The Caliberi Letters (11694154)

The Caliberi Letters THE GRAND DESIGN: EPISODE 1

AUTHOR

John Wick AGE

All Ages TAGS

Novus Ordo Mundi SUGGESTED HEROES

Any Heroes can participate, but those with connections to Eisen and the War of the Cross are highly suggested. Also, if the Heroes do not have a hexe easly accessible, they may miss an opportunity to speak to the deceased.

Introduction Running Adventures

Te War of the Cross nearly destroyed Téah. In the end, nearly eight million people died. wo generations were wiped out. But what many do not know is the secret reason behind the War. It was Novus Ordo Mundi’s first attempt to control all Téah. And it failed. Just barely. Te Caliberi Letters is the first part in a series of adventures called Te Grand Design, which reveals this secret truth to your Heroes. What begins at a wake for a friend—Magda Müller—turns into a desperate chase to expose the Villains who burned Téah to the ground for their own personal gain. You can play this adventure with Heroes from any Nation, although a Hero with Hexenwerk can provide an advantage when it comes to dealing the dead.

Like the Stories you make for your own games, a � S

A proceeds through a series of Steps on its way to a Goal. But here, we’ve provided a number of Scenes that you can use, to cut down on your prep work. While these Scenes proceed in a fairly traditional order, feel free to add other Scenes to the Story, just as you would running any other adventure. Good luck!

Adventure Setup Before you run the adventure, you have a choice to make: why did Müller hold on to the Caliberi Letters for so long after the War of the Cross? Future installments of Te Grand Design are impacted by this choice.

Goal and Basic Story

Option 1: Blackmail

Tis is a short adventure broken down into two Steps and four Scenes. Tere are no Paths for this adventure—simply run these Scenes in order along with any other roleplaying you wish to do in between. Each Scene has hooks leading into the next. Although the players may explore each Scene at their own pace, the clues they discover should lead them to subsequent Scenes, and inevitably, a confrontation with the Villain. I designed the adventure to take no more than three-to-four hours, depending on your own pace and your players’ choices.

Müller kept the letters as blackmail. She was once a

1 2 G

Learn more about Magda Müller and her

Option 3: Shame

connection with the other Heroes.

Müller was a Villain, but she got turned into a Hero at

member of Novus Ordo Mundi (NOM) and had evidence of another member’s carelessness. If the NOM Inner Council ever found out about the letters, heads would roll. This choice makes Müller a Villain who fooled the Heroes into trusting her.

Option 2: Safety Müller came across the letters in the aftermath of the War. When the author of the letters threatened Müller and her daughter, Müller used the letters to buy her daughter’s safety. In this option, Müller is a Hero.

some point—possibly by the birth of her daughter—and

Discover the plot around Müller’s unusual

regrets her decisions. She kept the letters as a reminder

cane and the letters hidden inside it.

of the mistakes she had made in the past, and as a safe guard against whatever NOM might have planned for her

Confront Antonio Esposito, save Magda’s

after she turned away from her dark path.

daughter and retrieve Magda’s cane.

No matter why Müller kept the letters, the Heroes will soon be caught up in their wake. Müller’s death is merely the beginning of the adventure!

2 7TH SEA ADVENTURES

THE CALIBERI LETTERS

Scene Summary [H] R

Tis is an overview of the Scenes that make up each Step of this adventure’s Story. You do not have to use every Scene when you run the adventure, and may pick and choose from among your favorites or from whichever ones seem like logical next steps.

Throughout the adventure, you’ll notice a lot of [H] references. Use this to dynamically modify the size of Villains a nd Brute Squads for various group sizes. Wherever you see [H], replace it with the number of Hero characters in the Scene. In some places [H] will have a multiplier or divider.

1

If you have a Heroic Duelist in the Scene, consider doubling the

Learn more about Magda Müller and her

Strength of one or more Brute Squads, Monsters or Villains.

connection with the other Heroes.

Wake for a Friend (page 4)

G

Te adventure begins in Eisen at the wake of Magda Müller, a mercenary and veteran of the War of the Cross. Te Heroes should have some acquaintance with Müller and her old lover, Ulli Janz, who offers to buy the Heroes drinks at the local bierpalast. After getting drunk, Janz reveals he made a promise to Müller: to pour a beer on her grave at midnight. He and the Heroes head off to the graveyard.

2

Confront Antonio Esposito, save Magda’s daughter and retrieve Magda’s cane.

