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GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E06

April 6, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-VI. Havana, Cuba. Tuesday, February 20, 1725 Anno Domini

  • The crew of the Graceful Dame, sans Sir Randel who has not yet joined them, prepare to set sail.
  • Sir Randel finally arrives, in a terrible mood, he immediately begins ranting to Doctor Spenser about his rival, Maurice Boissonade, and how that miserable Frenchman used the lovely and innocent Miss Amira. Doctor Spenser reads over the unopened missive that the Frenchman left. Holding the letter over a candle to better make it out, Doctor Spenser accidentally causes the letter to catch fire. It combusts rather quickly. Doctor Spenser apologizes, then states how unlikely it is that Sir Randel will encounter the young woman again …
  • And Henry Hooper sticks his head in, declaring that Sir Randel’s ladyfriend is on the docks and seems to be in some sort of distress! Sir Randel acts quickly upon seeing her be accosted by several ruffians and snatches an appropriate line that allows him to get much closer. He intimidates the men trying to “put her back to work” into backing off, then invites her aboard the ship, fully intending on bringing her along.
  • From Miss Amira – whose real name is evidently Inara – he learns that Don Marco, the man that Sir Randel verbally humiliated some days ago, has sent a letter to the Lieutenant Captain-General of the Yucatan in Campeche that accuses the crew of the Graceful Dame of smuggling. This could lead to prison and the seizure of the ship! And the ship this letter is on is just now departing!
  • Sir Randel tells Inara to remain aboard before grabbing Doctor Spenser and heads to the Customs building to expedite their departure; they spin a concerning tale about sickness on the ship and are quickly cut loose. Once back aboard, they set sail…
  • The crew discuss options, deciding to simply beat the Mercurio to Campeche where Sir Randel intends to sway the appropriate authorities before the letter arrives. Intercepting the letter upon arrival is also an option.
  • Under Captain Hayden’s expert seamanship, the Graceful Dame blows past the Mercurio and reaches Campeche in five days where the crew begin making plans on how best to intercept the letter. Many options are suggested and discarded.
  • A day later, the Mercurio arrives early in the morning. A pair of ship’s boats are rowed in, one containing (presumably) the Mercurio’s captain and the other has the not-so late Ned Long in it!

Player Notes:

  • Rogers’ player was out due to vacation. Ironically, he was actually in Cuba while we were just pretending to be there!
  • As I’ve done previously, I left most of the actual travel prep and travel out of the outline because that’d be pretty boring to read.
  • It amused the GM, me (Spenser’s player) and Payne’s player alike to have Spenser not reveal the contents of the letter from Payne’s rival.
  • Payne’s player opted to take “Inara” as a joint Ally/Dependent, which is something Gigermann has allowed in other campaigns. This will obviously adjust his “One in Every Port” quirk.
  • The race against the Mercurio was intended by the GM to be more challenging, but once again, we blew it out of the water (metaphorically).
  • Handsome Ned making a reappearance is certainly … unexpected.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E05

March 29, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-V. Havana, Cuba. Friday, February 17, 1725 Anno Domini

