Crystal Cave Adventure (OOC)

The first question is: Do we want to go back to the temple? (probably without Asha and the Captain)
All of us has a vision of something we desired deep down in the temple, right? So we do have a good reason to go there.
I really like this idea.
If we could find someone with knowledge of the temple or some books about it, that might make it a lot easier and faster.

If we want to get back to the temple ASAP, we can do something like this:

What if, while leaving, we stumble upon another group of people (some settlement or camp) who are also looking for the temple? They could have medical supplies, knowledge about the temple and some people willing to join us on our way back to the temple. Since we've been there, we would be useful to them as well.

If we want there to be an extra problem that we can solve, we can do that too.

---

I'm not sure what to do with Albert. I see 3 ways it can go:
1. He dies (this is something the dice will decide)
2. He lives and still worships Raynor
3. He lives and now hates Raynor

I think option 3 could be interesting, but also annoying. Because Roald and Deoring have hopped onto the Raynor band wagon now. So if Albert stops believing, that might cause internal struggles.

Does anyone have a preference between 2 or 3? I'm willing to pick the one that fits best in our story.
However, if we don't (intend to) go back to the temple and Albert still worships Raynor, that might be an issue. Albert would be forsaking his promise to Raynor.

---

@vagueGM: Do you have plans for us concerning 'Ahsa'?
From what I've gathered IC, I think the entity in the crystals either corrupted her or is hijacking her body in some way. That's why the gargoyles attacked her, right? Trying to keep 'it' inside the temple. (Though, Albert has no idea about this)
Should we turn our focus to that story?

I don't know that that is the first question. You need to go away and lick your wounds, so it could be a question we deal with later. Though We can decide now, if we want.
Possibly, we can see when the time comes. 'Asha' in adamant about not wanting to go back. The captain really needs to get back to the caravan, but could be persuaded to stick around a bit longer.
I am not sure we really engaged with that.

Remind what we each had (if we had anything)?

Albert had something about his aunt, but it is unclear to me how that actually is a thing 'down there'. (see below)
The captain will have a revelation that she has been noodling over since the first morning, but has not grasped yet, that may lead to far-away-lands and people who could 'help'.

I keep thinking around the idea of Albert's aunt actually knowing something. What are the chances --unbeknownst to Albert-- that she is/was an adventurer, and that she went down there and needs you to find her? The latter seems like a stretch, but is easy enough to shove into the story. It may be more likely that she is a researcher and there will be information in her letters --maybe some that have not been delivered yet-- that sheds some light. If you are interested in this line, then the captain's clue could lead to that.
That is a question. Let me know if we want to focus on tying up this loose end quickly and getting it out of the way, or if we would rather let it fester and become a bigger thing, or if we just want to rest up and come back after a little research. We can do any of them.
Seems a bit incongruous and convenient. But we can make that happen if we really want.

You can always get some money and hire some hirelings to fill this roll if you want to have the PCs as the driving force organising this rather than being helpers tagging along on someone else's quest. Raynor would probably like that, it is very conquesty.

---

You have made it out 'alive'. Unless you want him to die --or want to leave it to chance-- Albert can not take another hit (no Hit Points), but he should heal by the normal rules.

Unless you want him to die, he will survive.
It might be. But 'conquest' sometimes take tactics and time and multiple attempts. Raynor is not a god of 'fighting', right?. So does he object to your retreating and coming back better equipped to conquer? Only you can say.
It could be.

It also does not need to be permanent. Maybe you lose your faith for a while and your companions eventually talk you back round to it? At which point you renew your vow and come back to the temple with a vengeance?

That which is lost can be found.

---

vague plans. It all depends on what happens next, and what the players are interested in. Anything I have to reveal will take a little time. Possibly about as much time as your next adventure takes, and might possibly be the reason you get a bonus 1000sp.

If the players don't grab that hook this storyline can fade, (and possibly coming back later?).
That is how I interpret things as well. :)
Me neither... not enough to act upon it this instant in the current scene, so we will have to see.

