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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Sjappo on March 25, 2013, 11:59:30 AM
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Hi all.
Two things are comming together in my head. I've wanted to do an adventure based on Hotel California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUbTW928sMU) for ages now. Ever since I found a reference to an AD&D one years and years ago. And I want to introduce my gaming group to something other dan DnD. I'm not the regular GM so it'll have to be an one off.
The catch. I've neither run nor played DFRPG or FATE ever. Still I want to give it a go. I've browsed the two books and read this forum for some time so you may asume I know what you're talking about.
What do I want to get out of it. I want to have the players lots of influence on the story. So I do the basic outline and provide the soundtrack. They should be able to fill the gaps by guessing, declaring etc. I'm aiming for a low refresh game with all mortals and have them completing their characters as we go along.
Expected run-through. Arrive at Hotel California and check in. Meet She. Faf about some, maybe meet the Captain and probably end up with She. Go to the Masters Chamber to kill the Beast. Go to the Nightman and convince him to let them leave.
I have this:
She (as in "there she stood in the doorway"). I like her as a twisted Beauty in Beauty and the Beast. The origional guest in the hotel. She is easy (if you know what I mean) and can be seduced. Mortal. High social. Aspects: Hmmm. Something with beauty (beauty can curse?). And something to do with all the drug references. Flying high, diving low? But neither seems very invocable.
The Captain. Not very important.
The Beast. Some sort of shapeshifter. Werefox or werecoyote seem very californian. Catch: cold iron ("they stab it with there steely knives but they just can't kill the beast"). There to demonstrate combat.
The nightman. Hologram? Impervious to phyisical combat. There to demonstrate social/mental conflict. Can open the door to the real world.
Places:
Check-in. Where She let's you in and you sign in. The nightman resides here.
The courtyard. Where She leads you. Lots of pretty pretty boys here. Aspects: sweaty. intoxicating,
The masters chamber. If a PC tries to seduce She he'll end up here. With She and the Beast
Outside. Basically the front door opens to a empty plain in the Never-Never. They'll need the nightman to open a portal.
Rooms, hallways and whatnot can be whipped up in a pinch.
So. What do you think? Any tips? Any and all help with fleshing out the antagonists is very much apreciated.
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Since Hotel California is about a whore house, probably a White Court Vamp(s) could be involved...It could also be a portal to the nevernever where weird things happen. The Nightman somehow has the key to open the portal to leave...or maybe they get the key from the Masters Chamber and they bring it to the Nightman to open...
One important thing: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" Is about leaving a peice of yourself...or losing a peice of yourself...losing your innocence. Maybe some deal must be struck before you leave...that some "peice of yourself" must be left behind...or something to that effect to leave the place.
Oh and:
Stabbed them with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast. Obviously, he has physical immunity cold iron. They need to use some other kind of weapon to act as the catch ;)
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Taran, good call. I missed the whorehouse references to be honest. Now all kind of from dusk till dawn images go through my mind. A splat-fest would be cool but not what I'm aiming for.
WCV could be the key. The guests being his herd and him/her being careful not to kill them nor make new vamps.
About the steely knives. It must be my DnD mind or shaky grasp of the English languages but steely implies steel and is different from cold iron. Chemicaly their pretty much the same of course.
I'm definately going to get them to offer something up to the nightman. Their innocence is lost because they now know what really lives in the shadows. It has to be something else. Maybe one of them has to take the place of the Beast if they kill it ... Hmmmm. Or maybe just once per month or some thing. Kind of like joining the hunt.
This is comming along nicely.
Any tips on aspects on the locations?
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Sounds like a cool game. I love that song...and I have a thing for crazy/haunted hotels. Let us know how the game is going when you get it up and running!
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About the steely knives. It must be my DnD mind or shaky grasp of the English languages but steely implies steel and is different from cold iron. Chemicaly their pretty much the same of course.
In the Dresdenverse, pretty much anything with a significant amount of iron is considered "Cold Iron". Steel is frequently used in fighting fae in the books.
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Epic song denotes an epic fight slash conflict and i think the beast is more of a victim than a boss the captain would be a more likely source of evil he brings you the things you ask for but not the thing you need " so i called out to captain please bring me my wine and he said we haven't had that spirit here since 1969 " a satanic bible ref perhaps a type of curse on one of the party members to turn into a loup garou or a ghost like beastie would do and was there not like a bunch of people singing all the time the chorus bit so the white court could do for fodder npcs
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WCV could be the key. The guests being his herd and him/her being careful not to kill them nor make new vamps.
