Campaign

This page outlines the collaborative storytelling method of the campaign and mechanical details about the party (e.g. Loot). For more diegetic information see World and Characters.

Collaborative Worldbuilding
The textual and paratextual levels of gameplay resonate with one another. We play socialist characters engaged in magical praxis, and we run a cooperatively dungeon mastered campaign.

Each of the players in our campaign takes on multiple roles. We play one, two, or three of our own characters, choosing between them as the story and world allow; we act as dungeon master, setting the story by ourselves or in collaboration with others; we build out the world, directly and indirectly shaping events. Every one of these roles requires collaboration and contribution. This method allows us to create interesting, unexpected, uneven, and complex stories while sharing the significant and sometimes undervalued labor of dungeon mastering and worldbuilding. It's not without its difficulties, but we've been meeting weekly for more than two years, barely missing a week.

Session Notes
The history of the Red Flagon is organized according to Season, Adventure, and Session.

Adventure Two: Zephyr
It is winter (we are back in time). A messenger arrives - blue-skinned and -haired with horns: it’s Becky of Candlekeep. She has a large tome named Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome. It asks to be freed.

The book opens. Gazra Azam has been bound to the book by Zikran. Zikran wanted the djinn’s knowledge to build floating fortresses. Zikran needs to end the enchantment willingly or be killed.

Fred, Rory, Willa, and Becky travel with the book to the tree line at the Cloudsomething Mountains. On the second day of travel, they rise above the snowstorm; Rory notes birds flying towards the Flagoneers - winged dragon-like creatures (kobolds) decked out in winter garb wielding crossbows. They target the Flagoneers’ winter weather gear. A captured kobold tells the party Zirkan lives with big ghosts writing letters forever.

Zikran lives in a giant’s former abode. Wind Duke; enemies; battle.

Ghost in bedroom (female? fancy clothes): Giuliana gone too song but long ago. Why?

There is a confrontation with Zikran after a combat with some water elementals. The Flagoneers successfully defeat Zikran and show him mercy. The book becomes a tool for summoning a single air elemental - just Gazra Azam.

Becky now has access to the Red Flagon teleportation circle.

Adventure Three: Reincarnation and Showdown with Sark
Varl is reincarnated as a female tiefling! Ullud, Owen, Rowan, Trich, Tonio, and Fred were present at the reincarnation. Varl remained in her room, unseen by others, for the following fight.

Loots from fight with the Jann. From Sark’s body: Studded leather +2, coat and hat Short sword, hoop sword (enchanted) Dried fish (not enchanted) Coin purse (not enchanted); 72 gold pieces, 3 platinum pieces. 2 small diamonds, 2 pearls Red girdle (not enchanted) Boots (enchanted) Pulp paperback (not enchanted)--think Western dime novels–titled: The Red Flagon

Drawn from the tattoo on Sark’s body’ wrist: Sheath for scimitar; wood, leather, and bone, intricately carved with animals (Doubles wild shape duration; allows control of where the +2 silver claw/tooth/antler appears; once per moon, transform into fey creature or fey touched version of creature.) Short sword, hoop sword (enchanted)

From other Jann: 2 x Dagger +1 2 x Studded leather +2, coat and hat Dried fish and bacon jerky (not enchanted) Bedrolls, changes of clothes etc. (not enchanted) Coin purses (not enchanted) 15 gold pieces, 9 silver, 33 copper Ring (enchanted) Staff (not enchanted) Compass (enchanted)

Adventure Four: Claire Deville Croque and the Discovery of Aluminium
Willa introduces Doc, a centaur-shaped robot made entirely of mechanical parts by Willa.

Claire Deville Croque, a famous clockmaker, is in town looking for Willa, her former classmate. She is stationed at the Gilded Flagon. Fred, Doc, and Willa venture there and collect Claire. She invites them to accompany here to a mining operation in the northwest where she’s discovered an incredibly ductile new metal. The Flagoneers travel there by airship. Willa begins falling in love with the technophile Claire.

Claire’s ship is attacked by a goblin airship. They were ordered to attack by Zim Cran the Powerful, a wizard located in the mountains to the north (no he’s not), amidst dry, barren red mountains. There is a small pit excavation site with a clockwork golem clearly fashioned by Claire.

Seth is reincarnated as a female Jann. There has never before been a female Jann.

Adventure Five: Parenting
Ralkuken visits the Red Flagon with their nine horrible children. Hijinks ensue.

