The old keep upon the hill stands out like a broken bone. It serves as the seat of the Von Rabenfels household. Deep within it's bowls lies the family crypt. Here is the eternal resting place of you and your sons and daughters. Here, where your power is at it's strongest, you have lain dormant for many years. Hundreds of years ago you were given this fiefdom for your service. Your time as the iron patriarch has long passed, but your strong grip and guiding voice still linger to lead your blood to glory. It is once more time to guide your descendants from the afterlife. Choose one strength and two weaknesses of the Von Rabenfels Dynasty:>(Prosperity) How many Reichsgulden you still have in your coffers, as well as other assets you might own. Determines your wealth and stewardship.>(Blood) How numerous and strong your progeny is. Determines how many members of your family are left and of what stock they are.>(Connections) How well connected you are. Determines your prestige and influence among the nobility. Also choose one of the following traits:>(House of warriors) You came to your title through the battleaxe and your children have followed in your footsteps. Your house has a long military tradition. Old swords and armour fill your halls. Every male member has a war story to tell and even the daughters are often taught in fencing or strategy.>(Family of occultists) Many of your descendants have dabbled in the mysterious arts of magick. Though not outright banned in many places of the empire it is frowned upon everywhere, and certainty dangerous.>(Old traditions) Though ancestor worship has become old fashioned your family seems to be a conservative sort. Every night candles are lit and prayers are spoken in your name. Your influence is greater as a result.
>>6468902>(Blood) How numerous and strong your progeny is. Determines how many members of your family are left and of what stock they are.>(Family of occultists) Many of your descendants have dabbled in the mysterious arts of magick. Though not outright banned in many places of the empire it is frowned upon everywhere, and certainty dangerous.
>>6468902>(Prosperity) How many Reichsgulden you still have in your coffers, as well as other assets you might own. Determines your wealth and stewardship.>(Family of occultists) Many of your descendants have dabbled in the mysterious arts of magick. Though not outright banned in many places of the empire it is frowned upon everywhere, and certainty dangerous.
>>6468902>(Connections) How well connected you are. Determines your prestige and influence among the nobility.>(Old traditions) Though ancestor worship has become old fashioned your family seems to be a conservative sort. Every night candles are lit and prayers are spoken in your name. Your influence is greater as a result.
>>6468902Looks like we will probably go with either Blood or connections as a strength and Family of occultists as a trait if we don't get another vote for old traditions. If we don't get a tie breaker or changed votes in the next two hours i will throw a coin.
>>6469132Blood, and Family of occultists it is. I forgot to do it this time but next time i'll try to roll a dice for transperancy. >>6468902Much has happened since last you spoke to your descendants. Our pockets are empty, the old Coppermine at the foot of the Rabenfels has dried up and the taxes from the village have remained stagnant. Our liege lord prefers not to talk to us and the other families shun us.Perhaps our studies have taken a toll on our reputation. You recollect that it was your grandson who first started this tradition. Whether it's the elusive art of alchemy, the dubiously clerical knowledge of secret names of God that is used in charms and curses or the general folklore about the beings that are said to roam the woods and dreams of men. Your family is well versed in this knowledge, for better or for worse. The von rabenfels household faces challenging times, but not all is lost. The blood still flows freely. The children are healthy and the adults grow old in dignity. Even now you feel the beating hearts of your kin in this keep. There are of course the lord of the manor and his Wife. Lord Wilhelm and Lady Frida von Rabenfels. Last you saw Wilhelm he was a young man full of ambition. His father, your great-great grandson, often called upon your help. Now the young gentleman is old and grey, desperate to keep the family together. There is yet another presence you can recognize. Friedrich von Rabenfels, the son of Wilhelms older brother, though why he is here on Rabenfels and not with his father you cannot tell. He was still an infant when he was presented before you, but now his presence is that of a vital man. There are also two new souls here, though you may not know their names you recognize your blood. There is a young man and a still younger woman. You can feel a faint memory of cousin’s nephews and other distant kin, but they are far from the keep.What would you like to do?>Check up on Wilhelm>Check up on Friedrich>Check up on the young man>Check up on the girl>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your strength and skips time)>Other...(write in)
