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In the Remix, there are four “memory dives”:

• The Vision From Torm
• The Dream Machine
• Claiming the Sword
• Zariel’s Spark

In each case, the players are given the opportunity to play through the events of the past. In some of the memory dives, the players will take on the roles of NPCs in those scenes. In others, it will seem as if the PCs themselves are part of the memory (as if they had been somehow transported into the past). Regardless of method or methodology, we’ll refer to this as the dreamscape. While in the dreamscape:

• PCs cannot be killed. Characters taking damage in the dreamscape suffer psychic damage and if reduced to 0 hp are rendered unconscious but stable.
• The past cannot actually be changed: These are morphable (and, it should be noted, therefore unreliable) visions of what happened. The PCs are not actually travelling through time. The dreamscape experiences are strongly guided and, if the players deviate too far from the course of history, it’s likely that the dreamscape will adjust itself. (Alternatively, the memory dive might end abruptly and need to be restarted.)

GM Note: Although the past cannot be changed by the PCs, it’s up to you how much the players can non-diegetically define what “really” happened. If it doesn’t contradict something previously established in the campaign and/or alter essential continuity, there’s no reason not to assume that how things play out at the table is how those things happened in the past. (For example, one of the players might improvise a battle cry during a memory dive, and then, later, one of the former Hellriders might make the same battle cry or talk about hearing it on the field of battle that day.

THE VISION FROM TORM

When a PC puts on the Helm of Torm’s Sight in the Grand Cemetery of Elturel (see Part 5D), they’ll enter a comatose state until someone, most likely Pherria Jynks, performs a ritual to free them. As that ritual completes, flashback to the moment of them putting on the Helm and then play through the visions they’re shown.

If the players make note of the gauntlet imagery found throughout these visions, they can make a skill check:

• Religion (DC 12): A right-handed gauntlet, held upright, is Torm’s holy symbol.

Snippets are non-interactive. Visions are interactive, as noted.

SNIPPET – THE BEGINNING OF ZARIEL’S FALL. There is a kind of inky darkness; a nauseous veil of swirling shadows. Then a beam of golden light. The light slowly grows in intensity and the shadows are ripped apart, like a caul parting before your eyes. At the point where the light is almost blinding, it turns reddish and becomes hot. Dry and hot. A dry, hot wind.

As your vision clears, you’re standing on a field of battle beneath the blood red sky of Avernus. A huge mound of devils lies dead. Other devils, still living, are hauling bodies off the mound, chittering amongst themselves.

All the way at the bottom of the mound, as one last corpse is pinioned on a pitchfork and flung to one side, the body of an angel is revealed. Her skin is porcelain white. Her hair the golden light of an evening sun. Her wings bloodstained ivory.

The devils draw back. Some of them are cackling, but then one glances back over their shoulder and suddenly drops prostrate to the ground. Others, too, following the first’s gaze, throw themselves to the ground.

A tall devil with skin of maroon and crimson, dressed in robes of black and gold, strides in amongst the scattered corpses. He is possessed of a leonid beauty, with two almost impossibly long, dark horns curving gracefully from his forehead.

The devil’s eyes smolder as he looks down at the angel. As he pulls off a gauntlet-like glove from his left hand, revealing the talons beneath, he turns and asks, in a smooth voice of elegance and grace, “Where is her Sword?”

The caul of gilded night sweeps over your vision.

VISION – THE THREE GENERALS. You are standing at attention in some sort of ceremonial uniform in a small group of similarly dressed knights. Each has a small badge on their left shoulder, depicting a pair of twin suns. Before you, on a grassy field, are arrayed three riders wearing identical badges: A woman with dark hair upon a black charger. A bearded man on a white horse. And the angel you saw lying beneath the mound of corpses riding a golden-furred, winged mammoth. Approaching from across the field is another mounted man, this one flanked by an honor guard.

GM Note: This is an interactive vision, but it’s designed to introduce the concept. If the player says they want to take an action, let them. Otherwise, the vision just plays out.