  • Leftenant Rogers, having just seen Pickford Rodney make good his escape, returns to Havana and begins formulating a plan to find the man once more. Recognizing that he will again need a translator, he begins looking for the doctor…
  • …who at that moment is climbing into Damian Rush’s carriage with Miss Dora. Mister Rush goes into great detail about the Spanish treasure fleet, but Doctor Spenser barely pays attention due to both his absent-mindedness and a terrible headache. Further, Mister Rush suggests that the doctor seek out Erasmus Wolf’s private library in Portobello, Panama to seek out a book entitled Nine Gates to the Kingdom of Shadows, which he insists is far more useful than the book of faerie tales that Doctor Spenser possesses. To expedite this, he provides an odd ring that the doctor hesitantly accepts. Offer of payment is declined; this is a gift. The coach stops soon after near Leftenant Rogers and Mister Rush disappears when no one is looking; the coachman is surprised and asks if there was someone else in there with Doctor Spenser and Miss Dora.
  • At Captain Hayden’s request, Mister Lucroy manages to successfully extend the invitation for coffee to Capitaine du Pré. It will take place noon the following day.
  • Sir Randel meets with Miss Amira, having recessed appropriately for a hunt, but she informs him that it is regretfully canceled. They instead go out of town and enjoy a lovely picnic. Shyly, Miss Amira invites Sir Randel to her home.
  • Unsure if Captain du Pré is bilingual, Captain Hayden brings Mister Lucroy to the coffee house, but allows the seaman to withdraw when the French captain speaks English. They exchange pleasantries, with both finding out that they are mostly seeking the same thing, though Captain Hayden’s interest is solely with his son, Matthew, and Captain du Pré is interested in the ship. They part, with the French captain providing a contact name should his English counterpart find something of interest.
  • The following morning, business is conducted. Doctor Spenser is able to offload their cargo, earning a tidy profit, but decides against purchasing a cargo of tobacco as it is so common here and is perishable. During this, a Spaniard throws himself at Miss Dora’s feet and begs her forgiveness; initially, she seems angered but seems to move past it and he backs away. Doctor Spenser expresses his confusion but she simply shrugs.
  • At the townhouse, Miss Amira receives a letter and declares with much sadness that her father has arranged for her to be married. Sir Randel consoles her and the scene most assuredly fades to black.
  • Having narrowed down the most likely places for Mister Rodney to resurface, Leftenant Rogers stakes them out and sees the man arriving late in the day. He intervenes, providing Mister Rodney both food and drink, then interrogates the man, learning something about the painting which points to the artist Cristobal himself in San Juan. According to Mister Rodney, he was quite thoroughly interrogated by a Spanish-looking fellow whose name might have been Kane who also had some strumpet with him that he referred to as “the Princess.” The leftenant decides to pay for lodging for Mister Rodney overnight.
  • Come morning, most of the crew assemble at the ship to discuss next steps. Sir Randel’s absence is notable. At the same time, Miss Amira convinces Sir Randel to linger a bit longer and they have a very pleasant day indeed.
  • Leftenant Rogers returns to Mister Rodney and convinces the man to accompany him back to the Graceful Dame with a promise to smuggle him out of Cuba. He then visits his hotel room ashore, receives a missive pointing him to the proper tavern, and heads there to meet with his contact. He successfully discharges his mission to have the letter captured in Port-de-Paix delivered to the appropriate party without revealing that it had been intercepted at all.
  • As the day draws to a close still without any sign of Sir Randel, Doctor Spenser and Mister Hooper go ashore to seek him out. At the townhouse, they discover that Sir Randel is … unavailable, and the doctor leaves a message for his friend.
  • That evening, Leftenant Rogers wakes while aboard the ship to the sound of fervent movement and investigates, discovering that Mister Sherd and Mister Rodney are ashore, the latter having worked his verbal magic upon the former. The leftenant bellows at Mister Sherd and in that moment, Mister Rodney flees once more. Exasperated and tired of dealing with him, Leftenant Rogers orders Mister Sherd to capture the man, and then returns to his bunk. As expected, Mister Rodney has escaped.
  • Early the next morning, Sir Randel wakes to discover Miss Amira is gone and she has left him two letters; one is address to Mi Amor and the other has Maurice Boissonade’s seal upon it…

Player Notes:

  • Damian Rush first appeared back in season 1, episode 5 where Doctor Spenser grew suspicious that the man was actually Fae. Nothing that happened has entirely convinced Spenser otherwise, though Rush’s ability to handle iron and silver and his ability to offer something without receiving payment has given him pause. GM also made an error regarding Mistress Cassandra from Episode 1.10 warning Artegal to stay away from Rush. I joked offline that this scene was cut from the “show” but then was shown in the “Previously On…” at the beginning like they did so frequently with nu-Battlestar Galactica. So … not sure if we’re retconning which part.
  • We kept joking that Amira’s father would turn out to be “Handsome Ned” (who Payne shot in the head & then somehow showed back up again later. Alas, that was not to be.
  • The Kane and Princess references were totally from the old Buck Rogers show. I wonder how many people even got that…

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E04

March 22, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-IV. Havana, Cuba. Friday, February 17, 1725 Anno Domini

