Monday night was that last session in the story for Beast: The Primordial. We might come back to this game at some point, but I was kinda feeling the itch to do something non-WoD (or, rather, non-CofD now).
So, anyway, last time, the brood met some werewolves, and then learned that Tyler's shop was being broken into (again). So they all got together and rolled out there. They found that the front door had been smashed in ("boy, lot less subtle than before"). They went in, and a horde of Mawspawn jumped out from behind shelves and whatnot...and Dillon was with them. But something was wrong. He had a set of clawed fingers extending from his knuckles, and just looked a lot more fishy than before.
Not one to back down from a fight, Maia jumped at the biggest one, but wasn't able to hurt it initially. It threw her through the window, followed, and she activated Cyclopean Strength and started beating back. Tyler zipped behind a shelf and tipped it over on top of two the creatures, and Miriana started beating on one (but she's really not a fighter, more of a stalker). John, who is really not a fighter, used Run Away on one of them and sent it fleeing out into the night. That seemed to work pretty well!
Dillon attacked Tyler, who slashed at him with a blade and missed, and the fled behind a shelf. Dillon, not above a little turnabout, tipped it over on him. Tyler popped up through the shelf and used You Deserve This on Dillon, and dropped him into a fugue state. Miriana got cut up pretty badly, but she can spend Satiety to heal all lethal damage, so she was OK. Maia beat the big one's head in, and John had driven the others away. But now...sirens coming.
Realizing that killing Dillon might still be impossible, the Beasts entered Tyler's Lair and dragged Dillon with him. Tyler, angry, used Dragonfire and set the fucker ablaze, spending Satiety to make it hurt...but after he burned, he started healing.
They healed up (Beasts can spend Satiety in their Lairs to heal, remember), and then left through Miriana's Lair back to her yard. Maia called Neal, and told him what was up. He wasn't really up on how and why Dillon was immortal, but said that he needed to see him and maybe he could help. Plus, he and his pack were headed to Parma because...monsters?
Neal met up with the brood and looked at Dillon, and said that he'd been altered spiritually. He said that the good news was that he seemed to have a bane, the way a spirit would, but wasn't sure what. It wasn't fire, obviously. Neal suggested it might be something related to how all this started, and Tyler thought it might be the spyglass that he'd stolen (or rather, received).
John and Miriana went to go and get the spyglass from the store. Maia went off with Neal to hunt with the werewolves (she has Family Ties on him, so she can do that whole Family Dinner thing, and all of the Beasts were mighty hungry). Tyler stayed at Miriana's house with Dillon.
Which was great, until Dillon woke up. He attacked Tyler, and Tyler, injured, managed to avoid him for a while, but then he got clawed. When John and Miriana arrived, Dillon was crouched over Tyler's unconscious body, about to strike the killing blow. John crept up behind him and whacked him on the head with the spyglass, knocking him down. Miriana dragged Tyler into her Lair, and then into his, and he spent his last point of Satiety to heal some damage and wake up. Now Ravenous, he left the Lair, woke Dillon up, and told him that he didn't deserve the time Doctor Bones had given him, so he was taking it back. Then he based his head in with the spyglass, killing him and gaining a dot of Satiety.
Meanwhile, Maia was hunting with Neal and his pack. They tracked down and killed two of the three Mawspawn, but the trail of the third ended with signs of a fight - human blood, gun shells, and a strange, hospital-like scent. Someone had taken the Mawspawn, but at least it was off the streets.
Epilogue: A secret basement below the Clinic. The Mawspawn in a huge tank, and the doors close, bearing a strange symbol: A half-circle bisected by a straight line...
Showing posts with label roots in the community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roots in the community. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Beast Notes!
I'll be taking notes for different games soon, I guess. Monsterhearts is over, Dresden is over for now. We'll be starting up a new monthly game (that I may or may not be running), and next Monday we're making characters for our Changeling: The Dreaming playtest, so that'll be fun. Night's Black Agents is still going, as is Epyllion.
I think this is going to be the last Beast session for a while. I like this game, but I've got other stuff I want to run, and this would be fun to come back to occasionally.
Players should stop reading now.
Anyway, what happened was that Dillon followed the characters to the meet, got nabbed down by the beached, and the Mouth of the Deeps, amazed to see a human being that couldn't die, turned him into a Mawspawn. Dillon is now not only immortal, but really dangerous. The [I]idigam[/I] gave him a few Mawspawn to take with him and then sent some spirits along with him, so it could watch.
Dillon, being Dillon, headed for the store. It wants to destroy Tyler's store, lure him out, and kill him. This would be doable, of course, but in taking on the Mouth's power, Dillon also took on a bane. Making it fire would be a bit too easy, since obviously Tyler is going to breathe fire on him. I think probably the sextant that Bianca stole in the first place would make for a decent bane. Maybe he can be injured, but the sextant can be used to kill him.
And, I think that the hunter cell might be fun to bring in during all this. Wild, chaotic gunfire. Ooh, shit. And also cops. Make it a big clusterfuck, see what the Beasts do, if they try to calm it down or make it hella worse.
I think this is going to be the last Beast session for a while. I like this game, but I've got other stuff I want to run, and this would be fun to come back to occasionally.
Players should stop reading now.
Anyway, what happened was that Dillon followed the characters to the meet, got nabbed down by the beached, and the Mouth of the Deeps, amazed to see a human being that couldn't die, turned him into a Mawspawn. Dillon is now not only immortal, but really dangerous. The [I]idigam[/I] gave him a few Mawspawn to take with him and then sent some spirits along with him, so it could watch.
Dillon, being Dillon, headed for the store. It wants to destroy Tyler's store, lure him out, and kill him. This would be doable, of course, but in taking on the Mouth's power, Dillon also took on a bane. Making it fire would be a bit too easy, since obviously Tyler is going to breathe fire on him. I think probably the sextant that Bianca stole in the first place would make for a decent bane. Maybe he can be injured, but the sextant can be used to kill him.
And, I think that the hunter cell might be fun to bring in during all this. Wild, chaotic gunfire. Ooh, shit. And also cops. Make it a big clusterfuck, see what the Beasts do, if they try to calm it down or make it hella worse.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Beast!
I ran this game on Monday, and then a wild Thanksgiving appeared, so here we are.
Last time, the characters had set up a meet with a pack of werewolves to learn a bit about the monster in the lake. This time, that meeting happened.
The characters met up near Edgewater Park, and were shortly approached by a man calling himself Chuck (Miriana recognized him as a werewolf). He chatted with them briefly, and then whistled, and a wolf walked out from the woods and changed up into man; he called himself Neal.
Neal told them, in brief, about how spirit ecology worked, and what they were up against. Specifically, "if the legends are true," he said, there was a very powerful creature called Gagh-Azur (or "the Mouth of the Deeps") that mostly lived in the ocean but made its way around to the Great Lakes every few years. It created creatures like the fish-monster and the giant squid out of raw materials (Neal called them "Mawspawn") and while he wasn't sure of its specific abilities, he did know that a similar creature out in Denver had required multiple packs of werewolves to kill.
The brood, sobered by this thought, chatted with the werewolves a bit more. Neal gave them a little info about the werewolf situation; basically, there was a pack in East Cleveland that didn't get along with other werewolves (they were old money, 1%er types), but the city proper and the spirit-scape was really the Bridge Pack's area. Maia flirted with Neal and eventually he asked her if she was doing anything tonight, and they left together (and she picked up the Family Ties Condition for him). The others headed back to Parma.
Neal and Maia wound up making out in Lakeview Cemetery, when suddenly Neal perked up and sniffed. He smelled something like death, he said, and wasn't sure what. And then the Beasts realized that the Apex in the area had changed, and instead of Wailing, their Lairs were Flooded (not a huge problem for Maia, but not a welcome change for the others). Had Gagh-Azur ventured on land? Was it now the Apex?
And just then, the security company called Tyler and told him his alarm was going off at his store. Neal apologized to Maia, but said he had to go find his pack, and she said that was fine; she was going to find her folks. The brood went to get Maia, then head for the store. Something was up.
Next time, we find out what.
Last time, the characters had set up a meet with a pack of werewolves to learn a bit about the monster in the lake. This time, that meeting happened.
