GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Lon Grabowski, Bay Grabowski, Ian Cabellero, James Ritter, Judson Ritter
System: Spell and Blade
Content warning: body horror bits masked (like this)
Talk about running games close to the wire. The adventure for my morning session, I got the day before my game, but this adventure was being written (and send to me) in bits. I received and printed the final page 10 minutes before the session started. But we pulled it off!
Spell and Blade had a strong pull in the pitch circle. I pitched it as folk fantasy like the Witcher, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Mighty heroes that could still be felled by a single blow. I got four players (my cap) immediately and then the host asked it we could take one more!
The Pitch
Zerenbor is a Verani village of about 300 people. It’s mainly woodcutters, a few alunhi shepherds, and a famous family of apiarists. The bees feed on a small red local flower called “woundsbreath” that only grows in the local pine forests.It produ ces a reddish honey, and a local specialty drink at the inn called “Kingsblade Mead” which has to do with an old song about old king Verr and his red-blade after slaying the last Necromancer King. There is a big statue of a bear in the center of the village-it’s probably a super old statue to Borr, the Verani bear god or protection. It’s older than the Cataclysm so who knows why it’s there.
For a season or two there were small rumbles in the ground, but about two weeks ago there was a big shake. The night after a yellowish-green pillar of light shot up into the sky from over the mountains to the north. Since then, more undead have appeared in the area. They sent someone to ask the local lord (Lady Victoria Slihim) for aid, but she had ridden out with some Order of Silver and Steel to hunt a dangerous undead called a Weeper. So the village is offering up a few meager coins they’ve assembled and provisions to any adventurers willing to go make whatever is causing these undead to threaten their kids.
Selecting Characters
There were a few logistical issues that slowed us down: forgetting all the sheets in the print center (hah!) and the character concepts being on the inside flap of the folded character sheets, but we got through it all created some amazing characters.
- Lon played Liaval, Son of Danilov, the Verani hunter and cook. Beloved by his party for the fine meals he made and renowned for his Roasted Zakar. As a child he met the god Borr in the form of a jolly stranger who had lost his way. Liaval helped him and when they parted the stranger gave him a bracelet with carved bear charms. He had been trying to find the meaning of it ever since.
- Bay played Zaya, the Scholar (turned Charlatan, but we don’t talk about that) who enjoyed trying to swindle dignitaries too much and embarrassed his father, the baron. He learned of a rare flower that grew in impossibly tall peaks, that was said to be part of a miraculous cure. He was determined to find it. He’s out to prove that his stories are not lies!
- Ian played Barakus Blue Eyes the ex-guild thief from Lykeard, on the run from his former associated for holding onto a treasure he was supposed to turn over. This giant sapphire the size of a fist had the unfortunate effect of also turning his skin blue and his eyes jewel-toned. He work a lot of hats, scarves, and gloves.
- James played Corvin the Mistrel, a lutist who was marked by Nikor, the god of wind, light, and song who rewards him for spreading amusement and joy. He travels with his raven familiar Speck who calls him boss.
- Judson played Surkory the apprentice wizard. He grew up amongst goats and as a child met a god that granted him a goat friend (two kids!) who he raised and protected and named Alika. Surkory was sent by his village as an offering and studied under the famed Zahrana the Star-Winged Pyroclast. Now ready to make his first foray in the wilds, Surkory is the most recent to join the band.
They talked some about the oath they at they would swear and landed on “for as long as we walk the same path together, we are siblings and will never fail to come to each other’s aid.”
Gathering Information and Supplies
Surkory asked the locals about strange occurrences and leaned that people had woken up humming an old song about a brother and a sister, a warrior and a poet, dancing a duel.
Corvin made a performance by the statue of Borr (Liaval knew it wasn’t actually a statue of Borr because it has a white star on its forehead, but he went along with it) and got them so encouraged that they were quite distraught when the adventurers spent an extra night in town drinking their mead [should have had Corvin swear and oath]. Nevertheless, they packed him with provisions of milk, cheese, and dried meets.
Barakus enchanted the the already engaged for untoward amorous activities and information about the goings on in the town where he learned that a terrible mist, the Aurora Mortalis entered the village at night and clung to the ground. Those who touch the mist rot away. “My hand fell off” said the woman as she was massaging his back with both hands.
