| Turn One | High Cold Season, 855 |
| Turn Two | Low Cold Season, 855 |
| Turn Three | High Wet Season, 855 |
| Turn Four | Low Wet Season, 855 |
| Turn Five | High Hot Season, 855 |
| Turn Six | Low Hot Season, 855 (hasn't happened yet) |
The first session of the Year in Hegger Matrix Game was held on 02/02/97, and passed through the first four turns of the game. The players in attendance included: Bob (Yordan), Chris (Pawnbroker), Doug (Boromir), Nick (Mungo), Mike (Messerbad), and Tim (Laerynthe). Ray (Spearchucker) was not present, and his character was assumed to be keeping a low profile.
Turn One was quite peaceable, with only one (unsuccessful) attempt at a Black Strike. Most of the characters attempted to find friends and allies in the city. Most notably, Pawnbroker and Messerbad spent a fair amount of effort driving the street gangs and petty criminals out of Arrilus' Quarter, a relatively poor section of Hegger.
None!
Mungo gained two points in combat skills, by practicing with the Skirmishers of IX Cohort.
Laerynthe gained 400 challock by working for a wealthy merchant.
Messerbad saved the Librarian of the College of Sorcery from a mob while helping Pawnbroker remove the criminal element from Arrilus' Quarter. As the subject of the highest-strength Argument involving a new ally, he gained an extra card for the Turn Two final draw.
Turn Two was much nastier, as Messerbad and Yordan competed to gain the favor of the Magistra Jelleth and an appointment as her assistant. Messerbad attempted to catch her notice by working diligently, but was ultimately unsuccessful, as Yordan had learned that she was involved with the city's underworld and used that knowledge to sway her judgment.
Mungo gained his first Black Strike by offending a hermit living in the forests outside of the city. His incessant and poor drumming so enraged the fellow that he took to chasing Mungo away with his staff whenever he saw him coming.
Pawnbroker gained his first Black Strike after Mungo spoke loudly of Pawnbroker's role in expelling several street gangs from Arrilus' Quarter in the wrong tavern. The street gangs swore venegance against Pawnbroker, though they would later prove too cowardly to carry out their threats.
Messerbad gained his first Black Strike from the Magistra Jelleth, who passed him over as an assistant. She took poorly towards his sycophantic attempts to impress her, and considers him to be no more than a babbling poseur.
Pawnbroker gained +1 Language Talent (worth 2 points). Yordan learned a point of Area Knowledge (Hegger) and a point of Streetwise. Mungo successfully picked up a point in Play Instrument (drum), and also gained a point in Running (due to his regular run-ins with the hermit).
Laerynthe's master purchased scale armor for him (a 300 challock gain), to make hima better bodyguard, while Boromir managed to wheedle a five-point Powerstone (with the minor quirk that the user speaks with a lisp for five minutes after using it) from his friends at the College of Sorcery (a 400 challock gain; Index #60).
Yordan used his newfound knowledge of the underworld of Hegger to discover that Magistra Jelleth was an influential force in the city's criminal life. He brought this information to her, impelling her to select him as her new assistant.
The High Wet Season was punctuated by an outbreak of the redlung fever in Hegger. Most of the characters attempted to combat the effects of the disease, generally to their own benefit. The one exception was Pawnbroker, who contracted redlung while looting the bodies of the recently dead.
Pawnbroker gained his second Black Strike when he contracted the redlung fever. Boromir gained his first Black Strike when he incautiously zapped a fellow student at the College of Sorcery. His penalty for this crime was to be sent out to use his powers to treat the victims of the fever (after Yordan intervened and kept him from being thrown out of the College).
Yordan and Messerbad both studied through most of the half-season, and each gained two points in spells. Boromir also gained magical skill, by learning the Cure Disease spell (also two points). Pawnbroker, who spent some time treating the sick before he robbed them, learned two points of the Physician skill.
Mungo took the broadsword he had taken from the Eater's Tower to the IX Cohort weaponsmith, who told him that it was actually a fine weapon (600 challock gain). Mungo also gained a total of 300 challock (only 200 of it susceptible to the normal rewards caps) from treating the victims of the redlung fever, and from carrying away the bodies of those who succumbed.
Laerynthe and Messerbad learned nothing about their weapons, but each gained 300 challock by helping the victims of the redlung fever. Boromir also profited from the redlung fever, but only to the amount of 100 challock. Pawnbroker managed to lift 500 challock from the bodies of the dead, but was quickly forced to pay out 200 challock for treatments to allow him to recover from the redlung fever.
Mungo, Messerbad, Laerynthe, and Boromir all gained an extra card for the Turn Four Final Draw Phase, thanks to their efforts in fighting the redlung fever. Pawnbroker, who was still infirm from his bout with the disease, lost one of his Turn Four Arguments.
Turn Four marked the discovery of Senator Thirrus Heavy-Footed's secrets. Specifically, Laerynthe and Yordan found that he was stealing money from the Escritor of Works' office to pay off his own investment debts. In cooperation with Yordan's teacher, the Magistra Jelleth, they used this knowledge to blackmail him, clearing a profit of 100 challock each but gaining his emnity.
Both Laerynthe and Yordan gained a Black Strike by revealing Senator Thirrus' secrets. In both cases, it was their first Black Strike, represented by the Senator's ire.
Messerbad spent his time reading in the Library of the College of Sorcery, acquiring a total of six points in the Philosophy skill (four from his own experience, and two from the game). Meanwhile, Yordan learned two points in Merchant skill by selling an array of magical objects. Laerynthe and Mungo spent time thinking upon the things they had learned from the folk they treated during the redlung fever outbreak, each gaining two points in Area Knowledge (Hegger Secrets) in the process. Mungo also traveled out to the woods once again, and managed to befriend the hermit he had offended last season. The hermit taught him an additional three points of wilderness survival skills.
Pawnbroker, recently recovered from the redlung fever, used his ill-gotten gains to bribe his way to becoming a full citizen of Hegger (5 point advantage).
Boromir refused to budge from his desk at the College of Sorcery, where he learned the Accuracy enchantment (a four point gain).
Yordan gained 100 challock by blackmailing Senator Thirrus, and also gained a total of 1500 challock by selling several of the magical and arcane trinkets he had accumumlated (his gain was the price over the objects' normal value that he managed to obtain). Laerynthe also earned 100 challock from blackmailing the Senator, but nothing else.
Mungo, shocked and surprised by the quality of the blade he had acquired in the Eater's Tower, asked the IX Cohort armorer to inspect the armor he had brought back as well. He found that his scale armor actually massed 10% less than normal (a 300 challock gain).
Finally, Boromir scribed a total of five Major Healing scrolls in between learning enchantments.
Both Yordan and Laerynthe profited in more ways than simple money from Senator Thirrus' secrets. Yordan gained a free card on either Turn Five or Turn Six, and Laerynthe gained an additional Argument on Turn Five or Turn Six.
Turn Five began with new Maker incursions against outlying properties of Hegger. Thanks to the cost of raising new levies to deal with these attacks, the Senate has passed new taxes. By the end of the Turn, each character will have to pay at least fifty challock in taxes, or face charges of tax evasion.
The point and skill gains the characters have obtained in the first four turns of the Year in Hegger Matrix Game are listed below:
| Character | Benefits |
| Boromir |
|
| Laerynthe |
|
| Messerbad |
|
| Mungo |
|
| Pawnbroker |
|
| Yordan |
|
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