The characters met up near Edgewater Park, and were shortly approached by a man calling himself Chuck (Miriana recognized him as a werewolf). He chatted with them briefly, and then whistled, and a wolf walked out from the woods and changed up into man; he called himself Neal.
Neal told them, in brief, about how spirit ecology worked, and what they were up against. Specifically, "if the legends are true," he said, there was a very powerful creature called Gagh-Azur (or "the Mouth of the Deeps") that mostly lived in the ocean but made its way around to the Great Lakes every few years. It created creatures like the fish-monster and the giant squid out of raw materials (Neal called them "Mawspawn") and while he wasn't sure of its specific abilities, he did know that a similar creature out in Denver had required multiple packs of werewolves to kill.
The brood, sobered by this thought, chatted with the werewolves a bit more. Neal gave them a little info about the werewolf situation; basically, there was a pack in East Cleveland that didn't get along with other werewolves (they were old money, 1%er types), but the city proper and the spirit-scape was really the Bridge Pack's area. Maia flirted with Neal and eventually he asked her if she was doing anything tonight, and they left together (and she picked up the Family Ties Condition for him). The others headed back to Parma.
Neal and Maia wound up making out in Lakeview Cemetery, when suddenly Neal perked up and sniffed. He smelled something like death, he said, and wasn't sure what. And then the Beasts realized that the Apex in the area had changed, and instead of Wailing, their Lairs were Flooded (not a huge problem for Maia, but not a welcome change for the others). Had Gagh-Azur ventured on land? Was it now the Apex?
And just then, the security company called Tyler and told him his alarm was going off at his store. Neal apologized to Maia, but said he had to go find his pack, and she said that was fine; she was going to find her folks. The brood went to get Maia, then head for the store. Something was up.
Next time, we find out what.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
And Also Beast!
Right, and then we played Beast on Monday. Here we go!
Last time, the brood had gone to Put-In-Bay to get out of town for a while, and so Maia could swim around and investigate the lake. Tyler called Dr. Bones and asked her what was up with the whole "dude is trying to kill me and can't die" thing; she said she wouldn't have helped him if she'd known his last actions would be so violent and promised to look into it. She also agreed to call in a favor from someone called "Robert" and have him watch Tyler's store, so that Dillon didn't burn it down or anything.
The brood went out on a boat, and Maia dove in and looked about. She taste squid ink, which was weird because squid aren't native to Lake Erie. She tracked it for a while, and then found it - a large squid-monster with barbs on its sides. It attacked her, but you don't attack a Makara in a lake. She opened a Primordial Pathway to her Lair, merged with her Horror, and ripped the squid in half. She tossed half into her Lair and half up onto the boat.
She and Miriana examined it, and they noted that the barbs were more like bird beaks. This was the same level of weird that the fish-man creature had been. They decided to head back to land and check one of the islands in the morning.
Needing to feed, Maia had John open a bunch of cars in the parking lot, and squeeze dead squid-juice in them. She wound up feeding deeper than she meant, and made it to Sated.
Next day, they brood got back on the boat and headed out. They found the caves, and Maia went diving again. She found a little underwater cavern, and a human skeleton tucked back on a ledge. Not being any great shakes with investigation herself, she called the others in. John and Miriana noted that the skeletal individual had multiple wounds, and had apparently crawled back on that ledge to die. There were also scratches on the walls, scratches that Miriana recognized as werewolf in origin, though she couldn't read them.
They got back to the boat, and Miriana called Niki, a werewolf friend of hers. They sent Niki pictures of the carvings, and Niki seemed concerned. She offered to hook the brood up with the Bridge Pack, a pack of werewolves more knowledgeable about this kind of thing, but advised they not get snarky - the Bridge Pack takes this seriously.
The Beasts headed back into town, and Tyler met Robert at his store (Robert was a Sin-Eater, like Dr. Bones). Robert said that he'd owed her a favor, but that the Sin-Eater community at large didn't care much for what she was doing and indeed, they weren't sure how she was doing it. Robert also wasn't crazy with the notion of setting people on fire for stealing shit, but he had fulfilled his obligation, so he left.
Next time, the characters get to meet a pack of werewolves. That'll be fun.
Last time, the brood had gone to Put-In-Bay to get out of town for a while, and so Maia could swim around and investigate the lake. Tyler called Dr. Bones and asked her what was up with the whole "dude is trying to kill me and can't die" thing; she said she wouldn't have helped him if she'd known his last actions would be so violent and promised to look into it. She also agreed to call in a favor from someone called "Robert" and have him watch Tyler's store, so that Dillon didn't burn it down or anything.
The brood went out on a boat, and Maia dove in and looked about. She taste squid ink, which was weird because squid aren't native to Lake Erie. She tracked it for a while, and then found it - a large squid-monster with barbs on its sides. It attacked her, but you don't attack a Makara in a lake. She opened a Primordial Pathway to her Lair, merged with her Horror, and ripped the squid in half. She tossed half into her Lair and half up onto the boat.
She and Miriana examined it, and they noted that the barbs were more like bird beaks. This was the same level of weird that the fish-man creature had been. They decided to head back to land and check one of the islands in the morning.
Needing to feed, Maia had John open a bunch of cars in the parking lot, and squeeze dead squid-juice in them. She wound up feeding deeper than she meant, and made it to Sated.
Next day, they brood got back on the boat and headed out. They found the caves, and Maia went diving again. She found a little underwater cavern, and a human skeleton tucked back on a ledge. Not being any great shakes with investigation herself, she called the others in. John and Miriana noted that the skeletal individual had multiple wounds, and had apparently crawled back on that ledge to die. There were also scratches on the walls, scratches that Miriana recognized as werewolf in origin, though she couldn't read them.
They got back to the boat, and Miriana called Niki, a werewolf friend of hers. They sent Niki pictures of the carvings, and Niki seemed concerned. She offered to hook the brood up with the Bridge Pack, a pack of werewolves more knowledgeable about this kind of thing, but advised they not get snarky - the Bridge Pack takes this seriously.
The Beasts headed back into town, and Tyler met Robert at his store (Robert was a Sin-Eater, like Dr. Bones). Robert said that he'd owed her a favor, but that the Sin-Eater community at large didn't care much for what she was doing and indeed, they weren't sure how she was doing it. Robert also wasn't crazy with the notion of setting people on fire for stealing shit, but he had fulfilled his obligation, so he left.
Next time, the characters get to meet a pack of werewolves. That'll be fun.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Beast: There Must Be Something in the Water
("Two Heads" is such a weird song.)
Monday we played Beast, and I'm just now getting around to doing the write-up because, see, I'm running a Kickstarter and that's a bigger time-sink than you'd think. Go back it!
Anyway. Last time, the brood killed a fish-monster in Edgewater Park. This time, we begin with them all in the shared Lair, looking at its corpse.
Maia knows a bit about marine biology, so she pokes at it a bit and finds, strangely, that its teeth are weird hybrid of wolf and shark, it's got gills and lungs (though the latter are underdeveloped so it likely wouldn't survive long outside the water), and it looks like it's been swimming around the lake for a while. Miriana, also savvy with animals, notes that its legs look a bit like a werewolf's when they're in mid-shift. Might this thing be a shapeshifter? Or otherwise related to the werewolves? Miriana makes a note to ask her Uratha friends.
Maia wants to get the things stuffed. She drags it back to her Lair to preserve in saltwater for the moment, and makes a note to go visit her vampiric friend Mikhail; he might know someone crazy enough to taxidermy this thing. Meanwhile, the others decide that they'll go in search of Dillon Markway, the temporarily-immortal dude who's troubling Tyler. They can't kill him (like, they literally can't), but maybe they can stash him away for a while. And who's good at that? Why, John, the Ugallu kidnapper!
They all four head out to his house, and see that someone's up and watching TV. Tyler and Miriana hide in the backyard while John lurks in the shadows and Maia knocks on the door. A guy answers, and Maia claims to be out of gas, and could he drive her up the road? He agrees, somewhat sleepily (but hey, he was up), and Tyler and Miriana sneak into the house. John assumes shadow form and rides with Maia and the guy, who introduces himself as "Mike."
Tyler sees that the living room is being lived in - blankets, pizza boxes, etc. The upstairs has a room full of boxes, and another bedroom that looks more orderly. The downstairs has a workbench and some scraps of metal and leather, and obviously marked with tools that aren't present. Someone made something and took it with.
