Author: Ben Morgan

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 37 (October 11 2016)

Kamali brings Jezelle back to the factory, and they find Shade in the workshop. Jezelle explains that she found Quellyn at the Devil’s Tooth, and followed her back to where she’s staying.

Jezelle leads Shade and Constance to the tenement building in question. She brings them up to the top floor, where she says she can’t go any further, as Quellyn has apparently warded the entire inside of her apartment. Constance knocks on the door several times and is about to knock it down when it’s answered by a very nervous Quellyn. She is deathly afraid of Shade, as she thinks he tried to kill her. At Constance’s urging, she reluctantly dispels the wards and lets them in. There’s some back and forth and it becomes apparent that Shade and Quellyn each think that the other tried to kill them in the alley that night.

Quellyn admits to poisoning Shade (and Jezelle, inadvertently) with Standstill in get him in a position where she could question him about the money he cheated her out of way back when. The timeline looks like this:

* Some years ago, Shade and Quellyn were working together with another crew, and each got screwed out of a deal, and each thought the other was responsible.

* More recently, Tocker was in possession of Jezelle’s body non-stop for over a month, which wrecked her physically and emotionally.

* During the last of the three days that Shade doesn’t remember, he ran across Jezelle and convinced her to accompany him while celebrating. They made their way across the city, bar-hopping until they ended up at the Devil’s Tooth, where they ran into Quellyn. She dosed them with Standstill so she could question Shade while he was incapacitated.

* Quellyn underestimated Shade’s tolerance for chemical enhancement, as he and Jezelle left the bar and made their way back toward Crow’s Foot, ending up in that alley.

* Quellyn was about to catch up with them when there was a huge flash of light. It temporarily blinded Quellyn, who thought it was Shade retaliating, and she ran off.

* Shade succumbed to everything he’d ingested and imbibed over the past three days, while Jezelle, in her weakened state, succumbed to the Standstill (it’s not normally fatal, but with a weak heart, she didn’t have a chance).

* Her death summoned the Deathseeker Ravens, which signaled the Spirit Wardens, who came to collect both bodies, as the Standstill had slowed Shade’s heart to the point where he appeared dead.

The question remains, if neither Shade nor Quellyn produced the flash of light, who did? They begin to suspect that a third party is messing with both of them. They start going through their respective lists of enemies, and they come across a name they’ve both crossed off: Sebjorn Henrickson, an old associate of theirs. Shade said he left Sebjorn in an exceedingly compromising position about two years ago, and had simply assumed that Sebjorn didn’t survive. Quellyn said he obviously did, because about a year and a half ago she killed Sebjorn herself. She is very certain of it, as she slashed his throat from ear to ear and watched him bleed out. They agree to work together to look into this.

The entire time this has gone on, Jezelle has been somewhat in a state of shock. She was bound and determined to confront her killer, but when she came face to face with Quellyn, her resolve crumbled, and she found herself unable to act. Quellyn realizes how Jezelle died, and actually feels responsible. She and speaks gently to Jezelle, apologizing for the role she played in her death. They’re in the middle of striking a bargain of their own when Shade and Constance make their exit.

Shade meets with Kamali to get her involved. She heads to the Hall of Records to speak to Edmund Bain. After some searching, they are able to find a record of Sebjorn’s death, where it’s noted the date and time the body was found, and the cause of death (throat was cut with a straight razor). There’s a note that the attending physician was unable to establish an exact time of death, and so there an investigation was launched by the Spirit Wardens. It is noted that the investigation is still open.

Meanwhile, Shade goes to the Devil’s Tooth and meets with Henry and Frans. They tell him about the attack they carried out on the Grinders, and how it was a rousing victory. Shade gets the distinct impression that they got extremely lucky, and it is highly likely that their next attempt will not be as successful. Shade mentions Sebjorn, and they get very quiet. They say he was all kinds of bad news, making deals with demons and whatnot. They confirm he died about a year and a half ago, but they don’t know the details.

Notes:

This is very much Shade’s subplot here, but I was able to work the other characters in as well.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 36 (October 04 2016)

Team Blackmail is working on the Inspector (Sigmund Woll):

* Kamali: Will shadow him and learn his routine

* Gloves: Will actually talk to him

* Shade: Will assist

The ledger leads the crew to a stash of documents detailing the Inspector’s various crimes. It’s common (and indeed, almost expected) that the Bluecoats are corrupt, but the Inspectors have a reputation for being above reproach. However, Sigmund Woll has a history of taking bribes, making charges go away, and occasionally arranging for witnesses to disappear. The ledger also details the nature of the arrangement that the Sashes had with Woll: They weren’t blackmailing him for money, but for information. Any time an investigation came up that threatened to move in their direction, Woll would give them a heads up so they could maneuver around it.

