Session 18: The Passions Speak

Raig 30th 1518 TH

Shambling Bones

NOTE: MAP WILL BE ADDED WHEN THE GROUP HAVE EXPLORED THIS LEVEL

Part 1 of 4 Stream

​Coming out of the lift into a lit room, you see there are two plinths on either side of the room to the west. Sat upon the plaints are what looks like glass, maybe a clear crystal container, and you can a similar algae that was on the walls in the Statue Room above.

​Cross Roads

Walking down the corridor you arrive at a cross rounds, this looks to have been made as a choke point as you have to walk in single file to get through. To the North and South are the same strong doors with metal strapping you’ve seen above, neither have keyholes or locks. Both doors are have exquisitely crafted depictions of a Troll.

​North Door [2]

The one to the North shows the Troll fending of a gate against a humanoid winged scaly creature that is flying and holding a great sword.

​South Door [1]

The door to the South shows the same Troll in a more peaceful environment. He is laying is hands on a wounded solider and a bright blue light can be seen emanating from the solders chest.

​West Door – Fake Door

To the West the corridor continues and you can see that the wall of the corridor has a caved in partially. At the of the corridor is a solid plainly carved stone door with a keyhole in the centre

This door is fake and has a pit trap next to it.

​Garlen Temple

As you open the door, you are immediate stunned by a bright blue light. You blink a few times and can see at the end the corridor is a pulsating blue orb floating in the air. The Orb is 20 cm in diameter and floating above the floor at 1 m.

The orb is purely to provide light, but as they get closer to it they start to feel a warmest flowing through their bodies. This is magical energy that bestows on all that pass a free recovery test, once per day.

Just passed the orb round the corner you look into a huge room. Some 40 meters squared. There are steps immediately out of the corridor going up to a dais some 20 meters high. As you enter the room you hear a soothing female voice, it says.

Welcome my children, enter in peace

Walking up the dais you walk round several stairs and arrive at the top. Before you is a fountain emitting a soft blue light. At all corners are four silver bowls each has a separate engraving in the bottom.

Garlen will actually be here, pretending to be a ghostly image in a female form representing the race of the character, whilst answering questions. For every question the group ask give them a chance to notice that the image appears to be breathing and blinking which seems odd if it were just an image.

If, or when the group throw in the Blue Brooch, there are more on this level, Garlen will then appear as the same sex and race of the person who threw the broach in to the fountain.

Looking into the fountain you can see many silver coins at the bottom and a few gold coins. The water is 1 m deep. What appears to be Garlen herself with outstretched hands appears before you. The image is semi transparent, then you here a female voice say.

​Temple Events

Throwing a silver coin in to the fountain will be greeted with the same female voice saying.

What is it you seek my child? Ask you question.

They can ask one question each
There are 35 silver coins and 5 gold coins in the fountain
The longer they stay here these things will happen
Any fatigue is instantly removed. Experienced as:
Feel satiated, refreshed and alert.
Feel stronger
Gain 1 extra recovery test
1/day/person
Step 4 Karma is replenished
1/day/person
Drinking the water by using one of the silver bowls
Healing Potion: Modified +10: 1/day/person
Last Chance Salve: Modified +10: Once only per person
Cure Poison: Modified +8 To Toughness Check: 1/day/person
Salve Of Closure: Modified Free Recovery Test: 1/day/person

When they leave the Temple they will hear the following:

Take Care My Children

​Coffin Chamber [4]

This door like the other doors has exquisitely crafted depictions of a Troll. This one shows the Troll stood round a table with a silver tankard held high and six other Trolls in front with similarly raised tankards.

Opening the door, as you shine you light inwards you see immediately before you a curtained area with a large chest against the wall. To either side you are 6 sarcophagi all exquisitely carved on the sides and tops.

​The Book

On a plinth in an alcove behind the chest is a book placed open.

It’s not a book, it’s actually a stone carving it reads the following:

Here lies the life long friends and confidants of Undast Valzal The Immortal King.
Elnar The Wise
Garal The Swift
Nobrak The Immovable
Hornal The Thinker
Traqual The Soothsayer
Karnast The Guileful
They were the most loyal servants a King could ever have, and gave their lives so that their King would live. They rest here in a place of honour for all times.
With them are entombed six slaves so that they may enjoy in the afterlife the same service they provided in life.

