Arkham Detective Tales- Episode One: The Kidnapping

Game Master James Keegan

Just FYI, James posted in our Carrion Crown pbp that he's busy with work this week and won't be posting as much as usual.

Thanks, Billzabub. I'll be in and out, I should be able to keep up.

To answer Rune's question- it's sort of both. And that may seem like a cop-out answer, but it's true to what I want to run. A Purist game would be more hopeless than I really want, but Pulp may be a bit too far in the opposite direction. You'll be able to make a difference against the Mythos threat if your investigators are smart and put the pieces together correctly, but there won't always be a happy ending and even the most grounded minds won't be the same after prolonged exposure. Hopefully that makes some sense.

ok I am working on a character concept to throw into the ring but I need to read up on the character creation rules. I will have something up by tomorrow night at the latest.

...there won't always be a happy ending and even the most grounded minds won't be the same after prolonged exposure.

Translation: don't get too attached to your character! 8^O

So whose on board? Eradico? JMberaldo? Imirtl? Rune? Are all four of you in? James, can you do five? I bought & downloaded the player's pdf and have a concept for a character I can post.

Hey guys character creation is a bit weird. We have 16 investigation points right?

Also what do we have so far in terms of character concepts?

Hey guys character creation is a bit weird. We have 16 investigation points right?

Correct, although James may want to adjust that if he allows five players. Remember, you get double points for occupational skills, and James is also giving everyone one point in Cop Talk and one point in Evidence Collection.

I have a reporter in mind, from Brooklyn, who served in the Great War and moonlights as a pulp writer.

With five of you, you'll have 16 Investigative build points and 65 general skill points each. One point in Cop Talk and one point in Evidence Collection for free since the Bureau gave those of you that aren't G-Men some training. Your Credit Rating should be middle class level- so 3-4 at minimum. Hobos usually aren't allowed into the Bureau.

So far all we've got is-
Eradico as Professor Thaddeus Blackwell
jmberaldo's Police Detective
Billzabub's Journalist

Gotcha! Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about doing a parapsychologist or Antiquarian. Someone who is absolutely obsessed with the occult as a result of a traumatic experience when he was younger (close encounter type thing, family member abducted or killed by some kind of supernatural monster) that he was never able to explain. Think like a 1930's Mulder except better acted lol ;-)

Hmmm . . .being as they work for the Bureau and J. Edgar, we should probably have at least one FBI agent. I can switch my character up and play that part, if need be. That group sounds more in lines with what you have in mind, James, than a reporter. I'll work it up and get it posted tomorrow, and will use Police Detective as the base, if that works for you.

If you want me to go the Full Mulder I can do that as well if you want to play the journalist, Billzabub. It would probably make more sense for my concept.

If you want me to go the Full Mulder I can do that as well if you want to play the journalist, Billzabub. It would probably make more sense for my concept.

Yes! I like it.

jmberaldo's detective and your agent will be the "Mulder and Scully" while Bilzabub's journalist and my professor will be the "Lone Gunmen."

Perfect!!

Awesome! Sounds good to me. It's a little late here on the east coast so I will stat my character up tomorrow now that I know what I'm doing.

This is Billzabub, presenting Tommy Brennan, reporter, Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and moonlight writer of pulps. I should point out that I still need to get a solid grip on the rules, but luckily, I can do that while on vacation next week. I'm also noting a real lack of appropriate avatars, and will probably forego using one for this game, just FYI.

Did you just call me Scully? :P

Only now I saw there was a whole new page of posts. Weee! :)

Game on! ;)

PS: I need a name, which won't be Scully!

Did you just call me Scully? :P

haha... no diss intended! How about "Dirty Harry"? ;)

I agree... can't wait to get this game going!

Looking through the rules, I just want to point out that in addition to the 1 point each in Cop Talk and Evidence Collection that James is giving, and the starting 1/4/1 points each in Health, Sanity and Stability, you also get your minimum credit rating for free, as a starting point. You can also buy above your credit rating range, but those points will cost you 2 for 1. That is to say, as a journalist, my credit range is 2-4. So, I start with 2 points for free, and can spend an additional 2 points to get to 4. (pages 25 & 26)

Also, Fleeing, Credit Rating, Cthulhu Mythos, Health, Sanity, or Stability can never be chosen as an occupational ability, w/ the exception of diletanttes, who can pick Credit Rating.

