Firework Wand

 Here's a useful low-level Wand for your D&D game. It's an upgraded version of the Wand of Pyrotechnics from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, rendered more useful (and less harmless) but still weak enough that you could give it to 2nd level characters without it wrecking game balance. 

Wand of Fireworks:  (Wondrous Item, Wand, Rarity: Uncommon).   Description: This redwood wand has a blackened tip that faintly glows with a smouldering inner red light like an old coal not quite extinguished. Despite this appearance, it's not particularly warm to the touch.
Properties: This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to pick a target creature, item, or space that you can see within 120 feet, expend a charge, and decide whether you want the effect to be harmless or dangerous.
The harmless effect is a burst of multicolored light and sparks. The burst of light is accompanied by a crackling noise that can be heard up to 300 feet away. The light is as bright as a torch flame but lasts only a second. The controller may choose the color of the flames.
The dangerous effect is as above, but the flickering firework is briefly hot enough to actually burn things or start small fires. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, or else suffer 1d10 fire damage. If the target is a flammable object, it ignites if it isn’t being worn or carried.
The wand regains 1d6 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand’s last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand erupts in a harmless pyrotechnic display before burning down to ash, destroying itself. 

It's basically the Wand of Pyrotechnics, plus an optional damaging effect that's a modified version of the Fire Bolt cantrip. 

Clever characters will quickly figure out its not a great attack, and often better used for distractions or signalling. The color-change aspect was added specifically to empower that utility, so that even if that's all you're using it for, it's a minor improvement on the Wand of Pyrotechnics. Evil characters will quickly figure out that it's even better for arson.

Why'd I make such a thing? Well, I'm gearing up for some D&D on Roll20 over the New Year. At the end of the previous session, the PCs had surprised me by searching a place that totally made sense for a recently deceased NPC wizard to have hidden something. In fact, it was unintentionally implied by something I'd narrated, and they'd picked up on my unintended implication. I'd been focused on the main plot, and had nothing prepared for this hidden stash, but wanted to reward their clever thinking. Since it was near the end of the session, I told them they found a wand hidden there, and left the discovery of what type of wand for next time.

Well, "next time" is almost here, and I've made myself a minor problem. My characters are just third level, so there's not really a good wand for them.

A Wand of Magic Missiles is probably a too large step up in offensive power. Even at just using 1 charge per turn, it's 6-21 guaranteed damage per turn at a time where the PCs are still rolling a single damage die and no one has Extra Attack yet. Dropping 4 or 5 charges would vaporize the campaign's current big bad in a single turn. So that's out.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything has some common Wands, but I hadn't read through them yet at the time. They're cute, kinda fun, but have sort of the opposite problem of the Magic Missiles: they aren't useful in a fight at all. If the dour old wizard hid away a wand for safe-keeping, it's got to be a little better than making people scowl, or grow a single flower. My players were excited at finding a wand because there have been relatively few magic items in the game, and now they've had some time to imagine what the wand might be and do, so it's possibly built up a bit in their minds.

Unfortunately, all the Uncommon Wands are either too powerful for the current moment in my game (Magic Missiles, Web), or so limited as to be nearly useless (Wand of Secrets in a group that already has two Rogues with pretty decent Perception/Investigation skills).

So I need a wand that's a little more useful than any of the common Wands in XGE, but not such a step up that it causes the group's fighter or one of the rogues to give up their normal attack in favor of the wand for the first two rounds of every combat. Something that's cool and useful, but requires some cleverness to get the most out of.

I went with an custom upgraded version of the Wand of Pyrotechnics because it fit nature of the deceased NPC wizard: he was a bit of a show-off in his youth, but was old and frail and not so great at magic anymore. This wand was his crutch. D&D doesn't really have provisions for growing old, so there's no official reason why he couldn't just use a cantrip that would probably do more damage since he was at least a 5th level wizard in his youth, but it makes narrative sense for him to have lost most of his magical edge in his final years. The "old coal not quite extinguished" was a pretty apt metaphor for the character before he was murdered.

Also, currently the PCs are at odds with the local Duke, and I like the idea of them being tempted by the newfound ability to burn down the Duke's manor. I think that will lead to some fun role-play moments as they debate the ethics of such skullduggery.

A Tree Full Of Holes

Thinking a bit about a quote from Nine Princes In Amber by Roger Zelazny, and how I wish I'd paid more attention to it at the start of my campaign more than a year ago:

I was a prince of Amber. It was true. There had been fifteen brothers and six were dead. There had been eight Sisters, and two were dead, possibly four.

The nine princes active during the original novels are: Benedict, Eric, Corwin, Bleys, Brand, Caine, Gerard, Julian, and Random.

The four princesses active during the original novels are: Deirdre, Fiona, Llewella, and Florimel. 

So that leaves 6 dead princes, 2 dead princesses, and 2 princesses of unknown status. Let's just call them 6 and 4 to keep it simple, as in many Amber campaigns any off-camera death is instantly suspect.

A few books into the series, we are told about Osric and Findo, who long ago died "for the good of the realm", so that leaves 4 and 4.

In the later novels, we are told briefly about Sand and Delwin, so that leaves 3 and 3. 