Also new white court vampires can only be created via normal procreation barring weird magic, so that probably isn't much of a concern for them. At least in terms of turning a PC anyway.
That being said you could have a really interesting mind screw idea for a campaign here.
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or maybe it is just a fever dream from some bad wine at a friends house at a party they passed out at and forgot going to or being at would be a funny ending
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How about this:
The Master (Unseele Fay) and the Beast (WCV) made a bet/deal concurning a WC Virgin. Details missing now but it called for the Virgin (She) to stay that way 100 years. Both made a mistake making the deal. The Beast ended locked up in the Masters Chamber providing temptation with his Incite Emotion. The Master ended up being the judge.
Hotel California exists in NeverNever and in the Mortal world. It draws people in to tempt the Virgin. The Beast incites them with lust. This is the temptation for the Virgin. As the Beast gets weaker from lack of feeding the trapped people become free to move and try to kill the Beast. They invaribly fail and give the Beast a chance to feed. He gets stronger and around we go.
The Master has to stay in the Hotel till the end and amuses himself by tormenting the Virgin and making deals with passers by.
The doorman is an entity with which all are unfamiliar. He is put there by Mab. He actually posesses a means to get out. To get out you must:
- Fight the Beast, feed it and live
- Resist the temptation of the Virgin
- Deal with the Master
The Master knows this but he thinks he will not survive against the Beast nor resist the Virgin. And he must deal with himself first.
How's that?
Excuse my not altogether firm grasp of the English language.
Edit: I realise that this might be much better as an open ended story. I, as a GM, am normally open to alternative solutions to a puzzle. What I described has a very DnD feel to it. I might be what my players expect. But I do like the mechanics af how everyone is trapped there. "We're all just prisoners here, of our own device".
Alternative endings:
- Kill the Beast. One must take his place.
- Feed the Virgin and get her to kill ends the bet/deal
- Negotiate a deal with the Doorman. Bringing a replacement once a year sounds about right.
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Complicated, could be fun.
Seems kind of weird for the Master to be stuck there against his will though since I have a hard time imagining a sidhe getting bested in making a deal. I'd change just that part to, he doesn't care about leaving because the two WCV are a constant source of entertainment and the Master is immortal, the amount of time he spends there is immaterial.
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Complicated, could be fun.
Seems kind of weird for the Master to be stuck there against his will though since I have a hard time imagining a sidhe getting bested in making a deal. I'd change just that part to, he doesn't care about leaving because the two WCV are a constant source of entertainment and the Master is immortal, the amount of time he spends there is immaterial.
So the Doorman could just be the Master having some fun at the PCs expense?
"I bet I could get you to kill."
"Not in a 100 years."
Rumpelstiltskin: "Ooooh! Care to put that in writing?"
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Could be, injecting a henchman of Mab's did seem a little weird.
Alternatively it could be another thing from somewhere that's also in some way in on the Master and Beast's shenanigans.
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Could be, injecting a henchman of Mab's did seem a little weird.
Alternatively it could be another thing from somewhere that's also in some way in on the Master and Beast's shenanigans.
Could be. Although nothing comes to mind at the moment.
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what about demons they seem either deal-smiths with a focus on Faustian bargains or denarians with epic amounts of human sin involved rather limited i would say. and was the satanic bible reference not involved with the scenario at all
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what about demons they seem either deal-smiths with a focus on Faustian bargains or denarians with epic amounts of human sin involved rather limited i would say. and was the satanic bible reference not involved with the scenario at all
A demon could be an alternative for the Fay. But I don't see a demon and a Fay both involved. Unless they themself have a bet regarding the outcome of the other bet. Bat such layering would make this hopelessly complicated. It would explain why one would help the PCs leave.
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This is how I'd run it. The Master (Mistress) made a deal with a demon for eternal life. With that agreed, the demon must be summoned up every "X" number of years so that he can feed on people. In return, a small portion of the power the demon receives from feeding goes to the Mistress so that she continues to stay young and beautiful.
She runs a brothel and has a Henchman: the captain, Nightman and lots of prostitutes. The brothel is a normal building, but if you go through one particular door, it opens up to a very extravagant, palace-like place.
The Captain and the Nightman are some kind of supernatural creatures. Maybe servants of the demon. The Captain is her body guard and the Nightman is the only one who can open up the demense to where the actual brothel is(the palace). She has some WCV's working with her as well. They feed off lust, in general, and generate much of the energy needed to fuel the ritual and they bring in potential customers. The rest of the prostitutes are will become fuel for the ritual to summon the demon.
