[Maelfroth] The End
This may take a few posts. One of them will be a more measured look at the last event and the game.
The Big Picture
In January, I ran a secret player event with no name. I invited representatives from various native groups that I thought were up for making a good hard go of it for Maelstrom's final year. Most groups present didn't realise that The Long Grass Tribe delegation were also Bendal-Dolum and that the event also included the secret marriage of Azul-Oso to Zia/Sachiko/Tula.
Anyway, the super-secret-native-alliance (Codename: The Covenant) proceeded to surpass my hopes and expectations by:
So, fast forward to the last event. The Covenant have all but annihilated Flambard's colonial presence. Casting around for a "break glass for apocalypse" scenario, PD saw that the natives were the best gig in town. So at the native-hosted event, the Southern Tribes (NPCs) began to liaise with The Covenant around the Big Push.
The big issue was that there was no way that we could defeat Flambard and the Confederacy working together. We needed to either ally with Flambard or ensure they were destroyed before the Southern Tribes arrived. One whisper of the Southern Tribes too soon would guarantee a full alliance.
So much of Friday and early Saturday featured vain attempts to address this. Despite promises and efforts, it became increasingly clear that Flambard would not ally with us and the Confederacy were not about to crush them. It looked a bit bleak - which touched my mood.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, the game changed. Flambard revealed that their plan was to open a magical gateway and travel back to the Northern Continent. They electively removed themselves from the game board (and got their own happy ending in the process). It was a win for them and put The Covenant's plan back on the agenda.
So, on Sunday, the Southern Tribes arrived - but they brought with them a Coyote Monolith. With appropriate supplication and sacrifice, it would wreak destruction on the coastline (aka "the contested areas"). It also meant that we could base ourselves in the woods instead of hurling ourselves at the Confederacy's battle line. They would have to come to us.
What followed was something of an Epic battle in which Azul-Oso's revenant form was repeatedly dispersed (including once in a showdown with Stefano Tito Demeo). The Confederates (and allies) made it within a short charge of the monolith, but then faltered and withdrew. It looked like a native victory.
However, there was a twist. It seems that Zia and Ardatli of Bendal-Dolum (aka Sachiko of the Bitter Moon Tea House, and Carlito Rossini of Flambard) had decided that all "contested areas" was too much to sacrifice. Consequently, Carlito/Ardatli - in his guise of Mowak of the Long Grass Tribe - had made it through the Southern Tribe lines and, in the chaos of battle, used caustic bile to sabotage the monolith.
In essence, the human traitor members of Bendal-Dolum betrayed me - which is the natural end for an evil mastermind.
Saying that, it seems that once Carlito told Illyes that the sabotage had been done, Illyes ordered a retreat - but not all the Confederacy did so (or in good order) causing significant casualties including Rakshasa, Konstantin and others. Plus, Coyote respected the act and rewarded Carlito with the planned destructive power. Cannot really argue with the results.
Smaller Stuff
1. After Flambard departed through the gate, I dropped in on the Flambard camp to see who was left. I had a short conversation with Caterina Flambardi, who had remained. Whilst I was there, a group of ophidians (the Horde and some Sawnee) turned up. It was a clear 'mob' but the Sawnee brave at the head of it made a rookie error; he started talking. It says a lot about the lessons Maelstrom has taught me that I could see the well-worn groove this was heading into. Naturally, with insight comes wisdom:
"What's your name?" I asked the Sawnee.
"Bowser," he said.
"Bowser," said I, "You're handling this situation all wrong. The best approach is... ACID SPIT DOUBLE THROUGH" (all over Caterina)
Naturally I was hit twice for TRIPLE in return and the fight kicked off. Caterina survived, but was poisoned. She subsequently found herself on the operating table of a bunch of native allies who ensured she did not survive the operation. To have played a role in the ultimate downfall of such an awesome character was where my event started to get really good.
2. So, later that night, I also had the joy of walking into the Confederacy camp.
"Who are you?" challenged the guard at the back of the camp.
"Jack," I said.
"Oh OK," he said, and let me past.
