Dunscaith Session 5
filed under actual play on 22 Nov 2016 tagged dunscaith, scarlet heroes, and finian
So, first, let's get an idea of the weather.
It's been cold and clear so far, with light snow on the ground.
[Weather] The opposite of yesterday.
So it's the opposite of clear; a snowstorm is blowing up.
[Known Quirk] The common folk are greedy.
Well, that'll make dealing with them both harder and easier. I should grab a plot for them.
Rolling 1d8 1 times.
[ 6 ] 6
A pleasant innkeeper, hunting a reason to live. A miserly renegade, hiding hope. Who will overcome a duty and a noble burden first?
They'll trudge into town just ahead of the snowstorm, hustling into the inn, and meeting the pleasant innkeeper. The village isn't that big, but does have an inn.
Which means it's probably primarily a trading camp.
Let's roll up the innkeeper.
[Age - Mature] Mid-twenties.
[Gender Appearance] female
[Modifier] Is impersonating or mimicking someone else in some way.
[Visible Quirk] carrying a wounded pet
[Wheel]
[Strong] sympathy
[Focus] hate
Interesting. She's probably Scytian, quietly passing as a good Merodrian citizen, and she's sympathetic to something most people hate -- likely Elderspawn.
Her pet is a daelur, a relatively large lynx like prehistoric cat.
Was it wounded by another animal?
[fifty-fifty, 12 ≤ 50] YES
---
What's the inn like?
[Mythic Complex] Celebrate / Intrigues
It's a mazy place with lots of small, cozy rooms. A veritable hunting lodge.
The inn was largely deserted, no doubt because of the snowstorm. The fire was warm in the wide common room, and hunting trophies decorated the wood paneled walls.
A woman burst in from the opposite door, carrying a wounded daelur in her arms. "I don't know what happened," she said, sounding like she was trying not to cry. The animal was very still.
Fin hated to see an animal suffer. He stalked over and reached out a hand, channeling healing magic through his fingers.
What level does he need? Roll 1d4.
Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2
So three tokens. Not too much of a resource.
She opened her mouth, but her words were forestalled as the cat in her arms began to squirm.
Is it grateful to Fin?
[fifty-fifty, 10 ≤ 10] Exceptional YES
She set it down and it immedately went over to Fin, rubbing against his legs and purring so hard his teeth rattled. Absently, he scratched behind its ears. The feral daelur of the city he'd spent his childhood in had been the closest thing he'd had to friends. He was glad he'd been able to help this one.
The woman gave him an odd look, then looked past him to Issa and Viandus. Her eyes went a bit wide at the sight of the Alfar.
"Good evening, friends," she said, "Come warm yourselves by the fire. Your lad here has bought your dinners and stay for as long as you please." She flashed Fin a grateful smile.
So, let's get another quirk and maybe some motivations for her!
[Visible Quirk] openly displays a totem
Interesting, probably Scytian, and Issa will notice and ask her to arrange passage for them up to the Scytian clanhold.
[Goals]
[Driving] to help someone else [hero's kin]
[Mild] to love 'em and leave 'em [my ally]
So, she's bored here and looking for romance, but nothing too serious that might jeopardize her independence. Not sure there's anyone in my little group she'd be interested in.
Is there?
[fifty-fifty, 1 ≤ 10] Exceptional YES
Well, I guess there is!
I'll roll 1d6. On a 4 or less, it's Viandus, on a 5 or 6, Issa.
Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 6 ] 6
Does Issa reciprocate?
[fifty-fifty, 50 ≤ 50] YES
Well, there you go. Friendly innkeeper, flirting with one of our heroes, and likely to be of great assistance. That was easier than I expected.
[New Actor] LIvia Kaylis, innkeeper in the trade point village of Arie, Scytian. Independent. Loves daelur.
He managed a return one; she was pretty and, now that her pet wasn't injured, quite vivacious. "Will you be needing a cot for your son?" she asked Issa, who blinked.
"My what? Oh, you mean Fin?" Issa looked bemused.
"That will be fine," Fin said politely. No point in raising awkward questions. A night -- or however long it took for this storm to blow over -- on a cot wouldn't kill him, and he surely wasn't sharing a bed with either of his companions.
She wants to help; can she arrange for safe passage up to the Scytian clanhold?
