GM Cellion's Dawn of Flame AP (complete) (Inactive)

Game Master Cellion

Yeah, I was trying to remember Vessu's name.

I am making a list of NPC's, but it is going slowly. We have made A LOT of posts.

So far:

People who we met along the way, some of whom for a season, but some of whom were partners until almost the very end…
- Sammad Al-Fayir (9/12/2019)
- Marisol Welkin (9/12/2019)
- Doctor Taeress Suloro (9/20/2019, DCI)
- Lorix-Opipol-Lucus (9/27/2019 – Maker Stowaway on Breath of Embers)
- Typhix (10/4/2019 -- Engineer on Breath of Embers)
- Dr. Aran Nokorokt (12/14/2019 – Mentor in the DCI)
- Officer Mims (1/13/2020 -- Station Laubu)
- Nib (1/21/2020 – DCI)
- Dr. Tenmin Varega (4/4/2020, DCI)
- Sessil Vand (5/3/2020, DCI)

And up through post 3000!

- Luthyx (5/10/2020, Grandmaster’s Kitchen)
- Ol' Marya (6/1/2020, Corona stellar plasma survivor)
- Miran (6/2/2020, Corona stellar plasma survivor) – maybe we improve the bubble shields?
- Kerschiu (liberated from collar steam mephit)
- Captain Est Mahara, of the Dawn Patrol (10/1/2020)
- Lurian Straza, Siccitite stellar plasma shielding (10/29/2020)
- Ferrah, Khizar from Void Palm encounter (11/4/2020)
- Pahoric, Vestani Gaming Complex (11/18/2020)

A lot of NPCs!

For Sammad and Mari, I don't want to put more words in their mouths than I already have, but if we have their players back at some time, they are absolutely welcome to do their own epilogue posts. As for the NPCs, we can catch up with those that you're most interested in. Don't hesitate to post in gameplay exactly how you're reaching out to them and we'll do some little vignettes (it can be more than one at a time).

Captain Flint Conners wrote:

I am making a list of NPC's, but it is going slowly. We have made A LOT of posts.

So far:

People who we met along the way, some of whom for a season, but some of whom were partners until almost the very end…
- Sammad Al-Fayir (9/12/2019)
- Marisol Welkin (9/12/2019)
- Doctor Taeress Suloro (9/20/2019, DCI)
- Lorix-Opipol-Lucus (9/27/2019 – Maker Stowaway on Breath of Embers)
- Typhix (10/4/2019 -- Engineer on Breath of Embers)
- Dr. Aran Nokorokt (12/14/2019 – Mentor in the DCI)
- Officer Mims (1/13/2020 -- Station Laubu)
- Nib (1/21/2020 – DCI)
- Dr. Tenmin Varega (4/4/2020, DCI)
- Sessil Vand (5/3/2020, DCI)

And up through post 3000!

- Luthyx (5/10/2020, Grandmaster’s Kitchen)
- Ol' Marya (6/1/2020, Corona stellar plasma survivor)
- Miran (6/2/2020, Corona stellar plasma survivor) – maybe we improve the bubble shields?
- Kerschiu (liberated from collar steam mephit)
- Captain Est Mahara, of the Dawn Patrol (10/1/2020)
- Lurian Straza, Siccitite stellar plasma shielding (10/29/2020)
- Ferrah, Khizar from Void Palm encounter (11/4/2020)
- Pahoric, Vestani Gaming Complex (11/18/2020)

And the rest!

- Taza Nepobo. Vice President of Operations (12/20/2020)
- Atra & friends, Brass Dragon Mercenary, redeemed sabateur (2/27/2021)
- Speaker SOL-653, Sentient Robot of Noma, disassembled (4/5/2021)
- Otlo the Orocoran, tablet scholar (7/23/2021)
- Sutrum Lem, Otlo’s associate (9/28/2021)
- Color-blighted verthani from Ezrod (3/17/2022)
- Warden of Ezrod (5/11/2022)
- Jenan Mayevi, DCI Operative (7/5/2022)
- Vessu Karimo. Xenotech specialist, DCI Mechanic/sabateur (7/5/2022)
- Ilor, DCI Soldier (7/5/2022)
- Anassanoi designation Zhyffor (7/26/2022)
- Nyralaen, Protector, Anassanoi (9/1/2022)
- Mehhren, Protector, Anassanoi (10/31/2022)
- Protector Jheghal, Anassanoi (7/5/2023)
- Designation Rehljaer, misguided Anassanoi rebel (8/15/2023)
- Protector Faeffel, Anassanoi (12/4/2023)
- Three Anassanoi Recruits (12/30/2023)
- Uzmat (deceased heroically) (1/8/2024)
- Rikard, verthani rescued by Uzmat (1/14/2024)
- Hazl Soren, soldier rescued in Crucible (3/21/2024)
- Astino and two other rescued prisoners (Crucible), (4/29/2024)
- Old Nanite (9/25/2024)

Do we have some idea of what resource/cash we have available to us, in case we want to buy anything?

