Monday, January 26, 2015

Rosebriar: Persimmon Hill

Next we look in on the well-to-do of Rosebriar, my setting for You Can't Go Home Again. Persimmon Hill has the money to resist Rosebriar's decay. Instead it finds itself increasingly isolated from the rest of town, distant and out of touch. Like the Others.

Rosebriar: Persimmon Hill

I’m sorry staff must enter through the back.
Persimmon Hill

Description

Sitting atop one of the gentler hills surrounding Rosebriar, Persimmon Hill looks down on the rest of the town in more ways than one. Here the most well off of the community live in massive homes and palatial yards. Private security and wrought iron gates keep those who don't belong out.

A much younger part of Rosebriar, many of the McMansions here were constructed in the boom of late 90s and early 2000s. The residents care more for boasting about square footage than the functionality of the home. Care for these architectural monstrosities falls to the invisible housekeepers and landscape contractors. Meanwhile their owners focus on getting ahead and staying on top of mounting bills, victims of their own success.

A parallel with Arcadia seems clear with powerful individuals unable to sympathize with the help, foisting their troubles on others while they focus on their own betterment. But these are still people. If distance and lifestyle have made them less able to empathize with the poorer parts of Rosebriar, they are not blind to its troubles. Behind the manicured hedges and bay windows, some locals find their finances in equal disarray, owing more than their home is worth, trapped and unable to escape. Homes can linger on the market here for years, bleeding their owners dry. Those iron gates are more often made of simple steel.

Local Hedge

The trails of the Hedge that border Persimmon Hill abound in Goblin Fruits. Amid the lush foliage and numerous thorns, a traveler might think they found a sort of paradise. They soon discover other threats lurk in the woods.

Briar wolves roam thickly here as do bands of Hobs bent on robbing passersby. Rumors claim that the thieves maintain a secret lair somewhere nearby where they heap their ill-gotten loot. This hoard is said to be augmented by the stolen dreams that some of the Hobs mine from the minds of the residents of Rosebriar.

Those foraging within the local Hedge gain a +2 bonus to Survival rolls but also suffer a significant chance of encountering something hostile.

Damnation City Stats:

Physical: Access -3, Safety 3
Mental: Information 1, Awareness 1
Social: Prestige 4, Stability 3

The residents of Persimmon Hill like safety and stability and pay heavily for it. Gated communities abound and private security is available 24/7. High fences separate yards while picturesque winding roads limit any high-speed traffic. People here tend to be well-informed and keep an eye on the neighbors if only to see where they themselves stand.With the region's wealth comes power and influence, plus a final refuge of the good old days.

Vice: Aloofness. Persimmon Hill stands apart from the rest of Rosebriar, its manicured lawns and elegant homes behind sturdy gates. Though well-connected to those in power, its residents share few ties with the rest of the community. They fail to understand their needs and desires, callous not out cruelty but simple ignorance.
Virtue: Influence. The people of this neighborhood possess a wealth, power, and raw determination that allow them to do great and lasting things. When they put their effort into changing and improving the lives of those around them, they can have a profound effect.

Site: Thornton Private(er) School

Type: Academic
Background: Founded in 1995 with a generous donation by Dr. Thornton, founder of Thornton Industries, is dedicated to producing the next generation of leaders for Rosebriar. Built in the style of the Ivy League schools many of its students (and their parents) aspire to, its initial cohorts are just now taking over the reigns of power within town and local government. This may be disastrous.

A motley of privateer's run this school behind the scenes, abducting mortal children to order for the True Fae. One of their lieutenants, the Wicker Woman, learned the art of fetch making from her Keeper and hides any abductions with a custom-made fetch. The motley remains hidden by taking particular interest in the parents of these children. Disobedient offspring are replaced with compliant replicas, the weak with more aggressive replacements, the stupid with brainier versions. Thus even if the parents suspect something is off, they often choose to ignore the signs.

The 'students' of Thornton Private School have been quite successful and generous donations have given the motley significant mundane wealth. Only a fraction of the students are truly creations of this motley but enough now control the levers of power to make any assault on the school extremely hazardous.

Story Seeds:

The Abbey: this private society operates out of the local golf club, organizing monthly events after hours. Entry is by invitation only, though it claims not to discriminate based on race or sex. What the members do have in common is that they are all rich and they all enjoy the same extreme sport. Specifically, they hunt monsters. A branch of the Ashwood Abbey (from Hunter: the Vigil) they arrange trips to track down, chase, and potentially kill supernatural creatures every month on the night of the new moon. Recently they've noticed an uptick in fairy tale creatures in the area. They've decided that Changelings and their ilk need to be culled to prevent overpopulation. It's open season on the fae.

Old Blood Money: the Teesdales of Rosebriar descend from a line of witches, architects, and artists. Cursed with visions of the world as it truly is, their creations continue to affect Rosebriar to this day. But why? Did James Teesdale make a pact with the devil like his neighbors claimed? If so, which devil? A pledge with a powerful Fae? A blood pact with an ancient monster? A ritual sealed in Supernal magics? Whatever it was it left them disposed to strange insights. The Unseen Sense Merit crops up frequently in the bloodline and many are lucid dreamers, able to fend off those who would control their nightmares. Others have stranger stronger powers.

Free Title: the Changelings who haunt Persimmon Hill possess ambitions as large as anyone's. Rumors circulate that the ultimate prize is available: the title of a True Fae. Minions hunt for information on the nameless Gentry, slain within the town limits. Who was he or she? Where did they die? A ritual must be found to bind the Title, items gathered with a connection the former owner, and a sample of the blood stained earth where it fell. The hunt is on.

NPCs:

  • The Imposter: some changelings can never return to their old lives since their memories were stolen with their humanity. One of these sad creatures, a Beast named Jane Doe, has decided to take somebody else's past. Using the Mirror and Dream Contracts, she has researched and impersonated the missing daughter of one of the richest families in Rosebriar. By manipulating the dreams of her "parents" she will soon be the main heir to the family's fortune. Then she can buy the life she wants. But is the real daughter lost or Lost? Some of the heiress' true memories recently appeared at the Goblin Market.
  • Eric Buffington seems like a normal guy. A highly successful Realtor, he works hard to get good deals for his clients. He coaches a little league team. He helps out at a homeless shelter once a month. But beneath his 5,000 square foot home (as well as two other properties he keep elsewhere in Rosebriar), he has imprisoned several Changelings. Beautiful muses, magical artisans, a man who can spin gold, and other fae labor under this mortal 'keeper'. A member of the Abbey, he pays other members to collect such prizes for him. Bound in cold iron chains, his prisoners do what he asks or suffer painful torments.

Hedge, The Would-Be Lord of Thorns

Concept: A Shattered Monster

Seeming & Kith: Darkling (None)

Background: The Changeling called Hedge may soon be a cautionary tale among the fae.

Hedge has almost forgotten what he originally wanted. Decades of struggle in Arcadia eroded his memory. He struggled to rescue his daughter, labored under her Keeper, and was ultimately cast out by his tormentor. He made dark plans and terrible choices in his quest to get her back. He broke pledges. He killed people. He didn't care.

Then he found a way to have a happy ending. He made a pact with a fallen True Fae. He rewrote time. She returned to a mortal life. They both failed to get what they wanted.

The person he once was, Pastor Benjamin Albright was never abducted. He continues to live a normal happy life with his daughter Lucy. They were protected from the True Fae. They got a happy ending.

But Benjamin wasn't Hedge. Hedge remained in this new world, trapped outside of his old life by the very forces he used to fix it. Thrust back to the time when he was first taken, he watched this other life play out. It almost broke him completely. He clung to a final hope. If he could return to the time of the deal, maybe he could do it again. Do it better.

It didn't work out.

Now with no way home, he has lost what little tethered him to this world. Every day he grows more distant from humanity and closer to the Gentry. He took over a villa in Persimmon Hill, trapped the owners in a dream of happy endings, and now plots his return to the only place he can consider home.

Arcadia.

Description: To mortal eyes, Hedge (or Mr. Henry Edge to mortals) appears ancient. Wild white hair covers his liver-spotted head. His thin skin clings tight to his bones yet betrays no quiver or other weakness of age. His clothing seems oddly bulky, concealing a bullet proof vest he wears since an encounter with a cold iron bullet.

Behind the Mask, Hedge's skin has bleached white, thick wrinkles turning his face into a permanent scowl. White hair sticks up on spikes upon his head, leaving his pointed ears exposed. The darkness pulls in around him as he grows more agitated and any shadows nearby seem to move of their own accord. In the Hedge, his presence causes the thorns to press in and vines to wriggle along the ground and around stationary objects.

Storyteller Notes: Hedge talks quickly and forcefully. His tone remains intense and focused on whatever task he is engaged in. He never relaxes and resists distractions. Those who cross him, those he don't trust, are dealt with lethal force. In his own mind, he has been unjustly tormented by the world, the True Fae, and even his supposed friends and allies for decades. He is always the wronged party and the one in the right.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 3, Composure 1

Mental Skills: Academics 3, Crafts 2, Investigation 2, Occult (artifacts) 4, Politics 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (with fire) 3, Larceny 2, Stealth (darkness) 5, Survival (hedge) 4
Social Skills: Animal Ken 3, Empathy 2, Expression 2, Intimidate (threats) 3, Persuasion 2, Streetwise (homeless) 3, Subterfuge 2

Merits: Contacts (Dream miners, Goblin Markets) 2, Danger Sense, Fleet of Foot 2, Harvest (Hedge) 4, Resources 3 (via pledges), Safe Place 3 (via pledges), Weapon Finesse (fire)

Willpower: 5
Virtue: Hope. Without this Hedge would be lost. He believes he can get his happy ending. One way or another.
Vice: Passion. Hedge possesses a powerful drive that ignores all consequences. He has done the impossible in pursuit of his goals and paid terrible prices. And he would do it again.

Initiative: 5   Defense: 6 (Armor 1/3)
Speed: 12      Health: 7

Clarity: 2 (or Stress Meters (Hardened/Failed): Helplessness 2/3, Isolation 6/2, Self 5/2, Unnatural 9/0, Violence 5/0)

Wyrd: 7
Contracts: Fang and Talon (Crows) 3, Darkness 5, Dream 4, Elemental (Fire) 4, Fleeting Autumn 1, Hearth 3, Vainglory 1

Gear: Kevlar vest

Friday, January 23, 2015

The Climbers Recap: Head out on the Highway, Part II

creepersbanner
Back to my continuing Apocalypse World game, the Climbers. Having killed Dustwich, the characters are pulled, bribed, or paid to do another quest: aid Violet liberate Miami. Along the way they have run into a tribe of cannibals readying themselves for a fresh meal. Gator has a plan to take them out though and help Violet rescue their captives.