The Mud, Blood and Beer (page 10)

Now, the Heroes must rescue Sieghild Müller. It’s a chase through Eisen’s muddy fields in two carriages as lightning flashes across the sky. Meanwhile, in the dark woods just off the road, shadowy horrors lurk, waiting to pounce on the wounded and the vulnerable.

Discover the plot around Müller’s unusual

Confronting Esposito (page 11)

cane and the letters hidden inside it.

Once the Heroes catch up to Antonio, they must resolve a tense standoff, with Sieghild’s life in the balance. One way or another, they recover the cane Sieghild kept as a memento of her mother. Tey discover that it is hollow, containing letters written during the War of the Cross. Te letters tell the story of bribery and blackmail, plus include a strange code that gives the Heroes their first glimpse at the sinister organization known as Novus Ordo Mundi.

Drinking with the Dead (page 7)

When the Heroes and Janz arrive at the graveyard, they discover Müller’s coffin has been dug up and people are clustered around the open grave. wo Villains await the Heroes, ready to draw them into an ambush!. After defeating them, the Heroes can question the Villains, Valentin Bohn and Ursul Dittmar. Valentin is a hexe and he was using his sorcery to speak to Müller. He’s also a coward and gives up why: his employer wanted her cane and Valentin doesn’t know why. Te Heroes discover Müller’s daughter— Sieghild—did not follow her mother’s instructions to bury Müller with the cane, but instead took it as a memento. Te Heroes now have a mystery on their hands: why did someone dig up Müller and why do they want her cane?



Starting the Adventure A S

At the start of the adventure, read or paraphrase the following text to the players.

If this is your first game, or if your players have made new Heroes, you can use this adventure as a meeting point. You can even use it

You are on your way to Bielefeld, a small Eisen village. An old friend, Magda Müller, recently passed away. A veteran of the War and a trusted comrade, she was a hero in every sense of the word, a beacon of conviction. Unfortunately, you will not arrive in time for the funeral: bodies are consecrated and put into the ground quickly in Eisen. However, the village is holding a week-long wake in her honor, so off you go to Bielefeld to remember your lost friend. You plan on meeting a man named Ulli Janz. He was close to Müller—perhaps closer than anyone else. As you travel toward the town, think of your memories of Magda. You’ll be sharing them with others soon.

as a flashback w ith the Heroes remembering the first time they met. “Do you remember Müller’s wake?” The Heroes are all mutual friends of Müller but have never met. They meet at the wake, get drunk, head off to the cemetery and wackiness ensues.

ENCOUNTER

Hinnerk’s Bierpalast

Te largest building in the village belongs to Hinnerk Kruse, and it is the local pub. He hangs a wooden sign with a frothy mug above the door; that’s enough to let people know what’s inside. Te bottom floor is a drinking house. Te top floor has small and large rooms for travelers and visitors. Müller and Kruse were dear friends—in fact, Hinnerk loved Magda Müller. Beer helped him tell her so many times. Beer also helped him offer her a wedding ring once. She refused him, but their friendship remained. If you had known Hinnerk Kruse for one hundred years, you wouldn’t know him today. He looks defeated—as if he had been told four minutes ago that the world would end in five minutes. His eyes barely hold back the tears. Even mention of her name makes him put his washing rag to his face, pretending to wipe away sweat when he’s really hiding his grief. He’s a ruined man and right now, more than anything else, he needs a friend. When the Heroes mention they are here for the funeral, he offers them all beers—on the house—and asks how they all know…he means knew…Magda. He listens to their stories, smiling proudly even while crying. Ten, he offers more beers and food. He tells a story about bandits raiding the village and how Magda pulled out her old panzerhand and sword, beating them all back. “She looked like an angel,” he says. “Fought them all by herself. One of them tried to hold a girl hostage and she stared him down. Just stared him down. He dropped his sword and ran. And when she was done, she came right into my place and ordered a beer, as if she had done nothing more than carry something heavy up the stairs.”

