I want to really call out how great the news, descriptions, and -especially- SR tips are on Matthew’s recent scheme. I think that the SR tips especially give really concrete things for a SR to glom onto without assuming facts that may not make sense based on the thwart the group has planned out. Everything about this scheme is really a model, and so I’m putting it up here for others to admire and base things on with his permission.

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Scheme Thwart begining.
Intro: Residents of New Haven are advised to expect continued rainfall as an unseasonable storm system has settled right on top of the city with no signs of moving on or breaking apart. Meteorologists report irregular barometric readings and unusually frequent lightening, saying it’s almost like the sky itself is crying. The New Haven Weather Authority assure citizens there is no cause for alarm, but advise they not plan any picnics, outdoor dates, or blue suede shoes for the foreseeable future. Some residents have noted the rainfall carries a strangely persistent quality, no thunder advancing, no sun breaking through, just the steady sound of water, as if the sky has forgotten how to move on.

Desc: Word in the Illusium Court is that the Fall King’s taking his heartbreak personally, and meteorologically. Since his split with Malin, Matthew’s been seen in rare form: glassy-eyed, drunk, talking about the whole city should feel it too. “If I’m crying,” he reported said, “Everyone’s crying.” Rumor has it he’s hired a weathermancer, Isabel Showers, to blanket New Haven in perpetual storms until further notice. He’s also been overheard muttering that no funeral’s complete without rain. Whether he means a literal funeral or something more symbolic (like his love life) is anyone’s guess. Court staff swear the mancer’s been told to check in with one of the Monarch’s Courtesans once the clouds are in place. No one’s quite sure if this is art, madness, or mourning, but if the skies start weeping, everyone will know whose tears they’re borrowing.

Additional info: There are a a number of ways to go about this depending on how the group takes things:

o Bypass the Court and deal with the mancer (Isabel Showers):
Isabel Showers is a Faeling weathermancer. Hardly loyal, just someone Matthew found in the magical equivalent of the classifieds (cus he would hire someone off Craig’s List). She’s not malicious, but she enjoys a challenge and will put up a flashy fight for fun. If things turn against her, she’ll surrender rather than risk a real beating. She’s open to negotiations. Money, favors, gossip, even a wager. A dancing contest. If the group goes this route, resolve it through combat, a bargain, or a simple contest (hangman works great if you want something quick and absurd, but a dancing contest would be funny).

o Work with the Court:
The Illusium Court has decided if their Monarch insists on blanketing Haven in storms, the least they can do is make sure it’s theatrical. To them, the ‘job’ isn’t complete until the Fall King’s heartbreak has been turned into art. Perhaps a funeral to his love life, a public wake, or something equally extravagant to Matthew’s sorrow. If the players take this route, it’s about pagentry and persuasion rather than combat. They’ll need to navigate the Court’s egos, aesthetics, and appetite for drama to bring the storm to a satisfying finale.

o Magic vs Magic:
A group of magical talent, especially a weather mancer, may chosoe to counter the storm directly. This can lead to a magical duel of wills and weather, or a collaborative ritual to re-balance the atmosphere. Be creative with the environment: lightening strikes, flooded streets, swirling illusions. Make it feel like the city itself is mourning, and the players are trying to talk the sky out of heartbreak.

Tone and Tips:
– Keep it bitter sweet and theatrical, Matthew’s grief has become art without his consent.
– Play up the absurdity of everyone treating a man’s breakup like a civic crisis.
– However the group wants to resolve it, the storm should end not with triumph, but with a kind of melancholy closure, like the last tear wrung out of the sky.

Good luck, bring an umbrella!