We're also introduced to a few others in the later novels, such as Dalt and Coral, but they presented in a way that makes it incredibly unlikely that they should be subtracted from that total. They were never part of the family when the "kids" were growing up, anyway.

The various third-party guidebooks about Amber (the "Complete Amber Sourcebook" and the "Visual Guide to Castle Amber") mention a princess Mirelle, so that leaves 3 and 2, for a total of 5.

Those 5 are presumed dead, and completely open for GMs of the Amber DRPG to fill in. A lot of word-count is spent in the novels telling us how Corwin and his kin are fratricidal and traitorous, so presumably several of these 5 died in ways that were memorable and/or suspicious. They could potentially give you great backstory and motivation details for the existing Amberites: lots of axes to grind over the tragic deaths of beloved siblings.

For some reason, I always forget about them when I'm starting a campaign. At the outset of Amber, I make individual decisions about the status of Osric, Findo, Sand, Delwin, and Mirelle, but I never remember during session zero that there's 5 others I need to decide on as well. I very commonly make a detailed birthorder chart that's canonical for my campaign, complete with pictures of the major NPCs to help new players wrap their heads around the massive family, but I never seem to remember to add 5 entirely new names to that list.

I need to put that on my checklist for future campaigns, I guess.  Make up some new siblings, and kill them spectacularly before the first session.

While I'm on the topic, I might as well mention that there's a couple different birth orders in the various sources, with the most important bone of contention being the switch-up being whether Caine is a full-brother or half-brother to Corwin. The novels give mixed messages about him. The guidebooks muddy it further, with the "Complete Amber Sourcebook" by Theodore Krulik claiming they share a mother, while the "Visual Guide to Castle Amber" by Neil Randall list Caine's full brothers are Gerard and Julian (and puts their births in slightly different order, as well).

Other places where the guidebooks contradict each other include:

Benedict, about whom the lineage charts in the two books disagree about whether he was the eldest or the youngest of the three children of Cymnea. He's the surviving one, and that's what matters, I guess.

Sand and Delwin are listed as the children of Harla in one guide, and children of Lora in the other. The two books also disagree about whether Sand and Del are older or younger than Random. To make it more confusing, the book that names their mother Lora says that Oberon did also have a wife named Harla, but that it's unknown if they had any kids. So there's no chance that Lora is a nickname for Harla.

The King Is Dead

 Crazy session of Amber tonight. Semi-accidentally killed off King Random. 

Over the past 15 sessions or so, a villain was using a network of special jewels to cast devastating attack spells at a distance, blasting anyone who had one of these gems. Two or three sessions previous, this had nearly killed 1 PC and her mother (Princess Sand), but the actions of 3 PCs working together had saved them both. One of them figured out how to use the Pattern Lens to seal the gems that Sand and the other PC had on them so they couldn't get blasted, and then rushed the injured Sand to a high-tech sci-fi hospital to save her.

These 3 PCs, it should be noted, all really liked King Random, and would genuinely want to save him.

Tonight, one of them was present when suddenly the King started getting blasted by the same methods, only through the Jewel of Judgment instead of these other Spikard-y stones. The first two shots incapacitate him, but since the one of those 3 PCs was nearby, and he knew the other 2 PCs were present at a high-tech hospital, they spring in to action. He Trumps his cousins, and passes the King's unconscious body through to the PC who had sealed the other gems. 

Who then doesn't seal the Jewel, and instead loads the KO'd King into medical scanner (kind of like an MRI tube) to diagnose his injuries, and leaves the King alone with just the NPC scanner technician while he steps out of the room to make a call.

This is a really bad idea, so before I pull the trigger, I subtly remind him that the King is wearing the Jewel and he could do something with it. 

This instead makes him consider running off with the Jewel for himself. Steal it, head to Amber to attune to it, draw his own Pattern, etc. He thinks about it a bit, and then ultimately decides to be better than that. He leaves it on the King, because there's a chance the Jewel might be all that's sustaining his lifeforce. 

(Which, to be fair, is a thing that does happen in the books, more or less. Corwin gets stabbed and says the Jewel may have saved him. But he's not really sure if it's saving him or dooming him, so Corwin stashes the Jewel in a compost heap.)

So, having resisted the temptation to steal the gem, the player instead leaves the KO'd king in the medical scanner, still wearing the Jewel that they know for certain was just used to blast him with sorcery twice. It was a great little moment of temptation and moral victory. Good stuff.

"Okay," I say to the players a few heartbeats later, "I feel I've given you enough warnings. About that, there's a series of explosions in the other room, centered on the Jewel." 

"Enough warnings -- oh, crap! You're right, I should have realized that!"

"Oh, it's okay," says one of the other players, "I'm sure the King has several centimeters of plot armor."

Nope. No he doesn't. No one does. Mistakes like this need to have consequences.

"Oh, no! He died in my hospital, on my watch. All his siblings are going to think I did this!"

Yep. Yes they will. And my game is suddenly pivoting in an entirely new direction.

Wolf and Cat, log 20

     This is the 20th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break.  This session is particularly short.

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager who'd gone missing in the shatterwood. I thought I'd found and rescued him, but it seems like it was some sort of imposter who promptly stole the . 
  

