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ideas/Chamber.md

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+## Prelude
+
+
+Darius tells the PCs that Rennick is in the chamber. She
+explains that Rennick and his manifestations are reflexively
+defensive and that they've learned to be hostile to Signers,
+and that she's already lost some faction members trying
+to extricate him.  She thinks that if the PCs bring Signers
+along, they'll get a more hostile reaction than if they go
+alone.  So Darius refuses to send Signers along with the
+PCs.  Instead, she instructs one of her assistants to lead
+the PCs into the basement, but the PCs won't be led the whole
+way: they'll have to go the last few hundred feet themselves.
+
+Darius also warns the PCs that manifestations can actually
+exit the chamber and continute to exist for a few minutes to
+a few hours, depending on how complicated the manifestations
+are.  So, she cautions, there may be some weird phenomena
+before they even get there.
+
+## Lost in the basement
+
+Outside the chamber there are no overt manifestations, but
+there is one very subtle one: the portal to the chamber is
+disguised as just more hallway.  The PCs enter the chamber,
+but they don't know they have.  Beyond the portal, they
+see what appears to be just more hallways in the basement
+of the hall of speakers.
+
+Along the sides of the hallways they start to see doors
+that lead into rooms.  The first room appears to be a
+classroom.  The next, an office with a desk and lots of
+papers and books, but the papers and books are all blank.
+Continue to invent random empty rooms as necessary.
+
+As the PCs wander, the hallways get increasingly twisty
+and weird, and the PCs should have long since figured out
+that they're in the chamber.
+
+The PCs turn a corner, and the walls around this corner have
+a different appearance: they look like the labyrinth below
+castle Green.  They imagine the feeling of a presence in the
+labyrinth, just as they did last time.  If they try to
+communicate with the presence, a scroll appears: the scroll
+says, "A conversation will cost you 5gp".
+
+If the PCs wander further, they come to a steel door.  The
+steel door has 5 coin slots in it.  Putting a gold piece
+into each one causes the door to open, and an
+imaginary version of Rico Sparks steps forth.
+
+## Talking to Rico Sparks
+
+Rico is his usual cheerful self.  He knows that he's a
+figment, and it doesn't seem to bother him.
+he says:
+
+"I manifested just about 10 minutes ago.  When I did, I
+wandered around hallways that looked like the basement of
+the hall of speakers, then they changed to look like a
+wooden labyrinth (the labyrinth under Castle Green).  Then
+Rennick popped out of a door - I don't know how I recognized
+him, but I did.  I introduced myself, and I asked Rennick
+how to get out of this maze, and Rennick said, "I'm just as
+lost as you, this isn't from *my* imagination."  Rennick and I
+walked together for a few minutes, but then he was gone.
+Then, I encountered a steel door, and now we're all here."
+
+He says, "but I guess I haven't really done anything to earn
+my 5gp, hm.  Got any questions for me?"  He is able to
+answer any reasonable question that a tout can normally
+answer.  He doesn't know too much about the chamber, but
+he's willing to investigate.  He says, "I won't even charge
+the hourly rate for investigation, given that you're
+probably going to pay me in imaginary money anyway."  He
+asks the PCs if there's anything in particular they want
+investigated.
+
+Rico, despite being a figment, is perfectly capable of being
+a competent tout.  He can move around independently inside
+the chamber, and he will ask questions and follow up on
+whatever the PCs want investigated.  As a figment, Rico has
+an unfortunate tendency to just "not be there" when you look
+away for a few moments, but he's not gone forever, he's just
+somewhere else in the chamber.
+
+You, the DM, can use Rico to help keep things moving
+whenever the PCs get stuck.  He can appear and offer useful
+information or advice.  Use your judgement about when he
+should appear: it should only be when things are bogging
+down and the PCs need a boost.
+
+## Meeting Some Clones
+
+After Rico vanishes, four clones of Rennick emerge
+from a doorway.  The PCs can talk to the clones.
+They freely admit that they aren't the real Rennick.
+
+Clones have shared knowledge: anything you tell any clone is
+known by all clones, and by Rennick himself.  The clones
+have no *individual* survival instinct.  There are an
+infinite number of clones, so losing a single clone means
+nothing.  But collectively, they don't want "the clones"
+to stop existing.