Zaya drank Kingsblade Mead with the locals and got them to tell her all the gossip they had on each other. She learned several dirty secrets [a gear die for blackmail or deception in Zerenbor] as well as more rumors about the mist, that it killed the livestock (though the claw marks indicated it was probably ghouls or beasts) and haunted people with terrible dreams of the dead.
Liaval, consumed by trying to find out more about Borr, and hoping that because of the statue (even though it wasn’t a statue of Borr) might mean there were locals who knew more. He asked the locals and while they couldn’t help the told him about an old mushroom farmer who walked the woods at night. Liaval convinced his boon companions to spend an extra night in the village so he could seek out this farmer. He went out into the night, heard a terrible weeping sound carrying through the trees, and encountered the horrible mist the locals warned of. His hand was rotten as was the reflection of his face in a pool of water. Was he becoming undead? He could not tell. Liaval ran way from the most and would have slipped down a dangerous slope had not a stranger grabbed him by the wrist (the same that carried the bracelet from Borr) and pulled him to safety. He ask the man (who was also marked) what the bracelet meant and the old farmer told him that if he was ever defending not just himself, but those in need, Borr would come to his aid. He felt his gods eyes on him as he returned unscathed and dreamed of his father Danion sharing his hopes for his son.
Setting out for adventure
In the morning, the companions set out for the light in the north. They heard about a hunting lodge along the way and decided to take the road to get there, hopefully making it before dark when the mist set in.
The path however, was blocked by a landslide that happened after the earthquake. A few of the party grumbled about taking the more direct route over the mountain in the first place, but they had already been walking for hours and didn’t want to turn back now.
Corvin sent Speck to scout the area and find out how much of the pass was blocked. “Squawk. Looks like a short distance as I fly boss. Squawk!” Not super helpful but it did give them encouragement that with some time and some hammering of pitons and some rope (Liavel had so much rope) they could make their way up. Liavel got stared on his way up the rock and fallen earth, wary that it hadn’t settled yet and could shift again at any time.
At the top he discovered two things [one a result of a mixed success, the other an encounter roll]. While the path was stable enough, if he were to collect his climbing gear, the villagers of Zerenbor wouldn’t have a save way through. He left the rope and pitons in place [scratching it off his gear list] and Borr noticed his deeds. The second oddity they all noticed was that an iron ore vein had been exposed by the rockslide, potentially of great value to someone who could setup a mining expedition. Unfortunately the claw marks nearby indicated that at night ghouls also inhabited the area and would have to be addressed before an operation could begin [Encounter: Opportunity. Scope: Local. Disposition: 1].
That night they all walked amongst the mist and had to steady themselves not to draw blacksilver blades on each other, each looking like the dead walking. The strength of their oath, and Curse-Resistant Barakus (who told them that they were all seeing things and to put the blades away) kept them from harming one another. They couldn’t make it to the lodge fast enough!
The found the lodge was well provisioned and they were able to eat well. Corvin played on his lute to drown out the sound of weeping on the wind. During the night all but Barakus dreamt of the departed, each who shared memories the boon companions did not know during their lives.
In the middle of the night Speck woke Corvin with a gentle peck and as he alerted the others. Ghouls were passing by outside. They held their breath and waited, as still as they could, until the undead passed. Phew.
To the Hand and beyond
The had also heard of a great monument that looked oddly like fingers jutting out of the ground along the way. Rumor had it that if you prayed to Borr for protection the undead would not disturb you in the night. They all prayed and were not disturbed in their camp, nor did the mist descend upon them. Perhaps they were high enough in the hills at that point. Perhaps.
In the morning they set out along the road and found two merchant brothers bickering with each other as they tried (unsuccessfully) to pull their damaged cart out of a ditch. The companions warned them that it was dangerous to be out exposed at night, but they couldn’t lose their goods (fine textiles). Corvin was skilled in tending both to the wounds man and machine [tend and craft] and he pulled out tools [spending coin to add it to his gear] and rope to pull the cart out and create a splint of sorts for the cracked axel. The merchants thanked him for his generosity and told the companions of the strange buildings they saw on their way, granting them directions to the Tomb. Zaya also told them of the rockslide (which they could clime over but would never get their cart through) and that they might want to find another route if they could!