  • We dial back a day earlier to handle some shore business that was missed. During this time, Captain Hayden and Sir Randel go seeking records, principally for the captain’s son, Matthew with Sir Randel serving as a translator; Mister Lucroy begins asking around about Phillipe and has a brief interaction with Captain Alain Eberard du Pré, of the Le Chasseur, unaware that this man has also come up in Captain Hayden’s investigation; and, of course, the previously established escapades of Leftenant Rogers seeking information with Doctor Spenser serving as his translator. Later in the day, Sir Randel breaks off by himself, seeking out a high society gathering; here he meets the lovely Miss Amira Mercedes de Luna and helps her out of an awkward social situation. She seems charmed and agrees to meet him the following day at noon.
  • Cutting back to the scene with which the previous session ended, Leftenant Rogers tries to glean more information, but his lack of proficiency with the language makes this quite difficult and he ultimately withdraws, having learned only that the warden seems to have been involved. He makes his way back to the city proper, intent on finding the doctor again.
  • Doctor Spenser is conducting the initial merchanting duties, having traveled to one of the outlying plantations to discuss the selling of goods. He is also delighted to see a substantial library and the owner reveals that several of his fellow land owners have been attacked by mysterious figures in black robes and cowls who have ransacked their libraries!
  • Sir Randel meets with Miss Amira and agrees to give her a tour of the Graceful Dame. She then invites him to another soiree that evening, which he eagerly accepts.
  • Captain Hayden conducts normal ship business as is his wont and then goes ashore, intent on seeking out the identity of the mysterious Captain du Pré in the hopes of finding out why the man was also looking into Matthew Sumner, before discovering that Mister Lucroy is watching a lovely French brig. They have a conversation where Mister Lucroy reveals the previous day’s conversation with Captain du Pré.
  • Upon returning to the city proper, Doctor Spenser is again pressed into translator duties for Leftenant Rogers. With Dora tagging along, they return to the prison, confirm that the warden evidently departed with several soldiers and an unidentified man, likely the very Mister Rodney that the leftenant is seeking. Eventually, they discover a ring of soldiers (and an officer) surrounding an Englishman digging a deep hole. Miss Dora approaches openly, which causes all of the Spanish soldiers to wheel around to face her … and the man digging the hole takes this momentary distraction to flee. A foot chase ensues, with Leftenant Rogers quickly darting farward while Doctor Spenser and Miss Dora fall way behind. The man who might be Mister Rodney manages to escape astride a horse that he steals, leaving exhausted soldiers in his wake. Leftenant Rogers is quite frustrated.
  • Sir Randel meets Miss Amira and escorts her to the social gathering where his smooth tongue quickly has everyone fascinated and impressed in equal measure. He intentionally praises Miss Amira as the ‘belle of the ball.’ Sir Randel is also faced with a choice: an expert treasure hunter familiar with Campeche he would like to meet is leaving Havana tomorrow but Miss Amira has been invited to a hunt she would like him to accompany her as the odious miscreant from their first meeting will likely be there. Sir Randel quickly declares that he would be honored to escort her.
  • Having gotten quite turned around during this chase, Doctor Spenser and Miss Dora begin making their way back to the city proper when a carriage approaches. The door opens, revealing … Damian Rush.

Player Notes:

  • Usually, I’m way too verbose in these, so I’m actively trying to dial back my outline. Unfortunately, this one got a little out of hand…
  • Still down Davino’s Player. He’s also scheduled to be out next week as well.
  • Damian Rush first appeared back in season 1, episode 5 where Doctor Spenser grew suspicious that the man was actually Fae. Still, it’ll be more interesting now as Spenser has gained some detect magic abilities, although he can’t quite control them (Uncontrollable modifier.)

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E03

March 14, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-III. Under way in the Northwest Providence Channel, Bahamas. Tuesday, February 13, 1725 Anno Domini

  • The Graceful Dame, finally sets sail, destination: Havana.
  • Late on the second day as they are traversing the dangerous shoals, a sail is sighted. The sloop in question is heading in the opposite direction but begins wheeling around quite suspiciously, so Captain Hayden orders more sail to ensure they cannot catch the Dame. Due to positioning and expert sailing, there is no actual incident.
  • Mister Lucroy has an unusual dream about the “Old Man” on the third day which indicates that he has died and that other people are looking for the second skull. Mister Lucroy relates this information to Sir Randel.
  • On the fourth day, they reach Havana ahead of schedule, just in time to see the La Dame Blanche departing. Sir Randel glowers darkly at the ship of his despised rival.
  • Customs are dealt with quickly before multiple parties go ashore. The current plan is to be here for a minumum of 2 days with an eye toward 4 so shore leave is available. Leftenant Rogers has a need for a translator as he does not speak Spanish, so Doctor Spenser accompanies him, accompanied by Miss Dora to whom he chatters away in Dutch.
  • On their second day in Havana, Leftenant Rogers goes alone to the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro which is serving as the city prison. Here he is hoping to speak to a Mister Pickford Rodney, who owned the painting that has now passed on to the leftenant. Unfortunately, the guard tells him he is too late and points toward the gallows … just as a man is dropped…

Player Notes:

  • Usually, I’m way too verbose in these, so I’m actively trying to dial back my outline.
  • Most of the session was populated by sea travel, hence the general shortness of said outline as I only covered the major bits.
  • We blew the Chase out of the water (pun intended), mostly in the first round. That static maneuver was a killer for the (possible) piratical types.
  • I was actually disappointed we didn’t hit a shoal and get stuck for a while.
  • Looks like Davino will be NPCed for the next couple of sessions due to his player going out of state to celebrate his marriage, then moving into a new house.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E02