For this campaign my major intention is to follow the development of a single Apocalypse World setting and set of characters over the course 20+ sessions. I want to see how the world fills in with terminology, history, and peoples.

As in my earlier actual play reports, small green text indicates out of character talk, mechanics and other game aspects outside of the fiction.

Our main characters are:
  • Gator (the Gunlugger) is an assassin and part-time bodyguard who wears customized scrounged armor made from Kevlar and ceramic inserts. Camouflaged for the jungle, his face was ruined in a fight with an alligator. His eyes are always sizing things up and his brutal life has left his body a hard sheet of muscle.
  • Jarhead (the Savvyhead) is a thing African-American man with a short goatee, long dreads, and clothes covered in pockets and gear. Travelling around in an old news van, he repairs items for a living. Recently obtained a strange device from a man named Dustwich, it can bend time and space. He is intrigued to say the least.
  • November Orleans (the Skinner) is descended from a family which left New Orleans before it sank. She is a beautiful woman of mixed heritage with dark eyes and skin, a sweet face and lush body. She dresses herself in a mix of scavenged clothing that somehow works together and wears a necklace made from rows of antique coins which jingle and shine as she moves. Her main profession is as a dancer, especially belly dancing, but she has a sideline business in cooking.
  • Violet Jefferson (the Touchstone) is descended by survivalists and her clothing and gear reflects her origins. Plain looking but fit, she carries a pocket copy of the Federalist papers and founding documents of the United States of America, an idea she hopes to revive. She was in Stumpland to spend the summer with her Aunt Julia and Uncle Buck. Now her uncle is dead and her followers are demanding her help.
Highlighting is as follows:
  • Violet: Cool, Hard
  • November: Hot, Sharp
  • Jarhead: Hot, Weird
  • Gator: Hard, Cool
Violet's followers are only argumentative and judgmental this session.

Head out on the Highway, Part II

Gator adjusts his sights as the yellow SUV slowly drives to toward the cannibal’s fire. He picks out one of the savages as he leers at the captives. Gator squeezes the trigger.

”So you’re sniping. I think we’ll call that Go aggro where your demand is ‘die’.”

Gator rolls a 12. He also earns experience.


The man’s head bursts in a spray of blood and brains. One of his companions runs over to him shocked. That one’s head also bursts. The rest flee from the firelight.

Basically they decide, “oh my god there is a sniper or an evil spirit around.”

Boo steps on the gas and the SUV tears down the highway, skidding to a halt in front of the bonfire.

November and Violet Read a sitch. November gets an 8 and experience. Violet gets a 10.

Violet asks: What should I be on the lookout for? Who is control here? What’s my enemy’s true position?


Violet pops the door open and scans the area. All around them, she sees the savages, crouching and hiding beneath wrecked vehicles. They form a loose ring around the fire, waiting to spring out and attack. Violet pulls her rifle out to cover November as the dancer races to the captives hugging the fire.

What is my best way past? November asks.

Hugging the fire. The captives are close to it, it covers one side, and allows Gator to pick anyone who comes after you.


Metal scrapes against asphalt as the cannibals pull themselves from their hiding places. Masks made of hub caps and street signs hide their faces as they wave clawed gauntlets made from jagged metal in their direction. A dozen of them move in from all directions.

Violet rolls Go aggro (at +1 from Read a sitch). She gets a 10.

“Stop!” Violet says as they rush the SUV. Her gun thunders and the fastest one drops with her brains spilling onto the pavement.

November rolls Acting under fire to reach the captives. She fails.

The flames cover November’s flank as she reaches the captives, a young woman and a child. As she slices them free, two of the cannibals land in a crouch just beyond them. She hears the sound of the third’s metal gauntlets behind her.

As Gator plans to support her, November draws her knives and Seizes with force (using hot since she is A devil with a blade). She gains experience and rolls a 7. She also gets an advancement. After raising her cool, she chooses little harm and definite hold.

Gator trains his rifle on the attackers but before he can react, November draws a second blade. She spins low and brings her blades down on the cannibal’s hands. A single gauntlet slashes her before she pins it and the hand inside it to the asphalt.

The cannibal takes 1-harm (2-harm base -1-harm for armor) and inflicts 1-harm (2-harm base -1-harm for little harm).

”What does Boo do?” Violet asks.

”Boo is behind the wheel. It’s an important job!”


November grabs her side and shouts at the captives to follow her. The cannibals on their tail, they run for the SUV. Gator lines up the shots. There isn't enough time, he thinks.

Gator shoots at ones chasing November and the captives. He rolls Acting under fire to take them out before someone is hurt. He gets +1 since he is fighting the people in control but only gets a 7. He does earn an experience.

I give him an ugly choice. He has to choose who doesn't get hurt the child or the woman.

“No pressure,” Jarhead says.

”Looking at it from his eyes, the child doesn't have much of a chance in life anyway,” Gator says.

”That’s horrible,” Violet comments.

“And the woman could be more useful.”


His first round takes out the one closest to the woman. The other digs into the child, his weight bearing him to the ground. A moment later a bullet finds him as well.

November and the fair-haired woman reach the van while Violet scatters the remaining cannibals.

”They've realized: oh wait over half of us are dead!”

November comments, ”well they only have to grab one of their friends and they've got dinner.”


The survivalist runs out into the street to the kid while the sole remaining savage tries to wrench the daggers thrust through his hands free. Looking at the damage, she sees that boy’s backpack absorbed most of the blow. She stows her rifle and draws her 9mm, training it on the cannibal as she picks up the child with her other arm. His blood soaks into her clothes in the few seconds it takes to reach the SUV. The child slumps insensate in her arms, crying weakly.

I probably should have had a roll there...

Boo guns the engine and they drive off. With the nervous young woman looking on, Violet applies pressure to the boy’s wounds.

”You didn't kill all the cannibals?” Jarhead asks.

”They were running away. It wasn't worth the effort to chase them down,” Violet explains.

”Not worth the bullets,” Gator says.

”That means we have to leave the area,” the tinkerer comments.


An hour later, the bleeding hasn't stopped. Jarhead’s van follows closely behind. Darkness envelops everything their headlights don’t touch. The van flashes its lights and Boo pulls over to the side of the road. Jarhead stops next to them and rolls down the window.

I comment that he is still bleeding blood.

"Well the important thing is that he isn't bleeding anything besides blood," Violet says.

"That’s true. Motor oil that would be weird."

"You can’t take things for granted in Apocalypse World," November adds.

"He could be bleeding light."

"That would be really strange," Violet replies.


Boo fills Jarhead and the others on what happened. In the back of the SUV, the young woman watches as Violet binds the boy's wounds as best she can. The child's whimpering is fainter than before.

Violet is not an Angel.

"Thank you for saving me," the woman stammers. “I’m Allison. That’s my brother Waters.”

Violet wipes her blood streaked forehead.

Boo says, ”it doesn't look good. I don’t know that it was really worth it to pull him in here.”

“Did you want him to be left to the cannibals?” she asks.

"No but I don’t think he’ll last much longer. Not without some real aid."

Allison looks pleadingly at Violet.

“Well let’s see,” The survivalist says. “What’s in this area?”

Boo thinks. "There’s a community, I guess you could call it, not too far from here. It’s called Willowtree. It’s a little bit of a strange place but they might be able to help the boy there. Maybe. They have folk medicine.”

"Not like I’d be willing to leave him by the side of the road," she sighs.

“Alright we'll make a little detour.”

Jarhead interjects, “you do know that you are bringing this kid into a warzone?”

“He’s a child of the apocalypse, he grew up in a warzone,” I say.

”It’s not any different from what happens everyday,” Violet says.


Gator interrupts him, “what do you know about the people there?”

“They are kind of backward folk,” Boo says, “but they know the ways of herbs and stuff. They might be able to help the boy. It’s the only place I can think of nearby. Epcot is too far plus the roads are bad. Steelside is in the opposite direction.”

“So are we in agreement,” Violet says. “It’s the best we can do right now.”

“He needs an angel looking over him,” Gator says.

“Damned if I know where one is,” Boo says.

“We’ve got to try something,” Violet says.

Gator relents, “well it’s your mission.”

The two vehicles continue on into the night. A couple of hours before dawn, they pull off the highway, winding through the clogged off ramp and onto the muddy side road.

As the sky slowly lightens, they spot flickering streetlights in the distance.

“These are not the backward people I was led to believe,” Jarhead mutters.

Passing between these lights, they come to a ring of tall wooden poles with a ladder of posts sticking out of each side. A hundred yards beyond them, a small camp sits surrounding a ring of willow trees. Lights glimmer among the branches. As they get close they see cables winding their way through the trunks.

Two warriors dressed in leather clothing approach bearing strange spears. Copper wires wrapped around the long shafts of the twin pronged weapons.

“What is your business here?” the lead figure asks.

November steps out of the SUV. “We have someone in need of aid. We mean you and yours no harm.”

“What sort of aid?” he asks, gripping his spear.

“A boy is going to die,” she says frowning. “He’s cut up pretty bad.”

The man steps forward to the truck, looking in on the wounded child. He turns to his comrade. “Fetch the wise woman.”

As the younger man rushes off, the dark-haired figure lowers his spear and says, “I am Shadow.”

“It’s an honor to meet you Shadow,” she says to the muscular man. “I am November Orleans. These are my compatriots.” She gestures to the others as they emerge, scanning to see their reactions.

Basically getting the okay to introduce them.

Violet nods.

“I hardly wait for you,” November says.


She introduces them and Shadow nods to each in turn.

“You guys have a pretty nice setup,” Jarhead comments. “You have a steady power source here?”

“The gods favor us with light,” Shadow says.

“I see,” Jarhead says slowly.

“Perhaps you wish to worship at their shrine?” November suggests.

Jarhead’s smile returns. “Yes, where is it?”

“Would it be permissible Shadow?” November asks “He’s a bit of a mystic.”

