[Actual Play] Dark Ages: Fae

[rgalex]

Ok, before I start this whole thing let me say 2 things. First, I know not everything here meshes with DA: F’s official views. There were some bits changed for my group’s enjoyment and I thought I should tell you all that ahead of time. Second, this is my first “actual play” and probably the most detailed record keeping I’ve ever attempted. Please bear with me if I go astray. Now with that out of the way let us move on to the setting and cast.
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1242AD
The Middle Rhine Valley
Braubach, Germany.

PCs
Oakheart (Inanime - Spring): He is physically imposing in his fae mien with coarse bark-like skin and standing over 7’. Oakheart has an oath with the local vineyard owners: he will allow them the use of some of his land to grow their grapes if they present him with half of the first harvest’s pressing.

Die Unruh (Firstborn - Winter): The monster in the woods, his mien is terrifying. He keeps the local village in fear of him. They have pledged an oath to deliver meat from their kills in exchange for a safe hunt. When passing into Die Unruh’s holding the trees look frightening, the sky is gray and the chill wind blows even in summer.

Garrick (Changeling - Solstice): Garrick grew up knowing he was different. He could taste the Mists all around and it drove him mad that he felt it slipping away from him. When he was finally reunited with his heritage he rejected it as they had rejected him at birth. Now he is Solstice and once again denied his birthright.

Luthor Huss (Changeling - Autumn): Luthor is the human child that was taken in exchange for Garrick. Raised as a fae noble his chiseled looks and sweet scent of fresh cider has made him popular among the local females. He is pleased with his current life and does not exactly see why Garrick is so upset with sharing this birthright.

Richter Krauss (Firstborn - Summer): Appearing as an angel with wings of the purest snow white feathers, he is favored by Lord Rabe. Being a brave knight, an intelligent politician and a witty conversationalist have endeared him to most ever fae of the area. However his strict adherence to tradition has caused him trouble more than once.

Amara (Firstborn - Spring): Her eyes have captured the morning mists off the Rhine. Her movements flow as graceful as the water. She has no interest in the politics of the court and has chosen to live apart from the other. An oath with a local woodsman has ensured that his daughter will always be taken care of as long as he does not strike any tree in Amara’s grove.

NPCs so far
Lord Rabe of the East Bank (Firstborn - Summer): Born into a position to rule, he has held his kingdom on the east bank for nearly 200 years. Little troubles him and he has currently picked Richter as a possible heir to the throne. He is generally good-natured but always uncomfortable at gatherings. Lord Rabe rules with a fair hand.

General Metzger of the West Bank (Firstborn - Winter): Known as the “Butcher of Fae” Metzger was once in the service of Lord Rabe. He quickly rose through the ranks of the military. He was brutally tough and asked nothing but complete loyalty, but he always rewarded his men. A disagreement with Lord Rabe (the details of which are still left to rumor) caused him to leave and claim his own kingdom.

The Witch (Inanime - Autumn): If one believes her, she is somewhere between 800 and 1000 years old. She is the soothsay recluse in the deep woods and counsel to both Lord Rabe and General Metzger (although she prefers the company of Rabe). Her divination powers have no equal; unfortunately she is often confused as to what events have already occurred and which are yet to be. It is said that sprites from all over come and whisper in the knot of tiny branches she calls her hair.

Krieger (Firstborn - Spring): A noble of high regard, he is rival to Richter for the throne. While he is the equal in swordplay and court politics to Richter, his methods vary wildly. Where Richter is bound to tradition, Krieger is chaotic and unpredictable. His family has held onto a treasure of near mythic proportions, a sword fashioned from a slab of limestone.

Isa (Firstborn - Solstice): Betrayed by fate on the day of her Saining she has been told that her life will be important. If that is true, why was she cast out? For someone who is so important to the kingdom she sure as hell hasn’t been treated very well. Luckily her survival skills have helped keep her alive when no one else would. Now though, there is another like her, but he chose to be this way. Why?

[rgalex]

The Prologue (our 1st game)

The game begins with a three-day lead into the annual first harvest festival. During this time people celebrate the pressing of the first grapes of the season. Nobles and commoner alike attend and enjoy a wonderful celebration of food and wine and company. The Fae of the area also enjoy this celebration in their own way. Gatherings in the keeps of both Lord Rabe and General Metzger are sites to behold. All conflicts are put aside for the weeklong event.

Anyone of status was invited to Lord Rabe’s keep to help plan the event. Richter, Luthor and Oakheart arrive to find The Witch holding audience with the Lord. The three mingle for a bit and learn of some of the local happenings. On her way out of the keep, The Witch addresses Oakheart with a few polite words and a message of caution “There are a great many things planned for you.”

While this is going on on the east banks of the river, Die Unruh is carefully watching an unexpected visitor in his woods. A little girl had been sent to deliver a message, something very important if they had risked the beast’s woods. Well, this little girl would receive no mercy from him. With a gesture Die Unruh summoned the Mists and ensured the girl would not sleep well for many nights, causing her to drop the message and flee the woods.

Upon opening the letter he found a message scribbled in the human tongue and a small hammered piece of metal in the shape of a cross. Not able to read the message (he had not bothered to learn the filthy human’s language) he sought out Garrick, the half human. Maybe he would know why the mettle symbol caused him to wince a bit in disgust. Garrick was found near his hunting grounds and translated the message to the Fostering Tongue: the church is coming to Braubach.

After the gathering at Lord Rabe’s keep, Oakheart ventured home. Puzzled by the words The Witch had spoken he began crossing the bridge over the Rhine deep in thought. He saw out of the corner of his eye several late barges about to pass under on their way to the docks carrying festival supplies.

He continued to ponder the words of The Witch when a startled yell for help snapped him from his thoughts. Looking below, one of the three barges emerged slightly delayed. It’s crew lay bloody on the deck, heads missing. Quickly he ran from the scene and back to his woods before too many humans gathered around.

During this time Die Unruh made his way to General Metzger’s keep underground. He traveled through the dimly lit tunnels until he reached the great cavern. Fae of all the courts could be found here reveling in their base desires. A few human thralls were held in rapture as the Mists twisted their perceptions.

Upon the raised stone-crafted throne sat the General, with his concubine near his side. Die Unruh kneeled and presented the metal cross and told of the little girl and the note. “It is simply a new human cult. Something they came up with to push thoughts of us out of their minds. I’m curious about this one, bring me one of their new holy men,” was his response. Die Unruh accepted the order and made his way back up to the surface.

Later that night he stalked the town cloaked in the Mists and found a man wearing the cross symbol. A brief struggle ensued but the man was no match for the fae. He was carried back unconscious to the caves where he was given over to General Metzger.

The next morning Garrick was at the banks of the Rhine catching fish. It was a favorite pastime of his and he used their bones to craft fine jewelry. He soon realized he was being watched. Not knowing who was there he drew his sword, challenging his watcher to reveal himself.

A large rock sprang forth from the riverbed and nearly missed Garrick’s head. He was thrown off balance and was laying flat on his back. Feeling another attack coming his way, Garrick quickly rolled to one side, sprang to his feet and ran for cover. He was not pursued.

Deep in the woods, Amara was patrolling her holdings. She came across what looked like a human ear tacked to a tree with a rather large thorn. Finding that slightly disturbing, she quickly searched the rest of the area and found the remains of what she thought was a stag. Only the upper torso remained and the head was crushed and partially ground. The eyes looked like they had been popped and the rest of the skull hollowed, maybe sucked clean. Easily frightened she sought the help of others.

Die Unruh awoke to find 3 tributes left to him in accordance to his Oath with the villagers. Three portions meant there were three hunting parties, something that had never happened before. He quickly located them and soon came to realize they were not hunting for food. The villages had attempted to abuse his generous offer of protection while looking for something else. He quickly and mercilessly took his revenge on the hunters until they fled the woods.

Later that day both Luthor and Richter had been summoned to Lord Rabe’s keep and asked to take care of an incident at the bridge. It seemed that a tree had sprung up overnight in the waters underneath and the strange incident (along with the murders) had scared the humans. They had put up crosses along the bridge and piers.

When they arrived they quickly saw it was the lower half of Oakheart and that his head and chest seemed to be stuck in some sort of portal. Later that night they would learn it was a gateway to Underbridge.

Garrick, feeling particularly feisty sought out Oakheart in his grove. He wished to address whom he believed to be his attacker from the day before. While shouting curses and threats into the grove another Solstice approached him from behind. This was twice he had let his guard down, it would not happen again.

The female spoke, “You are so young and full of anger. What do you rebel against? How will justice be served if you proceed in your currant manner? When you have a desire to give your hate direction, come find me again.”

By late that afternoon each had found out about poor Oakheart. Garrick arrived first, with Amara shortly after. The last one there was Die Unruh, who had just come from a meeting with Lord Rabe where they discussed the strange behavior of the humans in Die Unruh’s woods. Oakwood escaped the portal to find out what had been but a few moments for him was nearly a full day for the others.

He told of a strange realm of many bridges. They connected many plots of grass and stone. Each bridge was different, some were natural rock and some were constructed. He told of a small boy emerging from under one of the bridges and quickly being snatched up by a large, nearly invisible monster. They felt it was best to speak with The Witch about all of this.

She explained what she knew of Underbridge and offered some words of advice. Unfortunately, do to her extreme age, her words were not always temporally relevant. She warned Oakheart about becoming stuck, but more importantly that it may be a troll that had been killing the humans and attacking the fae.

Armed with a list of ingredients that would allow them to seal the portal the group split. Some of the items were easy to obtain. Others would require some work. Luthor and Richter went about securing some of the more delicate parts while leaving the rest to their own. The one ingredient that would be the most difficult was a stein full of troll blood. The difficult part of this was simply that no forged weapon could pierce the skin of a troll. It would have to be made from the elements.

Garrick had an idea. He had met Krieger earlier although it was a rather unpleasant meeting full of insults and prejudice. The knight had a sword though, and the blade was crafted of pure limestone. If he could get the sword, it was a long shot but one he had to try, it would be able to harm the troll. Simpler than he thought, the knight was willing to lend the family blade out in exchange for Garrick’s own sword treasure. With an Iron Oath to return the weapons to the proper owners in proper condition or forever lose the ability to handle a sword again, the two offered up their blades.

Finding the troll was not difficult once the ingredients had been gathered and prepared. A howling wind tore across the land with a sound that was unmistakable being carried to their ears. To the humans it would be nothing more then wind tearing through the tree branches, but to them it was the painful screams of The Witch. They headed towards her ready for battle.

The troll had his back to them and The Witch was raised above its head. He was stripping the branches from her mien one by one and she let lose a cry each time. He caught the scent of the group behind him and quickly tossed her aside. Turning around they saw the troll in full form. It stood near 12’ tall, had stone gray skin, and several heads hanging from its belt by their hair. The troll squared up against Oakheart and the two monoliths clashed.

While the fight raged, Amara pummeled the troll with her bare fists. Richter attempted to unleash the Mists and put the troll to sleep but the troll shattered the effects before they took hold of him. Die Unruh climbed on top of the troll and drove his claws deep into the monster then was thrown off as the troll bucked from the pain. This gave an opening to Garrick, who, with the skill and grace of a master swordsman, plunged the limestone blade deep into the belly of the beast.

Richter collected the blood from the dying troll and the fae quickly moved to help The Witch. She was badly hurt, but she would survive. She reminded them of the task at hand and that they must be off to seal the portal. As they left the vineyard where the fight occurred Garrick noticed the mysterious Solstice female from before looking on from the far edge.

