Faith Sierra |
Wound Penalty: -1
Spirit: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result = 4 - 1 (wound) = 3, failure.
Faith struggles to keep up with events and deal with the physical and emotional shock. Then another clown goes down and she realizes she only has one last chance to take one of them down and this thought spurs her to action. Her Arrogant hindrance makes her too proud to let others get all the kills. Spends her last Benny to remove shaken. I'm thinking that Arlo is no longer blocking the way to the clown in his room, since the post says he scampered away and is now using his phone from a safe position. So Faith will move into Arlo's room to make a wild attack at the last clown. I'm a little puzzled as to which clowns are up and which are down, but if she's attacking the wrong clown, just assume she attacks whatever clown is at hand (they all look alike :) ).
Katana
Katana Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Katana Attack Ace: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Result = 14 - 1 (wound) + 2 (wild) = 15, vs. Parry of 8 that is success + 2 raises.
Katana Damage (magic, AP 2, Str + d6 + 2)
Katana Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + (3) + (3) + 2 = 12
Result = 7 + 3 (raise) + 2 (katana bonus) + 2 (wild) = 14, vs. Toughness of 9, Success + 1 raise.
Wakizashi
Wakizashi Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 4
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Result = 4 - 1 (wound) + 2 (Wild) = 5, failure.
Assuming she caused a wound or two:
As the clown bleeds from her katana slash, Faith makes a sad face and makes a "Wah Wah" sad sound effect, like a muted trombone mimicking a crying person. sound bite
ZenFox42 |
Summary of round 7
Arlo scampers from the room and down the hall, and calls Patriot.
"Hello, you have reached Patriot, Inc. Please press 1 if this is an end-of-the-world emergency, please press 2 if..."
Nate's lying on the ground unconscious, surprisingly little blood coming from his wounds.
Faith manages to land a solid blow on the last remaining clown.
Gavril's clown tries the "hands up" thing, but nothing happens.
John heals Faith of some of her wounds, then fires off a shot at Gavril's clown, but misses.
Gavril gets another savage punch in to his clown, who drops.
Initiative (start of round 8)
Arlo : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 296
Faith : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 434
Gavril : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 289
John : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 954
Nate : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 564
Clown : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 484
So in order : John, (Nate), Clown, Faith, Arlo, Gavril.
NOTES
Gavril is at 3 Parry
Nate is unconscious
Arlo has 1 Wound and is at d4 Vigor
Gavril has 1 Wound
Faith is at 3 Parry
Faith has 1 Wound
Faith's (new) clown has 1 Wound and is Shaken
DM has 4 Bennies
ZenFox42 |
Looking over the summary for the last round, Arlo's clown never got an action - Arlo left the room first (Joker), and Faith got in his face before he could follow Arlo, so he attacks Faith with the "hands up" action :
Spirit & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 41d6 ⇒ 4 Phooey!
Faith, make a Spirit roll (including Wound) vs. TN=4
This is a "reaction" roll that you are making in round 7, it affects nothing in the upcoming round...
ZenFox42 |
The clown attacks Faith again with the "hands up" action :
Spirit & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 21d6 ⇒ 4 = 4 -1(Wound) = 3
Faith, make another Spirit roll vs. TN=3
ALL - the hotel room is larger than shown on the map, so others can get in there next to the clown if desired. (I moved Faith to make room for other icons.)
Gavril Vasilescu |
I know the others go before me, so this might not work out, but I'll post here while I've got the chance.
Gavril kicks the fallen clown once more, still in a rage at seeing his friend lying on the floor. He roars "Help Nate!" while charging after the last clown, slamming into it inside the hotel room.
Fighting+Trademark Weapon+Wild Attack
Fighting: 1d10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 2 = 11
Wild: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 2 = 5
11 vs. Parry 8 is a Success.
Strength+Martial Artist+Brawler+Wild
Damage: 1d8 + 1d4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + (3) + 2 + 2 = 13
13 vs. Toughness 9 is a Success and a Raise.
Faith Sierra |
Spirit: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Result 5 vs. 3, success.
Faith, seeing Gavril about to crash into the room, nearly panics, afraid that she's not going to get in a killing blow. She will take her own wild attacks before he gets into the room, after the clown acts.
Faith Sierra |
I didn't notice that there were two spirit rolls needed. Might have gotten Ninja-ed by some posts while I was working on my latest.
Penalty: -1, wound
Spirit: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Result: at least 6 - 1(wound) = 5 vs. 3, success.
Faith shakes her head as the clowns arcane chicanery assaults her wound. But she keeps coming.
Wild Attack: +2
Penalty: -1 wound
Katana Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Wild Ace: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result 9 - 1 (wound) +2 (wild) = 10 vs. Parry of 8, success.
