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labcatsHere's the write up for the final session of our Sorcerer campaign. I'm polishing up the Post-Mortem and hope to post it soon.
SORCERER: Eleventh and Final Session: June 6, 2006
The description of the characters and the write up of the first session are here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=17765.0
The write up of the second session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18035.0
The write up of the third session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18074.0
The write up of the fourth session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18746.0
The write up of the fifth session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18871.0
The write up of the sixth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/7728.html#cutid1
The write up of the seventh session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/10758.html#cutid1
The write up of the eighth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/11558.html#cutid1
The write up of the ninth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/12699.html#cutid1
The write up of the tenth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/13720.html#cutid1
Quick Character and Demon List:
Player: Elizabeth Bartley
Character: Ingrid von Pfender, plague-scarred heiress having a party to celebrate her betrothal
Demon: Aquila, eagle passer
Player: Dave Demast
Character: Andreas von Ouranenburg, professor of Natural Philosophy (or whatever Biology was called during the Renaissance). Having an affair with Sebastian's niece.
Demons: Orion, dog passer; Leonardo, possessed perpetually priapic nobleman; Mosca,fly passer summoned this session
Player: Pamela Gutman
Character: Sophia von Winterhagen, scandalous swordswoman and noble
Demons: Nariya, cat passer; Hermes, possessed raccoon summoned to take public blame for the murders Nariya committed. Ingrid's great-grandfather hired her to kill a sorcerer named Rainer.
Player: Joshua Kronengold
Character: Sebastian von Ouranenburg, professor of Philosophy, studying new frontiers of sorcery. His brother is engaged to Ingrid, and Andreas is having an affair with his niece, Ysabel.
Demons: 'Elena, raven passer; Minerva, possessed mouse. But, he summoned a demon for his niece to bind, helped Sophia summon Hermes, and helped Andreas summon Mosca
Player: Julian Lighton
Character: Niccolo di Tarci, artist, banisher of various possessor demons while trying to avoid dealing with his own.
Demon: Possessed Teresa, daughter of his former patron, Antonio di Mantuo; Phaidippides, a horse that can travel to Italy in a night
Meeting
We decided to try Hamilton, in view of Josh's throat. Josh and I got food from Hunan Balcony and hustled with heavy bags for 3 blocks, catching up with Julian, which was practical because he'd slowed down a bit walking with Pamela. Beth called to say she'd staked out room 602. I called Dave, who'd lost track of time. We were in luck. Elevators would be skipping most floors the next day, according to the signs. Possibly construction too -- 5 was not accessible.
A Cunning Plan, or Saving Rainer
602 was a big lecture room with unmovable chairs. Folks settled in and snacked while I asked just how Sebastian, Andreas, and Rainer planned to save Rainer's life.
How else? Summon a demon!
Naturally, Sebastian wanted to summon a possessor, doing further experiments. Fortunately (?), Andreas talked him down to a passer.
It needed Cloak and Command Corpse to get a dead body moving and looking alive and like Rainer. It also took Cover: Rainer, Special Effect: Hide in the Corpse.
What type of animal was it? A fly, we agreed, with jeweled wings as its telltale. It would animate the corpse by flying down its throat. This notion got the "Yuck!" response that assured me that we were on track.
Reminding Josh that it was moving towards 8, I pushed for a quick-but-appropriate Desire. Prophetically (?), Josh suggested Chaos. I went with Need: To Deceive. I assured folks that no, I was not being soft in this case. I was avoiding over complicating an already complicated final session. Also, this was going to cause enough of a mess with Sophia and Ingrid having their own agendas where Rainer was concerned.
For a name, I settled on Mosca, as I tried to remember the character from Volpone whose name means "Fly". Sebastian lead the Contact and Summoning rituals, I think losing 1 Humanity. Andreas did the Binding, fulfilling Mosca's Need by playing 3 cup monte with the fly. He fulfilled the demon's Desire by taking an ordered playing deck and tossing it up into the air. Cool. Andreas also lost 1 point of Humanity.
Rainer's Entrance
Moving back to the party, we started with "Rainer"'s uncostumed entrance.
Someone: Actually, he -is- in costume.
Someone: The fly's in costume.
Me: I'm glad I didn't have him speak last session.
Both Ingrid and Sophia were fooled. (Mosca had Cloak and a Power of 4.) However, we agreed that
a) Sophia should get another roll when she fought Rainer
b) The real Rainer should be there in costume to talk to Ingrid.
Dave suggested that Rainer costume as Mars both because a lot of people would be doing the same, and because the costume involved a helmet. I settled on Mercury as thematically more appropriate, and I liked the consciously unplanned resonance with Sophia's latest demon, Hermes.
I referred to this as a hair-brained scheme, but was informed that it was not at all hare-brained. Leonardo was the hare.
I sketched a diagram of where people were standing on the convenient blackboard.
Julian: We need miniatures!
Beth, Josh, and Lisa (flashing back to the far too crowded D&D game): No! We! Don't!
Sophia moved to Corpse Rainer. Siegfried von Pfender, family patriarch, waited, with gleeful anticipation, for her to kill Rainer. Freideriche, Sophia's one-handed brother, moved to block her. Real Rainer made his presence known to Ingrid. Sebastian helped Cornelius, a fellow professor, out of the way.
Cornelius was near sighted and could not find his glasses before the party. He was glad for Sebastian's aid and let himself be guided around the other gentleman who, though Cornelius hated to say it, smelled.
At least a couple of players correctly guessed that Hermes had stolen the spectacles. As someone pointed out, Sophia had told Hermes not to kill people from the university, so he had to fulfill his Desire rather than his need. Someonk suggested that Cornelius might be Hermes. I vetoed this, but perhaps I should not have.
Family Quarrels and a Duel
Frederiche took Sophia's challenge to Rainer on himself, or tried to. He'd been hearing some terrible things about Sophia from Trismegistus, Rainer's human-faced weasel. Trismegistus had spoken the truth and had never shown itself to Freideriche. Ingrid explained to a very surprised Rainer what his demon had done.
Sophia decided to knock Freideriche out with one blow. Stakes: Does Sophia knock her brother out without hurting him? Yes.
Cornelius: Did I miss something?
Sebastian: Just a family quarrel.
Sigrid, Freideriche's daughter, did what she does best: screamed. She and her unconscious father were taken to another room.
Sophia tried to continue her business with Rainer only to be interrupted by her other brother, Fritz. He said that either she could fight him now or she could talk privately with him about what he'd learned from Freideriche. As Sophia vacillated, he warned her that if she insisted, he would indeed state his concerns in front of everyone. Sophia asked if talking with him meant that he would not challenge her later. He said that if she could lay his concerns to rest, he would not challenge her.
20-20 hindsight things I could have suggested: Sophia could have tried to talk him down -- or did she, with die rolls?
Sebastian could have done the same, appealing to Fritz as a civilized man or Ingrid could have, using her position as noble hostess.
Sophia was worried about Rainer fleeing before she could skewer him. Corpse Rainer said that he could not depart without his host's leave. Pamela asked if this would clue Sophia in, but the rest of us agreed that Sophia would remain convinced that this was the real Rainer until she fought him. Sure, he was being weird, but Rainer -was- weird, demanding an admission that Sophia was a sorcerer one minute and groveling for forgiveness the next. Pamela conceded the point. We didn't have to remind her about his standing on tables, leading students to riot, or bringing his entire class plus his horse to a brothel.
Fritz had heard from Freideriche about how Sophia had a demon which had caused much of the carnage when she killed Horst, and, while he didn't want to believe this, Sophia could not bamboozle him, which was what was at stake on the roll. She did win a different stake on the next roll, getting Fritz to believe that she'd summoned Nariya to defeat the sorcerer Rainer. But, Fritz insisted that Sophia would have to get rid of the demon.
This troubled Sophia, who had no intention of doing so. Someone suggested -saying- that the demon was gone and that Nariya was now a normal kitty cat.
Meanwhile, Bianca, dressed a Cassandra, begged Andreas for aid. Antonio wanted to wed her to his demon-possessed son, Leonardo. This, Antonio figured, would solve two problems. Andreas laughed at the notion, but agreed to see what he could do. Bianca made it clear that she knew or suspected that her husband's death was not an accident, though she was very grateful to Signore Doctore for that. Andreas foisted her off on Niccolo, who foisted her off on Teressa.
Sophia returned to duel Rainer. She tried to get him to step outside so that she wouldn't be killing him at the party. Siegfried was having none of it. To my delight, Ingrid was disturbed at how gleeful great-grandfather Siegfried was at the prospect of Rainer's death. Nevertheless, she said that she supposed if Sophia could challenge Rainer at her engagement party, the swordswoman could fight him there as well.
