GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Adrienne Mueller, Eric Fattig
System: Spell and Blade
Last time on Spell and Blade…
Your oathbound adventurers defeated Nor’Razki Blackpool, leader of the Cult of Storms, and cast him into shark-infested waters—offering him as a sacrifice just as he had done to so many innocent Mkeshi children. Lighting struck and thunder rumbled as he died, and the God of Sharks and Storms levied a curse against the hero who vanquished his mortal servant…which one of you was it?
Since that day, you cannot pass an hour without vomiting up foul sea water, your skin has taken the sallow color of sharks, and you hunger for blood. But there is hope yet! Your band met a Seasinger who told you of the Blue Quay, an island temple where your curse might be removed. You journey there even now aboard the Candlelight, a ship in the Stardancer fleet!
First adventure of my own!
This is my first time running my own adventure for Spell and Blade (I had only run Tomb of the Twins before) and I had a blast. What’s most incredible to me about it is that the whole things came together in two days. I was reading the curse rules and suddenly the ideas that had been lingering about the temples of Kahainu clicked together. What if one of the heroes was cursed? What if they hat a really terrible curse?
A bunch of ideas surged forth, and in the places where I got stuck or didn’t know what to do Stras offered me a ton of useful material to work with. He also helped me refine the encounter design and the rumors, And then, my friends were coming over and decided to give a go. So I whipped together two characters (a Mirimese Chef Extraordinaire and a Ozhen Smuggler) and then I pulled out a few more from the Tomb of Twins adventure (I wanted there to be several choices an only had time to make two characters) and by 6PM I had something ready to play!
Characters
- Zaya, the Wizard Apprentice (Fattig). Has a goat Sverena who follows her everywhere. Pretty new to adventuring and unsure about the apotheosis she is going to eventually undertake. Bears the Drowning Curse.
- Loka, the Ozhen Smuggler (Karen). At home on the sea. Provides a service to those in need of rare goods. Brought Zaya in under her wing, showing her the ropes. She’s got “sea-smarts!”
- Thōrgi of Hallenland, the Mirimese Chef Extraordinaire (Adrienne). Short, round, born to wealth, and very shy around those she fancies. Life long friend with Laka who eventually wanted to see all the amazing places her friend had gone herself!
Candlelight
The Candlelight, a massive Tkak galleon capable of long journeys, captained by Nor’Fari Stardancer, a Chosen of Drowned Goddess, said to be able to call up wind with her songs.
Zaya and her companions decided that with curse’s being as curses are, she should probably resist any strange urges such as biting people or eating raw meat. Maybe she should just be vegetarian until this who curse passes…and avoid contact with people as much as possible. “If you’ve go an urge, do the other thing.”
So, with Zaya primarily staying in her quarters, except to run out once an out to violently disgorge foul sea water overboard, Loka and Thōrgi set out to see if there was anyone on the ship who might know more about curses. They had heard there was a wizard on board, so they went to meet Yaki Lanaforge.
Yaki Lanaforge, a sorcerer who had replaced her heart with the heart of a dragon, and had many metal components and vents to exhaust her incredible heat, as well as several small mechanical constructs which she also fueled from her dragon magic, was in the middle of explaining her thesis on aetheric capacity to a poor Tkat crewmember that was desperately trying to escape the conversation when the characters arrived.
Loka got the sorcerer’s attention and managed to divert the conversation away from metallurgic properties to ask about getting rid of a curse. They managed to learn that Kahainu, the Goddess of Oceans would likely be able to break the curse. Stories say she fell in love with the God of Sharks and Storms, but she was deceived by his charm. When she pledged herself to him, he bound her in shackles and slew her beneath the sea. But Yaki did not believe she was truly dead. How could she still offer so many blessings to her children if she was dead. She also suggested other means “I could try to burn it out of her. That doesn’t always kill people. Or she could give into it and become a monster of sea. She’d be a horrible creature that I’d vow to slay, but she wouldn’t be cursed any more. Now you say she’s an apprentice? What school does she study under, and what’s her stance on bronzite?”
