Perils of the Sapphire Sea

A new campaign using the Burning Wheel RPG by Luke Crane.

I finally have the opportunity to introduce a long-time friend,  Geoff Spakes, to the Burning Wheel system.  He's a big fan of Fate, so BW seems like a great fit.  We'll only get to play occasionally, but a little is better than none at all.

The Burn:  We've decided to play in a real-world analog of 1725.  In our world, however, magic is real.  Over the centuries, as technology has developed and religion has spread, magic has weakened and become almost non-existent in Europe.  The Church of the Holy Roman Empire has spread throughout Europe, banning the use of magic and burning those who practice it.  Many Europeans chose to flee to the new world, establishing colonies on the east coast of North America, where they are free to practice the magic that their ancestors used and enjoyed.

Sir Aiden Hogan-Greaves

Great Britain is one of the few European powers that still maintains its independence from the iron rule of the Church, but it's a war they are losing.  Desperate, the King sent emissaries to the Caribbean, where, rumor has it, can be found a substance which grants incredible magical energy to those who know how to use it.  This is a weapon, the King hopes, that can be used to win the war and secure the continued independence of the British Isles.

Only one man returned,  Sir Aiden Hogan-Greaves, the grandson of one of Britain's last great witches.  He brought with him a pearl-sized chunk of an azure colored substance.  The King's alchemists were astounded and declared the substance the very physical manifestation of magic.  They called it "Blue Coal".  Possession of such a substance, in larger quantities, could ensure the safety and security of His Majesty's kingdom and see a revival of magic on an unprecedented scale.

Blue Coal

The only problem, Aiden confessed, was that the substance was known to the Pope and other government bodies.  Surely, they would also be sending agents to secure the substance.  Additionally, the element was closely guarded and monitored by the Aztlan Empire, the prevailing power in the Western hemisphere.  Blue Coal powers their technology and their magic and they are unwilling to give up its secret to world powers that would use it to upset their dominance in the region.  Sending a fleet to the Caribbean would draw too much attention and surely be considered an unprovoked act of hostility by the Aztlan Empire.  Likewise, the King has very few ships that he can spare as they are needed in the war against the  Holy Roman Empire and its allies.

Sir Kennit Greaves

The King decided to turn to The Black Watch.  The Watchmen, as they are called, are the King's secret society of spies and informers.  The Black Watch would dispatch one of their best men to accompany Sir Hogan-Greaves back to the New World to investigate the phenomenon known as Blue Coal and see to acquiring it for the Crown.  The best man available, as it turned out, was Sir Kennit Greaves, cousin to Sir Hogan-Greaves.  Sir Greaves, an ex-Pirate recently returned to the good graces of His Majesty's government, has extensive contacts in that part of the world and has the resources and abilities to allow him to successfully complete the mission.  If he can't do it, it cannot be done.

H.M.S. Harpy

Together, they set out aboard the H.M.S. Harpy to Kingston, Jamaica, where Sir Hogan-Greaves had acquired his sample of Blue Coal from an Aztlan mystic, to begin their investigation.

To be continued....