is more on edge than he was, but he’s still not expecting the Enemy to come after him in force. Even with Ranked Warfare and High Ranked Psyche, Ethan does not have the advantage (especially with high levels of Bad Stuff). His adversaries are careful and they have a lot of cover and distractions. Even worse for Ethan, they have time to plan an attack and then execute when Ethan is least likely to be able to defend himself.
Part 4 - First Strike
- The procession of floats ends in mid-afternoon, leaving in its wake a myriad of very happy and inebriated party-goers. Ethan is given a garland of flowers and a kiss by one happy girl, and he relaxes a little. Everyone is making merry. Everyone is happy. Many people are dancing to a band that is playing nearby. Others are watching magicians and clowns. A number of pop-up stalls selling wares and frivolous foodstuff have been established. The sun goes down and Ethan is still wearing the flowers and is happily munching on a oversized drumstick from some animal).
- Ethan smiles as the fireworks go off overhead, and everyone’s attention is drawn to the spectacle overhead. While Ethan is totally distracted and there are cracks of magical incantations exploding overhead, the Enemy strikes.
- Ethan has been shot before, but not like this. He feels the impact of tiny needles in the front of his chest and recognises an attack. Two people collapse beside him, but everyone else is too focused on the fireworks to notice. Ethan pulls his shield from his back to guard against further attack, and takes further hits until the shield is in place. He senses other threats in the crowd about him, but doesn’t have time to determine which way they are coming from. Instinctively (due to Ranked Warfare), he decides that ‘up’ is the right answer. Triggering a flight spell, Ethan launches himself into the air.
- As he does, Ethan feels something thin and wet wrap around his leg. He doesn’t see who has done this at first, but suddenly his whole leg feels like it’s been dipped in acid. This would disrupt a lesser Sorcerer’s focus but not Ethan (Ethan has High Psyche and High Endurance). He takes to the air, dragging ‘Teeth’, one of his assailants with him who has a extendable whip-like weapon which inflicts agonising pain. Gritting his teeth, Ethan flies into the sky towards the fireworks.
- Ethan doesn’t get very far. He gets above his assailants in the crowd but also loses the cover of the crowd. Even though Ethan keeps his shield between himself and his first attacker, this leaves him open from behind. A second assailant - one that he cannot see - hits him with a shock webspell which disrupts Ethan’s magic (GM’s note - it’s a cantrip cast by a Ranked Psyche adversary) which is potent enough to knock him clean out of the sky. [/i]
- The crowd scatters as Ethan and ‘Teeth’ fall abruptly with a crash. He is back on his feet in an instant, but he can feel whatever was in those needles gnawing at him. ‘Teeth’ is slower to get back to his feet, revealing his razor-sharp fangs (hence the name that Ethan gives him) and Ethan hits him full-strength with his shield which lays him out cold. He cuts through the agoniser weapon but the pain remains in his leg. Switching tactics, Ethan applies Eidolon to his leg to cut out the pain, and uses Wayfinding to find his nearest attacker in the crowd and finds not one but two more bearing down on him. He draws Gorgorin and stays low, pushing through the people when he needs to. He catches a glimpse of ‘Slenderman’ who has unnaturally long arms and fingers but Ethan brutally cuts him down. ‘Slenderman’ dies screaming as the wound consumes him, but Ethan is already moving on. Another attacker, this one with a ‘Clown Face’ throws some strange balls at him, but Ethan ploughs clean through using his shield as a battering ram and flattens him. He cleaves ‘Clown Face’ in two (the two halves begin dissolving) and by this point the crowd is screaming and running for it. This deprives Ethan of his cover.
- Ethan feels impacts through his shield and realises that another opponent is firing upon him. Ethan keeps the shield in place and uses Wayfinding (and Ranked Warfare) to search the crowd for his other attackers. This probably saves his life as ‘Short Horn’ enters the fray. Short Horn is a young Dwimmerlaik warrior (whom Ethan refers to as Short Horn because of his underdeveloped antlers) who attacks him ferociously with a silvery weapon. Ethan parries successfully, but realises that he’s at a significant disadvantage as he’s being attacked on more than one side and there is poison in his system. Hoping that Short Horn isn’t as strong as he is, Ethan engages with him and uses brute force to smash the Dwimmerlaik out of the way and run for it. To his surprise, Short Horn is substantially weaker than him and he shatters the Dwimmerlaik’s sword. For his success Ethan is rewarded with a shot in the back.
- Ethan feels the impact, sees the red blood splatter across the inside of his shield and realises that whatever has hit him has gone clean through him. Despite this, Ethan keeps going (GM’s note - he has Ranked Strength) and he runs for the nearest hard cover - a nearby building - and keeps running until he is many blocks away. Only then does he take stock.
- Ethan is covered in blood and breathing hard with a chest wound which went clean through his shoulder blade to the other side, indicating a shooter that was firing down on him from above. His right leg is similarly messed up and he can hardly feel his toes through the pain - it feels like someone has minced it. But Ethan grimly applies Eidolon to himself to heal the wounds. This is taxing, and he can feel that Gorgorin (the sword) protesting at his usage of this ability. Ethan wonders if Isabelle is also in danger or whether this attack is limited to himself. He decides not to involve her.
Part 5 - Ethan Strikes Back
- Ethan only stops for a few minutes before he heaves himself back to his feet and carries on. He recognises that somehow the Enemy has found him here and he decides it unwise to linger. He understands that he was ambushed, and he’s now hurt and tired. He surmises that as ‘Short Horn’ is young, he is unlikely to be alone.
- Ethan uses his knowledge of Eidolon to scan the city and identify the Dwimmerlaik in it (he’s seen one, so he should be able to sense many). (GM’s note - Eidolon senses are effectively x-ray vision - they are not bound by line of sight) However, Ethan is able to sense five Dwimmerlaik, and he can tell that one of them can sense him from his use of Eidolon. This is first for Ethan and takes him by surprise. He makes a mental note of it and carries on.
- As he walks, Ethan has an idea. He has used Wayfinding many times to find places and people, but he has never seen if it is possible to hide oneself from Wayfinding. He thinks back to Master Yoda’s training from Empire Strikes Back (i.e. the movie) and wonders if it is possible to hide one’s presence within ‘the Force’. He has never practised ‘emptiness’ before but is willing to try it.
- The moons rise, and midnight passes. Ethan wanders from place to place but does not linger for too long in any one place. He wonders a little if the Dwimmerlaik are biding their time, or whether he is genuinely eluding them. He decides not to rely upon it, but occasionally uses Wayfinding as a rough gauge to sense how close the Enemy is without pressing too hard and potentially being detected. There are still many revellers out on the streets but their numbers have thinned with the cold. As Orlano is by the sea and it is a low-lying area, a mist begins to roll in a few hours before dawn.
- As the hours pass, Ethan has used Eidolon on himself in very subtle ways to speed his recovery. He remains tired, but physically he has restored himself. Fingering one of the needles that hit him, Ethan decides to go on the offensive and find the one who shot him. He uses the needle as a cue and Wayfinding does the rest. He wanders, checks his bearings, feels his way gradually and coolly closes in on his first prey.
- Just as Ethan is hunting for ‘Boba Fett’, ‘Boba Fett’ is hunting for Ethan. However, Ethan finds ‘Boba Fett’ first. (Ethan calls his opponent ‘Boba Fett’ because the shape of his helmet reminds him of the Star Wars character). ‘Boba Fett’ has set up a position watching the main street where the most people still gather and the mist is least dense. The mist provides excellent cover for Ethan in flight, and he uses sorcery to rip ‘Boba Fett’ clean off his perch and pull him into the foggy sky. There while he is still drawing weapons, Ethan slashes him and watches the body disintegrate into nothing. When he releases his telekinetic spell, only faint dust falls to the street below.
Part 6 - Hunting the Enemy
- The next two hours sees Ethan hunting down the Dwimmerlaik very effectively. The Dwimmerlaik Warriors are no match for Ethan - he is physically stronger and much more adept with the blade. Each one he encounters is cut down and burns up. He kills ‘Scarface’ (one with a terrible scar down one side of his face), ‘Short Horn’ (the young Dwimmerlaik) and ‘Fido’ and ‘Dido’ (two that he runs across together) but none of them are a match for him. They use strange weapons and exotic techniques but Ethan is able to find them faster than they can find him, and Gorgorin is deadly. Finally there is only one left whom Ethan dubs ‘Big Horn’ (for the obvious reason that he has bigger antlers than any of the others). Ethan assumes that this is the one who blasted him out of the sky when he tried to fly away from the original ambush.
Part 7 - Negotiation with Big Horn
- ‘Big Horn’ does not try to run. He does not seem surprised when Ethan finally catches up with him. ‘Big Horn’ knows Ethan by name, and knows of the weapon that Ethan carries. He admits to being surprised when one of the locals was able to identify the blade that Ethan carries, and asks for the weapon to be returned to the Dwimmerlaik people. Ethan refuses. ‘Big Horn’ attempts to reason with Ethan and explains the importance of the blade to his people, and how it has been handed down within House Cavalarn for more than six thousand years. He argues again that it belongs to the Dwimmerlaik, not to a Lord of Gossamer. Ethan asks for ‘Big Horn’s name and he replies that it is Levanicus. Ethan considers for a moment - he has heard much about the Dwimmerlaik as a great enemy and wonders if returning the blade to them might be a good thing. With a sigh, Ethan says he isn’t prepared to give up the weapon - and that Levanicus would strike him down with it were he to hand it over. Levanicus does not confirm or deny this. Instead he draws his own blade and prepares to face Ethan in the deserted streets.