Potion in hand, they sealed off Underbridge. The town held it’s festival in peace and many turned out to hear the words of a man called Father Jeremy. The fae of the two kingdoms also held their festival without so much as a passing thought to the humans in the village.

[urbwar]

Sounds like a fun session. Looking forward to reading more about your game!

[Rampant Wonder]

Sounds like a great deal of fun! I've be anxiously waiting, hoping someone would post some DA: Fae actual play. Now it's to wait for the next installment. :)

[Sprue Rubbles]

Thanks for posting the actual play. I'm getting a better idea of how this game could work. Will there be any more updates?

[rgalex]

There will most definately be updates. The problem is my group meets irregularly. Last time we played it was a brief encounter that I didn't feel too rushed to write up. I was going to combine it with the next session.

Since people have asked though, I'll write it sometime today and get it up ASAP. I believe that we're going to get together again this coming weekend (the 25th and 26th). So come Sunday I should have something grand to post up for all of you.

Thanks for the interest. :D

[Snowblind]

Very cool game so far.

And I'd definitely be interested in reading up on the group's exploits.

[rgalex]

We add a new member to the cast:

Silvose (Inanime - Summer): A steward of the forest, this Fae's beauty blooms in the daylight. However, as night falls the blossoms close up leaving only the bare skeleton of a thicket. Arriving from France several weeks prior to our story's continuation, Silvose has found a home in Lord Rabe's court. With him he brings a collection of diaries and travel journals containing many secrets.

Cold Reception (Session 2)

It is now several months after the last story. The winter ice has vanished. Richter and Silvose are tasked with two things by Lord Rabe. One, they are to witness the rumored ceremony that is to take place after the construction of the human’s church is completed, and report if there is any danger to the Mists from it. Second, investigate the strange sightings of a beast in the south woods near the mountains. As the church had several more months before completion they sought out Die Unruh (believing his fighting and wilderness skills would be most useful) and headed southwards.

They soon found some unusual tracks and followed the trail up the side of the mountain. Along the way they found the dead and broken body of a local man. During the trek they could feel eyes watching them, but were unable to locate their watcher. A short distance away they found a cave entrance and decided to enter. Walking farther than what seemed a natural distance the cave iced over and a short, but wide, hairy beast greeted them. At it’s side was a huge wolf-like animal.

The beast led them along a path inside a frozen valley to a castle. There they were introduced to the Lord who called himself Taulandryn and were invited in for a meal. Although he was obviously insane (both his words and mannerisms convinced them of this), the group followed. Conversation turned to the world outside the valley and the Lord learned two of his three visitors were of the Summer Court. He quickly asked for them to be escorted outside while he spoke with his Winter-kin. He and Die Unruh spoke for a brief time about the state of the outside realms and how the ice in the cave melts every so often so he can send out his “sprites”.

Meanwhile, the “sprites” (constructs of the Mists created to inhabit the Holding of the Lost Fae) held Silvose and Richter surrounded in the courtyard. One of the creatures, seeing Richter as an obvious warrior of some talent, challenged him to a fight with a growl and a shake of his spear. Richter began to walk away uninterested and found the spear of his insulted opponent striking his back. He quickly drew his sword with the intention to teach the creature a lesson.

As the sounds of battle drifted inside the castle, Die Unruh was lead to a balcony to watch the match. Earlier he had made a threat to Taulandryn, "Should my companions be harmed so will you be." Die Unruh made good on that threat. After a brief struggle he threw the Lord off the balcony but Taulandryn was quick and took Die Unruh over the wall as well. The two landed hard on the frozen ground. Several sharp blows were exchanged.

Silvose had attempted to come to the aid of Richter only to find that another one of the beasts would step in the way. The beast had transformed into a storm of ice crystals and tore at Silvose’s flesh. While it was obvious that the fight was far from over, Lord Taulandryn, at the goading of Die Unruh, agreed to let them leave. They had but to make it out before he refroze the entrance in the ice cave or be stuck with him until the next thaw.

The group attempted to rush across the icy ground but it was more difficult than they would have liked. As they reached the cave it was already half frozen and if not for the fire Richter surrounded his blade with they would have been trapped. Soon they were looking back at a solid sheet of ice, barring anyone from entering or exiting.

[Morsla]

Awesome! A great read - keep it up :)

[rgalex]

Notes and Edits:

1) The player of Luthor Huss has unfortunately decided he likes neither historical games nor changeling games. :( His character will remain but as an NPC.

2) There was a big mix up in the inital post. Somehow I accidently reversed the kingdoms. Lord Rabe presides over the West and General Metzger holds the East.

3) I managed to completely forget to add the ending to our last session. Here is how the final minutes of session 2 played out:

The group split ways and Silvose went with Richter to inform Lord Rabe of what they had found. Back at the manner Lord Rabe was aiding The Witch in a ritual when without warning the door burst open. Against the posted guard’s direction Silvose entered the room, interrupting the delicate ceremony. There was a quick flash of light and Lord Rabe slumped over, lifeless. The Witch cursed and explained that it was now up to Silvose to explain to the others that their Lord’s soul was lost outside its body.

4) I did run a session for 4 of the players this past weekend (Garrick, Die Unruh, Richter and Amara) and am in the process of writting it up. It was a fairly long game so it may take me a little bit. I'll probably post it in 2 or 3 parts. Everyone had a blast and we plan to continue in about 3 weeks.

[rgalex]

One Night (Session 3):
Part One

It was now mid-Spring and the only snow left was in the mountain peaks. The story began with Richter, Garrick, Amara and Die Unruh walking along the bank of the Rhine. A small group of humans were gathering at the river. While the Fae continued to talk they saw one of the humans step into the chilly waters and pull out a small book. He began reading from it and soon a pair of mortals, a male and a female, joined him in the water.

They held up a small infant. Both Die Unruh and Amara saw the child clearly and recognized it as a Fae that was placed in the human’s care. Several years from now it would rejoin the courts as a changeling. At least, that was what should have happened. Instead the two watched in horror as the book-reading human dipped his hand in the water and spread a few drops across the baby’s forehead.

They heard the Mists shatter, a painful otherworldly shriek shot out. The mien of the baby broke like glass from its body, flowed off with the water and washed away down the river. Nothing was left but a mortal shell and the rage in Die Unruh swelled. He quickly called upon his powers of the night and froze the water around the man who did this. Ice formed in jagged spikes and the man’s legs bled into the water.

The humans fled and the Fae made a quick retreat back to the safety of their holdings. A message was sent to General Metzger and he received the group in a private meeting hall. Along their way in they saw the tortured body of the holy man Die Unruh had brought to Metzger several months ago. He was still alive but his skin had been peeled away in places and several females were taunting him. They caressed his exposed muscles, licked the blood from fresh cuts and took pleasure in snapping his fragile bones.

The exchange with the General was brief. He asked each of them to aid in the recovery of the other infant changelings. There were thirteen left within the area belonging to both kingdoms; ten in village homes and three left with the nobles. He would provide a list of homes and only required that it be done in a single night, between sunset and sunrise.

For their troubles each was given a privilege. Die Unruh was granted passage deep underground to witness the dwarven blacksmiths at work. He was allowed one guest to accompany him and that guest was granted a choice of any one item the dwarves had forged. Garrick was lucky enough to be Die Unruh’s guest. Richter asked for access to the General’s library and, after a little negotiation, secured a single unsupervised visit. Amara, feeling scared and out of place, did not know what to ask for. Metzger allowed her to name her desire later.

The group split, Amara and Richter heading back to the western banks and their own holdings while Garrick and Die Unruh were lead down under the kingdom of “the Butcher”. Their guide was a strikingly beautiful Inanime with marble white skin, the gray swirls accenting her delicate features. Casual conversation revealed her to be General Metzger’s daughter, Muriel.

Upon arriving at the forges, the two witnessed three short men hard at work. Their skin was leathered and the muscle underneath knotted. One was withdrawing a piece of metal from a small lava flow in the corner. Within minutes he had a fully forged sword that he brought into a separate room. Muriel explained that that room was the storage cavern from which Garrick may choose an item.

As they approached the room Garrick asked Die Unruh what the dwarves were working so hard for. Die Unruh simply stated that they were preparing for a war. When they entered the chamber and saw the vast cavern laden with arms and armor Die Unruh, a bit startled himself, added, “We expect it to be a large war.”

[Sprue Rubbles]

dwarves? I assume they are a fae of sorts belonging to a specific Court? and by "large war" you mean the end to the truce?

I love the whole conflict between Christianity which you seem to focus on and how the fae are affected by baptism. It's just cool to see it from the other side but not necessarily being evil.

[rgalex]

One Night (Session 3):
Part Two

Amara headed back to her glen for a short time before going to help the others. Along the way she found several more ears tacked to various trees with large thorns. Realizing that this must not have been the work of the troll they disposed of some time back, she sought out The Witch for council.

Inside The Witch’s holding Amara came across the soothsay and a young maid. The Witch had one hand in a cauldron and the other on the belly of the girl. Seeing Amara arrive The Witch told the girl to return to her husband and seek his embrace that night. The Witch bid Amara entrance and after hearing the story of the ears explained that it was a simple means of scrying.

The ear was enchanted and the enchanter could hear any happenings going on around the ear. She also warned Amara that Oakheart would get stuck under a bridge and that Garrick should be told, “they know.” The Witch, who had other matters to attend to, then shooed off Amara.

Richter, returning to Lord Rabe’s manor, quickly took control of the situation and gathered five other trusted Fae. Led by Krieger they were to retrieve the Fae infants of their kingdom while Richter aided Metzger. It had been difficult recently with the Lord being “absent”. Only a select few knew the truth and both Richter and Krieger were vying for control. They agreed however that this was more important than their bickering.

Back under the earth, Garrick had selected a blade at random, letting fate guide his hand. The blade was a dark, oily gray polished to a mirror finish. Fine leather covered the hilt and almost molded to his hand as he took a few practice swings. Set in the pommel was a dark red gem that seemed to glow with a soft inner light. Once he had secured the blade to his belt Muriel led the two back to the surface tunnels. There they met up with Amara and Richter who had been given the list of homes.

There were two infants left with the nobles and five with the commoners from Metzger’s kingdom. They decided to start with the nobles and headed back across the river. A low wall surrounded the two-story house. The lights were still on inside but the sun was setting and the humans would soon head for their rooms to sleep.

As the fae made their way towards the home, Richter spread his angelic wings and took flight. He located the nursery and proceeded to watch over the grounds. Die Unruh went towards the rear of the house. He found only the family's dogs. Being a beast himself, Die Unruh felt a slight connection to the animals and stayed to pet them.

Garrick had climbed his way up the side of the house only to find the window locked. Calling on the arts of the Mists he slipped through the shadows and into the room, opening the window once inside. He could hear the soft breathing of the child and prepared to lift the baby when a spring breeze came through the now open window.

He had not seen the chimes hanging at the far end of the crib but their tingling sound shot through his body like fire. Garrick could not stand the noise; it cut off his connection to the Mists. He dove for the window to be rid of the feeling. Once outside and on the ground he felt the sensation leave, as if his body was covered in bugs and they now fell off and scurried away.