In retrospect, Sophia should have gotten a Humanity Gain roll for trying to uphold civilized proprieties, while Siegfried should have gotten a Humanity loss roll, if NPCs get those.
We agreed that Sophia would skewer Corpse Rainer. Everyone wanted this, including the demon possessing the corpse. At Stake was whether Sophia would figure out that this wasn't really Rainer. She did, and I described wounds opening up where Sophia knew that she hadn't hit Rainer. She didn't reveal this. Humanity gain? Loss? Neither?
Julian thinks neither and is probably correct. Sophia kept things quiet and as civilized as she could, and it cost her nothing.
Leonardo in Lust
Immediately thereafter, Sigrid screamed. Leonardo had broken his Contain and gone looking for a woman. The house guards probably assumed that he was costumed as Priapus. Sophia ran to the rescue.
She found Leonardo attempting to rape Sigrid. I had expected Sophia to skewer him, but, instead, she posed with her sword at his throat. Naturally, this made Leonardo fall to his knees and beg, as his Need is to submit in ritualized power games.
And, Sophia couldn't bring herself to kill the handsome groveling hunk. She tossed him money and told him to go to a brothel.
Sophia: Only willing ones!
Leonardo:
Sophia: Stick to the brothels.
This Leonardo understood. He asked if he could have Sophia, too.
Sophia: Talk to me later.
Leonardo ran off, happily.
Exit Rainer
Ingrid and Rainer talked' Rainer saying truthfully that he'd killed no one, nor had he and his demons harmed a human.
Ingrid: I don't wish you dead' but --
Rainer: You wish me away from here.
Ingrid: Well, that's putting it more bluntly than I would have, but yes.
(Any of that merit Humanity loss or gain rolls? Dave and Julian think not. I think they're correct where Ingrid is concerned. Not sure about Rainer. He's being rude, if only a little.)
Rainer noted that it had not escaped his attention that he was the only commoner sorcerer. (He knew of neither Ludwig's nor Niccolo's sorcerous abilities.) He said that he knew that it was one law for nobles, and another for everyone else, and he considered himself lucky to be escaping with his life. He referred to Ingrid as the new Gudrun.
Ingrid told Rainer that Ludwig was a sorcerer. This stunned him. He asked Andreas if Andreas had known this.
Andreas: What are you still doing here? Go, man!
Rainer asked Sebastian if he should leave and, when Sebastian confirmed this, did so.
Sebastian talked to 'Elena, something I figured folks would chalk up to the eccentric professor staying in character, as he was costumed as Wotan. Sebastian told 'Elena to find Hermes. 'Elena sulkily asked why. Sebastian explained that he wanted 'Elena to kill Hermes. I drew a joyful arc on the blackboard showing 'Elena's flight path out of there.
An Italian Discussion
One of Antonio's men asked to speak to Andreas outside. Andreas agreed.
His hunter's instincts saved him from the other man's attempt to knife him from behind. Armed with a staff as part of his costume, Andreas disarmed his foe, hollering for the house guard. He called Orion via his link.
Note 1: I so should have had Orion corner Antonio. I dropped Antonio, and Orion never did anything this session.
Note 2: Heck, Orion should have shown up then and there and tried to kill the guy. Heck with worrying about timing, and hey, maybe Orion was hanging around outside. It's psychomaciacally appropriate.
Note 3: Now, this party -had- good security. Veteran players tend to set things up that way, and it is often realistic. How do other people deal with the annoying NPC trying to keep the plot at bay without making them or the PCs seem like fools or invoking the hammer of fiat power? Recruit the players to help reach a desired result? Something else?
I mean, often there's this situation: Okay, as a player, heck yes, I want my PC to have problems, but don't want my PC to be stupid or incompetent. As a GM, don't want to have to spend excessive time getting around PC precautions.
This creates a vicious cycle, for, the more that gets through, the more determined PCs / players are to redouble their efforts at good defense.
Niccolo and Ludwig Exercise Their Social Skills
Hermes, Orion, and 'Elena arrived near the house, as did Ysabel with the horses she'd brought, intending to run away with Andreas. Meanwhile, Ingrid asked Niccolo what Teresa had given Ludwig. It had looked like the fragment of a book to her. Niccolo excused himself, heading for Ludwig, and grabbing a sharp knife (subtlely) en route, while Ysabel's screams drew everyone else outside.
Niccolo demanded the fragment back. Ludwig tried to defuse the situation, explaining that he knew that Niccolo didn't want Teresa, but didn't want anyone else becoming her lover. Well, Ludwig did want Teresa, and he had no interest in becoming her lover. This set up worked better than the Rupert - Ysabel thing, I think because I was trying to create, rather than to solve, a PC's problems.
Ludwig also said that, if Teresa's child were human, they'd give it to Niccolo, so, what was the problem?
Bang. A bigger bang than I think I'd realized at the time.
As Ludwig explained and Niccolo absorbed, there was a chance that the baby, whenever conceived -- probably when Teresa was human -- might not be human itself. Niccolo became a lot more willing to entertain certain notions.
Niccolo demanded the fragment of the book back, looming over Ludwig. Now, Ludwig is socially clueless these days. He's insane. He is not, however, stupid. He handed over the fragment, waited until Niccolo stalked off, looking for Teresa, and send two of his Passer cats to kill the artist.
Niccolo should have got a Humanity loss roll for his crude threatening behavior -- he was acting like an alpha animal. He hit Ludwig at some point in the conversation. Neither Julian nor I remember exactly why, but Josh thinks Ludwig said something about Teresa, which makes sense. Julian thinks it was after Niccolo got the book back. If NPCs get rolls, Ludwig should have gotten a Humanity gain roll for keeping the peace, acting civilly, giving up his treasure, and pursuing a discreet vengeance later. The vengeance, of course, merited a Humanity loss roll.
The Chekhov's Gun is Fired
Meanwhile, Siegfried's household swordsmen gathered around him to protect him as a crowd ran towards the sound of Ysabel screaming. Siegfried didn't understand why everything wasn't going well now that Rainer was dead.
I sketched out the situation on the blackboard. Ysabel was launching herself at Hermes, who'd stolen her mother's jewels. The baker's son was bleeding, probably dying. 'Elena and Orion were on the scene.
In retrospect, I should have had a carefully thought out default scene, one more dramatic. Perhaps there should have been many wounded and dying von Pfender guards and a wounded or dying Fritz. 'Elena could have been active, possibly wounded. And, the horses could be panicking and disemboweled. Sure, any default I came up with might have been rendered moot, but better preparation would have made improvising easier.
Ingrid decided to try a snapshot Banish. Beth said that the special effect would be Ingrid firing the small pistol she had acquired in the very first session at the demon. I awarded 3 bonus dice for the dramatic appropriateness of firing the Chekhov's Gun.
Sebastian ordered 'Elena to attack Hermes.
Andreas tried to get between Ysabel and Hermes -- hm, she should have been down, wounded perhaps, and clutching the remains of her jewelry, which would have been sufficient enough to get her idiocy across, and still given a more dramatic game.
Various NPCs, like Rupert and the house guards, had drawn their weapons and prepared to attack Hermes.
Ludwig and Sophia were heading toward the melee, Sophia faster, but farther away.
Hermes made a speech, Cornelius' glasses perched on his nose, and tried to attack Ysabel.
Pamela asked why Hermes had attacked the baker's son, who was a student at the university, when Sophia had told him not to attack university people.
Me: He's in costume. Hermes doesn't recognize him.
Folks agreed that this made sense. After the session, I explained that Hermes probably no longer considered Ysabel off limits because she was being stupid, university student or not. Beth agreed that this made good sense.
I'm not sure if I should have picked a better victim than the baker's son. I think so. The trouble was that anyone not disemboweled on the spot wasn't going to die -- see below -- and bumping off one of the big NPCs via GM fiat was unsatisfactory to me.
Beth rolled Really Well for Ingrid's snapshot Banish. Ingrid's Humanity is very high. So, the engaged, plague-scarred heiress fired her small pistol, and the huge raccoon demon started to make a speech, gasped, fell, and -- as far as we could tell from the rules the default was -- vanished.
Andreas (to Rupert) Do you think we should invite her to join the hunt club?
Rupert liked the idea of asking a woman to join. It was nicely scandalous.
Rupert (still annoyed at Edmond) But, would her husband object?
Andreas: Do you think he will have any say in the matter?
Ingrid (to herself, annoyed): People will be talking about this party for years, and not in a good way.
Folks began filtering back inside. Ingrid went to ask the guards what they'd learned from the man who had tried to kill Andreas. She then went back outside to pdss this information on to Andreas himself.
