The Factotum (Mythic + Planescape - Session 2)

The last time we met Gorrister, he got a job from the Mercykillers: to find a dangerous criminal. The complication was that Forken Tallan is a member of the Doomguards, possibly shielded by the factol. Given this fact, the Armory is the most likely place to find someone who knows where the elusive murderer is hiding.

Scene 2

Synopsis: Gorrister Peldvale meets Alys, a minor factotum for the Doomguards, hoping to know Forken Tallan's whereabouts.

CR: 4

Characters: Markos, Forken Tallan, factol Pentar, Alys

Threads: Find Forken Tallan

We need to check if the scene goes as planned (3). It's lower than CR 4, so it's altered. But how? We'll find out soon enough.

I didn't like the Lady's Ward. The streets were too broad and empty, making me feel exposed and vulnerable. The sight of sprawling mansions with gardens and monumental buildings was annoying, considering my tiny office in the Guildhall Ward and an even smaller kip in the Lower Ward. And Hardheads were everywhere, with their coppery armors and mean looks. A leader of one patrol gave me an unfriendly glance, but the presence of the Armory discouraged them from messing with me. No doubt they would later find some Indeps to torment in compensation.

I went as Gorrister, the same persona I used to take the job. I was a slender man of medium height, with olive skin and long, curly hair. My goatee was a few stray hairs short of being immaculately trimmed because looking too perfect seemed suspicious. I wore a red doublet with frills, blue culottes, and an enormous hat with several colorful feathers. I looked like an addle-coved fop from the Upper Ward who unsuccessfully tries to look more prosperous than he is.

The Armory loomed over the surrounding buildings: an ominous structure with an open-top, billowing heat and light from the forges below. It had few windows, its walls covered in black razorvine. Above the only entrance, a giant symbol of the Doomguards loomed—an auroch skull.

If Tallan hid there, even an army of Mercykillers wouldn't get him out. But was Pentar really barmy enough to let him?

This beckons an explanation of our faction's politics. Every Doomguard believes in one fundamental tenet: entropy always wins. As time passes, everything ends: people die, plants wither, buildings crumble, relationships fall apart, cities depopulate. The Multiverse will come to an end one day, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

What Sinkers are divided about is what to do with this information. Some believe that entropy comes along too fast and try to protect things they care about against the ravage of time. Others think this is hubris: no one can bend universal destruction to its will, so it should be watched and learned from. However, the barmiest, most loud group wants to speed it up. They're the stereotypical Doomguards who cause trouble and don't balk at vandalism, arson, assault, or even murder.

It used to be that they were a loud minority, and the factol was nearly always a Watcher or Preserver. Unfortunately, Pentar is a staunch Destroyer, favoring those who share her extreme views. She's young (too young, some would say) and intense, quick to anger, and full of enthusiasm. Her detractors are afraid that our faction will be among the things she'll bring to ruin.

Fortunately, the person I was about to meet wasn't one of Pentar's fanatics. Alys was a pretty pleasant person, one of the fellow Watchers. Her forte was engineering and siege works, but she was also proficient with an axe. The latter was why I could easily find her: every Hive, she frequented the Armory courtyard to instruct Sinkers how to fight; later, she spent the evening drinking bub.

Time to find out how is our scene different from what we expected.

Does Alys refuse to show up (Very Unlikely)? No. (65 vs. 5/25/86)

Is she upset about something? No. (84 vs. 10/50/91)

Is she scared? No (79 vs. 10/50/91)

Is someone else with her (Likely)? No (84 vs. 15/75/96)

Damn it, game, you're not giving me enough to figure anything out. Is Gorrister under observation (Likely)? Exceptional no (98 vs. 15/75/96). Not only Doomguards don't keep watch on him, they actually find him pretty trustworthy.

Do they have a job for him (Very Likely)? Yes (72 vs. 15/75/96)

Is it about Forken Tallan (Near sure thing)? Yes. (23 vs. 18/90/99). There we go.

I found her in Auroch's Head, a dive near the very edge of the Lower Ward. She was seated on the back, sipping cider from a metal cup. As I approached her, her eyes brightened.

