GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Adrienne Mueller, Eric Fattig
System: Spell and Blade by Stras Acimovic
Disclaimer: This is my first Spell & Blade game that I ran from scratch. I had done some prep, but this wasn’t an adventure Stras reviewed and I was trying out some game mechanics (Time Passes) that I’ve never run or played as well as creating a Legendary Item of my own (based on the few others I’ve seen).
If you’re not Stras and you’re reading this, know that this is just me trying some things out to see how they work. This game was a lot like handling a vorpal sword to a second level character to see what happens when the roll a crit.
If you are Stras and you’re reading this, I’d love your feedback on what choices I made that fit your expectations and which ones broke them.
Last time on Spell and Blade
The heroes freed Zaya of her curse, defeated Stonebreaker and sent him fleeing deeper into the sea, and returned to the Stardancer flotilla to recuperate.
Time Passes
To break Zaya’s curse, the adventurers swore an oath to Kahainu to defeat the monster Stonebreaker, but did not have the means to do it. But perhaps they could gather them…Loka had the shard of a giant legendary blade. Thōrgi has been marked by the goddess Kahainu and believed dedicating herself to the god she did not know might pay off her debt. Zaya returned to her mentor Zahrana the Star Winged to learn more mysteries of the 5th star of oculus and the 9th penultimate moons.
We engaged with the Time Passes mechanic and everyone did something a little different.
- Loka selected life changes. She sailed to the great frozen north of Iskanard and battled a terrible storm of ice and fury. When everyone on her ship lost faith and wanted to turn back, she was steadfast and made it through the storm. Doing so she earned the respect and favor of a Rul Metal smith, who forged her a hilt and matching bracers for shard of the legendary blade. Mechanically she picked the Deeds option as well as Permanent Gear. Normally permanent gear can’t include a legendary item, but since she already had the shard of one, I decided to make an exception. She received Tempest Vane, a crackling shard chipped from a god-blade, set in a handle of star metal hilt with a companion star metal bracer. When at rest it points north. It required attunement in three locations to unlock all of it’s powers: the sea, the mountains, and finally a sky city. In each location she had to channel a lightning storm into the blade. We agreed that during time passes she was able to attune to one location and she selected mountains (there are lots of mountains in Iskanard) giving the blade the power to summon any metal object to her or if the object was sufficiently large, fly her to it! I handed out a little booklet for all the items features and game mechanics.
- Thōrgi decided to heed the goddesses and find a different calling. She became a Chosen of Kahainu, a Sea Singer. She spent the next year at sea, ensuring the Temple of the Blue Quay was safe for others to travel to, and helped others who bore curses like her friend Zaya had. When she opened her vial of blue water and smelled the salt air she could remember back to her time in the sanctum as though she was still there, reading the glyph script of the drowned goddess. She received the trait Godbound and began to receive portents from Kahainu…which guided her after a time back to Raxakat, where she met up with her friends once more to complete their oath!
- Zaya returned to the obsidian tower in the valley of fire and ash to continue her training under Zahrana to study her craft. Though she had the choice to attempt apotheosis, she refrained, electing to continue her apprenticeship, advanced her mystic power training and learn for from Zahrana. She was given a fourth stargold rod (though she had a choice of other metamagic materials as well) and learned to the talent to use her flame to Cauterize, allowing her save a friend (or herself) from wounds that might bleed out.
Reunion
The reunited in Raxakat, under the shadow of a Stoneform Guardian, eating giant fried prawn from a Mkan street vendor.
“So… what did you do? Tell me everting.” The still exuberant Thōrgi asked Zaya about her time back in Verrard.
“Oh, it was incredible. I studied the 5th star of oculus and the 9th penultimate moons, and how they interacted as the constellations…” Zaya went on long after she had lost her audience.
“But you didn’t do the…thing?” Thōrgi studied her closely to see signs of spark-curse that Aia bore.
“No, I have not become a wizard…yet. I am still preparing. But when I do it, I’m going to get it right!” Zaya had heard word from her mentor that Aia, daughter of Mirima, successfully completed her apotheosis and was rid of the spark curse, but one of her companions died in the process. Zaya inquired and had found that Aya, daughter of Verr perished, and that Corum Caraseen was heartbroken.