Woll lives in Six Towers. He’s married and has two kids. Kamali spends a couple of days watching his routine. On her way over there the first day, she is dismayed to discover that one of her usual rooftop routes is no longer viable, due to all the construction going on in the Drop now, and it takes her nearly 15 minutes to find a way around. Despite this, she gets there early enough to see him leave for work. She follows him to the courthouse in Charterhall, sees him take lunch with several of his coworkers, then after work he meets his wife at a local restaurant for dinner. Once they’ve returned back home, he spends some time with his children before retreating to his study, where he continues to work well past midnight.

The second day, Kamali watches the kids and the wife. The children are met by what appears to be a nanny (though she does not live at the house), and she escorts them to their school. Back at the house, Woll’s wife has some friends over for lunch, where they appear to be gossiping about their husbands. The children return home in the late afternoon, and the wife heads out to meet her husband for dinner again. Different restaurant this time, but otherwise, their routine is like clockwork. Watching Woll read to his children again, Kamali is simultaneously jealous and disgusted by how normal this man’s life appears to be. She makes a detailed report and delivers it to Gloves, who has a plan.

Hakima Fadel is an infamous Iruvian smuggler, and one of Wolls’s “clients” (she was facing some heavy tariff evasion charges, and he had them dropped). Gloves has a doll made that looks Iruvian, is dressed like a sailor, and has a note that says “Hello my name is Hakima”. He includes a business card with his full name on it, with the boxing club as the address.

He delivers the doll to Sigmund’s wife personally, under the pretense that he’s a representative of the Cinder Street Doll Company, which is starting up business again, and he is giving out free dolls to select influential clients in order to drum up business. She is a little suspicious, but accepts the doll in behalf of her daughter.

Later that evening, Woll storms into the boxing club and demands to know what it’s all about. Gloves and Shade talk to him in the back room. Gloves explains the situation, and that the Dolls want to continue with the same arrangement he had with the Sashes. Woll protests, but eventually gives in (this is helped by Shade doing what Shade does best, which is make people uncomfortable).

Downtime:

1 Heat, for a total of 4.

Gloves: Reduces Stress (by 1), and reduces Heat (by 2). At Constance’s urging, Gloves spends some time cultivating a connection to Alexander, one of the guards at Ironhook (7 slices to go).

Boots: Almost finishes the project to upgrade the Lampblacks (1 slice to go), and Trains Personal.

Constance: Reduces Heat (by 2, clearing it), and Trains Personal.

Kamali: Trains Prowess and Personal.

Shade: Researches the ritual for Kelyr (2 slices left), and Trains Personal.

Gears: Finishes the project to shore up the factory’s defenses (the Dolls’ lair now has the first level of the Secure upgrade)

The crew earns 5 Coin for the Drug Dens at the Moon’s Daughter, and another 5 Coin for the boxing club (lucky rolls, and no Heat).

Jezelle appears to Kamali, looking frantically for Shade. She says she’s found Quellyn.

Notes:

The dice really loved the players this time. We had at least two crits, and at least two 6s.

On the downside, we are losing Boots’ & Gloves’ player after this session. I am going to continue to run for the other two players, and I’ll treat Boots & Gloves as expert Cohorts.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 35 (September 14 2016)

Aftermath of the Moon’s Daughter and the City Records Contact jobs:

1 Heat, since they leaned on Edmund Bain a little.

Constance: Works on getting the Lampblacks into shape (3 slices), and trains Personal.

Kamali: Reduces Stress twice, and trains Prowess.

Shade: Reduces Stress, and researches the ritual to help Kelyr.

Gears: Starts a project to make the factory Secure, and gets 2 slices out of 8.

Boots: Works on training the former Lampblacks (1 slice), and trains Prowess and raises Wreck (by using Baszo’s cannon to help with the construction that is going on in the area).

There is 6 Coin in the vaults, so Constance encourages everyone to Stash 1 each.

Constance meets with Shade’s prospective back room employees, and sees they are all fairly solid. She puts Guiseppe in charge of them due to his increased experience.

The crew is informed that the Gondoliers have taken control of the hagfish farm.

Gloves’s Homecoming:

The whole gang is present to greet Gloves with much fanfare when he is released from Ironhook. Constance waits until they get across the bridge into Charhollow before asking what he wants to do first. He says he wants to change clothes. Once everyone is back at the factory (and Gloves has in fact changed clothes), Constance holds a meeting. The Sashes’ remaining assets are still waiting to be taken. She decides to go after the warehouse and the Inspector next.

