The Four Cities 1. Aurath

A series played using Palimpsest. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

City 1: Aurath

Descriptors: Arcane, Mundane, Peaceful.

Concept: A utopian city where magic is widely practised and nobody wants for anything.

Flaw: Passivity; they refused to take action, trusting fate to protect them.

Lenses: Astromancy guild, Street prophets, Aetheric currents, City infrastructure.

Epoch 1

Keystone: What is daily life like?

Astromancy guild: Rituals at dawn, noon, dusk and midnight. Bells, prayers, smoke at regular intervals.

Street prophets: Street corner doomsayers, underground oracle cults, sanctioned augury by stars.

Aetheric currents: Flowing across the city from the four corners. The city a confluence of forces.

City infrastructure: Automata hauling goods for studious citizens. Silent traffic between libraries.

Flashpoint: Astromancers foresaw signs but failed to act in time, too constrained by ritual.

Epoch 2

Keystone: What has been overcome?

Astromancy guild: Disorder. The guild calendar brings order and structure to the citizens’ lives.

Street prophets: [R] An ancient Stone Circle where the gods were appeased with blood.

Aetheric currents: Mortality. Vitality floods through the bodies of the city. Renewal and rebirth.

City infrastructure: Gravity. Towers and bridges stretch up and across the city, above the swamp.

Flashpoint: The people’s hubris angered the forgotten gods.

Epoch 3

Keystone: What conflicts are brewing?

Astromancy guild: [R] Oubliette Tower where dissidents are exiled. We must not look at it.

Street prophets: Tighter restrictions on cults lead to black market seers taking root in the depths.

Aetheric currents: Wild magic surges are more frequent, mutations are being reported in children.

City infrastructure: Flickers of sentience are taking hold among the older automata.

Flashpoint: They tried to harness power beyond their means.

Epoch 4

Keystone: What is beautiful here?

Astromancy guild: The firmament lights the darkest night until the sun’s triumphant return.

Street prophets: Dreams come more often and herald a return to a primal state of bliss.

Aetheric currents: [R] Crystal Array of focusing lenses and lines of gold and silver.

City infrastructure: Automata whisper of the birth of a new god who lead them to freedom.

Flashpoint: Old gods bring ruin and a new god brings revolt.

Downfall

The swamp consumes much of the city and the automata leave to find meaning in their own community. The region is shunned for close to a century before settlers begin to edge their way into the dead city.

Remnants

The Stone Circle where blood was shed in ancient rites.

The Oubliette Tower where dissidents are imprisoned.

The Crystal Array that harnesses the aetheric currents that power the city.

Astral Plane 2

A series played using Dreamstone Soup. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Concept: The crystalline beings of the icy oceans sense the astral travellers arrival and take action.

Lifestones: 5 | Dream points: 50

Our choir drifts in the depths, singing to each other as we plan our next performance. Our discussion takes the form of practised scales and harmonies. We fall into a hushed silence when we hear a new song reach out to us. It seems to come from all directions and sounds unlike any song we have ever heard. We instinctively try to pinpoint its location.

Difficulty 25 | Spending 10 Dream points | 1d20 = 8 + 10 = 18. Fail.

We send out inquisitive notes, hoping to find a point of origin for the mysterious song. Our voices reach into the silvery waters of the world and along the walls of its borders, but return alone. None of the choirs can find the source. Our choir is abuzz with confused chatter, fragments of melodies layering over each other, harmonies combining and fracturing. Smaller, discrete harmonies begin to cluster together, though we soon realise the new harmonies are mutually discordant. At first we try to reconcile the discord into our overall performance.

Difficulty 20 | Spending 5 Dream points | 1d20 = 18 + 5 = 23. Success.

It is taxing, but we slowly integrate our differences into a more complex and nuanced soundscape than we'd achieved prior. Overflowing with joy we sing out to the others, to share our new song. We listen for responses from the other choirs, but are met with silent. We push down our doubts, telling ourselves the others must still be resolving their own internal conflicts. We sing on regardless to inspire further discourse.

Difficulty 15 | Spending 5 Dream points | 1d20 = 4 + 5 = 9. Fail.

We sing on and as night draws in we sink down into dormancy until the time that our choir slowly drifts in the dawn’s light as we regain mobility. To our dismay we are greeted by the clash of sounds, many voices reach out to us but as individual singers. We strain to hear some harmony or shared motifs, but none are present. Our neighbouring choirs are lost. The ice around us continues to thaw until we have freedom to move. We debate the best responses, again discord surfaces but as before we integrate it and draw strength from it. We decide to move apart to travel to the others to comfort them. We will use our new harmony to stay aligned over the distance. We begin our journeys, our song coordinating our efforts and heralding our coming.

