Episode #301 - CDSA - Do it with Class

The 2nd half of our first playing sessions.

In the feedback we mention the playest at Acadecon. Hydro Hackers - find it at http://www.encodeddesigns.com/h2o/

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The History of House Voluptas – Part Two, The Censure

The History of House Voluptas – Part Two, The Censure

The fall of Horatio echoed like a rail-gun shot across the entirety of the Spiral. Never had such a powerful luminary of such an influential House been publicly executed. Had the Grand Mayor and Parliament stopped at that injustice then perhaps the Third Ether Crusade and all of its disastrous repercussions would never had taken place.

Historians can argue whether it was a profound sense of imperiousness or simple contempt for the will of people that drove the decision. Regardless, an Archipelago that was teetering on a knife’s edge of war was sent hurtling into chaos when Grand Mayor Coil issued an Imperial Censure of House Voluptas.

The Censure revoked the status of House Voluptas. It completely erased them as a House within the Clockwork Empire and reduced all of the Lords and Ladies to little more than street rabble within the time it took to the Grand Mayor to flick his wrist and sign the decree.

But most importantly, the Censure appropriated the massive holdings of House Voluptas into the Grand Mayor’s possession. Even in a corrupt system rampant with bribes, embezzlement, cronyism, the Censure was seen as a thinly veiled grab by Parliament and the Grand Mayor for the extensive Ether deposits controlled by the House.

Grand Mayor Coil immediately ordered the loyalist encampments of House Voluptas to swear their allegiance to him or to disband immediately. The majority of these were located in the Ether Spine, the battleground of the Second Ether Crusade. When the troops protecting the Ether Salt mines refused the Grand Mayor’s directive, the region once again was plunged into long, bloody armed conflict.

For more than thirty years, House Voluptas ceased to exist as the League of Merchants and the Clockwork Empire strove for control of the mineral rich Ether Spine. This Ether Crusade was by far the bloodiest of the three, as powerful merchant houses, the Aeronaught’s Demense and even the Ophidian Hegemony drained the coffers and will of the most powerful empire the Spiral had even known.

Finally, in 1672, the Crusade ended with the signing of the Sovereign Ether Accord. Both the League of Merchants and Parliament claimed victory and nearly two hundred years later the true winner is still quarreled over by academics, military expects and commoners alike.

For House Voluptas, it was most certainly a pyrrhic victory. As part of the Accord, the House was reinstated - but with severe limitations. It was no longer an Imperial House of the Empire, but rather a Common House of the Aeronaught’s Demense. This greatly impacted the fledgling House’s ability to conduct business within the Empire.

Much more catastrophic was the refusal to reestablish the holdings of the original House Voluptas. Like so many strands of pearls, they were grasped at, divided and greedily claimed by both enemies and supposed allies.

House Voluptas was reborn. It was a messy, unpleasant rebirth to be sure, but after thirty years, it was welcomed by many who remembered Horatio and the wrongs inflicted upon the original members of the House.

A cadet branch of the family had been located and was quickly seated at the head of the new House Voluptas in the Pirate’s Haven of the Aeronaught’s Demense. With a single decrepit, sprawling compound in the heart of the Street of Silk Veils, they hoped to forge a history that would live up to their family’s proud past. 

Episode #300 - CDSA - Steam Punk Poetry Slam

The adventures begins - join in and listen.

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Episode #299 - Character Creation 2 OR There's Rubbing Involved

The crew finishes up character design. We are ready for play!

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Episode #298 - Character Creation or That Would Be Rude - I Like It

Character build time! (And I had to break it into to episodes - part 2 next week).

Also, there is a different theme song this week - if you have time, join the facebook fan page and vote for which one you like better.

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The History of House Voluptas – Part One, The Rise of Horatio

 In the early 1600’s, as the Second Ether Crusade was mercifully coming to a close and the flames of what would ignite the Third still smoldering below the surface, a House of some repute jostled for power within the hallowed halls of the Core.  

House Voluptas, purveyors of the finest flesh in the Spiral, stood atop the legalized sex trade through the nimble use of politics and persuasion. Their rise had been meteoric, as previous generations had languished as nothing more than minor players is the flesh trade. It took a ruthless visionary, Horatio Voluptas, to create the perfect alchemy of supposition and coercion, eavesdropping and extortion.  

Young Horatio was the third son and by far the fittest to lead the House. After the suspicious deaths of his two older brothers, Horatio assumed the Lordship when his puerile father succumbed to the coughing plague.  

The boy’s appetites were almost as great as his cunning and such distractions could only be satiated with coin. Impossibly large numbers of coin. And so he set his mind to work.   

Within a decade Horatio had outmaneuvered, outworked, and outshined his competition. House Voluptas was a force in the political landscape of the Core with bordellos stretching from the Eastlands to the Fractured West. At their zenith, some twenty years into his reign, the House controlled over one thousand brothels, ran countless smuggling operations, and commanded a personal army of no small measure. House Voluptas had arrived. And yet, Horatio was unable to fully enjoy the fruits of his conquests. There was one conquest yet to be had. A conquest that would take the full measure of his essence. 