The Boxing Club Job:

The warehouse is on a street that’s within two blocks of where Constance grew up, so she stays inside and out of sight of the Dockers, spending time with her new Cohort and directing them like a work crew to set things up as soon as possible (Gears assists with this as well). It’s a quick & dirty job this time around. They’ll have time to build a proper ring later on.

Boots begins posting up flyers advertising the opening of their new business venture all around Crow’s Foot and the surrounding neighborhoods. He’s in front of Sam’s Pub in the Docks when he’s accosted by the proprietor, the titular Sam, who says he’s running his own fighting club in the basement, and doesn’t want the competition. Boots says that Sam should meet his boss. Sam follows Boots to the warehouse, where Constance is knocking down shelves with a sledgehammer. She mentions who she is, and this doesn’t impress Sam. She mentions the Dolls, and this also doesn’t impress him (Sam doesn’t get out much, and as such, is accustomed to being the king of his own little world). Seeing that Sam won’t back down, Constance grabs him and throws him across the room, but not before he manages to get inside her first swipe and bloody her nose with a lightning quick jab to the face.

Sam and Constance fight, and it’s not one-sided. After trading blows for a while, Sam finally taps out, his face a bloody mess, but grinning from ear to ear. He says he hasn’t had that much fun in years. Constance agrees to a partnership. The Dolls will supply the venue, and Sam will provide the fighters, and they agree to split the profits 50/50 (very generous on her part). After that, Sam gets two of his guys to come in and assist with the renovations.

The inaugural event goes well (6 on engagement). Constance has a very strict policy that all bets are to go through her people, and she has Boots and the other two ex-Bluecoats keeping watch on the crowd. Boots catches one guy taking side bets, and Constance gives a warning to everyone and breaks the one of the guy’s fingers (but doesn’t kick him out. He’s perfectly welcome to keep betting so long as he sticks the to rules). Saul and Barsaba visit, and partake in the gambling, but not the fighting (maybe next time). It’s noted that several Gondoliers are also in attendance, but they do not make trouble.

Notes:

I will have to draw up a custom claim map for the Dolls, as the one on the Thieves (now Shadows) sheet doesn’t quite fit.

We’ll see what the other half of the crew is up to next time.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 34 (September 08 2016)

Shade latches the front exit of the Cat & Cradle, and turns to see the bartender flying through the air and crumpling against the far wall like a rag doll. Having gained everyone’s attention, Setarra begins questioning everyone with her Vulcan mind-meld trick regarding the death of Joshua Gleeson (the man in the barrel). She gets through three or four of the patrons without incident. When she approaches a sharp-faced man in the back corner, he says he’ll tell her what she wants to know. She reads his mind anyway, nods once, and then drags him into the back room and closes the door behind her without a single word. Shade and the rest of the bar can hear as the man yells, then pleads, then screams, and then the scream is cut short. Setarra returns from the back room looking much calmer. She apologizes to the bartender and sends him back to work, but advises him to keep a better eye on the goings on in his establishment.

As Setarra and Shade leave, she explains what she learned from the man. Her contact was murdered by the man and his friends, apparently over the matter of some money. They continue to look for someone to round out the staff for the back room at the Moon’s Daughter. They head to Coalridge, but again Setarra is unable to locate the person she’s looking for (another 3 on the Hunt roll). They head back to the bridge and take the stairs down to the underpass at the water’s edge. She removes her shoes and sits down, dangling her feet in the water of the canal, and closes her eyes. After a minute, she gets up and puts her shoes back on, informing Shade that someone is deliberately attacking her contacts. She implies that whoever it is, they’re above Shade’s power level, so there’s not a lot he could do to help at the moment.

They continue on to Barrowcleft, where they meet an old man sitting on a park bench, feeding breadcrumbs to some crows. He introduces himself as Giuseppe Coré, and he and Setarra trade some affectionately pointed banter. When he shakes Shade’s hand, it becomes apparent that the man’s frailty is an act. When Shade attempts to examine him with Attune, he is unable to get a read, but Guiseppe picks up on the scrutiny and politely asks him not to pry. Shade gives his pitch, and Guiseppe is definitely interested, and so will meet with Constance at the Leaky Bucket in the morning.

They return to Crow’s Foot, to the alley that Shade was supposedly found in when he was carted off to the crematorium. Setarra helps him Attune, and rewind time to the point Shade and Jezelle entered. They looked like they were drunk (or possibly poisoned), and stumbling around a bit. There was a blinding flash of light, and they both collapsed. Setarra knows of a number of entities that could produce such an effect, so it’s hardly distinctive, but promises to look into it. She abruptly but politely bids him goodnight, and departs for Nightmarket. What she has noticed and Shade has not is that Kamali is skulking around on a nearby rooftop.

