Using the Mythic Game Master Emulator for solo roleplay

I've previously talked about how I use the Mythic Game Master Emulator (GME) to help me decide  NPC responses and the consequences of PC actions here and here.

In addition to using the GME for those sorts of what happens after situations, I've sometimes used the GME for running solo scenes. It works pretty well for that, though I find having to switch back and forth between GM and player is a little awkward and disassociative. Undoubtably if I did used the GME more it would feel less awkward. I ran a lot of solo D&D my first year in college. Partly as an escape from class and homework. (Kids, don't try this at university.) I don't recall what process I used. I certain a lot of random rolling on the wandering monster table was used. And I already had a megadungeon created that I used. It was large enough (about 3" thick with levels and very terse room keys) that I wouldn't remember the contents of all the rooms prior to consulting the key. So undoubtably there was a certain amount of listen at the door | hear nothing | open the door | now check room key to see what we encountered. I ran a dwarven fighter and spent entirely too much time doing that.

Recently, I ran a solo encounter between Gaston, my PC, and a couple of Masked Assassins. I find the GME is helpful in keeping the combat unpredictable and thus more interesting. To keep it interesting I try to make decisions for my PC quickly and before I've decided exactly what the NPC is doing. I'll use this as an example.

This combat is from the current adventures that the other PCs are involved in. I haven't gotten to that point in the Adventure Logs so I'll provide a little orientation.

What is Going On

The PCs are currently dealing with three different issues. The introduction is a bit long. If you want skip on down to the Example of Play.

First, Guy de Bourges, who is a spy for the mysterious Duke DeMainz [full name: Conrad D'Einartzhausen Landgrave de Barr and Duc DeMainz (SR 15)], has a long term mission to reduce the influence of the Prince de Condé (full name: Henri II de Bourbon, prince de Condé, Prince of the royal blood and second in line to the throne of France (SR 17)]. This is mostly being managed through Guy's two main agents, Le Serpent and Mlle Collette du Pré, a lady-in-waiting to the Prince's wife. Though the other PCs have helped come up with a plan to ruin an upcoming party that the Prince and Princess are hosting. The guests include the King and Queen, so a fiasco of a party could be just the ticket they need.

Second, Father Signoret, who is a Jesuit priest and a noted duelist, has been instructed by the Provincial Father to investigate some mysterious murders in the country around Paris. So far there have been three murders. The first was a middle aged woman whose heart was removed and who was viciously pecked at and scavenged on by crows that must have fed at night as she went out after supper to feed the goats and her body was found the next morning on a rocky outcrop in a field. The second was also a middle aged woman. She also disappeared in the evening and her body was found the next morning. Her bloody corpse was found on top of a neolithic stone table inside a rotten old ring of small standing stones. Both bodies had their hearts removed. And there was some indication that some sort of pentagram may have been drawn around the bodies in blood.

Third, Gaston, who is the Captain-Lieutenant of Cardinal Richelieu's Red Guards, has been assigned to look into the mysterious death (by poison) of Monsieur LeDroit, an agent for the Superintendant of Finance. LeDroit appears to have been investigating the actions of a secret society. The secret society seems to include several members of the Devôt faction and to be connected to the Spanish Ambassador to France. It may also be connected to the red sash wearing plotters who tried to foil the Treaty of France by assassinating the envoys from Venice, Savoy, and the Grey League or the red carnation wearing Spanish sympathizers encountered in Amsterdam during a past diplomatic mission.

In the last session, someone impersonated a servant at the Louvre and poisoned Guy using the same metallic poison that killed LeDroit. Fortunately for Guy, his trusted valet, Fabré is a highly skilled apothecary, and he had used traces of the poison that killed LeDroit to create an antidote which saved Guy. It appears that that secret society may have noticed the PC's interest and decided to do something about it.

Later that night, it is revealed that Gaston, too, has been marked for death.

Example of Play: Marked for Death

I had already determined that one or more of the Masked Assassins, last seen on the Ponte Neuf during the assassination attempt on the Pont Neuf, would use climbing lines to ascend Le Tour Dubois to attack Gaston in his office. The Assassins will be armed with weapons poisoned with "The Burning" a hideously painful concoction last seen in use on the Pont Neuf. [This occurs in game on the night of Wednesday April 10, 1624.]

