SotS Inciting Incident: Ministry Mind Manipulation in Ugarat

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

Inciting Incident: Ministry Mind Manipulation in Ugarat

Inciting Members: Eleven,possibly Hillevi, Iris, and Ilakrin

The Facts:

• Members Eleven (“Ent”), Hillevi (“Q”), Iris (“Slite”), and Ilakrin (“Sly”) were accepting a quest to accompany a member of the USSSC royal family from Ugarat to an upcoming colony in the mountains of Pteris.

• Eleven was specifically quoted as being witnessed around and inside the ministry house traveling with several others, who we can only assume were the other SotS members who were traveling with him during this adventure. When asked about the others’ appearances, many eyewitnesses, including the ministry recall being distinctly distracted by the unnatural and intimidating presence of Eleven, who is a warforged---a construct creature of metal, stone and wood.

• Several eyewitnesses in the streets that day recall seeing the warforged work with an ally to apply a magical disguise. We know for a fact that Iris is capable of performing disguising magic, which would raise the chances of her being at the scene.

• The Ministry recalls the group entering the hall, the warforged leaving and returning…and then a sense of loss of control over their own opinions, as if magically dominated.

• The Minister of Merchants, under this commanding force, granted a pass for a merchant who had been banned from trading within the walls as he was discovered smuggling small animals. (Animals, historically, are treated with almost religious like respect within the Kingdom of Koranand).

• Seconds after granting the pass, the Minister of Merchants, as well as the other ministers, recall a sharp and sudden disillusionment as they felt control over their own demands at once.

• The Minister of Merchants called forth a summoning of guards using a Pendergras Industries “Walkie-Talkie” glyph (The Kingdom of Koranand has long ties with Pendergras Industries, and most government officials are given a direct link to the militia houses of their cities).

• Almost as soon as the call went out, they felt themselves being overwhelmed with the divine sense of awe, and though he tried hard to resist the pressure, the minister called for the guards to stand down before they arrived. At this point, the ministers raised themselves from the tables and kindly waved to the party and they walked away. The “beautiful figure” was the last to leave, and all ministry members recall regaining their own control once he was out of sight.

Testimonies

Several testimonies were given by the ministers regarding the mental commandeering.

• “Every word he uttered was like a divine plea from the gods, only to be disobeyed if we wished damning ourselves” said one ministry member.

• “At first the man was rugged and disturbing looking, but after he spoke, I felt an attraction to every pasty inch of his rock-hard skin. I felt that if I said the right things, he and I could be whisked away to paradise together.”

 
Board’s Suggestion:

• This was Eleven’s first quest taken after his introductory quest. According to our research, Eleven is a powerful psionicist of some sort. We’ve seen this kind of mind control in high level magic, but never in mystic circles. If eleven can force people to do things beyond their control at will, he is a very dangerous convict and should be kept in check.

• The board suggests a private meeting with Benny (both very capable of persuasion and resisting mind control themselves) in order to divulge what Eleven’s motivations are.
  • If they deem him dangerous and worthy of more rehabilitation:
    • The extra decade of punishment Ugarat is currently asking for can be applied, requiring him to reach more points before release.
    • He can possibly be banned from political missions, as his manipulative powers are quite dangerous in those environments.
  • If he says that he was coerced into this crime by his allies:
    • A strike can be applied to those present with him for trying to shift the crime from themselves onto their partner.
  • If he gives honest testimony and shows remorse.
    • We can give him a strike but no extra points will be needed. He was arrested for accosting a clergy member and only requires 4 points total for release.