13th Age Session II -- The Ratsmashers Have a Very Bad Day
… or “Watch out for the Purple Haze”
The second session picked up right where we left off: in the middle of Hawk’s Square. One of the survivors who had witnessed the fight, Elsa Whiterose, gave Alarendel quite a bit of information about what had happened. Elsa is a priestess of the Lady of Light, a member of the God’s of Light Pantheon, who runs the Lost Hope Mission in Eldolan’s Warrens or tenement district. Elsa thanked Alarendel for his quick work, as it had doubtless saved the two student’s lives who were initially attacked by the zombies. She also told Alarendel that the bite of a zombie might require attention from a priest of the light to avoid a terrible transformation into undeath and a fall into darkness.
Alarendel was greatly upset by this, and fled the area.
Alarendel was not there for this session, so we got him out of the way with a call to his dark condition
Elsa Paints a Picture
This is what Elsa told the group:During the initial attack, she was surprised to recognize two of the attacking undead as recent poor folk who had stayed at the mission: Tolvus Rhys, a middle-aged human man with a bad leg from his years fighting with the legions who had a hard time finding work; and Korack Stoneson, a dwarven drunk who often slept one off at the mission.
She had last seen Tolvus about ten days ago at the mission. She thinks she remembers seeing Korack about a week ago on the streets. Both Tolvus and Korack lived in the Commons, and both worked (when they could) or begged near the mission.
The poor folk in the area have been talking about folks going missing for the last month, and she had noted a few common faces at the mission were no longer around. Although the mission has a transient population, she was worried enough to report it to the Silver Shields, but they made little effort to find those missing (likely because it didn't concern the schools, and Elsa couldn’t afford to make it worth their trouble). After a half day’s meager search, the Shields concluded that the missing people had "left town."
There was a rumor among the poor that a pair of (human) men had been seen carrying away one of the locals known as “Old Ralph”, even as he yelled and cursed, four days ago from an abandoned building, and that he wasn’t the first. Elsa says that she only heard this second-hand, and that you would have to ask around among the poor folk, and especially those on the streets, to learn more.
The group looked around the area and did a little additional research.
In checking the cart with Pumpkins, Auric asked if they were in season. Dragur let them know that they were largely past season, but a lot of them were still being sold for the upcoming Autumn Spirit's Ball. The cart itself was branded with a magical icon that indicated who it’s original distributor was. The group made a note of that.
The cart being set up this way was to remind them how Eldolan uses magic to mimic what we would use technology for today.
Finally the group took a brief look at the sewer area. There was a magical ward that should prevent access to the area by anyone who isn't authorized by the Waterworks guild.
The group had to decide where to go next. Auric wanted to head into the Warrens to find the two men who were obviously behind the placement of the zombies, but both Dragur and Molechai were interested in seeing Jarin, who had set this meeting in motion.
This opening scene is one of the reasons that I really have enjoyed the module itself, since it goes out of the way to detail all sorts of leads that the group could investigate. My group is going to be sidetracked a little with the side mission to contact the Arcanists of the Hidden Veil, but I'm going to put some relevant information in that section, as well as remind some of the group how horrible they are.
Grounds for Discussion
Somewhat reluctantly the decision was made to go to the Grounds and visit the Halls of the Hidden Veil.To do so, the group had to travel through the Saddle, the home of the merchants and well to do craftsmen. The Saddle got its name because it is a low point between two sets of cliffs: the ones to the west housed the Governs, the seat of authority in the area, while those to the east held the Grounds which hold the three different schools of magic.
To enter the Saddle would normally require a modest amount of coin, but Dragur simply walked through the gates with the guardsmen there giving him scant glances. An amulet he wore glowed briefly as the group passed underneath the gates.
Dragur has an S-Pass, a magical amulet that’s loaded with currency that gets deducted as you travel through the various districts of the city.
The streets in the Saddle were broad, and if the lanterns that hung every block or so were an indication, would be well-lit and safe at night. Small groups of Silver Shields, the ludicrously attired town guards, patrolled through the district paying them little attention. Wizards and other curious folk were obviously an everyday occurrence here.
