Solo Savage Pathfinder – Scene 2 – Fireside Chat
To recap – we’re using the Mythic GM Emulator 2ed and the Savage Worlds Solo Players Guide to run Savage Pathfinder. Our protagonist is Ondo Baridad, a competent wizard from a disgraced family in the island kingdom of Delcor. With that, let’s get on to…
Scene 2 – An Invitation to the Castle
The expected scene is Ondo meeting Ness the Virtuous in Castle Delcor at her request. There she will give him the mission that we generated earlier (see Session 0) to hunt down Wran and retrieve the Pearl of Storms.
I’ve updated the Mythic lists to include the “Mistaken Identity” result from the earlier adventure generator rolls. Not sure how or if it’ll come into play, but it seems like a good place to put it. Also, who was behind casting that mysterious magical eyeball that was watching Ondo’s mother? I’ve included that person too:
So using the Mythic rules, let’s test that scene with a d10 — rolled a 7, higher than the current Chaos Factor (6). The scene proceeds as expected.
Ondo arrives at castle and states his business to the guards on watch. They pass word to their captain, who arrives and lets him in. Once inside the walls, he is allowed to roam freely. “I believe you know the way, sir,” the captain of the watch says to him before turning curtly and heading back to his duty station. (are the guards expecting him? — No. Does the captain accompany him? — No.)
He glances around in trepidation. How long has it been since he’s been here, he wonders. As a child, he used to run freely through these hallways. But all that changed the day the soldiers arrived at his house. They told his mother that his father was a traitor and that she and her son were going to be arrested for his crimes. Young Ondo had listened to all of this in terror from his bed that horrible night many years ago.
He walks in silence, haunted by the painful memories. He finds himself at the doorway to the Tower Mystical, residence of the house sorcerer. Adjusting his collar and smoothing his overcoat, he lifts the heavy brass knocker and raps three times. There’s only a short pause before the door unlatches and swings open.
A young Delcorian mage’s apprentice is standing there in training robes. “Greetings, Ondo Baridad. We have been expecting you,” the boy says. (a few quick random oracle yes/no questions to establish all this – “does Ness open the door herself?” — No. “is it an apprentice?” — Yes.)
The young apprentice leads him into a study. Large windows look out over the sea far below from Castle Delcor’s perch high on the cliffs. It is autumn and unusually chilly for this time of year, so the windows are currently closed. Ondo remembers warm summer maritime breezes blowing through them in his youth. (Just to explain my process and how I came up with all this, I quickly rolled more random oracle yes/no questions. Rolled d4 for the season – spring/summer/fall/winter – got a 3, d6 for temperature — got a 2. Rolled NPC Reaction from Savage Worlds for Ness and got — “Cooperative”. I know this is a lot of fluff, but I want to set the scene in my head).
Ness is standing waiting for him and rushes over quickly to greet him with a hug.
(Oracle questions – did Ondo and Ness grow up together? — “Yes, and…”. More than just grew up together, interesting. Were they lovers? — No. Related somehow? — No. Okay, uh, let’s roll on the Mythic Meanings Tables to get some more clarity — “Outside” “Hard”. Nice, they’ve previously faced hardships together. Maybe former adventuring companions? — “Yes, and…”! Okay, so they’ve gone on a few adventurers together and continue to work with one another occasionally).
(Also, let’s roll for a little more about Ness’ character: Traits & flaws — “Good”. Motivation — “Path”. Skills — “Vehicle”. Vehicle? Maybe a sailor? Perhaps a commissioned officer in the Delcorian navy. Ooh, that would make sense that she needs a pirate taken down.)
“Ondo, so good to see you!” she exclaims with the practiced formality of a politician. However, Ondo believes he detects genuine affection there as well. The hug lingers a moment, then breaks off. Ness strolls over to the fireplace where two large comfortable chairs are arranged. She gestures to one and takes the other.
“Drink?” she asks. Before he can answer she calls to the apprentice who let him in. “Two glasses, Bor”. The child, who couldn’t be more than 9 years old, brings in a bottle filled with a thick burgundy liquid. He unsteadily fills two wine glasses and hands them to Ondo and Ness. (more yes/no oracle questions. Got the name of the child from the Names table — “B” “Or”, and his age from rolling 3d6.)
“Are we toasting?” Ondo asks, swirling the dark red drink. Ness smiles.
“To striking back,” she says cryptically (oracle – “Oppose” “Threateningly”). Ondo raises an eyebrow and drinks. This is the good stuff, he notes to himself. It’s been a while since he could afford such luxuries.
They pass a few minutes exchanging pleasantries and catching up. Ondo observes that the balcony has been redone since he was last here. At last, Ness comes around to business.
