Robert Bohl's Demihumans: Session 5 Adamantine Pact Fails, Then Widens Its Scope

+Robert Bohl's Demihumans: Session 5
Adamantine Pact Fails, Then Widens Its Scope

As the demiurge, I encountered a gordian knot in this session. Here were the factors at play which put
me in a difficult situation (Note: to fully understand, you might need to read the summary of the session that follows):

1. There was an Adamantine Pact in effect: A rag-tag group of ~20 demihumans agreed to defend Eforis Nei’s abode, but not to do anything stupid in carrying out this defense.

2. One bane of the enclave is that “one of the company may have a demand made upon him by the patron (Squire Prador) or his agents once this tale.” This bane was directed at Eforis Nei. (So this bane is in tension with the Adamantine Pact.)

3. When Squire Prador appeared to alert the elf that he needed to appear at an inquest,  I didn’t predict the encounter would escalate the way it did due to Eforis Nei’s diamond refusal to give Prador any satisfaction.

4.Squire Prador’s personal appearance would have been a surprise to the enclave, and it’s not like the enclave demihumans are trained military. Opposing him would have meant violence, and it would have mostly been violence between demihuman characters.

5. Donna the Dwarf (the origin of the Adamantine Pact) was not personally present to direct the demihumans.

Quite the conundrum! I’m still not sure whether I played this out correctly. My compromise was eventually to let Squire Prador have his way, but the demihumans were chastened by Donna due to their refusal to follow through on the Pact. Now I’ve allowed the Pact to have a more broad effect in favor of the Company, especially when Donna is around to direct the demihumans. Those under the influence of the pact are ashamed of their behavior and will go above and beyond to make up for their cowardice.

The company was not as vigorous in seeking to use moves. I’m not sure why this is. As the demiurge, I kept trying to give them opportunities, but there were many situations when they didn’t take the bait, and I was reluctant directly to tell them, “Why don’t you consider a ‘Fathom a Soul’ move. Note to Demiurges:  Be sure to emphasize the use of moves at the start of the session! Players need to plant that idea and hold onto it. I’m going to put this in my beginning-of-session matters that I cover at the start of every session. The players need consciously to think of seizing opportunities to make moves. I’m also going to suggest that they think of “intimately sharing culture” moves and using those as opportunities to create custom cross-cultural moves.

Eforis Nei the Elf was inflexible in his refusal to give any ground to Squire Prador and the humans. In practical terms, this landed him in jail, and it also derailed the attempt of the other company members to enact a prisoner exchange. This was frustrating on one level, but also illuminating of a dilemma faced by those who are marginalized: Do you keep stooping to humiliations for strategic reasons, or do you at some point stand up without backing down? I tried to give Eforis Nei chances to stay or get out of jail, but all those chances involved giving some type of concession to the humans, and he wasn’t willing to cave in.

Here's a full breakdown of the key events:

Battle Aftermath

Zug the Troll retreated into the swamp after the battle with the orchid-raiding Orcs (perhaps to meditate, perhaps to track down Burz the half-orc). Donna the Dwarf and Kain the Traitor had an extended conversation, weighing their options. Initially, they were going to split the magical orchids they had found with Verik Tork with the agreement that they would be sold on the black market for a profit rather than destroyed. But after a more careful weighing of Verik Torg (using a move) they figured that that course would be dangerous due to Verik’s untrustworthiness. They finally agreed to stay the night and then to walk with the two wounded orcs (Verik Tork and Ugluk) to the enclave.

Eforis Nei the Elf Jailed

Before Donna and Kain arrive, Squire Prador descended on Eforis Nei’s (the elf) home with an armed squad. He told Eforis Nei that there was an inquest being held tomorrow morning. The elf was suspected of some mysterious, possibly magical attacks occuring against humans. Eforis Nei refused to give his assurance that he would appear, and when Squire Prador had his men move to put him in shackles, he attacked with Eldritch Might. This escalated the conflict. The Squire was losing his cool, and it became apparent to Eforis Nei that continued escalation would put other people in the enclave at risk, so he eventually agreed to go off with the Squire and his squad.

The Dwarf and the Traitor Confront Squire Prador

Donna and Kain return and hear what has happened, and Donna criticizes the demihumans for falling back on the Adamantine Pact that was sealed (more on this quandary and inconsistency later). They had a lengthy conversation of what to do. Finally, they decided to go to the army barracks in the city of Florageist with a battalion of demihumans who were feeling shame from having let Eforis Nei down. They plot was to spill the beans on Verik Torg and Ugluck: They would let Squire Prador know that the orcs were destroying magic orchids instead of harvesting them for humans to use. Prador was intrigued by the news. The dwarf and traitor said the elf prisoner (Eforis Nei) would corroborate their account. But when the Squire went to speak to Eforis Nei at his cell, Eforis Nei attacked him with more Eldritch Might and he piled on the insults! Squire Prador returned to the dwarf and traitor, trying to regain his composure. He turned them away without exchanging prisoners, and he’s going to increase the stress placed on Eforis Nei.

Orc Chieftain Appears

At the close of the session, Madoc Torg appeared. He is the chieftain of an ancient orc clan which lives in the swamp. Madoc wanted to retrieve his son Verik, but he was  also ashamed of his son for selling magic orchids to humans. He’s also not happy that Verik was on an orchid-destroying mission. Madoc realizes that nature magic is under assault, and he is disturbed by his son’s involvement. He ended up having a private conversation with Kain the Traitor. While the two have been enemies in the past, Madoc knows that Kain holds orc blood, and he was eager to exchange information. There are signs of evil magic on the rise. Kain let him know of Wycraft, a mysterious elf in the swamp, who may hold the key to some of these developments.

We agreed to carry over the session next Sunday. It’s fair to say that human antipathy will be on the rise. It’s also fair to say that the orc clan and the mysterious elven mage will be figuring into next Sunday’s game.