Finally got to play last night and I had a lot of fun. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

To recap the highlights:

Fiona, Crowtalker, and Oscari got a chance at a pardon in exchange for doing a job for Lord Bleakwell, a nobleman with a penchant for collecting ancient trinkets. Their task: sneak into the estate of Lord Murkingwater in the Cromlech and acquire a beryl necklace located in his family vault. 

After harassing the pawnbroker Mr. Wifflet and getting some gear (and a rabid rat in a sack), the freed prisoners took a cab across town to the vicinity of Murkingwater Manor. They scouted it out and saw that it was protected by members of the Black Border mercenary company, some of whom were accompanied by guard dogs. Crowtalker used the aforementioned rat to distract some of the guards in the rear of the estate while Oscari and Fiona watched the front. The latter two were noticed by a guard, but Oscari was able to convince the gullible fellow to let them in and wait for the absent Lord in his sitting room. 

Nosing around the manor, the criminal band found it to be poorly maintained and understaffed. There were also some funereal decorations from the recent passing of Lord Murkingwater's young cousin Tellamina, the latest addition to the family crypt. It became apparent that the Lord had been in love with his late cousin and the death had apparently driven him to the brink of despair. In the Lord's study, the interlopers also found the key to the vault (a gold bug of clockwork manufacture) and bills indicating Murkingwater had sold off most of the rest of his collection to deal with mounting debt. Oscari also got an exotic dagger from beneath a mattress in the master bedroom.

Turning their attention to the family vault, the group then laid an ambush for one of the mercenaries. Crowtalker shot the unfortunate guard with a muffled pistol and Fiona quickly lit down from a second floor window to take care of his dog. Equipped with the insectile key, they then prepared to enter the Murkingwater family tomb and acquire their prize. 

My thoughts on the session:

Everybody did a GREAT job of roleplaying their seedy characters and I derived the most enjoyment from their interactions. The group also seemed to quickly pick up on the basics of FantasyCraft despite not having played it before. Rewarding and using Action Dice remains fun. I think we had a decent mix of investigation, exploration, and interaction, as well. 

On the down side, we had a few technical hiccups with displaying text boxes and images on the game table. I think we got past it, but it did add some uncertainty to things. Speaking of uncertainty, I think we were all a bit confused by the map of the manor, the placement of guards/dogs, and the use of Blend/Sneak and Notice/Search. It made for a somewhat murky (zing) infiltration. That's mainly my fault, but I hope it didn't detract too much from people's enjoyment. 

As advertised, I also ended up railroading a fair amount and being less than subtle with my clue stick, but I'm okay with it if you guys are.