From lev at rpgreview.net Sat Oct 3 08:16:52 2015 From: lev at rpgreview.net (Lev Lafayette) Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2015 19:16:52 +1100 Subject: [7thseafreiburg] Session #18: Four Days in Nonus Message-ID: <2d9aa8ddc968b1118de4815222595eba.squirrel@webmail.rpgreview.net> Don't forget we have 7th Sea Freiburg tomorrow. Start time is a little later (1415) as I have to attend the Philosophy Forum first. Also, I have done a receive of the Eisen campaign book on RPG.net http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/16/16523.phtml Session #18: Four Days in Nonus ------------------------------- Real date: Sunday, September 20th, 2015 Game date: Guerdi, Julius 5, 1688 With Lady Alice's dinner with Niklaus pending, Lord Bryon prepares a sensual poem on her behalf to be delivered to him. Spending days in laudenum-induced haze, on the fourth day (the night of the dinner itself), he finally comes out of the state and composes a brilliant and subtle verse, "The Drachen's Dance" [A 47 point poem]. Meanwhile Axel, on instruction, has arranged for hiring a further twenty mercenaries for the Civic Improvement Association in preparation for the arrival of Gruber's forces to Freiburg, after providing Alice the information received from Tobar and his offer. A quick calculation is conducted of the relative value of the various forces in the city; Gruber is arriving with some four hundred soldiers, a sizeable army in its own right. Freiburg, as always notoriously short of soldiers, will have two hundred members of the City Guard, 100 members of the volunteer watch and fifty palace guards. Between them, Redmun and Lady Drachenheim have one hundred troops patrolling the streets. The dinner with Niklaus goes well, discussing more matters of the relationship between practical affairs of the state and the absurdity of existence. Alice chooses a more difficult but logical path, instilling in Niklaus a sense of responsibility before engaging in seduction, but also reveals to him the discovery of the dracheneisen beneath the estate. Later in the night there are other revelations which may be subject for another one of Bryon's works. Lord Bryon's poem receives a vindication with the discovery of a clutch of five drachen eggs underneath the old Drachenheim mansion which leads Dr. Serijo into a period of intense research on the subject, bringing forth several lines of inquiry and providing much more knowledge to the group on the nature of the drachen and, inadvertently, dracheneisen. As Redmund and Alice's forces are "clearing the streets" for the arrival of Gruber's forces and the march, Axel is troubled by the cruel violence that Redmund's thugs apply to the various beggars along the route. A hastily exchange of messages leads to the a situation where the Association offers unskilled employment to no less than one hundred of the city's beggars from along the route, all to be housed in the estate underneath Redmund's compound. On the day of the march many burly marshalls are placed along the route, along with some more tactically located lookouts. It is a great parade of pomp and ceremony, with the might of the Eisen military prowress on display and with Gruber's soldiers in their most formal presentation, their uniforms in the best condition, banners unfurled, and some of the larger and more exotic treasures on display. But the best laid plans could not prevent a well-aimed crossbow bolt, fired directly at Gruber, piercing his neck and felling him. Then, all pandemonium breaks loose. -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech Mngmnt) (Chifley) mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt http://www.quicksales.com.au/shop/RPG-Review.aspx From lev at rpgreview.net Sat Oct 17 21:58:38 2015 From: lev at rpgreview.net (Lev Lafayette) Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2015 08:58:38 +1100 Subject: [7thseafreiburg] Session 19: The Great Fire of Freiburg Message-ID: Plenty to work out today! Meanwhile here is a summary of the rather action-packed last session.. Session 19: The Great Fire of Freiburg --------------------------------------- Real date: Sunday, October 4th, 2015 Game date: Voltadi, Julius 6, 1688 As the crossbow bolt strikes Gruber, his soldiers surround him and take control of The Maingate bridge. There is a general pandemonium as people simultaneously flee whilst others push forward to see what is happening. The eagle-eyed Axel sees the location of the shot itself and the assasin and arranges a party to surround The Freiburg Gazette, which the shot enemated from. A local member of the Civic Improvement Association says that the position was taken by a Ussarian crossbowman named Ivan Vladimir was positioned there. Whilst rioting breaks out, Axel's soldiers surround and enter the Gazette building as scattered throughout the city some of the mercenaries take matters in their own hands seeking some additoinal compensation and especially targetting Improvement Association forces. In the basement of the Gazette one of Axel's force is almost killed and the assailant is nowhere to be found (although that is also the location of the latrines). More terrifyingly however, as it is also the store of the newspaper's stock