BTS: The Black Sword Hack S02
Actual Play Posts and GM Prep Notes.
The Cycles of Errazu: Sunday BSH – Session 2 Recap
While the Monday group had a bye week, Sunday’s crew dove into a brand-new adventure in Iron Port. Here are the Actual Play AND Behind The Screen posts.
We opened at The Broken Oar Tavern & Inn, a well-worn den for rogues, wanderers, and all manner of troublemakers. Drinks flowed, debts were settled, and our newest PC, Anton, made his introduction.
Anton’s player chose not to pay his cost of living this session, so the random tables determined he had picked up a job to make ends meet—babysitting a young man on the run.
A simple task: Keep Gideon safe until Henny the Smuggler returns with passage for him.
Player's NOTE: There are no spoilers here if you're participating in these sessions. You will see how the soup is made, the paths not taken, and NPC agendas.
A Bounty Worth Betrayal
Elsewhere in the tavern, Betany and Wulf watched a fight break out between a hobgoblin mercenary and a pair of monks. Not long after, they were approached by Captain Luthor Harkon, a wealthy and influential merchant who believed his coin could solve any problem. Harkon made the crew an offer: find and kill a man who had wronged him. Then—seeing their hesitation—he softened the ask to capture instead. From the balcony above, Anton overheard everything. He turned to his young charge, Gideon, and told him to "make his own way." Then—seeing the kid’s panic—he backtracked: "Wait here."
With that, Anton rushed downstairs and joined Betany and Wulf in negotiating the job.
Merchant Capt Harkon flaunted a hefty bag of coins, describing the target as a spoiled noble brat named Gideon Sundown who cheated him in a deal. The job is accepted.
As soon as Harkon left, Anton bolted back to his room—now fully aware of who he’d been hired to protect. Betany and Wulf followed. The door was barred from the inside, but Betany made quick work of it—strong arming it to reveal an empty room and an open window. Anton unleashed his mechanical owl to scan the streets for Gideon—but the roll failed. The kid had plenty of time to run, and he was long gone.
Henny’s In!
With no other leads, the group backtracked to Henny, the smuggler, hoping for answers. Henny was pissed at first—until he saw an opportunity. He invited himself into a share of the bounty.
Wulf corrected him: "A share of Anton’s cut."
Now working with limited time before Harkon starts sending others after Gideon, the crew split up:
Henny would check with other boat captains for any sign of the boy.
Anton, Betany, and Wulf followed another lead—the Blue Smoke Cathedral, where Henny first met Gideon.
Something’s Rotten at the Blue Smoke Cathedral
What started as a simple lead turned into a much bigger mystery. The Blue Smoke Cathedral was unlike any temple the crew had seen before. No sermons. No active worship. "Converts" being turned away. Wagons are quietly removing rotting bodies in the night.
Something is very, very wrong here. But no sign of Gideon.
The Search Continues…
GM Prep & Notes
This session showcased the power of flexible prep—how a few well-placed hooks can fuel an entire adventure driven by player choices and consequences rather than rigid story beats.
We began at the Broken Oar Tavern, which gave us space to reinforce the setting, add details collaboratively, and let players anchor their characters in Iron Port. Then, it was time to settle Cost of Living between adventures. Players could either pay a sum of coins equal to their CON score or roll on the “Take a Job / Loan” tables. Anton’s job—keeping Gideon safe—came from this roll. That single table result spun into an entire session of action and consequences with a little GM Lift.
Using the tavern, I introduced three adventure hooks pulled from my Iron Port Problems prep. Here’s how things unfolded:
Henny and Gideon were created in the moment. Henny didn’t exist until I needed a smuggler to connect Anton to Gideon. I originally prepped Trent Sondown as the target of Captain Harkon’s bounty, but it was easier to swap Gideon in—especially since he already had ties to a PC. Now, he’s a running target, which created even more chaos when he escaped.
The Blue Smoke Cathedral was just a name on a list—until I needed a lead. When the players asked where Henny first met Gideon, I pulled from my prep and placed it in the Blue Smoke Cathedral, bringing all of its baked-in problems with it. Suddenly, the party had a whole new layer of intrigue to engage.
The Northern Raiders (problem #3) didn’t make it to the table this session, but the prep wasn’t wasted. Since the players were laser-focused on tracking Gideon, I repurposed elements of that conflict to explain why Gideon is being hunted. Now, whatever he witnessed is directly tied to the Northern Raiders. That connection will shape future sessions.
Paying the Bills
I love medium to heavy prep games, but what really gets me is how emergent play transforms those plans—how a single dice roll or player decision can send everything in an unexpected direction. One GM guideline I follow is this:
👉🏾 Before adding something new, anchor it to something already in play first.
Take Gideon—originally just a name from a random table, but by weaving him into a pre-existing bounty plot, he became a problem with real stakes, one that the players are now fully tangled in.
If you’re into GM insights, emergent play, and a view into how sessions evolve, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Every bit helps keep the dice rolling! 🎲🔥
But What Does This Have to Do With Ancient King Errazu?!
The BIG trick for the next session is connecting all of this chaos to the Ancient King Errazu’s reincarnation cycle. The Merchant Captain, Gideon, and the bounty all tie into something much larger than the players realize yet..or even me! My next prep session is reviewing EVERYTHING we've created thus far and prep how the Ancient King Errazu fits in. He's the main antagonist we decided on in Session Zero. I've got prep to pay out.