As the man draws near the trio before you, he brings his horse to a stop and then dismounts. The trio does likewise. A herald steps forward and announces, “Haruman, Lord Knight of the Far Hills greets Lord Olanthius.”

The beaded man smiles. “Hail to you, Lord Haruman. And welcome to Elturel. I am pleased to introduce you to Lady Yael of Idyllglen and Zariel, solar of Celestia.”

“And I’m Lulu!” trumpets the mammoth.

Haruman removes his left gauntlet and extends his hand, shaking each of the others in turn — and also, with a laugh, Lulu’s trunk! Escorted by Lord Olanthius, he proceeds down the line. In a few moments he stops before you and extends his hand. What do you do?

(As they grip Haruman’s hand or within a few moments either way, the vision shifts again.)

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S REQUEST. The red heat of Avernus sweeps over you. So do the sounds of battle, but only at a distance. There is a trumpeting and the shadows are swept away like mist in a strong wind, you see the angel Zariel kneeling in the dust. Lady Yael, arrayed for battle in battered, bloody, and dust-covered armor kneels on the ground next to her. Zariel is pushing her glowing sword into Lady Yael’s hands.

GM Note: The trumpeting is Lulu stomping some devils a little distance away.

Yael: I refuse. Do not ask me of this.

Zariel (smiling sadly): I must. I do. Look beyond this forsaken day. One last time, I need you to dream a little bigger.

Yael weeps and then, unable to speak, nods, taking Zariel’s sword.

There’s another trumpet and Zariel’s golden mammoth comes charging up. “I drove them off, but there’s another group drawing near.”

Zariel pulls off her left gauntlet and buries her hand in the mammoth’s fur, taking a moment of comfort. “My old friend. Goodbye. Perhaps we shall meet again, but I do not think so. I need you to go with Yael. Help her make certain my Sword is not captured by the forces of Hell. Let it become a symbol of everything we have fought for. Even if it has ended in folly, let our deeds have meaning.”

As the veil formed from shadows of gold wraps itself around you again, slowly blotting out everything except the sword still glowing in Yael’s hand, Zariel’s voice continues: “This is the last thing I will ever ask of you. Protect Yael.”

VISION – YEENOGHU’S GAMBIT. Through the shadows, the sounds of battle intensify. Your vision clears to reveal yourself riding on horseback at a full gallop. The sun hanging high in the blue sky momentarily blinds you. Your companions are with you: [insert PC names]  Ahead of you, on the back of a golden mammoth and leading your charge, is the angelic Zariel. You’re surrounded by a massive battle – an army of mostly human knights are fighting a horde of gnolls.

[Call for initiative checks.]

A wall of black-furred gnolls come loping up over the top of the hill in front of you. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. Zariel calls back over her shoulder: “Guard the flanks! I’ll cut us a path through!” Then she spurs her mount to an even higher speed; the mammoth’s feet actually glide off the ground.

[Collect initiative scores and start combat.]

Combat Encounter: As Zariel instructs, she’s got the gnolls in front. (If one of the PCs is playing Lulu, give them the Hollyphant Elder stat block from Lulu’s Guide to Hollyphants. They can help Zariel on the front lines, probably attacking gnoll pack lords. Alternatively, have Zariel order her to help guard the flanks and add an extra Fang and four gnolls to the fight.)

• Left Flank: Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu, Gnoll Pack Lord, 8 Gnolls
• Right Flank: 2 Gnoll Pack Lords, 8 Gnolls

At some point during this, Zariel will almost certainly refer to Lulu by name and the penny will drop (if it hasn’t already).

After Combat: After the fight, the PCs can rally to Zariel and ride up over the top of the hill. From there they can look out over farm fields churned and ruined by the battle, sowed with a carpet of the dead. Off to their left is a small village. Some of the buildings are on fire.

