Fabula Ultima - The Romance of Ys - Session 17
We have a short one to wrap-up Episode 3, then I proceed to not type-up a report for weeks-and-weeks!
Episode 3, "Hunters X Horses: Showdown at the Stallion's Roost." Session 17
Cast
- Aurelia, she/her, Ex-Inventor Turned Spy
- Hemlocke, any, Loyal Servant Looking for Answers
- Mio, she/her, Headstrong Pugilist with a Heart of Gold
- Rhiannon the Blue, she/her, Academic Ghost Bride Looking for Answers
- Seren, she/her, Kindhearted Princess on the Run
Gurdy Practice
Seren peels off from the group for a bit as everyone finishes packing and saying their last words. She makes her way to the little grove that Mio and Princess Gyneth dueled in the night before, where she practices the hurdy gurdy. She does surprisingly well!
After double-checking she wasn't followed, Seren retrieves the vomit stained dress Gyneth wore the night before and uses a magic ritual to clean it. She takes a big sniff from the dress after and is pleased that it still smells like Gyneth.
Horse Business
Aurelia and Rhiannon approach Manawydan and ask after the goddess Rhiannon, specifically asking about the events depicted in the tapestries they found under the hill. Manawydan explains that he has no insight into why his Rhiannon was at the Seelie Court when it was attacked, why she fled, or where she fled to. The party's Rhiannon asks Manawydan to warn the other sovereignty goddesses that they may be in danger, and with much exhaustion he replies that given his own duties to the steading, the party might have an easier time delivering that warning.
Aurelia, in-turn, offers to find information about the missing goddess Rhiannon. In-exchange, she asks that the horse head curse be lifted from Darius, the dwarf spy. Manawydan agrees, but only if Aurelia reports back with information about the missing Rhiannon within a month's time. If she does not, Aurelia will suffer the horse head curse. Pleased with this deal, Aurelia agrees.
Leaving the Steading
The group gather at the two trees entwined to form an arch as they prepare to see the dwarves off and to leave themselves. Aurelia pokes around one last time for signs of Darius and manages to find the notebook Hemlocke provided Darius to write in. Most of the pages are torn-out at this point, but it includes one last simple note from the spy - "Good job."
The party see the dwarves off and say their final goodbyes to Manawydan and Oiwin. Mio ties a headband around Oiwin's broken horn and challenges him to "earn it." Both start to work each-other up into a contest again, only for the session to end with Manawydan and Hemlocke glaring at the two until they stop.
Referee Notes
So at the time I write this blog post, it's several weeks since we played this abbreviated session. I burned out hard. Thankfully, Seren wanted to take a stab at running a game herself, which led to our new campaign.
The break's been good. I took time to set-up my next session, have a solid outline for the next "episode" of the game, and have taken time to think through what Fabula does well and poorly as well as what my group's play habits are like. The conclusion I drew is I need to speed things-up as best as I can.
What that means practically is I am going to try and condense any adventures I can down to the bare minimum that still feels satisfying to play. For the upcoming adventure, that meant taking an outline that probably was a ten session epic and cut it in half. It also means I have to be very, very careful with when I include combats since no matter how easy or difficult they are, they end-up taking at least an hour, more often 90 or 120 minutes.
I'm also going to try and reign back-in the villain teases I've made. If I can reduce the cast, that makes the existing characters feel more impactful. That might mean asking the party if they are fine if characters I previously teased as villains might get reclassified as normal characters. I suspect the group will be fine with that.