Thursday, June 22, 2023

Midsommar Nights Campaign Event

Updated on 06/23/23 at 11:40 est. Notes added to Weirding Time Section and the initiation of violence. Also "Dungeon Delving". And Domain Encounters.

Near the end of May: The Man From Another Place began haunting the dreams of madmen, druids, soothsayers, and spinsters with warnings (threats?) of some upcoming actions he may be taking on Midsommer. 

"Brovenloft is lost to me, for now!" he cackled in backwards talk, "but Dubzaron is not! Midsummer Nights eve approaches and so does the doom for man! Things which were will be no longer. See you again in 29 days!"

What could it mean? In true Lynchian fashion I refused to elaborate. Until now!

The Dubzaron campaign continued on as normal with perhaps some sense of concern or confusion in the air amount the PCs and Patrons. Or perhaps they figured there was nothing they could do to affect the situation so best to let it be. 

Yet some days into June, as Midsommer approached, The Man From Another Place returned. And strange poetry and prose was dropped into the psychosphere (twitter) with promises and spells. I will place screenshots as this blog rolls on.

"Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights; Four nights will quickly dream away the time; And then the moon, like to a silver bow new bent in heaven, shall behold the night of our solemnities." 
-"Midsummer Night's Dream"

Event Goals

To class up the BROSR a bit this event will bring in Midsummer Nights Dream, King of Elfland's Daughter, "Three Hearts Three Lions", "The Hobbit", some fairy stories, and (of course) "Twin Peaks" metaphysics. It will be Fey focused. It will be esoteric. 

Another goal of this event is to test out a bit of variable time in the midst of a 1:1 Jeffrogaxian Time based campaign. If successful, this will become a yearly event where players can plan to exploit the variable time which is brought to a front by the unseelie fey.

Players won't know all the information about this campaign event right away so this blog space will be updated here and there so keep your eyes peeled on this space. I will drop a tweet as new aspects of the event are revealed and highlight the change on the blog. 

Night of Dreams

As the sun goes down on 06/23/23 the stars can't be seen. Instead, there is a swirling of colors out of space, vaguely purple and mauve though undefinable except in bard song. Also unexplainable is the Weirding Way and Weirding Time which ensorcells all living things. This Weirding Time lasts from sundown until when the sun should be rising on 06/24/23 (more on that later).

Weirding Time

As the purple and mauve circles the lands, eyes and minds of all living things across the fields we know, the following is true:

-Weirding Time is at 1/2:30 time. Or each real-life evening takes 30 days of game time to pass. Another way of stating this is each 12 hours of daytime hours is a regular twelve hours of game world time and each 12 hours at Weirding Time night is 30 days of game world time.

-Only fey can initiate violence during Weirding Time. Non-Fey can defend themselves as normal. Undead can initiate violence if someone enters or is near their Lair. All folk can initiate violence if they realize they are being burgled or something like that. 

-Dreamwalking: Non-Fey travel overland at 1/60 of the speed as they are walking as you do in dreams when you feel as though in sand or walking backwards. This does not affect combat movement or walking around ones domicile, Lair, or city (town, village etc) of which you find yourself in when Weirding Time strikes.

-Dungeon Delving: Dreamwalking will also apply to dungeons as non-fey are not familiar enough with the places for them to be considered a domicile, town, home etc. Whereas the monsters Laired there could consider it at such and move without Dreamwalking. 

-Non-Fey do not NEED to eat or drink during Weirding Time but certainly can for fun and digest as normal.

-If you contemplate what this means you will see that each night of this event you are gaining 30 days of time for crafting, training, studying, burgling (general thievery), carousing, and the like.

-Fey type (including elves) are not hindered by dreamwalking meaning they can engage in overland travel, including marching armies and the like. Have very clear records for your DM for approval and rulings if you choose to take advantage of this to have your elf PC or whatever travel or march an army about. Acquiring a fully fey army may be a bit challenging.

Unseelie Fey

Fey type include elves, fairies, pixie, nixie, redcaps, treants, nixie, dryad, and other things which I am likely forgetting. If in doubt, ask your DM. Said Fey have become a bit odder, a bit Dunsayan, a bit Lynchian, a bit dickish.

So, every day during the event (not only during Weirding Time) fey have the following attributes:

-Fey type for this event include elves but not dwarves and not half-elves.

-Wilderness Encounters have a 75% chance of being a special Fey focused encounter chart your DM will have access to.  

-Fey cast spells as 4 levels higher. This does NOT mean they have more spells per day or in their repertoire.

-Fey type act as 3 HD higher for HP and attack chart.

-On a natural 20 attack roll with an iron weapon, fey save vs spells or disentegrate.

-NPC fey type are -2 to reactions with non-fey and +2 with fey and animals.

-Domain Encounters: Since each night lasts a month and Fey can travel overland as they like, players (or patrons) with domains should make a check on their normal schedule each 30 days of Weirding Time. If your schedule is once a month then check once each night. If once a week then check 4 times each night. Domain encounters during weirding time would ONLY be from the Fey chart. Remember the -2 to Reaction as they are angry unseelie buggers for a while. The rate you should be checking can be found in AXIOMS 3 "Wandering Into War".

-Morning of 06/25/23: NPC Clerics, Paladins, and Priestesses have discovered that Unseelie Fey, during the course of this event, can be turned as if undead by Lawful characters with the Turn Undead ability. 

-Morning of 06/25/23: During hard fought defenses from fey and elves at villages, forts, and smaller towns; the NPC Temple has discovered that bonfires which have Bless cast upon them by Divine Casters of level 9 or higher will weaken and have a change to Turn Undead on fey type. The power of said bonfires lasts for 12 hours or until the fires become too low. The effect works wherever light from the bonfire is cast.

Eternal Twilight

When the sun should rise on 06/24/23, the purples and mauve swirls instead dissipate, and bright stars twinkle across the landscape. This continues and time returns to its normal passage for 12 hours until the colors out of space return and Weirding Time begins again until the next Star-Rise. During the Twilight hours Weirding Time does not apply. There is nothing particularly odd about the Twilight Hours except it's dark. This would help creatures that are damaged by sunlight (vampires for instance) but is otherwise unremarkable except aesthetically.

Crafting and Economy

Many economic factors (especially in ACKS) are contingent around travel and supply lines. As such, the economy will not be resetting during Weirding Time. Trade caravans can't transfer their goods overland during Weirding Time. 

"But how can I buy enough materials to make the magic items I want to create during Weirding Time" you ask? Well thankfully The Man From Another Place is near at hand!

Simply close your eyes as if to dream and he will appear to make a deal. He will provide whatever raw materials you need, including rare monster parts, for the purpose of crafting in Weirding Time. One can imagine The Man From Another Place may also ask a favor of the Player at some later date? I'm sure it will be fine. Don't fret this! Be as beholden to him as possible.

-Chaotic PCs and Players can purchase any raw materials for crafting purposes at 3/4 their normal price.

-Neutral PCs and Players can purchase raw materials for 1.5 their normal price.

-Lawful PCs and Players can purchase raw materials for 2 times their normal price.

Conclusion


The Man From Another Place has apparently initiated this strangeness with the help of the natural oddness of Midsommar itself. Most Temple folk have become aware of The Man over the years and generally fear his power and look not to anger or annoy him. Most Arcane casters know him as well but have been known to strike deals with him as a metaphysical patron. This may be a good or bad idea. But the important part is to stay in character and #PlayToWin.

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. 
-Eph 6:12


No comments:

Post a Comment