Gilded Thrones (Bards of New York)

Join us as we set the stage for our new campaign: Gilded Thrones Every session, rumors will spread. Letters will pass hands. And behind every alliance or betrayal lies a story of love found and lost, loyalty tested, or ambition disguised as insensible affection. Our choices during Gilded Thrones will shape the fate of empires. And in Arcadia, the personal is always political. Let's make new friends and enemies, uncover new mysteries and weave a new myth together.

Desire is a weapon. Reputation a currency. And your sacred, messy, fragile relationships are the true battleground. Toil for control all you like. You’ll soon discover... Your seat of power is merely gilt in gold. Join us as we make new friends and enemies, uncover new mysteries and weave a new myth together! Arcadia: a world where magic flows through the veins of every soul, noble or common. Here, the most powerful can no longer bend the world with spells alone. Everyone has magic. So the question becomes: when the arcane is common, what remains to the ambitious? The answer: Influence. Love. Fear. Scandal. Every session, rumors will spread. Letters will pass hands. And behind every alliance or betrayal lies a story of love found and lost, loyalty tested, or ambition disguised as insensible affection. As our esteemed Empress declares in your invitation: Our choices during Gilded Thrones will shape the fate of empires. And in Arcadia, the personal is always political.

With the Feast of Four Nations, the welcome ball begins and the players take their places on the board for the great Arcadian game of love and politics.

As the Coven's Carnival opens, our players chase their desires or hide from their truths. But Æther-coated fortunes have a way of revealing what was meant to stay hidden.

Truth, lies, hopes, fears and possibility. What will our characters uncover within themselves in the House of Mirrors?

The courtiers reel from truths they would have preferred left buried. Now, they cradle the secrets of friend and foe alike. How will they navigate these perilous ties in the hours before the maze?

Our courtiers venture into the maze, where at its heart lies something they desperately need. But more than simple riddles and puzzles await them. What is the magic of the Court trying to tell to them?

As the courtiers delve deeper into the maze, they must unravel the secrets of the Continent and those around them, separating fact from fiction, and truth from dangerous lies.

Our heroes — or perhaps future villains — press deeper into the maze. The final fragments of the scattered letters are uncovered. Familiar effigies and a tome bound in blood-red leaves hint at a grander tapestry of secrets slowly unfurling itself to our courtiers. Who will reach the center of the maze? The Æther is resolved to watch and weigh the worthy.

The center of the maze offers its boon to only one courtier. But first, each must plead their case: why they, above all others, should claim it. Thunder and rain cloak the evening in a deceitful sense of privacy, yet louder still are the pounding hearts of our heroes and villains as confessions of many kind abound.

Our heroes and villains face the Diarchy's Mage's Duel. Here, competitors fight not for prizes, but for the honor of proving their craft. Beginning with the youngest warriors, these green competitors will hopefully demonstrate the fruits of countless hours honing their skills. As the first contestants step forward, the nations watch with bated breath. The future of the Continent is on display. Who will be the victor?

The Mage’s Duel begins in earnest for the adult courtiers. As tensions continue to rise amongst our would-be heroes and villains, a familiar face returns to the Court—this time, apparently in allegiance with the Kingdom. Who are you betting on? A champion of your nation? An unknown underdog? Or perhaps someone whose power is only now being revealed. The future of the Continent is on display. May Æther bloom in your wake.

All is not what it seems as our Mage's Duel continues to unfold. Will your favorite competitor advance to the next round or will they be taken out by someone else's? Of all the duelists competing, one thing is certain: none of them are fighting for the same reason. We invite you to join the myth weaving as the Mage's Duel continues.

With large secrets threatening to cut through the veil of carefully crafted pretense, several of our courtiers must make their choice: continue clinging to their charade, or own their truth. The final matches of the Mage's Duel conclude as the unlikeliest of victors emerge.

While the leaders of the four nations debate the way forward following Jin's demand, our courtiers tend to wounds and prepare to choose their loyalties. A new arrival to the Court may shift alliances and strain our budding friendships.

Tensions rise as our courtiers discern each other's designs and ambitions. Jin is proffered counsel from a would-be patron. Dulcamara receives a boon most singular. Lücan finds a new path forward. Rafa reveals a lifelong secret and the Good Doctor ensures their "patients" receive the treatment they need.