Calisander
Since the kids and I are on holiday at the same time, we played an extra session yesterday evening. So far, we have managed a couple of hours or so every Saturday evening, but on occasion we manage a little bit extra. Calisander is a scenario that can be found on the Stormbringer RPG website; originally, it was run at an Australian games convention. I adapted the NPC 'hook' a little, but apart from that I ran it pretty much as presented. The players didn't quite deal with every possible element, but that's cool - I can keep some of those for later use...
Bomilcar's narrative
After a short voyage of only five days, we arrive in Old Hrolmar. Avan Astran gives us signed ducal passes to keep the overly Lawful constabulary off our backs, and then the new Duke and his bodyguard depart immediately for the castle, while we spend a bit more time getting our gear together. The intention is to head to the best hotel in town as guests of Avan Astran, and spend a leisurely couple of weeks before his investiture. As we disembark, however, we are interrupted by the sound of a woman's cry from an area of dunes a few hundred yards along the shore from the quayside.
Upon investigation, we find a rather bedraggled young woman - she can't be more than seventeen years old - unconscious and bleeding a little from a blow to the head from behind. She isn't wearing very much, and there is a trail of footsteps leading through the dunes and then cutting back across onto the quayside. I reckon there was only a single assailant, but we didn't see him because the dunes interfered with our line of sight. Anyway, we revive the girl, who is remarkably beautiful. Destiny and Sir Blanque exchange glances - I know that look, it means their witch sight is going crazy. Destiny says the girl's aura is aquamarine, which suggests she is from the sea. She then jokes about her and Sir Blanque being siblings, because of his affinity with Straasha. The girl says, "Yes, that's right."
Silence.
Then uproar.
"Actually, I'm his older half-sister - same mother. She died when he was born. My name is Calisander." Sr Blanque is at once incredulous and delighted; he had always thought he was alone in the world. "How old are you then?" he asks. "Actually, I'm still quite young by the standards of my people. I'm only 250." More uproar and questions. Calisander asks if we can take her somewhere quiet, and then she'll explain everything. "Best avoid the guards if you can, though, she says. Too many questions from them would be awkward." We get through the city gates with no trouble by simply flashing our passes. I think the guards were somewhat relieved at not having to talk to a Melnibonean.
Once we are ensconced in our posh hotel suites, Jorthan orders some food for our rooms, and Calisander fills us in on what has happened. "I was hoping to meet you properly, now that you have been formally recognised by the High Priest of Straasha in Raschil," she explains to her brother. "I came ashore not far from where you found me, but as I was trying to get my bearings, someone hit me from behind. The only thing I remember is a sudden unwashed smell, and then nothing. Whoever it was has taken everything - my prized jewellery, my waterproof backpack and my special cloak. Even the dress I had just put on. The cloak matters the most; I need it to return to the sea. I am one of the sealkin. As was our mother." Destiny explains that, according to legend, there are various kinds of sea peoples, and they are incredibly long-lived. One of the greatest rulers of Melnibone, Terhali the Green Empress, was part mer-person, and she reigned for well over two centuries. It looks as though Sir Blanque will be around for a while, then.
It is quite strange to watch Sir Blanque's new-found sister. She is a peculiar combination of wisdom and naivete. For example, she explores her new surroundings as might a child, trying to work out how to drink from a cup and what cutlery is for, and then she comes out with lore that we have never really come across before. She is still suffering from a sore head, though, and asks if she can stay here to recover. She warns us about her cloak: "If you don't find it, the wrath of the sea creatures could be terrible. I give it maybe twelve hours before they arrive in true force. I don't know what they'll do." We agree to try to get her stuff back for her, especially the cloak. She gives us full descriptions of the various items, and off we go.
