About to start Odd Soot

[Pseudopod]

I'm about to run The Wayward Patient, the Odd Soot introductory scenario.

Any advice from Sooters out there? From my read through I imagine the final showdown is the trickiest bitto get right.

Loving the setting, so I'm squeezing this in before I start my Next Big Thing. Of course, if my players enjoy it enough I might have to immediately follow up with The Red Star... (any news on parts 2 & 3?)

[clarence]

23 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

I'm about to run The Wayward Patient, the Odd Soot introductory scenario.

Any advice from Sooters out there? From my read through I imagine the final showdown is the trickiest bitto get right.

Loving the setting, so I'm squeezing this in before I start my Next Big Thing. Of course, if my players enjoy it enough I might have to immediately follow up with The Red Star... (any news on parts 2 & 3?)

Hey Pseudopod, good to hear you’re planning to run The Wayward Patient! It should be pretty straightforward. As you say, the final scene is the tricky part. When I run it, I use a reasonably detailed GM map of the room and a less detailed one for the players. All movements are easier to track that way. 

Now that TREY and Comae Engine have been released, work on A Falling Mind Part 2 picks up speed again. Nils Hintze’s and Erik Hylander’s manuscript is ready, so layout and illustrations are next. 

[Runeblogger]

I'm also looking forward to running it, but now I'm not sure whether to try it with the Comae Engine rules instead.

[Pseudopod]

Thanks Clarence

Is this the best place to ask any questions about the background?

My take on Doggerland is that there is a treaty between the North Sea nations guaranteeing its neutrality which leads to Glimminge being a hotbed of spy activity. 

[clarence]

18 hours ago, Runeblogger said:

I'm also looking forward to running it, but now I'm not sure whether to try it with the Comae Engine rules instead.

That’s how I play it, especially with new players. I add Peculiarities and Circles from the Odd Soot rules to get the right mood. 

[clarence]

1 hour ago, Pseudopod said:

Thanks Clarence

Is this the best place to ask any questions about the background?

My take on Doggerland is that there is a treaty between the North Sea nations guaranteeing its neutrality which leads to Glimminge being a hotbed of spy activity. 

This is a good place to ask! I try to check the Mythras Discord as well, but it’s a bit erratic. 

Doggerland as a neutral zone sounds cool! What rivals would you like to see as most active in such a hotspot?

[Pseudopod]

Given that WW1 didn't happen, I see the situation being pretty much as it was up to 1914 historically, with the British and the Germans being the main protagonists but with all nearby nations getting involved to some degree, plus the Americans.

Also the Sumsum might find all this a fascinating source of information...

I could see a 'Riddle of the Sands' type scenario where someone (not necessarily Germany) is secretly plotting an invasion of Doggerland.

I note that Doggerland is a monarchy but I couldn't find any names for them. As the European royal families tended to intermingle I was thinking of choosing a couple of appropriate historical royals and marrying them off. Unless there is an official lineage I missed of course.

 

[clarence]

21 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

Given that WW1 didn't happen, I see the situation being pretty much as it was up to 1914 historically, with the British and the Germans being the main protagonists but with all nearby nations getting involved to some degree, plus the Americans.

Also the Sumsum might find all this a fascinating source of information...

I could see a 'Riddle of the Sands' type scenario where someone (not necessarily Germany) is secretly plotting an invasion of Doggerland.

I note that Doggerland is a monarchy but I couldn't find any names for them. As the European royal families tended to intermingle I was thinking of choosing a couple of appropriate historical royals and marrying them off. Unless there is an official lineage I missed of course.

 

Sounds like a good setup! The Sumsum will find it very informative. Maybe they help humanity to avoid WW2? Probably not to save humans from suffering, but to spare themselves a lot of trouble. And I guess the Wittenberg Priests and the foundation running the Philosophy Engine will be actively involved as well. 

I have no idea about Doggerland’s monarchy! Feel free to come up with names and lineages.