Meanwhile, Mike and Maia chat, and he mentions that he's housesitting. Realizing he's not Dillon, she relays this to Tyler, who is annoyed that Dillion isn't there. Maia offers Mike a couple of bucks as they get back to the house, but Mike just tells her to pay it forward, and Maia quickly asks him to get a cup of coffee (not wanting to send him into the house with two Beasts). They chat, and he reveals he did time for car theft, and sometimes does some work under the table for a local guy who collects vintage cars (who happens to be Tyler's annoying neighbor).
Tyler, irritated that Dillon isn't home, notes that it is his house, and torches the place with Dragonfire, reaping the delicious Satiety that brings. Maia is contemplating inviting Mike home with her, but he gets a call from someone and rushes back to the house, just in time to see the windows explode outwards. The fire department is on the scene, and Maia thanks him and leaves in John's car (with John still in the back).
The Beasts head to Tyler's shop, and realize that both doors have been booby-trapped. The back door has an electric current rigged to the knob, and the front has a contraption made of leather and metal that would hit neck level if anyone entered. Tyler, feeling a little exposed, asks to crash at Miriana's house. Maia meets them at the house on her way to go talk with Mikhail.
Talking with her undead friend, she learns that he does in fact know someone who might be interested in stuffing the weird fish-thing, but they're from Philly. He says he'll make inquiries. The Beasts, meanwhile, head for bed.
In the morning, they decide to go to Put-In-Bay. That way Maia can swim around the lake and look for evidence of the fish-monster. Miriana hunts by scaring frat boys in the lake, and John feeds by getting kids lost at Cedar Point and feeding on the guilt and fear of the parents (hey, the kids don't get hurt).
Next time, we'll see what's out there in the water, and perhaps see more of Dillon.
Monday we played Beast, and I'm just now getting around to doing the write-up because, see, I'm running a Kickstarter and that's a bigger time-sink than you'd think. Go back it!
Anyway. Last time, the brood killed a fish-monster in Edgewater Park. This time, we begin with them all in the shared Lair, looking at its corpse.
Maia knows a bit about marine biology, so she pokes at it a bit and finds, strangely, that its teeth are weird hybrid of wolf and shark, it's got gills and lungs (though the latter are underdeveloped so it likely wouldn't survive long outside the water), and it looks like it's been swimming around the lake for a while. Miriana, also savvy with animals, notes that its legs look a bit like a werewolf's when they're in mid-shift. Might this thing be a shapeshifter? Or otherwise related to the werewolves? Miriana makes a note to ask her Uratha friends.
Maia wants to get the things stuffed. She drags it back to her Lair to preserve in saltwater for the moment, and makes a note to go visit her vampiric friend Mikhail; he might know someone crazy enough to taxidermy this thing. Meanwhile, the others decide that they'll go in search of Dillon Markway, the temporarily-immortal dude who's troubling Tyler. They can't kill him (like, they literally can't), but maybe they can stash him away for a while. And who's good at that? Why, John, the Ugallu kidnapper!
They all four head out to his house, and see that someone's up and watching TV. Tyler and Miriana hide in the backyard while John lurks in the shadows and Maia knocks on the door. A guy answers, and Maia claims to be out of gas, and could he drive her up the road? He agrees, somewhat sleepily (but hey, he was up), and Tyler and Miriana sneak into the house. John assumes shadow form and rides with Maia and the guy, who introduces himself as "Mike."
Tyler sees that the living room is being lived in - blankets, pizza boxes, etc. The upstairs has a room full of boxes, and another bedroom that looks more orderly. The downstairs has a workbench and some scraps of metal and leather, and obviously marked with tools that aren't present. Someone made something and took it with.
Meanwhile, Mike and Maia chat, and he mentions that he's housesitting. Realizing he's not Dillon, she relays this to Tyler, who is annoyed that Dillion isn't there. Maia offers Mike a couple of bucks as they get back to the house, but Mike just tells her to pay it forward, and Maia quickly asks him to get a cup of coffee (not wanting to send him into the house with two Beasts). They chat, and he reveals he did time for car theft, and sometimes does some work under the table for a local guy who collects vintage cars (who happens to be Tyler's annoying neighbor).
Tyler, irritated that Dillon isn't home, notes that it is his house, and torches the place with Dragonfire, reaping the delicious Satiety that brings. Maia is contemplating inviting Mike home with her, but he gets a call from someone and rushes back to the house, just in time to see the windows explode outwards. The fire department is on the scene, and Maia thanks him and leaves in John's car (with John still in the back).
The Beasts head to Tyler's shop, and realize that both doors have been booby-trapped. The back door has an electric current rigged to the knob, and the front has a contraption made of leather and metal that would hit neck level if anyone entered. Tyler, feeling a little exposed, asks to crash at Miriana's house. Maia meets them at the house on her way to go talk with Mikhail.
Talking with her undead friend, she learns that he does in fact know someone who might be interested in stuffing the weird fish-thing, but they're from Philly. He says he'll make inquiries. The Beasts, meanwhile, head for bed.
In the morning, they decide to go to Put-In-Bay. That way Maia can swim around the lake and look for evidence of the fish-monster. Miriana hunts by scaring frat boys in the lake, and John feeds by getting kids lost at Cedar Point and feeding on the guilt and fear of the parents (hey, the kids don't get hurt).
Next time, we'll see what's out there in the water, and perhaps see more of Dillon.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Beast: A Day at the Beach
Last time, which was a good long while ago, the brood had learned about some mysterious creature that killed someone at Edgewater Park. They decided to go out and look around.
They arrived in late afternoon, and the place was busy. That's normal, though there was more of a police presence than usual. John noticed police hassling a young black man for no special reason, but figured that probably wasn't uncommon. Maia flirted with a cop while Miriana checked the trees by the death site, and saw gouges - apparently this thing could climb trees. The brood decided to go get dinner and come back after dark.
They did so; Maia jumped into the water to look around, while Miriana checked the beach and the woods. They found footprints leading up out of the water. And then they heard a scream coming from a pavilion.
They raced there and found the creature - an awful, bipedal, scaled fish-monster - chewing on a guy's innards. It saw them and jumped up to the top of the pavilion. Miriana slammed into the support beam and splintered it, knocking the pavilion's roof loose. The creature jumped down and slashed at Miriana. Tyler used Dragonfire to light the thing up, and Maia activated Cycoplean Strength to rip out one of the supports and crush the thing's head with it.
Just then, a survivor bolted. John teleported after him using Shadowed Soul, and brought him (terrified) back. The guy was an addict, just in the park to score, and agreed to keep his mouth shut, so the Beasts let him run. Maia also fed her Horror off the destruction she caused.
The pavilion had become a Chamber, so Miriana added it to her Lair. Maia, meanwhile, now understood what had happened in the wrecked ship (if not why), so she swam out and added that to her Lair. Miriana opened up her Lair through the pavilion and, with Tyler's help, dragged the creature's corpse in. Maia slipped into the shared Lair through the ship, and John just drove away. He saw the man they'd let go bent over a police car, under arrest, and thought of the man he'd seen earlier.
Next time - perhaps some more investigation of this mysterious lake-creature?
They arrived in late afternoon, and the place was busy. That's normal, though there was more of a police presence than usual. John noticed police hassling a young black man for no special reason, but figured that probably wasn't uncommon. Maia flirted with a cop while Miriana checked the trees by the death site, and saw gouges - apparently this thing could climb trees. The brood decided to go get dinner and come back after dark.
They did so; Maia jumped into the water to look around, while Miriana checked the beach and the woods. They found footprints leading up out of the water. And then they heard a scream coming from a pavilion.
They raced there and found the creature - an awful, bipedal, scaled fish-monster - chewing on a guy's innards. It saw them and jumped up to the top of the pavilion. Miriana slammed into the support beam and splintered it, knocking the pavilion's roof loose. The creature jumped down and slashed at Miriana. Tyler used Dragonfire to light the thing up, and Maia activated Cycoplean Strength to rip out one of the supports and crush the thing's head with it.
Just then, a survivor bolted. John teleported after him using Shadowed Soul, and brought him (terrified) back. The guy was an addict, just in the park to score, and agreed to keep his mouth shut, so the Beasts let him run. Maia also fed her Horror off the destruction she caused.
