Session 2.1: Homefront

The party returns, victorious. Vahid plays hardball with Padrig.

GM Notes: Setting up the Session

Based on the extensive reader comments last week, (some of which come from multi award-winning game designers), we’re going to advance these two storylines:

1. Vahid explores Stonetop (Ft. Padrig)

2. Padrig makes good to Ozbeg (Ft. Vahid & Anwen)

You can see all five storylines under consideration in last week’s installment. The unexplored plot threads won’t necessarily go away — they might simmer in the background until they become relevant or resurface in a new form.

First we have to tackle some of the immediate aftermath of Blodwen’s safe return. We’ll need to know who Blodwen’s people are, and to decide that, we’ll use Sean Tompkin’s randomized Oracle tables from Ironsworn. These tables will randomly give us a role (i.e. warrior, trader, farmer) a descriptor (i.e. young, talented, oppressed) and a goal (i.e. escape from something, avenge a wrong). From those results, we’ll imagine some NPCs that are connected to our characters through Blodwen.

Some kind-hearted individual has digitized the Oracle tables; You can check that out here.

Blodwen’s Folk

The first Character Role + Character Descriptor combination we get is Weak and Vagrant. Oof — sounds like a hard luck situation. From that, we’ll say that Blodwen’s mother (call her Beca) is infirm, and unable to work, and her father has passed away. Blodwen is the one who still cares for her, and she can continue to do so since the party brought her back safely. According to the Oracle tables, Blodwen’s mother’s goal is protect a secret. We’ll file that away and decide what that secret is later — maybe it’s something relating to the Forest Eyes?

We want to make sure that returning Blodwen safely has some reward tied to it, so let’s generate another NPC who was invested in her return. The Role + Descriptor we generate from the Oracles are Powerful and Farmer. Blodwen’s brother, Rhys, lives on and tends one of the larger farms on the outskirts of the village by the Old Wall, and oversees the work of a few other familes on his farm. His goal is to protect a person. We’ll say he took over the farm when his father passed away, and wants to protect his mother in her old age. He relies on Blodwen to care for her, while he ensures the family farm keeps running. He’s indebted to the party for Blodwen’s safe return.

Let’s also decide on a goal for Blodwen. Rolling on the Oracle table, we get Resolve a Dispute. Let’s say that there’s been some sort of falling out between Rhys and Beca — Rhys still cares about his mother, but they can’t be in the same room together. That may or may not come into play in our story, but it’s a good thing to know in the back of our heads.

Now let’s dive into play. Session 2 is a homefront session — we’ll spend a bit more time ‘zoomed out,’ like a montage in film or TV, with a few more focused scenes interspersed to make big decisions or kick off another expedition.

Montage: The Party Returns

The party retreats from the ruins in good order, protected by Vahid’s wall of fire. It is a tense few hours as Padrig leads the way through the woods — every rustle in the canopy overhead sounds like a crinwin, ready to pounce. They go through the wood silently, lest any whispered word be mistaken for crinwin mimicry. As the party finally approaches the stream, they see motes of torchlight shining through the dark of the new moon.

It is a search party of a dozen of Stonetop’s militia, led by Owain. He upbraids Padrig and Anwen for leaving without consulting with him as the leader of the militia, but when his fellow searchers spot Blodwen and see that Padrig and the Companions have brought her home safely, their relief overtakes Owain’s posturing, and all together they return to the village center.

Blodwen’s mother Beca and brother Rhys are waiting there for them, along with a knot of concerned villagers, who have lingered here on the village green long after the wedding festivities came to a close. Cerys also watches, aloof at a distance, attended by Owain, her son, who is whispering to her, his face twisted with anger. She is a stretched, bony woman of 64 winters, clad in old, patched bear hides. A shawl of green and yellow wool hangs around her shoulders, marking her divine office. It is fringed with animal remains — sharp sparrow skulls and thin, yellowed long bones — that rattle when she moves.

There is a great cheer when the crowd sees the company returning with Blodwen. Beca embraces her and asks her what happened, but she is reluctant to say — she is abstracted and foggy, as though she just woke up from a deep slumber. Anwen instead tells the tale as the villagers crowd around, but when she comes to the ruin of the Green Lords, Cerys, who has been listening impassively, cuts her off.