Teresa did not wish to harm Niccolo or to have another harm him. But, she did not wish to be Banished. Niccolo had refrained from banishing her because he feared it would leave nothing but a corpse. However, Andreas believed that he might be able to restore the real Teresa to herself.
Tersesa went to her father, Lord Antonio Mantuo, and she told him that Niccolo was falling under the Andreas' sway, and Andreas meant her ill. So, Antonio sent one of his men to kill Andreas. Andres, as mentioned, foiled the attempt.
Edmond Fails to be Unreasonable
Edmond decided to talk to Andreas, and here, I really fumbled the ball. It made sense for Antonio to be reasonable last session. It made No Sense for Edmond to be reasonable with two horses Right There as evidence of Ysabel's plans, not to mention his Wife's Jewelry. And Ysabel had been endangered by Hermes, something Edmund should dang well have blamed Andreas for. Or Rupert or Sebastian -- but loudly -- and Andreas, not them.
Instead, he gave Andreas a polite, veiled, and not unfriendly instruction to stay away from Ysabel. He noted that a marriage to Rupert just wouldn't work. Heck, the duplicity should have enraged Edmond.
Instead, Edmond noted that he blamed not Andreas, but his brother, Sebastian, for not informing him earlier --
Edmond: Hm. He never did actually inform me of this. Excuse me.
Someone: Ah. When in doubt, blame Sebastian.
And, with that, he wandered off and was not seen in the game again.
This plus not having Orion -- or Andreas -- locate Antonio kept Dave from having a chance to have Andreas cut loose. So, why did I do this?
-- I consistently missed Dave's timing throughout and vice versa. Ysabel and yappy dogs.
-- Communication issue: I didn't realize, and should have, that Dave's position was not "I'm going to have my PC turn into a serial killer at the drop of a hat" but "He has this destructive potential within him, knows it, and knows it's wrong, so he -- and I -- won't make it easy to go over the edge.
This is the correct way to play the character, IMAO, and I'd have done better if I'd realized early on that this was how Dave was playing it. Granted, his OOC comments gave me the wrong impression ("Just leave the bodies in the lab, and Andreas will take care of it all." -- clearly an OOC joke, but likely confusing an already confused GM), but, as he explained before this session, Andreas' chosen family will push his buttons (Marcello summoning a demon into Axel precipitated Andreas killing Marcello).
-- Five players. Not the demon issue, the 5 players worth of Stuff issue.
-- Sorcerer's tendency to let PCs go in all different directions and my tendency to do likewise
-- Timing -- we knew this would be the last session. It was getting late, and I was in wrap up mode, rather than add complications mode. In retrospect, I should not have worried about that so much.
(Tabulating to analyze and learn, not to excuse or browbeat myself.)
Dave commented on reading the above:
In retrospect, Andreas so should have gutted Rainer. Advancing science be damned, I think assisting Rainer's escape after Rainer had caused so much trouble for Ysable, and, indeed, Andreas himself, was out of character.
I think he's correct, but I chalk that up in part to the gap between sessions, and in part to Andreas' willingness to work with Sebastian. And, I did far worse with Edmond acting out of character.
Julian's comment was that worrying about wrapping everything was probably my biggest problem with the pacing, and that I would have been more comfortable either deciding that we could spill over into an additional session or deciding that it was okay not to wrap everything.
Cat Fight
Meanwhile, Sophia saw two of Ludwig's cats heading past her. Unaware that they were demons, she nevertheless sent Nariya to see what was going on.
Niccolo, searching for Teresa, spotted the cats. Julian looked at the odds of pulling off a snapshot Banish, and decided that they were slim to none -- and noted that there were two demons and Niccolo could only banish one at a time.
-- On the one hand, I have to get better at quickly recognizing the tactical situation so that I -know- how much and in what ways I'm shafting the PCs -- or NPCs.
-- On the other, Ludwig's tactics made good sense, and, if only by accident, I seemed to have set in motion an ending that Julian could shape to his sense of dramatic rightness.
So, having decided Banishing was not viable, Niccolo tried to run, to keep from being cornered by the cats, and to head for people. Alas, the cats rolled better -- I used 1 roll for both to keep it simple. Niccolo aborted to defense. It didn't help.
Pause as we tried to figure out whether or not Niccolo was dead.
I was okay with either answer, so long as everyone else was.
Dave thought it wasn't quite Dramatic enough for Niccolo to die unnoticed and alone.
Julian could not find a rule about dying for anyone other than demons, though I think I assumed it more or less also applied to humans.
Josh may have thought that the rules intended -- or, if not, should intend -- that killing off a non-demon should be basically fiat, vs X damage. Note: This need not be -GM- fiat!
Pamela noted that, while Sophia wouldn't order Nariya to fight the other demon cats, she was distressed and would run to where he was, calling for help, saying that the artist was being attacked, without worrying about covering for how she knew.
I decided that Nariya, picking up on Sophia's distress, would try to help, even though it wouldn't do much good for Niccolo, and Sophia would not arrive in time.
Julian reiterated that Sorcerer combat was indeed like grasping a live wire -- an unpleasant experience that one did not wish to repeat.
As I recall:
Ludwig's cats mortally wounded Niccolo, but Nariya killed one of them. The dead Cat Passer vanished.
The other cat killed Nariya, who likewise vanished. Sophia was devastated.
Sophia and the guards came running, spotting one cat passer demon. After much combat, Sophia killed it. It vanished.
Julian pointed out that, while it wasn't Hermes, Sophia had publicly killed a demon menace. Also, Fritz would be satisfied, as Nariya was gone. And, Sophia's humanity might be in better shape.
Pamela: I don't care about Humanity! I want my kitty back!
Niccolo's Death Scene
Having figured out the cats' damage we agreed that Andreas would proclaim the baker's son a goner from similar damage caused by Hermes. Meanwhile, Julian decided how to frame Niccolo's death scene. The rest of the PCs arrived for logical reasons -- Sophia was already there, Ingrid was the hostess (sort of), Sebastian was naturally concerned, and Andreas was the doctor. Teresa had to be there, of course. Okay, I'd figured she'd leave the party, but that hadn't been set in stone, and hey -- big party. Folks probably kept stopping to talk to her or dance with her. Julian thought about whether Niccolo would try a banishing ritual with his last strength, and decided that he would. Given how long he was lingering -- we're talking a fair amount of real time, so I'd no objection to that turning into game time -- Julian figured that this was not a snapshot. I was okay with that and okay with either success or failure. Both fit Niccolo.
Niccolo said, "I'm sorry, Teresa," and Julian said that probably no one noticed that he wasn't looking at her. She cradled his head in her lap, wept, and discreetly searched for the fragment of the book.
And, Niccolo succeeded in banishing the demon. He breathed his last breath, and Teresa collapsed dead, on top of him, her hair losing its unnatural tint. Shock, no doubt. Tragic, and her unborn child died as well.
Andreas was privately satisfied, as he was angry with Niccolo for bringing Antonio to Vindabona by telling Antonio about Marcello and Leonardo. Indeed, Dave said that if Ludwig hadn't killed Niccolo, Andreas probably would have.
Ysabel
Sophia and Sebastian went to look for Ludwig. Ingrid saw, I think through Aquila's eyes, the latest example of Ysabel's folly -- Ysabel was attempting to saddle a horse and leave.
Ingrid and house guards intercepted Ysabel at the stable. Ysabel explained that she -had- to leave. Terrible things would happen to her father if she didn't.
Someone: Ah, her demon is telling her that she's bad news.
Me: Basically, yes.
Someone: The demon is right.
Ysabel was sure that Ingrid couldn't possibly understand. Ingrid pointed out that she believed what she had just shot. She guessed that Ysabel feared that she'd give in to the temptation to summon a possessor into her father, aka Ingrid's fiance.
Sighing, Ingrid suggested an escort of von Black and von Pfender men to take the obviously hysterical Ysabel to a von Black country estate for a long rest. Ysabel grateful agreed.
This was a mixed twist. On the one hand, it gave Ingrid something to do -- to decide, start to finish, how handle. On the other, it undercut Andreas. Hm. I am wondering if I'd have done better to have Ysabel try a snapshot or ritual Contact / Summoning of a possessor into Edmond, trying to time it so that Ingrid, Sebastian, and Andreas all had opportunity to interfere. Sophia as well, possibly -- but those 3 had the greater stake.
On the other hand, time was getting on, and I was trying to wrap things. On the other, I was perhaps aiming always for too neat a solution.
