Under the Orwellian Sun

Back in SF they land at the edge of the city on a Beach shrouded in fog with just enough light and clarity to make out the Golden Gate Bridge. They stand in the misty shadow of the Golden Gate. It’s a cold and blustery night, probably around 4 or 5AM. The witching hour. How are they feeling?

Recap

The Player Characters were all at Dolores Park during a protest regarding rising Muni fares. The Player Characters all began seeing images of a woman in reflective surfaces. Non Player characters (NPCs) could not see these images, with the exception of T, the actor’s assistant and friend and Damian(a), T’s partner. The group escaped an escalating scene of macabre violence and rushed to the Bearded Lady Cafe where they officially introduced themselves. The PCs and 2 NPCs, Damiana and T, were transported to the Plane of Faerie by the woman in reflective surfaces, Mayor LillyBell Liadon. She gives them a quest: help save her town by defeating the Gutlisses, an evil family seeking power and fortune by hoarding the town’s most precious resource (the Greenstone). The patriarch Geidengren Gutliss has been allowing and possibly encouraging workplace deaths and accidents and then turning the dead miners into mindless zombies. The PCs and NPCs confront Geidengren Gutliss and successfully apprehend him, but they do not kill him or his two daughters. They also free five servants who were being made to serve the family via draining devices. As you exit the compound you see the servants dancing, celebrating, chatting, singing, drinking. They exault you and thank you. You all get 1D4 inspiration to add to a future roll. For plan and skills. Inspiration doesn't stack. Since she can only pay them in gold and gems from her plane, Lillybell jots down the address of a place called Pernambuco and the name of a contact she has in San Francisco and who she is still alive; they can help you exchange the items for money on the material plane, if you choose. You all now have taken one level of exhaustion. be quiet BG Divine sense: you feel nauseated, as you look at the book that they took. The plants around it are dying. It whispers to you "Vecna" [Religion 20] OR - You aren't intrigued by the explosion; rather, as everyone else's attention is turned in that direction you are drawn to the items that were taken from the Gutlisses. There's something about them that radiates a darkness. The air around them loses its lustere. SLEIGHT OF HAND with disadvantage for the ring.

THE BOOK

This isnt the whole book To neutral people, the book was dangerous. Reading it physically harmed them and their personality changing it to that of an evil person. If they also happened to be a divine spellcaster, the book sapped their essence away but conferred no benefits.[3] To good people, even touching the book was dangerous. Looking into it brought them the hostile attention of a fiend, who attacked them on the night they looked into the book, though this happened only four in five times. If a good divine spellcaster tried to read the book, the person died or at the least went permanently insane, like under an insanity spell, and the book drained his or her essence without conferring any benefits.[3] The book was so evil that it prevented plant life from growing.[2] History: Vecna Tone: Suspenseful calm before the storm Mood: Cautiously optimistic - the ever twilight seems to sparkle. LB mentioned that the magic of the Feywild is intrinsically connected to mood and the will of the people there. The mood seems to have lightened and so does the air around you. Setting: Behind the Gutliss Compound Around you are rolling green hills and pastures with sporadically forested areas full of 6 foot tall lichens, trees, and other vegetation. At the edge of the clearing just behind the house there is another fairy circle. LB hands you a spell scroll to Plane shift and recommends that you go and rest and get medical attention becasuse you all look unwell. She hands over a multitude of her own personal treasures to Slingshot and indicates that you can always come back for more if you need to, everything here is free. be quiet

Explosion

You see Lillybell's long pointed ears twitch. The servants start to run towards the edge of the clearing. As the PCs get into their discussion they feel a deep underground rumbling and a slight tremor. There's a sudden loud bang. That rattles every bone in your body. In a flash the world goes quiet, you see a massive green fireball erupting from the Gutliss compound. Just as quickly your skull fills with a high-pitched ringing sound. (the lab was filling with gas) Following the flash, a fireball rapidly expands outward from the source of the ignition. The fireball is a sphere of intense green flames, carrying debris and creating a rapidly expanding shockwave. As this wave of debris is about to come at you, you see Lillybell whiskiing the citizens of the plane of Faerie and deftly gesturing for you to go to the fairy circle. Explosion deals 1D4 Thunder Damage. Mystery: The Esplosion [Nature/ Arcana] This does not appear to be arcane LB breathlessly tells you to go and D coughs up blood into Taruhn's hand.