Again, we need to figure out Alys's behavior. Her Identity is a factotum, a person dedicated to working for her faction and spreading its ideas. I have no idea about her Personality, but Description Roll turned "Loosely Mundane," which I interpret as casual. I do the same about Activity and get "Pursue Intellect,"—which probably means quick-witted. The Theme, of course, is giving Gorrister a task. Her casual Personality will likely provide a -2 to the roll.

The Starting Disposition roll modified with the descriptors gives me 4, which means Passive. I roll for action and get "NPC continues (+2)", which in this case just means a theme action, but bumps the Disposition to Moderate.

"Oh, it's you." She passed me a pewter bowl of raisins. "Perfect, it saves me a trip to the Guildhall. You really should have set up your kip closer to the Armory."

"Perhaps, but these prices in the Lady's Ward are outrageous. Were you looking for me?" I asked.

"I did," she took a sip of cider and continued. "In fact, I have a job for you. Does the name of Forken Tallan ring a bell?"

Just to be sure, let's establish one thing: do the Doomguards want to protect Tallan (Near Sure Thing)? Exceptional No (97 vs. 10/50/91). They want to kill him. This throws my expectations out of the window.

I did, but I didn't want to appear too knowledgeable. I scratched my temple in mock wistfulness, mussing my hair a little.

"I may have heard something. He was nearly scragged by the Harmonium, right?"

"Yes." Alys beckoned to the tavern keeper. "Some cider for this blood. You do like cider, right?" 

I nodded. I did like cider.

"So," she continued after a fat tiefling with hairy ears brought a pitcher of clear liquid. "The rest of his crew was sentenced to the leafless tree several days ago. It's only him that's left at this point."

"And what's the job?"

"Pentar wants him gone."

That was weird wording, but I already knew what to expect.

"She wants me to get him out of the Cage?" I asked.

"Lady's tits, why would she?" Alys's casual swear brought a few worried looks from nearby patrons. "He's barmy and an embarrassment to the faction."

I raised my brows. Apparently, Markos gave me a piece of cake, but I wondered what could have made Pentar turn the stag on Tallan. Did he know too much? Did he anger her somehow? Or maybe it was really some attempt of cleaning the faction?

Well, what is it? Does Pentar want to silence Tallan (Somewhat Likely)? Yes (19 vs. 13/75/96). Well, faction politics is never pleasant.

"Since when does Pentar care about that?" I asked, stuffing my mouth with raisins. I never refused something I was given for free.

"I don't know." Alys shrugged. "Do you want to ask her yourself?"

I didn't.

"What do you expect me to do about him?" I asked after finally managing to swallow the sticky fruits.

Does she only want him found (Likely)? Yes (28 vs. 16/75/96)

"Just find him." The factotum glanced at the empty bowl, disappointed. "When did you manage to eat all of those? Never mind, find him, and someone else will take care of the rest."

"How much? I am getting paid for that, right?" I asked, calculating if Alys would buy me another pitcher if I downed this one fast enough. Seemed unlikely.

Do the Doomguards pay more than the Mercykillers? No (66 vs. 10/50/91)

"One hundred jinxes sounds fine?"

"Are you kidding?" I didn't even have to feign indignation. "You want me to endanger my agents for one hundred?"

"What do you think is a fair price then?" She didn't seem too happy.

"Three hundred. And at least one hundred if he gives you the laugh. I'm not looking for him in Plague-Mort, or wherever she decides to go."

Is she convinced (Social Skills: Above Average vs. High difficulty)? Exceptional Yes (1 vs. 9/45/90), she accepts without negotiating it down.

She opened her mouth to argue, thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.

"Fine. I hoped you'll give a better price to your own faction but have it your way."

"Look, if it was only about me, I'd do it for one hundred," I lied. "But my agents don't come cheap. Especially when it comes to dangerous bashers such as this Tallan."

It's worth establishing at this moment if Alys even supports Pentar? No (54 vs. 10/51/91). She's probably a fellow Watcher.

"I understand, but your purse isn't the only thing that could benefit from this job," the factotum slowly sipped her drink. "A lot of Sinkers want to clean the house. This is our chance to be seen as something more than a faction of murderers and troublemakers."

I wondered why she was saying it so loudly in an establishment mainly frequented by Sinkers; some of them must have been fond for Pentar.

"Does Pentar even care?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing goes forever," Alys apparently realized that she was too loud because she started to whisper. "The entropy will take care of Pentar one day."

