Fifth - Sixth Level Campaign History DM's Perspective, Out of Game Side Quests.

Ok guys, we'll pick up with Questions for the Raven Queen, Rukia, and etc.

Post them on the commment section, and I'll repost/answer them in blog for everyone.

Second if you want to discuss where you want to go with your character you can do it here or via e-mail, or whatever.

I'll check back often.

General information conveyed by Rukia or the Raven Queen.

Process of Death - when a humanoid dies it's soul is conveyed from this world into the next by a Soul Reaper who using their zanpakuto (soul-cutting sword) performs the soul burial (konsō). Souls have a certain amount of time they may exist without a soul chain appearing, but eventually a soul chain appears and binds the soul to a particular place or person; this starts the clock, from that point on the soul chain that binds their consciousness to merely being a 'whole' soul begins to errode.

Once the last link in the chain errodes away that soul instantly transforms into a hollow, losing much of it's previous consiousness and the 'hole' in it's heart becomes quite litteral. The soul takes on a porcelain painted mask that and a shadowy figure with a hole in it's chest, all of these things symbolic of what has transpired the soul looses it's identity and becomes a consumption machine obsessed with filling it's emptiness with the literal or figurative bodies and souls of humanoids.

Soul Reapers are charged with guiding souls before they turn into hollows on to the next world, and if they cannot do that, then they are to destroy the hollow that emerges and purify the soul contained by it.

Why? Because souls that pass on, emerge in the soul society to live a new life and when a soul dies from the soul society they return to the material world to animate a humanoid on that plane of existence. But each soul that is destroyed has the potential to unbalance this harmony - filling huecomundo (purgatory or place where the hollow exist when not in the material world)

Only Reapers can perform the konso, thus any PC trying it will only destroy the hollow for the purposes of our game we will call you Quincy, a group of spiritually aware humanoids who throughout history have secretly emerged and protected the humanoid material plane from Hollows - their general belief is that destroying a single hollow while resulting in the loss of a soul, is better than all the souls that would be consumed by that single hollow. (technically soul reapers and quincy are bitter enemies, but Rukia nor the Queen will tell you more on this, other than if you come across any other reapers you do not let on that you can see them or are even aware they are there.)

Those of you with a hight insight 19+ (lowered check because of the extremely difficulty of hiding this fact) - will know that there is something very odd with the way Rukia acts around and about the Raven Queen. Rukia seems to treat her with the respect a subordinate would but at the same time seems uneasy about being near her at all, as though she is conflicted between some duty or obligation and the feelings she has for your group specifically Ookami, and when the Queen's returning to the soul society is brought up Rukia usually interjects that the Queen has only today to spend with you all and then has somethings she has to attend to - never actually admitting that she is returning to the soul society, but the Queen herself always seems to acknowledge what Rukia is saying as though Rukia is protecting the Queen and the group from something.

General Re-introduction to the NPC Rukia Kuchki

Rukia eventually comes to tell you all how she even became involved with your group, that Ookami came across her doing battle when an extremely powerful hollow, and in the process of the battle she was forced to convey part of her power to Ookami, but because of Ookami's extremely strong spiritual power he accidentally took all of her reaper powers and has been acting in her place guarding Kyotenichi while she has been forced to remain in a gegai (humanoid shell body) to recover. She told Ookami to not confront hollows unless it was to protect those that are important to him, and the party must be a close group for him to risk facing me afterwards. She admits she is glad he protected you, but now it seems it may have made things worse for all of you, and appolgizes she can't do more for you as she isn't completely healed. For now you will all have to rely on your own strength and her training in kido to survive.

ANYONE FOR LOOTS?

Alrighty well lootwise you guys get 500gp each.

As for the items, I'm going to basically do an exchange though some of the leveling will have to be adjusted up or down to match the DMG tables - also except for Geoff, try to make the swapped weapons not have the same ability as your old one to reflect the fact that it isn't the same weapon - preferrably your 'mod' weapon will have the abilities you really want rather than this replacement, representing the unique factor of the mod weapons.

Geoff - swap your weapon with one up to a level 9, (though yours isn't actually taken from you, just represents your characters improvements) then find something up to a level 4 item.

Drew - swap your weapon with one up to a level 8, and then find something up to a level 6.

Sean - swap your weapon with one up to a level 8, and then find something up to a level 6.

Ryan - swap your weapon with one up to a level 8, and then find something up to a level 6.

Ray - no changes however remember to take the above gp in case you have enough to make some purchases.

The some of the above swaps are actually slightly higher than the DMG table suggests but I figure it will all work out in the wash.

Geoff wanted me to suggest that someone might buy into some of the items you are loosing with the players that are leaving the game - ex. TJ's thundering crossbow or etc. (I'll post those if anyone wants to look at them for ideas, if not I won't bother.)

One Mod Weapon Down:
Ryan requested in the down time Geoff to perform the konso on his mod weapon, which with Rukia's guidance Geoff is able to do - but as it turns out there is only a minor flicker of soul energy that emerges and fades, leaving anyone who thinks about it very long wondering did it truly contain a sentient soul, and if it did, did that soul move on to the soul society like those of other humanoids?

Group Census:
After polling most of the group, Geoff, Drew, Ryan, Ray - I gather the impression is that with the knowledge that for now to the Cercators you all are dead and gone (meaning you can drop off the radar for any stealth/rescue missions you may want to attempt) are left with two possible paths, go and seek out your long captured NPC friends who may have out lived their usefulness to the Cercators at the outset of your Demise or confront the next gatekeeper, again revealing yourself to the Cercators once again. (difference between confront this problem head on allowing your battles to decide your fate, or find another route that may be just as battle intensive but more subversive and with lesser combatants. It seems like the subversive route for now to make a more informed decision felt right to at least Geoff and Drew. Now with Sean on board with keeping low on the Cercator radar I'll prep for a more infiltration/recon design.

that's all I've got for now maybe more later.