Shadow examines the man's tool stuffed pockets. “You may accompany the boy to the wise one.”

“Okay thanks.”

The younger warrior returns. “She says bring him.”

The two men carefully carry the boy to the willows, accompanied by Jarhead. Violet moves to follow them.

“The boy’s bounded with her,” November explains.

Shadow nods quickly. “Your leader can accompany the boy.”

Violet follows them into the willows from which a strange whirring noise emanates. Thick cords snake out from the circle and through the trees. Protruding from the trees are a multitude of electric lights: bright LEDS, flickering fluorescents, and ancient dimmed incandescents.

Within the ring, the cables form a web of sorts, illuminated by the glow of more lights. The thickest cables join and cover the ground leading to a central device. This altar consists of a metallic base atop of which a cylinder turns, endlessly whirring. Jarhead wonders where it gets its power.

And he can’t do Things speak without touching it.

Beside the device stands an ancient woman with long gray hair cascading down to her knees. With a stick-like arm she gestures to a bed of thatch.

We have momentary technical problem with Hangouts and Violet gets frozen.

“There are two of you but one of you is frozen, trapped in the past,” I tell her.

“What’s it like back there?” Jarhead asks.

”I don’t know,” she says “It’s my past self. Ask her?”

”She’s not answering.”

Violet then asks a pertinent question. “Is what I’m doing here, could it be construed as acting with hope?”

Sure.


“Place the boy there,” she says. She examines the child, stroking his forehead with aged brown fingers. “His wounds are deep. He will not survive the night without help.”

“Is there something we need to do?” Violet asks.

The wise woman closes her eyes. “I can ask the gods to spare his life but they will need a sacrifice.”

“What kind of sacrifice?” Violet and Jarhead ask.

“The gods must be placated with an offering: of value, of life, of blood.”

Violet Reads a person to make sense of this. She gets a 12.

”What is she feeling?” she asks.

”She’s reverential, a religious devotee, a believer. She is not pumping for you for money, she actually believe the gods need a sacrifice to work miracles.”


Violet feels the sincerity in the woman’s voice. ”If we provide this sacrifice what will you do?”

“I will intercede with the gods and if they deem a sacrifice worthy, they will spare his life. Only the gods can save him. I can ease his suffering but nothing more.”

”What does she wish I do?” Violet asks.

”When she says of value, of life, of blood, she’s talking about three different categories. It could be something valuable, something alive,or well...the blood one is a little less clear.

Violet comments she does not have enough time to hunt up a goat.


“What do you mean by a sacrifice of blood?”

The old woman waves a bony hand to the spinning cylinder. “You must spill your blood upon the god’s wheel and pledge to serve the gods when they call upon you.”

Jarhead steps forward. “Alright I got that.”

The old woman nods calmly. She reaches into her grimy robes and pulls forth a curved blade a foot long. Jarhead puts out his hand and she quickly slices it.

For a moment Jarhead feels no pain. Then his blood wells up from the wound. “Ow!”

”I would have gladly done it,” Violet comments.

Jarhead then uses his proximity to the device to use Things speak. He gets a 14 and marks experience. He asks who made this? How is it broken and how might I fix it? What words have been said most recently near this?


Jarhead places his blood hand against the altar, smearing his blood upon the device. As he does a vision of its makers unfolds in his mind. He sees a team of technicians from the Golden Age, dressed in white lab jackets, working feverishly under the direction of other men in green suits decorated with shiny medals. He senses that this is one bit of a larger whole, something tied into the device he took from Dustwich.

His vision flashes to the present. He hears the old woman praying, pleading with the gods to send the Messenger, a messiah to deliver them from the flickering darkness of their current existence.

Jarhead laughs evilly.

The tinkerer tumbles backwards. As he lands on the cable covered earth, he contemplates how to fake a message from the gods.

“The gods must be pleased,” the old woman says, “they have gifted him with wisdom.”

”You are going to impersonate the Messenger aren't you?” Violet asks.

”Well if I can, I don’t see why I shouldn't try,” he says.

I tell Jarhead to roll weird as I improvise a custom move. He gets an 9 and gets an experience.


Suddenly he is assaulted by images. He sees a ruined city by the sea. Flash. A crowd of people push through metallic streets. Flash. A merchant in bustling market sells caged chickens. Flash. A parade of people in ornate clothing march down a street led by a man whose face is painted like a skull. He tips his top hat. “The message is coming and it will be found here in this city.”

Jarhead comes back to the real world. He props himself up and looks at the old woman. “The message. I know the message and it will be coming. I will bring it.” He grabs his head as the pain subsides. ”Does that make me the Messenger?”

“No,” she says. “That means the gods have chosen your task.”

I asks Jarhead if he has ever been to Miami.

”It’s pretty far south. Probably not actually.”


Outside, the others watch as Willowtree slowly wakes up. Soon the cook fires start as the inhabitants warm up a thin stew of roots and herbs. Most resemble Shadow, long haired, muscular and dressed in animal skins.

“Nice stick you've got,” Gator comments to Shadow.

The warrior plants his spear in the ground. ”It is mine by right as First Hunter. It has been blessed by the gods.”

“Gods?”

“Yes. they watch over us, protect us, guide us on our way,” he explains.

”Have you had any trouble with cannibals around here?” November asks.

“We have driven the flesh eaters away,” he says sharply. “They know better than to come here.”

“So,” Gator says, “the trees light up?”

“Yes it is a blessing from the gods to protect us with light.”

“How long have you been so blessed?” the dancer asks.

“Since the days when the world ended,” Shadow says. “The wise woman intercedes with the gods to protect us.”

“That’s your healer?” the assassin asks.

“Yes.”

“Does she take disciples?” November asks. “What happens when she passes from this world?”

“She did take a disciple once,” the warrior says, “but she was unworthy.”

November rolls Read a person and gets an 8. She marks experience. What do they wish we would do? she asks.

“What do you think is going on in there?” November asks looking to the trees.

“The wise woman will require a sacrifice for the gods. I hope your companions can deliver one. Perhaps the gods will care to share their bounty with us. We have little enough as is.” Shadow sips a small bowl of something more water than soup.

“I don’t think they have anything we need besides the healing,” November comments.

“Tell me about these gods,” she asks.

Shadow describes their beliefs, explaining the world is filled with deities. They watch over every tree, stream, and beast. “They dwell in the realm of the spirit, where those touched by the gods gain visions and portents.”

November decides to Open her brain. She gets a 9.

November lets her senses expand outward. The sounds of the morning: the fires, the people talking softly, the wind in the willows, blend with the soft yellow light and scents of mud, trees, and smoke. The strange whirring stands out. She feels a sense of connection, a place where the barrier between worlds is thin. It feels like how a mountain is where the sky meets the earth. Here the psychic maelstrom connects to real world, somewhere beyond the willows.

The old woman applies herbs and ointments to the wounded child. Waters moans as she pulls out a strange device resembling a bristle comb. A slender cord runs from it to the altar. It hums as she passes it ritually over the child’s body.

Eventually the ceremony concludes and she turns to them. “Now we must wait and see if the gods will spare him.”

“Can I take a close look at that?” Jarhead asks, indicating the comb device.

He rolls Manipulate a person and gets an 8 plus experience.

“You may look at my tools if I may see yours, fellow mystic.”

“Whoa lady,” he says, “which tools are you talking about?”

“The guardians of this place tell me you have arrived in a conveyance and that you are a fellow servant of the gods,” she says. “I wish to see the tools you brought with you.”

He relaxes and says, “yeah sure, you can see the van.”

He rolls Things speak and gets a 9 and an experience. He asks what’s wrong with this and how might I fix it?

The elderly woman holds out the device. Gingerly he picks it up, turning it over in his hands. He marvels at its pristine condition. This is no medical device, he thinks. It generates an electromagnetic field for polarizing materials.

”It might be work as a medical implement,” I say, “but you don’t have the medical expertise to be sure.”

“I wonder what I can use a EM field for?” he ponders.

”I”m sure you can come with a lot of things.”


The old woman leads Jarhead and Violet out of the grove, leaving one of the women of the village to watch over Waters as he rests.

Allison runs up to Violet. “Is he going to be okay? Is my brother going to be okay?”

“Right now all we can do is wait,” she says.

“Okay,” she says slowly. “Thank you for rescuing me at least.”

“We did the best we could.”

“The gods will see if he survives,” the old woman says on her way to Jarhead’s van. The tinkerer lets her inside it and she spends the next half hour carefully picking up objects and examining them.

As the sun slowly rises higher into the sky, November asks Violet, “How long are we staying?”

Boo yawns. “We should rest. We didn't get a full night’s sleep. We can see if the boy lives or dies after we get some rest. Then we should get on our way.”

Violet nods and they set up camp.

November however slips away as Shadow completes his watch. She surprises him with a fresh cooked meal and entices him to talk to her more in private.

November rolls Seduce a person and gets a soft success as well as experience.

There they talk more about his world before moving on to more intimate things.

And then she uses the Skinner special gain a gift from Shadow.

Elsewhere Violet wakes from a short nap to repay the village. She heads out into the woods to find some game.

Gator wakes up towards noon. He spots Allison nearby anxiously looking to the willows.

“So how did you get here?” he asks getting up.

She starts for a moment before settling down. “My brother and I were travelling together. We were trying to make our way north to Steelside.”

“Why?” he says holstering his varied weapons.

“There’s not much food down where we were,” she explains. “We were coming from south of the Wrecks. We used to live in a little community called the Bus. We’d drive around and trade stuff for food. But the Bus broke down. There wasn't any food there and we figured we’d be better off on our own. So we were hiked north.”

“Just you and your brother?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Not so smart.”

“It is just, we were so hungry, you know,” she says gripping her stomach. “Everyone else was down to eating their shoes. Eating bark, moss.”

“You got any skills?” he says.

“Well my brother, he’s really good with his hands. He’s good at carving wood. I do a little bit of patching of clothes. My mom was teaching me to knit until the climbers got her,” she trails off.

“Knitting’s not too useful,” Gator comments. “It’s warm down here.”

Allison searches his hard face. “I can make you...it’s not just knitting...I’m good with string and stuff. I can make you a net.”

Gator looks back to the road. “We’re heading down south. I am not sure but you might be able to stay here. They might take you in. We are going to Miami.”

