GM Harrow’s Curse of the Crimson Throne - AE

Game Master GM Harrow

Good luck, Abella!

Just an update: family is now visiting through tomorrow. I’m currently off my meds due to prep for surgery on the 3rd so I have the energy of a deflated balloon. I will post as I am able

Hope you have an easy procedure and a quick recovery!

Best wishes, Abella. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

@Audria: yes, we can have some downtime after we introduce Elric and Pava so the PCs all get to know each other a bit, also to prepare for the next mission and for Merula if there's anything she needs to do.

(Merula is Shrike's social identity).

@Audria: yes, we can have some downtime after we introduce Elric and Pava so the PCs all get to know each other a bit, also to prepare for the next mission and for Merula if there's anything she needs to do.

Thanks! I appreciate it and I'll never say no to an opportunity for some character interaction. :D

The Field Marshal's eyes widen a little in surprise at Audria's offer, but she quickly lets go of any shock she might feel at a priestess of Shelyn having underworld ties to focus on the matter at hand.

This made my morning. I'm half expecting Kroft to ask her to stay behind and start asking some pointed questions, whose answers are probably only going to raise more questions.

Here's wishing for a speedy recovery, Abella!

@Audria: yes, we can have some downtime after we introduce Elric and Pava so the PCs all get to know each other a bit, also to prepare for the next mission and for Merula if there's anything she needs to do.

Being as it's Fireday, the show was originally supposed to open today, but it could be delayed because of the need for further rehearsals or because of venue changes for a day, or a week, if we decide that would be better. Either way, late afternoon through late evening will be when she's typically busy with the 'day' job. The thing I need to remember to write something about from this morning is that she will have to wrap up the dance-tutor part of her day job, which were lessons at various wealthy houses that took place three days a week, two students per day, in the late morning or early afternoon. While the city was in turmoil, no one would miss her if instead of going to those tutoring sessions she was showing up at the Sanctuary of Shelyn every morning and doing Adventuring during the day. But if that's the standard gathering place and time, the lessons can't continue.

Shrike brings up a good point. Logically speaking Audria would have duties around the Sanctuary as well. She may be excused since she's doing a service to Korvosa by helping the guard, but she hasn't really had that conversation with Brother Theolan, yet.

Also, I do want to remind Shrike that Audria did offer to help Merula during the conversation with Keyra Endrin at the Remembrance, so if she's thinking that this is spreading her too thin, Audria's willing to step in and help. She's a skilled dancer, so she probably does know some of the more formal ones.

That said, there's a few things that I'd like to wrap up/do.

1. Get word back to Captain Merrin about Tayce and Brienna Soldado. Audria would like to do this in person so she can also get Eliana the things she requested and visit with her.

2. Get Eliana her things, obviously. :P

3. Have a conversation with Shrike/Lania/Merula. She's got concerns and she would really like to address them before we head into the spider's den.

Well, that answers that question. The show must go on! Tonight, apparently. :)

Audria, thanks for the offer. That was kind of her. I'm not sure the rich parents paying for such lessons would want that, though. We could still try to convince them if you're into it, but part of Merula's suitability for the job is that she is older than her students and officially of at least shabby-genteel background. It's also not exactly that she's being spread too thin. It's more that previous to this, she was still essentially doing two jobs, but all her Shrike-hours were late at night, and now some of them have to be during the day basically every day.

If the GM approves, one possibility is that the lessons can just be moved to one per day later in the day, such that they are right before any rehearsal/performance time and can be folded into the "day job." I don't feel much need to RP with them, but they could be a useful channel for information or quests, a bellwether for what's going on in the city, or a way to motivate Shrike to do things — that kind of thing. And Merula could definitely recommend Audria for something like painting or drawing sessions — which might also satisfy some Shelynite temple obligations. A way that we might meet up again with Keyra Endrin specifically is if we brought her in on searching for how to contact Estoya Fulce, since she's interested in tattoos.

I read back in the thread and was interested to see that Sabina Merrin didn't tell Dal how to contact her with what he learned. Since he was the one she asked, I figured he would handle reporting back, so to speak, or at least the non-Shrike PCs would. But it's kind of unclear how that should happen. Send her a letter? Turn up at the castle gates and ask to speak to her?

Moving the lessons doesn't sound like a problem, whatever makes Merula/Shrike's schedules work.

Sabina Merrin's request was a way for me to reinforce the connection to Grau Soldado and introduce early some NPCs that will play a bigger role later on. It could be that she doesn't expect a response and just that someone would check in on them is enough, but if you want to bring news back to her then the Field Marshal might be able to help, or you could put Grau on the spot about their connection, or turn up at the castle gates. :)

@Dalmano - is there anything that Dal wants to do during downtime?

In any case, I propose that everyone reconvenes at the Sanctuary so we can get Pava introduced, then go on their respective errands.

If Elric can get his armor switched out right away, he’s happy to tag along on errands or kick it at the Sanctuary before the mission.

He may also propose a bit of intel gathering and planning, so we don’t go in cold.

