Check for Insanity / Roll for Madness

[Pendants of Tor-Logos]

Pathfinder RPG

Achaerbas, the chaotic wizard, returns do the capital to make a claim for the throne, exhibiting a show of force to support his intent. The PCs drive him away, and go to the imprisoned devil Kyros Vidar to try to discover the location of the captives. Meanwhile, with the death of the Agatarkion V, the kingdom is left without rulership. Can the PCs’ suggestion of a joint theocracy be the solution?

Barion (rogue), Bellerophon (paladin), Thorkron (cleric/wizard/mystic theurge)

When you spend a four hour session roleplaying:

- a chaotic-insane all powerful wizard riding a tsunami, followed by elder water elementals that carry ships on their shoulders;

- a chaotic-insane former PC cleric, devoted to the god of madness, unwilling to commune with his god because "the dice told him so";

- an arrogant commander that hates one of the PCs so much that he refuses to act with minimal logic, because the PC took his favorite toy;

- an imprisoned erinyes hit by a Geas that tries in every way to refuse to speak, twisting, growling, biting his tongue, and so on.

You know two things:

1st: You must schedule an appointment with a  psychiatrist to check your sanity.

2nd: You're having a great time playing D&D!

I'm risking becoming a more efficient kingslayer than Jaime Lannister, since I've already killed two kings in the present campaign (as DM).

The all-mighty-crazy-magician returns to the city riding a tsunami, followed by a mythological gargantuan sea monster (Charybdis), and two elder water elementals carrying ships over their shoulders. He starts speaking to the populace, announcing that he has blood bonds to the former kings. Now try to imagine doing this epic speech with the three PCs trying to hit him while charging on a pegasus, with a magical spear, throwing all sort of spells against him, or trying to backstab him with daggers containing Touch of Idiocy!!!!

If the PCs seem edgy... maybe it's the DM's fault given the amount of EVERYTHING AND THEN SOME MORE that seems to hit them simultaneously. Never a dull day in the kingdom!

Following that encounter we had another one that made us laugh to tears, but at the same time made me hate even more the spell system of D&D (3.5/Pathfinder for reference).

So, a lot of important people have been disappearing, captured by devils, and taken to an unknown place. One of the devils (an erinyes) was captured, and the PCs decided to question him. He proposed a deal: he was willing to share the information if he was freed from captivity and given some land to claim as his own where he would be left in peace. The players wrinkled their noses, twisted in the chair, and grumbled, and for some reason did not embrace this generous offering from the DM (I wonder why...).

That's when high level magic enters play. The mage/cleric/mystic theurge/generic-guy-that-makes-the-DM-curse-every-spell-in-the-game, which is for some reason the most hated man in the kingdom (and beyond it), provokes an intense debate around the possibilities of the Geas spell. While I believe the spell to work only in the way that you can order a specific ACTION to be performed by the target, the bastard twisted the phrasing of the spell defending that "ordering the guy to tell us all that he knows is an action".

Since I am a very generous DM (and the campaign is nearing its end), I decided to give him a free pass.

Nonetheless, I made them fight for every answer, using all possible evasive actions, from speaking Infernal, to mumbling and gabbling, even having the devil rip its tongue so that he couldn't speak. When they presented him with a map and said "point where they are being held", I just couldn't stop laughing and had the devil bite his fingers off!!!!!

Eventually they discovered everything needed to get to the desired location, but I couldn't help but regret that the impact of high level magic is such in the game, that it shuts down roleplay. Why use diplomacy, negotiation, intimidation, or search for info in any "roleplayesque" way, when you can simply use spells that pinpoint the location of what you want to find? Or supply divine answers that solve any doubt?

Session Chronicle and Epilogue (Portuguese): link

Session II.20 - The Kiss of Charybdis

Sooooo, without any sort of false modesty, I must start by saying WE HAD A BLASTING SESSION!

Hands down, the 20th session of our "The Pendants of Tor-Logos" campaign was quite certainly one to place in the podium.

Release the Kraken!

When the party reaches level 13 it is time to start sending a few GARGANTUAN monsters towards them. I couldn't pass this "RELEASE THE KRAKEN” opportunity. How often do we get a high level party in a boat? Therefore, my godly powers summoned a very angry Charybdis, a child of the god of the oceans. It was time for snacks and munchies… and the rogue was the main course!

I don't enjoy very much using these monsters which are very big and only do multiple attacks with massive damage. After two rounds it becomes repetitive (even swallowing the poor rogue along the process). That is why I threw a nereid into the bargain, thus having some magical hocus pocus to play with. I'm also not a big fan of using charm/compulsion stuff against the PCs, but we're playing D&D (more accurately, Pathfinder), so there's really not much alternative...

War, and Destruction, and Demons... Oh my!

Next, came the best of the session. One of the things I try very hard to define me as a GM is the surgical placement of puzzle pieces woven by the players' actions. When a considerable amount of pieces are moved simultaneously, triggering a major history moment, it is time for the GM to sit back and enjoy the players discussing priorities and choices. And when they have different ideas, different approaches, and different ethical and moral opinions... ROLEPLAY HAPPENS!

