CSB

Game Master RinValak

An action-espionage game set in 1990's Chicago with supernatural elements, using a modernized 5th Edition.


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Her eyes go wide. "What the actual f*@$ are you caught up in? No, forget I asked, I don't want to know. Okay I kind of do," she laughs nervously.


You catch a glimpse of movement in the side mirror just in time to duck forward out of the way as a figure aimed a gun at your head and pulled the trigger. It was a woman--THE woman. Your window shatters and the boom of the gun deafens you. You can smell the gunpowder. Shattered glass rains down on your ducked head. Then there's a curious sound, almost like a tin can being instantly crushed.

You wonder for a moment if you're dead, it's so quiet. No shouts, screams, or yelling. No more gunfire. When you raise your head, glass shards sprinkle out of your hair. On the sidewalk beside your shattered window, the woman lays dead with a bloody chest wound, her holdout pistol laying near her. You must have missed it when you searched her. She must have slipped out the back. Someone shot her with some kind of silenced weapon.

A white windowless van squeals to a stop next to your red Golf. Sandy still sits next to you, silent, a bullet hole neatly in her temple from the woman's missed shot--the bullet meant for you.

A man gets out of the van and runs over towards your side holding a black silenced shotgun.

You have a moment to act, if you wish.

GM rolls:
Crit: 3d6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1, 3) + 2 = 9


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

In Cantonese "G&$ d*@n it!"

Sang-mi leans back in her chair and undoes the belt buckle. She preps a hand on the door handle as the man approaches.


The man's voice from outside: "Threat down, she got a shot off though. F@#@. Checking asset..." Then a faint radio crackle.

A rough, scarred face with military-cut blonde hair looks into your shattered open window. He has a tactical vest on with no insignia or patches.

Roll Athletics if you're going to try to bash the door into him. (guessing that's what you were planning).


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

dice roll for self:
problem solving: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Sang-mi fidgets grabbing the gear shift and opens the door simultaneously as if two competing ideas played out incompletely. She freezes, realizing the mistake and knowing it's too late.


Tough Soldier (Level ?)

He clicks a button on under the shotgun and a flashlight blinds you momentarily, then turns off again. "She's alive. Looks like a civilian got hit." Another radio crackle and pop.

Your car door is opened. "Cops will be here in...less than thirty," he says sidelong to you as he scans the streets warily. "In the van, let's go. Unless you'd rather stay out here?"


The white van's engine hums steadily. There's a dark silhouette behind the wheel. The sliding side door is open.

It seems like this guy is willing to leave you to the cops. Maybe you have a choice, or maybe not.

Sandy stares vacantly at her dashboard.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi cautiously reaches over and closes Sandy's eyes, then turns and steps out of the vehicle. "I need a doctor." She says dejectedly and begins heading toward the van.


The man pushes you along, making sure you keep up pace. It's pitch black in the van, they must have disabled the interior lights. He pushes you inside and onto a bench seat near the back, then slams the sliding door--the driver accelerates immediately, and your escort holds onto a railing along the ceiling to keep his balance.

When the door shuts, the interior is instantly illuminated with dull red light. To your right, there's a metal grated rack of firearms and tactical gear with shelves and lockers. Behind you, by the back double-doors of the van is an empty gurney like you might see in an ambulance. The center of the van's interior is mostly empty, with metal railing on the ceiling to hold onto. Against the left wall there's a few seats bolted to the wall and some kevlar vests and helmets hanging above them, along with walkie-talkies and...grenades? You also notice that the walls seem thicker than they would be in a regular van, probably armored.


Tough Soldier (Level ?)

After stowing his shotgun on the weapon rack, he looks you over. "You'll survive. Hospital would be a deathwish for you right now."

He makes his way up to the driver and exchanges a few words. It's quieter, but not whispered.

"Any witnesses at contact?"

"Don't think so."

"Anyone following us?"

"Not yet."

"Radio it in?"

"Not yet."

A radio crackles and pops up front, and you hear your escort talking again, louder this time.

"Asset in hand, ETA 25 minutes to bravo." There's a few more sentences exchanged but they sound like gibberish to you. Some kind of code.

He comes back and sits on the wall-bolted seat nearest to you, silent.


Sirens grow louder, then flashing red and blue lights fill the van as a police car zooms past in the opposite direction. After a few seconds two more police cars pass.