* Image by Jason Rainville
- A mighty duel is fought in the mists. Levanicus is the superior swordsman (GM’s note - he outranks Ethan in Warfare by one rank), but Ethan has a 4 point shield, a 16+ point weapon (Gorgorin) he is much much stronger (GM’s note - Ranked Strength v Paragon Rank) and has much greater levels of Endurance (GM’s note - High Ranked Endurance v Superior Rank). Levanicus knows that he is the better swordsman but he cannot afford to be struck by Gorgorin. Given that Gorgorin also wants to be returned to the Dwimmerlaik, it wants Ethan to lose this fight - Ethan is on maximum Bad Stuff during this fight. To begin with Levanicus plays a careful game, striking many small but painful blows against Ethan to wear him down, but Ethan is very very strong. (GM’s note - Ethan has Ranked Strength which includes a component of damage resistance) Every blow Ethan strikes is painful for Levanicus to defend against and Levanicus finds himself tiring much faster than Ethan. As time draws on, Levanicus continues to wound Ethan many times (GM’s note - due to superior rank in Warfare) but Ethan keeps fighting and does not fall (GM’s note - due to the gross difference in Strength and Endurance between Ethan and Levanicus). Ethan can tell that he is fighting a superior opponent, but he can tell that Levanicus is tiring. Ethan’s right arm is wounded and his sword arm is weakening. He is bleeding from half a dozen wounds. But suddenly Ethan remembers what Grant did in his first battle with the Dwimmerlaik (GM’s note - way back in Session 8 Part 3) and decides to risk another wound from Levanicus in order to get a hand on him. Levanicus takes the opportunity to badly wound Ethan through the chest, but Ethan gets his hands on the Dwimmerlaik. In that moment it is over as Ethan head-butts Levanicus once, twice, three times … .smashing his skull into the Dwimmerlaik’s and then when his adversary is clearly reeling, Ethan finally brings Gorgorin the Shatterer down to finish the job. Levanicus’ body disintegrates into dust.
- Ethan sinks to his knees, bleeding and exhausted. His face is pulped and bruised - his head aches badly. His side has been badly slashed and blood is pouring down his leg. He feels a shadow of disappointment from Gorgorin - clearly the blade was hoping for a different outcome. Ethan has enough presence of mind to check for any other threats. Finding none, he drags himself to his feet and staggers off to a doorway to collapse in a heap. He gradually uses Eidolon to heal his splitting headache and heal his face and body, but it takes time - he has very little reserve remaining. He feels very very tired and it is very cold just before the dawn. It is about then that the glow of dawn is first seen through the mist. It is morning. He’s survived the night.
GM Observations
- I’m imagining that Isabelle will discover Ethan slumped in a doorway in a pool of blood (she’s out for a morning walk) but with Ethan’s current Bad Stuff, maybe he’s dragged away by the town guard and thrown in a cell. Who knows. I guess I’ll find out next session.
- Note that I also made reference to House Cavalarn in this write-up (this is drawn from the Threat Book : Dawn of the Dwimmerlaik). Again it’s a way of dropping little clues that may be important in the future.
- Lurker37 has said that Ethan won’t hang onto Gorgorin, and I’m inclined to agree with him. Gorgorin is a plot device. Ethan won’t stay a Bad Stuff character for long once Gorgorin is ditched. And we do need some Advancement Points - after all, 39 sessions and we’re still 120 point characters….. time for a power-up/fast forward.
Sunday, 17 August 2014
Session 38 - The Threat Ends
GM Observations
- This session carries on directly from Session 37, with Grant’s journey to Naso. This session is the conclusion of the 2nd Story Arc which began way back in Session 9 (!!!) It took a very long time to get to this point, but we’re having fun so that’s okay. We finally find out what happened to Talos, to Galatea, to those who broke out the Warglord Narsaug from the underwater prison, to Vala’s Pride, to Shatterlight. All is revealed! (well, mostly all…. heh heh)
- Based on other posts on the Rite Publishing forum, we can see now that Lords of Gossamer is at a significant disadvantage compared to Amber Diceless. Amber Diceless provided rules, but there were more than 10 full length novels of content to provide examples as to how the powers worked and what was possible/prudent. We don’t have the same clarity with the Lords of Gossamer setting. Rite Publishing is working on it, but it will probably take them years to develop the same level of content. So that’s it - the community needs to step up and answer those basic questions as to how things work, how powers appear, whether they can be detected when used etc. I’m going to work with Stairbender and Lurker37 (and possibly others) to build a FAQ which will no doubt be superseded as Rite Publishing produces content which fleshes out what has already been written. But I don’t think we can wait any longer - this game has been running for a year and we’re not stopping it. So we’re simply going to have to define what is missing, and some of what is written by the community will no doubt be contradicted by what Rite publishes as canon later on. That’s okay - we’ll make it clear in the FAQ what is a house rule and what is a ‘community call’ until it’s defined by Rite. In that FAQ we will have to write examples - it’s the only way. One of the strengths of the Amber Diceless rules were the frequent references back to passages of the Amber novels - that’s not possible in the Lords of Gossamer setting so we need to provide examples.
- On that note, there are a number of Bruce/David interpretations as to what is possible with Umbra Mastery in the following narrative. I’ll make some comments in italics below.
Realm 15b - True Marindar (Grey Door)
Part 1 - Attack on Naso
- Grant flies in hawk form towards Naso. He is focussed on speed, and becomes a black streak across the sky, leaving crackling energy in this wake. (GM’s note - okay, David and I discussed in detail what should be possible with Eidolon and Umbra to accelerate the travel of a character in hawk-form. Note that Speed is a Strength-based, so Grant is a very very fast hawk. Use of Eidolon would make the hawk more a more efficient flier but probably little more - it would increase his flying speed to a certain limit - but that would probably be Eidolon’s limit (not that Grant has that power). We then talked about what Umbra could do - could Umbra be used for propulsion (for example)? Could Umbra be used to negate gravity and even wind resistance to accelerate the speed? Then came my recommendation - both Eidolon and Umbra are paradigms for manipulating gossamer reality. Hence it should be possible do pretty much anything with both Eidolon and Umbra, but their paradigms make some things easier than others. Hence Grant should be able to go ‘supersonic’ with Umbra, effectively moulding gossamer reality to accelerate his speed, using Umbra to break down the obstacles/constraints which are preventing him from reaching his destination more quickly. I would have even allowed an Umbra ‘teleport’ if he had pushed with enough Psyche. David/Lurker37 liked this and agreed to it.) There is no sonic boom when Grant tears across the sky - effectively his Umbra powers prevent that. Lightning crackles in his wake due to atmospheric disturbance.
- He crosses four hours of flight time in about ten minutes. The township of Naso is by the sea, built into the hillside. It is small compared to Central, with perhaps only houses for 1500-2000 people. He sees sea-going vessels in the port. There is smoke pouring from some of the structures in the higher parts of the township, and Grant can see the occasional flash below of weapon-fire. Using Umbral Sight, Grant is able to determine that there are about two dozen of Talos’ drones in and around one building which is billowing smoke. (GM’s note - Umbral Sight is like X-Ray vision - it can see clean through smoke and other obstacles) He ascertains that the natives of Naso are attempting to retake a building which the drones are defending. Grant decides to join the locals.
- He swoops down behind the counterattacking force and approaches one of the soldiers. The soldier has no idea who Grant is, even after he introduces himself, and directs him to Quintus, the man leading the counterattack. Quintus’ soldiers are armed with wand-like guns and armour that reminds Grant of the ancient Greeks/Romans from his home Earth. The Marindans have even broken out some ‘antique’ weapons - Grant spots something that looks like a RPG-launcher, but they are still unable to penetrate the outer defences, particularly after a defensive barrier is erected which appears like a red semi-transparent haze in front of the structure. The drones continue to fire on any of the Marindans who get too close, using a variety of different weapons - sonics, plasma and ballistic weapons. Grant quickly sizes up the situation and takes command. (GM’s note - he has superior Warfare and high levels of Good Stuff, hence I ruled that Quintus is quickly convinced that he is better equipped to lead them) Grant asks after Lord Hyndrake and Quintus can only tell him that he is inside somewhere. Grant can hear the sound of weapon-fire coming from within so he assumes that the drones are still trying to eliminate those within. He can not afford to waste any time, so he rushes into action.
- Grant leads from the front, smashing through the defensive barrier with Umbra. The Marindans follow in his wake. With a wand-pistol in one hand and his wrist-blaster in the other, Grant tears through the outer perimeter and blasts two of the drones before the others adapt and deploy countermeasures which renders Grant’s ranged weapons ineffective. He switches to his blade and begins carving through the drones, appearing suddenly through the smoke, efficiently destroying them one by one and then moving on rapidly. (GM’s note - the drones can see through the smoke, but it still looks cool) He finds a chamber where the drones are attempting to melt through a section of the floor and he quickly destroys them (he finds out later that there were women and children on the other side). Finally he comes across Talos - another Talos - this one is in a kneeling position with a hole in the roof overhead, but it is totally inert. At his feet lies the unconscious Hyndrake, a broken silver chain around his neck.
- Grant curses that he is too late. Talos has already recovered the Key to the Tellurian Door. He assumes the worst - that Talos has fired a capsule to Central where the Tellurian Door is located and he has already assaulted the guards in a bid to escape. Grant makes contact with Sophia via sorcerous communication and tells her that Naso is once again under Marindan control. Sophia acknowledges this but says that there has been no attack on the Tellurian gate. Grant senses that Sophia is not in a position to tell him the whole situation (he remembers that the homicidal little elf, Benjamin, is with her). Grant sighs and steels himself for another very rapid flight to Central. Grant is feeling worn down, but he hopes that he will find a final resolution in Central.
Part 2 - Return to Central
- Putting a lot of effort in, Grant rips towards Central in hawk-form. A journey that should take more than 6 hours takes only about ten minutes using Umbra (again manipulating gossamer reality). This is very draining for him - he slows when he reaches the outskirts of Central and spies the Tellurian Gate (within a floating structure). He lands on the landing platform and transitions back to human form. The guards are expecting him, no doubt informed by Lady Sophia that he was on his way. They look visibly relieved that he has arrived, but confirm that there has been no attack.
- Grant insists on going to the Tellurian Door itself, within the structure, and finds Lady Galatea waiting for him. Grant is a touch surprised and asks if she is all right. She nods and tells him that Talos has not gotten past her - she remembers enough to confirm that Talos has indeed tampered with her. She assures Grant that if he is still around, Talos won’t get past her. Grant feels exhausted - he realises that he’s pushed himself too hard. Galatea asks if he is okay and he takes a seat. The guards offer him some water and food. Grant tries to think through the situation - if Talos is not here at the Tellurian Gate, then where is he?
- Galatea asks Grant gently if he knows where her ‘Uncle’ is (referring to Professor Morrison) and Grant answers that he still hasn’t seen him. This reminds him that there is still the question of those who broke Narsaug out of prison, and Grant doesn’t know where to go next. He taps into his Wayfinding, but all that he can gauge is a vague feeling that the answer lies somewhere far above. Grant thinks hard and remembers that Lord Hyndrake was not the only Marindan to have a Key. He remembers that Sophia also had access to at least one Key. He doubts that Talos would be so stupid as to pick a fight with Benjamin, but he decides that this is the next place to go.