First I created a little table to figure out how many Masked Assassins would be assigned the task. Masked Assassins aren't full Villain-level opponents, but they are Retainer Level-4. Two Retainer-4 opponents should be about equal to one Hero or maybe a tiny bit tougher. However, Gaston is a very experienced PC so he should be able to defeat two Retainer-4 opponents.

 2d6 Roll     Attackers

      12          (3) assassins

     7-11        (2) assassins

 2-6          (1) assassin

Rolling the dice, I got a 9, so the number of attackers = (2) Masked Assassins. [All die rolls are listed as roll+bonus-penatly.]

Next I checked their Sneak, which was 8+4=12, easily a success given that Gaston is neither an assassin himself, nor was he especially expecting such an attack inside his own office in a guarded tower in the Louvre. (He was cautious of what he was eating and drinking after the poisoning of both M. LeDroit and of Guy de Bourges. With a roll of 5+4, the first Masked Assassin opened the window without any difficulty.

I then used the GME to determine how alert Gaston happened to be at that moment. Based on his location and level of caution, I assumed he was likely to be surprised. This means that on a roll of d100 there 01-15 = Exceptional Yes (great surprise), 16-75 = Yes (surprise, free attack, cannot spend Fortune Points to get a near miss, no defense), 76-95 = No (unsurprised bonus die to initiative, can spend Fortune Points to get a near miss), 96-00 Exceptional No (Gaston is prepared). I rolled 69, indicating surprise so the Masked Assassins get the first round free.

Round 1

I figured the Masked Assassin's best chance was for both to quietly enter the room then attack. I assumed that was likely (same odds as above). If they didn't do that, then the first Assassin would fire his balestrin (1-handed crossbow) from outside the window.

• So the GME question is, "Do they both enter first?" I rolled a 96 = Exceptional No. So Assassin-1 fires his balestrin from outside the window, then enters the room with Assassin-2 following the same set of actions next round.
• Assassin-1 uses his surprise to get an Aimed Shot, which gives him a bonus die on his attack. Roll: 9+4=13, Hit; damage is 1d3+Poison. Rolled damage of -1 LB; and Assassin-1 enters room as a free move.
• Gaston’s Might Check vs. Poison damage is 5+2-1=6 Fail so he takes an additional -1LB damage; for his might roll vs. the Intense Pain of the poison, he spends a Fortune Point and rolls 9+2-2=Success.

Round 2

• Roll for Initiative results in the following order: Assassin-1, Assassin-2, Gaston
• I used the GME to decide whether Assassin-1 draws melee weapons or reloads his balestrin. He tries reload using the Quickload Maneuver and rolls 4+4-2=8 Failure, so it takes him 2 Minor Actions to load. He will finish loading next round.
• Assassin-2: Split Action takes an Aimed Shot/Balestrin: 9-2+4-1 [for Gaston's Defense]=10 a hit, but Gaston who is now alert can react. He dodges which subtracts an additional -2 from the shot, turning it into a miss.
• Gaston: uses Quick Draw 6+3-1=9 Success; needing to finish Assassin-1 before he can reload, Gaston Lunges against Assassin-1 and spends a FP. Even using the fortune point, the roll is a paltry five, but given Gaston's extremely good fencing skills that is 5+7-1=11 a hit. Damage is +1d6 for the Lunge so Assassin-1 decides to yield Advantage. [One of the reasons that Retainer-4 are much tougher is that they have Advantage of 2 which allows them to retreat form an otherwise fatal attack. Heroes have a base of Advantage 3.]. 
• Gaston has the Advantage over his opponent so he choose to push his advantage. [He sacrifices 1 Advantage to get a second attack.] This attack is an 11+7-1=18 which easily hits. and Gaston rolls 2 sixes for damage so with his Might bonus he does -14 Lifeblood. This kills the assassin in one blow. The Lunge is through throat with a follow through sideway cut that nearly beheads Assassin-1.
• Gaston uses his minor action to Shove Assassin-2 out the window. He rolls  9+3-0=12 and succeeds. 
• Gaston, rolls again to stop the damage from the poison, roll is 8+2-1=9 success so Gaston takes no more damage from the poison. Roll to endure the pain is 11+2-2=11 another success. This time Gaston didn't spend a FP since both Assassins were dead or gone and it wouldn't matter so much if he had a penalty due to pain. [Technically Gaston didn't need to make a second roll vs. pain. But I forgot that. Tough for Gaston, but luckily he made the roll anyway.]

