We started with Alphonse Barlet, dragonmarked artificer, talking with a distressed friend. Remira works at the same Cannith facility in Lower Dura, and her son Arquo has gone missing. She thinks he’s hooked on a new drug called Dragon’s Blood that sometimes makes people manifest wild magic. Her daughter Brena knows something about the gang smuggling in Dragon’s Blood to Sharn.
Alphonse offers condolensces and decides to look into the matter under his so far unnamed alter ego. In scale mail, a mask with artificer goggles, and a cloak he moves around on the rooftops with the grappling hook magic item he’s been working on (a rope of climbing). He confronts Brena, who first thinks someone from the Bloodletters gang has been following her. She has connections to a rival gang, the Lampblacks, and they have a tenuous truce with the Bloodletters to avoid the violent moodswings of their leader, Canter Haig. Alphonse tries to convince her that getting mixed up in gang activity is the wrong path, but she claims its the only way to keep her and her family safe. She is convinced he’s there to help, and lets him know that a small gang called the Fog Hounds is picking up Dragon’s Blood at the Skydocks with the intent to pass it along to the Bloodletters.
We cut to Alphonse staking out the Skydocks, where cargo is brought up the cliffs of Sharn to a warehouse district by pulleys and cranes. He tries to sabotage a crane as a distraction when the Fog Hounds arrive, first scaring off the bought off quartermaster Harrington, then ambushing the enforcer Bear as the crane falls apart and sends the Dragon’s Blood shipment crashing back down to the ships. The Fog Hounds grumble about their misfortune only to be shut up by their ice-cold leader, Margette.
Following Margette first to her dwelling, then to a dreamlilly den, Alphonse finds her talking to a brutish bugbear, Durok the Masher. Durok has already made a reputation for bullying the poorest residents of Lower Dura out of their money, and it is now revealed he works for the violent crime organization Daask that has been fighting the halfling-led Boromar Clan for dominance. Alphonse records Margette asking for help against Canter Haig, who will not be happy to miss a drug shipment, but Durok refuses.
We cut again to the next night, where Alphonse approaches Margette at the balcony of her dwelling. She knows someone has been following her but she’s more worried about the Bloodletters and know they’ll be more direct. She’s willing to accept any help for herself and her crew, just as some leather-clad thugs show up to escort her to Canter Haig. Alphonse follows to a tattoo parlor that’s a well-known hangout for the Bloodletters, and finds a second-story entrance to a catwalk where he can scope things out.
Canter Haig is flamboyant psychopath who toys with Margette before revealing that Durok had come to him already and revealed everything. As they try to drag Margette to a back room, she fights back and Alphonse attacks from above with his wrist-mounted bolt throwers and alchemist’s fire. Durok chases Alphonse back outside, and while our artificer can pelt him with bolts as he climbs up the tower, the bugbear threatens to destroy the walls with his hammer. With a diving assault Alphonse knocks Durok unconscious and he falls hard to the streets below.
Back inside, fire is spreading across the cat walk and no one is to be seen, but Alphonse finds an entrance to the back room. In a large dark room with strange sigils and a pool of Dragon’s Blood, Canter Haig chants as sparks and ingots of magical energy swirl around. Margette and the Bloodletter thugs are unconscious in the pool, along with Arquo and several other runaways.
Spotting Alphonse, Canter Haig grins and yells, “Yes, thirteen sacrifices is the correct number! Of course!” He summons shadow claws and charges, deflecting many of the artificer’s blows with shields of radiant magic. Reeling from multiple cuts, Alphonse crashes back out of the room and with his last ounce of control blasts Canter Haig with both bolt throwers, knocking the sorcerer unconscious.
We ended here, so what’s the follow up? First, record keeping on the new mechanics.
Stress: Alphonse used several Stress points, both for bonuses on rolls and flashbacks to set up advantages. He may need to spend time with an Obligation or Vice to recharge during downtime, and since he’s going 2nd level his max now is 6.
Rep: The Bloodletters were a Tier I organization (1), and Alphonse save many people (8), so 9 Rep added to his 8 from last session. I may start calling this Pull, as in how much Pull do you have, or Renown. During downtime these points can be spent to improve activities or get extra activities, and spent like coin on items or contacts.
Heat: Standard Heat is 2, and this session wasn’t especially quiet or out of control, no one died and it was on Alphonse’s turf. Total Heat is 4 now, so we’ll roll an Entanglement (2d6 drop lowest since Wanted level is 0), on a 1-3 there will be a disgruntled contact, 4-5 a callout from an unfriendly faction, or 6 the Sharn Watch will look into one of his contacts.
XP: Going off what happened in the adventure, Alphonse got 5 XP. He’ll need 8 total to go up to third level (6+current level).
- interfered with criminal activity, protected innocents, or antagonized the authorities–Twice, disrupted the dragon’s blood shipment and rescued people from Canter Haig
- contended with challenges above their station–yes, at this level even a Tier I gang is risky to go after
- learned something important about Sharn and its mysteries–yes, learned about Dragon’s Blood and Daask, and weird rituals from Canter Haig
- expressed ideals, bonds, and flaws of their characters–yes, expressed to Brena and Margette that they should think for themselves, Ideal of Freedom
Final tally–9 Rep (17 total), 2 Heat (4 Total), one Entanglement roll needed, Downtime Activities to do, and he also got kept Canter Haig’s Goggles of Night!
Dungeon Journal 