Thirsty Sword Lesbians
Two people fighting, or maybe flirting?

Thirsty Sword Lesbians SRD

Sword Lesbians of the Three Houses

Pitch: The Three Houses of the realm have a long and bloody history. At the end of the Last War, your parents agreed that you would all be schooled together at the Academy of Hope. Will the bonds you forge as classmates prevent the next war?

Hook: This scenario involves a detailed world full of threats and conflict, suitable for a series of adventures. The GM section includes several potential hooks.

Setup Questions

As a group, answer the following questions to develop your shared world:

  • Why was the Last War so horrific (choose one to three)?
    Mind control magic, undead contagion, unleashing of monsters, mundane horrors of war, loss of culture and learning, distrust and internal purges, creepy automata

  • Why was this site chosen for the Academy (choose one or more)?
    Magical null point, intersection of the three realms, remote and inaccessible, hidden in plain sight, so as never to forget the horror that transpired here

  • Who was entrusted with running the Academy?
    Representatives of all three houses, an officially neutral party, representatives of a shared faith, the one most aggrieved by the war, the few survivors of Green House

Next, each player should describe a location at the Academy that would be a dramatic place for a sword fight.

Each player should pick one of the Three Houses—Blue, Red, and Yellow—ensuring that each is represented within the group of PCs. Players answer the following for their Houses:

  • What is the animal that symbolizes each House? Why?

    • Blue House: Dog, Fish, Hawk, Kirin, Wyvern, Spider
    • Red House: Turtle, Elephant, Dragon, Tiger, Bison, Bee
    • Yellow House: Whale, Griffon, Scorpion, Seahorse, Moose, Ostrich

  • Each House has been aggrieved by the others. Choose one of the following or invent another as the principal grievance of each house against each other:
    Loss of pride, conquered territory, unlivable territory, civilian deaths, public torment, mind-wiped former heroes, extinction of a population or resource, heresy, starting the Last War, unleashing a threat to all, dishonorable tactics

  • Each House believes the others are only growing stronger with time. Choose one of the following or invent another for each:
    Pacts with evil creatures, transportation magic, new weapons, impenetrable defenses, a new alliance, an unstoppable hero, a prophecy, growing economic power, fertile lands, a divine blessing

Use the Three Houses Tracking Sheet to record these answers (available at SwordLesbians.com).

Each House qualifies as a Toxic Power for purposes of moves such as Call on a Toxic Power.

Custom Relationships

Select playbooks and create characters as usual, except use the following relationship prompts. Then each character chooses one of the three standard relationship prompts to establish—whichever seems most dramatic. Then assign each other PC zero, one, or two Strings as normal.

  • Beast: Your House hoped you would be civilized by your time at the Academy. Who has helped you avoid being domesticated? Have they become more wild themself?
  • Chosen: Whose House is most invested in your Destiny? Do they personally agree with their House’s position?
  • Devoted: Who is most sympathetic to your Devotion, despite their House’s wishes?
  • Infamous: Though young, you were instrumental to one of the horrors of the Last War. Who was most personally harmed?
  • Nature Witch: You have been repeatedly visited by an animal representing one of the other Houses. What do you think this means? Whom have you told?
  • Scoundrel: You kissed someone you shouldn’t have. Why not? Who will be most upset when they find out?
  • Seeker: One of the Authorities at the Academy pressures everyone to abide by the Commandments you follow. Who is most at odds with this person?
  • Spooky Witch: Who helped cover for you when you sneaked a forbidden monster into the Academy?
  • Trickster: Someone confided a secret in you that you passed along to your House, giving them an advantage. Does the person who trusted you know of your betrayal?

GM Section: Contains Spoilers

This adventure is designed to create a fraught situation where the PCs’ connections to one another are at odds with their loyalty to their House. Each House believes the others are gaining power, meaning they must either strike first or trust in the others’ benevolence. After a long and horrendous war, trust is in short supply.

The scenario is complex enough that it lends itself best to a longer game of at least three sessions.

Early on, throw the characters into shared danger to help establish their friendships. Remind them of the competing demands placed on them by their House, as each continues to seek an advantage. Introduce peers, superiors, and the NPCs who represent the Houses’ interests. Make the Academy fantastic and dangerous in its own right. Perhaps it contains secrets of its own—and each House wants them for itself.