Once Setarra is gone, Kamali drops down from where she was watching the exchange, not wanting to get anywhere near the demon. He tells her about the mystery he’s trying to solve, and shows her the spirit bottle (which still rattles occasionally). Kamali successfully Attunes, and is able to see inside the bottle to perceive the angry ghost thrashing around inside and attempting to smash the glass. She leads him back to the factory.

Once in the workshop, Kamali brings out her Blue Cloud gear and takes a small hit, and sets out a notebook and charcoal, before manacling herself to a gurney. She points at Shade’s spirit bottle, and then to her open mouth. Shade, never being one to shy away from new and exciting experiences, shrugs and opens the bottle, keeping the spirit hook handy just in case.

I put it down to a Fortune roll to decide if Jezelle’s ghost had the ability to possess someone. I told them that if it didn’t, it was simply going to attack. And there’s Kamali all chained up. However, we get a 5 on the roll, so out of the bottle the ghost comes, and zips straight into Kamali. Jezelle then takes that opportunity to start thrashing around and buckling against the restraints, managing to get up off the gurney and drag it a few feet at one point. Kamali herself experiences the sensation of being pushed aside, and from that point on she’s a passenger, able to see, hear, and feel, but unable to exert any control over her body as it twists and struggles.

And that’s when Shade hears Kamali’s voice for the first time (and Kamali herself hears it for the first time in years). The first thing out of her mouth is a string of obscenities. Kamali finds it odd, in that it’s her voice, but not her accent, as Jezelle is Akorosi. Jezelle is pulling so hard against the manacles, that they’re cutting into Kamali’s wrists, but she manages to Resist the harm (especially with a helping die from the Blue Cloud). Eventually she calms down enough that she can converse coherently. She demands to know where she is, and Shade explains the situation. There’s a bit more back and forth, and eventually she breaks down in tears.

Shade asks for her help to piece together what happened in the missing three days. We end up working backwards, Memento-style, from the alley. When he asks what’s the last thing she remembers she talks bout being in the alley with Shade. For some reason they couldn’t stand up properly, and they knew that something was very wrong. Then a blinding flash of light, and that’s all. Further back, she remembers accompanying Shade as he went bar-hopping, in Nightmarket, Charterhall, Coalridge, finally ending up in Dunslough, at the Devil’s Tooth. There were some Skovlanders there, and they seemed to be celebrating, something about a feud. There was a woman Jezelle didn’t know, who greeted Shade like an old friend (and called him by a different name), and insisted that the both of them have a drink with her. He asks her to describe the woman, and she mentions a tattoo on the woman’s neck. She reaches for the charcoal, and draws a symbol. Shade recognizes it immediately, and knows the woman can only be Quellyn, an old rival of his. He didn’t consider their falling out to be serious enough for her to want him dead. It still doesn’t answer the question of what happened in the alley.

Jezelle says she doesn’t want to hurt the girl, remembering everything that Tocker put her through. Shade gestures to the bottle, but Jezelle shudders at the thought of going back in. Shade feels that he has enough control over the situation to allow her to simply exit Kamali’s body. Shade continues his conversation with her, but Kamali, now back in control, can’t see or hear the ghost, until Jezelle touches her on her shoulder, startling her. Jezelle apologizes, and looks like she’s about to break down crying again. Kamali wryly runs her dagger through Jezelle’s midsection, which of course passes right through her. This is enough to at least get a smile. Kamali indicates that Jezelle can use her any time she needs to, but Jezelle is reluctant to take her up on that offer. Shade makes a deal with Jezelle; if she can assist in solving the mystery, he will introduce her to some people who can help her deal with her new state of being. Jezelle agrees, but says she needs some alone time. Shade offers the bottle as a place she can rest, but promises to leave the lid open.

Once Jezelle is gone, Kamali heads back to her room (while Shade is in the middle of a sentence), retrieves a big heavy leatherbound book, and slams it on the table and points at Shade. The text is in Iruvian, but the hand-painted color frontispiece makes it clear that it recounts the story of how a powerful demon once became a prince of Iruvia.

Notes:

Another bonus session. Boots’ player wasn’t around this time.

Setarra’s abilities were much less subtle now. On several occasions, Shade’s player said “ooh, I want to learn that”, to which I said “That’s not something that can be learned.” The truth of the matter is that a ritual can be researched to replicate nearly any effect, even innate demonic abilities. It’s just a matter of finding a source.

Jezelle may very well have been the only genuinely nice person in all of Doskvol. No wonder she was a victim. In her current state she’s certainly a candidate for the Reconciled, but Shade is a bad influence.

