Fred Hicks was kind enough to let me run a preview of the Dresden Files for Camp Nerdly 2010, which was to be held in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, VA. Sadly, Camp Nerdly was cancelled, but I still got to run the scenario for a mini-con that I held in my house on May 22nd and I play-tested the scenario four times with four separate groups before then. Each group made a Dresdenverse Washington DC and each their own PCs. I combined the best details of the city and PCs into the scenario.
Basically, Occult DC is guarded by the L’Enfant Wards, which prevents creatures with no Refresh from entering the area around the National Mall (the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, etc.). A Masonic society, the Sons of Liberty, keep the Wards intact and up-to-date. Together with their allies, the White Council Wizards and the White Court Vampires (who gained a pass through the Wards when they helped the Sons fight off a Black Court scourge during the Civil War) they form the Capitol Council, who seek to keep the Federal Government from learning of the existence of the supernatural.
THE PLOT
Sammael the Morningstar, a Denarian of great power, is plotting to destroy the L’Enfant Wards. He has learned the locations of five Ward Keys:
The Trowel that George Washington used to lay the foundation of the U.S. Capitol. It represents Air and is held by the Sons of Liberty at the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, VA.
The Wand, carved from the cherry trees around the Jefferson Memorial. It represents Fire and is held by Countess Simone of the Red Court in Tyson’s Corner, VA.
The Pentacle, carved from stone used in the Lincoln Memorial. It represents Earth. “John,” the Endless Rider of the Purple Line, a mystical subway system, gave it to Gunny Arthur Carsons on the Mall.
The Cup, which was used in laying the foundation of the White House. It represents Water and is held by Dogfish Head, Fae Seneschal of the Court of the Seven Roads in Seven Corners, VA.
The Pope’s Stone, which was given by the Vatican to complete the Washington Monument in the 19th Century but was destroyed by the Know-Nothings, an anti-Catholic party that controlled the Monument at the time. It represents Spirit and is held by Sister Claire at St. Mary’s Church)
Sammael convinces Countess Simone and Dogfish Head to help him bring the Wards down. They will use the Ward Keys to kill the Knight of the East, a Revolutionary War soldier and Mason who is bound to the Wards. As long as he lives, the Wards will exist, and he cannot be harmed as long as he is within the Wards. But if Sammael has all the Ward Keys, he can summon the Knight to a location outside the Wards.
To carry out the ritual, Sammael needs two more participants, so he recruits Eric Greenrose and Edward “Ed Jones” Malvora. Eric is an archaeologist who studies ancient American Indian societies for the Smithsonian, and the sorcerer leader of a cult. Sammael gives him access to Hellfire, which binds Eric to him. Edward is a White Court Vampire who feeds off fear and uses his radio talk show to spread it far and wide. He’s ambitious, and Sammael has no trouble convincing him to betray the White Court for power.
Of course, no such alliance goes smoothly. Now that she knows the significance of the Ward Keys, Countess Simone sends some of her flunkies to look for the Pentacle, thinking that she can use possession of two of the Ward Keys to bargain for more power. Not having anything more to go on than “a veteran on the Mall,” the flunkies begin killing indiscriminately, getting the attention of the Capitol Council.
This is when the PCs enter the fray.
Sammael has manipulated Simone to get the Pentacle (he leaked the clue to its whereabouts to her). Eric will attack the Sons of Liberty to get the Trowel. Sammael will use Prudence Fidelia, a Mormon vampire hunter, to get the Pope Stone by kidnapping her boyfriend. Prudence works with Sister Claire to fight the ghouls living below Arlington Cemetery, so she has access to St. Mary’s Church, where the stone rests in the catacomb. Edward will monitor the White Court and Capitol Council to see if there is any resistance to the plan.
Once he has all the Ward Keys, Sammael and his “allies” will summon the Knight to a prepared circle in Prince William Forest Park and kill him.
Sunday Group
Characters:
Ryan Nolan, Wizard Lobbyist
Felicia, Avatar of St. Joan d’Arc
Maria, Scion of the Jaguar God
The smallest group and the first play-test. They encounter the Red Court on the Mall, save Gunny, and get the Pentacle. They take it to the Sons of Liberty, who convince them that the Pentacle would be safe with them. They visit Dogfish Head, looking for more information, and he taunts them subtly by drinking from the Cup in front of them and asking Ryan for advice on the magical circle that will bind the Knight.
When they learn of the attack on the Sons and the theft of the Pentacle and Trowel. The Sons tell them where the Stone is, so they quickly move to secure it. They stop Prudence from stealing it and learn from her of the ritual’s location. The Gray Ranks capture them in the Park, and they watch as Sammael summons the Knight. Ryan uses his magic to induce great Fear in himself, which makes Edward lose control and break the circle. Sammael tries to keep the ritual under control, but fails. Simone and Eric are killed, Sammael and Dogfish Head are horribly wounded, and the party takes out Edward.