The sirens fade into the distance and now it's only the sound of the road.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi's eyes tear for a moment, the stress starting to take hold. She sniffs back the urge to break down and begins to sing softly to herself.

"♪ Wise man say, only fools rush in.... but I can't help, falling in love with you...♪"

Sang-mi looks to the gentlemen next to her, "Elvis, he is very good." She continues to sing a few more lines, calming her nerves.

singing: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Her English seems to improve when she sings, something about the practiced nature of song mirroring martial arts.


Tough Soldier (Level ?)

He watches you with a neutral expression and doesn't look away until you finish singing.

He stares at the van door in silence a moment. "I'm sorry about your friend," his powerful jaw clenches. "I was...a f%&%ing millisecond too slow. I'll be faster next time."

You get the impression he wouldn't have said anything at all, but your singing in that moment cut through some icy professional walls.


The taller buildings get shorter as you leave the city and go into suburbia, then the nice houses turn into dull industrial warehouses and junkyards.

Roll Insight (Wisdom)

The van comes to a stop outside a particularly boring looking warehouse, the radio crackles up front and the driver says a few odd code-words into it. After a moment of silence, one of the big garage-style doors on the side of the warehouse opens, and the van drives up the ramp inside. It looks like a plain storage garage.

You all wait in silence until the huge garage-door finishes closing behind you, then both the van doors open at once and the red interior lights turn off. You find your vision is surprisingly still dark-adjusted.

Roll Science or Technology (Intelligence) if you care why that might be.

A scrawny looking guy with a long face comes around to the van's side door.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

He nods to you. "Follow me."


Your military escort takes off his tactical vest, hangs it in the van, and leaves, disappearing through a side door in the garage without a word.

Your new guide leads you through a different door out of the dark garage and down a brightly lit hallway of grey tile floor and fluorescent lights, to a door labeled "DEBRIEFING". He opens the door for you. Inside is a large meeting table with about a dozen simple chairs, a pull-down screen for a projector, and a little triangle speaker device on the center of the meeting table. Against the wall is a counter with a coffee machine, sugar packets, etc.

Once/if you enter, your guide shuts the door behind you and leaves you in the silent, empty room. You don't hear the door lock, so presumably you could just leave if you wanted.


By the way feel free to interject dialog or actions at any point in all that. Not trying to bulldoze over you, just keeping up the pace.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

insight: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Sang-mi follows quietly, she is exhausted and in pain. Sensing this is the only way she is going to get answers, she complies.

While in the room alone she begins to take stock of herself, checking injuries and what she has on her.


After maybe five minutes, the speaker in the center of the table pops a couple times and the same modulated, distorted voice from the pay phone comes through.

"Sang-mi. I'm sure you have a lot of questions so I'll skip the formalities for now and just offer what answers I can. Go ahead and ask."


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi glances, annoyed, at the speaker. "What is going on here?"


"The short answer is, this is a job offer."

It's hard to tell if the voice is male or female, it sounds like both being layered on top of each other digitally.

"You're one of six potential assets we've been monitoring. That's how we noticed we weren't the only ones watching you--your old friends from the KCP were too. You were supposed to drink their poison along with our nullifying agent to present the illusion that you had died. Our men would be in the ambulance that picked you up, declaring you DOA, then sneak you out of the morgue and substitute a decoy corpse for yours. That would have gotten them off your tail for a long time, maybe forever."

There's a pause. You detect a hint of weariness despite the heavy distortion, "As it is, the KCP's agents are dead, they'll assume you did it, and if there's one thing they can't stand, it's being humiliated. You'll be hunted the rest of your life, however short that might be. We could protect you, if you work for us. That's the offer. Any other questions?"


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi sits quietly for a moment. Outside observers would see the anger building in her expression.

In Cantonese "Dog s*~#!" she shouts and in a flash is standing, vigorously lifting her chair in a fit of rage and slamming it repeatedly on the speaker. Once it's damaged she turns hurling the chair at the projector screen.

Gripping her side in renewed pain, she limps over to the coffee maker to pour herself a cup.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

Immediately the door opens and the thin driver from earlier pops his head in, "You okay--" he stops talking, standing awkwardly in the silence for a moment before offering: "You... want me to take you home?" he watches you get coffee, unsure what to do or say.