Though his ambition strained the bounds of mortal men, Horatio was, at heart, a pragmatist. House Voluptas had thrived in no small part because of his uncanny political instincts. His ability to push to the very precipice of disaster only to pull back at the moment of optimal gain was preternatural.  

As is known to any with even a passing knowledge of the social vagaries of polite society, there is a distinct stratum among the Houses of the Spiral. At the pinnacle of those layers are the Imperial Houses. All but untouchable, the ‘Houses Imperium” are above all but the most egregious of political offenses. Horatio was determined that before his passing he would elevate House Voluptas to that rarified standing. 

And so, with secrets, favors and no small degree of temerity, he crafted an undertaking so audacious in its complexity, that its success relied on not on the tumbling of a single domino, but rather on the toppling of hundreds. Yet, such a master manipulator had he become, a puppeteer of unparalleled ability, that those within his House refused to cross him.     

As with most men of ambition, it is the very thing that propels them to greatness that ultimately is responsible for destroying them. And Horatio was, despite numerous reports to the contrary, just a man.  

His plan to blackmail the Grand Mayor of the Clockwork Empire was as brilliant as it was elaborate, a machination for the bards and baristas to tell tale of for the ages to come. Like a master marionettist, he pulled, tweaked and tugged at the strings, and the puppets all danced, while the dominos fell in a mesmerizing pattern.   

His grand scheme shifted and chameleoned through its stages. His reactions were perfectly sure. The layers unfolded like the petals of a rose awakening to the brilliance of a new morning. There had perhaps never been an a more perfect architect of deception. The stories tell of a man at the height of his power and genius. A man who fully expected his House to be the first human House ever elevated to Royal Imperial status within the Empire.  

If not for the resilience of a single domino that refused to be toppled; a single puppet whose sharp, splintered edges sheared the strings that Horatio had so carefully threaded, the history of House Voluptas would most certainly be different.  

But as he hung from the gallows, his neck not broken, slowly suffocating as he spiraled listlessly to a meeting with his maker, his lips pursed together in a silent howl.  

One word, whispered in the language of the dying. A curse. A lamentation. A vow.  

“Cross.” 

*************** 

The Empire had been simmering since the cessation of the Second Ether Crusade. In the boardrooms and parlors, the taverns and the estate galas, Horatio’s death was the tinder. With no explanation from Parliament as to what his offense was, the seething undercurrent of discontent rose to the surface once more.  

The Third Ether Crusade was about to begin with the most unlikely of catalysts.    

CDSA - World Building - OR - We are Not Nice People

The Gang gets together and talks about the world then want to play in, and the House they all want to belong to.

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Bloodline document - Races for our Clockwork setting

Bloodlines document for available races in our Clockwork Dominion setting.
Download and enjoy.

Episode #296 - Players Thoughts on Echoes OR Fallen Angel Advocate OR Party in Roberto's Mind

The final episode on or about Echoes

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Episode #295 - Listeners Questions

Listeners Questions OR Adulting is Hard.

Episode begins immediately.

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Episode #294 - Choir of Angels Turns out to be Air Supply

Episode #294 - Choir of Angels Turns out to be Air Supply


The final episode of Echoes. Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Send your questions in, for the after adventure Q&A!

Clockwork Dominion is up next!

Actual Play Starts 13:05

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Episode #293 - DFRPG - Reppas On High

Episode 293 - Reppas on High

The Penultimate episode of the Echoes story line.  In which London loses some serious geek cred.

Actual Play starts 8:01

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Episode #292 DFRPG There Goes the Security Deposit

The attack on the Dome continues. And London deals with his greatest enemy - EVER

Actual Play begins 16:59

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Episode #291 DFRPG Wizards Gotta Wiz

The assault on the Dome begins..

Don't forget to post your questions on the Echoes storyline - DFRPG in general - or Knights of the Night crew in general.

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Episode #290 - DFRPG Most Universes Have Issues

Almost all the Allies and even some Enemies have signed up to help. Just a few more..

Actual Play starts 9:04

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Episode #289 - DFRPG - This isn't Diplomacy, its Roberto

I love how this episode is bookended by Roberto and London – almost the same scene but oh so very different…

Actual Play 20:53

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Question time!

Dresden Files Story Echoes is winding down. Can't possibly be more than 2 more weeks to play out... This means it's question time!

• Echoes questions?
• KotN questions?
• Character questions?
• Any questions?!?

Ask away, and we will do our best to answer!

Episode #288 DFRPG - Pull An Aragorn

Planning time over, time to gather the troops! Everyone must be convinced to chip in. I’m sure Roberto will be able to smooth talk everyone into helping – right?

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Episode #287 DFRPG - First World Problem Looking Dude

Sorry about the quality on this one - the ocean is loud and this was recorded while at the beach in NC with the family.
Staring two young, up and coming role players. !

Actual Play starts 21:47

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Episode #286 DFRPG - Can't Say Lich Bitch

The Card reading if over, not time to discuss what it means and how that works into the plan .

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