“Enough, Anwen. These ruins are the graveyards of the ancients, and they are better left undisturbed, in our words, thoughts and deeds. Danu has reclaimed them, and they are hers to keep.” She turns to Padrig with a withering glare. “I am surprised at you, leading a girl like Anwen into the Great Wood, and departing without having council with Owain. You have not changed since you were a boy, rushing in, heedless of who you might hurt or leave behind.” 

Padrig flushes, with anger and shame. “Anwen fought well. Without her, we might not have brought Blodwen home.”

“Then you should have brought another. One who has been chosen to lead a warrior’s life. It is plain to see she is badly wounded, and that is because you asked too much of her. Come, child. Danu’s blessings can take your pain away.”

Padrig is about to bite back, but Anwen stops him with a hand on his shoulder. She is clearly exhausted and rattled from the night’s retreat from the crinwin, and she grimaces at every small movement of her battered shield-arm. “It’s all right, Pad. I’ll go with her, and explain what happened.” Padrig frowns, but says nothing.

Cerys takes Anwen by the hand and leads her away. She directs her initiate to likewise take Blodwen in hand. Before they depart, Cerys addresses the assembled villagers: “Let it be known to your family and neighbors: No man or woman of Stonetop should seek out these works of the Green Lords. Their time has passed, by the will of Danu. Only woe awaits us if we walk in their footsteps.” Vahid listens to her edict without expression, then quietly withdraws to the Public House.

After they’ve gone, Rhys takes Padrig aside. “I am in your debt, Padrig. Yours and your Companions’. It must have been Tor’s blessed wind that led you back to Stonetop. My family will remember this.”

GM Notes

In order to focus on the storylines we selected, we need to tie off a few threads from Session 1. We’ll use Cerys to close off the Green Lords storyline for the time being — she’s made an edict that no man or woman of Stonetop should seek out the secrets of these ruins. That may or may not stop Vahid, but it’ll slow him down a bit at least, and narratively gives us a nice excuse not to push back into the Great Woods immediately.

We also set up that Padrig (and the rest of the party) have established a bond with Blodwen’s family that they can call upon in the future.

Moves-wise, we’re only activating one in this montage:

Source: Jeremy Strandberg // Stonetop

Anwen will rest for a few days in safety and comfort under Cery’s care. She recovers all her HP, and her debility is cleared. She’s out of action for a few days, so our next scene will feature just Padrig and Vahid, where we’ll kick off one of our reader-chosen storylines.

Scene 1: The Village Green

Rain on the village green. // CC0 Public Domain

A spring rain is falling on Stonetop, driven by a chill wind and rolling thunder from the West. From their vantage point at edge of the village green, Vahid and Padrig can see villagers rushing in from the fields, taking shelter from the coming storm. Padrig draws his wolf hides up around his shoulders, and looks pityingly at Vahid, who is soaked to the bone. “Well, scholar? You led us here. What did you want to ask me?”

Vahid leads them to the village well and leans against the wall that rings it. The stones are cleverly cut and fit together — well beyond the skill of any of the village’s stoneworkers — and they are pale white in color, marbled with deep blue and black, in stark contrast to the flat grey stones that make up the houses that surround the village green. The villagers have left a half-dozen wooden buckets, tied with hempen rope, balanced atop the wall. Vahid leans over the wall, and looks down into the depths of the well, gesturing Padrig to do the same.

“I acknowledge that what I am about to ask will sound strange. But, in my defense, there are many strange things about this village. There is the standing stone, of course. How lightning strikes it with shocking regularity, while your folk just go about their days with thunder ringing in their ears! And, have you considered the strangeness of this cistern? Here it stands, at the foot of the monolith, made from stone that cannot be found within 100 leagues of this place, and your people shrug, fill it with rainwater and snow, and never think twice about the implications!”

Padrig takes this in, only a bit bemused. “The implications?”

“Yes, the implications! You call this a cistern. But the Makers who built it commanded the elements themselves. Are we to believe that they needed a hole in the ground in which to store water? Are we to believe that the ancients, who could summon rain or shine at their pleasure, were hauling buckets out of that thing to fill their baths?”

“No?”

“No, indeed!” Vahid sputters, shaking rainwater from his dark hair.