Resuming 2,5 hours of roleplay: there's a new Titan called Kelsier, which is a balor (and a former PC from a previous campaign). He intends to enter the Prime Material Plane with his armies of demons to help the PCs' kingdom to defeat its dwarven enemies. To do so, he needs a link between the two Planes. That link will appear in the form of a soon-to-be-born child, whose parents are a succubus and the Regent Prince's cousin. Most members of the McKymera family are followers of the same god as Kelsier, therefore their understanding of the events may be quite different form the PCs'.

How, and when, to act is less than linear. The prince's cousin is a major political enemy of the party. The prince himself may not see the situation in the same way the players do. Will they kill an unborn child, without knowing if it has any inner evil? Also, the McKymera family is under a curse that prevents them from bearing progeny. What if this is the only way to overcome that limitation?

Close the notebook, cross arms, watch and enjoy... :)

Trial of the Tree Hugger

And if the previous scene didn't contain enough roleplay... how about a trial where the accused is one of the PCs, and the defense witness and lawyer are the other PCs? Thorkron had to answer before court for being the mastermind behind an attack that caused the death of city guards. There wasn't much in the prosecution, but it offered an opportunity for the players to eliminate another political enemy. These guys are rapidly getting rid of all opposition... Mafia Family in the making? I wonder...

Session Chronicle and Epilogue (Portuguese): link

Session II.19 – Saints and Sinners

The Green Council

Last session was all about the "Green Council". A gathering of the most proeminent representatives of the Theo (god) of Nature. I've always enjoyed, now and then, preparing role scenes where the players assume the roles of NPCs gathered for kingdom-changing events.

The idea behind this was simple: leprechaun spies have sighted a horde of kobolds heading toward the human kingdom - the same kingdom which has been less than kind for the followers of the green god. What will be their take on the matter? Will they join forces with the humans, thus revealing their power and existence? Will they allow Nature to follow its course? Will they embrace the new additional power coming from the dark god? What will their counsel be to the new Great Druid, a 12 year old human girl?

The player that roles Thorkron (a level 12 thaumathurgist, follower of the green god) had made a brief reference, in his original background, to a ring he bears named "samvete", which could be special, or mundane (DM's decision). So, I kept him waiting, and waiting, and waiting, pretending that I had overlooked that piece of info. When I started developing the scene for the Green Council in my head, I knew it was time for samvete to "awaken".

The first idea I had in my mind was to teleport him away in the middle of a trial he is expected to attend (catching the player off-guard). But when the party decided to visit the old powerful crazy wizard that lives in the bay, asking for magical weapons to kill dragons, I immediately knew this was it! We're going for a boat ride! And it would be an amazing character development opportunity, with NPC-bonding.

And so, Thorkron was summoned to the Green Council, with the other players (secretly informed by the DM beforehand) creating power NPCs, such as the oldest treant in the world, a gnome with over 12 centuries, and a young kitsune tribal leader. As to myself, I assumed several identities during the scene, trying to shake all the ideas that were coming to the table.

All in all, a great roleplaying session.

Saint Bellerophon

Before the major event of the session I had another surprise prepared for another player. Oh yes, I am the kind of DM that enjoys keeping the players on their toes!

The player that portrays the paladin Bellerophon has had countless moral debates with the other players. Instead of "looking the other way" from time to time, he always keeps true to the paladinhood ideals, something that has recurrently earned him the rageful hatred of his companions. I wanted to find a way in-game to value that attitude, but without giving him more power (he already is obnoxiously strong and impossible to hit). Therefore, in coherence with the setting, I sent an angel with a few aasimars to proclaim him a saint, thus becoming his followers. The funny thing is, although he doesn't know yet, he really HAS attained some level of holiness. But, as Uncle Ben taught us, with great power comes great responsibility. And so the angel is a flying helmet that remembers everything he sees or hears. Now, Saint Bellerophon, can't really look the other way.

Let's see how this is going to play out. It's something new (at least for me, as GM), and hopefully memorable.

Session Chronicle and Epilogue (Portuguese): link

Crónica da Sessão II.12

Os dias passam em Porto Mantícora com os heróis a separarem-se por alguns momentos, de forma a poderem seguir as suas agendas pessoais. Bellerophon conversa com a Princesa Ibis Suntarion a respeito das marcas que Ascaris deixou no seu pégaso. Thorkron arrisca uma visita ao barco do “Grande Achaerbas”, apostado em convencer o mago a ajudá-lo a progredir nos seus estudos arcanos. Barion recebe um desesperado pedido de auxílio por parte da Rainha-Mãe, que teme pela vida do pequeno Tersites Agatarkion. Quanto a Meshif… O que é feito de Meshif?

"Pesadelo na Capital"

Crónica: link

O Grande Achaerbas