Author Topic: The Big Easy: Ghosts of the Past, Part Two  (Read 16000 times)

Offline digital3lf

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Lots of Death
« Reply #45 on: May 27, 2010, 06:19:28 PM »
About splitting up: I hate it. Hate it hate it hate it. Unfortunately, it's necessary. In any group with good, interesting characters, they're going to have different motivations and goals. And they're going to split up to cover more ground (not an automatic death sentence like it is in D&D :) ) I guess the important part might be to make sure that they're all together for the big scenes (not that it happened this time). But that single initiative trick worked pretty well though.

Ahhh I see now! Reading the write up I didn't get the impression that was how it was run at all. Very cool. I'm still worried my brain might explode if PCs try to split up in 3 (or more) directions, but running it that way might actually be workable! Thanks very much for the food for thought.

Offline Drazha

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 25
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Lots of Death
« Reply #46 on: May 28, 2010, 09:25:56 PM »
do you mind posting lenny's stats. I'm interested to see how he was set up.

Offline Victim

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 75
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Lots of Death
« Reply #47 on: May 28, 2010, 09:49:59 PM »
Lenny had Ritual for Crafting along with 4 points of refinement.  He has 5 Lore, a +2 crafting power focus item, and a +2 crafting frequency focus.  So his items come in at 7 power and 3 uses by default.

His 12 enchanted items slots buy 5 potion slots (:)!), a Weapon 7 spray of Universal Solvent, a Weapon 5 zone attack explosive flask, an Armor 3 block that lasts an extra round, a power 5 Veil that lasts for 3 rounds per use, and a Sovereign Glue maneuver that also power 5 IIRC and lasts for 3 rounds.

The glue and super acid can solve a lot of physical problems, and his huge Lore makes it really easy for him to make the roll and just happen to have an appropriate potion on hand.

Other notable skills include Great Weapons and Contacts, Good Athletics and Scholarship, and ZERO Alertness.

He of the 15 damage zone evocation was bitching about how good Lenny is.   ???
« Last Edit: May 28, 2010, 10:03:19 PM by Victim »

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Session One
« Reply #48 on: May 29, 2010, 06:06:13 AM »
Ignatius's player again couldn't make it, so it was John the War Vet Warden, Temper the Unkneeling Coinbearer (Denarian), Lefleur the White Court Conman, and Lenny the Iron Alchemist. Last time, Simon Walters was killed by the fury of the monster scorpion that is Temper, and John Whitfield defeated the Summer Knight in a duel to the death without actually killing Fix.

This time, we begin the game with Lefleur in a hotel room downtown, the Hilton, with his True Love, Nausica. Yes, that severe consequence is still sticking around, and evidently Nausica enjoys his company for some reason. It's 3 in the morning, and then his window explodes inward, which is more than a little unusual. Lefleur is, after all, 11 floors up. Taking cover by pulling up the mattress to block the explosion, he sees a faerie-looking woman with dragonfly wings hovering in midair, with two silenced pistols. The assassin admits that it's foolish, but she has orders from Daniels to tell Lefleur why he's being killed: he owes Daniels lots of money. Then she opens fire, causing some stress and giving Lefleur a Graze (minor condition). This was a Compel on the Price on His Head, of course, and the first of the hitmen coming after him.

What ensues is a very one-sided gun battle, with Elli the Sylph Changeling Assassin blasting away at Lefleur while he hides behind cover, trying to land a shot. Elli is amazingly fast with a base Fantastic Dodge; nothing even touches her. Here's where I worry that Lefleur's player doesn't know how outgunned he is by the faerie master of gun-fu. He tries to offer to pay the money back, but she's only concerned about collecting her payment from Daniels, nicknamed "Machete Dan." She does graciously offer to accept a contract on Machete Dan from him posthumously, like Angel Eyes in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Nausica promises to slow her down, urging Lefleur to book it. He does so, heading for the elevator. Nausica throws up a Mental Block, but Elli fights through it easily, used to faerie magic. Elli does pause to throw an Intimidation maneuver at Nausica, telling "the Summer bitch" to stay out of her way. Yeah, it works. Meanwhile, Lefleur's used the distraction to pry open the elevator doors, sliding down the cable. Elli follows, continuing to fire at Lefleur. Unfortunately, the cramped confines of the elevator shaft make it hard for her to maneuver, and Lefleur manages to evade her long enough, tears off the top elevator hatch at the ground floor, and runs into the lobby and the night. Lefleur has bled a lot of fate points from this escape, because Elli was kicking his ass otherwise. As she was meant to.

Lefleur does grab some clothes at a store, treats his Leg Wound (moderate consequence), then calls John Whitfield and asks for some help. Whitfield agrees to shelter him. Here, I think I threw a Compel at his Band of Brothers aspect, since Lefleur has helped him out on occasion.