Wake for a Friend

Te Heroes arrive at the small village of Bielefeld (population around 900) in southwest Eisen. Te town was destroyed twice during the War: burned down by the Montaigne army and then wiped out by the plague. It owes much of its current rebirth to Magda Müller, who served as mayor before retiring to a small cottage near the edge of the town. It has everything you’d expect from an Eisen town: a road running through the center of it, going from north to south, plus a bierpalast for weary travelers. And pig farms. Lots of pig farms. Barley and wheat are the major crops here, and the beer from Bielefeld is known all over the nation. Teir yearly festival doubles the population. When the Heroes arrive, Eisen is in the depths of dark autumn. It is cold. Te ground freezes overnight, thawed out by the dull noon sun. Wind bites at the skin, requiring scarves and hats to cover the throat and ears. Gloves keep the chill from the hands. As they arrive (from either the north or the south), they see people moving about in mourning clothes, their heads down. Te villagers greet the Heroes with no sense of joy or happiness. If asked, the Heroes are told they can stay at the bierpalast. “Hinnerk has rooms.”



ENCOUNTER

Wake for a Friend (cont...)

Ulli Janz DRAMATIC SEQUENCE

As people slowly fill into Hinnerk’s place, a big man with a bigger beard enters. He needs to duck to get into the door. He wears a wide-brimmed hat, but his thick beard is still wet. He looks as big as a house and like he could eat one. With a fork. Tis is Ulli Janz, another of Müller’s old acquaintances. Specifically, he’s one of the few lovers she had ever known. Janz is looking for the Heroes. He knows one or more of them and recognizes them, calling them out by name. He joins their table with a sad smile on his face. He shakes hands, gives embraces and buys beers. Ten he tells stories. • Like the time he and Müller hunted a werewolf across the Eisen mountains for nearly two weeks. “By day, we were after him. By night, he was after us. We finally caught up to him at dusk, fighting him as he transformed. Te pain and terror in his eyes. Te hunger. I thought he would kill us and eat us. Or even eat us alive. But Magda pierced her sword through his chest and into a tree. And she smashed him with her panzerhand until his face looked like pudding.” • Like the time in the War, when the Montaigne army decided to burn this town to the ground. “We were in this very building, right here, when they decided it. And Magda said, ‘Hold my beer.’ Honest, she did! And she gave it to Hubert and stood up, marching out into the street. Tere were over a hundred of them and just her. And when they told her to stand aside, she said, ‘Make me.’ Oh, they burned down the town all right, but not before they had Magda in chains. And half of them had broken jaws. I swear on the Prophet’s tears, it’s true!”

Reminiscing about Magda

While drinking in memory of the dead, the Heroes have the chance to describe their past heroics with Magda. Have each player, in turn, set the scene of a past adventure or encounter with Magda, and make an appropriate Risk, spending Raises to describe these events. Don’t worry too much about things like the Improvisation rules or changing Approaches for these Risks, just let the players describe a past adventure that they’ve had. Since this is a flashback, there’s no danger of Wounds or death here—this is just for fun. Te goal is to play up the Heroes’ connections to Magda Müller. Build sentiment. Te more the players fall in love with Müller—yes, the players—the more emotionally powerful the story will be for them when they reach the end. Don’t let this become bogged down in details—if a player paints themselves and Magda into a corner and runs out of Raises before getting out of danger, you get to narrate the ending. Keep it short, and remember to focus on the bond between the two and the friendship they formed. Having Magda save the Heroes at the end of every scene (or vice versa) might be counterproductive to your goal for this scene, so concentrate more on achieving an “us against the world” atmosphere. Te Hero and Magda, back to back, once faced off against whatever Téah threw at them.

As the stories go on, both Hinnerk and Janz get more emotional. Finally, Hinnerk asks Janz, “Why didn’t she love me?” Janz answers, “She did, Hinnerk. She did. She loved all of us.”



Wake for a Friend (cont...) FORESHADOWING

Müller’s Cane

One important story to relate to the Heroes is the one about how she got her cane. Tis cane becomes important later because it contains secret letters the Villains want to acquire. Hinnerk tells a story about the time Müller fought a wight trying to haunt the church. After three parishioners were murdered—found as mutilated corpses— Müller suspected something might be hiding in the church. She began her search with the priest and the blacksmith. Tey found the wight hiding in the cellar. It had dug out intricate caves leading to isolated parts of the village (the graveyard, for example) and used those caves to move around the village. Tey fought the thing in the caves. With little room to move or fight, the priest and the blacksmith used fire to drive the beast toward Müller. Te final confrontation left Müller nearly crippled and she had to use a cane to walk for the rest of her days. She had it made in a nearby city: silver tipped and carved from hardwood. The Promise