Ludwig
Sophia and Sebastian found Ludwig. He was sitting on the floor, shattered by the death of 2 of his demons, cradling the third one and petting it. This was the point at which the number of his demons was set. It simply hadn't mattered before. Rupert was there as well, baffled and worried about his lover.
Sophia and Sebastian explained what happened, getting the obvious reaction of disbelief from Rupert -- until Ludwig opened his mouth.
Ludwig explained that he had to kill Niccolo, just as he had to kill the others. First, Volkhardt had learned that Ludwig was a sorcerer and planned to expose him. This couldn't be allowed -- the work was too important.
Then, Ludwig's uncle tried to frame Sebastian for the murder. When Sebastian learned about the corpse that had been planted, he asked Ludwig for help. Of -course- Ludwig had helped his fellow sorcerer. How dared his uncle frame Sebastian for the murder -his- demons had committed.
His uncle wanted Ludwig to continue sending the demons out to kill people.
Ludwig: But, the -wrong- people!
So, Ludwig sent them to kill his uncle. After all, he had no choice. The work must continue.
I'd created Ludwig with a Humanity of 2. By the time he'd murdered his uncle, our group consensus was that his Humanity was now 1. As he wasn't a PC, I had no problem with this fiat ruling any more than with Marcello by-fiat succeeding in sticking a possessor in Axel.
So, Ludwig had killed twice, with his cats. He learned of other sorcerers and of possessors demons. There was a question of why he zeroed in on Teresa, rather than Axel or Leonardo. Someone said that Teresa was just more interesting. That's part of it. But also, Andreas had Axel or Leonardo under control -- they were -his- test subjects. And, Teresa was the first possessor Ludwig had seen, and she came to him for help.
But, Niccolo had threatened the work. He took away the fragment of the manuscript he didn't want. Ludwig had to kill him -- he threatened the work.
Sebastian and Sophia tried to get Rupert to leave the room. Rupert, however, was merely stunned, not stupid. He had no intention of leaving so that Sophia could kill Ludwig.
Andreas arrived, finding Sophia and Rupert giving each other awkward, "I don't really want to kill you" looks. He was brought up to date. Sebastian tried to sell Ludwig on the idea of a suicide.
Sebastian: But, Ludwig, there is one more person who stands in the way of the work.
Andreas and Rupert: Excuse me, Herr Doktor!
Neither they nor Ludwig were interested in buying.
Andreas revealed that Teresa and her unborn child were dead. He either made it clear or Ludwig figured out that Niccolo had banished Teresa.
Ludwig (utterly unselfconscious of any irony): That cold-blooded bastard!
Ludwig lamented the loss of Teresa's child, the only potential demonspawn he knew about.
Andreas looked speculatively at Rupert.
And, no, I told everyone, Ludwig did not know that Rupert was half-demon. Why would he? Rupert didn't know. Gudrun, Rupert's mother, was dead before Ludwig became a sorcerer. Ludwig, not being a PC, did NOT go around waiting for his demon detector to go off. He had no reason to suspect his lover -- or the von Ouranenburg butler -- of being anything other than human.
We broke, it being now after 11 pm, with a detente. Rupert and Andreas would not allow Ludwig to be killed, and Sebastian and Sophia were not going to push it. Rupert took Ludwig to his country estate.
I had toyed with the idea of having Rupert ask Andreas to brew a painless puison for Ludwig, but discarded the idea. Andreas, not Rupert, was the PC, and I really -am- trying to learn to avoid the impulse to solve the PCs' problems. I explained this, adding that if Andreas had come up with the idea on his own, Rupert would have agreed. Dave said that if Rupert had approached Andreas about it, Andreas would have agreed. As it was, Andreas considered Ludwig family. He's very protective of family, murderously so, and he cared more about Ludwig than about Niccolo, Sebastian, or Sophia. And, if Ludwig hadn't killed Niccolo, Andreas might have.
Vignettes, Aftermath, Analysis
On the way to the train, I suggested we do closing vignettes.
Julian: I'll go first. Niccolo's pushing up daisies. In his studio, a truly masterful, though not quite complete, portrait of Teresa will be found, though her hair will be its natural color.
[Teresa's telltale was that her hair had a subtle, but definitely unnatural, tint to it.]
Josh: Sebastian's starting a new book.
Dave: Andreas is starting -his- new book.
Andreas was also well on his way to "inventing" parasite demons. I'd figured from the beginning that this was something he could do if he got together with Ludwig.
Pamela: Sopia is summoning another demon. She misses Nariya.
Ingrid was a little more complicated. She explained some things to Edmond, but not, if I recall correctly, sorcery. She started a spy network. She settled into her role as the new Gudrun.
And, we all agreed, Sebastian would make 'Elena very happy by sending her to kill Ludwig. We agreed that she would succeed.
This would anger Andreas. Ingrid would be relieved to hear of Ludwig's death. For the rest, well, she wanted fewer sorcerers in town. If Andreas and Sebastian destroyed each other without her intervention, so much the better.
Would that happen? Possibly. Dave said that, before Ludwig's death, Sebastian and Andreas would probably work together to study sorcery, collaborating. After Ludwig's death, Andreas would be cold to Sebastian. What a lovely, civilized way to put it.
Dave also wasn't sure what would happen regarding Ysabel. Andreas did not, I think, get that Edmond was determined that Andreas should not continue his relationship with Ysabel -- and he certainly did not know that Ysabel would flee, seeing herself as her family's worst enemy, having no idea that Andreas might claim that honor for himself. Dave said that if Ysabel rejects Andreas, he's likely to start seriously losing his grip on reality.
So, there is, theoretically, room for a sequel campaign, but we shan't do that And, there are loose ends, but we shall leave them to dangle.
Julian's observation: Of the three non-noble sorcerers, two wound up dead [Niccolo and Ludwig], and one was exiled [Rainer]. Rainer had a point.
He suggested that Rainer might actually have been the hero of the campaign. If so, this was almost accidental, as I didn't actually have him definitely opposed to Possessors. He just acted morally outraged by the idea, and then, Josh pointed out that, logically, Rainer didn't need a book to know how to summon up Possessors. Rainer was certainly the hero in his own mind, but that may be about it.
Interesting note on Sebastian: He decided to kill Ludwig, the most brilliant sorcerer, despite Sebastian's goals of studying new frontiers in sorcery. It wasn't lack of imagination that led Ludwig to summon 3 cat passer demons. It was Science! One is supposed to repeat the experiment, after all.
But, Josh said, Ludwig crossed a line. I think Julian asked if that was going after sorcerers, i.e., Niccolo, but Josh says that it was before. I am wondering, then, if this is the only case of an actual answer to "How far will you go to get what you want?" in this game, except that Sebastian was also being prudent and protecting himself. Well, except that Andreas might try to kill him, and could conceivably talk Rupert into challenging Sebastian to a duel if he wants to focus on convincing his cousin that Sebastian was the culprit behind Ludwig's death.
Julian noted that one Bang I should have considered is having Ingrid realize, in the middle of the wedding ceremony, that Edmond was possessed. He has a point. Beth said that what would happen is that Edmond would have a fatal heart attack when Ingrid had a rock solid alibi.
End Status of the Demons:
'Elena: Happy to kill at last! Hoping for more.
Minerva: Cheerfully sweeping away with her tiny broom.
Phaidippides: Likely claimed by Sebastian, and quite grumpy as Sebastian can't meet the Need: To be touched up nearly as well as Niccolo could. Sebastian is no artist.
Orion: Hunting. Hunting what? Ah, that would be telling.
Axel: Hapless victim of Andreas' experiments
Leonardo: Likely claimed by Sophia. Dave didn't think Andreas would mind. After Ludwig's death would that change? Who knows? And, just how many prostitutes are carrying Leonardo's children?
Aquila: Perhaps getting jealous of Ingrid's spy ring? Aquila wants Ingrid to depend on it. Perhaps happy that Ingrid can use its knowledge, claiming to have received it via spy network, getting ever more dependent on the demon.
'Ecate: On the one hand, the demon wants to improve the survival of the von Blacks. On the other, Ysabel has the edge in their relationship. On the third hand, the phrase "survival of the von Blacks" is wonderfully open to interpretation, isn't it?
Mosca: Still bound to Andreas, still wanting to cause chaos.
Rolph: Probably happy following orders as the von Ouranenburg butler. Probably also quite happy that Ludwig is dead.
Cat #3: Since it needed to drink milk from Ludwig's nipple, it probably didn't last long, unless Andreas intervened. In theory, he could wait until the Need was strong enough that the demon could break the binding, and then bind it to himself, but in practice, he probably wouldn't care about the demon enough to do that.
Rupert: Only Andreas knows the truth that Graf von Ouranenburg does not suspect about himself. Rupert trusts Andreas.
