Message:We skipped a week. It happens to old people.
Our mission ended in failure. All of us were KO’d or fell in the water during a climax Ship Engagement. Digressions? No, just the ignoble defeat. We did survive a mutiny by the Jolly Umlauts in the Epilog. But I digress.
We started in Phase A. IronDave became a Reformist, preaching an egalitarian sharing of the land. We were challenged by a local gang and won all his conscripts, defeating fifty with thirteen in Medieval soccer (Display of Skills). We later lost just one man to a Crusade (to Serbia) with some great rolls. We started the climax with a good Encounter card giving us immunity from DefMod.
Our group’s good fortune ended, as we moved from four players to five. Enter the Darkness.
Our Climax was Rival (B), Unknown (D), Future Threat (E). As said, we failed. We started well, surviving Irregular Bane and then Fully Engage Disordered Opponent, before discovering our rival, Maurice, moved most of his goods to an alternate warehouse (on a ship in harbor). That’s where we went from an initial great Command roll by—wait for it—IronPax, a fifteen to give us +4 to all dice. Only after did we see, player by player, each of us get knocked from the action; with each loss a drop in our dice advantage.
Our Patron Alfonse will not be pleased. IronGreg lost his chance for Sea Asset. IronJacob lost his chance for Trait Gain.
The Epilog saw all characters gain the last check for a level. We watched as pyrates attacked us then had mishap. We attacked a fortress for loot and were beaten back, but not before IronRed happenstance stole the garrison paybox. (Nice bit of luck.) We did receive inverted Hangman there, and IronPax should have double-wound died. But he argued convincingly that he just took a wound and was out of the action. Well, okay, we diced and saw IronSnake suffer. He now worries he will be dead (by morning).
==New Session Rule==
We are not playing w/ Alt characters. Yet when anyone takes the first vicious wound, the player may opt-out of checking Ignobles and gain plot armor to not take a second vicious (except in case of rare card combo or Digressions). The player still takes actions and may gain Swagger or Skill from Personal Event but may not check Ignobles until the adventure concludes.
That should help IronPax get above level one.
More next week.
Yours,
IronRed
08-Mar-2026