Now we skipped to the morning, when John got a phone call from his younger WASP brother Roger, a trader on Wall Street. Note: Roger's kind of an ass. He informed John to send a car (a hybrid) to the airport, because he was coming in for a few days. He was hosting a charity fundraiser for some stupid hippie function, an oil spill off the coast. Roger freely admits that he doesn't care, but it's good publicity and the Whitfield family needs to do their part. Right before he hangs up, Roger tells John that he's hosting the event at his mansion. Here I offered John a choice: take the compel and agree to that, or not. He took the Fate Point, as I knew he would. :)

Lenny's business isn't doing so well, ever since Etienne Moiret headhunted his partner and offered her a better job with his magical organization. And ever since Etienne became a Freeholding Lord (thanks John!), he's been doing even better. Times are tough. Then, a miracle happens: a short man in a black suit, black hat, and black sunglasses enters the shop, offering to buy every single dose of antivenom and bottled sunlight Lenny has. Lenny agrees, and offers to sell him even more once he can make it. Lenny also asks if the vamps are making a move, and the man in black says they are. Also, he tells him the name "vampires" reeks of folklore; the MIB prefers to call them Stage 2 Infected. With his supply of antivamp stuff, the MIB leaves. I gave Lenny the compel on his Stiff Competition aspect, because he would probably need that stuff later in the adventure. Too bad, you sold it all!

Temper's been keeping her ear to the ground, and she knows the situation in parts of New Orleans is getting worse. With Walters gone, violence has shot way up, and all kinds of criminal organizations are moving against each other. The big winner in all of these conflicts SEEMS to be Jimbo Hill and his gang of weregators, which seems odd to Temper (and everyone else in the know). Jimbo was never the sharpest knife in the drawer; it's probable he has some new backer or ally. Anyway, the weregators are kicking ass and taking names. The FBI and the police, meanwhile, have their own theory: the rise in violence may be due to the work of criminal, arms dealer, and suspected domestic terrorist Temperance Smith! She's now a "person of interest" in the investigation, and sought for questioning. There's a compel against her "Daddy's Paramilitary Princess" aspect, but she moves around too much for the police to track her down...for now.

Lefleur continues to shelter with John, and then Roger shows up. Roger sees John as being a useless layabout who does nothing to earn his trust fund, and isn't particularly shy about telling him so. He also says how he didn't tell John about the event b/c he knew John would otherwise find some way to weasel his way out of it, like he has with every other family duty. John admits there's some truth to this. Roger's already arranged the guest list, catering, everything; he also encourages John to invite some of his friends. Yeah, like that won't be a problem. John gladly does so, sending invites to all his buddies who are going to fit in with New Orleans rich and powerful: Lenny the Alchemist, Lefleur (who's already staying there), Anja Dahl the WC Virgin Clubowner, Jack the vigilante/mechanic, and Temper the person of interest in a wave of violence. Also, Lefleur wants the opportunity to pay back Machete Dan without any violence, so he urges John to invite Machete Dan as well.

Soon, it comes time for the party, with various people getting ready for it by going out and buying/renting clothes. Not Jack Ellis, though. He doesn't have a tux, so he's going to wear his denim jacket. :)




Offline Victim

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 75
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets
« Reply #49 on: May 31, 2010, 12:23:50 AM »
The party could have gone better.  :)  John's brother was attempting to influence the guests against him.  With John helping to negotiate, Lefleur reaches a settlement with Machete Dan.  Temper, after consulting with occult expert Lenny, decides that John is being mentally influenced by Lefleur.  Then she contacts his boss using the information from when John checked in after restarting the war and nearly getting blown up...  Lefleur notices her absence, however, and he and John confront her.  She is asked to leave.  Lenny convinces some people to try out some of his beauty products that "don't quite have FDA approval yet," covering up the actual magic nature of his business.

Oh, and the caterer drugged the wine with vampire venom.  John, fearing an attack, goes all Batman Begins and insults the guests until they leave.  Too bad the whole point was to addict the other rich and influential people. 

Good times.  And to think John was just worried about getting his house burned down.

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Session One, Part Two
« Reply #50 on: June 01, 2010, 06:15:52 AM »
At the party, we had John's asshole brother Roger making the rounds and talking to people. It became apparent to some (but not John) that Roger was basically badmouthing John while using his house. John also introduced his friends to Roger, which strained his politeness when meeting some of them, especially Jack Ellis the mechanic. Roger was less than impressed. Temper didn't end up wearing a dress made out of duct tape or camouflage, so she actually made a pretty decent impression pretending to be with one of the charities. Lenny took the time to network, but he came across as a little pushy or predatory (he also left fliers under everyone's windshields!). He was able to drum up some business though, mainly with his anti-aging potions.

