InSpectres and Apothecaria

 My session of InSpectres went ... interestingly.

I had posted it as an event to my Meetup group, but didn't get much response. One of the people who had tried it with me at the big Meetup gathering had expressed an interest, but backed out when she realized that she was the only one.

Being a man of my word, I went to the meeting place anyway. It was Bards & Cards, so I figured there would be a chance of picking up some players while I was there. I was right. It was actually the fellow who had been looking for a Pathfinder game and another fellow who he had been playing Magic with when I walked in.

InSpectres is a very simple game, so we were able to make characters and get things underway fairly quickly. The point where things got interesting is when the players realized what having narrative control of the story can do. One of the players decided that their character was old and carried a walking stick. After a lucky roll let him pull off something pretty unlikely and definitely supernatural, the player decided to lean on that walking stick as much as the character did. Almost everything they did after that point was based on the walking stick and what ridiculous thing it would do this time.

It was fun for a one shot, but I told them that if we did a follow-up or it actually became a campaign, the walking stick would be strongly dialed back.

Nothing else on the list of games to play with other people, but I will be playing a game with myself.

Apothecaria is currently on the Bundle of Holding along with a number of other solo and journaling RPGs. I had seen someone else play it on RPG.net, so when it made it into the Bundle of Holding, my interest was piqued.

The game doesn't use stats or a character sheet, I'm at least going to give my character a fun name. Using a witch name generator, I've come up with Seth Creighton, so that it the name of my hedge witch/alchemist who will be mixing up cures for the fantastical ailments of the folk of High Rannoc.

Week 1

My first patient is Ira Neal and she has been Drunk. Not an issue of too much alcohol, but too little blood. Ira has had a run in with a vampire and is lucky to have survived. This is the most difficult of the Novice Ailments, requiring ingredients with the tags Blood*, Cold*, and Senses**. If there's good news here, it's that there's a slightly more generous Timer than other Ailments, with a value of 8. So I have 8 chances to forage for herbs before Ira has to face the Consequences of her Ailment.

I think my best bet is going to the Moonbreaker Mountains, since I can gather Ambergris*** which will treat the Cold and Senses Tags and Moon Moss *** to treat the Blood tag. Those are difficult ingredients, so I'm grateful for the extra Timer on this one.

1: I don't find any Ambergris and it's a good thing I didn't. I accidentally drew the attention of some gull-drakes and it would have been very easy to lose anything I had picked up in the ensuing scuffle.

2: An eccentric balloonist named Woodrow Hicks has dropped an anchor to me and offered me a lift in exchange for some company. He was kind enough to take me a floating sky-island to the last place he saw a sky-whale, which should help me find some Ambergris. Thanks to Woodrow's balloon, I was able to avoid some dangerous passes in the mountains and have effectively gained a point of Timer.

3: I finally found the Ambergris. And also a damaged stone golem. I was able to gather enough pieces that I might be able to turn it into a working stone golem with enough time and materials.

4: Now it's time to track down that Moon Moss. As I roam the Moonbreaker Mountains, I think I spot something that could be Moon Moss. It's only when I get closer that I find out it's actually a swarm of pixies. It's lucky that springtime is shedding season for pixies and I'm able to pick up some Pixie Fur without having to risk their ire. It put it in my pack next to the stone golem rubble and continue on my way.

5: I was lucky to escape with my life! I had apparently trespassed on the hunting territory of a Wild gryphon and it chased me into a narrow pass. Just before it could catch me, I ducked into a cave. The cave was part of a large complex tunnel system and I finally made my way to the surface far from the pass where I had seen the gryphon.

6: Still no Moon Moss, but I did find a Star Shard. Useful, to be sure, but not what I'm after right now.

7: Not as dramatic as a gryphon, but a billy goat can still wreck you day. Especially in the mountains, where his footing is stable, but mine wasn't. I slid down a ravine and had to take a different path out.

8: After all of my adventures so far, it felt good to find a Wayfarer Stone. The magic runes carved into its surface ensure that it's never too hot or too cold nearby, which is very useful against the chill mountain air. Not long after I sat down, a fellow in strange clothes approached. He said his name was Mark Kidd because he had grown up as a goatherder. I told him about my recent encounter with a billy goat and he gave me some advice for my next encounter.

9: With time running out for Ira, I dashed through the mountain passes with more speed than was wise trying to find some Moon Moss. I didn't notice the sheep in front of me until I had very nearly run into it. Allowing myself a moment to catch my breath, I noticed the sheep waiting very patiently. It's clearly a tame sheep that is part of someone's herd. But the only shepherd nearby is on the other side of the mountain. There's no way I could return the sheep and then make it home in time to save Ira. But I can't save Ira anyway since I haven't been able to gather any Moon Moss. I escort the sheep home to the shepherd and then return to High Rannoc well after sunset with my head bowed.

Ira's husband reported to me that she had disappeared at sunset with no trace but a red rose left on her pillow.

My first Ailment was unsuccessfully cured and the patient lost. I have gained no compensation, nor the trust of the villagers. But I did obtain Ambergris, Pixie Fur, and a Star Shard.

Downtime: I devote the rest of the week to trying to repair the stone golem I found. Of the 10 segments of downtime necessary to repair the golem, I spend 6.