2026 has been crazy

I haven't posted since January. This year has been crazy, zipping by at times painfully. Honestly, it's been a really good year for me, just stupidly busy at the same time. Let's see if I can summarize:

I'm still GMing two ongoing regular RPGs, each of which has a session ever-other-week. So I get to GM once a week. I have two campaigns rolling along so when writer's block hits me, I can just pivot to the other campaign for a bit, which helps keep me on task and over-prepared. 

Those two games are: 

• Amber Diceless Roleplay, were on year 6 of this campaign, there's a ton of backstory and history, a huge cast of NPCs, and we've seen multiple universes get built and destroyed. Epic, metaphysical, character-driven, lore-rich, heavy emotional stakes. 
• Cyberpunk Red. We're about 20 sessions in to this, and it's stylistically nearly the exact opposite of my Amber campaign. The PCs are a combat ambulance team, so it's frantically paced, dice-heavy, arbitrary emergency-of-the-week, tactical play on a virtual table-top. 

And then I'm playing in two RPGs:

• A D&D game that I can only attend about half the sessions, so as I mentioned at the start of the year, I'm playing a Dao-Genie-Patron Warlock and I'm just trapped in my bottle in the weeks I have to miss.
• The other campaign is a Star Trek game. I'm the Andorian Captain of our Miranda-Class exploration vessel in the classic "TOS" era. 

I've been traveling to game conventions and trade shows for work a lot this year. This has been common for me for more than a dozen years, but this year has seen even more trips than normal. Several local conventions in the Seattle area, plus events in Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Quebec. There was one convention in particular where I kept track of how many games I played or ran, and it was 25 sessions of 9 different games with 50 different people. Mostly RPGs and RPG-adjacent Story Games at that one.

Early this year I broke up with the girlfriend whom I'd been dating for about a decade, and moved out into a new apartment. That upended a lot of the normal daily and weekly patterns of my life. It meant my long-term D&D game that I've been running a few weekend-long sessions of every year for the past 8 years has come to an end, because it just didn't make sense to continue that storyline without the character my ex was playing. The rest of the group and I are gearing up for a new rambling Spelljammer campaign that we'll do a few weekends a year. 

I have also tried a few new miniatures game this year. I've played a couple games of Alpha Strike (the faster-playing sister-game to Battletech), a half dozen games of 5 Men In Normandy, and just since Gen Con I've been diving in deep into Cyberpunk Combat Zone. I've got dozens of little cyberpunks sitting next to my desk in various stages of undercoating and painting, and a burgeoning new collection of near-future terrain to support it. 

Turn-Based Wrestling

A friend went to a Pro-Wrestling event in New York. She shared this link afterwards, because she's playing in my Ambulance-based MeatWagon/TraumaTeam-style game of Cyberpunk Red.

I'd never really thought about it before, but it occurred to me while watching that clip, that Pro-Wrestling definitely has the pacing of turn-based combat systems. "Hold on, it's not your go yet. You need to stand in that space until I'm done moving and have made my attack for the round." 

Gaming at Dice Fest 2025

 Dice Fest 2025 wrapped up yesterday.  Over the weekend, I ran 9 sessions of a custom Shadows of Brimstone mission on a fancy 3D Board. I also played two games of 1,000 Blank White Cards while I was there, and one game of the The Score (a micro-RPG that takes about 20 minutes to play). 

And I also I helped create, organize, host and judge a miniatures event called the "Bitz Box Brawl" where 20 people received a box of random miniature parts and one hour to design and glue together their own chimeric monster. 

I taught all those games above to new players while I was at it.  I really enjoy sharing my favorite games with people I'm just getting to know, and conventions are great for that. It was all immense fun, but I am truly exhausted today.

Recent Gaming (spring 2025)

Lots of gaming lately. Here's some highlights:

My Amber Diceless Roleplay campaign continues to go strong. It's rolling on 5 years now, roughly twice a month, so we've recently crossed our 100th session with the same characters. Dworkin/Oberon's universe was destroyed, and the action now takes place in Corwin's universe and another universe that Fiona created, plus the occasional scene in the tiny islands of primal matter in the Abyss that were left when the old universe imploded. Those are basically the only place where Brand can exist without the "immune system" of the other universes trying to destroy him.

I just wrapped up my Feng Shui 2nd Edition campaign about a week ago. The players foiled a really major push by the Ascended to conquer 2 of the 3 Junctures they didn't already control. This caused a Critical Shift (the second one of the campaign) and after a truly epic battle we ended with the PCs stepping into a portal to a future they don't know.

For the same group (as played Feng Shui), I'm now prepping a Cyberpunk Red campaign. Scroll down to my last post, from earlier this week, to read about that. 

It was a bit of a toss-up among the group whether we wanted to do Cyberpunk or Pendragon, so in the next few months I'll be reading The Great Pendragon Campaign and the Book of Uther and doing bits and pieces of light GM-prep for that, so that when Cyberpunk wraps up, I'll have that in my pocket and ready to go. But, given that the last two campaigns for this group ran multiple years each, I'm not too worried about getting Pendragon ready in a hurry.

I'm also now playing in an RPG as well. A friend of mine is running Night's Black Agents, aka spies vs vampires. In NBA designs their own vampires and determines whether vampirism is supernatural or superscience or literally infernal demon hell-powers. Our campaign is taking place in the 1980s, so in the two sessions we've played thus far, we've had to sneak across the Berlin Wall three times now. Our characters have rescued a journalist, and the goons who were holding her captive had weird mysterious creepy stuff going on, but we haven't really connected that they (or their leader) is a vampire yet. There's one of them that makes us instantly nauseous when we get near them, but we haven't really figured out why. A different one jumped on top of our car and ripped the roof open trying to kill the journalist, but the roof-rider burst into flames when we shot the heck out of her. We're not at all certain what to expect, or what we're up against. Unraveling the mystery is pretty fun, and the uncertainty makes it easy to tap in to the fear and bewilderment our characters are experiencing. 

This weekend I got together with some friends and played the card game Innovation and the board game Thunder Road.

Innovation is really good, but kind of overwhelming the first time you play.I had really good early turns, or so I thought, as I was in the lead in points and achievements.  Unfortunately, in the mid-game I just could not manage to draw cards with any synergy at all. Well, really the problem was that I had a great hand, but I foolishly commented on it, so someone Melded a card that they could then use via Dogma to steal my hand. I didn't even know that was a possibility... but, duh, I should have, it's not like this is the first game to ever let you steal cards from another player. I just never recovered. Good game, but boy does it have a ton going on.  It's sort of a civilization-builder, where every card is an invention or cultural breakthrough. You start in the stone age, and end in the far-future. Every card in the game is unique, and they all have multiple unique ways to play them. So while I liked it a lot, I imagine its' not going to be good match for everyone.

Thunder Road is much simpler. Just good chaotic Mad-Max style shenanigans. Sort of like if Gaslands or Car Wars was a streamlined racing boardgame. We played with the Chop Shop expansion, which adds cool asymmetric super-powers to your cars via a drafting mechanic at the start of the game. I enjoyed it a great deal, and may end up buying the game and that expansion. Based on just one play, it seems like the core game without that expansion is very light beer-and-pretzels without much depth, but that expansion made every turn interesting and unpredictable. 

I continue to play the occasional solitaire-RPG or solo-skirmish miniatures game when I have insomnia. For the solo-RPG I've been mostly running D&D, with one PC (a Satyr Circle of Stars Druid) and a rotating cast of lower-level NPC sidekicks. When I started I had to lean a lot on the Solo Adventurer's Toolbox and its sequel. I'm a little more freeform of late, but that book is great for getting you started and comfortable with solitaire play.  

And every once in a while I boot up Cyberpunk 2077 or Baldur's Gate 3, but I have to be careful with those because man can I ever lose an entire evening just rearranging my darned inventory. When that happens, I feel like I've wasted a resource (my life, my time) that I'll never get back... and yet, I love both those games so much.

Meatwagon In The Time Of The Red

Starting a new campaign soon. It'll be Cyberpunk Red, with the PCs being the crew of an REO Meatwagon Combat Ambulance. If you've consumed any flavor of Cyberpunk, you've probably heard of Trauma Team, the premiere combat ambulance medical extraction company. REO Meatwagon is the low-budget disreputable version. 

I'm setting it up like an episodic TV show. Every session will have an A-Plot and a B-Plot. 

The A-Plot is "this episode's story" that's usually going to be an emergency call, where the PCs show up in the middle of a terrible situation and have to try to get their client out alive. Often this means going in guns-blazing, but sometimes it will be more of a puzzle or require subtlety.

The B-Plot will be a few roleplaying scenes around the edges of that, which tie in to one PCs backstory or personal arc each session, or perhaps advances "this season's simmering meta-plot" in the background.

I've done something similar to this in a one-shot before, and it worked great. Now I'm going to find out how well the idea holds up for a longer campaign.

Planning to assign IP a little differently than the books suggest. 

• Making any serious attempt at the A-Plot scores everyone on the team 50 IP, even if they fail. 
• If they save one or more paying customers, and deliver them safely to a Hospital (or other place the customer says is safe, provided the customer's not bleeding out or KO'd) the group +10 IP per customer saved. 
• Engaging with the B-Plot in any way (e.g.: not just hanging up on the NPC) scores an extra +5 IP for the team.
• If that B-Plot scene is a real dirty suckerpunch that seriously complicates the character's life, hits you in the feels, or someone's roleplaying really impresses the GM, everyone gets +10 IP bonus (beyond the usual +5 from the B-Plot)

The intention then being that the PCs gain 50 to 75 IP per session, which is a little higher than the average the book assumes, but not crazy high. Doing it this way to motivate the players to engage with the plots in particular ways, so there's just a little extra push to try to save a customer. Also to give you a reason to include NPC friends or family in your backstory so it's not just "I'm an orphan and a real loner" as many people seem to love to do with Cyberpunk. I find there something about dystopian futures that really make folks want to create dysfunctional lone-wolf bad-asses by default. 