“That’s a ways down,” she says. “You should keep an eye out when you get to the Wrecks. It’s a tough place.”

“You know your way around?” he asks with new interest.

“Yes. It’s tight if you've got a vehicle through.”

“That’s what we are going to be doing. You ever drive that bus?”

“A little,” she says. “Once.”

“Not helping your cause much,” he says.

“Well,” she stammers, “well they were also teaching me to work on the bus. To fix it. Of course we didn't have a tire so we couldn't get it going again.”

“Alright, I could talk to Jarhead see if he is interested in an extra set of hands. You said your brother was good with his hands.”

“Yeah,” she says quickly, “he’s really good, he can make really good wood carvings, he could make you a chair. And he’s young! He can learn stuff real quick.”

“Well it’s up to you,” he offers, “I guess we could use a hand getting through the Wrecks.”

“I can definitely tell you how to get through there on foot. I know the ways to go through with a vehicle but it’s tight and if somebody decided to set up base there could be an ambush.”

“Is there a way around?”

“Well when we went there with the bus, there was another way around.” Allison looks up. “It might still work, we haven’t been through there in a while. There’s a guy who runs a ferry. I could take you to him.“

“You can put a vehicle on the ferry?” the mercenary asks.

“Yeah that’s how we got the bus across. He’s got a big barge.”

“You want to come to Miami or parts south?”

“If there’s food sure.”

“Probably. But if you can get us on the barge, we can talk about food.”

“Okay, okay,” she says excitedly. “Sounds good.”

”So Gator’s managed to get you past the wreck.” I explain that when I made the map, I put a three car pile on the highway for fun. Then I decided that should be some massive car wreck that I can leverage on the group. Oh well it’s a cooler story this way.

I have Violet Act under fire for her hunting. She gets a 10 and an experience.


In the wilds, Violet finally spies some game. The swamp is still, eerily devoid of anything larger than a mouse. But ahead in a clump of tall grasses she spies something like a feral cat. She brings up her rifle and fires.

Rushing to the fallen animal, she pulls out a strange rodent the size of a house cat. It’s teeth are a strange orange color.

She returns to Willowtree with her symbol of gratitude. The inhabitants take the gift of meat graciously and whisper about the traveler and her symbol of hope.

November returns accompanied by Shadow. The bronze warrior presents her with six cubical batteries.

“Here, he says, “these items have been blessed by the gods”

“I will use them in their honor, she says.

It is 1-barter’s worth of batteries. She could use them to charge her tablet

”How many are there?” Jarhead asks. “You only need five right? I have an idea for the other one.”

End of Session

And that is it for a month (for my game, you'll see another post in 2 weeks) until travel, weddings and honeymoons pass.

We raise Hx.
  • Violet give +1 Hx to Jarhead. She showed him how she was a goodie two shoes as well as revealing her vision.
  • Gator gives +1 Hx to November since they spent so much time together.
  • Jarhead gives +1 Hx to Gator.
  • November gives +1 Hx Gator as she showed how competent she can be in a fight.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Review: World of Darkness: Mysterious Places

world_of_darkness_mysterious_places

Mysterious Places is a book of supernatural locations for use in the new World of Darkness setting. The settings described range across the spectrum of the weird. Most of them are worthy of being the focus of a short Chronicle. I've personally have gotten a lot use out of this book and consider it well worth the price. You can currently get the pdf or a print on demand (PoD) copy at DriveThruRPG.

The book provides nine locations for characters to explore (or become trapped within). The strongest ones either provide the player characters (PCs) good reasons to visit or else escalate the situation to the point where their interests are threatened.

The stories and locations are intended for mortal characters but most could be used for any of the supernatural templates with only a little work. For that matter since much of the material is system independent, it would also be easy enough to translate into the modern-day setting and game system of your choice.

With that let us the review the specific locations as well as how they've worked out in my own games.

The Swimming Hole

As second story I used from this book (for my Promethean Chronicle), the swimming hole seems innocuous. An unused quarry, it filled with water when workers hit an unexpected underground lake. Now it is occasionally used as a swimming spot. But the waters hold a secret. Those that bleed into them are granted wishes.

Of course this being the world of Darkness, wishes come at a cost. This chapter offers a couple of options for how severe the price is as well as a nice cast of characters who made their wishes and now must live with the price one way or another. The players might take them a warning to leave it alone or examples of what not to do.

Either way there is another complication. A new company has bought the quarry and is busy draining the swimming hole. As the waters recede, wishes become easier. Soon you don't need to bleed or even speak the wish aloud. Soon selfish thoughts lead to unintended murders, bizarre deaths and accidents, and other strangeness. The nearby town begins to destroy itself as the waters vanish. And what happens when the water is gone? What is at the bottom of the swimming hole? Mysterious Places gives us several interesting options to keep players guessing.

In my game all the PCs made wishes but only two fulfilled the requirements. One wished for a very specific gun and its accessories. He found them and the bloody mess its previous owner left behind. The owner's friends were soon on his trail. The other character wished to always have an internet connection. After a car crash destroyed her car and computer (and crippled her), she found strange gremlins (from Midnight Roads) rebuilding her, adding a unique implant to her head.

The University

Another site I've added to my games, the University focuses on a conspiracy of professors who accidentally summoned "something" which animated their campus. At first disbelieving, they now try to control and perhaps reverse the effect. Meanwhile the intelligence manipulates the student body playing with them and driving some insane. Along the way it recreates some of the classic college urban legends (like getting straight A's if your roommate commits suicide). Mysterious Places provides a number of NPCs within the conspiracy, some campus politics, and a whole host of directions to go.

The chapter also gives us a host of college rumors, directions for escalating the situation and several different end games. It includes a system for investigating the situation and what information the PCs might uncover along the way. The nature of a place as the antagonist I found poses a unique challenge even to powerful supernatural PCs.

In my own game, the PCs dealt with the spree killer and zombies created by the University before tracking down a member of the faculty who made deal with it. After neutralizing her, they realigned the pattern that forged the University's mind with their knowledge of geomancy (and notes from their experiences with Chicago Workings). They placed the 'tamed' entity under the care of the local Mysterium and a ghost ally of theirs.

Swamp Indian Hollow

I've yet to find a good use for this one. A quirk of the land allows one to reanimate dead materials. The local crematorium owner has used this to create strange dolls out of human remains and plant fibers. These dolls wander the grounds, invisible to mortal eyes unless they outnumber the living. It is very creepy but it is unclear how to one would make it a threat to others.

A few entry points are suggested for player characters but I don't see many of them leading anywhere interesting, except for the one where they are rival supernaturals seeking to exploit the effect. It could be fun to use this in a Promethean game though. Perhaps one of the dolls gains Azoth and a 'real life'. Do they go back for the others?

The Village Secret

This setting starts with a location that will cure all illnesses and restore youth. But the focus is really on the village that guards it. In this case, it is your typical insular town where the inhabitants are all secretly working to distract or murder visitors. For PCs this might seem reminiscent of many horror movie locations. In other words, expect them to spot the trap and attempt to leave. Unfortunately the chapter does not provide many options to keep them there or escalate the situation.

I only barely used this location in my long running Mage game. My players were not ones to be easily dissuaded or (at that point) to need supplies or shelter. They bypassed the town entirely and trekked to their goal. I'd suggest only using this location if you feel your PCs would actually stop in town and could be actually slowed/threatened by mortals (none of whom are particularly skilled combatants).

The Statue of the Weeping Alice

I used this location to good effect in my first Changeling Chronicle. The setting focuses on a statue of young girl, disused and forgotten in a local park. In the past people left offerings at its feet but that was long ago. Recently the town fell on hard times. Then one day someone kills themselves in front of the statue.

The next day the statue begins to cry tears and things in town magically get better. Soon the townsfolk figure out that leaving offerings results in good fortune for the town as a whole. Small items bring minor luck, once living things improve health, personal items improve mental activities and so on. Of course animal sacrifice has an even greater effect. A cult develops, drinking the tears and sacrificing everything they have. Soon people talk about sacrificing people.

The chapter offers several variations on things escalate, how the statue might be stopped and how to tie the PCs into the story. It also outlines the a history of what's going on and how the force behind this is much larger than a simple statue.
alice
In my own game, the player characters uncovered the true source of the statue's power, an exiled True Fae gathering strength to return to Arcadia. They tracked her into the Hedge and slew her. Of course True Fae tend not to stay dead.

Hillcrest Center for Elder Living

This location is a bit different, consisting of several different story seeds. I've only used one to date (in my Hunter: the Vigil game) but I expect to mine the others at some point. The Hillcrest Center is a rest home for the elderly. In this case the residents include many interesting characters. Each could serve as the focal point for a story. They include an ex-mob hitman who might get pulled back in, a former serial killer who hasn't fully quelled his hunger for little girls, an elderly body hopper who leaves his 'vacation spots' near death, a man over a hundred years old who periodically needs to eat people, and a woman possessed by a lust spirit.

The bit I used in my own game was a coma ward where every muttering is recorded as a sort of oracle. Creepy and cool, but less exciting than the other characters included here.

The Whispering Wood

This chapter discusses a circus that got lost in the woods forty years ago. Tempted by strange voices they were then manipulated to turn on each other. In the end the freaks were murdered. The rest of the carnival found themselves transforming into freaks afterwards, their sins (and vices) made manifest. Now still trapped, those who enter the woods must deal with this surreal village of mutants while avoiding becoming one of them.

The whole experience is very reminiscent of Changeling: the Lost (which was published some years later). We have people turning into monsters, trapped in a thorn lined wood, and the element of the surreal with the broken down carnival.

All in all, it's an interesting scenario. Being trapped with a circus of freaks while turning into one as well is definitely compelling. My problem is I just don't see how I could fit it into any my planned games. Perhaps someone else will have more luck.

The Junkyard

Another story I haven't worked how or why I would include, the Junkyard has less excitement than I would expect. Other than some undead dogs, nasty rats, and a possibly possessed owner we don't get much of a story. What makes this place bad? Why do dead things not stay dead? You'll have to decide that on your own.

We get a few possible stories but overall I feel this chapter packs a lot of background for relatively little play value. Nothing suggests that you would spend more than a single adventure (or session) at the Junkyard. The characters seem seeded with dark deeds but then the text weasels out of each implication. We are left with horror without historical justification, the kind of thing that lets a game master weave it into a larger story.