Lefleur and John arranged a meeting with Machete Dan, with the greatest High Concept ever devised: Bloodsucking Lawyer. I know I've already mentioned it, but it's so awesome. Enter the social conflict, with Machete Dan being all pissed and throwing a lot of Intimidations around. Lefleur and John gang up on the poor RCV, and eventually get a Concession, with Machete Dan saying that as long as the money's good he'll call off the hits. It may take some time to call off the hits, though. Success for Lefleur? You know it's not going to be that easy. At one point, I have Machete Dan throw like 3 or 4 Fate Points at Lefleur, but the attack still did didly. I couldn't roll above average at all.

Meanwhile, Temper and Lenny have a discussion: how to tell if a Sex Vampire is controlling someone. Lenny has the best answer: does that person LIKE the WCV? If yes, then the vampire's probably in control. Lenny is evidently blinded by the finery, however, and misses all the subtext. So that's when I throw a Compel at Temper for her paranoia, and she sneaks upstairs and starts looking at all of John's stuff, trying to find some way of contacting John's superiors. Temper is convinced that Lefleur is manipulating John; it's understandable. I don't see why John's always helping Lefleur either. PCitis? Then she remembered that at one point John used her cell to call his boss, so she uses that, reciting the code he used to get in touch with Morgan. John's player attempts to argue this point, saying he kept all of this information secret, but in reality he wasn't; he was right next to Temper when he made that call (Temper held the phone while he talked from inside a circle, IIRC). And in any case, I never recall him acting all paranoid either, so he was just trying to edit circumstances after they happened (and let's face it, John is not a subtle or paranoid guy).

So, Temper calls up Morgan going through the switchboards (it's an older code, but it checks out :) ), meeting a very pissed off Morgan. He sounds busy. Like, killing vampires busy. Temper warns Morgan that John might be controlled by the White Court, playing on his paranoia. Morgan tells her that he'll check it out and to never call again. What a charmer.

Lefleur noticed Temper head upstairs, though, and alerts John to this whole development of Temper sneaking upstairs. They find Temper in John's bedroom, with his sock drawer strewn out over the floor. John wonders what the hell is going on, and Temper counters with a lame lie about checking for bugs. No one believes her. At this point, John's player asks for a Compel on his Band of Brothers aspect, as Temper leaves the party at John's request. He says that the Compel is for him NOT stopping Temper and making her tell the truth. WTF? I'm not exactly sure what he had in mind other than somehow restraining Temper and torturing the information out of her. Which, quite frankly, wouldn't really work. In any case, he doesn't get a compel for acting like a rational human being and letting Temper leave.

So, Temper leaves the party early. On her way out, she passes a woman waiting outside the mansion, who asks her if she's seen someone of Lefleur's description. It's Elli the Changeling Assassin. Temper notices that the woman is packing twin pistols, but doesn't care; she tells Elli about Lefleur being there. Temper just misses the excitement of finding the vamps spiked the wine.

After having a glass, John and Lenny discover that the wine is laced with vampire spit. I made a mental attack on everyone, and no one was hit with a single consequence, damn it all (they all only failed by 1). Save the rest of the party, some of the richest and most influential people of New Orleans. Uh oh. And everyone is drinking it, save a few. Roger seemed normal (I don't think Roger actually drinks), and Jack (who brought a cooler full of beer) was just Jack. John, realizing danger, asks Jack to help get everyone home for some reason. So he essentially makes the same speech from Batman Begins, insulting everyone until they leave. What a jackass.

Also, kind of stupid. He was worried that the vampires would all bust in through the windows and start shooting, I guess. I mean, they just hit some of the richest people in NO with addictive saliva. That's called winning, in my book. They were actually with the catering staff, spitting into all the wine then. And John sends them home, easy prey for more saliva. Maybe John should take Egocentric as some kind of Aspect. :)


Roger bitches at John for his actions, his friends, and everything else, leaving in a hissy fit. So the rest of the group, Lenny, Lefleur, and John sit in the mansion and wait for the vampires to attack. And wait. And wait. They realize the vampires aren't coming to attack. Temper, about to leave, comes back after she sees everyone leaving. She wonders where everyone was going, and why. John explained the vamp's actions, and it's clear that Temper thinks John is an idiot. They hear sirens, and Temper flees around to the back to leave that way, hopefully avoiding the police.

Then the cops show up, to ask John some questions about his known association with Temperance Smith, domestic terrorist. They wonder if he's somehow funding her organization or something. John denies everything, including Temper being at his party tonight. Doesn't know her, hasn't heard of her. The FBI guy tells John that he'll be back. John: "Yeah, I know :(" This is where I threw a Compel at John for his Band of Brothers aspect, since he was defending Temper against the police.

While she makes her way through the back way across John's monster yard, she heads into the small woods at the back of John's property, walking her Schwinn. She's naturally sneaky, so she sees a group of mercs in full camo, NVGs, and M-4s heading towards John's place before they notice her. The fact that one of them is playing his iPod may also have something to do with it. She calls up John, warning him of the danger, then makes her way home again.

