Game still from Dragon Age II
For New Year's Eve, I ran our second session of Dragon Age. I was still able to keep everything digital, even though I pulled out some sticky notepads and a pencil due to hold habits. It had taken a while to run again because I came down sick twice in December, first with a (luckily brief) flu and then after a week of wellness with an allergy. I needed my sinuses to clear up well enough to talk for hours, as well as the energy to think in some depth. I discovered that I had written up more notes than I remembered working on, however, so that helped. I also got to run while wearing my new Tevinter shirt, which was an extra point of amusement. =)
In-Game Events: The session began after Caelius left Marelanna in the pit, determined to purchase her from the lot. He consulted with Gallus to figure out how much she should cost and how to best try to haggle his way into getting her as her personal property. With Gallus' help, he was able to get a few silvers knocked off the price and claim her immediately.
They pulled into Asariel's port that evening, and Gallus suggested they stay at an inn while they could get away from the ship (and the horrible stench around the docks). After some searching, however, he could only find a good deal for them at a whorehouse a decent ways away. Marelanna suggested a visit to the market to find an herb on the cheap that could burned to improve the smell of wherever they were going to stay. They played up her "special natural knowledge as a knife-ears" to get a discount on their room and food.
They started the next day well enough but were soon met by soldiers from their ship who were seeking slaves. They hurried back to the ship to discover that a section of tombs had been blown up in the early morning hours and in the chaos, slaves had escaped into the city. A unit was sent to investigate the explosion while another couple units were set to guard the remainder on board and explore the clues near the ship. Caelius and company quickly hit the streets to recover as many escapees as they could.
The uncovered a sick escapee who'd tried to kill herself by ingesting what she could get her hands on while hiding in a tannery. With some help, Sonia was able to stabilize the slave and get her sent back with the town guard. Two more slaves had stolen enough cloth to cover up with and were captured when Caelius caught them trying to steal better clothes from a busy little stall in the market district. He nearly killed the slave he struck, but managed to leave enough for Sonia to heal.
While at the market, Caelius bargained with Juter, a former slave turned engraver, to have Marelanna's collar emblazoned with his name in exchange for spreading word of the engraver and his smith sons to the ship. This would make Marelanna stand out from the other slaves. As a slave who earned his freedom, Juter assured the group that he would make sure no one he knew would remove collars from any escapees who might approach them.
Having caught sight of a person near an older section of tombs the night before, Caelius wondered if perhaps sympathizers had been using them as a hideout. He opted to take a route through a ramshackle section of Asariel and while the group made their way past an abandoned estate, they saw signs of squatters. Gallus and Caelius moved in from the front while Sonia and Marelanna went around to the back.
To their surprise, the upper floor had weaknesses in many areas. Caelius had a wall collapse on him, pinning him momentarily but revealing the terrified slaves huddled against a far wall. Gallus and Caelius had to test stability as they went, leading three slaves out of the peril. After some stellar patching up, they turned the escapees over to the town guard and pressed onward.
The tombs they suspected were older, largely unkept, and unguarded. Some kids playing a game nearby reported that they saw some women head into the Carvades family tomb. The kids were sent off with some coppers and a message to call for the town guards. The group found the tomb unlocked and dark, but some of the candles left for visitors were missing. On their way toward the back, they began to hear sounds of distress and were met by five terrified slaves who were fleeing some kind of ghost.
The phantom was of a very old man calling for his son, Xalvius. Gallus crept back to a room which chronicled the family tree to find that Xalvius was the son of Gnaeus, who was listed as living to an advanced age. They opted to try to talk to the specter, which led them to Gnaeus' sarcophagus - which was empty and had apparently never been used. The echo claimed to have been essentially buried alive. In a howling and scratching fury, the shade vanished. The slaves swore that they had only started a small fire for warmth in an unfinished room of the tomb, where they wouldn't disturb the dead.
Caelius led the way not to the ship but to the grand temple of Dumat, one of the towering marvels of the Imperium outside of Minrathous. Built entirely of imported volcanic rock, it was seeded with incense which made the entrance appear like the smoking maw of a great dragon. The clergy were told about the shade and the crime, and after full interviews, everyone was released. The Carvades family had fallen into fierce infighting. Those who lived were the ones who fled the city, including Xalvius, who had inherited his father's estate. Gnaeus was believed to have finally died of natural causes. The family had not been dedicated to Dumat and had not turned to the temple for Gnaeus' service, but the temple would surely be investigating.
Observations: We were more comfortable with stunts this time so it didn't take as long to make our choices, and we used them for combat, exploration, and so forth; we even used one spell stunt. Nate expressed a desire for even more stunts, so I'll have to go searching for them (but if you know of any, please comment and let me know where I can find them).
I tried my hand at building and using hazards with the ramshackle estate, which seemed to go over well. I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of those guidelines because they are so generalized (without being useless as guides to how severe a situation can get). All kinds of challenging problems with an environment or situation can be outlined as hazards quickly, which excites me. I love flexible systems like that and I'm looking forward to devising ways to use more hazards in upcoming games. I will likely port that system into other games I run, as well. If you have hazards you've created, I'd love to see them. The ones I used were as follows (and keep in mind that they are the first such hazards I've made):
Floor collapse, moderate - Perception: Seeing or Hearing TN 13 to notice; 2d6 damage (armor reduces) if fail, and Speed is reduced by 5 until healed; a successful TN 11 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check halves the damage.
Wall or ceiling collapse, major - Perception: Seeing or Hearing TN 15 to notice; 3d6 damage (armor reduces) if fail, and taking 10 or more damage means character is pinned; a successful TN 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check halves the damage, no pin.
I got to use my slave cost rules right off the bat, since Caelius was insistent. We did more bargaining than I anticipated and the party managed to get past the price-gouging the city is infamous for, but it worked out. Nate hadn't spent much on equipment to start with so his character had leftover silvers, but he spent the lion's share on Marelanna. He was very happy about his purchase, however, and she began looking out for the group without having to be ordered to do so. Her fortunes are now tied to theirs.
There will be more to come in Asariel before they leave, but the next stop is mighty Minrathous - and who knows what will happen in the greatest city in Thedas? If you have any thoughts or inspiration to share, please do.
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