This was supposed to be a quick pickup session, as Gloves & Boots’ player wasn’t available. As it turns out, what we ended up with was some seriously deep story and quite a bit of background info on some previously sketchy NPCs.

We had a short discussion afterward regarding the multiple PCs thing we’ve been doing (what Ars Magica referred to as “Troupe Style”). While in general it’s worked out well, especially for such a small group of players, this session illustrated the benefits of focusing more tightly on a smaller number of characters. In other words, what we gain in breadth, we lose in depth, as it were. I’m not saying either method is better than the other, just that we need to be aware of the differences in play that these kinds of decisions will engender.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 33 (September 07 2016)

Continuing to get the Moon’s Daughter up and running:

Shade works on finding people who are disreputable enough to work as drug dealers, but not so disreputable that they are a business liability. He has a list of people in mind. I throw down two clocks, one for filling the positions the Dolls need (completing it gets the back room properly staffed), and the other for the list of potential applicants (every failure is a tick that depletes the list). Each is 6 segments. Unfortunately, his first three attempts are strikeouts:

* (3 on Hunt roll) The first, a Severosi named Matteo, is incredibly twitchy. Shade Attunes, and gets all manner of red flags from the guy’s demeanor, especially when drugs are mentioned.

* (1 on Hunt roll) The second, a Skovlan named Frans, turned up dead a couple of days ago, and had already been carted off to the crematorium. When it comes out that Frans had made the mistake of picking a fight with someone who vastly outmatched him and was also incredibly tall , it’s decided by all the players that it was Constance.

* (2 on Hunt roll) The third, a tough-as-nails local named Irene, had reportedly had enough of living hand to mouth every day, and went off and joined the the Imperial Army.

—————————————————————————————————————

Constance goes to speak with Mordis in Nightmarket. She buys a dodgy stick & a meat pie, and explains the situation. They make a deal for Mordis to supply Blue Cloud in quantity, and Constance will get the usual wholesale discount. Constance mentions also wanting to sell other product. Mordis says he doesn’t deal in Bloodneedle for personal reasons, but he knows someone who can supply Dream Smoke, and he will will provide an introduction, explaining that his acquaintance is a bit nervous, and if Constance attempts to approach him on her own she’s likely to get an axe thrown at her head. The next time Kamali heads through Nightmarket, Mordis informs her that the introduction has been made, and gives her an address to pass on to Constance.

—————————————————————————————————————

Constance and Gears go to visit Gloves in Ironhook. They attempt to smuggle in a dagger, but it’s found. Constance is able to bribe the guard to give it to Gloves along with the care package they’ve brought him (containing food and other items). They meet with Gloves, who looks a little worse for wear. Gloves asks for Dream Smoke to boost his popularity, and tells Constance about Hook, who had been terrorizing him a bit before Tavrul stepped in. Constance brings him up to speed on current events on the outside. When Gloves heads back to his cell, he finds the care package with the dagger tucked inside.

—————————————————————————————————————

Shade gets frustrated with his lack of progress , and goes to get help from Setarra. He tells her his troubles, and she tells him to recite the rest of the names on his list as she brushes her hand against his cheek. She is able to find them easily (now he’s rolling two dice on Hunt).

* (4 on Hunt roll) First they find the next guy on Shade’s list, a gutter rat named Andreas, in a flophouse in Nightmarket. He’s perhaps a touch happier to see Shade than he really should be, and keeps looking over his shoulder. When pressed about it, it comes out that two Severosi legbreakers are under the impression that he stole 4 Coin from them (the fact that it happens to be true seems to be beside the point). He reveals that he still has the cash, but is dismayed at the thought of having to give it up. When Saul di Renzo and Basaba Centanni show up, Shade negotiates with them, and gets them to agree to not break Andreas’ fingers if he gives back the money, and Shade takes responsibility for him. They frog-march Andreas back to his hidey-hole to retrieve the cash, and he promises to show up the next day at the Leaky Bucket. Shade tells the legbreakers that Constance is working on opening a boxing club soon. They give him their card (“di Renzo & Centanni – Protection”).

* (6 on Hunt roll) Then they track down Muhammad and Samir, two Iruvian brothers. Shade explains the situation, and they are happy with the prospect of coming to work at the Moon’s Daughter.

Now they’ve exhausted Shade’s list, and are only halfway to getting the personnel they need. Fortunately, Setarra knows some people who should be reliable.

* (Another 6 on Hunt roll) They head to the rooftops in Charterhall, where they find Luther and Ezra, two shadows currently casing a building across the street. The burglars are startled that someone was able to sneak up on them, but bow respectfully when they see Setarra. Shade gives them the offer, and they defer to Setarra. She says it’s alright, and they agree, and will meet Constance at the Bucket in the morning.