The mercs try to sneak up to the mansion, hoping to kill Lefleur, but they find Lenny, John, and Lefleur waiting for them. With a magical blinding flare, a few precise gunshots, and the overall insanity of Lenny the Iron Alchemist, the mercs are driven back and take their wounded with them. Those guys were schmucks; Pure Mortals with no FPs. They were actually the remnants of some of Walter's private army of security personnel, wanting to collect on Lefleur's contract.

However, the gunfire draws the cops back again. Damn it. The quick-thinking Lefleur sets up an impromptu firing range in the backyard, so the cops find him and John shooting at cans. The cops are pissed, and tell them to stop firing their guns in the middle of the night in a residential zone. They'd clearly like to arrest John, but they don't really have anything they can make stick. Lefleur's Epic Deception rolls help smooth things along as well.

John performs a quick Thaumaturgy ritual to locate the vampires, using some of their spit as the symbolic link. Clever bastard. This is one of the few Thaumaturgic spells John's ever used. I don't really know how the rules work myself, I really need to read up on them. Like, seriously. When my NPCs use them, it's basically just plot magic. He finds them, using a map of the city and some triangulation, so him and Lenny suit up and drive towards the vamp's location. It is ass kicking time.

Lefleur, meanwhile, takes the opportunity of the cops to sneak away from John's mansion, heading to yet another hotel room. He meets a pretty girl at a bar, seduces her, then brings her back to feed from her. During the night, he gets a call from Machete Dan. Remember Walter's briefcase full of irradiated money? That's half of Lefleur's payment. And the Machete Dan is pissed off, and spends twenty minutes telling Lefleur exactly how he's going to kill him. Machete Dan really has anger issues. There's another Compel thrown at Lefleur.

Lenny and John find the vamp's hideout, a catering place. The very same catering company that did his party. Now things begin to make sense. Lenny breaks the window, and the two let themselves in, finding some vampires there. Led by Maya's lieutenant the Goth Poser Raven Darkblood, who was nearly killed by John their last battle. Raven starts saying something threatening, but John just raises his copper rod to blast him. It's on! And it's over quickly. Raven and another vampires charge towards the front of the building, but John had set up his magical defenses before entering, and Lenny defends with his trusty baseball bat. The other two try their hand at automatic weapons fire, but it's even less effective.

John makes like Thor and calls down some lightning, frying the two vampires in the back, ruining the store and setting it on fire. No compel here, I think; this is just what happens when you throw like 15 dice of evocation around in a building. Shit gets messed up. Lenny then melts the vampire in his face with some solvent, leaving Raven. Raven's number is clearly up, so I suggest a concession where Raven runs and escapes. Lenny and John are having none of it, though, demanding that Raven tell them everything he knows.

Instead, we compromise. Raven runs across the street into an alleyway, bragging about how the party was just the beginning, and the vampires are going to addict a whole lot more people to their Kiss. Then he trips over some garbage cans and falls, causing John and Lenny to laugh at him. He does manage to escape though. They search the burning catering place, find some unconscious people who have been clearly hit with addictive saliva. The answer is clear: haul them out of the building and put them into the kidnap van. John's player is excited that he gets to experience the thrill of using the kidnap van, since he missed out on it last time. :)

And that's where we ended. It really seems like the party is fragmenting, with John pissed at Temper for thinking he's somehow being influenced by a vampire, and Temper not trusting Lefleur (or John now). We also had a discussion over who the "wildcards" of the group were, the ones who do the unexpected things. Lenny and Temper's players insisted that they weren't the crazy ones. They totally are though, and that's fine. :)

Offline ScipioA

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 4
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Part Two!
« Reply #51 on: June 01, 2010, 07:24:20 AM »
He's right about the party fragmenting.  I wonder if it would have gone different if we had all created our characters at the same time. Not that we could have helped it. And it probably wouldn't have changed much anyway- our group enjoys intra-party conflict too much.  Well, certain players do :)

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Part Two!
« Reply #52 on: June 01, 2010, 07:40:48 AM »
Lenny, I presume?

Offline ScipioA

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 4
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Part Two!
« Reply #53 on: June 01, 2010, 08:06:26 AM »
Good Guess.  Your chances were only 1 in 4 ;).

Offline luminos

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1234
  • Um... Hello?
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Part Two!
« Reply #54 on: June 01, 2010, 08:23:19 AM »
It's my opinion that if there is no intra-party conflict in DFRPG, the game isn't being done right.  These write-ups make y'alls game look pretty interesting.
Lawful Chaotic

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Session Two, Part One
« Reply #55 on: June 01, 2010, 08:31:11 PM »


Last night we had our second session of Blood in the Streets, and Lenny's player (Scipio,, I guess) couldn't make it. Some shit went down. Temper  headed back to "her" home (actually a vacant house she's squatting in), noticing that Jimbo's gang was driving around her neighborhood. It seemed like they were looking for someone. I wonder who?