[fifty-fifty, 53 ≥ 50] NO
Can she provide a guide?
[fifty-fifty, 71 ≥ 50] NO
All the best trappers and potential guides are out preparing for a big moot that's to be held in a few weeks. But she can provide supplies and verbal instructions. Plus Issa knows the way fairly well.
How long will it be until the storm blows over?
Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4
Four days, then.
Fin will pass the time reading through the books he pilfered from Fort Iseu.
What's the first one about?
[Mythic Complex] Travel / Energy
Is it relevant to the island?
[very likely, 45 ≤ 85] YES
It's a travelogue and mystical ley line guide, describing some of the more powerful intersections of magic on the Winged Isle. Nice.
I'll add a temporary 1 point trait about that.
Is it valuable at all?
[likely, 36 ≤ 75] YES
I assume around 100 gp.
[How Much?] More than expected.
Nice, so around 250 gold royals. A good sum.
But will a buyer be available at the moot?
[fifty-fifty, 99 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO
Not that kind of moot. More the furs and leathers and tanned goods and daggers kind of moot.
Still, if they make their way to Sentar Nystu they should be able to sell it for a good price.
Does anything interesting happen while they're snowed in?
[fifty-fifty, 16 ≤ 50] YES
Random event time.
[Random Event] Context: Action! Badly wounded person appears or is discovered, being chased or stalked. This is bad.
Which day?
Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2
The second day of their stay; a break in the storm, a knock on the door.
---
It was the second evening of their stay -- their hostess was of the opinion that the storm wouldn't break for a few days -- and Fin was bored. He'd been reading his way through the books he'd found in Fort Iseu, curled up next to the fire, but there was only so much reading a man could do at one go.
He padded over to the door and stuck his head out, taking a deep breath of the cold night air. The storm had eased, however briefly, and he took a few steps out into the snow, shivering a little but enjoying the view.
The sound of snow crunching made him whirl, hands dropping to the empty place at his belt where his swords lived.
[Age - Mature] Thirties.
[Gender Appearance] female
[Modifier] Something is amiss.
[Visible Quirk] clumsy
Hmm, something is amiss?
[Visible Quirk] exceptional in an obvious way
[Non-Visible Quirk] has a phobia
[Wheel]
[Strong] generous, [weak] grieving
[Focus] physical struggle [secondary], death [primary]
[Goals]
[Driving] to pass on a curse out of spite [potential kin]
[Twinge] to be flattered and praised [potential enemy]
She's generous with death and grieving a physical struggle? Wants to pass on a curse out of spite, and wants to be flattered and praised.
Exceptionally beautiful, but clumsy and afraid of something.
Or she's generous with a physical struggle and grieving death. That makes sense too.
She doesn't sound like a particularly nice person. Is she the one who is wounded?
[fifty-fifty, 83 ≥ 50] NO
Ah, so she's doing the wounding!
[Age - Mature] Early twenties.
[Gender Appearance] male
[Visible Quirk] short
[Visible Quirk] flower or leaves in hair
[Visible Quirk] athletic
[Visible Quirk] distinctive facial feature
[Wheel]
[Mild] ecstatic, [nearly consuming] hateful, [driving] alarm
[Focus] tax
A man staggered out of the darkness, leaves and twigs in his hair and his eyes wild. "She's coming," he said, staggering forward. Fin dodged his outstretched hands, and he fell to one knee in the snow.
Behind him, gleaming against the snow, a woman drifted. Her skin was as pale as ice under the moonlight, and snow whipped around her though there was no breeze.
Ice ghost of some sort?
[fifty-fifty, 75 ≥ 50] NO
Frost nymph?
[fifty-fifty, 11 ≤ 50] YES
[RANDOM] NPC negative "Ruin Food"
I'll have to think about that for a moment.
I ended up falling asleep instead. My life is a never ending whirlwind of excitement.
Maybe Fin's presence ruins her attempt to find "food"?
[fifty-fifty, 9 ≤ 10] Exceptional YES
Fin drew his dagger and stepped forward, putting himself between the unfortunate and the ice spirit. He had a feeling he'd regret it.
With the penalties to strength dragging the guy inside seems unlikely, so confrontation it is. Fin is the worst heartless assassin ever.
To his surprise, she stopped a good ten feet away, wavering in the moonlight. She was beautiful in a way that made him think of bitterly cold winds and moonlight on vast expanses of snow. He'd always been fond of moonlight.
