04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

CHAPTER 1: The NIght’s WatchBBBBBBAfter uncovering a weak spot in the Wall, the builders have toquarry new stone to replace it while fending off the forces of one ofthe Others who wants to use the breach to its advantage.After a tunnel collapses in Mole’s Town and traps a group of brothers,the builders are called in to dig them out safely. During the excavation,the builders uncover signs that the collapse was not an accident.The builders are called upon to rebuild one of the ruined towersin the Gift, and uncover a concealed chamber that hints of direportents for Westeros and the Watch.StewardsThe stewards are perhaps the easiest to include in an adventure after therangers, though their involvement is much more in the realm of intrigueand politics by comparison. The overlooked stewards are everywherewithin the brotherhood, quietly making certain that the Night’s Watchcontinues to function as it should. Steward-centric adventures are alsoeasy to add in involvement of the other branches, making them a valuableresource for lesser rangings and broad-spectrum campaigns on the Wall.BBBBBBBBBBWhile checking in shipments in Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the stewardsuncover consistently short supplies in certain items, namelyweapons and armor, and are called upon to figure out where theshipments are being diverted and why.When a high-ranking member of the brotherhood disappears inMole’s Town, the stewards assigned to him uncover evidence of asecret cult from beyond the Wall.After a particularly bad harvest, the stewards are sent to the Giftto negotiate with the farmers there who are reluctant to give up theonly means of sustaining their families.An assassination attempt on the commander of the Shadow Towerpoints toward the work of one of the southern houses, and thestewards must work to ensure that the attempt to control theWatch through politics fails.A virulent plague spreads among the horses of the Watch, whilea similar disease seems to infect the brothers. The stewards mustrace to uncover if there is a connection between the two, and howto stop it before the wildlings can learn of the weakened numbers.Rangings, & Bringingthe Branches TogetherThe likelihood that all of your players will willingly choose the samebranch of the Watch to base their characters’ growth is, at best, slim.Far more likely is the fact that, as Narrator, you will be called uponto create stories that involve multiple branches of the Watch and tiethem together to better reflect the functioning whole. Though rare, it isnot unheard of for the Night’s Watch to undertake Great Rangings ofhundreds of brothers going beyond the Wall to deal with some threat.While these are certainly an excellent option for players, there areother situations where all the branches of the Watch are pulled togetherin smaller groups, usually formed to meet a specific goal, or situationswhere the various branches are thrown together by circumstance andforced to cooperate.While it is easy to expand adventure ideas that focus on one branchof the Watch to include others, it is far more satisfying to work withadventures that challenge all the skills its participants bring. These adventuresseeds only scratch the surface of possible stories that tie allthree branches together.BBBBBBWhen the First Builder demands to be escorted to the ruins of a fortificationin the Far North, the rangers gather to escort and protecthim during his journey. At the same time, other representatives ofthe builders accompany him to provide assistance, while his personalstewards come along to attend him. Unlike a lot of rangings that tiethe brothers together, this scenario is rife for inter-Watch conflicts aseach of the branches works out rivalries with their fellows.Evidence surfaces that an artifact, such as the lost Valyrian bladeNight’s Sister, or even a tome describing the spells used by Branto raise the Wall, is hidden within one of the abandoned castlesalong the Wall. In order to avoid drawing the attention of variousfactions that watch the brotherhood, a small group of brothers isbrought together in order to recover it. Not only would the rangersbe required to attend for defense, but the builders would be neededto ensure that the fortifications remain safe enough for exploration,and the stewards would be needed to confirm and catalog anythingthat is recovered from within the castle. As an added twist, eachbranch could have their own goals to achieve once within the abandonedcastle, leading to rifts between the brothers and either theirobjectives or their respective orders.On a similar theme, the discovery of a long-abandoned watchtowerdeep in the Frostfangs would require the assembly of a sizeableranging, sending members of all the branches to investigate,evaluate and catalog the find. Learning who constructed the fortificationand why such a position was abandoned would form thecentral thrust of such an adventure, with adequate opportunity formembers of each branch to come to the forefront and excel at theirspecific specialties.Intrigue & PoliticsAmong the Night’s WatchThe Watch, despite its appearance of unity, is as rife with lesser andgreater intrigues as any other gathering of people in Westeros. Theseopportunities for intrigue often tend to be on a smaller scale than inthe rest of the civilized world: having forsaken gold and glory, the menoften content themselves with smaller victories. One of the most commonuses of Intrigue on the Wall is to punish or trick a rival into landinghimself in trouble (a dirty trick for which Alliser Thorne of CastleBlack is notorious). These intrigues use Taunt or Incite as their primarytechnique, though Bargain and Charm are also likely candidates.Bargain or Charm are common techniques for a member of thebrotherhood who is trying to earn favored duties or ensure a betterposition within the Wall (either one with more responsibility, or onewith less difficult work.) Convince is a more direct, but often less effectivetechnique. The stewards use Bargain on a regular basis as well,as part of their efforts to secure the most for the Watch with thesmallest outlay of capital.When a position of rank opens within the Night’s Watch, the brothersinterested in filling the opening pull out all the stops in an effort18