[Pseudopod]

Thanks Clarence 

Think I've found a good candidate.  Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland was a Swedish prince who married a Danish princess and in 1905 nearly became King of the newly independent Norway until his father put a stop to it. I'm going to have him elected King of Doggerland in 1906 after the former monarch died without issue.

Using a real but slightly obscure person means I don't need to invent an entire royal family.

Next question (you're going to get fed up with me really quickly!) I don't think it is explicitly stated, but I get the impression that other major cities around the world have starports, but Glimminge is the most important, possibly due to its proximity to the Philosophy Engine. Is that right?

I had intended this to be a one off scenario, but I can feel the depth and potential of the setting drawing me into a longer commitment. I think the Soot has infected me...

Thanks for letting us play in your daydream!

 

[clarence]

Haha, you’re more than welcome! There’s always room for more people in my daydreams. 

I like the monarchy idea. Prince Carl seems like a person to end up on Doggerland’s throne. Does he get a number as well, the way Scandi rulers often do? (We’re up to Carl XVI these days, so it seems naming conventions are a bit stale). 

The Philisophy Engine has turned Doggerland into a bigger player than most people thought possible for an obscure island nation. I would say the starport is as busy as those in London, Paris and Berlin, so much more active than comparable European cities. But feel free to upsize or downsize the starports to fit your campaign. 

 

[Pseudopod]

I thought that as he was the first of a new dynasty I'd let him just be Carl the First. Saves having to worry about any previous monarchs (at least until one of my players demands a skill in Royal Genealogy!)

It looks like Carl's son, Carl 😀 was a bit of a maverick. He's only 11 in 1922, but I can see him getting involved in some youthful misadventures that the players get dragged in to.

Thx for the clarification about starports. Hopefully my players will find enough to do in Doggerland and Comae Space that they won't bother too much with the rest of the world, but you know how players are. 

As an aside, I noticed that the History sidebar briefly mentions the disappearance of Percy Fawcett. Coincidentally, one of my group has been playing a returned Fawcett. He's currently in 1934, but about to find himself in 1922 on an island which doesn't exist...

Got plenty more questions, but I'll leave them for a bit later. Don’t want to outstay my welcome 😁

[Pseudopod]

First session last night.

For background, I wanted to keep the mystery of the setting so rather than generating local characters the party arrived from my existing pulpy campaign in an alternate 1934.

Plane crash in the hills outside Glimminge.

To ease them in, they first met a retired British Army Colonel who filled them in on the more mundane details of where they were, while not mentioning space travel, Soot or anything else as they weren't of interest to him.

So they were rather surprised to see an Aygaan strolling across the landscape and more surprised by the Colonel's reaction of "Hmph, foreigners".

In Glimminge I introduced Max Jungerland from The Red Star scenario as a more useful source of information. 

As expected, they had many questions I didn’t have answers prepared for -

How are the rocket ships launched?  - Er...a structure in the bay a bit like a massive oil rig.

Where are the spaceships built?  - In a factory near Glimminge.  (There is now a Vickers-Götaverken shipyard to the SE)

Who actually built the Philosophy Engine? - Max didn't know the answer, but I'm sure they will ask this again so I'll have to come up with some kind of answer.

Etc

Took a while to get them to engage with the scenario, but they did eventually and have just searched Aksel's apartment.

Next session is a few weeks away, so I have time to do more preparation. 

Good fun!

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2024 by Pseudopod

[clarence]

2 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

First session last night.

For background, I wanted to keep the mystery of the setting so rather than generating local characters the party arrived from my existing pulpy campaign in an alternate 1934.

Plane crash in the hills outside Glimminge.

To ease them in, they first met a retired British Army Colonel who filled them in on the more mundane details of where they were, while not mentioning space travel, Soot or anything else as they weren't of interest to him.

So they were rather surprised to see an Aygaan strolling across the landscape and more surprised by the Colonel's reaction of "Hmph, foreigners".

