diff --git a/.obsidian/workspace.json b/.obsidian/workspace.json index 1d29326..6ffc451 100644 --- a/.obsidian/workspace.json +++ b/.obsidian/workspace.json @@ -13,15 +13,30 @@ "state": { "type": "markdown", "state": { - "file": "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md", - "mode": "source", + "file": "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md", + "mode": "preview", "source": true }, "icon": "lucide-file", - "title": "Leyline Crisis" + "title": "Kalen D'Serris" + } + }, + { + "id": "5299c8191e292e64", + "type": "leaf", + "state": { + "type": "markdown", + "state": { + "file": "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md", + "mode": "preview", + "source": false + }, + "icon": "lucide-file", + "title": "Kalen D'Serris" } } - ] + ], + "currentTab": 1 } ], "direction": "vertical" @@ -155,13 +170,13 @@ "state": { "type": "outline", "state": { - "file": "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md", + "file": "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md", "followCursor": false, "showSearch": false, "searchQuery": "" }, "icon": "lucide-list", - "title": "Outline of Leyline Crisis" + "title": "Outline of Kalen D'Serris" } }, { @@ -173,6 +188,16 @@ "icon": "git-pull-request", "title": "Source Control" } + }, + { + "id": "c2821b9c5810ddc6", + "type": "leaf", + "state": { + "type": "advanced-tables-toolbar", + "state": {}, + "icon": "spreadsheet", + "title": "Advanced Tables" + } } ], "currentTab": 5 @@ -194,17 +219,21 @@ "table-editor-obsidian:Advanced Tables Toolbar": false } }, - "active": "6e169ae6a9aed54f", + "active": "f009896958144529", "lastOpenFiles": [ - "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Root System.md", - "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md", + "Avalon/11_Players", "Avalon/05_Locations/Avalon Locations.md", - "Avalon/10_Canon", "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md", + "Avalon/06_Factions_Secrets/Factions.md", + "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md", + "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Larkvale.md", + "Strahd/Sessions/Session 3.md", + "Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Root System.md", + "Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Estrada.md", + "Avalon/10_Canon", "Avalon/02_Sessions/session_5.md", "Avalon/09_Student_Handouts", "Avalon/02_Sessions/session 4.md", - "Strahd/Sessions/Session 3.md", "Strahd/Locations/Barovia.md", "Avalon/02_Sessions/session 6.md", "Strahd/Enemies", diff --git a/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Estrada.md b/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Estrada.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e69de29 diff --git a/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md b/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md index 51cc1bf..5fd322b 100644 --- a/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md +++ b/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Kalen D'Serris.md @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ ## Overview - Former leyline field engineer / battle-mage who watched a city almost die in a node collapse. -- Co-designed the Root Oversight Array – remote monitoring + partial control of the leyline “grid.” +- Co-designed the [[Factions#1.1 Root Oversight Committee ("The Array")|Root Oversight Array]] – remote monitoring + partial control of the leyline “grid.” - Genuine believer that surveillance + control are the only things keeping the world from burning again. - Treats Avalon Academy as a **critical but expendable** node: a testbed and early-warning system. - PCs are “anomalous survivors” of the B2 event. He uses them as on-site sensors and guinea pigs. @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ --- -## The Leyline Crisis (The Thing That Broke Him) +## [[Leyline Crisis]] Set ~10–15 years before the campaign. diff --git a/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Larkvale.md b/Avalon/04_NPCs_Faculty/Larkvale.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e69de29 diff --git a/Avalon/06_Factions_Secrets/Factions.md b/Avalon/06_Factions_Secrets/Factions.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6169f52 --- /dev/null +++ b/Avalon/06_Factions_Secrets/Factions.md @@ -0,0 +1,404 @@ +# Factions – Avalon & The Valley + +> DM reference. This is about **who wants what** and **how they’ll use the PCs**. + +--- + +## 1. Institutional Factions + +### 1.1 Root Oversight Committee ("The Array") + +**Public Face:** +Regional Leyline Oversight, officially charged with “monitoring and safeguarding the Root.” + +**Real Core (for this region):** +- Overseer **Kalen D’serris** and a handful of remote analysts/technicians. +- A distant central board that mostly cares about metrics, not people. + +**What They Want (Macro):** +- Prevent another **Korrin Gate Crisis** at all costs. +- Keep the Root flowing, the grid stable, and the political powers funding them. +- Detect any sign that the **Coherence** (the caged mind) is trying to regroup. + +**What They Want (Local – re: Avalon):** +- Use the Academy node as a **sensor** and **testbed**: + - High caster density = early warning system. + - Controlled environment = good for experiments and emergency drills. +- Understand why: + - B2 destabilized the way it did. + - The PCs survived direct exposure. + - Fouadriel trips so many quiet alarms. + +**Methods:** +- Constant telemetry logging (“we watch the graphs”). +- Remote throttling / lockdowns of taps and subnodes. +- Issuing directives to local authorities (Larkvale, Estrada) “for safety.” +- Quietly recruiting on-the-ground proxies (Elias, later possibly the PCs). + +**How They See the PCs:** +- **Subjects**, not heroes: + - “Anomalous survivors” of B2. + - Emotionally volatile, magically interesting, and already “contaminated.” +- Potential tools: + - Can go places Oversight can’t. + - Can poke at anomalies and report back. + +**How They Might Use the PCs:** +- Assign “investigation” tasks framed as student opportunities: + - “Report any further anomalies in Subnode cluster B.” + - “Assist maintenance with recalibrating ritual arrays.” +- Try to control their social circle: + - Subtly push them away from Fouadriel or toward watching him. +- In later years, they may offer: + - Access to classified data. + - Legal cover, gear, or even “deputized” status in exchange for cooperation. + +**Internal Tension:** +- D’serris is actually traumatized and sincere. + His unseen superiors are mostly worried about **optics and uptime**: + - “Keep the Root stable, but don’t cause scandals.” + - If Avalon becomes too noisy, they might recommend shutting the node down entirely. + +--- + +### 1.2 Avalon Adventuring Academy Administration + +**Public Face:** +- A respected prep academy for future adventurers, civic mages, and magical professionals. +- “Shaping the heroes and leaders of tomorrow.” + +**Key Figures (you can swap in your canon names):** +- **Headmaster / Headmistress** – distant figure, political face of the school. +- **Assistant Headmaster Larkvale** – day-to-day disciplinarian and Oversight’s primary contact. +- **Dean Estrada** – student-facing, handles clubs, sports, and PR. +- **Department Heads** (History, Arcane Theory, Environmental Studies, Drama, etc.) + +**What They Want (Macro):** +- Keep funding, prestige, and safety stats high. +- Graduate students who go on to be **useful and successful**, so the school looks good. +- Keep Oversight happy enough that they don’t cut the node, but not so powerful that they can dictate everything. + +**What They Want (Right Now):** +- Make the B2 incident *go away* as a PR problem. +- Avoid any narrative that the academy is “unsafe.” +- Keep students under control without triggering a full-blown crackdown. + +**Methods:** +- Detentions, suspensions, and disciplinary hearings. +- Quietly rewriting incident reports. +- Throwing problematic staff or kids under the bus if needed. +- Using Estrada and favored teachers as pressure valves: + - “Let the kids blow off steam in Mageball instead of burning down the lab.” + +**How They See the PCs:** +- High-risk, high-profile troublemakers with potential: + - The kind of kids who end up in hero stories… or on the news. +- PR assets or liabilities depending on the week. + +**How They Might Use the PCs:** +- Assign them “extra responsibilities”: + - Peer mentors, club officers, field trip helpers. + - Really just excuses to keep them where admin can see them. +- Nudge them toward or away from certain staff: + - “Spend more time with Prof. Elias, he stabilizes you.” + - “Stay out of Defazio’s conspiracy-chasing seminars.” + +**Internal Lines:** +- **Larkvale** leans pro-Oversight, pro-control. +- **Estrada** leans pro-students, pro-chaos (but still wants wins). +- Some teachers quietly resent both. + +--- + +### 1.3 Custodial & Maintenance Crew ("Groundkeepers") + +**Public Face:** +- The people who keep the school clean and the lights on. + +**Reality:** +- They are wired into the **physical subnodes and taps** more than anyone else on campus. +- They see every glitch, burn mark, and leyline burp before admin ever reads a report. + +**What They Want:** +- Not to die in a stupid magical accident. +- Not to have their work scapegoated when something breaks. +- Hazard pay that actually matches hazard. + +**Methods:** +- Quietly rerouting minor surges before anyone notices. +- Locking doors or “taking areas offline for cleaning” when something feels wrong. +- Passing rumors among themselves about weird Root behavior. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Walking OSHA violations. +- “The kids who were in that room when B2 went weird.” + +**How They Might Use the PCs:** +- Slip them hints: + - “Hey, don’t go near B wing tonight, those lights aren’t just flickering.” +- Ask for help with things above their paygrade: + - “You three seem crazy enough to crawl into that conduit after hours.” + +**Potential Schism:** +- Some groundkeepers are loyal to admin. +- Others think Oversight is the only reason they’re still alive. +- One or two might be secret allies or informants for D’serris *or* the PCs. + +--- + +### 1.4 The Circle Network (Local Crime) + +**Public Face:** +- “Just some older kids and townies who hang at the gas station.” + +**Reality:** +- A small but organized **low-tier drug and contraband distribution ring** centered on The Circle. +- Pip is a mid-level runner, not the boss. +- They’ve started quietly using **Root-powered tricks**: + - Taps in the Circle lot. + - Enchanted packaging / concealment. + +**What They Want:** +- Money, power, and a stable route onto campus. +- To stay small enough not to attract real law or Oversight heat. +- To recruit students like Ben as low-risk couriers. + +**Methods:** +- Intimidation, blackmail, and “favors.” +- Leveraging knowledge of who lives in places like Madera Ridge. +- Very occasional magical muscle. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Ben = valuable asset / liability. +- Joe & Soren = potential leverage / problems if they get nosy. + +**How They Might Use the PCs:** +- Drag Ben deeper: + - “Keep your mouth shut, give us intel, and no one bothers your family.” +- Offer temptations: + - Cash, artifacts, illegal taps, forbidden lore about what flows under the Academy. + +--- + +## 2. Student Factions & Cliques + +> Note: these aren’t rigid “gangs,” just overlapping social ecosystems. PCs can float between them. + +### 2.1 Mageball Team & Jocks + +**Name:** The Avalon [Team Name – e.g. “Stormwings”, “Arcana”] + +**Core Vibe:** +- Physical casters and athletes; the kids whose worth is measured in yards and spell-impact. +- Social gravity: parties, pep rallies, school pride. + +**Faces:** +- **Chaz** – brain-damaged golden boy, all instinct, no strategy. +- **Millie** – initially bullied “nerd,” later tactical backbone of the team. +- Estrada as faculty anchor/coach. + +**What They Want:** +- Win games, get scouted, bask in glory. +- Keep Mageball funded and prioritized over “nerd clubs.” +- Some of them genuinely want the team to be a family / escape from home. + +**Methods:** +- Social dominance, locker-room politics, coach favoritism. +- Using team status to get away with shit (skipping class, picking on people). + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Joe = potential star / weirdo. +- Soren = “that scary kid, avoid.” +- Ben = “clown who sells weed to benchwarmers.” + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As muscle in social conflicts. +- As a stake: admin threatening to cut the team if anomalies keep messing with the field. +- As a conduit: Root anomalies manifesting during games. + +--- + +### 2.2 Ridge Kids & Overachievers + +**Core Vibe:** +- Kids from Madera Ridge and similar neighborhoods: + - Rich, often powerful parents. + - High expectations, legacy slots, glittering futures. + +**Faces:** +- Ben’s classmates from the Ridge who actually *own* being rich. +- Student council types, valedictorian contenders, etc. + +**What They Want:** +- Top grades, prestigious internships, clean transcripts. +- To get out of the valley and into big-name academies or guilds. +- To keep the school “respectable” – no scandals, no weird Root shit. + +**Methods:** +- Pulling parent strings. +- Manipulating admin with “concerned emails” about school safety. +- Social exclusion and gossip. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Ben = traitor / poser trying to play poor. +- Joe = amusingly simple sports kid. +- Soren = walking disciplinary case. + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As pressure on admin: + - “Our parents will pull donations if Oversight doesn’t get this under control.” +- As antagonists who push for harsher restrictions after anomalies. + +--- + +### 2.3 Drama / Choir / Arts Kids + +**Core Vibe:** +- Theater, choir, band, visual arts – anyone whose first instinct is to turn trauma into performance. +- Constantly rehearsing something too ambitious for the time/money they have. + +**Face:** +- The flamboyant drama/choir teacher analogue (Lebovitz) – high standards, messy vibes. + +**What They Want:** +- Big shows, screaming crowds, standing ovations. +- To be taken as seriously as Mageball and “real magic.” +- Space and budget that admin keeps giving to sports and “respectable” clubs. + +**Methods:** +- Gossip, public callouts in thinly-veiled scripts. +- Weaponized performances. +- Controlling the rumor mill via backstage access. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Soren = perfect raw material for “tragic roles.” +- Ben = comic relief / potential drama fodder. +- Joe = hilariously miscast if they ever rope him into a show. + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As a stage for literally anything: + - An opening night where Root anomalies hijack the show. + - A cover for secret meetings (“we’re just rehearsing late, sir”). + +--- + +### 2.4 Conspiracy Club / Underground Zine + +**Core Vibe:** +- Kids who don’t buy the official story: + - Korrin Gate, Oversight, leyline anomalies, weird staff behavior. +- They make a zine / whisper network, half true, half nonsense. + +**Face:** +- **Sebastian** – decapitation videos at 8am, heavy 9/11 truther energy, completely unhinged but occasionally right. + +**What They Want:** +- To **prove** that the school is hiding something. +- To catalog every anomaly, rumor, and cover-up. +- Clout in the “we were right the whole time” department. + +**Methods:** +- Surveillance, gossip-trawling, breaking into records. +- Posting flyers, anonymous tip-scrolls, illicit sending-stone channels. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Perfect sources: + - “You were down in B2, right? What did you **really** see?” +- Potential members / icons of resistance. + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- To feed the party weird leads (some true, some garbage). +- As a way for the players to leak info anonymously. +- As a faction D’serris absolutely hates. + +--- + +### 2.5 Circle Kids / Stoners & Skaters + +**Core Vibe:** +- Kids who spend more time at The Circle, the Wash, or Spin Alley than on campus. +- Weed, cheap booze, minor crime, minor magic. + +**Faces:** +- Ben (“Lil Stinky”) as a borderline member. +- Pip’s younger / campus-adjacent contacts. +- A rotating cast of burnout NPCs. + +**What They Want:** +- To be left alone by admin. +- Enough money and product to keep the party going. +- Occasional big score (gear, relics, stolen ward-stones). + +**Methods:** +- Low-key dealing, petty theft. +- Hiding in blind spots (both literal and bureaucratic). + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Ben = one of theirs. +- Joe = “square but maybe fun to corrupt.” +- Soren = “do not get high with her, she will kill someone.” + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As an information network that sees everything that happens off-campus. +- As hooks for Ben’s personal arc (Pip debt, threats to family). + +--- + +### 2.6 Rootwatch / Environmental Club + +**Core Vibe:** +- Officially: environmental activism, Rewilding projects, sustainability. +- Unofficially: students who treat the Root as a **living being** rather than infrastructure. + +**Face:** +- Druid dwarf physics/eco teacher analogue (Rojahn) – beloved, exasperated, low-key hardcore. + +**What They Want:** +- To protect natural spaces around the valley. +- To reduce “abuse” of the Root for convenience magic. +- To push back against things like Titan Lance, Oversight overreach, and careless tapping. + +**Methods:** +- Petitions, protests, direct action (e.g., sabotaging illegal taps). +- Rituals in the Wash / orchards / hills. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Soren = someone the Root is clearly watching, in a scary way. +- Joe = “we can radicalize this golden retriever if we explain it right.” +- Ben = “walking pollution, but he knows where stuff is.” + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As allies against Oversight in later arcs. +- As a moral counterweight when D’serris wants to sacrifice branches. +- As the first ones to sense that the Root’s “mood” is changing. + +--- + +### 2.7 Faith & Fellowship + +**Core Vibe:** +- Students from various faith traditions who want community and moral structure. +- Mix of sincere believers, social climbers, and kids hiding from something. + +**Faces:** +- Joe’s church group / Bible study analogue. +- A couple of very intense paladin/cleric types. + +**What They Want:** +- To provide a sense of **order and meaning** in a world where magic and Root anomalies are terrifying. +- To claim the “moral high ground” on campus issues. + +**Methods:** +- Study groups, prayer circles, volunteer work. +- Pressure campaigns on admin (“this club is inappropriate,” etc.). +- Occasionally, exorcism-lite rituals when shit gets weird. + +**How They See the PCs:** +- Joe = their golden boy / project. +- Soren = “needs saving or banning.” +- Ben = “bad influence, soul at risk.” + +**How They Might Be Used:** +- As a vehicle to introduce Korrin Gate / Root theology from a different angle. +- As a faction that pushes back on anything that looks like “Root-worship,” including Rootwatch and Soren’s arc. + diff --git a/Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md b/Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md index 6afa91c..2a151b1 100644 --- a/Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md +++ b/Avalon/10_Canon/Leyline Crisis.md @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ - High-traffic nodes (like Avalon), - Vulnerable people (Soren, Fouadriel, etc.), and - Old war-artifacts (like Pappy, Titan Lance tech, etc.) -- The crisis justified building the **Root Oversight Array** and gave D’Serris his trauma + authority. +- The crisis justified building the [[Factions#1.1 Root Oversight Committee ("The Array")|**Root Oversight Array**]] and gave D’Serris his trauma + authority. ---