Nothing Bad Ever Happens at the Inn of the Four Winds
Erik Hansen talked about starting an Ars Magica campaign. Since Josh liked the idea, but not the magic system which is the heart of the game, the campaign has been dubbed Ars Mystica. Magic exists, but powerful Magi are rare and mysterious.
GM: Erik Hanson
Players:
Joshua Kronengold: Ippolito Sforza, a 12 year old noble
Lisa Padol: Roggerio, a wandering musician
Matt Stevens: Rafael, a Jewish Cabbalist, advisor to Ippolito. In true gaming fashion, I believe Matt is the only non-Jewish player in the game (The GM is not Jewish either.).
NPCs:
Musicians: Bartolomeo, Enrico, Tommaso
Christian Alchemist: Lorenzo
English Monk: Brother Cedric Longfellow
His Companion: Colum McBride, pugilistic champion of London, 5 years running
Innkeeper of the Inn of the Four Winds: Simon di Peruzzi
Russian Hero: Ilya Ilyanovitch
His Nervous Drinking Companion: Dmitri
Ippolito's Uncle: Sebastiano Sforza
Spirit of Ancient Russian Hero: Ivan the Bull's Son
The Sforzas, it was decided, rule the Ars Mystica Florence.
The first bit of this session had actually been played out before, Ippolito Sforza's attempt to educate his new musician in formal music theory.
Ippolito: What mode is this note?
Roggerio: Lydian.
Ippolito: No, that's mixolydian. And this note?
Roggerio: -That's- lydian.
Ippolito: No. That note does not exist.
Roggerio: But how can it not exist? You just played it.
Ippolito tried to explain the difference between a sound and a note by shouting in Roggerio's ear. The musician was startled, but maintained that while the sound was not music, it was still a note and could be turned into music. He asked in exasperation why Ippolito had hired him, a musician of no talent, when there were plenty of musicians, like his fellow musicians at the wedding, who understood this theoretical stuff. Ippolito explained that Roggerio had potential. He just needed instruction, but the lessons were over for the day.
Ippolito told Rafael to find a music teacher for Roggerio. Rafael was a little confused by the request, as Roggerio's playing is fine, but agreed. He visited the Christian alchemist to whom he'd lost a bet last session when water turned to wine at a marriage of a couple who truly loved each other. Rafael handed over the wine and the money, and asked if the alchemist knew of a good music teacher. The alchemist suggested Brother Cedric, arrived from England. He was staying at the Inn of the Four Winds.
Meanwhile, Roggerio's fellow musicians from the wedding paid him a visit. I had previously asked Erik what they thought of Roggerio's getting hired by the Sforzas.
Erik: They wonder, "What star were -you- born under?"
And yes, he said, there would be some jealousy and potential plot complications.
This session, he did something completely other than what I expected. Rather than have a group of bitter, scheming musicians, Erik had three bumbling, comic relief musicians designed to draw Roggerio into trouble.
They bore him no ill will, although they did want a favor. They were also convinced that Roggerio must be a master of intrigue to have gotten his position with the Sforzas, and this became one of the session's running jokes.
Roggerio: I tried to get you positions. I asked him why he wanted a musician of no talent when he could have one of you --
Fellow Musicians (in awe): You told him you had no talent, and he still wanted you? Truly, a master of intrigue!
Roggerio protested that his skill at intrigue had not been sufficient to find them positions. Not to worry, they assured him. Th e favor they wanted would be the perfect way to make up for that.
After the wedding, they explained, they had taken their earnings and celebrated. At the Inn of the Four Winds, they found a group of fur-wearing foreigners and got into a card game with one of them.
Roggerio (seeing where this is going): How much did he get from you?
Nothing they couldn't afford, his friends reassured him, but this had become a matter of honor! And their honor could only be defended by Roggerio, who was an excellent card player.
Roggerio was dubious at first, pointing out that if his skill at cards matched his skill at intrigue, he'd be of little use. His friends pointed out that his earlier failure would fuel his determination to succeed. Around then, I finally flipped the switch in my brain.