Anchorite Kastyx Broadpaddle

Needed a memorable way to answer the gate at a nobleman's manorhouse for an upcoming session of D&D, so I dreamt this nonsense up:

Sister Kastyx Broadpaddle is a gnomish anchorite who lives in on a noble family's property and advises them spiritually without ever leaving the blessed dovecote in the backyard (it's the site of some famous miracle, that justifies an anchorite taking a vow to prove their devotion by never leaving the bird-hut). 

Visitors who seek spiritual advice (or the next plot coupon, in the case of the PCs) may approach from the side gate to the grounds and ring a little bell there. She uses Thaumaturgy to answer the door remotely: making her voice 3 times as loud to be heard, but requiring the visitors to hollar their name and intention in return or ring the bell twice for no, etc... Then using Thaumaturgy again to make the gate swing open or closed as appropriate. If some business the PCs bring to her requires the attention of the noble family, she uses Speak With Animals to send a dove deeper onto the property (i.e.: to the manor house) to signal them.

Starforged Jam

 There's a game jam going on for Ironsworn: Starforged. I've been meaning to try a game jam one of these days for like... the last 5 years at least... so I dusted off a custom Oracle that I used in a session or two of Starforged, spent a night brainstorming another 20 entries or so, and trying to getting it formatted roughly along the lines of the official books, etc. I just put it up as a pdf on itch.io, and submitted it to the jam.

Starport Scuttlebutt

When I play Ironsworn: Starforged, I tend to be laser-focused on the plot and story. It's not uncommon for me to get 10 or 20 sessions into play before I get around to adding a single planet that wasn't part of my initial Sector Set-Up. By default, I find I pretty much only add those other worlds if the narrative brings my character directly to them. That sort of misses the point of sci-fi, though. Even if I'm spending most of my time on just a few worlds, I want the grand sense that there's a whole galaxy of adventure out there, and plots in motion beyond what my little ship is doing! So I created this Oracle, which incorporates ideas from various map-making games, to breathe a little life and activity into the background.

Here's how it works: A little less than once per session, you roll on this Oracle and add a world, settlement, faction, ship or NPC as directed by the prompt you rolled on the chart. The blank void of the map gets slowly filled in, fleets cruise between the stars, and political situations simmer behind the scenes. Your world-building gets kicked up a notch as a result, and your story fits into a larger context.

 The Oracle is triggered by situations where your character is in a position to hear rumors and news reports about what's happening in the sector, so it feels organic and is easy to fit in to your ongoing story. Step into the starport cantina, to catch the latest gossip from the old spacers sitting at the bar... have they got stories to tell you!

If you've ever played Starforged, please go check out my little creation: Starport Scuttlebutt.  It's available as Pay-What-You-Want, and $0 is just fine by me.

The link: https://rbbergstrom.itch.io/starport-scuttlebutt-oracle-for-starforged 

A Horse Of Another Timbre, Log 23

     The following is the campaign log for the 23rd session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. 

You might want to Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles. 

Campaign log: 5 July 2021, turn by turn

Nearly a year behind in posting these. Details below the fold:

A Horse Of Another Timbre, Log 22

     The following is the campaign log for the 22nd session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. 

You might want to Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles. 

Campaign log: 21 June 2021, turn by turn

I try to post these after a few months delay, so I can add GM's commentaries without spoiling surprises that come up in subsequent sessions. However, I'm currently like a year behind, so maybe I need to shotgun these out and/or give up on providing embellishments.  Details below the fold:

Log 21, A Horse Of Another Timbre

    The following is the campaign log for the 21st session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. 

You might want to Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles. 

Campaign log: 7 June 2021, turn by turn

I don't get around to posting these very often, so I'm nearly a year behind. Details below the fold:

Horse Of Another Timbre, Log 20

    The following is the campaign log for the 20th session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. 

You might want to Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles. 

Campaign log: 24 May 2021, turn by turn

I don't get around to posting these very often, so I'm nearly a year behind. Details below the fold:

A Horse Of Another Timbre, Log 19

   The following is the campaign log for the 19th session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. One of my players keeps a log of the scenes, and another maintains a quote list.  As usual, I have combined them with a few extra notes of my own after the fact.  I post them here several months after... nearly a year later, as I've not been updating this blog... which allows me to add in a few little clarifications without worrying too much about spoiling future plotlines for my players.

You can also Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles.

The PCs are:

•     Dalziel, son of Prince Bleys of Amber. A scientist.
•     Maarit, daughter of Princess Sand. An orphan with a magic pendulum.
•     Medore, nonbinary orphan of Princess Dierdre .
•     Spinturnix, (aka Nix), son of Prince Julian. Grew up in Forest Arden.
•     David Weyreth is a retired officer from the militaries of Amber.
•     Abn Haram, the human-shaped son of Lady Nykae of Chaos, and the long-dead Prince Osric of Amber.  

Most of the NPCs are from the novels, such as Fiona, who always seems to know more than she should, and Corwin, whose main schtick is essentially the opposite despite being exceptionally well read.

Some NPCs are unique to this campaign, such as "Blinky" (real name Argos) who is a dragon with extra eyeballs all over his body and is guarding Dworkin's cave: sort of an upgrade from Wixer (the griffon doing the same duty in the books). Bellantine and Armistaud are "Acquisitions Specialists" from a library world called Oberon's Loupe: they may be operating on special instructions from the dead king.

 Campaign log: 10 May 2021, turn by turn

The End of an Era

 About a month and a half ago, a friend of mine passed away. Jeff was a regular player in one of my RPG campaigns, and has been a good friend to the entire group for many years. Tonight, the rest of us made the decision to wrap up the campaign, and play something else. The existing Night's Black Agents campaign just wouldn't be the same without him. His character was the group's main heavy-hitter, and a major part of the party dynamic. It was hard to imagine a road to Castle Dracula without Dov (his character). We had been playing this particular campaign since January 2017.

I've never had a game end because of player death before. Life has interfered with many a game over the decades: campaign's occasionally crumple due to schedule conflicts, random TPK, divorce or break-ups, relocation to new cities, graduation, even waning interest more often then I'd like to admit, but never has death interfered before. It's weird, and emotionally complicated. It took us 6 weeks to decide what to do and move on, but I think it was the right call. We'll miss you, man.

But, we know he'd want us to keep on gaming as a group. So, sometime soon, we'll be starting a Feng Shui 2 RPG campaign in it's place. I think it's got potential to be pretty great. Feng Shui has been described as the Big Trouble In Little China RPG, but I think it's probably more accurate to say it's the Big Trouble In Little China -meets- John Wick -meets- Mad Max -meets- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -meets- Fast and Furious -meets- Drunken Master -meets- Kill Bill -meets- Planet of the Apes RPG. Crazy, over-the-top fun.

Ironsworn: Wolf and Cat, Log 11

   This is the 11th 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.

Session Log 11:  8/6/2021

Reminder: My ritual pelt is no longer charged, because I rolled a "1" on an Edge test.

It is several minutes before Sammutisel has had enough scritches behind the ears to allow our expedition to continue forward. Oddi presses through thick brambles, trying to find his way back to the trail they had been on before.

Secure an Advantage - Iron - Weak Hit +1momentum

The Gloom glowers overhead, but is no longer strong enough to start trouble anew just yet. Before long, Oddi's dogged determination has pressed through the thickets to get him beyond the Gloom's hunting grounds.

Delve the Depths: Wits - Miss!

Danger - 9 from Theme - Imminent Collapse or Destruction    Feature - Dense Thicket

Unfortunately, Oddi is pushing his way through the brambles with a fair amount of speed, perhaps paying less attention to his surroundings than he should. What he doesn't notice until it's too late is that ground slopes downward into a ravine, but the brambles grow taller there. It appears level and even until you press forward too far, and your weight or momentum carries you plunging down into thickets above your head! As he starts sinking, Oddi struggles to grasp thorny branches and stop his sudden descent.

Face Danger - Iron - Miss.   Pay the Price - It is Harmful.   Endure Harm - Miss: 1 Harm, -1 Momentum

Oddi sinks from view, thornbushes rising above his head. He grabs at the tangled mass of branches trying to slow himself, but mostly they just tear up his hands. He continues to sink into the darkness. He calls out to his faithful Cave Lion Sammutisel. The great cat is quite clever, and good at following instruction. If I can work my rope free from my pack and manage to throw it upwards for the cat to bite. If that's not possible, maybe he can dig and tear out the mat of brambles at the top of the hidden slope. If we work it from both ends, we may be able to cut a path to the surface.

Secure an Advantage - Edge - Miss - Pay the Price: Now Sammutisel is also sinking in the thorns, and takes 1 Harm as well.

The cat misunderstood his calls, and leapt forward to try to find or drag him to safety. Instead, it comes crashing down into the spiked plants of the gully as well, and Oddi finds himself driven deeper by the weight of his Cave Lion. Sammutisel thrashes for a bit, then gives up and starts to whimper.

It must not have been a ravine, but a chasm. Not a slope, but a cliff. They're 20 feet down, with barely any light reaching them. Oddi reaches for his axe, but it's tangled in the branches and bodies, and he can't get it clear. Then he remembers the throwing knives Emelyn gave him. They are small blades, but easily reached. It will take time and bloody patience, but if he's careful he may still cut his way free eventually.  As he works, he tells Sammutisel stories of the Firstborn like Kasju, and how once they covered the continent with cities and civilization before the time of the Masks. In those days, the Firstborn treecrafters grew walls and fences of stuff not unlike this bramble. The cat probably can't understand half of what he's saying, but the sound of Oddi's voice, and occasional mention of Kasju, may serve to calm them both.