Sir Blanque seems to have some sort of homing sense; he says he can easily detect the magical motes left by Calisander's cloak. The trail begins on the quayside and then heads into the city. We follow the whisps to a pawnshop. The owner chats quite happily; any hesitations at the appearance of a Melnibonean are smoothed over by Jorthan. Besides, the woman who owns the place is probably calculating that a little bit of notoriety can't hurt business. We spot Calisander's dress, which has been damaged by seawater - presumably the thief got blood on it and had to wash it off. Destiny reckons the dress is worth 1,000 LB new because it's made of fine Melnibonean silk. Jorthan bargains the shopper down, chatting away and putting her at her ease. We manage to get a description of the young man who pawned the dress. Apparently he said it belonged to his mother, who had just died on the voyage from Lormyr. He smelled quite a bit, sort of like a tanner or leatherworker, and was short and thin with lank blond hair and a scraggly beard; he walked with a limp. Destiny asks Fausta, the shopkeeper, if she knows someone who might be able to repair the dress. She frowns, and then gives us directions to a seamstress friend of hers in the merchants' quarter; it seems as though she would be our best bet. She also tells us that the young Lormyrrian tried to sell her a gorgeous jewelled ring made of coral, with two intertwined dolphins, but she doesn't have that kind of cash and suggested he try one of the jewellers in the merchants' quarter - quite near her friend the seamstress, actually.
There is a bit of a commotion, and many of the people seem to be streaming towards the docks. We hear muttered snatches of conversation about the fishing fleet coming in empty handed, with ripped nets. A lot of people are going to be hungry today. This gives us a bit of a choice, but it does look as though time is going to be important. Jorthan and I follow the crowds while Sir Blanque leads the others further into the city, following his magic nose towards the merchants' quarter. We agree to meet at the stall of the seamstress.
They have little luck with her, though; she doesn't know of anyone in all of Vilmir who could help with such an item, because such fine silk needs a real specialist. Maybe we might get lucky if we were to go to the Purple Isle or Ilmiora.
At this point we join them, reporting what we found out at the docks. Great big holes have been ripped in all of the fleet's nets, and the bay is seething with seals and other sea creatures.
We follow Sir Blanque's nose to an expensive looking jeweller's and gem merchant. A rather pompous man is talking to the owner of the shop; they are discussing the ring that belonged to Calisander. Destiny ducks down into a convenient alleyway in case she is spotted, while we all wander past as casually as possible, listening in as we go. The shopowner is respectfully addressing his customer as "My Lord Baron", and describes the 'gentleman' who sold him the item - a young Lormyrrian by the name of Eadwulf, who lives somewhere in the Foreigners' Quarter. The Baron thanks him and leaves.
We round a corner and have a quick confab. Sir Blanque says that the Baron was carrying a demon broadsword, and Marion says she thinks the gem merchant doubles as a fence - she spotted a rather dodgy man leaving the shop just after the Baron had gone. We decide simply to confront the jeweller, and Jorthan leads the way. "Excuse me, my man," he says. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the Baron a couple of minutes ago. Could I have a look at the item you showed him, please? My Melnibonean friend here is rather intrigued."
"Certainly, My Lady, sir, just a moment...here we are. Such fine workmanship, wouldn't you agree? Probably of Melnibonean manufacture, I should think. I would value such an intricate and unusual item at 4,000 Large Bronzes."
Jorthan leans in and says "Actually, it's worth more. I take it you acquired it by entirely... legal means, yes?"
The fat merchant blanches. "Ah, well, if you put it like that, I did manage to obtain it as something of a bargain, from a smelly little Lormyrrian calling himself Eadwulf - assuming that's his real name. In the circumstances, I'd be happy to part with it, for, say, 2,000 Large Bronzes. No questions asked...?" he ends hopefully. We agree and Jorthan pays; as we leave he says it's well worth it for Calisander. Besides, it's actually worth up to 8,000 to the right collector.
It's now time for lunch, and even though Sir Blanque is worried about the timescale suggested by his sister, we reckon it's a good idea to refuel. As we sit down to eat, from the clear blue sky comes a downpour... of fish and other sea creatures, even including a couple of sharks. The locals run about like crazy to take advantage of the sudden deluge of free food.
