Our group have just finished the adventure published in the GM Toolkit book called Shadows within Dreams . They have saved Corvinus from the darkness and have become heroes. This is normally an initiation adventure for a lvl 1-group but I had it modified for lvl 4s. A lot of its material was changed depending on how the group roleplayed, which is pretty normal to happen.

Anyway, I have some questions about the epilogue. Following stuff contains massive SPOILERS so if you are a player intending to play this game, do not ruin your experience by reading the following.

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1A. What really happened to the zeppelin called the Lady and its passangers? The epilogue text speaks about a conversation between an agent aboard and (obviously) Lucanor Giovanni and how the agent had planted some device inside the ship prior to its disappearance. Does someone have a true conclusion on what happened or, at the very best, a good guess? I need some kind of guidelines because I am not really sure what Mr. Giovanni could possible achieve by doing that.

1B. If the disappearance of the Lady got to the public ears, how the heck could Lucanor possibly start a zeppelin airline business two months later when the absolute first flight resulted in catastrophe? I can't think of any kind of reasons why anyone would dare fly with its ships if the virgin flight of its first ship never arrived to its destination and a hundred noblemen was never heard from again.

2. Last year, we ended our last Anima session with the team crashing and awakening at Corvinus' shore. The game got into a halt due to university and the players got separated. We only recently this summer could gather to play and proceed from where we ended but now we missed a few players that couldn't make it. I simply said that their remaining friends had also vanished along with the zeppelin and the passangers. THIS is why I need some concrete answers on where they could possible have gone to. The Wake? Lucanor's secret hangar ship? Taken by pirates? Teleported somewhere else in the world?
The players are going to return the next session so it would be helpful to know where exactly they are. I guess they could have ended up at another part of the island and were captured, or this could turn into a massive rescue mission into The Wake to save them. I need pointers and/or ideas.

3. What is Seline Luna's situation now? Is she stuck on the human realm? Can she move freely between there and to the Wake? And what about Malekith? Can't he simply emerge and start a new fight with her at the island?

So, some of the things, which happend by my group:

1A.) In my campaign, the Lady seems destroyed, but a in reality the Lady (or a "copy" of her) is flying through the wake. Here I use it as following: I havn't decided, what excatly happend with the lady, but I have many possiblities. And as long as I don't make some contradictions I have no problems.

1B.) Also in my campaign: the Lady wasn't the first Zeppilin, but only the first Zeppilin, which would sold (all other Zeppilins are property of Lucanor). And no Zeppilin of Lucanor disappeared or was destroyed, so everyone can say, it was the fault of the nobility of Gabriel.

2.) I would say: Wake, some other play on the island or found by a ship in the ocean.

3.) In my game, Seline can freely move between the human world und the wake and is following her own agenda. To Malekith: Malekith have some reasons to not leave Graven. He is mighty in the wake, but mightier in Graven, and there are more than one Lady/Lord of Nightmares who are only waiting, that someone would make a mistake (AFAIK there are two Lords of Nightmares in Moth). Also: Why would he? Because she lost one time against him? He did know that she fleed in the human realm and didn't chase her, why should he now, after she killed to traitors (Galael and Raptor (okay, if he knows that raptor tried to betray him is a other questions)). Also, there seems a rule, that Seline doesn't speak his name, perhaps he can't find her or it is something like the "shame of the loser", so as long she doesn't "offend" him, he doesn't care.

This were only some of my thoughts.

So long,

1A. Lucrecio has a secret research facility in the Metzger Forest. Perhaps the Zepplin was flown there and dropped in a secret clearing. Lucanor could be using the passengers as experimental subjects for "The Process". The subjects with "altered" allegiances could then be sent back to the noble houses of Gabriel and give Lucanor a power base in that country.

Another option could be that the airship was highjacked by Matthew Gual's people and brought to Togarini for reverse engineering and the development of war machines. The secret device placed on board is either for spying and/or to activate a "sleeper" agent of Lucanor's who was planted on the airship to disrupt Gaul's plans.

Just some thoughts.

As for why people wanted to fly after the Lady went missing, just take a look at our airlines today. Even after a crash people still take the risk. The reward of fast travel is just too tempting. The Gaia source book does mention that the world was surprised to learn that Lucanor had created four business lines of zeppelins just two months after the disappearance of The Lady. Some people won't fly, but others will be too tempted by the political and economic advantages that these new devices offer.

It would be nice if they would release more content on this.

Very good answers. Will give me much to think about.

Just wanted to say that in my game, the Lady's flight was a pioneering event of new technology, and was the first of its kind. This is how I intepretted it in the story of the adventure. But if it was not, then it's my fault, and it would require Lucanor some good plan and action to solve this dilemma.

And yes, I can agree how people may still travel even after an accident. However, this is a new technology no-one has ever seen before. Common people may believe that if it doesn't work, it most likely never will. Heck, in real-life, the tragedy of Hindenburg put the blimp business out of commision. The disaster of the Concorde, the world's fastest passanger airship, made its existance numbered as the wave of fear led to its commercial demise (and the 9/11 incident didn't help its recovery).

Anyway, I am still a bit unsure how to proceed. It seems the easiest solution would be that the lost hero members had been found and captured by the Marques of Cavalcanti and are held captive in a secret temple somewhere in the island. A bit bland, in my opinion, but that's a possibility. A vague idea that I have is to let Lucanor contact the hero party and stage some kind of a rescue operation to find the missing noblemen from the Lady in some kind of way to regain public favor through heroism. At least, that could be his explanation (maybe it could be sort of a way to undermine The Azur Alliance by casting the blame of its disappearance on them). But I dunno. It's difficult to think like Gaïa's ultimate genuis.

