[BW] Finale: Return to the Vault

[Paka]

It might be months away or it might be weeks away but we got together after a long hiatus to set shit up for our Burning Wheel game.

I am going to stick with this thread to chronicle the finishing of this game, if it takes a year or a few weeks or a few months.

Here's what has come before in something of an order that I thought made sense.

Vault

The King in Gray

The Darth Vader Ballot Box

Words, Ghosts and Mead in the Vault

4 Hours of Rockin' Play Driven by 2 Failed Rolls

Vault: Hunt for the Tome

Another Rockin' Night in the Vault

Bloody Night in the Vault

The Dungeon Crawl to Hell (and back?)

The last session ended in a player acting in a fashion that I didn't agree with. He and I exchanged heated e-mails about his actions, which was a mistake, we should've met for tea and had it out face to face at least. Ten years of friendship deserved that much but didn't get it.

What it came down to was that we disagreed and neither would back down. He left the game and seemed to make it clear that he left our friendship to boot. That is all I am really going to write about that. I don't want to talk trash about him in a public forum and didn't post about the game because I felt it was private business, not because I don't like posting about games that go awry.

So, one player short, we continued the game last night and returning to the table with these guys just felt like coming home after being abroad.

We aged the character five years. The BW system has training rules that we could have used to do this but in the end we decided to add a lifepath to each character to represent the past five years. Between that and some trait voting and the changing of many Beliefs and Instincts, I think we've scarred up our PC's pretty well.

One of the PC's went evil and the player elected to turn him over as an NPC, taking up the playing of his noble knight of a brother with an evil sword that his brother gave to him.

First Son Xarven is the Chosen of Hell, the sorcerer who first bent his knee to the Lord of Fire, Famine and Fury. It is said he gave his brother the Sword of the Watchers, bound with a powerful demon. His brother left his brother's foul court but the sword is still on his hip. Will his brother's nobility be enough to marshal the power of this fell sword?

The player of the Herald of the Dawn had been struck down and captured during the last game. We decided that he was lashed to Hell's banners and drove many of his brethren to Grief.

During a circles test in the last games, Aaron, who players the elven bad-ass created this young and noble elf and ordered him back to his own lands to hold his tower. We all were digging on there not being many elves left in the world since Hell spilling out, most having gone west. I kinda wanted Aaron's character to become a Dark Elf and go bad but Aaron wasn't into it, so I didn't press.

Aaron had a belief about his brother, the Raven King and we had never explored it, so we decided that his brother still rode, not having gone west yet. I can't wait for their meeting.

The Herald of the Dawn's most loyal follower, Lord Ereb, has held the Northern Aery of the Dawn against all attackers, as his Lord demanded, always with one eye on the Gate of Paradise, where the souls go to Heaven and another south, where his lord is held prisoner.

The Raven King still rides with a host of knights in the Order of the Grey Feather. The King of the North's relationship with his brother was always troubled at best. What has the Herald become during his captivity? Can the Herald of the Dawn find a new purpose now that his people are almost all gone from this land and a New Age of Man is coming to pass?

Jeff's dwarven character had pledged his life to the Dragon in order to get away during the last adventure. Great stuff. Jeff got a magical eye that allows him to breath fire, but whenever he does, it causes a Grief test, turning him slowly into a Dragon.

Ungol ul Parma, The Spider of the Book, served the Dragon who took up the elven title, Varda ul Parma ur Minya Migil, Exalted of the Book and the First Sword. The Dwarf was the Dragon's seneschal and the warden of the world's dying arts. Does he know that he is slowly turning into an arcane beast himself and can he stop what he is becoming? Does he want to?

Jim's merc captain with a noble history has become the Champion of Man and most likely to ascend to the High Throne...if he lives. His mercenaries have become the core of the resistance to Hell's many hordes.

Lord Simon is humanity's last hope. Since his cousin, First Son Xarven turned to Hell Lord Simon has rallied the armies of men and women, gathering the free folk left in hopes of fighting the Lord of Fire, Famine and Fury's hosts of devils, lost souls and orc. Can Lord Simon save humanity and are they worth saving?

And the player who played the Orc left the game. He had mentioned in a conversation with the Griffon Queen of the East that his character and the Queen would likely meet in combat and if they did they would destroy one another. We decided that it had come to pass.

The Griffon Queen was the youngest and in many ways the most noble of the Elven Monarchs. She died in battle with the Orc Who Must Not Be Named in the first days of Hell's ascendence to the earthly realms. Many elves died in despare at the young queen's death. On the battlefield where she was slain orcs have set up a monument of elven skulls to mark the great slaughter of the queen by the Orc Who Must Not Be Named, once known as Olha.

And that is the set up. We changed beliefs, fiddled with this and that.

Next week we play.

[Paka]

We have re-made our BIT's to show the five years and the campaign's new direction.

Here are two:

Ungul ul Parma - Dwarven Master Craftsman and Seneschal to The Dragon

Beliefs:
I can meld the races arts together
Anything worth doing is worth taking the time to do right
I will preserve the wonders of the races

Instincts:
I will always reveal knowledge
When my friends are going to throw their lives away, I get in the way
Never be too proud to learn

Traits
Missing Eye
Bookworm
Driven
Inspirational
Confident
Stoic

Sir Bogart, honorable knight and brother to First Son Xarven the Chosen of Hell
(Kolja, Xarven's player, decided to retire his evil character to NPC status and play his pure as the driven snow brother with a demonic sword)

Beliefs:
I am my brother's last hope.