- After ten minutes, Grant gets back to his feet and asks to be taken (by air car) to his residence. Galatea agrees to remain on stand-by and protect the Tellurian Gate for the time being until they can confirm that the threat has passed. One of the guards drives Grant back to his home.
- Upon arrival, Grant realises that the door to the estate has been blown off its hinges. Inside there are destroyed drones and shattered furniture. The walls are scorched by blaster fire. Grant wanders from room to room and finds another Talos - this one has been sliced into four pieces. He finds Benjamin, Lady Sophia, Queen Aglaranna and Rafael in the same chamber that he last left them. Benjamin drinks tea from a fine china cup. Lady Sophia looks ashen, but she brightens when she sees Grant. Grant is relieved to see them all alive and unhurt but keeps this concealed in front of the homicidal little elf. Benjamin asks if Grant has found all of the traitors and Grant tells him that there is more than one Talos running around and there may be more. He explains that the Talos who attacked Naso fired a capsule which probably contained the Tellurian Key - but the Tellurian Gate appears to be safe. He asks if Benjamin retrieved a Key from this Talos and Benjamin shakes his head. Grant thinks for a moment about where else the capsule could have been sent to. Meanwhile, Benjamin leaves the room.
- Benjamin returns quickly with Talos’ head while Grant helps himself to Marindan tea. Benjamin concentrates on the head for about a minute, then asks for an air-car and someone to drive it. Grant volunteers and Benjamin agrees.
Part 3 - Back to the Factory
- The course that Benjamin directs takes them straight back to the Factory. This doesn’t make sense to Grant at first, although he does remember that the attacks on the undersea dome and Naso started when he was in the Factory. He considers the possibility that Talos attempted to distract him and send him elsewhere.
- Benjamin is not in a talkative mood. He directs Grant to fly faster, and then keeps his thoughts to himself. They arrive at the Factory without incident. The body of Talos was blown to bits during the explosion and they can find no evidence that there is a second Talos at the Factory. They search the place and find that one drone has the capsule fired from Naso with the Tellurian Key inside. Clearly even if Talos is alive he has been in no position to retrieve the Key. Benjamin takes the Key and destroys the drone just in case it has received any other instructions. He then asks whether Grant is happy to now return to Central. Grant insists on destroying all of the other drones - and the two of them cleave their way through all of the remaining robots. They then return back to Central and Grant’s residence.
- On the journey back, Benjamin drives (he always could drive, he just didn’t volunteer this previously). Grant rests - he is extremely extremely tired.
Part 4 - The Other Keys
- Returning to his residence, Benjamin asks what Grant will do next. Grant indicates that he lives in Marindar, or at least plans to. Benjamin asks why, and Grant explains that these people need defending - the Dwimmerlaik are still a threat. Benjamin agrees, and says that they are very probably making plans. Benjamin asks Lady Sophia if there are any other Keys, and Sophia shakes her head. Benjamin reveals that he has all of the Keys into Marindar (he has previously acquired the ones that Sophia possessed). Grant doesn’t ask for the Keys - he infers that Benjamin plans to remove them such that even if Talos does manage to revive himself, he still cannot escape.
- Benjamin turns to leave and Grant begins to follow him. Benjamin hops into the air-car and eyes Grant carefully. He asks if Grant wants to come, and Grant nods. He knows there is more but Benjamin has not been forthcoming to this point. The air-car lifts off and heads up, and up, and up… into space.
Part 5 - Into Space
- In near orbit, Benjamin asks if Grant can tell whether there are any monitoring devices on the vehicle and whether their conversation is private or not. Grant confirms that there are recording devices in the car (there seem to be everywhere on Marindar) and he agrees to erect an Umbral Shield around them so that they their movements and conversations will not be tracked without directly disabling the monitoring devices. Upon doing so, Benjamin retrieves a bullet from his pocket and concentrates on it. Grant can tell just from looking at it that it is an Icon. (GM’s note - Icons are visible as Icons using Eidolon or Umbral Sight) Benjamin then directs Grant as to which way to go.
- They travel for many hours through the void with only a field of distant stars around them. Marindar has long since vanished behind them. Benjamin is stoic and says nothing. Grant again uses the time to rest. But then in the distance he can feel something amidst the blackness. To an Umbra Master, what lies in the distance is painful to look at - for it is an Eidolon Ship. A Dwimmerlaik Ship. A weapon from the Great War. They have found Vala’s Pride.
Part 6 - The Dwimmerlaik Ship
- The Dwimmerlaik Ship is vast and alien. Grant can tell that this is a weapon of war, and infers that this was captured by the Lords of Gossamer during the Great War. This is Vala’s Pride.
* Image sourced from Google
- Suddenly more pieces fall into place in Grant’s mind. He knows that Marindar is guarded, and what better place to hide a captured Dwimmerlaik warship but in a guarded and protected realm. Feeling like a X-Wing pilot facing a Star Destroyer or even a Super Star Destroyer, Grant is decidedly uncomfortable. He feels like a thousand Eidolon eyes are locked on him and it makes his skin crawl. Benjamin doesn’t seem to like the ship either - Grant can tell that he has a certain distaste for it.
- They fly into one of the cavernous bays and step out into the hangar. There is no one to greet them, but Benjamin is able to direct them both (still using the Icon as a token to fast-track his Wayfinding). The air is ice-cold. They take a transport within the ship to a large control deck with overhead screens that give the appearance of windows looking outwards. It is at least heated to a more comfortable temperature. In this place they find:
* Images from L to R by Jason Rainville, Luigi Teruel, Sandara, Greysun_D, OchreJelly and Mictones
Part 7 - Answers
- Over the next few hours Grant learns more about the Lords of Gossamer and the Dwimmerlaik than perhaps all of his time in the Central Library. What he learns astonishes him…..
I’m going to discuss with David about openly publishing Ethan’s and Grant’s stats at this point ….. We are still at the 120 point level after 38 sessions and I think we need to have another points-bump at this level. Stay tuned …. we’re not finished….
PS: Session 39 writeup will be up by Wednesday 20th August. It’s already written…..
- This session carries on directly from Session 37, with Grant’s journey to Naso. This session is the conclusion of the 2nd Story Arc which began way back in Session 9 (!!!) It took a very long time to get to this point, but we’re having fun so that’s okay. We finally find out what happened to Talos, to Galatea, to those who broke out the Warglord Narsaug from the underwater prison, to Vala’s Pride, to Shatterlight. All is revealed! (well, mostly all…. heh heh)
- Based on other posts on the Rite Publishing forum, we can see now that Lords of Gossamer is at a significant disadvantage compared to Amber Diceless. Amber Diceless provided rules, but there were more than 10 full length novels of content to provide examples as to how the powers worked and what was possible/prudent. We don’t have the same clarity with the Lords of Gossamer setting. Rite Publishing is working on it, but it will probably take them years to develop the same level of content. So that’s it - the community needs to step up and answer those basic questions as to how things work, how powers appear, whether they can be detected when used etc. I’m going to work with Stairbender and Lurker37 (and possibly others) to build a FAQ which will no doubt be superseded as Rite Publishing produces content which fleshes out what has already been written. But I don’t think we can wait any longer - this game has been running for a year and we’re not stopping it. So we’re simply going to have to define what is missing, and some of what is written by the community will no doubt be contradicted by what Rite publishes as canon later on. That’s okay - we’ll make it clear in the FAQ what is a house rule and what is a ‘community call’ until it’s defined by Rite. In that FAQ we will have to write examples - it’s the only way. One of the strengths of the Amber Diceless rules were the frequent references back to passages of the Amber novels - that’s not possible in the Lords of Gossamer setting so we need to provide examples.
- On that note, there are a number of Bruce/David interpretations as to what is possible with Umbra Mastery in the following narrative. I’ll make some comments in italics below.
Realm 15b - True Marindar (Grey Door)
Part 1 - Attack on Naso
- Grant flies in hawk form towards Naso. He is focussed on speed, and becomes a black streak across the sky, leaving crackling energy in this wake. (GM’s note - okay, David and I discussed in detail what should be possible with Eidolon and Umbra to accelerate the travel of a character in hawk-form. Note that Speed is a Strength-based, so Grant is a very very fast hawk. Use of Eidolon would make the hawk more a more efficient flier but probably little more - it would increase his flying speed to a certain limit - but that would probably be Eidolon’s limit (not that Grant has that power). We then talked about what Umbra could do - could Umbra be used for propulsion (for example)? Could Umbra be used to negate gravity and even wind resistance to accelerate the speed? Then came my recommendation - both Eidolon and Umbra are paradigms for manipulating gossamer reality. Hence it should be possible do pretty much anything with both Eidolon and Umbra, but their paradigms make some things easier than others. Hence Grant should be able to go ‘supersonic’ with Umbra, effectively moulding gossamer reality to accelerate his speed, using Umbra to break down the obstacles/constraints which are preventing him from reaching his destination more quickly. I would have even allowed an Umbra ‘teleport’ if he had pushed with enough Psyche. David/Lurker37 liked this and agreed to it.) There is no sonic boom when Grant tears across the sky - effectively his Umbra powers prevent that. Lightning crackles in his wake due to atmospheric disturbance.
- He crosses four hours of flight time in about ten minutes. The township of Naso is by the sea, built into the hillside. It is small compared to Central, with perhaps only houses for 1500-2000 people. He sees sea-going vessels in the port. There is smoke pouring from some of the structures in the higher parts of the township, and Grant can see the occasional flash below of weapon-fire. Using Umbral Sight, Grant is able to determine that there are about two dozen of Talos’ drones in and around one building which is billowing smoke. (GM’s note - Umbral Sight is like X-Ray vision - it can see clean through smoke and other obstacles) He ascertains that the natives of Naso are attempting to retake a building which the drones are defending. Grant decides to join the locals.