“I got a sword!” Loka slapped down a crackling blade held in a hilt of star metal. “It glows. And it came with these fancy bracers.”
“Was it expensive?” Thōrgi asked, not knowing what she asked.”
Loka confirmed “It cost a lot” but did not say it was not coin she paid, but dangerous deeds.
“I see you have a new scar.” Thōrgi observed. Could that have been related to the cost?
“Oh yeah, that was just from a rope.” Loka changed the subject as they both noticed the starfish on Zaya neck, that looked parched. The skin around it red. “You need to put your blue star in water Zaya.”
Zaya protested “If it wants to stick to me, it’s gonna have to get used to the heat!” but nevertheless she accepted their advice and put a wet handkerchief around it, though she rolled her eyes a bit with both Thōrgi and Loka said in unison that it was a gift of Kahainu. “Not one I wanted!”
“So…did anyone get any other kind of action?” Thōrgi asked as though the question had be subtle.
“Of Course/Of Course Not” Loka and Zaya responded at the same time. Loka was on a ship in the frozen north. How else was she going to keep warm at night? Zaya was toiling away in the obsidian tower. When did she have time for love?
At that moment they heard baby cry and a couple with a newborn approached. “We’re sorry to interrupt you” the mother said “but we overheard you talking. Are you Loka? The Loka that put fear in the heart of the terrible Stonebreaker?”
“Well it wasn’t just—yes, I’m that Loka, I banished Stonebreaker to the south.”
“After he left we were table to take my uncle to the Blue Quay and lift a curse that was on him. This is baby Loka, we hope she will grow to be a great hero like you.”
Loka didn’t know how to feel about this. She like the praise but wasn’t so sur.e she liked the idea of a baby being named after her. Still, there were lots of Loka among the Tkat. It was a common enough name.
Rumors aboud
In their time apart, the adventurers had heard a few rumors and leads.
- Aia was able to break her curse, but Aya died for it. Corrum is really sad about it. (Zaya)
- That the Aurora was never found (Thōrgi)
- Stonebreaker left the Blue Quay, which meant more people were able to visit the temple there (Thōrgi)
- Pirate activity has increased between the Southern Fangs, giant rocks in the shape of fangs, curving in on each other (Loka).
The Journey
We decided that Loka had a small sloop of her own. I wasn’t sure how to handle that mechanically. Make her pay coin for it, make it part of an invest action (from Time Passes) or a clock, etc. I decided to just roll with it. It make sense Loka would have a ship. In another game I would have done the old West End Smuggler move (you’ve got a ship and 30,000 credits of debt, who do you owe it to) but for this I just wanted to give her a chance to be the captain, rather than passenger on a ship. It also fit with everything we had said about the Time Passes phase. Why would she have a ship for that voyage, but not now? She had a faithful crew Declan, Ranas, and Astra.
On the docs, before they board, they heard children yelling as they played a game “Zaya?” “No Zaya!” “Zaya?” “No Zaya!” “Zaya?” “Zaya?” “Zaya! Zaya! Zaya”. When they looked they saw the kids all had shark masks and were playing the game “Zaya-no-Zaya” where the “Watcher” had to find which of their friends was the actual “Zaya”, aka the real shark. It was played a little like Marco Polo and involved a lot of kids running around trying to disorient the Watcher. The real Zaya was not amused that this is how she remembered, but the kids were cute.
The adventurers board Loka’s boat and swore oaths to each by cutting themselves and dripping blood into the water. Zaya thought this was very strange, she knew oaths only worked when the blood was taken in by the land, but Loka assured her that she knew what she was doing, and the newly converted Thōrgi confirmed that Kahainu would receive their oaths.
