The City Under the Stairs has been sealed for 1500 years, save for sanctioned contact with those who acquire the ethereal energy from the mines. The culture of the Stieger civilization in the city is complicated and one fighting the legacy of impieralist influence. Players would use the vignettes to develop characters for later sessions and to further develop them after they are played.

Arcs:
1. An Argument:
In the Stieg, the governing body of the City (and the local name for the Stair), an argument has arisen over who shall be named Appointer for the year. The Appointer's role is to delegate responsibilities for the scarcer resrouces in the city, and the position goes to a different civic leader every year on the first of the year. A small number of factions have arisen in the last few years, some based on personal interests, some based on political philosophies, and some based on complex plans. Players would develop their own faction and candidate to play as.

PCs:

Vignette: In the Settlement, a camp outside the city where outcasts, outsiders, and some willing expatriots dwell, life is a daily struggle. Those in the Settlement can hear the city's Chimes, which count the months. As the Chime for the first month sounds (halfway through the month), those in the Settlement reflect on their hard lives. Almost no one inside the city knows of the Settlement.

2. Bonding Festival:
Munhat is an annual festival taking place in the second month of the year during which people who are not in a romantic relationship present themselves (if they so choose, or if their parents or guardians insist, or if they are pressured into it by friends, or...). During Munhat, anyone who has presented themselves is sent into the cave system below the city (or into a well maintained and safe section of it) blindfolded and sequestered for several hours, then guided by special volunteers to a passage where they are given a number. They must count the side passages, and the passage they enter is the one where they find their romantic partner. The festival has a long tradition of tweaking by busybodies, of bribery to get the person you want, of intentional miscounting/people getting "lost", of arrangments being made, of rushed marriages, of complex evasions, of blindfolds removed, and more.

Players would be people participating in Munhat, people of different ages, genders, sexualities, and backgrounds, who have been placed in the same disorientation area and must work together for a few hours to find their way to the presentation area.

PCs:

Vignette: A series of short scenes of busydbodies, briberies, and evasions during Munhat.
Vignette: A group of miners must stop their work as one of them gets petrified in an explosion. They cart their friend out to be sent to the geo-artificers.

3. The Stone People:
The ethereal energy that is mined in the City is volatile, and sometimes, it causes explosions of gas that sublimate or petrify people (or cause stranger bonds to form). People who were petrified are called the Stekkat, or the Stone People, and sometimes, their statues are unbonded somehow, or bonded with some force that somehow restores them, even partially. The geo-artificers of the City are masters of Kazaddarean who tend the Stone People and seek ways to restore them. Both the geo-artificers and the "living" Stone People (those who have been wholly or partially restored) are very respected in the city. Players would be geo-artificers and living Stekkat (some from eras long past--as far back as just after Starfall) who are seeking to oust a corrupt geo-artificer.

PCs:

Vignette: A couple from the Munhat vignette breaks up when one discovers the other has too much outsider influence.
Vignette: The tournemant of warriors takes place and a winner is declared.

4. Outside Influence:
Stiegers view outsiders with fear and contempt, mostly referring to those who are plainly descended from outsiders as "Tierim," or "tourists." Anyone who adheres to outside customs in any way, anyone who speaks an outside language from birth, anyone whose family is not at least five generations Stieger (at least), anyone who is in anyway "unpure" is suspect and second-class. Those Stiegers who leave the City and return are subject to much obervation and distrust, and any who try to argue for a less "pure" City are labelled "Tierim" and treated as second-class even if they are pure going back many generations. There are public ceremonies for people deemed to have too much "outside influence" to "purify" themselves. These involved some sort of self-castigation, burning of outside relics, and public denouncement of outside ideals and anyone who holds outside ideals (including naming names). This stems from a past as a colony of the Spicers Guild and other powers, and therefore, using of spices in food is considered the height of outsider influence. Players would be friends of someone who has been accused of impurity for using salt in their food. Their friend is in hiding, and they must find evidence to defend, exonerate, or otherwise prevent them from being subjected to dishonor.

