Recover the Jar of Devotion from the sect's covert base

Seekers Beyond the Shroud

Play report of the 30th to 38th days of Lana Vanne’s ascension to the occult campaign using Seekers Beyond The Shroud.

You may want to read the first, second, third, fourth, 5th & 6th, 7th to 14th, 15th to 17th 18th to 23rd, 24th, 25th-28th and 29th parts of the campaign.

Tuesday, new moon - Day 30 at the Omphalos

Lana happily walks into the Omphalos, she ventured into the astral yesterday and was able to fulfil her mission, she is slowly ascending into true occult knowledge.

She feels that the energy flows more abundantly through the Omphalos, and there are many people trying to perform rituals taking the most of these extra VP that everybody is enjoying today. She also sees a familiar faces asking for a consecrated athame, ‘For God’s sake, why does he need to many?’ Lana shrugs. Event: tapping a ley line Encounter: a man in need

Lana rents a ritual chamber, like everybody else this day and tries another tool consecration ritual, lights the candles, takes a frankincense, aaaaand… fails. Magic liturgy check fail

Wednesday, first quarter - Day 31 at the Omphalos

Prices are higher than usual today, ‘It makes sense’ Lana thinks ‘Yesterday everybody was performing rituals so maybe they are low on stock now’. As Lana heads to the ritual camber, she sees her acquaintance again, he is back asking for consecrated athames. Lana thinks that she will try to speak with him one of these days, he will surely have an interesting story to tell. Event: higher prices Encounter: a man in need

She enters the ritual chamber to try a tool consecration ritual aaaand… fails. Magic liturgy check fail

Thursday, first quarter - Day 32 at the Omphalos

Ghiyath Saleem, a representative from the Mesu-betesh order comes to greet her, apparently she has a secret admirer and they have left her a small envelope, there is money and a note inside ‘Keep up the good work! Use this to take a coffee.’ +50ø Lana thanks Saleem for bringing the envelope. He tells her that he has also came for another reason. He looks around before starting to explain. Event: anonymous benefactor

He has found and ancient grimoire that he thinks that it is related to the Taavi that she is trying to invoke. He would like to decipher it discretely, apparently he has been working with another order to which he is not affiliated and this is a job from them, thereby he cannot ask for help to his own order and wants Lana’s knowledge. Lana agrees to help and Saleem gives her the grimoire, she tries to make sense of what she is reading, but is far too complex for her current level. Occult knowledge fail -50 favour with random order: Mesu-betesh Encounter: problem solving

Lana goes to practice her ritual skills consecrating a chalice aaaaaand…. fails. Magic liturgy check fail Skill roll-up OK

Yes, we have it at 14 now!

Friday, first quarter - Day 33 at the Omphalos

Lana wonders what has happened when she sees all the stores, bars… everything in the Omphalos closed down. She will need to ask someone about it. Event: stores closed

Then she comes across Cecil, her friend from the Causa Scientiae order, she is dressed in ritual robes and asks her to join her for a ceremony, Lana accepts, she might learn something. She actually does learn something. INT test OK Magica liturgy +1 Encounter: ceremony

It is now at 15, hooray!

I rolled which orders were present to know who would invite Lana.

She heads to another ritual chamber on her own to put the new knowledge that she has acquired into action she tries a consecration ritual aaaaaand…. fails. Magic liturgy check fail

Damn, I rolled a 15.

Saturday, full moon - Day 34 at the Omphalos

A concealed person comes near Lana, she cannot make their face, they are wearing baggy clothes with a hoodie, they come closer, Lana braces for combat, but they give her another envelope. They disappear. There is just a smiley face written and more pocket money +50ø Event: anonymous benefactor

Lana heads to the ritual chamber, her acquaintance is still going on asking random stranger for a consecrated athame, at this point Lana is past curiosity and she is beginning to think that maybe this could be some kind of intricate scam. Encounter: a man in need

Finally she arrives at the ritual chamber, pays the fee and prepares herself for another ritual aaaaand….. success! Lana is able to consecrate a chalice! Magic liturgy check OK

Hooooray! Only 3 to go!

