Session 1: Dragon Keep

[thesniperknight1]

Thanks., Garen inches closer and moves his torch around to have a closer look.

[C. Steven Ross]

You enter this huge, 8-sided chamber coming out of the bottom-left corner of the image (vertical shaft down). The walls here are smooth and cleanly chiseled and the ceiling arcs up high to form a smooth dome. Going clockwise, the other 7 passageways are described as follows:

1). A set of stone stairs that end abruptly because part of the path has collapsed forming a chasm about 10 feet across.
2). Heavy oak double doors with reinforced, untarnished steel around the edges.
3). Winding, narrow caves. A cold breeze wafts in from that direction and chilly water trickles across the floor.
4). A flooded passageway with stagnant, fetid water about chest high.
5). A set of stone stairs that end abruptly because part of the path has collapsed forming a chasm about 10 feet across. A wooden plank has been nailed into the stone wall here with three lines of text written in red paint. None of you speak the language. Each line of text has an arrow; one points left, one points right, one points up.
6). A flooded passageway with stagnant, fetid water about waist high.
7). A rusty iron door, lashed down with spiked chains and held tight with a shining, pristine steel padlock. The padlock itself is shaped to resemble a cross.

In the center of the chamber is a massive white marble statue of a dragon! Wings unfurled, its head roars out. It has four extra necks, two on each side of its head, that end in cleanly severed stumps. Weird, right?

What do you do?!

[Rusty Tincanne]

Drawn by the statue, Rand carefully approaches the center of the room to look at it. He starts in front of the center head and walks clockwise around it, careful to avoid loose or miscolored stones. Are there any markings on the statue? Does it look religious in nature? (This is the temple of a many-headed god, after all...)

SK: feel free to engage your instinct again.

[thesniperknight1]

yup, I was about to do that
Garen follows Rand and runs his hands along the stumps where the severed heads used to be before checking around the statue for any traps or hidden compartments for that matter

[C. Steven Ross]

Garen: You find no hidden traps.

Rand: There are some marking on the base of the statue. The language is unfamiliar, different than that on the wooden board. It kind of looks like intersecting, thin curved lines. Do you ponder their meaning?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Indeed, I do. And I will likely miss Tandir's assistance, particularly with exhausted and injured. But Rand must know if this dragon is an ally in the fight for an orderly world!

[C. Steven Ross]

Hoo boy these factors stack up quick.

Make an Ob 6 Theologian test (greater spirit, malign, exhausted).

Tell us how you use your Traits here, if you do. Tell us who you get to help you out, through skills and wises. Don't forget that you're also Injured, so that's a -1D to the roll.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Rand squats in front of the inscription thinking about all he had read about Tiamet and dark elves before starting this adventure. He traces the words with his fingers several times, hoping beyond hope the act will jog his memory. He feels a voice deep within him suggesting to look at it from a different angle but brushes the thought aside as desperate foolishness. Instead, he curses exhaustion, injury and unreliable elves.

Theologian 3 -1D injured -1D Touched by the Gods = 1D vs Ob6.
[1d6] = 5

Check earned. Another failed test recorded.

[C. Steven Ross]

And Rand has a fiery vision! This statue is a desecrated seal of Tiamat, yes so much is obvious, but what is more, what is TERRIFYING!, is that which this monolithic emblem holds watch over!

Yea a vision of fire and blood fills Rand's mind! A horrid Daedra, a malignant spirit from the dark netherworld, has been imprisoned somewhere in this very fortress, put here thousands of years ago by righteous Hobgoblin paladins. You have entered its prison, and it is awoken!

With terrifying visions comes clarity. The key to finding the Crown lies with this statue. Recover and repair the missing heads and Tiamat's blessing will come to you.

!!! END SESSION !!!
End Turn 5

Now on to Rewards.....

[C. Steven Ross]

Rand is now Afraid. He cannot Help anyone and cannot use Beginner's Luck. If called on to do a test with a skill he has no rating in, he must use Nature.


At the end of a session of Torchbearer, we reward the adventurers for their deeds. You earn rewards for the way you play your character in a session. Rewards are accrued in points. There are two types of points: fate points and persona points. These points are used to modify dice rolls and activate wises.

ALL: I need everyone to chime in reminding us of their Belief, Goal and Instinct and then answer the questions below. When answering, remind us of specific events to back up your claim.

Then, post any Beliefs, Goals, or Instincts that you would like to change starting on the next session.

