THIS WEEK ONLY! For Whom the Bell Tolls @ Exemplary Execrables


Curse of the Crimson Throne


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One of the numerous additions and changes to my upcoming CotCT game is getting the history of Korvosa to my players in more exciting ways than the usual text dump or "just read the wiki article on this". I hope you guys enjoy this attempt at telling my players about the history of Fort Korvosa as told in the Guide to Korvosa on page 49. Note: This is a play that should occur early on...possibly a prelude for players..before people lose their muse.

pretext on the art of lower-class Korvosa:

The beautiful Chelish operas are adored by the upper class. Really beautiful, baroque tales of revenge and sadness encapsulate Chelish culture and score rave reviews in Korvosa among the elite.

Pilts' Exemplary Execrables offers a hyperbole of this.

For the poor recognize these Chelish styles as symbols of the upper class and formed its own response to it. Because, while the poor will never be rich, they can certain enjoy a night out mocking them. So they enjoy and relish its own gaudiness, decadence with sweet, sweet satire. Tonight they are rich and having the finest entertainment their copper pinches can buy!

Similarly to what The Misfits did with combining 50's rockabilly style, b-grade horror movie lyrics, and punk rock, this subculture makes a stew of all these various elements blending spices of the Decadence movement and places like Grand Guignol.Take your classic American summer blockbuster or campy horror flick and combine it with some 60's b-grade movie elements and over-the-top gore (with classically played metal and punk scores) and you got this style.

Imagine metal genre classical orchestras adorned in spiked leather outfits and painted skull faces! It is somewhat ethnocentric/Pro-Korvosa but has quite a lot of antidisestablishment influences and nods to many political philosophers from Galt. Oh how delightfully twisted and decadent!

So a lot of this is editable and customizable. I'm really only laying the ground work here and providing some suggestions.

I hope you all enjoy my scatterbrained idea!

A crumpled yellow flyer stapled to a poll or message board, floating capriciously down the street, maybe stuck to the bottom of your shoe, or even reverse pick-pocketed on you, reads:
------------------------------
Friends! Women! Korvosans! make time this week to relish in our delectable history! Here the uncensored, 100% true story of the 12 men who survived and the back of the Shoanti aggressors.
Blood! Bravery! Betrayal! MORE BLOOD!
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
FROM: (DM choice) TO:(DM choice)
Directed by Pilts Swastel, Owner of Exemplary Execrables
Written by: (DM choice)
With music by: (DM choice)
Art by: Salvatore Scream
--------------------------------

Describe the gaudy former temple of Aroden with its graffiti'ed stained glass windows, it's plastic/glass giant gem encrusted doors, dirty red carpet, skull-adorned chandeliers, graffitied bathrooms with things with skulls and sayings like "LIVE AND DIE FREE", etc.

Play this when the play begins. The musicians are all adorned in tight, spiked leather suits with various skull and undead makeup on with long or spiked hair of various colors. Some combination of GWAR/Misfits/80s Glam Rock.

(The play opens with a view view of several black chelish sailing ships coming into Conqueror's bay and seeing Endrin Isle for the first time. You can hint that the backdrops and art is INCREDIBLY detailed (foreshadow Scream!))

Narrator aka DM: In 4407, the flotilla of ships commanded by Admiral Kiamelu land on the island of Conqueror's Bay. The Chelish marines and nobles are instantly attacked by an awaiting force of Shoanti savages.

(The music picks up and the play cuts to the landing of several Chelaxian marines getting attacked on the beaches and become under attack. Describe this opener as one that'd make Saving Private Ryan look like The Lego Movie. Describe the hero, Waydon Endrin, saving his marine brother's lives from the naked, caricatured Shoanti horde.)

Narrator: The Admiral losses his nerve and orders a full retreat stranding several dozen marines on the island. Only the Frigate Merciless disobeys orders and stays behind to provide support.

(Ham up the actors describing intense scenes about the drama with stuff like men saying "DAMMIT ADMIRAL WE STILL HAVE MEN ON THAT ISLAND." "MY SON IS ON THAT BEACH, GODS DAMMIT." With the stern admiral being, like, "AND THERE HE WILL DIE." and walk off. Include the captain of the Merciless being like "SCREW THE ADMIRAL. I'M NOT LEAVING THOSE MEN TO DIE." Really play up the machismo.)

(Cut to Jeggare and his men coming down the river)

Narrator: Many days later, Montlarion Jeggare and his famed expedition's return down the river that will carry his name to find the smoke and besieged marines on Endrin Isle.