- He swoops down behind the counterattacking force and approaches one of the soldiers. The soldier has no idea who Grant is, even after he introduces himself, and directs him to Quintus, the man leading the counterattack. Quintus’ soldiers are armed with wand-like guns and armour that reminds Grant of the ancient Greeks/Romans from his home Earth. The Marindans have even broken out some ‘antique’ weapons - Grant spots something that looks like a RPG-launcher, but they are still unable to penetrate the outer defences, particularly after a defensive barrier is erected which appears like a red semi-transparent haze in front of the structure. The drones continue to fire on any of the Marindans who get too close, using a variety of different weapons - sonics, plasma and ballistic weapons. Grant quickly sizes up the situation and takes command. (GM’s note - he has superior Warfare and high levels of Good Stuff, hence I ruled that Quintus is quickly convinced that he is better equipped to lead them) Grant asks after Lord Hyndrake and Quintus can only tell him that he is inside somewhere. Grant can hear the sound of weapon-fire coming from within so he assumes that the drones are still trying to eliminate those within. He can not afford to waste any time, so he rushes into action.
- Grant leads from the front, smashing through the defensive barrier with Umbra. The Marindans follow in his wake. With a wand-pistol in one hand and his wrist-blaster in the other, Grant tears through the outer perimeter and blasts two of the drones before the others adapt and deploy countermeasures which renders Grant’s ranged weapons ineffective. He switches to his blade and begins carving through the drones, appearing suddenly through the smoke, efficiently destroying them one by one and then moving on rapidly. (GM’s note - the drones can see through the smoke, but it still looks cool) He finds a chamber where the drones are attempting to melt through a section of the floor and he quickly destroys them (he finds out later that there were women and children on the other side). Finally he comes across Talos - another Talos - this one is in a kneeling position with a hole in the roof overhead, but it is totally inert. At his feet lies the unconscious Hyndrake, a broken silver chain around his neck.
- Grant curses that he is too late. Talos has already recovered the Key to the Tellurian Door. He assumes the worst - that Talos has fired a capsule to Central where the Tellurian Door is located and he has already assaulted the guards in a bid to escape. Grant makes contact with Sophia via sorcerous communication and tells her that Naso is once again under Marindan control. Sophia acknowledges this but says that there has been no attack on the Tellurian gate. Grant senses that Sophia is not in a position to tell him the whole situation (he remembers that the homicidal little elf, Benjamin, is with her). Grant sighs and steels himself for another very rapid flight to Central. Grant is feeling worn down, but he hopes that he will find a final resolution in Central.
Part 2 - Return to Central
- Putting a lot of effort in, Grant rips towards Central in hawk-form. A journey that should take more than 6 hours takes only about ten minutes using Umbra (again manipulating gossamer reality). This is very draining for him - he slows when he reaches the outskirts of Central and spies the Tellurian Gate (within a floating structure). He lands on the landing platform and transitions back to human form. The guards are expecting him, no doubt informed by Lady Sophia that he was on his way. They look visibly relieved that he has arrived, but confirm that there has been no attack.
- Grant insists on going to the Tellurian Door itself, within the structure, and finds Lady Galatea waiting for him. Grant is a touch surprised and asks if she is all right. She nods and tells him that Talos has not gotten past her - she remembers enough to confirm that Talos has indeed tampered with her. She assures Grant that if he is still around, Talos won’t get past her. Grant feels exhausted - he realises that he’s pushed himself too hard. Galatea asks if he is okay and he takes a seat. The guards offer him some water and food. Grant tries to think through the situation - if Talos is not here at the Tellurian Gate, then where is he?
- Galatea asks Grant gently if he knows where her ‘Uncle’ is (referring to Professor Morrison) and Grant answers that he still hasn’t seen him. This reminds him that there is still the question of those who broke Narsaug out of prison, and Grant doesn’t know where to go next. He taps into his Wayfinding, but all that he can gauge is a vague feeling that the answer lies somewhere far above. Grant thinks hard and remembers that Lord Hyndrake was not the only Marindan to have a Key. He remembers that Sophia also had access to at least one Key. He doubts that Talos would be so stupid as to pick a fight with Benjamin, but he decides that this is the next place to go.
- After ten minutes, Grant gets back to his feet and asks to be taken (by air car) to his residence. Galatea agrees to remain on stand-by and protect the Tellurian Gate for the time being until they can confirm that the threat has passed. One of the guards drives Grant back to his home.
- Upon arrival, Grant realises that the door to the estate has been blown off its hinges. Inside there are destroyed drones and shattered furniture. The walls are scorched by blaster fire. Grant wanders from room to room and finds another Talos - this one has been sliced into four pieces. He finds Benjamin, Lady Sophia, Queen Aglaranna and Rafael in the same chamber that he last left them. Benjamin drinks tea from a fine china cup. Lady Sophia looks ashen, but she brightens when she sees Grant. Grant is relieved to see them all alive and unhurt but keeps this concealed in front of the homicidal little elf. Benjamin asks if Grant has found all of the traitors and Grant tells him that there is more than one Talos running around and there may be more. He explains that the Talos who attacked Naso fired a capsule which probably contained the Tellurian Key - but the Tellurian Gate appears to be safe. He asks if Benjamin retrieved a Key from this Talos and Benjamin shakes his head. Grant thinks for a moment about where else the capsule could have been sent to. Meanwhile, Benjamin leaves the room.
- Benjamin returns quickly with Talos’ head while Grant helps himself to Marindan tea. Benjamin concentrates on the head for about a minute, then asks for an air-car and someone to drive it. Grant volunteers and Benjamin agrees.
Part 3 - Back to the Factory
- The course that Benjamin directs takes them straight back to the Factory. This doesn’t make sense to Grant at first, although he does remember that the attacks on the undersea dome and Naso started when he was in the Factory. He considers the possibility that Talos attempted to distract him and send him elsewhere.
- Benjamin is not in a talkative mood. He directs Grant to fly faster, and then keeps his thoughts to himself. They arrive at the Factory without incident. The body of Talos was blown to bits during the explosion and they can find no evidence that there is a second Talos at the Factory. They search the place and find that one drone has the capsule fired from Naso with the Tellurian Key inside. Clearly even if Talos is alive he has been in no position to retrieve the Key. Benjamin takes the Key and destroys the drone just in case it has received any other instructions. He then asks whether Grant is happy to now return to Central. Grant insists on destroying all of the other drones - and the two of them cleave their way through all of the remaining robots. They then return back to Central and Grant’s residence.
- On the journey back, Benjamin drives (he always could drive, he just didn’t volunteer this previously). Grant rests - he is extremely extremely tired.
Part 4 - The Other Keys
- Returning to his residence, Benjamin asks what Grant will do next. Grant indicates that he lives in Marindar, or at least plans to. Benjamin asks why, and Grant explains that these people need defending - the Dwimmerlaik are still a threat. Benjamin agrees, and says that they are very probably making plans. Benjamin asks Lady Sophia if there are any other Keys, and Sophia shakes her head. Benjamin reveals that he has all of the Keys into Marindar (he has previously acquired the ones that Sophia possessed). Grant doesn’t ask for the Keys - he infers that Benjamin plans to remove them such that even if Talos does manage to revive himself, he still cannot escape.
- Benjamin turns to leave and Grant begins to follow him. Benjamin hops into the air-car and eyes Grant carefully. He asks if Grant wants to come, and Grant nods. He knows there is more but Benjamin has not been forthcoming to this point. The air-car lifts off and heads up, and up, and up… into space.
Part 5 - Into Space
- In near orbit, Benjamin asks if Grant can tell whether there are any monitoring devices on the vehicle and whether their conversation is private or not. Grant confirms that there are recording devices in the car (there seem to be everywhere on Marindar) and he agrees to erect an Umbral Shield around them so that they their movements and conversations will not be tracked without directly disabling the monitoring devices. Upon doing so, Benjamin retrieves a bullet from his pocket and concentrates on it. Grant can tell just from looking at it that it is an Icon. (GM’s note - Icons are visible as Icons using Eidolon or Umbral Sight) Benjamin then directs Grant as to which way to go.
- They travel for many hours through the void with only a field of distant stars around them. Marindar has long since vanished behind them. Benjamin is stoic and says nothing. Grant again uses the time to rest. But then in the distance he can feel something amidst the blackness. To an Umbra Master, what lies in the distance is painful to look at - for it is an Eidolon Ship. A Dwimmerlaik Ship. A weapon from the Great War. They have found Vala’s Pride.
Part 6 - The Dwimmerlaik Ship
- The Dwimmerlaik Ship is vast and alien. Grant can tell that this is a weapon of war, and infers that this was captured by the Lords of Gossamer during the Great War. This is Vala’s Pride.
* Image sourced from Google
- Suddenly more pieces fall into place in Grant’s mind. He knows that Marindar is guarded, and what better place to hide a captured Dwimmerlaik warship but in a guarded and protected realm. Feeling like a X-Wing pilot facing a Star Destroyer or even a Super Star Destroyer, Grant is decidedly uncomfortable. He feels like a thousand Eidolon eyes are locked on him and it makes his skin crawl. Benjamin doesn’t seem to like the ship either - Grant can tell that he has a certain distaste for it.
- They fly into one of the cavernous bays and step out into the hangar. There is no one to greet them, but Benjamin is able to direct them both (still using the Icon as a token to fast-track his Wayfinding). The air is ice-cold. They take a transport within the ship to a large control deck with overhead screens that give the appearance of windows looking outwards. It is at least heated to a more comfortable temperature. In this place they find:
* Images from L to R by Jason Rainville, Luigi Teruel, Sandara, Greysun_D, OchreJelly and Mictones
- Lord Drake - clearly in command. (Grant realises that the bullet Icon that Benjamin was using was an Icon of Drake)
- Turadok - smiling a toothy grin when he sees Grant. He is relaxing on one of the chairs by an oversized console.
- Narsaug - watching Grant warily from a distance as they arrive (GM’s note - remember that Grant ‘trashed’ Narsaug back in Session 18)
- Professor Morrison - frozen in ‘carbonate’ (yep, Han Solo style). He is hanging on a distant wall.
- Cromwell - looking relaxed to see Grant.
- Queen Constancia - looking relieved to see Grant
Part 7 - Answers
- Over the next few hours Grant learns more about the Lords of Gossamer and the Dwimmerlaik than perhaps all of his time in the Central Library. What he learns astonishes him…..
- The Traitor - Drake wants to know if Talos is really the only traitor on Marindar. Grant believes this to be the case, but Drake is still uncertain about Morrison. He refers to Morrison as ‘dangerous’ given his knowledge and ideas - hence why he is currently frozen in ‘carbonite’ until Drake can decide what to do with him. The Lords of Gossamer have known for some time that there was a traitor on Marindar but didn’t know who.