Session Log 20:  8/20/2021

We drag the body of Muna to the water, and I clean the ash and paint from his skin. With that gone, and the wild-eyed tension now longer contorting his face, he doesn't seem Broken any more. Myrgun flips him face-down in the water, and gives his body a shove. It doesn't float far.

We wade over to the docks, and look to see if anyone's boat is still here.

Secure An Advantage - Wits - Weak Hit, +1 Momentum

None of the Despair villager's boats remain, but the crude dug-outs the Broken used to get here are about. They'll have to do.

Getting Sammutisel into the canoe is tricky. I give him commands, but all he does is prowl about the beach.

Test Your Bond - Heart - Weak Hit - Pay 1 Supply.

In the end, I have to tempt him out on the dock with food, and then put some in the canoe for him. He tries to just steal the food from the boat, but I grab him by the scruff of the neck, and put him in the dugout.  If I hadn't raised him from a cub, and just recently saved him from a Gloom, it's unlikely he'd let me handle him this way. It takes time, and doesn't exactly impress Myrgun. I squeeze into the boat with him, and Myrgun takes another canoe for herself.

Undertake a Journey - Troublesome - Miss

That's not good. I'll refer now to the Oracle details I rolled up for the island a few sessions back. What's on The Island? Coastal Waters Location: Fleet  Descriptors: Remote and Desolate.  Quick settlement name: Low Mark  Major Plot Twist: A more dangerous foe is revealed.  

Wolf and Cat, log 19

     This is the 19th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager who'd gone missing in the shatterwood. I thought I'd found and rescued him, but it seems like it was some sort of imposter who promptly stole the . 
  

Session Log 19:  8/19/2021

The mystical cleansing isn't enough, and I am unable to re-enchant my wolf-pelt this evening. I go to bed unhappy.

Advance A Threat - Roll Oracle - 85: The threat makes a dramatic and immediate move, or a major event reveals new complications. Mark Menace twice.

This is bad.  The Broken pack is at Menace 7 of 10, and we're at progress 6 of 10.

Oracle - Using the Ironsworn Dream Generator by FelMaloney at https://perchance.org/ironsworn-dream - I was just clicking on it to see another Ironsworn fan's creation and learn how perchance.org works, and when it rolled this one up which is so incredibly appropriate for my character, I just had to use it:

"You wake up as a child, under water. It is dark. You turn around and see a young boar. You look down, you are holding a hunter's bow. You suddenly appear next to the animal, they do not flee, nor do they attack. They speak in an ethereal voice: 'oppose disease'. They disappear in a bolt of lightning.  You wake up trying to understand the meaning of that vision."

I sit up straight, coughing up a small amount of water. My head is reeling with thoughts about what the Gloom showed me. There's a thing beneath the water, a thing that makes the lake bitter, and which tried to kill me as a child. Our father may have sacrificed me to it for power. Either way, it reinforces my need to help Myrgun on the island, and protect her from the Bloodsick Warrior. I can't let her do this alone. The dream boar may be out there in the dark, willing to give up its pelt. Maybe that's why the wolf-dance didn't work. I sit there in the pre-dawn, listening and peering for a sign of the boar. What comes into view is not a pig, but a man with a painted face and torso, standing stalk-still. A Broken, waiting for me to go back to sleep before he creeps up to murder us!

I whistle for my Cave Lion.

Enter the Fray w/ Edge + Sammutisel -  Troublesome foe - Strong Hit

Strike w/ Edge + Sammutisel - Weak Hit - 2 Harm, but lose Initiative

Sammutisel is suddenly near me, ripping apart one of the other Broken, one who had crept up behind me without my noticing and was seconds away from slitting my throat. I spring to my feet, but have to check over my shoulder to confirm, and at that moment the one I was aware of springs into motion. Three more ash-painted forms rush forward with ear-piercing screams and wails, and a fifth figure jumps and howls about the perimeter in uncoordinated madness. Myrgun sits up as one of the Broken leaps in her direction, and plunges his axe into the wadded cloak she'd been using as a pillow. I hurl one of Emelyn's daggers at him.

Clash w/ Edge - Weak Hit, but Burn Momentum for Strong Hit - Inflict Harm, gain Initiative, +1 Momentum

The knife buries itself to the hilt in his neck. He gurgles as he collapses. The one that lunged at me is on top of me now. We tumble, and I slip free of his grip and send him sailing away with his own momentum.

End the Fight - Progress Move - Strong Hit

He plows into the ground near Sammutisel, who is only too happy to sink dagger-like fangs into his thigh.

Myrgun steals the axe from the limp hand of the one I knifed, and plants it in the belly of the next one to close with her.

I wheel about and pull another knife from the collection Emelyn gave me. The last Broken in sight continues to hop and howl, declaring that he's going to drag me beneath the waves and feed me to his gods. The knife slices open his abdomen, and his mad dance spills out things that function better inside a human body. He stumbles to his knees, and it takes another dagger throw to silence him.


Reach a Milestone - I mark progress on my "Vengeance on the Broken" Vow - This brings us to 8 of 10.

The dawn slowly brightens the sky. We scan the camp for more madmen. Either there were only six in total, or the others scattered.  We appear to be unharmed, so we search the bodies.