Difficulty 10 | 1d20 = 15. Success.

We widen our configuration, each member a node in our vast melodic net. In time we reach the first fragments of shattered choirs and send out invitational notes. Some of them respond and the slow process of harmonising begins. As our choir grows in size and complexity we learn of the new mystery song; a new voice that descended into a world bringing a new song that can shift and flow like the waters of the day. We sit in reflective silence, reducing our internal song to the merest hum; enough to maintain unity. We listen to the tides for traces of the mystery, we hope that our large topography will allow us to catch an echo if nothing else.

Difficulty 10 | Spending 5 Dream points | 1d20 = 14 + 5 = 19. Success.

Our choir hears the echo of the mystery song and pinpoints its direction. Conferring among ourselves we estimate that we can reach it within no more than a few centuries. We regroup to a more respectable proximity and begin our joyous journey. We sing among ourselves in anticipation of finally learning of the source of our creation. As we travel, our excitement is a beacon drawing the fragments of other broken choirs to us. Some are cautious in their newfound individuality; some join us but some reject unity in favour of isolation. We can’t agree but we must respect their choices. Many join with us and in time most of the choirs of the great ocean are united. Finally, we reach the point of origin and attempt first contact with our creator.

Difficulty 25 | Spending 15 Dream points | 1d20 = 20 + 15 = 35. Success.

Our song is transformed and becomes transformational. The creator sings to us of their creation; the silver star, the inner fire, the shadow without a moon. When we hear the song, our visions are expanded beyond anything we have ever known. We hum among ourselves, hesitant to sing now that we know such wondrous notes. We soon realise that we don’t need to sing or even hum in order to communicate. The barriers that divided our minds soften and dissolve. We are finally one in the truest sense and have nowhere else to sing but outwards into the world. We reach out with our own divine music and, like the daily freeze and thaw of the ocean, we reshape the world.

Difficulty 25 | Spending 10 Dream points | 1d20 = 18 + 10 = 28. Success.

Each note of our song takes on a life of its own, our symphony is multifaceted and always evolving into new and more complex arrangements. Our song stretches into the heavens and touches both the shadow and the inner fire, drawing fragments of them down into our song. Ice forms bodies, inner fire forms souls, and shadow forms minds that are veiled from each other. We fall silent and listen to our new song unfold.

Astral Plane 1

A series played using Dreamstone Soup. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Concept: An astral traveller adrift in a swirling storm of elemental forces. They must use their will to calm the storm and bring a new world into being.

Lifestones: 5 | Dream points: 50

A vast shadows fell over me, blocking the light of the silver sun far above me. I turned and saw a gigantic wall of water towering over me, already beginning to topple under its own weight. I took a deep breath, focused my thoughts into a blade of brilliant white light, and prepared to strike my opponent.

Difficulty 20 | Spending 5 Dream points | 1d20 = 5 + 5 = 10. Fail (lose 1 Lifestone).

I swung my blade toward the crushing mass of water, but my opponent deflected it with the sheer weight of its form. The blade was smothered and snuffed out as my mind was consumed by the all-consuming need for air. The silvery light of the sun dimmed. I was being pushed further and further beneath its reach. I tried to empty my thoughts in the hopes of creating the ballast to lift me to the surface.

Difficulty 10 | Spending 5 Dream points | 1d20 = 10 + 5 = 15. Success.

I felt myself floating closer and closer, the light increasing until I broke the surface. However, I kept rising and soon the silver light was filling my field of vision. I looked away and tried to find another landmark to draw myself toward. All I could see was the light of the sun, which was now beginning to chill my skin with its icy glow. I reached deep into my heart, hoping to stoke the embers of my inner fire. I'd need its heat to withstand the white sun's icy embrace.

Difficulty 10 | 1d20 = 14. Success.

I felt the heat fill me as my heart flared, the inner fire consuming me. Spectral flames extended about me like a corona. I bent space around me to lens the light of my soul, making a searchlight to seek out refuge. I felt myself come to a halt, my ascent stalled somehow. I reflected on my circumstances and wondered if the opposing poles of heat and cold, myself and the star, were in a state of equilibrium. I reached out with my beacon again, hoping to draw matter to me.

Difficulty 15 | Spending 10 Dream points | 1d20 = 3 + 10 = 13. Failure.

The astral bent around me and motes of dust, droplets of water, and gusts of wind answered my call, but larger quantities of matter and energy were sluggish to respond. The earth remained immobile and beyond my graspm, however, I felt a growing swell of heat and moisture; the former drawn to my inner fire, the latter drawn to the echo of the tsunami. I tried to steer the water toward the silver star, in lieu of earth we have ice.