Well, after Kroft mentioned going to see Brekka and Hommel, and Audria knows that Merula is part of the production, if not exactly what part, I had this idea of getting Trinia, Eliana, Brother Theolan, and Sister Jenelyn to go. She's going to be going to the Sanctuary anyway, so Brother Theolan and Sister Jenelyn will be easy. I don't think Audria could get to Trinia's and wrangle a visit to the castle to see Eliana before the play, so I was thinking that Tally would go to Trinia's flat and Audria would visit the castle.

If you want, I could just write this up in a single post. Audria would leave a message with one of the guards if Captain Merrin is unavailable. I know that we weren't exactly asked to return with news, but as I understand it, generally, when someone asks if you can check up on someone they'd like some news back. Again, this something that I can just put in that post. Dal may be the one that was asked, but Audria's one of those that wants to help, so she'll handle this for him, even if he didn't ask. :P

I also understand that it was a convenient way for the GM to introduce some NPCs that'll be involved later, but Audria would want to see this through, and to be honest I, as a player, would rather not leave that thread dangling loose for long.

Regarding Audria giving painting and drawing lessons as part of her priestly duties, I think that would be great! It fits Shelyn's tenets as far as I know (promote beauty and the arts) and would also be in character for Brother Theolan ("She's been getting into too much trouble lately. This should help keep her out of it!") And as Shrike says, it'd be a good way to feed the party gossip, rumors, and plot hooks for the AP.

As for intel gathering, well, that was what Audria was thinking when she mentioned her contacts. Madame Ioana runs the Dockside Doxies, a shop specializing in perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, intimates, and other unmentionables for the discerning lady of the night that's right next to the entrance to Eel's End. She's a Calistrian priestess that also deals in settling scores and other vengeance related activities. Jessica L'Morie is one of Audria's more unlikely friends, given her personality and predilection for teasing Audria and Eliana in a big-sisterly way. She also works at the Dockside Doxies and is the one that concocted the lotion that grew back Audria's and Eliana's hair after having their heads practically shaved when a couple of imps had gotten loose from the Academae with some jars of goo that would not come out of their hair after the imps dropped it on them. An Academae student took some pity on them when they and Brother Theolan went up to the Academae so he could lodge a complaint with the administration over the incident, and mentioned that the Dockside Doxies may have something to help. It's also why when Audria or Eliana gets nervous, embarrassed, or upset enough their hair starts to grow out. Jessica has some tools that allow her to harvest it and the Dockside Doxies use it for wigs.

All of that is to say that Audria knows some people that could give us the scoop on Eel's End, and visiting the Dockside Doxies is one of the reasons that I have been looking forward to this part ever since I signed up for recruitment.

all of the stuff

Sounds good.

I'll post tomorrow with everyone gathered at the Sanctuary before Audria goes to the castle.

If anyone ever gets confused by all the NPCs, I can put together a Who's Who in the Campaign Info tab or a separate document. I did something similar for my War for the Crown campaign to help players keep track of influence levels and various other subsystems.

That might not be a bad idea to do anyway. I know I've helped create no small part of the NPC bloat issue, so I can do the write up if needed. I have an idea about how to handle it as well. I just need to see if what I have in mind will work.

Also, I was planning on paying for Audria's guests, so let me know how much tickets are.

Also also, Shrike, do you think we'd have time for a brief scene where you and Audria talk away from the others? She's got some questions. I was thinking she may know of a hide-away somewhere enroute to the Sanctuary.

Thanks GM. That's what I'll assume happened then. And yes, that all sounds good, Audria. Feel free to pull Shrike aside once we're back at the Sanctuary and before Shrike leaves for day job things. :)

Will do. I think I'll wait for the GM to post first, though.

An overview of the different NPC would be helpful. I'm slowly reading my way through the entire in-game thread, but with all the spoilers and sub-plots, it's a lot to keep track of.

Some of the explanation can take place in character, as Audria talks to Elsric about everything they need to do before setting off tonight. A trip to the Dockside Doxies sounds fun.

We should also give Dal and Abella a chance to finish the introduction scene before moving on, unless we want to trigger another game of alternate timeline spoilers that could make Dr. Who dizzy. I know both of them are hampered by health issues, so we should probably not overwhelm them with 50+ posts to react to once they are able to post.

Good point, we'll pause a bit and give them a chance to catch up.

Okay, I'll do that scene I wanted to do with Shrike since I was planning on doing it on the way to the Sanctuary. I think she should have time to explain stuff to Elric, but in the interest of keeping things at least somewhat organized and giving both Abella and Dal as long as possible, I think I'm going to do this one then the other.

On the other hand, I also don't want to keep putting Pava's intro into the game off, but I don't see a way of doing it that doesn't result in that bowl of time spaghetti that Elric mentioned.

With weapons and armor being half price at the armory, Elric would like to trade in his regular mwk breastplate for a mwk agile breastplate if that’s ok.

He definitly has things to say about Tallyfeather and seeing Bartholomew at the Sanctuary, but I’ll hold off on that for now.

Since we're having to stop by the armory anyway, would it be alright if I got a couple of things? Mainly just upgrading Audria's arsenal. :P

Sorry for being a bit scatter-brained.