I did play this once, at GenCon when they were launching Mage: the Awakenging. We used the film crew story. There it worked because it was also part of a (surviving) character's Awakening. Sadly the chapter in Mysterious Places doesn't include any such lead ups.

The Empty Room

The first location I used from Mysterious Places was the Empty Room (for the first World of Darkness game I ran, a Mage/Vampire crossover). The premise is simple, the PCs find an empty room, one that shouldn't be there. Later on it teleports them to it. This time however it lacks a door out. They are isolated and trapped. Then the room lets them go. They appear where they last were as if no time passed. Then later it pulls them back in for twice as long. And again. And again. Each time doubling the length of time until they die or defeat it.

I ran the first two visits in real-time (1/2 hour and 1 hour respectively) and I have to say it was memorable.

The chapter gives several variations on the room, its purpose, methods of escape, possibilities for its history, and several NPCs with a deep connection (and violent) to it.
Empty Room
As for my game, the characters managed to build a place for the room to exist and then enact ritual to fix it in space. This allowed them to banish the Abyssal spirit trapped within it. They mostly got out okay. We also learned that putting hungry vampires in a room with mages is not a good idea for anybody.

Conclusion

If you are a gamemaster looking for story ideas, buy this book. You won't regret it.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Rosebriar: Old Town

Finally we reach the core of Rosebriar, my setting for You Can't Go Home Again. Old Town like Rosebriar as a whole is in decline. Here dead things lurk in the shadows in the twilight years of the neighborhood. The bounty of an earlier era becomes overripe and rots. Wealth and power turn poisonous.

Rosebriar: Old Town

This place is dying.
Old Town

Description

While Bishopsgate may be the oldest part of Rosebriar, Old Town trails close behind. Many of the buildings date back to the mid 1800s and Rosebriar's first round of expansion. Those structures show their age. Peeling paint and rotting wood mar the elegant Italianate homes and Federal-style administrative buildings that characterize the area. Rough winters slowly pockmark the grid of streets at the heart of Rosebriar, while snow and rain gnaw at the eroding roofs.

It wasn't always like this. A few decades ago, people poured into the area, sending house prices rocketing up. They made repairs and additions. Some raised families. Many homes owe their last coat of paint to that period. Now people leave out more than move in. More often still they simple die, aged and neglected.

Elderly hands struggle to tend the large yards. Brambles grow where flowers and grass once lay. Inside chocolate and candy scents cover the smell of decaying wallpaper. In the walls insects munch on centuries old wood. In other homes the vermin rule, their old owners having slipped from this world. Dust and grime pile up in corners, turning to dirt and fertilizing the vines that bring brick and mortar down.

Down by the new town hall, a last gasp of civic renewal can be found. The Newman Town Center's modernist style might clash with the rest of the area but unlike the nearby post office and fire station, it remains clear of graffiti and trash. During the day geriatric politicians try to chart a course back to prosperity. As night falls, the darkness hides the decline even as it allows other horrors to wander freely.

Local Hedge

Greenery rules supreme here. The brambles snake branches across paths while thick foliage obscures dangerously sharp thorns. Goblin Fruit can be found in abundance. Much of it hangs too long on the vine however, turning overripe or even poisonous. Hobs are thick here, though what they subsist on is a mystery.

Rolls to find Goblin Fruit gain a +2 bonus. A failure still discovers some spoiled (and potentially useless) fruit. A critical failure uncovers fruit that looks good but is actually poisonous. Athletics rolls to move quickly in the region suffer a -2 penalty due to the thick undergrowth.

Damnation City Stats:

Physical: Access 0, Safety -1
Mental: Information 1, Awareness 0
Social: Prestige 0, Stability -1

Old Town is no longer as central as it once was but travelers don't find it particularly hard to reach either. As the neighborhood ages, new elements have drifted in, tagging old structures with graffiti, leaving trash, and causing vandalism. A few gangs from Heywood compete with other less identifiable dangers to make travel at night hazardous.

Vice: Neglect. It's not that people don't care about Old Town's decline. They just don't see it. Each year the paint gets thinner, the lawn a bit thicker, the neighbors more fragile.
Virtue: Beauty. Old Town still holds many stately homes, architecture that draws artists and a few souls interested in restoration or the past. The beauty can inspire even as its decay tinges the watcher with sadness.

Site: Newman Town Center

Type: Government
History: This modernist structure rises another story above the aged post office and the antiquated fire house abutting it. Built in the late 90s, it commemorates a brighter age, Rosebriar's golden years under Maxwell Newman. Mayor Newman presided over the growth of Rosbriar from a small town in 1955 until America's industrial decline caught up to it in 1987. The war hero saw the community grow to incorporate Appleton and Bishopsgate, the building of Thornton Industries and the establishment of Persimmon Hill. Many look back on those years fondly.

Blocky and gray, this steel and glass structure stands quite out of place in the neighborhood. Its cold exterior turns some away while others seem to find a strange respite within its walls. Those with supernatural abilities or Merits find it difficult to enter the building and must spend a Willpower to pass through its doors. A single Willpower is needed for the duration of a stay or day (whichever is longer).

The cause of this protection is unknown. Some whisper that the architect, Edward Teesdale designed it resist unnatural influences. Others claim that Newman was a sorcerer who placed a protective ward upon the building that bore his name. If so it outlasted its creator, Maxwell Newman passed away peacefully in his sleep in 2007 at the ripe age of 82. Rumors also say that the Newman Center boasts a large number of Hedge gateways. If true they also suffer the same difficulty.

Story Seeds:

The Vampire: A Darkling saw it drifting through downtown a week ago. The bag woman on the corner claims an ancient man haunts her dreams. Something feeds the vines human blood on moonless nights. Your friend in Edgewood says a monster drains patients of blood at night. But vampires are not real right?

Perhaps, but legends among the fae tell of a creature that made and broke a pact with a Keeper. The monster was blessed with immortality and power over dreams and cursed to fear sunlight and the cross. They say it still hungers for revenge on the one that cursed it. Could the enemy of the enemy be an ally?

Some possibilities for this vampire include being a member of the Children of the Thorns (Danse Macabre), creating hedge Mandragora (Ghouls), or belonging to the Alucinor bloodline (Bloodlines: the Hidden). Of course with fae magic involved, whose to say if it doesn't possess some other unusual abilities.

Gentry-fication: Homes along Green Street are getting new coats of paint and much needed repairs. Elderly residents find their relatives more willing to help out as their fortunes improve. Money pours in but in a dozen different unlikely ways. Someone is twisting Fate. The residents make pledges with this individual and find themselves richer, healthier, and even younger. What price does their benefactor demand? Who or what is behind this? And to what end?

Unnaturally Fertile: A part of the Hedge has colonized the untended gardens of Old Town. The simple Goblin Fruit, lavender notes, resembles a rolled up piece of monopoly money from a distance. Chewed or smoked, it grants the user the ability to pick the more fortunate of two outcomes. It is also highly addictive, inflicting the Addiction condition if the user fails a Resolve + Composure roll (-1 per previous use). Now people are trying to grow it through the neighborhood. As it spreads events become increasingly unlikely. Worse other foliage from the Hedge begin to intrude on this world. Is it an invasive species or the precursor to an invasion?

NPCs:

Annie Isom isn't a politician or woman of influence yet her power is undeniable. She works as the mayor's secretary, controlling access to the most powerful mortal in town. And unlike him, she knows about Changelings, their little needs and their greatest power: pledges. Through her contacts and influence over the mayor's schedule, she trades housing and business permits, false identities, and other tools of officialdom for skills, beauty, and other unattainable advantages. And unlike mundane corruption, magic leaves no traces for auditors. If the players want to influence town hall, they need to make a deal with Annie.

David Tucker may be only twenty but he knows more about Rosebriar's history than many twice his age. The brooding young man studies art at Appleton Community College but spends more time learning about local history and architecture. Fascinated by relics of a grander age, he's explored dozens of structures throughout Old Town, not all with the owners' permission. While he hasn't run into any physical supernatural trouble yet, he's had many brushes with things he can't explain. It has only driven him to investigate further. David, or his artwork, could pop up in the player characters' own explorations and provide clues to other places to investigate.

The Cancerling doesn't have a name like normal people. It calls itself Sam after a character it saw in a movie but attaches no importance to it. Slightly misshapen with skin like porridge, the cancerling can pass for human in dim light. It haunts the local hospitals and the occasional veterinary clinic, sniffing for its favored food: cancerous cells. The cancerling eats and incorporates them, slowly growing stronger. It knows there are other inhuman things in Rosebriar and even chased one down, a woman with skin that shimmered like an oil slick. Her cancer tasted so sweet, a siren call to its fine tuned senses.

The cancerling recalls little of its past. Something about the chemical plant to the east. Storm drains. Screaming.

It thinks a little about the future. The bulge on its side seems to be budding off. Maybe it will have a friend soon.

For now it hunts and thinks of that tasty meal. Maybe there are more where that woman came from.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Rosebriar: Market and Ravel

Now for a new district in my setting for You Can't Go Home AgainRosebriar''s main commercial district has seen better days. Even before the Great Recession, stores were closing due to competition from the big box shops on the edge of Rosebriar. Now mainly populated by empty store fronts, it feels more dead than alive.

Rosebriar: Market and Ravel

They went out of business years ago.
Market

Description

Market street runs South of Heywood from Appleton to the Works. It intersects with the much older road of Ravel which follows an old farm route from Appleton to the what is now the local highway. Both have a long history as Rosebriar's major commercial areas. Ravel once allowed farmers to sell their meat and produce to a larger market. Market, constructed in the 1950s, overtook Rosebriar's Main street as the heart of commercial activity in town.

Now both only have history. Empty store fronts outnumber surviving businesses. Historical markers compete with going out of business signs for the attention of pedestrians. Faded advertisements for decades dead businesses adorn crumbling brick.

Even the signs of life illuminate the decline. A new restaurant struggles in an old bank building, the vault serves as a private dining room. Shops pop up in unused buildings selling candy or books for charity. Few come by and a month later they vanish. Struggling businesses try to get the attention of the cars that shoot past with bold sale signs and by paying the desperate to twirl signs on street corners. Most are ignored.

