Chapter: A Home in Perpetual Bernville?

The Convergence Player Characters have some time to explore Perpetual Bernville and find out a bit about what is happening in the Convergence Universe.
Played through in Convergence, Session 3.

Plot points/Scenes

Meeting Euphrati

Not long after The Comte de Saint-Germain foreshadows it and leaves, Inquisitor Gallia Euphrati arrives at the Convergence Player Characters' location. She is wounded and exhausted - missing most of her cybernetic arm, covered in other injuries, dirty and worn out. She appeals to them for help, especially Dvorak Four Six, who may be able to identify some Inquisition insignia with particular attention.
How the players deal with Euphrati is up to them. It would be good if she sticks around as a supportive figure, but there are other options. They might heal her, but she and they will still need somewhere to rest - this should lead them into exploring Perpetual Bernville.
What happened to Euphrati: Part of her ship, The Cudgel of Drusus, was brought here, somewhere. In the chaos of the crash, she was injured and separated from her allies. She had a run in with Inquisitor Rhia Jezail and her retinue. She fled through a settlement, where she encountered what seemed like Imperium forces, but they were strange, with different insignia and behaviours. She had to flee again, into a forest. Here, she had to fight and hide from people with strange powers as she travelled. Eventually, she spotted this town and headed towards what she hoped would be respite.

Discovering Perpetual Bernville

The borders of the town have been mostly evacuated and somewhat fortified - the place has been under attack from various forces relating to the other shards of realities:

• The northeast parts of town tend to feature scorch marks, rotten flesh, ichor and shattered pieces of bone. Analysis of the situation could reveal that signs point to invading undead (skeletons and zombies) and perhaps other monsters.
• The northwest parts of town show strange combinations of primitive weaponry (spears and sharpened rocks) as well as damage from unclear sources. Analysis could reveal that the weapons were propelled with great force and the other damage perhaps came from telekinesis or force blasts. There are also signs of green blood amongst the human.
• The southwest shows some similar signs to those in the northwest, though it is generally less harassed. Occasionally, travellers from other realities arrive via this route (including Rainy Day, who the group will meet in this session). Euphrati would have come this way if she hadn't been waylaid in the forest.
• The south and southeast mostly border the water, so not as much happens along this boundary. A few Molepeople have drifted or otherwise landed ashore, though they tend not to speak much. A few people have probably also boated over from Falmouth, though they are also dealing with their own problems.

Elements of Perpetual Bernville to uncover or explore:

• The town has to deal with regular attacks from other realities, as well as monsters (and friendly / neutral beings) that seem to appear out of circles. Rainy Day has been coordinating defence efforts since she arrived. She can be found in the police station, which serves as the central hub for the defenders.
  • The defences are mostly holding, with volunteers roaming the borders and Rainy Day (and others - Rhys Jenkins' Homunculus, Bootleg and Sheepish among them) travelling to where they are needed most. Monsters appearing inside town can be an issue. Rainy Day would like to organise a party to head out and deal with the sources of some of the invaders, but Perpetual Bernville doesn't have enough able fighters.
  • The Tarasque is going to invade shortly, stressing the defences to an extreme level.
  • Some of the defenders speak of a mighty man who helped to make the town safe before Rainy Day and others arrived to help. He has since left to continue his journey.
• The town is trying to function with some normality, and succeeding to a degree. Nobody is quite sure for how long, but Perpetual Bernville has been adrift from any home reality for a long time. The citizens have grown accustomed to welcoming refugees and running the town as best as possible. Many of the "inessential" facilities have been repurposed for defence, temporary housing, distribution of goods / food and so on. Residents seem to come and go, so many homes are left open for people to move in as needed - a group has taken it upon themselves to manage residences.
• The relatively small numbers of Molepeople might give a little information about the desert that they came from. There is great knowledge there but it was too hard to learn it. Giant robots clash in the distance.
• People who travelled from Falmouths might talk about the situation there. Factions are fighting over "The Grail". Britannia is trying to keep the peace, along with others. There's a near-permanent fire in the forest between Falmouths and Perpetual Bernville.
• There are small numbers of other races - elves, dwarves, Tau, sentient skeletons, etc. These residents mostly predate the Convergence, so can't offer up much info about current circumstances but might give some history or context.
• Other rumours or bits of information might come up in conversation.
  • People speak of Mothgdanon in hushed tones, with dread.
  • A demon war is coming.
  • Some people have been taken by a mysterious order - to be made into Future People?
  • There is a hole in the world.
  • A green-skinned man with red eyes has been seen in several people's dreams.
  • We need to find The Wizard.
  • There's a boy who turns into a car when he gets hot.

Themes

Convergence: Collisions of worlds / realities, bleeding over from the real world. Chaos and Order: Worlds in turmoil, resolution of this through player action, fixing things. Support and Kinship: Care, coming together, filling voids.

Components

Goals

The Convergence Player Characters probably want to find out why and how they were brought to this reality. They may also want to find out how to return to their own - they may assume that someone in Perpetual Bernville can help them with that.
Once they discover a bit about the situation and threats in the Convergence Universe, they may want to intervene or help with defences.

Hooks

Fragments of realities, magic circles, immigrants to Perpetual Bernville, threats to the town's safety, rumours of power in other places.

Stakes

Perpetual Bernville is struggling to defend itself properly - the town could be overrun with no intervention.

Moral Quandaries

Are investigating the mysteries of the Convergence Universe, looking for a way home and acquiring power worth endangering the residents of Perpetual Bernville, either directly or by not helping them when they need it?

Relations

Protagonists

The Convergence Player Characters

Allies

Inquisitor Gallia Euphrati, Rainy Day

Neutrals/Bystanders

The Comte de Saint-Germain

Adversaries

The Tarasque

Backdrops

Locations

Perpetual Bernville

Threats

Monsters invading through circles (The Tarasque), forces invading from other realities (the northeast and northwest)

Encounters

• Discussion with Inquisitor Gallia Euphrati
• Exploring the town of Perpetual Bernville
• Meeting the residents of the town and picking up rumours and other info
• Discussion with Rainy Day
• Fighting the Tarasque
• Planning the next steps

Plot type

Chapter

Parent Plot

Campaign: Convergence

Related Characters

• Inquisitor Gallia Euphrati
• Rainy Day

Related Organizations

• Convergence Player Characters

Related Locations

• Perpetual Bernville