WFRP - The Enemy Within - Session 10
Session 10, the first of the Death on the Reik plotline, has been written up. Yes, I know, I'm crap, but I've sent my notes to my work email account, and I'm working nights this week, so hopefully there'll be at least one more done by the next session on Friday.
To my players:
I've had a couple of thoughts about the game and where it's going. So far, after about 6-8 months of play, we're about one third of the way through the second of a five book series.
The problem is, pre-written adventures don't really allow much in the way of character-driven action. Jarla has a long-lost brother out there somewhere, Felix has his family issues, Johann has his religion, Iris has her business interests (and presumably a return visit to the Moot at some point), and Alexa wants to sort out this Purple Hand business as soon as possible.
I was going to be taking a lot of liberties with the last three books anyway, and I'm thinking I might just jettison the Enemy Within plot altogether at the end of Death on the Reik, and just weave elements of it in to whatever else your characters want to be doing.
Also, I'd like to be able to bring the campaign to an end by the end of the year - not because I'm fed up with it, hell no, I'm enjoying running WFRP, but because there's other games I want to try. Dark Heresy for one. Mmmm, I love the smell of all-powerful, theocratic, secret police in the morning... smells like paranoia, corruption and betrayal.
Session 10: The Purple Palm
The Story So Far: A party of mercenary-minded travellers have stolen the identity of a dead woman to claim an inheritance that, as it turned out, was a hoax. After realising this, a chance encounter with a daemon beneath the streets of Bogenhafen caused the death of one of their number and they vengefully tracked down the group responsible for summoning it and burned them alive in a warehouse. This act of civic regeneration led to the local council hiring them to track down and eliminate a 'loose end', the witch Etelka Herzen, who supplied the group with its sorcerous rituals.
Backentag, 30th Jahrdrung, 2523
At about seven bells in the morning, just as the town is waking up, our arson-happy heroes leave Bogenhafen, bound eventually for Grissenwald, near Nuln. For today, their goal is to reach Blutroch, a village about ten hours away by the cart they purchased in anticipation of a more rushed departure from Bogenhafen, before heading to Altdorf to hire a barge for the long journey south.
The journey to Blutroch is uneventful. The creatures and men of the forest pose no problems along the busy road as the party travel in the company of a large number of Schaffenfest stall-holders and entertainers, now heading home after the end of the fair.
Once they reach the Blutroch Inn, they settle down for the evening, reflecting on the grim and tragic events of their time in Bogenhafen. Jarla and Ulrich disappear up to their rented room for some… not so quiet time together. Iris meets Horace, the inn’s halfling cook. He’s the first Mootlander she’s met since Rose’s death and they spend the entire night chatting about all things halfling.
Meanwhile, Alexa and Johann get involved with a card sharp travelling with the Schaffenfest. They both lose silver, Johann more so than Alexa. Alexa flirts with the gambler and he takes her to the bar for a drink.
“So,” the man says, “you were in Bogenhafen.”
“Yes.”
“You get up to anything interesting?” he asks, scratching his nose.
Alexa smiles to herself. “Not really. This and that.”
The gambler scratches his nose again. Alexa realises that, with his other hand, he’s tugging his earlobe as well. “Nothing at all then?” he prompts.
“What?” Alexa is mystified. “Are you okay?”
The gambler scratches and tugs a few more times, before looking somewhat embarrassed and stopping. “I… I, er, need to prepare for tomorrow’s journey. I bid you good night.” With that, the stranger shakes her hand and then leaves.
“Weird,” she shrugs.
On the way upstairs to the room she shares (platonically) with Johann, Alexa realises she has a smear of dark red on her hand. Well, it’s more purple, actually.
She turns her hand over and finds the rest of the smudge. Fingertips. The gambler - wherever he vanished to - had purple dye on his palm when he shook her hand. Strange man.
Alexa scrubs at her hands, but can’t quite get it all out. She decides that tomorrow she’ll wear gloves to cover up the stains until they go.
Bezahltag, 31st Jahrdrung
One of Alexa’s first thoughts when she wakes up is that purple dye is a trading commodity. An expensive commodity. Who the hell walks around with it on their hands?
After another day of travel, Jarla and Iris have a less strange experience gambling in that evening’s coaching inn. Luther, a friendly professional, teaches them the rudiments of several card games - possibly due to his attraction towards Jarla - and they come away from the table with a small profit.
Konigstag, 32nd Jahrdrung
The next day’s travel is uneventful, with a night spent in the farming village of Heiligan.