Gather Information -  Miss - Reveals an unwelcome truth

Myrgun grimaces. One of these Broken is known to her. It's a man that accompanied her on her quest to the Bramblekeep. 3 days ago he was sane and loyal, this morning he was a murderous monster.

Ask the Oracle - Is this the real Amolfir?  Unlikely.  74: No, but if 2 higher it would have been yes.

The man's name is Muna, he was Amolfir's younger brother. I suggest we should bury him, so that his family isn't dishonored if family passes by. Myrgun is sterner and less forgiving than myself: she says a traitor should not be buried when so many good people were left for the crows in recent days.

I tell her the Grave Tale of the Masked Birth, which is about a human warrior in ages past, during the time when the Firstborn still had cities but humanity was primitive and cave-dwelling. Ezluk the Elf-Armored fought many Firstborn, and when they fell he kept their wooden masks as trophies, and dressed in armor made of the symbols of his hated foes. When he fell in battle, his tribe fled the field. The spirits of those dead Firstborn lingered in the mask-armor, and he arose as a revenant to plague the very people he had before defended.

Compell w/ Storyweaver and +1 from Bond -  Weak Hit

Myrgun shakes off my story. This is not the same, and she says I put too much faith in Kasju's magic tricks. She won't consent to letting a traitor be buried. However, she's surprisingly okay with me dragging him to the lake, and washing the Broken sigils from his flesh before leaving him adrift or weighting him down. I reflect on the hanged bodies in the Shatterwood. I wonder if my sister has a bit of a cruel or vindictive streak. For now, I decide she's just being acceptably pragmatic.

Mark Your Failure - 1 Tick

Wolf and Cat, log 18

      This is the 18th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager who'd gone missing in the shatterwood. I thought I'd found and rescued him, but it seems like it was some sort of imposter. 
  

Session Log 18:  8/18/2021

We find no further danger in the Shatterwood this day, and pass without additional harassment to the shores of Bitter Lake. It is twilight by the time we get there, so we decide to make a camp in the ruins of Despair. In the last rays of the sun, we pick through the ruins a bit to see if the Broken and the wildlife have left anything usable.

Resupply w/ Wits - Strong Hit +2 Supply

Our search turns up a sealed pot of pickled herring for dinner, and another of wheatberries that will make a good porridge for breakfast, and jar of mead that will help us pass the time between them. Scraps of torn cloth from loom the enemy destroyed allow us to change our bandages and pack more for the next battle.

Make Camp - Strong Hit -  +2 Health for everyone at the cost of -1 Supply

We set up camp in the husk of the building that had been our childhood home. It seems a fitting place to make up for lost time and estranged kinship. I tell her of my recent experiences here, the death of Garl the Slayer and aiding Emelyn Firetop. Discussion of Emelyn leads to talking about childish things, shared memories and eventually the fates of friends now lost or feared so.

We sit around the hearth, with splintered pieces of the former walls crackling in its fire. After a few hours and all the jar, it finally starts to feel like we are siblings again. She asks about my life these past 10 and 2, and doesn't call Kasju an elf-bitch this time. I speak to her of travels in the hinterlands and further north beyond the Tempest Hills. Of delves in the ruins left from a foggy distant era when Kasju's people, not ours, were the dominant culture of this world. Of magic pried from the fuming vents in the Frozen Cave of Zhan, and mystic dances under the gloaming moon, drawing ritual energy from an Iron Pillar not unlike the one here in Despair.

Forge A Bond with Storyweaver - Strong Hit - +1 Spirit, +1 momentum and Mark a Bond Tick.

"Magic from the Village Pillar? Can you show me?"  Before long, I am dancing the binding of the moon into my Wolf Pelt.

Bind w/ Wits - MIss!

And I am surprised when the moon fails to plant its blessing in my furs.

Oracle - Did Myrgun just steal some portion of my magic? 50/50.  14: No

Myrgun is unimpressed. I'm not sure what went wrong. Perhaps it is a lingering affect of magic from the Shatterwood, or the influence of False-Amolfir. I decide to go to the lake and cleanse my pelt, both physically and spiritually. I wash it, then bring it back and hold it in the smoke of the hearth while calling upon the rites of Rokahast, the huntress of the [Hart of Coals]. This of course results in another tale being told, as I try to regain the respect and attention of Myrgun. Rokahast who first sought to catch and warp the war-magic of fire, and instead mastered the smoke-meditation. Sometimes when you labor for a thing, you find instead a greater truth when you learn to accept defeat.

Secure an Advantage w/ Storyweaver - Miss

Myrgun is having none of it. She sees Rokahast as a failure, who gave up too early, and watched her prize and pride vanish in a puff of smoke.

Myrgun decides that my magic is less powerful than Fluugs the Tree-Troll's, but doesn't say that directly. It may come back to bite me later. Probably her opinion of Kasju Frystgrotta has fallen even lower as well.

The cleansing isn't enough, and I am unable to enchant my wolf-pelt this evening. I go to bed unhappy.

Mark Failures - 2 ticks -

Advance A Threat - Roll Oracle - 85: The threat makes a dramatic and immediate move, or a major event reveals new complications. Mark Menace twice.

This is bad.  The Broken pack is a Menace 7 of 10, and we're at progress 6 of 10.

