DM Thoughts: Session 13
Ah, unlucky number 13...
This session was meant to be a transitional one, with the players accomplishing certain major goals and bringing closure to many events and plot threads in Sasserine, effectively freeing them from their ties to the city and setting them out on their next course - the journey to the Isle of Dread (which along with it comes a much less linear plotline and a great deal of freedom for the players to explore and do side-quests of any nature they please).
Yet, while this session brought with it successes and victories for some characters, it also marked tragedy for some others. Let's discuss each of those events, from a DM's point of view.
Firstly, we have the end of stage one of the Gustave-Lavinia storyline, which also brought with it the death of Anzak. This session was always meant to be a turning point in that story, though of course since much of it involved player choices and decisions, I could not have been certain as to exactly what the resolution of the story would be. Would Gustave grant Anzak mercy? Or would he kill him as soon as he had the chance, then lie to Lavinia afterward? In my mind, I always was planning for it to be an issue of good or bad karma - that if Gustave took the evil path, then it would come back to haunt him, but if he took the good path, then he would end up earning Lavinia's love in return. In many ways, it was a trap set for the player, where the best way to win Lavinia would in fact be to do the very thing (saving Anzak) that you would think might doom any chance of being with her. But Bob, the player of Gustave, did exactly the right thing in the situation, caring for Anzak throughout the entire chapter, going above and beyond the call of duty in trying to save him from his savage affliction. And the reward for that, as I'd planned all along, would be to have Lavinia realize how much she truly loved Gustave. Perfectly played, situation where I could not have hoped for a better ending. Yet is this the end of the intrigue in their romantic storyline? Hehehe, not by a longshot... there are many surprises yet to come...
Another bit of resolution that was always meant to come in this chapter was the recovery of the Sea Wyvern. In the original magazine version of the adventure, the ship was meant to be nothing more than an abandoned vessel with the PCs were to take possession of, using it as a tool to propel them onward in their quest. Yet in our campaign, character backgrounds made it more: a tie between sons and their father, as well as an instrument of building further hatred against my "bonus villain" for the campaign, Dracktus. Since Dracktus was nothing but a minor character in the magazine version, there was little built-in reason for the characters to care about him if I had played it by-the-book. Yet since I wanted to make him be Orbius for this campaign, added elements such as his manipulation of the Dawn Council, rescue of Vanthus and Rowyn, and grip over the Sea Wyvern, all were meant to give the players (bit by bit) added reasons to dislike and eventually hate him. And so, recovering the Sea Wyvern marked a major step for the Gansworth brothers, who had at last succeeded in regaining that element of their family history, which in turn would allow them to push forward in their destiny to become rival captains.
And so, successes all around (except for Crimson, I suppose, but she didn't really have any major storyline elements to resolve at this point in the campaign). Yet, what I did not expect (though perhaps some part of me did fear it) was the tragedy that would mark the end of the session. What was meant to be merely a scary and dangerous warning, turned into an unwanted murder.
Let me explain some of the background for this...
Basically, with the first stage of the campaign complete, and the party ready to move out into the world, and toward the Isle of Dread... a major event was to happen, which would warn them as to just how dangerous things were about to become - as well as letting them know that some powerful forces were at work here as well, going far beyond the beholder they already knew about.
Yet not everything went as planned...
First off came the problem of having the ships separate so soon in their journey. It was only the second day when the Sea Wyvern decided to voluntarily head off on a different course from the Blue Nixie. With half the party on one ship and half on the other, this left Crimson and Glaive on the doomed ship which was to be attacked by the "Sea Witch". Normally, the rest of the party would have been only an hour or two away when the encounter happened - with the Sea Wyvern still visible on the horizon, as it was attacked. Garland likely would have made the decision to turn around quickly and rush to his brother's aid... But with the split of directions, the Sea Wyvern could now be attacked without the others finding out about it for days - which is exactly what happened. Were it not for a Sending spell to Crimson (after a failed one to Glaive), the ship might not have been found for a whole week...