The speaker on the table is dead.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi leans against the table and takes a drawn out sip of the coffee, a look of satisfaction creeping across her face.

"Mm.. good coffee." Sang-mi takes another sip and sits up off the table and walks toward the driver.

"No.. It is time to be joyous. We are comrades now." There might be a hint of sarcasm there but it's hard to tell with her poor command of the language. She stops in front of him with an expectant look.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

"Uh. What?" He stares at you blankly, then at the destroyed speaker. "Uhm...you...want...a tour?" He forces an awkward uncertain smile.


The lanky driver shows you around.

HQ MAP

By the entrance there's a reception area and bathrooms, built up out of plywood walls and decorated perfectly with waiting room chairs, a desk, and a blonde receptionist painting her nails (you can only see the back of her head through the door). You notice a security camera in the corner and a red button under the receptionist's desk--and a gun. There's a row of four garages, one of which houses the van you arrived in. Your guide opens the doors of the first couple to show you inside, and it's a pretty typical grease-monkey den of toolboxes, hydraulic lifts, tires, and barrels of oil. There's one mechanic working on...a cop car? Yup, Chicago PD. Near the furthest garage there's a service elevator going down and a ladder nearby also going down.

"Got the data servers down there where it stays cold and bombproof."

He opens a metal door after punching in a code, and shows you into some kind of training grounds, with obstacle courses, shooting ranges, and some combination of the two. You notice bullet holes as well as paintball splatters in the massive concrete walls. As you pass the door labeled "Command", your guide simply points it out to you and doesn't show you inside. Same with "Security". He does show you into the mess hall, a spartan and clean military kitchen and dining area, as well as bathroom. No one was in it currently. The door labeled "Barracks" led to a long room full of military bunks and lockers. There was the man who saved you earlier, with his close-cropped blonde hair, currently benchpressing at a workout area. Apparently he still had some aggression to burn off even after killing someone earlier. He doesn't look over.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

"That's Mark, I'm Elliot. Guess we're all on a team together. That's what I heard anyway. If you said yes, I mean? Uhm you'll probably hear us referred to as agents Gruse and Lareson," he shrugs.

Mark grunts.

"Anyway, I'll show you to medical, doc will look you over." He lets the barracks door close and leads you down the hall to a small but professional looking med bay.


The 'doc' is an older man with grey stubble, a cigarette in his mouth and a scowl. He prods your ribs one by one (it hurts, some more than others), listens to your breathing, and measures your blood pressure.

Finally he taps the ash off his cigarette and rumbles, "Nothing serious. Breathing will hurt like hell for awhile, so take these," he hands you a blank pill-bottle off a shelf. "Most doc's would wrap your ribs up tight with cloth, but I think that's horse s@&$. Anyway, you're free to go." He takes a long drag off his cigarette and stares at you until you leave him alone.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

Is waiting outside the door when/if you exit, leaning on the wall. He turns to you.

"So...what do you think? I mean, did you accept the offer or...?"

His uncertain manner of speaking seems more distant than nervous, like he's a little distracted or living in his head.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi leaves the doc's chambers looking at the pill bottle. As Elliot speaks she stops shaking the bottle in hand.

"Elriot?.... Where are deh showers?" She turns her attention to him, once again looking expectantly.


Smart Infiltrator (Level ?)

"Oh, right, there's open showers in the barracks, unisex, and private showers in the mess hall bathrooms. Your locker in the barracks should have a change of clothes and towels. It's had your name on it for a week now. Was wondering when we'd get to meet the new guy--er girl," he talks as he walks with you back to the barracks. Mark is there, showering with his nude back to you both. Elliott points out your locker and goes to his bunk, laying down.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

"Elriot... nice to meet you."

She turns and mulls through the stuff before finding what she wants and a towel and heads into the shower to clean off. Normally she would have gone to somewhere private, but at this point she gives zero s$#*s.

during the shower she glances over at Mark finding him mysterious, as well as other things, but trying not to be too obvious.

Afterward she will get changed into the new set of clothes and find her way to her bunk to sprawl out.


Mark is asleep in his bunk by the time you get back from the doc checkup.

The clothes are okay. They fit surprisingly well, but aren't exciting. The type that make you invisible on a crowded street, just blending right in.