Wolf and Cat, log 17

     This is the 17th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager who'd gone missing in the shatterwood. I thought I'd found and rescued him, but it seems like it was some sort of imposter. 
  

Session Log 17:  8/14/2021

We stroll out the castle's open gate, and wonder aloud how and if they close. The gate is woven vines and roots and branches, with no hinge or mechanism to be seen. We have no choice but to leave it open behind us.

Escape the Depths - Wits - Miss      Reveal a Danger: 56 - You encounter a hostile denizen    Feature: A Rocky Outcrop    Denizen roll: 58 - that's a Gloom again! It's from the same entry on the Denizen chart as last time.  The chart for the Shatterwood is currently: 1-27: Broken, 28-55: Make up something new, 56-69: Gloom, 70-100: Make up something new.

We travel through the Shatterwood on a trail that has clearly been used by the Broken for quite some time. It is remarkably clear and easy, and I wish I'd followed it on the way in. We pass a rocky ridge with an inset cave. Myrgun is very cautious around it, because on the trip in, ridges like this one were used as sentry or ambush spots by the Broken she encountered. Not this specific one... which raises the question of why not. I stop and listen near the cave mouth. I hear a growl coming from within, and Myrgun says it may be a bear or something dangerous that the Broken avoided... but I know that sound. I've heard Sammutisel having a nightmare before, the strange mewling cries he gives out shortly before he wakes himself up. I call his name into the cave. "Hold on Myrgun, I have to check to see if that's my friend in there."

I step forward, and she moves to follow. "No. You wait outside. The spirit that inhabits this place will play tricks with our minds, and steal all the light within. I may need you outside to call to me toward the sun if I become lost or enchanted."

She accepts this answer, hopefully without gleaning the true reason: that I don't want to risk her seeing the fears and suspicions that linger in my head. Fears and suspicions about her.

Into the cave I go, and down into the darkening Gloom. The shadows twist and contort around me... before long, I am walking in my Cave Lion's nightmare. It's a strange thing, shadows and rock formations become slaughtered prey laying about, the bodies opened by powerful claws. I'm not a cat, so other's  kills have little scavenger allure for me... but neither do they repulse me enough to make me turn back. I step between the feline fever dreams, and press onward deeper into the cave.

Gloom - Troublesome Scene Challenge -

Face Danger w/ Wits - Miss -          Endure Stress - Weak Hit   - 1 Spirit damage

Too late do I realize they are watching me with eyes that only pretend to be dead.  Broken rib-cages are actually the giant teeth of imaginary monsters. An ancient ghostly evil, posing as a darkened cave posing as a half dozen ambush predators posing as a dozen slaughtered carcasses. It springs a trap that suddenly feels as real to me as it does to my cat.

I leap aside...

Face Danger w/ Edge -  Weak Hit  - Mark Progress, but -1 Supply

...rolling out of the grasp of someone else's memory of pain. There's a clatter as my bag is upturned. Whatever supplies have fallen out will probably but unrecoverable in the darkening cave.

I shout out Sammutisel's name, hoping to wake him from his nightmare, or at least get a response that lets me know where he is.

Secure An Advantage w/ Wits - Weak Hit +1 momentum

A snarl rises out of the back of the cave. He's deep back there. I need to wake him, and shouting's not going to do it. The nightmares snap and stab at me as I leap beyond them into utter identity-annhilating darkness.

Face Danger w/ Edge - Strong Hit - Mark Progress

I get my hands on him, and shake enough to wake him. Stirring anyone from a nightmare is dangerous, as you never know how they'll react in that moment between slumbering terror and wakeful comprehension.  All the more so when the dreamer has 6-inch sabreteeth and 4-inch claws. I prey that he recognizes his old friend before his killer instinct gets the better of him.

Face Danger w/ Heart -  Weak Hit - Mark Progress but Endure Harm - Miss  -1 Health, -1 Momentum

His eyes flicker green, reflecting the tiny bit of light that punctures the murky back of the cave. He leaps up, flips over me in the darkness, rakes me with his claws before bounding off into nothingness. I scream, at first in pain, but then force the sound into words. "Sammutisel! Down, boy! Down!"

Resolve the Scene Challenge - Progress Move - Strong Hit!

The Gloom's link to Sammutisel is shaken, and light floods into the cave. In the dusky light the shapes of doppleganger corpse-mouths dissolve back into rock formations. Sammutisel tries to make up for having clawed me, by rubbing up with a rumbling purr. I know what's coming if we stay here, though, for the Gloom will seek to latch on me, instead. If this happens, simply having Myrgun wait outside might not be enough to keep my fears from being broadcast before her eyes.

I grab Sammutisel by the scruff of his neck, and drag him in the direction of the light from the cave mouth. We burst forth into the afternoon.

Seeing us, Myrgun leaps up to her feet. "He's bigger than I'd realized. On the back of the bear he seemed much smaller."

We put another 30 feet between ourselves and the cave. I offer introductions, she puts out her hand for the cat to sniff. His nose twitches, and his lips curl back from alongside curved ivory daggers. Her hand slides to the hilt of one of the weapons she'd taken from the Broken.

I shake my head. "You want to be his friend? Feed him wax."