Lastly, one person may post a summary of the past sessions events within a strict 140 character limit. This is called the Prologue. If it is sufficiently entertaining, the DM will be pleased and you can alleviate one of your conditions — hungry & thirsty, angry, afraid or exhausted (and in that order) — or restore a point of tax on your Nature.

END OF SESSION QUESTIONS
Did you take action in service of your character’s Belief during the session, even though it may not have been the wisest or easiest path to take?
OR
Did you play against your Belief in a dramatic fashion — if you made a decision in the game that’s counter to what you believe — and you let everyone know about your inner struggle through your performance of your character?

Did you work toward accomplishing your Goal, but didn’t quite accomplish it?
OR
Did you accomplish your Goal during the session?

Did you use your Instinct and that benefited the party?

Who was the MVP of the session? MVP stands for “most valuable player.” Who made the crucial roll so the party could face down the big problem besetting it in the session?

Who was the Teamworker, the player who worked the hardest to keep the group together and in good shape?

Who wins the Embodiment award? Who roleplayed in a believable and entertaining manner throughout the entire session — describing all their actions in vivid detail or bring their Belief, Goal, Instinct and alignment into play in a new and entertaining way?

[Rusty Tincanne]

I will post about the questions later, but regarding the prologue, I think that Norgrim has no conditions, but taxed mature, whereas Garen and Rand both have low-level conditions to get rid of. With that in mind, I'd say Enoch should do the prologue as he will gain the most. (I should be able to recover from Afraid without issue, and Garen should be able to shake angry similarly easily.)

Regarding my Beliefs, Goals and Instincts: I am happy with mine. Despite his fearful vision, Rand is now driven to banish the daedra!

As for MVP, Teamworker and Embodiment, we could each get one, right? WIth that in mind:

Teamwork or Embodiment - Enoch. For his actions and descriptions when setting the trap when camping, offering help with the laborer skill for just about every test (even when it looked like there was no way to pass a test!), and offering his torches and to carry a large sack to free up other folks' hands. He also sacrificed a check to save my boots, for which Rand is eternally grateful! Enoch also helped the players with references/explanations of the rules.

MVP - Superknight. Though he didn't do anything heroically-dramatic, he was willing to take risks that proved helpful and/or advanced the story with his failures when drawing the map (and cats) and his two check-for-traps tests. He also persevered in his searches at the cliff base and found the magic gong and then bravely took it from its location.

And as I said, I'll post more about the other questions later, but it is bedtime now. So many thanks to Steven for crafting a wonderful story, being patient with us noobs, and making our failures entertaining! I am looking forward to the second session, should we have the opportunity to continue.

I feel I learned a bit and look forward to being less afraid to use my traits to help my tests. I kept waiting before, then found all my later tests were too difficult to use them on.

-----------------------------------------------------

Edit: I decided to plow ahead with the last few questions:

BELIEF: - All creatures should be given the opportunity to work towards the well-being of the world.
GOAL: - I will banish any lingering Daedra spirits.
INSTINCT: - Always make poultices when making camp.

Did you play against your Belief in a dramatic fashion — if you made a decision in the game that’s counter to what you believe — and you let everyone know about your inner struggle through your performance of your character?
I did play against my beliefs, though I do not know how dramatically. Rand should have more faith in the innate goodness of sentient beings, but instead he fled from the guards twice. Moreso with the second example I believe.

"Damn boys, we're in a tight spot! And I am not seeing those two brutes assisting our efforts to spread goodwill to the world. I'm lighting one of Tilcar's torches so we can see better."

Rand wrestled with the dilemma at hand. He wanted to believe the hobgoblins at the clifftop would allow them entry, but... What if they don't? He had never met a hobgoblin before and the two didn't sound friendly at all. Or is that just ignorance of their language and culture? he was on the verge of marching back to the cliff, resolved to keep an open mind when fear - and shame - overtook him. He could not return to the cliff yet. Rand pulled out his mace and smashed the rock wall. "If we can make this opening big enough, we won't need to ring the gong again."

Did you work toward accomplishing your Goal, but didn’t quite accomplish it?
Unless you lot think getting a magical gong and finding out that there is, indeed a powerful daedra in the Keep is close, I failed my goal. This time.

Did you use your Instinct and that benefited the party?
Tried, but failed. Ended up using another player's check to save my boots.

By my calculations, I got 1/3. Let me know your opinions about Goal Achievement, though.

[C. Steven Ross]

Cool! Give Rand a Persona point for acting against his Belief and, by reading the runes and interacting with the Tiamat statue, has has gotten an inkling of knowledge about the daedra spirits bound here. Give yourself a Fate point for working toward your Goal.

