Re: Dealing with Mermen : questions about aluminium

From: bryan_thx <bethexton_at_7s2-U2K5PmolPrfM3bZcNBpYzXzKmAxwdpoXePySiOtU6F_y6rwG4CN2cN1rSklshO>
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:15:49 -0000

I can think of two approaches that the players could be guided toward (they can do both, actually).

1- Gathering a generic pile of "things you trade to the Ludoch" without having to specify the details. This would involve dealing with various ships captains and merchants, and maybe some of the local population of Blues and islanders. At the simplest this would be a simple contest based on some relevant ability to see how good a stash they gather.

2- Focus on some high value thing or commodity. Sea metal in its aluminum form would be an example of this, but it could equally well be a lost treasure, the stolen bones of a hero that should be allowed to sink to the depths instead of being on some air-breather's wall, or whatever.

I would focus more on the first option if you want the main action to be dealing with the water-folk. I'd focus more on the second option if you either want to add more scenes to this act of their drama, or if you don't think the trading session will be all that interesting, so then the main action becomes getting that valuable item (the trading session could then even be reduced to a simple contest if you wanted).

In the second case, looking for something valuable, I think it maybe doesn't matter what it is, so long as it sounds interesting and is challenging to get. There could be all sorts of reasons why it is challenging to get, but the obvious one is that someone else owns it, controls it, etc.

An example would be something like: For many markets, the water people have asked after the Net of Two Dooms, a net made from woven quicksilver and aluminum, combining to neutral buoyancy (the two dooms are sinking with quicksilver or being floated to the air by aluminum). It has a history going back centuries, but in particular it was used by a hero who betrayed his people to work with the God Learners, and after he was destroyed along with them, the net has not touched the sea again. For some reason they urgently want it back now (maybe the players will find out later why....perhaps it is powerful against some great monster?)

The Family has been asking about the net, and finally a rumour comes to them, that lord of the Pig People* has a shimmering net he uses to wrap his treasures in. Perhaps he could be persuaded to part with it? And it would be good to finally open trade connections with the Pig Lords anyway, so the mission would have two purposes. Of course when they get there the Lord is eager to trade, but totally paranoid about people trying to steal his treasure. The players can easily set up a trade route....if they don't worry about the net. If they take the net somehow then they don't get a trade route and probably get a new enemy. Maybe they can find some brilliant way to get both? Or if they try to seize the net and fail they don't get either...

I hope that is of some use to you.            

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