+
+The clones can discuss anything that the real
+Rennick would be able to discuss:
+
+* They can explain the logic of hiding in the
+  demiplane.
+
+* They will probably express some fears about Crow.
+  They don't know that Crow is dead yet.
+
+* They can explain that no, Rennick didn't deliberately
+  conjure a bunch of clones, it kinda just happened
+  when a bunch of Signers tried to force him out, and
+  he needed numbers to fight back.
+
+* They can speculate about where the real Rennick
+  is - probably in his office in the courthouse?
+
+* They aren't sure about how to get to the courthouse,
+  but they say that the landscape in here is pretty
+  mutable, and the courthouse is important, so it will
+  probably just show up.
+
+If the PCs tell Rennick that Crow is dead, Rennick will
+demand some evidence.  If the PCs provide anything
+reasonable, the Rennicks will get real quiet for a
+moment, then one of them will say, "so... there's no
+reason to stay in here any more, is there."
+
+They are suddenly realizing that this means that Rennick
+can leave, which means the clones would cease to exist.
+
+A moment after this realization, all four clones just
+pop out of existence.
+
+## The Courthouse Square
+
+The PCs emerge from the labyrinth into the courthouse
+square.  The square is filled with "people" moving around,
+doing things, just like it would be if the PCs were really
+in Sigil.  But looking too closely at any one person, or
+trying to talk to one of them, causes that person to fade
+into vapor and drift away.
+
+The reason for this is that these people are part of
+Rennick's imagination, but he hasn't bothered to imagine
+them individually, he has only imagined "a square full of
+people."  These individuals simply don't *have* any
+details, because they weren't imagined in full.
+
+If the PCs look carefully, there are a few Rennick clones
+in the square.  Any effort to contact them will cause them
+to rush into doorways and vanish.
+
+On one side of the courthouse square is the courthouse.
+It looks the same as it does in Sigil.  Surrounding the
+other sides of the square are a variety of administrative
+buildings and some restaurants.
+
+Entering any building other than the courthouse will cause
+the building to be revealed as a facade.  It's just a flat
+cutout with a doorway.  On the other side are some logs
+propping up the facade, and beyond that, an endless sea of
+giant gears, as you would find if you were in mechanus. If
+the PCs want, they can go back through the facade to reenter
+the square, or they can explore the sea of gears.
+
+If the PCs are in the square and they try to approach the
+courthouse, the courthouse quickly recedes.  The square gets
+much, much bigger.  The people dissipate. The courthouse
+rises up on top of a huge, steep hill, and a 100-foot wide
+moat forms around it.  Two more hills with two more moats
+appear: there is nothing on top of the other two hills.
+
+The square is much larger now, but it's still feasible
+to cross it on foot.  It just takes a good 15 minutes.
+It's possible to walk up to the moat.  The building-facades
+that surround the square are still there, and it is still
+possible to go through to the sea of gears.
+
+There are basically two directions the PCs can go now:
+toward the courthouse, or into the Sea of Gears.
+
+## Approaching the Courthouse: Attempt 1
+
+The PCs can cross the moat, if they can figure out some way
+to do it.  Swimming is problematic: the moat contains biting
+fish.  Flying works.  Walking on water works.  Building a
+boat could work, although there's not much to build a boat
+from.
+
+Assuming the PCs figure out some way to cross, they end up
+at the base of the very steep hill, which gets steeper as
+soon as they touch it.  They have to climb cliffs.  Ask
+the PCs to make a variety of DEX and STR rolls as they climb.
+
+All of this difficulty is defenses that Rennick imagined,
+unconsciously. It is all here to protect him from Crow, and
+from the various people trying to eject him from the
+visualization chamber.
+
+When the PCs finally get 80% of the way up the hill, the
+entire courthouse gets up baba-yaga-style and walks over to
+one of the other three hills.
+
+Underneath where the courthouse was sitting are stairs
+leading down into the basement of the hall of speakers.
+Yes, under the courthouse is the basement of the hall
+of speakers.  If the PCs go down, they find themselves
+back in the labyrinth where they entered the chamber.
+
+Sitting on the stairs is a signer: his name is Carruth.
