The Gardens of Ynn - A tale of Alfonso and Serena pt1

What is through the door?

I've been experimenting with the Player Emulator with Tags and have found it to be both simple and interesting to use. The basic gist of it is: each character gets an agenda (what kind of PC are they), a few personality tags (how they act) and a couple of focus tags (what they generally try to do). Then throw in a random generator which is modified by the agenda, and out of the random tags a colourful personality emerges.

I have a couple of B/X characters (once again generated by the wonderful Hill Cantons Compendium method) and couple with the PET they have come out shining. Alfonso is a child of criminals, excommunicated by the church, a wannabe criminal who is big, tough, and an aspiring cassanova. While Serena is the daughter of a courtesan, but who was gifted a prophetic vision by god (?) and now travels the world looking for someone to blame.

After talking about travelling between settings, the wonderful people of the OSR discord  pointed me at a module called The Gardens of Ynn by Emmy 'Cavegirl' Allen, which sounds like it will definitely scratch that itch... and so begins the long strange journey of Anfonso and Serena.

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We set our stage in the city of San Gimignano - once a proud trade center, but long ago reduced by the black plague and under the rule of the Medici of Florence. The young traveller Serena overheard the boasting of Alfonso in a local Inn - and now they are meeting in a garden atop the city walls to discuss the hiring of Alfonso as a bodyguard...

• No real threats, Alfonso goes for his "romance" focus.
• Serena just wants to prepare Alfonso for what is coming... her prophetic dreams of Ynn

The sunset spreads its golden light over the disheveled garden. Alfonso is entranced by the honey colour spreading across Serena's face. "Only the Madonna can only be as pure as the beauty I see before me"...

Serena brushes him off (obviously gets this a lot in 15c Italy) and tries to prepare Alfonso without spooking him. Pays him some gold to retain his services, then goes on about her prophetic dreams of a Garden... When Alfonso suggests speaking to a priest, Serena gets angry and goes ahead and writes the words on the wall.. The Garden of Ynn by way of San Gimignano. Nothing happens and she is reluctantly begins to walk away - but when she returns to collect her cloak the doorway has appeared.

And Alfonso is flabbergasted!

• Here we get the wonder of Emmy Allen's Ynn. 
• 2d20 for the location and stuff in it. Then a d12/d20 for things going on.

They go through into an Overgrown Orchard. The ground is covered in rotten fruit and the air is thick with an alcoholic haze. Alfonso the fighter has no problem with this ..the smell that come after a night of debauchery while Serena is nearly overcome by the fumes and wants to move past as quickly as possible. Alfonso starts wandering, plucking fruit from the trees and gorging himself, while Serena follows along, trying to keep her head from spinning.

They come across someone picking fruit, but when the person comes down they are shocked that it is a animated statue of glass - elegant and flowing like art nouveau. It warily watches the pair approach but doesn't say a word. 

• Alfonso's focus is wealth, and his 2d6 reaction to this walking work of art was "reward", so he's trying to figure out a way to sell it.

After some back and forth (and some pantomime and pointed question) Alfonso works out that their new Glass acquaintance is collecting food for some mysterious masters further in the garden. With some (very lucky) rolls he convinces it to return with him to San Gimignano where he knows the finest purveyors of victuals.

The few people in the evening streets cross themselves, say a prayer against influences, and rush away from the glass creature clinking along the cobblestones. At the Inn a number of patrons go pale and run (fail morale) at the sight of Glassy.  The Innkeeper Jacobo is made of sterner stuff, and when he sees Alfonso giving orders and the thing obeying, he gets curious. Alfonso makes an offer for this "miracle servant" who works with food. 

• I normally hate haggling. But these rules make it simple enough. Jacobo turned out to be a hard merchant, driving the price down to 50% of the offer...

Glassy can see the kitchen, and when invited in by Jacobo gladly follows to the Inn's storeroom full of food. Serena drags Alfonso out and berates him for selling something possibly alive into slavery. But he's had his first taste of wealth from beyond the door, and wants to collect a few things before they return. Serena wants something to clear her head and protect her from the fumes.

As they leave they choose to ignore the sound of crashing plates and colourful swearing.

When they meet at the door some half an hour later, Alfonso has brought his (rather ragged) pony and a lot of empty packs ready to be filled. Also armed with an arquebus and sword, and wearing battle harness.  Serena had covered her face with a soaked cloth, carried a mace, and a pack filled with rations, a lantern, and rope.

They quickly passed through the Orchard, only noticing some of the rotting fruit had been cleared away by something. They then entered the gardens beyond - flower beds, trimmed hedges gone wild, statuary and benches. As they walked the sun finally set. They came across a gazebo with lounges and an abandoned setting of crystal glasses, and (mostly empty) bottles of wine. Alfonso finds one still unopened and agonises over keeping it to sell, or trying to woo Serena with it. 

• PET manages to make lots of nice little character moments like this.

They are interrupted when Serena sees a man staggering out of the gardens towards them. She shrinks back away from the gazebo doorway, lantern shining. The man stumbled forward and yawns - revealing a mouth full of squirming bugs. It's skin writhes as it tries to move like a human. It stops at the threshold, unable to cross and obviously frustrated. Alfonso loads his arquebus. The Bug-man turns it's attention to the horse. It slaps at the horse, leaving it's neck covered in wriggling, biting worms. Alfonso shoots it in the head. The headless body continues to envelop the now screaming horse. Both Serena and Alfonso rush out to try to save the horse. The Bug-man quickly falls apart under their attacks, but the worms franticly eat into the horse-flesh. No matter how they try they cannot save the horse, which collapses and dies screaming.

Serena is shocked, but Alfonso is distraught. He drops the arquebus and lays hands on his long suffering friend. But leaps back when the body shudders and writhes and starts to get to its knees. Serena throws the lantern, the oil and flame covering the body - the bugs popping in the heat until nothing is left but a charred body and puddle of bug-ichor.

Without a lantern neither is overly anxious to walk back through the gardens to the Doorway. Since the creature seemed unwilling to enter the gazebo, they decide to sleep inside. Hoping that they will be able to continue safely when the sun rises.

• Overall I'm bloody impressed with the Player Emulator. It manages to provide very colourful and unexpected (but believable) reactions for the characters. It also plays very nicely with B/X D&D.
• The Gardens of Ynn feels fantastic! Cant wait for the chance to play some more!