Tempting as it was to stick my envenomed blades into Flip and Gaelle, I reasoned they would be well defended. So I went to the front of the camp where a long long line of warriors was facing into the darkness. So I deposited two "SINGLE THROUGH POISON" into the backs of two leather armoured guards, went through the front line and sprinted off without pursuit. (They probably survived but it was fun)
3. Later still, a group of us were sat around a camp fire with an empty tent behind us. A group went into the tent and started to party. One voice shouted out, "If only we had some oco powder..."
"I have some oco powder," said an acquaintance. The inference was immediately clear; if the group were off their faces on contrabando then the odds were in our favour.
Slowly but surely we drifted into the party and started to celebrate with them. Then it turned into a bloodbath. The alarm was sounded and a patrol ran up: "MASS DETECT UNDEAD" to which we gleefully replied in the negative, checked them in return, and assured them that everything was under control... until a woman wandered in and started screaming... and then there was running.
4. I was pleased that both Arturo and Stefano got to use up one of my "lives". A touch sorry that Havelock did not.
5. Finally, being a revenant, it was theorised I could be returned to a normal mortal life with a potion. It turned out that the dying before becoming a revenant was an enduring state, and so I turned into an ophidian with limited time before I died. I could not be saved. This came at the very end; after the battle. I had seen Flambard driven from the lands. I had seen Rakshasa - one of those who ordered my death - sacrificed to Coyote. The Confederacy were pushed from the field.
And yet there had been sacrifices - and greatest of all was the destruction of Bendal-Dolum. Though many of the people survived, the City was no more, there were no sacred architects, and what we had learned meant that nothing would be the same again. It was a case of change or die.
Azul-Oso had changed as much as he could - and still had one thing left to sacrifice. Stumbling in pain, he came upon Tezatoloc, Ixtli-Ollin and Destrada who bore him to a shrine where Tezatoloc sacrificed him to the Wise Toad.
Honestly, it was just about perfect. It was an emotional moment for me. I shed a couple of my own tears and could have easily bawled like a baby.
In General:
The fuzzy nature of the ending, with almost everyone's plans being thwarted to a degree, created a fantastically nebulous state onto which pretty much anyone can project their "perfect ending" onto the game. I guess, at that point, it becomes a truely "player-led" end to the campaign.
The Big Picture
In January, I ran a secret player event with no name. I invited representatives from various native groups that I thought were up for making a good hard go of it for Maelstrom's final year. Most groups present didn't realise that The Long Grass Tribe delegation were also Bendal-Dolum and that the event also included the secret marriage of Azul-Oso to Zia/Sachiko/Tula.
Anyway, the super-secret-native-alliance (Codename: The Covenant) proceeded to surpass my hopes and expectations by:
- Containing no traitors that killed the conspiracy dead (not to say there were not smaller conflicts)
- Delivering some serious coordination and damage to the Colonials - effectively destroying multiple colonies in what seemed to be dispararate and uncordinated military actions
- And best of all, doing so without any moaning, bitching, back-biting and with good humour, ribbing and fun
So, fast forward to the last event. The Covenant have all but annihilated Flambard's colonial presence. Casting around for a "break glass for apocalypse" scenario, PD saw that the natives were the best gig in town. So at the native-hosted event, the Southern Tribes (NPCs) began to liaise with The Covenant around the Big Push.
The big issue was that there was no way that we could defeat Flambard and the Confederacy working together. We needed to either ally with Flambard or ensure they were destroyed before the Southern Tribes arrived. One whisper of the Southern Tribes too soon would guarantee a full alliance.
So much of Friday and early Saturday featured vain attempts to address this. Despite promises and efforts, it became increasingly clear that Flambard would not ally with us and the Confederacy were not about to crush them. It looked a bit bleak - which touched my mood.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, the game changed. Flambard revealed that their plan was to open a magical gateway and travel back to the Northern Continent. They electively removed themselves from the game board (and got their own happy ending in the process). It was a win for them and put The Covenant's plan back on the agenda.
So, on Sunday, the Southern Tribes arrived - but they brought with them a Coyote Monolith. With appropriate supplication and sacrifice, it would wreak destruction on the coastline (aka "the contested areas"). It also meant that we could base ourselves in the woods instead of hurling ourselves at the Confederacy's battle line. They would have to come to us.
What followed was something of an Epic battle in which Azul-Oso's revenant form was repeatedly dispersed (including once in a showdown with Stefano Tito Demeo). The Confederates (and allies) made it within a short charge of the monolith, but then faltered and withdrew. It looked like a native victory.