"If you say so." Maybe she didn't bother about making enemies, but I did. "Look, I'd like to find him, but do you have any idea which places he used to frequent?"

Does Alys even know that? I find it very unlikely because she wouldn't have to hire Gorrister to find him if she did. But the dice say "Yes" (8 vs. 5/25/86). I ask where and the Action Roll gives me "Attract Fame." Some establishment where famous people gather? What could it be?

"There's a tavern in the Hive. Something with a burning deader in its name. Flaming Cadaver? It does bring a lot of bashers, some of them pretty famous, and if there's one thing this sod liked, it was mingling with famous warriors."

I knew the establishment which she mentioned. The Smoldering Corpse Bar came from its very tasteful main attraction: an eternally burning corpse. Apparently, some local spellslingers decided to punish an arsonist by not only burning him but making him burn forever. I was never curious enough to visit this place, but it was pretty well-known.

Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess.

That ends the scene. Time for maintenance.

Characters: No one new appeared.

Chaos: Doomguards wanting Gorrister to find Tallan for them is a complication, but Gorrister dealt with it nicely. I think it reduces CR to 3.

Threads: Let's add another one: "Choosing between Mercykillers and Doomguards." We also made progress in the other thread, which gives us +10 Favor Points (bringing us to 60).

PC's decision: Gorrister will go to the Smoldering Corpse Bar, trying to get some intel on his quarry.

Next scene: He arrives in the bar and interrogates the locals about Tallan's whereabouts.

There should be no surprises with CR lowered even further this time, but one can never be sure. We'll see.

The Justiciar (Mythic + Planescape - Session 1)

How do we start? I think I have a situation handy. Forken Tallan is another of my former characters, a classic chaotic neutral murderhobo I played in Greyhawk. He's a stereotypical Doomguard warrior, a violent fanatic, notoriously breaking the law. Sinkers, as Doomguards are informally called, worship entropy, and Forken serves it in the most obvious, direct way.

Sigil has another faction that will come important here: Mercykillers. Their whole deal is punishing the guilty, and because of that, they run the prison system in the Cage. They are forbidden from arresting those suspected of crimes (that's Harmonium's job), but after they are sentenced, they're fair game. The adventure writes itself: a Mercykiller Justiciar comes to Gorrister, trying to hire him to find his fellow faction member.

Scene 1

Synopsis: Markos, a Mercykiller Justiciar, attempts to hire Gorrister to find Forken Tallan

CR: 5

Characters: Markos

Threads: Get a job (or not!)

The first Hive of Tithing a Justiciar came to my office. He didn't look like one despite his bladed armor and the faction symbol (a red dragon with its wings outspread). He was large, even fat, and bumped into the doorframe when he entered the room.

First things first: Does Markos mind dealing with a knight of the post (Likely)? Yes, he's a little upset. Apparently, people who catch criminals for a living don't like doing business with shady people; who could have known?

Let's figure out what kind of man he is for the Mythic GME Behavior Roll. His Identity is obviously a Justiciar. His Personality is clumsy and jovial, as I decided. His Activity is business-like. Theme, of course, is giving Gorrister the job.

I roll 2d10 for the starting Disposition. Because he doesn't like to deal with criminals, his Identity gives us +2 to the roll. Fortunately, his Personality nullifies it with a -2 modifier. Rolling gives us 3, which means a Passive disposition. When we roll for his Action, he will take the softest approach.

But what action does he take? A roll of 1d10 suggests he'll just continue his last one. As he didn't manage to do anything yet, this means a Theme Action. He'll just give us a job. Nothing weird is going on here.

"Lady's Grace to you, good sir." His booming voice was a little too loud for my small office. "I have an offer for you if you don't mind working with the Mercykillers."

"I don't mind, provided you pay enough." I smiled, rubbing my goatee. "And it's nothing illegal, of course."

He furrowed his brow a little.

I rolled for another action, given that Gorrister may have hit a sore point here. NPC continues, but with a +2 modifier, so Disposition is now at 5. This still means Passive.

"Don't worry, friend, this job will make you rich, or my name isn't Markos," he continued with the same friendly tone, which seemed slippery to me. I know everything about faking, and this Mercykiller was pretty good at it. It was unnerving.

"Tell me," he continued. "Do you know anything about Three Shivs?"

Does Gorrister know Three Shivs? No.

