Brad Murray: Cap'n Finn
Byron Kerr: Lord Pyrol of Jongg

Finn

• Finn is on Muddos negotiating with the mud shaman. Finn needs to talk to Effron but the shaman has a price: get the warlord Diirth to stop his territorial expansion.
• Finn agrees and develops a plan — Diirth is a demigod, the son of the god Sho Sha Shi. Since Finn is a diplomat to the gods (Ritual is his identity) he wants to talk directly with Sho Sha Shi to influence Effron. So Finn asks the shaman to direct him to Sho Sha Shi.
• The shaman dabs Finn's tiny head with holy mud and Finn is inspired and begins to fly in that direction.
• That's important, it turns out: Finn flies into the territory of a god of earth.
• Following his divine mark, Finn comes to a hill in the desert that is covered with lush vegetation. A spiral cairn sits atop it, clearly the throne of Sho Sha Shi. But as Finn approaches he is drawn towards the ground.

• He gets heavier and heavier. The guardian of Sho Sha Shi, the Land, is attacking him with Domination.
• Finn decides to respond with Knowledge, attempting to shift the conflict to Warfare. He knows that the god Sahar (a real god, a great god, a god that creates worlds) has interests here and there is an army to support Finn since he and Sahar have a history (using a trait here). And so an army of Saharan New Folk (who we met last session) arise to do battle with the Land. The 'army' of the sacred mound of Sho Sha Shi were the StoneVines?, tendrils of Earth coming up to swat and strangle the Saharan New Folk. (As I made this up on the fly and stated the StoneVine? on the spot it proved effective - also making an NPC or creature or plant takes about 2 minutes. It is that easy.)
• Context is now Warfare. Finn is not very good at Warfare but he is using this as a path to Diplomacy — and so now he uses (I forget — Knowledge again? BJDK: It was Knowledge. You did a Knowledge, Knowledge double shift to get to the conflict you wanted) to get from Warfare to Diplomacy, explaining that none can stand against Sahar and that his mission is peaceful — even beneficial — and there is no need for enmity.
• This is eventually successful (a Concession is negotiated: Sho Sha Shi will arrive and negotiate from a position of weakness) and Sho Sha Shi emerges to hear Finn's plea.
• Finn explains his need to speak with the god Effron (yes ostensibly he was here on a quest for the shaman, but Finn is very pragmatic and has chosen to cut out the middleman). Sho Sha Shi is clearly not enamoured of either Finn or Effron and so grants the boon. A great bowl of stone, similar to what Finn saw when battling the Witch of Halberd, emerges from the land.
• Effron arrives as Finn approaches the bowl and Effron it turns out is not very bright. He will not listen to reason when Finn offers him a path to Intercession on Halberd. He is angry at the banishment of his Witch and thinks only of revenge.
• It started of in Domination, as Effron attempts to overwhelm Cap'n Finn by his godly presence, then Finn shifts it to Warfare and stone spiders pop up from the bowl to skitter about.
• The context is Warfare (I think) as Effron summons his minions to kick Finn off the plane. This fight dances around several context as we jockey for advantage and resources are low after the previous conflict. However, Finn gets the upper hand with a lucky throw and settles into Diplomacy again, undermining Effron's relationship with the other gods of Muddos. Effron is ultimately ejected from the plane as the local gods, desiring peace, realize that he is too dangerous to the status quo to allow to remain.
• Finn is now at loose ends a bit — his objective right now is to get Effron to make King Boris of Halberd (and his lineage) a divinely inspired king and in fact make gods possible in that land through this. The only place left in the multiverse to summon Effron in any guise now is Stark. Stark is the last place any sane person would go.

Pyrol

...

• negotiates with Amak for access to the gate to Halberd. Things are testy between Amak and Pyrol. How did Pyrol betray Amak in the past? Clearly both sides still sting. Hothouse seems to be developing into meanagerie of lost beasts and humanoids. Amak permits Pyrol through on the threat of never returning back to Hothouse again. Pyrol goes through, fully intending to return. (He's found an army he can use! He just has to take it from Amak)
• Being shoved through the gate by an armoured bear is less than graceful, still gets through, finds himself in a tourney for generalship while his trio of rakshaha prowl around him... guarding and steering him onward.
• meets Sir Lawrence, one of Boris's leaders. It's a jousting tourney to staff the upper echelons of the armies of King Boris. That's how it's done on Halberd, baby. Pyrol declines to join the tourney.
• meets the cook, Louvre
• speaks with Boris
• learns of an army "rampaging" through Halberd. Halberd still appears lush and verdant, the rampaging and scouring and despoiling seems to be kept localized or exaggerated by King Boris due to the chance to host a tourney and show of martial prowess. Knowing Boris, it's probably a bit of both. Boris mentions Cap'n Finn as a 'giant of spirit'.

• cook says it's not so bad and offers to show Pyrol the army. Memorably the cook tells Boris to "get his own food." (A lovely cameo by a nearly napping Jack on the couch) The cook leaves with Pyrol and the rakshahas proclaiming the King "Knows he's a fool, but doesn't challenge people to he can remain king." Works for me.
• takes Pyrol to within sight of the army which is on the shore of the lake where the Witch once was
• cook is really Jirac who attacks with domination
• Pyrol, now quite powerful with 7 traits (thing about balance now) beats the crap out of Jirac with his cane while the rakshasa armies rush to his rescue. Pyrol shifts it using Tenacity (I think) to a Violence. Having chased Jirac across three planes, had him massacre the Arcane College of Jongg, abscond and enslave the rakshasa of Hothouse, Pyrol drops his dipolmatic mantle (Apex skill is Diplomacy) and just beats the living shit out of Jirac, maiming his hand in the process.
• negotated concession: Jirac escapes and the rakshasa armies see Pyrol as a liberator

Observations

• if a conflict changes context from A to B and back to A three times, it should be a wash. The combatants must negotiate a concession in which both win or both lose. If both lose, each also takes 4 stress to a track of their choice from those that were at risk in the context. For example: a fight goes from Warfare to Diplomacy, and then Diplomacy to Warfare. This is the third time this has happened. Players negotiate that they are both exhausted and beaten, friendless, and armies scattered. The land under contest is taken by a third party. The first player chooses to take four hits on Territory, since it was his home he was defending. The second player chooses to take four hits on Influence as the war has exhausted the patience of his allies in this realm.

Or, whatever Skill the player kept trying to get the conflict to takes 4 hits to the that stress track. Even if I'm defending territory, if my character keeps trying to turn it to Violence, my character takes 4 hits to his Substance. (Like a wash in Hollowpoint.)

• the number of traits is a big deal with even small variation. Think of a way to control this, either always bringing the same number to a conflict or limiting the total number that can be used (or diminish returns on them). Problem is that they may be more powerful than the powers they can provide. Maybe cap them.
• Returning NPCs who gain consequences in conflicts (See Jirac's hand above) may add another trait when/if they return to the game again. (Hopefully this will improve the balance Brad mentions above.)