However, there was a twist. It seems that Zia and Ardatli of Bendal-Dolum (aka Sachiko of the Bitter Moon Tea House, and Carlito Rossini of Flambard) had decided that all "contested areas" was too much to sacrifice. Consequently, Carlito/Ardatli - in his guise of Mowak of the Long Grass Tribe - had made it through the Southern Tribe lines and, in the chaos of battle, used caustic bile to sabotage the monolith.
In essence, the human traitor members of Bendal-Dolum betrayed me - which is the natural end for an evil mastermind.
Saying that, it seems that once Carlito told Illyes that the sabotage had been done, Illyes ordered a retreat - but not all the Confederacy did so (or in good order) causing significant casualties including Rakshasa, Konstantin and others. Plus, Coyote respected the act and rewarded Carlito with the planned destructive power. Cannot really argue with the results.
Smaller Stuff
1. After Flambard departed through the gate, I dropped in on the Flambard camp to see who was left. I had a short conversation with Caterina Flambardi, who had remained. Whilst I was there, a group of ophidians (the Horde and some Sawnee) turned up. It was a clear 'mob' but the Sawnee brave at the head of it made a rookie error; he started talking. It says a lot about the lessons Maelstrom has taught me that I could see the well-worn groove this was heading into. Naturally, with insight comes wisdom:
"What's your name?" I asked the Sawnee.
"Bowser," he said.
"Bowser," said I, "You're handling this situation all wrong. The best approach is... ACID SPIT DOUBLE THROUGH" (all over Caterina)
Naturally I was hit twice for TRIPLE in return and the fight kicked off. Caterina survived, but was poisoned. She subsequently found herself on the operating table of a bunch of native allies who ensured she did not survive the operation. To have played a role in the ultimate downfall of such an awesome character was where my event started to get really good.
2. So, later that night, I also had the joy of walking into the Confederacy camp.
"Who are you?" challenged the guard at the back of the camp.
"Jack," I said.
"Oh OK," he said, and let me past.
Tempting as it was to stick my envenomed blades into Flip and Gaelle, I reasoned they would be well defended. So I went to the front of the camp where a long long line of warriors was facing into the darkness. So I deposited two "SINGLE THROUGH POISON" into the backs of two leather armoured guards, went through the front line and sprinted off without pursuit. (They probably survived but it was fun)
3. Later still, a group of us were sat around a camp fire with an empty tent behind us. A group went into the tent and started to party. One voice shouted out, "If only we had some oco powder..."
"I have some oco powder," said an acquaintance. The inference was immediately clear; if the group were off their faces on contrabando then the odds were in our favour.
Slowly but surely we drifted into the party and started to celebrate with them. Then it turned into a bloodbath. The alarm was sounded and a patrol ran up: "MASS DETECT UNDEAD" to which we gleefully replied in the negative, checked them in return, and assured them that everything was under control... until a woman wandered in and started screaming... and then there was running.
4. I was pleased that both Arturo and Stefano got to use up one of my "lives". A touch sorry that Havelock did not.
5. Finally, being a revenant, it was theorised I could be returned to a normal mortal life with a potion. It turned out that the dying before becoming a revenant was an enduring state, and so I turned into an ophidian with limited time before I died. I could not be saved. This came at the very end; after the battle. I had seen Flambard driven from the lands. I had seen Rakshasa - one of those who ordered my death - sacrificed to Coyote. The Confederacy were pushed from the field.
And yet there had been sacrifices - and greatest of all was the destruction of Bendal-Dolum. Though many of the people survived, the City was no more, there were no sacred architects, and what we had learned meant that nothing would be the same again. It was a case of change or die.
Azul-Oso had changed as much as he could - and still had one thing left to sacrifice. Stumbling in pain, he came upon Tezatoloc, Ixtli-Ollin and Destrada who bore him to a shrine where Tezatoloc sacrificed him to the Wise Toad.
Honestly, it was just about perfect. It was an emotional moment for me. I shed a couple of my own tears and could have easily bawled like a baby.
In General:
The fuzzy nature of the ending, with almost everyone's plans being thwarted to a degree, created a fantastically nebulous state onto which pretty much anyone can project their "perfect ending" onto the game. I guess, at that point, it becomes a truely "player-led" end to the campaign.