>>6469182>Check up on Wilhelm
>>6469182>Inspect the keep and other members of the household
>>6469182>>6469275>>6469183Your presence ascends through the walls of the keep into the study room of Wilhelm. There the old man sits labouring over a pile of documents, with him in the room is his wife, sitting on a stool and embroidering a hankerchief with the Von Rabenfels coat of arm.Feel free to choose what our coat of arms looks like:>A Raven spreading it’s wings>A Raven perched on a skull>Two Ravens Crossing Beaks>A Black cat with red claws and fangs>Other… (Write in)The old man sets his feather aside and turns around to face his wife. With a heavy sigh he says: “Frida I must admit that we are in a dire situation. The Taxes from Rabendorf are stagnating. I had to lay off a few of our servants and we still can’t afford appropriate weddings for Jakob and Martha. And not to speak of Friedrich’s wife, when she comes here we will have yet another mouth to feed. At this rate we will have to cook our own food, mend our own clothes and sell our family heirlooms!”The old lady stands up, walks over to Wilhelm and gently touches his shoulder. “Please don’t worry yourself my dear. We still need to find an appropriate spouse for Jakob anyway. And with Martha” she pauses “I still have some convincing to do. In any case, it was a bad harvest last season, I am sure next year will be better. Maybe you can also convince Jakob to sell some of his books?”Wilhelm shakes his head “That boy is more interested in his books then in the prospect of marriage. That’s the only thing he has in common with his sister. He is always in that laboratory he set up in his chambers. Making his blasted concoctions and doing god knows what.”What would you like to do? (Please note that your influence on the world of the living is fairly weak. You can only do minor things like snuff out candles, warm up or cool down a room, strengthen or weaken emotions and so on. Speaking with the living is very difficult if they are not in the crypt or directly calling upon you in prayer or veneration. Your influence is stronger on those of your blood and especially those you have interacted with before like Wilhelm or Friedrich.)>Do something in the study (Write in)>Try to talk to Wilhelm>Check up on Friedrich>Check up on the young man (Jakob)>Check up on the girl (Martha)>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your Potency and skips time)>Other...(write in)Current Potency: Strong
>>6469324>A Raven perched on a skull>Try to talk to Wilhelm
>>6469324>A Raven perched on a skull>Check up on the young man (Jakob)
>>6469324>Two Ravens Crossing Beaks>Check up on the young man (Jakob)
>>6469324Replying late, not because i am dead or abandoned the quest but because I have an ongoing blood feud with the custodians, possibly just because I accidentally used a VPN. I had to verify my e-mail now. If it happens again and I stop posting know that I have been struck down by lord Tranitor Janitor.>>6469326>>6469373>>6469433You leave the old couple alone in their consolation and instead check up on the young man you assume to be Jakob, your youngest male descendant. You spirit enters the chambers of a young aristocrat possibly in his late teenage years or early twenties. He’s crouched over a book filled with strange symbols. Behind him the banner of your household, depicting a raven perched atop a skull is gathering dust. It hasn’t been touched in a long time. A fuzzy imitation of a mustache marks the young man’s upper lip and he seems deeply concentrated in his work. You never much cared for the hidden arts in your own life. But as an ancestral spirit you have also subsumed much of the knowledge held by your deceased magick-interested descendants. The young man seems to be interested in alchemy and particularly the transformation of metals. You have heard that many alchemists strive to turn metal into gold. So far none have yet managed to do so. You do know though that the alchemical art also has easier and more immediately practical purposes like the creation of dyes, medicine or alcohol. Perhaps you could steer him into this direction, or if you believe in the intelligence of your youngest offspring, spur him on in his mad quest.>Try to turn the pages on the manuscript towards something more practical.>Try to focus on him to deepen his concentration>Check up on Friedrich>Check up on the girl (Martha)>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your Potency and skips time)>Other...(write in)
>>6470201>Try to turn the pages on the manuscript towards something more practical.Revive our family fortunes, while slowly pursuing your ultimate goal. The transformation of metals into gold is the work of generations, worked on incrementally through the ages. He ought create a manuscript that we and his descendants can follow, gradually iterating until something great comes about. We can guide future generations with whatever he discovers. If only he will listen. But first we need money.
