Run Date: May 6, 2024
PCs
Marymay:
Lv1 Bard
Helena: Lv2 Bladedancer
Gwendolyn: Lv2
Fighter
Antony: Lv2 Mage
Hench
(Hired This Session)
Todd the Barber
Francois the Crossbowman
Harshnik the Lv1 Barbarian
Leaving Coxhaven
I want to preface this with something. I started running 1:1 time about a year ago, and one of the concerns I had always had was for what I refer to as “Roleplay Sessions.” The incentive to use session time for action is a big one, especially when combined with GP:XP situations. Time spent faffing about in town is time not spent shooting for loot. “Shopping sessions” are also not particularly exciting for the average player. Then there’s the open table and whether or not the people who arrive will agree to such a thing (for the previously stated reasons). Today’s session was one of those where everything lined up fairly well; a group that wanted granular in-session RP, a desire to set the groundwork for future endeavours, and the starting point to finding a new target.
All that said (apologies for waffling on), Rotval (not the city) has a Class III, a slew of Class IVs, and a bunch of Class VI settlements. This foundation was put into testing in today’s Roleplay Session.
We open in Coxhaven, a day later than the session’s date. The party has just finished regrouping after their explorations into the Sunken Shrine of the Golden Sun. The last week, Marymay had been advertising for henchman and many would be coming in for interviews. In the meantime, Antony and Helena went to see the Don Serrano at Castille Wilcox and try to get the reward for the bounty.
Rain had been pouring down the last couple days, but was replaced with a drizzle. Antony and Helena took a few of the Ravi (Owlbolds) and headed up the avenue to the Castille. There they met with the Steward, who appeared in much greater spirits, and were invited into a waiting room. Cloaks were hung to dry, wine was served, and the conversation began. Antony, having used one of his open languages to take Slave Avarian, had interviewed the Ravi previous to this visit, and shared a significant amount of information with the Steward. The Ravi were bred as servile scribes in service of the Avarians. This particular lot witnessed the beginnings of the Avarian’s Last Stand; describing monstrous black chains in the sky and noting the sound of a horn. Antony also explained that the likely cause of the fall of their sky city was a lack of maintenance, as these Ravi were put into a stasis just as the horn sounded. He further explained the discovery of a mechanism within the sunken shrine and a desire to use it as a base of operations. With this, the Steward left to inform the Don.
Don Serrano’s reaction to the Ravi was akin to a man who’d just discovered a pack of puppies. He couldn’t take his eyes off them. Most of this conversation was the same as with the Steward aside from some clarifying questions and Antony’s proposal for being given a land grant for the shrine. Antony was willing to front the gold and ensured the Don that he wouldn’t have to bear any of the risks for the project. Moreover, Antony agreed to begin paying tithes to the Don once the area was secured. There was probably discussion about more tax exemptions at some point, but I don’t remember. The meeting itself was capped off with the sale of 10 Ravi to the Don; doubling the expected reward. All that aside, the Don did make a request of the party to find a witch (little w) and provide her with the means to divine information on the shrine and other fragments that broke off of it.
Back in the Pallid Swift, MaryMay was managing interviews with Gwendolyn sitting on the sidelines. I had prepared a pool of potential henches using the Judge’s Journal’s NPC section. Alas, I ended up burning nearly all of them this session. “I am once again asking for automation of NPC and Treasure generation.” The first potential hire to come through was a crossbowman from the local guard. Given what kinds of folks can show up, this was a solid first showing. Marymay was particularly curious about how well he used the crossbow and whether or not he was skilled with firing into a mob (trying to figure out if had Precise Shooting). She was disappointed to find that it was not the case. He was, however, particularly good at picking out targets from high ground. After letting him know the potential dangers, she made an offer and he accepted. It was at this point she got to see his glorious 18 DEX.
The next guy that came through was a bit of a weirdo. He came in sopping wet after getting lost trying to get to the inn (which sits literally in the plaza at the center of town). This was her first clue the guy wasn’t exactly a genius. When asked what skills he had, he rolled out a set of barber’s tools; including a well-kept pair of razors (his friends). There was some more back and forth, more out of character than in, and she made an offer. So it was that Todd himself joined the entourage.
The last visitor was a wildman just back from the hunt. He entered the inn with a fresh roe and plopped himself down for his interview. It was clear the man spent more time outside Coxhaven than in, and the party were certainly interested in another tough guy to fill out their ranks. He accepted their offer and left to gather his things.
The following day, after reconvening and splitting up their loot, the party decided to do some shopping. They were unsatisfied with the size and availability in the local market so decided to head toward Rostock, a Class IV settlement a little more than a day away. They browsed the markets of Rostock and picked up a few supplies, pack animals, and a cart (because they couldn’t find a wagon). Antony was in the market for laborers and an engineer for a project, but one didn’t seem to be open for hire at the moment. Antony then convinced the party to head toward Rotval (the city, Class III) to try his luck there. Helena also reminded the party that they had a bunch of magic items they could try to sell there. After loading up, they hit the road.
It took a few days of travel to get to Rotval (the city). Along the way, the group discovered that some of their rations had molded from the rains. They also camped with a large caravan and chatted the merchants up. After that they passed by Deadman’s Bluff, rounded the hills, and headed along the river. Just before arriving at the city, they were stopped by some haggard beggars. MaryMay tossed them a few gold then moved on. A few hours later, they were crossing a bridge where a sinkhole opened up; it swallowed the party’s frontline… which were luckily Manes.
Rotval’s shopping trip was much akin to Rostock’s. Gwendolyn upgraded her cart to a wagon and the party visited the local university tower. They entered the storefront on campus and promptly had their first meeting with a Khanalavalen (Khana; think Dunmer/Telvanni from Morrowind). They hated this guy, but were more than happy to take his money. They were extremely lucky, too, as they hit on all the percentiles for their sales. After this, we decided to end the session with the intent to set this party into downtime for the following week (until May 19th) for recruiting, hiring, and any other shopping.Rewards (Totals)
1136
GP
1136 XP
Afterword
I made a mistake in having the sales of the Magic Items include henches for the cuts. Given they were hired after their retrieval, I don’t believe they should have earned anything. I’ll call it a wash given last session’s situation.
Aside from wishing for automation for NPCs, Treasure, and a lot of the “busywork” stuff, this session went pretty well. The players enjoyed it, and certainly seem the types to invest a lot more into living within the world. Of course, they also got paid and earned XP so it hit one of the major incentives. For myself, I’d say it went well. We had a lot of table talk, jokes, etc that I believe supports building rapport and strengthening real bonds.
That’s it for now. Take care.
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