February 13, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-II. Berthed at Harbour Island, Eleuthera. Tuesday, February 13, 1725 Anno Domini

  • Aboard the Graceful Dame, Mister Lucroy explains to Sir Randel and the other members of the crew concerning the golden skull.
  • Captain Hayden retrieves letters from Mr. Friendly and turns them over to Mister Skaarup who asks if his bag of stones was taken. The crew – sans Mister Lucroy who actually took them – suspect the monkey is responsible.
  • Sir Randel and Captain Hayden decide to try to take a shortcut through a more dangerous route that has shoals. As the crew starts to split up to do their own things, a British sloop arrives, begins disgorging marines.
  • Leftenant Edmund Brace of His Majesty’s Royal Navy announces that he is there to take the crew of the Graceful Dame into custody to answer for the murder of Edward Long. Several very British interrogations ensue but the crew are released due to insufficient evidence.
  • As the sun goes down, the Graceful Dame departs, destination: Havana.

Player Notes:

  • Usually, I’m way too verbose in these, so I’m actively trying to dial back my outline.
  • Looking at the outline, it seems like not a lot actually happened. I blame all of the interrogations.
  • We determined afterward that, in-game, no one actually asked who was behind the whole investigation thing, though I think we’ve since determined that Spenser’s critical success in Law will result in him having asked during his debrief; as this would apparently have possibly changed some of Sir Randel’s reaction, we’re totally abusing Spenser’s Absent-Mindedness as an excuse. This should come up next week.
  • We’re totally going to end up wrecking in the more dangerous route we’re taking. Having both CAPT Hayden and Sir Randel be Overconfident is going to bite us in the butt…
  • The next episode will be delayed a week due to some absences next week.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS Swashbucklers: Sea Dogs, S2E01

February 7, 2023 No comments

Command Crew of the Graceful Dame

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II-I. Ashore at Harbour Island, Eleuthera. Monday, February 12, 1725 Anno Domini

  • Aboard the Graceful Dame, Mister Lucroy has an unusual dream regarding the golden skull in her … er … his possession. The youngster experiences a strong pull toward the Southeast, but wakes abruptly to the sound of a distant bosun’s whistle. Observing Sir Randel and company pursuing the villains who have abducted Miss Dora, Mister Lucroy snatches up some weapons and rushes to join them.
  • The Chase ultimately takes them to the beach where they discover a small boat, beached but with crew trying to push it back into the sea to catch the tide. Thinking quickly, the crew send Bewm forward with the lantern to sow chaos … which the monkey does spectacularly, and into this Leftenant Rogers adds to the confusion by shouting out orders that imply a whole company of redcoats are en route. Miss Dora is being manhandled by a pair of miscreants and Sir Randel charges madly forward, intent on rescuing her; Doctor Spenser absently mutters something in Greek and coincidentally, the two men stumble upon unseen crabs and fall, giving Miss Dora a chance to wiggle free. In the end, with no one slain on either side, the crew manage to capture the kidnapping ringleader and one of the rival sailors, then withdraw up the island with Dora.
  • Unseen by anyone, Mister Lucroy pickpockets the kidnapper, obtaining a small bag filled with odd stones and dark, wavy hair very much like that of Miss Dora.
  • Interrogation of the kidnapper reveals little beyond his name – Mikkel Skaarup, though the captured sailor refers to him as the “Hound.” Skaarup admits that he does not know who his employers are or why they want Miss Dora. In the course of the interrogation, Captain Hayden commissions “The Hound” to find his missing son.
  • The following morning aboard the ship, Mister Lucroy wakes to discover that Bewm has stolen the golden skull. A chase ensues that results in Sir Randel learning of the skull…

Player Notes:

  • Two PCs were played by different people. Nosh took over Leftenant Rogers and Mel, returning from a long hiatus, took over “Claude” … who honestly hadn’t gotten much play the first time.
  • We got a pretty late start due to two players being late, and then Nosh had to duck out a little early.
  • CommJunkee has decided that Sir Randel is of the opinion that Artegal is “sweet” on Dora. This could be fun to play, what with Spenser’s Absent-Mindedness.
  • GM Comment to Me after I had Artegal use his Coincidence power a second time: “Oh, you’re going to be a problem, aren’t you?” Or something like that.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Campaign Logs, Sea Dogs , ,

GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy, “Legends of Generica” Session II:XII

September 28, 2021 No comments

Company of the Bere

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Year One: The Mad Wizard Job

  • Winter has arrived and the Company are at the Heroes Guild, attending the Remembrance Day ceremonies and being honored for their actions over the last year. Somehow, Harmin of Grudgehold, the Magpie himself, gains entry where he demands asylum, intending on abusing the laws of the Guild. He admits to many crimes including setting into motion a spell that will destroy the city. Outside, evil clouds gather…
  • Recognizing that Válaris is stymied and that both Ser Kenrick and Murdok are about to just cut Harmin down, Brother Getwelle makes a suggestion: what if the Hall was not part of the Guild? Master Válaris seizes this way out and sells it to Getwelle for a penny. Harmin is startled by this sudden change of events, and then he’s dead as Kenrick smites him in the skull with his pick and Murdok lashes out with the axe.
  • Outside, an evil tornado-like sky beam begins gathering over the Low Market and the whole of the Guild springs into action and charges toward the beam with the Company at their vanguard.
  • It is difficult going, with thousands of panicking civilians fleeing from the sudden attack and with increasingly difficult foes emerging. Crows attack, and then goblins, and then bone golems akin to the one the Company faced at Guffinhall, and then finally, a host of stronger, tougher goblins guarding the beam (which has something swirling within it.) These newer goblins have the same appearance as the late alchemist Brother Tonik, who the Company faced when they were hired to find him.
  • The Company attacks, with Ser Kenrick and Magnus at the fore; the knight and his steed quickly smash through the goblins, then circle around and begin dealing great mayhem in their flanks even as the other members of the Company attack. None of the Company are felled, but Ser Magnus suffers multiple injuries … though this only serves to anger the warhorse even more.
  • With the goblins downed, the Company turns to addressing the apparent teleportation conduit. Seeing a spinning Mirror at the heart of this magical tornado, they are reminded of the Mirror they saw in the Wildwood. Dustan notes also that the Key given to him by Magister Mintôr at the beginning of that Job is vibrating like mad and recalls how the Fae Mirror he touched with that Key cracked. Using magic, he apportates the Key into the heart of the beam. The spinning Mirror explodes and the beam vanishes. Soon after, the sky clears and the clouds dissipate. The Company has won.
  • Some weeks later, as the Capital continue to rebuild, the Company, along with several other members of the Heroes Guild, are summoned before King Jon who declares each of them “Defenders of the Capital,” a sort of courtesy knighthood that grants them authority during crises.
  • And thus, the Legends of Generica concludes its second season.

Player Notes:

  • Absolutely no idea when we’ll be coming back to Generica – the first run was like four freaking years ago – but when we do, both Dustan and Murdok will likely be replaced since the players inherited the characters and never really gelled with them.
  • It’s a very good thing that CommJunkee came up with the “what if the Hall wasn’t part of the Guild” idea at the beginning because Kenrick crit-failed an IQ check to know the rules of “asylum” and was about to straight-up “mete out justice” as a knight versus the Magpie, which would have resulted in his excommunicatus status. Which would have been funny.
  • For the charge through the city, we used Gigermann’s still WIP “Action Challenge System” – as I told him after the game, I understood what he was doing, but too much of it was “behind the screen” so during the game itself, I had very little idea what was going on in terms of how likely it was we were going to ‘survive’ the zone and move on. He griped during the game about their still being too much math involved and admitted after that his latest version had already massively reduced said math so I personally shudder at the thought of the previous version. We discussed ripping off the Significant Actions from Mass Combat (even though several of us have issues with that system from time to time) and perhaps having the “party leader” making the survival check ala the Battle Strategy Roll, also from that book, but … well … we’ll see what Gigermann does with it next. I’m sure he’ll expound on this on his blog at great length.
  • The final fight with the super goblins turned sideways for them once Kenrick and Magnus got into their flanks. Once that happened, he kept taking out foes with attacks from the rear hex, Telegraphed strike to the skull using the pick side of his signature weapon. By my count, he felled three of them that way – two others died in unspecified ways because we were running behind on time and the GM could see that this was a battle they couldn’t win.
  • Per the GM, since Kenrick is already a knight, in addition to the courtesy title, he will also be getting a fief, which would promote him to Baronet. Now, we just need to narrow down where the fief will be located. Gigermann has also expressed an interest in doing a “diversion” game, probably handled via Play-By-Post, detailing at least some of the realm management involved with Kenrick becoming as an established lord and leading into the season 3 proper … but that’s not something anyone’s thinking about at this moment.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Chapter II, Legends of Generica , , ,

GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy, “Legends of Generica” Session II:XI

September 21, 2021 No comments

Company of the Bere

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Year One: The Princess Rescue Job, Part 2

  • Having realized the “princess” is a fake, Dustan impulsively announces this. The false princess pleads her innocence initially, but when the Company don’t seem to be buying it, they go to Plan B. One of her Ladies-In-Waiting uses a chain to send Maykew tumbling into Dustan and Murdok as the false princess hits them with a paralyzing spell, then takes the Mirror and throws it off the cliff. Before the three leave, the false princess expresses regret that she cannot “play” with Getwelle because “she” (the real princess) seems to like him for some reason.
  • Ser Kenrick and Murdok recover first and begin carrying the rest of the Company away. During this, one of the surviving Nefarians triggers a Black Amber thing that begins as mist, expands and hardens; Kenrick and Murdok have to rush to get the others clear.
  • Returning to Highroad, the Company are met by baronial guards who arrest them for ‘attacking her Her Royal Highness.’ Before the baron, the Antagonese prince, and the false princess, the Company are formally charged; Maykew gives an impassioned defense that sways the baron, but there is no proof so a duel of honor between the Company’s official leader, Ser Kenrick, and one of Prince Vayne’s men. It is a quick exchange of blows with Ser Kenrick landing three solid blows that result in his foe yielding.
  • The ranger they met earlier rejoins them and points them in the direction of the Hidden Lake. To pass word to the king that the prince is returning with a false princess, this ranger departs for another town to send a raven while the Company presses on.
  • En route, they discover the princess’ carriage tipped over in a ditch. While examining this, a massive murder of crows appears and loiters, making a lost of noise. During this, an archer sharpshooter hits Murdok with an arrow from concealment; Lëodan charges toward the ambusher where the rest of the Company are going to struggle to move. They opt to mount and charge toward the Hidden Lake and allow Lëodan to conduct a sniper duel; this duel, however, does not last long as Lëodan gets a line on the target, looses an arrow and hits a vital spot that drops his foe (who is revealed to be an elf as well.)
  • The rest of the Company reach a Tower where they are greeted by a naked female in the water; it takes an unnecessary amount of time for the Company to realize she is Fae but when they do, she transforms into a hideous creature that is immune to their weapons. Maykew, recalling something, seizes her bridle to hold her in place, and Murdok uses the meteoric iron sling to kill the beast.
  • In the Tower, the Company has a brief encounter with Harmin of Grudgehold, the Magpie himself, who briefly monologues about them interfering yet again before backing into a mirror that allows him to go … elsewhere. He has escaped yet again.
  • Elsewhere in the tower, the Company discover the mysterious woman in a coffin-like thing with an odd crown-like thing; use of the Mirror (that had reappeared in Dustan’s belongings last night) reveals the princess and removing the crown breaks the enchantment. She wakes, extremely groggy, and hugs Maykew for a moment before remembering herself.
  • It takes a little bit of time to recover the carriage and gather horses to pull it, but the Company eventually return to the Capital, victorious once more while wondering when the Magpie will strike again.

Player Notes:

  • Not quite as strong an entry as the previous session, but I’m not sure whether it was entirely due to Gigermann fumbling some things (which he admitted to/grumbled about doing) or the players being difficult and making dumb decisions.
  • Kenrick winning the duel was wholly due to lucky rolls going his way as CommJunkee rolled for the opponent and Fantasy Grounds wasn’t letting him make defense checks. As it was, Kenrick was not super enthusiastic about the duel to begin with because he felt it was more of the fake-princess manipulation. I was legit worried about getting a critical hit, rolling up the triple damage result, rolling super high on damage, and the resulting injury triggering a death check that CJ failed just because Kenrick would have probably felt awful about that. At the same time, I was terribly concerned that the duel itself would drag out for too much of the session since shields make things very frustrating in GURPS fight – I’ve literally seen two foes go nine or ten rounds without a single actual blow landing, much to the frustration of the Player involved in that (Gigermann, ironically enough.)
  • The sniper encounter in the woods was a mess from my perspective simply due to the terrain. Oh, it made sense for the sharpshooter to strike there, but it limited our movement options due to terrain – Kenrick, for example, would have a Move of 1 (!) in the difficult terrain and he certainly wouldn’t take Magnus into that kind of underbrush. We as players bickered too much over what to do and in the end, I was totally expecting the actual sniper duel between Leo & his foe to be a bit more cat & mouse. In the end, Leo got the drop on him, made a very difficult shot straight away, then lucked out and hit the vitals.
  • The kelpie encounter was something of a fail on the players’ part because, once again, everyone completely forgot about the fricking Mirror. This is especially egregious on Dustan’s part though and I have roundly mocked him for it. It would have cut through most of the pre-fight shenanigans as we’d have known straight away that it was a critter … and might have circumvented some of the post-fight bickering between CommJunkee and Fronjavier.
  • Finally, the monologuing from the Magpie … I really wish there was a better way to do this. As soon as a Bad Guy appears, PCs want to whack him – I remember, several eternities ago, in a different game Gigermann ran where most of the players were Navy SEALs sent to a fantasy world, he had a bad guy try to monologue and then was startled at how aggressive we responded. In retrospect, perhaps some sort of spell or trap that we trigger which temporarily slooooooooows us way down so he could monologue, then escape?

