First Seasoned Advance

We had one of our level-up sessions where the players take advances for their characters, take an advance for the Kaul House, and do a little roleplaying about town. 

Here's what the characters picked up:

Ulu took the Artificer edge

Morwenna increased her Spellcasting and Persuasion skills to a d6 each

Varro took the Block edge

Anastasia took the Power Points edge

Dario took the Counterattack edge

Imperious increased his Strength to a d10

Johanna increased her Fighting and Athletics skills to a d8 each

As for the Kaul House upgrade: they decided that it was time to recruit some troops of their own to counter Brother Jacob's soldiers. More on that at the end of this post.

In the Kaul House, Varro gathered the Hounds (except for Ulu) and told them that on the next day Raenessa was throwing a "Vaunkaeli" for the urska--a traditional cave elf celebration of a beloved matriarch. The expectation would be that the Hounds would show up for a lunch cooked by Raenessa, dress up a bit, say nice things about Ulu, and generally be on their best behavior. Which--for them--was a tall order.

As far as things that went on about town, Johanna paid a visit to Arabella at the bank. During their private conversation, Johanna learned that Arabella wasn't happy with Brother Jacob and the Thorn's takeover of Braelin. Arabella couldn't add any forces to the burgeoning resistance movement, but--she did offer clandestine funding.

Leaving the bank, Johanna ran into Wyatt. He reminded her of the invitation to dinner at the Kaul House she had extended, and they set a date for the meal. Wyatt also asked if he could bring a woman who would be visiting him at the fort. Johanna is a little apprehensive about who this woman might be, but we'll find out more in a session to come.

Anastasia and Morwenna paid a visit to Kole, the cauldronborn blacksmith. He was generally unbothered by Brother Jacob's men--they weren't asking for him to make them weapons and he had no interest in their religion. Nevertheless, Kole did not like that Embrelle's tavern had been burnt down. Anastasia extended an offer to Kole: if he ever needed to seek sanctuary, he could do so within the walls of Kaul House.

Ulu paid a visit to Doctor Ilsa about the possibility of using her laboratory for her artificing until she had a crafting place of her own. Doctor Ilsa took her to a ramshackle barn behind the Honeypot. The interior was pristine--it had surgical facilities, a forge, and an alchemical lab. Ilsa gave Ulu a key to the building and hoped she could be of assistance in Ulu's projects. Ulu also asked Ilsa to use her criminal contacts to track down Raenessa's son Anduin in Veil.

Dario, Varro, and then (later) the rest of the group descended upon Crispin Telimov's tailor shop for new clothes for the Vaunkaeli. Crispin was cutting in his remarks on the clothing made by Varro and Dario, but ultimately he settled on making Varro a severe, crisp, and militaristic dress shirt in dark gray, Dario a shirt with long, button-lined cuffs that would be worn buttoned up at the throat (in ALPINE WHITE), an ivory dress with split sleeves and a neck ruff for Anastasia, a wine-colored dress with a fur neck for Johanna, an ornate falcon hood piece for Morwenna. It was a lot of work to take on, but somehow he got it done before the Vaunkaeli and had it all sent to the Kaul House.

On the day of the Vaunkaeli, Raenessa went to Ulu's room and asked her for help--but what Raenessa really did was lead Ulu to where a meal had been set and the decked-out Hounds were waiting. They ate, drank, and celebrated their friend and unofficial mother. Ulu proclaimed it "the best day ever."

In the meantime, knowing that the Hounds needed more troops to address the current situation, Embrelle wrote to Serafina and Nightsong to tell them that that her tavern had been burned to the ground. In the old days, Serafina and Nightsong would have ridden to Braelin, bringing Hell with them, to deal with Brother Jacob personally, but as mothers that wasn't an option. However, that doesn't mean they were powerless to offer aid. Serafina contacted her compatriots in Boneyard, Inc., the group of soldiers and assassins formerly under her command, and sent them to Braelin.

On the day of their arrival, D'Orleac informed the Hounds that "a number of black-clad miscreants" were on their front lawn. When Anastasia opened the door, she saw that the miscreants had brought arms, their battle standard, and materials to build themselves a barracks. Their commander, a tall, gaunt man, introduced himself, "I'm Scav, and this is Boneyard, Inc. Death is our business."

Third Novice Advance

We did another "level-up" session for the ongoing Krevborna game. Here's what the players grabbed for their characters:

Anastasia took the New Power edge, gaining Relief and Dispel (and Smite from studying the Book of Carrion Winds)

Dario took the Formation Fighter edge

Johanna increased her Agility to a d8.