Janz then says the two of them made a promise: to pour a beer over the other one’s grave to say goodbye. Janz says, “I’m going up there now.” If someone tries to warn him about going up to the graveyard at night, he says: “If all the Hells stand in my way of keeping my promise to Magda, they’ ll know my name by sunrise.” He invites the Heroes and Hinnerk to come with him. Tis transitions to Scene 2…



Drinking with the Dead

ACTION SEQUENCE

Fight at Müller’s Grave

Te graveyard is located on the other side of a small hill on the south side of the village. It is surrounded by a ten-foot-high iron fence with a gate on the north side. Prophet’s Crosses are on each wall of the fence. Rather than individual graves, these are family plots: all members of a family are buried in the same place. Tis village pays special attention to the burial rites: in Eisen you can never be too careful. A regular watch rotates among five people. Overlooking the graveyard is the church, casting its shadow over the tombstones. onight, Gerhard Strauss looks over the graveyard. He is armed with a silver sword, a Prophet’s Cross and a large bell. He rings the bell if things get out of hand. However, tonight, Gerhard is unconscious: someone has poisoned his beer. If he isn’t given medical aid immediately, he will die. Te Heroes can give medical aid or get it from the village or the church quickly. Meanwhile, two Villains have dug up Müller’s grave looking for her letters. Tey’re using Hexenwerk to speak to the corpse, but quickly discover an important secret: the corpse in the grave is not Magda Müller.

When the Heroes arrive at Müller’s grave, they see it has been dug up and the coffin is open. Tis should seriously anger any Eisen in the party as well as put them on edge. Violating corpses is a great way to get zombies and vampires. Consequences: Tis Scene has two Consequences.

• Ambush—Te Villains Valentin Bohn and Ursul Dittmar heard the Heroes coming and have hidden behind the gravestones. o avoid the ambush, the group must collectively spend 2 Raises. A Hero may not take an Action during the first Round of combat until these Raises are spent. • Gerhard Is Dying—Gerhard’s body is at the grave site. He has a head and chest wound, and i s bleeding to death. o save Gerhard, one or more Heroes must give him medical treatment and stabilize his wounds. Tis requires 5 Raises: 1 to stop the bleeding and 4 to keep him alive. A Hero with the Miracle Worker Advantage can spend 1 Hero Point and 1 Raise to save Gerhard. Any Hero assisting Gerhard can do nothing else. If the entire group decides to throw Raises at him, the Villains get free swings at them. Best to have one Hero help him while the others try to keep the Villains at bay.

ENCOUNTER

Something’s Up

When the Heroes approach the graveyard, Janz notices that Gerhard is missing and the gate is unlocked. Searching the small shed shows his pipe is still there as well as a half-eaten sandwich and some cold tea. Obviously, he’s out on his rounds, but why is the gate open? Any NPCs along with the Heroes comment on noises coming from a different direction. Tey tell the Heroes that they want to investigate these noises, then encourage the Heroes to continue to Magda’s grave and to try to find Gerhard to make sure he is fine.

Opposition: Valentin Bohn and Ursul Dittmar wait to ambush the Heroes. Both Bohn and Dittmar are hiding out behind large tombstones. Tactics: If spotted, Dittmar attacks while Bohn falls back—and if things go rotten, he tries to escape while Dittmar’s back is turned. o provide a distraction, send the corpse in the grave at the Heroes. (Bohn already has animated it to ask questions.) Since the Heroes just spent most of the night sharing stories about their friend Müller, this should be rather disturbing—until they figure out it isn’t Müller’s corpse, that is. Te Corpse is a Monster with a Strength of 3 and the Fearsome Monstrous Quality.



Drinking with the Dead (cont...)

Valentin Bohn EISEN

Bohn wants to get away and Dittmar wants to crush some skulls—and maybe punch through someone again. A fun way to give folks Dramatic Wounds with Dittmar is to have her slam her fist into their chests and feel their bones crunch. She laughs each time. “Lucky I did not reach right through to your spine, little one.” Dittmar fights until she’s knocked out. She won’t relent. Her own Hubris refuses to allow her to believe she can be beaten. Bohn tries to escape as soon as possible. He’s no fighter and has no chance against the Heroes. When he uses a Danger Point to escape the Scene, allow the players to spend Hero Points to prevent it, but insist they describe how their Heroes are preventing him. Once someone uses a Hero Point to prevent him from escaping, Bohn immediately surrenders. He’s a coward and has no interest in physical confrontation. Outcome: After defeating the Villains, the Heroes have the option to interrogate their prisoners.

