Making Radiants: Elsecaller

Those who join the Elsecallers generally subscribe to a philosophy that they should be becoming better with each Oath, seeking to explore their true potential and reach it. The Order is more open to all types of people, as long as they want to improve themselves. They tend to attract those who are less flamboyant; scholars, theologians, and those who are interested in leadership.
- Coppermind, Order of Elsecallers

Start your journey

This resource is designed for game masters looking for inspiration to start their players on their path to swearing the ideals of an order of the Knights Radiant. For each Order, there is a scenario that you might use in your campaign to help inspire your budding Knights Radiant to further their journey.

Scenarios include a basic setup to bring your party into the conflict, recommended skill checks to engage your players, and possible outcomes for you to plan for. Where appropriate, there are potential opportunities and complications to blend these events into the tapestry of your campaign.

Here are some quick reminders, which I explained in more detail in my previous post on Dustbringers.

• Make it your own: Use these prompts as kick-starters for your campaign.
• Complimentary and conflicting viewpoints: Scenarios in which your whole party participates may play out differently when viewed through the lens of different orders.
• The journey or the destination: Whether it’s the pivotal moment where a player swears their first (or next) ideal or a simple skill challenge, you will find plenty of inspiration to keep your players engaged with the storyline.
• Further reading: I recommend the Coppermind to any game master who is not well-versed in each Order's lore.

Scenario: The Rival

For this scenario, the game master should gain an understanding of the budding Elsecaller’s pursuit: what skill or aspect of themselves they seek to improve. Create for them a rival who stands to pursue the same goals or objectives but stands counter in the method of pursuit. If the player is a quiet scholar, the rival is a wild theorist in the same field. If they are determined athletes, their rivals come by their skill naturally without the player's dedication.

When visiting a city, the party seeks to take on some work to gain a few extra spheres in their pockets. They come across a patron, perhaps a wealthy merchant or a local scholar, looking for assistants. When offering their services, the party learns that another team has also offered to take on the job, one led by the Elsecaller’s rival. They are instructed to take on a contest to prove which party is more suited to take on the work.

To set up this contest, again, lean on the player’s pursuit. Choose the appropriate skill tied to their pursuit; see the table below for inspiration:

Once you have your test established, you may choose to run the contest in several ways:

• Have the player roll a series of increasingly difficult roll checks, starting low at 10 and slowly increasing in difficulty.
• Create a puzzle that relies on the party to solve through conversation and teamwork rather than dice. These could be common logic puzzles or tests of Cosmere knowledge from the books.
• If this rival is set to be a long-term rival of your player, consider creating a character sheet and rolling opposite the player in the skill check, taking the higher result.

Resolution

Win or lose; the budding Elsecaller will be given a chance to tap the outward bounds of their true potential, either committing themselves to improvement or acknowledging a challenge overcome. Their spren will take notice.

Opportunities and Complications

Use these opportunities and complications to enhance this scenario's impact on your party and their future.

Opportunity: Win or lose, the patron is impressed. Even if they do not get the promised job, the patron will see the party as a resource that will bring them closer to their goals.

Complication: The player’s rival was unsatisfied with the contest's result (again, win or lose). The competitive drive that motivates the rival grows to a searing hate - they will attempt to thwart the potential Elsecaller, maybe not today, but soon.

More to come!

Another order in my series of scenarios covering all of the officially supported orders of the Knights Radiant.

Check out my previous posts:

• Order of Dustbringers
• Order of Skybreakers

To keep up with the latest, be sure to subscribe!