>>6470201>Try to turn the pages on the manuscript towards something more practical.
>>6470201>>6470207Excellent suggestion! Creating a magnum opus would certaintly bring the Family some benefit. Perhaps you could discuss it with them when you find a reliable way to communicate.>>6470385The youth narrows his eyes in suprise as the pages of his tome flip by themselves. They land on a rather simple recipe for a pigment dye. The young man rubs his eyes and stands up. He paces back and forth in his chamber. After a while he loudly exclaims: "Eurka! Why not? Did not Eusklepios the elder say 'Redire est discere'? 'To return is to learn' i must go back to the foundations if i want to improve. Transformation is the essence of alchemy and the process of Assation is simplest visualization of transformation."He seems to talk to himself in an odd manner. You are short of frustration until he begins his work. Heating up diffrent mixtures, adding ingredients and all the while muttering to himself. Occasionally he will, before pouring a powder or liquid of some sort into a glass bottle exclaim loudly some sentence in a foreign language. You assume it to be spells. After a you see him put aside a small cup. Filled to the brim with a deep maroon powder. He gives a satisfied nod and then returns to his books.The sun begins to set and you feel that he won't sleep much tonight.>Check up on Friedrich >Check up on the girl (Martha)>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your strength and skips time)>Other...(write in)Current Potence: Middeling
>>6470576>Check up on Friedrich
>>6470576>>6470642>>6470765You leave the young man alone in his study as he further improves upon his recipe. It seems like he will dedicate most of his night to the creation of different kinds of dye. Your spirit disappears through the walls of the keep, and you find yourself in the chamber of Friedrich. So much has changed since last you saw him. He could barely walk back then. Emmerich, his father held him up in the family crypt, speaking the old words."Behold noble ancestor! The river of our blood is coursing! I present before you my son Friedrich."He was a good man that Emmerich, strong and confident. Full of life and filial piety. He would frequently give offerings and seek your council. The last time he did this was when he left the keep to join his liege in battle against the Evermen in the east."I beseech you noble ancestor! Many pray to God to save their souls, or they ask his servant in war for his blessing. But I only come to you, spirit of our family. I beg you, protect our house in my absence."You wonder where he is now. If he died, then how come you can't feel his presence? Why was he not buried in the crypt and alongside his forefathers?In any case, Friedrich, the man you see before you now, is the spitting image of his father. Apart from the clean-shaven face, he looks just like Emmerich, with an intense gaze and broad shoulders. However, as Friedrich puts on a nightshirt you suddenly notice that his left arm is missing. His arm simply ends in a stump where his elbow is supposed to be. He struggles through dressing with one arm with quiet determination. As he lays down on the bed you also notice that the toes on his feet are black as ash.>Attempt to speak to Friedrich>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your Potency and skips time)>Other...(write in)Current Potence: Middeling
>>6470830>Attempt to speak to FriedrichWe should at least know what happened and is happening, to prevent his loss to depression, and to know if our advise is needed to prevent an oncoming problem. Invaders suck.