Temper figured they'd find her sooner or later anyway, so she went into her house, grabbed all of her guns and explosives (well, okay, not ALL of them; that would take several trips), then fired her AK into the ground, drawing a lot of unfriendly attention. She tried to sneak away into the night, cutting across yards and hopping fences, trying to force them to chase her on foot.

Instead, some of Jimbo's boys had radios, and they signaled some of their friends to circle around. Eventually, Temper found herself surrounded, basically trapped. So she retreated to a house she hoped was empty. Then she laced that place with explosives, turning it into a deathtrap if she ever used her radio detonator. Unfortunately, she was stuck in the house with the explosives. No way out.

Jimbo called out for Temper to come out so they could have a face to face chat. Temper said nothing. So then all of Jimbo's men opened up on the house with automatic weapons fire, sending bullets flying throughout the structure. Fortunately, Temper was taking shelter in the bathtub, if you can believe it. Then one of Jimbo's buddies had the bright idea of burning down the house, so a few makeshift Molotovs were assembled outside.

Temper heard someone else inside the house, but didn't hear any sound of anyone actually entering. No doors opening, no crunching of broken glass. So she sneakily approached whatever was making that noise: it was a ghoul. A huge, very scary ghoul with a big damn axe. The same ghoul, in fact, that helped her and John out when they fleeing the burning mansion of the vampire count. Temper used her stealth to disarm the ghoul of her axe, just as the molotov cocktails started to burn down the house. The ghoul with the axe offered Temper a choice: leave with him, or burn to death.

Temper chose the option that didn't involve burning, and at the ghoul's request, handed him back his axe. He then used it to cut a hole through reality, leading into a dark, scary, swampy forest and left through the Way. Temper's dead father then appeared in front of her, warning her not to trust the ghoul. At all. Temper is at least sane enough to know when she's hallucinating, so she ignores Ghost Dad (actually her Fallen Angel) and she follows the ghoul.

The ghoul tells her that they're in the Nevernever, in Faerie, and that she would be quiet. And if she hears hounds, to RUN. While their walking, Temper tries to get a read on the ghoul, learning one of his aspects: More Than Just a Merc. Which implies his concept is something like Ghoul Mercenary or something. He leads Temper around, then cuts another hole in reality and tells her to get going. Before she leaves, he insinuates that the Reds are Jimbo's secret backer. Soneillon/Temper's Dad warns her again not to trust the Ghoul. Here's where John's player postulates that the Ghoul is actually a good guy! Right... :)

After Temper's little adventure, the trio agree to meet up at a Waffle House, to compare notes and come up with a plan. And because, you know, this is a group game. No one talks about Temper's little espionage expedition of the last night. John says he's going to track down the Man in Black who bought all of Lenny's stuff; he assumes the MiB also bought stuff from the other alchemist in town, Lenny's old partner. I don't think we even have a name for yet, thanks Lenny. Or at least not one I've heard yet. Lefleur wants to get some more info on Machete Dan, thinking about framing Daniels for some crime, preferably Walter's murder. Or at least the sudden rise in gang violence. Temper is very skeptical of this plan, and wants to find more about Jimbo and his new ally/puppetmaster.

John meets with Etienne Moiret, the Power Hungry Houngan and new Freeholding Lord, checking to see if he knows anything. Moiret plays coy at first, but is willing to deal. Someone did buy all of his antivamp venom, and Moiret is surprised that it wasn't actually a rep from the Council. He wants a favor from John in exchange for what he knows, but is willing to take some of John's cash. Go Resources 4! It turns out that the MiB has some name that I've forgotten already. It wasn't really important.

John takes that name to his "buddy" Vince the Sleazy PI, who quickly finds out a lot more. He also mentions how the police would be very interested in his actual association with Temper (he still has those photographs, I believe), and extorts John for more money. John takes the blackmail surprisingly well, putting Vince on retainer. The MiB is actually an expert in infectious disease from the CDC, staying at some hotel in town. And also that he's not here on official business, and one of his coworkers was "exsanguinated" quite recently. John thinks that maybe this guy is here to help. He isn't.

John tracks down his hotel room, sliding a piece of paper with an eye drawn on it under the door, then using a thaumaturgy spell to spy on the room. It's empty. No dead body like John was expecting. He waits until the MiB shows up, then tries to talk to him. The guy isn't opening the door, though, so John just talks to him through the door, saying how he's a Warden fighting the vampires, or Stage Two Infected if you please. The guy is evasive and tries to keep John talking. During this time, he sends a text to a buddy of his, who does...something. Hotel security arrives, escorting him from the building, and John approaches his car. Fortunately, his wizard sense tingles and explodes the carbomb underneath his Rolls-Royce prematurely, probably saving his life. Then the cops show up, taking John in for questioning about the attempt on his life.

Part Two to come.


Offline Victim

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 75
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Second Session
« Reply #56 on: June 02, 2010, 02:39:25 AM »
I'm not sure where the Ghost Dad thing is going for Temper.  Why create an illusion that's obviously false?  Sure, I can think of a few benefits.  OTOH, compared to making up an ally - one who is a touch paranoid and thus wants to avoid meeting the rest of the gang - it seems kind of weak. 