Flint is interested in making sure the Corona shields are stabilized and no longer risks irradiating the citizens like Ol' Marya and Miran.

Kerschiu (liberated from collar steam mephit) would be worth following up on and see if he has found a place -- maybe with the DCI?

All the B-team people, including Atra & friends, Jenan, Ilor, 3 Anassanoi recruits, Hazl, Astino and other rescued prisoners. Flint would like to honor them as heroes as well.

Rikard is hopefully okay too now that he is back in the Archipelago. Perhaps he will want to participate in honoring Uzmat.

From Ezrod, Flint is interested in the color-blighted verthani we rescued and anyone who might want to become protégé to the Warden.

I think we established at the time that the Corona bubbles are artifact-tier; repairing them would probably be beyond the scope of this AP but maybe I'm wrong about that.

I second Flint's priorities, and Ordyt would also want to as Khalannal if they wanted to open an embassy in the Archipelago. And maybe building a "psychic tight beam" for communications would be a good long-term project?

Thirding those priorities as well! We may be on the cusp of creating a coalition of "solar states" with the Archipelago and Kahlannal allying!

Yep, Ordyt's right about the bubbles being ancient artifacts, but over the course of this adventure you've gotten a lot of info on where they might've originated, so you may be able to set things in motion to help fix Corona. (Agreed though that it's generally beyond the scope of the AP)

As I mentioned in my most recent post, Khalannal is in a bit of an upheaval right now of isolationists vs. people more open to contact with the rest of the Pact Worlds. One day they may be ready for further contact, but there's a long way to go.

(Feel free to add more stuff you'd like to prioritize following up on in gameplay, and how you want to approach it)

Thoughts on resources/credits for use from our loot or any reward?

You're welcome to buy things using the treasures you recovered from the Crucible (there was also a lot of stuff that you noted but may not have actually grabbed due to the hectic nature of your raid. you can decide you *did* end up putting those things in extradimensional storage for example).

I will say that loot and gear upgrades will not be critical in our bonus chapter.

Just wanted to give everyone a chance to interact here before I move us forward. Are people ready to move on?

I'll do a post tonight after work. Been dealing with it.

Actually, do we know if the Pact Worlds and The Malikah are negotiating? There was a mention of captured efreet before, is there a system in place for exchanges/ransoming of POWs or other agreements?

You didn't ask, so I don't think you know as of this scene. If you investigate after this scene, you would find out that there has been no negotiation or contact with the Malikah. The captured efreeti were of Khaim's Legion, and while they worship the Malikah, they don't report to her.

As a bit for your consideration:
[u]I think leaving this hook for the final chapter un-tugged is a fine conclusion if you definitely feel your characters would ignore it[/u]. If you do decide on that, I will do a bit of a wrap up as to what the fallout of such a decision would be.

That said, your characters have learned over the course of the last six books that the Malikah is a demi-goddess. She has all the accoutrements of deity-hood surrounding her (worshippers, holy texts, shrines, etc) but lacks only that final step to ascend from demi-goddess status. If your characters took a peek into her holy book you would have read about her squabbles with her half-brother Ragathiel. Suffice it to say - your characters would know that in the face of such a figure you are essentially at her mercy. The question is only how you respond to the fact that she now knows about you and has reason to dislike you.

Like Belmarniss said: this is likely either a trap or a job offer. :P

My curiosity as a player is piqued, but I of course will defer if you guys feel it's not worth it.

"Step into my parlor, said the the spider to the fly"

I can definitely see a version of this scene working, but not with Ordyt & the Malikah. We have no reason to trust anything we're told, her emissary directly informed us she thinks she's above such things so we can't trust any assurances she makes even if she bothered to make them. As far as Ordyt (and his player!) is concerned she's a creature of raw might-makes-right, which makes going to her palace just a creative form a suicide.

And at this point, we directly wrecked her bid for full divinity so we probably can't get any more on her s##! list than we already are.

Had a real "how is it that I'm autistic and somehow have more social awareness and savvy than THIS guy (and by extension his boss)?!" kinda moment. :P

Easy to have a god complex when you actually are a (demi)god, I guess. The arrogance doesn't really surprise me, Ordyt just isn't a character who would take the deal being offered.

Kargas Stormscar probably would've, though.

Bel, you are on deck! Let us know where your character goes from here and then I'll wrap us up.

I'll have a post up tomorrow. Been kind of in "burnout recovery mode" this week.

Cellion, thank you so very much for the game, and for sticking with us all these years during it! I had a great time and have much admiration for your GMing--if/when you decide on a new game I will happily submit a character!

Yeah, it's been a blast, literally! And now I have TWO APs that I've played through with you to completion! You've gotta be one of the best GMs I've ever played with. Obviously still excited to continue in your Devastation Ark game, and I eagerly look forward to playing with you in the future!