A few hundred yards away across a field stands a twelve-foot-tall demon gnoll. It holds aloft a dark-haired woman — Lady Yael – by the neck. Seeing Zariel across the field of battle, it turns and with a slash of its claws rends a purple, roiling gash in the air. With a hyena-like cackle which crackles across the field like black lightning, it leaps through the portal with Lady Yael still clutched in its gauntleted right hand.

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S COURT. As the demon vanishes, the energy of the portal turns red and then seems to turn into swirls of shadow and gold. Through the darkness you hear two voices.

The first voice, as if played from a cracked record, asks, “Where is the Sword?”

And the second voice, weak and disoriented, replies, “I don’t know… I don’t… I used to know, but I don’t any more. I don’t.”

SNIPPET – MESSAGE FROM TORM. A hand — or, rather, a gauntlet — reaches through the shadows and sweeps them away. An immense light which seems as if it should be blinding in its intensity but which is instead a soothing comfort to your eyes emanates from the gauntlet… or perhaps from a point behind the gauntlet.

A booming voice emanates seemingly from all directions: “Seek ye Zariel’s blade. It is the key to her heart and her greatest desire. With it, Elturel’s chains can be severed.”

The gauntlet clenches into a fist as the voice speaks. Then it opens and, upon the palm of the gauntlet, a tiny golden elephant — Lulu — is flying in miniature. “Even from my sight is the Sword hidden. There is only one who knows and she knows not.”

The gauntlet closes again, then opens to reveal two black-feathered, birdlike humanoids standing next to a strange vehicle of blackened iron. “She must seek the kenku. In her memory they speak.”

The gauntlet closes for a third time. You hear a different voice chanting as if from a great distance.

[This is the voice of whoever is casting the spell. The PC might recognize this voice.]

The booming voice speaks again, but it, too, seems to come from a distance now as the other voice grows stronger: “Seek the kenku!”

The light now truly becomes blinding and—

[The PC wakes up.]

Note: As per p. 72 of Descent Into Avernus, when the PC who received the vision tells Lulu what they saw, it will trigger a memory of meeting two kenku at a place called Fort Knucklebones. Realizing it was near the Dock of Fallen Cities, she’ll swoop up into the sky and then return, declaring that it’s only a dozen miles off and she can lead the PCs there.

If Lulu is a PC in your campaign, you might want to prep a brief handout describing the kenku and Fort Knucklebones, and also telling Lulu’s player that she knows how to get there across the Avernian plains.

If it WAS Lulu who put on the Helm, modify Torm’s final vision. He’ll say something like, “Among all living creatures, only you know where it was hidden.” He might also show her Fort Knucklebones in miniature, triggering her memory of the kenku there.

Go to Part 6D-I: The Dream Machine

Klaas of the RPG Heroes Podcast interviewed me for a great discussion about meaningful choice in RPGs. You can also check it out on Youtube:

Klaas has told me that it’s already proven to be one of the most popular episodes of the podcast. Unfortunately, it was also the last as he’s moving onto new projects. But you can still check out all 24 episodes!

Atlas Games is one of the publishers participating in New Gamemaster Month this year! We’re focusing on Greg Stolze’s Unknown Armies, the award-winning horror game in which:

• magick is real
• broken people try to fix a broken world
• avatars personify everything humanity chooses to be
• adepts pursue absolute power
• the secret masters of the universe are frighteningly human

First: You can check out my interview with ENWorld about New Gamemaster Month, along with Charles Ryan, Michael O’Brien, Cat Tobin, Tom Lommel, and Shane Ivey.

Second: You can check out the New Gamemaster Month website, where you can choose your game and check out the step-by-step guide for creating and running your first adventure as a rookie GM!

Third: You can join us on Discord, where we’ll be swapping tips and chatting about our nefarious plans.

DISCUSSING
In the Shadow of the Spire – Session 24A: The Squire of Dawn

Sir Kabel returned the bow with a nod and then sat down on the couch, motioning Tor to a nearby chair. “Sir Torland of Barund, if I remember correctly? We spoke of horses at Harvestime, did we not?”