Katana Damage (magic, AP 2, Str + d6 + 2)
Wild Attack: +2
Katana Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + (5) + 2 = 8
Result = 6 + 2 (Katana bonus) + 2 (wild) = 10 vs. Toughness 9, Success.
Wakizashi
Wild Attack: +2
Wound: -1
Wakizashi Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Result = 5 + 2 (wild) - 1 (wound) = 6 vs Parry 8, failure.
Faith yells at the clown as she swings her swords: "We ... Are ..." swing "Not ..." swing "AMUSED!!!"
ZenFox42 |
I just realized, the clown was Shaken at the start of this round, and I forgot to roll to recover. So I'm retroactively spending a Benny so he could have acted. So much to keep track of!
Faith's first attack manages to make the clown Shaken.
Has she *ever* actually done damage with her Wakizashi? I just seem to remember that it misses...
So Gavril's attack inflicts 1 Wound.
As it turns out, it would have been better if Faith had attacked second, her Shaken would have turned into a Wound...
ZenFox42 |
Summary of round 8
John fires and misses AGAIN.
Nate continues to lie on the floor, blissfully unconscious.
The clown tries a "hands up" on Faith, to no effect.
Faith manages to make the clown Shaken.
Arlo is calling Patriot.
Gavril's punch cracks some bones, inflicting a Wound.
Initiative (start of round 9)
Arlo : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 472
Faith : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 27
Gavril : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 69
John : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 301
Nate : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 961
Clown : Init: 1d1000 ⇒ 30
So in order : (Nate), Arlo, John, Gavril
and BOTH Faith and the clown get the Joker (+2 attack, +2 damage)!
Faith, please make an Agility roll to see who goes first.
NOTES
Gavril is at 3 Parry
Nate is unconscious
Arlo has 1 Wound and is at d4 Vigor
Gavril has 1 Wound
Faith is at 3 Parry
Faith has 1 Wound
Faith's clown has 2 Wounds and is Shaken
DM has 3 Bennies
ZenFox42 |
The clown's Agility roll :
Agility & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 91d6 ⇒ 5 = 9 - 2(Wounds) = 7
So Faith must beat a 7 with hers (including Wounds).
In case the clown acts first, recovering from Shaken :
Spirit & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 101d6 ⇒ 6 = 10 -2(Wounds) = 8
No need to roll the Aces, the clown can act if he acts first.
Gavril should probably wait until these two have resolved their attacks, no telling what might happen.
John, having had no luck with his gun for the last several rounds, instead goes over to Nate and tries to heal him :
Magic & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 11d6 ⇒ 6
Explode: 1d6 ⇒ 3 = 9 is a Success and a Raise
Nate is no longer Incapacitated
Trying to remove the 2 Wounds :
Magic & Wild: 1d10 ⇒ 101d6 ⇒ 6
Explode & Explode: 1d10 ⇒ 71d6 ⇒ 2 = 17 -2(Nate's Wounds) = 15 is a Success and 2 Raises
Nate is at 0 Wounds!
John slaps Nate's cheeks to wake him up.
Wow - I got TWO *double* Aces in this post!
John has 6 PP left.
Arlo Franco |
Since it's the middle of the night, Arlo debates between pressing "3 for if you're in a tight spot". and "4 for if you need a cleaner", finally deciding that "3" would probably get him to "4" eventually.
Whoever is on response that night he gives them the proper codes, and their location, with a quick summary of what is going on, and relies on the PATRIOT people to make the calls from there. Then he takes a deep breath, and reenters the fray, thinking at least he might be good for a distraction.
Perhaps a ganging up bonus?
ZenFox42 |
Arlo - well, it wasn't really a voice menu, I did that for fun (trying to keep with Ray's style - and I like your follow-up!). So it will probably take you at least the last round and this to describe to Maggie (you have orders to call her directly in situations like this) what's going on. So if the fight goes another round you can get back in the room then. But thanks for mentioning...
ALL (well, at least Faith and Gavril) - don't forget gang-up bonuses! I'm not going to retcon anything that might have changed from a +1 to your attack rolls last round, but be sure to include them this round!
Faith Sierra |
According to the summary of round 8, Faith made the clown shaken and then Gavril's attack scored a success and raise on the damage roll. Shouldn't the clown get 2 wounds since it was already shaken?
Agility: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
NOW I get explosions in both dice!
Agility ace: 1d8 ⇒ 3
Wild ace: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Result: 11 - 1 (wound) = 10 vs 7, success.
"This clown's mine!" Faith yells, continuing with the wild attacks immediately.
Gang-up +1, Wild Attack +2, Joker +2, Wound -1
Katana Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 4
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result = 4 + 1 (gang) + 2 (wild) + 2 (Joker) - 1 (wound) = 8 vs. Parry 8
Hit, just barely.