Angestag, 33rd Jahrdrung
A new week starts and an old month ends with the party reaching Altdorf, the greatest city in the world and the hub of trade in the Empire. With a fair amount of money weighing down their pockets, thanks to the bounties paid by the Bogenhafen council and the traitor Magirius for the Ordo Septenarius, they make for the mercantile districts.
Iris sells the party’s horse-drawn cart on the principle that the proceeds will pay for barge passage to Grissenwald and back, with a lot left over. She also sells on the spirits she stole from the Ordo Septenarius’ warehouse, before heading over to Altdorf’s small halfling district and investing several hundred crowns in three separate halfling-owned businesses: a pharmacist’s, a general trader and a brewery. Conveniently, all three businesses will be able to provide her with practical services whenever she’s in Altdorf as well…
Then comes the tough part. Rose had relatives in Altdorf, so Iris deliver the bad news about her death to Toby, Rose’s seventh cousin, twice removed, on the father’s side. Together, they draft a letter for Rose’s parents, which is to be carried to the Moot by the next halfling heading in that direction.
As a member of the Altdorf Merchants’ Guild from the last time she was in town, Jarla invests 150 crowns into the new ‘semaphore’ signal tower system being built between the city and Nuln. She reckons that, once the system is up and running, the ability to send a message between Altdorf and Nuln in just a few hours will revolutionise the Empire, and rake in a lot of profits into the bargain.
Alexa discovers a good leatherworking stall and purchases a full set of leather armour. In the words of the leatherworker, “If you like my work, tell your friends. After all, good armour lasts a lifetime. So does poor armour.”
She does, and Johann and Iris make the same purchases. Johann heads to a milliner’s to buy himself a hat for travelling - the weather is starting to heat up, and travelling along roads will lead to sunburn in a few months.
While wandering aimlessly through the market, Alexa realises that she is being followed by a man wearing an apron and short sleeves, with the guild medallion of a craftsman. Concerned as to why random people seem to be paying her unusual attention, she ducks into a nearby butcher’s shop and purchases some Ostland black sausage.
Unfortunately, the craftsman isn’t fooled and follows her in. “We need to talk,” he hisses, grabbing her wrist and pulling her aside.
“Hey!” protests the butcher. “You have a domestic, have it outside, okay?”
The craftsman ignores him and yanks off Alexa’s gloves, revealing the remnants of the purple dye on her hand.
“Yeah, I thought it was you,” he snarls, under his breath. “What are you playing at, woman? Seriously, you’re walking on thin ice right now. You get your arse to Middenheim with that 20,000 crowns within the week, or…” He draws a finger across his throat.
“What are you talking about?” Alexa replies, confused.
The craftsman shakes his head in disgust and storms out.
Shaking, Alexa hurries to the tavern where the others are gathering. She explains what happened to her, both with the gambler in Blutroch and the craftsman.
Jarla frowns at the mention of the ‘purple palm’. It reminds her of something she heard during her earlier life in Middenheim. An organisation of some sort, a secret society amongst the merchant class… the Purple Hand, she thinks they’re called.
Iris chuckles grimly. “You said he was after 20,000 crowns?” she asks.
Alexa nods.
“They’re after ‘your’ inheritance,” she remarks.
“They think you’re Esther Leiberung,” Ulrich adds.
Alexa groans and sinks her head into her hands.
“This is getting complicated,” Johann says. “What’s going on here?”
Iris mulls it over. “Well, how about Esther Leiberung works for this Purple Hand group and she was getting the inheritance for them?”
“It wasn’t a real inheritance though,” says Johann.
“They don’t know that. Someone set it up as a hoax, but then Esther dies on the way down from Middenheim…”
“…and I stole her identity,” Alexa moans.
“So, we’ve got the faction who wanted the inheritance, the faction who faked the inheritance for some reason or other, and what about the bounty hunter, Kuftsos?”
“A third faction?” Jarla suggests.
Iris shrugs. “It’s possible.”
“This isn’t good,” Alexa says. “What can we do?”
“Sod all,” Jarla says. “We’ve no chance of getting 20k, ever, so we carry on as before.”
“I guess I’ll have to just watch my back then,” Alexa sighs, obviously not keen on the idea.
Again, it’s Iris that comes up with the common-sense suggestion: “Just prove to them that you’re not Esther, and it’s all a weird case of mistaken identity, and you’ll be alright. That makes sense, right?”
They all agree. A secret society persecuting Alexa while they’re trying to track down Etelka Herzen could prove to be a dangerous distraction.