So the group asked the question "why don't the town guards take care of this." I wanted to play up the theme that wizards normally don't overly concern themselves with physical activities and look down upon those who do. As a result, the Silver Shields are a small group with uniforms that are incredibly impractical in actual combat, which enforced the notion that they're more than a little incompetent.
Is That Thing for Sale?
As they were heading up the road which snaked its way to the entrance to the Grounds, the group was stopped by a dwarf wearing the silver colors of the Mithril School of Magic.“How much for this one?” He asked, poking Auric with his cane.
The rest of the group was somewhat taken aback. “More than you can afford, little man,” was Auric’s reply, looking down on the little man.
“Sorry, I don’t converse with the merchandise,” he said as he started poking and prodding at his form.
“Good sir this is not a golem, and is not for sale,” began Molechai only to be interrupted.
“I know it’s not a GOLEM, are ye’ daft? This is a thing of beauty, a relic from an Age gone by … and YE ARE KEEPING IT IN TERRIBLE SHAPE!”
With that the dwarf twisted at a loose portion where Auric's hip connected to his torso, causing the construct’s eyes to briefly flare bright blue.
Auric took an involuntary step back. The adjustment had done something to him. As he looked around, he could see the forms of buildings as they had been long before superimposed over the current scene. It was as if he could see into the past as a living history. Auric quickly found a way to control the ability otherwise it would have been most disconcerting-- a sort of double vision. At the same time he felt a bit more sturdy and sure of himself now.
“SAINTS OF SAND AND STONE! Ye’ haf’ no idea of what ye’ haf’ here, you’ll bring ruin to us all, ye’ will.” And with that, the dwarf departed, looking at the rest of the group with disgust.
“This sort of thing happen around you often?” asked Dragur.
“Not until recently,” replied Molechai, thinking of his encounter with Smilin’ Jack.
Much as with Molechai’s experience last session, the group is able to call upon their relationship with the Icons on a limited basis, to acquire new magic items. Auric’s relationship with the Dwarf King was at work here. Auric is described as a very run-down construct, and the items he acquires in the campaign are going to largely be just reassembling himself.
The item he received is from the Book of Loot and I imagined it as working like the goggles Star Lord wears at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy. This item should prove very useful over the course of the game, since it gives me the opportunity to directly show the tremendous age of the world of 13th Age.
AHEM... This Time Real Discussion, Real Grounds
And with that experience behind them, the group continued on to the Grounds.The Grounds is entered through a large, obviously magical door. As the group approached, Molechai’s dog started to whine, afraid to pass underneath the powerful magic. Dragur noticed that and said to relax, “as long as you’re near us, there shouldn't be a problem getting through the door. Or so I think at least.”
With that modest confirmation, the group approached the door. Again, Dragur's amulet pulsed, as an unspecified amount of currency was deducted from his S-Pass. Molechai’s dog growled at first, but was able to step across into the Grounds…
The Grounds themselves were … impressive. Magical lights stretched like neon lines around many of the otherwise ostentatious old buildings. The group, somewhat used to being the most unusual people around, found that they fit in with a strange assortment of magical oddities. Spirits flitted about the yard, on their way to deliver messages, students openly engaged in displays of fanciful conjurations, and strange races were walking openly.
Next to the gate, which Dragur told them was “Shazurl’s Door”, for the first Master of the school, there was a large business that was called Curious Goods. It had the symbol of the Archmage on it (the markings of a business that trafficked in magic) and a huge animated image of a chest with all manner of magical gear spilling out from it. This, obviously, was a store for magical goods. Auric looked at it, and saw in it’s place there was a tall and ancient looking building. Obviously, some sort of structure had stood there for a long time.
Considering their options and (lack of) funds, the group decided to simply go to the Halls of the Hidden Veil and speak with Jarin.
