Srisian politics are... complicated.

Arcs:
1. The Web:
Agents of the Prophetess of the Webweaver are members of an elite group called the Web of Srisia. Most people in Srisia are unwitting pawns of the Web (and many people in the wider world are, too), but many willing members exist in powerful positions. The most powerful agents of the Prophetess are specialists who perform specific tasks for her, like her own army of special forces. Becoming a willing member of the Web requires some sort of sacrifice, and many members often willingly give up their children, their loved ones, their body parts, their souls, their wealth, or more to join. Rarely do these agents work together as equals, but when they do, they are carefully chosen by the Prophetess to achieve her goals.

After having a powerful vision of events she does not share, she informs a small group of her agents that they must arrange for the downfall of a Srisian archduke, who may or may not be selling secrets to Tara'hin (she hints at it but never says explicitly). Players would be those agents. Connects to Conflicting Visions.

PCs:

Vignette: A Malish agent rendezvous with a Srisian demonologist and discusses Legions.

2. Broken Strand:
With the downfall of Archduke Zenathan, the Spider-Empress, ruler of Srisia, supreme civic agent of the Webweaver, wearer of the Gifted Robes of Shadow, Maleficer-Supreme, has a vacancy to fill, as Zenathan was also her ambassador to Tara'hin. She has her own network of spies, agents, and servants, and she uses them to choose between three candidates for the role. Players would be those agents working on her behalf to vet each of the possible choices--all powerful demons. Connects to Golden Sun.

PCs:

Vignette: An agent of the Gentleman kidnaps two children from a Chrysanthemum safe house.

3. Infernal Politics:
With one of their own leaving the Hells to work with the Srisians, a power vacuum has formed in the hierarchy of one of the major regions of the Infernal Realm. The local factions include one led by a fallen angel, one led by a mammon, one led by an azazan, one by an asterothian, one by a dantalian, one by a vucub caquiho, and one by a valefar. Players would be subordinates of one of these demons who seek to jockey for position by destroying one or more of their rivals.

PCs:

Vignette: Legions stirs.

4. Infestation:
In Agikaan, the spiderkin demons are a major source of danger for all. They dwell in the deep jungles and use their powers of possession and enslavement to control whole villages, creating small fiefdoms in the rural areas or even in the huge urban centers by hiding in abandoned buildings. Some Agikaanis have abanoned the One True Faith to worship the spiderkin, especially in rural areas where defenses are weaker. The Agikaani government seeks to purge these heretics, but often finds it impossible, especially since they do not kill the actual spiderkin demons very often. Players would be Spider Cultists who escaped a purge and now seek to reach their demon ruler through a dense, webbed forest. Horror game. Connects to Kyriarchy.

PCs:

Vignette: The ruler of Agikaan defies the Prophetess three times.
Vignette: A Malish agent travels through Kael'Ras with a mysterious mission.

5. Flies:
Agents of the Prophetess catch a traitor whose information reveals a dangerous plot from the King of Kael'Ras. They must act quickly to mitigate potential damage by dealing with compromised agents and pawns, stop word from getting out to other spy networks, and seek to disrupt at least part of the plot.

PCs:

Vignette: In Furich Amol, the Gentleman buys slaves from a Krev agent.
Vignette: An agent of Gabriel Leannan buys slaves in Agikaan and gathers information.

6. Silk Road:
With knowledge of the assassination attempt from Raesian agents, the Empress calls for a team to protect her during her annual journey from the capital to Malaer to visit with the Malaerian Archduke, the sulfur dragon lord Rai'vashasthrivasthene. Players would be her guards and agents during the trip. Connects to Fivefold Path.

PCs:

Vignette: In Mwyr Aeld, a Malish agent brings crucial information to an Aeldian lord about Srisian involvement in an assassination plot.
Vignette: The trolls of Zul'Ramal sees auguries of a massive conflict.

7. Infernal Conflict:
With their faction now in control of their region of the Infernal Realms, the demons from the Infernal Politics arc have gained much greater power. They now have their own followers (or more of them) and have become rivals with each other. One of them is visited by the King of Kael'Ras and asked for a favor. Players would be followers of one of the PCs from Infernal Poltiics who do that favor for the King.

