I sat down and blatantly stole came up with some ideas from this thread to hash out some lyrics, so I figured it would be remiss of me to not share the finished product:
(I've marked which parts the melody follows, so it should be relatively easy to sing along.)
[Bass Melody]
"Silver
Some Gold,"
Chelish miners cry
"For these worthless stones
I saw my brothers die
Scare-d, trapped in dark tunnels far from Aroden’s eyes
Where picks ring
Like mu-
-sic hidden from the skies."
[Violin 2 Melody]
Silver
A note
A strong shining tone
Earn my wage in dark
For those I love at home
The sound of silver, in a world so dark and dim
If I fall
I know
I did it all for them
[Violin Melody]
Silver
My song
Helps my city thrive
Through flames and dark times
My city seems alive
When the queen comes to see, I will give her my reply
Sounds of steel
On steel
Will cut through all her lies
[Vln. 1 Melody]
Silver
Our souls
Majesty’s playthings
People bound like flies
Trapped in her silken strings
Silk is fine for noble-born who pay their debts with gold
Honest folk
Will pay
With silver as foretold
[Vln.2 Melody]
Silver wings
Raven’s cry
Come with me
Let us see the sky
Raise your voice
Come, sing it loud
Sun, come down
Shining through the cloud
[Bass Melody]
Come with me
See the sky
Silver wings
[Vln. Melody]
Raven’s Cry
(Thanks to Mr. Reo and Nine Quiet Lessons for most of the lyrics I used!)
The Song in Play:
I'm thinking about making the Song of Silver into sort of a 'Bardic Ritual', possibly incorporating some of the Occult rules, or just making it auto-succeed with the number of bards/musicians that have to be involved.
Plus, in my version, the Silver Ravens were not the original creators of the Song of Silver (although I haven't given much thought to who exactly created it originally). In fact, they weren't even called the Silver Ravens at first, and adopted the name from the lyrics.
When the song is sung, it'll manifest as a silver light shining down from the sky ('Let us see the sky', 'Sun come down', etc.) on the Opera House, and then spread outwards in a barely-visible dome of energy.
Thanks Voomer! It's great to hear from you, considering how much of a resource you've been on other parts of this forum!
I'm also planning on running the vampire druid as an enemy (addicted to bloodbrew, which I believe I snagged from the GM Thread), but my group can be...thick sometimes.
Details to your questions are as follows: I figured I'd just have it more out in the open, just a regular volunteer hospital with nothing weird about it. However, disguised storefront makes it a little more thematic, and it still allows the human populace to come in.
I'll probably use the rumor mill to get the PCs to investigate (someone heard noises, or the inn they're in is right next door and someone discovers it in the morning). The clinic is indeed empty when they get there; I plan on having the guards show up after the PCs get a crack at it. Two piles of ash (The previous owners of the journals) sitting in the sunlight when they get there, door broken off the hinges (more of a show of force than anything), and any current human patients have been ruthlessly murdered and are still in their beds.
And you make an excellent point with the survivor. Perhaps it would be better just to find nothing at all, and leave the PCs wondering.
I appreciate the suggestions Voomer, and I super-appreciate you taking the time to help out!
So, after reading a bit through Ashes at Dawn and taking a look at the GM thread here on the forums (and stealing a couple ideas: thanks guys, you're great), I'm worried that my players will just murder their way through the Underground because "all undead are evil" and miss out on the wonderful roleplaying opportunities. As a preventative measure, I've swapped out the 'Morning Murders' encounter with an encounter I wrote - the problem here being that it is my first encounter I've ever written from scratch. I was hoping that some other GMs could read it over, tell me what they think, and maybe give some suggestions to make this an awesome encounter!
The Basic Premise:
I've decided to try and make the vampires a bit more sympathetic: There are a few vampires who are trying to redeem themselves for personal reasons (seeing loved ones in the afterlife instead of being sent to vampire hell) and are trying to break their way free of a vampire's inherent evil alignment.
One such redemption seeker has opened up a clinic where people who can't afford spellcasting services can go free of charge. They also take blood donations, and sell them to vampires who have to feed, but are ashamed to do so on an unwilling victim.
Her and a few other vampires work in disguise, and have been running this successfully for a few years/decades now. Until now, when the PC's wake up to a commotion: someone's attacked the clinic!