Adventure Six: Long Winter
Session One

Today is Mole Day - a brisk, bright winter morning. It has been winter for an unusually long time. The mole will bespeak the future of the season. Seth (now a Jann woman), Doc, Kip, and Fred attend the festivities.

A multi-faith temple - local stone, stained glass - is the site of the ceremony. A strange Shakespearean/Giegeresque articulated metal ball speaks to us: “Time is out of joint.” Everything but the Flagoneers is frozen in time. It identifies itself as Fate. Another strange metal shape appears, this one made of 12 hands grasping a circle - Time. They attack. Seth banishes Time.

Fate identifies themself and Time as “Inexorables.” Something has happened to Time, they say. There is something missing in Fate’s tapestry in the manifold. Each Inexorable is responsible for one way of tying the universe together.

There are several cases of things lasting forever - a log burning eternally, Owen pouring tea, kids making and unmaking a snowman, etc. Dispelling magic ends the effect. And, in an apparently unrelated issue, some guys from JZ’s camp got beaten up in a forest. When Fred and Kip investigate, they find animals trapped in time loops. They also see a large set of footprints leading down into the ComTek mines.

The priestesses of the Temple of Gond suggest that only an incredible force - maybe magical, maybe technological - could tear a hole in the fabric of reality, and that such a force would undoubtedly leave a mark.

A wingless, sapphire-encrusted dragon dives towards Iron Town. It speaks: “Make way for Majess Alfikry. You have tampered with the manifold and I will set things right.”

Session Two

The dragon confronts Seth, accusing her of being unnatural? I think? A battle is fought. There is a rainbow light. The Flagoneers reawake to a familiar sound, the one they heard that morning. The time is out of joint. Everyone - including Owen - heads to the mines. High in the mountains, following a trail of a mysterious creature seemingly connected to the temporal distortion, the Flagoneers are attacked by some sort of echo monsters.

Session Three

The Flagoneers head up into the mountain, through a crevasse, and find an iron door and a metal box with a green and red gem. Fred (as Comrade Kong) smashes the box to no effect; Doc casts Knock on the door, triggering a rockfall and opening the door. Beyond is an iron golem and an old friend - Victoria Crankenstein. She informs the Flagoneers that ComTek has developed a technique for inexhaustibly extracting a rare resource. The destruction of a wall of force seems to index the time loop.

Another day dawns. The Flagoneers execute a plan to inform Majess Alfikry about the possible source of the time loop. The dragon appears around 4:00pm, repeating the same speech as before; the Flagoneers explain the situation and the dragon waxes professorial on the nature of the temporal distortion. The dragon also conveys a clear understanding of the problem of Crankenstein’s spatiotemporal resource extraction: you can’t get something from nothing - the material needs to be coming from somewhere.

Adventure Seven: Gretretka
Flagoneers:


 * Doc
 * Kip Gavin
 * Newt
 * Owen
 * Tonio Novoman
 * Trich
 * Ullud
 * Varl

Others:


 * Dalron the Ancient
 * Dardain, Gretretkan Dock Guardsman
 * Rotrik Brawnstone, Church of All Gods
 * Solri Brawnstone, Church of All Gods
 * Galen, ComTek Chief of Security
 * Gemma, Conspiracy Theorist
 * Leina Glypcart, (Former) South Wall Guard Captain
 * Olga Halfhand Note I should change this so that it redirects to her non-deadname
 * The Knifewards, Printers
 * The Matron
 * Ohluohdhlhblhb
 * Jarin Redstream
 * Retuk, Gearhead
 * Lefla Steele
 * The Teenage Beholders
 * Tuck, ComTek Evoker
 * Xanfir

Session One

The Flagoneers hear news out of Steam City: chippies are malfunctioning. They've produced bizarre magical anomalies in and on their users.

Kip is in a good position to address the issue. He's created a ComTek Truther network. Notable figures include Gemma the conspiracy theorist (ComTek is creating literal zombies), Retuk the gearhead (responsible for jailbreaking the chippies), and Tinkles the snitch. The Truthers have members throughout Irontown, Steam City (importantly including Steam City University), and beyond.

Varl is also directly involved - albeit not as Varl. She infiltrates the ComTek Special Operations division under an alias, taking orders from Galen the half-orc Chief of Security (also under an alias). She steals SCU research documents and kidnaps the doctors and apothecaries who went public over the medical and magical chippy side effects.