First: I don't think, that the Hijacking is a good solution, because: Normally the players kill all the hijackers, so, there wouldn't anyone to hijack it. Also: Raptor has blocked parts of the mechanic with heavy metal bars, I don't think that some "guards" can repair/solve that (the agent of lucanor is a different story).

Second: I wouldn't think that Lucanor would sponsors an attack against Togarini for PR. Lucanor held open all possibilities. He hasn't sworn his loyality to the empress, also he isn't a member of the azur alliance (after 3 invations). As long as he doesn't side to anyone, he has a real good position (if the azur alliance attacks him, he could use the empire or kusisthan to help him etc.). But if he attacks OR sponsors an attack against togarini, it would be an attack against the azur alliance (an group of armored people must travel through bellafonte (which would nearly a hostile act against the azur alliance) or the must travel through the empire, which would be a hostile act against the empire OR he had sided with the empire). It doesn't matter, Lucanor would get in a bad position.

But this is only my reasoning.

So long,

F3nr1s said:

Well, not OPENLY attack them. I am not saying Lucanor would do this in anyone's favor but his own. The Zeppelin's invention and launch was sponsored by him so it would be natural he was responsible of it (he is the one claiming the genuis of it) If it broke or got robbed, it would surely put a taint on his perfect streak of successes. If his agent told him that Togarini troopers were trying to steal the ship it would only be fair to expose this treachery to the world in order to undermine the Azur Alliance in a non-violent way as a payback. Alternatively, he could perhaps withhold this information and use it to blackmail the Alliance higher ups for a futural favor. I can't see why he would let them go unpunished after trying to ruin him.

And I don't see, why he must punish them. Lucanor is a really intelligence person. He doesn't do something for the reason to have it done, he does it, because it is something he could use for his goal. Lucanor doesn't study science for science itself, but for the things he can use it.

Also: Lucanor is someone who is perfect in the so called Xanatos Gambit: He plans every possible outcome of a event and plans for them a plan. As read in the epilogue, he had it planed, that someone will try to hijack the Lady and also, that it would crash in the barrier around the island. He wouldn't attack the Azur Alliance for a reason like "revenge".

And what would it bring, to show the "treachery" of Togarini? Would the Empire attack Togarini? No. Would Remo or Bellafonte leave the Azur Alliance? If this would be a real danger (and I think it would only with Bellanfonte), Gaul would present a scapegoat, some petty officer, perhaps someone who is be against him (so, he would get two birds with one stone), and everything would be good.

Lucanor wouldn't win anything, the only thing he would gain, where the hate of Gaul (which doesn't trust him), so Lucanor couldn't use the Azur Alliance for some political play (which he does at this moment, he rules the only country, which hasn't some alliance with some other country but ist in the middle of 3 or 4 hostile alliances (Azur Alliance and Church-countrys, lands of al ennaeth and the empire)). At this moment, no one tries to get him forceful to join them, because Lucanor could seek help by the other partys, but if, for example, the Azur alliance is out of questions, the possible players a reduced.

One Idea:
Perhaps, the device in the Lady is something like a tracking and bugging device and Lucanor would search for a secret faculty of Togarini (where are some Lost Logia or something). Then, he "hires" the character, so they could rescue their friend, but he wouldn't say, who he is, so it would be a group of "adventures" who attacked Togarini (if they get arrested, Lucanor wouldn't have a problem). Then, he could dispatch a Crow-Team, to get the things he wishes for, in the confusion the players generate. So, it isn't necessary for him, that the players succeded in their rescue action or not, because he only uses them as diversion for his plan (a so called tailchaser). If the group dies, Lucanor gets his things. If they don't die, they could be in debt (for the information he gave them) and he gets his things. He win in every case.

You are right. I just find this man… pretty violent to be someone who calculates everything. I read something about him accepting Samael into his territory but punished several of their members in cold blood. And the whole thing I meant is that, yeah, he wouldn't win anything big from it. But maybe as a form to teach Gaul a lesson to not get in his way. You may say Lucanor isn't vengeful but he seem to have no problem making points through violence. But yeah, if it he had already anticipated the Alliance hijacking his ship then it would seem smarter to proceed normally and go with the flow in order to gain something from it.

Anyway, I like your idea and I think I could work out something with that. But just a quick question: what's a Lost Logia? Is it within the Togarini chapter of the Beyond the Dreams book or within some kind of Organization info (in same book)?

EDIT: ALSO, if Togarini are holding the passangers of the Lady, what would their final goal be with that? To prove something? To hold them hostage? Kill them all? Just wondering because I believe the players would no doubt try to save them as well (not only their fellow lost members).

To Lucanor and Samael: Yes, he had made a point there. His point was: You can life a free and happy life in my country, as long you play with my rules. And: Nobody except Samael know about this, so it is nothing that can be used against him. If the samael-members doesn't play with his rules, he could kill them. He wouldn't lose anything, he would only get many, many non-human-bodies to make some experiments with them and if they play with his rules, he would get some mighty allies.

I think Lucanor is a sociopath, he has his goal and he will do everything to reach it, and anybody else dies, he doesn't care.

Lost logias are old "techno-magic tools" from salomon kingdom. Something about them is written im Gaia-Book, some places are AFAIR:

Description of Gaul
Description about the war in Kashmir (Gaul uses this war to test some of them)
Description about Schwarzenwald (I don't remember if it was a description about lost logia, the "process" of wissenschaft or schwarzenwald himself, but there is also "ancient blood" described, and Gaul ist a "Ancient Blood").

Also good is "Those who walked amongst us" because there is at least "one creature", which is a lost logia (and the "hecatondes" could be also lost logia).