Unmasking the Artisans Session 19

General Summary

The Party

Name	Race	Profession
Bostwick	Half-Orc	Enforcer
Cassius	Human	Noble
Daniel	Human	Scholar
Gloria	Dwarf	Soldier
John Wrench	Air Genoran	Entrepreneur

Shade Research

What Daniel had uncovered was that shades, spirits from the Fell, are suffering spirits trapped in torment. They are either spirits who obsess over their grief and lurk around others who have that same pain, whether it being in actuality or symbolically. To thwart a shade, a "poor man's way" of doing so, is silver and holy water. Any affinity associated with the positive planes work best, especially the Fell's counter, being Elvarid.

To finally put a shade to rest, there are two approaches: destroying a bloated tree or finding peace for the shade.

Bloated trees look like plump, lethargic and infected trees that stand like a sore among other trees. These grow after a mortal suffers a terrible tragedy in life, to which their hearts, become the very seed. They can be destroyed like any other tree but any attached shades will lash out to defend it.

Peculiar Morning

A Depressing Dream

Cassius and Daniel have the following dream:

Something stirs within as you rest. You dream away of being lost in bleak woodlands. No matter which direction you go, there is only more and more of the same forest. Lost, aimless, you cry out but no one is around to listen.

After what feels like centuries, you finally find your exit out of this strange nightmare and back home to your familiar cozy cottage. However… the colors are absent, only shades of gray still linger for some haunting reason. Despite being around familiar friends and family, you still feel lost and abandoned and you just yearn to know why!

You can hear the voices of loved ones speak but… how could they ever understand? If they cannot take away this… numbness… then… there must be a solution elsewhere. Why would anyone ever want to live like this?

Mournival Showing

The stage lights flash on. The usual Directors stand at the flanks, looking on with melancholy. For on the stage, there are silhouettes being harassed by ghostly shadows.
Sage: Life is cruel and unforgiving. Surely there is still time so the worst that is to come can be avoided?
Critic: You think it can be avoided? The only guarantee in life is suffering, and so shall our cast come to find out!
Sage: Bostwick!
The stage flashes to show Bostwick, who stands the furthest away from the group, swinging his halberd at his shade, each time the spectral comes back regardless of lethality.
Critic: Fight all you want, for the only company you will find is among the lost and wretched! Where demons want you dead, the shades come back to remind you of what you have done! For in the end, violence will always follow you.
Sage: Come now, there is a shared conflict but… it becomes a difficult thing to predict what happens after the Artisans are gone. Will shades be the only company available or will there still be living mortals to befriend?
Critic: Cassius Scarthorpe!
The lights flash to show Cassius covering his ears as two shades tug at his shoulders from both sides, vying to have greater say.
Sage: The fight for one’s dreams versus the dreams of others is a recurring problem. So much noise, so many demands. Could there be a way to find a middle ground or escape entirely?
Critic: He was born to be an asset and he will die like one! It is a question if he will throw it all away out of spite for his freedom or live in luxury at the cost of his autonomy. By that point, what difference is he to a tool?
Sage: Daniel Cognatio!
The lights flash to Daniel struggling against shades that compete for his aid, knowing that he holds light.
Critic: In fiction, heroes save the day and change things for the better. In reality, there will always be very few winners and countless failures! So many of the helpless will come crawling to pull you down with them. You would know, you were amongst them!
Sage: So what if he can’t help others? In a strange way, this shared suffering makes it much easier for him to relate to those who shared the same fate. He could very well represent the best of the Fell: those who can ease the suffering of others.
Critic: Gloria Fierro!
The lights flash to depict Gloria in an erratic state as she pivots with shotgun in hand to point it at surrounding shades.
Sage: The past will always be tricky to deal with. So long as the lost are restless, closure can not be found. There must be a proper ending to this somewhere. Should it not be found, I fear this battle will become one of attrition.
Critic: Come now, you speak about a soldier. Only in death will there be an end to all this fighting and carnage. The first will come for the enemy, as pride demands, then comes the self, as guilt and horror consumes the mind.
Sage: John Wrench
The lights flash on to show John sitting alone on a pedestal above the reach of the shades.
Critic: You may sit above us like a god but you are not in the heavens to be considered one. When your precious island breaks, who will break your fall: demons or shades? For angels and fey would rather let you topple over and be at the mercy of the masses!
Sage: There is still time. The fall could be cushioned, make that little island less lonely, buy a bit more time before it breaks, or… maybe even less conceivable, make the tower taller?
The stage lights then flash off, then back on to the Critic, "That is all for today's showing. Come again another time."

