Riftwalker Campaign - Overview and Thoughts (Sessions 21-23)
Session 21: The Town of Farzak
The group travels through the Solar Pine Needle Forest. They investigate the old empty town and the house of Sholmon. No belongings are trifled through. A building is seed to be cut in half and burnt. Sholmon tells them that during the Great Rift Wars, this village was a battleground where a Rift was opened to kill many people. Sholmon used to be a general in the war. They take a Rift through Sholmon’s house to the coastal village of Farzak in the Classic Realm. The gents talk to a Dwarfish Smithy, where Zadymka’s prejudices are let known. The gear there is expensive. Esbara visits a toy shop and picks up a trinket. They find out that a bunch of people have gone missing - lumberjacks and a woman living on the edge of town. They find out about the Elder of the Village up the Mt Singred. They find out about a mysterious White Crow that could be hunted for coin, Esbara forbids this activity.
Session 22: For This Session Only
Navigating the forest Esbara speaks to some rats and a squirrel. They find a religious offering in a mounded cairn. Sollos the mysterious deity of the forest is a fast white crow. It speaks with Esbara and offers her a ceremonial stick after she respects it and gives offering. She is told to help out an elf that has lost his way, to get the people back who have gone missing. The group comes to a clearing of dead trees. A mysterious voice coming from the trees threatens the group. Khazgan goes invisible and takes a hidden archer hostage. After a tense stand off, weapons are eventually dropped. tHe group finds out that the missing people have all had their souls sucked out and impacted in trees. A young girls is kept hostage - she is the daughter of the Elder. She was sent to negotiate. The Elves had killed these people after not wanting their spirited trees cut down. The leader agrees to let her go if the group can come to a negotiation with the Elder or a gem is brought to them. The Elder had killed a bunch of the Elves in retaliation. The Elder agrees to negotiate. The group plays a cup and ball game with a “wizard” who claims to be a master of the magical arts. Zadymka loses and then wins at the game, while Small the frog looks of the gem in the Wizard’s robes. Putting it all on the line, Ralph and Esbara win the cup and ball game, taking the gem from the man. Zadymka builds him an ice chair in consulation.
Session 23: The Negotiation
This session the group was away from the table, so we played out a tracker sequence via group message. Riftmaster note: this had mixed success as an away from the table format. I would do it again if we had to miss a session and tracker was the main part of the session planned.
The group tries to find a best fit neutral agreement. Returning to the forest with the Town Elder. They come back to the clearing. Just as night falls. The head elf looks upon the mayor with total disgust. Esbara uses her social prowess and more sway with the elves given her elvish self also, she speaks first. She starts by ensuring this is a safe place - all cards on the table, all weapons away, promises that it will keep neutral and non-violent. She succeeds. Khazgan finds the confrontation would probably make him quite anxious, so he stands with Ralph between the two parties as bouncers, essentially. Just to make sure they can stamp out any aggression if/when it happens. He is unsuccessful in nullifying the conflict. Zadymka tries to help but is not successful. Ralph tries and speak some logic to the mayor cause he seems to have an easier thing to stop (like stop cutting down trees cause they're actually his buddies). He is massively successful. The two parties work toward the first steps to an agreement of realistic trade between the two and a pact of non violence is formed. Through this negotiation, the group is not made to give up the gem of Sollos. The group is given the equivalent of 240 UC (or 60 each) for their troubles. You all eventually head back through the portal to The Rift Plane. Esbara was allowed to keep the Gem of Sollos which granted her som magical abilities.