* (2 on Hunt roll) They head to Charterhall to a tavern (Cat & Cradle), Setarra heads straight into the back room, only to find no one there. She is confused for a moment, before she heads to the corner and overturns a barrel to discover a dead body stuffed inside, apparently the man she was expecting to come and talk to. She is barely able to contain her anger, and quietly asks Shade to go and lock the front door. Manners Maketh Man, indeed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWYLFizhjHs

Notes:

I dropped a few subtle hints regarding the extent of Setarra’s powers and abilities that I’m quite pleased with.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 32 (August 30 2016)

Kamali goes through the ledger, and comes up with the following assets that are now available:

* The Moon’s Daughter

* A hagfish farm, located in Coalridge

* Various local establishments that serve as drug dens

* A warehouse, located in the Docks

* Contact in the City Records Office in Charterhall

* Contacts in the Path of Echoes

* Contacts in the Cabbies

* Blackmail victim among the Inspectors

It’s been made known to them that there is a limited amount of time to grab what they can, and they will not be able to get everything. Mechanically, there’s a clock in the background, and every tick of that clock is something else on the list getting snatched up by someone else. The most likely candidates for competition are the Gondoliers, known enemies of the Sashes, and almost certainly watching the goings on in Crow’s Foot with interest. Constance decides to go after the City Records contact and the Moon’s Daughter first.

Kamali and Gears head to Charterhall to speak with Mylera’s former contact there, a mid-level clerk named Edmund Bain (who remembers Gears from his previous excursion there, procuring the information on the sewers underneath the Church of the Ecstacy of the Flesh). He explains that Mylera kept him on retainer so they would have regular access to records and maps that were not normally accessible by the public. After some tense negotiation, it is agreed that they will continue the agreement he had with the Sashes, with some adjustments:

* Edmund’s retainer fee of 1 Coin a month previously paid by the Sashes will be increased to 2.

* Kamali attempts to include an exclusivity clause, which Bain alters to stipulate that while he is free to sell information to all comers, he will not sell any particular bit of information to more than one buyer (so if the Dolls come looking for floor plans to a particular place, he will not subsequently loan them out to any other gang and thus facilitate competition).

Bain attempts to couch his counter-offer in terms of protection for the Dolls from unwanted competition, but Gears interprets it as a veiled threat of eventually selling them out, and mentions Constance and her propensity for throwing people off the tops of buildings. Bain is appropriately cowed.

Kamali is caught pickpocketing Edmund’s keys, but he is rattled enough by Gears that he allows her to take whichever ones she wants, provided she will bring them back. She borrows the keys to the Brightstone and Whitecrown archive rooms, with the promise that she will not remove any materials from the rooms, but merely make copies of whatever information she needs.

Meanwhile, Constance, Boots, and Shade set about claiming the Moon’s Daughter.

Boots spends the day rounding up the former staff of the restaurant, who have mostly all found work somewhere else while the place was closed.

* Rafiq, the Manager: Found working as a waiter at another Iruvian restaurant over in Silkshore. Very eager to get back to his old job, as his current one was quite a step down.

* Bahir, the Cook: Found getting drunk at a tavern in Nightmarket. Boots and Rafiq walk him back to the restaurant and let him sleep it off in the back room.

* Paolo and Emilio, Waiters: These two Severosi brothers are found working at a tavern in Charhollow. The bartender doesn’t want to let them leave, but Boots manages to convince him by way of drawing his pistols.

* Azeema, the Hostess: Found at The Veil (as a client). Rolan Volaris is of course very protective of the privacy and confidentiality of the Veil’s clientele, but agrees to relay a message to Azeema.

The staff assembles back at the restaurant and works most of the night to get it ready to open again the next day. In the morning, Azeema arrives, along with several girls who comprised the cleaning staff. The result is that the Moon’s Daughter is officially open for business by lunchtime (the front half, anyway).

The next two steps of the plan are a bit more complex. First, they need to line up suppliers for the special menu (which Constance will work on), and they need to staff the back room (which has been delegated to Shade).

Constance also has a mind to turn the warehouse into her new boxing club.

Notes:

I built the list of assets mainly from the Assassins claim map along with the Sashes’ known allies in the QS, plus a couple of other items I thought would be interesting.

For each Downtime phase the crew does, they’re going to lose one more thing on the list. If they keep splitting up, they can maximize what they get and keep ahead of the curve. It’s also possible (indeed, likely) that after everything is said and done, they’ll attempt to take the other stuff by pulling regular jobs against their new competition.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 31 (August 23 2016)

Gloves is still in Ironhook. Everyone else is home.