and back issues, a fire has broken out. Axel's troops remove the people who remain inside and exit the building, and begin to arrange buckets from the nearby river as the fire turns into a conflagration. Meanwhile, Dr. Serijo leads a small group from the Wachtturm to The Main Gate bridge, pushing through the crowds with the well-recognised call of "Doctor coming through". Even Grubers mercenaries are willing to let the doctor view the body; alas there is no chance. The leaf-shaped bolt severed the trachea, the carotid artery, and the jugular vein. The party calls for a parley with the Offizer Arnel who takes command of the force and they much to a conference just outside the Wachtturm with Lady Drachenheim, Eisenfurst Niklas Trague, and Wilma Probst. Meanwhile a second fire is spotted at Della Warner's Dress Shop on the other side of the city which quickly goes up in flames and engulfs other nearby buildings as well. The problems are getting significant as the fires are now growing and well beyond the capability of the Civic Improvement Association and the few volunteers to prevent their spread. The negotiations go well however, with the new leader of the mercenary company not being in a great mood to engage in a risky conflict (even he could take over the entire city) having just acquired his new position and riches. An offer to refund the orginal payment of 1500 guilders for the parade is made as of course the parade never happened, plus a payment for a day's wages of 5000 guilders to help put out the fire. This is quite a stroke of genius as the extra soldiers proved more than sufficient to put out the two major fires. At the end of the day, just under 10% of the city has been destroyed which could have been much worse scenario. Over the next few days, Redmund Ehrhart make a generous offer to provide the finances for a new building programme, where he will provide a reduced rate for the buildings based on the sale of the land. A new city wide fire brigade is established paid through by a rating system based on both the value of the building and its flammability, and Axel is given the position of leading it, making him a nominal member of the City Guard. Lord Bryon makes an offer of investing in the new newspaper, whilst Lady Drachenhim does the same for the dress makers. An investigation into the ruins of the Gazette discovers burnt corpse of what Dr. Serjio considers to be Ivan Vladimir's body in remains of the mezzotinting room. His family is put under Association protection. The famous Ussarian merchant, Tobar Rye, has shut up shop "for a few days", according to his neighbours. An astute investigation reveals that most of the properties destroyed by the northern fire in the merchant's quarter were independently owned, bringing into question Ehrhart's supposed generosity. Lady Drachenheim, through her feminine skills, convinces Niklas Trague to establish the Bank of Freiburg to help rebuild the city. -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech Mngmnt) (Chifley) mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt http://www.quicksales.com.au/shop/RPG-Review.aspx From lev at rpgreview.net Sun Oct 18 10:57:09 2015 From: lev at rpgreview.net (Lev Lafayette) Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2015 21:57:09 +1100 Subject: [7thseafreiburg] Dracheneisen: What you need to know Message-ID: <704d7e83091df5af2d48cae9691f488c.squirrel@webmail.rpgreview.net> >From the Eisen book, which gives more complete coverage than anything else. Nobility Beyond dracheneisen?s influence on the national character, it has had a direct effect on the status of Eisen nobility. With the exception of the Imperator himself (whose power predates the discovery of dracheneisen), all claims of nobility are based on possession of the metal. Owning a mine automatically makes you an Eisenf?rst, and should a new one be discovered, the founder would become the equal of any Iron Prince.... Anyone plotting a coup against an Eisenf?rst must first secure ownership of his or her mine ? an all-but impossible task requiring the approval of both the Imperator and the Eisen courts. (With the current state of the nation, however, a coup may be much easier than it once was...) The minor barons and dukes beneath the Eisenf?rsten also derive their power from dracheneisen, although obviously to a much lesser extent. Every Eisen noble family must have a piece of dracheneisen to prove their legitimacy. Most families received a weapon or suit of armor as a gift from their Eisenf?rst, recognizing them as a member of the ruling class.... Like so many other things, however, the War of the Cross has complicated this system. The death of so many has left their heirlooms scattered to the four winds; dracheneisen swords have been left abandoned on the battlefield for any scavenger to claim. With the death of the Imperator, the courts have fallen into disarray, which means claims to such items cannot be resolved. It?s not unusual to see dracheneisen weapons in the hands of common thugs, while wandering nobles still cling to their weapons after losing their lands and other trappings of power. The Nibelungen Dracheneisen?s power stems from its immense strength, but also from its rarity and from the