That night, Alexa sleeps with her shutters bolted, a chair against the door and a dagger under her pillow.
To my players:
I've had a couple of thoughts about the game and where it's going. So far, after about 6-8 months of play, we're about one third of the way through the second of a five book series.
The problem is, pre-written adventures don't really allow much in the way of character-driven action. Jarla has a long-lost brother out there somewhere, Felix has his family issues, Johann has his religion, Iris has her business interests (and presumably a return visit to the Moot at some point), and Alexa wants to sort out this Purple Hand business as soon as possible.
I was going to be taking a lot of liberties with the last three books anyway, and I'm thinking I might just jettison the Enemy Within plot altogether at the end of Death on the Reik, and just weave elements of it in to whatever else your characters want to be doing.
Also, I'd like to be able to bring the campaign to an end by the end of the year - not because I'm fed up with it, hell no, I'm enjoying running WFRP, but because there's other games I want to try. Dark Heresy for one. Mmmm, I love the smell of all-powerful, theocratic, secret police in the morning... smells like paranoia, corruption and betrayal.
Session 10: The Purple Palm
The Story So Far: A party of mercenary-minded travellers have stolen the identity of a dead woman to claim an inheritance that, as it turned out, was a hoax. After realising this, a chance encounter with a daemon beneath the streets of Bogenhafen caused the death of one of their number and they vengefully tracked down the group responsible for summoning it and burned them alive in a warehouse. This act of civic regeneration led to the local council hiring them to track down and eliminate a 'loose end', the witch Etelka Herzen, who supplied the group with its sorcerous rituals.
Backentag, 30th Jahrdrung, 2523
At about seven bells in the morning, just as the town is waking up, our arson-happy heroes leave Bogenhafen, bound eventually for Grissenwald, near Nuln. For today, their goal is to reach Blutroch, a village about ten hours away by the cart they purchased in anticipation of a more rushed departure from Bogenhafen, before heading to Altdorf to hire a barge for the long journey south.
The journey to Blutroch is uneventful. The creatures and men of the forest pose no problems along the busy road as the party travel in the company of a large number of Schaffenfest stall-holders and entertainers, now heading home after the end of the fair.
Once they reach the Blutroch Inn, they settle down for the evening, reflecting on the grim and tragic events of their time in Bogenhafen. Jarla and Ulrich disappear up to their rented room for some… not so quiet time together. Iris meets Horace, the inn’s halfling cook. He’s the first Mootlander she’s met since Rose’s death and they spend the entire night chatting about all things halfling.
Meanwhile, Alexa and Johann get involved with a card sharp travelling with the Schaffenfest. They both lose silver, Johann more so than Alexa. Alexa flirts with the gambler and he takes her to the bar for a drink.
“So,” the man says, “you were in Bogenhafen.”
“Yes.”
“You get up to anything interesting?” he asks, scratching his nose.
Alexa smiles to herself. “Not really. This and that.”
The gambler scratches his nose again. Alexa realises that, with his other hand, he’s tugging his earlobe as well. “Nothing at all then?” he prompts.
“What?” Alexa is mystified. “Are you okay?”
The gambler scratches and tugs a few more times, before looking somewhat embarrassed and stopping. “I… I, er, need to prepare for tomorrow’s journey. I bid you good night.” With that, the stranger shakes her hand and then leaves.
“Weird,” she shrugs.
On the way upstairs to the room she shares (platonically) with Johann, Alexa realises she has a smear of dark red on her hand. Well, it’s more purple, actually.
She turns her hand over and finds the rest of the smudge. Fingertips. The gambler - wherever he vanished to - had purple dye on his palm when he shook her hand. Strange man.
Alexa scrubs at her hands, but can’t quite get it all out. She decides that tomorrow she’ll wear gloves to cover up the stains until they go.
Bezahltag, 31st Jahrdrung
One of Alexa’s first thoughts when she wakes up is that purple dye is a trading commodity. An expensive commodity. Who the hell walks around with it on their hands?
After another day of travel, Jarla and Iris have a less strange experience gambling in that evening’s coaching inn. Luther, a friendly professional, teaches them the rudiments of several card games - possibly due to his attraction towards Jarla - and they come away from the table with a small profit.
Konigstag, 32nd Jahrdrung
The next day’s travel is uneventful, with a night spent in the farming village of Heiligan.
