[X] Resurrect Garanhedd
-[X] Dorian will ask him to restore his father, Theophyllus Valens, to full health. (It won't get rid of his genetic condition, so his health will eventually deteriorate, but probably not within the lifetime of this quest.)
-[X] Philander will ask him to kill his father, Cinna Bidwell, giving precise instructions so that no one else will be harmed.
-[X] Isolia will ask him to give her a means of instantly escaping from dangerous situations. (He will give her an single-use item which can be used to teleport to a specific point.)
-[X] Venta will ask him for an unspecified favour to be granted at a later date.
Well, we passed on doing the right thing, I guess we might as well keep doing the wrong thing. Besides, this was a fun update series. It would be cool to do more stuff like this.
[X] Do not resurrect Garanhedd.
-[X] Keep your mouth shut. Enjoy the benefits of being a member of the Explorers and Archaeologists' Club.
...let's ignore both the moral implications and a possible expulsion. There is another angle I'd like to consider.
I've recently read someone else's thoughts on the philosophy of DMing, and one of the things I completely agree with is...
Nihil Supernum: the group has no high-level allies nearby. The player characters are the greatest adventurers in the valley. Nobody should ever need to ask: "well, the mayor is a tenth-level fighter with a bunch of magic weapons; why isn't she over here helping us fight these werewolves?" The group does not get to pass responsibility to someone else.
This is something that was repeatedly broken in the previous quests, what with gods being part and parcel of the setting. Oftentimes it reduced our problems to calling a bigger guy to solve them, resulting in either escalation of the problems to keep things interesting, or some contrived circumstances explaining away how the bigger guy is out at the moment and there is no divine phone reception.
Green Flame already borders on breaking that rule, what with her being an unstoppable juggernaut, no need to drag divinities into this.
[X] Resurrect Garanhedd
-[X] Dorian will ask him to restore his father, Theophyllus Valens, to full health. (It won't get rid of his genetic condition, so his health will eventually deteriorate, but probably not within the lifetime of this quest.)
-[X] Philander will ask him to kill his father, Cinna Bidwell, giving precise instructions so that no one else will be harmed.
-[X] Isolia will ask him to give her a means of instantly escaping from dangerous situations. (He will give her an single-use item which can be used to teleport to a specific point.)
-[X] Venta will ask him for an unspecified favour to be granted at a later date.
This is something that was repeatedly broken in the previous quests, what with gods being part and parcel of the setting. Oftentimes it reduced our problems to calling a bigger guy to solve them, resulting in either escalation of the problems to keep things interesting, or some contrived circumstances explaining away how the bigger guy is out at the moment and there is no divine phone reception.
This is a subversion of my usual "calling a bigger guy to solve [all your problems]" schtick (as Nevill pointed out above). It's basically a deal with the devil. You'll get what you want, for now, but it will cause major problems for you later on. It's up to you decide whether you'd rather deal with the problems you already have, or switch out them for a whole bunch of new problems. I thought that it would be an interesting plot point.
EDIT: It looks like a clear majority of people have voted to not resurrect Garanhedd, so I suppose I might as well close the vote now. The vote on whether to keep quiet about it or inform someone in authority is a bit closer, but "Keep your mouth shut" has a slight lead, so I'll go with that.
Adhoc vote count started by Chandagnac on Jul 17, 2020 at 3:09 PM, finished with 20 posts and 14 votes.
-[X] Dorian will ask him to restore his father, Theophyllus Valens, to full health. (It won't get rid of his genetic condition, so his health will eventually deteriorate, but probably not within the lifetime of this quest.)
-[X] Isolia will ask him to give her a means of instantly escaping from dangerous situations. (He will give her an single-use item which can be used to teleport to a specific point.)
Um, that was not how I intended it, and I am sorry if I came off that way.
But I really want to keep gods away in this one. Blessings, sure. Blood of time elves, sure. That's our blood, and a part of our skillset. But no favors with divinities, if at all possible. Well, not powerful ones, at least, since the definition encompasses all spirits.
I believe that having "Call Uncle Mishrak" as a backup option had trivialized our problems in Tinpot Princess somewhat, and the most memorable encounter was the island assault by a band of mercenaries when our protector couldn't be counted on.
...call it a personal preference?
A deal with the devil is an interesting angle, but it also introduces a problem far outside our weight category.
Um, that was not how I intended it, and I am sorry if I came off that way.