Billz- Tommy seems to have 20 investigative build points spent, which is four too many by my count. Can you double check him?

Sorry guys. A lot going on in the home front right now. I will have something up later today for sure! Thanks for the patience.

No problem. I'm hoping to get this off the ground next week or so, if that's possible?

We have-
Eradico as Professor Thaddeus Blackwell
jmberaldo- Police Detective
Billzabub as Tommy Brennan, reporter
imimrtl as a Parapsychologist or Antiquarian? G-man? Some sort of mix?
Rune- ?

Hmmmmm . . . fixed it, I think.

I'm hoping to get this off the ground next week or so, if that's possible?

Sure! Ready when you are.

Hmmmmm . . . fixed it, I think.

Looking good!

Anyone still making characters, if you're stuck on what to put points in I will let you put aside 3 or less Investigative build points to spend later- your character may "just happen" to have some pertinent skill in a special circumstance.

Ok guys here is my FBI Agent. I based him on the police detective occupation. An expert marksman, he is also an accomplished investigator in his own right with a specialty in the occult. He is a member of the FBI's group that handles black hat files.

Investigative abilities:

General Skills:

Sources of Stability:
Mother (will flesh out)
Ex-partner and current girlfriend (will flesh out)

Pillars of Sanity:
Family
Patriotism
Human Dignity and Value

Hey, all, I just wanted to let you know I'm taking a vacation this week. I'll try and keep track of thinks on my phone, but if my posting is down, don't think I bailed.

Imimirtl, Jasper looks great!

James, are you still hoping to launch this campaign soon?

Thanks!

Hopefully this weekend I'll get the ball rolling. Haven't had much opportunity during the week with work being as it is.

Tomorrow I'll get the IC thread up and rolling; just want a chance to review the material.

Tomorrow I'll get the IC thread up and rolling; just want a chance to review the material.

No prob... take your time. I'm just happy that you've got it in the queue! :)

Weeeee!

Okay, I'm back from vacation. Anyone get killed off yet? ; )

Okay, I'm back from vacation. Anyone get killed off yet? ; )

lol! yeah, we were all shoggoth-bait! 8-O

Sorry, I got side tracked again- but assuming the sketch I sent out is approved, I'll have this open tomorrow.

Finally up!

Awesome! I will make a post assuming that the professor has also been called to the commissioner's office!

Arg! just saw it

Ill read, set up my aliases and post tonight

I love Tony already. Nice character, paisan.

After taking last week off, work has been busy & I'm still catching up. I'll post when I get a chance.

Hurricane Irene's coming up to Brooklyn tonight, so if you don't hear from me for a few days that's why.

Hurricane Irene's coming up to Brooklyn tonight, so if you don't hear from me for a few days that's why.

oh man, hang in there!

YAY! Power's back! Going through 8 billion posts but I'm back!

James, can we review the mechanics of ToC?

As I understand it when arriving at a scene the player announces actions and declares what skills are being activated (like I did in the maid's bedroom). So Tony could look at book titles in the library but since he doesn't have Occult as a skill this may not be terribly effective (note to self: get the professor to the library).

Is this the gist of how it works? I guess I don't understand when/how we "spend" points or when a roll might be called for.

Thanks! I'm enjoying the game!

More or less. You say "I'm looking over the maid's room with evidence collection" or "I examine the books in the library- I have Art, History and Occult". A spend is a little trickier in that it's sort of loose- you won't always have an opportunity to spend a point in a given time and it's usually to either gain some advantage or a non-essential but still helpful clue. I can go over it more when I'm home from work with my precious books.