There are times when the player knows a given hook will lead to trouble. The sane thing for the PC to do is to avoid hook and trouble. Since players generally have some identification with their PCs, the strategy of avoidance is tempting. It is also missing the point. A safe PC is a boring PC with a bored player. The key is to be actor and audience both, to identify enough to play tke PC well, but not so much as to stop the story dead or to agonize over what one knows are inevitable PC failures.
In a Toon game Doc ran years ago, the goal was to get a bird out of a house without harming it or damaging the house. I had trouble enjoying myself until it finally penetrated that only the PCs wanted to keep the house whole. The players knew the house would get trashed. That was the whole point; the house was -supposed- to get trashed. Once I understood that, it was as if a switch had flipped over in my brain. I stopped worrying about the damage, and, incidentally, had a much easier time getting into character, although, ironically, I identified less with the character.
The same thing happened here. I worried about how Roggerio's fellow musicians would pull him in over his head, and then the switch flipped. That was the whole idea; they were supposed to pull him into trouble. Otherwise, there would be no plot.
This business of flipping the switch should not be confused with the issue of when to break character. This was not a case where Roggerio would have had to be uncharacteristically stupid to go along with his fellow musicians. He was a skilled gambler, and he was assured that the Inn of the Four Winds was quite safe.
Musicians: Nothing bad -ever- happens at the Inn of the Four Winds!
This became another catch phrase / running joke.
Roggerio agreed to redeem his comrades' honor, filled with confidence. He bid them adieu and went to ask Ippolito for the evening off.
As the interview with the musicians had taken place in the Sforza home, Ippolito already knew what Roggerio wanted, but decided to play dumb.
Ippolito: You want the evening off? Why?
Roggerio: A matter of honor, milord.
Ippolito: Oh! You're going to fight a duel!
Roggerio: In a manner of speaking, yes.
Ippolito: Roggerio, how proficient are you with a sword?
Roggerio: Oh, this is not a duel with swords.
Roggerio avoided specifying the nature of the duel,
Ippolito: Well, I had never before heard of a duel being fought with playing cards.
Roggerio was dumbfounded. Then, Ippolito told him that the condition of having the evening off was to take Ippolito with him, in disguise, of course. This did not thrill Roggerio, and he argued with Ippolito over the best way to disguise the young noble.
Ippolito (fed up as Roggerio shoots down another idea): Fine! You come up with the plan!
Erik (playing imaginary musician): He trusts you to make his plans? Truly, a master of intrigue!
Roggerio: Aargh!
Rafael returned to find Ippolito dressing down for a night of slumming. Roggerio protested that the voice was too aristocratic. Rafael offered to mix a potion to cure that, but Ippolito refused, saying that he'd speak quietly, as Roggerio's Very Shy Nephew.
A bit miffed, Rafael set off for the Inn of the Four Winds, talking briefly with Simon di Peruzzi, the establishment's sour proprietor. Roggerio and his "nephew" met the musicians and headed out.
Roggerio kept trying to turn the conversation towards music so Ippolito could see how talented his friends were and hire them as well. The other musicians considering themselves off duty, had no interest in talking shop. They tossed Roggerio the occasional crumb, but mostly concentrated on being boisterous and entertaining his "nephew". Ippolito found the musicians loud and unpleasant.
Rafael spoke to Brother Cedric when he arrived with his companion Colum. Cedric said that he had other things to do, but that he'd meet Roggerio and consider tutoring him. A party of four boisterous and one desperate Russians entered, to the annoyance of the proprietor and the regular patrons, who preferred a quiet atmosphere.
Rafael was surprised to see Roggerio and Ippolito enter with the musicians. Roggerio ordered drinks for himself and his nephew. As Simon di Peruzzi started to pour them, the musicians boasted loudly to the Russians about how good Roggerio was at cards. He winced and smiled apologetically at the innkeeper.
The musicians continued, boasting of Roggerio's good fortune to be newly employed by the Sforzas. At that, the innkeeper froze, then fixed Roggerio with a glare.
Throughout, I gather, Erik had been making secret rolls for Josh to see what Ippolito recalled about the Inn of the Four Winds. This, he decided, would serve to trigger Ippolito's memory.
GM: Oh yes! Now you remember...