Secure an Advantage with Storyweaver - Weak Hit  is +2 momentum

Face Danger - Edge - Strong Hit

He works slowly, cutting tangling branches loose and clearing a path while he talks and sings and calms his feline friend. Oddi runs through the Tale of the Dawn Splitter, the Lay of the Ruined Mallet, the Ballad of the High Boundary, The Snake Who Ate The Moon, and even the Grave Tale of the Masked Birth. All these songs and stories are complete before they reach the opposite slope and eventual freedom from the cages grown around them. The emerge on a small hill, bloodied and tired, with the sun setting on the horizon. In the twilight they can't tell if the downslope on the other side of the hill is equally perilous, and so decide to spend the night here on this hill.

Make Camp - Supply - Weak Hit  - Recuperate: +1 health

Unwilling to risk a fire while in enemy territory, and surrounded by 20 foot deep flammable thickets, man and cat curl up together for warmth. While they slumber and recuperate, Feris Left-Tusk and the [Shatterwood Broken] consolidate their strength.

Advance A Threat - 38 - Danger escalates. Mark Menace. They are at 4 of 10 Menace, and I have not yet scored a single progress on my linked "Vengeance on the Broken Pack" vow. This is not good.

Oddi dreams of sinking beneath an ocean of thorns, then arising as a tower on a hill. It's a theme reminiscent of the sigil of the pack of Broken he currently hunts. Oddi awakes before dawn, and the moon is out, so he clears a bit of brush from the top of the hill to create the smallest space necessary to dance his ritual vestment of his wolf-pelt.

Ritual: Bind - Wits - MISS! I rolled a 5 for my action die, but unfortunately, both of the Challenge Dice came up 10's.  So thats a Complication, and my pelt is not re-charged.

Reveal a danger - 79 You confront a harrowing situation or sensation.

Mark Your Failure  - 5 times in one short but painful session.

For next session: Given the dream metaphor, the Complication, and the Menace, I think it may be time for another vision. I'm not sure I want to do another Gloom encounter, but maybe he could have a vision of Feris Left-Tusk and/or Myrgun Bitterblad. Maybe Myrgun is in danger, or in danger of corruption. We'll see.

Ironsworn: Wolf and Cat, Log 10

  This is the 10th 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.

Session Log 10: (8/4/2021)

Oddi moves on from the bodies. He takes it on faith that Myrgun is not in the two graves. Even if she is, that would mean that people she led into this place continued on without her, so he would now have a responsibility to see them to safety if he can. Eitherway, he has to keep going.

Delve the Depths: Wits - Miss!

Oddi walks deeper into the Shatterwood. Bones litter the forest floor and skulls rest upon the old shattered trees. It's disturbing, and makes him think of the graves he decided not to touch. If there's any chance Myrgun is in there, maybe he should dig them up. Is it worse to disturb the rest of the recently slain, or to leave them in this horrid place. Oddi thinks back to what stories he knew of the Shatterwood before Kasju pulled him out of the lake and away to the north. As he walks, the Shatterwood grows denser around him, the trail harder to follow, choked with brambles and bones. He remembers that he and his sister weren't supposed to play in or near the Shatterwood, because there were tales of baleful ghost lights and...

That sound on the wind. Did someone just cry for help? He cocks his head and listens harder. A cry for sure, but defiant. The voice somehow familiar. Myrgun? There it is again, and she's not calling for help, she's shouting in anger. She must be battling the Broken. Oddi leaves the trail, and rushes through the underbrush in search of his sister. A sinister shadow procedes him, but he cannot see it clearly for the Gloom.

Reveal a Danger - 28 - "Denizen restores what was lost".   Denizen - 66 - Common - Gloom

Site Feature - 56 - Overgrown Path
This is my first-ever Scene Challenge. It's Dangerous, so roughly that means I'm hoping to get 5 Strong Hits before 4 Misses, using only Secure An Advantage and Face Danger.

Face Danger - Edge - Weak Hit - Progress + a minor complication

Oddi smashes through the brambles, soon losing sight of the trail. Sammutisel follows, it's ears folded back. It does not hear the illusory cries, but the great cat has a bad feeling about this.

Myrgun is barely visible in the thicket. She's shorter than Oddi had imagined. She swings their father's black blade about, cleaving brambles. Some answering force strikes back, and she parries desperately. He can't see much, but the ferocity and speed of the assault is alarming. Myrgun gives ground, falling away. He cannot see what is attacking her.  "Myrgun! Help is on the way! It's your brother, Oddi! Hold out till I'm beside you, then we'll fight back to back!"

Secure an Advantage - Edge - Weak Hit, and it's a "1", so only +1 momentum and my Wolf Pelt loses its charge!

Seeking to reach her faster, Oddi scrambles atop on of the half-trees. He sees her parries, and while he still can't tell who she fights, he sees that they wield a staff. A heavy wooden rod swings at her head, but she barely parries in time. Father's sword rattles in her hand, and flies beyond her grasp. Oddi leaps from the half-tree in the direction where her sword, his father's sword, was knocked. He clears the thorniest bramble patch, rolls, grabs the ebony blade, and springs to his feet. As soon as he clutches the Bitterblade, his pelt howls as the wolf spirit returns to the moon.

He spins around, looking for assailants. All he finds in Myrgun. She's so young, barely changed in 10 years and 2. "Have they fled? I have father's sword..."

"No!" she shouts defiantly, waving and pointing a tree branch at him. "You don't get father's sword! It's mine. I'm Myrgun Bitterblad! I'm carrying the family name, and the family sword, and I'll be defender of Forgotten Despair! Everything is mine, Oddi!"

Secure an Advantage - Heart - Miss! - Countdown goes to 2. Oddi loses 1 spirit, and learns a bitter truth

Anger flares up, and he feels his face flush. "That's not fair!" escapes his lips. He waves the sword at her like she does the branch at him. He shakes his head hard, to clear it. "Yes! Of course, I promised mother..."

"Fair doesn't matter, Oddi Lake-Chosen! It's already been decided. Dad says he knew it before we were born. It doesn't matter that you're a boy. It doesn't help that you're first. Dad promised. His first born child goes to the Thing in the Lake. You're just a sacrifice! I'm the family future!"

He waves what used to be a sword, but now it's a branch in his hand. "Wait -- what? No, I'm a, I'm the first born..." water wells up in the corner of his eye. "They wouldn't do that! You're lying!" He charges at her, swinging his stick wildly like a unskilled child imagining himself a swordsman.

Face Danger - Iron - Strong Hit! (Didn't expect that)

Their sticks crash and crack together. Oddi is two years older, and Myrgun hasn't yet had the growth spurt that often makes girls taller than boys for a few awkward years. He leverages his greater size with experience beyond his 9 years. The branches smash together again and again, and Myrgun stumbles to one knee trying to block his frantic powerful swings.

"Quit lying! Take it back! You're a liar, Myrgun! Mom and dad wouldn't sacrifice me! They love me!" His sister's stick snaps in half, bark and old lichen flying away in chips. "They loved me! Mom could never move on from what happened!" Myrgun is defenseless, cowering now with her arms up to protect her face. Oddi winds up for a massive two-handed swing.  "She felt so awful when they gave me to the thing beneath the lake!"

Secure An Advantage - Wits - Strong Hit! +2 momentum

He squeezes his eyes shut, and doesn't take the swing. Something's not right, here. Think, Oddi. You're not 9 any more. He looks about for signs of what devilry is afoot. Myrgun is nowhere. Sammutisel is watching from behind a tree trunk. He blinks and she's back, cowering.

"I'm sorry. Here, this sword is yours." He hunkers down on the ground near his sister, and grabs one of the hands she's sheltering behind. "I promised Grassa that I'd give the sword to you." He puts the stick in his sister's tiny hand, and it becomes their father's sword again.

Face Danger - Heart - Burns Momentum for a Strong Hit

"Stand up. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just scared. What you said, it sounded like you really meant that. Did Dad really tell you that they are going to sacrifice me?"

She sniffles a few times. "On the spring moon." Her little eyes are bloodshot. "That's the cost of the sword. The Bitterblade will make him the greatest warrior in both Worlds, and he will lead the expedition to reclaim the Old World. He'll be king, and only for the small cost of his firstborn child. Rygar jumped at the chance."

Face Danger - Wits - Weak Hit - Progress, but also the third Countdown box

It stabs deep, because on some level he knows it's true. Oddi's legs go out, and he tumbles forward onto his knees. He can't stop shivering, and his wet clothes stick to his tiny body. A new linen shirt, his mother had just embroidered the cuffs and collar with fancy runes his child mind had not yet learned. His adult eyes see them now, and know them to be the signs of a gift to the gods. Could this be real? Did his parents truly give him to some monster beneath Bitter Lake? Trade him for a sword and a kingdom?

No, his father was never king. He looks around the empty shatterwood, only brambles and dead branches, and a flock of crows circling above. Come for some delicious eyeballs of a raving madman who thinks he's a child. Oddi covers his dripping face, covers the eyes that can never unsee.

The Gloom, circling as a murder,  feeds on his anguish, and tries to tease out more half-known truths and painful intuitions. This little one was meant for the lake, but somehow it survived. Could the Gloom and the Thing Beneath The Lake now come to some agreement? Surely, the Lake Monster must want to reclaim the sacrifice that was offered by Forgotten Despair.

Oddi tries to come to terms with what he's learned, and figure out what could be causing these visions. He thinks back on monsters from his childhood stories.

Face Danger - Wits - Weak Hit +Progress, + Countdown Complete,

The Glooms of the Deep Wilds.  This would fit with tales he had heard of such creatures. A sinister shadow roaming near graves and places where men go to die, feeding off their pain and misery. Oddi wracks his brain trying to remember how to break free of a Gloom's influence.

Beside him, 7-year-old Myrgun raises her night-black stick-sword in two hands above her head, like an executioner. "Father wanted you dead!"