Excitement over, we discuss what to do next. Sir Blanque says that even though we have found out quite a bit, the trail has gone cold for his witch sight - probably something to do with that sudden weird rain. Jorthan suggests that since we know that Eadwulf is a leatherworker of some sort, we should maybe try out that part of the city.
As we go towards the Street of Leathercrafters, a sudden stormfront sweeps in from the sea; everything is ratching up in terms of seriousness. After visiting quite a few shops and stalls, though, we get lucky. One of the master craftsmen remembers Eadwulf from a few days previously. He was looking for work, so the leatherworker pointed him in the direction of his brother-in-law's tannery. By now, the storm is in full tilt, with thunder, lightning and lashing rain. Even at this distance we can hear the waves crashing into the quayside. Marion does a quick double take, and realises that we are being followed, but in a very professional manner, by a group of beggars and thieves who take it in turns to watch what we are doing. Realising that he has been spotted, a particularly vile specimen stomps his way towards us, oozing pus and foulness in general. Greeting Marion by name, he asks what's up - it seems as though we are looking for the same guy, Eadwulf the traitor, as he calls him. It turns out that he owes the beggar king his tithe, and rather than paying up he skipped out on it and so has been sentenced to death. He suggest a deal - we find Eadwulf, take whatever it is we want, and let the beggars do the rest. We agree, and he says to meet him here again at 6.00; by then, he'll know where Eadwulf is staying. He lurches off to join his equally foul friends.
We hurry to the tannery of one Vil Vilmiro, who turns out to be a rather intimidating puritan of a man. He is clearly not happy to see such a bunch of foreigners as ourselves, and is busy shutting everything up for the rest of the day. It's barely three o'clock, but it seems like night. However, he brightens up when we say we are looking for Eadwulf, and that "We have it in for him", according to Sir Blanque. Vil smiles thinly, saying that the little Lormyrrian rat deserves everything he gets, after skipping out on work like that. He waves over a flunky, who provides us with Eadwulf's address in the Foreigners' Quarter from his records. Sometimes these Lawful types do have their uses.
We decide just to go and deal with Eadwulf now that we have his address; the beggars can have the pickings afterwards. The thief lives in a garret at the top of a very rickety tenement building, which seems to sway in the howling gale now sweeping across the whole city. This is getting dangerous, but we head on up regardless, Sir Blanque leading the way. He forces the door to the garret, and we see Eadwulf jumping back towards what passes for a window - really just a badly shuttered hole in the wall. Calisander's cloak is around his thin shoulders, and her satchel lies on the floor.
Just at that moment half the wall behind Eadwulf is caved in from the outside, and a large purple demonic winged man reaches in with two nasty looking sets of claws and rips the cloak from Eadwulf's back, shredding the poor guy's spine in the process. Eadwulf crumples, and the demon looks as though it's about to fly off with its magical prize. Destiny swiftly orders her fire elementals to put a flame barrier behind the demon so that it can't escape. It responds by smiling thinly and waving the cloak at the wall of flame. This really hacks off Sir Blanque, who draws both of his blades and charges it, putting both straight into the surprised demon - it certainly wasn't expecting that. It drops the cloak and staggers back, straight into the waiting fire elementals. Destiny orders a flame burst, and the demon is no more. The storm ceases immediately.
We grab everything that belongs to Calisander and go back to the hotel. Marion says that she is sure she saw a furtive gang of scum heading in the direction of Eadwulf's address.
Umpire's notes
I had already decided that this scenario would be part of Sir Blanque's personal developing plotline, and that Calisander would be his elder half-sister. Cate's joking guess as Destiny was dead right; hence the laughter. This gave me the opportunity to tell the party everything about Calisander, and set them in motion to follow the set of clues. Sir Blanque rolled a critical success on his witch sight, which could be rationalised quite easily by saying that he obviously has an affinity with his sister's aura. Everything went reasonably well, up to and including the confrontation with the demon. This was especially hilarious. I thought I was doing well by making it cleverly threaten to burn the cloak (it actually had no such intention), but then Sir Blanque went mental and charged it. The demon promptly fumbled its response and was very quickly butchered and roasted.