Angestag, 33rd Jahrdrung
A new week starts and an old month ends with the party reaching Altdorf, the greatest city in the world and the hub of trade in the Empire. With a fair amount of money weighing down their pockets, thanks to the bounties paid by the Bogenhafen council and the traitor Magirius for the Ordo Septenarius, they make for the mercantile districts.
Iris sells the party’s horse-drawn cart on the principle that the proceeds will pay for barge passage to Grissenwald and back, with a lot left over. She also sells on the spirits she stole from the Ordo Septenarius’ warehouse, before heading over to Altdorf’s small halfling district and investing several hundred crowns in three separate halfling-owned businesses: a pharmacist’s, a general trader and a brewery. Conveniently, all three businesses will be able to provide her with practical services whenever she’s in Altdorf as well…
Then comes the tough part. Rose had relatives in Altdorf, so Iris deliver the bad news about her death to Toby, Rose’s seventh cousin, twice removed, on the father’s side. Together, they draft a letter for Rose’s parents, which is to be carried to the Moot by the next halfling heading in that direction.
As a member of the Altdorf Merchants’ Guild from the last time she was in town, Jarla invests 150 crowns into the new ‘semaphore’ signal tower system being built between the city and Nuln. She reckons that, once the system is up and running, the ability to send a message between Altdorf and Nuln in just a few hours will revolutionise the Empire, and rake in a lot of profits into the bargain.
Alexa discovers a good leatherworking stall and purchases a full set of leather armour. In the words of the leatherworker, “If you like my work, tell your friends. After all, good armour lasts a lifetime. So does poor armour.”
She does, and Johann and Iris make the same purchases. Johann heads to a milliner’s to buy himself a hat for travelling - the weather is starting to heat up, and travelling along roads will lead to sunburn in a few months.
While wandering aimlessly through the market, Alexa realises that she is being followed by a man wearing an apron and short sleeves, with the guild medallion of a craftsman. Concerned as to why random people seem to be paying her unusual attention, she ducks into a nearby butcher’s shop and purchases some Ostland black sausage.
Unfortunately, the craftsman isn’t fooled and follows her in. “We need to talk,” he hisses, grabbing her wrist and pulling her aside.
“Hey!” protests the butcher. “You have a domestic, have it outside, okay?”
The craftsman ignores him and yanks off Alexa’s gloves, revealing the remnants of the purple dye on her hand.
“Yeah, I thought it was you,” he snarls, under his breath. “What are you playing at, woman? Seriously, you’re walking on thin ice right now. You get your arse to Middenheim with that 20,000 crowns within the week, or…” He draws a finger across his throat.
“What are you talking about?” Alexa replies, confused.
The craftsman shakes his head in disgust and storms out.
Shaking, Alexa hurries to the tavern where the others are gathering. She explains what happened to her, both with the gambler in Blutroch and the craftsman.
Jarla frowns at the mention of the ‘purple palm’. It reminds her of something she heard during her earlier life in Middenheim. An organisation of some sort, a secret society amongst the merchant class… the Purple Hand, she thinks they’re called.
Iris chuckles grimly. “You said he was after 20,000 crowns?” she asks.
Alexa nods.
“They’re after ‘your’ inheritance,” she remarks.
“They think you’re Esther Leiberung,” Ulrich adds.
Alexa groans and sinks her head into her hands.
“This is getting complicated,” Johann says. “What’s going on here?”
Iris mulls it over. “Well, how about Esther Leiberung works for this Purple Hand group and she was getting the inheritance for them?”
“It wasn’t a real inheritance though,” says Johann.
“They don’t know that. Someone set it up as a hoax, but then Esther dies on the way down from Middenheim…”
“…and I stole her identity,” Alexa moans.
“So, we’ve got the faction who wanted the inheritance, the faction who faked the inheritance for some reason or other, and what about the bounty hunter, Kuftsos?”
“A third faction?” Jarla suggests.
Iris shrugs. “It’s possible.”
“This isn’t good,” Alexa says. “What can we do?”
“Sod all,” Jarla says. “We’ve no chance of getting 20k, ever, so we carry on as before.”
“I guess I’ll have to just watch my back then,” Alexa sighs, obviously not keen on the idea.
Again, it’s Iris that comes up with the common-sense suggestion: “Just prove to them that you’re not Esther, and it’s all a weird case of mistaken identity, and you’ll be alright. That makes sense, right?”
They all agree. A secret society persecuting Alexa while they’re trying to track down Etelka Herzen could prove to be a dangerous distraction.
That night, Alexa sleeps with her shutters bolted, a chair against the door and a dagger under her pillow.