Strength 2, Influence 5; Rank 7 Advantages Cast Iron Stomach, Connection (Fischler Underworld), Sorcery (Hexenwerk), Sorcery (Hexenwerk)

Virtue: Coins (for the Ferryman) Adaptable. Activate your Virtue to take your first Action before anyone else in a Round.

Hubris: The Road Underconfident. You receive a Dang er Point when your Villain decides he cannot take an action without help from another Villain—asking her to use one of her Advantages to aid you, for example.

Sorcery Black Broth, Corpse Tongue, Funeral Porridge, Scourgebane, Spring’s Laugh, Widow’s Veil

Bohn is a low-ranking agent in Novus Ordo Mundi. So low, in fact, he doesn’t know he’s working for them. All he knows is that he’s getting paid to get the letters. Some man in a Vodacce mask and cloak paid him Guilders for the job. (He has half the money on him, by the way: 5 Wealth.) He’s supposed to wait to be contacted about returning the letters.

Ursul Dittmar EISEN

W I B E

Strength 4+[H], Influence 1; Rank 5+[H]

If Bohn escapes, he flees to an old shack on the outskirts of town.

Advantages

He is there for less than an hour—just long enough to gather up

Duelist Academy (Eisenfaust), I Won’t Die Here, Reputation (Dangerous), Signature Item (Panzerhand)

his belongings before leaving the area. Not much of note is here:

Virtue: The War Victorious . Activate your Virtue the first time you Wound

a pair of bedrolls, some food and drink, and a fire in the fireplace that has burned down to embers. Unfortunately for Bohn, it has

a Hero during a fight to make her take a D ramatic Wound in addition to the Wounds you normally deal.

only one way in and out—he knows this, and if confronted again he immediately surrenders if the Heroes agree to let him live.

Hubris: The Tower Arrogant . You receive a Dan ger Point when your Villain shows disdain, contempt, or otherwise looks down on a Hero or someone who could cause you harm.

Ursul Dittmar is a powerful woman. Not very tall, but damn strong. Rumor is she once punched through a guy. That’s the rumor, anyway. (Totally true.) She has a panzerhand that she has no business owning—she killed a man for it—and likes using it a little too much. Bohn and Dittmar only recently started working together. Bohn needed muscle and Dittmar needed Guilders, so the deal seemed mutually beneficial. They’ve run two jobs so far, both successful. This is their third.



Drinking with the Dead (cont...)

Yet...if Bohn escapes the graveyard, Dittmar can be convinced to give up his hiding place. Getting this information from her requires 2 Raises, or a single Raise along with a properly convincing promise or payment (such as letting her go free afterward). Questioning the Corpse: If one of the Heroes is a hexe with the Corpse ongue power or the Heroes convince Bohn to use his magic, the Heroes can interrogate the corpse. Te corpse says her name is Terese Lehrer, and she was a washerwoman from a nearby village. Te last thing she remembers was being at the well, where she was looking into the water. Reflected in the water, she saw a masked figure standing behind her, then she has a muddled memory of drowning. Tat’s all she remembers. Yes, she was murdered. Te question is, who did it? Unfortunately for the Heroes, the lead here goes cold. Tere’s no way to “see” the murderer. Be fair with your players and tell them, “You don’t know who it was.” If you need to, let them know, “Tis is a setup for another adventure.” Don’t let them spend too much time on a lead they can’t follow up on.

DRAMATIC SEQUENCE

Interrogation

Players can spend Raises to coerce Bohn or Dittmar (once she comes to) to answer their questions. Each Raise spent gets the Heroes an honest answer. If the players do not have a hexe with the Corpse ongue power and wish to convince Bohn to ask the corpse questions on their behalf, a player must spend 2 Raises or provide a different form of incentive (for example, letting him go free or some form of payment). Bohn and Dittmar are willing to tell the Heroes all the information they know. Bohn especially knows when he is outclassed and is much more obliging when asked questions. He’s a coward. Dittmar is only in this for the money (and punching people). What Bohn Knows: Bohn confesses that he was hired to retrieve a bundle of letters from Magda’s grave, but they weren’t there (and remember, he has half the payment on him). Te letters were supposed to be in a cane buried with Müller, but the cane isn’t in the grave. He doesn’t know the identity of the man who hired him. He knows the man’s accent was Vodacce and wore a mask. He doesn’t know how to contact his employer—he was told to wait for more instructions once he’d retrieved the letters. He has worked for this same contact before, and they’ve always followed through on this, so he had no reason to be suspicious. Besides, they paid him half up front! Bohn gives up a more important secret: the corpse isn’t Müller’s. Bohn doesn’t know whose body is in the grave and he initially won’t use Hexenwerk to ask questions. “I risk my soul on my own time. Not yours.” If pressured—by an Advantage such as We’re Not So Different…or even a Convince Risk—Bohn uses Hexenwerk to talk to the corpse. Remember, he’s a coward. Once he’s outclassed, he concedes to the Heroes. What Dittmar Knows: Dittmar, by contrast, knows little. She knows Bohn pays her well to bash skulls and act as muscle for his heists. She knows the man who hired them is Vodacce (she was with Bohn when he accepted the job) but not much else.

