Two reports from playing Loch Varn at conventions (RolePlayConvention and Feencon, Germany):
RPC:
5 Players signed in, all completely new to the game. Unfortunately due to some technical and administrational problems, we didn't have that much time for the session as I wished we had.
I started telling them a little bet about the rules, the ways, the resolution system, the world, the history and gave them pre-made character sheets with only the ways, a health chart, equipment and a picture of the characters on it, to decide whom they wanted to play. So the first question arose: "Can you tell us something about the characters?"; "No!" and they looked quite irritated
. Told them, that when we start, they would see why not. So they discussed a little bet about the pictures, which character could be a fighter and so on, and finally choose their alter egos (Yldiane, Arven, Liam, Mor and Urvan).
We started in the ruin, when they blinked with their eyes, knew nearly nothing, saw only a few silhouettes from other persons (carrying weapons), and heard some maniac laughter coming from a little bet further down the darkness. When the first character made some light with a torch, it was shot out of his hand. He looked around at the other characters, thinking it was one of them, when more arrows came flying out of the darkness. So they moved carefully in the other direction, hoping to find some wall or a door. At this moment Liam saw a man coming up behind a pile of rubble, crossbow in his hand, aiming at him. When he cried for help, Arven wanted to shoot the man, but broke her crossbow ((rolled a 1)), so Mor came up in the last second and killed the man with his Claymore.
They picked up the amulett and the crossbow, went further on, shooting some bolts into the darkness, when they heard the attackers approaching.
The party came to a wall and found the remnants of a door, which opened to a small passage. Leaving the room, Urvan went last, took a final look behind him and became mad, when the feeling arose, that he is being watched....only him, and not from somewhere in the dark room, but from somewhere up above.
They came to the camp, expected another fight, but were greeted with the words "Oh, that was fast. Have you found the exit?" which confused them quite a bet. So the typical questions arose "Who are you? Who are we? What are we doing here?" etc. I decided to put Deorn in some kind of meditation trance, or so they were told by Jearon/Verzal, so that it was clear, he wouldn't speak to them.
Jearon also had the same clouded mind as the characters. He told them, he only remembered coming here with them, they were attacked and they went to find the exit, while he and the other warrior protected the old man. He didn't know their names (Verzal doesn't know the characters at all), but his name was Verzal. So when Yldiane made a successful check to see if he's telling the truth, she was quite surprised that he wasn't lying.
At this time, they heard the screams and some kind of squishing noises from the last room (something like the centipedes swarmed over their attackers and won) and decided that it was time to move on. Jearon/Verzal told Arven to follow her map, which confused her and made the others complain about her. She was at the edge of attacking them, when Deorn suddenly rose his voice and told them to move on and look for the cathedral, which holds secrets. He looked quite posessed so that the party didn't ask any further questions but moved on with a bad feeling. They came to the next room with to discover the great vats. Exploring and investigating the room, finding a little rest of Nimheil, they learned about the function of the whole structure. Curious Yldiane nearly climbed into one of the vats, convinced that nothing would happen, when she had a vision of someone being grinded in the vat. It lasted only a moment, so she climbed back to the others, telling them that there is nothing interesting in it....but was still curious about the vats and still thought about climbing into them.... if only to proof, that everything was ok.
They went to the extractors, looking around a bet. When Mor stepped on some kind of fluid, he thought it was also a rest of the Nimheil. Another looked showed, that it was more slimy and not amber, but white, nearly transparent. The same stuff suddenly dropped on his head. The whole party looked up, saw that the ceiling was darker than the rest of the room but with some shiny parts.....and it seems to move. Urvan, still under the influence, that all of the creatures looked at him, took the lead and ran crying and screaming out of the room. The rest followed as fast as they could, but didn't cry that loud.
The group ran in the direction of the supposed exit, only to find a wall and some more passages. Following one, they came to the small offices. A look behind gave them the feeling that the last room now seemed darker than before.
They found the activity reports and were confused, that these were signed by Verzal, the man who told them to find the exit. That's when something grabbed Liam's leg, to pull him further down the passage into the darkness. The others hacked at the tentacle only to be attacked by some more, when Yldiane throw her hurricane lamp into the darkness to see the main body of the carnivorous plant. Meanwhile Arven also was grabbed by a tentacle and pulled to the mouth of the plant. While the others freed Liam, they recognized that the passage behind them was filled with scuttling and smacking noises and became darker every second. Liam threw the collected Nimheil to Arven, which she threw on the plant. When she reached the mouth, she tried to burn it with a torch, but the flame was to small to ignite the creature at the moment. The rest shouted for her, defending against the tentacles and tried to get her. When she succeeded in burning the plant slashing frenzied and panicked at the heart, the fiery jaw opened to bite her, while an enormous number of centipedes swarmed over the others...... they awoke screaming.
The players looked at me, some already guessed it, but played along. It seemed they were a little bet frustrated for being pulled out of the scene. I gave them the complete character sheets, which they studied, discussing around who were connected to whom. I told them, what they remember of the past events and they discussed a little bet more (especially Liam and Urvan).
Unfortunately we had to stop here, because of the time. I told them the whole story, what they would have experienced and what was behind they're dream etc. They looked excited when I told them, that it would have been another dream part and they returned to the ruins, only to live through the events again but without any creatures or plants. But with an exit and the villain(s) ahead.
Although we played the first part too extensive and couldn't finish the scenario, the players loved it and the systemm especially that the players don't know about their sanity, and were thankful for the great adventure.