The Hidden Veil had a suitably ostentatious and impressive building for it’s Halls, but given how the Grounds was set up, it ended up being just another building in a sea of old buildings. The students who study in this school tended to be exactly the sorts of tortured souls that young, wealthy, over-educated academics can be. Dark colors were common, as was the smell of certain … herbs.
Dragur brought the group directly to Jarin’s office on the third floor. The gnome had aged since Molechai had last seen him, but looked otherwise in good health.
Jarin’s look of delight at the sight of his old friend was tempered by his reaction to the skeletal dog that was accompanying Molechai.
“My word, Molechai, it’s been years now and look at you … “ Jarin looked nervously at the skeletal dog curled up next to him “you certainly have been up to some interesting and unusual things to be sure…”
Molechai agreed that many things had happened to him, but he still felt he was the same kind of gnome that Jarin had helped years ago.
“Aye that, well, I must warn you: the road of the necromancer is a long and winding one, and if you’re not careful you can end up losing your soul in the process.”
“I’ll agree on the long and winding part, but not the rest.”
“Well, that may be so, but I wouldn't be honest if I dinna' tell you that there's a part in me tha' wishes I had left you on the street instead of bringing you into all of this.”
It seemed like the conversation was not going to settle anything, and neither gnome was going to change their opinions on the life Molechai had been living.
“Bless my soul! Where are my manners,” asked Jarin, abruptly changing the subject. Soon various distilled whiskeys and bourbons were shared, as well as some dark chocolate cakes that were evidently from The Diabolist’s Own Bakery. Food, drink and some good pipeweed were all consumed as talks went first to more pleasant topics, then to the course of what should happen next.
A lot of options were discussed, much of which the group had covered already, but Jarin brought up one point: the dead in Eldolan are all buried in the Vaults, in the Temple district, where a ceremony ensures that they can’t be later animated or brought back to life by foul means.
“It would be unthinkable,” was Jarin’s very considered opinion.
The group decided to follow up with their lead at the Lost Hope Mission, in the Warrens. They thought that would be the most direct path at this point, and they would explore other options if that didn't pan out.
“One last thing,” Jarin mentioned, “ Dragur knows this well, as should Molechai, but no matter what happens, don’t kill any wizards involved with this. Trafficking in the black arts is a crime, and any wizard who does so would be sentenced to the Archmage’s floating Sky Prison.
The Archmage, in fact, maintains a prison called Darkskye that floats among the clouds, where special prisoners are placed in a Demi-Plane similar to the Negative Zone (or Phantom Zone) where they can never escape. This is a bit of foreshadowing for the next adventure.
I mentioned the "don't kill wizards" rule to highlight how important they are in Eldoran. I imagine bad things and questionable research happens all the time in the schools, so of course the city would want to protect their own. No one kills a wizard but the Archmage's folks!
The group also was concerned with moving about the districts, so Jarin gave them a bracelet that would deduct from Dragur's S-Pass if it was needed.
Investigation is Warranted
Noting that they would have to carefully deal with any wizard bodies, the group left for the Warrens, passing back through the Saddle and into the Commons.The Warrens is adjacent to the Commons, and is the part of the city where the indigent and less fortunate live, and sometimes wizard students go to drink at to “keep it real.”
The group reached the Mission of Lost Hope around four in the afternoon, and noting that the lanterns that had been everywhere in the other districts were not present here, thought they had about three hours before sunset.
The group found the Mission largely empty, but ran into a dwarf who was obviously down on his luck. Dragur spent some time talking with him, but he hadn't seen much in the Warrens. He told them he had come from the Docks area, where he'd had a run or bad luck, since he picked up a cursed coin.
Molechai was intrigued by this. The dwarf, who's name was Kuz'il told them that there were a lot of dwarves who did labor down there, and recently someone started paying a lot of them with old gold coins. The coins had an image of some sort of sea creature on them, and were heavy ... and very valuable. The problem was that whoever came in contact with the coins had bad luck, making Kuz'il eventually think they were cursed.
