ASE: Session Three, Group B

Date: Lapin 4th
Weather: Overcast

Party:
Jace (Expert)
Sebastian (High Mage)

Cohorts:
Gil (Axebeak)

Summary:
The duo finally get into Denethix. Checking into the Wizard's Repast, they stay for the night and figure out their plans. Jace wants to find work while Sebastian wants information on the Quiet God's Star. After almost getting pickpocketed by the vicious halfling street gang the Lollipop Guild, they split up with Jace going north along the Street of Temples and Sebastian going to the bank. Sebastian manages to deposit his gold without much incident, while Jace passes by odd people worshipping gods of cutlery and also strange white-robed men attempting to send grunkies into orbit with bottle rockets.

While Jace seemed to have no luck looking for work, Sebastian gets suckered into almost joining a cult, as the Church of Starry Wisdom welcomes him with open arms. They usher him into the facility and make him wait in a plain room with a chair. Meanwhile, Jace has a run-in with a band of urchins who call him out for a favor, and ask him to check in on one of their friends who had, completely coincidentally, been taken in by the Church of Starry Wisdom.

Clearly not a sinister cult.

Using a convenient tree and finding an open window, Jace sneaks in and manages to disguise himself as a cultist. In another part of the tower, the door opens for Sebastian and he's asked to wear a helmet, one that his ability to read magic tells him is a Helm of True Sight that allows people to "see forever". Finally sensing danger, he casts a spell to make the cultists fall asleep and get out. The two bump into one another, with Jace telling Sebastian off and giving him directions to leave, as he goes deeper into the compound.

Discovering a cellar with large bulky objects in sacks being moved, Jace discovers the room where the sacrifices are being held and discover the person he's supposed to save. With some finesse and a few concussions given to the cultists, he manages to free the girl and rescue her, meeting back up with Sebastian and fulfilling the request for the urchins. He tells them to keep half of the reward and requests a favor in the future instead, to which the urchins agree.

With that side trek having been resolved, they check out the cult of science who were currently discovering the effects of terminal velocity on grunkies. Very scientific. They get to talking with the pair and the scientists become really interested in the idea of a rocket ship. They mention places where there could be scientific materials and artifacts that could make such a thing possible: The Dimming Cave and the Molybdenum Tombs. With this new information, they spend the rest of the day taking on hirelings to head out to investigate the Molybdenum Tombs in the morning.

 

Left to Right: Alucard (Warrior / Vowed), Melzgar (High Mage/Expert), Brilena (Warrior)

Treasure:
25 silver
A favor from several street urchins
A Helm of "True Sight" that allows you to "See Forever"

Experience:
Jace (lv 2, 4 xp)
Sebastian (lv 2, 4 xp)

My Current Thoughts: Having a duo allows for a very swords and sorcery dynamic. This session was far more improv-heavy than others and resulted in a lot of page flipping. I probably should have called for a 15 minute break to draw up the temple of starry wisdom's compound, but the players did not seem to mind the loose improvisation.

The oracular adventure adjustment tables in WWN beta v.20 were very handy. I can see myself using just this for adjudicating solo games, along with the adventure seeds.