PCs:

Vignette: Legions awakens and speaks to his High Priest, the mephisto-lord of Deseria.
Vignette: The Archduke of Wyleth murders his own son to prove his loyalty.
Vignette: A Malish duchess sends a marriage proposal to a Lyfanese baron--who happens to be a skilled maleficer.

8. Torn Web:
In Furich Amol, the Srisian Ambassador to the Tyrant has suffered a downfall of some kind (see Kyriarchy game Preventative Measures), and the aftermath sees Srisian agents in Furich Amol struggling to either escape, fix things with the Tyrant, or betray the Prophetess. Players would be these agents.

PCs:

Vignette: In Kael'Ras, the King creates a special undead agent.
Vignette: A nightdancer performs for the Prophetess and then is eaten in ecstasy.
Vignette: The Tyrant meets with the Hierarchs of Srisia to discuss clandestine support.

9. Liquified:
The Spider-Empress begins a purge of her court--all undead must prove themselves loyal. Players would be undead agents of the Empress who are given a special mission to prove their loyalty.

PCs:

Vignette: The Prophetess seduces a powerful vampire then devours her.
Vignette: The Empress sells two Savant children to Agikaani nobles.
Vignette: Two demons play a game with a Savant child only to lose to a much more powerful evil.

10. Gathering Strands:
The Prophetess sends for her best agents and demands they acquire ethereal energy for her. She does not explain why, nor give further instruction. While not unheard of, this is a fairly rare request. Players would be the agents seeking this rare energy. Connects to Citizenship.

PCs:

Vignette: A Malish agent poisons an agent of the Empress.
Vignette: A shadowspeaker questions the famangodmadan Archduchess of Hezred for the Empress.
Vignette: Two Tara'hinian spies die in Vendale.

11. Infernal Connections:
Conflicts in the Obsidian Obelisk and the Void are brewing, and the demons of the Infernal Realm from previous sessions see opportunities there. Agents from both realms have come to the leader of the faction from Infernal Politics that won power and asked for favors; the leader is trying to decide which factions to aide. Any favors would mean using great resources which could endanger the leader, and therefore, must be worth the risk. Players would be lesser demons favoring one of the requests trying to convince, manipulate, control, or kill the leader of the faction in order to get what they want. Players would choose between supporting the Magetaker, the Allu Manifest, the Encroacher of Autumn, the Hanged Man, the Sister of Tears, or the Dire Wolf Manifest. Connects to Black Velvet and Autumnal Equinox.

PCs:

Vignette: Legions' High Priest visits the Prophetess and the Hierarchs for a casual conversation.
Vignette: Two dukes of Srisia summon a succubus and an incubus and indulge.
Vignette: The Agikaani ambassador to Mal'sk dies suddenly.

12. Smaller Webs:
In Mwyr Aeld, doppelgangers rule the land. They are treacherous, backstabbing, ruthless, much like Srisians, but they have ancient traditions and complicated aristocracies. They operate on complex systems of lineage and jealous betrayals. They form alliances and leave them behind quickly, working on one plot a a time. One Aeldian plot involves using the Obiefune Sword Venom to assassinate agents of the Prophetess and weaken her position in crucial places. Players would be her agents sussing out the conspriators and dealing with them.

PCs:

Vignette: A sulfur dragon enslaved in Furich Amol breaks loose and damages a major temple, then seeks sanctuary in Malaer.
Vignette: The Child Savant of Darkness is captured by a Malish agent.
Vignette: An unseelie merchant accidentally sells his soul to the Gentleman.

13. Shimmering Silk:
With orders from the Prophetess to kill all Aeldians in the Srisian courts, the Empress is faced with the choice between betraying the Prophetess--unthinkable--and wrecking some of her own plans. Instead, she attempts to have her cake and eat it, too, in a very, very dangerous plot that involves seeming to fail at killing an Aeldian agent who will perform a crucial task for her making it look to the Prophetess's agents like she merely made a test attempt at killing--so as to appear to be intentionally failing not to let the agent live but to find out a weakness--and look to the Aeldian agent as if she was not involved at all. Once the task is complete, the agent will then be disposed of. Players would be her agents performing this impossible feat.

PCs:

Vignette: The Queen of Ishah Halag, caught between the machinations of more powerful nations, seeks to remain neutral, only to make enemies of all sides.
Vignette: The ruler of Nelgarten cunningly bests an Aeldian lord to curry favor with the Prophetess and remain independent for another year.
Vignette: The harpies of Skree remove themselves higher into their reaches to avoid brewing conflicts below.

