GM: Richard Ruane
Players: Lisa Padol, Mike Martens, Tristan Zimmerman, Sean Nittner
System: Barrow Keep
150 years ago, Barrow Keep’s sorcerer and her apprentices died in their beds in the Eastern Tower. The tower had been sealed since then, until the capital sent official scholars with a warrant to open its doors and haul out the old sorcerer’s secrets. When the tower’s doors opened, something escaped. Now some want to banish it, some want to bind it, and others want to flee in fear.
We created our characters and their entanglements.
Nevyn, the Performer who arrived in Barrow Keep (from a ship, which is important) as a child and stayed as a performer. She was rescued by Carbry when the guards came to break up a show. They disappeared in the alleys together and have been friends since (Lisa).
Carbry, the Criminal knows nothing of the sea but longs for it. He’s a romantic and thinks himself the gentleman bandit. Hunted by guild leader Ohle for having the audacity of loving Ohle’s son Antal. He was rescued by Athanasius who sprang Carbry from a prison cell and they’ve been friends since (Sean).
Athanasius, the Third Son of a old family discovered his family was in the business of keeping people incarcerated for the broker Ohle. Meaning to free Cordetta Banin, the scion of neighboring nobles from his family’s dungeon, he sprung Carbry as well. Rescued by Conduct who made a prophecy that warmed him against sailing on the commodore’s ship, which later sank, and they’ve been friends every since (Tristan)
Conduct, the Oracle who cast fortunes to others going to sea, though he had never been. He used whalebone scrimshaw dice to tell fortunes, but last night he got drunk and left them in the Concord Crown with his friend Carbry. He was rescued by Nevyn who shouted at the abbot that his prophesies might be difficult for simpleton to understand but they were true! (Mike)
Trapped by a storm
We were all trapped in a storm, both a literal storm that came from nowhere (even Conduct hadn’t predicted it) trapping us all in in the Concord Crown, and personal storms. Carbry was being hunted by Ohle’s enforcers. Athanasius knew about the underhanded dealings his family was involved in, but not how far it went, or if his older brother Siril knew about it.
As the shuttered were battened down, Antal and Siril entered flanked by lawyers and guards. Though they took a private table, Carbry was able to eavesdrop and learn the lawyers were arranging a marriage between them. Carbry could not let it be. Antal was his love. And Athanasius realized his brother was likely suppose to marry Cordetta Banin or was it Antal that was supposed to marry her? Either way, Siril was just as complicit as his parents!
Foreign ships were landing on our shores and the commodore’s fringe was burning in the sea as Carbry ran away with Antal, accidentally still holding Conduct’s treasured dice. Back at the inn, Nevyn was keeping the guards at bay as Athanasius shook his brother by the lapels “Why didn’t you tell me?” he howled into the night!
Thoughts on the game
The setting we created was a delight. All the pick lists drove towards action and intrigue. Good stuff there.
As Mike said there seem to be three areas of focus, the big pictures stuff (war descending on Barrow’s Keep), the faction level tensions (Athanasius’ family and Ohle’s crooked dealings) and the personal stories (Carbry’s love for Antal and fleeing from Ohle’s enforcers). Some people operated a different levels (Conduct was big picture, Carbry was personal) and it was fun when we had ways of pulling each other into other realms (like Carbry running off with Conduct’s dice, or Athanasius finding out about his brother and making a political thing into a personal one.
The rescue mechanic that tied all the characters together was so fucking good. Not only did it establish a positive relationship that was fun, it also gave a mechanical boon to the rescuer (i.e. the other person) so they felt good about it as well. I’m stealing this for sure.
The OSR elements didn’t seem to be serving the game. We never used Wyrd (replacement for HP), Burdens (replacement for inventory) didn’t have clear mechanical effects, and the stats didn’t come up often (I think I made one deception roll). I don’t think the hurt the game, but the didn’t add to it.