Seeing Garrick’s failure at such a simple task, Richter proceeded to enter the room and reclaim the child. A nanny had been chosen by Richter earlier to care for the infants as they acquired them. She would be around soon but until then they hung the baby securely in some high tree boughs in a makeshift hammock. Before leaving the house, Richter picked up two twigs and formed a cross. Using his magic he transformed it into gold and tossed it through the window hoping to lead blame to the church.
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At this point the player of Die Unruh would like me to say something. He would like to inform you that this is a good place to stop reading if you wish to keep viewing our protagonists in any sort of positive light. The dice gods were not with them from this point on. :D I'll keep posting though, and will probably have more come late tonight or early tomorrow.

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

I’ll keep reading anyway and risk it, since I’m enjoying this very much. But I have a question: I can’t quite see how or why these various folk are acting together? Maybe it’s just the largish cast making me confused, but they seem to have been acting individually at first, and somehow become a “party” in this third story. Is that right? Why is the Solstice changeling hanging around with Richter et.al.?

[rgalex]

Very good question. I'll do my best to make some sense of it for you. First off, you are right. They were acting a little more as individuals in the first game. There are a few reasons for it but I guess the biggest one would be this: the first game was suppose to be a one-shot. I allowed them to make their own characters for this, and each one had an idea of what they wanted to do but not exactly what everyone else wanted. We did all sit down together, but as is typical with my group, they don't always show their full hand at character creation or even know how they want to play the character.

Second, and it's hard for me to really show this without putting in a lot more of the actual IC dialog (I'm lucky I remember the bits I do), but there is not total group unity. It's not so much that Garrick is hanging around "with" Richter, it's that Richter happens to be involved with some things that Garrick feels the need to be involved in. There was a moment in this last session where Garrick mentioned, "well I guess I've chosen my side." It's a two way street here too. Richter has NEVER acknowledged Garrick even being there once. When splitting up the group (Amara, Die Unruh, Garrick and himself) he said "The three of us should split up. Die Unruh go over there and Amara and I will go over here." He also completely ignored Garrick having Dusk powers in the first game saying "Now, if only one of us could call upon the Dusk."

For this latest session, I kind of pressed them into a group mentality. I've also expressed to them through various NPC dialog (and they all have a basic understanding of the game's backdrop) that some things are bigger than individual Courts. I'm currently using the church in our first story arc to help give them all a common enemy. In the background there was only one kingdom in the area. It has only recently split. Even still the area is small and all of them need to co-exist in that area or leave what they call home. It's much like Democrats, Republicans and all the various Independants, all with wildly different idea on how to run the country but still living together within it.

Finally, as I get the rest of this written up you will begin to see some splinters within the group. There were a handful of events that will cause a bit of friction in the not to distant future. I do have (and the players have told me about) ideas for their specific characters and all should be revealed in time.

Wow, that was a lot more than I planned on saying. I hope that helps a little bit. I'm afraid to give away too many bits of info as I know at least 3 of my players read this update thread. If you would like more "eyes only" info feel free to PM me.

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

I liked the individual agendas set in the early story and think this makes a lot of sense for faerie game: they are not “adventurers” hanging out in a bar. I think that Fae really calls for individuals and not a party-mentality. So, now I’m wondering why you wanted them to join up as a group? Ease of play? Or does this need to be a PM conversation?

[rgalex]

No PM needed. My group gets together very sporatically, maybe once every 3 to 4 weeks, and there is no gaurantee I'll get to run this game. We have several ongoing games but this one is currently one of the favorites. When we do manage to get together and play we like to try and get as much out of the session as possible. This means that sometimes we have to compromise individual "screen time".

I currently have a maximum possible number of 8 players. I severly doubt that I will ever have all of them at once. However if I did, or even with 4 or 5 of them, and I tried to handle seperate plots all the time each person may only get 30-45 min of play. So, we compromise. I mentioned that the original was a one shot so I let them go about with whatever they felt they wanted to do. Now that this is more ongoing I think a good group dynamic is needed. Not eveyone has to get along and not everyone needs to tow the "party" line. There are things that will bring them together and things they will do on their own. In this particular instance the threat of the church is temporarily bringing them together.

I was told something a long time ago by a Vampire ST and I think it carries over to Fae a bit. He said that you (the character you) may not like someone. You may hate them. You may be willing to kill him or set up complex political situations to ruin him. At the end of the day though, that person you are trying to kill or ruin is one of the VERY few that understands what your life is like. He is one of only a handful compared to the rest of the population of the world that has walked in your shoes. You have forever to do what you want to him, but once he's gone that's one less person that could ever relate to you.

I have asked them to present me with character goals and motivations. Most of them have done well filling me in in that respect. I have things planned for them as seperate characters and will work that in to what they told me. You should start to see some more "individual play" (like the first session was) in the next session we have. This last game opened their eyes to the power of the church. I wanted them to first be of the mindset that this cult was not important to them. I didn't want the players to see an enemy right out of the gate. Instead I tried to help them see that there is still a lot they don't know. By the time I finish writing this session up (I've almost got it done) you will see where I brought some of the more individual plots back to the front of the story.

With all that being said, I personally thought that a group of Fae stealing babies would make a fun session. :D

BTW- Thanks for asking. It's helped me think over what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. It also helped me keep focus while I was planning the next session. :)

[rgalex]

One Night (Session 3):
Part Three of Four

With one baby claimed they moved on to the second noble’s home. It was a one-story house surrounded by a vineyard. Feeling a little anxious to get things done, Die Unruh took action. Calling on the night he blackened out any source of light around him and burst through the wall of the home. Being the only one able to see in the darkness he created he quickly picked up the small crib and turned to leave. From behind him he heard the screams of the parents.

As he strode out, the baby crib tucked under one arm, he felt a dull thud strike his back. Lashing out, he thrust his long spike-shaped fingers into the attacker’s skull killing him instantly. He then continued walking out the same hole he came in through. Once Die Unruh was outside Richter tossed another “golden cross” into the home. Die Unruh was not done with this place yet though. For daring to strike him they would suffer.

Again he looked to the night mists for help. An eerie fog crept up from the ground as he unleashed his wrath. It oozed through the vineyard corrupting the vines. They began to rot and fester but Die Unruh quickly realized his anger had bested him. The fog was out of his control and made its way towards the woods at the edge of the property… Oakheart’s woods. The same blight that fell across the grapevines also stole the life from a portion of the trees. He realized he would need to confront Oakheart about this, but now was not the time.

With the two noble homes taken care of they moved on to the villagers. Richter went to bring the second baby to the nanny and to check in on the other group while Garrick, Amara and Die Unruh went to the first home. The family seemed to live above a tannery. To the Fae it only proved how dirty these humans were, how could they stand that smell? Amara, feeling that more tact was needed if they wished to not wake the entire village before they were done, channeled her energy to hide herself from sight.

She forced open the door quite easily and entered the shop while the rest waited outside. Looking around she saw all sorts of hides being stretched and dried. Quickly heading up the stairs she entered the first of only two rooms in the house. It had a table and a small stove but was otherwise bland to look at. She slowly inched the single door leading to the bedroom open only to feel something cold pierce her flesh.

The tanner had heard the door downstairs forced open and stood waiting for the intruder. Seeing the door to his room start to open he thrust a skinning knife out hoping to hit whoever was there. He succeeded and then pushed back trying to throw the person down the stairs. Amara, not use to feeling any pain was shocked and felt herself tumbling backwards.

She was still hidden from sight and when she saw the man come rushing down the steps she just let him go by. Amara, like Die Unruh earlier, became enraged at the sheer audacity of these mortals. How dare they forget their place! Quickly calling on the Mists she enchanted the very house they were in, the wood sprouting branches and making the entire downstairs a near-impassable maze.

Hearing the trouble inside Garrick sprang up to the second floor and again used the shadows to move inside. He found himself staring eye to eye with a woman holding the baby they were after. As she began to scream he strode up to her and covered her mouth explaining, “it was not your baby to begin with.”

Downstairs, Die Unruh braced his massive body in the doorframe and saw the tanner attempting to find Amara. Wanting only to slow the man down, Die Unruh inhaled deep and unleashed a breath of wind and ice. Unfortunately, again his power slipped from his control. The blast of air was so powerful it nearly emptied his lungs and Die Unruh was left gasping, unable to move. The downstairs was sheeted in ice and the man had become a frozen statue.

Upstairs the woman looked down at the baby after hearing Garrick’s words. What she saw was not human. The child’s smile was a little too big, it’s cheeks too red and it’s hair the color of gold. Frightened beyond rational thought she threw the baby towards the window. The glass shattered and the baby fell towards the ground. Garrick tried to step through the shadows once again but was too slow. The baby hit with a sickening snapping noise a split second before he arrived.

The building was giving way, the baby was dying and the Fae could hear others gathering outside. Amara made her way towards the front door, wrapping the Mists around her to give a human guise to her form. She struck one of the support posts as she left, ensuring the building would collapse. Die Unruh made his way to the side of the house and saw the baby lay there near death. Not wanting to risk Metzger’s disapproval for failing he tired once more to use the powers of the night. This time it worked. He froze the child’s life just as it was, long enough for Amara to arrive and heal the wounds it had suffered.

As Richter returned, the others took on human appearances. Amara called in a storm to keep the village at bay. With the rain pouring down and the heavy lightning and thunder many were hesitant to leave their home to investigate what was going on. Richter scolded the two (never even acknowledging Garrick’s presence) and expressed his doubts about their ability to do anything without him. As the building collapsed they decided to split up to speed the mission along. In the morning the only thing the villagers would find in the wreckage would be the golden cross Richter left behind.

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

I have asked them to present me with character goals and motivations. Most of them have done well filling me in in that respect. I have things planned for them as seperate characters and will work that in to what they told me. You should start to see some more "individual play" (like the first session was) in the next session we have. This last game opened their eyes to the power of the church. I wanted them to first be of the mindset that this cult was not important to them. I didn't want the players to see an enemy right out of the gate. Instead I tried to help them see that there is still a lot they don't know. By the time I finish writing this session up (I've almost got it done) you will see where I brought some of the more individual plots back to the front of the story.

With all that being said, I personally thought that a group of Fae stealing babies would make a fun session. :D

BTW- Thanks for asking. It's helped me think over what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. It also helped me keep focus while I was planning the next session. :)


Aw nuts; I wish I was playing in your game. :D

Keep it coming, please.

[Oni_no_Twitter]

Maybe I can be of some help. Die Unrah here, and I'm new to the Forum so be kind.

While the start of the campaign had more of a free-for-all attitude I would argue that it hasn't much changed. Yes we did go out as a group to get the babies back. We did not however go after them all. Richter sent a group of lackies to get those that belonged to the western kingdom (none of the players offered to help) and came along to help the east only after a favor was granted by "the Butcher".

We also do not share information freely. Die Unrah waited a good 3 days after being warned of the church before telling Raeb and his kingdom. He does not care about destroying part of Oakhearts woods past the confrontation it will produce, and has never, and I repeat NEVER done anything anyone (except "the Butcher") has asked for free.

Richter has not told anyone else about Lord Raebs problems, and it is very obvious when we are playing that he cares very little for anyone outside his presonal sphere.

My main point is that while we may do something as a "group" (especially when the church is involved) we all have different reasons that may run counter to the other players.

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

Maybe I can be of some help. Die Unrah here, and I'm new to the Forum so be kind.

*snip*


Good stuff.