Difficulty Checks

Dexterity (Acrobatics) DC 15: As the explosion occurs, navigate through the collapsing environment, avoiding falling debris and maintaining balance to reach safety. Intelligence (Investigation) DC 18: Quickly assess the structural integrity of the surroundings to identify stable escape routes and areas prone to further collapse. Strength (Athletics) DC 20: Push aside heavy obstacles or debris blocking the exit, using sheer strength to clear a path for escape. Constitution (Endurance) DC 16: Resist the effects of smoke inhalation and maintain focus despite the disorienting and potentially toxic environment. Wisdom (Perception) DC 14: Spot hidden dangers or obstacles in the chaotic aftermath of the explosion, allowing for timely course corrections. Charisma (Persuasion) DC 15: Calm and coordinate panicking individuals in the vicinity, encouraging them to follow a structured evacuation plan. Intelligence (Arcana) DC 17: Identify any residual magical effects or hazards caused by the explosion, allowing for informed decision-making during the escape. Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) DC 18: Skillfully manipulate doors, locks, or barriers that impede escape, swiftly bypassing obstacles with finesse. Strength (Survival) DC 16: Utilize survival skills to navigate through an outdoor environment affected by the explosion, such as a collapsing cave or forest fire caused by the blast. Wisdom (Animal Handling) DC 14: Calm frightened animals in the vicinity that might pose a threat or hinder escape, ensuring safe passage through areas with wildlife. Dexterity (Stealth) DC 20: Move quietly and avoid drawing attention from potential threats or secondary explosions, allowing for a stealthy and unnoticed escape. Intelligence (History) DC 15: Recall knowledge of the structure or environment to predict potential hazards or escape routes based on historical construction or layout details.

Post-explosion

As you plane shift you see the spell scroll singe around the edges. A cloud of dust rolls towards you and then suddenly disappears. The spell scroll starts to disintigrate and you feel all of the cells in your body come detach from eachother, all the air leaves your lungs, and as you gasp for air you feel yourself enveloped by a cold fog and you see you are suddenly back in sf. Sunrise beyond the fog. BE QUIET - Opening

Plot points/Scenes

The Psychic (Papina)
The Beach
The City
The News

NEWSPOSITION - ... An office with FOOSBALL TABLES, now I've seen everything Up next: Fire Chief Bobby Truffalo, on why it’s time the SFFD end affirmative action (Agnos) (Perception check on Truffalo - 10 the men behind him have black hollow pits for eyes, 15 flame in his eyes, 20 edge of the screen is a cultist leaving the press conference.) “On one side is Fire Chief Bobby Truffalo, who says the department is hiring more women and minorities than in the past and should be allowed to run the department without the U.S. District Court's hovering over it. On the other side are black, Asian, Hispanic and women firefighters - so-called protected classes - who agree the department has improved its hiring record, but maintain it has a long way to go..." Tonight on 10 on KTVU Satanists! Are they in your neighbourhood? We talk with Detective Sandi Gallant about why the lack of evidence is actually PROOF Flapping trench coat, salt and pepper hair, "how clever and evil the cult leaders were: They were eating those babies, bones and all." Pensively looks out at the Bay Area HOLY SMOKE, back masking. For example, thrash metal band Slayer included at the start of the band's 1985 album Hell Awaits a deep backmasked voice repeatedly chanting "join us".[44] Secretive clandestine cells who used torture, mind control and ritual abuse to create alternate personalities that could be "activated" with code words; the victims were allegedly trained as assassins… publishing articles about an alleged subculture of Satan worshipping and rituals spreading among the teens and youth of the middle and upper-middle class and associating it with the Metal and Heavy metal music, bands, symbolism, and graffiti. Up next: Fire Chief Bobby Truffalo, on why it’s time the SFFD end affirmative action (Agnos) They fear the department's progress will slow or stop if the federal government steps away from the issue...The battle also has political overtones that extend beyond the department, particularly for Mayor Jordan's re-election campaign. Jordan campaigned four years ago with the strong support of the San Francisco Firefighters Association, which has opposed the consent decree from the start. The Fire Department has been under the court order since 1988, when The City agreed to settle a discrimination suit filed by minority and women firefighters. The plan established goals for the hiring, retention and promotion of women and minorities on the force. It also called for an environment free of discrimination and harassment, two problems that have plagued the department over the years. Fire Lt. Khai Ali, the highest-ranking black woman in the department, said even with court intervention, "an atmosphere of fear still exists for women in the San Francisco Fire Department." Doppelgänger of BG is wanted and accused of murder. Goths.