+
+## Meeting Carruth
+
+Carruth is not a figment of anyone's imagination: it's a
+real person.  He and his squad were sent in by factol Darius
+to try to extricate Rennick.  He got separated from his
+group and now he's stuck in here.  He's exhausted, he's been
+in here a week trying to unravel the knots, and he's getting
+nowhere.  Fortunately for him, the Rennick clones have been
+bringing him food and water.
+
+Carruth explains that Rennick has a pretty vivid
+imagination: definitely in the top 10%.  He says that
+Rennick is good at weaponizing his imagination: most people
+imagine things that may or may not be helpful, but Rennick
+seems to be mainly imagining things that are effective for
+protecting him.  He points out the moat, the steep hill,
+the courthouse that walks away - he says all of that is
+designed to keep Rennick from being nabbed.
+
+He says, "one thing I'm grateful for is that there have
+been a few attacks, but they've all been pretty half-hearted.
+Rennick just doesn't have the mindset of a killer.  Thank
+goodness."
+
+However, Carruth points out that no matter how disciplined
+we are, we don't have total control over our imaginations.
+He says: "I have no doubt that Rennick's greatest fears are
+all in here too."
+
+As soon as he says "Rennick's greatest fears," there's a
+rumble, and Carruth says: "oh, I shouldn't have mentioned
+his Greatest Fears."  Then he points to the skyline: it's
+Crow, and he's approaching.
+
+As soon as Crow appears on the horizon, a few Rennick clones
+emerge from the labyrinth and say, "come down here, he
+won't come down here."  If the PCs reenter the labyrinth,
+they don't have to fight Crow.  If they refuse, they do.
+
+## The Sea of Gears
+
+## The Desk
+
+The PCs enter a room with grey walls.  In the center of the
+room is a grey desk, with an inbox and an outbox.  There is
+a big stack of grey papers in the inbox, there's an inkwell
+full of grey ink, and a quill.  There's a grey chair.
+
+You would think that Crow would be Rennick's greatest fear.
+No.  Crow is Rennick's immediate-short-term fear.  The Desk
+is Rennick's greatest fear.
+
+As soon as Lada sees the Desk, she stiffens up, and says:
+"Don't touch that desk.  Don't touch anything.  We should
+get out of here."  This is one of her greatest fears too.
+
+If anyone touches the desk, their hand immediately fuses to
+the desk.  If anyone sits in the chair, their body immediately
+fuses to the chair.  If anyone picks up the quill, their
+hand fuses.  If somebody sits in the chair, and touches the
+desk, their eyes glaze over.  They pick up a paper from the
+inbox, write on it with grey ink on grey paper (leaving no
+mark), and then they put it in the outbox.  They continue,
+automaton-like, forever.
+
+This is Rennick's greatest fear: that he will work a desk
+job, filling out paper after paper, but never accomplishing
+anything meaningful, and leaving no mark on the universe.
+
+If you touch a small object like the quill or a piece
+of paper, then separating your hand from the object is
+possible with a sharp knife: 2D6 damage.  Separating your
+hand from the desk is also possible with a sharp knife: 3D6
+damage.  But if somebody sits in the chair, and their whole
+body fuses to the chair, it's too much: a knife isn't going
+to do it.
+
+Once somebody is in this state, there's only one cure. One
+of Rennick's clones enters via the door and says, "move
+aside."  Then he speaks to the Desk: "you're not here for
+him, you're here for me." Rennick puts his hand on the desk,
+and fuses with it.  As soon as Rennick's hand fuses with the
+desk, the PCs' hand is freed.  Rennick scoots his butt onto
+the chair, and fuses with the chair: as soon as he does, the
+PCs' butt is freed from the chair.  When Rennick's eyes
+glaze over, and he starts writing, the PC is free to go.
+
+If the PCs try to dissuade Rennick from doing this, Rennick
+says, "I'm not the real Rennick.  I'm just a figment of his
+imagination.  He imagines this desk, and he imagines himself
+stuck at the desk (pointing to himself).  But if it's me,
+a figment, stuck at the desk, then it's all just imaginary.
+An ugly nightmare, but still just a nightmare."
+
+When the PCs leave the room, Lada says: "Fuck."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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