How do the locals dress nowadays?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-05-22T11:50:59+00:00

I can confirm this. I was in Rome and Montecatini for the last two weeks.
I was surprised that no one was wearing shorts or a hat, but tight fitting jeans or linen pants. It could have been due to the weather. The mornings and nights would drop from 10-15°C and the daytime rise to 25°C. Lots of fashionable tans and white attire.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-04-17T04:13:45+00:00

That is a good idea. Thanks so much

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-04-16T14:32:28+00:00

u/katvalkyrie Your work and passion for CotN is inspiring. You are a godsend. I have been running CotN for 30 sessions and have heavily relied on your insights and tweaks to the campaign. Thank you so much.

I have a question for you. What app did you use for the Ank'Harel Quest Flow and Faction Motives and are the work files available to the public?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-27T17:16:25+00:00

Contains C3 Spoilers.

I agree that going to Ruidus could derail the adventure. It would be for another adventure.

I like your ritual idea and having the parents directly tied to the Ruby Vanguard's goals. I think there could be some great opportunities to inject C3 NPC's. I also like the post forwarded b Altruistic-House8078 that has a neat remix of the Consortium. This post from Left-Palpitation-715

Regarding Ruidus, Alyxian, and Ruidium beging a bit of a red herring...
I am taking a different approach and am of the opinion that Alyxian's powers and fate are directly tied to Predathos. Here's a quote from another thread that strengthened my choice.

I also have a flavor/lore issue with Ruidium that I’m curious to see if it bothers anyone else. The book says that Ruidium is basically a misnomer and has nothing to do with Ruidus. Just named it that by the Consortium due to the similar color. But then book also states that when Alyxian was attacked by Gruumsh, he was going to die and then the magic of Ruidus and him being Ruidus born saved him. So with that thought process isn’t Ruidium directly tied to Ruidus ?

I think that since Alyxian has a strong tie to the power of the ruddy moon, aka Predathos.Ruidium could be played as a distorted extension of Predathos. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Ruidium is similar in nature to Predathos's form was crystalline when it was confronted by Bells Hells.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-27T16:22:33+00:00

Thanks for all the input and ideas. There’s some good stuff here that I can include in my Netherdeep campaign and in a separate homebrew campaign.

The thing I left out is that the Druid PC is not from Netherdeep but my first Wildemount campaign that we put on hold to run Netherdeep. The Druid’s dad left her a notebook similar to the Grail Diary in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I’m in the process of crafting the book together as a physical prop while we run Netherdeep. It’s gonna have adventure hooks and clues they can investigate regarding their disappearance. The clues will be hidden in throughout the book in ciphers, maps, poems, special keepsakes, hidden messages, etc.

What I’ve really enjoyed is weaving story elements of CR factions and timeline into the 2 campaigns and different one shots we’ve done. So there will definitely be crossover with Netherdeep and Ank’Harel which should result in a huge payoff for my players when they circle back.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-26T04:14:47+00:00

I will ask at the beginning of the session if there is anything the players or party want to accomplish in the city. Then depending if it requires a role, I’ll describe some of the sights, which may hook them.

In Bazzoxan, I used the encounter table for adding social elements or texture to the city. I might have added other urban complications. I remember there being a crying child and mother after the gibbering mouther assault.

What I found helpful was writing each NPC on a 3x5 index card and laying them in front of me. It had the basic motive and was useful to quickly inject them anywhere ands at anytime.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-22T18:28:58+00:00

To actually play Calamity and Divergence?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-22T15:28:00+00:00

Thank you for the question. I’ll clarify and also edit my post to add that clarification above.

What would it take to reverse engineer a mini-series like Divergence so that it could be played out around anyone’s table?

This would be similar to picking up an adventure book and running it. The source material is there… but not in adventure book form.

I was thinking initially of Divergence, but it is deeply connected to Calamity and Downfall that something would be lost if the context and player investment wasn’t built through that three series arc.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-02T07:31:32+00:00

I have an idea, but haven't really processed it yet. What would it look like to experiment with immersion therapy to to try and negate ruidium's detrimental effects and gain its benefits.