You expect the other bunks to fill up, but it's just you, Elliot and Mark (who's breathing heavy enough to almost be called snoring). Elliot hits a button on the wall near his bunk and the lights turn out. It sounds like he lays awake for a long time.

Let me know if you want to proceed to the following day.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

you mentioned mark being in the shower in the recent Elliot post, which I assumed was after we'd already left the doc's ?


Tough Soldier (Level ?)

Woops, I got VERY mixed up. Sorry about that. Scratch that first line of my last post.

When Sang-mi joins him, he looks over surprised. "New girl ain't shy, is she?"

Besides being obsessively fit, Mark's skin is decorated with a variety of scars. There's cuts, a few burns, a pretty nasty scar below his sternum (you'd guess explosives or shrapnel, though you're no expert), and at least four bullet-wound scars in various places, but it's hard to count without being obvious.

He looks over at you too a few times before finally approaching, only a foot away, and offering an outstretched hand. You know what he's getting at.


Either way, we fade to black!

The next morning you wake up before everyone else and can't get back to sleep. It's probably still dark out. The clock shows it's about 4:30am. You can wait til everyone else starts waking up, or not.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

No skoodlypoop'n, Sang-mi isn't that into Mark lol

Sang-mi gets up and stretches, in Cantonese "F&%!!" she clenches I'm pain and surprise.

She slides out from her bunk and makes her way to the mess hall, looking to make some coffee.


He takes the rejection well enough, shrugging in a your loss sort of way.

The mess hall is empty and you make some coffee without incident.

you're fully healed from the Long Rest, though will still be in pain for a few days. Taking any of the painkillers? Also let me know if there's more you want to do, or to move it along


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

sorry! busy weekend

Yeah she'll just wait till the others show up or something happens. She'll skip on the pain killers for the time being, but keep ahold of them.


No problem

Elliot pops in and tells you they're meeting at Debriefing.

When you arrive, it's just you, Mark, and Elliot, the rest of the room is empty. You notice the speaker has been replaced as if nothing ever happened. The two men look at you seriously, and Elliot gives a little wave.

After you all sit, the modulated, distorted voice comes on on the speaker. "Well, you're all here. This is your team, agents Lareson and Gruse. You can call me Dante, I'll be your handler for the foreseeable future." Again you can't tell if it's male or female, but it seems artificially deepened through the distortion.

The voice addresses the two men, "You've read agent Chu's dossier, but I'll reiterate. She's hunted by hostile agents of the KCP. She's a talented martial artist and very physically capable and athletic. Minimal real combat experience, but we'll be getting her trained in firearms before your first mission. I have a feeling she'll be a good shot."

"Agent Gruse is an electronics, espionage and hacking expert, and also a skilled driver. He worked with Interpol for eight years. He's good with a rifle but you and agent Lareson are most of the team's firepower. Agent Lareson served in the Nationale Volksarmee and fought all over the world under the Warsaw Pact and NATO. Was eventually discharged and became a soldier of fortune, fighting for the highest bidder. Now he's loyal to us."

"Welcome to the C.S.B., if you have more questions, now's the time. If not, I'll start briefing you on the upcoming mission."


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi nods to each of the men as they're formally introduced.

"No questions, please continue."


"A month from now, the FBI is releasing a man named Frank Staley from their headquarters downtown. He's the nephew of the boss of the "Outfit"--an organized crime syndicate--and some people want him dead. We don't know who yet. The FBI can't officially protect him because he's refusing to take a deal from them, so they've covertly enlisted our help. They think he'll still be useful in the future."

"Your mission will be to pick Staley up from the FBI HQ and get him to a safehouse outside the city, alive. We don't expect any interference from the Outfit, but you'll need to keep your eyes open. There's a printed briefing on the table, but it doesn't leave this warehouse."

"Prior to the mission, the three of you are going to be training and planning together. Any questions?"


Tough Soldier (Level ?)

"Staley won't know we're coming then. We're basically abducting him from outside the FBI HQ?" Mark half smirks.


"Correct. The FBI will turn a blind eye and erase any security footage, and you shouldn't have trouble with the local PD unless you're unlucky."


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

"Who is Staley expecting to pick him up? Will dey be a factor?" Sang-mi says nodding to Mark.