But I really want to keep gods away in this one. Blessings, sure. Blood of time elves, sure. That's our blood, and a part of our skillset. But no favors with divinities, if at all possible. Well, not powerful ones, at least, since the definition encompasses all spirits.
I believe that having "Call Uncle Mishrak" as a backup option had trivialized our problems in Tinpot Princess somewhat, and the most memorable encounter was the island assault by a band of mercenaries when our protector couldn't be counted on.
Fair enough. I had intended that this quest would focus on a relatively ordinary person (despite his learning magic), one of the many, many people in Creation who can't call upon a powerful god whenever he likes. So far, in this quest, the only way to get a divine being to immediately solve your problems for you is by making a deal with the very devil himself Garanhedd.
Most of the time, while he's a small fish in a very large and dangerous pond, Dorian will have no one he can rely on except himself and his team. Such is my intention, anyway.
EDIT: In fact, self-reliance is very important theme of this quest, at least according to Andrew Ryan Opernus Prentigold. After all, "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?"
In this case, "King Mob" means a violent and disorderly public, who refuse to be ruled by anything other than the mob. It is a reference to this historical event, during which rioters claimed that they were acting under the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob".
Since then, the name "King Mob" has been used for a radical Situationist group in 1960s London, a punk rock band, and one of the protagonists in Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, but it has never lost its underlying meaning of 'people who are ruled over only by anarchy and mayhem'.
In this case, "King Mob" means a violent and disorderly public, who refuse to be ruled by anything other than the mob. It is a reference to this historical event, during which rioters claimed that they were acting under the authority of "His Majesty, King Mob".
Since then, the name "King Mob" has been used for a radical Situationist group in 1960s London, a punk rock band, and one of the protagonists in Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, but it has never lost its underlying meaning of 'people who are ruled over only by anarchy and mayhem'.
You consider it long and carefully. With his divine power, you're fairly sure that Garanhedd could restore your father to full health. Curing the underlying problem would be more difficult, perhaps impossible, but he should be able to give your father at least another decade of vigour and physical wellbeing before he starts to deteriorate again. Ten long happy years, at least. He'd have time to spend with his wife, time to see his son grow up, and time enough to do everything he regretted he'd never be able to do before he died. You could give him that.
On the other hand, you'd be releasing an ancient evil from his timeless prison. Apparently, Garanhedd was once a cruel and rapacious tyrant. If you released him, he might go on to do terrible things, for which you would be responsible.
Because you are a sensible young man, you decide not to resurrect Garanhedd the giant. Even if it would give your terminally ill father a new lease of life, even if it would solve the problem of Philander's evil father, you suspect that the cost would be much higher than you are willing to pay. On this issue, your teammates are in agreement with you; none of them want to see what will happen if the ancient and terrible god is revived.
You rather suspect that Simony Bidwell was lying when he said knowledge of this long-forgotten tomb had been shared with every member of the entire Explorers and Archaeologists club and all those who have tried to join it in the past few years. Instead, you surmise that the shifty young man shared this information with only a couple of his fellow club members – those he most trusted – and your group. Philander is his brother, after all. They share a mutual hatred of their father. They would be natural allies in any plot to get rid him. That's three good reasons for why Simony might think it worthwhile to include him in a dangerous secret.
Also, you would guess that this is yet another test: by showing you his weapon of last resort, Simony is giving you and your team a chance to prove yourselves trustworthy or not. If you betray him now, he won't include you in any of his future plans. You certainly think it would benefit Philander to be on good terms with his brother, at least.
Therefore, instead of putting the giant's bones back together, instead of reporting the desecrated tomb to someone in authority, instead of doing anything to fix the damage caused by the wilfully malicious Explorers and Archaeologists Club, you return to school and finish your homework like a good little boy. The rest of the day seems almost normal: humdrum tedium flavoured with a dash of creeping dread.
How will you complete your Ritual Magic homework? (Choose one)
[] Create an illusory book (which can't be opened, so it's nothing more than an interesting paperweight).
[] Create an illusory pamphlet (less complicated, but it can be unfolded and opened out).
[] Create an illusory flowerpot.
[] Create an illusory pillow.
[] Create an illusory plate.
[] Create an illusory version of one of your teammates (basically a statue, since it will be unable to move).
[] Create an illusion of something else (write in: what?)