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Second Session, Part Two
« Reply #57 on: June 02, 2010, 08:07:06 PM »
Lefleur starts using his Contacts to find out about Machete Dan. Unfortunately, he learns that Machete Dan had an alibi for the murder of Walters. Lefleur's tertiary plan of just killing Walters is waylaid by the fact that Walters is out of his office. However, by chatting up the firm's receptionist, he learns that Machete Dan is on vacation, probably at his cabin. He likes to go there to "get away from it all." Or to drink blood and get rid of the bodies. Lefleur also manages to talk his way into Machete Dan's office, and finds himself free to rummage around in Daniel's stuff.

Lefleur finds some very interesting documents that reveal Daniels has some kind of partnership or employment with a "Mister Raxxus." He lacks the Lore to really find anything about the name, so he does what anyone would do. He sends out a call, blind, to this Mr. Raxxus. Raxxus picks up, asking who this is. Lefleur introduces himself and tries to find out some more information about their working relationship. It turns out that Machete Dan works for Mr. Raxxus, representing the man's interests in the American South. Raxxus also speaks with a foreign accent, sounding like he's from somewhere in North Africa (which was the international code on the number as well). Lefleur then explains himself to Raxxus, presenting himself as a victim of Machete Dan's irrational hatred, then insinuates that Daniels is trying to cheat Raxxus out of his money. Raxxus says he'll look into the matter himself, and thanks Lefleur for bringing the matter to his attention.

Lefleur then leaves the office building, ambushed by three ghouls on the way to his car. He runs in, but they try to pull him out and eat him. Instead, he drives away, and the world's worst car chase happens. No one involved has any Drive, so they both end up getting in a minor accident and running over some small obstacles before Lefleur escapes. At least Lenny has Fair Driving, and the invincible kidnap van. It is, after all, the only vehicle that hasn't been wrecked/shot/damaged/blown up so far, other than Temper's bicycle. Maybe someone could steal the Schwinn when Temper doesn't secure it to a bike rack properly. :)

Temper does some investigating into Jimbo's phone records, but doesn't find any phone activity out of the ordinary in recent days. So whoever his ally is, they're probably not contacting him via phone. It's not much information, but it's something. She also finds Jimbo's headquarters, some kind of alligator ranch outside of New Orleans.

John, of course, is being questioned by the police, who are urging him to give up the location of his ally Temperance Smith. The police are convinced that Temper was responsible for the car bomb. John has a new aspect, Doesn't Know When to Shut Up, and the player asks for a compel here. So then he starts to talk about how the real bomber is somehow connected to the MiB and maybe Jimbo Hill. I tell him that trying to steer the cops in the right direction isn't really a real Compel; it's basically what anyone might do in that situation. So instead, John tells the cops and the FBI that vampires are trying to kill him, and that the MiB is working for them. He also mentions how Lenny the Alchemist will corroborate the story. The FBI calls up Lenny, who denies everything, of course, being sane. So now the police think John is nuts. Then in comes his brother Roger and a damn good lawyer, who get John out of there before he finds himself committed or something. Roger's opinion of John is even lower, now, thinking he's completely nuts. Consequences will come from this later, I'm sure. :)

The trio meet up once again in the evening, to compare notes and formulate a plan of action. They want to find out who Jimbo's backer is: the Red Court Vamps, Machete Dan and Raxxus's organization, or maybe even that axe-wielding ghoul. With John's Lore, he also recognizes Raxxus as being a likely alias of Anaraxxus, a powerful dragon based in Africa. A serious badass dude. So they check out Jimbo's ranch in the middle of the night, where they see a small army of weregators being assembled. Jimbo and gang drive out to the waterfront, where they attack a boat and kill everyone on board (presumably). They hear brief gunfire, at least.

The group has assembled in a building near the docks to watch this barbarity unfold, doing nothing. Lefleur, perhaps motivated by some kind of civic duty, calls the cops (it's not actually civic duty, btw). Jimbo's gang is transporting some crates (full of drugs) from the boat onto their pickup trucks; John takes the opportunity to hex the pickup truck to prevent a clean getaway (he has to spend a FP to succeed, IIRC). Now unable to start their truck with the crates on board, they move their crates back to the ship they invaded. Evidently they plan on using the boat to sail away, maybe drop the cargo somewhere for pickup later.

Now the police show up, after Lefleur's report of automatic weapon fire. And like good New Orleans cops, they have their sirens blaring, hoping to frighten away the criminals before they arrive. Unfortunately, the hex on the truck slowed Jimbo down a bit, and John used his air magic as a veil to stop the noise of the sirens, so the cops confront him and his gang. It's dark, so the cops don't see many of the guys with guns. Jimbo tries to bribe the police to turn around and walk away, but something goes wrong and the battle is on. Jimbo and his gang turn into alligators and attack, surprising the hell out of the police.

