[Major Plot] Skinwalker

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Krakenbox
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The Wyrd

Posts: 1,331

[Major Plot] Skinwalker Apr 4, 2021 16:22:36 GMT -8 Linden, Riley Sorsa, and 2 more like this

Post by Krakenbox on Apr 4, 2021 16:22:36 GMT -8

Content Flag: This topic has been heavily researched in the vein of academia and collaboration. The title is not indicative of the content of the plot, its purpose for primarily a metanarrative and acknowledgement of cultural appropriation with the phenomenon of Internet meme and modern folklore. The setting takes place congruent with Navajo and Southern Paiute peoples' experiences, and should be acknowledged rather than subject to racial erasure.

Highlighted Skills:

Academics, Empathy, Firearms, Investigation, Occult, Politics, Subterfuge, Survival

Teaser:

A necromancer has been causing animals to fail to die, creating alarm among the Summer Court as the amount of instances begin to increase in frequency.

Epilogue:

As fate would have it, one autumn evening would bring four newer members of the Freehold into a nightmarish plunge of occult mystery that would leave Las Vegas in a state of crisis.

Local Gravewight of the Autumn Court, Bonnie Hill, tags Linden and Riley Sorsa at one of the local gay bars, asking for some assistance with a task that the local Summer sergeant charged her with. Meanwhile, the same Summer sergeant, Lucky Jack, calls in Firebringer and Rowan for an opportunity to dip their toes in a cursory investigation. The problem is straight forward enough: animals are coming back to life, and it's probably a good idea to figure out why, and stop them from being noticed by the mundane population. Linden and Riley are pointed towards a gated community to take out a series of animals, while Firebringer and Rowan catch the end of a zombie bull terrorizing a rancher's herd.

Caught up in the excitement, Riley successfully distracted the neighbourhood long enough for Linden to pummel the creatures straight out of Pet Cemetery while Bonnie got the key information she needed to properly exorcise the ghosts. They knew what they were dealing with now: wraiths bound to a collective command, piloting the corpse they had been attached to. Rowan and Firebringer have a shaky start to their investigation, but uncover the fact that the revenant was hunting someone connected to the Southern Paiute. Both groups come together, but unfortunately, Lucky Jack is put on suspension, due to the incredibly reckless tactics employed by Bonnie Hill involving a horse, a vehicle, and a crowbar, as well as two operators threatening the rancher where the situation aggravated tensions with the local Reservations. Word had spread about two of the Lost, their faces shared online, with some superstitions about face-changing and hunting one of their own. Finn was put as the new lead on the case while Jack was put on ice. The Summer courtiers were asked to check in with the Knight, Sir Solomon, with whatever they found.

The group met with the Autumn squire and local ghost expert, Dormarch, where they narrowed their leads to a Southern Paiute Changeling named Yazzie (the fact that she took a Navajo moniker remained a mystery). Whether she was responsible for the undead animals required further intervention. Rowan then led Finn in research that gave them access to ancient trade routes that would hopefully lead them to a burial site that would be an essential component to this monstrous ritual. The Autumn courtier was asked to check in with the Knight, Sir Icarus, with whatever he found. Hopefully before things were reported to Solomon, due to the man's heavy-handed reputation.

As they plunged into the desert, Rowan shifted his nature to speak with a ghost, with the group being warned of another group that had desecrated a grave site, and to move forward with extreme caution. Using Contracts to avoid ambush, and noting the gathering vultures, the group pressed on with confidence. The vehicle had to be left behind due to terrain as they ventured into the canyon, where their long trek was met with a titan of a vulture, and a lightning Elemental. Arming themselves for conflict, the Elemental instead blew up the grave site, and any evidence along with it. After a tense exchange, they realized their abandoned vehicle had been hijacked and destroyed, and a mirror left in a previous wreck had been blasted by the mysterious Autumn motley's leader.

They would have died without Firebringer.

Grendel, mercifully, did not attack them while they were at the brink of death.

The trek took days, and during that time, the Freehold devolved into chaos. All four courts were pushed to their limits, with only a small handful of Gravewights were able to put the ghosts to rest while the rest tried to control the danger and exposure of the supernatural realm. Lucas was one of the few who could handle the exorcisms, and was paired with the Summer Ogre, Wayland to get an outbreak at a local hospice contained.