It seems that the di Peruzzis and the Sforzas had a minor power struggle some years, or possibly decades, ago. The Sforzas won. The di Peruzzis salvaged enough to survive, and the inn, run by a younger member of the family, was famous for the varieties and quality of its wines, and for being where important foreigners stayed. Not too shabby, but still a comedown, and one for which the di Peruzzis would never forgive the Sforzas. Ippolito decided to keep a low profile and not drink his drink.
Roggerio did not know the story, but he figured out he'd stumbled into a minefield. He said that he would be the Sforza's man tomorrow, but tonight he was just a private citizen dealing with a matter of honor. He did ask Simon about the Sforzas, but the innkeeper only said that he would learn. Simon had no intention of revealing anything to a man who might be a Sforza spy, which Roggerio essentially was.
I think Ippolito talked with the nervous man drinking at the bar, though I don't know what was said. It left Matt with little to do, though. Roggerio and Ilya settled down for a card game, but both agreed that a third person would make the game more interesting. Ilya asked Brother Cedric. He declined, but recommended his companion Colum.
Colum good-naturedly agreed to lose money to the other two on one condition. He got to challenge his choice of the other two after the game. He would name the stakes, while the challenged party would decide the type of contest.
It was a fair and a close game, with money moving back and forth between Italian and Russian, with the Scotsman losing, but enjoying the game.
The game paused briefly for Ilya and his men to show off the fine artifacts they'd unearthed, including a sword. Ippolito and Rafael both held the sword, examining it closely, and realizing there was magic, as well as fine craftsmanship in the blade. Ilya emphasized that it was for sale. Rafael, knowing Ippolito wanted it, suggested he bring his patron to discuss a price the followiug evening.
Roggerio, uninterested in the sword, pressed for a return to the card game. The final hand, Erik declared, was won by Roggerio, he and Colum having lots of trump cards.
Roggerio figured that if Colum challenged him, he'd chose a drinking contest. Perhaps realizing this and certainly wanting a more martial competition, Colum chose Ilya. Weapons were to be whatever they wanted. The contest would end when one man could not or chose not to answer. I forget what Colum offered if he lost, but he asked for Ilya's personal saber, not the one for sale, if he won, as he preferred a trophy to money. In deference to the custom that nothing bad happens at the Inn of the Four Winds, the matter was taken outside.
Ilya drew his saber, and I believe Colum had a sword of some kind. However, when the contest began, Colum hit Ilya with his non-sword hand, on which he was now wearing the period equivalent of brass knuckles. Ilya was knocked unconscious.
Though somewhat irregular, Colum's tactics adhered to the rules, and no one protested the results. Everyone retired to his respective lodgings for the evening.
The following day, Ippolito's uncle, Sebastiano, discussed his nephew's adventures with him, while Roggerio played discreetly within hearing range.
Sebastiano: Which inn were these foreigners staying at?
Ippolito: The Inn of the Four Winds.
GM: He looks as if he expected this, but had hoped it wasn't the case.
Sebastiano reminded Ippolito of the di Peruzzis' hatred of the Sforzas and asked if Simon had recognized him. Ippolito wasn't sure, and admitted that it was possible.
Sebastiano: Then you were very lucky indeed.
Ippolito: But nothing bad happens at the Inn of the Four Winds.
Sebastiano: Nothing bad happens -at- the Inn of the Four Winds.
Ippolito and Roggerio noted the distinction.
Roggerio's fellow musicians approached him nervously. He told them that he'd just learned that the Inn of the Four Winds was supposed to be a quiet place. They said that a large gentleman from the Inn had explained that, and he'd suggested they drink elsewhere. They intended to take the suggestion seriously, and told Roggerio that they wouldn't be able to watch the card game that night.
The Russians received no veiled threats, being tourists with money, nor did Roggerio, being attached to the Sforzas. Ippolito, undisguised, with Roggerio, Rafael, and a few guards, went to the Inn. Simon asked Roggerio if his nephew would return.
Simon (looking sharply at Ippolito): Obviously not.
Roggerio made no pretense of friendship with Simon, but did try to sell Ilya on the idea of a silent card game. Ilya wasn't buying. His nervous companion was drinking again. Two of his men were not present, and as he started to deal, a scream came from the stables.