The heroes escaped, assuring the wizards that Zaya would happily debate about magic stuff once she was feeling better.
When they returned to give Zaya the news, she was wrenching over the side of the ship, getting dirty looks from some of the crew, most notably Sodrin of the Stardancer fleet, who had previously voiced his fears that Zaya’s curse would bring the attention of the God of Storms. Despite his open score for Zaya, Thōrgi could not see past his wavy hair and the way it shimmered in the sunlight.
Zaya took the news, or lack of news, with equanimity. The Wizard Yaki’s offer to “burn it out” of her wasn’t appealing, and neither was the idea of debating with said wizard about arcane obscurities.
Dragon Strait
Leaving the safe waters of Raxakat means passing through the Dragon Strait, where powerful winds buffet even the largest ships. It is a short part of the journey, but a brutal one.
Everyone was expected to help, so Loka broke out her maps and instruments and offered the navigator Vukri some advice on which winds to follow and which to turn into in order to make it through the strait. Her knowledge of the winds and obstacles was sound, and she offered the navigator good advice [6 on her Pathfinder roll], however it was met with skepticism from Vukri “Why did you bring a curse-touched on our ship. You know they are bad luck?”
“You mean why an I helping my friend that I’m oath-bound too?”
“That’s admirable of you, but it will be a lot less admirable if a terrible storm follows your friend and we all drown. Storms have worsened of late and the Aurora, another ship in the Stardancer fleet, has not reported back in some time. Some say they have been destroyed at sea.”
“Ah, so your admitting that the storms were already bad before we got on the ship. Sailors always want to blame ill fortune on people, but that is just superstition. If the storms are worse, that isn’t my friends fault.”
Between Loka’s argument and her useful directions, Vukri let it drop. That night, while the heroes were sleeping fitfully, Vurki tried to convince Sodrin that maybe he shouldn’t have it out so badly for the newcomer.
The newcomer however was having terrible dreams of storms, and of the ship being swallowed whole by a giant whirlpool. [For the encounter I rolled Mystic/Dreams, and the players got a 2 on their disposition, so it was bad]. Thōrgi to see Zaya thrashing about in her bunk and was going to try and wake her when she saw the horrible glint of shark teeth in her mouth, a full new set had sprouted during her dream. Thōrgi thought better of trying to wake her with her hands and so instead threw Loka’s net over her, but the slumber was a mystical one, and instead of waking from it, she merely thrashed Thōrgi around the cabin. When she finally woke Zaya was in a cold sweat and terrified, how did she get wrapped up in a net [Zaya’s curse advanced one check. Thōrgi tried to wake her, but failed the skirmish roll, and so she got thrashed across the room. She would have taken one physical wound, but she resisted it].
Zaya coughed up a bloody mouthful of shark teeth which made their cabin smell even more terrible than it had from her wrenching and from Sverena, the goat, who Zaya insisted board with them, as she was not livestock.
Thōrgi and Loka said they thought they should tie Zaya up at night from now on, which terrified Zaya “But what if the ship sinks, then it will pull me down with it.” The tried to assure her they would let her go if that happened, but after her dream, it was a hard sell.
Wat’s Bounty
An area of unnaturally warm water where many schools of gold-kissed kingfish and swordfish congregate. All are expected to help catch the bounty to replenish supplies while the weather watchers plot the next course.
Zaya felt a powerful urge to dive into the water and catch the fish below with her own teeth. Despite not being familiar with the see, she somehow knew she would be quite capable of it. But despite her eagerness, in fact, because of her eagerness, her friends bade her stay on deck. “Remember that we all agreed you should be resisting your urges.” [She did in fact make a resistance roll to avoid diving in]
As they all stood on the deck, Apa’Lana Stardancer a rowdy and boisterous member of he crew, unperterbed by Zaya’s condition, approached the group. She was a member of the Sail Club, an underground betting ring for who can dive the deepest, stay underwater the longest, or catch the biggest fish.
She sized Loka up and told her “I bet 3 coin I can hold me breath longer than you.”
“You’re on!”