The pavilion had become a Chamber, so Miriana added it to her Lair. Maia, meanwhile, now understood what had happened in the wrecked ship (if not why), so she swam out and added that to her Lair. Miriana opened up her Lair through the pavilion and, with Tyler's help, dragged the creature's corpse in. Maia slipped into the shared Lair through the ship, and John just drove away. He saw the man they'd let go bent over a police car, under arrest, and thought of the man he'd seen earlier.
Next time - perhaps some more investigation of this mysterious lake-creature?
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Some Game Prep
I'm running Night's Black Agents in a couple of hours, which I'd completely forgotten about, so I need to figure a few things out. First thing, of course, is to waste a little space so that no spoilers show up in the feeds of my players on G+. I'm a little teapot, short and stout.
Anyway!
Last time, the characters rescued Jens Kraut from where he was being held and tortured, and took him away to Dresden. I could roll to turn a character, but the only one I'm very likely to succeed on is Benbow's mule buddy, and I don't remember much about him, so I think maybe we'll wait a while on that.
Jens, recall, is still turned, but I think we'll take that to me he's got a tracking device implanted in his body. The conspiracy doesn't bother turning it on until the characters get away (the tracker was plan B; plan A was actually catching them). So I think we'll pick up in Dresden, pretty much as the characters are getting in. No one had a chance to do any through medical checking-out of Jens during the chase, so there was no real chance to catch the device (implanted under his left arm). It'll show up on an X-ray and a careful manual palpation, but not a metal detector. Electronic Surveillance will also catch it, if they're pay attention.
So what if they're made? What resources can the conspiracy bring to bear, here?
The Berlin Task Force is pretty much the best equipped group in the area, unless the want to hire outside talent, which they don't. So let's assume they bring those guys, plus Jones (who needed some time to recover after Lockwood severed his tentacles back here). That'll potentially give the characters a look at what they're fighting, although Jones is gunshy about getting too close. If he sees Wolfgang, though, he attacks him to exclusion of all else; they want Wolfgang alive to be converted into a puppeteer.
So, the squad is: Jones (puppeteer), three vampires (the dead Berliners from the black site) and three Renfields (including Engel).
Best case scenario for today: Jens dead, Wolfgang captured (since his player might be out next month anyway), everyone else on the run or injured.
Anyway!
Night's Black Agents
Last time, the characters rescued Jens Kraut from where he was being held and tortured, and took him away to Dresden. I could roll to turn a character, but the only one I'm very likely to succeed on is Benbow's mule buddy, and I don't remember much about him, so I think maybe we'll wait a while on that.
Jens, recall, is still turned, but I think we'll take that to me he's got a tracking device implanted in his body. The conspiracy doesn't bother turning it on until the characters get away (the tracker was plan B; plan A was actually catching them). So I think we'll pick up in Dresden, pretty much as the characters are getting in. No one had a chance to do any through medical checking-out of Jens during the chase, so there was no real chance to catch the device (implanted under his left arm). It'll show up on an X-ray and a careful manual palpation, but not a metal detector. Electronic Surveillance will also catch it, if they're pay attention.
So what if they're made? What resources can the conspiracy bring to bear, here?
The Berlin Task Force is pretty much the best equipped group in the area, unless the want to hire outside talent, which they don't. So let's assume they bring those guys, plus Jones (who needed some time to recover after Lockwood severed his tentacles back here). That'll potentially give the characters a look at what they're fighting, although Jones is gunshy about getting too close. If he sees Wolfgang, though, he attacks him to exclusion of all else; they want Wolfgang alive to be converted into a puppeteer.
So, the squad is: Jones (puppeteer), three vampires (the dead Berliners from the black site) and three Renfields (including Engel).
Best case scenario for today: Jens dead, Wolfgang captured (since his player might be out next month anyway), everyone else on the run or injured.
Beast: The Primordial
It's been a while since we've played, due to illness and travel and so on. But the good news is, we left off with a clear plan of action, so that's kinda rare and cool.
Last time, Miriana got to watch as a body apparently chewed up by...some kind of marine monster was examined at the zoo. The brood decided to head to Edgewater Park and check it out.
Now, we could go a couple of ways on this. One is to assume the park is kinda empty and run the fight with the Mawspawn, but eh. That's not really in-theme. So I think the better thing to do is assume the park is busy, just maybe a different kind of busy. That also means the hunter crew that they've been tracking can be here, if need be, plus a heavier police presence, which means that things can theoretically get really out of hand if the Mawspawn shows up and some stupid cop starts shooting at it.
I like that, that's a nice dramatic set-up. Now, of course, if the PCs wait until after dark and the park has largely emptied out, they get drug dealers and folks looking to get laid rather than beachgoers and families, but that's also potentially fun. I think the Mawspawn in Werewolf 2nd works as written; it's pretty badass on the beach, so if it gets wounded further into the park it'll run for the beach and try and fight there.
Sounds good. A few converging plotlines, and the Bridge Pack can intervene things go really bad (though I trust this group to cut and run rather than fight to the death).
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Night's Black Agents: Monte Carlo, We Hardly Knew Ye
Don't worry, they didn't blow it up or anything.
So, the agents fled to Monte Carlo at the end of the last op. They did some gambling (mostly Fuchs), lounged on the beach (Parker and Benbow), and engaged in a little loan-sharking (Gambone). Hanover did some work as a restoration/art expert, as well. Things were looking up a bit.
And then, a couple of weeks after they go to Monte Carlo, Hanover and Fuchs caught a news report about a man who worked for the German IRS-equivalent, named Jens Kraut, who had been arrested in connection with a human trafficking ring. Jens, of course, is a friend and colleague of Fuchs.
The agents got together and started looking into this. Jens had been arrested by a Berlin anti-terrorism task force. Hanover did some digging and found he'd not been formally processed; he was in a black site somewhere in Berlin. Fuchs talked to the other agents and made it clear that this was a trap; they were trying to set him up. But Parker, in particular, was not OK with the idea of leaving an innocent man in the grasp of the conspiracy. Hanover verified that Jens' record had been doctored to make it look like he had started laundering money for some shady individuals, including a money trail leading back to Hi-Klass Escorts (which the characters had seen before). They decided to head to Berlin and try and rescue him, hopefully without dying.
Research and hacking indicated that they weren't going to find the black site through a computer; they needed to get boots on the ground, as it were. Gambone contacted Ava Kingsilver, his usual arms dealer, and had various instruments of death shipped to Parker's friend Marta in Berlin. They took the train up, collected their stuff, and got to work.
Fuchs contacted a Berlin agent named Kolt Engel, presenting himself as a German intelligence agent with some information about all of this. He arranged a meeting between himself, Engel, and another agent named Klara Schmidt (actually Benbow, using a connected cover). They set the meeting place, and had Parker on the nearby roof with a sniper rifle, Hanover in the van taking pictures, and Gambone in the room hiding.
As Engel arrived, two men in suits came to the roof. Parker rolled and hid in time, and noted that they were setting up a sniper's perch. She considered trying to take them out, but wasn't sure she could do it quietly and didn't want to blow the meeting. She hid instead.
Engel arrived and was quite affable. He talked about Jens and what he knew (which was that Jens would crack eventually). The "German agents" offered their services (and Fuchs used his MOS in Disguise to sell it). Engel agreed, and said he'd drive them.
The other agents followed Benbow and Fuchs (riding in Engel's car) to a nondescript site. The two undercovers took a freight elevator down into a big, dark, open room. Jens was cuffed to a chair, beaten and bloody, and said that he knew nothing about what he was accused of, he just wanted to go home.
Benbow (using her MOS in Preparedness) had a device to jam the surveillance stuff in the room. Fuchs revealed himself to Jens, opened his cuffs, and immobilized Engel with a flashbang. They started up the elevator. Fortunately, the flashbangs were custom made by Gambone and they sent him a text when they went off. Tipped that shit was going down, Parker shot at the guards to distract them, and Gambone snuck in. He saw three dudes with guns trained on the elevator, and tossed in an explosive.
The elevator arrived, and Benbow, Fuchs, and Jens saw three dead people and the aftermath of an explosion. They ran out and got in the van, and Benbow switched seats with Hanover (since she's the better driver). They took off through the streets of Berlin, but managed to lose their pursuers.