"Since he can't risk the Outfit finding out where he was, we assume he'll call a cab. But whoever he calls, just get to him first. Anything else?"


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Sang-mi waits patiently to see if the others have any questions, but is otherwise quiet.


End of Introduction.

Training Interlude...

So begins one month of training, split into four "courses". Each course is a solid seven day week of intensive training from the moment you wake up until you finally get to sleep.

One course is dedicated to Sang-mi's combat training in the firing range and "killhouse", where she must run through the obstacles as quickly as possible while accurately taking down plywood targets. That leaves three courses up to you:

Leadership. You will run agents Gruse and Lareson through martial arts and acrobatics training, as that's neither of their strong suits. Lareson is more about weaponry and brute force and could use some flexibility. Instructing your teammates grants Persuasion proficiency, and also the Leadership feat: Once per long rest, grant one teammate temporary HP equal to your Charisma modifier + the number of times you took this course.

Combat. More focused training with Lareson, working on your snap-reflex aim, improving your best time on the "killhouse", and some military tactics like covering fire, pinning, and flanking.
-One more course: Add +1 to either Strength or Constitution.
-Two more course: Gain proficiency in Heavy Firearms (heavy machinegun, rocket launcher, and Grenade Launcher).
-Three more courses: grants Snap-shot feat: Permanent +1 to attack rolls with firearms.

Driving. While most people know how to drive a car, gaining proficiency is beyond just the basics. Learn from agent Gruse how to take turns as fast as possible, practice weaving between obstacles at high speed, J turns and other risky maneuvers. With more time even learn how to do similarly dangerous stunts in trucks and motorcycles. You wonder why Gruse knows how to jump a motorcycle onto a moving flatbed...
-One course: Gain proficiency in Vehicles (Cars).
-Two courses: Gain proficiency in Vehicles (Trucks) and Vehicles (Motorcycles).
-Three courses: Driving Expertise: Add double your proficiency bonus to all Vehicle proficiencies.

Security. Train with agent Gruse in breaking and entering. It's slow, tedious, and frustrating, but that sweet click of a door finally opening can be worth it. Gruse makes it look stupidly easy. It's not.
-One course: Proficiency in Lockpick Tool (opening normal locks).
-Two courses: Proficiency in Hackpad Tool (disabling alarms, hacking keypads, looping security cameras).
-Three courses: Proficiency in Investigation, and Lockpick Tool Expertise: Add double your proficiency bonus to all Lockpick Tool checks.

Espionage. The world of spycraft is slippery. You've gone through the motions in the movies, but real life is different. It's boring and requires patience above all else. Agent Gruse is an eerily natural talent at it, with an ability to blend into a crowd seamlessly or vanish into an alley.
-One course: Proficiency in Stealth.
-Two courses: Proficiency in Wiretap Kit (placing them and finding them).
-Three courses: Proficiency in Investigation, and Stealth Expertise: Add double your proficiency bonus to all Stealth checks.

Mechanics. Train with Lareson on how basic machinery works. Learn broad strokes of everything from how to safely modify a firearm, to how to repair a car's engine. With more time, he shows you how to carry on these principles to bombs, IEDs, and other explosives. He'll even show you how to use them in the Training Grounds. You wonder briefly what the walls must be made of to be able to set off explosives inside without anyone noticing.
-One course: Gain proficiency in Mechanical Tools.
-Two courses: Gain proficiency in Demolitions Kit and Investigation.
-Three courses: Gain proficiency in Heavy Firearms (heavy machinegun, rocket launcher, grenade launcher), and Mechanical Tools Expertise: Add double your proficiency bonus to all Mechanical Tools checks.

Let me know your choices. And let me know if you have any particular scenes you want to roleplay out in that time, such as playing out training sessions, leaving the HQ, NPC interaction, looking around in the HQ, etc.


AC 17 (15UA), HP 4/18, Init +3, P.P. 14, Insp:0, HD: 3/3, AS: 1/1 Ki:3/3

Driving, Espionage, and Security. As an actress and Martial artist Sang-mi is more interested in what she doesn't know. It's unlikely she even knew how to drive before this.

As for scenes, I can't think of anything specific off-hand. Sang-mi wouldn't hide that she has disdain for the 'electronic voice' that might lead to some more property damage. Otherwise she mostly commits her attention to training since it's familiar and a bit therapeutic.

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