That could be a good one, yes :)
Yeah, it is. But if we want to handle it quickly and move on, it's a possibility, I guess.
Well, I meant if we're not planning on coming back to the temple :)
In which case I do think it would be considered forsaking it.

But if we do want to do that way, this 'dream' that Albert is having right now could be a way to reassure him that Raynor is okay with that decision.
With your name... one could says all your plans are vague plans ;)
If you want us to pursue a certain story track, feel free to say so as well. It's as much your show as it is ours :)
I'd feel bad if we were to abandon every story you throw at us before we even find out what it is.

'Quick' from the characters' perspective, or from the players'? For the characters that could get them back to the temple quickly, but the players don't have to sit through travel time so it does not speed things up much for us.

Immediately going right back sorta short-circuits the consequences that forced you to leave. It feels like there should be some impediment to your getting back to this quest, as part of the price. But, if the players are not into that, we can downplay such consequences or shift their nature.
I assumed Albert was planning on coming back, so I have not changed Raynor's 'pissed off' gauge yet, if that ends up not being true, then he may be less than pleased.
We can do that if need be. We could flash back to this 'dream' later if we discover that we don't plan on coming back.

But remember, we, the players, can also say how much time we want to spend on it. So, if it comes to it, we can say we want to 'quickly resolve the temple problem offscreen' or something. That way we can go on with other stuff and not lose face with our gods. I don't recommend that amount of shortening, but we also don't want to have to play out a scenario we are no longer interested in. If we want it done quickly we could decide that it is one more big confrontation and then it is done, maybe go away and prepare and then come back in force. That way we don't abandon it, but also don't need to spend too much time on it. I don't mind at all either way.
It is meant to be ironic, like those big men called 'Tiny'. :)
Will do. But I get more than enough say once things start rolling. Right now I am more interested in getting a mission skeleton from the players and then making that work. But I can make up the next thing as well if the players don't have any ideas.
It makes for an unsatisfying game (for everyone, which is why I assumed we were planing on coming back to finish this (even if I assumed we were probably not going back to the caravan guard story:)), but I have no vested interest in such things. This temple story was made for players and characters that are no longer with us, based on what was said at the end of the bandit fight, and the bandit ambush was made because the players spoke about just such a thing, and so on. So... I don't have plans for much more than 'the next thing', and it is no hardship to come up with other 'plans' or reuse any 'prep' in another 'dungeon'.

So, the question is: Is there anything anyone thinks would be interesting to explore? Possibly as a palate cleanser before going back (or planning to).

As further examples as I write: Politics or intrigue in a 'nearby' town or monastery if we don't want to go out and engage in action and want to give our characters time to recover. Or something else.

😅

Yes.


I'll keep it short.
If Albert loses his faith (fate?) I would presume we would talk him back into it.
Going back to the Temple: yes, but we need to lick our wounds. At this point Roald does not want to go back, he barely escaped with his skin on his back. So going back is something that needs to grow. Like when you're on a long vacation and want to go home the last week.

So maybe we can do an intermezzo/pallet cleanser, find information on how to get rid of the evil in the Temple, and go back in a few weeks. (In game weeks)

Of course not. Who would? :)
Cool. Do we want to have the characters decide for themselves that they need to go finish it (with Raynor's help, but that is still 'internal') or should something happen in the world that forces them to go back? Ultimately it will depend on what is happening in the story at the time we (the players) decide it is time (or the dice do), but we can start aiming it if we know what we think will be interesting.
Could do. Possibly the world will have its own opinions, but that can be the plan.
Any ideas about what that might be? What gets in the way of the characters going right away to 'find information'?

If Asha keeps acting weird, that could be a mission.
Or will the npc's stop being part of the party.

Could be the next one afterwards. Might depend on how things go with her convalescence.
'Asha' will need to lay up for a while so she can heal. You will probably need to leave her somewhere while you deal with whatever your next task is.