Simple Searches
It's possible to find some clues without an investigative ability at all. If a normal person could find something easily without much effort, you can do a simple search to find it. In this case, however, you have to be specific- instead of saying "I search the room with Evidence Collection" you would say "Agent Barley is searching the roll-top desk" or "Tommy's taking a look at the paintings on the drawing room wall". In this way, a simple search requires being narrow and specific, whereas using an investigative ability allows a more general, blanket approach- you can fish for information from the Keeper using an Investigative ability but if you're paying attention and making logical assumptions, you may not need the ability at all in some circumstances.

Spends- Investigative abilities
Spending points from investigative abilities aren't used to find clues- having the relevant ability will net you the clue without using any points. A spend comes into play when there's an opportunity to make your investigator look particularly heroic or clever and provide additional flavor. It may allow an ability to take less time than normal or succeed more flashily.

For example, Detective Giacomini and Professor Blackwell are being chased by cultists of Nyarlathotep through the Arkham library. They need to get the Book of Eibon from the dangerous books cabinet before the cultists do- but the cabinet is locked. Normally, Detective Giacomini can use his Locksmith skill to open the case, but it will take some time: allowing the cultists to catch up and possibly initiate combat with the investigators. But with a 1 point spend, Giacomini finesses the old lock very quickly and pops it open in the knick of time, giving himself and the Professor more time to evade the cultists rather than having a fight. With a 2 point spend, perhaps he even re-locks the case, forcing the cultists to spend time themselves searching the case before realizing the Book is gone.

Sometimes it can be used to draw a favorable impression from an NPC, making them more helpful in future scenes.

For example, Tommy Brennan is interviewing a bereaved widow after her husband's mysterious death. With Reassurance, she may open up about his avant-guard art collection and mentions the landscape of Lake Hali he had acquired before his death. With a point spent in Reassurance to make her feel more at ease, his widow may ring him up first when she finds his appointment book pointing to the broker that found him the painting- saving him a trip over there when it becomes apparent that he needs an address.

Points also determine, in a given scene, who finds a clue first. For example, if more than one person were searching Olga's room, the higher Evidence Collection skill would turn up the pocketbook from beneath the loose floorboard.

Spending points- General abilities
In contrast, general abilities always carry a chance of failure for dramatic purposes. Repairing the ship's motor before the Shoggoth catches up from the Marsh Refinery, picking off the Y'golonac cultists with a rifle before they can carry their sacrifice into the woods, etc. In this case, the dice (always a d6) are taken out. Typically, you're looking to beat a difficulty of 2-8; 2 being almost assured success, 8 being a very long shot. Before you roll, you may assign points from a general ability pool. For example, Agent Barley is firing on the aforementioned Y'golonac cultists. He decides that, while it's important to get them before they reach the cover of the woods, he also wants to be sure he has points to spend later. So he dedicates 2 points to this shot, rolling 1d6+2 against the culitist's hit threshold of 4. Points are always allocated before the die is rolled, unless noted in a profession's abilities (such as PIs and stealth/shadowing rolls).

I'll write a little about stability and such when we reach a point where that's important.

When the Preparedness skill comes up, there are certain things you are assumed to have either on your person or in the trunk of your car/backpack/suitcase, etc.

You can assume ready access to a notebook or paper, writing implements, flashlights or candles, matches or a lighter, colored chalk common tools and hardware, pen knives, magnifying glasses, pocket mirrors, string, sandwiches, brandy, etc.

If you have first aid or medicine, you've likely got a doctor's bag or first aid kit at the ready, photographers have cameras, film and flash-bulbs. If you have Firearms, you've also got a gun. Preparedness is for general stuff plus oddball things you might suddenly need- gas masks, telegraph keys, a baseball, a slide-whistle.

James, thanks a bunch, that helps me. One question: when using general abilities will we know the number we need to beat *before* choosing to spend points or making a roll? Or do we do that blind, if you will? Either way is fine, just want that last bit of clarification.

Thanks again!

C'mon, guys, let's find those clues!

James, are you waiting on imimrtl or billzabub? What's going on everybody?

I've been a bit busy, I guess everyone's a little busy, I don't know. Nothing I can really do if only half of you have the time.

That's cool. Hopefully we can generate some momentum soon.