The Nightman can be a Fae. He will only open the Way if you make a deal with him ("you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave)
So, in the Masters Chamber, there's a huge Ritual/orgy where the Demon gets summoned.
If she fails to do the ritual, she will grow old and be taken - kicking and screaming into "down below".
Enter the PC's. Their car breaks down and there is no other building for hundreds of miles around.
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Nice take. How does the doorman enter the story. Any ideas on what his motives are? Why does he play along? Is he just an hired help?
I'd rather see the girls as a victim not as the perp but it does fit nicely. She is Tiffany-twisted and has the Mercedes-bends.
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The doorman? Is that another character at the beginning? He's the final challenge after they get out. He chases them back to their car ;)
Yeah, she's the perp. She's "twisted". She's made a pact with a demon. She has money and youth and all that. She's probably a sorceress.
"she has lots of pretty-pretty boys she calls friends" these are the WCV's. They don't all have to be boys, of course.
She has something on the Nightman. Some kind kind of deal was made between her and the Nightman...or she has something on him that makes him work for her. If the PC's help him get free of the Master (by killing her or getting what he needs) he'll let them out.
The Captain is a henchman to the Demon. Maybe a Demon Scion.
The Brothal has a spell on it. It's veiled most times but at night, it casts a spell on folks and makes them sleepy and need to stay.
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Damn. I like your story better than mine. Mine has a to mechanical feel to it.
I'll start on fleshing out the antagonists a bit. I'd like to run it as a one-shot adventure. As said before I don't have any experience running FATE, nor do the rest have experience playing FATE. Still the system is forgiving enough to just run with it.
I'd like to play a low refresh game and stay away from magic. That can of worms is to complicated to open for one night. It should be a demonstartion of cooperative storytelling, no grid combat and lots of screwing around with aspects.
Mortals with mortal stunts and some supers with clearly defined powers should be fine and not so complicated. I'm not so sure on how mortals will fare against demons, WCW mooks and a sorceres. Any advice on that?
There should be several solutions to getting out.
- Killing the Master will set them free
- dealing with the nightman should get them out
- killing the Beast does nothing but enrage the Master
- start walking into the never-never should be fun
BTW, doorman should have been nightman. Sorry about that.
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I'd say they couldn't really kill the demon...maybe drive it back - or ruin the ritual, but not actually kill it. Ruining the ritual could turn the Master in to an old hag(she's a sorceress after all). Then she'd be pissed. She'd want to kill them before the demon has enough energy to drag her back - or more likely she's ageing super fast and will die imminently. I think she'd be the biggest challenge in a straight out fight.
It might be neat to do something with their aspects. Have them only choose 4 or 5 and let them choose more as the adventure goes on to represent how they are "remembering" their past...maybe things they forgot since being in the Brothal. "some dance to remember - some dance to forget"
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Nice. You are good at this.
I was planning on doing charactercreation as we go along. As people start to get how things work things should start to get more permanent. Aspects are things that are so weird for the avarage DnD-player, myself included, that it takes some getting used to. I can imagine that they are very reluctant to write flaws into their character. Hopefully they see that flaws are fate-point magnets and are actually useful. The dance would be a nice way to give them an opportunity to rewrite and add aspects.
What do you reacon. Pure mortals or some minor powers for the players?
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Oh man...just had a thought.
Start them in the brothel. They don't know why they're there, but it feels pretty normal for them to be there. They are waiting for a big "party" to start in a "couple of hours" or "a day" whatever - you set the time. Then as they go about the place exploring, have weird stuff happen to them and have them slowly remember things - like showing up there after their car broke down - until they finally figure out that they don't actually want to be there and need to figure out what's going on in order to leave. The remembering stuff can be points at which they gain new aspects.
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No, this is not dead. My dnd group is currently in a bit of a rut. Some discussion about the current campaign. So this might be a good time to take over for a bit and try out DFRPG.
I will be showcasing the system a bit. So no complicated overarching plot. The Master/Beast is the BBEG. She, the Captain and the Night Man are prisoners just like the rest. They are cooperating so they are exempt from the Feast.
The pcs will wake up in the bar and meet the Captain. From their they can explore, get in combat, work with temporary aspects and whatnot.
Both me and the players will be new at this so we'll see how it goes. Next session is in two weeks. I'll try to be ready. So here it goes.