Lana is very pleased with herself.

Sunday, full moon - Day 35 at the Omphalos

Lana sees some people in robes with the Cult of the Dying Sun symbol, they’re some of her enemies. She mentally thanks them for displaying their affiliation so broadly and goes back home, she will avoid confrontation at all costs. Event: bad blood

Monday, third quarter - Day 36 at the Omphalos

As Lana enters the Omphalos she is welcomed by a shocking scene. Cecil, her friend from the Causa Scientiae order, is holding Keith in her arms, another member from the order; she is trembling and sobbing, Keith is badly injured, something seems to have gone very wrong in their last mission, he needs a doctor, ‘There is no time!’ Cecil cries, ‘I… I couldn’t protect him… they were all over us and I couldn’t…’ Lana holds Cecil’s hand, ‘I will do my best’.

Poor Keith, you’re screwed relying on my First Aid rolls, but you’re not Cecil, so I am fine either way.

I rolled beforehand which orders were present and only the Causa Scientiae (heart attack) was there, I only had two named Causa Scientiae members Cecil (heart attack) and Keith, so I randomly chose who was injured (heart attack). It is no secret that Lana likes Cecil better than Keith, so I was worried. Very worried (heart attack).

LANA PATCHES KEITH’S WOUNDS GIVING HIM A CHANCE OF LIVING BEFORE THE MEDIC ARRIVES!! First aid check OK Cecil cries more profusely and hugs Lana ‘I was ready for the worst’, then continues crying like a baby ‘… me too’ Lana says bewildered.

Keith reaches his backpack, still bleeding, but stable, he gives Lana an Alchemical treatise, he doesn’t say anything, just nods, and Lana does the same, she is still taken aback by this heroic feat that she has just accomplished. Event: wounded

This event is so funny. It is one of my favourites, it causes so much drama.

After the things have calmed down a little bit Cecil gives Lana an artefact, it is something that they’ve recovered in this ominous mission. It is a small pyramid shaped rock-thing, it looks sturdy but it is very light. Lana wonders that could it be, she doesn’t know exactly what it is but she recalls having read something about this type of artefacts so she gives those pointers to Cecil. Occult knowledge check OK +50 favour with Causa Scientiae Encounter: problem solving

Lana heads to the ritual chamber again, she has had enough drama for the day, she needs to do something mechanical to calm herself. She lights the candles, recites the words aaaaaaand… her Tool consecration ritual fails. Magic liturgy check fail

Tuesday, third quarter - Day 37 at the Omphalos

Lana has woken up late today and is rushing to the Omphalos, she has also taken all the shortcuts that she knows of, she needs to go through that piss smelling narrow alley that she always avoids, but she is running late today. As she goes through a man blocks her path, he looks gloomy and dangerous, he could be an Ichorite; she can confirm that he is dangerous as he points his ritual dagger towards her.

I’m using a work-in-progress of the Making combat faster rules (see the Blackoath Discord).

Combat is indeed faster and the man drops down dead to the pissy alley. Lana takes his ritual dagger, he has also a handwritten letter, it looks like poetry, she thinks that she shouldn’t read it, so she leaves it where it was. Event: attack

Lana finally arrives at the Omphalos and someone recognises the the ritual dagger that she is carrying. They start whispering and finally a man comes closer, ‘What have you done with the owner of that dagger?’ he demands. ‘Well, he has kicked the bucket, he tried to attack me in a pissy alley’ Lana says. The man’s face turns red with anger and he punches Lana in the face. She doesn’t see it coming. Everything becomes blurry but she wakes up shortly, a pitched battle is going on, she is not sure which are the sides anymore. Her nose is bleeding. -20HP Encounter: fight

Yep, I rolled a 20 on a d20. Such a violent day.

