Session 0, Part 2 - Character Burning

For our second session, we dive into Character Burning. Everyone is going to burn up a 4-lifepath Dwarf. After a lot of discussion and delving into the rules, we wind up with the following characters:

Tevin Alumgold

Played by Adam

Beliefs
I must establish political connections with members of elite houses to gain permanent political power.
I will always fight for veterans of Gabil-zaram and other patriots of Dwarven independence.
We must rebuild a trust with the Elves if we are to survive as an independent nation-state.

Instincts
Always take the opportunity to introduce myself to people who appear to be of nobility.
Always have a first-aid kit on-hand
Never rush a diagnosis or procedure.
I have sworn an oath to do whatever it takes to thwart Broc Rockhaven.

Backstory

Tevin Alumgold was born to parents of significant but not extraordinary wealth. He grew up in a large and well-appointed house with his parents, his father was a gem trader and his mother gem cutter. He has 2 brothers and 1 sister; they are not exceptionally close but communicate and see each on all relative holidays and celebrations. Tevin grew up going to the best schools and received the best tutoring his parents could find. While in high school, a prestigious internship at a law school opened up. The competition was fierce and was came down to Tevin and Broc Rockhaven. Broc convinced 2 of his friends to say Tevin paid them for schoolwork so he lost the internship. The next best was medicine, transcribing old medical journals. So that's what he did for the next decade or so. When the war broke out, Tevin knew he had to do something. With his noble background and scholarly education, he joined as a Khirurgeon and trained for surgery. After the war, he opened a small medical practice where he specializes in family medicine and as a midwife.
Currently, Tevin has political aspirations and wants to walk out of the council with a position of power that is permanent. He wants to help shape the new nation and make a name for himself.

Tevin's wife is Alayna. They met during the second year Tevin worked as a chronicler, transcribing medical texts, when he was 42. They have 2 children, Leila is 18 and Gavin is 12.

Dor Stoneaxe

Played by Maia

Beliefs
I must gain political champions to advance my beliefs.
I must become the Barukgathol and thus gain legitimacy in my family.
Dwarven crafts belong in Dwarven hands.
I have sworn an Oath to protect and advance the interests of the Dornessi of Gabilgathol.

Instincts
My axe is always sharp and at the ready
Consider every stone
Never let them see you sweat

Backstory
I was raised in the same nursery as my half siblings by my noble mother (Queen/Dornessti of Gabilgathol) but I’m illegitimate so I an not styled as “Daughter of Droma”

Gabilgathol is populist/nationalist - want central dwarven state. Nobles hold magical Dwarven crafts in trust for all Dwarves.

My mother & Thrain are representing Gabilgathol to the council and I am here as her bodyguard.

I fought in the Battle of Gabil-Zaram. My girlfriend is in the Barazak, we met in the army then she joined Barazak forces and has tried to get me to join (she is a True Believer).

Barakgathol is the ceremonial title of the Champion of the Gabilgathol ruling family. It is a position that has not existed for centuries, but dates back to pre-Elven Khazagund, and can only be appointed at a Great Council. The Barakgathol styles themselves “son/daughter of the dornessti”

I was fast tracked to officer during the Battle of Gabil-zaram and am younger than average for my rank

Wulfric Hearwealdson

Played by Matt

Beliefs

I must become Lawspeaker of the High Council.

I will prove myself a loyal ally to Queen Droma in Council and gain her trust.

I will convince a Master Artificer in Tumunzahar to guarantee hazard pay for my expedition for Frost Drake Blood.

I have sworn an oath to my brother Godwine that I will prevent the creation of a unified currency at all costs.

Instincts

Always trust the Fates without question.

Never miss an opportunity for a generous action, word, or deed. 

If I hear anyone shame Delvers, confront and publicly shame them.

Backstory

Thráin is a leader of a rival trade organization and the elected/appointed Master of the Hallgeld of Gabilgathol, the city’s ancestral mint. This makes him the non-hereditary leader counterpart to Queen Droma. He had been something of a mentor to me until he betrayed me. I vowed to take my revenge and make him watch as I took away everything he held dear. 

Before the events of our game, I had discovered a prize artifact while delving in the ruins of Barazduban. It was the Telchar Seal of Barazduban’s Hallgeld. Without it, the art of their coinage had been impossible to emulate, and there had only been 4 Masters and 4 stable currencies. This had been what I’d been waiting for. I had intended to make a bid to become a Master, restore the Hallgeld of Barazduban, and gather the kin who’d been scattered from their home. I brought this idea before Thráin, but he stole it from me in order to protect his position and the dominance of his Hallgeld.

My brother is a former member of the Barazak, and he runs the shady, illegal part of my organization. This makes things difficult and dangerous, because he is an outlaw who I’m not supposed to have contact with at all. He broke his oaths to his compatriots when he used the conflict as an opportunity to steal and profit from his fellow dwarves, including wealthy members of Barazak. He betrayed them into the hands of the elves for greed. A secret I keep is that even though he acted of his own accord, both he AND I benefited from what he did.

My Second is the one who runs the day to day operations of the legal side of my business.