- Dossiers - Drake is able to confirm that Talos kept extensive intelligence dossiers on all of the Lords of Gossamer and the Marindan Defenders which would be highly useful to the Enemy. This included all of the ‘danger room’ information that Cromwell had acquired to train Grant, amongst other Lords. As a technologically life form, Talos was exceptionally good with the kind of sorcery/technology that Marindar employs and had many years to gather a significant stockpile of damaging information. Grant recovered the memory core from the Factory and provided it to Bethany/Morlan for safekeeping - Drake’s agents in Central have since been in touch with the Defenders and confirmed its contents. Grant later accesses the memory core and finds encrypted information (which he can decrypt using Umbra) which refer to other enemies of the Lords of Gossamer that Talos has worked with, even on Marindar. The names mentioned are Shimrod, Shuluth, Skullface and Victor. (GM’s note - the same Shuluth and Victor that have popped up in Campaign 3 and the same Shimrod that first appeared in Session 8)
* Images from L to R by Tanathiel, Unknown, Deligaris, Unknown and RyanVogler - Flushing Out the Traitor - The Marindans also suspected that there was a traitor as the Lords of Gossamer were staying away. They hatched their own plot, sending out many birds onto the Stair (the red robins) and even bringing Vala’s Pride closer as a lure. Drake hadn’t wanted this - he had been prepared to leave Narsaug incarcerated for a time and work through agents, but he wasn’t prepared to risk Vala’s Pride and hence the team had swung into action to recover both. There was no entry through the Doors into Marindar because the team which extracted Narsaug was already on Marindar (or off world in the colonies) - there are many places to hide on Marindar if you know where. Drake is most unhappy with Professor Morrison for his foolhardy approach - they were fortunate that Talos was not able to contact the Enemy directly - if he had done so the outcome might have been very different.
- But where are the Red Robins? - Drake shows Grant a great chamber within Vala’s Pride that holds hundreds of the Red Robins. The Lords of Gossamer have been deliberately catching them for some time, preventing Marindar from calling for help while they work behind the scenes to pin-point who the traitor is. Lady Sophia has no idea of this. Regarding the one that Grant encountered (in Session 13), that one somehow slipped through the net. Drake would have prevented the contact if he could have. (This one left Grant gobsmacked!)
- The Marindan Doors - Grant asked about why the Marindan Doors were closing, and Drake answered simply that Marindar is very sensitive to the presence of Lords of Gossamer. The more Lords frequent Marindar, the more Doors open. This is a double-edged sword so there is has been a deliberate effort amongst the Lords to ‘stay away’. Drake confirms Grant’s fear that the Dwimmerlaik are ‘very close’ to Marindar (but at this point he does not explain further). Again, Grant is shocked as he assumed that the Dwimmerlaik were deliberately severing the Doors to Marindar - he didn’t consider that this could be a natural occurrence.
- Narsaug’s Attack - Grant asks why Narsaug attacked Marindar and whether Bastiano truly sent Narsaug to invade. Drake again answers this one and says that Bastiano did indeed direct Narsaug to attack the Marindan Approach. Bastiano discussed the idea with Drake but Drake refused to go ahead with it. Bastiano felt strongly enough to go forward with his plan anyway, duping Narsaug into thinking that Drake had ordered it. Drake admits that he has since had ‘words’ with Bastiano about this, but Drake does not appear to show any remorse. Again, Grant is shocked - people died because of this. Drake calmly replies that it was not his wish, but that people die during war time. Grant can’t understand this perspective because the Marindans were civilians. Drake says that Bastiano hoped to ‘frighten’ the traitor into action which might reveal himself (or herself). As a result of the attack on the Marindan approach, Professor Morrison took the artefacts from the Central Museum and took steps to fortify Marindar. It did have an impact, but did not flush out the traitor as expected.
- The Destruction of the Watchtower - Drake explains that the Vala’s Pride did indeed open fire on the Watchtower, when Talos attempted to take control of the onboard computer systems from the Watchtower. They didn’t know it was Talos at the time, only that someone had used the Watchtower communications array to access the Vala’s Pride systems - and hence they opened fire.
- Shatterlight Destroyed? - Grant asks about whether Shatterlight is truly destroyed, and again Drake shares a ‘wonder’ with him. He takes him to a glowing globe in the heart of the ship and tells him that this is Shatterlight, which actually powers the ship itself. Again this is beyond Grant’s comprehension, and Drake tells him gently that they ‘switched the realms’. (GM’s note - this is deliberately meant to be a WTF moment, suggesting that some of the Lords can do some pretty over the top stuff) Drake destroyed a realm that was very close to Shatterlight, but not truly the real thing, in order to make the Dwimmerlaik believe that the Lords of Gossamer are at war with each other and see if they would be prepared to show their hand. He implies (but does not say) that he has had dealings with the Dwimmerlaik and continues to try to draw them out. Grant asks about Mordecai and Drake tells him that Mordecai does not know the plan. Mordecai feels strongly, as he should based on his perception as to what has occurred, and this also is important to the plan. Grant is again astonished - that they’re duping one of their own just to keep up appearances.
I’m going to discuss with David about openly publishing Ethan’s and Grant’s stats at this point ….. We are still at the 120 point level after 38 sessions and I think we need to have another points-bump at this level. Stay tuned …. we’re not finished….
PS: Session 39 writeup will be up by Wednesday 20th August. It’s already written…..
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
GM Commentary
Woo hoo! Session 38 was run this evening and we are FINISHED with the second story arc. 
Whew - that only took 22 sessions to get to the end of the second story arc.
Write-up will be done over the next few days.
Whew - that only took 22 sessions to get to the end of the second story arc.
Write-up will be done over the next few days.
GM Commentary
Session 38 will be run tonight with the write up done probably on the weekend.
Am talking with Stairbender about writing a FAQ to fill in the rules gaps. That is, to provide clarity (at least a house rule/community POV) as to how X works/how Y appears etc. Amber Diceless had 10
novels of content to provide this guidance. The point of this FAQ is to provide some of that content to flesh out the rules. If anyone is keen to contribute to that project please PM me. That's "contribute", not just get a copy of what we're writing.
Am talking with Stairbender about writing a FAQ to fill in the rules gaps. That is, to provide clarity (at least a house rule/community POV) as to how X works/how Y appears etc. Amber Diceless had 10
novels of content to provide this guidance. The point of this FAQ is to provide some of that content to flesh out the rules. If anyone is keen to contribute to that project please PM me. That's "contribute", not just get a copy of what we're writing.
Monday, 4 August 2014
One Year Anniversary
Well, this campaign has now been running for a full year (started 25th July 2013). We ran 36 sessions during the year, and had more than 10,000 reads.
I caught up with David (Lurker37) in Melbourne last weekend - it was nice to see him in person after a few years. I have also been in touch with two other members of the old Amber crowd, and there is some interest in 'getting the band back together'. So it's possible that this campaign will be extended to one or two other players (old friends).... we'll see.
David and I also talked extensively about where we felt LoG&S is lacking, and I posted up our thoughts in a separate thread here. Amber Diceless had it easy because there were so many books which had content/examples. Lords of Gossamer doesn't have that same body of content to refer back to. I hope Rite Publishing keeps publishing more LoG&S supplements.
The other thing that David and I talked about which was a strength of Amber Diceless is that the number of 'powerful' NPCs was kept small because they were all part of one family. By keeping the number of powerful NPCs small, the PCs' relationships with them became important - because there were very few of them. In Lords of Gossamer there is a tendency (and I've seen 4 people GM so far) to create more Lords, and more Lords. By not keeping the number small and finite, it cheapens being a Lord of Gossamer. Who wants to be one of thousands of Lords of Gossamer? It is much more fun/important sounding to be one of fifteen (for example).
We've also talked about the Third Story Arc, which we are on the cusp of. We are going to continue the game for the rest of 2014 and into 2015. We're going to explore the main powers, and Invocation. We're also going to have the Big Bads, the Dwimmerlaik, running around so that we can see how this all works - how their powers work, and how to keep them interesting. One of the problems I foresee is that the Dwimmerlaik are a race and there are only about 4-5 images of individual Dwimmerlaik in the cards/rulebook. I wish there were more Dwimmerlaik images - a whole deck of them would be nice. I fear I'm going to end up trawling DeviantArt for images of demonic figures with horns on their heads and passing them off as Dwimmerlaik - or just use images of individuals scowling at the viewer and say that they've 'shapeshifted' into this form.
Anyway, enough for now.... Session 38 will be run in the next 4-5 days and hopefully I'll have the write-up posted by Monday 10th August or thereabouts.
Cheers, and thanks for reading!
Session 37 - Attack on Marindar
GM Observations
- This session carries on directly from Session 36, following Grant’s pursuit of one of the Marindan Defenders who was inside the Watchtower when it was hit.
- A note on the ‘Link’ character introduced below - this is simply the best image that I could find for the character. He doesn’t actually wear such a silly hat. This character is based on my very first AD&D character more than 30 years ago (showing my age here) who was a highly experienced warrior who carried no magical equipment (which is an anachronism in 1st edition). A small spoiler here - ‘Ben’ from the Marindan Approach, way back in Session 14 is the best the Marindans could do to duplicate this character who calls himself ‘Benjamin’, even though that is not his real name. ‘Benjamin’ is designed to be a pure Warfare character. In Amber, there is Benedict. In this game, there is Benjamin - he is designed to instil fear in the players, and I think I succeed in that with his introduction. On a slight tangent, it is this same character who used to protect Gorgorin the Shatterer (introduced in Session 35 Part 3) in the old old AD&D game. He carried a weapon which effectively destroyed things, a weapon which he could not wield without severe consequences - but enough on that. On with the narrative…..
Realm 15b - True Marindar (Grey Door)
Part 1 - The Homicidal Little Elf
- Grant, Sophia, Bethany, Morlan and Rafael are in conference regarding what to do next. Grant asks as to whether there are any recordings of Narsaug's breakout which would give them an idea as to what they are up against, and Morlan explains that the information should be captured within the memory core of the crashed Watchtower. However, he doubts there is any information as to how they got into Marindar as none of the sorcerous alarms for the gates were triggered.
- Grant detects a lack of leadership within the group and so Grant takes charge of the situation. He asks about 'Benjamin' but no one in the room seems to know much about him, except that he came in via the Tellurian gate. Even though Benjamin is in a nearby room, Grant notes that he cannot sense him as a nearby Lord of Gossamer. Grant isn't sure what that means - he wonders if it is possible to hide one's presence as a Lord of Gossamer. Grant asks Sophia to show him in.
