Fall of Magic
20 Feb 2016: 9 am: Fall of Magic
- Bill White: Facilitator, the Magus
- Melissa Spannenberg: Fawn, Midwife of Barley Town. Broken Sword token.
- Dylan Ross: Kalu, Scholar of Istallia
- William Ch??ng (I didn't get the spelling): Caspian, Ranger of Mistwood. Caspian is an elf.
- Me: Vago, Raven of Ravenhall. Raven token. Vago is a talking raven.
Bill explained to us that this was an introspective storytelling game. We were playing a Fellowship of Travelers accompanying the archmage back to the home of magic because magic is falling. The destination was Umbra, where magic was born.
The game is played on a cloth scroll that unrolls as the story progresses, offering multiple pathways to choose. Each PC was represented by a token, as, iirc, was the magus, who was basically an NPC, although it was imao better that Bill played him than if we sort of passed him around.
There aren't a lot of mechanics, and the game is similar to Witch in that there is a journey, and the focus is on characters and story. Occasionally, a d6 is rolled to resolve something, and in these cases, the relevant chart appears on the scroll in the appropriate location. I think, but am not sure, that magic cannot return, as the game is called The Fall of Magic, after all.
That said, there seems to me more choice here than in Witch. To begin with, there are no set PCs. One chooses options from a list. E.g., Fawn is from the list of names, Midwife from the list of titles, and Barley Town from the list of locations. One also choose a token to represent one's character. But, what the token signifies is up to the player, as is what it means to be Fawn, the Midwife of Barley Town. It's not necessary to know all the details up front; you can create backstory in play.
We had index cards to write traits on, an we agreed that the Magus was kind. His card read: Magus +Kind.
Magic was dying and the Archmage dying with it. We put the Magus token on Ravenhall, where the journey begins. Bill explained that each location had some story prompts, as well as traits that would be assigned to different folks during play.
We wound up on the same page, going for a bittersweet nostalgic tale in what I think of as the high fantasy mode. From what I have heard, the game can support very different types of tales, and I suspect the replay potential is higher than Witch's.
We each narrated our character's introduction scene at one of the locations within Ravenhall.
Fawn the Midwife was in the Rose Garden. A slight woman, she was wiping tears off a small boy who had fallen and sprained his ankle.
Fawn: There is nothing to cry about. This is normal. You have sprained your ankle, and I will fix it.
She did, and the child looked up at Fawn, whose trait was Legendary.
Child: Were you not once the Sword of Valen?
Fawn: Surely you have mistaken me.
She had indeed been what the child had heard, but that was long ago. She was now Fawn the Midwife, and had been so for a long time.
Caspian was at the Bridge, looking down into the water. The elf was thinning, haggard, and white haired. His face was wrinkled with age. Perhaps you have heard that elves are immortal, ageless, ever young. And perhaps they once were, before magic started to die.
The water rippled, and then showed a different reflection, a memory of long ago. It showed a much younger Caspian, from the time he had been with the Magus when the Magus was but a young apprentice.
Kalu was at the Scrying Pool. I believe the text at that location on the map read "Why you serve the Magus".
All the companions were together at the beginning of their quest. The scrying pool showed changing histories, views into the past.
Kalu's player: The Magus is showing us this -- what brought us all here.
Kalu: Why are you showing us this, Magus? What does it all mean?
Magus: There are multiple histories, and it's our responsibility, as, if we're not careful, magic can rewrite history.
I don't know whether Bill or Dylan was playing the Magus here. I think it was Dylan. My notes also say "Comfort and resonance." I don't know what that means.
Vago the Raven was in the Menagerie. The animals were sick. And, as magic faded, they were forgetting how to talk.
A year ago, it had taken the Magus three days to heal a woman, a thing he could once have done in minutes. And today, as the companions set out, he needed his staff as a cane. I think we implied that the journey had been proposed by his companions, and that he agreed for their sake and to spend this time with them, knowing their errand would not succeed.