- “I will get us all home!” Loka swore. She also had an oath to Kahainu to slay Stonebreaker from when the curse was lifted a year ago. (3 oath slots taken, one of them from her attunement to Tempest Vane)
- “I will burn all that stands in our path!” Zaya swore, and Thōrgi raised her eyebrows. That didn’t sound good! (1 oath slot taken)
- “I will sing us safe!” Thōrgi swore, curious because no one knew her to be a singer, but it was the oath she swore along with the oath from a year ago to slay Stonebreaker and the oath she swore when she became a chosen “I am Kahainu’s will made flesh!” (3 oath slots taken)
Through the Dragon Strait
Outside the bay of Raxakat, Loka helmed her ship through the powerful gusts of the Dragon Strait. The winds whipped but she held her course and tacked masterfully. They made it safe out of the bay and into the vast ocean beyond. [6 on her pathfinder roll]
Once at sea for a few days, Thōrgi felt close enough to Kahainu to ask for her guidance. She dove into the water, released her vial of blue water which swam around her like a living thing, and then called to Kahainu for guidance. [She got a 6 on her roll to Channel Kahainu’s guidence. I had rolled for the encounter already and came up with a terrible storm but it had a high disposition, so I decided Thōrgi would not only get the direction to go south, but also warning of the storm].
A school of fish form the far south approached (animals out of their element was a move I pulled from Stras) and circled around her. Thōrgi knew these were fish from the Southern Fangs. One of them was struggling behind the others, it’s fin torn from a struggle in a storm. Thōrgi invited it to serve her and offer itself as a meal. [Does Thōrgi have Whisper? No. Does it matter if she can get a single gear die from the Blue Water and roll a 6? I guess not]. The fish offered itself to be of use in death. Thōrgi killed it quickly and painlessly and brought the large prismatic fish above the waves to provide nourishment for her and her oathbound companions “We sail south…to the Fangs!”
A Terrible Storm
They set sail to the south and after a few days of travel, the Southern Fangs were in site. But out of the blue a terrible storm appeared, however it was not harrowing them for once! They knew the storm was unnatural, but to find more they would have to get closer. Thōrgi and Zaya debated their actions. Going to the storm might tell them more, but it might also detour them from their goal. If it was mystical but not going after them, who was it targeting? Would they need our help? When they turned to get Loka’s thoughts, she wasn’t there, she had already gone to the helm and and plotted a course…into the storm!
When they arrived Zaya studied the storm with her mystic sight and and saw a purple lattice between the clouds and the source of the spells, just on the other side of the west fang! She couldn’t see this clearly though until they were inside the storm itself [I offered a gear die for taking more time to study it, but that meant waiting till they got inside].
Loka had a stern look on her face as they plunged into the darkness. These winds were nothing like those of the Dragon Strait. They changed suddenly, thrashing her ship back and forth. The waters positively raged beneath them, crashing into her boat like hammers. She raised her sturdy lantern see just ahead and held the wheel as the rigging flew back and forth. But at the corners of her mouth, her friends witnessed the subtlest smile, the same one she makes when she’s winning at cards. Her crew was ready and together they braved the storm, at least for now.
Thōrgi was at the prow looking out for the other ship, and when she found them, she began to sing Kahainu’s Song (Divine Blessing) to protect both ships. The storm did not cease, but instead of battering the ships to-and-fro, it filled their sails and set their course straight! However, doing so cost her and it drew the attention of the pirates, who were crashing through the storm against them! [Mechanically, the trait can be pushed to extend the area of effect, but I said that to affect two boats, she’d have to push and spend some resists. She got a mixed result on the Channel roll so it also cost a debt from Kahainu and drew the pirates attention. She decided not to resist either one of them]
“The storm might not be hindering us any more, but it’s helping them!” Loka yelled over the torrent.
While most of the crew was ready for rough and tumble of the storm, Zaya was having trouble keeping her balance. The curse she had a year ago was awful (truly terrible) but at least she had her sea legs. Now she had to scramble to move safely on the boat and was knocked about in the process [I called for a scramble roll for her to move around, mixed result was a physical wound, which she resisted]. “I’ve got this!” She yelled back to her companions!
At the railing the ship, Zaya leaned over and just as the first pirate—a man in tattered clothes and missing teeth—landed his boarding hook on the prow, she held her stargold rod aloft and began to engulf it in fire. Not just any fire, the fire of the stars. The flames grew larger…and larger….and larger. From the side of her fist, to the size of a ball, to the be large enough she needed both hands to hold them. And finally she thrust the flames down and into the pirates ship burning a terrible hole through the deck, through the hull, and through the sea below, burning with out cessation! [Mechanically, her ability allows her to spend 2 mana to create a fist size ball of flame, and to spend 2 more to increase the size. I ruled that 6 mana would be enough to sink the ship, but were I to do it again, I’d said bind four mana instead. This should be the kind of thing that would drain her for some time].