Joker +2, Wild Attack +2
Katana Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + (2) + 2 = 5
Result = 5 + 2 (Joker) + 2 (Wild) = 9 vs. Toughness 9
Success, just barely.
Gang-up +1, Wild Attack +2, Joker +2, Wound -1
Wakizashi Attack: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Wild Ace: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result = 9 + 1 (gang) + 2 (wild) + 2 (Joker) - 1 (wound) = 13 vs. Parry 8
Success + Raise.
Wakizashi Damage (Str + d6) + 1d6 for raise
Wild Attack +2, Joker +2
Wakizashi Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + (5) + (6) = 12
Raise die Ace 1: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Raise die Ace 2: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Result= 19 + 2 (Wild) + 2 (Joker) = 23 vs. Toughness 9
Success + 3 raises
What was that about the wakizashi being ineffective?
"DIE DAMMIT DIE!" Faith's blades are a silver blur as they slice and dice the clown.
A good time to get the Joker!
ZenFox42 |
According to the summary of round 8, Faith made the clown shaken and then Gavril's attack scored a success and raise on the damage roll. Shouldn't the clown get 2 wounds since it was already shaken?
When the target is Shaken (with or without current Wounds) :
-If the next attack result is ONLY Shaken, then that causes a Wound. And the target remains Shaken.-If the next attack result has any Raises, only the Raises cause Wounds. And the target remains Shaken.
(It's a weird rule to get used to.)
FYI, I think your Agility roll was an 8, minimum : 8 + 1(minimum on the Ace) -1(Wound) = 8. Just checking since it was so close to the 7.
So *now* the Katana's (merely) Shaken result turns into a Wound, since you acted before the clown and he was still Shaken. That's 3 Wounds at this point.
And finally the Wakizashi hits, slicing the clown into ribbons.
MELEE IS OVER! Time for role-playing the aftermath...
Arlo Franco |
Arlo hangs up the phone, and re-enters the room.
"Just talked to Maggie, and hopefully they'll send someone to help clean this up, or shed some light on just what these things are. Anybody have a clue".
As he talks he steps to the nightstand and takes out his gun. "I guess I've got to learn to sleep with a hard lump under my pillow".
He then addresses the others. "Wow we're pretty beat up. Do you think we should find somewhere else to rendezvous, and what do we do about all these broken and mangled clown corpses? I expect this place to be crawling with the locals any minute now, with all the ruckus we've raised".
ZenFox42 |
Now that the shooting has stopped, people are starting to cautiously peek outside their rooms. It's been about a minute since all the shouting and shooting started.
I've moved the clowns back to the squares where they fell (as best as I can remember).
Maggie told you to stay where you are, explain things to the local cops (who will probably get there in about 10 minutes based on your past experience), tell them everything that happened *except* about the Vigor-draining. Co-operate with them fully, but do *not* try to relate this to (ah, drat my memory) what's-his-name's murder - the one you were investigating.
If the cops should decide to take you in for whatever reasons before Patriot can intervene, do not resist. Patriot is going thru channels right now to "handle" it.
Role-play stuff until the cops come, then I'll decide how that goes.
Anyone want to role-play interacting with the cops, or should I just summarize that and move things along? Post votes in Discussion.
Faith Sierra |
Faith savors the kill for just a moment, by wiping her blades on the remnant of the clown's costume. She winks at Gavril, saying "Good job, big guy!".
She dashes back to the hall, sees John attending to Nate, so she dashes back to her room, sheathes her swords and stashes them out of sight, hastily dresses, donning her EMT jacket and a pair of latext gloves, and grabs her medical bag and moves back out to examine Nate. She's impressed that by the time she gets back, Nate's wounds have healed up. She gives John a nod and an impressed smile.
She'll get to work applying dressings to wounds that remain, but before that, she'll give the clown corpses a once over, seeing if they are normal human corpses now or if they retain their scary teeth and such.
Penalty -1, wound
Healing: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Healing Ace: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result = 6 + 3 (ace) -1 (wound) = 8
When the curious begin to show up, she'll tell them to stay back and play the medic card to back up this demand. If anyone has crime scene tape, she recommends it be placed well to either side of the scene to keep people back until proper authorities get to the scene.
It looks like Arlo and Faith are the only two with wounds remaining. Assuming John wants to preserve his PP, she'll use mundane medicine to try to patch up Arlo and herself, her own version of "Faith Healing." Arrr Arrr Arrr.
If the consensus of the group is to bug out, she'll go along, but she's inclined to stick around to begin the process of damage control.
Penalty -2 wound (-1 for her being wounded as she attempts it, -1 for the wound level of the target, herself)
Healing: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Wild Ace: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Result = 6 + 3 (Ace) - 2 (wound) = 7
Success, 1 wound healed.