Round 3

• Initiative: Assassin-2 [wins on tie] with Gaston. I figured the Assassin or Thief skills applied better here than Duelist or Soldier so the tie went to the Assassin.
• Assassin-2 tries to catch the rope: 8+2=10 Success; I use the GME to see if he will reload, otherwise he'll conceal himself. Before figuring that out, I decide that Gaston will grab the dead Assassin's balestrin. If the Assassin-2 survives being shoved out the window, the idea of using their own weapon to take down the last assassin appeals to Gaston's sense of poetic justice. 
• GME roll is 91=No so instead of reloading he takes the cautious approach and swings to the side to get out of sight;
  Gaston picksup Assassin-1’s Balestrin; Goes to the window to check on Assassin-2.
• Assassin-2 rolls 6+4-2=8 fails Sneak vs. Gaston's Savvy so Gaston notices the rope move, but can’t see Assassin. 
• Gaston decides to cut the rope. I roll an attack and damage to see how long it takes to cut.; roll 5+7=Hit; Damage 6+2=8 rope is cut. Assassin-2 falls.

Round 4

• Assassin-2 rolls 10+2-2=12 which succeeds and catches himself on a projection from the old medieval tower wall despite a Hard (-2) difficulty. 
• I use the GME to decide if he will retreat (which I decide is likely), but with a roll of 99=Exceptional No; he will continue with his mission now! 
• Next I ask if he will climb up to another window and try again; a roll of 73=No. 
• So I ask if he will disguise himself and try a stealthy approach? 49=Yes; 
• Rolling for him to get down off the tower results in 9+2=Success.
  Meanwhile, Gaston puts down the Balestrin, picks up and arms a pistol, looks out the window. Sees no one. Checks other windows. Heads downstairs armed w/ pistol and sword, alerting any guards as he encounters them. 
• Note that since no one is in combat, these rounds are subjective and variable in length.

Round 5

• Will Assassin-2 try to disguise himself as a Red Guard 29=Yes. 
• I roll a d6 to see if he encounters a named Red Guard or a generic guard. A roll 6 on 1d6 = he encounters a named Red Guard. I look at the list of named guards, subtract Gaston and the PCs who are in Marseille and roll a d10. A result of 3 tells me that the Red Guard encountered is Remy Janvier who is alone. [Assassin-2 isn't an idiot so there is no real reason to have him tackle multiple guards.] 
• I roll for Assassin-2 to sneaks up on Janvier 8+4-0=Success. 
• Assassin-2 uses a Lunge w/ Bonus die for surprise + a called shot (+1 Damage); roll 10+2-1=Hit; Rolling 1d3+1+1+1d6 for damage = -10 Lifeblood. [Note that a dagger in the right circumstances is deadly in H+I.] 
• Assassin-2 is trying for stealth, so he does not use a poisoned weapon so his target won't cry out from the excruciating pain. The damage drops Janvier to 0 Lifeblood. Janvier falls unconscious and bleeding.
• Assassin-2 puts on his crimson tabard as a disguise. In this situation his Assassin 2 career should help with the disguise. With a disguise roll of 7+4=11 even if we subtract Gaston's Savvy 2 this is a success. So Assassin-2 will get initiative plus a bonus die for his first attack against Gaston.