SORCERER: Eleventh and Final Session: June 6, 2006
The description of the characters and the write up of the first session are here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=17765.0
The write up of the second session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18035.0
The write up of the third session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18074.0
The write up of the fourth session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18746.0
The write up of the fifth session is here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18871.0
The write up of the sixth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/7728.html#cutid1
The write up of the seventh session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/10758.html#cutid1
The write up of the eighth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/11558.html#cutid1
The write up of the ninth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/12699.html#cutid1
The write up of the tenth session is here: http://community.livejournal.com/labcats/13720.html#cutid1
Quick Character and Demon List:
Player: Elizabeth Bartley
Character: Ingrid von Pfender, plague-scarred heiress having a party to celebrate her betrothal
Demon: Aquila, eagle passer
Player: Dave Demast
Character: Andreas von Ouranenburg, professor of Natural Philosophy (or whatever Biology was called during the Renaissance). Having an affair with Sebastian's niece.
Demons: Orion, dog passer; Leonardo, possessed perpetually priapic nobleman; Mosca,fly passer summoned this session
Player: Pamela Gutman
Character: Sophia von Winterhagen, scandalous swordswoman and noble
Demons: Nariya, cat passer; Hermes, possessed raccoon summoned to take public blame for the murders Nariya committed. Ingrid's great-grandfather hired her to kill a sorcerer named Rainer.
Player: Joshua Kronengold
Character: Sebastian von Ouranenburg, professor of Philosophy, studying new frontiers of sorcery. His brother is engaged to Ingrid, and Andreas is having an affair with his niece, Ysabel.
Demons: 'Elena, raven passer; Minerva, possessed mouse. But, he summoned a demon for his niece to bind, helped Sophia summon Hermes, and helped Andreas summon Mosca
Player: Julian Lighton
Character: Niccolo di Tarci, artist, banisher of various possessor demons while trying to avoid dealing with his own.
Demon: Possessed Teresa, daughter of his former patron, Antonio di Mantuo; Phaidippides, a horse that can travel to Italy in a night
Meeting
We decided to try Hamilton, in view of Josh's throat. Josh and I got food from Hunan Balcony and hustled with heavy bags for 3 blocks, catching up with Julian, which was practical because he'd slowed down a bit walking with Pamela. Beth called to say she'd staked out room 602. I called Dave, who'd lost track of time. We were in luck. Elevators would be skipping most floors the next day, according to the signs. Possibly construction too -- 5 was not accessible.
A Cunning Plan, or Saving Rainer
602 was a big lecture room with unmovable chairs. Folks settled in and snacked while I asked just how Sebastian, Andreas, and Rainer planned to save Rainer's life.
How else? Summon a demon!
Naturally, Sebastian wanted to summon a possessor, doing further experiments. Fortunately (?), Andreas talked him down to a passer.
It needed Cloak and Command Corpse to get a dead body moving and looking alive and like Rainer. It also took Cover: Rainer, Special Effect: Hide in the Corpse.
What type of animal was it? A fly, we agreed, with jeweled wings as its telltale. It would animate the corpse by flying down its throat. This notion got the "Yuck!" response that assured me that we were on track.
Reminding Josh that it was moving towards 8, I pushed for a quick-but-appropriate Desire. Prophetically (?), Josh suggested Chaos. I went with Need: To Deceive. I assured folks that no, I was not being soft in this case. I was avoiding over complicating an already complicated final session. Also, this was going to cause enough of a mess with Sophia and Ingrid having their own agendas where Rainer was concerned.
For a name, I settled on Mosca, as I tried to remember the character from Volpone whose name means "Fly". Sebastian lead the Contact and Summoning rituals, I think losing 1 Humanity. Andreas did the Binding, fulfilling Mosca's Need by playing 3 cup monte with the fly. He fulfilled the demon's Desire by taking an ordered playing deck and tossing it up into the air. Cool. Andreas also lost 1 point of Humanity.
Rainer's Entrance
Moving back to the party, we started with "Rainer"'s uncostumed entrance.
Someone: Actually, he -is- in costume.
Someone: The fly's in costume.
Me: I'm glad I didn't have him speak last session.
Both Ingrid and Sophia were fooled. (Mosca had Cloak and a Power of 4.) However, we agreed that
a) Sophia should get another roll when she fought Rainer
b) The real Rainer should be there in costume to talk to Ingrid.
Dave suggested that Rainer costume as Mars both because a lot of people would be doing the same, and because the costume involved a helmet. I settled on Mercury as thematically more appropriate, and I liked the consciously unplanned resonance with Sophia's latest demon, Hermes.
I referred to this as a hair-brained scheme, but was informed that it was not at all hare-brained. Leonardo was the hare.
I sketched a diagram of where people were standing on the convenient blackboard.
Julian: We need miniatures!
Beth, Josh, and Lisa (flashing back to the far too crowded D&D game): No! We! Don't!
Sophia moved to Corpse Rainer. Siegfried von Pfender, family patriarch, waited, with gleeful anticipation, for her to kill Rainer. Freideriche, Sophia's one-handed brother, moved to block her. Real Rainer made his presence known to Ingrid. Sebastian helped Cornelius, a fellow professor, out of the way.
Cornelius was near sighted and could not find his glasses before the party. He was glad for Sebastian's aid and let himself be guided around the other gentleman who, though Cornelius hated to say it, smelled.
At least a couple of players correctly guessed that Hermes had stolen the spectacles. As someone pointed out, Sophia had told Hermes not to kill people from the university, so he had to fulfill his Desire rather than his need. Someonk suggested that Cornelius might be Hermes. I vetoed this, but perhaps I should not have.
Family Quarrels and a Duel
Frederiche took Sophia's challenge to Rainer on himself, or tried to. He'd been hearing some terrible things about Sophia from Trismegistus, Rainer's human-faced weasel. Trismegistus had spoken the truth and had never shown itself to Freideriche. Ingrid explained to a very surprised Rainer what his demon had done.
Sophia decided to knock Freideriche out with one blow. Stakes: Does Sophia knock her brother out without hurting him? Yes.
Cornelius: Did I miss something?
Sebastian: Just a family quarrel.
Sigrid, Freideriche's daughter, did what she does best: screamed. She and her unconscious father were taken to another room.
Sophia tried to continue her business with Rainer only to be interrupted by her other brother, Fritz. He said that either she could fight him now or she could talk privately with him about what he'd learned from Freideriche. As Sophia vacillated, he warned her that if she insisted, he would indeed state his concerns in front of everyone. Sophia asked if talking with him meant that he would not challenge her later. He said that if she could lay his concerns to rest, he would not challenge her.
20-20 hindsight things I could have suggested: Sophia could have tried to talk him down -- or did she, with die rolls?
Sebastian could have done the same, appealing to Fritz as a civilized man or Ingrid could have, using her position as noble hostess.
Sophia was worried about Rainer fleeing before she could skewer him. Corpse Rainer said that he could not depart without his host's leave. Pamela asked if this would clue Sophia in, but the rest of us agreed that Sophia would remain convinced that this was the real Rainer until she fought him. Sure, he was being weird, but Rainer -was- weird, demanding an admission that Sophia was a sorcerer one minute and groveling for forgiveness the next. Pamela conceded the point. We didn't have to remind her about his standing on tables, leading students to riot, or bringing his entire class plus his horse to a brothel.
Fritz had heard from Freideriche about how Sophia had a demon which had caused much of the carnage when she killed Horst, and, while he didn't want to believe this, Sophia could not bamboozle him, which was what was at stake on the roll. She did win a different stake on the next roll, getting Fritz to believe that she'd summoned Nariya to defeat the sorcerer Rainer. But, Fritz insisted that Sophia would have to get rid of the demon.
This troubled Sophia, who had no intention of doing so. Someone suggested -saying- that the demon was gone and that Nariya was now a normal kitty cat.
Meanwhile, Bianca, dressed a Cassandra, begged Andreas for aid. Antonio wanted to wed her to his demon-possessed son, Leonardo. This, Antonio figured, would solve two problems. Andreas laughed at the notion, but agreed to see what he could do. Bianca made it clear that she knew or suspected that her husband's death was not an accident, though she was very grateful to Signore Doctore for that. Andreas foisted her off on Niccolo, who foisted her off on Teressa.
Sophia returned to duel Rainer. She tried to get him to step outside so that she wouldn't be killing him at the party. Siegfried was having none of it. To my delight, Ingrid was disturbed at how gleeful great-grandfather Siegfried was at the prospect of Rainer's death. Nevertheless, she said that she supposed if Sophia could challenge Rainer at her engagement party, the swordswoman could fight him there as well.