Penalty -1 wound (Arlo's)
Healing: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Wild Ace: 1d6 ⇒ 2
Result = 6 + 2 (ace) - 1 (wound) = 7
Success, 1 wound healed.
As she finishes with Arlo, she says, Might be a good time to call Earl Copenhagen. He might help us deal with the local LEOs. Tell him I was hurt and he might come more quickly." She winks at Arlo.
One other thing she wants to do right away if possible. If Arlo lost some vitality to the Clowns, she'll examine the wound for evidence of the odd feel to the flesh she noted on the corpse of Carter, taking a swab into an evidence bag. She'll then take blood samples and such from the clowns.
Faith Sierra |
Role-play stuff until the cops come, then I'll decide how that goes.
Anyone want to role-play interacting with the cops, or should I just summarize that and move things along? Post votes in Discussion.
Assuming the clowns corpses remain, I doubt we'll have any trouble justifying using lethal force in defending ourselves. Faith will try to collect evidence before the cops get there, as detailed above and stash it way in her bag.
I assume unless any of us is without the appropriate weapon permits (*CoughNateCough*), we can navigate the issues with the cops, especially if we can get Earl Copenhagen to show up and grease the wheels for us.
Faith can always bring her powers of persuasion to bear if she encounters someone who is unprofessional enough to allow those kinds of tactics to influence him/her.
One question: does PATRIOT want us identifying ourselves as contractors to a government agency in cases like this (keeping the name out of it, but indicating the appropriate agency will be in touch), to grease the wheels for when they eventually get involved or are we supposed to leave that out when we're accounting for our actions?
Otherwise, I'm okay with a summary of what happens to get us back on the plane and back to base.
Gavril Vasilescu |
Gavril nods to Faith and kicks the clown's corpse once more. "I used to like these." He shakes his head and walks out of the room, where he helps Nate to his feet before giving the man a tight, strong hug. "You be more careful, da? We don't need to lose you. Or anyone. Stick together and be safe, no?" He gives Nate a very serious look with his one good eye and then wraps in the hug again before looking down the hall.
"So, eh, now we, what? How you say, wait for the fuzz?"
Nate "Thrasher" McCulligan |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Nate weakly pounds Gavril on the back in an effort to turn the Romanian's gesture of concern into a "man hug." (Basically this hug says, "Yeah I'm hugging you, but I'm also hitting you." as a way to save face.)
"Need... to breathe..."
Faith Sierra |
In case I forget, Faith will take pictures of the clowns, including some using her digital microscope camera for close-ups of odd bits. This is providing there is time. She wants to find out what these things are, for closure.
And she's going to insist anyone hurt by these things get to a good emergency room for an immediate once over, with those who lost vitality getting a battery of tests to make sure things are healing okay.
ZenFox42 |
Ah, let's see, way too much to answer yesterday...
Patriot wishes you to identify yourselves as Patriot only in dire circumstances (like local LEO's pull guns on you, etc.).
The clowns now look like normal humans. John suggests that we just admit that they tried to abduct Arlo, and we defended ourselves. Your wounds *do* look like scratches, and there's plenty of your skin tissue underneath their fingernails.
An EMT will arrive with the police, check any still-visible wounds (treated or not by your Healing skills), and insist on taking everyone to the hospital.
I will assume Arlo calls Earl, who will meet you all at the hospital.
The police will need to confiscate all weapons used to shoot or cut up the clowns (the sword blade cuts are very distinctive, so Faith will have to own up to using them).
I will assume everyone hands over the correct weapons.
Earl manages to get the case handed to him, and Patriot's machinery has kicked in by the time you're all ready to leave the hospital. No charges will be pressed (even for odd weapons), it was an obvious case of self-defense.
Ballistics samples were taken for all guns, but the guns (and swords) are returned that night (or technically, early the next morning).
======================================================================
Faith, each Healing skill roll takes 10 minutes, so you'll only probably have time to do 1 healing before LEO's show up.
Higher better: 1d20 ⇒ 16
You could do one Healing and either : stash stuff OR take photos
....OR
no Healings and stash stuff AND take photos.
Just let me know which. And, what evidence exactly are you stashing (if you do)?
Checking Arlo quickly, his cuts do seem to have the same odd texture.
Also, if you do any Healing and/or pull the medic card on the cops or EMT's, it will be scrutinized very closely...
ALL - if there's anything important I missed answering, please let me know.
Nate "Thrasher" McCulligan |
Crud, did no one get a photo of the clowns before they de-alienified?
"Damn," Nate exclaims weakly as he stares at the now-human-seeming assailants, "that was one freaky-ass dream."
Then, rubbing his head and wobbling slightly, he looks at Arlo questioningly. "Wasn't it?"
The clowns now look like normal humans.
Normal clowny humans, I presume?
I will assume everyone hands over the correct weapons.