I will not be tainted by the sword.

A knight's duty is first to his people, then to his lord.

Instincts:
If a spell is cast, my sword is swung.

Always keep your courtesies.

Always stay hidden from Xarven.

Traits:
Mark of Priveledge
Sworn Homage
Rapier Wit
Savvy
Your Lordship
Fearless

[Jim DelRosso]

Here're my character's BITs:

Lord Simon Aermegil, Champion of Man, First of the Rising Blades, the Butcher

Beliefs

• My children's lives will not be so dark as mine.
• The Vault was my family's downfall; it will be my family's rebirth. (This one may get tweaked to include more of the redemption of Vault from Hell's forces.)
• I will wrest the body and soul of this world from Hell's grasp.

Instincts

• If there's trouble, draw steel.
• If armored, go Aggressive.
• Never be taken alive.

Traits

• Your Grace
• Mark of Privilege
• Charismatic
• Commanding Aura
• Paranoid
• Merciless
• Cold Blooded
• Thick Skinned
• Driven (call-on for Command)

[soloswolf42]

And mine...

Huor Celebrindal, Herald of the Dawn, Phoenix Prince of The North

Beliefs
-Aermegil will sit the throne of Man.
-I can end this all with a swing of my sword.
-I love my brother, not the king.

Instincts
-Always wake with the Dawn.
-I am never without my sword.
-Always protect the last of my people first.

Traits
-Fealty to Fea
-Lesson of One
-Prince of The Blood
-Etharchal
-Fea
-Aman
-Sworn to protect (Aermegil)
-Resigned to Death
-Unbreakable
-Swordmaster (C/O for 'Sword')

[Paka]

All of the pieces are in place.

We've got a world that has been ravaged by a Demon that sits in their greatest city, Vault.

We've got few Elves left, most have gone west and the few who are left are zealots or suicidal or both.

A Dragon who holds the three greatest treasures on the continent:

1) The First Sword, made by the Dwarves at the dawn of time and stolen from the Lord of Fury, Famine and Fire by the PC's.

2) The Tome of the Vault, crafted by Elves just after they sang the world into existence, stolen once by PC's and returned by PC's.

3) The Shield of the West that holds the beauty of the Queen of the West, her immortal beauty taken by the Dragon as a harsh price so she could look at the Tome one more time. The shield was crafted by a PC.

Rock.

And the players have gathered at the Tower of the Burning Dawn, where Heaven's Gates are in sight, the first thing the sun hits when it rises to plan the re-claiming of the world.

The Herald of the Dawn wants to get the First Sword from the DRagon so he can GIVE IT BACK TO THE LORD OF FURY, FIRE and FAMINE...GIVE IT BACK...no shit, so their fight can continue. Holy shit.

Lord Simon, Champion of Man, wishes to lead mankind against their demonic and orcish oppressors and carve a throne for him and his children...his long-time leutenant is pregnant.

Sir Bogart wishes to turn his brother, Xarven to the light side, despite his brother being known as the First Son of Hell. Good luck, Sir Bogart.

And Ungul Ul Parma, the Spider of the Tome, the Dwarf once known as Fengel, wishes to keep the artifacts of a dying age safe for the age to come.

The pieces are all on the board. We've set them up together. It is going to be a fun burn.

[Paka]

Tonight we played a one-shot, GMed by one of the regular players.

Exodus of the Trolls

Now I want to run an all-troll campaign set on a bridge-keep with warrens of caves that lead to uptight dwarve's mines.

It was a fun way to pass the time whilst a player short and a good game besides.

I hope Kolja runs again and soon.

[Storn]

Sounds like a total hoot.

I'm sorry to hear about the friction in game with one of your players.

From my experience, let me say this; "there is hope". I've bumped heads many times with one of my fellow gamers. It took some real bang up arguements, definitely some walking away from the table on my part more than once (once for about a year)... but we always came back together.

Last couple of sessions have been very, very good indeed.

Now. Our group is large enough that none of us feel like we have to be in *every* game. So, the games that are logistically viable and are genuinely interesting to that player is available. And none of us are forced into a game that we aren't particularly invested in just so we can play.

so hopefully, you and your firend will mend fences down the line.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by Storn

Sounds like a total hoot.

It was really fun. I'm sold on Trolls.

Originally Posted by Storn

I'm sorry to hear about the friction in game with one of your players.

>snip<

so hopefully, you and your firend will mend fences down the line.

Maybe but maybe not. Like most gaming arguments, I think this had little to do with gaming and probably more to do with the state of the friendship. Perhaps its done and perhaps it isn't but it isn't going to effect the rest of this game. He won't be rejoining us before this campaign ends.

Thanks for the well wishes.

[Paka]

After taking time off to help playtest Luke's New Sooper Seekrit Project, it came to light that one of our players will be going to Germany this summer and might never be returning.

So, we have elected to put the playtest down and finish this sucker.

I am so excited, it is verging on giddy.

[Jim DelRosso]

There will be blood tonight!


...


Or, y'know, on Sunday. In the late afternoon, maybe continuing into the evening.