They decided to head to Dresden to lay low for a while. This op is most certainly not over.
And while I'm at it...
So, the agents fled to Monte Carlo at the end of the last op. They did some gambling (mostly Fuchs), lounged on the beach (Parker and Benbow), and engaged in a little loan-sharking (Gambone). Hanover did some work as a restoration/art expert, as well. Things were looking up a bit.
And then, a couple of weeks after they go to Monte Carlo, Hanover and Fuchs caught a news report about a man who worked for the German IRS-equivalent, named Jens Kraut, who had been arrested in connection with a human trafficking ring. Jens, of course, is a friend and colleague of Fuchs.
The agents got together and started looking into this. Jens had been arrested by a Berlin anti-terrorism task force. Hanover did some digging and found he'd not been formally processed; he was in a black site somewhere in Berlin. Fuchs talked to the other agents and made it clear that this was a trap; they were trying to set him up. But Parker, in particular, was not OK with the idea of leaving an innocent man in the grasp of the conspiracy. Hanover verified that Jens' record had been doctored to make it look like he had started laundering money for some shady individuals, including a money trail leading back to Hi-Klass Escorts (which the characters had seen before). They decided to head to Berlin and try and rescue him, hopefully without dying.
Research and hacking indicated that they weren't going to find the black site through a computer; they needed to get boots on the ground, as it were. Gambone contacted Ava Kingsilver, his usual arms dealer, and had various instruments of death shipped to Parker's friend Marta in Berlin. They took the train up, collected their stuff, and got to work.
Fuchs contacted a Berlin agent named Kolt Engel, presenting himself as a German intelligence agent with some information about all of this. He arranged a meeting between himself, Engel, and another agent named Klara Schmidt (actually Benbow, using a connected cover). They set the meeting place, and had Parker on the nearby roof with a sniper rifle, Hanover in the van taking pictures, and Gambone in the room hiding.
As Engel arrived, two men in suits came to the roof. Parker rolled and hid in time, and noted that they were setting up a sniper's perch. She considered trying to take them out, but wasn't sure she could do it quietly and didn't want to blow the meeting. She hid instead.
Engel arrived and was quite affable. He talked about Jens and what he knew (which was that Jens would crack eventually). The "German agents" offered their services (and Fuchs used his MOS in Disguise to sell it). Engel agreed, and said he'd drive them.
The other agents followed Benbow and Fuchs (riding in Engel's car) to a nondescript site. The two undercovers took a freight elevator down into a big, dark, open room. Jens was cuffed to a chair, beaten and bloody, and said that he knew nothing about what he was accused of, he just wanted to go home.
Benbow (using her MOS in Preparedness) had a device to jam the surveillance stuff in the room. Fuchs revealed himself to Jens, opened his cuffs, and immobilized Engel with a flashbang. They started up the elevator. Fortunately, the flashbangs were custom made by Gambone and they sent him a text when they went off. Tipped that shit was going down, Parker shot at the guards to distract them, and Gambone snuck in. He saw three dudes with guns trained on the elevator, and tossed in an explosive.
The elevator arrived, and Benbow, Fuchs, and Jens saw three dead people and the aftermath of an explosion. They ran out and got in the van, and Benbow switched seats with Hanover (since she's the better driver). They took off through the streets of Berlin, but managed to lose their pursuers.
They decided to head to Dresden to lay low for a while. This op is most certainly not over.
And while I'm at it...
Beast
We had a quick session last night; I was really tired and having trouble focusing.
Memorial Day came. Maia went out with Ryan, but failed to convince him to take the next day off work. Miriana worked at the zoo, John hung out with Tyler.
The next day, Miriana went to work and found the police had corralled some of the head honchos about something. She happened to be standing there totally not eavesdropping when they came out, and asked her to fetch Janos, a keeper who worked with reptiles. She followed him into the room and saw pictures of a dead and dismembered body; they wanted Janos to identify the bite marks.
Looking green, Janos said they weren't reptilian - maybe an eel, but they were too big. The body was found in Edgewater Park, though, and not a lot of marine eels in Lake Erie (or sharks, for that matter).
Meanwhile, Tyler had put up wanted posters showing Dillon's picture and asking for more information. During that day, Carlos (one of the hunters they'd seen practicing with bats) along with the female hunter whose name they hadn't caught came into his shop. They talked about Dillon a bit; Tyler said the guy was vandalizing his story, but wasn't sure why. Carlos seemed to buy that, and said he'd keep an eye out.
The characters got together and Miriana told them about her day. They decided to head to Edgewater Park - perhaps they has something to do with the Chamber Maia found in the sunken boat. We shall find out next time.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Game Prep and #RPGaDay2015
First this:
Favorite RPG-Playing Celebrity: I dunno, never played an RPG with a celebrity. I mean, we all know Vin Diesel plays D&D, and that's pretty cool, particularly when you consider that Chronicles of Riddick feels very much like someone's D&D-in-Space game.
OK, now notes on games.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
#RPGaDay2015, also Beast
Favorite Sci-Fi RPG: It's a genre I like a little better than fantasy, but, again, not a genre I've ever really loved. I think I'm gonna be weird and go with Human Occupied Landfill. Sure, it's more "black comedy" than strictly sci-fi, but the best-kept secret about HoL is that it's completely playable - simple little 2d6 system, a perfectly workable and kinda innovative damage system, and a world that's funny and easy to get your brain around. Hard sci-fi tends to be crunchier than I like, but HoL is nicely simple.
Favorite Supers RPG: Ah, now the ball's in Farnsworth's court! I often say that I'm a fan of superheroes, if not necessarily comics (comics are complex and lumbering, and I pretty much just roll my eyes when they announce "long-running character is gonna die!" No, they aren't). My first game was Marvel Superheroes from TSR, but is that my favorite? I think I'm gonna go slightly more hipster and choose With Great Power.... It captures the feel of the comics, and it's the only game I've found that really truly could have Galactus and Aunt May in the same game, no real problem.
And now, Beast.
Sunday, May 24. Maia has a date with Ryan later in the afternoon, but first, John decides to keep everyone updated on what he saw yesterday. The brood meets up at IHOP and John explains the probable team of hunters he saw. He mentions that they seem interested in Dillon, the guy who threw a cinderblock through Tyler's shop's window, but that's still a little close for comfort.
The brood splits for the day. Tyler visit Ernest, his mage friend, to chat about Dillon. Ernest looks at his footage, and says that it's possible that Dillon is a mage (healing quickly and enhanced strength make sense in concert), and possible he's a werewolf (they also heal fast), but Ernest does wonder why, if either of those are true, that Dillon allowed himself to be set on fire. He mentions that his folks (mages) are in a bit of upheaval right now, and Tyler says that if he can be an ace in the hole, he's willing.
Miriana goes to see her friend Elle, and finds that she has died peacefully in her sleep. She calls the police, and then calls Doctor Bones, informing her that Elle is gone. Doctor Bones is unsurprised, and thanks her for looking after Elle's cats.
John goes to see Doctor Bones, and informs her about the cell of hunters apparently working in Cleveland. Bones thanks him (and he cements the Family Ties Condition on her). They chat a bit about current events, and Bones reveals that she healed Dillon - a nurse in the burn unit gave her the tip, she performed her ritual, and now he's effectively immortal for a month. John finds this terribly funny.
Maia goes on her date. She's lost a dot of Satiety (I made the offer to all of them at the beginning of the sesson; lose a dot, get a Beat), so she's hungry. She activates Heart of the Ocean and, wouldn't you know, Ryan is indeed her type - drawn to bad relationships. She immediately seduces him, looking forward to making his life hell over the next few weeks.
That evening, the characters regroup to go check out the hunters practicing. They watch as the hunters practice a tactic for surrounding and breaking the jaw/teeth of a monster - that would fuck up Tyler's firebreathing pretty good. The characters now know what to expect, but having hunters in town isn't good. They listen, and the hunters mention Dillon. One of them, Carlos, decides to drop in on Tyler's pawn shop tomorrow, and Tyler (learning the full situation from John), wonders if he can turn the hunters on to Dillon and keep himself out of it. John, for his part, admits that Leonard is not a good target for his Horror - he's not a neglectful father, he's trying to protect his kid from monsters.