Padrig chuckles. “I’m sure if they were here, they could tell us all the wondrous things you can accomplish with a hole in the ground. But they are dead, and we need water today.”

“They may be, but I am here today, and I believe I can uncover this artifice’s true purpose.”

Padrig’s eyes narrow. “Like you did out in the ruin? What happened, down there in the cellar, while we were fighting the crinwin?”

Vahid sighs, exasperated. “I failed. Whatever power transported Blodwen away returned her of its own accord. And now, Cerys has declared that Danu forbids us to seek the truth of it. But this is another opportunity! The miracles of the Makers are all around us, it is a sin to allow what they have learned to be forgotten completely.”

Padrig shakes his head. “Leave it be, friend. These folk have no interest in the works of the Makers.”

“What about works of our own, then? Lygos, my home, is built upon a marsh that was drained by the first Despot. To protect the city from flooding, the masters of the Lycaeum designed a system of gutters and channels that guided the spring rains into the catacombs beneath the city. We could do the same. The cistern would always be full, and no more time need be wasted collecting rainwater or snow.”

“And who will show them how? You?” Padrig asks.

Vahid draws himself up, fighting off his shivers. “I studied the builders of the Middle Empire under Barakah ebn Turs, whose master, ebn Khaldon, designed the original system. I have already drawn up plans to begin. But I require your help: we will need a foreman, experienced in commanding men and keeping track of material. And someone to help me persuade the people of the village of the value of this scheme.”

Padrig regards him warily. “I can’t lend myself to this. My position here is tenuous at best, and my responsibility is first to my men.”

“Yes, I know.” Vahid replies, cutting him short. “More than you realize. I know, for example, you have not been entirely honest about the Companions’ past.”

Padrig’s voice is now deceptively mild. His weight shifts slightly as he widens his stance. “Is that right, scholar? How did you come to learn that?”

“I observed you when Garet and Cerys questioned you about your return, and your time as a mercenary. My… study of the mind has given me insight into deceit. When you described the Companions’ history, it was clear to me that it was a tale woven of falsehoods, and that you fear the truth might become known. ”

Padrig takes a step towards Vahid, looking him dead in the eye. “Blackmail is a risky occupation. I hope you’ve studied carefully before attempting it.”

Vahid shudders, not entirely from the cold, but holds Padrig’s gaze. “I am very familiar with blackmail from my time in academia, I assure you. But that is not what I intend. You see, I know you lied. But I also know that you wished those lies were true, and that you were sincere when you swore to Cerys that you would not bring strife to the village. That tells me you hope for something better, for both yourself and for your old home, and that is what this scheme is. I am offering you a chance for you to prove your good intentions to these folk.”

“And if I do not? You will reveal my deception?” Padrig growls.

“No, I do not intend to do that, no matter how you answer. And even if I wished to, I do not know the truth, nor do I have any evidence. But how long can your deception last? Forever? Think, Padrig! Look to the path ahead! If you help me, help them, perhaps they can look beyond whatever might be revealed one day. Salonius the Wise once wrote: A wicked past can only be redeemed by a virtuous future.”

“Famously virtuous, was he?” Padrig asks.

“In point of fact, he was forced to drink poison after he seduced the tenth Despot’s son. But I believe the adage remains quite sound.” Vahid replies.

Padrig sighs, shaking his head. “Alright, scholar. How do we begin?”

GM Notes

Not much in the way of mechanics here, save for one roll. In the course of their conversation, Vahid triggers the Persuade move, which works a bit differently when used on PCs than on NPCs.

Jeremy Strandberg // Stonetop

Vahid rolls +CHA (his Charisma is a +1) and gets a 10. This doesn’t force Padrig to go along, but it does give him an XP if he does, which is nice! This move softly incentivizes players to Persuade one another, which requires them to have different points of view in the first place.

It would’ve been more straightforward just to posit that Vahid and Padrig are naturally aligned on this scheme, but I think it’s a bit more fun and interesting to have Padrig require some persuasion, and for Vahid to play hardball, drawing on some of their Session Zero answers to create this back-and-forth.

In the next installment, Padrig and Vahid will begin their work and Padrig will confer with Ozbeg about the Companions’ next move.