Tomb of the Twins
Later in the day they found the titular tomb in a small plateau now overgrown with grass and flowers. Outside there were several out buildings including an intact shrine from the Old Empire era, and several others that had crumbled over time or by the earthquake, or both.
The tomb itself had a massive circular stone door that was open and collapsed, impossible to close without titanic strength. The tomb also had several massive iron spears that impaled vermin (racoons) to the wall. Their bodies were only days old and smelled foul. Beside it were two great statues that had been broken by the quake. One appeared the hold a sword, the other was hard to make out after the damage.
Zaya and Surkory entered the shrine and found several porcelain figures broken on the ground, apparently having fallen off the shelves during the shakes. There was also the sign of a great bear with a white star above it. Surkory knew this had to be the same as the bear in Zerenbor and that it had to be some imperial figure. He consulted the texts and used his mystic sight to study the shrine. He recalled stories of old Necromancer Kings who built many edifices of their power, stewarded by their trusted acolytes. He also saw the green-limned black necromantic energies coming from the tomb and surmised that the mist was some means of communication…the dead the spoke to at night, were not merely dreams, but actually the souls of their departed. That’s how they learned things the didn’t know before. Maybe necromancy isn’t that bad after all [spoiler: it is].
The spotted a small font with a drain that was stained from a dark liquid dried at the bottom. Knowing the Necromancers revered blood, Surkory suggested they bleed into the font. EVERYONE thought this was a TERRIBLE idea… so he did it. A little blood [one wound] was all it took to activate the device, and a slit in the fountain that they had not seen before (could not have seen because the construction was so precise and seamless) opened up and a drakh rolled out. It was a black imperial coin with a diamond of blood in the center that was still somehow in liquid form. It shimmered and ebbed as Surkory turned over the coin but surface tension (or some other force) kept it in place.
Armed with imperial currency and the knowledge of the fate of “thieves” the companions entered the tomb.
Delving
As a note, had I been a bit more prepared with a battle map, I might have revealed the dungeon to them a bit at a time, but as it was late at night and I wanted to expedite the positional questions I just showed them all the maps and they politely didn’t ask what all those “S” marks in the wall were.
In the entrance they saw the a mural made of tiles depicting a seated black figure on a throne with the sun of the empire (diamond with spikes) done as a halo about it’s head in gold. Beside him were two figures. One kneeling left of the throne who appears to be a woman, and a young man kneeling to the right. Both bear robes with a single star motif.
There was also a dry (and clean) fountain in the entrance as well with a slot above it. Surkory inserted the drach and the fountain began to fill with dark water. He held the lantern close and it was clear that the water was translucent (not blood!) but dark. He dipped his hand in the fountain and it came out miraculously clean, even under the fingernails. He splashed some on his face and while it was cool the to touch the the tiny bit that got into his mouth made him feel weak in the knees. [Blackwater. For external use only!]
The lords and the servants
The room to the right had collapsed from the earthquake but a passed on the left led into a hall with four murals of the central figure from the previous room depicting him fighting a seven-armed figure, standing with one foot atop a monster with a golden spear through it’s chest, and walking before many figured who seem to be following him on a journey.
Zaya, the scholar, decided this figure must be important and he must be someone that people wrote about, so she broke out her books on Old Empire lore and put together what she could. The symbol of the bear and the star, the same that matched the Empire’s coin must have been Necromancer King, in this case Ben-Assar, the North Star.
At the end of the hall was a black mirror that came to life as they entered. The green semi-translucent image of a face appeared before it to greet them. “Welcome guests. Do you wish to prepare yourself for the viewing?” The mirror, who introduced herself as echo, a simple servant, knew exactly what the preparations entailed but she assumed that any welcome guests would also know what was needed and so it took many questions and many exasperated responses before they learned they needed to shrive themselves (cut off all their hair), as per custom. Immediately Liaval, Zaya, and Barakus refused. They would not touch their precious locks. Corvin and Surkory, however, were more curious than vain, and so they set about cutting off their hair and shaving their scalps.
