Summerwood (Monsterhearts 2)

Game Master neonblues

Hayden:

Bonnie's face goes pale and she leans in close. "Have you...." She seems to catch herself. "You know what... never mind. It's... You'll just think I'm crazy."

Ashton feels the same flash of heat across his face he always feels when the topic of gay men comes up; he does his best to suppress it while hoping that he isn't turning redder than usual.

Ashton: He's gay? Huh. Does the lacross team know?

"Huh?" says Ashton, looking up from his phone. "That seems easy enough, yeah. Do you need a bodyguard?"

"Bonnie, I've seen how you decorate, nothing you say is going to be crazy enough to chase me off. C'mon, you can tell me."

Ashton:

Victor: Yeah, or at least bi with a major preference. It's no big secret, far as I know, the team is cool with it. But then, Gavin's not the sort anyone wants on their bad side, no matter how homophobic they are.

----

Hayden:

Bonnie hesitates, then grins eagerly and spins around to her computer, pulling up various webpages with lightning speed.

"Okay, so you've been on the school's intranet, right? Registrar's office, faculty directory, student org pages, nothing too out of the ordinary, right? Well, if you dive into the source code, there's a sort of... trail. Like an ARG, one of those games where you follow a series of puzzles and riddles, right? It's sort of complicated, but I solved it, and it leads to this encrypted page that you can't find anywhere else. It all leads... here."

Bonnie pulls up a page with a solid black background and bright red text in a spooky font. The heading reads:

SUMMERWOOD BY NIGHT
A Vampire LARP

Sorry - having trouble finding time / opportunity to chime in.

"May I come?" Eva asks Deirdre "I would like to find out more about Gavin and I enjoyed our time at his party. It was nice of him to invite me to his party and say that I am extremely interesting. I would like to help him if I can."

"Yes, of course, you're welcome to come too," Deirdre tells Eva with a smile. "And I'd love a big, strong bodyguard if you're offering your services, Ashton."

Ashton: What does that mean? Does he get the lacrosse team to beat people up with their sticks or something?

"Sure, I'll come," says Ashton, glancing up from his phone. "So are we just gonna hang out by his place for a bit, or will we leave the board and come back in a day or what?"

Victor: I don’t know about that, just that Gavin comes from a pretty rich family. Maybe not Bill Gates level or anything, but you wouldn’t want to piss off Bill Gates, right? If nothing else, I think his entourage wants to leech off as much as they can from him.

Xavier writes:
GIVE ME A MINUTE TO SCOPE THE PLACE OUT FIRST.
DON’T WANNA GET STUCK IN THERE AGAIN.

For a moment Hayden was simply delighted, then she remembered that this probably wasn't the kind of LARP where people roshamboed their way to victory.

Still, pretty cool.

I should make sure to show Dee this. She'd probably like it a lot too. And it's one more gate for her to get used to running towards...

"Wow! So... what're the setup like? Have you gone yet?"

Hayden:

Bonnie shakes her head vigorously. “That’s just it. I don’t think this is a normal LARP. Why would you make it so hard to find out about if you actually wanted people to play?

“Suppose for a sec that... vampires were real. And I know how nuts that sounds, but, if they were, how would they keep their existence a secret?” She motions to the monitor. “Hide in plain sight. Make it so that only the smartest, most obsessive people even know you exist, and they’ll probably blow it all off as just some nerdy game. And if any of them do show up to play...” She makes a stabbing motion into her neck with two fingers. “Food delivery, straight to your door.”

"So uhh... where do we go? In a prepared for trouble not walking into a trap kinda way."

Hayden:

Bonnie gives you an incredulous look. “Go? You’re not actually thinking of going to this, are you? I mean, if I’m right about this... It’s way too dangerous!”

"You mean you're not curious? At all? There's gotta be some ways we can do this more safely. I'll bring some other friends, and with your know-how? I know you'll keep me safe."

"Yeah, I'm coming too!" JJ chimes in, glancing up from his accidentally-fixated stare at the bracelet. He squeezes his hand into a clenched fist, keeping grabby fingers at bay.

"Sweet. Who's driving? And should we grab Hayden first?" says Ashton, oblivious as ever.

"Let Hayden do her thing. I'll drive again. Let go!"