Round 6

• Assassin-2 attacks with a poisoned stiletto and Lunge w/bonus die+called shot; 7+2-1=Miss. Gaston's defense is still in effect since he has already been attacked, he is looking for the assassin, and he is prepared with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. 
• At this point, Gaston wants a prisoner to question so he uses Disarm, a maneuver he has mastered giving him a bonus die on his roll. He rolls 12+6=18 and a Mighty Success. The Assassin is disarmed. Gaston gets a free action vs. the Assassin due to the Mighty Success. 
• He rolls at attack to put the assassin at sword's point; a roll of 10+7-1=16 easily succeeds. 
• Gaston uses his boon of The Look which gives him a bonus die to Intimidation. He again rolls a mighty success so Assassin-2 is captured and Gaston has a prisoner to question.

Round 7

• Gaston finds Janvier and calls for a surgeon. Janvier (who was only at 0 not at negative Lifeblood) survives and recovers. Gaston recovers 2 LB, but is still down -1LB from the poison.

Aftermath

• At this point rounds are irrelevant. But the order in which Gaston does things may matter. 
• Gaston ensures that Assassin-2 is bound and guarded by Red Guards that he trusts. He gives the guards strict instructions to watch him carefully and to keep him alive. 
• Gaston then goes to checks on Cardinal Richelieu. Gaston doubles the Cardinal's guards and puts them on alert. 
• Next Gaston sends four Cardinal’s Guards to get Fabré with his potions and antidotes, including the antidote for The Burning. Two of those guards are to stay and protect Guy. [They may not actually find Guy as his player already decided Guy is keeping out of sight since he was poisoned.]  
• At the same time, two more Cardinal’s Guards are sent to the Jesuit Professed House to warn Signoret. Gaston assumes a master duelist like Signoret can look after himself outside the Professed House and inside he should be safe from assassins, so the Red Guards are to return after warning the Jesuit.
• Also in parallel, two more Red Guards are to warn and guard the Seigneur de Chambre. Gaston owes de Chambre for his help in rescuing his nieces and doesn't have a good sense for how capable the Seigneur really is, him being the sort of court fop that Gaston typically despises and sneers at.

I may run the interrogation of Assassin-2 as a solo event. But in any case, now I know what happened with the attack on Gaston and the other players don't need to sit around at our regular session while stuff happens to Gaston .If I had resolved it at a regular session, I'd have turned over the two Masked Assassins to a couple of the players to run. That gives them a chance to experiment with a different type of character and different tactical options. And they usually seem to enjoy that.

Mythic Game Master Emulator (Example 2)

Death of Baron Villemorin, consequences of Adventure 37: The Duel.

This is a second example of the Mythic Game Master Emulator. See here for the previous example.

Q: Do the Sword Nobles reject Villmorin and his actions? (Very Likely), rolled 95, NO.

The terms were unfair (the Baron in full armor with horse and lance, Gaston on foot in light armor), kidnapping the young nieces and threatening to kill them to enforce the terms, and losing the duel to a commoner are all reasons for the Sword Nobles to disassociate themselves from the dead Villmorin which is why rejection is Very Likely. But the high roll is a definite no, nearly an exceptional no. The conclusion is that the Sword Nobles disapprove of the rise of commoners like Gaston in the Army and as head of an elite unit like the Cardinal's Guards and decide to stand in solidarity. Villemorin was provoked by the scurrilous poems written about him, though they were published anonymously Gaston is a well known poet and by the failure of the courts to punish Gaston for killing the Baron's brother Paulin and after all the girls were only commoners and in the end they didn't come to any harm.

Q: Do the Robe Nobles approve of and support Gaston? (Likely), rolled 48, YES

The Robe Nobles and Sword Nobles are in opposition so some support is likely. However, open confrontation is not really there way. So support is only Likely. The triumph of Gaston against the Baron is seen as a blow against the bullying violence of the Sword Nobles and a vindication of the verdict (rendered by Robe Noble magistrates) in the previous murder trial for the death of Paulin. Gaston is looked at positively, though his status as a soldier not a scholar, lawyer, or bureaucrat prevents him from being seen as one with the Robe Nobility or as some sort of Robe Noble champion. But individual Robe Nobles will remember his name should they need a protecting sword.