- A few minutes later Benjamin is brought into the room. He is a short (below 5 foot tall) elf dressed in green. Physically Grant is reminded of the adversary in the Marindan approach. Even though Benjamin is cool and calm, Grant can sense a homicidal streak within him.
* Image by Ninjatic on DeviantART
- At this range Grant can tell that he is a Lord of Gossamer. Grant can tell that the elf is sizing up everyone in the room, and he's a hair away from cutting loose and murdering everyone here. Grant doesn't think anyone else (even Sophia) is aware of how close to the edge Benjamin is. The elf moves like a predator around the room. He has already assessed that Grant is the only Lord in the room, but he draws close enough to each of the others in the room to assess Grant's reaction. Sophia thanks Benjamin for joining them and offers for him to take a seat. Grant is sure that 'Benjamin' is not his real name. Benjamin sits lightly on the edge of the chair as though he’s ready to spring at a moment’s notice.
- Grant asks Benjamin why he is here (knowing from Sophia that he came directly to this residence from the Tellurian gate) and the elf answers in the Marindan tongue that it's because all of the players are here in one place. Grant presses and the elf says that he's here because of the Enemy. Benjamin says that he is surprised that they are not already here, but he says that they are definitely waiting nearby. Benjamin says he's here to "clean up the mess" if required and gives Grant the distinct impression that unless Grant can root out the traitor quickly, Benjamin will kill all of the possible traitors just to be sure. Grant attempts to find out what Benjamin knows and whether he has any information which would help in the investigation but Benjamin firmly says that he only just arrived. Grant feels most uncomfortable around the homicidal little elf. He doubts that Benjamin will tell him anything useful in the short term.
- Grant decides that the fallen watchtower should be the next place to visit for clues, and Benjamin threatens everyone present, telling them that only Grant has permission to leave the room. At this point the others recognise the hostility and sense that Benjamin is a threat. Only a few seconds later, Benjamin relaxes a little and changes his mind - he says that Sophia may also leave. Grant attempts to vouch for them all and Benjamin questions this, asking if he would stake his life on that. At last Benjamin agrees to let Bethany and Morlan go with Grant to the watchtower, but Benjamin makes it clear that they are both his responsibility and not to let them out of his sight. Grant agrees.
Part 2 - The Fallen Watchtower
- Travelling by air car to the watchtower which was once the command centre for the Marindan Defenders, they are able to view the damage from above. Originally the structure floated about 500m above the ground, but after being hit by an orbital strike with a lance weapon, the structure plummeted to the ground and has left a large impact crater. The main tower of the watchtower is now at a 30 degree angle, and the top third of the structure has completely broken off.
- En route Grant asks about the watchtower and learns that the main power core was hit by the lance so the defence systems are unlikely to be working. There are no prisoners incarcerated here, or guards. Only the Defenders themselves were allowed onto the watchtower. There are a number of rooms for different projects, including many of the items that were looted from the Central Museum. But there should be no threats.
- The air car penetrates a sorcerous membrane that prevents those who are not Defenders from crossing the threshold. As Grant is travelling with Bethany and Morlan, he is allowed access. It is difficult landing as the structure is leaning so heavily but Morlan manages it. Grant watches what the Defenders can do so that he can better understand their capabilities. He also asks Bethany to disable the air car so that no one else can steal their vehicle. Morlan clears the rubble away using sorcerous telekinesis and opens an access chute. Bethany illuminates the area with a purple glow around her hands and then Morlan lowers the three of them into the shaft.
- On the lower levels there is emergency lighting that shrouds everything in dull red light. They make their way through the complex to the main control room but find that it has been sealed by massive blast doors. Morlan explains that the main control room is cut off during a power cut. Grant asks for their suggestions to open the door and Bethany and Morlan discuss re-routing secondary power although they seem unconvinced that this will work. There are no other man-sized ways in and Grant is unwilling to shapeshift into something smaller which would leave them unattended. At last Grant uses Umbra to weaken the door assembly. Given the incline of the tower, he is able to use gravity to his advantage, opening a gap between the doors through which they can crawl.
Part 3 - The Control Room
- Within the control room they find the main console but it is dead. Morlan is incensed because it suggests that something has happened to the memory core and he troops off with Bethany to find a suitable access point. Meanwhile Grant explores the chamber and finds metal fragments which appear to have broken off something, but there is no evidence as what was the source. Showing these to Bethany, she is able to confirm that these are part of Talos' exo-suit. Grant uses Umbral sight to inspect further and finds a trace of a sorcerous singularity - evidence of a teleport. Morlan says that teleportation through the watchtower shields is impossible, but Grant asks patiently who worked on the shields and Morlan confirms that Talos did.
- They make their way through access tunnels to the memory core but find only a charred husk of what should have been a crystal lattice. The equipment around the destroyed memory core is blackened, suggesting that it was blasted at close range by an energy weapon. Grant remembers that Talos carried such a weapon. (GM's note - way back in Session 16 Part 2)
- Seeing the memory core destroyed, Grant asks if a backup was kept, and Morlan confirms that there is one at 'the Factory'. Bethany is not happy that Morlan has even revealed this and they argue as they head back to the air car.
Part 4 - Journey to the Factory
- Morlan fires up the air car and takes off at speed. The Factory is almost two hours away, and the argument between Bethany and Morlan continues. Grant is able to glean a great deal from their arguing but he finally tells them to shut up and answer his questions.
- It is revealed that the Defenders have a facility called 'the Factory', whose purpose it is to mass-produce robot drones if required. Marindar has no army, so this is one of Professor Morrison's projects to produce an army at relatively short notice if required. Many different humanoid robots have been created over time, but Talos did most of the work as he is a mechanoid himself.
- Grant is astonished by this. It never occurred to him that Talos is a machine-life form. He asks more about the drone capabilities and their tactics but neither Morlan nor Bethany know much about them because it wasn't their project. Grant thinks over how they would deal with up to a hundred of these drones, and Morlan says that if the production lines are operating there could be thousands.
- As Grant reels from this information, he asks what else he needs to know. Again Bethany and Morlan clam up and Grant has to push harder. He demands to know what other nasty projects have the Defenders been up to. He ends up wishing he hadn't asked.
- At first Morlan admits to there being some imprisoned life forms (parasites) which could dominate a sentient being, but then he mentions 'the Farm' and Grant notes Bethany's extreme reaction. The look that Bethany gives Morlan would freeze hell itself. Grant attempts to make a joke of it, asking what is grown on 'the Farm' but Morlan replies tersely that the Marindan Approach isn't the only dimension that has been tethered to Marindar. Grant feels a slight shiver as Morlan explains that there is another place that the Defenders call 'the Farm' but it is anything but. It's a prison where time and space work quite differently, which the Lords of Gossamer use to store prisoners who are too powerful and dangerous to kill. Morlan tells Grant that any one of the prisoners is supposed to be a match and more for a Lord of Gossamer. Neither of them know much about who and what is in 'the Farm' but it is all bad. Grant shakes his head in disbelief - he can scarcely believe that Marindar is such a powder keg. He asks what Talos could do with 'the Farm' and Morlan says that with the codes, he could open the gateway to it - but beyond that he just doesn't know.
Part 5 - The Attack Begins
- The air car heads to the lonely snow-capped mountain that contains 'the Factory'. The opening is little more than a concealed slot in the side of the mountain, protected by another sorcerous membrane. They begin exploring the industrial site which bears little resemblance to Marindan architecture and find a cavernous chamber with hundreds of metallic drones that remind Grant of terminator robots. None of them appear to be active.
- Just as they enter the chamber, Grant received the beginning of a sorcerous communication. It is Sophia. She expresses concern for his welfare and asks if he is safe. Looking around at the robots, Grant reassures her and then she asks more specifically if he is underwater. She tells him that the shields around the undersea city (where Narsaug was held prisoner) are collapsing. Someone is attacking the systems controlling the shields. Grant realises that they are hours away from the city itself and so he shares this with Bethany and Morlan and asks for their counsel. Ignoring the robots, Morlan heads straight for a computer console and attempts to remotely access the shield systems and fight off the intruder.
- Feeling a little overwhelmed by a situation that seems to be getting steadily worse, Grant takes out his Icon for Ethan and attempts to contact him. This is unfortunately unsuccessful, but he isn't sure why. (GM's note - David and I discussed this and we decided that not only would it make no sense for Ethan to come into this plotting given that from his perspective this time has already passed, it would also spoil what is essentially Grant's adventure. It made logical sense for Grant to attempt the contact but we decided that the contact failed, perhaps some sort of barrier around the Factory. Who knows....)
- Surrounded by a small army of killer robots that seem to be inert, Grant watches Morlan at work as he tried to save as many people as possible while fighting a losing battle against whatever is dismantling the shields. Some time passes and Grant receives another sorcerous communication. It is Sophia again and she advises him that the port-city of Naso is under attack by about thirty drones. Grant recalls that Naso is the domain of Lord Heimloch, supposedly one of Drake's descendants. He also knows the rough geography and calculates that Naso is about four hours away in the air car.
- Grant mulls over the situation and wonders if these are both feints. Then he seizes upon the answer because he remembers that Heimloch is one of the few individuals on Marindar to have a Key to one of the Doors - the Tellurian Door. He decides that Talos is trying to escape Marindar. He doesn't have access to an Icon, and the Queen has been removed (he thinks that she had access to a Key) which leaves only Heimloch and Sophia with Keys. He thinks briefly about Sophia and decides that she should be 'safe' with the homicidal elf if their residence in Central comes under attack. He is not sure if the attack on Naso is a feint or not but he decides to pursue the memory core as soon as Morlan has finished.
- At last the shields collapse and Morlan says that he tried his best. Grant notes that two of the drones have activated and are heading their direction. The three of them withdraw and look for another exit. They find a locked door which Grant literally kicks down as the drones stride after them.
Part 6 - The Battle in the Factory
- The trio race down a corridor and at the first junction they discover that there are active defences around the corner. As Grant prepares to use Umbra against them, the pursuing drones announce that they have identified Bethany and Morlan and are reconfiguring. Looking back, Grant can see that they are reshaping their limbs. As they bear down on the trio, Grant races back and leaps on one of the robots, ripping it clean off the ground and wielding it like a man-sized club against the other robot. It takes three swings to break one and then there is a beeping sound as if one of them is on overload. Grant dives for cover and there is a teeth-rattling explosion. As the smoke begins to clear, Grant hears the metallic activation of many more of the drones. Lots and lots of them.