Shop away, and feliz ano nuovo!

Okay, I'll do that scene I wanted to do with Shrike since I was planning on doing it on the way to the Sanctuary. I think she should have time to explain stuff to Elric, but in the interest of keeping things at least somewhat organized and giving both Abella and Dal as long as possible, I think I'm going to do this one then the other.

On the other hand, I also don't want to keep putting Pava's intro into the game off, but I don't see a way of doing it that doesn't result in that bowl of time spaghetti that Elric mentioned.

I feel the same way; I'm looking forward to Pava's intro, but I would rather wait until that scene doesn't create a tangled mess.

Neither the campaign nor I are going anywhere after all :-)

Thanks for understanding, Pava. I'm going to try and make this quick.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Here's to 2024 being better than 2023.

+1 to that, Audria.

Happy New Year to those who celebrate!

This little aside with Audria and Shrike isn't getting in the way of anything, right? We're mainly waiting on progressing the main story and introducing Kroft's friend/Pava (Two people? One?) until Abella and Dal can chime in for the introduction scene. Hope I'm understanding that right.

Happy New Year to all celebrating!

Yes and no?

I mean, we could just continue it in spoilers since I don't think it's going to affect anything as far as how Audria and Shrike will react, but I also didn't want to wind up with time spaghetti like we did in at the Remembrance.

Oh, and unless I miss my guess, I think it'll be two people. :)

Correct, Kroft's friend and Pava are two separate people. And I also believe we're waiting for Abella and Dal to be less busy so that they can participate in the introduction scenes and not miss too much.

So aside away!

Oh, yeah, that was the other thing. Been a bit scatterbrained lately.

I was able to get a small post up. I’m still scatterbrained and tired from being off my meds for surgery prep, so am still in nebulous posting territory, but I’m doing a bit better today

You said that was the 3rd, right? Hope everything goes well.

All the best!

Happy New Year!

That post took a bit. I started it shortly after Shrike posted and it went through a few revisions before I was happy with it. Apologies if I'm a little off base with where some of Shrike's anger is coming from, but we can chalk that up to Audria misinterpreting what she's seeing with Shrike and me making an assumption based on her background and the way she's been played so far.

Speaking of New Year, the Queen and the royal succession

That's interesting. I wonder how long they've been discussing this. I wouldn't think the Queen would abdicate all of the sudden without talking to her son about it.

There have been speculations for years, but it has taken the entire country by complete surprise. The general assumption has always been that she would follow Queen Elizabeth’s example and remain on the throne to the bitter end.

In her speech, she specifically mentioned some major back surgery she had early in 2023 as a contributing factor.

That could be Once you get to that age, you don't recover as well as you used to.

I'll freely admit that my first reaction to that headline was "Huh, Denmark still has a queen?"

Funnily enough, there's still quite a few monarchies still kicking around in Europe. There's the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Spain, Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.

Yup, constitutional monarchy is all the rage over here. You won’t find us chugging crates of tea into the harbor any time soon. On the other hand, the role of the Queen or King is mostly ceremonial, with elected governments holding all of the real power.

I knew the UK wasn't the only one, but I was surprised to see how many there actually are, and it looks like Liechtenstein and Monaco's monarchies still have some power within the government.

Andorra was the weird one. Apparently it's a diarchy with the two princes being the President of France and the Bishop of the Catholic church in the area.

Of course, this is one American's take after finding the Wikipedia article, so take that with what you will.

On a different note, I really hope y'all aren't getting bored. I was hoping that this would be over pretty quick, but I guess that was too much to ask for over the holiday. I am looking forward to finally replying to Bartholomew, though. It took a couple of read throughs for me to realize that someone must have passed themselves off as Audria's new weapons instructor. Boy, this is going to be fun.

Just letting everyone know that I am recovering from the flu and playing catch-up.

The 28th I felt unwell and on the 29th I struggled to get out of bed but I'm at the tail end of it so, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Oof, wishing you a speedy recovery!

As I said in the game I'm running, glad to hear you're feeling better. :)

GM, are you waiting on anyone? I think Shrike and I are done talking and I did ask Bartholomew about the guy he mentioned.

Hope you feel fully better soon, Dal!

Audria, because of this suggestion by Elric and this GM post, I kind of assumed we were still hitting pause on story progression until Dal is recovered and able to post, in order to avoid too many going-back-in-time asides. GM, please correct me if I'm wrong and you're waiting for more of us to respond to Bartholomew or go into the Sanctuary of Shelyn.

And a happy retirement to the Queen of Denmark. :)

Fair enough. I guess we could talk amongst ourselves while we wait. I think I remember Elric saying something about Tally turning from bird to half-elf. That could be something we do while we wait.

I don't suppose we could find some way for Pava to get in on the fun. I hate just leaving them sitting around with nothing to do while we kill time.

We've been waiting for Dal to hopefully feel better and be able to post again, in order to avoid time spaghetti. The next scene would be the introduction of Pava and the Field Marshal's mysterious friend.

@Dal, how are you feeling? Absolutely no pressure, just let us know how you are doing.