In retrospect, Sophia should have gotten a Humanity Gain roll for trying to uphold civilized proprieties, while Siegfried should have gotten a Humanity loss roll, if NPCs get those.
We agreed that Sophia would skewer Corpse Rainer. Everyone wanted this, including the demon possessing the corpse. At Stake was whether Sophia would figure out that this wasn't really Rainer. She did, and I described wounds opening up where Sophia knew that she hadn't hit Rainer. She didn't reveal this. Humanity gain? Loss? Neither?
Julian thinks neither and is probably correct. Sophia kept things quiet and as civilized as she could, and it cost her nothing.
Leonardo in Lust
Immediately thereafter, Sigrid screamed. Leonardo had broken his Contain and gone looking for a woman. The house guards probably assumed that he was costumed as Priapus. Sophia ran to the rescue.
She found Leonardo attempting to rape Sigrid. I had expected Sophia to skewer him, but, instead, she posed with her sword at his throat. Naturally, this made Leonardo fall to his knees and beg, as his Need is to submit in ritualized power games.
And, Sophia couldn't bring herself to kill the handsome groveling hunk. She tossed him money and told him to go to a brothel.
Sophia: Only willing ones!
Leonardo:
Sophia: Stick to the brothels.
This Leonardo understood. He asked if he could have Sophia, too.
Sophia: Talk to me later.
Leonardo ran off, happily.
Exit Rainer
Ingrid and Rainer talked' Rainer saying truthfully that he'd killed no one, nor had he and his demons harmed a human.
Ingrid: I don't wish you dead' but --
Rainer: You wish me away from here.
Ingrid: Well, that's putting it more bluntly than I would have, but yes.
(Any of that merit Humanity loss or gain rolls? Dave and Julian think not. I think they're correct where Ingrid is concerned. Not sure about Rainer. He's being rude, if only a little.)
Rainer noted that it had not escaped his attention that he was the only commoner sorcerer. (He knew of neither Ludwig's nor Niccolo's sorcerous abilities.) He said that he knew that it was one law for nobles, and another for everyone else, and he considered himself lucky to be escaping with his life. He referred to Ingrid as the new Gudrun.
Ingrid told Rainer that Ludwig was a sorcerer. This stunned him. He asked Andreas if Andreas had known this.
Andreas: What are you still doing here? Go, man!
Rainer asked Sebastian if he should leave and, when Sebastian confirmed this, did so.
Sebastian talked to 'Elena, something I figured folks would chalk up to the eccentric professor staying in character, as he was costumed as Wotan. Sebastian told 'Elena to find Hermes. 'Elena sulkily asked why. Sebastian explained that he wanted 'Elena to kill Hermes. I drew a joyful arc on the blackboard showing 'Elena's flight path out of there.
An Italian Discussion
One of Antonio's men asked to speak to Andreas outside. Andreas agreed.
His hunter's instincts saved him from the other man's attempt to knife him from behind. Armed with a staff as part of his costume, Andreas disarmed his foe, hollering for the house guard. He called Orion via his link.
Note 1: I so should have had Orion corner Antonio. I dropped Antonio, and Orion never did anything this session.
Note 2: Heck, Orion should have shown up then and there and tried to kill the guy. Heck with worrying about timing, and hey, maybe Orion was hanging around outside. It's psychomaciacally appropriate.
Note 3: Now, this party -had- good security. Veteran players tend to set things up that way, and it is often realistic. How do other people deal with the annoying NPC trying to keep the plot at bay without making them or the PCs seem like fools or invoking the hammer of fiat power? Recruit the players to help reach a desired result? Something else?
I mean, often there's this situation: Okay, as a player, heck yes, I want my PC to have problems, but don't want my PC to be stupid or incompetent. As a GM, don't want to have to spend excessive time getting around PC precautions.
This creates a vicious cycle, for, the more that gets through, the more determined PCs / players are to redouble their efforts at good defense.
Niccolo and Ludwig Exercise Their Social Skills
Hermes, Orion, and 'Elena arrived near the house, as did Ysabel with the horses she'd brought, intending to run away with Andreas. Meanwhile, Ingrid asked Niccolo what Teresa had given Ludwig. It had looked like the fragment of a book to her. Niccolo excused himself, heading for Ludwig, and grabbing a sharp knife (subtlely) en route, while Ysabel's screams drew everyone else outside.
Niccolo demanded the fragment back. Ludwig tried to defuse the situation, explaining that he knew that Niccolo didn't want Teresa, but didn't want anyone else becoming her lover. Well, Ludwig did want Teresa, and he had no interest in becoming her lover. This set up worked better than the Rupert - Ysabel thing, I think because I was trying to create, rather than to solve, a PC's problems.
Ludwig also said that, if Teresa's child were human, they'd give it to Niccolo, so, what was the problem?
Bang. A bigger bang than I think I'd realized at the time.
As Ludwig explained and Niccolo absorbed, there was a chance that the baby, whenever conceived -- probably when Teresa was human -- might not be human itself. Niccolo became a lot more willing to entertain certain notions.
Niccolo demanded the fragment of the book back, looming over Ludwig. Now, Ludwig is socially clueless these days. He's insane. He is not, however, stupid. He handed over the fragment, waited until Niccolo stalked off, looking for Teresa, and send two of his Passer cats to kill the artist.
Niccolo should have got a Humanity loss roll for his crude threatening behavior -- he was acting like an alpha animal. He hit Ludwig at some point in the conversation. Neither Julian nor I remember exactly why, but Josh thinks Ludwig said something about Teresa, which makes sense. Julian thinks it was after Niccolo got the book back. If NPCs get rolls, Ludwig should have gotten a Humanity gain roll for keeping the peace, acting civilly, giving up his treasure, and pursuing a discreet vengeance later. The vengeance, of course, merited a Humanity loss roll.
The Chekhov's Gun is Fired
Meanwhile, Siegfried's household swordsmen gathered around him to protect him as a crowd ran towards the sound of Ysabel screaming. Siegfried didn't understand why everything wasn't going well now that Rainer was dead.
I sketched out the situation on the blackboard. Ysabel was launching herself at Hermes, who'd stolen her mother's jewels. The baker's son was bleeding, probably dying. 'Elena and Orion were on the scene.
In retrospect, I should have had a carefully thought out default scene, one more dramatic. Perhaps there should have been many wounded and dying von Pfender guards and a wounded or dying Fritz. 'Elena could have been active, possibly wounded. And, the horses could be panicking and disemboweled. Sure, any default I came up with might have been rendered moot, but better preparation would have made improvising easier.
Ingrid decided to try a snapshot Banish. Beth said that the special effect would be Ingrid firing the small pistol she had acquired in the very first session at the demon. I awarded 3 bonus dice for the dramatic appropriateness of firing the Chekhov's Gun.
Sebastian ordered 'Elena to attack Hermes.
Andreas tried to get between Ysabel and Hermes -- hm, she should have been down, wounded perhaps, and clutching the remains of her jewelry, which would have been sufficient enough to get her idiocy across, and still given a more dramatic game.
Various NPCs, like Rupert and the house guards, had drawn their weapons and prepared to attack Hermes.
Ludwig and Sophia were heading toward the melee, Sophia faster, but farther away.
Hermes made a speech, Cornelius' glasses perched on his nose, and tried to attack Ysabel.
Pamela asked why Hermes had attacked the baker's son, who was a student at the university, when Sophia had told him not to attack university people.
Me: He's in costume. Hermes doesn't recognize him.
Folks agreed that this made sense. After the session, I explained that Hermes probably no longer considered Ysabel off limits because she was being stupid, university student or not. Beth agreed that this made good sense.
I'm not sure if I should have picked a better victim than the baker's son. I think so. The trouble was that anyone not disemboweled on the spot wasn't going to die -- see below -- and bumping off one of the big NPCs via GM fiat was unsatisfactory to me.
Beth rolled Really Well for Ingrid's snapshot Banish. Ingrid's Humanity is very high. So, the engaged, plague-scarred heiress fired her small pistol, and the huge raccoon demon started to make a speech, gasped, fell, and -- as far as we could tell from the rules the default was -- vanished.
Andreas (to Rupert) Do you think we should invite her to join the hunt club?
Rupert liked the idea of asking a woman to join. It was nicely scandalous.
Rupert (still annoyed at Edmond) But, would her husband object?
Andreas: Do you think he will have any say in the matter?
Ingrid (to herself, annoyed): People will be talking about this party for years, and not in a good way.
Folks began filtering back inside. Ingrid went to ask the guards what they'd learned from the man who had tried to kill Andreas. She then went back outside to pdss this information on to Andreas himself.