“Yes, but I am no knight, sir.”

“Truly?” Sir Kabel raised his eyesbrows. “Yet you bear a sword at your side and you carry yourself like a warrior.”

“I am trained in the blade,” Tor said. “But I belong to no order.”

“Would you like to?”

In this week’s session, Tor makes a choice about which order of knighthood to approach in his quest to become a knight. This might be a good time, therefore, to do a call back to an earlier Running the Campaign essay, “An Interstice of Factions,” in which I looked at how and why I’d set up this choice in the first place.

I honestly have no idea how things might have played out if Tor had instead selected the Knights of the Golden Cross or the Knights of the Pale. But as you can see in the campaign journal (although Tor really doesn’t), Sir Kabel had not only become aware of Tor’s martial prowess, he also had political motivations for keeping Tor close to him. As a result, Tor’s entrance into the order is heavily accelerated as he moves almost immediately into almost informal Trials of Arms, which are what I’d like to discuss today.

UNUSUAL RULINGS

“I’ll rest on little ceremony here,” Kabel said. “This is your First Trial of Arms. We’ll begin with the Test of the Blade. Strike me. If you can.”

Tor attacked… and Kabel easily parried the thrust. “Good form. Controlled, yet fierce.”

Tor feinted to the left and then slashed to the right. Kabel almost completely ignored the feint and easily parried the slash, but Tor deflected his blow and plunged the point of his blade toward’s Kabel’s chest. Kabel was forced to twist his own sword in order to parry the follow-thru. “Excellent!”

Tor backed off half a pace and then quickly brought a strong blow down directly towards Kabel’s head, but Kabel was quick enough to shift his footwork, right his form, and block the blow.

“Enough!” Kabel cried, disengaging. “Now for the Test of the Shield. Defend yourself!”

A lot of mechanics in RPGs are clearly designed for one specific implementation, and this can often be seen quite clearly with combat mechanics. One of the great things about having a GM who can make ruilings, though, is that even these mechanics can be creatively turned to new uses when the occasion calls for it.

In this case, for example, I plucked attack rolls out of the combat system and structured them as a series of checks which included parsing some mechanical failures into partial successes – i.e., attacks which could impress Sir Kabel even if they were not, in fact, successful at striking him.

The cool thing about using mechanics in unusual ways – instead of just doing some ad hoc fiat – is that (a) the player still feels like they’re in control of the situation because they can apply their mastery and understanding of the rule system and (b) the GM can also continue to use the supporting infrastructure around those mechanics to support and enhance their rulings.

For example, I was able to use my house rules for fighting defensively to increase Sir Kabel’s effective AC (since he was entirely focused on parrying Tor’s blows). Conversely, Tor’s player realized she could do the same, using the Aim ability on Tor’s final attack.

PLAYER-FACING MECHANICS

Tor loosed the shield from his back and lowered himself into a defensive posture. Sir Kabel unleashed a withering flurry of attacks, and although Tor blocked many of them, Kabel’s sword seemed to constantly find the weak points in his defense.

After several exchanges, Kabel stepped back again. “I’m impressed. It’s clear you have had little formal training, but your instincts are strong and you have clearly been tested by the true heat of battle. The Order would be honored to have you serve as its squire.”

The other thing I did here was shift to a player-facing defensive roll when Sir Kabel moved to the Test of the Shield.

A player-facing mechanic involves the player always being the one to roll the dice: If a PC is attacking, the player rolls the attack dice against a static target number representing the target’s defense. If the PC is defending, on the other hand, the player makes a defense roll against a static target number representing the attacker’s skill.

(A system where both the attacker and defender roll on each attack is NOT player-facing; that’s dual-facing. D&D attacks are generally neither, with the attacker always being the one to roll.)

A player-facing mechanic can have advantages in both practice and design, but perhaps the biggest advantage is psychological: Even though the mathematical effect of a player-facing mechanic can be utterly irrelevant, we nevertheless associate rolling the dice (i.e., an action taken at the table) to the action of the character for whom the dice are being rolled; it feels as if that character is the one in “control” of the outcome.