Hinting at the Background:
I've got a couple opportunities for the PCs to figure out what was actually going on at the clinic, but I'd love to hear more:
1. There are no windows in the recovery room, where one might expect to find a lovely view of the outdoors. (Vampires obviously don't want sunlight streaming into their homes)
2. Two Journals, as detailed below
3. An 'Appointment Room' where volunteers would go and allow a hungry vampire to feed on them (I've written that some vampires prefer this over the bagged blood, and are willing to pay more. This room comes equipped a Wand of Lesser Restoration (2 charges) and a scroll of Rebuke Undead. There is also a grate in the room that would lead to the Underground if the PCs can navigate it (in the most likely case that they can't, it leads to a random sewer grate in the city)
4. A bathroom with no mirrors
5. A secret room with a few coffins, behind a classic 'tilt the book to open the secret door' wall.
6. A sole survivor, as detailed below.
Journal 1 - Business Ledger:
This is the one I'm worried about, as it seems way too obvious for the PCs to figure out. It's found in a destroyed office with a successful Spot Check:
Tammy Rhodes - Donation - 1 pint
Erica Hall - Donation - 1.5 pints
Johnny Swanson - Purchase - 1 pint
Angela Lane - Donation - .5 pints
Myra Ruiz - Purchase - 1 pint
Jerry Rivera - Purchase - 1 pint
Dean Bridges - Appointment
Doris Lawson - Donation - 1 pint
Julia Simmons - Donation - 1 pint
Taylor Foster - Appointment (Attacked Lydia, barred from entry)
Lydia Reed - Transfusion - 2 pints
Teresa Roberson - Appointment
Elsa Chavez - Donation - 2 pints (Fell unconscious, treated for one day before discharged)
Luther Cummings - Purchase - 1 pint
Journal 2 - The Owner's Journal:
This journal is from the clinic's founder, and helps foreshadow some future events. (I've written the AP as such that Luvrick is trying to severly limit above-ground activities due to the murders.)
"It appears that people are more than willing to volunteer, provided that they are not killed during the sessions. Donations are no issue, but appointments must be closely supervised. I've put some equipment in the room that all volunteers know about, and it should give them an edge if they're attacked.
Although we haven't been in contact with the Underground for many years, enough associates come by that I've been able to keep up with news. Luvick has taken a harder stance on above-ground activities, meaning that more people are flocking here.
I can't blame him, in fact; I fully support this action. If we're ever to be redeemed, we need to take steps like this. An action of one can ruin the reputation of all of us, leading to more confrontations, and sliding back into darkness. From there, it's a domino effect until all out war.
I know we'd win, but war doesn't sound appealing to me. Slaughter is not the way to redemption."
The Sole Survivor:
Finally, the encounter ends with the PCs stumbling into the morgue (enchanted to be colder than the rest of the building) and finding the attack's only survivor, a human vampire woman named Cece Spyley. She is currently disguised to prevent anyone from seeing her true nature, but can be figured out with a spot check.
She gives her story; how someone kicked in the doors, she grabbed a scalpel and hid in the morgue, and hasn't been out since. Anyone making a heal check at this point can discover that, despite having hid in the cold room for X amount of time, she's not even shivering.
The main thing for review here is her speech if pressed to combat. If the PCs are still going "oh they're all evil, let's kill them", then this is speech to at least make them feel bad for their actions:
“I have done nothing wrong! I came here to help at this clinic to make people’s lives better, as did Madame Darora and Lady Miha! We all sought to repent our inherent evil natures, for one reason or another. Do you have any idea what that entails, and what I went through before I came here?
I watched my husband die, horribly and slowly, because he refused to become a hideous creature like me, even while I begged for him to stay with me. I watched my children slaughtered by close minded fools like yourself, who killed them because they believed they'd grow to be monsters. All I want now is to see my husband and children again, instead of being dragged to Abbadon* like all other vampires, just because of my nature. I have spent the last two hundred years trying to redeem myself so I can see them, instead of being damned just because of a ‘gift’ I did not ask for.”
Tears stream down her face at this point, but that doesn’t hide the determined look in her eye. She is angry, angry at the world, and is not going down without a fight.
For Cece's stats, I've used those of Rakskaka's Vampire Alchemist from the GM Thread
*I couldn't actually find out what happens to a vampire soul when they die. The AP mentions Zura and The Revenant Court, but doesn't give a clear answer. I chose Abbadon because it's the worst plane for an evil-aligned soul to go to.
I really appreciate anybody who takes the time out of their lives to actually read all that, and I super appreciate anybody who offers their thoughts on the write-up. Like I said, it's the first one I've ever written: I've tried to just include the parts I think need some reviewing, but if someone would like to see the full write-up or more details, I'd be happy to share!
I've just started putting together a Carrion Crown campaign, and this list has been instrumental (no pun intended) in putting together a playlist for it. I figured it was only right that I drop a comment and thank you for all your hard work!
