Adventure Seeds explores the setting of Fractured Kingdom providing story ideas for new Players and GMs that introduce them to the world. Each Seed is designed for fast play over one or two game sessions.
Coven’s Call
Setting Up
The following Adventure Seed can be used any time but works best when dealing with a Barony is fresh in the Character’s mind. Having a Dark Lucid among the Player Characters helps but is not required.
Adventure Seed 1: Keeping An Eye On You can be used to help set up the following seed, especially if any of the Characters were badly wounded.
Alternatively, this Seed may be used to introduce the Player Characters to each other.
Events
Invitation
Each of the Characters receives an email addressed to them from dreamer@neveralonebetweentwoworlds.net.
Subject: Ever feel like there are 4 ways in and no way out?
They’ve driven us under their thumbs for too long.
There’s strength in numbers.
They don’t have us yet.
Be ready, we’re here to help.A Helping Hand,
Dreamer
Checking domain reveals little. The site is a static black page with floating ads and news scrolls from WFCX, GloboMaxNews and the Boardsheet.
A Expert (20) Intelligence Tree Rolls shows that while the sites covers generally the same stories each has clearly different perspectives. WFCX – Fiscal Conservative, GNM – Social Progressive, Broadsheet – Corporate News.
A Typical (15) Computer Skill Roll shows that neveralonebetweentwoworlds.net is hosted and registered out of Romania through a privacy company, no other information is available.
Proper Introductions
The next time the Characters are on the street after receiving the email they are handed fliers for an upcoming event at a local nightclub. The upper half of the flyer is an image of four hands clasping each other in a circle with the title: United. The event showcases bands from related musical genres and promises out of this world drink specials with guest host Dreamer.
The person passing out fliers just works for the club. The host is some new promoter they hadn’t heard of before.
Club Night
There is a line waiting to get into the club come concert night. A woman in her early twenties dressed like a heavy metal pin up works her way through the line pulling people out.
She reads as a Lucid and will tap any Character that does not have a Suppression Trait greater than their Lucid Trait. She has no issues with bringing friends along.
Any Character with the Locate Others Boon can pick up that everyone else selected is Lucid as well. There should be several other Lucids selected along with the Player Characters.
The club is as packed inside as it was on the street. Bands play loudly as they are let into a back room. As the group makes their way through the club she introduces herself as Star stating that the others are waiting.
Unity
The store room pulses with the sound of music from the club. There is little room to walk around in and one man sits on a pallet of boxes. There are three other people waiting when Star Arrives with the others.
Once everyone arrives the man on the sitting on the boxes introduces himself as Dreamer, along with Star, Moon and Roc. Their proposal is simple. Star has a talent for sniffing out other Lucids. Roc is good on computers. Working together they’ve been trying to track down all the Lucids in Tiergarten not connected to a Barony. Some might be members of other Covens but their goal is to bring everyone that hasn’t “sold their soul” together so they can avoid getting swept up into some nut job scheme.
GMs should allow the Characters time in this scene to meet people and talk over the idea of a Unity Coven. If this is being used as an introductory adventure one of the Unity members can explain what a Barony. This Scene can also be used to introduce other Lucids in the area the GM may want to involve with stories later or serve to insert rumors and seeds for larger Campaigns.
Ultimately the way this meeting goes down is up to the Players and GM. (See Complications below.)
The Unity Coven
Dreamer
Like the other Unity members Dreamer is in his early twenties. Once an Audiopunk he protested for multiple anti-war causes and at inequality rallies. Elucidating after coming down from a forced injection of amphetamines and hallucination Dreamer saw the Eden Dream as a rallying cry to bring others together. This led to a quick meeting with Roc as he started by posting to forums across the web.
Star
A sensitive, Star has always been able to feel the presence of Lucids. This led to her abduction and near death at the hands of Harbingers. Escaping she was taken in by Moon and the two have been together ever since. Star has come into her own over the last year as she fights not to live in fear.
Moon
An orphan from an early age Moon moved from foster home to foster home as a child, each worst than the last. As a teen she let go, embracing the terrors that filled her world. While she is still only fifteen she no longer has a legal guardian nor does she talk about why. Moon is the youngest member of the Coven but more often than not acts as the voice of reason.
Roc
A computer programmer Roc was caught in a Wild Hunt ending in his Elucidation and eventual escape. Roc is not good in social situations and isn’t a fan of Dreamer’s Unity idea but he respects the idea and for that reason he’s stayed with Dreamer because of that.
Complications
The following Complications can be used to build on the Unity Scene of Coven’s Call. GMs should select the Complications that fit their Campaign.
Note: Not all Complications can be used together.
Alternate Motivations
One or more of the Unity members has ulterior motives. Some ideas include:
Dreamer: Megalomania. Yes, it’s as simple as power. Dreamer has always been a victim and he sees the Baronies as the prefect foil to build his own personal army of Lucids. This is something that shouldn’t be readily apparent it is only as the strength of Unity grows does he become more obsessed with power. This may lead him into direct conflict with the Church of Unua.
Star: Sleeper. Never actually escaping the Harbingers Star is a sleeper agent. Playing Moon and Dreamer off each other she manipulates the coven for the Harbinger’s agenda. This works especially well with if Dreamer if he’s only in it for Power. In this scenario she will drive him and the Coven towards conflict with the Unuans.
Moon: Protectionism. Moon really believes in the ideals of Unity only for her it goes much further. Seeing Unity as a power to insulate the weak, Lucid or otherwise she will drive the Coven towards taking control of homeless shelters and child care faculties. She sees no issue in killing any that stand in the way regardless of intention . If they wont fall in line, then they will fall.
Roc: Fear. While he’ll never admit it Roc is petrified of the Baronies and what they might do. If Roc has his way it is a path of isolationism, and abandonment. He would see every member of Unity cut off all contact with the outside world that can be traced. He is a voice of discontent and a constant reminder that someone could always be watching.
Invisible Hands
While the Unity Coven is a nice idea it’s hardly an original one. One of the Baronies is actually manipulating the Coven behind the scenes.
The Church of Unua: Lucids that undrstnad the destructive power of a physical gate quickly learn to fear the Unuans. By removing the religious trappings of the Barony they are able to create a splinter cell. This pairs well with Moon’s alternate motivation.
The Harbingers: The Unity coven is a convenient tool for the Harbingers to evaluate Dark Lucids for collection. Unless Star’s alternate motivation is being used the Harbingers are likely to stay as hands off as possible except to serve as paper tigers reminding the Coven why they stay together.