Lefleur takes the opportunity to head out of the building towards a closer firing position, sporting a brand new SCAR rifle; Temper and John take aim at Jimbo in the middle of the battle, staying out of sight for now. The police don't last long against a bunch of alligators, and by the time everyone's in position and ready to fire, they're all taken out. Evidently Lefleur's plan was to use the cops as a distraction for his attempt to kill Jimbo; what a guy. Then the firefight happens with all three PCs target firing Jimbo; it's dark out, I gave the scene aspect Dead of Night and everyone a free tag on it they could use (primarily defensively, or with stealth; at one point someone asked if it could somehow help their offensive abilities...no)

Temper, perhaps bored with just firing her gun, turns into a scorpion, skitters down the building, and makes her way towards Jimbo. The few number of Jimbo's men who haven't turned into gators open up at John in the building, doing some stress there. Others use the opportunity to drive the boat away, with the cargo. The rest attack in gator form, two heading towards Lefleur as he crouches behind some cover, the other three move into the building to corner John.

Lefleur continues firing at Jimbo while dodging the gators, taking some stress. He keeps on using his Inhuman Speed to shift between two adjacent zones, forcing the weregators to continually take a -1 supplemental action penalty for switching zones. Kind of cheesy there. Anyways, here I Compel Lefleur's Price On His Head, to have an assassin show up in the middle of the fight. Lefleur's player is having none of it, however, and resists the Compel. Wimp. Lefleur keeps pounding away at Jimbo though.

Temper the Scorpion vs. Jimbo the Alligator, the final question can now be decided. Again. I Compel Jimbo's Son of the Bayou aspect to give him another fate point, and for him not to accept the aid of his gang in the fight against Temper. They can still kill John and LF though. Jimbo inflicts a few points of stress against Temper, spending lots of Fate Points, but it's not enough against her higher rolls and Supernatural Toughness. She keeps inflicting conditions on him, like the Moderate condition "Clamped," and the Severe condition "Double Clamped" (Futurama). Use the clamps!

John finds himself cornered in the building, menaced by weregators. And he's used a lot of magic already this scene, and can't kill any of the weregators either (damn you Laws of Magic!). He has managed to use his enchanted item to put up a shield though, that lasts for 3 exchanges. That shield manages to defend him against the gators for now, but his rifle is proving to be underpowered against 3 gators in close quarters. He considers a zone attack spell to throw everyone out of the building with gusts of wind, but I point out he's in the zone too; he'd have to defenestrate himself as well.

Temper does manage to finally kill off Jimbo though. And they hear more cops showing up, so the weregators take the opportunity to run like hell, jumping into the ocean and swimming away in their alligator forms. John and Temper run for the car and drive away, while Lefleur picks up a badge off one of the cops and poses as an undercover detective at the scene of the crime. Lefleur's epic deception skills once again carry the day, however, and the police totally buy his story. He heads off because he needs to "make a few calls" to keep his cover intact. I think he's actually planning on running like hell once no one is watching, but I Compel the Price on His Head once again, and he lacks the Fate Points to resist it. Then Lefleur blows his Alertness roll.

Elli, badass changeling assassin, is back. She explains calmly that she's pointing a silenced weapon right at his head, and to drop his guns. He complies. Elli complains about how this job was a major pain in the ass, and now Machete Dan wants Lefleur alive, a very inconvenient change of plans. For torture, presumably. She directs him into a car, then tells him to drive as she sits in the backseat. They're headed towards Machete Dan's cabin. It's not just some shack in the woods, instead a small yet luxurious place to "get away from it all." With satellite internet connection and TV, of course.

Elli leads him inside, where LF is searched for weapons and then restrained with handcuffs by a pair of burly bodyguard type guys. Machete Dan is extremely pleased that Lefleur is his, and makes a few threats towards Lefleur. Elli just asks for her money, and she's handed a briefcase full of cash. Lefleur, cunning bastard that he is, warns Elli that the bills might be marked or radioactive, explaining that Daniels once cheated him that way. LF's Deception continues to be successful, and now Elli is pointing guns at everyone. LF continues to try and egg her on to start shooting, while Machete Dan tries to negotiate. Unfortunately, the banks are closed in the middle of the night, so they can't do a wire transfer or other alternate payment. Things are tense, but it doesn't seem like Lefleur will be able to manipulate Elli and Dan to kill each other.

Then Raxxus calls on the videophone, seeking more information. Machete Dan tells him that the situation is soon to be resolved, while Lefleur starts using his Deception on the dragon. He continues his claim that Machete Dan is trying to cheat his boss. He also says that Machete Dan tried to cheat the hitwoman he hired as well; Elli pipes up to voice her displeasure with Machete Dan as well. Machete Dan tries to respond with Rapport, but unfortunately his Rapport sucks, and he comes across looking pretty lame and ineffectual. Lefleur also states that Machete Dan's actions aren't based on good business decisions, but instead his mad whims. He's losing it, man! A few more Superb Deception attacks and weak Rapport defenses and Raxxus has had enough. Raxxus tells Elli to kill Machete Dan, and she does so before he even finishes the sentence.

