RiftWalker Luminvale Campaign Overview & Thoughts 9
This week I want to talk about a very special RiftWalker session. It was the latest in our campaign.
A Visit to Socko’s Mum (9)
This week, the gang decided to visit Socko’s Mum in the Caves of Wonder, to learn more about their quest. Socko had previously had a vision:
Between your experience with the magic seal that enraged the large fish, and when you read the mind of the giant worm, you have noticed a similarity. The same haunting music played in and around both of these beasts. You wonder what the meaning of the songs of discord, but know of someone who will be able to help you find out. Your mother is knowledgeable in all things, especially being around for so long in the Caves of Wonder, journeying to see her again might be the key to unlocking the mystery of the songs.
Heading back to the caves, the group took a travelling Tracker sequence to move through them. they had entered near the Ant-Folk Tunnels, near where they had previously met some Mushroom Folks.
Socko recollected to get back to his old stomping ground - 2 successes.
DJ built up morale by playing a remix of what Socko was shouting “mum!” - no successes.
Barnaby tried to take the lead on his ‘good’ sense of direction - no successes.
The group encountered some evil crystal moths that dazzled them, and nearly fought to crystallise them in place. DJ managed to snag one of the precious and rare creatures for the keeping, while mesmerised, the group managed to get away safely.
They then encountered a black pool of reflection. There they had a vision of their past that caused great stirring in their souls.
DJ had a memory of one of their first packed out concerts with a friend in the crowd giving them support.
Barnaby had a lovely memory of sailing with his Father.
Socko thought of the times, before the accident, where he would reflect by this very pool that he knew.
As the group awoke from their vision, Mrs Jane Duff was there. She was shocked to see her son in his current state, as this is the first she had seen him in his decomposing state. Socko was embarrassed that he hadn’t reached out to his mum after the accident and his mum was concerned but tried to be understanding. After an emotional moment, the group went back to her homely little house in the rocks. The beautiful lanterns of fireflies and the trinkets around were very inviting to the group. Socko’s vision was of course right, Mrs Duff had all the goss. The group learnt of:
Heard that the great protectors of the realms have protected the ant folks
Says that the music has been heard in the tunnels recently with growing volume
That the music dates back further that she can remember but the old fairytales she had been told of speaks of an old conductor in a far away land, who’s magic is far reaching and stretches throughout time and space. They sew a song of eternal melancholy and dischord – his pleasure comes from the suffering of others in their hearts. His tortured soul is what spreads the sadness throughout the worlds. - he was once laughed out of his kingdom of the old united Lumivale for his performance so he sought his revenge
The riftwalkers of old have removed a great many threats in the past
The 12 seals are meant to unite the world against a great threat
The cavern kin have been stirring and have been seen on the prowl - I wonder what they are up to?
The folks in the dystopian Subterranova have been sending strange vibrations and orders again
After meeting the group and getting to know a bit about them, she had a few elderly moments, and the group understood where she was coming from. There was more emotion as the group said goodbye to her. Socko promised to return to tell his mum of the accident one day. She said she was proud of him and that she is happy as long as he was.
Campaign thoughts
It was great to get back into the standard session structure:
Opening
Tracker
Narrative resolution of 3-5 encounters
For the tracker I had experimented with telling the group about the requirements of the success numbers needed: 5 to pass, more for a reward, but less will create a consequence for each one failed. This was excellent in that the group knew what the stakes were, which gave them agency to use abilities as they saw fit.
We had one of our group join an hour late, which was fine, as they were in the background and didn’t contribute to the first part of the session.
This was a very emotional episode of the campaign. I as the RM, felt a lot of emotions after playing such a relatable part of family of the characters. It is truly one of the parts of game mastering that I like most, getting to be all of these different characters. This was an excellent example of the campaign, where we have all made a safe space for each other to be vulnerable.
The way to learn about the overarching campaign. With some long breaks and the continual “one-shot” style nature of the campaign, it was hard to keep track of all of the different moving parts of there campaign storyline.
It was a great time to remind everyone of downtime and present a sneak peak of a bonus they will receive after their 10th session, which is an update to the Roles and the Role Bonuses, that I had drafted for version 4.0.