“I’m sorry what happened with your father, Ondo,” Ness says, abruptly changing the topic. Ondo goes quiet, looking intently at the reflections of flames from the fireplace on his glass. It’s a topic he doesn’t care to dredge up. And despite feeling like ancient history, the repercussions are still ongoing. Losing the family holdings and being barred from court training are two consequences he’s still feeling today. Despite his aptitude for the craft, he’s had to settle as a hedge wizard, selling magical support to mercenaries and adventurers.
“And now, perhaps…” she steeples her fingers thoughtfully, searching for a tactful way to continue. “…you have no doubt heard of Wran?” Ondo nods. Naturally everyone in the seaside community is aware of the reputations of pirates. They are a favorite topic of gossip and their attacks have a wide-ranging impact on the island nation.
“Well, I believe that that middling-talent warlock is using one of the artifacts your father…retrieved…from the royal treasury,” she says delicately. “This so-called ‘Master of the Elements’ is wielding the Pearl of Storms”. Ondo winces hearing the name of that magical relic. The Pearl was the pride of the kingdom, taken by Prince Faris (oracle name generator – “Fer” “Se”) from…
(From whom? Hmm…consulting a 50/50 Savage Worlds Oracle – a person? — No. A creature? — No. An organization? — Yes! Mythic Oracle — “Conceal” “Quaintly”. “Conceal”…a secretive coven of witches would be cool. What’s their name? Oracle – “Hee” “Ell” …weird, that’s totally ‘Hell’…the Sisterhood of the Hells. Maybe needs a little more. Roll on the Mutation Descriptor table again because it’s right there — “Swim”. Something related to water, which makes sense on an island. Sisterhood of the Watery Hells. That’ll work for now).
Ondo recalls the legends how the Sisterhood of the Watery Hells had plagued the kingdom until Prince Faris defeated them and took the Pearl. It was a powerful boon to the nation, allowing the Delcorian navy to dominate the seas for decades. Until, of course, his father stole it. And now it’s back again, causing more problems. Will this shame ever end? he wonders.
“What’s this got to do with me?” Ondo asked, genuinely curious. “Surely you don’t want me anywhere near it.” Ness stares at him meaningfully. He knows that look. “You…want me to…go after the Pearl?” he says incredulously. She smiles.
“Think of it, Ondo, this could be the redemption of your family name! A total reinstatement. You could work for the Crown again and with your talents, you’d be joining the Academy in no time. Besides, who better to recover it than the son of the man who took it?” she exclaims. Ondo looks doubtful.
“Hunting pirates is the King’s business,” he says. “I’d need a letter of marque to even engage in it, else I’d be a pirate myself. And we both know that no Delcorian royal is ever going to issue anything to me again.” Or to anyone else with the Baridad family name, for that matter, he thinks, his thoughts on his mother languishing in a convent, ignored by the palace healers.
Ness smiles and produces an envelope. Ondo can see the royal seal in the flickering firelight. “No,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief. Ness nods and hands it to him. He scans the page and feels his stomach drop. His name is printed boldly at the top, followed by the words, “By Royal Decree, the above mentioned has full confidence of the Crown and is authorized to conduct business on the high seas in the name of the King…”
Ondo is stunned into silence. His head is swimming. He can only look from the paper to Ness’s triumphant grin back to the paper again in confusion.
(Out of curiosity, let’s consult the Oracle – is Ness being above board and is just genuinely trying to help out her friend here? Roll a d10 for a likely ‘Yes’ and get — a 1 — ”No, and…” Yikes! Okay, well that’s unexpected. Apparently she has ulterior motives and there’s more to this offer than meets the eye. Poor Ondo…)
End Scene 2
That seems a good stopping point. Wow, two whole scenes and no major action yet, but we’ve got some crazy world building going on here! We know from the earlier rolls that the mission is for Ondo to retrieve the Pearl of Storms from Wran, a notorious warlock pirate. The reason for Ness (or someone else?) choosing him to go is unclear at the moment, but there are dark hints that all is not as it seems.
So far this is some very cool stuff! We’ll have to see where it all leads.
As for the Mythic bookkeeping – let’s keep the Chaos Factor at 6 for now. Ondo’s mission was a shocking revelation for him, but from a meta level we knew it was coming and there needs to be some chaos for there to be an adventure at all.
Other things we found out:
1. There was a sinister coven of witches associated with the Pearl of Storms. Since that’s the object of Ondo’s mission, let’s add the “Sisterhood of the Watery Hells” to the Characters List. They may pop up later.
2. We know that Ness wasn’t being totally forthcoming about why she wants Ondo to go on this mission. Let’s add “Ness’s ulterior motives” to the Threads List. That should definitely be something we follow up on.
3. We also established a few other details, such as that Ness has a young apprentice named Bor. However, we don’t need to include every single bit of information. Since he doesn’t seem particularly relevant or interesting at the moment, we won’t include him on any lists for now.
Next scene – Ondo begins his quest!