Thank you so much! What an awesome game with the opportunity to really develop our characters throughout the story! We made it!

Aww, thank you guys :)

Now that we're done, if you have any burning questions about the behind the scenes or the story, feel free to throw those out. I'll probably leave the thread active for a while before marking it off. As for the next thing, I'm very much not sure what it'll be, but I'll make sure to ping you all when I start recruiting.

I think all of us wanna know, what exactly WAS the Malikah gonna talk to us about if we'd accepted her invitation? Given how the epilogue turned out, I wonder if Belmarniss' hunch that it was a job-offer was accurate! Like an "I'm rebranding and want you to be my PR consultants, since you clearly know what the Sun's public want" kind of move! :P

Questions I have as a player:

1) What is/was NOMA? Are they connected to the Aballonians or something else entirely? What was wrong with the city? It seemed unwell in a way that I don't think had anything to do with the Legion.

2) Is there additional lore on the Eshtayiv/Ezorod? An eldritch horror of the hungry dark imprisoned inside a star is a fantastic concept and I'd love to know more.

The Malikah of course wanted to see who these people were that completely destroyed the operation Khaim was running. While she wasn't directly connected to the Legion (they just held her up on a pedestal), it's a blow to her ego to have so many of her worshippers scattered and defeated. The book suggests a few ways that the interaction with the Malikah can go - based on my read of her I was going to run a social encounter similar to the one we did with Trinipol back in Book 1. How well you could impress her, trick her, flatter her or otherwise leave a positive impression would be key to what potential outcomes the meeting would have, all the way from her turning you to ash on the spot to letting you go free with promises not to interfere with the Pact Worlds (or you'd even have the opportunity to suggest other concessions if you did a good enough job).

Some other potential outcomes:
- You're "offered" a geas to never interfere with her or her agents again but are let go
- She sees you have potential, but aren't necessarily morally aligned with her, leading her to recruit you to fight evil elemental lords (and their minions) that she also dislikes.
- You're thrown into the volcano of Sakalayo Peak, to struggle against all sorts of fire-related hazards and monstrosities for her amusement.

Overall, its a "make the best of a bad situation" kind of scenario, with some potentially very dramatic conclusions.
----

Noma is probably my favorite "weird sun location" they managed to make for the AP. The backstory is given a bit of ambiguity even for the GM, but my take is that the First Ones seeded both Aballon and Noma at the same time but with very different purposes. With Noma, the intrasolar location provided abundant energy and enabled a society of pure experimentation and innovation. By the time you guys got there though, the city had been (long ago) visited by an agent of the Eshtayiv in its traversal of the sun. The agent attempted to take control of Noma to use it to serve the Eshtayiv's interests - specifically to destroy Ezorod. Unfortunately for that agent, the protocites fought back and overwhelmed it. If you recall the "Noma mummy" you guys found in the core, that's all that's left of the energy-drained agent of the Eshtayiv. Unfortunately for Noma, the agent's actions irrevocably corrupted the programming of the city's prime intelligence. Now Noma is caught in a repetitive cycle of abortive experiments and corrupted logic.

As for the Eshtayiv or "The Incandescent Doom", you can think of it as a counterpart to the Outer Gods - very very old and totally incomprehensible in form. Its main and essentially only drive is to "illuminate" dark places, which is a goal that the Outer Gods don't appreciate. That illumination though tends to completely rend reality, so the Eshtayiv is no more friendly than the Outer Gods it opposes. Ezorod is a prison "anchor" created by adherents of the Outer Gods. It works by sustaining a nigh-infinite darkness within that the Eshtayiv can never fully illuminate, resulting in its attention perpetually being fixed on that location, while every nearby location is already bright, so its attention doesn't wander. There used to be other anchors within the sun, but the adherents there were destroyed by the subconscious manifestations of the Eshtayiv - you fought some of those weird fiery creatures in Ezorod yourselves - and their respective anchors were fully illuminated and destroyed.

The Legion recovered the black bubble technology from one of these other destroyed prisons while they were trying to work out how to get inside Ezorod.

I liked Noma a lot too, enough so that my next SF character might be an SRO or other robotic being.

I hadn't considered that Ezorod was made by other Outer God cultists--I had assumed the portal to Aucturne was them worming their way in instead of being a maintenance hatch. Does that mean that Eshtayiv's attention is freed up--at least from the bubbles in Mataras? Another spooky hook for the setting!

Thanks to your efforts in Ezorod the containment still holds, though it's a tenuous hold that will probably fail in time if nothing new is done. The Eshtayiv is certainly a big plot hook for later. One of the potential "continuing the campaign" plots suggested is for one of the Eshtayiv's agents to try to goad the party into fighting its enemies on Aucturn to pave the way for the Eshtayiv's full liberation!

Though you never came face-to-face, I added a picture of the Malikah to Handouts. She's got a cool design.