If Müller Is a Hero… …she’s not responsible for the girl’s death. But someone switched out Müller’s corpse for Therese. Why? Maybe to avoid something like this.

If Müller Is a Villain… …she killed the girl and put her into the grave. Why? You’ll find out later.

Searching the Strands: A Fate Witch may look for strands linking the Heroes to Müller. If she does, she might spot very dim strands linking the Heroes to someone else, but they are far too dim to trace. Is this Müller? It’s possible.

What Next? Te Heroes know Müller was supposed to be buried with her cane. Not only is this not the right body, but the cane is gone. Where is it? Janz remembers that Müller’s daughter, Sieghild, has the cane. She kept it as a memento of her mother. Tat means they must get to Sieghild before anyone else does. And that leads us to… 9

7TH SEA ADVENTURES


The Mud, the Blood and the Beer

ACTION SEQUENCE

The Chase

In this scene, the Heroes seek out Müller’s daughter. In fact, the Scene also begins in medias res. However, every group is different. Perhaps your group won’t be comfortable starting a scene in the middle of a chase. Maybe you want to back things up a bit. It’s all up to you. I usually tell the players, “Tis next Scene starts in the middle of the action.” Ten I read the text below and have them roll dice for the Action Sequence:

Esposito, the tall Vodacce Villain in the other carriage, has some friends with him: one [H] Strength Brute Squad. Tis Brute Squad has the Guard and Tenacious ypes. enacious causes the Strength of the Brute Squad to be reduced after being dealt 2 Wounds rather than 1 (for example, a group of five Heroes must deal 10 Wounds to the Brute Squad to completely defeat them). Tis does not increase the number of Wounds dealt by the Brute Squad at the end of the Round. But the Brute Squad isn’t the only danger. Te driver turns the carriage into the woods—nasty things always skulk in the woods of Eisen. Opportunities: Te waldgeists generally assist the Brute Squad and the Villain—birds of a feather and all—but if a Brute accidentally hits a waldgeist, everyone is fair game. Making a Brute strike a waldgeist is a Rank [H] Opportunity. Once a Hero activates it, the waldgeists attack Villains, Heroes, Brutes…everyone. Te Heroes can stop the carriage through various means: unlocking the horses, taking out a wheel, etc. Players can come up with all kinds of clever ways of doing it. Stopping the carriage is a Rank [H] Opportunity.

A stormy night. Lightning flashes across the sky, sending long shadows across the woodlands. A muddy road. A distant thunder…no, not thunder…gunfire! wo carriages race through the night. You’ve traveled two hundred miles to find Müller’s daughter and it has come to this: a carriage race through a storm. Te road is muddy and treacherous. And in the carriage up ahead is your target: Sieghild Müller, clutching the silver-tipped cane. In the same carriage is a tall Vodacce man with a pistol. He’s pointing the pistol right at her head and screaming at the carriage driver. “Go faster, fool!” Just five minutes ago, you found Sieghild Müller, but not before this Vodacce man did. He put a gun to her head, used her as a hostage and climbed into his carriage. You found a carriage of your own and you gave chase.

Antonio Esposito VODACCE

W

Strength 3+[H], Influence 3+[H]; Rank 6+[2H]

Waldgeists are evil spirits lurking in Eisen forests. When they spot

Advantages

the chase, they see an opportunity to do some evil and attack the

Duelist Academy (Ambrogia), Fencer, Perfect Balance

Heroes.

Virtue: The Sun Glorious. Activate your Virtue when you are the center of attention. For the next Risk, when you determine Raises, every die counts as a Raise.

