I’ve had a few requests for an AP report on Wizard World so I wrote this up from my notes for our last playtest session.
Cast (note that these characters were created before I completed the name lists for all the houses so some are a bit goofy):
Primus Razvan of Verditius (aka Honorificabilitudinitadibus)
Liaison Dominus of Guernicus
Militant Liviticus of Flambeau
Vicarius Gilera of Bonisagus
Absent: Felix of Bjornaer and Soteris of Tytalus
Our last session went overtime so we started off by going through lab activities for the previous season. Three of the magi spent the season working on new spells while the fourth devoted himself to gathering vis for the covenant. He was joined by both of the absent magi (who made their choices known before the session).
The Deal with The Order move was a 7-9 and the Primus chose not to risk an obligation even if it meant gaining a boon from The Order. Fortune smiled on the covenant and they not only had some new grogs join but the ailing aura also waxed in power – for now. Last season’s jobs were not particularly productive, however, and it seems that a hunting party may have be waylaid by the Moorish invaders.
A long and occasionally heated Council session resulted in the following decrees:
– Dominus (stepping in as Librarian to ensure a quorum) decreed as Quaesitor that all magi must be actively pursuing apprentices. Failure to produce some kind of result by the next council meeting will result in their destruction. While he was able to quote several important precedents from the Peripheral Code, his delivery of the ultimatum was not at all well received. (Guernicus playbook move 7-9 result).
– After much debate, it was decreed that a significant portion of the treasury was to be spent financing an addition to Gilera’s lab (Gilera’s lab was less developed than the others so he made a ruling as bursar). A further expenditure was decreed to purchase heavy crossbows for the warband (ruling made by the Militant). While both expenditures could have been borne by the covenant by accepting a few lean seasons, it was decided that a withdrawal from the treasury was in order so that overall income could remain stable.
– The least controversial decree was that the covenant must make a response to the recent invasion by Moorish forces. An assault was to be launched on the Moorish vessels blockading the island.
While Razvan set off in search of an apprentice, Sir Jarl (The Knight – played by Razvan’s player), Liviticus, Dominus and Gilera took advantage of Razvan’s new flight spell (it was added to the library via his Brilliant Writer advanced move so everyone could learn it). When they reached sufficient height, Dominus attempted an Intellego Imaginem spell to quickly survey the area and pinpoint hostile vessels. Unfortunately he underestimated the sheer amount of information the spell would provide and the backlash not only prevented him from gathering useful information but it also debilitated his choleric humour. A longer and more prosaic search eventually revealed the invader’s flagship.
Despite previous discussions of more subtle approaches, Liviticus launched an assault on the ship with his new Conflagration of Doom spell. A minor mispronounced syllable lead to an unexpected pillar of flame pinpointing his location, but he didn’t seem to mind much – at least until answering arrows began flying past him.
While Liviticus’ spell had decimated the midship, there were still several Moorish combatants returning fire with their deadly recurve bows. Sir Jarl swooped down and began cutting through the rigging to create confusion and provide cover for the magi. Liviticus landed boldly on the foredeck where he promptly incinerated several more of their enemies. Despite the power of his magic, he was struck by several arrows and it was only the timely intervention of Sir Jarl that saved him from an assassin’s deadly strike.
Gilera quickly annihilated the assassin, showcasing his gruesome proficiency with Perdo Corpus magics. He then turned his mastery of Corpus to friendlier use by rebalancing Liviticus’ depleted sanguine humour.
While the others tended to the mundane foes, Dominus found and confronted the Moorish maga. While her non-hermetic magic was disconcerting to him, Dominus managed to break through her protective spell which allowed Sir Jarl to finish her off with a thrown dagger (accelerated by a Petition move that required him to undertake a quest after the battle).
With their mission accomplished the magi returned to the covenant (bearing a non-hermetic artifact that will require much study). Their lab moves included new spells, the addition to Gilera’s lab and training of Razvan’s new apprentice.
Aftermath
While they successfully broke the blockade, their discovery of a cabal of non-hermetic wizards is sure to provide lots more conflict. They’ve also got an artefact to study and a quest to complete. Their list of complications continues to grow… [cue evil laugh]