The group made it out of the desert, with Riley and Rowan collapsed. Firebringer and Linden reported in to Solomon, providing the names and descriptions of Blink and Grendel while everyone had to be treated for severe burns. Dejected and harrowed from their near-death experience, they passed on their suspicion of Yazzie to Queen Uriel, having seen the vision of her face with the shattered remnants of their mirror. Finn sacrificed his health to get Rowan and Riley on their feet.

And with that, they went home to recover, with the consequences of the disastrous event slowly trickling in.

Krakenbox
Administrator

The Wyrd

Posts: 1,331

[Major Plot] Skinwalker Apr 4, 2021 16:53:38 GMT -8 Linden, Riley Sorsa, and 2 more like this

Post by Krakenbox on Apr 4, 2021 16:53:38 GMT -8

Player choices during Major Plots shift the Freehold in different ways. No Major Plot has set outcomes. Rather, Las Vegas changes based on what people do.

This list focuses on Freehold shifts as a result of the Skinwalker plot.

Freehold Changes:

Due to Icarus not being informed in time to open negotiations with the Leviathan Motley, no one knows who commissioned them to start their experiments. This has triggered high suspicion between the Autumn Knights, and the High Seasons looking to Autumn to answer for the security breach.
Due to the group nearly dying in the desert with no oversight, both Icarus and Solomon have taken Severe Clarity Damage due to their Fairest Curse. Icarus' depression has gotten worse, and Solomon's aggression has increased.
Due to Yazzie being accused of being the potential source of the necromantic ritual, a motley of four newer Summer courtiers attempted to attack the Southern Paiute to bring her to justice. The Facebook posts about Firebringer and Rowan hunting a member of their nation ensured they were prepared to receive supernatural threats. The Summer Courtiers were killed with cold iron. This has both aggravated tensions between Summer and Winter, and increased the Hunter threat.
Due to Blink and Grendel not being negotiated with to turn on their dangerous leader, Blink is now dead. Grendel's fate is unknown. A trio of Chevaliers of Sirius breached Echidna's stronghold, costing the Freehold the death of Apollo. Echidna was killed as well.
Between the loss of Summer courtiers to the Hunters, and the personal loss of Apollo, Loki's Mantle has increased to 4.
Apollo's death also heavily affected the Ricochet motley of Eurydice, Fawkes and Sweeney. Eurydice has abandoned her Spring tenants and her personal healing in favor of wrath. She has rejoined the Summer Court at Mantle 2 (due to previous Goodwill) and has joined Loki in the Chevaliers of Sirius.
The Knights of Summer expect Summer Courtiers to swear a Vassalage Pledge in very short order and are no longer tolerating members of the Court not having a Knight responsible for them. They are cracking down on training and militarizing their members.
Loki's Entitlement, the Chevaliers of Sirius, are being aggressive with recruitment as they seek to make up their losses with new blood.

Krakenbox
Administrator

The Wyrd

Posts: 1,331

[Major Plot] Skinwalker Apr 4, 2021 17:59:45 GMT -8 Linden and Wayland like this

Post by Krakenbox on Apr 4, 2021 17:59:45 GMT -8

Plot Overview

For the site's first Major Plot, I am being transparent with my ST notes so the players can have a general sense of how I design plots and react to player actions.

Skinwalker

What's the point?

IC - To introduce player characters to the intense political differences in the Las Vegas Freehold, and the desperation around securing the old Wards before Papa Saturday passes away.

Thematically - This CoD version of Las Vegas is notorious for "the cultural melting pot", with many of its rituals powered off concepts of belief and diluting zeitgeist. The central figure, Yazzie, has rejected the Freehold's culture that ultimately seeks to dig into her own familial history when it isn't the Freehold's right to have. Autumn hubris, Summer aggression, Winter greed, and Spring selfishness are prevailing issues.

PHASE 1: The Lost are brought together for the investigation by Lucky Jack

Take Me to Church
Mad Cow

Storyteller Notes:

Revenants are looking for Yazzie. They will keep moving until they can destroy her. After twenty-four hours, starvation will win out and they will start eating the flesh of their species.

The Leviathan motley is hiding out in Huntridge, continuing to experiment with the ritual to summon the revenants. They have left evidence on the Reserve that hints at Navajo burial rights and ties imagery to Winter that have nothing to do with it. The idea is they are hoping any investigation will flag the Skinwalker as Yazzie, a loner who chooses to isolate herself from the Lost among her community. She is a Coyote as the embodiment of a trickster spirit, using illusion and shapeshifting. Yazzie means “Little One” as a hint of her abilities.