14. Blooddrinkers:
Of all the non-Divine beings in the world or beyond, the Champion of the Masked God is one of the few that the Prophetess seems to be cautious of. Vain, volatile, possibly invincible, Gabriel Leannan is a warrior of immeasurable skill and power. He has many blades at his disposal and is perhaps the finest swordsman in the world, but he prefers what appears to be a merely well crafted fencing foil. He wears Gifted Armor that has become synonymous with him, crimson mail that sometimes appears to be fluid blood dripping off his body, and at other times seems like scarlet silk. He is also addicted to the blood of cowers. He visits the Prophetess randomly, and what they discuss is not known to her agents. When he leaves, she always presents him with a huge shipment of cowers' blood. Their meetings often are followed by policy changes, strange missions, and more. At the current meeting, a small group of agents are summoned to attend for a brief period as the Prophetess and the Champion discuss the War of Daggers and Gabriel's refusal to take part. The subtleties of the conversation are lost on the observers, but rather quickly, they are tasked with joining one of Gabriel's agents in delivering the shipment of cowers' blood to the lodge where he dwells in the forests of Starfall. Players would be the agent of Gabriel and the Srisian agents, facing the dangers on the way. Connects to War of Daggers.

PCs:

Vignette: In the ruins and wastes of Baradin, an agent of the Empress meets with an agent of the High King of Mwyr Aeld to discuss secrets.
Vignette: An Agikaani Spider Cultist infiltrates a breeding camp and observes what is being bred there.
Vignette: The ruler of the Shutters prays for death after selling their people to the Prophetess once more.

15. Infernal Advantage:
With the breaking of the Covenant of the Swan Court, many demons see opportunities to corrupt or kill enemies in that court. The demons from previous arcs see opportunity in destroying (or corrupting) agents of the White Lion, possibly even targetting the Lion as well. Players would be these demons seeking mortal agents near the monasteries where their targets dwell. Connects to Holy Matrix.

PCs:

Vignette: The mephisto-lord of Deseria is visited by a Malish maleficer... and bound.
Vignette: Agents of the Gentleman sell secrets to a Malish agent.
Vignette: An esoteric torturer from Qaroc is hired by a Malish agent to extract information from an Aeldian spy.

16. Taut Strands:
The new spymaster of the new Winter Court sends agents to Srisia to parlay with the Prophetess, seeking stronger alliance. She refuses to speak to them, but informs her agents of how they must treat with them. Using her specific instructions, her agents must formulate a beneficial deal for Srisia with minimal benefit to the Winter Court, while appearing to be supportive. Players would be her agents. Connects to Indigo and Jasper.

PCs:

Vignette: The new Winter Court ambassador to Mwyr Aeld betrays the Winter Court almost immediately.
Vignette: Guinevere argues with the Gentleman, then leaves him.
Vignette: Fane Crow visits the Empress of Srisia and has a pleasant chat over tea.
Vignette: The Inhuman known as the Carpenter kills a Savant child.

17. Web-Breakers:
Balancing the purge of Aeldians and undead from her court, the Empress must rely overly on demons for some of her tasks. Seeing major problems with this, she arranges to recruit new agents. In doing so, she uncovers several hidden plots involving powerful demons, abominations, undead, foreign nations, and even Divines. Players would be her agents seeking recruits and uncovering new plots.

PCs:

Vignette: A powerful cacosinger shrike in Blackwood is recruited for the Empress' service.
Vignette: A markling robber-baron in Qal-Waakh is recruited for the Empress' service.
Vignette: A bugbear warrior from Tyreeth in recruited for the Empress' service.
Vignette: The Hollow Child of Shadows is recruited for the Empress' service.

18. Swarming:
The ruler of Agikaan is murdered by a spiderkin demon during a journey to an outlying province and civil war erupts. For ten days, the nation is in chaos. Players would be Spider Cultists and Srisian agents seeking to sway the Ten Day War to their advantage.

PCs:

Vignette: A breeding camp rebellion is put down during the Ten Day War.
Vignette: Slavers take advantage of the chaos of the Ten Day War.
Vignette: Members of the Cull are murdered during the Ten Day War.
Vignette: Fetat falls to spiderkin in the Ten Day War. A mysterious, masked new ruler arises.

