Questions on researching shackleborn birthmark and Terrem

[Grog]

My PCs are almost at the end of Zenith Trajectory, and in the sidebar at the end, it says that if they discover the birthmark on Zenith's face they can research it as detailed in the introduction to the book. The problem is, I've looked at the introduction to the book and I can't find any information there about researching the birthmark. Did I just miss it, or is it not there? If it is there, could someone give me a page number for it?

Also, when does Terrem get abducted again? I can't find any information on that either and it'd be nice to know if my players will have time to check on him after they get back (they might want to see if he has the birthmark as well).

[koramado]

There isn't a specific heading for it, but you can find information on the origin of the Carcerian Sign on pages 7 and 8 of the hardcover. It gives the origin of the birthmark and hints at how the Shackleborn might be used by the Cagewrights. I would be relatively stingy about the details of the ceremony, don't want to give it all away too soon, but providing information about the history and origin of the Carcerian Sign is harmless.

Actually, I don't believe Terrem is abducted again, but I do think te text is a little unclear as to what Orbius does with Terrem. It could be that Orbius was lying about returning Terrem to the orphanage in Cauldron and that he is instead taken to the Cagewrights as one of the thirteen Shackleborn needed. But, if you ran it so that Orbius did truthfully return Terrem to the orphanage, then I'd just leave him there without a later abduction. When Zenith Splintershield is snatched from the PCs, he fills the last spot.

I left Terrem alone after he was returned, but he lost his memories of his experience with the slavers and Orbius, so he wasnt much help. One of my players became a benefactor of the orphanage and they were able to discover Terrem's birthmark later. It helped them understand why he was saved by Orbius, but they always wondered why he was not abducted again later. They were always wary of that happening.

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Koramado

[DMFTodd]

I played it that Zenith was the last of the 13 so it was time to round them all up and take them to the Fiery Sanctum. With Zenith in hand, the cagewrights go get Terrem and the other (unknown) shackleborn.

Let the players known about Terrem's birthmark. Have them visit the orphanage with Terrem still there. Maybe the Last Laugh shows up while they are there to get him. A fight ensures, the LL magically calls for backup, and the beholder swoops back in, grabs Terrem and leaves.

[koramado]

Nice play, DMFTodd. That sounds like a good way to bring Terrem and Orbius back into the thick of it. I might still be able to pull that off myself.

Koramado

[Grog]

koramado wrote:

There isn't a specific heading for it, but you can find information on the origin of the Carcerian Sign on pages 7 and 8 of the hardcover. It gives the origin of the birthmark and hints at how the Shackleborn might be used by the Cagewrights. I would be relatively stingy about the details of the ceremony, don't want to give it all away too soon, but providing information about the history and origin of the Carcerian Sign is harmless.

Well, yeah, I knew about the section about the shackleborn in the intro, I just wasn't sure how much of that info I was supposed to give out. And the sidebar seems to indicate there should be something in the introduction that's specifically about researching it, but as near as I can tell there's nothing there. I guess I'll just have to play it by ear.

[Frank Steven Gimenez]

Well, the PCs have been doing some heavy investigation after the storming of the Wee Jas Cathedral. When researching the Shackleborn, I gave them the information from DC 35 and DC 39 in the Researching the Villains section, pg. 10. I also handed them the printout of the Carcerian Sign from the player handout .pdf.

Has anyone come up with what those glyphs say? Seems like a good place to put a Decipher Script challenge.

About Terram being abducted, the rumor that he has gone missing again comes online after chapter seven. One of the PCs even checked on him during this investigative session and I needed to find out if he had been abducted yet. They found them still there, and the PC was mobbed by adoring fans at the orphanage.