Bomilcar's narrative
After a short voyage of only five days, we arrive in Old Hrolmar. Avan Astran gives us signed ducal passes to keep the overly Lawful constabulary off our backs, and then the new Duke and his bodyguard depart immediately for the castle, while we spend a bit more time getting our gear together. The intention is to head to the best hotel in town as guests of Avan Astran, and spend a leisurely couple of weeks before his investiture. As we disembark, however, we are interrupted by the sound of a woman's cry from an area of dunes a few hundred yards along the shore from the quayside.
Upon investigation, we find a rather bedraggled young woman - she can't be more than seventeen years old - unconscious and bleeding a little from a blow to the head from behind. She isn't wearing very much, and there is a trail of footsteps leading through the dunes and then cutting back across onto the quayside. I reckon there was only a single assailant, but we didn't see him because the dunes interfered with our line of sight. Anyway, we revive the girl, who is remarkably beautiful. Destiny and Sir Blanque exchange glances - I know that look, it means their witch sight is going crazy. Destiny says the girl's aura is aquamarine, which suggests she is from the sea. She then jokes about her and Sir Blanque being siblings, because of his affinity with Straasha. The girl says, "Yes, that's right."
Silence.
Then uproar.
"Actually, I'm his older half-sister - same mother. She died when he was born. My name is Calisander." Sr Blanque is at once incredulous and delighted; he had always thought he was alone in the world. "How old are you then?" he asks. "Actually, I'm still quite young by the standards of my people. I'm only 250." More uproar and questions. Calisander asks if we can take her somewhere quiet, and then she'll explain everything. "Best avoid the guards if you can, though, she says. Too many questions from them would be awkward." We get through the city gates with no trouble by simply flashing our passes. I think the guards were somewhat relieved at not having to talk to a Melnibonean.
Once we are ensconced in our posh hotel suites, Jorthan orders some food for our rooms, and Calisander fills us in on what has happened. "I was hoping to meet you properly, now that you have been formally recognised by the High Priest of Straasha in Raschil," she explains to her brother. "I came ashore not far from where you found me, but as I was trying to get my bearings, someone hit me from behind. The only thing I remember is a sudden unwashed smell, and then nothing. Whoever it was has taken everything - my prized jewellery, my waterproof backpack and my special cloak. Even the dress I had just put on. The cloak matters the most; I need it to return to the sea. I am one of the sealkin. As was our mother." Destiny explains that, according to legend, there are various kinds of sea peoples, and they are incredibly long-lived. One of the greatest rulers of Melnibone, Terhali the Green Empress, was part mer-person, and she reigned for well over two centuries. It looks as though Sir Blanque will be around for a while, then.
It is quite strange to watch Sir Blanque's new-found sister. She is a peculiar combination of wisdom and naivete. For example, she explores her new surroundings as might a child, trying to work out how to drink from a cup and what cutlery is for, and then she comes out with lore that we have never really come across before. She is still suffering from a sore head, though, and asks if she can stay here to recover. She warns us about her cloak: "If you don't find it, the wrath of the sea creatures could be terrible. I give it maybe twelve hours before they arrive in true force. I don't know what they'll do." We agree to try to get her stuff back for her, especially the cloak. She gives us full descriptions of the various items, and off we go.