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Chapter II, Legends of Generica , , ,

GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy, “Legends of Generica” Session II:X

September 14, 2021 No comments

Company of the Bere

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Year One: The Princess Rescue Job, Part 1

  • A month has passed since the missing monk job. The Company have been urgently summoned to the castle and an audience with the king. Accompanied by Válaris, they learn that the princess has been abducted by unknown parties who have issued absurd demands that are to met quickly or she is to be sacrificed. Worse, a visiting Antagonese prince – Vayne Gronwy – was present when this was read aloud and has declared his intention to rescue her … and to be given her hand as a reward. Said prince has already departed.
  • The king does not wish this and, as a result, has enlisted the Heroes’ Guild and the Company of the Bere who. As they saved the princess already, it is hoped that their presence will ensure she cooperates with them. Fortunately, the location of the princess has been identified (roughly) via magic so they know where to look. The Company accepts this charge and rush to prepare.
  • While preparing, Lëodan is met by Shepherd Tymorus who informs him that the circle of druids is aware of this mission and agree that the princess must not marry this Antagonese prince; to assist him, a ranger named Rikkon will be waiting for him at the Colored Animal Inn in Highroad to provide him with a shortcut to the ruins of Summoner’s Rock.
  • Simultaneously, Dustan is summoned before the Wizard’s Council at the Spire and told in no uncertain terms that the princess must marry Prince Vayne to avoid placing a Lionheart upon the throne. Later, when hearing of his mission, his former mentor, Magister Mintôr, tells him a riddle about pausing to reflect when victory is his, hinting at use of the Mirror.
  • Four hours after their audience with the king, the Company sets off. They press on into the night, then set out again before dawn. By the third day, they have caught up with the prince’s band and spend the night at the same inn. There, the Antagonese noble is enraged when Lady Waygon, Getwelle’s odd … beast, spits upon him, and he demands that it be butchered, but Getwelle, aided by Dustan, convince the prince that this spittle is actually quite conducive to healing due to rare properties. It is just believable enough (or adequately confusing) to cause the prince to withdraw him demand.
  • The Company is on the road some time before the prince the following day and reach Highroad just before noon where Lëodan meets up with the ranger he was promised would be there, who provides them with the shortcut; he also agrees to stall the prince in whatever way is best while the Company head up on foot.
  • Upon reaching a ruined temple with multiple guards, the Company approaches relatively openly (although Lëodan is stealthing in on oblique angle). Warriors in Nefarian colors and arms emerge, led by a Mysterious Stranger who has smoke emerging from his mouth but no pipe! This Stranger reveals that they have been waiting for the adventurers and orders his men to attack … but is then somewhat surprised at how quickly and easily the Company cuts through their Enemy. He retreats into the temple, blasting fire from his mouth at Ser Kenrick who is in the vanguard, but vanishes completely afterward.
  • Deeper in the temple, the Company find the princess and two unfamiliar women chained up. While they are being released from their chains, Dustan recalls Magister Mintôr’s words and uses the Mirror. He is shocked at what he sees.
  • The woman wearing the face of the princess … is not the princess.

Player Notes:

  • As I told the GM, this was probably my favorite session of the entire run. Everything was clicking and firing on all cylinders. The chase was effective, considering we didn’t know how far ahead the opposition actually was; the confrontation with the French … sorry, Antagonese Jerk was entertaining; and the fight was one of the few where we all contributed and felt like legit Dungeon Fantasy badasses.
  • Murdok’s player was late due to a scheduling issue, but he showed up just as we were able to depart the Capital and enter the Chase.
  • In retrospect, Kenrick probably should have intervened more during the encounter with the Antagonese prince but to be honest, I was too busy giggling over the angle that Getwelle’s player took with regards to his fast-talk.
  • Also in retrospect, Kenrick probably should have entered the fight with the Nefarian dudes differently; instead of a “give us the princess and we’ll let you live” angle, it should have been more “this does not have to end in a fight. Let’s negotiate … no? Okay, then we’ll fight.”
  • This marks the first blatant actions by the evil Overlord’s Nefarian forces in the campaign thus far. As a player, I’m presuming that Nefaria is tied in some way to the Magpie guy, but we don’t have any proof of that. Yet.