Not Nate, given that he neither fired a single shot nor even managed to land a blow with the stock. Also, "You can have my gun when you pry it..." etc.
(Never mind how close he actually got to the "cold dead hands" part.)
-Posted with Wayfinder
Faith Sierra |
Faith will forego the healings if no one's life is in danger. She'll do things in the following order until she is interrupted by the police:
She will put her swords in her room but won't hide them other than to perhaps set them somewhere where they are not visible to a casual glance into the room. She knows she'll have to surrender them in due time; she just doesn't want them stolen or viewed with alarm by anyone before then.
Next she will take pictures of the clowns. Are they still in clown garb and make-up, just without the weird teeth and such, or do they look like average people in street clothes?
She'll get hair and blood samples of each one.
Any time after that, she'll begin healing attempts.
She's very curious if any security cams recorded them entering the building or the fight. She might have to investigate getting a body cam to provide visual evidence of the weird things that can go down for later analysis and/or legal defense.
ZenFox42 |
Faith (I know there may be a long turnaround time, but I have no real questions for you) :
"Yes, clowny humans. Real grease paint, wigs, etc. Normal teeth and fingers." From the post just before yours. :)
You first said you were "stashing evidence", which I'm now assuming is the hair and blood samples. Taking those carefully to avoid contamination, from each of the clowns, will take up enough time that you won't be able to do any Healing skills.
ALL :
Faith's and Arlo's wounds will be taken care of by the EMT's. They are puzzled by the lesser bleeding from Arlo's wound.
No security cams in the hall. Earl says they'll be reviewing the outdoor security cams and you're welcome to watch, but he's just doing it as a matter of protocol and doesn't expect to find anything usual.
If everyone else wants to do anything in this scenario while Faith is unavailable, go for it. Otherwise I'll wait till the player is back to start the next thing.
Oh, and everyone gets an advancement! Please post your choices in Discussion.
Arlo Franco |
Crud, did no one get a photo of the clowns before they de-alienified?
"Damn," Nate exclaims weakly as he stares at the now-human-seeming assailants, "that was one freaky-ass dream."
Then, rubbing his head and wobbling slightly, he looks at Arlo questioningly. "Wasn't it?"
ZenFox42 wrote:The clowns now look like normal humans.Normal clowny humans, I presume?
ZenFox42 wrote:I will assume everyone hands over the correct weapons.Not Nate, given that he neither fired a single shot nor even managed to land a blow with the stock. Also, "You can have my gun when you pry it..." etc.
(Never mind how close he actually got to the "cold dead hands" part.)
-Posted with Wayfinder
In reply Arlo simply shakes his head, and looks down at his wounds.
ZenFox42 |
Hoping Faith's player will see this tonight. Others can post and I'll answer questions, but not move forward until she responds so I know she's caught up and can contribute.
Just a couple of days later after you get back to DC (I could not remember, and did a quick check and could not find if Ray specified what city you live in, but let's say it's DC and that's where PATRIOT HQ is), you all each get the same text message from Maggie (oddly enough, whatever ring-tone you have for incoming texts *keeps going* until you read it) :
Cheers, just wanted to let you know everything's been fixed up with the clown issue. Will let you know when we need your services again. Checks are in the mail. Gotta get ready for another baby party, they just keep on coming!
Ta-ta for now, Maggie
The TTFN is a signal that there is another message embedded in this one.
Keep in mind it's been 6+ months you've been working for PATRIOT, and you've undergone some intensive in-house training with them on their security procedures. And Maggie has given each of you, individually and privately, further training and instructions (with orders not to mention those discussions to *anyone*, even other members of your team).
Using the standard procedures (running her message thru a special app on your phones), the following message pops out :
Go IMMEDIATELY to safe house on 10th street East, wait for rest of team, get contents from floor safe. Travel in separate cars via separate routes to Richmond VA. Meet me in 2 days at safe house in Shockoe Bottom. Protocol F is in effect.
You already know where the safe houses are, and the combination to the floor safe.
You go to the safe house in DC, and within half an hour everyone else is there. You find $20,000 cash and a dozen phones.
Protocol F is : do not access any personal accounts, *anywhere* - banks, web sites, web forums. Use cash for all purchases. Turn off all wireless connections on your laptops/tablets. Destroy and throw away your current phone right now. Only use the burner phones (which don't have wireless) to call each other in case of emergency, remove SIM chip and toss phones and chips separately after 2nd use. Do not call Maggie under any circumstances, wait for her to call you. Wait indefinitely at the safe house, keeping a low profile, until she arrives.
Pick up in-character discussion from here.
Faith Sierra |
Prior meetings with Maggie have been in Baltimore, but the HQ could be in DC.