(Jeggare takes off his glasses in a "Mother. Of. God." moment before cutting back to the stranded marines.)

Narrator: The stranded marines hold up on the hill that would become Fort Korvosa. Battling Shoanti, hunger, thirst, disease, and the island itself.

(Scene of marines fighting snakes, assassin vines, dodging arrows, quicksand, have a few dramatic deaths. "RODRIGO....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" with Endrin grabbing Rodrigo's brother and being like "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN. HE'S DEAD.")

(The drums increases and here comes the climactic battle where only 12 men are left before Jeggare and his team dashes through the jungle and turns the tide. The shoanti men flee leaving their scores beautiful, naked women behind.)

The crowd cheers as the men wipe sweat and blood from their brow and are, like, "Took you long enough, Jeggare." With him being all smug and "Looked like you had things under control. I take it you're the senior commander in charge?" "Your gods damned right.. now what are we gonna do with all these women?"

The crowd cheers and several scream "RAPE THEM! KILL THEM" in a disturbing fashion with the crowd voting for the actors and how the play should close.

Regardless, the play ends with tremendous applause. Perceptive players will notice that the Sensechal himself came out this evening to watch the show and was one of the first to give a standing ovation!


Maybe the PCs have the opportunity to come on stage during a part of this action and get mutilated for fun!

Afterwards, the PCs can hang around, maybe speak to the Seneschal, possibly Pilts and congratulate him or the actors for their amazing performance.. as well as earn an invitation for drinks and carousing down at Eel's End later.

If you like the idea of having Korvosan plays having a bigger role, or just different ways to bring Korvosa to life in your campaign, check out my campaign thread I'm working on, as well as pretty much everything Mr.Vergee has ever wrote! :D

Thank you for your time!


Dotted for great interest.


Hi Olondir

I like your rocky Horror Picture Show approach to Exemplary Execrables. A decadent punk rock style definitely suits this theater. It is also a good idea to introduce Pilts Swastel early in the adventure. I do wonder how you want to get the PCs involved, certainly if you want to set it during the prelude sessions. Maybe Lamm is a fan (he fits the bill of a fan quite well, I guess, liking violence, extortion, killing, cruelty ...) and he takes some of his lambs as a reward for bringing in the most money after a great holiday that sent the lambs on a pickpocketing trip.

While I understand your idea to use the play to give a bit of background information or Korvosan history to the players, I find it a bit harder to combine this totally 'wacko' playing style of the theater to the rather serious subject of a lesson in history. Somehow I would expect the stories to be stranger, more horrifying or decadent.

Still, your creative thinking will give your players a very rich campaign, I'm sure.

You may have noticed I've started my own little trip to the world of theater in my campaign. This little sidetrek to the Marbledome is actually the reason why I included the theater experience in the prelude sessions. It gave me the perfect excuse to provide the PCs with some training in perform (act), which comes in handy in this part of the story.


MrVergee wrote:

Hi Olondir

Hey there!

I have noticed your beginnings to the Passion of St. Alika and I gotta say I'm eagerly awaiting the mansion and the play itself! I too will be including such a piece in my own game.

I opted to let this stand on it's own for people to use (instead of just putting it my campaign thread) in order for people to find their own way to best utilize this play. The play can be substituted for a suitable evening activity during downtime at any point prior to Seven Days to the Grave, really.

Regarding your point about this being a history lesson..My players aren't the type who'd read the history section of Guide to Korvosa, so I have to find ways to expose them to the history of this cool city. This is the first of a few plays that will give them some insight into Korvosa's backstory. This play is basically as historically accurate as the movie 300 was to Thermopylae.

My plan is to juxtapose Korvosa's history through the lenses of the rich and poor... a conflict that plays a significant part of Edge of Anarchy.

So For Whom the Bell Tolls starts us off with the fighting to found the city and then (much like you) I will follow it up with The Passion of St. Alika with romanticized telling of the great fire around the same time/level as your campaign as an act to "mend" the city.

I just really like the comparisons between your vulgar grindhouse-y For Whom the Bell Tolls at Exemplary Execrables and then the ritzy, baroque Passion of St. Alika at the Marbledome later in the campaign.

You got me thinking and I should probably come up with a few more play ideas for Exemplary Execrables. Maybe something based on Re-Animator or Repo! The Genetic Opera...Maybe my PCs will go to them or maybe not. But it'd really sell that feel I want from Korvosa's lower class.

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