Auric would hear nothing of it, suggesting a counter argument that the man was just a stupid drunk. His pride injured, Kuz'il left.
This is not a Dagon reference. Not at all.
The group then spoke with Elsa, who was working with a large half orc named Morgan to prepare dinner. The Mission was mostly a soup kitchen, where the folk who hadn't any money could come to get a decent meal in exchange for hearing about the Lady of Light and the general idea of Hope. Lines for food were long, and Elsa acknowledged that as her sermon grew longer it wasn't going to be just people’s stomachs’ that grumbled.
She told them what she knew about the situation, and suggested that they talk to her flock to learn more about the two men she had seen before they had been turned to zombies. Elsa particularly suggested talking with Kalia, a young street urchin who would normally be there for the evening.
With that, the group assisted Elsa and Morgan in putting together dinner for the evening.
Yeah, my little group of monsters actually did something nice.
Kalia did show up for dinner.and seemed particularly disinterested in Elsa’s sermon. The group motioned to her, and she stepped over to the side to talk with them.
 |
| Kalia's had a rough life |
The group gave her some coins and asked about Korack and Tolvus. She said that she knew Tolvus, “not a bad guy, got a bum ride in the wars, but he smoked the leaf a little too much!”
He was a friend who had helped her more than a few times when the Ratsmashers (a local gang) got too fresh with her, or tried to hit her with some bricks. (“What kind of creep hits people with bricks?”) Tolvus stepped in and sent them running “he really could still handle himself, despite the leg,” she said.
Tolvus had a weakness for Dreamleaf, and drug that produces stupors and hallucinations. Lately his shakes had been bad since he had no coin to buy the leaf. Kalia had given Tolvus a few coppers she could spare, and he had said that he had found a new dreamleaf pusher calling himself “the
Dream Master” who was selling at half the usual rate.
Kalia hasn't seen Tolvus since, and it’s been a week, so she supposes he’s probably dead.
The group said they were looking for a particular location (the one Dragur had seen in his visions from his familiar last night) and Kalia told them that the Dream Master runs his business out of an abandoned theater a few blocks away… that is a dead ringer for the spot they’re after.
She also said she’d seen him once, describing him as a middle-aged human man wearing some crazy outrageous colored clothing like an actor in a play, but rumpled and dingy. She says he’s new to the Commons and has been pushing for only a month or so.
She warned Molechai to be careful, since he’s known to gut little folk like him.
And with that, Kalia quietly left the Mission, hoping that she hadn't been seen with the group too much.
The group left quickly after, heading up to the theater to confront the Dream Master.
In case you're wondering, the drawing of Kalia is originally of Bullet, a character in The Killing who's very similar to to what I imagined Kalia is like. Hopefully Kalia will have a better fate.
The Ratsmashers at Last Have Their Very. Bad. Day.
Along the way, it soon became evident that the group was being watched, and that someone was getting ready to try and get the drop on them. Molechai’s years on the street were helpful as he could spot an ambush.“Good,” Auric said, “something to deal with directly at last.”
When it happened the group found itself being penned in by groups of toughs on both sides. It looked as if there were at least a dozen of them.
A young man stepped out of the shadows.
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| Capper and the Ratsmashers are about to have a bad day |
“Greetings travelers. What a lovely band of misfits you are. I hate to trouble you, but off the beaten path as you are, well, you look like you have more than enough coins in those pouches to share. Throw me your purses now and we’ll stay the best of friends.”
“I have a counter proposal,” Auric readied himself for battle, “how about we just kill all of you and call it a day?”
It seemed battle would be joined.
At the last moment, Molechai saw two figures nearby on a roof ready to drop bricks on them. He remembered Kalia’s words “what kind of creep hits people on the head with bricks,” he thought that he was about to find out.
The battle was joined, and took us about 45 minutes to resolve. Highlights were:
- Auric hurling Molechai’s skeletal dog at the brick-throwers. The dog fought well and left them with their only captives.
