GM Blog: Episode 9 (Patreon)

Death on the Reik is done, so it's time to catch up with the GM blogs.

And this blog should be fun!

Why?

Well, I didn't really run Episode 9. I was far too ill. Indeed, I was iller than I'd been since I was first infected, and I felt utterly miserable for this episode and could barely sit down. So, I had to postpone the planned content and hand over the reins to Lukas to stand in for me. It wasn't ideal, but it was fun.

Why was it fun?

Well, I'll let him explain....

Yes, seriously....

Over to you, Lukas.

Ah, right, thanks, uh... As you all know, Herr Law was exceedingly ill. Not just for this episode, but for Episodes 6 and 7, too. Indeed, he was so ill that he asked me to take over for almost the entirety of Episode 9. Which I, of course, being the gentleman that I am, uh... did.

However, I didn't expect that there would also be homework. I need to write a... uh... blog?  Between you and me, I never did my homework when I was at university! I was more a Man Of Action in those early years. But, here I am nonetheless, stepping in for Herr Law to... uh... explain what I did and, uh... explain why I did it.

So, I suppose, let us do that, hmm? Preferably before my master calls for dinner.

Shall we do some bullet points? I hear that's the done thing. So, uhh... Here we go...

• Night of Mud! I, uhh, made reference to the Night of Mud during the session. I assume you'd like to know what that is? Well, it was an adventure I played with Gerhardt and his friends on the 10th Jahrdrung long before we arrived in Altdorf. We didn't include the good father when we played it because we thought Luitpold may not approve of its contents. And, besides, he was in his room. Praying or somesuch. And we didn't want to disturb. Mistress Yume also missed it as we'd been attacked on the road by Beastmen that day and she was still somewhat shaken. As, indeed, was I! Hence my suggestion to play Night of Mud that day. It was a fine way to bolster our spirits!

• Drafting Alamennowyth. I drafted in Alamennowyth to help bring Father Luitpold on-side to play the 'game' as, well, when he found out about our previous game he was very disapproving. The 'scenario' was a training lesson for how to deal with surprise Cultists of the Daemon Gods, which Luitpold decided we shouldn't be discussing. At all. Indeed, he shouted a little. I didn't want to face that again, so I sent the elf to fix it as she and the good father seem to get on. So to speak. And it worked! She apparently talked about moral instruction or something, which seemed to work well.

• Betting Money. Yume made a suggestion that we make the game a gambling game! I should like to confirm that I think this is a marvellous idea. I think I can make that work. A competitive game! My, yes, that would be marvellous. I shall attempt to make it work for the next time!

• What Were We Playing? The game we were playing was a creation of the Light College of Magic. I don't know its real name. I was never told. It involves the dramatic recreation of a scene to help the apprentices and wizards safely negotiate a morally unsure situation, then later reflect upon the choices made and their ramifications. It also provides an opportunity to empathise with others, which the Light College is apparently concerned about. I'll admit I have no idea what that's all about!

• The Adventure. So, we were playing an adventure called If Looks Could Thrill. It was written by Serenah Ohlhofen, a good friend of mine who was educated at the Light College and moved on to study with me at Altdorf University. I was 18. She was 19. She played the part of the 'Games Maestro' the first time I played through this particular adventure. Later, I must have run it 3 times with myself as the 'Games Maestro'. And, as Verena is my witness, I did rather enjoy playing through it with Gerhardt and his friends. Even if they did miss the point somewhat, and did not do frightfully well.

• Swimming. It is fascinating to me that the initial encounter where the old women fell in the water was useful practice for when our party did the same after the terrible encounters after Castle Wittgenstein! Perhaps the Light College is on to something with this game?

• True Events. As I mentioned at the time, this adventure is actually based on REAL EVENTS! This seemed to interest Father Luitpold and Alamennowyth in particular. As to why it interested them, I'm unsure, but they seemed particularly intrigued by the inhabitant in Johanna's tent.

• Cheering up Gerhardt. It very much seemed that Gerhardt enjoyed his time playing Gerhalt the Pistol-wielding Dwarf, so I think the entire event was a success, especially because the group failed so significantly. As Ulric says, the best teacher is the failure you survive. Or, uh... Ulricans say something like that, right?

• I Hope To Do This Again. I also, uhh... enjoyed this deeply. So, I hope we can do this again at some point! Perhaps if Lord Gerhardt should fall into a slump again. After all, they ended the affair by playing cheerful tunes! I have many adventures I was taught by Serenah back in my university years, so there is much more we could play!

That should do! Back to Herr Law!

That's Episode 9 covered! Kinda... I have a couple of points to add (sorry, Lukas!).

• I Have No Recollection Of This Place. As mentioned, I was very ill and I have no recollection of Episode 9 at all. So, watching it back was very amusing. Lukas is certainly an excitable GM! Clearly nothing like me.

• Filuviel. Dan dropped the name 'Filuviel' for one of his spells. Coincidentally, that is exactly the name that Alamennowyth used as a pseudonym when working as a whore in Nuln a few decades ago. To be clear, Dan did not know this and it was not planned - he landed on the name entirely by accident, presumably riffing on Miluviel's name.

• Miluviel. Miluviel was, if you didn't notice, a Dark Elf. From a distant, freezing land. Alamennowyth has been to Naggaroth, and even remembers some of that experience.

• So, was the Filuviel in the tent Alamennowyth? Yes. And she is indeed 'married' to the 'Lord of Trott' as Lukas narrates. You will already know the links between Alamennowyth and the Duke of Tahme if you have watched some of the later episodes, but I'll not discuss it here.

• Does Alamennowyth remember this? No, Alamennowyth has no recollection of the event covered in the adventure. This is not as surprising as it may sound. Alamennowyth's memory has many gaps from her Nuln years. This is a result of her change of Elven Path after thousands of years being on the Path of the Seers. There is also a spell in place to keep the memories of Alamennowyth Rootweaver down. This is the spell that Alamennowyth's sister planned to remove in Episode 2.6. If what's going on here doesn't make sense, ask in the comments or in Discord and I'll explain it further.

• Isn't This All A Bit Coincidental? Yup. But, this is an adventure with a Lord of Change, an extremely powerful Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, at its heart. Unlikely coincidences happen 9 times out of 10, and I'm happy steering into them. And, besides, DAN JUST DROPPED 'FILUVIEL' AS A NAME WITHOUT ANY FORE-KNOWLEDGE OR PROMPTING! Coincidences happen.

• If Looks Could Kill. The published version of this adventure was a joy to put together with Dave Allen and Bee Scerri. Presenting it in this Inceptiony way was not something that any of us imagined would occur back then.

With that done, Episode 10 is next. It takes place after the Tales of Ubersreik (and I'm beginning to feel my Tales episodes may also need blogs - but that's for another time, I think).

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this blog or feel I missed some important stuff from Episode 9 that needs to be discussed, post here on Patreon, where the PCs can't see, or in the #all-access-lawhammer channel in LAWhammer, where, again, the PCs can't see!

Until next time!

Andy (and Lukas)