The travelers came to the Oak Hills. It was the Ending of Summer. We played this scene to show us who the Magus is and how the group was travelling together.
The Magus stumbled. He was very tall and thin. His hair was white and straggly. He touched his side as if in pain -- some lingering pain that the Midwife was helping him deal with.
Vago: Perhaps we should rest.
Magus: No, we must continue on.
When they stopped, Caspian made camp. The elven ranger remembered when the Oak Hills were lush with vegetation. Now, there were withered falling leaves. It was a hard place to forage, but he managed.
The Magus limped into camp. My notes mention Caspian and a package of herbs, which I assume he used to ease the Magus's pain. He said nothing, but remembered a shared moment. The two were running in darkness, away from something. The Magus pushed Caspian away, warned by some instinct. The Magus was shot in the side by an arrow, and Caspian carried him away. They had saved each other.
Kalu enjoyed the firelight, I think calling it a comfort from home. Or perhaps that was text on the map. He reached into pouch, pulling out specially dried leaves. When he put them in the fire, they created wonderful smells -- like a town, like baking.
Kalu: Everyone take a moment, close your eyes, imagining you're back in town. (long pause as everyone does) If magic falls, will have to rely on things like this. We can carry on.
Magus: Have you already buried me, Kalu?
Bill started to deliver that line a little bitterly, then stopped, remembering that the Magus was Kind, and delivered it as a joke that all could laugh at, despite their fears.
Kalu: We create our own magic.
I think he went on to say that magic has always existed in different shapes and forms. The only question is where we draw line, and it is comforting to know that.
Magus (fondly): You are a true scholar,
The next day, the Magus greeted Vago, who was grooming himself.
Magus: Good morning, Raven.
Vago: Good morning, Magus.
Magus: Are you ready to begin?
Vago (finishing up): ...Yes. Now I am ready.
Magus (amused): But I have interrupted your preening? Is there more?
Vago: No. I am ready.
And the companions came to Harper's Road. The text read: "What you left behind". Fawn took out a parchment with hair, babyish red hair. She looked at it for a while, then put it away.
They came now to Barley Town. Caspian and the Magus had not been here for a few years, but had visited many times. The Magus was leaning on his staff. There were harvest festivities -- but also a sense of desperation. The Barley Lord's world might be ending.
The Barley Lord himself was an ordinary human ruler, a Henry VIII figure.
Barley Lord (kneeling to the Magus): Welcome! Welcome, Magus! This may be the last time we see you in these halls. Make yourself welcome and all of your company.
Magus (raising him up): I am not worthy of such consideration.
With obvious emotion, the Barley Lord placed the Magus in his own seat, but the Magus demurred.
Magus: No. I am not here to rule, but to bring hope one last time. There is hope -- just not yet.
Barley Lord: Your words comfort me, Magus.
They spent the evening there, and went to Swine Hill the next day. There, Kalu spoke of a battle fought long ago, the earliest of the recorded magical battles. There were multiple sides, all fighting to get to top of Swine Hill. Almost everyone was wiped out, and magic almost died. The men at top asked the question: Why are we fighting?
Caspian: Yes. I remember it well.
Kalu: No, he remembers the last five times I told this story.
I believe Kalu was mistaken, although he might have been making a joke at his own expense.
They spent that night at the Inn of the Axe and Fiddle. Vago told some of the tale of how ravens served mages -- in ravenspeak.
Fawn went to the Old Abbey to make a confession. She spoke to a young priest, a man in his 20s, half her age. Or perhaps he was merely half her apparent age.
Fawn: I need to make a confession.
Priest: Of course.
Fawn: I have carried a heavy burden for many years. When I was younger, I met a man who was very kind. I stole something from him, and I don't know how to find it to give it back.
Priest: What did you steal?
Fawn: His very essence.
RIPPLE to Flashback.
We see the blacksmith, the blacksmith's daughter, and an opalescent sword. On Swine Hill, Fawn and Magus were on opposite sides. Fawn fought her way. to him and stabbed him.