In Glimminge I introduced Max Jungerland from The Red Star scenario as a more useful source of information. 

As expected, they had many questions I didn’t have answers prepared for -

How are the rocket ships launched?  - Er...a structure in the bay a bit like a massive oil rig.

Where are the spaceships built?  - In a factory near Glimminge.  (There is now a Vickers-Götaverken shipyard to the SE)

Who actually built the Philosophy Engine? - Max didn't know the answer, but I'm sure they will ask this again so I'll have to come up with some kind of answer.

Etc

Took a while to get them to engage with the scenario, but they did eventually and have just searched Aksel's apartment.

Next session is a few weeks away, so I have time to do more preparation. 

Good fun!

 

 

 

Good to hear! It seems you have very inquisitive players. I’m not sure I have answers to all of their questions. 

Rocketships are manufactured on Eorthe - Vickers and Götaverken seems like a good candidate. For the starliners, you want to avoid launching them from the bottom of a gravity well, so I imagine they are constructed in orbit. It might sound a bit too advanced even for the weird tech in Odd Soot, but as soon as they have the first section airtight it should get easier. And with an unfolding device providing large amounts of power, it might actually work.

As for who built the Philosophy Engine, I will have to do some research at the Museum of Technology in Glimminge. 

[Pseudopod]

Oh, they're inquisitive all right - just not with the questions I want! 😀

That's pretty much how I imagined spaceship builds happening. The manufacturer I came up with is a combination of British and Swedish ship building companies of the era, which seemed to fit well.

Incidentally, even though this is your baby I'm not expecting you to have all the answers, and I'm quite happy to come up with my own solutions. Just don't want to conflict with your Canon if I can avoid it.

Speaking of which, other than the Red Star sequels, is there any other Sooty material in the pipeline that we can look forward to? Obviously there is plenty of background to play with there already, but I'm itching to get my hands on more! 😁

Also, thanks for your helpful responses Clarence. It's great having a hot line to Odin.

 

[clarence]

Being Odin is easy. I just ask my pet ravens what to write and they caw in my ear.

Yes, there is more material coming for Odd Soot. The biggest problem is my glacial working pace. But I’m planning on getting a friend to help me with layout and hopefully we can do a test run soon. 

There will also be a few short stories set in Comae Space later this year, providing more details about the setting. It will also be my literary debut! My British editor have given them a big thumbs up, despite my Swedish mistreatment of your language. 

[Pseudopod]

That's brilliant news.

Given the high quality of the publications so far, you are more than entitled to take your time. Doesn't mean I won't be waiting eagerly to get my hands on them though!

[Pseudopod]

Haven't run the second session yet, but one of my players has just mentioned an interesting theory he has.

Given that the Soot doesn't behave like a normal disease and that one of the major symptoms is a flurry of inventiveness, he proposes that it is actually a mechanism for 'uplifting' technology levels of races. The fact that it kills the inventor may just be considered an unfortunate but acceptable side effect given the potential benefit to society.

This along with the fact that the Luminarians just so happened to leave a number of FTL drives lying around could indicate that the whole thing is one big experiment.

He also suggests that the invention of the Philosophy Engine could itself be a result of a Soot infection, which would mean that it was actually on Eorthe before first contact.

At this point he isn't aware of the Luminarian's last statement, but even that could support his hypothesis. Maybe the experiment just got out of hand.

It may not be canon, but I like this theory. I like it a lot.

The downside is that he's decided that the Wayward Patient is just a distraction and wants to pursue his theory somehow. We'll see how that plays out in the next session.

 

[g33k]

@Pseudopod -- I fear that it appears your player has been infected by the Soot...

Not the character, the player.
 