Faith arrives promptly, having made the appropriate adjustments to quash wireless connections and discard phones. She has her pack with swords slung to either side and she's packing. She picks up her phone and her share of the cash and says, "I assume none of you has seen this situation before. Since we can't do much via Internet, I guess we head south. I suggest we get a state road map book, plan our routes and commit each to memory, so if anyone does not show up, we'll know where to start looking."
Nate "Thrasher" McCulligan |
Nate rolls up in a borrowed car -- one can't keep a low profile with Bertha in the driveway, and renting requires a credit card -- and enters shortly after Faith.
"Took me a while to find this place. No phones means no satnav."
He listens to Faith's comments, nodding occasionally. As he shoves two phones and a few bundles of money into his pockets, he answers her implied question. "Never anything like this, no. Maggie being as unphasable as she is, this is either something earth-ending, or specific to us." He goes pale as he adds, "Maybe the clowns are back."
Cautiously peering out of a window he says, "I'll head towards Culpeper and then come in from the west. I know some of those roads from hiking the Blue Ridge."
John Smith42 |
We can assume the PC's arrive in the order of player posts, so you don't hear prior conversations.
John arrives, grumbling at the interruption (but he doesn't say what he was doing).
"Well, this is something new - I wonder what the secrecy and 'deep cover' stuff is all about - you guys have any idea?"
After grabbing a couple of phones and exactly $4000 and stashing them in his ever-present jeans jacket, he says "If no one has claimed Route 1, I'll take that. Aw jeez, how long do we wait here for Arlo and Gavril? I don't think that was specified..."
Faith, it was your idea, you want to run out and get a state map while we're waiting?".
You're in downtown DC, I would imagine finding a bookstore/newsstand would be quite easy within a couple of blocks. If Faith doesn't object, she's back in less than 10 minutes.
Note : you don't have to specify a particular route if you don't want to.
Faith Sierra |
"We wait as long as it takes. Do we interpret this instruction to 'meet in 2 days' to mean don't show up for two days or don't show up any later than 2 days? I'll get map books for everyone and a Richmond map if I can find one."
Faith will fetch the map books, the kind that has detailed maps of the entire state, plus a map of Richmond, if she can find one.
She keeps busy, hiding various portions of the money in various places in her packs and some in her car, checking her gear, making sure nothing with wireless tech is turned on.
"I can stop at a library and do some Internet searches to see if there is anything to indicate what's going on. I should be able to do that without accessing any personal accounts, if it doesn't violate the protocol. I can keep the sessions short and move locations if it will cut down on the risk of anyone detecting certain search patterns. I hate operating blind."
Nate "Thrasher" McCulligan |
Nate snorts. "You got a library card? If not, you have to sign forms for a temporary account, so be prepared to use a false identity. For that matter, you probably want to do that anyway even if you do have a library card. Otherwise you'll get logged as having used the computer."
"Now me," he says, looking out the window again, "I'd go to a Barnes & Noble and get a wink-wink-nudge-nudge Nook 'demo' or something."
It's been a while so I don't remember if you have to give name/address info or a signature. But typically you do need to get a temporary ID/PIN/etc. from one of the librarians. And if you have an account with your library card, they know when and where you use the computer. (If they track it, which I presume they do since computer time per account is limited.)
Arlo Franco |
Top of the 8th, two men out and behind 4-6. Men on 2nd and third, and the Nationals clean up man is at the plate... then...no...Really. Not only does the text message warning buzz loudly it doesn't stop. "Dammit. What lousy timing".
Arlo fights his way down the row at the crowded stadium, and makes his way to the men's room. Oh well. I had to go soon otherwise. You don't buy beer you just rent it. Oh S&()t. I really liked this phone.
Arlo goes into a stall, then performs a hard reset on his phone, before throwing it into the toilet. He then steps outside the stadium to the sound of a bat making violent contact with a ball, and the stadium exploding with applause. Then suddenly he hears a thump beside him, and a baseball bounces once on the sidewalk outside the stadium, and straight to him. Well maybe my lucks not all bad today. He then hails a taxi, and has it drop him off two blocks from the safe house.
As he enters the safehouse, he immediately runs to the TV set and turns it on. Great extra innings. At the first commercial he joins the others grabbing some cash, and a couple of the cheap phones. Ahh the sacrifices we make.
Does Arlo think it would be OK to take a bus to Richmond, then a Taxi to the safe house, or will he need his own car there?
ZenFox42 |
-We'll go with the library needs *some* kind of ID, and Nate knows that for sure.
-Protocol F also requires you to disable any GPS or theft-prevention tracking in your car, if it has any. You'd have been told how to do that for your own particular car, and practiced it.
-Arlo, that was great! I should've thought to tell everyone to describe what they were doing when they got the message. Ah well, next time.
-Regarding bus/taxi, up to you. You were only told to *get* to Richmond separately. If you want to ride with someone from the team once you get there, that's up to you and them.
