Session VIII, Part I

For the last session, I credit the PCs with experience for one major achievement:

• stopping the execution of Brock Samson.

This brings Zakalwe up to 3rd level!  Unfortunately, K is unable to attend Session VIII because he went to Vegas with some buddies.

However, after a long absence, D is finally able to rejoin the group!  He'd been busy buying a house and spending time with his fiancée.

Clearly, one of these two has got his priorities all wrong.

Anyways, now that the Nameless Thief is 2nd level, D decides to give his PC the sobriquet of Lorenzo!

In addition, K's absence means that the party lacks a dedicated frontline warrior, which presents an issue for the squishy Thief and Magic-User.

[OOC] S asks, "What about Lieutenant Trần?  He's a Fighter, right?"

[As DM] I say, "Lieutenant Trần is also the Gouverneur's son.  If he dies, that would probably be… bad."

[OOC] S says, "Oh yeah."


I tell the PCs that their best move is to hire a mercenary for the mission.  When they agree, I tell them that there are three mercenaries available who can plug the gap:

* Brock Samson:

Since Samson is locked up in the Psych Ward, he would be have to be released into the PCs' custody.  If thereafter he murders any more civilians, the PCs will be charged with Negligent Homicide.

[As DM] I say, "On the other hand, he is the World's Greatest Murder Machine."

[OOC] D says, "That's not true: he's only the World's Greatest *HUMAN* Murder Machine."

[As DM] I say, "Yes, quite right."

* Evil Ryu:

Evil Ryu has a reputation for being a nefarious backstabber.    He denies this.


* Pennywise the Dancing Clown:

It's not entirely clear whether Pennywise is, in fact, a Fighter or even a human.  During combat, a red mist surrounds the clown and his opponents.  After the mist dissipates,  Pennywise is drenched in blood and his enemies are horrifically dismembered.

Pennywise claims is simply anti-clown discrimination.

[OOC] D says, "I can see that."

Eventually, the PCs decide their safest bet is the guy who might flip out and kill the rest of the party (as opposed to intentionally killing the rest of the party), so they spring Brock Samson from the insane asylum.

Also, since Lorenzo is with the party again, I ask the PCs if they want to also keep Subotai.  They choose to go with only one Thief, so Subotai stays at the spa for more foot massages, while Aleena glumly packs her mace.

Lieutenant Trần returns with more information about the disappearance of his sister.  The Baroness and her party were on the main trade route between the Borderlands and Buôn Ma Thuột.  Due to Baroness Trần's complaints, her party ended up camping beside the road instead of an inn.  The bodyguards, all elite adventurers, set up magical wards to protect them from a revenant that was stalking the noblewoman.  However, someone damaged the magical wards and the camp was overrun.

The patrol found no survivors, but there were horse tracks leading north.  Lieutenant Trần says that there are no known settlements to the north, but there are the ruins of Hatha, the last stronghold of the Cham that stubbornly held until the Việt destroyed the place using dark sorcery.  Nowadays, the Việt give the ruins a wide berth, since they are supposedly infested with undead.