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Chapter II, Legends of Generica , , ,

GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy, “Legends of Generica” Session II:IX

August 31, 2021 No comments

Company of the Bere

Live Stream
YouTube

Year One: The Missing Monk Job

  • A month has passed since the Highhorse ransom job. At the Heroes Guild, the Company are greeted by Aidin the Heal-Sick who has a job: an old friend of his, Brother Tonik Waters, a famous alchemist, has gone missing from St. Scriptus’ Abbey at Parochia and he would like their assistance in finding the man.
  • The Company (plus Aidin) travel to Stagwood Castle where Kenrick grew up, then on to the abbey which is very elevated and with many stairs. They interact with Abbot Venerus and learn about Tonik’s strange behavior as well as the ongoing difficulties with the squatters in the nearby Dodgelaw Forest.
  • Upon the morn, the Company enters the forest and negotiates past the forest squatters. In their rudimentary tent town, they speak with the designated leader who eventually points them to a cute orphan named Poppy. Here, Kenrick takes the lead because he’s “good with kids” and, even though the child is very quiet, they learn she’s lost a doll.
  • Cue: fetch quest. The Company goes into the forest to find the doll, eventually tracking it down in the den of a local dog gone semi-feral named Nipper. Leo retrieves the doll and Dustan uses magic to extract the dog slobber. Poppy is delighted to have her doll back points to Griftan, another community local, who eventually reveals that he was paid to recruit Tonik to the forest community, then to lead him to a band of mercs deeper in the woods to be “kidnapped.”
  • The Company investigates with Leo being point. They locate the mercs, hash out a quick tactical plan, and put it into action. Thanks to Dustan’s “fire-tornado” windstorm, the mercs are scattered long enough for the Company to enter a nearby cave…
  • Where they discover Tonik. Now completely mad, he reveals that he has succeeded in perfecting this elixir so great fame and wealth unimaginable will be his as he’s been promised. He drinks the elixir and transforms into a powerful beast … but this beast quickly falls before the combined might of the Company. As he dies, the restored Tonik gasps out a final, “What have I done?” before the light fades from his eyes.
  • With Tonik’s body, the Company returns to the abbey where their lost brother is given a service the following day with some of the forest community attending…

Player Notes:

  • There was some more post adventure stuff not covered by the above like initial interactions with Heroes’ Guild members. Dustan has graduated and is now officially apprenticed to Magister Codecs; Kenrick learned that Fawna, one of his cousins, is to be married; Murdok had his axe super pimped out – Accuracy, Penetrating Weapon 1, Puissance – which he called Braut’nyr and all of us called Brautwurst; and we further learned that Harmin of Grudgehold, whom we believe is the Magpie, was kicked out of the Heroes’ Guild six years earlier for killing a dude on Guild grounds.
  • We ran into an issue where Tonik wanted to monologue before drinking the elixir and two characters – Leo & Murdok – wanted to knock the elixir free before he drank it. In retrospect, Tonik should have been lowering a now empty bottle when the PCs entered, so he could monologue before the transformation but there was no convenient full bottle for aggressive PCs to target.
  • After this entire thing, I (Kenrick’s player) spoke with the GM offline and admitted that he (Kenrick) was really uncomfortable just leaving the orphans to that forest community. We determined that Kenrick would remain in Huntsley for his cousin’s wedding (since he sees her more as a little sister than a cousin), and then return to the Abbey & the forest community where he will offer to take the orphans (especially Poppy) to the orphanage in the Capital that Getwelle always raves about (and secret channels all of his monies to.) This could, down the road, play again into a background “surely this knight isn’t as honorable and just as he seems; it must be an act!” that we have in mind for Kenrick.
  • Getwelle’s player had to drop out briefly during the skill challenge due to the arrival of a repairman, but showed back up in time for the fight with Tonik … but didn’t manage to get any actual attacks in. I’m actually feeling kind of bad for him.
  • No game next week due to the Labor Day weekend and half of the players dropping off the interwebz. And only three more left in this “season”!

See the Daniverse Blog for the GM’s post-game debrief.

Chapter II, Legends of Generica , , ,
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