Progress Roll - Strong Hit -

He recalled that a Gloom could fool you with illusions, but they always started somewhere potent and real. If couldn't feed you just any image, it had to be something you'd feared, or suspected, that which your conscious mind strives to deny. He remembered the tale of Harald the Helpful. In that saga, a Gloom trying to feed on the misery of a Prince's life in exile, brought to light a treachery near 30 years old. Instead of driving Jorgun Kin-Foe into despair, what it revealed lead to an injustice being redressed, and two estranged siblings finally finding peace. This could be a Gloom feeding these thoughts to me, Oddi realized. If so, I must be like Prince Harald the Helpful, and his brother Jorgun Kin-Foe.

Myrgun now stood above him, a warrior-woman of 9 and 10, ready to swing the ebon iron of the Bitterblade across his neck. Beside her stood Rygar and Grassa Bitterblad with blood on their hands.

"It's not your fault, Myrgun. You were a child. Grassa will have some explaining to do, but Myrgun you are blameless. The true fault was our father, and his ambition."

Reach a Milestone - I mark off 1 box of my "Save my family from the Bloodsick Warrior" Formidable Vow, and the first tick of my "Prophecy: I will place the mighty ruler on their pillar" Epic Vow.

I also fill in the undefined Background Bond that I had not filled in during Character Creation. Oddi has a previously unknown Bond to The Thing Beneath The Lake, whatever that is. This is probably not a healthy bond.

As the vision vanished, and the Gloom-cloud dissipated, Sammutisel skulked forward to make sure Oddi was okay. Oddi gives the loyal lion a vigorous scritch behind the ear. "You know who else isn't to blame for this mess, old friend?"

His relationship with Kasju Frystgrotta has always been fraught with complication and mixed emotion. Though his world view lacks an understanding of the phenomena we call Stockholm Syndrome, he could never be sure to what extent his feelings for her were genuine, and to what extent they were the function of some enchantment or glamour Kasju may have placed upon him. For most of his life the Firstborn Witch was his only friend that wasn't a Cave Lion. She was his instructor, his confidant, his guru, his role-model, his mistress and his master. She was also the cold-blooded bitch who'd taken him from his family, and made him her slave for 2 years and 10. When Emelyn expressed an interest in him, Oddi began to dream of what it would be to truly escape Kasju's influence. Now, he has to re-evaluate everything he knows about her. This cast all her actions in a new light... but it also raised so many more questions. What had she saved him from? What god or creature was he nearly sacrificed to? And why did she never tell him the truth about his parents? Surely the she-elf must have known that truth of their treachery would only strengthen the bond he had formed with his lone familial surrogate.

Ironsworn: Wolf and Cat, Log 8

 This is the 8th 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.
  

Log 8 (Date: 8/1/2021.)

Reminders: Don't forget my wolf-pelt is charged, so +1 on Edge. I've gotten really lucky so far, never rolling a "1" on Edge.  

I've also adjusted the character sheet again, trying to make it better match my ideas of who Oddi is, and not leave him incapable of doing the sorts of heroics I'd like the game to be about. I built him really poorly at first, with stats spread all over the place, and his best stats not at all synced with the Assets I'd taken at character generation, or the likely Moves he's going to rely on in conflicts. 

Stats had initially been: Edge 2, Heart 1, Iron 3, Shadow 1,  Wits 2. Mostly because didn't yet understand how anything works in the game.

Then in Session 3 I changed it to Edge 2, Heart 1, Iron 2, Shadow 1, Wits 3, because I figured out that Iron isn't Constitution, it's more like both Strength and Melee To-Hit. This array better represented my head-canon of the character, but unfortunately made him useless in a fight. Wits only helps in fights when you use it to Enter The Fray, but I'd chosen and Asset that gives me a bonus if you use Edge to Enter The Fray. Also, his Heart 1 was crippling his ability to use his Storyweaver Asset. This stat-line had worse than zero synergy with my Assets.

So now I'm changing it to  Edge 3, Heart 2, Iron 1, Shadow 1, Wits 2. This will hurt his spellcasting a bit, but I can only do that at Camp, anyway. The change will require me to seek out situations where I can roll Edge in a fight, but overall I'll battle better if I work at narrating combats carefully, and I think it might be fun to roleplay/describe the maneuvering this will require. Most importantly, I will no longer be rolling Heart 1 on all my fun Storyweaver attempts. I'm a lot less likely to get run out of town, or kicked off the caravan, again. Having two low a "charisma" to Sojourn is really punishing.

Back to the story:

Oddi picks up the collar, a piece of worked hide, with runes burnt into it. It is clearly sized for a child, and would strangle an adult who tried to fasten it around their neck. But it thrums with dark magic, that no child should be able to make. Oddi interrupts their tearful reunion with some pressing questions. "You have a hexen-collar. Where did you get this magic?"

As he asks, Sammutisel stalks and paces, thinking it can slice the small boy before he becomes a bear again. Oddi has to tell his cat to behave to behave.

"Tell us where you learned this? Did you make it yourself?"

Gather Information - Wits - Weak - On a weak hit, the information complicates your quest or introduces a new danger. Envision what you discover (Ask the Oracle if unsure), and take +1 momentum.
Tern tells him that it was given to him by "the twisty man". Oddi barrages him with questions, trying to learn what that means. Apparently "the twisty man" has been showing up in Tern's dreams for years, whenever he gets sick. Tern says he's disfigured and monstrous, "like me", but can't seem to provide details. The twisty man promised to make Tern stronger, and healthier. He gave Tern this collar, and said it would make him stronger. It does, but when he's wearing it, he can't think straight, and he can't remember how to take it off. A few minutes ago, when looking at Oddi, Tern was filled with bloody rage, and he doesn't know why.

Oddi is of course troubled by this, and reflects on the very tales he was telling just recently of Zhan the Twisted, and how his blood transformed Proud Hoarfrost into a bear. "Why did the 'twisty man' give you this? Was there any other part of the deal?"

Tern says "I had to promise him."

"Promise him what?"

"That I would use it to kill someone."

Emelyn's eyes are filled with panic. "What? Tern, why would you say that? You don't want to kill anyone!"

Tern: "I know. I don't want to. It just, it just hurts so much, all the time. I can hardly breathe, and it hurts if I run, or try to play with the other kids. When I'm a bear, it's all better. I'm tall and strong, and don't feel any pain. Plus, it's not like I killed her, anyway. I tried, twice, but she was too strong."

Grassa hears this, and grabs him. Oddi has to pull his mother's hands off the child. "Myrgun!" she says, her voice cracking. "Twice last winter, Myrgun was attacked by a bear, barely escaped with her life. After the second time, she and Rygar organized a hunting party, and searched the Loneliwood and even the Shatterwood for it, but never found its den. You tried to kill my daughter!  Why are you trying to kill my daughter?"

Tern says, he doesn't really know, but the twisty man wants her dead. He made Tern vow on the village pillar to slay all the children of Rygar Bitterblad, and then he'll never be sick again.

There's an uncomfortable silence, and the three adults share horrified looks. Tern doesn't seem to know that Oddi is Myrgun's brother. He's a child, who has been manipulated by some sort of spirit or firstborn. The future will be hard for him. The best thing he could do right now is forsake his vow, but in this culture that's not really the lesson you want a child to learn. Damned either way.

Test Your Bond - Strong Hit - +1 Spirit

For a heartbeat, Emelyn is terrified that Oddi might take up arms against Tern... but the thought never crossed my mind. Instead, I kneel down before the boy, and look him in his eyes. "You have been sorely used by this twisty monster. It is cruel and unfair. I promise you, Tern, I will find a way to free you from this burden you bear, to free you from your curse and collar. You will have a bright future, safe from the meddling of demons. Be strong. Do not kill anyone. Killing will only strengthen the trap the twisty man has set for you. You are not a monster. Just hold out a few days longer, while I work to solve this."

Then he stands and looks at Emelyn. "Tern needs a community, to help him be strong. I am kicked out of Sword Hope, but you didn't have to come with me.  Go back to the town, and do what you can to give him a normal life. My sister is in danger, the family sword captured, and Forgotten Despair has yet to be avenged. When these immediate dangers have been answered, I will seek out a way to break this spell on him. The answer may be in the  Frozen Cave of Zhan, as Kasju knows many secrets of the Firstborn."

Emelyn smiles, but does not voice her hope that such a trip might involve two days of apprenticeship, to solve other problems they share. Nor does Oddi voice his fear that he may have to bring Tern to Kasju to save him.

"Take these," she says, unbuckling the strap of scabbards that holds her throwing knives. Oddi gives her a quizzical look, and starts to shake his head. "Listen to me, Oddi Ice-Chosen. I've seen you fight. You are fast, and skilled, and your are strong. But you are not so strong as the Broken men." He begins to protest, but she puts a hand to his mouth. "No one is. They have the rage of madness. You're going in to danger, and I can't go with you because Tern needs me.  Don't let them get their hands on you. You're good with these at a distance. Sink them deep in the madmen before they reach you. Kill them beyond arms length whenever you can, and don't try to wrestle people who are bigger than you. Your cunning is stronger than their rage. Pick your fights. There's no shame in running when the odds are against you. Come back to me in one piece." She moves her hand, and kisses him hard. Human lips are so much warmer and softer than those of Kasju.
"I will keep the collar for now," Oddi says before they part, "so that he's not tempted to use it again."

Then Emelyn picks up her brother and carries him towards Sword Hope.


"You should go with them," I say to Grassa. "Your arm is still in that sling."

Compel - Heart - Weak Hit, +1 momentum, asks a favor in return.

"Lose my son a second time? I'd rather not. Besides, you are bleeding. That little boy hurt my little boy."

I give her a very stern look. "I should have let you fight 'that little boy' again, mother. Then you'd have both arms in slings."

"You talk to your mother like that? Let me tend your wounds before I go. And I'll need you to do something for me, too."

I nod.

"Things aren't good between your sister and I. She, Myrgun, I, well..." She rummages through the sack of supplies she'd swiped from the Healer's house for bandaging cloths. "Rygar said I was too focused on the one we'd lost. Myrgun took his side. I don't know how she'll respond to you riding in to save her. Maybe she'll be happy to see you, like I am. If so, you could put in a good word on my behalf." She emerges with

"Of course I will. You didn't have to ask."