From this little adventure, Dorian has gained 1xp towards Agility, 1xp towards Awareness, 1xp towards Knowledge, 1xp towards Ritual Magic and 1xp towards Social Skills.
Also, I rolled 2d6+3 = 15 to determine whether Dorian gains any xp towards Mental Defence from practising during mealtimes (so yeah, he does).
That's the end of another week. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? (Which means... oh dear.)
As usual, please discuss what you would like Dorian to do in the next week. When people have put forward their ideas, I will put them together in a timetable, or several timetables, and ask you to vote for whichever you prefer.
Here is your normal timetable of lessons and free periods:
Oneday
Twoday
Threeday
Fourday
Fiveday
Sixday
Sevenday
Lesson: Ritual Magic
Lesson: Literacy
Lesson: Alchemy
Lesson: Ritual Magic
Lesson: Literacy
Free
Free
Study Period
Study Period
Study Period
Study Period
Study Period
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
I'm going to add "Find a way to return the kobolds to their home" to your journal here. Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to add.
EDIT: I've also used this post to throw some dice.
[X] Create an illusory pillow
I'm fine with the bandwagon on this one
Bladderwrack, gardening, study literacy (am I confused, I think that's not yet complete?), hanging out with friends, and maybe exploring the school. Could we devote a study session on saturday to whichever class we've fallen behind most on in the upcoming week?
I think I'd be interested in a fairly even divide between these topics.
So:
Classes usually give out 2xp in their subject or 1 xp on their subject and 1xp for Knowledge. This (roughly) averages out to 3 xp per week for Ritual Magic and Literacy, 1.5 xp per week for Alchemy, and 2 xp for Knowledge.
Study sessions give out 1 xp for the Subject and 1 xp for Social Skills if we do them with our classmates.
We need 5 xp to level up Literacy, so we need about 2 sessions to be able to try to increase our Literacy score.
We need 3 more xp to try to increase Mental Defense, but that happens without additional actions.
We need 8 xp to level up Social Skills. We can get 5 xp from doing Study Sessions together and the rest by spending 3 actions on Bladderwrack.
We need three rest periods, so I propose:
Study Sessions With Group:
Alchemy
Literacy
Alchemy
Literacy
Alchemy
Activities:
Days 1,3,5: Gardening
Day 2: Mathematics Club
Day 4: Rest
Day 6: Bladderwrack x 2, rest
Day 7: Bladderwrack, Fitness Club, rest
This should give us chances to level up Literacy and Social Skills, gets us close to leveling up Ritual Magic and Knowledge, and also works on Alchemy and Leadership.
As a final benefit, we can check out two of the clubs we haven't seen yet. The other clubs we haven't seen yet are: Dueling Club (too young to duel right now), Board Games Club, Apathy Society (Simony is involved), Literature Club (we're working on Literacy a lot already), Poetry Club, Music Club, School Choir
If I remember right, we can also swap alchemy recipes.
Green has one of our study periods. Might be able to leverage that somehow.
The current plan has more bladderwrack and less literacy than I would like, but I will probably go with it because it explores two new clubs and I want to visit them at least once each.
I wonder if we could do something to help one of our friends instead of Bladderwrack?
I'd like to help Simony once too. A couple voters have suggested we might get some sort of haggling skill out of it which would be nice.
Bear in mind, you can still do something productive with one of those rest periods if you wish (because of the Fatigue-reducing effects of Lissa's blessing on your necklace).
Haggling is a specialty which you can attach to Social Skills next time you gain a level. You're already on your way to getting it because of your own trips to market.
Very helpful.
I'd like to drop a bladderwrack from Sixday and replace it with a study session for whatever we did most poorly on in classes that week. I'd also like to drop fitness this week and replace it with visiting the Explorer's club. Seeing what the rest of the club has on offer might show a very different side of them.
So far as I can tell, my regular players don't have a clear plan for what kind of wizard they would like Dorian to grow up to be. So far, they've focused on boosting his physical stats and gaining xp for skills which they think might be useful.
Fair enough. I had intended that this quest would focus on a relatively ordinary person (despite his learning magic), one of the many, many people in Creation who can't call upon a powerful god whenever he likes. So far, in this quest, the only way to get a divine being to immediately solve your problems for you is by making a deal with the very devil himself Garanhedd.
I would put "find out what Greenflame does on the weekends" instead but while I like seeing her I also think maybe we should not invade her privacy or keep her from her... whatever it is she does, when she's not teaching.