Teresa did not wish to harm Niccolo or to have another harm him. But, she did not wish to be Banished. Niccolo had refrained from banishing her because he feared it would leave nothing but a corpse. However, Andreas believed that he might be able to restore the real Teresa to herself.
Tersesa went to her father, Lord Antonio Mantuo, and she told him that Niccolo was falling under the Andreas' sway, and Andreas meant her ill. So, Antonio sent one of his men to kill Andreas. Andres, as mentioned, foiled the attempt.
Edmond Fails to be Unreasonable
Edmond decided to talk to Andreas, and here, I really fumbled the ball. It made sense for Antonio to be reasonable last session. It made No Sense for Edmond to be reasonable with two horses Right There as evidence of Ysabel's plans, not to mention his Wife's Jewelry. And Ysabel had been endangered by Hermes, something Edmund should dang well have blamed Andreas for. Or Rupert or Sebastian -- but loudly -- and Andreas, not them.
Instead, he gave Andreas a polite, veiled, and not unfriendly instruction to stay away from Ysabel. He noted that a marriage to Rupert just wouldn't work. Heck, the duplicity should have enraged Edmond.
Instead, Edmond noted that he blamed not Andreas, but his brother, Sebastian, for not informing him earlier --
Edmond: Hm. He never did actually inform me of this. Excuse me.
Someone: Ah. When in doubt, blame Sebastian.
And, with that, he wandered off and was not seen in the game again.
This plus not having Orion -- or Andreas -- locate Antonio kept Dave from having a chance to have Andreas cut loose. So, why did I do this?
-- I consistently missed Dave's timing throughout and vice versa. Ysabel and yappy dogs.
-- Communication issue: I didn't realize, and should have, that Dave's position was not "I'm going to have my PC turn into a serial killer at the drop of a hat" but "He has this destructive potential within him, knows it, and knows it's wrong, so he -- and I -- won't make it easy to go over the edge.
This is the correct way to play the character, IMAO, and I'd have done better if I'd realized early on that this was how Dave was playing it. Granted, his OOC comments gave me the wrong impression ("Just leave the bodies in the lab, and Andreas will take care of it all." -- clearly an OOC joke, but likely confusing an already confused GM), but, as he explained before this session, Andreas' chosen family will push his buttons (Marcello summoning a demon into Axel precipitated Andreas killing Marcello).
-- Five players. Not the demon issue, the 5 players worth of Stuff issue.
-- Sorcerer's tendency to let PCs go in all different directions and my tendency to do likewise
-- Timing -- we knew this would be the last session. It was getting late, and I was in wrap up mode, rather than add complications mode. In retrospect, I should not have worried about that so much.
(Tabulating to analyze and learn, not to excuse or browbeat myself.)
Dave commented on reading the above:
In retrospect, Andreas so should have gutted Rainer. Advancing science be damned, I think assisting Rainer's escape after Rainer had caused so much trouble for Ysable, and, indeed, Andreas himself, was out of character.
I think he's correct, but I chalk that up in part to the gap between sessions, and in part to Andreas' willingness to work with Sebastian. And, I did far worse with Edmond acting out of character.
Julian's comment was that worrying about wrapping everything was probably my biggest problem with the pacing, and that I would have been more comfortable either deciding that we could spill over into an additional session or deciding that it was okay not to wrap everything.
Cat Fight
Meanwhile, Sophia saw two of Ludwig's cats heading past her. Unaware that they were demons, she nevertheless sent Nariya to see what was going on.
Niccolo, searching for Teresa, spotted the cats. Julian looked at the odds of pulling off a snapshot Banish, and decided that they were slim to none -- and noted that there were two demons and Niccolo could only banish one at a time.
-- On the one hand, I have to get better at quickly recognizing the tactical situation so that I -know- how much and in what ways I'm shafting the PCs -- or NPCs.
-- On the other, Ludwig's tactics made good sense, and, if only by accident, I seemed to have set in motion an ending that Julian could shape to his sense of dramatic rightness.
So, having decided Banishing was not viable, Niccolo tried to run, to keep from being cornered by the cats, and to head for people. Alas, the cats rolled better -- I used 1 roll for both to keep it simple. Niccolo aborted to defense. It didn't help.
Pause as we tried to figure out whether or not Niccolo was dead.
I was okay with either answer, so long as everyone else was.
Dave thought it wasn't quite Dramatic enough for Niccolo to die unnoticed and alone.
Julian could not find a rule about dying for anyone other than demons, though I think I assumed it more or less also applied to humans.
Josh may have thought that the rules intended -- or, if not, should intend -- that killing off a non-demon should be basically fiat, vs X damage. Note: This need not be -GM- fiat!
Pamela noted that, while Sophia wouldn't order Nariya to fight the other demon cats, she was distressed and would run to where he was, calling for help, saying that the artist was being attacked, without worrying about covering for how she knew.
I decided that Nariya, picking up on Sophia's distress, would try to help, even though it wouldn't do much good for Niccolo, and Sophia would not arrive in time.
Julian reiterated that Sorcerer combat was indeed like grasping a live wire -- an unpleasant experience that one did not wish to repeat.
As I recall:
Ludwig's cats mortally wounded Niccolo, but Nariya killed one of them. The dead Cat Passer vanished.
The other cat killed Nariya, who likewise vanished. Sophia was devastated.
Sophia and the guards came running, spotting one cat passer demon. After much combat, Sophia killed it. It vanished.
Julian pointed out that, while it wasn't Hermes, Sophia had publicly killed a demon menace. Also, Fritz would be satisfied, as Nariya was gone. And, Sophia's humanity might be in better shape.
Pamela: I don't care about Humanity! I want my kitty back!
Niccolo's Death Scene
Having figured out the cats' damage we agreed that Andreas would proclaim the baker's son a goner from similar damage caused by Hermes. Meanwhile, Julian decided how to frame Niccolo's death scene. The rest of the PCs arrived for logical reasons -- Sophia was already there, Ingrid was the hostess (sort of), Sebastian was naturally concerned, and Andreas was the doctor. Teresa had to be there, of course. Okay, I'd figured she'd leave the party, but that hadn't been set in stone, and hey -- big party. Folks probably kept stopping to talk to her or dance with her. Julian thought about whether Niccolo would try a banishing ritual with his last strength, and decided that he would. Given how long he was lingering -- we're talking a fair amount of real time, so I'd no objection to that turning into game time -- Julian figured that this was not a snapshot. I was okay with that and okay with either success or failure. Both fit Niccolo.
Niccolo said, "I'm sorry, Teresa," and Julian said that probably no one noticed that he wasn't looking at her. She cradled his head in her lap, wept, and discreetly searched for the fragment of the book.
And, Niccolo succeeded in banishing the demon. He breathed his last breath, and Teresa collapsed dead, on top of him, her hair losing its unnatural tint. Shock, no doubt. Tragic, and her unborn child died as well.
Andreas was privately satisfied, as he was angry with Niccolo for bringing Antonio to Vindabona by telling Antonio about Marcello and Leonardo. Indeed, Dave said that if Ludwig hadn't killed Niccolo, Andreas probably would have.
Ysabel
Sophia and Sebastian went to look for Ludwig. Ingrid saw, I think through Aquila's eyes, the latest example of Ysabel's folly -- Ysabel was attempting to saddle a horse and leave.
Ingrid and house guards intercepted Ysabel at the stable. Ysabel explained that she -had- to leave. Terrible things would happen to her father if she didn't.
Someone: Ah, her demon is telling her that she's bad news.
Me: Basically, yes.
Someone: The demon is right.
Ysabel was sure that Ingrid couldn't possibly understand. Ingrid pointed out that she believed what she had just shot. She guessed that Ysabel feared that she'd give in to the temptation to summon a possessor into her father, aka Ingrid's fiance.
Sighing, Ingrid suggested an escort of von Black and von Pfender men to take the obviously hysterical Ysabel to a von Black country estate for a long rest. Ysabel grateful agreed.
This was a mixed twist. On the one hand, it gave Ingrid something to do -- to decide, start to finish, how handle. On the other, it undercut Andreas. Hm. I am wondering if I'd have done better to have Ysabel try a snapshot or ritual Contact / Summoning of a possessor into Edmond, trying to time it so that Ingrid, Sebastian, and Andreas all had opportunity to interfere. Sophia as well, possibly -- but those 3 had the greater stake.
On the other hand, time was getting on, and I was trying to wrap things. On the other, I was perhaps aiming always for too neat a solution.
Ludwig
Sophia and Sebastian found Ludwig. He was sitting on the floor, shattered by the death of 2 of his demons, cradling the third one and petting it. This was the point at which the number of his demons was set. It simply hadn't mattered before. Rupert was there as well, baffled and worried about his lover.