"That one is mine," she said finally, staring at him. He stared back, boldly. He hoped it seemed boldly, anyway.
"I can't let you do this," he said politely. The fellow was stock still behind him.
I wonder what he did. Did he wound her?
[fifty-fifty, 93 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO
Maybe he's a druid or something similar. Supposed to propitiate the grove or whatever (mountain?), normally does a good job, but has failed in some way.
"He has failed his duties and must be punished," she said, unmoving. She didn't seem all that upset, more curious.
"Perhaps atonement would serve your purposes better than destruction?" Fin suggested.
She laughed, and it was beautiful, like icicles in the wind. "Are you asking the storm for mercy, little one?" she asked, drifting a bit closer, and he felt the chill clear to his bones.
"No," he said flatly. He, of all people, knew better. Had seen the corpses of those like him, frozen in alleys after a sudden storm. "As beautiful as it -- you -- are, I know there is no mercy there."
"But," he added, "A dead or damaged tool will serve you poorly."
I think it's time for a reaction roll; he's being as charming as he can be, plus he has a bit of an edge in flattery. So I'll do a +3; I don't think his current age will hinder this roll.
Does he get the plus one from his dagger by any chance?
[fifty-fifty, 27 ≤ 50] YES
Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 1 2 ] 3
Haha, not much to do with that. A 7 is terrible.
Maybe she'll roll worse.
Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 1 3 ] 4
But she has no modifiers as a creature. Possibly a +1 or +2 for skill but even that's not quite enough.
I'm going to grab a couple of dice qualities to see if it gives me any description ideas.
[Dice Qualities] Skill, Outside Influences
His teeth were starting to chatter and his fingers felt numb. He was in his shirt sleeves and bare feet and it was freezing cold, even without the ice spirit's presence. He wasn't sure his words were having any effect, but after what seemed like an eternity she nodded.
"You speak wisely for one so young," she said, "I will consider your words."
Does she impose a quest on the priest?
[fifty-fifty, 37 ≤ 50] YES
I can't think of anything she'd want! Maybe he didn't protect something and can't return until he finds it, or a suitable replacement.
"You, priest, will not return to this place until you have replaced what you allowed to be stolen."
She drifted closer again, and Fin's teeth started to chatter audibly. He felt faint. "Such bravery deserves reward, sister's child," she said, her fingers brushing the hair out of his eyes. He tried not to flinch. "May you find what you are seeking."
And she was gone. The sky opened up and snow flurries tumbled out as the blizzard began anew. Fin caught the priest's arm and together the two of them stumbled back inside.
She's given him a blessing. It's a temporary thing, lasting until he uses it up, I think.
Her purview is cold, mostly, and stone. An AC bonus would be useful -- but so would protection from cold. How about he "soaks" some damage, I'll roll a 6+d6 to see how many points, and as long as he hasn't soaked that much damage he's also got protection from mundane cold?
Sound good, o oracle?
[fifty-fifty, 52 ≥ 50] NO
What if he's also cold to the touch?
[fifty-fifty, 78 ≥ 50] NO
And takes double damage from fire?
[fifty-fifty, 53 ≥ 50] NO
And heat?
[fifty-fifty, 60 ≥ 50] NO
Oracle, you're killing me here!
And has a visible mark of the whole thing?
[fifty-fifty, 31 ≤ 50] YES
Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4
Okay, so, he has a 10 point buffer. When he takes damage, other than cold or heat, it comes out of that 10 point buffer first. As long as he has the buffer, heat does double damage, and cold doesn't affect him. He's cold to the touch and his hair has gone white.
Issa's mouth dropped open when they burst in, half-frozen. "What in the blazes," she said, hurrying over, along with Livia, to help them to chairs in front of the fire.
"Your hair's gone white," she said, and Fin blinked owlishly at her. "And you're cold."
"It's a blessing from the Lady of the Mountain," the priest said, "You've a brave lad there."
He sounded less complimentary than befuddled. Livia made a odd gesture with a kind of reverence.
Issa nodded. "I've noticed." She also didn't sound terribly complimentary. "Whatever possessed you to go outside without your shoes?"
Fin gave her a look and she brushed it off. "I'd scold you for that if you were thirty," she informed him, and he started to laugh.
---