Q: Does Cardinal Richelieu accept Gaston’s explanation of his actions? (Very Likely), rolled 07, Exceptional Yes

Sword Nobles are mostly opposed to Richelieu's goals of centralizing the monarchy. The Robe Nobles are frequently his allies. In addition, Gaston is Richelieu's hand-picked Captain so supporting Gaston may be best for Richelieu's reputation especially given the different reactions by the two factions of the nobility. In addition, Gaston's dramatic win reinforces the competence of Richelieu's Red Guards and places him one up over the King's Musketeers. Gaston's gave the following explanation to Richelieu:

Gaston: “The Baron wrote some so-called poetry to which I had to take exception. I forced him to eat his words, which appeared to disagree with him.”

Richelieu: “Disagreed with him?”

Gaston: “Fatally.”

Richelieu: “I see.”

The exceptional yes, indicates that Richelieu enjoyed Gaston's laconic explanation and that he will provide some mark of his favor. However, he wants to keep Gaston as a dependent client so any reward will either bind Gaston closer to Richelieu or at least will not make Gaston more independent. The exact details will be determined later, possibly a gift of fancy armor, a good horse, a really fancy hat, or a jeweled ring or perhaps a presentation to the King - though that may be better diced for separately to see if the King whimsically wants Gaston presented.

Q: Does Gaston gain Glory? (Near sure thing), rolled 42, YES

Glory (or glorie) is a combination of public acclaim, respect, and notoriety for recognized deeds of valor. The kidnapping, challenge, and duel had many witnesses: people in Paris, the other PCs and their servants, the nieces and their family, the thugs hired by the Baron for the kidnapping and ambush, and the Seneschal, guards, and servants of Chateau Villemorin. The duel was unusual and Gaston's defeat of Villemorin was dramatic. Also Gaston will memorialize the defeat in poem and the other PCs are likely to spread the knowledge. The result of the roll with the Cardinal also is taken in account. The other PCs did not fight and/or acted from concealment or disguise so they are less likely to get Glory. Only an exceptional, yes would give them Glory as well. An exceptional No, on the other hand, would result in infamy for Gaston.
Q: Are Jean-Noel Suchet and his charge the Vicomte d’Aboville grateful for Gaston’s elimination of Baron Villemorin? (A Sure Thing), roll 09, Exceptional YES
Jean-Noel Suchet is an elderly man in his late sixties and the Steward of Chateau D’Aboville in the Bourbonnais and the de facto guardian for the young master, Vicomte Léon D’Aboville. Suchet asked Gaston to prevent Villemorin from killing the young Vicomte. While Gaston did not accept, but did say, "Let me tell you two things. Villemorin has recently left Paris. But when he returns, I intend to kill him. And if he does not return by the date appointed for his duel, I will hunt him down, drag him out of whatever hole he is hiding in, and I will end him with no more compassion than I would kill a mad dog."

“Monsieur,” said Suchet with feeling. “If you do that, I will be forever in your debt.”

Also worth noting is that Villemorin killed the young Vicomte's father in a duel he forced the elder D'Aboville into. Thus their gratitude is a sure thing. The exceptional Yes result means that their gratitude extends to friendship and a de facto alliance. Of course they will ask their new friend Gaston to visit them at their house in the country as soon as his duty allows.
Q: Does the Vicomte d’Aboville have an eligible sister at home? (Very Likely), roll 22, YES
Everyone thought that the Vicomte should have a sister. Apparently we all like some of the same swashbuckling romantic tropes. Details about the sister will be generated when she makes an appearance. Possibly when a visit to the d'Aboville country home is about to occur.
Q: Is Father Signoret censured by the Provincial Father of the Jesuits? (Unlikely), rolled 00, Exceptional NO
Signoret was censured by the Provincial Father for attacking Baron Villemorin in the theatre so there is some risk. However, because of the Baron's kidnapping and threats to two young girls, Signoret's actions in seconding Gaston are unlikely to invoke censure, especially since Signoret tried to mediate the duel and did not himself fight, instead he took one of the nieces to safety. The exceptional No, means Signoret's actions were seen as righteous and in keeping with the Jesuit Order which in effect earns the Father a get out of jail free card from the Provincial Father to avoid censure for participating in some future duel.
Q: Does Cardinal Richelieu accept Father Signoret's absence? (Very Likely), rolled 23, YES
Given the responses to Gaston's actions and the result from the Provincial Father, it is at least very likely that Richelieu accepts Father Signoret's absence from his duties as one of the Cardinal's secretaries. The Yes indictes that the Cardinal is pleased with his secretary.
Q: Does the Prince de Condé lose influence from the duel and death of his client Villemorin? (Very Unlikely), roll 58 No
The Prince's supporters are found in the Grands, the great families of France, and more broadly in the Sword Nobility. Based on the Sword Nobility's response, it is very unlikely for Condé to lose support. And he does not.

