Sons & Sonsability Ep. 1 - The Mothman Progenies

Template:Infobox episode

**[WARNING: This page contains spoilers for the the first episode of Sons & Sonsability. If you have not finished this episode, be warned.]**

> *"It's the start of a new social season in regency-era London, and the Mothman sisters find themselves at a distinct disadvantage when faced with the daughters of a rival family." - Episode Description*
>
>

"Ep. 1 - The Mothman Progenies" is the first episode of the three-part mini-series *Sons & Sonsability*. It is set in Regency-era England and follows the four Mothman sisters as they try to find favorable husbands for themselves, all while competing against the rival Rogan family.

The main cast plays the Mothman sisters - four sisters looking to find wealthy husbands to secure their family's status. Anthony Burch and Amanda Shuckman are Co-DMs. Amanda plays the four Rogan sisters - the antagonists of the campaign. Anthony plays the four bachelors, along with all of the other NPCs.

## Characters & Description

Unlike the main seasons, the S&S Player Characters are not introduced out of character at the top of the episode. Instead, they are introduced steadily as they enter the story. For the sake of clarity, they will be listed before the episode summary, along with their known character "tags" and traits. The same goes for the Rogan sisters and the bachelors.

### Player Characters (The Mothmans)

The attributes listed by each character are their known tags.

* Lady Elizabeth Mothman (Beth May): Age 19. Good dancer, stubborn, and stupid
* Lady Cynthia Nixon Mothman (Matt Arnold): Age 32. Looks good while playing a harp (but cannot actually play well), legs "of those who have learned to fence" (bow-legged), and rides a horse "like a man"
* Lady Fanny Mothman (Freddie Wong): Huge chest, excellent at playing the piano forte, and a hard drinker
* Lady Eunice Mothman (Will Campos): Pious, sickly, and uninteresting

### Rival NPCs (The Rogans)

All of the Rogan sisters are played by Amanda Shuckman.

## Episode Summary

Anthony introduces Amanda as Co-DM and gives the premise for the mini-series. Amanda gives a brief summary of the Regency Era in England. Anthony explains that the mini-series will take place over the course of "the season" - the time when wealthy young women were presented on the "marriage market" and sought to find husbands.

Anthony also describes the way the homebrewed system will work. None of the characters have stats; instead, they have "tags" or "traits" that describe their personalities. The players will roll a d20 when attempting to do something. If one of their tags is related to what they're attempting, they can roll with advantage; if a tag goes actively against what they're attempting, they roll with disadvantage. Everyone knows each of the other characters' traits.

Anthony explains the "Marriage Points" or "MP" mechanic. MP is essentially HP, which can be lost or gained through actions made by the PCs or Rival NPCs. The more MP, the more desirable a character is for marriage. If a character reaches 0 MP, no one will want to marry them. Each of the four PCs start at 50 MP. Anthony also reveals that there is a tracker for how much each of the bachelors like each of the women. This number is unrelated to MP and is kept secret.

Every PC and Rival NPC has a goal and a secret. Goals and secrets, unlike tags, are kept hidden from the other players. If a character achieves their goal, they can heal a large amount of MP. If their secret is revealed, all MP loss for the rest of the sidequest will be doubled.

### The Mothman Sisters

The story begins at the "coming out party" at the Queen's palace, where young ladies are presented to the court as possible marriage candidates for the season. The Mothman family is the first to arrive. The sisters agree to have Elizabeth enter first, since they believe she is the most eligible among them.

Elizabeth, a "handsome" maiden who doesn't wear too much makeup, enters the room. She immediately verbally addresses the Queen and starts introducing herself - a massive social blunder. A footman tries to quietly tell Elizabeth that she's not supposed to speak, but she keeps talking. Elizabeth curtsies very well before announcing loudly that she will be rejoining her family. As she does, she loses 14 MP.

The eldest of the Mothman sisters, completely failing to learn from her sister's mistakes, immediately greets the room by saying "Howdy!". She introduces herself as Cynthia Nixon and explains that she has been in the United States for the past fifteen years. She also reveals that she is a recent widow, and that her deceased husband, Ernest Nixon, mysteriously died. She puts her boots up on a table and tries to charm the Queen with her rogue-ish American charm, but loses 11 MP.