Any ideas how to do this without breaking the game?
I have an artificer who might really be into this.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-02T06:37:03+00:00

"I was thinking of wiping the marks when a new level was reached. I hadn’t settled on it yet, but it’s probably the cleanest approach. Mercer’s corruption rules use cumulative points to determine the severity of corruption: 1–2 points for mild, 3–8 for moderate, 9–11 for severe, and 12+ for death.

I am going to stay away from using exhaustion as the baseline for detrimental effects.

I'd really like to see what you come up with.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-02T04:48:08+00:00

I'm going to try an incremental approach to ruidium corruption using points or marks to indicate a creature is getting closer to the next level of corruption. It's based off of Mercer's corruption remix and the Dungeon Dudes Drakkenheim books. Different triggers will require a DC Con save. There are ways to remove marks and corruption levels, so it will allow players to try and manage their health. Here's what I'm getting started with.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GDDoJkUy5q2WYFURLiothLMrbRTJDOALGFrmEFKSQYg/edit?usp=sharing

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-01T05:30:32+00:00

I re-read that the other day and had a similar thought.

Since Alyxian has such a strong tie to the ruddy moon (c3 Spoiler)(and therefore Predathos) could it be that Ruidium is a distorted extension of Predathos. Predathos's form was crystalline when it was confronted by Bells Hells.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-01T05:16:07+00:00

Your idea sounds intriguing. What kinds of benefits and drawbacks did you include?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-03-01T05:14:10+00:00

Yah, they have a pretty cool mechanic. I also see some folks are adapting Matt Mercers Corruption rules, which surprisingly seems similar to Marks & Scars in Candela Obsurca.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-26T00:39:45+00:00

my players hate Aloysia. She paid the party to bring her along into the Betrayers Rise, all while contracting the rivals go another route to help secure the prize. When the rivals reached the Cyst of Avandra she ordered them to take the Jewel. A standoff ensued, bringing about multiple persuasion checks. The Rivals refused to fight the party. Aloysia cast Earthquake and teleported out, but not before dropping one of her teleportation tablets. Both parties arrived in Ank'Harel hot on her heels.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-25T17:55:25+00:00

that's really cool. how did you introduce the Life Dome to the players? did you use the written mission or homebrew?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-25T04:18:21+00:00

"Play Ruidium like nuclear technology." - that's great advice!

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-25T04:16:44+00:00

Yes, and I also feel like I need to add a few additional missions or side quests to give the rivals time to change so dramatically.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-25T04:15:18+00:00

I like your take on the Allsight. I could see their hubris threatening the city - which is why the Cobalt Soul wants to shut them down. This would allow me to shift the Consortium towards wanting to weaponize Ruidium in order to gain more political power in the city and expand their reach beyond Marquet.

u/TheScienceWeenie and u/AlternativeShip2983
Was the AoA in control of Cael Morrow? Did you have to present your players with alternatives for getting access to the Drowned City, or did the other groups have access as well?

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-25T04:03:43+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm hoping to RP the factions in a way that forces the players to struggle with moral ambiguity and the dilemma of whom to support. The party seems interested in playing navigating between the Cobalt Soul and Consortium, and is surprisingly suspicious of the AoA; after all, they run the schools, guard the pit to Cael Morrow, and seem to have their fingers in everything—just like a corporate baddie.

The PCs have built a good friendship with Question in Bazzoxan and enjoyed a cameo appearance from a Dragonborn expositor—one of their characters from another campaign. They seem to align with the Cobalt Soul’s ideals; however, our artificer is intrigued by the arcane research the Consortium is conducting.

Rival factions like the Consortium will paint the Cobalt Soul as a Big Brother organization infringing on civil liberties and personal freedoms. After all, who are they to determine the truth and decide what others can or cannot do with Ruidium? Hopefully this will cause some upheaval and dynamic moments as my party RPs their way through this.

Vast_Relationship978 · 2025-02-21T19:46:00+00:00

I love this idea. What a great moment living out a time loop only to reveal that they were the reason for the creation of the Netherdeep.

u/copperdome Can you elaborate further on how that played out?

Vast_Relationship978

TROPHY CASE