"Oh, that's not the ask. You mentioned the Bitterblade. It was your father's sword, and you're right to want it back in the family. But it's not yours."

I scowl at her. "Nonsense."

"He raised her. Myrgun. While I obsessed over you, dreamt of your return, he focused on the child that was still with us. He raised your sister as he would have you, taught her everything he learned in the war. She's a shield-maiden and a mistress of the blade. The best in the village, better than any in Sword Hope, better even than your father, Rygar was always so proud to say. Now she's headed into the Shatterwood, with a 2 day head-start on you. It might be she needs saving, or you'll fight side-by-side as equals, or might be she'll save you. Regardless, that sword has been promised to her. Rygar said it many times, vowed it in Iron even before he and I divorced. If you try to take it from her, she will hate you, more than she hates me. Please, I lost everything but you, and I'm too old to have more children. I can't have you and your sister at each other's throats."

"If you're so estranged, she might not even-"

"Promise me." Silence. "Promise."

"Fine"

"Swear it, on one of those knives that beautiful blacksmith just gave you."

I did so. When I was done:

"She's obviously smitten with you, that Emelyn. She's got good hips, by the way, labor will be easy for her, she can give you a family of your own. She's skilled as well, a good earner. You like her, right?"

Mothers.

Heal - Strong Opportunity!  (This was a heck of a lucky roll. All three dice rolled 1's, so despite my action total being just a "2" I actually score big.) +2 Health, and I'm going to allow and an immediate Make Camp roll without it costing me a night, to represent the bonus.

Make Camp - Strong Hit - +1 Health and +1 Spirit.  I'm on a streak!

Oddi sees them safely to within sight of Sword Hope, and then he doubles-back toward the Shatterwood.

A Horse Of Another Timbre, Log 18.

  The following is the campaign log for the 18th session of my current Amber Diceless RPG campaign, entitled A Horse Of Another Timbre. One of my players keeps a log of the scenes, and another maintains a quote list.  As usual, I have combined them with a few extra notes of my own after the fact.  I post them here several months after, which allows me to add in a few little clarifications without worrying too much about spoiling future plotlines for my players.

You can also Start from Session #1 or check out the index of my Amber articles.

The PCs are:

•     Dalziel, son of Prince Bleys of Amber. A scientist.
•     Maarit, daughter of Princess Sand. An orphan with a magic pendulum.
•     Medore, nonbinary orphan of Princess Dierdre .
•     Spinturnix, (aka Nix), son of Prince Julian. Grew up in Forest Arden.
•     David Weyreth is a retired officer from the militaries of Amber.
•     Abn Haram, the human-shaped son of Lady Nykae of Chaos, and the long-dead Prince Osric of Amber.  

Most of the NPCs are from the novels, such as Rolf, who is canonically a guard in the dungeons of Castle Amber. (You may have noticed that the guard's name is quite similar to my own, Rolfe.) Rolf works with another canonical dungeon guard, Roger (whose name is the same as that of the Amber novel's author, Roger Zelazny.) Every time those two show up, the game gets really meta.

Some NPCs are unique to this campaign, such as Bellantine, an "Acquisitions Specialist" from a world named "Oberon's Loupe". Belle was created by a player in his answer to an Amber "Character Quiz" question... but it's slowly become clear that there's more going on beneath the surface here than what was laid out by that player in that Quiz answer. As it turns out, if you name your Archive/Library world "Oberon's Loupe", the GM may just decide that Oberon himself had a hand in the creation of everything there.

 

Campaign log: 26 April 2021, turn by turn

Into the Randomverse

Scene 1a: Medore returns from Tir-na Nog'th with Corwin

Corwin takes Medore down to the dungeon and demands four lanterns and the keys to the Western Tunnels. When the guards (including Rolf and Roger) refuse, the guards let him know that the King has forbidden it (and taken precautions). Corwin, like Tom Petty, won't back down. He demands the lanterns and then heads on his way anyhow.

GM's self-referential sidebar: Random put 6 guards at the top of the stairs, including Roger and Rolf, with instructions.

Corwin rounds the corner and says "Gentlemen, we'll need 4 lanterns, and the key ring for western tunnels."

Rolf says: "We can't do that sir. His Majesty the King told us to let none pass, especially not Prince Corwin. He told us that if Corwin looks like he's going to resort to violence, we should pre-empt it by telling him these 3 facts... I took notes:

1) He, His Majesty the King, took the key to Corwin's old cell, so it's not worth the effort. He said you'd understand the meaning and significance of that. I assume that's why you wanted the western tunnel ring.

2) Once the process has begun, the Cards will be temporarily deactivated as a defense mechanism to prevent anyone interfering with the limnal efforts, so that too is a dead end.  -- Now, in regards to this, I didn't think at the time to ask if he meant Limnal which would mean his efforts have something to do with lakes or reservoirs, which seems unlikely given there's none nearby, or if he meant the homophone Limnal which would mean his efforts involve drawing or are like an illustration in some way, or the near-homophone Lim-i-nal which relates to thresholds or boundaries. He was in a hurry so a verbal contraction is possible, and he had already told us that you'd understand the meaning of fact 1.  Plus he was visibly angry at the time, and fact 3 was rather attention grabbing, so I missed the opportunity to request a clarification on fact 2...

Roger interrupts: "Narrative and pacing, Rolf. Prince Corwin wants the story, not your world-building minutia."

3) Sorry, I go a little overboard sometimes. Fact 3 then: His Majesty the King asks you to respect his wishes. It's his life to risk, and he feels he owes the universe this attempt. He refused to elaborate on in what way or towards what end his life was being endangered. I, we, tried, and he said he didn't have time to explain, but in about an hour we should ask someone who'd been outside. Have you been outside?

Medore asks what the plan is. Corwin reveals that the plan is to stop Random from killing himself, traveling by the shortcut in the dungeons. Medore mentions Dworkin's Cave, and this spooks Corwin, who now has to puzzle out whether or not this entire situation is some clever scheme that Medore has hatched. Medore invokes his mother Deirdre to suggest he should help. Corwin demands the truth of how Medore knew about Dworkin's cave. Medore reveals some but not all of what he knows. Medore has to try and persuade Corwin to let him come along to meet Dworkin, offers all the information he knew. Corwin is intrigued by these details, and invites Medore to stay.

Next is the door. Medore tries a spell that doesn't work. Magic seems to be "off." They finally break the door down and find a prison cell (Corwin's old cell?), but the path out doesn't work. Corwin seems sad, leads Medore back toward the staircase, sadly. Corwin mopes. Medore shames Corwin and eventually they go back down the stairs. They go back into a dank back part of the dungeon, where Corwin traces an ancient illustration on a wall, asks for Medore's guarantee that he won't kill Random, then disappears.  Medore follows into a rainy terror world with a huge storm.

GM's Clarification: In case it was missed, the first room Corwin led Medore to was intentionally not the right place. Corwin was for a time, really on guard against Medore. Medore had let it slip that they knew about Primal Pattern Land, which raised the possibility that Medore was trying to trick Corwin into helping her gain access to that place, at a time when Random would be very vulnerable. Wary about that, Corwin tried to give Medore the false impression that this secret passage into the Primal Pattern had been destroyed. Only after Medore called him on his bullshit, did Corwin cave in and take Medore to the real place. I wasn't sure from the text above if that was understood.

Scene 2a: Abn Haram complains about a beautiful place

He asks the Oberon's Loupe supervisor for a card catalogue, but they don't have one. He waits for Bellantine to return, and the pages return to him regularly. Abn Haram sends the pages off on wild goose chases, and they keep returning with the books he is asking for.


Scene 3a: Nix and Fiona go Into the Woods

Fiona pays attention to the message in the clouds, so does Nix. Fiona says she wants to leave so Nix and Fiona go through a "rainbow smear" (and a sense of freefall)  Fiona grabs Nix's arm and pulls him through a card to Nix's favorite reading nook on Oberon's Loupe.  She gives him the card. Nix recalls the end of the Black Road War as having something similar to Random's message.


Scene 2b/3b: Abn Haram and Nix meet

Nix goes looking for pages, meets up with [Bellentine]. Belle tells Nix that there is a secret collection (the FOAMBARITE? FAUXMBERITE?) of books that was commissioned by Oberon long ago. The books from this collection are sequestered in the vault, which is administered by Armistaud delaCroix St.Ambrose, another collector. Someone has been trying to find out a lot about the family.

Belle leads Nix to Abn Haram. Nix and Haram exchange pleasantries and talk about Haram's purpose, which is to visit the library to learn about IF I WERE KING by Random and about David from military history. Nix starts to lead Abn Haram to the part of the library where Amber Royal books would be, when they stop by the Acquisitions room, which Nix tells Haram he cannot visit, but Alsalock whispers to Haram that the books he wants are in there.

SScene 2c/3c: Random's voice appears in the sky and a storm starts.

Nix sets Haram up in a suite of rooms, sets up Jobber in the stables, and they agree to meet for breakfast to look over the books just added to the collection. Abn Haram heads back to his suite, where he tries to conjure a book and finds the magic shaky, then gets up to other misdeeds. Nix meets a sobbing page, who thinks the king is dead. Nix heads off for dinner with Fiona.


Scene 4a: David, Maarit, and Dalziel, oh my!

The three are stuck in the castle, with the storm raging outside. They discuss going through the magic door in the wall. ... Maarit leads them to the door behind the tapestry (in the Turquoise Dining Room), which Dalziel opens but there's just a wall behind the door. Maarit opens the door and finds a raging hurricane blasting on the other side of the door.

Dalziel tries to use his pattern lens to center his perspective and look down at the pattern from the rocks outside Dworkin's cave. The center of the pattern is anchored to the ground, but the rest of the pattern is whipping around, shifting about. The storm is passing through the rock of the cave, as if superimposed over the cave.