Everyone but Hayden:

You take the Ouija board and park Deirdre's car on the street just outside Gavin's house, bringing some paper and a pencil with you (since Xavier seems to have gotten the hang of communicating with those a bit better). Xavier tells you he's going in to look around.

After about fifteen minutes or so, the pencil rises and Xavier writes:
I DON'T THINK ANYONE'S HOME. HIS COMPUTER WAS ON THOUGH. WHAT'S A LARP?

-----

Hayden:

"I... I dunno. It's fun to study and theorize about this stuff, but actually investigating it head-on is something else. I really don't want you to get hurt. I mean-" Bonnie bites her lip and looks away. "I don't want any of us to get hurt."

"LARP... Live-action roleplay. Did the computer say where it was taking place?" Deirdre asks Xavier's disembodied spirit.

Hayden surges from the chair in a rush of energy, and hops onto Bonnie's bed.

"C'mon, we'll do it smart. We'll bring garlic, some Martha Wayne-style beads, whatever you think will help. We're not going there to fight anyone, so we just need the stuff that they don't want to mess with. This'll be a stakeout without the stakes. I mean, you can't tell me that after finding a secret society of vampires you don't want to see what all the little Vlads and Carmillas are up to?! So, you get ready, we'll do this careful as you like, and you'll never forget it. Deal?"

Hayden:

Bonnie looks into your excited eyes and a smile spreads across her face. "Okay. Okay, let's do it." She grabs your hand. "Just as long as I'm with you." Catching herself, she pulls back, embarrassed.

She stands and paces near her computer. "So, it looks like they're meeting tonight out in the woods. Not long from now, actually. We'll need, I don't know, garlic, crosses, maybe some rice to throw so they count the grains? I'm not really sure what would even work.

"Oh, and if there's time I guess we should, like, make characters too."

---

Everyone but Hayden:

Xavier writes:
TONIGHT IN THE WOODS. REALLY SOON. IT DOES SEEM LIKE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH VAMPIRES.

Hayden gives Bonnie's hand an amused look, giving her a gentle smile as she pulls back.

"I've got some go-tos in the cloud if we really need a character sheet, but I've never been to a con-style LARP that was too good about checking those anyways. Maybe real vampires are different"

"Okay, you get the crosses and anything else you can think of; I'll get some garlic and rice out of the dining hall." And maybe a couple souvenirs out of my room. Just in case. "Oh, can you get some electrical tape? I figure we'll both need an outfit we can vamp in if we're going to blend in."

Gaze into the Abyss: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (4, 4) + 1 = 9 To figure out what might be a good panic button against the vampires

"What the hell is live action role play? And what does it have to do with vampires?" says Ashton.

Hayden:

You think back to what you know of vampires in mythology, pop culture, and stories from the Fae realm. You're not sure what it is, but something about all this feels... just a little off.

While you're raiding the dining hall, you come across a tray of fancy-looking silverware, probably used for alumni events or other more formal affairs. A brief image of burning, searing pain enters your mind. Something compels you to take a piece of the silverware along with you.

"Think of it like a mix between D&D and improv acting," Deirdre tells Ashton. "A bunch of people camping in the woods pretending to be elves... Or vampires in this case. Maybe we should check it out."

"So this whole thing is just Gavin playing pretend? That's kind of disappointing," says Ashton. "Maybe Greg was like, 'oh, I didn't meean, like undead vampires.' I guess that means no vampire slaying. Or vampire romances. Hayden's going to be disappointed."

"So I guess we crash this nerd party, if only for the fun of seeing Gavin dressed like Nosferatu. And it might actually turn into an 'Eyes Wide Shut' situation. Rich people be crazy," he says. "I guess I'll text Hayden and then we head out."

**bzzt bzzt**
Hayden: D! Vampires are real and they LARP! I'll send you directions. Bring the big guys.

Ashton, unaware of dramatic irony, texts Hayden.

Ashton: So it turns out vampires aren't real, it's just rich people playing dress up. We're going to crash the party, you in?

Deirdre shows the others her phone. "Looks like Hayden's on the same page."

She texts back. We'll see you there!

I will larp" Eva pipes up from her position on the back seat. "Why do people pretend to be elves or vampires? Is a nerd party different from a house party? What is the appropriate clothing for larp or nerd party? Should we take a gift of some sort if we haven't been invited? Will there be special gummies and dancing and kissing like the party we were at at this house? I would like to experience more of each of those. Sorry for asking so many questions. We do not larp in Iceland."