"Never heard of them, no." This didn't seem like a situation where I should pretend to know of them to impress the customer.

"Well, understandable. They're a bunch of knights of cross-trade. Blades for hire, responsible for countless hits and even some murders." Markos looked at the chair next to my desk. "Mind if I sit?"

"Not at all," I said. "They sound like a nasty group of bloods, but what does that have to do with me?"

He plopped on the chair, which fortunately had been made of wrought iron.

"I was just getting to it. See, two of those three were recently arrested by Harmonium. Their hanging is already scheduled, but the factol thinks they would be sad without their companion. Sadly, he's in hiding."

"You want me to catch a hardened killer?" I raised my brows.

"Of course not! Only to find him and let me know where he is. Surely this isn't a problem for a man of your talents?"

Of course, it wasn't, but I didn't want to look too eager before negotiating the price.

"You are aware he's likely no longer in the Cage? Only a complete barmy would stay, being hunted by both Hardheads and the Red Death."

"He is barmy. I bet he's still there" Markos seemed confident.

"But if he isn't?" I pushed. "Am I still getting paid?"

Good question. Will the Mercykillers pay if Tallan escaped, but less (Unlikely)? Yes. They must really want him. Of course, they need to pay enough, considering they want Gorrister to hunt his fellow Sinker.

"The factol authorized me to pay you a hundred jinxes if you ascertain the murderer is no longer in Sigil. If he gets captured, however, it's an additional two hundred."

Does Gorrister realize something's fishy (Intuition: Exceptional vs. Markos' Social Skills: High)? Yes.

"That's... a very generous offer," I said slowly.

"Isn't it?" Markos smiled a toothy grin.

"A little too generous, in fact. Either factol Nilesia has suddenly gone soft, or there's something you didn't tell me about this offer to make sure I'll take it. Please, spare us both time and tell me what it is."

Time for another Behavior roll! The Theme is now "Interrogated about the hidden aspects of the job." Clumsy and jovial doesn't apply anymore, so his Disposition is modified by +2. As an action, he "gives something," which in this case probably means the information we want. But his Disposition jumps by +4 to 9. It's no longer Passive but Moderate.

"Very well." He straightened up and suddenly looked larger, more imposing. "He's a Doomguard, but not an ordinary one. We have every reason to believe he's shielded by factol Pentar or someone in her circle."

"You want me to turn the stag on my own factol? Are you barmy?" I snapped. To say Pentar was intense was to say nothing. I really didn't want to make her angry.

How does he react to refusal? Theme is now "Refused the job, still trying." This means the business-like Activity comes to the fore, giving us further +2 to Disposition. It's still Moderate, but we can fully expect Markos to become more and more threatening. We roll for action, and...

...he "acts out of PC's interest." What? The Meaning Table suggests "Travel Mundane."

"She doesn't need to know and most likely won't. Remember, you only need to find him. I'll be the one to scrag him." The Mercykiller took off his helmet to scratch his balding head.

"No plan is foolproof," I retorted.

"If it comes to the worst, I have contacts who will let you use a portal to Rigus, no question asked. It's not the most pleasant place in the Multiverse, but it's one where Sinkers won't like to come."

I was impressed.

Why is he so generous despite not liking us? Does Markos need this arrest? Exceptional Yes, so his life is on the line. Did he piss off Alisohn Nilesia, his factol (Very Likely)? Yes.

"You need it that much?" I asked.

"I'm in the dead-book if I can't catch him."

"Mercykiller politics?" I already knew the answer. Alisohn Nilesia liked to do occasional purges to keep her underlings loyal.

"Something like that. Do you take the job?"

His desperation convinced me. I could find my mark and then decide how much I really wanted to get paid. He wouldn't be in a position to refuse, after all.

"All right." I decided. "Tell me who it is, and I'll see what can I do."

"His name is Forken Tallan. He's easy to recognize: his skin went gray after spending too much time on Oinos. He fights with two short swords, and he's very keen to use them."

"Is he a planar?"

"A prime, but I don't know how much this is going to help you."

"I don't know too, but every bit of chant helps," I said, shuffling the papers on my desk, hoping to find something useful. "Anything else you could tell me about him?"

Does Markos know anything else? Yes (Hastily Healthy).

The Justiciar thought for a moment.

