Could anyone explain to me how that whole business with the necklace works?

Adler gives it to Madriga. She becomes mad. But I would suppose she can't wear it openly. So why would she have bad dreams and such? Also, How does Adler get hold of it to put it around her neck again, when she is dead?

If he keeps it all along and just puts it on her on their secret meetings, then HE should become mad…

I think I just don't get it…

Any help?

Must admit I'd never thought about it - my players attention span consists of "magic necklace - can I steal it/kill it/eat it? - ooh look at that shiny thing over there! (wander off in the general direction of 'away' " They even forget their own backstory at times, never mind the intricacies a mind altering bling-wear. Though I must admit for my own amusement I like to think about these things.

Oh yes, I also think Madriga was borderline loony even before she got the jewelry, so add that in …

You could explain that Madriga claimed it came to her from distant relations, her husband suspected this to be false (as it indeed was) and that it was secret lover's gift (as it indeed was) - part of what leads eventually to her murder.

But how would it then end up in Adler's hands to hang it around her neck again? Or would she have been buried with it? Her husband would have thrown it away, right?

Hm. Maybe he threw it in the well as well and Adler got it out…

I guess, I have to think about this story some more…

Btw, this is not the first badly thought out scene in Gathering Storm. I started it yesterday and my players already found some (minor) plot- or logical holes…

What else did they notice?

It's useful to know what problems other people had when thinking about running it!

socratim said:

You could say husband buried her with it, wanting the sign of her adultery to lie with her and curse her (little did he know).

For the adventure overall, I did put together a timeline when I ran it of who had done what and why, when different people came to town etc., to smooth it all out.

Angelic Despot said:

Sorry for the late reply on that. The Forum is messed up for me: I can't access threads via "messages by" or the search-function anymore… Only click myself through the forums level by level… :-(

Well, as to inconsistencies in "Gathering Storm":

- Some parts assume things that don't nessecary fit with the progress of the group. When you don't notice this as a GM, this leads to inconsistencies. Especially the day and night-cycle was a problem in our game. So when I described that the blazing farm could be seen miles away by the red sky, this of course refers to night and a relatively clear sky… But when this episode happens, the group was already into the 2nd or 3rd storm-sheet, which not only made them seeing the blazing farm from afar unlikely, the group also asked how it was possible to burn down the whole farm in a heavy rain-storm.

- I showed the picture of Stromdorf to the players for flavour. But the picture is very inacurate. It shows a city on a kind of hill. But Stromdorf is not built on a hill. This leads to some contrary assumptions of the players as to how the city is built, talking mud, marketplace, …

- The fishing nets by the mill are supposed to catch every hero gone overboard and all dead crew-members, should you enter the adventure with the bridge-episode. Firstly: Why do the characters live, but seasoned seamen don't? (Group frowned on this Deus Ex Machina feeling right at the beginning of the adventure - not something Warhammer is known for) Secondly, the question arose how the boat (coming from the north) could get past the nets if they are so big and prominently place that they catch all overboard characters.

- Rain is said to be too hard for the adventurers to journey forth. But at Markettag traders from outside have arrived. I played it that they are stranded, too, leading to a crisis situation in the city, being overcrowded by stranded traders. This of course is fun, but the whole "too rainy to leave" business is not thoroughly thought through. Also the text assumes different "storm-statusses" throughout. It is supposed to be rainy all the time here, but since Schulmanns ritual even more. And throughout the adventure even moremore (you get my point?). Also the buildings with lightning-stones below them all have brass-rods, since a long time. So the stones already got hit by lightning often, even without Schulmanns ritual…

- The lightning stones only draw lightnings a lot in there position at the start of the adventure. Why? Also, the lightning to the herdstines-shard is supposed to lessen, when out of the Oberslecht (again: why?), but then Schulmann has to build a contraption, because it then draws lightning again…

I think that whole storm- and lightningstone-business is not thoroughly thought through, which I unfiortunately realised not till into the play-session.

Oh, and another thing: The shard-cards show a clear map, not elvish runes that have to be deciphered like in the text and necessary for the story to evolve.

There were more small problems with motives and "physicalities". It feels a lot like "Oh, I have a cool idea, I will put it in this adventure" without having thought it through.

Also as a little cautious hint: The whole rain-business gets forgotten, even with a constant rain-soundscape… Also I miss more hints as to diseases, wet clothes, blackpowder-weapons, … I have to google a lot on implications of wet weather…

Hope this helps…

One thing about the shards attracting lightning (which can seem a bit of a giveaway once heroes spot the connection), I had that effect only start up once a shard "standing still for a bit". Keep it moving it only increases chance of getting hit, doesn't constantly attract it. Needs time to build up its effect essentially. If a shard is being drawn on for some reason (e.g., gobspite's brain rock) that dissipates the energy and it doesn't become a "signal beacon" drawing lightning strikes.