difficulty in replacing it once it?s lost. Only a scant handful of men possess the secret of forging dracheneisen. They belong to an ancient order of blacksmiths called Nibelungen ? an order as mystical as it is practical... (p43-44) Dracheneisen Forging If provided with raw dracheneisen, you are capable of forging it into items. Each unit (1 lb.) of raw dracheneisen is Drama equivalent to one point on the Dracheneisen Equipment table. Thus, it takes 3 lbs. of raw dracheneisen to forge a Fencing Weapon. It requires two months and 1,000G per unit of dracheneisen to create such a weapon (p98-99) >From this we can work out the value of Dracheneisen. As suspected 1 character point equals 1 unit. (THE FOLLOWING IS SECRET AND CHARACTERS WILL NOT KNOW IT.) Brew Dracheneisen Solvent The Nibelungen have one final secret weapon ? a solvent that will dissolve dracheneisen in a matter of moments. Each vial requires 600G and one month to brew, but when thrown onto an opponent wearing or wielding dracheneisen (requires a Finesse + Throwing roll against the victim?s TN to be hit, ignoring any bonuses from armor), it will utterly destroy one of their dracheneisen items (selected at random, or the Nibelung may use a Called Shot to hit a particular item). The affected item turns green with corrosion before becoming brittle and useless. If the object is completely immersed in water within 2 Phases, the process can be stopped without serious damage. (p99) (In a nutshell, most characters will believe (correctly) that the Nibelungen know how to forge and reforge Dracheneisen material. But this is a somewhat time consuming process. The difference between reforging an the awesome power of destroying dracheneisen with a corrosive solvent in a single splash should be noted.) -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech Mngmnt) (Chifley) mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt http://www.quicksales.com.au/shop/RPG-Review.aspx From lev at rpgreview.net Sat Oct 31 11:13:22 2015 From: lev at rpgreview.net (Lev Lafayette) Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2015 22:13:22 +1100 Subject: [7thseafreiburg] Session 20: The Bank of Freiburg Message-ID: Nota bene: I will be slightly late tomorrow (c2.15) as I have to convene The Philosophy Forum (on the interetsing topic of peer disagreement) Session 20: The Bank of Freiburg -------------------------------- Real date: Sunday, October 18th, 2015 Game date (Start): Soldi 8, Julius, 1688 Game date (End): Corintine Day 15 1688 As the city recoveries, an assesment of the costs is brought together. The evidence that exonerates Ivan Vladimir is released and his wife is provided a pension of 840 Guilders over seven years for services rendered to the city. As proposed, a Bank of Freiburg is announced to be funded through public subscription. Twenty buildings throughout the city needed to be rebuilt at roughly 10,000 guilders a piece. Unusually, the Bank offers an 8% return over three years, with a maximum of 10,000 Guilders per investor. Lord Bryon's pararmour, Christinia, develops a conservative but impressive logo of a dragon on a treasure hoard with five eggs. Lady Drachenheim invests 49% of new stock, equipment, and buildings for Della Warner's Dress Shop at a cost of 10,000 Guilders, as Lord Bryon invests 25% in the New Frieburg Gazette for new building, stock, and equipment, also at a cost of 10,000 Guilders. Lady Drachenheim, Lord Bryon also invest 10,000 Guilders into the Bank, along with another 10,000 from accumulated treasures for the family of Lord Aldrich. With other major investors contributing approximtely 50,000 Guilders, the rest of the subscription was raised by smaller investors with a great surge of city pride, enhanced by the regular messages from the New Gazette. The Gazette, of course, was not above doing some 'yellow journalism', in this case by "Lord Gnome" who criticised the offerings of Redmund Erhert's bank for low-interest rate loans that would see Lord Erhert gain control of the lands on which the new buildings were built. Although the arguments are not entirely perfect, it is enough to further disrupt Lord Ehrert's plans. A new Freiburg Midwifery and Health School is established at a cost of 10,000 Guilder's conveniently near the Jenny's district, despite the mutterings from Father Wiessels More members of the City Guard are employed to take up fire fighting duties; two for each district plus five temporary staff, plus volunteers, all paid for the rating system with discounts from buildings which house fire equipment. Wolf the Nibelungen is contacted for an order from the raw dracheneisen; a corset for Lady Alice, surgical tools for Dr. Serijo, and vambraces for Sir Alex. With the sudden influx of building and capital, the city comes alive again. With Niklas Trague taking greater and active interest in the city, his innate pessimism fades somewhat. It is indeed almost unsurprising when he expresses his wish to Lady Drachenheim for her hand in marriage. A wedding is planned. -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GradCertTerAdEd (Murdoch), GradCertPM, MBA (Tech Mngmnt) (Chifley) mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt http://www.quicksales.com.au/shop/RPG-Review.aspx