She stands up and quickly goes to sell that damn dagger, it has caused her so much problems so far. +100ø Appraisal check fail

She then goes to seek shelter in a ritual chamber, she rents it for the remaining of the day and continues her ritual training routine. She tries a tool consecration ritual aaaaaand…. fails. Magic liturgy check fail

Wednesday, new moon - Day 38 at the Omphalos

Lana arrives early at the Omphalos, she doesn’t want any surprises today. There are a lot of people moving to and fro, it looks like today is a busy day.

A representative from the Siddha that she cannot recognise warns her about some whispers that they have heard around, she needs to be cautious Defensive skills +10

Ezra, the Mind Mender is back, she hasn’t seen him in a long time, she needs to recover some sanity, but is not too bad, she doesn’t need asistance. Event: hectic day (inside info + Ezra)

As she is walking to the Hall of the Orders she crosses paths with Keith, who is almost completely recovered from his latest near-death experience. Although Lana has never imagined that he would be kissing her ass or treating her nicer since they both agree on that they don’t like each other’s presence, he is actually smiling at her. Lana is confused. ‘Wanna join me in a ritual rehearsal?’ he asks. Lana agrees, but she is a bit wary of his behaviour. Either way, she learns something. INT test OK Magical liturgy +1 Encounter: ceremony

Great!

Lana heads afterwards to the Hall of the Orders. She still has enough obols to continue with her ritual training rutine, but she doesn’t want to lose the advantage that she has been given by that info that the spy of the Siddha has delivered. Orders: C. Scientiae, Mesu-betesh, Siddha

She goes to the stand of the Siddha, and Paek Ja-Ok greets her. She starts talking shop right away, she needs her to recover an artefact, the Jar of Devotion. The jar hasn’t any occult properties, but it is valuable to the Siddha since it is related to its history, and of course, since Lana isn’t a regular member of the order, she cannot know anything more specific about it. The relic has been taken to some cult’s covert base, a museum so called The Institute of Solar History. The name is so weird that Paek herself doesn’t even know if the museum is about the solar system, renewable energies or something else entirely. ‘Get in, grab the jar, get out. Simple.’ she says, ‘and please avoid making unnecessary victims’. Mission: recover Search 16

Random name generators for everything!

In this mission all the enemies are going to be Guards and I get more order alignment points if I avoid killing guards.

Generating the location: The Institute of Solar History

Yep, I only roll museums or abandoned complexes.

  • A - Entry hall
  • B - Lobby
  • C - Administrative office x2
  • D - Hallway x10
  • E - Exhibit hall x7
  • F - Security office
  • G - Archive

The Institute of Solar History

At the Institute of Solar History

Entry hall

Lana arrives at this strange building, there is a Guard right at the entrance. ‘Hey, you’re one of those magic-know-it-alls, aren’t you? Please have a nice visit’ she says, ‘I almost forgot, take this!’ she handles a Grimoire to Lana. NPC: friendly

Hallway 1

There is another Guard patrolling this hallway, she attacks Lana on sight ‘Hey you, this area is off limits!’ NPC: hostile

Lana has been seen and cannot sneak out of this battle, but she escapes from combat as soon as she can. -17HP

She tries to patch up her wounds afterwards. First aid check OK! +12HP

*confetti*

Hallway 2

There is nothing in this hallway.

Administrative office 1

There is another Guard in this office, she is comfortably sitting on a chair playing with her phone, she suddenly stands up, embarrassed. ‘I have seen nothing’ Lana says holding up her palms. The guard shouldn’t be doing that, she’s on the clock. ‘Yes. Yes, you haven’t seen anything’ the guard says, ‘you have just found this strange thing and you’re now out on your way.’. Lana takes what she is giving her and happily complies. NPC: friendly Magic relic: Vadasomething temple wax

This relic has 10 uses and allows us to replace any ingredient for alchemy, rituals or spells. Not bad, if I need an advanced ingredient that I cannot craft until my Alchemy skill gets more points I can use this instead.