Varl is then assigned to take out two of the ComTek Truthers. She and her team surround a diner where Kip is meeting with Retuk and Gemma. Retuk dies in the confrontation, but Kip and Varl murder the rest of the Special Ops team and seem to manage to keep their identities secret.

Owen has been investigating Modern Living. After helping return the factory to habitable status he accompanies Jarin Redstream to a tour of their communalist live-work units in Steam City. They have a daycare populated by mostly surface dwellers but some Underdark children as well.

Trich has been hanging out with the cave druids. He and Dalron the Ancient have gotten to know one another fairly well. They've been trying to gain passage back to their home, Gretretka, after long years away (the cave druids go on years- or even decades-long sojourns away from their home). Unfortunately, the Gretr Road that leads to it is blocked and they don't want to reveal themselves to the guards at the checkpoint. Trich investigates, learning that ComTek is manning the checkpoint, but is driven off by a fireball-casting man laden with a heavy pack.

As part of his research into the subterranean lumpenproletariat, Tonio visits the SCU library, but finds all the best books on the Underdark strangely missing. He travels to Candlekeep where he learns about the general features of the Underdark, including the strange effects on magic that it exerts (the faerzress). He observes two business people there apparently connected to ComTek.

With the players' attention already directed downward, towards the ComTek checkpoint and the Gretr Road beyond, it takes Olga Halfhand fairly little convincing to get them to accompany her home. She has received a summons from Gretretka to return and serve, and she can get them past the checkpoint.

Session Two

Olga leads the players - Doc, Kip, Tonio, Trich, Ullud, and, for some reason, Newt - and the cave druids to Green Hill. They descend down a secret passage that will take them past the ComTek checkpoint. During the initial descent, Doc experiences an inexplicable sensation - something like a tightening in his chest.

The Flagoneers attempt to avoid attracting the attention of the cannibal gnomes, but fail to do so. Quick thinking allows them to escape an ambush.

The Flagoneers arrive at the Gretr Road. Olga is surprised at its state of disrepair: normally Gretretka maintains the road and helps with basic security. It seems abandoned, and the going is slow.

Session Three

A handsome half-elf, Xanfir, awaits the Flagoneers in the middle of the Gretr Road. He tries to persuade Kip to part with one or both of his chippies in exchange for some unique Underdark items, but Kip declines.

Passing through a stalactite-filled series of chambers that interrupt the Gretr Road, the Flagoneers hear a strange sound. After minimal investigation, they brush it off and continue on their way.

Olga is excited: Gretretka is near. A lava river, the Arborak, lies ahead. The bridge is falling apart, and two magma elementals guard it. Doc’s dancing lights get their attention, but before they can move in the lights' direction, the Flagoneers rush across the small islands dotting the lava. But something unexpected happens: Trich’s eagle wing falters just as he dodges low, bringing him and Olga crashing onto a small island. Tonio unexpectedly falters at the start of a jump, splashing a boot into lava and forcing Kip to pull him back. And one of Doc’s boots fails – twice - dropping him to the bridge below.

Session Four

Doc finds his consciousness transported to a strange dark realm. A black-eyed incarnation of Pyotr Steele attacks him, apparently vying for control of his unconscious body. Doc triumphs by consuming the creature, regaining consciousness. He now feels the overwhelming compulsion to sharpen his teeth.

The Flagoneers manage to eke out a victory over the magma elementals, but Ullud very nearly dies in the process.

Session Five

The Flagoneers finally arrive at Gretretka. Olga explains that she is returning at the end of a 200-year sentence – first slavery, then exile – for her advocacy for abolition. She plans to advocate for it again. She intends to get the lay of the land and then rally her allies.

Confronted by guards who dismissively refer to her as Halfhand - a duergar slave - Olga insists that her name is Blackstone, not Halfhand, and that she returns by right of the Old Laws to take her place on the Gerousia. The South Wall Guard Captain, Leina Glypcart, opens the gates for the Flagoneers and leads them into the city.

Gretretka is under siege by an army of kuo-toa. The fish people seek passage up the Cramelian River, but the Gerousia has been taken over by isolationists who have closed the city to all trade and corruption. Ten years of siege have taken their toll: the populace - roughly equal parts slave and duergar, and including a good number of non-duergar merchants and traders - is starving.

Doc prepares a stew with the few rations and forageables the Flagoneers have left and begins distributing it to the starving slaves who fill the Warrens. The Captain, Glypcart, initially protests, but then acquiesces and helps distribute the rations.