The stables are considered part of the Inn of the Four Winds, where nothing bad ever happens. Everyone rushed over to find the bodies of Ilya's missing men. The Inn's bouncer summoned the watch who, well bribed by Simon, arrived quickly. Brother Cedric examined the bodies.
At this point, Erik ran into an interesting and not uncommon GM dilemma. Brother Cedric seems to bk his Sherlock Holmes NPC, but, as Matt said, it is boring and unsatisfying to players if all they get to do is sit there while the NPC solves the mystery. I suspect Erik may have reigned in Brother Cedric after that comment. The monk provided useful information, but not so much that the PCs were superfluous. To wit: Both men had been strangled, one handedly, by a very strong right hand.
Roggerio approached the nervous Russian, who suggested they adjourn to his room. There, he explained the situation. Ilya and his men plundered graves for their artifacts. The sword Ippolito wanted to buy was passed to each of Ilya's men in turn, and then to Ilya. Ilya started with 20 men, counting himself. Now, counting himself, three remained. The men died in the order in which they'd handled the sword.
Roggerio realized that, while he hadn't touched it, both Ippolito and Rafael had. He didn't want to leave the frightened Russian alone, but he decided that he had to. The right people needed to be discreetly alerted, and Simon had to be kept ignorant. Roggerio approached one of Ippolito's guards.
Roggerio: There is a cursed sword. Everyone who has touched it dies. The lord Ippolito has touched it. Tell his uncle.
The guard agreed, telling Roggerio to alert the other guard. Roggerio did, and this one told Ippolito, who, I think, told Rafael. At least one of them said, "A curse on the sword? That can't be. -I- touched the sword."
Rafael and Brother Cedric studied the inscription on the sword, which said "Ivan, Son of the Bull", presumably the sword's original owner. Sebastiano arrived, turning down Simon's unctuous offer of a drink. Simon drank it himself, showing that it was (probably) not poisoned. Ippolito spoke with Ilya in his room. He confirmed the story Roggerio had heard. Hearing an odd scuttling, the two decided to go back to the common room of the Inn.
Sebastiano, Rafael, and Cedric left to begin preparations for a ritual to summon Ivan's spirit. Screams came from the rooms of Ilya's remaining men. The rooms were locked.
Ilya (striding up to Simon, holding out his hand): Keys. (Simon hesitates. Ilya lowers his voice.) You will give me the keys, or I will ask again, louder. (Simon hands him the keys.)
The men had both been strangled. Ippolito, Ilya, and Roggerio prepared to leave with the sword. Simon didn't want them taking the sword. After the first murders, he'd announced that until the city guard (or at least that part of it he'd bribed) solved the crime (or at least found a convenient scapegoat to blame it on), he would take custody of the foreigners, wares, no doubt the motive for the crimes. No doubt some of the wares would be sold by Simon, and he'd pocket the money.
The sword was valuable. But he wanted the PCs gone.
Roggerio: Nothing bad happens at the Inn of the Four Winds, so we are leaving so--
Simon: Nothing bad -ever- happens at the Inn of the Four Winds! Nothing bad -has- happened at the Inn of the Four Winds.
Roggerio (hastily): Exactly so, and we are leaving so that nothing bad -will- happen at the Inn of the Four Winds.
Simon decided he could sell the other items and let the unwanted visitors depart with the sword. They joined Sebastiano, Cedric, and Rafael, who had drawn a circle for elaborate ritual magic. Roggerio froze.
Sebastiano: You summoned me. You might as well take advantage of my protection.
Roggerio entered the circle. The spirit of Ivan was summoned. We figured he'd want the sword, which he did, but he also wanted to kill Ilya, who had removed his hand to claim the sword. The hand had been scuttling around the Inn and strangling Ilya's men. It now appeared beside the rest of the very corporeal spirit, both held at bay by the circle.
Ilya wanted to give up neither his life nor the sword. Rafael aud Roggerio didn't want to give Ilya to Ivan, but were willing to part with the sword. Hey, Matt and I know how this sort of story goes. But Josh said he was tired of the usual ending, and Ippolito decided that he didn't want to give the sword back. It made sense. Ippolito is Passionate as well as aristocratic, and he'd conceived a passion for this sword.