Welcome to RPGnet. There is definitely a lack of DA:Fae presence here, so here’s hoping you might tip the balance a little. I might explain that I just got the book quite recently after being sold on it by Ian Noble’s thread. I’m not really a WW core audience-member, but it sounded like something I might go for. It is. Even though I would change a bunch of stuff (because that’s the kind of super-villain I am), I think this is one of the best WW games I’ve seen in a long time. And, AFAIK, this is the only Actual Play for the game here, so I’m quite enjoying seeing somebody finally do something with it.

[BlackHat_Matt]

There have been a couple other Actual Play threads, but they kinda died out. I'm always meaning to do one from the one-shots I've run (I've not run a chronicle, I'm ashamed to say, though I did just get done playing in one), but I'm lazy/busy.

That said, keep it up! Interested to hear more! Happy to answer any questions!

[rgalex]

One Night (Session 3):
Part Four of Four

Richter and Amara went to the next home, a simple one-floor building. Looking through the windows they saw the family asleep with a small makeshift cradle on the floor in the corner. Richter crept into the house and went for the cradle. He quickly scooped up the child only to find that it wasn’t a child in the pile of blankets but a small pig. Quickly looking around he noticed a third lump in the human’s bed and figured that must be the baby he was looking for. Sliding the covers back he plucked the young child from slumber and left a small golden cross in its place.

Meanwhile Garrick and Die Unruh approached their first house and came across something they did not expect. The family had left a bowl of curdling milk and some stale bread on the front step. The two quickly realized that this house was different from the others. Garrick looked inside and saw the enchantment surrounding the family. He knocked on the door and a woman answered while her two children looked on from the back of the room. Garrick simply told the woman, “it is time to return him,” and with a tear in her eye she handed over the fae baby.

At the next home the lights were off and the people inside were asleep. Die Unruh made sure they would stay that way as he placed horrible things in their dreams. The night terrors were so strong that the people, the baby included, could not escape their grasp. While they flailed and screamed the fae walked right into the room and took the child from them.

The final home was also a dining hall. The long building was alive with noise and people inside trying to avoid the foul weather that had come upon them so suddenly. Amara had a plan. She again cloaked herself from mortal sight and then allowed Richter to gain her entry. He pulled his hood over his head and approached the door and knocked. A man answered and Richter, with a few well-rolled blankets, showed him that he had taken the child. Falling for the ruse the man called out to several of his friends and began to chase after the cloaked stranger.

Amara used that distraction to slip inside and look around. Most of the people were huddled up against the far end of the room where the fireplace was blazing. They held tankards of ale and bowls of stew, both seemed to help fight off the chill from outside. She made her way into the back kitchen and from there into the living area of the owner. Without a noise she took the slumbering child and made her way back out. She realized however, that she could not leave the same way she came in and sent a message out on the Mists to Richter that she had the baby and need assistance. Richter, in a spectacular show of power and control, called on the raw force of the storm and struck the side of the hall with lightning. The wall blew apart and in the confusion Amara was able to make her escape. Again, in the confusion a small cross was left behind.

Richter had Amara take the final child to the nanny while he went to check on the other group he had organized. They had only one child left to claim, the one being cared for by the noble. Richter told them to go home, he would do it himself. Krieger allowed him the opportunity without so much as a word of protest.

As the others returned home, Richter flew back to the opposite side of the river. He arrived at the house shortly before dawn. He had to move quickly. He flew over the short wall surrounding the home and noticed a cross hanging above the front door. As he got closer he began to feel uncomfortable. Then he realized his wings were heating up, and one of them began to char. He reversed his direction and landed just outside the property. He needed to get inside somehow but knew there was some power working against him.

Damn that human cult! He would make sure to bring it down as soon as he could. Right now though he had a mission. Without any more thought Richter summoned up a burst of speed and charged right at the front door. Ripping the cross from the house he hurled it as far away as he could. His wings were burning and the pain was intense. He broke open the front door and raced around looking for the child. Finding it alone in its room Richter grabbed it and made his way out. By the time he had reached the outer wall his wings were ablaze and searing pain shot through his entire body, but he had the child. He would need to see Amara about healing the wounds.

As the sun rose in the sky the group split ways. Die Unruh went back to Metzger. The general was pleased with him and he liked to take care of his “soldiers” that pleased him. Die Unruh received a title for all his services and was granted access to several privileges along with that title. He then went to seek out Muriel.

Garrick visited The Witch and asked her, knowing she held favor in Rabe’s court, to ensure all the human children being raised by the fae were returned to their families. He then returned to his cabin in the woods only to find a mysterious woman in his bed. As she woke he could see her skin seemed to have a soft, eerie glow and her eyes were narrow. “Where am I? I don’t recognize this dream,” were her first words to him.

Richter, upon arriving back to the manner after a visit with Amara, ordered all the human children be round up. He then learned that on The Witch’s orders they were already being returned to their human families. His face flushed with anger.

Amara, after tending to Richter’s charred wings, went back to her grove to rest. Upon arriving she was greeted by a large being with antlers sprouting from his forehead. He was wearing woven grass armor and at his side was a large sword that seemed to be made of finely crafted wood. Behind him was a bear, sitting patiently for its master’s orders. “So you are the one who has been removing my ears.”

~fin~

[Cali]

I am also new to RPG net like Oni_no_Twitter. I play the character Amara.

I'm really glad that are GM (rgalex) took the time to post are adventures in DA:Fae. It's been fun reading and reflecting on what we have done. Although not all the details of the story are included in the text. All the main plot points are put down and honestly who could blame him he is doing it all from memory.

I hope you guys enjoy reading through our sessions. I will post every once in a while to add a different perspective on the story or a little side note of something that happened.

Since rgalex last post we had another sitting. Lets just say my character is in
i-mortal danger right now (lol). A situation that I'm on my own in that I intend to get out of next time we sit down and play. Enough said though you will find out what I'm talking about on the next session post.

One thing I also wanted to mention about the Four part posting of session 3. In the story we did not pick up the human children with such success all the time. Since we are Fae and these are human creatures, we have little knowledge of how to hold a human child. Lets just say that sometimes it took several attempts to hold them or pick them up. And even if we did manage to pick them up I would not be suprised that some of them may have suffered from shaken baby syndrome.

------------------------------
[D@D:
Rogue to the Wizard: OMG, Do you have anything to slow these guys down!
Wizard to the Rogue: Ummmm, NOPE
Wizard to the Rogue: (pause)
Wizard to the Rogue: I got slow though!
Rogue to the Wizard: (pause)
Rogue to the Wizard: Your an idiot! (laughter ensues)

~ Never! Ever! Try to do some party saving fancy move! Such a maneuver is bound to have a botch role. In which case the DM will get to do the fancy move for you!

[rgalex]

Ok, so we've played two sessions since last time and I've been a little lazy in getting them typed up. Session 4 will be broken into 4 parts as I think that best handles the way the game went. Each player kinda did their own thing with a little bit of crossover so I'm writting them up seperate instead of jumping around. Today we have Richter's Story. Tomorrow (I hope) will be Amara, with Garrick and Die Unruh having theirs sometime before the end of the weekend. Enjoy and as always, comments and questions are welcome. Please use a PM if you want to know spoilers since the players are now reading this thread too. :D

******************************************
A Tale of Seasons (Session 4)
Part One of Four: Richter's Story

Richter was angry. He was more than angry… he was livid. The Witch had taken it upon herself to tend to court matters and in doing so had ruined his plans. This could not, would not, be tolerated. He approached her grove and let loose.

Demanding to know why she let the children go, Richter interrogated and belittled the old woman. He talked at her, with all the authority of his status. Her excuse that “it is the word of the oath,” fell on deaf ears. He told her that the children were to be returned, but not by her orders, by his. Her lack of judgment had cost the kingdom a valuable bargaining chip with the villagers against the church.

After his anger had spilled forth Richter calmed a little. He still upheld his authority over her, but changed the topic to that of Rabe. The Witch explained that she needed more time to research what needed to be done. She alone could not pour through the texts very fast and she suggested that a solution might be found sooner if she had help. He granted her two other fae to aid in the research.

Richter then prepared to leave but the Witch delayed him. The old woman told that she had seen a vision of the future. It was of two nobles, heirs to Rabe’s court, and they fought. One of them, she did not know which, would fall from grace and that the fallen would lash out and destroy the other. An image of Krieger appeared in Richter’s mind, but he pushed it aside quickly and prepared to visit Metzger and collect on a promise.

On the other bank of the river the General had collected an impressive library. It contained mostly books on strategy and maps of various lands but there were a few tomes dedicated to other topics. Richter passed Die Unruh on his way to the library and they exchanged curt acknowledgements. Once inside the small room he found himself unimpressed but began searching the shelves.

He looked through several volumes describing military tactics, not all of them printed in a language he could comprehend. He found a few odd books about the occult and rituals and focused his attention on these. Channeling his power he cleared his mind of distractions and was able to focus on remembering what he now read. After a few hours he believed he had all the information needed to rescue his lord’s trapped soul. He thought of The Witch and realized once again that he should not rely on others to do anything for him.

After returning to Lord Rabe’s manor house he met with Krieger and the two prepared for the ritual. They sent out servants to acquire all the ingredients and arrange a safe room. Krieger retrieved three fae whom he trusted and charged them with watching over the room while the ritual took place. “No one is to enter. You may kill all who try.”

It took the better part of the night and the next morning to finalize the plan. The Witch would perform the same ceremony Rabe underwent but this time it would be Richter whose soul would separate. Krieger was to act as an anchor, someone grounded outside the spirit realm Richter was entering. Rabe’s body was brought in and if all went well it would walk out under his control once again.

As the scent of jasmine and lavender filled the room Richter could feel his body go numb. It was as if it slid off of his soul like a simple robe. He was soon looking back at himself, Krieger and The Witch but the images were hazy. Outside the stone circle of the ritual he saw nothing, just mist. After looking for what seemed like an eternity he found a thin silver cord coming off of Rabe’s body.

Following the cord through the dense mist he arrived in a clearing similar to the one he had left. Stones placed in a circle seemed to keep the mist at bay while four figures occupied the area inside. Three fae rose to place themselves between Richter and Rabe’s soul. They made a brief attempt to restrict Richter. The one in charge slid a small blade deep into Richter’s stomach. Quickly summoning up his lordly aura, Richter commanded their leader to “Leave and never return to this spot.” Seeing the power he wielded the other two moved aside.

He moved over to Rabe, but it took some difficulty. The power he had summoned moments before lingered about him. It had left him feeling a slight bit intoxicated. He explained what had happened to Rabe and the two then moved along their cords and found themselves back within the manor house. Richter saw Krieger looming over his body with a sly grin on his lips and whispering into his ear.

Resuming consciousness Richter took Krieger by the throat and explained that he should be careful with his actions, he still held the kingdom under his command. With an even bigger grin on his face, Krieger just stood silent as Rabe’s reaction played out exactly as he had hoped.

“Oh really Richter? You feel my kingdom was under your command? We’ll see about that,” and he ordered the two to join him in a private audience in an hour to catch him up on what had happened since his accident. The two fae agreed to their lord’s request and went their separate ways until that time came.

[rgalex]

A Tale of Seasons (Session 4)
Part Two of Four: Amara's Story

“So you are the one who removed my ears from the trees,” he said looking directly at Amara. She stood there, unable to move. Who was this in her woods? Should she run for help? Somehow she didn’t think she would be able to make it if she chose to flee. She simply decided that her best option was to be honest.

“Yes. I didn’t know they were yours and they were in my woods…”

“Your woods,” and he let out a deep laugh. “These are my woods.”