Tomorrow Memorial Day!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Game Notes!
Well, first of all, the obligatory #RPGaDay2015 post.
Longest Game Session Played: Oh, that's easy. Check it out.
I started running World of Darkness games in 1994, when Wraith: The Oblivion came out. My Wraith game was a gateway drug into the rest of the WoD; it hadn't been my intention to bother (because the Vampire section of my FLGS was this intimidating green wall), but I wanted to know more about these worlds, so I bought and read every damn thing that came out for the World of Darkness. And I ran those games.
I mean, you gotta understand. I've mentioned that I ran Chill three or four nights a week in college, right? That was only until spring 1994 or so. And then Wraith came out that summer, and I transferred that same schedule to the World of Darkness.
We'd play games at the drop of a hat. One of us ("us" being me, my brother Jonathan, Carrie, Mikal, and later Jeff) would get a hair to run a WoD game, and boom, we'd figure out who was around and down to play, make characters, and bang, new chronicle. "One-shots" never lasted just one session, but games also rarely got finished. I had a huge binder, arranged by city, with the character sheets of the folks in that city - PCs and important NPCs (where "important" meant "Matt took the time to stat, which is pretty much everybody").
This went on for five years. The games got less frequent toward the end, but I was still running them, still adding new chronicles. And then, in 1999, I got married and we moved to Cleveland. I wanted a send-off for my World of Darkness, so I invited the players to Cleveland to play the end of the world (this was, you'll notice, five full years before White Wolf did Time of Judgment).
So it was me, Sarah, Carrie, Ally, Brandyn, Jonathan, Todd, Ryan, Mike, and Kevin. We all chipped in for Ally's plane ticket, because she was in New England somewhere, but the rest were in Toledo. We played for 13 solid hours, basically five separate sessions with everyone playing old characters, and we ended the world. Everyone was fucking knackered by the end, but it was awesome.
Anyway, that's enough space. How about some game notes?
Longest Game Session Played: Oh, that's easy. Check it out.
I started running World of Darkness games in 1994, when Wraith: The Oblivion came out. My Wraith game was a gateway drug into the rest of the WoD; it hadn't been my intention to bother (because the Vampire section of my FLGS was this intimidating green wall), but I wanted to know more about these worlds, so I bought and read every damn thing that came out for the World of Darkness. And I ran those games.
I mean, you gotta understand. I've mentioned that I ran Chill three or four nights a week in college, right? That was only until spring 1994 or so. And then Wraith came out that summer, and I transferred that same schedule to the World of Darkness.
We'd play games at the drop of a hat. One of us ("us" being me, my brother Jonathan, Carrie, Mikal, and later Jeff) would get a hair to run a WoD game, and boom, we'd figure out who was around and down to play, make characters, and bang, new chronicle. "One-shots" never lasted just one session, but games also rarely got finished. I had a huge binder, arranged by city, with the character sheets of the folks in that city - PCs and important NPCs (where "important" meant "Matt took the time to stat, which is pretty much everybody").
This went on for five years. The games got less frequent toward the end, but I was still running them, still adding new chronicles. And then, in 1999, I got married and we moved to Cleveland. I wanted a send-off for my World of Darkness, so I invited the players to Cleveland to play the end of the world (this was, you'll notice, five full years before White Wolf did Time of Judgment).
So it was me, Sarah, Carrie, Ally, Brandyn, Jonathan, Todd, Ryan, Mike, and Kevin. We all chipped in for Ally's plane ticket, because she was in New England somewhere, but the rest were in Toledo. We played for 13 solid hours, basically five separate sessions with everyone playing old characters, and we ended the world. Everyone was fucking knackered by the end, but it was awesome.
Anyway, that's enough space. How about some game notes?
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Beast: Smashed Windows and Sunk Boats
I ran the second session in my Beast: The Primordial game last night. Almost didn't; we drove in from Indy yesterday and Michelle and I were tired, but the game is just starting up and it was important to me to build some momentum.
So! The characters hung out in the bar and chatted about Doc Bones and little bit. Tyler was concerned that she might be granting people time when they shouldn't have it, cheating the Reaper, as it were, but the others felt that all she was doing was improving the lots of people who were going to die. During lunch, Tyler got a phone call from the Parma police - someone had vandalized his shop. The others in the brood asked if he wanted them to tag along, and he said no, so they tagged along anyway.
Someone had thrown a cinderblock through the window of the shop, and then sprayed something on the door and lit it (the door was scorched, but it hadn't caught). Tyler was annoyed; he'd just had that glass replaced. He checked the closed-circuit TV and identified the vandal as the guy he'd set on fire for trying to fence his stuff...and the guy didn't have so much as a scorch mark on him. How strange. He asked Miriana to look in on the woman he'd fed on the day before, just to make sure she wasn't involved.
The brood split up for the afternoon. Maia went to Lake Erie, activated her Heart of the Ocean Atavism, and went swimming around. She found a shipwreck not far off the coast, and inside, she found an unclaimed Chamber. She touched the walls and saw a vision of girl sitting on a bed in a cabin, staring in horror at her hand as her fingers twisted and elongated. And then something thumped against the side of the boat, smashing it in, and Maia saw something huge and hair slither in as the boat sank.
Maia realized if she could figure out what happened, she could add this shipwreck to her Lair. Enthused by the thought, she went to the library to check out some news stories about shipwrecks; the wreck couldn't be more than a year old.
Miriana did indeed drop by the woman's place, and found her door unlocked and her on the couch, catatonic. The place was a Chamber, and Miriana called up Tyler and told him so. Miriana then went to the park and started looking around for people jogging and not appreciating what was around them. She found a woman with a FitBit, running along, and used her You Can Never Rest Nightmare on her to scare her. The woman picked up the pace, and Miriana chased her until the woman outran her, and Miriana's Horror fed on the fear.
John, meanwhile, did some digging into his next potential mark. The guy, Leonard, had a son named Max on John's Little League team, and Leonard was very much of the "win! WIIIN!" school of parenting. John hacked his social media and found that Leonard had been a football player in his youth, but now worked for a bank and was fair uninteresting...except he had a quasi-monthly charge at a scuzzy motel over on Pearl, just into Strongsville. John, figuring he was about due for another such meeting, staked the place out, and saw Leonard arrive. He followed him around back and peeked in the window, and saw Leonard with a woman...and three other guys. No, not like that. They were talking.
John used Shadowed Soul and slipped in through the shadow, listening in. They talked about Dillon, a fence who'd been brought into the ER the day before claiming a guy had breathed fire on him, but now he was perfectly fine. The group decided he wasn't a "bloodsucker" since this had happened during the day, but he'd bear watching. John, funnily enough, felt the same way about these folks.
Tyler went by his victim's house and knocked, and heard a thud from within. He found the woman collapsed in the hall, so clearly she'd been up and around a bit. He realized he could turn this place into a Chamber, but didn't fancy the idea of an inhabited one, so he just called EMS to come look after the catatonic woman and went on his way.
Next time: Maia has a date with Ryan on his boat. Tyler is looking for Dillon. John continues his investigations.
So! The characters hung out in the bar and chatted about Doc Bones and little bit. Tyler was concerned that she might be granting people time when they shouldn't have it, cheating the Reaper, as it were, but the others felt that all she was doing was improving the lots of people who were going to die. During lunch, Tyler got a phone call from the Parma police - someone had vandalized his shop. The others in the brood asked if he wanted them to tag along, and he said no, so they tagged along anyway.
Someone had thrown a cinderblock through the window of the shop, and then sprayed something on the door and lit it (the door was scorched, but it hadn't caught). Tyler was annoyed; he'd just had that glass replaced. He checked the closed-circuit TV and identified the vandal as the guy he'd set on fire for trying to fence his stuff...and the guy didn't have so much as a scorch mark on him. How strange. He asked Miriana to look in on the woman he'd fed on the day before, just to make sure she wasn't involved.
The brood split up for the afternoon. Maia went to Lake Erie, activated her Heart of the Ocean Atavism, and went swimming around. She found a shipwreck not far off the coast, and inside, she found an unclaimed Chamber. She touched the walls and saw a vision of girl sitting on a bed in a cabin, staring in horror at her hand as her fingers twisted and elongated. And then something thumped against the side of the boat, smashing it in, and Maia saw something huge and hair slither in as the boat sank.