A few businesses cling on, more labors of love than commercial successes. A used bookstore in an old restaurant features Shakespeare on the menu. The owner of an antique shop cluttered with products of the Depression chuckles at the irony. Another shop on Market sells music instruments to aspiring musicians, the proprietor gets them cheap from his brother. He owns a pawn shop on Ravel that buys them back for a fraction of the price.

Local Hedge

a thick canopy shrouds the Hedge around Market and Ravel, creating twilight conditions along its well laid trods and pathways. In places dirty cobblestones cover the routes. Travelers should be alert for Hobs and hedge beasts. The area sees plenty of foot traffic.

However, little bounty can be had along the somber paths as fruits or tokens in it are swiftly picked up and carried to the local market. Only the occasional piece of trash, such as a discarded for sale sign, mars the wild undergrowth.

Those seeking Goblin Fruits suffer a -2 penalty to their search rolls due to the barrenness of the region. The relatively straight (for the Hedge) paths however grant a +2 bonus to rolls to navigate in or through the area. It is especially easy to find the local Goblin Market (+4 bonus).

Damnation City Stats:

Physical: Access +2, Safety 0
Mental: Information +2, Awareness 0
Social: Prestige 0, Stability 0

The two wide streets that define this district allow drivers to pass quickly through and unfortunately past the area. Generous sidewalks compensate pedestrians poorly for the struggle to cross Market (and Ravel as it leaves town). While the few surviving shops invest in locks and security systems, the rest of the area remains empty and unwatched, making travel, especially at night, hazardous. The region holds several used bookstores and the offices of the town newspaper, the Rosebriar Daily, which keeps the residents well-informed.

Vice: Emptiness. A longing for the good old days leaves a hole in the hearts of the residents. When a business dies, it dies quickly. Piled up debt leads creditors to lock up the shop and sell what stock is left at liquidation rates. After a short flurry of activity, nothing remains.
Virtue: Careful Attention. Those businesses that remain thrive due to their attention to detail. Here clerks work hard to give customers a good shopping experience. Customer retention is their lifeline.

Site: Rose & Willow Flowers

Type: Commercial
Background: For 30 years this small floral shop on Ravel has provided flowers for weddings, holidays and special occasions. A large willow tree out front partially obscures the sign but the colorful display in the main window always draws in passers-by. They seldom leave empty-handed.

Sarah Wilson runs the store along with her son Eric. She moved to Rosebriar in the early 80s hoping for a new start for her and her son. Divorced, she's had to struggle to take care of a business and a family on her own. Now in her 50s, she keeps herself busy creating bouquets and trying to set her son up with a nice girl. She loves to talk to customers about Eric's work and how sad it is that Kalte Forge shut down.

Vice: Justice. Sarah has little sympathy for thieves and hoodlums. She and a few others in the area manage a neighborhood watch to keep Ravel safe.
Virtue: Pride. Sarah takes pride in her work, especially her success in running a business on her own.
Aspirations: See her son find a wife, sell you a large order of flowers

Eric Wilson helps at the store while he searches for a new job. Before Kalte Forge shut down three years ago, Eric worked in its engineering department, designing on better casting methods. Now this fit young man suffers the ignobility of living with his mother. By day he works at the shop and searches for a new job while in the evening he distracts himself with alcohol and fast women.

Vice: Lust, Eric loves the ladies.
Virtue: Honesty. Eric speaks plainly and never embellishes the truth, something that hinders his skill as a salesman.
Aspirations: Get a job as an engineer, find a commitment-less relationship

Finally some of the fae in the area have discovered that the leaves from the willow tree out front can be brewed into a bitter tea. Drinking it restores a Glamour. They wonder if the Wilsons are under an enchantment.

Site: The Thistle and Skeins

Type: Supernatural
Background: Rosebriar's Goblin Market sits in a glade that joins five paths in the Hedge. Four of those paths see frequent traffic from the areas that touch Appleton, Heywood and Old Town. Few travel the other path's yellowish cobblestones.

The market itself is a haphazard affair, even for a Goblin Market. Sellers work out of carts, wheelbarrows, or just a quickly set up table and stool. They trade in Goblin Fruits, Oddments, Trifles, Gewgaws, and the occasional Token or Goblin Contract. Those who sell here sign a simple pledge: to be honest in cost and merchandise, to do no violence within the glade with customers or merchants, and that all items sold must have been found or stolen.

Hobs gather in the market twice a day for an hour before and after dawn and again at dusk. Otherwise the glade remains empty except for a battered signpost decorated with messages, offers, and ads.

Story Seeds:

Ashes of Desire: A potent item has appeared in the market. Promising the ultimate high and the one time ability to make any person or item perfectly desirable, the ashes will be sold to the highest bidder in a week. A race is on to gather the most valuable items found or stolen to be traded for it. Some wish to see the ashes destroyed. Others wish to contract the characters to steal them. Some will kill for them.

Maintaining a Monopoly: A new Goblin Market has popped up, operating out of an unused storefront on moonless nights. The Thistle and Skein wants you to shut them down. They offer a bounty of goods and a place in the market in return. A pair of Changelings and their hob partners operate the new market, called High Trod. They sell crafted Tokens and Trifles at a steep mark up. They counter with the offer of a single potent Token if they disperse the riff raff at the other market. They also mention that their goods at least promise to be honest.

Fire Sale: The bookstores in the neighborhood sport an unusual number of gateways into the Hedge, the product of a Changeling researcher long work. Recently a pair of the stores have been burned to the ground. The bookshops have become targets of the local bridgeburners. Do the characters try to save a source of literature or allow these pathways to knowledge and the Hedge to burn? Rumors say that the fae researcher also created a number of gateways into and out of the archive of the local newspaper.

NPCs:

  • Third Hand Trill’s: this three armed Hob sells most of the rare Tokens at the Goblin Market. Most assume he stole them. The truth is more complicated. Trill learned the location of a junkyard in the Hedge, a place littered with Tokens and Oddments. The catch? Each one is cursed or broken in some way. Trill never lies about their condition but tries not to draw attention to it. He's also reluctant to divulge his source.
  • Donald Mark: Donald, Don to his poker buddies, has served at the Rosebriar Daily since the 60s. Now semi-retired, he manages their archives and maintains a regular and much-loved column on local fishing. He also keeps track of state history, especially the changes to it. Donald's coworkers and friends remain unaware that he isn't human. A vast incomprehensible machine placed him here as part of an early warning system to monitor temporal shifts in nearby New York City. Donald has also taken (on his on volition) to chronicling the history of Rosebriar: all three of them. He's not sure what to do with this information, a fact that threatens his status within the system.

Friday, January 9, 2015

The Climbers Recap: Head out on the Highway

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This week we return to my continuing Apocalypse World game, the Climbers. Having killed Dustwich, the characters are pulled, bribed, or paid to do another quest: aid Violet liberate Miami.

For this campaign my major intention is to follow the development of a single Apocalypse World setting and set of characters over the course 20+ sessions. I want to see how the world fills in with terminology, history, and peoples.

As in my earlier actual play reports, small green text indicates out of character talk, mechanics and other game aspects outside of the fiction.

Our main characters are:
  • Gator (the Gunlugger) is an assassin and part-time bodyguard who wears customized scrounged armor made from Kevlar and ceramic inserts. Camouflaged for the jungle, his face was ruined in a fight with an alligator. His eyes are always sizing things up and his brutal life has left his body a hard sheet of muscle.
  • Jarhead (the Savvyhead) is a thing African-American man with a short goatee, long dreads, and clothes covered in pockets and gear. Travelling around in an old news van, he repairs items for a living. Recently obtained a strange device from a man named Dustwich, it can bend time and space. He is intrigued to say the least.
  • November Orleans (the Skinner) is descended from a family which left New Orleans before it sank. She is a beautiful woman of mixed heritage with dark eyes and skin, a sweet face and lush body. She dresses herself in a mix of scavenged clothing that somehow works together and wears a necklace made from rows of antique coins which jingle and shine as she moves. Her main profession is as a dancer, especially belly dancing, but she has a sideline business in cooking.
  • Violet Jefferson (the Touchstone) is descended by survivalists and her clothing and gear reflects her origins. Plain looking but fit, she carries a pocket copy of the Federalist papers and founding documents of the United States of America, an idea she hopes to revive. She was in Stumpland to spend the summer with her Aunt Julia and Uncle Buck. Now her uncle is dead and her followers are demanding her help.

This is the last session for a month and the big question I wonder is how far will they get to Miami?

Highlighting

Highlighting goes quick.
  • Violet gets Cool (from November) and Hard.
  • November gets Hot (from Jarhead) and Sharp.
  • Jarhead gets Hot (from Gator) and Weird.
“I've never seen a hot savvyhead," I comment.
  • Gator gets Hard (from Violet) and Cool.
"You would want to see him be Hard," I tell Violet. "I want to see an Easy to trust Gator."

Start of Session Move

Violet rolls Fortunes.

"Let’s see if you can do better than last time."

She gets a 7 and chooses the want +judgement.

"It's the least bad thing for them!" she explains.

"It's going to be a wonderful road trip," I tell her. Jarhead has his own vehicle so his trip will be much less argumentative.


She gets 2-barter and +insight.

Now you can pay for Gator to save Miami.

Head Out on the Highway

The sea breeze blows the smoke of the funeral pyre away from the small gathering. Gator stows his new weapon on the airboat while Jarhead adjusts some items in his overburdened van. With Violet’s promise to aid in the liberation of Miami, Boo donates his recent earnings to her to help prepare for the journey.

”Gator, last session you acquired a rocket launcher.”

November interrupts. “Oh you acquired it?”

”Well you picked it up and claimed it as your own,” I amend.

I detail its stats: 6-harm, far area messy and a single shot. I also point out it will kill vehicles, people and unstable buildings.

I also point out that last time he dropped his sniper rifle. It's a bit dinged up and he might want to have it looked at.


Jarhead brings up wanting to pick up some food and the others explain their need to return the airboat to its owner.

“I’m okay with short detour.” Boo explains. “For one thing I wouldn't mind if there was someplace safe to leave Lauren and my little girl.”

Violet nods and they quickly make plans to meet up in Stumpland for supplies and other arrangements. After they break up, Jarhead returns to his van. He wipes the blood off Dustwich's device and stows it on the dashboard. Boo and his clan get in their yellow SUV and lead the way down the backroads.