Magus: I forgive you.
Fawn (as the flashback ended): But the sword broken in earnest, and I don't know where it is.
She did not tell the priest that it was the Magus she had stabbed. The priest was unable to give her useful satisfaction.
Caspian gathered the companions, without the Magus, on the banks of a river and pointed out Beak Island. There, he explained, one could get a magical crystal in exchange for a happy memory. That is, the crystal would be imbued with that memory.
Caspian: The Magus has done this many times. He should not bear the cost -- he has too few happy memories.
Caspian and Fawn were willing to do this, though my notes don't record what they said. Kalu and Vago agreed as well, I think.
Kalu: I can always read it in a book and that's just as good. It's not sacrificing knowledge.
Vago: If magic falls, I will forget how to read.
Caspian's memory was of a beautiful woman. Her swordplay practice was like a dance, and she danced away nights under the stars. The crystal glowed like starlight in the night sky.
Fawn's memory was of a tall, heavy set gentleman, and her laughing, fully clothed, lying in bed. He says something, but she can't hear it any more, as the memory goes away. There was a feeling of happiness, and the crystal glowed blue.
Kalu had gathered apples with his brothers as a very young boy. His memory was of the first time he did it by himself. The crystal glowed like a green delicious apple.
I don't know what Vago's memory was. Perhaps he declined to give one up? Or perhaps he did give one up, and that is why I no longer remember.
Now with the Magus again, they came to Mathilda's Farm. The text on the scroll read: "What she thinks you need". Mathilda thought they needed a little bag of seeds, and I believe that a boy brought this. The boy smiled at the Magus, who smiled back. Then, the boy ran back to the farm.
Magus: Perhaps you'll hold on to it, and maybe we'll know when to use it.
I don't remember to whom he was speaking, to the companions as a group, or to someone in particular.
The travelers now reached the Stormguard Mountains, where the text read: "The Coming Storm". Once, the Magus could fly over mountains. Now, he felt every painful step, whether he said so or not.
My notes say: "Fawn -- Stormqueen kiss", but I don't know what that meant. Perhaps it was literal, perhaps a reference to the worsening weather. The snow thickened, and Fawn, a little out of breath, suggested they should perhaps make a shelter.
Caspian scouted ahead, and I think text read: "The danger you fear". Certainly, the elf would have preferred not to stop there. He and the Magus had been captured by the Stormqueen the last time they were there, for she wanted them in her harem.
I wondered what had happened to Stormqueen. If she were powerful enough to detain Caspian and the Magus, would she not herself be affected by the dying of magic?
At this point, there was a d6 roll, and I think the text read "Sunbreak", though I'm not sure. Caspian saw the Stormqueen, now a white haired woman, not the golden haired woman he remembered. She told him to leave her.
Stormqueen: I do not wish to see you or the Magus looking like this. (turns away in shame)
The group took shelter and Kalu broke the silence as he often did.
Kalu: Do you ever wonder why so many scholars come from Istallia?
Everyone else shook their heads.
Kalu: The weather. During the long winter, we read.
Fawn: Is this the first time you've ever been outside Istallia?
Kalu: Many times, in pursuit of knowledge.
Fawn: Have you ever had beer or mead?
Kalu: Mead doesn't agree with me.
Fawn: Have you ever known a lover's touch?
Kalu: Yes. Have you ever read a book?
Fawn: I'll let you teach me some day.
Vago, I think, told a tale of his kind. Vago had been born on Ravenhead, and so had his parents and his parents' parents.
Magus: Perhaps Ravenhead is your homeland.
Vago: It is my _home_.
Magus: That will have to be good enough.
Kalu: Sometime, I will tell you why Ravenhall is called that -- it's not what you think.
Dawn came and they visited Alanna Stormqueen. She was one of many descendants of the Stormqueen. Alanna was younger, more vital, but she had very little magic, for her father was a barbarian who had been captured by the Stormqueen.
Alanna had Caspian's handkerchief. She had helped Caspian and the Magus to escape from her mother's harem all those years ago.