Raxxus then offers Lefleur a job; Machete Dan's old job, in fact. He says he never actually believed Lefleur's lies, but he admired how he was skilled and resourceful enough to dodge assassins and turn people against one another. Lefleur, always looking for an angle, accepts the job and the high annual salary that accompanies looking after a dragon's interests in New Orleans. Raxxus does warn Lefleur to never cheat him, or Machete Dan's fate will look a mercy. Here's where we ended the session, with Lefleur kicking ass with some quick-thinking Deceptions instead of the claws, guns, and lightning favored by other characters. He's going to change out his aspect Price On His Head with something about working for Raxxus. Also, he's now a Face in the city, representing Legacy of Corruption.

I can just imagine John and a very reluctant Temper mounting a rescue mission, to find Lefleur sitting in Dan's cabin smoking a cigar or something. :)

Offline mroehler

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 29
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Second Session, Part Two
« Reply #58 on: June 03, 2010, 06:01:09 AM »
Regarding Lefleur: In a way, he's the odd man out of the group. John's a Warden who fights monsters. Temper is a Denarian who wants to use her evil powers to fight monsters (and other bad guys). Ignatius beats up scary dark monsters with nothing more than a pair of metal sticks. And Lenny is some nut who'll use any excuse to blow something up (like monsters). And then he'll gut them for alchemy components.

LF, on the other hand, is less motivated by fighting monsters and often more motivated by personal gain. His Trouble is basically Sometimes Does the Right Thing, implying that he more often does not do the right thing. Just kind of interesting. Anyway, the final scene with Lefleur was essentially put together to let him use his top skill to solve the situation, his Superb Deceit, instead of the violence we more typically see as the final solution to problems (every Dresden book tends to end with a big fight saving the day). So he beat up Machete Dan socially instead.

And Elli the Changeling Sylph Assassin, is pretty damn badass. She was built as a PC, with Superb Guns, Great Athletics, Stealth, and Deception. So she attacks at 5 and defends at 6; add on Supernatural Speed, Inhuman Toughness/Recovery, Wings, and Glamor, and you get an incredibly mobile ranged attacker who can do some neat tricks as well. Against most melee opponents, she's basically unbeatable: staying in the air and retreating two zones every turn while constantly shooting. She was designed to be the kind of enemy that Lefleur couldn't just beat and had a hard time running away from, to add some real teeth to this "price on his head" aspect of the adventure. She's the Boba Fett to the other Greedo hitmen. Against some of the more combat focused members of the group she'd be in real trouble, but she's smart enough to avoid picking fights when Lefleur has backup from his bodyguards (who happen to work for free).

Victim: maybe the point of Ghost Dad IS that he's an obvious hallucination. Use your imagination. :)

Offline Victim

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 75
    • View Profile
Re: The Big Easy: Blood in the Streets, Second Session, Part Two
« Reply #59 on: June 03, 2010, 06:48:16 AM »
Regarding Lefleur: In a way, he's the odd man out of the group. John's a Warden who fights monsters. Temper is a Denarian who wants to use her evil powers to fight monsters (and other bad guys). Ignatius beats up scary dark monsters with nothing more than a pair of metal sticks. And Lenny is some nut who'll use any excuse to blow something up (like monsters). And then he'll gut them for alchemy components.

LF, on the other hand, is less motivated by fighting monsters and often more motivated by personal gain. His Trouble is basically Sometimes Does the Right Thing, implying that he more often does not do the right thing. Just kind of interesting. Anyway, the final scene with Lefleur was essentially put together to let him use his top skill to solve the situation, his Superb Deceit, instead of the violence we more typically see as the final solution to problems (every Dresden book tends to end with a big fight saving the day). So he beat up Machete Dan socially instead.


I think group cohesion could be really helped if we caught Lefleur taking some Compels on his trouble, so we could see some of his good side.

Elly is pretty badass.  For essentially being designed around the fast flight + Guns gimic, she has some surprising versatility with Glamors+Deceit for general trickiness and social conflict.  Elly is pretty resilient too, with Good Endurance and Inhuman Toughness - 6 Stress boxes and 6 dodging means she can actually take one of John's 8/8 lightning attacks with only a moderate consequence.  Not exactly great, but still better than most enemies, and she'd probably just want to live long enough to run away.

Quote
Victim: maybe the point of Ghost Dad IS that he's an obvious hallucination. Use your imagination. :)

Yeah, I mentioned that I could think of a few benefits:

An obvious illusion could be used to cover up a few more subtle alterations.  OTOH, once she figures it out, the whole thing becomes a lot less likely to work. 

Or creating the impression of mental illness or influence could be the goal.