Deeply satisfying read as always. In response to your questions - I'd say this defeat feels very well-earned, sometimes the dice are against you and as a GM myself I'm loathe to throw consequences this huge at my players but I consider that a failing on my part, seeing the good guys lose sucks in the moment but it's like in any good work of fiction, the bad guys have to win some to add to the satisfaction when they ultimately lose!
Vahid's hubris has been a long time coming. I think I've voted in every Vahid poll so far for him to chase down the path of darkness, because the scholar who pursues knowledge and power only to have it consume and corrupt him is such a classic and tragic trope, I can't help but support it.
On your last point, I will say this final battle felt an awful lot like watching Gandalf the Grey's final stand in Fellowship, and we all know how that ended...
Ha. Sadly, there's no Eru Ilúvatar waiting to send Vahid back to the world in Stonetop, but there might be some other powers willing to help. :)
I'm glad you're feeling it. Re: Your first point, this is exactly where my head is at too -- as a GM, I think I like to make my hardest moves in the middle or late-middle of a given arc, to produce Empire Strikes Back-esque reversals that can then be overcome to achieve a great victory. Here, I really tried to give each blow its full force, and assume that the foes were as strong or a little stronger than the heroes and their allies.
I want Vahid to pull back from the brink, for this to be the event for him to realise the cost of the powers he is wielding. That might mean he embraces them for dramatic potential later, with eyes open…
The defeat was not unexpected- he wasn’t as prepared as Ciri, or as ruthless. The question is, will this like in many stories be the setback that drives him to ultimate success?
Vahid has to stay! But in what form? Perhaps he now resides in the azure hand, awaiting one brave enough to seize it to receive his guidance? Perhaps His-Laughter-is-the-Thunder rescues his master at the last moment - for he will only be released if they are successful, and it has been a long time since he has had a true offer of that!
I think no matter what, we're not losing Vahid as a character, but seeing him as a ghost (a la a slightly more present Obi-Wan Kenobi, maybe bound to the Azure Hand, as you suggest) or a Revenant, who refuses the Last Door and remains in this world while he loses his humanity are both interesting. It might be moot, of course, if he makes his Death's Door roll!
Great read. I would like to see Vahid pull back from the brink, maybe receiving a harrowing consequence (e.g nightly nightmares of what he might have turned into).
I really enjoyed reading the defeat, as it felt they were on the edge of winning but it was lost in the last parts of the battle.
I think they really did have a shot, but the dice were really sour -- each character rolled misses at a pivotal point in their conflicts.
Re: Vahid pulling back -- I think it'll be interesting to try to arrive at some sort of midpoint between power-mad cult leader like Cirl and just a humble scholar. I think a big consequence will be part of that -- maybe something that further isolates him from regular folk.
Deeply satisfying read as always. In response to your questions - I'd say this defeat feels very well-earned, sometimes the dice are against you and as a GM myself I'm loathe to throw consequences this huge at my players but I consider that a failing on my part, seeing the good guys lose sucks in the moment but it's like in any good work of fiction, the bad guys have to win some to add to the satisfaction when they ultimately lose!
Vahid's hubris has been a long time coming. I think I've voted in every Vahid poll so far for him to chase down the path of darkness, because the scholar who pursues knowledge and power only to have it consume and corrupt him is such a classic and tragic trope, I can't help but support it.
On your last point, I will say this final battle felt an awful lot like watching Gandalf the Grey's final stand in Fellowship, and we all know how that ended...
Ha. Sadly, there's no Eru Ilúvatar waiting to send Vahid back to the world in Stonetop, but there might be some other powers willing to help. :)
I'm glad you're feeling it. Re: Your first point, this is exactly where my head is at too -- as a GM, I think I like to make my hardest moves in the middle or late-middle of a given arc, to produce Empire Strikes Back-esque reversals that can then be overcome to achieve a great victory. Here, I really tried to give each blow its full force, and assume that the foes were as strong or a little stronger than the heroes and their allies.
I want Vahid to pull back from the brink, for this to be the event for him to realise the cost of the powers he is wielding. That might mean he embraces them for dramatic potential later, with eyes open…
The defeat was not unexpected- he wasn’t as prepared as Ciri, or as ruthless. The question is, will this like in many stories be the setback that drives him to ultimate success?
Vahid has to stay! But in what form? Perhaps he now resides in the azure hand, awaiting one brave enough to seize it to receive his guidance? Perhaps His-Laughter-is-the-Thunder rescues his master at the last moment - for he will only be released if they are successful, and it has been a long time since he has had a true offer of that!
I think no matter what, we're not losing Vahid as a character, but seeing him as a ghost (a la a slightly more present Obi-Wan Kenobi, maybe bound to the Azure Hand, as you suggest) or a Revenant, who refuses the Last Door and remains in this world while he loses his humanity are both interesting. It might be moot, of course, if he makes his Death's Door roll!
Great read. I would like to see Vahid pull back from the brink, maybe receiving a harrowing consequence (e.g nightly nightmares of what he might have turned into).
I really enjoyed reading the defeat, as it felt they were on the edge of winning but it was lost in the last parts of the battle.
I think they really did have a shot, but the dice were really sour -- each character rolled misses at a pivotal point in their conflicts.
Re: Vahid pulling back -- I think it'll be interesting to try to arrive at some sort of midpoint between power-mad cult leader like Cirl and just a humble scholar. I think a big consequence will be part of that -- maybe something that further isolates him from regular folk.