I run an organization called The Errant Trove / Errantrove / The Trove interchangeably. Legally, it is engaged in two major endeavors: 1) Seeking, Acquiring, and Dealing in arcane accouterments including but not limited to artifacts, relics, heirlooms, etc. 2) Collecting, Distilling/Refining, and Dealing in unstable arcane substances used in all sorts of mystical arts including but not limited to Frost Drake Blood, Lindwyrm Venom, healing Delvelily from deep tunnel wells, etc. Illegally, it is engaged in loan sharking, fencing, money laundering, and forgery.

I am known to be very generous and caring, especially to those who work for me. This reputation really took hold during the conflict, because I used my resources to smuggle food and medicines into areas where there was Dwarven oppression and suffering and to smuggle Dwarves out of areas where they were being hunted/arrested. 

Session 0, Part 1 - Situation Burning

The three players are Adam, Maia, and Matt. None of the three have ever played The Burning Wheel before, although Maia has gone through character burning in the past. My intent is to introduce the various subsystems of play in a sequence that makes sense and is accessible.

I don’t have a specific setting or starting situation in mind, so Session 0 begins with a situation burning discussion. I run through the way that I tend to think about the situation options: Plot (Quest, Struggle, or Intrigue), Character Stock (both what the players want to play, and what they want to interact with in the world), and social class (high class/court, middle class/merchants, lower class, etc). Adam is already playing in two traditional dungeon crawling games, so he wants to do something as different from that as possible. Matt says that he loves Dwarves and really wants to do Dwarfy stuff if everyone else is interested. Maia says she is in as long as she gets to be a badass Dwarf lady.

After a few more ideas are tossed out, it is clear that everyone is most interested in an intrigue type situation. Adam and Matt really want to argue about politics, so we settle on a high class situation of Dwarven intrigue. The kernel of situation that really excites everyone is post-independence state building (the US constitutional congress; the formation of the Irish free state; the formation of Israel in 1948; the French Revolution and its various governments), and the players all decide that they want to argue with and about Elves. Independence from the Elves it is!

Very little character burning happens this session since it takes quite a while to hash out the broad strokes of the starting situation, and I need to flesh it out a bit before the players can decide where they want to fit in! We decide that we need a Character Burning session next week.

Starting Setting & Situation

Between sessions, I work up some details on the setting. First, I draw a quick map and name some locations:

I then sketch out some names and a situation:

Khazagund Dwarven lands

Tumunzahar Dwarven halls; capital

Uruktharbun Dwarven halls

Gabilgathol Dwarven halls

Nulukhizdîn Dwarven halls; opposed the Zaghlûn

Barazduban Abandoned Dwarven halls

Zaghlûn The Dwarven fight for independence; The Struggle.

Barazak A Dwarven faction that believes that Dwarven artifacts must be restored to Dwarven hands at all costs.

Siginân The river north of Tumunzahar defining the northeast border of Khazagund

Gabilân The river with its source at Gabilgathol defining the northwest border of Khazagund

Gabil-zaram The mountain lake considered to be the source of the Gabilân

Buzundush The river with its source at Tumunzahar; a tributary of the Signân

Zirakush The river with its source at Uruktharbun; a tributary of the Gabilân

Nargûn Tundra underlain by permafrost where no trees can grow. Home to cold-drakes.

The Zaghlûn ended with the Battle of Gabil-zaram after a faction of Barazak from Gabilgathol retrieved the Carcanet of Nisimaldor. Uruktharbun and Tumunzahar joined in the defense of Gabilgathol, and the Dwarves won the battle and were granted complete independence in exchange for the Carcanet. The Dwarves of Urukthatbun, always the least populous of the great Dwarven halls, bore the brunt of the fighting.

Six months later, a Great Council has been called.

The Great Council traditionally consists of seven Paragons from the five Dwarven Realms. For the past six hundred years, Barazduban has been abandoned and only six Paragons are called.

Mótsognir, King of the Realm of Tumunzahar

Mjóthvitnir, Master Engraver of Tumunzahar

Droma, Queen of the Realm of Gabilgathol

Thrain, Master of the Hallgeld of Gabilgathol

Vestri, Queen of the Realm of Nulukhizdîn

Dvalin, King of the Realm of Uruktharbun

There are a number of political issues that the council will examine. Will Nukuzhadim join an independent Khazagund? Will the Dwarven Realms remain largely self-governing, or will they form a permanent centralized government for all Khazagund? Will Elves be expelled from their settlements above Khazagund? Will the Barazak recognize the authority of the High Council? Who will maintain the surface infrastructure necessary to bring food and trade to the Realms of Khazagund? Will Uruktharbun be abandoned after the death of so many to war? Will the elves agree to the repatriation of Dwarven artifacts?
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Introduction

I typically run or play in 1-3 in person RPG campaigns per week, so as social distancing restrictions began to take hold I began to miss my weekly games. I’d been intending to run a (hopefully long term) Burning Wheel campaign for some time, so I assembled a 3-player group that I thought would mesh well together in play.

My intent is to begin a long term campaign that can transition to in-person play as soon as medically viable, so all of the players are local to me in St. Louis. I also tend to experience technology as more of a hindrance than an aid to play, so my plan is to use only the minimum (Zoom, in this case), and use physical character sheets, dice, player aids, etc. as necessary or desired.