Yet even with the split, the encounter still need not have been so deadly. It was meant to be a warning, not a massacre...
When the sky first started to cloud over and darkness fall upon the ship, the terrifying Sea Witch began to shriek - a fear effect that was powerful enough to have likely sent every person on the ship running and jumping overboard in terror. She would then yell out her warning to them all to not pursue their course toward the Isle of Dread, less they face grave consequences... It would have been unsettling, and strike fear in the PCs during their trip... Yet, it also would have left them alive and likely to still decide to follow their course (after perhaps demanding extra hazard pay from Lavinia).
Yet, this plan worked for all but one passenger... As Crimson and everyone else on the crew failed their Will saves and jumped off ship quite hastily... But Glaive picked the absolute wrong time to pass a save. This left him the only person on the ship not fear-struck by the Sea Witch. Yet, I didn't want to kill off Glaive, so I tried to insinuate to Chris (Glaive's player) that perhaps pretending to be afraid might be the best course of action... But he chose not to follow the warning, and instead act as Glaive might have acted, after finally recovering his father's ship and becoming captain of his first vessel - by having Glaive stand up to the infinitely-more-powerful Sea Witch and refuse to listen to her warning, even mouthing off to her... Which left her little choice (truly pissed off by his words and stubborn-ness) but to kill him off for his insubordination. The scene was bloody and cruel, as evidenced by what was left of Glaive when the party found him.
So, in the end, the party had indeed been warned... just not as subtly as I'd originally planned. As to whether we will see Glaive again, that is up to the players... They certainly have the funds to do whatever is needed to bring him back. It is simply a matter of whether Chris wants his character to return just yet, I suppose (the level penalty is a bit severe, and playing multiple characters isn't always easy either).
Thus, all in all, a mixed session. Some great successes, some unexpected failures. However, it certainly did make for great dramatic storytelling, and on that front, I cannot complain. I'm quite happy with the way the campaign's story has been building so far. And with the "real campaign" of sailing and exploring now about to start, the fun's now truly about to begin...
This session was meant to be a transitional one, with the players accomplishing certain major goals and bringing closure to many events and plot threads in Sasserine, effectively freeing them from their ties to the city and setting them out on their next course - the journey to the Isle of Dread (which along with it comes a much less linear plotline and a great deal of freedom for the players to explore and do side-quests of any nature they please).
Yet, while this session brought with it successes and victories for some characters, it also marked tragedy for some others. Let's discuss each of those events, from a DM's point of view.
Firstly, we have the end of stage one of the Gustave-Lavinia storyline, which also brought with it the death of Anzak. This session was always meant to be a turning point in that story, though of course since much of it involved player choices and decisions, I could not have been certain as to exactly what the resolution of the story would be. Would Gustave grant Anzak mercy? Or would he kill him as soon as he had the chance, then lie to Lavinia afterward? In my mind, I always was planning for it to be an issue of good or bad karma - that if Gustave took the evil path, then it would come back to haunt him, but if he took the good path, then he would end up earning Lavinia's love in return. In many ways, it was a trap set for the player, where the best way to win Lavinia would in fact be to do the very thing (saving Anzak) that you would think might doom any chance of being with her. But Bob, the player of Gustave, did exactly the right thing in the situation, caring for Anzak throughout the entire chapter, going above and beyond the call of duty in trying to save him from his savage affliction. And the reward for that, as I'd planned all along, would be to have Lavinia realize how much she truly loved Gustave. Perfectly played, situation where I could not have hoped for a better ending. Yet is this the end of the intrigue in their romantic storyline? Hehehe, not by a longshot... there are many surprises yet to come...