Maia realized if she could figure out what happened, she could add this shipwreck to her Lair. Enthused by the thought, she went to the library to check out some news stories about shipwrecks; the wreck couldn't be more than a year old.
Miriana did indeed drop by the woman's place, and found her door unlocked and her on the couch, catatonic. The place was a Chamber, and Miriana called up Tyler and told him so. Miriana then went to the park and started looking around for people jogging and not appreciating what was around them. She found a woman with a FitBit, running along, and used her You Can Never Rest Nightmare on her to scare her. The woman picked up the pace, and Miriana chased her until the woman outran her, and Miriana's Horror fed on the fear.
John, meanwhile, did some digging into his next potential mark. The guy, Leonard, had a son named Max on John's Little League team, and Leonard was very much of the "win! WIIIN!" school of parenting. John hacked his social media and found that Leonard had been a football player in his youth, but now worked for a bank and was fair uninteresting...except he had a quasi-monthly charge at a scuzzy motel over on Pearl, just into Strongsville. John, figuring he was about due for another such meeting, staked the place out, and saw Leonard arrive. He followed him around back and peeked in the window, and saw Leonard with a woman...and three other guys. No, not like that. They were talking.
John used Shadowed Soul and slipped in through the shadow, listening in. They talked about Dillon, a fence who'd been brought into the ER the day before claiming a guy had breathed fire on him, but now he was perfectly fine. The group decided he wasn't a "bloodsucker" since this had happened during the day, but he'd bear watching. John, funnily enough, felt the same way about these folks.
Tyler went by his victim's house and knocked, and heard a thud from within. He found the woman collapsed in the hall, so clearly she'd been up and around a bit. He realized he could turn this place into a Chamber, but didn't fancy the idea of an inhabited one, so he just called EMS to come look after the catatonic woman and went on his way.
Next time: Maia has a date with Ryan on his boat. Tyler is looking for Dillon. John continues his investigations.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Beast: Session One
This chronicle needs a name. I'd use "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors," but that's already taken. Hmm. As you'll see, the game is doing what I wanted; characters are getting established in their neighborhoods, events are unfolding slowly. It's clear from last night's session that I'm probably gonna need to have a man with a gun kick the door in at some point, but I actually have an idea on that. I think Roots in the Community hits the note I want.
Anyway! Our story begins on May 22, 2009. It's Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and folks are gearing up for a little break. Miriana Kyle is packing up her car to go camping. John Dawson is coaching his Little League team. Tyler Townsend is closing up his curios shop for the weekend. Maia Wallis is getting ready to go out.
All of them are doing normal things. All of them have monsters in their souls. For the moment, all of their Horrors are Sated.
Tyler leaves the light in the display case on as bait, and goes to the hookah bar across the street. He waits for a while, and sees a slim figure in a hoodie walk by his shop, stop, walk up to the door, try it, take a picture with a cell phone, and then walk away. Tyler tails the individual to an apartment a few blocks away, and notes the number. Maybe this person is just interested in buying something. Maybe Tyler will have to punish a thief.
Dawson finishes up the practice, noting which parents are there cheering for their kids and which ones stay on their cell phones the whole time, ignoring what's going on. He doesn't need to feed right now, but he notes which of his charges might need to get lost for a few hours at some point, just enough to make their parents take notice.
Maia goes down to 4th Street, where crowds are already drinking and partaking of the hip new restaurants beginning to spring up (this trend continues, by the way; Cleveland has a fun food scene). A young man named Ryan approaches her - suit and jacket, tie tucked into a pocket, obviously a young capitalist type. She flirts and accepts his offers. She doesn't know yet if he's going to be her next boyfriend; it depends on what he needs to learn. They eat and flirt, and then head over to the warehouse district to go clubbing. Maia notices posters on the wall with a picture of a woman in a top hat, and the words "DOCTOR BONES - I CAN HEAL YOU" underneath, along with some tear-offs with a phone number. She grabs one.
Miriana hears a knock at her door. Her neighbor, Elle King, asks if she'll come over and discuss something with her. She agrees, and Elle asks for her help in finding homes for her cats (she has...more than a few). Miriana agrees, but asks why she's getting rid of them. Elle says she doesn't want to, but at her age (82) it's good to plan. Miriana gets the feeling something else is going on, but she agrees to help out. She goes home and makes some calls, lines up some no-kill shelters who will take the cats, and as she does, she realizes that Elle looks healthier than she's been in a long time. Musing on that, she goes back over to Elle's and tells her what she's learned.
Tyler goes over to John's house and watches the Indians game with him, drinking beer and chatting. They talk about John's Little League team and any Beast-related actions John might be; Tyler points out that the kind of trauma John inflicts doesn't always have the intended effect of bringing families closer. John agrees, but at least it gives them the chance.
Maia and her new beau Ryan are waiting to get into a club, and hear sirens. As they watch, they see a man round the corner on foot, fleeing a squad car. Maia surreptitiously trips the guy, figuring he'll just be arrested, but the cops jump out of the car and immediately taze him, and then whack him with nightsticks a couple of times. Maia, outraged, films it, but the cops don't take much notice; they cuff the guy and toss him in the car. Maia expresses her feelings to Ryan, but he shrugs it off. Probably a drug dealer, he says. So what. Maia realizes this guy might actually be something of a schmuck, and is cheered by that thought.
The night progresses. Tyler and John continue drinking and chatting. Miriana builds a fire in her yard and watches for Elle's lights to go out. Maia and Ryan get to the club and dance, and Maia sees her friend Mikhail (a Ventrue). They chat a bit; Maia mentions what happened with the cops, and Mikhail points out that the Cleveland PD has a horrible track record with violence against civilians, one of the worst in the country. They part ways, and Maia goes back to dancing.
Back in Parma, Elle spends evening on the phone with various people, laughing and occasionally crying, and then goes to bed. Miriana breaks in (not that the door was locked) and snoops a bit. She finds a stack of papers on the desk, including a will, and letters to family and friends. Elle is definitely putting her affairs in order, but she seems so hale and healthy - even her arthritis is clearing up. She finds a tear-off slip of paper next to the phone, and takes it back to her house to call it.
A woman answers. Miriana stalls a bit, and the woman asks if she needs a doctor. Miriana arranges to meet her near a homeless shelter downtown. When she meets Doctor Bones, she realizes immediately that she is some kind of supernatural being, but not one that she has met before (to Miriana, she kind of smells sweet and floral). They talk, and Bones talks about how people have a flow of energy through them, like light, but injury and sickness acts like mirrors, reflecting it out of its intended path. She can correct that. Miriana, noting that this sounds a little New-Agey, asks if there's a cost. Bones says there isn't. Mirana asks why she does it, then. Bones says, "because I can."
That seems kind of suspicious, so Miriana heads back to Parma and drops in on John and Tyler, and tells them about what she saw. Maia rolls in short after and she and Miriana note they both have Bones' number, so they decide to meet her the next day. For now, though, it's late. Tyler swings by his shop on the way home and sees someone has broken in and stolen a brass spyglass in the front display. Perfect.
He visits the presumed thief, and sees her on the phone. He knocks on her door, but she tells him to go sleep it off somewhere else (he doesn't say why he's there), and he decides to wait and hit whoever she fences the object to.
The next day, he waits until she leaves and trails her to a dive bar. He watches her sell the spyglass to a man, and then Tyler waits and tails him. This guy notices him, though, and leads him into an alley to warn him off. Tyler tells him to give back what he took, the man says he bought it and refuses to give it back. He pulls out a sap.
Tyler, in no mood to fuck around, uses his Dragonfire Atavism and sets the guy alight. He runs a little ways before he remembers to stop, drop, and roll, and Tyler picks up the bag and leaves. Unfortunately, his Horror isn't interested in this meal (player failed the Satiety roll and took the dramatic failure), so Tyler is even hungrier now. Fortunately he knows someone else to punish.
Meanwhile, John does a little digging. He uses the cell phone number to look up who Doctor Bones really is - her name is Grace Macintyre, and up until a couple of years ago, she was a teacher at Cleveland Clinic and a respected doctor. Then a former patient kicked in her office door and shot her in the chest. The article says it was a "miracle" she survived. John knows better; he met Alistair Hodge once, and knows a few things about Sin-Eaters.
