[Gardens of Ynn] Session 1 – Into the Gardens

The Ultraviolet Grasslands-isms here are because I ran Gardens of Ynn as an intro to a UVG campaign, as well as to introduce the players to the system we'd be using: Knave with GLOG classes and some house rules for good measure. It's a messy work in progress.

Dramatis Personae

• Gelato "O.G." Kush. Mutant Quarter-Ling Hexad Enforcer Militant. Booted from his squad upon discovery that he experiments with drugs (and turns into a were-swan in the light of the full moon).
• Limon Field. Lime nomad Steppelander climate migrant. Fled to the Yellowlands during a great drought where he trained as a showfighter in a traveling circus.
• Finn Skyshambler. Greenlander Phytomancer. Spreads the good word of The Great and Powerful Physics as a preacher from the Emerald City.
• Mercutio Coffeeya Grove. Grapefruit nomad Steppelander Coffee-maker. A trained Black Gold industrialist from a clan of coffee-middlemen.

A Notice in Charming Square

Our adventure began with our heroes gathered around a notice board in the Violet City's Charming Square. A listing posted by researchers at the Purple University sought volunteers to explore a recently discovered anomaly. While contemplating taking this gig or investigating an ancient tower from the Long Long Ago rumored to attract Vomes and contain the resting place of a great warrior, they met Chancellor Kevin. A kindly old man, Chancellor offered them useful information, such as that Vomes have nasty worms that wriggle inside you, and that plants have nasty worms that wriggle inside you too. The group rudely refused to compensate him for his efforts and headed to Purp U.

At the University

Continuing their rude antics, Mercutio berated a receptionist at the towering structure of higher education for being a cog in the capitalist machine until the message beetle summoned Professor Doktor Leifbrauer. The good Doktor and his research assistants explained what was expected of the motley crue: enter the anomaly, explore, record any interesting findings, report back within 24 hours. Provided with supplies, the group was shown the anomaly: a brick wall overgrown with ivy, parted so that a door could be drawn on in chalk, inscribed with the phrase

"Ynn, by way of the Purple University."

Professor Doktor asked everyone to face away from the door, and as soon as it had ceased to be observed, the anomaly manifested. In the place of the chalk drawing was an oaken door with brass fittings, and opening it lead to a copse of trees in far-off land. Or, perhaps, another reality altogether!

The Gardens of Ynn

A game trail wound through the copse of trees, leading to a mausoleum bordered by finely manicured gardens and hedges. Atop the white marble mausoleum stood a statue of an elf; in the clearing leading up to it, a wrought-iron lamp post with an unlit candle. Limon climbed the lamp to light the candle, and from his changed vantage point noticed an exit through the hedges hidden via optical illusion at the ground level. Stepping through this exit lead the group into a hedge maze, which Finn attempted to talk his way through. The hedges allowed it, but warned him that the group forcing their way through the maze could attract unwanted attention.

They continued navigating the maze until finding it exited into a hanging garden of ancient rotating clockwork gears. OG being a natural climber found himself able to Charlie Chaplin his way through the machinery with ease, even helping to rescue Finn whose hand became stuck, crushed by great, grinding gears. The hanging cogs dropped our heroes off onto a pocket of floating grave plots, each a clump of dirt spaced a few feet apart, marked with a tombstone, and suspended in the yawning blue sky.