The pirate looked at her with awe and surprise and the floor beneath him suddenly gave way to the waves below! As fast as it approached, the pirate ship was swallowed by the sea!
Not again!
When they got out of the storm the two crews finally got a good look at each other. “By the Goddess, I can’t believe I’m bested by Loka again!” Apa’Lana burst into cheer. “I’m so mad, I’ll have to drink over it with friends!”
After they had a chance to catch up, they learned that Apa’Lana and Tur’Gran, members of the Sail Club, were heating to the Fangs to rescue Sondin, their friend who had gone looking for his brother on the Aurora, and hadn’t returned. Sodrin, the smoldering hot sailor that Thōrgi lost her voice around.
It was a fools errand. Sodrin had gone looking for his brother Gorin, and now they were going after him. Probably all going to die in the process (Apa’Lana cheered at the danger while Tur’Gran accepted it somberly as though being swallowed by the sea was always his destiny).
The two ships were united in purpose. Or mostly united. Kill pirates, rescue their friends. And slay a monstrous shark. That last part the adventurers didn’t mention, but it was probably implicit, right?
Under a Blood Wolf Moon
A wolf moon is the first full moon of the year. A blood moon is one where the moon blocks out the sun entirely, creating a red cast across it. Tonight was both!
As they boats came around the edge of the fang, the saw a large flotilla of ships, maybe 20 in total. Among them one was truly massive. The size of a Tkat galleon!
Loka looked through her spyglass [Flashback to spending 5 coin and purchasing it] and saw the ship was none other than the Aurora! But it was no longer any Tkat ship she would recognize. The garden had all gone to rot. The masts broken so the sails hung over the ship like a cloth ceiling. The deck covered in profane sigils to the God of Sharks and Storms.
Zaya took the spyglass and with her keen eye, watched the Pirates to study their activity. They had prisoners, which they taunted and tormented, prodding at them with torches and naked blades. Zaya tried to get a better look and see who they were moving. Was it Sodrin? Someone else they knew?
Zaya dropped the spyglass into the water before she could find out. She had seen the pirates, all swarthy and disheveled, looking hungry and cruel in the torchlight, but when one of them stepped into the blood moon light, she could see them as they truly were…their skin sagging from bones, they eyes floating loosely in their sockets, fatal wounds that no longer blead….they were the living dead!
Deeds Awarded
- Zaya was awarded 2 might for shattering the pirate ship with flames! (LR1)
- Loka was given 1 honor for plunging into the storm, heedless of danger and without a second thought.
- Thōrgi was awarded 1 honor for protecting the other ship with Kahainu’s Song and accepting the pirates ire.
Next time on Spell and Blade
What was once the Aurora is now a profane mockery of it. They considered trying to reclaim it but decided they must scuttle it instead! Thōrgi wanted to with a saw, but that would take ages. However, they knew Stonebreaker was in the vicinity, the very same shark know for sinking even the most massive ships! Perhaps they could lure it with the chose of it’s sworn enemy in the water! I’m excited to find out!
A few small items to cover next time:
- Apa’Lana’s boat is the Venture. What is Loka’s called?
- A short 15 minute camp before they go after the pirates?
- There are prisoners onboard the Aurora. How will they get them off?
Thoughts on the game
In a lot of ways this particular campaign suffers from me being a kid in a candy shop wanting to play with all the toys. I’ve introduced a lot of things all at once, and because of that they haven’t received the gravitas or the time they deserve. Time is a particular important element because as each of the characters have grown, they’ve gained new playbooks (for legendary items, divine bonds, and for Zaya a glimpse at the Pyroclast’s Grimoire). It has been a lot to ingest and the players commented they felt overwhelmed by all the paperwork. I think there may be simple solutions for that (like labeling them more distinctly) but it also would help if they had more time between getting new content. They have new traits, divine blessings, legendary items, and it’s a lot. Remember what I said about giving a 2nd level character a vorpal blade? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it’s giving a 2nd level character the DMG and saying “figure out what magic item you want.” It’s just too much to take all at once.