Mid-game, stir the old feuds between the Houses. Depending on your group, either let the PCs do their scheming and politicking to achieve peace or power, or introduce hints of a threat that wants the Houses fighting when they really ought to unite.

Finish with a dramatic event that brings influential figures from all three Houses to the Academy, such as a final test or a graduation ceremony. Emphasize how tense things are between these leaders and how easily the peace could shatter. The PCs must navigate their obligations (a final test, a ceremony, a graduation prank) and prevent a war. Throw in a precipitating event—a murder or missing person, the first signs of a plague weapon from the Last War, a theft of a critical or incriminating secret—that puts the pressure on. Graduation provides a nice setting for a denouement and happy ending.

In a single-session game, you have little time to establish the trust between the PCs and the pressure on them from their House. Set the session at a final test: something dangerous and involved, with representatives of all Houses present. Use a super-obvious trigger for the potential war, like a murder or the theft of an important House relic. A single NPC should be behind the attempt to start the war, someone with connections to one or more PCs, but different priorities. The session revolves around preventing war, getting to the bottom of the crime, and maybe even passing the final test along the way.

Adventure Ideas

Out for Blood: The PCs’ professor is killed in the wee hours one night, and the murder method is something that several students would have access to. Worryingly, the professor had one of the few keys to the ritual chamber, treasure vault, or some other place holding great power, and now it’s missing! In truth, one of the PCs’ fellow students is the killer, but they acted in self-defense. The professor had recently been turned into a vampire by one of the other students, and was going to feed on the student, who turned the tables and killed them. Knowing the professor’s key shouldn’t be left lying around, that student took it with them when they fled the scene. Now the vampires are after them to get the key and the PCs are after them as they investigate the murder!

Final Test: The PCs are dropped into the Labyrinth of Terror and must find their way out. If they go deeper into the Labyrinth, they may find the Jewel of Truth, which can root out the subterfuge. Along the way they may encounter spirits, monstrous residents of the Labyrinth, and other students attempting the test, perhaps separated from their groups (or with their own agendas). Meanwhile, the longer they spend in the depths, the more things grow out of hand amongst the House representatives.

Characters

Professors

  • Marigold: An exile from Yellow House who betrayed the House’s interests to save lives on all sides.
  • Emerald: Last survivor of Green House, devastated in the war; guardian of the House’s secrets and surviving relic.

Blue House

  • Teal: Aggressive beast-rider; will cover for anyone in Blue House who is accused.
  • Cobalt: A spellcaster conversant with the Unseen.
  • Sapphire: Shy, bookish, keeps notes on other students and doodles her favorite ships.

Red House

  • Vermillia: Noblewoman and author of scathing theatrical productions.
  • Russet: Armored warrior with giant two-handed blade.
  • Scarlet: Tactics and battle magic, unexpressive but solid friend.
  • Ruby: Psychic fighter, telepath, wants to make art and dance.

Yellow House

  • Saffron: Heir to Yellow House, rich af, dabbles in chemical science.
  • Lemon: Smol, disaster lesbian; up for anything but with a vengeful streak.
  • Susan: Belligerent, stronk; frequently scraped and bruised, occasional black eye.

Conspirators

  • The Blood Queen: The Last War was a feast for vampire-kind, but feeding during peacetime threatens to reveal their presence. They seek to rekindle the war or conquer the living.
  • Shade: The secret identity of one of the students, who has been turned into a vampire. She lured the professor into a trap and turned them into a vampire a short while ago, and is after their key to do some evil.

Creatures of the Depths

  • Salmira, Guardian Lesbisnake: She guards the Jewel of Truth. If one is pure of heart, she must let them pass, but she wants to know their intentions. She fears that the Jewel will end up in the wrong hands.
  • Chailyss, Tea-loving Lesbispider: She ensnares intruders because no one will come to tea with her otherwise. She has all sorts of treasures from past “guests,” and will be very offended if anyone assumes she killed them. These were gifts from her new friends, who promised to return. The only one who ever has, though, is Shade, the vampire student. She has a bit of a crush on Shade and tied up the professor on the vampire’s behalf, so they could be turned.