John Smith42 |
"Other than *maybe* paying for a new tablet/laptop with cash and taking it to a Starbucks, I'm not sure how you could access the Internet safely under Protocol F. Besides, what would you search for, "weird events"? <snort> Good luck with that!" Mean Hindrance...
"I would guess we should get to Richmond *within* 2 days, and Maggie will hopefully meet us *in* 2 days, if we get there sooner? But still, Protocol F says we have to wait there however long until she shows up..."
Disclaimer - don't take anything John says as an under-the-table message from the GM, what he says may or may not be correct... :)
Faith Sierra |
To Nate's comment about the library, Faith says, "I'll just look for a high school boy already on a computer and use my feminine wiles to get him to let me use his log-in, or just get a card and give bogus information. I'd love to know what's going on, if there's any chatter that gives some sign. But maybe we should just bid our time and let Maggie fill us in."
To John's snarky comment, she says, "I have been cultivating a collection of links that connect to groups or individuals who post about various paranormal events, from UFOs to crypto-biology to [air quotes] wackos who believe there are such things as vampires and werewolves." She rolls her eyes at this last mention as if such things were obviously fictional. "I've developed a kind of spider program that checks such sites at regular intervals and tracks new posts, number of unique posters, etc. Probably can't access that now, but a manual search could point us toward something."
Faith begins thinking out loud. "Let's think this through. What could cause Maggie to issue protocol F? Worst case scenario, someone or something is trying to locate and kill or capture consultants. The elimination of all digital footprints suggests someone with sophisticated Internet tracking software and some knowledge of who works for PATRIOT. That rules out a lot of the supernatural bogies we deal with, individuals with an axe to grind with us for something we did that pissed them off. Probably some governmental agency, perhaps our own people." At this last, Faith gives a significant look at Nate, knowing his attitude toward such things.
"Then there is the question of whether this is agency-wide or just us. If it's just us, that suggests some blowback from the clown caper. Those guys were Russian or Eastern European, weren't they? So, like, maybe they had connections to Vladomir Putin and he's put out a hit order on us. Any other explanations for Protocol F come to mind?"
John Smith42 |
If anyone else wants to do this retroactively for fun.... Maggie's message arrives in the early afternoon.
John's hands and forehead are covered in sweat. "Oh man, am I going to survive this?" he wonders, crouched behind some cover for the moment. "Aw, cr*p, where did HE come from! Let's see if I have enough time to get a head shot off before he sees me..."
The uncharacteristic persistent ringing from his cell phone finally gets his attention, and he pulls off the VR headset, pausing the game.
Running the message thru the app, he curses long and loud, seeing as he can't save the game where he's at, it only autosaves at certain checkpoints. "I'm gonna have to slog my way thru that entire battalion *again*, dammit!"
Nate "Thrasher" McCulligan |
EARLIER
The reassuring thrum of ten rounds per second shakes Nate's hands, joined by the piercing growl his hearing protectors only slightly mute.
There had been brief bursts at first, as he zeroed the M2 Browning's sights. That was all he'd intended, really, before moving on to target practice with the Desert Eagle. But the compelling dance of the belt feed, the way the machine gun snuggled almost sensually in the sandbags, the graceful dance of the paper shards blown violently out of the target... they'd called to him almost hypnotically.
And he'd given in.
The bullseye now long gone, Nate finally releases the butterfly trigger and squats there, deeply inhaling the tangy aroma of gunpowder, the heat from the water-cooled barrel suffusing him. "Shooting and orgasms," he observes to himself with a huge grin, "are made of the same stuff."
As he pulls off his muffs and shooting goggles, the comforting ringing of his tortured eardrums seems to get louder. He blinks, puzzled, then realizes it's in fact a second ringing that has joined the first. A repetitive, patterned ringing. Rolling his eyes in sudden recognition, he unholsters his smartphone, reads the message, frowns, and runs it through a secure app to extract the hidden meaning.
With a sigh, he unceremoniously grabs the machine gun and stows it in Bertha. Returning to the sandbags he retrieves his handgun, shaking his head at it. "Sorry, darlin'; no target practice today. Duty calls."
Then a wicked grin creeps over his face. He holsters the Desert Eagle and pulls out his smartphone again. Flinging it into the air over the shooting range, he quick-draws the sidearm.
The phone having exploded in mid-air and the "disposal" requirement thereby met, a sated Nate McCulligan climbs into Bertha and heads out.
Faith Sierra |
2) Workout (swords)
3) Target practice
4) racing
5) eating
6) on-line
7) On a date
8) Sleeping
Faith Activity when call arrives: 1d8 ⇒ 2
Faith, wearing traditional Japanese black hakama, a skirt-like garment originally worn by the Samurai, bowed to the dojo master. A sheen of sweat made her skin look like it was covered in tiny crystals. She had begun a training session at a Kenjutsu dojo in the DC area, hoping to practice some moves she had failed to execute properly in the recent fight against the clowns. She had bested all the top students at the practice and was invited to partake of kata practice with the master using a bokken, a wooden training sword.