- Running back, Grant takes a look at the defences and sees another door. He wields Umbra and smashes the defences, causing two sets of blast doors to close. Focusing the Umbra on the closing doors, he manages to prevent the outer doors from shutting completely but the inner doors snap shut. Grant heads to the blast doors and instructs Bethany and Morlan to buy him some time.
- As the robots march down the corridor, they again begin adapting to their identified targets. Like the Sentinels from the Uncanny X-Men comic books, their attacks are tailored to their foes. Bethany is blasted by an EMP gun which disrupts her psychic talents and knocks her out - the robots march over her and keep going. They deploy lasers against Morlan, bypassing his telekinetic shields and setting him on fire. Meanwhile Grant unleashes Umbra on the inner blast doors and rips them apart (the effort is considerable). As Morlan retreats back to him, Grant puts on the fire with Umbra (which he did before, way back in Session 19) and leaps through the breach with Morlan, an Umbral shield surrounding them as they do.
- Upon arrival in the control room on the other side, Grant is hit by a red light which hits him full in the chest and slams him back against the wall. It is Talos the mechanoid that has shot him, his blaster going clean through the Umbral shield.
* Image by Tanathiel on DeviantART
- A number of starfish-like parasites run across the room towards the two of them. One leaps on Morlan's face while others are desiccated by the Umbral shield around Grant.
- Grant spots the glowing memory core a short way behind Talos and he unleashes Umbra on his opponent. Raw Umbral power tears at Talos' mechanical body and he falls to his knees, smoking. Bits of him fall to the ground.
- Before the parasite can animate Morlan, Grant knocks Morlan out cold and forces the parasite to leave him or be killed. Grant then gets back to his feet and surveys the body of Talos. He isn't sure that he is 'dead' and is expecting him to come back at a moment's notice. As Grant inspects the mechanoid, he detects a power surge using Umbral Sight. Swearing Grant scoops up the memory core and Morlan and makes a dash for it. The robots fire upon him as he flees but then there is a huge explosion from the control room behind and a fireball rips down the corridor through the aperture in the blast doors. Umbra shields him and Morlan from the worst of it, but most of the robots in the corridor are not so lucky.
- Coughing, his ears ringing, he finds to his surprise that Morlan and Bethany are still alive, although Bethany needs medical attention. More than half the drones are still standing in the warehouse - Talos clearly didn't have time to activate all of them. Grant wonders if Talos is truly dead or whether he has more than one body. Morlan wakes with a terrible headache and Grant asks him to take Bethany back to Central in the air car so that she can receive appropriate medical treatment. Dusting himself off, he checks in with Sophia, to find that Talos has also attacked Central and his home. Grant is not surprised by this as he knows that Sophia has a Key and he reached the conclusion that this is what Talos has been seeking to escape Marindar. Sophia tells him that she is fine, and that Naso remains under attack.
- Grant decides to head to Naso with all available speed. He is tired from using Umbra but steels himself for the flight.
Realm 18 - Arcadia (Green Door)
Epilogue - Galatea’s Memories Return
- Meanwhile, a 'cut to', something happening off camera which I described to David as a player which makes sense to include.
- Galatea is still in Arcadia. She has flown and has confirmed that she has unearthly physical strength. However, she does not have her memories. That is, she doesn't have her memories until she converses with Queen Aglaranna who visits her and thanks her for coming to Arcadia to the defence of her people. Galatea doesn't remember coming to Arcadia for that reason, but then she remembers. She remembers that she came to Arcadia because Ethan was in danger (or so she thought). The enchantments that were influencing her have been removed, but the connection to Ethan is a powerful catalyst for her memory as it provokes a strong emotional reaction. Even though those enchantments are no longer in play, the emotions she felt at the time are a strong connection to her memory. A large portion of her memory comes flooding back in an instant, and she asks the Queen where Ethan is. Aglaranna tells her that Ethan left Arcadia before the problems begun and that he is on the Stair somewhere, on a mission for her. Aglaranna doesn't confide in her to tell her who Ethan is looking for, but Galatea realises that Ethan is gone and that Marindar could still be in danger. She resolves to return to Marindar immediately.
- This session carries on directly from Session 36, following Grant’s pursuit of one of the Marindan Defenders who was inside the Watchtower when it was hit.
- A note on the ‘Link’ character introduced below - this is simply the best image that I could find for the character. He doesn’t actually wear such a silly hat. This character is based on my very first AD&D character more than 30 years ago (showing my age here) who was a highly experienced warrior who carried no magical equipment (which is an anachronism in 1st edition). A small spoiler here - ‘Ben’ from the Marindan Approach, way back in Session 14 is the best the Marindans could do to duplicate this character who calls himself ‘Benjamin’, even though that is not his real name. ‘Benjamin’ is designed to be a pure Warfare character. In Amber, there is Benedict. In this game, there is Benjamin - he is designed to instil fear in the players, and I think I succeed in that with his introduction. On a slight tangent, it is this same character who used to protect Gorgorin the Shatterer (introduced in Session 35 Part 3) in the old old AD&D game. He carried a weapon which effectively destroyed things, a weapon which he could not wield without severe consequences - but enough on that. On with the narrative…..
Realm 15b - True Marindar (Grey Door)
Part 1 - The Homicidal Little Elf
- Grant, Sophia, Bethany, Morlan and Rafael are in conference regarding what to do next. Grant asks as to whether there are any recordings of Narsaug's breakout which would give them an idea as to what they are up against, and Morlan explains that the information should be captured within the memory core of the crashed Watchtower. However, he doubts there is any information as to how they got into Marindar as none of the sorcerous alarms for the gates were triggered.
- Grant detects a lack of leadership within the group and so Grant takes charge of the situation. He asks about 'Benjamin' but no one in the room seems to know much about him, except that he came in via the Tellurian gate. Even though Benjamin is in a nearby room, Grant notes that he cannot sense him as a nearby Lord of Gossamer. Grant isn't sure what that means - he wonders if it is possible to hide one's presence as a Lord of Gossamer. Grant asks Sophia to show him in.
- A few minutes later Benjamin is brought into the room. He is a short (below 5 foot tall) elf dressed in green. Physically Grant is reminded of the adversary in the Marindan approach. Even though Benjamin is cool and calm, Grant can sense a homicidal streak within him.
* Image by Ninjatic on DeviantART
- At this range Grant can tell that he is a Lord of Gossamer. Grant can tell that the elf is sizing up everyone in the room, and he's a hair away from cutting loose and murdering everyone here. Grant doesn't think anyone else (even Sophia) is aware of how close to the edge Benjamin is. The elf moves like a predator around the room. He has already assessed that Grant is the only Lord in the room, but he draws close enough to each of the others in the room to assess Grant's reaction. Sophia thanks Benjamin for joining them and offers for him to take a seat. Grant is sure that 'Benjamin' is not his real name. Benjamin sits lightly on the edge of the chair as though he’s ready to spring at a moment’s notice.
- Grant asks Benjamin why he is here (knowing from Sophia that he came directly to this residence from the Tellurian gate) and the elf answers in the Marindan tongue that it's because all of the players are here in one place. Grant presses and the elf says that he's here because of the Enemy. Benjamin says that he is surprised that they are not already here, but he says that they are definitely waiting nearby. Benjamin says he's here to "clean up the mess" if required and gives Grant the distinct impression that unless Grant can root out the traitor quickly, Benjamin will kill all of the possible traitors just to be sure. Grant attempts to find out what Benjamin knows and whether he has any information which would help in the investigation but Benjamin firmly says that he only just arrived. Grant feels most uncomfortable around the homicidal little elf. He doubts that Benjamin will tell him anything useful in the short term.
- Grant decides that the fallen watchtower should be the next place to visit for clues, and Benjamin threatens everyone present, telling them that only Grant has permission to leave the room. At this point the others recognise the hostility and sense that Benjamin is a threat. Only a few seconds later, Benjamin relaxes a little and changes his mind - he says that Sophia may also leave. Grant attempts to vouch for them all and Benjamin questions this, asking if he would stake his life on that. At last Benjamin agrees to let Bethany and Morlan go with Grant to the watchtower, but Benjamin makes it clear that they are both his responsibility and not to let them out of his sight. Grant agrees.
Part 2 - The Fallen Watchtower
- Travelling by air car to the watchtower which was once the command centre for the Marindan Defenders, they are able to view the damage from above. Originally the structure floated about 500m above the ground, but after being hit by an orbital strike with a lance weapon, the structure plummeted to the ground and has left a large impact crater. The main tower of the watchtower is now at a 30 degree angle, and the top third of the structure has completely broken off.
- En route Grant asks about the watchtower and learns that the main power core was hit by the lance so the defence systems are unlikely to be working. There are no prisoners incarcerated here, or guards. Only the Defenders themselves were allowed onto the watchtower. There are a number of rooms for different projects, including many of the items that were looted from the Central Museum. But there should be no threats.
- The air car penetrates a sorcerous membrane that prevents those who are not Defenders from crossing the threshold. As Grant is travelling with Bethany and Morlan, he is allowed access. It is difficult landing as the structure is leaning so heavily but Morlan manages it. Grant watches what the Defenders can do so that he can better understand their capabilities. He also asks Bethany to disable the air car so that no one else can steal their vehicle. Morlan clears the rubble away using sorcerous telekinesis and opens an access chute. Bethany illuminates the area with a purple glow around her hands and then Morlan lowers the three of them into the shaft.
- On the lower levels there is emergency lighting that shrouds everything in dull red light. They make their way through the complex to the main control room but find that it has been sealed by massive blast doors. Morlan explains that the main control room is cut off during a power cut. Grant asks for their suggestions to open the door and Bethany and Morlan discuss re-routing secondary power although they seem unconvinced that this will work. There are no other man-sized ways in and Grant is unwilling to shapeshift into something smaller which would leave them unattended. At last Grant uses Umbra to weaken the door assembly. Given the incline of the tower, he is able to use gravity to his advantage, opening a gap between the doors through which they can crawl.