[thesniperknight1]

Alright, here I go

BELIEF: Survival is important but keeping your humanity takes priority
GOAL: Loot this place for what it's worth
INSTINCT: Checks for traps when entering a room

No, there hasn't been any time where I had to make a decision to survive by sacrificing my humanity or the opposite, I am strangely disappointed that I wasn't in a life and death dilemma

I suppose it's a bit controversial, I mean we did take that important looking egg and the gong, would that be accomplishing my goal?

No, It did more harm than good, but it did make things a little more interesting

Enoch I would say was the MVP, he was on point every time like with the ladder incident and the egg checking too

Rusty was the best in teamwork, constantly reminding us of all possible options and always offering help no matter the circumstances.

I nominate Rusty as well for the embodiment award, it felt like he delved in his character a bit more than the rest of us, getting closer to finding exactly how to play his character.

[C. Steven Ross]

Also here I would say you earn a Fate Point for working towards your Goal. You certainly didn't accomplish it, there's tons more loot!, but you did make progress.

[Enoch]

My turn:

Did you take action in service of your character’s Belief during the session, even though it may not have been the wisest or easiest path to take?
OR
Did you play against your Belief in a dramatic fashion — if you made a decision in the game that’s counter to what you believe — and you let everyone know about your inner struggle through your performance of your character?

Did you work toward accomplishing your Goal, but didn’t quite accomplish it?
OR
Did you accomplish your Goal during the session?
GOAL: - I will recover a lost Dhakaan relic. Certainly haven't recovered one yet.

Did you use your Instinct and that benefited the party?
I used my Instinct--to build a trap to guard us when we camp--but luckily everything left us alone, so it didn't really benefit us.

Who was the MVP of the session? MVP stands for “most valuable player.” Who made the crucial roll so the party could face down the big problem besetting it in the session?
I would have said Tandir, since I believe he was the one to actually find the cave. That shifted our entire approach and gave us the opportunity to find a new way in. Since he's gone, I'll nominate myself, as the ladder let us proceed in this direction rather than running out of the cave.

Who was the Teamworker, the player who worked the hardest to keep the group together and in good shape?
I would actually say Sniperknight/Garen.

Who wins the Embodiment award? Who roleplayed in a believable and entertaining manner throughout the entire session — describing all their actions in vivid detail or bring their Belief, Goal, Instinct and alignment into play in a new and entertaining way?
I agree with Rust/Rand for this.

[C. Steven Ross]

Norgrim: I disagree. You (as in, the group) recovered the Silver Bell Chime of Haar-Graev. Or as you like to lovingly call it, the gong with the little hammer. Gain a Persona point for accomplishing your goal! Also, it would be a good idea to make a new goal.

By your votes, we have Norgrim as MVP (gain a Persona point) and Rand as Embodiment (gain a Persona point). We have a three way tie for Teamworker. Who do you want to give it to? I'll default to Garen unless told otherwise (gain a Persona point).

I'll let you guys hash out a Prologue and we will be on temporary break while we wait a week or two to see if we can fill out your fourth party member.

[Enoch]

I'm good with Garen for teamworker. We're all learning both Torchbearer and how it plays via PbP. I'm excited to learn that the gong has a name!

[Rusty Tincanne]

I am also happy to change my vote to have Garen to win Teamworker. Though he posted less frequently than Enoch and me, most of his posts (if memory serves) were offering to help with tests and asking how his character's actions could benefit the party. Also, SK's recent shuffling of gear - including his offer of ditching some gear - to hold a torch was really great. And I am glad it didn't come to losing any equipment.

Thanks for the votes for embodiment, by the way. I am touched!

I'll update my sheet (2 persona, 1 fate) and eagerly await word for session 2. (Where light sources will start getting tougher!)

[Enoch]

Looking at Goals, is "I will recover the missing heads" too ambitious to be reasonably accomplished in a session (I'm assuming that Rand would share his vision with us)? If so, is "I will recover one of the missing heads" reasonable?

BTW, I forgot to include my Belief (Protect the clan at all costs) but I wasn't ever in a position to risk myself for their sake, so it's not relevant.

[Rusty Tincanne]

It wasn't as dramatic as "at all costs," but between setting the trap and saving my boots, I'd vote for you to have worked towards your belief. The situation never forced the costs to be too high though. Oh. And you protected us from that vicious scorpion!

And yes, Rand will have shared that vision with you and Garen.