Another bit of resolution that was always meant to come in this chapter was the recovery of the Sea Wyvern. In the original magazine version of the adventure, the ship was meant to be nothing more than an abandoned vessel with the PCs were to take possession of, using it as a tool to propel them onward in their quest. Yet in our campaign, character backgrounds made it more: a tie between sons and their father, as well as an instrument of building further hatred against my "bonus villain" for the campaign, Dracktus. Since Dracktus was nothing but a minor character in the magazine version, there was little built-in reason for the characters to care about him if I had played it by-the-book. Yet since I wanted to make him be Orbius for this campaign, added elements such as his manipulation of the Dawn Council, rescue of Vanthus and Rowyn, and grip over the Sea Wyvern, all were meant to give the players (bit by bit) added reasons to dislike and eventually hate him. And so, recovering the Sea Wyvern marked a major step for the Gansworth brothers, who had at last succeeded in regaining that element of their family history, which in turn would allow them to push forward in their destiny to become rival captains.
And so, successes all around (except for Crimson, I suppose, but she didn't really have any major storyline elements to resolve at this point in the campaign). Yet, what I did not expect (though perhaps some part of me did fear it) was the tragedy that would mark the end of the session. What was meant to be merely a scary and dangerous warning, turned into an unwanted murder.
Let me explain some of the background for this...
Basically, with the first stage of the campaign complete, and the party ready to move out into the world, and toward the Isle of Dread... a major event was to happen, which would warn them as to just how dangerous things were about to become - as well as letting them know that some powerful forces were at work here as well, going far beyond the beholder they already knew about.
Yet not everything went as planned...
First off came the problem of having the ships separate so soon in their journey. It was only the second day when the Sea Wyvern decided to voluntarily head off on a different course from the Blue Nixie. With half the party on one ship and half on the other, this left Crimson and Glaive on the doomed ship which was to be attacked by the "Sea Witch". Normally, the rest of the party would have been only an hour or two away when the encounter happened - with the Sea Wyvern still visible on the horizon, as it was attacked. Garland likely would have made the decision to turn around quickly and rush to his brother's aid... But with the split of directions, the Sea Wyvern could now be attacked without the others finding out about it for days - which is exactly what happened. Were it not for a Sending spell to Crimson (after a failed one to Glaive), the ship might not have been found for a whole week...
Yet even with the split, the encounter still need not have been so deadly. It was meant to be a warning, not a massacre...
When the sky first started to cloud over and darkness fall upon the ship, the terrifying Sea Witch began to shriek - a fear effect that was powerful enough to have likely sent every person on the ship running and jumping overboard in terror. She would then yell out her warning to them all to not pursue their course toward the Isle of Dread, less they face grave consequences... It would have been unsettling, and strike fear in the PCs during their trip... Yet, it also would have left them alive and likely to still decide to follow their course (after perhaps demanding extra hazard pay from Lavinia).
Yet, this plan worked for all but one passenger... As Crimson and everyone else on the crew failed their Will saves and jumped off ship quite hastily... But Glaive picked the absolute wrong time to pass a save. This left him the only person on the ship not fear-struck by the Sea Witch. Yet, I didn't want to kill off Glaive, so I tried to insinuate to Chris (Glaive's player) that perhaps pretending to be afraid might be the best course of action... But he chose not to follow the warning, and instead act as Glaive might have acted, after finally recovering his father's ship and becoming captain of his first vessel - by having Glaive stand up to the infinitely-more-powerful Sea Witch and refuse to listen to her warning, even mouthing off to her... Which left her little choice (truly pissed off by his words and stubborn-ness) but to kill him off for his insubordination. The scene was bloody and cruel, as evidenced by what was left of Glaive when the party found him.
So, in the end, the party had indeed been warned... just not as subtly as I'd originally planned. As to whether we will see Glaive again, that is up to the players... They certainly have the funds to do whatever is needed to bring him back. It is simply a matter of whether Chris wants his character to return just yet, I suppose (the level penalty is a bit severe, and playing multiple characters isn't always easy either).
Thus, all in all, a mixed session. Some great successes, some unexpected failures. However, it certainly did make for great dramatic storytelling, and on that front, I cannot complain. I'm quite happy with the way the campaign's story has been building so far. And with the "real campaign" of sailing and exploring now about to start, the fun's now truly about to begin...
posted by Markus the Mad | 9:24 AM
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