She narrows her eyes at me, so I stick a finger in my ear to prove my words. Then the finger goes to his lips, and Sammutisel starts licking. "See, he's a big sweetheart once he knows your ears make the good stuff."

She shakes her head and laughs as she steps away. "Gross. Your elf-bitch teach you that?"

I catch her eye with stoney anger. "Don't ever call her that again. She's my-"

Myrgun's stone is coarser than mine. "The monster who stole my brother, and killed the love between my parents? I'll try to find a more fitting name for her in the future."

We walk in silence, all through the Shatterwood to its edge along the shore.

Mark Failures: 3 ticks

Next session will begin with a Make Camp, or searching for a boat at Despair's docks. 

Wolf and Cat, log 16

    This is the 16th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager who'd gone missing in the shatterwood. I thought I'd found and rescued him, but it seems like it was some sort of imposter. 
  

Session Log 16:  8/11/2021

Reminder: My wolf pelt is no longer charged by the Bind Ritual.

Myrgun Bitterblad and I talk for a while longer, each of us buying time to recover somewhat from recent exertions. I ask her to speculate where Fluugs the Tree-Troll and his Broken may have gone.

Oracle: Is it The Island? 50/50: 52: Yes

What's on The Island? Coastal Waters Location: Fleet  Descriptors: Remote and Desolate.  Quick settlement name: Low Mark  Major Plot Twist: A more dangerous foe is revealed.   These answers are great, but I'm going to keep them secret for now, and play like the characters don't know them.

The Broken have an entire fortress here, but they abandoned it without much of a fight. Is this just more madness on their part, or is their some other plan at play? Myrgun says that Fluugs said something about a boat when he was rounding up his cohort to leave with their prisoners. The Bitter Lake is quite large, and has a sizable island that can be seen from Despair. A tower on an island, or a tower in the water, appears all over the symbols that the Broken had painted and tattooed all over themselves, and their belongings. Maybe they have another fort out on that island? We probably need to go out to the island, and see if that's where they went.

This will, of course, meaning going out over The Thing Beneath The Lake. I consider asking Myrgun about the things the Gloom had shown me. Did Rygar Bitterblad really try to trade his firstborn sun for a magic sword (the Bitterblade) and worldly power? No, we're just starting to cooperate, and father's corpse is too recently in the ground. Making accusations right now may hinder the healing process... literally if I piss her off. Later, when we've fought together instead of fought each other, when we have something more to bond over, then I'll broach the subject of ancient sacrifices and personal betrayals.

I sort out Emelyn's throwing knives from the pile of weapons that Myrgun had gathered, and take a couple extra shiv-like Broken knives and a spear I can use as a walking stick. I call out to Sammutisel again, and when he doesn't respond, we head out without him. Getting to the island won't be easy without a boat, so we decide to retrace our steps back to Despair, and see if any of the village's fishing vessels survived the raid.

Before we go, I take one last walk around the courtyard of the Bramblekeep. I hate to leave such a place without truly exploring its mysteries, or making an effort of learning its stories, so I vow to return some day and learn the tale of its origins.

Swear An Iron Vow - Troublesome Rank -  Miss with Complication!

What Oddi doesn't realize is that there is some additional local mystery waiting here, and when he comes back he'll have a lot of trouble. It may have something to do with False-Amolfir. I will crank it up to Dangerous Rank, since it got complicated. 16 sessions, and I've only completed one vow and earned a single experience point. These dice just hate me.

Escape the Depths - Wits - Miss      Reveal a Danger: 56 - You encounter a hostile denizen    Feature: A Rocky Outcrop    Denizen roll: 58 - that's a Gloom again! It's from the same entry on the Denizen chart as last time.  The chart for the Shatterwood is currently: 1-27: Broken, 28-55: Make up something new, 56-69: Gloom, 70-100: Make up something new.

So, I'm probably starting next session with more Gloom!

Wolf and Cat, log 15

    This is the 15th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager I'd just rescued, who is currently helping my battle against the Shatterwood Broken. He's carrying the hexencollar that transforms the wearer into a bear, but it's evil magic, so he's promised to only put it on if that's the only way to save my life or his. 
  

Session Log 15:  8/10/2021

Darkness. 

I open a swollen eye. Everything aches, but nothing seems to be broken. I sit up slowly and look around the carnage of the courtyard.

Oracle: Is Myrgun still here? 50/50 - 75: Yes

Oracle: Is Amolfir still here?  Unlikely, if Myrgun's still around.   17: No

Oracle: What is her Disposition? 72: Demanding  -  What is her Goal? 9: Build a Relationship

She's sitting on a stump in the middle of the courtyard, where she can see me, and the open gate of the castle. She's got a stack of weapons nearby. Most of them are crude throwing weapons, hacked into shape by Broken, and tipped with shards of rock, or bone, or pitted rusted iron. A few of them are more professionally crafted, like the sword in her lap, or the bearded ax planted in the side of the stump. She's got more blood on her than when I saw her before, and not all of it is mine. A lot more bruises too, so probably some of that blood is her own.

Her first question is "Are you alive?"

"Don't flatter yourself." It's a dumb thing to say, but if I don't resist at least a little, she might get the idea that 10 years and 2 have made me weak or subservient.

