City of Notions (Suns Apart - Campaign 2 - Sessions 0-1.5)

PCs:

Cassian Carmine - Master of the Loom (Weaver 1st degree); wielder of Sleep, Alleyways, and Moonlight

Iziki'el - Journeyman Weaver; wielder of Blood and Infinity

Naniz - Journeyman Goetic; Blue scholar

Xeni - Shaper (Maker 1st degree); School of Matter, expert in smoke

Hello again dear reader. The tides and storms of life have subsided, and I am once again sitting around a table with friends, rolling dice, and visiting the Actuality. Yes you read that right, a real life table with no intervening screens or flaky routers. Truly in person gaming is a marvel we took for granted. We're back to playtesting UVP! Except it isn't untitled anymore... As I mentioned on Discord I've decided to call the project Suns Apart. You can read more about that decision on Discord, but the important thing to note is that the game is still evolving and I'm back to playtesting it.

I have an in person group now, so we started a new campaign, this time based in Satyrine as most Invisible Sun campaigns are. I wanted to playtest the game in that environment for a while to see how it feels different from a typical Invisible Sun campaign. Campaign 1 already demonstrated it can handle OSR material fairly well, and I might return to the Ultraviolet Grasslands at some point. For Campaign 2 I had no set module in mind, just a bunch of dungeons and content from zines scattered all around the city and signposted to the players with hooks and rumors.

We had a session zero where I explained the basic premise of the game to the group and then ran them through a sort of primer adventure designed to show how some of the party met. For that I used the wonderful Blancmange and Thistle "hotel crawl" from the wonderful Troika! Numinous Edition. The PCs met at the titular hotel during the Feast of the Chiliarch and end up sharing a room due to overbooking. They bonded as they navigated the overcrowded hotel, rang in the Lunar New Year together, and scamed plant people into buying goose grease.

Session 1 was a laid back one with just two PCs: Cassian and Xeni. I ran a slightly modified version of the "Izabelle's Party" scenario from Chapter 1 of the Invisible Sun Directed Campaign. Here's that session in brief:

Izabelle is a popular socialite Maker who hosted a soiree to celebrate the completion of her new house. Cassian is referred to her though a friend of a friend, and hearing he's a harpist, she books him to play some live music at her party. Cassian brings Xeni as his plus one. They enjoy the vibes and take in the atmosphere for a while, pickpocketing one of the guests and pondering whether to trespass into Izabelle's private rooms. Before they get the chance, it is time for Cassian's set and he begins to play. He is rudely interrupted by a loud individual stumbling into the party and claiming to be Izabelle's ex, Parris. He demands to speak with her and starts causing quite a scene. Izabelle is utterly paralyzed by the uncomfortable turn of events, but Parris is quickly dealt with by Cassian's dream weave followed up with Xeni's sleep spell. The gerent's men arrive to take him off their hands, Cassian claims the bounty, and an extremely grateful Izabelle asks to meet with the PCs after the party. During that meeting she reemphasizes her gratitude and says she will leverage her connections to have them both advanced to first degree. Success!

A few weeks later we had a sort of session 1.5 where the PCs mainly just wanted to go shopping, and I, in flagrance of most gaming advice, let them. With Campaign 2 I am experimenting with a fully diegetic advancement system. In everyday English: I'm not using experience points (XP) anymore. If you want your character to get better or level up, we have to see it "on screen" and you have to find an in-fiction way to do it. I'm trying to channel Chris McDowall à la Electric Bastionland and how he runs that setting.

The main highlights of that were:

-The addition of Xëniå - Journeyman Weaver; wielder of Wind and Moonlight

-A brief encounter with Slipping Jack, Satyrine's premier con artist

-Naniz buying a stylish armored (body and mind) coat from Gabardine Thatcher, purveyor of enchanted garments

-Iziki'el buying a fine revolver from Luster, purveyor of fine firearms

-Several PCs buying blank spellbooks from Grynn's Gramarye, and chatting with the manager, Tiora, about the existence of "L-Space", the so called Infinite Library

-The PCs unwinding at Zero's and hearing rumors about a supposed door to Zyan (a long lost city in the Blue) that recently appeared in the shop of a printmaker named Ultan.

-The PCs learning that Arthelo (Cassian's brother and Iziki'el's Weaver cell mate) had already gone through the door and not come back

-Xëniå acquiring a map of the area beyond the door from her friend and tattooist, a unique zilat named Queequeg who has the ability to manifest a map of his locale on his skin. He often copies these maps down and sells them, or offers them as exotic tattoo designs. Apparently he had gone beyond Ultan's door, mapped it on his skin, and then immediately left. Smart man.

Next session the PCs venture... beyond Ultan's Door!