PCs:

Vignette: Someone who refuses to name names is ordered to be banished.
Vignette: During Stiegsraal, a rebel refuses to let an outcast hide in their safehouse.
Vignette: A couple from the Munhat vignette decides to have children and applies for testing.

5. A Test:
At five stages in the early life of a Stieger, they are tested. The first time is when their parents must choose a school for them. The second is when they must choose a school for themselves. The third is when they graduate from school. The fourth is when they must become masters at their chosen profession. And the fifth is when they wish to become parents. There is a deep sense of community in the City, a sense that nothing is done alone, because no one there is ever truly alone (metaphorically speaking) due to the insular nature of the city (they would not, of course, phrase it that way). At every test, people taking the tests at different stages all work together to help each other through them. Players would be at stages two through five, working together to pass.

PCs:

Vignette: Another test group allows a member to fail because they are testing to become a Master Miner when Stiegsraal hits.
Vignette: In the Stieg council, secret meetings are held to discuss wiping out the Settlement, including sending the warriors out to do it.

6. Swordcraft:
The greatest warriors in the City must prove themselves every year in the sixth month, earning a rank against each other. In times of great danger, they must band together to defend the city in an elite group. These are specifically warriors, those who fight and die, not generals, not stragegists nor taciticians (though some might have these skills), but foot soldiers, specialists, and street fighters. Anyone who is able to wield a sword extremely well is a candidate (the sword is considered the most versatile of weapons). Each of the greatest warriors is given a special sword as a symbol of their rank. The greatest among them is given the Stiegersassad, a ceremonial blade that they can't even use (they tend to use their own personal weapon instead--each has a set of personal weapons to choose from). The second ranking member has the Vermeil Blade, a Gifted sword. The third has the Obiefune Sword called the Liquid sword, made of quickcopper. The fourth has a Wathsteel blade empowered by Damaskian power. The fifth has a blade made with ethereal energy that bonds to its user's Name. The sixth has a dragonsteel sword made specially for them. The competition for rank makes them rivals and friends.

Players would be the greatest warriors, sent on a mission outside the City to kill a dangerous beast loose in the area that has been getting into the caves below the city, trying while outside not to be Influenced by it.

PCs:

Vignette: A new warrior tests to be a Master Swordsman with a group of students and couples.
Vignette: A Stekkat awakens and tries immediately to kill the geo-artificers.

7. Consequence Free:
The seventh month sees the crystals above the City shine brighter than any other time. It is considered the happiest time of the year, and the height of it is the Night of Gleaming, or Agglanae, a festival of lights that is held when the crystals blink out and then return brighter than ever. During the dark moment when every crystal in the city is out, which lasts thirty minutes, everyone is allowed to break one (minor) social rule of their choosing. Usually this involves people kissing someone they are not romantically connected to, doing something only an outsider would, silly pranks, pardoning of minor criminals by local magistrates, playing hookey from business or school functions, or other minor oddities. Anything truly dangerous or hurtful is still very much illegal, and indeed, actual illegal activity is still illegal. Some authorities may choose to look the other way for small things in this time, however, especially if the results are in the joyous spirit of the holiday. Once the lights come back on, usually, there are major jokes revealed or funny anecdotes to share about what happened in the dark, or simply widespread joy. Players would be a small group plotting an elaborate prank.

PCs:

Vignette: A series of pranks and other Agglanae fun is montaged.
Vignette: The Munhat couple who tested for children both find themselves kissing other people during Agglanae.
Vignette: Under the seventh chime for the month, a Settler weeps about their lost spouse and missing Agglanae.

8. Pariah:
While some crimes are punishable by death in the City, the worst punishment is considered to be banishment. Death is given to those who are seen as dangers to society but not wholly culpable for their crimes. Banishment is for the most indefensible traitors, rapists, murderers, terrorists, and purveyors of corruption or other major crimes. Players would be a small group being banished for a variety of more complicated crimes--i.e., no rapists, no serial murderers, no sick shit--and political crimes. Only one player may choose to be actually innocent, though most would likely be claiming innocence. No player should have the exact same crime as another. General anit-City sentiment is acceptable. Players would be a group banished together who are guided either by one of their group or someone they meet outside to go to the Settlement, which will challenge or relieve them, depending on their personalities and politics.