[clarence]

He is not entirely wrong, but still some way off : )

Regarding the Philosophy Engine, there is no consensus among historians. The basis of the design comes from Charles Babbage‘s difference engines. The predictive powers

Spoiler

- and soon full sentience -

however, could probably emerge from the increased complexity and the non-linear element caused by the internal mechanisms. On the other hand, controversial researchers have suggested an early influence of the Soot or the Luminarians. To find out the facts, someone will have to investigate the early days of the Engine. 

[Pseudopod]

The character (the aforementioned Percy Fawcett) is keen to investigate the engine, but I hope to nudge him first in the direction of the actual scenario, and then maybe into offworld Soot research. If he starts getting close to answers (which obvs I don't have!) it will probably be time to introduce the Red Star as a distraction.

I can see I need to do some devious plotting...

[Pseudopod]

Finally got to run the second session.

At the end of the first session, the players had searched Aksel's apartment and decided that the very next thing to do would be to visit his workplace. Of course this session they spent forever completely avoiding doing that and instead going down various dead ends.

Players, eh?

Eventually they did, and from there moved on to Drangelbekk where they spoke first 1to the Postmistress who knew of Nevendius Hall, thus bypassing all the other encounters in the village. Due to their earlier meanderings we were running short on time, so this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

At the hall, I cut down the showdown with Aksel a bit, but there was enough portal trickery going on to confuse them satisfactorily. Ultimately, they shot Aksel just as he was escaping through the weird library portal, so they don't know his ultimate fate. Which leaves him nicely positioned to be a recurring villain.

They have decided to try and base themselves in Nevendius Hall for a while, so all those Drangelbekk encounters won't be wasted.

As usual, they had numerous difficult questions, but I'll post them later.

Good fun had by all.

 

[clarence]

Thanks for the update! It sounds like you had a good time. What dead ends did they pursue?

[Pseudopod]

A few of the awkward questions the players posed.

What treatment exactly was Dr Stenger using and how was it different to what had been tried by others? - I said she was experimenting with combining various rare off-world plants that she was acquiring via less than legal channels. I now need to come up with an entire smuggling operation as they are bound to pursue this.

What does the Soot look like under a microscope? - Er....something like, but not entirely similar to a fungal infection. (Hopefully this gives me some room for manoeuvre if more detail about the Soot emerges)

What are the names of all the main newspapers? (This was one of the aforementioned dead ends they went down trying to identify the picture of Nevendius Hall) - I glossed over the names but I'll come up with a few for future reference. 

The main question I have is about the Grey Lady. Will there be more about her published, or is she just a hook for the Gamesmaster (Sootmeister?) to create their own villainous threat?

[Pseudopod]

Looks like we posted at the same time there Clarence!

The main dead end was trying to identify the picture of Nevendius Hall. Checking copies of newspapers in the public library and when that failed visiting archives of the actual newspapers. Needless to say they had an incredibly slim chance of finding it.

The other was their interest in the Soot itself. Understandable, but they do want to know absolutely everything about its history, attempted cures etc. I mentioned before that they have a theory that it is an engineered 'uplift' mechanism. They are now interested in speaking to the Colloquium to find out more.

When they did finally visit the Dept of CMA I had them find numerous return bus tickets to Drangelbekk (all neatly collated as Aksel would) to make it absolutely clear that was the place to go. Incidentally, a very good dice roll meant they also found the Luminarian book. They have no idea how to use it yet though.

 

 

 

[clarence]

Your improvisations are quite similar to what I have used during my sessions. Exoplanet plants and mould or fungal infections are spot on. And I also ended up with recurring smuggling operations run by Nuveri diplomats. They used the Nuveri interstellar trade offices to arrange everything, then bought an abandoned farm northwest of Glimminge for storage and deliveries. All of it very secret. 

The Grey Lady has appeared on a few occasions as a shadowy puppeteer, embracing the Soot as a gift to humanity. She runs a worldwide clandestine network of Soot-infected people, using their supernatural abilities to influence society. Her tiny Moebius Hall, located at Doggerland’s north coast, is the node of all their activities.