David felt a sense of someone watching him while Maarit was doing her magic stuff. He detects that Medore and Corwin are coming through the storm. Dalziel tries to use his tarot for Medore, finds the Tarot cards unresponsive. Dalziel powers through to make a connection.


Scene 1b: Medore and Corwin get wet

Medore and Corwin struggle through the fierce storm, from room to room and door to door. Medore realizes that they're being watched for a bit. Corwin draws his sword and the filligree on the blade separates and dances around. Medore senses the watcher return, calls out "who's there?" and hears a growl.

As Corwin steps away to prepare for combat, Medore feels a magical power, like the pattern. Corwin exerts himself and leads them through the storm, then they find themselves face to face with the many-eyed dragon, Blinky.  Corwin's sword calms down, then the storm does too.

They find themselves face to face with Random. Medore secretly tries to make a connection with their mother's card, planning to use their compact to show mom what's going on with Corwin and Random. As Medore tries to call their mother, they receive a call instead. Medore pulls Dalziel through the card.

GM's clarification: Nope. Corwin shouts "Random" repeatedly, but he's just trying to find him. Random is not at the Pattern.


Scene 2d: Abn Haram violates the trust imbued in him by the earnest library guardians

Abn Haram goes to the door of the acquisitions room, sneaking to avoid being spotted. Two library denizens are eluded, distracted by an argument about Random's message in the sky. Haram opens the door and befuddles the person in that room. He searches the room for a secret passage or hidden door. He finds a bookshelf door, which pops open, the latch breaking in the process.

Haram makes his way down the secret stairway, carefully. There are two doors. The first is a heavy door protected by runes and sigils, embued with magic (but currently weakened). Abn Haram tries to use conjuring to "heal" the heavy door and remove the sigils, but gets hit with a "live wire" of magical protection, which was also weakened by the wonky magic of the world.

Through the unprotected door, Haram finds a massive trove of books, like the Warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Abn Haram finds a deck of Tarot cards hidden behind a shelf and takes it. He leaves and checks behind the other door where he finds just a blank wall.


Scene 3d: Nix and Fiona have a nice meal

Nix and Fiona have dinner and talk about the strange things going on. Fiona offers warnings that all people have hidden faces, she says sometimes you might think you know someone, only to find that they are something else entirely underneath. This can happen even with your closest confidants, or someone with whom you shared a womb, or it can happen with someone you barely know because they spent their days far away playing with their boats. They worry about what's going on with Julian. They decide that when the universe is finished being rewritten, they can do some spells to try and find him, though pushing too hard on a card can be bad too. She talks cryptically about two times when this has happened. The GM says this is important.

On the topic of using cards during the storm, she says not only is it dangerous because the cards might "detune", but also that "the universe is full of cages and cells and pentacles, and you never know what might come out if you rattle the bars too hard."

Fiona and Nix detect a shift in magic that is worrying. They discuss how the pages are misinterpreting the message Random left in the sky, especially Derin duPont St.Peter and Nix tells the pages to keep an eye out for anything strange. They decide to try and find the hidden archive being collected by the collectors. Fiona detects it in a sub-basement lower than she'd ever gone in the library.

Nix has a squad of guards meet at the circulation desk and takes her to the blueprints room to find the archive on those plans.


Scene 1c/4b: Medore and Dalziel join Corwin on the field with the pattern

The pattern is changing or changed a bit. Dalz and Medore follow Corwin to the outside as he shouts for Random. Dalziel goes up to get a view of the Pattern from his favorite ridge. There's clearly nothing on the Pattern, not the Jewel of Judgment, and certainly not the body of a dead King. Medore tries to quietly call Deirdre, but there's no answer.  Corwin is not happy to see Dalziel here, but Dalz claims to be working as the King's Minister of Science, so they don't come to blows. Corwin tries Random's card, but no answer. He tries Vialle's card, also no answer. Dalziel says that's what he was afraid of. "What, you think something's happened to both of them?" No, Dalziel thinks Vialle has been turned into a unicorn. Corwin says it's nonsense. He starts telling them that he no longer trusts Tir-na Nog'th because of something he saw up there, but Medore cuts him off with a lie about how painful it all is, the implication being that the unicorn may have died on the Pattern.

The Pattern here looks a little different than they'd seen it last. Medore thinks maybe it's a different shape then when she walked it in Tir-na Nog'th. Dalziel thinks its the right shape but the wrong color by just a shade or two. Corwin says it looks the way it did in his youth. (But any player who has read the books knows Corwin was not here in his youth.) They make a few conjectures about what Random did.

Corwin says "this was a terrible storm, like when Dad did this... but when I made my own, it was all cherry blossoms and old memories, not a storm. Why is this different, and what did Random do?" Dalziel asks Corwin for more info. He says he has his own universe, and can walk to it, but it's uncomfortable crossing the boundary. He says that ever since he made that, this Universe keeps trying to reject him. When he's in the land of his birth, there's a constant pressure as if reality were trying to push him away, and he has to fight against it at all times.

Dalziel mentions Rebma is gone, and Corwin needs to see this with his own eyes. But he's not willing to leave them alone here with the Primal Pattern. Dalz and Medore HATE this, but he makes them leave with him by way of the trump to the Muster Field in Amber.

In the field, Corwin notices a particular statue is missing. It's a commemoration of the Xandria campaign (see Old Wars). So it could be Random editing things out to remove some of Amber's imperialism, or it could be Random waving a rude finger at Caine who ascended to the Admiralty in that war. Dalziel makes a legit complaint about Amber's many genocides, and it hits a nerve. Corwin looks like he's about to punch him, so Dalz shuts up and backs off.

They walk, and after a bit Corwin says "no, you're right, I am a monster. I fought against Hitler but with in other wars alongside others who were just as were awful." He then paraphrases Robert E Lee, which neither PC has the context to decode in-character. Mopey Corwin suggests the universe is right to push him away, and maybe he should leave. "I should go tend to my own garden, rather than file endless complaints about other people's horticultural skills." Dalz and Medore tell him to stop being so melodramatic.

They walk across town, down to the beach.  Medore slips off to releive herself in the woods, but actually calls Deirdre instead, and actually gets her this time. Medore conveys what's happened, including that Corwin lied. Deirdre is suspicious and asks if it's possible Corwin intentionally failed to get to Random in time. Medore's assessment is that Corwin was just being too paranoid and that wasted time, but that Corwin was legitimately trying to help/save/dissuade Random.

As they approach the double falls where the Faiella-Bionin used to be, Dalziel turns on the Pattern Lens.


Scene 4c/5a: David and Maarit explore The Grand Stair and The Cave

A custodian mops up the turquoise dining room. Maarit goes to change clothes again. David spies on Jinna the Scullion, who is clearly trying to stay near the dining nook to keep an eye on the goings on. Is she just curious, or is she someone's agent? It's unclear. Maarit returns, David intimidates Jinna into leaving, Maarit opens the door.  It's less foggy to her eyes now, but inpenetrable to David's. Maarit guides David by the hand into The Grand Stair. The steps are wet, there's no handrails, it would be very easy for them to murder eachother with just a little shove.

David asks about the fog. "Can you see through it because you're an Amberite?"  

Maarit says "Maybe, but it could just be because I've been here before."

David asks "Is this how Amberites walk between shadow worlds?"

Maarit says "No." but doesn't elaborate.

Her pendant guides her to the platform with the four colorful doors, which no longer has the wine rack, table, chairs, or bloodstain. Good storm, that.

They enter the Oddly-Colored Castle, noting how it's similar to, but painfully incongruous with, the dungeons of Amber. The Pendant knows the way to the cave, which is good because Maarit couldn't find it on her own, this place is just too disorienting.

In the cave, the lanterns are out, and all is damp, but there's some light at the far end. Maarit can tell she's probably missed the door to the apartments stumbling about in the dark. At the cave mouth, a huge dragon with many eyes stands in the way, growling. Blinky, we meet again...


Scene 2e: Abn Haram's exit

Abn Haram leaves up the stairs with his set of abandoned forgotten cards. He contemplates trying to fix the secret door latch with conjuration, but it will take over 5 minutes so he decides against it. In the acquisitions room, the man he befuddled with entropy is crawling around on the floor looking for something. Abn Haram exits, and starts walking away casually. His plan is to stash the card deck he got, then go to the Amber History section that Nix had told him about, and be there loudly and prominently to cover his activities. 

The Quotes Of Chaos:

His majesty said not to let anyone through, especially Prince Corwin. -Guard Rolfe

Fact Three? - Medore

 “She definitely would do it if you asked her to.” Medore

That doesn’t sound like the mad my mother described to me. - Corwyn

“You're on my awkward." - Fiona

“Where did you get that” -Nyx  (about a card of a place in Nyx’s home)

“Who’s to say?” -Fiona

“In my family, secrets are like hugs.” -Nyx

Abn Haram: (to 'Nix) "I've picked up, in my travels, a somewhat violent madman, and it might be best if he were kept away from your staff."

We of chaos are made of sterner stuff. -Abn Haram

“The man we get back might not be the man he was before this ordeal…

… you have such lovely books here.” -Fiona

“The universe is full of cages, and cells, and pentacles. You never know what might break free if you rattle the bars hard enough.” - Fiona

Rolfe: "What have I told you about narrative and pacing, Rolf?!"

"I literally had to run the length of the Universe last time." - Corwin

"It would be so much better if no one from our family ever came here again." (5 minutes later) The whole family shows up    

Hey! I'm his majesty’s science advisor, I am allowed to look for this stuff - Dalziel

Ironsworn: Wolf and Cat, Log 7

 This is the 7th 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. Currently missing, and in werebear form.
  

Log 7 (Date: 8/1/2021.)