Once completed echo greeted them as my esteemed lords and their…servants. The jests began in earnest then as each of the “servant” bowed in exaggerated signs of deference to their “lords” which echo thought was right and proper. After asking many more questions, they learned that they needed to wash themselves (no problem thanks to the blackwater), cleanse themselves with sweet smoke (Corvin had some sage in his herbalist pouch that they burned), and clad themselves in clean clothes. The last was tricky, but the companions had means. Corvin had been gifted a set of clothes from the merchants after fixing their cart and Surkory got his clothes…another way. Outside the tomb there was a sarcophagus that depicted a warrior, perhaps a guardian of the twins. Inside the sarcophagus the warrior was perfectly preserved, his intense emerald green eyes still open, his skin cool but untouched by time. His garb perfectly in tact. Trying to avoid making eye contact with the hopefully very dead and not coming back to life warrior, they stripped him of his clothes, and of the jewels that he work. It turned out that Barakus has a special method for doing this involving a curved needle, thread, and a lubricant that slipped rings right off of fingers without anyone being the wiser!
Shriven, cleaned, cleansed, and clad in clean clothes, the lords and their servants were told they could pass. It was at this moment the only thing that stooped them from walking past the mirror in the first place was their choice to talk to her!
The Viewing Chamber
Down another hallway they entered room with a balcony that showed a great arena filled with white sand below. There was also two shadow glass pyramids in the floor containing something they couldn’t quite make out at this distance, and of course a giant SKULL BEAR. A huge grizzly with it’s head stripped down to the skull. It seemed to shift every so often, but stayed in place.
In the viewing chamber they saw several more mosaics on the walls and a vast cylindrical hole bored in the earth between the balcony and the stage below. Oh, and some steps down, which seemed sensible so they took those down to the chambers below.
Mural Hallway
This long room was lined with the four murals of Ben-Assar on tiles that flipped to show the actions like stop-motion animation. There was a path through the room lined by twelve plinths, each with a precious treasure on display under a glass case: jewelry, a headdress, finely crafted porcelain statue, and more.
Barakus took immediate interest in the treasures and assumed (quite correctly) that they were trapped. He examined the plinths and cases for mechanical traps as well as studying the glass with Mystic Sight. The plinths themselves has no discernable mechanisms, thought it was possible that manufacturing was so fine he could not detect them. Mystically however, the defenses were not just obvious, they were overwhelming! Barakus fought through the headache [resisting a resolve wound] to study the magics and learned there were enchantments both on the glass cases and a find dust that coated the treasures themselves. He opted to leave the treasures…for now.
Antechamber
Another black onyxium mirror was present in this room with Echo, still deferential to the lords but arrogant and dismissive to the others. A decorative gate of woven metal with flower motifs revealed a garden beyond. There was a small decorative bear oppositive Echo that she indicated should be given a drakh as a standard offering. When the “servants” mentioned that their lords have traveled far and left their wealth in behind. “Fiiiiine. If my lords are too poor to make and offering then they (and only they) can be admitted to the garden.” [Mixed success which allowed only Corvin and Surkory to pass]. The remaining companions asked Echo more questions about the gardens and the magic in the area, to which she responded in a revolted and offended voice “I am no king!”
Night Garden
Beyond the gate black grasses swayed under their feet and bone white trees grew from the ground and bore blood-red fruit with a sweet smell of rot. The room had two pools of black water and a single silver flower in an alcove. In another alcove was the figure of a minstrel inside a glass case, but it had been crushed by falling rocks from from the earthquake.
There were 12 glass cases in two groups of six, each with skinless corpses that were moving every few second in a jerking manner from one pose to another. Corvin thought to play his lute and remembered the haunting song they had all woke up humming. The performance was incredible [a crit] and the “dancers” movement changed to a fluid form of brother and sister moving in tandem. Corvin and Surkory studied the dance and believed they could perform it.
They also noticed the doors leading to the stage were closed, but the starts above them formed a pattern that looked like notes. Corvin played the notes (which were the missing ending of the song) and the doors opened, revealing the white sands, shadow glass cases containing the original twins, and of course the SKULL BEAR on the stage.