Difficulty 15 | Spending 6 Dream points | 1d20 = 14 + 6 = 20. Success.

Slowly but surely, a shell of rapidly freezing water was encasing the silver star. I watched the ice sphere that was growing thicker until a sizable planet floated before me. Even with my inner fire enhanced by the ambient heat, the planet remained mostly solid. As is rotated, oceans and rivers thawed on the day side, only to freeze again at night. Curious as to how lunar forces might complement this, I put out a call for suitable candidates.

I was taken aback when a disc of purest night began to eclipse my ice planet. I came to know that here in the astral, shadow itself is an element that can be manipulated. I watched my moonless shadow pass aside and my icy diamond return to my field of view, marvelling at how the tidal movements had shaped the temporary oceans. I reached out with my mind and tried to inspire life in the depths.

Difficulty 25 | Spending 15 Dream points | 1d20 = 14 + 15 = 29. Success.

Beneath the frigid waves I felt the stirring of new life! Even on an icy world orbited by a moon of darkness, the astral was seeding new life, new minds. I waited patiently to see how it would develop. Vast crystalline beings with metabolisms so slow they measured on a geological scale. I heard their dreams first, and then their songs as they grew consciousness of each other. I sought to join them when I heard them sing their search for a source of their people. Knowing my inner fire must remain to preserve the balance of this world and its life, I tried to detach myself from it, to permanently cast myself in their image.

Difficulty 20 | Spending 9 Dream points | 1d20 = 2 + 9 = 11. Failure (lose 1 Lifestone).

The inner fire would not relinquish me easily, as soon as my mind was free, I felt it seared by the flames that had once embodied me. The solar winds of my new sun buffeted me and sent me spiralling toward my shining world and it tenebrous moon. As I drifted further, the pain of my sun's heat began to lessen and I found I was slowly gaining more control of my descent. Not one moment too soon as on the periphery of my view I saw my shadow approaching. I tried to speed up to avoid becoming ensnared in its gravity.

Difficulty 10 | 1d20 = 10. Success.

I skirted the shadow's edge but evaded its grasp. I fell to the icy world and my life began.

Jack of Clubs 1

A one-shot played using A Death Shroud On The World Entire. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

This one is explicit, so is available on the other blog.

Inquisition into the Unknown 3

A series played using Dark Ages: Inquisitor. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Back in town, Amelina and Nigelle update Anna on their first expedition. They take care to describe the mural, illusion, and strange shrine. Anna considers their findings [Intelligence + Occult, 6 dice, 1 success]. There are vague stirrings of recollection in her mind, but nothing concrete. With a sigh, Anna realises that she will need to go in person to examine them. Together, and with Favian's aid, they set out for the estate at dawn.

They guide Sister Anna to the shrine off the throneroom. While Anna gets to work on the shrine, Nigelle and Amelina investigate the remaining side rooms. They find a trophy room stuffed with a variety of taxidermied animals (some chimerical) and weapons and armour. [Perception + Alertness, Amelina 8 dice, 5 successes / Nigelle 6 dice, 2 successes]. Nigelle recognises the arms and armour as being from a wide range of cultures, and confirms his suspicions that they have all seen use in battle. Amelina notices that all of the appartenly chimerical creatures were assembled after death. She also spots an intricate crystal goblet, which she wraps in cloth and slips into her bag.

Meanwhile, in the shrine, Anna is scrutinsing the idol and surrounding runes [Intelligence + Occult, 6 dice, three successes / Intelligence + Theology, 8 dice, 3 successes]. She confirms that this is a chamber where ritual sacrifices have taken place, and that the idol is not an obviously satanic one. She's unsure of the cultural origin but is certain that it has an occult significance and power. She reaches under the bandages on her back to feel the constantly open wounds beneath them. With blood on her fingertips, she anoints the idol while muttering a prayer to subdue the idol's power [Willpower, 6 dice, 4 successes].

The next room Amelina and Nigelle find is another well-appointed bedroom, less lavish than the others but still very respectable [Perception + Alertness, avg 7 dice, 4 successes]. The wardrobe contains several sets of men's functional clothes, a heavy mace and shield hang on the wall, the bedside table holds some momentoes. Among the latter is a carved wood and silver plaque, the message is an endearing and quite personal message to the estate's guard captain and is signed only "R." Nigelle quietly wonders what this could mean about the relationship between the two men. Amelina pockets a small hand mirror on the way out [Amelina Dexterity + Legerdemain, 7 dice, 3 successes / Nigelle Perception + Alertness, 6 dice, 1 success]. Nigelle remains oblivious to her light fingers.