We open with Constance dangling Fitz by his legs over the edge of the roof of the doll factory, while Shade and Boots stand by. Once Fitz regains consciousness and calms down enough to stop screaming and Constance is certain that she has his full attention, she hauls him back up and sits him down at the assembly table. She lays out her plan to re-open the lower part of the factory, and to put him in charge of the operation as legitimate owner of the building and associated business. She also wants him to hire McDonough as manager. Fitz nervously agrees, and Gears gives him the tour.

Constance confers with Boots to hear his thoughts regarding Mylera’s intentions. They don’t trust her and are certain the invitation is a trap. They also resolve to visit Gloves when they get the chance.

Constance instructs Boots, Kamali, and Gears to guard the factory, and finds Shade in the process of moving into the new workshop. He tells her about Jezelle, and shows her the spirit bottle. She brings him with her to meet with Mylera.

Along the way they notice that the Red Sashes are not visible in their usual haunts, and in fact the Moon’s Daughter is closed. Needless to say, Constance and Shade are on their guard. The Temple also stands unguarded. When they enter through the wide-open front doors, they find the house completely empty, except for Mylera herself in the main room, sitting and lighting incense with a long fireplace match. She congratulates them for taking care of Baszo for her, and explains she had recently received word that her exile had been lifted, and so the Red Sashes are going home. When pressed on the details of the root of the conflict, Mylera relents and finally tells them the entire story by the light of the slowly burning mach.

Mylera’s Tale:

Baszo had a personal vendetta against Mylera Klev because he believed her to be responsible for the death of his wife Celia a number of years ago. Celia and Mylera were sisters.

Celia was an agent of the Iruvian Ministry of Intelligence, and 15 years ago it was her mission to investigate possible links to Severosi agitators working against Iruvia. One of those possible links was Baszo. The Red Sashes were stationed in Duskwall as backup. Before long, Celia had fallen in love with Baszo. At first Mylera was convinced that it was part of the cover story, but when Aleira was born, there was no doubt. Mylera didn’t approve of the match, but couldn’t stand in the way of her sister’s happiness.

10 years ago, a Severosi agent named Antonio Tancredi assassinated Ambassador Khurram, throwing relations between Iruvia and Severos into turmoil. Fortunately, Khurram’s successor, Ambassador Bashir, was able to negotiate peace between Iruvia and Severos. It certainly helped that the events of the Skovlan Uprising were fresh in everyone’s mind, and no one wanted to attract the attention of the Imperial Army. Celia had identified Tancredi as one of Baszo’s contacts, but failed to report him to her superiors. However, another agent named Sayid did report him, as well as Celia’s activities. Celia, Mylera, and the Red Sashes were all sentenced to exile. If they set foot in Iruvia again, they would be immediately executed.

Celia blamed herself for the incident and the Sashes’ subsequent predicament. She begged Mylera to kill her, because there was a chance that Sultan Hassan would pardon Mylera and the Sashes for bringing Celia to justice. Mylera reluctantly complied, and Celia made her promise to never reveal the truth to Baszo. Unfortunately, it was not enough to convince the Sultan to forgive Mylera, and the Sashes remained in exile. Mylera has friends in the Iruvian Consulate who have been lobbying on her behalf, and they have only recently been successful. The Sashes have since divested themselves of all local business concerns, packed everything up and loaded it up on a ship bound for Eldira. Mylera was tying up loose ends when Constance arrived.

Mylera asks after Aleira, and Constance informs her she was being looked after. The question of handing her over to Mylera is raised, a prospect in which Mylera expresses singular interest. Constance voices her concerns for a woman’s prospects in Iruvia (based on what she knows of Kamali’s history), and Mylera assures her that the girl will want for nothing, will have the finest education, and every opportunity will be made available to her. Constance reluctantly agrees. Mylera hands her a set of keys, informing her that something exceedingly valuable was left behind in the Temple. Mylera says she needs to take some time to get her house in order, after which time she will return to visit, and at that time take the girl home with her. She tosses something to Shade on her way out – a primitive grenade, unlit (the implication being that if either of them had been any less conciliatory, she would have used it).

Constance and Shade return home to tell everyone else the news. The Lampblacks are no more, and the Red Sashes have removed themselves from the equation. She hands the keys Mylera gave her to Kamali and Gears, who promptly return to the Temple to investigate. They find that the three keys on the ring go to the outer doors, Mylera’s private study upstairs, and the vault in the basement. When they open the vault, they find it to be empty except for Mylera’s ledger, which contains all the details of the Red Sashes business dealings in Crow’s Foot. There is a handwritten note in the back, stating that they have a head start, but should hurry, as nature abhors a vacuum.