Sir Blanque seems to have some sort of homing sense; he says he can easily detect the magical motes left by Calisander's cloak. The trail begins on the quayside and then heads into the city. We follow the whisps to a pawnshop. The owner chats quite happily; any hesitations at the appearance of a Melnibonean are smoothed over by Jorthan. Besides, the woman who owns the place is probably calculating that a little bit of notoriety can't hurt business. We spot Calisander's dress, which has been damaged by seawater - presumably the thief got blood on it and had to wash it off. Destiny reckons the dress is worth 1,000 LB new because it's made of fine Melnibonean silk. Jorthan bargains the shopper down, chatting away and putting her at her ease. We manage to get a description of the young man who pawned the dress. Apparently he said it belonged to his mother, who had just died on the voyage from Lormyr. He smelled quite a bit, sort of like a tanner or leatherworker, and was short and thin with lank blond hair and a scraggly beard; he walked with a limp. Destiny asks Fausta, the shopkeeper, if she knows someone who might be able to repair the dress. She frowns, and then gives us directions to a seamstress friend of hers in the merchants' quarter; it seems as though she would be our best bet. She also tells us that the young Lormyrrian tried to sell her a gorgeous jewelled ring made of coral, with two intertwined dolphins, but she doesn't have that kind of cash and suggested he try one of the jewellers in the merchants' quarter - quite near her friend the seamstress, actually.
There is a bit of a commotion, and many of the people seem to be streaming towards the docks. We hear muttered snatches of conversation about the fishing fleet coming in empty handed, with ripped nets. A lot of people are going to be hungry today. This gives us a bit of a choice, but it does look as though time is going to be important. Jorthan and I follow the crowds while Sir Blanque leads the others further into the city, following his magic nose towards the merchants' quarter. We agree to meet at the stall of the seamstress.
They have little luck with her, though; she doesn't know of anyone in all of Vilmir who could help with such an item, because such fine silk needs a real specialist. Maybe we might get lucky if we were to go to the Purple Isle or Ilmiora.
At this point we join them, reporting what we found out at the docks. Great big holes have been ripped in all of the fleet's nets, and the bay is seething with seals and other sea creatures.
We follow Sir Blanque's nose to an expensive looking jeweller's and gem merchant. A rather pompous man is talking to the owner of the shop; they are discussing the ring that belonged to Calisander. Destiny ducks down into a convenient alleyway in case she is spotted, while we all wander past as casually as possible, listening in as we go. The shopowner is respectfully addressing his customer as "My Lord Baron", and describes the 'gentleman' who sold him the item - a young Lormyrrian by the name of Eadwulf, who lives somewhere in the Foreigners' Quarter. The Baron thanks him and leaves.
We round a corner and have a quick confab. Sir Blanque says that the Baron was carrying a demon broadsword, and Marion says she thinks the gem merchant doubles as a fence - she spotted a rather dodgy man leaving the shop just after the Baron had gone. We decide simply to confront the jeweller, and Jorthan leads the way. "Excuse me, my man," he says. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the Baron a couple of minutes ago. Could I have a look at the item you showed him, please? My Melnibonean friend here is rather intrigued."
"Certainly, My Lady, sir, just a moment...here we are. Such fine workmanship, wouldn't you agree? Probably of Melnibonean manufacture, I should think. I would value such an intricate and unusual item at 4,000 Large Bronzes."
Jorthan leans in and says "Actually, it's worth more. I take it you acquired it by entirely... legal means, yes?"
The fat merchant blanches. "Ah, well, if you put it like that, I did manage to obtain it as something of a bargain, from a smelly little Lormyrrian calling himself Eadwulf - assuming that's his real name. In the circumstances, I'd be happy to part with it, for, say, 2,000 Large Bronzes. No questions asked...?" he ends hopefully. We agree and Jorthan pays; as we leave he says it's well worth it for Calisander. Besides, it's actually worth up to 8,000 to the right collector.
It's now time for lunch, and even though Sir Blanque is worried about the timescale suggested by his sister, we reckon it's a good idea to refuel. As we sit down to eat, from the clear blue sky comes a downpour... of fish and other sea creatures, even including a couple of sharks. The locals run about like crazy to take advantage of the sudden deluge of free food.
Excitement over, we discuss what to do next. Sir Blanque says that even though we have found out quite a bit, the trail has gone cold for his witch sight - probably something to do with that sudden weird rain. Jorthan suggests that since we know that Eadwulf is a leatherworker of some sort, we should maybe try out that part of the city.