Catch ya next week!
GM Prep: The Iron Port
Notables:
Philosopher Duke Kelvin Hawkstone, politician, Favorable to Law
Iron Port: A City of Secrets and Struggles
Iron Port is a gritty coastal city nestled on the southern edge of a wide bay. Known for its bustling docks, labyrinthine alleys, and crumbling stone towers, the city is a melting pot of seafarers, merchants, mystics, and scoundrels. It teems with life, ambition, and intrigue, where the clash of Law and Chaos is as common as the rolling tides.
people
Captain Luthor Harkon – Merchant captain, member of the Merchant Guild, obsessed with control.
Erynn Velstra – Dockworker, secretly a revolutionary, loyal to the Crimson Tide (a rebel faction).
Comm Leader, Larz – Leader of the Blue Smoke Cathedral.
Felka "Knives" Vass – Thief, freelance informant, affiliated with the Iron Syndicate (organized crime).
Sage Mordan Cale – Alchemist and scholar obsessed with forbidden insectoid relics.
Lieutenant Braska Verid – City Watch officer, aligned with Law but bribes easily.
Lithorn the Braid – Strange beekeeper, keeper of esoteric truths.
Sereth the Whisperer – Mercenary captain, freelance but sympathetic to Chaos factions.
Corbin Tallow – Innkeeper of the "Broken Oar," secretly a smuggler for the Iron Syndicate.
Ellanora Duskveil – Noblewoman, secretly funding Chaos cultists for personal revenge.
Henny, boat smuggler. Hired Anton to watch Gideon. (Anton)
power (factions)
The Merchant Guild
Problem: Infighting among merchant captains over tariffs and bribes to the City Watch.
The Crimson Tide
Problem: Divided between peaceful revolutionaries and violent insurgents.
The Iron Syndicate
Domain: Organized crime
Problem: Rival gangs challenge their dominance, threatening their lucrative grip on the city.
The Order of the Veil
Domain: Forbidden knowledge and espionage
Problem: Their activities are attracting the attention of the Merchant Guild
The Broken Bell/The Binding Chain - Fractured Mercenary Companies. (Anton)
places
The Broken Oar Tavern – A dockside tavern frequented by sailors and smugglers, a home base for Corbin Tallow’s smuggling operations.
The Crimson Hall – A hidden cellar in the Weaver’s Quarter used by the Crimson Tide to plan their rebellion.
The Blue Smoke Cathedral – Towering over the city's skyline, this ancient, once grand temple is a hub for Lawful worship and intrigue.
The Black Docks – A lawless section of the docks controlled by the Iron Syndicate, known for illegal trade and bloody turf wars.
The Whispering Bazaar – A sprawling black market where anything—goods, information, or lives—can be bought and sold.
The Watchtower – Headquarters of the City Watch, a symbol of Law but rife with bribery and corruption.
Amber Glow Apothecary – Run by Sage Mordan Cale, a hub for alchemical experiments and strange insectoid curiosities.
The Lantern Gate – The city’s main entrance, flanked by two ancient, crumbling towers, is said to hum with strange energy.
problems
The Lesser Vampire Hunt
The Temple of the Radiant Circle has tasked its faithful with hunting down a lesser vampire preying on the city’s citizens. The vampire has infiltrated the Crimson Tide, offering them protection in exchange for shelter.Merchant Guild Civil War
The Merchant Guild is splintering as rival captains feud over control of the lucrative smuggling trade. Felka "Knives" Vass sees an opportunity to pit the factions against each other.Crimson Tide Betrayal
A peaceful faction within the Crimson Tide suspects their violent counterparts are working with the Iron Syndicate to destabilize the city under the guise of rebellion.The Overlord Relic Heist
The Order of the Veil has stolen a relic from Sage Mordan Cale’s apothecary, intending to sell it to Chaos worshippers. Sage wants it back, but so does the Order of Truth.
1. Monks Hunting a lesser, Nosferatu in the City
The Radiant Circle, a group of monks dedicated to eradicating undead threats, has arrived in Ironport. They are discreetly hunting a lesser vampire rumored to be hiding among the city's populace. The vampire has been preying on the vulnerable, leaving a trail of exsanguinated victims. The monks seek assistance in tracking and confronting this creature before it claims more lives. This mission requires careful investigation, as the vampire is adept at blending in and may have allies within the city.
Intro: A monk gets thrown onto Characters table by an offended Hobgoblin merc, lands like a cat.
2. A Merchant Captain's Deadly Debt Collection
Captain Luthor Harkon, a wealthy and influential merchant, believes his wealth can solve any problem. He has placed a substantial bounty on the head of Trent Sondown a local trader who owes him a significant debt. Harkon has made it known that he is willing to pay handsomely for Trent's capture or demise, sending a clear message to others who might consider crossing him. This situation is complicated by Harkon's connections and the moral implications of his ruthless methods.
Intro: He arrives at the character's table, flaunting a bag of coins.
3. A Northern Raider Prisoner Facing Interrogation
A member of the Northern Raiders, a tribe from which one of the characters hails, has been captured by Ironport's authorities. Accused of espionage and sabotage, the prisoner is scheduled for interrogation and likely execution. The captured raider possesses valuable information about the tribe's movements and strategies.
Intro: Northern Raiders seek out help from Betany.