Take Me to Church:

Bonnie Hill will grab a Social Primary and a Physical Primary to help her capture and examine this new phenomena. She has the Dynamo Needle and will not be careful/subtle with her approach without PC intervention.

Challenge 1 - Get into the gated community without causing alarm. [Achieved]
Challenge 2 - Get onto the property of the undead cat while the household is awake. Husband will answer the door and be pushy about assisting, wife will be nosily watching whoever tried to sneak around the house. [Achieved]
Challenge 3 - Get the cat. It will be interested in the neighbour's cat and waking them up as the housecat is agitated. [Achieved]
Challenge 4 - Extended roll to deal with other animals. Throw in a hawk and a larger animal. [Achieved]
Challenge 5 - The horse will run. In the panic/rush, Bonnie will offer the stupid idea of driving a vehicle loudly through the gated community with Drive checks, which will alert the neighbourhood. It is better to herd the animal outside and deal with it then. [X] - Consequence: Jack is in trouble for hiring Bonnie, who is removed from assitance. A second mistake will remove him from assistance.

MAIN GOAL ACHIEVED - Bonnie Hill has been able to provide Summer Court with a detailed profile with how the revenants function. Exorcism over destroying the corpse is essential.
BONUS - Riley has glimpsed the Metaplot, and saw Echidna, and now knows the command is to seek someone.

Mad Cow:

Lucky Jack is introduced properly as the Reasonable Summer Cop who acts as the bridge between Freeholders causing problems and the human police not getting hurt when they respond. He gives a general rundown of a revenant bull massacring a rancher's herd and that it's still running around somewhere. Get rid of it. They have a cop with them that can see through Glamour to lend an official voice in the field so they won't be interrupted.

Challenge 1 - Track the bull. [Achieved]
Challenge 2 - Figure out the significance of the truck. [Achieved]
Challenge 3 - Rowan and Firebringer arguing triggered the bull charging them first. [Achieved] - Consequence: Rowan did not Riddlekith to examine the ghost. One of the cows will later rise offscreen and inform the rancher of the supernatural.
Challenge 4 - Talk to the rancher about the Changeling owner of the truck. [X] - Consequence: Rather than using Persuasion, buying the vehicle with Resources, or using Empathy to ping that the rancher was nervous about them asking about the truck, Rowan used Intimidation and Firebringer insulted him by being condescending about his displeasure. Due to the suspicious and aggressive approach, the rancher thinks the pair are connected to Leviathan, who had harassed him earlier in the week more than once with different faces. The rancher informs other First Nations about the doppelganger trying to hunt a Shamanic family's daughter, who returned from being spirited away last year.

MAIN GOAL ACHIEVED - According to the receipt, someone from the Moapa Indian River Reserve owned the truck. Due to the truck having a Token, the owner is VERY likely a Changeling. Connections to the Southern Paiute Nation is clearly illustrated in the rancher's home. This is where Yazzie is hiding with a Bargain. The bull threat is taken care of (the PCs don't have enough intel to know the ghost will hop to the next corpse).

The Yawning Grave:

Player characters are expected to now share their findings. Lucky Jack is taken off the case due to Group A acting reckless and Group B threatening the rancher with a badge. Though Jack does not blame the newbies, he needs to avoid setting off the precinct and take the political hit. Sir Solomon is introduced as a detective, and the group's first option as a touch-point for an NPC.

**Once the method of destruction is explained, Rowan and Firebringer don't warn Lucky Jack about the ghost still being active on the ranch.
**Firebringer and Rowan are now made, where their faces have been shared among both the Southern Paiute and Navajo. If they pursue Yazzie, they need to exercise extreme discretion such as another face, or invisibility. Riley has these abilities, Rowan has Cloak of Night.
**The group should be aware by now that Yazzie is being hunted by "the necromancer", and the Leviathans sprinkling any false evidence to knock them onto her trail should be actively ignored.
**Solomon has been flagged as actively suspecting this is Fall Court's fault and his bias should be monitored.
**The fact that Solomon squirreled away the Summer courtiers to explain his suspicion, the characters are able to note that there are political tensions at play.