Part 3 - The Control Room
- Within the control room they find the main console but it is dead. Morlan is incensed because it suggests that something has happened to the memory core and he troops off with Bethany to find a suitable access point. Meanwhile Grant explores the chamber and finds metal fragments which appear to have broken off something, but there is no evidence as what was the source. Showing these to Bethany, she is able to confirm that these are part of Talos' exo-suit. Grant uses Umbral sight to inspect further and finds a trace of a sorcerous singularity - evidence of a teleport. Morlan says that teleportation through the watchtower shields is impossible, but Grant asks patiently who worked on the shields and Morlan confirms that Talos did.
- They make their way through access tunnels to the memory core but find only a charred husk of what should have been a crystal lattice. The equipment around the destroyed memory core is blackened, suggesting that it was blasted at close range by an energy weapon. Grant remembers that Talos carried such a weapon. (GM's note - way back in Session 16 Part 2)
- Seeing the memory core destroyed, Grant asks if a backup was kept, and Morlan confirms that there is one at 'the Factory'. Bethany is not happy that Morlan has even revealed this and they argue as they head back to the air car.
Part 4 - Journey to the Factory
- Morlan fires up the air car and takes off at speed. The Factory is almost two hours away, and the argument between Bethany and Morlan continues. Grant is able to glean a great deal from their arguing but he finally tells them to shut up and answer his questions.
- It is revealed that the Defenders have a facility called 'the Factory', whose purpose it is to mass-produce robot drones if required. Marindar has no army, so this is one of Professor Morrison's projects to produce an army at relatively short notice if required. Many different humanoid robots have been created over time, but Talos did most of the work as he is a mechanoid himself.
- Grant is astonished by this. It never occurred to him that Talos is a machine-life form. He asks more about the drone capabilities and their tactics but neither Morlan nor Bethany know much about them because it wasn't their project. Grant thinks over how they would deal with up to a hundred of these drones, and Morlan says that if the production lines are operating there could be thousands.
- As Grant reels from this information, he asks what else he needs to know. Again Bethany and Morlan clam up and Grant has to push harder. He demands to know what other nasty projects have the Defenders been up to. He ends up wishing he hadn't asked.
- At first Morlan admits to there being some imprisoned life forms (parasites) which could dominate a sentient being, but then he mentions 'the Farm' and Grant notes Bethany's extreme reaction. The look that Bethany gives Morlan would freeze hell itself. Grant attempts to make a joke of it, asking what is grown on 'the Farm' but Morlan replies tersely that the Marindan Approach isn't the only dimension that has been tethered to Marindar. Grant feels a slight shiver as Morlan explains that there is another place that the Defenders call 'the Farm' but it is anything but. It's a prison where time and space work quite differently, which the Lords of Gossamer use to store prisoners who are too powerful and dangerous to kill. Morlan tells Grant that any one of the prisoners is supposed to be a match and more for a Lord of Gossamer. Neither of them know much about who and what is in 'the Farm' but it is all bad. Grant shakes his head in disbelief - he can scarcely believe that Marindar is such a powder keg. He asks what Talos could do with 'the Farm' and Morlan says that with the codes, he could open the gateway to it - but beyond that he just doesn't know.
Part 5 - The Attack Begins
- The air car heads to the lonely snow-capped mountain that contains 'the Factory'. The opening is little more than a concealed slot in the side of the mountain, protected by another sorcerous membrane. They begin exploring the industrial site which bears little resemblance to Marindan architecture and find a cavernous chamber with hundreds of metallic drones that remind Grant of terminator robots. None of them appear to be active.
- Just as they enter the chamber, Grant received the beginning of a sorcerous communication. It is Sophia. She expresses concern for his welfare and asks if he is safe. Looking around at the robots, Grant reassures her and then she asks more specifically if he is underwater. She tells him that the shields around the undersea city (where Narsaug was held prisoner) are collapsing. Someone is attacking the systems controlling the shields. Grant realises that they are hours away from the city itself and so he shares this with Bethany and Morlan and asks for their counsel. Ignoring the robots, Morlan heads straight for a computer console and attempts to remotely access the shield systems and fight off the intruder.
- Feeling a little overwhelmed by a situation that seems to be getting steadily worse, Grant takes out his Icon for Ethan and attempts to contact him. This is unfortunately unsuccessful, but he isn't sure why. (GM's note - David and I discussed this and we decided that not only would it make no sense for Ethan to come into this plotting given that from his perspective this time has already passed, it would also spoil what is essentially Grant's adventure. It made logical sense for Grant to attempt the contact but we decided that the contact failed, perhaps some sort of barrier around the Factory. Who knows....)
- Surrounded by a small army of killer robots that seem to be inert, Grant watches Morlan at work as he tried to save as many people as possible while fighting a losing battle against whatever is dismantling the shields. Some time passes and Grant receives another sorcerous communication. It is Sophia again and she advises him that the port-city of Naso is under attack by about thirty drones. Grant recalls that Naso is the domain of Lord Heimloch, supposedly one of Drake's descendants. He also knows the rough geography and calculates that Naso is about four hours away in the air car.
- Grant mulls over the situation and wonders if these are both feints. Then he seizes upon the answer because he remembers that Heimloch is one of the few individuals on Marindar to have a Key to one of the Doors - the Tellurian Door. He decides that Talos is trying to escape Marindar. He doesn't have access to an Icon, and the Queen has been removed (he thinks that she had access to a Key) which leaves only Heimloch and Sophia with Keys. He thinks briefly about Sophia and decides that she should be 'safe' with the homicidal elf if their residence in Central comes under attack. He is not sure if the attack on Naso is a feint or not but he decides to pursue the memory core as soon as Morlan has finished.
- At last the shields collapse and Morlan says that he tried his best. Grant notes that two of the drones have activated and are heading their direction. The three of them withdraw and look for another exit. They find a locked door which Grant literally kicks down as the drones stride after them.
Part 6 - The Battle in the Factory
- The trio race down a corridor and at the first junction they discover that there are active defences around the corner. As Grant prepares to use Umbra against them, the pursuing drones announce that they have identified Bethany and Morlan and are reconfiguring. Looking back, Grant can see that they are reshaping their limbs. As they bear down on the trio, Grant races back and leaps on one of the robots, ripping it clean off the ground and wielding it like a man-sized club against the other robot. It takes three swings to break one and then there is a beeping sound as if one of them is on overload. Grant dives for cover and there is a teeth-rattling explosion. As the smoke begins to clear, Grant hears the metallic activation of many more of the drones. Lots and lots of them.
- Running back, Grant takes a look at the defences and sees another door. He wields Umbra and smashes the defences, causing two sets of blast doors to close. Focusing the Umbra on the closing doors, he manages to prevent the outer doors from shutting completely but the inner doors snap shut. Grant heads to the blast doors and instructs Bethany and Morlan to buy him some time.
- As the robots march down the corridor, they again begin adapting to their identified targets. Like the Sentinels from the Uncanny X-Men comic books, their attacks are tailored to their foes. Bethany is blasted by an EMP gun which disrupts her psychic talents and knocks her out - the robots march over her and keep going. They deploy lasers against Morlan, bypassing his telekinetic shields and setting him on fire. Meanwhile Grant unleashes Umbra on the inner blast doors and rips them apart (the effort is considerable). As Morlan retreats back to him, Grant puts on the fire with Umbra (which he did before, way back in Session 19) and leaps through the breach with Morlan, an Umbral shield surrounding them as they do.
- Upon arrival in the control room on the other side, Grant is hit by a red light which hits him full in the chest and slams him back against the wall. It is Talos the mechanoid that has shot him, his blaster going clean through the Umbral shield.
* Image by Tanathiel on DeviantART
- A number of starfish-like parasites run across the room towards the two of them. One leaps on Morlan's face while others are desiccated by the Umbral shield around Grant.
- Grant spots the glowing memory core a short way behind Talos and he unleashes Umbra on his opponent. Raw Umbral power tears at Talos' mechanical body and he falls to his knees, smoking. Bits of him fall to the ground.
- Before the parasite can animate Morlan, Grant knocks Morlan out cold and forces the parasite to leave him or be killed. Grant then gets back to his feet and surveys the body of Talos. He isn't sure that he is 'dead' and is expecting him to come back at a moment's notice. As Grant inspects the mechanoid, he detects a power surge using Umbral Sight. Swearing Grant scoops up the memory core and Morlan and makes a dash for it. The robots fire upon him as he flees but then there is a huge explosion from the control room behind and a fireball rips down the corridor through the aperture in the blast doors. Umbra shields him and Morlan from the worst of it, but most of the robots in the corridor are not so lucky.
- Coughing, his ears ringing, he finds to his surprise that Morlan and Bethany are still alive, although Bethany needs medical attention. More than half the drones are still standing in the warehouse - Talos clearly didn't have time to activate all of them. Grant wonders if Talos is truly dead or whether he has more than one body. Morlan wakes with a terrible headache and Grant asks him to take Bethany back to Central in the air car so that she can receive appropriate medical treatment. Dusting himself off, he checks in with Sophia, to find that Talos has also attacked Central and his home. Grant is not surprised by this as he knows that Sophia has a Key and he reached the conclusion that this is what Talos has been seeking to escape Marindar. Sophia tells him that she is fine, and that Naso remains under attack.
- Grant decides to head to Naso with all available speed. He is tired from using Umbra but steels himself for the flight.
Realm 18 - Arcadia (Green Door)
Epilogue - Galatea’s Memories Return
- Meanwhile, a 'cut to', something happening off camera which I described to David as a player which makes sense to include.
- Galatea is still in Arcadia. She has flown and has confirmed that she has unearthly physical strength. However, she does not have her memories. That is, she doesn't have her memories until she converses with Queen Aglaranna who visits her and thanks her for coming to Arcadia to the defence of her people. Galatea doesn't remember coming to Arcadia for that reason, but then she remembers. She remembers that she came to Arcadia because Ethan was in danger (or so she thought). The enchantments that were influencing her have been removed, but the connection to Ethan is a powerful catalyst for her memory as it provokes a strong emotional reaction. Even though those enchantments are no longer in play, the emotions she felt at the time are a strong connection to her memory. A large portion of her memory comes flooding back in an instant, and she asks the Queen where Ethan is. Aglaranna tells her that Ethan left Arcadia before the problems begun and that he is on the Stair somewhere, on a mission for her. Aglaranna doesn't confide in her to tell her who Ethan is looking for, but Galatea realises that Ethan is gone and that Marindar could still be in danger. She resolves to return to Marindar immediately.
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