She rolls her eyes. "Not because of now, dummy. You're not a ghost, obviously, but maybe some sort of revenant. Dad told me for 12 years you were dead, and that mom was mad for not accepting it. Then here you are, exactly when she said you'd be back."

"Where's my lion?" I stand up, and try not to let it show how much it hurts. "If you hurt Sammutisel, you and I will come to blows again."

"You're in no shape to make threats." She gestures with the sword. "Sit back down. I'm asking the questions. Are you really Oddi?"

"Of course I am.  Who else would I be?"

"Troll, maybe. Some sort of changeling, or shapeshifter. You were traveling with a pair of therianthropes. Maybe you're some sort of werewolf." Her sword points at my shoulders, or the wolf pelt on them.

"You're wrong about everything. The cat's not a shifter, just smart. Loyal, too, so you'd have better not hurt him." I then shout his name several times, "Sammutisel!", but he's either beyond earshot or in trouble.

She nods. "Your werebear companion got the jump on me, and the cat came to my aid. Last I saw them, the bear was running away, with the cat on top ripping up it's shoulders. Why would your cat choose me over your bear?"

"He's not my werebear. He's not really a werebear, either. Or, wasn't. Hopefully he's not damned now. That was literally his first time, and he'd promised he'd only use it if it was the only way to save his life or mine. I'm surprised he didn't try to stop you as a man, first, since he wasn't my companion, but yours."

"Explain." She's as pushy as I remember her from childhood.

"Amolfir. His name is Amolfir. He said rode with you out of Sword Hope."

Her face is ashen.

I wanted some sort of weird twist here, because the Amolfir situation had seemed pretty dubious even before he put on the hexen-collar. So I roll a couple Oracles to learn a bit about him:

Role: Thief   Goal: Collect a Debt.   Activity: Supporting.

That's interesting. Sounds like he was intentionally taking the hexen-collar, for someone else.

As follow-up I Ask the Oracle: Did she see the real Amolfir die?  It seems likely, given all the fighting and how none of her men are around, but I roll an 11, so that's a no.

Oracle: Major Plot Twist: 70 "The enemy gains new allies".   That's perfect.

She says: "Amolfir, and most of the men I came here with, were captured. Fluugs took most of them with him when he left. Amolfir was among them. I didn't get a good look at your man, because of the fighting, but I don't think he was Amolfir."

"Fluugs the Tree-Troll?" I ask, with too much excitement and not enough fear.

Gather Information - Weak Hit

"You know him?" She stands up, and gestures with a wide sweeping motion of her sword, both menacing and designed to distract my eyes and keep me from noticing that she was also wincing upon standing.

"Know of him, but I haven't met him. Kasju taught me all about him." I take a few moments to tell her the sorts of stories that I'd recently recounted to Emelyn Firetop and to our mother Grassa Bitterblad about Fluugs, and his jealous insecure love for Sursa Trade-Star. I explain the horrible decision he made to try to wrest a star from the heavens to win back her love, and how he destroyed a once-beautiful forest in the process, creating the Shatterwood as we know it. She listens along intently. "...but that was hundreds of years ago," I explain, "and I don't think trolls don't live that long. There's no tales of them living across multiple ages. Are you sure it's Fluugs?"

 "Nearly all of that is new to me," she admits. "I don't know if the creature I've seen is really him, or descendant, or just a Troll who stole the name to sound important. What I do know is, he wanted our father's sword, and he killed half of Despair to get it. He sent the Broken, who worship or follow him. They're mad, and hard to interrogate. They seem sharper though when he's around."

"So you've seen him?"

"Yes, and through him as well. He's hard to look at, and harder to describe. His skin is... like a giant eyeball. I'm not sure how he does it, but he talked most of the men I brought into the castle to lay down their arms and go with him. It's got to be some sort of magic. When he speaks, your head sweats and your eyes cross, and covering your ears doesn't keep the sound out. I tried to attack him, and he just... well, it didn't go as planned. Next time it will be different."

"Yes it will," I say, and stand up again. "We'll face him together."

"No we won't. I've sent enough men to their deaths. I've sworn a vow to destroy him, so I'll do it."

"I've also sworn to avenge father's death. We can either race each other, or be smart and work together."

Compel w/ Heart - Weak Hit

She agrees, but states it very bluntly, in case I have motives or plans that conflict with her own. "The Bitterblade is my birthright, not yours. Father promised his sword to me, for more than a decade. You were dead to him, so you're certainly not taking it from me."

She didn't have to be so mean about it. "Mother already made me promise as much. When we get the sword back, it goes to you. But I will be present when we get vengeance together."

We talk a bit further, and I ask her about the things Amolfir (or the changeling pretending to be him) had told me about the hanging tree and their night-time camps. She confirms that yes, some of the men were taken by the Broken, and some of them showed up again later, seeming to be Broken themselves. It seems False-Amolfir was telling at least some truths. I wonder again if he was maybe The Grey Wanderer, but don't yet voice it for fear of speaking Heresy before my sister's opinion of me is entirely solidified.

Mark Progress on my Troublesome Vow that I will give the sword to Myrgun. We're in agreement about that much for the moment. I also mark a single tick on my Epic prophecy vow about putting a mighty ruler on a pillar. The scope here has opened up more Epic than I'd initially thought, and Myrgun clearly has ambition.