Summary

1. Sword Nobles remain loyal to Villemorin though his actions are embarrassing. They do not approve of Gaston.
2. Robe Nobles approve and support Gaston.
3. Gaston gains a point of Glory for his actions in the duel.
4. Richelieu supports and publicly approves of Gaston’s actions. He will honor or reward Gaston in some fashion: horse, armor, fancy hat, jeweled ring an audience with king is not out of the question.
5. Jean-Noel Suchet and his charge the Vicomte d’Aboville are very grateful for Gaston’s elimination of Baron Villemorin. They offer their aid and alliance and invite him to visit them at their country home. Unknown to Gaston, the Vicomete has a eligible sister.
6. The Jesuit Provincial Father does not censure Signoret for his actions. In fact Signoret has a special favor to avoid censure by his superior for some future sword/dueling action.
7. Cardinal Richelieu is pleased at Father Signoret’s actions in the duel.
8. Villemorin’s actions and death does not decrease the influence of the Prince de Condé.

Mythic Game Master Emulator

Due to a number of blog and forum posts, mostly by Black Vulmea, I got turned on to the Mythic Game Master Emulator (GME) for my gaming. I use Mythic in two ways. One way is for running RPG scenes solo. Mythic works well for helping to generate interesting situations, twists, and turns for free form solo play. However, I more often use Mythic as a GM to help determine uncertain outcomes. Some GM decisions are easy. The outcome is straightforward, the NPC’s action or reaction is obvious. But sometimes the outcome is not easy, straightforward, or obvious. And sometimes, I like the NPCs to surprise me. So I use Mythic to help figure out what NPCs do and think.

In one fairly recent session, the PCs tricked a troublesome NPC who had been complaining about and following one of the PCs, Father Signoret, the swashbuckling Jesuit priest. The NPC is Friar Fitellus di Canem. Friar Fitellus is a member of the Roman Inquisition who came to Paris as a delegate from Rome accompanied by a squad of Swiss Guards and an Inquisitorial Bodyguard. For various reasons Fitellus and Signoret dislike and mistrust each other. For other unrelated reasons, Father Signoret had in his possession a holy relic (or maybe a magic item) the PCs and the players aren’t really too sure. The item is known as the Piege a Loup or Wolf Cage and it is rumored to have some power over the loup garou. Several PCs saw a lantern called the Der Kooi van de Wolf (the Wolf Cage) in the Wudderkammer room in Amsterdam.

Later while doing research on werewolves, Father Signoret found a similar lantern depicted in a woodcut describing the death of Courtaud, a loup garou who ran rampant in Paris in the 15th century. The woodcut was contained in Les Chroniques de Paris (English: The Chronicles of Paris) by Bernard Guenée, published in Paris in 1560. The Wolves of Paris were a man-eating wolf pack that killed forty people in Paris in 1450. Courtaud, or Bobtail, was the leader of the Wolves. After further research Father Signoret found the Wolf Cage in the basement of Notre Dame Cathedral. He “borrowed” the Wolf Cage for a couple of missions to Soissons. When he returned to Paris, he realized that Friar Fitellus had people following Signoret. He was worried that Fitellus would catch him with the borrowed relic which would reopen the allegation that Signoret had stolen a Saint’s Relic that the Inquisitor was sent from Rome to investigate (long story).