PCs:

Vignette: In the Settlement, a beast attack kills dozens.
Vignette: In the Stieg council, a councillor is ousted because of their stance on protecting the Settlement.

9. Nine Chimes:
On the ninth chime of the Great Bell (Obbau) in the ninth month of the year, the Gates to the city, which usually remain closed but openable, are sealed for the remainder of the year, at the end of which new resources arrive from outside for the only allowed shipment. In the lead up to the ninth chime--a few hours of chimes--people go on a short adventure outside the gates if they are very daring. It is considered fun to go to one of three locations: Gralder Point, a rock formation where couples go for a romantic view of the City; Johskun Cave, a secluded spot where kids go to play games of hide-and-seek and such; and Meenhekt Ruin, a former outpost of the Spicer Guild that is now more or less just a museum that shutters for the rest of the year. It's considered truly dangerous but bold and brave to go out a little further to Posifus Crag, a huge rock formation where some go for more extreme diversions, like hunting/taunting/hiding from local megafuna, rock climbing, and hunting for outsider relics. Players would be a small group going to Posifus Crag, where they find... trouble.

PCs:

Vignette: Other adventures at the safer locations are shown, including the Munhat couple rekindling their romance at Gralder Point; a warrior enjoying Meenhekt Ruin; and a kid from an earlier testing playing in Johskun Cave.
Vignette: In the Settlement, a council of war is held.

10. The Stiegsraal:
The shadow of the Stair is called the Stiegsraal, and it is how the locals tell time. The shadow of the stair moves through the city according to a series of crystal lights in the area fading or brightening. Essentially, this is their version of night, but it is more complicated than a simple eight hour (or whatever) period. It's a series of long bouts of shifting lights. Some activities are considered forbidden when the Stiegsraal is spreading over your part of the city, such as anything outsider-related (even specifically anti-outsider behavior--i.e., one cannot be banished or purified during these times). This also includes mining activities, which are considered inherently outsider-related. Some people are so extreme about this that they do not even act in a crisis, or refuse help during a crisis, if it is seen as outsider-related--such as during gas explosions. Players would be people trying to rescue someone during a gas explosion while the Stiegsraal is falling.

PCs:

Vignette: A Stekkat kills themselves to avoid facing the Stiegsraal for complicated reasons.
Vignette: A group of rebels makes contact with the Settlement during Stiegsraal, and a reluctant member who thinks they should not do so during the shadow is killed by the rebels.
Vignette: In the Stieg council, a new law is passed moments after Stiegsraal that gives locals more authority to punish outside influence.

11. Outside the Gates:
An army of pariahs and outsiders and traitors has gathered outside the gates, demanding entry. They claim that their settlement out beyond the walls has been threatened by gas explosions and strange beasts caused by the gas explosions, and they are owed safety by the City. A siege settles in as they cannot go back to their settlement, but the City won't open its gates. Players would be siegers and inside allies sneaking into the city to try to open the gates by force.

PCs:

Vignette: A beast attack on the edges of the siege makes the Settlement folks more desperate.
Vignette: A gas explosion forces miners to shut down a secret passage they had intentionally left open for Settlement folks.

12. Arrival:
Either the gates have been opened by force and kept open, been opened and resealed, or the siege remains going, but time is coming up for when the resources from outside are arriving. It is the most important time of the year, critical for the City's survival. They must prepare the ethereal shipments and the staging areas, and they must do so without trouble. Depending on how arc 11 ends, arc 12 will see players dealing with the consequences of it while trying to ready the city for the arrival.

PCs:

Vignette: [to be determined epilogue]

Conflicting Visions | Kyriarchy | Golden Sun | Fivefold Path | Holy Matrix | Autumnal Equinox | Aeonian Configuration | Black Velvet | The Old Stories | War of Daggers | The Frontier | Branches | Veil and Hood | Indigo and Jasper | Citizenship | Gossamer Intrigue | Setting