Ulu took the New Power edge, gaining Environmental Protection and Arcane Protection (and Smite from studying the Book of Carrion Winds)

Varro took the Sweep edge

Morwenna took the Arcane Background edge, focusing on Magic, gaining the powers Mind Reading, Bolt, and Corpse Sense

 

Morwenna was taught the rudiments of magic by Cassie Mabcrowe as the group traveled from Hemlock Hollow to Chancel, where they hoped to track down a man named Ratibor Bron--who had some kind of connection to Yavor Mikalek. Cassie also gifted Morwenna a deck of bird-themed tarot cards and taught her how to use them to scry.

Speaking of scrying, Ulu asked Cassie to try to gain more information about Krusikal's sundered heart. The group had been operating under the belief that Varro's sword may have been half of Krusikal's heart, but Cassie didn't think that was true. Varro's sword was connected to something dark and unfathomable, but it wasn't Krusikal. 

Left to think on what they might have brought back with them from Ustalecht, they hit upon an interesting idea--what if Commander Kaul's body itself hid the weapon?

They also asked Cassie to scry the location of Raenessa's missing adult children. Alduin was currently somewhere in Veil. Alyndara however...was deceased. The group did not relish having to break that news to their alchemist.

Yes, you can do emotional terrorism even in a level-up session. It's legal. 

Second Novice Advance

The characters in the current Krevborna campaign recently earned their second advance in the Novice tier. Here's what everyone grabbed:

Dario: the Feint edge

Johanna: the Savagery edge

Anastasia: the Two-Gun Kid edge

Varro: increased Spirit to d6

Ulu: the Martial Artist edge

Morwenna: gained the Spellcasting edge at d4 and increased Common Knowledge to d6

The group also got to upgrade the Kaul house: they've chosen to add a Library.

We also made time to let the characters interact more with the various NPCs they've encountered so far:

Dario met with Beaumont D'Orleac to get a better sense of how the Kaul household is being managed. D'Orleac explained that Raenessa has not been receiving a wage for her labor as the Hounds' alchemist-in-residence, but D'Orleac has been providing funds from the household account to supply her with ingredients she can't forage from the local countryside. Irenya, on the other hand, is employed by D'Orleac directly. Rather than drawing a wage from the household itself, D'Orleac pays her from his own personal account. Why he does that has not yet been fully broached.

Varro ventured to the Wolf & Rose to see Embrelle and set up a time for their duel. Since Embrelle had friends coming into town to visit on the weekend, they decided that was the perfect time for the fight. They planned to rope off part of the lot behind the tavern, get the Nokoviks to set up a food cart, and have Johanna play the after party--you know, really make an EVENT out of it for the town.

Ulu wanted to meet with the Rue sisters, but she only found Morrigan Rue, the icier of the two sisters, having tea at the Blue Room. Ulu hesitantly asked for the Rues' patronage to help fund her experiments as an artificer, which Morrigan agreed to. The only catch was that, from time to time, the Rues might have a request for Ulu to craft something for them to further their own mysterious ends. Ulu also went to the Nokoviks' shop to buy paints and get their bun recipe; she was told to expect her trees within the next few weeks.

Anastasia and Dario paid a visit to the Honey Pot to see if Doctor Ilsa knew anything about Krucikal or Yavor. She did, in fact, know of Yavor--she referred to him as an occultist particularly interested in the eldritch entities of the Outer Dark.

Johanna and Morwenna trekked up to see Wyatt at Fort Onataiga, which they discovered was extremely dilapidated. Wyatt was his typical sad-sack self, but he did have a book that mentioned Krucikal. Krucikal was an abomination from the eldritch dark, also know as Krucikal the Unvanquished. Something something eating of souls and whatnot.

 

The Fight

A large crowd gathered for the Varro versus Embrelle fight, including town luminaries such as Doctor Ilsa and Aivra Williams. Embrelle's friends were also in attendance: a leggy blonde with crazy green eyes, a pale, black-clad woman, and their unruly-haired child. 

The rules for the duel were simple: the combatants were going to strike with the flats of their blades, full armor was allowed, and they'd fight until one of them couldn't fight any longer.