Reminders: Don't forget my wolf-pelt is charged, so +1 on Edge. I've gotten really lucky so far, never rolling a "1" on Edge.  They're partly healed, so at first light the characters will probably all head into the Loneliwood in search of Tern. We're pretty close to completion of this Vow.

At first light, we break camp. Not that there's much to break, with Emelyn and Grassa's homes destroyed by raiders, and Oddi's pack having been stolen by Tern. We camped on the beach, so we pour water and sand on the fire, secure our few belongings, and head into the Loneliwood.

As we walk, Oddi tells tales of the Loneliwood, and the ancient beings who once dwelled there. Much of the tale is of Sursa Trade-Star, a Firstborn who traveled the world in the early days. Sursa fancied shiny objects, and loved to barter and haggle. In the days when there was just one forest on the shore of the Lake was not yet Bitter, Sursa would come here as a regular part of her circuit, a pattern as dependable as the seasons. Here she would trade with Fluugs the tree-troll, who shared her love of shiny things. Sursa and Fluugs would meet once a year, and spend a few nights haggling over river-rocks and polished heartwood sculptures. As few elves and none of the men of that age would trust a troll, in most years Sursa's visit was Fluugs only conversation. Fluggs fell further and further in love with Sursa, and they became lovers.

Sursa's travels, however, caused her to find ever-greater treasures, polished gems, worked metal instruments and adornments, navigational sunstones and spyglasses, bones of rock mummified before the earth was cooled, etc. So over time, she traded for fewer of Fluugs treasures, and stayed ever fewer nights to trade. As elven hearts are famously fickle, Fluugs feared that a day would come where Sursa would not love him any more, or would just decide that the treasures of this land are not worth Sursa Trade-Star's time.

So Fluugs learned powerful sorcery, and called down a light of the heavens, a star itself, that Fluugs might gather this star, and polish it, and trade it to Sursa that she would know how special he was. Fluugs was, however, not a great sorceror. Raw power he had, but little finesse nor control. The star he pulled from the sky descended upon the Woods too fast and too firey. Half the woods exploded and shattered under its explosive weight. Fluugs was devastated, but did not want this to be for naught. He gathered up the sky-iron he had summoned, and set about polishing it. When Sursa came, she too was devastated at the shattered wreckage. "My poor Fluugs, what destroyed half your home?" "I did, Sursa. I sacrificed half of what I am, to bring you this that I tore from the heavens! Look upon what I have done for you, how I have proven my singular devotion, and love me forever!" But Sursa could not. All she could see was the wreckage of the Shatterwood, and the hole in the sky where a star once hung. She stayed one final night, made a few half-hearted trades with barely a haggle worth mentioning, and was never seen in these parts again.

Compel w/ Story Weaver +1 for Bond:  Miss.     Pay the Price: Unintended effect

Emelyn seems troubled by the story, she seems to get something out of it other than what Oddi was trying to convey. She now thinks very poorly of Firstborn like Sursa Trade-Star and Kasju Frystgrotta. She and Oddi have their first argument. "The forest in your tale, is the bond between us. You're willing to sacrifice it, at the command of a Firstborn whose heart is so fickle she literally only wants you for two more days! You tell this parable, but you don't know the obvious meaning of it to me?"  They argue for a bit, until Grassa suggests maybe Oddi and Sammutisel should go off alone for a while and catch us some lunch.

Resupply - Strong Hit +2 supply

While he's out there, hunting rabbits in the Loneliwood underbrush, Oddi is himself being hunted. Tern is back, having heard Emelyn's voice raised in anger. The bear again opens by throwing a big log. Tern is still a kid at heart, and is very pleased of the strength his bearform gives him.

Face Danger - Wits - Miss

Oddi is too caught up in thinking about the argument they just had, he doesn't hear Tern until it's too late.

Endure Harm - Miss - upped to Weak Hit by burning Momentum

Oddi rolls with the blow, gets back on his feet.  He calls out Emelyn's name, hoping that she'll come to calm down her brother.

Secure Advantage - Wits - Weak +1mo

She hears him, but is too far away. Oddi runs in the direction where he left Grassa and Emelyn, weaving between trees to make it harder for the large bear to follow. Tern rampages at him, knocking aside trees as it goes. Sammutisel chases behind them, ready to attack the bear's haunches if given permission by Oddi.

Face Danger - Edge - Strong Hit

Emelyn is up ahead, running toward them. When she's no longer obscured by trees, two things happen. One, she pauses, her eyes wide, as she truly understands what her brother has become.  Two, Oddi turns around and shouts at the rampaging werebear. "Here is your sister! I have seen her safely from the village, and tended her wounds. I promised on the village pillar that I would reunite your family."

Fulfill your vow - Progress - Strong Hit

The bear plows into the clearing, trying to cancel it's incredible momentum. Oddi stands fast before it, but collision seem guaranteed. At the last moment, Sammutisel pounces and pushes Oddi aside, out of the path. The decelerating bear fumbles like an awkward child, tumbling throught the space where Oddi just was. It falls on its snout in front of Emelyn and cries out in Tern's voice. She puts her arms around the crumpled bear, now awash in tears and quickly becoming human again. While they hug, she gingerly unfastens the collar from around the boys throat, and drops it on the ground.

(I mark 1 XP for a supposedly just "Troublesome" Vow.  I probably made that all way harder on myself than I needed to. )

Oddi picks up the collar, a piece of worked hide, with runes burnt into it. It is clearly sized for a child, would strangle an adult who tried to wear it. But it thrums with dark magic, that no child should be able to make. Oddi interrupts their tearful reunion with some pressing questions. "You have a hexen-collar. Where did you get this magic?"

As he asks, Sammutisel stalks and paces, thinking it can slice the small boy before he becomes a bear again. Oddi has to tell his cat to behave.

"Tell us where you learned this? Did you make it yourself?"

Ironsworn: Wolf and Cat, Log 6

    This is the 6th 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 occassional spellcaster.
  
• Sammutisel: Oddi's pet Cave Lion. 150 pounds, 4-inch fangs. 
• Kasju Frystgrotta: The Firstborn (elf) sorceress that abducted Oddi and taught him magic.
• Emelyn Firetop: Blacksmith. Survivor of the destruction of Oddi's hometown. 
• Grassa Bitterloss: Oddi's mother.
• Tern: Emelyn's younger brother. Currently missing.
• Feris Left-Tusk: Leader of the Broken who torched the village.
  

Log 6 (Date: 7/30/2021.)

Memo to self: Don't forget my wolf-pelt is charged, so +1 on Edge.


Oddi Ice-Chosen and his Cave Lion Companion Sammutisel head into the Loneliwood as that's where Grassa Bitterloss last saw Tern (brother of Emelyn Firetop). Grassa said that Tern had run off, and she tried to follow and fetch him to safety, but there was a bear that attacked them. Grassa wounded the bear, but couldn't defeat it, and was badly hurt herself, so she withdrew to Sword Hope for healing. Now it falls on Oddi to find and save the boy. He starts stalking through the Loneliwood, looking for signs of a struggle or passage.

Gather Information - Tracking and Searching - Weak Hit - New danger, and +1 moment

He finds a trail, and blood. Not just Grassa's, either. There's signs that some of the other people from Forgotten Despair tried to flee into the Loneliwood to escape The Shatterwood Broken, but at least some of them were pursued, and killed or captured. The lucky ones are probably the dead. Broken do not treat captives humanely. There are also 2 Broken corpses in the woods as well. All the bodies have been disturbed by scavengers.

The new danger could just mean there's still Broken about, but it's been two days so that seems unlikely. Maybe there's something special about the bear?

Ask the Oracle "What is the Bear's special ability?"  - The bear has "Vocalization". It just growling or roaring is kind of obvious. That's just normal for a bear, right. What if it's voice is like a man's, which it uses to lure in human prey? It may have once been human! Oddi has never heard Tern's voice before, so I don't realize this is even an option. Perhaps the bear calls out that it's caught under a log, and attempts to lures me in.

Face Danger - Wits: Do I fall for the Lure? - Strong Hit - +1 Momentum, I'm not falling for it.

Oddi realizes that there's something unnatural afoot. He senses magic, not unlike his own Binding Rituals. Stronger, older, but not entirely unfamiliar. He signals for Sammutisel to sneak around while Oddi himself moves toward the sound as a distraction.  "Are you Tern? I'm friends with Emelyn. Do you need help?"

An Ash Bear is a Formidable Foe. My previous Dangerous fight was plenty challenging, this could wreck me if I roll poorly.

Enter the Fray with Cave Lion Companion - Edge - Miss!

The bear is too clever for Sammutisel to creep up on. As my Cave Lion goes in for the strike, the Bear hurls the log in my direction and brings its arm around to smash Sammutisel.  (I didn't roll a 1, so my Pelt is still in effect, and more importantly Sammutisel doesn't necessarily take the hit. I was doing that wrong in the other fight. Companions aren't quite as squishy as I feared.)

The log flies at me. I was prepared to fight a bear, even a talking bear, but one that uses fallen trees as weapons is unexpected.

Endure Harm - Weak Hit - Health goes to 3.

Getting back to my feet, I see the bear and my cat dancing about and trading missed blows, neither yet sure enough of the other to risk trying to pin the other.It's attention mostly on Sammutisel, I risk a wild lunge with my axe.

Clash - Iron - Strong Hit,  +1 harm (3 total), regain the Inititiative

The blade slices through shaggy fur and hide. Now we've got it between us.

I circle about, trying to keep my axe on one side of the bear, and my cat on the other. We hunt as a team.

Secure an Advantage - Wits - Weak, +1 momentum

I feint, and Sammutisel strikes. I see a glint of something at the creature's chest, but we're moving to fast to tell what it is. Maybe my mother left a dagger buried in its ribs.

Strike with Cave Lion - Strong Hit - +1 Harm (3 total), +2 Momentum

My cat leaps across the bears back, and our claws come away covered in crimson. The bear chases after him, providing an opening for my own strike.

Strike - Miss, burn Momentum for a weak hit - 2 Harm, lose initiative.