Last Edit: Apr 4, 2021 18:01:53 GMT -8 by Krakenbox

Krakenbox
Administrator

The Wyrd

Posts: 1,331

[Major Plot] Skinwalker Apr 5, 2021 19:45:24 GMT -8

Post by Krakenbox on Apr 5, 2021 19:45:24 GMT -8

PHASE 2: The Lost are given solid leads to pursue either Yazzie or the unknown necromancer (the Leviathans)

The Ghost Guru
The Unforgiven

The Ghost Guru

The players learn who Dormarch is; Squire to Autumn's executioner, who acts as a sort of sage for ghost issues and a mediator for Changelings who are getting out of balance with their Fae side. Icarus will provide healing to those who need it, also revealing his extreme connection to the Spring Court. Dormarch will provide Occult Assistance to the character who leads the research, allowing his Specialty to open up context the characters previously did not have access to. Icarus will ask the Autumn Courtiers to report anything strange to him first, knowing Solomon's nature and his potential to jump the gun.

This post is crucial:

"Between Dormarch's knowledge and Rowan's, they narrow down the Kith to be a Coyote, or a Witchtooth, or a Moonborn. A Gravewight, Dormarch insisted with a dark expression, would never be able to do this without losing themselves to insanity. There was a haunted look to the experience Riley tried to broach, like the Lost couldn't fathom such indecency from one of their own."

**The group learns that this ritual violates the ghosts involved, and should be feeling some level of disturbed at the callous disrespect towards the dead. The leader must have no empathy, or is incredibly ignorant. (Echidna has a Condition akin to the Mage Hubristic affliction of Megalomania. A Gravewight would have to be incapable of empathy or evil to be OK with this.).
**The group learns that the activity of the ritual is dormant during the day, allowing a projected timeline that each night wasted is crucial to an escalating crisis. This is a hint that the leader may also only be active at night. (Echidna is a Moonborn.)

"a Place of Power would be needed to enact such a ritual successfully to draw wraiths from the underworld."
"We've tried to talk to the wraiths. They're too disturbed to give us much."

**Seeding that the wraiths are not coming from the Underworld. Riley's mad vision does not match this expectation, but Dormarch does not know enough to recognize something's off. This is for the Metaplot rather than the expectation that players will pick up on, but worth tracking. Those who have interacted with ghosts outside of Las Vegas would know that their behaviour is abnormal.

"Asking someone from the Eternal Echoes might be able to ping any memory of someone in the Freehold who fits the profile."

**Gives players the understanding that the Eternal Echoes can be a resource to register if there are any new or strange Lost who have been interacting with Las Vegas recently once Leviathan is pinged. Dormarch is showing his hand that he is not paranoid of Summer and Spring knowing they have a memory bank, or doesn't have the foresight to know how other Courts might react to this.

Challenge 1 - Learn about Yazzie's potential motives for leaving. There is a penalty if players lack Winter Goodwill. Generally characters will get context that something within Winter's culture rubbed Yazzie the wrong way, causing her to leave the Freehold to seek refuge with a different community via the Bargain. With all the information the players have, having a Navajo name should be flagged as a red herring to get characters to waste time digging around one of the largest Reserves in the Nevada Desert. Players should seek her out before the ritual, as she is the target of this harassment and could be a potential ally. [Achieved]
Challenge 2 - Going to the Moapa Indian Reserve will streamline finding Yazzie, though the Christian graves won't provide any "place of power". Speaking with people in the Reserve will be extremely challenging due to the expectation of outsiders and the paranormal, and should only stick to topics of people snooping around or being suspicious. Any questions of Yazzie may trigger violence at this juncture. [X]
Challenge 3 - Finding ancient burial sites would come from looking at old trade routes at the university archives. These things were not put down on paper, normally, so it only provides a basic starting point in the Mojave desert and will require a guide.

The Unforgiven

Players opted to go straight for the grave site, hoping that would stop the ghost summoning and help the Freehold the quickest. This is a viable option, but without Yazzie's context the encounter will be significantly more risky for the players to miss cues. Players MUST state what sort of supplies they bring; it's very important to have a definitive list if they get stuck. The drive is 4 hours long (over 80 hours of walking speed). The players pooled Survival and Resources will allow for crucial things like a vehicle that will not overheat and break down in desert terrain and off-roading.

Players hopefully think to bring a satellite GPS, and will relay to Solomon and Icarus where they are going and map out their path.

Challenge 1 - Find a guide. [Achieved] BONUS - Due to Rowan transforming into a Gravewight and getting an Exceptional Success, the group learns about the presence of the Leviathan motley up ahead. With zero context before other than a pursuer, this is huge. Rowan did not get a description of them. No one reported in to get an assessment.

