GM Planning: Session 8

A short prep episode, thanks to a fateful Miss.

Housekeeping

‘Wait a minute!’ those of you who recently reread our last episode might be thinking right now — ‘Didn’t you say there were a few more scenes left to wrap up Session 7 and set us up for Session 8?’

Yes, I did indeed — and I apologize for the abrupt change since it’s been a minute since we spent time with Padrig, Anwen, and Vahid, and I was eager to get back to the fiction. I had intended this episode to be a quick one — just a few slower-paced scenes that explored Anwen and Kirs’ relationship and a few that set us up for next session’s spearmoot.

But the dice gave us a golden opportunity to throw some adversity at our heroes, and I think we have to take it. As a result, I’m pivoting this episode to make some decisions for Session 8, which will start with a bang, one way or another.

The Fateful Miss

First, a recap, since it’s been a while: In Session 7.6, Vahid, with the aid of Katrin, the spirit-talker of the Sun-Spear Band, traveled to the resting place of a mysterious titan and saw a vision of the past — the moment at which Cirl, our sorcerous antagonist, became a hdour. But the hdour also knows Vahid is moving against him, working with the Heolings, and trying to learn of his plans, so they are set up for a collision very soon.

I started playing out the action immediately following the previous session’s events, which began with Vahid and Katrin returning from the Titan’s Grave. To do so, they used the storm spirit bound in Vahid’s magic cloak, and this is where things went wrong for our Seeker.

To entice the storm spirit to land and return into his magic cloak, Vahid must trigger Persuade — the description of the Arcana (you can reference it here) states explicitly that the spirit loves to fly and must be commanded to land. This is a roll that Vahid has trouble with right now. He currently has the miserable debility (from his ordeal with the Fate-Tree), which disadvantages all rolls involving Constitution or Charisma. Here’s how the roll went:

Vahid triggers Persuade: 1+3+5+1 Charisma = 5, Miss

As a GM, this Miss strikes me as a golden opportunity for a bunch of reasons:

1. Vahid and Katrin are exposed, flying through the air on their own, at night, over potentially hostile terrain.

2. We established in Vahid’s vision that Cirl is aware of his meddling, allowing him to act directly and immediately.

3. The party has had a string of successes — Padrig helping to stave off starvation, Anwen triumphing in the warrior’s circle and forging a relationship with Kirs, and Vahid discovering the origin of the hdour. Now we’re due for a reversal of fortune.

4. We’re right at the tail end of Session 7, making it an excellent moment for a twist leading us into the next session.

For all those reasons, we’ll use Cirl to make a very hard move indeed, and the narration of that hard move will open Session 8. So, now the question is: What GM move do we use?

Making Cirl’s Move

Back in our Session 6 GM Planning, we examined some of the threat moves that Cirl might have access to as both a Villain and a Magical Entity.

Source: Stonetop // Jeremy Strandberg

Three of these jump out to me: Offer service, secrets, power from Magical Entity and Attack cautiously, holding reserves, plus Take a prisoner, from Villain. Let’s look at each in a bit of detail:

Attack cautiously, holding reserves

With Vahid and Katrin absent from the campsite, the Sun-Spear have no defenses against Cirl’s magic. If we choose this option, the sorcerer exploits this and sends his Stormcrows to attack the village directly in a pre-dawn raid, sowing panic and confusion.

If we select this option, some of the big questions we’ll answer through play are: Who lives and dies in the attack on the encampment? Who are the Stormcrows that do the hdour’s bidding? How can the Hillfolk strike back at their attackers? How will this attack affect the upcoming spearmoot?

Take a prisoner 

While Katrin and Vahid are isolated, Cirl takes the opportunity to strike at them directly, intending to seize someone, or something, by force.

If we select this option, some of the big questions are: Can Vahid stop Cirl from taking what he pleases? What will Vahid sacrifice to protect them? Who or what does Cirl claim? What are the ramifications with the Sun-Spear if Katrin is taken? What will happen to Vahid if he is captured? What use will the hdour make of the Azure Hand if he takes it? Can the spearmoot help them recover what was taken?

Offer Service, secrets, power 

Cirl continues to act from the shadows. Whispering on the wind, he corrupts and empowers Maikl, Katrin’s suspicious guardian, and drives him into a violent confrontation with the party.

This option probably represents the softest of the hard moves — it’s ultimately a major stakes-raising for the Hillfolk Suspicion clock, which has been simmering since early in Session 7. We’ll add two ticks to it and narratively establish that Maikl and his comrades are getting ready to make a move against the stren interlopers. If we select this option, some of the big questions are: Can the party protect Vahid from Maikl and other Hillfolk who distrust him? Will this draw them into a full-on conflict with the Sun-Spear? What will the ramifications of that conflict be? When will the hdour make his next move?

Choose Your Adventure

We’ll choose between these three options for this week’s reader poll and start Session 8 off with a bang. Mash the vote button below to make your choice, and hold forth in the comments about what you picked and why!