JJ opens his mouth a few times during the LARP discussion, but then thinks better of it and closes it again. There's the gay closet, and then there's the nerd closet..

"No, I think this is still real, guys. Think about it, if a literal demon I summoned says that vampires are real, I think we can trust that as part of reality. Maybe it's like a.. hiding-in-plain-sight thing?"

"That's a good point. No clue why'd they do this weird nerd stuff though. And even if vampires are real, we are still going into this pretty blind. Greg didn't give us a lot to go on," says Ashton. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say movies haven't painted an hundred percent accurate picture. So what's the game plan? Do we run by the Olive Garden and get some garlic bread first?"

"I think we should skip the breadsticks for now, Ash," Deirdre says. "Let's go straight to the game and see if we can figure all of this out, then get snacks later."

She turns around to regard Eva. "Sometimes it's fun to pretend to be something you're not. This is probably going to be different from the house party, but depending on how wild the LARPers are, there may indeed be special gummies, dancing, or kissing. Though I'd recommend refraining from indulging until we determine if there are real vampires lurking about. I don't think we'll need a gift. Let's get there and see what's going on."

She starts to drive towards the woods.

Hayden and Bonnie finish their preparations and vamp up their outfits (Bonnie seems to find the getup a bit awkward).
You all head to the woods and meet up.

At the designated game area, there are six people already there. One of them is Gavin, who seems surprised to see people he recognizes. Near him is a pale-looking guy in a black hoodie; he looks vaguely familiar to a few of you (from one of your classes, maybe) but you don't quite recall his name.

Standing near the center of the group is a girl in a black cloak; she stands with the regal air of someone in charge. (Ashton, her cloak reminds you of the figure you think you might have noticed here when you were wolfed out the other night.)
Standing behind her is a girl in a white Gothic Lolita-style dress, a muscular guy in a tank top and mirrored sunglasses, and an androgynous-looking person in a green suit with a messenger bag hanging from their shoulder. All four of them are extraordinarily attractive.

The cloaked girl smiles and opens her arms. "Ah! So many new players! I guess our little riddle requires a team effort. Welcome to Summerwood by Night. You can call me Lucinda, I'll be your Mistress of Games. Are we all newbies tonight, or are any of you acquainted with the system?"

Note: this isn't literally World of Darkness Vampire they're playing, just a similar but non-proprietary game, with lore similarly flexible to the one we're actually playing. You can decide whether or not your character is already familiar with the vampire game and feel free to take some liberties with the lore and "rules."

Ashton immediately has to resist the urge to start laughing. Oh my god, this is definitely a collection of nerds. Can you be a nerd and a vampire? Wouldn't those cancel out? Where's a locker to shove people in when you need it?

"Uhh. Hi," says Ashton, who is visibly fighting laughter at this point. He notices the girl's cloak and he's able to calm himself for a moment--that's probably a coincidence, right? Right. Regardless, if they are really vampires a laughing fit would probably be a bad idea. "Yeah. I'm Ashton, this is Deirdre, JJ and Eva. Or do we need vampire names or something?"

Ashton takes a deep breath; it probably looks like he's trying to suppress the laughter, which he is--but he's also taking in the air, trying to see if he can get a scent of anything--weird.

Heightened Senses: 2d6 - 1 ⇒ (4, 4) - 1 = 7

I don't know if we're in moonlight or not, but if we are it's +3 instead. Regardless, trying to figure out if they're vampires or not. Do they smell dead or anything?

Eva piled of the car with the others, still dressed in the clothes she had carefully selected for the day: A short gold sequin skirt over long blue tights, short lace-up combat boots, a large white woollen hooded cardigan and a bowler hat. At the sight of the people already there, she stepped forward. "Good evening, my name is Eva and it is very nice to meet you." she said with her hand outstretched and a pleasant smile. "I am not familiar with the system and I have never larped before."

Ashton: You’re in moonlight, so you can actually ask three questions (and “what’s the biggest threat” will probably give you the answer you’re looking for re: are these vampires)

What's the biggest threat? Who's in charge here? What's their secret weakness?

Lucinda introduces the others behind her, who simply stand silently. The Gothic Lolita is Sonoko, the muscular guy is Blaze, and the androgyne in the suit is Clove.