Knowing that these folks help people pass on, the Beasts feel a little better about Doctor Bones. They go downtown and meet her again, and John confirms upon seeing her that she is, in fact, a Sin-Eater (Maia has never met one). They talk a bit, and Miriana reveals that she's not a normal person (but doesn't get into the specifics). They ask about Grace's intentions, but she says that when people die and leaves ghosts, they are typically consumed by negative emotion. Wouldn't it be better to put some things in order before it reaches that point, free of injury or illness? The Beasts are OK with that, and John and Miriana start the process of establishing Family Ties with Grace (it takes some time; they get one roll per day).
Meanwhile, Tyler goes back to the thief's house. She's on her couch, smoking a bowl. He breaks in and hits her with the You Cannot Run Nightmare, and then grabs her head and carves a T into her cheek (for thief). Hungry and pissed off, he spends a Satiety to inflict the Fugue Condition on her, as well, grabs the money she got, and leaves, his Horror happily feasting (he's up to six Satiety; didn't quite crack out of Sated).
He goes downtown and meets up with the others for lunch. It's a nice day for it.
Anyway! Our story begins on May 22, 2009. It's Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and folks are gearing up for a little break. Miriana Kyle is packing up her car to go camping. John Dawson is coaching his Little League team. Tyler Townsend is closing up his curios shop for the weekend. Maia Wallis is getting ready to go out.
All of them are doing normal things. All of them have monsters in their souls. For the moment, all of their Horrors are Sated.
Tyler leaves the light in the display case on as bait, and goes to the hookah bar across the street. He waits for a while, and sees a slim figure in a hoodie walk by his shop, stop, walk up to the door, try it, take a picture with a cell phone, and then walk away. Tyler tails the individual to an apartment a few blocks away, and notes the number. Maybe this person is just interested in buying something. Maybe Tyler will have to punish a thief.
Dawson finishes up the practice, noting which parents are there cheering for their kids and which ones stay on their cell phones the whole time, ignoring what's going on. He doesn't need to feed right now, but he notes which of his charges might need to get lost for a few hours at some point, just enough to make their parents take notice.
Maia goes down to 4th Street, where crowds are already drinking and partaking of the hip new restaurants beginning to spring up (this trend continues, by the way; Cleveland has a fun food scene). A young man named Ryan approaches her - suit and jacket, tie tucked into a pocket, obviously a young capitalist type. She flirts and accepts his offers. She doesn't know yet if he's going to be her next boyfriend; it depends on what he needs to learn. They eat and flirt, and then head over to the warehouse district to go clubbing. Maia notices posters on the wall with a picture of a woman in a top hat, and the words "DOCTOR BONES - I CAN HEAL YOU" underneath, along with some tear-offs with a phone number. She grabs one.
Miriana hears a knock at her door. Her neighbor, Elle King, asks if she'll come over and discuss something with her. She agrees, and Elle asks for her help in finding homes for her cats (she has...more than a few). Miriana agrees, but asks why she's getting rid of them. Elle says she doesn't want to, but at her age (82) it's good to plan. Miriana gets the feeling something else is going on, but she agrees to help out. She goes home and makes some calls, lines up some no-kill shelters who will take the cats, and as she does, she realizes that Elle looks healthier than she's been in a long time. Musing on that, she goes back over to Elle's and tells her what she's learned.
Tyler goes over to John's house and watches the Indians game with him, drinking beer and chatting. They talk about John's Little League team and any Beast-related actions John might be; Tyler points out that the kind of trauma John inflicts doesn't always have the intended effect of bringing families closer. John agrees, but at least it gives them the chance.
Maia and her new beau Ryan are waiting to get into a club, and hear sirens. As they watch, they see a man round the corner on foot, fleeing a squad car. Maia surreptitiously trips the guy, figuring he'll just be arrested, but the cops jump out of the car and immediately taze him, and then whack him with nightsticks a couple of times. Maia, outraged, films it, but the cops don't take much notice; they cuff the guy and toss him in the car. Maia expresses her feelings to Ryan, but he shrugs it off. Probably a drug dealer, he says. So what. Maia realizes this guy might actually be something of a schmuck, and is cheered by that thought.
The night progresses. Tyler and John continue drinking and chatting. Miriana builds a fire in her yard and watches for Elle's lights to go out. Maia and Ryan get to the club and dance, and Maia sees her friend Mikhail (a Ventrue). They chat a bit; Maia mentions what happened with the cops, and Mikhail points out that the Cleveland PD has a horrible track record with violence against civilians, one of the worst in the country. They part ways, and Maia goes back to dancing.
Back in Parma, Elle spends evening on the phone with various people, laughing and occasionally crying, and then goes to bed. Miriana breaks in (not that the door was locked) and snoops a bit. She finds a stack of papers on the desk, including a will, and letters to family and friends. Elle is definitely putting her affairs in order, but she seems so hale and healthy - even her arthritis is clearing up. She finds a tear-off slip of paper next to the phone, and takes it back to her house to call it.
A woman answers. Miriana stalls a bit, and the woman asks if she needs a doctor. Miriana arranges to meet her near a homeless shelter downtown. When she meets Doctor Bones, she realizes immediately that she is some kind of supernatural being, but not one that she has met before (to Miriana, she kind of smells sweet and floral). They talk, and Bones talks about how people have a flow of energy through them, like light, but injury and sickness acts like mirrors, reflecting it out of its intended path. She can correct that. Miriana, noting that this sounds a little New-Agey, asks if there's a cost. Bones says there isn't. Mirana asks why she does it, then. Bones says, "because I can."
That seems kind of suspicious, so Miriana heads back to Parma and drops in on John and Tyler, and tells them about what she saw. Maia rolls in short after and she and Miriana note they both have Bones' number, so they decide to meet her the next day. For now, though, it's late. Tyler swings by his shop on the way home and sees someone has broken in and stolen a brass spyglass in the front display. Perfect.
He visits the presumed thief, and sees her on the phone. He knocks on her door, but she tells him to go sleep it off somewhere else (he doesn't say why he's there), and he decides to wait and hit whoever she fences the object to.
The next day, he waits until she leaves and trails her to a dive bar. He watches her sell the spyglass to a man, and then Tyler waits and tails him. This guy notices him, though, and leads him into an alley to warn him off. Tyler tells him to give back what he took, the man says he bought it and refuses to give it back. He pulls out a sap.
Tyler, in no mood to fuck around, uses his Dragonfire Atavism and sets the guy alight. He runs a little ways before he remembers to stop, drop, and roll, and Tyler picks up the bag and leaves. Unfortunately, his Horror isn't interested in this meal (player failed the Satiety roll and took the dramatic failure), so Tyler is even hungrier now. Fortunately he knows someone else to punish.
Meanwhile, John does a little digging. He uses the cell phone number to look up who Doctor Bones really is - her name is Grace Macintyre, and up until a couple of years ago, she was a teacher at Cleveland Clinic and a respected doctor. Then a former patient kicked in her office door and shot her in the chest. The article says it was a "miracle" she survived. John knows better; he met Alistair Hodge once, and knows a few things about Sin-Eaters.
Knowing that these folks help people pass on, the Beasts feel a little better about Doctor Bones. They go downtown and meet her again, and John confirms upon seeing her that she is, in fact, a Sin-Eater (Maia has never met one). They talk a bit, and Miriana reveals that she's not a normal person (but doesn't get into the specifics). They ask about Grace's intentions, but she says that when people die and leaves ghosts, they are typically consumed by negative emotion. Wouldn't it be better to put some things in order before it reaches that point, free of injury or illness? The Beasts are OK with that, and John and Miriana start the process of establishing Family Ties with Grace (it takes some time; they get one roll per day).
Meanwhile, Tyler goes back to the thief's house. She's on her couch, smoking a bowl. He breaks in and hits her with the You Cannot Run Nightmare, and then grabs her head and carves a T into her cheek (for thief). Hungry and pissed off, he spends a Satiety to inflict the Fugue Condition on her, as well, grabs the money she got, and leaves, his Horror happily feasting (he's up to six Satiety; didn't quite crack out of Sated).
He goes downtown and meets up with the others for lunch. It's a nice day for it.
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