As she looked around she saw the subtle changes she had missed before. The trees, the grass, everything seemed more lush. The forest was more alive around her and the only thing she could think of was how to get out of it. Unfortunately her mouth and mind were not on the same page.

Amara started talking with him and soon came to realize exactly how much trouble she could be in. He was a hunter. No, he was the hunter. She had been living in his holding without ever knowing it. Now he had returned from his travels and was preparing to set up an event for those fae that could afford it.

He gave her one way to make amends for what she had done. She needed to replace the ears by the next sunset. Amara agreed without completely thinking through what that actually meant she would have to do. As he left the area her grove returned to its normal appearance. He was gone with no trace of ever having been there, except for one small thing. The bear that had been beside him still sat in the same spot, watching Amara intently.

Her thoughts were completely scattered and ideas raced through her mind. She should find Richter. He would help… no, he would just laugh. She could tell Die Unruh and have him kill the hunter for her. No, it would cost her too much in one way or another. What about Garrick or Oakheart? No, she needed to prove she could do things on her own.

Soon she was in the village (cloaked in Mist) looking for people to use. She had remembered that humans were more resilient than most fae gave them credit for. If they lost a small body part, like an ear, they could still live if they were treated right away. Still, she didn’t want to risk it on someone who was a decent person. She really didn’t care for violence and even though it would be on a human she still held to some of her self-induced morals.

She decided to search out human criminals. Those who had committed evil would at least be getting what they deserved (at least that’s how she rationalized it). Hours passed as Amara wandered the streets looking for someone, anyone that was ready to receive her idea of justice. She found no one.

Time was running out. She had only several hours left to both collect and replace what she had ruined. Then, out of the blue a thought came to her. Didn’t the humans collect their criminals and lock them up someplace together? If she could find that place she would have all the ears she needed.

Shortly before sunset she found what she was looking for. Now she needed a way to get the other humans out. Maybe a song would work. Something compelling that they would want to come out and listen to. She drew in a breath and without a second thought began to sing a siren’s song. The Mists twisted about in her lungs and she began to sing an irresistible melody.

People from houses close by walked into the street looking for the singer. The door to the building where the criminals were kept opened and out came two large men. Now was her chance. She allowed the Mists to carry her tune while she went inside. What she saw in there scared her. She had not realized how potent her powers could be.

The tune was so overwhelming that even the men in the cages were attempting to get out to find its source. They were pressed up against the bars, straining to get through. One of them had his head outside his cell; blood dripping from the sides where skin had been rubbed away. Amara stood looking for only a second before taking her knife and slicing the ears off two of the men. She placed them in a small pouch and left the village.

By the time the sun had set Amara had replaced the ears on the trees she had taken them from. The long thorn nails quickly grew over each ear to form a small cage so that the ear could not be removed. When she returned from her chore the bear was nowhere to be seen. Feeling a bit of relief she settled down to sleep for the night.

When morning came Amara felt stiff and uncomfortable. The ground stared back at her when she opened her eyes and it was moving. She tried to get up but soon found her limbs would not respond. She had been tied wrist-to-wrist, foot-to-foot and then feet to hands behind her back. Something was carrying her bound up like this. It was the bear that had her; it’s mouth holding the extra rope from the bindings. It was alone though, no sign of it’s master. Something was wrong here. She had done what he had asked and replaced the ears. That was enough Amara had decided. She would take no more.

Summoning up her courage she used the Mists to lull the bear into a slumber. She fell to the ground flat on her chest and quickly attempted to break her bonds. She snapped the tie holding her feet to her hands, but the rest were much stronger. Amara had gained some knowledge of the powers of the Night, but she often hesitated to use them. Now was not one of those times. She froze the ropes and shattered them without much effort.

Then she felt it. The ground she was laying on was shaking. She could actually feel the footsteps through the earth and she didn’t have much time. She would make her stand here but she needed an edge. She attempted to hide within the Mist. If she could use it to hide herself she might just have a chance.

Then she collapsed to the ground. The onslaught of sights and sounds and smells ripped at her body. She could not tell up from down, fast from slow. Things happened in the blink of an eye yet they felt like they took ages. Her magic had been thrown back at her. When she began to recover she saw she was in a cage among several other cages. She could see The Hunter standing nearby and she heard the voices of Die Unruh and General Metzger in the background.

[rgalex]

A Tale of Seasons (Session 4)
Part Three of Four: Die Unruh's Story

Muriel’s song played in Die Unruh’s ears softly. The notes she strung together on her lute hung in the cave’s still air. He had curled up near her, much like a dog will to its master at night. He allowed himself to be at ease for a bit. Once she had completed the song he paid her a brief compliment, got up and made his way back outside.

Along the tunnels he passed two females leading a human male to the exit. He recognized the scent of the human; it was the holy man he had brought to Metzger many weeks ago. The man’s wounds had finally healed although there were scars. The two women were answering questions he was asking almost like a mother speaking to a child.

He wished to know where he was going, what he would do there, why was he leaving, would he like it outside and when could he come back. It was obvious that the fae had broken his mind and were now planning to just throw him away. Metzger appeared and asked Die Unruh to make sure the man made it safely back. Die Unruh agreed and placed a rope around the human’s neck like a leash and lead him out.

Just outside the entrance to the cavern Die Unruh passed Richter. He remembered the promise Metzger made to allow Richter use of the library, and he was curious as to what he might be looking for. A brief moment passed where Die Unruh thought about striking up a conversation or following Richter, but he had more important things to do.

After returning the shell of a man, he chose to go “visit” some of the local Winter Court. While wandering around the caves he came across an Inanime female. She looked like she might be hiding something. Good, she should do just fine. He came up to her and with a ferocity few could match threw her up against a wall demanding, “What do you know!”

Her hair splashed against the wall and she began to ripple in fear. He repeated his demand and she told him about a rumor that said Lord Rabe was no longer in control of his court. His gamble had paid off. Now he had a reason to go speak with Richter.

As he was leaving Die Unruh was approached by Garrick and a strange woman. According to Garrick she wished to be introduced to General Metzger. Well, if that was what she wanted who was he to deny it. She was left in Die Unruh’s care and he brought her to see the general. With a simple introduction of “Here he is,” and, ”Sir, this woman would like to meet you,” Die Unruh left the woman and the caves behind.

He spent the next few hours checking his woods over. There was an offering for him and he helped the hunters that left it. He then decided to head over and see if The Witch could give him anything helpful. She was so addled that he felt it wouldn’t take much to confuse her and have some information leak out of her. It was a very brief encounter that gained Die Unruh nothing of use.

Richter was easily found at Lord Rabe’s manor house. The two were blunt with each other. Die Unruh asked about the rumor and Richter assured him that Rabe was merely away on business and would return soon. Die Unruh, sensing something was not quite right with the words coming from Richter asked him again but received the same answer. A third time he asked Richter the question, this time though, Die Unruh called upon the favor owed him.

“In return for my help you granted me a favor. I ask now that you repay it. I want you to tell me the truth.” Richter’s response was no different. Rabe was away on business and would return soon. With that Die Unruh left the area and headed back to his woods.

He remembered along the way that Garrick had mentioned he completed a task for him. So Die Unruh went off to find the house Garrick had marked. Once there he carefully wove the mists around the family. He wanted them to see his true form in all its splendid terror. These people would pay for the baby whose fae essence they had destroyed days earlier.

Bursting through the door Die Unruh quickly found the man of the house and broke his back like a twig. He threw the man over his shoulder and turned toward the woman, the “mother” of the baby. She just stood there, terrified of the beast in her home.

She could only watch as he moved towards her baby. She was helpless to stop him as he used his claw to carve a mark, his mark, in the child’s forehead. Die Unruh felt it was only fitting to bring the child back into the fold after the humans had seen to it that it’s true nature was forever destroyed. From this night on all who looked at that human would know he belonged to the Fae.

Die Unruh then took the broken man back to his cave and began the slow, pleasurable process of torturing him until the next morning. He would keep him alive that long and no longer. He was Die Unruh’s to play with, his wife would be his servant from now on and the baby would be his as well.

[rgalex]

A Tale of Seasons (Session 4)
Part Four of Four: Garrick's Story

He had no idea what he should do. Garrick did not like having someone appear in his dwelling. He was supposed to be a hermit after all and this would not do. However, she did seem to be in a bit of trouble and who was he to leave a beautiful woman to face trouble on her own.

After a polite introduction Garrick began to work on her problem. He asked her questions hoping to figure out the best way to help her (and in doing so get her out of his hut). She was called Celestine, and she did not remember much more than that. Her last memory was of going to sleep and then she woke up here, in this… place.

The disgust was apparent as she looked around. Garrick’s hut was not lavish in any manner of thinking. The floor was mostly dirt with a few large rock slabs for a table and chair. The bed was more or less a pile of straw with a simple sheet over it in a frame. Celestine reacted as if the dirt would jump up and attack her.

Through a little more prodding Garrick learned that she was a noble, but she couldn't remember which kingdom she was from. “Wonderful,” he sighed. He has a noble lady in his hut and no idea of how to get her to leave. Well, he had other things to do today but a quick trip to the Witch could be arranged. He explained to Celestine that he knew someone who might be able to help.

Garrick entered the Witch's glade alone and she greeted him politely as “Garrick, husband of Isa”. This threw him for a bit of a loop but he pushed it to the back of his head along with the slight grin that appeared on his lips. He informed her of the woman he had brought and asked if there was anything she could do for her.

The Witch told him to bring her in and she would try. Celestine was led to a small pool of water, which the Witch asked her to step into. It was dark and murky and not at all pleasant looking and the noble woman hesitated. With a little urging by both Garrick and the Witch she finally stepped in and felt her skin tingle.

The water became clear and images started to show on it’s rippling surface. The walk over with Garrick, the talk she had with him earlier, her first view of the hut when she woke up, then… nothing. Just blackness. No… not blackness, a clear night’s sky. Then Celestine remembered something. “I am from the Court of 8000 Stars.”

Neither Garrick nor the Witch had ever heard of such a place, but at least it was a start. He thanked the Witch for her services and began to leave, but she called him back. She wanted to know more about this new human religion. She felt that by learning more they might be able to figure out the power it held over them and why the Mists parted for it. Since Garrick was part human, and could walk among the villagers with ease, he offered to obtain some information.

Once back at his hut he explained to Celestine that he had other matters to attend to. She politely granted him permission to go about his business. He was a bit stunned by her dismissive tone, she was in his house after all, but just shrugged it off and started out. He didn’t make it far before she caught up with him. “The bed irritates my skin. Perhaps you could bring back some sheets of silk or some other more pleasing cloth. Thank you,” she said and then returned to the hut.

Garrick was deep in thought the whole walk. How did this happen to him? He liked living alone and now he had a noble lady living in his hut giving him orders like he was some sort of servant. He couldn’t help but feel he had done something wrong to bring this on himself. “Well, best to just do what needs to get done and move on.”

In the village he quickly found a group of people talking about the church and befriended them. Within minutes he had been invited to join them at a service the next morning. With that done he went about looking for new sheets for Celestine. It took some time but he eventually found some made of silk hanging out to dry at a noble’s house on the west bank.

He arrived back at his hut to the scent of burning incense and flowers. He walked in to see his guest in a meditative state in a stone circle in the middle of his floor. He put the sheets on the bed and waited for her to finish.