The Book Text

​Pit Trap: Direct in front of the chest is a pit trap

​The Chest

The chest is locked and trapped: Locking Picking 12

​Poison Trap
Detection Difficulty: 8
Disarm Difficulty: 10
Trigger Condition: Lock Picking without disarming the trap
Trap Initiative: 10
Trap Effect: Green cloud of gas erupts out of the chest and covers a 4m X 4m square. Become paralysed, for 24 hours. Will vs 8

​Chest Contents

What could this large chest contain, riches of the King? An unimaginable fortune? As you lift up the lid you are hit by a strong smell of damp fustiness. Looking inside you can see the chest is half full of water. At the bottom are scrapes of rotten paper and cloths of various colours, nothing appears to be retrievable. But as you fish around the debris a wooded figurine floats to the surface. And you also notice a hint of blue spinning around just under the debris,

Kor’Milain gets a Half Magic roll and will detect that these figurines has been finely crafted from True Wood and True Water Elemental Kernels

​Skeleton Attack

Combat starts when the group do one of three things

1. Activate the floor trap
2. Activate the chest trap
3. Examine a sarcophagus

You start to hear the sound of stone rubbing against stone and see the lids of the sarcophagi starting to slide off. They fall to the floor and shatter Out of the coffins come creatures that are more bone than flesh, they make a deafening screen that makes your ears ring

GM NOTE

The players for whatever reason didn’t take the advice of Kor’Milan when he spotted the coffin lids opening and then became fixated on the door, asking is it open, closed or locked. I have told the players several times that these doors don’t have locks and you just pull them outwards towards you. I never said the door closed behind them either. I waited, for what I thought was a reasonable amount of time, then declared initiative, as the players dawdled. Kor’Milan also remarked that he was just being ignored.

This kind of inaction is going to get this group killed in here. My responsibility is to tell them what they see, if they decide to not act on that information, then they will pay the price.

​Combat Options

• Skelton’s will all attack for one or two rounds
  • Then they all fall to the ground
  • For a moment nothing happens
  • Then all the bones start moving to each other
• They then all merge together into a Bone Shambler
  • The group have two rounds before it is activated
  • The Bone Shambler will form with half damage done so far to Skeletons
• It will attempt to trample the nearest person to it
• Bone Shambler is two big to fit down single corridors
  • Nor can it get passed to the rubble in the corridor

Yargai Dies

Part 2 of 3 Stream​

Statue Room [3]

This door like the other doors has an exquisitely crafted depictions of a Troll. This one shows the same Troll in combat with a giant statue, strangely the Troll has a smile upon his face. The door has no lock You open the door and you see that there is a short corridor that becomes thinner making it so that you have to walk in single file.

As you approach a room and shine you lights inwards, you hear a low bass sound and the room becomes fully illuminated and in the middle of the room just under the celling, some 4 meters high there is a yellow glowing orb pulsating and fully illuminating the room

When the first person walks in the person behind needs to roll initiative as a portcullis will suddenly crash down after the first person has crossed the barrier.

​Portcullis Trap
You step forward and then hear a click, and before you can blink a portcullis comes crashing down.
Detection Difficulty: 8
Disarm Difficulty: 8
In a small alcove there is a hidden lever that retracts the portcullis
Trigger Condition: Pressure Plate
Trap Initiative: 15
Trap Effect: Equal initiative score means the portcullis comes down on that person Step 15

Now you hear a disembodied voice say. Choose your weapons. At that the two huge statutes on either side of the room start to move

They will not attack if the person doesn’t draw a weapon or pick up any weapons from the table or weapon rack.

When the statues have their weapons and are stood facing each other another booming voice will be heard saying Choose Your Opponents

At this roll a D6: Equals Strength off Earth Spirits. Exploding don’t count.

​Elementalist Talents

Half Magic will be able to detect Earth Elemental Spirits are present.

Elemental Tongues and Elemental Hold can then be used.

​Tapestries

Along the sides of the room you can see 4 tapestries all show battle seances with the Troll in the midsts of all of them. All scenes show the troll being out numbered by name givers and hideous creatures. In each picture the Troll is depicted with varying weapons. A troll sword, a halberd, two large swords and a two handed axe.

