TreeOfBounties

Tree of Bounties

I was thinking of calling it MagnificentBastards, but that seems like a name for something dramatically cooler.

As of September 10, 2004, this game has officially ended. Many thanks to my excellent players for making it fun and interesting, and especially for making the ending not suck as I feared it might.

Cast

Player Characters

• Mnemosynis : /ResplendentEcho - singing butler!
• OrigamiFox : /HasanLaughingTyphoon - shiny groundskeeper!
• CrownedSun : /SavantTopaz - savant and bookish master of First Age lore

NPCs

• Scintillant Iris Bloom, Chosen of Serenity
• Olba Kumar, a charismatic Varangian Dawn Caste
• Sanwahei, Perfected Fruit of the Tree
• Black Orchid, a Water-Aspect Outcaste.
• Dark Scales, God-Blooded daughter of Sepia Coil, the Dragon-Anaconda.

Info

Setting

A decrepit Manse in the deep jungle of the Southeast, lost for centuries and only recently rediscovered. Abandoned... or is it? In any case, it had better be looking shiny, new, and completely devoid of squatters by the time the glorious Solar hero arrives to reclaim it as his rightful seat of power!

Poaco and Butos make a discovery.

Things which the characters may know at the beginning of the game:

• It is a level 5 Wood Manse, and seems to be in relatively good repair; what manner of hearthstone it produces remains unknown.
• The tree which forms the core of the Manse has potent magical properties, most of which are unknown. It seems to bear a large variety of extraordinary fruit.
• Ruins of unknown extent exist in the jungle around it; most seem to have been built during the Second Age.
• A small river passes nearby.
• The Manse is far from known civilization, but relatively close to gate #13 to Yu-Shan -- about 150 miles away.
• It is summertime; the climate is hot and muggy. The rainy season is still several months away.
• Depending on the characters' relationships with their patrons, they may know some, all, or none of these facts. Those with Contacts who might have knowledge of historical Manses can try to do extra research before they head out. (If anyone takes Contacts, I'll give out an additional, useful fact for each dot.)

Background

The characters are all GodBlooded, who have been chosen for an important mission: fix up a run-down Manse before its new Solar owner arrives, and wait on him hand and foot once he does! The GoldFaction is counting on them to pamper this guy so rotten that he totally loves working fo --- er, following their respectful suggestions.

Scintillant Iris Bloom has a change of plans.

Things known by the player characters:

• They've been detailed by their parents / patrons to restore the Manse described above.
• They are to have it ready for habitation by the time Scintillant Iris Bloom and her Solar charge, Olba Kumar, arrive. This is expected to occur on the ides of Resplendent Fire, roughly ten days from the time they arrive at the Manse.
• Depending on their relationships with their sires, they may or may not be able to muster a small retinue of workers to accompany them to the Manse. In any case, they will need to travel at least a week through the jungle (more, if they're bringing pack animals) unless they can find some way of magically speeding up the trek.
• Once Iris and Kumar arrive, the characters will be responsible for seeing to their needs, and performing whatever kind of upkeep the Manse requires.
• It's possible that one or more of the characters know the NPCs from the intro stories.
  • Akunare is a Backer, at least three dots' worth.
  • Poaco is probably two or three dots' worth of Ally. The most likely way for characters to be familiar with him is through a background in scavenging; they would know him under a Resplendent Destiny of either the Gull or the Key. They could also know his Familiar, Butos, who looks and acts like a small monkey but is arguably the brains of the operation.
  • Scintillant Iris Bloom is two or three dots' worth of Ally. The most likely way for them to know her would be if they're very attractive, and have modelled for one of her paintings or sculptures. They would almost certainly know her by her Resplendent Destiny as the Peacock, which might cause confusion when they encounter the Sorceress destiny she uses to interact with Kumar.

Session logs

• /Arrival : Our heroes arrive at the Tree of Bounties Manse.
• /TreePeople : The Manse' hearthstone is revealed.
• /ThisOldManse : The Manse is restored and made wood-spider-free.
• /EnterExalted : Iris and Kumar arrive.
• /PerfectedFruit : The tree's servants appear.
• /BlackOrchid : A dramatic confrontation.

Silly stuff

IkselamGodBloodGame/SmaugmarTheBarbarian's song.

Discussion

I've been trying to avoid using Iris' name in descriptions, instead calling her "the Sidereal" or "the sorceress" or "the purple-haired woman" or whatever. The idea is that this will emphasize the fact that she's wearing an RD. My question is, is it actually doing that at all? _Ikselam

I got the impression that was your aim, so I'd guess it works :) - OrigamiFox