The Captain then shows the players to the Church of All Gods, where they are met by an unusual sight: two dwarves. Solri and Rotrik Brawnstone, devotees of Dumathoin in a city otherwise devoted to Laduguer, do their best to provide refuge and solace to the residents of the Warrens. Their family used to occupy a position of power before all non-duergar were stripped of their political rights in one of the previous purges. Solri and Olga are ecstatic at being reunited.

Olga is immediately summoned to the Agor for a meeting of the Gerousia. The Flagoneers accompany her, witnessing Gretretka's gerontocracy at work.

Session Six

Olga asks the players for help gathering abolitionist allies. There is a printing press secreted in a long-abandoned temple outside the city; Solri hasn't heard from the printers for a month. There are also, somewhere, cave druid friends of the Brawnstones.

The Flagoneers get the lay of the land, visiting the bazaar and the Seawall. At the former they again encounter Xanfir, who is still intent on getting access to Kip's chippies. At the latter they bribe a guard into giving them access to the top, where they get a clear view of the destruction recently caused by a siege crab assault.

After some consideration, Kip strikes a deal with Xanfir, who invites the players to accompany him to the docks at midnight. After a signal from a duerguard, a mid-sized boat appears out of thin air, flanked by four kuo-toa. One woman and two men exit the boat, and two other men approach it. All are human. The men leaving the boat carry heavy packs; they high five the other two.

Doc gets everyone's attention. The two pack-laden men turn invisible. A battle commences in which the boatwoman reverses gravity, but Kip knocks her out with a telekinetically-thrown boat to the head before she can do any further damage or escape. One of the men is slain, two escape, and the players capture a third.

Session Seven and/or Eight

Doc and the duerguard, Dardain, are taken in for questioning. The Guard Captain - a man, not Leina Glypcart - interrogates Doc under a Zone of Truth. He claims to be motivated by security concerns: how is it that there are kuo-toa in his hermetically sealed city?

The players, accompanied by Xanfir, rendezvous back at the Church of All Gods where they interrogate the captured ComTek evoker, Tuck, and the boatwoman, Lefla. She seems hostile, but explains that she and the dudebro evokers run a smuggling operation for the strange metals used in the second, transmutoplasm-free version of the chippies: the evokers travel in pairs from the surface along the Gretr Road and infiltrate the city; they join her on the boat; the boat travels across the Impassable Sea; Lefla collects a shipment of the ore from someone - she claims not to know ho - and returns to Gretretka; the evokers then return to the surface. High-level magic and magical items, including a folding boat, enable her to pass through the Seawall. While waiting at the docks, the operation is guarded by kuo-toa (she intimates that she has some deal with them), though out on the open sea, she and the evokers contend with threats from the deeps.

Session Eight and/or Nine

Lefla suggests that she and the players may have more in common she initially suspected. She reveals that she is one Pyotr Steele's many children. She hates her father. When she was born, he bound her to servitude: either the Smithdevils get her soul, either in a slow drip through the chippy she's now obliged to carry or all at once, or she produces profit for ComTek. She doesn't know the details of the contract her father signed, but she's willing to consider an alliance. She references Jams in passing.

Lefla and Xanfir, former lovers, depart for Xanfir's lodgings, promising to meet the Flagoneers again two days' hence.

The Flagoneers are granted an audience with the Matron. They give her gifts; she is particularly taken with a runic copper astronomical tool proffered by Ullud. She pushes the line of questioning deployed by Doc's interrogator, obviously interested in the identities of Lefla and Xanfir, but the Flagoneers reveal little. She disallows them access to Lefla's boat, but grants them a diplomatic pass for an audience with the kuo-toa. Before dismissing them, the Matron warns the Flagoneers against interfering with her guard, lest she be forced to discipline anyone else.

With just two days before their rendezvous with Xanfir and Lefla, the Flagoneers travel through secret back passages in the Warrens and out of the city, unobserved by the guard. Trich finds a likely place for a mushroom harvest and gets to work.

To reach the old firbolg temple housing the illicit printing press, the Flagoneers need to pass through a squeeze. This prompts Doc to again be assaulted by the black-eyed Pyotr Steele, this time sporting extra limbs. Doc manages to cast the phantom from a wire the two had been hanging out, emerging none the worse for wear, though now able to generate a small dark orb from his mouth when he screams.

Sessions Ten+