​Combat Options

• The group should have got enough hints to not attack
  • If they do then this will be an impossible fight to win
  • One of more WILL DIE!
• Kor’Milan can roll half magic as these Statues have Earth Sprits trapped within them
  • They may be able to be bargained with
  • And can use Elemental Tongues to learn language
    • Success required = 10
• As long as no weapon his held in the hands then the statues will remain stationary
• If any Spell is cast the statues will attack
  • Be that a defensive spell or not
  • Casting spells
    • Yellow orb will be herd to spin up and whatever spell is cast will be dispelled
• They will occasionally shout out something regarding being trapped
  • Free Me
  • Release Me Or Die
  • I Have No Control
  • I Am Trapped
  • I did not choose this
• If a battle does start, take it to the death as quickly as possible

​Thystonius Warning

Part 3 of 3 Stream​

End Of Battle

• The statues return their weapons
• The portcullis retracts
• The yellow orb pulsates and then a blinding light envelops the whole room

Standing in the centre of the room you see before you a man standing some 3 m tall, with long flowing blonde hair holding a large weapon in his hands. The weapon is continually changing from one weapon type to another. His eyes are piercingly yellow, he has a long beard with many numerous coloured beads plated into it. He gazes at you and you know this is Thystonius. He holds out his hand in a low booming voice says You fought with Honour and Valour. Thystonius rewards you

• At this the person/s killed will be restored to full health
• They will also get a bonus depending on who it is, related to Follower Questor Devotions
  • This is permanent

​Thystonius Warning

The king, Undast Valzal who resides here, shall not be disturbed, he now sits beside me for ever more, reward for his courage, valour and wisdom as a great ruler of these lands.

Honour him and choose thy receptacle and receive your gifts. Any who do not head my message will be imprisoned here for all eternity.

Farewell young mortals.

​Thystonius Warning

At this the yellow orb starts to spin and a blinding light envelopes the whole room, and Thystonius is gone.

After this Kor’Milan spends some time talking to the Elemental Earth Spirts and discovers that they have been trapped here. They used to be the sparing partners of the King and were promised to be released upon his death, this didn’t happen. Now they are forced to fight anyone who enters the room. They no longer fight alone, both always attack, as they have become exceptionally annoyed that they are prisoners now. They are also not fully cosinant as they would be normally and are slightly insane and will lash out randomly.

Kor’Miilan also discovers they can be released if they bring the Earth Golem to them, and inform him that it lies with the King in his tomb. The Spirits will then reward Kor’Milan with some of it’s key knowledges.

GM NOTES

My biggest failing during this whole session was the amount of times I interrupted in character role playing. I did this on eight occasions. Some have been cut out completely from the videos. Two specific ones are worse than the others. The first one being when Yargai was talking about becoming a King. The second one, which is the wosres of the lot is at the every end, when I not only interrupt their chat, I also ended the game.

I have apologised to the group about this and I will endeavour to avoid this as much as possible going forward. Yes I may still cut them off sometimes, but that will be to keep the game going when they had a long time chatting and are going nowhere or round in circles. I WILL get this wrong, so I have asked the group to chime up if they think I have cut you off to early. It’s their story after all, so they should choose.

The Lessons from Session 17 had not been implemented for this session, as I had not yet edited it and taken those learns onboard, they will be implemented in the next session, that being Session 18

Two surprising things did happen in this session that I played out on the fly as. I do find that creating gameplay on the fly is a double edged sword. I get a tad flustered trying to think what cool things to do and say and try not to end it too quickly. From these many occurances more interesting things have happened and have improved the story overall. Things that had not even been thought about have now become part of the main plot.

Therefore, I’m have been writing less of what’s around the next corner, added some ideas of things to do, say and point out then leave it to play out. Yes I get quite anxious during these parts, but I am mostly happier with the results. So I will cope with the anxiety and continue to do this more. As they say: “Fake It Till You Make It“

The two that stand out for me in this session, were:

Attacking the orb, wasn’t something I’d accounted for. I did have it absorbing spells, except Elemental Spells. So on the fly I made reflect the damage it took back on to the person who hit it. This has now given a great idea for when they return to this chamber later to free the Elemental Earth Spirits

The other was the conversation Kor’Milan had with the Elemental Earth Spirits. I purposely didn’t write anything more than “Let Kor’Milan Talk to Them” That turned out great and adds to the plot very smoothly.

However I should have let Kor’Milan talk to ​Thystonius when he yelled out for him. Because the problem here is that the Passions have been represented as being one dimensional. I have failed in this area, as I have plans latter, but I think I’ve put them in a place whereby they may think they are just wall dressings and have no real active part to play. Suffice to say they do, just not yet. I could have gone about this better, but hey hoe I didn’t so we’re here now. I’ve let them know about this failing in the after game discussions, as I really need them to not think they are just flavour.

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Stephen Blower

I’m Stephen the author of this website and and the GM in The Circle Of Dawn campaign.

CircleOfEarthdawn.com