Performances and negotiations
The two lords entered the stage and, as expected, the undead bear began to move menacingly toward them. However, once they performed the dance the bear seemed appeased. As it moved, it also revealed a giant obelisk made of the same black onixium that composed the Echo mirrors. The obelisk was damaged from falling rock and Sukory believed, the source of the Auorora Mortalis. Perhaps it was leaking at night from the cracked surface.
However, it was all that they could do to keep the bear appeased with their dances so the “servants” had to take over from there.
Back in the antechamber Barakas showed his magnificent sapphire (or, actually, a copy he had made of it) to Echo and told he that he needed to attend his master, so they could make a proper offering. With great exasperation, Echo let them through but instructed them to not disturbed the sanctity of the performance hall with their unkept adornments. The gate opened and they were able to see their “lords” dancing away. The dance must have impressed someone because giant stone figures depicting the twins that came out of the ceiling (thing scary carnival energy) began vomiting forth drachs on the dancers. They had to move swiftly to avoid the coins and keep the the SKULL BEAR appeased.
As the servants saw the damaged obelisk and discussed possibilities for repairing it they heard a voice from down the other hall way. An animated skull wrapped in think onixium called out to them. The skull was on a track that moved through the tomb, but like so many other things, the track had been damaged in the quake, and now he was stuck.
The unnamed skull, who clearly did not like Echo, told them that if they could repair the obelisk he could take things over and set things right. They didn’t need much more prompting. The shattered one of echo’s mirrors (“Oh no….what are you doing servant?” were her final words) and ground the onixium up to make a paste to fill the obelisk, but it need a binding agent to stick together. When in doubt, offer blood! Liaval cut his forarm and as the blood dripped into the mixture a paste was formed. They also heard the sounds of stone shifting and massive skeletal guards coming down the hallway towards them.
Barakus with inhuman speed dodged around the SKULL BEAR to plaster the broken obelisk but just as he was finishing the beast caught notice of him and rent him viciously with his claws. Barakus was a bloody mess [23 on the crit table] but the work was done, the skull sent the guards back to rest, and the Tomb of the Twins would pollute the land no more.
Now what about that strange flower and all those treasures…
Thoughts on the game
This was a group of happy campers. We ran late (because we started late) but everyone was excited till the end. I loved the way they approached problems. Almost all of the rolls (except evading SKULL BEAR) were controlled because they thought through the challenges and made sensible approaches. For the same reason, they almost always got to roll a Gear Die, because they were interacting with the environment and using their tools. Yay on them!
I liked having varied forms of harm (vigor, wounds, and critical) but I didn’t use, and didn’t find use for, the consequence die. The harm that was at stake was determined by the situation and was forecasted to the players by the position. A desperate roll meant critical hits are on the line. A controlled roll, probably just vigor. I didn’t want it to be any more granular or complicated than that. Similarly I rolled straight on the critical hits table (rather than modifying the roll based on severity).
I’m very sensitive to table clutter. Too many sheets on the table and you can’t find anything. So I tracked which handouts were actually used so I can keep the table cleaner in the future
- Character sheet/playbooks. Held by the players
- The adventure (5 pages). Held by me.
- Maps (3 pages). Shared by the table as they came up.
- Damage and Harm / Action Roll (useful for reminding players how to build their dice pool)
- Camping/Town Phase/Time Passes. Just used the camping rules.
- Encounters/Journey rules. Used once (but if I had longer I would have used it more)
So that was a total of 11 pages, which mostly worked but next time, I’m going to fold them in half (booklet style) rather than have them lay flat so they take up less space on the table.
Things I want to remember next time I play:
- Supply. It works like coin but only for basic good. Great when someone says “I ask for supplies.”
- If someone swears to do something, have them swear an oath!
- Remind people of magic traits. Use your cool powers!
- Award deeds when folks do something dangerous, noble, and just.
- Remind folks they can get a magic die from their bond. Use em!
- Read up on the miracle and debt rules. Print out the the Divine Bond sheets for gods that characters are marked by.
- Put the high concepts on the front of the folded playbooks.
- Vitality goes down when you get a crit.
- Group actions. Pay vigor to join and have the the person best suited for it roll for everyone.
- Remind folks to take the camp action when they want to take a break between dangerous actions.
- Call for deeds at the end of the adventure.
I never used beats. I now see there was one for the Skull Bear.