"He got into a fight with Harmonium officers and got his left leg wounded. I doubt it's completely healed. Magical healing doesn't go well with Sinkers, as I heard."

"If he's one of Pentar's bloods, he'd have refused it anyway. Good chant, I can work with it."

As I talked, I was already thinking about how would I approach this. If Tallan is protected by factol Pentar, the Armory was a good start. Risky, but beats checking every kip in the Hive Ward.

"All right, sir. I think I already know what to do." I smiled.

That ends the scene. Now, the only thing that's left is maintenance.

Characters: We add Forken Tallan and factol Pentar to the list.

Chaos: We're in control, so it goes down by 1.

Threads: "Get a job" gets resolved. Another one, "Find Forken Tallan," takes its place.

PC's decision: Gorrister will ask around in the Armory about Forken Tallan, pretending to be worried for him

Next Scene: He meets a minor factotum with a loose tongue in a tavern next to the Armory, hoping to pump him for info.

But will it go as planned? We'll see another time.

Mythic + Planescape - Session 0

I've always loved Planescape, but the entire setting has been in limbo since TSR discontinued the line. WotC used some of its aspects but threw away the most. Whoever wants to play in Sigil now needs to scout multiple sourcebooks, unofficial conversions, and blog posts. It's far from being comfortable.

Besides, I always thought that D&D isn't a particularly great system for PS, which is ironic because of some of the most iconic elements of the setting result from dealing with AD&D alignments. It's great when you want to delve into a dungeon, disarm some traps, beat up a dragon, and take its treasures. When it comes to stuff such as social interactions, it needs a lot of tweaking to not feel restrictive.

Recently, I got Mythic on a sale and really wanted to test it. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to return to Sigil once again. I'm going to recycle some characters from my old forum sessions. Gorrister was a concept I wish I could explore more, but the game died out quickly. Now he'll get a second chance!

I'll be using a lot of planar cant, which may be impenetrable for those who don't know the setting. But don't worry: there's a handy glossary here.

Our character

Gorrister Peldvale's my name. Well, one of my many names. See, the Cage is a pretty tolerant place, but some berks consider doppelgangers untrustworthy. Wouldn't want to make my customers peery, right? So I invented a more trustworthy persona for myself, which works fine for those who don't have true seeing. Some fiends and celestials see me for what I am, but the latter tend not to use my services, and the former don't mind.

What do I do? Most doppelgangers try to find a group of people, put some important sod in a dead-book, pose as them and live a life of luxury. Well, for some time. Then someone inevitably finds out and puts them in the dead-book. Some manage to give their pursuers a laugh, only to end up destitute and looking for another cony. This doppelganger thinks it's stupid.

Instead, I work. I have a tiny office in the Guildhall Ward, not so far from the Great Gymnasium. I employ many agents, who coincidentally are also me, so I don't need to pay them. They join factions and guilds, perk up their ears, listen to the chant. Then I sell it for cold, hard jink. Am I not a hard-working, respectable citizen?

Of course, every respectable citizen needs to belong to a faction. As I wanted to break with my old life, I decided to join the Doomguards. Yeah, they are a barmy bunch, especially since Pentar took over... but it beats getting depressed every second day and handing out soup somewhere in the Hive as a Bleaker. When it comes to finding weak points, whether in people or organizations, only the Anarchists are better than them. Thanks to their lessons, I can even touch something broken and learn what happened to it, which sometimes gets useful.

Despite being a hopeless fighter, I adjusted well to a bunch of shiv-toting maniacs. They tend to hire me a lot. Sometimes they want to know what the Hardheads are doing, sometimes they want to give some group a push and need some scrape. This doesn't mean I trust them enough to spill my little secret. How could I bill them for my agents' work if they knew there were never any agents?

**

Gorrister Peldvale

Attributes

Strength: Average

Agility: Average

Reflex: Average

IQ: High

Intuition: Exceptional

Willpower: Above Average

Toughness: Above Average

Abilities

Disguise: Incredible

Dagger: Weak

Doomguards Rank: Average

Hiding and Sneaking: Weak

Planar Knowledge: Average

Social Skills: Above Average

Strengths and Weaknesses

Turns stag (weakness): Everyone knows him as a professional cheat (-1 RS to convince anyone to trust him as Gorrister)

Doppelganger (weakness): Disguise straight out fails if viewed by a being with true seeing.