When she came out of her trance she expressed a desire to meet the lord of the realm so he decided to bring her to Metzger. At the cave they met up with Die Unruh and Garrick left Celestine in his care. He also mentioned to Die Unruh that he had tracked down that family and marked their door earlier in the day. His favor was now repaid and he was temporarily free of his guest. Garrick went home and began cleaning up his hut.

The next morning he was up early and went into the village to the service he was invited to. He sat in a small yard behind someone’s home and listened as a man read from a book. The lecture seemed to be predominantly about being saved and loving one another. Nobel goals, Garrick noted, but not what he came to learn.

Later on in the service he was told about a great evil. He was a trickster living among people trying to claim their souls. He worked in devious and dangerous ways and his minions, demons, were all around. Those who followed “old ways” worshipped these demons and were in danger of being damned. The man reading told those listening that they should give up old beliefs and in doing so will be protected from these demons by the power of their new god.

That was what he wanted to hear. It would seem the power of this “god” was what they were up against. He would need to report back to the Witch to tell her of this. However, he could not resist staying just a little longer. It seemed they were to have another ritual in the water and he was going to make sure this one didn’t end well.

At the riverbank he watched as the people gathered and the baby was handed over. Garrick summoned his powers to addle the priest and cause him to drop the child, but the parents caught him before the river claimed its victim. Onlookers seemed a little confused but the priest assured them that it was all right. They had just seen a failed attempt by a demon to prevent the child from entering the church.

Upset at this turn of events Garrick returned to his hut, his guest and his troubled existence. He was unsure what to do now, but was confident something would come along to drag him into yet another mess.

**********************************************************

Sorry it took so long for this last bit to be posted. It took me awhile to remember all the details. There is another session to be worked up but that may take a little longer. I'll work on it and have it ready sometime soon. I'm guessing about 2 weeks.

I think all but one of my players are now registered on RPGnet so feel free to ask them questions about their characters or what they may be up to. I can't promise they will answer, some of them do have a secret agenda or two for their character, but it never hurts to ask.

[fanboy hunter D]

Hello everyone. I am fairly new to RPG Net and since I do not have regular access to a computer I do not post much, but I love reading through the comments.

I play Garrick. As you can see he has some impluse control issues (beheading a horse out of spite for example) and despite his efforts to remain neutral it seems when caught between Winter and Summer it is Winter that has the most to offer him.

He has Patron sympathies, a group that wants to unite the Courts under an agreement that the Courts would rule during their perspective seasons. While this may seem like a perfectly acceptable option to the modern minded person, we must remember that we are dealing with a dark ages mind set.

Summer has placed a bounty on his head, only they do not know it is him. What? Well I botched an unleasing roll, rolling 3 mists vs 5 unleashing dice will get you every time, thankfully there were no witnesses to the catastrophy that ensued (7 fae suicides) and forensic spells were too late to id the perp. Lucky me.
So once again may have to turn to the Winter for protection. Ah, the life of a self loathing solstice changling.

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

Good stuff, all. Keep it coming when you get the chance. One question: reads to me as if you have ditched the Seasonal Court realms in favour of having a wider range of fae in any one kingdom (thus Metzger serving Rabe, etc.). If that’s right, where do the Patron’s fit in? Or is the Kingdom on the Rhine an exception?

I might add that I don’t care overly for the Seasonal Courts and would redo them as “philosophies” or something, so maybe I’m reading my own thoughts into this.

Also, is Rgalex running each story as a separate session (as they read)? Or alternating during the session, but writing them up more linearly for clarity?

[rgalex]

Hey, thanks for the questions. Now that I've found my own thread again (darn search function and me not subscribing to my own thread :o ) I'll get on the updates more. Also, as a result of the what do you like/not like in Actual Play threads thread I would ask for anyone interested to fire away with mechanic questions, plot questions and whatever else you may have questions on.

To answer The Fiendish Dr. Samsara's questions:

First, about the courts. Yes. I wanted to keep the game in a localized setting and I knew my players would never be able to agree on one court, or even 2 or 3. So instead of dividing the land up into all the courts I've gone the way you have seen.

I have a Summer and a Winter kingdom with many different fae living in those. It's up to the individual fae to figure out which side of the river is best for them even if they don't agree to the Court's philosophy 100%. So far this has kept peace between the two as neither court holds a majority sway over the other.

As a point of clerification, Metzger does not serve Rabe. Not anymore. He was one of Rabe's generals way back before the game started. Back then the entire area was Rabe's, there was no east or west. Certain events, yet to be discovered, led Rabe to dividing his kingdom in half, giving the East portion over to Metzger. They are now seperately ruled, but do to the proximity they often work "as one".

Let there be no mistake though, you could get away with things in on one side that would not be allowed on the other. Smart fae learn what the difference is and use that to their advantage. Metzger is (as far as anyone is aware) content with his Kingdom as it stands and has no intention of trying to take anything from Rabe. On Rabe's part, he gave that kingdom to Metzger and would not try to reclaim it as it would be poor form.

Now, as to how I'm running the sessions. My writting seems to change each time here. I just type this all up as it comes back to me and however I think it would be most interesting. I've marked Sessions here and those marks indicate everything there was one gaming session (I think one of them actually took place over 2 days, but it was still one sitting in my mind). If it has a Part 1 or something next to it it means I didn't write it all up at one time and posted in chunks.

Session 1 was originally intended to be a one shot and I wrote it up pretty much how it played out. Session 2 was a pick up game. The available players asked me to run something and that's what occured. Session 3 was a big group game and it again played out much like you read it there. I jumped back and forth between groups at the end when they split up to keep everyone involved and to help build some tension.

Session 4 is where I departed from my usual writing. I wanted to let players do their own thing and the session worked out very well. During the game I spent about 10-15 minutes with each player (or generally one scene) then moved on to the next. This way I was running one game for everyone and not 4 one-on-one games. When I typed it up I thought it would be more interesting and easy to follow if I didn't skip around like it was played, but wrote up each seperately. You can see where each crosses over as you read the 4 parts.

I've got more input to share with those interested but work calls so it will have to wait a bit. Some time soon I've 2 more full Sessions to add and I'll also go into some info on the characters and what we learned during character gen and exp spending. I'll also share a bit about how all these plots are put together and run. Till then, enjoy. :D

Michael

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

As I said (I think; it was a while ago), I really like the idea of local, rather than seasonal Courts. It feels so much more right, with the Seasons than being more like politico-philosophical factions at Court. It also makes things so much less “splaty”. One of the best things IMO about DA:Fae is that severely reduced splatiness when compared with any other WW game.

Anyway, glad your still here and gaming and looking forward to the next installment.

[rgalex]

Ok, quick setting info here: this takes place right in line with everything else. There is almost no time lapse between when the last session ended and this one begins. Maybe a day or two if anything, fae have trouble sometimes keeping track of time. ;)

Richter and Krieger have been sent away on a secret mission for Rabe (Richter's player was not available for the session). Amara is still in trouble but her story will have to be told another time.

The basic set up the players were told about was simply there is going to be an inter-kingdom wedding. You have all been given invitations.

The Wedding (Session 5)
Part One

Oakheart had shown up to the wedding looking for an explanation. His holding had been tainted and the people he let use his land were terrified. He had been able to save the vineyard, it took quite a lot of his power but the blight had been halted and reversed. The people however, that was something he could not fix with magic.

He had asked around about who was out that night. He had a list of names and only two were left to talk to; Marcus and Die Unruh. Oakheart entered the manor house of Lord Rabe ready to get his answers. Almost immediately he found Marcus and approached him. Unfortunately Oakheart’s words, “Come with me... to this other room where there is… nobody else. I want to talk to you,” did not endear the fae to him. Marcus left feeling insulted and thinking a little less of Oakheart in general.

Garrick finished getting dressed. How could he ignore Isa’s request to take her to the wedding? He just had to make sure she didn’t find out too much about the other woman living with him. If Isa knew Celestine was staying with him… well Garrick didn’t want to dwell on the possible outcome.

The wedding was a lucky break for the two Solstice fae. It was a marriage of kingdoms and as such full protection was granted to all in attendance. A noble man of the west bank and a young lady of the east bank were to be joined and both Metzger and Rabe could not be more happy. This union would benefit both kingdoms. Rabe would lay claim to the pair’s children while Metzger received a few “favors” to be called in at a later date.

Along the way Garrick happened to pass by a small group of fae and humans who seemed to be gathered around a single person. He went in and took a closer look and instantly recognized his brother’s voice. The sound drew up a furry in Garrick so violent he needed to release it. Isa and the wedding could wait.

He looked about and found Luthor’s horse. He led it off into the woods, somewhere where it’s death cry would not be heard. He drew his dwarven-forged sword and let the blade sing through the air. With almost no effort it sliced through the horse’s neck and the beast fell to the ground. A quick glance at the blade showed no blood clinging to it. Garrick took some grass and leaves that were in the pool of blood on the ground and made a trail that Luthor could follow back. Garrick then went to meet up with Isa.

Before entering the manor Die Unruh found himself a little secluded area out back. He called to the vermin of the area but found himself calling to a single rat. Well, one would have to do. He tasked the rat to search the manor house while the celebration went on. Given the rat’s limited capabilities Die Unruh asked for something simple, papers sealed with wax. The rat would bring any he found out to this spot where Die Unruh would look at them later.

With that done he prepared to enter the holding. He knew what to expect. Others had informed him of Oakheart’s investigation. If it came to a fight Die Unruh was ready but his heart would not be in it. It was an accident after all, and Oakheart would only bring it upon himself if he pressed the issue. Die Unruh had other things to do than argue with a fae whom he believed had a worse bark than bite.

Inside Rabe’s holding fae were enjoying the celebration. Any excuse to dress up and display their true selves was a happy occasion. The ceremony itself was later that night, shortly before sunset. Both lords were present but only briefly acknowledged one another. Metzger quickly found a corner near a table with plenty of food and drink while Rabe was constantly moving through the crowd, mingling with the guests.

Die Unruh entered and surveyed the room. Before he made it very far Oakheart was right in front of him. The exchange was blunt.

“Did you have anything to do with the blight on my land?”

“Yeah.”

Oakheart wasn’t really expecting that forward of an answer and he was speechless for a few seconds. Die Unruh was still looking around the room and never locked eyes with Oakheart. Although Oakheart began pressing for more information, he didn’t receive much from Die Unruh. Merely a few brief words amounting to “it was an accident, get over it,” and a vague threat to not press the issue.

Finding his target, Die Unruh ended the conversation with Oakheart and quickly made his way through the guests. Muriel was one of the bride’s maids and was adorned in silks and flowers. Die Unruh tapped her shoulder and she greeted him with a coy smile and polite curtsy. With only a slight bit of hesitation he responded, “You… uh… you look nice.”

He hadn’t really thought this out and was already at a loss for words. Muriel saved him and led the conversation. She thanked him for the compliment and then offered an invitation to come listen to her play later in the garden. He recalled the sound of her lute in the caves and assured her he would be there. She then begged his pardon as she needed to prepare for the ceremony.

Isa and Garrick made quite a showing. They flaunted themselves around a bit and greeted Oakheart while he talked to The Witch. They had a fine time and discussed what they would do next. While dancing Garrick brought up Isa’s offer from a few months before. He wanted to give his anger a direction. Lashing out against the courts (and his brother) only gave him a temporary satisfaction. He was ready to become more than a thorn in their side.

As the afternoon went on the guests began to make their way to the garden outside. The couple had master artisans craft huge ice sculptures, weave vines of flowers and even color the grass blade by blade just for this night. The effects were amazing. Everyone present was awed by the display as the setting sun shown down upon the area.