19. Infernal Conflagration :
With the crack in the World Tree allowing certain barriers to weaken, some demons a chance to gain significant elemental power. They are attracted to fire. In seeking to control a greater fire elemental, one demon gains temporary but immense power and destroys a huge portion of the Infernal Realm from previous arcs. This leads to another war wherein rivals seek new power and position. Some of these turn out to be agents of much, much more powerful demons. Players would be the demons from previous arcs trying to survive and thrive. Connects to Branches.

PCs:

Vignette: The Malish maleficer begins a strange ceremony with the mephisto-lord and various other powerful objects.
Vignette: Khaldhys, the Queen of Serpents, replaces the Queen of Ishah Halag.
Vignette: The war in the Hells ends with The Adversary gaining enormous power there.

20. Hidden Webs:
The Prophetess sends an envoy to Agikaan. The envoy returns with one hundred eugenically-bred super soldiers, hidden in the holds of a ship. Playres would be the envoy and agents (and maybe a super soldier) seeking to get back to Srisia with the soldiers without being seen by agents of the Prophetess's many, many enemies. Connects to Veil and Hood.

PCs:

Vignette: A Theresan agent discovers he has spiderweb plague and kills himself.
Vignette: A shadowweaver servant of the Prophetess enters the Shadow Lands with a vial of ethereal energy.
Vignette: The Empress's son Ciprian arrives from being away at school in an undisclosed location.

21. Crow:
Having lost a major bet, the Gentleman has been scrambling. Many of his plots are in disarray, and he needs a quick boost in power. He gathers up two Savant children, former captives of Frau Totenkinder, and offers them to the Prophetess. Meanwhile, his agents are working on a plot to undermine the Prophetess, the Empress, Legions, and other powerful demons. This plot relies on the Gentleman's success with his offer to the Prophetess. When it falls through, these agents are forced to survive on their own or make the most of their broken plot--or betray the Devil to one of his many enemies. Players would be those agents. Connects to The Old Stories.

PCs:

Vignette: Elisabeth Maellow, Ciprian's betrothed, meets with him and discusses politics.
Vignette: Frau Totenkinder eats a child of the Devil.
Vignette: The Gentleman gathers a few last souls and vanishes.

22. I Am Legions for We Are Many:
The demon Legions is not rival to the Prophetess, but the Webweaver himself. Legions is feared everywhere. Legions is unstoppable. Legions is... mostly dormant. But recent conflicts in the Infernal Realms have awakened this hive-mind of infernal power, and with the Devil in disgrace, a power void is now present that must be filled. He has his cultists begin to assimilate very powerful followers of his rivals so that he can gain more information. In doing so, he comes head-to-head with the Prophetess, the Empress, the Devil, other powerful demons and undead, and Hollow Jack himself. Players would be his cultists facing ever-mounting dangers.

PCs:

Vignette: Legions assimilates the Archduke of Malaer.
Vignette: The King of Kael'Ras's creations are unleashed.

23. Rat's Nest:
In Mal'sk, the followers of Hollow Jack have crafted a dangerous plot. Using the King of Kael'Ras as a puppet to distract the Empress and tricking the Devil himself to distract the Prophetess, they have awakened Legions so that they can analyze him and replicate him. Hollow Jack himself seeks to become even greater by replicating Legions' form. Players would be Malish agents achieving their last steps to victory... hidden away on the Other World. Connects to The Frontier.

PCs:

Vignette: The Rat-King of Hollow Jack spread plagues around the world.
Vignette: The new ruler of Agikaan sends agents to Srisia to serve the Prophetess.

24. The Web:
All plots now revealed, the Prophetess begins her assault on Hollow Jack. The Empress faces the Malish king and the King of Kael'Ras in war. And the demons of the Infernal Realms repulse Legions and the Devil. In Agikaan, major changes begin with the One True Religion and the breeding camps. Everything begins to come together. Players would be an agent of the Prophetess, an agent of the Empress, a demon from a previous arc, an Agikaani agent, and a traitor from one of the enemy groups working together to serve the Webweaver himself during this conflict on a very important mission (intentionally vague).

PCs:

Vignette: A dark-furred koala on another world lose his eye in a battle with a dangerous spider-beast.
Vignette: The Storyteller Divine comes to the Divine Courts to say that the Webweaver has gone missing.

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