- Molechai’s use of purple lightning and noxious clouds of purple energy sucked the very life out of the thugs. He showed the ability to quell the life force of those near death and use it to heal himself, or others.
- That healing was sorely needed, as the group of armed thugs beat Auric, a nine foot tall construct within an inch of his life.
- Dragur continued to watch much of what happened, after he initially struck Capper, the gang’s leader with an acid arrow that pretty much burned him to death.
The battle took about half amount of time, but poor Auric really got wrecked by the thugs. They normally did 3 damage, but when another thug was nearby, they went up to 4, and on a natural 17+ they did "dirty tricks" causing an extra 2 damage. That means a critical hit did 12 damage!
My assessment is that mooks are a bit too tough at first level and will likely need some adjustments.
Also, to let you know: Dragur isn't really doing nothing in combat, he's an Occultist, who can channel Karma when his companions either hit or miss. Most of the time it looks like a particularly good hit, or something random happens to an opponent to hurt them, but he's doing it all.
Molechai has an excellent Necromancer ability called Death Knell, where he can quench the life of an enemy who is almost dead, and use it to heal himself or another nearby ally. It's worked out very well for him, and come in extremely handy. It also lets you know that Molechai is clearly walking the road to the Diabolist.
Molechai's player has put some work into describing his powers as being purple lighting and purple mists that do horrible things. He is definitely not a nice gnome.
In the wake of the battle, the two brick-smashers were left alive. Their battle with Molechai's dog was kind of a stand off, and they surrendered when they saw the rest of their gang brutally murdered. (Molechai is taking on some qualities of the Emperor from Star Wars with his purple lightning).
They interrogated the two of them before showing uncharacteristic mercy by letting them go. The bricksmashers, who it turns out were out of work masons, had been working with the Ratsmashers for the last couple months. Geoff, the spokeman for the two, said they had been helping to provide bodies for the Dream Master for the last month or so. The pay had been good (50 gold for a body in good shape) so they hadn't really thought about the ethical situation ("needs must, when the Diabolist drives," the surprisingly educated Geoff said).
I took Geoff's name from my favorite country in old Greyhawk. Who knows what will happen to good old Geoff: I hope they have reason to see him again.
The group stacked up the corpses, and discussion was split between how they could get in and extract a measure of vengeance and what they would do with the 600 gold pieces the corpses would fetch.
Dragur stopped for a moment and considered. He spoke with his shadow and ordered it to go and scout out the theater for him so that the group would know what they were up against. The shadow detached itself from his body and took off...
...only to return a few minutes later and give them a report. The theater itself was in bad shape. It had a second story that had obviously been seriously damaged by fire some time ago. There were was an entrance area, with a cage where a halfling was selling the leaf to the unfortunate addicts. He had four rough-looking guards around him that were serving as muscle to keep the money and merchandise safe.
Beyond the entrance area was the stage and seating area. This room had once been well appointed and decorated, but had fallen into a state of disrepair. There was a large chandelier that had fallen into the middle of the room long ago, and a expansive stage area. Half a dozen lackeys were having a good time hanging out providing some measure of security in the seating area.
On the stage were two men dressed in wizards robes: one was in the blue robes of the Eldritch Masters, with another wearing robes of the Lamplighter's Guild.
Then there was the Dream Master. Dragur's shadow didn't give too much information about him, save that he was "wrong" somehow. The back if the stage was living quarters and a supply room.
The shadow didn't go into the basement, as it was somehow wrong, in the same was as the Dream Master was.
All in all, the shadow gave them a remarkable description of the layout.
Dragur's familiar has the scouting ability, which lets it perform a scouting mission to get the layout of a location once per long rest with an easy skill check. Dragur rolled a natural 20 on his check, so he got a lot of information out of it. In fact, I gave the players a copy of the map for the first floor of the theater.
As to what was "wrong" with the Dream Master and the basement area, the group would have to figure that out.
And with that we broke up the session.
Stay tuned for next week's episode: Dream Master, a Love Story.
Until then, Make Mine 20!
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