This is also due to the variability of the dice: If I roll for the attacker but not the defender, then the defender’s outcome is constant. Ergo, our subconscious assumes that success or failure is entirely dependent on what the attacker did – on the variability of their outcome.

(I talk about this effect a bit more in “The Design History of Saving Throws,” and also how you can consciously choose to break this psychological default when narrating outcomes in The Art of Rulings.)

Long story short, I deliberately chose to have Tor make a player-facing defensive roll — rolling 1d20 + AC modifiers vs. Kabel’s attack bonuses + 10 — because it centered Tor as the most important character in that moment.

And, of course, the player rolling the dice is the one actually engaged in the resolution, and you can see that quite clearly in this example: If I’d followed the normal mechanics and rolled Kabel’s attack rolls during the Trial of the Shield, Tor’s player would have just sat there watching me roll dice and narrate outcomes. Having the player roll the dice, regardless of any other factors, simply made for a more satisfying game play experience.

NEXT:
Campaign Journal: Session 24B – Running the Campaign: Lore Book Meetings
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 24A: THE SQUIRE OF DAWN

June 21st, 2008
The 11th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Tor left the Ghostly Minstrel and turned north towards the Temple District, heading towards the Outer Cathedral. In the three weeks since he had come to Ptolus, he had felt a deep frustration growing in his heart. He had left his home and his family to become a knight and follow the path of honor. But he had found little of the certainty he had hoped for traveling with these strange companions that the mage Ritharius had sent him to. They were good people – of that he was certain, although there had been times when he had doubted – but they seemed lost in a time when he desperately needed direction.

And so he was intent in seeking out Sir Kabel Dathim, the leader of the Order of the Dawn. He had seen Sir Kabel’s cold reaction to the proclamations of Rehobath and this had, for whatever reason, created some sense of trust in him.

When he arrived at the Cathedral, Tor spoke with one of the lesser priests and was led to Sir Kabel’s quarters. The priest knocked on the door, entered, and returned only moments later to usher Tor forward and shut the door behind him.

Sir Kabel’s quarters were small, but well-furnished. An inner door led to what was most likely a bedroom, and the main chamber into which Tor stepped served as both an office and a lounge of sorts. Sir Kabel was sitting at his desk, but as Tor entered he closed a thin ledger, rose, and crossed towards the couch.

“Sir Kabel.” Tor bowed deeply. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me.”

Sir Kabel returned the bow with a nod and then sat down on the couch, motioning Tor to a nearby chair. “Sir Torland of Barund, if I remember correctly? We spoke of horses at Harvestime, did we not?”

“Yes, but I am no knight, sir.”

“Truly?” Sir Kabel raised his eyesbrows. “Yet you bear a sword at your side and you carry yourself like a warrior.”

“I am trained in the blade,” Tor said. “But I belong to no order.”

“Would you like to?”

Tor couldn’t contain the grin which erupted across his face. “That’s why I’ve come to you!”

But now Kabel’s face, which had been drawn in thought and consideration, became clouded with suspicion. “You’re in league with the Chosen of Vehthyl, aren’t you?”

Tor’s grin dropped away and he chose his next words carefully. “He has recently been my companion.”

“How recently?”

“A few weeks.”

“And what do you think of the Novarch-in-Exile?” Kabel couldn’t keep the contempt out of his voice.

“I think he’s dangerous,” Tor said plainly. “And I don’t trust him. I don’t think Dominic trusts him, either.”

“And yet he stood at Rehobath’s side.”

“He didn’t know what Rehobath was planning. None of us did.”

Kabel nodded thoughtfully. “Do you think Dominic is truly the Chosen of Vehthyl?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he knows.” Tor shrugged. “But he bears the signs. That’s no trick.”