As we go towards the Street of Leathercrafters, a sudden stormfront sweeps in from the sea; everything is ratching up in terms of seriousness. After visiting quite a few shops and stalls, though, we get lucky. One of the master craftsmen remembers Eadwulf from a few days previously. He was looking for work, so the leatherworker pointed him in the direction of his brother-in-law's tannery. By now, the storm is in full tilt, with thunder, lightning and lashing rain. Even at this distance we can hear the waves crashing into the quayside. Marion does a quick double take, and realises that we are being followed, but in a very professional manner, by a group of beggars and thieves who take it in turns to watch what we are doing. Realising that he has been spotted, a particularly vile specimen stomps his way towards us, oozing pus and foulness in general. Greeting Marion by name, he asks what's up - it seems as though we are looking for the same guy, Eadwulf the traitor, as he calls him. It turns out that he owes the beggar king his tithe, and rather than paying up he skipped out on it and so has been sentenced to death. He suggest a deal - we find Eadwulf, take whatever it is we want, and let the beggars do the rest. We agree, and he says to meet him here again at 6.00; by then, he'll know where Eadwulf is staying. He lurches off to join his equally foul friends.
We hurry to the tannery of one Vil Vilmiro, who turns out to be a rather intimidating puritan of a man. He is clearly not happy to see such a bunch of foreigners as ourselves, and is busy shutting everything up for the rest of the day. It's barely three o'clock, but it seems like night. However, he brightens up when we say we are looking for Eadwulf, and that "We have it in for him", according to Sir Blanque. Vil smiles thinly, saying that the little Lormyrrian rat deserves everything he gets, after skipping out on work like that. He waves over a flunky, who provides us with Eadwulf's address in the Foreigners' Quarter from his records. Sometimes these Lawful types do have their uses.
We decide just to go and deal with Eadwulf now that we have his address; the beggars can have the pickings afterwards. The thief lives in a garret at the top of a very rickety tenement building, which seems to sway in the howling gale now sweeping across the whole city. This is getting dangerous, but we head on up regardless, Sir Blanque leading the way. He forces the door to the garret, and we see Eadwulf jumping back towards what passes for a window - really just a badly shuttered hole in the wall. Calisander's cloak is around his thin shoulders, and her satchel lies on the floor.
Just at that moment half the wall behind Eadwulf is caved in from the outside, and a large purple demonic winged man reaches in with two nasty looking sets of claws and rips the cloak from Eadwulf's back, shredding the poor guy's spine in the process. Eadwulf crumples, and the demon looks as though it's about to fly off with its magical prize. Destiny swiftly orders her fire elementals to put a flame barrier behind the demon so that it can't escape. It responds by smiling thinly and waving the cloak at the wall of flame. This really hacks off Sir Blanque, who draws both of his blades and charges it, putting both straight into the surprised demon - it certainly wasn't expecting that. It drops the cloak and staggers back, straight into the waiting fire elementals. Destiny orders a flame burst, and the demon is no more. The storm ceases immediately.
We grab everything that belongs to Calisander and go back to the hotel. Marion says that she is sure she saw a furtive gang of scum heading in the direction of Eadwulf's address.
Umpire's notes
I had already decided that this scenario would be part of Sir Blanque's personal developing plotline, and that Calisander would be his elder half-sister. Cate's joking guess as Destiny was dead right; hence the laughter. This gave me the opportunity to tell the party everything about Calisander, and set them in motion to follow the set of clues. Sir Blanque rolled a critical success on his witch sight, which could be rationalised quite easily by saying that he obviously has an affinity with his sister's aura. Everything went reasonably well, up to and including the confrontation with the demon. This was especially hilarious. I thought I was doing well by making it cleverly threaten to burn the cloak (it actually had no such intention), but then Sir Blanque went mental and charged it. The demon promptly fumbled its response and was very quickly butchered and roasted.
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