We began the game with four members of the party:
Jack Bird, the Human Bard.
Khazix, the Asura Rogue.
Lilith, the Ghoul Ranger.
Virgil, the Human Warlock.
The Party, Khazix, Lilith, Jack Bird and Virgil, begin their journey in the north-western swamps, some lost in the physical sense, the others lost in other ways. After a tense first encounter, with a few flying daggers and some strange intimidations, they made agreements to travel together for the time being, their goal being the fishing town of Pala. Lilith’s skilled navigations of these terrible swamps mean that they traverse the area relatively quickly, stopping only for her to secretly harvest some argentleaf. They arrive in town to the eve of a big announcement, looking for the fish stew that Khazix had heard of in his numerous travels. They sit outside by the pier, the air ripe with seafood and fresh mist. With some awkward negotiations about payment, including some sleight of hand to steal from the poor old lady running the restaurant, they manage to obtain some bowls of the daily catch. Amidst the evening rush of the townsfolk, they overhear information about the harvest festival soon to be celebrated. Looking for some other patrons with deep pockets, they notice two other entities foreign to the place, a group of experienced travellers and a lady anxiously waiting for someone.
As bards are inclined, Jack Bird attempts to put the moves on the State Exorcist Mikaela, impersonating the partner she was supposed to meet up with in this restaurant. Through some good rolls and loose lips on the Exorcist’s part, they discover that another State Exorcist had gone missing around these parts. Jack Bird frustrates the Exorcist and she tells him to leave her for the night and meet up with her to interrogate the village chief before tomorrow’s big announcement the next morning. Jack Bird’s ever curious eye then settles on the group besides them. He notices they hail from the settlement of Woodfall, far away from this part of the continent. They are suspiciously gracious and friendly, going as far as to invite him and his friends over. They want to know the source of the town’s prosperity and safety and if the party is willing, for them to fetch this source for them. The party negotiates 12 pieces of silver per head and some lodging for the next three nights. Virgil sends his familiar to the Chief’s hut for some initial scouting to portent the inevitable burglary they plan to conduct. They discover nothing much out of the ordinary and make secret plans to break in and investigate. They retire for the night, with Virgil secretly showing Jack Bird his magical abilities and Lilith consuming a ration of human flesh while Khazix is asleep.
The party wakes to the early workday of the townsfolk, fishmongers and fishers. They head over to the Chief’s home, catching him just as he leaves. Jack Bird and Virgil distract him with some questions while Lilith and Khazix sneak off to break into the home. They discover the buried cloak of a State Exorcist as well as the fake amulet and the sketch. They return everything to its original place but take the bloodstained cloak with them. The village Chief vehemently denies any contact with the missing State Exorcist but some clever insight reveal he is lying. They meet up and reconnect as the village chief gives his big announcement, a revitalisation of the river through some magical means and the return of the harvest and the safety. They confront the State Exorcist with the bloodstained cloak but some botched interactions and the presentation of a piece of evidence of some wrongdoing. She attempts to invoke arrest but they grapple her and attempt to knock her out. Finally, Jack Bird uses the spell Command to force her asleep but does not realise it does not magically compel her to fall asleep. The session ends there, at this moment of pure chaos.
Some thoughts:
This was the first session we had and I felt that it could have gone a lot better. I rushed through a lot of setting and worldbuilding, so it felt very rudimentary and ill-constructed. Slowing down and properly providing enough information will improve a lot of the immersion issues that I have inadvertently manifested.
Another important thing would be reinforcing how dangerous it was to use magic or to directly attack the apparatus of the state. Since this was the swampy hinterlands, the State Exorcists here would have been relatively weak and ill-prepared but I fear this might encourage them to do more to State Exorcists of a higher calibre.
I did very much enjoy the role-play that was enacted, with Jack Bird embodying a typical bard and Virgil being overtly mischievous and chaotic.The players for Lilith and Khazix were relatively subdued and I think more can be done to help ease them into their characters.
Actions taken have led to some very difficult circumstances for our party. They have assaulted a State Official and performed some unlicensed magic in a town very much foreign to them. They will have to make some drastic action to either reverse some of the repercussions or escape them. I am excited to see how they might pry themselves out of this predicament and much of my prep for next session will be directed at the consequences of this circumstance.
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