Gavin mumbles his name awkwardly. He seems mortified to even be here, but not embarrassed enough to actually leave.

The pale guy next to him quietly says, "I'm Isaac. I've... played before."

Lucinda clasps her hands together. "So! What sort of vampire would everyone like to play? A diplomat? A warrior? A blood sorcerer? We've got something for just about any concept you can imagine."

"Yes. Virgins. We're the virgins here," says Ashton, managing to turn his desire to laugh into a very big grin. "Well, one of us might be. Anyways, warrior sounds right up my alley. Who's going to play the virgin?"

At some point, Ashton will make his way over to Hayden, standing in a way to try to keep anyone from hearing what he says to her.

"You got anything on you you can share? We didn't manage to pick up any supplies before coming over here," he whispers to her as he places a hand on her shoulder. "Just in case things go south and ya'll need a human shield."

"I am a virgin." Eva adds helpfully with a smile. "I have yet to have intercourse. Is that helpful?"

"Yes, that's great. You should lead with that when you talk to people," says Ashton, glancing at Hayden and Deirdre and mouthing 'what is with her?' at them.

Deirdre gives Ashton a slight shrug, unable to offer a good explanation for Eva's behavior. She turns to the other LARPers. "Well, blood sorcerer sounds like fun! What do I have to do to play one of those?"

JJ had lingered in the back of their group, but steps forward. "Yeah, 'blood sorcerer' sounds interesting. Hopefully you can have more than one of the same kind, and it's not one of those systems..." JJ ventures.

He steps next to Deirdre. He wonders to himself what system they might be using but then blinks, remembering that this is all likely a cover for nefarious ends.

Knowing they're dealing with vampires, JJ eyes Isaac, who looks a little, anemic, shall we say? with some concern. He also glances at Blaze with a hint of attraction, despite himself.

"I'm... Bonnie," Bonnie stammers. "Um, how about, like, a roguish type? Like, a thief?"

"Ugh... I dunno. Just pick something for me." Gavin seems impatient.

Isaac silently pulls out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. Looks like he already has a character.

Lucinda nods. "I think we have something befitting each of you. Clove?"

Clove reaches into their messenger bag and pulls out a stack of papers and some pens. They hand out a character sheet and a pen to each of you. The sheets are mostly filled in apart from spaces to fill in your character's name, gender, age, and other personal details. A runic pattern decorates the edge of each sheet.

Ashton's character seems to have a high strength and weapon skills. Deirdre and JJ are equipped with high intelligence and several necromantic spells they can cast. Eva's character seems to be a well-rounded jack-of-all-trades, able to do a little bit of everything (but nothing exceptionally well). It looks like you also have the option of choosing something your character is further specialized in. You can make something up here, I'm not gonna make a list for you to choose from.

Clove stops when they get to Hayden, their eyes twinkling with something resembling recognition. "And you?" They lean in close to Hayden and grin. "What sort of role do you like to play?"

"That's something you'll learn about me Ashton, I've always got something up my sleeve."

Brushing past Ashton, Hayden laboriously pulls a folded-into-oblivion character sheet out of the (mostly fictional) pocket of her painted-on leather pants. "I like to play my own roles. You guys are okay with some of the later bloodlines, right?"

What she's most focused on though, is people-watching while everyone thinks about their characters. RPG visions weren't usually as clear as when people were tripping, but there was still a lot of people's dreams hovering around them. Especially once the sheets and dice went away.

Gaze into the Abyss: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 5) + 1 = 7 Trying to figure out what the flickering dreams of existing gamers' characters can tell her about them

"I'll explain the rest of the game once we get started. Any questions? Need any help filling in the rest of your sheets?" Lucinda folds her hands and smiles patiently.

Eva carefully examines the character sheet, her eyes quickly scanning the esoteric numbers and statistics displayed. "So I am a vampire who is good at lots of things?" she says, "but I have to choose one thing to be good at and a name and other things?" she frowns in thought. "I would like to be a vampire with lots of friends." she says. "What kind of name should I choose?"

"Wait, so if I take the 'Children of the Night' power I can turn into a bat? I take that. I'm doing that. I'm a bat right now. What kind of noise does a bat make?" says Ashton as he finishes scribbling on his character sheet.