The waldgeists are also particularly vulnerable to fire. Any attack with a torch or other flaming weapon causes an automatic Dramatic Wound (in the same way firearms do). They’re also

Hubris: The Magician

vulnerable to light. Shining a torch in a mirror and flashing the

Ambitious. You receive a Danger Point when you chase after power and the deal you’re after is dangerous or causes trouble.

light at a waldgeist stuns it, removing one Raise from its pool. There are two waldgeists in the forest here, each with identical Strength and Qualities.

Antonio is a little higher on the Novus Ordo Mundi food chain, even ranking

Strength: [H]

himself a lowercase letter: “n.” He is a proud, vain man who wears expensive

Monstrous Qualities: Fearsome, Nocturnal, Swift, Winged

clothes and keeps his moustache and beard trimmed. He possesses a devilish charm, although he derives pleasure from watching others suffer. He uses a sword specifically made for his hand, a masterwork item that can catch the eye of anyone with an understanding of smithing, dueling or weapon making.



Confronting Esposito

Option 1: A Fair Exchange

After the Heroes stop the carriage, they still have to deal with the Villain. Te resolution of this Scene depends entirely on your group: their Skills, Advantages and attitudes. Esposito has his pistol trained on Sieghild Müller. Sieghild is not a Hero. Tat means Esposito can kill her with a single Danger Point. You could allow the Heroes to stop that action by spending a Hero Point and explaining how they rescue Sieghild, but that feels anti-climactic. Or, you could throw every Danger Point you have on the table and say, “Tis is his bluff. He’ll kill Sieghild if you try anything . You have to throw as many Hero Points as I’ve thrown Danger Points to stop it.”

The Heroes have to make a deal with Esposito. He says, “I’ll settle for letting the girl go in exchange for the cane.” If the Heroes agree, he grabs the cane, lets the girl go and rushes off into the Eisen woodlands. If the players take this option, Sieghild reveals she removed the letters from the cane before Esposito kidnapped her. She gives the letters to the Heroes.

Option 2: Physical Confrontation If the Heroes try a physical rescue, they must s pend a number of Hero Points equal to the number of Danger Points you threw on the table. This stops Esposito from killing his captive, but the Heroes must still physically confront him. He’s no slouch. He no longer has Dan ger Points, so he can’t kill the Heroes (unless you earn

DRAMATIC SEQUENCE

Danger Points during the fight), so he’ll do his best to

Encounter with Esposito

incapacitate the Heroes and escape.

Te Heroes can attempt to convince Esposito to let Sieghild go. During this Sequence, the group may spend Raises to ask Esposito questions, but it requires two Raises to have him answer. o convince Esposito to let Sieghild go costs [H] Raises; if the group does not wish to spend Raises to free Sieghild, the Heroes may pursue other options (see Option 1 or 2 below). Additionally, the Heroes may attempt to free Sieghild by force. If the Heroes choose to follow this path, the Dramatic Sequence becomes an Action Sequence. o do this, have the Heroes declare a new Approach and then roll and make raises (see Option 3 below).

But he’s also not stupid. If the Heroes get the letters, he can still track them down and get the letters back. That makes surrender a viable option. Time is on his side. He just needs to be patient (he is) and careful (he is), and then wait for the right opportunity to strike. Esposito says nothing about Novus Ordo Mundi. He says he was hired by another masked figure to gain the letters, and he was offered a great deal of money for them. That’s all he will willingly say. Depending on the circumstances, he may try to escape, even if that means he doesn’t escape with the letters. Being alive and out of prison is better for his long-term goals.

Option 3: Surrender If the Heroes have had a difficult time dealing with the

S M

last Scene and don’t have many Hero Points to spend, or

Sieghild is just 17 years old, and she’s a scholar studying to be a

you want to create some tension for a future scenario,

priest in the Church. A devoted Objectionist, she has a good heart.

you could choose to have him surrender without a fight.

She is not a Hero, but she might be someday. Hanging out with a

But he does so only if they offer him a deal—they must

bunch of Heroes is a good way to make sure that happens.

take personal custody of him, rather than sending him to the local authorities, and in return he will help them track down the person who hired him. Of course, he is lying about that last bit. At the first opportunity, he will try to grab the letters and escape, forcing a confrontation. As in Option 2, if he can’t secure the letters, he’ll settle for escaping with his life.