The captain really needs to get back to her duties as the captain of the guard of the caravan, but she could possibly be persuaded to stay and help take care of the temple if the characters' plan is to get to that quickly (our plans don't need to be the same as the naive characters' plan, we are experienced adventurers and know how chaotically these things go:).

If you want other/more NPCs you can try to find some to 'hire' or persuade to come with you or whatever. You can decide what sort of people you want to have around and we can look at making that happen. They don't need to be the sorts of people your characters would want to ally with.

In a forest? I am sure you can find some water easily enough. Maybe even some food if you want to roll for foraging or hunting or trapping, but food is a luxury compared to water.

Our real question is if we push on right away, and where we push to. Once I know roughly what the players want I can make the next thing happen.

I guess that depends on whether there needs to be a roll for stabilizing Asha. If she's stable we can take it slow, otherwise we'll need to hurry.

Or is that not what you mean?

Not really. This is a completely meta question. We can work out the in-fiction details once we know what we want to do.
No one really has any skills in medicine, so that is sorta out of your hands. The captain has started 'organising' bandages and bandaging, but even though it may be a bit more than you guys know, that is the extent of what she knows to do.
She is a ticking clock. The longer you take the worse off she will be, and that will come back in the future.

But it is a complex set of choices. If you rest you can give Albert time to get back on his feet, then he can try divine-healing on those he has not tried yet (which will tell us something about how Raynor feels). If you leave right away you will need to deal with carrying two patients between three characters, so that will be hard and risky as well.

I don't plan on having anyone die as a result of this choice, and the characters don't know enough to make 'the best choice', so it is about what players want do try.

---

Personally I would recommend resting and trying to get Albert up, so doing a bit of foraging or hunting is almost no cost (unless you roll a 6- and have a consequence:). Then I would probably recommend just getting to a 'nearby village' and taking it from there, but I don't want to skip over that journey or process if people are interested in it.

After we get there we will need to come up with the problem that needs solving, but I can roll some oracle dice if no one suggests anything.

---

I don't think we should wait for TrailHead, I assume their work is still rolling 6-s (or is it the other way round?). They can catch up when they can.

@TheGenerator and @Airshark: answer will need to come from you two.

In my opinion.

- Get Albert up
- Make a sled
- Find a village
- forage on the way there.
- the sled will go slow, so it may be possible to let someone forage while the others push (pull) on. This will give us both distance and food before we make camp for the night.

-Find a village:

* Look for a natural vantage point or climb a tree. Is it wise to climb the temple tower? (retorical question)
* Maybe there is a path through the trees that leeds to a village.
* It doens't have to be a village, a lonely healer in a cabin could suffice.

That looks good to me. If 1 person watches the injured, the other 2 could start on the sled already.

As for where we're going. I'd like to do some research on the temple. Either through books or finding a contact. I guess we'd need to find a big enough city for that. Which seems unlikely to be nearby. So, I think we should find some village nearby for now and get our strength back.

I hope that answers the question. I'm still a bit unclear on what exactly you need an answer to. (Sorry :D)

That works.

By the rules the way to 'get Albert up' is to regain some HP, which ideally needs rest and food and water:
But water can do the trick (to a lesser degree?) and Albert can get his rest while being pulled on a sled.

So, if we want to make haste we can make two sleds (travois, probably) and foraging as you go. We can toss some dice (+WIS?) to see how happy you all are when you get to the village.

Roald can maybe toss a Survival roll in the existing post or make a new one, and Albert can roll his HP and we can adjust that based on all the factors.

I will look at our next challenge when I get to a machine with oracles on it.

I use this online one for Ironsworn sometimes :) (Not to rush you, just a tip)

OK. That gave me: Roll Twice, then In the Crossfire, and another one that I will keep secret while you deal with the first (but the second one had me roll on Character Goal and Descriptor too, if that is a hint).

I will only get to this 'tomorrow' (need those rolls, anyway). And I may change it up when that time comes or if someone has other ideas.