Advance a Threat - 11 - "The threat readies its next step, or a new danger looms. If you are in a position to prevent this development, you may attempt to do so. If you succeed, Reach a Milestone. Otherwise, mark menace."  The Menace meter is up to 5, but we've also defeated a lot of the Broken, so I think we're going to be okay if we don't get bogged down in little stuff.

Wolf and Cat, log 14

    This is the 14th log of my Ironsworn solitaire campaign about Oddi Ice-Chosen. Character background and start of the narrative can be found at: Wolf and Cat, Log 1. 

Session length varies wildly. Some are multi-hour sessions in open evenings, others are 20-minute diversions over a lunch-break. 

Cast of Characters:

• Oddi Ice-Chosen, my main PC. Abducted by a Firstborn sorceress as a child, only recently returning to the world of men, motivated by a terrible prophetic vision. Wears an enchanted wolf-skin. Storyweaver and occasional ritual spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother. Recently reunited after 12 years.
  
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Werebear.
• Myrgun Bitterblad: Oddi's sister. Currently missing in the Shatterwood.
• Rygar Bitterblad: Oddi and Myrgun's recently deceased father. Grassa's ex-husband.
• Amolfir: A villager I'd just rescued, who is currently helping my battle against the Shatterwood Broken. He's carrying the hexencollar that transforms the wearer into a bear, but it's evil magic, so he's promised to only put it on if that's the only way to save my life or his. 
  

Session Log 14:  8/9/2021

I bubble-over with excitement. We've scattered the Broken, avenged our father, come out of it with only minor injuries, and I'm even reunited with my beloved sister who I haven't seen in 2 years and 10. It's easy to set aside the horrible visions the Gloom gave me. They can't be true, this is my kid sister, Myrgun. The great tragedy of my arrival at Despair has transformed into joyous reunion.

"You interfering idiot!" my sister Myrgun shouts as she stomps forward. Did I say joyous? Why is she so mad at me?

Oracles:   Theme: 42: Vengeance   Action: 7: Avenge

Her face is contorted with single-minded rage, and she shoves me hard. I give ground the first time. "Hey! Quit it! It's-" She hits me much harder. "Hey! It's Oddi!"

She's still got a Broken axe in her other hand, and while she hasn't struck with it yet, it's hard to ignore. The bite wound on her face makes her even more intimidating, and she's smeared with blood and war paint from the close-quarters struggle with the chieftess. She's better armored than a Broken, but otherwise, the image is complete. She strikes me a third time,

Face Danger - Heart - Miss!     Endure Harm: Weak Hit  -1 Harm

and knocks me on my ass. I'm dazed for a second. She kicks me while I'm down.Twice.

"Myrgun! Let up! It's Oddi Bitterblad! Your-"

She leans down suddenly, and grabs the empty scabbard at my belt. Father's scabbard. She hefts it in the air and I swear my back just about cracks in half.

"Oddi Bitterblad is dead! You are a changeling! A troll! You thought I wouldn't recognize you this time?"

Clash - Iron - Weak Hit -

I've had enough, and I sweep her leg. Unfortunately, she falls down on top of me, leading with her elbow. The wind is knocked out of me. The axe at least has slipped her hand and bounced a few feet away, so that's a success.

Time to reminder who is the older sibling. I grab a hold of her head, my fingers tangling in her dark brown hair.

Clash - Iron - Miss         Endure Harm:  1 Harm, + Complication from a Matched Miss (Wait for it)

And that's when she really beats the bloody hell out of me. She's damn good, I have to give her that. Fast, precise, stronger than I would have expected. "Where did you put my father's sword, you bloody troll? You lying, cheating, fish-faced monster! Give me my damn sword!" I try to squirm out from under her and slip away, but she keeps her weight on me, and a firm grip with one hand while she pummels me with the other. The gloves she wears are leather, set with rivets. I wonder if they are Emelyn's work.

Compel - Weak Hit  

She barrages me with fists as well as questions about the sword, and I try to prove who I am while I'm still conscious. I recite facts from childhood, but they come out throaty and gasping because of how she has me pinned. "You loved the taste of elderberries, but Grassa wouldn't let you eat them. Your favorite color is dark purple. You had a pet turtle named Kraken." She lets up on the onslaught for just a moment, and we lock eyes.

Her weight shifts, and I can breathe again. "You had a crush on Petri, the Miller's son." Something wet and salty falls on my eye and blurs my vision, and then the fist comes down again, harder than before. Again and again. He must have died this week.

"You killed him!" She shrieks. "You killed them all, Fluugs! The blood is on your hands, you lying murderer!" She slams my head against the hard ground. "Now I fulfill my vow!" Her free arm reaches in the direction where the axe had bounced.

And then she's sailing off me. Before I pass out, I catch a glimpse of the bear that threw her across the courtyard.

Darkness.

I Mark Progress on my Troublesome Vow to Grassa that I would give Myrgun the sword. I don't have it yet, obviously, but I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to leverage the beating she gave me in later conversations. So it's a form of progress. I just hope I won't be so angry at her by then that I forsake my vow.

I also Mark 2 Failures this session. I'm learning the hard way.