Structure

Exposition

As you exit the compound you see the servants dancing, celebrating, chatting, singing, slacklining. They exault you and thank you. Around you are rolling green hills and pastures with sporadically forested areas full of 6 foot tall lichens, trees, and other vegetation. At the edge of the clearing just behind the house there is another fairy circle. LB hands you a spell scroll to Plane shift and recommends that you go and rest and get medical attention becasuse you all look unwell. She hands over a multitude of her own personal treasures to Slingshot and indicates that you can always come back for more if you need to, everything here is free. Beyond the Gutliss compound i the uncharted clearing, there is a stone slab fashioned into something like an altar. There are vine-like patterns and cloud- like shapes carved into the mossy, overgrown stone, and on top of it, in a perfectly fitted indentation, rests a crystal. It is a deep, vibrant green, roughly as large as an adult human fist, and it looks as if it used to be sharp-edged, but has been sanded down by age and gentle touches. Next to it, focused intensely on the soft glow the stone emits, is a tall elven man. His fair skin seems to glow gently in the light emanating from the stone, which he seems unable to look away from. His dark hair is artfully swept back, and the robe and boots he is wearing are visibly tailor- made and of excellent quality. You recognize this man, even though you’ve seen him only rarely: next to what can only be the Greenstone is Morgan Gutliss, the man who is starving your home step into the small circle of stones with the grass, soft and trampled beneath you. You see various items scattered within the ferry circle, and as SYN reads the squirrel with each word, the parchment singes and burns away you blink and find yourself standing at the edge of a small sea cave at the edge of a small circle of rocks on the beach Sand between your totes and waves crashing against the shore. This small, natural inlet is filled with moss and abalone, and the discarded items of each goers, as well as a few wishes jotted down by those who believe in the faith folk and leave offerings for them here you can see the remains of a small fire that someone likely let earlier in the day Towards the horizon, you see the rising sun, it’s been nearly 24 hours. Parenthesis this is a significant area where the veil between worlds is thin. History parenthesis. This is and space that has been used for ritual for much longer than any of you have been in San Francisco and investigation,: this area was used very recently you see the embers in the fire, still glowing insight: you get the sense that there are others in the city, who have some connection to the fay folk. Perception: you see the item scattered include several partially burnt candles, a wreath of flowers small papers rolled and placed inside of glass bottles and several $2 bills. Nature: five through 10, you can collect some of these flowers for herbalism purposes. Investigation: five through 10, you can connect this area on the map to several others with similar symbols., [Nature] The fungus is naturally occurring and harmless. [Herbalism Kit, Alchemy Tools or Arcana] The fungus is useful for making antivenoms and medicines. A skeletal creature wrapped in tattered linens with glowing eyes. [Religion 20] The creature is not a skeleton. It’s a lich. Liches are powerful magic users that have turned themselves into undead creatures. They retain their spellcasting abilities and have other abilities such as… [Religion] The creature does not appear to be a normal skeleton at all. Gutlisses are taken away They are rewarded Level of exhaustion A Precipice

Conflict

You were talking about your hunger and T suggests maybe they can go to Grubstake Diner, decompress and do various checks for info.
FUCK! D has to go to work. Had a bartending gig in SOMA. They’re always welcome at the bearded lady, but she wants never to do this again. "You're not serious people and your toying with something that you don't understand." T wants to go after her *conflicted* she also can get them a cab, and needs to go do her job.
Delphine LaLaurie - Incredible evil, interconnections, clearly can move freely between planes
Newsposition: free info about what's going on in the city, they are likely to be incriminated.
The letters: what is the connection?

She has bad feelings about humans. How is she feeling making this connection between the infamous Delphine LaLaurie, a historical figure known for her atrocities in 19th-century New Orleans....

Rising Action

What will they address?

If cops - they will be met with hostility and they may gain a file on Agnos
If fire department -- they will be met with hostility, may overhear a fucked up racist conversation, and they may gain a file on Agnos
If city hall-- they will not gain entry but they may see a different clue
If Lux -- they will learn about WA, both Lux and D are sworn to our Dark Mother, it's also very mch like a pyramid scheme
If Pernambuco -- they'll get the Democracy book and more insight into magic, they will also find out that there's something happening at the Transamerica Pyramid

Subplots