After the vows were spoken and people started to once again celebrate Muriel began to play a tune on her lute. The crowd began to dance and everyone seemed happy. There in the soft-lit garden of the manor all the fae present were completely unaware of the events to soon befall the human village.

It started with a tiny incident, something that only affected one of them. Something no one would have ever had expected to be a herald of ill times but which broke the calm of the evening. While they danced the lighting bugs began to swirl and mix with an otherworldly glow in the breeze. Soft flute music could be heard to mingle with the lute. From out of the shadows stepped Celestine and Garrick felt a pit open in his stomach.

Garrick had to think fast if he wanted to keep Isa and Celestine apart. Isa would find out eventually that he had another woman living with him, but now was not the time. He looked around and found Oakheart. Good, he could be the diversion. He excused himself from Isa and moved over to his Inanime friend.

Oakheart was being introduced to a female Garrick assured him was a noble although he had never heard of the Court of Eight Thousand Stars himself. It seemed that Garrick was overly eager to have the two meet and then to leave them alone together. As he found Celestine fairly attractive, Oakheart had no problems with his friend leaving. They began taking and soon he was inviting her over to his holding to stay.

Celestine was more than happy to be asked to move out of Garrick’s hut. She couldn’t quite place the feeling, but she just knew it was not a place she should be staying. Perhaps it was the simple furnishing or the dirt floor, but she would be glad to move someplace more…noble, and she found Oakheart interesting. His appearance, while large and imposing, failed to convey his true personality.

[rgalex]

The Wedding (Session 5)
Part Two

Die Unruh went back to the secret place in the garden and looked for his spy. The rat was there with a single letter, sealed with wax but no signet. He broke open the wax and unfolded the page to reveal only six names: Krieger, Otto Steinhauer, Amara, Oakheart, Werner and Gretta Sussman. He had no idea why these names would be together but he decided he would try to find out. For now though, he had to go meet Muriel in the garden.

The night had bled into the early morning and the fae began to head home. Isa and Garrick made their way back towards his hut while Die Unruh was making his way through the town. Along the way Die Unruh came across the priest he had brought to Metzger and “gently” reminded him he had something he was suppose to be doing. The priest pulled out some tinder and a bit of flint and steel. He then hurried off in the direction of the church while Die Unruh continued home.

They smelled the smoke first. Then Garrick spotted it billowing into the early morning air. He told Isa to go on without him while he checked it out. He then attempted to change his form into that of a wolf in order to cover more ground. Halfway through his transformation the village bells began to ring to alert the sleeping of the fire. Garrick felt the sound wrack his body and he became stuck between his man form and wolf form. He could not help anyone looking that way so he decided to take the long way home.

Oakheart had heard of the blaze and went to see what sort of destruction it had caused. By morning the villagers had put out the fire but the church was nothing more than a charred husk. The steeple bell had fallen into the ruins and now sat on it’s side covered in soot. The casualties were few but many were injured. A small tent had been set up with some cots for the victims. He felt sorry for them and when no one was looking he entered the tent.

Inside there were men and women lying down with various injuries. Some had a few burns while others were disfigured from the ordeal. Oakheart went from person to person crying healing tears on their wounds. Every person he healed was left an acorn by the foot of where they lay, to let them know it was the old ones who had healed them of the wounds the church had caused.

Then he heard something. Someone was coming. A nurse and a priest entered just as Oakheart pulled the Mists around him. They saw the acorns, a sign a demon had been there. The Priest pulled out his book and began to read aloud. As he read the book was snatched from his hands and thrown to the ground.

He reached for his cross and a small metal canister. Reciting something unfamiliar to Oakheart, the priest began tossing the canister’s contents around the room. When it hit him Oakheart felt the Mist retreat and his true form was revealed. There was silence in the room. No one moved for what seemed like hours. Oakheart then turned and walked out of the tent and retreated to his grove.

That day Die Unruh tended to his holding. There was a small offering made to him in the usual manner. It was so tiny though that he decided he would need to investigate who was hunting. He found a boy and his father. That was it. The man was teaching his child the art of the hunt and since he had included the offering Die Unruh felt pleased. He watched but did not help directly. If he had then the boy would never learn properly.

Garrick took a walk that evening and found himself crossing the bridge over the Rhine. Standing on the edge was a man in simple robes preparing to jump. Acting quickly Garrick attempted to unleash a song to calm the man and prevent him from jumping. Unfortunately the power he channeled spun wildly out of control and began to reflect the somber bitterness of the area. The man, overcome with grief fell forward and headed for the river below.

Garrick dove in after him and pulled the man to safety. Once ashore he found out the man was a priest. He was ending his life and asking God for mercy because he felt he had been possessed by the devil. He had seen demons, been their captive and forced to endure unspeakable tortures. His mind was twisted and he was having trouble keeping reality and nightmare separate. He feared that it was his fault the church had burned down.

By the time Oakheart had decided to go see Rabe it was late evening. There was a line of fae coming out of the manor house. He listened to the chatter and found out that some reckless Fae had unleashed a power he could not control. This led to several local fae to fall under its influence and take their lives. Oakheart didn’t know what the problem was, they will come back after time, until he heard that they all used cold iron to do it. They would not be coming back.

His audience with Rabe did not go well. Oakheart had explained what he was attempting to do. He wanted to show the villages that the Fae would care for them. The Church did nothing but bring pain and suffering but the Fae, they could cure the ill, could help the harvest, they could even share things only dreamed of. All the people needed to do was remember their oaths. Rabe would hear none of it. He expressed his anger towards Oakheart and told him he was no longer a part of his court. The only way to atone for this transgression was to retrieve that damn book these men were reading from.

Oakheart returned to his grove and prepared to go into the village in his human guise. As the transformation neared its completion he felt sharp pain rip across his back and tear into his flesh. He spun around to see who would dare attack him in his own home. There, with a small glint of magical light in her hand was Celestine. She demanded to know why he was trespassing in Oakheart’s home. It took a bit but he finally convinced her that he was Oakheart just in a different form.

At the Witch’s holding Garrick was explaining the plight of the priest. The Witch offered to help but not knowing what was truly wrong with him she could only guess at a cure. He was led to a bed of moss that had been cultivated. The Witch laid him down there and said when he woke in the morning his curse would be gone.

When morning came the man felt refreshed. His dreams had not been troubled as he slept on the moss. Garrick and the man left the Witch and then parted ways at the edge of the village. When he was near his hut, Garrick began to smell something a little odd. As he got closer the scent became stronger. It reminded him of rotting meat. As he opened the door to his home, Garrick reeled at the potency of the odor.

The entire inside of his hut was covered with the remains of some animal. Intestines were strung from the ceiling. The stomach was split open and it’s contents spilling onto his bed. In the water bucket he found the tail, a horse’s tail. He quickly realized it was his brother’s horse that had been used to do this to him.

[rgalex]

That's all of session 5. We've been through session 6 so I'll get that up sooner or later. It was a bit shorter than the others, but not as short as session 2. I'm not sure when our next game will be as we've got weddings and things coming up, but there will be a session run at GenCon (not for the con, just us playing a private game).

Between now and then I'm going to put some stuff together about how we managed in character creation and a few other rules bits. I'm also going to pull a few quotes from the past sessions and explain how they worked out from a mechanics point of view. Later all. :)

[rgalex]

I'm back. Sorry for all those who were kept waiting. Now that we're after GenCon and various other things I can get back to this a little more often. Let’s start with some old stuff. I promised to explain some behind the scenes info so here we go.

Not able to read the message (he had not bothered to learn the filthy human’s language) he sought out Garrick, the half human. This is referring to Die Unruh. As a Firstborn they do not know a human language from the get go. The player decided that Die looked down on humans too much to bother spending the points to know German. This has created many in-game situations, like not being able to read human things and not being able to go into the village to get info on his own.
An eerie fog crept up from the ground as he unleashed his wrath. It oozed through the vineyard corrupting the vines. They began to rot and fester but Die Unruh quickly realized his anger had bested him. The fog was out of his control and made its way towards the woods at the edge of the property… Oakheart’s woods. The same blight that fell across the grapevines also stole the life from a portion of the trees. Unfortunately, again his power slipped from his control. The blast of air was so powerful it nearly emptied his lungs and Die Unruh was left gasping, unable to move. The downstairs was sheeted in ice and the man had become a frozen statue. My players seem to love Unleashing their powers instead of going with their cantrips. This means that instead of rolling the Dominion + Ability vs. a diff 6 they roll their Mists + Dominion (same diff) AND an Unleashing pool of 5 dice. Since a fair number are Firstborn they have an advantage here (Firstborn only roll 3 unleashing dice), but sometimes it does backfire. If you get more successes on the M+D roll you are ok. If you get no successes on either roll, nothing happens. If you get more successes on the Unleashing dice, you lose control of the power. If you botch either one, bad, destructive things happen.
She drew in a breath and without a second thought began to sing a siren’s song. The Mists twisted about in her lungs and she began to sing an irresistible melody… She allowed the Mists to carry her tune while she went inside. What she saw in there scared her. She had not realized how potent her powers could be. Again, an Unleashing gone wrong.
He had not seen the chimes hanging at the far end of the crib but their tingling sound shot through his body like fire. Garrick could not stand the noise; it cut off his connection to the Mists.Ringing bells is one of Garrick’s Echos (I'll go into these a bit more later when I talk about our character creation session). I’ve been kind of loose with how they work. Generally if it’s an NPC using the echo there is an opposed roll but if there is no one to oppose I wing it. The character may feel uncomfortable, may have minuses to any rolls, something like that. Usually it’s based off of the current scene and what would make it “more fun” (not necessarily for the players).
As Richter returned, the others took on human appearances.Richter’s player has decided that his character never assumes a human form. When he goes out he just covers up in a cloak and large hat. This is VERY dangerous and he’s had to be cautious because if a mortal sees a fae in true form there is a chance for the fae to gain a new echo. There have been a few close calls with this.
As the scent of jasmine and lavender filled the room Richter could feel his body go numb. It was as if it slid off of his soul like a simple robe. He was soon looking back at himself, Krieger and The Witch but the images were hazy. Outside the stone circle of the ritual he saw nothing, just mist. After looking for what seemed like an eternity he found a thin silver cord coming off of Rabe’s body.

Following the cord through the dense mist he arrived in a clearing similar to the one he had left. Stones placed in a circle seemed to keep the mist at bay while four figures occupied the area inside. Most of you are probably wondering what the heck was going on here. Well this was what I was thinking. When a fae dies it usually gets reborn (there are exceptions though) so where does its essence go until then? I figured a nebulous region of the Mists was as good as any and I used some common astral realms themes here like the silver cord. Those who actually died and were waiting to be reborn did not have those.
Three fae rose to place themselves between Richter and Rabe’s soul. They made a brief attempt to restrict Richter. The one in charge slid a small blade deep into Richter’s stomach. Quickly summoning up his lordly aura, Richter commanded their leader to “Leave and never return to this spot.” Seeing the power he wielded the other two moved aside.