The Magus asked to sleep and bathe. She welcomed them to her home, a very small keep, like a Norman keep. Parties were rowdy in the keep, and the Stormqueen got along well with barbarians. (I'm not sure if this meant the present or the past Stormqueen.)
Caspian went to the Tomb of the Storm King. The text on the scroll read: "What you inherit". Caspian had tried, many times, to gain an inheritance there, but he was always defeated and laughed at by Storm King.
One last time now, while older and wise, he went to the basement of the castle and came face to face with spirit of Storm King's spectral figure.
The Storm King pointed his sword at Caspian.
Storm King: Have you come to challenge me again?
Caspian: I have, but I am different now. I do not seek to prove my strength, but to help my old friend.
And Caspian cast away his weapons, offering his life for aid.
The Storm King bowed to him, giving the ranger his weapon.
Storm King: Finally, you have learned wisdom.
In the Commoners Hall, the companions watched a beautiful dancer, a very small woman, ballet-like.
Kalu: I've read about this -- this is the dance of the Stormbreak.
Vago: Is magic a storm, then?
They visited the castle's Hall of Knights. My notes say "older / younger", but I don't know what that means.
Next, they came to the Court of Swords: "Where we disagree". A d6 was rolled: Who is right?
The Magus was getting progressively worse. Should they continue or stay longer at the Stormqueen's court? There were three paths ahead.
Fawn: Raven what do you think?
Vago: Will resting help?
Caspian: If magic fails, he will die.
Fawn: Well you would know better than I.
Caspian: That's what he tells me.
Ice or the Deep? They chose the Deep. At the Mouth of the Deep, to the Magus's surprise, his companions took out lights: their memory crystals. The Magus looked disapprovingly at Caspian.
Magus: That was supposed to be my part.
As they entered a cavern, the Magus's companions wondered what had made the cavern. Apparently, there was a debate about whether it was Nature or Magic, as Kalu explained. It was one of the greater mysteries.
Someone said, sounding cryptic: Nature and magic might not be so separate as you think.
The Magus muttered something, clearly the truth if the matter, and finally spoke clearly.
Magus: Oh, Kalu! Long ago, _I_ made these caverns. It was a spell that went wrong. I was still practicing. I wanted them to look as young as possible -- but I left some clues.
What keeps the cave dwellers at bay? The memory lights.
How are they like beasts? They can't talk.
They came to the Deep Way -- the clinging darkness. They got lost, but found the way. Though the darkness got thicker and thicker, the crystals could can guide their way.
There was a grotto with black water, a small island with a red stone on it.
Magus: This is a part of me that I left here, and it will sustain me a little longer. But, I cannot get it.
Fawn volunteered to get it. Reaching the grotto was like swimming through tar. Her hands were tarry.
She got there safely, but knew that returning would be far harder. And if the rock she was bringing fell into the water, that would be that.
Caspian shot an arrow with a rope attached and pulled Fawn back. Fawn gave the Magus the rock, taking it from her corset, and he ate the rock. He was now a little more vital. But, having eaten the stone, he had taken a little more magic from the world.
The earth shook. Fawn thanked those who had helped her home. Creatures were now rising from the Tar.
What keeps _them_ at bay? The Magus having regained a little of his power.
Magus: _I_ made you.
Fawn's player: The Magus was obviously on drugs when he made them.
Me: They were the guardians for the Red Stone. It makes perfect sense.
Bill: _Thank_ you, Lisa.
I think Kalu's player said that the red rock was from a memory the Magus himself had created, one which reminded him of where the travelers needed to go next.
And with that, we flipped the scroll over for a time, accessing text on the back.
My notes say:
Mistake -- Gate of Umbra -- what is broken -- Magus pwts head on door -- door -- colors -- 5 times as tall as us -- open <illeg> Actually, no -) Hanged City
We'd originally gotten confused and assumed that we were supposed to move the group to the Gate of Umbra. But, we were actually supposed to move it to the Hanged City, so we rewound.