As Lana is going out of the way she sees a small sack in a shelf, she takes it with her, it holds some doses of alchemical ingredients, there is also a small crystal bottle with a clear liquid. +3 doses of alchemical ingredients +1 Distillation of water Discovery: alchemical supplies

Hallway 2

This hallway is empty.

Administrative office 2

This office is also empty.

Hallway 2

Nothing da nothing.

Hallway 1

More nothing.

Lobby

Lana retraces her steps and enters the lobby, there is another Guard walking in circles, he ignores her. NPC: indifferent

As she is walking towards the next hallway she hears some voices closing by, she hides behind two columns until the voices fade away. Sneaking check OK Event: there are too many!

Lana finds a small wooden box near the columns, there is a purple gem with engraved symbols inside, she has read once about these types of gems, they’re Gems of lucidity, she will be able to prevent losing sanity for a while. She takes it with her.Occult check OK Discovery: gem of lucidity

Hallway 3

She exits the lobby and heads to the exhibition area, she is actually a bit curious about discovering what type of fake museum is this. As she is lost in her own thoughts another Guard appears, she draws her pistol. NPC: hostile

Lana is quicker and is able to escape, but a bullet hits her while she escapes. -7HP

Exhibit hall 1

There are solar panels in this room and a couple of info graphics on how is light converted to energy.

Hallway 3

This hallway is empty.

Hallway 4

Nothing here either.

Exhibit hall 2

There is a Guard in this exhibit hall, he asks her what is she doing at this hour, ‘Emmm, I was just wondering what type of museum was this and I just came to visit.’ Lana says not very confidently. The guard draws his baton. Lana parries one of his attacks and then runs away. -17HP NPC: unfriendly Persuasion check fail

Some boxes stashed on a corner pick Lana’s interest; there are strange random items inside, she might be able to sell some of these for 50ø when she gets back to the Omphalos. Perception check fail Discovery

She takes some time to patch her wounds. First aid check OK +28HP

I’m not complaining!

Exhibit hall 3

As Lana enters this new exhibit hall she feels pressure on all her body, she manages to hold her sudden urge to throw up, but the the unpleasant sensation goes on. WILL test fail -5 sanity nullified by the Gem of Lucidity -5HP

There is a huge mural depicting the uses of the solar energy through history; Lana understands what most of the images want to depict, ‘This is an interesting museum’ Lana thinks. INT test OK +2 Astral Knowledge

haha very thematic. These are my very first 2 points on this skill.

She is happy to have taken some time to contemplate the mural because she discovers a hidden button camouflaged in one of the images, she pushes it and a sliding doors opens next to the mural. The Jar of Devotion is there. She takes it with her. Search OK

Exhibit hall 2, Hallway 4, Hallway 3, Lobby, Hallway 1

Nothing on her way back in these rooms.

Entry hall

The Guard that was friendly with her a while ago when she entered the museum has lost her patience and attacks her. She doesn’t want to fight her, and tries to escape, but she takes a hit before being able to. -11HP -10HP

Back at the Omphalos

She goes to the Siddha and gives the artefact to Paek, ‘It was a solar energy museum’ Lana tells her, ‘Oh well! I hope that you found it interesting. Good job.’

Mission recap

  • +20 order points for not killing guards

    Super cool, the spirit that I want to summon is Order so this is beneficial.

  • +500ø
  • 150 favour with the Siddha

I roll the contents of the alchemical ingredients that I got before: Spirit of Hartshorn, Thion Hudor and Pearlash.

We also got a Grimoire and a Distillation of Water plus the new magic relic: Wadakkunnathan Temple Wax. We couldn’t get more money because we couldn’t defeat anyone in order to get those order points, it was better this way, the guards have a nasty ability that lets them call an ally (another guard) when they’re on low HP and I’m not usually this lucky with the First Aid checks!