The gathering vultures acting outside natural behaviour is another clue. Survival and Occult rolls could deduce Crown is being utilized, which could be reported back for an idea of who they are dealing with. [X] Consequences - Grendel is aware of the group approaching and has an alarm system.

Challenge 2 - Canvas the area. This is also crucial. Someone should be guarding the vehicle or making rolls to hide it properly and expect sabotage knowing the enemy is here. It is thirty minutes from the vehicle to the grave site. [X] Consequences - If the mirrors are not destroyed, Hemlock will use Dance of Toys and take the vehicle. If they are destroyed, and Grendel is attacked, he will use Seven League Leap and total the vehicle.

Challenge 3 - Investigate the old crash. This is a warning about what can happen to their own vehicle. A surface sweet looks like a bunch of junk, but an Occult roll reveals that many of these innocuous objects are ritual components. The tanning formula hint towards the animal skin seen in Riley's vision. The mirror should draw attention for anyone with Steed Contracts. This should hint that there are likely other mirrors in the canyon that could bring reinforcements. The players can now ensure that no one comes through these mirrors with the use of Kenning to find these hidden caches with an Extended Investigation roll vs. Echidna's Trapdoor Spider's Trick. Alternatively, someone can be stationed by the mirror to set up a trap. [X] Consequences - Grendel will have the backup of his full motley.

Challenge 4 - Chart a safe path up the cliff face. Due to the time and effort, characters can give themselves Heat Exhaustion. [Achieved]

Challenge 5 - Grendel is aware the group is here. He gets Blink via the mirrors they have around the canyon on his back and then travels to go check them out. Grendel is extremely intimidating, though Occult rolls can be made to realize he is an Ogre using Chrysalis. He uses Seven League Leap to cut the distance. If players panic, they will likely trigger combat. Do NOT call combat rounds until the players engage, or they will assume combat is their only option.

The Social Primary can attempt to engage while someone invisible or a Gravewight can investigate to buy time, or if the group attacks immediately, Grendel will flee to destroy their transport in retaliation. [X] Consequences - Due to lack of action, Grendel gets the information he needs while Blink blows up the evidence of the grave site. There is now no immediate way to prove their involvement in the conspiracy. Hemlock takes the vehicle.

Challenge 6 - Negotiate. The Leviathans assume their patron has shafted them, where the experiment has failed and now they are being hunted as a loose end. Judging the Summer Mantles, Blink and Grendel assume they are Tolltaker Knights.

Grendel assumes that the Tolltakers have been fed some nonsense about their evil activity and being needed to be stopped for the chaos that they have caused, and frankly is uninterested in arguing the details when politics are a mystery to him. They pissed off the Monarchs, therefore, the alphas want them dead. If the group tries coercion, Grendel holds literally all the cards as a flying, untouchable target with the evidence being destroyed and the group having no information. It's in his worst interest to given them anything.

Meanwhile, Blink is panicking, pissed Echidna tossed their vehicle when she didn't think they would be killing anyone. She is the one to appeal to to get information from. If the conversation isn't held well, like, lets say, using Desire or Fear to get her to run from Grendel to take her hostage, Grendel will attempt to just grab her and fly away. This may still work, as Blink has Steed.

If the players succeed in negotiations, they will learn that a high ranking Fall noble hired them to test how necromancy is connected to the Wards, and they pinged Yazzie as a lead due to fleeing the Winter Court, where she has access to a ritual that's never been seen before. Grendel was purchased as a slave from the Goblin Market, and Blink has been trying to get him away from Echidna. They're both Fresh off the Boat and largely helpless in terms of being abused via a powerful Crown wielder, and kept in ignorance with how Freehold society works. The Leviathan motely panicked when Yazzie disappeared, thinking they had failed, and Echidna steamrolled forward with just experimenting with the information they had to sell back to Fall Court to be permitted into the Freehold. Echidna has a horrific reputation and would largely have a hard time getting into a Freehold otherwise. Knowing this, Grendel and Blink could be convinced to eat Oathbreaker Status and betray Echidna to trap her to answer for her crimes. [X] Consequences - The group is disbelieved in their intent and abandoned to die in the desert as dangerous enemies.

[will cont.]

Last Edit: Apr 5, 2021 19:59:23 GMT -8 by Krakenbox