Underground, in the Hanged City, lived the Rag-Draggers. These were people who had run away from the surface world.
Fawn's player: Do they look like bats?
Bill: They have bat wings, yes.
Yet, they welcome Magus, chirpping and screeching.
Rag-Draggers: Magus! Magus! It has been long years since our ancestors greeted you, but we welcome you to our city.
And they flew him up, along with his companions.
And the group came to the Vertical Gardens and to the temptation of these gardens. For the temptation, I said: They say that magic has not faced here. You must stay here, sure, but if you do, you will never want for magic.
Fawn's player said that there needed to be a reason for the group not to accept the offered hospitality. There was an offensive custom.
Fawn's player: In our honor, they have kidnapped five children to disembowel them and smear their blood and entrails on the Vertical Gardens in our honor.
Naturally, Fawn the Midwife could not allow it.
Rag-draggers: But would you destroy us -- for these things?!
Kalu brought the Magus. I think at this point, Bill had left for a moment, and we didn't want to speak for him. But, either he or we ultimately decided that, as the Magus was Kind, he would never accept sacrificing children. For that was what kept magic alive in the underground realm.
Magus: This is why, my friends, magic must leave the world -- because it leads to this. I am too weak. You must stop this.
Though it pained Fawn, she drew half a sword. The phantom of the missing half joined it.
Fawn: By the Sword of Valen, I shall not let you do this!
Painful and older, Fawn was drawn into a past she didn't like. And, her sword reflected the Rag-Draggers, and they were ashamed. They realized that they were not the beautiful people they were before she descended. They saw Fawn's sword whole and were frightened and ashamed.
And their realm changed. They still had magic down there, but they were also losing it, just like the surface world.
And at Kettle Bottom, the companions had a Dirty Job to do: they had to free the children. The rope hoist-way awaited them, and the Spirit of Change swept through the caverns.
Player: Do Not Kill Kids.
Me: You write their code of law. The Rag-Dragger Constitution.
They journeyed on underground, coming to the Dogtooth Jungle beneath the Purple Sun. The Purple Sun was created by the Magus when he was showing off to a lady friend. He said, "Let There Be Light" -- and there was.
Vago: It's like preening your feathers -- for them -- making a sun.
Clearly, the Magus had used a lot of magic in his younger days into impressing people, particularly lady friends.
They came now to the Fruiting Groves, and there was a CHANGE symbol on the scroll. The grove had a dangerous medicine: sap from the trees. It solidified into pearls. The sap would give one something, but also take something away. In mechanical terms, I think this meant that we could change or remove details written on our character cards.
Willow branches caressed the travelers, for the trees you wanted them to take this dangerous medicine. The trees grew on what they took from others.
Fawn's player removed her Legendary Trait. Her sword would never again be able to glow. The player noted that this was "Kind of nice" but that it also sucked.
Fawn saw the image of a newborn child, very small.
Child: Mama?
And the child came to Fawn and hugged her, solid.
Fawn: It's been so long since I've seen you, my love.
Child: I know -- I've been down here so long.
Perhaps because the child had been down there so long, the child could not leave the underworld. There was a safe place for children in the underworld. But, when this child, the Pallid Child, coughs, sometimes blood will be on its lips.
My notes say: "Trailblazing -- sim of the traveler's past". I am not sure what that means. They also refer to a "Stone cottage where she lived", and this meant a cottage in the underworld where the Magus and the lady he was trying to impress had stayed. The cottage was what had helped the child survive here.
There was a violet dawn, and the text on the scroll read: "What grew overnight". My notes say there were vivid dreams of the world and magic, the good and bad the Magus had witnessed. Then, the Purple Sun rose.
Here again, my notes are unclear. Someone had tremendous respect for something or someone that had now exceeded that exceeded respect / knowledge. I don't know what that means.
They came to the Dog Tooth Spar, an inspiring view. This was the site of the Magus's Dragon Fight. The tooth was still dripping with dragon blood.