Sophia and Sebastian explained what happened, getting the obvious reaction of disbelief from Rupert -- until Ludwig opened his mouth.
Ludwig explained that he had to kill Niccolo, just as he had to kill the others. First, Volkhardt had learned that Ludwig was a sorcerer and planned to expose him. This couldn't be allowed -- the work was too important.
Then, Ludwig's uncle tried to frame Sebastian for the murder. When Sebastian learned about the corpse that had been planted, he asked Ludwig for help. Of -course- Ludwig had helped his fellow sorcerer. How dared his uncle frame Sebastian for the murder -his- demons had committed.
His uncle wanted Ludwig to continue sending the demons out to kill people.
Ludwig: But, the -wrong- people!
So, Ludwig sent them to kill his uncle. After all, he had no choice. The work must continue.
I'd created Ludwig with a Humanity of 2. By the time he'd murdered his uncle, our group consensus was that his Humanity was now 1. As he wasn't a PC, I had no problem with this fiat ruling any more than with Marcello by-fiat succeeding in sticking a possessor in Axel.
So, Ludwig had killed twice, with his cats. He learned of other sorcerers and of possessors demons. There was a question of why he zeroed in on Teresa, rather than Axel or Leonardo. Someone said that Teresa was just more interesting. That's part of it. But also, Andreas had Axel or Leonardo under control -- they were -his- test subjects. And, Teresa was the first possessor Ludwig had seen, and she came to him for help.
But, Niccolo had threatened the work. He took away the fragment of the manuscript he didn't want. Ludwig had to kill him -- he threatened the work.
Sebastian and Sophia tried to get Rupert to leave the room. Rupert, however, was merely stunned, not stupid. He had no intention of leaving so that Sophia could kill Ludwig.
Andreas arrived, finding Sophia and Rupert giving each other awkward, "I don't really want to kill you" looks. He was brought up to date. Sebastian tried to sell Ludwig on the idea of a suicide.
Sebastian: But, Ludwig, there is one more person who stands in the way of the work.
Andreas and Rupert: Excuse me, Herr Doktor!
Neither they nor Ludwig were interested in buying.
Andreas revealed that Teresa and her unborn child were dead. He either made it clear or Ludwig figured out that Niccolo had banished Teresa.
Ludwig (utterly unselfconscious of any irony): That cold-blooded bastard!
Ludwig lamented the loss of Teresa's child, the only potential demonspawn he knew about.
Andreas looked speculatively at Rupert.
And, no, I told everyone, Ludwig did not know that Rupert was half-demon. Why would he? Rupert didn't know. Gudrun, Rupert's mother, was dead before Ludwig became a sorcerer. Ludwig, not being a PC, did NOT go around waiting for his demon detector to go off. He had no reason to suspect his lover -- or the von Ouranenburg butler -- of being anything other than human.
We broke, it being now after 11 pm, with a detente. Rupert and Andreas would not allow Ludwig to be killed, and Sebastian and Sophia were not going to push it. Rupert took Ludwig to his country estate.
I had toyed with the idea of having Rupert ask Andreas to brew a painless puison for Ludwig, but discarded the idea. Andreas, not Rupert, was the PC, and I really -am- trying to learn to avoid the impulse to solve the PCs' problems. I explained this, adding that if Andreas had come up with the idea on his own, Rupert would have agreed. Dave said that if Rupert had approached Andreas about it, Andreas would have agreed. As it was, Andreas considered Ludwig family. He's very protective of family, murderously so, and he cared more about Ludwig than about Niccolo, Sebastian, or Sophia. And, if Ludwig hadn't killed Niccolo, Andreas might have.
Vignettes, Aftermath, Analysis
On the way to the train, I suggested we do closing vignettes.
Julian: I'll go first. Niccolo's pushing up daisies. In his studio, a truly masterful, though not quite complete, portrait of Teresa will be found, though her hair will be its natural color.
[Teresa's telltale was that her hair had a subtle, but definitely unnatural, tint to it.]
Josh: Sebastian's starting a new book.
Dave: Andreas is starting -his- new book.
Andreas was also well on his way to "inventing" parasite demons. I'd figured from the beginning that this was something he could do if he got together with Ludwig.
Pamela: Sopia is summoning another demon. She misses Nariya.
Ingrid was a little more complicated. She explained some things to Edmond, but not, if I recall correctly, sorcery. She started a spy network. She settled into her role as the new Gudrun.
And, we all agreed, Sebastian would make 'Elena very happy by sending her to kill Ludwig. We agreed that she would succeed.
This would anger Andreas. Ingrid would be relieved to hear of Ludwig's death. For the rest, well, she wanted fewer sorcerers in town. If Andreas and Sebastian destroyed each other without her intervention, so much the better.
Would that happen? Possibly. Dave said that, before Ludwig's death, Sebastian and Andreas would probably work together to study sorcery, collaborating. After Ludwig's death, Andreas would be cold to Sebastian. What a lovely, civilized way to put it.
Dave also wasn't sure what would happen regarding Ysabel. Andreas did not, I think, get that Edmond was determined that Andreas should not continue his relationship with Ysabel -- and he certainly did not know that Ysabel would flee, seeing herself as her family's worst enemy, having no idea that Andreas might claim that honor for himself. Dave said that if Ysabel rejects Andreas, he's likely to start seriously losing his grip on reality.
So, there is, theoretically, room for a sequel campaign, but we shan't do that And, there are loose ends, but we shall leave them to dangle.
Julian's observation: Of the three non-noble sorcerers, two wound up dead [Niccolo and Ludwig], and one was exiled [Rainer]. Rainer had a point.
He suggested that Rainer might actually have been the hero of the campaign. If so, this was almost accidental, as I didn't actually have him definitely opposed to Possessors. He just acted morally outraged by the idea, and then, Josh pointed out that, logically, Rainer didn't need a book to know how to summon up Possessors. Rainer was certainly the hero in his own mind, but that may be about it.
Interesting note on Sebastian: He decided to kill Ludwig, the most brilliant sorcerer, despite Sebastian's goals of studying new frontiers in sorcery. It wasn't lack of imagination that led Ludwig to summon 3 cat passer demons. It was Science! One is supposed to repeat the experiment, after all.
But, Josh said, Ludwig crossed a line. I think Julian asked if that was going after sorcerers, i.e., Niccolo, but Josh says that it was before. I am wondering, then, if this is the only case of an actual answer to "How far will you go to get what you want?" in this game, except that Sebastian was also being prudent and protecting himself. Well, except that Andreas might try to kill him, and could conceivably talk Rupert into challenging Sebastian to a duel if he wants to focus on convincing his cousin that Sebastian was the culprit behind Ludwig's death.
Julian noted that one Bang I should have considered is having Ingrid realize, in the middle of the wedding ceremony, that Edmond was possessed. He has a point. Beth said that what would happen is that Edmond would have a fatal heart attack when Ingrid had a rock solid alibi.
End Status of the Demons:
'Elena: Happy to kill at last! Hoping for more.
Minerva: Cheerfully sweeping away with her tiny broom.
Phaidippides: Likely claimed by Sebastian, and quite grumpy as Sebastian can't meet the Need: To be touched up nearly as well as Niccolo could. Sebastian is no artist.
Orion: Hunting. Hunting what? Ah, that would be telling.
Axel: Hapless victim of Andreas' experiments
Leonardo: Likely claimed by Sophia. Dave didn't think Andreas would mind. After Ludwig's death would that change? Who knows? And, just how many prostitutes are carrying Leonardo's children?
Aquila: Perhaps getting jealous of Ingrid's spy ring? Aquila wants Ingrid to depend on it. Perhaps happy that Ingrid can use its knowledge, claiming to have received it via spy network, getting ever more dependent on the demon.
'Ecate: On the one hand, the demon wants to improve the survival of the von Blacks. On the other, Ysabel has the edge in their relationship. On the third hand, the phrase "survival of the von Blacks" is wonderfully open to interpretation, isn't it?
Mosca: Still bound to Andreas, still wanting to cause chaos.
Rolph: Probably happy following orders as the von Ouranenburg butler. Probably also quite happy that Ludwig is dead.
Cat #3: Since it needed to drink milk from Ludwig's nipple, it probably didn't last long, unless Andreas intervened. In theory, he could wait until the Need was strong enough that the demon could break the binding, and then bind it to himself, but in practice, he probably wouldn't care about the demon enough to do that.
Rupert: Only Andreas knows the truth that Graf von Ouranenburg does not suspect about himself. Rupert trusts Andreas.
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