Father Signoret’s cousin, Guy de Bourges is a master of disguise. He pretended to be Father Signoret and led the watchers a stray. Meanwhile Father Signoret took an indirect route back to Notre Dame. On the steps of the Cathedral Friar Fitellus tried to apprehend Guy in his guise as Signoret. When they did, their friend Gaston Thibeault, the Captain-Lieutenant of the Cardinal’s Guards, along with a squad of his men, countered the Friar and his Swiss. This resulted in a public confrontation that ended in embarrassment for the Friar since the man he tried to arrest was not the Priest (Guy dramatically removed his cloak and disguise) and did not have anything other than ordinary religious books in the large box he was carrying.

So the first use of the Game Master Emulator was to find out what were the ancilliary affects of the Friar’s debacle. As a change of pace I involved the players in the process. They helped determine the odds of success and did the die rolling. The GME requires you to ask a series of (usually) yes or no questions.

Since his disgrace was public, embarrassing, made him look stupid, involved his bodyguard attacking the Gaston (and losing), and put him in contention with two other important French religious authorities (Cardinal Richelieu and Archbishop Gondi) we decided it was likely that he would be sent back in disgrace. An additional factor was that Richelieu didn’t want to have the delegation recognized nor did the King who had been “not at home” to the delegation for at least two months.

Q: Is Friar Fitellus sent back to Rome in disgrace? (Likely), rolled 36, YES. One of the King’s Ministers informs Fitellus and His Majesty, Louis XIII, has refused to see Fitellus or to recognize him. He is told to return to Rome. Which means Fitellus has failed in his primary mission to Paris.

Fitellus still has one chance to redeem himself with a Hail Mary play. Since the event took place on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral he can try to persuade Archbishop Gondi to convene an ecclesiastical court to investigate. Given the rejection of Fitellus’ embassy and given that the Archbishop doesn’t want an Inquisition in France the archbishop is very unlikely to help.

Q: Does the Archbishop Gondi convene an ecclesiastical court of inquiry? (Very Unlikely), rolled 93, EXCEPTIONAL YES. Not only does the archbishop not refuse to convene a court, but Gondi ends up very hostile to Fitellus, more hostile to the Roman Inquistion, and somewhat disapproving of the Dominican Order in general (of whom Fitellus is a member). Fitellus’ reception back in Rome is looking particularly unwelcoming.

Q: Does the Body Guard want revenge for the thrashing he received from Gaston? (Unlikely), rolled 15, YES. Despite his zealotry and devotion to the Inquisition, the bodyguard is still a man and prone to the sins of pride and vengeance.

Q: Does the Body Guard act to gain his revenge before leaving? (50/50), roll 02, EXCEPTIONAL YES. Not only does he want revenge, but he challenges Gaston to a duel. (A separate roll* determines he wants a duel to the Second Blood i.e. one or both combatants are incapacitated or unable to continue the duel.) Gaston is flush with his recent triumph in an unfair duel against Baron Villemorin, so Gaston easily agrees to the Body Guard’s request for a duel in the old style, with shields and armor. This somewhat favors the Body Guard who wears heavy armor every day, but Gaston is both Arrogant and a Master of Old Style dueling.

Next week I’ll run through a similar process used to determine the consequences of Gaston’s duel with the Baron Villemorin.

 

* I used the normal H+I roll of 2d6 with 2-5: First Blood, 6-8: Second Blood, and 9-12: Third Blood or to the Death. The roll was (6) so the duel, like many duels, is to the Second Blood. I’ll want to remember this mechanic as it might come in handy for other duels.

Summary

1. Friar Fitellus is sent back to Rome in disgrace.
2. Archbishop de Gondi is hostile to Friar Fitellus and somewhat negative towards the Dominican Order.
3. Carlo Ferrara Fitellus’ Familiar and Bodyguard challenges Gaston to a duel to the second blood (incapacitation). Gaston offers to duel in the Old Style in armor if Ferrara prefers, and he does.

Related Posts

http://black-vulmea.blogspot.com/2012/03/using-mythic-game-master-emulator-as.html

http://black-vulmea.blogspot.com/2012/12/random-encounters-mythic-role-playing.html