Thōrgi watched from the deck while the two sailors stripped down to their skivvies and leapt in the water. Apa’Lana holding a harpook, Loka with a knife in her mouth. The were down there for a long time. Enough time that other divers had gone under, come up, and gone back down again. While they waited, Tur’Gran Stardancer, another member of the Sail Club, posited that when Kahainu died, great waves swallowed her temples beneath the sea, so maybe their friends had been swallowed in the Dead Goddesses embrace…and if so, they were lucky.
Thōrgi did like the thought and shook off the idea. “When people drown they float to the surface, so the fact that they are down there so long is a good thing, I think.”
Under the waves, Lana had speared a kingfish and she was treading water to stay below the surface while staring at Loka. who was matching her, knife still between her teeth. As the precious moments passed, Loka held out just long enough [Resistance roll against three physical would from drowning] for Apa’Lana, nicknamed “Fish Lung” to start feeling the pressure build up inside her. When Lana was distracted for a moment, Loka stabbed the fish she had with her knife and kicked Lana in the stomach, forcing her to exhale and go to the surface.
As they both got to the top sputtering and coughing Lana choked out “You cheated! It was glorious. Drinks on me tonight!”
And so the party was invited to join the Sail Club for drinks the mess, boasting of their exploits past and future. Sodrin was there as well, and he finally made up his mind to ask the heroes if they knew anything about the Aurora, but the first of them that he approached, Thōrgi, just babbled nonsense and then ran away. Maybe he had been too harsh before and now they would not talk to him. God, he was so worried about his brother. What if they drowned…or worse, what if they joined the pirates? An unthinkable thought. He then saw Sverena and her devilish eyes and left, fearful she was also a bad omen.
They spent another rought night below deck. Zaya’s nightmares did not return but she still woke up every hour to expunge fetid sea water, and Thōrgi and Loka took turns emptying the bucket over the deck. Loka tried to reassure Zaya that this wasn’t the first time she held her hair while Zaya retched, but they all knew this was very different from the time Zaya was surprised that some drinks were strong than beer (where she grew up, there was just beer, and you drank it with gusto…not so true of other spirits it seemed).
A restless camp
Finally able to sleep, if only for an hour at a time, the heroes made camp and recovered from the journey so far. Thankfully the sea that night was merciful and they woke feeling restored [Everyone rolled 6s on their camp rolls, cleared 3 checks and/or vigor. They did not get 6+ hours of sleep because of the curse, however]
As they rested, Zaya gazed into the lantern light and her eyes glowed ember as she saw visions in the fire. A lion shedding silver tears as it walked across a great chain. Weird wizard stuff.
Shipbreaker Reef
Not one, but many coral reefs that threaten to rupture the hulls of even the stoutest ships. When the wind is calm and the water is clear, they are easy enough to navigate, but in storm season, the reefs are nigh impassible.
And storm season was upon them. Zaya saw the black clouds, heard the howling wind, and felt the spray of see water on her face, even high up on the deck. Getting through the reef was going to be difficult and dangerous, and if they didn’t make it, everyone on the crew would blame her!
She looked into the black clouds with her Mystic Sight and saw that sure enough, they were not natural in origin, some horrible force was causing them to gather, a latticework of purple webbing between the clouds…that seemed to beckon her towards it. Though she wouldn’t follow it today, she would remember the direction it came from. She wanted to warn everyone, but in the chaos, few were listening!
To get their attention Zaya opened a lantern and thrust her bare hand inside it (while concealing that she was holding a stargold rod in her other hand inside her robes) and called out “Captain, I have red the flames and they have told me where the storm comes from and where it is moving. Listen to me and I can help you avoid it!”. The captain heeded her portent and though it was not a smooth ride, they made it through the reefs with only a few scrapes along the way. [Zaya used Mystic Sight with Study for her pathfinder roll and got a 6],
“Cheap stargold eh? You would have learned a lot more about those clouds if you used bronzite,” Yaki the Sorcerer had watched the whole affair and appreciated the spectacle of it all. Wizards should be heeded, but also, stargold, that was the stuff of pyroclasts who believed they True Flame was the sum total of magic. “Heh, dragons eat true flame for breakfast!”
