NOTICE: The Ritual of Absolution is complete. Please discontinue all Ritual-specific procedures immediately.
Estimated chance of success: 87.6%
| Ritual-7006-Warden | |
|---|---|
| SECUREMENT | Success! (99.2%) |
| CONTAINMENT | Success! (78.41%) |
| PROTECTION | Success! (51.8%) |
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I would like to tell you a story.
Every Administrator of the Foundation, since the late 1800s, has participated in 7006-Warden, as a player. I was a woman of only twenty-nine years when I first played, and my Warden was a man named Collin. I played a character of the Wonder attribute, named Jackson Rochester. At first, we thought it was grim, serious work, like all Foundation work. Then, over elderflower-flavored sparkling punch, someone made a joke about how Violence was oddly considerate, interrogating downed enemies when she should have been ripping them limb from limb. It wasn't that funny of a joke, but the Warden laughed, and the atmosphere changed.
By the second module, we stopped seeing it as a ritual, and started seeing it as a game, something to enjoy. This was the age of Gygax's dragons and Petersen's nightmares from beyond the stars. We had all had a campaign in college. And, of course, we were all told off for not taking it seriously after the Ritual was concluded.
Every year, new Avatars are prepared, but the old scores and statistics are archived. My group decided to continue the adventure we had started, and we met in the night, containing the Maze in the Cupboard, fighting against the Rebar Fiends of the Nineteenth Temple, and performing a daring heist to steal the "living gonne" (Collin had stepped down as Warden, and David, who read far too much Pratchett, had taken over). It surprised nobody when we were caught and accused of diluting the Sacred Rules of the Warden.
But we didn't dilute it at all. The longer the stories went, and the more characters went through them, the stronger it became. Our fortune grew, along with our campaigns.
The Absolutes enjoy a good story above all else, it seems. Bad rolls, failed saves, missteps in judgment… It all made for more interesting stories. When we designed the Pentad Church, it took us three years to beat it. But we didn't fail to Protect, because the Avatars had made valiant last stands, given their lives for the world, gone out as heroes instead of cowards. They protected their world, and our own Protections were bolstered.
In contrast, the Warden overseeing the 2002 Containment module ended up going "rocks fall, everyone dies", and Site-43 blew up. Because everyone dying in the hands of a petty game master isn't a good story. Them trying and failing to save Abigail would have made a far better one.
And then there's the Festering Chaos Lump. Twice in the last decade, someone has managed to bring it to their side, to calm it, convince it to eat other Cultists even as it writhes in pain. Someone once called it "seduction", but for the real Director Bailey's sake, I will ignore that.
In any case, this is an invitation: take your stories from this Ritual, and spiral them out. Keep these Avatars, or make new ones. Have new adventures. Secure wondrous treasures, hidden in secret. Contain a collection of cursed items, and study them so the hexes may one day be broken. Protect the innocent, defend your friends, and use whatever level of violence you feel is appropriate to save the world.
It's your world now. We just gave you a starting point. Go forth, players, and adventure. May the Absolutes smile on us all.
The Administrator
August 1st, 2022
SECURE - CONTAIN - PROTECT
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