He moved over to Rabe, but it took some difficulty. The power he had summoned moments before lingered about him. It had left him feeling a slight bit intoxicated. Again with the Unleashing, this time in the Mists. I gave him a permanent Mist dot to represent the fact that he was so close to the pure source of the power that he called into himself, that it was more than he was ready to handle.
Finding his target, Die Unruh ended the conversation with Oakheart and quickly made his way through the guests. Muriel was one of the bride’s maids and was adorned in silks and flowers. Die Unruh tapped her shoulder and she greeted him with a coy smile and polite curtsy. With only a slight bit of hesitation he responded, “You… uh… you look nice.” I just thought this was great. The player was so concentrated on the encounter with Oakheart (even for days before the game) and not wanting to have to kill him that when it came time to talk to Muriel, he hadn’t planned anything. The “you look nice” bit was all that came out. We had to take a break for a few minutes after that.
Halfway through his transformation the village bells began to ring to alert the sleeping of the fire. Garrick felt the sound wrack his body and he became stuck between his man form and wolf form. Another example of how I’ve been working Echos into the game. This time, since he was in the middle of using a cantrip, I had the bells freeze his magic half way.
Acting quickly Garrick attempted to unleash a song to calm the man and prevent him from jumping. Unfortunately the power he channeled spun wildly out of control and began to reflect the somber bitterness of the area. The man, overcome with grief fell forward and headed for the river below. This was a botch. It was bad and had some unknown effects that came into play later. I’ll explain them in my next story update.
Richter flew back to the opposite side of the river. He arrived at the house shortly before dawn. He had to move quickly. He flew over the short wall surrounding the home and noticed a cross hanging above the front door. As he got closer he began to feel uncomfortable. Then he realized his wings were heating up, and one of them began to char. He reversed his direction and landed just outside the property. He needed to get inside somehow but knew there was some power working against him.

Damn that human cult! He would make sure to bring it down as soon as he could. Right now though he had a mission. Without any more thought Richter summoned up a burst of speed and charged right at the front door. Ripping the cross from the house he hurled it as far away as he could. His wings were burning and the pain was intense. He broke open the front door and raced around looking for the child. Finding it alone in its room Richter grabbed it and made his way out. By the time he had reached the outer wall his wings were ablaze and searing pain shot through his entire body, but he had the child. He would need to see Amara about healing the wounds. Without the DA: Inquisitor book I’ve been going off of the little bits about Faith in the DA: Fae book. I generally go with the “this isn’t a good thing” line of thinking when they run into it. In the case above, the property and the house had been blessed. This would have caused any fae entering it a huge amount of pain. Being Firstborn, it was a little worse for Richter. Had the church actually been constructed and the ground consecrated the results would have been similar but much stronger.

Ok, so that gets my ball rolling again. I'll do some character creation stuff over the weekend and then a story update. I think we're about 3-4 sessions past what I've got here so I'm going to do some good overviewing to catch everyone up to date. I'll leave details to my players if they want to add them. Again, feel free to ask away if there was something you wanted to know about that I didn't cover. :)

[The Fiendish Dr. Samsara]

I’m continuing to enjoy this and looking forward to your chargen post.

[MorpheousXO]

Oh yes, very nice indeed! I'm glad I finally started to read this, I hope that you get some more up soon!

[rgalex]

Ok, so it took me 2 weeks to do this. Here we go with character creation. For the most part it was like any other Storyteller game chargen. Prioritize Attributes and Abilities then spend some dots for Dominions (powers) and Backgrounds then cover Willpower, etc. I’m going to gloss over that stuff and just focus on what the players had to sit and think about for a bit: Oaths, Echoes and Features. I should also mention that we all sat together and did this, so ideas were bounced around between all the players.

Let’s start with Oaths. This was one of the parts of chargen that didn’t really catch on at first and I think I know why. As I’ve mentioned, we really only intended this to be a one-shot so a lot of long term effects were not looked into. Oaths help protect a fae from their echoes and I don’t think many players thought it would be that big of a deal in a 1-shot. Once the purpose of oaths was explained a bit better most of the players took one of some sort. After it was obvious that the game would go past the one session a few players revised their oaths and we’ve had one or two created in later sessions.

Oaths boil down to 4 parts: what you will do, what the human(s) will do, what happens if you break your half and what happens if the human(s) break their half. The number of dots of Oath determines how large a group of people the oath covers and goes from Stone Oaths to Iron Oaths to Gold Oaths. A one dot oath is one with one person while a 5 point oath may be between fae kingdoms and human nations. Here are the oaths that our group came up with. You will probably be thinking that some of the smaller point oaths seem to be rather… drastic for only 1 or 2 points. Again, the point value here does not indicate direct power, but rather the number of people affected (which is where the actual power comes from).

Richter- 1pt Stone Oath- Richter gets to have a local noble’s daughter for one month a year to do with as he pleases. In return he will make sure she will stay beautiful and desirable using his magic. If he ever allows her beauty to fade then he can never touch another female for the rest of his days and if the daughter should ever not be given over willingly then he can claim her as his own forever.

Garrick- 1pt Stone Oath- One of the local customs is for boys to go on a solo hunt when they reach the age of adulthood. Garrick has promised a single family that he will make sure their son will always bring back a suitable kill so long as they spread stories of Garrick supporting his mysterious nature. If Garrick fails to help with the kill then he will reveal one of his weaknesses to the family, but if the family no longer spreads the rumors of Garrick then their son will not return from the hunt.

Amara- 2pt Stone Oath- Amara has taken it upon herself to teach all the women of a single family line the ways of nature (how to brew natural potions and elixirs) in order for them to sell and make a living off of. In return, the women promise to give Amara any male born to the family for 3 days upon his reaching maturity. If the boys are not delivered then she will have the right to kill the mother of the child. If Amara fails to teach the women then they are expected to poison her grove so that the wildlife there dies.

Die Unruh- 3pt Iron Oath- Die Unruh allows the villagers to hunt in his woods, and will even go so far as to give some aid, so long as they pay him tribute in meat from the last hunt. If they fail to pay tribute he will claim the meat himself from the hunters own bodies. It seems that Die’s player hasn’t written down what happens if he fails to live up to his half, so I’ll have to check with him about that. Maybe he’ll see this and post. ;)

Oakheart- 4pt Iron Oath- A noble family owns a vineyard that borders Oakheart’s holding. He has vowed to allow the humans to use some of his land (collect wood from and use it to grow crops) and in return he will aid the crops each year and make sure the harvest is plentiful. For this the humans will present him with the first pressing of each year’s crops and not abuse the land they are on. If either side fails to live up to their part of the oath then they will forfeit their claim on the land.

Die Unruh and Richter- 5pt Gold Oath- Die Unruh is one of, if not the only, fae in the area capable of forging these oaths. With the ongoing crisis of the church the fae were becoming desperate to regain control of the humans in the area. He and Richter assembled a strong following from the village. In a ritual led by Die Unruh, the villagers pledged to honor the fae each fall with a full sacrament in exchange for a robust final harvest which will ensure the people have enough food and money to last the long winter. If either Richter or Die Unruh fail to live up to the oath their visage will reverse (Richter’s angelic appearance will wither and fade leaving him scarred and ugly while Die Unruh will lose his monstrously intimidating form and be a beauty to all that see him). If the people fail to hold to their end then the land will become blighted and unsuitable for harvest.

Next we move onto Echoes. Every fae has at least one and the book has a lot of examples in it which the players all looked over. Some used those for their characters while others modified them or came up with their own. Echoes are used to “repel” fae and their magic. There is a roll for the character and if they fail they suffer an effect based off of how much they failed by. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work. I’ve been going back and forth between the book and what I feel like should happen at the time. If you’ve read everything above this you’ll know what I mean.

Just to give you some examples of echoes I’ll list what the group has below. You might be able to figure out to whom each belongs, but I’m not telling. That would rob them of their power. :D

The number 13, a kiss from a mortal woman, ringing bells, saying the name of the fae backwards, being spit on/at, can not hurt anyone wearing a certain color, kiss from a beautiful woman, being scolded by a child, circling the fae counter-clockwise, having clothes pockets turned inside out and finally mirrors.

If a fae is ever seen in his/her true form by a non-enchanted human then there is a chance they could gain a new echo. The player starts with a pool of 10 dice which is subtracted from depending on certain factors, like how many people are there and if magic was seen being used. If they fail this roll they gain a new echo and if they botch they get two. This makes it very dangerous for the Firstborn to travel in the village as they have no human mien to transform into. They must cover up (like Richter does) or change shape (like Die Unruh turning into a cat or shadow in some of the more recent sessions). There have been some VERY close calls throughout the game.

Ok, I’ll get to the features after I go eat and rest for a little. See you soon.

[rgalex]

Features. I think this is one of the things I’ve grown to love about the game the most. At first it seems like it’s so simple but then you start to think about it and things just come to you. All my players are slowly coming to see that too. What are features you ask? Well let me explain.

Features are what allow you to make each fae unique and tailor your character any way you like. There are 2 types, lesser and greater. Lesser features are any part of your fae that have no direct in game mechanical effect. Maybe the character has purple eyes, vines instead of hair, thorns for teeth, the scent of fresh foliage, whatever. Greater features are things along this line that do give a mechanical bonus somehow. Things like bark for skin that acts as armor, claws that will do aggravated damage or being extremely tiny.

For every dot in Mists the character has they also gain a lesser feature. Inanimae also start with one greater feature. At character creation a player can choose to take more echoes to gain more features. My players seemed to enjoy this part of chargen and used the book for inspiration. Below are the characters with their features listed as lesser; greater (mechanics). If the feature is marked with a * then it is not directly from the book.

Garrick: vestigial horns*, eyes of the season (red/purple); armored hide (tough skin- 3 dice to reduce any type of damage, then can roll soak normally)

Amara: elemental blessing (graceful movements), surreal beauty (must have an App of 3+); eyes of mist (alluring- people catching her gaze must make a Willpower test to avoid wanting to follow the character)

Oakheart: eyes of the season (sap-green); armored hide (bark- as above), elemental form (wood, taken as his inanimae feature- gains nourishment from the sun so he doesn’t need to eat and may regain a point of Mists if he spends 2 hours/day in the sun), faerie size (towering- +3 Bruised health levels and +1 Strength but all rolls to hit him are at -1)

Die Unruh: quilled back*, repulsive countenance (must have an App of <2, ugly beyond description); faerie size (same as Oakheart), Beastly Visage (diff of Animal Ken rolls vs predators get a -3, diff on all Intimidation and Survival rolls get a -1 and +1 die to bite damage), monster’s mien (claws- Str+1 agg damage but not retractable)

Richter: surreal beauty, endowment of the season (noble bearing); eyes of the mist (commanding- people catching his gaze must make a Willpower roll or feel immediately loyal to Richter, +1 diff to do anything against him), wings* (allows him to fly)

Silvose: elemental blessing (wood- green colored skin), faerie size (slightly taller than normal), eyes of the season (brown-green); elemental form (wood- as Oakheart), Nightmorph* (during the day Silvose is a lush mass of vegetation, as the sunlight fades he loses his leaves until he is bare at night and just a tangled mass of bare vines which then bloom again in morning- +2 to Appearance while in bloom and -2 to Appearance when not)

Luthor: endowment of the season (noble but thin and chiseled looks), elemental blessing (reddish hair with leaves always in it), scent (smells of fresh cider)

Gunter (new character soon to be introduced)- faerie size (tall), surreal beauty, “double eyes”* (eyes have 2 pupils), pointy teeth*

So there you go. You know more about the characters and maybe can understand them a little better. There really is only one more thing to mention about features right now. By spending a Mists point a character can make a lesser feature into a greater for a scene. Right now the only one I can think of that has taken advantage of this is Die Unruh. You’ll have to wait a little longer to see what it was though. I’ll have it in our next story update.