As they drive off, Gator, November and Violet get the boat going and take the quick route across the swamp.

The airboat slices across the forested wetlands. Sliding past a row of trees, Violet and the others spot a plume of smoke rising from the direction of Stumpland. November kills the engine and they drift to a halt.

Gator and Violet decide to investigate, quietly wading into the holding. November follows behind, slowly pushing the airboat towards Stumpland.

Violet and Gator roll Acting under fire to sneak, Gator gets an 8 and Violet gets a 7. I probably should have made this a single roll. Oh well.

Violet leads Gator through the heavy plant growth surrounding the settlement. Brambles and rotten logs make the journey difficult. Then they spot something that isn't a log.

The alligator lounges in the water between them and Stumpland. Huge and scaly, it growls deeply as they approach, warning off any challengers.

The gators are very active since it is mating season. I give them the choice of a very long detour or dealing with it.

”I could try and kill it,” Gator whispers.

”How?” I ask.

“I have a silence sniper rifle.”

“A sniper rifle that got dropped. You can try it. Maybe it's fine.”


“It should be quiet,” he adds pulling his sniper rifle.

”Especially if it doesn't work,” November says.

“Other than that I've got my knives,” he adds, “but I don’t want to get in a knife fight with an alligator. But I will if I have to.”


Violet waves him off, pulling her nylon rope out.

”Want to try that first?” Gator says. “If it doesn't work then I’ll shoot it.”

Violet rolls Seize by force and gets a 10. She chooses suffer little harm, definite hold and dismay the animal. The rope does no harm to the gator but binds it. The gator strike her for 2-harm minus 1-armor minus 1 for little harm. I have her roll a Harm move at +0. She gets a 6 and is fine.

Violet readies a loop and remembers her training. When the alligator turns she runs up and throws the loop around its jaws. As the giant beast thrashes around she quickly pulls the loop shut. After a short wrestle she tightens the rope around the alligator, immobilizing its legs as well. Muddy but unharmed she steps back from the animal.

“We nipped this problem in the bud,” she says, wiping her brow.

“Nice work, we could use this later,” Gator says, considering the meaty beast.

They tie the reptile to a sturdy tree and continue to Stumpland. As they break through the ring of vegetation, they discover that the smoke is rising from the burning remains of Jackbird’s ship. A small crowd chatters calmly by the Theater as the flames devour the structure.

Gator relaxes his grip on his rifle. His sharp eyes pick out Hurricane and his gang watching the destruction.

An explosion send up a plump of black smoke as the fire reaches some fuel cache. The crowd oohs and aahs.

Gator walks up to Hurricane. “What the heck happened here?”

The big man turns to him. “Well you were the one who mentioned spores. That’s what we are taking care of. Making sure there is no threat left.”

“I hope you cleared his place out.”

“We cleared the front,” he explains. “I sent a couple of people further in and they found something that looked like spores.” Hurricane squints at Gator. “Didn't you leave in a boat?”

“Oh yeah, we’ll bring it in. We just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened here.”

Hurricane nods absently and Violet and Gator go back to help November bring the boat in. Charity, the owner, smiles and thanks them for bringing it back in the same condition it left in.

Then Gator and Violet head back into the swamp to get the alligator. The arrival of the huge beast distracts the crowd a bit, who cast hungry looks.

November appraises it. “If we want to eat this, we will need to do some prep work. I can do some of it but it takes time. It’s probably best that we trade it for prepared meat instead.”

The others agree and November and Gator go to talk to Hurricane.

Gator Manipulates a person with Easy to trust (thus rolling Cool). He gets help from November who rolls a 9 on her help another roll. With the +1, Gator gets an 11.

“‘Mighty fine gator you managed to capture there,” Hurricane says as they approach.

“Yup a big one,” Gator says.

“We should get at least a 100 pounds of jerky out of it,” November says.

“Not to mention leather,” Gator adds.

Hurricane nods. “So you sticking around to do all that?”

“Nah, we are looking to trade for some ready-made stuff.”

“I can start some of the prep work for you,” November throws in.

Hurricane considers it. “Yeah sure. I can get you about what it’s worth.”

They earn 1-barter of leather, 1/2 barter of food (which Gator uses to refill what he use last session). The others split the leather.

Cut to Jarhead.


The overloaded van bounces wildly as it chases the yellow SUV down the crumbling road. Jarhead blows past Cottage just as he did with its warriors running down the highway two hours ago. Slowly the road becomes more mud than broken concrete.

“I don’t stop,” he tells me.

I ask him a question. “Where did you get your van? Did you buy it or inherit it?”

”I found it at an old abandoned waystation. Then I made it run again.”


An hour and a half later, he spots a column of smoke rising up straight ahead. The SUV slows and stops. Jarhead pulls up alongside it.

“What the hell is that?” Jarhead asks, rolling down the window.

“I don’t know,” Boo says. “It looks like that fire has been going on for a while though.”

“That doesn't seem like it’s normal,” the tinkerer comments.

“No.”

“They did say we were meeting them over there, right?”

“Yes.”

”What are the chances that was somehow caused by Gator?” Jarhead asks.

“I don’t know. He did have that tube thing. We’ll just have to see.”

As Boo starts going, Jarhead calls out, ”if I see something bad, I’m going to turn around. I suggest you do the same.”

As Hurricane’s men carefully drag off the alligator, the crowd turns their attention from the burning wreckage to the sound of vehicles coming up the south road. A well cared for SUV and a van covered in solar panels pull up in front of the rough amphitheater.

”If there was excitement here it is long past,” I tell Jarhead.

Jarhead leans out his window. ”What the hell happened?”

“It needed to be done,” Gator says. “Possible spores.”

“Okay,” Jarhead says, climbing out of the news van. Gator quickly fills him in on the recent events, including whose boat this was.

Boo and his clan disembark as well. The short burly man approaches Violet. “So you've got the boat returned. We should get going soon.”

“Yes,” she says. Looking around she spots Jarhead haggling over a bit of fresh gator meat.

She interrupts him and explains she is heading to Miami. “We could use your talents. We are going to start a mini revolution.”

November wanders over and Jarhead turns to her. “What is your take on this?”

“Well I've been down there before,” she explains. “They have a pretty nice place setup but it sounds like this White guy isn't really a friend to the civilized. I wouldn't mind helping them out.”

“Okay,” he says slowly and uncertainly. “When were you thinking of going?”

Boo speaks up. “We need to go the sooner the better. Before he’s managed to cement his control.”

Jarhead asks if there is anything to draw him to Miami.

“Hey Violet have you told Jarhead about your plans?” November asks.

In other words use Visionary.

Violet rolls Visionary and gets an 8. She also earns experience. She holds 2 over him.


Violet tells him about her vision of a restored Republic. “Back before the apocalypse, this place was a country. We had freedom. Every citizen had a vote. Everyone could influence their own destiny and act in their own interests.”

“We could use someone with your skills,” Boo adds.

Jarhead considers the offer. “There a few things I’ve been meaning to try. They are a little hazardous so I need someone to try them on that I don’t care about. If you keep me supplied, I’ll make you stuff.”

Violet hesitantly agrees and they shake on it.

Violet makes a mental note never to direct anyone to Jarhead who can’t handle themselves.

”I’ve got to make sure these things work somehow,” he says.

”You could try using lab rats!” she retorts.

”Where is he going to find lab rats?” I ask.

”There are mice, there are probably plenty of them out in the bayou.”

”You mean rodents of unusual size. I don’t think they really exist. Though the Nutria, they are totally out there. Somewhere. Plotting.”

While I go get dinner ready, the others discuss if you can use Visionary on an NPC or not amongst other things.

“Well I’m your friend so I’ll come along but I figure at some point you’ll need to force me,” November tells Violet. “Something like ‘Don’t lose sight of what we've accomplished...’ It will awesome. Plus I want experience.”

I return to a digression into the boardgame Eldritch Horror. Sounds like a fun, sort of like Pandemic but with Cthulhu.

”So you've convinced the group to come to Miami,” I say. “Huzzah.”

”Huzzah,” she echoes.


As Boo wanders away to negotiate with Hurricane, Jarhead contemplates the long trip south in his cramped van.

“The generator is taking up a lot of space,” he tells Gator.

“I know someone here who could be trusted to keep it safe for you,” the mercenary says.

Violet turns to Gator. “I wanted to know if you were interested in coming with us to Miami as well?”

“What exactly is in Miami?” Gator asks.

“There’s a strong man who has moved in,” she explains as Boo quickly works out a deal with Hurricane. He and his son return while Hurricane leads his wife and daughter away. “He won’t let the townfolk have a say in how the place is run.”

“Okay,” he says scanning her eyes. ”What do you want to do?”

“We've got to drive the British out,” Boo interjects. “You tell him Violet, we have to kick White and his boys out of there. One way or the other.”

“So you want to get rid of them,” Gator says. “You live there?”

Boo nods. “I use to live there before they killed my brother and drove me out.”

“Okay so it’s for you.”

“It’s for everybody, everybody who is living there.”

“For the people of Miami,” Violet explains.

“So what are you asking?” the scarred warrior asks.

“We want to commission your services,” she says.

Gator grins horrifically. “Okay, now we are talking business.”

“We want to know is what will it cost,” Violet explains.

”How far is Miami?” Gator asks.

I share my screen and share the map. If they take the 75 it will be about 360 miles. But it will take them all the way to Miami.


“That’s kind of trip you are planning,” Gator says, straightening his back. “And what your angle? Get rid of these guys?”

“The 75 is actually in fairly good shape?” Violet asks.

”Yes.”


Violet nods grimly. “Get rid of them and put a representative government in place.”

“So replace the guys in power.”

“Kind of,” she says, avoiding the debate.

“So how many guys does White have?” Gator asks.

”He came in with a strong gang,” Boo says. “But they are all afraid of him. I guess he’s got-” He turns to Garber. “What do you think son? 40? 50 guys?”

”Wow,” Jarhead comments.

Gator doesn't flinch. ”Not too bad. And they are afraid of White?”

“Yeah he’s a scary guy.”

“So we kill him, they will break up?” the assassin asks.

”Most likely,” Violet says. “Though we might want to be careful in case one of them decides to take over.”

Gator names his price: two months worth of rations or the equivalent. “How’s this sound? Half now and half when we are done?”

