Through a misreading of the space by me, the storyteller, the campaign went off the rails here. We decided to make the session a prophetic nightmare and revisit it next session.
NPCs:
- An old, liver-spotted man left alone in Dun Crys
Overview
- Made their way across the fields, to the town of Dun Crys, crossing a small, empty creek on a pale bridge into a seemingly empty town.
- Stumbling out of a building beside the road, an old man between liver spots told Bayeo, “You must keep it away from…them.”
- After that the old man pronounced, sadly, “chicken”. Caerdwyn opened his Vision, binding their thoughts together, and saw two women: silver-haired woman screaming, arms bound; and a young blond woman shushing the old man with one finger over his lips
- Guaer – In an inappropriately jaunty way, heading back over the hill to where he had discovered, “all the people herded, and a fire in preparation”.
- They could make out at least 2 homes burned recently down. They hurried past the Dun’s locked doors, up around its small hill, and caught sight of the great mass of Dun Crys’ populace, gathered further up the mountainside.
RSS - Posts
Ah… Dun Crys…
The game of doom.
Whatever joy or loyalty or hope Caerdwyn once had for Teuthal died in Dun Crys. Whatever doubts Caerdwyn had of himself as a Questioner were cemented here. Whatever confidence Caerdwyn had in himself as a leader (and perhaps as a hero) was shattered here. He would leave this place changed and much darker for it.
I’m do not think there was yet a time in his life, when Caerdwyn was more passionate about helping someone, when it seemed his powers and talents could be put to so much immediate good. He poured his heart and soul into saving that old woman and bringing balance and reason back to the city. And in the end, it all failed.
So a player observes: First, the mood, atmosphere, characters – all brilliant, all perfect. I wouldn’t feel passionately about this if I wasn’t moved by it.
I came to two conclusions about this adventure. 1) There literally was nothing we could do. It was meant to be a tragic act in the greater play, perhaps to illustrate how powerful our ‘enemy’ was. Perhaps just to desconstruct the fantasy trope of “one wandering hero making a difference.” Perhaps to actually take our characters to a darker place and ‘take them down a notch.’ All of the above is powerful stuff … *and* at the same time, for whatever reasons of maturity/real life depression/escapism… I suppose not really the kind of game I like to actually play!
OR 2) We missed some vital clue, or were simply overwhelmed by the darkness that we abandoned the scene before it was played out. Somehow this almost seems worse, because then it implies a failure on our part as players to catch onto something.
But it seemed once the old woman was murdered all faith in helping Dun Crys was over. It felt like our NPC (Saar? I think, sent to guard her) had betrayed us in someway. There seemed like nothing we could do, and the sense of oppressive doom felt so powerful and pervasive, that it felt at the time that it would consume us too if we stayed.
I think with this adventure and then the PLAGUE that hit in real life really put a dampener on this. I’m sad to say that this game diminished my enjoyment of the campaign and put me in a downer mood afterward.
And I haven’t been able to find the same joy I had in playing Caerdwyn when the game started. He’s become the ‘brooding hero’ that is so cliche and easy for me to play (being a natural reflection of my personality), and while that feels right for the character at this time and place, it wasn’t who I wanted him to be. I think part of it is that when I *act* depressed, even in a game, it triggers the *real* depressed.
Ah… at least it was a little therapeutic to write this.