Someone: He was an awesome dog!
That is, clearly, the Magus had fought the dragon all those years ago, triumphing with the aid of his dog.
They came to Gritwater, the hospital of the Pool Crone. The Pool Crone was not a woman, but was both male and female. An androgynous person with long golden hair and keen intelligent eyes, dressed all in white, the Pool Crone was also ugly, with warts, and dirt under fingernails, and the white clothing was shredded. The Pool Crone was happy to see the Magus. The Magus and the Pool Crone embraced. The Magus once had a very great love for the Pool Crone, but it dissipated in time.
Caspian came to the Moon Pool with questions for the Pool Crone.
Pool Crone: I know that you have questions. You may ask one.
Caspian asked how to save Magus. The scroll read: "A lie you wish was true".
Pool Crone: Just get him to Umbra. All will be well.
They came to the Salamander Shallows, and the text on the scroll read "Who needs your help?"
The Magus, weak, collapsed. Kalu put his shoulder under the Magus's arm, and one of them picked up the staff.
And they reached the Moonmilk Falls, where we voiced the characters' unheard desires.
Vago: I don't want to become just an animal.
Kalu: Sometimes, I wish I knew less.
Caspian: I long for the days when the Magus and I were young -- but don't wish to speak of it, because it would cause him pain.
Fawn: The water showed an image of the man we'd seen before, in her memories. The pallid child touched it. The man tried to reach his hand up -- and it was just water
My notes say something about something sunken, possibly a hovel or hand, but I can't tell.
The Pool Crone created an awesome feast for the travelers, utilizing moonmilk, although they didn't know this. It gave them hope, hope that even if the Magus and magic fell, the companions would survive. The world would survive.
But Pallid Child did not eat.
I believe the travelers emerged above ground, without the pallid child. Though my notes don't say this, I think Fawn hugged her child in farewell, and perhaps the child stayed with the ghost of its father.
At last, the group reached the Gates of Umbra.
What is broken? The massive gates were broken, shattered. They were of black iron, I think with blue light leaking out of it.
The Magus looked at the gates in shock.
They passed through the broken gates. I think Kalu pointed out a worn monument, carved with the Legends of the Ancients, the races who first brought magic to the world. This was their testament.
The monument was asymmetric, with room to create more carvings. I asked if there were multiple histories and if some of them might be contradictory. Kalu said that it was a matter of scholarly debate.
Kalu: Some might be older than others.
My notes mention the Dusk Road Caravan, an old custom. There, all enmity was set aside, for only the desperate take the dusk road. I am not clear on the context, but this implies that the travelers were on the dusk road and that the caravan part might be metaphorical.
Or perhaps it wasn't metaphorical. There were celebratory fires, but these were not cheerful -- or perhaps the Magus pulled his companions aside.
Magus: I have put my affairs in order, and when we reach Umbra, I will no longer be of this Earth, so I have something to give each of you.
To Vago, he gave a feather.
Magus: Use this to take you to the land of the First Raven.
To Kalu, he gave his spell book.
Magus: Many will no longer work, but I trust you will find [I didn't record how the sentence ended, but likely either saying that Kalu would find some spells that did work or that the scholar would find it useful, even if only as a piece of history.]
Caspian: I need no gift.
The Magus gave him one anyway, a cup of friendship, hand carved with their adventures.
Magus (to Fawn): I will give your child peace, although she cannot pass the gates.
Fawn was not okay with it, but the Magus gave her no choice. She cast the child's hair into the fireplace.
[The player was okay with it and was likely the one deciding what the Magus would do for Fawn.]
What fades? First the elves -- elves fading from the world.
Caspian (to the Magus): I will take this final journey with you.
They came to the Nameless City, where one could see the Ravages of Magic,
Why the Magus needs you: He saw a dark future -- sightless, without magic, without eyes, for the Magus saw with magic. He revealed that "he _is_ done". He needed Kalu to write everything down, to witness his story.
Fawn at the Silver Palace: What was saved?
