The House of Dust and Ash (---SPOILER---)

[Baldrick 0]

Finale with a PC Scion (Baldrick's Plan)

Bit of an update from my last post.

Eventually, if they do not get the sunburst amulet from Greel, they are going to have to bleed the PC scion into the cup (especially after their face appears on the portrait). In my HoDaA the Gilded Widow has probably been moved to the Alter of Fire but this finale is location independent.

When the PC Scion drains blood into the cup they start losing toughness points (temp). The PC is told when they get to zero they will die. They can only spend a fate point to survive if they are first given a transfusion (for this the party need to use one of the advanced medical facilities in the HoDaA that I've already told the PCs exist).

The effect I want is that as the PC is draining blood into the Gilded Widow the Widow is not responding; the PC will be losing Toughness and as they are dying they are not sure if this even is the correct course of action! Only once the PC is drained to the point of death (and require a transfusion & a fate point) will the Gilded Widow respond (she wants the scion dead).

The Gilded Widow will thank the players for putting an end to her existence (this will echo the goals of the Widower in the next Haarlock adventure), deactivate the void shield and finally start the countdown for the "cleansing fire" (113 minutes...)

They have just under two hours to get the scion to the medical bay (& healed), fight their way out of the HoDaA & then get to the skyship and clear of the blast. Should be a climatic finale!

[Oh the scion will get the fate point back at the end of the adventure but they do not know it of course...]

BTW I'm big on long term planning and plot hints for the campaign. In Illuminations they picked up Aristarchus' data slate which had on it a prophesy for the scion PC in strange terminology (it talked about his past and the Traveller returning for him). They still have the handout in the PC stuff [checked after they left at the end of the last gaming session] and if they read it again now in the midst of HoDaA with their knowledge and hindsight it now reads "PC#3 is the scion, look they really are the scion..."

Balders