Notes:

Lot of exposition this time around, stuff I’d had planned out since Session 1. I wanted to give a little more weight to the central conflict than a simple territorial dispute, and I wanted it to be a situation where no one was clearly without blame. Everyone involved did their part to make everything that much worse, even though they all did what they misguidedly believed was right. Sometimes there are no winners.

#dontmesswiththedolls

The Porcelain Dolls: Session 30 (August 16 2016)

Shade is back. Gloves is still in Ironhook.

Downtimes for the Hot Sot Blot & Jot (or The Lampblack Damp Whack):

Heat is 3, as it involved killing, but in a quiet and controlled way. Constance manages to reduce it by 2, by having her new Cohort disseminate the “official” story of what happened to Baszo. She also starts a project to whip them into shape (by removing their “Wild” disadvantage: 8 segment clock, 1 to start).

Boots plays good cop to Constance’s bad cop, and fills in another segment of the Lampblacks discipline clock. He also reduces Stress. He’s playing cards at Spogg’s when he overhears someone at another table muttering about “that fucking snitch”. He cashes out of his current game, heads over to the neighboring table, and sits down. The guy who was complaining, a big burly dock worker named Frank, tells him he’s not welcome. Boots asks Spogg if it’s alright that he plays at that table, and Spogg says he has no objections. Frank gets up and leaves in a huff.

Gears trains Personal, and gets an advance.

Kamali reduces Stress and trains Prowess.

Shade wakes up in the morgue at Bellweather Crematorium, just in time to avoid an autopsy by the attendant, Forrest Matson. Matson is understandably startled, but says this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened. He retrieves Shade’s personal effects, and has him sign a next of kin release form (in lieu of something more appropriate). Shade finds out he’s missing three days, and was brought in the night before with a young woman, who turns out to be Jezelle, the girl that Tocker was possessing while working at the Bell & Birch. She was apparently poisoned, and it was initially assumed that Shade was as well (and he very well might have been, he just wasn’t killed by it). As he’s getting dressed, Shade is able to Attune to the Ghost Field and see Jezelle’s spirit, now twisted and feral, and struggling to get free of her body like a caged beast. Under the pretext of needing a few minutes alone to say goodbye to his friend, he uses his Spirit Hook to dislodge and bottle her. She attempts to claw his face off in the process, but his Wards are intact and prevent the Harm. He resolves to set about figuring out what happened in the missing days, and starts the long walk back to Crow’s Foot.

Constance, Boots, and Gears set about vetting Keel & Drav. Gears has the idea to set up a fake job to test them, but Constance decides to simply question them that night in the back room of the Bucket. Constance can tell by their demeanor that they have been more than a little humbled by their recent ousting from the Bluecoats, and that they are thoroughly in awe of her. In general, they come off as somewhat naive, and more than a little sheepish. Boots questions them about their service history, which they are quick to recite.

When Constance brings up the Dolls, they respond with blank looks. It turns out that they are here for the boxing, and had no idea about the Dolls’ other enterprises whatsoever. They feel a little silly for not having realized that Constance matched the description of the Dolls’ leader, due to the fact that 7-foot-tall women are in fact few and far between indeed. Constance asks if they are interested in joining the Dolls, and they are reluctant. Constance instead offers them management positions in her new boxing club (an idea she came up with right at that moment), and they are much happier with that prospect.

Constance confers with Boots and Gears, who all agree that if they are undercover agents, they’re not very good ones. Boots quickly heads off to check with Darmot, who confirms as much of their story as he can (they were discharged for dereliction of duty, which facilitated the supposed attack on Sgt Galloway, and that they were turned in by Avan, who got a promotion in return). Constance informs the two that she will shortly begin setting up her new enterprise, and will be happy to have them be a part of it, and that will keep them insulated from the gang’s other activities.

The next day, the crew meets with Fitz at the Bucket. Constance has Kamali slip something in his drink. Shade returns, and Constance gives him the short version of what’s been going on. A Cypher shows up to deliver an invitation from Mylera, just as Fitz slumps over at the table. Constance carries him off.

Notes:

Another session that consisted mostly of downtime stuff, but I took the opportunity to insert some items of my own. The morgue thing started with a single question to Shade’s player: “You wake up somewhere completely unexpected and naked. Tell me where it is, and I’ll tell you how you got there.” Everything else was improvised, though I knew I was going to bring Jezelle back in at some point. Rereading the section on ghosts reminded me that possessing ghosts inflict a Trauma for every week that they remain in their host, so this told me two things: Tocker absolutely wrecked Jezelle, and Nyryx is actually quite conscientious about his hosts in comparison.

#dontmesswiththedolls