The Silver Palace was similarly ruined. The caretaker was an old blind man, leaning on a crutch. His skin was slightly silvery because he had been there so long.
Caretaker: Who goes there?
Because he couldn't see the travelers.
Fawn said her name.
Caretaker: Your voice is very familiar -- I feel as if I have heard it before -- but I never have.
He had been at the Battle of Swine Hill.
Caretaker: A woman who was my wife. I lost her long ago -- and her name was Moriana.
This had indeed been Fawn's name when she was the Sword of Valen.
Fawn: Garth?
The couple had had a fight after their child died -- or Garth had sided with Magus, her against them. And they embraced now, after so long.
Garth: I forgive you.
Fawn: I forgive you too.
Fawn's player: And so I get my husband back -- maybe.
My notes mention the Body of the Ancient and a child, possibly Caspian when he was a child. A battle had been fought long ago. Giants warred against each other and destroyed each other. I think Caspian was saddened by the folly of it all.
The Night District: What was destroyed? The roof had been destroyed. There were cells, small little rooms, as if at one time it held people.
And there was a Glow. The Magus walked into it. Vago did not know what had happened to the Magus or what would happen to the others, including himself, if they went into the Glow.
Old Garth and Fawn / Mariana were as they were that moment for the last time. They saw magic for a moment.
And then, CHANGE. They were no longer Garth and Fawn. And they were somewhere else, and they were young. The man who had been Garth had eyes and sight once more. They could start anew, together, with new names and new hopes, whether this was the past of the world or its future.
Caspian went into the Glow. And then, CHANGE. He either said or heard the Magus say: I am glad we are here for that final journey. And Caspian could sense their other friends. Caspian was no longer of this world.
Kalu was no longer a scholar. He was Kalu the Witness of the Fall of Magic.
Vago used the feather given to him by the Magus. It took him to the Land of the First Raven -- and all the other animals. Vago was no longer A Raven. He was RAVEN, the trickster and teacher.
And so the Magus's final journey came to an end.
And we basked in the glow of a satisfying game and talked.
Bill liked that the Magus brought Fawn on the journey because he forgave her.
Dylan said that Kalu's story was, as it had to be, the whole tale we had created. It was a tale of kindness, compassion, and a forgiving nature.
Melissa loved the crystal, which was William's creation; that the scholar started as apprentice and became last bastion of magic; and that love was an important part of the tale, love lost, regained, and kept. She also said that the raven was so cool, which delighted me.
William liked the foreshadowing, and I think said that when he added the memory crystal, he had no idea how that would be used, beyond a thought that the travelers would probably be going somewhere dark.
Dylan liked the seeds. They flowered, and one could plant the memory. I think he said more, enough to make that comprehensible, but that's all I got into my notes.
I liked that we were aiming for the same target and hit it. I really liked William's light touch with Caspian. This is an elven ranger, centuries old, boyhood chum and best friend of the Magus, which looks like a red flag that this is a character designed to be the Specialest and most important. But, in William's hands, who and what Caspian was was important, yes, but no more so than who and what Fawn, Kalu, and Vago were. And it's great that this game supports this kind of play, that yes, you can have the mixed group, all of whom are integral to the tale, and that it's the kind of game where you're not waiting to level up to become awesome.
And, of course, I like that I got my awesome. I got to play Raven becoming Raven.
It occurs to me that at this Dreamation, I played a number of different fantasy games that hit the notes of a certain type of high fantasy that I like, and that these games did not use the D&D mechanics I started with, or even the mechanics of my usual go to systems. There's nothing wrong with those mechanics, and this is also the Dreamation where I played and enjoyed Wicked Fate, which uses Fate mechanics and had many elements of dungeon crawl / town adventures.
But I think we are starting to get significantly better at genre emulation, and not just fantasy genre. Headspace felt like the moody kind of cyberpunk I have occasionally read, but never played. I like mechanics and genre matching, especially when the mechanics can stay simple -- although simple does not mean easy.