“Yes, my master Zahrana the Star-Winged told me to watch out for inferior metals, and the inferior wizards that used them!” Oh, snap.
The Blue Quay
A lush island filled with soaring palms, brilliant birds of paradise, purple tuluwah, and spiky palmetto. There is a beach along the western side of the island, and a jagged reef on the east. Somewhere in the center you spot a bright glint of light reflecting off of something shiny in the jungle.
There was no dock for the Candlelight, so the heroes paid 10 coin for one of the rowboats on the ship, and thanked the crew kindly for lowering them down into the little boat (any sailor on board would have just dove in the water then climbed aboard). As they rowed to the beach, supplies in tow, they heard birdcalls from all over the densely populated island ahead. [1 supply for each]
What Rocked
Writing this adventure was a blast, it came vaulting out of me in two days and Stras gave me a ton of help with it, filling in gaps that were missing, giving me guidance on parts of the world I don’t know as much about, and offering ideas for the way to handle certain encounters. Thank you sir!
The banter between our heroes was incredible. I loved Zaya feeling like she was always underestimated (even though she was the one who killed the cult leader), and Thorgi’s crushes that neither Zaya or Loka could understand why she never acted on. The way Loka just shut Vukri down saying she was doing right by her friend…it was so good. I fucking loved playing Yaki the obsessed wizard. She’s got a chip on her shoulder and everyone knows it.
The encounter roll surprised me (Mystical/Dream) but I had been thinking of dreams since Stras mentioned them as he helped me write he adventure, and so I like the idea of mixing the imagery of the Drowned Goddess and the God of Sharks and Storms (the whirlpool and the storm). It didn’t feel like the pathfinder roll directly prepared them for the encounter (a bad dream) but because the ship had made it through the strait, they weren’t dealing with a bad dream and being rocked back and forth at the same time.
I know it’s early on, but position and effect almost never came into the game, they were just intuitive. I mean, I know I’m with a bunch of very seasoned Blades players, but consequences all felt natural and followed easily from the fiction. Loved that.
I liked using resist rolls as a way to determine who could stay under water longer. In the future I might have had multiple rounds (resists at 4d, resist at 3d, etc), but calling the drowning three physical harm felt right.
God I loved all the temptations I threw at Zaya. Looking in the storm, dive into the sea, feast on flesh. So much fun (and Eric was a great sport about it).
I’m excited for the next game!
What could have improved
Better portrayal of the unfriendly crew. I wasn’t sure how to play superstitious people who were afraid that Zaya would bring ruin on all of them. Mostly they sneered and asked the other characters why they traveled with Zaya, when she was likely to bring down the wrath of the God of Storms and Sharks on us all. I think I should have had a better idea of what that fear escalating looks like and the arguments they’d make.
I forgot to give the pitch for the game itself. I know it’s because I was just excited and want to dive in, but I’ve got to remember that not everyone has been pouring over this game for the last few months.
We didn’t have any relationship questions to determine how people knew each other, so when I asked them to make an oath they weren’t sure where to start. The players all figured something out, because they’re naturally good at figuring out how connections are made, but I think I’d like to add a few generic how did your characters get to know each other questions to get the ball rollling.
I didn’t have a lot of examples for sample oaths. They went with “we’ve got each other’s backs” but I’d like to have more examples of common oaths to give them.
I probably should have let Thōrgi find out about Zaya’s teeth by being bitten. It was dark in the cabin and she might have not have noticed the teeth.
I only end up rolling one encounter. The one I got (Mystical/Dreams, Disposition: 2) was bad enough and took enough time that I skipped rolling the others, but I think there could have been things in the water along the way.
Having what is effectively a town that moves with you means that picking load and using supplies during the journey is a little diluted. It didn’t make any sense to ask about rations when they were on a ship with a huge garden and they stopped midway to fish and replenish supplies.
I probably should have nudged Thōrgi toward the garden a bit more. A cook would know to look for rare plants and herbs.