Kabel grunted and then stood up. He circled behind the couch and began pacing, his words coming thoughtfully. “I don’t trust Rehobath. He claims to speak with the voices of the Gods, but the Gods speak through the Church and he would raise himself against it. I serve the Church. Not him.” He turned to Tor. “I’m not sure what to make of your friend, either. I would squire you into the Order of the Dawn, but as part of that I must ask you to keep a wary eye on Dominic.”

Tor frowned. “I won’t betray my friends.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Kabel said. “Are not two of my men – men who are more loyal to Rehobath than me – already standing guard at the Ghostly Minstrel? And you can be sure that those are not the only eyes that Rehobath has on him. I am only interested in making sure that Dominic himself does not turn against the Church.”

Tor had to think deeply, but in the end he believed that what Sir Kabel said was true. Or, at least, true enough. “I can agree to that.”

“Then come with me.”

Sir Kabel led Tor out of the Cathedral and into the large complex of Church-owned buildings just to the north.

This complex was capped by the Godskeep, which housed the Order of the Dawn. At first, Tor thought he was being taken there, but instead Sir Kabel stopped in the small practice field just outside the keep’s southern gate.

A handful of knights were scattered here and there, practicing or skirmishing. Sir Kabel went over to the racks of practice weapons and pulled down two wooden swords. He tossed one of them to Tor. Tor caught it out of the air.

“I’ll rest on little ceremony here,” Kabel said. “This is your First Trial of Arms. We’ll begin with the Test of the Blade. Strike me. If you can.”

Tor attacked… and Kabel easily parried the thrust. “Good form. Controlled, yet fierce.”

Tor feinted to the left and then slashed to the right. Kabel almost completely ignored the feint and easily parried the slash, but Tor deflected his blow and plunged the point of his blade toward’s Kabel’s chest. Kabel was forced to twist his own sword in order to parry the follow-thru. “Excellent!”

Tor backed off half a pace and then quickly brought a strong blow down directly towards Kabel’s head, but Kabel was quick enough to shift his footwork, right his form, and block the blow.

“Enough!” Kabel cried, disengaging. “Now for the Test of the Shield. Defend yourself!”

Tor loosed the shield from his back and lowered himself into a defensive posture. Sir Kabel unleashed a withering flurry of attacks, and although Tor blocked many of them, Kabel’s sword seemed to constantly find the weak points in his defense.

After several exchanges, Kabel stepped back again. “I’m impressed. It’s clear you have had little formal training, but your instincts are strong and you have clearly been tested by the true heat of battle. The Order would be honored to have you serve as its squire.”

Kabel drew out a ring marked with the sigil of the Order of the Dawn and gave it to Tor.

Tor’s heart leapt. It was the dream he had sought, but scarcely hoped for. He quickly made arrangements with Sir Kabel to return once every other day for his training, and then made his way back towards the Ghostly Minstrel.

AGNARR’S ABORTED MISSION

Agnarr headed across Delver’s Square to Ebbert’s and purchased a variety of supplies, particularly a large bulk of raw meat and other food supplies. Loading all of it into his bag of holding, he set out for Greyson House: His intention was to travel down to the caverns of the Clan of the Torn Ear, gift them with the food supplies, and then practice sparring with them. The fact that he spoke none of their tongue dissuaded him not at all.

Once he made his way into the tunnels beneath Greyson House, however, he found them unexpectedly disturbed: The pit of chaos had been covered over with a thick layer of stone… albeit a layer of stone which now seemed to be slowly bubbling and boiling away as a result of the powerful forces of primal chaos trapped beneath it.

Agnarr doused his flaming sword and proceeded carefully down the hallway. As he approached the complex where the bloodwights had nested, he heard many voices and the muffled sounds of some activity.

Toying with the idea of brazenly entering the complex and confronting the intruders, Agnarr instead decided for prudence. He retreated silently back to Greyson House and returned to the Ghostly Minstrel.

NEXT:
Running the Campaign: Player-Facing Mechanics – Campaign Journal: Session 24B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index