>>6470830>>6470845You do remember the Evermen, or at least tales told about them. They are a quarrelsome people. A heathen and inhuman folk, they shift with the everchanging seasons, in both body and temper. In the summers they raid the lands of the civilized but in winter they become meek and avoid confrontation. In the spring and autumn, they usually trade and appear friendly. The empire has been in contact with them ever since it expanded eastwards. After years of failed attempts to vassalize or pacify them, the emperors have started to wage war on them. Trade with them is forbidden now. Campaigns are started in the autumn to destroy them, so that the frontier in the east may become safe. You attempt to speak with Friedrich.“Friedrich, my scion! Listen to me. Where is your Father? Where is Emmerich? What has happened to you that you are so grievously inquired?”The man’s eyes widen in Horror. He tries to press a pillow to his head to make the voice stop.“Who goes there? Who are you?”He yells into the emptiness of his room.“Father?”He shakes his head in frustration and springs up from his bed. He walks over to the desk at the window and pulls the cloth from a strange object standing on it. It’s a large bronze bowl, decorated with intricate carvings and strange symbols. It’s outside a gleaming bronze, but it’s inside dark as a the night. Friedrich eyes the object with contempt, before looking in the mirror. He looks at the stump on his left arm. With grinding teeth, he stares at his own reflection.>Keep attempting to speak with Friedrich>Check up on the girl (Martha)>Inspect the keep and other members of the household>Return to your slumber (Regenerates some of your Potency and skips time)>Other...(write in)Current Potence: Waning
>>6470878>Keep attempting to speak with Friedrich
>>6470878>Keep attempting to speak with FriedrichOne last attempt, then I think we should sleep. Next time we'll have to catch up with the other members of the family.
>>6470878>>6470882>>6470892There has to be some way to get through to him. You spoke to his father so why shouldn’t it be possible to speak with him?“Friedrich. I am your ancestor, the founder of this house, I am the first to carry the name Von Rabenfels. Listen to me, tell me what has happened to you. Where is your father? Did he fall in battle? Then how come he wasn’t buried with me? Have our noble traditions fallen so low since last I saw you?”Current Potence: DepletedThe man just keeps staring at his own image in the mirror. You are unsure if he can hear you through the shroud of the afterlife. You feel your own strength waning. So much time spent in the world of the living, it’s tearing at your spirit. You feel yourself getting heavier, getting pulled down. Down into the crypt, back into the silence of death. The sight of Friedrich covered in the shadows of his room is fading. Return to the eternal resting place of all Von Rabenfels’s where you sleep a dreamless slumber.You are suddenly jolted awake when you feel the presence of a living human in the crypt. Intruders? Enemies?The heavy stone of the grand tomb shifts. In walks a man with a candleholder in hand. The light illuminating his worrysome face, his bloodshot eyes, a heavy stubble adorning his scowl. It’s Friedrich and he looks like he hasn’t slept in days. He walks past the rows of stone sarcophagi, all adorned with the image of a raven perched on a skull. He reaches the very end of the crypt where he stands before a much larger sarcophagus. This special place of honour in the crypt is reserved for you, the founder of the house. This Coffin of Stone is decorated with the finest of carvings, an echo of the old Von Rabenfels splendor. The young man holds his one arm high and shouts.“Ancestors! Noble Ancestors! Do you hear me?”It seems as if this is your cue.
>>6470943Here in the crypt is your place of power. If they come here to call on you, you can directly speak to them and appear in any manner you might like. So how do you wish to usually present yourself before your progeny?>As you were in life. A strong bearded young man holding your Francisca, your trusty axe in hand. This is what you looked like when you were rewarded your fiefdom for your prowess on the battlefield.>As you were in death. An old but venerable man. Stern and unflinching, the many years written into your face. You clutch your cane. This is what you looked like on your deathbed. The iron patriarch of a noble house.>As we all are in the grave. A ghostly floating skull. In this way you don’t just represent yourself, but all dead Von Rabenfels’s. Your appearance carries the weight of generations. This is what we will all look like eventually.>You don’t wish to appear at all.>Other...(write in) How would you like to address Friedrich?>Sternly, reprimand him for not speaking to you sooner.>Angrily, curse him for his impudence.>Calmly, comfort and reassure him.>You don’t want to speak to him at all.>Other… (write in)Current Potence: Middling
>>6470945>As we all are in the grave. A ghostly floating skull. In this way you don’t just represent yourself, but all dead Von Rabenfels’s. Your appearance carries the weight of generations. This is what we will all look like eventually.>Calmly, comfort and reassure him.
