Monday, May 13, 2024

Guide to Running Light of Xaryxis: Chapter 7 - Trust Issues

 

Chapter 7: Trust Issues

 I used this chapter for character development. I let the characters know up front all of the NPCs they could talk to after an initial conversation with the Princess. I then let each character choose an NPC they want to speak with one on one. Once everyone had spoken with one person, I ran an event with Topolah and a Deck of Many Things, then I let social encounters continue until we neared the end of the session. Once we reached the end, I made the scene with Warwick escaping from the aartuks the cliffhanger.


·    It will take 21 days for the Second Wind to reach its destination in Doomspace.

·    Princess Xedalli

o    Her twin, Prince Xeleth, ordered the attack on the character’s home world under orders from her dying father, Emperor Xavan.

o    When the timing is appropriate, read her box text.

o    Xedalli is purely motivated by vengeance.

o    Xedalli pretends to be rational and compromising but would sooner die than surrender her claim to the throne.

o    Xedalli vows to save Faerun if the characters impress her, but she doesn’t take the vow very seriously.

o    Xedalli wears a ring of shooting stars.

o    Xedalli never reveals her ability to summon a Solar Dragon.

o    Things she will share with the characters:

§  Xedalli and Xeleth were meant to share the throne. (true)

§  Emperor Xavan wants to become one with Light of Xaryxis when it is at its brightest, thus the attack on Faerun to siphon energy and brighten the star. (true)

§  The only way to save Faerun is to destroy the star Xaryxis. (true)

§  A member of the royal family can destroy Xaryxis by performing a ritual at the astral front in the Temple of Light in the Imperial Fortress. (false – anyone with a ring of shooting stars can perform the ritual)

§  The Imperial fortress will orbit the star until Xavan ascends, then the fortress will return to the Astral Sea. (true)

·    NPC Interactions during travel

o    Commodore Krux

§  Krux is sulking because he tried to destroy the Imperial Fortress some time ago, but his fleet was routed.

§  Xeleth’s solar dragon did massive damage to his ship. He turned tail and ran, and it embarrasses him.

§  DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check to get him to buck up.

§  Krux will tell characters they need to find old mate Warwyck Blastimoff, who left for Doomspace to join the anti-Xaryxian coalition.

§  Krux and Warwyck were communicating regularly before Krux lost his sending stone on Bral.

§  When they last spoke, Warwyck was in Doomspace, on the moon of Aruun, looking for allies.

§  Once he is out of his melancholy, things to do with Krux:

·        Shoot guns (opposed ranged attack rolls)

·        Tell war stories (Charisma (Performance) checks.)

o    Gambling with Grimzod Gargenhale

§  Use the rules from Dead Hand’s Dice in Turn of Fortune’s Wheel

§  Each participant’s player chooses any number of d6s (known as “bones”) and shakes them in a cup.

§  You choose any number of d6s as well, and roll for the dealer and participating NPCs.

§  Everyone rolls and reveals their dice at once.

§  The participant with the highest total wins, but anyone who rolls a 1 automatically loses.

o    Deck of Many Things with Topolah

§  Have Topolah perform a fortune telling using the cards from the Deck of Many Things. You can find details on how to do this in the FortuneTelling section of Chapter 14 in the Book of Many Things.

§  Topolah will also allow characters to draw cards from the deck if they so choose. This can be game breaking, though the Book of Many Things does a good job of giving DMs the tools to deal with negative outcomes.

o    Sails and Styles with Mister Flinch

§  Characters can help Mister Flinch mend sails.

§  Alternatively, Mister Flinch will pointedly critique any characters style as long as they are willing to hear his candid critiques.

o    Very little with Starbough

§  Starbough will mostly ignore the characters.

§  Repeated attempts, along with signaling interest with Wildspace and Exploration, might eventually get Starbough to warm up to a character.

§  If he does, Starbough can impact all of the information about Doomspace from later in the chapter.

·    Random encounter ideas

o    Mage named Ralph Strange traveling via astral projection.

o    Sleeping cosmic horror.

o    Monodrone lost from the Great Modron March.

o    Unicorns merrily dancing across the Astral Sea

·    Doomspace

o    Show characters maps of Doomspace.

o    General backstory: clash with gods led to creation of Eye of Doom. All planets rotate closer and closer to Eye of Doom, when a planet reaches the Eye it is destroyed.

o    Fyreen is closest to the eye and has already lost one moon to it. It will lose a second in a month’s time.

o    Fyreen’s residents have already been evacuated to the nine moons of En.  

·    The Aartuks of Aruun

o    Read the box text but add a pair of battling Tarrasques in the wasteland. It’s the coolest part of Doomspace! A moon overrun with Tarrasques!

o    Read the box text of Warwyck escaping the Aartuks. I used this as the cliffhanger and started the next session with the combat. I also then left out the bulette combat. That worked better for timing for me since we had a full session of roleplaying during travel. Then the next session took us through chapter 8, and featured a lot of combat.

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