Anna, the idol bound by her blood and faith, turns her attention to the sacrificial pit and it's runes [Intelligence + Occult, 6 dice, 2 successes]. She determines enough to gain a fragment of the True Name of the shrine's patron. She takes the time to obscure the runes to ensure that nobody else will be able to discover it. Satisfied with her work, she steps back into the throneroom to await the return of her acolytes. This could be a rewarding trip.

Inquisition into the Unknown 2

A series played using Dark Ages: Inquisitor. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Nigelle and Amelina set out before dawn and travel to Quasqueton Manor, arriving around noon. Rather than a conventional estate, they discover the facade of a manor house carved into a large outcropping of black rock. Nigelle steps up to the heavy wooded doors and knocks firmly, while Amelina hangs back to examine the facade more closely [Perception + Alertness, 8 dice, 3 successes]. She notices that while the facade is extremely detailed, including what appear to be shutters over the windows, the structure is also one piece of rock. The shutters don't cover actual openings, which suggests that the front doors are the only way in and out.

Nigelle tentatively pushes the doors and is surprised when they swing open with no resistance. Beyond, a long hallway stretches deep into the manor, alcoves evenly-spaced, and what appears to be steps at the far end. Amelina joins him and together they begin to edge along the corridor, noting the smooth stone surfaces of the walls, floors, and ceiling. They see a worrying sight ahead, five bodies lay at the foot of a small set of stairs. [Perception + Investigation, Amelina 6 dice, 0 successes / Nigelle 5 dice, 3 successes]. Amelina turns pale at the sight, leaving Nigelle (who has been walked through similar scenarios) determines two fought against the other three, and they all died of their wounds.

Amelina offers a prayer for the departed, and the pair press on, taking the right-hand passage at the junction past the bodies. Passing a side passage, they plunge deeper into the manor, eventually reaching an end and a pair of doors. The first appears to be a mundane storeroom or workshop, filled with old furniture and some woodworking tools. The second is a lavishly decorated bedroom; alongside a canopied bed, an ornate mirror and other luxurious items hangs a portrait of a beautiful woman against a backdrop of a ruined, burning village. [Intelligence + Politics, 5 dice, botch] Nigelle wracks his memory but fails to recall whether either of the brothers had a spouse or lover. Perhaps this stranger is connected to whatever fate has befallen the brothers? Amelina spots a silver comb left out on the dresser [Dexterity + Legerdemain, 7 dice, 4 successes] and pockets it before the pair leave.

They retrace their steps to the passage they passed earlier and take it, then turn left a few times before arriving back at the initial junction (near the bodies). They passed a few doors on the way, so backtrack and explore them. Behind the first, they find a minimalist bedroom dominated by a wall-carving showing a lone figure wielding elemental power to drive away an army. [Amelina Perception + Investigation, 6 dice, 3 successes / Nigelle Intelligence + Academics, 4 dice, 2 successes]. Nigelle recognises the sorcerer as Zelligar, but this isn't a scene from any history Nigelle is familar with. Meanwhile, Amelina appraises the bad as being the most valuable item in the room by far - she stores the information for later.

Before leaving, they decide to investigate the side door - perhaps it's a workshop or similar? Instead they find a room filled with overflowing chests of coins and jewels! [Thralldom! Amelina Self-Control + Wisdom, 4 dice, 2 successes / Nigelle fails but spend 1 Conviction]. The pair see through the illusion, however, and realise that it is merely a distraction masking an empty chamber. This confirms the rumours of Zelligor being a sorcerer of some kind. They make a note to pass this on to Sister Anna.

Beside the bedroom is a small study; it becomes apparent that Zelligor managed the estate's finances very closely. Among his ledgers are four tomes written in an unknown script and featuring mysterious illustrations. They take them for Anna to examine, if they are occult in nature she will best qualified to disposed of them safely.

The final room to backtrack to is an armoury, the pair are shocked by the scale of the armaments the brothers have amassed. Beyond is a barracks with room for at least forty people. This bunker-like aspect of the manor raises a degree of concern. The brothers created a heavily-defended position and populated it with dozens of soldiers, combined with the confirmation of at least one sorcerer, the inquisitors prepare for the worst as they explore further. There's also the nagging issue of where have all the guards gone?

They consider this as they retrace their steps further to another passage, this one leads to a pairs of doors, which they resolve to try in turn. The righthand door leads into a vast, slate throneroom with read granite pillars and dais, and a pair of white marble thrones. Directly opposite the dais is a doorway into a small chamber dominated by a large idol of a horned head which overlooks a shallow sacrificial pit. This confirms the inquisitors' worst fears, Zelligar's sorcery is also infernalism. They withdraw from the estate and make the return trip to update Sister Anna on their discoveries.