A Visit from a Spirit

In the morning, a peculiar shade visited Cassius and Daniel separately. It pleaded to them not to listen to the Servitor, for things would only get worse as further deals went on. As a way out, the shade offered a place of solace to escape such this fate. Daniel managed to convince the shade to provide a form of contact to reach back out to it. It drew a sigil that resembled closely to a bloated tree...

Late Session Developments

Daniel tried researching for signs of this Servitor within Cordero but couldn't draw anything substantial. For Cassius, he reached out to his contacts among the Otsukai for any ideas but found nothing. So, he contacted the Arduin to investigate the source of the Servitor up north in Doven.

From there, the party has yet to make preparations for the upcoming party, although, they are equipped with armaments in handling things...

Campaign

Adventures in the Florenic Worlds

Protagonists

Gloria Fierro

Gloria

Refresh: 3
Fate points: x

HIgh Concept

Disillusioned Corderan Veteran

Trouble

My God, What Have I Done?

Aspect

(Background) Paragon of Patriotism

Aspect

(Relationship) Cassius Signs My Checks (But He Doesn't Need To Be Weird About It)

Aspect

(Personality) If There Is No Justice, The I Will Create It Myself

Skills

4dF+4 Great

Fight

4dF+3 Good

Athletics , Shoot

4dF+2 Fair

Notice , Provoke , Rapport

4dF+1 Average

Burglary , Contacts , Physique , Drive , Will

Stunts

And A Hero Shall Lead Them When in combat, Gloria leads her allies into battle with her confidence and experience. Any allied character into the same zone during that specific combat scene gains a +1 boost to Fight or Shoot. This stunt costs 1 Fate Point and the buff lasts to the end of the combat scene.
Cordero's Finest When it comes to matters of battle tactics and war strategy, Gloria may roll Fight in place of Investigation or Notice.
Quarter-Roden, Bitch! Gloria has embraced her heritage, and has a powerful bite attack to use in melee combat. This bite can also be used for creative problem-solving.

Stress and Injury

Physical Stress

Mental Stress

John Wrench

Daniel Cognatio

Daniel Cognaito

Refresh:
Fate points: 3 x

HIgh Concept

Wyrmblood mage

Trouble

Too trusting and financially ignorant

Aspect

Naive scholar and light magic user

Aspect

Aspect

Skills

4dF+4 Great

Will

4dF+3 Good

Empathy , Lore

4dF+2 Fair

Crafts , Investigate , Notice

4dF+1 Average

Contacts , Deceive , Physique , Provoke , Rapport

Stunts

Unstable Draconic Aura Works as a short range healing "pulse", will based. Spend 1 Fate: Reduce the severity of a physical condition of mild or lower for one creature in the zone by one step. Spend 2 Fate: Reduce the severity of a physical condition of mild or lower for all creatures in the zone by one step. I've read about that! You’ve read hundreds—if not thousands—of books on a wide variety of topics. You can spend a fate point to use Lore in place of any other skill for one roll or exchange, provided you can justify having read about the action you’re attempting. Indomitable +2 to defend against Provoke attacks specifically related to intimidation and fear.ovoke attaks specifically relates to intimidation or fear

Stress and Injury

Physical Stress

Mental Stress

Cassius Scarthorpe

Report Date

10 Oct 2024