He argued that burying the sword meant that it wouldn't perform any more heroic deeds. Josh did not roll high enough to convince Ivan, who angrily pointed out that Ilya had no intentions of doing anything more heroic with it than selling it.
Roggerio tried to convince Ivan that Ippolito was right, and Erik said that he felt a suggestion that it would be more convincing if he played his instrument. He improvised a song about a sword passing from hand to hand, doing heroic deeds and being remembered. I rolled well, and Ivan was convinced.
He decided that Ilya would keep the sword and perform heroic deeds with it. He warned that he would be watching. Ilya agreed. Ilya put his hand on the hilt of the sword to seal the bargain, and Ivan put his right arm over it. His right hand was now able to reattach itself, and it touched Ilya and the sword hilt. Ivan vanished, but no one doubted that his spirit was still watching.
Ilya, noting that he had no men and was a fair distance from home, offered his services to Ippolito, who accepted. Cedric was impressed by Roggerio's playing, though the musician had no idea he'd acquired a tutor. I figumed Roggerio had been unnerved enough by the realization that his patron did magic to spend the remainder of the night in the chapel. It's a good thing he didn't realize his inspiration to play came not from the Virgin Mary, but from the sidhe.
After the session, Erik asked how one shows that a Sherlockian NPC like Brother Cedric is hypercompetent, without leaving the PCs nothing to do. We had a couple of suggestions.
1. Show him being competent about something tangential or irrelevant to the PCs.
If he's a fighter, the PCs can see him finishing off a group of thugs in bar or alley. If he's a brain, he can be seancing or advising a friend. This demonstrates his competence in a situation that is not the PCs' Official Plot, so he can monopolize the limelight, briefly. It's an infodump.
2. There is only one of him.
Sherlock Holmes cannot be in two places at once, so each PC should have a task that gives the players adventure. The superfighter may need help distracting or defeating a powerful foe, and probably can't take out an army alone. See #3 below if the NPC -can- take out an army with no help from the PCs.
Here are a couple more that I came up with while writing this.
3. Must he be that competent?
Seriously. Consider why the NPC must be so competent. Does the plot require skills only the NPC has? This is okay so long as it also requires skills only the PCs have. The NPC is a mcguffin or a resource to make it possible for the PCs to do their own cool things.
But if a lot of plots seem to require the NPC's skill, it is possible that the GM is overusing the character.
And if the NPC can solve the problem handily without the PCs, there is a problem. Perhaps the GM is too much in love with his own creation. If so, make sure the cool things you just -have- to have the NPC do happen offstage in such a way that it is realistic the PCs can't steal the limelight, and give the PCs the limelight for the actual session. Or pull the NPC from the game. Write stories about the character or use it as a PC in someone else's game.
Or perhaps it's a tactical error. I am never satisfied with my portrayal of Farad or Ss'raa, two characters who were basically plot mcguffins. Whatever the situation, keep an eye on it, and remember: If you want total control, write a book.
4. Areas of Inexpertise
As with PCs, there should generally be something even the most competent NPC is incapable of, preferably something the PCs shine at. The subtle Farad cannot do magic, and Brother Cedric is probably not a great fighter. (Of course, neither are the PCs.)
Yes, some cool characters in books and movies, such as Sherlock Holmes, can do everything well. This should not be allowed for NPCs. They are not the stars.
But sometimes, you need an NPC strong in all areas. Remember point #2: The NPC should not be able to bilocate. That is where PC allies come in. Careful about NPC allies and minions of the hypercompetent NPC, or they'll take over jobs the PCs should be doing!.
5. Make the NPC Vanish
Sure, kidnapping gets old quick, but there are less dire solutions. Many powerful Altclair NPCs went off to have lives after graduating from college. And Brother Cedric has already said that he has other responsibilities that will keep him busy and offstage much of the time.
Matt seemed to be the player most cut out of the action. His PC was a bit annoyed when everyone started negotiating with Ivan, and some of that might have been player annoyance -- was it, Matt?
In any case, I think part of the problem is that it is not yet clear what Unique Thing Rafael can do that the other PCs cannot. Ippolito is Noble. Roggerio has his music. Rafael? He's Jewish, but that has limited mileage. It isn't magic per se, as the other PCs have magic as well. His particular strengths have yet come into play.