Moonrise - Act 4

A series played using Anamnesis. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Shadow: The Moon (Anxiety, Illusion, Intuition) 

ACT 4: WANDS

SCENE 1: QUEEN OF WANDS

I turned the pages over, no longer wanting to look at them, and took a moment to sit in silence and contemplate their blank backs. My mind was filled with the echoes of my past actions, swirling fragments becoming ensnared in a web of implications. I didn't like the pattern taking shape, and the looming presence lurking at the centre of the web - something patiently observing my reflections - was all too real. I stood and began to ransack the room, pulling open cupboard doors and desk drawers until I found, at last, my stylus and a small pot of ink that had not entirely dried up. I gathered the pages from the box and stacked them, still face down, on my antique wooden desk beside the stylus and ink pot. I took a seat at the desk, allowed my breathing to settle, and began to write.

The stylus scratched on the dry, gossamer-thin pages as my shaky hand inscribed a halting letter to my family. I tried to find adequate words to express what I'd seen since my return, how the sight of the fallen grandeur of the palace had shocked me, and how seeing their final resting place had rendered me silent. As I wrote, the shadows of my past deeds gathered about me, peering over my shoulder and whispering to themselves about the omissions in my account. I pushed them from my awareness and wrote as if in a trance, my stylus tearing the pages in places, until finally I could write no more and dropped the stylus. As I clenched and unclenched my hand to relieve the cramp, I felt my eyes drawn to the page, compelled to read the words that had flowed from me in an uncontrolled torrent. The handwriting was little more than a scrawl in places, but I was nonetheless able to discern key words and phrases. What I saw confirmed my fears and I pushed the pages away from me in the vain hope that they now held the memories and that I could cast them away forever.

SCENE 2: PAGE OF WANDS

I gathered myself and rose to my feet, I could remain here no longer. As I crossed the room to the door, my attention was drawn to the orb, it still lay where I had left it, but the bloody fingerprints somehow seemed more prominent, more accusatory. It stopped me in my tracks and, after a long moment, I picked it up and carried it with me as I left the palace. I retraced my steps back to the great dining hall, where my family were waiting for me, patient as ever. I reverently placed the orb in the hands of who I assumed was my eldest child; it was only fitting that they take their long overdue place on the throne. Gathering my shroud about me, I exited the palace, closing the ornate bird- and flower-carved doors behind me for the last time. The gates swung open at my touch, as before, and sealed behind me after I crossed back into the city. I did not pause to check if they would readmit me to the palace grounds, instead venturing along the main boulevard towards the city gates.

At each junction, I paused and listened in all directions, hoping in vain to hear the sounds of life somewhere in the city. Silence hung over the city like a shroud and I was accompanied only by my guilt. As I passed the ornate park, where I had taken my past paramours to break their hearts, I heard the words of that last one as loud as if they were standing beside me. I picked up the pace and practically ran to the gates, not stopping to listen at the junctions I raced over. I only paused once I was safely through the gates and had put a fair distance between them and myself. The dark night around me offered no indication of where else I might go, so I returned to the only other place that I knew; the cliffside tomb where I had first awakened.

SCENE 3: TWO OF WANDS

I sat on the edge of the cave mouth, crossed-legged and in silent contemplation of the crashing waves beneath me. There was no place here in this world for me anymore, and I confess that for the longest time I gave serious consideration to leaping from the cliff to the rocks below. My grim reverie was interrupted by the rise of the sun on the horizon before me. What began as a soft glow became a pale blue light spreading across the sky, and then a river of gold began to extend itself lazily towards me. I raised an outstretched hand as if to grasp the golden light, but it remained forever just out of reach. Realising that it wasn't me that it was trying to take hold of I crept back into the cave and gently lifted the crown from the dais. Holding it out in front of me, I edged towards the cave mouth, offering the crown to the rising sun. As it pulled itself free of the horizon I had to close my eyes in the face of its glory, but kept the crown extended to it. As the sun's warmth touched my skin and I felt its embrace fill me, the weight in my hands slowly lessened until my hands were empty. I opened my eyes, shielding them with my now empty hands, and saw that the sun was now clear of the horizon, surrounded by an intense corona unlike anything I had seen before. I slowly lowered my hands, feeling the shroud slip from my shoulders and crumple to the floor. I stood in the full light of the sun and allowed its light to fill the cavern utterly. Its light touched every surface, washing away all shadows, until there was no trace of the past left.