Just wanted to add in a quick note on an element of GM and player decision-making surrounding the Minor Arcana cards revealed during the session.
You may have noticed that for the first minor arcanum (the aethereum plaques in the pools), we saw both the front -- which has the description and the steps required to unlock it -- and the back, which has the power the arcanum contains and the move associated with that power, whereas for the second we only saw the front, leaving the specific power a mystery.
Which approach is correct? The short answer is either. This was covered in a discussion that the creator participated in on the Stonetop Discord, and his rationale is really insightful: It depends on what the player is looking for when they come to the table. Some players want to experience a mystery, as their character would. Other players want to know upfront how the power that's unlocked would effect the story they're telling, and how the power would shape their performance in that story. Both motivations are valid, and it helps to have a flexible approach that supports both, even on an arcanum-by-arcanum basis.
In our case, revealing the specifics of Id'Otez's Galvanic Infusion would help y'all think about what was going on in this complex, and provide some interesting foreshadowing for what else might be found down here. In the case of the Makerglass Chime, I thought it might be more fun to speculate on the function of the chime, and have a bit of mystery present (even if the arcanum never gets unlocked, ultimately).
Good question -- mind control elements are tricky, particularly when they turn the PCs against one another, so part of it would be guided by what the two players are comfortable with. In the case of the nosgolau using mind-effecting magic on Padrig in Session 2, it's a bit less fraught because the action (move off the road) is a little less fraught itself -- you're being 'kidnapped,' not being forced to fight your friend.
In the case of a weak hit on Defy Danger, we'd tick the countdown clock on the guardian and frame it as time wasted or noise made in the room as Padrig starts to feel the effects of the magic and then put the spotlight on Vahid, with the magic starting to effect him, too. That puts him in a situation where he either gets a strong hit on some sort of move to get them out of the range of the magic, or triggers the guardian with a weak hit or a miss. If Padrig had missed the Defy Danger roll, then I think we just narrate that the guardian has awoken and describe what they hear. That changes the setup for the resulting encounter -- the guardian is now out and about, and might appear unexpectedly using its camouflage.
If the PCs *really* wanted to see what the deal was with those skeletons, then I think all bets are off -- you foreshadow strongly what's going on with the magic, and then if they persist, you can start to go a bit more ham with dictating the PC's actions through the mind control.
Very perceptive! There actually is a "Living Mosaic" threat in the Stonetop setting materials, and I considered including it as the guardian. My first hesitation was when I rolled on the fate tables to define the guardian -- it's not quite using 'camouflage' by hiding in plain sight, but it's close enough.
The other, more significant reason I discounted it is because in prepping for this episode was that if a threat arose, I wanted it to be one that Padrig and Vahid had to work together to defeat, and my sense is that a lightning-empowered cloud of unbreakable stones would be a bit outside Padrig's area of expertise.
I think the consideration here is whether the GM would want to create closeness or distance between the two characters -- if Vahid must deal with the threat single-handedly, that might lead to him feeling like he didn't need Padrig to do his work, which might erode their relationship. If they have to work together, that reinforces their growing friendship.
At the table, in an ensemble game, my instinct is to encourage tighter bonds between the player-characters as much as possible, for two reasons -- First, It's easier to tell a story about a group of heroes if those heroes stick together. Second, it makes breaking those bonds later much more dramatic.
Just wanted to add in a quick note on an element of GM and player decision-making surrounding the Minor Arcana cards revealed during the session.
You may have noticed that for the first minor arcanum (the aethereum plaques in the pools), we saw both the front -- which has the description and the steps required to unlock it -- and the back, which has the power the arcanum contains and the move associated with that power, whereas for the second we only saw the front, leaving the specific power a mystery.
Which approach is correct? The short answer is either. This was covered in a discussion that the creator participated in on the Stonetop Discord, and his rationale is really insightful: It depends on what the player is looking for when they come to the table. Some players want to experience a mystery, as their character would. Other players want to know upfront how the power that's unlocked would effect the story they're telling, and how the power would shape their performance in that story. Both motivations are valid, and it helps to have a flexible approach that supports both, even on an arcanum-by-arcanum basis.
In our case, revealing the specifics of Id'Otez's Galvanic Infusion would help y'all think about what was going on in this complex, and provide some interesting foreshadowing for what else might be found down here. In the case of the Makerglass Chime, I thought it might be more fun to speculate on the function of the chime, and have a bit of mystery present (even if the arcanum never gets unlocked, ultimately).
Fantastic session! Love it!
"...Pray to Tor we survive the advantages we find down here.” great line 👌🏿
I'm curious, if either of them or both had failed the arena trap, how would you have adjuticated that? 🤔
Good question -- mind control elements are tricky, particularly when they turn the PCs against one another, so part of it would be guided by what the two players are comfortable with. In the case of the nosgolau using mind-effecting magic on Padrig in Session 2, it's a bit less fraught because the action (move off the road) is a little less fraught itself -- you're being 'kidnapped,' not being forced to fight your friend.
In the case of a weak hit on Defy Danger, we'd tick the countdown clock on the guardian and frame it as time wasted or noise made in the room as Padrig starts to feel the effects of the magic and then put the spotlight on Vahid, with the magic starting to effect him, too. That puts him in a situation where he either gets a strong hit on some sort of move to get them out of the range of the magic, or triggers the guardian with a weak hit or a miss. If Padrig had missed the Defy Danger roll, then I think we just narrate that the guardian has awoken and describe what they hear. That changes the setup for the resulting encounter -- the guardian is now out and about, and might appear unexpectedly using its camouflage.
If the PCs *really* wanted to see what the deal was with those skeletons, then I think all bets are off -- you foreshadow strongly what's going on with the magic, and then if they persist, you can start to go a bit more ham with dictating the PC's actions through the mind control.
Makes sense, yep.
“Maybe you can spot it before Vahid and Padrig do!” Time to reread the whole section !
For a moment I thought the cloud of Makerglass was going to be the guardian!
Very perceptive! There actually is a "Living Mosaic" threat in the Stonetop setting materials, and I considered including it as the guardian. My first hesitation was when I rolled on the fate tables to define the guardian -- it's not quite using 'camouflage' by hiding in plain sight, but it's close enough.
The other, more significant reason I discounted it is because in prepping for this episode was that if a threat arose, I wanted it to be one that Padrig and Vahid had to work together to defeat, and my sense is that a lightning-empowered cloud of unbreakable stones would be a bit outside Padrig's area of expertise.
I think the consideration here is whether the GM would want to create closeness or distance between the two characters -- if Vahid must deal with the threat single-handedly, that might lead to him feeling like he didn't need Padrig to do his work, which might erode their relationship. If they have to work together, that reinforces their growing friendship.
At the table, in an ensemble game, my instinct is to encourage tighter bonds between the player-characters as much as possible, for two reasons -- First, It's easier to tell a story about a group of heroes if those heroes stick together. Second, it makes breaking those bonds later much more dramatic.