The bear is fast, and ferocious. As soon as my axe bites it, it lashes out at me. I backpedal quickly enough to avoid being ripped open by claws, but it locks eyes on me and storms forward. It shakes the earth with an unnatural bellow that begins as growl and ends as a curse.

Face Danger - Heart - Miss!

Endure Stress - Heart - Weak Hit - I suffer 3 stress, but press on.

The words it curses me with are old and powerful, but poorly shaped. If Kasju was here, she'd be offering a cold critique of the beast's delivery.

It rushes me then, all jaws and paws and ferocity.

Clash - Iron - Weak Hit - Inflict 2 harm, but then pay the price

It's too fast and large for me to get entirely out of the way, but at least get my axeblade in the way to make sure the pain is mutual. My axe fouls its attempt to bite my face off, and wounds it grievously in the process, but both paws rake me and my chest feels afire.

Endure Harm - Miss!  I've filled the bears progress bar, but I'm also Wounded.  If i can land a Strong hit, I can finish this.

As it is pressed so close to me for a moment, I grope for whatever that shiny object was buried in the fur of its chest.

Secure Advantage - Wits - Weak Hit - +1 Momentum

Not sure exactly what I've grasped, I pull hard as I try to slip out from under the rampaging beasts blows.

Face Danger - Edge - Miss!   -  I can't really afford to take more Harm, so I roll on the "Pay The Price" Oracle. A 79: "A Surprising Development Complicates Your Quest". Oh, boy!

The clasp on his hexen-collar comes loose for a moment, and the bear transforms briefly back in to a small red-haired boy I can only conclude is Tern! His frail blood-soaked hand darts to the clasp, and the mighty paw of a bear closes it.

Emelyn's brother is werebear! She said he was always sickly, troubled, quiet and withdrawn, somewhat foolish, spent time in the Loneliwood. This region has always been the realm of Firstborn and stranger creatures. Perhaps Tern struck a deal with some eldritch entity. No wonder Grassa's story was so scattered and confused, such a transformation right in front of her would have been terrifying. Had Tern killed those Broken whose bodies I'd passed? I and the boy I came here to rescue were just about to murder each-other!

Seeing a small boy for a moment, Sammutisel rushes back into the fray, but I order him off. This is no longer a fight I want to win. I can't bring Tern's dead body back to Emelyn, his blood on my hands. The only sensible option is flee before one of us slays the other.

Face Danger - Edge - Weak Hit -  You succeed but face a cost. I choose -1 supply.

I turn and run, a trail of blood dripping behind me. Tern the Bear chases after me, and sinks his teeth deep... into my satchel. I pop the buckle free, and leave my bag for him to ravage. All my food and medicine, my map of the route to the Frozen Cave of Zhan, everything I own but the clothes on my back, my axe and knife, my cat and my life, are left behind to be devoured by the ursanthrope Tern.

Sammutisel follows me, though I have to call him repeatedly in the first half-mile. He really wanted to go back and solve the problem the violent way.

By the time we make it to Sword Hope, I'm feeling weak and bleary from blood-loss. Covered head to tow in blood, I stumble into the house of the healer where Grassa and Emelyn are recovering. Both gasp in horror at the sight of me, but I manage to tell them "Tern is alive and safe" before I collapse.

Sojourn - Heart +1 for Bond to Emelyn and Grassa -  COMPLICATION!  A matched miss!

Bloodied and exhausted as I am, I sleep for most of a day. Grassa and Emelyn are by my side, and try to ask me what happened, where Tern is, etc. I don't remember answering them, but in my fog I mumble something about werebears and evil magic. The local healer becomes alarmed. They think that I may have brought the evil, that I may be an agent of calamity, not the being who is trying to fix things. The healer refuses to treat my wounds any further, and kicks me out of the town of Sword Hope.

I'm fit enough to walk, but Emelyn and Grassa are going with me anyway. I'm a bit nervous about this: Emelyn and I are both limping, and Grassa's arm is in a sling. As we hobble out of town, we see that the men who rode off with Mygrun still haven't returned, and the cowards left behind in Sword Hope are building a wall around their community.

The four of us (Emelyn, Grassa, Sammutisel and myself) make camp on the beach of Bitter Lake, at the edge of the Loneliwood. The first order of business is getting some food. I fish the way that Kasju Frystgrotta taught me, though it terrifies my mother to see me walking in to the water that once nearly took my life. That was the spring following the worst winter in memory. Today the water is still quite cold, but it does not threaten to seal me in a tomb of ice. In fact, the brisk submersion wakes me up and makes me feel alive.

Resupply - Wits - Strong Hit +2 Supply.

(Technically, per the rules I can't resupply because when I hit 0 supply I should have gained the Unprepared Debility, and the only way to get rid of that is to Sojourn at a town. So I would now have to Undertake a Journey at Health +0, Supply +0, Spirit +1, Wounded and Unprepared, so as to envision a new Town, then successfully Sojourn. That's probably a death spiral. When I chose -1 Supply in the last round with Tern, I didn't realize Unprepared would auto-trigger. When I chose to interpret the complication as they kick me out of Sword Hope, I didn't realize I was Unprepared and thus couldn't Resupply and thus couldn't Make Camp. I only discovered all of this when I opened up the fancy Roll20 character sheet to turn off my Wounded, and noticed that the Unprepared condition directly below it had turned-on automatically.  Rather than roll back several paragraphs, I'm just going to rule the Complication kicked me out of town but waived the Unprepared. Maybe mom packed a sandwich or some healing herbs or something. I think I can cut myself some slack here, since the whole situation was caused when I voluntarily added a level-3 Formidable foe to my only level-1 Troublesome vow. This will be the hardest-earned 1 XP ever.)

Heal - Iron, because I'm the target - Weak Hit -  Clear wounded, take +2 Health, then -1 Supply.

Make Camp - Despite a Supply of only 1, I manage to roll a Strong Hit. I choose Recuperate and Relax. +1 Health, +1 Spirit.

Now, the hard part: Explaining the Tern situation to Emelyn Firetop. I'm going to lean in to my Storyweaver to make it work. I tell her tales of mischievous Changelings, of the Keth-rites of the Varou, and of Firstborn sorcerers who delight in teaching mankind truths so powerful that it breaks us.

I tell her of Proud Hoarfrost, a great white bear who once was a King in the Time Before. He was so full of pride in his Kingdom, that he insisted even the Gods must bow in his court should they deign to walk the earth. Zhan the Twisted heard this on the autumn wind, and headed there immediately, expressly for the purpose of refusing to bend.  Hoarfrost became offended, and they began to wrestle. The match went on for months, and winter set in. Hoarfrost broke Zhan's bones and twisted his limbs in knots, but Zhan refused to show the king respect or acknowledge death. His rage uncontrolled, Proud Hoarfrost bit the God he'd Twisted, and as he tasted the godling's blood, he was transformed forever into a massive white bear. The knots he had tied had bound the seasons in their place, and that's how the Shattered Wastes became the Kingdom of eternal winter. Trying to break free of the knots he'd tied, Proud Hoarfrost plucked the second moon from the sky, and shattered it upon the Winter, but all it broke was his own kingdom.

The tale is entertaining. Neither Emelyn nor Grassa have heard of Proud Hoarfrost before. So Oddi shares more facts. Proud Hoarfrost is real.  In the Frozen Cave of Zhan were Oddi lived these 2 years and 10, there is a passage to the Shattered Wastes.  The cave where I lived 10 years and 2 was the hidden route that Zhan would use to infiltrate Hoarfrost's realm.  Proud Hoarfrost hunted those caverns for a hundred hundred years, trying to find Zhan to get his vengeance, but Kasju Frystgrotta drove Proud Hoarfrost out of that cave, and took it for herself. I've seen it, Kasju took me to retrace Zhan's steps. Beneath the perpetual snow in the great northern wastes there are ancient cities and long-dead forests. Upon first seeing these old ruins, they had immediately reminded Oddi of the Shatterwood hear near Bitter Lake. Perhaps this visual similarity is meaningful. Perhaps Zhan the Twisted is involved in what happened to Tern as well. The Ice Chose Oddi, perhaps the Bear chose Tern.  To know for certain, we will have to head into the Loneliwood, and try to talk with your brother. This situation is most likely not Tern's fault, but he may not want to give it up, either. We will need to keep an eye open for signs of Firstborn or Gods working their magic on your brother. That sort of power isn't given lightly, nor is it easy to surrender once you have it. They may have strings and hooks in him.

Secure an Advantage w/ Story Weaver: Opportunity: A Strong Matched Hit! - Well, my crazy story is clearly true then. Neat!

The story greatly impresses both women. Mother is proud of her son. Emelyn is happy to have someone so knowledgeable and brave working to save her brother.

Emelyn is also that much more smitten with Oddi. Serious feelings are brewing, and it's obvious to everyone. Grassa turns in early, to give "you kids" some time alone. They take their conversation to where the edge of the beach meets the edge of the woods, and talk all night while throwing knives and axes at an old stump.  Eventually, while handing off a throwing blade, their hands touch and they share a moment.

Compel - Heart - Weak Hit - +1 momentum, possible exchange of favors

Oddi and Emelyn acknowledge the feelings developing between them, but Emelyn wants to be in a relationship with Oddi, not just a hook-up. Oddi explains that Kasju still owns him for two days, because of him leaving before the contract was up. Two days that could come without warning, and may not be consecutive or consensual. He can't promise monogamy, given the control Kasju could exert on him. For now, that's a non-starter. They end their game of knives and axes, and go to sleep on opposite sides of the campfire.

Advance a Threat - 91 - All this time spent healing and talking means that Feris Left-Tusk has had a chance to enact his evil plans a bit. His Menace goes from 1 to 3. Yikes!

Next Session: They're partly healed, so at first light the characters will probably all head into the Loneliwood in search of Tern. We're pretty close to completion of this Vow.