The Cane

Letter 4

Müller’s silver-tipped cane has a hollow top. Screwing the silver top off reveals the letters folded into the chamber. You can show them to your players once they discover them. It’s up to you whether Sieghild has seen the letters. If she has, she doesn’t understand what they mean. By the way, if the Heroes mention the scene at the grave, she becomes very upset about that.

(Funn)eling Guilders through the League operating smoothly. No questions asked. AC easiest insert point. Castille reals funding Montaigne resistance. Can’t imagine the irony. Hard to keep my smile subtle when I speak to the Castille Trone. 3, B, C ime for IC to make a decision regarding the Countess. Her strength is growing quickly. She needs to either be controlled or approve closing the window.

The Letters

Aftermath

Müller’s cane contains four letters in various states. Letters 2 and 3 are merely creased from being rolled up, but Letter 1 appears to have been partially burned, and letter 4 is somewhat faded from immersion in water.

Te players have earned themselves a 3 point Advancement. Tis is a GM Advancement, so they can spend it as they like or save it for later. Some examples of rewards that the players could spend this Advancement on include the following: • Improve a Skill used in the adventure to Rank 3 or less (if less than Rank 3, the player may save the remaining points for later). • Change a Quirk. • Purchase an Advantage such as Disarming Smile if the Hero interacted socially with one of the Villains, or purchase Boxer/Bruiser/Deadeye/ Fencer/Sniper if the Hero fought with the Villains. • Purchase the rusted Companion Advantage in the form of Sieghild if the Hero has any stored Advancement Points (or they may store these points and recruit Sieghild at a later time when they can afford that Advantage). • Purchase the Signature Item Advantage—Esposito’s sword is quite a masterpiece, and it can serve as a Signature Item for a Hero. Failing that, it’s worth a pretty penny (3 Wealth).

Letter 1

…(Rel)igious zeal makes the Trone of Avalon easy to manipulate. Her devotion to the Trone of Castille is unquestioning. Control Castille and we control Avalon. Already sending armies to assist Perez at Barcino. 1, 7, t, V, X Rogue elements in the Marches and Inismore have been dealt with. No one has seen the O Entity for years. Marches nobles are easily bribed. Small rebel forces are not a factor in the Grand Design, but could be funded to present difficulties for local nobles, further removing Marches from the issue. P, 2 Sighting of the Mask in Ca… Letter 2

Te Eisen Experiment continues successfully. Increased incidents of abductions and “horrors.” Te Countess has proven approachable. N, 2, J, Q Montaigne armies are now driven by a suitable candidate. His desire for bloodshed will open more doors, making travel easier. 3, B

With the letters in hand, the Heroes have some questions to ask: What do these letters mean? Who wrote them? And why are they so important? Also, who replaced Müller’s corpse in the graveyard? Tese questions won’t be answered in this adventure, but they will be answered in future inst allments of Te Grand Design. See you then!

Letter 3

Vodacce still proving to be difficult. MP savvy to most recruitment techniques, need to develop new procedures. 6 GV has progressed too far with his private investigations. Request permission to close the window. 7



…(Rel)igious zeal makes the Throne of Avalon easy to manipulate. Her devotion to the Throne of Castille is unquestioning. Control Castille and we control Avalon. Already sending armies to assist Perez at Barcino. 1, 7, t, V, X Rogue elements in the Marches and Inismore have been dealt with. No one has seen the O Entity for years. Marches nobles are easily bribed. Small rebel forces are not a factor in the Grand Design, but could be funded to present diculties for local nobles, further removing Marches from the issue. P, 2 Sighting of the Mask in Ca… The Eisen Experiment continues successfully. Increased incidents of abductions and “horrors.” The Countess has proven approachable. N, 2, J, Q Montaigne armies are now driven by a suitable candidate. His desire for bloodshed will open more doors, making travel easier. 3, B

Vodacce still proving to be dicult. MP savvy to most recruitment techniques, need to develop new procedures. 6 GV has progressed too far with his private investigations. Request permission to close the window. 7 (Funn)eling Guilders through the League operating smoothly. No questions asked. ATC easiest insert point. Castille reals funding Montaigne resistance. Can’t imagine the irony. Hard to keep my smile subtle when I speak to the Castille Throne. 3, B, C Time for IC to make a decision regarding the Countess. Her strength is growing quickly. She needs to either be controlled or approve closing the window.

The Caliberi Letters (11694154)

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