Gator is getting 2-barter.

“Sounds good to me.”

Violet and Gator shake on it. The warrior says, ”Good doing business.”

”Gator has a lot of money now. The way it is going he could take the next few months off. Or blow it all on a really great week.”

”Or spend it hiring me to make some stuff,” Jarhead hints.


His business with Violet concludes, Gator takes Jarhead to his friend Jess.

Jarhead hopes to trade his fixing ability for storage for the generator.

They find the muscular woman watching the smoldering boat. She spots his approach and waves. “Good to see you Gator.”

“You too Jess.”

“Saw they burnt down Jackbird’s place.”

“Yeah, they sent in that new slave and Phoenix,” she offers as an explanation.

“Which one? That carver guy?” he asks.

“Vock. The sculptor, I think his name is,” she says. “They only had two gas masks so they were the lucky ones.”

“Makes sense. It’s good that they got those spores taken care of.”

Jess nods. “They said they found dust or something in the ship. Hurricane decided not to take any chances.”

“You've heard about Gunge?” he asks.

“Yeah I heard he got the climbers.” Gator nods and she adds, ”there seems to be a lot of that going around. Hurricane plans to hold up, keep it at bay and hope it burns out.”

Gator gestures to Jarhead. “I've got a person I want to introduce to you. He needs to store something for a piece of time. Jess, this is Jarhead.”

”Hello,” the thing tinkerer says offering a hand. Jess shakes it firmly despite a few missing digits. “I was wondering if I could store my generator here. In exchange I could fix something for you. I’m pretty good at fixing things.”

Jarhead rolls Manipulate a person and gets a 10. He also marks experience.

“I suppose there’s always something that needs fixing. I don’t have anything at the moment but I’ll see what I have when you get back. How long were you thinking of keeping it here?”

Jarhead glances at Gator. “‘Uh, a few weeks.”

“Alright. You can put in the shack out back.”

“Thanks a lot,” he says smiling.

She points out the wooden structure at the edge of the swamp. “I shouldn’t have to store anything there for a bit. We just finished our last harvest for the season.”

”You are now free to transport everyone in comfort,” I say.”Who goes with Boo? And who goes with Jarhead?”

“Does anyone else know how to drive?” Jarhead asks.

Gator says he knows how as does Violet.

“I could see that,” I comment. “she has that-”

”Range of competency,” November finishes for me.

Jarhead takes Gator as a secondary driver so he can work in the back from time to time.


As they head to the van to unload the machine, Gator asks the tinkerer to take a look at his rifle.

“Sure. why not.”

Meanwhile Rover approaches Violet as she readies for her trip.

“Violet,” the old man stammers, “I’m a little worried. I think my son was listening to you too much and he got patriotic fever. While you were out, we had a visitor from the Militia. Hammer signed up. I thought you should know.”

She thanks him and gets back to her work frowning.

Thereby taking care of the unresolved +desertion from last session.

Then we move to the long drive south. We establish Violet and November ride with Boo and his son Garber in the yellow SUV while Gator and Jarhead take turns driving Jarhead’s van.

“I may occasionally ride with Jarhead and Gator,” November says. “It depends on how much Boo is complaining.”

”So after that first day?” I say.

“Sure.”

”Do you take the 75 or do you try to make your way down the backroads?”

Jarhead comments, ”if we want to take a fast trip, we’d take the 75 but it is a well known road so it might be dangerous. Plus White might have lookouts on it.”

”How much influence does White have?” Violet asks.

I establish White’s region of control is pretty small. He might only control one of the 3 or 4 major holdings in Miami. He could however have people stationed watching the highway.

”It wouldn't be practical to watch all 360 miles,” Violet says.

”No,” I say. “If he’s watching it, the lookouts are an hour out at best. About 30 miles or so.”

”So we could go the first the first 300 miles on it and be safe.”

”At least from White.”

”Except for checkpoints and bandits and things,” Gator adds.

”There are bandits along the backroads too,” November points out.

”And there the roads are bad,” I add.

”So I think our odds are better to drive the 75 until we get close,” Violet decides.


Boo’s SUV leads the way down the decaying mud and cement chip road. By evening they reach a clogged on-ramp. Carefully they thread their way past the decaying vehicles and onto the 75.

From there they pick up speed, following a rough path worn by previous travelers. The multitude of cars and trucks on the highway lie smashed to one side or another, leaving an easy road to follow.

“If you cared what I say,” Boo says for the hundredth time, “you would do this a little bit differently. Of course you know best. Always thinking you know what to do. Never mind that I've been up and down this road a hundred times. I’ve survived more bandits than you’d imagine. Never mind the plan is to just ride down here and then take the backroads through the Everglades. God knows if they even exist anymore. The lake just gets bigger and bigger, what with the rising oceans. I imagine the southern tip of Florida doesn't even exist anymore. But alright, alright.”

November focuses on the landscape and tries to ignore him.

”I’ll be nice about it,” Violet says. “I’ll ask his advice about things once we get closer.”

”And that’s why I leave after the first day,” November says. “I ride in the van.”


Violet just smiles and keeps an eye out for trouble.

In the van, Jarhead tinkers in the back while Gator drives. As they bounce along, he tries to see what he can do to repair Gator’s sniper rifle.

“If he doesn't hit too many potholes,” he comments.

Do you want to use your workshop or Things speak? (in other words, do you leave me an opening for a hard move)

”Nothing seems to be broken so I’ll just use my workshop.”


Looking along the barrel, he sees that the sight is way off. A shooter would be hard pressed to hit the broad side of barn with it. He also finds some gunk lodged in the silencer. He removes that part for now until he can properly clear the barrel.

He gives it a good polish and sets it aside for later. Then he picks up the sphere.

The gun is not too bad. Jarhead could get it fixed up that tonight.

Violet says, “give it some TLC.”

“What do I need to fix the Tesla device?” Jarhead asks.

”That’s good question. You’re not sure. If you want to use Things speak that is going to get your answer much faster.”

Jarhead rolls a 7. What is wrong with this and how can I fix it?


Feeling inside the bullet hole, he feels where the depleted uranium round settled into the core. It doesn’t seem too tightly lodged. Fixing the damage however is going to take some time and energy. He tosses the sphere from one hand to another. He could probably melt the damaged section down and recast it from the intact portion.

I hesitate to tell him the rest but “No. Your move does let you know...”

He notices a display near his head goes fuzzy when he brings the sphere near it. Somehow he knows this metallic sphere is specially polarized. Creating the right sort of electromagnetic field is going to take some work, he thinks.

”I have to build it from the ground up,” Jarhead says.

”At least you have half the device to replicate the other half. You have an idea of how to build a foundry, That’s just a matter of time and money. Mostly time.


As night falls, Violet directs Boo to pull to the side of the road. Grumbling the whole way, he does. They set up a camp with Gator taking the first watch. Boo nervously sets up his tent well away from the road and most of the others join him. Jarhead and November stay in his van as the tinkerer makes repairs to Gator’s rifle.

”You may want your sniper rifle for your watch though,” Jarhead says.

”He has his smg,” I point out.

”And I have a rocket launcher,” the assassin says.

”That might be overkill.”


The evening passes quickly and Jarhead completes the repairs. Gator ends his watch by waking Violet. He sets his own sleeping bag down well away from the others.

An hour into her watch, Violet spots a fire burning a half mile down the road. Straining her ears, she makes out shouts, perhaps a scream, over the crickets and other wildlife.

”That sounds bad,” she says.

Gator starts awake as a pebble lands near him, a knife at the ready. “What’s going on?” he says as he recognizes Violet.

”I want you to take a look at something,” she says pointing at the distant light to the south. “I was thinking either you or I should take a look.”

“Okay let me look,” he says fishing out the scope to his rifle.

Gator Reads a sitch and gets a 9.

Who is in control here?


Against the large fire, he sees a pair of people silhouetted. By the way they are standing, they must be tied up. Then he spots three more men setting up a large spit over the fire.

“Looks like we've got some cannibals over there,” he says. “They have a couple people trussed up over there.”

“How many? Can you tell?” she asks.

Gator watches for a couple long minutes. “Seven or eight that I can see.”

“We might be able to take them,” she says.

“They are in our way,” he agrees. “But they may move on.”

“They may. But those people are alive aren't they?”

“I think so.”

“We shouldn't just leave them to die,” she argues.

Gator curses. “Bullets aren't the easiest things to come by either.”

“I’m aware of that,” she says standing firm.

“If we scare them off, we should probably continue moving,” he warns.

“Probably. Let’s wake everyone up.”

A few moments later the travelers blearily assemble.

“What’s going on?” Boo asks.

Violet describes the problem.

“Cannibals!” Jarhead exclaims.

“Yup, yup,” Boo says tiredly. “You’ll see that. That and raiders. Cannibals are not so bad. They are not nice people but most of them don’t have any real transport. As long as you have a working vehicle you can get out of their way real quick. Raiders now, raiders are the problem. They usually have bikes, trucks, that sort of thing.”

“Let’s try to rescue those people,” Violet says.

“Let’s try rescue those people?” Jarhead echoes in disbelief as Gator sighs.

”I’m a good person that seems like what I’d do,” Violet comments.

Boo chews his lip. “Well they outnumber us but not by much.”

“I figure we get him by surprise,” Violet says.

“I guess we can hit him hard and fast,” Jarhead says considering the situation.

“I could just about hit them from here,” Gator comments, screwing his scope back on his rifle.

”I think that’s the next thing I should put on your scope: night vision,” Jarhead says.

”You can do that?” Gator asks.

”It can’t be that hard.”


Violet nods. “That would put them in disarray.”

“I pick off a few before they smart up and disperse from the fire. Violet and the rest of us can race in there and pick up the captives.” He nods his head and lays out the plan. “This is what we are going to do. I can take the shots. We’ll empty out the SUV. Violet and Boo get in there. I’ll stay here. You drive up there and grab the people. I can cover you from here and then we can follow behind you.”

“I’ll go in the SUV to help encourage the captives to come with us,” November says.

“So let me get this straight,” Boo says. “So me and the two ladies will drive over after you've knocked them down a bit. Grab the captives and scatter them. We’ll then drive on.”

“Once we see you are free we’ll follow behind,” Gator concludes.

“Alright, sounds good.”

That's it for now. Tune in two weeks from now to see how their plan works out.