The bad part is the the players told me a few times that what I gave them wasn’t want they wanted. In D&D parlance, they asked for a +1 longsword and I gave them a talking holy avenger with a mind of it’s own (to be clear, Tempest Vane doesn’t talk, but one of the glitches it has is getting lost in reverie as the wielder relives ancient battles). In my mind, getting handed a whole character sheet for a legendary item is a cool game unlock, where suddenly I not only have new abilities but I also learn more about the world and have something new to work on. The experience of receiving it however, was more like getting homework. I would have been better off to say “this blade grants a magic die when fighting it’s sworn foe” (Stonebreaker).
The good part is that this is a way for me to get experienced with the more advanced content in the game (I’ve now run every phase for instance). It also means that the desire to infinity gem my game (gotta have this and this and this and this and this) will likely fade. I remember back in high school when I’d get a book like Unearthed Arcana I immediately made a barbarian and a cavalier and a fighter with weapon specialization, and a thief-acrobat, and, and, and). So as a GM, I’m not surprised that upon finding a game like Spell & Blade I want to do the same thing. I had the same experience making pre-gen characters, who all started with big-PC energy (I’m a “Tiefling Paladin from Hell with my pet Pseudodragon on a quest to slay Asmodeus”) and have been toned down to characters that a) actually make sense for the adventure and b) are built by picking options that are fitting for the character rather than just shiny. I think a lot of this is me getting all these ideas I’m excited about out of my system!
One thing I really did like was finding a way to bring the character’s deeds into play. I wrote a few moments into my notes and just waited till there were good times to bring them in. I think the players liked seeing that their actions were noticed!
Notably, in the Rumors section, I didn’t give Loka any rumors or quest leads from Iskanard because our plan was to play out just one more adventure, but also because I had been told multiple times to stop dropping hints about the world because the characters wanted to focus on the adventure at hand.
Since I had already given the characters a direction from the rumors I wasn’t sure what additional information Kahainu could offer Thōrgi when she channeled her, beyond just confirmation that all the hints the received were accurate. I was glad to give her warning of the storm, but wish I could have thought of something more.
Taking breaks is so good for generating ideas. Just as they entered the storm I had to go to the bathroom so I took a short break. As I was washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and asked myself who would be on the boat caught in the storm? Would I create new NPCs and figure out what they were doing here? Nah, this was Apa’Lana and Tur’Gran from the sail club, off to find their friend, the smoldering hot Sodrin (who had left himself to find his brother Gorin)! This was so helpful to me as a GM and gave the players a chance to interact with people they already know.
Playtest Feedback
Here’s areas the players ran into friction:
- Would help if the gear in grey and gear in white was labeled on the character sheet (permanent/temporary or something like that.
- The boxes on the character sheet for gear got in the way more than it helped. Some gear was 0 load, so it had to be marked as such. They had more 1 load gear than 1 load slots so they had to designate that as well. Suggestion was to remove load boxes but I personally find them useful. The load section might must need to be larger so there are more move for 0 load, and 1 load items.
- During time passes, one player expected to see information about learning skills before traits since skills appear first on the character sheet and in the action roll.
- Having lots of booklets (see Thoughts on the Game about me introducing them too fast) made it hard to find. Some players had a long term playbooks for camping and town, a character sheet, a divine bond (or legendary item) sheet, a pregen character information sheet, and other handouts I had given them. The issue was both how they were labeled (all have Spell & Blade on the top so they look the same at a glace) and how they nest (when you put one playbook inside another, it means you’re flipping around a lot). Suggested changing labels or page borders.
- Some skills like Helm and Ride are very situational and the players had less incentive to take them. My personal experience was that Helm was the most rolled skill this session (lots of seafaring) so I think it makes a lot of sense for a sailor or a horse rider and not much sense for someone who isn’t invested in that.
- Overall folks felt there was a lot to track between wounds, vigor, resists, pushes, deeds, gear, clocks, etc. Recommend tying to clarify those things via layout. Also recommend getting away from fonts that resemble Kirsty so the game is more visually distinct from Blades in the Dark (because if it looks like Blades, that sets the expectation that it works like Blades).
- Find another word besides attunement for legendary items. It’s confusing because there is a skill “attune” but it isn’t necessarily the skill used for attunement.