The fight began! Varro took a massive hit just trying to close the gap to get to Embrelle. When she gave him the death stare and tried to walk him down, though, he stayed resolute and didn't flinch. Somewhat miraculously, he was able to rally toward the end--essentially evening the score between them, but he couldn't quite put her down. Ultimately, she took him out--sending him ass over heels--but then she hoisted him back up in celebration of what a close fight they had. Even if he was unsteady on his feet, she was determined to show that they both fought well and were comrades in arms. The outcome was certain, but in a way it was a shared victory.

Things got wild during the after party, with Dario disappearing to get up to who knows what, Morwenna eating rats, and Johanna getting a massive tip from Alejandra, Embrelle's blonde friend. Alejandra also took a turn playing for the locals so Johanna could get in a dance with Wyatt. Varro, still punch drunk, was peer-pressured into drinking some beer--until Raenessa cut him off. In the late hours of the morning, they stumbled back into the Kaul house. Luckily, Raenessa had already brewed some hangover remedies for them.

First Advance

We're trying something new in the current Krevborna campaign: we're actually meeting on a shared video call to do advances as the characters grow in skill and power. Previously, I thought people would consider that a waste of time, but I think they actually had a good time just hanging out and talking about where they want to take their characters.

The session also gave us the opportunity to play through a little "downtime" in the town of Braelin. No dice were rolled, but the characters got a chance to talk with the NPCs more, further their relationships in town, and learn more about their new home. 

 

Downtime 

Ulu paid a visit to the Nokoviks' store. Yungfang wasn't around, but his sister Mei-Lin was. Ulu restocked on rations for the group and bought a bunch of daggers. She asked about any art they might have for sale, and Mei-Lin gave her one of her brother's paintings for free; apparently, Mei-Lin has a low opinion of her brother's art. Ulu also left with an invitation for the group to have dinner with the Nokoviks. On the way back to the Kaul house, Ulu stopped in at the gaol and had a conversation with Ulysses, the town's necromancer sheriff. He compared necromancy to baked goods, which was perplexing.

Dario availed himself of the amenities at the Blue Room, including a brutal massage from Naomi, the woman who runs the place. Later on, he met up with Johanna and Varro to check out the Wolf & Rose tavern--where they met Embrelle, the cambion who owns it. Like the Charnel Hounds, Embrelle was once a soldier, having served in the Hellwar. She and Varro compared greatswords, and made a tentative plan to spar at some point. Johanna asked if they ever had live music, which got her an open invitation to perform on the Wolf & Rose's small stage. They also made the acquaintance of Wyatt Hothstaedder, the Knight Labyrinthian keeping watch on the mountains from Fort Onataiga. Furthermore, they saw some local shifty toughs with small rag dolls tied to their biceps; they explained that they worked for Doctor Ilsa aka Ragdoll Ilsa. They weren't shy in letting the group know that Doctor Ilsa peddles alchemical intoxicants, as well as serving as the local doctor and brothel owner.

More importantly, the group learned that the two men who had been asking around town after them were soldiers from the Fist of Arjal--the very army that had destroyed the Charnel Hounds. No one knew where the soldiers were currently, but Embrelle doubted that they had left Braelin. They seemed very determined to find the last of the Hounds. 

Anastasia and Morwenna took a little side trip to scout out what was going on over at the Children of Eternal Penance compound. They were, obviously, a cult--one lead by a mysterious Brother Jacob. They weren't let inside the walled compound, but were given a printed tract called The Many Sins of Mankind and Cure Above All Cures, which explained that Brother Jacob was "spiritually married" to every member of his flock. It was somewhat obvious that these spiritual marriages also give him conjugal rights, but the less said about that the better. It was also said that Brother Jacob could perform miracles.

When the group reconvened in Kaul House, they found visitors awaiting their return--the two soldiers from the Fist of Arjal were sipping tea in their parlor. Their butler, Beaumont D'Orleac, had made the "guests" comfortable, but Irenya, the maid, was prepared to make them less so--the two soldiers couldn't see it, but she had a pistol trained on them.

The soldiers were there on an errand of conscience: they had found out that the Hounds had been betrayed into a trap in Trevania. As such, they could not stomach being part of a treachery. They had sought out the last of the Charnel Hounds to return a battle standard that had been taken as spoils of war. Before departing, they told the group that one of the men who betrayed them--a commander named Stavran Moyle--was currently in a mining town to the south called Goranstad. That would be the party's next stop. 

Advances

Ulu raised her Intimidation skill

Johanna raised her Survival skill

Morwenna raised her Smarts

Anastasia took the Ambidextrous edge

Varro took the Trademark Weapon edge

Dario took the Attractive edge