Thursday Group
Allen Toner, Werewolf Police Detective
Brock McKean (“More Man than Machine!”), Straight-Edged Denarian Musician
Destyne Williams, CEO of Spirit Cleaners
Edgar Colquhoun, Half-Ghoul Spirit Eater
Jen Yu, Taoist Martial Artist Monk
Owen Backwater, Engineer of the Purple Line
Paul Connor, God’s Own Cleaner
A Crazy Homeless Guy Who’s Name I Don’t Remember
This game took several sessions to finish because of some excellent role-playing and party discussions. The party saved Gunny and the Pentacle, then checked out the Sons of Liberty, the Purple Line, and visited the Red Court. They learned of the existence of the Wards and the threat to them. They also meet Edward, who causes some trouble for them. They intercept Prudence at St. Mary’s but let her go and follow her to Prince William Forest Park.
The Grey Ranks capture some of the party, missing Allen and Crazy Homeless Guy (who later tried to punch Sammael in the face! The player had to leave and wanted a glorious(?) end.) Allen frees the party, and they disrupt the ritual. Sammael manages to hold it together for a bit here, sacrificing Simone to keep the spell running, but in the end he loses control. Edward and Eric are killed by the fallout, and Sammael and Dogfish Head are horribly wounded.
Saturday Group
Ehud, Order of the Thorn Initiate,
Jay MacKenzie, Wizard Antiquarian,
Kaylee, Pyromancer
Lawrence, Were-Raven Investigative Reporter
Ollie, Son of the Monkey King
Patrick, Sons of Liberty Detective
Again, the Red Court is foiled, and the party runs into Edward as part of their investigation. The attack on the Masonic Temple happens, but they intercept Prudence. Lawrence follows her in bird-form to learn where Sammael is, and the party tries to stop the ritual. They are captured, except for Lawrence, who manages to free them during the ritual. Jay uses Earth magic to “punch the Earth in the face” and open a huge crack through the magic circle. The ritual goes wild, with results similar to the ones above.
Monday Group
Carrack Roberts, Changeling Botanist
Cyrus “Perseus” Reynolds, Vampire Hunter for Hire
Eric Ryan, Federal Agent in the Know
Maria, Scion of the Jaguar God (my wife’s character)
Othos Kendrick, Wizard Bureaucrat
Tereza Skavis, White Court Congressional Aide
The last play-test, and by now I thought I had a handle on everything a group could come up with.
WRONG.
This group managed to handle the Red Court fairly well, and held onto whatever Ward Keys they got a hold of. They stopped Prudence, who shot Sister Claire when they refused to let her go. Edward tried to challenge Tereza to a duel at the Manassas Battlefield to get some of the Ward Keys back, but Cyrus used a high-powered sniper rifle to kill Edward, even while Tereza and Othos were waiting for him to arrive at the dueling field (having lemonade with the Ghost of Stonewall Jackson).
They searched Edward’s house and found clues leading them to Prince William Forest Park. They left Prudence with Tereza (whose player missed a session), but Prudence was so depressed that Tereza “ate” her. On getting to the park, they cloaked themselves in veils, but Sammael saw through one of them and captured Cyrus and Carrack.
Sammael mind-raped Cyrus, looking for information on the Ward Keys. Othos tried to bargain with him while Maria circled around the group. Maria freed Carrack, who unleashed his Changeling nature on Sammael, freezing him solid in ice (taking a mild, moderate, severe, and extreme consequence to do enough damage). Eric shot Sammael, making his body shatter.
Body Count: 1 PC, 3 named NPCs (Robert Jackson, Edward, Prudence), and 1 shot nun.
Actual Con Scenario:
The pre-generated PCs:
Felicia, Avatar of St. Joan d’Arc (Champion of God)
Lawrence, Were-Raven Investigative Reporter (Were-Form)
Ollie, Son of the Monkey King (Scion/Emissary of Power)*
Patrick, Sons of Liberty Police Detective, Pure Mortal
Owen, Wizard of the Purple Line, Wizard
Tereza, Vampire Congressional Aide, White Court Vampire
*Not played due to only five players
OK, the big day, the one I worked toward all this time. While investigating the murders on the Mall, they decided to gather all the homeless in once place in order to flush out the Red Court. Tereza gave a speech on how the Government would help them, and they supplied snacks. The Red Court attacked Gunny, but the party fought them off (without attracting TOO much attention.)
Gunny gave them the Pentacle, and they investigated the Purple Line and the Sons of Liberty. The bad guys got the Trowel and kidnapped Prudence’s boyfriend, but Owen managed to use a ritual to lead them to Prince William Forest Park. Again, the Gray Ranks captured them. (Compels on “Horde of Gray Ranks are useful.
During the ritual, Patrick manages to goad Edward into breaking his circle by offering Simone an alliance. Owen calls upon a favor that Dogfish Head owes him to make the Seneschal stop participating in the ritual, and Sammael again sacrifices Simone to keep the ritual going. (Edward had the aspect “I will see Countess Simone burn,” which is why this kept happening.) Felicia used the Sword of St. Joan d’Arc to break the magic circle while Owen counterspells the ritual, grievously hurting Sammael and ending the threat to the Knight.
The Knight suffered a moderate and a severe consequence during the ritual, the closest the bad guys ever came to winning. This group managed to circumvent a lot of the story and went straight to the end thanks to some creativity on their part, but it all worked out.
So, that was a lot of fun. I’ll try to write up my Occult DC soon and post it, for anyone who wants it.