She was completely focused on the routine and it went by quickly. She successfully executed all the required moves, defending herself and making counterattacks. Before she knew it, she was done, although students who had been watching told her the exercise had gone on for over thirty minutes without a break. She bowed again and pantomimed sheathing the sword and stood transfixed by the adrenaline rush she was feeling. Students congratulated her after bowing respectfully to her.
Kenjutsu had no colored belts or rankings. One demonstrated one's rank in each fight and exercise. But the respect she got from the other students suggested she was one of the best to practice there short of the master himself. This pleased her greatly, although she felt a little guilty at that. She bantered with students and then headed for the dressing room. When she got to the locker where she had left her gear, she heard a phone ringing. Although there was no one else in the locker room, she found herself thinking insults at the jerk who left her phone on ring-tone mode in the Dojo. She had silenced her phones before entering the building. Then she got to her locker and heard the ringing coming from inside the metal cabinet.
She opened the locker and found the phone. It was the PATRIOT phone. The call had logged in 20 minutes ago. Why was it still ringing? She swiped and touched the screen to pick-up the call, listed as from Maggie. While it was Maggie's voice, it was obviously a recording. Then she heard the tag line, "Ta-Ta for now," and inhaled sharply. She looked around the room. A couple of women had entered and were changing. She needed a shower, but she instead toweled off the sweat and changed into her street clothes and left. When she got in her car, she followed the process to get to the embedded message. Her heart stopped. This was not good.
She disabled the phone and spent twenty minutes with her electronic gear, loJack, and the like. She checked that her guns were loaded and kept her swords where she could grab them, then put the car in gear and headed for the safe house, reversing course a few times to make sure no one was following. "Time to earn my paycheck," she thought as she lugged her gear into the safe house.
Gavril Vasilescu |
Then the small cough and the voice again. "Mister Vasilescu?" The man groaned and sat up, turning around to see a small, elderly woman standing in the doorway. "My sink is broken again."
Gavril nodded and pushed himself to his feet, rubbed his neck, and waved a hand. "Let me get my tools, Mrs. Vaduva." The words came easily in his native tongue, and he grabbed his toolbox from the cluttered kitchen table, tapping its handle as he made his way over.
It was in the middle of the repair process--Mrs. Vaduva's garbage disposal was working, but apparently there was a clog from it further down--that Gavril heard the old woman speak up again, telling him his phone was going off non-stop. He slid out with a confused look, examining the device--which he still barely understood--and after fumbling with the touch screen for a regrettably long period, he eventually discovered the encrypted message and let out a heavy sigh. "What's wrong?" his elderly neighbor asked, setting a cup of hot coffee on the table for him.
Gavril stood up, wiped his hands on his jeans, and put his hand on the Vaduva's shoulder--gingerly, as his large palm nearly reached all the way from her neck to the corner of her arm, and he felt like he could break her if he wasn't careful. "I have to go again, Mrs. Vaduva. I don't know how long. But don't watch my apartment this time. And don't stay here. Go to a hotel."
"What?" The old woman blinked at him, not understanding why he was suddenly acting strange. "How...?"
Gavril had already half-walked, half-jogged to his apartment and retrieved a large, old glass jar, filled with coins about two-thirds of the way up, and topped off with savings from his PATRIOT paychecks: fifty- and hunded-dollar bills in cash. "I'll call a taxi, take this."
Several minutes later, with a still-confused but accepting Mrs. Vaduva on her way to a nearby hotel, Gavril stood in his living room, a small space with the couch and television, and sighed, a feeling in his gut telling him he might never see this again. He'd packed only what he needed, including the shotgun he finally purchased after the spiky demon incident, and was leaving behind most of his admittedly few belongings. Finally, he walked out of the apartment and locked the door. He started down the hall when he remembered his toolbox was still in Mrs. Vaduva's apartment, and he opened the door with his spare key and went in. Picking up the toolbox, he started to turn, then eyed the rogue sink. With a small grin, he pulled out the phone, snapped it on the counter with a powerful smash, crammed the halves into the drain, and flicked on the disposal, leaving the apartment with the angry whine of the blades still loud in his ears.
The customary old DeLorean pulls up to the safe house and a few moments later Gavril pushes open the door, his typical army jacket on and his duffel bag over his shoulder. He gives a smile and nod to each of the others. "Good to see. Nate, you good? No new fun with circus, da?" He grins and claps the man's shoulder, giving a small chuckle. "I kid."
The man moves to take some of the cash and one of the phones, glancing to the others. "So, what is plan? We have plan, da? More than in text? And sorry for I'm late."