Fanny steps up next, curtsies delicately, and verbally apologizes to the Queen on behalf of her sister. Fanny's massive rack is "barely" reigned in, and on a critical failure, she accidentally flashes the court and loses 20 MP.

Eunice, the final Mothman sister, enters. She says nothing, but gives a weak, demure smile to the Queen. As she curtsies, she coughs daintily into a handkerchief. The footman thanks her for not speaking. The Mothman sisters move to the side to make way for the Rogan family.

It is noted that the Mothmans and the Rogans are rivals. Spotify Mothman - father to the Mothman sisters - was screwed over by the Rogan patriarch with a bad deal on horse pills. To pay off his debts, Spotify gambled Cynthia Nixon away several years ago. Because of this financial misfortune, the Mothmans have 500 pounds to spend throughout the sidquest.

### The Rogans

The rival NPCs are introduced. Desdemona is "a statuesque young woman with a bustline to rival Fanny's, but considerably more tastefully attired." She strides with "perhaps a bit too much sauce and swagger" to curtsy before the Queen. Amanda also reveals that the Rogan sisters are triplets.

Philomena Rogan, the first of her triplet sisters, enters next. A "poorly slip of a girl" with pale, dry skin, "delicately wibble-wobbles" her way to join her sister in front of the Queen.

Next is Alice Cart, a distant cousin of the Rogan sisters who has joined the family for this marriage season. She glides down the aisle to bow to the Queen.

The final Rogan bachelorette, Jane Rogan, enters. She is "simply the picture of perfection". She is bright-eyed, blonde, and 19 years old.

The players all realize that Amanda and Anthony have accidentally created the perfect rivals for the PCs; as Freddie points out, each family has a bachelorette that is "foreign, sickly, saucy, [or] perfect, which is all the same ones we have!"

Fanny gathers the Mothman sisters into a huddle. She suggests that they kill the Rogan sisters so that the Mothmans may stand a chance in finding bachelors. Eunice, however, believes that if they treat the Rogans with kindness, they will become like sisters to each other and all find worthy bachelors this season. Elizabeth says that she doesn't really care about what the Rogans are doing; she thinks the Mothmans "have a good shot at it." Cynthia Nixon admits that she feels torn between two worlds: that of the southern colonies and that of regency society. Elizabeth confides that she feels caught between two worlds as well: the world of her sisters and the world of "the men".

Elizabeth suggests that they spread some gossip about the Rogans and that she has three "great gossips ready for the drop". Eunice is hesitant at first because of the biblical commandment not to bear false witness, but cancels it out with the commandment to honor thy mother and father.

### The Palace Mixer & The Bachelors

After the Queen views the bachelorettes, the guests move to a party in the palace. The four bachelors are introduced.

The first bachelor is Duke Colin Wilson, who has "Colin Firth in Love Actually kind of attractiveness".

There is a soldier named Darryl Hannah who is wearing his uniform and seems to be changed by his time at war. He is Asian (which is fine in this world, because they're using Bridgerton rules of racial diversity).

There is a wealthy investor who made his money in pantaloons named Theodore Stampler. He is a larger man with suspenders, a large mustache, and a haughty attitude.

The final bachelor is a clergyman named Father Unworthy. Anthony originally intended for him to be a priest, but Amanda corrected him by saying a priest would not have been allowed there for multiple reasons.

Eunice suggests that each sister choose a different bachelor so that they will not be competing for the same man. Fanny suggests that they all say, at the same time, the name of the bachelor they want to pursue. Eunice says Colin Wilson, Fanny says Theodore Stampler, and Cynthia Nixon says, "Anyone who will have me." Elizabeth declines to name a bachelor.

The Duke approaches Elizabeth and remarks on her "little performance" before the Queen. Elizabeth asks him if he wants to see a dance. Cynthia Nixon pulls out her banjo while Fanny takes over the harpsichord. Anthony decides "to agree that a banjo is really just a smaller harp," and Cynthia Nixon looks pretty good while playing it with a roll of \_\_.

[more to be added later!]

[25 minute mark]

"I will decide to agree that a banjo is really just a smaller harp." - Anthony

"Let's ice these bitches." - Fanny

"Who's in the house? JC. And that stands for Just Compromise!" - Elizabeth

"Come, sisters, we must network." - Fanny