Sub-plot: Winter's Grip
Plot
The town of Gladny suffers beneath an unrelenting frost. The snow has fallen heavier than in living memory, and the cold bites deeper with each passing week. Crops have withered, livestock perished, and even the town’s wells have begun to freeze solid. Amidst this suffering, Gospodar Igor Petrovich, a devout servant of The Divine Flame and a ruler known for his humility and compassion, begins to suspect a sinister cause: that the frost mages of The Ice Court are manipulating the weather itself.
To Igor, the pattern is undeniable, towns loyal to the Svozno Patriarchate endure the harshest winters, while those rumored to harbor Frost Mages are spared the worst. Though many scoff at the theory, others begin to whisper agreement. Fear blooms like frost on a windowpane, and Gladny’s fragile unity begins to crack.
What makes this fear more dangerous than most is the man at its center. Igor is no tyrant. He is loved by his people for his fairness, his faith, and his tireless efforts to shield them from hardship. It is this very love, and the desperation that clings to it, that threatens to turn his growing suspicion into paranoia, and that paranoia in to rash action.
In to this gathering storm arrive the players. Whether sent to assist or interfere by one of the two sides, or by pure chance, they find themselves drawn into a conflict that may yet spiral out of control. All around them are hushed voices, strange signs, and secrets buried beneath the snow.
Dynamic & Play
The players are free to choose how they engage with the rising unrest in Gladny.
They may:
- Aid Gospodar Igor Petrovich in his investigation, helping him pursue hidden truths in the snow and uncover what lies behind the deepening winter, potentially rallying the town behind him and confronting the cause directly, dealing The Ice Court a blow.
- Cover up The Ice Court plot by sowing doubt in the minds of townsfolk, countering suspicion with fabricated proof, and preserving a fragile peace before mass zealotry takes hold.
As the investigation unfolds, strange clues begin to surface: shimmering lights in the sky beyond the hills, signs of magical residue in forgotten places, and whispers of rituals held in secret. Yet whether these signs point to genuine danger, misguided fear, or something more complex remains unclear. The players must decide what they want the Gospodar and the people to believe, and how far they are willing to go to prove it.
Meanwhile, the tone in Gladny shifts. The townspeople, once united by shared hardship, begin to divide. Igor, burdened by his love for the people and the weight of responsibility, begins to act more decisively, perhaps rashly. His warmth has begun to disappear, dimmed by the fire of zealotry and the need to protect what he believes is under siege, a fire that threatens to consume him.
Act I:
Players arrive in Gladny to find a town gripped by suffering. The harsh winter has overstayed its welcome, and the people blame the cold, the Divine Flame, or the heresy of others for their suffering. Gospodar Igor invites the players to assist in his discreet investigation, suspecting that Ice Court sympathizers may be among the townsfolk.
- If the players agree to help him, they begin questioning townspeople, reviewing weather records, and investigating local rumors of strange phenomena such as Ice Wraiths or signs of Frost Mage activity.
- If they oppose him, they work behind the scenes to undermine his credibility, fabricate proof that would disprove his suspicions, perhaps even plant false leads to draw attention away from the Ice Court.
Tensions rise as paranoia spreads, and the Gospodar’s demands become more aggressive. The town begins to turn on itself.
Act II:
The investigation may lead to several key locations, such as:
- The outskirts of a local mine (still exploited)
- The local hills, forested with pine trees
- A nearby brick watch tower in ruins with an oddly maintained cellar
- A remote and abandoned snow-buried homestead
If aiding the Gospodar, they may uncover a hidden Ice Court mage, perhaps a deserter or a lingering scout.
If opposing him, the players might discover possible natural causes to frame and pin the blame on (such as those Ice Wraiths, bluff climate change, divine omens, or a combination of these). Some of the townsfolk might buy in to this, but convincing Igor is another matter.
Act III:
With enough evidence (real or fabricated) provided to him, the Gospodar prepares to publicly denounce the Ice Court regardless, driven by either actual proof or sheer paranoia, calling for a regional cleansing of all frost mages and their allies. He organizes a witch hunt, followed by a burning ceremony, where the perpetrators and suspected heretics are to be executed to appease the Divine Flame.
- If the players side with him, they must help prepare and execute an ambush on the Frost Mages causing this winter, and then guard the burning spectacle.
- If they oppose him, they must disrupt the paranoia-driven purge of countless innocent townsfolk, protect the accused, possibly sway the crowd against his madness and confront Igor directly.
The final decision hinges on whether the players allow Gladny to become a symbol of religious wrath, uniting it behind the Divine Flame, or let it tear itself apart in a localized civil war to weaken supporters of the Svozno Patriarchate.
Resolutions
Purge Succeeds
The players support Gospodar Igor Petrovich. The Frost Mages to blame are ambushed and executed, burned at the stake, suspected heretics in town as well. Gladny becomes a beacon of the Divine Flame’s justice, inspiring other affected towns across the realm to follow suit as word spreads. The Patriarchate grows stronger, and the reputation of The Ice Court is badly sullied.
Vindication
The players convince the town, there is no magical weather manipulation, there is enough natural or fabricated explanations to say otherwise. The purge is uncalled for and halted, and Gospodar Igor is deposed as a paranoid maniac. This covers up the Ice Court’s agenda, and their weather manipulation continues to weaken areas that support the Svozno Patriarchate.
Unchecked chaos
The players fail to fully convince the town one way or the other, leaving it divided, and the town descends into violence, a civil war of neighbors turning on one another. Gladny burns, not in holy fire, but in bloody chaos, becoming a cautionary tale of unchecked zealotry. Rumors spread that this was the fault of the two rivaling sides, resulting in many opting to maintain neutrality, weakening the influence of both The Ice Court and the Svozno Patriarchate.
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