The Captain
Supernatural bartender, we haven't had that spirit here since 1969, what's your poison, I can never leave, that reminds me.
Skills.
Great. Empathy and rapport
good. Presence and discipline
Fair. Intimidate and alertness
Average. Fists and weapons.
Stunts and powers
The social graces, empathy
Teflon personality, presence
Let me tell you a story, rapport
Emotional vampire, confusion
Incite emotion, confusion
This man is set up for social conflict. They'll have to really work on this guy to get any information. Seeing as he feeds on confusion he'll go for a lot of misdirection.
Waddaya think?
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There's also a good chance he'll be able to discover something of the PC's plans and inform the others...
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This is looking pretty good. One thing, though: someone suggested Mab would have an agent here. :o
It's clear to me that any Faerie involvement would be from the Summer court, or a Summer-flavored Wyldfae. Hotel California ain't no Winter experience, baby! 8) The folk of Summer may seem "nicer" than the folk of Winter, but in the end they're all tricky and dangerous Faerie-folk!
But I think it'll work better with FEWER supernatural agencies, given (a) this seems to be a Feet-In-The-Water level game & (b) the PC's are all non-supernaturals, facing multiple supernatural foes. You've got a sorceress (mortal wizard bidding for immortality), you've got the demon she's dealing with... that (and their respective henchies) is probably plenty for the PC's!
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Nah. I'm going to tone it way down. I see this as not connected to the Dresdenverse at all. I'm aiming for feet in the water. 6 refresh? No complications. Just exploring the system as GM and player. The big bad being the beast who's controlling everyone else. She, Captain and Night man willing accomplices.
I'm just going to let the players interact and play through the story as it is presented in the song. If they're willing to play along.
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Nah. I'm going to tone it way down. I see this as not connected to the Dresdenverse at all. I'm aiming for feet in the water. 6 refresh? No complications. Just exploring the system as GM and player. The big bad being the beast who's controlling everyone else. She, Captain and Night man willing accomplices.
I'm just going to let the players interact and play through the story as it is presented in the song. If they're willing to play along.
Oh by all means, *DO* put this into the Dresdenverse. Sorceress, deal with a demon, the Hotel itself a Nevernever portal, the Nightman as some sort of gatekeeper there, etc... It's a good fit!
Just don't expect the PC's to "interact and play through the story as it is presented in the song;" expect them to make a sharp left, apply liberal amounts of both brute force and low cunning, and multiply the result by sqrt(-1). I *seldom* expect players to play through a scenario "as presented". They're ornery cusses, players are. >:(
But really... this is a good thing! ;D
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Oh by all means, *DO* put this into the Dresdenverse. Sorceress, deal with a demon, the Hotel itself a Nevernever portal, the Nightman as some sort of gatekeeper there, etc... It's a good fit!
Just don't expect the PC's to "interact and play through the story as it is presented in the song;" expect them to make a sharp left, apply liberal amounts of both brute force and low cunning, and multiply the result by sqrt(-1). I *seldom* expect players to play through a scenario "as presented". They're ornery cusses, players are. >:(
But really... this is a good thing! ;D
Yeah. They'll probably stomp all over it. No mater.
Tying in with the Dresdenverse is indeed easy. But I'm the only one who'll get the references. So any supernatural world will do.
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Tying in with the Dresdenverse is indeed easy. But I'm the only one who'll get the references. So any supernatural world will do.
Ok; I guess it depends whether you want to get them playing DFRPG, or FATE in any MUF setting...
If you're going for DFRPG, I'd set it there to begin with. Continuity, etc... changing from one MUF setting to another MUF setting, when neither is well-known to the players, is liable to be confusing/frustrating/annoying. IMHO & all that...
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New twist. I've been reading up on games recently and had a look at Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE). Which is way cool if you ask me. So I transfered what I had, not much really, to FAE.
I intend to add a few things to FAE. A second stress track and Declarations to start with. I will adapt some powers to FAE and have the players choose from that, if they want. They'll start with the basic 3 FP and 3 stunts.
If you don't know FAE, check it out at Evil Hat. Other than that nothing to add. Except this:
I wrote my notes as a kind of module which can be found on Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8kaqa0rc1gcepq/Hotel%20California.docx). Any and all tips and ideas are welcome. I'm mostly finished. Need to finisch She and start with the Master and the Masters Chamber. Just FYI, English is not my first languages. O, and it might contain a tiny bit of closed content. If that is a problem I'll remove it pronto. I'm guessing it's covered by fair use.